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Getting Bob a switch for Christmas had already been a huge mistake from day one. The man spent his days in his little reading nook -turned gaming nook- nearby the floor-to-ceiling windows, curled up in his armchair, screen so close to his eyes one would be concerned for his eyes had he not been immortal. Zelda, Pokemon, Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood, cheap games he bought with his own monthly allowance. He still read, especially when the team wasn’t away on a mission and everyone gathered in the living room, but when his anxiety spiked he booted up a game and turned off his brain.
No one on the team had expected it when he woke up one day at 9 -he usually never came out of his room before 11-, console in hand and a genuinely ecstatic grin on his lips. He’d even made John jump when he’d loudly greeted everyone as he took a seat at the counter between Yelena and Ava. Ava grunted like she wasn’t paid enough to handle a toddler-like Bob, and Yelena raised a brow and greeted him with her no nonsense tone and accent.
“Tomodachi Life 2 is out guys !” Bob chirps, and everyone was pretty sure he’d start levitating out of sheer excitement, Sentry powers or not. “Tamagochi what ?” Had parroted John with the confused air of a middle aged dad who’d grown up on the first Play Station and the Nintendo 64.
“Tomodachi Life Living the Dream.” Bob corrects as he puts his console down on the counter, making Ava huff in disapproval when he pushes into her space, and pulls the bowl of cereals John had made him closer. Yelena raises her brows, unimpressed and still not really understanding what the hell the brunette was talking about. “Who is living the dream ? Because we certainly aren’t. The oven broke down again.” John grumbles and wipes his hands on a rag, more concerned about his kitchen falling apart than a video game. Ava snickers. “And whose fault is that ? It probably heard you yelling at it and got offended and decided to go on strike.” Bob’s eyes flicker back and forth from the blonde to the British as they started bickering yet again.
“What is Tomodachi Life Living the Dream, Bob ?” Yelena asks on his left, capturing his attention by making an effort to pronounce the ridiculous name correctly even as she shoved another bit of pancake in her mouth. “It’s like, The Sims but mixed with Animal Crossing.” He proudly explains, and Yelena stares at him blankly. “I know The Sims ! Olivia used to play it when we were younger.” John pipes in, leaning on the counter with his arms crossed after putting an end to his fight with Ava. “Really ? Well, Tomodachi Life is kinda that, but more… Huh… I don’t know how to explain it actually. But I used to play the first game when I was a kid.” Bob’s always been bad at explaining stuff, and so he shrugs and eats some more cereals.
“Isn’t The Sims that thing where you make characters and play with their lives or something ?” The British asks just as she gives her now empty plate to the Veteran, who goes to clean it up immediately. “I never played it but it seemed fun. Heard you could do really horrible stuff to your characters.” She rests her cheek on her fist lazily, looking at Bob and Yelena, who finally seems to remember something. “Right. That game. I think I saw a video or two on it. It looked… interesting.” “Was pretty fun from what I remember. Olivia made herself, Lemar and me and we lived in a big house with like, a fuckton of dogs.” John is finally done with making breakfast for everyone and cleaning up, and so he goes back to leaning on the counter. All eyes land on Bob, and he can’t help but feel both intimidated and glad that they actually cared.
“I’ll just show you guys.” He concludes, pushing his bowl to the side, John catching it to put it in the sink so he could see too. “I bought it this morning the moment it came out.” “How much ?” Yelena always had a knack to be more concerned with Bob’s money than her own. “… Just 60.” As expected, the Russian woman chokes on her maple syrup drowned pancakes, and John takes the air of an indignant single mom of four. “60 bucks ?? Jesus Christ ! In my days, you could get like, three games with 60 bucks ! Or one game and plenty of added content !” “Yes, you’re old, we get it Walker.” Ava snickers, though she’s no doubt just as taken aback by the price. Bob flushes and John grumbles. “Well, it’s huh, it’s really good, and I really wanted it so…” “You could have asked one of us to buy it for you Bob, you know we wouldn’t have minded.” Yelena tries to reason, but the brunette only shrugs as he boots up his switch -the first one, he’s not that irresponsible-, then the game. “I can use my money, I don’t even use it that much anyway.” His best friend doesn’t really appear convinced but she doesn’t push, and well, the money is already spent anyway.
The three gather around him again, Ava on his right trying to look like she didn’t care too much though she eyed his console curiously, John bent over the counter and tilting his head to try to see the right way, one brow raised, and Yelena with her cheek propped up on her fist and her other hand around her coffee mug -Best spy ever. The little music fills the otherwise quiet kitchen, and Bob can’t help but wiggle his feet and bite his lip with excitement. He barely opened the game since he’d downloaded it, so he was damn ready to play it now.
Finally the title appears and he hurriedly skips it to get to the fun part. “Are you sure that is not a game for children ?” Yelena has practically no knowledge in video games, but whatever Bob likes, she takes interest into. He’s grateful for that. “I mean, Mario Kart looks cartoonish but it’s not exactly just for kids right ?” John counterpoints, awkwardly folded to try to properly see the screen. Bob sets the time, location and currency quicker than lightning, and barely reads the tutorial bubbles, overexcited. “Woa, slow down cowboy, some of us can’t read that fast.” Ava teases, lightly nudging his shoulder with her own, and he gives her an apologetic little look, slowing down.
“’Mii’ ? What kind of name is that ?” The Russian seems skeptical as she reads the bubbles, and John thinks for a bit, back to just casually leaning on the counter, having given up on the idea of reading the screen. “It’s kinda the mascots of Nintendo right ? You can make anyone you want as like, a mii.” “Yup.” Bob confirms with a nod, pressing A again and again then typing. “Wait, so who are you gonna make ?” The British’s question seems shared by the rest of the team as they look up at him, and he replies by holding his switch up to show them the screen. “The Thunderbolts Island.” Yelena reads flatly, and John raises his fist in a mock, lazy cheer. “Gooo Thunderbolts.”
Bob grins, then puts his console back down to keep going through the tutorial, head lowered and curls falling on his face. “I’ll make you guys ! I mean, you’re kinda my only friends and family anyway, so.” It’s only when no one replies that the brunette looks up, finding his three friends looking at him with various degrees of fondness. He blushes immediately, and Yelena pats his back and joins him into -gag- emotional vulnerability. “Thank you Bob, that is very kind. You are our friend and family too.” The glare she threatens the other two with to make them say something nice in return gets ignored by Ava, who’s too busy ‘checking her nails’, and John simply gives a low and emotionally constipated “Yeah, obviously.” before he clears his throat and goes back to cleaning the already cleaned counter.
