Chapter 19
Steve had said casual, right? So why was Bucky standing in front of his wardrobe looking for the perfect thing to wear? It really shouldn’t be this difficult. Certainly not worth tearing his hair out over, which he was pretty close to. He tried the breathing technique his therapist had recommended. After ten minutes with very little success, he decided the best course of action would be to call Natasha.
“What?” She sounded pissed, not that Bucky could blame her. It was 8am after all.
“What do I wear?” Bucky whined, tugging on his hair desperately.
“Oh for fuck sake Barnes. You woke me up for this?”
“Please Nat. This is important. Much more important than Clint’s beauty sleep.” Natasha sighed, and Bucky knew she was picturing every item of clothing he owned.
“The red henley, your dark blue jeans and the combat boots. And please for the love of God wear your coat.”
“Natasha, you’re a genius. Thank you so much!” Bucky knew he was laying it on thick, but it was vital to his sanity and wellbeing to remain in Nat’s good books. Besides, she really knew what she was talking about. Those jeans made his ass look fantastic.
After a shower, breakfast, a walk with Soldat and three cups of coffee, Bucky was ready to go. He made sure Soldat had enough food and water for while he was gone and then sat on the sofa to wait for Steve. A strange sense of calmness came over him as he realised he’d already done the worst part, which was having the conversation about his past. Steve had seen his arm, heard his story, and still wanted to go on a date with him. It was definitely a huge weight off his chest.
He was brought out of his thoughts by a knock at the door. Despite his aforementioned calmness, his pulse skyrocketed at the sound of Steve’s knocks. Soldat lifted his head interestedly, but laid back down when he realised it was Steve. Bucky didn’t know whether to laugh or take it as a warning sign that Soldat didn’t react to the presence of an almost stranger at his door. Usually he’d be barking all over the place, sometimes growling if the person was perceived to be a bigger threat, like the mailman. He then realised Steve had been around a lot in the past few weeks, so Soldat probably recognised him as a friend. And wasn’t that a comforting thought?
“Oh wow. Hi Bucky.” Bucky turned from looking at Soldat and promptly choked on his spit, greeting dying on his lips. Steve looked… Well he looked amazing.
“Steve” Bucky breathed, then mentally slapped a hand to his forehead, blushing violently. Could he sound anymore like a lovesick idiot? Thankfully, Steve either didn’t notice or was being polite and ignoring Bucky’s fucking embarrassing reaction.
“Ready to go?” Steve grinned at Bucky and he swore his heart stopped for a second.
“Uh sure. You gonna tell me where we’re going?” Steve smirked mischievously and Bucky once again cursed his heart. He was honestly going to die from heart failure at this rate.
“It’s a surprise. Trust me.” And how could Bucky say no to that?
They got on the subway, Bucky still trying to puzzle out where they were going. Steve was giving nothing away, just sitting with that infuriating (and extremely attractive) smirk on his face. It was driving Bucky insane, both with wanting to know where they were going and wanting to kiss Steve senseless.
When they arrive at their stop, Steve grabs Bucky’s hand and pulls him down the street, stopping when they reach the space centre. Bucky was distracted by the warmth of Steve’s hand in his so he didn’t immediately react to the building in front of them. As soon as his head cleared and he realised where they were, his excitement was palpable. He hadn’t been to the space centre in literal years- probably not since he was a kid. He said as much to Steve and revelled in the way Steve’s face lit up.
They stood grinning at each other goofily outside the space centre entrance, until someone bumped into Steve, jostling him forward into Bucky. They were standing chest to chest, and Bucky couldn’t help flicking his eyes down to look at Steve’s lips. His tongue swiped over his bottom lip, and Bucky’s breath caught. He copied the movement almost unconsciously, leaning further into Steve’s space, parting his lips in anticipation. They were so close. Apparently they were too close for the people of New York as just as their lips brushed, barely a press of lips, someone slammed into Bucky. His head jolted forward, smacking his chin into Steve’s forehead. They both groaned in pain and Steve chuckled quietly. “New York giveth and New York taketh away.”
“Shall we just go in?” Bucky asked with fond exasperation. The moment had most definitely passed and he was eager to see some cool space shit.
The space centre was fantastic. Bucky couldn’t help how exhilarated he was with everything. He flitted to each exhibit, dragging Steve along with him, chatting at a rapid pace about each cool thing they saw. He spouted random fun facts he knew that weren’t covered on the displays. He could feel Steve’s eyes on him the entire time, and he briefly worried he was boring him with his facts, or embarrassing himself further by being a huge geek about space.
Apparently his worries were unfounded as Steve seemed just as happy looking at Bucky with a fond smile on his face as he was looking at the exhibits. Bucky had the sneaking suspicion Steve had orchestrated this date to watch Bucky in his element. He was well aware he got a bit obsessive with science, but that was something Steve would have to deal with, if Bucky was being honest. He was just a huge nerd.
After the initial excitement had died down for him somewhat, he asked Steve if he wanted to go into the planetarium. Steve readily agreed and they took their seats in the centre of the room. The show was amazing. It was all about dark matter and dark energy and Bucky was enthralled. He learnt a few things he didn’t know, all with the added benefit of being surrounded by literal space. He could tell Steve wasn’t really listening to the voiceover, but he looked equally as amazed at the special effects and the detailing that went into the images surrounding them.
It was a few hours later when Bucky decided he’d had enough of the space centre. Steve suggested they get some food, and Bucky felt terrible he’d kept Steve here for so long without even considering Steve’s need for food. When Bucky got going, very little could stop him, eating included. As soon as Steve mentioned food, Bucky became aware of how hungry he actually was. “Steve I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to keep you here for so long. God you must be starving.”
“No it’s okay, Buck. I’ve enjoyed today a lot. But I am getting a bit hungry and I know the perfect place to eat if you’re up for it?” Steve was smiling softly at him and it took everything in Bucky to not sweep him up into a kiss. The only thing stopping him was the fact that Steve was hungry and Bucky couldn’t have that.
“Sure Stevie. Lead the way.” Steve grabbed his hand again as they left the space centre and Bucky felt a swell of butterflies in his chest. He was really falling deep and they hadn’t even kissed yet. This was usually the point in a new relationship that would cause Bucky to panic, but all he was experiencing was a strong feeling of contentment and rightness.