Archive of Our Own

"Wow," Steve breathes as Team USA enter the stadium in their matching grey tracksuits. Green and orange and red spotlights slowly pan over the impossibly ostentatious obstacle course known as 'The Beast'.

"I know," Sam looks at it with a little less awe, "it's like Optimus Prime fucked the dragon from Shrek and they had a baby."

Steve turns on him, nose crinkled in disgust. "Oh, oh-- now I'm picturing it, make it stop, please--" He cuts off as Sam starts laughing. Steve can't help but break into a chuckle, and Sam slings an arm around his shoulders.

Tonight they enter the arena for the first of what will end up being ten nights' worth of filming. It's also the first time they're going to lay eyes on the other countries' teams.

It's good to finally get to the part where they see some action; cooped up in hotel rooms with producers filming 'talking head' segments to broadcast when it's their turn to finally run a heat is boring. Still, Steve's anxious energy doesn't quite have a proper outlet yet. Competing pairs for the six countries have been selected by random draw, and Steve knows for certain that he won't be running 'til the fifth night, while he gets to cheer on Sam in the third.

"It's almost a shame we're not going head-to-head in the same heat," Sam tells him, "I'd love to run against you in the qualifier."

"I think it's worked out just fine," Steve returns. "Only the winners can proceed to the finale. My goal is to whup your ass on a grander scale."

Sam cocks an eyebrow at him. "So that's how it's gonna be?"

"That's how it's gonna be," Steve answers with a grin.

There's no better way to calm and centre Steve in this unfamiliar and hectic environment than trading insults-as-encouragement with his best friend and work partner.

Sam and Steve both currently work as firefighters as part of Engine 239, Park Slope. They met on the job, having both completed stints in different branches of the armed forces, and became fast friends. They bonded over the physicality of their occupation plus a shared love of training at the gym. Watching the first season of Ultimate Beastmaster and constantly passing commentary that they could do better set off a series of events that has led them to this point.

To Santa Clarita. To season two. To Team USA. To Ultimate Beastmaster.

Team USA is the last team to enter the arena. Steve supposes it's meant to intimidate the other teams, maybe draw some weird 'host nation' comparison, like the Olympics. Either way, the other ninety athletes are already there in their groupings, waiting for the eighteen Americans to join.

This season, they've mixed up the countries that are competing. Out are China, Germany and India, to be replaced by Australia, France and Russia. Italy and South Korea are hold-overs from the first season, along with the USA.

It's a diverse line-up, and Steve isn't just looking forward to competing, he's looking forward to meeting athletes from other countries.

The team file into their spectator positions, standing in front of Team Russia. It's weird seeing his team colours in another configuration; their tracksuits have red shoulders, a white midriff and a blue hem coupled with blue pants. He idly wonders how hard the designers need to work to make all the uniforms different when so many of the countries competing have red, white, and blue as base colours in their flags.

There seems to be a low-level grumble from the Russian team when the Americans stand right in front of them, but Steve tries to tune it out. He doesn't want to get psyched out by the other competitors, but it doesn't hurt to have a little peek at the competition. This is the first time he's seen anyone apart from his own team.

It's a sea of incredibly fit looking people. While Steve is no slouch at six feet tall, he's not the tallest there by a long shot. There seems to be a guy with longer blonde hair wearing the purple of the Australian team that's got to be at least six-three or six-four. Sam also looks over to him and sucks his teeth in displeasure.

"Does everyone have to be a giant here?" he grumbles. Sam is an incredibly respectful five-foot ten -- and a half, as he is very quick to add when Steve forgets -- but he just wouldn't be doing his best-friend duty if he didn't give Sam an incredibly hard time about it.

"Cheer up, Frodo," Steve says cheerfully, squeezing his shoulder, "I'm sure there's plenty on the course for a short man to excel at."

Energy thrums through Steve's body, despite the fact he knows he's not going to be competing until night five. At least it's something other than sitting in front of a green screen doing talking head pieces to camera.

Being a spectator is almost as gruelling as being a competitor, because at least the competitors are doing something. The spectators sit in their assigned grandstands and watch the competition with a kind of naked, unrestrained energy, cheering for their country's athletes as well as spending interminable periods waiting for them to reset cameras between runs.

It doesn't really become real to Steve until the third heat when Sam and his fellow Air Force veteran, Carol Denvers, are up to compete. Suddenly, he's shaking his best friend's hand and watching Sam enter the warm-up zone without him.

Suddenly, he's got the stink-eye for the other competitors.

In the absence of anyone else he knows to talk to, Steve finds himself next to the barely-out-of-highschool-acrobat he's drawn to be his teammate in heat five. The one who keeps calling him 'sir' and making him feel like he's a hundred years old.

"Sir--" Peter says for the eighth time in as many minutes "--did you see the Russian guy? He's huge! Is your friend going to be able to take him out?"

Steve, who has not seen the Russian guy yet, is loyal nonetheless. "Sam can take anyone out," he says, before a short pause and a wry grin, "except maybe me."

Peter doesn't look convinced. "I don't know... he was really big, though," he continues.

Steve looks down at him with an arched brow. "But 'big' doesn't necessarily mean 'good', does it, Peter?"

Peter grins bashfully. "I guess not, Si-- I mean, Steve," he corrects quickly. Steve smiles back before becoming distracted by the competition. Sam is about to compete in the first level.

Sam does incredibly well. He has good all-round body strength, while Steve tends to skew stronger in his upper half. Sam is excellent at absorbing the impact of jumps when he hits a hard surface; he knows how to land, when so many others injure themselves or jar something. His reach is also hard to beat; long arms can touch bonuses when others have to jump or kick for them. Steve doesn't worry so much about other country's competitors when he thinks he's watching his greatest competition in his best friend.

Sam is the first competitor to make it to the end of the first round without falling. Steve beats everyone else from Team USA to reach him at the end of the stage and pick him up in a victory hug. "You did it, Wilson!" he crows, hoisting Sam off his feet, who is laughing in relief.

They cut filming and reset for the next competitor. Steve gets very little time to speak to Sam, as he has to go back and wait with the other heat three athletes and watch the proceedings. The production wants them all together for when the slowest or lowest point-scorers get eliminated, to film their reactions.

Steve finds himself next to Peter again, brimming with pride. Sam has set a blistering pace. If he keeps it up, he's sure to win his heat. Peter tugs on his tracksuit jacket as they announce the next competitor from Russia.

