Opposites Attract

Twelve

Steve searched the crowd and his eyes landed on Bucky's, and he grinned and waved enthusiastically. Bucky beamed back. Rebecca shook his arm and he turned to her.

"When's Steve gonna play?"

Bucky explained the premise of the game while Steve jogged over to his team and they discussed tactics.

The day had gotten colder, the wind biting at them, clouds overhead promising a storm later. Steve prayed for better weather during the game.

"Let's go, let's go! Stevie, you got this," Bucky shouted, cheering him on. Steve smiled to himself. He knew Bucky wasn't a sports person -- he'd much rather learn the sciences, he said. But Steve appreciated the enthusiasm he brought and the unwavering loyalty.

Maybe he'd take Bucky to the museum one day. He shifted positions and blew out a breath. He could think about that later. Now, they were mere minutes away from the beginning of the game.

Bucky tried to keep his siblings' attention on the game. Teddy kept getting distracted by a lady bug crawling on the bench. Bucky was so preoccupied that he missed the start. The shouting from the crowd started uproariously, suddenly. The kids covered their ears, but screamed right along, cheering Steve's team on.

They were good, polished, Bucky noticed as he watched them run up the field, and Steve managed his own quite well. He wasn't always the lead, and didn't get the ball sometimes, but he was still determined.

Bucky half-rose out of his seat when Steve was tripped and went skidding across the grass, rolling to a halt. "Come on, Stevie!" he yelled. Steve got up, breathless, and Bucky loved that grin on his face. Steve was loving this.

He jumped back into the game and Bucky leaned back, and was kneed in the shoulder. He turned around and eyed a redheaded girl. She looked bored.

"Oh, sorry."

Bucky ducked his head. "Don't worry about it." He turned back around and watched Steve get his first score of the game. The teams were tied 5-5. There were three minutes left until the end of the game.

Steve had the ball and was running back down the field, faking passes left and right. Bucky watched, impressed with the way he zigged and zagged across the grass. Two minutes, then one, then thirty seconds passed.

He kicked it and slid across the ground with the force. Time ticked away and Steve got the goal, boosting their overall score in time before the game ended.

Bucky jumped up and cheered for him, grinning. "That's my Stevie!" he hollered. Steve blushed as he shook his head and met up with the rest of his team. The crowd began to file out, so Bucky hopped down the bleachers and jogged over to Steve.

"Hey, you were great!" He grinned at him and pulled him into a quick hug. Steve laughed and shook his head, hugging him back, blushing.

"Uh, guys, this is Bucky," Steve introduced, turning to the rest of the team. He looked nervous, so Bucky smiled at them and gave a little wave. Someone had to be the confident one.

"So this is Barnes?" Another kid spoke up, smirking as he stepped closer. "T'Challa," he introduced, offering a hand. Bucky smiled and shook it.

"Sam Wilson," another kid introduced, stepping forward and grinning. Bucky nodded and shook his hand too.

Steve stepped over to T'Challa while Bucky met the team. T'Challa looked at him, amused.

"You froze," he said. Steve looked at him incredulously.

"What? I never freeze," he dismissed. T'Challa raised his eyebrows and merely nodded, then clapped his shoulder.

"Okay, Captain," he replied. Steve smiled and rolled his eyes then walked back over to Bucky.

"Captain?" Bucky raised his eyebrows at him, smirking. "Didn't know you could pull rank, Stevie."

"Barely," Steve dismissed as he scuffed at the ground. The kids ran over and Rebecca ranted about the game while Christopher pointed out all the mistakes Steve had made. Bucky smiled as he watched them.

"... good to go?"

He blinked and nodded, then took Steve's hand. The blond ignored the whoops of his team as he and the Barnes' strode away.

////

"Bucky," George called, waving him into the house. Feeling bold, Bucky paused and turned to Steve while his siblings shoved past them.

"You were great," Bucky praised and Steve smiled at the ground. Bucky beamed and kissed his cheek, fully aware of George watching from behind. He heard him cough and he smiled as he pulled back to look at Steve.

"I'll see you later, okay?"

"Don't get in trouble," Steve warned, his voice low. Bucky smirked and rolled his eyes playfully.

"Me? Never," he murmured and winked, then turned back to his dad while Steve started walking again.

George didn't look happy. "Natalia's waiting inside."

Bucky's heart sank and he nodded, pushing past his dad to get inside. George caught his shoulder.

"She's a lovely girl," he said quietly before letting him go. "Maybe you just need to meet that perfect girl, huh?"

Bucky swallowed and looked down, his pleasant mood already soured by the turn of events. 'Meet the perfect girl' and he'll suddenly be straight.

"Straight is not the default, dad," he said quietly before stepping into the house, working a smile onto his face.

There sat a redheaded girl, about his height, tucking her hair behind her ear. She glanced up, and Bucky recognised that bored look.

"Hi. We met earlier," he spoke after an awkward minute of silence.

"I kicked you. Apologies." She sounded sarcastic.

Bucky couldn't quite place her accent at first, but it sounded intriguing, so he sat down and crossed his arms. Luckily, his dad was waiting outside, pretending to water some plants, humming to himself.

"Wanna go to my room?" he finally asked through a poorly-masked sigh. Natalia regarded him a second before nodding and standing abruptly, every movement precise, smooth, quick like a cat. Unnerving. Deciding to brush this aside, Bucky smiled at her reassuringly and led her upstairs.

"So your father told me to meet you. Why?" She cocked her head at him and he blinked in surprise at her straight-forward nature.

"Oh, okay. Well, basically..."

He started talking, hesitantly at first, but as time went by and Natalia didn't argue or talk back, Bucky ended up telling her the entire story.

He, of course, started at the very beginning; the moment he fell in love, Steve's quirks he adored, the drama, the excitement. Their first kiss -- and he stopped, took a breath, and looked at her meekly.

She was smiling. "You're hella gay, Barnes."

And Bucky knew he could trust her.