Summer In Your Eyes: Seasons Series 1 (Lifeguard!Steve x Bucky Barnes Summer AU)

Two

Taking in a deep breath, Bucky took his first step into the house. Immediately, Bucky was greeted by their hyper Labrador Retriever, Thor. Affectionately petting Thor's large head, Bucky glanced over to find their Doberman Pinscher, Loki, sprawled out on the sofa. Bucky was sure that if dogs rolled their eyes, Loki would be doing just that.

Dropping his duffle bag carelessly on the last step of the staircase with all the others, Bucky was more cautious with his guitar case. Using as much gentleness as possible as he leaned the case against the wall. Even standing there for a moment longer to make sure that it wouldn't fall over.

"So, bub, what's the plan for tonight?" George asked. Shouted, really, over the commotion of Becca's pleading and Tibby's singing, across the rooms.

"Oh, ya know," Bucky stretched his arms up and tapped his hands on the archway leading into the living room. Realizing that he was finally tall enough to reach it and taking a moment to reminisce about the way that he and Steve would try their hardest to seem taller. The memory brought a small smile to Bucky's face, the way that most of his Michigan summers did.

"Should we expect Connie to be joining us?" Mandy questioned while cutting a turkey sandwich diagonal down the middle. There was a mischievousness in Mandy's tone that instantly made Bucky cautious of his younger sister. Wondering if she knew something that she shouldn't.

No, Bucky went to say. It was right there on the tip of his tongue, but before he had the chance to form the simple word, Winifred cut in with, "Connie is such a sweet girl. You should invite her down for a week." Enthusiastically, Winifred suggested, "We could have bonfires with s'mores, and I'm sure that Connie would love to try water skiing since she's always talking about trying new things."

Taking half of Mandy's sandwich, Mandy feigned annoyance with Bucky and in jest stated, "She must be really special to still be putting up with you."

Around a mouthful of turkey on rye with pickles and spicy mustard, Bucky flashed a crooked smirk and sent a mischievous wink to no one in particular. Chewing the sandwich and watching his family joke with one another, Bucky milled over whether he should tell them that he and Connie had broken up the previous week. After all, they liked Connie. But what wasn't there to like?

Connie was the ideal girl that parents wished that their children would end up with. She was smart without rubbing it in someone's face. Nice without reason or expectation of something in return. And funny without being cruel or needing to twist insecurities into the punchline for a cheap laugh.

Swallowing the bite, Bucky decided that now wasn't the time, and was quick to finish his stolen half of the sandwich before quietly excusing himself from the kitchen. They didn't need to know every little thing that happened in his life, after all. Or at least, that's what Bucky tried to reason. Figuring that they didn't necessarily need to know the real reason why they had broken up.

Bucky gave Thor a good scratch between his ears before he grabbed his bag and headed upstairs and over to the room that had been bestowed upon him as a child. It being a summer room had never changed the fact that it was Bucky's.

Rounding the corner and bumping his hip on the railing as always, Bucky headed down the hallway to the last room. The smallest room. The room right next to the laundry room. The room that had always screamed reject but felt like home. Sometimes, Bucky felt more at home in that room than his regular bedroom back home.

Besides, Bucky didn't mind having the smallest room. At least he didn't have to share the way that his sisters did. Three to a room? Yikes and no thanks.

With a sigh of relief and an ache in his heart of the longed familiarity, Bucky dropped his bag. Home, Bucky took in a grounding breath. Crossing the small room, Bucky plopped face first down on the bare twin size mattress. The frame was a bit snug with Bucky's feet almost hanging over the end of the bed. But that didn't stop Bucky's eyes from fluttering shut. Didn't stop Bucky from taking in a deep breath of the smell of fresh air and lake water.

Finally, Bucky contently sighed, I'm home.