Work Text:
1)
“They’re doing it again.” Clint said to Natasha as he walked into the kitchen of the communal floor of the avengers tower.
“Seriously? They act like more of a couple than we do.” She said looking around the corner to the living room where Bucky was lay basically on top of Steve whilst they were watching a film.
“Maybe that’s how they always acted back in their day?” Clint suggested. “If they were actually a couple I’m pretty sure they would have gotten sick of acting like that all the time. We’re a couple and we don’t drape ourselves over each other at any given moment.”
“I don’t think I’d want to drape myself over you after a workout.” Natasha shot back.
“I thought you liked me all sweaty?” Clint asked flirtatiously.
“Not workout sweat.”
“Well I will go and have a shower to rid myself of it. Would you like to join me?” Clint asked politely with his hand held out and a smirk on his face.
Natasha fondly smiled and took his hand as they went to the showers.
2)
“Oh for god’s sake! They’re doing it again.” Tony said as he walked into his lab where Rhodey was stood looking at some upgrades for his suit.
“Who doing what?” Rhodey asked.
“Oh I forgot you aren’t a tower regular, which I would like to change by the way so when you’re not off doing whatever you do anymore, let’s talk about it.” Tony ran off on a tangent.
“Tony. Who doing what?” Rhodey asked again to get him on subject.
“Oh. Cap and his best buddy are cuddling again. Not to forget the fact that they are wearing each other’s clothes. They act more like a couple than me and Pep. Probably minus the sex, but I don’t judge they can do whatever they want to do in their spare time. Maybe that’s how they did it back in 1944” Tony babbled on.
“Maybe they are a couple?” Rhodey suggested.
“Too obvious. No couple act that coupley.” Tony simply said.
“Whatever man. Now which of these is for me?” Rhodey asked looking back down at the table of tech.
Tony smiled and walked over to the table and picked up the smallest and least impressive looking thing there and held it up. Rhodey’s smile dropped when he saw it but Tony’s grin grew wider.
3)
“Hello my friends! I have returned from London with the fair lady Jane.” Thor bellowed, bounding into the tower with his arm wrapped protectively around Jane.
He looked around and only spotted Steve and Bucky asleep on the couch, entwined in each other. Thor shrugged as it must be another Earth custom between friends he had not yet seen. He led Jane into the next room silently, he was greeted by the rest of the avengers there.
“Hey Thor when did you get here?” Clint asked looking over to the new arrivals from his spot on the kitchen counter.
“Just a moment ago. Why are you all in here when the room out there has much more sufficient space?” Thor asked seeing as everybody was crammed into the kitchen, which was rather large but was nothing compared to the giant living room.
“We’re here because they’re doing it again.” Tony answered.
“Resting?” Thor asked, confused.
“Cuddling.” Tony answered.
“Is that not what good friends do? I am not very well accustomed to most human ways yet. Jane is teaching me.” Thor explained.
“It’s usually exclusive to couples.” Jane told him.
“Are they not a couple?” Thor asked.
“It’s too obvious. I bet they just used to cuddle for warmth back when Steve was smaller than Natasha. Must just be habit.” Clint said.
“They have a good battle bond that will survive all peril. The same I share with my warriors.” Thor boasted.
“I sure hope you don’t cuddle with your warriors like they do.” Jane replied with raised eyebrows.
“Do not worry we prefer to have merriment of the alcoholic sort.”
“Good.” Jane said. “Why don’t you just ask Steve and James about their relationship?”
“Do you really think that asking the two men from an era that arrested anyone who wasn’t straight, if they are gay for each other, is a really good idea?” Tony explained.
“I doubt they would have anything bad to say about it. They are very open minded now.” Natasha replied.
“You ask them then.” Tony told her.
“Let’s just leave them, like you said, it’s too obvious.”
4)
“You know they share a bed” Clint said to Tony and Bruce where they were in the lab.
“Who do?” Bruce asked rather disinterested.
“America’s golden boy and his assassin” Clint replied.
“And?”
“Doesn’t that seem a little coupley to you?” Tony asked, jumping into the conversation.
