Bucky/Had a great past

[imperfectsoldier]

He can't say he's entirely 'used to' Bucky being in his apartment. He can say that after the amount of time he had without Bucky, both while Hydra had Bucky and then the blip, it's surprisingly easy to have had him here, since his return.

Eating together - even standing up in the kitchen over reheated pizza or similar, most of the time - sharing the clean up duties and space, taking turns in the bathroom is all pretty damn easy. It's familiar, and it's become routine.

Routine doesn't diverge immediately, even down to Steve tossing Bucky a pair of sweatpants and t-shirt for Bucky to sleep in, after he's brushed his teeth and changed into his own. He has way more stuff, for very obvious reasons.

It diverges after that, at the point they'd be separating for Steve to go into the bedroom to sleep (or try to sketch or stare at the ceiling or -) and Bucky left on the couch.

He waits on Bucky to come back out to ask - "You coming?" To bed.

Is that still a thing they are doing, and how the fuck is this going to go?

[ from here]

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[hadagreatpast]

Bucky sighs as he watches Steve, then pulls his spare hair tie off his wrist and starts pulling his hair back into a bun. It's mostly just for something to do with his hands then.

"For the record, that's one time I'm glad you didn't listen." Bucky didn't want to think about what might have happened if Steve had shut up and didn't get through to him in the end, even if Bucky didn't know what the hell to make of it all afterwards.

[imperfectsoldier]

Steve just takes over plating food up, not to distract them but because it needs doing. "Well, for what's it's worth - I have occasionally regretted not listening to you. That wasn't one of them."

He still doesn't actually know who pulled him out of that river -- or who got him to a hospital. He does know not being dead means something got through. More importantly, he'd seen Bucky's face.

[hadagreatpast]

That actually makes Bucky grin slightly. "Imagine how much easier things mighta been for you when we were young if you listened to me more often." Bucky, himself, had never been perfect. Far from it, really. But when they were young, he had a much more even temperament than his hot-headed best friend did.

Now, on the other hand, Bucky often feels like he's still trying to figure out what his personality is.

Then he adds, "You woulda at least had a couple less black eyes," before reaching past him to pinch a bite of sauerkraut off of one of the hot dogs and pops it into his mouth.

[imperfectsoldier]

"At least a couple less," he says, with a brief bark of laughter. "And I still haven't learned anything, because I still can't walk away from a fight."

That just is what it is. Bucky? Bucky's got some stuff to figure out. So does Steve. Steve isn't honestly all that sure who he is without a fight in front of him, anymore.

But he's pretty clear on that one thing, at least.

[hadagreatpast]

There was at least one fight Steve had been willing to walk away from, but Bucky isn't going to mention that one. They'd already discussed it as it was.

But that burst of laughter makes Bucky's grin widen a bit anyway. He's always loved to hear Steve laugh or see him smile, because when they were young, his best friend was so often just a little ball of rage that Bucky savored when it happened. Especially when Bucky was the one who made it happen.

And apparently that continues to the present day. "Probably would have saved on some bags of frozen peas, too."

[imperfectsoldier]

He'd already 'lost' that fight. So, he changed tactics and was willing to bet (or lose) his life betting on Bucky. Entirely different thing. Says Steve.

He snorts, but - "Yeah, we get to keep our food for eating now." But also: "We really have to do some grocery shopping at some point. This is getting a little ridiculous.

[hadagreatpast]

"Probably good since we eat more than we used to, too." Not just because times aren't the same sort of hard as they had been when they were younger, but they also just have to because of the physical changes they'd both been through.

"We can go tomorrow if you want," Bucky says and pulls one of the plates over to himself, then snags a hot dog and takes a bite before adding (mouth full), "It's not like I have any plans."

[imperfectsoldier]

"Know I find this sentence as odd as you do: Why don't we put an order together online and just pick it up." Because that's a lot of people who are going to potentially recognize Steve, and if we can avoid it? He'd rather.

Also saves on decision fatigue in some ways. Plus saves time. So - "We can find something better to do with both our time tomorrow than spend a couple of hours in a grocery store." He's sure. A pause. "Like start a claim for backpay from the army for you."

[hadagreatpast]

"Sounds good to me. I wasn't looking forward to dealing with a crowd anyway," Bucky admits. He can deal with crowds, but it doesn't mean he likes them all that much anymore. Just like he can deal with heights, but he hates those, too, now.

Falling off a train will do that to a guy.

But the backpay part makes him sigh. "I don't know, Steve. They're probably not gonna want to pay a former HYDRA assassin."

[imperfectsoldier]

Steve loves a lot of things associated with heights. Like free fall and flying. That doesn't mean he doesn't get why they're not Bucky's - Steve didn't end up taken by Hydra after the fall and every time he's done it has been after the serum.

Don't ask him to deal with intense cold or immobilization long. That one left marks, even on him.

His eyebrows go up. "How about a guy who was a POW for sixty years?" Because come on, Bucky.

[hadagreatpast]

"If they agree to see it that way." And Bucky wouldn't put it past them to not see it that way.

Still, that backpay would be nice. It isn't like there are still lots of HYDRA safehouses around for Bucky to clear out and keep the stashes of emergency cash.

"But, hey, if you think it'll work, we can try." Maybe it would work, especially since Bucky has Steve vouching for him.

[imperfectsoldier]

"They're not gonna argue with me. They used my image for everything under the sun for sixty years, and built me up into their golden boy. Might as well use that privilege for something worthwhile."

Someone.

That'd be Bucky.

He's getting that backpay.

or Steve's going to develop an affinity for reports really damn fast.

[hadagreatpast]

"Worthwhile, huh?" Bucky's teasing, mostly. He might not see himself as worthwhile, not really. But he knows that Steve does for some reason.

Bucky bumps his shoulder against Steve's, wanting that little bit of extra contact with him.