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They're standing side by side in the line-up before the game, upper arms brushing.
"Ready to go get 'em, Cap?" asks Barnes.
Steve grins. "Always."
.
“No,” says Rogers (31). “It’s not an American invasion, I promise.”
The Arsenal goalkeeper and captain spoke to Radio 5 Live earlier about Arsenal’s latest signing, that of James Barnes, who completed his signing following a medical at the Emirates today. Barnes is a full decade younger than Rogers and captained the US team to Olympics gold medal victory three years ago.
“Okay, now you’re making me feel old.”
.
Steve hasn’t actually met James Barnes. Between injury and the oft-mentioned age gap, their paths have somehow not crossed until the first of a series of pre-season press junkets.
“Do you have any advice for James?” asks an impossibly cheery magazine journalist.
“Just remember to drive on the left-hand side,” says Steve, awkwardly fiddling with the microphone in front of him.
Barnes leans against him briefly, companionably. “Is now a good time to mention I’m not always so good with left versus right?”
“Just as long as you know where the back of the net is, you’ll be all set,” says Steve and the gathered journalists laugh.
.
As captain, Steve usually gets a room to himself. It’s a pre-season tour of the United States. Steve’s not cynical but he knows how the game works; how the business works. With two American stars in the Arsenal squad, this tour is going to generate a lot of money and a lot of publicity for the team.
He and Barnes smile at reporters. Steve talks about childhood visits to Coney Island and Barnes goes into goal in a kickaround with some local kids.
“Hope you’re not trying to steal my job, Barnes,” Steve calls out.
He can’t say why his throat goes dry when Barnes looks up at him, laughing. “I’d never dream of it, Cap.”
As captain, Steve usually gets a room to himself but Falsworth has, in his own words, a dodgy tummy, and Barnes says he doesn’t mind sharing with the captain.
.
When Steve comes out of the bathroom, wearing sweatpants and a loose t-shirt, Barnes is stretched out on top of one of the beds, watching something on his iPad.
He’s wearing the smallest briefs Steve has ever seen.
Steve’s throat goes dry. This time, he knows why.
Barnes looks up. “Wanna fuck?”
“Don’t you have a girlfriend?” Steve doesn’t know why he asks that. Barnes does have a girlfriend, though. Everyone knows it. Tesla Tarasova, the Russian tennis player with daddy issues and the kind of steely determination that will win her a grand slam some day.
Barnes smiles and it’s kind of sweet. “Relax, Cap. I’m not asking you to be a home-wrecker here. I don’t have a girlfriend.”
“Oh.” Steve stares at him. Barnes sets his iPad to the side and scratches his thigh. There’s a tattoo, partially hidden by those ridiculous briefs that do nothing but draw attention to the fact that he’s only wearing briefs.
“Honestly?” says Barnes. “I figured that you’d have more of an issue with sex before a game.”
“It’s only a pre-season friendly,” says Steve automatically.
“I mean, there are guys who say they can’t feel their feet the next day.” Barnes smiles takes on a new radiance. “I’ve always thought of that as kind of a challenge, you know?” He pauses. “Hey. Cap?”
“Yeah?”
“You haven’t said no.”
.
Steve isn’t out. The English Premiership is not a very welcoming place for gay soccer players (no more than any other league). He’s been single for years, in the eyes of the public, since an amicable break-up with Peggy Carter, who’s still his best friend, after years of pretending they were in love.
“It’s hard enough being American in the Premier League,” he says to her. “I’m not sure they’d let me in the country if they knew I was gay, too.”
.
The first time he lays eyes on James Barnes, he doesn’t know how he’ll ever look away.
.
The last game of the season is against Tottenham Hotspur. Barnes scores two goals and, in the closing minutes, Johann Schmidt, the Spurs striker, takes Steve out in a dangerous tackle.
Career-ending, some of the commentators call it.
Barnes runs the length of the pitch to punch Schmidt and he runs straight into the Arsenal history books. A red card isn’t enough to dampen his spirits and neither is the ten thousand pound fine.
It doesn’t matter, some of the commentators say. There’ll be plenty of Gunners fans in North London willing to buy him a pint after today’s performance.
