Adagio

Steve Rogers was absolutely wonderful. It was almost impossible to find any flaws in him. Watching the ballet just further proved that point. It had been such a long time since Bucky was able to go see a ballet: normally he was performing in it. But seeing his best friend dance the lead and his boyfriend play the music just amazed him. They were both absolutely spectacular. It made him forget that he was even supposed to be in it in the first place.

Bucky’s parents and Steve’s parents both did come to the show, but Bucky convinced them to go have dinner together and not with Steve and Bucky. He wanted this to be a special night for the two of them. He’d planned that Steve would go over to his apartment and he’d make them dinner. Now, his apartment wasn’t the best and he had barely any experience cooking, but it was the thought that counted.

As soon as the ballet finished, Bucky knew he had to go see Natasha. Yes, Steve was his boyfriend, but Nat was his best friend and the lead of the show. 

Surprisingly, Nat’s dressing room wasn’t packed full of people. If it wasn’t on the first show, it surely would be on the last show. Matt and Nat were the only ones in there. Bucky was surprised to not see Tony.

“Hey, good job tonight,” Bucky congratulated, walking into the dressing room.

Nat turned around and smiled at him. “Bucky, I didn’t know you were coming tonight. Thank you.”

“I couldn’t miss it,” Bucky said.

“I think this was my favorite show I’ve ever seen performed here,” Matt said, sitting down at Natasha’s vanity.

Even though it wasn’t meant to be offensive, Bucky was a little offended by what Matt had said. He was supposed to be in the show. If he had been, would it still have been Matt’s favorite? Because it would’ve been a completely different show. Bucky had to remind himself that Matt was, in fact, blind, and that this was really not as big of a deal as he was making it out to be.

“It kinda made me sad that I don’t get to actually just watch a ballet very often,” Bucky said.

“Maybe during the week-long break before Nutcracker rehearsals start we could travel somewhere to go see a show,” Nat suggested.

“I could go for a road trip,” Matt stated.

“As long as I can bring Steve along as well,” Bucky bargained. 

“Well, of course,” Natasha said, starting to peel off her costume and put on her street clothes. “Speaking of, where is he? I thought you’d bring him in here with you.”

“Oh, he’s talking with his parents. And probably mine, too,” Bucky explained.

Nat nodded and started to pack up all her things to go. As always, she had brought a ton of shit from home and somehow managed to spread it all around her room. Bucky helped her pick up a few items, but he also wasn’t completely sure which items she was planning on leaving for the next night of performances. It felt like such a bittersweet moment. Yes, he had gotten to see his best friend and boyfriend perform, but he’d also missed out on the opportunity himself. 

As Bucky continued to help tidy up, he heard the door swing open and someone walk in. He was expecting Steve, so he was severely disappointed to see Tony waltz in.

“Absolutely amazing job tonight,” Tony greeted, kissing Nat’s cheek. “That was maybe your most spectacular performance yet.”

Natasha blushed and began to tie her shoes. “Thank you. I think it might have been my favorite show to perform in. Something about Swan Lake is just absolutely magical.”

Matt nodded his head in agreement. “It’s a great ballet. But you’ve got to give yourself some of the credit, Tony. You’re really the one who makes all of this happen.”

“Trust me, I give myself a lot of credit,” Tony remarked, smiling at Matt.

Bucky rolled his eyes at that comment. Tony was one of the most self important people he had ever met. Sure, Tony watched over everything that happened with the show, but most of the work was done by other people. The stage managers, the principal dancers, the conductor, the list was practically endless of people who played a bigger role in the success of the show than Tony.

Seeing as he was not a fan of Tony, Bucky started to leave, hoping to catch up with Steve and their parents. 

As he was walking out, Tony stated, “Hey, Bucky, I’m glad you could make it to the show tonight. Hopefully you can make it to the Nutcracker, too.”

For the time being, Bucky was going to let that one slide. If Bucky was going to get fired, he’d deal with that when it happened. He didn’t need to spend all his time worrying over it. Right now he just wanted to find Steve and have a good evening celebrating.

Of course, Steve and Bucky were caught up in conversation with their parents for almost an hour before they were able to leave the company. Now that they were officially dating, their parents wanted to know all the details. Bucky could tell that his parents were a little concerned about the whole thing, but he ignored it. They didn’t even know the full story of what had happened all those years ago.

When they finally escaped their parents, Bucky had convinced Steve to drive over to his place. It was a little awkward for the two of them to drive over there separately, but Steve didn’t want to leave his car in the company lot overnight. Besides, it would allow Bucky to blast Ariana Grande as loudly as he wanted with no fear of judgement.

Bucky’s apartment was the cleanest it had been in months when Steve and Bucky walked in. He had made sure to spend half his day tidying up, seeing as this was the first time Steve was spending the night. It made him really nervous to think that Steve could find something out of place in his apartment and never want to stay over again. He couldn’t risk that happening.

Steve plopped down on the couch and put his feet up on the coffee table. “Shit, I’m so tired now. Something about performing just wears me out.”

“I’ve noticed. Somehow you’re even more tired than Nat,” Bucky teased.

“So, what’s for dinner?” Steve asked. “Chinese takeout?”

“No, I’m going to cook something,” Bucky answered. 

Steve said, “No way. You cook things other than, like, frozen pizza? I thought you lived off takeout and Smoothie King.”

Bucky blushed a little. “Well, I do. But not tonight.”

