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Yelena is angry. And Bob understands why. But the fact that he feels shame and guilt toward her does not mean he feels the same toward John.
She had told them both: enough. You will solve your personal problems in the Tower. You can even kill each other there — I don’t care (although, of course, it was clear who could really kill whom).
But not on a mission.
On a mission, first of all, you think about people. On a mission, you are, first and foremost, superheroes on whom all of humanity relies. You are their hope. Their salvation. You are the new Avengers. Of course, the old Avengers had their own problems, fights sometimes, like, for example, Tony and Steve. But how many times did they find compromises and save New York? Hundreds. Who defeated Thanos in the end and saved the Earth? The Avengers.
And you, two idiots, start fighting each other when you should be fighting the terrorists. Not even powerful aliens, gods from another universe, or crazy artificial intelligence. A group of terrorists who only outnumber you — not outpower you.
And they, the new Avengers, should have handled this in twenty minutes or less. But, of course, but.
John hits him on the chin with a fist that probably feels like a brick. Bob grabs the wall behind him with one hand. He's trying to control himself and not use his powers, but this is his last straw. When John leans over and hisses, Bob grabs him by the neck, and within seconds, the soldier finds himself on his back in another part of the warehouse, breaking the concrete beneath him.
Yelena watches them from the cameras at the observation post as the terrorists lie unconscious at her feet, and she shouts into her walkie-talkie:
“What the hell?!”
John can’t break free of Bob’s grip, but he still grins with bloody teeth and tries to push him away with his feet. For this, he gets another blow into the hard surface. But he spits his blood right into the younger man’s face.
“Is that all you’ve got?”
Yelena opens her mouth, but her radio loses connection, and all the cameras in the building abruptly shut off.
“Shit.”
She drops the radio and rushes down the long corridor. Bucky meets her on the stairs, asking what’s going on, but she doesn’t explain anything — and then he sees it all himself when they find Bob and John.
John needs to be saved. Bob needs to be calmed down. And all the damn terrorists have suddenly disappeared — they must have figured it all out and are already running somewhere else, if they haven’t already. And this will mean another month of work for the government to track them down again. She wanted to hope that Ava would stop them, but that seemed unlikely.
And there’s no time even to think about it — suddenly Yelena digs her fingers into Bob's shoulder.
“Bob, please.”
His hand around John’s neck tightens, and it seems to the Black Widow that the agent’s neck is cracking. She repeats herself louder:
“Bob, please!”
The guy's shoulders tense, but then he lets go of John. The soldier falls to the ground and sharply inhales air into his lungs. Silence hangs over the warehouse. Only John's hoarse breathing can be heard.
And then they hear shooting for a few seconds, the hum of cars — and silence again.
Soon, irritated Ava comes out of the wall, holding her bleeding back.
“What the hell happened?!”
From the first seconds of their first meeting, he didn’t like John. He liked Yelena, who immediately seemed good — and turned out to be — and he even liked Ava, although she was sometimes harsh and mean (however, he knew she was good inside too). But John? He was rude, cruel, and constantly made fun of Bob.
And no, Bob didn’t consider himself strong, amazing, or cool — even with all the powers that, as it turned out later, he had. But he still didn’t understand why John treated him that way. Bob tried to respect him and be nice to hi,, but John just became ruder and ruder. So Bob stopped respecting him shortly, too.
And all of this happened within the first hours of their so-called “friendship.”
But in the Void, John saved him.
Yes, everyone saved him. And he’s grateful to each of them — and will be, for the rest of his life. It wasn’t just a physical rescue or a rescue of New York: they pulled Bob out of something bigger than his own chaotic superpowers. Out of something so much worse. And they kept pulling him out, as they became a team. Friends. Family.
But John.
Bob didn’t expect John to help. Not just fight mechanically, like a soldier on a military mission — which he was. Or fight mechanically for New York, like a superhero — which he would become. But John closed Bob behind his broken shield, shouted at him to duck. John swung that heavy, heavy fist of his at the face of his father’s blurred figure. And then, the ugly, familiar voice from childhood ended with a hard blow.
And John hugged him tightly with the others. And maybe he wouldn’t have hugged him if he didn’t care. Yelena’s hug alone would’ve been enough to calm Bob down. But John cared about him. There, in the Void. And then they all became a team.
