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“And the winner of the 2017 Brooklyn Avengers Con Cosplay Competition, Captain America Division is…”
Bucky holds his breath as the emcee stretches out her dramatic pause, crossing his fingers and, what the hell, can’t hurt , his toes, as well.
“...James Barnes with his World War II Cap. Congratulations, James!”
Bucky exhales sharply, relief and excitement coursing through his veins. He smiles as he steps forward, waving to the crowd and soaking in their applause and cheers. Someone walks over to him from the side of the stage and hands him a medal and an envelope, which he accepts in a daze, his hands trembling a bit. He mumbles a thank you and turns his head to smile at a few of the other Captain Americas who’ve wandered over to slap him on the back and say congratulations.
“And congratulations to all our cosplayers. It was a fantastic competition this year. You’ve all outdone yourselves!” the emcee continues. “Before you head off to enjoy the rest of the con, can all the cosplay winners please come back to the stage for a group photo? Thank you, and enjoy the rest of your weekend!”
Bucky rides the high of his victory for the rest of the day. As he walks around the con, tons of people stop him and ask to take a picture with him, which he loves. The only thing he loves more is watching little kids freak out when they see him, especially the ones whose eyes go wide as they turn to their parents and ask if he’s really Captain America. He’ll never get tired of that. It makes all the time and effort he puts into his cosplay worth it.
It’s after 9:00 by the time he finally steps onto the subway to go home. His feet hurt a bit, his cheeks, too, from all that smiling, and he would kill for a burrito right about now. But it’s a good kind of exhaustion, the kind that warms you through to your bones and makes your stomach flutter happily when you think about the day months later.
For all the attention his cosplay got at the con, no one bats an eye on the subway or during the three blocks he walks from his stop to his apartment building. Which is just as well considering he’s hit his “interacting with people” limit for the day. Bucky’s ready to go home, eat, shower, and crash, hopefully in that order.
Bucky groans when he gets back to his apartment and sees light streaming through the crack under the door. There’s music playing, too, some obscure ‘80s synth pop that Bucky doesn’t recognize. He sighs as he unlocks the door and pushes it open, dropping his bag on the floor while calling out a tired “hey, Clint.”
“Hey, man!” Clint calls back from the kitchen.
“You finally fixing the drawers?”
“Yeah! I had some unexpected free time today, so I figured I would take care of that for you.”
Bucky smiles as he makes his way to the kitchen to see how the work is going. He loves Clint, he really does, but he’s not always the most reliable landlord. He disappears for days at a time, with no rhyme or reason, and doesn’t seem to have a set work schedule. Non-essential repairs can take months to get fixed, which can be kind of frustrating. The flip side is that Clint is pretty laid back about when rent is due, as long as you don’t get too behind. Not that Bucky has ever taken advantage of that, but it’s nice to know he won’t be evicted immediately if he runs into some bad luck.
Clint looks up when Bucky gets to the kitchen and freezes when he sees him. Bucky can see the gears working as Clint opens his mouth and shuts it a few times before finally saying, “what the hell?!” and laughing.
[x]
Bucky’s stomach lurches, and he feels his cheeks heat up. Fuck that, though. He’s not going to let anyone make him feel guilty for liking to cosplay.
“Shut the hell up, Clint. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying cosplay. Some of the most amazing and kind and creative people I know cosplay. It’s fun, okay? And just because YOU don’t like it doesn’t mean it can’t be important to me.”
“Oh, man,” Clint wheezes. Bucky scowls at him. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I swear I’m not laughing AT you. It’s just...I wasn’t expecting to see you dressed in a Cap costume is all.”
“Cosplay, Clint, not a costume! I worked really hard on this!” Bucky admonishes.
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! Look, why don’t I order a pizza and you can tell me all about your cosplay and how you got into it and stuff? I clearly don’t know anything about it and should educate myself. Deal?”
Bucky pretends to think about it. “Only if you order two and leave the leftovers here for me.”
“You got it. I’ll put in the order and finish up these drawers while we wait for the delivery.”
“Cool. I’m gonna grab a shower.”
*****
“All right, tell me about this whole cosplay thing,” Clint says around a mouthful of cheesy goodness.
Bucky snorts and takes a minute to organize his thoughts as he finishes chewing his bite of pizza. “It just feels...I don’t know, transformative, in a way. I mean, Captain America was this legend we learned about in school, right? This heroic, untouchable pillar of strength and justice who gave his life to save the world. And I really didn’t think much more about him aside from that, you know?
“But then suddenly he wasn’t dead, and he shows up again to help save New York from an alien invasion. Which...either one of those things would have been a mind fuck in its own right. I mean, aliens!!! Are real! Holy shit, you know?”
Clint huffs out a laugh. “Yeah, tell me about it.”
“And Captain America is alive! After 70 years frozen in ice, he’s somehow alive. That is just ludicrous. I was captivated like the rest of the country. I started reading some of his biographies, then the lesser-known ones that focussed on his pre-war days, and I realized that Steve Rogers was such a little shit!”
Clint throws his head back and starts laughing at that.
“Seriously, though! He was always picking fights he couldn’t win because it was the right thing to do. And don’t even get me started on how he managed to talk himself into the Army with all those health problems. And once he got there… There’s a biography that’s full of stories from people who went through basic with him. It’s amazing. And the conclusion I made from reading all those biographies and stories is that the serum just gave him the body to finally withstand all of the ‘fight me’ that was already inside.
“And then there’s his interviews. He’s just sassy as hell, it’s hilarious. It’s just...I don’t know, he has an attitude the size of Brooklyn itself, but he makes the conscious choice to fight for justice and for people. It’s not easy to make those kinds of decisions, to plant yourself on the moral high ground and hope someone climbs up with you.
