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Yelena prided herself on being observant. Of course, she was an ex-Widow after all. The Red Room did that to you. It sharpened your senses, made you hyperaware of everything and everyone around you. So, she wasn’t surprised when she was the first one to notice.
It had started small.
She caught the first signs just a couple of weeks after they had all moved into the Watchtower. Walker would casually stroll into the common area to join the rest of them, acting like he didn’t care who was around. But without fail, he’d bring a snack for Bob before settling into his own seat.
One evening, Bob had come down in just a T-shirt, clearly having forgotten how cold the Watchtower lounge could get. Without a word, Walker shrugged off his hoodie and tossed it to him. “You’ll freeze,” he’d muttered, and Bob had caught it with both hands, a little startled, then gave this sheepish smile as he pulled it on. He kept it on the rest of the night.
It might not have seemed like a big deal – after all, they all kind of treated Bob like he was something precious, like he needed to be coddled and protected at all times. Which, honestly, was kind of true. Bob was... delicate. Not fragile, not weak – just gentle in a way that made people want to wrap him in bubble wrap and tell him everything was going to be okay.
But this? This was not Walker’s style.
Yelena had expected him to dial down the asshole behavior, sure. Maybe even make an effort to be nice. That much, she could chalk up to him trying to make Bob feel safe. But bringing snacks? Giving him his hoodie? That felt like a step too far. It was too... thoughtful. Too consistent. Too not John Walker.
And that wasn’t even the end of it.
The snacks were just the beginning. Soon it became Bob’s blanket during movie nights. Then his water bottle. Then, without a word, Walker started changing his seat to be closer to Bob. Always a little bit closer. And he didn’t even make a show of it. Just... a quiet repositioning until he was beside him.
And the way he talked to Bob?
It was completely different from how he spoke to the rest of them. Softer. Like his voice went down a register, like he didn’t want to startle him. Like he wanted Bob to listen and feel safe, really safe. And Bob did listen. Every time. Head tilted slightly, eyes blinking slowly, like a cat warming to a new spot on the couch.
Once, during a conversation that had turned heavier than expected – Ava talking about losing control – Yelena caught Walker glancing at Bob, just to check in. Bob had looked back, nodded once, and Walker had visibly relaxed. Not a word exchanged. Just a look.
At first, Yelena had been stubborn about it. She told herself over and over that it was just the Bob effect. Everyone treated Bob a little differently. Not because they were afraid of the Void – though, let’s be real, the Void was a terrifying wildcard – but because they genuinely liked Bob. They cared about him. They wanted him to be okay. And they all knew that for Bob to stay okay, he needed the team's support. Constant, steady, grounding support.
They were slowly, clumsily, forming into this bizarre, traumatized, dysfunctional little family. And despite herself, Yelena was starting to love it.
But still.
There was something different about the way Walker looked at him. Something careful. Something... almost tender. Not pitying, not patronizing. Just soft . And what made things even more interesting was that Bob responded to it. Not just tolerated it – enjoyed it.
He smiled at Walker more than anyone else. That wide, toothy smile that somehow made his entire face light up like a kid opening presents on Christmas morning. His eyes would crinkle at the corners. His shoulders relaxed. He leaned into Walker, sometimes literally.
And once – just once – Yelena swore she saw Walker blush.
It wasn’t much, just a flicker of red across his ears and cheeks, quickly hidden by him turning away to reach for the popcorn. But she saw it.
And she did not forget it.
So after quite some time of this happening, Yelena finally voiced her observations to the rest of the team. It had been quietly building in her mind – the way Walker acted around Bob, how Bob responded – and it started to itch under her skin. Something was going on. She just didn’t know what yet.
She waited until a calm evening, when everyone was around the dining table except for Bob and Walker, picking at leftovers and trading stories about nothing important.
“I think something’s up with Walker and Bob,” she said, casual as anything, popping a cherry tomato into her mouth.
Alexei, who had just sat down with a bowl of something suspiciously canned, frowned. “Up like what? Did they fight? Did someone die?”
“No,” she said, chewing. “They’re being... weird.”
Ava looked up from her phone. “Define weird.”
Yelena shrugged. “Walker brings him food. Gets him water. Blanket during movie night. Talks different around him. Soft. I don’t know.”
Alexei barked a short laugh. “Maybe he hit his head. Maybe the Void scared manners into him.”
Yelena gave him a flat look. “You’re not funny.”
“I’m not saying they’re… I don’t know, okay?” she added, before anyone could go there. “I just think something is going on. And I want to know what.”
Bucky, sitting off to the side peeling the label off a bottle again, spoke up without looking at anyone. “I’ve seen some things too. Thought it was just Walker trying to be less of an ass.”
