Work Text:
“I’m telling you, lads. Sirens aren’t something to take lightly.”
Steve and the Howling Commandos are currently setting up camp in the Austrian wilderness, calling it a day from their mission to locate and destroy a Hydra base. A mission like this usually doesn’t mean anything out of the ordinary, but the higher ups informed them that they were worried this wasn’t any run of the mill base. They hadn’t told them why , no matter how hard Steve pressed, but they all lept at the chance to stop it anyhow. Ever since Zola, the Howlies had all grown a particularly strong distaste for any shady Hydra activity— especially Steve and Bucky.
So, here they are, slowly but surely closing in on the enemy. They’d begun this mission three days ago, however, and long lasting missions only mean one thing; the wilder the night time conversations become. Steve isn’t sure what had landed them on this particular topic—he’d been too busy setting up his tent to pay attention—but the insistence from Monty makes him listen in.
“Many think they’re just a myth, but they’re as real as you or I. If you’re not careful, they’ll sing their song, take the form of who you want most, and steal you away.”
“Oh!” Now that grabs Steve’s attention. “So kind of like a merrow?”
Dugan raises an eyebrow at him. “Merrow?” He asks around his cigarette.
“They’re like mermaids, but not quite. My ma used to tell me stories about them,” he explains.
Out of the corner of his eye, Steve spots Bucky glancing his way. The two make brief eye contact and Steve immediately knows that the brunet remembers this story, too. They couldn’t have been older than ten when Steve’s ma tucked them into bed during one of their many sleepovers and lulled them to sleep with tales of beautiful fish-women from the sea that used magical caps to travel upon land.
“Like a siren, they’re known to lure men beneath the waves. They don’t kill them, though,” Steve continues.
“Oh, yeah? What do they do?” Gabe asks.
“Keep them underwater, where they have the men live in an enchanted state.”
“Man…” Morita shakes his head, exasperated. “All they have to do is ask.”
“Well, sometimes they come to the surface and live with their husbands,” Steve amends, only to wince a bit. “But they don’t ever stay for long. They’re always compelled to return to the sea in the end. Like selkies.”
“And what’s a selkie?”
“Women that can turn into seals.”
Morita groans. “ Why are there so many sea women? Why not just have mermaids and call it good?”
Monty shrugs. “Well, the oceans are quite vast. Surely there’d be more than just mermaids out there.”
“Okay, can we change the subject, please?” Dugan suddenly blurts out. “All this talk about beautiful women luring in men is making me antsy .”
“Ugh! Too much information, Dugan!” Morita exclaims, quickly retreating to his tent.
Steve chuckles and shakes his head as the others laugh. Even Bucky cracks a bit of a smile.
Still, they all decide to call it a night, eager to rest before the inevitable fight to come. Dugan volunteers first watch and Steve quickly settles down in his tent.
Instead of closing his eyes and sleeping, however, Steve stays awake and listens. It isn’t too long until he hears it—someone quietly sneaking through the camp. He listens as the person creeps right up to the entrance of his tent, being so silent that only Steve’s enhanced hearing can catch it. Another moment passes and the flaps to Steve’s tent open without so much as a whisper and that’s when he sees him enter.
“Hey.”
Steve smiles. “Hey, Buck.”
Bucky immediately lays down next to him, laying on his side so his back is facing Steve. “Sorry ‘bout this,” the brunet mutters.
“I already told you; you have nothing to apologize for. It’s alright.”
Bucky huffs like he wants to argue, but he doesn’t say anything more.
A pang of sympathy suddenly shoots through Steve’s chest. For, despite all his efforts, Bucky just can’t seem to sleep without someone else right by his side. The nightmares from Azzano were just too persistent, too brutal. Steve tried to talk to him about what happened to him, but Bucky always refused. Even just getting him to admit to his inability to sleep alone was like pulling teeth. Nevertheless, Steve can tell Bucky’s grateful to him for offering a space in his tent, if not still a bit ashamed.
