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Valentine's Day in the Avengers tower this year is absolute madness.
Bruce had retreated from the tower for the weekend, not wanting to be around for the chaos that was sure to ensue.
However, for the remaining members, the holiday finds them all hiding out in different rooms in the building, Clint a self-proclaimed Cupid, going around shooting everyone with paintball arrows.
The name of the game:
If you get hit, you have to kiss the person who got hit with the same color as you.
That's how Steve finds himself hunkering down in one of Tony's labs, trying to quiet his breathing, knowing Clint could very well be right above him in the air ducts.
In theory, the game should have been a light-hearted way to occupy what the team all agrees is a pointless commercial holiday.
However, as is the case with everything this team does, their collective competitive edge rears its ugly head, and gives everything much higher stakes.
Just before he ran down to hide out in the lab, he watched as Thor had taken a green paint-laced arrow to the forehead, effectively sealing his fate.
A few moments later, he watched as Hope went careening through his line of sight, a splatter of green coating her ass even with her attempts at keeping herself shielded.
So, that meant two down, twelve to go.
Steve has other reasons for hating this game.
Even after seventy years apart, Peggy repeatedly yelling at him from her place in her nursing home bed to just nut up make a move, relentless meddling from Sam and Nat, and endless speculations from tabloids and news outlets, he still is no closer to confessing to his oldest and best friend one of his oldest and heaviest secrets.
He is unequivocally and totally in love with Bucky Barnes.
He'll admit. He's read Cosmo. Bucky shows so many signs of reciprocating his feelings, that Steve shouldn't have any worries.
He can't remember Bucky ever being in any serious relationships. He'd gone on dates, sure, but they all ended with Steve and Bucky being perfect gentleman and walking them home before returning to their apartment.
He'd always chalked it up to the depression and the war keeping Bucky's mind too occupied for a relationship.
Now that his best friend is back and getting healthier and stronger everyday, he's more quiet. More reserved than he ever was before, saving small smiles and one-liners about the rest of the team for only a few people, but mainly Steve.
It didn't take long at all for Steve to wake one night to find the brunet pressed close to his side, head resting on his shoulder, sound asleep.
That, he gathered, was to keep the nightmares at bay. Nothing more.
It's so laughably easy to convince himself that there is no way in Hell that Bucky would ever feel the same for him, that he's resigned to keeping his secret love exactly that, a secret.
Sudden movement outside the lab has him pressing further under the holo-table he'd tucked himself under, intensely missing his smaller form in the moment.
The doors slide open, and a frantic and wild looking Scott comes running through the threshold, diving over a rolling cart with pieces of wiring and metal plating, landing with a crash on the other side.
That's when Steve hears it. An arrow being pulled into position, and he jumps up out of his hiding spot just in time to see a pool of blue rain down over Scott.
He just continues running, knowing that he is far faster than Clint, until he comes to the elevator, madly pressing on the buttons to take him up to his floor.
"Captain Rogers."
Steve nearly jumps out of his skin as Vision suddenly appears behind him, still seeming lost as to the purpose of the game.
Suddenly, a door down the hall bursts open, and Clint jumps out, another arrow already drawn.
Doing the only thing he knows to shield himself, Steve takes a hold of Vision, and spins them around, a burst of blue paint covering the androids back as he's hit with the arrow.
Steve says a quick apology before diving into the elevator, not taking a breath until the doors are completely shut, and he is at least momentarily safe from the faux Cupid.
This. This is the most fun Bucky's ever had in his life.
He's far superior to Barton on a good many fields, so this should be no different. All he has to do is make sure that he gets hit with the same colored arrow as Steve, that way the clueless blond has no choice but to kiss him.
Waiting for Steve to make a move has been agonizing. Bucky surely thought that being damn near plastered to the guy's side every night would have been the big push he needed, but Steve still has not said a word.
It's frustrating, especially knowing that Nat, Sam, Sharon, and even Peggy have all been doing everything they can to get Steve to just do something, yet he hasn't done a thing.
