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The sun beats down on Bucky's face as he stands at the entrance to the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disney's Magic Kingdom, Florida. The temperature is at record highs leading up to the Fourth of July weekend, and Bucky is feeling the heat, even under the shade of the canopy. He's just glad his costume is loose fitting and comes with a hat this time—he suppresses a shudder thinking about an afternoon he'd spent during his first training session, taking the tour of his area in a suit and no hat. He's just getting into his stride, welcoming guests and telling them to follow the queue to the left, when he hears raised voices beside him. He looks over and notices his colleague, Clint, on the Fastpass+ queue, frowning at a man with a neckbeard and a fedora who shouts at him for not letting him in with an expired Fastpass reservation. Poor Clint. He's not a small guy, Clint, and he could definitely take this neckbeard in a fight, but as it is, he can't even yell back. They can't be outright rude to their guests—this isn't Eurodisney.
Bucky, seeing the sheer disgust flashing across Clint's face, decides to take preemptive action - a big guy in uniform ought to put the fear of God into this guy, so Bucky lifts his radio to his mouth.
"Yeah, can I get security over to Pirates? We got a guy yellin' at Clint and I want him gone before it escalates."
A crackle, and then a voice gives an ETA for the muscle. Meanwhile, Bucky goes over to where the guest is getting more and more angry, and has started jabbing his finger at Clint's chest. Between Clint's sarcastic comments and Bucky's steely glare, they're able to intimidate Neckbeard enough to get him standing behind the barrier, but he's still leaning in close with a sneer on his face. After a few moments, he's gearing himself up to get mad again—Bucky and Clint can see his chin hairs quivering, and all Bucky can think is that he really doesn't get paid enough to deal with this shit.
"What seems to be the problem here?" A smooth, deep voice says, suddenly, and when they turn around, both Bucky and the Neckbeard's mouths drop to the floor, for very different reasons. This guy, the wall of muscle who's walked right up behind him, is a few inches taller than Bucky, and his biceps are probably the size of one of Bucky's thighs. His uniform—slim-fitting dark navy trousers, a black guard's hat and a blue shirt —emphasise every aspect of him, from his insane shoulder-to-waist ratio to his sincere, perilously blue eyes. In all honesty, he's basically a giant, and he makes Bucky feel small in a way that excites him, embarrassingly. Now, Bucky knows he's in good shape. He's lean, but he's toned, and his clothes fit him well enough to accent his devotion to free-running, his favourite hobby. But this guy... This guy could probably bench press him without breaking a sweat. This guy is built, and Bucky is pretty sure his brain liquefied the moment he saw him.
He watches, gaping a bit stupidly, as the giant ushers Neckbeard away from the ride with a disapproving frown, telling him tales of the plights of being a ride attendant. The guest actually turns and apologises to Bucky and Clint, which has never happened before, and Bucky is about this close to getting down on one knee and proposing to the giant, then and there. He manages to restrain himself, just, and he's glad he does because the man turns to him after a moment, grinning.
"You were the guy who radioed, right?" He says, and Bucky has to concentrate enough to kick his brain back into gear.
"Yeah, that was, that was me!" He stutters, clumsily shoving a hand out, letting his mouth fall into his signature coy smile. The giant grabs Bucky's hand in his own large one (long, slim fingers, smooth, trimmed nails) and squeezes firmly. Bucky briefly looks down at those hands, and only barely spares a thought for what they could do to him. "I'm Bucky."
"I know," the giant grins, eyes crinkling in the corners in a way that makes Bucky's heart do a weird kind of flip flop.
"What?" Bucky says, panicking. He tries to cast his mind back to a time when he's introduced himself, but comes up blank. Has he met this guy before at a party and forgotten? Surely he wouldn't forget THIS body in a hurry. How drunk was he? But the giant just laughs and reaches a hand out to tap Bucky's name badge, which has 'Bucky: Brooklyn, NY' emblazoned on it. Bucky laughs a little nervously and runs a hand through his hair, but the giant's grin isn't unkind. When Bucky looks down, the giant has his hand over his own name badge, his blue eyes twinkling mischievously. Bucky's pretty sure that he will be stuck calling him 'the giant' for the rest of his natural life, and also that he might faint. He wonders, in a fit of delirious madness, if the giant would catch him if he fell. Bucky's head is swimming, so much so that he nearly misses the next word the giant says.
