dysmorphics | it's you and me up against the world, it's you and me

In spite of herself, Steph chuckled. What a wild thing it was, to talk. Talking would've saved them from all this heartache. She was trying to be better at it, and she was grateful that Bucky was so patient with her.

"I don't ever wanna leave though," she told him, because it warranted saying. This was one of those important shit. "Even if I still wake up every day feeling like I don't deserve you." Trying for some levity now too, she quickly added, "Well, every other day. When you don't start it off by distracting me."

She pulled her legs back up on the bed and turned so she was facing him again. Resting her head against his shoulder, she said, "I think I'm gonna need another drink. I was more fun an hour ago."

Bucky chuckled softly as he pressed a kiss to her head. "You better not leave," he told her, tightening his arms around her. "Cause I'd have to track you down, and that'd be a lot harder since you've got that time travel rock. Maybe not impossible if I put Stark on it for long enough, but still."

He laid back on the bed again, pulling Steph along with him to hold her close. "It's alright, sweetheart. I love you even when you're not fun," he teased her.

Steph didn't fight Bucky when he pulled her down with him on the bed instead of letting her get a drink, not that she wanted one anymore anyway. Not with those words — I love you even when you're not fun. He was teasing, sure, but it meant more to her than he realized. That he loved her in spite of her darkness and the crazy shit she'd put him through, and that he would track her down even across time and space, healed a wound that had been torn open and scraped raw again earlier.

"I love you so much," was all the warning she gave him before she pushed him to his back and climbed on top of him, kissing him deeply. She wasn't trying to start anything, but it was the only way she thought she could let him know just how much she appreciated him and loved him back. For the moment, at least. She would spend the rest of her life giving him all the love she had, and making up for her mistakes. She only needed a chance, one he was giving her.

Not that she'd complain if he did want to get back to the fun part. She wanted to shut her brain off anyway and not think about the day and the awful conversation she'd had. Maybe she'll have some more of that Asgardian booze after all, and a couple more rounds letting those frustrations out.

Edited (missing word, stray spaces) 2026-03-06 11:23 (UTC)

Bucky kissed his wife back for a long moment, keeping his arms wrapped tightly around her as he held her close. He only broke the kiss when it became apparent he needed to do crazy things like breathe.

Shifting slightly, Bucky brought up his left hand to let it rest on Steph's cheek, his thumb drifting over her cheekbone as he gave her a gentle smile. "I'm always gonna love you, sweetheart. That's never gonna change, alright?" he started. "Maybe one day I'll be able to get that through that thick skull of yours."

Steph looked chastised. She'd done it again, hadn't she? Gotten so caught up in her fears and insecurities that she'd missed what was right in front of her. Maybe she didn't deserve to have good things happen to her, but she shouldn't punish Bucky for it, not when all he'd done was love her.

"Sorry." She gave him another kiss, this time softer and slower, before rolling to lie on her back and tugging him back into their position earlier, with his head on her shoulder and an arm around him to hold him close. "I believe you. Just needed a reminder, that's all."

Once the trial was over, they could return to their time and put this all behind them. She looked forward to that, even if she was going to miss some of the modern world's comforts. It wasn't like she hadn't already adjusted after living in the past for the last couple of years.

"You mind staying up for a bit longer? I need to raid that food cart they brought up," she admitted sheepishly, feeling the first pangs of hunger now that the adrenaline was wearing off. "We can watch something on TV. Or you can go ahead and get some sleep. I'll be right here, promise." Snacking and sketching until dawn, probably. She'd been sleeping better since their first night together, but still with some difficulty sleeping through the night.

With a smile on his face, Bucky rolled easily with her, curling into her side when she got them into position. "I'll remind you every day, sweetheart," he told her, reaching across her body to grab her free hand, rubbing his thumb over the ring he brought back from Europe for her. "As often as you need me to."

No, Bucky didn't expect their life to be perfect and blissful all the time, they'd always bickered. But it was rarely ever lasting arguments. Hell, usually it was somewhat good-natured bickering. But he still wanted to make sure Steph knew how much he loved her.

