Readjusting to domestic life was proving to be more difficult than James Barnes had previously imagined. Three weeks had passed and Steve was still their only source of income, struggling to pay their 60 dollar a month rent on his own earning minimum wage in a factory; and this was not the America Barnes had left to fight for. Woman were occupying most of their jobs, so now the in pour of war veterans was pushing thousands of widowed mothers out of their positions as well as migrant workers, the country's economic boom faltering significantly. There was a lot to celebrate with the winning of the war, but nothing about the change coming their way was going to be easy. Bucky knew he had to find a job somehow and he had to find one fast, Steve wasn't going to be able to support them forever, especially not as frail as he was. Luckily for them the government had passed the GI Bill, giving him one years' worth of unemployment compensation and 20 dollars a week for 52 weeks to get an education. Bucky planned on using this to help him get through the police academy and training, because not only was he good at taking orders and already trained as a soldier but no women were occupying those sort of jobs; he didn't have to feel like he was pushing somebody's mother out onto the streets.
On the morning that Buck had left to seek admission into the police academy, Steve awoke in bed alone to a note. He stretched his skinny arms and rubbed his eyes, rolling over to pick up the piece of paper on Buck's side of the bed with a sigh. It read:
Steve,
I will be heading out to secure myself a place with the NYPD using some of our GI funds and I won't be home for a few hours. I'm gonna do right by you as soon as I'm able, you won't have to work so hard anymore. It's killing you. There is food in the fridge already made if you don't feel like cooking. See you when I get home.
-Bucky
Steve crumbled the note up and tossed it into the waste basket, getting up and walking to the kitchen. He was curious to know what James's version of cooked food was considering he didn't know how and they had been running awfully low on groceries. It was hard to mess up breakfast in the 1940's, grocery stores and restaurants alike were being rationed to help the military, and there wasn't too much variety anymore. However, Bucky was Bucky…there was no telling what he'd made. A small smile stretched across Steve's lips as he peered inside the refrigerator. He loved his little idiot. Inside the fridge on a little white plate lay a muffin with an egg cooked over top of it, as if he had tried to make an egg and cheese biscuit but didn't know how.
"Oh Buck…" He whispered to himself, closing the door back and rummaging around in their cabinets. It appeared as if his boyfriend's little creation was just about the only thing in the entire apartment to eat, so he grabbed his coat and put on his suspenders, brushing his hair out quickly before heading out to the store. He only had to walk a few blocks, they lived right around the corner from a small market in Brooklyn titled Safeway, which had opened up not too long ago on 16th Street. He pulled the shopping list for the week from out his pocket and gave it a once over as he acquired a buggy and headed down the first aisle he came too. They needed orange juice, cereal, bread, eggs, noodles, milk, various canned items and some red meat. It would have been nice to buy chicken, but ever since the war had started chicken was near impossible to get due to government regulations that still had not been lifted.
Steve was walking through the produce aisle when it happened. He caught a whiff of some onions sitting out on display and while normally it wasn't a smell that bothered him there was something about it in that moment that made him gag violently. He cupped a small hand over his mouth and wheeled his buggy far enough away that he couldn't smell the vegetable anymore, though it did him little good. The gag had turned into a dry heave, which was an easy Segway to a coughing fit. Once he started he couldn't stop, fiddling around in his pants pockets for his inhaler. Unfortunately for Steve, he'd left the house in such a hurry that he hadn't thought to bring it with him. Bucky was going to kill him if the asthma didn't first. A cashier who happened to walk by at the time stopped and looked at him, furrowing his eyebrows in concern.
"You alright, sir?" Rogers had always been a fighter, he wasn't one to curl up and allow a disease to beat him down and he wasn't about to now.
"I-I'm fine." He choked out, though the constricting pain in his chest said otherwise. It was becoming harder and harder for Steve to breathe, and with his heart functioning the way it was it was only a matter of time before his angina flared up. If that happened he ran a risk of having a heart attack and he knew it, though he didn't wish to alarm the clerk. However, his asthma seemed to have other plans as his vision began to fade to grey and his legs go weak. He was about to pass out from lack of oxygen.
"Is there anyone I can call?" Gasping out the digits for the police department and the last name Barnes were the last things Steve remembered before he completely lost consciousness. Bucky arrived as quickly as he possibly could, scooping Steve into his arms and picking him up bridal style despite the uncomfortable stares from passersby as he rushed him down the street. Steve went in and out of consciousness for a little bit, feeling the warmth of Bucky wrapped protectively around him; it made him feel safe. Bucky practically kicked the door to their apartment down and laid Steve very delicately on the couch. Once he retrieved his inhaler, Bucky very gently pushed Steve's lips open and held the device there.
