1227 words

It's early in the morning and Steve doesn't want to pull away from Bucky. It's just that they're really comfortable, and Steve's already missing his morning run in favor of cuddles, so why get up for anything? His phone is buzzing though, so he just buries his head deeper into Bucky's hair, hoping whoever's calling him will stop.

The buzzing stops after a few moments, and Steve sighs, kissing the top of Bucky's head. Bucky hums, pushing his head into Steve's chest.

And then the buzzing starts again.

With a deep sigh, Steve untangles his arms from Bucky. Bucky groans, but his one arm is under Steve, so he doesn't really have a choice in the matter.

Steve turns, grabs his phone, and says, "Hm," as a greeting.

"We need you," Natasha's voice says grimly.

"Good morning," Steve replies. He sits up all the same, though; there's an edge in her voice that he doesn't particularly like. Bucky sits up, too, resting his chin on Steve's shoulder.

"There's this HYDRA base and —" she pauses, and Steve can hear someone speaking in the background, but he can't make out the words. "We need you," she repeats.

"Okay," Steve replies, exhaling. He's not naive; he knew his time in Wakanda would end eventually. It doesn't make it any easier to face.

"We'll be there in three hours," she says, blunt as ever, and hangs up on him. Steve keeps the phone at his ear for another moment before lowering it.

"I have to go," he says, turning his neck and planting a soft kiss onto Bucky's cheek.

"Stay," Bucky insists, climbing onto Steve's lap and kissing him properly.

"I can't," Steve responds, frowning against Bucky's lips.

"I know," Bucky sighs, pulling his head back. He cups Steve's face, tracing Steve's lips with his thumb. "Your team needs you, Cap," he says, giving Steve a sad smile.

They both know that happiness isn't forever. They're experts in that.

Sighing again, Steve runs his hands up Bucky's back and pulls him into a hug, running his hands further up to tangle his fingers into Bucky's hair.

He presses a kiss onto Bucky's temple and lingers there, before whispering, "Let me do your hair."

It's a point of disagreement between them. Ever since Steve arrived to Wakanda, he's asked Bucky to let him do his hair. It's full of tangles and Bucky's buns are always half-assed, but Bucky straight up refuses to accept any help with it. When they started dating, Steve thought it would give him a pass to at least brush through Bucky's hair.

He was wrong.

But now, since he's leaving, maybe…?

Bucky pulls away to look Steve in the eyes, frowning and arching one his eyebrows.

"I've done Becca's hair," Steve offers, when Bucky continues with his disapproving look.

"Becca hated when you did her hair," Bucky points out. Steve rolls his eyes. Sure, Bucky's little sister only liked when Bucky braided her hair, not Steve, but Steve wasn't awful at it. Becca only favored Bucky because they were siblings by blood; she had told Steve as much.

"Why don't you want me to tie your hair up?" Steve asks, giving Bucky puppy dog eyes, hoping it'll soften his defenses.

"I can do stuff by myself, Steve," Bucky answers, shrugging his shoulders and looking past him, at the wall. "Just because I have one arm doesn't mean I —" Bucky cuts himself off with a sharp inhale.

Steve hums, getting it now. He spent the first two and a half decades with an immune system too weak to support him. When he came out of the ice, everyone assumed he was technologically inept. He knows what it's like to be degraded, to be babied, to be treated like he's not capable.

That's not what this is for Steve.

"You win at our spars daily," Steve says, bringing his fingers to Bucky's temples and threading them into his hair. "I know you're more than capable by yourself, but —" Steve tugs on Bucky's hair, where there's some tangles, and Bucky winces. "Sweetheart, your hair is a little bit of a mess."

Bucky holds Steve's gaze for a few seconds, searching his face deeply. He eventually leans in and kisses Steve's nose with a sigh.

"Fine," he says, giving in, and Steve can't help but break out into a grin.

He gives Bucky's side a nudge and Bucky rolls his eyes at Steve's excitement. Nevertheless, he gets off Steve's lap, sitting cross legged with his back to Steve.

"If you hurt me, I kill you," Bucky says, his back visibly tense. It's all bark and no bite though, Steve knows.

Starting at the roots of Bucky's hair, he runs his hands through the brown locks, trying to be as gentle as possible. Bucky winces a few times, but after a few minutes of gentle stroking, Steve's able to run his hands through Bucky's hair without interruption. Leaning in, he presses his lips to Bucky's neck.

"Are you done yet?" Bucky asks as Steve's eyelashes flutter close.

"Nope," he responds, opening his eyes and straightening back up. "I'm gonna braid your hair."

Exhaling, Steve grabs a chunk of Bucky's hair from the top of Bucky's head. He remembers bucky teaching him on Becca, decades ago, and the memory never left. He slowly braids the part, working in more hair as he goes, until he reaches the end of the braid.

"Ponytail?" Steve asks, wrapping the little tail around his finger. Bucky gestures towards their little bedside table. Leaning over, Steve wrenches open the drawer and feels around before finding a ponytail. He wraps it around the tail and lets the braid down, leaning back a little to admire his handiwork.

"Done," Steve says, smiling at the way Bucky's hair curves and twists. Bucky brings his hand up and feels it. He's quiet for a second, until Steve softly asks, "Bucky?"

In a split second, Bucky whips around, pressing his lips against Steve's, hard. Steve thinks he can feel tears hitting his cheeks.

"Bucky?" Steve asks again, muffled against Bucky's lips as he wraps his arm around Steve's neck. Bucky pulls away from Steve staying close enough for Steve to see tears on his eyelashes. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Bucky says softly, exhaling hot air onto Steve's nose. "It just —" Bucky takes both of Steve's hand with his hand and rubs his thumb over the back of one of Steve's hands. "You're really gentle," Bucky exhales, one corner of his lips turning up. "It's been a long time since someone's been gentle to me."

Steve pauses for a moment before leaning into Bucky, pressing his face into his neck. He knows that Bucky doesn't blame him for anything that happened with HYDRA, and he's trying to let himself think that, too, but he can't help but sigh deeply, exhaling hot air onto Bucky.

"I love you," he says, the words getting muffled. He knows Bucky can hear him, anyway, because Bucky leans back into Steve. "I'm not leaving you again. Not like that," Steve promises, his voice going into a whisper. "I'm with you 'till the end of the line."

"I'm with you 'till the end of the line, too," Bucky says, right below Steve's ear. He pulls back, looking at Steve with a soft smile.

And this moment? It's perfect.