Yes, the description of the house is supposed to match the one from the dance scene at the end of Endgame. Which, by the way, is a real house in Atlanta, but I'm pretending is located in upstate New York.

Chapter 9: Moving in and Moving Forward

They expected the majority of their wedding gifts to be household objects of some sort, so they waited to open them until after they officially moved in to their new home. In the months leading up to the wedding, Steve had gone job hunting at hospitals around the team's practice facility, and Bucky had gone house hunting. They'd found a quaint yellow house in the suburbs between Albany and NYC that they could afford, mostly thanks to Bucky's sponsorship with Under Armour and the Olympic medal payoff that he'd saved. It was about a two-hour drive down to the city, but less than half an hour from both their jobs, and they liked the room to breathe that the suburbs offered. Everything about it was perfect for them, and Bucky's only complaint was the drywall damage in the living room. Three parallel score lines ran deep into the wall in a place where no decoration would naturally cover it. However, neither of them knew how to fix it, so they let it be for now. They had more important things to do while moving in than worry about some scratches in the wall. Within three days after the wedding, they considered themselves officially moved in. The walls remained bare, but all the furniture they had was in place, and they finally didn't have their parents or friends crawling around the place helping out.

"Which one do you want to start with?" Bucky asked. They stood before the massive stack of boxes behind the living room sofa.

"How about we just go top to bottom," Steve suggested. He didn't feel like moving boxes around any more than he had to after spending days doing nothing but.

"Sounds good to me." Bucky grabbed two boxes tied together with a ribbon from the top of the stack, from the Weavers.

"I can't believe Parker's parents insisted on their own gift instead of doing one with him. Our friends and their families are too nice."

"Maybe Parker refused to go halfsies with them."

"I guess that's possible. Before you open it, let me grab a notebook so I can write down who got us what." That trick had been instilled in him by his mother, and he didn't want to run the risk of forgetting which gift came from whom. Bucky tore open the wrapping to reveal a medium-sized sewing kit and a toolbox.

"Sweet! This'll be perfect for fixing up new shirts. And for putting the buttons back on your pants when you rip them off."

"I don't rip them off. Sometimes they just fall off."

"Most people just get new pants when theirs start falling apart."

"Why would I do that if it's just the button? That's a waste of pants. Do you replace yours when the button falls off?"

"Mine never fall off. They're just decorative."

"That's right. Magnetic pants."

"Yep. Magnetic pants."

The next package contained an impressive collection of books from Bruce, including a cookbook specifically for athletes, two war novels not already in Steve's collection, one on the global history of soccer, and the memoir of the comedian and amputee soccer player from whose videos Bucky first learned about the sport. Out of all of them, Steve could tell that excited Bucky the most. He followed the man on social media—and the day he started following Amputeam was the day Bucky nearly blew out Steve's eardrum over the phone—but he hadn't gotten around to reading his book yet.

Steve opened the next two: a stationery set from his mother and an antique wooden clock from his father. Well, they were both signed, "Love, Mom and Dad," but Steve could tell who had picked out which. "We can use this to write all our thank-you notes," he said of the stationery. It matched their wedding invitations incredibly well, with a purple border decorated with golden leaves. They already knew the contents of the gift from Bucky's parents; they'd told them beforehand so they didn't buy double when shopping for the house. Still, Steve couldn't wait to put the kitchen set to good use.

From the Rambeaus, they opened a beautiful sign for their front door instructing visitors to take off their shoes and wash their hands upon entry, and to come back another time if they'd recently been sick or near someone sick. Steve's apartment door growing up had borne a nearly identical one, though much simpler in design, and he presumed the Rambeau residence likely had one also. This one was not only informative, but decorative. It even came with suction cups to mount it to the glass panel in their front door, so Steve went ahead and stuck it there.

While he did that, Bucky opened the one from Steve Danvers. He literally whooped with excitement when he saw whatever it was, so Steve whipped around to see what all the fuss was about. He'd gotten them their very own set of Catan, plus an expansion pack.

