Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Man, Tony’s roommates were weirdos. He’d realized that not two minutes after he’d first met them. Of course, by then it was already too late, the rent was paid and the movers were there.

After he had to let go of Rhodey who was a spoilsport, joining the air force like a traitor instead of staying at MIT.

Naturally, he could never actually be angry with his favorite honey bear, though he couldn’t deny that it had hurt. Having to let go of the person he’d called his best friend for the last three years wasn’t easy. He’d never had a friend before, and it was unlikely he’d ever find another friend as good as this one ever again. He was immensely proud of his bestie, joining to fight for their country was a noble decision, but he’d never admit that, because well, he had an image to uphold.

Anyway, back to his roommates. The new ones. He technically didn’t need to have roommates anymore, he was over eighteen now and money certainly wasn’t the issue. But he chose to have roommates because his platypus had asked him, begged him really, to make sure that he had at least some sort of normal human contact every week, and no, college didn’t count. Tony honored that wish and the easiest way to interact with people without having to make new friends or, -God forbid- joining a sport, was roommates. Were roommates? Ugh grammar, the one thing Tony hated with a passion.

So here he was with three, yes three, roommates. All dudes, all older than him, though not by much. All taller than him, he noted, a little annoyed. And somehow all hot, like smoking hot. He had no clue there were such models on campus, but somehow he was lucky enough to house with all of them. They also all were still working on their first degree, like normal people, whilst Tony was doing a second and third simultaneously.

He’d gotten a doctorate in experimental physics at 18 and now he was working on a degree in computer sciences and mechanical engineering. He’d likely do another one in business after, it was only smart. Or at least that’s what Howard said and Tony was more than happy to agree as long as he got to stay away from home for a few more years.

Welp, today his thoughts just wouldn’t stay in one place. Might be the lack of sleep, or maybe a lack of food or the extreme amounts of caffeine, who knew, it would likely be a mystery forever.

Right, roommates. So first, there was Loki, which by the way, was already a weird-ass name, Norse or something. He was doing a double major in fashion design and business. Loki was pale as a ghost, scarily skinny, and he talked with a posh British accent.

He dressed completely in black and had sipped on what Tony assumed to be cranberry juice or something similarly red. He was snarky and honestly kind of insulting. Weirdest of all, he had a brother who’d also been there as Tony arrived. The brother was named Thor, again with the name, he mysteriously did not possess a British accent, but to Loki and everyone else's annoyance, he did talk as if he was right out of a Shakespearean play. Theater majors…
He was Loki’s complete opposite, the blond to Lokis black, the jock to Loki’s clear goth energy. He was honestly the human equivalent of a golden retriever and wouldn’t have looked out of place in the waves of Miami.
So yeah, kind of weird, but whatever, everyone had a weird roommate once in a while.

Then he met Steve, normal name -yay-. He was polite, blond, blue-eyed, a picture-perfect American golden boy. They’d moved in on the same day, so Tony got to see what Steve brought with him, which sadly, was not as normal as the rest of the persona.

Besides the usual stuff, including dresser and desk, which Steve brought up the stairs completely alone, by the way, he brought a barbell which, Tony was serious here, was 120 pounds. And then Steve brought in canvasses, normal enough for an art student. He brought more canvases, and more, and more, and more until Tony was sure Steve’s entire room had to be filled to the top with them. It had to be far more than 100, and he couldn’t imagine what anyone could possibly want with so many canvases.

He met his third roommate in front of their apartment building.

Tony was very near tears, arms in the air because the moving people had brought Dum-E, but they’d driven away before Tony could ask them to help move Dum-E up three flights of stairs, seeing as Dum-E was a minimum of 300 pounds and there was no elevator.
How Tony was supposed to get his trusty helper bot up there, who knows. Plus, it looked like it might start raining soon, and Dum-E was so not waterproof.

So there he stood, desperately thinking and checking over Dum-E for broken parts because he definitely did not trust these men to have handled him right.
Then somebody tapped on his shoulder, and Tony very nearly jumped in surprise. As he turned, his knees definitely did not become weak, you couldn’t prove anything.
Behind him was a 6’2’’ adonis with some of the broadest shoulders he’d ever seen.

