Stucky One-Shots (Angst, Fluff, Smut)

When the Liberal Arts Major Fell for the STEM Major (Part 1)

so this is a short story, originally it was a one-shot but i got carried away (whoops). i broke it up into parts because, in total, it's 9.8k words. the songs of each part (will be in the above thingy) are songs that i think Bucky's character would listen to in this fic. anyway, here it is! i hope you enjoy. :))

words: 2k

---

It was lab day, the first lab day of the spring semester, and Bucky didn't know what to expect. He'd never been in a science course with lab before, at least not in college. There's a lot of things you learn and experience in your first year and Bucky assumed this was one of those things. He sat in the corner, next to a girl with glasses who sits a few rows back from him during the lecture part of the course. She seemed nice. Plus, it was the table furthest away from the group of loud and obnoxious students. Unfortunately, that group sat directly behind him in lecture. Seriously, what was the point of being super talkative and boisterous while the professor was literally teaching? What the hell?

Removing one of his earbuds, he tucked it over the top of his ear for safekeeping. He read one of the whiteboards and immediately busied himself with the task to be finished before class started. It was easy enough, just downloading files onto his laptop and some reading; he finished it relatively quickly. But he was antsy; he didn't know anyone and he felt awkward without anything else to occupy him. Letting out a short breath, he opened his documents and pulled up a piece of writing he had been working on. He kept glancing at the girl next to him, nervous that she would be reading over his shoulder. It was completely irrational; she wasn't paying him attention. Bucky was self-conscious about his writing, that's all. He was an aspiring author, but the thought of others reading his work still terrified him.

The professor stood and greeted the class, prompting Bucky to pause the song he was listening to and put his electronics away. He was attentive, trying to absorb as much information as he could about the computer software they were going to use for the semester.

About halfway through the period, while the students became familiarized with code, someone walked in the door and sat atop one of the empty lab tables. No one seemed to notice as he quietly sipped from the mug he was holding, peering around the room. He couldn't have been much older than any of the students in lab.

Finally, the professor saw him and grinned. He waved and said, "Alright class, can we pause for a second so I can introduce our lab assistant?"

Bucky glanced up briefly, as he was in the middle of typing notes so he could remember the correct terminology, and caught sight of a man with a thick but well-kept beard. Once he was focused back on the screen, the image finally processed. His eyes widened and his head whipped up once more, staring this time. Oh, Christ--

"I'd like to introduce you to Steve, he's a graduating senior this semester and he'll be here during our lab period to help me. He's a physics major, so he knows all about the material we're covering in this course. If you ever have any questions, don't be afraid to hail him or me over. He'll also be around for the homework help sessions on Wednesdays along with the other lab assistants from other lab periods," the professor explained, gesturing to Steve, who waved with a soft smile. "Did I miss anything, Steve?"

"No, Carl, I think you covered it." He laughed a little, making his face light up. He just called the professor by his first name--sorry, what?--Bucky knew they could call him by his first name but he was entirely way too scared to do so. It seemed too informal like this man was his friend and not his instructor with a fucking doctorate.

"Awesome. Now we can get back to business!"

When Steve made eye contact with him, Bucky ducked his head down and blushed fiercely as he returned to his notes.