"That's him, that's him!" Peter says, pointing towards the starting position. Steve looks over, and becomes aware of the fact that Peter's prior descriptions of this particular Russian competitor left out a key point or two.

'Big' doesn't quite cover it, neither does 'handsome'. The guy is stacked and gorgeous.

Steve is only barely able to tear himself away from the man in person to watch the pre-cut package about him. Yakov 'Bucky' Barinov is a Russian contemporary dancer, who rock-climbs in summer and ice-climbs in winter. He can just hear the man's voice piping from the speakers through the ambient noise of the hundreds of people around him, but it's husky and low, speaking Russian in lilting consonants.

There are quick cut aways from Barinov's talking head to him climbing, to doing complicated lifts and leaps in some kind of dance studio. It ends with five seconds of the dancer doing an impressive standing leap before eye-fucking the camera, a graphic of the Russian flag flying behind him.

Steve's mouth is incredibly dry.

He turns his attention back to the man in question, who is staring down the barrel of the first obstacle.

To say that Barinov completes the first stage of the course well is a gross understatement. He dominates it convincingly, shaving almost thirty seconds off Sam's time as though it were nothing.

But that's not where it ends; Barinov's mastery of each level of the course is impressive. Sam doesn't appear worried after the first stage, or even the second stage. By the end of the third, when it's just him and Barinov for the final, with Barinov leading him by twenty-five points, Steve definitely notices some worry creep into Sam's body language. He doesn't suspect anyone else knows, but Steve knows his best friend's tells very well.

And the result... well, it's not what Sam would've hoped for.

Despite an incredible effort, Sam can't seem to pull ahead of Barinov in any significant regard, and by the time they get to the final challenge -- a chimney climb -- unless Barinov makes some kind of terrible mistake and falls, he's got it in the bag.

The lights go up and the Russian team swarms the point where Barinov drops down on his safety ropes to congratulate him. Sam makes his way back to Team USA to the commiserations of his countrymen.

With filming wrapping for the night, the athletes load themselves on the team bus to take them back to the hotel room. Sam is surprisingly less disappointed than Steve might've imagined, despite not making it into the final.

"Look, if I had to get taken out, it was by one of the most technically proficient and powerful dudes I've ever seen," Sam tells him, "that's nothing to sneeze at." He gives Steve a side-glance. "If you make it through to the finals... I think he's gonna be the one to beat."

That thought stays with Steve throughout the day.

***

Sleeping through the light to be up at odd hours all night isn't new to shift-working Sam and Steve; they're able to adjust their body clocks quite quickly and wake up refreshed mid-afternoon.

When they pile out of the team bus at dusk and make their way to the arena, Sam inclines his head towards the Russian team. "I'm just going to go say 'congrats'," he says.

"I'll come, too," Steve replies impulsively. Sam cocks a suspicious eyebrow in his direction, but doesn't otherwise comment.

It takes no time at all to spot Barinov in amongst the Russian team. He is talking intensely to an incredibly beautiful red-headed woman. They're standing very close, heads inclined towards one another, murmuring in low voices. As they approach, two sets of eyes snap towards them immediately, gazes assessing. Steve feels unwanted and somewhat intimidated, but Sam doesn't let anything stop him.

He approaches with a big friendly smile and sticks out his hand. "Barinov, was it?" He asks.

Barinov glances at the outstretched hand for a moment before taking it. "Bucky," he offers instead, voice much softer than Steve expects. It forces him to lean in a little closer, a move which isn't lost on Bucky himself. He flicks a quick look to Steve before refocusing on Sam.

"Man, you were an actual machine out there! Amazing run. Congratulations!" Sam is friendly and sincere, and he's very rarely unable to win people to him within the first few moments of meeting someone. It seems this is also the case for Bucky.

Bucky's face breaks into a nice smile. "Spasibo," he says. Steve doesn't know any Russian, but he assumes it means 'thank you'.

The redhead next to him smiles at her male companion fondly. "Bucky is very strong, yes?" Her English is very precise, and very polished, even if her accent is quite heavy. Both Sam and Steve look at her with surprise.

"You speak English?" Steve queries.

"We both do," Bucky surprises them by also breaking into English, and Steve metaphorically picks himself up from the floor. Bucky's English is accented -- though not as heavily as his companion's -- and perfect.

Steve suddenly has a very strong desire to engage Bucky in as much conversation as possible.

Bucky gestures to the redhead next to him. "This is Natasha. I am Bucky. You are Sam," and Bucky then turns his light and penetrating gaze to Steve, gesturing with an open hand. "And you are...?"

"Steve," he blurts out his own name, a bit louder than he intends. Sam winces at his sudden onset of awkwardness, Natasha seems unimpressed, but Bucky...

... Bucky curves a smile at him. "Steve," he says, testing the word out.

"Steve Rogers," he adds, voice finally in a normal register.

Bucky extends his hand, one eyebrow arched just over the other. Steve stares at the outstretched hand dumbly before taking it. His palms and fingertips are calloused, but the skin is warm and inviting. "Pleasure to meet you, Steve Rogers," he says, putting emphasis on Steve's name for unknown reasons. All Steve knows is that he likes Bucky saying his name.

"Pleasure's mine," he responds.

"What heat are you running in, Steve?" Bucky asks, still holding Steve's outstretched hand.

"Uh, the fifth one? So, tomorrow night's games."

Bucky's eyes twinkle. He slowly lets Steve's hand go, only to drop it around Natasha's shoulders, who looks cocky and confident. "You face the Black Widow. I wish you the best of luck."

Sam whistles. "That's some nickname."

"A well-earned one, I promise you," Bucky imparts.

Natasha sizes Steve up shamelessly. "I look forward to competing, Steve."

"Me too," Steve tells her, then tries for some humour. "I hope I won't be one of the Black Widow's victims."

It earns him a deadly -- but pleased -- smile from Natasha. "I will make it quick and painless, if you're lucky."

They all have a little laugh, and Steve's delighted that they all seem to have a healthy mix of humour and ego.

An announcement over the loudspeaker tells them to get into their team positions as they're about to commence filming. Sam listens to it carefully, before chucking his thumb back towards the rest of Team USA. "We'd best quit this fraternising and get back to our teams." The Russians nod in agreement.

"Have a good night!" Steve gives a little wave as he's backing up, before his brain catches up. What is wrong with him?

"You too, Steve Rogers," Bucky returns, eyes crinkling at the corners.

