warning: homophobic slurs

Homeroom was only 30 minutes, 20 because Bucky was late, but it felt like hours. People looked at Bucky every chance they got. Every time someone caught his eye, he smiled at them politely because he was simply too nice to do anything that counted as rude. So, Bucky watched as a boy had a mini heart attack after giving him a picture perfect smile and prayed in his mind that, that would change sometime in the year. But, as Bucky was praying, horror struck him in the face with a bat quite like the one in Stranger Things. What if his other teachers were like his classmates, love struck and gooey eyed every time they saw him? He hoped all his teachers were like Ms. Cho who was pretty calm around him. After he finally returned from being stuck in his mind and thoughts, Bucky tried to find something else to do other than fuck with his new classmates' hearts.

Bucky didn't really have anything to do in homeroom and no one to talk to either. He supposed this was the reason he was there in the first place, to make friends his own age, other than famous teenage heartthrobs, though most of them were fake anyways, they had let fame get to their heads, so he couldn't count them as real friends (except for One Fucking Direction, god he still shook in their presence, even after Harry Goddamn Styles took his hand into his own and told him that they would always be friends). So, with new found confidence, Bucky turned to his left and greeted the person next to him with a friendly smile.

Bruce sucked in a breath when Bucky Barnes said, "Hi, I'm Bucky!" to him. Bruce Banner. The biggest science nerd in the school, except for Jane Foster, god, she lived and breathed science. Bruce wasn't any good when talking to people. Hell, he could barely talk to his friends, who had to, on multiple occasions, tell him that they were in fact his friends and that he could talk to them about anything and blah, blah, blah. Bruce didn't hear the rest because he was busy thinking about Stephen and Wong and how he had left them. He thought about what would happen if he had left his friends like he left Stephen and Wong. Would he be so engrossed in science that he could barely look up from his experiment to greet his friends, to say a simple hello, just like how Jane Foster is now? Bruce shook his head to get rid of those thoughts. Right, a superstar just said hi to him. "Do something!" his brain shouted. For 30 seconds (yes, Bruce did count) everything was silent until he finally stuttered out a response.

"Um, hi. I'm Banner Bruce. I mean Banner is my last name, not my first name. I meant to say Bruce Banner, but I was just nervous. I mean I still am nervous, but-" Bruce stopped once he realized he was rambling and blushed when Bucky laughed softly.

"It's okay Banner Bruce. There's no need to be nervous."

This only seemed to make Bruce blush even more as the red traveled from his neck to his cheeks. The embarrassment grew along with the rosy red of his cheeks. Bruce was desperate to talk about anything but his mild anxiety issues, so he said the first thing that popped into his mind.

"So, this all must be so weird for you. I mean, because you said you've never been to a school before at the, um, assembly." Bruce stammered.

"Yeah it is. Well, my cousin told me about school, mostly rules and stuff. By the way, do teachers really spank students?" Now it was Bruce's turn to laugh, and gosh did he laugh. He laughed away his surprise of being asked that question by the boy that made one of his closest friends literally collapse ("Jesus, what is my life?" he said while helping Scott lift Darcy from the cafeteria floor again).

"No, no, that was like back in the 1950's! They don't do that anymore," Bucky sighed in relief, "Only in some schools." Bucky's eyes widened as Bruce laughed harder. His laughs caused two girls in front of them to turn around and once they saw Bucky's horrified face and Bruce's smile that gave the Cheshire Cat a run for his money, they set their heated gazes on the latter.

"Don't laugh at him, freak!" One girl shouted. The room grew completely silent as the second girl opened her mouth.

"He looks horrified! What the hell did you say to him, sicko?"

"Why are you even talking to him? He will never be friends with a faggot like you!"

Bruce shrunk back and Bucky wondered where Ms. Cho was. He looked up only to see an empty desk. He sighed and glanced at the two girls. He hated bullies, ever since one of them decided to hurl rocks at him and the other kids in the neighborhood when Nat was nice enough to walk them to the park when his schedule was clear of auditions and meetings. He did a lot of campaigns and commercials on bullying, talked a great deal about it and what to do if it was happening to you. He even collaborated with an artist and wrote a song about it. He spoke about homophobia and discrimination against LGBTQ+. All of those commercials were telling him to go get a teacher, go get Ms. Cho, but it was anger that told him to say something. He liked Bruce. Bruce was nice and adorably shy, and looked so hurt because these girls called him something he was not, because these girls were bullying him and Bucky did not like it one bit.

"I appreciate your concern, but I'm only horrified because of the sound of your voice." Bucky smiled, his voice dripping pseudo kindness. Bruce glanced at him along with the girls and every other person in the room, shock etched on their faces.

"If you think you are going to get away with bullying my friend or anyone else, then you are mistaken. Try to keep your irrelevant comments to yourselves, especially when I'm around because I won't hesitate to say something, and as much as I love embarrassing people like you, I just don't have time for it. But, listen closely. If you ever call Bruce a freak or any other ridiculous name again, if you even mutter the word 'faggot' to anyone, I will clear my schedule for an entire week just to personally make your lives miserable, you know, kinda like how you make everyone else's lives miserable by just opening your mouths. Okay?"

Okay, so maybe he was a little harsh. But he hated that people were just so cruel and he hated that nobody stepped in to help. When one of the girls said the word 'faggot', all he could hear were people screaming it at him. He was finally given permission by his management to pick his own outfit to a premiere of one of his many movies (which is actually pretty big when you have to send anything you want to post on Instagram or favorite on Twitter to your PR manager) and decided to wear something similar to a see-through bodysuit complete with glitter and nail polish. Needless to say, there were a few people who thought it inappropriate and utterly gay. Now, Bucky didn't have anything against gay people, but he thought that just because he liked stuff that were deemed feminine by society, did not mean he was gay, even though he was quite gay, bisexual actually. Bucky just didn't see how it was any of, well, anyone's business. It's his sexuality, not there's. Why did it matter if he liked both girls and boys or liked to wear glittery things or wear nail polish? Oh right! Because it didn't.

