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Steve comes back from the most recent mission beaten down and exhausted. He was beginning to wonder if he’d ever see the end of HYDRA. They’d stumbled on the intel by accident, something Steve had found when they were searching for The Winter Soldier. By the time they’d reached the base it had already been destroyed, and the walls were painted in a spectacular symphony of blood, but in the middle of all the carnage had been coordinates of another base, and after a few days of retcon it looked like it was still fully functional and running smoothly.
Fury immediately assembled the team and sent them in to take out the base-only to be faced with explosive doors and three time as many operatives as they had been expecting. On top of everything else, Steve’s birthday was coming up, and all he could think of was that he was about to spend another year without Bucky. He’d thought the worst day of his life was when Bucky had fallen from the train-he’d been wrong. The worst day, the very worst day was the day he saw a stranger wearing Bucky’s face.
And there were so many days after that were terrible, knowing Bucky was out there, alone and probably scared, and maybe even sick. And Steve was failing him again. But he just didn’t know where else to look. So he went after HYDRA, he took down as many as he could as fast as he could and kept going, all the while searching for his lost best friend. At this point, Steve was convinced he was never coming home. And Steve didn’t know if he could ever come home from the War without Bucky.
He really shouldn’t have worried. He opened his door and immediately knew someone else was inside, and they weren’t even being subtle about it. There were pots and pans banging in the kitchen, the radio blaring some old song that was old even before Steve was old. He was immediately on guard holding his shield in front of his body as he walked towards the kitchen, only to stop dead in his tracks, because Bucky Barnes was standing at his stove cooking something that smelled like Winnifred Barnes’ spaghetti. It was one of the few things Bucky had learned to make from his mother, and one of the things they’d eat together after they moved out and were able to treat themselves. Sometimes when Steve was working at the art store down the street they’d been able to splurge and buy ground beef. It was one of Steve’s favorite memories.
Steve was torn between rubbing his eyes, crying and reaching blindly for his friend. But he couldn’t do any of those so instead he just asked.
“Bucky?” In the smallest voice Steve had used since his became Captain America.
Well, apparently crying wasn’t off the table because Steve did just that when Bucky beamed at him in 100% authentic James Buchanan Barnes style.
Bucky displayed none of the weariness that Steve had been worried about, he simply walked right up to Steve and cradled his cheeks in his mismatched hands.
“I remember everything.” He gently stroked Steve’s cheeks. “And it was way past time to come home. You didn’t really think I’d let you spend your birthday alone, did you?” He asked gently.
Steve couldn’t help himself then, he was clinging to Bucky’s back and sobbing into his shoulder. “It’s really you.”
Bucky shushed him gently and stroked his hair. “Sure is, doll. And I’m not leavin’ you again.”
Steve beamed up at Bucky and the next minute they were kissing like the world was ending.
“God, I missed you, Steve.” Bucky gasped when they pulled away for air.
“I love you so much, Buck.” Steve would never be able to tell how long they kissed for before the clothes started coming off, it could have been hours to years for all he knew, and he didn’t care about anything other than the fact that Bucky was back with him, finally, and they could be together without hiding.
Somehow they had ended up in the bedroom and Steve was missing his shirt. He saw the tiny flash of hesitation in Bucky’s eyes when Steve went to remove his shirt. “Nothing will change the way I feel about you.” He assured his partner. He immediately saw what Bucky had been concerned about when he took off his shirt, thick lines of angry pink scare tissue surrounded the area where his metal shoulder had been fused to his skeleton. They looked angry and sore and Steve itched to run his fingers over them to see if he could soothe the ache. But now wasn’t the time for that.
So he contented himself with sweeping some of Bucky’s hair behind his ear and kissing the spot on his neck that made his knees weak. They eventually threw the rest of their clothes around the room and Steve got a good look at Bucky naked for the first time since the 40s.
Steve hadn’t thought it was possible for Bucky to be any more attractive than he was the night before he shipped off, when Bucky’d promised to take him to the future. Funny how things work out sometimes.
