It's Always Been You

Chapter 4

The trip down memory lane has Steve and Bucky all choked up and unable to find the right words to describe how they're feeling— especially to each other.

Bucky walks along the road that he remembers being the one where he saved Steve for the first time. He looks around, the moon shining brightly in the night sky.

He misses the nights where he could look up to the sky and see the vast expanse of stars hanging above him, making him feel so small and his problems basically insignificant.

So, to see that the stars are out once again (after what, seventy years of not seeing them?), he sighs, a smile making its way up to his face.

Steve walks alongside him, wondering where Bucky's mind has just gone off to because when he asked a question, he got a sigh as a reply. So, he asks again,"So... coffee?"

Steve's voice pulls Bucky out of his trance, his ears perking up and his eyes fixed on Steve's blue ones. "Hm?"

"Coffee?" Steve repeats without an ounce of impatience in his tone. He knows how Bucky gets when he finally remembers the things that matter the most to him, like where they first met, or even Steve's birthday. Maybe the memories are coming back, he thinks to himself. He prays to whoever's listening that they're good ones.

"Please," Bucky says desperately. Although having actual blood instead of a large amount of caffeine coursing through his system is refreshing, he can't help but feel the pull towards coffee. Maybe he's gotten addicted to it, who knows, but at least it's not drugs. At least it's not drugs.

Steve chuckles, nodding towards the cozy cafe on the corner of the street that seems all too familiar, but he can't place his finger on what it actually means for the both of them.

"Have we been here before?" Bucky asks, as if reading Steve's mind.

"I can't remember."

Bucky laughs lightly, patting Steve on the shoulder. "You're getting old, pal."

"You're older than I am," Steve huffs, trying to prevent a smile from tugging on his lips.

"Well, yeah, but you're older older. Like, I don't know, you're way wiser-" Bucky stops himself, as if surprised by what he's saying. "No, you're not."

"Jerk," Steve mutters under his breath, biting the inside of the cheek because fuck, I love him. He opens the door for Bucky, like the gentleman he's always been, and leads them to a table near the window.

Once they both squeeze into their seats, Bucky wonders,"Where to next?"

"We have to get the time stone back to 2012," Steve reads the set of instructions given by Banner aloud. "That'll be the time when you were still frozen."

"So... do I just relax at a hotel while you do your thing to prevent any suspicion?" Bucky offers, a smirk playing at his lips. He doesn't want to admit it, but he's tired, and extremely so.

Steve rolls his eyes, his fingers fiddling with his collar. "'Course not, you lazy ass. You're coming with me."

"I'un wanna," Bucky states as he calls a waitress over. "Two espressos, please," he tells her, smiling warmly.

The waitress blushes a little bit, before rushing to the back of the counter to brew their coffees.

"She's into you," Steve teases, feeling the tugging at his heart. He ignores it.

"I'm not into her," Bucky replies, chuckling. "Believe me, pal. I'm not into everyone I see."

"But everyone you see would definitely be into you," Steve adds, before realizing what he said. His cheeks redden.

"So you're saying that you're into me, hm?" Bucky asks, his eyebrows raised. He tries to play it cool that Steve somewhat gave him a compliment, but deep inside, his heart is going a hundred miles and hour and he might just pass out. Steve's into me?

"I never said that. But anyway," Steve pauses, biting his lip and trying to conceal the blush on his face by resting his cheek on his fist,"our coffees are here."

Steve's heart is pounding with the thought of admitting his love to Bucky. He's made jokes about them being together, of course, but the real thing? Where they both could actually get hurt if they don't work out in the end? That's almost too much.

"So... Strange, huh?" Bucky diverts the topic, sipping his drink slowly.

"Mhm," Steve merely hums, leaning back on his seat so that he doesn't seem too invested in Bucky. "You know him?"

"He's the guy who told us that you guys needed our help," Bucky recalls. "The guy with the magic hands, right?"

Steve nods. "I gotta do something first, though," he says urgently, his thoughts drifting back to Peggy and the dance that he promised her.

Bucky stares at Steve, trying to read his expression, but in the end just nods. He doesn't want to stop Steve from doing what he wants. I guess he deserves it, he thinks to himself, warming his hand with the cup of coffee in front of him because the room is suddenly cold.

"I'll be back in a bit, I promise. Just wait here, yeah?"

Bucky nods once more. This time, his gut is telling him to get the hell out of there.

"I'll be back before you know it," Steve promises, clapping Bucky's shoulder before he walks away.

"Yeah," Bucky says with a small smile. Nothing bad's gonna happen. Steve's gonna be back. "Make sure you come back, punk, or else I'm gonna go back to the future without you."