"Hurry back I want to go for a walk, since we both have the day off!" Bucky sang before Steve was able to shut the door on him for the third time. He was blushing from head to toe, but he was smiling like an idiot. He covered his face with his hands and took deep steady breaths to calm himself down. "Stevie, you sure you don't want me to take a shower with you? I think my body misses you already." Bucky called through the door, Steve's recently achieved calm was broken again.

"Bucky!" Steve's strangled voice managed, he felt like if he listened to Bucky talk any longer he'd die. He could hear Bucky's laughter through the door. Steve groaned and opened up the shower curtain, he pressed the button for the shower head and water began pouring down.

He could Bucky try to speak again but all Steve could hear was the rushing of water. He stepped into the shower and closed the curtain, containing the water spray to the just the tub. He put his head under the rushing water and closed his eyes.

Since he had begun getting used to taking longer showers upon living at Stark tower, he had come up with a certain shower routine. He had to check how he was doing physically then mentally. One was always an easier fix, or at least an easier assessment than the other.

Physically Steve felt amazing, more than amazing he felt complete, warm, like he had just been lovingly handled. Which he had been. To Steve's surprise he didn't feel any soreness afterwards, he only felt vaguely empty. He wasn't sure whether to blame it on the soldier serum, or whatever magic this place had put on him. But he did remember feeling like he had done this a hundred times before.

He didn't open his eyes, but his hands instinctively reached for the soap. He squirted some into his hands and worked it into a lather. He first ran his hands up around his neck area working his way down.

Mentally, well mentally Steve couldn't even begin to work through. He was confused, scared, and he wanted answers. But all his intelligent survival instincts were being overshadowed by one thought. Bucky.

"Aw crap," Steve mumbled as it began to pour. He raised the sleeve of his jacket over his head and jogged inside the restaurant. He hoped the rain hadn't ruined his hair, he actually spent a decent amount of time in the orphanage bathroom fixing it up for this.

As soon as he entered he felt relieved, he hadn't over dressed, but he certainly hadn't underdressed. When Bucky said he had made reservations to a place Steve was afraid it was going to be another froo from the eatery, where Steve couldn't name five things off the menu.

The restaurant was homey, the exterior was designed to look like it was made of logs. And it smelt like french fries, and syrup. There wasn't even anyone waiting in the front of the restaurant to greet and guide him to a table.

He scanned around the room until he saw a familiar figure near the corner of the room. Steve put on his best smile and jogged to go meet him. As he got closer he could see Bucky was reading a novel of some sorts. Steve put his wet jacket on the back of his chair and sat down.

"Hey Buck, feels like I haven't seen you in ages." He pushed himself in, and waited for Bucky to stop reading. It took about a minute before Bucky finally put his book down. He didn't exactly smile, but he gave him a pleasant enough look.

"I saw you this morning," Bucky said, instead of an especially cute phrase to that Steve counted on to lift his mood.

"Yeah I suppose...you seemed awfully invested in that book." Steve pointed out, he slowly grabbed the menu piled in the middle of the table.

"Yeah well, I really haven't had the time to read it." Something about Bucky's tone made it feel like he was almost blaming Steve for it. Steve wasn't sure if it was his own worried subconscious morphing Bucky's words, or if Bucky was actually really annoyed.

It was Sam who had actually planted the seed of doubt in Steve's mind. He told him whenever a significant other asked you to come to a restaurant to 'talk' with them, it was typically a breakup. Even though Steve doubted Bucky would want to break up, it didn't cease to worry him.

Steve tried to push those thoughts out of his head and focus on making Bucky happier than he seemed.

"I really like that shirt on you, told you navy was your color." He waited for Bucky to make a corny joke about how his color was actually the army.

"I just picked it up, it might be yours." Bucky had picked up his book again and was beginning to read. Steve felt like he was being bored, again.

"So what's it about?" Steve asked finally deciding what to order.

"Uh, can you give me a second Steve?" Bucky mumbled putting his finger up. Steve nodded and stopped talking. Maybe Bucky really was going to break up with him, he wasn't very interesting, he was pretty dull and kinda dumb.

"Did you have a bad day at work or something?" Calling it work was embellishing a little but it was something that was supposed to keep him busy and fulfilled.