He turned his head and pressed a kiss to her shoulder before adding, "I could eat. I don't need to go to sleep yet."

Steph looked at their joined hands, at the ring Bucky had gotten in Europe. It was the prettiest ring, and the fact that he'd given it to her after she'd made him miserable upon his return from the front was a grand gesture in itself. She really only had to look at it to be reminded of his love, didn't she?

"I'll try not to need reminding too often. Today was just... hard." She kissed the top of his head. "Thank you."

Then she gently extracted herself to get their food. There were cakes and pastries and fruit, along with a bottle of champagne and a box of chocolates. She took one of the towels and spread it on the bed in front of them, then laid out the items like a picnic. Before busying herself with that, she grabbed the remote and handed it to him. "You can pick something to watch, or we can just put it on the background."

"I'll probably remind you every day anyway," he added. When Steph began to get up he pulled her in for another soft, quick kiss before letting her go, then grinned as he watched her move around naked while getting the tray of food.

By the time she came back he was sitting up in the bed. He took the... thing he was handed and examined it, brow furrowing with a look of confusion. "The hell is this supposed to do?" he asked, looking at it. There were so many buttons. Some were numbered, some were arrows that said VOL and CH, some were words like GUIDE, CC, INPUT, and other odd things. "Sweetheart, I hope you don't expect me to know what to do with this thing."

"Oh! Sorry." Steph stopped what she was doing to sit back down on the bed next to Bucky, taking back the remote and pointing it toward the large TV mounted on the wall. "This button turns it on. This one's to go through the different channels, and this one to adjust the volume. Nevermind the rest."

She handed him back the remote and returned to arranging their little picnic, slicing up the cakes so he could sample everything and pouring them a little more of the gods' booze. She was tempted to order something heavier, like chicken or burgers, but she didn't want to have to get up and throw on a robe when room service came calling. Maybe later.

"Anything interesting?" Returning to his side, she opened the box of chocolates, took out a piece and held it up to his mouth — only to snatch it away at the last second and bite into it herself. She didn't chomp on it all the way through though, instead she was letting it dangle teasingly from her mouth, daring him to take it.

Bucky had been going from channel to channel with his brow furrowed, partly in confusion and partly in interest. "I don't know," he started, shrugging, "I don't know what any of these films are, so I don't know what I'm looking for. Or at." He'd always loved going to the movies, and he'd seen countless ones with Steph, but they always had to actually go to a cinema to see them. They weren't just showing in their apartments.

He tried to get the piece of chocolate when it was offered, then chuckled softly as he leaned in to bite what she was teasing him with. "Is it just me, or is even the chocolate sweeter?" he asked with a grin as he chewed the piece. It was good, though, especially since he'd always had a sweet tooth.

"Yeah, there's a lot, huh." Steph's expression was sheepish and apologetic, remembering how overwhelmed she had been back then. She shook her head, chiding herself for being so out of it to have failed to consider Bucky might feel the same.

Gently, she pried the remote from his hand and checked the channel listing. "Well, let's see. There's some action flick, a documentary about aliens, an animated film about a clownfish, and... oh, a romantic drama. Remember the Titanic? The ship that wasn't supposed to sink? They made a whole movie about it. But at least the romance wasn't based on real people." The last one she said in a grumble, mostly in reference to the movies and shows about her. There had been plenty, and while a lot were about her and Bucky, there was the occasional one pairing her up with Howard, and more recently after her death, Peggy.

Biting into the chocolate, she blinked. She'd been in the past long enough to have almost forgotten how sweet and savory a lot of the food were. "No more rationing now, and there are artificial sugars and shit in processed food, so..." She shrugged, offering him the box so he can take another. She didn't have quite the sweet tooth, but she wouldn't mind licking chocolate off him.

Edited 2026-03-08 11:07 (UTC)

Bucky had her leave it on the movie about the Titanic since it would be mostly background noise for them anyway, then gladly took another chocolate when it was offered to him.

