InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Does this unit have a soul?"

Steve wasn’t making Bucky choose between him and Rumlow. He was grateful for that, but he did feel a little like Steve was disappointed in him. He hated it, of course, but he couldn’t bring himself to turn his back on Rumlow completely. After what they’d been through together, after the way Rumlow had protected him inside HYDRA… it just wasn’t right. The bad things that Rumlow had done… well Bucky had done those and worse.

When he got back to the hotel, he went straight to Steve’s room. He’d pretty much moved in, anyway. His toothbrush had relocated itself to Steve’s bathroom. “Hey,” he said as he slipped in the door.

“Hey,” Steve said, smiling easily as Bucky entered. He’d heard him coming, of course, had long ago memorized his particular walking pattern. It was a little different now, probably owing to the new, lighter arm, but it was still clearly Bucky. “I was about to text you.” He wasn’t looking forward to convincing Bucky to take the new apartment from Tony. He rubbed at his face. He’d decided to grow out a beard, because though he respected Bucky’s decision to let Loki give him a new face, no one was coming near him with a spell again, let alone Loki. He wasn’t used to facial hair, since he’d never been able to grow it before the serum, and it kinda itched.

Bucky had noticed Steve’s recent lack of shaving, but he thought it suited him. He wasn’t a big fan of shaving, himself, but he managed it every few days at least. “Something up?” he asked. He had a lot on his mind, too, but he wasn’t hiding anything from Steve. Not bringing things up wasn’t the same as hiding.

Steve sighed. “Yeah. Kinda. First of all, what do you think? I can finally grow some decent facial hair.” It was a lot darker than his hair, strangely, and it was still weird to him, but he thought it would help disguise him. No one would expect Captain America to have a beard. “I was always so jealous of your stubble.” Not to mention it made Bucky look even more handsome, in his opinion.

Bucky took a few steps closer and reached out, rubbing his knuckles lightly against Steve’s jaw. “Maybe you should dye your hair a little darker,” he said. It was just an excuse to touch him, but at least Bucky was fully aware of it. “Looks good. How long are you gonna let it get?” he asked.

Steve’s breath caught when Bucky got close. He flashed back to the massage, wondering if it would be weird to offer to do it again. “Um. I don’t know. I’ll see how it looks I guess. And yeah. I was thinking about dying my hair, but I’m afraid to go buy the dye. Maybe you could get it?” He chuckled. “And maybe help me with it so I don’t dye the entire bathroom?”

Bucky smiled. “Hey, it might actually be an improvement to that bathroom. But sure. I can go.” He had a momentary mental image of running his fingers through Steve’s hair. “So that’s first of all. What’s second of all?” he asked.

Steve cleared his throat. “So I had a chat with Tony.” Chat was maybe too strong a word, but at least it hadn’t been an argument. “On the private messaging thing.” He leaned back against the counter. “About our accommodations. Among other things.” He didn’t want to get into the whole Rumlow thing right now.

Bucky didn’t feel like he had the right to express an opinion about Tony Stark. He hoped that Stark would forgive Steve eventually, because he knew they’d been friends. “How’d that go?” he asked.

“Better than I expected, actually. Tony’s...complicated.” Now that was an understatement. “Some things needed to be said. We got through that. And came to some understandings. Some of which I think you’re not gonna like.”

Bucky’s stomach clenched at Steve’s comment. He looked at his best friend, eyes a little wide. He didn’t want to jump to conclusions, but the situation kind of begged it. Had Stark changed his mind and decided that Bucky should turn himself in? He swallowed hard. It wouldn’t be pleasant, but he’d do it if it would make Steve’s life easier. “What is it?” he asked warily.

Steve could sense Bucky’s unease and realized he’d probably made it sound worse than it was. He put his hand quickly on Bucky’s shoulder. “Nothing bad. I just… I complained about where he’d made you stay. And since… I want to keep close to you…” He swallowed and tried not to blush. “He’s set us up with a different place. A better place. For us to share.”

Bucky frowned. He’d rather live in prison, actually. “You shouldn’t have complained on my account. He didn’t have to do anything for me at all. In fact, I don’t know why he did. And I don’t really like the idea of taking any more Stark handouts.”

Steve had expected as much. “I know. Neither do I. But look at it this way. We’ll be sharing. That halves the cost right there. And that way… we can protect each other. This place isn’t exactly secure.” He didn’t know exactly where Rumlow was but at least in a nicer place there would be some security.