Yelena’s eyes narrowed slightly. “You noticed, and didn’t say anything?”
Bucky finally looked up. “Didn’t think it mattered. Bob smiles more lately. That’s enough for me.”
Ava was squinting, thoughtful now. “I mean... I haven’t really noticed much. But now that you mention it... maybe.”
Alexei rolled his eyes. “They live in same building. We all do. Maybe he’s just being... polite. Sometimes people do nice things. Doesn’t mean it’s some mystery.”
Ava gave him a sideways look. “Thanks for the insight, Socrates.”
Yelena didn’t bother responding. “Just watch them. Now that you know, you’ll see it. Something’s going on. I don’t know what kind of something. But it's something .”
She wasn’t trying to spin a theory yet. She didn’t have one. Not exactly. But her instincts were tugging at her, and they didn’t usually do that without reason. She didn’t think it was just Walker being polite, and she definitely didn’t think Bob was oblivious.
She would keep watching. So would they.
So one thing led to another, and soon enough, the whole team was in on it.
It started slow, just the occasional side-eye during meals or casual glances passed between teammates when Walker brought Bob something without being asked. But it escalated faster than she expected. Within a couple of weeks, it had turned into something of a full-blown operation. Once a week – usually late at night when Bob and Walker were off somewhere together – they would gather in the kitchen or someone's room and quietly exchange notes, like spies comparing field reports.
Yelena kept mental tabs on the changes. The dynamic between Walker and Bob had shifted. They weren’t just friendly anymore. They were even softer with each other, like they had slipped into something tender without even noticing it themselves.
They cuddled.
Like actually cuddled.
Not just sitting close or sharing a blanket – though there was plenty of that – but fully leaning into each other, comfortable and shameless in the kind of closeness that no one else on the team dared to question.
They were practically glued together. Whether it was training breaks or downtime in the Watchtower common area, Bob and Walker somehow ended up side by side, often sitting so close their arms were touching from shoulder to wrist. It had become a natural part of the background.
And the outings – Yelena kept count. Twice a week, sometimes more, they left together. Just the two of them. No mission. No errands. Just them, disappearing for hours. Once, Bob came back holding a little paper bag from that bakery near the harbor with those ridiculous cream-filled pastries he liked, and Walker had sugar on his hoodie. She noted it silently.
And the watermelon slushy.
That became a thing.
Every time Walker returned from his morning run, he brought a huge watermelon slushy – Bob’s favorite, the one that came from that stall two blocks away where the guy added extra syrup if you tipped. It didn’t matter what the weather was like. Rain, wind, morning heat – Walker came back with it like clockwork, handed it off to Bob, and acted like it meant nothing.
But Yelena noticed the way Bob’s entire face lit up when he took the drink. She noticed the way Walker lingered just long enough to see it.
She also noticed Ava watching from the hallway mirror once, biting her lip to keep from laughing.
Then it grew from there.
They started touching each other casually. A lot. Not in a weird way, not dramatic. Just... like it was normal. A brush of fingers on the arm. A hand steadying the other at the back. Bob would sometimes reach for Walker’s wrist without realizing it when they were watching something intense on the screen, and Walker never pulled away. If anything, he leaned into it.
And then there was the hair thing.
That started just last week, and it was still driving Yelena insane in the best, most fascinated way.
During movie nights, when the team settled in with snacks, Bob and Walker would always claim one of the couches for themselves. Not the big L-shaped one where the rest usually sprawled, but the smaller two-seater off to the side.
At first it was just the two of them curled up under a blanket – whatever, fine. But then Walker started playing with Bob’s hair.
Gently.
Absentmindedly.
As if he had always done it. As if Bob’s head belonged there, half-draped across his lap, while his fingers curled through soft strands.
And Bob looked like he’d melt. He’d go perfectly still, blinking slow like a sleepy cat, barely even watching the screen. If he’d purred, no one would have been surprised.
The others pretended not to notice, but they noticed. The silence in the room during those moments was very specific – charged, tense, and occasionally punctuated by Ava’s barely contained giggles or Bucky’s long-suffering sighs.
Yelena, on her part, sat with her popcorn in hand and narrowed eyes.
It was something. And it was only getting more obvious.
The next weekly gossip session with the team followed that new development like clockwork.
They gathered in one of the usual spots – the small common room lit only by the dull glow of the overhead lights and the muted hum of the Watchtower’s engines far below. Someone had grabbed a box of snacks earlier, and now it sat half-empty on the table, forgotten in the rush of quiet excitement.
Yelena was the first to speak, clearing her throat to catch everyone’s attention. “Have you noticed how... different Walker and Bob have been lately? Even more than before?”
She let the question hang in the air for a moment, watching as the team’s faces shifted from casual to curious.
