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“So, James 'Bucky' Barnes: Baseball Superstar. Effortlessly charming, extremely good looking and incredibly talented. Tell me, how do you do it?”
Bucky smiled at the camera widely. “Well, John, it's the way I was raised. That and I train every day of the week for two hours down at my local gym, Ian's Fitness Centre.”
“Wow, sounds like an intense workout. What kind of diet do you go by?” John said eagerly, the smile not reaching his eyes.
“I have a very strict diet. Absolutely no carbohydrates. It's all portion controlled and tested by my wonderful personal chef.” Bucky explained, fighting the urge to laugh. His stomach was already rumbling over the pizza he was planning on having for dinner. He could see Steve, his bodyguard, standing behind the camera as he tried not to laugh.
“Great. Have you ever had a cheat night? Or wanted to?”
“No way! I mean, don't get me wrong, the temptation rears its ugly head every now and then but whenever it strikes, I just dunk my head in a bucket of icy water. Reset my system.” Bucky said seriously.
“Marvelous.” John laughed. “Well, you heard it here first, folks. Coming up next we go behind the scenes of the season finale of Breaking Bad. Don't go away.”
“And we're clear!”
Bucky let out a sigh and stood up, not giving John a chance to continue talking to him. He walked straight over to Steve, disconnecting the microphone from his shirt as he did so. “Get me out of here.”
“Yes, sir.” Steve grunted, turning around and speaking into his comm. “Sir, some fans found out you were here and are swarming the front doors.”
“Back entrance it is then. My favourite.” Bucky smirked. Steve even cracked a smile. He started leading Bucky through the studio towards the exit door into the alleyway.
“James! You did great!”
“Oh, Cassie, thank you so much for having me!” Bucky exclaimed, doing the annoying wave that everyone seemed to love. Both his hands flying out at the sides before clasping whoever he was waving at on the arms.
“No, thank you for coming on the show. Our fans are gonna love us for it. So, you got any plans tonight?” She asked hopefully.
Bucky grinned and looked her up and down. “Nothing I couldn't heartlessly abandon.”
Cassie flushed and looked down at the ground. “Call me later. We're going back on air.”
“Will do. I'll see you later, Cassie.” Bucky winked at her before following Steve's broad back out the back entrance.
Bucky was immediately met with a tonne of screams and cheers. “Shit. Let's sign some photos.” He nodded at Steve.
“Could everyone please make an orderly line! James will get to you a lot faster if you aren't swarming like bees!” Steve yelled out, blocking Bucky from their view.
It was an exhausting end to the day, the photos and signing of photos took almost an hour and by the time Steve was calling Cassie to organise their date, it was already dark. He had a table booked at one of his usual spots, dressing up only slightly. He felt kind of bad bringing Cassie into it because he actually liked her. He'd done a few interviews with her other shows before and they got on well. But, unfortunately for her, it had been a while since Bucky had last been on a date and the papers were starting to get bored. She'd just asked the wrong thing at the right time for Bucky. She'd get over it. He was a pro at this by now.
“Sir, were you wanting me to organise your late night special?” Steve asked from the couch, looking down at his phone.
“Um, yes. Find me someone that's… Blonde. And built like me.” Bucky said, straightening his tie in the mirror. “How do I look?”
Steve turned around in his seat, his face empty of any kind of emotion. “As good as you always do, sir.”
“Great. Let's go pick her up.”
–
Bucky threw his head back in laughter, the noise heard all through the restaurant. Cassie was grinning, excited that she seemed to be dazzling him. Steve felt for her, he really did. He had watched this scene over a dozen times with different girls. Each girl hoping she might be the one to take it further than one date. Pining after him hopelessly. Steve had far too much experience with that side of things.
Steve was about to zip to the bathroom when a flash outside the restaurant told him that the paparazzi had shown up. Exactly as planned. He stood up, staring regretfully at his unfinished meal, and went the two tables over to Bucky's table.
He leant down close and whispered in Bucky's ear. “Mr Barnes, sir, the paps and fans are here.”
“Damn it.” Bucky sighed. “Okay. I've got to go, Cassie. I'm really sorry to cut this short.”
“Oh, that's okay. You're a busy man. Is everything okay?” She asked.
“Oh yeah, just family stuff. I'll call you though.” Bucky smiled, leaning across the table and giving her a kiss, more flashes going off through the windows.
“Thanks for a fun night, James.” Cassie smiled.
