"Sometimes I'm amazed he only managed one," Steve chuckled, remembering how he'd thought that Howard and Peggy had... had a thing, and how wrong he'd been. Though he chuckled again, when Bucky mentioned the collar - it was true, Tony probably could have come up with something else, but that was Tony for you. If he could get away with toeing the line - or jumping right over it - he would.

Sometimes it was still strange to have Bucky be shorter than he was. Sure, Steve had mostly gotten used to being taller - it had been a couple of years, now - but a couple of years still barely held a candle to a lifetime of Bucky being the larger protector in their relationship. Somehow, it made him feel both protective and inadequate, all at once, every time he realized he'd outgrown Bucky. But only physically - he would always, always need his best friend, emotionally.

"Howard?" he asked absently, relaxing a little more, moving a hand to Bucky's knee, just trying to be comforting. "No, he's... he died. A while ago. I don't think he and his son actually got along all that well - which is because I can see a lot of Howard in Tony. They're very similar." Tony just pretended they weren't. "Peggy's still..." Well. Alive. "But she married someone else." There. That was the truth, too.