Chapter Text
The other shoe dropped three days later.
Sam Wilson had never had any intention to meet Nick Fury. He’d just about given up when he’d heard Fury was the leading producer for the show. When he’d been cut, he thought he was in the clear. And, yet, here he was, staring at the man’s immaculate desk. He felt very much so like a scolded school child, head hung low along with Steve’s. Bucky still looked furious.
The man eventually stalked into the room, banging the door open and causing Sam to jump. Maria Hill was quick on his tail. “Do any of you want to explain this?” he asked, throwing a tablet down in front of them with approximately a thousand news stories and blogs about the same thing. Steve had found it this morning, before this meeting had even been called.
A maid at the hotel had told all about sordid nights and mixed laundry and constant bedsheet dry cleaning. Despite the NDA everyone involved with the show had had to sign, the story got out and the woman had quit. Supposedly, she’d told Stark that she’d come into a windfall of money and didn’t need his billionaire scraps anymore.
Bucky had instantly blamed Brock. (“Doesn’t she know his money is just Pierce’s and that’s billionaire scraps too?”)
“How does something like this not come up until the finale of the show?” Fury demanded.
Bucky shrugged. “Didn’t think I had to report who I was fucking to the network,” he said coldly.
“A little forewarning would be nice.”
“Mr. Fury, with all do respect,” Steve started. “This is a violation of our privacy. Someone sold our secrets to the media. We made sure not to engage in any PDA anywhere near the cameras or on the show. And I assure you, it had nothing to do with my judging. I mean, Sam didn’t even make the finals.”
“I’m not worried about images of biased decision making on a celebrity baking show. I’m worried about a sex scandal on a celebrity baking show! This show will never get another season. If it did, it’d be the sex show. We might as well change our name to The Bachelor.”
“If there were women involved--” Bucky started but Fury held up a hand.
“Don’t even finish that stupid ass question.”
“We’ll make a statement. Come out as a unit. There’s no reason to deny it. You can spin it as a love story, not just sex. It wasn’t just sex,” Sam said firmly. “The world already knew about Steve and Bucky. And no one is going to remember my name in a few weeks. Bucky and I are going to go back to the life we were living. It’ll be something that comes up in stupid listicles once a year, and next season you’ll have something else ridiculous to talk about.
“Mr. Fury, someone tried to burn my hand off and the public forgot about it because the next few episodes were tear jerkers. This is not the rock bottom you think it is.”
Fury glared at them and Maria clicked her tongue in distaste. Still, the producer took the tablet back from them and turned off the screen. “If any of you so much as step out of line for the next several weeks, I’m going to have your social media presences erased from the internet for a year.”
“It’s blackmail, Fury. People from my past are trying to make sure I stay where they want me. I’m not going to let that happen. And I’m not going to give up my relationships to keep them, or you, happy,” Bucky said. He stood up and adjusted the jacket he was wearing. “I have a bake to get ready for, if you don’t mind.”
Without waiting for a response, he left and, with an apologetic glance at Fury, Steve followed him. Fury watched them go and then looked at Sam. “I thought you’d be a level headed one,” he said.
Sam shrugged. “What can I say? I’m full of surprises.” And he left too.
~ ~ ~
Sam tugged at Bucky’s arm to get him to tighten it around Sam’s waist, drawing him back. “Where are you gonna put that big old thing in the little ass bakery you bought?” Sam asked, grinning at the second place trophy hanging out of the moving box in the corner of the bedroom.
Riley had decided he needed to move in with his new beau immediately and Bucky made the quick decision to move his bakery from the West Coast hideaway he’d holed up in to avoid his past and New York, back home. And with that, he’d need a place to stay and Sam just happened to have a room open now.
Bucky grumbled behind him and pressed his face between Sam’s shoulder blades. “Stop talking to me this early in the morning.”
Steve came out of the bathroom in time to catch Sam elbowing Bucky’s ribs and tsk-ed at them lightly, crawling into the bed on Sam’s front side. “Can’t you two behave for five minutes?”
Sam shook his head against Steve’s shoulder and wrapped an arm around his waist. “I’m being perfectly civil. He’s the one being a grouch.”
“Mmm, maybe we should lift his spirits,” Steve suggested, earning a groan from Bucky. Sam laughed and turned over, pushing Bucky onto his back and shifting to his other side so he could kiss Bucky’s neck while Steve started in on his chest.
“You’re both the worst,” Bucky accused, but brought his fingers up to their hair.
With a warm flush to his skin and his soul, Sam thought he might make chocolate muffins later.