“It’s really helped me feel more grounded here, too. Cosplay, I mean. You know I just moved back to New York for work a couple of months ago. It’s such a change from Indiana. I mean, we moved there when I was six. I barely remember living in the city. So having the cosplay community has been huge.
“Plus, Cap hot as hell, and have you SEEN that ass?!”
Clint barks out another laugh. “It is a damn fine ass.”
“It really is! Mostly it’s all that other stuff, but that ass…Seriously, though, when I cosplay as Cap, I get to pretend, just for a bit, that I’m the strong one, that I’m the moral one, that I’m the legend. It’s heady, you know? It’s fun. It feels cool. People stop me and ask to take photos with me. I end up on Twitter and Tumblr and in articles about cosplay. I’m getting kind of well-known in the cosplay community, and it’s so crazy but also really cool. And the kids, Clint! Kids just lose their minds when they see me. I love that. I really love it.”
Clint takes another bite of pizza and absorbs what Bucky’s said as he chews. He swallows and nods his head. “That sounds really cool. I think I’d like to try that, actually.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah, man. Can I come to the next one?”
“The next one...oh, like a Con?”
“Sure, I guess.”
“Yeah! Yeah, I would like that. First you have to pick someone to cosplay as.”
“Riiight. How about Hawkeye?”
Bucky cocks an eyebrow at Clint. “Hawkeye?”
Clint frowns and furrows his brow. “What’s wrong with Hawkeye?”
“Nothing’s wrong with him. He’s just not the most popular Avenger to cosplay, that’s all.” Clint mutters something under his breath. “But hey, who cares about that? It’ll still be fun! I bet you’ll make a great Hawkeye.”
Clint’s eyes are sparkling as he answers with a “thanks, man. I think so, too.”
Bucky pulls out his phone and opens up his browser. “Let’s see when the next event is, shall we?”
It turns out there’s a small con in a month, so they make plans to attend. Clint waves Bucky off when he asks if Clint needs any help putting together his cosplay.
“Look at you, all confident in your cosplay abilities!”
“I’m reasonably sure I can put together a decent Hawkeye cosplay in a month, dude.”
“You can barely walk down a flight of stairs without tripping.”
“I said reasonably!”
Bucky laughs and flaps his hand in Clint’s direction. “You do you, Clint. But seriously, let me know if you need any help. I’ve picked up lots of tricks along the way. I can even sew!”
“You Renaissance man! Shit, I am just learning all sorts of things about you tonight.”
*****
The month passes quickly, and Bucky and Clint go to the con together. Bucky wins the Cap contest and watches the Hawkeye contest from the audience. Clint’s cosplay is pretty amazing, if a little rough around the edges. It’s a little worn, though Bucky gets that Clint is going for a more lived-in look like someone who’s actually done battle in their costume. He’s not sure the judges will see it that way, though.
They don’t. Clint comes in fifth place, to his absolute delight. He can’t stop smiling and chuckling and shaking his head.
“Dude, you were robbed! I can’t believe it!” Bucky gripes to Clint after he makes his way down from the stage. “Your cosplay was excellent! The worn-in-battle look was such a good touch. I don’t know what these judges were thinking, I really don’t.”
“Hey, thanks, man. But don’t worry about it. I’m not mad, honestly.”
“I know. You actually seem pretty happy about it, oddly enough.”
Clint nods. “It’s amazing. I had an awesome time. We should totally do this again.”
Bucky smiles and bounces on the balls of his feet. “Fun, isn’t it? And addicting!”
“It is. Hey, want to go grab some dinner somewhere?”
“Definitely.”
“Hey,” Clint asks after they’ve ordered their food. “If you could design your dream cosplay event, what would it be?”
Bucky threads his fingers together and pushes them out to crack his knuckles. “Oh, man, you have no idea how many times I’ve thought about this.”
Clint smiles and sweeps his hand in a “go on” gesture.
“Okay, so it would be at Avengers Tower. And all the Avengers would be there, and they would each judge their own cosplay section because that would be so cool.”
“It would!”
“Right?! It would be invitation-only and really prestigious, and Tony Stark could host it because he has enough money and I think he would get a kick out of people dressing up like him.”
Clint nods in agreement. “That would really fuel his ego, not that he needs any help with that.”
Bucky laughs. The server shows up with their food, and they tuck in and talk about random shit for a while. It’s nice, Bucky thinks. Clint is funny and easy to be around, and Bucky likes hanging out with him. They finish their meal and head back to the apartment building. Clint invites Bucky over to watch a movie. He heads over after he’s changed out of his cosplay, and they spend the rest of the day watching ‘80s action movies and making fun of the dialogue.
*****
A couple months later, tired after a long day at work, Bucky stops off at his mailbox and grabs his mail before heading up to his apartment. He tosses the pile on his counter, grabs a beer from the fridge, flops down on the couch, and fires up “Planet Earth II” on Netflix.
He pauses the playback before the next episode starts and carries his empty beer bottle to the kitchen. He opens the fridge to find something to heat up for dinner, but it’s pretty sparse. He really needs to get groceries. There’s a frozen pizza in the freezer, thankfully, and Bucky scrapes off some built-up ice before tossing it into the oven and setting a timer.
The pile of mail on the counter catches his eye, so he picks it up and starts sorting through it. Junk, junk, junk, bill, junk, junk...and a super fancy envelope. Bucky frowns as he sets it aside because what the hell? Who sends mail like that these days? He tosses the junk mail in the recycling bin, wishing he could do the same for the bill, and takes the fancy envelope back to the couch to open it.
Bucky’s no expert but even he can tell the paper of the envelope is expensive. It’s smooth and rich to the touch and must be amazing to write on. He runs his fingers across the front a few times, over the calligraphy of his name and address, before flipping the envelope to open it. There’s an actual wax seal on the back with an Iron Man helmet emblem pressed into the wax.
