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A book was slammed down on the table, and Steve looked up in surprise. Bucky's eyes were blazing, and Steve could feel, rather then see, the others tense, becoming wary. It hadn't been that long since Bucky had joined them in the Compound, residing in Steve's section of the facility. He was a lot better then he used to be, more Bucky then Winter Soldier. There were fewer blackouts, fewer bad days, he could speak about the things he had done now and was comfortable enough around the other Avengers. Something told Steve that whatever anger he felt now, had nothing to do with the Winter Soldier, and everything to do with Bucky. Or perhaps, given the glare in his eyes; Steve.
"What you got there, buddy?" asked Tony, carefully. "Let me guess, you learned about the Kardashians."
Steve resisted the urge to sigh, as Bucky shot the billionaire a glare. Clint shifted closer and leaned over to look at the book, "'Captain America: The Nation's Hero,' I had to do a report on this in school once," he said.
"We all did," said Sam, amused.
"I didn't," said Natasha, pointedly. She appeared on Steve's other side, picking up the book to read. "What am I looking at, exactly?"
"Paragraph 3, Page 58," said Bucky, his voice dark. Steve glanced at him, warily. He had no idea what he had read, but his gut told him it was nothing good. For the most part Steve had told him everything, but the war had been a long time ago, there were some things he might have missed. The look Bucky gave him now was not all that different from the one he had given him when Steve had told him he had died flying a plane into the ocean.
"'... Colonel Phillips was not impressed by the new recruits, but he rarely was, sources say. It was not uncommon for new troops to be scared by their superiors, taught to harden up early or else perish during the war-'" read Natasha.
"Seems like a nice guy," quipped Sam. He faltered when he looked at Steve.
Steve knew exactly what it was Bucky had read, and it was not something he had ever intended to tell him. "Buck..." he started, resisting the urge to chew at his lip.
"Keep reading," said Bucky, his eyes narrowed.
Natasha must have read ahead, because she had a look of amusement on her face. "'- Phillips threw a grenade amongst the group. It would not explode, it was non-functioning, but the recruits could never have known that, even Peggy Carter did not know that. She was one of two who moved towards the grenade, instead of away, as the others had. The second person was Steve Rogers. Before he had been given the serum, with a body that had been failing him for years, Rogers threw himself on top of the grenade. It was no wonder he was chosen by Erskine to be the first super soldier. History would show, that he made a good choice.'"
"I'm sorry but whoever wrote that textbook seems incredibly bias in your favour, Cap," said Tony, with a shake of his head. "And of course you threw yourself on a grenade." He rolled his eyes.
Bucky looked as if he could burn a hole through Steve's skull, and he winced. "It was... instinct," he said, raising his hands in self-defence. "It's not like I had time to think-" Bucky's metal hand clenched, and Steve cleared his throat. "I was just trying-"
"To get yourself killed," snapped Bucky. "It was damn stupid is what it was."
"It wasn't real, though," said Steve, gently.
"But you thought it was!" There was a heavy silence over the room, no one daring to interrupt what Tony would probably call 'a lover's spat'. There had been a great deal of sly comments, offhand remarks, regarding he and Bucky. Steve never responded, if he was being honest he didn't know how. That was a can of worms better left for the future. Not now, not while Bucky was still learning to be someone other then the Winter Soldier.
"What do you want me to say, Buck?" said Steve. "I- you know I'm real good at making dumb decisions sometimes. You were usually the one to clean up after me."
"I can't clean up after you if you're dead," Bucky spat out. He pointed a finger at him, eyes narrowed. "No more throwing yourself on grenades, you don't do any of that shit again, you hear me, Rogers?"
Steve sighed, shaking his head. "You know I can't make that promise."
Bucky growled, lunging forward so fast that Steve didn't have time to react as he was pulled up by his shirt. Natasha moved out of the way, smoothly. Clint fumbled his bowl of popcorn and spilled it across the couch.
