When Steph settled against him on the couch, Bucky pulled the throw blanket off the back to cover the two of them, then wrapped his arm around her middle to hold her close. She was warm against him, but that didn't stop him from getting a chill more easily than he used to. Probably from all his time frozen. And he currently only had his underwear and tank top until they washed those spare clothes Steph had dug out for him.
Besides, curling up under a blanket together just seemed like it would be... comfortable. And didn't the two of them deserve to be comfortable?
The movie was good enough that they were a little while into it before Bucky spoke again. But it really had nothing to do with the movie itself. "I don't know what I'd do without you," he told her, his voice soft.
Steph had found Bucky's hand and laced their fingers together, wanting to be close to him in all the ways possible. When he spoke, she gave it a good squeeze. "I'm not going anywhere. You'll never be without my dumb ass giving you grief," she assured him.
After a moment she added, more seriously, "But just in case something like Thanos happens again... live for me, okay? Or at least try. Don't do what I did and waste away."
Easier said than done, of course. And she was probably being a hypocrite again, because she wasn't sure she could bear losing him a third time.
Sighing, Bucky tightened his arms around her. "I can't promise that, Steph," he told her honestly. "I'll try, but I can't promise it'd work." He'd try. Maybe. Probably.
"I guess we'll just have to work to make sure none of that shit happens again. Or we could just retire and stay out of it from now on." He never wanted to be in the fight in the first place, as evidenced by the fact that he was drafted, even though the Smithsonian insisted he enlisted. Instead, Bucky had always just wanted to have a good, peaceful life with his dreamgirl.
But at least now they were engaged, so he was getting closer to that goal.
"Retirement sounds good. I'm so tired, Buck." Steph had already told him that, but she wanted him to know she was serious about it and it wasn't just part of some adrenaline-fueled post-battle confession. "Sam can have the shield. He does what I do, just slower," she said with a small chuckle to herself as she parrotted Sam's own line. "He'll make a good Captain America, though he'll have the work cut out for him." She had a hard enough time being a woman, despite being traditionally American-looking, with her blonde hair and baby blues.
She shifted to peer up at Bucky then. "Where do you wanna go? We gotta go somewhere they can't find us so we don't get roped into shit anymore." She was a do gooder by nature, so she'd have to position herself away from temptation. If their friends showed up needing help, she might not be able to say no.
"So am I." Bucky felt like he'd been tired for eighty years or more, which he sort of had been. Up until a couple of days ago, he'd felt his best when he was staying in Wakanda, but even there he was tired all the time. And he didn't care who Steph gave the shield to, just that if she retired, he would be going with her. And if she didn't (he really hoped she did, though), he'd still be going with her.
"I don't know. Somewhere with running water. And electricity." Bucky had neither in his shack, and while he adapted, he didn't want to have to live like that forever. "But we've got time to figure it out. We both have loose ends we need to deal with before we can just leave town." And no matter where they went, Steph had friends. Eventually, someone would show up wanting her help, which meant they'd also get Bucky's help. But it would have to be a pretty dire situation for him to not try to talk Steph out of helping. "You have anywhere in mind?"
"Definitely not anywhere that freezes, but also where we don't stick out too much. We can scout some locations and add them to our honeymooon itinerary?" They'd initially decided to go somewhere in Asia for the beaches, but outside of the tourist areas they would stand out, and Bucky probably might not like getting sand into his arm on a regular basis. They should have time to figure out their future living though. They certainly have the means to afford it.
Her expression suddenly turned thoughtful. "Though we could just stay in the area. Remember those houses we liked looking at and joked about buying when we got older? Maybe one of them's for sale. We just make everyone think we moved to, I dunno, Alaska."
"We could probably take our time checking places out," he started, grinning as he ran a hand up and down the side of her arm. "With the trial and everything resettling, it's not like we know what's going to be going on a year from now anyway."
Bucky chuckled softly as he nuzzled the back of Steph's head with the tip of his nose, his eyes sliding closed. "What, like hint about how much I liked Romania, but don't mention buying a house here?" That would be kinda funny, actually, and he wondered how long they would be able to pull off living under everyone's noses without them noticing. "I honestly don't know where else I'd wanna go. I never really pictured retiring anywhere but Brooklyn when we were kids. Nowhere that gets worse winters than here, though. Not if we can help it, alright?"