“What the fuck?” Bucky mutters under his breath as he slips his finger under the back flap of the envelope and starts to lift. He doesn’t want to break the wax seal, so he settles for ripping the paper, though even that feels wrong somehow.
Bucky pulls out a thick piece of ivory card stock decorated with red and gold, the black writing outlined in gold and hand-written in gorgeous calligraphy. Bucky’s hands start shaking as he reads the text. “Mister Tony Stark is pleased to invite you, James B. Barnes, to the inaugural Avengers Cosplay Competition.”
“Holy shit,” Bucky whispers, dropping the invitation on the coffee table in surprise. “Holy SHIT!!!! YESSSSS!!!” He jumps up and starts shaking his fists at the ceiling. “This is AWESOME!!!!” He starts laughing and jumping around his living room excitedly and doing little dances in celebration.
His cellphone rings from the kitchen, and Bucky dances his way over to it, checking the caller ID before answering. “Clint, you are never going to believe what just happened!!!” he shouts into the phone.
Clint laughs at Bucky’s enthusiasm. “You won free pizza for life?”
“That would be amazing. But no! Remember how like a few months ago I was telling you all about what my ideal cosplay event would be?”
“Yeah?”
“I just got an invitation for it!!”
“What?”
“Yeah, can you believe it? Tony Stark HIMSELF is hosting the first Avengers Cosplay Competition, and I’ve been invited!”
“No way!”
“Yes way! Come over so I can be excited about it to your face!”
“All right, give me a couple minutes,” Clint says laughingly.
“Dude, I am FREAKING OUT!” Bucky yells at Clint as he opens the door to let the other man into his apartment.
“Yeah, I can see that,” Clint says around a smile.
“It’s only the most amazing thing to happen to me this year! Maybe even in my whole life, which is kind of sad, but I’m not gonna worry about that. Right now I’m gonna be super excited!”
“As well you should! Okay, so tell me all about it.”
“Uh…hold on, let me grab the invitation. I was so excited I didn’t actually finish reading it.” Bucky grabs the invitation off his coffee table and starts reading it aloud. “Mister Tony Stark...blah blah blah...at Avengers Tower on Saturday, May 19 at 7:00pm. Transportation will be provided for the event and will be coordinated at a later date. Please bring up to two guests of your choice. We look forward to seeing you there, especially if you cosplay as Iron Man!”
“Holy shit, dude!”
“I know! Can you believe it?”
“Not really!”
“I wonder if Captain America himself will be there? The invitation doesn’t say anything about that, but there is a website at the bottom. I wonder if that has more information?”
“Uh, yeah, that seems likely.”
Bucky nods his head. “Yeah. I’ll have to check it out later. Avengers Cosplay at Avengers Tower, Clint!!! I cannot wait!”
“I know! These next few weeks are gonna fly by!”
“Right?! Wait. How many weeks away is this?” Bucky can feel his chest tightening as his heartbeat speeds up. Something in his face must change because Clint is suddenly right next to him, placing a hand on Bucky’s shoulder as he says, “whoa, dude, breathe. It’s okay. Here, breathe with me. In-two-three-four...and out-two-three-four. Nice and slow. That’s it.”
Bucky matches Clint’s breathing for a bit, and it actually helps. Bucky feels calmer and less like he’s about to pass out, though he’s still a bit shaky. “Here, let’s sit down on the couch,” Clint says as he leads Bucky and helps him sit down.
“Thanks,” Bucky says a few minutes later. “Sorry I panicked like that. I have no idea where that came from. I haven’t had a panic attack in years.”
Clint flaps his hand in Bucky’s direction. “It’s fine, man, don’t worry about it. Do you want to talk about what brought it on or…?”
“I don’t know. I think I just thought about how this is a HUGE deal, and how Captain America might actually be there, I might meet him in person! And I want to do a good job with this cosplay, you know? I want to make an awesome impression. But it’s only five weeks away!”
“Hey, that’s plenty of time. It is. Besides, I’ll totally help you. You saw how quickly I put together my Hawkeye cosplay, right?”
“...Yeah, that’s true.”
“See? Okay, so, what Cap outfit do you want to do? What’s like the home run Cap cosplay?”
Sighing, Bucky says, “The Stealth Suit.”
“The what now?”
“The Stealth Suit.”
Clint furrows his brows and shakes his head. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“You don’t know the Stealth Suit? The navy blue one with the silver stripes across the chest? The one he barely wears and there are like no pictures of online? It’s pretty much legendary in the Cap cosplay community because everyone wants to try it, and sometimes people do, but there aren’t enough good photos of him wearing it online, and the ones that ARE online are blurry or from far away. So it’s impossible to get the details right, so most people don’t even try. But man, it’s such a LOOK, you know?”
“Ohhhh, yeah, I know which suit you’re talking about now. Yeah, it really is rad.” Clint’s phone starts ringing, and he checks the caller ID before turning away with a, “sorry, I have to take this.”
“Yeah, no problem.” Bucky watches Clint as he makes his was across Bucky’s apartment so Bucky can’t hear the other voice over the phone. “Yeah. Yeah. I’m in the city. Okay. I can be there in twenty. Right.” He hangs up and makes his way back to Bucky.
“Hey, sorry, I have to run. Are you okay to be alone?”
“Yeah, Clint, I’m fine. Thank you, though. You really helped earlier.”
Clint nods and smiles. “Cool, cool. Okay, I’ll stop by and check on you tomorrow, if that’s okay.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
Clint rolls his eyes. “I know I don’t have to. I want to.”
“All right, then.”
“See you tomorrow!” Clint calls over his shoulder as he walks away from Bucky and leaves his apartment.
Bucky spends the rest of the day on his couch watching “The Good Place” on Netflix and eating junk food and purposely not thinking about Stark’s Cosplay event.