Steve has to suppress a bitter laugh at the thought. The truth is, Steve is the one that should feel ashamed. Because, despite how hard he’s tried not to be, Steve has found himself being in love with Bucky Barnes since he was sixteen years old. He knows that he shouldn’t feel this way. He knows that it’s immoral and he could get in serious trouble for it, if not worse, but his heart is just too damn persistent, it seems. There’s also the fact the serum did not take away this love, despite taking all of his other illnesses. Steve hasn’t really had the time to think about the implications of that and he really doesn't want to think about them now.
After all, Steve has made it his life’s mission to keep this a secret from everyone— especially Bucky. He knows his friend doesn’t have anything against queers—he’s seen him stand up for them enough times—but the possibility of Bucky viewing him in any other way than how he does now is just too terrifying. Maybe it’s hypocritical of him, after all the pressure he puts on Bucky to open up and just talk to him, but so be it. He is willing to be one and keep this secret to his grave if that’s what it takes.
So, Steve breathes deep and turns to his side, only allowing his back to brush against Bucky’s the tiniest bit, before eventually falling asleep.
As soon as daylight crests over the horizon the next morning, the Howlies are quick to pack up camp and continue the final leg of their journey. In contrast to the night before, they walk in silence. Steve leads the group with Bucky in the rear, all of them on the lookout for any possible enemies. Thankfully, they spot no one and by noon they see their target. They all descend upon the Hydra base but, strangely, find no lookouts or guards. For a brief moment, Steve wonders if the base is abandoned, before they ultimately decide to push ahead and enter.
Sure enough, once they make their way inside the base, there are no Hydra soldiers in sight. The Howlies remain quiet and tense as they all slowly fan out. Despite their vigilance, they all come up empty handed—save for Dernier, who happened to find the stairs that lead to some lower floors.
“Whatcha think, Cap?” Dum Dum asks.
Steve hums. “We can’t rule it out just yet. Abandoned or not, there could be some information lying around that we can use.”
The other Howlies nod.
“We should split up,” Steve decides. “We’ll cover more ground that way. Bucky, you’re with me. Dum Dum goes with Morita. We’ll all explore the lower floors separately. Let’s try and find out why the higher ups were so worried about this base. Gabe, Monty, and Denier, you stick to this floor. Watch the exits and, in the event this place isn’t abandoned, make sure no one comes back and gets the drop on us.”
With that, the Howlies disperse. Soon enough, it’s just Steve and Bucky on the second lowest floor. They walk together in tandem, gun and shield raised respectively as they search. Steve can sense Bucky’s unease radiating from him in waves, but when he asks the brunet if he’s alright, he’s simply brushed away.
He tries not to take it personally as they leave one room and continue down what feels like a maze of hallways. The deeper they go, the more tense things become. The air feels heavy and Steve can feel the hair on the back of neck begin to stand on end.
Something about this place isn’t right…
Just as that thought hits him, Steve hears a small ‘ click ’. If it wasn’t for his advanced hearing, he wouldn’t have caught it, but his head instantly snaps toward the source of the noise. There, on the place where Bucky just stepped, a tile in the floor has almost imperceptibly lowered. A fraction of a second passes before Steve realizes what has just happened.
“Bucky!” He shouts right as a door from the ceiling comes crashing down between them. Bucky barely manages to twist out of the way, the door missing him by a hair. Regardless, the terror Steve feels in his chest only amplifies.
He and Bucky are separated.
“Steve!?” Bucky’s voice immediately cuts through his shock. “You alright?”
“I’m fine,” Steve assures him. “Figures that this place is trapped…” he mutters, disappointed in himself for somehow not expecting it.
“Yeah. Don’t know why we expected any less, honestly,” Bucky replies, as if reading his thoughts.
“This kind of thing really just keeps happening to us, huh?”
“No kidding. Think you can get it open?”
