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When Steve looks at Bucky, he always, without failure, wonders how this perfect specimen of a man can even want to be with him. Bucky is beautiful and hunky and the package came complete with a personality to match the flawless appearance. The guy is everything Steve could ever want rolled into one person.
Tonight is the big exception.
Tonight he is sitting in the passenger seat of Bucky’s car and wondering if a life alone would really be so bad compared to this.
It’s his birthday and when his boyfriend came around and announced he had a surprise for him, his heart simply melted. Until Bucky led him to his car and opened the trunk to reveal what was essentially the entire stock of a camping supply store. A suspiciously small roll of something Bucky swears he’ll manage to turn into a tent fitting at least two people. Two sleeping bags. A camping cooker. Cans of food. And a whole bunch of things the purpose of which Steve can only guess at.
The thing is, it’s Steve’s birthday and Bucky’s clearly put a lot of thought into this. And they haven’t known each other for very long, have been a couple for only two months, so clearly Bucky doesn’t know that camping is one of Steve’s worst nightmares. And admittedly, Steve may have dropped the odd hint at how much he likes the night sky and fresh air and nature, just to impress Bucky who is such a big fan of the outdoors himself. So really, he’s been asking for this and it is so sweet that his boyfriend picked up on all this. And Steve doesn’t have it in him to tell him the truth.
If Bucky picked up on him being uneasy, he certainly doesn’t show it. Not even when Steve opens his closet and it becomes painfully obvious that he owns close to zero outdoors clothing. He’s lucky his birthday is in July, so he won’t freeze to death tonight. And even though Steve has a hard time believing him, Bucky has assured him that a lot of nerds enjoy camping, so he won’t even stick out in his Star Trek shirt, Game of Thrones hoodie and the thick framed glasses. He’s decidedly more worried about his Converse not being the right choice for a hike through the woods, anyway.
They’ve been driving for two hours now. The crowded streets of Brooklyn have given way to more rural areas until trees and shrubs replaced houses completely and now Steve realizes it’s been ten minutes since he last saw any sign of civilization. Bucky indicates for a left turn and for a moment Steve worries he’s gonna drive them straight into the bushes until he sees a narrow path leading off the main road. They spend another ten minutes bouncing in their seats while Bucky’s car rumples along the main road until there’s a small clearing that seems to serve as a car park. To Steve’s relief - or maybe not - there are two other cars parked there already. There’s nobody around but at least they’re not the only ones with a death wish.
“Alright, let’s do this!” Bucky cheers and claps his hands excitedly. Steve’s reaction is a lot less enthusiastic. He nods and forces a smile that would seem like a cringe even to Bucky if his boyfriend hadn’t already jumped out of the car to begin unpacking their stuff from the trunk.
It’s just one night, Steve reassures himself. And it’ll be a night spent with Bucky, so how bad can it really be? The answer is the most sinister cackle Steve has ever heard, a noise evil enough to make him jump with a squeal.
“Relax, ‘s just a bird,” Bucky laughs, sticking his head up from where it was half buried in the trunk. “Here, take this.” He starts piling stuff up in Steve’s arms. None of it is really heavy but it’s a lot and to Steve’s dismay he can’t see his feet anymore. So by the time all of their camping equipment is out of the trunk and they’re making their way away from the car, all he can do is stumble after Bucky and hope for the best.
It’s late afternoon but it’s summer so it’ll be a good long while until the sun goes down. Still, the animals seem to be getting ready for the night and their noises are giving Steve the creeps. Bucky doesn’t seem worried, though, and so Steve decides to trust his boyfriend’s judgement.
They see a few rabbits on the way and even a squirrel that spends a second or two staring back at them before it climbs up the trunk of a tree at rocket speed and disappears. And yeah, Steve has to admit that’s pretty cute and not so bad after all.