He knows they’re not good at expressing feelings and Bob isn’t offended at all, he even snickers before looking back down at the game, Yelena hovering over his shoulder. “So, who are you going to make first ?” Ah, well, Bob hadn’t thought about that. He gives a dumb ‘huuuh’, rubbing his socked feet together where they rest on the foot rest of the stool, before shrugging. “Me, I guess ? Then I’ll let you guys decide who wants to go first ? I don’t wanna make it seem like I have favorites…” His best friend snickers, knowing damn well he does and that she’s first on the list. “Well I wanna go first.” Ava interrupts them with a smug grin, earning a good natured glare from the other woman. “Sure, I’ll make you first.” Bob nods with a little smile, then focuses back on his screen. “Me first though. Oh, wait, ‘mii’ first. Get it ?” No one gets it, but he knows damn well that was a funny joke.
It takes a while for Bob to finish making his own mii, and he asks the three for input multiple times. It’s not his fault there’s so many choices it gets overwhelming ! But he pulls through, and after ten long minutes during which John makes everyone another round of coffee and pours a glass of apple juice for Bob, he finally uncurls his back from its shrimp curl, and raises his switch in the air, triumphant. “I’m done !!” Everyone gathers around again, John and Ava ditching their hundredth argument to check out what Bob had cooked up for so long. “You look… cute, I guess ?” John says with the voice of a dad who wondered why his kid couldn’t go outside and play with a ball or something instead of playing video games all day, but still tried to be supportive. “Don’t be rude Walker.” Yelena warns him, earning a dumbfounded look from the man and a snicker from Ava. “It looks nice Bob.” She adds, patting him on the shoulder. He knows they probably don’t really care, not nearly enough to understand why he was so excited, but it’s still nice of them to at least pretend.
He quickly sets his height after some hesitation, his weight, having to remind himself that he wasn’t sickly underweight anymore, then enters his name. “I’ll just put Bob Reynolds right ?” “Why are you asking us, it is your game Bob.” And yeah, Yelena’s right. So he does. He stares at the gender brackets for a bit, ignoring John’s raised brow with some difficulty, before he puts Male. “So far so good.” Ava teases, finishing the last of her coffee and putting the empty mug to the side. This time John doesn’t clean it immediately, too busy staring as Bob hesitates with the dating preferences this time. Gosh, okay, doing this in front of the team was a bit embarrassing for the brunette. He clears his throat, and John blinks before seemingly taking the hint and pulling away from the counter, looking around the kitchen like it was his first time entering it. The two women smile behind the hands they use to prop their head on, and Bob finally select male in peace.
As he fills out the rest of the details about his mii, birthday, age, then tries to get his voice as accurate as possible -it’s impossible, by the way, so sue him if he sounds like a duck-, the three around him begin to chat about future missions, reports and other boring things he knows he should take interest into but simply can’t. It’s too boring. John mentions that his ribs are still sore from getting beat up with a metal bar -which, wow ?-, Ava teases him about getting his ass handed to him, and Yelena reminds him that there still are Super Soldier grade painkillers in MedBay. Bob waits for them to be done, looking at the three of them from behind his lashes, then politely raises his hand a little to get permission to talk and get their attention.
“I kinda need help filling out the personality stuff…” “You don’t know your own personality ?” John asks, genuinely confused, and shrugs when the Russian gives him a deadpan look for what feels like and is probably the hundredth time. “It’s just that, well, I want a second opinion y’know ?” “Okay Bob, you will have second, third and fourth opinion.” Yelena points at herself, John and Ava as she reassures him. That pulls out a smile from Bob and the three shuffle closer once again as he lists the options.
“Oh, definitely slow.” Ava starts. “Unless you’re tapping into Sentry’s power, yeah.” John adds. Yelena agrees and Bob selects second from the left. “You are mostly polite.” Yelena starts this time, and John narrows his eyes. “Did call me an asshole back in the vault though.” “Walker, you are an arsehole”. Ava reminds him and Bob puts third from the left with a little chuckle. “Energy ? Depends on if you’re feeling good or bad right ? So do we put neutral or ?” John proposes after managing to read the words on the screen even if they were reversed to him. “Mh. You are mostly calm. Sometimes you run around, but it does not last long.” “Yup.” Yelena comments and Ava agrees. The brunette puts fourth from the left as a compromise. “Oh you’re definitely relaxed. No broom up your arse.” The Brit grins as she eyes John, who gets the hint and gives her the finger. But everyone agrees immediately anyway, and so Bob selects second from the right. “Normal or Quirky ? What does that mean ? Are you boring or weird ?” Yelena raises a brow as she stands up with her empty mug, grabbing Ava’s as she walked around the counter to go wash them in the sink since John seemed too into the game. Bob’s eyes follow her mindlessly, before he shrugs and looks back down. “Definitely quirky.” The veteran says without an ounce of hesitation, ever the blunt one. “What ?” He asks with his shoulders raised to his ears as Ava stares at him. Bob doesn’t take it personally, and puts in third from the right.
Just as Yelena sits back down next to him, he finally creates his mii and get its personality, reading it out loud. “Easy-Going. I’m amicable, thoughtful, honest, innocent and do things at my own pace. And I love my friends and make sure they get along, basically.” Everyone raises a brow at innocent, but oh well, the rest is accurate enough and so they all agree with the results. Ava finally gets off her stool with a sigh just as the youngest one finishes reading the tutorial. “Well, that was fun, but I promised I’d call Bill before noon, and since he always talks for two hours…” She waves them goodbye lazily over her shoulder and walks out of the room, slippers rubbing against the concrete floor. John stretches his side carefully, ribs still tender, and pushes himself off against the counter. “I gotta run some errands and call Olivia, so I’ll leave you to it. Call me when you make my ‘mii’ I guess.” And with that, John follows Ava suit, leaving Bob to play on his console while Yelena pulls out her phone to scroll on Pinterest and pin random stuff that she’ll never look at again.
-----
Bob continues his little Tomodachi Life adventure over the next two days, getting the hang of feeding his sole mii unsurprisingly easily. He makes sure to feed him a bit in the morning -he actually wakes up at 8 just for that-, a nice meal for lunch, and another one in the evening. He’s surprised in a good way when he realizes that something as silly as a game literally helps him get a healthier schedule, and even gives him ideas to ask John to cook since he usually just agreed with whatever was on the menu. He enjoys simply watching himself move around the island even when he doesn’t really have anything to do in the game. For a while he goes on with only his mii, before deciding that he just had to get himself friends, and asking Ava and Yelena to have a girls night so he could make their miis.