"Steve," He says, with a wink. Bucky thinks it can't be healthy for his heart to be hammering this fast. Suddenly, the radio on Steve's belt crackles and he picks it up with a frown. "Duty calls," he says, with a sarcastic salute. He drops his hand from his badge and Bucky just catches a glimpse of 'Brooklyn, NY' engraved in the plastic before the giant turns and leaves with a big All-American grin on his face. Bucky watches his back as he walks away, and takes a good thirty seconds to appreciate the way his shirt fits across his shoulders (he wants to find out who fitted his uniform and send them flowers) before he's back facing the public with a practiced smile on his face. A few moments later, a little girl in a princess costume runs up to him and he gives a deep, exaggerated bow, declaring to all who surround him that royalty has entered the building. The kid squeals with delight and runs on ahead, and Bucky turns just in time to see Steve stood stock still about 30 metres away, mouth gaping and eyes wide. Bucky goes for broke and blows him a kiss. Steve flushes and turns around, but Bucky doesn't miss the slow smile that spreads across his face.
After that, Bucky has a relatively drama-free few days, and so doesn't require Steve's body mass to intimidate tourists. He still sees Steve wandering about, but he doesn't actually get to talk to him until the end of the week, and not in the best of circumstances. A young couple trying to climb off the boat and into one of the scenes to do God-knows-what causes the whole ride to shut down, and Bucky has to frantically radio for back up. Steve comes along with a small fleet of guards behind him, threatens to eject the couple from the park, and not so subtly hints at a lifetime ban if they don't move along. There's a lot of grumbling about bureaucracy and capitalism, but eventually they concede. Bucky tries not to think about all the people who have been stuck in the boats in the middle of the ride for at least fifteen minutes, because if he does, he'll panic, and he still has six hours of his shift left. He's only been on the job two weeks, and it's this sort of situation the old timers had warned him about. Steve, angel in human form, seems to sense his growing stress, and plants a firm hand on his shoulder.
"You gonna panic?" He says, without any preamble. Bucky feels his hackles raise, his defences go up, but fuck, if Steve Rogers isn't good at this, because a quick squeeze to the shoulder is all he needs, apparently, and he can feel the wave of nausea subside almost immediately.
"Not with you standin' there all..." Bucky waves a hand in Steve's general direction, and prays that Steve knows what he means.
"Don't you worry, pal," Steve says, smiling. "I'll stay for a bit and see you through."
Steve keeps his word and stays until his lunch break, which just happens to overlap with Bucky's.
"You wanna get some food?" Bucky asks, trying and failing not to sound nervous. If the other man notices, he doesn't show it.
"Yeah, let's do it. Columbia Harbour House, in Liberty Square? I know one of the cast members there so she'll get us served quick."
They take a detour through the walkway from Adventureland to Liberty Square, which takes them past the flying carpets and the Pineapple Dole Whip stand. They pass the Liberty Bell replica and Bucky throws a salute to it, before they head inside the harbour house. Bucky hasn't been in here before, and isn't surprised to see that the inside is just like the outside. Wood panelling and nautical memorabilia line the walls, and a dimple-faced woman with rosy cheeks and a white bonnet greets them at the door.
"Welcome!" She says, smiling that signature Disney grin. She shows them her favourite thing on the menu (the Anchors Aweigh sandwich, with chocolate cake for dessert) and sends them to queue for their quick service. Steve gives a wink to a young blonde woman on the far right side, and she waves them over when her queue dies down.
"Hey, Sharon," Steve says, grinning. Sharon blushes and gives a breathless laugh.
"Hey, Steve. How you doing?" She replies.
"I'm good, kiddo. How's Peggs? She still kicking ass in LA?"
"Nah, she's heading back to New York soon. Can't keep her away! My dad's glad she's back."
"Yeah, good old Michael always was fond of his sister," Steve says, lost in thought for a second. He shakes himself out of it and smiles, and then orders their meals (Lighthouse sandwich for Bucky, chicken nuggets for Steve). Sure enough, no sooner have they paid than their order is being handed to them on a tray, and Steve is giving Sharon a quick hug. They grab their food and sit at one of the tables in the corner of the restaurant.
Bucky waits all of five seconds after sitting down to round on his companion.