"Yeah, that's the idea." Steph laughed. "We'll probably be traveling a lot anyway, so we won't really be home all that much either. And we can always go somewhere warm during winter." Like migratory birds. It wasn't actually a bad idea. Between the rest of the world, and space, there was so much for them to see.
She pressed a kiss to the hollow of his throat, then nestled back against him again. "Me either. Or anywhere you wanted, in those times I allowed myself to dream." Most of the time she just assumed she was going to die young while he'd marry some other girl who would take care of him instead of the other way around. "I liked that house at the end of the street. The one that looked haunted." A cranky middle-aged man who'd fought in the war with her Da lived in that one; it was only once she was on the front too that she understood how war changed a person.
Bucky smiled softly as he closed his eyes, enjoying just being with Steph. Sure, he was loving the movie and all, it was fantastic, but he didn't mind ignoring it in favor of the amazing woman he had stretched out against him. Besides, they were discussing their future together, and that was what he'd always wanted, wasn't it? A future at Steph's side.
"I remember that house," Bucky said with a chuckle. "Hell, I wonder how many of the houses we used to like are even still standing." So many places he remembered from before were gone in one way or another already. What was there to say that something as simple as houses would still be there? "But... I do like the idea of always coming back here between trips. Keeping Brooklyn our home." Bucky might not have moved there until he was an older kid, but he didn't have any real attachment to Indiana. Brooklyn, on the other hand, was where he met the girl of his dreams. Sure, he could live wherever, but deep down Brooklyn was his home, just like it was hers.
"Sounds like a plan for later then," Steph said with a soft laugh. "Wedding first, then honeymoon." They had her apartment for now anyway; the only problem they might have was if they got rough with their lovemaking and started cracking the walls or breaking the furniture. Or if her neighbors complained about them being loud.
For now though, they were lounging lazily on the couch, watching a movie and every so often talking about their future. She wanted a shower (and sex in the shower) at some point, but she was in no rush. Avengers business would have to wait. The world, the universe, they would all have to wait. She and Bucky had waited long enough for their turn.
A random idea struck her then. "Hey, you wanna meet Tolkien?" Because they could do that without botching up timelines, right? Nothing too crazy, just maybe an encounter in a pub or library or whichever public place the man frequented.
"Wedding first," Bucky agreed. More than the honeymoon, more than the talk of time travel, Bucky wanted to be able to call Steph his wife. Legally and officially. It was what he'd always wanted, and it couldn't happen soon enough.
He wasn't even paying all that much attention to the movie any more. Instead, Bucky was enjoying simply being with her. He still half-listened to the movie, sure, but he was more interested in listening to her talk about their future together as he rubbed his hand up and down her arm.
"I don't need all that. The man might want to be left alone," he said simply. Reading his books was good enough for him. He didn't need to be one of those people who went around harassing people.
Especially in a city he didn't know well in another time. Cause the man had to be dead by then.
"Well, if there's anything else you wanna do, in another time or in space or wherever, just lemme know, okay?" Steph was happy to give Bucky anything he wanted, especially now that she could. She just loved him so much and wanted him to be happy with her.
The wedding was her priority too though; she'd waited and dreamed of being his wife long enough, and the universe had gotten in the way so many times. Then the trial, actually. The honeymoon and the traveling will be the easiest part.
The movie was long, so nearing the end she asked, "Want some snacks?" because even doing nothing they still had supersoldier metabolism.
"I'll let you know if I think of anything, alright?" he told her. And he meant it, too. Knowing they could go anywhere or anywhen opened up a whole bunch of places and times they could go, but, honestly, his favorite ideas were probably the ones they'd already discussed. Seeing Becca and Mrs. Rogers, and getting to let them know that they'd been right all along. The two of them did end up together.
Plus, Bucky just wanted to actually be able to say goodbye to his sister. She was the person from his past that he missed the most.
"I almost always want snacks, but I'm too comfortable to get up right now."
