Victory is All You Need
For the First TimeDisclaimer: This is a purely fan-made piece that is using the world and characters from Marvel’s Cinematic Universe/Captain America and TinyCo's Avenger's Academy, and is made entirely for enjoyment. No financial gain has been made in the making of this piece. All other situations and plot developments are mine.
Summary: Bucky and Steve have their first date. Third in the At the Academy series.
Author’s Note: Possible out-of-characterness and un-beta’d.
Constructive Criticism is always welcomed
Published: 11 March 2018
Rating: T
Steve was pretty sure that his feet hadn't touched the ground for last three days. He felt like he was floating everywhere, buoyed by sheer joy. He was so happy he accidently dispelled Thor Noir's rain cloud-twice.
And he knew he should be paying attention to whatever Professor Pym was enthusiastically ranting about at the front of his lab, but Bucky was walking by and his absolute beauty and deadly grace were terribly distracting. Steve's heart did what it always did when it spotted Bucky-it pounded like an over-active toddler with a spoon and a pan.
And to think-soon (in twenty-eight hours and twelve minutes, but who was counting?), Steve was going to go on a date with him. A real, honest-to-goodness, pick-up-and-walk-back-to-dorm-rooms date. One where Bucky had all but promised that there would be a kiss-maybe even more than one-at the end.
Steve didn't know what he did to deserve this, but he wasn't going waste this opportunity. He'd been waiting practically his whole life for this. He had known from the moment that he had met the brunet that he was going to be important in Steve's life and now that he had Bucky back, he understood the feelings he had for his best friend.
Bucky vanished around a corner and Steve glanced up at the clock; twenty-eight hours and eleven minutes until Bucky picked him up at his dorm room. He couldn't wait.
He remembered how he'd been helping Foggy train when Wasp's text first came through and how his heart had fluttered before it started pounding when the aspiring lawyer had held up his mobile for him to see. Bucky wanted to ask him out? Bucky was going to ask him and not somebody else to the dance? Bucky wanted to go on a date?
If Bucky wanted to take him to the dance…it meant he was over the Black Widow and had finally noticed Steve in that way. Bucky was finally ready to take the first step.
And Steve had been waiting and waiting and waiting for that. Bucky knew it, he had to, with all of his teasing (he called it 'building anticipation', but Steve knew better). It was like he wanted to drive Captain America crazy-but in the best possible way. Bucky would hold his hand anytime they were together and brush his lips over old hurts, or sling his arm around Steve's shoulders anytime they were sitting next to each other and pull him close, or nuzzle. Dear god above, the nuzzling. It was going to be the death of him, but what a way to go!
There was a sharp jab in his side. "Hey, Rogers! Class is over!" Sam was grinning, the little shit, as he stood next to Steve, backpack slung casually over his shoulder.
Ears feeling warm, Steve muttered out a 'thanks' as he shoved his notebook and pencils into his own bag.
"So, ready for your big evening tomorrow?" Sam asked, feigning nonchalance (which was completely ruined by his huge grin).
"Yeah," Steve said, feeling completely weightless and excited. "I mean, I have to pick out what I'm going to wear and see if maybe Carol or Jennifer would be willing to help me with my hair, but that's it."
Sam shook his head. "You're ridiculous, did you know that? Completely ridiculous. Are you going to ask Taskmaster to help you with your make-up as well?" He sounded amused, so Steve decided not to take offense.
"Probably not," he said, thinking about what he wear that would make Bucky's gorgeous eyes linger on him for their date. "Bucky's said we're going to be doing all sorts of running and stuff, so no make-up this time. But don't worry-you're still my number one make-up consultant."
"You are such a troll," Falcon laughed. "But I asked for that."
"Yeah, you did."
Clint wandered over, Lucky happily in tow. "Hey Cap," he said, "how long 'til your date now?"
Twenty-eight hours and two-"It was one time!" Steve hadn't been paying attention and blurted out exactly how long he had until his date with Bucky and well, unfortunately, everyone remembered.
"Yeah, and I'm never going to let you forget it." Clint smirked.
"Aw, let the idiot be excited," Sam intervened cheerfully. "It's cute, and a whole lot better than the pining."
"True dat."
"I wasn't pining!" Steve interjected.
Both of Falcon and Hawkeye both rolled their eyes. "Yes, you were," Sam informed him.