"Reading does not automatically mean I had a bad day at work." Steve's cheeks were beginning to grow red.

"But a bad day at work does give you an excuse as to why you're being rude on a date. I had an awful day at work today but I'm not sitting here with my nose stuck in a book." Steve felt awful for being so openly rude, but the words had just begun to flow out. "And if this isn't a date and you're just here to be a jerk and break up with me then I have news for you! Because we're not even dating okay? We aren't even officially boyfriends, we're just people who live together and have sex or whatever. So continue reading your dumb book James." He brought the menu back up to his face just so Bucky wouldn't feel the satisfaction of seeing how upset he was.

A few seconds went by. Each second reminded Steve how much he despised himself. There was a sound of shuffling and chair movement. A hand peeked over the menu that Steve had over his face, and gently pushed until it was completely away from his face.

Steve looked at Bucky pitifully, his face was red and blotchy, and his lips were red and swollen from being bitten so hard. Bucky was giving him a sad smile, filled with emotion.

"That's...that's what I wanted to talk about with you." Bucky must have seen the heartbreak on Steve's face because he quickly followed it up. "My attitude not about breaking up. And we'll talk about the boyfriend thing in a second." He took one of Steve's hands, firmly like he was afraid Steve would pull away. "Steve you love me and I love you. And I love you enough to say that i've been a total jerk recently."

"Bucky no no, I was just being rude because I was ups-" Bucky raised his free hand to stop Steve from talking.

"No no it's true, i've been rude, and dismissive. And it all started because of that job at the army base. I know I said that it was helping me train those young men and women but it really hasn't. I'm constantly on edge, I've been having nightmares again, i've been avoiding sleeping, and interacting with people. And Steve the only reason I was so invested in that damn book was so I could collect my thoughts enough not to have either a meltdown or a breakdown."

"What's the difference between the two?" Steve asked quietly.

"One involves me yelling at you, the other involves me curling to the ground and possibly trying to kill anyone that gets too close to me," Bucky said honestly he squeezed Steve's hand again.

"Oh." Steve was silent thinking for a moment. "Why don't you just quit then? If it's not good for you?"

"Because Steve I don't want to quit. I really do enjoy doing that, helping those soldiers. I just hate how my body is punishing me for trying to come to terms with my past. Especially when it didn't do any of this shit when we were fighting freaking aliens. But as soon as the superhero-ing stuff is done I get night terrors again? So no, I don't want to quit. I think we should get counseling, to help sort some of our problems out?"

"We?" Steve frowned he assumed this was just about Bucky.

"Yes we Steve, you thought I was going to break up with you without even a concrete reason. You didn't even say something like I was hitting on another guy or anything, which still would be pretty ridiculous. I don't want to imagine what sort of self destructive ideas you have in that gorgeous head of yours." Bucky whispered looking right into Steve's eyes.

"We're pretty big messes huh?" Steve said softly. Bucky chuckled a bit and nodded. He pressed his lips against the side of Steve's head. "But...we've been dealing with our problems by ourselves for so long...you really think outside help is going to work?" Bucky shrugged and gave him a sincere look.

"I can't promise you it'll work. But aren't you a little tired of having the same problem over and over again?" Steve thought for a moment and gave a little nod. "Well then we should do this. Promise me that if we do this together, you'll really give it a try." Steve looked at Bucky, looked at the emotion in his eyes. Even if Steve didn't want to do counseling for himself, which he didn't, he really wanted it for Bucky.

"Okay...I'll give it an honest go," Steve said, he shifted his gaze away from Bucky's face. Bucky smiled and rested his forehead against Steve's temple.

"And about the other thing, we've been together since the forties. In almost all ways-"

"We didn't even look at each other when we did things back then," Steve said quickly.

"Okay...fair point. I can see where the doubt comes into play, but honestly, I just didn't think of it. I'm not a sex fiend and I don't want you just for your amazing body. I love you, so there."

"Loving each other doesn't make us immediately boyfriends." Steve said half teasing. Bucky smirked at him and leaned in close. He pressed a kiss against Steve's lips. He lips pushed, but Steve felt himself being pulled forward. He had to close his eyes the emotional impact of the kiss was setting his chest into over drive. Bucky finally pulled away after five seconds. Steve's eyes were still closed and his mouth partially open.

