fossilised | It's AU time

Letting out a hot and heavy breath, mixed partially with a laugh, Steve put his hand to Bucky's wrist. "Is this how you plan to pay for my time?" He let his lips curl before his fingers released the man and pressed forward against his palm. "Because as much as I would like that, Mickey takes a little bit off the top of all of my private clients. And I want you to stay all mine."

Taking his libido was difficult but not impossible. Steve was capable of regulating himself and capable of resisting, even if he didn't want to.

"But to be honest, what you want isn't possible to sketch out in an hour. I'll need more one on one time. Can I pen you in for an appointment tonight?" Steve wasn't sure how long he was going to let Bucky fondle him, because he hadn't pulled his hand back yet. He was hard and needy and--- there were people lined up just past the curtain.

"Yeah, sorry. Your boss is probably a nice lady and all, but I have this thing for patriotic blond guys in bald eagle sweaters, nothing else does it for me."

He took the fact that Steve had released his wrist and pushed his hips forwards as permission to continue, so he gave into his desires and gripped his boyfriend to start jerking him off, voice a low growl in his ear.

"Jesus, Steve, you're so damn irresistible that I can't keep my hands off you. Makes me want to bend you over that desk right now and who gives a crap about the people waiting?"

But he wasn't that much of an asshole, he'd just give his boyfriend a hand job as fast as he could, not wanting to actually cost Steve his job or get him into trouble.

"But I'm not wearing my sweater," Steve protested, though it hardly mattered. He was forced to be as quiet as possible with his heart racing in a sort of restless, exhilarating fear as he pressed his face against Bucky's neck.

Thankfully, it didn't take too long to make a mess of Bucky's palm and even more thankfully, there were alcohol swabs on the desk to clean him up with after.

"So is this going to be a new thing?" Steve was seated across the work desk from Bucky some Fifteen minutes after he arrived, still breathing a little funny. Steve always had a sort of rasp he couldn't shake for a little while after strenuous activity. "Are you going to visit me for afternoon delights regularly?"

Steve couldn't help but blush at that. He was ridiculously giddy, both from the experience and from knowing that Bucky had braved his fears to come here.

Bucky fucking loved knowing that he could reduce his boyfriend to that quivering state in short order, and he couldn't help but watch his flushed cheeks and think about how goddamn sexy he was and how it was a crime against the world that he had still been single when Bucky came around.

"I don't know, Steve, this sounds like it could be some big work and need a lot of consultation time, but-- I'm kinda using all my disposable income for the month to pay for this one slot, so maybe not that regularly."

He would love to, but he knew that he had a limited amount of capability for going out still, and that had to be used economically.

"Besides, I might be kinda busy soon... the VA called this morning. Said they want me to come in for some sort of assessment, see what kind of help they think they can and should offer me."

Eyebrows raised, Steve leaned forward across the desk and spread his fingers across the paper he had not yet marked up. "Jeez, are you kidding me?! They told us it would be at least six weeks before they could fit you in--" Bucky had some powerful friends. He had the sort of security clearance that probably made parts of the brass a little worried.

Or maybe they were just afraid of the things Bucky did during the Great New York Scare.

"That's just fantastic, Buck. It's so fantastic. I'm right behind you. Anything you need, you got," Steve promised sincerely. "Even if that just includes free, late night sessions for your tattoo," Steve grinned.

He wasn't going to be charging Bucky for this.

"We should celebrate. I'm thinking that meatbun place we pass going back home? They're ballshaped."

It was the security clearance. His actions in the Great New York Scare had already been buried by Dum-Dum and some handy friends who knew how to wipe security tapes, nobody would ever suspect James Barnes of any wrongdoing there. But he had been in a high security covert ops team, a POW for a long time, and then disappeared off the grid when he made it back stateside... of course they wanted eyes on him again.

Bucky snorted and leaned over the desk to kiss Steve sweetly on the lips.

"Is it weird that when you say home, I think of your place?"

He had barely been back to his own since they started dating, only to change and shower every so often, and that one night when Becca had stayed over. It felt like his place was just storage, and that was pretty dumb.

"But yeah, I think I can go for those ball shaped treats."

"Our place. I was serious. I don't care if it's too soon. I really don't. Sometimes you just know when it's real and when it's right and I do know. I think I might have always. You just-- it clicked for me," Steve said, serious despite that kiss. Maybe because of that kiss. Maybe because of the man sitting with his shirt open across from him, with that fake arm on the floor, forgotten and unneeded.