Bucky was the first to nod slowly, rubbing the back of his neck. “Yeah, I caught it too. The way Walker looks at Bob sometimes, like he’s waiting for him to say something or... I don’t know, just being there for him.”
Alexei frowned in confusion. “Come on. They’re just close friends. We all live here. That’s nothing unusual.”
Yelena exchanged a look with Bucky, both of them smiling slightly at Alexei’s obliviousness. “Close friends don’t spend half their downtime holding hands or sharing a couch like it’s the most natural thing in the world,” she said, voice low but firm.
“Huh. They’re definitely dating,” she said, as if she had just put the pieces together herself.
Ava, sitting back with her arms crossed, smirked. “Maybe they’re trying to play it cool. You know, not making a big deal of it.”
“Maybe,” Yelena said thoughtfully. “I think Walker’s the type to keep things quiet. Especially, If he was closeted for a long time, maybe he’s only now feeling the pressure to be himself... or at least not hide it anymore.”
Alexei shrugged, still looking puzzled but quieter now. “I guess it makes sense. I just didn’t think Walker was the type to do that stuff openly.”
Bucky chuckled softly. “Yeah, well, he’s changed. And Bob... he’s different with Walker. More relaxed. More him .”
Yelena nodded, feeling a warmth in her chest. The team was starting to accept this unspoken truth, even if it wasn’t officially out in the open yet.
“So,” Ava said, breaking the silence with a teasing grin, “we just keep acting like we don’t notice. No awkward questions. Let them come out to us on their own.”
Everyone agreed.
They would keep it cool.
They would keep it quiet.
Because sometimes, the best support was the one that came without words.
However, it turned out that keeping things cool and quiet was far harder than anyone had expected.
Now that they knew what was going on, Yelena noticed the shift in the team’s behavior. Everyone – herself included – was acting differently. Their attempts at subtlety were failing spectacularly. They tiptoed around the couple like fragile glass, trying not to shatter the illusion of normalcy but only making it more obvious.
If Bob and Walker thought the team hadn’t caught on, they were very oblivious, or just lost in their honeymoon phase.
They left rooms quickly whenever they saw Bob and Walker alone, giving them “alone time,” or so they claimed. But their sudden and overly enthusiastic emphasis on friendship and family felt forced and awkward. It was like they were trying so hard not to be suspicious that they were coming off as suspicious anyway.
Yelena caught Ava and Alexei once, pretending to have a serious conversation about something completely unrelated, but their eyes kept darting toward the living room where Bob and Walker lounged side by side on the couch.
“Did you see the way Walker handed Bob that drink yesterday?” Ava whispered conspiratorially, folding her arms like a detective about to crack a case. “I swear it was like watching a rom-com scene. I almost giggled”
Alexei nodded slowly, frowning in confusion but clearly trying to play it cool. “It is a little much for me. Like, all this effort to act normal… I can’t do it for much longer”
Yelena bit back a smile. She could admit it – this whole thing had become a mess of them tiptoeing around Bob and Walker, avoiding normal conversations, and generally acting like they were walking on eggshells.
The team was caught between wanting to respect their privacy and struggling not to burst out with questions or wild theories.
It finally came to a breaking point one evening.
They were all gathered in the common room, the usual cluster of bodies with snacks and blankets scattered about, like they were all waiting for the movie to start. Walker walked in, settling into his usual spot next to Bob with that casual ease that made the rest of the team exchange meaningful looks.
Yelena caught Alexei’s eye and gave a subtle nod. Alexei cleared his throat and said, “I’ve got something to show you – Ava, Yelena, Bucky. Come on.”
One by one, they started moving toward the door, their voices lowered in playful whispers.
“Bob and Walker don’t need to join us,” Yelena said with a teasing smile. “They can enjoy the movie on their own.”
But just as they were about to leave, Bob called out, “Wait, what do you mean? The movie’s about to start.”
Ava replied calmly, “Yeah, well, this can’t wait. We double-booked.”
Bucky added, “There’s a training session.”
Walker glanced between Bucky and Alexei. “I thought you were showing them something?”
They all exchanged uneasy looks, trying to find the right words, when Walker cut in firmly, “You’re not leaving.”
Everyone froze, turning fully back to him with a mixture of surprise – and a flicker of fear at being caught.
The room felt heavier, as if all the unspoken words were suddenly pressing down on them.
Walker leaned forward, his brow furrowed with concern. “Alright, enough of this,” he said, voice steady but edged with curiosity. “What exactly is going on with you? I’ve noticed the way you all keep disappearing when Bob and I are nearby.”
Bob shifted uneasily beside him, his usual gentle shyness amplified by the sudden attention. “Is it me?” Bob asked quietly, eyes flicking between the group. “Did I do something wrong? Why does everyone keep leaving the room?”
