Chapter 9

Steve was pacing the tower, unable to keep still. Peter was out patrolling, and Steve had heard the police radio he'd asked Jarvis to play for him go crazy with reports of a dangerous man called the rhino dressed in a literal metal artillery rhino suit that Spider-Man was apparently now facing. His arm itched for his shield, but he and Peter had already had the argument over whether or not he was allowed to help, and the fact was, Peter was worse off when he had to worry about other people around than he was on his own. Sure if it was a threat where they had no choice but to team up much like the situation where Steve had discovered Peter was Spider-Man, but with these sorts of things; Spider-Man was a one man team that the city loved. Well, most of the city anyways. It had been very hard for him not to write an angry letter to the editor of the Daily Bugle. It had been Tony Stark laughing in his face and telling him that Peter would probably resent him forever if he did such a thing that had stopped him. But now he was stuck pacing the room, and finally his curiosity got the better of him.

"Jarvis, turn on the news. I want to see anything on the fight between Spider-Man and the Rhino." the name sat oddly on his tongue, but he ignored his irritation in favour of the TV turning on to his right. He felt dizzy when he saw 'the rhino' and realized the thing was massive; at least 6 times his own size, and Peter was such a thin person – despite his superpowers, the idea of Peter facing that thing had him going dizzy. Rather than head towards where he kept his uniform though, his hand just scrabbled to wrap around the dog tags that hung around his neck, squeezing them tight enough to bend them if he hadn't had Tony remake them out of something he couldn't destroy. For once, the billionaire hadn't said a word, only taken the tags without a word and returned them later that day, never mentioning them again. He could only stare at the screen now, watching the tiny form (by comparison) of his son as he leapt, vaulted, swung, and darted around, over, and under the hulking machine whose intent was clearly to crush his son to death. His breath caught when the machine got it's big hands around his son, clearly intent on crushing him, and Steve swung around, no longer capable of watching, intent on suiting up and going out there to help. When he turned around though, he was frozen in his tracks. Standing there in the doorway was Bucky, wearing worn jeans and a leather jacket, a hoodie underneath with the hood pulled over his head. His hair was still long, much the same as it had been when Steve had seen him a year before actually, but his expression was no longer as blank, a small smile playing around his mouth.

"You weren't actually thinking of going after him, were you?" Bucky asked, and the words snapped Steve out of his shock as he violently jabbed a hand towards the TV.

"Have you seen that thing? It outweighs him by hundreds of pounds!"

"Never used to stop you." Steve sputtered indignantly.

"When did this become about me? That's my son out there! Hell, he's practically yours too from what Peter told me. How can you not be worried?" the small smile just widened as Bucky finally stepped away from the elevator and into the apartment, and Steve wondered in the back of his mind if he'd really been so distracted as to not to have heard the elevator.

"Peter's fine. Look." Bucky said, nodding towards the TV, and Steve looked back to see Peter no longer in the rhino's grip but bouncing around as shots rang out towards him.

"That is not fine!" Steve argued, feeling practically hysterical, and before he'd even realized that Bucky had crossed the room there was a reassuring hand on his arm.

"He's fine, and he's going to continue being fine. Guy in that suit is from the Russian mob. He's just a grunt. Not a good shot, not a particularly good fighter. Average. Peter's anything but average. He'll be fine."

"How can you be sure?" Steve asked, giving in, and the hand on his arm tightened in comfort.

"Cause you were always fine, and you sure had a lot less going for you back in the day." that finally had Steve turning back, had him realizing past his worry that Bucky was actually back. Before he could help himself, he was wrapping Bucky up in a hug, relief sweeping through him. He might be still worried about Peter, but the worry that had been all for Bucky was now lifted. It only took him a second to realize that maybe Bucky wasn't comfortable with touch yet, and another to realize that no, that couldn't be true because Bucky was hugging him back just as tightly.

"I'm glad you're back." Steve said, and it felt like deja vu except this time less life threatening.

"Yeah. Figured I'd stick around a while. See what New York has to offer these days." Bucky said when they pulled back, a careful distance between them though it was still smaller than what was the social norm.

"Do you have a place to stay?" Steve found himself asking, and Bucky nodded.