He trusted Bucky. Even if he shot him.

Thankfully, that was just in the left shoulder and he didn't need it. He wasn't even wearing the sling. It didn't do a lot of good. The bullet had not hit bone or even any of the really important parts of the muscle or tendon. It had been clean through and yeah, it hurt, but that's what the medication was for.

As long as he didn't lift his arm over his head, he was fine.

Besides, he couldn't and didn't blame Bucky for any of it. That wasn't really Bucky. That was the man that still lived in the arrid rocky climate of the Middle East.

Maybe, given enough time, he'd be able to see that as the truth too. The good man he used to be was still under there, he just needed to fight to get him free from the demons of his past. Having someone who saw him that way, even despite all evidence to the contrary, was already a huge help.

"What the hell, let's do it."

Our place. He hadn't thought Steve was serious before, but he sure as hell believed him now. And, crazy as it was, he knew it was right too. He didn't want to be without Steve, he could see his future and this scrappy little punk would be by his side for every step of it.

"...Jesus, I need to get out of here before I actually toss you over the desk in celebration, I'll wait out with your other super interesting clients til you're done."

"Don't flirt too much with the tattooists. You're gorgeous and you're mine," Steve said in a streak of possessiveness. He gripped the man's hand as he kissed him, helped him on with his arm and buttoned up his shirt for him, and then was in the process of kissing him again, arching full body against his chest, when the curtain was yanked open by an overly priveledged blonde who waved her daddy's Amex card like it was a get out of jail free card.

"It's my turn and-- Eww! Wait, let me get my phone, cute!"

The whiplash was lost of Steve's coworkers, all of whom were staring as Steve released his hold on Bucky, blushing. "Um.. So... Uh... This is my boyfriend, Bucky and-- and okay, next."

After a moment of surprise, Bucky just gave the cockiest lopsided grin and pulled Steve in for one last kiss in front of everyone, and then turned to the watching coworkers and clients like a smug bastard.

"That's right, he's mine, feel the jealousy. It's okay, I'd be jealous too."

One of Steve's coworkers, a tattooist called Nate, snorted in absolute bemusement. Surely not. He hadn't even known good and pure looking Steve was gay, let alone had a boyfriend like this...

"Me! I'm next!" The entitled blonde pushed her phone away and swept into the curtained off area to take a seat on the consultation chair, even as a couple of Steve's coworkers started to approach Bucky curiously.

None of the people that Steve worked with were bad people but they were curious. Steve had been with the shop doing customs for almost a full year now and since he made them all look great, they had become really fond of him and maybe a little protective. Some of the designs he did were complicated and elaborate enough to give the artists hundreds of hours of work, and though Steve made some nice money on his art, they usually split tips with him too. So even if this guy he was dating looked like a movie star, they all wanted a little piece of kiddingly threatening Bucky about what they might do if Steve was hurt.

It was mostly funny.

Two unicorns, a cartoon space ship, three 4evers and one really thoughtful add on piece for a long term client later and Steve was ready to hang up his apron. He peeked his head out of the curtain where Bucky and some of his coworkers were laughing as they sat and prepped his last client for their ink.

"Please tell me it's safe to come out...?"

Bucky still wasn't good with social situations a lot of the time, and he had been more than a bit awkward once Steve disappeared, but had loosened up enough to laugh at a couple of jokes. He seemed a decent enough guy, at least, and Mickey said so when Steve finally poked his head out.

"Not bad, Rogers, but why hasn't he come in to get inked before now? I don't see any, unless all those clothes are hiding some nice art."

Bucky shook his head behind her just slightly. He knew that in the end the tattooist who inked him would have to know and see the scars, but he'd rather not mention why he had come in for a consultation so soon. He had managed to keep any of them from finding out he was a damaged vet, he'd rather keep it that way.

"I don't have any tattoos either," Steve said blandly. "And I didn't want you guys ogling him," he tried to pout but that actually came off a little fake. Steve wasn't good at this kind of teasing, and it made Mickey roll her eyes as she set her heavy booted feet up on an unoccupied seat. The buzzing sound of a gun in the background and some soft hisses and sighs blended into the low pop rock playing from someone's iPod.

"You don't have any tattoos because a needle would go right through your arm. I'm going to take your ink virginity one day, Steve. You just need to settle on your art," his boss grinned, leaning back. She was sleeveless, her arms wound up with roses. It was subtle. She was a safe sort of punk, the kind that made these fancy trust fund babies feel edgy and comfortable at the same time.