"It's good though," he told her with a grin before leaning into her side with one arm wrapped around her. Bucky then snatched up one of the strawberries and held it out by the stem for her to take a bite of, but didn't pull it away when she moved for it the way Steph had. Instead, he let her take the bite before tossing the stem back onto the plate. "But you're the best treat on this bed."

"You know you can help yourself anytime," Steph reminded, even though she was pretty sure Bucky didn't forget, he was just ever so kind and considerate when it came to her. "I like it when you initiate."

She'd spent too many years waiting for him to make a move that it turned her on whenever he did.

Chewing on the strawberry, she glanced at the TV. "This film's really popular." Remembering something they once talked about, she said, "I should take you to one of the IMAX theaters. Massive screen. I'll check what's on this weekend."

"I know," Bucky said with a teasing grin, then leaned over to press a soft kiss to her cheek. "I just figured I'd let you eat first." He knew he should eat more than just a couple of chocolates himself, but Bucky didn't have to eat as much as Steph did to keep up with his body. Hers had been through a hell of a lot more changes than his had (and he loved her the same as if she'd been through no changes, for the record), and it seemed to take a lot more fuel than it used to.

And that wasn't something he would ever shame her for.

The grin stayed in place as he added a couple of kisses along her shoulder. "Films come in all sizes now, huh?" he said with a chuckle. "Giant ones in special theaters and also small ones that fit in your house."

"Someone's got big plans," Steph teased right back. She appreciated that, with all the things Bucky gave her shit for, her appetite was not one of them. In fact, he was incredibly empathetic to the issues she had about her body, despite not having had to lose a limb and use a prosthetic.

If he did have big plans, he would not hear any protest from her. She could use to let off some more steam anyway, after the day she'd had.

"Yeah, you can even watch them on your phone. And it's not only films. There's just... so much, really." She might just take him to an electronics or appliance store so he could continue his appreciation of the modern world's marvels. Technology, however, didn't just improve in one direction. "Weapons and warfare have changed significantly since our time. You'd think people learned from history."

"I don't know about big plans," he responded, chuckling as he pressed more kisses along her shoulder. "But I've got a beautiful wife and I'm in a fancy hotel room on my honeymoon. Plus, my wife is naked. Can't blame a man for getting some ideas in his head."

Bucky had grabbed one of the bites of cake and popped it into his mouth when Steph told him that last part. It was delicious, but he frowned as he chewed it, mulling over the statement. "I really wish I was surprised weapons got more advanced," he said with a sigh. "But, I saw too much in the war to be surprised."

"Yeah. That cube, for one, is trouble." Their histories lined up some at least, so there were things they both experienced, albeit differently. "And Stark Industries had a golden age as a weapons manufacturer." Steph figured it was probably inevitable, with the coming wars and Howard co-founding SHIELD and all, but that didn't mean she didn't wish their friend would go into healthcare or something more altruistic instead.

"We've sent men to the moon though," she continued, turning to face Bucky with a grin. He'd like that, wouldn't he? He was such a nerd, and that sounded like something out of a scifi novel. "In '69. We'll hopefully still be around to see it." The phrasing of her statements was weird, but that was time travel for you.

"I'll find some way to warn the others about the cube being a problem," Bucky said, then sighed. "And I wish I could be more surprised by Stark going the way of weapons, but I've worked by him long enough to see it wouldn't be hard to turn his head that way." Maybe he and Steph would be able to gently steer him in another direction. Neither of them had been around after the war in her timeline, but here they were, knowing what he could potentially become.

The moon news was good, though, and it brought his grin back, though maybe not as big as before. "Hey, at least it's not all bad. Medicine's come a long way, too. Steph showed me her inhaler, maybe I can convince Stark to try to invent something like that instead of more bombs."