John continued to mock Bob, to make fun of him. He made even more stupid jokes. He even joked about the Void — and how crazy Bob was there. The joke felt to Bob like an accusation: that he had to be rescued by them. He's the problem. That was even worse than just stupid giggles. He had thought John cared about him.
But then John would do something again, and Bob wouldn’t understand him — or his attitude toward him — at all.
They were on an operation in another state. Some underground organization was experimenting on people (how ironic) and trafficking humans. The CIA had sent them: their intel showed the criminals already had people with inhuman abilities, so sending ordinary agents was risky. Too risky — for the agents and for the operation. So the case was handed over to the New Avengers.
Everything went wrong.
They hadn’t properly assessed the abilities of those superhumans. Things got worse and worse. He, John, and Ava ended up trapped — stuck between a wall and gunfire. Yelena, Bucky, and Alexei were in the central wing, handling bigger targets. And Bob was afraid to use his powers. He was having a terrible mental stretch, and Ava’s tech wasn’t working either.
She kept repeating:
“Bob, damn it, it’s all up to you now!”
And Bob knew it was true — but he also knew he might not be able to handle his powers right now. And if he lost control, it would be worse than any super-strong men with guns.
Panic crept in.
And then John growled at Ava:
“He won’t do anything he can’t do. Get behind me.”
And John got them out.
Both of them. Alive.
He held Bob close, his dry hand gripping his wrist.
And the New Avengers successfully completed the mission.
But back at the Tower, it was all the same again. Stupid jokes. Operations where John would take a bullet for Bob. More jokes. Crude, terrible jokes. Bob saving John. More jokes.
It felt like a roller coaster.
He could have ignored it. Honestly, he could have. John wasn’t much better to the others — except maybe Bucky. He respected Bucky. And sometimes Yelena joked that loving Bucky was a requirement for every Captain America.
But oh.
After missions where Bob had to use his powers, he always felt terrible. Physically drained, but even worse — mentally. After missions, he sat alone in his room and asked not to be disturbed. The team worried about leaving him alone, but he promised: I won’t destroy New York again, I just want to be alone. They learned to trust him and gave him space.
But sometimes, John was with him.
The first time John sat on the floor with Bob, the guy tensed up. He thought it would be another round of dumb jokes — but no. They just sat there. On the floor. Backs against the bed. Silent.
Then Bob would feel sleepy. And John would quietly get up and leave. Without saying anything.
It’s not a tradition. Not a habit. The man rarely does it.
But he does it sometimes. Not once.
And it’s weird.
His shoulder is always so strong, and Bob feels safer when they’re shoulder to shoulder on the cool floor of his room.
So yes — a crazy roller coaster.
Bucky isn’t very emotional. Even when they make mistakes on missions, he doesn’t yell. Yes, he can say they’re one big disappointment to him and that he’s tired — but no more. Even with the Avengers, he rarely compares them. He knows that all of them together are far from the heroes New Yorkers used to have. And that’s okay: at least they’re trying their best to be like them.
But this time, he yells.
Bob feels like a child again. But he understands — this time, it really was his fault. So while Bucky is yelling, he just sits on the couch with his head down, but John is yelling back.
What happened? Nothing new, to be honest.
Before the operation, they’d had a fight. A big one.
John had picked on Bob again, but Bob had too many problems lately. His medication wasn’t working anymore, he couldn’t remember the last time he slept — but he remembered every panic attack he had in his room at night. And when John started picking on him in the Tower kitchen, Bob snapped. He told him everything he thought of him. Mean things. Bad stuff. And John was surprised at first. Then he got angry, too. Of course he did.
They didn’t have time to fight it out in the Tower. The operation was starting. And once they were on the mission, something went wrong — word by word — and they fought. To bruises.
Well. Most of the bruises were on John.
"You made yourself a leader? You think you’re the boss? Your boyfriend dumped you, and now you're doing everything to show that you're better than that?"
Bucky steps forward, his metal hand clenched, but Alexei quickly moves between them.
“Friends, let’s all calm down…”
Bucky clenches his jaw too, then takes a step back.
“What, are you scared?” John hisses. Now Yelena has to hold the Winter Soldier.
“Alexei is right. Let’s all calm down.”
Dad gives her a thumbs-up with a smile. But Bucky shakes his head and steps away.
