Chapter Text
It's been a few months since Bucky first met Steve, but the swirling in his chest that seemed to reward him whenever he was close to the other boy had yet to fade. So, anyone can hardly blame him for practically sprinting down the stairs as soon as he heard the sound of knocking on the front door.
“Steve!!” He cries as he flings it open, smiling so wide that his cheeks hurt.
“Hi, Bucky,” Steve waves, exchanging a great, big smile of his own.
“C’mon in, pal!” Bucky beckons and Steve happily obliges. The brunet shuts the door behind him and follows him into the living room. “Ya just missed my mom and sisters. They’re gonna be gone for a few hours, I think.”
“What d’ya say they were doin’ again?” Steve asks as he begins to remove the layers upon layers of jackets and the scarf he uses to fight off the colder weather.
He hangs them all up on the coat rack by the door, save for the final one. The jacket is unassuming—a plain, light gray. It’s a bit too big on Steve, but outside of that, there’s nothing worth noting about it. Bucky, however, knows better. Sewn inside the garment’s lining, hides Steve’s selkie coat. It had been Miss Sarah’s idea, hoping to keep it safe from prying eyes and so that people like Jimmy Nelson wouldn’t try to steal it again. Thankfully, after Bucky’s father went to speak with Jimmy’s parents, that blockhead hasn’t bothered Steve or Bucky since.
“They’re goin’ over to play at my cousin’s place,” Bucky answers Steve.
“And you’re sure you didn’t wanna go with ‘em?”
“Course I am! I’m tired of playin’ with nobody but girls all the time. And I’d much rather play with you.”
Steve giggles. “If ya say so, Buck.”
At the sound of the nickname, Bucky feels his cheeks grow warm and he quickly turns away to hide it. No one, save for Steve, has ever called him ‘Buck’ before. He isn’t sure why Steve decided to start calling him that exactly, just that it began a week or so ago after they had finished reading an issue of ‘Buck Rogers’ together. Along with the blushing, it always makes him feel a little funny, mainly in his chest and tummy. It’s not a bad feeling per se, but he still tries his best to keep it at least somewhat under control.
“Anyway,” he begins. “What d’ya wanna do today, pal?”
Steve thinks for a moment before he seems to settle on an idea. “We could play some games?”
Bucky nods. “Sure! Maybe some cards?”
Steve smirks. “Only if you’re ready to lose again, Barnes.”
“Oh, as if! You only won last time ‘cause ya got lucky!”
“Wanna bet?”
“Maybe I do! Loser has to…do whatever the other says for a whole month!”
“Deal!”
The two boys quickly settle down to play after that. At first, they’re both all in on the game but, after a couple of rounds, Bucky notices that Steve begins to occasionally flex his fingers. He doesn’t pay too much attention to the action for a little while, but when the other boy keeps doing it and his expression begins to shift, showing that he’s uncomfortable, Bucky quickly stops what he’s doing.
See, Steve Rogers is no stranger to pain. Bucky figured that out pretty quick after they first met, because, as it turns out, it isn’t just Jimmy Nelson that messes with him. It’s every bully that can get their hands on him. Thankfully, none of them seem to have any interest in his coat. Instead, it’s because he’s smaller than other kids his age, so they see him as an easier target. And then when they find out that his ma is an immigrant and that Steve is actually a pretty sickly kid, the meanest of them descend upon him like sharks smelling blood in the water.
Therefore, Steve gets into fights. A lot of fights. Thankfully, ever since they met, the two boys have practically become joined at the hip, so Bucky is almost always right there to help Steve out of any jam he gets himself into or any assault that may come his way. It makes his parents and Miss Sarah proud, even if his mother does scold him for coming home with blood on his clothes so often nowadays.
Nevertheless, despite how often Bucky is there to help him, Steve is still in pain for a good majority of the time. Because of this, Steve handles pretty much any discomfort he experiences much more expertly than any seven year old has any right to and hides it all behind a brave face. Heck, if Bucky hadn’t known him, he wouldn’t even be able to tell he was hurting at all. So the fact that Steve is openly showing how uncomfortable he is makes all the alarm bells in Bucky’s head sound off at once.
“What’s wrong, Steve?” He asks.
“’S my skin,” the blond answers, flexing his fingers once more. “Feels all tight...”
Bucky quickly frowns, his worry feeling like a heavy stone sinking in water. “You’re not gettin’ sick, are ya? Or is it ‘cause of the dry air?”