“See ya.” Bucky saluted before following Steve out of the restaurant, smiling patiently at the cameras going off. He climbed into his car, Steve following close behind. Once inside, he let out a loud sigh, untying his hair and letting it hang down loosely. “Well that went well. You got my late night special?”
“Yes, sir. We're driving to the hotel now.” Steve confirmed, pulling out his phone and bringing up the dating profile of Bucky's hookup to show him.
“Verrry nice.” Bucky grinned at the guys photo. “He looks like you.” He snorted.
“I- you asked for a blonde and built like you, sir.” Steve stammered.
“So I did.” Bucky sighed, opening his fridge and grabbing a beer. “You want one?”
“Uh- I never drink on the job, sir.” Steve shook his head, putting his phone away as the car slowed to a stop.
“I wouldn't mind if you did, you know.” Bucky stated, frowning at his phone. “God damn, mom. Always the first to call me after every date. I'll call her tomorrow.”
Steve got out of the car and rushed around to Bucky's side, opening the door and ushering him inside the hotel quickly, nodding to the security guards in place. It was a simple procedure that Steve had to go through three or four times a fortnight. He would organise a date for 'himself'. His profile would always have one photo of him with Bucky in it.
Whoever fit the bill of what Bucky had requested, would agree to meet up under the impression that they were meeting Steve. Upon meeting, they would sign a contract if they wanted to go through with it and spend the night with James Buchanon Barnes. If they did, which was always, Steve would then go outside and bring Bucky in from another room. He'd then go into that room and spend the night in there, waiting for the night of torment to be over.
It was an extremely painful process for Steve. What he wouldn't give to even be one of the girls that Bucky took out on fake dates. It would suck knowing what was coming at the end of the night but if he could spend even an hour just sitting across from Bucky talking about something that didn't have anything to do with work, he would be happy.
Steve was completely head over heels in love with Bucky and there was nothing he could do about it.
–
Bucky's alarm went off at 6am the next morning, jerking him from his dreamless sleep. He slapped his hand around the bedside table, struggling to turn his alarm off. He finally silenced the beeping and stared at the ceiling of the hotel, hatred for the upcoming day filling him. He looked to his side and sighed at the sight of last night's hook up lying there, fast asleep.
He kicked him lightly. “Get up.”
“Mmm.”
He kicked him slightly harder. “Get up. We've got about ten minutes before my body guard comes in with breakfast. Get up. Get dressed. Get out.”
“I was thinking we could have round three.” Andrew grinned at Bucky, pulling back the blankets to reveal his hard on.
Bucky bit his lip, wondering if they could do it in ten minutes. He sighed regretfully and shook his head. “I'm sorry. I had fun last night but I've got a schedule to keep and it's very busy today.”
“Maybe I could give you my number and we could do this again sometime?” He asked hopefully as Bucky slid out of bed.
“That's not how this works, buddy.” Bucky sighed, grabbing his phone and sending a quick text to Steve, telling him to come inside asap.
“What if I-”
“Andrew, you signed a contract. You were told how it was gonna go down. Don't ruin a good night.” Bucky sighed, pulling on his underwear just as Steve burst through the door.
“Dude!” Andrew yelled out, pulling the blanket over to cover himself.
“Don't make me toss you out undressed.” Steve said sternly, shutting the door behind him and turning his back so Andrew could get dressed. “Buc- Mr Barnes, your agent wants you to call her as soon as you can. Also, she's cancelled your photo op at the gym this morning.”
“Really? I wonder why...” Bucky sighed. “Look, I hate to be rude, but I really need you to go now.”
“Yep. I'm leaving.” Andrew sighed. Steve turned around and was relieved to see him dressed and heading to the door. They sat in silence as he paused at the door. “Thanks for a good night. You know how to get a hold of me if you don't want to go through that whole contract shit again. See you, James.”
Bucky nodded in acknowledgement and let out a groan as soon as the door was shut. He flopped back on the bed and closed his eyes, his fingers tapping a rhythm on his stomach. “Why do they always try their luck at changing it up?”
“Because you're so 'effortlessly charming, extremely handsome and incredibly talented'.” Steve said, mimicking the host from yesterday.
Bucky started laughing, rolling onto his stomach and looking up at Steve, his hair falling in his face. “Are my waffles on the way?”
“Should be arriving any minute.” Steve nodded, sitting down at the small table.