Steve laughed and marked down his figures in the ledger. "I can't get a tattoo. I always change my mind. And I'd like Bucky do me. He's got the steadiest hand I know."

Mickey arched an eyebrow. "That right?"

Bucky looked a bit taken aback, smiling in a slightly self deprecating sort of way as he waited for Steve to finish up what he needed to do before they could get out of there. Mickey seemed nice, but he didn't like the way she was looking at him now.

"Steady hand, sure, but I don't know shit about tattooing and my art looks the same now as it did in second grade."

He remembered what Steve said about maybe taking night classes in inking, about how he could use the gun with one hand, but it felt like that might be moving too fast. So he wasn't going to jump into anything just yet.

"Steve has to say nice stuff about me, it's like... the boyfriend code or something."

"My boyfriend is an asshole," Olivia piped up. "Can you talk to him about this Boyfriend Code? Like with your fist? I'll pay you in pizza and beer."

"That's the fee for helping you move, Liv, Jesus," Nate said, pulling off his gloves as Steve got his coat. The deflection had worked because now they were all talking about Liv's boyfriend and Mickey got up to count Steve out for the special favor he did her by coming in.

"Take tomorrow off by I need you Friday. All day. Bring your boyfriend. He managed to upsell two people just by flipping through the stock books," Mickey said and handed Steve a war of cash. "And you, take care of our Stevie. He's precious to us."

Bucky looked pretty pleased to be praised, though he might not be able to make it back on Friday depending on a number of factors, so he didn't give a response to that. He just grinned and led Steve out of the shop, winding his arm around his waist and looking like a smug asshole because of the other hand apparently carelessly in his pocket.

"So-- a whole day off, huh?"

He had to go into the VA in the afternoon, but that still left a few hours of fun that he could enjoy with Steve. No clothes type fun.

"I wonder what you could do with it? I suppose you need to spend most of it designing those incredibly details chat speak tattoos, huh?"

There was something magical about walking arm in arm with your boyfriend on a cold night in the city. Sure. Most of the buildings were dark. And yeah, there were patrols keeping pedestrians funneled towards safe zones or the various train and subway stations that were currently the only way out of Manhattan due to restricted car usage, but this wasn't something that Steve had done before. He knew that he had to watch for anything that might trigger an episode in Bucky, however. There were armed men and women all along their walk and stationed on the subway platforms too. It was dangerous, anything could spark, but Bucky seemed wholey focused on him.

"Believe it or not, the reason those sessions last an hour isn't because of design work. It's because those women change their minds on a curly bit or font size or color or message a hundred times only to go back to the initial concept in the end. I gotta say, I'm tired of drawing uniforms, though."

The train came and they got a seat so Steve slipped his hand into Bucky's.

"I'm thinking about a tribal smoke tattoo for you. Do you remember the tattoo I gave the bounty hunter down his arms? Not that I'm trying to turn you into a comic character but-- You'd look so cool. And it would have a sort of rising from the ashes theme to it. But mostly you'd look really cool."

And it would hide those scars perfectly.

Bucky privately thought that Steve was wasted on most of the things he did in that tattoo shop, but he was obviously friends with the people who worked there and it earned him money to help keep him in art school for other projects, so maybe it wasn't such a bad thing for a while. Still, he knew that one day he'd be proud to tell people that his tattoo was a Rogers original, no kidding.

"That sounds really cool."

He hadn't been kidding when he said that he trusted whatever Steve wanted to put on him, much more than he'd ever trust his own judgement. Something beautiful and ethereal like smoke and patterns sounded good, sounded respectful. He didn't want to cover it up with nonsense.

"But don't bullshit me, you're absolutely trying to turn me into that bounty hunter. I'll wake up one morning to find wild west clothes in the closet for me."

He grinned, a little tense in his body as they were walking, but all his attention fixed firmly on Steve to keep himself from being too scared.

"What do you mean, one day? I measured you in your sleep yesterday and I ordered it on Etsy. I like drawing fringe anyway so I put fringe on the chaps and had the facets shaped into clock gears. Maybe if you start walking around New York like that, it will predispose people to buy the comic. If I ever write it."

He had some shorts, some concepts, but he never actually sat down to work on pages. He had too much going on otherwise.

And maybe he was a little scared to actually try his hand at that. Designing vapid tattoos for vapid young adults paid well. And he loved school...

