Against Your Better Judgment
Steve Rogers/Bucky Barnes | 1363 words | The Happily-Ever-After Business Universe
This is a fic for @dearmonday as a part of my spring giveaway! This is some pre-wedding jitters and fluff from Bucky’s POV. Hope you enjoy!
“You should’ve been on Bridezilla,” Natasha tells Bucky as he goes over the lists one last time. Or, at least he tells himself that this will be the last time he goes over the lists. He’s told himself that the last three times that he’s gone over the lists that each would be the last time, but then he’s forgotten about something or wanted to double check something else and here he is, checking the lists again. But this time is the last time. For sure.
Probably.
It won’t be.
“Is that show still on?” Bucky asks, confirming on the list that, yes, the balloons will be ready when he thinks they will be. Not that he’ll be the one picking them up, but he wanted to confirm. God, he’s a mess.
“I think so,” Natasha says. “Not that I watch it,” she adds with a shrug.
“Sure you don’t,” Bucky says. “Just like Steve didn’t get you invested in Say Yes to the Dress.”
“I never said I didn’t watch Say Yes to the Dress,” she says. “That’s not the point we’re arguing here.”
“Because if we were arguing the point, we both would know that would be a damn lie,” Bucky says, reaching for the iPad where he and Steve keep their notes on the wedding.
Natasha grabs it from his hands with her well-manicured fingers before he can boot up the Evernote app that Steve uses for planning. “No,” she says, voice stern and eyes steely.
“But it’s my wedding day,” Bucky whines.
“Exactly,” she says. “Everything is already taken care of. You don’t need to do anything else besides get married.”
“But I want to just check...” She frowns. “Fine,” he says. “But then how will I pass the time?”
“Are you really that nervous?” Natasha asks, tilting her head slightly to the side.
“Yes and no,” Bucky says. He sighs, then sits down. He’s been at Natasha’s place since he said goodbye to Steve last night. They’ll be leaving to go get ready for the ceremony in just a few hours, but somehow time seems to have started going progressively slower as the day has worn on. Bucky just wants things to start moving quicker. He wants to be married to Steve sooner. “It’s not like I think Steve is gonna change his mind. Well, mostly. I just… This isn’t what he wanted, right? So I’m worried he’s not gonna be happy. I just want him to be happy always. But maybe especially at our wedding. It’d be pretty nice if he were happy at our wedding.”
“Are you gonna be walking down the aisle?” Natasha asks. Bucky nods, resisting the urge to roll his eyes at the obvious question. “Then he’s going to be happy. Regardless of all the other stuff, he’ll be happy just seeing your face.”
“That’s almost sweet, Natasha,” Bucky says.
“Well, it is your wedding day,” she responds as Bucky’s phone starts ringing.
Bucky digs his phone out from his back pocket, half-expecting it to be the catering company telling him that they’ve given up, that the mini-corn dogs were too grandiose a request, and that they’ll be leaving him without any food source at all. Already thinking of whether or not he could bribe a halal cart to cater the wedding, he looks at the screen.
It’s Steve.
“Who is it?” Natasha asks.
“Someone who shouldn’t be calling me,” Bucky says, picking up the phone with a thumping heart, a thousand bad scenarios already playing through his head. “Steve?” he asks.
“Buck,” Steve breathes on the other side of the line.
Natasha, recognizing that this is probably a conversation that needs to be held in private, retires to the kitchen. Bucky is so grateful for her he could scream.
There are many other reasons he could scream, too, but he won’t get into those right now.
“Are you okay? Is everything okay?” Bucky asks.
“Yeah, everything’s fine,” Steve says.
There’s a pause.
“Then why’d you call?” Bucky asks. “I’m pretty sure we’re not supposed to do this. Bad luck, or somethin’.”
“I’m the wedding expert,” Steve says, a line that he’s pulled out on Bucky more than once during this ridiculous process. “I think I know what I’m doing.”
“I think you have no idea what you’re doing, but continue,” Bucky says. It’s a line that he’s pulled out on Steve more than once during this ridiculous process, though they both know that Steve is pretty well-versed in wedding lore.
He hears Steve breathe out. “I just wanted to hear your voice,” he admits.
“Aw, that’s cute,” Bucky says. “Almost like today’s a really weird day or somethin’.”
“How are you doing?” Steve asks, seeing through Bucky’s sarcastic act.
“I’m kind of a mess,” Bucky says plainly. He doesn’t need to hide anything from Steve, though he doesn’t elaborate on why. He doubts he has to. “How about you?”
“I’m on pins and needles,” Steve says with a nervous chuckle.
“It’s kind of silly, right?” Bucky asks.
“Why’s that?”
“It’s not like either of us is about to get dumped in some dramatic fashion.” He pauses. “Oh shit, unless that’s why you called.”
“Bucky!” Steve says, scandalized. “You think I’d break up with you on our wedding day over the phone?” he asks, nerves apparently traded for righteous anger on his own behalf. “I would at least drop you at the altar, make it something really memorable!”
Bucky can’t help but chuckle.
“Don’t laugh,” Steve says. “I’m really offended.”
“Is this what’s gonna break us up?” Bucky says, laughing even harder. “Oh jeez, can you imagine that conversation? Sam’s gonna have to go tell everyone we broke up over the phone but to enjoy the appetizers anyway.”
“I don’t think Sam would enjoy anything if I were in pain,” Steve says, indignant.
“You underestimate how good our caterer is,” Bucky says. “Remember Sam’s face when he tried those mini calzones?”
There’s a long pause.
“I hate you,” Steve says, voice low.
“Aw thanks honey,” Bucky says.
“See, this is why I’m excited about today,” Steve says, his voice still low, but somehow softer, more tender. Bucky stops laughing and he looks down at the floor, his eyes suddenly feeling watery in a way they weren’t a few seconds ago. Hearing Steve speak in that tone makes him want to cradle the phone to his ear, to wrap himself in a blanket and shut his eyes. It sounds silly, but Bucky just likes hearing Steve talk, especially in this gentle voice.
“Yeah? Why’s that?” Bucky asks.
“Because I’ve been a mess all day and just hearing your voice is medicine.”
Bucky shuts his eyes, smiles. “Yeah,” he says, the world feeling a little calmer.
“I’m gonna marry you today,” Steve says.
“Against your better judgment, sure,” Bucky says.
“You’re gonna be my husband,” Steve says.
“Yeah, Leslie Knope,” Bucky responds with a chuckle.
“Well, she also got to marry her dream guy,” Steve says. “We aren’t too dissimilar, I guess.”
Bucky feels his cheeks warm up. Even after dating, even after getting engaged, even after seeing Steve naked more times than he can count, Steve can still manage to make him blush. Before he met Steve, Bucky blushed maybe twice in his entire life, and one of those times was right before he threw up on his date’s shoes from nerves. Needless to say, they didn’t go out again. But Bucky’s managed to keep himself from ever throwing up on Steve, even when he makes him blush on the regular.
“Only a couple hours until I get to see you again,” Bucky says.
“Can’t wait,” Steve responds.
They stay on the line for another long minute, Bucky quietly enjoying the sound of Steve breathing into the phone. Then he hears Sam say something to Steve — unintelligible over the phone but his characteristic annoyed tone is unmistakeable — and laughs. “You should get going,” Bucky says.
“I love you,” Steve says.
“I love you, too.”
After Steve hangs up the phone, Bucky stands for a moment alone. He’s marrying that man today, his dream guy, the most fantastic person he’s ever met.
He can’t wait.