That wasn't the first time he witnessed homophobia. He saw it back in Russia, where Nat and him bundled up in thick jackets and hats and scarves. Where they built snowmen in their enormous front lawn, next to their equally rich neighbors. Where they saw the nice boy, who baked them chocolate cakes and waved hello when he spotted them, who wasn't even sixteen, get thrown out of his home by his father ("Педик! Не возвращайся!"). When Nat led him back into their own home, she tried to hide it, but Bucky could see the fear inside her eyes. He could remember Nat crying in a room that was entirely too large, looking small in the middle of a pure white Queen sized mattress. He remembered feeling guilty because he didn't know how to comfort her, didn't know why she was muttering, "Not homosexual," over and over under her breath. He found out later, when his father was dead, and they were learning new things in an entire different continent, that she was afraid of disappointing their father even more than she already had. Because she kissed a girl down the street from them, two days after their mother died. Because she dreamt of seeing a beautiful lady dressed in white, walking down the aisle, of having an average house in a nice neighborhood, sitting on a couch and trying to soothe her wife's nerves before driving down to the adoption center. She dreamt of a little girl rushing toward the front door because her Uncle Bucky was visiting. If Bucky thought harder, blocked out the noise around him, he could hear the sound of a high pitched voice, yelling to her two mothers that her uncle had brought her a new teddy bear.

So yes, Bucky was a bit harsh on the two girls, but he was sick of ignorant people and their ignorant words. He was sick of being hurt because of something as simple as liking someone of the same sex. Bucky looked the girls straight in their eyes, willing them to say something, so he could fire back just as fast, so he could get his feelings off his chest. He didn't notice when Ms. Cho came back into the room and he didn't notice when the bell rang, but he did notice when Bruce smiled at him brightly. And he thought with a smile of his own that he had told off two homophobic jerks and made his own friend on his first day of school by himself in just twenty minutes.

Meanwhile in Banner Bruce's mind.

Oh my god.
Oh my god.
Oh my god.
Oh my god.
Oh my god.
Oh my god.
Badass.
Badass.
Badass.
Badass.
Badass.
Badass.

When Steve heard that Bucky Barnes was coming to his school, he thought that there would be minor freak outs across the school, maybe a few screams here and there. He didn't, however, think that there would be utter chaos. Gosh, if it wasn't chaotic before, it sure was now after news spread that the singer himself put two girls in their place for calling Bruce Banner a faggot and a freak. Sure, Steve was glad those girls didn't get away with being jerks, but it didn't help Steve's feelings toward Bucky. He couldn't lie about it. Steve Rogers did not like Bucky Barnes. Spoiled and rich assholes who love bragging about the money spilling out of their pockets, Steve hated them. He hated driving past neighborhoods with huge houses with things inside that he couldn't have. And Bucky lived in one of those houses. Bucky has fancy cars and designer clothes. The newest phones, the best laptops, hell, he even has the best workers polishing his floors, the bastard has everything he ever wished for and all he did was say a few lines, sing a few lyrics, mediocre things that anyone could do. And it doesn't matter that Steve has all of Bucky's songs saved on his phone or that he has watched a couple (all) of his movies (even the ones in Russian) because it was purely for entertainment. All of Steve's friends seemed to love Bucky being here. They only talked about him. Sharon even devised a plan to invite him to sit with her and the rest of the group at lunch. Steve hated the attention his friends were giving Bucky. They had more important things to be worried about, like, you know, school work.

"Daydreaming 'bout Bucky Barnes?"

Steve jumped in his seat and lifted his head. Sam stood in front of his desk, a smirk on his face. Steve glanced behind his best friend's body and saw that everyone was filing out of the room. It was only then did he notice what Sam had said and he let out a snort.

"C'mon, man. What's your problem with him, anyways?" Sam asked while Steve gathered his things. They made their way out of the class and to their first class as Steve tried to figure out a way to change the subject.

"I can't believe Ms. Hill is assigning us essays so early in the year." Steve said, pointedly looking away from Sam.

"Yeah, it's unbelievable. Now stop trying to change the subject, man."

Steve sighed. He really didn't want to talk about Bucky Barnes or anything to do with him. He prayed that he didn't have any classes with the guy. Steve would have to kill himself if he had to sit next to him, or worse, be his partner.

"I'm not trying to change the subject." Steve said indignantly. Sam looked at him, unamused and in disbelief. "Okay, so I'm trying to change the subject, but it's for a good reason. I have a very good reason."

"I'm waiting." Sam said and crossed his arms. He put on his 'Tell Me Everything Because I'm Your Best Friend' face and Steve almost broke. Almost. But before Sam could try to persuade him even more, the warning bell rang and Steve did a small victory dance in his head.

"Saved by the bell."

The two friends quickly made their way to class because they're actually good students and don't like being scolded at by their teachers. Before entering the classroom, Sam made Steve swear that he would tell him why he despised the only person Sam would turn gay for and Steve swore he would with crossed fingers behind his back. The two stepped in the classroom and it took only thirty seconds for them to step right back out.

"Why is Ms. Hill singing karaoke with Bucky Barnes while wearing a bright pink feather boa?" Sam asked, wide eyed and completely confused.

"Why can't I just have a normal school year? I mean, I though bizarre school years were only reserved for Harry Potter." Steve replied, shaking his head. It was only his first day and Bucky was already changing everything normal about school. Steve sighed, another thing to add to his list of things he hated about Bucky Barnes.

Translations

Педик! Не возвращайся! - Freak! Do not come back!