"You need a hobby," Sam had told Bucky. "Something to do to keep your hands busy and your head outta the clouds on bad days."
Sam did not expect Bucky to find anything too quick, and he honestly pictured Bucky getting into something like woodcrafting. He seemed like the kind of guy who might like building things.
So, when he comes over to Bucky's place a couple weeks after making that comment, he's not at all expecting to see a bag of yarn next to the couch. While Bucky slips into the kitchen to grab them drinks and Alpine leaps up into Sam's lap, he can't help his curiosity and reaches down to pull the bag open a little, looking in at the colorful yarn and what looks like some woven something or other attached to a metal stick with a hook on the end.
"Who left their… uh knitting here?" he asks.
Bucky comes out of the kitchen and hands Sam a bottle of beer, dropping into a chair nearby and leaning forward to pull the bag his way, smirking at Sam. "S'called crochet, Samuel. Knitting has two needles."
Sam blinks and raises his hands. "Well, excuse my mistake. Whose crochet is it, then?"
"Considering I'm the only one that lives here with opposable thumbs and you're the only person who ever visits me, who do you think it belongs to?" Bucky sets his beer on the table and pulls out the woven yarn, his expression soft and amused. He's teasing Sam even now.
Sam's eyes widen at the length of fabric. It's about six or so inches wide and a good two feet long so far, and it looks like it's intended to be longer.
"Are you making a scarf?" Sam asks, shocked.
Bucky turns the work over on his lap and gently runs his right hand over the stitching before he touches the hook and twists it between his fingers. "Yeah, been trying something new. You told me to get a hobby and Alice down in 3B had me helping her with her sink the other day. She had a bunch of this stuff and asked me to help take it down to goodwill."
"So you kept it instead?" Sam hums, raising an eyebrow.
"I asked her what the hooks were for," Bucky chuckles. "She explained crochet to me a little, said the arthritis was makin' it so she just couldn't do it anymore, and then I asked her if I could give it a try. She said she'd rather her old stuff go to someone she knew than goodwill. She gave me a couple lessons, what she could handle with her hands, and then gave me all these books and links to tutorials."
Sam looks at the yarn, then up at Bucky. "How long ago was that?"
Bucky furrows his brow. "About… a week?"
"And you've done that much?" Sam raises both eyebrows, impressed. "I feel like I would have thrown it out in frustration. It looks complicated."
"It's just weaving a piece of string in on itself," Bucky shrugs. "Knitting is the same, except with two needles. Crochet uses the one hook. Though, I guess there's a way you can make crochet look like knitting, but I'm not there yet. I'm still learning the different stitches and stuff. This is my second project."
Sam's eyes go wide. "What did you make for your first one?"
Bucky pulls his bottom lip between his teeth for a second, then sighs heavily and sets the scarf in progress aside. He stands up and goes down the hallway toward his bedroom. Alpine jumps down from Sam's lap and starts sniffing at the bag of yarn, pushing her face into it and pawing at the scarf.
"Ease outta there, baby girl," Bucky rumbles as he comes back into the room, clicking his tongue at the cat. He comes around the couch as Alpine wanders off and holds out another scarf, this one completed.
Sam takes it carefully, looking at it. He can tell Bucky definitely struggled with a couple of the stitches. He was learning. Still, it's a cohesive scarf and the maroon to black gradient of the yarn is gorgeous. He runs his hand over it and the yarn is soft. The stitches feel nice. He unfolds it and looks at the full length of it. It's a proper scarf.
"It, uh- It's a first try," Bucky hums, going back to his chair. "I'm already getting better."
"It's beautiful, Buck," Sam whispers, looking down at the scarf in awe. "You made this. That's amazing."
Bucky looks up at him, a soft, almost confused smile on his lips. "You- You like it?"
Sam laughs softly. "I do, yeah. You've got an eye for this. Hell, I can only see a couple places where there- I mean, maybe they're missing stitches? Maybe you did it on purpose, I can't even tell."
Bucky chuckles and ducks his head. "No, they're not intentional."