"I ain't gonna lie to you, Buck, I'm not gonna make promises I can't keep," said Steve. It didn't matter how angry with him he was, Steve could look into those blue eyes of Bucky's all day and never tire of it. Bucky was there, Bucky was alive, those were the only things that mattered. "I can promise to try my damn hardest not to die on you though."
"Language," muttered Tony, under his breath.
Steve rolled his eyes, Bucky's hold on him loosened, ever so slightly. Steve reached up, placing a hand to the back of his neck, squeezing, lightly. Bucky let out a breath, some of the anger in his gaze fading. "Doctors didn't think I'd make it past puberty, but I'm still here aren't I? Ninety-something years old, and still kicking. I'm not going anywhere anytime soon, Buck."
"Always were a stubborn bastard," said Bucky, his voice low.
Steve grinned, "You're damn right." Bucky shook his head, but he still looked fond, just like he always used too. Steve had the strongest urge to hug him, to reassure himself that this wasn't a dream, that it was real and Bucky was there, and he was getting better every day, becoming more like himself. He was never going to be completely the same, Steve knew that. Hell, Steve wasn't the same kid he was in Brooklyn. There had been a war, too much had happened, none of them came out the other side the same. It was just that he and Bucky had changed the most. The important things didn't change though, and that was all that mattered. He was still Bucky Barnes, he just also happened to be a former Soviet assassin whose brain had been messed with too many times to count.
"Stop looking at me like that," said Bucky, shoving him, lightly. It wasn't enough to make Steve step back, he could only assume that was the intention.
"Like what?"
"Like you want to kiss him senseless, probably," said Tony.
Bucky's eyes flickered, but Steve was too busy trying not to blush to notice. That wasn't what he had been thinking, but it was all he could think about now. He pulled his hand away to send the billionaire a fierce glare. If anything, that just seemed to amuse him further. The grin that spread across his face was like a feral cat, it's eyes fixed on the prize.
"Give it a rest, Tony," interrupted Natasha, before things could get too out of hand. "I thought we were watching a movie?"
Steve sat back down on the couch, very aware of the warmth in his cheeks. He couldn't tell if the others noticed or not, but Bucky had. He had felt his eyes on him, still did, even as he sat in one of the empty recliners at the edge of the room. Steve cleared his throat, "By the way, Clint, I'd quite like to see that school report you wrote on me," he said, a smirk tugging at his lips.
"Hate to break it to you, Cap, but I'm pretty sure I got a 'D' on that report," said Clint.
"I think I got a 'B+', from memory," said Sam.
"Whatever, man," said Clint, throwing a handful of popcorn his way.
"Children please," said Tony, "Don't play with your food."
Steve settled back into the couch, content. It had been a long time since he had felt like this, at home, happy. He glanced across the room, and Bucky met his gaze.
He still had a way to go, HYDRA had played with his mind for so long that only time could heal it completely but Steve hoped that one day, maybe, Bucky would feel the same way he did. He would feel like he had a home, friends, family, him. He would feel comfortable, he would be able to banter and make jokes like he used too, and that indescribable charm that seemed to pull in all the dames, would work it's way back out. His protectiveness of Steve was still there, stronger then ever. It seemed to act like an anchor for him, and if Steve had to endure more scoldings and lectures for Bucky to feel more like himself, then he would do it in a heartbeat.
It would be worth it.
"Okay, Cap, do you wanna explain the movie to Barnes, or should I?" questioned Tony. "Are you two even gonna watch the movie or should we all just leave the room now?"
"We're gonna watch the movie," said Steve, with a roll of his eyes. "I believe it was about some kind of magician? The boy goes to a magic school and shenanigans happen."
"Shenanigans?" said Tony, incredulously. "It's Harry Potter, we're watching Harry Potter and he's a wizard. His parents were killed by Voldemort and you're calling it shenanigans? These movies shaped a generation, I'm just trying to teach you elderly folk about culture."
"Play the movie, Stark," said Bucky, his tone bored.
"But you missed the first one!"
"How difficult can it be?"
Steve resisted the urge to smile.
They were out of their time, everything was different but they were together again and that was all that mattered.
That was all that would ever matter.
Even if Steve did get yelled at from time to time.