Chapter Text
Peter was staring at the phone, clutched tightly by his sweaty, trembling hands as if it was a bomb, threatening to blow up and tear him to pieces any second. Should he, no, could he actually do this? What if he made a complete foul of himself? Bucky had seemed so uncomfortable (if not embarrassed) when Peter had tried to flirt with him on his birthday, and yet he couldn’t stop thinking about it. If Bucky hadn’t at least thought he was cute in some way, he wouldn’t have blushed but simply laughed it off like the others had done, right?
It had been almost four weeks since Peter and Tony had broken up and now that Ned had left for MIT, the boy felt sort of lonely. Sure, he still had May and MJ, but the girl was always on his butt telling him to download Tinder, and it was really starting to get on his nerves. Yes, it would be nice to have someone to go out and - Peter blushed slightly for admitting it - have sex with, but he doubted anyone could easily fill the empty, aching hole Tony had left in his heart. Especially not some stranger he had never even spoken to before.
However, Bucky was no stranger… he was an extremely attractive friend Peter felt comfortable around, but he was scared. First of all, he was afraid that Bucky would reject him for basically a million possible reasons, because let’s be honest… why would he want to date him? What did Peter have to offer? He’s a broke college freshman whose whole relationship experience concentrated on getting manipulated and cheated on for almost two years.
And last but not least… what if Bucky told Tony? Peter clearly remembered all those incidents when his ex-boyfriend had been enraged and blinded by jealousy.
And yet, despite all those fears and doubts, Peter couldn’t help opening Bucky’s contact on his phone for the fifth time. He just had to jump over his shadow and do it, but … should he send a text or call him? Texting him would be the easy way out, no doubt, but it might also lead to misunderstandings...
Peter took a deep breath and touched the “Call” button. His heart was pounding so hard he could feel it in his throat, stomach clenching nauseatingly, which got worse by every unanswered BEEP taunting his ears. After the seventh ringing, Peter put the phone away from his ear, ready to hang up and-
“Hello?” Bucky’s voice came from the speaker, panting slightly.
Although Peter was close to a panic attack, he quickly put the phone back to his ear. “B-Bucky?” His voice was rasp, sounding very unlike himself. Or rather very much like himself, if he was being honest.
“Peter? Is it you?”
“Y-y-yeah. Uhm. Hi.”
“Hey! How’s is going? Have you started college yet?”
Peter let out a sigh of relief. At least the man’s first question hadn’t been about why he was calling him, of all people. “I uhm. I-I’m good. College started last week. It’s uhm, fine, I guess…”
“Is everything alright? We really miss you, you know… It’s been oddly quiet around here for way too long."
Peter felt a wave of happiness wash over him, yet he had no idea how to respond to this other than stuttering out a lame “T-Thanks, I, uhm, I miss you guys too.”
“Why don’t you come over tonight? We’re having our weekly Avengers dinner.”
“A-Actually, I’m busy today, but…I w-wanted to ask you, uhm… i-if you maybe… I mean, it’s okay if you don’t, but… I…I…” Shit. Why the fuck had he decided to call? It would have been so much easier to send a simple text, but nope, he had to be stupid and-
“What do you want to ask me?”
“N-Nothing, it’s fine, just ignore me, I-I’m sorry. Uhm…M-May’s calling me, I have to-“
“Were you intending to ask me if I wanted to … hang out?”
Peter gulped. Fuck. Now what, genius? “K-Kinda.”
Bucky stayed dangerously quiet for a while. “What did you have in mind?”
“I-I don’t know, j-just… g-grab something to eat m-maybe?” The boy’s voice was not rasp anymore but weirdly high pitched, making him sound like a little girl rather than a confident, flirty young man.
A few more quiet seconds went by, causing Peter to anxiously bite his nails. “I guess we can do that. Do you have time tomorrow? We could meet at Dodo’s pizzeria in Brooklyn. It’s on Vanderbilt Avenue in Prospect Heights. 7 pm?”
“S-Sounds great.” Actually, it didn’t. Bucky didn’t exactly seem excited and probably only agreed because he didn’t want to hurt Peter’s feelings. Awesome.
“All right. Cool. See you there.”
“Sir, you told me to notify you immediately if there’s any incoming or outgoing calls or texts from Mr. Parker on Mr. Barnes’ phone. Mr. Parker called Mr. Barnes 5 minutes ago. Their conversation lasted 3 minutes and 4 seconds.”