What’s also not so bad is Bucky’s appearance. Even though Steve himself is so skinny and seemingly fragile, he’s always liked big guys and damn, is Bucky ever a big guy. With his bulging muscles and ripped stomach he’s the exact opposite of Steve. But today is just the icing on the cake. Because Bucky’s obviously dressed for the occasion. He’s wearing the kind of jeans that seem ratty and old but like the perfect fit at once. Then there’s the tight white muscle shirt with an unbuttoned red and black flannel shirt on top. His boots are thick and well worn and make his already trademark cocksure stride just that bit hotter. But what really gets Steve, what completes the outfit and makes this entire adventure well worth it, is the belt. A thick dark brown leather belt that does very little to keep his jeans from hanging low on his hips but does a perfect job of sending Steve’s imagination on a wild trip.
A thousand fairytales wouldn’t be able to describe the kind of magic that must have happened to make Bucky Barnes want to hook up with Steve Rogers but Steve will be damned if he would ever question his luck.
They inch along the tiny footpath and Steve is sure that it’s him slowing them down so much. But after what seems like half a lifetime the universe has mercy on them and the trees give way to another clearing.
“This is it,” Bucky announces and drops his load onto the grass. Steve follows his lead and yes, he has to admit that this is really nice. They’re standing near a little lake and it’s so quiet he can hear the water splashing a little when a fish comes up to the surface and quickly vanishes again. They’re surrounded by trees and when he looks up, there’s nothing but clear blue sky.
Steve can see another tent on the far end of the clearing but nobody can be seen and for all he knows, he and Bucky are alone in the world.
“Wow, Buck, this is amazing,” he says and to his own surprise, he really means it. Even though he’s never been a big fan of the outdoors, the concept of camping isn’t new to Steve. But he didn’t know how easy it would feel to leave everything behind once he was out here. It’s hard to imagine a busy place like Brooklyn exists now that he’s standing here surrounded by the quiet sounds of nature.
“Happy Birthday,” Bucky says for about the hundredth time that day and pulls him into his arms for a quick hug before he lets go and starts to set up their tent.
Steve tries to help, he honestly does. It’s just that everything he touches just seems to turn to crap and after he’s sabotaged Bucky’s progress for the third time, his boyfriend insists he take a step back and relax for a moment. After that, to Steve’s astonishment, it takes Bucky less than ten minutes before a fully functional tent has been set up and fixated.
Now being allowed to join in on the action again, Steve unrolls the sleeping bags and goes in for a test run. He crawls into the tent and lies down on his back on top of the sleeping bags. A part of the tent’s roof is made up of transparent plastic so he can see the clear blue sky above him. Bucky Barnes has done a lot of great things in the short time they’ve been together, but it seems his greatest achievement may be turning Steve into a camper after all.
He can hear Bucky clattering around outside and crawls back out to find him setting up the cooker and two chairs facing the lake. Steve watches his boyfriend staring out at the water and for a moment he worries that he’ll suggest going for a swim. As far as he knows they didn’t pack any swimwear or spare underwear and having fish nibble on his balls is definitely where he draws the line. But to his relief, Bucky says nothing of the sort as he turns to look at Steve with this thoughtful little smile on his face that he gets sometimes and that always leaves Steve guessing at what’s on his mind.
“Dinner will be ready in twenty minutes. It’s always better to prepare food while it’s still light,” he explains and yeah, that sure doesn’t worry Steve at all. Somehow he manages not to cringe or ask for details and nods, distracting himself by unpacking the basket of groceries. In true camping fashion, they have beans and wieners. And Bucky’s even brought brownies in place of a proper birthday cake for dessert. Camping might not be the ideal birthday surprise for Steve but it’s impossible not to feel touched by his boyfriend’s thoughtfulness.
They watch the sunset while they eat and talk about everything and nothing. The beauty of being with Bucky is that they can talk total nonsense and Steve will never feel judged. And even with the distance between their chairs, he always feels close to Bucky. Which doesn’t stop him from reaching for his hand and giving it a squeeze. “Thank you, Buck. This was a great surprise.” He gets another one of those small smiles in return and this time he can’t help but lean over, almost tipping his chair over in the process, and press a kiss to those full pink lips. Part of Steve wishes he could taste Bucky’s thoughts on them but he never wants to pry or make him feel like he has to tell him things he doesn’t feel comfortable sharing just yet.
They spend a long time just sitting together, eventually bringing out the brownies which they end up feeding each other. Steve admits to himself that he would probably feel sick from so much sweetness if he was watching another couple acting that way around each other but with Bucky, everything just seems good and right all the time.