Steve gripped Bucky's hand a little tighter as the train jostled. It was right about here that the lights went off the day after Christmas and he had to fight blindly in the dark for hours to get to a platform.

He snorted, but his hand tightened around Steve's when he felt his own being gripped hard. He didn't know exactly where on the line that Steve had found himself when all hell broke loose, but he knew it must have been horrible and he wouldn't be the only one with trauma leftover from that night.

"Steve Rogers, I love you," he murmured, just wanting to keep his boyfriend's mind off whatever horrible thing was going through it right now. "But if assless chaps show up for me, then I'm kicking you out of our apartment and making you sleep across the hall with Nat."

Come to think of it, he hadn't seen her in a while, not since Thor arrived and swept her off. He hoped they were both okay. That neither of them had lost anyone a few nights back.

"There's a lot of fun to be had with...uh... Those. But you'd wear leather pants under them if you wanted to be properly in costume," Steve grinned before he leaned his head on Bucky's shoulder and rode the rest of the way counting his breaths. They did arrive safely at the station and then picked up their dinner before heading home, still hand in hand.

If Bucky had been worried about Steve's best friend, he wouldn't have to worry for much longer. She was out on the step smoking, which was strange because almost no one smoked these days and Nat was a dancer so this was worse for her than her occasional Steve-provided Big Mac. She looked unnerved, fingers twitching under her full lower lip before she looked at them as they approached with big, blue eyes.

"Nat--"

She'd lost half her troupe, it turned out. Thor was fine but her friends were decimated. And when she hadn't been able to find Steve thst day, she'd gotten scared. Bucky was going to have to wait to throw Steve down and have some pantsless fun. Natalia evidently was going to insist on a sleep over.

Even if Bucky wanted to toss Steve down and kiss every inch of that pale skin, he wasn't a jerk and so he didn't even hesitate before stepping back and making himself scarce with a murmured excuse of needing to box his things up in his own apartment. Natalia barely watched him go, just leaping in and hugging him tightly.

"I had thought America was safe, Steven."

She tugged him into the building and up to her apartment, where there were clothes and dishes everywhere because she was not a particularly neat individual. She didn't let him go as she tugged him down onto the sofa in really strong arms and hugged him tightly.

"Do not die, you are my best friend. I did not expect to have so scrawny a best friend, but now I would not change you."

“It’s a good thing that I’m scrawny,” Steve teased, “otherwise, all of your potential boyfriends would have probably threatened to beat me up.” Steve didn’t mind being clung to, but Natalia wasn’t being very considerate of his arm right now. He had to bite his tongue, and hard, to keep from saying anything. “But I’m not going anywhere. Buck saved me. And he came to walk me home to make sure I got in all right. It’s okay, Nat. Promise you.”

She ended up taking half a valium – Steve didn’t approve of that but he understood that her nerves were shot – and removed her octopus arms to replace them with her feet over his lap. “I have had dreams.”

Steve arched an eyebrow. “I think we’re all having nightmares, Nat.”

“Not nightmares. Dreams. Thor talks to me but he is hard to make out and his accent is wrong.”

Steve lightly patted her leg. “It’s just stress, Nat.”

"No, it is not stress. I know my dreams, Steven, and these are not the usual dreams. If I had the stress then I would see him dead, but I see him with beard and long hair speaking odd words to me."

She nudged his ribs with one foot, glad to have him here and real and mostly okay. She would have to make sure to thank Bucky when she saw him for protecting one of the most important people to him.

"He has gone back to the hospital. His brother was injured, I do not know how badly. But you will stay here with me tonight, yes?"

She didn't want to be alone. "I will make you the cookie dough and we can watch one of your chick flicks."

“How about we cook the cookie dough into cookies first so no one gets sick from potentially contaminated eggs?” Oh Steve, always thinking. Or always skirting danger by going by the package directions and not leaving his health or the health of those he loved up to chance? “And you can come over to my place. The couch is bigger and Bucky should get to experience one of my Chick Flicks.”

Steve just liked sappy romance stories, all right? He liked war films too but he figured that romance was a little better considering all he’d been through…and all Bucky had been through.

“I’m real sorry to hear about Loren, though,” Steve said, helping Natalia pack up some things from her gross refrigerator. He’d come back this weekend to help her clean it, if work let him. He didn’t want to look at that yogurt. It looked like it had sprouted previously unknown life inside of it. “Next time you see Thor…” Preferable the real one and not the dream one with the beard… “You tell him I wish his family the best. Now get changed. You smell like smoke.”

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