Archive of Our Own ^beta

*★ ～☆・ :.*♕*.: ・☆～★ *

Steve could feel Sam’s eyes on him and he knew his best friend had a gigantic smirk on his face.

Steve ignored him and focused on his phone.

Sam nudged him with his elbow.

Steve smiled as the text came through, his thumbs rapidly typing out a response.

Sam’s breath fanned over the side of Steve’s face.

Steve turned his body so Sam couldn’t see the texts.

“Steve!” Sam nearly shouted, drawing attention from the people all around them, mingling in Italy in Epcot. “Stop ignoring me. You’re going to spend the night with him anyway, spend the day with me in Italy instead.”

Steve rolled his eyes and looked up from his phone for the first time in the past thirty minutes. “Don’t be mad at me for having an almost-boyfriend. You and Nat have been trying to set me up for ages. And we’ve already been to Italy, Sam. The real Italy.”

Sam pouted. “But people were shooting at us then.”

Steve huffed and turned back to his phone.

Prince Charming <3: oh yeah, what are you gonna do about it, tough guy?

Steve smirked and typed out his response.

“You’re sexting right now!” Sam shrieked again, having stuck his head near Steve’s so he could see the messages as Steve was distracted. “Dude, it’s his lunch break and you’re in a family-friendly theme park.”

Steve dismissed him with a wave of his hand. “I’m not going to jack off right here. I’ll do it with Bucky later tonight.”

Sam groaned, resting his head in his hands muttering about white boys and love in general.

Sam was just jealous because he didn’t have a Bucky, but Steve did.

It’s been two weeks since their first date and they’ve spent nearly every night together since then. They’ve seen the fireworks together, swam in Steve’s hotel pool, went out for dinner in the city, joined the rest of the Avengers for a late-night volleyball game. 

Steve was in an eternal state of bliss. There wasn’t a moment where he wasn’t smiling, wasn’t thinking about Bucky smiling, or laughing, or sleeping, or eating, or staring up with wide eyes as fireworks danced across the sky, the perfect metaphor for how Steve felt every second he spent with Bucky.

He knew this was the honeymoon stage. He knew they hadn’t talked about what they meant to each other, what their label was, what was going to happen at the end of this week when Steve got on a plane back to Brooklyn and Bucky stayed in Orlando. 

But he was going to enjoy it whilst it lasted because Steve knew from past experience that this feeling was fleeting and he needed to grab it with both hands and never let go.

Just then Nat and Peter turned up with armfuls of Swedish fish from a shop in the Sweden part of the park and the four of them headed into the Italian restaurant Sam and Steve had been standing in front of to get some lunch. 

For the rest of the day, Steve was buzzing out of his skin. The buzz didn’t leave Steve until he was waving his friends goodbye, skipping to the hotel car park and opening the door to a small, red car.

Steve turned to Bucky in the passenger, opening his mouth to greet his almost-boyfriend with a friendly hello, but was cut off as Bucky smashed his lips against Steve’s.

Steve immediately groaned, his hide coming up to grip Bucky’s hair, Bucky leaning over to place more pressure on Steve.

Bucky pulled back a few minutes later, smirking as he wiped his mouth with his sleeve before reaching over and clicking Steve’s seatbelt into place.

Steve blinked at him, his chest heaving and his skin tingling. “Hello to you too.”

Bucky shrugged, turning his head to check behind the car before pulling out of the car park. “Been wanting to do that since my lunch break.”

Steve flushed, resting his head on the headrest, his cheek pressed against it so he could look at Bucky as he drove. The soft pink and orange glow of the setting sun filtered into the car, making Bucky’s eyes shine and his skin look golden. Steve wanted to kiss every part of him.

“Sam said it was inappropriate to be texting you like that during your lunch break.”

Before Steve could apologise because when he did think about it, it was inappropriate no matter how much they both enjoyed it, Bucky laughed.

“Connie said the exact same thing,” his shoulders were shaking with laughter, his eyes trained on the traffic around them.

“Maybe we should listen to them.”

Bucky smirked. “Maybe.”

Quiet fell over the car then, Bucky concentrating on the road, Steve concentrating on memorising every detail of Bucky’s face, a pop song playing softly from the speakers. 

The drive to Bucky’s apartment was only about thirty minutes, so soon they found themselves getting out of Bucky’s car and meeting at the hood, clasping hands before getting their way into Bucky’s apartment.

He dropped the keys in the bowl near the door, both of them slipping off their shoes before falling onto the couch, arms wrapped around each other.

Steve was on his back, looking up at the ceiling, Bucky’s full weight on top of him, his cheek pressed into Steve’s chest. They breathed silently for a few minutes before Steve started to brush his fingers through Bucky’s hair.

“How was your day?”

Bucky sighed and closed his eyes, snuggling into Steve’s warmth. “It was okay. Nearly punched this asshole for trying to feel up Cinderella though.”

Steve frowned. “Harriet okay though?”

Bucky hummed. “Yeah, she sprained his wrist. It was very funny.”

Steve smiled. 

“Yours?”

“In between thinking about you?”

Bucky moved his head so his chin was resting on Steve’s chest, forcing Steve to look down at him weirdly, a faint blush on Bucky’s cheeks. “You think about me?”

Steve huffed, running his fingers softly down Bucky’s nose, across his eyelids, down his cheeks, tracing his lips. Bucky’s lips parted slightly, the blush deepening as he stared at Steve.

“Course I do, Buck. How could I not think of you?”

Bucky licked his lips, Steve’s hand settling so it was cupping Bucky’s cheek. “I think about you too. All-day. I get so distracted that they're probably going to fire me.”

Steve frowned, but he was sure that Bucky could tell how his heart sang with that news because Steve couldn’t control the flash of amusement in his eyes. “That’s not very good, Bucky. Anything I can do to get you to stop thinking about me so you can keep your job?”

Bucky’s eyes were shining, his lips tugging into a smirk as he leaned over, his breath fanning over Steve’s ear as he whispered words that had Steve squirming, blushing down to his toes.

They spent the rest of the night doing what Bucky proposed, only stopping to order some takeout, then resuming, and then stopping again to eat Chinese food naked in bed.

It was perfect.

Steve had never been happier.

*★ ～☆・ :.*♕*.: ・☆～★ *

“What are you doing?”

Sam frowned, kneeling beside his bed, his faded Black Widow shirt hanging from his hands. “I’m packing my clothes. What does it look like?”

Steve frowned, crossing his arms over his bare chest, looking as Sam continued to fold his shirts and place them into neat piles on his bed.

It was a few days after Bucky and Steve’s adventures in bed and the Avengers had decided to skip the parks today and spend a lazy day by the pool. Steve had been reading a book, enjoying the sun as his stupid friends made a mess of the pool, getting competitive in games they made up on the spot. He had come up to get his sunscreen, but all thoughts of skin protection were gone from his mind as he watched Sam.

“Why are you looking at me like I’m a Rubix cube that killed your entire family?”

Steve blinked and then rubbed the back of his neck. “Sorry, I just didn’t realise we were leaving so soon.”

Sam’s face softened with sympathy. He placed the last of his folded shirts on the pile before standing up to look at Steve better. “Tomorrow is our last full day, man. We fly out the day after.”

“I know,” Steve whined, sitting down on the bed and resting his head in his hands.

Sam came over and sat next to him, hand on Steve’s back. “You and Bucky haven’t talked yet, have you?”

“No,” Steve said, miserable. “I’ve thought about it a lot but whenever I go to say something the words just die in my throat.”

Sam patted his back. “That’s okay, man. Taking a leap in a relationship is hard, and you haven’t been this vulnerable with someone since Peggy, really.”

Steve chuckled. “God, she’d slap the back of my head and tell me to step up my game and stop acting like an idiot.”

“She wouldn’t be wrong.”

Steve sighed, looking up at Sam. “I should talk to him.”

“You should.”

“Soon, I guess. Maybe tomorrow? Or Sunday?”

“Tonight, Steve,” Sam said, clapping him on the back. “Tonight.”

Steve sighed and felt the familiar feeling of anxiety bubbling in his stomach. 

Bucky was meeting them at the resort for dinner, so Steve sat at their reserved dinner table, an empty seat next to him, fidgeting.

The others had noticed because of course they had. No matter the fact that they were trained to notice every detail of everything, they knew Steve so well that they could tell he was nervous.

Steve ignored them and they ignored him, talking amongst themselves, Steve’s eyes trained on the door so he could jump up and take Bucky to his room before dinner.

Steve’s heart leapt in his throat as he saw a familiar face walk through the hotel restaurants door. Steve quickly told the others they could order without them as he jumped up from the table and briskly walked to Bucky, who smiled as he saw Steve.

“Gonna walk me to the table, Stevie? How very sweet of you.”

Bucky’s smiles slid off his face as he took in Steve’s obvious nervousness, reaching out his hand to hold Steve’s arm. “Steve, everything okay?”

Steve gulped. “I don’t know. Could we, uh, please go up to my room and talk?”

Bucky’s jaw twitched, but he didn’t deny Steve’s request, following to the elevator where Steve used his access to get to his floor. They were quiet in the elevator, Bucky staring at the wall resolutely, Steve’s hands fidgeting by his side. 

When they got into Steve and Sam’s hotel room, the room they had their first date in, Steve glared at Sam’s packed suitcase and gestured to his bed for Bucky to sit on. Bucky did and watched as Steve paced.

“Okay,” Steve said, rubbing the back of his neck as he didn’t look at Bucky but continued to pace. “So, uh, we have to talk.”

Bucky nodded but didn’t say anything.

“I think-well, actually-do you?” Steve huffed, stopping to rub his forehead and look at his shoes.

“You’re leaving on Sunday,” Bucky said quietly, Steve snapping his head up to look at Bucky who was staring down at his hands. “And you want to break up with me.”

“No!” Steve shouted, springing forward and dropping to his knees, taking Bucky’s hands in his. “I mean yes, but no.”

Bucky’s eyebrows were scrunched together in confusion. “Yes but no?”

Steve took a shaky breath before his resolve hardened and he looked up at Bucky with determination. “Yes I am leaving on Sunday and no, I don’t want to break up with you. God, Bucky. That thought never even crossed my mind.”

Before panic could Steve if Bucky thought the same way, Bucky’s face softened and he leaned forward, slotting their lips together in a chaste but sweet kiss.

“Thank fuck,” he whispered, resting his forehead against Steve’s. “I don’t want you to break up with me either.”