"So you know her, huh?" Bucky wiggles his eyebrows, and Steve makes a truly adorable scrunchy face.
"First of all, I went to high school with her Aunt Peggy. Sharon's basically my niece, so ew. Second, she's, uh, not really my type,"
"Too young, too blonde or too female?" Bucky replies, swiftly.
"Well, she's eighteen, so definitely too young. But also, uh, yeah," Steve blushes and rubs the back of his neck, ducking his head. “I’m gay as the Fourth of July. Which is also my birthday, if you believe in irony." Bucky can only raise his eyebrows at that, and Steve nods, as if to say yeah, I know. They just look at each other for a minute and then he clears his throat. "So, to answer your question, no, I don't want to date my best friend's niece." He stabs at his chicken with his fork, because Steve Rogers is apparently the type of person to eat chicken nuggets with a fork. With his mouth full, he gestures to Bucky. "What about you?"
"Well, I don't wanna date her either." Bucky says, teasing grin firmly in place, and Steve reaches out to swat him lightly.
"Answer the question, jerk," he says, still chewing. “Or don’t, I’m easy.” Bucky shrugs.
"Girls think I'm gay, guys think I'm straight, strangers think I love threesomes and my parents think I'm 'artistic'. Depends who ya ask."
"I'm askin' you,"
"Then, hi, my name's Bucky and I'm bisexual."
"Good to meet you, Bucky." Steve says with a grin. They chew in silence for a moment and Bucky scoffs.
"Not usually how I start a first meal." He says,
"I dunno, I feel like I've known you for years," Steve says, completely and utterly sincere. Bucky sort of half frowns, like he's not quite sure how to react.
"I kinda know what you mean." He says, scratching his head. Steve gives him a small smile and looks down at the table, picking at his sandwich. Another pause, less weighted than the last, but Bucky still panics that he'll forget how to have a conversation. The events of earlier that lead to this weird lunch pops back into his head.
"Hey, can you actually do that?" Bucky asks, eventually. Steve looks up, confused, and Bucky realises he's been having conversations with himself again. "Ban folks for life, I mean?"
"I know a guy who got a lifetime ban for jumping the barriers at the park entrance." Steve shrugs. "Well, I knew him. Once he got banned from Disney I pretty much wrote him off."
A pause. "That's a joke, Bucky."
Bucky snorts unattractively. "Boy, you got some stories, Stevie," he says, eyes crinkling at the corners. All Steve can do is concede the point and nod.
"So will you, too." He replies. "Give it a few weeks and you'll have enough to fill a book."
"Yeah, sure. It'll be about the dark side of Disney, and it'll be wildly unpopular."
"And you'll have to use a pseudonym so you don't get sued by the Mouse."
"I'm feelin' the pressure, Stevie. Think I'll just stick to tellin' you my stories."
"Fine by me." Steve says. He stirs his drink with the straw and then sucks up the final dregs, making the horrible crackly sound that straws do when empty. Bucky glares at him and Steve stares right back, lips wrapped obscenely around the straw, and still making those horrible slurping noises.
From across the room, a small baby is judging him.
Bucky's lunch break ends before he's ready, and he has to sadly dispose of his rubbish and walk back round to the ride. Steve walks with him despite the fact it's still his break, and he seems reluctant to leave when they get to the entrance.
"Well, thanks for lunch." Bucky says, shoving his hands in his pockets. He can see Clint peering at them from across the rope and tries to keep his voice down. Steve doesn't quite get the memo.
"Yeah, we should do it again soon!" His voice booms, and Clint's eyebrows shoot into his hairline.
"I'll call you in about five minutes when a tourist tries to steal one of the audioanimatronics," Bucky says with a grin, trying his best to ignore the faces he knows Clint is making behind his back.
"I'll keep my radio on," Steve says, and turns away with a wave.
As soon as he's out of earshot, Clint bounces over and throws an arm around Bucky's shoulders.
"That was disgusting," He says. "I never knew conversations about tourists could be so sexually charged."
"Oh, cmon..."
"No, I'm not exaggerating, buddy. That was horrifying to witness. I feel like I need a shower."
"Think the heat's gettin' to you, pal."
"Never. I am a pillar of self control. I can deal with the heat by sheer force of will."
"You're just mad that Nat is from Russia and is fine with this weather."
