Old Coffee Shop [Stucky]

2

Bucky had become well acquainted with the shop, its workers, and its patrons. To him, it seemed that all the customers that came were not only the elderly, but were all regulars. When he came in he made small talk with the Chloe and Ted, greeted Mrs. Carter and admired her knitting, and discussed the news with Mr. Dugan. As he sat down, he noticed that Steve had not joined them as of yet before turning into work mode.

Chloe soon came over with his regular cappuccino and muffin. "Here you go, Bucky. We even got a new cup, just for you." She no longer blushed when he spoke to her, soon realising that he was more a "big brother" kinda friend and so she decided to act like a sister. "Take a looksie."

Glancing down, Bucky saw that the mug had was simply grey, but on the sides of it bore a single red star. Groaning, Bucky slowly lowered his head into his hands."I regret telling you about that."

Chloe simply laughed and headed back to the counter. Bucky rolled his eyes as she walked away, before turning his sights to the open laptop.

Moments later, loud laughter and talking was heard near the shop. Puzzled, those inside glanced towards the windows to see a large group of people headed their way. Steve led them with a small smile on his face. The man next to him shouted something at the group as Steve came inside.

"Chloe, Ted. We are about to celebrate the 97th birthday of a World War Two veteran. Outside is his family and friends, even a couple of other veterans as well." Steve leaned on the counter, his smile still shining.

"Let me guess. You told them we had great coffee, great pastries, and a great space that they could have for free." Ted butt in, his head shaking side to side as he smiled exasperatedly. It was obvious that this wasn't the first time Steve's done this. Steve nodded, before turning around to let the people in.

Soon enough, the room was full of people. Talking and laughing as they ate baked treats and drank warm coffee, each one was having a great time in the shop. Especially the war veteran, Mr. Chester Phillips. He had a silly grin on his face as he told silly stories to the younger children. Bucky had moved his things to a table in the corner of the room, where he watched the festivities with a grin. Ted and Chloe rushed about, filling up cups and dishing out more cookies, danishes, and muffins. Steve had gone missing in the throng of things, probably helping out with the baking in the back room.

"If you don't mind," Bucky looked up from his laptop to see Steve standing before him, sketchbook in one hand, the other gesturing to the seat in front of Bucky. Bucky nodded before taking a sip from his water (too much coffee would have caused his brain to short circuit). He glanced back at his computer.

"Chloe keeps telling everyone that you're a bionic wonder." Steve stated with a questioning tone. Bucky glanced at Steve as he sketched furiously, his right hand covering the drawing from Bucky's eyes. He turned back to work on his laptop, talking as he typed.

"Truth. I lost my arm while I was in the army." He gestured towards it, "Some Russian engineers took a liking to me built me a new one. Apparently one of the best prosthetics ever made."

"They just built you an arm?" Steve continued to sketch, his blue eyes occasionally glancing up at Bucky. Not entirely uncomfortable with his attempts at small talk, Bucky replied again.

"I wrote a novel about a Russian man who helped launch Yuri Gagarin into space. Apparently my writing inspired them to open their engineering company." He took another sip of water before typing another sentence.

"Wait," The word caused Bucky to look up at Steve, an eyebrow raised. Steve was looking back at him with a questioning gaze,"You were in the army and then you decided to become a writer?"

"No, Writing was something I wanted to do before I joined." Bucky watched Steve's eyes widen a bit and his mouth dropped slightly. He couldn't help but chuckle at the comical face the man made. "Does that surprise you?"

"No."Steve's face went slightly red. He glanced back down at his paper, obviously trying to hide the coloring of his cheeks. "I knew a guy in highschool who did the exact same. Aspired to be a writer, ended up joining the army."

"Your face shows that this wasn't just a regular friend." Bucky couldn't help but tease him, it was kinda funny watching the large man squirm.

"I used to like him. A lot." Suddenly, Steve looked up. A tenseness in his shoulders showing that a certain thought had crossed his mind. "I mea-"

"It's fine. I don't mind if you like dudes."

"No no no. I just realised I told you that without even introducing myself."

"Oh." Bucky scratched the back of his head awkwardly, his hair slowly turning into a bird's nest from the movements. He stuck his hand forward in hopes of making it less awkward. "James Barnes. Call me Bucky."

If possible, Steve froze up even more. Slowly he raised his arm to meet Bucky's. "Steve Rogers."

And then it clicked.