That’s how the three end up in Yelena’s room, Bob laying down on her bed with his head propped up on a pillow and his console in hand, Ava next to him with her phone in one hand and her other one in Yelena’s so the Russian could paint her nails purple, sitting with her legs tucked under her. The soft music of Ava’s playlist playing in the background almost lulls the brunette to sleep, but he focuses back onto his game as the girls talk about Alexei’s constant inability to shut up. They’re not exactly wrong and it even makes him giggle as he finishes up the last of the Brit’s mii, eyes flickering from his screen to her face to make sure he hadn’t missed any detail.
He shows them once he’s done. “I think I really nailed the blazé part right ?” Ava raises a brow, but the little smirk on her lips confirms his words. Yelena laughs, eyes slightly wrinkled before she shakes her head and goes back to painting Ava’s thumb with a fond sigh. “That’s pretty good. Make me as tall as I am yeah ?” Bob huffs, but does as he’s told -why would he change her height anyway ?
“Female, right ?” “Yeah. I suppose there isn’t a ghost option ?” “Nope.” “That would be funny though.” The conversation flows freely, before he looks back at the Brit, curious. “What about dating preferences ?” Ava turns her head to look at him, then lets it drop on her shoulder as she thinks. “Mh. Both, I guess ? Men and women ?” “I always knew you had a bit of queerness in you, Ghost lady.” Yelena teases, not looking up, but earning herself a playful kick to the shin that makes her laugh. “You made me paint your finger ! I hope you are proud. You have messed it all up.” Bob grins behind his screen as he selects male and female preferences. “You’re so dramatic.” The brit snickers. So to not bother the two as they bickered, he pulls out his phone and checks his calendar to make sure he gets her birthday right. The two spies ignore the sound his console makes when he tries to get Ava’s voice right.
“Bob, I have been wondering.” Bob hums, not looking up as he made the poor mii repeat ‘My name is Ava- My name is- My name is Ava Starr-’ again and again until he surely -he won’t- found the right pitch. He only looks up when the real Ava lightly nudges his arm, and finds them both looking at him. The brunette sits up a little, realizing that Yelena actually had a question. “Yeah ?” “When you were making your mii, two days ago.” She reminds him, and he nods slowly. “You did not want Walker to see your ‘dating preferences’ yes ?” Bob hadn’t expected her to ask that, and he raises his brows in surprise before curling around himself a little and chuckling awkwardly. “Honestly, I get it, Walker seems like the type to say ‘It’s Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve’.” Ava imitates with a mock deep voice and a snicker, but Yelena doesn’t laugh, looking at Bob, waiting for a reply. “Ah… Well, yeah, it’s kinda that… I mean, he looks so… straight. Right ? Like, in the… bad way.” The two seem to understand what he means, having probably thought the same as queer women. John could be so macho like sometimes. The perfect picture of a straight soldier with a wife and a kid and a long, awarded military career -he’d even grown up in the South, Georgia, Bob remembers from a conversation one evening during dinner.
“I see what you mean.” “Totally, yeah.” They both agree, and Bob relaxes a little. He felt kind of guilty for being prejudiced without even asking John first, but the man was actually intimidating the moment you realized he wasn’t just an asshole with a good looking face. Having a deep conversation with him frightened Bob. Plus, the two actually had an okay relationship now, and Bob didn’t want to mess it up. “Maybe we are wrong though. You should ask him when you make his mii.” Ava seems to perk up at the idea, brows raised and lips curled up on one side, clearly entertained. “Oh yeah, ask the Dollar Store Captain America if he likes taking it up the arse.” That earns her a punch in the arm from Yelena -all good natured- as they laugh, and Bob flushes before looking back at his screen. Yup. He’s intimidated by John, no other reason. None.
--
“It says you’re energetic, sociable, optimistic and passionate. You follow your instincts and you’re assertive and get others’ respect easily.” Bob reads out loud after completing Ava’s personality chart. He now laid on his stomach propped up on his elbows, legs kicking in the air and screen right in his face like an Ipad kid. Ava had her head resting on his back, legs from the knees down off the bed, and Yelena half laying on her chest as she finished painting her other hand with the focus that characterized her. “Sociable ?” Ava snorts, not convinced. “The rest is accurate though right ?” Yelena chimes in, blowing on the Brit’s nail and making sure she’d covered all the surface she had to paint. “Yeah, I guess it’s alright.” “I think I can change it later anyway, maybe.” Bob completes her mii, rocking his head side to side slowly. “I’m making our miis meet.”
Ava turns her head around curiously, propping herself up on one elbow to look over Bob’s shoulder and watch his screen for the interaction. Yelena looked up from her precise work as the miis got acquainted. “That’s it ?” “No Lena, you can make them interact more after.” Bob snickers, and the two women look at each other with a little amused smile on their lips, and a shrug on their shoulders. Whatever made Bob enjoy himself. “Your mii said I’m funny !” He proudly claims after making the two miis interact again, and Ava laughs. “Yeah, right, should be the other way around.” “You are so full of yourself Ava.” “You love it.” Bob rolls his eyes as the spies practically flirted atop of him.
As his mii claims to want to become friends with Ava, he grins and excitedly cranes his neck to look at his friends. “Hey, my mii wants to become proper friends, tell me something to give them to talk about !” Yelena huffs as Ava is pushed by Bob’s sudden movement, messing up her nail polish work a tiny bit. “Like what ?” “A person, a thing, an activity or something else.” “Huh. Mh. Can we bad mouth Walker ?” Bob giggles and shrugs, but types in Walker as instructed. “I dunno, let’s see.” He watched as his mii asked Ava’s mii if she wanted to talk about Walker. She agrees. Mii-Bob claims to have first heard about Walker a year ago, and Bob thinks he actually first heard of Walker 3 years ago when he became Captain America. But it’s only been… 3 months, since he’s known the man properly. He focuses back onto the cinematic, and grins when Mii-Ava asks Mii-Bob to become friends. “We’re friends now.” “Really ? That easily ? Seems a bit… utopian.” Ava mumbles as finally her hands are freed from Yelena’s nail polish frenzy. She shakes them to dry her nails quicker, sitting up while the Russian put her paint back in her nightstand’s lowest drawer.
