A Working Romance | Marvel "The Office" AU

Warehouse vs. Sales

The camera pans over the break room, lingering on the row of vending machines and the handful of chairs. It lands on the table, where Steve, Bucky, and Wanda are eating their lunch. "I just didn't like it," Steve explains, covering his mouth as he speaks.

Bucky scoffs. "You just didn't get it."

"It was romantic!" Wanda agrees.

Steve shakes his head and puts his sandwich down, wiping at his mouth with his napkin. "No, it's problematic."

"That's because you're looking at it from an American straight white male perspective from the twenty-first century. It's set in the seventies in Italy. Totally different rules," Bucky explains.

"Um, no." Steve points a finger at Bucky, eyebrow arched and his jaw set. "First of all, you're looking at the movie from a biased perspective. You wanted to enjoy it, you did, and now you don't want to admit how wrong it really is. Second, I'm the furthest from straight. I'm bisexual. And third, the seventies aren't that far away. People knew right from wrong back then and this," he waves his hand around in the air, "was wrong."

He shakes his head and stands up, pacing beside the table as he talks. "Any relationship between a child and an adult is disgusting. Even if the participants are okay with it and it's not a forced relationship, it's still disgusting. There's an unspoken power dynamic between people with such large age gaps. Oliver isn't a teacher or anything to Elio, but he's still his dad's coworker, which puts him in a similar power structure. So he's older, has a little more power and knowledge, and he toys with Elio's emotions for his own gain."

Wanda and Bucky exchange a look of astonishment, both of their jaws dropped. They turn to Steve.

The camera follows Steve as he moves to lean against the back of his chair. "That doesn't even begin to cover the parental issues and sexual context the movie has. I just- What's wrong?"

"Did you just come out to us?" Bucky asks, his voice a pitch higher.

Steve shrugs. "I was never in the closet. I just don't flaunt it, and I tell it on a need to know basis."

"Still would have been nice to know," Wanda says quietly. "We could have been talking about this weeks ago!"

Bucky nods enthusiastically, eyes a little frantic. The camera zooms in on his face for a moment as he just gapes at Steve.

"Yes, because knowing my sexuality changes the topics of conversations we have?" Steve asks, then he shakes his head and blushes. "Sorry, I can't switch from debates to normal conversation easily."

Wanda laughs, covering her mouth. "No, I love it!"

Bucky grins. "So you didn't enjoy Call Me By Your Name ."

"No, I enjoyed it. I just don't agree with it," Steve clarifies, pointing a carrot at Bucky.

The brunet eats the carrot before Steve can take it away.

Wanda packs up her stuff and leans her chin on her palm. "Enough of this debating nonsense. I want to hear about your proposal."

Bucky's smile shrinks a little, but he points at Wanda. "I second that notion."

Steve groans, covering his face with one large hand. "Really?"

"Oh come on," Wanda whines a little, "I'm single in a world of taken people. Please let me live vicariously through you and enjoy this romantic moment in your life. Please?" She pouts, jutting her bottom lip out.

"Steve, you can't ignore a face like this," Bucky says as he presents Wanda's puppy eyes with a wave of his hand. "You gotta tell us. Or we'll ask Peggy, and tell her you were too embarrassed to tell us."