"I like to have my options open, so I've got a couple places around."

"You could always stay here," he was blurting out next, and watched the smile curl Bucky's lips into a smirk.

"I don't think your teammates would approve." he noted, and Steve was shaking his head vigorously.

"No, they wouldn't mind, really. I mean, they seem to be more surprised you didn't show up sooner." he flushed the moment the words were out of his mouth and watched Bucky lift a brow.

"Why would they have expected me earlier?" Bucky watched Steve's face flush impossibly deeper and he resisted the urge to grin.

"Oh, you know. Because of all the trouble Peter has been getting in, and-" there was sudden shouting from the TV behind him and he whirled around, listening to the shouts and screams.

"Does anyone have eyes on Spider-Man?"

"Spider-Man is down! Does anyone have a visual!" Steve felt like he'd been punched in the gut, his vision blurring. He didn't realize Bucky had moved until he'd been guided into a chair, Bucky's hand tight on his shoulders as he leaned over in front of him, blocking the TV.

"He's gonna be fine, Stevie. He's your kid, after all." Steve didn't think about what he was doing, just leaned forward so their foreheads touched, closing his eyes.

"One of these days, Buck-"

"You're going to have to tell him what a great job he's doing instead of giving him that disappointed frown I'm sure you've been giving for the last year." Steve made an indignant sound, opening his eyes, but he was met with Bucky's smile and he felt the words die in his throat, taking a breath to focus himself.

"Maybe you could go down there – you're better at the whole sneaky helpful thing. Don't think I don't remember all the things you used to do when we were kids." Bucky just snorted out a laugh.

"Don't kid yourself, Stevie. You don't know the half of it." but then the smile softened and Steve realized that their faces were so close together, foreheads still touching. "But I know that kid's more than capable and I don't want him to be pissed off at me when I haven't seen him in a year."

"You missed him?"

"I missed you both." Steve wasn't sure whether to breathe easier or hold his breath.

"Does that – does that mean you remember everything?" Bucky didn't answer right away, the smile dimming as something darker became more obvious so it lurked right beneath the surface.

"Yeah, I remember everything." there was something about his tone that told Steve he didn't just mean their past, and he wondered what else Hydra had taken from his best friend, the thought making him wince. That's when the sound of explosions burst from the television, and Steve was desperate to see what had happened. The camera men and their anchors were shouting for the smoke to clear, as desperate as he was to see what was going on, and when the smoke cleared Steve felt the ache in his chest ease. The monstrous shape of the rhino was on the ground not moving, Peter landing on the ground only a couple feet away. They watched together as Peter crept forward before standing up straight and waving at the police men. He leapt forward and onto the machine, prying it open and pulling the man out. Then he tossed the man at the feet of the first policeman and with a flick of his wrist, shot into the air and away. Steve didn't realize he'd been gripping the dog tags against until Bucky was staring at his hand with a frown, and the tips of his ears turned pink with embarrassment.

"When you – when you shipped out. You-"

"Sent you a letter. With my tags. I remember." he reached out, gently uncurling Steve's fingers from around them. "Seems like they shouldn't have lasted this long though."

"I-" he cleared his throat, embarrassed, "I had Tony remake them out of something sturdier." he pulled the chain over his head, pressing them into Bucky's hand. "They're yours, you should have them." Bucky just shook his head, smiling at him again.

"No, they're yours Stevie. Just like I've always been." the words had his heart hammering in his chest and he met his best friend's gaze in disbelief, unsure of what to say. He'd been in love with his best friend since long before the war – long before he'd become Captain America, but that didn't mean he'd ever expected the feelings to be returned. "Peter said – well, he told me that his Pa loved me too, although not in the way a kid loves his parent." Bucky said with a smirk, and Steve ducked his head in embarrassment, only to have Bucky lower to a crouch to catch his eye again.

"I told him that I already knew." Steve was trapped in the other's gaze and he was torn between wanting to run and wanting to hold on and never let go.

"How?" he ended up asking, voice rough, and watched the smirk soften, become something private that Steve hadn't realized before was meant to be just for him.

