The Captain's Husband

6. Honest

     Bucky leans against me as I lace our fingers together and press a kiss to his temple. He sighs happily as we walk down the stairs to the second floor where the rest of the team has assembled for brunch.

Tony and Bruce are drinking coffee at the dining table with a plate of muffins in front of them. Natasha and Sam are at the stove, flipping pancakes and frying bacon while discussing Sam's new set of wings. Thor is intently listening to their conversation while munching on a box of pop tarts. Clint is flipping through the morning newspaper with a bored look on his face at the dining table. Sam joins him there, asking about today's news. Wanda and Vision are curled up on the couch watching Netflix, playfully commenting on the show they're watching.

     And then there's us, standing in the space between the living room and kitchen.

     "Mornin', Rogers!" Tony chimes as he carelessly glances up at me from the kitchen. "Blueberry?"

     Then he drops his mug...and his mouth falls open in horror. Everyone else soon realizes what the cause for alarm is after looking at us...and then they lose it.

     A number of them are horrified, but a few of them saw it coming.

     Nat smirks and turns back to the pancakes on the stove, "Looks like you had a happy birthday, Rogers!"

     Wanda doubles over in laughter and Vision just shakes his head.

As Wanda falls to giggles, Vision says, "Oh dear."

     Sam cracks a smile and elbows Clint, "Where's my twenty bucks, man?"

     Clint grins, "You'll get it, don't worry."

     Tony picks up his now-shattered mug and then he looks at us and says, "At least I didn't hear a single peep out of you two."

     Bruce rolls his eyes, "You've done much worse, Tony."

     "Hey guys!" Peter Parker says as he swings in from the balcony.

      Nat smiles at him, saying, "Good morning, Baby Spider."

      He grins and runs over to give Nat a hug, "How are you this morning, Momma Spider?"

     She glances at me before saying, "I'm doing well. Why don't you ask Steve about his morning?"

      Peter nods and then he looks at Bucky and me. His eyes go wide and his face turns white, sending us all into fits of laughter. Tony nearly drops his now-broken mug for the second time and Wanda tumbles off the couch.

      "Let's get some breakfast," I say to Bucky as I tow him toward Nat and Thor.

     Bucky just smirks and squeezes my fingers, happy that I'm handling the ridicule with a smile. He must think I'm absolutely panicked on the inside, but, honestly, I'm used to being the laughingstock of the team.

     They've given me a handful of absurd and equally embarrassing nicknames over the years: Grandpa Frisbee, Captain Virgin, Capsicle, Fossil, Running Man, Candy Striper, Parkour Pirate, Man In Tights, and several others.

     Obviously, one of those is wrong, since Bucky definitely made sure we were each other's first, but I didn't have the heart to tell them. I figured I would eventually tell them, and a few of them had sneaking suspicions, but the entire team has known for a few years now. 

     It's not like we held anything back, let alone act like we were something other than lovers. Neither of us cared. It had been too long.

      Nat hands me two full plates and two mugs of coffee, saying, "I'm already ahead of you, Cap."

     "Thanks, Nat," I tell her as Bucky takes his plate and mug from me and goes toward the dining table.

     She smiles as I turn to follow Bucky, smiling like the lovesick fool I am. It must be quite the sight for everyone.

     I've got my Bucky back.

      Over the next half hour, we're at the mercy of Tony and Bruce's teasing, but they eventually get up and go off to work on a few things down in the lab.

Then, Clint pipes up and asks me just how good my night was. Bucky smiles and says that it's "confidential" before pressing a kiss to my cheek. Clint shakes his head and rolls his eyes, muttering about how happy he is to be deaf.

     I nod and agree with him.

     The resulting look of shock on Clint's face gets a laugh out of Bucky.

Sam and Nat join us at the dining table a few minutes later with Peter close behind. We go over random things, like the weather and plans for the day. But before I can even ask Bucky what he wants to do today, Natasha tells me to behave. This gets another laugh out of Bucky, who is more than happy to join in on teasing me.

Great.

     Tony reappears and grabs a muffin off the table. Tony then offers a blueberry to Bucky, and he accepts it with a smile.

     But, to Tony, this means Bucky has passed the blueberry test.

     Offering a blueberry is his way of showing he's comfortable, that he respects you, and that he values you. Accepting a blueberry means you feel the same. It's like a trust exercise or a friendship test.

     I've been given the blueberry test a couple times myself.

      As he turns to leave, Tony looks at Bucky and says, "Hey, so, there's a piano room on the tenth floor. I figured that since you know how to play, you might be interested in it."

     We're a rather artsy pair, Bucky and I.

     We'd entertain ourselves with music, art, and dance. I was never great at dancing, but Bucky still insisted on dancing with me anyways. He would occasional set me on top of his feet and literally walk me through slow dances. He would hold me especially close and give me extra kisses. He would also give me extra kisses whenever I finished an art project or sang a new song just for him.

     I love how sweet he was with me, and that feeling still hasn't changed. If anything, it's only intensified.

     Fly me to the moon, Buck.

     Bucky nods and smiles, "That sounds like fun, actually." He looks at me. "You can draw while I play, too, Stevie."

     Oh, honey.

      Nat smiles at us, "That's so cute."

      Bucky takes my hand in his and squeezes my fingers, "Only the best for my star-spangled man with a plan."

      Tony smiles and turns to leave with a laugh, "Like Natasha said before, boys — behave!"

     "I can't guarantee that we will," Bucky grins.

     Peter chokes on his pancakes.

     Nat shakes her head, "Really, guys?"

     Bucky smirks.

     I shrug and flash her a smartass smile, "At least we're honest."