The Cold Never Bothered Me Anyway

Author's Note: Sorry for the long hiatus, everyone. I'm haven't really writing much new fanfiction lately...my muse is on a VERY long vacation and my real life has really caught up. However, I've got enough stuff backed up to post things every once in a while, and am working to be re-inspired.

Anyway, here's a short piece featuring Steve and Bucky in the late 30s/early 40s during the wintertime. It ties in to another set of drabbles I have written up, too. Enjoy!

Winter wasn't so bad, really. Sometimes it could even be beautiful when the streets and housetops were dusted with white, when the children were out playing, when the snow fell and brought with it a hush that could even be felt in busy, bustling Brooklyn.

The problems winter brought along, however, were problems Bucky could do without.

With beauty, winter brought cold. It was cold he could never escape, or at least not in the little apartment he shared with Steve. With things being as they were, they couldn't afford proper heating. Hell, they could barely afford proper food, and that was with both of them tightening their belts.

Personally, Bucky was fine with the cold. It was Steve he worried about. He was sickly even at the best times of the year. The cold got to him, and badly. If he were to catch something life-threatening, it would be during that time of year. At the very least, he'd never be able to be warm. Bucky would always catch him shivering, no matter how many threadbare clothes he had piled on his skinny frame.

It wasn't that Bucky didn't think that Steve was strong. He was one of the strongest people Bucky knew. If Steve didn't have a spirit tempered with steel, he suspected that he would've been gone long ago, dragged under by one of the many health issues he had or the difficult life that had been thrust upon him. But having an unbreakable spirit and an unbreakable body were two different things entirely, and Steve did not have the latter. In fact, he often looked as though a strong gust of wind could blow him away.

So the winter came, and Bucky worried. He did his best to keep his friend warm, safe, healthy, but it wasn't always easy. He never told Steve how much he worried, of course. Steve would probably brush it off, or even be embarrassed. As it was, he probably sensed a bit of his friend's concern. If he did, though, he said nothing, just did his best to soldier on and ignore any problems he might have been having, just like he always did.

Tonight, Bucky could hear Steve wheezing in the bed next to his, sounding dangerously close to some sort of chest cold. Once again, their heating was off, and they were each huddled under the warmest blankets they owned. Steve had two wrapping him tightly, and would've had a third if he didn't insist Bucky keep one.

"I don't want you sick, Buck!" he'd protested when Bucky offered him his last blanket. "I'll be fine."

Even so, Bucky would've far preferred Steve to stay warm. He would have been able to rest more easily that way. Maybe it would only have been one blanket, but that was still one blanket more, just a bit of warmth more, than what he had just then.

Just then, he thought of something. So long as Steve didn't mind, perhaps this would be a better way for both of them to keep warm. Truth be told, he was a bit chilled. Perhaps he didn't care (or at least, could tolerate it), but it would always be preferable to stay warm.

"Hey, Steve?" he whispered. "You still awake?" He already knew the answer to that, of course, but might as well humor his friend.

"Yeah. What is it?" Steve's voice, muffled either by a cold or by the blankets, spoke up in response.

"Can I try something to keep you warm?"

"Bucky, I don't-"

"It'll keep me warm too, you punk. Let me finish."

"Alright," Steve sighed a moment later, sounding skeptical. Bucky stood up, wrapped the sheet around his shoulders like a cape, and made his way over to Steve's bed.

"Scoot over. You're small, but so's the bed," Bucky ordered him, and Steve complied. As soon as he'd done so, the brunet unwrapped the blanket from around his body and threw it over the bed.

"No, wait-" Steve started to protest. Bucky shushed him by holding up a finger, then pulled all three blankets back and climbed underneath so that he was next to Steve.

"There. Now we'll both stay warm," he declared, closing his eyes. "Comfortable?"

"Yeah," Steve agreed. The bed was fairly small, and he was left resting his head on his friend's shoulder rather than the pillow. He didn't mind; he was considerably warmer.

"G'night, Steve," Bucky murmured, silently promising he'd stay awake just a little longer to make sure his friend was breathing more easily.

"'Night, Bucky," Steve replied, leaning into his friend and all the warmth he provided in spite of himself, and closing his eyes as well.

Author's Note: What can I say? I'm quite fond of Steve and Bucky, not to mention their bromance. It's always great when one of my two favorite characters in a series are in either my OTP or BroTP, but both? Pure fangirl gold.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading this. Please leave a review with suggestions for a better title (while I don't mind the current Frozen-themed title, I bet you readers have better ideas!), constructive criticism, what you liked and what you hated. Thank you so much for your time!