“Yeah, Yeah,” Tony replied as if it wasn’t a big deal and he was used to these sorts of threats. “Like I said, just planning my weekend. I have a presentation on Tuesday and if you guys decide to break my reactor casing again, I’ll have to push it back. Again. Your bosses won’t like that.” He could give it as good as he got. He was haughty. And just as arrogant as Howard had been. Steve liked him and hated him at the same time.

And it made him miss Howard in a way he didn’t think was possible. Nostalgia was an odd creature.

Across the hall, something as tall as a man and looking a little like a crane crossed in front of them and Tony reached out to pat it in passing. “DUM-E, get the Scotch. The good kind, not the illegal import,” Tony said, brazenly glancing at Bucky like it was so big, amusing secret that he had access to things he shouldn’t.

Steve couldn’t help but pause to watch the robot go and Tony noticed the way he lingered instead of keeping in step with his superior. It made him tense up a little. He hated surprises.

And he made that clear once they were downstairs in his lab with the door shut and no record being made of their conversation. “Who are you two really?”