ohnofeelings | Can you not have the attention span of a goldfish?

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Can you not have the attention span of a goldfish?

Midterms were approaching, which was only slightly less stressful than finals. Although he was an art major, Steve still had a lot to get done. He had to finish his portfolios for three different classes, techniques to master and be able to explain the significance of, as well as being able to write in-depth analyses on the symbolism of various pieces. He still had a long way to go, but he would at least be finished with the portfolio part shortly. All he had to do was finish a few more drawings using different mediums.

Bucky, on the other hand, had a lot more to study and memorise if he wanted to do well. That hadn't escaped Steve at all. He glanced over at him a few times, then stretched his legs out, intentionally nudging Bucky with one.

"Hey, why don't you crack open a book or something? Your not studying is distracting me."

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The History major was a lot less concerned with his midterms than he should have been. Bucky had been watching Steve draw over the top of his stack of unopened textbooks for the last hour. It was a lot more interesting than what he was reading and considering the chunk of History he had apparently lived through he thought he could afford a little time off from his studies.

"I think that is a sign that you should take a break if you are paying enough attention to me to know that I'm not studying."

Edited 2013-06-29 17:32 (UTC)

"Or you could stop burning a hole through my sketchbook."

Did you think you were being covert, Bucky? It hadn't been distracting enough to make him stop entirely. One of the perks of having to do work in class was he was used to people watching him over his shoulder. Usually with added commentary.

"Studies show learning via osmosis is impossible."

"Studies change all the time."

Bucky sat up a little straighter, still watching Steve just a little too intently. There was an extra reason he wore long sleeves these days, covering his newest scar up as much as the prosthetic arm, but it was getting a bit suspicious as spring started to get warmer and warmer, leaving the convenient chill of winter behind.

He had been spending entirely too much time around Steve these days, but he didn't feel like it was enough. Lately, though, he spent more and more of his time watching Steve, trying to read too much into his actions, looking for clues in his reactions.

It had never been a stretch to say Bucky loved Steve before this mess. They were brothers, maybe not in blood but in bond and in arms, they were closer than any two people he had ever met. Now that he was somewhat plagued to constantly relive old memories, he tried to dissipate the guilt and regret by taking control of it and looking back even further. To a couple of Brooklyn boys who did everything together, including getting their asses kicked.

Ever since he woke up to Steve at his side in the hospital, though, they had barely left each other's company. He wasn't sure if that was just Steve trying to make sure Bucky didn't try it again or them settling back into the way things had been in the old days, but he was paying too much attention to everything Steve did. The other man was on his brain more of the time than anyone should ever be. Even in class his thoughts drifted back to the former super soldier.

"Come on. Take a break for a while. What'll it hurt?"

Steve wasn't oblivious. Being watched was something that was hard to not notice. He hadn't identified the reason for it, as much as he tried. Eventually he simply figured Bucky just liked watching him draw. That was a completely normal assumption to make, and he was sure there'd been at least one time when Bucky watched him draw back when they were younger.

Or maybe he was making that assumption so he didn't have to wonder if there was any more to it.

He didn't care if there was; his bond with Bucky had always been special, more important than anything. Steve was just wary about making the wrong call and completely misreading anything. That would lead into awkward territory that Steve didn't even want to think about.

In any case, it was nice being able to spend time with Bucky. It served as a means to make sure that nothing happened again, but as he always back before everything, he enjoyed his company.

With a sigh, Steve discarded his sketchbook and the piece of charcoal he'd been working with "That entirely depends upon whether you have something on your mind or not. It could do a lot of hurt." A spontaneous trip out would drain away all his time.

There was more to it, but Bucky wasn't bringing that up unquestioned. He still wasn't sure if he had just had his brain knocked out of whack from his last visit to the hospital. He had gone into some pretty serious shock. It was possible.

"I think we could find something to do for a little while."

Now he was just trying to think of ways to get Steve to agree.

