Dinner was served, a long and friendly conversation was had, and a movie was picked out after much debate. The three amigos were curled up on the couch together watching Forrest Gump for what was probably the 100th time together.
The two men were flanking Y/N from both sides of the couch while she was in a ball in the center. Of course by instinct, she was curled more towards Bucky who was lounged back, arm thrown over the back of Y/N's section, and legs propped on the table. Beer in one hand and Y/N snuggled into his side. Life was good. This was it.
Right after the new years party scene on screen though, the light breathing of Y/N was heard, showing she had knocked out. It had been a tiring and exciting day for the young lady. Plus, add in the exhaustion from the night before, neither of the men were surprised by how fast she had clocked out.
"I think I'm going to call it a night myself," Steve chuckled, looking at Y/N cocooned into Buck's side.
"You sure? You can use the guest room," Bucky offered. Something him and Y/N did every time Steve came over.
"Nah, I'll leave you two be tonight. I have some plans in the morning too, so I should head home," Steve waved his hand, standing and stretching.
"What kind of plans?" Bucky said with a wiggly eyebrow. Tomorrow was Sunday, and Steve always spent most of his Sunday mornings to himself. It was his routine to go to the park and not run, but instead just take in the view.
"Uh, park plans..." he said broadly.
Bucky stared at him and noticed how he was avoiding eye contact and he was blushing too.
"Oh my God. You're hiding something," Bucky said a little louder, making Y/N rustle in her sleep.
"Shhh, Buck. You're going to wake her up," Steve scolded.
"I will just so she can read you. Despite how long I've known you, Y/N always manages to guess what you're hiding before I can," Bucky said.
"Stop. It's nothing," Steve brushed off, grabbing his jacket and quickly trying to gather his things so he could escape faster.
"Hmmm, what are you guys talking about?" Y/N stretched in Bucky's lap. She had slipped from her cuddling position to be laying her head in Bucky's lap. He had been stroking her hair as she slept in that position. It was natural.
"Stevie's hiding something," Bucky whispered in a teasing tone. Y/N sat up more rubbing the tiredness out of her eyes and blinked to get her sight back. "Oh you're done for now," Bucky laughed, seeing her about to analyze him.
"I'm getting out of here you punks," Steve rolled his eyes, blushing more and walking quickly to the door.
"Bye Stevie! See you later," she sat up, waving at him and sending an adorable sleepy smile his way.
He relaxed some and smiled back with a wave. "Bye Y/N/N. Get some rest doll."
"Sir yes, sir!" she saluted with a tired voice. He shook his head with a laugh before walking out. With the sound of the lock Y/N fell back into Bucky's lap and snuggled back in as if to go back to sleep. "It's a girl," she said once comfortable.
"I knew it!" Bucky said, throwing a fist in the air. "How do you do that?" he chuckled going back to playing with her hair.
"It's a gift," she said in a silly voice before laughing some and getting comfortable again.
"You wanna head to bed, Sugar? The movies almost over," he said, looking up seeing it probably had about 30 more minutes.
"No. I want to stay here," she mumbled, curling into him more if that were possible.
"You're exhausted, Y/N/N. Don't you want to be in the comfort of your own bed?" he laughed at her stubbornness.
"No, this is the most comfortable I've been in a while," she huffed.
"Ok, ok. We'll finish the movie," he surrendered, running his fingers lightly over her skin. Up and down her arm, and in no time, she was sleeping again.
He decided instead of waking her, he would just carry her to her room. So carefully, without waking her, he maneuvered to pick her up bridal style and gently walked down to her room.
He couldn't help but stare at the cute little face she always made when she slept. Her lips pouted some and she always found some way to snuggle more into his chest. Every once in a while, her nose would twitch causing her nose to wrinkle as if there was a tickle or itch on it. That melted his heart more than anything.
Gently, he laid her down on her bed and pulled the comforter over her, tucking her in lightly. Then grabbed the extra throw blanket she always kept on there to cover the top half of her body. That's one of her routines of sleeping. She liked a lighter blanket to snuggle with by her face and basically used that as a security blanket.