“Great.” Bucky said happily, grabbing his phone again to check his emails. His phone burst into life instantly, his agent's name popping up on screen. He pressed accept and put the phone to his ear. “Amanda! What's happening?”
“Have you been online at all?”
“What? No? Why?” Bucky sat up suddenly, fear constricting his throat suddenly.
“There's- it's nothing major but it definitely poses a problem.” She said slowly.
“Google me.” Bucky said to Steve, putting his phone on speaker and dropping it on the bed so he could get dressed.
“It's just a couple of articles, a few girls, nothing I can't deal with. But I just wouldn't go out in public just yet.” Amanda said, her voice doing that thing that told Bucky she wasn't at all confident in being able to solve the problem.
“What articles? Steve?” Bucky looked at him desperately.
“Last night, well known producer of hit shows such as 'Sports Direct' and 'It's In The Bag', Cassandra Davies was seen out for dinner with none other than notorious ladies man, James Barnes. They were seen at one of Barnes' favourite restaurants, Carpe Diem, the two snapped sharing a laugh over food and drinks. But according to our sources, the date didn't go as well as Cassandra had planned. In a public group forum, several women have come forward about their dates with Mr Barnes being nothing but dinner. It start-”
“FUCK.” Bucky swore, kicking the edge of the bed stupidly, his toe aching a split second later.
“It originated from a group of women anonymously sharing their bad dating experiences but soon after, a new group was created as more and more women came forward about their dates with Mr Barnes. The group now has fifteen members, seven of which say their date ended abruptly with promises of being called but to no avail. Most recently, Cassandra Davies.
“Davies admits relief that she isn't the only woman to experience this. She stated that she 'knew it wouldn't go anywhere but he's just so… something. I would have liked one night.'. Brooklyngossip.com has reached out to Davies and Barnes for comments but have been unsuccessful in the matter. We can only wonder what really goes on in the mind of James Buchanon Barnes. As far as our source tells us, he spent the night alone in a hotel he frequently visits. Maybe he has a secret wife he's ashamed of. Maybe he doesn't like being in a building on his own. Until Barnes graces us with a comment, we can only wonder.”
“Amanda? Are you there?”
“I'm here.” She said nervously.
“I want that article taken down.” Bucky demanded.
“Bucky I-”
“How long ago was it posted, Steve?” Bucky asked desperately.
“About an hour ago. But Bucky-”
“Then get it taken down Amanda. It can't have reached that many eyes yet.” Bucky said confidently, feeling slightly better about it.
“Bucky, it's not the only article.” Steve said quietly, watching Bucky's face cautiously.
Bucky stared at the bedspread for a moment before jumping off the bed. He threw open the doors to the balcony and looked down at the front entrance to the hotel. It was currently swarmed with fans and journalists alike. He shut the doors and started pacing in his room as room service knocked on the door. Bucky ignored it, letting Steve deal with the food delivery. He could hardly be called just his body guard these days. But it was the easiest title Bucky could come up with.
“Bucky, you should eat something.” Steve sighed, picking up a piece of bacon on the plate. He knew full well that there was no way Bucky was going to eat now. He was too worked up, too nervous.
“You eat it.” Bucky muttered. “What am I gonna do? I can't stay here all day.”
“I could get the car around to the back door? Go to your moms?” Steve suggested, tucking into the meal.
“Nah I don't want to risk them finding her house.” Bucky sighed, looking out the window and onto the street. “Fuck them. Why should I have to hide just because I don't want to sleep with women on the first date?”
“Bucky, don't you leave that hotel. You hear me?” Amanda said sternly.
Bucky grabbed his phone from the bed and hung up, gathering up his things. “We're leaving this hotel.”
“Not a problem. Where to, sir?”
“The airport.” Bucky said, email alerts popping up on his phone. He put it on silent, dropping it into his overnight bag. “I need to get away for a few nights. Amanda can deal with this.”
“Excellent. Should I book flights for you?”
“Yes please. You're coming too.” Bucky threw over his shoulder, searching the bed for his hair tie. He finally located it and pulled his hair into a loose bun.
“Where are we flying to, sir?” Steve asked, struggling to keep the joy out of his voice.
“Somewhere tropical. Down under.”
–
“Steve, I need you to listen to me very carefully.”
“I'm listening, sir.” Steve nodded, bracing himself for whatever could possibly be about to leave Bucky's lips.
