Work Text:
Steve and Bucky love to do small, normal things. It's a reminder to them that although it may seem so unfamiliar and strange to what they grew up with, New York, after it's stripped of the lights and Starbucks, is still New York.
Tony often teases them for their domesticity, and he would never to admit he was happy to make build them a floor in the Avengers tower (once New York was all fixed up, of course).
"He built us a floor?" Bucky shook his head in disbelief.
"Yeah, well, you know Starks. Love to do things that cost money." Steve laughed, then leaned forward and kissed the incredulous look off Bucky's face. Steve kissed Bucky as often as he could, Bucky was the same way with Steve.
Pepper decided that they needed help furnishing their floor. She ordered them a custom built bed because the one they had been using for the last few weeks was Steve's and disagreed with what the two super soldiers liked to use it for.
Bucky suggested they put Steve's art up around the place.
"I didn't know you were an artist, Steve." She tilted her head and he guessed that that wasn't on his SHIELD file.
"Guess I'm Captain America first, artist second." He shrugged. "I did it before the war, mostly. The factories wouldn't hire me 'cause I was tiny and sick."
"Steve, you're ridiculous, you never stopped drawing." He turned to Pepper. "When he was doing that show, you know, the one where he wore tights, he used to send me piles of drawings of showgirls and America with no explanation. Then, when we were raiding HYDRA facilities and all that, he was drawing all the Commandos whenever we had time to sit still." Bucky was getting excited, the way he always got when he talked about Steve, or their shared past. He was happy he remembered it all, and so was Steve. "He's frickin' amazing, Pep. Before I stayed still all day because I'm a sniper, I had to sit still all day 'cause Steve was drawing me."
"You were surprisingly good at not moving." Steve said, but his comment went unnoticed by the ex-assassin.
"He never stopped being an artist and never will."
Bucky must have an effect on him. For the next few months, Steve painted and repainted portraits of the Avengers and the New York skyline and Bucky and old Brooklyn and anything he could see. He made enough art to put up around most of the Avengers tower, which is what they did.
Bucky was having some trouble hanging up Steve's latest (a pastel of something that could arguably be a metal arm). He heard the door open and close.
"Heya Steve, give me a hand." He said without looking down from his place on top of their couch.
He heard Tony Stark's unmistakable laughter.
"That's great, really. Actually very ironic." Bucky turned his head and saw that Steve had brought Tony Stark home. Actually, it was, technically, Tony Stark's building. Bucky silently cursed himself for not realizing there were two sets of footsteps.
Steve sent him an apologetic look that was somewhat ruined by the amusement in his eyes.
"Tony wants to make you a new arm." Steve carefully stepped up on the couch as Bucky went down. He straightened the picture frame.
"Actually, I kind of need to. SHIELD doesn't want Soviet tech and all that. Would've done it earlier, honestly. It's fascinating. And also a dinosaur. You need a new one. I have like twenty drafts already. Been dying to get my hands on it."
Bucky laughed a little. Starks are amusing, he thought.
"Sure, buddy." He sat down on the couch and half-listened as Tony blabbered about mechanics and paced around the room for the next hour.
Later that night, after Tony had left, Steve was sketching Bucky in bed. They may have had a few drinks, but they were super soldiers. Alright, it was some version of French wine that Howard Stark had apparently obsessed over for years, after Peggy had told him Steve couldn't get drunk. This wine could make super soldiers drunk.
"Steve," Bucky began. Steve hummed in response. "I'm glad we're here." Steve looked up. "I mean, together. And alive. We went through shit to get here, but I'm glad we did because it means I can be here. With you. And I love that."
Steve smiled softly and looked thoughtfully at the man in front of him.
"Me too, pal." Steve leaned forward, and kissed him.
They had lived through a World War, a Cold War (admittedly, one of them had slept through it), and now, these two super soldiers had every excuse to be happy and domestic and painting metal arms. They were together, finally, and that's all they need.