"Steve, will you be my boyfriend?" Bucky asked he intertwined their fingers. Steve opened his eyes blinking and trying to recover from the kiss. He managed to nod.

"Uh yes of course. Yes please." Bucky smiled triumphantly, he slipped his arm around Steve's waist and kissed his cheek.

"You're beautiful. And more important than a book FYI." Steve could only manage a week nod back. "Aw did one kiss fluster you that much?"

"It was more like you were trying to have coitus with my mouth," Steve mumbled out, his face red.

"Oh, I can't wait until we consummate this relationship." Steve looked at him oddly.

"Consummate?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at his new boyfriend. Bucky grinned at him wolfishly and kissed his cheek again.

"Oh, you'll see."

There was knocking on the bathroom door, interrupting Steve's mental assessment. Steve blinked a few times and shook his body. He swore he felt like he was being brought back to that moment as these new memories invaded his mind. It felt like the memory only happened the day before.

He could hear the hard knocks but he Bucky's voice only came out as muffled sound. Steve tried shaking the weird feeling out of his mind, he turned off the water.

"-and I miss your eyes, and your smile, your voice, your teeth, your nose, your kissable lips, your kissable neck, that beautiful-" Steve was already suppressing a blush. He grabbed his towel and wrapped it around his waist. He unlocked the bathroom door swinging it open. Bucky was leaning against the door frame already wearing jeans and a button up flannel shirt.

"Bucky what on Earth are you talking about?" Bucky's eyes scanned over Steve's body and came up to meet his eyes with a smirk.

"I was just listing what I missed about you." Bucky moved to the side giving him enough space to leave the bathroom. "I was just about to reminisce about your ass, guess I can speak from reference now huh?" Steve wondered if Bucky's method of killing him was going to be death through blushing.

"I was only gone for five minutes," Steve said, he walked passed him not meeting his eye. He already understood that he wouldn't be able to resist Bucky's charm, but he knew he could resist sleeping with Bucky for the second time.

"Can I at least have a hug?" Bucky insisted following Steve into the bedroom.

"I'm sopping wet, I'd get you wet too." Steve turned around and tried to close the bedroom door on Bucky.

"Oh, we've done some pretty interesting things soaking wet," Bucky said in almost a whisper. Steve whined, now too flustered to think of a proper response.

"One more remark like that Barnes and i'm not going anywhere with you." Steve said after getting enough air together to form a sentence. Bucky began chuckling again but moved his foot away from the door. He made a kissy face towards Steve just as the door closed over his face.

Steve couldn't help but feel that he was possibly being too rude, especially towards his supposed boyfriend. He shrugged that thought away and began sifting through the different drawers until he found clothes. It took about five minutes, and even, then Steve hadn't found a belt.

In the end he stole what smelt like Bucky's joggers and tied them together. He grabbed a jacket and a hat before he opened the door. Bucky was waiting surprisingly patiently against the wall. His arms were crossed, he looked up at Steve with a raised eyebrow.

"You planning on wearing all my clothes today Rogers?" Steve looked down at his clothes and shrugged. He thought that the shirt was at least his. It had a stuffed animal on the front with a superhero mask on it.

"I'm feeling in a very you mood today." Steve passed by Bucky in the hall and headed for the door. Bucky scoffed, a playful smirk on his face. He jog and grabbed Steve by the jacket sleeve just as they made it past the kitchen. Steve hesitated and looked back at Bucky, a question in his eye. He knew that look Bucky had on meant nothing but trouble.

"You can't just say you're feeling in me mood and then walk away. Now that's just bad etiquette." Bucky leaned in closer towards Steve's reddening face. Steve fought the blush and gently tugged his feet away heading for the door.

"I don't think I'll be taken etiquette lessons from you anytime soon." He saw that his shoes were already by the door, he bent down on one knee slipping them on.

"Excuse me Steve Rogers, how do you think I got as many girls as I did back then? Not to mention you. I, am a gentleman." Steve turned in time to see Bucky do a little bow for him. Steve chuckled under his breath and shifted legs tying up his other shoe. Bucky went to the door, his shoes were already on, and opened it up. Bucky gestured towards the door with an upturned palm. "After you."

