A Place to Fall: Falling Series 1 (skinny!Steve x Bucky Barnes College AU)

One

The sun was shining brightly and the campus was abuzz with all the possibilities. Possibilities of adventure. Of friendship. Of love. Of trying to figure life out for themselves and piecing it all together.

In that moment, it felt like anything was possible, and Steve couldn't keep the smile from his face. Not even when he and his mom, Sarah, got lost on their way to Steve's dorm. Not even when Sarah got teary-eyed and exclaimed, "I just can't believe that my baby is all grown up!" Nothing could ruin Steve's mood.

When the Rogers finally reached Steve's home for the upcoming year, they found that they weren't the first ones to the dorm. Sure, Steve had wanted to get there first just so he could pick which bed he wanted, but that wasn't going to deter Steve from thoroughly enjoying the day.

"Rogers?" Steve's roommate assumed.

"Steve," the petite blond confirmed and asked, "Samuel?"

"Sam, is just fine," the boy smirked before turning his attention to Sarah, "You must be Mrs. Rogers."

"I am," Sarah confirmed. She shook Sam's hand when he extended it to her and told the teen, "It's very nice to meet you."

"Likewise," Sam agreed with a friendly smile before saying, "You just missed my mom. She had to get back to work."

"Hopefully we'll meet another time," Sarah started, re-situating the large box on her hip.

"Why don't I take that for you?" Sam offered, taking the box from the petite woman.

"Thank you," Sarah smiled. When Sam turned his back to carry the box further into the dorm room, Sarah looked at Steve expectantly. Steve didn't have a lot of friends back home and Sarah could only hope that at least Steve could get along with this boy.

Rolling his eyes, Steve turned to set his own large box down. When he noticed that Sam hadn't chosen a side of the room yet, he couldn't help but think, maybe this guy's not so bad.

"I wasn't sure if you'd have a preference," Sam casually admitted with a small grin.

"That was very sweet of you," Sarah stated with a fond smile.

Sam simply shrugged nonchalantly. Steve set his box down on the left side of the room and Sam nodded as though Steve had made a good choice. Steve hoped that meant that Sam would be a good roommate. After all, Steve already had a hard time making friends and he couldn't deny that he was hesitant after hearing roommate horror stories.

For a moment, the three just stood there. When Sam noticed that Sarah was tightly holding herself and that tears were building in her eyes, Sam excused himself, "I'm gonna pop in on some friends real quick."

"Okay," Steve acknowledged while Sarah told Sam, "It was so nice to meet you."

"You too, Mrs. Rogers," Sam politely agreed before leaving the room.

Sarah took in a deep breath and wiped the escaped tears. Steve crossed the room and pulled his mother close. For so long it had just been the two of them. After Steve's dad died all those years ago, they had only had one another to rely on. Now it was all going to change.

"You be good," Sarah ordered as she pulled back and cupped Steve's face in her hands. There were tears now rimming Steve's blue eyes and Sarah sweetly demanded, "Make good choices."

Steve nodded, agreeing to do as instructed. Steve was a good kid. A good man. Sure, there were times when Steve allowed his rage to take over and to stand up for any and all who were being mistreated. Not to mention that Steve was stubborn, to a fault. All he wanted to do was to make the world a better place and stand up for the little guy. Even if he was the little guy.

Although Steve was a little guy, he was still taller than Sarah. Tilting Steve's head down, Sarah pressed a sweet kiss to Steve's forehead. Before she could leave though, Steve pulled her back into another embrace. It had been a long time since Steve actually felt like a child, and in that moment, he just wanted to be comforted by the one person who had always been there for him.

After a moment longer, Sarah pulled away from Steve. She pushed Steve's hair off his forehead and cupped his face one more time before leaving.  Steve stood there and watched Sarah leave.

Gathering himself, Steve moved from his spot and started unpacking his things. Steve knew that after unpacking, he'd probably need to rest, so he decided to start there. Taking out the bedding, Steve quickly got to work making his bed.

"Starting with the bed, smart," Sam noted, rejoining Steve in their room.

Already winded, Steve simply nodded. That was all Steve could do as he felt as though his lungs were going to collapse on him. Taking a seat on his finally made bed, Steve pulled out his inhaler and quickly administered the medication to himself. Slightly self-conscious, Steve set the inhaler on his desk. Although Steve had had asthma for as long as he could remember, he always felt insecure around new people.

Thankfully, Sam didn't even seem to bat an eye. Steve hated being babied, so when Sam continued unpacking his own items without missing a beat or rushing to see if Steve was okay, Steve knew that this could be a pretty sweet deal for him.

"You mind if we listen to something?" Sam asked, glancing over his shoulder at Steve.

"No, that's fine," Steve answered, climbing off his bed to continue unpacking.

"Cool," Sam answered, setting up an iHome on his own desk. As he scrolled through his phone, he asked, "Got any requests?"

"Nope," Steve replied, moving on to his closet.

"Ya know," Sam started as he chose a song before he nonchalantly confessed with an easy grin, "I like you."

A large smile stretched Steve's lips and he admitted, "I like you too."

"Of course, you do," Sam scoffed. Looking over his shoulder, Sam stated, "I'm awesome. Everyone likes me."

The only thing Steve could do in reply was to laugh. Sam didn't mind though. Instead, he gave a quick chuckle and started singing along with the song. Not seeming to care in the slightest if he was being a dork. Simply allowing himself to do as he saw fit in the moment. It was endearing and envious at the same time, and Steve hoped that the rest of the year would go as smoothly as this first day.