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Supersoldiers need their relax – perhaps more so than the regular folk. It's Sam's idea, even though the cabin is not his. It belongs to some friend of a friend, but he lends it to fellow vets to recharge. When Sam suggests Steve and Bucky accompany him to a secluded cabin in the woods, both of them agree without hesitation and Sam teases them for days about not having seen enough horror movies in their lives.
The cabin is small but cozy, with fireplace and handmade almost everything. There are only two bedrooms with double beds, and Steve and Bucky settle in one of them with shrugs and no protests.
"If he steals your covers, kick him out and onto the sofa," Sam tells Bucky conspiratorially, speaking loud enough for Steve to hear him and smirking.
Bucky responds with a soft smile that makes Steve's insides warm up pleasantly. "I'm used." And all Steve can think about is falling asleep in the circle of Bucky's arms, strong and safe, and it's stupid how happy that thought makes him. He's been telling himself to not feed his stupid crush on Bucky, but he hasn't been very good at actually stopping himself.
They've barely unpacked when Sam's phone rings.
"I knew we'd have gone somewhere without reception," he groans and takes the call outside.
He returns a few moments with a mournful expression. "Family emergency," he says. That isn't exactly unusual; Sam has a whole plethora of siblings and cousins and related-to-him-somehow-people and he seems to be the go to guy for all of them.
Steve and Bucky exchange looks and Steve sees his own disappointment reflected in Bucky's face. It's been a while since they got to spend a few days simply having fun. Nothing they can do, however.
Steve sighs and forces a compassionate smile. It's one he's practiced so many time that he is confident it hides his sadness over the turn of events. "If we live within an hour, we can be back home before midnight."
"Oh, no." Sam shakes his head. "You guys stay. Have fun."
"It's no trouble—" Bucky starts but Sam interrupts him with a hand raised in the air.
"No, really. You enjoy yourselves. Nothing you can help me with, anyway."
Bucky looks at Steve and Steve takes a moment to think about it before he nods. "If you're certain," he says to Sam.
Sam grins. "Unlike some people I know, I ask for assistance sometimes. This isn't one of the times."
Bucky has already taken a place on the sofa, which is more a bench, clearly having decided he was alright with this situation. "If you take the jeep, we'll have no means of getting back home," he points out anyway. "I'm not walking."
"Uh." Sam rubs the back of his neck, clearly only now considering that problem. "I'll send someone with a vehicle for you?"
"My bike's in the garage at the Tower?" Steve suggests and Bucky snickers, rolling his eyes.
"Yeah, we won't get all our luggage on Death Trap," he says. Death Trap is his loving nickname for Steve's new hoverbike, but Steve knows he not so secretly loves it. After all, it is even better than a flying car: a flying motorbike.
"Okay, then. A car," Steve agrees with resignation. "Let us know you got home safe," he tells Sam and clasps his shoulder before hugging him tight.
"Don't waste this trip," Sam says into his ear and Steve has no idea what he means.
"You know what this means?" Bucky says and there is now a grin on his face, which is a rare occurrence. Steve would pay anything to see it more often. "We can each have our own bed."
And Steve doesn't want to admit his heart sinks when he hears that.
***
"What do we do now?" Steve asks once Sam has left and they have managed to lit up the fireplace. "Do we hunt for deer or something?"
Bucky's response is to pull out Scrabble, which Steve didn't know they had available. They settle on the floor and play for hours, until it's dark outside and they can hear the occasional owl. Bucky is lying on his side on the floor and in the light from the fireplace he looks so peaceful Steve wants to burn this image into his memory and never let it go. Every time their eyes meet, Steve's heart flutters. Maybe… maybe he could use this trip to find out if there is any sort of chance… Maybe.
Steve has just formed SQUADRON ("Do I need to use that in a sentence? We're army men.") with the help of the O in Bucky's ORAL ("I haven't had oral sex since 1944." "There's such a thing as too much information. Also… really?" "Do I look like a man who lies about blowjobs?") when the pleasant silence is interrupted by a familiar and deafening sound.
"Did Sam send a helicopter?" Bucky asks, wide-eyed and disbelieving.
Everything is explained a moment later in Tony's amplified voice: "Hey, Icesicle One and Two, get dressed and get your asses here. We've got a situation. I repeat, we've got a situation. A situation that requires your assistance. Civilians in danger of being eaten. All romantic getaways cancelled."
"Romantic getaway?" Bucky mouths at Steve, but he is already scrambling to his feet.
Steve shrugs. "Tony," he says in a way of explanation and ignores the blush that creeps to his cheeks.
Supersoldiers need their relax perhaps more than other people. They rarely get to have it.