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The roar of the crowd was overwhelming as Bucky stepped onto the field with his teammates. But over the cheers of thousands of people he could still hear one solitary voice screaming his name.
He grinned and waved to the crowd, knowing his Stevie was out there somewhere. Steve had never missed a game yet.
“That skinny little twig of yours has got a mouth on him,” Rumlow muttered.
Bucky smirked. “Don’t be jealous.”
“Jealous? You think I have any interest in that little pipsqueak? Don’t make me laugh, Barnes. You can do better than him. It’s embarrassing seeing the two of you together. We’re the top ranked soccer team in the league and you’re still hanging around that loser from high school. He looks like he’s still in high school if you ask me.”
“Well, I didn’t ask,” Bucky said cooly. “So shut up and get your head in the game.”
Rumlow grumbled under his breath, but he got into position beside Rollins.
Bucky rolled his eyes. His teammates might be top-ranked players, but they were really just high grade douchebags. If he wasn’t on an athletic scholarship, Bucky would have quit the team the second they started talking shit about his boyfriend. But thankfully he only had to put up with them for three more games.
They were lucky that their dipshittery hadn’t ruined Bucky’s love of soccer. If he put his head down and just focused on the game, he could pretend his teammates weren’t terrible human beings. After all, they were top-ranked players and Bucky could begrudgingly admit that their performances lived up to the hype.
So Bucky tuned out the rest of their talk and focused on Steve’s voice in the crowd. Steve would get him through this. He always had.
“Let’s go, Buck!” Steve shouted as the ref blew the starting whistle. “Hustle, hustle, hustle!”
Bucky threw himself into the game, half listening to everything Steve shouted at him, half keeping an eye on his team. Steve was the smartest man Bucky knew and if he had been strong enough to play on the team, Bucky knew they’d all run circles around everyone else. But Steve had to stick with coaching him through the sidelines.
Steve was probably more invested in the game than their actual coach by now. He cursed at the team when they screwed up, he screamed obscenities at the refs whenever they made a questionable call. And when Bucky scored the final goal, no one cheered louder than Steve.
Bucky was wiped out after such an intense game. He dragged himself back into the locker room to change into his street clothes and then wandered out to the front parking lot to see if he could find Steve before everyone left.
He saw just a blur of blonde hair before Steve jumped into his arms and wrapped his legs around his waist.
“You were great out there,” Steve said breathlessly, his eyes shining with excitement. “I saw you score the winning goal.”
“Breathe, babe,” Bucky said with a fond smile. “Don’t want you having another asthma attack.”
Steve sucked in a deep breath. “You were amazing,” he said. “I hope you heard how loudly I was cheering for you.”
“Course I did,” Bucky said with a smile. “I gotta do my best knowing you’re out there watching. Don’t want to disappoint my boyfriend.”
Steve huffed and lightly punched Bucky’s arm. “Jerk.”
“I mean it, punk. I couldn’t do it without you.”
“I should be out there with you,” Steve muttered. “I know the team talks shit about you and I could be there to kick their asses. You’re one of the top scorers on the team and they don’t give you enough respect.”
“I can handle them,” Bucky said. “You stay in the bleachers where you belong. I’m nothing without my own person cheer section.” He pressed a kiss to Steve’s forehead. “And besides, if you kick all their asses, we won’t have a team anymore.”
“We could find new players,” Steve muttered mutinously. “Better players.”
“Steve.”
“Oh, alright. I’ll let them slide. Just for you.”
“You’re a doll, Stevie. So, what do you say we go home and celebrate our victory? A little birdie told me my boyfriend’s got a big mouth and I want to take test that out.”
“What?” Steve growled. His eyes narrowed and he glanced over Bucky’s shoulder. “I dare him to say that straight to my face.”
Bucky cupped Steve’s face in his hands. “Would you listen to me, moron? I want to put that mouth of yours to good use and make ‘em all jealous. Please tell me I don’t need to keep spelling it out for you.”
“Oh. Well, in that case, I guess I do have a big mouth.” Steve licked his lips. “And it’s all for you.”