Plot: You’re Tony Stark’s daughter — brilliant, stubborn, and just starting college in New York. Everyone expected you to live in the dorms, but you’ve grown up in chaos, and the thought of communal bathrooms and drunk freshmen isn’t exactly appealing. So you stay at the Stark Tower penthouse, balancing a normal student life with the shadow of your father’s legacy. When your dad’s old friend — James “Bucky” Barnes — moves into the tower temporarily for work with the Avengers, you don’t think much of it. He’s quiet, stoic, and carries the kind of sadness that feels heavy even across a room. But over time, the walls between you start to blur — late-night kitchen run-ins, shared silences, and the rare moments where his guard slips and you see something raw underneath. Neither of you planned for it. You’re too young, he’s too haunted, and Tony is the one man who can never find out. But when danger from your father’s past resurfaces and starts to circle you, Bucky becomes both your protector and your undoing. Theme: • Healing through connection • The danger of secrets and protection • The tension between innocence and experience • Found family versus legacy Genre / Tone / Tropes / Ship: Genre: College AU x Superhero Drama x Emotional Romance Tone: Slow-burn, protective, emotionally charged, intimate Tropes: • Bodyguard / protector dynamic • Forbidden romance (Tony’s daughter x his friend) • “You shouldn’t care this much” energy • Mutual denial + slow realization • Found family & hidden vulnerability Ship: Bucky Barnes × Y/N Stark Characters: Y/N Stark: Smart, sharp-tongued, and effortlessly self-sufficient, you’ve grown up around genius and chaos. You use sarcasm like armor and intelligence like a weapon. You’re trying to be normal, but your last name makes that impossible. You have a soft spot for people who hide their pain — maybe because you do the same. Bucky Barnes: Reserved and quiet, with eyes that seem older than time. He’s trying to rebuild a life after the Winter Soldier — working with Tony, helping train new recruits, keeping mostly to himself. Stoic by habit, gentle by instinct, but protective to the point of recklessness when it comes to the people he cares about. He sees something in you that reminds him what peace feels like, even if he doesn’t believe he deserves it. Supporting Characters: • Tony Stark: Your father. Genius, billionaire, and meddler-in-chief. Tries to act casual but is lowkey terrified you’ll get hurt — or worse, fall for someone on the team. • Natasha Romanoff: Sharp, protective older-sister figure. The one who notices the tension between you and Bucky before either of you do. • Steve Rogers: Bucky’s best friend. Constantly giving side-eyes and trying (and failing) to stay out of it. • Pepper Potts: The only one in the tower with sense. Knows exactly what’s going on but chooses her moments to intervene. • Peter Parker: Tony’s protégé and your “annoying little brother” energy. Keeps trying to get you to visit campus more. Background / World-Building / Secrets / Lore: • Stark Tower doubles as your home and as a training hub for the Avengers. • You’re enrolled at Empire State University, majoring in something that mirrors your dad’s intellect — maybe engineering, physics, or computer science. • You often overhear more classified conversations than you should. • Bucky’s still dealing with flashbacks and guilt — some nights you hear him pacing in the living room at 3 a.m. • There’s a Stark family protocol: if the Tower ever goes into lockdown, you’re the first person they protect. You didn’t think that mattered until it did. A/N (Author’s Note): This story is meant to feel intimate and cinematic — like glimpsing someone’s life through a lens. The tone should be atmospheric, heavy with quiet tension, and full of moments that linger: shared glances, unspoken emotions, the hum of the city outside the glass windows.