At that, Clint does look slightly distressed.
"I don't think she has sweat glands, Bucky. She must lose heat through her palms like dogs do."
Clint is then interrupted by a group of tourists trying to get in the Fastpass entrance, and has to leave Bucky alone to his thoughts. Usually a terrible plan. His thoughts immediately wander to Steve, his big wide shoulders and his kind blue eyes. Bucky has it confirmed from the man himself that he likes men. The only problem Bucky now has is that he is a coward and is too afraid to ask Steve out. It is a rather big problem.
After the Harbour House, Bucky gets a little foolish, and starts calling in problems that are barely even problems at all, just so Steve will come along in his uniform and chat to him for a bit. Steve, at first, thinks Bucky is still adjusting to the new job, and plays along with it, but eventually cottons on to the fact that Bucky is messing with him.
"Hey, Buck," he says when he arrives one day, about six weeks after their first lunch together. Since then, there have been more lunches, coffee breaks, and even a fateful night where they ran into each other—literally—on the New Balance running trail at the Beach Club Resort, and it's got to the point where Bucky can quite firmly call Steve his Friend. "You ever hear of the boy who cried wolf?"
"Kid wanted attention and did everything in his power to get it," Bucky says, grinning. "A man after my own heart."
"So you are just calling in security to waste my time,"
"I wouldn't think any time spent with me was wasted time," Bucky says, feigning hurt.
"I mean, I'd rather be hanging out with Mickey Mouse, but I guess you'll do."
"You want me to stop callin you in?" Bucky teases, raising an eyebrow.
"No!" Steve says, too quickly. Behind the man's head, Bucky can see Clint pretending to be sick. Steve clears his throat, sheepishly. "Better safe than sorry, right?"
It ends up going on for a while - probably a little longer than Bucky should have let it - but Clint lives to fuck with the other cast members, and Steve always shows up, never seems mad, and always gets the job done. So Bucky is quite content to call in every single thing as it happens, and spend his days admiring Steve in his uniform. He really likes the hat.
And then everything goes a little pear shaped. Bucky calls in—and the security people know his voice at this point and just sigh—and then stands back to wait for Steve. He has a new story to tell him about running over a car during free running, and how he'd have lost his backpack if he hadn't had the buckle clipped, and he's practising his anecdotes in his head and picturing Steve's facial expressions when he hears. Steve has the best, most expressive face, and he always listens to Bucky like he really, really wants to hear what he has to say. Then a voice says, "Problem?" behind his head, and Bucky's heart sinks. He turns on his heel and it's Brock, of all people, in his dark uniform, staring at Bucky with raised eyebrows and arms folded.
"Sorry, were you expecting Stevie-boy?" Brock says, not sounding sorry at all.
"He usually comes around when we call, is all." Bucky replies. He's going for casual, but ends up sounding a bit strangled, like he's just discovered how to speak.
"Don't know where he is. Probably couldn't be bothered getting off his ass to come deal with your stupid shit."
Bucky is impressed that Brock has managed to insult them both, at the same time, in under 20 words. He's also confused. Did Steve get sick of him and not want to come? He can't ask Brock any more because that would just come off as desperate. He manages to hold his tongue—just—and Brock efficiently deals with the family who have got lost trying to find Hollywood Studios, a completely separate park, leaving Bucky to stew quietly and make faces at the other man's back as he walks away.
After that, Bucky doesn't call for security, even when he sort of needs it. He and Clint hold the fort as best they can, and if Clint has suspicions about why they're suddenly dealing with everything on their own, he doesn't say.
But then something happens and Bucky can't deal with it alone. A man gets on the ride with ten fingers and walks off with nine. Everything falls apart. They quickly shut the ride down and Bucky frantically radios for security, emergency medical, and everyone else he can think of. Not even five minutes later, a hoard of cast members comes barging into the ride area, and Bucky just stands back and lets them take over. He soon realises that no one is manning front of line, so he walks to the entrance and stops by the barriers, preventing unsuspecting tourists from walking into something from a horror movie. "Technical difficulties" is the excuse he uses, is the excuse they always use, no matter the situation. Surprisingly, most are calm and understanding. He only has about three or four people blame him personally for ruining their vacations, which has to be a new record low.