"So much pining. And to think, if Wasp hadn't kicked your little crush into action, you'd still be sitting with Lucky by his bed and wasting away." Clint blew a pink bubble before sucking it back in and snapping his gum. "Which has led me to wonder-if you were that into him, why hadn't you asked him out? It would have saved everyone a lot of trouble and Tony wouldn't have to be repairing Wasp's phone every five minutes."
"Tony would still repairing Janet's phone; he just would have been doing it much earlier." Sam pointed out before glancing over at Steve. "But he's right-you could have asked Barnes out a long time ago."
"I didn't want Bucky to feel obligated or pressured," Steve said, thinking about maybe getting defensive, but deciding it didn't matter because the most amazing person in the entire known-and unknown-universes had asked him out, so everyone else could just take their opinions and stick it. "He's had enough people to take away his agency and to manipulate him that he didn't need to think that my friendship had stipulations or strings. Besides, it means more if he wants to be with me at his own volition."
Clint scrunched up his nose. "I kinda hate you and your perfectly sound and reasonable logic."
Steve resisted the urge to say 'that's okay; Bucky likes me' and instead, simply smiled.
There were probably a few more good-natured insults and ribbing exchanged, but since Bucky walked by with his guitar case slung over his shoulder, Steve didn't hear them.
Dear god, Bucky was so gorgeous that Steve couldn't even.
And then he glanced over and his eyes met Steve's. The captain was pretty sure that the entire world stopped moving for a moment. Then Bucky smiled and waggled his fingers a small wave, and Steve thought his chest would explode with the happy force his heart was beating with.
Only twenty-seven hours and fifty-eight minutes more…!
"Ow!" He yelped as pain suddenly erupted in his toes as Clint calmly stepped on them.
"We know you think your boo is all hotness and sexiness and all that, but you've got your training class in less than five minutes," the archer said, grinning. "You know, the one you teach to your rabid fan club? Not quite what sure you teach them, but they'd be super-sad if you were late."
"…Right. Thanks," Steve mumbled before he saluted both of them and ran off to help train the next batch of heroes. He determinedly did not think about Bucky or how amazing he was or how breathtakingly beautiful he was or how Steve only had twenty-seven hours and fifty-six minutes until Bucky came to take him out on a date.
He didn't know how he got through the rest of the day, but by the time dinner rolled around, he was so impatient and excited that he was pretty sure he had given himself heart palpations again. It didn't help that Bucky sat next to him while he ate, constantly brushing their hands together and sitting so close their shoulders were almost always in contact. And then Bucky started to lean over and murmur sweet song lyrics he'd written just for Steve into the blond's ear.
When Steve could barely take it anymore and leaned forwards, tilting his head in the world's most blatant invitation, Bucky only nuzzled him gently and quietly promised 'tomorrow, sweetheart, tomorrow'. He then tucked Steve against his wonderfully muscled chest so the other boy could take a moment and compose himself.
It took longer than it should because every time Steve though he had himself under control, Bucky would pet his hair softly and tell him how kind, how brave, and how smart he thought Steve was. As if Steve could even compare to Bucky's brilliance!
Steve's food was ice-cold by the time he got around to finishing it.
Steve honestly couldn't say what happened in any of his classes the next day. All he could think about was that today was The Day. He vibrated with so much excitement that Clint wouldn't let him have any coffee and Peggy started hiding the caffeinated teas as well (she did, however, keep trying to foist calming teas on him; Steve refused because he was fairly sure he saw her dope his cup with some hard-core tranquilizers).
He made himself go to all his classes and to all his tutoring sessions because even if he was completely unhelpful and he learned nothing, at least he could go through the motions. It certainly beat sitting around his dorm room, waiting.
He all but ran back to his room after his training session and immediately showered. He tried to do something with his hair, but since he always kept it cut to military standards, there wasn't a whole lot for it to do, and he finally had to admit defeat on that front.
After raiding every dresser and closet he owned, Steve settled on blue exercise shirt Wasp had designed (she said the colour inspired by his eyes) and exercise shorts that she and Tony had designed with his enhanced skills in mind. He knew he didn't stand a chance in the looks department when compared to Bucky in that black Tank Top (Steve didn't know how Bucky managed to pour himself into that shirt, but he regularly thanked every deity he could think of whenever the brunet decided to wear it), but he didn't want to look like he wasn't taking their date seriously.
Bucky showed up exactly two minutes before seven and Steve accidently ripped his door off its hinges in his eagerness to open it.
They both looked at the door in Steve's hand for a moment. "Oops?" The blond finally offered up, feeling the back of his neck heat up.