“Valeria said they know where the terrorists are going. We’ve got twenty-four hours to catch them before they cross the border. After that — we won’t find them.”
He grabs his leather jacket from the bar.
“I’m going to fix your mistakes. And you…”
He looks at John.
Then at Bob.
“…and you. Stay here.”
John raises his voice sharply.
“You can’t make me sit here.”
“Valentina and the soldiers can.”
John falls silent.
“Like I said. You two are staying here. If you don’t work out your issues in that time, I’m going to review your membership in the Avengers.”
“What?” the word bursts from Bob and Alexei at once.
“I’m going to review your membership in the Avengers,” Bucky repeats.
“If you can’t put your own bickering aside and let it get in the way of your work — then what kind of Avengers are you?”
“The good ones,” John hisses.
“I don’t think so.”
Soon Bucky calls for Yelena, Alexei, and Ava. They gather near the elevator. Bob feels sick.
Before leaving, Ava stops and glances from John to Bob.
“John, I saw KFC’s hiring again.”
She disappears just as the warped shield hits the wall.
They don't talk to each other. Bob, when everyone leaves and John disappears a few minutes later, gets up from the couch and goes to the kitchen. He finds some ice cream in the fridge, but he doesn't feel like he can eat it. His stomach twists with anxiety, so he looks at the ice cream from the open fridge door and exhales. He takes a carton of natural orange juice and closes the fridge.
What he didn't like most was the feeling that he had disappointed someone, and now it was exactly like that. He had disappointed not only Yelena, but even Bucky. It seemed that he was disappointed in everything existing after 40s and it couldn't be worse, but it turned out that it pretty much could. And Bob is very ashamed.
He wasn't the best Avenger anyway, because he couldn't control his powers and give his all when it was needed. He wasn't the best Avenger, although he was presented as such on the Internet and on TV. He even saw real toys and figures with him - the kids adored Sentry. They wanted to be as strong as him.
But he and Sentry are so different that it's sickening. And he wasn't the strongest Avenger as everyone thinks.
But he really didn't want to lose his status of the Avenger. He really liked being the Avenger.
When he thinks about John, the boy gets annoyed again. Why should he suffer because of one rude jerk?
But to solve this problem, they need to talk. And John is nowhere to be found.
Bob doesn't go to his room because they need to talk, and if he is in his room, it's unlikely that John will come there himself to reconcile: his pride. He decides to wait in the living room.
He sits on the sofa with the juice, and Star Trek is on the TV. And he sits like that until late at night.
It's after eleven, and the man is still not there.
At first it annoys him, then he gets tired. While an incredible planet is shown on the screen, and in the dark room only the light from the huge TV falls on him, he thinks.
Maybe he will find a job in a comic book store. That would be cool.
He hears the elevator go off. And he raises his head from the sofa (he was already lying on his back on it). At first, drowsiness appears before his eyes, but it passes like a flash when he hears the soft bell of the elevator and it opens.
John.
The man is here. He’s wearing a wet t-shirt and gray pants, no suit or shield. His hair is messy, he wipes his face with a towel and turns on the light by the bar. He opens the refrigerator, takes out cold water. John doesn’t even look at Bob. And Bob freezes on the couch and tries not to move.
At the gym. He’s been at the gym. And how did Bob not think to go there?
He looks at the screen and doesn’t really follow what’s happening. His gaze returns to the bar more often. The faint smell of sweat begins to fill the room.
Then John finishes at the bar and moves to the side of the couch with a glass. Bob freezes again.
“Move.”
The guy gets up and sits down. He makes room, and where his feet were, the agent sits down. He holds a glass in his hand and sips something with ice from it.
"What the hell are you watching?"
Bob swallows first, then feels a little irritated again. Before the man can turn off the series with the remote, he stops his hand with telekinesis. He opens his fingers. And the remote falls to the floor.
"So you’re starting with your little tricks again?"
“It was your fault.”
The man grins.
“Was it, Bobby?”
The annoyance turns to anger with one little word. The telekinesis disappears as the boy’s hand is back on the man’s neck, and the soldier finds himself with his back on the arm of the couch. Bob’s knees are at his hip.
“You and your stupid jokes. You and your stupid words. You never think about what you say to others. Do you know how many times I’ve felt terrible because of you and your stupid mouth?”
One of John’s hands grabs his hair and pulls it into strong fingers. He jerks it back away from him.