Sam keeps smiling until they turn their backs to the opposing team and rejoin the multitude of grey track suits.

"You mind telling me what that was all about?" He asks in a low voice.

"I... I have no idea," Steve says, a little miserably.

***

"<So, what do you think of the All-American Cheeseburger?>" Natasha asks in Russian between contestants.

"<I think you mean 'beefcake', little spider,>" Bucky corrects his friend, eyes automatically finding the bright, blond hair in amongst Team USA's sea of grey tracksuits. As though he knows he's being watched, Steve Rogers turns around and catches Bucky's eye. He seems surprised to meet eyes with Bucky. Even from the short distance, Bucky sees a bashful expression flit across Steve's face as he turns away.

"<Isn't that interesting,>" Natasha says smugly.

Bucky cocks an eyebrow in her direction. "<What?>"

"<Whatever you think of him, he certainly has taken a shine to you.>"

"<He's just some meathead,>" Bucky tells her, but everything in his gut is saying that's not entirely accurate.

"<Maybe you can use the fascination he has to your advantage?>" Natasha suggests.

"<What, like a honeypot?>"

Natasha shrugs, and switches to English. "You said it, not me."

Bucky looks at the back of Steve's blond head thoughtfully.

***

On the fifth night, Bucky escorts Natasha to the warm-up area, an arm slung around her shoulders. It's all about supporting his friend and has absolutely nothing to do with one of the Americans competing in her heat. Nothing at all.

When they arrive at the makeshift gym, Steve is already there, warming up by doing some pull-ups that he makes look as easy as breathing.

"Steve Rogers!" He greets, and has the pleasure of seeing Steve abort his pull-up so quickly, he nearly knocks his chin on the bar. The American drops to the ground quickly and wipes his palms on his tracksuit bottoms.

"Bucky, Natasha, hi," he says, accompanied by a wide smile that is mostly directed at Bucky.

"I bring you Russia's secret weapon," he says in a fake whisper. Natasha smacks him fair in the chest, which gets him laughing. The back-and-forth has Steve looking on in interest.

"I don't think she's much of a secret weapon if you tell everyone that," he points out, a smile curving his lips. Natasha makes a 'see?' gesture towards Steve.

Bucky just shrugs with a grin. He turns to Natasha, placing hands gently on her shoulders and kisses each cheek gently. "<Good luck, little spider>" he tells her. She gives him one of her rare smiles and touches his cheek briefly.

"Good luck, Steve." Bucky turns towards the blond and reaches out a hand. Steve takes it delicately for such a huge man. "You will need it!"

"Thanks, I think?" Steve replies.

Bucky cheerfully waves.

***

Luck is on Steve's side when he competes, though Natasha is one of the toughest athletes he's ever come across. What she lacks in reach and weight, she more than makes up for with speed, flexibility and utter daredevilry.

She keeps to the front of the pack and gets into the top five, but can't quite qualify for level three; getting knocked out of contention with two others. It's a monumental effort, as few women competitors are able to make it as far as her.

Steve beats out his South Korean rival to make the finals, and Team USA dogpiles him at the finish line. After it's all over, the person he most wants to congratulate after the heat is Natasha. Before they're loaded onto the buses at the end of the night, Steve makes his way into the Russian team to find her.

Predictably, she's right next to Bucky.

"Natasha, you are an amazing athlete," he tells her, "it was an honour to compete against you."

Natasha inclines her head, a small smile curving her lips. There's a bandage around her shin where she struck an obstacle particularly hard. "Thank you, Steve," she tells him. "I wish you well for the finals."

"I don't wish you well, for obvious reasons," Bucky pipes in, and Steve looks towards him.

It occurs to Steve in this moment he now faces off directly against Bucky for the top spot. It shouldn't thrill him as much as it does.

Steve extends his hand for Bucky to shake. "I'm not saying I want you to fall off Digestive Track," Steve tells him, referencing one of the harder obstacles, "but I'm not not saying it, either."

Bucky's laugh warms him from his toes to his cheeks.

***

They play a scintillating game of 'getting to know you' over the next four nights of heats. Team USA is conveniently sat right next to Team Russia in the stands, and Steve just happens to find himself sitting on the edge of their group, in the same row as Bucky. They cheer and yell encouragement to all the competitors, but in between, end up getting to know each other a little better, stopping the chatter as soon as a particularly nosy producer wanders by. They're not avidly getting pitted against one another, nor is the show looking for each country's athletes to get too chummy.

In these furtive sessions, Steve learns that Bucky is actually a US citizen by birth; his parents met when his dad studied abroad and met his mom while they both attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison. It's actually how Bucky got his nickname, from their mascot, Bucky the Badger. He had a stuffed toy of Bucky as a child, and it went with him everywhere.

"I also have a tattoo of Bucky," Bucky drops his voice low enough that it gives Steve shivers.

"Where?" Steve asks in a mystified tone.

Bucky just waggles his eyebrows. "That you may have to find out for yourself."

Suddenly Steve feels too hot for his tracksuit jacket.

Bucky moved to Russia when he was six, and never looked back. His family vacationed back in Wisconsin every few years to spend time with his American grandparents, though he never ended up leaving the state much to explore, which has always made him a little wistful.

Steve, in turn, tells him about working for Engine 239 in Park Slope, and about his long-time friendship with Sam; how they found their shared athleticism both helped with their job, as well as any long-term effects of being a veteran. Bucky bumps shoulders with him when he talks about his mom, who is in remission from cancer treatment and one of his biggest inspirations.

He finds himself talking about how he paints in his spare time, a hobby that only Sam really knows about.

"What do you like to paint?"

Steve shrugs, embarrassed. "I don't know, really...  anything that strikes my fancy?"

"Maybe I will appear in a painting sometime, yes?" Bucky asks, bumping his shoulder against Steve's once again.

Steve can't answer, save for his cheeks suddenly warming to pink.

***

At the hotel on the last morning before finals, Bucky flops into his bed across from Natasha's. It's hard to be up all night and have to sleep in the day, his internal chronometer is thrown right out.

"<Good work today,>" Natasha tells him, gracefully lowering onto her mattress.

"<What work?>" Bucky asks.

"<The -- what did you call it? Beehive?>" she says as she takes her shoes off.

"<Honeypot? I'm not-->" Bucky starts to say, but she cuts him off.