Eventually, everyone on the ride is evacuated and given a free Fastpass to make up for witnessing someone be viciously maimed by a ride track. Bucky can finally breathe a sigh of relief. His shoulders sag, and he closes his eyes, briefly. When he opens them, Steve is standing in front of him in casual clothing. It must be his day off. He has his hands in his pockets, and an unreadable expression on his face.
"Just wanted to say well done," he says, quietly. Bucky takes his hat off and fans himself with it, just to have something to do with his hands. "I was backstage collecting a paycheque and I heard it over the radio."
"Thanks, Steve."
"That was, uh. Quite something you had to deal with there." Steve comes round to the other side of the barrier and leans against the wall, facing Bucky. His arms are folded across his chest like armour.
"I'll say," Bucky says, mirroring Steve's body language. "I've worked here for two months." He whines. "People aren't supposed to be losing fingers until I'm old and apathetic."
That draws a laugh out of Steve. "Don't worry," he says. "I'm sure they'll still be losing fingers then." A silence falls between them, and despite their best efforts, it's painfully awkward. "I ain't seen you in a while, Buck," Steve finally says, hesitation in his voice. "You don't call, you don't write." He tries for jokey, but he just sounds kind of nervous.
"Yeah, I, uh." Bucky rubs the back of his head with his hand. "I called one day a few weeks ago and someone else came. I figured you'd got sick of me."
At this, Steve looks positively horrified.
"No, Bucky! Of course not! I was on vacation with my buddy Sam." Bucky feels an immense wave of relief crash over him as Steve continues. "It was kind of a last minute thing and I wanted to tell you, but I didn't have your number."
"This your way of asking for my number, Steve?" Bucky snorts, and Steve goes scarlet to the tips of his ears. Bucky saves him trying to say anything else and writes it down on Steve's arm in black pen, right across his pulse point. He can feel Steve's heartbeat thrumming under his fingers. When he's done, he gives Steve's arm a gentle pat and rolls his sleeve back down.
"So, uh," Steve clears his throat, pulling his arm back. "Who'd you get from security the other week? Coulson? Ohh, you didn't get Fury did you?" Bucky closes his eyes and gives a single shake of the head.
"Worse. I got Brock."
"Shit," Steve swears, and then promptly goes white and checks if anyone heard. Luckily, the only person within earshot is Clint, who is occupied with a child doing pin trading with him. Steve leans in and whispers conspiratorially. "He's a life ruiner. He ruins people's lives."
"And that is why I didn't call for you for ages. I didn't want to deal with his stupid attitude again."
"Well, I don't blame you, Buck," Steve says, shaking his head. "What time does your shift end? Wanna grab some dinner?"
Bucky grabs Steve's wrist to look at his watch and is rewarded by a red flush making its way up the other man's face.
"I'm done in thirty minutes," he says, grinning. "Meet me out here at five?"
"I'll be here." Steve replies, and heads off with a mock salute to sit on a bench by the gift shop, just out of Bucky's line of sight. Clint purses his lips but says nothing, and for once, Bucky is glad of his silence.
At 5:03, Bucky stands in his own clothes outside Pirates, fingers drumming a nervous rhythm on his leg. Clint, who's still on for another hour, is hurling insults at his back, which Bucky is steadfastly ignoring. At 5:07, Steve jogs his way over, hair ruffled.
"Sorry, I was in the gift shop in Tomorrowland and lost track of time." He says, breathless. "Got you a present though." He rummages about in his bag and pulls out a mystery packet of tiny Star Wars figurines. Bucky, delighted, rips open the packet to reveal a tiny TIE fighter pilot, Kylo Ren, and a rather horrifying Han Solo with only milky whites for eyes.
"Well, that's sufficiently terrifying," Bucky laughs. "Thank you, I wanted to get myself some."
"Yeah, you mentioned a while back," Steve says, and he's suddenly shy, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. Bucky bumps his shoulder with his own amicably, and they walk along to the Harbour House in a comfortable silence.
It’s Sharon who serves them again, and she manages to sneak them each a cupcake by loudly proclaiming it’s their birthdays. They give her a grateful nod and head upstairs, where it’s far less crowded than below.
"God, can you imagine what it must be like losin' a finger?" Steve says, quietly, when they're seated with their meal. Bucky smirks.
"I can imagine pretty well, actually." Steve turns and looks at him, and Bucky lifts his hand and waves his metal fingers with a grin. The colour drains from Steve's face.