“We could share this place. Then it’d cost a lot less. Then we could get jobs and get our own place. Without Stark’s help.” Bucky didn’t care about it not being nice. His place in Bucharest was a lot shittier, and that was nice compared to squatting in abandoned buildings, which he’d also done.

Steve knew this was going to be a hard sell. Bucky was stubborn. But so was he. “We can still do that. We just need a couple weeks to save up some money. I’m not suggesting staying there for very long at all. Just til we get our IDs and jobs. I’m not worried about you, of course. I just don’t want to take a chance of being caught up in some drug deal gone wrong. We won’t be able to keep a low profile if that happens.”

Bucky frowned. The very last thing in the world that he wanted was to be living off of Tony Stark’s ‘generosity’. He didn’t want to be separated from Steve, though. He knew Steve was right, though. Steve couldn’t be caught up in something and expect not to be recognized. It was the only way to really keep Steve safe. With a sinking feeling, he sighed and nodded. “Okay.”

Steve was so happy that Bucky had agreed that he stepped closer and hugged him impulsively. “Thanks Buck. I know you don’t like it.” He felt a little guilty for appealing to Bucky sort of on his own behalf. He knew Bucky would want to protect him so he’s slanted it a bit that way. It was a bit manipulative but he needed Bucky out of there.

Bucky leaned into the embrace. He closed his eyes and wrapped his arms loosely around Steve’s waist. He would do anything to keep Steve safe, no matter how difficult it was. “As soon as we can afford something, we’re moving out, yes?” he asked, leaning back to look into Steve’s eyes.

Steve looked steadily back. It wasn’t strange to be so close to Bucky. It was exhilarating. “Yes. We will. But we’re staying together, yes? Promise me that, Buck.” He never wanted Bucky out of his sight, or at least as little as possible.

Bucky was silent for a moment, before he said, “If something happens to me, or I get arrested or something… you have to promise to take care of yourself. But other than that… yeah. As long as you want me around, I’ll be with you. Wherever that is.” Even if it meant drowning in guilt.

“I promise,” Steve replied after a moment. “You gotta promise the same, okay, jerk? No sacrificing yourself. I need you.” That was more true than Bucky would ever know. If he could never have what he really wanted, at least he had this.

Bucky nodded. “Deal. Live to fight another day, as they say.” Then he smiled. “So what else did you and Stark talk about? Did you guys kiss and make up?” he asked. Figure of speech, of course. He couldn’t imagine Steve and Stark actually kissing.

Steve also couldn’t imagine that, and he didn’t want to. “You know how Tony is. He was bouncing all over the place. Rumlow also might have come up. He wasn’t aware he was here.” He didn’t want to mention the man, but he knew that Bucky considered him… if not a friend, at least not an enemy.

“Actually… I don’t really know how Stark is. I only met him at the airport and then in Siberia, and both times we were pretty much trying to kill each other.” The only one of Steve’s ‘friends’ that he’d really interacted with at all was Wilson. And he knew Natasha, but that wasn’t anything they’d really spoken about. He’d had more conversation with Zemo than Stark. Although he could kind of understand how Steve was thinking. It was so easy to imagine that they’d shared the same experiences, even when they hadn’t. Bucky felt that way a little with Rumlow. He knew that Steve’s interactions with Rumlow had to be a lot different than Bucky’s, but he wasn’t completely sure what they were. “I think Rumlow got his welcome package stuff from Doctor Strange, so… I guess he’s not reporting everything to Stark?”

“I haven’t interacted with Strange at all. I thought they were working together but maybe not.” He stepped back, pleased that Bucky had agreed but not thrilled about having had to essentially coerce him into it. “I’m just glad we’re together. We can face anything together, right, Buck?” Steve knew he could be a little naive sometimes, especially about people’s motivations. He saw things as black and white, most of the time.

“I’m glad we’re together, too. You know I’d do anything to protect you. Anything in my power.” No matter the cost. Bucky knew that his devotion to Steve ran a lot deeper than just brotherly affection, but he didn’t think that bore mentioning. “You know that… if I had to choose between you and Rumlow for any reason, there’s no choice at all, right? It’s always going to be you. But that doesn’t mean I can just turn my back on him. He regrets what he did to you. I asked him about it. He regrets not telling me, too. That doesn’t mean I forgave him.” He wasn’t sure why he felt the need to bring up Rumlow right then, but it felt like unfinished business between them.

