Undercover Fake Boyfriends (And Other Tropes We Love)

[unshielding]

Steve is so thankful to have Bucky back, even if Bucky doesn't remember a whole lot. The end of the line never meant until one of us forgets and Steve will stand by him through anything. Bucky is a good person, even if he's been taken advantage of and used by by bad people. Steve knows that in his heart because he know Bucky better than anyone. He only hopes that Bucky will remember that he knows Steve better than anyone, too.

Bucky had dragged him from the Potomac and that alone had given Steve hope enough to vouch for him. If the US government wanted Steve to work for them, they'd offer Bucky immunity from anything related to HYDRA's activities.

He's not sure what he'd expected Bucky to want to do with his new found freedom, but he's not unhappy to be working with Bucky. If anything, he wishes they were able to work more closely, because Steve worries sometimes that Bucky's being taken advantage of when he's not around. It's not that Bucky isn't a smart, capable person, but Steve knows he's missing a lot. That makes anyone easy to manipulate.

Eventually, his requests to be on more missions with Bucky are answered, but maybe not in the way he'd intended. He's just finished reading the briefing. It seems like they're going undercover together, which is already not Steve's best skill set, and they're supposed to be in a romantic relationship. Steve tries not to think about how much that stings. How could anyone know that it would?

Once he's read it through twice, he goes to Bucky's door in their shared apartment and knocks quietly in case Bucky's sleeping.

Comments

[sinistral]

“Were you able to score those fixtures we were after? The brushed nickel?” Even as preoccupied as he is, Bucky has to admire Steve’s initiative in choosing the bathroom, in turning on the shower spray for cover noise. This kind of thing is what Steve has termed spy stuff and keeps insisting that he’s a lost cause, but he’s obviously picked up at least a little of what Bucky and Natasha have tried to impress upon him. And Bucky falls easily into hand signals once the bathroom door is shut, gesturing to Steve as he checks the perimeter and all of the bathroom furniture and fixtures for bugs; it means being close, because the bathroom is only so big, and neither of them are exactly small. The entire time he keeps up a running commentary over the space until he’s sure there are no recording devices present.

The act drops then, and he leans against the sink, arms crossed and a slight frown on his face. “Sausage,” he says simply. “I don’t know why, but there’s something about Italian sausage.”

He’s not sure if it’s a memory or just the impression of a memory. Or maybe it’s something else entirely. The unease likely shows in his face because usually when he gets these flashes, he’s able to slip away from Steve and into privacy. He doesn’t quite have that luxury here. It’s not necessarily bad – at least, he doesn’t think it is – but it’s different, and he’s not sure how to process it.

He’s also not sure how to process the fact that it doesn’t feel uncomfortable to reveal his struggle to Steve when by all means, it should.

“Ignore me,” he says finally, shaking his head. “I won’t compromise the mission.”

[unshielding]

Steve makes quick but efficient work of sweeping the bathroom. Looking for bugs, at least, is something he's gotten better about. Being thorough and knowing what he's looking for are at least somewhat in his wheelhouse, unlike lying. He listens to Bucky, interjecting where appropriate until they're both sure they're clear to talk.

"That's not what I was worried about, Buck. You know me better than that." His voice is low, careful so that the spray can cover his words. This is between them. Their handlers don't need to know about whatever is going on with Bucky and Steve would prefer they didn't know anything that they could potentially use against him. His trust is a lot more limited than it used to be lately and some of them have every reason to target Bucky.

"We used to eat a lot of pizza when we could afford it, but I think I read somewhere that memories are closely linked to smell and taste. We should get a pizza and see if it jogs anything loose." A pause. "If that's what you want to do."

He takes a step closer in the tight space. "But don't worry about compromising the mission. I've got your back and you've got mine, right?"

What else could matter between them?

[sinistral]

It's another way in which they work so naturally together, and one that hadn't taken long at all to fall into. Bucky could blame his own training: he's had to work with many different operatives under many different conditions over the decades; he was designed to be adaptable. But this seems to go a little beyond that. He hadn't had to concentrate so much on himself to match and complement Steve; it just happened. And it's happening right now with the way they move about the bathroom, effectively checking and rechecking without getting in each other's way.