He very purposely doesn’t think about it until the next afternoon when Clint texts him “you home? I have something for you.” Bucky replies in the affirmative, and Clint knocks on his door a few minutes later, a large manila envelope in his hand. Bucky lets him in, a bemused look on his face.
“What the hell is that?”
Clint quirks a smile and holds out the envelope. “Why don’t you open it and see?”
Bucky huffs at Clint and grabs the envelope, sliding his finger under the flap and tearing it open. He pulls out a stack of a dozen or so 8x10 photos, all of them featuring Captain America. In his Stealth Suit. Holy Shit!
“Holy shit, Clint! Where did you get these?” Bucky goes through the stack a few times, soaking up the images of Cap in that glorious navy suit. Damn, he looks so good in that thing. The pictures are close enough to be able to see the details of the suit, and there are shots from the sides and behind, too, which Bucky most definitely appreciates. That. Ass. “Damn, look, there are dark red stripes down each side of this suit. I hadn’t noticed that before! Seriously, where did you get these?”
Clint shrugs like it’s no big deal. “I know a guy who knows a guy who owed me a favor, so I called it in.”
“Thank you so much. These are perfect! Fuck, I’m totally gonna win Stark’s competition now!”
“High five!” Clint calls as he raises his hand. Bucky laughs and slaps his hand. “Let’s get this cosplay started!”
*****
True to his word, Clint helps Bucky with his cosplay whenever he’s in town. He has a surprisingly good eye for detail and is really handy with a sewing machine.
“Where did you learn to sew like this?” Bucky asks him one afternoon.
“Oh, I did some costume design for a show I was in back in the day.”
“That’s cool.”
“Yeah. I used to really like doing it, too. This is a nice reminder, actually.”
“Hey, do you want to come with me? To Stark’s thing, I mean. The invitation said we could bring someone, and you’re my closest friend in the city, even though you’re my landlord and all.”
Clint looks up from the sewing machine and smiles, tilting his head as he looks at Bucky. “Thanks, man. I’m glad you moved into my building. But I can’t come with you, sorry. I have a prior engagement that day that I can’t get out of.”
“Okay, no problem.” Bucky tries to shrug off his disappointment, but he knows it shows on his face.
“If there was any way I could come, I totally would. You know I would! Who wants to pass up the chance to eat Tony Stark’s food?”
Bucky chuckles and rolls his eyes and goes back to working on the utility belt for his cosplay. He can feel Clint watching him for a moment before the sewing machine hums back to life.
*****
Clint comes over a week before the competition for a dress rehearsal. Bucky gets into his cosplay and walks over to stand in front of the couch Clint is sitting on.
“I’m not happy with how the utility belt came out,” Bucky says before Clint can give his opinion.
Clint hums and stands up to walk around Bucky and take in the details of the suit and its accessories. He hums again and goes over to the coffee table where the pictures of Captain America in his stealth suit sit. He picks up the stack of photos and comes back over to Bucky, looking back and forth between the two.
“Dude, you’re killing me here!” Bucky says when he can’t take the silence anymore.
“You’re right. The belt is off a bit. It looks too stiff or something. Everything else is spot-on, though. Cap is gonna lose his mind when he sees you.”
“You think so?” Bucky beams.
“Oh, I know so.”
*****
Clint comes over two days before the competition with a pizza and a Target bag.
“Ooh, pizza! But what’s in the bag?” Bucky asks as he makes his way into the kitchen for plates and napkins.
“I have a present for you.”
“Thanks, man! What is is?” Bucky tosses Clint a beer and sits next to him on the couch.
Clint rolls his eyes and says fondly, “dude, just open it.”
Bucky smirks and reaches into the bag and pulls out a utility belt. “What the…? Wait a minute. Clint, this is an exact replica of Cap’s belt on his Stealth Suit! Holy shit! Where did you get this?!”
“I know a guy,” Clint says around a bite of pizza.
“This is incredible!” Bucky says, laughing. “Thank you so much! Wait, you didn’t steal this, did you?”
Clint puts his hand on his chest in mock outrage. “Who the hell would I steal a utility belt like that from?”
Bucky glares at him for a minute before conceding the point.
*****
Bucky can barely sleep the night before the competition he’s so keyed up. He ends up taking some melatonin, which finally helps him sleep. He wakes later than normal but feeling rested and ready to face the day.
Ha, no, he wakes up cranky and in dire need of coffee. But after his second cup, he’s feeling awake and ready to face the day. And totally jacked up on caffeine and nerves. Stark is sending cars to pick up all the competitors, but that’s not coming until 6:00, so he has plenty of time to kill before he has to suit up. He decides to go to the gym and work off some of his nervous energy.
It helps. So does a long shower. And taking extra time to make sure his hair looks just right. He’s decided not to wear the little helmet thing that Captain America wears with the stealth suit because Cap himself wasn’t wearing them in any of the pictures Clint gave him, and he didn’t want to get the details wrong if he tried it. Plus, headgear like that tends to give him a headache, and that’s the last thing he needs tonight.
Bucky moves on to shaving to get rid of his usual stubble since Cap likes to go clean-shaven and freezes in the middle of a down-stroke as he goes back over his earlier thoughts. None of the pictures Clint gave him were of Cap in battle. They were all of him standing around, seemingly relaxed. Bucky was so excited to get his hands on a detailed look at the Stealth Suit that he hadn’t really paid attention to the photos themselves. But it’s weird, right? That he had a bunch of photos of Cap in battle dress but not in battle? Definitely weird.
Where in the hell had Clint gotten those photos?!