"Oh, shit, Bucky, I'm so sorry," he splutters. "I just... I forgot. Fuck." Steve runs his hand over his face and Bucky is almost tempted to draw it out, because he really wants to see Steve look at him like that again, but he soon decides he has to put the poor guy out of his misery.
"You've betrayed me, Steven," Bucky says, dramatically, crossing his arms and turning away. "I will never forgive you for this slight." Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Steve's shoulders drop in relief.
"Oh, fuck you," Steve says, without any heat, and gives him a shove to the metal shoulder. Hearing curses come out of his mouth actually makes Bucky weak at the knees.
"Maybe later, honey," he says, automatically, in an attempt to defend himself. "I'm working."
His reward for that comment is the sight of Steve Rogers going red as a tomato and struggling for words. Bucky can only thank the maker that he has lived long enough to see it, and he now knows that he could die happy, with that image in his mind. After that, they move on to talking about their favourite rides, and Bucky realises that while Steve is handsome and kind and jacked as hell, he’s also a complete dumbass with some very wrong opinions.
“You think Stitch’s Great Escape just gets a bad rap?” Bucky says, incredulously. “Pal, that thing is a nightmare. It should have been closed years ago.”
“I mean, it’s not that bad.” Steve replies, slowly. Bucky just holds up his metal hand and shakes his head.
“If you have to justify something by saying it’s not that bad, you’ve already lost.”
Steve shrugs good-naturedly and the conversation moves on.
“What made you want to be a security guard at Disney?” Bucky says, picking at his cupcake.
“Just kinda fell into it, I guess.” He replies. “I came down here for the College Program about six years ago—worked as a park greeter. When my program was up, I saw they had openings in Security so I applied, and I’ve been here ever since.” Steve nods his head at Bucky to indicate he should answer too. Bucky makes a strangled sort of noise.
“Not really sure how I ended up here.” He says. “I was at college and hated it, and then I, like, blacked out, and found myself at an interview to work on attractions. Got the job, found an apartment, told my college where to stick it.” Steve gives a huff of laughter and nods his approval.
"So you like the Pirates of The Caribbean ride, huh?” He says.
"The one in Eurodisney is better.” Bucky replies.
"Is that right?” Steve raises an eyebrow.
"Yeah, the addition of Jack Sparrow over here is a bit contrived,” Bucky says, and Steve nods his agreement. “Plus, there’s two drops in the Paris one.”
They talk until they notice the cast members cleaning up the areas around them, and then Bucky looks at his phone and realises it’s almost closing time. They both have work at opening the next day, so they quickly stand and walk towards the exit together, trying not to grin too obviously when the other is looking.
The next morning, Bucky walks into the break room at 7:00 before his 7:15 start and finds Clint with his face planted on the table, hat over his head, snoring loudly. Bucky throws a packet of Reese’s Pieces at Clint’s head and the man wakes with an undignified snort.
“Got you candy,” Bucky says, and Clint picks it up. With a nod at Clint, Bucky turns around to clock in. By the time he’s typed his ID number in, clicked the clock in button and signed back out, Clint is scrunching up the packet in his fist.
”I’m done," He says. He has chocolate on the corners of his mouth, but other than that, there’s no sign there was every any candy in his vicinity.
“How did you—“ Bucky says, incredulous. “I just gave that to you."
"Didn't want it to melt.” Clint replies, as if it’s obvious.
"You're under air conditioning.” Bucky points to the ceiling, to the rotating fan that sits behind Clint, gently ruffling his hair. Clint just shrugs, puts his hat on and gets ready to face the day.
It’s a pretty normal day by Bucky’s standards, which means he only gets cursed out three times and his toe run over by an electric wheelchair once. Clint calls for security about midday when a fight breaks out between the grandparents of two opposing families and Bucky unsubtly avoids dealing with the situation by kneeling down to give stickers to a little boy. In the space of about three minute, Fury comes along, breaks up the fight with little more than a stern glance, and then sidles up to Bucky’s side.
"So you're Steve's guy, huh?” He says as Bucky straightens up.
"What?" Bucky splutters. Fury gives him a look of utter disdain.
"Look, I don't know what y'all are up to, but all I know is every time there's a call-in from this ride, Steve practically climbs over everyone else to take it. It's kind of annoying, actually.”
