Steve goes for a walk through New York one day, his hoody up to keep the rain off his face. He was already soaked, though, so it really didn't matter. He pauses outside of an antique shop, looking through the display glass at all the trinkets and stuff. He brightens a little when he gets an idea, he pushes the door open and goes inside to browse a little.

His and Bucky's dating anniversary was coming up. They were approaching, technically, twenty-three years. Of course, this was all back in the forties. They were so careful and secretive then, though. It was deeply frowned upon back in the day to love the same gender but their feelings for each other... there was no way their feelings would change. The skirt-chasing that Bucky did so often, Peggy, double-dates, that was all a cover to protect the little thing they had. Now, in the future, people were more accepting of this type of thing, Steve found, and after he'd found Bucky again and the brunette's memory returned, they readily started up from where they left off. Steve wanted this one to be special.

He comes back out with his purchase and heads to Avengers Tower, his home. He and Bucky shared a floor now, under Thor and above Bruce and Nat.

////

"Anyone seen Tony?" Steve asks when he comes in, dripping in the doorway.
"Nope. Hey, babe," Bucky hums, coming forward and about to hug Steve until he sees him soaked. "Aww, you're wet." He sulks, his shoulders drooping. Steve rolls his eyes and kisses the top of Bucky's head.

"Hi, Bucky," he hums. The brunette notices that the blonde was holding something behind his back and he raises an eyebrow.

"What's that?" Bucky asks, curious.

"That is nothing. I went shopping," the blonde replies and Bucky leans back and gives him a suspicious look, folding his arms across his chest.

"Really."

"Yes, Buck, really," he nods. Bucky quirks an eyebrow and unfolds his arms, he sighs a little.

"Okay," he shrugs and wanders off. Steve watches him go and sighs a little, he knew Bucky hated having secrets kept from him, no matter how small they could be.

Steve walks upstairs and into the room, dripping a little on the carpet, and looks for somewhere to hide the purchase until he could find Tony. He pushes it under the bed and goes to dry off.

"What, got nothin' now?" Bucky asks when he sees him.

"Nope. You can't see 'cause it's a surprise, Buck," he says. Steve allowed himself to tell that much, at least. And by saying that, Bucky seemed a little more off edge, a little more relaxed.

"Okay," he replies with a yawn. He hadn't been sleeping very well lately and Steve had no idea why. Probably nightmares.

"Hey, you should probably get some rest," Steve muses and the brunette shrugs a shoulder.

"Fine. Don't leave me lonely, Steve," he warns playfully before heading upstairs. The blonde goes to follow, to get dried off but a tap on the shoulder makes him turn.

"Wanted to see me, Cap?" Tony asks.

"Yeah. I need some help with something," he says then quietly tells Tony his plan. The brunette smiles when he's heard all of it.

"He'll really love that, Steve, I bet. So where is it?" He questions.

"Upstairs under the bed."

Tony snorts and crosses his arms. "You are just the master of hiding important things, aren't you?" Steve shrugs a shoulder.

"Can we do it later?" Steve asks and Tony nods.

"I was forced to come out of conference with myself. I can't keep skipping those," Tony muses before sauntering off. Steve smiles a little, glad his plan was coming together. He heads upstairs to their floor.

"C'mon, Steve," Bucky whines sleepily, already in bed. The blonde quickly dries off and gets into dry clothes before he gets into bed with him.

"That's better," Bucky hums, wrapping his arms around Steve's waist and nuzzling his neck. Steve hums a little and kisses his forehead. The brunette stays curled up against Steve and soon falls asleep. Steve smiles softly at him, playing with the brunettes' hair. He eventually falls asleep himself.

////

The next few days his plan was put into action. He'd melted down the trinket, which was a solid gold vase. With this gold, and the help of Tony, they melted the gold into golden hearts, ninety-nine of them. While the metal was still warm, he wrote one reason why he loved Bucky on the metal so when it hardened the words would always be there. One for each heart. And everyday he hid them for Bucky to find, he'd of course told the rest of the team about his idea so luckily they weren't taken.

////

#1. You cared for me even when I thought it was pointless and I was a goner.

#5. You saved my life.

#17. You're so beautiful and you just don't see it.

#24. The way your nose scrunches up just a little when you're deep in thought.

#38. You're sassy and brilliant. Tony ain't got nothing on you.

#45. You've dealt with so much and still manage to smile everyday.

#52. You're not afraid to be who you are.

#60. You were willing to die for me, I can't believe that. You followed me everywhere, kept me safe back in the '40's.

#73. You talk about your fears. You gave me confidence to do that myself.

#86. You're so brave, Bucky. I was made a super soldier through drugs... you had all that without what I went through. You've been through too much, and still face the day.

#90. Buck, you're my hero. Always have been.

#99. We did promise 'til the end of the line.

Bucky put all of the hearts he found in his room, in complete disbelief. This had been Steve's surprise? He felt like he wanted to cry. Their anniversary was tomorrow and Bucky had nothing to give Steve.

"Steve?" Bucky says, looking for him. At first he thought they were meant for somebody else, but as soon as he saw 'til the end of the line, he knew. The blonde pokes his head around the corner and Bucky smiles.

"Steve... thank you so much," he whispers, tears beginning to form. Steve smiles softly. "Thank you so d*** much." He chokes, hugging him tightly. Steve hugs back and Bucky clings to him.

"I wanted to show you how much I love you. I'd follow you to the ends of the earth," Steve whispers and Bucky swallows the lump in his throat, tears slipping down his cheeks. "You say you're a monster, but I can prove you're not. Monsters aren't drop dead gorgeous, for one." Steve says gently and Bucky laughs slightly, burying his face in Steve's neck.

"I love you so much," Steve whispers, wiping the tears away with his thumb. Bucky hugs him tightly, tears streaming down his cheeks now.

"I love you too," he whispers, hugging him tighter.

////

"Happy anniversary, Bucky," Steve smiles, kissing his cheek. Bucky blushes and kisses him back.

"Happy anniversary, Steve," he says softly, smiling almost shyly. "I, uh, didn't have much to give you, but..." he shrugs a shoulder, reaching behind him and pulling a Bucky Bear out of a bag and handing it to the blonde. Steve laughs a little, looking down at the bear.

"So cute. Not as cute as you, of course," Steve hums as he feels the soft fur and the brunette blushes.

"Stevie," he whines and the blonde smiles.

"Oh, I have one more. There were ninety-nine you found, right?" Steve asks and Bucky nods slowly. Blushing, the blonde pulls a slightly larger heart out from behind him, making Bucky wonder where exactly he'd been hiding that- and the blonde takes a breath before getting down on one knee. The heart said 'will you marry me?' And there was a golden ring attached to a chain at the bottom of the heart.

Bucky let out a small gasp and his hands flew to his mouth, heart racing and pounding loudly.

"Will you do me the honour of becoming James Buchanan Rogers-Barnes?" Steve asks shyly, smiling up at the brunette, who chokes out a loud sob.

"Yes, yes," he sobs happily. Steve beams and tears were forming in his own eyes. Bucky wraps his arms around him and hugs him so tightly, Steve hugs back tightly.

"I love you," Bucky sobs, grip tightening even more. He was surprised he wasn't squeezing him to death, but he didn't want to let him go. It seemed like he said 'I love you' a lot lately, but nobody had ever done anything this nice for him. He felt special, he felt loved, and that's all that mattered.

"I love you too, baby."

Bucky was finally happy and Steve was too. He knew what made him happy, because his Bucky was truly back.