Gently
15. Bear-able
When Clint first saw the picture, his first question for Bucky was why, in the entire two years of their relationship, had he never seen it before? Bucky's response was to roll his eyes and drawl "Why d'you think?"
"I can't believe you hid this from me!"
"Wouldn't say I hid it –"
"Who else knows besides Jan?"
Bucky let out a long-suffering sigh. "Probably Toro, the Young Avengers, wouldn't put it past Tony – so I guess everyone."
Clint pouted. "And they only showed it to me now?"
He scowled. "Maybe Jan didn't get the memo."
"But why was there a memo in the first place?"
Giving him a pointed look, the spy explained: "The idea of you, Clint Barton, in possession of a stuffed bear wearing my comic-equivalent's outfit is the source of some of my better nightmares. I'd like to not see it come true."
"It's a teddy bear made in your honour, Buck!" Clint pressed, waving the picture on his phone of said bear in Bucky's face. "Think how many kids feel safer at night because they're cuddled up with this little guy."
Bucky looked away. "Yeah, and you know the irony of that," he muttered darkly.
Shoulders dropping, Clint sat himself down close to Bucky, slipping his arms around his waist and resting his chin on the half-metal shoulder. "Actually, I disagree," he murmured. "You're better than any damn bear I ever had."
"Right," Bucky snorted. "'Cause all your bears woke you up night after night trying to kill you."
Refraining from informing him that he'd only ever had one bear in his childhood (and that it had been torn in half shortly after his arrival at the orphanage), Clint huffed in his ear. "It's been three weeks since your last screamer, Buck."
"Still," Bucky said after a quiet moment, shaking his head at the phone. "You are not getting a Bucky Bear as long as I'm still breathing. Got it?"
Clint relented; until his next solo assignment two weeks later. He was in the airport, passing time in the shops while he waited for his gate to open, when he saw it – or rather, an entire shelf of them: Bucky Bears, all red and blue and domino-masked and fuzzy, and he couldn't resist. When the pay-desk attendant gave him a funny look, he explained it away as a present for a nephew, but wasn't too sure he managed to tramp down his excitement when the bag was handed over to him. Despite the temptation, he resisted pulling the bear out during the long flight to Europe, but as soon as he was inside his S.H.I.E.L.D-paid hotel room – moderate three-star place, with tasteful décor and a half-decent view – Bucky Bear was out and de-tagged before anyone could say mountain grizzly.
"Don't worry," he assured the toy, eyeing the balcony thoughtfully. "He can't do anything bad to you until I get back – and by that time, he'll love you just as much as I do." Grabbing his phone Clint made his way outside, Bucky Bear in hand, then positioned himself appropriately, making sure to get as much of the old Austrian city on-screen as possible. Holding the bear up and pulling a face, he hit the camera button, quickly sending it to Bucky (and Jan, 'cause she'd be delighted) with a casual 'I've arrived and I'm not dead yet' message. The reply came seconds later.
Bucky: Wtf have you done?!
Me: Didn't want to get lonely in bed ;-)
Me: You're still my fav Bucky 3
When it became apparent he wasn't getting a reply, angry or otherwise, Clint gave in and prepped himself for his mission, pausing only to read Jan's response (Jan: Aawww, he's so CUTE! Hope the real Bucky doesn't get jealous ;D xx) before the sun dipped below the horizon and he decided to turn in. He thought about sending a picture of him and the bear in bed to Bucky, but thought maybe that was a bit… strange.
From that moment on, Bucky Bear was taken all around Clint's assignment locations; he found the toy helped him blend in as a regular tourist, and gave him a good excuse to take silly photos of himself and the bear in front of this landmark or that attraction, and each one he sent to Bucky back home. As it was a Level Five mission, he couldn't directly speak to anyone back on American soil, so the photos were the only communication he had with Bucky for the two and a half weeks he was gone (one-sided as they were). Naturally, when he returned, it was the first point of discussion.
"I can't believe you bought the stupid bear."
Clint smirked. "It's like I told you: I was missing you, and he was the next best thing."
Bucky cringed. "Please don't tell me you slept with it?" When Clint nodded, he groaned and covered his eyes.
"Come on, Buck, don't be like that!" Clint laughed, opening up his suitcase and pulling the bear out. "He's harmless, see? And I promise, I didn't let him anywhere intimate; he knows you're the only Bucky for me."
"You're really – That's just – I don't even know."
Faltering slightly, Clint looked down at the bear, playing with the edges of the felt domino mask absently. "So, uh… Did you get the pictures?"
"… Yeah."
"You didn't reply to any of them."
"I know," Bucky said softly. "I'm sorry."
Clint sighed. "Look, if you're really that upset, I'll get rid of the bear. I mean, it's just a toy, right? It's for kids, not secret agents."
When he dared to look back up again, Bucky had taken a few steps closer. He was a lot warmer than the teddy bear, even with a good few inches between them. "You don't have to do that," he assured him.
"Seriously?"
He let out a heavy sigh. "Sure. I mean, if there was a Hawk-bear or something like that, I can't say I wouldn't… buy one myself."
Chuckling, Clint picked up on the idea; "We could have a whole teddy bear roster: a Hulk Bear, an Iron Bear, a Cap-bear –"
"I knew you'd eventually go crazy on one of these solo missions." Bucky stopped him from retorting with a kiss, cleverly reminding Clint that, while he'd had a Bucky of sorts with him in Austria, he hadn't had a Bucky he'd been able to do things like this with, and that they'd both spent a very long time missing each other. Bucky Bear was left guarding the door while they fixed that.
AN: Prompt: "How about something on the BuckyBear theme? Clint finds out about the bears, hijinks (of a sexy nature? who knows) ensue."
I want a Bucky Bear :-(