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It began as a dare. They were Avengers, they could totally make Hide and Seek into something akin to mission training. The goal was obviously to see who could stay hidden the longest from the "assassin."
What no one thought about, though, was just how good a former sniper, turned super soldier, turned weapon for Hydra, would be at hiding. With Jarvis not allowed to help, and with it being unfair to go into the command center and look at the monitors... Bucky was just extremely hard to find.
Nat had found him twice, Sam got lucky once, and everyone else had needed to call the search off after Tony had almost blown up one of the kitchens in his frantic searching.
Steve, naturally, refused to be bested by his own boyfriend. So, he bought a silent handheld metal detector and he scanned areas while watching for the green lights to flare to life.
Once, he found Bucky hidden in the couch. How he'd made enough room for himself, without making it look like there was obviously a body under the cushions, was a mystery. The muffled cursing when Steve had called him out on his hiding spot was hilarious.
Bucky, who caught on to what his boyfriend was doing, decided to take matters into his own hands. Literally.
He waited until it was Steve's turn to search for everyone. Then he detached the new arm that Tony had built and hung it inside a closet, middle finger sticking in the air.
He tiptoed into the room across from the closet and waited. And waited. And just when he was about to make a noise to give Steve a bit of a clue, he saw the other super soldier come around the corner. The metal detector was in his hand, his arm sweeping over things to try and pinpoint Bucky's whereabouts.
Good luck, you cheating asshat. That I love. Lovable cheater. Focus, Bucky.
He watched as Steve neared the closet. He saw the lights flash and Steve's face take on a shit-eating grin. Seconds later he threw open the closet door and shouted "FOUND YOU!!"
The look on his face when he saw the arm just hanging there, the fist all closed but for the middle finger... Bucky had to hold his right hand over his mouth to keep from barking out a laugh that would give away his position.
"That dirty, little sonofabitch... I'm gonna... BUCKY, WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?!"
As he stepped into the closet and shoved a stack of blankets to the side, Bucky pulled his door open silently and quickly crossed the hall to shut himself in the small space with a perplexed Steve Rogers.
"What the he-"
"Found you," Bucky growled as he pushed the blonde against the pile of blankets and pressed his lips to Steve's. He felt his boyfriend smiling against his mouth and when Steve pulled back he had that dopey grin on his face that was always full of fond.
"That's my line, jerk."
Then he pulled Bucky back in and the game was forgotten. Steve slid the arm back into the socket, ran his lips reverently over the new metal, and then he dragged the dark-haired man down into the messy pile of blankets, laughing into his kiss.
That's how the rest of the team found them. It had been an hour and Tony finally asked Friday if she knew the whereabouts of the two super soldiers. He flung the door wide open and everyone clenched their eyes shut at the half-naked sight in front of them.
"There are beds for that, boys," Nat said, chuckling as she ushered people back down the hallway.
"Knocking isn't unheard of either," Steve noted with a laugh.
"You're washing all of that," Tony piped in.
"Bite me," Bucky replied.
"If you insist," Steve murmured. He nipped at the scruffy chin and heard Bucky's stuttering breath. They didn't leave the closet until much later.