Steve checks, but finds no gaps where he can purchase his fingers and pry the door open. There’s no lock to break and no passcode to crack. He tells Bucky to back up and then tries bashing the door in with his shield, but it doesn’t budge an inch. Steve swallows hard.
“It’s no use.”
“Shit,” Bucky curses. “Well. No point in standing around. Now that we know there’s traps, we should rendezvous with the Howlies and come up with a different strategy on clearing this place.”
Steve nods, even though Bucky can’t see him. “You got it. Be careful, Buck.”
“You, too, Stevie.”
Steve waits until he hears Bucky depart before he does as well. He tries to go back from the way they came, but finds another door blocking his path. It must’ve shut when Bucky accidentally triggered that trap.
He sighs and surveys his surroundings. All the hallways look eerily similar and he swallows hard. He doesn’t want to get lost here and he certainly doesn’t want Bucky to get lost, either. So, he decides to head back to where they got separated and try to find his friend.
“Bucky?” He calls again and again, but receives no answer.
So, he transcends deeper and deeper into the labyrinth of hallways before he begins to smell it.
Death.
Steve grits his teeth and tightens his hold on his shield as he tentatively follows the scent. It isn’t long before he finally comes across a hallway that looks different than the rest. Instead of just plain hospital white, the walls are decorated with splashes of dark brown and black. Slumped against the floor are multiple Hydra scientists—all dead and decaying, each torn to shreds.
Steve gapes in horror, wondering what on Earth could’ve done this. He immediately knows that whatever caused such carnage must be what the higher ups were concerned about and he steadies his breathing. Hydra decided to try their hand at playing God once again and this was their punishment. But now Steve and Bucky are potentially trapped alongside the result of Hydra’s hubris and Bucky isn’t even aware of it. Steve feels his heart pound as the need to find his friend instantly grows.
“Bucky!” He calls again, hoping against hope he’ll get a response.
Upon not getting one, Steve presses on.
He doesn’t know how long he’d been searching until he hears it; footsteps, heavy and uneven. He immediately whips towards the sound, shield raised and ready to defend himself. He licks his lips in anticipation, ready to face the threat until the source of the footsteps turns the corner and…
“ Bucky? ”
Instantly, Steve’s heart skips at the sight of him. He’s clutching an arm and limping, his uniform torn and bloody from multiple wounds. His eyes look unfocused, but the moment he hears Steve call out to him, they quickly lock onto him.
“Steve…” He says before stumbling.
The blond immediately runs to catch him and Bucky falls into his arms. “Jesus…” He breathes, surveying all of his injuries and thanking his lucky stars that he managed to avoid the scientists’ fates. “What happened?”
“Hydra soldiers,” Bucky says. “A few of ‘em got the jump on me.”
Steve’s brows narrow. That isn’t the answer he’d been expecting. Still, Bucky’s the sharpest of all the Howlies. If he says he saw Hydra soldiers, he saw Hydra soldiers. Maybe a few had come back to try to reclaim their mystery experiment. Steve immediately thinks of Monty, Gabe, and Dernier and prays that they’re okay.
“They still around?” Steve asks, unconsciously clutching Bucky protectively and surveying their surroundings.
Bucky scoffs, but doesn’t make any move to pull away. If anything, he almost melts into Steve’s embrace. “Who do ya take me for?” The brunet shakes his head. “No, I took care of ‘em once I got my bearings. But there’s probably more of ‘em hiding ‘round here somewhere…”
Steve nods. “Right. Come on.”
He gently helps Bucky to an upright position, but as soon as the other man stands on his own two feet, he winces. Steve’s heart instantly lurches.
“You alright?”
“It’s my leg…”
“Shit,” Steve curses before lending his friend an arm. “Here, lean on me.”
Bucky accepts gratefully and the pair begin to walk down the hallways together.
“Don’t worry. We’ll find the others soon and get you patched up.”