“Yup, just like that. What do you want your mii to call me ? As a surname.” The Brit thinks for a bit. “Well, Bob, obviously. I call you Bob don’t I ?” “I want your surname for my mii to be Bobbers, Bob.” Yelena adds flatly, pulling out her phone to scroll pinterest yet again as she leaned against Ava’s side comfortably.
--
“Why does my mouth look like that ?” Yelena asks, pointing at her mii on the screen as this time she’s the one laying down on her back, Bob on her left, and Ava on her belly on his other side, the women sandwiching him. Bob huffs with amusement. “What ? It kinda suits you right ? You look done with life.” “I do not look done with life.” “Totally do.” Ava snickers, not looking up from her fanfiction but listening nonetheless. “I even added the eyeliner thingy you do.” “So chic.” “Thank you Bob. I take much pride in it.” Yelena rests her head against Bob’s shoulder as she looks at the switch, an easy and familiar gesture between them now. If the brunette had been touch avoidant before meeting the Thunderbolts, he could safely say now that he didn’t mind being touched by them one bit. Appropriately, obviously.
“I’m making you super small.” “Rude.” The two smile anyway, and Bob makes Yelena’s mii an appropriate size, which meant pocket sized anyway. “Female ?” “Yes.” “Dating preferences ?” “Mh.” Yelena takes a moment to think about it, and Bob gives her time, simply looking at Ava’s phone and the weird fanfiction about the team she was reading these days. He doesn’t comment on it. “None. Wait, no. It is a game after all. Let’s make it fun. Women. I will not touch a man, even for the sake of a video game.” “You’re literally all over Bob.” “Because he is like my brother, obviously.” Bob giggles at that, enjoying the banter but also the fact that Yelena considered him her brother. He wasn’t gonna tell them his heart fluttered a little with affection though, no way. “Wait, I can make you my sister in the game. Well, it says we won’t know we’re related at first but…” “Oh, yes, do that. It will be fun.” “Nobody asked me if I wanted to be someone’s sister though ?” Ava chimed in with a dramatic scoff, and the other two looked at her. “Do you want to be ?” “No way.”
–
“Says you’re energetic, sociable, optimistic and passionate. Outgoing, pleasant to be around, makes friend easily and find the silver lining in every bad situation, yada yada…” Bob reads from the edge of the bed, having somehow ended up upside down on the mattress while the two women showed each other memes against the headboard. “Sociable again ? No one here is sociable. I would rather eat Alexei’s cooking than make friends.” The Russian sighs, and Ava nods in agreement, shoulders shaking lightly with amusement from the tackle at the Red Guardian’s cooking skills, or rather lack of.
“Should I make you interact with my mii or Ava’s first ?” “Ava, I want my first friend to be a woman, because it is woman’s month.” “Is it though ?” The Brit raises a brow. “I have no idea.” The three laugh anyway, and Bob makes Mii-Yelena interact with Mii-Ava. As expected, the two become acquainted easily and leave Bob-Mii to run around alone. He eyes the two women next to his feet from behind his console, and watches for a moment as they tease each other and laugh so easily with plenty of affection behind it. He realizes that it’s probably his cue to leave, and so he sits up, wonderfully fakes a yawn and stretches. “Well, I’ll go now that you’re both made. I’ll make sure to feed you well !” Ava and Yelena wave him goodbye, the Russian telling him to be careful even though his room was only two doors away. He closes Yelena’s door behind him, hearing the muffled giggles and discussion, and smiles.
-----
It takes a little time for Bob to gather the courage to go and ask Alexei if he wanted himself added into the game. Not because he was scary, unlike John or Bucky, but because Bob feared that Alexei would start talking too much and too loud and trail off, and that what should take 15 minutes at most ends up taking an hour -or more if the Red Guardian felt particularly talkative that day. It’s finally two days after doing the girls’ miis, that he gathers his courage and decides to ask the older man, while half of the rest of the team is out on a quick in and out mission in Colorado. Bob walks out of his room with his switch in hand, and as expected finds Alexei sitting on the couch, watching some sports while loudly commenting and eating chips. So charming.
The brunette slips on the other side of the couch with a little ‘hey’, that the Russian replies to with a loud laugh and a “Bob ! My friend ! How is your day going little bird ?” “Pretty good so far. I just wanted to ask you if you wanted me to make your mii in Tomodachi Life ? If you know what that is.” Bob feels like his voice is way lower than usual, but maybe it’s just because Alexei’s is so booming. “Ah yes ! Lena told me about your game ! I would be pleased to honor your little island with the Red Guardian’s presence !” The younger of the two smiles faintly, eyeing Alexei, then the football match playing on TV, then finally his switch and the game that had finished loading.
Making Alexei’s mii isn’t too hard, if you don’t consider the fact that Bob realizes towards the end that this one really didn’t look too bright. He keeps himself from cackling as he peeks at Alexei next to him, knowing the man didn’t look bright even in the real world. He simply finishes setting his height and build, writes in his name, puts in male, then clears his throat to get the older man’s attention. “Hum, what do you want me to put in dating preferences ?” “Dating preferences ? HA ! I have a wife Bob, but I am flattered !!” Okay ? “No, I meant, like… Your wife isn’t in the game anyway. If you didn’t have one, would you also date men or only women ?” Bob couldn’t believe he was really talking about this kind of stuff with the other man. “Ah ! A real soldier isn’t afraid of trying new things ! And a real man knows how to appreciate beauty in everything !” That was weirdly beautiful, but Bob still didn’t really know what to put. Shrugging, he decides to put both male and female as dating preferences. He had a feeling the Russian would bed anything and everything, wife or not.
He stops at the related-to-someone-on-the-Island part. He stalls asking for a bit, watching the football game, console on his lap and feet rubbing against each other. Then he clears his throat again, and pulls his legs against his chest. “Do I make your mii related to Yelena’s ? As her dad ?” Alexei looks surprised by the question, brows raised before he leans in to check out Bob’s screen. “You can do that ?? American games are wonderful ! But not as great as Russian games HAHA !” He enthusiastically says, before nodding and sitting back in his spot, unaware that he had almost burst Bob’s eardrums. “Yes, yes ! I am her dad after all !” Bob nods, and looks back at his screen. Just as he was about to ask about his personality, the Russian speaks again, lower this time. “You know Bob, I have not done right by my Yelena all her life. Not even half of it ! But I love her as my little girl and I hope she loves me as her papa. I understand a lot of things better now. She deserves whole sky !” Bob stares as Alexei makes a grand gesture of his arms to represent the -whole- sky.
