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That guy is here every fucking day. He comes in, orders a black coffee and then sits in the corner and draws all day. Well, maybe not all day, but he’s usually there until Bucky’s shift ends. And he never says a word to anyone, never hangs out with anyone. Just sits in that damn corner and draws.
What annoys Bucky the most about this, he thinks, is that he knows nothing about this guy. But he wishes he did. He feels like he could get to know him, wants to get to know him. And not just because he’s super attractive and has muscles in all the right places that makes Bucky’s mouth water—
It’s not about that at all.
“Why don’t you just fucking talk to him?” his coworker (and best friend) Natasha demands when Bucky spends way too much time staring at him.
Bucky shrugs, going back to the drink he was making. “Why do you think I want to talk to him?”
Natasha groans, staring at him in disbelief. “Really?” She clears her throat and speaks in a low tone that’s supposed to be Bucky’s voice, “Oh my god, Nat, he’s so hot. Look at those muscles. What do you think he’s drawing, Nat? Oh god, I wish he would draw me like one of his French girls—”
“Okay, I get it,” Bucky cuts her off before she starts getting too graphic. “I think he’s hot, so what? It’s just a little crush, it doesn’t mean anything. I don’t need to talk to him.”
“Maybe you don’t need to talk to him,” Natasha agrees. “But I need you to talk to him. For my sanity. You’re starting to act like Edward Cullen with all the staring.”
Bucky throws an empty cup at her. “Shut up. I am not.”
Luckily Bucky is saved from Natasha’s retort because she’s called away to go serve a customer. Bucky gets back to work and has to force his eyes away from the guy so Natasha doesn’t make fun of him anymore.
(Although, if he ends up burning himself because he was daydreaming about that guy, no one has to know.)
***
There’s someone with him today. It’s the first time Bucky has ever seen him with anyone and it’s a little disconcerting. Especially when the new guy keeps bending his head towards the hot guy and making him blush.
Bucky slams the next customer’s coffee onto the counter, spilling it a little. The customer frowns at him before walking away.
“Someone’s in a grumpy mood today,” Natasha mutter as she wipes the spilled coffee. “Is it because someone is taking your boyfriend’s attention away from you?”
“He’s not my boyfriend,” Bucky says between gritted teeth. “Because he apparently already has one.”
Natasha raises an eyebrow, looking between Bucky and the hot guy. “Oh.”
“There’s no ‘oh’ about it,” Bucky says. “Just shut up.”
Natasha grins like a shark. “You’re jealous.”
“I am not,” Bucky insists.
“Are to,” Natasha sing-songs.
“Um, excuse me?” a voice calls from the counter. “Can I get something to drink?”
Bucky and Natasha turn around to see the guy that was sitting with hot guy. His arms are crossed, but his mouth is tilted up in a smile, as if amused by Bucky and Natasha’s antics.
“Yeah,” Natasha says, stepping up to the counter. “What can I get you?”
The man rattles off his order and Bucky goes about making it while Natasha makes conversation with the man. The only reason Bucky refrains from spitting into his drink is because he’s right there and would definitely see it.
“What did you say your name was again?” Bucky overhears Natasha ask.
“I’m Sam,” the man answers. He points over to where hot guy is still drawing, his head ducked down. “That’s my friend Steve.”
“Steve,” Natasha repeats, and then says louder to make sure Bucky can hear, “So his name is Steve!”
Bucky rolls his eyes as he hands Sam his drink.
“Thank you…” Sam trails off, clearly looking for Bucky’s name.
“Bucky,” Bucky offers, just to be polite. He still doesn’t like this guy. At Sam’s look of confusion Bucky explains, “It’s a nickname. I prefer going by that than James.”
“Got it,” Sam says. “Thank you. I’ll see you later.”
As Sam walks back over to hot guy—Steve, Bucky reminds himself—Natasha comments, “He was nice. I liked him.”
Bucky snorts. “He’s okay.”
Natasha eyes him. “I really don’t think they’re dating, Bucky. I think you’re reading into it too much.”
Bucky looks over at where Sam is sitting with his arm around Steve. Steve is laughing, his head thrown back and his hand grabbing at Sam’s chest. Bucky turns back to Natasha with raised eyebrows. “Are you sure they’re not dating?”
Natasha bites her lip. “Maybe they’re just really close?” But even she sounds unsure now.
Whatever. It’s not like Bucky was ever going to work up the nerve to talk to Steve anyway. In fact, this is almost better because now Bucky has an excuse not to talk to Steve.
His heart still aches.
***
Later that night after the coffee shop has closed, Bucky is wiping up tables while Natasha sits on the counter and playing on her phone. As Bucky nears Steve and Sam’s table, he thinks about how hard it had been to get them to leave.
(“Are you sure we can’t stay here a little longer?” Sam had asked.
Bucky shook his head. “I’m sorry, I gotta kick you out.”
“That’s okay, we’ll go,” Steve had said quietly.
Sam smirked. “But you always make sure to stay until the end of his—”
“Let’s just go, Sam,” Steve groaned, practically pulling him out the door.)
Bucky gets to Steve’s table, which is pretty clean save for a single napkin. Bucky goes to crumple it up and throw it away, but then he notices the little drawing. There are two turtles facing one another, a little heart floating above them while two monkeys laugh at them in the background. In the corner of the drawing it says, “For Bucky” with a smiley face.
Bucky makes sure Natasha isn’t looking as he stuffs the drawing into his pocket.
***
Over the next few weeks Bucky picks up more napkin drawings from Steve’s table. Most of them are of a single turtle doing various things. Drinking coffee, drawing on a sketch pad, going to school. There are a couple of other ones with the two turtles sharing an umbrella in the rain, walking in the park under the stars, and all sorts of romantic things.
