Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Bob hated Fall.

As much as he loved wearing his vast sweaters and hoodie collection, he hated being cold.

He couldn't even appreciate how aesthetically pleasing the campus looked with the mix of yellow, orange, red and brown leaves decorating the grounds because all he could think of was the looming deadlines for his assignments and the overbearing fear of failure.

But the worst part by far was the pretentious and fake college students coming to the cafe in droves to order pumpkin spice lattes and take the perfect photo to post on their Instagram feed.

"I'll have a pumpkin spice latte with oat milk, three pumps of toffee nut, one pump of chai, and whipped cream," the customer said without looking up from her phone.

"Of course, will that be all?" Bob asked with his manager-approved customer service voice and smile.

"Obviously, otherwise I would've said so," Pretentious Barbie said with an eyeroll.

You need the money, you need the money, you need the money, Bob repeated to himself as he widened his smile and started on the tedious order.

"Have a wonderful day!" Bob said, handing over the takeaway cup, biting his cheek as the Blonde rolled her eyes and walked over to the counter to take a selfie with the latte, predictably.

"That was almost believable, Bobert," Yelena drawled, placing down the tube of cups she'd brought from the stockroom.

"I deserve a raise simply for making that drink," Bob said, brewing himself a coffee.

"Are you alright if I take my break now? Joaquin should be here soon," Yelena said, untying her apron.

"Go for it," Bob hummed, cradling his coffee between his hands, treasuring the warmth.

"You're the best," Yelena grinned, kissing Bob's cheek as the door opened.

"I can handle three customers, Lena," Bob rolled his eyes and shooed her away.

"Text me if it gets busy before your boy gets here!" Yelena said, walking past the new customers and out the door.

Bob took a big gulp from his coffee before placing it down and looking properly at the new customers, and wow, was that a beautiful man.

Bob was not a runner. If a Zombie apocalypse ever happened, then he did not doubt that he'd be the friend who ran too slow and would end up as Zombie food.

But maybe he should give it a go if this was what he was missing out on.

"H-Hi, may I take your order?" Bob asked, cursing himself internally for stuttering.

"Yeah, I'd like a large iced coffee with whipped cream on top, please," Blonde Adonis said with the most charming smile Bob might've ever seen.

"S-sure, coming right up!" Bob said, turning around quickly to make the drink, blushing lightly when the Blonde guy's friends laughed quietly.

"Shut up!" The blonde guy hissed, beautiful and kind? What more could he ask for?

"That'll be $4.68, please," Bob said, placing the drink down on the counter, not trusting himself to pass it over directly.

"Keep the change," Prince Charming winked, handing over $10.

"Oh wow, thank you!" Bob blushed again, adding the change to his tip jar.

"Anything for a pret-" Blonde runner, he really needed to ask for his name, started to say before the door slammed open.

"I'm here! I'm not late!" Joaquin exclaimed, bursting through the doors and rushing behind the counter.

"Here's your sketchbook, you left it in my bedroom again, dude," Joaquin said, handing Bob the item, oblivious to the three customers watching.

"You're a lifesaver, Joaquin Torres," Bob praised, hugging the book to his chest.

"Sorry, you were saying?" Bob asked, remembering that Joaquin had interrupted a potentially promising sentence.

"What? Oh, nothing important. Thanks for the drink," Blonde guy said, smiling more like a grimace as the silent brooding guy next to him glared at him, whilst the beautiful brunette girl rubbed the Blonde guy's arm.

"Oh? No worries, enjoy," Bob said, deflated as the trio left the counter and headed for a booth.

"Tough luck, dude," Joaquin said, bumping his shoulder into Bob's.

"Of course, the one polite customer we get already has a partner," Bob sighed, picking his coffee up from the side.

"Which one do you think he's dating?" Joaquin asked, leaning against the back counter, next to Bob.

"Hard to tell, they both seem extra protective over him," Bob said, watching the trio curiously.

"I think it's the guy; he's sitting too close for it to be platonic," Joaquin mused.

"Are you just saying that because that'll mean he's not straight, therefore I'll still think I have a chance?" Bob asked, handing over his half-empty coffee to Joaquin, knowing he won't want to make his own.

"You have no way of proving that," Joaquin joked, taking the coffee with a grateful smile.

"Okay, yeah, they are definitely dating," Bob sighed when he saw the guy placing his hand on Blonde Dream's thigh.

"Those two? I've seen them on Campus before, you rarely see one without the other," Yelena said, hopping onto the counter.

"What did we say about taking louder steps?" Joaquin said, holding a hand to his chest.

"I've never known someone to be able to sneak up on others this easily," Bob said, shaking his head amusedly.

"It's a natural-born skill, what can I say?" Yelena smirked.

"So, Bobert, you have a crush?" Yelena asked, looking over at the trio.

"Crush seems a little dramatic. I just thought he was cute, but he's taken. I won't think about him anymore," Bob shrugged; all three of them knew the truth, though.

"I think his friend is cuter. Do we know if she's single?" Yelena asked, tilting her head slightly as she looked at Bob and Joaquin.

"No idea, she could be Bob's dream guy's girlfriend for all we know," Joaquin said, holding his hands up in defence at the looks he got from both Bob and Yelena.

"There is one simple way of solving this, you know?" Joaquin said after a few moments of silence.

"And what would that be, oh wise one?" Yelena drawled, looking at Joaquin expectantly.

"One of us could ask them if any combination of them were dating," Joaquin said, shrugging slightly.

"Because that wouldn't be weird at all," Bob deadpanned.

"Why would it be weird? If the answer is yes, then you won't have to pine anymore, although knowing you, the pining would get worse," Joaquin rolled his eyes fondly.

"But if the answer is no, then Prince Charming is up for the taking, and why would he ever say no to someone as amazing as you?"

"You flatter me, but if he thought I was attractive, then he could've asked me out when he was here," Bob said, taking a cookie from the display and taking a large bite from it.

"So pining it is then?" Joaquin sighed, taking a bite from the cookie in Bob's hand.

"Pining it is," Bob nodded, knocking his shoulder into Joaquin's once more.

John hated Fall.

It used to be his favourite season, but that was before his life was turned upside down during Halloween the previous year.

"Are you still pouting about the cafe boy?" Bucky asked, joining the group with a small wave.

"He's had that look on his face since he got here," Ava said, rolling her eyes.

"Who's cafe boy?" Mel asked, leaning forward in her seat.

"See what you've started now?" John groaned, kicking under the table at Bucky.

"You started it by pining pathetically!" Bucky replied, kicking John back.

"Boys, behave before we get kicked out," Ava warned, pointing between the two of them.

"And for your information, I was thinking about Olivia, not 'cafe boy', so there," John said, sticking his tongue out at Bucky.

"You do realise that thinking about your ex from a year ago is worse than the guy from yesterday, right?" Bucky asked, raising an eyebrow at him as he got his textbook out from his bag.

"I wasn't thinking about her specifically, I was just thinking about how I don't care for Fall this year," John said, refocusing his attention on his notes.

"Because cafe boy has a boyfriend?" Bucky asked, smirking at Ava when she shot him a warning look.

"Once again, I'm asking, who's cafe boy?" Mel prompted.

"After our run yesterday, Johnny boy was craving an iced coffee like the Tumblr girl he is, so we went to one of the campus cafes and John tried to flirt with the barista," Bucky started, dodging the pen that John threw his way.

"And he got shot down by the guy?" Mel asked, giving John a sympathetic look.

"Worse, he was in the middle of trying to flirt when the guy's boyfriend appeared and gave him his sketchbook that he had left in his bedroom," Ava said, patting John's shoulder.

"You forgot to mention the almost six-dollar tip that John had left already at this point," Bucky teased.

"Okay, I think Mel gets it!" John groaned, dropping his head to the table.

"Is there any way that you might've misread the situation, and cafe boy is just close friends with the other guy?" Mel suggested hopefully.

"Do you tend to leave things in your friend's bedroom, repeatedly?" John asked, lifting his head from the table.

"They could've been studying together or watching a movie!" Mel said.

She wanted to see John happy again after everything that had happened the previous year.

"So you think that I should go back and somehow try to find out if this guy that I don't even know the name of is single?" John asked, it wasn't the worst idea he'd heard in their little study group.

"Maybe take Bucky with you, just in case you need a quick out from the conversation," Ava suggested.

"Ugh, why do I have to take Bucky? Why can't you come with me?" John groaned.

"Like I want to go with you either," Bucky said, crossing his arms across his chest.

Ava sighed and shared a look with Mel. With the way they acted, sometimes you'd think they were sworn enemies and not friends for multiple years.

"I'm all booked up, so you are going to shut up and go back to this cafe so that John stops taking up all of our study time by pouting," Ava said and flipped open her textbook.

"Now shut up and turn to page 26."

"Who's that?" Johnny asked, peering over Bob's shoulder as he sketched.

"No one! It's um, it's not important, just a customer that was here yesterday with his friends, I was about to draw them too," Bob said, embarrassed at being caught pining.

"If you say so," Johnny grinned and walked around the counter to restock the milk kiosk.

Bob groaned and looked up as the door opened, quickly hiding his sketchbook under the counter when he saw who was walking in.

Definitely dating, Bob sighed as he watched the angry-looking brunette squeeze Prince Charming's arm softly before heading to the same table as yesterday.

"Hey, I think I forgot to introduce myself yesterday. I'm John, and the pouting one over there is Bucky," John said, holding out his hand for Bob.

"I'm Bob, yeah, um, just Bob," Bob said nervously as he shook his hand.

He didn't know what it was about the man, but he flustered him to no end.

Well, he did know, and that was the problem.

"Did you want the same drink as yesterday?" Bob offered as he let go of John's hand.

"No thanks, that's my after-run drink." John laughed awkwardly.

"Can I have two hot chocolates, please? Extra marshmallows for Buck."

Stupid, cute boyfriends with their matching orders and nicknames.

"Of course, that'll be $7.89, please," Bob said, glancing over at the table Bucky was at and looking away quickly when he saw that he was staring directly at them.

"Have you known each other long?" Bob asked, smiling gratefully when John put the change in his tip jar again.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, we've known each other since High School," John smiled. He was as surprised as anyone that their friendship had survived this long, but he was extremely grateful that it had.

