Bucky's tease caused Steve to playfully nip at the other man's lips. If the gods had a heart, it should be breaking, seeing these two men they'd truly put through the wringer acting so happy and carefree, if only for a few moments.
They'd had similar moments many times, early in their lives. Even through the horrors of war, after Steve rescued Bucky from the Nazis they'd still managed to find little things to laugh about together. But that barrier of propriety, of what was acceptable back then was there. There was none of that now.
"Hell if I know, Buck. Hell if I know," Steve said with a shrug, shaking his head. The only shipping he knew went together with handling, so maybe it was a sexual thing. Kids, indeed.
Steve actually blushed at the teasing dog comment. He ducked his head bashfully, and spoke a soft, horrified, "Buck!" He looked back up at his friend and, even while chuckling like a boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar, he felt the need to explain. "We don't have to... you know... do anything. Aw, jeez!" He chuckled, both nervous and giddy.
To be fair, Bucky had always been the adventurous one. Back in the day, nobody would give scrawny Steve Rogers the time of day. Then, overnight, the supersoldier serum made him into a hunk and a hero, and he was easily overwhelmed and turned off about being treated like a fetish, or a piece of meat. Some of those dames, and lads, didn't even see him as a person. Even to this day. He felt like he was just a prop, a supersoldier sized sex toy. It was gross.
Tony had coarsely said they were like celebrity starfuckers, but with superheroes. Steve had shuddered at the accurate description. It was why he always skirted around the subject of people finding him dates. Well, that, and the growing realization that none of the nice people he dated ever managed to keep his attention for very long for one very simple reason. They weren't Bucky.
Oh, he had grown very fond of a precious few ladies over the years, but when they got to the kissing part, Steve always knew there was something "wrong" with him. He was missing something. He had been missing something. There was nothing missing now, as he held his best friend in his arms.
Steve's heart did little silly flip flops when Bucky smiled at him and told him he missed and loved him. "Ditto. So much," he muttered, heaving a deep, contented sigh. Steve was pretty sure it had been his good friend Sam who had linked him to the definition of demisexual; a person who normally cannot experience sexual attraction unless they have a strong emotional connection with their partner. It blew Steve's 1940's mind, and it explained so much.
"I hope so, Buck. Love you to the end of the line." He opened his mouth to tell Bucky they should move in together when his friend asked where he was staying, but Buck was already telling him what was what in that department. Steve could only beam at his assertive friend, who looked and felt more like himself than he ever had in recent memory.
"Yes, sir! No objections here, sir." He leaned in for another kiss, because he just couldn't get enough of those, and pulled away with a smile. "I was allowed a room not far from here. We can swing by and pick my duffle bag up on our way to your place? I haven't unpacked anything except my toothbrush." He stood there, staring at Bucky like a lovelorn idiot. "We should get going before I start kissing you again."