Underwear (Steve/Bucky, G)
Bucky loves bedtime.
This is the now Bucky, not the before Bucky.
Before, Bucky hated bedtimes. Bedtimes just meant the night had to come to an end, the dance or the party was over, and everyone had to go home. Bedtimes meant tomorrow was well on its way, early bird seizing the worm and all that. Bucky hated bedtimes.
Now, Bucky loves bedtime.
Bedtime means the winding down of the day. Washing off and changing into the softest clothes. Brushing teeth (super soldier teeth, their immunity to cavities and ability to grow back, were the weirdest of all super soldier benefits, but everyone gets fuzzy teeth and garlic breath, no way around it).
Perimeter check - no one thinks it’s weird to do a perimeter check before bed; it’s the one time of day it seems to be expected, even though Bucky knows that every time is a good time for a thorough perimeter check. Making sure all the doors and windows are secure. Everything is off that should be off. Everything is charging that needs charging. Turning off all the lights.
The flat is dark now, quiet, secure. Things are as peaceful as they get in the home of two world famous super soldiers. Bucky is in bed. Steve is in bed with him.
Super soldiers need very little sleep.
Sometimes they cuddle, sometimes more, depending on how they feel. Just being near each other feels so good. Bucky loves the feel of Steve’s baby soft, hairless skin. It’s even softer and smoother than it was before the serum. No one understands why making Steve a super soldier meant he had no beard or body hair, but Bucky liked it. The process took Bucky’s body hair too, even though he could still grow a beard. Just one more weird thing about the serum for them to accept and move on.
Lying in the darkness, Bucky and Steve talk, and cuddle, and doze, and dream. Bucky estimates that Steve performs optimally on a little over four hours of sleep. Bucky himself still hasn’t recovered any kind of normal sleep schedule after so many years of cryo and enforced extended sleeplessness. Hydra had no use for a Winter Soldier who slept: it was cryo, the chair, drugs and the mission.
Now, it’s okay to rest. Staying awake till the world goes strange and distant, cold and wobbly is no longer mission protocol. Going to bed every night, lying in Steve’s arms, resting and even sleeping sometimes is okay. They stay up past midnight and get up ready to run sometime before dawn. It’s good. Bucky likes it.
He likes the old fashioned brass bed. He loves the soft flannel comforter. He loves the smooth cotton sheets and the old fashioned embroidery on Steve’s pillow cases.
On top of everything Bucky loves about bedtime, there’s one more thing. Bedtime is when his thoughts came out the easiest, the dreamy state he gets into lying there and drifting, safe in Steve’s arms, allowing his thoughts to flow and come together.
“Underwear,” he mutters.
“huh?” Steve laughs. “Is it a joke?”
“I don’t think so….”
“There’s a song about it: ‘I could hide out under there. I just made you say underwear.’” Steve’s funny, tuneless singing always makes Bucky smile.
“That sounds like a pretty weird song, Stevie, even for this day and age,” Bucky chuckles
“Has your chewing gum lost its flavor on the bedpost overnight?” Steve croons.
“I don’t care,” Bucky says. “Even if it still has flavor. How many night bugs licked it. Yuck.”
“Night bugs!” Steve laughs.
Their night time conversations are always like this, loose and free associative. Bucky loves it.
“No, but underwear,” he says, trying to get back the reins.
“Butt underwear, that’s redundant,” Steve says.
“Not necessarily,” Bucky rejoins. “Underwear doesn’t have to be on butts. It can be other places.”
“Tits,” Steve whispers, and actually giggles.
“You better watch saying words like that, it might stick to you.”
“Stick to my tits,” Steve giggles again.
“Oh my god, Steve. Underwear.”
Steve gets a grip on himself, still a little silly. “Okay, yes, Bucky, underwear, what about it.”
“I was just thinking,” Bucky starts.
“mm hmmmm” Steve hums encouragingly.
“I was just thinking. There’s a lot of underwear out there. i was thinking about, I mean we got a load of dough now, we don’t have to be so careful any more…”
“You wanna try some crazy underwear?” Steve says.
“Yeah,” Bucky says. He says it with a tone of confidence, way more confidence than he really has.
Bucky can remember some of the way things were back when they were kids. People had always come in infinite variations, but in their day, there was less freedom of expression. Men who liked to try different kinds of underwear were suspected of perversion, and sometimes even locked up for it. Sure, there were gay clubs and bathhouses and places people tried to make each other feel safe, but the fact was they weren’t safe back then. Bucky and Steve had suffered, for years, trying to make believe they didn’t love each other the way men weren’t supposed to in those days. They had each other convinced, but they never convinced their own hearts.
