Ok, 13 and/or 43? Pairing of your choice!
“I love you more than coffee.” *distant gasps* + “The things I would do just to see your face right now.” + stevebucky
The third time it happens, Bucky can’t fight it anymore. He can’t even move his head from his hand to cover his mouth as the yawn comes on without warning as he rubs at his eyes with the other one.
“Bucky, baby, just go to sleep.”
Steve has been telling him to do that for the last hour alone, but no way is Bucky going to pass up talking with him. No matter the late hour or the fact he’s been on his feet almost all day and had stayed up before they started talking four hours ago to finish a research paper that was due at the end of the week.
Steve has been gone for nearly a month already in Paris for his job. What he was doing there, Bucky couldn’t recall, but hell was he proud of Steve for being chosen to go. Even if it set them 6 hours apart and he’d stayed up waiting to talk to Steve when he woke up in the morning.
Already feeling another yawn come on, Bucky shakes his head as he blinks his eyes a few times. “No chance in hell. We’ve barely had a moment to talk at all since you left, and I miss you.”
Eyes falling closed for a moment, Bucky doesn’t miss the sympathetic noise Steve makes. “I miss you too, but Bucky, you need to sleep.”
Letting out a heavy sigh, Bucky sits up a bit straighter and rubs at his face, “‘M fine.” Bucky insists as he pushes away from his desk to stretch, hearing his joints pop in protest.
Steve’s hum sounds full of disbelief and Bucky can practically hear his boyfriend’s eye roll through the phone. Leaning back in his chair, Bucky looks up at the ceiling as he closes his eyes again.
“Guess what?” Bucky murmurs after neither of them say anything for a considerable amount of time, a small smile pulling up on his lips that he bites down, despite the fact that Steve isn’t actually there to see it.
“You’re a dork?” Steve guesses, his voice full of exasperated affection.
“No, I was going to say I love you, you punk,” Bucky says and earns a laugh that sounds like music to his ears.
“Really? Well, I love you more, jerk.” Steve counters as a rustling noise nearly cuts off his answer, as if Steve is moving around wherever he is.
Sitting up straight again Bucky can’t keep the smile from his face as he pulls himself back to his desk and grabs a framed picture of them. “Well, I love you more than coffee, and I’d kill for one right now.”
The sentiment hasn’t even left his mouth fully until he hears his roommate gasp and come running down the hall and bursting into his room. “More than coffee? How can you even be serious about that Bucky?”
Rolling his eyes and pushing himself towards his bed, he grabs a pillow before lofting it at Clint’s head. Hearing Steve’s laugh on the other end, Bucky takes the phone away from his ear and flips Clint off as he tosses the pillow back onto Bucky’s bed.
“Yes, I meant what I said, I love Steve that much. Now get out, Barton, before I tell Nat that you love coffee more than her.” Bucky threatens as he waves him out.
Clint rolls his eyes and heads back down the hall, already grumbling something about that Natasha probably already knows that he loves coffee more than her.
Putting the phone back to his ear, Bucky bites his lip again as he takes the picture back into his hands. It was one taken from 3 years ago of them at the Grand Canyon. Steve had planned the whole trip and had made it a surprise for Bucky’s birthday. The two of them were standing in front of the railing, Bucky giving Steve bunny ears, well trying to, his hand is more a blur as the action was never successful as Steve had kissed his cheek as soon as the picture was being taken, surprising him.
It was the most important thing he owned. Staring at it now only made the ache in his chest grow deeper, and it’s only been a month. “Steve- I-” Bucky takes in a shuttering breath, “The things I would do just to see your face right now…” Bucky chokes out, hating the way his voice cracks.
He shouldn’t be this emotional after looking at a photo and a few weeks of his boyfriend being gone. But here they were and he was.
“I know, I miss you so much, baby. It’s just for a little while longer, I promise. As soon as I’m back home, we’re going to spend the whole day doing whatever you want.” Steve sounds just as emotional as him, Bucky shakes his head as he digs the palm of his left hand into his eye, wiping away his tears.
“Okay,” Bucky whispers as he nods, leaning forward to prop himself on his hand again on his desk.
“How about you get some sleep? It’s nearly three there, yeah?” Steve asks softly, but at this point, Bucky doesn’t feel up for talking anymore, exhausted as he is, but he’d do anything to have Steve be here with him, and if hearing his voice is the best he can get, he’s not going to give it up.
“Tell me about Paris,” Bucky says, nearly pleads, not ready to go to sleep, and even if Steve has somewhere to be, selfishly, Bucky will take ten more minutes if Steve will give them to him. Especially since he doesn’t know how much longer he’s going to be away from him.
Waiting for Steve to say anything has Bucky’s heart in his throat, thinking that Steve’s already hung up on him. He has to check to make sure they’re still connected before Steve seems to let out and take a seat wherever he is before he gives in and begins to talk about how beautiful it is and how he wishes that Bucky could be there with him.
--
There are a few things that Bucky notices when he comes to the next morning. First is that he fell asleep talking to Steve, his soft, deep voice full of affection having put him at ease and lulled him off to sleep. The second is the crick in his neck and wrist as he moves them, feeling the stiffness of having fallen asleep nearly sitting up all night. Thirdly, is the blanket draped around him that Clint must have put around his shoulders at some point, probably coming to check on him after he’d fallen asleep. The fourth and final thing he notices is what woke him up: the knocking at their front door.
Rubbing at his face, smacking his lips together as he rises to his feet and stretches, his body hating him as he does, he turns and heads to the front door. “Clint?” he calls as he makes his way down the hall. He must either be out or still asleep and have his hearing aids out if he wasn’t already awoken by the knocking.
Having no answer from Clint, Bucky runs a hand through his hair as he comes to a stop and opens the front door, “Hello?” Bucky yawns, eyes widening at who is at their door.
The disheveled blonde standing sheepishly in front of him nearly causes tears to form as Bucky shakes his head. “This isn’t funny, I don’t want this to be a dream.” Bucky sighs as he rubs at his eyes once more. Even if this was a dream, he would do anything to have Steve actually be in front of him right now.
Feeling a hand come out to rest on the back of his neck and pulling him forward into a familiar wall of muscle, Bucky wraps his arms around him as Steve presses a kiss to his head. “It’s not, Buck. It’s me. I’m here.” Steve promises, holding him close as Bucky begins to shake.
It’s been so long since he’s had Steve there to hold him, to reassure him, to tell him he loves him and be able to prove it with a hug or a kiss afterward.
Taking in a deep breath, Bucky doesn’t do anything more but hug onto his boyfriend, who may or may not actually be there in front of him right now. He only suspects it may be real as he’s being lifted and carried back into the apartment, the front door shutting behind him as he’s carried down the hall to his room.
Being placed down on the bed, Bucky nearly whimpers at the thought of Steve leaving, but it isn’t even a moment later that Steve is climbing over him to be against the wall on the bed, pulling Bucky against him and holding him close. Pressing a soft kiss to his hair, Steve rubs a soothing hand up and down his back, “I love you, Bucky, go ahead and sleep.”
Curling in close, burying his face against Steve’s chest, Bucky breathes him in as he relaxes as Steve continues to rub his back. Whether this is a dream or not was still up for debate, one that Bucky could settle later. For now, a soft smile pulls up on his face as he drifts off to sleep, safe and loved in a place that feels like home.
