This chapter deals with Steve/Bucky as a past relationship though I will never be convinced there has ever, will ever, be a time when they aren't in love.

Avengers Liaison

Clint slid into the room where Steve was sitting, staring silently at May, who was staring back at him.

"Well," Clint said. "This is certainly something I never thought I'd see."

May looked at him and inclined her head before she stood up and left the room. Clint didn't return her nod – he had no interest in May or her collegiate nods until she'd earned back his respect. He would never have lied to Andrew about her being alive or dead, and he couldn't understand why she had done that to him. He did know she'd have an air-tight, solid, logical reason but until he heard it he could continue to be annoyed at her.

"I'm staying here," Clint said, by way of an opening.

"I assumed you would. What if we need you?"

"Call me and I'll suit up," Clint said. "But, I'm not leaving him now that I got him back."

"I wouldn't ask you to," Steve said, folding his arms across his chest and looking very righteous.

"And when you get your Bucky back, I'll return the favour."

Steve froze. "How did you know?"

Clint shrugged. "I didn't, Phil always told me that you and Bucky were in love – he'd show me the old footage of you from missions and point out all of the clues."

"The mission footage was made public?"

"Phil has a collection – he has always been quite interested in Captain America."

"I know. But, me and Buck, we weren't like you and Coulson."

"You didn't love him?"

"Oh, I love him," Steve said quietly. "Always did. And sometimes we did things that were illegal back then but he went with girls too. He was never mine, not really, but then there was Peggy and I understood why he liked girls even if there's never been another girl like Peggy."

"Or a man like Bucky?"

Steve shrugged. "Doesn't exist no matter what Natasha says."

"And you walked into a HYDRA base for him, and chanced your life to get through to him on the helicarrier."

Steve smiled. "I'm with him to the end of the line, and he's with me, whether he remembers or not."

"That sounds like a vow."

"He made it to me when I was ten and thought the pleurisy was going to kill me," Steve said. "And we have been making the promise since."

"He'd be a fool not to know he's the love of your life."

"Bruce has been very good for all of us," Steve mused, very deliberately changing the topic.

"Phil said the same thing," Clint told him, happy to leave the topic of Bucky and Steve alone for now. "We're going to have to repay him sometime."

Steve smiled. "He wouldn't appreciate us meddling."

"No one appreciates meddling."

Steve inclined his head in agreement.

"So, I'm thinking we call me the Avengers Liaison to S.H.I.E.L.D. ."

Steve frowned. "I feel like that is supposed to be funny."

"It was," Fitz said, walking through the door and smiling at them both. "It was about the…the internet calling a second stage of programming v2.0."

"Thank you," Steve said.

"You're welcome," he turned his back on them and started moving around the room like they weren't there.

"Avengers Liaison is good," Steve said.

"I'll be heading back with you and Nat to get my things," Clint told him.

"Wheels up in an hour."

"See you then," Clint said, turning around and leaving Steve with Fitz.

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