Bucky's heart was pounding the whole way to Steve's house. He could hardly breathe as he sped through town while Peggy's words replayed in his head over and over.

It was all completely ridiculous yet is all made sense. Bucky could understand where Steve came from – being afraid to accept his own sexuality. While Bucky thought it was easier for himself to do it, there had definitely been moments when he wished his feelings for Steve didn't exist and he really was as straight as a ruler.

There was still a part of the story that was a little foggy, though. Bucky was always quite certain that Peggy suspected his feelings for Steve, yet she continued on with the fake dating. It wasn't like she had to go confessing all of Steve's secrets, but it would've saved Bucky a lot of heartache if he didn't have to see the two together.

All he had to say was that he hoped to god things worked out between her and Celia as well as with him and Steve. They all went through so much trouble and he just wanted for it to be worth it.

Bucky pulled into Steve's driveway and he wasn't nervous at all, as if he was on some high. He didn't know how to describe the feeling other than just fuzzy. His heart was filled with hopes that his brain tried to suppress, but in the end his heart won.

He was knocking on Steve's door again, and it was not unlike the last time when he had no idea what he was going to say. The circumstances where much different this time, with Bucky knowing the answers. He wished that Steve didn't chose to ignore him for a month, but he understood why.

Sometimes love was scary, and all it took was that first step to push through and things would be okay. Steve tried to take the first step, and it all blew over, but Bucky was here to fix that.

If Steve could answer his damn door.

Sarah's car was gone, but Bucky had hoped that maybe wherever she went Steve had not tagged along. It seemed that wasn't the case.

It was just his luck that things finally had the chance to work out and Steve wasn't even home. Bucky couldn't just text Steve. No. This had to be something that happened face to face.

Just as he was about to give up and head back home, Sarah's car pulled into the driveway. Bucky let his shoulders sag in relief, though now that Steve was getting out of the passengers side and was right there Bucky felt his insides turn to mush.

He couldn't do this.

How could he just stand in front of Steve and confess how he felt? Steve was just so good. He was way too good for Bucky, with his metal arm and a head full of self-hatred.

Yet when Steve looked back at him his eyes lit up like it was Christmas. Like Bucky was the greatest gift that he could ever receive. When Bucky swallowed his throat felt like sandpaper and his stomach lurched.

Why was this so hard?

Sarah went inside, saying that she was going to prepare dinner. Steve nodded his head and turned back to Bucky. His expression suggested that he wanted something from Bucky, yet Bucky didn't know what he could possibly give him.

Steve opened his mouth but then hesitated. While he had previous looked as hopeful as Bucky felt, he too just looked nervous now.

"Hi," Bucky said. He didn't no what else to say, and he could no longer stand the silence.

"Peggy told you, didn't she?" Bucky nodded. "What did she say?"

"Everything, I think," Bucky said.

It was far too cold to stay outside, yet neither moved. They stood there for another few moments in silence, staring at their feet. Bucky worried that maybe this wouldn't solve anything at all, because they didn't appear to be getting anywhere.

"Did you really ignore me for a month because of what you said the last time I was here?" Bucky asked. He remembered Steve's exact words, about how he couldn't be just friends with Bucky. "Or was it because you were scared to like me?"

"Both," Steve said, "if that makes any sense."

"Oh."

"I'm sorry, Bucky."

"I know."

"Why did you come?"

Why did he come? Maybe because Bucky also wanted something from Steve, but he wasn't exactly sure what. He never really though seriously about a relationship between him and Steve. Bucky just knew that he liked him, and that was that. He supposed now that they both liked each other it was bound to happen, and he wasn't complaining. Just the thought of being able to call Steve his made his heart flutter.

"I want to hear it from you," Bucky finally said. "I know you said it before. . . But I want to hear it again. Do you like me?"

Steve took a deep breath. "I do. A lot. It sucks when you don't feel the same way, and—"

"Steve, stop," Bucky interrupted. "Who ever said I don't feel the same way?"

"You made that quite clear when I kissed you."

"I thought you were still dating Peggy," Bucky explained, though he had thought he made that quite clear when Steve kissed him.

"Right," Steve said. "So you. . . You do like me?"

"Yes, and I have for a long damn time, too."

Steve chuckled. "Me too. I've liked you for a long time, I mean."

"So. . ."

"So?"

"Where does that leave us?" Bucky asked. If he was being honest, he just hoped they'd settle this once and for all so that Steve would invite him inside. Not that he wanted to kill the mood or anything. Besides, things would be much better, inside. In Steve's bedroom. Not that they would, like, do things, but—

"I don't know," Steve said with a small frown. If Steve was going to say that this wasn't going to work out Bucky thought he might just lose it. He wasn't mad at Steve, but rather this whole situation. It had gone on for far too long for it to not work out in the end. "Do you want to go inside?"

Bucky thought he'd never ask.

They passed Sarah on their way up to Steve's room, and she gave Bucky a small wave. She had this look in her eye, as if she just knew what was going on.

And maybe she did.

Bucky thought back to that day her and Steve were invited over for dinner. George was being a homophobic asshole and Bucky remembered Sarah being uncomfortable about the whole situation. She had glanced over at Steve as if she knew something. She must've. Steve might've told her, or she figured it out herself, but she definitely knew what was going on, Bucky decided.

