"Get up, Soldier," was the first thing he heard before opening his eyes only to be blinded by Steve yanking the blinds open.
"Stevie, c'mon," Bucky mumbled groggily from bed. "It's early. Can't a guy get a few more minutes 'a shut eye? Please?" He begged, pulling the covers over his head.
"Bucky," Steve said in his warning voice, "Get up. Now." When Bucky peered out from under the covers he saw that Steve's arms were folded across his chest, and he had one eyebrow raised in his classic disapproval face.
Bucky groaned. "Fine," he said, complaining loudly, but then muttered under his breath, "don't have 'ta be so rigid, ya know."
"I heard that," Steve replied, helping Bucky out from under the covers. "I already let you sleep in half an hour this morning, so be thankful for that." He helped Bucky to his feet and guided him towards the bathroom.
"I can do this on my own. I'm just as strong as ya, Stevie," Bucky told him, yet didn't fight off Steve's assistance.
"I know, I know, but you had a late night yesterday, so I thought you might still be a little tired." He kissed Bucky on his forehead.
"A little tired? More than that, Rogers."
"And whose fault is that? Who wanted to stay up late?" Steve was talking in his chastising voice, but had a sweet little smile on his face.
"Mine, I guess," Bucky admitted. He looked up at Steve with the most adoring look that struck Steve in his heart. He was lucky that Bucky loved him so much. That his love was reciprocated.
"Now do you want to shower alone this morning, or would you like me to join you?" Steve asked him. He would have liked to choose for him, but Bucky had just finally gained his will to make decisions for himself again recently, and Steve didn't want to get in the way of that.
"'mm I think Imma take this one by myself," Bucky said. Then after a second he added, "sorry to disappoint ya."
Oh. Steve didn't know it was so obvious on his face that he wanted to join him. Or maybe he had just forgotten Bucky's uncanny ability to read him like a book. Still, he was glad Bucky was comfortable making choices on his own.
"Alright Soldier," Steve said, voice getting firm despite the soft look in his eyes, "You have 25 minutes to get cleaned up and make it to the living room where I'll be waiting. Take any longer than that and you won't get the reward I have for you. Are we clear?"
"Yes sir," Bucky replied excitedly before shoving Steve out of the bathroom, eager to get in the shower. Steve let him push him out and close the door in his face with only a small shake of the head and a smile growing on his face. He walked over to the couch and sat down, waiting patiently for Bucky. He loved it when Bucky was so obedient. Always had, always would.
Bucky made it out with just three minutes to spare. His hair was still damp but combed neatly. Steve looked him over, checking his cleanliness status. He nodded in approval. "You look good, Soldier."
"Thank you sir." Bucky smiled. He blushed a little bit too, because he absolutely loved being praised. It wasn't something he got when he was under Hydra's control. Not that it would have been good to have it then though, nobody wanted to be praised for the actions they were forced to do. Especially not the ones Bucky had been made to do.
"Take a seat," Steve ordered, and Bucky did. He sat down on the floor and nuzzled up close to Steve's legs. He also loved being on the floor for Steve. Made him feel good inside, though he wasn't exactly sure why. He had a faint idea, but he didn't bother trying to think about it too much. He just accepted it for what it was and went with it.
"You've been so good for me lately, so I went out and bought you a little reward." Steve pulled out a box from behind him and handed it to Bucky, who happily took it.
"Go ahead, open it," he told him, so Bucky did. He was very careful in doing so, not wanting to ruin the nice wrapping Steve had done on the package. He was surprised when he saw what was in it, and looked up at Steve with a huge grin on his face.
"Thank you, Stevie!" He exclaimed. Steve had gotten him a large assortment of his favorite chocolates that he adored so much. They were typically hard to find, so Bucky knew Steve must have put in a lot of effort to get them.
"You're welcome, Buck. You deserve 'em," Steve said, patting Bucky on his head. "Wanna come up here?" He asked.
"Sure," Bucky replied and climbed up to curl up in Steve's lap. He rubbed his face against Steve's chest and softly hummed. "I love ya so much," he whispered, with his eyes shut, wearing a very content expression.
"I love you too, baby," Steve told him.