Chapter Text
Clint was bruised and tired and was not pleased to find that there had been a seating change in Physics.
In Sam’s seat was Bucky Barnes, who was not speaking to Steve Rogers, who was blushing.
Sam Wilson now sat next to Loki Odinson-Laufeyson (Clint has been considering calling child services and reporting this name) in what used to be Brock Rumlow’s and Bucky Barnes’ seats.
Brock Rumlow sat next to Clint.
Fucking ace.
“Why?” Clint asked, slumping onto the stool.
“Wilson can’t handle Rogers anymore.”
“So, why can’t I sit next to Steve?”
“Quill told Selvig you bully Rogers.”
“Why the fuck did he do that?”
“’Cause Quill’s a dick.”
“I’m an asshole but I’m not a dick.” Peter turned around, frowning.
“You’re kind of a dick, Quill.” Rumlow smirked back.
“Kind of a dick.” Peter agreed, turning back to Gamora, who rolled her eyes.
“Why are you here?!”
“I wasn’t sitting next to Rogers. Can’t catch the homo.”
Clint rolled his eyes and turned around, coming face to face with Bucky, who glared at him.
“You’re Natalia’s new friend.”
The way he said friend made Clint wanna kill himself.
“You’re Natasha’s boyfriend.”
The way he said boyfriend made Clint wanna kill himself.
Bucky just raised his eyebrows slightly.
Why did this kid look and act like an assassin? Was he even Russian? What kind of a Russian is named Bucky?
Who ever is named Bucky?
Well, his name is James Buchannan Barnes, but who the hell names their kid after the most obscure president ever? It’s just as bad.
“Rogers.” Barton nodded, ignoring Bucky’s huff of air.
“Hey.” Steve smiled.
“Barton, are you a homo?” Rumlow asked from next to him, turning around with a disgusted expression.
“Yes, Brock, I am.”
Clint held his hand out across Steve’s desk, where he grasped it with both hands. Clint grabbed at Steve’s hands and pulled them to his mouth and kissed his knuckles. He released one hand in order to touch Brock’s shoulder, which made him yelp and move his stool further away, causing Clint and Steve to laugh.
“You can let go now.” Bucky said, smiling a grin that didn’t reach his eyes, at Clint.
“I can?” Clint held back laughter.
Natasha and Kate could think whatever they wanted about Bucky’s face (and abs and butt and hair, etc.), but Bucky would never love them like he loved Steve.
“Don’t be a dick, Barton.” The smile started to drip off his face, and the serial killer expression returned.
Clint was a dick, so he lifted Steve’s hand to his face once more, and gently pressed his lips to his knuckles, as if he were kissing Natasha.
(Steve’s hands were bigger, but oddly soft, covered in specks of paint).
They tell him he smacked his head off the ground when Barnes launched at him.
He doesn’t remember.
Witnesses (Rumlow) say that Barton hit first, but Steve rolled his eyes and said it was Bucky (though Clint did provoke him).
(“How?”)
(“Oh… he just said something…”)
Tony was having the best day.
He’d eaten four donuts, drank thirteen cups of coffee, made three prototype mini-robots (which he was gonna set on Loki later on this week), and Clint Barton had been beaten up again.
He was laughing away as he watched Thor carrying him out. It was beautiful. Clint looked like the damsel to Thor’s Fabio. He’d taken as many pictures as he could from every angle he could. He was gonna make a collage and give it to Bruce for Christmas.
“What happened?” Professor Selvig asked, looking out after Thor.
Steve started blabbering as Bucky sat, calm as ever, the little assassin he was. Rumlow started to fan his face, putting his hand to his mouth, gasping a lot.
“Mr. Rumlow, are you okay?”
“Yeah… just… the things he was saying.”
“What things?”
Bucky’s eyes narrowed, Steve’s widened.
“Shut the fuck up,” Bucky all but growled.
“What things?” Selvig repeated.
Barton got suspended for three days, Barnes for a week.
Kate slapped Clint for what he ‘said’.
(“How dare you say those things about Natasha! I thought you were a nice guy!”)
Clint texts Natasha the first night of his suspension.
Sorry about leaving you to do the project.