"Because I felt the same way, and nobody else makes a promise like we did – till the end,"

"Of the line." Steve finished, and he felt the smile break out, didn't bother fighting it, and with tentative fingers, reached out to cup his best friend's face. At the touch, Bucky seemed to relax, and when he reached out it was nowhere near as gentle, but it was every bit as loving when he pressed their mouths together and kissed him like their lives depended on it. They ended up both being in the chair, Steve pressed against the back with Bucky straddling his lap, and when the latter leaned back, Steve flushed crimson. Bucky just laughed and pressed their foreheads together, not willing to move away.

"I hope you don't mind if I take you up on that offer to stay here. After all, it's gonna be enough of a pain in my ass keeping an eye on the two of you from here, let alone if I do it from elsewhere in the city." Steve laughed, giving a fond shake of his head.

"Of course you can stay here. We'll have to tell everyone else though so that they aren't caught by surprise. That would be -"

"Hilarious?" Bucky provided, and Steve chuckled but shook his head.

"I was thinking more along the lines of dangerous and possibly awkward."

"Hmm. You mean as awkward as you'd feel if Peter walked in on us right now?" that had Steve almost leaping to his feet, but Bucky just stayed where he was, hooking his legs around Steve's hips and clinging. Steve made a soft sound of surprise but Bucky just grinned, leaning in to kiss him again.

"Buck-"

"Calm down, Stevie. Let's sit on the couch." with no choice but to comply, Steve did just that, and was more than a little relieved when Bucky moved to sit next to him instead though there was a smug grin on his face. Moments later, they both heard the thud of Peter hitting the side of the building and sure enough, moments later he was sliding in through a window, landing with a small groan.

"Peter! Are you okay?" Steve asked, already on his feet and rushing over, but Peter waved him off.

"I'm all good, Pa. Don't believe everything you see on TV. It's just a couple of bruises." he pulled off his mask and lifted his head to grin, showing a faint bruise along his jaw but no other sign of injury. Then it was like a bell had rung above his head because he straightened like a shot, eyes searching the room and falling on Bucky. The grin that spread across his face was wide and happy, and he actually gave a laugh before he was rushing across the room, practically knocking Bucky over from where he'd stood, obviously having expected such a greeting. "You're back."

"Yeah kid, I'm back." Peter laughed again, finally letting go and moving back so that he could see his Pa too.

"Oh man, and you guys are finally together." the laugh turned evil. "I've got to tell aunt Tasha. She owes me 20." Bucky was laughing but Steve was sputtering in embarrassment.

"You made a bet on-"

"How fast it would take you both to admit your feelings, yeah. And I won." Peter preened, hugging Bucky tightly again before moving to hug his Pa. "I'm happy for you." he said softly when his Pa hugged him back, and Steve just gave a huff but he was smiling.

"Get out of the suit. We'll go for ice cream." Peter gave a whoop of happiness before he rushed off to his room, and Steve felt Bucky's hand slip into his own.

"I bet you 20 that he'll 'slip' and call me dad at least one to see how flustered you get." Bucky said with a grin, and Steve just shook his head, and on impulse leaned over to kiss him.

"I'll do you one better," Steve murmured, and Bucky looked surprised but pleased. "I bet you dinner tomorrow night that if I don't react, he won't ever switch back to your name." Bucky gave a burst of surprised laughter and kissed Steve back.

"I'll take that bet." there was the click of a camera and both looked over to see Peter dressed in regular clothes, camera hanging around his neck and a grin on his face.

"Photographic evidence for aunt Tasha. Give me one minute to collect my money and ice cream will be on me." he said happily, and neither could argue with him as he practically skipped to the elevator.

As he'd promised, he was back within moments, leaning out of the elevator to beckon them after him. It only took Peter 5 minutes to pretend to slip up and call Bucky dad, and when Steve only reacted by taking Bucky's hand, Peter just beamed, and never called him anything else ever again. With Steve's hand in his, and Peter beaming at them like everyday was Christmas, he couldn't make himself care, and he never bothered to correct him. After all, Peter hadn't been wrong, he was a great kid anyone would be lucky to have. As if reading his thoughts, Steve squeezed his hand, and Bucky returned the pressure. He'd been searching for himself for a year, and all it had taken was these two idiots to show him that he didn't have to look anywhere else.