Bucky'd even gone as far as to blatantly flirt with other men directly in front of Steve, trying to kill two birds with one stone.
Show Steve that he's interested in broad shoulders and big arms and washboard abs, while also making his best friend blind with jealousy, as he himself had been all those decades ago in a hole in the wall bar in Europe; Peggy looking like a goddess in red.
All that resulted in, was Steve being silent and brooding for the remainder of the evening, though he still didn't say a word when Bucky would find his way to the blond's room in the middle of the night.
He sometimes wonders if it's the thought of Bucky being into men that makes Steve grow distant and silent, and that thought scares him to his core.
His melancholy train of thought is interrupted as Sam, the poor sap, accidentally sets off a motion sensor alarm as he tries to nudge himself in behind Pepper's wine fridge.
Bucky has to desperately fight to hold in his laughter as a look of utter horror passes over his friends face, the man's eyes scanning the room wildly for any sign of Clint hanging around.
He gets up and tries to make a bolt for the balcony, but a pink splatter is covering his black t-shirt before he has a chance.
Waiting with baited breath, Bucky watches next as Clint steps into the center of the room after Sam has started on his way to the communal floor where the rest of the paint-stained Avengers are waiting.
The archer's eyes just scan the room, and all Buck can do is hope that he's well enough hidden that he doesn't end up kissing Sam (though that's not an entirely unwelcome thought) instead of Steve.
A head of wavy blonde hair passes through his periphery, as Sharon not so subtly makes her way into the room.
"Gee, I hope that I can find a place to hide, BEFORE CLINT FINDS ME."
So she has the same plan as Bucky. Anyone with eyes can see that Sam is absolutely smitten with Ms. Carter; and here she is, taking matters into her own hands.
As expected, she's coated in pink very shortly after.
Now, if he can just get Steve to do the same.
Nearly an hour later, and Rhodey and Pepper have been splattered with orange paint, Wanda and Jane in purple.
That leaves just four.
Steve, who is now seeking refuge in one of about 100 kitchens in the tower, Nat, Tony, and Bucky.
Even with no weapons, suits, or powers were allowed, the four remaining Avengers are still the best-suited for the game.
Nat, Steve, and Bucky are all precision soldiers and spies, being able to hide away almost anywhere in the tower. They also know how Clint operates, making it easier to stay one step ahead of him.
Tony has the advantage of knowing the tower well enough that he can very well be hiding in places the rest of the team don't even know exist.
It's really anybody's game at this point.
The sound of one of the galley doors to the kitchen very lightly being opened and closed has him on high alert, and he can just barely make out two black boots over tight black jeans on the other side of the island in the center of the room.
Instead of the Beatles tee and denim jacket Clint's wearing, he's delighted to see a brunet bun and a Dodgers sweater (his Dodgers sweater) move around the corner as Bucky comes into view.
Their eyes meet, and Bucky's signature smirk makes Steve's heart skip. He gets the feeling that something profound is happening between them, but he's Steve Rogers for Christ sake, so he has no idea what it is.
Then, everything goes to shit as Tony quite literally crashes through the ceiling, landing with a thud on the island, as Clint bursts through the galley doors and covers them both in red paint.
"You've got to be fucking kidding me."
Tony just smiles sheepishly up at Bucky, who is glaring back with a look of pure disdain.
"Well, that makes Steve and Nat the winners."
Clint is just smirking at Bucky, who seems absolutely appalled at the entire world.
"Everyone to the communal floor. Nat and Steve are the only ones who escaped Cupid's arrows."
That's how the team find themselves huddled together, all but three of them a multi-colored mess.
Most of them just go for a peck on the cheek, or a quick peck on the lips; the exception being Sharon, who takes Sam's face in both hands and plants a big wet kiss on his lips, leaving him with his head dipped and his hands fumbling behind his back.
It's all quite enjoyable until Bucky's given a harsh reminder who his kissing partner is when Tony swaggers over to him and waggles his eyebrows.