He gets no response.
I didn’t say what Rumlow says I did.
They say he made several crude comments about a ‘little Russian bitch’ and described several sexual acts in such a vivid detail that Rumlow felt physically sick when he heard them.
No one believes Steve when he says he didn’t, because Steve won’t say what really made Bucky annoyed.
When Steve does say what angered Bucky (because Steve Rogers is a saint), no one believes him, and start spreading Rumlow’s rumor even more.
“I don’t believe it.”
“Uh?” Bruce sat back from his textbook, glancing at Tony.
“Barton, Romanov.”
“What are you-?”
“He would never say those things about her. He idolizes her.”
“Is idolizes really the right word to use?”
“He’s positively obsessed with her.”
“That’s better.”
“He spends most of his time staring at her and in his notebook there was a sketch of a stickwoman wearing a short skirt and bright orange hair and huge knockers-“
“Where did you see this?”
“He left his backpack on the floor outside his locker.”
“When?”
“He might have been carrying his backpack and I took it when he stopped to stare at Betty Ross’s butt.”
“What?”
“Bruce-“
“He did… he did what?”
“Bruce, calm down, please.”
“I’m gonna kill him.”
“I’ll get Doctor Strange.”
Clint goes back into school to find that he’s been moved to sit next to Darcy Lewis, who scares him.
“Hey,” She says as he sits down.
“Um, hi.”
“I’m Darcy.”
“We’ve met before.”
“Just in case you forgot.”
He’s not about to lie. He remembers Darcy = double-Ds.
“And you’re Clint.”
“I am,” He nods.
“Did you say those things about Natasha?”
“No.”
“Then I trust you!” She grinned and grabbed his bicep, “Nice!”
He’s taking her to the movies by the end of first period.
He sits alone at lunch, because Darcy invited him over, but Sif had raised a butter knife like a weapon, so he decided against it.
Kate glared at him.
Steve was sitting with the Howling Commandos, who coughed and didn’t really speak to him when he went over to say ‘hi’ to Steve.
Even Loki wouldn’t let him sit around the back of the school.
The only positive Clint took from this was that everyone in this school seemed to be wholly against sexism and rude remarks, which Clint liked, even if it meant that a rumor had caused him to be ostracized.
In dodgeball, his own teammates threw to hit him.
Gamora also kicked him in the leg.
“Natasha!” He yelled after her, limping a little from Gamora’s attack.
Natasha stopped, turning around, her expression utterly indifferent.
“Yes?”
“Can I talk to you?”
“I did the project, Clint. I already put your name on it and turned it in.”
“No! Nat!” He chased after her as she began moving again, “I didn’t say that stuff and you know I didn’t!”
She didn’t stop walking; in fact, she only increased her pace until she reached Bucky, who put his arm around her with a glare back to Clint.
“I’m gonna do something.”
“Tony, just leave-“
“Bruce, please.”
“Tony, he’s right.”
“Don’t start, James.”
“Don’t call me James! It’s Rhodey!”
“What’s with James’ and their stupid nicknames? Seriously.”
“I think Rhodey’s right.”
“And I think Banner is right.”
“Screw you both, I’m flawless.”
“Steve!”
He wasn’t about to turn around and face him. He couldn’t.
He really wished he’d been selfish enough to make his mom drive to pick him up when her shift ended.
He really hated being a nice person.
“Steve! Stop!”
He didn’t care if he looked like a loser. He was a good runner and he was gonna use that now. Sam used to hate running with him because he never stood a chance.
“You bastard!”
Steve grinned as he picked up pace and sprinted as fast as he could down the street.
“Steve!”
That one sounded different, and Steve almost stumbled with the weight of it.
Then he really stumbled because it was December and there was ice on the floor and he almost died and he’s certain that he would’ve died this time last year.
“You idiot!”
“Rude.”
Steve groaned as he moved to sit up.
“You’re hurt,” Bucky grumbled, kicking his arm.
“That hurt, jerk.”
“You’re a punk and I just chased you down three blocks and I tried to warn you but you’re being a dick and now you’re hurt.”
“I’m pretty sure Russians don’t believe in karma.”