The fingers of his left hand tap against the elbow of his right as he considers Steve's words. Does he know Steve? Yes and no and yes and he supposes this is the classic example of the it's complicated thing that Clint keeps trying to explain to him (and what is even the point of Facebook anyway?!?). Segment it then; subdivide it into manageable pieces and sort out what he can sort. They're on a mission, and while it's important, Steve has always been concerned about the well being and safety of his team above all else. It's why Bucky thinks he gets assigned to Steve; he doesn't have nearly as many hangups, and he will complete the objective.

He wonders, sometimes, which one of them is the better operative. He doesn't think it's himself.

He takes a deep breath, lets it out slowly. Steve's always offering him choices and he knows he should take it in the positive way that Steve intends, but sometimes it's hard. Sometimes he wants Steve to just make a definite decision, but he's rarely seen that outside of battle and it does make him wonder why. He doesn't ask though; it's something Bucky thinks he needs to puzzle out on his own. "I know. But we should try to at least get through the first day without compromising it, right?"

The first day and the easiest day; Bucky's still pretty sure that this mission is going to come with at least one unexpected thing — and knowing them, knowing SHIELD, it'll be something big. But that's okay; they've got a good measure of how well they work together and Bucky does trust Steve to have his back. That's another thing he's trying not to examine too closely, because it's uncomfortable to think about but just feels right.

"We should get two pizzas," he says finally, returning to that initial suggestion with a hint of a smile and a forced relaxation of his shoulders. "I've seen how you eat." It's an attempt at a joke; both of them have enhanced metabolisms.

(late as balls. I hope this is okay)

[unshielding]

"How I eat?" Steve laughs and shakes his head. There's a part of him that wants to reach out and hit Bucky's arm, but he's still wary of breaking that physical barrier when they aren't doing it for show. Bucky's been so skittish and reserved most of the time and Steve's instincts are fighting against what he's been told and what he knows is right: Until Bucky remembers more, Steve can't expect anything. All he can do is give and he'll do that part gladly. There's nothing he wouldn't give for Bucky.

"We'll get two pizzas and we'll do our best not to compromise anything until at least day three." The smile he gives Bucky is warm and affectionate. There isn't much he'll really have to fake to sell that he cares about Bucky, even if the romantic overtures are a lie.

A moment passes before he moves to turn off the water and leave the bathroom so that he can look up a local place and put in an order. At least they have an expense account for food and whatever else they'll need to pull this off and the apartment should have at least some of the equipment they'll need, but they'll want to sweep the rest of it before they talk much about anything real. He figures they can order pizza and then deal with that one room at a time.

"You want to take a look at the bedroom while I make this order? I'll be in there in a minute."

(it is always okay ♥)

[sinistral]

"Yeah. How you eat." It just slips out, the tease as natural as anything else, and Bucky looks surprised by it. He doesn't hide the surprise from Steve, nor does he hide the confusion it causes in him. It seems only fair; he can sense that Steve is vaguely uncomfortable with the shape of this mission and it seems only fair to share Bucky's own moments of struggle.

Because this back-and-forth teasing? It's easy, much easier than Bucky would have imagined. Maybe it's that they're technically on a mission and Bucky tends to do well when he has a clear directive. Maybe it's that they're a little further away from the ever present eyes of SHIELD. Maybe it's something else. But he returns that smile with an easy nod. "Oh, so day three? I'll put that in my calendar."

The more Steve teases, the easier it is to toss words back at him and Bucky tries not to spend too much time overthinking that. They work well together; they have to. And that also means that they can't spend the entire night in the bathroom. They still have to check the rest of the apartment, and actually order the pizza, and get themselves organized for tomorrow.

He nods to Steve's suggestion; if anyone's actually got the place bugged, they're surely giving off the impression of sleeping together, especially when Steve makes mention of the bedroom on the heels of being in the bathroom together. But it's a logical next place to sweep for bugs, and Bucky wants to get the sight lines out the windows besides. "Don't keep me waiting too long, you tease."

The bed is thankfully pretty generously sized, a good thing considering that neither of them is small. There is of course just the one, because they are posing as a couple, and Bucky has a moment of hoping that the nightmares won't be frequent here. He knows that Steve knows he gets them, but they've never talked about them and he's not ready for that to change. But he'll deal with that if it comes to it; for now, he focuses on methodically sweeping the room and its furnishings for recording devices.

When Steve comes back he'll cross the room to throw his arms around his so-called boyfriend with an excited exclamation of how perfect it is. With lips near his ear he murmurs just loudly enough for Steve to hear. "One in the lamp. Second above the door frame." The first will be easy enough to take care of with a faked stumble into the nightstand and an accidental breaking of said lamp, but the second one they'll have to get a little creative. And that's just so far; he hasn't checked the closet or the dressers.