"<It seems to be working well, he's quite taken by you. You could play it two ways; either keep ramping up the sexual tension to distract, or go cold all of a sudden and confuse the fuck out of him,>" Natasha says matter-of-factly, before burrowing under the covers and almost immediately falling asleep.

Her words leave Bucky pensive. He'd not been intentionally working Steve over with an ulterior motive.

At least, not for the last two nights.

He actually likes the guy.

Like, a lot.

***

Steve can barely sleep through the day, he's so excited and anxious. He's confident of his ability to score well, if not outright win the competition, but there's something else that's playing on his mind.

He's finally going to compete against Bucky.

Sam is there to talk through his nerves, but he's less reassuring than Steve might hope.

"The guy ain't human when it comes to climbing, Steve. You've gotta make all your gains in the other challenges because as soon as he gets a wall, he's gonna scale it like a fuckin' mountain goat and you're gonna lose ground like that." Sam snaps his fingers for emphasis.

Steve nods. "You're right. I'll get it done."

Sam gives him a massive grin and squeezes his shoulder. "I know, man."

***

Arriving at the Santa Clarita stadium at dusk, as night is falling, somehow heightens the drama. Bucky rubs his hands together at the chill desert air, though it's the kind of chill he could get used to. Russian 'chill' is a lot more dire.

He leaves Nat in the stands with a kiss on the cheek and makes his way to the warm-up area for competitors. Steve is already there, skipping with a rope. Bucky has to grit his teeth, as the jumping is making his pecs bounce in a fashion that should be illegal.

"<And I'm the one that's meant to be the honeypot? Fucking hell,>" he mutters under his breath.

When Steve sees him, the skipping stops immediately and a large, sunbeam smile alights his face.

"Bucky, hey," Steve greets with a dumb little wave.

Bucky doesn't know what to do with a shy, six-foot-something beefcake that could break him in half. Steve is not like anyone Bucky has ever met on his return trips to the States. Maybe it's the rural parts he's visiting, maybe it's just something about the individual in question. 

"Steve, good evening," he says, dropping the sports bag from his shoulder. He follows it up with a spine-popping stretch after being on the bus. Steve follows his every movement with precision. "You are ready for first run, yes?"

The finalists all picked their running order out of a hat the previous night. Steve has the dubious honour of first place; dubious because he doesn't get to observe others run first and potentially figure out how to avoid newer and more difficult pitfalls.

"As ready as I can be," Steve says. "I'll admit, more intel would be good, but a challenge doesn't scare me." The words are accompanied by a subtle arch of the brow that Bucky takes in his stride.

Bucky's lips curve up slyly. "Challenges are good," Bucky agrees. "Maybe your first run will teach me a thing or two." His words combined with a fluttering of his eyes down and a tiny bite of the lip are enough for Steve's confidence to give way to a bit of shyness, his cheeks pinkening a little.

The moment is broken by a producer, who interrupts to tell Steve they'll play one of his pre-recorded talking head interviews in five minutes to the audience and commentators, and will commence his run immediately after that.

Bucky nods his head, flicking his gaze from the departing producer back to Steve. "I shall not interrupt your warm up any further. Best wishes, Steve, I hope you compete well." In an impulsive gesture, he steps forward and places one hand on his left shoulder, and touches his lips to the opposite cheek, muttering 'good luck' in Russian for good measure.

Before he turns to begin his own warm-up, he sees Steve's cheeks bloom from a pale pink flush to a splotchy red.

***

Steve is somehow able to compartmentalise Bucky kissing his cheek -- it's a European thing, gotta be a European thing, right? -- in time to start his first run.

Once he enters the course, it's like nothing else matters. He scales Mother Tongue's steep climb easily. Brain Matter presents a very different obstacle than the first time; the swaying beam he's traversing has shrunk from sixteen inches wide to only six. Steve has big feet, it's taking a lot more of his concentration not to slip. At least there is a large cog above his head that he can hold on to.

About halfway through the beam, the green light and lever of a bonus points thruster above his head tempts him. It's all about accruing the most points; he could be knocked out of contention if he doesn't at least try to make the highest score possible.

Steve holds the cog and lifts his lower body almost vertically up to trigger the point thruster with his feet, and the crowd below goes berserk. It buoys him to finish the obstacle smoothly.

The jump to Faceplant's chain has increased in distance, making his entrance to Energy Coils further away, but he succeeds all the same. Not wanting to expend too much extra energy at this stage, he ignores the point thruster in this challenge to leap-frog his way across the platforms. Arriving at Mag Wall faster, he makes the tactical decision to go for its bonus instead. Mag Wall is like a regular climbing wall -- albeit with some of the hand and foot holds falling away at inopportune times -- and Steve is able to traverse it with reasonable speed. He finishes the first part of the course solidly, with no errors and 80 points to his name.

When Steve makes his way back to the warm-up zone, it's to a round of applause. He accepts it graciously, but is only really interested when Bucky walks up to him, arms crossed and hip cocked. "Maybe you didn't need my good luck wishes after all," he says with a grin.

"I'd never presume to knock back good luck wishes in any form," Steve returns.

"Maybe your good luck and good nature will extend to helping keep me warmed up," Bucky pauses deliberately, "before I compete."

"Sure," Steve says, willing his skin to stay its regular colour.

***

Bucky isn't sure what the fuck he's doing. All he knows is that he can't get enough of Steve's company. They continue to warm up, pausing to discuss other competitor's runs -- what they did right, what they did wrong -- and strategising a way to get to the top of the leader board.

Despite Steve's amazing run, equalling with another Team USA competitor of 80 points, he technically takes second place on the leaderboard due to the speed of his teammate. "That Parker kid climbs like a littler spider," he tells Bucky with a shake of his head. Bucky grunts in affirmation.

The kid is an amazing climber, but lacks the power to hold himself up for extended periods of time, as well as the reach for out-of-the-way obstacles. Bucky's not too worried about him.

Bucky drew seventh position of the nine finalists. When it comes time for his run he knows he needs to get 70 points or above (out of the possible 90) to not only qualify for round two, but to be at the right end of the leaderboard.

A camera crew approach Bucky to film him going through some of his warm-up exercises, and then for a quick talking-head statement. He comments in Russian to the camera, not being distracted by Steve standing off-camera, watching him avidly.

"Hey, can I ask," Steve says, just before Bucky approaches the start up line, "why don't you speak English in your camera bits? I mean, you speak really well, and we're in America..."

