For what?

Just as your fingers left the screen of your phone, you wondered if it was the right thing to respond to Bucky's message. Maybe he didn't want to enter a conversation, but couldn't help but still be a man of manners, and you didn't give yourself a moment to consider it before acting. The familiar, gentle snores from Tony had already begun next to you, so you felt as if the opportunity had presented itself all too well; it wasn't that you were hiding it from him, because you had no reason to, but you still felt more comfort in knowing that he wasn't watching.

For being nice to me.

"Ugh, my heart," you whispered to yourself, the image of his sad face torturing your mind.

You're sure that you won't come here? Most of us are actually nice, no matter what you may have heard. Even Sam, that guy you kicked off the helicarrier? Let him kick your ass just once and you'll be friends for life. Even if you pretend to let him win.

I'm sorry, (Y/N), I can't.

Ever?

My head's such a mess, I really can't think past one day at a time right now.

You found yourself nodding along with him in agreement, even though he couldn't see you or get any support from it. You had no way to know what he had to be feeling, and maybe he didn't understand it either, so the best you could do was wait for him to make the first move.

I understand, Buck. The offer will stand until you're ready.

And then for several minutes, there was nothing more. It had taken so long now that you gently set your phone back onto the table and rested your head on your pillow as you waited. You wouldn't text him again, as to not push, but you hated the feeling of not knowing if he was okay or not when he wouldn't let you connect to see it for yourself. Maybe something happened, or he may have forgotten to charge his phone, or maybe his mind flipped and you'll never hear from Bucky again. Your own mind was now the torturous one, racing until you finally heard the buzz of vibration again and hurried to grab the phone to read it.

Is Stark okay? The last time that your eyes showed him to me, he looked scared.

He's doing okay. The best he can. It's amazing how understanding he's been about this.

Okay, good to know. I don't want to cause you any more trouble. I can tell that he cares a lot about you, (Y/N), even from here.

Now it was your turn to pause, and to let him wait, as you turned back to look at the man sleeping at your side. He did care about you, and he never hid it from you, even during some of your more heated arguments, or when you had to spend weeks apart for missions that you didn't share. You couldn't imagine that many men would be so kind about their significant others having a soulmate who wasn't them, but Tony Stark was one of the most confident men you had ever known, so that could be why he was taking it in stride. That, or he had a secret life as an actor and was a master at hiding how he really felt.

It almost sounds like you know him. That's not possible though...right?"

Little did you know, something that should have been a simple question would take nearly two years to get an answer, as the phone fell silent for the last time in a very long time.

~~~

It was never really a comfortable time for you, having to get all dressed up for one of Tony's fancy, ass-kissing-the-other-rich-people type of parties, but he had promised you that only an appearance of maybe an hour was required, then it would be a long overdue date night for the two of you. He was about to leave on a trip for a little company business and a stop at MIT to impress them with his annual donation, and he wanted some time alone before he had to go. Team missions didn't allow for you to go with him this time, with you being on Steve's chosen group for his continued hunt for Rumlow, which was about to take you to Nigeria in the morning. It felt remarkably conceited to look at your reflection in the tower's windows right now, covered in clothes that were ridiculously expensive, and a sparkle from jewelry that you could never afford, right before travelling to a country that could use the money so much more than this boring show of fortune.

"Okay," Tony interrupted your thoughts gently, "we can go. I promised an hour, and I came through right to the minute. I hope that I get some sort of reward for my efforts."

"More than an evening alone with me?"

"Hmm, let me get back to you on that," he smirked, taking your hand, "let's see how the evening goes before I commit to missing out on something that I might want even more."

"Even more?" you gasped, pulling away. "Anthony Edward Stark, you should never want anything more than time with me. I'm hurt."

"Oh, please, don't even try. You know that there's nothing I want more than you, sweetheart. But since I've already got you, maybe a few other perks are in order. A man's gotta try."

"Mmm hmm," you scoffed, reluctantly taking his hand again, "just be careful there, boy. You did very well with keeping your promise, and I'm sure we'll find a way to reward you later."

"That's my girl," he chuckled, releasing your hand and turning you towards the elevator with a playfully firm slap on your behind that made you gasp with a loud shriek. Thankfully, the music was too loud around you for anyone to give notice. "Now go change into something you actually want to wear so we can get outta here."

"Okay, but what about you? Are you seriously staying in that tux all evening?"

"Of course not," he shrugged, "I've got this covered." He quickly released his bowtie with a mere flip of his finger into the knot, pulling it from his collar with a flair of conceit as you watched. Beneath his dress shirt, which he just as readily tossed aside, was a t-shirt adorned with a sleeping kitten in very 80's large sunglasses, that somehow looked perfect with his suit coat in a way that only he could make work. "There, all set. Get moving."

