Bucky resisted the urge to groan as he followed a babbling Stark further into the slightly decrepit building.

He loved that Steve was happy… he was just questioning his friends' taste at the moment.

Stark hadn't stopped talking about the circus and how it worked since he'd got here, and Bucky was seconds away from snapping. He couldn't believe he was even here in the first place.

He still couldn't believe that he'd gone against Pierce's orders and agreed to work with the so-called 'freak show.'

Pierce hated the circus.

Stark was still talking as they walked up the stairs, heading out onto the balcony that overlooked the arena… where Bucky's attention was immediately grabbed by the man soaring through the air.

Stark's voice was completely drowned out as he made eye contact with the acrobat, jaw dropping slightly as the other man smirked at him.

"-ucky? Bucky!"

Snapping out of it, Bucky spun around, glaring at Tony when the billionaire sniggered. Steve sighed and nudged his boyfriend in the side, silently scolding him.

"Clint Barton…" Steve spoke up, rolling his eyes as Tony continued to giggle, "… one of our aerial acrobats and the best marksman I've ever seen… no offense."

Bucky was barely listening after he learnt what the man was called, stepping a little closer to the railing so that he could have a better look, eyes wide with intrigue. Clint seemed to have started adding archery to his act, hitting every target, including a pea from across the tent.

The complicated movements and obvious strength behind the act was enchanting, prompting Bucky to lean over the railing as far as he could in order to and get a better look. He almost forgot how to breathe as Clint winked up at him, heading back to the trapeze.

Time almost seemed to slow down.

Clint was beautiful, and the soft lighting of the room just made that more obvious. Sandy blonde hair spiked up, purple make-up highlighting his blue eyes… and that smile… Oh God, that smile.

"Hi…" Bucky barely breathed the words as Clint came soaring back up towards the balcony, swinging back and flipping into the air, firing off another arrow and hitting a tiny target, before making his way back down to the ground.

Before either Steve or Tony could say anything, Bucky rushed away from the railing and back down the stairs, knowing that the two lovebirds probably weren't far behind. Once they were outside of the ring, with the next act just starting and Clint stretching out sore muscles, Tony walked over to the younger man and beamed at him.

"Legolas!" Tony called out, "We'd like to introduce our newest sponsor… meet the infamous Bucky."

Bucky swore his heart skipped a beat as Clint smiled at him, reaching out and shaking his hand.

"As in Steve's childhood friend?" The acrobat shook Bucky's hand enthusiastically, "Great to meet you. Are you gonna be in the act as well?"

"Ummmm…" Words seemed to fail him, "… I-I don't have one. An act I mean."

The tiniest of smirks appeared on Clint's face, as he pulled away from the handshake and ran his fingers through his hair, "Trust me… everyone's got an act."

….

Bucky watched Natasha as she sung, with a soft smile. He wasn't entirely sure if the smile was because the singing was so emotional, or that Clint was holding his hand.

He just knew that he was happy.

Glancing over at Clint, the smile widened when he spotted Clint beaming as well.

Oh God…. He was in love.

Glancing around the rest of the crowd that were gathered, Bucky immediately froze when he locked eyes with a familiar figure.

Pierce.

The older man raised an eyebrow at him, almost silently asking what the hell did he think he was doing?

Quickly, he let go of Clint's hand, wincing when the acrobat made a little hurt sound of confusion. Clint glanced over in the direction of the balcony, where Pierce was standing, before sighing and leaving, ignoring Bucky's quiet protests.

…

Clint nervously made his way over to the ticket booth, smoothing down the bright purple tie in an attempt to make himself seem more respectable. His suit was nice, but it wasn't as nice as what everyone else was wearing.

Hopefully he didn't stick out like a sore thumb… maybe it wasn't obvious that he was a circus brat.

Clearing his throat, adjusting the hearing aid in his ears, he made his way over to the ticket booth assistant. "There should be a ticket left for me? From Mister Stark?"

The man in the booth scanned him from head to toe, thankfully not commentating as he pulled out two yellow tickets.

Cint frowned in confusion, "I'm sorry, there should only be one, it's only- "

Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder, and a nervous voice spoke up. "It's mine…" Bucky walked into view, dressed in a stunning black suit, "… I didn't think you'd come if I asked you."

Stunned into silence, Clint watched as Bucky grabbed the tickets, before leading him over to the ornate stairs.

They were gorgeous.

"Don't laugh at me…" Cint whispered, as they made their way up the carpeted stairs, "… but I once wanted to go into theatre."