"I was asked only speak Russian to cameras," Bucky shrugs. "Makes for good flavour, maybe," he winks at Steve, "makes me sound exotic, perhaps."

"Trust me, that was happening anyway, no matter what language you spoke," Steve tells him seriously.

Bucky laughs, blows him a kiss, and makes for the starting line.

He has been watching the competitors in between warming up and flirting with Steve, and has learnt a lot. Steve had one of the best runs, and he decides to model his route off that. This includes missing the Energy Coils points thruster, and making it all the way to the end, to be only the third competitor to make it there.

In fact, he's also in third place, equalling 80 points and a mere 16 seconds behind Steve's time. As he makes his way back to the warm-up area, he knows he's qualified as one of the six competitors for level two.

Steve shakes his hand and gives him a congratulatory back-slapping hug. "You did great, Bucky!"

Bucky demurs politely. "I had some bad jumps on Energy Coils, but no sweat."

"Those coils were further apart this time... much more challenging."

"I thought we agreed challenges were good," Steve reminds him.

Bucky unabashedly looks him up and down. "Yes. I believe we had."

***

The draw for the second round doesn't do Bucky any favours, and Steve winces. He wants to beat Bucky, yes, but he also wants the man to do well. Competing third last and then having to go first in the next round doesn't allow for a lot of rest time.

Still, nothing takes away from the fact that Bucky is an incredible athlete. Come the second round, he's ready to compete. Steve watches anxiously as Bucky takes some deep breathes before the starting klaxon goes off.

Bucky makes Spinal Ascent look easy, leapfrogging up the alternating platforms with ease. The last two cause him a few problems, but he manages to lever himself up onto the top platform using a combination of his immense upper body strength and the power of his thighs to grip the platform and haul himself over.

Spinal Descent is like controlled chaos, falling through a mesh of messy cables and not losing his grip. There's a point thruster at the bottom, and Bucky reaches out his left leg and toggles it with what seems like practiced ease.

Steve feels empathetic nerves when Bucky gets to Stomach Churn. The three rotating cogs that need to be jumped onto are going fifteen percent faster, according to the commentary that Steve can hear above the roaring crowd. Bucky also fell off this obstacle last time. Steve's sure he can see some nerves show in the way Bucky is wiping his hands on his thighs.

The first jump is tentative, and that's almost enough to throw him off the dizzying platform. Bucky manages to hold on to make the second jump, unfortunately worse than the first. The edge of the platform smacks into his stomach and Steve winces.

Somehow, Bucky keeps hold of the spinning platform and makes it to his feet. The third jump goes a lot better, putting him at the mouth of Digestive Track; a slippery clear pvc tube set at a forty-five degree angle that he's got to scrabble up in time. Steve knows that as soon as he enters the tube it begins sinking, and he just hopes Bucky can navigate it. In his first round, Bucky made a bad jump on Stomach Churn and didn't get as far as this, so he's never completed this obstacle before.

Steve needn't have worried. Bucky unusually enters Digestive Track feet first, before finding his grip and squirrelling through the tube. He makes incredible time, reaching the top and not even pausing before he leaps onto the first Dreadmill like some kind of flying squirrel.

Steve exclaims as he lands heavily, but sticks it nonetheless. The Dreadmills -- mid-air suspended treadmills -- are already running as he steps on them, taking off at a steady jog. He makes another powerful leap to the second, taking a few moments to steady himself. The final leap onto a softer pad pulls a triumphant yell from Bucky, who is further than he's ever been able to get in stage two.

The swinging Tarzan-like chains of Chain Reaction await Bucky, and Steve isn't sure whether he's got any fingernails remaining on his left hand. If he's good at anything, though, he's good at things that require his grip and upper body strength. Despite not having competed in this obstacle before, Bucky's first swings are easy and confident, maintaining enough momentum to get to the second-last chain. Steve quells the imaginative part of his mind that very easily pictures Bucky as Tarzan.

It's where his run comes to a stunning and abrupt end. Bucky misses the final chain and makes a stretch for the next obstacle, Vertebrace, but can't quite hook his leg over the mock-dragon vertebrae. He falls into the water with an impressive cannonball-esque splash. The competitors in the warm-up area all clap for a run that has definitely set the pace for the rest of them.

Bucky heads to the contestant's area where they wait to see who is eliminated, but not before he flicks a salute to Steve and flourishes a gesture at the scoreboard which reads 'Yakov Barinov - 200 points'.

***

Bucky is glad that Steve is running next, meaning he doesn't have to be in this area on his own for too long.

Steve also has a patchy relationship with this second level, though he got a little further than Bucky did in their heats; originally falling spectacularly into the water off the Dreadmills. He'll be interested to see how much the American has improved.

Steve seems to take a very similar approach to Bucky during Spinal Ascent and Descent, nabbing the extra points and making his way across the rotating cogs of Stomach Churn. Unfortunately, his cheeky wish for Bucky back in the heats for Digestive Track comes true, only for himself.

His shoes slip in the entrance to the tunnel and it costs him valuable time. He doesn't make it to the top of the pipe in time. With no leverage to jump onto the first Dreadmill, Steve stands on the edge of the tube like a captain on a sinking ship, flicks a salute and jumps into the water.

Bucky claps as Steve enters the completed contestant's area, towel-drying his hair, a self-effacing smile. "Well done, Steve. That is not an easy level." Bucky gives him a congratulatory back-slapping hug.

"You made it look easy," Steve says. It could've sounded bitter, but there doesn't seem to be any actual bitterness in his tone.

"I'm used to slippery situations," Bucky replies smugly, and Steve just cocks an eyebrow at him. "Still. 180 points. This is to be admired. And who knows, you might not be the only one to have troubles."

Bucky's words are prophetic. None of the other finalists get further than Bucky, some don't even get as far as Steve. Both their cumulative point scores hold up, and when all is said and done, Bucky has qualified for the next stage with Steve, and that massive, jovial Australian dude with the long, blond hair. He's the only guy competing that makes both Bucky and Steve look short.

***

When it comes to the third round, it feels like even the tiniest wrong move will eliminate him from the competition. Steve draws first position for the round. With a deep breath and a wave to his teammates, he steps up to the first obstacle.

Ejector is an aptly-named moving walkway that is speeding along at fourteen miles an hour, hurtling him over a precipice unless he catches a flying-fox style hand grip that zips him around a semi-circular track. He manages to snag the extra points along the way, the crowd nothing but a dull roar in his ears.

