2018
Steve pulls his coat tighter. He's shaking from the brisk breeze, it's subtle but it's got Bucky staring him down.
"Cold there, Capsicle?" Tony asks.
"Little bit," Steve mumbles. He slaps a hand on Bucky's chest as the former assassin starts to lean towards the genius. "Cool it, Buck," he whispers.
Bucky glares at Tony, crossing his arms as he settles beside Steve again.
Sam rolls his eyes at them.
Somehow, Tony convinced the three of them to go out with him and the other Avengers. Steve would only agree if Tony let them go undercover and have a lowkey night, which meant taking public transportation and wearing disguises.
"We're meeting Nat and the others at the club right?" Sam asks, moving to walk beside Tony.
Steve and Bucky fall back a little, walking in perfect harmony with their shoulders brushing. "One of these days, I'm punching him," Bucky grumbles.
"Relax, Buck. He's just teasing me." Steve smiles at him from under his ball cap.
Bucky glares at him, eyes a piercing blue in the shadows of his face. "Still. He should know by now that you don't do the cold." He adjusts his own jacket with a frown. "If it weren't for this damned metal arm, I'd give you mine, doll."
Steve nudges his shoulder. "Hey, it's okay," he whispers, a blush forming on his cheeks. "I know you'd anything for me. Know why?"
"Why?"
Steve takes a quick glance around, making sure there's no one around. Tony's focus is ahead of them. He leans in close, lips brushing against Bucky's ear. "'Cause you're my best guy and you always make sure I'm taking care of," he says.
Bucky chuckles. "Damn right I do," he says. Bucky grabs Steve's cheek before he can pull away and plants a quiet, soft kiss on his puckered lips. He lets him go, grinning like a cat.
The blond licks at his lips, head ducked down to his chest and smile wide.
They turn the corner. It's a little busier, so the two take a step away with a tight smile.
Tony turns around, walking backwards. "So, do I need to work my magic and get you both dates or can you soldiers muster up the courage to do it yourself?"
"We know how to attract a dame, Stark," Bucky drawls, accent heavy.
Tony scowls, pointing a finger at Bucky. "First off, might not want to call them dames. Second, I never said attract. You're two super soldiers designed to be the perfect specimen of our species. Genetics has you taken care of. I meant, can you actually flirt with a girl without offending her with your prehistoric lines and vocabulary?"
Bucky raises an eyebrow and looks to Steve. "What's wrong with the word dame?"
Steve shakes his head. "It's outdated and probably offensive."
"Huh," Bucky mumbles.
"But yes, Tony," Steve says, "we can handle ourselves."
Tony nods. "Good. I don't need you two distracting me and Pepper," he says with a cocky smile. He trips, foot catching on a lip in the sidewalk, and flails his arms.
Sam catches him effortlessly. "You're not even drunk yet, Stark."
Tony brushes off his shoulders and turns back around. "That's the problem. I'm completely sober."
Steve rolls his eyes.
They turn another corner. There's a couple of bars at the opposite corner. One dawns a huge pride flag, with men and women alike mingling out front. The other is a more subdued bar and, from the looks of it, meant to be a sports bar.
Steve nudges Bucky's shoulder and nods to the pride flag dancing in the breeze before them.
Bucky's face grows pale, his eyes in awe. "Ain't ever seen one of them in person," he whispers to Steve.
"Beautiful, ain't it?" Steve says, voice as soft as the breeze.
"Yeah, yeah it is."
Tony glances over his shoulder. "Stay close, you two. Don't need you saying shit to these nice people."
Bucky raises an eyebrow. "The hell does that mean?"
Sam shoves Tony playfully. "They're not assholes, Stark. Neither of them would say a damn word."
Tony crosses his arms. "Steve literally called a guy the f word, so I don't trust him around the gays anymore."
Bucky looks at Steve.
"It's not my proudest moment," Steve mumbles.
They keep walking until the chilling sound of a bone snapping splits the air. Steve and Bucky come to a halt, already on alert and listening to where the sound came from.
Tony and Sam stop, too. They watch the soldiers, concern growing on their faces.
"Steve, what's wrong?" Sam asks.
Steve sprints forward, pushing between his friends and gunning for the alleyway between the bars. He can hear Bucky running after him, right at his heels.
They slide into the alleyway to find three men beating on two others and suddenly Steve's fifteen and watching a couple of brutes beat a poor homosexual couple to death.
His face turns to stone as he steps forward. Steve doesn't say a word as he throws two of the assholes against the brick wall, kicking the other off the poor couple.
Bucky's quick to slam them back against the wall when they try to escape. "Might not wanna do that," he sneers.
Steve bends down and looks at the couple. "You fellas alright?"
One of them, a tall, lanky fellow, nods through his broken nose. "Calvin?"
The shorter man shakes his head, holding onto his side.
"Tony, call 911," Steve calls as he stands. "Wilson-"
Sam rushes forward. "Already on it, Cap."
Steve turns to the three men, still pinned against the wall thanks to Bucky.
The middle man, the skinniest of the bunch, sneers at Steve. "You think your all that, don't you? That you're better than us?"
Steve raises an eyebrow. "I do. You're hardly a person, in my eyes. You were about to kill them, you realize that right?"
The biggest rolls his eyes and pushes off the wall, coming to stare Steve down, eye level.
Bucky adjusts his hold on the other two, watching him carefully.
"You ain't shit, big guy," the man spats before spitting at Steve's face.