Steve smiled, closing his eyes for a few seconds to bask in this feeling of being wanted by Bucky Barnes.

“Good.”

“But you’re still leaving on Sunday.”

Steve frowned, Bucky’s hands detangling from Steve’s so he could cup Steve’s jaw, his thumbs moving the corners of Steve’s mouth upwards in imitation of a smile. Steve smiled for real once he realised what Bucky was doing, Bucky smiling softly back at him.

“I actually have to tell you something,” Bucky said, Steve’s eyebrows furrowing in confusion. “The day after our first date I put in to have some time off of work.”

“Oh?”

Bucky nodded. “Monday is my last day off for two weeks.”

Steve’s heart rate picked up. “You have two weeks off work?”

Bucky bit his lip, trying to stop the gigantic smile breaking out over his face.

“I don’t have to leave on Sunday,” Steve said, his smile growing with Bucky’s. “I could stay for another two weeks.”

“Yes, please,” Bucky said, gripping Steve’s jaw roughly. “Stay for two more weeks.”

Thoughts of his own work and his responsibilities flashed through his mind but then Bucky kissed him happily and Steve lost himself.

They kissed for a few minutes, slow and languid, exploring each other's mouths like they didn’t do this every day. Hands roamed but they didn’t remove clothes. They had two weeks now. They had time. 

Neither ended the kiss, but they both stopped to breathe, so close that Steve could smell the gum Bucky would have been chewing in the car.

“Do you want to be my boyfriend, Stevie?” Bucky asked, quietly.

“Fuck yeah,” Steve said, surging forward to reclaim his boyfriend’s lips.

Bucky giggled, kissing Steve back sweetly. 

They returned to dinner not long later, trading kisses in the elevator, holding hands tightly. Steve held out Bucky’s chair for him at the table, not caring that his friends were watching with them with amusement, no doubt cataloguing their red lips and messy hair.

“I’m guessing the talk went well then?” Sam said before taking a large sip from his straw, looking at Bucky and Steve pointedly.

“Yep,” Steve grinned, searching out his boyfriend's foot under the table, locking their ankles around each other. “Bucky’s my boyfriend and I’m staying for another two weeks.”

The table erupted into fan fair, snarky remarks and congratulations drawing into one cacophony of loud noise that made surrounding tables shoot them looks. Steve and Bucky took it all in stride, beaming at each other, their affection evident in the way they looked at each other.

They spent a large portion of the dinner talking about what Steve and Bucky were going to do for the next two weeks. Tony covered Peter’s ears but then loudly claimed they would have a sex marathon, Wanda suggested they should go to Miami, Clint scared Steve by brining up meeting Bucky’s parents.

It was good, but Steve couldn’t wait for two whole weeks with Bucky alone. 

The next day Tony helped Steve book a last-minute Airbnb only a few minutes walk from Bucky’s apartment and a car he would be renting for the next two weeks. He packed his suitcase like Sam had done the day before, but Steve felt light and free.

Bucky was his boyfriend. 

He gave each of his family members a hug and kiss goodbye, reminding them to call him if something came up and they needed his help.

“I don’t think the world will fall apart if you’re having sex with your boyfriend in Orlando for two weeks, Steve,” Nat smirked.

And then that was that.

Steve put his suitcase in the trunk of his white rental car, jumped in the front seat and drove to his Airbnb.

It was a nice place, small but homey and light. He spent time unpacking his suitcase, playing some music from the thirties from his phone. There was a pool in the backyard, which he couldn’t wait for him and Bucky to swim in. He even went out to the supermarket to buy some food, waiting for Bucky to get off work. 

He cooked some pasta sauce and was just putting the pasta into the boiling water when Bucky knocked on the door and opened it, sticking his head.

“Hiya.”

“Hey, Buck,” Steve waved him in, drying his hands on a tea towel so when his boyfriend came over to him, he could cup his cheek and give him a kiss. “Welcome to my humble abode.”

Bucky smiled softly at him and dumped his bag on the kitchen counter before leaving Steve to explore the small house. He came back and sat down at the small, dark oak circular dining table and watched as Steve set the table.

“How was your day?”

“Same old, same old,” Bucky sighed, rubbing his forehead. “The parades give me big fucking headaches though.”

Steve frowned and kissed Bucky’s head before getting the cheese and homemade lemonade out of the fridge.

“And my face,” Bucky groaned, his head falling down to rest against the table, cheek squished and eyes closed. “So much smiling. My cheeks ache.”

Steve patted him on the head as he set down glasses. “My poor baby.”

Bucky grumbled but didn’t say anything. Steve let his boyfriend snooze on the dining room table as he served up the pasta and sauce, placing their bowls gently down on the table and pouring them two glasses of lemonade. He watched in amusement as Bucky blinked his eyes open and sat back up, rubbing the tiredness off his face.

“Just think,” Steve said sprinkling cheese on top of his pasta. “You don’t have to go back for two weeks.”

Bucky playfully scowled. “Yeah but I gotta spend those two weeks with you.”

Steve kicked him lightly under the table. “Jerk.”

“Punk!” Bucky kicked him back.

“I rented an Airbnb for you!” Steve cried, pointing his full fork at Bucky’s face. “I took two weeks off of work and endured a lecture from Tony about safe sex practices for you.”

Bucky smirked.

“No way,” Steve said, knowing what that smirk meant and what Bucky wanted and what was going to happen if he didn’t put his foot down now. “We eat pasta first.”

Bucky sighed and stabbed some pasta with his fork. “I’m too tired anyway. I’m just realising that this is the first vacation I’m taking since I started.”

“This will be good for you then,” Steve smiled. “Time to relax and have fun, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Bucky nodded.

They ate some pasta for a while, talking about their days in more detail. Eventually, Bucky groaned and slumped in his chair, all pasta gone from his bowl. He patted his stomach.

“Stevie,” he whined. Steve watched him in amusement over his cup of lemonade. “You’ve impregnated me with pasta.”

Steve didn’t say anything and Bucky groaned again.

“We’re going to have pasta children. It’s going to be a mess, but they’ll have cute names like ravioli and meatball.”

“Even if the pasta that impregnated you was penne?”

“Yes.”

“Okay.”

Bucky groaned again.

“So, what are your plans for these two weeks?” Steve asked, taking their dirty dishes and putting them in the dishwasher. Bucky moved from his seat and slumped on the couch, lying down and smashing his face into a pillow.

“I dunno,” Bucky mumbled, Steve only picking it up because of his hearing. “Cute shit.”

“Cute shit?”

“Yeah, like boyfriend and boyfriend stuff.”

Steve laughed. “So...dates and sex?”

Bucky sighed happily. “Yes, that sounds perfect.”

You’re perfect , Steve’s heart sang but he didn’t voice his thoughts. Instead, he finished putting away everything and then came over to the couch, lifting Bucky’s legs and sitting down before putting his legs on top of Steve’s.

Bucky smiled into the pillow. “I’m thinking tomorrow we don’t leave the house and just watch movies all day. How does that sound?”

“Sounds perfect, Buck.”

*★ ～☆・ :.*♕*.: ・☆～★ *

They do spend the next day cuddling, kissing sweetly, eating their weight in popcorn and watching movies. They watch shitty teenager rom-coms, Disney movies, and action movies broken up by episodes of Brooklyn Nine-Nine and New Girl when they’re forced to eat something of substance or they make out like teenagers on the couch.

It’s one of the best days that Steve has ever had and he didn’t walk further than from his bed to the couch. But he was with Bucky for every second of it, so that was probably why.

Bucky stayed over again that night, but he left after breakfast to go back to his place for a proper shower, something they hadn’t managed to do because they would always get distracted, and to get some clean clothes.

Steve spent the time until their late lunch picnic cleaning up after the mess they had created the day before, before heading to the grocery store to pick some things up for lunch. He packed it all into a little woven basket he found in a closet and made sure not to forget the picnic blanket on his way out.

He found Bucky standing underneath a big tree in the park they had agreed on, sunglasses on his face, frowning at his phone. Steve stopped for a moment to take a look at his boyfriend before walking over. He was wearing tight black jeans and a simple white t-shirt with a jean jacket thrown over the top that Steve knew his boyfriend would take off soon because of the Floridian sun, exposing his beautiful skin and arms to Steve’s eyes.

Steve gulped and allowed himself another second to collect himself before walking over.

“Hey,” he said quietly, cocking his head to the side and fully taking in the expression on Bucky’s face. He was frowning hard at his phone. “You okay?”

Bucky looked back up, his lips twitching when he saw Steve but Steve knew that under his sunglasses the smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Now I’m okay because you’re here.”

Steve squinted for a second before huffing, knowing that he wouldn’t drop the subject completely but let Bucky steer the conversation for now. “Sorry to keep you waiting, I guess.”

Bucky smiled for real this time and pocketed his phone, making grabby hands at the basket with the food. Steve smirked and turned around, walking off to find a spot half in the sun and half in the shade to have their picnic.

He found the perfect spot, a little ways away from the walking trail through the park so they could have a little privacy. Bucky helped him throw the blanket down before they sat on it, Steve carefully pulling out the food he had chosen.

There were cheeses and biscuits, salamis, breads and dips. There was a lot of it, knowing that he and Bucky hadn’t eaten since breakfast that morning. He also had taken the time to cut up some fruit. Bucky watched him with soft eyes.

“What?” Steve asked, a little defensive.

Bucky kissed him on the cheek. “Just thinking about how lucky I am.”

Steve’s heart fluttered in his chest. “Not as lucky as I am.”

Bucky rolled his eyes and pushed Steve’s shoulder. “Don’t get competitive, you asshole.”

Steve laughed.

“So,” Steve said a few minutes later after they had started to eat. The sun was shining through the leaves above them, making Bucky glow. Steve felt his chest constrict as Bucky smiled at him, mouth full of bread. “How was your shower?”

Bucky’s smile grew but he finished chewing before he spoke. “Productive.”

“That’s good.”

Steve floundered for a second, hoping Bucky would open up about why he was frowning hard at his phone before. It wasn’t the shower, which Steve could cross off his mental list of possible reasons for Bucky to be upset.

“Work okay?” he asked, going for a different angle. “They miss you?”

Bucky squinted at him before turning to spread some dip on a piece of bread. “Well, the other Prince Charming isn’t as good as me, so I’m sure they are.”

“That’s true.”

Steve went to open his mouth to ask another question when Bucky huffed and knocked his shoulder into Steve’s lightly.

