Fire and Ice, Sugar and Spice

Chapter Twenty-Five~Here Comes the Bride

Chapter Twenty-Five

Here Comes the Bride

"Do you think we'll ever end up like Steve and Victoria?" I ask Bucky quietly, safe in our nest of blankets. We came home and had dinner with the boys who were looking a bit too chipper, then I dragged James up to bed. After playing around, we've settled down and are talking before drifting off to sleep.

"Yes." He answers quicker than I expected and I swivel my head, resting my chin on my hand on his pec. A corner of his mouth turns up as he looks at me. "What?" He asks and reaches over, twirling a couple pieces of my hair around his fingers.

"That was a quick answer." I hedge. He laughs quietly.

"Would you rather I have stalled like you are right now?" He calls me out. I sigh, pursing my lips to stop my smile. I reach up and run my hands through his soft curls. They've started to grow out again and are getting less curly and wavier.

"Don't think I'm not onto you, mister." I tell him, cradling the side of his face with my hand. "You can't keep a secret from me. I have ways of getting you to tell me." He watches me talk with rapt attention and an amused smile. "Plus, Steve is a shit liar and if something is going on I can get it out of him." I tell him and he knows I'm right. He sighs, that cute crooked grin on his face.

"Fine." Abruptly he turns and opens my desk drawer, grabbing a pile of papers and setting them in my lap. Confused, I scoot up so I'm leaning against the headboard.

"What...what are these?" I ask as I flip through the pages. Pictures of house after house pass in front of me, including aerial shots and indoor pics. It's quite a stack.

"Well, it was going to be a surprise, but they're houses I thought you'd like. For us." My eyes widen and I look over at him in surprise. He slips his fingers in the pile and purposely puts one in particular on top. "I was serious when I was talking about getting a place all our own. So, Steve and I did some research today and these are the ones I chose." He explains and sits up as well, tugging me closer so I'm resting on his chest.

"These are homes you picked for us?" I ask as I look at the one he put on top. A two-story log cabin with a dark green tin roof is the center, but I see pine trees surrounding it. "This is just like we talked about..." I trail off, touched that he remembered everything I said. Turning, I kiss him full on the lips. "You're a treasure." I whisper and peck his lips again before excitedly turning back to the papers. It takes James a moment to respond.

"I'm glad you approve, doll." He tells me and kisses my hair. There's a couple cabins, normal houses, and even an apartment building we could buy. I like all of them, so really it's up to you." His tone is so nonchalant it amazes me.

"I just choose a house." I repeat, incredulous. Bucky's soft chuckle tickles my ear, but I feel him nod.

"You just choose a house. Then, we'll go look at it and see if we really like it, buy it, decorate it, live in it." James goes on teasingly, but I can see all of it in my mind. "This one, with the green roof. Look inside." He opens the little packet for me to a picture that looks like the living room. Pointing to some built-ins on either side of a television, he speaks again, "Bookshelves, so you can get a bunch of poetry books." My heart warms at his suggestion, that he knows me well enough to specifically remember this for me. I set the packets on the bed in front of me and turn towards him. I lift a leg and straddle him under the covers while he watches with a surprised and amused smile on his face.

"I love you." I tell him sincerely and smile softly when his eyes light up just at me saying it. His hands massage my hips as we share a slow kiss, then part.