Instead of the dumb reference that he probably wouldn't have understood, or failed attempt at being flirty, Bucky is shocked as Tony wraps his arms around him, spins them around so they are facing the rest of the team, and dips him, before smacking their lips together.
It takes a few moments to compose himself and hold back his gag reflex, but Bucky looks up just in time to see the rest of the team laughing their asses off as Steve makes a hasty retreat off the floor to the elevator.
He's so stupid. His grand exit certainly didn't go unnoticed, and now he's going to have to talk to Bucky.
Something about the sight he just witnessed set something off inside of Steve. Though it was just a game, the thought of anyone (especially Tony) other than him kissing Bucky makes Steve want to curl into a ball and die.
He wants to be the reason his eyes sparkle and mouth splits his face in a smile.
He wants to card his fingers through Bucky's long strands of brown hair.
He wants to hold his hand when they walk down the street, and kiss him on the Brooklyn Bridge, and go on Jimmy Fallon and tell the world that he is madly in love with his best friend.
As the elevator door slides open and Bucky tentatively steps onto their floor, he knows exactly what he's got to do.
"Stevie, I...."
"Hold on, Buck. I have something I want to say."
Bucky shoots him with a look that makes him hesitate. He's nervous. It almost looks like he's waiting for the other shoe to drop, and Steve to begin screaming and sending him away.
"No, let me. You're the most important person in the world to me, Steve. So I need to know right now if you're a homophobe, because that is definitely going to cause issue."
Steve is at a loss for words. Of all the things he was waiting for Bucky to say, that was not one of them. Then, though he tries not to, he begins to laugh.
Bucky just continues staring back at him with the same scared expression, so Steve calms himself and begins to speak.
"I'm sorry, I just.... Wow, okay. Let's sit. We both have some explaining to do."
Instead of turning and fleeing, Bucky timidly moves to sit at the opposite end of the couch that Steve's already taken a spot on, pulling his knees to his chest, before gathering his thoughts and stringing them together in an explanation.
"There's a reason all the dates I ever went on were double dates. I never really cared about making time with any of those women, Steve. I didn't want their attention. Any woman's attention for that matter."
That's actually very relieving to hear, it'll make telling Bucky his secret so much easier. Even if Bucky doesn't feel the same way, he'll at least understand how hard it was for Steve to come to terms with the fact that he's attracted to both men and women.
"I uh.... I've always preferred muscles and stubble I guess."
Bucky's smile is small and barely containing his nerves, so Steve reaches over and takes his hand, wanting his best friend to know that they're in this, like everything else they've ever faced, together.
"It means a lot that you decided to be honest with me about this part of yourself Buck. And actually, since we're spilling our guts..."
Steve just takes a deep breath and holds Bucky's gaze. Those same blue eyes that have made his stomach fill with butterflies from twelve years old are staring back at him, and he knows exactly what he wants to say.
"I loved Peggy. So much. But, when I thought I lost you, Buck, I.... I didn't want to live anymore. You've been my whole world my entire life. I've been trying for months now to just find a way to tell you that I've never loved anyone the way I love you."
His eyes have fallen to scan the fibers of the couch with intensity at this point, and he doesn't look up until Bucky says his name once again.
"Steve..."
Then, his best friend is straddling his lap, kissing him for all that he's worth. Instinct takes over, as Steve grabs a hold of Bucky's waist, before wrapping his arms around him and pulling their chests together.
As they break apart for air, both of them are smiling dopily at each other as their foreheads rest against the other.
"You're so dumb, you know that Rogers? I've been so damn obvious, throwing you all the signs."
Steve's whole body rumbles with laughter as tears begin to sting his eyes, and all he can do is pull Bucky back against him and kiss him with everything that he's got.
"Happy Valentine's Day, jerk."
Bucky just bites his bottom lip before smiling shyly down at him once more.
"Happy Valentine's Day, Steve."
xxx