Tony, who had been dozing off in the tub for the last 15 minutes, awoke with a start. “What? What did they speak about?”
“Sorry, boss, you didn’t tell me to record it. I can only do it during the call and-“
“All right, all right. Just make sure to do that next time... Do you have any visual recordings of Barnes speaking to Peter?”
“No. Mr. Barnes was inside his bedroom. There are no cameras installed in there.”
Tony cursed and got out of the tub, quickly rubbing himself dry with a towel. Had the boy asked Bucky out like he had threatened on his birthday? Considering nothing had happened during the last four weeks, Tony had started to think Peter had only been joking, but now he suddenly questioned everything again. Fuck. He’d have to try and find out what they’d been talking about. Good thing he’d see Bucky at dinner anyway.
At 6:30, Tony rode the elevator down to the Avenger common rooms where the man’s eyes immediately glanced around, trying to find Barnes. There he was… over at the pool table, talking to Sam. It would be fatal to just walk over and confront him with it, so Tony waited until everyone was halfway through the main course when he mentioned Peter as casually as possible. “I’ve been thinking about inviting Peter over next week,” Tony said into the round and took a sip from his glass of wine.
“Great idea,” Natasha answered with a bright smile, “He hasn’t been here for ages. I texted him two weeks ago but he seemed a little off… like… as if he didn’t really want to talk. Short sentences, no emojis.”
Steve frowned. “That’s unusual. I hope he's not upset over anything regarding us... I mean, I know he tried to act all tough and grown-up on his birthday but he’s more sensible than we think.”
“I just want to wrap him in blankets and make sure he’s fluffy and cozy,” Rhodey sighed dramatically. “Can we do that when he comes over?”
And then, Bucky actually participates in the conversation. “He seems to be quite busy with college.”
Steve looked at him questioningly. “Really? How do you know that?” Thanks, Rogers.
“He called me earlier and we talked for a bit.”
“Did he sound okay to you?”
“Yeah, I guess. I actually told him to come over for dinner today, but he said he didn’t have time.”
Since nobody asked Bucky why Peter had called him of all people to have a nice little chat with, Tony eventually cleared his throat. “I didn’t know you two were such close friends… Unless you took his word and have actually asked him out?” Tony grinned, trying to play it off as a joke.
It seemed to work because Bucky snorted amusedly. “And give you and Rhodey a chance to freak out and go all ‘Dad’ on me? Keep dreaming.”
Whereas everyone else busted out laughing, Tony only fake smiled. Even if he believed Barnes for now, he’d definitely keep an eye on him and make sure that FRIDAY recorded any future conversations.
The next day passed by way too fast. When 7 o’clock came closer and closer, Peter realized that he was in no way ready to go on date (was it even a date??) with Bucky. Not necessarily because his mind drifted off to Tony every other minute (because it did and for some fucked up reason, the boy felt as if he was cheating on him), but because he was afraid that he’d make a complete fool out of himself. Also, he felt somewhat guilty thinking about his ex when he was meeting someone else, but if he didn't want to stay single for fifty more years, it was probably inevitable to start dating again despite not being completely over Tony yet.
Since Peter didn’t have the guts to cancel anyway and most certainly didn’t want to stand Bucky up either, he found himself standing in front of the restaurant with shaking legs at 6:55 pm. Taking a deep breath, Peter gathered as much courage as he could muster and walked into the old-looking building, letting his eyes wander over the occupied tables.
Not knowing if he should be relieved or terrified when he spotted Bucky sitting in a rather dark corner at the further end of the restaurant, looking dashing with his casual man bun and three-day-beard, he wobbled over. A few yards before he arrived at the table, the other man noticed him, flashing him a bright smile. “Hey, Pete.”
Bucky stood up and extended his hand, causing Peter to blush slightly and shake it awkwardly. Definitely not a date. “Hey.”
“Have you ever been here before?” Bucky asked after Peter had sit down.
“Uhm… Not that I know of.”
“I love it here... it’s an old family business. I already used to come here with Steve back in the early 40s.”
Peter, who didn’t want to acknowledge the fact that he used to forget that Bucky was one hundred fucking years old, quickly ducked behind the menu. “R-Really?”
“The pasta is amazing, and the pizza… it’s the best one in all of New York, trust me. They use traditional Italian recipes.”