Which is exactly what he texts Clint when he’s done shaving, but he doesn’t receive an answer. He makes himself a sandwich and watches an episode of “The Great British Baking Show” to kill the remaining time before he needs to suit up. Still no answer from Clint. He must be busy at that thing he had to go to that he was a little sketchy about. Bucky tries to put it out of his mind and focus on the competition.
He goes down to the lobby of his building a few minutes before 6:00 and waits for Stark’s car. He gets a text at 6:00 on the dot that the car is outside, so he takes a deep breath to calm his nerves and heads out the door. The car is a limo, because fucking of course it is. The driver steps around and introduces himself and shakes Bucky’s hand and tells him they have two more stops to make before they head to the Tower. He opens the door for Bucky and points out where the snacks and drinks are, saying, “please make yourself comfortable.”
Bucky thanks the man and slides into the car. He’s never been in a limo before, and sitting in the back of that big car by himself makes him anxious. His feels his stomach start twisting up, so he finds a bottle of water and takes little sips to try and calm down. The whole thing is fucking surreal, and he hopes it will get easier once he gets to the Tower and the competition gets going. That at least will be familiar, even if the setting is new.
The limo stops to pick up a Falcon and his wife, who both flip out when they see Bucky. He preens a little under their attention before the three of them start speculating about what they think the event will be like. The company helps settle Bucky’s nerves, and he finds himself relaxing and having a good time.
A Black Widow and her girlfriend get in the car at the next stop, and they both freak out over Bucky’s cosplay, too. Bucky laughs and thanks them and steers the conversation away from himself graciously, but he’s really gratified by the reception to his Stealth Suit so far. It’s going to be a good night, he can feel it.
The conversation is lively and fun, and the rest of the ride passes quickly. Bucky gets nervous again on the elevator ride up to the competition floor, but that’s overtaken by awe as soon as the elevator doors open. “Holy shit,” Bucky hears someone whisper. Holy shit is right.
The elevator opens into a small but elegant lobby area, but the real show is through the open double doors. The competition room is gigantic, the ceiling at least 20 feet tall and covered with shimmering draped fabric. There’s a stage set up against the back wall with tables in front of it. The open bar and tables piled with food are on one wall, and on the other is a photographer with a backdrop and some cheesy props. There’s even a string quartet who’s currently playing the theme from Super Mario Bros. Everything is elegant and fancy and wonderful, and Bucky cannot believe his luck.
He walks further into the room and starts scanning the crowd for more Cap cosplayers and finds six of the ten that are supposed to be there. When he and Clint had gone to the website printed on the invitation, it said there would only be ten total cosplayers of each Avenger as the event was an exclusive evening. None of the other six he can see are wearing a Stealth Suit, which makes Bucky smile.
He’s still smiling when he feels a tap on his shoulder. He spins around to see Clint, who pulls Bucky in for a hug. “Dude, you look awesome!” Clint exclaims before Bucky can get a word in edgewise.
“You really do,” someone behind Clint says, and Bucky looks in the man’s direction and finds Tony Fucking Stark standing there. Bucky’s eyes widen as his jaw drops. What. The. FUCK?!
Tony laughs at Bucky’s expression and claps Bucky on the shoulder. “You must be the infamous Bucky. Clint’s told us all about you.”
“He did what now?” Bucky stammers, starstruck and majorly confused.
Bucky sees Tony track some movement behind Bucky and turns to see what he’s looking at as Tony calls out, “hey, Cap, come meet Clint’s Bucky!”
Captain America excuses himself from his conversation and makes his way toward Tony, Clint, and Bucky, who’s completely frozen up because Captain Goddamn America himself is coming toward him, what the utter fuck?! Rationally, he knew this may be a possibility since the information website had said the Avengers themselves would be judging the cosplay competition, but Bucky didn’t really actually think he would get the chance to talk to Steve Rogers in the flesh. Like an actual person. Who was still coming his way, holy shit. Be cool, Bucky!
“Steve, this is Bucky,” Clint says, and Bucky somehow manages to hold out his hand for a handshake. Steve takes his hand and shakes it with a, “it’s nice to meet you, Bucky.”
Fuuuuuuuuuck, his voice is even sexier in person! Keep it together, Barnes! You can do this!
“It’s meet to nice you too, Captain Rogers.” FFFFFUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCKKKKKK!! “I mean…”
Tony and Clint snicker, but Steve smiles, not unkindly. “Just Steve,” he says softly as he drops Bucky’s hand and lets his eyes wander up and down Bucky’s body, a faint blush coloring his cheeks. His eyes widen a bit as he makes eye contact with Bucky again, but before Bucky can process that, Tony starts talking.
“Clint was right, Buckaroo, you’re just delicious! You’re also the reason this whole event exists, by the way. Clint was telling me about this cosplay thing you are into, and he said I should throw a shindig and I figured what the hell, I was bored. I wasn’t too sure about it at first, but he was right. This is actually really fun! It’s a little weird to be dressed in civvies while there are ten other people dressed as you, but whatever. And have you seen the Tonys?! The engineering on their Iron Man suits is amazing! They’ve really outdone themselves. Obviously they’re not as good as the real thing, but considering no one else in this room is a billionaire genius engineer, I have to say that I’m impressed.”
“Uh…” Bucky turns toward Clint who shrugs and says, “you get used to him.”
Bucky nods. “Sure. Wait, how are you used to him? And why are you here? I thought you said you had a previous engagement tonight and that’s why you couldn’t come with me? How do you know Tony Stark and Steve Rogers?”
Steve raises his eyebrows. “Because he’s Hawkeye?”
“HE’S WHAT?!?!?!” Bucky shrieks.
Steve furrows his brow, creating the cutest little creases between his eyebrows. “He didn’t tell you?”
“He most certainly did not!” Bucky glares at Clint, who smiles apologetically and shrugs. “Oops?”