He kicked him again.
“Help me up.”
They went to Steve’s house, where his mom coddled him until she saw Bucky, at which point she started crying and hugged him for ten minutes while Steve cleaned his face.
“I’ll be just upstairs,” She pointed to the staircase, then grabbed Bucky’s arms again, “You’re staying for dinner?”
“Uh, Mom-“
“Of course I will!”
She grinned and went upstairs, waving at Bucky when she got to the top. Steve sat on the sofa with an icepack on his grazed cheek. Bucky sat down in the arm chair next to him.
“I hate you.”
“What the fuck, Steve?”
“We are not friends anymore, Bucky! You can’t chase me home and then stay for dinner!”
“I wasn’t chasing you!”
“Yes, you were!”
Bucky kicked him and Steve kicked back. They ended up in a fight that resulted in Bucky falling off the chair and smacking his face off of the coffee table.
Now they both sat on the couch, ice packs on their faces, glaring at each other. As soon as Sarah retreated back upstairs they started again.
“Why were you even following me?”
“Why were you avoiding me?”
“Why did you hurt Clint?”
“Why was he holding your hand?”
“Why do you care?!”
“I don’t!”
They sat in silence for a minute, before Bucky sat forward, putting his ice pack on the table.
“W-Why was he holding your hand?”
“Bucky, why do you care?” Steve sat forward as well, putting his ice pack down.
“You broke up with Sam, right?”
“Well, yeah-“
“Are you dating Barton?”
“What? No!”
“Then, what was that about?”
“We were messing with Rumlow, Buck. You must know what a homophobe he is.”
“You do realize that’s because he’s hiding how fucking gay he is, right?”
“What?”
“He’s entirely obsessed with you but he suppresses it and turns it into gay-bashing.”
“What?!”
“Yeah.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah.”
“But… But what got you so mad, Buck?”
“I-I don’t know.”
“And what’s with you lately? Hand holding? Leaning on me? You didn’t used to do this stuff even when we were best friends.”
“I-I didn’t know you didn’t mind it then…”
“What do you mean?”
Bucky looked up at him and licked his lips lightly.
“Sam.”
“What about him?”
“Steve, you had a girlfriend and you always said you liked girls.”
“Well I did only like girls but then Sam was different.”
Bucky looked as if someone had just killed a puppy in front of him.
“O-Oh.”
He stood up, dusting off his jacket.
“Buck?”
“I’m, uh, I’m gonna go…”
“Bucky-“
“Nah, I, uh, I got stuff I gotta do…”
“But my mom’s expecting you for dinner…”
“Steve, I gotta go.”
He pushed passed him to get to the door.
“Bucky, wait-!”
“Clint!”
Clint walked over to meet Darcy, grinning as she went on her tip toes to kiss his cheek.
“What movie did you wanna see?”
“I was thinking that we go to the cheapest one and make out at the back?”
“You get me, Lewis.”
“You bet that sweet chiseled ass I do.”
She emphasized her point but smacking him on the butt and then skipping off to the ticket stand.
The movie was awesome, because he spent most of it with his tongue down a hot girl’s throat.
Tony approached her as if he were approaching a mountain lion- no, a cougar.
She was a cougar.
Or a lioness.
They hunted, right?
He wasn’t sure, but he knew she terrified him, but this was a necessary evil.
He took a breath, raising a hand, almost to touch her gently.
“May I help you, Tony?”
“How do you do that?”
“I’m Russian.”
“Well, you’re scary.”
“I try.”
He sat down on the opposite side of the table. Yesterday had been the ‘Incident’ (as Tony had named it), and today during their free period, instead of spending his time making things in the lab or bothering Pepper, he had been hunting down Natasha.
(Pepper had not been jealous about that. Not at all. She's better than that. She's going to Harvard.).
“What do you want?”
“Just stopped by for a chat-“
“Stark,” Her eyes flickered up, glaring at him.
“What’re you reading?”
She rolled her eyes, but still handed her book over, “It’s Lolita.”
“Kiddie porn?”
He thought her eyes were gonna explode when he handed it back.
“Never speak to me again.”
“It was a joke, kinda.”