“Or maybe you don’t know how to take jokes. Maybe you’re just a little insecure boy.”
He tightens his grip on the man’s neck.
“Why can’t you just be normal? Why do I have to suffer because of you?”
“Maybe if you can’t take a few bad jokes, you’re not such a good candidate for the Avengers.”
He punches him in the face.
He lands once, but the next time John grabs his arm with his and he flips him over onto his back. Now he’s on top of him.
“C’mon, baby, you’re better than this.”
“Shut the fuck up.”
Bob can kill him right here. It will be terrible, but he can. He won’t even get tired, he won’t have time to get tired. He can. He knows he can. If not kill him, then break all his limbs.
But oh.
It’s always oh.
It’s always oh when it comes to John.
His skin is hot, his body is wet, his back is broad. The boy feels all the anger building up somewhere deep inside his stomach when they find themselves in this position. He feels like he wants to keep screaming at him and could hit him a few more times, but John’s hand in his hair grips the curly locks tighter, and he pulls his head so that his chin is higher.
“You’re so better than this.”
He had never thought of this. He had never imagined it. He had never known it could be like this.
When John’s mouth was on his, Bob took a deep breath through his nose.
He responded. He moved his tongue toward it, circled it, stopped when John’s lips covered his bottom. It happened slowly. It all happened in the silence of the living room, with only the TV series on.
So slow.
But they had to break the kiss when they both needed to take a deep breath, and when they did, there was a trail of saliva between them, gently tearing, and both of their lips were red.
“I…”
“If you don’t want to, I’ll stop.”
“Oh. I… yeah. Please.”
A hand on his stomach makes him take a deep breath. A dry hand slides under his sweater, caresses his sides. It runs its fingers over his ribs, up his back, up higher. Bob looks away, but the hand on his head tugs at his hair. It doesn’t hurt, but it’s clear:
“No, you’ll watch.”
Bob reflexively tries to wriggle out of his hands as his skin tickles. He squirms under him when he can’t wriggle out, and the sensations on his body intensify. The room is dark as the TV series ends and pauses with a black screen, the building is quiet.
A hand falls to his waist.
The guy makes a muffled sound right in the man’s ear, bending his legs and trying to pull them back. He tries to shield himself from the stranger’s hand, whispering hoarsely. His pants and his whole body become wetter. And his hair falls to his face and neck. The man stops.
“If you don’t want to…”
Bob shakes his head quickly.
God, this is crazy.
When the hand slips under the elastic of his pants, Bob barely restrains himself from pushing John away.
“Why?” is a soft sob. This is so good.
The man reaches under his underwear and touches him with his fingers. An electric shock runs down his back. And when Bob arches, his neck meets wet lips:
“I thought it was obvious. Like boys pulling girls by the pigtail.”
Bob hears a nervous laugh from his own mouth. But when John’s teeth and lips capture the skin of his neck, he lets out a soft whimper.
He feels the marks forming on his skin, though he can’t see them. The hand in his underwear now grips his cock with its fingers and guides it with a firm grip.
“Gosh, you’re so soft” is a low, husky voice that makes Bob press closer to the other hand. “C’mon, sweetheart”
The guy begins to move his body towards the other hand, and the other hand begins to move faster on him. There's a wet sound from below, and hot lips move to his chin. He breathes heavily, loudly, the room begins to feel too small.
Then silence in his ears. And he feels the pleasant release coming from every inch of his body. And the agent stops.
They stay like that for a few more long seconds, but then he takes his hand out, wipes it on his own pants, and touches his cheek with his lips.
"Move. I want to lie down."
The Avengers return to the Tower after lunch. Tired, but mission accomplished. John sits on the couch with a cup of coffee and smiles contentedly at Bucky, who has a huge black eye under his eye.
“Blue eyeshadow suits you. Muxh more than Yelena.”
“Where’s Bob?”
“I didn’t kill him. But we’re okay now.”
Bucky squints. Bob comes out of the elevator just then and smiles at the others:
“Hey. How’s the mission?”
And when he sits down on the couch next to John and Yelena, Bucky hesitates now. Did they make up?
But Yelena is more than happy. She smiles tiredly at this and begins:
“Anyway, how was it…”
Only Ava stares for a long time from behind the bar at Bob’s red neck and John’s thumb touching his leg.