Steve frowned. He didn’t really want to talk about the man who’d tried to kill him. He didn’t want to return the favor, but he also didn’t like him traipsing around scot-free. “Yeah. I’m sure he regrets getting caught not telling you.” He shook his head. “I’m not gonna go after him. You know me, Buck. But I’m also not gonna get chummy with the guy.” He stopped short of saying he didn’t want Bucky to be chummy with him either. He didn’t have that right.

“I know. I’m not asking you to. And like I said, it’s not like I’m cool with him now or anything. I’m just… helping him get an ID so he can get a job.” It was more than that, but he didn’t think Steve was going to be understanding about that. Getting Steve’s support, though, would involve going into a lot more detail than he was ready to do.

Steve nodded. “Okay. So.” He glanced at his phone. “I think there’s gonna be a car waiting for us. So we can go to the new place. I’m ready to go.” He didn’t have hardly anything. “Wanna go to your room and get your stuff?” He wasn’t intending to let Bucky out of his sight.

Bucky nodded also. “Sure,” he said. He pulled out his key card, and opened the door. “He sent a car?” he asked. It was obvious that regardless of how upset Stark had been or still was, he was very genuinely fond of Steve, or he wouldn’t go to so much trouble for him. Bucky tried to think of it like that. Stark was doing this for Steve. That made it marginally less difficult to accept the other man’s charity, if it wasn’t really meant for him.

“Yeah. I tried to tell him we could make our own way. But he insisted. Don’t worry. I know how to drive,” he said, smiling. He would prefer a motorcycle but maybe that was something for the future. He didn’t dare mention it in case Tony was still feeling guilty.

“Wait, you mean… he’s giving you a car? Not just sending a car to drive us from point a to point b??” he asked, incredulous, as he slipped out into the hallway and held open the stairwell door for Steve. He was only one flight up, and the elevator was a little suspect.

“Well. I’m sure he’s lending it to us.” Steve thought so anyway. “Hey we could go out to the country some time. That would be fun.” He knew he was trying to put a positive spin on the whole thing for Bucky’s sake. He just wanted to get him out of there.

Bucky’s problem with the whole thing was that he didn’t feel like he deserved it. Steve’s efforts to make it nicer was only making that worse. “Sure,” he said, as he climbed the stairs. He would do whatever Steve wanted to do, of course, but the whole idea of living it up in some nice place with a car, making day trips out to the country… it all made him feel like he’d gotten away with something terrible somehow. That it was all financed by the man whose mother he had viciously choked the life out of made him feel ill.

Steve knew bucky was playing along for his sake. But he’d take that if it meant getting him out of that place. Everything else, they would deal with. The arrived at Bucky’s room as he waited, alert, while bucky opened the door.

Bucky grabbed his backpack and slung it over his shoulder. He hadn’t had time to really get anything, either, other than the few clothes he’d bought at the goodwill, which he kept packed at all times, just in case. “Okay. I’m ready,” he said, turning to Steve. “It’s not that bad a place, really.”

Steve grinned. “I’m supposed to be the optimistic one,” he joked. He slung his own pack over his shoulder and walked toward the door. He wanted to be out of here and in a more secure location.

Bucky followed Steve out. He hadn’t been there that long, but anyplace he got to stay for more than a couple of days felt like home to him these days. He hated moving around, but he did what he had to do. “I’ve been in a lot worse,” he said as they headed back down the stairs.

“Me too. And you know it.” Steve led him out the door and around the corner to where Tony had said the car would be waiting. There it was, an anonymous black sedan. He unlocked it with an app and popped the trunk.

Bucky tossed his backpack into the trunk and stuffed his hands down in his pockets. “Um, where are we going, anyway?” he asked. He hoped wherever it was it wasn’t going to involve seeing more of Stark. But he’d tolerate that, too, if he had to.

Steve held up the phone to show Bucky the address. “Not sure where that is but the phone is gonna tell me. I love technology.” He buckled his seat belt and started the car.

Bucky got into the car and buckled his seat belt. As he recalled, Steve didn’t used to be a very good driver, but maybe he’d gotten better at it. Although he didn’t know why anyone would want to drive in the city.

Steve wasn’t used to cars, but he was very good at driving a bike. He went nice and slowly, leaving plenty of room between him and the next car.

