Duckling

Part 9

Steve was outside grabbing the mail when Bucky pulled up. He could barely look him in the eye when he declined his offer to prepare him something for lunch, saying he only stopped by to swap the bike for their pickup. He hated to keep something so important from his oldest friend, but if he told them, and he was wrong, they'd end up suffering the loss all over again.

Plus, he had a more pressing matter to tend to: finding out who this boyfriend of yours was.

The drive to the garage wasn't long, and he still didn't know what he was going to say as he walked through the door into the office.

"Hello, I'm Peter. Can I help you?"

Oh, hell no. The guy who approached Bucky had to be somewhere in his early 30s. He felt the air leave his lungs as he searched for the right words. Rage began to build when the guy only rose a brow at him.

"Yeah," Bucky growled. "Your girlfriend called you earlier for me about some Chevelle parts."

"My girlfriend?" Bucky noted the man's confusion, and immediately began to relax. It appeared this was not the man you were involved with. "You must've spoken to my nephew. He's in here."

The man beckoned him to follow him into the garage, but Bucky stopped short at seeing a familiar figure kneeling on the floor.

OH

HELL

NO

The man reached for the stereo and turned it down. "Derek, this gentleman's here to pick up some parts."

"Right." Derek looked up, the same apathetic expression on his face that Bucky wanted to punch. "For the Chevelle?"

"Yes. You're- Y/N's boyfriend?" Bucky asked, almost forgetting to call you the name the boys at the shop used.

At the mention of your name, Derek's demeanor changed; his features visibly perked and his back straightened. He looked almost proud as he replied, "That's right."

Bucky ignored Derek's uncle when he excused himself to tend to another customer, and only stared at Derek's retreating back as he went to wash his hands to retrieve the parts for him.

'Hey, Beautiful', the words he greeted you with came back to Bucky. He'd heard Derek's voice before, and he should've recognized it, but the tone was different. He sounded pleased, not bored or annoyed like Bucky had heard every other time.

Though he'd only spoken to you for a few minutes, he could tell you were a good, sweet kid. You were friends with the sheriff's kid for goodness sake! He couldn't figure how you could get caught up with someone like him; how a hooligan like Derek could even stand a chance with someone like you.

Then he remembered Natasha's interest in him. Of course that's what it was. He was big, good-looking, and aloof. A textbook 'Bad Boy', and you'd fallen for his charm. The thought made him sick to his stomach, and he was about to storm out when he remembered how he snubbed Natasha. Was it because of you? Somehow, he didn't see a guy like Derek having any respect for anyone or anything, let alone a high school relationship.

Yet, he didn't recall ever seeing Derek alone with a girl, nor him paying much attention to the ones who spoke to him. The only time was just before the first game of the lacrosse season, but did that even count? Both girls were made up, with their hair done nicely. Surely they wouldn't do that if they were playing, thus the jerseys they wore had to belong to their significant others, didn't they?

Bucky also remembered Derek wearing a lacrosse jersey that day, yet being surprised to see him running down the stands at a later game when Brock tackled another player who turned out to be... a girl. One who had Derek worried she'd been hurt.