“Heya, Bucky’s the name. Could I help you out?“ Tony sighed a little, “I’m Tony, I’m moving in today. I need to move this heap of junk to 3c. You could try helping but I fear that this is a job for more than us too“
“3c you say? I guess you’re my new roommates, then! Nice to meetcha Tony!“ Tony grinned a little, “Likewise!“ Bucky took a step back and mustered Dum-E, giving Tony a nice few of his thighs in the workout gear he was wearing. He experimentally put a hand on Dum-E’s side and tried to lift. To tony’s immense surprise, Bucky lifted Dum-E a little without too much of a problem.

“You work out a lot?“ Tony asked, astounded at Bucky’s strength. “You could say so. I like lifting, as you might’ve noticed.“ Bucky smirked and flexed his bicep. Dear God, that thing was easily bigger than Tony’s head. He was dead, actually dead, he’d ascended to heaven.

As he stepped back, Tony noticed the extreme height difference between the two of them.
He was proud to be 5’5’’ but next to Bucky he must’ve looked ridiculously short.

Fuck, he might have developed a new kink. This was gonna be awesome.

As Bucky hefted Dum-E up the stairs with a little guidance from Tony, some of the strands from his man-bun unraveled, falling and framing Bucky’s chiseled face. Bucky didn’t even look particularly exhausted after hefting the bot up so many stairs, and Tony couldn’t help but imagine, all that muscle lifting him up, pressing him against the stone wall, and kissing him senseless. No, Tony, bad Tony, just be glad the man found you.

Who knows what would’ve happened otherwise.

His roommates might be a little weird, but for now, Tony was a-okay with that.

Chapter Text

Four weeks into the new semester and Tony knew with absolute certainty that either he or his roommates were crazy. Since he was pretty sure he had yet to reach the stage of mad inventor, logic dictated the others had to be it.

The weird instances were multiplying at a rapid pace. Loki was a ghost, he only ever was seen out at nighttime and had the tan to prove it.
And he was weirdly protective of his juice in the communal fridge. Apparently, his mother made it herself or something, but the one time Tony tried to drink it, Loki had appeared in like .5 seconds to tell him off. Tony never saw him consume anything else, and he didn’t seem too interested in his schoolwork.

He mostly slept through the days, blasting loud music at night whilst sewing avant-garde dresses. All in black or red, favorably either velvety or made of satin in true goth fashion.

He was also the snarkiest bastard he’d ever met, and that was coming from Tony ‘the snark master’ Stark.

Weirdest of all, Tony was pretty sure Loki had something going on with his brother, Thor. Granted, Loki was adopted which made it a teeny tiny bit better, but not much, especially because Thor kept on calling Loki brother anyway.

He might also just be the tiniest bit afraid of Loki, which was totally fair because he knew with uncanny certainty that Loki would kill him without hesitation should he ever dare touch his juice again. —Had he mentioned what a weirdo Loki was? Well, on his own Loki wouldn’t have been that big of a thing because it was almost part of the deal to have a weird roommate at some point during college, Tony had just been lucky until now.

Sadly, that wasn’t all.

Steve, who was apparently Bucky’s sandbox bestie, no Tony totally wasn’t jealous, had his quirks. Tony had a healthy amount of respect for the guy, because a) he definitely could bench press a car and b) he one time actually growled at Tony, like a full-on growl. You ask why? Well, Tony had come to Steve’s room because he wanted to ask for something, what(?), Tony couldn’t remember anymore. So, as he entered Steve’s room, he again noted the frankly ridiculous amount of canvasses the blond possessed. He went over to inspect one closer, reaching out to touch it, and then, all of a sudden, Steve’s usual polite demeanor had changed, growling at Tony shooting looks that Tony was lucky couldn’t kill.

He’d backed out of the room slowly, his want forgotten, and ever since then, he made a point not to enter the room. Steve acted like nothing had happened after, but Tony wasn’t deceived, behind the layers of friendly kindness hid a mean beast he never wanted to meet again. Or maybe the guy had just taken the wrong pills.

The guy also had a real fable for any and everything gold, almost like a magpie out for anything shiny.
You’d never guess it from the mild facade, but the guy could eat spicy food like no other, seriously, Tony swore he once saw him snacking on grim reaper peppers!

Steve was an early riser, possibly the thing that Tony freaked out the most, I mean what kind of college student was up at six jogging? In fact, Tony only ever really interacted with Steve early in the morning when they crossed paths in the kitchen, Tony on the way back from a science binge and Steve on his way out to go jogging.
They acknowledge each other with simple nods, but other than that they don’t talk often.

