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The next day Steve gives him a present, which is to say that he sets down an unfamiliar object three feet away from Bucky and then walks away without saying anything. Bucky frowns at the little yellow toy for nearly a minute before he reaches out with his left hand to pick it up.
It's a stylized yellow duck made of some flexible plastic, hollow inside, with a little opening on the flat bottom for air to pass through so it can be squeezed. It has wide painted-on eyes, and the bill is orange.
He looks around for Steve, and Steve comes back and sits down on the couch. "It's a rubber duck," Steve says. "To keep you company when you're taking a bath."
Bucky frowns and examines it again more carefully--there's no point in hiding that from Steve. Steve will assume as much. Bucky does not find a camera, or any other sensor, let alone any output device. There is only the smooth molded plastic surface. He could cut it open to check more thoroughly, but that would ruin the gift.
"Metaphorical company," Steve says, and Bucky looks up again. "I'd appreciate it if you'd keep it in the bath with you, that's all. Like a warning buoy. Just a reminder to come up for air sometimes."
Bucky nods, and Steve accepts this answer and walks away again. Bucky takes the duck to the bathroom, placing it carefully on a ledge where he won't forget it. The next time he takes a bath he obediently drops it into the water. Steve had not made it a rule, but Bucky is willing to do almost anything when Steve comes that close to asking it of him. Steve did not ask him not to take baths anymore, or even not to go under the water and hold his breath. He gave Bucky a rubber duck.
This, Bucky knows, is called compromise. Bucky makes his heart slow and focuses his dimming vision on the duck, and does not close his eyes. When even the bright yellow starts to fade, he lifts his face to the surface and takes a breath.
Even when his thoughts get slow enough that he cannot think about Steve, or rules, or compromises, he knows what the flash of yellow above him means.
It's a stylized yellow duck made of some flexible plastic, hollow inside, with a little opening on the flat bottom for air to pass through so it can be squeezed. It has wide painted-on eyes, and the bill is orange.
He looks around for Steve, and Steve comes back and sits down on the couch. "It's a rubber duck," Steve says. "To keep you company when you're taking a bath."
Bucky frowns and examines it again more carefully--there's no point in hiding that from Steve. Steve will assume as much. Bucky does not find a camera, or any other sensor, let alone any output device. There is only the smooth molded plastic surface. He could cut it open to check more thoroughly, but that would ruin the gift.
"Metaphorical company," Steve says, and Bucky looks up again. "I'd appreciate it if you'd keep it in the bath with you, that's all. Like a warning buoy. Just a reminder to come up for air sometimes."
Bucky nods, and Steve accepts this answer and walks away again. Bucky takes the duck to the bathroom, placing it carefully on a ledge where he won't forget it. The next time he takes a bath he obediently drops it into the water. Steve had not made it a rule, but Bucky is willing to do almost anything when Steve comes that close to asking it of him. Steve did not ask him not to take baths anymore, or even not to go under the water and hold his breath. He gave Bucky a rubber duck.
This, Bucky knows, is called compromise. Bucky makes his heart slow and focuses his dimming vision on the duck, and does not close his eyes. When even the bright yellow starts to fade, he lifts his face to the surface and takes a breath.
Even when his thoughts get slow enough that he cannot think about Steve, or rules, or compromises, he knows what the flash of yellow above him means.