Steve shakes his head. “Nah. It just happens when I don’t change into a seal after a while.”
“Oh,” Bucky says, relief quickly washing over him. “Well, why don’tcha change then? Doesn’t bother me at all!”
“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, Buck, but it’s not like I have a place to change,” Steve deadpans. “I need water, remember?”
Bucky immediately slumps. “Oh, yeah...”
For a second, Bucky almost contemplates filling up the tub upstairs and letting Steve change in there. He quickly abandons that idea, however, when he thinks of his mother’s reaction. She’d yell the whole brownstone down for sure. That and she probably wouldn’t let Steve visit anymore. It had taken a little while, but the uncomfortable silences and unease from when Steve and Bucky had first met had finally since passed. Sure, every now and then Bucky will still catch his mother watching them with a strange expression that he cannot place, but she finally seems to at least trust Steve. There’s no way Bucky’s gonna risk all of that progress.
Just then, a new and even better idea strikes Bucky. “Hey!” He begins, “What if we went to Coney Island?”
Steve tilts his head in confusion. “Coney Island?”
“Yeah! You’ve been, haven’t ya?”
“Well, yeah. A few times.”
“Well, ya remember the beach? We go there, you change into a seal, and then you’ll have loads of space to swim around so your skin doesn’t feel all weird anymore!”
Steve frowns, a crease forming in between his eyebrows. “Bucky, that’s a terrible idea.”
“’S a perfect idea!”
“The only time I’ve been there to change was with my ma. And we only went when it was dark out. What if we go out and someone sees?”
“No one’s gonna see!”
“You don’t know that.”
“Sure, I do! We can find some spot where no one’s at! Plus, it’s cold out. No one in their right mind is gonna be swimmin’ anyhow.”
Steve’s frown doesn’t fade. If anything, it seems to get bigger. “You’re not just doin’ this to get outta our bet, are ya?”
“I will neither confirm nor deny.”
At that, Steve heaves a big ol sigh. “Fine. We can go,” he relents before quickly adding, “But just for a bit!”
“Yes!” Bucky cheers, jumping up form his spot on the floor. “C’mon! Let’s go!”
After putting away their cards and getting their jackets, the two boys hop on the trolley and begin to make their way to Coney Island. Bucky, for one, is absolutely giddy with excitement. He can tell Steve is still nervous about their plan, but he’s certain that will go away once he sees that he’s right about no one wanting to hang out on the beach in this weather. Besides, Coney Island has always been one of Bucky’s favorite places to be. His parents try to take him and his sisters there at least once a year and it’s always a blast. Suddenly, Bucky wonders if maybe, next year, they can bring Steve along, too.
Before he knows it, they reach their stop. After paying their fare, he and Steve make the rest of the way towards the beach. When they finally arrive, the brunet looks around and smiles. Just as he suspected, there is no one. It’s almost as if the rest of the world has turned a blind eye to the beach, allowing him and Steve to carve out their own little piece of it—just for the two of them. The thought of it makes that funny feeling from before return and Bucky quickly tries to school his features, walking ahead of Steve. When he makes it to the edge of the water, he turns back to the other boy with his arms stretched out wide.
“What’d I tell ya, huh? No one here to see!”
Steve peeks past his scarf and looks around apprehensively, as if he’s certain someone is hiding just beyond their sight. Bucky frowns and walks up to his friend. He notices Steve wringing his hands so, without really thinking about it, he reaches out and grabs them. As the warm feeling in Bucky’s chest begins to rush through him, Steve lifts his head to look up at him, his eyes wide, and the older boy offers a smile.
“Hey,” he says. “It’s okay. It’s jus’ you and me. No one else. And if anyone else shows up, I’ll be here to scare em away. I won’t let anyone else see ya.”
Steve is quiet before he seems to relax just the tiniest bit. Taking a breath, he nods and turns to face the water. Bucky looks out at it too and, for a while, they just stand there and watch, hand in hand. After a while, when Steve makes no move to change, Bucky looks at him from the corner of his eye.
“You okay?”
Steve blinks, like Bucky’s voice broke him out of a daze. “Yeah. It’s nothin’. I just… I’ve never shown anyone my other form before—‘cept for my ma.”
Bucky turns his head to look at him fully. “I won’t treat ya any different, Steve. I swear.”
“I know ya won’t,” Steve assures him, also turning his head to look at him. “Just feels...weird, I guess.”