"I don't really wanna get up either," Steph agreed. "I'm tired and sore and you make a great pillow."
They watched the rest of the movie in silence. It was nice, really. To be able to talk to him about anything — and this time, they had no secrets, or at least she hoped there would never have to be any again — but also to just relax and do nothing, if that was what either of them wanted.
A thought crossed her mind as the film headed toward its end, but she waited until the credits rolled to peer up at him and ask, "Buck?" Her expression was pensive. "If there's a way to reverse the effects of the serum, would you wanna take it? I mean, I dunno, just enough so we like... age normally?"
By the end of the movie, Bucky was content enough that he was half tempted to take a nap, but he also wanted to stay away to just be with Steph longer.
He thought about her question before answering, though. "I don't know. Maybe," he said, shrugging his good shoulder. "If you did it, I would, cause I don't wanna have to keep living for way too long if you're not with me for it." God, it would be awful to outlive her. Just the idea of living in a world without Steph was awful, and Bucky didn't want to think about it, even though it was something Bucky knew she'd had to live through herself. Twice. "But at the same time, we've got a lotta years to make up for. Ones we missed out on."
"Hey, I'm not outliving you a third time. You gotta let me go first, or we go together." Steph might be teasing, but she meant it. If Bucky ever died again, especially now that she knew they loved each other, she sure as hell would be looking for a way to follow immediately. Maybe she did need to ask someone to look into the serum, just in case.
They were definitely making up for lost time first though. She would gladly live another hundred years as long as they were together. But no more fighting, and no freezing winters.
"Want me to put on the second movie?" Though the only other option that didn't involve moving was a nap.
"Together it is, then," Bucky stated, as though it was simple as that. Because he didn't plan on living without her. Especially not now that he knew she felt just as much for him as he felt for her.
But until then, he would gladly take all the time he could get by her side. And in a couple days she'd be his wife, then she'd really never get rid of him.
"If you want, sure," he said, grinning. "The first one was good. When I was paying attention, at least. I'm gonna have to get these books to read."
Maybe it was the last five years, or maybe just because she was with Bucky, but Steph wasn't feeling particularly antsy even after two movies. Sure, she felt like she needed to stretch her legs a bit, but otherwise she was happy to settle back on the couch with him.
"Yeah, then lemme just go for a bathroom break and put some snacks within reach for later." That was enough for now. It was nice, actually. Just having a slow, lazy day without anything to worry about.
She replaced the DVD, then disappeared into the bathroom. She returned with snacks, dumping them on the coffee table before slipping back into her place on the couch.
"We can look for the books the next time we're out," she said, continuing where they left off. "They're pretty popular so they should be easy to find."
Once Steph came back, Bucky pulled her close and draped the blanket over the pair of them again. He was more than happy to just have a nice, comfortable day laying around and doing nothing with his fiancée. They were going to have enough to do in the coming days and weeks, with the impromptu wedding, and then whenever his trial shit kicked off. Not to mention Steph's Avenger duties. Bucky thought they deserved time to just... be.
But, then, he had always been the more peaceful one of the two. At least when he was in control of his own mind. Sure, he ended up in a lot of fights, but they tended to be ones he was sucked into in one way or another. The closest he came to choosing to fight was when he stuck up for Steph, or when he opted to stay by her side while she fought, but those didn't seem like choices to him. They were just what he was supposed to do because he loved her, and he always wanted to protect her.
But he was drafted into the war, so that hadn't been his choice. All his shit with HYDRA certainly wasn't a choice. Hell, he'd just been trying to live peacefully (and also maybe destroy some HYDRA safehouses and whatnot) when he was framed and subsequently chased down by T'Challa, then Tony. Those weren't choices either.
So, Bucky was more than happy to take advantage of getting to be lazy with Steph. "Thanks," he told her simply before pressing a kiss to her hair.
The movie was good, but Steph felt so relaxed while snuggled under the blanket with Bucky that she ended up dozing off. She woke up just before the credits. (And probably snored.)
"What did I miss? Are they still alive?" She knew the second parts of a trilogy often had something bad happen to the heroes, like Luke losing his hand and Han getting frozen in carbonite in the original Star Wars trilogy.
