Chapter 3
Steve was sitting on the ground, back against a tree as he balanced a sketchpad on his knees. His gaze couldn't help but be drawn to where a man with long, dark hair was playing with three huskies about 20 feet away from him.
Honestly he was surprised the guy hadn't noticed him yet. He'd been working on his drawing of them for nearly an hour. How was he not tired? How could the dogs not be tired yet?
He glanced up again to find them sprawled out on the grass and for a second Steve couldn't breathe. His smile was bright, brown eyes light with laughter as the dogs fought to plant sloppy kisses all over his chin.
Steve didn't know how long he stared, but before he could look away those eyes met his own blue ones and he froze.
Fumbling his pencil, he rushed to put his things away, ending up just scooping all of it into his messenger bag. He usually tried to keep things neat, but more often than not things ended up in more chaos than order.
He stood up and slung his bag over his shoulder, heading back towards his apartment. It was only about a ten minute walk from the park and he was there pretty much every day in between art classes and working at the museum. All in all, quite a few people recognized him in the park.
He waved at Maria, a tall brunette who always went running with her girlfriend, Sharon. They didn't always stop to talk to him, but a lot of the time they did. The two of them had pretty much adopted Steve once they found out his mother died and he was living on his own.
They came over to his place a lot, which Steve was more than grateful for. He had never really been a fan of being by himself for so long, and Sharon had seemed to pick up on that almost immediately. He could barely turn around in the apartment without finding either her or Maria doing something. Sharon liked to cook for him while Maria almost always dragged him into playing video games and kicking his ass while she was at it.
Steve grinned as they approached, Sharon immediately pulling him into a hug. "Hey, Steve. How are you?" She asked as Maria leaned down and pressed a kiss to his cheek.
"I'm good." He smiled, watching as Maria wrapped an arm around Sharon's shoulders. "How are you guys?"
"We're good." Maria pressed a kiss to the side of Sharon's head, eliciting a smile from the blonde. "Actually, we were thinking about taking a trip to the animal shelter later and if you aren't busy...?"
"Aw, c'mon, Maria. You know I'm never too busy for you two."
The smiles he got in response to his words made him feel warm, bringing another smile to his face as he pushed his glasses up. Before he could lower his arm, Sharon had caught his wrist and pushed his sleeve up, her dark gaze focused on the strange writing on his pale skin.
"Is that...Russian?" She asked, bringing her gaze back up to his momentarily.
Steve shrugged. "I dunno. It just started appearing a few days ago. I couldn't read it, but...you think it's Russian?"
Sharon didn't answer, but Maria glanced down at it and gave him a firm nod. "Definitely Russian. I know someone who could tell you what it means if you're interested. She owns a coffee shop about ten minutes from here."
Sharon snorted, quickly covering her mouth with a hand. "You mean Natasha? She's not exactly friendly."
Maria rolled her eyes. "Who else do I know that is fluent in Russian?"
Sharon had such a straight faced expression Steve was surprised he didn't laugh in response to it. "Well, I don't know. Maybe Natasha has a secret brother nice enough to make up for her ice cold heart."
At that, Steve couldn't help but laugh. He loved the two of them so much sometimes it seemed unreal. "I'm sure she's not that bad."
They both fixed him with looks of complete and utter surprise (Sharon) and disbelief (Maria). Before either of them even opened their mouths he knew he was screwed.
Sharon took one of his hands while Maria took the other. "Sweetheart," Sharon started. "We're going to head straight back to the apartment, take a shower, and then introduce you to Satan."
Steve rolled his eyes. "I thought I was the dramatic one."
The look that passed between Maria and Sharon made Steve afraid for his safety.
They headed right out of the park, hands locked together and heads bent towards each other. Steve couldn't help but watch them fondly before he turned to leave himself and promptly ran right into a big fluffy ball of excitement.
"Whoa!" Steve threw his arms out to catch himself as the husky he'd been watching just a few minutes ago slammed into his legs.
He landed on his wrist at an odd angle, wincing slightly as the dog practically pounced on him. Knowing he was nowhere near strong enough to push the dog off himself, he allowed it to lick his face, dislodging his glasses as he settled a hand on its back.
"Shit!"
Steve looked up just in time to see the guy from earlier snagging the dog's collar and hauling it off of him. Steve couldn't help but smile as he straightened his glasses before rubbing the soreness from his wrist.
Once the dog was sitting, tail wagging so hard Steve was surprised it didn't hurt, the guy offered a hand to Steve. He didn't usually like skin to skin contact with anyone, but for some reason he allowed the guy to pull him to his feet. Now that they were standing so close Steve could see there was some green in his eyes and his hair was so dark it was almost black, falling in waves to his shoulders.
He smiled apologetically, running a hand over the back of his neck. "Sorry about that. She just gets so excited."
Steve shook his head, crouching to run his hand over the dog's head and ears. "That's okay. What's her name?"
"Sobaka." He crouched next to Steve, smiling so gentle Steve swore his heart stopped. "Soba for short."
Soba's frantic tail wagging started back up at the sound of her name, causing Steve to chuckle. "She's cute." He glanced at the guy, suddenly remembering when they had looked right at each other not so long ago. "Um, I. I'm Steve."
"Bucky."
Before either of them could say anything else the other two huskies were sliding in between them. Bucky laughed, putting one hand on each of them. "They don't like to be left out."
"Must be a handful."
Bucky looked at him, still smiling. "You have no idea."
It was then that Steve happened to glance at one of the other dogs and noticed that Bucky's hand that rested on its head was metal. He barely registered it other than to think, huh. Guess that's why his hand was so cold.
Bucky seemed to tense up at Steve's gaze although he never moved at inch. "Sorry if it's -"
Steve didn't let him finish, instead turning his head to the side to let Bucky see his hearing aid. His smile was genuine when he met Bucky's surprised gaze. "I'm partially deaf and have a hundred other medical conditions you don't want to hear about. Believe me, it's completely fine."
Bucky's smile was like the sun.