They’re both quiet again for a bit before Bucky breaks the silence. “What’s it like? When you’re a seal?”
Steve shrugs. “I dunno. It’s...normal, I guess.”
“Will you still be able to understand me?”
“Mmhm,” Steve nods before a ghost of a smile begins to creep upon his features. “I jus’ won’t be able to talk back.” Bucky laughs and Steve’s face breaks out into a full grin. When Bucky’s laughter dies, Steve takes another deep breath and his expression becomes steely with determination. “Well… Here goes.”
Steve lets go of Bucky’s hand and walks forward until he meets the edge of the water. Bending slightly forward, he slips off his shoes and socks before setting them a safe distance away. He then removes his jacket before turning and handing it to Bucky. Bucky takes it without hesitation, holding it almost reverently and making sure to be oh so careful as to not drop it into the sand.
At that moment, Steve falters slightly. “I, um… I have to take the rest of my clothes off. They don’t change with me.”
“Oh!” Bucky exclaims. “’Course, go on ahead. I’ll, uh… Yeah.”
Bucky quickly turns away, giving Steve some privacy and shifting all of his focus on keeping Steve’s jacket—his coat—safe. Soon enough, Steve taps Bucky on the shoulder and reaches for the jacket. Still averting his gaze, Bucky returns it. He then casually looks all around to make sure nobody is nearby to see them. Of course, no one is.
As he does this, Bucky catches sight of Steve turning his jacket inside out, revealing the fur of his selkie coat, out of the corner of his eye. With an expert hand, the boy removes the stitches binding the two together and the gray jacket falls unceremoniously into the damp sand. Then, without pausing, Steve puts the selkie coat on and takes a few steps until he’s ankle deep in the water.
In the next second, something…strange happens. Bucky can’t exactly put into words what that something is as he turns to look completely, but it’s almost as if the space Steve takes up begins to shift and flicker. He can’t make heads or tails of it and before he can even try to, Bucky blinks and, in that one small moment, Steve vanishes—leaving behind a seal.
Of course, Bucky already knows what seals look like. Beth even has a picture book with them inside it that used to belong to him when he was her age. So, it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise to see the animal in Steve’s place. It’s fluffy and white, not at all unlike Steve’s coat, and shaped like a fat marshmallow with flippers and a tail. It doesn’t look scary at all. In fact, it’s pretty cute. Despite this, however, Bucky can’t help but feel apprehensive as he feels himself take a small step towards the seal.
“...Steve?”
At the sound of Bucky’s voice, the animal’s head immediately lifts up and its round, dark eyes meet his. It then uses its flippers to scoot forward and lets out a very indignant ‘mmph!’ sound. Bucky’s jaw drops open and he lets out a surprised laugh. The seal pup might as well have just said, “Duh! Who else?”
“Whoa!” Bucky exclaims. “You really weren’t kiddin’! You’re… You’re a seal!”
Steve—because the seal is Steve—lets out another funny sound before scooting closer towards him. Bucky approaches the pup and gets down on his knees to be more on his level and reaches out to touch him. Somehow, the boy finds himself surprised that Steve as a seal feels just as soft as his selkie coat does. He lets his hands wander over Steve’s back and the pup closes his eyes and almost smiles.
Bucky can’t help but smile in return. “Yeah? Does that feel good, pal?”
Steve let’s out a big puff of air and a sound not at all dissimilar to a raspberry. Bucky giggles and continues to give his friend more pets. After a bit, Steve gives himself a full body shake and moves away. He then turns a bit to look out into the ocean, but makes no move to get back into the water.
After a moment, Bucky nudges Steve’s side like he would if he were still a boy. “Ya wanna go swimmin’, Steve?”
Steve looks up at Bucky and simply blinks his big, dark eyes in response. It doesn’t take long for Bucky to realize what Steve means to say by staring up at him.
“What about you?”
Bucky gives his friend a smile and gently pats his head. “Don’t ya worry ‘bout me. I’ll wait for ya right here! Take as long as ya want.”
Steve blinks again before looking back to the water. Despite Bucky’s words, he stays where he is without making a move, and the boy almost contemplates nudging Steve all the way into the water himself if he has to. Fortunately, Steve gives a small huff and then starts to shuffle forward. Bucky smiles again, dropping his hand from Steve’s head before watching silently. It’s a bit funny to watch as Steve sort of shuffles and bounces across the sand, however, and the boy can’t help but start giggling. The pup tosses him a look over his shoulder and a loud ‘wah!’ for his troubles before he, finally, slips underneath the surface.