Until he feels something crawling up his arm and looks down to find a spider waving at him with at least half of its eight legs. Later, Steve will deny he’s even capable of making a sound like that but now he squeals like a little girl as he jumps up and runs for a few steps, wildly shaking his arm to get rid of the spider which is long gone and probably scarred for life.
When he’s sure he’s safe - for now - he looks at Bucky to find him on his feet but doubled over with laughter.
“Not funny!” Steve grumbles and to his own surprise he actually manages to look pissed for a good ten seconds before his expression softens at seeing Bucky’s face all red and almost split in half from the huge grin on his face.
“Too funny!” he argues back, still interrupted by little giggles and wiping at his eyes with the back of his hand. “Seriously, Steve! I’ve seen you getting into fights with guys twice your size and now look at you, screaming bloody murder at a tiny spider.”
Steve scoffs at him and pulls a disgusted grimace. “First of all, that thing wasn’t tiny. And the difference between those guys and a spider is they didn’t have eight legs. What kind of abominable creature needs eight fucking legs?” He glares at Bucky as if his boyfriend was personally responsible for something like spiders to even exist.
But Bucky is just great as usual. “Come here,” he says, fighting the grin that’s threatening to break out again, and pulls him into his arms. “I’ll protect you from all the evil eight-legged soldiers of Satan’s army.” Not even Steve can keep from smiling at this as he finds himself tucked against Bucky’s chest. His body feels like warm steel and it’s hard to believe there’s anything in the world that these thick, strong arms can’t protect him from. So Steve lets himself be guided back to their tent and sits down again. He still feels phantom itches all over but there are no further scary encounters, much to his relief.
When the food is gone and they’ve cleaned up as well as they could in the darkness, they retreat into the tent. With it being July, it’s a warm night, the air so hot around them that Steve’s only wearing his t-shirt and boxers and Bucky’s left in his muscle shirt and boxer briefs. They’re lying side by side on top of their sleeping bags, holding hands in the small space between them as they stare up at the stars in the clear night sky. It occurs to Steve that this is the first year that he doesn’t get to watch fireworks on his birthday but he’s gladly traded that for his boyfriend’s soft breathing next to him.
“So,” Bucky’s voice pulls him from his thoughts and when Steve looks over, he finds his big grey eyes already taking him in, a faint hint of a smile playing around his lips, “when were you planning to tell me?”
Steve’s confused, brows knotting and eyes narrowing behind his glasses. “Tell you what?”
The corners of Bucky’s mouth lift higher, making his smile bigger and now there’s a hint of amusement sparkling in his eyes. “That you hate camping.”
Steve groans and pulls his glasses off to cover his face with both hands. He can feel heat creeping up his neck and wants to disappear in a hole in the ground. “It’s that obvious, huh?”
Bucky doesn’t appear to be the slightest bit mad. Instead, Steve hears him chuckle and dares peak at him from between his fingers.
“I wasn’t sure at first. You seemed enthusiastic enough to give you the benefit of doubt.” He rolls to his side, facing Steve, and pries his hands from his face. “But your little run-in with the spider was a dead giveaway.”
Steve groans again and rolls his eyes up but then Bucky’s large warm palm is on his cheek, thumb rubbing over the corner of his mouth. Without his glasses, he can’t see the expression on his boyfriend’s face too clearly but he sees enough to know there’s still a smile and his voice is warm enough for Steve to tell he definitely isn’t mad.
“Hey, it’s fine. The main purpose was to get you all to myself and you gotta admit that part’s going pretty well.”
Steve still can’t see much but he doesn’t have to. Because the next thing he’s aware of is Bucky getting closer and then his mouth is pressed against his own. And when he feels the tip of his tongue nudging against his lips and parts them all too willingly, his eyes slip shut anyway. The faint taste of chocolate is on Bucky’s tongue when he kisses him, really kisses him, tongues battling and teeth clanking and hands roaming all over their bodies.
And when Bucky rolls on top of him and settles between Steve’s spread legs, Steve has to admit that yeah, camping definitely has its perks.