Winterprincess One-shots

Hello, Old Friend

Summary: Bucky swings by to visit his old friend Steve, who has made it his mission to become an embarrassing Grandpa.

Bucky knocked on the door. The house before him was the epitome of rich white people suburbia. The brick house had a well cared for garden and a literal white picket fence around the lawn. He was happy his friend was able to live such a life. Bucky would never be able to, although he wasn't sure that's what he had ever wanted. He couldn't help but flex his vibranium hand.

Steve came to the door, smiling brightly at his friend. He was hunched, shrunk a bit, his hair grey, but still Steve. He steps aside, letting Bucky step into the walkway.

"Hey, Bucky," Steve greets him, closing the door behind him, "You've got mail."

"How you doin', Steve?" Bucky asks, taking off his jacket and pretending he's not eager to get his hands on the letter.

"Can't complain," He said, already handing him the envelope.

Bucky suppressed the smile that turned the corner of his lips as he opened the letter. His body found its way into the living room and onto the couch while his eyes and mind devoured the contents of the letter. Shuri humored him when he said he'd rather talk through letters than the kimoyo beads. For him it was the matter of having something tangible in his hands. He could go back and look at it again and again. It didn't matter that she was awful at it. Her handwriting was sloppy, she used a lot of text-speak, but... he was just happy she tried. Everytime he received one of those letters she sent him, his heart felt so full of love and contentment. He practically has a heart attack when he finds a picture of Shuri tucked into the envelope. She took the time to print out a "selfie" for him. He sucked in breath through his teeth and tucked the letter and the photo back into the envelope. He'd get a more thorough look later, when Steve isn't looking at him with a smug smile.

"Good news?"

"Ya, ya, good news," Bucky watched as Steve crossed the room to plop into his old arm chair. It was still surreal to see Steve as an old man. Sure, He'd told him his plans before he went into the past, but it still felt... weird. He'd always been older. Now Steve was going on one hundred and ten. Thank the super soldier serum for the fact his friend wasn't in a retirement home. "So what have you been doing, nothing stupid, I hope?"

"Ah, you know. Beat Sheryl at bingo night. Kept my eyes on the news. How are you? On the road, I mean."
"It's... hard," He answered honestly, pausing to think a moment, "I miss the goats. I miss the village, the people, the kids." Shuri.

"They treat you well?" Steve asks, reaching to take a drink of the coffee he has on the table by his chair.

"They call me their adopted son, the village does," Bucky explains, "they call me White Wolf." That gets a hearty chuckle out of the retired hero.

"A little on the nose, eh?" Bucky shrugs, leaning back on the couch. Steve had a nice place, he had to admit. It was cozy, the kind of place Bucky could've seen himself settling into had he lived another life. Now he saw himself in a hut, sometimes he even dared to imagine himself waking up in the palace....

"So who's the girl?" Steve's question caught him off guard.

"What?" He laughed nervously.
"Come on, Buck, you can't lie to me. You read her letters like they're gospel, you get this stupid smile on your face... I know that smile," Steve added, a mischievous glint in his eye. Bucky ducked his head in embarrasment, unable to supress the dumb smile on his face or the blush crawling across his face. "Who is she?"

"Well she's smart. Too smart for a Brooklyn boy like me," He looked up, composing himself and trying to stay matter-of-fact, "She's got a mouth on her. 'Could sass me out of a room if she wanted. She's funny, a ray of sunshine."
"Makes your heart race?"
"Like crazy."

"You stay awake thinking about her?"

"More than I'm comfortable admitting."

"Try to come up with excuses to see her?"
"And pray her brother doesn't kill me, ya."

Steve laughed at that. "So she's got a brother?"

"A brother who has the power to kill me if this information got out," He said, his tone warning. He couldn't wipe the smile off his face, but he meant it. He was terrified of T'Challa, should his feelings get out. "Can we talk about something else?"

"Sure, sure...."

Steve smiled as Bucky passed out on his couch. He stood up, shuffling over. He sets aside the letter his friend had been reading, getting a glimpse at the paper. He chuckled at the text speak and set it aside. He wasn't going to invade Bucky's privacy. If his friend wanted to tell him more, he'd tell him more. He put a blanket over the former soldier and turned off the living room lights, silently wishing his friend a good night.