“They’re childhood friends. They’ve probably always done it.” Bruce defended. “Didn’t you sleep in the same bed as your friends when you were younger?”
“Yeah, when I was younger. I wouldn’t now unless we had to.” Tony replied.
“Well it must be easier for James to be close to someone he knows and loves rather than sleeping alone in an unfamiliar environment.” Bruce explained.
“I thought you weren’t a psychiatrist?” Tony asked with fake shock.
“I’m not but it’s not hard to understand.”
“I’ve heard them calling each other ‘my Steve’ or ‘my Bucky’.” Clint added.
“Well they basically are considering they have always been around each other and always ‘had’ each other.” Bruce argued.
“Makes sense.” Tony finally agreed.
“I guess so.” Clint shrugged.
5)
“Save me.” Tony said running into the kitchen.
“What from?” Natasha asked, not looking up from her bowl of cereal.
“Steve’s out on a mission and ‘his Bucky’ won’t stop whining about how he misses him.” Tony moaned.
“They don’t like to be apart. Makes sense really.” Natasha replied.
“Well yeah but I don’t need to hear every second about how he misses ‘the only person who understands him’ or ‘the warmest pillow ever’.”
“They were apart for 70 years. Let the man complain about missing his best friend.”
“But it isn’t just missing him. It’s way more than just bestie missing it’s like love of his life missing.”
“Platonic love of his life?” Natasha suggested.
“I don’t act like this when Rhodey is away and we’re platonic soulmates.” Tony argued.
“You kind of do whine that he isn’t around.” Natasha pointed out.
“Yeah but it’s not the same. This is ‘Pepper’s leaving on a month-long trip’ whining when Steve’s only gonna be gone for like a week max.”
“They’re more co-dependent than you and Pepper or you and Rhodey.”
“What are they gonna do when one of them gets a girlfriend or something?” Tony asked after the thought hit him.
“She’s going to have to be one patient woman to put up with all of this.”
+1)
“Steve’s back, you coming to welcome him?” Natasha asked Tony from where she was standing outside his lab.
“Yep!” Tony said as he put what he was working on down and whatever Jarvis was projecting onto the table was stopped.
They met Clint, Bruce, Thor, Jane and Rhodey in the elevator on the way there and when they stepped out they didn’t expect what was in happening in front of them.
Bucky had his metal arm wrapped around Steve’s back and the flesh one grasping his face, Steve’s hands dangling helplessly by his side unable to do anything because of how Bucky was kissing him. This wasn’t a friendly peck on the lips or even a couple’s every day kisses, this was desperate and passionate and seemed way too full of love and devotion to be something that everyone could just witness now. Steve’s bag was abandoned on the floor next to them and they didn’t seem to have a care in the world who saw them.
“They’re doing it again?” Clint warily offered as the first thing to break the silence.
The couple must have heard and turned to greet them. Steve looked breathless but happy and Bucky looked happier than he had since Steve had left. However, the shocked faces of the rest of the avengers must have made them pause what they were about to say.
“You never see two people kiss before?” Bucky asked with one of his eyebrows raised.
“You’re together!” Tony exclaimed. “Like a real-life couple?”
“Wait, you didn’t know?” Steve asked. “None of you?”
“No! We thought you were just being weird best friends who are overly close!” Tony argued.
“How come you’re always saying ‘get your boyfriend’ when telling me to get Bucky?” Steve asked.
“I was joking! I didn’t think you were actual boyfriends. But it’s not just me, none of us knew.”
“We thought we were being pretty obvious.” Bucky piped in. “Obviously not enough though, even for some of the best spies in the world!” He said, looking directly at Natasha.
“You act way too coupley to be a real couple.” She gave as an excuse.
“That logic is so flawed I don’t know where to start.” Bucky replied.
“So how long have you too been more than best buds then?” Tony asked.
“Since before the war. We lived together for five years in a known queer part of Brooklyn.” Steve answered. “Even I would have known something was up with that.”
“I am so done with all of this.” Tony said and went back into the elevator where Rhodey followed.