Hello Sergeant (Bucky Barnes)

Honesty

James' POV

I walked back into the bedroom with the towel around my waist only to see Sarah and Steve sitting together on the bed, kissing more intensely than I'd seen them kiss before.

"Should I come back later?" I said, raising an eyebrow. Sarah broke the kiss and turned to look at me, giving me a mischievous grin.

"Or you could join us," Sarah said in a sultry voice.

I wasn't sure if she was serious or not, but Steve's face flushed and I was sure his mind went to the same place mine did – the gutter. She climbed off Steve and came over to me, eyes sweeping boldly over my body in a way that made me think she was imagining me naked. She hadn't looked at me like that in quite a while, not since we'd gotten drunk together one night after Jace had left; certainly not since the day I'd met Steve in this time.

She touched my face, meeting my eyes before going up on tiptoe to give me an intense kiss, the kind that was unmistakably an invitation for more – something she almost never did, either. If I wasn't turned on by her before, I was now - painfully so. She broke the kiss and walked out the door, shutting it behind her.

I looked over at Steve. "Holy shit, that girl can kiss!"

"Yes, she can," Steve said, looking bemused.

I walked over to my bag and pulled out a pair of boxers and my pajamas, setting them on the bed while I threw the bag back on the floor. "What the hell was that about?"

"Beats me. I told her I was okay with you kissing her, so maybe she was testing me?"

I gave him a steady look. "You know I've done more with her than just kissing, right?"

"Yeah, she told me about Kiev the night I got back." Steve looked away as I pulled off the towel and put on my boxers and shorts, his face almost as red as before.

"And?" I fiddled with my shirt, straightening it out before pulling it on.

"And nothing. I honestly don't care what it took for her to convince you to come back to me, now that I know I'm not going to lose her."

He stood up, pacing the room nervously, making me smile. I caught his hand and pulled him over to me, putting my arms around his neck and leaning my forehead on his. I held his cobalt eyes with my own, letting him know I had something important to say.

"Good, because not being able to be with her wasn't an option," I said fervently. "I didn't remember you at the time, only her – and I came to DC for her."

"Have you...been with her...since you got back to the States?"

"Yes, but not since you've been home. Since then, I've kissed her, yes; I need that closeness with her or I get a little...anxious, but no, I haven't slept with her like that since then."

"Oh." He let out a deep breath, closing his eyes and pulling me close. "I didn't know how much I needed to hear that until now, Buck." He seemed to relax a little more, holding me even tighter. His eyes opened again, searching my face. "I mean, I've seen you kissing her at times, but I just didn't know if there was more to it than that."

"No, that's all she was willing to allow once I finally met you. She told me flat out that was all she was okay with, not that I didn't want more." I stared at him, trying to read his expressions. "What are you thinking, Steve?" I finally asked when he didn't say anything more right away.

"A lot of things. I love her, Buck – I can't imagine being without her."

"Then you don't have to be, because she's just as crazy about you," I said with a smile. 'I'm still kissing her, though."