Don't cry? Bucky couldn't help it. It was all those years kind of coming crashing down at once, it was him being alive again, it was Steve being there, it was him growing a pair and actually making a move after so many years on ice (no pun intended... okay maybe it was) it was just everything happening at once. But at Steve's continued words, Bucky let out a laugh, a true, real laugh. Even after all Hydra's bullshit, even after coming back from Thanos, Steve could always make him truly laugh, a real belly acher if he said something funny enough. Steve Rogers, Captain America, the guy that lectured kids at school ('So you're in detention again.') was funny as Hell. And the best part about Steve was ever since Bucky had come back to him after Hydra, he'd loosened up and started getting really funny, he'd started truly acting like himself.
Vaguely, Bucky wondered if he was going about this wrong, if he needed to buy Steve a drink, take him out to lunch, take him to see a movie, have a nice little sit down and talk about their feelings like regular people. But that was all bullshit, he reasoned, because he'd spent enough time pussyfooting around the damn elephant in the room as it was. He'd been in love with his best friend since he was old enough to know what love was. Since they were kids. Course, the fact that times were different meant that he had to put all those thoughts to the back of his mind and put the walls up, but times were different now, things had changed, the world had changed.
And they'd changed with it. So many things had happened, they'd slipped from each other's grasp so many times, it couldn't be put off any longer.
Vaguely he realised Steve was kissing back and he realised he could breathe again, didn't realise he was holding his breath until he let it out once they broke away. His cheeks were flushed, hair a little bit of a mess but Bucky couldn't take his eyes off Steve. He didn't even think he was blinking.
"Don't make me kick your ass, Rogers," Bucky scoffed, shaking his head slightly. "You're not a damn coward. If you're a coward, I'm a coward. Just cause I made the first move, doesn't mean you wouldn't have. I saw that look in your eyes, it was only a matter of time, anyway." Bucky couldn't stop grinning at Steve's words, couldn't stop replaying them in his head. I love you. I want to be a family with you. I never want to lose sight of you again.
Bucky returned the kiss just as softly, eyes falling closed and just staying near Steve, near enough to hear his heartbeat, near enough to hear every inch of pleading in the next six syllables.
"Steve..." Bucky said softly, moving to break away so he could look at him. "You've always been my family. I love you too. And I don't think I'm going to be able to leave your side in the near future. Mmm. Nope. Not possible." He smirked, patting Steve on the shoulder and shaking with giddy laughter. "Doesn't matter how long it took us to get here, but we're finally here, together."
Bucky drew Steve in for another hug, just wanting to breathe in his scent, holding him so tightly it was like he wanted to become part of him, like he wanted to be permanently attached to his side. He took a deep breath and sighed.
"I promise I'm not going anywhere," he said gently to him, knowing how afraid Steve had been, knowing how he'd not believed that Bucky was really here, knowing how hopeless and helpless Steve must have felt without his best friend by his side. Bucky knew this because he knew Steve better than he knew himself, he knew everything he was going through and the relief that was no doubt coursing through Steve's veins was coursing through his own.
"I love you so much." Bucky breathed, before breaking away to kiss him again. He could do that all day, but then he wouldn't be able to see him, to talk to him.
"You wanna grab something to eat?" He asked. "We kinda skipped the whole first date thing. Then again, after all that's happened with us, we're hardly traditional. I kind of love it."