Now, in this new age, loving each other is legal. Wearing whatever underwear they want is encouraged. Steve can put on that ridiculous compression shirt and go running around in daylight like Bucky’s wet dream and no one cares. Bucky can order off the internet…
“… something satiny smooth, maybe a little lace at the hems, in rich beautiful colors, red and violet and emerald and turquoise…”
“Sounds like you got it all planned out,” Steve murmurs, pressing a kiss to the back of Bucky’s neck.
Bucky imagines the Winter Soldier, secretly tricked out in red satin panties under his tac gear. Sounds like some short-lived technician’s bad joke.
How did he even get here? Bucky has to ask himself. Life can be so hellish, and then so miraculous.
The years he spent as the Winter Soldier are over, locked in the past. The triggers threaded through his brain have been pulled loose. The fears that kept his love for Steve hidden tightly away aren’t relevant anymore.
He’s allowed now, not just to say “I want” but to have his own preferences, uniquely his own. He can love who he wants. He can be who he wants. He can wear whatever underwear he wants. His sexuality and gender identity are his alone to explore and define.
“Satiny butt,” Steve murmurs, and presses closer to him, snuggling and nuzzling, and Bucky smiles, so contented with the life he never imagined. For all his dreams about flying cars, the future is more astonishing than he ever could have dreamed.
“I love you, Stevie,” he says.
“I know,” Steve answers.
“Punk!” Bucky laughs.
And Steve is already asleep.
=====
The day is National Underwear Day. It is a challenge to help tiny figures celebrate underwear. So I put them to bed. :)
While doing research for this story (there is ALWAYS RESEARCH) I came across an amazing Etsy for “festival pants.” As far as I know there is no National Festival Pants Day, so maybe Underwear Day is close enough.
Here is also a great article about boy shorts.
I think Bucky wants to wear red satin boy shorts. I hope he can find some that fit him perfectly!
Two songs are referenced in the story. One is by Bare Naked Ladies, and the title is “Pinch Me.” It’s kind of the perfect song for the whole story.
The other is a novelty song. According to the wikipedia there were plenty of novelty songs in Steve and Bucky’s day, for example, Helen Kane’s Betty Boop songs, or Yes we have no bananas. By the way, Cyndi Lauper's album is named after Helen Kane's big hit, She's So Unusual.
Does the Chewing Gum lose its flavor is apparently a version of a song from 1924!
Anyway, happy Underwear Day! The Day suggests you dance around in your underwear and maybe watch a little Risky Business. :)
This is the now Bucky, not the before Bucky.
Before, Bucky hated bedtimes. Bedtimes just meant the night had to come to an end, the dance or the party was over, and everyone had to go home. Bedtimes meant tomorrow was well on its way, early bird seizing the worm and all that. Bucky hated bedtimes.
Now, Bucky loves bedtime.
Bedtime means the winding down of the day. Washing off and changing into the softest clothes. Brushing teeth (super soldier teeth, their immunity to cavities and ability to grow back, were the weirdest of all super soldier benefits, but everyone gets fuzzy teeth and garlic breath, no way around it).
Perimeter check - no one thinks it’s weird to do a perimeter check before bed; it’s the one time of day it seems to be expected, even though Bucky knows that every time is a good time for a thorough perimeter check. Making sure all the doors and windows are secure. Everything is off that should be off. Everything is charging that needs charging. Turning off all the lights.
The flat is dark now, quiet, secure. Things are as peaceful as they get in the home of two world famous super soldiers. Bucky is in bed. Steve is in bed with him.
Super soldiers need very little sleep.
Sometimes they cuddle, sometimes more, depending on how they feel. Just being near each other feels so good. Bucky loves the feel of Steve’s baby soft, hairless skin. It’s even softer and smoother than it was before the serum. No one understands why making Steve a super soldier meant he had no beard or body hair, but Bucky liked it. The process took Bucky’s body hair too, even though he could still grow a beard. Just one more weird thing about the serum for them to accept and move on.
Lying in the darkness, Bucky and Steve talk, and cuddle, and doze, and dream. Bucky estimates that Steve performs optimally on a little over four hours of sleep. Bucky himself still hasn’t recovered any kind of normal sleep schedule after so many years of cryo and enforced extended sleeplessness. Hydra had no use for a Winter Soldier who slept: it was cryo, the chair, drugs and the mission.
Now, it’s okay to rest. Staying awake till the world goes strange and distant, cold and wobbly is no longer mission protocol. Going to bed every night, lying in Steve’s arms, resting and even sleeping sometimes is okay. They stay up past midnight and get up ready to run sometime before dawn. It’s good. Bucky likes it.
He likes the old fashioned brass bed. He loves the soft flannel comforter. He loves the smooth cotton sheets and the old fashioned embroidery on Steve’s pillow cases.