Despite Steve’s words, Bucky’s condition seems to get worse and worse the farther they go. His skin becomes pale and his forehead is dotted with sweat. He even starts to shake a bit. Steve is immediately afraid and so, so confused. What did those Hydra soldiers do to him? Did he come in contact with some kind of dangerous substance and somehow wasn’t aware of it?
“Buck? You with me?” He asks when the other man stumbles.
“Steve… I don’t know if I’m gonna make it through this.”
Steve falters for a second before pressing onward. “What? Don’t talk like that. You’re gonna be fine.”
“‘M just being honest… You’ll have a better chance gettin’ out of here without me.”
“I’m not leaving you behind, Bucky. You know I’d never do that.”
Bucky laughs lightly. “Yeah… You’re right. You’re too loyal for that. Too sweet.”
That brings Steve up short. Sweet ? Bucky’s never ever called him ‘sweet.’ Mostly because calling another man something like that is obviously frowned upon. But another reason is because Bucky knew that if he ever tried it, he’d have gotten a punch in his stomach for his troubles, gifted by Steve himself.
So, Steve pulls himself away from Bucky, gripping his shoulders to keep the other man steady. “Buck. You’re not acting like yourself. Did those Hydra soldiers do something to you that you’re not telling me?”
Bucky shakes his head. “Like I said; just bein’ honest.” As he speaks, Steve notices that his friend’s eyes keep flicking downward. It takes him but a moment to realize that Bucky is staring at his lips .
“B-Bucky?” He asks, his voice sounding weak in his ears.
Bucky doesn’t say anything, only steps closer to close the gap between them, his eyes no longer leaving Steve’s mouth. The blond feels his breath leave him, but not for any of the reasons he would’ve naturally assumed. Something about this— about Bucky— is wrong. His instincts are suddenly telling him ‘danger, danger ’ and ‘ get away, get away ’. And Bucky’s eyes… Something in them is predatory, taking Steve in like he’s prey. It’s all so unlike the friend he’s known all his life that one startling thought instantaneously crashes through his mind;
This isn’t Bucky.
Just then, a rush of footsteps meets Steve’s ears and before he can even see who or what is coming, ‘Bucky’ lets out a horrible scream. A strong hand is on Steve’s chest, pushing him away, and it’s at that moment that Steve sees it’s Bucky— the real Bucky —and that he has stabbed his doppelgänger in the back.
Before Steve can say anything, the imposter whips towards Bucky and hisses , baring sharp teeth that they didn’t possess a moment before. Bucky simply pulls out another one of his knives and braces himself. He looks a little roughed up, Steve realizes, and he’s covered in something black and wet. Flicking his eyes towards the knife still lodged in the imposter’s back, he quickly surmises that it’s some kind of blood. Despite his ragged appearance, however, Bucky’s eyes are sharp and focused, just like they always are when he fights. The sight is so familiar that Steve almost smiles.
The imposter roars shrilly and dives towards Bucky. The brunet dodges and, with a slash of his knife, carves into his assailant’s arm. Steve’s eyes widen as black blood and feathers spray from the wound. They cry out, their voice a terrible mix of Bucky’s own and something distinctly inhuman. Enraged, they charge at Bucky again and manage to rake their newly revealed claws up his chest. Bucky’s jacket seems to take most of the damage, but he still winces and stumbles backwards.
“Bucky!” Steve calls before leaping into the fray.
With shield in hand, he bashes the creature away, causing it to collide with the wall and fall to the floor in a heap. Before it can begin to recover, Bucky races towards it. After immediately pinning the thing down, he raises his knife above his head and brings it down again and again. The imposter's cries soon devolve into wet gurgles before finally falling completely silent. The moment it does, the illusion upon the creature falls away.
Steve’s breath hitches as he’s met with the image of a woman. Her arms are covered with feathers, her nails ending in what almost look like bird-like talons. Her legs are in a similar condition, looking more like a bird’s than a human’s. Upon closer inspection, there appears to be some sort of symbol on her throat, but it’s hard to make out with all the stab wounds Bucky placed there.
