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When they were kids, kicking the ball around on the streets of Brooklyn, Steve would always talk about the World Cup. It was always more of an abstract idea to Bucky- hell, it had been a couple tournaments since the US even qualified- but for Steve it was the number one goal on his list, even before making a club team.
"Can you imagine it, Buck?" Steve asked. He was the scrawniest kid on the block, but that didn't stop Steve from dreaming.
"It'd be cool, I guess," Bucky agreed. "Not gonna happen, though."
"Nah, you'll see," Steve said. Bucky just smiled and kicked him the ball.
Freshman year of high school, Bucky came in as a sub in their state championship match. Steve had told him to score right before he came in, and when Bucky put the ball in the back of the net he grinned widely and pointed at Steve, who was jumping excitedly on the sidelines.
That was the first time Steve kissed Bucky, on the bus ride home from that game, when everyone else was asleep or had their headphones in. Bucky slouched down in the back seat to Steve's height so they could share earbuds and Steve leaned in and kissed Bucky quicker than he's ever done anything.
It was so fast Bucky almost thought it didn't happen, except for the fact that Steve was so close Bucky could feel the heat from him blushing. Bucky had kissed plenty of girls before, but none of them had ever left him wanting more than that quick brush of Steve's lips against his own.
"Sorry," Steve muttered while Bucky was processing all of this.
Bucky met Steve's eyes. "Yeah, you should be sorry. Sorry you didn't do that earlier."
Steve elbowed Bucky but his blush was replaced by a grin. "Jerk."
When they finally made it home, Bucky dragged Steve into the alley between their apartment buildings and kissed him again- kissed him like he knows Steve's never been kissed before, because he pulled up gasping for air and murmuring "holy shit, Buck." Bucky couldn't tell if he was happier that he got Steve to swear or that he literally left Steve breathless.
Steve grew six inches the summer between freshman and sophomore year. Bucky didn't notice until they were sprawled on Bucky's bed with Steve's tongue halfway down his throat. Bucky pulled up for air and looked down at Steve and realized they were the same size. "Didn't you used to be smaller?" he asked.
Steve laughed. "Yeah, took you long enough to notice. I think I might actually be taller than you, now."
"Damn." Bucky sat up and studied Steve beneath him- they'd still been running and going to the gym and practice, so not only had Steve gotten taller, but he'd filled out, too. He could feel the muscles under his legs, could see the broadness of his chest and the muscles in his arms, and Bucky reached out and ran his hands over them. "Damn," he said again, because how did he not notice?
Everyone noticed when they went back to school in the fall. Coach had already penciled him into the starting lineup for the season next to Bucky in the midfield, Bucky didn't have to stop kids from picking on him in the halls, but mostly it was the girls.
"You've gotta go out with some of 'em, Steve," Bucky said as Steve's Facebook message sound went off again and again. Steve just shrugged and kept on with his homework. Bucky sighed and grabbed Steve's pen. "Like, you know I go out with girls, still, right?"
"Yeah," Steve said flatly. "Just this month you've hooked up with Daisy, and Emma, and Cassie. And me." He took his pen back and very pointedly stared at his notebook.
Bucky grabbed it back. "You know it can't be just you and me, Steve. Especially if you wanna go play in college and go pro." Steve's mouth twitched like he wanted to say something, but Bucky pressed on. "And, you know, I still like girls. Girls are hot. I'm always gonna like girls. But I like you, too, and nothing's ever gonna change that. At least give one of those girls a try, you know? I can't be the only person you ever kiss."
Steve finally looked up at Bucky, looked him right in the eyes. "Maybe I want you to be the only person I ever kiss."
It was such a Steve thing to say, because they're sixteen and Bucky could barely decide what he's gonna have for breakfast every morning, but Steve was already thinking about the future. Bucky knew they were technically fighting, but he can't help leaning in and kissing Steve. "Don't be stupid."
Despite how well Steve and Bucky played in the midfield all season, they still lost at home in the first round of the playoffs. Bucky didn't think anything was worse than the defeated look on Steve's face when the final whistle blew.
"We'll get 'em next year, Steve," Bucky promised as he picked Steve up off the turf and wrapped an arm around him.
"I was going to goal too much. Maybe if I'd gone back more on defense..." Steve started, but Bucky cut him off with an elbow.
"It's not your fault, Steve," he said firmly. "We're a team, it's everyone's fault." That seemed to placate Steve enough, and Bucky glanced to the stands to see Jessica and Carol waiting for them. "Sucks that's the first game the girls came to."
Steve looked up and Bucky could tell the last thing he cared about was a girl he'd been on a couple dates with at Bucky's insistence. He slid out from under Bucky's arm and shook his head. "You go talk to 'em, have fun with Jess, or whatever. I'll see you tomorrow."
