a collab for the 2019 @stuckyaubang
@bastgrr / ao3: vi, viii, x, xii, xv, xvi
@ewlyn / ao3: header, xiii, xiv, xvii
@lisamott9 / ao3: ix, xviii
fic by: @iamonlydancing / ao3
Rating/Warnings: Explicit, Graphic Depictions of Violence
Wordcount: 80k
Relationships: Steve/Bucky, minor Peggy/Steve
Tags: Ballet AU, Thriller, Murder Mystery, Slow Burn, Pining, Friends to Lovers, Minor Character Death, Past Child Abuse, Injury, Sharing a Bed, Past Domestic Violence, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Explicit Sexual Content, mentions of drug abuse, Car Accidents, Animal Death, Russian Natasha Romanov, Jewish Bucky Barnes, Modern Setting, Los Angeles, Social Media
Bucky Barnes is a dancer down on his luck. With an old injury in danger of flaring up at any moment, and a stalled career, he just wants his life back on track. Years of icing his feet, counting calories, the rap of a switch on the back of his calves, and he still has something to prove. At least compared to his best friend. Then again, Bucky’s been chasing Steve's heels since they were kids.
Steve is the top principal in their company, and the greatest dancer to come out of America in the last ten years. It's no wonder he has his share of admirers. For years Steve’s fans have respected the boundary between personal and public. It was only a matter of time until someone stepped over the line.
Or the one where dancers all along the California coast are dying in suspicious circumstances. The only connection between all of them: Steve. Meanwhile, Bucky fights tooth and nail for a lead role in Peggy’s new ballet. And he’s willing to do anything to have it.