When they got to Steve's room Bucky noticed that it was messier than it usually was, but he was too distracted to think on it much. Steve plopped himself down on his bed and Bucky joined, sitting close enough that he accidentally knocked his knee against Steve's.

And then Steve had to scoot away.

Bucky frowned and curled his hand into a fist on top of his thigh. Steve's action was such a small one, yet Bucky felt as if his heart was being torn. He understood the fear that Steve was feeling, yet he couldn't help but feel like there was something wrong with himself. Was it so bad to have feelings for Bucky Barnes?

But then Bucky felt Steve's hand on top of his. Bucky let out a small nervous laugh, then interlocked his hand with Steve's. Steve smiled back at him without hesitation.

Bucky thought that he'd never figure out Steve Rogers.

"What does this mean?" Bucky asked. He didn't want to beat around the bush any longer. He also didn't want to waste his time only for Steve to tell him that this could never happen.

"I do like you," Steve said. "But. . . I don't know."

Bucky's heart physically hurt, and he couldn't help but wonder if he was even worth all of this trouble. A few years— a few months ago, even, Bucky never would've even been able to imagine someone having such an internal battle with themselves on his behalf.

"I'm just going to ask you," Bucky said. "What do you want?"

Steve squeezed his hand. "I want you. I'm scared as hell, but I know that—" he broke off and turned his head away, though Bucky could see that his cheeks were pink.

"I was always willing to wait for you, but I don't want to be playing games here," Bucky said bluntly. "If you're always going to be unsure about us then this isn't what I want. I won't put myself through that."

"I not unsure about you," Steve said quickly. "I'm scared, but I'm not about to let you get away. I decided the day that I kissed you that I was done with not being myself."

"So does this mean—"

"I want to try, Bucky."

"So you really—" Bucky stopped. He didn't know exactly how to word what he was thinking. He wanted to know that Steve would be there for him, not just as a 'boyfriend', but as his best friend. As the most important person in his life. "You're really. . .with me?"

" 'Til the end of the line," Steve replied, seeming to understand exactly what Bucky meant.

Bucky found himself paralyzed staring into Steve's eyes. He had always liked blue eyes, but Steve put a knew meaning to them. Now, he could look at anyone else with blue eyes and find them dull. But Steve's eyes were like the ocean. They pulled you in and Bucky often found himself lost in the pools of blue.

Without hardly even realizing it, Bucky was inching closer to Steve, and Steve was doing the same. He felt Steve's breath against his lips, sending a shiver throughout his whole body.

Steve pulled back for a moment, silently asking for approval. Bucky answered by pressing his lips to Steve's.

It was that indescribable experience all over again.

It was something that Bucky never thought he could never have, and now that he was here in the moment he hardly knew what to do. He tried not to overthink it and let his body do the work, but he had hardly ever kissed anyone before and he was afraid that he'd end up doing everything wrong.

He didn't know what to do with his hands, and in the end settled for resting them in Steve's hair. Resting them. Bucky didn't know what to do with the rest of his body when Steve's lips were so overwhelming that it was impossible to do anything else but move his own lips with Steve's.

When Steve pulled away Bucky was filled with fear. He expected Steve to yell at him that it was all wrong, to say that this really couldn't work.

But that didn't happen.

Steve face was red, but he was smiling shyly. Bucky found himself grinning as he tried to catch his breath.

"Maybe we won't ever have the same friendship that we used to," Steve said. "But it doesn't have to matter. What we can have in the future will be even more special."

Bucky didn't know what to say. He wanted so badly to believe that Steve was right, but there were so many factors that could change everything all over again. He pushed that all away for now and tried to focus on where he was now. His hand was still held tightly by Steve's, and they were still close enough for Bucky to see flecks of green in Steve's eyes.

"I don't want to take things too fast," Steve continued. "I want this to mean something."

"So do I," Bucky agreed.

A dog was barking, and Bucky heard it only just barely. The loudest sound was his thundering heart. He put his hand up to it, and it felt as if it would burst out of his chest.

They didn't do much else that day. Both were on a new high and equally content to just be spending time in the other's company, no matter what it was they were doing.

No more kissing happened, though neither felt like it was something they were missing. It was different to have feeling out in the open, and Steve was right. They needed to establish some groundwork before building on their relationship.

While the two had begun to be friends again, there was still some rocky terrain that they needed to pass over. Bucky knew that if Steve was also willing to try, he'd do anything to make this work.

Together, they laid side by side staring up at the ceiling. Bucky rested his head on Steve's shoulder, and he felt as if he could do anything. Any obstacle could come at him, but with Steve by his side he'd get through it.

Because he felt so damn happy, the phone call he got from his parents left him absolutely shocked and terrified.

His mother's voice was frantic as she told him to get to the hospital that instant, and Bucky barely heard his sister's name between her cries.

**

A/n: I used to have an exact plan of how each chapter would go, but I'm basically completely changing everything now.

I wasn't going to post another chapter yet, but because I'll be off Wattpad for a few days I thought I'd post this early.

I'm thinking of rewriting this as an original story. Like, the same sort of story line but improved and with my own characters. Would anyone actually read that?

Sorry if the editing of this was really bad. I was rushing and only had fifteen minutes. . . I might go back and edit this later.