Steve takes off his baseball cap and wipes the spit off his face, face expressionless. "You want to run that by me one more time, soldier?" Steve asks, Cap voice in full effect.
Bucky rolls up his sleeves, showing off his metal arm. "Wouldn't anger the Captain, fellas. Ain't no tellin' what he'll do."
The man before Steve grumbles, "You expect me to believe that Captain America and the Winter fucking Soldier are out here saving the fags?"
As if on reflex, Steve's arm pulls back and his fist pounds into the man's face, sending him to the floor. He's breathing heavier, face growing hot. Steve's cold eyes glance at the two men held against the wall. "You two have anything to say? Want to try insulting me with your shitty beliefs, too?"
Their silence fills the alley.
Steve nods and wipes the blood off his knuckles. "Good. Keep 'em there, Buck."
Bucky gives Steve a salute and a proud smile.
"You done, Rogers? Could use another set of hands over here," Sam calls.
Steve's back in action, helping Sam with the blood and first aid.
The and medics arrive on scene and take over, the police close behind. Statements are given, details are exchanged, insults thrown their way, but the Avengers stick to their honest truth.
When they're released, Steve's stuck in his head as they walk away from the scene. He walks with his hands in his pockets and his head down low, expression blank.
Bucky watches him for another block before he decides to get to the bottom of this. "Steve, what's going on?" he asks, grabbing the captain's arm.
Steve looks up at Bucky, tears in his eyes. "We should have done something," he says, voice cracking.
Tony holds up a hand. "Um, I believe stopping that fiasco was doing something, Rogers."
Bucky shakes his head. "That's not what he's talking about," he says quietly. He clears his throat, glancing at Steve. "There ain't nothing we could have done then, Stevie."
Steve laughs bitterly. "Yeah, Buck, I think there was. We could have done something. Could have jumped in, could have called someone, could have caused a scene."
"And we would've ended up the same way they did. Drowning in our own blood in a dark alleyway," Bucky says bluntly. "We were kids, Steve. They wouldn't of thought nothing of it."
"What are they talking about?" Tony stage whispers to Sam.
Sam crosses his arms and leans into Tony. "They saw a couple of gay guys get beaten to death when they were teens."
Tony's eyes widened. "Dark."
"Everything about the thirties was dark, Tony," Steve snaps. He turns around, fists clenched at his sides. "We sat there and just watched, Buck. Didn't do a damned thing but watch. We watched as they got the life beaten out of 'em," Steve seethes, taking a few steps towards the brick wall of a foreclosed apartment.
Bucky crosses his arms. "Steve, you can't let that guilt eat you up. We've done a hell of a lot worse than that."
Steve shakes his head. "Doesn't matter. It was our civil right to do something and we just stood by."
"You were already doing your civil right, Steve. Gettin' your ass kicked every single day because your righteous ass couldn't stop doing the right thing. You were a fucking twig, Rogers. I wasn't much better." Bucky takes a step forward.
"You act like you weren't built as a teenager," Steve snaps.
Bucky rolls his eyes. "I played baseball, Steve. I didn't box till later."
Steve shakes his head. "Doesn't matter. We could have taken them."
Bucky throws his hands in the air. "We couldn't, first of all. And you're right, it doesn't matter. We didn't do anything because we were scared kids who just had our first heartbreak. We didn't know how to stop three grown ass drunk men from killing those poor souls. Hell, they would have done the same thing, Steve. You weren't exactly the manliest of twigs back in the day."
"We just let it happen, though. We just- I can't-" Steve lets out a mangled scream as he punches the wall.
Bucky springs forward and captures his arm in his hands. "Hey, hey, hey," he says softly as he pulls the bigger man away from the wall. Bucky glances over his shoulder at Tony and Sam. "You two go on. We'll see you later," he says.
Sam nods, dragging a protesting Tony away.
Steve breaks, sobbing into Bucky's neck as the brunet holds him from behind.
Bucky turns him around, slotting the blond into his arms like a perfect puzzle. He rubs Steve's back. "I know, babydoll. I know," he whispers.
"It ain't fair," Steve cries, holding Bucky tight.
"It ain't," Bucky says. "It ain't fair that those fellas lost their lives because of who they loved. It ain't fair that we had to hide for so long. It ain't fair that our lives have fucked us over so much that we can't even tell our friends about us. Nothing in life is fair, Stevie." He presses a kiss to Steve's neck, closing his eyes.
Steve hides his face in Bucky's neck and just cries.
Bucky holds him tight.
They stood their, holding each other, for the first time in public. The quiet hum of New York sang around them, a muffled melody in the distance. The breeze tickled at their legs, finding its way into their clothes to caress their skin. There wasn't a soul in sight.
So they stood there. And they held each other as tight as they could.
"I gotta do something," Steve whispers after a while, voice still thick with tears.
Bucky pulls away and wipes at Steve's face with his mismatched thumbs. "Like?"
Steve's breath is shaky as he holds Bucky's hands to his face. "I gotta put an end to this mess. I can't let this happen again. It was too close a call tonight."
"What're you saying?" Bucky asks softly with a crease in his brow.
"I don't know, but I can't let people assume I'm a prejudice asshole because of how we were raised. I can't let people, can't let my friends, think we're some homophobic fuckheads," Steve says, his tone growing in confidence.
"What's the plan then, Stevie?"
Steve shrugs and presses a kiss to both of Bucky's wrists. "I don't know. I'll let you know when it comes to me."