"I guess we'll finally have to learn the special two-player rules," Steve remarked.

"I guess so. You're going down."

"We've got a lot more to do before we can sit down and play a game."

Bucky reached for the next box and unwrapped a solid-colored towel set from Nick. Steve ran a hand over them an immediately grew excited for his next shower. "They're so soft!"

"I want to sleep under this like it's a blanket."

"I won't stop you."

They stowed the towels on the shelves in the master bathroom and playfully argued for five minutes over who got to take a shower and use one first. Bucky won because he always showered faster. Next, they opened a bunch of congratulations cards from other guests, many of which contained generous checks. Steve's favorite was the one from the Langs, signed by Bob, Hope, Cassie, and Scott. His signature had been stamped on, and Bob wrote in the card about how he had the stamp custom made based on his handwriting.

The Bartons evidently learned from Mr. Lang, because the card accompanying their gift also bore Clint's signature. Steve recognized it from the hand turkey collage he'd made for Bucky before his surgery. They also explained that the gift, a cornhole set, had been a favorite game of his, second only to archery and darts.

"This place has a great yard space for us to play with this," Bucky said.

"Yeah." Both the front and back yards were fairly sizeable, but then again, having lived in an apartment nearly his whole life, he didn't really have an accurate gauge for a big versus small yard. He barely remembered the house in New Jersey where he'd spent the first five years of his life, but based on the pictures that yard might've been bigger. But it didn't really matter.

Bucky decided to go for Tony's gift next; a sleek and vast collection of grilling utensils. "He knows we don't have a grill, right?"

Steve, knowing Tony of all people would pull a stunt like this, delved deeper into the box until he found the card. In the same envelope was a picture of a state-of-the-art grill, and the card explained it would be delivered next week. As Bucky read the note, his eyes went wide.

"That little shit," Steve said with a shake of his head. "He's too nice to us."

"I don't think he has any concept of what people's budgets are for wedding gifts. Or anything, for that matter."

"Probably true."

"This note also says he's more than willing to man the grill at the next shindig we host."

"I'm more than willing to let him. I've never grilled anything before."

"Me neither."

To further increase the potential of them hosting a backyard party, Bucky's team got them a sleek cooler for drinks. Jim, Timmy, and Gabe got a collapsible soccer net to put up outside, plus a custom purple and gold ball. They also included a drawing desk for Steve. They'd have to put it together themselves, but Steve was already fantasizing about sketching at it in the evenings. He already knew the perfect spot to set it up, against the front wall of the living room, just to the right of the window that looked out over the porch.

"We have the best friends," Bucky said. He'd already ripped the ball from its packaging and was air dribbling it.

"No soccer inside," Steve warned.

Bucky stopped. "You're no fun."

"What if you knock over a box and something breaks?"

"Yeah, you're right."

Lucky he didn't hit any boxes, because Wanda's gift contained a beautiful purple and gold vase, in addition to a wooden panel with little hooks for keys and things they could stick by the front door. The vase Steve placed on the coffee table, and just to be safe he opened the back door and threw Bucky's ball into the yard. Bucky teased him for his poor technique.

They were down to the last three boxes, all on the smaller side. "Which do you want to save for last?" Bucky asked.

"Dr. Lee's," Steve replied. He still couldn't believe the man had accepted their invitation.

"How much you wanna bet Parker's is going to make you cry?"

"I'm not taking that bet."

It didn't actually bring tears to his eyes, but it sure came close. Parker had picked a bunch of pictures and set the massive compilation in a frame bearing the name, "Avengers."