“So, did you need something?”
“You and Barnes.”
“James and I.”
“How long d’you think that’s gonna last?”
“Excuse me?”
“Think you’re gonna, you know,” He ran his finger over his throat and then imitated dying.
“Tony-“
“When are you gonna break up?”
Her face lost it’s composure for a second, and she looked like she was gonna stab him. She probably was.
“Why?”
“Because he loves Steve.”
“If you say so.”
“Natasha-“
“It’s not really your business.”
“Look, I’m coming to you as a friend-“
“Since when are we friends?”
“We’re friends.”
She rolled her eyes and closed the book, standing up and grabbing her bag from the ground.
“Go away.”
“Natasha, Nat, come on!”
He all but chased her out of the library and into the hallway, grabbing her arm (very risky) and pulling her back into an empty classroom.
“Tony, James loves me, not Steve.”
“I’m sure he does, Natasha, but listen,” He snapped his fingers in front of her face as she looked to the side (very risky again), “You’re not stupid; you can see what’s right in front of you.”
“James beat somebody up today because of things they said about me.”
Somebody. Fuck his life. This was just annoying.
“You don’t really believe Clint Barton said that stuff, do you?”
“It doesn’t matter,” She shook her head, “In fact, it’s utterly irrelevant.”
“Fine. Tell me that Barnes isn’t head over heels for Rogers and I’ll leave it alone.”
“I’m leaving.”
“Tell me.”
“Tony.”
“Natasha.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“Because you know as well as I do that they’re MFEO.”
“What the fuck does that mean?”
“Made for each other, obviously.”
“I hate you.”
“Nat, stop.”
“Tony, I already broke up with James, like, three hours ago.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah.”
“Never mind then.”
Steve was lying in bed, reading the required book for history and feeling shockingly worried at how similar Schmidt’s ideals were to Adolf Hitler, when his window was thrown open.
He almost screamed, which would’ve been ridiculous, because one time he accidentally stepped out in front of Peter Parker and Peter fell to the ground so hard they thought someone had punched him.
(Steve had been very protective of Peter ever since).
Instead he grabbed his pillow and threw himself back, falling off of the bed and knocking over a lamp.
“Jesus, Rogers.”
Steve threw his upper half onto the bed, his knees on the floor, only to see Bucky wiping a hand over his face, flicking water everywhere.
His mom was gonna kill-
Not the thing to be thinking about right now.
“Bucky?!”
“Steve.”
“What the hell are you doing?”
“’Come to see you.”
“We have a front door, you know.”
“I know, but just in case you got in trouble.”
“If it wasn’t you, maybe,” Steve brushed his hair back and got to his feet, “But if my mom looked at you and saw you soaking she’d make you cocoa and give you a blanket.”
“It’s been a while, I guess.”
Steve had moved to be standing in front of him, looking down at him.
“This is weird.”
“Is it?” Steve felt really awkward, remembering that, yes, he was in his pajamas, and, yes, they were his comfy grandpa ones he only wore after a long day.
“You’re, like, seven feet taller than me. What the fuck?”
“Uh, I hit my growth spurt-“
“I heard all about Steve Rogers’ Growth Spurt,” He rolled his eyes, “It’s all anyone could talk about.”
“Yeah, well-“
“You are so on ‘roids.”
“I’m not! I got taller through a natural growth spurt! My dad was tall!”
“I don’t believe you! No one gets like this naturally!”
He thumped him to emphasize the point.
Steve pushed Bucky back.
Just like he would’ve done years ago.
With all of his force.
But it wasn’t years ago.
Steve was huge. Bucky fell.
“Dude!”
“Steve, honey, you okay?”
“Yes, Mom!”
“Okay, sweetie, go to bed!”
“Night, Mom!”
“Love you!”
“Love you too!”
Steve was bright red, watching as Bucky laughed from the floor.
“What do you want?!”
He was literally whisper-yelling when his mom probably already knew Bucky was here.
“I came to see you.”
“Why?”
“Because I want us to be friends.”
“Why?”
“’Cause I do.”
“Why?”
Bucky thumped Steve again, and Steve only barely resisted pushing him.