“My aunt prefers going to places like this too. She immigrated from Italy when she was a child.”
“She did?” Bucky sounded surprised. “I didn’t know that. Can you speak Italian?”
“Only bits and pieces. I hardly see her side of the family because they don’t live in New York.”
“Isn’t it your mother’s or father’s side too?”
“No. My father was my uncle’s brother. I have no living blood relatives.”
“Oh, I’m … really sorry, Pete. I know how it feels to be the last one of your family.”
Peter looked up just in time to see a dark shadow casting over Bucky’s face. “I uhm… I’m sorry too. About your family, I mean.”
“It’s fine, let’s not-… Have you made a choice yet?”
The boy busied himself with the menu again and eventually nodded, so Bucky beckoned the waiter over and looked at Peter encouragingly. “I’ll take a Rustica Provenciale. W-Without the onions, please.”
“And I’ll take the Pomodoro, Joe. And can we have two glasses of Tignanello 2013?”
The waiter’s eyes glanced over at Peter, gaze lingering for a few seconds. “Does your friend have his ID with him?”
Now it was Bucky’s turn to blush. “Oh, I, uhm. He’s not 21 yet, sorry, I didn’t think. Just… one glass, then, and-?” He looked at Peter questioningly.
“A-A glass of coke, please.”
After Joe had left, they both stayed awkwardly silent until Bucky eventually cleared his throat. “By the way, Tony said he wants to invite you over next week.”
“H-He said that? When?”
“Yesterday at dinner. They all really miss you.”
Peter’s stomach twisted nastily. “D-Did you tell anyone we’re, uhm, hanging out right now?”
“No, I didn’t want to give them any wrong ideas.”
“Wrong ideas?”
“Well, you know… Tony immediately inquired if I asked you out when I mentioned you calling me.“
“Y-You told him that?” Peter groaned, clenching his fists under the table. Oh god. “What did you answer?”
“Nothing, really. Said I didn’t want him or Rhodey to go all ‘dad’ on me. They have a hard time imagining you going out on a-… I-I mean, uhm, grabbing something to eat with another man, especially someone like me.”
Despite Peter almost losing his mind about Tony already sniffing around and asking weird questions, he couldn’t help feeling one or two butterflies fluttering in his tummy. “D-Do you think of this a-as a…d-date?”
The question clearly made Bucky uncomfortable and if he had been Tony, he most certainly would have snapped at him right now, but instead, he blushed again. “I don’t know, to be honest. I mean… I’ve known you for two and half years now and I’ve immediately liked you because you’re kind, funny and extremely clever. Not to mention very cute.” Bucky smiled, causing the boy’s stomach to do a somersault. “It’s just… I’ve never seen you that way. Please don’t get me wrong, but… you are young. Very young. You were what, fifteen or sixteen when we met? And now you just started college... If you were ten years older, I wouldn’t feel so weird about it.”
Peter took a deep breath, hoping he wouldn’t sound too cocky. “What difference does it make if I’m eighty-three or seventy-three years younger than you?”
Bucky’s mouth dropped open and he simply stared at Peter for a few seconds before he busted out laughing. “Jesus Christ, I didn’t know you were so cheeky.”
“There’re a lot of things you don’t know about me, James. I actually don’t mind if my, uhm, date or whatever is older. I mean, I don’t have a f-fetish or something, but… I’d rather you didn’t tell anyone about this, but the ex-boyfriend I mentioned on my birthday wasn’t in high school or college anymore.”
The older man raised his eyebrows in surprise. “How old was he?”
“Not as old as you, obviously, but he actually looked older because he’s a normal human being.”
Then Bucky’s eyes widened in surprise. “Wait, but didn’t you say you lost your… I mean, that you were sixteen, when…Was this the same guy? You do know that’s not exactly legal, right? ”
“Well, it’s in the past and it’s not my problem if anyone happened to find out. Also, I’m not going to tell you his name or anything, I just want you to stop worrying about the age gap. Also, w-why don’t we just talk and eat and s-see how it g-goes?” It felt weird taking the lead, but what was the point of flogging something to death that couldn’t be changed anyway?
Fortunately, Bucky didn’t object and instead, raised his wine glass the waiter had served a few minutes ago. “All right. Let’s drink to our maybe-date then, shall we?”
Peter grinned and clinked glasses with the older man. “To our maybe-date.”