Bucky glanced at the girls, at Steve walking away dejectedly, and back at the girls. He flashed Jessica what he hoped was an apologetic smile and followed after Steve. "I'll just text her, she'll understand. You're way more important."
When they were back at Bucky's, with Steve curled up into Bucky's chest, Bucky knows he made the right choice. The feeling of Steve breathing in and out next to him was definitely better than the sympathy blowjob Jessica probably would have given him.
They're halfway with their junior year when it finally hit Bucky how in love with Steve he was. It was just a regular day of training, and Steve was trying to convince Reed to stay late so he could practice shooting with a keeper. But something about it stuck with Bucky, just how absolutely fucking dedicated Steve was to this, and when Steve asked if he wanted to stick around, too, Bucky shook his head.
"Gotta do something," he said. "I'll come by later, we'll study for APUSH?"
Steve nodded. "Yeah, see you then.
That night, Bucky stood in the doorway of Steve's room a little too long, just watching him. Steve's chest had gotten broader from all the weightlifting they'd done over the last year, and the white t-shirt he had on was just starting to be a little too tight. His hair was still wet from the shower and he was chewing on the end of his pen and Bucky had never seen anyone look hotter.
"You gonna stare at me like a weirdo all night," Steve asked, lip curling into a grin. "Or are you gonna help me learn about World War Two?"
Bucky smiled back and shut the door behind him. "Sorry, just... you look good." He looked so good, and as Bucky sat down and kissed him, he couldn't believe he ever thought he'd want any girl more than he wanted Steve.
"Shut up and get your notes out."
"Sexy," Bucky said with a grin. They studied for a while, passing notes back and forth. Steve's were much more legible than Bucky's, but Bucky's were more complete due to Steve's tendency to doodle rather than pay attention. They went over dates and events and presidency dates and then-
"I broke up with Kate," Bucky said out of the blue.
"Shocking," Steve replied, and Bucky could hear the sarcasm dripping from his voice.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Steve shrugged. "Your girlfriends never last. It's almost like your heart's not really in it."
He knew Steve expected him to argue, but Bucky just nodded. "You're right. I wasn't into it. Because I'm into you."
Steve sighed and rolled onto his back. "You've said that before."
Bucky rolled on top of Steve and smiled. "Yeah, but this time I mean it.
"I wanna believe you," Steve said, and Bucky kissed him again to try and bring some of the doubt out of his eyes.
"Believe it, punk. I'm with you 'till the end of the line."
Bucky spotted the scout in the stands during warm-ups. It was just a regular season game, so it was pretty easy to pick out who wasn't a parent or a student, and the guy in the khakis and polo shirt near the front stood out like a sore thumb. He glanced over at Steve, wondering if his eagle eyes had picked up on him as well, but Steve is all business, leading drills and taking shots. Bucky just smiled and figured he'd tell Steve later.
He didn't need to, though, because Steve knocked his shoulder against Bucky's as they're walking onto the field to start the game. "Who do you think he's here for?" he asked, nodding towards the stands.
Bucky shrugged. "If we kick ass like we always do, it won't matter who he was here for." He winked and Steve grinned back at him, nodding.
They both knew a college scout picking them out was the only way college was going to happen for either of them. They didn't make the grades to get any regular scholarships-Bucky swore Steve could if he cared about school the way he did soccer or art - so soccer was pretty much their only shot.
The first time Steve passed Bucky the ball in that game, he just knew it was on. They were both on their A-game, Bucky dribbling around defenders like he was born to do it, Steve leading the team from the center of the pitch. Steve assisted Bucky on two goals, and when the final whistle blew, Bucky jumped on Steve's back and pressed his face close to Steve's ear.
"Couldn't get much better than that, Stevie," he shouted, fighting back the urge to kiss Steve right there on the field.
He waited, instead- waited until they'd talked to the scout, until they were back in Bucky's room, Steve's hands tearing at his shirt, hips grinding together.
"We're gonna play in college," Steve groaned, letting the word roll out of his mouth as Bucky kissed down his neck.
"Together," Bucky murmured into his neck. "College, then pro, and then-"
Seven years later, Bucky's kissing Steve again, tongue flicking out to taste the champagne on his tongue. Someone shouts at them to get a room, but Bucky can't tell who it is in the blur of red, white, and blue. Everybody on the national team knows, so it's not like they have to keep it a secret, but that doesn't stop Bucky from smirking into the kiss and giving the middle finger in the general direction of the shout.
When Steve finally pulls back to catch his breath, Bucky just grins at him. "Let's hear it for Captain America," he says, and Steve just laughs.
"Fuck you," he grins.
Bucky just leans in and kisses him again. "Oh, don't worry, Stevie, you're gonna get the best sex of your life tonight." He presses his forehead against Steve's, grinning so hard he thinks his face might actually split in half. "We're going to the World Cup, baby!"