Who: Bruce, Bucky squared, Pepper, Elena, and Steve
Where: The training room, the gym, the coffee shop, and room 26-28 on the 7th floor.
When: 10/29 - 11/04
Rating: PG - R (for one log)
Summary: Mostly a late post-event catch-all.
The Story: where did you go?
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He's got to figure out if he really cares. Given this past event, it's probably a pointless endeavor to keep any secrets.]
Oh, obviously. [Steve opens his eyes and then dips his head down to steal another kiss from Bucky. His hands reach out and slide across Bucky's shoulders, and one brushes against the chain of Bucky's dogtags. He follows the chain down to the actual tags and then cups them in his palm, reading over the information there as if he hasn't seen it a hundred times already.
Steve's got his on, too. It's the only thing he doesn't ever take off.] James Buchanan Barnes. [Saying Bucky's full name reminds him of their interaction on the helicarrier ("your name is James Buchanan Barnes"), and his expression shifts into a frown. Someday, Bucky might need these more than he realizes, as another reminder.]
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Of course, he's got to come back to reality sometime. He leans up a little to kiss Steve, and when he pulls back Bucky opens his eyes. They need to figure out what they're gonna say to their friends, and maybe who they might need to check on in the aftermath. Bucky is about to start into it, or maybe see if he can sweet-talk Steve into another round, but Steve's hand has stopped moving across his chest and he can practically feel the tension easing back into his body.
He's rarely heard Steve call him anything but Bucky. It's a little strange to hear it out loud, but it makes it easy to guess where his mind has wandered to. Bucky reaches over and nudges Steve's hand until he can close his fingers around it, and the dogtags too.
His chest feels tight all of a sudden. He doesn't want to think about this, let alone talk about it. ]
You want 'em? [ The words come out in a rush, nothing romantic about it. ]
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Steve frowns, not sure why he would assume that, and he shakes his head.] No, you...
[He works his hand out from Bucky's and pulls it back, letting the dogtags fall back against his chest.] You should keep them. [Because someday Steve may need to show them to Bucky and say, look, this is you. He doesn't want to explain it because he probably doesn't have to and he's already made this bad enough.]
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[ He could leave them in his room but, like Steve, he's not in the habit of taking them off to leave them just anywhere. Chances are, when he goes, they'll go with him, and he doesn't know where they'll end up after that. Probably lost in the snow or dragged away by the river, or maybe someone keeps them as a souvenir... He really doesn't want to know.
He'd thought about giving one to any number of girls back home, but that was a whole 'nother lifetime ago. If he's honest with himself, it's not something that was gonna happen, even then.
When Steve pulls back, Bucky pushes himself up onto his elbows. ]
Seriously. I know this isn't exactly romantic but... Who else was I gonna give 'em to, anyway?
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Bucky has a point, though. If he does eventually leave this place and come back tortured and cracked apart, then he may not even have the tags with him. No, he definitely won't.]
All right. I'll keep them safe for you, how's that?
[Although it doesn't seem right to just take Bucky's -- and so Steve shifts back until he's sitting on the bed and then grabs for the chain on his own tags and pulls them over his head.
He hands them over.] But you should take mine, then. [If Bucky leaves, the dog tags should remain here, and Steve can always give them back to him later. If Bucky would even take them, but Steve's not going to think too hard on that right now.]
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Bucky shifts up onto his knees and straddles Steve's thigh, mostly for convenience. The whole conversation and most of the reasons leading up to this had been the worst things they could think about, but he doesn't want this to be another sad, awful memory for Steve to look back at later.
He lets Steve hold on to his tags for the moment, and leans up to drop his own over Steve's head. ]
So does this mean you're my best guy now? [ There's a laugh in his voice when he says it. He slides his fingers down the chain, down Steve's collar bone, pressing lightly into a bruise he put there not an hour earlier. ]
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Naturally, Bucky's tags feel more or less the same around his neck as his own always have, and yet Steve can still feel the warmth in them from Bucky's skin -- that's what's special about it. He closes his eyes for a moment, but smirks when Bucky asks that question.
His hands both move forward to either of Bucky's sides and hold him there, like he can somehow prevent him from ever leaving just with a strong grip. His eyes flutter open.]
Haven't I always been your best guy? [Sappy as they're being right now, that's the truth. What Steve has always maintained about this shift in their friendship is that it really doesn't change that much. Maybe that's why it had been so easy for him to fall into.]
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He draws back enough to pull Steve tags on. They're exactly the same as his own; it feels like he never took them off. He's gonna lose these just as surely as he'd have lost his own, but Steve wouldn't have given them to him if he cared about that. Maybe when he goes, he'll have to go alone, but he knows he'll hold on to these for as long as he can.
So yeah, in a way, Steve's always been his best guy. Sappy as it might be, he wouldn't deny it.
He cups the side of Steve's face with his palm when he leans in for another kiss. ] You know it, punk.
[ He stretches his arms out, leaning them lightly against Steve's shoulders so they can rest their foreheads against each other. He might as well take all the indulgence he can get. ]
So for Christmas I'm gettin' you a sweater that says 'Bucky's best guy.' What do you think?
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When Bucky draws in closer and their foreheads touch, Steve holds that position, his own arms looping further around until his hands clasp at the small of Bucky's back. It's not often that he feels this at ease, especially so soon after an event, but this has been good for both of them, even with all of the risks taken into account.
Bucky's question causes him to scoff, and their faces are close enough that Bucky is likely to feel the warmth of his breath against his lips.]
First of all, jerk, we should probably think about Thanksgiving first. Second of all, you can get it for me, but that doesn't mean I have to wear it.
[Mainly because it would bring up a lot of questions from their friends. Steve might sleep in it. Maybe. Just to make Bucky laugh.]
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[ Bucky laughs quietly, warm color rising in his face. He'd only been teasing Steve about the idea, but it's tempting now, just to see him in something that ridiculous. ]
I guess we should invite the team around for Thanksgiving, do a big dinner or something... Can't be worse than my in-laws, right?
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[Thanksgiving isn't something either Steve or Bucky could celebrate much, even before the war. There hadn't often been much in the way of food on the table, but they'd made it work all the same. Steve still has some good memories, and he'd like to make new ones with the team.
The thought of a huge feast (because here, they can take as much food as they'd like from the closets, and maybe even cook some things) betrays his appetite, though, as his stomach growls loud enough to be heard even under the blanket he had pulled over him.
He laughs and glances from his traitor of a stomach to Bucky.] Can we make a small exception in the 'staying-in-bed-all-day' plan?