Chapter 1
Bucky, his mind restored, glared with utter betrayal at his boyfriend. In their well off apartment a few miles away from the Avengers Tower,a mutilated banana sat pathetically on the table. Steve fought back a bark of laughter.
"I did warn you." the Captain smirked. Bucky growled and picked up the rest of the desecrated fruit to toss in the trash. He began to mutter very irate in Romanian as Steve pulled out a small package of taffy, happily chewing on the sticky candy.
"Try these." He held out the candy to his lover, who gave him a peculiar look. Sighing for the loss of the beloved banana from 70 years ago, he unwrapped the taffy and popped it into his mouth. Bucky's blue eyes flew wide.
"These taste like a GOOD banana!" he savored the taste as he devoured the candy, and promptly took off with the whole package he had now stole from Steve.
"Bucky!" said male cackled happily as he played keep away wit the candy. Steve stood and began to chase him, "letting" the older male win. After several minutes of the play, Bucky sat back at the table, Steve already heading towards the fridge for another snack.
"So why does the candy taste like a true banana and not that knockoff they sell at the markets?" Bucky asked, popping another taffy into his mouth. Steve reemerged from the fridge with an ube in his mouth, roasted of course.
"Apparently, the bananas we used to know were wiped out by a floral disease, but the flavor was synthesized so now most candies have the flavor. What we have now have a longer shelf life, but not as sweet. Every fruit is a perfect clone of the last. It's a pity." Steve took another bite out of his ube, waiting for Bucky's response. The other man was deep in thought, slowly polishing off the synthetic flavored taffy.
"That sucks...What the hell are you eating?" Steve was already finishing off the one ube root, and devouring another.
"Something called ube. It's like a sweet potato, but more easier on the palate and stomach. It's used more often in desserts in the Eastern countries." Bucky reached over and broke off a piece to try.
"Not bad. Has a more nutty taste than a normal sweet potato. But seems more like something my sisters would eat." The taffy gone, and so is the ube, Both super soldiers dived for the fridge again, looking for more food.
"One of the downsides of Super soldiery: constant hunger." Steve bemoaned as Bucky grumbled towards the almost empty appliance. The dark haired man began to rummage through their cupboards for other food.
"Constant hunger: constant empty fridge. Dammit." Bucky closed the cupboard doors, finding flour, salt, spices, pastas, broth cubes and condensed soup stocks.
"We need to head to the store again. Maybe we should get more higher calories foods? Or at least stuff that can be turned into heavy loaves." Bucky turned to his friend, who somehow was already making a list of foods to get.
"Well, the good news is that we no longer have to worry about money for food. Thanks to decades of back pay from our time serving this damn country, and my funds from SHIELD." Steve replied. Bucky smiled.
"Not to mention all the money I've collected from POW funds and from terrified Hydra agents." The two WWII soldiers chuckled at the thought of their new fortunes.
"Man, my ma would be having a heart attack from all the money we have now." Steve chuckled.
"Mine will be too, and my sisters fighting on who is my favorite sister so they can get a buck or two." Bucky then went to the front door of the apartment, and began to slip on loafers. Steve finished his list and slipped on his own shoes, grabbing his wallet and car keys and throwing an arm around his suave friend.
"So, Buck. You want to drive?" he asked.
"Nah. As long I get to pick the music." Grabbing his own wallet, The ex Assassin then followed his best guy out the door.
~~~Stucky4life~~~
The grocery store was not very crowded, being mid week and late morning. And being full of more pricier types of food. Both Bucky and Steve grabbed a shopping cart, and divided their list.
"I'll head for the produce, meats and other perishables." Steve murmured.
"And I'll gather the dry goods. We need more coffee. The only kind we have is that cat shit type Stark gave us as a joke. I ain't drinking that." Bucky then gave Steve a happy-go-lucky fist bump and scurried away.
As Steve wandered about, gathering several bags of potatoes, more ube (he likes them....like a lot!), apples, grapes, oranges, carrots of various colors, cabbage, cauliflower, peppers and onions. He avoided the bananas. He then went to the next section of the store and gathered thick strips of bacon, burger, thick steaks of beef and pork, chops of pork and lamb, roasts, cubed meats, chicken, jowl meat, hearts and several portions of liver. He avoided fish. Never really ate again it after passing through Sweden on a mission and sampling surstromming. He can eat a lot of raunchy things, but not that!
As he was then deciding which kind of bread to get, The good Captain looked down and came face to face with a tiny girl in a hulk tutu (which he found adorable!), purple tights and a feminized Captain America t shirt. Her shoes were colored on to resemble Iron Man boots. He smiled at the mini Avenger fan. His smile grew more as the girl pointed to her own left arm, revealing a crudely drawn star in pink.
"You're Mister America." she stammered, awe in her big blue eyes. Steve heard a deep cackling laugh from behind him and turned to meet a mirthful Bucky, his cart half full of various boxes and cans of food. He held out his phone, the dreaded blinking red light glaring at him and the mini Avenger fan.
"Yeah, he's a true 'Mister America'." Bucky playfully jeered. The girl giggled.
"Hey, what's your name?" Steve asked as he knelt low to the ground in front of the girl.
"Maggie." Maggie smiled as Steve smiled at her.
"Maggie. I had a friend named Peggy, which is the same as Maggie. She was a real spit fire."
"Whats a spit fire? was she a dragon?" Bucky was sniggering at the little girl's description of the late and great Peggy Carter.
"In a way, she was. But she was tough, and never let anyone bully her, even if they were bigger and stronger than her. Now, she what do you think she would do?" Steve asked Little Maggie. The girl stuck out her tongue in thought.
"She would kick bad guy butt!" Bucky laughed, enjoying every minute of this interaction.
"That she would. Now, Miss Maggie, where is your mama?" he asked. Maggie gasped.
"Oh no!" she then turned her big blue eyes at Steve. Said eyes were beginning to twinkle with un-shed tears.
"I dunno where my mommy is!" She then began to cry softly. Steve scooped up the girl, holding her close.
"It's alright. We'll find her. So, don't cry." Maggie nodded and clung to "Mister America." Bucky kept on recording, knowing damn well that the girl's mother was behind him, laughing her own ass off in silence. As Steve went to look for Little Maggie's mama, Bucky turned his camera to said mother, who was giggling softly.
"So, Miss Remington, what's your thoughts on this little prank with your daughter and my idiot boyfriend?" he asked. Miss Remington chuckled.
"It's funny as all ages. Thanks for the laugh Sargent Barnes. Now let me go find my little Maggie." Miss Remington laughed and went to look for her Avenger loving daughter. Bucky laughed, flashed his camera a smile and a peace sign and ended the recording to finish shopping.