"Well, I was gonna ask you if you were ready to go, but after that…"
"No!" Steve almost yelped. "I'm ready! Just…just let me…" He stepped out into the hallway and pulled door into the doorframe behind him.
Bucky looked fantastic and unimpressed. "That's not gonna keep anyone out of your room. Somebody's gonna go in there, steal all your underwear, and sell 'em on the internet."
"Nobody would do that…would they? Because that's creepy and wrong and a violation of privacy on so many different levels." Steve managed to drag his eyes away from Bucky's chest, where he can see the top of That Tank Top peeking over the edge of Bucky's half-zipped up hoodie and met stormy grey eyes worriedly.
"Doll, the rest of the world ain't as good as you and will stoop to all sorts of levels." Bucky looked over Steve's shoulder. "Hey, you! Yeah, you! Come over here and do a favour for Captain America!"
Wiccan came over, all eagerness and helpfulness with his hulking boyfriend trailing behind him. "What do you need?"
Steve stepped in. "I know you're good with magic, so I was wondering if you could put a spell on my door so no-one can get in my room until I return and can get it fixed."
Billy beamed. "Of course I can!" He waved his hand and did something-what, Steve didn't know because Bucky adjusted his hoodie and the Captain had gotten distracted by the shifting material and flashes of skin.
He was yanked from his reverie by Billy cheerfully saying 'there!'
He mentally shook himself and flashed a smile at the magic-user. "Thank you so much. That really helps me out."
"Not a problem!" Billy looked star-struck and Teddy seemed to be torn between being jealous and being just as infatuated.
"Great," Bucky said dryly. "Now that we've gotten that out of the way, we're gonna be leaving." He placed his hand on the small of Steve's back and the blond almost melted at the small gesture of intimacy and possession.
"Oh. OH!" Wiccan's eyes widened. "Have a good night!" He managed to get out a wink and a saucy wave before his boyfriend dragged him off with a farewell of his own.
Bucky glanced over. "Ready to go?"
Steve swayed towards the brunet. "Yeah," he breathed, feeling his heart pick up the pace.
Bucky smiled crookedly, eyes softening. "C'mon Sweetheart," he said, taking his hand off of Steve's back (the blond mourned the loss) and tangling their fingers together, "let's move out."
Steve glowed. This was it!
"By the way," the former HYDRA operative said as they left the dorms, "I didn't get a chance to tell you before, but you look real nice."
Steve felt his face heat up. "Thanks." He wanted to add 'but not as good as you' but that seemed like a little too much for the moment. He opted to lean closer to the other guy instead of saying anything else.
Bucky grinned, and this time, his smile was reminiscent of the mischievous kid he used to be. "I thought we'd go wander by Peggy Carter's plane on our way. That'd be fun, doncha think?"
The captain's face flared red for a completely different reason. "Oh god, please don't!"
"It's a very good likeness, from what I can tell."
"Can we please not look at it? Unless you want to burn it or something, I don't want to go over there."
"Ah, Hotshot, don't be bashful." Bucky dropped his hand in favour of slinging his arm around blond. "It's a great pin-up of you! Not everyone can pull that sort of thing off." He tilted his head so it was closer to the captain's ear. "Of course, it'd be better if you posed for me like that, but we're still a little early in the relationship for that, don't you think?"
Steve felt like his face was going to explode he was blushing so hard. It wasn't too early in their relationship. Steve would totally wear that embarrassing outfit for Bucky; of course, he'd ask Bucky to return the favour and seeing Bucky shirtless, with his dog tags, all sprawled out…
Steve swallowed hard and tried to think of annoying things, like Tony Stark and Enchantress and HYDRA, and told himself he'd revisit that mental image later-once his door was fixed, locked, and he was alone to…explore it, so to speak.
"Hey Sweetheart, you okay?" Bucky asked, concern colouring his voice as he stopped them both. His free hand came up and gently touched Steve's burning face.
Steve muffled a whine and thought very hard about how much Tony annoyed the hell out of him and not about how amazingly hot his best friend was. "I'm fine," he croaked out. He coughed a little to clear his throat, and tried again. "Really, just fine. I was…ah…just thinking."
"'Just thinking', huh?" An eyebrow rose. "'Bout what, how hot you are on Peggy's plane?"
"'Bout how hot you'd've been as a pin-up," Steve's mouth said before he could stop it and he felt his whole body flush with embarrassment.
There was a hitch in Bucky's step, and then he leaned into the broad blond's personal space. "Babe, if you wanted me to do a pin-up pose for you, all you had to do is ask me nicely." He grinned. "Is this your way of asking me if you can draw me like one of Peg's planes?"