Walker’s hand found its way to Bob’s back, a quiet reassurance. “No, no,” he said softly, voice warm, “it’s definitely not you. None of this. We all care about you.” His gaze swept back to the others. “Right?”
The rest of the team nodded quickly, trying to show their support but also clearly uneasy.
After a brief pause filled with hesitant glances and exchanged looks, Yelena finally broke the silence. “Okay, fine. We know,” she admitted, her voice steady but careful. “We know about you two.”
To her surprise, Bob and Walker exchanged confused glances, their brows knitting together as if trying to understand what exactly was being implied.
The rest of the team shifted awkwardly, the tension thickening. Yelena took a deep breath, trying to explain. “We’ve all noticed how things have changed between you two. The little things – the snacks, the blankets, the way you sit together during movies... it’s hard to miss.”
Bob and Walker still looked baffled, their expressions asking silently for more clarity. Yelena was about to continue when Alexei cut in abruptly.
“You’re dating. We know it,” he declared, his voice firm and matter-of-fact.
A stunned silence followed, as if the air itself had been sucked out of the room.
Everyone stared at Alexei, then at the couple. The words hung among them, heavy and undeniable, even though no one had dared say it outright before.
Yelena’s heart pounded in her chest, caught between amusement and disbelief. She wondered how long Bob and Walker had been oblivious to something everyone else found so obvious. Maybe they had misunderstood something, she thought briefly. But how could they? The way Bob and Walker moved around each other, their quiet closeness – they were clearly a couple.
Then, unexpectedly, Bob burst out laughing. It was a light, almost nervous sound that broke the tension in the room. Walker blinked, pulling himself out of his frozen state to look at Bob with a mixture of confusion and irritation. “What the hell?” Walker asked, voice sharp. “We are not dating.”
Bob’s laughter continued, amused at the situation, while Walker’s expression darkened, defensive. “I mean, come on, guys, it’s not like that,” Walker insisted. “We’re not a couple.”
The room shifted with the sudden back-and-forth, the energy tense but oddly charged. Bucky finally stepped in, cutting through the awkwardness with blunt honesty. “Why not?” he said firmly. “You clearly like each other. You act like a couple already. What’s the problem?”
Another silence fell. This time, both Walker and Bob were frozen, caught off guard by Bucky’s straightforwardness.
Yelena hadn’t expected Bucky to be so blunt, but now that he had spoken, she found herself joining in. “He’s right,” she added quietly, glancing at Walker. “Why not?”
She caught something flicker in Walker’s eyes – a hint of realization, a crack in his usual guarded expression. He opened his mouth, perhaps to deflect or deny again, but before he could speak, Bob leaned forward, voice earnest and steady.
“Would you want to?” Bob asked, his eyes searching Walker’s face.
Yelena watched closely, noticing the subtle tremble in Bob’s hands, the slight quiver in his breath. Though brave enough to ask, Bob’s eyes betrayed a flicker of fear and hesitation – the fear of rejection, the vulnerability that came with putting his feelings on the line so openly.
A cold knot tightened in Yelena’s stomach. She would kill Walker if he broke Bob’s heart. And now, just as she felt herself brace for Walker’s response, the room seemed to hold its breath with her.
To everyone’s surprise, Walker’s face softened, a slow smile breaking through. His eyes lit up with something like relief and hope. Leaning forward, his voice dropped to a quiet murmur that might have been missed if the others weren’t frozen in silent anticipation.
“Yes,” Walker breathed.
Without hesitation, he surged forward and kissed Bob.
The room exploded into a mixture of quiet shock and warmth. They stayed still for a moment longer, the air thick with the weight of what was happening.
A flush of awkwardness crept over her as she watched them - their lips moving together with a shy urgency that made everything else fade away. She was genuinely happy for them, but the sudden intensity of their closeness left her feeling a little out of place.
Her eyes flicked around at the others, who were equally frozen, caught between surprise and a growing awkwardness on their faces.
Feeling the moment had run its course, Yelena gently raised a hand and motioned for the others to quietly slip away, giving the couple the space they deserved. She caught Bucky’s eye, and he nodded, understanding instantly.
As they filed out, Yelena’s mind buzzed with thoughts. How had they all seen this before Bob and Walker themselves? It was strange, she thought, how love could be the most obvious thing and yet so easy to overlook.
Her thoughts drifted, and she barely noticed where they were going until the elevator doors slid shut with a soft ding. The sudden change in surroundings brought her back, and Bucky broke the silence with a low chuckle.
“Well, that just happened,” he said, voice rough but amused.
A small smile tugged at Yelena’s lips, and she nodded slightly as the others quietly exchanged amused giggles in the elevator. This was oddly satisfying.
The End