“Stop fishing,” he said, seriously. “If you want to know something, just ask, okay?”

“Why were you frowning at your phone?”

Bucky sighed and titled his head back, letting the sun wash over his face. Steve tried not to get distracted by a purple bruise peeking out from the collar of his jacket, remembering exactly how that got there.

“It was my ma.”

“Oh,” Steve gasped. “Is she okay? What happened? Do you-”

Bucky laughed softly. “She’s fine, Steve.”

“Oh,” Steve’s face scrunched together in confusion. “What’s up then?”

“Well, Becca spilt the beans and told my parents that I was taking time off work,” Bucky shrugged off his jacket to avoid looking at Steve. Steve allowed himself a second to eye the skin it revealed before focusing back on what Bucky was saying. “She knows about you and me but she didn’t tell my parents I was doing it cause I have a boyfriend.”

“Your parents don’t know about me?”

Bucky shrugged. “Wanted you to myself for a little bit longer.”

Steve’s breath hitched. “Right, okay. So your ma?”

“She was texting me this morning asking why I was taking time off, you know, being an overbearing mother hen. I dodged the questions but then I forgot I uploaded a picture of you and me on my Instagram story and she just saw it and now she’s freaking out.”

Steve’s eyes had widened a little bit, and Bucky’s hand shot out to squeeze his shoulder.

“Your face wasn’t in the picture,” Bucky reassured him. “Just your hair but it was pretty clear we’re more than friends in the picture.”

Steve shook his head. That wasn’t what he was worried about. “No, no, that’s okay. Why is your ma freaking out?”

Bucky sighed. “She wants to meet you now. And my dad too.”

Steve's heart stuttered. “Oh, fuck.”

Bucky laughed.

“Do-do you not want me to meet them?” Steve asked, quietly, fearing the answer.

Bucky chewed on his lip for a moment, eyes roaming across the grass spread across them, shrugging. “That would be cool but they’ll probably scare you off and then I’ll never see you again.”

A beaming smile broke across Steve’s face. He cupped Bucky’s cheek and turned his head around to make eye contact with Steve. “Bucky,” he said, softly. “I would love to meet your parents and I promise they will not scare me.”

Bucky was smiling now, shoulders slumping as tension oozed out of them. “I think they’ll scare you.”

“Well, okay, but I promise no matter how scary they are you’ll definitely see me again, okay? Nothing could take me away from you unless you wanted me to go.” 

“Well,” Bucky said smirking, picking up a strawberry. “It’s a good thing I don’t want you to go then.”

They spent the next hour or so slowly making their way through the piles of food as Bucky told Steve about his parents and his extended family. He had a large family, and Steve was in stitches after stories about fires at Christmas lunches and fights at Thanksgiving.

Steve, whilst scared, was excited to meet Bucky’s parents. It felt like a big step in their relationship. By meeting Bucky’s parents, Steve felt like their relationship was more than a vacation fling, but something that could be serious.

After eating, they went back to their cars. Steve got his sketchbook and pencil, and Bucky got a book before they sat down again. Steve directed Bucky to sit in a good spot and he sketched his boyfriend for the next few hours.

It was peaceful. The sun was warm on their skin, their bellies were full, and they were with each other. The breeze tickled Steve’s hair as his pencils flew over the page, taking every detail of Bucky and turning it into a masterpiece on paper. 

“Wow, Stevie,” Bucky breathed after Steve had declared the drawing done. The sun was coming down now, and they’d have to head off pretty soon. “It’s beautiful.”

Steve’s thumb swept underneath Bucky’s eye. “You’re beautiful.”

Bucky leapt forward and kissed him senseless. 

Steve was informed the next day when he came up for air in his Airbnb’s pool that Bucky had organised a time with his parents.

Bucky was lounging on a chair next to the pool, green swim trunks on and no shirt, sunglasses pushed up as he watched Steve swim over to the edge of the pool. Steve swept his hand through his hair to push the wet strands from his eyes and looked up at his boyfriend.

“Firstly,” Bucky said, gulping. “We’re going to have sex very soon. Secondly, Ma wants us over at her place for late lunch on Friday.”

Two days for Steve to get his shit together before meeting his boyfriend's parents. Plenty of time. He ignored Bucky’s first statement. “Awesome. Does she want us to bring anything?”

Bucky smirked and tapped away at his phone. They waited for a few seconds before his phone buzzed with a reply, Bucky smiling as he read the text out in a high pitched voice that was probably meant to imitate Winnie Barnes. “Oh gosh, Steve is just the nicest. Why are you hiding him from us, James? No, you don’t need to bring anything other than your cute faces.”

Steve’s ears turned red, but he smiled. “Does she even know what I look like?”

Bucky rolled his eyes. “No, but she knows I have good taste.”

Steve flushed. “Tell her I’m looking forward to it please.”

Bucky looked up from his phone, his eyes softening as he made eye contact with Steve. “Course, Stevie. She’s looking forward to it too.”

“And your dad?”

Bucky nodded. “Him too.”

“Am I likely to get the shovel talk?” Steve asked, brushing his hands through the water. 

“Captain America can’t handle a shovel talk?” Bucky laughed. “Yes, Steve. You’ll probably get one from each of them and then I’ll get one from each of them too.”

Steve frowned, confused.

“Oh, James!” Bucky said, again in that high pitch voice that was probably meant to be his mother. “He’s such a nice boy, make sure you treat him right and don’t scare him off otherwise I’ll disown you and adopt Steve!”

Steve laughed and fell back into the water, floating on his back. “Really?”

“Yep,” Bucky said, popping the p. “Dad would back her up too.”

They were silent for a few moments as Steve floated away before he used his arms and feet to propel himself back towards Bucky. “Buck?”

“Hmm?”

“Do they know about me?” Steve flipped himself around so he was squatting, the water reaching just below his chin so he could watch Bucky, who had left his phone and was lying down on the propped up chair with his sunglasses back over his eyes.

“That you’re my ridiculously cute and sexy boyfriend? Yes. That you were born in 1918 and fight aliens for a living? No.”

“You gonna tell them?”

Bucky sat back up and pushed his sunglasses up, regarding Steve. “You want me to?”

Steve shrugged. “Are they likely to freak out when I turn up unannounced?”

Bucky sat there for a few minutes, chewing on his bottom lip as he thought the question. “Maybe I’ll call them tonight and tell them. Now that I think about it, I remember Dad reading a biography about you a few months ago and he’ll probably get weird about military technology and shit, and Ma will probably fuss about you getting enough sleep and nutrients.”

Steve laughed quietly, the knot of anxiety that had formed in his stomach loosening. Winnie’s predicted reaction was much better than he thought, and he wasn’t too disturbed by George’s. Bucky had mentioned George’s fascination with tanks and jets used in war before.

“Okay, sounds good.”

Bucky smiled reassuringly at him. “You don’t need to worry about them, Stevie. They’ll love you, no matter how much you like to rant about inflation and if they start to be weird, I’ll pull them into line, okay?”

Steve nodded before disappearing under the water only to come up close to Bucky and flicking his hands, splashing Bucky’s legs with a light sprinkling of water.

Bucky gasped dramatically and quicker than Steve would see, he ripped his sunglasses off his head and jumped towards Steve, sending them both underwater.

They came back up, hair plastered to their foreheads, laughing their heads off.

Any anxiety about meeting Bucky’s parents lessened as Bucky leant forward and pushed Steve’s hair off his forehead, before placing a long, chlorine tasting kiss on Steve’s lips.

*★ ～☆・ :.*♕*.: ・☆～★ *

Steve and Bucky are standing in front of George and Winnie Barnes’ front door, holding hands, as Steve takes a few deep breaths.

It’s quite a nice house actually. They had walked up a brick driveway to a pale pink house, the garage to the right and a large window looking into the living room on the left, the double front doors in between. It’s only one story but has white trimmings and a light brown roof, hedges running along the edges of the garden and driveway. Steve appreciated the two large palm trees of the front yard casting a little shade across them now.

Steve was surprised, however, by how close Bucky lived to his parents. It had taken a total of six minutes to drive here from Bucky’s place. Steve was kind of shocked that Steve hadn’t seen Bucky’s parents before this, considering every moment that he wasn’t at the parks with his family he had been spending time with Bucky. 

“Good?” Bucky squeezed Steve’s hand.

Steve took one last deep breath, squared his shoulders and squeezed Bucky’s hand back. “Good. Let’s do this.”

Bucky’s lips twitched and he stepped forward, knocking on the door twice before it was flung open, a woman standing in its place.

She was a beautiful woman, reaching Steve’s shoulders and a little plump. Her wavy brown hair with grey interweaved just reached her own shoulders, and a large smile overcame her face as she looked at Steve and Bucky, her blue eyes twinkling, the same colour as Bucky’s. Winnie was wearing white jeans and a blue blouse, perfect for the warm air outside.

“Bucky!” she cried, stepping forward and wrapping her arms around her son who laughed, placing a kiss on her cheek. It was only a quick hug before she was pushing Bucky to the side, eyes wide as she took Steve in.

Steve blushed under the attention, shifting on his feet slightly and readjusting his grip on the red wine he had convinced Bucky they had to bring.

“You must be Steve,” Winnie said, stepping forward and wrapping her arms around Steve in a much longer hug. She pulled back and squeezed his arms. “I have heard nothing about you from Bucky and I’m so excited to hear everything now.”

“Ma!” Bucky said, pushing her hands off of Steve.

“What?” Winnie snapped, smacking her son on the shoulder. “I learnt you had a boyfriend from your sister and your fucking Instagram story, young man.”

Bucky groaned and stepped into the house. “Where the fuck is Dad? I can’t deal with you right now.”

Steve watched his boyfriends back retreating, amused before he turned to Winnie and held out the wine. “I know you said not to bring anything, Mrs Barnes, but Ma raised me right and I couldn’t not.”

Winnie beamed and patted him on the cheek. “Your mother was a very smart woman, Steve. And please, call me Winnie.”

Steve’s cheeks turned a little pink as he followed Winnie into the house, closing the door behind him. 

He shrugged off his leather jacket and hung it on the hooks near the door, taking in the inside of the house.

All the ways were painted white in the open area after the front door. To the left was the living room, light streaming in through the large window facing the street, illuminating the plush grey couch and wooden coffee table with flowers and books on top. Straight ahead was an open doorway into the kitchen where Winnie and Bucky had walked off too. On Steve’s right was a doorway to the garage with a hallway next to it, leading to what he assumed was bedrooms and bathrooms.

