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The Innocent Have Nothing to Fear

Chapter 16: Chpt 15

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They were back in the courtroom after two hours of deliberation, the Clerk having recommenced the trial a few minutes prior. 

 

Steve shuffled anxiously in his seat, tears brimming in his eyes as the Justices muttered between each other for a few moments, trading various sheets of paper between the nine of them. He caught Bucky’s gaze, barely being able to see the other man through the wall of tears, but he felt it in his bones that Bucky was throwing his unwavering support at him. Somewhere in the distance, he felt Tony’ arm wrap around his waist, pulling him further towards the warmth of his body and nearly into his lap. Steve probably looked a mess, clinging to Tony like a lifeline with tears in his eyes and a heavy feeling building in his chest. 

 

Steve’s heart was racing and his stomach was turning on itself, making him feel nauseous and shaky. If he felt like this, he could only imagine how Bucky must feel and that made him feel infinitely worse. 

 

“He’s gonna be okay, you both are. I promise,” Tony soothed, his voice soft. “If these Justices have any sense about them, then they’ll prove Bucky not guilty. You and Bucky are both going to be okay.” 

 

Steve nodded, feeling both numb and emotional at the same time- everything simultaneously too much and not enough. Everything seemed to become muted, however, when Justice Anderson rose to her feet, looking out at the gallery with tears in his eyes. There was a faint buzzing in his ears as she began to speak, his every sense dialed into the sound of her voice and the words tumbling from her lips. 

 

“We the Justices find the defendant not guilty in all charges. He will be immediately released from custody and court is adjourned.”

 

Steve sagged, the tension bleeding from his shoulders like someone had turned on a faucet, and a bright grin spread across his face, disbelieving laughter falling from his lips. Bucky, across the room, broke into tears, sobbing brokenly, but there was a smile on his face, even brighter than Steve’s.

 

Steve turned to Tony’s wrapping his arms around the engineer’s shoulders and pulling him in for a tight hug, burying his face in Tony’s neck. Tony laughed and wrapped both arms around his waist, rubbing a gentle hand up and down his back as Steve sobbed into his neck. 

 

Bucky was free- he was safe. They were okay. 





Steve, Tony, Sam and Nat were in a sidealley, two non-descript cars waiting for them a few feet away, and were talking amongst themselves, a buzz of anticipation settling over them as they kept on eye out for the first glimpse of Bucky. 

 

Natasha was the first to spot him, eyes going wide and a small smile spreading across her lips as she turned on her heel and trotted over to him. She came to a stop in front of the brunet and promptly smacked him across the face, his head turning with the force of her hit. 

 

There were shocked gasps from the other Avengers in attendance, but Bucky smirked, casting an amused look at her as he straightened himself out. 

 

That was for turning yourself in without warning,” she hissed and grinned before pulling him into a tight hug, burying her head in his chest. “That’s for making it out and proving your innocence. It’s good to have you back, Yasha .” 

 

Bucky snorted into her hair, squeezing her briefly before pulling away, “It’s good to be back, Natalia .”

 

“Come on,” she ordered, softly squeezing his wrist as she fully stepped away. “Let’s go home.” 

 

As she pulled open the door and slipped into the car, Sam stepped up and followed her in, giving Bucky a brief congratulatory pat on the shoulder. Bucky smiled in thanks and wandered over to where Steve and Tony were lingering. 

 

“Hey,” Bucky breathed as he came to a stop in front of the two men. “So, here I am.” 

 

“Here you are,” Steve whispered, a dark, heated look in his eyes as he dragged his eyes over Bucky’s prison-grade uniform. 

 

Bucky grinned and turned to Tony, “Would Steve and I be able to take this car back to the Tower alone?” 

 

Tony recoiled briefly, sadness flitting across his gaze before he erected a fake smile and nodded, “Sure.” 

 

Bucky felt a pang of sadness as he watched Tony walk away, wishing that he could talk to the engineer, but he and Steve had a lot to discuss. Bucky wandered over to the door, pulling it open and motioning for Steve to get in first. 

 

“Ever the gentleman,” Steve teased as he slipped into his seat, Bucky following closely after him, shutting the door behind him with a soft yank. 

 

“My ma raised me right, Rogers, you know that,” Bucky retorted, chuckling softly when Steve rolled his eyes. 

 

They fell silent for a moment, simply relishing in the ability to be in each other’s company, but it was Bucky that spoke up first, “So, Stark, huh?” 

 

Steve’s head snapped up and he flushed a pretty red colour, fiddling with his fingers as he shrugged, “I don’t know- what? I mean, um, I don’t like- he’s not- we’re not. Bucky, I-”

 

The brunet took pity on him, resting a hand on his thigh, squeezing lightly in reassurance, “I feel the same, Stevie. You aren’t alone in this.” 

 

“But, Ma always taught us to be monogamous,” Steve protested. 

