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.

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[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.