Steve walked through the doorway to find himself in the kitchen, marble countertops and a mirror splashback, with a dining room with a picnic-style table to the left of the kitchen. The whole back wall was glass doors so they could see the medium-sized green grass as a backyard, before a small deck and then the lake Bucky mentioned the house backing upon.

It was a lovely bright home, the walls dotted with pictures of Bucky and his sister as kids, family vacations and holidays. There were odd nick-nacks everywhere, souvenirs and gifts. It was modern but clearly a home well cared for and loved. Steve felt at ease here, just like he did at the Compound and Bucky’s apartment. 

Bucky’s head was in the fridge, the doors covered with magnets from different cities, as he searched for something. Winnie was taking down some wine glasses ready for the red wine Steve had gifted her, but Steve’s attention was to a man rising from the dining room table.

He had a large grey moustache on his face, greying hair on his head. He was much the same build as Winnie, but a little taller. He was wearing green cargo pants and a checked button-down, rolled up to his elbows. George smiled at Steve and held out his hand.

“Nice to meet you, Steve,” George said. “I’m George and please ignore my wife.”

Winnie scoffed and poured four glasses of wine.

“It’s lovely to meet you too, Mr Barnes,” Steve said, shaking George’s hands.

George wiggled his eyebrows over Steve’s shoulder at Bucky, releasing Steve’s hand. “Polite boy, Bucky. So far so good but it’s George.”

Bucky groaned and Steve blushed.

Winnie laughed, handing Steve a glass of wine. Bucky slipped next to him, his arm wrapping around Steve’s waist. Steve’s arm automatically came around Bucky’s shoulder, pulling him closer.

Winnie and George were smiling over their wine glasses. “Look how cute they, honey,” Winnie said. “My grandbabies are going to be adorable.”

Steve choked on the gulp of wine he had taken, Bucky’s jaw falling onto the ground. George and Winnie were giggling.

“Ma!” Bucky cried. “There are so many things wrong with that, oh my god. You do realise that it’s scientifically impossible? I do recall the sex talk with you, it was the most traumatic experience of my life. And, we’ve only been dating for a few weeks!”

Winnie waved away the first part of Bucky’s rant and stepped over, slipping her hand through Steve’s arm and guiding him outside, where a table was set up. “And how did you two meet, exactly?”

Bucky groaned behind them and Steve quickly looked over his shoulder to see Bucky sculling his glass of wine, George’s face red from laughter.  

“Disney, actually,” Steve said, holding out a chair for Winnie, who sat down before he sat down next to her. “I met Bucky as Prince Charming.”

A smile broke out across Winnie’s face. She patted Bucky’s cheek as he and George came out, sitting around the circular glass table. “He does look handsome in that costume.”

Bucky hid his face in his hands. 

“Can’t argue with that,” Steve smirked.

Bucky glared at him through his fingers. “I’m regretting this already.”

Winnie rolled her eyes as Geroge huffed. “We’ve always been nice to the people you’ve brought home,” George said before turning around to talk to Steve directly. “Although Bucky’s high school boyfriend was the worst. Scumbag.”

Steve’s eyes lit up. “Yeah? Please tell me more about high school Bucky.”

Bucky started to protest but George and Winnie started to jump into stories too loudly for Bucky’s protests to be considered. Steve held Bucky’s hand though, to show his support, even when Winnie pulled out the photo albums before she and George started to get the food together.

Fairly quickly Steve felt any and all nervousness about meeting Bucky’s parents evaporate underneath the Florida sun. He relaxed in his chair and shared stories of his own, laughing and poking fun at Bucky with his parents. Winnie and George only asked about Captain America and World War Two when Steve brought it up, which he was thankful for.

He felt at ease and at home with Bucky’s parents. They were warm and energetic, and a little over the top, but the care and love they have for Bucky shone through with every word. They were so welcoming to Steve and his new relationship with Bucky.

Apart from the grandbabies comment at the very start, Winnie didn’t pressure them about their relationship or ask what was going to happen when Steve had to go back to New York. Steve felt like a normal guy meeting his boyfriend's parents and loved it.

They had various sorts of salads and meats for their late lunch, which was delicious. Steve got a kiss on the cheek from Winnie when he complimented the food, making him flush and Bucky grin.

The sun was sinking below the houses around them when they moved back inside to sit in the living room. Geroge put on some background music but there was no silence it needed to fill, the conversation flowing between all parties.

“So, how’s the garage project going?” Bucky asked, taking a sip of water from his glass before setting it down on the coffee table. He shuffled back into the couch and Steve’s arm, resting his head on Steve’s shoulder.

“Garage project?” Steve asked, curious.

George huffed. “Our garage has been a fucking mess since we moved in and for some reason, Winnie’s decided now that she wants to sort through everything and clear it out.”

Winnie threw up her hands, turning around in George’s arms and pushing him lightly on the shoulder. “We can only fit one car in there, and that’s pushing it.” She turned back to Steve and Bucky who were on the couch opposite, the coffee table in between them. “There are so many boxes, Steve.”

“I thought you were going through them?” Bucky asked.

“I am, slowly, but they’re heavy and it’s hard to move them.”

Bucky frowned. “Why haven’t you asked me to come around and do it?”

Winnie waved him away. “You have work, baby, and would you have ditched Steve to come to help your mother?”

Bucky shrugged, looking a little guilty. “I mean, probably.”

George rolled his eyes. “I’ve offered to help but she won’t have it with my knee.”

“We can come over and help,” Steve suggested, cheeks turning a little pink as all Barnes’ turned their gazes to him. “We have no plans set in stone, right, Buck?”

Bucky squinted at him before turning back to face his parents. “True, we can come back and help.”

Winnie clapped her hands before she pulled out her phone, tapping away. “Oh, you two are perfect. I think I’m free next Wednesday?”

Bucky hummed. “Actually, Wednesday I was going to Connie’s sister’s baby shower as her date.”

Winnie frowned slightly and Steve felt himself talking without really meaning to. “That’s okay, I can still come. If that’s alright with you, Winnie? I’m not going to the baby shower and I can lift an elephant or two so…”

Bucky laughed into Steve’s shoulder as Winnie nodded, her and George smiling broadly. “That would be fantastic, Steve. Thank you so much.”

“No problem.”

An hour so later they’re saying goodbye, hugging and kissing cheeks, laughing in the night air. George and Winnie both squeeze him tightly and Steve makes sure to thank them multiple times for having him over. Eventually, they’re waving to Steve and Bucky as they walk down the driveway holding hands back to Bucky’s car, which is parked on the street.

Bucky blows his parents a final kiss before they get into the car, slamming the doors closed.

“What the fuck was that?” Bucky cried, pushing Steve in the shoulder.

“What?” Steve asked, concerned.

Bucky pushed him again. “I asked, what the fuck was that?”

“Uh, I meet your parents?”

“Holy shit, you did,” Bucky said, running both his hands through his hair.

Steve waits in silence as Bucky starts the car and waves at his parents before driving off.

“Did I do something wrong?” Steve asked. He was anxious now, worried he did something wrong and pissed off Bucky. His boyfriend’s reaction was so out of the blue that Steve had no idea was happening. 

“God, no,” Bucky reaches out for Steve’s hand and squeezes it. “Sweetheart, you were fucking perfect.”

A tingle runs down Steve’s spin. “I was?”

Bucky’s eyes widened. “They were drooling, I swear. A meeting of boyfriend and parents has never gone better in the entire world in all of history, mark my words.”

“Oh,” Steve said, softly, his face bright red. “I thought it went well but not that well.”

Bucky was shaking his head. “I thought it was going bad when she started talking about our kids but then you picked it back up and even though you guys were making fun of me for most of it, it was perfect. You already had them wrapped around your finger and then you offer to help Ma with the garage? Fuck, Steve. They’ll be on the Barnes’ group chat right now waxing poetry about you.”

To emphasise Bucky’s point his phone started to buzz with incoming texts. Steve and Bucky laughed as Bucky’s phone flashed.

Steve brought Bucky’s hand up and lightly kissed his knuckles. “I wasn’t-well, of course, I wanted them to like me but I didn’t realise I was doing so good.”

Bucky was smiling. “You should quit Avenging and just become a professional at meet the parents or something.”

Steve released Bucky’s hand so Bucky could use it to turn the steering wheel, but Steve shifted in his seat so his cheek was resting against the headboard and he could watch Bucky. “I think I’ll stick to Avenging. Your parents are the only parents I want to meet.”

Bucky shot him a look from the corner of his eye. “I’m going to give you the best fucking blowjob ever.”

Steve laughed, his cheeks turning a little pink. “I’ll look forward to it, but maybe ice cream first?”

Bucky groaned but quickly changed the indicator to turn left towards the shops instead of right towards Bucky’s apartment. “You’re too cute, punk.”

“Thanks, jerk.”

The blowjob was indeed the best Steve had ever had, and he made sure to reciprocate.

*★ ～☆・ :.*♕*.: ・☆～★ *

They spent most of the next day at the beach.

“You’re a cheat, Rogers!” Bucky yelled, jumping up to try and grab the frisbee but it sailed over his head exactly like Steve had intended.

Steve laughed and watched Bucky angrily stomp over to the frisbee logged in the sand, bending over to snatch it out of the sand and poorly throw it back to Steve.

Steve jumped to the left and managed to catch it. Bucky frowned harder and crossed his arms over his chest. Steve raised his eyebrows, allowing himself to rake his eyes over his boyfriend's beautiful shirtless, tight swim trunks clad body. 

Bucky’s lips twitched, some of his anger leaving him as he watched Steve check him out before slowly walking over to Steve, flexing his muscles. Steve held the frisbee close to his own shirtless chest.

Bucky leaned forward, breath fanning across Steve’s face, his lips hovering over Steve’s. Steve gulped and leaned forward to close the distance but Bucky quickly ducked out of the way, laughing at the whine that left Steve’s mouth.

“What you get for being a cheater!” Bucky snarked, raising his eyebrows at Steve.

Steve glowered. “I’ve been throwing a frisbee for over seventy years, that’s not cheating.”

Bucky rolled his eyes. “Wrong.”

“Wrong?” Steve asked, dropping the frisbee next to their towel and advancing towards Bucky.

Bucky’s eyes widened and he held up his hands in surrender, slowly backing away as Steve got closer. “Steve.”

