"I kneel into a dream where I am good and loved. I am loved. My hands have made some good mistakes. They can always make better ones." - Natalie Wee
Bucky has to spend six months locked up with a stranger.
His teammates went on an international pres...
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Bucky had a plan.
Step #1: Call Steve Rogers.
"Bucky? Are you okay? What's wr-" Steve answered the phone on the fifth ring, sounding tired and slightly panicked. Bucky could've laughed at the worry in his voice if it wasn't so endearing- god, he'd missed that voice.
"Steve! Hey Stevie, I need to ask you a favor." He tried and failed to keep his voice at a whisper, his excitement bubbling over.
"Are you okay? Buck, it's six in the morning-"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm great. Excellent." He ran his fingers through his hair, his lips creeping up into a smile. He'd almost called Steve when he first had the idea, had his phone out and ready to dial before he remembered that time zones were a thing and it was the middle of the night where Steve was. He'd watched the clock for hours before finally deciding six o'clock was reasonable enough, that's a normal time to wake up, he couldn't wait any longer- "Listen, I need your help. I'm trying to plan this thing." He glanced down the hall; his bedroom door was still closed and there was no sign of any movement inside. He started pacing around the kitchen, his footsteps quiet and light.
Steve's voice was tinny on the line, distant, as if to remind Bucky that he was oceans away. "I don't know how much I can help, we won't be back for-"
"No, no, you're right where I need you," Bucky said before he could finish. "The thing is, I gotta override some security protocols here. It's nothing bad!" he said quickly when Steve tried to interrupt. "I just... need some access, and Stark's gonna know when I do it, he gets notifications for that stuff. Can you cover for me? Tell him I cleared it with you?"
"That depends on what it is-"
"I need to get on the roof." Steve was quiet, waiting for Bucky to explain. "I looked at the parole details and I'm allowed- I'll still be inside the building's footprint, so it won't trigger any boundary sensors or anything. But the only way to the roof is through a fire door, so I gotta stop those alarms from going off." He took a deep breath and tried to say the next part quickly, as if that would prevent Steve from hearing it. "I'm gonna tap into the sprinkler system too-"
"Bucky." His name was an exasperated sigh coming out of Steve's mouth and Bucky loved it, it was one of his favorite sounds- it reminded him of when they were kids, when he got a kick out of being obnoxious toward Steve and Steve always managed to return the sentiment tenfold. And it reminded him of Friday nights when they were stationed in Europe, when Bucky would beg Steve to come out dancing, come meet some girls even though they both knew that when the lights came on they'd leave the bar and not even make it back to camp, that Steve would yank Bucky into an alley by his collar and-
"Shh- hang on." There was a rustle as you stirred in his bed; he had left you asleep, snuck out of the room so he could make the call. He whispered into the phone. "She's waking up, I gotta go." A twinge of adrenaline, a new kind of panic that he didn't recognize surged through his chest but he pushed it away, just far enough out of mind to get the rest of his words out. "It's a surprise for her, Stevie, okay? I- I wanna do something nice for her."
