#wintershield

Stucky is my safe place 🧡

Finally together forever ❤️

After decades of being trained to only speak when spoken to (and still being punished for speaking at all more often than not) and enduring an unspeakable amount of brain damage, Bucky doesn’t speak much. At first, Steve is nothing but heartbroken for his friend. He remembers the days before the war when Bucky would talk and talk, telling Steve all sorts of stories like they had no end. And when he sang… It was like heaven to Steve’s ears, hearing problems be damned. Of course, Bucky got quieter during the war, but he wasn’t anywhere near as silent as he is now. (Hell, he doesn’t even make any noise while walking now. It’s a little unnerving and Steve has been jump scared in his own home more times than he’d care to admit.)

Steve is nothing but adaptable and supportive, though. For a while, he simply communicates with Bucky via interpreting his looks and gestures alone. He slips up and misunderstands Bucky every now and then, but they get along so much better than they reasonably should this way. No one else understands how they do it so easily. When Steve’s asked, he just shrugs and says, “I’ve known him since I was six.”

It isn’t too long though before Steve reveals that he’s learned some sign language to teach Bucky. To give him his voice back, in a way. Bucky picks it up with little issue. After learning the basics, the first thing he signs to Steve is, “Punk.” Steve is so surprised that he laughs. And laughs and laughs. By the time he’s got himself under control, he’s treated to the sight of one of Bucky’s rare smiles, warm and full of affection.

It takes a while, but the next time Steve sees that smile is when he and Bucky are alone in Steve’s bedroom, sitting on his bed. They’re close, so close. The air is thick with a tension that’s always existed between them, ready to burst now. Bucky’s eyes are trained on Steve’s lips and he keeps signing one thing, over and over. “I love you. I love you. I love you.” When they kiss, it’s everything Steve could’ve dreamed of and his heart soars when he hears Bucky make a sound, a soft little moan. When they finally part, Bucky’s smiling so brightly that Steve is helpless to fight back a smile of his own.

“Love…you,” Bucky whispers. It’s so quiet even Steve’s heightened hearing hardly picks it up. If his heart was soaring before, now it is singing.

One - Inspired Art

@sillygoose-xp

I worked way too hard on this stupid, stupid meme.