Peter & Bucky Are Pals

Chapter 41

It took Peter exactly an hour and forty five minutes to finish his studying for the day; he’d rushed through the first few pages of his chemistry notes but Bucky had made him go back and read through them thoroughly, insisting that Peter wasn’t allowed to slack off on his behalf since Peter’s time before finals was limited, while he had plenty of time to practice with his braces and he therefore wasn’t going to die if he waited an extra hour or two. Peter honestly admired his patience. Thus, Bucky watched serenely as Peter scrambled to shove his papers back into his bag and zip it closed. Steve looked up from his sketchpad at the flurry of movement.

“Finished?”

“Yep!” Peter exclaimed, tossing his overstuffed backpack towards the door and making sure the brakes were locked on Bucky’s wheelchair.

“Do you want me to help you up, or do you want Peter to do it?” Steve asked Bucky, tucking away his sketchbook.

Bucky shrugged indifferently, his face hard-lined; Steve ambled over and took the initiative to scoop Bucky off the couch and set him gently in his chair. He pressed a kiss to Bucky’s cheek, and Bucky’s frown softened.

“Ready?” asked Peter, bouncing over to the door and pulling it open.

Bucky smiled a little at Peter’s enthusiasm and disengaged the brake lock, wheeling himself out into the hall with Steve following closely. Peter shut the door behind them and trotted ahead to get the elevator. He tapped his fingers on his thighs as the three of them descended to the workshop; when the elevator doors slid open, they were immediately accosted by the bots.

Butterfingers went right for Bucky, who looked pleased to see him; Dum-E plucked at Peter’s hair, which had faded to blond-green with visible brown roots.

“Yeah, I need to get a haircut,” Peter said.

Dum-E chirped and rolled away, disappearing behind a row of shelves. Steve stepped forward, peering around the shop.

“Tony? Are you in here?”

Tony popped up from behind three-quarters of a car with a mouthful of screws, a small screwdriver behind his ear, and a large one in hand.

“Hnth, bnph ooo!” he spat the screws out into his other hand and grinned. “Sup?”

“You really shouldn’t keep those in your mouth,” said Steve.

Tony rolled his eyes. “It’s fine, mom. Don’t be such a worrywart.”

Steve gave Tony a reproachful look. “In ‘28, one of Buck’s uncles was working under a cart with nails in his mouth. One of his pals came in and asked him a question, and when he answered, he swallowed one by mistake. He died a few days later. ”

Tony looked slightly taken aback before waving the story off. “We have x-rays and shit. If I swallow one, we’ll find it and take it out before I hemorrhage to death.”

Steve shrugged. “It’s your grave.”

“Barnes, your boyfriend is dramatic as hell.”

Bucky’s lips twitched. “Me n’ Stevie found Keiran dead on the floor. We were ten. Guess it left an impression.”

Tony was speechless for a few moments before he settled on, “What the fuck.”