Bucky stared out the window. It seemed like the other drivers on the streets of New York City didn’t necessarily appreciate Steve’s driving style. But fuck them. They could wait. And if someone hit their car… well, it was Stark’s car. Hopefully he had insurance.

It took about a half hour til they got to the designated address. Steve knew he could drive faster but he didn’t feel like he was in any hurry now. He pulled into the parking garage and pulled into a spot, smiling over at Bucky. “You okay?” Bucky had been relatively quiet on the journey.

Bucky looked over at Steve as he unbuckled his seatbelt. “Sure,” he said. He opened the door and climbed out of the car, waiting by the trunk for Steve to open it. The subway would have been a lot faster, but he knew they couldn’t do that because Steve was worried about being recognized. Maybe he’d feel more comfortable once his hair was dyed and he had a few more days growth on his face.

They got their stuff out of the car and Steve led the way to the elevator. He kept his hat angled down over his face, though he felt with the stubble he was already pretty unrecognizable. “We should dye my hair soon,” he said, just for conversation. He didn’t like the silence. He knew he’d essentially forced Bucky into this and he felt bad about it.

“Sure. I can run down to the closest Duane Reade.” He followed Steve to where they were going so he’d be able to find his way back. “Black? Or just dark brown?” he asked. He reached up and brushed his fingers through Steve’s hair. “You should grow it out, too.” He would miss the blond, but it was just temporary.

Steve shrugged. “Dark brown I guess? Whatever matches this.” He rubbed at his chin. “Does it ever stop itching?” He unlocked the door. The apartment wasn’t fancy but it was clean. Most importantly it was much more secure than the last one.

Bucky nodded. “You want anything else? I can grab some groceries. Does this place have a fridge?” he asked, stepping further inside.

“I hope so.” Steve wandered around, and found the kitchen. “Yeah! Good sized fridge. And no cockroaches!” He was trying to keep the enthusiasm down because Bucky was unhappy about this. “You don’t have to get anything. I can go with you once we dye my hair.” He didn’t like Bucky wandering around alone, though he knew he was perfectly capable of handling himself.

“I’ll just get a few things. Junk food and drinks. I’ll be right back,” he said, tossing his backpack down on the couch. It was a nicer place, more like a mini apartment than a run down hotel room. But it was still on Stark’s dime. “Feel free to rummage through my bag. I know you never would, but you can if you want to.” Other than a couple of new packages of underwear and some second hand clothes, there was one notebook where he’d started writing down memories as they came to him. It was a habit he couldn’t break now.

Steve frowned. That comment was a little strange, but he supposed he didn’t know Bucky as well as he thought he did. Not any more. “Be careful, Buck. If you’re not back in an hour I’m coming after you, okay?” He knew it was ridiculous but he couldn’t help but worry.

Bucky smirked. “Yeah yeah. I’ll be quick.” He slipped out and found the stairs. Elevators weren’t his favorite, but he could manage them if he had to. He jogged down ten flights to the main floor and oriented himself to his location. There was a drug store two blocks away according to google, and he jogged down there effortlessly. In 20 minutes he’d grabbed a box of dark brown hair dye, a six pack of root beer, a dozen energy bars, a couple of bananas, and a plastic carton of grapes. He headed back to their building and took the elevator up. He tapped on the door, holding all three bags in his vibranium hand.

Steve opened the door. “Guess I should have given you the key card,” he grinned. While Bucky had been gone, he had put away his meager belongings and located a few things in the kitchen. He held the door for Bucky, closing it behind him. “Can I help you with anything?”

Bucky held the three bags aloft and wiggled the metal fingers. He barely registered the weight at all. “I got it.” He put the bags down on the counter in the tiny kitchen area and pulled out the vaseline. “Maybe start putting that along your hairline and on the tips of your ears so you don’t get dyed skin,” he said, handing the jar over. “You want a root beer?” he offered.

“Ooh. Root beer. Yes please.” Steve considered a moment. “I don’t have spare clothes yet. I better take these off.” He pulled off his shirt and started on his jeans. “Everything go okay out there?”

Bucky assumed that Steve would take his shirt off, but he was momentarily thrown when he started to take off his jeans. “Um. Yeah. Uhh…” He shook his head and looked away, putting the few food items away and putting the rest of the root beer in the fridge. He popped open two bottles and handed one to Steve. “There’s a drug store slash convenience store two blocks down. I’m sure there’s a better grocery store somewhere close, too.”