He sometimes forgot that Alexei wasn’t just a loud, stereotypical, abrasive former poster boy for Russia. Bob watches him for a moment, remembering how he’d asked Yelena one day how she could have forgiven him, and she’d replied that he’d never known better or anything else, and never had the chance to be shown things from another angle, unlike her. She’d also said that he wasn’t forgiven, and probably would never be, but that she loved him nonetheless because he was her only father and the last link between her and Natasha. He thought about his own father for a moment, before blinking the memories away, and asking questions to the older man about his personality- that Alexei gladly answered, loud again. And if Bob laughs when Mii-Alexei’s personality ends up praising his wit and charm, well, only Ava and Yelena will know about it.
-----
Asking Bucky next seems almost easy after asking Alexei now. Unlike the Russian man, Bob knows that the former Winter Soldier tends to avoid long conversations the most out of the team. Well, almost as much as Ava, but anyway. Now that all the miis on his island are mostly friends, he feels like there’s no way Bucky will refuse to be added on it. Besides, Bob was pretty sure Bucky had a soft spot for him. He finds the man in the kitchen late at night a day after the Mii-Alexei incident, and practically runs over to him so none of them could escape. He would have felt guilty, had he not been so excited for some reason. He was practically obsessed with the game now, even if he still had a lot to discover, and he’d figured it was going to be his new hyper fixation for the next weeks, maybe months. He had a knack for fixating on things.
Bucky jumps when Bob slips into the high stool next to his -console pressed against his chest and all-, and it’s rare for him to be jumpy, so Bob guesses that he must have had a nightmare, and that he probably didn’t want to talk about it. Maybe this could get his mind off bad stuff ! “Hey Bucky. You okay ?” “Hey Bob. You want to make me in your island, don’t you ?” Ah, Bob should have known Bucky would ignore his question and already know about the Island business. He clears his throat and sits up straighter, putting his switch on the counter next to Bucky’s coffee like he was getting ready for a job interview. “Guilty as charged, yeah. I hope you don’t mind ?” “Not at all kid. It’s your island, if you want a tired centenarian roaming around it, it’s not my problem.” Bucky gives him a little smile, rubbing his temple slowly. His metal arm was nowhere in sight, and the brunette guesses that he’d left it in his room, having no use for it so late at night.
He focuses back onto his game, watching his island and the four little houses and miis sitting on it, a smile on his face. Everyone had their own clothes and their own interiors, Starry-Eyed for Ava, Garage for Alexei, Exposed Brick for Yelena and Plant-Parent for himself, which they’d all liked. He thinks he should actually get more plants for his room and the whole floor of the tower, make it feel more alive and like home. Making Bucky’s mii, once again, is pretty easy. He wants to nail the tired look and tries out multiple sets of eyes, before settling on one that make him giggle. Bob shows Bucky, who sighs like he’s amused but too tired to properly laugh -nothing new. “I look like I belong in a children’s cartoon. I don’t look scary at all. I suppose you can’t take away one of my arms ?” “Ah. Huh… No, not really…” Well that was awkward. “Well I hope me mii enjoys having the both of them for the both of us.” And Bob chuckles, relaxed again.
He brings one foot onto the stool’s seat, and rests his chin on his knee, focusing on the technical parts of Bucky’s double now. “My name is James Buchanan Barnes you know ?” The former Winter Soldier precises when he sees Bob type in his name, which makes the younger man look up in surprise. “...Really ? Not just… Bucky ?” “Yeah, really. You didn’t learn that in school ?” “Huh, I kind of dropped out ?” “Right.” Silence settled again, and Bob looks down, considering putting in Bucky’s real name, before realizing that there was no way he had enough room to write all these letters. How do you even write Buchanan ? “Hum, I should still call you Bucky right ? Not James ?” That finally pulls a laugh out of Bucky, the tired lines around his eyes replaced by content crows feet for a moment. “Yeah, don’t worry about it kid. No one’s called me James in a long while. Well, Sam does when I’m in trouble, and I suppose getting sued by him is trouble.” Bob smiles a little, feeling both sorry for Bucky, and glad that the man seemed more talkative tonight, for some reason. Maybe he had a lot on his plate and Bob was easy to talk to.
The younger man looks back down at his screen just as Bucky takes a sip of his coffee -it was 3am, but who was Bob to judge ?. Once again the dating preferences had to be filled, and Bob realizes that he’d learned quite a bit about the team since he’d started mii-ing them. “Hum… About dating preferences…” The former Winter Soldier seems pensive for a bit, before he shrugs. “It’s been legal for a while now, and I suppose it isn’t a secret anymore. Men.” Okay, Bob had sensed that there was something going on with Sam -his gaydar is pretty good if he does say so himself-, and from everything he’d heard about Steve Rogers’ relationship with the veteran, it wasn’t hard to guess that maybe something had also been going on… But still, having the confirmation made Bob shift giddily in his seat, before he forces himself to calm down again and enters the newly acquired information like he was filling a mission report.
“I can’t make you a hundred and… Well, your technical age.” “I guess I’m 43 now ? Something like that. Just put in whatever you want.” Bucky doesn’t seem all that bothered by the technicalities of it all, simply finishing his coffee while Bob finishes his mii. The sound of the little character repeating its name as Bob tried to find a proper voice filled the room, making the older man raise a brow and smile a tiny bit, amused. “Sorry, sorry. I’m trying to find a good voice.” “I can hear that.” Finally he settled on one, and moved on with the personality bits. “You’re quick right ?” “Sure.” “Polite or direct ?” “Bit of both. I guess I’m too direct sometimes.” “Flat or intense ? Your energy.” “Huh. Depends if I’m out in the field or not.” “I’ll put mildly intense then. Serious or relaxed ?” “I’m too serious, or so I’ve been told.” “Broom up your ass ?” Bob laughs, then clears his throat, feeling like he’d overstepped, but Bucky laughs louder than Bob’s ever seen him -that’s two laughs he’d pulled out of Bucky in one night, Bob should get a medal. It makes the younger man all giddy and proud yet again. “Yeah, I guess you could say that. What next ?” “Hum… Quirky or normal.” “I guess I’m… Normal ? I don’t know.” “I’ll put mildly normal then. Should I read your personality out loud ?” “Knock yourself out.”