Once again, the most adorable thing.
Leaning down he kissed her forehead, maybe a little longer than he should have, and then slowly stood as he brushed the hair off her face. With a genuine grin he whispered, "I love you Y/N/N." Then, quietly and reluctantly, he stepped back out of the room and watched her up until the door was shut.
Taking a deep breath, he couldn't keep the now giant grin off his face. He wanted to spend every day like today with her. Despite the frustration and anxiety of last night, she was so happy and cheerful today. Something that he wanted to help influence as long as she would let him.
God. He was going to lock the simple memory of this day down to look back and visit it whenever he wanted.
____________
The next day, Y/N woke first. She went into the kitchen seeing all the dishes from last night done, and the living room back to normal from their movie night. Bucky must have cleaned up before going to bed. And she also figured he carried her to her room at some point last night too.
She made a pot of coffee, a little more than normal since it was a Sunday for the two which meant a relaxing day, and more cups to drink.
Then as she was sipping from her own cup, she thought back to the new art studio of hers. She grabbed her mug and walked back into the room being shocked at it once again. How long was it going to take before she stopped feeling the overwhelming happiness of walking in here? The thought behind its creation and the idea that it was hers, she just couldn't process.
She sat on the window ledge where Bucky had brought a window cushion so she could look out to the city and ocean better. They really were lucky when it came to the view their flat gave them. It showed the city's buildings from a perfect height, and then just a little further off you could see the waves crashing from the winds. It was a perfect inspiration spot.
She sat there watching for about 20 minutes. Then she turned looking at the studio already coming up with ideas to make it more her own. Bucky had hit it on the head pretty well, but he didn't have much time to make it fully hers, and honestly she was fine with that. He gave her the push, now it was her turn to finish the work.
She was already coming up with storage ideas, places for shelves, places to hang the work. Maybe she could get a rolling ladder in here too, like from Beauty and the Beast... Then looking up at the ceiling she saw how high, yet bare they were.
As most the room was white color, Y/N could easily modify that, but she needed something up there to liven it up. Maybe post some pictures and vintage prints on there? Or maybe she could paint it- Wait.
She stood up, putting her coffee down, and started walking around the room with her head back staring straight up. She did a few circles and twist and turns, then it hit her... Then another thing hit her.
"Oh Y/N, you genius," she smiled slyly before racing to her room to change.
Bucky was still asleep by the time she was out the door, so he woke up to a note on the kitchen counter saying,
Went out to grab some things for the studio! I'll be back shortly! (P.S. Don't worry I'm not spending too much) ;)
-Y/N/N
Bucky grinned at the last message and made his coffee. Sure enough before he could even finish scrambling the eggs, Y/N was racing inside.
"Get what you needed?" he laughed as she passed by him in a flash and ran to the room.
"Yes, and then some!" she shouted back.
"Hopefully not too much considering I'm supposed to be taking you supply shopping!"
"No! I'll stick to my promise," she shouted back and he could hear the pout in her voice.
"Good!" he said loud enough for her to hear, but mainly for himself. "Want some eggs and toast? I'm almost done."
"Yeah! I'll be out in a second," she shouted back.
Bucky had everything on plates ready to go as she came back in. She was in a pair of her overalls, and curly hair thrown up in a bun, but practically failing at holding her hair as all the little strands of waves and curls were falling out. But, wow did he love this look. This was better than any charity ball dress or formal dress she could ever put on. Though those were quite jaw dropping as well.
"Thanks for the coffee this morning." Bucky smiled as he handed her a fork and went to sit in his seat.
"Thanks for the breakfast," she winked before digging in.
"So what did you go get that you couldn't wait to get with me?" he asked, arching a brow and taking a giant bite of eggs, all while keeping strong eye contact with her.
"Nothing big. But it's a surprise," she said with a grin.
"Surprise?"
"Yup," she popped her P.
"Should I be worried?" he asked.
"With me? Nah!" she exaggerated the last part. He sent her a worried yet playful look. "Promise. If anything, you should be excited."