 

Bucky rolled his eyes, “This isn’t the 40s anymore, honey,” he whispered, lifting his hands to cup Steve’s cheeks, rubbing his thumbs across Steve’s cheekbones. “Babydoll, I know you have enough room in that heart for two people. I know that you can love us both, and I feel the same. I want to share you, I want to share us with Stark. Is that what you want? Tell me that’s what you want, honey, and we can have it.” 

 

Steve’s eyes fluttered shut and he nodded weakly, “I do, Buck, but we need to get Tony on board.” 

 

“Sweetheart, I saw the way Tony dealt with you during the trial- he’s already on board,” Bucky replied, leaning forward to press against Steve’s nose, grinning when the other man leant into it with a soft sigh. 

 

“So, we talk to him?” The blond whispered. 

 

“As soon as we get back to the Tower, I want this as bad as you do, honey. The sooner we can talk about it, the better.” 

 

Steve nodded, a small grin spreading across his lips, “Yeah, okay.” 

 

Bucky shifted closer, pressing his left side as close to Steve as he could, keeping his hand settled firmly on the blond’s thigh, and they spent the rest of the journey wrapped in each other, hardly able to tell where one began and the other ended. 

 

When they got back to the Tower, they went straight to their floor- given to them following the fight with Thanos a year prior- and Bucky immediately stripped out of the horrible blue uniform from the Raft, wandering into the bedroom to retrieve a pair of loose-fitting joggers and a tight t-shirt. 

 

He looked utterly delectable when he returned, pants riding low on his hips, leaving a delicious strip of skin exposed from beneath the hemline of his t-shirt. Steve went a little light-headed and he swallowed roughly, fists clenching at his sides as he fought against reaching out to the brunet. 

 

“C’mere,” Bucky whispered, crooking his finger at the blond and grinning when his gaze darkened at the action. “You’ve waited long enough.” 

 

Steve whimpered and stepped into Bucky’s personal space, allowing himself to be manhandled into a heated kiss. Bucky smashed their mouths together, one hand on his hips whilst the other gripped at his jaw, holding him still as he forced his tongue into Steve’s mouth, gently caressing his tongue with his own. 

 

They pulled away when a shocked gasp resounded through the room, originating from the front door, and Bucky turned towards the intruder with a lazy smirk which slowly morphed into a devilish grin when he was met with a wide-eyed Tony. 

 

The engineer sighed heavily, eyelids drooping as he frowned, pulling his bottom lip between his teeth. He shuffled from one foot to the other, keeping his gaze locked on the floor beneath his feet, and his shoulders slumped in defeat- all of the usual arrogance and certainty bleeding from his body, paving the way for insecurity. 

 

“I should, um-” Tony pointed to the door behind him. “I’ll leave you to get reunited. Sorry for barging in.” 

 

Bucky turned back to Steve, arching an eyebrow at him, a silent question of shall we do this now ? When Steve nodded, Bucky reached a hand out, wrapping it around Tony’s wrist, and tugged the engineer back into the room. 

 

“Don’t go,” Bucky urged. “We wanted to talk with you.” 

 

Tony arched an eyebrow at him, the hints of a smirk on his lips as he lifted his gaze from the floor to stare into Bucky’s eyes. “You did, huh?” 

 

“We did,” Steve replied, coming to stand behind Bucky’s right shoulder, wrapping an arm around his waist and pulling him ever closer. 

 

Bucky looked up at him with a loving smile before turning to Tony, the expression not dropping for a single moment, staring at Tony with the same soft eyes and goofy smile. “Stevie and I were talking on the way home from the courtroom,” Bucky began. “I was tellin’ him how proud I was of the both of you, lookin’ after each other so well. But, we got talking about how we felt about you and, if you’d want it, we’d like to have you.” 

 

“Have me?” Tony spluttered, eyes wide. 

 

“As our lover, our boyfriend . We want to share with you, we want you to be with us, share our life and our love. We want you, Tony, and we’ll have you if you just say yes,” Steve explained, a hopeful look settling in his eyes as he stared down at the engineer who had fallen silent and stock-still. 

 

“You want me ?” Tony whispered, eyes wide with shock and the insecurity and disbelief in his voice made Bucky want to hurt whoever had made him feel so bad about himself. “Both of you?” 

 

“Of course we do, sweetheart,” Bucky soothed. “Do you want us?” 

 

Tony whimpered at the nickname and the tone of Bucky’s voice- sweet and thick like honey, soothing his aches and pains, chipping away at the darkness and flooding his body with indescribable light. 

 

Fuck, ” Tony hissed, dropping his gaze to the floor and nodding softly. “I want. Please.” 

 

Steve and Bucky shared matching looks of confirmation before they crowded Tony back against the wall, grinning at the wide-eyed, heated look that he gave them, head dropping back against the wall with a loud thunk as he exposed the column of his throat- Bucky wanted to mark up the pale skin, but that could wait. 

 

“Then, you’ve got us,” Bucky whispered, dropping a kiss to Tony’s left cheek as Steve planted one on his right.