“Wrong?” Steve asked again, laughing as Bucky squealed and started to walk backwards quickly, kicking up sand. “I’d never cheat!”

Bucky laughed and spun around, intended to run away from Steve but Steve was a supersoldier after all and quickly leapt towards Bucky, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend’s waist and throwing him over his shower. Bucky was squealing, hitting Steve’s back lightly in protest as Steve marched them towards the water.

“Steve!” Bucky cried out. “No, come on, sweetheart. Do you really want to do this?”

Steve turned and kissed Bucky’s buttcheek. “Yep.”

“Stevie!” Bucky whined, flopping in Steve’s arm as Steve made it to the water, continuing to walk until it was up to his waist.

Steve, not satisfied with Bucky’s quietness, adjusted so he could tickle Bucky’s side. Bucky’s laughter quickly erupted from his throat as he thrashed in Steve’s arms, swearing and gasping. Steve laughed and did it again.

“Fuck you, Rogers!”

“Have dinner with me tonight!” Steve said, over Bucky’s laughter.

“Never!”

Steve tickled him harder and jumped slightly, giving Bucky the illusion he was about to drop into the water.

“Fine!” Bucky gasped, slapping Steve’s back. “Fine, I’ll have dinner with you, you jerk!”

“Yay,” Steve said before dropping Bucky into the water, head thrown back in laughter as Bucky came back up for air, the biggest scowl on his face, his hair stuck to his forehead.

Bucky screamed a war cry as he jumped towards Steve, pushing him back in the water. 

Fifteen minutes later they were both floating on their backs holding hands as they panted, trying to catch their breaths.

“I won,” Bucky said.

“Not at frisbee.”

Bucky gasped, shocked, and splashed water across Steve’s face, who was shaking with laughter.

“I’m sorry, Buck, I’m sorry,” Steve gasped, wiping his face. “You are amazing at frisbee.”

“Damn right I am,” Bucky mumbled.

Steve moved around until he could wrap his arm around Bucky’s waist and pull him towards him, smiling as Bucky wrapped his legs around Steve’s waist, hands coming to rest at the back of Steve’s neck.

“Are you still going to have dinner with me?” Steve nuzzled Bucky’s neck and smiled when he heard Bucky’s breath hitch.

“N-no.”

Steve frowned and pulled back to look at Bucky’s face. “But I stopped tickling you.”

Bucky gently knocked his forehead against Steve’s. “And yet you dropped me in the water.”

Steve rolled his eyes before leaning towards Bucky’s ear. “I’ll make it worth your while,” Steve whispered.

Bucky untangled himself from Steve’s arms and pushed himself away, floating on his back as he rolled his eyes. “Your cooking is mediocre at best, Steve.”

“That’s why I need your help!”

Bucky bit his lip in thought but then grinned. “Okay, only if you teach me how to throw a frisbee.”

Steve beamed. 

They made it back to Steve’s Airbnb just before the sunset. They washed the sun, sand and saltwater off themselves in a shower before getting changed into comfy warm clothes. Steve had to push Bucky up against the bedroom wall and kiss him senseless because Bucky was wearing Steve’s hoodie, but they eventually made it into the kitchen.

Steve started to get out the ingredients for their butter chicken as Bucky set up some music. Soon Here Comes the Sun by the Beatles was filling the kitchen, Bucky’s soft voice singing along. 

They worked together well, chopping up chicken and adding spices to the sauce as they bobbed their heads along to the music and danced on the spot. When the chicken was in the sauce cooking, Bucky grabbed Steve’s hand and pulled him closer.

“Dance with me, Stevie.”

Steve’s heart constricted. “I’m-I can’t dance.”

Bucky rolled his eyes, swaying his hips and waving his and Steve’s arms around. “Impossible. Just move with me, yeah?”

Steve let himself relax his muscles as Ed Sheeran started to play, Bucky’s lips stretched into a devastatingly beautiful smile as Steve started to dance, singing along to the lyrics.

They lost time like that, dancing in the kitchen as Bucky’s playlist ran and the chicken cooked. They danced erratically, their limbs jerking, when the song called for it, and then swayed together in a slow dance around the room. 

Steve was warm with Bucky in his arms, his lungs, his heart. He wanted to keep this, but when thoughts about their looming deadline in exactly one week started to crop up, he forced them down. They were here now, together, dancing, and nothing was going to stop that.

Eventually, the timer went off for their dinner and they served it, ripping up naan bread and digging into their delicious labour of love. 

*★ ～ ☆ ・ :.*♕*.: ・☆～★ *

The next day Steve is on a run whilst Bucky does his laundry when Steve’s phone starts to ring.

He slows down and pulls it out of his pocket, grinning when he sees that it’s Sam.

“Hey, man,” Steve said, taking out his headphones and bringing the phone up to his ear, not even a little out of breath. 

“Hi, Steve,” Sam says. “Nat’s here too.”

“Rogers.”

Steve sighs and rubs his forehead. “Is this an intervention?”

“See!” Sam says loudly. “I told you. He knows us too well now.”

Steve heard Nat scoff. “Just because he knows it’s an intervention means we don’t have to call it off.”

“What's the intervention for, exactly?” Steve asked, crossing the street. “I was on a run and I’m meant to be meeting up with Bucky in an hour.”

There was silence on the other end of the phone.

“So, it’s about Bucky.”

“We’re worried,” Nat said, jumping straight into it. “You’re so happy and we’re happy that you’re happy, but have you thought about next week?”

“Trying not to think about it,” Steve gritted out.

Sam sighed. “It’s just like last time, Steve. You made the leap and asked Bucky to be your boyfriend, and it paid off! Now you gotta do the same.”

“I can’t exactly move to Orlando and he can’t exactly move to Brooklyn.”

“You never know what he’s thinking unless you ask him,” Nat said wisely.

Steve sighed. He knew his friends were right but it was nerve-wracking thinking about what was going to happen when Steve went back home and Bucky stayed here. Could they do long distance? Would Bucky even want to be in a more serious relationship with someone as unreliable as an Avenger?

Sam and Nat then started to ask about what Steve and Bucky had been up to since they last spoke, seeming to think that was good enough of an intervention. They were partially right. Steve was going to think about it a little bit more and then ask Bucky in a few days instead of today like his friends thought.

Steve wanted to talk to Bucky, in a way. He wanted to have a relationship with him next week, but he wasn’t sure how. He needed to figure it out, come up with options and a plan and a strategy before he talked to Bucky.

*★ ～☆・ :.*♕*.: ・☆～★ *

Bucky was just putting a load of washing into the machine when his phone rang.

He quickly grabbed it, hoping it was Steve, but groaned when he saw an ugly picture of Becca flash across his screen. He accepted the video call and put his phone on the laundry counter so Becca could see him move around the room.

“Hello, Bucky.”

“Hello, Becca.”

Becca was sitting on the couch, glasses perched on her face, peering into the camera with a grin. “And how are you today?”

“Splendid,” Bucky grunted, moving the dry clothes into a hamper. “Doing laundry. You?”

“I’m good. Did some good stuff today at work so I’m rewarding myself with a talk with my brother.”

Bucky’s nose wrinkled. “Why?”

“To check up on him and his lover.”

Bucky gagged. “Never say that again, jeez.”

“What?” Becca asked, taking a sip from a cup of tea. “I’m invested in your love life because I have none of my own.”

“That wasn’t what you were saying last week,” Bucky rolled his eyes and started to fold his clean clothes. “What happened with Ebony?”

Becca huffed. “Ebony is a lying piece of shit so I’m sleeping with Noah tonight.”

“Oh my god, Becs,” Bucky sighed and leaned down to look at his phone more clearly. “This dancing around between you and Ebony has got to stop!”

“Well, we aren’t here to talk about my lack of love life, we’re here to talk about Steve.”

Becca started to cackle at Bucky’s immediate reaction at hearing his boyfriend’s name. He’s sure he looks like a dope smiling down at a pair of socks thinking about Steve but he doesn’t care.

Steve is Bucky’s everything. He’s so sweet and caring, smart and intuitive. He can’t dance for shit, his cooking is okay some of the time and he’s a stubborn asshole, but he’s Bucky’s stubborn asshole and Bucky has never been happier.

“I’m guessing good then?”

“Perfect,” Bucky spun around in a circle. “He’s the best and I adore him.”

“Ma and Dad do too,” Becca smirked. “Should have heard the phone call I got this morning, my god. My ears were bleeding by the end of it.”

“Yeah,” Bucky smiled happily. “He was so good with them, and he wasn’t even trying that hard. Of course he wanted them to like him, but he was just being himself, you know? He’s gorgeous.”

Becca hummed. Bucky frowned.

“What?”

“Isn’t he going back to New York this weekend?”

Bucky huffed and had to restart the fold of his shirt. “Yes, and?”

“And?” Becca asked, incredulous. “What the fuck are you two morons going to do?”

Bucky didn’t answer.

“James.”

“Rebecca.”

“Have you two talked about this?”

“No.”

Bucky didn’t have to look at the phone to know he was getting the patented Barnes look of disappointment. 

“Are you going to talk?”

“Eventually.”

Becca sighed. “Okay, we need to have a serious chat about this. What are your thoughts and feelings about him going back to New York?”

Bucky chewed on his lip as he took the phone and went out into the living room, sitting down and wrapping a blanket around him, holding the phone up on his folded knee so he could see Becca clearly.

“Sad,” Bucky said slowly, working through the anxiety and heaviness in his gut. “I really really like him. I don’t want to not see him every day.”

“Okay,” Becca said, nodding. “So you still want a relationship with him?”

“Yes! God, yes.”

“Even if it's a long-distance one?”

Bucky sighed and played with the corner of the blanket. “I think he’s worth it, but we haven’t even had the Captain America talk yet. Would he want to go public? Can he even go public? Would I be safe? How often does he go on missions?”

Becca hummed. “Yeah, okay, I think that’s the second part of this problem, but you’re saying you’d do long distance for him?”

“Yes,” Bucky said quietly. “But then what would happen long term?”

“I’m gonna go out on a limb here,” Becca said confidently. “Which I actually don't think is that far of a stretch, but you don’t want to stay in Orlando for the rest of your life.”

Bucky was silent.

“I think you took this job because you felt like you had nothing left in Brooklyn and this was safe because Ma and Dad were out there too. I think you don’t want to be a Disney employee for the rest of your life, I think you want to be an engineer.”

