He made himself very comfortable. Who knew he still remembered how to lounge? But it was easy to sink into the lover-shaped seat with Steve to cozy up with and forget about everything else. Bucky couldn't even be distracted by all the fruit and sweets along the banks that were meant to entice them into dipping and eating them. "You're the best date I've ever had," he admitted in a quiet voice.
And lame? Bucky chuckled. That couldn't be further from the truth. "Steve. Sunshine." Keeping their hands together, he lifted his arm up, back and around Steve in a half-embrace. As he pulled them in closer, their hips bumping, he turned and nuzzled his cheek against Steve's. "I've been in love with you since I was seventeen. Nothing you do is lame or ridiculous to me." He smiled, his lips caught in between Steve's ear and tufts of blonde.
It was nice, being able to just sit together in the quiet and enjoy each other without the threat of danger lurking around the corner to pull them away. There would always be the fear that HYDRA would come back to reclaim him. Or anyone else. A few words and he would be a puppet once more. Bucky did his best to keep those thoughts away. Just for today, he'd pretend the Winter Soldier had never existed. That it was just the two of them living their best and boring lives together. No HYDRA. No wars. No fights. What kind of life could that be?
The river continued to carry them around. Bucky idly let his other hand start to play with the sleeve of Steve's shirt. The mention of the sketchbook had him thinking. It was strange, even now, to hear Steve talk about how long he'd carried these feelings for him. "Remember when I promised you that we'd be neighbors some day? That we'd have the same house, next to each other, so I could keep my eye on you." Would they have carried on the same? Pretending that they weren't desperately longing for the other? "If there hadn't been a war, we could have had that boring life." Except the way he said it, Bucky didn't think it would have been boring at all.
He closed his eyes and nestled his face further into the side of Steve's neck. Regrets were pointless. They were living that life already. Sort of. The hotel had its quirks but it had at least allowed them to stay together.