"Are you gonna pretend to be a gentleman for me now?" Steve teased, he stood up and peeked Bucky one more look before he left for outside. Bucky closed the door behind him, he quickly jogged to Steve's side.

"Don't need any pretending to pull that off." He stuck out his elbow for Steve to take. Steve looked at him pretending to ponder it for a moment before he slipped his arm into Bucky's elbow. Bucky gradually moved closer to him until their bodies were pressed close together, leaching the heat off of one another.

"Is that a fact?" Steve asked, he looked up at Bucky catching another mischievous look. Bucky guided them to the right down the neighborhood sidewalk. Steve let him, he had no recollection of even having neighbors, let alone these ones.

"Yessiree." Bucky laughed as soon as the words left his mouth. "Haven't said that in a while." He looked at Steve for a moment almost serious. "Keep it up and i'll put you in a dress, call you Stephanie, and treat you so well that..." Steve could see the light dancing behind Bucky's eyes.

"That..."

"I'll get back to you on that one, but the point still stands," Bucky said it as a warning but the thought of cross-dressing didn't exactly scare Steve into submission.

"Why am I always the girl? You cook anyway!" Steve felt guilty as soon as he said it, there were no females around in particular but it was that old-fashioned thinking. "Not that it exactly matters." He mumbled. Bucky chuckled a bit under his breath and shook his head.

"Steve if we're going by those terms you'd still lose. I cook, yes but only because you burn everything you touch. Besides you do almost everything in the house, you insist on it in fact. Clean, do laundry, nag me..." Steve gave him an unimpressed look, only succeeding in making Bucky laugh a little louder. "Not that I don't love it, and find it the sexiest thing ever." Steve scoffed softly under his breath, even if he had no memories of nagging Bucky at least not in this decade, he still felt vaguely offended.

"Well maybe if you picked up your socks, I wouldn't have to nag you," Steve muttered, he figured this was a repeated problem just as it had been in the past.

"Oh socks are always put away nowadays, it's the underwear and belts that I leave on the floor now." Steve couldn't decide if he was being flirty or truthful, either way, he refused to turn around and face him. Deciding to give the air of hurt pride instead.

"Oh come on Stevie, I know you don't really mind. I mean how else would I stay out of trouble without my handsome, beautiful, intelligent, kind, considerate, compassionate, boyfriend." Steve bit back his flustering and gave Bucky a sideways glance.

"Do you mean that?" Steve asked, playing a bit more than necessary. Bucky nodded vigorously, he adjusted their arms so that he was now just holding Steve's hand instead of having it through his elbow.

"Of course, I'd never lie to my special girl." The way Bucky said it made it almost sound like a tease, but what it was actually another way this world's Bucky was stealing his heart. He turned fully to Bucky, his cheeks were tinted red from both the chill and the heat in his body. Bucky took Steve's cues and acted on them.

Bucky leaned up the half inch or so that he had to move to get to Steve's lips. Bucky's lips were thin but warm, they moved like they had life all their own, and pressed into Steve's like he was trying to shove Steve's mouth away. Meanwhile, Steve's lips were plump, and slightly bit. They were clumsy and Steve never knew how to move them the right way. Passion sparked between the two, and the longer the kiss the more embers that ignited.

Steve had to pull away, the kiss was too hot, too hot to be done in public, maybe even too much for private as well. He was panting slightly as he looked at Bucky, Bucky looked very pleased with himself. Steve looked around to see if anyone had saw them, he wasn't sure when they stopped walking. It felt like everything had come to a grinding halt, and he didn't have his wits about him.

"What were you saying about me not being a gentleman?" Bucky asked coyly, if Steve had more of his mind together he might have made a retort back. All he did and wanted to do was move closer to Bucky. Bucky slid his arm around Steve's waist, rubbing small circles into his hip.

"You're too good, especially for your and my own good," Steve mumbled, his voice was a bit quieter but his head was wright by Bucky's ears in this position.

"Me? Too good? Don't think that's possible Stevie, you might want to reconsider." Steve chuckled under his breath shaking his head against Bucky's shoulder.

"You're the worst." He meant to say that Bucky was the best, but he was already in too deep into this fantasy. If any more good happened between them then Steve might lose the will to keep trying to leave. And he couldn't have that...could he?