honestly the thing I have the hardest time suspending my disbelief for in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is that Steve and Bucky are not fucking.
A guy shrinks down to the size of an ant and can communicate with them? Totally believable. Literal other world god that is thousands of years old and travels via rainbow? No problem. Dude manages to stay alive by performing what is basically open heart surgery on himself while being held in captivity in some actual hell hole, and somehow doesn’t die? Sure!
Bucky breaks through 70 years of brainwashing and disobeys a direct order from the man that has tortured him for god knows how long, because his ‘best friend’ recites a line that is basically a marriage vow, and i’m supposed to believe those two aren’t head over heels for each other? Yeah right.
Steve: This is horrible! This is the most humiliating thing to ever happen to me!
Bucky: Even more humiliating than-
Steve: Let’s not do this!
Tony: *to Steve and Bucky* Finally! Where have you two been?
Steve: We had to do some planning, and then we had go eat…and then some stuff happened, you know.
Natasha: Your shirt’s on inside-out.
Bucky: Yeah, that’s the stuff.
The way Steve marks Bucky’s progress in memory healing/recovering from being brainwashed/therapy is by the nicknames Bucky uses for Steve.
For the first few weeks, Bucky only called him Steve. Once, he called him Stevie, but then wouldn’t talk to anyone for the rest of the day.
After that, he started calling Steve the normal pet names/nicknames like Babe and Baby.
It wasn’t until the year and a half mark that Bucky called Steve, Doll. When he did, Steve just stared at him for a solid three minutes them tackle-hugged him. Bucky let out the most unmanly squeak (It sounded like a kitten was being sat on)… though he’ll never admit it to anyone.
From then on it was a rarity to hear Bucky call Steve by anything but, Doll.
I feel like a lot of people write Steve as wanting to be very touchy-feely with Bucky post-WS and Bucky being more “no touchy! No touch” and while I’m here for that
Bucky seemed a lot more inclined to casual affectionate touch than Steve if you pay attention in FA. He puts his arm around Steve in the alleyway; he holds hands with his date to the expo; he grabs Steve shoulder and goes in for the hug when they say good-bye at the recruitment office. I don’t think you can say that Steve has ever been touch-repulsed but if you notice he tends not to let his touches linger very long, even with Bucky, and he doesn’t go for the physical contact first unless it’s necessary.
So it might be interesting to read a CW/post-WS story where as Bucky is getting his personality back he starts touching Steve more without consciously thinking about it, and Steve is the one who is a little put off by it…or just is the one who allows it, rather than the one who initiates it.
bucky in fic: steve u asshole u could’ve been killed! what were u thinking? let me bandage u up and get u a nice cup of tea, i love u so much
actual bucky:
STEVE: To be used a weapon against your will…I can’t imagine how hard that must have been.
BUCKY: U GONNA LEARN
This keeps showing up on my dash and I have to reblog each time, because “U GONNA LEARN” never fails to make me lose my shit.
For real though: the fics and the movie are both the real Bucky Barnes. Cause only you get to pick on your person. If someone else shoved Steve through a window, you know Bucky’d have his foot so far up that person’s ass they’d be tasting his shoelaces.
Steve: Remember that time in Azzano when I threw you over that fiery pit?? You throwing me at the cops. That wasnt payback, was it?
hannahbelleeeebackup 