Positive Regard

Chapter Twenty-Four

"Do you guys want me to... leave, or something?" Steve asked when we got back from signing the papers at the courthouse.
"Yes." Bucky said.
"No." I said at the same time.
Bucky looked at me.
"Yeah, I was gonna leave anyways." Steve said awkwardly.
"No, Steve. You don't need to leave." I shook my head. "This is your house. He's waited—what? Eighty years? He can wait more."
"I can't. It's been eighty years, Rosie."
"Then a couple days can't hurt." I smiled sweetly.
"Steve, I'm mistreated." Bucky said.
"Yeah." Steve said. "You're so mistreated. Either way, I'm going to Sharon's—"
"Even Steve, Rosie. Even Steve."
Steve sighed. "This is why I wanted you guys to say for me to leave."
Bucky pointed at him. "See? He wants to leave."
"He can do whatever the hell he wants. His house." I shrugged.
Bucky glowered.
"Yeah. So..." Steve trailed off. "You guys have fun figuring this out. I don't want to be here for it. Um... goodnight."
"Steve." Bucky said quickly.
Steve turned around with his hand on the doorknob. "Please don't tell me what—"
Bucky threw a condom at him. "Safe sex. You don't want a kid."
Steve caught it. He glared at Bucky but put it in his pocket.
"Steven!" I gasped.
"Come on, honey." Bucky put his arm around my shoulders. "Little Stevie's finally a man."
I elbowed him and pushed his arm off me. "Don't encourage his sin."
"Shut up. Both of you." Steve rolled his eyes. "You guys have got to get the hell out of here. I can't live with this constant judgement anymore."
"We can judge you from afar just as easily." I assured him.
"Oh, I know. Why didn't you judge Bucky when he was whoring around?"
Bucky faked offense. "I was not whoring around, Steven."
"I did judge him, for the record." I nodded. "And Matt said he wasn't whoring, but I said he was."
"What?" Bucky asked.
I turned my eyes to him. "What?"
"You thought I was a whore?"
"You thought I was okay with it?"
"Well... yeah."
"Why? I had a crush on you since..."
He smiled charmingly. "Your whole life?"
I glared so hard that his smile melted away.
"Okay, so not that long." He said, taking a step back.
"Maybe since, like... fifth grade."
His grin came back. "Really?"
I kept my glare.
He cleared his throat and dropped his cheeky smile. "Right. Yeah. Um. I'm gonna go do something in... somewhere that's not here. I'll be back in five minutes and we can try this again?"
I rolled my eyes and grabbed his hand as he tried to walk away. "Stay here."
"Good. I was hoping I wouldn't be already be sleeping on the couch before a day had passed."
"Best behavior, or you will be."
"Right. Does best behavior mean not—"
"Probably."
"Right." He nodded. "Are you sure we can't—"
"I'm positive. We're guests in Steve's house."
"So?"
"Sit down. We're watching a movie."
He sighed. "Fine, okay. I'm gonna change, then. Wanna come?" He winked.
"Buchanan."
He grinned. "Yeah, yeah. I know."
I picked a movie while he was gone so he couldn't get a say in it. I took my hair down and took off my jewelry. I was starting to think that I could've changed three times in the time it took him when he finally came out. He was walking weird.
"Have to pick out an outfit?" I raised my eyebrows.
"Always, doll." He grinned and sat beside me. He wrapped his arms and pulled me to him. "What are we watching?" His voice was weird too, like he was forcing it to sound normal.
"The Princess Bride."
He groaned. "Really? A chick flick?"
"It isn't a chick flick. It's a modern day Odyssey."
"It really isn't."
"It really is."
"Fine. But for the record, I've never been much interested in movies when you're around."
"Do you wanna tell me what's bothering you before I play it?" I moved out of his arms and turned to face him.
He quirked the corners of his mouth up, but his jaw was tight. "Nothing, baby. Come back."
"Did you stub your toe or something?" I asked with a smile.
"No, or you would've heard me shrieking in pain." He smiled. "Come here."
It was so much easier to watch someone's emotions when the person wasn't Bucky. But if it had to be Bucky, it was easier when his eyes didn't have that haunted, glazed look.
"What do you want me to do?" I asked quietly, but he stared past me. "Buck?"
He jerked his eyes to look at me, blinking. "Yeah, doll?" He asked, putting on a smile.
"What do you want?" I asked.
"Why? What'd I say?" He shifted his position on the couch and cleared his throat. "I didn't say anything, right?"
"Nothing. You didn't say anything."
He sighed and raked a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry, baby. I'm sorry. I didn't wanna mess up your night."
"You aren't, sweetie. It's okay."
He rubbed his face and stood up. "I'm gonna put some coffee on."
I nodded and stood too. "I'm gonna change."
When I came back out, he was pouring the coffee. I went back to sit on the couch and he came in, handing me a mug. He sat down and kissed me. "I love you, Rosie." He whispered.
"I love you too. Do you... wanna talk?"
"Let's watch the movie. Just, you know, don't tell anyone I like it." He smiled, putting his arm around the back of the couch. He moved it around my shoulders when I leaned back beside him.
"Is Steve coming home tonight?" I asked when the movie ended. "Should we lock the door?"
Bucky shrugged. "I'd bet he's staying there. But he has a key if he needs it. As you keep reminding me, it's his place. Also, so I was thinking."
"Yeah?"
"Adoption."
"Yeah?"
"Can we? I mean, I have kind of a lengthy, heavy criminal record."
I smiled. "I handled it."
"How?"
"Doesn't matter. I just did it."
I'd talked to Fury, actually. He said he would "take care of it." I didn't know what that meant, and I didn't really know him all that much, but Steve said that if he said he'd handle it, he'd handle it.
"All right. If you say so." Bucky raised his eyebrows, but didn't question me.
"I do say so. Do you wanna say what's on your mind?"
He smiled a bit. "Nothing, babe."
"You don't have to protect me from anything, Bucky."
"I'm just... so tired of war. You know?"
"The war's over, Bucky."
"I know. I know that. That war's over, but there's always more. It's an endless cycle of destruction."
"It's the human race."