Space Sickness

When Bucky came home one cold, hazy day from working down at the New Brooklyn Interplanetary Spacecraft Landing Station, he didn’t offer Steve one of his playfully dramatic, over-the-top kisses on the cheek. That was when Steve knew that something was wrong. So when his other half too-casually placed the relocation papers on the kitchen counter, it was more a confirmation than a realization. It still hurt.“It’s okay, Stevie,” Bucky said placatingly, probably because even Steve could feel the storm clouds brewing on his face. “It’s only for a year or two, and space travel has gotten so much faster in the past two years alone. I’ll be back before you get the chance to miss me.”“I just don’t see why I can’t go and help too. They keep saying they need every living body they can get.”He spoke a little too vehemently, which triggered a coughing fit that interrupted his long-familiar tirade.Bucky patted his back soothingly.“That right there is why you can’t go, and you know it. Your immune system’s shit, Stevie.”