Chapter Text
Who was the mysterious man with the New Avengers?
The announcement of the New Avengers surprised us all, but the real buzz is about the mysterious man on stage-who could he be?
Dressed in casual clothes and seemingly unharmed from the attack on the city, the mystery man seemed to be in high spirits, clapping along and cheering as the New Avengers were presented to the world.
Who is this man, and why was he there? Was he a random civilian, a clingy fan, or maybe dating one of our Avengers? The possibilities are hilarious to imagine.
He seemed to bounce between former Captain America, now US Agent, and Yelena Belova, hinting at deeper connections and stories to uncover.
Has this mystery man wooed one of them? Or possibly both of them?
Are we going to get our first Superhero throuple?
John Walker is your typical All-American man and was previously married to his High School sweetheart, but there may be more to him than meets the eye. After all, the infamous shield murder happened because of what happened to his partner, Battlestar, aka Lemar Hoskins. Maybe we're going to get our first LGBT+ Captain America?
Not much is known about Yelena Belova, which is a mystery in itself, but who doesn't love a good Superhero and Civilian romance? Could they fill the hole left by Pepper Potts and Tony Stark?
Or is this mystery man dating one of the other Avengers? The stats show that the least likely to be dating this mystery man is the former Winter Soldier himself, Congressman Bucky Barnes.
Mel finished reading the article and placed the newspaper on the briefing table, looking around to decide the best way forward without angering the others further.
"I don't even know where to start with that," Ava said, reaching across for the newspaper.
"I'm not dating anyone!" Bob exclaimed, face as red as it could be.
"Oh, really? I thought maybe I'd forgotten our illustrious relationship, alongside me forgetting that I'm the first gay Captain America, and that any past crimes were because I was secretly dating Lemar while married to Olivia," John snarked, arms crossed and looking annoyed.
"At least they created reasons for you to be dating Bob! My reason is simply that I'm a woman, so why wouldn't I be dating the man I'm friends with?" Yelena huffed, placing Cucumber the guinea pig down on the table to roam freely.
"Don't forget the theory that the three of you are secretly a throuple," Ava teased, laughing gleefully as both Yelena and John shuddered in sync.
"Why am I ranked least likely to be dating Bob? Does everyone think I'm homophobic because of the time period I was born in?" Bucky asked, sighing as Cucumber settled in the palm of his Vibranium hand.
"Maybe it's because you looked murderous the whole time we were on stage? Just a suggestion," John said, with a small shrug.
"Because he knew he was going to be in the dog house with his boyfriend," Yelena teased.
"I'm not dating Sam!" Bucky protested, stroking Cucumber when he squeaked at the disruption.
"Funny how no one here mentioned Sam's name," Ava teased, high-fiving Yelena across the table.
"We know you aren't dating Sam anymore. He dumped your ass after the press conference," John said.
"Oh, you'd know a thing or two about being dumped, wouldn't you, Walker?" Bucky snarked back.
"Why do you always have to bring up Olivia?! At least I was married, unlike anyone here!"
"Stop fighting! We're a team, can we please act like one?" Bob pleaded, looking around the table.
"Sorry, Bob," John sighed, giving him a small, barely there smile as the others apologised.
"How cute. Now back to the matters at hand, how to explain Bob being part of the team without revealing that he was the reason New York was almost destroyed again," Mel said, projecting her tablet onto the screen.
"These are the aforementioned stats of who the public thinks Bob is connected to. Yelena is at the top with 38%, John has 26%, Ava has 18%, Alexei has 12%, and Bucky has 6%."
"I can't believe my Dad is beating Bucky and he's not even here," Yelena laughed, sticking her tongue out at Bucky.
"Why do I need to be connected to one of them? Do people not think I could be my own person?" Bob asked, reading over the stats Mel had handed out.
"The general public loves a good mystery, and they also love a good romance; they are trying to merge the two here," Mel explained. Valentina herself had made sure that these stories didn't stop or slow down as the dust settled.
"Although Alexei is there because people think he adopted you for some reason," Mel added on.
"Well, that's a relief," Bob breathed out, "Sorry, Yelena! I don't mean to be rude about your Dad."
"No problem, Bobert, I wouldn't put that curse on any of you," Yelena hummed.
"Does that mean you wouldn't mind dating the rest of us?" Ava teased, smirking as Bob blushed more.
"Can we please change topics now?" Bob pleaded, looking at Mel for help.
"Bob, we're going to have you be paired up with John for any upcoming events. He currently has the lowest popularity ranking because his past indiscretions are public, unlike the rest of the team's undercover nature. Bucky is the only other public member of the team, but he's currently polling at number one; everyone loves Bucky," Mel said, handing out more stats to the team.
"I've killed the least amount of people at this table," John grumbled, reading over the papers.
"And yet you had the most public one of all," Ava singsonged, happy with her third-place spot.
"Sorry that you have to be with Walker," Yelena said, patting Bob on the shoulder.
"I'm happy to be with him," Bob smiled over at John, trying to make sure John doesn't fall into a shame spiral.
"Likewise, Bobby," John said with a nod, a small grateful smile on his face.
"Stop calling him that," Yelena said.
"It's okay, it's nicer when it comes from him," Bob said, playing with his sleeves.
"Twenty dollars on Bob forming a crush on Captain Crashout," Ava whispered to Bucky beside her.