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Saturday night saw another party in the Avengers Tower, it was known that Tony Stark never really needed an excuse to throw one and usually, starlets, socialites and anyone on the New York party list filled an entire floor of the tower. But this time, as a thank you to the staff working in the building he had decided to not invite just about everyone and just kept it to the Stark Industry staff, the Avengers, their friends and family and even extended the invite the odd agent – namely Coulston, Maria and even Fury had shown up. In typical Stark fashion, the entire floor had been used, including a large dance floor complete with a brass band. The drinks and hors d'oeuvres were abundant and moods were high, chatter and laughter filling the area as people mingled and enjoyed themselves. Except it seemed, for one man.
Steve stood leaning against a wall away from the hubbub and chatter, he was glad that the party was for people for whom the whole novelty of 'the Avengers' had worn off. He was content, people watching while sipping on whatever drinks the waiters handed to him as they walked past. Scanning the room every few minutes his eyes always stopped on Bucky. It was the first one of Stark's parties that his friend had attended and had spent the last few hours in his old stomping ground – the dance floor, rather than trying to make conversation with people he didn't know. Not that Steve could blame him, Bucky was back to as near as he could be to his old self (the whole Winter Soldier thing considering), Steve could see by the smiles that the old Barnes charm was working as well as ever and that he preferred to dance with those women he knew, which meant that Maria, Pepper and Natasha were regularly out on the floor with him.
The band stopped after their latest number, announcing they would return after a fifteen-minute break. Thanking Natasha for the dance with a kiss to the back of her hand, Bucky walking off the dance floor, well more swaggered, as he made his way over to where Steve was standing, taking a glass of champagne from some member of the wait staff along the way.
Leaning against the wall next to Steve he took a sip of the champagne, not that alcohol did anything for either of them. “Holding up the wall again? You haven't changed a bit.”
“Just relaxing.”
“There's free booze and quite a few beautiful women, why haven't you asked one for a dance?”
Steve looked across “C'mon Buck, you know I can't dance.”
“Can't or won't?” Bucky retorted “I did NOT spend the best part of ten years trying to teach you how to dance, for you to become a wallflower.” He added, pointing the top of the flue towards Steve.
“I'm hopeless at leading, despite all your lessons. I've never danced like… this.” He said, indicating his body. “It's a lot different from when I was small, now if I step on anyone's toes I'd probably break them.”
“Good thing I'm wearing steel caps then,” Bucky replied, taking another sip. “Give me one dance and you can come back to improving the buildings' structural integrity for the rest of the night.”
“Buck.” Steve sighed and tried his best disapproving look.
Bucky scoffed and looked away from Steve and back at the crowd. “The 'Captain America is disappointed in you' face never worked on me punk.”
“I hate dancing.”
“You do not! You were the one who kept wanting to dance whenever the radio played somethin' with a beat.”
“Yeah, for like a minute until I couldn't breathe and doubled over.”
“Well, you won't have that problem now.”
“No.”
“Steve…”
“Not in front of everyone.”
“What? Do they think you've got two left feet?”
There was silence and Bucky looked back to see that Steve's ears had turned red. “You little liar!” He grinned. “What else haven't you told the twenty-first century?”
“Just drop it.”
“Not on your life! You're holding back on them.” He nudged Steve lightly with his elbow. “C'mon, tell me.”
Steve sighed again, glancing over at Bucky who was still grinning at him. “I might've told the others to mind their language.” He muttered.
Bucky laughed. “Your vocabulary would've made a sailor blush!”
“They seem to be under the impression that I was some choirboy.” He shrugged.
“You told Father Matthews to fuck off!”
Steve smiled a bit at that memory, although he couldn't remember it too well Bucky filled in the gaps. Delirious with fever Steve's mother had called for their priest to come and pray over Steve, thinking that this was the end, Bucky had sat beside the bed as Sarah was at work, Father Matthews had wanted to administer last rights in case Steve didn't make it through the night. Steve look up at the old priest and promptly told him 'Fuck off, I'm not dead yet!' Bucky laughed so hard he fell off the chair as the priest stormed off muttering to himself. “Everyone thinks we grew up in some wholesome time, where we could do no wrong. Hell, Tony keeps asking when am I going to lose my virginity.” He added softly.
This caused Bucky to laugh even more, which only succeeded in drawing looks from others. “Seriously?” He asked, calming down until everyone turned back to their own conversation and ignored the ex-assassin laughing maniacally against the wall.
Steve nodded.
“You? A virgin?” Bucky leant closer, his mouth an inch or two from Steve's ear. “Surely we're not talking about the same man who gets aroused when licked behind the ears? Who spent the best part of the blizzard of 41 with his head in my lap? Who spent the whole night in the London Blitz engaged in a menage-a-”
“Buck.” Steve hissed, cutting off the sentence.
“What do they think we do in your apartment? Sit and talk about the 'good old days?'” Bucky smirked. “Or when either of us is walking a bit funny?”
“Sparring accident.”
Bucky snorted, trying his best not to laugh again. He noticed that the band was starting to come back. “One dance… or I tell your Avenger pals all the dirty little secrets you've been keeping from them.”
“You wouldn't!?”
“I'm sure Stark would just love to hear just how… flexible his f-”
“Fine.” Steve huffed.
Downing the rest of his champagne, Bucky took one of Steve's and lead his friend towards the dance floor, passing their empty glasses to someone along the way. He winked at the band as he pulled Steve towards the middle of the floor.
“This is such a bad idea,” Steve said as Bucky stopped them, putting his hands on Steve's waist and shoulder.
“Just relax and follow my lead.” Bucky smiled before whispering “Remember that club in Harlem?”
The band started and It only took the first few notes for Steve to recognise the song, he let himself get pulled closer and instantly got lost in the tempo of the music, feeling like they were both back in Brooklyn in 1942.
Conversations and laughter from the party started to die down as nearly everyone turned their heads towards the dance floor.
Because, well, the sight of two six foot plus super soldiers dancing was definitely not something anyone had seen before, especially since the two super soldiers were dancing a very lively Lindy Hop. The two men seemed to be oblivious that the other dancers had cleared the floor and now everyone was watching them as they continued dancing, spinning and twirling each other around, kicking up their feet to the beat and performing some rather impressive aerial moves. There was a cheer as Bucky managed to flip Steve over his arm in a perfectly executed Lindy Backflip, with a grace that two men of their size should not possess and another cheer as Bucky pulled Steve through his legs, neither missing a beat the whole time. Just as the song ended Bucky dipped Steve who kicked a leg up in the air.
There was a moment of silence before claps, cheers and a few whistles filled the room. As well as Tony's voice clear as a bell, “Please tell me someone got footage of that!”
Steve stood upright, suddenly realising that everyone was looking at them, his face turned a rather vivid shade of red as he turned to look at Bucky, who still had an arm around his waist. “I hate you.” He mumbled.
Bucky just laughed “Love you too.” He replied before pulling Steve flush against his chest and kissing him.