A soft breath fanned out across the pillow towards Bucky’s face, he smiled stupidly.
He liked Clint’s face, it was expressive, but it wasn’t at the same time. Bucky couldn’t describe it, it was just so Clint.
Bucky raised his hand to his face, slowly tracing his fingers over his face, brushing them through his hair and just enjoying the way light curved over his cheeks from the windows.
Another breath fanned out and Bucky smiled, trailing his fingers down to Clint’s lips, tracing them just as gently until a tongue peeked out and licked the fingers.
"Hey," Bucky laughed, running his fingers through his hair again.
"S’what ya get," Clint murmured sleepily, leaning into the touch.
"Oh yeah? What else do I get?" he asked, letting his hand go down to Clint’s shoulder and then back stopping at his waist.
"Mmm, dunno," Clint muttered then wiggled closer to use Bucky as a pillow, "If yer good, maybe I’ll make pancakes."
"Oooh, that’s an incentive," Bucky chuckled, more than happy to pull the other man closer, "What do I gotta do?"
"What you were doin’ before," he said into Bucky’s throat, on the happy side of sleepy, "Felt good."
Bucky laughed softly into his hair, “Alright, alright,” he said still using his flesh hand to trace mindless patterns on Clint’s back while Clint did his best to snuggle the metal one.
Bucky didn’t understand Clint Barton sometimes, but he was always grateful to him, he didn’t give a damn that one of his limbs were made of metal or that he had severe PTSD attacks, or that he sometimes woke up with severely violent nightmares, compared to Clint whose nightmares came silently and led to him leaving the bed so as not to keep Bucky awake.
Clint always thought he was in the way, and that was why Bucky wanted to keep him close, he wanted him safe, he wanted to protect his smile and his laugh. To shore him up when he felt like falling, to watch his back always and to make sure he could always carry on.
The truth was though, was that Clint was doing that all for him and he didn’t even realize it. That’s how amazing he was.
Bucky burried his face in Clint’s hair, hugging him to his chest, he was sure Clint was asleep again he whispered against his brow, “I love you.”
But Clint wasn’t asleep, he was just dozing, but woke completely at those words, he slowly lifted himself from Bucky’s chest and looked at his wide eyes.
He bit his lip, and then slowly pressed his lips to Bucky’s soft and sweet, “I love you too.”
Bucky let out a soft breath and a smile then pulled him in for another kiss this one more insistent, until they couldn’t breath.
They separated only when the need for air became too much, and then Clint buried his face in Bucky’s chest, covering his blush, Bucky’s fingers continued their trails over his back in the comfortable silence for a long while.
"So…you mentioned pancakes?" Bucky asked hopefully.
Clint laughed, Bucky smiled