"Oh, playing what?"

"The princess."

As Bucky chuckled slightly under his breath, Clint nudged him harshly in the side, "Don't laugh at me!"

As Bucky held out his arm, Clint couldn't help but beam in delight, taking it as Bucky returned the smile.

And then the moment was broken.

"Mister Barnes."

At the familiar voice, Bucky stopped in his tracks and glanced to the side, tensing when he saw Alexander Pierce standing there, joined by his stooge, Rumlow.

"Sir." Bucky straightened up instinctively, trying to remain calm, "This is Clint Barton."

The other pair were silent for a few moments, before Pierce shook his head, "Have you no shame? It was bad enough you ran off to that… that circus, but to associate with that- "

Before he could finish, Clint pulled away from Bucky and headed back down the stairs, ignoring how Bucky called out after him.

"Clint! Clint!"

But Clint was already gone, unaware of the conversation happening back in the theatre.

"Don't you dare speak about him like that!" Bucky growled at them, straightening up and glaring at them, not willing to take this crap anymore, "Don't you dare!"

"You forget your place Barnes." Rumlow sneered at him.

"My place…" Bucky shook his head, "… if my place is here, with you, then I want no part of it."

Without giving them the chance to argue, Bucky turned and marched down the stairs, into the cold outdoors.

…

It was easy to guess where Clint would have gone, which led to Bucky racing into the circus ring long after the last show had been performed. Tearing off his suit jacket and rushing forwards, he frowned at the sight of Clint sitting in the seating area, wrapping up his hands, probably for some practice.

"They're small-minded people." Bucky tried to explain, kneeling in front of the archer and taking his hand, only to frown when Clint pulled away, "Why do you care what they think?"

"I just- "Clint took a deep breath, "- It's been a long time since someone's looked at me, like that man looked at me today…. And then I thought about how everyone else would look at us."

Before Bucky could try and deny this, Clint pulled away from him and rushed over to the ropes that were a part of the aerial acrobatics act, starting to unwrap them.

"You know I love you." Bucky called out, slowly making his way over, not wanting to spoke the archer, "It's not something I try to hide, and I know that you love me too!"

Clint ignored him.

"I know you don't think we can be together, and all this crap about us being from different classes… but I love you, and fuck anyone who thinks we shouldn't be together just because you grew up in a circus!"

Clint was still ignoring him, getting ready to start practicing.

"Clint… please."

"You really think it's that easy?!" Clint finally blurted out, spinning around to face Bucky, "You don't think I want to be with you? Say we do get together, say we decide to go public… how long before you realise that this relationship is too much hard work, having to defend us all the time! We can't change anything." He sighed, "You're- You're better off with someone else."

"I don't won't anyone else, I just want you!"

"And I want you too…" Clint gave him a tearful smile, "… but I can't have you. We're bound to break, and my hands are tied."

And then he was gone.

….…..

Bucky ignored how Steve and Tony called out after him, racing into the burning building, terrified at the idea that Clint might still be inside.

"Clint! CLINT!" He screamed as he ran through the circus building, smoke filling his lungs. He continued to search, ignoring the cries from outside, completely missing hearing a window smash up above, and someone hit the ground outside.

….

Clint lay on the ground stunned, feeling like he was coughing his lungs out.

"Clint! Clint!" Steve helped him into a sitting position, clapping him on the back to try and help (honestly, all that it did was make Clint realise how much Steve must hold back). Not hearing the rest of what Steve was saying, Clint glanced around blearily, noticing that Tony was desperately gesturing to the burning building, looking like he was shouting at the frantic firemen.

And then Clint noticed that someone was missing.

"Bucky." He whispered, "Where's Bucky?!"

Steve winced, and Clint noticed how his eyes darted over to the burning building, where a stretcher was bringing someone out. Clint almost screamed when he saw Bucky's still body, struggling against Steve's arms.

"He's alive! He's alive!" Tony helped Steve stop Clint from running over, "He inhaled a bit too much smoke, but he's alive!"

Clint felt like his knees gave out at this point.

"Alright Clint." Steve whispered, "Come on. We'll meet them at the hospital."

…

Clint cried silently, tears streaming down his cheeks as he clutched Bucky's hand, sitting beside him on the bed. When he felt the soft squeeze, he turned and looked at the man with wide eyes. Realising that Bucky was awake, he leaned down to press their lips together. The nurse in the room gasped, only remaining silent when Tony glared at her.

"You're alright! You're alright!"

"We're alright?"

Clint smiled, "Yeah… we're alright."