“These four nights are about me getting a break. I've realized that it's been about a year and a half since I last had a trip like this. Which means that it's been even longer for you. So, I want it made very clear that once we are checked into the hotel, you are not here to work. You will be here as my friend and we're both letting off some steam.” Bucky said seriously.
“But- sir- what if-”
“If the occasion arises, you can do your bodyguard thing. But I don't think people in Samoa give a damn about baseball. Let alone a barely there scandal about some player from Brooklyn.” Bucky snorted. “We can find me a man. Find you a girl?”
“I- I'm not-”
“Oh, you got a girlfriend already?” Bucky asked, as he took a mouthful of his beer.
“I'm bisexual, sir.” Steve said quietly, letting the statement hang in the air.
Bucky's eyes watered as he almost choked on his beer. “Are you serious?”
“Yes, sir.” Steve nodded, glancing up as an air hostess walked past, offering hot towels.
“You didn't think to tell me at all?”
“It never came up?” Steve shrugged.
“Not even when I explained your job to you? When I first hired you? You couldn't have helped me out with my discomfort of- telling you?”
“I'm sorry, sir.” Steve dropped his head in shame, feeling like he'd let Bucky down. It was the last thing he wanted. He'd finally been given a chance to spend some quality time with Bucky, even being called his friend, and Steve had screwed it up already.
“Don't be sorry. I don't get to decide when and who you come out to, pal.” Bucky smiled. “We'll find you a boy then. What's your type?”
“Never really thought about it.” Steve lied.
–
“Steve, you remember what I said? About this being a break for you too?”
“Yes, sir.” Steve nodded, scanning the beach slowly.
“That means sit your ass down, enjoy the sun and stop calling me 'sir'. I don't know why I've put up with it for so long.” Bucky sighed contentedly, putting his sunglasses on and relaxing back in the sun lounger.
“Yes, s- Sure thing, Bucky.” Steve smiled, sitting down in the chair next to him.
They lay in the sun for about an hour, no one bothering them, no phones going off and no annoying fans or paparazzi to disturb them. Bucky eventually suggested they go for a swim, running along the hot sand to get to the water, Steve in tow. Bucky dove under straight away, coming up a second later to reveal his glistening abs, his hair sticking to his face to create the most beautiful thing Steve had ever seen. It took everything within Steve not to kiss him right then and there.
Steve lowered himself into the water, bringing his legs up to float gently with the waves. His eyes were closed and he finally felt himself properly relax. It suddenly occurred to him that he hadn't heard Bucky at all for a few minutes. He righted himself and looked around, panic sinking in. Suddenly Bucky popped up out of nowhere, grinning at Steve.
“Fucking hell. You scared the beejesus out of me, Bucky.” Steve exclaimed. “I thought you'd drowned or something.”
“You'd have to hold me down to stop me.” Bucky laughed. “Go on. I dare you.”
“You sure you wanna get into this? I am your bodyguard.” Steve raised an eyebrow at Bucky, loving the way Bucky's eyes sparkled in the sun.
“Oh, you think you can take on me? Are you a big tough guy now?” Bucky taunted, his arms out at his sides, waiting and ready for Steve.
“Bring it on, superstar.” Steve jibed, creeping closer and closer. He dove at Bucky, tackling him into the water. They both laughed as they wrestled, dunking each other playfully. It lasted about a minute before they were both out of breath and in danger of actually drowning. Steve let Bucky come up, gasping for air, right in front of his face.
“You almost killed me.” He stated dramatically.
“You should probably hire a new body guard then.” Steve smiled, noticing the few small freckles dotted on Bucky's nose for the first time.
Bucky stared at him, a small smile on his face. He was so close to Steve and he didn't even care. His stomach gave a jerk as Steve licked his lips, his eyes darting down to Bucky's lips. He was suddenly uncomfortable, confused at the unfamiliar feeling that was coming over him. He grinned and shoved Steve away to break the tension.
“Let's go get some dinner.” Bucky called over his shoulder, wading his way to the shore, a frown on his face as he tried to figure out what had just happened. He'd known Steve for three years. Ever since Steve had saved him from that aggressive photographer after Bucky had won his first big game. Steve had been walking by, saw Bucky was in trouble, and had stopped the pap.
Bucky doubted anything would have actually happened, but it was his first bad encounter with the paparazzi and from that moment on, he'd wanted Steve around him as much as possible. He and Steve were more best friends than they were colleagues. But Bucky had never thought about him in that way. He'd always just been off limits. They worked together and until their flight, Bucky had assumed he was straight.
