It really was a great deal, considering how nice the building was compared to the ones around it. Of course it helped that the landlord's wife used to sit them when they were kids. Bucky was ecstatic to finally have his own place of sorts, even if it was just a block and a half down the street from family. Steve was just glad to be in the same neighbourhood. His parents might have been gone, but Brooklyn was always going to be home.
When they move in, there isn't really much to unpack- just their clothes, some books and blankets for the old creaky mattress in the one bedroom. No one had questioned their getting a one bedroom apartment- it obviously hadn't occurred to them that there would be only one bed in there. They have an old couch in the living room area, alongside an armchair that smells vaguely of stale cigarette smoke and mothballs. The coffee table is dinged up and missing a leg. They don't have dishes or cutlery for the small kitchen as of yet. The place looks pretty empty, as a matter of fact.
Okay, so it ain't the Ritz- but it's nice, it's clean, it's definitely not cramped- and it's actually affordable. The bonus, according to Bucky, is that they're on the top floor but don't have any downstairs neighbours. And their bedroom walls don't border on the apartment next door. Which means there's way less chance of people hearing something they shouldn't.
So here they are, standing in their apartment, surrounded by a grand total of seven boxes and a bunch of greyish green walls with no pictures on them. Steve is rapidly beginning to formulate ways of fixing that, when Bucky grabs him by the hand and pulls him onto the floor, leaning back on his elbows and grinning as Steve finds a place with his head in Bucky's lap. In the late afternoon silence they can hear only each other's breathing, and the ever-present urge Steve has to kiss Bucky wells up inside his chest, making his heart skip a beat (or two) when he thinks of how he can when he's here. This is their home. This is a safe place.
"D'you ever just suddenly realise how lucky you are?" Bucky says quietly, and Steve can practically feel the warmth of a smile radiating off of him. "I mean, I am just so incredibly lucky. God knows I didn't do anything to earn this. It's dumb luck, and I've apparently got loads of it." He continues, rambling slightly as one hand absentmindedly runs through Steve's soft hair, over and over, like a slow tide or a warm breeze.
"Yeah," Steve nods a while later, after nearly being lulled to sleep. "I still can't believe it either- who'd have thought we'd ever be able to afford a place like this?"
There's a split second of dead silence before Bucky explodes into a fit of laughter, rolling out from under Steve and doubling over as he starts to wheeze. Steve just sits up and stares at him, rather confused and mildly concerned when Bucky's face begins to turn an unnatural shade of red.
"What's so funny?" He glares when he's convinced that his best friend isn't in immediate danger of giggling himself into an early grave.
"You. Oh my God Steve, I was talking about you." Bucky manages between his hysterical gasps for breath. "You actually thought I was talking about the deal we got on this place- priceless!" He sways forward, pulling Steve's face close and kissing him for all he's worth.
"Wait, you- what?" Steve stutters, bewildered to say the least.
"I'm lucky to have you, kid. Doesn't matter where I am. I don't give a shit where I am. If I'm with you, then I'd put money on being the luckiest guy alive."
Steve nods slowly, taking the words in and turning them over, looking at them from every angle and finding that they're about the best words he's ever heard. He rolls his eyes when Bucky laughs at him again.
"I knew that." He finally says.
"Seriously? We've been together how long, and when I say I feel lucky, you think I'm talking about the damn deal we got on the apartment? That's never gonna get old." Bucky chuckles, standing and grabbing a box labelled 'linens'. Steve listens to the footsteps as they carry into the other room, his lips still buzzing from the kiss they just shared. Kissing Bucky is never going to get old, he realises.
"Hey Stevie, you wanna break in the mattress?" Bucky calls, poking his head around the corner. Steve grins, gets to his feet, and follows Bucky` deeper into their home. Their safe place.