Tearing his eyes away from the body, Steve shakily nods towards Bucky. “Th-Thanks for the save…”
Bucky, however, continues to stare down at it, his face pale. “ Son of a bitch … Just like the sirens from Monty’s story…”
“What?”
For the first time since appearing out of nowhere and saving him, Bucky glances up at Steve. He slowly rises to his feet and takes a shaky breath before gesturing to the dead thing with his knife. “I bumped into some of these things after we got separated. They… turned into people. People I knew. People I wanted .” The man shakes his head as a full body shiver descends upon him. He swallows hard before continuing.
“Thankfully, I managed to snap out of it and kill all of ‘em. But this one …” Bucky kicks the creature with his boot, grimacing as more blood flows from its throat. “…managed to get away.”
“I think Hydra created them somehow,” Steve tells him, the sight of the dead Hydra scientists returning to him. “As some sort of weapon, maybe. But then something went wrong and they abandoned them as well as the base.”
“I think so, too,” Bucky nods. “The room I found ‘em in wasn’t a pretty sight, I’ll tell ya that much.” As he talks, he absentmindedly tries to wipe away the black splatter from his face. He only ends up smearing it, though.
Steve hands Bucky his water canteen. “I don’t think there are any of these things left, at least.”
“Yeah, I bet you’re right,” Bucky agrees as he accepts the canteen gratefully. He slowly pours the water over his face and successfully wipes the remnants of blood away. “If there were more, I think they’d’ve come runnin’ by now. They all seemed pretty keen on attackin’ me together and all at once.”
Bucky hands Steve’s canteen back to him and there’s a slight pause while he puts it away.
Steve swallows hard. “Do you think…that these were once regular—”
“ Don’t ,” Bucky cuts him off harshly. “I don’t… I don’t want to think about that, Steve.”
During the deafening silence that follows, Bucky averts his gaze and begins to scratch at his left wrist, a habit that he’d picked up since Azzano. Steve watches with wide eyes, every muscle in his body aching to just wrap Bucky up and hold him. Instead, he looks away as well and clenches his fists.
“God, Buck… I-I wasn’t thinking. I’m sorry.”
Bucky lets out a slow breath. “I-I know. ’M sorry for snapping.”
“It’s okay. You don’t gotta apologize.”
The pair are silent for a little longer before Steve forces himself back together. Taking a breath, he shakes himself and begins to move. “C’mon,” he beckons. “Let’s try and get back to the guys.”
Instead of following, however, Bucky remains where he stands. Steve is about to call for him, when he suddenly speaks.
“Steve. Why the hell did it look like me?”
The blond instantly freezes. As the weight of Bucky’s words crashes upon him, he suddenly loses the ability to breathe once more. His mouth feels like it’s been stuffed full of cotton and he even feels vaguely sick, the serum curing him of every ailment be damned. He swallows around the sizable lump that has quickly grown in his throat and tries clearing it when that doesn’t help.
“What?” He manages to ask after too long. He tries to sound calm, but Steve can’t deny the obvious tremor in his voice.
“The creature. It looked like me ,” Bucky presses, staring down at it. “And it was about to—”
Now it’s Steve’s turn to snap. “ Stop ,” he interrupts. Fuck, he can feel himself shaking. This wasn’t supposed to happen. This wasn’t supposed to happen . “L-Let’s just…pretend that never happened. Okay?”
“Steve—”
“ Please ,” he says, closing his eyes tightly. He can’t bear to look at Bucky’s face. He can’t bear to see the disgust or, somehow even worse, the pity that’s bound to be there. He can’t .
Despite this, however, Steve hears Bucky walk towards him. His footsteps sound cautious, like he’s approaching a wild animal. Steve kind of feels like one, he thinks somewhat hysterically.
“Steve,” Bucky begins, his voice suddenly and unbearably gentle. “Hey, look at me.” When Steve shakes his head like a child, Bucky’s voice becomes slightly stern. “ Steven .”