Bucky quickly stands to get a better view, watching Steve effortlessly swimming out deeper into the water before he’s gone. The brunet stares at the waves for a moment longer before eventually letting out a breath he didn’t know that he’d been holding. His chest still twists and turns with anxiety, but hopefully this’ll be just the thing that Steve needs to feel better.
So, with that thought, the boy decides the next thing to do is to simply wait until Steve is ready to come out, just like he said he would. He isn’t sure how long Steve will take, but he already knows he doesn’t mind waiting. That much was proven when Steve got sick a few days before his seventh birthday a couple months back and was left bedridden. Despite all of Steve’s protests, Bucky visited every day and refused to leave his side until he got better.
Still, Bucky will admit that he probably could’ve brought some of his beach toys along to make the waiting easier. Nevertheless, he does his best to keep himself entertained. At first, he occupies himself by working on a makeshift sand castle. Without his toys, it doesn’t look real fancy, but it passes the time. When Steve isn’t back by the time he’s finished giving his castle a moat and even some rocks for decoration, he eventually abandons it and decides to do something else. For the briefest moment, he contemplates braving the cold and swimming, but testing the water with his finger proves to be too much for him.
“And Steve made it look like it was nothin’…” he grumbles.
With that option out of the way, Bucky decides to try one more thing. Standing up from his spot and wiping away the sand from his pants, he begins to walk the length of the beach. It isn’t long after that before he begins to hum.
Now, an important thing to know about Bucky, was that he was born with a love for music. His parents often tease him by saying that he sometimes acts like he’d die without it and, to tell the truth, a part of Bucky believes that. Singing, dancing, a good beat… It’s one of the sure-fire ways to put a smile on Bucky’s face. He can’t imagine a life without it. So, humming a good song will definitely help the time go by, he decides.
The song he hums is a new one, recorded shortly after his birthday earlier in the year.
Why do I do just as you say?
Why must I just give you your way?
Why do I sigh?
Why don't I try to forget?
Bucky remembers hearing the song for the first time with his mother and asking what the singer was talking about. His mother had just smiled and told him that she was singing about love. Bucky had been a bit confused at first, because she then explained that it wasn’t like the love between friends or even family, but that special kind of love between a man and a woman. When the boy had said he still didn’t fully understand, she said that he would someday, when he was a bit older and met his special someone.
It must have been that something lovers call fate
Kept me saying, “I had to wait.”
I saw them all
Just couldn't fall ‘til we met
Suddenly that thought has Bucky pull up a bit short. A special someone… Was that what was happening to him now? All the blushing and funny feelings in his chest and tummy? Had he already met his someone?
But surely he hadn’t. Not in the way his mother had meant, anyway. Because those feelings are being caused by Steve. And, sure, Steve may be smaller than most of the girls around their age, but that doesn’t change the fact that he is most certainly a boy.
Still, Miss Sarah did say that he and Steve were tied together, for as long as they both wanted to be. They were even as good as married. That’s what Bucky’s mother had said and surely that has to count for something, right?
Bucky frowns, shoving his hands deep into his pockets. He can feel his cheeks burning again and his chest swirls with a mixture of confusion and something else that aches deep inside his heart. Something that makes him crave Steve’s presence—to have him stay by his side, regardless of the looks of his mother might give and the knowledge that he’s never even heard of boys getting married to each other before.
All at once, Bucky realizes that he feels the exact same way the singer of the song in his head feels. A longing for someone who, despite everything, is the only one who could ever satisfy their hearts.
It had to be you
It had to be y—
In a sudden bout of frustration, Bucky suddenly stops walking and kicks the sand in his path. As he does, the boy catches sight of something. Curious, he kneels down and begins to loosely dig in the grit before discovering that what he kicked was a shell. He picks it up and examines it, brushing the remaining grains off its surface. It’s a pretty decent size and, while looking plain black at first sight, Bucky notices that it actually has hints of blue to it, too.
Suddenly, the sound of a loud snort by his ear makes Bucky jump. He whirls over towards the sound to find that the source was none other than Steve. His fur is now wet and spiky, but he doesn’t seem to mind it at all. Instead, all of his attention is on the shell in Bucky’s hand. Bucky gives a smile and presents it to him. The pup scoots forward a bit until his nose is within reach and he gives it a tentative sniff.