Of course, they were high school sweethearts. Bob forced a smile onto his face and turned around with the two hot chocolates, placing them on a tray.

"What about you?" John asked, leaning forward on the counter.

"Me? Um, yeah...Joaquin! Joaquin's my boyfriend, we've known each other since High School, too," Bob said, eyes widening when he realised what he'd said. Joaquin wasn't his boyfriend, but he didn't want to look like a pathetic single guy to John.

"The guy from yesterday? That's...nice, you make a cute couple," John said with a bright smile as he picked up his tray.

"Thank you! Enjoy your hot chocolate," Bob said, waving as John walked away.

"You are dating Joaquin?!" Johnny asked, quickly rounding the counter again once John had sat down.

Lie and pretend to have a relationship, or admit that I panicked because a cute customer has a boyfriend? Both terrible options.

"It's a new development?" Bob said quietly, wringing his hands together.

"I didn't know the two of you liked each other in that way," Johnny said, looking disappointed.

Does Johnny like Joaquin?? You've really screwed up here, Bob.

"Neither did I; it just came out of nowhere suddenly," Bob said.

Technically, that wasn't a lie.

"I'm happy for you both! This is great news," Johnny said, forcing a smile.

"I'm going to go do the stock count, save Lena a job later."

Bob groaned as Johnny walked into the store room and chanced a look over at John and Bucky's table.

The couple were sitting closely together, discussing something, Bucky looking over and glaring at him as if he'd sensed his presence.

That's two people annoyed at him now, and he still has to tell Joaquin that they are in a fake relationship.

Maybe he should take a vow of silence.

John held the tray tightly in his grip as he walked over to Bucky, placing it on their table with a sigh and sitting in the seat facing away from the counter.

"The guy from yesterday is his boyfriend, and they've known each other since High School."

Bucky grimaced and reached for hot chocolate, giving John a small, grateful smile at the extra marshmallows and placed a hand on his thigh.

"I'm sorry, John, that really does suck."

John let out a small laugh and shook his head.

"You are terrible at this," John said, reaching for his own drink as Bucky made a noise of protest.

"Thank you for being here," John added with a fond smile.

"Whenever, wherever," Bucky nodded. He'd truly hoped that this was going to work out. John hadn't shown interest in anyone, male or female, since Olivia broke up with him the previous year.

"He's called Bob," John said after a few minutes of silence.

"Bob?" Bucky asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Bob."

"That's a stupid name anyway," Bucky said, picking up his mug.

John let out a surprised laugh and ran his hands over his face.

"Coming from the guy who goes by Bucky?" John teased, poking him in the arm.

"At least it's not boring like John is," Bucky grumbled.

"Cheap shot," John huffed and kicked Bucky lightly under the table, mostly playful.

"Stop playing footsie with me and finish your drink," Bucky rolled his eyes and chanced a look at the counter, glaring at Bob when he saw him staring.

"So let me get this right," Yelena started, handing Bob a bowl of ice cream.

"Blonde guy from yesterday-"

"His name is John," Bob interrupted as he was shovelling ice cream into his mouth.

"John came in with his boyfriend-"

"Bucky," Bob sighed.

"Bob, if you interrupt me one more time, I will take that ice cream away," Yelena warned, pointing a finger at Bob.

"John came in with Bucky and introduced himself to you, added more money to your tip jar and was probably trying to make a friend," Yelena started, glancing at a pacing Joaquin.

"And instead of just having a normal conversation with him, you decided to tell him that you were dating our dear Joaquin over here?"

"Which we aren't!" Joaquin said, hands thrown into the air.

"I know we aren't!" Bob groaned, sinking further into the couch.

"Then why did you tell him we are?!"

"I panicked! I didn't want to look like a loser single who was crushing on him after one interaction," Bob said, hugging the ice cream bowl close to his chest.

"I thought you said crush was a bit dramatic?" Yelena asked with a raised eyebrow.

"This whole situation is a bit dramatic at this point. I'm owning it," Bob shrugged.

"I was going to ask Johnny out!" Joaquin sighed and flopped down onto the couch next to Bob.

Bob winced and offered Joaquin the bowl of ice cream.

"He did seem a little upset when he overheard the conversation," Bob said regretfully.

"Damn Bob, that's cold. You didn't want to be single by yourself, so you've forced Joaquin to stay single with you," Yelena said, shaking her head.

"So now Johnny is going to think that I was flirting with you and him simultaneously to see which one I got first!"

"Okay, I can see how badly this reflects on you, but I promise I didn't know that you liked Johnny!" Bob cringed. The hole he'd dug them into was so deep he couldn't see the top anymore.

"I can tell Johnny about everything, make sure he knows you weren't messing with him, if you want?" Bob offered.

Joaquin sighed and shook his head, bumping his shoulder into Bob's.

"It's alright, we can keep up the act for a few weeks before staging a friendly breakup. Hopefully by then you'll be friends with John," Joaquin said. Maybe this was his sign not to ask Johnny out.

"I have one day off, and this is what happens," Yelena shook her head and squished herself in between the duo.

"We need to plot out your relationship, boys!"

Chapter Text

When a plate was placed next to his head, John looked up and raised an eyebrow at Mel.

"Did you bring me a pity cake?" John asked, sitting up at the table.

"Yes and no," Mel said, sitting next to John.

"It's Kate's birthday today, and she brought cake, but also, yes, this is pity cake for getting rejected after I pushed you to speak to Bob again."

John smiled and picked up the fork to try some of the cake.

"Best apology I've ever gotten."

"I'm also here to tell you that Kate is throwing a party tonight, and I'm not taking no for an answer. You will be there," Mel said, swiping her finger through the icing.

John groaned and broke off another large piece of cake.

"I'm not really in the party mood, Mel."

"I know you aren't, which is exactly why you're going. Ava's already agreed to go, which means Bucky will too because the three of you love your co-dependency."

"Ugh, fine, I'll go to this party, but if I don't like it, then I'm leaving after an hour," John said, pointing his fork at Mel.

"Lena, I don't want to go to a party right now. I want to sit in front of the TV with some ice cream and wallow in self-pity about my tragic dating life," Bob whined as Yelena went through his wardrobe.

"Tough luck, Bobert, we are going to party, and nothing you can say will change that. Too much planning has gone into this for you to stay on the couch," Yelena said, holding up two t-shirts before shaking her head and putting them both back.

"Planning?" Bob asked, tilting his head at Yelena.

"Kate made sure that Mel got some cake when she was handing out some. Kate mentioned her party and that Mel could bring anyone she wanted, as we had discovered she's in a study group with John, Bucky, and their pretty brunette friend. Therefore, Mel will invite the three of them to the party, and you get to befriend John, whilst I get to talk to the pretty brunette," Yelena explained, doing a little curtsy at the end.

"I'm not sure whether to be concerned or grateful about that plan, so we're going to loop back to my outfit for the party," Bob said, joining Yelena at the wardrobe.

"Oh, now you want to dress nicely. I wonder why that is," Yelena teased.

"He's taken and I'm fake taken, so I can't flirt with John, but this will be the first time he'll see me outside of my work clothes, so I need to make a good first impression," Bob said, pulling out a blue sweater.

"Oh, I bet you want him to see you outside of your work clothes," Yelena said, bumping her hip into Bob's.

"Lena!" Bob groaned, covering his face with the sweater.

"If you could look a little less like you are walking to your death, that would be nice," Mel rolled her eyes as the four of them approached

Kate's house.

"Maybe if Ava hadn't forced me into the world's tightest jeans and a shirt that is definitely a size too small," John grumbled, pulling at the collar.

"You look hot, own it!" Ava said, batting John's hand away.

"But who do I need to look hot for? I'm single, and in case you've forgotten, Bob is dating his high school sweetheart!"

"Bob isn't the only person in the world," Bucky rolled his eyes.

"We'll find you a cute guy or girl at the party!" Ava nodded.

"And there isn't any harm in looking hot when you befriend Bob," Mel smirked, pushing John through the front door.

"One hour," John reminded Mel as he headed straight for the kitchen, whilst the three of them headed for the makeshift dancefloor.

"John!" Yelena shouted, holding up her red solo cup in greeting.

"You have me at a disadvantage here because I don't know your name," John said, slightly confused as he grabbed a bottle of beer from the cooler.

"I'm Yelena, Bob's best friend," Yelena said and nodded towards the door.

"You should join us!"

John weighed up his options in his head: follow Yelena and possibly get stuck watching Bob with his boyfriend, or rejoin his friends and have them tease him about Bob until he left.

"Lead the way," John said, grabbing himself a second beer just in case.

"You are very tall. Did you have a growth spurt? Your clothes seem a little small," Yelena said in a teasing voice, leading John out of the kitchen.

"My friend Ava forced me to wear this," John said, flushing slightly.

"Ahh, the brunette? Is she nearby?" Yelena asked, looking around.

"She headed towards the dancefloor with Mel and Bucky," John said, raising an eyebrow.

"Can you give this to Bobert? He'll understand," Yelena said, handing John one of the plastic cups before walking away.

"Yelena?! I don't even know where Bob is," John grumbled to himself as he balanced the three drinks in his hand.

John sighed and carried on walking straight through the crowd until he spotted Bob in the far corner, sitting on a couch by himself.

"You can do this, John, don't be a weirdo," John said to psyche himself up.

Maybe talking to himself wasn't the best thing to do if he was trying not to be weird.

"Hey Bob, I have your drink from Yelena!" John said with a hopeful smile, holding out the cup.

"John? Where's Yelena?" Bob asked, looking confused but happy as he took the drink.

"She went to find Ava, my friend," John explained, sitting down next to Bob.

Damn, he looked good.

"Makes sense, she's been waiting for her to get here," Bob laughed and looked John up and down.

"You look good."

He has a boyfriend, he has a boyfriend, he has a boyfriend, John repeated as he took a long sip of beer.

"Thank you! You look great too, I like your sweater," John praised.

"Thank you!" Bob grinned widely, glad he'd let Yelena convince him to come.

"What do you study?" John asked after a few moments.

Why had he forgotten how to speak normally??

"I'm an art major, that's why I was so relieved when Joaquin brought in my sketchbook the other day!"