"Well, they're a fun texture," Sam hums, gently running his forefinger over one of the spots. "And there's only a couple. You did great on this."
Bucky's quiet for a moment, and when Sam looks up, he catches the other man staring at him with a look Sam's never seen on his face before. He doesn't really know how to interpret it. Slowly, Bucky smiles softly.
"It's yours," Bucky says.
Sam shakes his head. "No, you- You made this! You should keep it!" He holds the scarf out toward Bucky in shock.
Bucky gets up and moves back to Sam, sitting next to him on the couch and gently taking Sam's hands through the fabric, pushing the scarf back to Sam's chest.
"The whole point of making things like this is to share them," he says softly. "Alice said the best part of crochet is seeing the finished product being used and loved. You like it? It's yours. Besides, it's your color."
Then, Bucky takes the scarf from Sam's hands and carefully drapes it around Sam's neck, wrapping it once and sitting back, smiling.
"It looks good on you."
Sam can feel his face heat up and he smiles. "Yeah?"
Bucky nods, his own smile widening softly. "It found its home."
—
Cass has a soccer game and it's starting to get a little cold out. Granted, it's not too cold, but the wind can get chilly and Sam decides to wear his scarf to the game. It's the first time he's worn it since he tried it on at Bucky's, and as he approaches where Sarah and AJ are already set up by the field to watch Cass, he's glad he's wearing it now, because it's nice and warm.
He sees Bucky setting up a chair next to Sarah, leaning down and giving her a hug while she kisses his cheek, and Sam can't help but smile wider, knowing that the scarf came from Bucky, who's right there to see him wear it. He wants Bucky to know he likes it, because he really does.
"Hey, am I late?" Sam says as he gets close enough, pulling his chair off his shoulder and getting ready to set up on the other side of Bucky.
Bucky grabs the chair from him and starts setting it up for him without a word, though he glances at Sam's neck, then back up at his face, and smiles. It's a soft, warm smile that Sam doesn't know if he's seen yet. He wants to see it more.
"You're right on time, bro," Sarah laughs as Sam moves around to give her a hug while Bucky gets his chair settled. Sarah leans back and looks at him, then smiles. "New scarf?"
Sam grins. "Bucky made it."
Sarah's eyes widen slightly and she looks over Sam's shoulder. He can hear the thump of Bucky dropping into his chair a little harder than he intended, possibly caught off guard. Sarah looks back at Sam.
"I'm jealous," she says. "It looks good on you. What do I gotta do to get a Bucky Barnes scarf?" She leans around Sam to look at Bucky with a wink.
Bucky coughs softly and Sam looks back at him. "Uh," Bucky clears his throat. "Tell me what colors you like?"
Sarah grins and looks at Sam. "Go sit with your boyfriend," she teases. "He made you a scarf and everything."
Bucky snorts. "There's actually a superstition about that," he hums, leaning back and looking up at the sky. "If you make something for your significant other, shit goes sideways. Which is probably bullshit anyway, but an interesting thing to learn."
Sam turns around and goes to his chair next to Bucky, sitting down next to him and raising an eyebrow. "Well, it's a good thing you didn't make this for me and it just became mine after the fact."
Sarah leans forward around Bucky. "Not, 'it's a good thing I'm not your significant other'? Samuel, is there something here you're not telling me?"
Sam looks at Sarah with a smirk, then leans back and nestles down into his scarf. "Hey, if it means I get nice warm scarves and things in the colors that make me look damn good, I'm not opposed." He looks at Bucky and winks.
Bucky coughs again and looks away, then sniffs softly and looks back at Sam. "I'm a classy gal, Samuel. You'll have to actually ask me out proper."
Sam bursts out with a laugh and throws his head back in his chair. "Oh God, Buck." He shakes his head and lets himself calm down, then looks at Bucky. "Alright, then can I take you out to dinner after the game?"
Bucky hums and looks at him, then smiles softly. "I suppose I could make you a hat to match that scarf." He reaches over and takes hold of Sam's hand, squeezing his fingers softly, and it's just as warm as the scarf Bucky made.