Ten in the morning snuck up on the two of them before either of them had realized it. After the initial disturbance earlier, it had been a good morning. The sticky buns had been baked, iced, and devoured, Liberty had been let outside for a while, and Bucky and Steve had sat at the kitchen table and talked for hours.
Steve took a sip of his milk, swallowing before continuing with the story he had been telling. "Even after all that," He laughed, "Stark still insisted on stopping at a sandwich joint, uh, shwarma, or something. God," He sighed, a smile tugging at his lips. "I've got to tell you Buck, I was exhausted…" One of those rare, tiny smiles ghosted across Bucky's face.
"Sorry I missed the action." He said, absently swiping a stray bit of soft, creamy icing off the edge of his plate. Steve grinned lightly.
"It wasn't all that great really. You didn't miss much."
"Just 70 years." Bucky retorted dryly. He was rewarded with a snort of laughter from Steve, who stood to his feet.
"How are you handling that by the way?" He asked, beginning to pick up their breakfast plates. "Are you catching up with things alright?" Bucky's look immediately shifted to a dead-pan glare.
"Steve!" He scoffed in disbelief. "Since I've been awake I've been locked up with Hydra, out on a few assassination mission, locked up with Fury and now locked up here! No! I'm not 'caught up.'" Steve looked at little ashamed.
"I'm sorry Buck, I didn't think a-"
"Just don't say stupid stuff okay Steve?" Bucky said, cutting off his apology. Steve shifted restlessly for a second before seizing on an idea.
"We should go some places together. I know that there's plenty I can show you, it'll be really good for you."
"Steve. Remember what I said about the stupid stuff?" Bucky asked, "You're doing it again. I'm not allowed to leave here, remember?"
"I've been working on that," Steve protested, trying to justify himself. "I just need a little more time to talk Fury around and we…" He paused mid sentence as his cell phone buzzed in his pocket. "Uh, hang on," He murmured to Bucky, holding the phone to his ear. "Hello?" He said, stepping out of the kitchen.
While Steve was taking his call, Bucky cleaned up the rest of the leftovers from breakfast, wiped the counters down and called Liberty inside. By the time Steve was done, Bucky was sitting on the living room floor, rubbing Liberty's stomach and murmuring softly to the husky pup. He looked up as Steve stepped back in, sitting up a little straighter. Something was off.
"Steve?" Bucky asked hesitantly, leaving the question unspoken. Steve buffered for a second, rubbing the back of his neck.
"That was Fury…he want me to come in…hard to tell with him, but…I don't think he was really happy." Bucky swore under his breath, standing up abruptly and dumping Liberty off his lap. The young dog gave a startled yap, and fell flat on her face.
"Dammit Steve!" Bucky snapped, flushed with anger. "What did I tell you! You should have chained me up, I told you! I told you you had to but you had to go and be a hero about it didn't you! Dammit!" He ran his fingers through his over long hair, turning away from Steve in frustration.
"Bucky," Steve said, trying to cool Bucky's temper. The other man wheeled around abruptly, teeth clenched.
"No, no just shut up Steve!" he said sharply. Obediently, Steve went silent, but looking at Bucky now, he could see the guilt in his face.
"This isn't your fault" Steve assured him quietly once Bucky looked like he might, possibly, but a little more calm.
"Of course it is!" Bucky snapped back. "You break all the rules Steve! For me! That makes it my fault. Whatever happened to no walking out past the perimeter? What happened to not letting your charge handled knifes, or have shoes! What the hell happened to 'the prisoner has to be cuffed it at night'?" Bucky spat, his face the picture of guilt and pain.
Steve couldn't stand it, not for one second more. He stepped forward and pulled Bucky into a tight hug. The other man froze, his words dying in his throat as he immediately stuffed his panic reaction. He stood there, stiff, and confused for several long moment before the iron-clad wall he had built around himself crumbled to dust. He leaned into the touch, his one arm wrapping tightly around Steve's back, fingers gripping into the material of his shirt. Steve shifted to accommodate the new position, his chin tucked into the crook of Bucky's neck, his arms drawing him closer.
"It's okay…" He murmured into Bucky's long dark hair. "It's okay, I'm gonna take care of you…I'm with you Buck…I'm right here…" Bucky clenched his teeth helplessly, clutching the back of Steve's shirt, his face pressed into his chest. He felt vulnerable. But for the first time, that didn't scare him.
Bucky was the one to finally break the embrace, and Steve wasn't surprised, there was only so much Bucky could handle at once. He stood there, head down, looking uncertain, and almost a little embarrassed. Steve reached out, gently gripping his forearm.
"I'm going to go see Fury, Buck, I'm going to tell him how well you've been doing, all the progress you've made…and don't worry, I'm sure I won't get into too much trouble." He assured him. Bucky looked up for a moment, seeing the smile on Steve's lips before dropping his eye away again.
"You'd better not…" He muttered.
"You gonna be okay here while I'm gone?" Steve asked.
"I'll stay out of trouble." Bucky said softly and Steve gave him a warm smile. He clapped Bucky's shoulder affectionately.
"Good, I'll be back. Dinner time for sure okay?" Bucky nodded his agreement, walking with Steve to the door and watching him get in his car, and drive away.