It’s nearing one am when Bucky texts Steve. ‘Stark changed the entry code. 38410382432. Door is unlocked.’ The mission he had come back from was a brutal one. Usually, Bucky can stomach things on his own but this was different. There was a lot of loss of lives, his teammates all coming out battered and bruised. Bucky was no exception to that. His shower floor was stained with blood and he had three new bullet holes settled in his skin. They would be gone in the morning, but for Steve’s sake Bucky had wrapped himself up in gauze so the other would not have to see the gaping wounds in his body. He had purposely gotten in the line of fire on purpose. A mother and her child couldn’t get out fast enough and Bucky had used his body for shield. It was the least he could do, he could recover but they wouldn’t have. Two settled near his spine and another on the small of his back. Those all would have been lethal shots to the civilians and Bucky walked away with a bloody back. He can still feel the blood seeping against the gauze but he’ll keep the lights low. He’s terrified enough civilians for the day, Steve doesn’t need to be another one. So the one am call will be a good excuse to keep the lights off.
The late-night calls weren’t abnormal for Bucky. He didn’t want the other avengers snooping about and catching Steve because Bucky didn’t want to explain their relationship to anyone. In short, Steve was his sugar baby. Tony and Natasha had been on his ass for a long time to get back in the dating game. Sam suggested maybe just getting laid and it would help him stop being so tightly wound. So Bucky’s first thought was actually a prostitute and well the internet had been helpful before and before he knew it Bucky had ended up with a sugar baby. It’s not like money was that big of a deal to Bucky, after his trial with the US government the courts had ruled that Bucky was not only innocent but that he would be compensated for his many years of torture under the enemy. Money was no object to Bucky and it’s not like he had anything to spend it on anyway. So spending on someone’s bills and whatever the hell Steve wanted was hardly any skin off his back if that meant he got laid and got a little extra attention now and again. Bucky settles on the couch, legs stretching out along the length of the object as he grimaces a bit. The pressure on his back hurts but he would rather Steve see the white gauze stretched across his chest than the reddening gauze on his back.
