Winterhawk Writing

Five?

It was midnight this time. Earlier than his usual nightmares. Most were later on, three or so in the morning. They were always at that point where you might as well just stay awake and suffer till morning.
Bucky hated staying still though. Especially in as tiny of a room as the college dorms. The cold brick walls seem to clench in on him like a fist and before he would wake up Steve with another panic attack he'd leave. And walk aimlessly.
On one of his late night excursions he'd discovered some hole-in-the-wall 24/7 diner that had a horrid, cheesy 80s theme but served phenomenal pancakes. Light and fluffy, just like ma's. His favorite booth was one tucked into the corner that had a view of the entire shop, it also kept his left side against a wall and mostly out of sight.
The servers all wore gaudy wigs and short dresses that never failed to lighten his mood a bit. How could you stay angry at the sight of a fellow miserable college student in bright red heels that clashed with a pale pink dress and sun yellow wig?
Tonight when he walked in, chin dropped low and exhaustion pushing on his shoulders, he was miffed to find his normal booth taken. The intruder had blonde hair that stuck out in every direction like he had just rolled out of bed, he had a hello kitty bandage across his nose, and he wore a faded and lovingly worn purple shirt.
Bucky was observant enough to notice the pile of empty creamer cups and the jitter in the guys leg to assume he was well into his fourth or fifth cup of coffee. The man also had (more purple?) hearing aids tucked behind his ears. He was clearly another college student, judging by the coffee high he seemed to be on, that and the pile of papers strewn around him.
The guy was a mess, and Bucky had only managed a ten second glance at him. He shifted uncomfortably by the door, he liked routine and once he'd developed a fairly regular one, well, straying from it caused him to get itchy and on edge. So he did that next best thing to sitting in that booth and sat at the booth in front of it.
It wasn't the same. The idea of a stranger exposed to his vulnerable back was too much and he stood up jerkily.
This caused the intruder to look up- wow, blue eyes- and raise one of his eyebrows curiously. His eyes noticeably flickered to his left arm, or lack thereof. Bucky gaped for a second, his anxiety sky-rocketing, before he turned swiftly and rushed out of the diner.
He didn't have anywhere else to go, the dorm was out of the question.. not while he was this antsy and Steve had a test tomorrow-
"Hey, man. You okay?"
Bucky froze, not that he'd been walking, he had been standing outside of the large windows of the diner clearly hyperventilating and in his panic hadn't realized how visible he was. It was cold and his breath billowed out in front of him. Oh god, it was freezing. How hadn't he realized that earlier-
"Dude...?"
Bucky spun around. "I'm fine!" He blurted and stumbled back.
It was the intruder. Bucky almost laughed out loud at the hello kitty sticker on his nose because it took him by surprise once again and he could feel his pulse racing and that just would've made him seem crazy-
"Are you sure? I think you're having a panic attack." The blonde seemed concerned.
" 'M not," Bucky shook his head. "Just need.. air and..." he trailed off. Yeah, he was having a panic attack.
"Here, I'll buy you a coffee, man, you look freezing. Just- before we go in, take some deep breaths." The blonde inhaled deeply as an example.
Bucky took a shallow breath in and attempted to follow the mans breathing pattern. After a minute he was finally able to suck in a full breath, then another, and another until he was breathing steadily.
"Thanks..." he shuffled awkwardly, mumbling. "You didn't have'ta do that."
"Nah, but you seemed like you needed it. Now lemme buy you a cup of coffee, I'm mean, technically not gonna buy you one because Janet gives you a free cup every five you have and I don't need another anyways," he grinned crookedly. "I'm Clint, by the way." He stuck out his hand.
"Bu- uh, James," he stuttered and reluctantly shook Clint's hand.
"So, do you go to college here?" Clint asked conversationally, natural.
"Uh, yeah." Bucky followed him to the booth.
"What are you studying?" Clint settled in and watched Bucky do the same.
"History. You?" Bucky rubbed his hand on his sweatpants, trying to warm it up.
"Aw, shit, man. You look half frozen. Janet!" Clint waves his hands, grinning. "Coffee?" He said while pointing at Bucky. "On me."
Janet was the owner, a lady in her mid-fifties who looked like she lost a fight to the 80s era, nodded at Clint.
"I'm on a scholarship, never would've been able to afford this on my own," Clint spoke while organizing his mess of papers to make room for James. "I'm an archer, damn good, not to brag. I'm studying physics, though, and it's kicking my ass." He gestured hopelessly to the whirlwind of papers scattered around the booth.
Bucky huffed softly, earning a goofy grin from the blonde. Janet came by with a steaming mug and placed it gently in front of Bucky.
"Here ya go, sweetheart. Careful, it's hot." She winked at Clint.
Clint felt his ears burn slightly and pushed onward through the lull by spilling half of his life story to a complete stranger. A complete stranger who was insanely hot and now had his eyes fixed intently on Clint. Not how he envisioned this night going, not that he was complaining.
"I learned archery in the circus." Jesus Christ, he never even talked to Nat about this, but suddenly, James and his ruffled hair and big grey eyes suddenly made him want to spill even his darkest secrets with him, like his taste for trashy reality TV. "Joined it when I was young and stuck with it until our ringmaster got arrested for embezzlement and then the cops realized half the crew were wanted criminals so that went down the drain real quick."
James was a good listener. He sipped his coffee and nodded while Clint spilled his guts and practically handed James his heart in a rundown diner.
"What's your story? If you don't mind me asking," Clint asked once he finished.
