Between Two Ferns

Summary

WARNING: this (chapter) spoils entire plot of the story, including the ending

*****

An AU where Tony and Bucky are married, but Bucky is pronounced KIA while deployed overseas. Both Tony and Steve are absolutely devastated, but Steve manages to mostly hold it together by being there for Tony and helping him pick up the pieces, because of course he’s going to look out for his dead best friend’s husband, it was practically Bucky’s dying wish.

Time passes and Tony and Steve grow closer, helping each other grieve and heal, until they slowly come to the realization that they’ve fallen in love with each other.  This incites a lot of panic and mixed feelings, of course, because what would Bucky think? Are they betraying his memory? Can he (Tony) even do this again?

Finally, after much soul-searching and a lot of talking it out, they make peace with their guilt and decide that what Bucky would want is for both of them to be happy. So they get together, finally finding happiness for the first time since Bucky’s death, and start building a life for themselves.

And then, one day, Tony gets a call: They’ve found Bucky - alive. Messed up, traumatized, and missing an arm, but alive. Tony and Steve are both ecstatic, because Bucky is alive, but then it hits them - when they finally get to the hospital, when they finally see Bucky, when the first thing Bucky wants to do is kiss his husband - what Bucky being back means for the two of them, together. And they both decide right then and there that they can’t tell Bucky, because they don’t know how to tell him, and when is it ever a good time to tell your best friend/husband that you went and fell in love with his husband/best friend while he was gone?

So they keep quiet, and ask their friends to keep quiet, and fall back into their old roles. They put all of their energy into helping Bucky, helping him adjust, helping him with his therapy, holding him through his nightmares and reminding him how much he is loved and was missed.

And they’re so, so happy to have Bucky back in their lives, they are, but at the same time the situation just eats at them, because they love Bucky, but they still love each other, too. Because Tony loves Bucky, of course he loves Bucky, he’s never stopped loving him, but he also loves Steve, too, and he doesn’t know what to do. And Steve, Steve loves Bucky, too, he does, which is why he can’t be bitter about Bucky being back, even with the ring he was going to give Tony burning a hole in his pocket. But they can’t, it wouldn’t be fair, the whole situation isn’t fair, and, oh God, does this mean they were cheating? (Intellectually, they know it doesn’t, but try explaining that to the guilt eating away at both of them.)

So they carry on, and try to pretend that everything is okay, until eventually even Bucky starts noticing. And he starts asking questions, wanting to know if he’s the problem, worrying that dealing with his shit is making them both miserable, which horrifies both Steve and Tony, because the very last thing they had wanted to do was hurt Bucky, but they’re doing it anyway.

Then, just when Steve and Tony start reaching their breaking point, and wondering if they can still do this, Bucky discovers Steve’s engagement ring. And of course he wants to know who the lucky person is, because Steve is his best friend, and he wants him to be as happy as he’s been with Tony. And  Steve just… breaks, he and Tony both. They finally tell Bucky everything, tell him they’re so, so sorry, that they hadn’t meant to hurt him, and Bucky, please don’t be mad.

Bucky just sits there, completely silent, for a very long time. Long enough for Steve and Tony to both start freaking out.  And then he finally sighs and says “I can’t believe it takes my dyin’ to get you two assholes to get along,” before turning to Steve and adding “He’s always had a weakness for muscles and Brooklyn accents.”

And while Steve and Tony are confused and still sort-of freaking out, because this was not the reaction they were expecting, Tony corrects Bucky by saying “No, I have a weakness for stubborn assholes with blue eyes,” And then he starts crying, and which makes Steve start crying, which makes Bucky start crying, because “You dumb punks, why would I be mad?” and they all hug it out and then maybe end up in a cuddle pile. And then, when there is less crying and kissing and holding on to each other for dear life, they’ll talk things out, and negotiate this new thing between them, because they’ll all be damned if they’re separated now.

And they all end up in one big polyamorous relationship because happy endings, damn it.

*****

AU from tumblr, I adore and wanted to write, although I wish OP written it, probably will be much better