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The Sokovia Accords affair left a lot of unresolved tension and animosity between the opposing sides of the Avengers team. Some relationships were affected while others were broken. Yet, despite that, the heroes’ sense of duty and desire to do right by people ended up pushing them all together once more. With new accords in place, half of the team members were reinstated to the official roster and the compound upstate began to fill with more residents.
However, just because they agreed to work together again, didn’t exactly mean that some of them had gone back to being more than colleagues.
So, a plan was put into motion, one with the objective to get all of the members to at least be able to cooperate without a problem. Best-case scenario, they would all end up getting along as if nothing had ever happened. Worst-case scenario, they could speak to each other without getting into a fight (either verbal or physical).
To achieve that, it was suggested that the heroes should be subjected to mandatory “bonding exercises”, which they should partake in as much as possible as a way to strengthen their relationship and encourage teamwork. Although, more often than not, those exercises tend to get a little out of hand, in either a good or a bad way.
For example, in one of those times, Sam was put on the spot thanks to his remaining rocky liaison with Bucky. After all, the two were well known to be begrudgingly civil to one another at the best of times and then downright hostile at the worst of their moments. Clearly, their bond was one of the few that need to be tended to the most.
During the exercise, which had the Avengers going around saying positive things about their teammates, Steve had the idea that Sam should open up and be honest about his feelings regarding Bucky, seeking some sort of amendment to be made between the two males. Unfortunately, as always, Rogers’ plan was foiled by Wilson’s irresistible need to troll Barnes.
“I love all of my friends. Steve, Natasha, Scott…”
Sam started to list the names of his so-called friends. A smile was present on his face until it turned into a frown as his sentence drifted off while he looked at the smudged writing on his hand before continuing.
“…Bucket.”
The deadpan delivery of the deliberate mispronunciation of Barnes’ name was enough to make Tony guffaw in surprise, not expecting such a thing to come out of Wilson’s mouth. And even though Stark was the one to laugh the loudest, he wasn’t the only one to react with mirth about the matter. Snickers and giggles could be heard from other heroes who attempted to hide their laughs behind their hands, unsuccessfully.
“Seriously?” Bucky asked, unimpressed and too exhausted to even get pissed off.
The Sarge could do little more than scowl at the other man, irritated by the wordplay used on his name yet not wanting to exacerbate things by getting angry. He knew that would only gain him a scolding from Steve, and he preferred to enjoy the satisfaction of seeing Sam being the only one to get chided by the Captain.
“Come on, Sam, play nice.”
“Sorry.”
Sam apologized, yet he wasn’t feeling sorry at all.
“That was shit, but the surprise factor made it funny,” Tony commented once he was able to breathe normally again.
“I’ve heard better,” Natasha chimed in, rolling her eyes at the scandalized glare Tony sent her.
“Damn, I wish I could have come up with something like that,” laments Scott, who found the wordplay as clever as funny.
“Seriously?” Clint questioned Lang, staring at him with an arched brow.
“Is the exercise over then?”
A confused Peter asked while holding up his hand before clumsily trying to mask the gesture, remembering that he wasn’t at school.
“I hope so,” Wanda muttered, looking already done with the whole ordeal.
“In my defense,” started Sam once there was silence once more, “you are part metal. So you aren’t that different from a bucket.”
Wilson’s mocking comment and smug smirk were enough to set Bucky off despite the latter’s attempts to remain calm.
It was then that a bit of a scuffle broke out as Barnes tried to throw something at Sam in retaliation. However, the Falcon dodged the incoming projectile and hurled one of his own at the former Winter Soldier, thus starting a fight that definitely put a hold on the bonding exercise for the time being.
Only after Steve and Clint managed to separate the two fighting teammates that things calmed down a little. Then, the two heroes involved in the argument were ordered to take some time on their own to cool down before returning to the group and continuing the exercise.
Needless to say, they didn’t make much progress that day.
After the incident, Peter was still reeling from the joke, even though at the moment he felt uncomfortable by the rising tension. Yet afterward, as the internet-savvy teenage zoomer that he is, he didn’t waste time before comparing what happened to a meme he had seen. Even more so, he wasted no time either in telling Wilson about the same.
Once Sam learned about the video game-based meme, he couldn’t wait until using it to further mock and embarrass Bucky, which he eventually got to do with Peter’s help.
A mildly chill weekend afternoon found Wilson and Parker making cocoa per Steve’s request. Although the two of them weren’t on the best terms given the opposing teams they fought in during the Sokovia Accords debacle, they decided to put those issues aside and come together in order to make fun of Barnes.
And as soon as the Sarge entered the kitchen that afternoon, coming across both superheroes, they knew it was time. So, using a solemn tone of voice and gesturing at a wary Bucky, he made his announcement for Peter to reply in mock shock.
“This is a bucket.”
“Dear God.”
“There’s more…”
“No!”
The overdramatic exchange not only served to confuse the poor Sergeant but to piss him off more than anything. And while the two other heroes proceeded to laugh raucously at his expense, he opted to retaliate. Thus, without a word, the murderous-looking Bucky chased off Parker and Wilson until the kid pleaded for his life while the other man threatened to call for backup.
Ultimately, Buck left them hanging from a ceiling (the Spiderling stuck to it and the Falcon perched on the teen’s back), returning to the kitchen in order to enjoy the cocoa the other two left behind. He even took the cup meant for Rogers to its owner, who asked where Sam and Peter were, to which the Sarge replied that they got distracted with something.