off the record
a birthday fic for @fadefilter
â â
Captain America catches Bucky as he fumbles down the steps like heâs the goddamn prince from Enchanted.
âWhoops-a-daisy,â Captain America says with this big sincere smile as he helps Bucky back up to his feet.
âThanks,â Bucky says, not entirely sure what happened in the past thirty-five seconds, but very grateful to Captain America for catching him before his glasses slipped off of his nose and broke on the concrete steps outside of Avengers Tower, where Bucky just finished covering the latest Avengers press conference for the Times. Heâs been on the Avengers beat for almost a year now. It never gets old.
âNot a problem,â Captain America says. âSorry I wrinkled your shirt.â
Bucky looks down at his shirt; it is no more wrinkled than it was when he pulled it off of his bedroom floor this morning, but itâs nice of Captain America to give him enough credit to have had a neatly-pressed shirt beforehand.
âSee you around Bucky,â Captain America adds with a wave as he bounds down the steps.
Bucky waves after him, kind of watching his back retreat into the distance, and itâs not until after heâs out of view that Buckyâs journalistic instincts pop back up and he asks himself:
How does Captain America know my name?
â â
He gets off work around seven, then gets a wrap with extra garlic tahini sauce, which gets on his fingers and his wrinkled shirt, but itâs worth it because yum, and starts to snoop.
He goes by James Barnes professionally, so itâs not just because Captain America looks into whoâs covering Avengers events. He does have super soldier hearing â or, at least Wikipedia says he does â so maybe he overheard someone saying Buckyâs name?
But Bucky canât remember the last time someone at one of these press conferences actually called him Bucky.
Which means he must know from somewhere else.
â â
He spends four hours looking into every conceivable way they could be connected, but:
Captain America does not follow him on Twitter
He is not living in Captain Americaâs pre-war apartment, which he wants back
His relatives neither fought alongside or were saved by Captain America during World War II
Captain America does not go to the same gym
There is no evidence that Captain America is also on a first name basis with Sol, the guy who makes Buckyâs wraps and always remembers to give him extra tahini
Itâs disappointing. Frustrating. It must be thatâ
Thereâs a notification for him on his non-work-related email. The email he uses for his blog, because when he gets home from a hard day of reporting the news, he immediately gets online and writes think pieces about the news from a queer perspective.
He remembers that oh yes, he should check his blog, and goes to the page to see stats and comments and whatnot, and his eyes fall on a comment from a few days ago:
Thank you for your perspective on this. Your work is always a pleasure to read.
Itâs a little awkward and a little stilted and itâs also signed fromâŚ
SGR.
He searches his comments for others by SGR and there are⌠a lot from the past two years.
Most are just thanking him. A few ask for his perspective on something or a clarification. He even commented on a selfie Bucky sort of vainly put up, telling him that it was very cute.
One comment, from very early on, just says:
I wish I could go to Pride.
And Buckyâs heart breaks, just a little bit.
â â
Since heâs on the Avengers beat, itâs not long before he has another opportunity to see Captain America, Steven Grant Rogers again.
He asks his question, then sits back down, and really looks at the guy. He seems a little awkward and a little formal in this setting, his blond hair pushed back and off of his face. It wouldnât be too much of a stretch to think of him being interested in LGBT issues, right?
Maybe it is.
But Bucky signs his blog posts under the name Bucky.
â â
He didnât expect his request for an interview to be accepted, but a week later, heâs sitting in Captain Americaâs room in Avengers Tower. Bucky had suggested they go to a nearby coffee shop or a restaurant, but Captain America was pretty adamant that they do it in the Tower, which, sure.
But itâs a little weird to sit close to Captain America, whose leg is jiggling with nervous energy, this phone between them.
âBefore we start,â Bucky says, âcan I ask you a question off-the-record?â
Captain America blinks.
âSure thing,â he says.
âI donât want to come off as a narcissist, but do you read my blog?â
Thereâs a beat, then another.
âYeah,â Captain America says. âYeah, I do.â
Bucky nods.
âAlright then, Captainââ he starts, but is interrupted.
âSteve,â he says. âPlease call me Steve.â
Bucky looks up. They lock eyes. And they start the interview.
Neither of them talk about it.
â â
After itâs published, Steve calls Bucky.
âHullo?â Bucky says, almost having swallowed his muffin.
âHi, Bucky, IâŚâ He hesitates. âI really liked the interview.â
âThanks, so did my editor,â Bucky says with a chuckle, then a cough, as a muffin crumb gets stuck in the middle of his throat.
After Steve asks him if heâs okay, he says, hesitant, âHowâd you know Iâm a fan?â His voice comes off light, but thereâs nerves behind it, Bucky can tell.
âYou called me Bucky when I fell over that one time.â
âThatâs not your name?â
âMy by-line is always James.â
âOh,â Steve says, then laughs. âCaught me, I guess.â
âTook me a while to figure it out,â Bucky says, looking at his muffin longingly and contemplating if it would be rude to take a bite. âStarted to come up with all sorts of conspiracy theories.â
âYeah? Like what?â
âI was living in your dead familyâs apartment and you wanted it back, so you were playing an elaborate rouse where you tripped me, leading to a seduction, a quick marriage, and a transfer of property.â
âAnd how do you know thatâs not true?â Steve asks.
âI asked my landlord. My building wasnât built until 1963.â
Steve laughs again and itâs honestly a really nice sound. You donât hear it often during press conferences.
âThe tenement I lived in was pushed down ages ago, and even if it wasnât, Iâm fine without having a bathtub in the kitchen.â He hesitates. âBut thereâs one part of that I think may be true.â
âWhatâs that?â
âThe seduction part.â
In retrospect, Bucky is glad he didnât take a bite of his muffin. He would be spitting it out.
âWhat?â Bucky croaks.
âOr, at least, a date. If youâd be interested.â
âWith me?â Bucky asks, agog.
âI read your blog, I know youâre single. And since we know each other now, I thought it wouldnât be too much of an issue if I asked you out. No pressure, butâŚâ he trails off.
About a thousand different thoughts fly across Buckyâs mind all at once, but only one word comes out of his mouth:
âYes.â
â â
Bucky gets moved off of the Avengers beat because itâs kind of a conflict of interest if a reporter is dating the First Avenger. He gets moved to local politics, which is fine, and itâs all worth it when heâs writing his and Steveâs own wedding announcement for the paper.

