“We’re friends, Rogers.”
He didn’t allow Steve to say anything, moving back to the window and throwing a leg over.
“Oh, and nice PJ’s.”
“Shut up!”
“I’m gonna do something.”
Tony announced to Bruce, entering the lab where Bruce was doing some extra credit work during their free period.
“You already did something.”
“No, I tried to get Natasha to dump Bucky when she already had, and now Bucky and Steve are talking.”
“Isn’t that good?”
“No.”
“Tony-“
“They should be fu-“
“Ugh, gross, Tony.”
“Are you a homophobe?”
“Tony, I don’t wanna hear about gay sex, straight sex, alien sex-“
“Do aliens have sex? I’ll have to ask Thor.”
“Don’t talk about sex in my lab.”
“What about your sex life?”
“You’re so intelligent, but instead of helping me do something, you stand there talking about-“
“What about Betty?”
“Who?”
“Betty Ross, the chick that follows you around? Huge boobs- BRUCE, NO! I’M SORRY!”
“Did you hear about Stark fainting and Banner’s aggressive behavior? They made him sit with Strange for three hours and now he and Rocket have to go to anger management for three hours a week-“
Bucky resisted screaming when Natasha body checked him into a closet and slammed the door shut.
“Oh, hey.”
“What the fuck?”
He turned around to see Steve standing there, solemnly, his hands tied together.
“Could you untie me?”
“Why are you in here?”
“Natasha wanted to talk to me in the art room and I woke up in here.”
“She kidnapped you?”
“She kidnapped you too, actually. Door’s unbeatable.”
“Nah.”
“I tried a lot, Buck.”
Bucky ignored him and knelt down, picking the lock with ease.
The door slowly opened, only to be slammed shut and relocked.
“Tried that.”
“Fuck off.”
“Tried to tell you.”
“Why’d they put us in here?”
“Your guess is as good as mine. Untie me.”
“Ninety-eight, ninety-nine, one hundred. Pleasure doing business with you, Stark.”
“Team Gay Grandparents!”
“Tony, that’s weird.”
“Team StarBucks!”
“Tony.”
“Team Stucky.”
“Tony-“
“I won’t settle for anything less, Bruce.”
“Okay, I’m leaving. Stark, don’t let them leave. Bye, Bruce!”
“Bye, Natasha.”
“Why did you choose Sam?”
“What do you mean?”
They’d been in there for an hour, and school was over, so they could be there all night depending on how the door slam system worked, and whether or not it would ever be disabled.
“Of all the guys, why him?”
“I don’t know… I- Didn’t you ask me about this the other day?”
“Why him?”
Bucky had his legs tucked up, his back to the door. Steve sat opposite him, his legs stretching out either side of him, too long and huge to go anywhere else.
“I… I don’t know? I liked him as a friend and then a couple weeks after Peggy broke up with me he asked me out… He’s good looking, I mean, you wouldn’t see it from more than an appreciative sort of sense-“
“So, if someone else who you really liked as a friend told you that they liked you, you’d be cool with it?”
“Probably,” Steve chuckled, “What? Is Thor madly in love with me?”
“Look, Steve, you should probably know that I’m gay.”
“Wait, what?” Steve looked at him, but he was avoiding eye contact.
“I used to go out with girls ‘cause I thought no one’d wanna be my friend if they knew… that was years ago… and I love Natalia and all, but I just… I’m gay but sometimes I like girls, like, I like Natalia, but I like guys, like, I like guys. More than most girls. So I wouldn’t really say bisexual. Gay.”
“Well, I’m happy for you Buck-“
“And I’m really fucking gay for you.”
“-It’s not easy to come out- Wait, what?”
“I’m gay for you.”
“What the-?!”
“And it’s not the body, though that is great, obviously. It’s everything. I fucking wanted you when you were tiny and I still want you now.”
“Why did you never-?!”
“You were straight as fuck, Steve!”
“I never had a girlfriend, Buck!”
“Wait-“
“You’re an idiot!”
“You’re the fucking idiot, Rogers!”
Natasha reported back to Tony with several minutes of making out before she had to cut in and stop it because they were on school grounds and that’s fucked up.