“I don’t—“ Bucky starts, but Fury just holds up his hand, and Bucky falls silent. Fury shakes his head and turns away, muttering under his breath.
A few days later, Steve and Bucky are having dinner at Sanaa at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge. The bread service has just come to the table and after asking the server to repeat the names of each of the dips about four times, they’re finally tucking in.
"Met Fury the other day," Bucky says, watching Steve's expression carefully. A look of muted horror crosses his face, and he quickly tries to rearrange his features.
"Yeah?" He says, faux casual. "What did you think of him?"
"Decent dude," Bucky says, eyes narrowing. "Very honest. Told me some things about you."
"Oh, God, he didn't tell you about the Fantastic Four Halloween incident, did he?" Steve says, eyes wide.
"No, but I'll be hearing about that later," Bucky promises. He takes a breath. "He says you've been falling over yourself to take my calls. Called me "Steve's Guy". Care to elaborate?"
Steve has flushed scarlet and his head is in his hands. Bucky can't help but grin. "What are we doing, Stevie?" he says. "What kinda ridiculous game of chicken we been playing over the last few months?” He leans forwards and grabs Steve’s hands, enveloping them in one metal and one human hand. There’s a pause, and then Steve’s fingers entwine with his and a smile crosses his face.
“You wanna date me?” Steve says, grinning.
“Yes, please.” Bucky replies, and that is that.
Three months later
"Dude, you are ridiculous. It's A Small World is not the most romantic ride in the park. It's like something from a serial killer's dream diary!" Bucky scoffs at Steve, pulling him down the side of Main Street as the Festival of Fantasy parade music follows along behind them.
"And your choice of the Haunted Mansion is much better?" Steve rolls his eyes at his boyfriend's back, safe in the knowledge he can't see him.
"At least there's a wedding in there!"
"Yeah, and then the groom dies!"
"Whatever, man," Bucky says. They're trying to escape the Magic Kingdom before the after-parade rush, but the crowds of people blocking the sidewalk are making their task difficult. Attempting to do the 4 Parks - 1 Day challenge on a Saturday in the middle of the holiday season also might not have been their best idea, as it's now 2pm and they're only on their second park. They're determined to complete the challenge, as it's rare they both get a full day off that coincides, and they want to make the most of it. Being Disney cast members, of course, means spending their day off hanging out at the place they work.
They've already been to Hollywood Studios and spent the morning on Tower of Terror and Rock'n'Rollercoaster, and then made their way to Magic Kingdom for a stint on Big Thunder Mountain. Bucky insisted on stopping for waffles at the Sleepy Hollow bakery, and then Steve wanted a hotdog, and before they knew it, the 2 o'clock parade was about to start and the streets were filling with tourists eager to see the parade floats up close.
They somehow make it to Animal Kingdom by 3pm and head straight to Expedition Everest, and then sprint straight back out of the park to get to Epcot before dinner. All in all, it's one of the more ridiculous days they've spent park-hopping. They have dinner in the World Showcase—fish and chips at the Rose & Crown—and they sit by the water, gazing out over the lagoon as sun sets and the soft, amber lights come on.
They ride Spaceship Earth, Steve's arm slung behind Bucky's back, and as their ride car rolls up past the rivers of Egypt, the schools of Greece, the library of Alexandria, Bucky makes a decision.
"This is the most romantic ride in the park." He says, and Steve raises his eyebrows.
"Yeah?" He says, smirking.
"Yeah." Bucky says, firmly. "It's dark, it's private, it's slow-moving, and Dame Judi Dench does the narration. It's confirmed."
"You make a good point," Steve laughs, pressing a kiss to Bucky's temple as their spaceship turns to head back to Earth.
They catch the monorail back to the Magic Kingdom, and by some miracle manage to get back inside before the evening show starts. Steve kisses Bucky under the fireworks of Happily Ever After, and their Mickey ears fall from their heads with a clatter. They laugh and wind their fingers together, Bucky leaning his head on Steve's shoulder. When the show finishes and everyone starts leaving, they fall behind, gazing at the castle, illuminated in fluorescent colour and bathed in the light of the moon. They stay long enough to see the kiss goodnight, and Bucky salutes to the Partners statue, before turning and heading down an empty Main Street, hand in hand.