Red Liquorice and Paintings | Stucky

Chapter 10

"Where in God's name have you been?" Pierce shouts just as Bucky steps inside, his bag falling to the ground with a thump.

"Out." Bucky replies flippantly, voice cool and eyes scanning the hallway Pierce has trapped him in.

"It's almost 1 am." Pierce states, suddenly calm and collected. Bucky feels a sudden wave of insecurity as Pierce approaches him slowly. "You didn't call, didn't message. Your mother was worried sick."

"I'm tired, sir. I'd like to go to bed." Bucky says, and Pierce nods slightly.

"We'll discuss this tomorrow, Jimmy. You're not off the hook." Pierce tells him, and takes a step to the side to allow Bucky enough room to walk past.

Bucky strides past him as quick as he can, not wanting Pierce to change his mind and punish him tonight.

"Steven Rogers is a good kid." Pierce says suddenly, bringing Bucky to a complete halt. "He's sickly, but he's a good kid. He's the top of his class. He has a bright future." Pierce continues, and Bucky spins to look at him, clenching and unclenching his fists. "Don't corrupt him, James. It'd be smart if you were to distance yourself."

Bucky strides away, his mind clashing with memories of this afternoon, of Sarah Rogers and her smile, of Steve, and they all manage to bring a smile to Bucky's face, which feels so unreal and unknown, and Bucky decides that Pierce can be damned if he thinks he can take this from me.

.

[THAT WEEKEND, on Saturday to be precise]

Steve was curled up on the couch with Sarah sitting on the opposite side, both using the same blanket. Sarah chats softly, and Steve replies just as soft.

Last night was a bad night, and Steve was prepared to call off the movie marathon with Bucky, but not only did Steve not have his phone number, but Sarah insisted that it would all be okay. So Steve took her word and agreed.

"When's Bucky coming?" Sarah asks, taking a sip from her water, and looking over at Steve. Steve hums, and his eyebrows furrow as she looks down at her watch.

"He should be-"

The roar of a familiar motorbike cuts him off, and he practically leaps from the couch and sprints to the door.

"Don't make it obvious that you're interested! Oh wait.." Sarah calls out from the living room.

"Mom!" Steve calls back, and hits his head once on the door. Sarah laughs loudly, and Steve groans.

The door knocks, and Steve breathes deeply, before swinging the door open.

Seeing Bucky is like a breath of fresh air.

He's standing there, grinning widely, his hair out, wearing his jeans, a v-neck sweater, a pair of converse, and holding a huge duffle bag on his shoulder.

Steve eyes him, and finds himself grinning too, unable to hide it.

"Are you wearing your pyjamas, Stevie?" Bucky asks, and Steve feels the blush rising in his cheeks as he looks down at his feet.

"Says the guy in a v-neck." Steve mutters, earning a laugh out of Bucky.

"Touché. Gonna invite me in like a good lil' lass?" Bucky asks, and Steve laughs, taking a step to the side.

"Mi casa es su casa." Steve says, and Bucky takes a step inside, laughing gently, which sounds sweet like chocolate.

"I didn't know you knew Spanish." Bucky says, glancing at Steve from over his shoulder.

"And now you know as much as I do." Steve says, which Bucky laughs at.

"Is that James I hear?" Sarah calls from the living room, and Steve rolls his eyes, while Bucky grins and hurries towards her voice.

"Your second son has returned to you." Bucky exclaims, and drops his bag on the ground to hug Sarah. Steve can't help but smile as he watches on, and decides he'll lug Bucky's bag down the hall.

.

Steve drops the huge bag just inside the door, and makes his way over to his stereo and album rack. He searches through the stacks of CDs', before finally finding Night Visions by Imagine Dragons, and decides that he'll go for that one.

No one can hate Imagine Dragons.

Steve falls onto his bed, just as he hears Bucky making his way down to Steve's room, and recognises the beginning of Radioactive.

"Of course Steven Rogers has an American flag on his wall." Bucky says with a laugh from the door. Steve grins over at him, before shaking his head quickly.

"It was my dad's, you jerk." Steve says, and Bucky laughs to defuse any tension that sentence could've potentially held.

"Shove over unless you want me to squish you." Bucky says, now sounding close to Steve, who complies and rolls over.

I'm breaking in, shaping up, then checking out on the prison bus
This is it, the apocalypse
Whoa

Bucky rolls onto his side, and watches Steve as he breathes steadily, eyes closed and humming quietly along with the music.

The sun from the cracked curtain cascades down on Steve, making him glow. A bit more than usual.

His hands are tucked behind his head, and he looks comfortable, happy. His blond fringe falls down in front of his eyes, and he haphazardly flicks it away, which he somehow makes look utterly graceful.

I raise my flag and dye my clothes
It's a revolution, I suppose
We're painted red, to fit right in
Whoa

"Stevie." Bucky says quietly, and Steve's eyelids open, revealing the perfect blue which lies beneath.

"M'yeah, Buck?" Steve asks, and Bucky moves closer to him a fraction, eyes trained on his face.

"Whaddaya wanna do when you graduate? Where are you gonna go?" Bucky asks, and Steve smiles lightly to himself.

"M'gonna join the army." He says immediately, with confidence anyone would be proud of. "Save up enough money to take ma to Alaska, then New Zealand." He hums, turning to face Bucky. "Get a nice house. Make sure my library is big enough to need a ladder. Buy ma a bird. Maybe a parrot." Steve's eyes shut again as he smiles. "Get married. Get a dog. Visit as many places in the world as I can." He adds. "Buy ma an apartment in Brooklyn, with a nice view of the city. Open a coffee shop. Read as many books as I can. Watch the sunset every night." Steve's eyes open again, and he's surprised to find Bucky smiling at him. "And stick around to annoying you for as long as possible."

Bucky laughs, and shakes his head.

"That was all sweet and sappy, then you ruined it, punk." Bucky says with a chuckle. Steve smiles, and shakes his head too.

"What about you?" Steve asks, and Bucky lets out a deep sigh.

"Join the army, too. Can't just keep on waiting on the world to change." Bucky begins. "Take care of Becca. Always Becca. Make sure mum is set up okay." Steve finds himself smiling lightly. "Then fall off of the radar. Disappear. Move out to Russia, and drink vodka in the snow. Send Becca postcards, and not worry about life." Bucky says, staring up at the ceiling. "Grow old without the stress of people." He adds, then flicks his eyes to Steve's. "And make sure I'm there to save your punk ass from as many scraps as I can." Steve grins, and begins to laugh, faintly hearing It's Time playing in the background as he processes everything Bucky said.

I don't ever wanna let you down 
I don't ever wanna leave this town
'Cause after all
This city never sleeps at night