"Maybe? I don't know," Bucky said, brow furrowed as the credits started. "Aragorn fell off a cliff, so he might be dead. But Gandalf came back so he isn't dead."
She had absolutely snored, by the way. But it hadn't bothered Bucky any. He just let her sleep, sure that not only did she need it, but she deserved the extra nap, dammit.
"Fuck, not Aragorn!" Steph obviously had a favorite. "You survived falling off a mountain though, so Tolkien better have given Aragorn some plot armor."
She didn't make any attempt to get up though. The snacks were starting to call out to her, but grabbing them meant moving, and she didn't want to move.
She yawned. "Sorry I fell asleep. It was good, but I guess you wore me out the other night."
Bucky chuckled at her reaction. He honestly hadn't been expecting it, but he couldn't help thinking it was sort of cute that she got mad even though she slept through most of the movie.
"Hey, don't be sorry," he started, then pressed a kiss to her hair. "I almost always want to take a nap, so I can't blame you for taking one." Bucky was pretty sure a lot of it came from just how shitty he usually slept, but at the same time, he had always been the more relaxed one of the two of them when they were growing up. When he and Steph were hanging out back before the war, he was often trying to keep up with her. Or helping her with things around her apartment. Or dragging her out of whatever fight she'd gotten herself in. But when he was at hom,e he was usually getting in trouble for being lazy. Reading, napping, and listening to the radio were his favorite things to do when he wasn't glued to Steph's side.
"Wakanda really suited you, huh? Quiet, idyllic... or are you still a city boy at heart and have had enough of goat shit?" Steph teased. She knew she'd always been the one on the go, always busy, but it had mostly been for two reasons. First, the days she felt great were far and few that she had the compulsion to make every moment count. In a similar fashion, she'd always believed she would die young so her time was short and she had to make the most of it. Second, they were poor and she later lived alone. There was work, and more hours when she especially needed extra cash, and then there was everything she had to do at home.
After the war though, it was something else entirely. Part of it was the serum giving her all that energy, and after the war, she hadn't always been fighting. That, and after being trapped under the ice, she hated being still. It reminded her of those hours (days? weeks? months?) she lay awake in the dark and the cold before she finally lost consciousness.
So it was nice to finally feel content to stay in place. And if she had extra energy to burn, well, she and Bucky now had a very effective way of doing just that.
"Call me multi-faceted," Bucky started with a chuckle, grinning at Steph's teasing. "I can be a city boy that also appreciates the quiet. Besides, walking through Brinin Zana was like walking into a sci-fi movie a lot of the time." And it was intended for either walking or taking a train, too. There were no cars in Brinin Zana, which actually made it quieter than cities of it's size usually were, but the sheer abundance of tech was insane at the same time.
"Did you ever get to wander the city much?" Bucky didn't have that many opportunities himself, but he took advantage whenever he could. He wasn't allowed to wander on his own before he was officially deemed free of the trigger words, and he couldn't blame them for that. And after that, he mostly stayed at his little shack on the edge of that goat farm, only really venturing to the city for check-ins and examinations. Maybe some arm fittings here and there. It was on those days that he'd try to take a little time to wander.
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Besides, curling up under a blanket together just seemed like it would be... comfortable. And didn't the two of them deserve to be comfortable?
The movie was good enough that they were a little while into it before Bucky spoke again. But it really had nothing to do with the movie itself. "I don't know what I'd do without you," he told her, his voice soft.
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After a moment she added, more seriously, "But just in case something like Thanos happens again... live for me, okay? Or at least try. Don't do what I did and waste away."
Easier said than done, of course. And she was probably being a hypocrite again, because she wasn't sure she could bear losing him a third time.
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"I guess we'll just have to work to make sure none of that shit happens again. Or we could just retire and stay out of it from now on." He never wanted to be in the fight in the first place, as evidenced by the fact that he was drafted, even though the Smithsonian insisted he enlisted. Instead, Bucky had always just wanted to have a good, peaceful life with his dreamgirl.
But at least now they were engaged, so he was getting closer to that goal.