"That's awesome, I'd love to see some of your drawings next time I'm at the cafe, if that's alright?" John asked, hopefully it wasn't just going to be drawings of Joaquin.

"Really? Yeah, that'd be nice," Bob said, always happy to show his work. Well, some of it anyway, he definitely would not be showing John the sketch he'd made of him.

"Of course! I'm always so amazed by artists, I can just about draw stick men," John joked.

"Hey, stick men can be tricky at times," Bob laughed and relaxed more into the couch.

"What do you study?"

"Psychology, but I'm also here on a football scholarship," John explained, turning more in his seat so he was facing Bob more directly.

"Oh wow, now that's an interesting mix. How do you find it?"

"In all honesty, it's a little much sometimes when I have assignments due, exam revision, and training multiple times a week, but I wouldn't change it," John admitted. "It's an unusual mix, but I love it."

"Are Ava and Bucky also studying psychology?"

"Yeah, Bucky followed me here from High School," John rolled his eyes fondly.

"It's always good to have someone from School with you, makes it feel a little less lonely sometimes," Bob said, pushing away the Bucky thoughts.

"Is Joaquin an art student too?" John asked, taking a large gulp from his beer.

"He's a computer science major with our friend Johnny," Bob hummed and downed the rest of his drink for liquid courage.

"Want to join the others and dance?" Bob offered, standing up and holding out his hand for John.

John smiled, placed his beers on the table, grabbed Bob's hand, and let him lead him into the next room.

"Bob!" Yelena cheered, briefly glancing down at their joined hands.

"Nice of you to finally join us, Walker. I was wondering where you'd gotten to," Ava said with a smirk, following Yelena's eyeline.

"I was keeping Bob company whilst you flirted with the lovely Yelena here," John snarked back.

"Ha! I like you, John Walker," Yelena laughed.

"High praise, thank you," John grinned, overly focused on the fact that Bob was still holding his hand.

"Where's Joaquin?" Bob asked, looking around.

"He's with Johnny," Yelena rolled her eyes. It was even more pathetic to watch them now that Joaquin had to pretend to be in a relationship.

Joaquin, Bob's boyfriend, John sighed and released Bob's hand.

"Mel?" John asked, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Playing beer pong with Bucky."

"Beer pong?" John asked, tilting his head slightly.

"Sam asked them," Ava said with an eyeroll.

"Ahh, now it makes sense," John laughed and perked up when he heard the song change.

"Let's dance!" Ava cheered and pulled John and Bob in.

"Bob, don't leave us!" Ava whined, pulling on his arm.

"I'm coming back! I'm just going to get us all some water," Bob laughed, freeing himself from Ava's grip.

"Aww, he's so sweet! Isn't he sweet, Walker?" Yelena slurred, looking up at John.

"He's very sweet," John laughed, steadying Yelena.

"Would you like a hand?" John asked, smiling at Bob.

"I think you've got your hands full already," Bob winked and headed towards the kitchen.

Maybe a friendship with John wouldn't be the worst thing, sure, it wasn't a relationship, but he'd take anything.

"Sorry, I didn't realise anyone was in here!" Bob said apologetically when he saw the couple kissing by the counter.

"I'm just grabbing a few waters and then...I'm gone," Bob said, trailing off towards the end when he realised who one of the guys was.

"Hey Bob, no worries," Bucky smiled politely.

Fuck.

Chapter Text

Bob grabbed four bottles of water from the fridge and nodded awkwardly at Bucky before rushing out of the kitchen.

"Whoa, Bob, what's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost," Joaquin said, almost running into Bob.

"I just saw Bucky kissing someone who is not John," Bob said, looking around the room.

"What?! You've got to tell him, dude!"

"But they aren't just dating, they've been friends for years! I'd be ruining the relationship and the friendship!" Bob fretted; he was between a rock and a hard place.

"But if you don't tell him, he's going to carry on thinking everything is going swimmingly in his relationship and friendship when neither is true!" Joaquin said, placing a hand on Bob's shoulder to comfort him.

"I also know that the guilt will eat you alive until you tell him, and I think if you want to have a friendship with John, then you can't hide something this important from him."

"Why is life punishing me for having a crush?" Bob groaned and rested his forehead on Joaquin's shoulder.

"To entertain Lena and me," Joaquin joked, rubbing Bob's back.

"Oh, hey," John said awkwardly, taking in the scene.

"Everything alright?"

"John!" Bob exclaimed, looking at the kitchen door and then at him.

"I'll take these and check on the girls," Joaquin said, taking the water bottles from Bob.

"I'll take that as a no, everything is not okay?" John said, confused, as he let Bob pull him through the house and into an empty bathroom.

"I don't really know how to say this, and I hope you don't think that I'm intruding. I saw Bucky kissing someone, and I'm by no means trying to ruin your relationship, but I thought you should know because it's the right thing to do," Bob said, wringing his hands together as he did.

John stared at Bob for longer than was probably normal and pulled him into a hug.

"You are incredibly sweet and caring, especially for someone I've only known a few days," John started and let go of Bob.

"But I'm not dating Bucky, and the person you saw him kissing would've been his boyfriend Sam."

"You aren't dating Bucky?" Bob asked, looking a mix of confused and embarrassed.

"I love him and he's one of the most important people in my life, but no, we're not dating," John said, brushing a piece of hair from Bob's face.

"Thank you for telling me, though. I know that's a tough situation to be in with someone you've just met."

This could've been the perfect romcom moment to kiss John, but you had to dig yourself into a hole.

"Of course, I didn't want you to be lied to or hurt," Bob said with a forced smile.

You're the only one who's lying to him.

"Let's get back out there and make sure your boyfriend hasn't been eaten alive by the girls," John said, holding onto Bob's hand and pulling him from the bathroom.

"There's my guy!" Ava cheered, wrapping herself around John and pulling him from Bob.

"Did you chicken out? He doesn't look like a guy who's just been told bad news," Joaquin said, giving Bob a sympathetic look.

"False alarm, Bucky isn't a cheater because he's not dating John," Bob said, looking at Joaquin guiltily.

"He's not what?!" Joaquin asked, looking at Bob with wide eyes.

"I must've misunderstood when he was speaking to me in the cafe!" Bob groaned and looked at John, who was dancing with Ava and Yelena.

Joaquin laughed and pulled Bob in for a hug.

"It's kind of funny when you think about it, you could've made a move on him tonight, but instead you are stuck with me as your boyfriend."

"I dragged you into this for no reason. I'm a terrible friend," Bob said, drowning in self-pity.

"Bob, I promise that I'm more amused than anything else. We'll workshop a way out of this tomorrow, got it?" Joaquin assured him, swaying as they hugged.

"Rise and shine, losers!" Joaquin shouted, balancing the group's coffee orders in one hand and a bag of food in the other.

"Bob, I'm going to kill your boyfriend," Ava said, pulling the throw blanket over her head.

"Ava, be nice, they let us crash here," John said from the floor.

"He's not my boyfriend until I have a coffee in my hands," Bob joked, almost jumping when he realised how close he was to John.

"Why did you all sleep in here? That's what the spare bedrooms are for," Joaquin said, kicking Bob's shoulder to get him to look up.

"Tequila," Yelena groaned, rubbing at her eyes.

"I love you," Bob said, looking up and seeing the coffee cup Joaquin was holding.

John grimaced and shared a look with Ava, who had resurfaced. He wasn't quite at the 'happily admiring their love' stage yet.

"Why did you wake us up?" Yelena asked, gratefully accepting her caramel coffee with extra whip.

"It's two pm, and John asked us many times last night to make sure he was awake for his football practice," Joaquin said, handing Ava and then John their drinks before sitting down.

"So we're all suffering because of John?" Ava asked, throwing a cushion at her friend.

"This is where the bedrooms would've come in handy," Joaquin pointed out with a teasing smirk, pulling a muffin from the food bag.

"Why didn't you herd us towards the bedrooms last night?" Yelena asked, stealing the muffin from him.

"I got back after you. I was with Johnny," Joaquin shrugged and reached into the bag for another muffin.

Bob snorted and shared a look with Yelena, likely place for him to be.

"Whose place are we even at?" Ava asked, craddling the coffee in her hands.

"Joaquin's, but he has loads of space, so Lena and I crash here a lot," Bob said, placing his already empty coffee cup on the table.

Of course, they live together already, John sighed as he got up and looked around the room for his left shoe.

"I've got to run to practice, but thank you for the hospitality," John said politely, nodding at Joaquin.

"No problem, man, it was nice to meet you! Any friend of Bob's is a friend of mine," Joaquin grinned and waved at John with the others as he found his shoe and left.

"Do any of you know if Bucky was with us at any point? Or Mel?" Ava asked after they'd all finished eating.

"I saw Mel dancing with a girl about an hour before we left," Bob offered. There wasn't a single straight person in either of the friend groups, apparently.

"I didn't see Bucky after the kitchen," Bob added.

"He and his boyfriend played beer pong with Johnny and me," Joaquin said.

"Okay, so Bucky is safe, but I should probably check that Mel wasn't kidnapped," Ava said, pushing herself up from the sofa.

"Would you like to borrow some of my clothes? The pants will run a little short, but they'll be comfier than staying in your dress," Yelena offered, holding her hand out for Ava and leading her to the spare room.

"Are you going to get up from the floor at any point?" Joaquin asked, looking down at Bob.

"Joaquin, what do I do?" Bob groaned, flopping onto the sofa next to him.

"Either you tell them about the misunderstanding and hope that they find it funny. Then you and John can run off and make babies," Joaquin joked, letting out a small yelp when Bob pinched his side.

"What if they don't find it funny? What if they find it weird and creepy? Then, not only do I not get to date John, but I won't even get to be friends with him. And Yelena will lose Ava, too, because she won't want to date the friend of the weirdo that lied to them!" Bob said, spiralling to the worst-case scenario as always.

"Whilst that's probably not what would happen, I'm happy to keep up the fake boyfriend act for a bit before we have a mutual breakup," Joaquin said, wrapping his arms around Bob.

"What did I do to deserve you?" Bob asked, cuddling into Joaquin's arms.

"Trip in front of the whole school in fifth grade and land right in front of me?" Joaquin joked, running his fingers through Bob's hair.

