WinterIron one shots

A Future...

Word count: 5188

Summery: 'While Tony might not be able to figure out where Bucky was heading next, he could at least see what he had been up to until then. Tony was certain it was a vital part in unravelling what the hell Bucky was up to.

Sooner or later, Tony would figure it out

' (basically a really long Drabble!)

————

On average, Tony would consider himself a pretty observant person. There were things he missed, of course — birthdays, for an example, as Pepper would no doubt point out — but, for the most part, he paid attention to the things happening around him. Gathering data sort of came with the genius gig, even if Tony had a tendency to only keep the information he found useful. And, since 'useful' was very subjective and differed from situation to situation, it was understandable if some details were occasionally lost amongst the magnitude of impressions Tony processed on a daily basis.

He was a busy man, after all.

Other times, his mind would latch on to facts and impressions with a tenacity that surprised even him. It was impossible to predict what detail would catch his attention — or when — but it was quite useful, both as an inventor and an Avenger. It meant he found flaws and solutions without even trying, most of them coming to him instinctively based on observations he'd made minutes — sometimes even years — earlier.

Someone of a more spiritual persuasion would perhaps call that a 'sixth sense,' whereas Tony knew it was simply a matter of paying attention. Well, that and an ability to add it all together and get something useful out of the information. More often than not, that was the difficult part. Sometimes — frustrating times — Tony would be able to tell that something was off or about to happen, but he couldn't say why, how, or when.

Like the morning he turned around in the communal kitchen and, suddenly, found himself face to face with everyone's favorite seasonal soldier.

Admittedly, Tony's first reaction was to choke on a highly undignified squeak, quickly followed by his heart leaping into his throat. It was partly the surprise but, more so than that, the way Bucky was looking at him.

At the start of their acquaintance — which had been tumultuous by anyone's standards — Tony had mostly been given guarded glares or, sometimes, guilty glances. Which, considering the circumstances, had been understandable. Moving into the tower belonging to the person whose parents you murdered was bound to stir up a couple of conflicting emotions. Tony hadn't blamed Bucky for giving him a wide berth, but had also been terribly grateful the day he stopped.

It had taken months of therapy and reassurance, involving a lot of gentle — and not-so-gentle — nudging from Tony, but had been worth it in the end. Especially when Bucky relaxed enough to actually start talking to Tony without looking like he might break apart from the guilt. The process had been slow but, eventually, Bucky had even started to respond to Tony's teasing with jokes of his own, delivered with a twitch of a smile in a sarcastic, deadpan voice that never failed to make Tony grin.

To Tony's infinite delight, Bucky turned out to be gloriously snarky.

Over the months since Bucky's arrival, the two of them had become cautiously civil, followed by tentatively amiable, and, currently, increasingly friendly. Tony wouldn't call them close, exactly, but it hadn't passed him by that Bucky often accepted the open invitation to join Tony in his workshop the evenings when nightmares made it impossible to sleep. Or that Bucky, of his own volition, picked the seat next to Tony during movie nights and gravitated toward him during conversations. Seeing that always left Tony feeling a thrill of accomplishment and if he happened to smile at Bucky a bit more often than he perhaps should, well, that was his business.