"I could go work for him," Steph mused. She needed a job anyway. Her sketches might've started as completely artistic, but she could manage technical drawings if she tried. Hell, she wouldn't even be opposed to administrative work, not when it was in one of the world's most influential companies. Between that and Bucky being in SHIELD, they would have access to information and connections.

Yeah, she was paranoid. More wars were coming, and HYDRA could still emerge from the shadows, as they had done in the past. (Well, her past anyway.) She wasn't going to let them anywhere near her husband, if she could help it.

"What, like work for Stark Industries?" Bucky asked. It sounded a bit odd at first-- Steph had never really been interested in technology or anything like that, but if his company went on to become as big as she said it made sense.

"Sure, why not?" Bucky replied with a shrug, followed by a grin. "Just tell me what you want to do there and I'll put in a word with Howard for you. He doesn't know you back home, after all."

Plus, 'Hey, Howard, give my wife a job but don't hit on her,' might be an amusing conversation.

"But that's just if you want. It's not like you need to work for us to get by or anything."

"Maybe not, but between you and me we might be able to convince him to finally figure out that flying car." Steph split a piece of chocolate between them. "He might also decide to take home some... work projects. I might be able to keep some tabs on them, if I'm on the inside."

She had no idea what sort of jobs Howard would have available for women other than the obvious receptionist or personal assistant, but she told Bucky she was willing to even take either of that just to get a foot in the door. "And I ain't an engineer or a science gal, but I can draw?" In a world where computers were large and bulky and not yet quite advanced, there had to be a market for her skills in a tech company.

"I could also babysit, but Tony won't be here until '70," she said with amusement. Unless that was going to change too. Steph honestly didn't think too much about how her choices might've impacted other people's lives. Bucky was all that mattered, as selfish as that was.

"Yeah, I'd noticed I hadn't seen any flying cars," Bucky said with a chuckle. "And if they were gonna be anywhere, they'd probably be in New York."

Popping the piece of chocolate into his mouth, Bucky thought about the different sorts of jobs Stark Industries might have that used artists. "Well, you're a damn good artist all around, and that's not just my bias talking," he began. "There's gotta be a bunch of jobs for that. Advertising, drafting, and hell, even the manuals have drawings in them." There were probably other jobs, too, but Bucky wasn't really a part of that.

Finally grabbing one of the glasses Steph had refilled, Bucky took a good sip of the mead. It really was nice being able to get a little buzz again. "But I don't think that's something we need to worry about until sometime after we get back."

"Yeah, especially not now." Steph grabbed her glass and clinked it against Bucky's with a grin. "Weren't we just talking about your big ideas?" she teased, with an emphasis on big.

The future could wait. Or, well, the past, technically. This was bound to get real confusing eventually, but at least some things were clear. That they loved each other, and that they would face whatever else might come together. She was going to hold on to that. She had to, after everything else she had already lost and failed to do. It would destroy her to lose him, even if she would willingly let him go if he was unhappy with her.

"I mean, I had ideas, but now there's food sitting on the bed so I can't really act on them," he said, teasing her a bit. "But there's also ideas on how to keep you occupied, happy, and naked all day tomorrow while we stay in the hotel room."

Grinning, Bucky bit her shoulder playfully before sliding off the bed, then proceeded to move the snacks back onto the cart. As much as he wanted her, he didn't particularly want to be rolling around in food with her. Once that was done, he even took the glass from his wife's hand, took his own sip of it, then set it aside, leaving him standing bare beside the bed and looking down at her. "And one of those big ideas of mine involves that gorgeous mouth of yours."

"All day, huh? That's pretty ambitious. Think you can keep up?" Steph teased back, her gaze following appreciatively as Bucky slid off the bed and began tidying up. He truly was gorgeous, even if he looked different from before the war and compared to the Bucky of her timeline. Not that that ever mattered to her, in the same way he thought she was beautiful in whichever shape she was in.

She faced him, shifting to sit on the edge of the bed in front of him with her legs dangling off the side. "You gonna shut me up, or make me scream?" she pretended to muse, even as her hands found his hips and tugged him a little closer.

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