On top of everything Bucky loves about bedtime, there’s one more thing. Bedtime is when his thoughts came out the easiest, the dreamy state he gets into lying there and drifting, safe in Steve’s arms, allowing his thoughts to flow and come together.
“Underwear,” he mutters.
“huh?” Steve laughs. “Is it a joke?”
“I don’t think so….”
“There’s a song about it: ‘I could hide out under there. I just made you say underwear.’” Steve’s funny, tuneless singing always makes Bucky smile.
“That sounds like a pretty weird song, Stevie, even for this day and age,” Bucky chuckles
“Has your chewing gum lost its flavor on the bedpost overnight?” Steve croons.
“I don’t care,” Bucky says. “Even if it still has flavor. How many night bugs licked it. Yuck.”
“Night bugs!” Steve laughs.
Their night time conversations are always like this, loose and free associative. Bucky loves it.
“No, but underwear,” he says, trying to get back the reins.
“Butt underwear, that’s redundant,” Steve says.
“Not necessarily,” Bucky rejoins. “Underwear doesn’t have to be on butts. It can be other places.”
“Tits,” Steve whispers, and actually giggles.
“You better watch saying words like that, it might stick to you.”
“Stick to my tits,” Steve giggles again.
“Oh my god, Steve. Underwear.”
Steve gets a grip on himself, still a little silly. “Okay, yes, Bucky, underwear, what about it.”
“I was just thinking,” Bucky starts.
“mm hmmmm” Steve hums encouragingly.
“I was just thinking. There’s a lot of underwear out there. i was thinking about, I mean we got a load of dough now, we don’t have to be so careful any more…”
“You wanna try some crazy underwear?” Steve says.
“Yeah,” Bucky says. He says it with a tone of confidence, way more confidence than he really has.
Bucky can remember some of the way things were back when they were kids. People had always come in infinite variations, but in their day, there was less freedom of expression. Men who liked to try different kinds of underwear were suspected of perversion, and sometimes even locked up for it. Sure, there were gay clubs and bathhouses and places people tried to make each other feel safe, but the fact was they weren’t safe back then. Bucky and Steve had suffered, for years, trying to make believe they didn’t love each other the way men weren’t supposed to in those days. They had each other convinced, but they never convinced their own hearts.
Now, in this new age, loving each other is legal. Wearing whatever underwear they want is encouraged. Steve can put on that ridiculous compression shirt and go running around in daylight like Bucky’s wet dream and no one cares. Bucky can order off the internet…
“… something satiny smooth, maybe a little lace at the hems, in rich beautiful colors, red and violet and emerald and turquoise…”
“Sounds like you got it all planned out,” Steve murmurs, pressing a kiss to the back of Bucky’s neck.
Bucky imagines the Winter Soldier, secretly tricked out in red satin panties under his tac gear. Sounds like some short-lived technician’s bad joke.
How did he even get here? Bucky has to ask himself. Life can be so hellish, and then so miraculous.
The years he spent as the Winter Soldier are over, locked in the past. The triggers threaded through his brain have been pulled loose. The fears that kept his love for Steve hidden tightly away aren’t relevant anymore.
He’s allowed now, not just to say “I want” but to have his own preferences, uniquely his own. He can love who he wants. He can be who he wants. He can wear whatever underwear he wants. His sexuality and gender identity are his alone to explore and define.
“Satiny butt,” Steve murmurs, and presses closer to him, snuggling and nuzzling, and Bucky smiles, so contented with the life he never imagined. For all his dreams about flying cars, the future is more astonishing than he ever could have dreamed.
“I love you, Stevie,” he says.
“I know,” Steve answers.
“Punk!” Bucky laughs.
And Steve is already asleep.
=====
The day is National Underwear Day. It is a challenge to help tiny figures celebrate underwear. So I put them to bed. :)
While doing research for this story (there is ALWAYS RESEARCH) I came across an amazing Etsy for “festival pants.” As far as I know there is no National Festival Pants Day, so maybe Underwear Day is close enough.
Here is also a great article about boy shorts.
I think Bucky wants to wear red satin boy shorts. I hope he can find some that fit him perfectly!
Two songs are referenced in the story. One is by Bare Naked Ladies, and the title is “Pinch Me.” It’s kind of the perfect song for the whole story.
The other is a novelty song. According to the wikipedia there were plenty of novelty songs in Steve and Bucky’s day, for example, Helen Kane’s Betty Boop songs, or Yes we have no bananas. By the way, Cyndi Lauper's album is named after Helen Kane's big hit, She's So Unusual.
Does the Chewing Gum lose its flavor is apparently a version of a song from 1924!
Anyway, happy Underwear Day! The Day suggests you dance around in your underwear and maybe watch a little Risky Business. :)