“Confident, self assured, likes good results, ambitious and takes a lot of risks… Full of energy. I think that’s the most accurate one I’ve got so far ?” Bob reads out loud, nodding to himself as he processed the personality traits Mii-Bucky had gotten. The real Bucky next to him smiles tiredly and nods, before patting his shoulder with his remaining hand and standing up. “Glad I could help then, Bob. Don’t go to bed later than it already is.” The brunette nods obediently, watching as Bucky grabs his empty mug to put it in the sink, then left after waving him good night. Bob looks back at his island, a prideful smile on his lips now that there was only one person left to add to it.
-----
After starting his game for the day and laughing for ten minutes because Mii-Ava fell in love with Mii-Yelena after receiving her help to move, and telling her that ‘It must be love !’, Bob decides that it’s about time he faces his fear and finds John to ask him if he wanted to be on his island alongside the others. Should be easy right ? The blonde had told him to call if he ever wanted to put him in the game. So that meant John was gonna be okay with it right ? Too much thoughts to be thought about so early.
Bob comes out of his room at 8:30, knowing that John was probably back from his run and getting breakfast ready for everyone according to his -easily predictable- schedule. He also knew that no one usually came out of their room before at least 9 or even 10, except him today. Clutching his Switch against his chest, his socked feet tap softly on the floor, before they come to a stop in the doorway when instead of seeing John in the kitchen cooking as expected, he finds the man sitting on the couch of the living room, on the phone. Bob feels bad for eavesdropping, but to his defense he tends to be on the freeze spectrum of the fight or flight ! “I know ‘Liv. I’m sorry I missed it, you know I wish I’d been there. Yes. Obviously. Of course I’ll make it up to you and him. I already bought him a gift. Yes. No. I’m free tomorrow or the day after for now. I know it’s short notice, but I can’t exactly know when I’ll be sent on a mission ‘Liv. I know you know ! Sorry, sorry. Yes. I’ll call you. You call me if you need something alright ? You did get my last payment right ? Okay. Good. Tell Mike I love him. Yeah. Bye now.”
Bob had remained half hidden behind the wall of the doorway, easily guessing that the soldier had been talking to his ex wife. He knew her name was Olivia, but that was about it. Sure, he’d seen two or three pictures of her when he’d looked up John on internet -what do you mean it’s creepy to look up your coworkers online ? Not when they’re government spies and trained killers !- but he knew nothing of her. The brunette guesses that Mike is their son’s name, and he bites his lip once he properly realizes that he’d listened to a very private conversation. Well. Maybe he should just- “I know you’re here Bob.” Oh, damn. Well, no use denying it. He slowly walked into the room, clutching his Switch like a safety blanket. “Hum… Hey Walker… So you heard me, huh…” Bob chuckles awkwardly, watching the soldier now slumped defeatedly in the couch -a rare sight-, looking tired already even though it wasn’t even 9 yet. John rubs his eyes with one hand and sighs like he held the weight of the whole world on his shoulders. Bob feels even more guilty now.
“I smelled you actually.” Okay, what ? That makes Bob pause. “My nose is really good. My best sense.” “Like a dog ??” The brunette hadn’t even thought before speaking, then his eyes widen when John looks up at him with a flat look on his face. “Yes. Like a dog. Breakfast isn’t ready yet.” Okay, so they’re moving on from that, cool cool cool. “Hum, I wasn’t looking for you for that actually… I thought maybe we could make your mii ?” The younger man knows it’s a shot in the dark, but he used to be a pretty good basketball player when he was an homeless addict. He thinks. It’s all a bit blurry truth be told. Luckily for him, John seems too tired to even be rude today. “Sure. I was wondering when you’d ask me.” Oh, so John really had been expecting him to ask. That was good, nice of him even. Bob sits down on the sofa, keeping some distance between him and the soldier and opening up the game. There’s a long, kind of awkward silence between them while Tomodachi Life loads, little cheerful sing song playing, that John so kindly breaks.
“Sorry you had to hear that. Must have been pretty pathetic to you.” Bob frowns a little, more confused than anything else, turning his head to look at the blonde man and the self deprecating smile on his lips as he watched the hands palm up on his lap. “I missed my son’s birthday because of yesterday’s mission, so Olivia’s kind of pissed.” “Oh… That sucks.” If he’s completely honest, the brunette doesn’t really know what to say. The situation really did suck, but he wishes he could be a bit more comforting and less awkward, especially after months of being supported by the whole team. “Well, you’ll make it up to them right ?” “Yeah, of course. I owe them that.” John huffs, and Bob nods, then looks back at his game, his own problems feeling silly suddenly. He was scared of something as trivial as asking John for 10 minutes of his time to make his mii, while John struggled between duties and family. “Come on, show me that game now.” John pulls him out of his thoughts by shifting closer to him on the couch, looking down at his console.
“Right. Hum, I’ll make your mii first.” The brunette eyes John from time to time to make sure he got his features right as much as he could. Hair… Eyes… Eyebrows… He smiles when he finds the perfect eyebrows, constantly frowned ones that definitely fit John’s whole tough guy vibe. The veteran raises one of the so said brows, eyeing his mii. “Why do I look mad ?” “Are you seriously asking ?” “Right.” The brunette chuckles when the blonde sighs in defeat. Satisfied, Bob gives one last look at Mii-John then at Real-John, before he narrows his eyes. “Something’s missing. But I can’t tell what.” “That right ?” John leans in, inspecting his own double while Bob stares at him like he was trying to see the inside of his skull. Then eureka, it comess to his mind like a light bulb lighting up, and he even snaps his finger for added dramatic effect. “Your moles ! They’re what’s missing.” “Oh, right. Yeah, damn, I look wrong without them.” “You have a lot of them.” “Yeah.” “Give me a minute.” “Sure.”
John stands perfectly still and straight as Bob stares at him, feeling like he was being used as a model for an oil painting or something. “Can you really add moles ?” He asks after a moment, looking down at Bob’s game so their eyes didn’t meet by accident. “I can draw them on.” “Oh. Yeah. Obviously.” Then he goes quiet. Bob leans in to see better, brows pinched in focus as he adds the moles one by one, eyes scrutinizing the older man. “Here… This one here… Too bad I can’t add the ones on your neck, they look nice, like stars or something. Oh, wait, you’ve got one in the corner of your eye.” It’s only when Bob adds the last one on his forehead and leans back with a satisfied smile on his lips, that he realizes that he may have overstepped a bit. John’s eyes are wide, in horror or confusion, his ears and neck flushed as he stares at Bob like the man had managed to terrify him more than 15 years of military service combined. Immediately, the brunette flushes too, his own eyes widening from how this all must have looked to John. “Huh. I mean. Huh.” Okay. Awkward.