Steve felt his mouth go dry. "You'd let me draw you like…that?"
"'Course I would, Doll. You'd do the same for me if I asked."
Steve swallowed his immediate response of 'I'd do anything for you' and managed to choke out 'yeah' instead.
The brunet glanced over, and his eyes warmed and softened. For a few exciting heartbeats, Steve thought his best friend was going to kiss him finally, but instead, Bucky gently tugged him along. "But before we get that far," he said, "let's have our first date first, yeah?"
Steve made himself stop staring longingly at Bucky's perfect mouth. "Okay."
Bucky led him down to the Obstacle Course. He flashed Steve one of those devastating crooked grins. "Think you can beat me nearly half the time?"
And before Steve could come up with a proper cocky response, Bucky dropped his hand, turned and pulled off his hoodie so he could hang it up off to the side.
Steve may or may not have whimpered. Dear god above, the back was as overwhelming as the front, with those shoulders being showcased and that lean, muscular back drifting down to a very firm looking-
Bucky looked over his shoulder and said probably the only four words in the world that could snap Steve out of his desire-ridden haze: "Try to keep up."
Oh, it was on. It was so on.
Bucky was an incredibly satisfying opponent-strong and fast enough to be very challenging, but close enough in skills to Steve that he wasn't completely unbeatable. He also would do things to remind Steve that this was a date and supposed to be fun-he'd climb to the top of the climbing wall and beat his chest like King Kong or he'd hum 'Hungarian Rhapsodies' while dancing like a demented ballerino through the tires, or he kept snapping his arm out in Steve's way and saying 'oops, arm malfunction!' even though it was flesh arm.
And Steve only lost a few bouts due to distraction of Bucky's frankly amazing torso in That Tank Top, thank you very much. The rest he lost fair and square.
He was winning right now, and if he could just get over the wall, he would tip their score in his favour; as of this moment, it was a tie, but if he just could go a little bit faster…
He reached for the wall and that was when Bucky tackled him, rolling them both away from the finish line. He was annoyed for all of five seconds, and then Bucky loomed over him, glistening with sweat from their competition and cheeks warm. Steve's breath caught in his throat.
OH.
Bucky leaned forwards and Steve's heart pounded even as he lifted his face and his eyes slipped close. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, please, please, please-
"Ready to call it a night?" Bucky murmured.
Nooooo! He wanted his best friend to press up against him and-
Steve's stomach rumbled, loudly.
Bucky snorted before starting to laugh. "Answered that question, didn't that." He rolled off of Steve and got to his feet, holding out his hand. "C'mon, let's go get some dinner, yeah?"
Some of Steve's annoyance with his traitorous stomach was assuaged by the fact that Bucky only let go of his hand long enough to pull his hoodie back on. He braided their fingers together to maximise contact between them. And yeah, it was an acceptable substitute.
Bucky led them over to the Shawarma Stand and he had obviously worked something out with the robots that ran it beforehand because they wouldn't take any of Steve's money. "I asked, so I pay." Bucky told him bluntly when the blond complained. "When you ask, you'll pay."
Steve grumbled, but there wasn't too much more he could say to that.
Dinner was as much fun as the Obstacle Course; they didn't quite get into a food fight, but they got close. Steve hadn't seen Bucky so light and playful for such a long time that it was almost better than touches. Almost, but not quite.
Steve felt his anticipation start to reach critical mass as Bucky paid and offered him a mint from the commentary bowl by the register. Bucky had promised and now they were reaching the end of their date and Steve was still unkissed.
He could feel the pure, hopeful want vibrating in his bones as they walked hand-in-hand (far too slowly) back to Steve's dorm. He thought he was going to explode with anticipation as the building came into view. Dear god, Steve wanted.
Steve was half-way to the door when he was yanked behind some of the decorative shrubs that lined the building and braced against the wall. Bucky grinned at him, leaning forwards. "Stark and Wasp think they'll catch us on the security camera," he murmured, "but this is a blind spot."
"Oh," was all the blond got out before Bucky's mouth brushed lightly over his. Steve immediately felt his knees get weak and he grabbed on to the front of Bucky's hoodie to help keep him upright. When Bucky started to pull back, Steve followed his lips, not done by a longshot.
Bucky huffed out a small laugh, but he did tilt his head and press in softly, kissing Steve again and again. Steve made a soft sound and parted his lips in a silent invitation as he managed to free one hand from Bucky's hoodies so he could tangle his fingers in Bucky's hair.