"Ok..." he dragged out. But before he could tease her anymore his phone rang. He pulled it out seeing that it was the office. Why were they calling him on a Sunday?
"One second." Bucky excused himself getting up and walking to the living room. "This is James. Yeah?... Uh, huh... I thought I signed those already... Another one?... Ok, how long?... Only an hour? And that's all you need from me?"
Y/N kept eating as she watched Buck practically slump at the phone call.
"Yeah, yeah, I can come in for an hour. But that's it. I have plans today." She faintly heard a 'Yes sir' on the other end, and then a few more words were exchanged before Bucky hung up.
"What was that about?" she asked while sipping her coffee.
"Work. A couple of the contracts for the merger were from last year's conditions and regulations, so we didn't sign any updated ones. Therefore, I have to go sign them now or we push the whole merger back 2 weeks," Bucky groaned, running a hand down his face.
"It'll only take an hour, right?"
"Hopefully. They always say that, but then something else pops up, and since I'm already there, they try and keep me there."
"Well, just go do what you said you were going to do, and then tell them you can't stay longer," she shrugged. "You are the boss."
Bucky nodded his head in a tired manner. "Yeah, you're right. You going to be ok if I delay our supply run?" he asked, looking at her apologetically.
"I had a little project planned to get done today, so all is well here," she nodded, giving him a smile to brighten up his mood. Which didn't take much with her.
"Ok, I promise I'll be back soon. I won't stay longer than I need to," he noted, running to his room to change.
Y/N laughed and next thing you know he was running back down the hall with jeans and a white t-shirt on. A leather jacket thrown over it.
"I would make you a coffee to go, but I'm assuming you're taking your bike," she smirked looking at his attire.
"Gets me there faster, and more importantly, gets me back faster," he winked before giving her a kiss on the head without a second thought and racing to the door. "I'll be back in an hour! No later!"
"Drive safe and don't be reckless!"
Once he was gone, she got to work. The surprise she had in store for him was going to go a lot easier with him out of the house for a little. Hopefully she could get it done in under an hour.
____
Sure enough, Bucky texted saying it would be more like an hour and a half. Which was great for Y/N. The man's helpful manner made it hard for him to say no to things.
So an hour and a half later, with the help of a really tall ladder their neighbor was sweet enough to lend, Y/N had finished her project.
"Y/N/N?" Bucky shouted as he came back in the house. He threw his jacket on the coat rack and quickly took off his shoes while tossing his keys on the table. "Sorry it ran late! You ready to go out?" he asked.
"Yeah, one second!" she shouted from the art studio. "Can you come here for a minute?"
Bucky tilted his head, but did as asked. "What's up?" he asked, walking in seeing she was already painting something and her overalls had new paint marks on them. "Oh, did you start on something new?" he said excited and walking over to her easel where she was. He was always her number one fan when it came to art. He would hype up anything she did. Every time being in awe at what she could create.
Right now it just looked like an outline of someone's face. It wasn't detailed enough to show who it could be, but she had clearly just started it.
"Yes, but that isn't the surprise," she nodded putting her things up.
"Right the surprise. Whatcha got, sweetheart?" he asked, putting his hands in his pockets as he watched her move around.
"Ok, it's not going to show much in here since there's so much light coming in, but that's ok," she said, wiping her hands on a cloth before throwing it on her stool and standing next to Bucky. "Look up," she motioned, facing him and then turning her head up.
Bucky squinted his eyes at her, but followed nonetheless. Looking up he could barely see, just faintly, the outlines of what looked like stars.
"Did you draw stars up there?" he said cocking his head as he saw how many were scattered. There had to be over 100 up there.
"God no! Painting them would have taken forever!" she laughed. "Plus they wouldn't be able to do what I want them to." Her tone showed there was something more.
"Do what you want them to?" he asked, confused and looking back at her.
"That leads us to part two of the surprise. Follow me," she winked, grabbing his hand and leading him across the hall to his room.
"What in the world did you do, Sassy?" he chuckled as she walked into his blacked out room.
