#becausebuckysbutt

She and Bucky have been playing this game for over two months now. At first, neither Clint or Steve paid the new couple any mind, almost seeming not to notice they had paired off. Then the school’s gossip pulse picked up on things, and the two blonde boys seemed supportive, if maybe a bit surprised. Clint was quicker to brood, over time, prone to falling into bouts of sullenness in their presence until he finally stopped spending time with both of them together and only seeing one of them at a time. 

Steve was charming and sweet all the while, trying to be the good and accommodating friend he was known to be, until one day Tony Stark joking called Natasha and Bucky “The School’s Most Dangerous Power Couple” - with Tony and Pepper being the “Most Glamorous”, of course. After that day, Steve’s enthusiasm seemed to wane slowly until he eventually joined Clint in the ranks of friends who would only hang out with the couple separately.

"Yeah." Now back in the present, Natasha sighs, frowning a bit. "James….Are we doing the right thing here? I know you wanted to make them jealous, but I think we’re hurting them a bit too much."

Bucky groans softly, letting his forehead thump lightly against the cool metal of the locker. The way she drags out his name like that always makes him wary, and he realizes that she always has a point when using that tone. “Yeah, me too.”

"Maybe it’s time for a change of strategy…" Natasha muses, and Bucky pulls back a bit to gaze at her suspiciously. 

"That’s a dangerous expression," he teases halfheartedly, and she meets his gaze evenly.

"Yes it is, darling." Her red-painted lips quirk into a mischievous grin. "Yes, it is."

——-

The next day, the school is treated to quite the spectacle before homeroom. One of the school’s most admired couples seems to be blowing up, and not in a good way.

"You’re an arrogant pig, Bucky Barnes!" Natasha nearly hisses, her voice escalating as she storms away from Bucky’s reaching fingers the moment they enter the main hall of the school.

"Natasha, baby, calm down," Bucky retorts, trying in vain to soothe her. He catches a quick glimpse of Steve pushing to the edge of the crowd to see what’s going on, before Natasha’s bright blue eyes appear in his line of vision, smoldering angrily. Man, she gets into character, a chill runs down his spine, and Bucky reaches for her waist again, only to have his hands slapped away.

"I will not calm down,” she snaps, “and I am no one’s ‘baby’, James!” She tosses her long hair over her shoulder, fixing him with a glare. “You’re a possessive, demanding jerk, and I’d rather not waste my time babysitting you!”

The words roll off his back easily, but Bucky pretends to become angry now. “Oh really? I’m demanding?” He emits a short bark of laughter. “Nat, you’re the most high-maintenance, pushy, bossy bitch that I’ve ever had the misfortune to date!”

He hears the gasp of the crowd and the sharp cracking noise before he feels the sting, and only then does he register that she’s slapped him. There’s fire in her eyes and the crowd has moved back a step in shock, as if expecting him to retaliate. Bucky can see Clint trying to come forward, as if to lunge at him, but Tony and Thor Odinson - their burly foreign friend - are restraining the smaller man. As if Bucky would ever hit a woman. He takes a moment to feel insulted by their assumptions, and then Natasha is prompting him back into character with her next statement.

"If I’m such a horrible, needy girlfriend, James, you can have fun trying to find someone better!” She tosses her hair again and straightens the hem of her shirt. The red mark undoubtedly plastered on his cheek is smarting pretty bad, and yet she seems unfazed.

He glares at her. “Yeah, maybe I will! Have fun finding a man who will put up with your uptight ass, Warden Romanoff!”

They storm away from each other, shoving through the crowd impatiently, and after a moment or two of lingering silence, the crowd of students gathered bursts into a flurry of stunned reactions.

"I so saw this coming!”"No way, you did not!"

"Wow, harsh much?""Pfft, he got off easy!""Yeah man, Romanoff is scary!"

"What a jerk!""What? No way, she’s the bitch here."

"What the fuck just happened?" This is Tony, arching a brow at their small group of friends gathered together.

"What just happened," Clint is grinning, "is that Nat finally dropped that blockhead jock, and now I can make my move."

Pepper blinks at him like she’s not sure if he’s sane. “You’re going to try and ask her out right after that blowup? While she’s still furious?”

The young man pales. “Um….I might wait a day, actually. Probably.”

His friends laugh appreciatively, but Steve seems a bit distant.

"You okay, buddy?" Tony clasps his shoulder, looking at him with concern. 

"Huh?" The blonde blinks in surprise, blue eyes refocusing on Tony’s face. "Yeah, I just…that’s not like Bucky…"

"What?"

"He doesn’t get worked up like that…." Steve frowns. "Not ever."

Pepper frowns as well. “You have a point, Steve. Now that I think about it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Bucky yell, let alone lose his cool that way. Maybe you should go check on him?”

Steve seems to consider this, but then the bell rings for class. “At lunch,” he decides, still frowning softly. “I’ll talk to him at lunch…”

——-

"Bucky?"

The cafeteria is loud, but the brunette would know that soft, concerned voice anywhere. This is Steve’s mother hen voice, and no doubt his best friend is here to ‘comfort’ him after that dramatic show this morning. It’s about time, Bucky smirks internally. He had half expected Steve to come running after him this morning.

"Yeah, Stevie?" He turns, expecting to see his friend’s worried expression, and is momentarily taken aback at the fire in Steve’s gaze, the firm set of his frown. "Whoa…Steve?"

"You’re an asshole, Bucky."

There’s a tense moment, while Bucky blinks in confusion and Steve looks ready to punch him, before he decides to risk it.

"What, uh….what did I do?"

Steve’s eyes narrow, and Bucky cringes internally.

"Whichever poor girl you were trying to make jealous by dating Natasha, I hope she turns you down every time you try to ask her out." Steve is fuming, and Bucky is starting to understand. "I realized something was off when you went from happily dating Nat to breaking up in one day, and then when you blew up at her this morning I knew you were putting on a show.

"And the only explanation that made sense for all of it was that you were only dating Natasha to make some other girl jealous." He pauses for air, but shows no sign of slowing his tirade while Bucky sits, stunned. "That’s horrible, Bucky! How could you use Natasha that way? How could you be such a coward and do this instead of just manning up and asking out the right dame?"

Bucky makes what might turn out to be a very poor life choice. He stands up and faces Steve like the man he’s been challenged to be, and smiles a soft, lazy grin. “Because I thought you’d turn me down, Stevie.”

It’s the blonde teen’s turn to look stunned now, but that look of surprise is nothing compared to the way his eyes blow wide as Bucky tugs him closer by the shirt collar and kisses him soundly, right in the middle of the cafeteria. 

——-

The next few days are a flurry of gossip through the school, as people try to adjust to two of the school’s most desired boys getting together. The rumor mill shows no sign of slowing down when Natasha and Clint come to school the next day holding hands, with Clint grinning broadly despite sporting a deep black eye to match Natasha’s bruised knuckles.

Things start to settle down a bit after that, though, at least until Tony Stark steals the show - as usual - at graduation a few months later, where he proposes to the class valedictorian on stage. (Pepper says yes, of course, on the condition that he actually starts to take responsibility for his father’s company).

———