“Clint! So when you disappear for days or weeks at a time, you’re out Avenging? Holy shit, Clint, you lost a Hawkeye cosplay competition wearing your actual Hawkeye suit with your actual Hawkeye bow ?!?” Bucky hisses.
Steve and Clint smile as Tony cracks up and doubles over laughing. “I know! Isn’t that just the best?” Clint says, and Tony laughs even harder.
Tony straightens up and wipes his eyes before clapping Bucky on the shoulder, harder than Bucky thinks is strictly necessary, and says, “Bucky, Buckaroo, Buckster, thank you for that. I cannot wait to hear Clint tell the rest of that story. But right now I need to go find a microphone and get this competition underway. Try not to miss me too much!”
Bucky watches Tony Flipping Stark walk away for a bit, still somewhat in awe of the fact that he just met the man, before turning to Clint and raising his eyebrows.
“Yeah, I know. You really do get used to him,” Clint says with a shrug.
“Right, and you’d know, because you’re fucking Hawkeye !”
“It’s gonna take you a while to forgive me for not telling you, isn’t it?”
Bucky narrows his eyes and pouts at Clint. He hears Steve whimper lightly before clearing his throat, but he keeps his focus on Clint. “Weeeeeeeeeeell,” he says, “you could hasten my forgiveness with pizza.”
“Oh, is that all?” Clint says, chuckling.
“Lots and lots of pizza.”
“Deal.”
“Damn straight.”
“Although, if it weren’t for Clint being Hawkeye and telling Tony about your dream cosplay event, none of this would be happening, so technically, you probably owe him for even getting this started in the first place,” Steve chimes in with a wry grin.
Bucky gasps dramatically and puts his hand on his chest as Clint turns to Steve and says, “thank you!”
“Steve, how dare you side with your teammate, who’s helped save the city, possibly the world, and probably your life, over the guy dressed like you that you only met a few minutes ago!” Bucky exclaims.
Steve throws his head back and laughs, which makes Bucky’s stomach swoop. He smiles and takes a small step closer to Steve. He hears Clint whisper a “holy shit” and looks over at him. Clint’s eyes are wide, and he’s looking back and forth between Steve and Bucky like they’re two unicorns with a six-pack of beer hanging from their horns. He looks goddamn delighted. Bucky frowns.
Then he has a thought and frowns some more. “Wait a minute. Clint, when you said you knew some guy who got me the pictures, was that actually you?”
Clint’s face falls. “Uh…”
“What pictures?” Steve says, but Bucky ignores him for the moment.
“Clint, did you steal this utility belt from Steve?!”
“‘Steal’ is a strong word for it.”
“Oh, hey, I was wondering where that went!” Steve exclaims.
“Steve, I am so sorry. I swear that I didn’t ask Clint to steal your stuff to help make this cosplay. And while I appreciate that he was just trying to help me out, he still shouldn’t have done it. So here, let me give it back.” Bucky starts to unbuckle the utility belt as Steve holds up his hands.
“No, no, that’s, uh -- that’s not necessary.” Steve’s blushing a bit, and damn if that isn’t the most adorable thing Bucky’s ever seen. “Just give it back after the competition. Besides, I wouldn’t want to ruin all your hard work,”
“Are you sure?” Steve nods. “Oh, man, thank you so much! I promise I will give it back as soon as the judging is over.”
“It’s fine, honestly. Now, you mentioned Clint got some pictures?”
“Oh, uh, yeah. See, the Stealth Suit is like the Captain America cosplay holy grail because there aren’t many photos of you online wearing it, and the ones that are there are all blurry or from far away. And we cosplayers like to get as detailed as possible when we can. So no one has really tried the Stealth Suit because it would be a lot of guesswork to put together. But then Clint lied-- ”
“Hey!” Clint exclaims.
“--about knowing someone who could get me photos of you wearing this suit. So he took a bunch of pictures, closer, detailed pictures, and gave them to me. Which was super helpful and awesome because goddamn, this suit is such a good look.”
Steve’s eyes widen again, and Bucky can see the blush coloring Steve’s cheeks before he tips his head down and looks at the floor. Shit!
“I mean, the suit is just a suit, and it’s cool and all, and surprisingly well-designed and comfortable, but that’s not why you look good in it.” Steve whips his head up and looks Bucky in the eyes, and Bucky can feel his own cheeks start to heat up.
“I MEAN, you know, uh, people always love a man in uniform, especially when the uniform is, like, so flatteringly cut and a really great color, and honestly, all of your suits should be this color blue because it really brings out your eyes, and holy shit, am I still talking? Where’s a convenient alien invasion of Manhattan when you need one?”
Bucky chances a glance over at Clint, who looks absolutely delighted, the traitor, before looking back at Steve. Steve, who bites his lower lip before smiling at him. Steve, who is not running away in horror at Bucky’s complete inability to keep his cool.
“Well, if I look half as good in that suit as you do, I’ll have to start wearing it more often,” Steve says.
Bucky freezes up as his eyes widen and his jaw drops open slightly. Holy shit. Holy shit. Is Steve flirting?
Before Bucky can reboot his brain and answer, Tony finally finds a mic and announces that judging is going to start soon, can the Avengers please come up to the stage for judging, blah blah blah. Bucky really doesn’t care what Tony’s saying because Steve is standing there smiling at Bucky like there’s nowhere else he’d rather be, and Bucky finally pulls it together and smiles back.
“We better go,” Clint says.
“Yeah,” Steve agrees, not even attempting to move toward the stage.
Clint rolls his eyes and grabs Steve’s wrist. “Come on, man, you can talk to Bucky later.”