"Rogers, it ain't a race; save some for later," the brunet murmured against Steve's lips, but he kissed Steve a bit harder and lingered longer.
Steve only pulled Bucky closer and pressed himself eagerly against that strong body. He may be letting Bucky set the pace, but he was going to make it as clear as possible that he was open to more.
Was it too soon to ask Bucky up to his room? Probably. Plus, there was that whole problem with the door.
Bucky didn't take the unspoken invitations; he didn't open his mouth and he didn't slide a thigh between Steve's conveniently parted legs. He kept his kisses hungry and sweet and far too chaste for Steve's tastes, but he didn't skimp on them. He peppered soft kisses all over the super-soldier's face, pausing every few to nip at Steve's lips.
When Bucky broke away, it took Steve a moment to realise that someone was clattering by and would see them. Bucky was never shy about letting people know that he was in a relationship, but he disliked other people being a part of it; he hated how everyone kept following them around, pointing their mobile cameras at them.
The Captain made himself loosen his grip on Bucky's hair and let his hand drop so it was resting at the base of Bucky's neck. It would be obvious to anyone who looked at them what they had been doing, but Steve didn't want to look as desperate as he felt-the whole campus didn't need to know how badly he wanted his best friend.
Thankfully, it was just Jessica, Luke, and Trish; none of them would make a big deal about the situation, nor would they gossip. Jessica just rolled her eyes at them in mock exasperation while Luke gave them a thumbs up and Trish giggled.
"So…" Bucky murmured after they'd left, hands still cradling Steve's waist. "What are you doing on Sunday?"
"Hey, I'm supposed to ask you for the next date!"
"You snooze, you lose. Don’t let your dark despair of being slow stop you from agreeing to come."
Steve tried to pout, but Bucky was gently nuzzling his neck and his blood hadn't completely cooled down from their interrupted kissing session, so he wasn't all that successful. "What did you have in mind?" He asked, voice a little more breathy than he would have liked.
"Mm, so you're available?"
Steve managed to tone his 'God yes!' down to a simple 'yeah', but he didn't think he fooled Bucky, if the slow grin he could feel against his neck was anything to go by.
"All right, I'll pick you up at seven again, okay?"
"Yeah, okay." Steve tilted his head in hopes that now that they'd kissed, Bucky wouldn't be stingy with his kisses.
Bucky leaned forwards and pecked the blond gently, which was equal parts sweet and annoying, but Steve tried to rein in his libido; they'd already nearly been caught once-it wouldn't do to be caught again. Still, it didn't stop him from returning the gesture a few more times.
Bucky carefully-but firmly-pushed Steve back after a few minutes. "All right, Sweetheart, take a deep breath. You'll want to get that door fixed before it gets too late."
Steve whined slightly before he could stop himself. He reminded himself once again that he was letting Bucky set the pace, even as he stared at Bucky's mouth longingly, wanting it back with an intensity that was not appropriate for their public location.
"Hey," Bucky said softly, reaching over and catching Steve's hand. "It's okay. We still have something on Sunday, don't we? It's not like this was the only time we're gonna do things like this."
"I know."
"Then trust that we'll do this again, and that things will work out."
"…You're right, I should." Steve knew he sounded adoring and besotted, but decided that it was okay; Bucky knew he had it bad and hadn't thrown it back in the Captain's face once. He hoped it was because his best friend felt as strongly as he did, but then again, he didn't think it was possible for anyone to be as attracted as he was.
"Good. Now go get your door fixed. See you tomorrow, okay?" Bucky kissed the blond's cheek, only for Steve to turn his head quickly to try and catch the other teen's mouth. "Nice try, punk."
Steve's witty retort was lost when Bucky lightly brushed his thumb right under the blond's lower lip. He reached out hungrily to pull his best friend-boyfriend?-back against him because really, words were overrated anyhow.
Bucky, the utter jerk, slipped back out of Steve's reach. "See you later!"
"'Bye," Steve mumbled, annoyed until Bucky turned around and walked away. Okay, that view softened the blow of the brunet leaving. Bucky was probably the closest thing to human perfection there was. Those shoulders and those legs and that ass-
Steve swallowed hard, took a few deep breathes, and went to go find someone to fix his door. He was going need to some privacy very soon, especially now that he knew what being kissed by Bucky was really like. In the meantime, he was just going to have to make due until his next date.
Only forty-four hours and forty-two minutes until they went out again!
x Fin x
Peggy's plane from my game.