And then there’s Bucky, god Bucky. They got on like a house on fire and as Tony happily wrote to Rhodey, he was in a relationship with the guy, not two weeks after meeting him. He couldn’t be happier.
He had no clue what he’d done to deserve this, but god, he wasn’t gonna look in the mouth of a gifted horse. He was sure Bucky couldn't care less about his money or fame, he even insisted on paying when they went out to eat! Additionally, he had a barking laugh that made Tony feel at home, he was crazy strong and almost abnormally tall. Tony loved everything about him, even his weird quirks, He always ate steak nearly raw, preferred meat in general above any other food, and overall he was just so kind, protective, caring.

Plus, he was kind of dominant, not that Tony was complaining in any way. He wasn’t like controlling or anything, he just liked being stronger, and that was so cool with Tony. He never got annoyed with Tony like so many before him.
He diligently came by the lab whenever Tony was holed up in there, bringing coffee, food, and warm hugs and kisses.

Bucky played with Dum-E and listened to Tony’s rants. Since he was doing a master's in engineering, he understood at least parts of Tony’s technobabble and even once or twice helped him out when he was stuck. So, in conclusion, Bucky was the best boyfriend ever and Tony couldn't possibly be more in love with a person.
Especially after Bucky gifted him a gold bracelet for their one-month anniversary.

He wore it every day.

Even when one of them was out of town, they texted near the point of obnoxiousness, even during the classes they didn’t share.

So yeah, his roommates might be a little crazy but at least Tony was happy for once, no?

Chapter Text

how Tony said he was finally happy? Yeah, no.
Bucky had disappeared without warning yesterday, hadn’t texted or called and Tony was slowly growing desperate. Steve knew nothing or at least wasn’t willing to say anything to him.

Even after sending him a tenth message, nothing. Tony being Tony, he feared the worst. Bucky either broke up with him or died, no other options. He was heartbroken but he was still Tony Stark, so he just locked himself in his workshop, not coming out for anything. He’d cheered up a little when Dum-E came over to humor him, but his mood was still sour.

Bucky didn’t respond on the next day either and Tony was ashamed to admit, he kinda shut down. It was peak embarrassment because well, they’d only been together for a month and a half and Tony should’ve known better. Nobody ever stayed around. He’d broken his phone a while back, throwing it to the ground in frustration and too irritated to repair it. He’d cried a little, maybe a lot, but he’d never admit that, because well, that was just pathetic. Tony Stark shouldn’t cry over a guy, no matter how perfect he seemed.

On the plus side, he’d finally worked out what his thesis was gonna be in computer sciences, and even more advanced A.I then ever created before -including Dum-E-.
Wallowing in his own self-pity, he almost wanted to laugh. My god, if Howard could see him now.

When he heard a knock on the door, he ignored it. Stupid freshmen's trying to get into the lab, as if Tony hadn’t claimed it way back. He’d perfected and personalized it to a tea and he wasn’t gonna let any nosy student get in here. Howard had sponsored like five other labs so the school mostly left Tony alone, but every now and then, a new student would try to work in here. Ridiculous.

The knocking continued, and Tony was becoming annoyed fast. Prepared to yell at any student daring to interrupt him, he opened the door.
Only to stagger, almost fall, backward when he saw him. Bucky. He was clutching a packet of Tony’s favorite chocolate, and an apologetic grin plastered onto his face.

Tony’s first instinct was to kiss the guy senseless, so happy to know that he wasn’t lying down, face first in a ditch somewhere. Shortly after he started he realized though, he was still mad. Ending the kiss he pushed against Bucky’s firm chest.

“Heya Bucky, care to explain yourself?“ “Hello Doll, I’m so sorry I kept you in such a frenzy, I was at my mum’s, she’s sick.“ Tony was kind of relieved it wasn’t anything nefarious, but it only took a moment for his relief to change back into anger and disbelief.“Wait a minute, why couldn’t you text me? I know your mom lives back in Brooklyn, there’s no way you didn’t have service. What aren’t you telling me?“ Bucky’s grin wobbled, “Well… er… you see, I… I was…, I am“
Fed up with his stuttering, Tony interrupted, “What? Did you lie to me? What’s going on, huh?“

Bucky took a deep breath, mustered Tony, and sighed. “Alright, yeah, I kind of lied to you, but you’ve got to understand, I can totally explain!“ Demonstratively, Tony checked his watch, “You’ve got one minute, then you’re out. I’m waiting“

Bucky nodded, straightening his back.
“Ok truth, so I know this sounds crazy, but I’m not human. I know, I know. But it’s the truth. I’ve been a werewolf for longer than I care to remember. And so, when the moon turns fool, I change. At full moon, it's not something I do voluntarily, and I can’t control myself. Ergo, I distance myself from society for three days before I turn back and can reconnect. And before you call me crazy, I swear, I can totally prove it!“ During his story, because surely, this could not be anything but a fantastical story, Tony’s eyebrows rose higher and higher. He’d expected a lot but for Bucky to lie to him straight-faced, he hadn’t expected.