Steve had always loved root beer, especially because it was such a luxury back then. He grinned as he took the bottle after kicking away his jeans, leaving him in just his blue briefs. “Thanks Buck.” He took a drink, savoring the taste. Then he picked up the Vaseline and looked at it doubtfully.

After he took a sip of his own root beer (also high on his list of favorite things), he picked up the box of dye and turned to Steve. “You want me to do it for you?” he asked. Bucky was far from an expert on hair dying, but he’d considered it a few times while he was on the run, and had watched some youtube videos.

Steve smiled gratefully. “Yeah, would you? I’m afraid I’d make things even worse.” It wasn’t that he wanted Bucky to fuss over him. He told himself that anyway.

Bucky didn’t mind. Steve looked kind of endearing like that, uncharacteristically helpless. “Let’s go into the bathroom,” he suggested. He opened the box as he strolled along through the small apartment to the bathroom. He put the box on the edge of the sink. “I should probably take my shirt off, too. Just in case,” he said. It made him a little anxious for obvious reasons, but it was just Steve. If anyone wasn’t going to judge him for his scars, it was his best friend. He pulled his shirt off and tossed it into the hallway before he took out the vinyl gloves from the box.

Steve had to avert his eyes. Not because he was bothered by Bucky’s scars. It was because he wanted to look. He wanted to touch, too. He wanted to offer to give Bucky another back rub. He settled down into the closed toilet. “Is this okay?” He asked.

“Yeah. Good. Give me the vaseline,” he said, holding out his hand. He opened the offered jar and ran his fingers through Steve’s hair, pushing it back off of his forehead. Then he scooped up a dab of goo on his finger and started carefully panting across Steve’s skin, right by his hairline. “This will make sure if any dye drips onto your skin, it won’t stick,” he explained. He stepped closer, spreading the vaseline down Steve’s temple and lower.

Steve bit his lip. Bucky was so close. He could just reach out and touch him. All that bare skin and those muscles… he swallowed hard. “I never would have thought of that. Thanks.” He had never dyed his hair before.

Bucky was enjoying being so close to shirtless, pantsless Steve. He leaned down a little and carefully spread some goo over the tops of Steve’s ears, and then he leaned in to trace along the back of his neck. In a lot of ways, this was pretty great. He got to touch Steve a lot, or at least his hair and his face. “Okay,” he said, leaning back and covering the vaseline again. He took out the instructions and the bottles and started reading what to do next. He mixed the color together with the other stuff and shook it up vigorously, like the directions said to do. “Okay, you sure about this?” he asked. “Because there’s no undoing it once it’s done.”

Steve smiled. “It’ll wear off I’m sure. I gotta do something. Can’t have you going out to get groceries all the time.” He also needed to earn some money. He did hope that Bucky didn’t think he was ugly with darker hair. He didn’t voice that slightly vain thought though. He felt silly for even thinking it. Bucky probably didn’t think one way or the other about the way he looked.

“Here goes nothin’,” Bucky said with a smile. He started squeezing the mixture into Steve’s hair, in lines from front to back. He stopped to smush it around a little before squeezing out more. He got it all mixed in and put the bottle down. Then he massaged it in so that it covered every strand of hair completely. He took a step back. “Wow. Looks dark,” he said. “Now you have to wait 35 minutes before you take a shower. You have to get it wet and lather it up like shampoo before you rinse it out until the water runs clear,” he said, peeling off the gloves.

Steve nodded dubiously. “Okay.” He peered in the mirror. “Wow that is dark.” It was too late now. At least no one would recognize him as captain America. Not with dark hair and a beard. He grabbed his phone and set a timer. “What else did you get at the store?”

Bucky slipped out of the bathroom, not wanting to crowd him too much. “Um, bananas, grapes, some energy bar things. You hungry? We could get take out or something,” he suggested. Bucky picked up his shirt where he’d tossed it, and pulled it back on over his head.

Steve was a little disappointed that Bucky had covered up his gorgeous body again. He followed along. “I’m always hungry,” he reminded him. “What do you feel like?” He needed to learn how to cook so they didn’t run out of money.

“You wanna wait until your hair is done and then go out shopping?” he asked. Bucky thought they could make the money stretch further if they cooked. He’d lived on almost nothing for over 2 years, so he felt like he was pretty good at it.

“Well let’s see how it turns out first,” Steve smiled. “Maybe I’ll look too ridiculous to leave the apartment.” He thought the darker hair would go well with the stubble he was growing though. He wasn’t sure if it was enough of a disguise though.