“Good luck, Bucky,” Steve says quietly as Clint pulls him away, turning his head to look back at Bucky as he walks away. Bucky’s smile widens and he gives an awkward little wave as Clint and Steve walk away. He sees Clint say something and ruffle Steve’s hair, and Steve tears his gaze away from Bucky and laughs and knocks his shoulder into Clint’s, which causes Clint to stumble because Steve is a brick goddamn house. Bucky’s not really sure how the buttons on Steve’s button-down shirt don’t just cry “freedom” and burst off his chest.
Tony starts the competition by judging the Tonys, because of course he does, but he’s so enthusiastic and supportive of all the cosplayers that it ends up being an amazing event. Bucky finds himself splitting his attention between the cosplayers, Tony’s running commentary, and watching Steve on stage interacting with his friends. It’s clear that they all adore him, and he looks relaxed and happy. He laughs often and ribs Tony and whispers conspiratorially to Natasha Romanoff, holy shit!!! At one point Bucky looks up toward Steve and sees Sam Wilson sizing him up, lips pursed and head tilted. He gives Bucky a wink when he realizes Bucky sees him and says something to Steve before elbowing him and nodding Bucky’s way. Steve nods back and makes eye contact with Bucky, smiling and giving him a thumbs up.
Bucky’s heart thumps wildly as he returns the thumbs up like an idiot, but whatever, Steve seems to be into that.
The Captain America cosplay judging is the last category, and Bucky takes a few deep breaths before heading up onstage with the rest of the Caps. Tony goes down the line and introduces each cosplayer, and Bucky hears the crowd murmur in appreciation when everyone realizes he’s got the Stealth Suit on. That helps settle his nerves, and he stands up straighter and squares his shoulders and gives a rakish smile.
Steve comes down the line inspecting each cosplayer with Tony following behind making comments about each outfit. Steve’s cheeks redden slightly when he gets to Bucky, but otherwise he’s completely professional and doesn’t treat Bucky differently than any of the other competitors, and wow, is that pushing all of Bucky’s buttons. Hell of a time to discover he’s got a competency kink.
Steve finishes his inspections and moves aside to confer with Tony for a minute before they both come back to the front of the stage.
“Well, folks, Cap here is too diplomatic for his own good, and he can’t pick just one of you lovely people to be the winner. So instead he’s chosen three! I probably should have expected that. Anyway, without further ado, the three finalists are…”
Bucky hears his name called as the third finalist, and he releases the breath he definitely knew he was holding because Christ, Stark, way to draw out the suspense! The other two finalists are a Sikh man named Sukhvinder, whose Cap turban is truly excellent, and a woman named Vanessa who’s rocking a fabulous WWII Cap look.
“Okay, I didn’t really think about any sort of tie-break scenario, so I’m making this up as I go,” Tony says with a slight frown on his face. “Ooh, I’ve got it! You’re all wearing utility belts, so you can empty out the pouches, and the person who has the stuff closest to what Cap carries in his own utility belt will be the winner!”
The crowd cheers at that, and Tony smiles as he says, “see? Genius!” Bucky looks over at Steve with a smirk because there’s no way he can lose this with Steve’s actual belt. His face falls when he sees Steve, who is standing stiffly with a look of abject terror on his face. Bucky raises an eyebrow and tries to catch his attention but Steve schools his expression and gives Tony a weak smile when Tony turns toward him and asks if he’s ready to start.
“Yes,” Steve croaks out before clearing his throat. “Yes, definitely,” he says more forcefully, widening his plastered-on smile.
Sukhvinder is up first, and he has gum, some money, and a paperclip for some reason, which delights Tony. Vanessa has money, her credit card, lip balm, and a few mints. Tony and Steve step over to Bucky, and he can’t tell what that look is on Steve’s face, but he thinks it might be fear and pleading and maybe a little hope? He doesn’t have enough time to parse it out, though, because Tony is asking him to start emptying the pouches on his belt.
Bucky smiles and nods at Tony while opening the first pouch. It’s full of bandaids and antiseptic wipes and antibacterial cream. That’s super practical. Good call, Steve. The second pouch has ibuprofen and antihistamines and other various medicines. The third is full of tampons, and all the women in the crowd coo at Bucky for that. “Lots of pouches on this belt, why not carry tampons?” Bucky says, playing it up. He glances over at Steve like “is this what you were worried about?” But Steve just closes his eyes and sighs. Guess not.
Bucky opens up the next pouch and hesitates before pulling out its contents because he suddenly gets why Steve was acting the way he was. “Come on, Bucky, what’s in the pouch?” Tony goads. Bucky pulls out packets of lube and a strip of condoms and holds them up. The condoms even have a silver wrapper with Cap’s shield printed on both sides, which is, frankly, hilarious, what even, Steve?!?
Clint barks out a laugh from somewhere to Bucky’s left, and the crowd sort of titters, and Bucky looks over at Steve once more, and Steve is mortified . He’s blushing something fierce, and he looks like he wants to sink into the floor and never be seen again, even though Bucky and Clint are the only other people who know Bucky even has Steve’s utility belt. Bucky realizes he can either throw Steve under the bus or step up and help him out, so Bucky squares his shoulders and steps the fuck up.
He holds the condoms up higher and smirks as he says, “hey, the shield is good protection in the streets AND in the sheets.” He winks and tosses them to Tony, who catches them and busts out laughing. The crowd loses it, whooping and cheering and clapping. Bucky smiles and gives a little bow, and chances a glance back at Steve, who has the biggest heart eyes Bucky has ever seen. His stomach flutters when he realizes they’re for him, and new life goal: get Steve to look at him like that as much as humanly possible because it is glorious.
Tony raises his hand to quiet the crowd. “I really don’t think we can top that reveal,” he says, winking at Bucky, “so Steve, my man, my guy, time to declare a winner! Whose utility belt contents are most like yours?”
Steve takes the mike from Tony. “Before I do that, I just want to thank all the contestants on stage, and everyone who came out here tonight. I’ll admit that when Tony first proposed this event, I was a little confused and didn’t want to come. But Tony can be very persuasive, especially when he bribes you with a large donation to your favorite charity.”
