Bucky Barnes was the happiest he had ever been in his entire life.

After the first coffee date, he and Steve had been meeting up every weekend. More often than not, they would go to that exact coffee shop in the exact same booth. Sometimes they would end up back at Steve's place (okay, they ended up at Steve's place more often than Bucky would like to admit).

Bucky had stayed the night over at the blond's apartment several times in the month that they had been seeing each other. Bucky loved waking up on a Saturday morning curled up against Steve's chest, with the late spring sunshine slanting through the blinds in Steve's bedroom. It was bliss, and it was everything Bucky had been wanting.

They told each other that they didn't want to rush into anything, but to them it didn't really feel like rushing; their relationship felt completely natural to them. However, they wanted to keep things pretty quiet, so as to not bring attention to themselves in front of students. They were doing a pretty good job. Until Bucky went to see Steve on their off periods.

The door to Steve's classroom was open, but the blond's head was hovering over some papers. Bucky knocked lightly on the door. Steve's face turned to look up at him, and he smiled. He got up from his chair as Bucky walked into the room, closing the door behind him.

"Miss me already, Barnes?" Steve chuckled as they came together in an embrace.

Bucky grinned as he pressed his lips to Steve's. "Maybe just a little bit."

Bucky kissed him again, more aggressively this time, and he felt Steve melt against him. The blond's hands slid up Bucky's back, up his neck, and found holds in his loose hair. Steve backpedaled slowly so that he was leaning against his desk. One of Bucky's hands was on the desk, one on Steve's lower back, and he pulled Steve closer to him. Their breath mingled together as the brunet bit Steve's lower lip which caused him to moan. Bucky's hand migrated from the desk to Steve's thigh. The history teacher's fingers tightened in Bucky's hair and pressed himself against Bucky's chest.

Bucky felt as if electricity was striking every nerve in his body at the same time; he hadn't felt like this since college. He couldn't believe that Steve was with him like this; he couldn't believe that this wasn't the first time Steve was with him like this. All those Friday nights spent in the blond's apartment had mostly ended like this, like they were both in high school again and couldn't get enough of each other. Every minute of it was exhilarating.

Adrenaline coursed throughout him, and his kissing was getting sloppy. Steve didn't seem to notice or care; Bucky's lips trailed away from Steve's, down toward his jaw and then his neck. Steve's head fell back, eyes closed, mouth parted. Bucky's grip tightened on the fabric of Steve's dress shirt as he continued to lightly bite the blond's neck.

It wasn't until the both of them heard the door slam shut that they stopped.

Steve pushed against Bucky's chest, and Bucky jumped back, his back against the chalkboard. The two of them stared into the wide, wild eyes of Peter Parker, whose face was burning scarlet. Peter tightly clenched the papers he held in his hand, his mouth agape in horror. The three of them continued to stare at each other in silence until Peter managed to speak.

"I, I should've knocked," Peter squeaked, his eyes darting between his two teachers, and then he completely averted his eyes. He began to shuffle backwards towards the door, but not before Steve cleared his throat.

"Not a word of this to anyone on the team, Parker." His voice sounded firm and steady, but Bucky knew on the inside he was ready to explode out of embarrassment. Peter nodded vehemently and nearly bolted out of the door as soon as he had opened it.

The door slammed shut behind poor, shell-shocked Peter. A moment of silence spanned between the two teachers, and then Bucky laughed at the same time that Steve's face fell into his hands, groaning.

"Well," Steve leaned back on his desk and looked at anywhere but Bucky. "Now we know not to do that in here. Ever."

"Well, maybe not ever again." Bucky teased, which earned him a light punch to the shoulder. Bucky glanced at the clock and swore quietly. He had a class soon. He looked over his shoulder at Steve. "See you later?"

"I'll be here," Steve smiled as he motioned to the stack of folders on his desk, filled with papers that awaited grading.

Bucky walked out of the classroom with the dorkiest grin on his face. He couldn't believe how well things were going between him and Steve.

Until they weren't.

As he promised, Bucky came back after his ninth period class. He left as soon as the bell had rung, and he weaved in and out of the throng of students that took up most of the hallway. By the time he had gotten to Steve's classroom, the thick of the crowd had dispersed but there were stragglers in the hall. Bucky walked into the classroom with another dorky smile on his face.

Steve looked up when he had come in, and he said something in greeting, but the words didn't quite reach Bucky's ears. His eyes were drawn to a gleam of silver on the blond's ring finger.