"You were the only person who didn't laugh," Bob smiled, looking up at Joaquin.

"We got through that, and we'll get through this, Bob, I promise."

"I'm holding you to that."

Chapter Text

"Thank you for coming in early, Bob, you're a lifesaver!" Johnny said, wrapping a scarf around his neck.

"No problem, Johnny, I feel like I owed you one," Bob said, for fake dating the guy you like.

"I completely forgot that I had plans with Peter and the movie starts in twenty minutes!" Johnny fretted as he poured hot chocolate into a thermos before rushing to the door.

"Your new friend is at table seven by the way!"

Bob looked across the cafe and smiled when he saw John sitting in one of the booths.

"Hey John, want a refill?" Bob asked, bringing over a hot chocolate and his sketchbook under his arm.

"Oh, hey Bobby!" John smiled, pushing his textbook aside.

"Is studying going well?" Bob asked, sitting opposite him.

"About as well as it can when you can't focus," John sighed, gratefully taking the drink.

"Forcing yourself to study when you can't focus does more harm than good," Bob said, "At least that's what Joaquin always tells me."

"What do you suggest I do?" John asked, cradling the drink between his hands.

"Focus on a new hobby that will keep you focused enough that you forget about why you started," Bob said, looking over to the counter to make sure he had no customers waiting.

"What's your go-to hobby?" John asked.

"Writing short stories that no one will ever read, apart from Joaquin," Bob smiled. He wasn't the best writer, but that was something so freeing about getting into the flow of a story and letting go.

"So, no chance of me reading any?" John asked, making Bob laugh.

"Unfortunately, not, but I can show you a few of my drawings if you want? You mentioned wanting to see them at the party last week," Bob offered, opening his sketch book and turning it to face John.

"Oh wow, you are terrific. I mean, obviously, you are an art major and all, but seeing it is different from hearing it," John said, leaning forward in his seat.

"It's just a sketch of a leaf," Bob said, suddenly feeling sheepish.

"An incredibly detailed sketch of a leaf, the details and shading are insane," John praised, smiling up at Bob.

"You are too kind," Bob flushed and flipped the page to an even more detailed sketch, but of Yelena and Joaquin this time.

"This is incredible, you even drew the crease of Yelena's sweater! And I can see how much care went into drawing Joaquin's features," John said, eyes going back and forth between all of the details.

"Sometimes during movie nights, I can't focus on the film, so I draw them instead," Bob shrugged, blushing even more. He wasn't used to such in-depth analysis from someone who wasn't Yelena or Joaquin.

"You draw them whilst they are consistently moving and still manage to make it seem so flawless? In the space of a movie??" John asked, amazed, looking up at Bob with wide eyes.

"I draw them a lot, so it's easier to draw their features from memory," Bob said. He still had no idea how to accept praise, especially not when it came from the guy he was crushing on.

"Whilst that might be the case, the level of detail of a split-second moment is truly magic," John said, turning the page to a solo Joaquin drawing.

"I need to go serve a customer, but I'll be back!" Bob said, rushing back to the counter to serve the couple that had walked in.

"Sorry about tha-" Bob froze when he saw what page John was on. He was so flustered by the praise that he'd forgotten that he shouldn't have left the book with John.

"I'm running out of ways to say how amazing your art is, Bobby," John grinned, unaware of Bob's turmoil as he sat back down opposite him again.

"You don't find it creepy that I drew you?" Bob asked carefully, hoping John wouldn't notice that he had drawn him in the outfit from the day they met.

"Why would I find it creepy? I'm honoured! The level of detail is incredible, I don't think anyone has ever paid this much attention to me before!" John gushed, "Is this from the day we met?"

Fuck.

"Y-yeah, it was the easiest of your outfits to draw," Bob lied, wringing his hands together.

"Would you like to have it?" Bob offered after a minute.

"What, really? I'd love to!" John grinned brightly and carefully placed the drawing between the pages of his textbook.

"So it doesn't get creased," John explained, "Unfortunately, I do have to go; Ava's assembled a last-minute study group." John sighed. He loved his friends, but he wished he got to see Bob more often.

"Try not to burn yourself out, don't study all day and night," Bob said, standing up from the booth.

"How about we do something after you finish work?" John offered before he could stop himself.

It's not a date, Bob. John thinks you have a boyfriend.

"I'd love that! I'm only doing a short shift today, so I'll be finished in four hours," Bob said, walking John to the door.

"I'll be back in four hours then," John smiled and left the cafe, turning back after a few seconds to wave at Bob, who was still watching from the door.

"That was actually painful to watch," Yelena said, appearing at Bob's side.

"How do you do that?!" Bob shrieked, holding a hand to his heart.

"Lifelong practice," Yelena deadpanned.

"Are you going to do any work today? Or are you just going to moon over John?"

"I served a customer! Why stand at the counter alone when I can talk to a friend?" Bob defended himself.

"Because that's what you are being paid to do?" Yelena countered, "The stock take is waiting for you, Bobert."

"Two minutes into your shift and you are already bossing me around," Bob grumbled, walking into the store room.

"Finally! What took you so long?" Ava asked as John joined the table.

"Geez, Ava, you only texted me twenty minutes ago!" John said as he unpacked his stuff onto the table.

"It only took Mel and me five minutes to respond," Bucky shrugged, kicking John under the table.

"What I'm hearing is that I'm the only one of us with a life," John smirked, kicking Bucky back.

"John, honey, we're your only friends," Ava said, resting her hand on top of John's.

"Unless John was at a certain cafe," Mel prompted, looking hopeful.

"Of course he was," Bucky rolled his eyes.

"I was at the cafe, but in my defence, when I got there, it was that blonde guy Bob's boyfriend is always hanging around with, who was on shift."

"I very highly doubt that Johnny was the reason you were late; you aren't his type," Ava said, raising an eyebrow at John.

"Okay, yes, Bob did arrive whilst I was still there, but he's the one who approached me!"

"And there it is," Bucky said, throwing a pen at John.

"What wonders did you talk about this time?"

"He was giving me tips for study burnout, and then he showed me some of his drawings," John shrugged with a smile. It was his favourite interaction with Bob so far.

"That smile isn't just because you saw a few drawings, out with it," Ava said, narrowing her eyes at John.

John weighed up the options in his head, trying to work out how much he'd be teased before giving up and opening his textbook to the pages where the drawing was stored.

"I'm not sure when, but Bob drew me," John said proudly, placing the art on the table.

"We've lost John forever," Bucky murmured. He hadn't seen John like this since Olivia.

"Oh wow, he really is an amazing artist," Ava praised, looking closely at the art.

"If he didn't have a boyfriend, then I'd be telling you to ask him out right this second," Mel said, admiring the art.

"It's not like that, Bobby draws everyone. Yelena, Joaquin and the blonde guy also appeared in the book," John flushed, tucking the page back away.

"Bobby?" Bucky mouthed at Ava, they'd definitely lost John.

"But he hasn't given them the pages?" Mel pointed out.

"Joaquin appeared in the book three times, and I didn't even get halfway. He'd run out of space if Bob gave him each one."

"As long as you know the two of you are just friends and you aren't setting yourself up to be hurt, then I say carry on doing what you are doing," Ava smiled, squeezing John's hand.

"I promise that I know we're just friends and I would never cross the line and ruin our friendship, especially not when he's so committed to Joaquin," John assured, squeezing Ava's hand back.

"Thrilling, truly," Bucky deadpanned, "Can we get back to studying now?"

"You are just annoyed that Bob thought you were cheating on John with Sam," Ava teased, smirking at Bucky.

"I'm not sure what's more offensive, thinking I was dating John or thinking that I'm a cheater!" Bucky huffed.

"I think that it's sweet that Bob told you straight away; it would've been a lot easier to let you walk into the kitchen and find out yourself," Mel said.

"There was nothing to find out! I was kissing my boyfriend, who isn't John!"

John laughed behind his hand and dodged another pen from Bucky.

"Are we going to study? Y'know, the thing Ava summoned us here for?"

"Sure, although I will need to leave in less than four hours," John said nonchalantly.

"John Walker, what are you up to?"

"Nothing! I'm just hanging out with Bob when his shift is over, like friends do!"

"This is going to end terribly," Bucky sighed and pulled out a large energy drink from his bag.

**

"Oh, come on, John! We're going to get in trouble!" Bob hissed. "I really should get back to my dorm and study."

"You're an art major! What the hell are you studying for?!" John said with a laugh.

John took out the chain of keys in his back pocket – perks of being the quarterback and close to the coach, Bob supposed – and unlocked the doors of the stadium.

"Ever been under the stands before, Bobby?" John smirked, and Bob looked like he was deciding to entertain John's sudden escapade or run far, far away.

"No," the brunette managed to say, before John pulled the guy out of his trance and into the locker room.

"Well, welcome to the crib!" John gestured to a wide room filled with lockers. It was strangely clean, perhaps a janitor had picked up the items before the end of their shift.

And there was a distinct smell.

"It stinks," Bob said with a scrunched expression.

"…of victory and success," John responded with a self-assured smile. "C'mon, let me show you my locker!"

The pair walked up to John's locker, marked J. Walker 10. The helmet sat on the top section, the jersey with large bold letters, WALKER 10, hanging there neatly in its hanger. The shoulder, elbow, and knee pads store safely underneath with precision, and a pair of well-worn cleats rested below the seat of the locker. The other locker spaces around him had a similar layout, but none as organised and clean as John's.

Speaking of the devil…

"Think fast!"

Bob glanced behind him only to find a football flung in his direction, almost hitting his face. On instinct, Bob raised his hands to block the ball, which landed on the floor with a thud.

"Gotta work on your catching skills, my guy."

"Well, if you didn't try to kill me just now!"

"Semantics," John brushed him off. "Now, let's get you into a jersey and-"

"Woah, woah, what? What are we doing?"

"I'm going to teach you," John grabbed the ball off the floor and gave it a toss in the air before catching it, "how to catch a football."

Bob blinked at John incredulously. "What???"

John only laughed in response, who does the guy think he is?

"You sound so shocked, you'd think I'd let you go on with that," John gestured up and down, "performance you had right now? No, sir, I cannot let this pass. You, my friend, will learn how to play ball tonight."