Coil Crawl is a series of circular metal hula hoops joined by various straight metal poles to create a skeleton-like tunnel. As soon as Steve touches the first hoop, the whole obstacle starts sinking. He uses his upper body strength and shimmies along the top poles, keeping his feet as far away from the steadily encroaching water as he can.

Steve makes the junction to the bonus track easily. Right will take him directly towards the end of the trail, but left will allow more chances for bonus points at increased difficulty. His brain does the calculations quickly. He's still twenty points behind Bucky's starting score, he needs as many bonuses as possible.

With little delay, Steve chooses the left path to more danger, but more bonuses.

At the end of Coil Crawl are the Bungee Beds. They are long rectangular pads joined at the four corners by bungee cords that bounce around with any slight movement. He has to leap across them without letting any body part touch the floor, unless he wants to be immediately eliminated.

With a gentleness that belies his massive frame, Steve slides gently onto the first bed, having it move as little as possible. The transition to the second bed is a lot more jarring, and it bobs around violently, but Steve stays face down and flat, fingers gripping the flat edges of the bed until the bobbing lessens and he can stand. The third jump is a daredevil move that nearly costs him his run, when his feet get perilously close to the ground... but he makes it.

Steve has never been more in the zone, he only has eyes for his next obstacle, Tricky Trapeze. It's what it says on the box; a trapeze-style swinging handle not unlike anything you'd see aerialists use in a circus. With the last bungee mat swaying beneath him, he makes the leap and grabs the handle with confidence.

With three swings, catching the second handle with his knees and the third with his hands once again, Steve has completed the obstacle and is definitely making up for his early exit in round two. The Weapon is next; two sets of two handles that slide along metal poles, relying purely on the strength of his upper body. His arms and shoulders and core are screaming at him, but Steve is not about to give up.

He makes his way from the first set of handles to the second, sliding along the bars and making it look easy. When the handles hit the barrier at the end, Steve looks down to find the mattress that is the end point for the bonus trail of round three. Swinging to gain momentum, Steve manoeuvres his body away from the handles to jump down, landing solidly.

The crowd goes ballistic.

***

Bucky leaves the warm-up area to congratulate Steve. The Australian is running next, so there's a little bit of time. Steve looks flushed and pleased.

"Well done, Steve," Bucky congratulates. "Here's hoping I can do well enough to join you in the final."

"I'm sure you'll do great." He inclines his head towards their massive opponent. "Some of those obstacles are tough if you're tall, because there's a different centre of gravity. We're the same height and he's taller. If he goes the bonus route, he might find it hard."

Sure enough, Steve's predictions prove correct. Their Aussie competitor's added height and weight made for some difficulties in obstacles that Steve made look a lot easier. He ends up bailing at the end of Tricky Trapeze, as failure to complete the next bonus quotient of the course once chosen would result in him losing points. With a wave to the crowd, he voluntarily falls into the water at the end.

Bucky takes one final look at the scoreboard as he approaches the starting line. Steve is on 420, the Aussie on 360. From his starting point of 200, all he needs to do is earn 170 to be in the final with Steve.

With grim determination, Bucky enters the course. He misses that first point thruster, but still has plenty of wiggle room. Climbing skills make Coil Crawl pretty straightforward, a nice refresher from his heat. There's no doubt that he needs to go left for the extra points.

For a really top-heavy guy, Bucky can sneak like the best alley cat you've ever seen. Bungee Beds lead to Tricky Trapeze. He knows all he has to do is to reach the end of this obstacle to knock out the Australian.

He swings to the final trapeze bar like a consummate circus performer. With a feral grin, he keeps pushing, knowing that the final will now be him against Steve. The points reset for the final round, so he could drop out and save his strength, but that's just not who Bucky is.

Bucky grabs the first handles of the Weapon, and slides them across the metal poles with ease. He would like to say that he tries to be confident, not cocky, but cockiness seeps into his actions. And it's while he's showcasing a climbing technique he uses to conserve the strength in his arms that it goes very wrong.

Bucky misses contact with the handle as he transfers from the first half of Weapon to the second half. In a split second of panic, feeling his body start to fall, his left arm is wrenched straight as he dangles, full two hundred pounds hanging twelve feet above the water. He doesn't hear it, but he feels something pull, something incredibly painful, directly in the corner of his shoulder.

He exclaims in pain, doing his best to support his body weight with his right arm and hooking a leg over the Weapon's horizontal bars. He doesn't know how he makes it, but somehow Bucky is able to swing himself onto the final matt, narrowly missing landing on his shoulder.

The EMTs are there within a matter of moments, helping him sit up. There are lots of excited and concerned murmurings from the crowd, as they gently flex his shoulder and assess his range of movement. Some of the flexes make him gasp in pain, but he still has some range of motion.

Natasha appears out of nowhere and holds his hand as he answers question upon question from the EMT. When they ask him if he's in too much pain to compete, Bucky's answer is an emphatic 'no'. Natasha gives him a very distinct look, but he ignores it.

They strap his shoulder with tape and send him to the warm-up area with dire threats about reporting any pain or further injury. He has clearance to compete, but only just.

"<You're hurt,>" Natasha tells him as he makes his way to the zone.

"<I've had worse,>" Bucky counters. He turns to grab her shoulders. "<I'll be fine. Just cheer for me when I win.>"

Natasha gives him a shrewd look, as though she doesn't believe a word, but says nothing. She kisses his cheek three times, and tells him 'good luck'. With that, he heads to the zone to meet up with Steve.

If he thinks Natasha's suspicion is bad, it has nothing on Steve's furrowing brow of apprehension. First of all, he congratulates Bucky on his run with a hug that cups his injured shoulder so gently, Bucky fights himself to not forfeit whole final and sink into Steve's embrace instead. Secondly, Steve spends the time quizzing Bucky on pain levels, on whether he's injured himself like this before, on how he thinks he's going to go on a challenge that is 95% climbing.

He eventually has to grab Steve's wrists and give him a gentle shake. "I'll be fine. Worry about your own climbing, Steve Rogers." He says it firmly, but apparently it doesn't sound in any way intimidating because all the American does is give him a warm, concerned smile.

"I'm big enough to worry about the both of us," Steve says.

***

The cameras invade their space as they're both filmed warming up. Steve watches Bucky go through a complicated series of stretches, but it doesn't escape his notice he angles his face away from the cameras when he stretches his left arm. There's a slight tremble to the limb that gives away he's still experiencing levels of pain.