In reality, Bucky had no cooking experience. Anything he ate that wasn’t from a restaurant was from the freezer section or someone else made it for him. Tonight he was going to attempt to make what seemed like the easiest thing to make. He had bought a spice packet that came with a recipe on the back for some sort of southwest inspired chicken skillet. All he had to do was cut up the frozen, pre-cooked chicken he bought, mix it with beans and corn, throw on the seasoning, and cook it over the stove. It seemed easy enough for him.

“So, are you going to need help making dinner?” Steve questioned.

Steve and Sam were both quite healthy, so one of them always cooked their meals. Steve had experience and could probably do a better job than Bucky. But what Bucky wanted was to cook for his boyfriend to celebrate his big night, not make his boyfriend cook for him.

“No, you relax while I cook. I know you’re tired,” Bucky said.

“Wake me up for food if I fall asleep,” Steve requested.

Bucky got a cherry Pepsi out of his fridge and tossed it to Steve. “Drink that, then you won’t fall asleep.”

Ever since they started dating, Bucky had kept a stash of cherry Pepsi at his place for when Steve came over. He probably drank three cans a day minimum.

“Are you sure you don’t want any help? I feel bad just sitting here while you do all the work,” Steve said.

“Hey, it’s your big night tonight. We’re celebrating your show, that means you get to relax,” Bucky reassured.

Bucky got his chicken out of the fridge and began to cut it to bite sized pieces. He was so glad he got it precooked, he couldn’t deal with disgusting raw meat like that. He slid the chicken into a bowl and began to rummage through his drawers for a can opener. Because he mainly ate out, he really had no idea what kitchen supplies he had and where they were. In the third drawer he looked through, he found the can opener. He opened the beans and corn and added them to the bowl before mixing it all together with the seasoning. Believe it or not, this was the most involved cooking he had done in a long time. Bucky glanced over to the couch, only to find Steve sipping on his Pepsi and watching him cook. Bucky blushed and threw all his food into a pan on the stove.

“When was the last time you cooked food?” Steve asked, obviously amused.

“Uhhh, real food?” Bucky responded. “Probably not since high school.”

“I don’t understand how you can eat like that but still look like that,” Steve commented.

“It’s all ballet. I’d probably be three hundred pounds if it weren’t for my job,” Bucky said.

Bucky walked into the living room and sat down next to Steve on the couch. He didn’t really have to check back in on the chicken until it was done. Bucky looked around the room at all the cool tapestries on the wall and rugs on the floor, thinking about how he and Steve wouldn’t be dating now if it weren’t for Bucky’s desperate need to redecorate. That led him to the thought that he may never be able to use his cute dressing room again.

“I was talking to Matt and Nat today about us going on a little road trip next week,” Bucky said, putting his feet up on the coffee table next to Steve’s.

“Yeah? Where to?” Steve questioned.

“Somewhere where we can go see a ballet,” Bucky answered. “We never really get to see them because we’re always in them. And there’s a week off next week before auditions start, as you know.”

“And am I invited to come along on this trip?” Steve asked.

“You’re invited to be anywhere I am.”

The dinner was a complete success. Both Steve and Bucky thought that it tasted absolutely amazing. Bucky would’ve liked to think that this meal would inspire him to start cooking his own food more often, but he knew it wouldn’t. He knew he was lazy when it came to food. They’d gotten home from the show quite late, so it was time for bed by the time they were done eating.

“Okay, I’m truly sorry if my bedroom isn’t the best,” Bucky apologized. “This apartment is just kinda crappy overall. I want a new one but I can’t afford that yet. Ideally I’d get a place where Matt’s apartment is, but he’s making a lawyer’s wage and I’m making a corps de ballet’s wage.”

Steve smiled at the comment. “Buck, I’ve been here many times before. There’s no need to start apologizing now.”

“Maybe I should’ve started sooner, then,” Bucky commented.

Honestly, Bucky was not a pajamas kind of guy. He normally slept in his boxers and that was it. But with Steve here, he felt the need to act a little more civilized. He dug out a pair of Christmas pajama pants from the depths of his dresser and changed into them.

“Christmas pants already?” Steve asked, laughing a little.

“Christmas starts when Nutcracker season starts, and that’s practically here,” Bucky reasoned.

“I don’t even go for the pants look at all, so I can’t relate,” Steve said.

Bucky blushed. So maybe it would’ve been okay for him to go in just boxers. Oh well, it was too late now. But the idea of him and Steve being in such an intimate setting like this was just… flustering. It reminded him of back when they were kids: when they had first started dating. Their parents had never questioned anything because they had been best friends for so long, but there was definitely behavior going on that was worthy of being questioned.

Steve took both his pants and shirt off before pulling up the covers and getting into Bucky’s bed. Bucky became extremely flustered. Just a few weeks ago, he would never have thought this could happen. Yes, their relationship had moved fast, but they were just picking up where they had left off. Steve looked so amazing: Bucky was overjoyed that they had progressed to this point. 

Bucky got in on the other side and rested his head on Steve’s shoulder. This was like a dream life that he was living.

“I can’t believe we’ve come this far since what happened in high school,” Steve said, running his fingers through Bucky’s hair.

“Yeah, neither can I,” Bucky responded.

“But you know what?”

“What?”

“I always knew this would happen.”

“Yeah? How?”

“Because I’m with you till the end of the line, Buck.”