“Do you take me for stupid? Naive? This isn’t twilight, and I'm not Bella. Really Bucky, I’m hurt“
Bucky sighed again, going with a hand through his hair. He proceeded to strip off his shirt, which Tony wasn’t gonna protest in any situation other than this. Bucky pulled down his pants and flung them to the side. He pushed a chair out of the way, and before Tony could say another word, he curled in on himself. Not a blink later, a fully grown grey wolf stood in front of Tony. Ok then, Tony could deal.

Maybe Bucky was secretly some kind of stage magician? Maybe there was a trapdoor under his lab and the wolf had just walked in? No, that couldn't be right, Tony had his whole attention focussed on Bucky, and the wolf had appeared in the second Bucky had disappeared. What was this? Was he actually going crazy? Was he going to get institutionalized? Omg, he totally was. What a tragedy.

Hesitantly, Tony reached out with one hand, experimentally trying to touch the wolf’s smooth fur. Nope, that was most definitely a real wolf. And a really big one, at that. Maybe, just maybe, Bucky was actually telling the truth? But how? Tony had so many questions, he needed to sit down. Flopping on a handy stool right behind him, Tony sighed. Ok then, maybe the supernatural was real. Did that bother him? Could he still be with Bucky now that he knew? As fast as the question arose, it was answered. Yeah, he could totally be with Bucky anyway.

The wolf turned back into the body of his handsome boyfriend. “Believe me now?“ Tony nodded, numbly. Whilst Bucky dressed himself again, Tony was watching him, thinking.

“So, you’re a werewolf.“ Bucky nodded, grinning, flashing his rather perky whites. “Jus’ as I said, doll. Sorry for lying, I wasn’t sure how you’d react, ya know?“

“Ok, just so we are clear, anything else I need to know about? Can silver hurt you? If you bite me, am I gonna turn, too? No offense, but I don’t really want to turn into a part dog.“
Bucky laughed at that, the barking sound pleasantly ringing in Tony’s ears.
“Na, you aren’t gonna turn if I don’t wantcha to. It’s all about intent, you know. Plus, I’d never bite you that deep. Silver does hurt a little, kinda like an allergy. Other than that, I can’t really think of anything you’d definitely need to know. Especially not right now, not about me.“

Tony raised an eyebrow.“Do I need to know something, about somebody else?“ Bucky’s eyes were twinkling like little stars under the harsh light of Tony’s workshop. “Yeah, there’s something 'bout Steve and Loki.“ Tony groaned. “Don’t tell me they’re also werewolves?“ Bucky shook his head, much to Tony’s relief. “Nah, Steve’s not a werewolf, he’s a dragon. And Loki’s a vampire, the bloodsucking kind.“

“So the juice…“ Bucky’s grin broadened, “Yup, that's blood. ’S from a blood donation center, I hear b-positive’s the best.“ Tony paled.
“Wait back up a little. Steve’s a dragon? Like with wings and shiny hoards?“

“Yeah, though Steve mostly hoards canvasses, you might’ve noticed.“

So many things were beginning to make sense, Tony shivered. He clapped his hands. “Oki-Doki, enough revelations for one night. Human Tony needs to go to bed, preferably with strong arms spooning him.“

Bucky grinned, gathering the chocolates and Tony’s jacket, before guiding the shorter man out the door and entrance. Stopping right outside, Tony gaped, “How’s it night already I swear it was noon like an hour ago?“

Church bells rang, somewhere in the distance, as if trying to disprove his points. Huh, midnight. Tony skidded closer to Bucky’s warm chest, smelling the scent wafting off him that just screamed Bucky to him. Bucky leaned down to whisper into Tony’s ear “Know what today's date is?“ Somewhat confused, Tony shook his head.

“It’s Halloween“.

His lips met Tony’s for a long kiss, with tongue and teeth.