“Yeah? Ya like it?”
“Ah!” Steve says.
Bucky laughs. “It does look pretty cool, huh?”
The boy looks back at the shell, turning it over in his hands and admiring the color. It’s at that moment when a smaller, paler hand suddenly comes into view and begins to run its fingers over the ridges of the shell. Bucky jolts and whips his head toward the source, blinking in surprise at the sight of Steve—human Steve—sitting beside him. He’s as soaked as he was as a seal, water dripping from his hair. Upon making eye contact with Bucky, he offers a small, if not sheepish smile.
“Hey.”
“Hey.” Bucky says before absentmindedly reaching out and wiping away Steve’s wet bangs from his face. “Do ya feel any better?”
The blond closes his eyes, leans into Bucky’s touch, and nods. “Much.” Bucky can’t help but agree. Steve’s cheeks seem to have more color to them and his breathing sounds like it’s coming in better, too. When he opens his eyes, Bucky can also see that they look brighter than before. When Steve’s gaze meets his again, he smiles once more. “Thanks, Bucky.”
Immediately, Bucky’s heart swirls with warmth and the only way he could ever describe how he feels in the moment is unbelievably fond. “Don’t mention it.”
After a moment, Steve pulls away from Bucky’s hand and turns his attention back to the shell. “So ya found a blue mussel shell, huh?”
Bucky looks at it and blinks. “Is that what it is?”
“Mmhm. My ma taught me about em. Said I could eat em as a seal while we came here, if I wanted.”
“That makes sense. They any good?”
Steve nods. “Yeah. Not as good as fish, though.”
“Hm.”
Bucky is silent for a bit, examining the shell once more. After a moment, he realizes that the hints of blue kind of remind him of the blue of Steve’s eyes. He quickly decides then that the shell is pretty. So, without really thinking about it, he offers the shell to Steve. The other boy blinks in surprise before looking at Bucky curiously.
“What is it?”
“You can have it,” he says, suddenly feeling a bit nervous. “If ya want.”
Steve looks at the shell again before giving Bucky a soft smile that sends the feeling in the latter’s chest flowing with utter warmth and joy. Steve accepts the shell, gently running his fingers over its ridges again.
“Thanks, Bucky,” he says again.
“’Course.”
Once Steve is dry enough, he gets dressed and hides his selkie coat back into his jacket. Still, the two decide to not leave the beach just yet. Instead, they sit side by side, silently watching the water together.
“Did ya have a good time today?” Bucky asks after a while.
“Yeah. Sorry ya had to sit around waitin’ on me, though. Probably not what ya had in mind when ya invited me over.”
“Hey. I told ya before; I don’t mind waitin’, no matter how long it takes.”
“If ya say so,” Steve replies, though he doesn’t look too convinced.
Bucky frowns. He already knows that no matter what he says won’t change Steve’s mind, so he decides to try and change the subject. “So. Your ma brings you here sometimes?”
“Mmhm. She says if I don’t change into a seal often enough, I can get sick easier. So she tries to take me here as often as she can. Gets hard with her schedule sometimes, though.”
“Is that why you got so sick before your birthday?”
“Yeah.”
Bucky is quiet for a moment and decides that makes sense. In a way, Steve changing into a seal is his way of taking medicine. If he can’t take his medicine, he gets sick. But then that quickly leads to another thought. If Miss Sarah has trouble bringing Steve here because of her schedule, then that must mean she can’t change easily either. Then again, Bucky hasn’t seen Miss Sarah with a selkie coat like Steve in all the months he’s known her, not even once. She doesn’t even seem to have a jacket that she could possibly be using to hide it.
Bucky’s mind then goes back to that first night he met Steve and they were eating dinner together with their parents. He had tried asking Miss Sarah why she didn’t have a coat then, but his mother had told him he was being rude for asking so many questions. Miss Sarah hadn’t answered because of that, but Bucky still remembers that she looked so...sad.
Frowning, Bucky cautiously turns to his friend. “Hey, Steve? Can I ask ya somethin’?”
“Sure.”
“If your ma is a selkie like you...why doesn’t she have a coat of her own?”
Steve freezes a bit before averting his gaze down to his knees. He’s quiet for a long moment and Bucky instantly regrets saying anything. He’s about to tell Steve to just forget he asked when the other boy finally responds. “I was wonderin’ when you’d try askin’ again.”