"I remember this," Bucky said warmly, pointing to a selfie of him, Parker, and Carol in the Gravesen common room. Steve could tell by the angle of the shot that he'd taken it with his now-nonexistent arm. God, so much had changed since that photo. Steve found it impossible not to focus on those differences. Bucky's bald head, Parker's NG-tube and horribly prominent cheekbones, and Carol…but despite all that, the trio was undeniably happy, smiling so broadly that the skin around their eyes crinkled up. Steve could've stared at that picture forever, but he forced himself to move on. Parker must have reached out to other people for photos, because the next depicted Clint and his friend Kate, bows drawn and gazes impressively focused. Steve couldn't decide where to look next. Wanda and Pietra in what looked like a bat mitzvah picture, to Steve's limited knowledge. Bruce and Thor (with Valkyrie by his side, and a hand from an off-camera person who must've been Loki giving him bunny ears) with the jagged mountains of Norway rising behind them. A young Monica and Carol, the former dressed as a pilot and the latter as some musician Steve didn't know. Natasha and Nick side by side in a boxing gym, arms around each other like family. Tony and Parker on a beach with the most magnificent sandcastle he'd ever seen. A younger version of himself, picture book in hand, with Clint tucked up into his left side and Scott on his right. At the center sat a picture of the ten of them at Bucky's Farwell to Arms party at Gravesen.

Steve officially would've lost the bet had he taken it. But it was only one tear. Or maybe two or three.

"Wow," Bucky stated. "He gets two thank-you notes. Or more. All the thank-you notes."

"Yeah."

Steve thought nothing could top this, but Nat certainly matched it. They unwrapped a blanket that must have been hand-knit. It was purple with a white circle in the middle containing their intertwined purple and gold ribbons symbol. Across the top edge of the circle ran the initials SGR, and across the bottom JBB.

"She gave us a coat of arms," Steve remarked.

"She did."

Steve folded it nearly and draped it over the back of the sofa beside Carol's American flag blanket. The last package, shaped vaguely like Parker's but much smaller, sat alone on the floor. They opened it together and revealed one of Steve's new favorite things in the world. Dr. Lee had made them a miniature gauntlet, just their names. Only instead of "self" and "Thanatos," the columns also read "Steve and "Bucky." And all six of their aspects belonged to each other. Steve threw his arm around Bucky and they just sat there, staring at it and soaking up this togetherness. He could think of no one he'd rather devote his power, his space, his reality, his time, his mind, and his soul to than this man right beside him.

~0~

Over the course of the next day, their house became a home. They put the cornhole set in the shed and set up the goal at one end of the yard, assembled the desk in the living room, and stocked the kitchen drawers and cabinets. The sewing kit, toolbox, and Catan they stuck in the hall closet, and the books Steve organized in the living room bookcase alongside the ones they already owned. Steve hung the clock on the wall beside the doorway to the kitchen, and the hooks beside the front door. Bucky hung up the lanyard where he kept his keys and wallet—easier for him than fishing things out of his pockets—and Steve put his keys and his favorite cap beside them.

They chose the hallway as the site for all their wall decorations, since it was just about the only place with room other than their bedroom or the basement. It took two hours to decide on and finalize a layout they liked. Parker's framed Avengers photos they placed directly opposite the basement door, and on either side of it shadowboxes containing Bucky's gold medal and a copy of his Sports Illustrated issue. He tried to argue against putting those up in a public part of the house, but Steve talked him around. Immediately to the left of the back door, they hung the mini gauntlet, or, as Bucky called it, "the Gauntlet of Love."

Once it was finished, they sat down against the wall to marvel at their handiwork.

"It needs more you," Bucky said, dropping his head onto Steve's shoulder.

"What do you mean?"

"We've got two of my things displayed. Nothing of yours."

"My things aren't as cool as yours. What, do you want me to frame my college degree or some shit?"

"No, but I want something of yours in this hallway. Maybe a drawing or something."

"Okay. I'll think about it. But for now, I'm tired of hanging things on walls."

"Okay."

~0~

As promised, Tony's grill was delivered a week later and he helped them install it. Steve and Bucky gave him the full tour of the house, and he spent a very long time focused on the picture frame from Parker. Steve had a feeling all of their friends' gazes would linger there when they came to visit. Within that frame was the only place they'd ever be all together.

