"Maybe we could. You. Me. It doesn't matter where. This hotel. A boat. Space. We could make something ...just for us." Buck would have been happy on a sheep farm with just them sleeping out under the stars. 'Course the grass might get itchy after awhile and he really liked the thought of the two of them building a home together. It was simple and it was perfect. "Eating breakfast next to you every day. Teasing you about your snoring even though it helps me fall asleep? Yeah, I like that idea a lot."
His lips dragged roughly across Steve's warm skin as he smiled. Together. The word hung like a promise tied on a string over his chest. He angled his head to the side, leaving faint scratch lines from a three-day old shave, so he could look up into Steve's eyes. Many words had been said to him over his years with HYDRA. Some had been truths. Some had been lies. He had learned how to tell the difference just by watching someone's eyes. In Steve's beautiful blues, there was more than truth. So much more. They'd always been there, he realized. And they still were, even after everything. He'd been afraid that he wasn't worth that affection anymore but Steve loved him anyway in spite of all that he had done.
Three little words and his bottom lip trembled. He bit down to still it. Not here. Not now. His throat ached as he forced down the overwhelming rush of emotion that had threatened to spill out. He could wallow in self-pity later. Steve was giving him eskimo-kisses and it was fucking adorable. Buck nudged him right back, sneaking a brief but sweet kiss. "I love you too." His eyes felt wet again as he said it. He struggled to blink them dry. But it felt like a weight had been lifted off him and he could have cried with relief. The feelings had always been there. To finally be able to use those words though, to Steve, so freely? He didn't know if he'd ever stop saying it now. "I love you," Bucky gleefully whispered around Steve's lips as he stole a second kiss.
He raised his free hand to Steve's cheek, cupping the side of his face into his palm. "Through thin and thick." Because Buck couldn't resist still throwing a flirtatious quip after uttering the three most important words in his life. But then his tone became soft as he dragged his thumb affectionately over Steve's face. "To the end of the line, right?"