They're both interviewed for quotable sound bytes. Steve talks about how 108 competitors have been whittled down to the two of them, and how he's going to do his best. He mentions Bucky's reputation as a climber and admits it will be tough to beat him. Bucky, for his part, says he thinks it's going to be a very close race, but hopes he can come out on top in the end. Steve watches Bucky's eyes slide to him at the sentence that could easily class as a double entendre. He approaches Bucky and they're filmed clasping hands and hugging each other in good sportsmanship.

Level four, the Power Source, is not to be considered lightly.

Prior to Bucky's injury, Steve would've thought there's no way he stood a chance against a climber of Bucky's calibre and obvious skill. Now sporting an injury, he's not sure Bucky will be able to embody the competitor he's been for the last three rounds.

It leaves Steve feeling less confident and assured of a win and more... sad for Bucky and worried about his injury. He doesn't expect that.

Sam manages to sneak past the producers to wish him well as he's getting harnessed up.

"You've got this, man," he tells Steve, "I know climbing like this isn't your thing, but I know you can do it. And you might be in an advantageous position now, too." His eyes slip to Bucky, who is subtly stretching his strapped shoulder.

"Yeah, I know," Steve says, "but... is it dumb to be annoyed I have an advantage? I wanted to compete in a fair comp."

"Yes, it's dumb," Sam tells him, but then softens his words with a friendly smile, "but it's also very Steve." He gives Steve a back-slapping hug. "Make us proud, Rogers."

Bucky seems to be getting a similar pep talk from Natasha. Eventually, it's just them standing at the base of the final challenge titled Foundation, which looks like a rock climbing wall you'd find in a gym, only it's five times as high and there are green point thruster buttons everywhere. With each of their scores reset to zero, they're both starting clean, and those thrusters will be incredibly important.

But it doesn't finish until someone reaches the top platform to pull that final point thruster, winning themselves $50,000.

Final harness checks done, with the cameras getting into position for the final run, Steve turns to Bucky with an extended hand. "When I win," Steve says with a smile, "I'll buy you dinner."

Bucky gives him a very loaded look before taking his hand, and pulling Steve slightly closer. "When I win, I'll buy you breakfast," he says in a low voice. When Steve pulls back in surprise, Bucky winks at him. Steve can't help but laugh, even as he feels his cheeks heat up again.

It's time to shelve all the flirting and feelings, though. It's time to climb.

Steve and Bucky both face the wall as the countdown klaxon sounds. With the final tone, they both begin their ascent.

***

It becomes very clear to Bucky from the start that he's in trouble.

Before his injury, he could've done a climbing course like this in his sleep. Now, each time he extends his arm and puts the weight of his body behind it, his muscles scream in agony.

Still, he's done more painful things for longer, so he pushes through. Bucky was right in thinking it would be a close race; he and Steve are neck and neck, putting hands and feet on the protruding formations and reaching out for those neon green point thrusters practically at the same time.

Once he clears Foundation, however, Grid Lock puts Bucky in a much more precarious position. The indoor rock climbing hand holds are gone, to be replaced with thin gouges into the wall. He forces his fingers into the narrow channels. Bucky's grip strength is excellent, however, without the footholds to stand on, his shoulders, forearms and fingertips need to support his entire weight.

Bucky slips to second place, just behind Steve, who seems to be powering along strongly.

On Ventilator Bucky starts to make a comeback. It's like a chimney climb, and while his shoulders are important, his legs do a lot more of the hard work. It allows him to rest his injured muscles a little. Bucky overtakes Steve using his legs and right arm to shimmy up the square tube, left arm swinging out to hit the point thrusters along the way.

Hazarding a glance to Steve, Bucky can see he looks tired. The American seems to be sitting back on his haunches, breathing heavily. He's still yet to clear Ventilator even as Bucky levers himself out of the obstacle and starts on the final leg; High Voltage.

High Voltage is going to be challenging. There are only two mantles to grab and stand on, and two point thrusters in this section to hit, but both are some distance and require arm and shoulder strength.

As Steve finally clears Ventilator, Bucky knows their scores are tied. He hears the roar of the crowd, counting down their time. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see Steve reach out and get a grip on the mantle of the next platform, and begins hauling himself up.

Bucky's in serious danger of losing. He makes a push to hit the next point thruster, but he can't quite reach that mantle. With a final push, however, he's able to grab it with his left hand.

The stress and strain of weight on his injured arm this time is the final straw. Bucky feels the muscle tear and his grip comes loose. With a devastated cry, he lets go and drifts back down to the ground where everything goes fuzzy around the edges.

***

Steve promises to never avoid Sam again when he wants to go rock-climbing. Maybe if he hadn't in the past, he'd be better at this. It's hard to shift his bulk up the wall using only a narrow climbing mantle to stand on, but once he gets upright, his superior reach allows him to tap on the point thrusters and increase his score. The second mantle is a little easier to get to, and once his feet hit that, it's a small jump to haul himself over the top edge of the structure to slam his hand against the final point thruster.

Klaxons sound and laser beams of light shine through the night sky. He won. He won!!

Steve kneels down next to the point thruster, exhausted. Every part of him aches, but it's so worth it. He's so proud of himself. And Bucky should be, too.

Steve's eyes snap open at the thought. Bucky's not clambering over the side, or even still struggling for a hand-hold on High Voltage. Steve wriggles to the edge of the platform and looks down. He sees someone lying on the mats beneath them, surrounded by the distinct coveralls of the EMTs.

Without a second thought, Steve flips his body off the edge of the structure and rappels back down Power Source, reaching the ground in a fraction of the time it took to get to the top. When he reaches the mat the rest of the finalists are waiting to greet him, as well as the American commentators. Steve barely looks at them, instead hastily unclipping the carabiners from his vest and kneeling next to Bucky.

Bucky looks dazed, and in pain. "What happened?" He asks urgently. Steve can remember Bucky reaching High Voltage before him, but after he managed to overtake, all he'd been able to see was the final platform and the finish.

"Looks like a rotator cuff tear," one of the EMTs tells Steve, gently manipulating Bucky's arm. "We'll have to get the doctors to check it out, but my money's on the rotator cuff." Bucky groans in discomfort, and Steve helps the other EMT to sit Bucky up. They gently hold his arm bent at the elbow, to feed it into a sling. When it's finally resting in the gauzy fabric and the weight is taken away, Bucky finally sighs in relief.