Bob suddenly regretted every life decision, from the moment John stepped into that cafe and ordered that large iced coffee with whipped cream. 'Cause now he was literally and metaphorically whipped. And here Bob was, breaking school rules, sneaking onto a field after hours with the quarterback, who wanted to teach him football, of all things.

He was obviously out of his league.

Bob didn't even register that he zoned out until he felt the fabric of the jersey over his head.

"What-"

"Stop fussing! Let me get this over your head!"

Bob obliged reluctantly, putting his arms over his head and letting John get this close in his personal space, putting the sleeves on to his arms and straightening the jersey over his body—John's jersey. On him, Bob could smell the faint musk under the smell of lemons, attempting to mask the sweat and tears of one very popular quarterback. Every touch of the blond man's fingers sizzled, and Bob found it difficult to breathe normally. In. Out. In. Out.

"Am I that scary? I'll go easy on ya, chill!" John grinned at him.

"I'm more concerned that you're setting up to murder me. No one's here, it's late at night, we're alone in a football stadium with no alibi. It really is the perfect crime, like-"

Bob felt an arm on his right shoulder, a firm grip that jolted his insides, yet so grounding, and Bob felt all the noise in his head quiet momentarily.

"Hey."

Bob looked up and found himself staring into a pair of soulful light blue eyes.

"Sorry if I'm being too forward with this," John said sheepishly. "You can, I don't know, call Joaquin and have him come pick you up or something. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

And Bob was dumbfounded.

Because underneath the bravado and the charming smile John had put on for everyone, for Bob, Bob really felt the earnestness in John's words. The grounding hand on his shoulder, the piercing stare, the charged air; at that moment, it felt raw and honest. And something inside Bob clicked, a match lit ablaze.

What's life without living it a little dangerously?

"Teach me."

John's eyes widened, as if he didn't expect Bob to change his mind.

"You sure, Bob? I don't want to pressure you."

Bob took the ball from John's other hand and held it between the two of them.

"I'm sure. Now, put me in, coach."

—

On second thought, maybe Bob should've warmed up a bit more.

John started the two by running a few laps around the length of the field, on the tracks. Bob's dad may have made him do cross country in high school, but Bob wasn't great at it either. By the time they ran around the track the fourth time, barely marking a mile, Bob was already out of breath and ready to collapse onto the grass, freshly cut for next week's game. The stadium lights were blinding, like the stadium was a stage, and the audience was about to see the spectacle that is Bob passing out.

"Hey, get up! We barely finished the warm-up!" John said, holding a bottle of water in his hand. John held out his other hand to Bob, helping the poor brunette up, as Bob took the water bottle in thanks and chugged half of it.

"Don't they turn off the lights at night? This has to be so wasteful of electricity," Bob commented through panted breaths.

"Eh, I'm not in charge."

"Yet, you managed to have the keys to this place."

"For the purposes of coaching tragic players like you," John said with a smirk.

"Hey!" Bob attempted to shove John, before almost tripping over his own feet, but not before John caught his waist and steadied him from the almost-fall. Bob could feel the warm touch around his waist, sending weird, fuzzy feelings into his chest, but he chose to ignore it. It was easy when his legs had felt like jelly.

"Thanks," Bob managed to say.

"Sure thing. Didn't want you to die before we even got to passing a ball," John said in response. Bob turned around to observe John's expression, a big smile plastered on the blond's face. But not one of those picture-perfect ones he gave to everyone else. It felt smaller, more targeted, more-

"Alright, let's try passing the ball a few times. We'll start close, and then I'll gradually move farther away," John said, interrupting his thoughts.

John picked up the ball nearby and gave it a few exploratory tosses up.

"You ready?"

"Uh, sure- Oof!" Bob barely managed to catch the ball in his hand, thanks to a forceful throw. Bob glared at John, "Did you have to throw it that hard?"

"It's all about momentum, baby! Now toss it back, lemme see whatcha got!"

Bob took a deep breath, attempted to match John's earlier movements, and launched the ball forward. But instead of launching up, it went straight down, bouncing to the left, as John ran to catch the ball on the loose.

"Well, that… was a toss!" John hollered in the field.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, John. I know I suck," Bob bemoaned. He knew it was a bad idea, but why did he let John convince him to-

"You're holding the ball wrong."

"Huh?"

"When you throw the ball, you have to let go of the grip and use your fingers to let it spin. That way, the ball can glide and actually go a distance."

Bob blinked at John.

"Here, let me show you. Take the ball." Bob grabbed the ball with his right hand.

"Now get into the position as if you were going to throw it," John instructed, and Bob got into a stance where he would launch the ball forward. But as his right arm moved forward, Bob felt a presence next to him, no, behind him. John was close, his right hand grabbing Bob's right hand, as he was breathing on Bob's neck. And Bob did everything he could to stay still.

"Follow my motion, let the ball glide through your fingers. It's not a basketball, you don't launch it forward straight on, you have to let the ball do the work for you." Their joint right arms moved back.

"Now, when you let go, curl your fingers and as if you're trying to spin it. That's how the football can go across the field. Feel the motion of the ball turning." John moved their arms together back and forth a few times, letting Bob feel the fluidity of the action. After a few mock tosses, John let go, and Bob tried his hardest not to frown at the loss of heat on his arms, as John ran a short distance away.

"Try tossing it for real, now. With the same motion we've been practising," John motioned. Bob looked at John nervously, but John gave him a firm nod and an encouraging look.

Bob took a breath. He willed his muscles to memorise the fluidity of the motion, toss, spin, and glide. He threw his arm back, aimed towards John's direction, and launched, letting his fingers spin the ball.

And it was almost a perfect throw because John didn't catch it in the end.

The ball went a little further than needed, probably because Bob overexerted his strength slightly, but by all accounts, Bob managed to toss the ball back in John's general direction.

"Wow!" John said as he ran up to Bob, "I'd say you could even take my job if you really put in the work."

"Oh, now you're just being nice."

"No, it's true! That was a good throw! Gotta work a bit on that power control, but from one short lesson, you're already a pro," John beamed, and Bob couldn't help but blush slightly from the unexpected praise.

"Thanks, Walker."

John smirked. "Oh, last-name basis, huh? You're getting serious now, from one throw?"

"Hell yeah, I'm ready, coach. Whoever drops the ball first has to do ten push-ups! And treat the other to ice cream!"

"That would ruin my diet for the week," John moaned.

"Well, you'd better hope you win!"

"Oh, it's on."

And surprisingly, the two went at it for a while, each trying to one-up the other with the tosses. John was probably going easy on Bob because Bob knew John could easily toss a long one and let Bob run like a mad chicken across the other side of the field and fail to catch the ball, but he appreciated that they were at least able to make a few good passes. Inevitably, Bob did lose, humbly lost, as John tossed a very controlled, short-distance ball that Bob didn't expect, the ball bouncing in front of him before he was able to grab it.

"Dammit!"

"Looks like my job is still safe," John said smugly.

"Well, it's not like I could compete against your ugly mug that all the boys and girls like," Bob responded.

"Hey! Who are you calling ugly?" John began running towards Bob, and Bob ran on instinct. He was not going to be tackled by a football player, even if that said player was John himself. The two giggled as John chased Bob down the field, but it was a futile game, as Bob's legs had already given out long ago. So when John caught up, the blond tackled him on the ground, hand behind his head, cushioning the fall, pinning him on the grass, bodies touching and tumbling, and breaths heavy.

"Gotcha!" John exclaimed.

Bob felt electrified, perhaps from the exercise that his body wasn't used to, but also from the thrill of it all. From John's steadying presence, from his gentle words and reassurance, from his patient teaching, to… this, this current moment when it felt like there was no one in the world but them, under the blinding stadium lights. No one was around.

And Bob was free, free with John.

When their breaths settled, John pushed himself off and lay on the grass next to him, as the two looked up into the sky. The stadium lights obscured the stars a bit, but on a clear night like this, they could still make out the North Star.

Bob didn't want this moment to end.

But it had to.

"Welp, someone owes me ice cream," John laughed. "I'll spare you the push-ups."

"Dammit, I had hoped you'd forgotten."

"Now, why would I forget a reward? C'mon." John got up from the grass and held out his hand for Bob to take.

Bob looked at John's calloused fingers for a second, letting the cool breeze into his lungs, before taking it.

**

"I can't believe you got lemon ice cream with sprinkles, I didn't realise people actually got that option," John teased playfully as they sat down with their bowls of ice cream.

"Like you can talk, you got mint! Not even mint choc chip, just pure mint!" Bob scrunched his nose.

"It's refreshing! And I hate having chocolate chips in ice cream, who wants to eat frozen chocolate??"

"You make a good point, I retract my previous statement, but I stand by my lemon choice," Bob laughed, holding his spoon out for John. "Try it."

John looked at the spoon, Bob's face and back before giving in and trying the ice cream, trying his best not to focus on the fact that they were now sharing a spoon.

"I feel like I need to go to the dentist already," John joked, pulling back slowly. "But I guess I can see the appeal."

Bob bit his lip and had to repeat his you are fake dating Joaquin, mantra in his head as he watched John. Why was he still fake-dating Joaquin?

"Thank you for today, it's been a long while since I spent this much time with someone that wasn't Bucky or Ava," John admitted.

"It was refreshing being outside my comfort zone, it's not something I do often, either," Bob said, ducking his head as he smiled.

It felt like the perfect romcom date that wasn't a date section of a movie.

"I don't know, you look plenty comfy in my jersey, maybe we should scout you for the team," John smirked, pointing his spoon at Bob before placing it in his mouth.

"I'll give it back to you when we leave. I forgot I was wearing it," Bob flushed, it smelled like John's cologne, and it was driving him insane.

"Keep it for now, it's cold out, and it looks good on you," John winked, making Bob even redder.

"Can I ask you a question? Feel free to say I'm being nosy and change the topic if you want, though," Bob said after a few comfortable moments of silence.

"Hmm?"

"I noticed how careful you were with me out there. You could've easily taken me out, but you didn't. And when you did, you made sure I was fully protected from hitting anything," Bob said, stirring his remaining ice cream in the bowl.