Bucky smirked a little. It still felt like smiling was going to look weird on his face sometimes. “Pretty sure you’re still gonna look as handsome as you do with blond hair,” he said. “Fishing for compliments, Stevie?” he asked. He was sure Steve had to know that he was gorgeous. When he was a skinny little thing he was adorable, but now… well, Bucky couldn’t think of anyone better looking than Steve.

Steve rolled his eyes and blushed. “No, jerk. I just want to blend in.” He didn’t think he was handsome. He still felt like an awkward skinny kid. Bucky was the handsome one. Always had been. Steve had known that well before he’d known what that meant.

“There’s no way you’re ever gonna blend in, punk,” he said gently. Steve was much too exceptional to ever be just one in a crowd. But hopefully he wouldn’t be so instantly recognizable. “But hopefully people won’t instantly think ‘oh my god it’s Captain America!!!’,” he said, squealing a little like what he thought a Captain America fan would sound like.

Steve snorted at Bucky’s attempt. It did sound a little like some things he’d heard but he wasn’t going to admit that. “Very funny. I’ll try to slouch as much as possible.” He knew it would be easier if he’d just let Loki give him a new face. But he just couldn’t do it.

“Okay, so. We’re waiting to see how it looks then either going shopping or ordering delivery, yes?” Bucky asked, grabbing his root beer and taking another swig. “I can cook a few things. Nothing fancy, but we won’t starve.” He couldn’t wait to see what Steve was going to look like with dark hair.

Steve grinned. His head was starting to itch but he tried to ignore it. “Hard to believe. Bucky Barnes, cooking?” he teased. When they were together like this it was hard to remember so many years had passed. And so much heartache. “You’ll have to teach me. I have all kinds of stuff in my head but when I try to do it, it doesn’t come out right…”

Bucky’s smirk turned into a easier smile. No one could bring that out of him now but Steve, and he knew it. “Hey, when you have to eat and you don’t have two rubles to rub together, you figure some shit out,” he said.

Steve nodded. “I guess you do,” he said solemnly. He looked at the timer. “This is taking forever. My head itches.” He took another drink of root beer. “You been to Coney Island yet?” He wondered if it might help Bucky with regaining his memories. They’d had so many good times there.

“Nah. Not yet. I went to the old neighborhood, but that’s where I ran into Rumlow and that kind of cut the stroll down memory lane short. Maybe we could go together?” There wouldn’t be much going on there in winter time, but probably some things would still be open. Nathan’s at least.

Steve frowned at the mention of Rumlow and he wanted to pursue it but he didn’t. “That’d be swell. That is, if this doesn’t look ridiculous.” He smiled. “I could sure eat a corn dog right now though.”

Bucky rolled his eyes and shook his head. “You’re dying your hair brown, not purple. How’s it gonna look ridiculous?” He could already see that it was going to look dark, but it kind of highlighted the contrast of Steve’s light skin and dark red lips.

Steve shrugged. “I don’t know! I’ve never done this before. Even growing a beard is weird!” The phone pinged. “Oh good. I can wash this out now. Should I do it in the sink? Or should I take a shower?” He had a momentary thought that Bucky could join him in the shower and he blushed instantly.

“Probably easier in the shower,” he said. He wanted to ask Steve if he needed help, but he was pretty sure Steve wouldn’t invite him into the shower with him. “Remember to get it damp and work it in for a couple of minutes still before rinsing it all out completely.”

Steve nodded. “Okay. Here goes nothing.” He headed for the bathroom, turning on the water to warm up as he slipped off his briefs. He stepped in, wrinkling his nose as the water ran brown as it hit his head. He did as Bucky instructed, waiting a few minutes before washing it.

Finally he stepped out of the shower, drying off perfunctorily before peering into the mirror. He looked different. But it didn’t look too bad, he supposed. He was excited to show Bucky so he just wrapped the towel around his hips and stepped out. “Buck!”

Bucky had unpacked his laptop while waiting for Steve and had put in the provided WiFi password. He stood up slowly to meet Steve partway and stopped dead in his track when his best friend came around the corner. He registered the slightly different hair color which suited him just fine but then his brain all but short circuited entirely. Steve’s magnificent body was covered in just a small towel and a sheen of moisture still glistened on his skin. “Jesus,” he said softly, barely aware he’d even spoken aloud.