Bucky huffed. “Of course I want to be an engineer. I paid thousands of dollars to be one, and I love it but no one would give me a job, remember?”

“But how long ago was that?” Becca pressed. “Things may have changed, people may have been fired, new jobs may have been created but you’re down there and not looking for a job up there.”

Bucky titled his head to the side, resting his cheek on his shoulder. “What are you saying?”

Becca pushed her glasses up her head. “I think everything’s coming together correctly. You’re in a relationship and you’re falling in love with a guy that’s going back to Brooklyn. You’ve been at this job long enough to try looking again back home.”

“You think I should go back home?”

“I think you should think about it at least.”

“Yeah?” Bucky asked quietly, peering at his sister who smiled.

“Yeah. You’re doing okay in Orlando but you could be so much happier in Brooklyn,” as Becca said the words Bucky felt the rightness swirl in his stomach. “You shouldn’t upheave your life for some guy and you technically wouldn’t be doing that, but-”

“Steve isn’t some guy.”

“Exactly.”

Bucky nodded. Becca was right. He was doing okay here but he could be doing better back home. He wanted to get back into engineering in some way. He wanted to fill out his life passions and if he got to have Steve with him too? Yeah, Bucky wanted that.

“You know how I know that Steve isn’t some guy?”

“Huh?” Bucky asked, distracted, as Steve sent him a text informing him he’d be there in a second.

“Your Spotify playlist called ‘Stevie’ with an American flag emoji, peach emoji, and heart emoji.”

“What?!” Bucky exploded, jumping up from the couch in shock. 

“Quite a good playlist actually,” Becca mused as Bucky gaped. “Listened to it this morning when I was cleaning.”

“That’s public?!” Bucky scrambled to get out of the video call and onto the Spotify app. “Shit, fuck, shit, fuck-”

“I mean Sweatshirt by Jacob Sartorius, Lovebug by The Jonas Brothers, Helpless from Hamilton? All absolute bops, Bucky.”

“I’m making that playlist private.”

“I’ve already taken screenshots of it,” Becca cackled.

Bucky’s heart plummeted as he heard Steve’s footsteps out the front of his door.

“Don’t you fucking dare mention that playlist to Steve, I swear to fucking god-” Bucky looked up as his door swung open, revealing his sweaty boyfriend back from his run. “Stevie!”

“Stevie!” Becca cried from the phone.

Bucky shoved her into his sweatpants pocket. Steve’s face was scrunched up in confusion. 

“Was that your sister?”

“Sister?” Bucky asked, coming over to his deliciously handsome boyfriend. “Nope never heard of her.”

“Am I in your pocket, Bucky?” Becca’s voice carried throughout the room.

Steve frowned at Bucky who tried to look innocent, but it failed. Steve reached into Bucky’s pocket and pulled out the phone, holding it in front of his face so Becca could see him.

“Hey, Becca.”

“Hi, Steve!”

*★ ～☆・ :.*♕*.: ・☆～★ *

“Steve,” Bucky gasped, writhing against the wall. “Steve, I really have to go.”

Steve hummed and continued to kiss Bucky’s neck, sliding his hands across his boyfriend's bare abdomen from where he had pulled up Bucky’s shirt.

“Steve,” Bucky gasped again.

“I know,” Steve murmured, planting one final hard kiss on Bucky’s jaw before pulling back and fixing Bucky’s shirt.

Bucky’s cheeks had a faint pink dusting on them as he glared at Steve, fixing his hair as Steve straightened his shirt.

“Now I’m going to be late.”

Steve rolled his eyes. “I specifically remember you saying to me last night that you and Connie were rocking up fashionably late as it was.”

Bucky huffed and stepped out of Steve’s space, reaching and grabbing the present for Connie’s sister's baby and holding it to his chest, almost as if he thought it was a shield and would stop Steve’s wandering hands in the future. “Yeah, well, now we’ll be rude late.”

Steve pouted and brushed a thumb across Bucky’s cheek. Arousal was still thrumming through his veins but he fought it down. “What a pity.”

Bucky quickly kissed Steve’s wrist before reaching over and kissing his cheek. “I’ll see you later. Have fun with Ma and be careful, you didn’t get the shovel talk the other day so you’re bound to get one today.”

“We’ll have fun,” Steve promised, walking Bucky to the door of his apartment. “You have fun, too, okay? I’d say you can come home drunk but being drunk at a baby shower probably isn’t very classy.”

Bucky smirked and put his sunglasses on. “I’m always classy, Stevie,” and to emphasise his point he smacked Steve on the ass before walking out.

Steve, a little flustered, watched the closed door for a few minutes before jumping and grabbing his own things, locking up Bucky’s apartment and heading to his rental car.

As he drove the short minutes to Bucky’s parent's place, he let himself evaluate what he was feeling. He was nervous, of course. Spending alone time with your official boyfriend of nearly two week’s parents? Yeah, a little nerve-racking. He wanted to make a good impression with George and Winnie and wanted their approval.

Ultimately, it was up to Bucky on who he could date, but Steve still wanted their happiness. Steve didn’t want to create tension within the family, and he felt like he definitely could as his life experience, occupation, status and just general awkwardness weren’t the best.

And in the short few weeks he had gotten to know Bucky, Steve knew that family was important to his boyfriend. The four Barnes’ were tight-knit, and the extended family was close too. Steve wanted to fit in so it wouldn’t cause any stress or sadness for Bucky. Bucky deserved a boyfriend who got along with his family.

Well, Steve thought, he could definitely tick Becca off. They already had each other's numbers and had texted quite a bit considering they had only ever talked over the phone. And as Bucky said, dinner with the parents couldn’t have gone better.

He just needed to not fuck it up today and he was set.

Steve was also pretty excited. This, again, felt like a big step in their new relationship, and it was exciting. He had never been in a relationship before that involved the parents, both because of the war and the fact that being bisexual was very much illegal back in his youth. 

And although he was excited and nervous, Steve was also a little bit sad. This morning he couldn’t stop thinking about his own ma and Bucky meeting. God, they’d get along like a house on fire. He can imagine, clear as day, sitting at the rickety, blue paint chipped dining table in his childhood apartment across from Bucky and Sarah as they gossiped about the neighbourhood and made fun of Steve over the top of their teacups.

His heart aches with the thought, but it’s soothed by the knowledge that Sarah would love Bucky just as much as Steve plans to. 

He pulls up to Bucky's parents' place and is only just closing the car door when the front door of the house swings open.

Steve squints and see’s Winnie standing there, waving at him with a giant smile on her face. A grin breaks out on Steve’s face too as he waves back, walking up the driveway.

“Steve!” Winnie gushes, rushing forward and wrapping him into a hug. Steve is momentarily shocked but quickly reciprocates. As she pulls back, she kisses him on the cheek. “I’m so looking forward to this.”

Steve’s blushing as they walk into the house. “Well, it’s my pleasure, Winnie.”

Winnie spins around and pinches his cheek for a second before gesturing for him to follow her into the kitchen. “Too cute. George is out golfing with some of his friends so it’s just us.”

Steve nodded and sat down on one of the kitchen chairs. “That’s alright. Does he golf often?”

Winnie rolled her eyes as she started to get out two glasses and a pitcher of fresh lemonade. “All the time. If he’s not here, he’s at the golf course. Actually, he mentioned taking you out sometime.”

“O-oh,” Steve spluttered, shocked. “Really?”

Winnie hummed. “Yeah. Would you be any good at it? He doesn’t like it when he loses.”

Steve chuckled. “These days I have a pretty good knack for picking up things but I can let him win if that would make it better.”

Winnie grinned and gave him his glass of lemonade. “I’d very much appreciate that. Were you any good at sports when you were a kid?”

Steve huffed and rubbed the back of his neck. “No, good, not at all. Best I could do was maybe punch a guy in the jaw, but that was it.”

Winnie came around and sat down next to him, spinning the stool so they could face each other better. “Oh, gosh,” she said, hand coming up to her heart. “I just remembered that Bucky wrote an essay about you in high school.”

Steve’s eyes widened. “No, really?”

Winnie was nodding now, a mischievous glint in her eye. “Yes. He was smitten with you, did a bunch of research for it and everything. Got top grades.”

Steve’s heart was fluttering. “Smitten?”

“Yes,” Winnie gushed. “There was one picture of you before the magic or whatever in his textbook that he loved.”

Steve’s heart was going to give out. Bucky has a crush on him pre-serum?

“Oh my god.”

Winnie shot up from the stool. “Oh, it might be in one of the boxes we’re moving today.”

And with that, she led him to the garage and gave him the rundown on all the boxes he had to move so she could sort through them. A lot of their old home had moved to Florida with them, so there were boxes they hadn’t gotten to unpacking for years and boxes of pictures and scrapbooks.

As Winnie went to get changed into some comfier clothes before they got started Steve pulled out his phone.

Steve Rogers: You had a crush on me?? 

Prince Charming <3: I’m confused

Prince Charming <3: You’re my boyfriend?? Of course I have a crush on you

Prince Charming <3: And I thought you already knew I had a crush on you before you asked me out?

Steve Rogers: No, no, back in high school

Prince Charming <3: FUCK

Prince Charming <3: WHAT DID MY MOTHER TELL YOU??

Steve Rogers: Oh, nothing. Just that you were ‘smitten’ with me in high school

Prince Charming <3: Okay, just to be clear I was a major history nerd in high school and you were the hottest historical figure we ever learnt about. Can you blame me?? Jeez, I love your shoulders now but before? Gosh *heart eye emoji*

Steve Rogers: I’m a little shocked

Prince Charming <3: Fuck I hope she doesn’t find that super embarrassing picture Bec took of me holding up the textbook with your picture in it. I’m getting flashbacks to my senior history class

Steve Rogers: I will definitely be finding that picture and making it my phone background, thanks Buck xx

Prince Charming <3: FUCK YOU

Steve Rogers: You can tonight ;) 

Steve grinned down at his phone as the three little bubbles signifying that Bucky was typing reappeared before disappearing again.

“Ready to go?” Winnie asked, coming back into the room in loose shorts and an old shirt.

“Yep,” Steve pocketed his phone. “Actually, is it okay if we lookout for a certain picture of Bucky he’s just told me about?”

They spend the next few hours talking as they work around each other. Steve moves boxes and gym equipment and other things around to where Winnie wants them, and then they sit down and go through the boxes together using Winnie’s coloured sticker system.