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She shifted to peer up at Bucky then. "Where do you wanna go? We gotta go somewhere they can't find us so we don't get roped into shit anymore." She was a do gooder by nature, so she'd have to position herself away from temptation. If their friends showed up needing help, she might not be able to say no.
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"I don't know. Somewhere with running water. And electricity." Bucky had neither in his shack, and while he adapted, he didn't want to have to live like that forever. "But we've got time to figure it out. We both have loose ends we need to deal with before we can just leave town." And no matter where they went, Steph had friends. Eventually, someone would show up wanting her help, which meant they'd also get Bucky's help. But it would have to be a pretty dire situation for him to not try to talk Steph out of helping. "You have anywhere in mind?"
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Her expression suddenly turned thoughtful. "Though we could just stay in the area. Remember those houses we liked looking at and joked about buying when we got older? Maybe one of them's for sale. We just make everyone think we moved to, I dunno, Alaska."
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Bucky chuckled softly as he nuzzled the back of Steph's head with the tip of his nose, his eyes sliding closed. "What, like hint about how much I liked Romania, but don't mention buying a house here?" That would be kinda funny, actually, and he wondered how long they would be able to pull off living under everyone's noses without them noticing. "I honestly don't know where else I'd wanna go. I never really pictured retiring anywhere but Brooklyn when we were kids. Nowhere that gets worse winters than here, though. Not if we can help it, alright?"
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She pressed a kiss to the hollow of his throat, then nestled back against him again. "Me either. Or anywhere you wanted, in those times I allowed myself to dream." Most of the time she just assumed she was going to die young while he'd marry some other girl who would take care of him instead of the other way around. "I liked that house at the end of the street. The one that looked haunted." A cranky middle-aged man who'd fought in the war with her Da lived in that one; it was only once she was on the front too that she understood how war changed a person.
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"I remember that house," Bucky said with a chuckle. "Hell, I wonder how many of the houses we used to like are even still standing." So many places he remembered from before were gone in one way or another already. What was there to say that something as simple as houses would still be there? "But... I do like the idea of always coming back here between trips. Keeping Brooklyn our home." Bucky might not have moved there until he was an older kid, but he didn't have any real attachment to Indiana. Brooklyn, on the other hand, was where he met the girl of his dreams. Sure, he could live wherever, but deep down Brooklyn was his home, just like it was hers.
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being loud.
For now though, they were lounging lazily on the couch, watching a movie and every so often talking about their future. She wanted a shower (and sex in the shower) at some point, but she was in no rush. Avengers business would have to wait. The world, the universe, they would all have to wait. She and Bucky had waited long enough for their turn.
A random idea struck her then. "Hey, you wanna meet Tolkien?" Because they could do that without botching up timelines, right? Nothing too crazy, just maybe an encounter in a pub or library or whichever public place the man frequented.
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He wasn't even paying all that much attention to the movie any more. Instead, Bucky was enjoying simply being with her. He still half-listened to the movie, sure, but he was more interested in listening to her talk about their future together as he rubbed his hand up and down her arm.
"I don't need all that. The man might want to be left alone," he said simply. Reading his books was good enough for him. He didn't need to be one of those people who went around harassing people.
Especially in a city he didn't know well in another time. Cause the man had to be dead by then.
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The wedding was her priority too though; she'd waited and dreamed of being his wife long enough, and the universe had gotten in the way so many times. Then the trial, actually. The honeymoon and the traveling will be the easiest part.
The movie was long, so nearing the end she asked, "Want some snacks?" because even doing nothing they still had supersoldier metabolism.
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Plus, Bucky just wanted to actually be able to say goodbye to his sister. She was the person from his past that he missed the most.
"I almost always want snacks, but I'm too comfortable to get up right now."
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They watched the rest of the movie in silence. It was nice, really. To be able to talk to him about anything — and this time, they had no secrets, or at least she hoped there would never have to be any again — but also to just relax and do nothing, if that was what either of them wanted.
A thought crossed her mind as the film headed toward its end, but she waited until the credits rolled to peer up at him and ask, "Buck?" Her expression was pensive. "If there's a way to reverse the effects of the serum, would you wanna take it? I mean, I dunno, just enough so we like... age normally?"