"Something here. Not too complicated. That sounds pretty harmless to me."

Licking his lips absentmindedly, Steve reached for a nearby water bottle, twisted the cap, and took a sip. He could handle something that involved them staying in. Even if the same amount of time got wasted, his work was still just an arm's length away. Somehow, that made it not as bad.

"We could watch a movie or something, I guess. I don't know what else there is to do off the top of my head."

In theory, there were plenty of things to do, but Steve wasn't touching that train of thought with a ten foot pole. It was strange enough that it came to mind at all.

Bucky's eyes trained a little too easily on Steve's tongue and then down to watching his adam's apple bob in his throat with that sip. When had watching Steve a little closer turned to noticing things he shouldn't have been noticing to begin with? Bucky wasn't an idiot. He knew their relationship had always been a level more everything than other people seemed to have. He just wasn't sure when it had graduated from something he didn't think about to something he thought about all the time.

"Sure. A movie sounds good."

Or it would until he was settled into the couch next to Steve thinking about all the times they had been pulled apart and thrown back together.

What was that word from that god awful romance movie?

Serendipity?

The water bottle was discarded as well as Steve got up and started rummaging through his DVD collection that was neatly stacked on the entertainment centre. One thing that hadn't changed over the years and even through losing and regaining memories was Steve's love for film. He had a small collection started, although not everything in it was a gem; there were a few 2/$5 movie sales that he couldn't resist.

Then again, compared to the movies he saw in the 1930s and 40s, he was easily impressed with the currently outdated standards of cinematography. "Do you have any preferences? I still haven't seen a lot of these so I can't vouch for how good they are."

Getting up, Bucky pulled a random movie from the middle of the stack and handed it to Steve. He knew next to nothing about any of these movies and he really didn't care.

Right now he was weighing the pros and cons in his head of making a move on Steve.

Cons, if Steve didn't reciprocate it might make things weird between them for a while. He didn't imagine it would last too long though. This was him and Steve.

Pros? Aside from the terribly obvious, he would not have to pretend he hadn't been thinking about it. If Steve had been a woman it would have been the obvious next step.

Steve looked at the cover of the dvd case, briefly flipping it to look at the back. "This one looks promising." He didn't waste any time opening the case and putting the disk into the player. A moment of button mashing later and the television was on and Steve was skipping through the previews to get to the main menu.

"If you want a drink or popcorn, you know where everything's at." Were it anyone else, Steve would've made an effort to be a good host. But this was Bucky. Even if he didn't live here, they'd lived together for ages a lifetime ago. It would've felt too weird to even try catering to him.

Once the movie was actually playing, Steve turned up the volume and moved to the couch, resting the remotes on the arm rest as he made himself comfortable. His posture was relaxed, but there was a conscious effort to make sure there was enough space for Bucky to sit comfortably.

Bucky settled in next to Steve, handing him a coke when he took his own seat. He didn't bother to leave space, choosing instead to sit directly next to Steve so their legs were touching.

"So, Steve-o."

Elbow to his side.

"How much work do you have left?

The lack of space was something Steve didn't even notice. It just seemed so normal that he never thought anything of it. Taking the coke, he popped the tab and took that first sip that was always the most refreshing. After placing the can on the end table nearby, he elbowed Bucky in return.

"A lot less than you do." The more serious answer came a beat later as the opening credits began. "Probably two to four hours of uninterrupted work. Why."

"Because you just signed away at least the next three hours to me."

Bucky grins like he knows he is trouble, but he didn't feel much like studying. Not History, at least.

He also didn't plan on letting Steve go back to schoolwork after the movie ended.

Someone had to make sure Steve took some breaks now and then.

"And I'm not letting you off easy. You've been working all day."

Steve wasn't sure if he was surprised by this or not. He wasn't an unfun person; he just tended to practise a policy of play only after work was completed.