They go through photo albums and Steve takes heaps of pictures of baby, child and teenager Bucky, cooing and gushing with Winnie the whole time. He sends some to Bucky and gets a multitude of swear words back, but Steve’s enjoying himself too much to care.

They make quick work of the boxes, condensing them down and moving things in different rooms of the house. Steve reorganises the garage so that more than one car could fit in there. When they’re done, Winnie squeezes him in a hug so tight he’s worried he’ll have to go to the hospital for his mushy organs, both from Winnie’s strength and the warm feeling seeping into his bones. Winnie was much like his mother. No nonsense and kind.

Winnie must have noticed his train of thoughts when they go to it outside on the table enjoying late afternoon tea.

“You okay there, honey?” she asks, voice soft and kind, placing a hand on Steve’s. “You’re lost in your head.”

Steve blinks and turns his gaze to Winnie, seeing her face soft with openness. “Oh, I’m fine.”

She rolls her eyes and piles a piece of cheese on a cracker. “Steve, if you’re going to be around for as long as I think you are, you need to understand that I will always be there for you for anything and you don’t lie to me.”

Steve gulped, his throat clogged with emotion. He’d analyse that statement from Winnie later. “Just thinking about my Ma.”

Winnie smiled then, soft like her son. “Yeah? Do you miss her?”

“God, every day,” Steve said, voice scratchy. “She passed a few years before the war, which was pretty hard but then the war came and I distracted myself. But waking up here, without her? Felt like I lost her all over again. It’s a little better now, but it never goes away.”

Winnie nodded. “I miss my own ma every day too. She died when Bucky was very young so he doesn’t remember her. They’re very alike, they’d be the best of friends.”

“I keep thinking about Bucky and Ma meeting,” Steve wiped his eyes. “I mean, we’ve only been dating for a few weeks but I can imagine it clear as day. They’d get along so well. Jeez,” he huffed, squeezing Winnie’s hand. “You two would get along.”

“Really?”

“Cut from the same cloth, you two,” Steve assured you. “Kind and compassionate, no-nonsense and fierce. After sitting down to have dinner with you she’d come back home and tell me, ‘Steven, I’m warning you now that if you and James don’t work out, Winnie and I will still be seeing each other’.”

Winnie laughed, hand coming up to rest above her heart. “Oh, wow. She was special.”

Steve hummed his agreement.

“This, uh, may be a touchy subject,” Winnie said slowly. “But did she know about your sexuality?”

To Winnie’s surprise, Steve guessed, he broke out in a smile. “Yeah, yeah, she did. There was this one time, I was probably fifteen or so, and I was sitting at the window in the kitchen. I’d been sick the week before and she wasn’t letting me out of the house so I had to watch the neighbourhood boys play on the street instead of joining them.

There was this one boy, his name was Arnie. Smart kid, beautiful eyes. I had gotten a crush on him, so I was actually watching him out on the street, not any of the other kids. Ma had noticed, I guess, me making eyes at him. She came over and patted me on the shoulder, looking down to the street with me and said,

‘You know that it’s okay to love anyone, right? The world doesn’t think it, but you can love a man and I can love a woman if we want. You can love anyone, even if they aren’t what society wants them to be.’ and then I turned to her and said that I might like boys and girls and she kissed me on the head and said, ‘Well, whoever they are, make sure you bring them over for dinner when you find them’.”

Winnie was crying when Steve looked up from staring at the table, his own face wet with tears. He laughed wetly before wiping them away, Winnie doing the same.

She stood up from her chair and Steve did too so they could hug properly. Steve was much taller than her and was able to rest his chin on top of her hair. They stayed like that for a few minutes until Winnie pulled back.

“Thank you for telling me that, Steve,” she smiled, sitting down. 

“Thank you for listening.”

Winnie squeezed his hands. “I’d love to hear more stories if you’re up for it.”

They spent the better part of the next hour swapping stories from their childhoods. There weren’t any more tears but laughter and wistful gazes instead. It was nice. Really nice. So nice that Steve was blindsided by the shovel talk.

“So,” Winnie said, shifting in her seat but pinning Steve down with a stare. “What are your intentions with my son?”

“Your son?” Steve echoed, still catching up to the fact that they had moved on from Winnie’s first brush with the law when she was nineteen.

“The man you are currently dating, and I’m assuming, sleeping with.”

Steve flushed. “Oh-I-well-”

Winnie threw her head back and laughed. “Steve, it is one hundred per cent okay if you’ve seen my son’s dick.”

Steve flushed harder.

“Anyway,” Winnie waved her hand through the air as if she was dispelling the laughter that still shook her shoulders. “I don’t need to know details about my son’s sex life, but I do need to know details about your intentions.”

Steve swallowed. “To make him happy.”

Winnie’s face softened a fraction. “Yeah? Good, that’s good. How?”

Steve groaned and leaned forward until his forehead hit the table. “God, I’d do anything for him but I’m meant to go back home this weekend and I can’t stay here forever.”

“Have you two talked about it?”

“No,” Steve mumbled.

Winnie sighed the mother's sigh of disappointment. “I’m pretty sure that Sarah Rogers and I didn’t raise two idiots sons.”

Steve sat back up and smiled sheepishly. “You may have overestimated both your powers.”

Winnie rolled her eyes and lightly smacked Steve on the shoulder, who laughed.

“You know,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. “I don’t think he would be horrified at the idea of leaving his job and moving back to Brooklyn. This was always going to be temporary but I think you might be the catalyst for him getting his life back on track.”

“You really think so?” Steve asked, quietly.

“Call it mother’s instinct,” Winnie shrugged. “He loves Brooklyn and I know he wishes he was there in a job that he’s passionate about. I think he’s been too scared to actively fight for the life he wants because he’s scared of rejection, but you can hold his hand this time when I couldn’t before.”

Steve’s insides were fuzzy. “Thank you, Winnie. I’ll talk to him.”

They smiled softly at each other but the serenity was disturbed by Steve’s phone buzzing on the table.

He picked it up and grinned. “Speak of the devil.”

He answered the call and held it up to his ear. “Hey, gorgeous.”

Bucky sighed through the phone. “You’re perfect.”

Steve grinned, raising his eyebrows. “Oh, am I?”

“Yeah,” Bucky giggled. “You would be even more perfect if you came and picked me up right now.”

Steve sat up a little straighter, face scrunching together. “What’s wrong, Buck? You okay?”

Bucky giggled again. “I’m fine, Stevie,” he slurred. “Connie and I are just tipsy is all.”

Steve sighed, relaxing back into his seat and smiling at Winnie, who had looked worried. “Tipsy?”

“Yeah,” Bucky whispered something to someone which Steve couldn’t make out before turning his attention back to Steve. “Connie needs a lift home too.”

“Alright,” Steve said, slowly getting out of his seat. “Do you think you can send me the address? I’m still at your ma’s but I’ll leave now, okay?”

“Yep,” Bucky said and there was shuffling until Steve felt his phone buzz in his hand with an incoming text which he assumed was the address from Bucky.

“Okay, don’t do anything stupid until I get there.”

“How can I? You’re taking all the stupid with you!”

Steve rolled his eyes. “Jerk, I’ll be there soon.”

Bucky hummed. “I adore you, punk.”

Bucky hung up and Steve lowered his phone, looking at it.

“Everything okay, Steve?” Winnie asked, placing a hand on Steve’s forearm.

Steve’s head shot up. “He told me that he adores me.”

Winnie smiled softly and squeezed his arm. “It’s not hard, but I think he might adore you more than most.”

Steve stayed standing there still for a moment, processing before he came back into himself and explained that Bucky and Connie were too tipsy to drive and he had to go get them. Winnie rolled her eyes, exasperated at her son and his friends' antics, but gave Steve a hug and a kiss on the cheek as a goodbye.

“Thank you, Winnie,” Steve whispered into her ear. “For everything today.”

She squeezed him. “You are very welcome, Steve. Thank you. ”

Steve drove to the address Bucky had sent and helped a tipsy Bucky and Connie into the back seat before setting off for Connie’s share house twenty minutes away.

Steve liked Connie. She worked with Bucky and was the photographer that followed Bucky around when he was Prince Charming. She’s been there since they first met and has always been super nice to Steve, despite him stealing her friend every single day after they got off from work.

He gets Connie home and safely into the hands of her housemates before he drives to Bucky’s apartment. He makes Bucky eat a bowl of mac and cheese, and a full glass of water, before stripping him of his party clothes and getting him into his pyjamas that were actually Steve’s clothes.

Bucky crawls into bed first whilst Steve gets changed himself and cleans up after their dinner, grabbing a glass of water and some painkillers for Bucky ready for the morning. Steve suspects he won’t be hungover, but he might have a slight headache. Best to be prepared.

When Steve crawls into bed beside Bucky, Bucky quickly latches onto him like the snuggle octopus he is, hot breath fanning over Steve’s chest.

Steve brushed a hand through Bucky’s hair. “Tomorrow we’re gonna have to talk about us, Buck, and what happens after this.”

Bucky’s breath hitches and he snuggles closer into Steve. “Okay, Stevie. Promise me you won’t leave me after though.”

“Promise,” Steve whispered, kissing the top of Bucky’s head.

*★ ～☆・ :.*♕*.: ・☆～★ *

The next morning Steve makes Bucky waffles and they eat them in bed. Bucky has a slight headache, but it goes pretty quickly after he drowns the painkillers.

They get dressed and Steve drives them back to the baby shower house, where Bucky gets into his own car and they drive back to Bucky’s apartment in separate cars.

Bucky’s just throwing the keys into the bowl by the door when Steve flops onto the couch and sighs. “We should probably talk, huh?”

Bucky sighs but nods. “Yeah, just give me a sec.”

He disappears for a few moments before walking over and sitting on the couch next to Steve, now wearing one of Steve’s hoodies. It’s probably not the best weather for it but it makes Steve lean over and kiss him hard.

“Honesty,” he says, pulling back. “This will only work if we’re honest, okay? No judgments.”

“Okay,” Bucky agrees. “Honesty. No judgments.”

They’re silent for a few moments.

“So-”

“So-”

They laugh and Bucky points at Steve. “You first, Stevie.”

“So,” he says again, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’m going back home this Sunday. What are your thoughts on that?”

Bucky chews on his bottom lip for a second before frowning. “It makes me sad. I’m going to miss you, and I-I uh, don’t want to break up with you.”

Steve let out a small breath of relief. “Okay, good. That’s exactly how I’m feeling. I would stay here with you, but I gotta go back.”