“You don’t gotta answer if it’s somethin’ bad,” Bucky quickly assures. “It’s just… Ya said if ya don’t change, ya can get sick and ya need your coat to change and, well… I got curious, is all.”
“Nah, it’s okay,” Steve says, looking back at Bucky. “Probably’d be best not to say somethin’ to her about it, though.”
“I won’t.”
Steve nods before growing quiet again. He turns his gaze back out towards the water, fiddling with the shell Bucky gave him in the meantime. “She gave it to my pa,” he eventually says. “When he went off to war. He knew she was a selkie and it could hurt her if he lost it, but she trusted him not to. She said it’d be his good luck charm. And it worked. For a while, anyways. Got hit with mustard gas near the end.”
Bucky’s eyes grow wide and he holds in a gasp. His thoughts instantly go back to the time when he woke up in the middle of the night to see his father wide awake too, drinking one of his drinks from his liquor cabinet all alone in the kitchen. For the first and only time since, they had a long talk about some of the things Bucky’s father saw in the war. Mustard gas was one of them. Thankfully, Bucky’s father never got hit with it himself, but a friend of his hadn’t been so lucky. The thought of Steve’s pa going out like that too puts a pit in the boy’s stomach.
“I’m sorry, Steve.”
Steve shrugs, still not meeting Bucky’s eyes. “’S okay. I never knew him, ya know?”
“I guess… So, they never found your ma’s coat after?”
“Nope. She never says anythin’ about it, but I can tell it hurts her real bad. Sometimes she just looks so sad. And tired.”
Bucky is quiet for a moment, unsure of what to say at first. All he knew for sure is that he wanted to say something—anything to make Steve feel even a little bit better. “...Well,” he begins. “At least she has you though, right?”
“That’s what she says, too. She says I made it all worth it.”
Bucky then smiles and nudges Steve’s side softly. “Better listen to her then, pal. Your ma seems like a smart lady.”
That’s when Steve finally looks back at Bucky and a small smile graces his features. “She is.”
It isn’t long after that the boys decide to head back to Bucky’s place. They’re both quiet as they ride the trolley, and though the silence would usually worry Bucky, Steve stands close enough to him to put the anxious swishing in his chest at ease. When they get back, they shuffle inside, both holding back yawns as they put their shoes and jackets away. As they do, Bucky notices Steve putting the shell he gave him into one of the pockets on his jacket and he smiles to himself.
“Wanna pull out the couch cushions?” Bucky asks once they’re done.
Steve, however, frowns. “It’s not that late.”
“Yeah, but ya look like you’re gonna pass out standin’ up.”
“Do not.”
“Do too,” Bucky insists. “C’mon, pal. If I’m tired, you’re tired.”
Hearing that, Steve sighs and finally gives in. Together, the two boys take the couch cushions and put them on the floor side by side. They then go up to Bucky’s room and gather all of his blankets and pillows, bringing them downstairs and forming a makeshift nest of sorts. Bucky turns on the living room lamp and Steve shuts off the main lights, casting the room in a soft, golden glow. Finally, the two boys curl up and lay down on the cushions.
As Bucky gets comfortable, his mind goes back to the first time he and Steve did this. It was during the second night Steve had visited. The boys had initially tried to sleep together in Bucky’s bed again, like they had that first time, but Bucky’s father offered Steve the couch instead. He wasn’t mean about it, but Bucky had known that by the way he offered, he hadn’t really been asking.
Nevertheless, after he was sure his parents and sisters had fallen asleep, Bucky simply sneaked downstairs and joined Steve anyways. Putting the couch cushions on the floor had been Steve’s idea and, from then on, they just kinda kept on doing it. Of course, they eventually got caught, but seeing that they had no intention of stopping, Bucky’s father simply relented and let them continue.
In the present, Steve looks at Bucky intently. The boy immediately feels himself smile. “What is it?”
Steve shakes his head. “Nothin’.”
“Okay.” Bucky pauses. “You don’t think we’ll get in trouble for goin’ to the beach, do ya?”
“Oh, you wait until now to wonder about that?”
“Hey, it’s a fair question!”
Steve sighs and shakes his head in mock disappointment. “You’re hopeless, Buck.”
While Bucky normally would’ve put on a grand act and pretended to be all offended by Steve’s remark, he instead finds himself softening. The longing from the beach quickly envelops him, threatening to swallow him whole.
With all your faults, I love you still
It had to be you, wonderful you
It had to be you
“Yeah,” he says. “Guess I am.”