Both men seem to come to a silent agreement to simply sit forwards again, not look at each other, and stop talking for a little bit. Bob can barely focus on the game anymore, feeling so so dumb for doing something so so awkward. And intimate. Oh God. He even said his moles looked good. The man has a kid for fucks sake! Whose kid he missed the birthday of and is bummed out about it ! Damn himself and his tendencies to find the worst men attractive. But it’s true that John’s moles look good on him. Oh no. No. No he’s not doing this right now. One random, weirdly sexually charged interaction wasn’t going to make Bob actually think he was into Asshole-Extraordinary John. Hell no. The soldier next to him clears his throat, apparently having gathered his composure back quicker than Bob. “So. What next then ?” Barely restraining himself from apologizing profusely for whatever that was, Bob clears his throat too and leans back in the couch, feet propped up on the cushion and console in his lap. “I’ll put in your name and give you a voice and stuff…”
He confirms John’s name, then stares at the gender and dating preferences part, horrified by the fact that he now had to ask whether John was into men at all. Maybe he could just ignore it and- “Oh, gender. Cool.” Bob jumps as the soldier’s voice comes way closer than before, earning a weird look from the soldier who’d simply leaned in to see the screen better. “Huh. Yeah. Yup. Male, right ?” “Yeah.” “Cool. Cool cool cool.” He knew he was being so awkward right now, which in turn made everything more awkward. He punches in John’s gender -not a thing he ever thought he’d do-, then presses X for the dating preferences. Okay, he could do this, it didn’t have to be so awkward, so why was it so awkward ? “Huh, doyoudatemenandwomenorjustwomen ?” John gives him a blank stare. “What.” “…Do you date men and women or just women ?” He repeats slower, not looking at the other man. “Ah.”
There’s silence for a bit as the soldier probably ponders the question, or maybe wonders how he could tell Bob to fuck off with his weird questions. He hopes it’s the former. “Both, I guess ? Not that I’ve ever dated a man. Yet.” It’s an attempt at casual that’s completely nullified by John’s stiff posture and hundredth throat clearing. Okay. That wasn’t expected at all. Terrible news. A second weirdly sexually charged interaction has hit Bob and there’s absolutely no escape now. Still, Bob can’t hide his surprise. “Really ?” “Yeah.” “Oh. Alright.” “Why, is it surprising ?” John gives him a look from the corner of his eyes, one brow raised in questioning. Now it’s Bob’s turn to feel scrutinized and uncomfortable. “Hum… Kind of ? Yeah ? I mean… Not in a bad way ! You just…” “Look very straight ?” “Yeah.” The soldier hums, and Bob thinks it doesn’t get any more awkward than that. Maybe he’d actually just ruined what little progress their relationship had made over the past 3 months.
“I guess I do yeah. I mean, can’t really blame you. Not that I wanna be a poster boy for homosexuality, obviously. But I guess I can see why I’d look extra straight. That why you didn’t want me to see what you put as your mii’s sexuality ?” -Yup, it definitely is that. And only that. Nothing else at all or to see, move along. John’s second attempt at nonchalance is just as much of a failure, the man shifting in the couch multiple times, scratching his beard and clearing his throat all throughout the conversation. Bob isn’t much better, but he’s actually so petrified he can’t even move, so that’s a plus, he thinks. “...Sorry.” He simply says, almost like a mouse’s squeak, which in turns makes John visibly cringe. “I should be the one apologizing Bobby. I mean, I clearly made you think I wasn’t, like, a safe place or something. Which isn’t true of course. Be gay. If you want to. Be gay.” As clumsy the formulation may be, Bob actually finds the older man’s words…nice ? Which is, well nice. He nods slowly, still processing everything, eyes staring off into space for a minute before he takes a deeper breath and tries to relax. “Thanks Walker. That’s kind of you.” The veteran can only nod and grunt at that, never one to accept compliments easily though he clearly always enjoyed getting them. Another thing that was surprising about John, the man was weirdly humble for a boastful asshole.
Bob smiles a little, bemused, peeking at John next to him before he looks back down at his console and finally gets back on track. Giving the man some time to compose himself, the brunette punches in his coworker’s birthday and age, then lets the sounds of mii-voices fill the room. The absurd voices seem to ease out the tension further, John even snickering and leaning closer to look at the switch and see what horror could make such noises. “Is that supposed to be my voice ?” “I’m trying, okay ? It’s not as easy at it looks.” Bob whines, but ultimately gives up and just gives Mii-John a voice that more or less fit him. Relaxing at last, Bob praises himself for not even thinking about the weird interaction they’d had earlier or how much it had affected him, before mentally smacking himself in the face for thinking about it now. It reminds him of The Game™ but he’s pretty sure that John has no idea what it is and so he keeps quiet. Yelena would have thrown a pillow at him for mentioning The Game™, and the thought makes him smile a little, making a mental note to mention it to her later.
“For the fun part now.” “That wasn’t the fun part ?” Bob stares at John after his comment, unable to tell if he was being mocked. Seeing that the younger man hadn’t understood what he meant, John shrugs and angles himself towards Bob, one leg folded on the couch to face him better. “Oookayyyy… Hum, so, are you quick or slow ?” “I’d say quick ?” “Yeah I think so too.” Every time Bob did this part, it seemed to go smoother and quicker. Good. Not that he’d probably have to do it ever again, he has zero other friends after all. “Polite or direct ?” “I can be polite if I want to be.” “But you’re rude most of the time.” “...I guess so yeah.” “Is your energy flat or intense ?” “Intense.” “Yeah, that’s a no brainer.” “Serious or relaxed ? I say serious. But not too much y’know ?” “You know me better than I know myself Bobby.” Ha, right. Bob doesn’t even know himself. “Are you normal or quirky ?” “Huh ?” John gives Bob one of his signature confused look, looking almost as dumb as he did handsome. Moving on. “Are you, like, normal or… quirky.” He didn’t really have an explanation for what it meant. “...Normal, I guess ?”