John froze and placed his spoon down; he didn't think Bob had noticed any of that.

"Last year, we were playing a normal match against a team way below us, but a fluke accident happened, and one of our players went down. My best friend, Lemar, hit his head, and there was a horrible moment where he wasn't moving or responding to us, and I thought he was...gone," John started, clenching and unclenching his fists on the table.

"He was out of it in the hospital for nine hours before he woke up, and it was the longest nine hours of my life."

Bob pushed his bowl aside and reached across the table to hold onto John's hand, rubbing his thumb across it.

"He recovered fully, but his parents were spooked from it, rightly so; he had a scar from his hairline to his eyebrow. They pulled him out of college and had him transfer closer to home, and I did not take this well; I blamed myself."

"There was nothing you could've done to stop it, John. It was an accident," Bob reassured, feeling guilty himself for dredging up John's trauma to satisfy his own curiosity.

"It was hard to stay in touch at first because he was getting used to his new college, and I still had the insane schedule I do while juggling football and psychology. My girlfriend, Olivia, tried her best to help me through the rough patch, but for lack of a better term, I crashed out."

"I stopped going to some classes, I ignored my messages, and whenever I was with Olivia, I was mentally checked out. I've never once held it against Olivia for breaking up with me; she had enough going on in her life without me adding to it. But the breakup made me spiral further, I got into fights to try and feel something, and I was an all-around terrible person to be near," John explained, squeezing Bob's hand.

"What happened after that? You are still here after all," Bob said, squeezing back.

"Bucky and Ava refused to leave me alone until they finally got through to me. Without them, I would've flunked out and had to go back home with my tail between my legs and gotten a job at the local garage."

"Which is why they are so protective of you," Bob pieced together. No wonder he thought they were a couple at first.

"Especially around this time of year, Olivia broke up with me last October," John said with a small shrug.

Fuck.

"That's enough about me, tell me more about you. How did Yelena become part of your group?" John asked with a kind smile.

"Joaquin tripped over a bag in the cafe and dropped a milkshake all over her," Bob laughed. He's never seen Joaquin more scared in his life.

"And Yelena said, Yeah, this is who I want to be friends with?" John laughed.

"Joaquin freaked out and quite literally gave her the shirt from his back to change into, and any annoyance was wiped out in place of amusement."

"That was Yelena's first day on the job, too," Bob laughed.

"So did Joaquin finish his shift shirtless?" John asked with a raised eyebrow.

"He put his apron back on initially, but Johnny eventually took pity on him and gave him his sweater because he had a shirt on underneath," Bob explained, and thus Joaquin's crush on Johnny truly took off.

"That's way more interesting than how Bucky and I met Ava. We got paired up for the first group project in our class, and she fit into our dynamic so easily that we stayed a trio since," John hummed, realising Bob was still holding his hand, what's five more minutes?

"We met Mel when we were studying in the library, and all of the tables but ours were full, so we moved our stuff around to let her join us, and that's how our study group was created."

"And where have you been, Bobert?" Yelena called out when she heard the front door open.

"I was out with John," Bob called back, suddenly feeling out of place in John's jersey.

"This whole time?!" Joaquin asked, looking up from his laptop.

"I wasn't gone that long!" Bob said defensively, walking around the corner, glad that neither of them had seen John walking him to the door.

"You finished work four hours...ago," Joaquin trailed off when he saw Bob.

"Bob, if you turn around, will your back say Walker?" Yelena asked, smirk in place.

"John wanted to teach me some football; he put the Jersey on me himself," Bob explained, flopping onto the sofa next to Joaquin.

"John branded you with his name and then taught you a contact sport? Maybe I should have a word with him, you are my boyfriend after all," Joaquin joked.

"I'm a terrible person," Bob groaned, holding a pillow to his chest.

"Woah, Bob, it's just a joke, Joaquin isn't being serious," Yelena said, scooting closer to Bob.

"Yeah, I was just joking! You aren't a terrible person; you are just stuck in an unfortunate miscommunication," Joaquin said, rubbing his arms across Bob's arms.

"I am because John poured his heart out to me about some really personal things during ice cream, and I can't even tell him that I'm single," Bob groaned, curling in on himself.

"How about we break up soon, then?" Joaquin suggested.

"No can do, breakups in October are a sensitive topic," Bob said.

"Here's what we're going to do. I'm going to open a bottle of wine, Joaquin is going to put on one of his terrible movies, and we're going to sit here and make fun of it as we get drunk," Yelena said, pushing up from the sofa and going towards the kitchen.

"My movie choices aren't terrible, but I'll take the hit," Joaquin said, loading up Netflix.

"They are, but it's cute watching how much you enjoy them," Yelena said, placing two wine bottles and three glasses on the table.

"I love you both," Bob said, slowly uncurling himself.

"We love you too, now drink up."

Chapter Text

"Bob, if I walk over there, will I see another drawing of John?" Yelena asked, placing her keys on the side table.

"...I don't know what you are talking about," Bob said, closing his sketchbook and placing it behind his back.

"You've only known him for a few weeks, how are you managing to draw him from memory??" Yelena asked, lying down on the sofa, stretching her legs across Joaquin's lap.

"Is it better or worse if I mention the photo on his phone that he looks at for reference?" Joaquin asked, throwing a pretzel bite at Yelena to catch in her mouth.

"Can't a guy have a crush in peace around here?" Bob huffed.

"A guy, yes. A guy who is multiple weeks into a fake relationship because he was too scared to talk to his crush properly, no." Yelena said.

"Joaquin didn't talk to Johnny properly either!"

"I'm such a good fake boyfriend and yet you still threw me under the bus straight away," Joaquin pouted, shoving more pretzel bites into his mouth.

"Especially as you are the current reason why he can't tell Johnny," Yelena pointed out.

"Can we change topics now? I've already said that I'm not fake breaking up with Joaquin until November, and then I'll have to leave a grace period for a bit to fake mourn our relationship before I make a move on John and hope that he likes me back."

"You wouldn't need that plan if you just spoke properly when you first met," Yelena said, shrugging her shoulders.

"We can't all be you and Ava," Bob sighed and checked his phone.

"I'll be back later, enjoy your pretzels."

"I didn't know you had plans?"

"I didn't, but John just asked me to look at last-minute Halloween costumes with him," Bob said, shrugging on a jacket.

"Have fun, don't accidentally get fake-engaged to Joaquin during a conversation," Yelena teased.

"Oh, didn't we tell you? We got fake married last week," Bob deadpanned.

"Sorry, we didn't invite you to the ceremony; it was very intimate," Joaquin added solemnly.

"As long as I don't miss the baby shower," Yelena smirked.

"How did you know I was having triplets?!" Bob cracked, unable to keep a straight face any longer.

"I'm learning too much about your fake sex life here, go pine after John," Yelena said, doing a shooing motion.

"Thanks for joining me, Bobby. I completely spaced on getting a costume this year," John said as they walked into Spirit Halloween.

"No worries, I also need to find one," Bob smiled and followed John through the store.

"Are you not doing one with Joaquin?"

"Joaquin has been planning on dressing up as a character from Top Gun for months, but I can't see myself in that uniform," Bob explained.

"I didn't want him to think he had to change his idea to match me," Bob added.

"That's sweet of you," John smiled, "I'm the only one in my trio that won't be wearing a couple's costume."

"I've seen Yelena's Ghostbusters costume," Bob laughed. He hadn't seen Ava's ghost dress yet, but he knew how excited Yelena was, even if she tried to play it cool.

"And Bucky is matching with his boyfriend, Sam, that is, not me," John teased, knocking his shoulder into Bob's.

"Ha ha, very funny," Bob rolled his eyes, bumping back into John.

"Any ideas on what you want to be?" John asked, breaking away to look further down the aisle.

"I'm not sure, I'm waiting for the idea to jump out at me," Bob hummed, flipping through the costumes.

"Want to break off and meet in front of the changing rooms in twenty minutes?" John asked after a few minutes of silent browsing.

"Sounds good, don't get lost," Bob teased, heading to the Superheroes section.

Bob placed the Cowboy hat on top of his pile, trying to balance the options whilst he waited for John.

"I'm not saying you got lost, but..." Bob teased when John finally appeared.

"I got cornered by a little kid who absolutely needed the hat from the top shelf and then the wand before deciding that it was actually the crown they wanted instead," John said, almost dropping his pile as he used his arms to tell the story.

"Maybe you should dress up as a Knight," Bob joked.

"What use would a knight be without his princess?" John asked, winking at Bob.

Joaquin. Joaquin. Joaquin. Joaquin.

"I, um. I'm leaning towards Cowboy, how about you?" Bob asked, willing his blush away.

"I was also leaning towards Cowboy," John said, holding up the Cowboy hat he was holding by his side.

"But, I can find another option, you said it first," John smiled, looking at the other options in his arms.

"No, it's okay, I don't mind matching if you don't?" Bob said.

He could see the line in his peripheral vision, but he didn't care about crossing it. What could possibly go wrong with matching costumes?

"I'm more than happy to match with you, Bobby."

"I can't believe you chose to match with John and not your fake boyfriend," Yelena said, climbing out of her car.

"Who wouldn't want to be a Top Gun character??" Joaquin asked, placing his shades on.

"Someone who wants to re-enact Brokeback Mountain with a certain football player," Yelena said, rolling her eyes at Bob.

"I'd rather re-enact a Cowboy movie with a happier ending," Bob deadpanned.

"Oh, I'm sure you want a happy ending," Joaquin smirked, wrapping an arm around Bob as they walked in.

"About as much as you do with Johnny."

"What do you want to do with me?" Johnny asked, appearing at Joaquin's other side.

Bob had to bite his tongue to stop himself from laughing at how red Joaquin went as he took in Johnny's firefighter costume, complete with suspenders and a jacket, but no shirt.

"I'm going to find my girlfriend, behave, boys," Yelena blew a kiss and left them.

"Cat got your tongue?" Johnny asked, tilting his head at Joaquin.

"I didn't get much sleep?" Joaquin said, phrasing it more like a question than a statement.

"You still look great," Johnny winked and squeezed Joaquin's shoulder.

"So do you, Bob!" Johnny added, letting go of Joaquin quickly.

