this journey
Steve was giddy.
He knew that after his Studio Art class today, he'd be meeting up with James for lunch- albeit a lunch to do school stuff, but nevertheless, he was giddy.
Steve knew-well he thought- that this was all for nothing. He met the guy once, didn't even know the kid's last name, but he didn't care. As long as he got to look at his face- it was so pretty, ugH.
And as long as he wasn't wearing pajama pants, he felt confident that James would like him, too. Not in thaaaat way, but at least in a way that suggests that one day they would fuck and be in-
Steve was getting ahead of himself, wasn't he, readers?
He rubs his hands over his face, and focuses on the lesson. Fredricks was talking about techniques, or something like that. Steve's knee was bouncing and he was drumming on his other knee with with fingers. Time could not possibly move slower, because every second felt like eternity.
He didn't know why he was so excited- okay, maybe he kind of did, because the kid was really cute and he seems so genuinely interested in what Steve has to say (sound familiar?) Whatever it was, it was lame and he did not care one bit.
He looked at the clock on the studio wall- it says 11:47. He finishes class at 12, and then has a whole hour until he meets up with James- a whole freaking hour, what the fuck.
He didn't know what he was feeling anymore, whether it be confusion or or attraction or all of them together at once?
UGH.
Time. could. not. possibly. move. slower.
***
Bucky was sitting in his Robotics class, watching as Professor Irwin demonstrated something- Bucky wasn't sure what it was, because he was too busy thinking.
Did Steve think this was a date? Because like, Bucky had said to him that they would meet for lunch, and that means a meal and that means a date, no? He internally groans, because what the hell was he doing!
This guy was literally the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen- he was so tall, and muscular and his face was so, it was so... it looked like it was carved out by God himself. And here was Bucky, with his normal dark hair and boring blue eyes and a regular body and he freaking wires shit for fun.
(please note, that this in no way reflects the author's opinion of Bucky because I literally love him more than I love my own mother, but that's not important.)
How in God's name would a guy like Steve Rogers even want to consider a guy like him? I mean, he was probably straight, for all Bucky knew. What if he doesn't show up because he scared him off, because his words sounded like they implied that it was a date? Maybe he should say "no homo, bro"?
No, that'd make it worse because then Steve would know that Bucky was interested. Wait- was he interested? Hm. But what if Steve thought that Bucky was a weird cripple? With a weird prosthetic arm? What if he just pitied Bucky, and did this because he felt bad for him?
Bucky's head was swarming with thoughts, and he didn't even notice when Professor Irwin had dismissed everyone. Bucky was sitting alone in the room, with only his professor rummaging through his bag.
"Distracted, Mr. Barnes?"
Bucky's head shot up, and Irwin was sitting there looking directly at him.
"Sorry-"
"Don't apologize, James, I'm sure there's a good reason as to why you're distracted," Irwin says with a smile, and Bucky smiled back, because yeah, there was.
***
"Steve!"
Steve turned around and heard footsteps coming towards him, and James was standing in front of him moments later.
"James, hi," Steve said with a smile, and James smiles back and Steve's stomach flips.
"I'm sorry, I was speaking to my professor and I lost track of time," James had an apologetic look on his face.
"It's cool, don't worry," and Steve is wringing his wrists in embarrassment because he knew, he just knew, that his face was turning red because James was smiling at him and it's all he could think about.
"So, there's this restaurant down on Birch Avenue and it's pretty chill, so I figured we can go, and we can eat and talk about the project?" James asks, and Steve nods.
Remember the project? Steve tells himself, James only needs you for his project, he continues.
"Alright, great!" James grins, and he starts walking.
"How was your class?" Steve asks, and internally cringes because why why why why whyyyyy would you ask about school and you sound so lame, dude, he tells himself.
"Great! We just review some basic stuff for the class, because for our next..."
Steve could only stare at James as he continued talking, because this kid was absolutely engrossed with what he was talking about, he just cares so much (hah, ironic, amiright readers?!) and it was just so freaking cute.
"That sounds cool," Steve says and smiles, and James smiles back. "Sounds a lot cooler than all of my art classes, all we do is sit in paint."
James laughs, and Steve's stomach does the flip again. "Well, it's not all that great but I enjoy it," he says, and they cross the road to the other side of the street, and then turn down Birch Avenue. "The place is like all the way down the block, I didn't realize how long the walk would be."
"'S alright, I like walking," Steve says, and he literally resists the urge to hit himself on the head becaUSE WHY DOES JAMES CARE IF HE LIKES WALKING.
"You'll probably think I'm lazy, but I hate walking so much, man," James scratches the back of his neck, which Steve notices is a habit of his. "To be honest, any physical activity makes me wanna die."
"Well, you're pretty fit so you clearly are doing something right," Steve says and hoLY SHIT HE JUST WANTS TO FUCKING DIE BECAUSE WHAT THE FUCK WHAT THE FUCK.
WHAT THE FUCK, Steve repeats in his head over and over.
But James brushes the comment aside, or doesn't see it as weird, and says, "Truth, it's all the PT I do because of my arm. I really don't need to anymore but my mom pushes me to do it because every time I go home, I look like I gained fifteen pounds since the time I was there last."
"Still, it's probably not a lot of effort, is it?"