“Sooo… Says here you’re energetic, sociable, optimistic and passionate, and… Oh, you got the exact same personality as Ava actually ! Wow.” “Did I ?” John leans in to see, and Bob moves his screen closer to let him read for himself, their shoulders pressed together though they don’t actually seem to care right now. “Right. ‘Hot Blooded’. I feel like I’m getting insulted by your game.” Bob laughs at John’s skeptical grimace, all while welcoming Mii-John onto his island. He opens the food shop, relaxing further into the couch while John more or less did the same, watching in silence. “Whaddya wanna eat ?” “Egg and apple.” And so Mii-John gets an egg and an apple. “You really liked the apple.” “I love apples.” Bob knows that, God knows how many times he’s seen John randomly eating an apple. Sometimes once in the middle of the night, sitting alone at the dining table, staring into nothing -must have been a hell of an apple, or day. “I should give you new clothes.” “Yeah, I look stupid don’t I.” “Nothing new here.” Bob snickers, earning a light shove of John’s elbow against his arm.
“Wait, you can’t get to the main island ! You’re like- in Mii-Jail !” Bob laughs, borderline wheezes at the sight of Mii-John standing like an idiot in front of his house, stuck on his tiny island. “Har. Har.” John huffs, but the little grin on his lips clearly let Bob know that he finds it just as funny. “Come on Bobby, bail me out of jail already, I’m gonna be depressed all by myself like that.” And what else can Bob do but oblige, a smile on his face and his cheeks flushed with amusement as he links John’s house to the rest of the island. “There, I saved you.” “My knight in shining armor.” Full of sarcasm, John rests his arm on the top of the backrest, right behind Bob’s shoulders but not quite touching them, leaning closer and propping his cheek on his fist. He seemed content with watching Bob play his silly little game. The brunette eyes him furtively, before leaning back fully, feet on the couch, curled up around himself and his Switch but not enough that John couldn’t watch anymore.
“Who do you want to make friends with first then ?” “The whole team’s on there right ?” “Yeah.” “You, I guess. Since we’re talking right now.” Bob bites his tongue to avoid smiling too much, but can’t stop his toes from wiggling with excitement, feet overlapping comfortably. “Sure.” He lets the Mii-News play, reads about the possible roommate or even marriage situations, eyes John, then grabs Mii-John to bring him over to Mii-Bob. The two watch as their own doubles get acquainted, Mii-John introducing himself by calling himself a ‘kind of vacuum tube person’, whatever that meant. “What does that even mean ?” “Dunno.” “So we’re friends now ?” “Not yet. Look, we’re… Running. Little house on the prairie style.” That makes John laugh for some reason, and Bob stares as the man’s shoulders shake, eyes wrinkled and teeth flashing. Oh God. “Wasn’t that funny.” He grumbles, flustered from getting such a reaction out of the soldier. “Oh shut up.” The younger man smiles a little, trying not to look too entertained before he watches their miis play tag now. He decides to get Mii-John some clothes.
“That dress would look so funny on Ava’s mii though.” “Yeah. Are those flower sunglasses ? You should give them to Yelena.” “It would fit her aesthetic, weirdly enough.” “Can I get the cowboy boots ?” “You want the cowboy boots ? I didn’t peg you as a cowboy boots kinda guy.” The conversation flows easily between them, both slumped into the couch and leaning comfortably close, Bob slowly pressing more and more against John’s side without even realizing it. John simply shrugs. “I’m from a small town in the south. I like cowboy boots. Everyone likes cowboy boots anyway right ? It’s trendy.” “Fine, I’ll get you the cowboy boots you baby. What top then ?” “The one with the 52 on it.” “Deep blue ?” “Yeah. The beige pants.” “The cliché white with a red line socks fit you a lot.” “Fine, buy them.” Satisfied, Bob goes back to Mii-John to give him his new outfit.
“Oh God, it looks horrendous. Like, fashion crime ugly.” The brunette giggles, so into the game and relaxed he doesn’t even realize he’s practically using John’s side as a backrest, until the older man carefully brushes his curls to the side, tucking them gently behind his ear. Bob freezes, all amusement seeps out of him in the blink of an eye. He slowly turns his head to look at John, dumbly he’s sure, but the other man only raises a brow at him. “What ? I couldn’t see the screen with your hair in the way. It’s getting long.” Bob opens his mouth to speak, but can’t find anything smart or coherent to say, and simply looks back at his screen. Surely If he doesn’t move, John won’t suddenly process the position they’re in, because himself, he surely has. Maybe he could just, enjoy it for a bit. The man *is* warm after all, and Bob wonders if it’s one of the perks of the super soldier serum.
“Your mii really likes it, apparently. Guess he really is you after all…” “I feel like you’re insulting my great sense of fashion Bobby. Careful. I was crowned prom king in high school for your information.” That coax a little giggle out of the younger man, who burrows into the warmth a little more. “Mii-Yelena wants to talk to you I think.” “She looks much cuter in the game.” “So do you.” “Yeah, ‘cause I look tough.” He mock flexes his bicep with a smug look on his face, Bob barely restrains himself from biting it like a feral raccoon, and instead goes to attend to his miis.
–
The two didn’t even see the time pass as they went around the island talking to the team’s mii doubles, helping them become friends, giving them nicknames to give to each other, feeding them, laughing when Mii-Bob immediately asked to move in with Mii-Ava, which she agreed to when they both conveniently proposed to watch cat videos if they did live together. And when John’s arm slowly found its place around Bob’s chest right under his neck, none of the two commented on it, or on the way Bob pressed the side of his head to the soldier’s shoulder. Bathing in each other’s warmth, even under the flimsy excuse of playing a game together, appeased them more than anything had in a long while, the call with Olivia put in the back of their mind. What brought them back to the real world and out of The Thunderbolts Island, was the little beep and notification that Bob’s console was running out of power. Like a switch being flipped, the two sat up, John’s arm leaving Bob’s chest and Bob’s back leaving John’s chest.
As if nothing had happened, Bob saved his game, rubbing his feet together while John rubbed his own thighs, both trying to look casual about whatever had went on between them. The super soldier checks the watch on the inside of his wrist, and lets out a small ‘ouff’, standing up. Bob’s eyes follow him, head tilted up and brows raised in questioning. “I gotta make dinner.” “Oh. Okay.” The two stare at each other for a bit, before John breaks the silence. “You wanna help ?” And Bob smiles, puts his switch down and gets up on his feet, ever the one dying to be of use. “Yeah, sure.”
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And if later that night, in the comfort of his room, Bob makes his and John’s mii interact until one of them inevitably fell for the other, well that’s nobody’s business, not even Yelena’s.