“I know, Stevie,” Bucky says, reaching out and taking Steve’s hand in his own. “This has been great, believe me, but this isn’t the real world. We both have jobs and families and friends. We can’t have the rest of our lives off from those responsibilities just to be with each other every single second of the day.”

Steve wished life was that way, but Bucky was right. They needed to burst their happy love bubble. “What do you want to do then? Long-distance relationship?”

“Yes,” Bucky paused. “But then how long will that be for?”

Steve thought for a second before speaking. “Okay, take me out of the equation completely, what is your five-year plan? Ten-year plan?”

Bucky’s lips twitched. “Without you in it? Probably move back to Brooklyn in a while, try and get another job. In ten years I’d definitely like to be in a stable relationship, maybe married, with kids.”

Steve’s breath caught in his throat. Fuck, he wanted that. 

“But with you in it?” Bucky asked, quiet this time, watching himself tracing patterns on Steve’s skin. “I think I could move those plans up a few years.”

“Yeah?” Steve asked, voice a little rough from shock.

“Yeah,” Bucky shrugged. “I’ve been thinking about it a lot and I would have been moving back home within the year or two, so why not do it within a few months?”

“You’re going to move back to Brooklyn.”

“Yep,” Bucky confirmed, a little more confident now as he met Steve’s eye. “I’ll start looking for a job and apartment straight away.”

“And you’ll be happy?” Steve asked, needing Bucky to confirm this wasn’t a spur of the moment decision just to follow a two-week boyfriend.

“Yes,” Bucky squeezed his hand, his smile soft. “I’m doing okay here, but I think I can be really happy back in my hometown, a job that I’m passionate about, with my sweet boyfriend. This isn’t just because of you, Stevie. I would have done this sooner or later, but I’ve become complacent in my own life and I don’t want that anymore.”

“Okay,” Steve said, lips twitching.

“Okay,” Bucky said, smiling growing. “So, you’ll go back to Brooklyn this weekend and I’ll follow you in a couple of months and we stay as boyfriends. How does that sound, Stevie?”

“Fucking perfect, Buck,” Steve growled, surging forward to capture Bucky in a kiss.   

All worries and concerns about the future of their relationship melted away from him as Bucky melted into his touch. It might be tricky, this transition in both their lives, but they’d have each other and it would be perfect. 

When they’re happy and satisfied, they have a shower to clean up before Bucky opens his resume and they spend the rest of the day lounging on the couch, updating Bucky’s resume, looking for jobs and apartments in the city.

They both decide that it’s way too early to move in together back in Brooklyn, despite the fact they’ve been living in each other's pockets for the last few weeks. Brooklyn would bring back reality and they both want to wait for reality to hit them before they move in together.

Steve’s confident that they’ll move in together at some stage because he’s confident he’s on the edge of falling in love with Bucky, one breath away from the plunge. 

The next day, Steve gets a phone call nearing lunchtime. Bucky’s gaze is focused on his laptop so he doesn’t notice Steve sneaking out to pace the footpath out the front.

“Hey, Capitano,” Tony says as soon as Steve brings the phone to his ear. “Cap. Skipper. Boss. Commander. Lord and Saviour, Jesus-”

“Tony,” Steve rolled his eyes. “What do you want?”

“What do I want?” Tony squeaked and Steve could imagine the mock outraged on his face as he brought his hand to his heart. “How dare you, sir. What if-”

“Tony,” Steve sighed, used to Tony’s antics. “I’m sorry. How are you, old friend?”

“I’m going to ignore the old part because you’re technically older than me,” Tony sniffed. “I’m well, champ. How are you?”

“Good,” Steve smiled. “Really good.”

Tony hummed. “Yes, I can understand why.”

Steve groaned. “Oh my god, he told you?”

Tony didn’t even try to deny it. “Yes, Sam told me. I’m actually quite offended that I didn’t know beforehand.”

“Bucky’s parents haven’t even been told yet and I only spoke to Sam for a few minutes last night anyways. You know, Sam. It’s hard to keep anything from him.”

“Yes, I guess that’s true.”

“So?” Steve asked, kicking a pebble down the footpath and then walking over to it to kick it in the other direction to keep the cycle going. “You want to talk to me about my boyfriend moving to the same city as me?”

“Well, sort of. I hear he’s quite the engineer.”

Steve nodded, lips twitching thinking about the rants he’s been subjected to about Bucky’s passion. “Yes. He’s very smart.”

“Yes, so his schooling records tell me.”

“Tony!” Steve sputtered.

“What?” Tony asked indifferently. “I had to double-check he’s legit before I offer him a job.”

Steve’s leg falls back from its raised position, ready to kick the pebble, with a hard thud. “Offer him a job?”

“Well, not exactly. Offer him an interview for a job at Stark Industries. No guarantees but he’s a good candidate for the job.”

“Are-are you serious?”

“Serious as you when talking about elevator music, Stevie boy.”

Wow, that was pretty serious.

“Hold on, can I put him on the phone with us?” Steve asked quickly, running back into Bucky’s apartment.

“Sure thing. Let me hear the sweet tones of Buckaroo’s voice.”

Steve came crashing into Bucky’s apartment so fast he knocked something over and smashed it, but it was worth it when he watched Bucky’s face as Tony offered him a job interview.

It seemed everything was coming sunny side up.

*★ ～☆・ :.*♕*.: ・☆～★ *

They stop via George and Winnie’s house on the way to the airport. They sit down on the couch and Bucky tells him about the Stark Industries job interview and his plans to move back to Brooklyn within a few months.

Steve sits by his side, holding his hand, waiting for some sort of attack. Despite his conversations a few days prior with Winnie, Steve feels apprehensive that he’s the catalyst that’s taking their son away from them.

Instead, Winnie and George throw their arms up in celebration and bring them both into big hugs, kissing their cheeks and gushing about how they finally might get some alone time.

They stay for a cup of tea before they have to leave so Steve doesn’t miss his flight.

Winnie, George and Steve exchange phone numbers with Bucky smiling softly off to the side, watching as his parents give Steve massive hugs. Steve smiles softly back at his boyfriend.

They hold hands all the way to the airport where Bucky parks the car, then they hold hands as they walk into the terminal and Steve checks in. There's a distant thought that they are in a very public place and Steve’s very recognisable and that it would be easy for people to get a photo of Steve and Bucky kissing in line for a coffee, but Steve doesn’t care.

He’ll deal with the fallout if it means that he can hold Bucky in his arms.

Due to security reasons, his seat is in first-class so he has access to the first-class club or whatever it’s called. Technically Bucky isn’t meant to join him because he doesn’t have a boarding pass but with a Captain America smile, the nice lady lets them both through.

They sit by the window in a booth and watch the runways out in front of them, planes taking off and landing with hundreds of people on an adventure or returning home. Steve feels like he’s on both, with Bucky in his arms it’s the promise of an adventure at home. It’s poetic.

Pretty soon, too soon for Steve’s liking, the boarding call for his flight comes from the speakers. They detach themselves from each other and get up, Steve grabbing his carry on bag and throwing it over his shoulder before taking Bucky’s hand and leading them to security.

They both go through security, silent, the loom of Steve leaving taking their breaths away. There’s no trouble with security and then they’re walking together to Steve’s gate.

There’s a lot of people mingling around waiting to board, a few businessmen and women in line to go into first class. They stop a little ways away so they can have a private moment without too many prying eyes.

Steve immediately wraps Bucky into a hug, trying to absorb the other man into his chest and lungs to take him back with him. Bucky pulls back first and moves his hands to cup Steve’s jaw. His eyes are a little wet.

“I’ve got the SI interview next week,” Bucky says, his voice only wavering a little as he recounts the plan that they’ve talked about non-stop. Steve understands his need to voice it again. “I’ll keep looking for a place even if I don’t get the job because Tony’s going to help me look for another job. I’ve handed in my resignation to Disney already, so I’ll be back in Brooklyn within a few months.”

“Depending on the apartment,” Steve reminds him, voice wet.

Bucky chuckles. “Depending on the apartment.”

Steve leans forward the few inches and closes the distance between them, capturing Bucky in a sweet, loving kiss. Bucky sighs into it, holding Steve’s jaw a little more tightly as if he could hold Steve here forever. Steve would let him.

“Hey,” Steve whispers, pulling back and wiping a tear that had escaped Bucky’s eyes. “This isn’t goodbye.”

“I know,” Bucky says. “Because you’re going to call me as soon as you land.”

“And every day until you’re with me,” Steve says, giving Bucky another sweet kiss.

“Okay, okay,” Bucky says, stepping back and wiping his face, shaking out his shoulders. “You better get on the plane or it will leave without you.”

That wasn’t true, but if Steve didn’t leave now, they both feared he wouldn’t at all.

Steve nods, then grins as he bows slightly to Bucky, holding out his hand. Bucky huffs and rolls his eyes, but he’s smiling as he places his hand in Steve’s. Steve kisses his knuckles lightly, just like Bucky did when they first met.

“I’ll miss you,” Steve says quietly, straightening back up.

“I’ll miss you too, punk.”

Steve laughs and wraps an arm around Bucky’s waist, pulling them together for one last kiss. 

Bucky kisses him back but then starts laughing, pulling back and pushing Steve lightly in the shoulder. “Okay, leave, you idiot.”

Steve kisses Bucky’s cheek quickly, laughing when Bucky giggles. “I’m not leaving without you, yeah?”

“Yeah, I know, Stevie,” Bucky says, smiling brightly as Steve starts to walk back towards his gate and the door that leaves to the plane.

Steve stops for a second, eyes memorising this moment with Bucky’s smile, his wet eyes, his flushed cheeks as he looks at Steve. God, he thinks he loves this man.

But they’ve got time.

Steve’s forced to turn his back on Bucky to greet the air hostess, who scans his boarding ticket with a smile and waves towards the door to get onto the plane.

Steve turns around and scans the people around him to find Bucky. He blows him a final kiss, which Bucky jumps and grabs in the air with both hands, putting it in his shirt pocket. 

Bucky’s smiling softly and gives Steve a little wave.

Steve waves back, eyes stinging, throat clogged, chest tight. His heart aches as he turns and walks through the door to follow the path to the plane, but his lungs are filled with fresh breath at the knowledge that Bucky would be following soon.

Their happily ever after is tangible, and they’ve grabbed it with both hands. Now they just have to wait for the clock to strike midnight.

The end.

*★ ～☆・ :.*♕*.: ・☆～★ *