"C'mon Stevie, I need you to wake up and give me a nice deep breath okay?" Steve's baby blue eyes fluttered open, inhaling as deep as he could under the circumstances as Bucky ran his fingers through Steve's hair and kissed his forehead. Steve took a few more puffs of inhaler and his labored breath slowly returned to normal, Bucky's face visibly relaxing as he sighed in relief.
"I don't think I like onions anymore." Steve whimpered out with a weak smile and a laugh, though Bucky didn't reciprocate. An almost hurt expression was plastered all over his face, mostly because he had been so terrified that Steve wouldn't wake back up and here he was pretending like nothing important had happened.
"How many times do I have to tell you not to leave home without your medication? Steven you could have died!" Steve reached out to gently grab for Bucky's hand and gave it a squeeze.
"Stop it, I'm fine." Bucky's blue eyes softened and he curled up beside his partner, sighing in resignation, though he was going to make him recount the experience so he could hopefully prevent it from ever happening again.
"What set you off? Did you over do it? You should have waited for me, you push yourself too hard." Steve shook his head.
"No, it wasn't that. Something inside of me just wasn't liking onions today…I caught the scent and I just couldn't shake it. I thought I was going to throw up and the next thing I knew I was having an asthma attack." Typical Steve…couldn't go anywhere without nearly killing himself, it was a wonder he had ever survived without Buck. Bucky leaned in and pressed a tender kiss to the smaller man's lips.
"I'm going with you next time, okay? In the meantime stop sniffing produce you weirdo." He teased, earning a roll of the eyes from Steve. Bucky wanted Steve to eat something, but damn it thanks to this little episode they still didn't have any food, and Bucky didn't want to leave Steve alone long enough to buy groceries. He got up, despite a whine of protest from Steve and walked to the fridge, a sheepish smile creeping onto his face as he brings his boyfriend the only thing left to eat. Steve couldn't help but laugh at the little plate with the egg muffin as Bucky knelt down before him and presented it as if it were his lifeline.
"You're cute." Steve laughed, though Bucky's face had a certain seriousness to it. He pulled off a piece of the muffin and gestured for Steve to open his mouth.
"C'mon, pal. You need to have something in your stomach. I'll give my good friend Gabe a call and see if he'll pick up some stuff at the store for us, alright? We served together in the 107th Infantry, he was part of my combat unit. In the mean time you're going to have to eat my sorry excuse for breakfast." Steve chuckled and shook his head as he chewed what Bucky had put in his mouth.
"It's actually not that bad." Bucky kissed him once more, his tongue gently flicking against Steve's lips in seek of entrance. Steve eagerly granted it, his fingers threading into Bucky's hair, which was getting a little long. He tugged on it, laughing gently to himself as he did so.
"I think I need to cut your hair." Buck smirked, pressing his lips softly to the crook of Steve's neck.
"Really? Because I think you kinda like it." Steve sat up so that Bucky could sit down with him and the soldier wrapped his arms around him. Bucky looked like he was lost in thought, a contemplative and almost solemn expression crossing his face suddenly. Steve nuzzled into his friends embrace and sighed, watching him for a few moments before speaking.
"What's wrong?" Barnes almost didn't want to answer because he wasn't sure how Steve would react, but this little episode today had only solidified what he had been worrying about this morning. Steve worked too hard, pushed himself too hard. It wasn't good for a man in his condition. His arms tightened around Rogers, a heavy sigh escaping his lips as he replied.
"Once I start on the police force I think you should quit your job at the factory." Steve should have seen this coming, but honestly he thought he'd been doing a fine job providing while Bucky was away and he'd only had a couple of issues with his laundry list of health problems.
"I'm not a child, Bucky. I can work. I've been fine all this time on my own." James shook his head at him and ran his fingers through his hair.
"Yeah, but you aren't on your own anymore you have me. If you don't mind, I'd like to keep you around a good long time, Stevie…seems like you get sicker every time I turn around." Steve was quiet for a moment too long and James knew immediately that he'd lost.
"You aren't even gonna consider it are you?"
"Nope." Bucky didn't have it in him to be angry. He'd known Steve almost all his life, he knew he wasn't the type to just roll over when things got rough. His Stevie was a fighter. Always had been always would be. He would have made a wonderful soldier if that dream had become a reality.
"Just promise me that if anything serious happens you'll know when to quit, okay? I don't want you killing yourself because you think you owe it to me to keep up your end of the rent. I love you, Steve. I'm more than happy to take care of you." Steve shot Bucky a sweet smile and kissed the side of his face.
"Love you too Buck." They were both quiet for several moments, cuddling on the couch with one another as the morning settled in around them and the time grew towards noon. They could have stayed like that forever, just the two of them. However, in the silence a single sound rang out loud and clear; the sound of Steve's tummy growling could probably be heard by neighbors as far as a mile out. Bucky laughed.
"You gonna call that friend?"
"Yeah you aren't eating that muffin are you?"
"No offense Buck…but there's no way in hell."
