Summary: Whenever Steve had a restless night, he goes out to the living room and reads
Yet again, another sleepless night. Steve turned to Bucky who was sound asleep. He went against waking him up and just went to go read his book in the living room.
Steve sat up slowly to not wake his sleeping boyfriend, he yawned as he walked down the hall.
He looked for a new book to read and once he found one that caught his eye, he grabbed it as he sat in his chair. The book he picked was The Lovely Bones. He opened it to the first page and started reading.
"My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973." He read aloud to himself like he always did. It was a habit he had that he never noticed unless someone pointed it out.
"In newspaper photos of missing girls from the seventies, most looked like me: white girls with mousy brown hair."
"You know you like to read out loud to yourself?" A voice from the hall spoke, startling Steve. He looked at a tired, half asleep Bucky. "I didn't wake you did I?" He asked. Bucky shook his head and got comfortable on Steve's lap. He moved the book out of the way and wrapped his arms around Bucky's waist.
"You know, you could always wake me if you can't sleep." Bucky told him. "I know,
I just don't like the thought of waking you. You look so peaceful and I don't want to ruin it."
"It's ruined when I wake up and you're not there." He pointed out. "M'sorry baby." Steve apologized as Bucky's lips gently pressed against Steve's.
"But, you've been doing this for a while. What's bothering you?" He asked. Steve pondered for a while,"I guess I've been asleep for so long, I just can't sleep anymore. Talk about a ruined sleep schedule." They laughed.
Bucky stood up,"You coming?" Steve shook his head,"I think I'm gonna read for a bit longer."
With one nod, Bucky made himself comfortable on their couch that was sat next to the chair Steve was in. "What book are you reading?"
"The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold."
"Seems interesting. Read to me doll."
"This was before kids of all races and genders started appearing on milk cartons or in the daily mail. It was still back when people believed things like that didn't happen."
As much as Steve wanted to continue, he heard Bucky's soft snores which put the book to a halt, since he didn't want to continue without him.
He picked Bucky up bridal style, heading towards their bedroom. He gently laid him down before pressing his lips against Bucky's forehead.
After contemplating on going back and reading, a yawn escaping his mouth answered the question for him. He laid himself on his side of the bed soon falling asleep.
After that night, they made it into a habit of Steve reading to Bucky whenever they couldn't sleep. It was something new to enjoy. Neither was ahead of the other since they only read at night. Sometimes they would just stay up all night just to read the book they started.