"Nah, it used to be hard on me but it's kind of routine now," James says.
"I work my ass off just to stay in shape because I was this skinny little motherfucker years ago, and that's not something I like to look like,"Steve comments dryly.
"You?! Skinny?! I'm honestly having a hard time picturing that, man," James laughs, and Steve blushes, because it's not the first time he'd heard that.
"Yeah, back when I was a kid, I was real sick a lot, and I was so skinny and tiny and shit, but once I hit puberty I basically shot up," Steve explains. "My aunt could barely keep up with me, she had to scrabble for money to buy me new clothes once a month."
"Your aunt?"
"Oh, yeah, my mom passed away when I was five, so I had lived with her sister until I was eighteen," Steve explains shyly, and James ducks his head.
"Sorry, I shouldn't have asked-"
"No! Don't worry about it, it's not a big deal," Steve says, and it's true, because he hadn't really knew his mom, and his aunt was all he had ever known. "My aunt is like my mother, to be honest. She's a real sweetheart."
"That's good," James says with a small smile. "Oh, we're here, this is it!" and he's pointing to a small little hole in the wall restaurant, called "Asgard." James leads them in, holding the door for Steve who blushes and mutters a thank you. He leads Steve to a table, and sits down in one seat and puts his bag right next to him.
"This place is great, from what I've heard. Two brothers own it, and they always bicker, but the food here is amazing so apparently it's worth it," James says, and Steve smiles.
"Hello, my brothers," a tall, muscular figure towers over them. "How can I help you today? My name is Thor-"
"Thor, get your ass back in here," a shout came from behind the counter and through the door.
"One moment, brothers, I shall be back," and the shoulder length blond and muscles marches away. As he does, James looks over at Steve and mouths "Thor?" and Steve cracks up.
"Why is he calling us brother?" Steve questions, and James shrugs.
"The dude talks like he's in the 17th century, but it's entertaining," James says, and Steve nods his head in agreement and smiles. "My roommate Sam told me the food here is good, so I'm trusting him."
Steve pauses for a moment, because he knows a Sam Wilson, but brushes it off because there are dozens of Sams on this campus.
"I'm good with whatever, it was either this or pizza with my dumbass roommate- not, not that I don't wanna be here but I was just- you know, I was-"
"Its alright, I got it," James says as he laughs, and Steve turns red.
"I'm sorry, brothers, but my partner back in the kitchen needed help," Thor reappears in front of them, towering over them once again. "Can I interest you two in beverages?"
"Oh, I'll just have water," Steve says, Thor nods.
"Do you have tea?" James asks, and Thor smiles.
"Yes, we have green tea, I can bring a pot for you?" Thor asks, and James nods enthusiastically. "Alright, I'll be right back, my friends, and I shall take your orders," and with that, the ridiculously large man matches away again.
"So, shall we get started?" Bucky asks, imitating their waiter, and Steve sniggers.
"Yes, my brother, we shall begin this journey of friendship," Steve jokes back, and James cracks up laughing and all Steve can do is look at this young man in front of him, and smile.
***
"So, you want to construct it that way?" Steve asks, sipping his glass of water.
"Yes, I think logistically it'll work out better that way, and if we panel it that way," James points out at the diagram, "then it'll still look sleek, but it'll take up the same amount of space as before."
"That's genius, holy crap. I would've never thought of that," Steve gushes, and James blushes. "And it makes sense, because otherwise it would look too bulky, no?"
"Exactly what I was thinking, and with your help, it'll look a million times better," James says, and he takes a bite of his sandwich.
"We still have to discuss the paneling, and it's gonna be hard to pinpoint how it'll work," Steve brushes off the compliment, not wanting to blush in front of James yet again.
"So we meet up again? How about Friday?" James asks, and Steve nods. "I only have my Dynamics class at 8, so we can do a late breakfast?"
"Are you just using me to find an excuse to eat good food?" Steve teases, and James swallows his food and sticks his tongue out at Steve, and he laughs.
"Maybe I am," James teases back, and Steve kicks him under the table, and James laughs in response.
"I'm messing with you, breakfast sounds great," Steve says. "We can go to the diner my roommate always goes to."
"Our roommates eat a lot," James casually comments, and Steve thinks about Clint, who is totally sitting on the couch eating chips right now, because that's his favorite thing to do- well, that and pine after Nat.
"Dude, you don't know the half of it," Steve mutters, and James laughs.
"I am sorry to interrupt your date, my friends, but I just wanted to check on everything," Thor suddenly reappears.
"Oh, no this isn't a-"
"It's all great, Thor, you and your brother have a fantastic place," James compliments with a smile, and Thor lights up.
"Thank you, brother, I am immensely grateful for your kind words," Thor says with a smile. "Let me know when you have everything," he says and puts down the bill and walks away.
Steve, red at that the thought of James and him being on a date, looks down at his plate.
"Hey, this is on me, okay?" James grabs his wallet out of his bag.
"No, I got it-"
"Steve, you're helping me with something that I could never do on my own, just let me pay," James says softly, and Steve hesitates before nodding.
"I get breakfast, then, and you can't say no," Steve teases with a smile, and James laughs and Steve's stomach does the flippy thing again and Steve could really, really get used to this.
***