"Thanks, Johnny, you look great too! I'm going to go find John. Do you mind keeping Joaquin company for me?" Bob asked, biting his tongue once again at the look Joaquin shot him.

"Of course! How's beer pong sound, J?" Johnny asked, steering Joaquin towards the exit.

"Did you just send your boyfriend off with a shirtless Johnny?" Mel asked, appearing behind Bob, making him jump.

"Johnny's his best friend," Bob defended quickly, "After me, that is."

"John's in the kitchen," Mel said after a moment of studying Bob.

"Thanks, Mel, great costume!" Bob praised and made a beeline for the kitchen.

"Bobby!" John cheered, cutting Bucky off.

"Hey, John," Bob smiled, checking out his outfit. "You make a great Cowboy."

What was that saying again? Save a horse-

"So do you! The hat looks stupid on some people, but it fits you like a glove," John praised, pouring out three drinks.

"I'm also here," Bucky deadpanned.

Bob flushed and moved his attention to Bucky, who is he meant to be??

"I'm a character from one of Sam's favourite books," Bucky said, noticing the confusion on Bob's face.

"That's cute! Not cute! That's very nice of you to do, I'm sure Sam appreciated it," Bob said, visibly cringing at himself.

"I'm going to go find him again," Bucky said, grabbing one of the drinks and leaving.

"He doesn't like me, does he?" Bob sighed, accepting the drink from John and downing it in one go with a wince.

"He's like that with everyone at first, I promise," John said, pouring Bob out a second.

"I don't blame him, I did accuse him of being a cheater after all," Bob grimaced, not his brighest moment but has anything this month been?

"You were being a good friend and looking out for me," John corrected and reached into the cupboard for shot glasses.

"Shots?"

Bob lifted his head from John's shoulder and watched intently as John finished his story about something stupid Bucky did in High School. He could honestly listen to John read the phone book and hang onto his every word.

"And that's why Bucky has a small scar on his nose," John finished, turning to face Bob as he did, almost jumping back in instinct when he realised how close their faces now were.

"Bob..." John trailed off, trying not to get lost in the moment and do something stupid.

"Huh?" Bob asked, glancing down at John's lips and back up to his eyes as he slowly leaned in closer.

John leaned in until there was less than an inch between them before he snapped out of it and quickly stood up.

"What the hell, Bob?!"

"I'm sorry! I thought we were having a moment and that maybe you liked me!" Bob said in a panic.

"You're sorry because you think you misread a moment and not because you would've been cheating on your boyfriend if I didn't pull back?" John exclaimed, rubbing his hands across his face.

"The two of you are made for each other!"

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Bob asked, standing up opposite John.

"It means exactly what you think! Your precious boyfriend spends every moment he can with that Johnny guy, and I wouldn't be surprised if he's already cheated on you!"

"And then there is you, Bob Reynolds, like butter couldn't melt. You go around acting all innocent and shy, but then you try to kiss me and feel no remorse!"

Bob took a step back like he'd been physically slapped.

"Well, at least my partner didn't leave me once they realised what a complete dick I was," Bob shrugged and downed his beer, more so to hide the look of betrayal on John's face than to finish the drink. He knew it was more than a cheap shot to bring up Olivia, especially when John trusted him with that information.

"And your true colours are finally revealed," John said after a few tense moments, his face completely devoid of any emotion.

"Wow, thank you, Mr Psychology major, for that beautiful input," Bob snarked and pushed past John to head inside.

"Whoa, Bob, steady there," Ava said, putting a hand out to stop Bob in his tracks.

"I'm not in the mood for a conversation right now, Ava," Bob said, trying to break free from her surprisingly strong grip.

"Too bad, I'm not going to let you go until you tell me what's wrong," Ava said, looking concerned.

"Why don't you ask Captain Crashout about it?" Bob asked, and finally wrenched his arm free, heading straight for the kitchen.

Ava frowned and caught eyes with Bucky from where he was talking with Sam, and gestured to the door.

"Everything okay?" Bucky asked, looking Ava up and down to see if she was favouring one side more than the other.

"I appreciate the concern, Buck, but this isn't about me," Ava said and pulled him outside.

"Fuck," Bucky whispered under his breath when they got outside and saw John sitting on the steps, nursing a bloody hand.

Ava sat down next to John and held onto his uninjured hand as Bucky sat on the other side and picked up the injured one carefully.

"I didn't hit Bobby if that's what you are thinking," John said quietly, not looking up.

"The thought didn't even cross our minds," Ava assured, rubbing her thumb across John's hand.

"Fuck John, you've almost definitely broken a knuckle," Bucky said, his hand swelling up already.

"What I get for punching a wall," John shrugged, wincing as Bucky brushed over his knuckle.

"Do you want to talk about why Bob ran out of here looking the way he did, that apparently caused you to punch a wall?" Ava asked, sharing a look with Bucky over John's head.

"He tried to kiss me."

Ava winced and rested her head on John's shoulder. She'd been privy to many conversations where John gushed over Bobby and how perfect he was. Whilst she was happy to see John move on from Olivia, finally, she knew it was only a matter of time before it blew up in their faces since Bob was in a relationship.

"I'm guessing he didn't take rejection well?" Bucky asked, letting go of John's hand.

"He might've if I didn't freak out on him and call both him and Joaquin cheaters that deserve each other," John said, already regretting his reaction.

"John!" Ava groaned. That would explain Bob's reaction.

"Did something happen to make you react like that?" Bucky asked calmly.

"Bob said he was sorry for thinking we were having a moment instead of feeling guilty for almost cheating on Joaquin. It rubbed me wrong, and I just let out the thoughts I'd been holding in." John groaned; the alcohol in his system didn't help the situation.

"What exactly did you say?" Ava asked, hoping they could still salvage this.

"I said that Joaquin spends all of his time with Johnny and that I wouldn't be surprised if he'd already cheated on Bob. And implied that Bob being a nice guy was all an act because he was so quick to try and cheat," John said, his body feeling too hot from the shame running through him.

"That's...a lot to process," Bucky said and stopped John from clenching his fist again, not wanting him to hurt himself even more.

"Was anything else said?" Ava asked gently,

"Bob was angry, rightly so and commented on Olivia leaving me, and I snapped again, and then he pushed past me to leave. I realised how badly I'd fucked up, punched the wall, and then you two appeared," John shrugged and reached for his beer on the step in front.

"Nope, that's what got you into this mess," Bucky said, kicking the beer over so John couldn't have it.

"Not that I'm glad that Bob threw something sensitive in your face after you shared it in confidence, but the fact that you both said things you regret makes it less complicated to make up," Ava said, trying to find any silver lining.

"Ava's right, come tomorrow, you'll both be tripping over yourselves to apologise first," Bucky agreed, at least this is what he hoped would happen. He didn't know if John would make it through another spiral like last year.

Why did I do that? So stupid.

Bob grabbed the bottle of Vodka from the counter and poured way more than he probably should've into a plastic cup with cola.

Bob was in the process of pouring himself another cup when the door slammed open, surprise turning into concern when he saw Joaquin.

"What's wrong, J?" Bob asked, reaching for a second cup to pour Joaquin a drink.

"Johnny's making out with one of the girls from our course," Joaquin said, taking the cup thankfully.

"I'm so sorry, this is all my fault!" Bob groaned, yet another thing he'd fucked up.

"If anything, you saved me from future heartbreak because if Johnny's already moved on from me after a few weeks, then he clearly didn't have strong feelings for me," Joaquin said and took a large gulp from his cup.

"I'm sorry, I know how much you like him," Bob said and hugged him close.

"Enough about me. Why are you drowning your sorrows?" Joaquin asked.

"Had a stupid argument with John, probably ruined our friendship," Bob shrugged. It wasn't the first friendship he'd ruined by lashing out, and it probably wouldn't be the last.

"Want to get drunk together and forget about our boy problems?" Joaquin suggested.

"What's the worst that could happen?" Bob asked with a smirk, picking the bottle of Vodka up.

It had taken over an hour, but they'd finally managed to convince John to go to Urgent Care to check out his hand. Ava just hoped that it didn't affect him too much when it came to football training next week, as it would send John even further down the depression spiral he was on.

"Sorry for ruining the party, I know you were both looking forward to it," John said, holding his hand close to his chest.

"You didn't ruin anything," Bucky said, a protective arm around John as they walked through the crowd.

"You are more important than bobbing for apples; it's so unhygienic," Ava joked, glaring at someone who got too close.

"Do either of you know how Bobby's doing? I really need to apologise to him for what I said, I went too far."

John said, scanning the room as they got to the front room.

"I'm not sure, Lena hasn't replied to my messages," Ava said, looking around the room too.

"But that's not necessarily a bad thing, it's a loud party," Ava quickly added on.

"I think he's doing just fine," Bucky said in a clipped voice, glaring in the direction of the sofa.

Where Bob was on Joaquin's lap, arms wrapped around each other as they frantically made out, Bob's cowboy hat on Joaquin's head.

"Well, at least I didn't ruin a relationship alongside a friendship," John said, visibly deflating. He hadn't seen them kiss before, but of course, life decided to throw that at him when he was down.

"Urgent care." Bucky reminded and urged them to start walking again.

This was going to be a long night.

Chapter Text

"Rise and shine fuckers! You better be decent," Yelena said, walking into the room and opening the curtains.

Bob groaned and pulled the duvet over his head.

"Lena, go away," Joaquin whined, squeezing his eyes shut.

"We need to address the elephant in the room," Yelena said, going to sit on the end of the bed like she usually would during movie nights, and then shaking her head, nope. She'd heard things she could never unhear last night, and nowhere seemed safe to sit.

"I'm too hungover to unpack all of this," Bob groaned again, sinking lower in the bed.

"Bobert, get out from there before I start thinking you are doing things to Joaquin," Yelena said, throwing an empty bottle from the floor at the Bob-shaped lump.

"Oh my God," Joaquin said, looking at Yelena in horror.

"What the hell, Lena!" Bob said, shooting out of the covers.

"I wasn't doing anything to him under there!"

"Ah-ah, you weren't doing anything to him under there this morning, can't say the same about last night," Yelena teased, shoving the pile of laundry from Joaquin's desk chair onto the floor and sitting down.

