Ever After

Part 23 - Brooklyn, 1943

Steve's arms pulling you a little tighter wakes you up. Despite being the first good night's sleep you had had since getting back from the blip, your body aches; a combination of the events of the previous night, mixed with all the emotional damage from the last couple of days. "You ok?" You mumble to him, squeezing him a little tighter too.

"Just reliving memories," he kisses your head. "Wishing I could have made different choices."

"I think everyone feels like that sometimes," You smile into him before sitting up, leaning on his chest to look up at him. "Anything particular on your mind?"

"You." He smiles, before brushing the hair away from your face. "I told myself this would never happen, that you would never love me back. So I pushed it down. Hid it, for years. Wasting time." 

"I know the feeling," You smile before pressing a kiss to his chest. "Everyone else saw it except for us."

"Tell me about it. Nat, Sam, hell even Tony saw it. But not us."

"Not us." You smirk.

"When you were gone, all of you, I finally told Nat." Steve sighs, running his hand up and down your arm. "She made me promise that when we got you all back that I would tell you. But then..." His voice breaks slightly, tears filling his eyes. You raise a hand to cup his cheek making him lean in to your touch.

"I know. Bucky made me promise the same thing."

"Buck knew?"

"Yeah. When we were in Wakanda, I thought," You hesitate before continuing, not sure if this is the right time for this conversation, but it was time for you both to be completely honest with each other. "I thought having Bucky back would change how I felt. But it didn't. We tried to reclaim some of that life back, but after everything we had been through, we weren't the same people that we were now...here...the past." You scrunch your face up in confusion as you try to find the right words to describe the time you're in, making Steve laugh. "You know what I'm trying to say. I told him I was in love with you, and he just...knew."

"Of course he did," Steve laughs, pulling you closer. "Bucky always knew you best."

"That's because he's our best friend." You feel a pang of guilt again about leaving him behind in Siberia, leaving him behind in 2023. Trying to lock it away for now you reach up and press a deep kiss onto his lips; desperately trying to focus on happy you are right now to be wrapped in Steve's arms. "When did you realise?" 

"Oh," He blushes slightly, before letting out a little chuckle. "Honestly, I never really thought about it. The moment I came out of the ice you were just there, and when Fury split us apart all I could think about was you. After Loki, we were together all the time and suddenly you weren't just my friend anymore. You always had my back, but still called me out. You were everything." This time he scrunches his nose up. "Ok, that sounded better in my head."

"It was cute," You kiss him again before snuggling back into him, pulling a little on the makeshift bandage wrapped around your side. Trying your hardest not to wince, Steve pulls back, sitting up completely to check on you. "It's ok Steve, I just need to change the dressing."

Getting up, he heads through to the kitchenette, searching for your makeshift first aid kit. "We need to do something about your bed too," he chuckles before sitting in front of you. "Here, let me." Carefully he unwraps the old bandage, cleaning the wound before wrapping a fresh one on. To distract yourself from the pain you look around your old bedroom. "And maybe get some clothes on you before I get distracted." 

"I know this is a stupid question, but what's the date?" A sudden thought creeping through your mind. Steve looks at his watch before pulling up his trousers.