There's a soft light coming from the Avenger's dining area. As Steve approaches, he can see Bucky sitting there, a laptop open in front of him. Bucky's form is leaned over, his face on the table and his eyes shut. Steve smiles for a moment — Bucky actually looks peaceful for once.
It's sad that it's a rare sight.
Steve goes to shut the laptop, but Bucky's hand shoots up, stopping him. His eyes are still closed.
"Hey, Steve," Bucky says, slowly opening his eyes.
"You should go to bed," Steve says, smiling at him. Bucky looks downright exhausted. There's bags under his eyes and lines littering his face.
"Thanks, Mom," Bucky replies. "I was catching up on modern day things," he explains, gesturing towards the laptop.
Steve raises his eyebrows. He continues to forget that he's not the only Avenger who will see something like a drone and be utterly perplexed.
"Did you know gay marriage is legal now?" Bucky continues.
Steve pauses. He's become good, over the years, at picking his words carefully. It's obvious to Steve that Bucky's trying get something out of him — he's staring up at Steve, his eyes reading deep into Steve's face — but… what? Why?
"I did," Steve says simply.
He still remembers when it was legalised across America; Tony kissed him out of nowhere "Because I can now, Steve". Steve nearly had a heart attack because he was pretty sure that someone was going to jump out and make fun of them, because Tony would totally just humiliate him like that but no one did.
And Tony explained that two people of the same gender being together isn't really a thing people care about anymore. Not like they cared about it when Steve was younger.
And honestly? Steve loves that.
"I mean, two men together?" Bucky says, a small laugh escaping his lips. "That's pretty crazy."
Bucky straightens up now, giving Steve his full attention. He runs his good hand through his hair. There's something in his eyes that Steve can't really detect. Nervousness, maybe? No, Bucky doesn't get nervous. Especially around Steve.
"I don't think that's crazy at all," Steve says. There's nothing like the truth, really, when you come down to it. "I think it's great."
"Are you gay, Steve?" Bucky asks. His expression changes for a fraction of a second — Steve sees something that's almost hope — but he falls into a blank stare.
And that's a hard question.
Is Steve gay? He's thought about it before, sure. And he's liked guys. Is he gay though? That's a hard question because Steve definitely likes girls, too. He knows that bisexuality exists — Tony won't stop flaunting it — but he's not entirely sure he fits that label.
"I'll love anyone who loves me back, Buck," he finally decides on. It's true. Steve's fine with dating whatever gender, just as long they genuinely love him back.
At this, Bucky's face seems to relax. His whole body seems to relax, actually. He smiles lazily and leans back down onto the table.
"Love you, too, Steve," he says, shutting his eyes. "I love you, too."
Bucky's words don't fully hit Steve until Bucky's breathing turns even.
They touch his heart, though. The simple works make flowers bloom in his chest, spreading out.
"I love you, too."