"Oh, uhh," James shifted uncomfortably. "It's.. a lot."
"You don't have to tell me then," Clint soothed quickly.
"No, no, it's okay. My therapist said I should talk about it, something about it's help me come to terms with.. it all," James' cheeks flushed when he realized what he said. "I- 'm not crazy, I swe-"
"Pfft, nothing crazy about having a therapist, James. I probably need one, if we're being honest. I'm a mess," Clint grinned.
"I can tell," Bucky smiled weakly. "Um, well, after I graduated high school I was set up on full ride here," Bucky's eyes went distant. "I used to be a quarterback, damn good-"
Clint barked out a laugh and Bucky joined in softly.
"Good enough to get here for free, but," Bucky swallowed. "Few days before the semester started, I was gonna start during the fall, I got into a- uhm, a car accident," he cleared his throat. "Drunk driver hit me head on. They had to amputate my arm.. it was damaged beyond repair in the accident. Was my throwing arm, too."
Clint was quiet.
"Lost the scholarship.. the medical bills hit my family hard," Bucky took a shaky breath. "Still can't get into a car, actually, the cold is some kinda trigger for me, an- and developed claustrophobia from behind pinned in the car.."
"Damn, I thought my circus story was gonna be the sad one. I wore a leotard for half of my life, dude. That's depressing."
Bucky laughed at that, he laughed hard. Not that it was particularly clever or funny, but anything to distract him from the raw feeling of finally telling someone his story. Clint couldn't help but laugh too and before long they were both laughing uncontrollably until their sides were cramping, eyes watering, and they were just wheezing.
Once they caught their breath a comfortable silence fell over the corner booth. Bucky sipped his coffee, watching Clint work on his homework. At some point James had ordered pancakes, so they split those. They would occasionally start up a conversation that would last a few minutes before lapsing into the now comfortable silence. Bucky liked watching Clint work. He did each problem so methodically that just watching him made Bucky's eyes droop and before long he was snoring softly on top of his bent arm.
Clint didn't notice for a solid forty minutes, only when he looked up to ask the time did he see James asleep, his breath rustling one of Clint's many papers. From what Clint had learned about James as they spoke was that he didn't often sleep and a strange sense of pride filled Clint's chest, knowing James felt comfortable enough after just a few hours to sleep in front of him.
However, it was nearing five in the morning and Clint needed to leave soon so he reluctantly nudged at the brunette. James let out a tired groan and moved to rest his chin on his forearm, blinking at Clint.
"Didn't mean to-" he yawned and straightened. "Fall asleep, sorry, man."
"Nah it's okay, you looked like you needed it," Clint said.
"Thanks," Bucky paused. "I think?"
"That came out wrong, not the you look bad when you're tired, still one of the hottest people I've seen, but overall looked like you needed some.. rest." Clint rambled, face growing hot. "I'm sorry, I'm totally delirious. That was weird."
Bucky grinned dopily, "Nah, 's cute. 'Like the flustered look on you."
"Oh?"
"Mm. Need some more coffee, though, got a class at noon." James stretched.
Janet, the coffee angel, seemed to hear this and rushed over with her pot, filling both of their cups. "You boys need to get some real rest on a real mattress."
"This is my home, Janet," Clint touched his hand to his chest sincerely.
"Clint, I swear I'm gonna have to ban you from here. I don't know the last time you weren't leaching off my coffee-"
"Hey, I pay!" He scoffed lightheartedly. "I am hurt, Janet, hurt."
"Ah, hush," she waved him off before walking back into the kitchen.
"You're really here that often?" Bucky asked.
"Oh yeah, I practically live here. Janet likes me, just likes to act like a hard-ass." Clint grinned and started organizing his papers.
"Oh, I've never seen you before," Bucky shrugged and took a long sip of his coffee.
"I've seen you," Clint shrugged. "I'm usually at the counter so I guess you've never seen my face."
"Oh," Bucky's cheeks reddened, yes he had seen Clint before. Had admired his shoulders from his position in the booth.
Clint lips quirked up. "What was that look for?"
"N-nothing," Bucky stood up. "See you around."
"Hey," Clint lunged our, grabbing Bucky's wrist. "Didn't mean to put you on the spot, stay? Please?"
Bucky sat down reluctantly.
"I know I've seen you around, because.. well I mean I've kinda have had a crush on you since the beginning of the year." Clint dutifully stuffed his papers in a purple backpack. "You study at the library a lot and you're always here in the middle of the night, it's more of an infatuation, I guess, but it's been fun talking to you. I'm just gonna leave now because I have definitely over shared." He blurted.
Bucky started at him in shock. Clint had definitely over shared, repeatedly, throughout the night, kinda seemed like his thing. Having no filter.
"Get coffee with me?" Bucky asked, scrunching his nose nervously.
Clint's head shot up. "Really?"
"Yeah.. tonight?" Bucky smiled softly. "Same time? I usually don't sleep and I have classes until pretty late."
"Of course," Clint grinned crookedly. "Can't wait. Now, I would love to stay, like really, but I've gotta get home and change and shower before I go to archery practice," Clint shouldered his backpack as he stood. "Tonight."
Bucky nodded firmly. "Tonight." He echoed.
"Bye," Clint let his fingers graze Bucky's right shoulder before he hustled out of the diner, leaving Bucky in his normal booth.
"Y'all gonna waste my time tonight as well?" Janet had walked up to the table while Bucky had been staring at an exiting Clint.
"Of course, save the table for us?" Bucky asked.
"Sure thing, darling. Now go get some real rest, you look like a mess," Janet shooed him out of the diner.

So this was supposed to be like 500 words but turned into 2000... oops?