Bucky keeps them all.
***
“Uh, hi.”
Bucky looks up from the cash register. It’s Steve, standing there with his hands stuffed in his pockets, looking extremely uncomfortable. “How can I help you?” Although, he already knows Steve’s order by heart.
“Black coffee, please,” Steve answers. He opens his mouth, as if about to say something else, but nothing comes out.
“Yes?” Bucky prompts. “Is there something else you needed?”
Steve ducks his head, shaking it. “Um, no. Just the black coffee.”
Bucky takes his money and puts it in the cash register before pouring his coffee. Once it’s safely in Steve’s hand he hurries away, going back to that same corner to draw.
“You scared him,” Natasha says.
“What?” Bucky says. “No I didn’t. He’s just—shy.” But now that he thinks back to their mini conversation, Bucky realizes that he did come off as a little brash. Fuck.
Natasha laughs. “Just tell him that you saw his drawings and you think that they’re cute.”
Bucky nods, considering it. Obviously those drawing was meant for him; they all have his name in the corner, but what the hell do they mean? Who did the turtles represent? Steve and Sam? Bucky and Natasha? Oh god, did Steve think Bucky was dating Natasha?
Wait a second. “How do you know about the drawings?” Bucky asks Natasha. “I didn’t tell you about them. I didn’t tell anyone about them.”
Natasha bites her lip. “Um… I found some in your jacket pocket?” she tries.
Bucky shakes his head, crossing his arms over his chest. “Nope. I usually put them in my pants pocket.”
Natasha sighs. “Okay. So I talked to Sam while you were on your break that day we met him. I asked him about him and Steve because they seemed really close and you thought that they were dating right? Well he told me that they’re just friends, and then he told me that the reason Steve comes here so often is because he has a crush on you, Bucky!”
Bucky shakes his head, frowning. “I swear to god, Nat, if you’re teasing me I will kill you.”
“I love teasing you, but I swear that I’m telling the truth,” Natasha says. “And so I told him that you had a crush on Steve—”
“You did not,” Bucky interrupts, mortified.
Natasha ignores him, continuing her explanation, “He said that he was so tired of hearing Steve talk about you and never doing anything about it. I told him that you did the same thing and we need to do something to get you two together. So Sam convinced Steve to do some little drawings for you to prove how much he likes you.”
Bucky stares at her in a second, trying to sort all that information out in his brain. “Okay, so let me get this straight. Sam and Steve are not dating.”
“Yep.”
“And Sam told you that Steve has a crush on me and you told Sam that I have a crush on Steve since you’re apparently best friends now.”
“Uh huh.”
“And the turtles in the drawing are…me and Steve?”
“Oh my fucking god, Bucky,” Natasha groans, throwing her hands up in frustration. “Just go over there and fucking talk to him.”
Bucky lets Natasha push him out into the show, too stunned to stop her. His legs automatically carry him over to where Steve is scribbling furiously on his sketch pad. He stops in front of Steve’s table, bouncing on his heels.
Steve doesn’t notice him, just continues drawing with his eyebrows furrowed together and his mouth pulled down into a frown. Bucky can’t help but think about how cute he looks when he’s concentrating.
Bucky clears his throat and Steve nearly drops his sketch pad. “Hi,” Bucky says awkwardly.
“Hi,” Steve says back.
Bucky twists his hands together, unsure of what to say. He’s been dreaming about this guy for weeks now. He is so not prepared to actually talk to him.
“So I, uh, got your drawings,” Bucky says. “They’re really good.”
Red blooms on Steve’s cheeks. “Thanks. The turtles are—”
“—us,” Bucky finishes for him. Steve blushes even more. “I really like you,” Bucky blurts.
Steve stares at him, surprised. “That’s what my friend Sam said. And I was going to tell you, but you were so rude to me that I thought you didn’t like me—”
“I was just confused,” Bucky insists. “I didn’t get that the drawings were supposed to be a romantic gesture. Actually, I thought that you were dating Sam.”
Steve laughs. “No, we’re just friends. I spend way too much time coming here and staring at you to even think about dating Sam.”
Now it’s Bucky’s turn to blush. “Do you, uh, want to go out with me sometime? To somewhere other than a coffee shop preferably.”
Steve nods like an excited puppy. “I would love to. Do you want my number so we can make plans later?”
Steve stands up so that he and Bucky can exchange numbers. Once they’re done, Bucky glances between the counter and Steve, not really wanting to go back to work. Steve pouts at him, clearly wanting Bucky to stay here so that they can get to know each other a little better.
“Well, I should, uh…” Bucky says, gesturing toward the counter.
“Yeah, probably,” Steve laughs.
And yet, Bucky stays rooted to the floor. Steve smiles at his reluctance, and before Bucky even thinks about it, he’s leaning forward and kissing Steve.
Steve is surprised at Bucky’s forwardness, but just as Bucky is about to pull away and apologize, Steve starts kissing him back. He pulls Bucky against him by his hips while Bucky grips Steve’s shoulders. It should feel awkward, kissing a guy he barely knows in the middle of a crowded coffee shop, but the way Steve kisses him makes him feel like they’re the only two people in the world.
Of course, Natasha ruins it.
“Woo!” she yells at them. “Get a room!”
Bucky pulls away from Steve, embarrassed. Steve rubs the back of his neck, laughing. “Yeah, you should probably get back to work now,” he says.
Bucky nods, but there’s one thing he’s still curious about. “That first drawing you gave me,” he said. “There were two monkeys laughing in the background. Who were they supposed to be?”
Steve chuckles. “They were our friends. Sam and that redheaded girl you work with.”
Bucky glances back at Natasha laughing at him from behind the counter. “Yeah. I can definitely see that.”