The Captain's Husband

52. Night Off (Bucky)

"Hey, Stevie, baby, Tony wants us to come back down to the lab," I call out to Steve from the kitchen. "Jarvis has Niko's profile ready for us!"

Silence.

Steve?

I leave the kitchen and walk down the long hallway toward our bedroom. I pass four rooms - our personal gym, our office and study, and a nursery that was turned into a home theatre for two a few months ago.

I don't hear a sound as I walk, listening for signs of life.

That's strange...our bedroom door is open.

"Stevie?" I ask as I nudge the door open and poke my head inside.

"Boo!"

Like a startled cat, I jump, my vertical clearing every personal record I have.

But then I see Steve.

"You spooked the hell out of me," I tell him as I let out a frustrated sigh.

He smiles warmly, blue eyes full of light, cheeks soft sunset pink. He frames me in the open door of our bedroom, his hands on the doorframe on either side of me. My heart starts to race as he leans in and presses a kiss to my forehead.

"C'mere," he murmurs, moving his hands from the doorframe.

He slides one arm around me, resting his hand on the small of my back. He holds the door knob with his other hand, closing the door and locking it behind him as he walks me backwards into our bedroom.

A fire ignites in my core.

What's on your mind, Stevie, baby?

You been missing me?

I set my hands on his shoulders and gently pull him with me when the back of my legs hit the edge of our bed. He hovers over me, his blue eyes filling with fire as he stares down into my eyes. I can only imagine what's going through his head, so I make a request.

"Tell me," I whisper.

"Our kids, and our family," he says softly as he takes my face in his hands. "They adore you, Buck. It makes me so proud to call you mine. Watching you move and speak and react the way that only you do, like it isn't a crime, when you're just going about the day, it baffles me, you're phenomenal."

Steve.

"You're buttering me up real nice," I smile. "What's really on your mind, baby?"

"I haven't had my hands on you in months," he confesses. "I've been pacing at night, I can't focus, and Wanda, Sam, Natasha, and Tony have asked if everything between us is okay, if something is wrong. I couldn't bring myself to tell them that I've been keeping myself up at night thinking of all the different ways I could make you scream my name. I couldn't let them know that I've been dreaming of this exact moment, when we finally have ten minutes alone, when we can just be together, reconnect, and work on us."

Oh, sweetheart.

I wrap my legs around his waist and drape my arms around his neck, pulling him close. He melts into me, burying his face in my neck with a purr. The heat from his body sets my soul on fire.

"I can't kiss you if you're hiding from me," I tease, running my fingers up through his hair, ghosting across his scalp. "C'mere, baby."

He presses a kiss to my neck, a hum moving through him as he says, "I've missed you."

"Why don't we take tonight off?" I ask as he moves back over me. "We can ask Nat and Tony to watch the kids. Worst comes to worst, I know Sam wants to spend time with them."

His eyes light up.

"You sure?" He asks.

"Yes, dear," I tell him.

"Jarvis, call Tony," Steve says, grinning.

"Of course," Jarvis chirps. "Give me just a moment."

While we wait, Steve sweet-talks me out of my clothes, and I manage to get both of us, now completely naked, under the covers. We snuggle up as close as we can for the moment, knowing that a slight brush of the hand or rogue movement can get us in major trouble very quickly.

"Jarvis said you had a question for me. What's up?" Tony asks as Jarvis displays him on a holographic screen for us.

Tony is on his floor. Peter and Wade are cashed out on the couch in the background. Natasha is just over his shoulder, arms draped around him. It looks like they're in their kitchen.

"You two look cozy," Nat grins.

"I'm surprised you aren't saying more," Steve tells her.

"No need," she smirks. "We're used to the trouble you two cause."

"What did you need, Steve?" Tony says, cutting off their conversation.

"Listen, we know this is last minute and it's getting close to dinner time, but could you watch the triplets tonight?" Steve asks him. "Bucky and I need some alone time, just the two of us."

"Completely understand," Tony says. "We've got you covered."

"Wow, Tony, I'm impressed," Nat teases.

"They haven't been on a date or been alone since the triplets learned to walk," Tony points out. "It's the least we can do, and it gives me an excuse to get them fitted for supersuits before they even ask for them."

"Have fun, but not too much fun," Nat says. "We don't want to see you two on the news, and we don't want to hear from Jarvis until morning."

"You got it," Steve grins.

"We'll call the kids down to us," Tony smirks. "Have a good night, guys."

The hologram vanishes, and I'm left snuggled with my soulmate in bed, no distractions to be found.