lostshieldandhammer

Steve leaned back and took the offered journal, resting his head on Bucky’s shoulder as he looked through it. “I know it’s been hard for you, to try and remember everything, to find the answers you wanted. I’m just glad you’re back with me so I can help you find some of whatever it is you still need to find. I hated every moment of thinkin’ about you bein’ out there all alone, you know? I never knew what was gonna happen to you and it kept me awake more often than not at night. IT’s why I started doing the hotels and all. Figured maybe, after a while, you’d figure it out and find me on your own. Which… you did.”

It was natural to lean against the headboard with Steve in his arms. He knew there were all kinds of things in the journal, clippings and little letters that spoke of the tiny little things he’d remembered while he’d been in hiding, living life as minimal as possible. He could still remember the night he’d woken to a very vivid memory – when he had realized he and Steve had been very intimate lovers. He pressed a kiss to Steve’s temple “I promised I would always find you, Stevie.” he murmured, relaxing into the warmth of his best friend and the one person he had loved. “I’m not going anywhere now. We’re together again, like we always knew we were s’pposed to be.” he replied, nuzzling into Steve. 

Steve

Steve nodded slowly. “Then we hotel jump for a little while longer before we figure out a place to live,” he answered, leaning in to kiss Bucky in return. “I’m glad you’re back with me. It was starting to get lonely…”

“Sounds like a plan if we ever needed one.” Bucky nodded, smiling into that kiss and running a hand through his lover’s hair again. “I’m glad you waited for me once you knew I was alive.” he was quiet, not wanting to think about the idea he’d had for a long time about whether Steve would be waiting when he finally felt like he could go home. “I have something,” he said, moving to the small backpack he carried with him. Unzipping it, he opened it and pulled out a leather bound journal. “Bak in Bucharest…when you asked why I saved you, I wasn’t entirely lying when I told you I didn’t know. Back then, I didn’t. I just knew for whatever reason, I couldn’t stand you dying, it hurt deep, and I didn’t understand it. I went looking for answers. After that, well, things started coming back, so I wrote about it to you.” he explained, leaning back a little to drape an arm over Steve’s shoulders. 

lostshieldandhammer:

Steve nodded slowly. “I just didn’t know if you were okay with hotel jumping like I’ve been doing or if you were going to want to find an apartment or something where we can just… live quietly in hopes that no one bothers us.”

Bucky gave a soft smile, adjusting to look at Steve and reaching to run a hand through Steve’s hair. “The only difference between hotel jumping and always moving around in war is there isn’t a battle to fight anymore. All we need is each other, Steve. We can make anywhere home because of that.” he answered, leaning to kiss him. “You and me, Stevie, till the end of the line.”

Steve

Steve chuckled. “Oh they have. That’s a big thing… ham and pineapple pizza. Never tried it. Don’t have any plans to do so. They’ve also got a buffalo chicken pizza which is where they’ve taken fried chicken, coated it in hot sauce, chopped it up and then added it to the pizza as a topping with more hot sauce on top. That one’s pretty damn good, honestly.”

“My heart is breaking for all pizza lovers everywhere.” Bucky said with a laugh, taking another bite of the pizza and leaning back against the headboard. He grinned at the next option, though, humming. “Now that sounds like someone got smart to counteract the horrid atrocity of pineapple on a pizza.” He said, reaching to nudge Steve as he grinned. “Next time we get that, deal?”

Steve

Steve got drinks from the fridge and brought them over as well before sitting beside Bucky on the bed and reaching for a piece of pizza for himself as well. “The pizza in today’s world is really good. There’s so many choices, too. I couldn’t believe it the first time I saw a menu for a pizza joint.”

Bucky arched a brow at that knowledge. “Choices? Like what?” he asked, tilting his head as he took another bite, one hand reaching for his drink. “Don’t tell me they’ve gone an’ put fruit on it, I may die a little.” he teased, pure Brooklyn coming out in his accent as he laughed, but he really wouldn’t be surprised. He had stayed away from most overly crowded places, anxiety too high to function well in them. The most crowded area he’d ever been in while in Bucharest had been the farmer’s market. 

Steve

Steve leaned against Bucky in return and nodded slowly. “Yeah,” he said softly. “We just need one another. Home’s not a place… its you and me together.” He turned to kiss the top of Bucky’s head just as there was a knock at the door. “Food’s here.” He got up from the bed and walked over to the door to retrieve their food, closing and locking the door behind him once he’d done so.

“Always together.” Bucky whispered as he let Steve get up, relaxing into the softness of the bed before leaning forward to get a slice of pizza. “I haven’t had pizza in years.” he grinned, taking a bite and humming appreciatively. Patting the bed beside him, he tried to get Steve to sit next to him again. “Come on, let’s eat so I can hold you all night.”

Steve

Steve nodded slowly. “I wanted to go back to Brooklyn but… it’s not the same anymore and I wouldn’t even begin to know where to start looking for an apartment or a home of any kind, honestly. Hotels were easier. I could move around whenever I needed to do so.” He shifted as Bucky sat beside him. “I’m glad you found me, too.”

Bucky moved to lay his hand on Steve’s thigh, quiet for a moment. “The world isn’t the same.” he replied, a twinge of regret in his voice as he sat beside Steve. “We don’t need a permanent place, though, right?” he asked after another long moment. “We didn’t need a home back during the war, we just needed each other.” He moved to lean against Steve, resting his head on the blonde’s shoulder. “We only need each other to be home, right?”

Steve

Steve looked up as Bucky came back out of the bathroom. He leaned back against the headboard of the bed and shrugged. “A month now, maybe?” he thought about it then nodded. “Yeah, that sounds about right. Still can’t believe you managed to track me down. I”m not even using my real name anymore at these places. You feel better now with a shower and clean clothes? Pizzas will be here soon.”

Bucky shrugged. “I figured you’d try to have a place like back home.” he replied. “Shuri said she couldn’t find you, so I told her look for hotels with small rooms and at least three floors. She was confused, but when she found a list, I started going to each one. The last few weeks have been a lot of trvael and watching buildings.” he chuckled. Looking down, he nodded. Steve’s clothes were actually a little loose on him, but he didn’t mind. He walked over to the bed and moved to sit next to Steve. “I’m just glad I finally lucked out.”

Steve

Steve smiled up at him softly. “Yeah… you finally are,” he said softly. As Bucky headed into the bathroom, Steve picked up his phone and called the nearby pizza place and ordered three large pizzas, breadsticks, and sodas to be delivered as soon as possible. That done, he ended the call and went through his clothes, pulling out some sweat pants and a t-shirt he knew would fit the other man, taking them to the bathroom.

“Clothes are on the sink,” he called to the other before heading out to the main room once more.

Bucky was enjoying the feel of the hot shower when he heard Steve speak. “Thanks.” He answered, finishing up his shower. He dried off and dressed, walking out into the room while running the towel through his hair. “So how long have you been at this one?” he asked, setting the towel down to run his hand through his hair and get it out of his face.