“I-I’m sorry, Buck. I never— I never wanted to ruin this. I know I can’t undo what you saw, but please . Please don’t hate—”
“Shhh.” Suddenly, Steve feels Bucky’s hand resting on his cheek. In his shock, Steve opens his eyes and Bucky uses the opportunity to turn his face towards him until they’re eye to eye. There is neither disgust nor pity in his eyes as Bucky looks at him. “I could never hate you, Stevie.”
“But you’re—”
“Stop. I just…need to know something. All ya have to do is say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ and you be honest with me, okay?” When Steve nods, Bucky nods in return. There’s an emotion Steve can’t place flickering in the brunet’s eyes before he continues. “Am I…something you want? In that way ?”
Steve’s eyes immediately close of their own volition and his chest aches . Still, he can’t lie to Bucky. Not anymore. So, after trying and failing to suppress the full body shudder that washes over him, Steve silently nods. He holds his breath then, waiting for some kind of response.
All he ends up hearing is a quiet, “Oh.”
“I won’t…I won’t do anything, Buck,” Steve hears himself say after a moment of silence. “Things don’t have to change. I-I’m okay with staying friends. I swear. Things don’t have to change…”
Inexplicably, Bucky puts his other hand upon the other side of Steve’s face. “Hey, hey, hey. Enough of that,” he scolds lightly. “Let me tell ya something, okay? And I already see you about to do it, so don’t you dare interrupt.”
Steve huffs, but obliges.
“I already told ya how I ran into more of those things after we got separated and how they turned into people I wanted, yeah? Well… First it was my folks. And then my sisters. But I guess that didn’t work so well on me, so they changed into…someone else.”
Steve’s heart skips a beat and his eyes snap open. Is Bucky insinuating that…? No, he can’t be. There’s no way. Still, if there’s even the smallest chance…
“…Who?” Steve whispers, barely daring to hope.
The expression upon Bucky’s face becomes unbearably soft, a smile curling on his lips. There’s even the faintest twinge of rosy pink decorating his cheeks and Steve loses the ability to breathe once more. “ You , Stevie,” Bucky whispers back.
“ Me ?”
Bucky nods, one of his thumbs beginning to rub against Steve’s cheek back and forth. “You were hurt real bad, said you ran into some trouble and that you needed help. And then you got handsy. Real handsy. And, for a moment, I almost fell for it.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“Well. With your fancy new body, your scrapes and bruises heal so fast I can see it when it happens. But the illusion of you wasn’t healin’ fast at all.” Then, a teasing spark shines in Bucky’s eyes and he raises an eyebrow. “That and Steve Rogers willingly askin’ for help?” He shakes his head and laughs a bit. “Hell will freeze over before that day happens.”
Steve scoffs and pushes Bucky away from him. Bucky lets go of his face and simply laughs even more. Steve rolls his eyes, but watches the other man as he tries to get a hold of himself. God, he loves him. He loves him so much.
Once Bucky finally pulls himself together, he nudges Steve in the side gently. “You understand what I’m sayin’ though, right?”
“You’re saying we’re both idiots.”
Bucky smirks. “Appears so.”
Steve shakes his head, still unbelieving. After so long of trying to will his feelings away, here’s Bucky, saying that he feels the same way. It’s too good to be true, yet Steve’s certain that it is, despite all his lingering fears. He knows Bucky would never lie to him about something like this. Still, he feels nervous asking his next question.
“How long?”
Bucky lets out a long breath as he considers his answer. He ponders for a while before finally shrugging. “…Since I was seventeen?”
Steve huffs. “Me, too. I knew since you were seventeen, too,” he says. “Maybe even before that.”
The silence that follows is unlike the others before it. The two stare at each other, warm smiles quickly decorating their features. Bucky’s cheeks are truly red now and Steve has a feeling that his are in a similar state. Regardless, they seem to burn even more the moment Bucky takes a step forward and closes the gap between them.