They gradually worked through the massive stack of thank-you notes they needed to write, switching off who physically wrote the message to avoid hand cramps. With the notes to their parents, they included a framed picture from the wedding. The decision not to travel for their honeymoon hadn't been all that difficult; between Steve's health and their budget neither of them wanted the stress of planning and executing a big trip. Instead, they spent the first weeks settling beautifully into their new routine.

They woke up together at six fifteen—a much easier ask for Steve than for Bucky—and went for a run or worked out in the basement. It took a while, but they learned the sidewalks around their neighborhood and developed set routes that they liked. And after two weeks, Bucky stopped getting stared at by their neighbors. Two doors down lived a nice man named Mr. Hodge who invited them onto his deck for happy hour one evening their first weekend here. Once they finished their workout, Steve showered while Bucky made breakfast and they ate at the kitchen table with the morning news on the TV in the living room. Depending on how much he sweat during the run, Steve drank either Gatorade or orange juice in the mornings, sprinkled with his maintenance dose of laxatives. Bucky generally stuck to water, but on mornings when waking up had been particularly difficult he went for the coffee machine.

Steve took the car, inherited from Bucky's parents when they bought a new one, to work, and Josiah picked up Bucky half an hour later to go to soccer together. His first few weeks in this new hospital, Steve was positively terrified. He didn't know the staff and the layout here like he did back at Gravesen, but fortunately his colleagues were all incredible people and offered him all the support he could ever need. The kids he worked with really responded to him, and every single day reminded Steve why he chose this field of work in the first place.

Steve got home before Bucky every day but Wednesday. Wednesdays he worked a little later and drove by the facility on his way home to pick up Bucky. With his superior cooking skills, he was put in charge of dinner most nights. Bucky showered upon returning from practice and then set the table. They made good use of Bruce's cookbook, making recipes from it at least three days a week. Steve made sure to text Bruce about it when a meal came out particularly wonderful.

After dinner, Steve took his evening meds and they washed dishes, packed lunch to bring to work the next day, and cleaned up the kitchen before settling in the living room for the night. Sometimes they'd just watch the news, sometimes Bucky would watch some sports game or other while Steve read a book or drew at his desk. Other times they'd just talk to each other about their day or the latest exploits of their friends. There was a lot to talk about with so many successful people in their circle. Before bed, Steve did his daily sinus rinse—which stopped grossing Bucky out after the fifth or sixth time he witnessed it—in addition to brushing his teeth and shaving if necessary. Bucky could get away with only shaving once a week, sometimes every other week if he decided he was in the mood for a "rugged week," but Steve had to stick to every other day or else the itching drove him crazy.

On week nights they aimed for going to bed by ten thirty, and repeated the cycle the next day. Saturdays they slept in a bit, but still exercised in the morning. They stocked the basement with every piece of workout equipment they'd already owned, and were gradually growing the collection as their needs evolved. Errands they always ran together, because Bucky felt bad making Steve go alone and vice versa. "Three hands are better than two…and certainly better than one," they liked to say. He even insisted on helping Steve refill his pill case every other weekend. And on Sunday mornings, instead of exercising, they deep cleaned the house, a necessary routine with someone as immunocompromised as Steve living there.

Steve fell more in love every time he discovered a new quirk or habit of Bucky's. Apparently in the Barnes family, bread belonged in the fridge. On several occasions Steve thought they forgot to buy it when he couldn't find it on the counter, only for Bucky to shout at him to check the drawer in the fridge. He used no closet space whatsoever, since his shirts didn't fit on hangers, so Steve gave him two of his drawers in the dresser in exchange for taking over his half of the closet. The only one that bothered him was Bucky's tendency to take off his shoes and leave them in the middle of the mat before the front door instead of pushing them off to the side. But tripping over shoes was a small hardship compared to the joyful leap his heart made every time he heard Bucky come home.