Beauty of Its Own (highschool stucky au)

Hot Cocoa...

It was now mid December. Bucky was still living with Steve, Mrs. Rogers fully understood and let him stay as long as he got a job after school. It was difficult, but he managed. He would shower and head right over to the cafe shop a few blocks from school. He'd get home at around 10, and get to work on his homework. Everynight—except fridays. Fridays were usually game days, and the shop owner understood. However, he would have an early shift Saturday morning.

Bucky felt bad, frankly, having to wear Steve's clothes, so he planned a day with Rebecca so he could go over and get his clothing. Becca and Steve helped, taking armfuls of what they could hold. When Bucky stepped into his room, he saw that his bed was made, his room tidy. Rebecca informed him that she had cleaned his room. Before leaving, he made sure she knew how much he loved her, despite his insults and jokes. Everything changed now that he didn't live with her.

Steve got a job at a mechanic's shop, working in a small office answering phones. He had about the same schedule as Bucky, except he worked Saturday nights.

Sundays were there most precious days, they slept in till noon and just hung around each other. If they weren't as tired that week, they even went out with friends.

On the other hand, Steve's mom wasn't getting better. There were days when she couldn't get out of bed. Bucky and Steve have to help her out of her room and into the car to get her to appointments. Steve had a feeling that she wasn't getting healthier, he knew she was progressively worsening.

At school though, Bucky and Steve were thriving. They were able to escape their troubles at home. Steve told Natasha he was with Bucky—she wasn't surprised. A week later they came out publicly to the school. They were still the current talk. Again, people who knew them or saw them weren't as surprised as those who didn't. The two knew, however, the news was bound to get Sarah, they figured it was best if she learned from them. So Bucky and Steve planned it out.

They came home, their stomachs churning with nerves. Steve sat her down on the couch next to him, Bucky perked on the coffee table. Bucky told him to be as blunt as possible, it would make everything less difficult. Steve took it to heart.

“Bucky and I are dating, ma,” Steve had said shakily.

She stayed quiet for a while, then looked at the both of them. “I don't know why I'm a bit shocked,” she spoke. She looked from Steve's troublesome eyes, to Bucky's fearful ones. “Oh, don't be scared,” she smiled, hugging them both close to her. They embraced her as well as eachother, the easy acceptance comforting.

Steve let out the breath he was holding, Bucky coughed to disguise his visible anxiety.

“I'm not gonna let you two share a room, then,” she had looked at them sternly. “Steve, you're taking the extra room in the basement.”

“Wha—mom it's creepy down there,” Steve protested.

They complied, though. It was sometimes used as a guest bedroom when they'd have friends or family over, but Steve nor Bucky ever went down there unless they had to. Steve dusted the room, washed the covers to the creaking bed. Outside of the room was basically a storage area. Boxes lined the walls, an old couch up against them with bags full of clothes to be donated. Steve had to wear a mask as they both cleaned the basement, his asthma easily triggered by the clouds of dust.

Bucky suggested that they'd started with Steve's new room. They stripped the bed of everything on it, throwing it into the washer. The bed had many loose screws, easily tilting each time you tugged on it. There wasn't a closet in the room, or a big window either. A full sized bed, a night stand, and a small dresser.

They sorted through the clothing in the area outside the room, making sure it was of no use to them. Steve found a scarf that was still good. Bucky took some shirts, hoping they'd fit him tightly; that's the type of style he was into. The rest Steve threw into his car for later. The couch had to be whacked a couple times to be rid of the dust. When they sat down, they would sink into the cushions. Sam went over, and helped the add supports to fix the couch. He brought his vacuum to help. Between the three of them, they were able to somewhat transform the basement. The boxes were stacked on top of each other to maximize space, the couch was able to sustain weight without having them fall to the floor.