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He thought about her question before answering, though. "I don't know. Maybe," he said, shrugging his good shoulder. "If you did it, I would, cause I don't wanna have to keep living for way too long if you're not with me for it." God, it would be awful to outlive her. Just the idea of living in a world without Steph was awful, and Bucky didn't want to think about it, even though it was something Bucky knew she'd had to live through herself. Twice. "But at the same time, we've got a lotta years to make up for. Ones we missed out on."
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They were definitely making up for lost time first though. She would gladly live another hundred years as long as they were together. But no more fighting, and no freezing winters.
"Want me to put on the second movie?" Though the only other option that didn't involve moving was a nap.
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But until then, he would gladly take all the time he could get by her side. And in a couple days she'd be his wife, then she'd really never get rid of him.
"If you want, sure," he said, grinning. "The first one was good. When I was paying attention, at least. I'm gonna have to get these books to read."
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"Yeah, then lemme just go for a bathroom break and put some snacks within reach for later." That was enough for now. It was nice, actually. Just having a slow, lazy day without anything to worry about.
She replaced the DVD, then disappeared into the bathroom. She returned with snacks, dumping them on the coffee table before slipping back into her place on the couch.
"We can look for the books the next time we're out," she said, continuing where they left off. "They're pretty popular so they should be easy to find."
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But, then, he had always been the more peaceful one of the two. At least when he was in control of his own mind. Sure, he ended up in a lot of fights, but they tended to be ones he was sucked into in one way or another. The closest he came to choosing to fight was when he stuck up for Steph, or when he opted to stay by her side while she fought, but those didn't seem like choices to him. They were just what he was supposed to do because he loved her, and he always wanted to protect her.
But he was drafted into the war, so that hadn't been his choice. All his shit with HYDRA certainly wasn't a choice. Hell, he'd just been trying to live peacefully (and also maybe destroy some HYDRA safehouses and whatnot) when he was framed and subsequently chased down by T'Challa, then Tony. Those weren't choices either.
So, Bucky was more than happy to take advantage of getting to be lazy with Steph. "Thanks," he told her simply before pressing a kiss to her hair.
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"What did I miss? Are they still alive?" She knew the second parts of a trilogy often had something bad happen to the heroes, like Luke losing his hand and Han getting frozen in carbonite in the original Star Wars trilogy.
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She had absolutely snored, by the way. But it hadn't bothered Bucky any. He just let her sleep, sure that not only did she need it, but she deserved the extra nap, dammit.
Plus, he had an excuse to continue to not get up.
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She didn't make any attempt to get up though. The snacks were starting to call out to her, but grabbing them meant moving, and she didn't want to move.
She yawned. "Sorry I fell asleep. It was good, but I guess you wore me out the other night."
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"Hey, don't be sorry," he started, then pressed a kiss to her hair. "I almost always want to take a nap, so I can't blame you for taking one." Bucky was pretty sure a lot of it came from just how shitty he usually slept, but at the same time, he had always been the more relaxed one of the two of them when they were growing up. When he and Steph were hanging out back before the war, he was often trying to keep up with her. Or helping her with things around her apartment. Or dragging her out of whatever fight she'd gotten herself in. But when he was at hom,e he was usually getting in trouble for being lazy. Reading, napping, and listening to the radio were his favorite things to do when he wasn't glued to Steph's side.
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After the war though, it was something else entirely. Part of it was the serum giving her all that energy, and after the war, she hadn't always been fighting. That, and after being trapped under the ice, she hated being still. It reminded her of those hours (days? weeks? months?) she lay awake in the dark and the cold before she finally lost consciousness.
So it was nice to finally feel content to stay in place. And if she had extra energy to burn, well, she and Bucky now had a very effective way of doing just that.
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"Did you ever get to wander the city much?" Bucky didn't have that many opportunities himself, but he took advantage whenever he could. He wasn't allowed to wander on his own before he was officially deemed free of the trigger words, and he couldn't blame them for that. And after that, he mostly stayed at his little shack on the edge of that goat farm, only really venturing to the city for check-ins and examinations. Maybe some arm fittings here and there. It was on those days that he'd try to take a little time to wander.
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