"Here. Go sit on your bed," she ordered, shutting the door behind her and stayed by the light switch.
"As much as I love the mystery behind all this, I'm a little worried," he said, feeling those damn butterflies going wild in his stomach again. All he could picture right now was the fact Y/N was in his room, and they were about to be in the pitch black, and he was laying on his bed. A lot of things could happen with those things put together.
"Oh, hush. You ready?" she asked bouncing on her toes by the light switch.
"Do I have a choice?" he asked jokingly.
"Nope! Here we go!" she smiled and then next thing you know, the room was dark, but only for a second.
On his ceiling, the same stars that were in the studio were littering his own room. They were all in one area though as if she had run out and had to stick to one spot. It went just a little bit wider than his bed, but hung over the bed so that when he went to sleep, the little stars were glowing over him.
"You like it?" she asked as he sat back more and looked up at the creation of art over him. "I used more in my room than I planned. And when I came in here to put them up, I figured might as well make it good in one spot and then I can add more later."
He was silent. He couldn't talk. The thought behind this was a lot more than the simple action seemed.
"You remembered," was all he could say as he stayed staring up.
Y/N was grinning wide at his expression that she could dimly see with the little bit of light. She walked over sitting next to him and then looked up with him.
"You mean the fact you've struggled with sleep ever since you came back from overseas? And how you said the only way you could somewhat sleep was when you looked up at the stars during the calm nights over there? Yeah. I remembered," she said softly. The mood shifting to a calm and sincere one.
There was another pause of him taking it in before he spoke up. "I always felt that if there was one thing constant in this world, it was the night sky. No matter where you are, everyone sees those stars... Only time it felt like I was home and not in a foreign land where anything could go bad the next second," he mumbled.
"Yeah," she hummed, softly leaning her head on his shoulder. "That."
A comfortable silence took place for a while. Y/N gave Bucky a minute, and Bucky soaked it up with his girl by his side, and another one of the few things that eased his mind above him.
"I know it's not real stars, and if they're more of an unwanted light than you want, I'll take them down, but I figured-"
"Y/N," he cut her off. "This is perfect. No one's ever- This is-... Thank you," he said, turning to her as her head rose from his shoulder. "I love it. I love it so much."
"Good," she said sweetly.
And in that instant, the mood shifted dramatically. The calm manner turned heated somehow. The two were looking into the others eyes strongly. Neither breaking. That is until Bucky's eyes shifted to her lips. Damn it! He looked back up scared she saw it, but he was shocked to see that she too was looking down at his lips as well.
Instead of looking up at him with a worried expression at getting caught like him, her lips parted and her eyes grew in size. Those damn doe eyes that got him every time.
Bucky was frozen, he wanted to lean in and connect his lips to hers, but for the first time ever with a girl, he froze. He physically could not move. It was like he was under a spell. Good thing she wasn't though because the tension was getting so hot.
Without even being able to comprehend the next two seconds, Bucky felt her lips on his. She made the move they both were silently communicating, and holy shit was that hot. Just when she was about to pull away not knowing if Bucky was ok with what was happening, his hand quickly came up cupping her neck. He pulled her back in not letting her get the chance to take it back.
Next thing you know the two were in sync as their lips melted into the other. Y/N's hands were on his chest bunching the white t-shirt fabric in her fist. Bucky's hands were intertwined in her hair pulling her head closer to his. As close as he could bring her to him. It was hot and heavy. The kiss went on for what felt like eternity, until they broke apart gasping for air, now it felt like it wasn't nearly long enough.
Y/N was big eyed looking at Bucky who was grinning ear to ear at the scene that just played out.
"That-that-..." she stuttered in a hoarse whisper as a result from how intense the kiss was.
"Was overdue," Bucky said, bringing his hand to her cheek now and moving a curl behind her ear.
Her worried smile turned from shocked to giddy. The open mouth turned to a toothy grin before she was pouncing into his lap and going in for a second kiss. Then a third, and a fourth, and a... Well, you know how to count...