“Hey, all he promised me was free food!” Clint shouts from the audience.
“Not my fault you’re a bad negotiator, Clint!” Steve says cheerfully as the crowd laughs. “But I have to say, I’ve had a lot of fun tonight. It’s very clear to me that these costumes are a labor of love, and I’m honored to be a part of it. And I can see Tony rolling his eyes, so while you’re all winners in my eyes-- stop groaning, Tony-- tonight’s winner of the Captain America Cosplay division is…”
Bucky raises his eyebrow cheekily and wiggles the strip of condoms as he waits for Steve to call someone else’s name. He’s happy, even though he’s going to lose. It’s been a really good day.
“...James Barnes! Congratulations, James!”
The crowd erupts into a deafening mix of cheers and hoots and hollers. “Attaboy, Cap!” Bucky is shocked into silence. Tony is laughing so hard he’s bent over, hands on his knees, his shoulders shaking with it. Steve puts the mike down and comes over to Bucky and reaches out his hand. His eyes are gleaming and he has the biggest smirk on his face.
“You little shit,” Bucky whispers through a smile as he shakes Steve’s hand. Steve smiles and winks at him before moving on to congratulate the other two finalists and the other contestants.
Bucky makes his way off the stage in a daze, smiling and joking with people as they come over and slap him on the back or congratulate him. Clint finds him and pulls him into a crushing hug. “That was the best thing that has ever happened to me. I can’t believe Steve carries Captain America condoms in his belt. God, we are never going to let him live that down.”
“Nothing wrong with being prepared, Clint!” Bucky counters, slapping Clint on the back.
“You bask in the glow of your victory. I need to go tease Steve within an inch of his life.”
Bucky laughs. “Yeah, you go do that.”
He watches Clint walk away and the scans the room for Steve. He’s surrounded by the rest of the Avengers, who are clearly having an absolutely wonderful time ribbing Steve. He’s being a good sport about it, though, and it looks like he’s giving as good as he’s getting. Bucky smiles and makes his way to the bar. Time to take advantage since it’s free and fully-stocked.
*****
A few drinks, some excellent food, and some better conversation later, Bucky is feeling good. Better than good. He’s relaxed and happy, and he’s met some truly incredible people. Each of the Avengers has made their way over to him to congratulate him and thank him for giving them something to tease Steve about. Natasha even leans in and whispers “fuck this up and I will find you,” which is absolutely terrifying.
Bucky has to swallow twice before he manages to say, “fuck what up?”
Natasha just smirks and says “you’ll see” as she saunters away.
Bucky furrows his brows and tracks her as she makes her way through the crowd. Wow, she is utterly terrifying, and damn does it work for her. Bucky jumps when Steve says to his left, “That looks like a ‘Natasha just threatened me for some reason’ face.”
“Jesus, Steve, warn a guy before you scare the shit out of him!”
“That usually defeats the purpose,” Steve says, smiling.
“I guess that’s fair,” Bucky says as he takes a deep breath and tries to slow his heart rate.
“Can I talk to you someplace more private?” Steve asks quietly, his face a little unsure but hopeful.
“Yeah, I’d like that,” Bucky replies, earning a truly spectacular smile from Steve. Good goddamn, is he attractive. Bucky can’t help but smile back and duck his head when he feels his cheeks starting to color.
Steve leads him to the opposite side of the room and parts some tall, heavy curtains. There’s a door to a private alcove behind them, and Steve puts his hand on the biometric lock to unlock it. The lock beeps, and Steve opens the door and beckons Bucky through with an “after you.”
Bucky walks into the room and looks around. The lights are lower in here, and there are soft fairy lights sparkling around the room. There are some cozy-looking chaise lounges in one corner of the room, and large potted plants scattered about. It’s...well, it’s pretty romantic is what it is, and Bucky’s stomach swoops pleasantly at the thought.
Steve comes over to stand next to Bucky, close, shoulders almost touching. Bucky can feel his warmth through the thick fabric of the suit. It’s intimate, and Bucky shivers.
“Are you cold?” Steve asks, concerned.
“No,” Bucky answers honestly.
“Oh,” Steve breathes.
They smile at each other before Steve bites his lip and ducks his head. Bucky can tell Steve wants to say something but isn’t sure exactly what, so Bucky gives him time and doesn’t push it. He moves his hand slowly and brushes his pinky against Steve’s, smiling when he hears inhale sharply. This must embolden Steve because he turns toward Bucky.
“Thanks for having my back in there.”
Bucky nods. “Of course. Though, I have to ask, why condoms and lube?”
Steve shrugs. “You never know when they may come in handy. Some of our missions last a while, and I like to protect my teammates.”
“Just your teammates?” Bucky says as he waggles his eyebrows.
Steve chuckles. “Do you honestly think I would use Captain America condoms with anyone I take to bed?”
“Maybe if the Hulk-sized ones were sold out?”
Steve throws his head back and laughs. “That’s a little optimistic, don’t you think?”
“Just a little?” Bucky says around a smile.
“You angling to find out?”
“I might be.”
“Well, you do look pretty good in that suit.”
“Steve Rogers, I put weeks of effort into this suit! I even unknowingly suborned theft! And ‘pretty good’ is all I get?”
“You’d look better out of it.”
Bucky gasps dramatically and clutches pretend pearls. “I’m ashamed to say how well that terrible line worked on me.”
Steve smiles, happy and beautiful with it. He lifts his hand to Bucky’s face and gently cups his cheek before dropping his hand. “Guess you won’t mind if I kiss you, then.”
Bucky puts his hand on Steve’s shoulder. “Only one way to find out,” he says breathily, and closes the distance between them.
~ ♥ ~