One of the EMTs gives Steve an ice pack to hold to Bucky's shoulder, while they get a stretcher ready for him.

Bucky's eyes drift back past Steve to the rest of Team USA and the commentators who are seemingly amusing themselves waiting for Steve to celebrate with them. "They're waiting for you," he tells Steve.

Steve quickly glances back and catches Sam rolling his eyes at the 'USA! USA!' chant that's started up. "They can keep waiting. How are you feeling?"

"Hungry," Bucky replies. "I think you'll owe me dinner and breakfast. You'll be able to afford it."

That's the crazy thing now. He's just won $50,000. It's enough to continue providing for his mom through her recovery. It's more than enough.

"Split it with me?" Steve asks Bucky, off the cuff.

Bucky frowns. "The bill?"

"No, the 50K." Bucky's eyes widen and Steve keeps going. "No, hear me out. That final course was built for your skillset. You would've kicked my ass from here to St Petersburg if you hadn't been injured. The way I see it, anything over the 10K I've already won is a bonus."

"Steve--" Bucky starts, but Steve is ducking under Bucky's right arm to gently lift him to his feet. Bucky's a little wobbly, but with Steve as support, he's stable. The commentators come over to push a microphone into Steve's face.

"I'm going to split the fifty thousand with Bu- Barinov," Steve announces. There's a shocked gasp from the assembled athletes, and the audience holds their collective breath. The only person who doesn't look surprised is Sam, who is used to Steve pulling what he calls 'bullshit moves' like this.

But Steve doesn't care. And he knows his mom would completely understand.

"Can he do that?" One of the commentators asks the other.

"It's happening either way," Steve announces stubbornly, "either you split it before you give it to me, or pay me out and I'm going to split it with him anyway."

The teams start jumping around, not quite knowing what to do with themselves. Bucky turns and looks at him, his face only inches away from Steve's. "You're crazy," he tells Steve.

"It's been said," Steve grins back.

In a move that is simultaneously unexpected and also the most obvious thing in the world, Bucky leans over and touches his lips to Steve's. It's electric, the feeling of Bucky's mouth on his. Steve loses time and any sense of where he is.

When the kiss finally ends, Steve finally notices that the crowd is going absolutely bonkers. He looks up to see that the large screens situated around the arena that help the commentators, competitors and audience see what's going on all broadcasting Steve and Bucky; Bucky's arm slung around his shoulder, Steve's hand gently cupping the side of his face.

Steve drops his face into Bucky's shoulder to hide his blush. When he finally looks back up, Bucky is giving him a shit-eating grin. "Dinner and breakfast still on the table?"

"Sure. That is, if you don't have to hurry off back to Russia."

"I'd been thinking of vacationing after this, anyway. Maybe visiting some places I'd never been before..." Bucky bites his lip, "...like, say, New York?"

Hope flutters in Steve's stomach. "You need some recovery time. Brooklyn is... very healing, I don't mind saying."

"I feel better already," Bucky grins. "Rotator cuffs take a while to heal. It could take weeks to get better."

"Months, even," Steve puts in.

Bucky pulls Steve down to his level with his good arm. "You owe me at least two meals, Steve."

"Don't forget twenty-five thousand bucks, Bucky," Steve grins.

Bucky rolls his eyes and presses another firm kiss to Steve's lips. "For that kind of money, I'll even show you where my tattoo is."

Bucky laughs quietly at Steve's kind of dumb-struck face as he's loaded into the back of the ambulance.

***

Three months later

It takes a lot for Steve to find himself on a dance floor of all places, but Bucky is about the only person who can get him anywhere near one.

"I thought you were going to take it easy," Steve chides as Bucky takes his hand and drags him into the open space.

"I am. Do you see me doing anything silly with my arms?" Bucky asks, draping said appendages around Steve's shoulders. It's hard for Steve to object to that, and he puts his hands on Bucky's hips.

"Not at the moment, I don't," Steve grins.

It turned out Bucky's rotator cuff wasn't as badly hurt as the EMTs first suspected, which came as a relief to both of them. Bucky didn't need surgery, just consistent weeks of physiotherapy and strengthening exercises. He did his first couple of weeks at his grandparents' home in Wisconsin. When the strength was built back up a little more, he decided to vacation in New York for an indeterminate period of time.

Steve's apartment was small, but it did have quite a comfortable fold-out sofa he offered to Bucky, so he didn't have to waste any money  staying in a hotel. Bucky also started dating the hell out of Steve.

It was surprisingly easy to date Bucky. He was funny and clever and gorgeous and unsurprisingly athletic, even with one arm out of commission.

He also had the tendency to aggressively be the big spoon, and Steve was always okay with that.

Steve apparently had no chill, and it only took Bucky staying at his place for two weeks before Steve introduced him to his mom. Unsurprisingly, Sarah Rogers adored Bucky almost instantly. One of Bucky's secret skills was making traditional Russian pierogis, and Sarah couldn't get enough of them.

Bucky taught his physio strength exercises to Sarah, who found them useful when trying to regain some muscle and flexibility after being knocked down by chemotherapy for so long.

He also kept up his dancing, attending a studio to keep his lower body in tip-top shape for when his shoulder was finally healed. An instructor at the studio caught Bucky practicing, and urged him to audition for a prestigious contemporary dance company based in Manhattan, provided his shoulder was healed in time for the try-outs.

Now it's a week out from Bucky's audition, his shoulder having healed beautifully, and Bucky insists on taking him dancing. Even with Steve's terrible sense of rhythm.

Sam is at the bar, chatting with Natasha who has come back to visit for a while. She points in their direction and Steve can see Sam start to laugh. Bucky takes Steve's chin in his hand and turns it back to face him. "You have wandering eyes, Steve." Bucky looks down to where Steve has accidentally stepped on his toes. "And two left feet."

"Not to mention stunning good looks and an 'Ultimate Beastmaster' title?" Steve says hopefully.

Bucky laughs. "The stunning good looks don't hurt, but that title doesn't impress me that much." Steve notices that after spending three full months in the States, Bucky's accent has softened somewhat, and he's adopted Steve's Brooklyn twang on certain words.

"What title does impress you, then?"

"Maybe... boyfriend?"

Steve's face breaks into a huge grin as Bucky bites his lip, mouth curving at the edges. "I could get behind that."