"That was clean..." Joaquin snarked to himself quietly.

"Why are you so desperate to talk about last night? Yeah, Joaquin and I got drunk and hooked up. We're all adults here," Bob shrugged, sitting up straight in bed.

"Clearly something happened to lead up to this because you two are normally pining over the John's," Yelena said, like it was obvious.

"Wait, has this happened before?!" Yelena asked abruptly, leaning forward in the chair.

"Oh yeah, J and I were fucking like bunnies back in High School, did we never mention it? We were at it so often that Joaquin thought he was pregnant once," Bob deadpanned.

"This was the first time," Joaquin said, holding back a laugh.

"Geez, Bob, you'd think you'd be a little happier after a night of sex. It's not like you've been getting any recently," Yelena snarked, sticking her tongue out at Bob.

"Bob's bloodstream is ninety per cent vodka right now," Joaquin joked, reaching into the mini fridge next to his bed and grabbing a bottle of water for Bob and the tablets from his bedside table.

"You had the same amount of Vodka as me, why aren't you hungover?" Bob asked, glaring at Joaquin as he took the tablets and downed the water in almost one gulp.

"Better genes," Joaquin shrugged.

"I hate you."

"Not what you were saying last night," Joaquin winked.

"This is the bad place," Yelena said, standing up from the chair.

"You two are treating me to breakfast at the diner down the road, get up."

"Um, Lena, we're kind of naked under here..." Bob said as Yelena stared expectantly at them.

"Definitely the bad place."

"I'll go pick up breakfast, you two get cleaned up and get some coffee started," Yelena said, turning around and leaving the room.

"My wallet is on the table!" Joaquin called through after her.

John grimaced as his jacket nudged his hand as he shrugged it off.

"Are you in pain again? Give me a minute, and I can work out with one of these I need to give you," Bucky said, taking out the two bottles of tablets from his bag.

"Aleve is stronger and lasts for twelve hours, but can slow down bone repairs, and Tylenol lasts for six hours but doesn't stunt healing in any way," Ava said, placing her heels down; she'd taken them off hours ago.

"I need sleep, so we're going for the Aleve to get rid of the pain quicker," John said, holding out his hand for the tablets as Ava poured him some water.

"Sorry that I kept you at the hospital all night."

"You don't need to keep apologising for it; we were both there out of our own free will," Bucky said, placing the tablets in John's good hand.

"No way would we leave you alone," Ava said, handing him a glass with a straw.

"You both know where everything is. I'm going to go crash for a few hours and hopefully feel more human when I wake up," John said, nodding at them before going to his room.

"Any updates from Yelena?" Bucky asked, slipping his shoes off.

"Nothing about Bob, just the usual good morning messages," Ava said, breaking off into a yawn at the end.

"Hopefully Bob wakes up and realises what a dick he was last night and begs for John's forgiveness," Bucky said, dropping onto the sofa.

"Do you really think it'll be that easy?" Ava asked, pulling the throw blanket off the other sofa and curling up under it.

"We can only hope because I don't think John has another spiral in him, and with him injuring his hand this close to Homecoming..." Bucky trailed off.

"This time of year is cursed," Ava groaned.

"We should probably talk about this at some point," Bob said, watching the coffee machine whir to life.

"You aren't going to freak out on me and run away, are you?" Joaquin asked, taking three mugs out of the cupboard.

"And ruin another friendship? My most important one at that," Bob said, sitting at the counter.

"I clearly need to move on from Johnny, so I wouldn't mind this becoming a recurring thing," Joaquin admitted, leaning against the opposite counter.

"And I need to admit to myself that John doesn't see me in that way," Bob sighed. It was a nice dream whilst it lasted, but the rejection last night couldn't have been clearer.

"At least we won't have to tell people we're together," Joaquin joked, pouring out the coffee when the machine beeped.

Bob laughed and relaxed in his stance, relieved that he hadn't screwed up every corner of his life last night.

"...Did you two shower together?" Yelena asked, narrowing her eyes at the two as she entered the kitchen.

"W-why would you ask that?" Bob asked, laughing nervously.

"Joaquin should've dressed up as a Vampire last night, apparently," Yelena deadpanned, amused at how quickly Bob's hand shot up to his neck.

"Sue me," Joaquin smirked at Bob's expression.

"So this is going to become a regular thing? Not just a Halloween hookup?" Yelena questioned, laying out the breakfast items.

"May as well," Bob shrugged, reaching for the box labelled Bob.

"Wow, so romantic, being each other's rebound," Yelena rolled her eyes. These boys were going to be the death of her.

"I come bearing coffee, energy drinks and ice cream," Mel said as she let herself into John's apartment.

"Mel, you are amazing," Ava gushed, happily taking one of the coffees.

"Thank you, Mel," John smiled politely, reaching for a coffee as Mel handed Bucky an energy drink.

"Who was working in the coffee shop?" John asked, playing with the lid and purposely ignoring the looks Ava and Bucky were sharing.

"Johnny, a very hungover Johnny," Mel said, heading into the kitchen to grab a few spoons.

John winced as he remembered what he said to Bob about Joaquin and Johnny.

"It was awkward, but it gave me a chance to apologise for what I said to him last night," Mel said, placing the spoons on the table as she sat down.

"What did you say to Johnny?" Bucky asked curiously.

"I may have implied that he was trying to draw Joaquin away from Bob, and that it was obvious to anyone who looked that he likes Joaquin," Mel winced, picking up the bag of ice cream tubs.

"How did that even come up??" Ava asked, raising an eyebrow at Mel.

"Johnny turned down a girl and tried to play it off, and I was multiple cocktails in at that point," Mel groaned.

"But whatever I said worked because the next time I saw him, he had his tongue down a girl's throat," Mel shrugged and placed the ice cream options on the table.

"Good for him," John grumbled and reached for the carton of lemon ice cream.

"I was just suspicious because Bob and Joaquin were acting weird when they got to the party. Bob didn't even blink at shirtless Johnny having his arms wrapped around Joaquin, who also had no complaints, and then Bob actively sent them off together. And we never see them kiss, the most they do is hold hands!" Mel said, reaching for the pistachio ice cream and a spoon.

"I realised when I saw them kissing at the party that they were probably trying to get Johnny to join them, and I totally cockblocked them by scaring Johnny off," Mel said casually, making Bucky choke on his drink.

"Not where I thought that story was going," Ava admitted, tearing the seal off her strawberry ice cream.

"Maybe not the best story to be telling right now?" Bucky said, chancing a quick look at John, who had a blank expression.

"Why not? They are dating, and I have to get used to that, but for real this time. I clearly got too comfortable and gave out mixed signals," John shrugged.

"It's not your fault that Bob tried to kiss you."

"I clearly gave out some signals that I like Bob, which I do, because he tried to kiss me, that's on me," John said and placed the ice cream back on the table. It was way too sweet to have more than a few spoonfuls.

"I think you both just need to sit down and talk everything through now that you are sober," Mel said, nudging the mint ice cream over to John.

"He needs to apologise for what he said to you; he was out of line," Bucky said. He wasn't letting Bob off the hook quite so easily.

"I wasn't exactly sunshine and rainbows to him either, Buck."

"No, but you trusted Bob with that information, and he threw it back at you intentionally knowing it would hurt," Ava said, placing a hand on John's shoulder.

"Can we talk about something else now? Please," John asked, he couldn't keep looping the same thoughts around his mind, he felt like he was going insane.

"You two disgust me," Yelena said, watching Joaquin run his fingers through an almost sleeping Bob's hair.

"You're just jealous because Ava hasn't messaged you today," Bob said, not opening his eyes.

"Gets a boyfriend and now suddenly he's a comedian," Yelena snarked fondly.

Joaquin looked at the door, confused when there was a knock and looked at Yelena hopefully.

"Can you get that, please? We're too busy being disgusting."

"Everyone's a comedian," Yelena pushed Joaquin's head playfully as she passed by and opened the door.

"Bucky? Is everything okay?" Yelena asked, confused about why he'd need to visit this late.

"Is Bob here? I went to his dorm, but he wasn't there, so I assumed this was the next best shot," Bucky said, looking over Yelena's shoulder.

"Yeah, he's here. Come in," Yelena said, still confused about the visit.

"He's in the front room with Joaquin."

Yelena closed the door and quickly followed after Bucky, who had already rushed off.

"Yel, who was it? Oh, hey, Bucky. I'm not sure if we've spoken properly before, I'm Joaquin!" Joaquin said politely, nodding at him.

"Is it possible to talk to Bob alone?" Bucky asked, nodding politely at Joaquin.

"Anything you need to say can be said in front of Joaquin and Lena," Bob said, sitting up but not moving from Joaquin's side.

"Are you sure?" Bucky asked, looking between the couple and shrugging when Bob nodded.

"Why did you try to kiss John? You are the first new friend he's actively tried to have since Lemar moved away last year, and you messing with his head and throwing his past in his face was a total dick move," Bucky said bluntly, crossing his arms across his chest.

Bob winced and sat up straighter in his seat.

"I got caught up in the moment, and then I was embarrassed and angry about it, so I lashed out. I want to apologise to John, but I didn't want to bother him today," Bob explained.

In all honesty, he didn't want to see John, just in case John ended their friendship officially.

"I see you had more important things to do," Bucky snarked, looking at Joaquin.

"Whoa, okay, that's where I'm going to stop you. Bob has been feeling guilty about this since it happened, but he's not going to sit in a dark room feeling sorry for himself when he's got me and Lena," Joaquin said, rubbing a thumb across Bob's side.

"Your boyfriend tries to cheat on you, and you defend it?" Bucky asked in disbelief.

"Does he have a magic dick or something?!"

"And that's where I'm stopping you," Yelena said, grabbing Bucky's arm and pushing him towards the door.

"No one talks to Bob like that. If you want to ride Walker's dick so bad, then why don't you go and do it?" Yelena said, opening the door.

"I don't like John like that, and I have a boyfriend. I know that means something different around here, but I'm not a cheater," Bucky said as he turned around and left.

"I shouldn't have gone to that party," Bob groaned, getting up from the sofa.

"I'm heading to bed. Thanks for defending me, Lena," Bob smiled weakly before leaving, Joaquin following after him.