The stretch of their bodies press together seamlessly, like they were made for it, as Bucky leans in close. It’s nothing at all like how the illusion of Bucky made him feel. There’s uncertainty, but it’s not born from an instinctual fear. There’s no question in Steve’s mind about who it is that’s standing before him. His heart pounds with excitement and his stomach flutters.
This is happening, he thinks. This is real .
Bucky’s hand then comes to rest against Steve’s chest before he looks up, as if asking for permission. It doesn’t take Steve long at all to realize what it is he’s asking permission for. He eagerly nods and Bucky’s smile widens.
Kissing Bucky Barnes is somehow better than any of the fantasies Steve could’ve ever imagined. It’s warm and sweet and he can’t help but press into it. He feels Bucky wrap his arms around him in response and it makes his heart prance and sing. When Bucky licks at Steve’s lips, asking for entrance, Steve happily obliges.
The moment he does, the kiss instantly becomes more intense and deep. Steve feels like he’s burning up as Bucky runs his hands through his hair. Then, when Bucky tugs , Steve is completely helpless to prevent the moan that pours out from him. He feels Bucky smile at the sound but, after kissing him again, the brunet slowly pulls away.
Steve’s eyes flutter open and he watches as Bucky rests his forehead against his shoulder. He stares at him from the corner of his eye, concern immediately swirling inside his chest. Before he can ask what’s wrong, Bucky speaks. His voice is muffled against Steve’s uniform, but he can still hear him just fine.
“We gotta be careful…” He whispers softly.
Steve takes a breath and nods. “Yeah.”
“It’ll be hard.”
“Maybe so.” Steve pauses to wrap his arms around Bucky, giving him what he hopes is a comforting embrace. “But I’m willing to endure it.”
Bucky laughs. “Of course you are.”
They allow just one more moment to pass them by, using it to breathe one another in, before they slowly tear apart.
“I love you,” Steve suddenly blurts out. “Y-You know that, right?”
Bucky smiles. “Yeah, I do.” The other man then takes his hand and that alone is enough to send bright sparks all throughout Steve’s body. Bucky smiles even wider, as if he knows. “Come on, you punk. Let’s go.”
The couple eventually find their way back to the Howlies, all safe and unharmed. It thankfully doesn’t take much to convince them all to leave the base and, with a quick call to headquarters, a plane comes to take them back. Once they’ve returned, Steve and Bucky give their statements about what happened to them—save for the obvious. The higher ups seem disturbed upon hearing their accounts, but thank them for the information. Steve suspects that they’re going to send more SSR agents to the base, just in case there are any of the creatures left to be disposed of. That’s fine with him, he decides. Just so long as he and Bucky are kept out of it this time.
When night falls, Steve lies awake in his bed, waiting. It isn’t long at all until, like a ghost, he hears Bucky silently approach his room. Once his door opens, Steve sits up a bit straighter.
He’s unable to fight the smile that curls on his lips as he greets the other man. “Hey, Buck.”
Bucky quietly shuts the door behind him, giving Steve a smile that lights up like a song. “Hey, Stevie.”
Steve immediately makes enough room and Bucky joins him underneath the blankets with the most ease he’s had since before the war. At first, they lay a good foot or two apart. Steve then watches as a small war rages in Bucky’s eyes before he finally huffs and scoots closer. The blond eagerly scoots closer too and it doesn’t take long until he’s pressed right up against Bucky’s chest. Bucky breathes out a long sigh and wraps his strong arms around him.
They don’t talk much that night, choosing instead to savor the familiarity and the newness of the moment. Still, at some point before they drift off, Steve hears Bucky mumble something.
“Hm?” He asks.
“I think I like merrow and selkies better,” Bucky repeats, his voice heavy with sleep. “From your ma’s stories. Much nicer than sirens, I think…”
Steve nods, nuzzling into the crook of Bucky’s neck. “Mm… Me too.”