Boys like Boys|| Peter Parker

.3.

Translation in the comments

"Proof of a job well done" Oliver showed the woman the picture he had taken. She nodded, satisfied, but looked at the man lingering behind Oliver.

"Wer ist er?"

He didn't blame her paranoia, he knew he would be the same in her position.

"Das geht Sie nichts an, Klara" Oliver said calmly, "I did what you asked and you know what I need"

"Fine, fine" Though she didn't look convinced. Oliver knew that allying with Bucky was a bad idea, though there was nothing to do about it now. Thankfully, Klara seemed to let it go. "Always so grumpy"

"Schau in den Spiegel" He rolled his eyes.

It was true though. To any passerby, they might have even been a family. The grumpy mum, dad and son, with how similar their expressions looked. Oliver almost shivered, not because of the cold, but because of the mental image of being related to the two of them.

Klara tucked a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear and hesitated. Oliver cocked his head. He didn't like people who backed out of deals.

"Klara—"

But she reached out of her pocket and handed him the house keys. Oliver almost sighed in relief. He didn't want the meeting to go sideways.

"Bitte" Even before the keys landed in his hands, Klara had turned around.

That's how they found themselves in an apartment in an building possibly as old as Bucky.

Oliver grimaced when he saw the state of it. Moldy curtains, dust filled rooms, a possible cockroach infestation and a bathroom in worse condition than he had ever seen.

"This.. isn't ideal" Bucky spoke for the first time after stepping foot in the apartment. Oliver sensed a but, so he didn't say anything. "But, it's better than nothing at least"

Between the two of them, they didn't have much stuff. Just two bags of clothes and a sandwich that Oliver was eating. So it hadn't taken them that long to unpack.

With nothing much to do, Oliver being restless decided to go for a walk. Of course he slipped a kitchen knife inside his sleeve, just to be safe, but Bucky handed him a throwing knife.

"Much more effective" He said.

Every cell in Oliver's body was warning him to not trust the big guy, but he still took the throwing knife. 

His first order of business was finding new clothes. All he had in his bag were a spare change of t-shirts and really thin black leggings which would provide no comfort against the cold. He had however snatched a jacket from a seat on the train which was about three sizes too big for him so he looked like a kid in a trench coat.

Apart from the t-shirts and pants though, he also had his red room uniform. It was an ugly black one piece which covered his arms and legs and was usually zipped up to his neck. He hated how it made him look, like someone he was not.

He was done pretending.

He was Oliver now, not anyone else— Oliver. That was his name.

But try as he might, he couldn't erase the red room from his mind. It had barely been a few months since he escaped that hellhole. And Oliver had a feeling all those years of trauma weren't just going to magically be erased because he left. It was a part of him, however dark, and it had made him who he was.

Well currently, he was a teenage boy who shoplifted. But he meant in general.

There was a lot on Oliver's mind, but he didn't slip up while walking past the security guard. His head was held up high and he had a small wonder filled smile as if he was a young dumb kid.

His main problem right then was Bucky. He didn't know whether to take him out or stay with him. Both could end up with him dead or worse— back at the academy.

For now, he decided to stay on guard but with Bucky. The older man was his only chance of staying alive. If they sent widows after him, he wasn't sure he could take them all on by himself. And maybe the big idiot would sympathize with him and keep him safe.

Lie Lie Lie Lie...

His mind played the word on repeat. Liar. He'd gotten so comfortable lying to everyone else, he started lying to himself too. 

Is that why he chose to stay with Bucky? Truly? He asked himself the question, staring blankly at a puddle for a minute, stopping dead in his tracks. The store wasn't that far away from the apartment, but it would take him a good five to ten more minutes to reach. He had plenty of time. Plenty of time to think. 

Just for once in his life, he didn't want to lie. What was he feeling?

It was pathetic, maybe— The way his heart had nearly stopped when he realized Bucky wanted him— Bucky wanted to take care of him, to— to... well he didn't exactly know why Bucky wanted him around. He wasn't exactly the friendliest. 

But someone wanted him. Bucky wanted him. 

The pathetic inner child in him still screamed at the top of his voice-

love me, love me, love me, please. Want me, want me... i want to be wanted... please-

"Fuck"

Maybe it was better if he pretended he stayed for Bucky's protection. Figuring out your feelings is hard and sometimes its a little embarrassing. 

Ok, so he'd lie a bit more. He didn't need Bucky. (He wanted him though). 

He'd stay for the numerous benefits.

That's all he needed to stay for. Bucky's protection. He stepped into the apartment, their apartment. Well he could also stay for Bucky's dinner since it smelled so good.

He couldn't remember the last time he had an actual meal. And sleep too seemed so inviting.

"I— don't know how to cook" Bucky admitted, showing the boy the burnt eggs in the pan, "But, I heated some.. cup noodles" He read the name off the package, frowning like he was confused.

"What's cup noodles?"

"I don't know" Bucky frowned again. He did that a lot. "I followed the instructions though"

"Better than burnt eggs at least"

"Dinner is served"

"If I throw up and get food poisoning, I'll stab you, Boots"

Bucky completely ignored the threat as if it were normal for a fourteen year old to say things like that. "Isn't Boots the name of the monkey...?"

"Yeah, from Dora the Explorer- wait how do you know that—?"