Just Roommates

Chapter Three

"Roommate trouble? Wait, is something going on with Y/N? You guys never get into fights. Well, not real ones anyway." Steve placed his hands on his hips.

"Not a fight," Bucky waved off, pulling his foot behind him to stretch his calves. "Just..." How did he word this? "Something's... off."

"Off how?"

"I've been noticing things... Things I never noticed before," Bucky mumbled.

"Huh? Wait..." Steve paused. Then, like a lightbulb going off, he looked down and let out a single laugh as he shook his head. "Ha!"

"Ha? What do you mean, HA?" Bucky questioned, frustrated.

"You're seriously just now noticing it, Buck?" Steve shot back with an arched eyebrow.

"Noticing what?"

"Dear God, you're more hopeless than any of us assumed," Steve turned in a circle and looked up at the canopying trees in the park, pursing his lips.

"Get to the point, Punk," Bucky groaned, knowing Steve would drag it out if he let him.

"You're feelings for Y/N, obviously," he turned back to him. "I emphasize the obvious part, too."

"Now, don't start all that-"

"That's the thing. It started a long time ago," Steve's laugh followed him as he took off in a jog, Bucky quickly stumbling behind him. "We've all known. It was just a matter of time before your brain finally caught up."

"What do you mean 'we'?"

"Literally anyone with eyes, " Steve laughed again, picking up the pace.

"Elaborate, Rogers," he sneered, pushing himself some to keep up. He was more out of practice than he realized.

"Come on, Buck. Since the day you set eyes on her, you had a crown of hearts circling your head. And when she denied your charm and flirting over and over, it just kinda shrunk. I don't think it ever went away, but you hid it really well. So well, even you didn't realize it, apparently."

"Now, I don't think that-"

"Don't try and tell me you didn't think she was cute when you first met."

"I didn't say that. I was going to say I don't believe in love at first sight, so the whole swooning over her when I first met her, doesn't really pertain to me," Bucky mumbled again, picking up his pace with the blonde.

"I'll argue that another juncture. One problem at a time. But also, you've never experienced that kind of love before, so how do you know if it was?" Steve hummed, going into a full sprint.

"Jesus, slow down!" Bucky shouted, running after him. "We're trying to have a conversation at the same time, and it's not mixing well." His breathing was already growing labored.

Steve kept up the chase for a little while longer, and when he noticed Bucky needed to slow down, he began to walk.

"You OK?" he laughed, patting Bucky's back once he caught up.

"When did you get so fast?" Bucky panted.

"Helps when you run 5x a week."

"God, I need to get back to the gym," Bucky groaned.

"Yeah. You do," Steve joked. "Sleeping around is great cardio, but it only works so many muscles."

"Hey, watch it. I can still beat you up."

Steve laughed and waited for Bucky to catch his breath before bringing the conversation back up.

"If it's not about your feelings for Y/N, then what did you need to get off your chest?" he asked, and Bucky's face read guilty. "Right... Well, I have seven more miles to go, but we can knock it down a few, grab some coffee, and get all the chaos in there, out." He motioned to Bucky's head. "Sound like a plan?"