He didn’t like it when he saw that self-conscious look back in Bucky’s eyes. So Steve ran his hands up and down his lover’s sides. “You’re gorgeous. And you’re so good.” Bucky’s cock twitched. Steve filed that away for later, because that-that was new. But it made complete sense at the same time.
“You like that, Buck?” he whispered, settling his weight on Bucky and rocking their cocks together.
“Fuck, yeah, Steve.” Bucky panted out, rolling his hips up into Steve, trying to get more friction between them. It wasn’t going to be long for either of them, not with how long they’d been apart, and how desperately they loved each other.
Moments later Bucky was tightening up and spilling between them, dragging Steve over the edge with him. Steve had gotten up and gotten a cloth and made sur they were both clean before settling into bed, with Bucky resting his head on Steve’s shoulder. He reached down and entwined his metal fingers with Steve’s hand.
“I’m sorry I stayed away so long. I just…” Bucky tried to explain, but he still struggled with words sometimes. But he would rather struggle with words everyday for the rest of his life and struggle with memories. “When you first started lookin’ for me, I was more Winter Soldier than Bucky. And, and I woulda chosen anything over goin’ back to them, but, but you deserved better than that. For someone ta choose you because you were the safest choice. So I went away for a bit, and figured out how to be Bucky again, and let me tell ya’ Stevie, wasn’t that a trip! I still have nightmares and I probly always will but I’m doin’ okay now, an’ I want you to know that I chose you, Bucky Barnes chose Steve Rogers because he loved him and not because he didn’t have a better one.”
Steve had been quietly crying into Bucky’s hair since the start of his speech, but Steve was just nodding his head, like finally everything made sense. For the first time in seventy years, Steve Rogers fell asleep with a smile on his face.
Funny thing about that. For the first time in seventy years, Bucky Barnes awoke with a smile on his face. He though it probably had something to do with the blonde furnace behind him slowly squeezing his ass and grinding his rock-hard dick into Bucky’s thigh.
“Well, good mornin’ Captain.” Bucky said pushing is ass backward.
“Sleep well, Sergeant?” Steve asked, reaching over Bucky and grabbing a bottle of lube out of the bedside drawer. Steve was spooned up against Bucky’s back and slowly kissing his neck while running lube slick fingers over his hole.
It didn’t take long before Steve was pushing his finger all the way in to the last knuckle and Bucky was whining and moaning on his hand, “Fuck, please, I can take another.”
“Shh, I know you can, baby, you’re so good.” He told Bucky and pushed in another finger.
Steve was surprised Bucky let Steve work him open with three fingers before insisting that he could take it, and he wanted it now or he was just gonna take care of himself and Steve gave his ass sharp pinch in retaliation.
“Impatient.” Steve whispered into his neck, while lining himself up with Bucky and very gently pushing inside. It had been an age since they’d done this, but Steve immediately felt like he was coming home. “You’re so good, Buck. I love you so much.” He continued to set a gentle pace, dragging it out as long as he could.
But it wasn’t long before his lover was moaning under him and wriggling around to get more friction on his cock. “Stevie, I’m gonna come.” Bucky warned him, before his body went bowstring tight and he came all over his chest and Steve’s hand, and he was vaguely aware of Steve moaning his name and coming.
This time Bucky got up and was the one to clean them. They dozed on and off for a while before finally waking up for real around noon.
“Hey Stevie,” Bucky said, poking Steve in the arm. “Did you know that two men can get married now?” He said, leadingly.
“You tryin’ ta ask me something, Jamie B?” Steve asked, blinking up from beneath his eyelashes and Bucky groaned and threw his metal arm across his eyes. He hated that nickname and he been very glad when it had died a painful death at the hands of Bucky.
“Not anymore I’m not, ya mook!” Bucky said, though he was laughing. “We’re not bringing back ‘Jamie B’!”
“Hey Buck?” Steve asked quietly a few minutes after the laughter had subsided. “Will ya’ marry me?”
Bucky thought his heart was going to explode. Steve was actually blushing. “Course I will, you’re my best guy!”