[unshielding]

Steve is being overly paranoid. At least, he feels like he is, but being around Natasha and Bucky has taught him that when he feels like he's being too paranoid, he's probably finally hitting their level of caution. Spycraft isn't exactly something he's particularly well-suited for or something he's really tried to be suited for, but much like fighting, he'll do it for a good cause. Right now, the cause is two-fold, because he's also watching Bucky's six and he likes it that way. He can't trust anyone else to do it the way he would.

He orders the pizzas for them and heads into the bedroom, his mind already sweeping over a million different things they'll have to take care of or pretend to take care of.

It's odd playing pretend with Bucky, because it feels too much like he's really here with Bucky and without all the baggage they both carry now. It's too easy to wrap his arms around Bucky's waist and hum in agreement to both how perfect the room is and where he bugs are.

He wants to ask if they're SHIELD or not. Who is watching them? It doesn't matter, though, because he can't ask safely yet. Instead, he turns his head to kiss Bucky's cheek, right next to his ear.

"Video?" He whispers under his breath, but he's pretty sure one must be.

[sinistral]

"Lamp," he murmurs back, before pulling away from the embrace. His smile is wide and fake and he knows Steve will see that, but that's fine. They have bugs to disable, after all, and Bucky's trying to fool their watchers, not his partner. He laces their hands together and tugs at Steve, walking backwards toward the bed — and incidentally, taking a path that will have him bump directly into that nightstand and knock the lamp over. It's an excellent time for one of them to make a grab for it and to get that bug in its base.

"Okay, that one's my fault, the nightstand was on the other side in the old place." It's said with a laugh and a little bit more relaxing of Bucky's shoulders. They really do work well together, and getting the bug from over the door — and sweeping the rest of the room — won't be too hard at all, he thinks. He really can't wait to get a good look at the tech to see if anything about it is telling for who might have placed it there. It's no guarantee of course but the only one who Bucky trusts in this whole endeavor is Steve. That trust is real and complete and solid and it just feels right in a way he can't properly describe, but that doesn't matter. It's a strong feeling, and he's taking it as his directional compass.

As annoying as this mission might turn out to be, being out here in the field together and mostly on his own has Bucky relaxing a lot more than he thought he would. He's more comfortable like this, just the two of them, and it's something that Steve will probably be able to see.

[unshielding]

Steve laughs and pushes into Bucky's space, which from what he can tell should take them out of the line of sight of the camera in the lamp that's now toppled on the ground. There can still be more cameras and Steve wants it to look natural, so he does the first thing he can think of and shrugs out of his button-up shirt, letting it fall over the base of lamp so that they can deal with it in their own time.

That leaves Steve in his jeans and a very tight undershirt. "I guess I can forgive you this time."

His eyes flick to the closet, obvious enough that he hopes Bucky gets the memo, because that's where he's tugging Bucky now and he doesn't stop until his back hits the wall right next to the closet door and he's pulling Bucky right up against him with a smile.

It's almost sad how much he doesn't have to fake the way he's looking at Bucky right now.

[sinistral]

Bucky's actually pretty surprised at Steve's ingenuity. Getting them out of the camera's sight line is perfect — Bucky adds to the act with a delighted laugh at being all but pounced. The shirt is the perfect shroud for the lamp camera, and it'll be pretty easy for them to disable it later, he thinks. "Oh, I can think of a few ways I could make it up to you." If they're still being watched the wink that follows the statement should preserve the illusion that they're sleeping together; as it is, it's an answer to the movement of Steve's eyes. Horsing around the bedroom? It's an excellent way to explore.

And being pulled over to the closet? A good next step. He crowds right into Steve's space, lacing his left hand with Steve's right and pinning it above his head. At their height it doesn't take much movement at all for that artificial hand to flick to the side, crushing the listening device he'd spotted there. Two down. Good.

But he'd been so focused on getting that bug that turning his attention back to Steve and seeing that expression is like a kick in the gut. It's so earnest and open and Steve's not a good actor, not in things like this; the expression is genuine. It makes him freeze, pressed up close and only tangentially aware that he's staring.

"Steve...?" He has to lick his lips in order to wet them enough to speak. And it's probably pretty telling that the quiet murmur is Steve's real name, not his cover identity.