That's when Bucky's heart crawled into his throat.

He stared and stared at the wedding band on Steve's hand. Had it always been there? Was it new? It took Bucky a moment to process what the ring actually meant. When the gears in his head started to turn, his blood started to boil.

Bucky looked at Steve, and the blond's brow was creased in concern.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked.

Bucky clenched his jaw. Tears started to burn in his eyes. Without a word he spun on his heel and left the classroom. Bucky slammed the door behind him. His hands balled into fists at his sides, his shoulders tense as he stormed back down the hallway in the direction he had come.

Just like that, his world had come crashing down.

XXX

Steve furrowed his brow as he saw the look on Bucky's face change from excitement to shock, and then to anger in a matter of seconds. Bucky's gazed seemed to hyper focus on something at Steve's desk. The blond was confused.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

As if on command, Bucky's jaw clenched, and he stormed out of the classroom, slamming the door behind him. Steve's chair screeched against the tile floor as he instinctively got up. He looked down at his desk, wondering what could have possibly upset his boyfriend. Steve's eyes zeroed in on the silver band on his ring finger. His stomach flipped.

"Shit," he breathed. "Shit!"

Quickly, he followed Bucky out into the hallway. He had just turned the corner when Steve had walked out the door. He called after him but didn't hear anything in response. Steve bolted down the hallway, his mind reeling, his body moving entirely on its own.

How could he have been so stupid? Why did he still wear the damn thing? Steve wasn't engaged, and he sure as hell wasn't married. Well, he had been engaged but that was a few years ago. The story was so complicated. Steve wasn't sure he would be able to explain in time before Bucky made up his mind and decided to call it quits on their relationship.

Steve felt like he was going to faint.

He turned down the hallway in the direction of Bucky's classroom and was slightly relieved to find that he had caught up with the brunet. He power-walked to Bucky's side, panting.

"Bucky…please," Steve said between breaths. "Let me…explain."

The brunet didn't stop. He continued down the hall as if Steve wasn't there. Bucky reached for the door knob of his classroom and hurriedly walked inside. He tried to slam the door shut again, but Steve stopped the door with his hands. The two looked at each other for a moment.

Bucky's blue-gray eyes were glassy, but at the same time they were lit with a fiery anger. His brows pointed downward in something further than anger. Bucky's death grip on the door loosened for a moment and let it swing open. He squared his shoulder and stared Steve in the face.

"Do you think I'm some sort of idiot?" Bucky hissed. "That I'm some, some plaything for you? Do you like playing with me, Rogers?"

When Steve didn't say anything, Bucky continued. "I know what that is; that's a fucking wedding band on your ring finger. You didn't strike me as the sort of guy who would cheat. Do you have a secret family I don't know about too? What the hell is your deal!?"

Bucky's face contorted as he held back tears. He looked to the side, and his eyes dropped to the floor. Steve's stomach dropped. The hurt on Bucky's face was unfathomable; and Steve had caused it. The blond continued to stare at him.

Steve knew why he wore the ring; he wore it for his late fiancé. They had been together for years and years before Steve had proposed to her. They were high school sweethearts, practically inseparable. Peggy Carter had been the light of his life, until her health declined due to the long, underlying case of leukemia that had been dormant in her system for years. The illness took her long before they were supposed to get married.

How could he possibly tell Bucky all of that?

"Bucky," Steve started softly. "It's not—"

"It's not? Then what is it?" Bucky snapped. Steve stared, worrying his lower lip. His body shook from nerves and then tension. Steve felt the corners of his eyes begin to burn, along with the blurring at the edges of his vision. After another moment of nothing being said, Bucky huffed with laughter that had no mirth.

"That's what I thought."

Bucky slammed the door shut between them, and this time, Steve didn't try to stop him. The brunet leaned up against the door and slid down to the floor. He rested his forehead on his knees. Bucky bit his lip to keep himself from crying out. A moment later he heard Steve's soft footsteps from outside of the classroom. It sounded like he went for the doorknob but thought better of it. Steve's footsteps faded down the hallway. Only when he was sure Steve was out of earshot that Bucky started sobbing uncontrollably.

His hands gripped the back of his head, pulling at the roots of his hair. Sobs racked his entire body so that he was shaking. The rage and hurt that coursed through his veins felt like it was going to tear Bucky to shreds. He muttered curses under his breath, rocking back and forth on the floor.

How could he let Steve toy with him like this?