"Hey," Steve said, glancing at Bucky and giving his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "We'll figure this out." He nodded, offering a muted smile.
Bucky looked up. He nodded a little. "Maybe so." He replied slowly. He shrugged his shoulders, letting out a slow, careful breath.
Steve shook his head, smiling, "It's not a maybe." He told him, like he was sure of what was to come, "Things are going to be alright."
Bucky shrugged again, glancing over at Steve. "I guess." he replied. He looked out the window again, eyes tracing over the unfamiliar skyline.
He doesn't say much, that's for sure, Steve noted, But whatever it is I feel for him hasn't changed. He smiled, reminding himself that those blue eyes however distant and cold were once glittering and light, and that they would be like that again, one day.
Bucky took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. He remembered a little bit more each day, a few more puzzle pieces of memory fitting into place. Some were just bare fragments, some full segments of memory.
"'Kay, so, I'm gonna ring Tony, see if he knows anywhere worth visiting today." Steve nodded, slowly moving toward the balcony and pulling out his phone.
Bucky nodded. "Alright." he replied, still looking out the window. He was trying to fit the fragments of memory together. Did this emotion go here, or here? Was this image from then, or then?
Steve slid the glass doors closed, immediately wishing he'd brought a sweater out with him. He dialled Tony's number, half-expecting voicemail and folding his arms. Just wait 'til he hears about the therapy thing.
Tony answered the phone. "Yeah?" he asked, voice slurred with sleep. "Whaddaya want?" he yawned.
"Rough night?" Steve chuckled, now he was the one calling at the crack of dawn. "–I'm teasin', though I'm gonna get you back for that dare."
Tony groaned. "I hate you. What do you want?" he replied. There was rustling from the otehr end of the line, as if the billionaire genius was only just now getting out of bed.
"We're bored." Steve smiled, staring at the towering New York skyline from the balcony, "What could we do for fun?"
"Kiss. Fuck. There's a myriad of things you can do that don't involve me." Tony replied, leaning against the wall and letting out a breath. "I'm sure there's lube somewhere, if that's what you're worried about."
“Oh my g-“ Steve shook his head, trying to push away the images that manifested and glad that no one could see him blush, “That is NOT what is happening. I hope you know.”
Tony snickered. "You sure?" He replied. "Not gonna judge if it is. He's cute in his own way, I'll give him that much." He was mostly just teasing Steve at this point.
"I'm…" Steve said, drawing his eyebrows together in thought. "I'm sure, and I don't…" He shook his head, correcting himself, "We don't– He doesn't feel that way."
Tony let out an unconvinced sound. "I think you do, Stevie. And I think he might too. He just doesn't know it yet." He replied.
"…You don't know what you're talking about," Steve told him, his voice a little quieter than he meant, like Bucky might have heard him through the glass. What Tony was suggesting– it was unthinkable. To have Bucky in that type of way would just be…a lovely thing. No. It wouldn't be. But if it was– if they really felt that way for each other…
Tony snorted. "I do. I saw the way he looked after that kiss you had last night." He replied with a shrug.
"Looked at me?" Steve shook his head, dismissing the way his heart jumped at the mention of it. There was 'a look'? "What do you mean 'the way he looked at me?'"
"If you didn't notice, I'm not telling." He replied primly, making a face a little bit.
"Okay, you're teasing me now. I get it." Steve rolled his eyes, he's just trying to get me to say something he'll twist later. "There wasn't a look, and you know it." He told Tony, and himself.
"There was." Tony replied calmly. "But if you didn't see it, I don't want to ruin your romance." He chuckled, smiling a little.
"Romance?" Steve repeated, the words like a contrabanded sound on his lips. "There wasn't and there will never be what you think there is." He said with a hidden disappointment.
Tony snorted. "Mm. Keep telling yourself that." He replied. "Now. What did you want to do today? Since apparently entertaining yourselves is impossible."
Steve cleared his throat, concluding that Tony was only joking, but if he wasn't, he'd imagined it and didn't know what he'd seen. "I'm not sure, that's why I'm callin' you. Wherever we end up going, I want Bucky to have some fun, or laugh, or– something." He sighed, remembering their little argument.
Tony smiled a little. "Hm. I don't know where you should go, then, because I think a smile will take more than a place."
"What do you mean?" Steve asked, half-expecting another suggestion dripping with innuendo.
"I think it takes the right person, Steve." Tony shrugged. "But. You want someplace fun…" He trailed off, thinking.
