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Yet another unbearably hot summer day in Brooklyn, and yet these two boys still find a reason to cuddle with there so-called platonic best friend.
It had started with an argument. Steve claimed that he needed the hammock more because it was easy on his brittle bones and Bucky said that he deserved a chance to relax outside because of a long day at work. They could have gone on for hours but it quickly evolved into a wrestling match (Bucky obviously going easy on Steve even though the blonde boy started it. He could never live with himself if he ever hurt Steve.) that had them landing on the hammock with their limbs all tangled. Yet neither of them were about to quit.
"Well one of us has to get off." Steve said with a hint of a smirk (and a blush?) on his face.
"Not gonna be me." Bucky retorted.
"Me 'neither."
"Then I guess we'll just have to wait it out and see who breaks first."
"Bring it on, jerk." Steve said with fake venom in his voice as he moved up the hammock and onto Bucky's chest.
"You're going down punk." Bucky murmured softly into the others hair. It was meant to be whispered as a quiet threat but the boy was almost immediately intoxicated by the smell of Steve's hair and his hand that is still rested on his stomach, the grip loosening more and more by the second.
As the two of them lay there, they grew increasingly tired. The sky was starting to burn in the most beautiful way. Vibrant purples and pinks illuminated the clouds as sharp yellows reached out and touched the Earth. Oranges saturated the air around them both, bathing them in an almost heavenly glow. Words could not express how much love was in the eyes of Bucky Barnes and Steve Rogers at that moment. It was a tragedy.
It would have been the perfect moment to dump all of the pent feelings out and confess the undying love they felt for each other. But of course, both were to scared of it being unrequited and/or losing their best friend. No, they decided it would be better to keep pining and blushing and low-key flirting instead. Soon though, very soon. The silence was broken by Steve's deep voice, breaking the spell cast by the evening light.
"Hey, Buck?"
"Yeah, Stevie?" Bucky whispered, almost as if he didn't want to lose the moment. The moment where he could pretend that they were together and happy.
"You thinking about quitting yet?"
Well, moment broken.
Bucky masked his disappointment with a snarky response of "Wouldn't dream of it. What about you, Mr. I-get-exhausted-from-just-lying-down?"
"Shut it. You know my allergies are makin' me fatigued." Steve said with a weak punch to Bucky's arm, almost as if to prove his point.
"Ohh, big word for such a little guy." Bucky teased, poking the others ribs while giggling.
"Barnes so help me, if you don't-"
"Don't what? What are you gonna do about it? You gotta nothing on me."
"I could do something I'll really regret later." Steve mumbled while staring up at the sky that had turned dark and starry.
"That you'll really regret? You aren't making much sense Stevie. But what could you do, just out of curiosity. Tell me."
'Wow, this guy really knows how to push all your buttons, huh' Steve thought to himself. 'Should you just go for it? Tell him?'
Steve settled for "It's not something I can exactly explain with just words, you know?"
"Well then show me. I wanna know." Bucky looked like he was getting excited. He propped himself up on his elbows and looked down at Steve with wide eyes.
'Just do it.'
A fistful of shirt was in Steve's hand as Bucky's face was pulled closer to his. He hesitated for a split second before reaching up that last inch and pressing his lips solidly to the others. Bucky's eyes went even wider and he let out a sound of surprise. Then he began to kiss back. Fireworks exploded and cosmos were born. Stars fell from the sky and oceans stood still. And that wasn't even the beginning of it. As soft, pliable lips were broken by a slow tongue, a sigh of relief escaped Steve's lips and Bucky relished the sound. His hands ran through Steve's gold spun hair and down his side while Steve planted his free hand at the base of Bucky's neck. What neither of the seemed to remember, though, was the fact that hammocks have a very precarious sense of balance.
The untrustworthy piece of outdoor decor flipped them onto the ground where they landed with a loud thud. Fortunately, Steve was very light so it didn't really hurt when he hit Bucky's chest. It only takes a split second for them to realize what just happened and they break out laughing. Laughing soon turns into passionate kisses and whispers of 'I love you; always have, always will' and 'what took you so damn long' which had them devolving into laughter again which led to kissing which led to laughing, so on and so forth. A vicious cycle, really.
After quite a few minutes on the ground, Bucky starts to shift and says "Getting a little uncomfortable down here. Want to have another go at the death trap?"
"Sure, but only if I don't have to fight you for it again." Steve says, stretching.
"Oh come on, we both know who won that." Bucky whines.
"Let's just call it a tie. The only one I'll ever admit to." The smaller boy whispers before bending down to kiss Bucky's nose. He gets up and dusts himself of before offering a hand to his best friend.
They take a few minutes to get situated, Steve with his hand resting over Bucky's tummy again and the other tucked by his head which is on Bucky's chest, legs tangled (again), and one of Bucks hands intertwined with Steve's. His other hand is stroking Steve's hair, wafting the clean scent closer to him because he has always loved that smell.
It seems as if things could not be more perfect and blissful, but Bucky carefully untangles one of his legs from Steve's and begins to rock the both of them. The gentle movement greatly intensifies the serenity of the scene. Steve starts to hum one of the lullabies his mom used to sing for him, but it soon fades off as he falls asleep from the combined calmness of Bucky and the swinging.
Bucky ducks down to kiss the top of Steve's forehead and continues to rock them. The moon and stars shine bright as crickets sing the ballet of the night. It doesn't exactly seem like a tie, seeing as how they both obviously won.