Steve’s eyes widened at Bucky’s reaction and his smile faded. “Oh. Is it that bad?” He asked a little sadly. He’d actually thought it looked all right. He supposed he was going to be cooped up here unless he let Loki do a spell on him. He ran his hand through his damp hair.

Bucky huffed out a short laugh. “Your hair looks great. It suits you. Also, you looked like you just stepped out of a porno,” he added, giving Steve’s body a very thorough looking over because it wasn’t an opportunity that should be squandered.

Steve instantly blushed again—he was doing that a lot lately—and stammered, “um. I wouldn’t know about that.” The way Bucky was looking at him, though… he liked it. He liked it a lot. He’d gotten used to being stared it. Women looked at him like that sometimes, but he tried to ignore it. Bucky, though… he swallowed and stepped closer. “Is that a bad thing?” He didn’t know what he was doing but he couldn’t stop himself.

Bucky swallowed audibly. Was Steve flirting with him? “Let’s say… I wouldn’t walk around in just a towel in front of anyone else,” he said, clearing his throat a little. “I mean, unless you want everyone around you to forget what they were saying.” Jesus. Bucky couldn’t remember ever seeing quite this much of his best friend, at least not… in this body. He again felt a pang of nostalgia for his scrawny little friend. He wished he’d had the balls to show Steve back then how beautiful he’d always found him.

Steve’s blush intensified. He should just back away. Go get dressed. But he was intrigued by Bucky’s reaction. “But it’s okay to walk around like this in front of you?” He wasn’t normally an exhibitionist. At least he didn’t think so. “It doesn’t make you forget what you were saying?” He wanted to know what was going on in Bucky’s head. There was a vibe between them that was different. Sort of like… when he’d given him a back rub. It was a kind of tension but it wasn’t unpleasant.

Bucky knew he’d gotten himself into this spot. He just wasn’t sure how to get out of it, or if he should. “Well… we live together now, so… you should be able to walk around however you want in your own house, right?” It was a bullshit answer, and it didn’t address Steve’s very astute point. He licked his lips because his mouth was going dry.

Steve’s lips curled into a smile. Whatever was going on, he liked it. His heart was beating faster and his stomach was doing that weird fluttery thing. “As long as you don’t mind,” he began to say. He wasn’t sure what he was going to say next because suddenly he heard a chirping sound that he finally identified as his phone. He would have cursed if he did that sort of thing. He looked around for where he’d left the thing.

Bucky felt like he was saved by the bell, literally. He could see Steve was looking for his phone. “Maybe…” He pointed to Steve’s discarded pants.

The phone continued to chirp.

Steve nodded, stepping quickly over and retrieving his phone. He tried to push away his annoyance and disappointment in the interruption. He wanted to know what was going on. “Hello?”

Bucky meant to look away. He tried to look away. But when Steve bent over to get his phone, Bucky’s eyes refused to move away from every inch of Steve’s body that was enticingly revealed when he bent over. It was quick, oh so quick, but worth it. When Steve started speaking, he was able to wrench his gaze away at last.

“ROGERS! Stark gave me the number to reach you with!” came the booming voice of Thor on the other end.

Steve winced and held the phone a few inches from his ear. “Thor! Hello. I’d heard you were here. Nice to hear from you.” No matter how annoyed he was at being interrupted, Steve was going to be unfailingly polite.

“You missed the party we had. It was legendary as Midgardian parties go. It would be merely average in Asgard. I have vaguely heard about this nonsense the government is trying to do. I am told you are against it, as am I. I would know more since we seem to be stranded here.”

Bucky got a text of his own while Steve was on the phone. The inquiries he’d made earlier had panned out, and he had his way in to get the access he needed to get fake IDs. There was time, though. He wasn’t needed until after 6 p.m.

Steve blinked. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know about the party! I would have come had I known. I arrived here a little late. Next time for sure!” He appreciated the vote of confidence, not that it helped much. “I’m hoping they’ll all come to their senses soon. Before something happens and we need to save people again.”

“You must come to our place. You have not met the Valkyrie! She is an exceptional warrior. You can explain how this government thinks they can control our actions! I should like to see them try it!”

Bucky didn’t want to interrupt Steve’s call, so he grabbed his backpack and slipped off to the second bedroom to unpack his things. It was an escape from the subject of whether or not he could handle Steve in a towel, and for the moment, he was going to take it.