Some gay marvel

Closer Than Friends (Stucky)

A whisper of wind danced through the Brooklyn streets. Bucky chased Steve through the alleyways, both of them laughing. Bucky grabbed Steve, slinging him over his shoulder.

"Got you, punk!" He laughed, messing with his tiny friend's hair. Steve playfully batted at Bucky's hands.

"Put me down, bitch! I'm not that much smaller than you!" Bucky set Steve down, still laughing as he held him close to his chest.

"Yeah you are, little punk. Come on, let's get you home before your mom worries."

Steve wheezed lightly, but then the wheezing got worse. Bucky gently rubbed his back, shushing him lightly.

"Buck—I—"

"Shhh, Steve. Deep breaths. It's just an asthma attack, deep breaths." Bucky lightly bumped his forehead against Steve's, holding him close.

"Thanks, thanks." Steve took a long breath, nuzzling Bucky's neck. Bucky picked Steve up suddenly, carrying him back towards his house.

"You need to take a break, don't hurt yourself." Bucky held Steve carefully, trying not to drop him. Steve was squirming, trying to get out of Bucky's arms.

Bucky sat up, thinking of the dream. He and Steve had been so close in that alley in the 30s... two teen guys, casually playing and flirting. But they were just best friends, nothing more. Just friends...

In his apartment, Steve was thinking of a similar time. He and Bucky had been sitting in their barracks, his arm around Bucky so Bucky could admire his new, beefed up body.

"Damn, Steve. It's like they stuck you in a totally different person. It looks good as hell... not that you didn't look adorable before, of course." Bucky lightly patted Steve's chest.

"I bet I could beat every bully in Brooklyn now, with all this." Steve looked down at himself, admiring his sudden muscle.

"Does it feel weird? Like you're taller than me now, what's up with that?"

"I mean, it is a bit odd having all this extra muscle weight... I don't fully understand myself yet." Steve pulled Bucky closer, the other man resting his head on Steve's chest.

"At least you won't be wheezing every time you run anymore."

"Yeah." Steve laughed.

The two men both sat up suddenly, the memories overwhelming them.

Bucky buried his head in his hands, feeling overcome. He missed Steve a lot, but he didn't know if Steve wanted to see him. Sometimes it was almost hard to recall his friend's beautiful face. He wished he had taken the time to tell his friend how he really felt about him before their final mission together. He wished he had the chance to be more than best friends. He just wished to see Steve.

Steve sat in front of a piece of paper and thought of Bucky, trying to trace the other man's face onto a sheet of paper. His sketch wasn't perfect, but it looked like the man he had known. It had Bucky's intense but loving stare, the dark hair he'd been growing out, and the curved mouth that Steve had longed to touch.

Steve buried his face in his hands, thinking of his friends. Bucky was doing the same. Both men wished for each other in the dark, thinking of the love they had shared, the love they'd hoped to pass on. Tears shed in the dark for a lost chance at love turned into red eyed mornings, and a decision to remember each other the way they'd always seen each other: a perfect love, whether romantic or not.