“Everything okay?” Steve asked, joining Bucky's side.
“Yeah, I'm just- starving suddenly. Should we order room service? Or go down to the restaurant?” Bucky asked, hoping like hell he'd pick the latter.
“Well, we did come here to get out of the hotel room so let's go to the restaurant.” Steve said, picking up his towel as they reached their chairs.
“Sounds good.” Bucky said happily, hanging his towel around his neck.
They made their way up to the hotel silently, occasionally catching each other's eye. Bucky felt mortified when their hands accidentally brushed. He'd never felt anything like this before. Not since he was fifteen years old and realising he was gay. He'd always, always, just had hookups. He hadn't wanted to get into a relationship with someone when he couldn't be himself freely. He'd never even felt romantic feelings like this before. All he knew was that he wanted to hold Steve's hand. He'd wanted to kiss him in the water and he wanted to impress him at dinner.
They reached the hotel and went up to their rooms, making plans to go down in an hour. As soon as Bucky was inside, he started to panic. He didn't have anything nice to wear. At all. He'd barely brought any clothes with him in the first place. He started pulling his clothes out of his bag, chucking them away when they weren't right.
“Fuck.” Bucky muttered. He got up and went to the phone. He called up the reception and convinced them to get him a shirt and pants to wear. He had no doubt that Steve would be doing the same. He'd seen the look in his eyes. Bucky couldn't figure out why he hadn't seen it before. While he waited for the clothes, he went and jumped in the shower, wondering if Steve actually was on the same page or if Bucky was imagining things.
In the room next door, Steve was doing exactly the same as Bucky. Thankfully for him, due to the nature of his job, he actually had the right clothes to wear. Time went far too fast for him though. Before he knew it, there was a knock on his door and he froze, halfway through tying his tie. He made a split second decision and took it off, throwing it to the floor and out of sight.
He went and opened the door and smiled at Bucky's nervous face. Steve had no idea where he'd gotten the clothes from but he didn't care because he looked good. He had on a dark green shirt that was too tight around his biceps but Steve definitely wasn't complaining.
The dinner went better than either of them was expecting. Steve was finally getting his wish. They sat together for three hours, talking and laughing and learning so much more about each other than they thought possible. Bucky had never experienced what it was like to really bond with someone and develop feelings for them. It was surreal.
Eventually though, the restaurant had to close. Bucky had no idea how it had happened but he found himself on the beach at one in the morning with a bottle of champagne in hand, singing the pirate song on a dare from Steve.
Steve was lying in the sand, laughing his head off at the sight of Bucky stumbling around, mumbling into the half empty bottle of champagne. “Okay! Okay, dare complete.” Steve conceded, applauding Bucky.
“I'm not just good for baseball.” Bucky grinned, falling down next to Steve, their faces impossibly close. “So, what should I dare you to do?”
“Whatever you want me to do.” Steve said quietly, watching Bucky's face in the dim moonlight.
“Okay… I dare you to… Drink the rest of this champagne.” Bucky said, holding up the bottle.
“Easy.” Steve snorted, snatching the bottle from Bucky. He downed what was left in one go. “That was like two mouthfuls. And you spilled most of it!”
“Okay, dare me.” Bucky grinned.
“What should I dare you to do?” Steve asked thoughtfully.
“Dare me to kiss you.”
Steve blinked, looking at Bucky's serious face. He didn't even bother to dare him, he just closed the distance between their lips. Bucky smiled into the kiss, pushing against Steve, moving his body closer, every fibre of his being reacting to Steve's lips. His hands moved up Steve's chest, gripping his shoulders and using them to pull himself closer. Steve's hands wrapped themselves around Bucky's waist, pulling him on top of him in one swift movement. He ended the kiss abruptly, panting slightly.
“Don't- don't stop.” Bucky whispered, his eyes still closed.
“I think we should take this up to the hotel. Whether anything happens or not, it's just- we're very exposed out here.” Steve explained.
“True. Wouldn't this be a great way to make everyone forget about the women and their dates with me. Being caught making out with my security guard on a beach in Samoa.” Bucky snorted as they stood up.
“I think we could handle it if it happened.” Steve said happily, smiling at Bucky shyly.
“We can tackle that when we get back. For now, let's go back to the hotel and expose a few things.” Bucky waggled his eyebrows at him.
“Sounds like the best plan.”