.
Steve tongues at Bucky’s tattoo, which is an inexplicable red star.
Bucky’s hands run down the tattoos on Steve’s back and he tugs Steve up so they can smile at each other. They’re blushing, like teenagers.
They’ve claimed superstitions. After the unbeaten run in their preseason tour, Steve and Bucky say they’ll continue sharing a room.
“Us Yanks have to stick together,” says Steve.
“Don’t be bringing girls back to the room, Barnes,” says Dernier. “The captain has been in England long enough that sex horrifies him.”
Bucky laughs and looks at Steve from under his impossibly thick eyelashes. “I’ll try to resist the urge, Jacques.”
.
“I had posters of you on my wall,” says Bucky, fucking Steve, hard and deep and slow. “When I was fourteen.”
“Never say that to me again,” says Steve, his words tapering off into a moan.
“I was the only kid in school who liked soccer,” says Bucky. “They called me a fairy.”
“Clearly - ah!.” Steve reaches back to hold on to the wrought iron headboard. “Clearly they never saw your tackle.”
They dissolve into laughter which dissolves into moans.
.
The news isn’t good. Steve won’t be captaining the US men’s team in the World Cup this summer. The doctors aren’t even sure if he’ll play again any time soon.
“Looks like we’re never gonna get to play an international together, Cap,” says Bucky, lounging on Steve’s bed.
“I’m still traveling with the team, though,” says Steve.
“Maybe they’ll let us room together,” says Bucky. He curls his hand around Steve’s leg, above the cast.
.
The media think it’s cute, the way that the Americans have stuck together. Expatriate best friends. They think it’s cute the way Bucky has bought a house in the same compound as Steve. That they carpool. That they still share rooms for away games.
The media call it a bromance and, one day, Tony Stark, the Manchester United captain, calls them a pair of poofs. Steve’s agent releases a considerate statement. She advises Steve to be seen with Peggy for a few weeks.
.
In February, Barnes gets his first red card for a reckless tackle. He’s so angry that night that Steve wonders if he should touch him. He’s a livewire and Steve thinks if he holds him now, he’ll never let go.
When he gets to their room, after a few pints in the hotel bar with Dernier and the boys, Steve hears music coming from the bathroom.
Bucky’s in there, listening to some soft jazz.
“The candles are a bit much,” says Steve.
Bucky manages to smile. “Come on in,” he says, raising his almost-empty wine glass. “The water’s fine.”
Steve undresses quickly and nudges him forward. Bucky leans back against Steve’s chest with a soft sigh.
“What happened today, Buck-”
“It was dumb. I wasn’t thinking-”
“You’re young. Did I ever tell you about the time I thought it was a great idea to come out of the box to intercept a pass?”
“No,” says Bucky. His shoulders are already relaxing.
“It was … ungainly,” says Steve. “And I managed to sideline Braddock for a month.”
“Wait- you mean - your own teammate?”
Steve’s hand drops under the water so he can stroke Bucky, who’s already half-hard.
“We’ve all done stupid things on the field.”
.
Sometimes, people say that Steve Rogers is such a good goalkeeper that Arsenal and the US could play ten strikers.
.
Steve presses Bucky down into the snowy white sheets.
“I’m going to come out,” he whispers. “When I retire. I won’t mention you. You can say you never knew.”
“Yeah, you will mention me,” says Bucky.
Steve raises his head.
“I’m not gonna be your homophobic dick best friend,” says Bucky, raising his chin. “Because that’s what they’ll call me if I act all fuckin’ scandalised.”
“They’re going to be awful,” says Steve. “I know you’ve punched people for less but - “
Bucky kisses Steve’s fingertips. “Stark’ll be impossible.”
“So will the tabloids. They’re going to insinuate we’re dating.”
“It’ll make a change if they insinuate a fact, for once.”
.
They’re sitting on the team bus, on the way to their first home game. Their thighs are pressed together. Barnes is listening to his iPod.
Steve could get used to this.
He smiles at Barnes and Barnes smiles back.
"Ready to go get 'em, Cap?"
"Always."