~~~

The one thing that you loved about Tony, maybe more than anything else, was that he agreed that fancy dinners weren't meant to fill anyone's stomach; they were meant to be opulent and showy and barely enough to keep a human being alive because they cost so much to make. After leaving the tower on foot, walking towards Central Park, the two of you stopped at one of his favorite pizza shops to take your dinner to go.

"Honey, you've got some sauce...here," you stopped, wiping away the drip that had landed on the kitty's head at the center of his shirt. "Maybe trying to walk and eat was too many coordinated tasks for us to challenge tonight."

"Nah, if you don't make a mess of pizza then it's just not worth it."

"Then it's definitely worth it." When you were satisfied with your clean-up of his shirt, you turned your focus back to your own slice, noticing that he began to walk just a little slower as his own focus sharpened as to not spill again. You couldn't help but smile at the man's efforts, his concentration resembling what he must have looked like as a little boy in his lab working on his first invention; it was so endearing that you already missed him and he wasn't even gone yet. "So, how long will you be away this time?"

"About a month."

"Really? That long?"

"I'm gonna work fast, I promise. I don't want to be gone that long either. After MIT I need to make a quick pass through D.C. Just a little government show, you know, kissing hands and shaking babies." Your sudden choking on your food made him stop in his tracks, watching you with wide eyes until you came back to your senses and couldn't help but laugh aloud at his error. "Oh! Shit...I mean shake hands and kiss babies!"

"You sure about that?"

"What?! I love babies! Wouldn't mind having a couple someday."

"Um...really?" you asked hesitantly. Now you had forgotten all about being hungry, the slice of pizza hanging limply in your hand with the threat of the toppings about to slide off. You felt your phone vibrate in your pocket, but there was no way that anyone could be more important than Tony right now.

"Yeah, really. You up for it?"

Now you felt your stomach flip over, and there was no way that you could eat another bite. He had effectively ruined your appetite, not because of the topic, but because you never once expected it in all of your years together. "I hadn't thought...I mean...it's never come up..." Your phone vibrated again, and you continued to ignore it.

"Maybe it's something to think about while I'm gone," he answered so casually that it almost pissed you off. How could he not realize that your world had just screeched to a halt? "But before I go, there is one thing that I wanted to talk about."

"Okay?"

"I sure hope that I got the right size," he mumbled to himself, his open hand searching his pocket, "Oh, hell, I sure hope I brought it...okay, phew, there it is." With a toss of his hand, he threw his pizza in a nearby garbage, turning to you with his other hand up, and a gorgeous ring glimmering under the streetlights for you to see. The only thing matching the sparkle of the diamond at its center was the sparkle in his eyes as he watched for your reaction.

Your own dinner didn't meet as clean of a fate as his, landing on the sidewalk at your feet as it fell from your hand in your shock. "Tony..."

"They say that first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes rugrats, right?"

"That's what they say," you whispered. Your voice was failing you at a time when you needed it most, and your phone was trying to ruin the moment once again.

"Do you need to answer that?"

"What?"

"Your phone. I can wait."

"Y-yes."

"Okay," he answered, leaning back and bouncing on his heels just slightly as his energy began to build. His nerves were legendary in how they could torture him, but these were different; they weren't the kind that plagued his nightmares or his need to keep the world safe. These nerves were exciting and he could barely control them as you watched. "So, answer it."

"I wasn't talking about my phone, Tony."

"Then what...what do you...oh...oh! Okay!" It was amazing to him how quickly those nerves washed away in the single step forward towards you, and once his skin made contact with yours again. "I hope I got the right size," he repeated, mumbled under his breath as he pushed the ring onto your finger.

It fit perfectly, and the first thing you thought of, the first thing to flash unconsciously through your mind, was that you needed to tell Bucky. What you didn't realize, in your unabashed excitement not feeling it happen, was that your emotions allowed him to connect, and he watched along with you as the ring found its home on your hand.