He wouldn't admit to Bucky that a break was exactly what he was needing; serum or not, there was only so much drawing a man could do before his wrist started to ache. Had this been before he joined the army, there was no way he could've worked on his work this long without a break anyway.

"What are you going to do if I object to that? Nothing's stopping me from getting up and going back to finish that drawing."

"I'll just have to pin you to the couch then, won't I? What, you think I can't still take you?"

Bucky gave him another elbow, propping his feet up on Steve's coffee table just to try and get under his skin.

"Besides, you want this as much as I do."

The movie, Steve. Where is your head?

The movie? Steve wasn't sure if that was what they were talking about. That's where his head was. Stuck trying to figure out if there was any other meaning behind Bucky's words.

Steve never considered himself to be naive; there were times when things went over his head, and this was a moment when he couldn't tell if he was overthinking things or not.

There was clearly a fine line between what this was and what this wasn't, so he had to tread carefully.

"I know you can't."

That was as intentional as Bucky propping his feet up, which Steve lightly smacked his leg for.

"Keep telling yourself that, bud."

Steve directed his attention to the movie, but his mind was still reeling. This was bugging him enough that he decided to nix his previous decision and just test this.

One intense action sequence later, he stretched his arms up over his head and pulled the cheesiest, most cliché move of all time. He rested his arm half on the back of the couch, half on Bucky's shoulders.

Bucky would have almost been proud of Steve for the near smoothness of that cliché being implemented. Almost, if the action had not tagged him for his round in over-thinking theater. Steve did seem the cliché type, but somehow Bucky hadn't ever expected him to use a move Bucky taught him, on him.

This just left him wondering if Steve really meant to do that or if he was just stretching out arms stiff from a day of drawing and sketching nearly endlessly.

But Steve had given him something else to focus on, too. That retort. He rolled his eyes, nudging Steve in the ribs. But the action actually moved him closer to the other man and he didn't shift back to compensate.

"I don't have to tell myself, I could prove it just fine."

Steve was overthinking just as much as Bucky was. Maybe. He was suddenly too aware of how close Bucky was, where they had physical contact and where they didn't. It really wouldn't have been any different than anything that happened before, were it not for the fact that Steve was looking at it differently.

He knew he really shouldn't.

But Bucky wasn't moving away, and he hadn't said anything about his arm, either.

"What are you waiting for?"

It was a blatant taunt, but Steve wasn't sure which way he meant it, even.

Bucky wouldn't be able to deal with himself if he didn't follow that taunt through with the only possible response. Movie forgotten, he shifted on the couch to all but throw himself on Steve, fighting to wrestle him down onto the couch in a way Bucky could pin him.

He might be stronger and faster now that any normal man, but Bucky had taught Steve a lot of his movies, and he was pretty sure he could still get one up on the super soldier, serum or no serum.

Time to see what you're made of, Steve. Can Bucky still manage to get him pinned down? Maybe the fact that he's willing to fight a little dirty will pave the way. Bucky's leg gets between Steve's at some point for the better leverage the middle of the couch provides, and if his leaning forward just happened to put the upper part of his leg in contact with Steve's groin, well.

It was probably an accident.

Edited 2013-07-02 04:10 (UTC)

It didn't matter that Steve had the serum, or that Bucky was his best friend. He wasn't going to go easy on him. That'd be an insult to them both, and that just wasn't how Steve rolled. He at least let Bucky make the first move. Consider it a head start, as much as was possible anyway.

For the most part, they were well matched; Bucky was better skilled at the technique, especially considering he was better classified as an expert on it than Steve was. What Steve lacked, he made up for in size and strength, which was still ironic, considering how it used to be.

When he overturned Bucky in an attempt to pin him to the couch on his back, it had nothing to do with Bucky's leg and the contact it made. It definitely didn't steer Steve's mind in a direction that left him feeling distracted. It definitely didn't allow for obvious openings, either.

Spoilers, it did.

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Can you not have the attention span of a goldfish?

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