The Best Friends to More Meme

[disassembling]

the best friends to more meme

There's nothing in this world quite like a true, blue best friend that you can rely on. They've been with you through thick and thin, good and bad. You want to have fun? They're the first person you look for, because they always know how to bring the best out in you. You need a shoulder to cry on? Don't worry, they're already here. You need to bury a body? ...you should probably reconsider your priorities, but you know your best friend will be there with a shovel and a smile. You'd never ruin this friendship for ANYTHING in the world.

Something's brewing that may do just that, though. One of you has feelings, has for a long time, and that spells trouble. Unless you keep that to yourself and remain platonic, of course. Repression in this case might be a good thing.

Only it's too late. The cat's out of the bag, whether it's by confession or by accident. What to do, what to do? If feelings aren't returned, can you turn down a friend, or will you force something that isn't there just to make them happy? If feelings are returned, will you risk changing the perfect thing you have?

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[eleutheria]

There had a prickle of guilt when she hadn’t been able to write to Bucky since what happened to Erskine and then the tours Senator Brandt had decided to send her on, which made her feeling a bit detached and not really useful to the war effort at all, and well she had wanted to write him and tell him all that had happened but she wasn’t sure how she was supposed to do that, it was supposed to still be classified after all.

Suffice to say Stephanie had gotten his letter, right from Colonel Phillips when she had demanded to know about Bucky’s unit, it was so strange to get it and especially knowing that they were going to send the letter with the condolence letter from the military since they had already give up on him, but she refused to believe he was dead and had set off, breaking God’s know how many rules, to try to bring him back or die trying.

It was rather sheer dumb luck that it had paid off and it really had, despite the new information about Hydra’s bases and other things, the best thing for her had been bringing her friend back and making sure he was alright, and she had really tried, so hard not to hover over him and bother him. Though once she was done with her talk with the colonel and Peggy and being told that Bucky had been taken care of and sleeping, well, there was no reason to stop.

And then she had remembered his letter, so there she was sitting at the side of his cot and reading the letter that he had instructed to be sent to her in case…she really didn’t wanted to think about it and maybe she shouldn’t have read it but she was curious about its contents and the further she read…oh…OH…

...So that was probably the first thing Bucky was going to see when he woke up, Stephanie at his side –as always, maybe a small flush on her cheeks while holding his letter.

[disassembling]

He shifted slightly on the bunk, long hours of training keeping him mostly still as he turned his head a little and slowly opened his eyes. Funny, it was strange to wake up to the normal hustle and bustle of a military camp that didn't have bombs dropping or gun fire right close. It was an oddity that only made the situation seem all the more strange when his eyes dropped down the bed to sight Stephanie sitting close to him reading a letter.

Odd, she shouldn't have gotten too many letters out here, unless it was fan mail or some important... that looked like his hand-writing. He sat bolt upright when he realized it was his scrawl on the paper, but then he froze when he realized that it would be far too obvious if he grabbed it out of her hands to stuffed it into his shirt.

No, no, play it cool, Barnes. Sweet talk it out of her hands instead, that was what he was good at. The love part was near the end, and he hoped that blush was just about how he described some of the events of childhood. "So... you probably don't need to read that. I'm not dead, right? Here, I can toss it out. Nothing really pressing in it."

[eleutheria]

It probably said a lot about how engrossed she was on reading his letter, knowing all the things that had gone through his mind in the field, certain details of their childhood that he randomly tossed here and there, other little things that well it had made her smile a bit since it was just so him, and well she was ignoring the usual sounds and bustle from the camp around them, probably she might even be unaware if someone attacked them or was probably going to react slower than expected.

She didn’t even noticed Bucky’s sudden movement, but then maybe that was because she had reached the part about coming to clean to her and doing it to go without regrets, which had only reminded her of how close she had been to lose him, and the further she got…oh dear Lord…her fingers tightened a bit on the paper as she read and maybe even re-read the love confession, and really she hadn’t thought Bucky could be this mix of poetic and his usual self when it came to it.

His voice snapped her back and she looked up at him, for a long moment –one that probably felt a bit uncomfortable, and she shifted a bit on her seat. “Ah uhh…no, I…” She looked down, trying to hide her expression. “It’s my letter and I don’t want you to destroy it.”

[disassembling]

Oh crap, she had gotten to the love part. He knew it instantly the way she was distracted, the way she remained in some kind of daze as her fingers gripped the paper like it was some kind of lifeline to a different sort of life. He knew that look; he had seen officers doing much the same thing with letters from home just before they shipped out to volatile territory, how they folded it up neatly, tucked it in their uniforms like those letters were the most precious thing in the world. He knew the look and he saw it reflected in the protectiveness of Stephanie to his letter.

There was no talking his way out of that. He shifted on his bunk, drawing his knees up a bit so he could rest his chest on them and grasp his ankles. "Ah well, I did address it to you, though... I didn't know where you were living so I left it with the clerk," he said lamely, shrugging his shoulders a bit. Why did he feel like he was about to be lead to the firing squad for dishonourable discharge punishment?

"It seems to me you probably read it all," he intoned softly, offering her a small smile, harder to come by now that he had seen so much combat. "I won't lie about it. What I wrote in there was true and accurate, but we're friends until the very end, Stephanie. I would never sacrifice our friendship based on my feelings, and I would never pressure you to feel like you had to feel the same for me. Friends until the end of the line, no matter what."

[eleutheria]

It was rather strange for her to be on the end of these kind of words, written or not, from anyone. Of course, she had heard this kind of declarations before and had even heard him saying it to another girl once, but well, she was who she was or who she had been and getting love confessions wasn’t something that happened to her.

When he shifted, she took another moment to read the declaration again since she still wasn’t sure it was there or not, maybe she was imagining this. There was a small wince at the subtle hint of not knowing where to actually send the letter. “I am sorry…I’m sorry that I wasn’t able to tell you where I was or what happened, I…I wasn’t allowed even though I wanted to tell you everything.”

She looked up at him, it was quite clear she had read it all and four times already, and she just looked at him. Bucky had always been the better one of the two of them and she always knew that one day he was going to find a good woman. “…You love me…and it’s not about pressure or our friendship, it’s just…” She took a deep breath and focused on carefully folding the letter, she was going to keep it after all. “…I never thought…you were always so wonderful and everything, I knew you were going to find a woman that was worthy enough to have you…and I knew I was not going to be that woman.”

[disassembling]

James really didn't mind that she hadn't sent him word about what was going on or that she had even had such an experimentation done in the first place. He suspected he would have shaken his head if he had had to read it anyway, so he preferred the way that he had found out about her induction into the army and history. If anyone deserved that sort of nomination, it was Stephanie. She was the most stubborn but the best of them as well, and the military had been a fool to keep her out before this. He had always known it.

"You already know you don't have to apologize about anything," he replied with a soft chuckle. "I know how big government operations work by now, Stevie." He could never hold anything like that against her, and really, he was just pleased that she was here with him. She had saved his life; there was nothing to forgive.

He knew what she was going to say before she even said it because he knew better than most her low opinion of herself when it came to romance or courting those kinds of warm feelings. "You do know our parents have been gunning for us to get together for years, right?" He raised an eyebrow at her. "I could never say it before the war; we had so many other things to focus on and being friends was so important to me. You were always important to me."

[eleutheria]

“I still feel the need to do so, Buck, you’re my best friend and I felt awful lying to you by omission, government or not.” And it had been lying by omission, since that was the only thing she could manage since lying right off the bat was something she couldn’t do, it just wasn’t in her heart to be able to lie to anyone and much less to him, it always felt wrong to do so. “And I know you do, but still I should have told you or hinted it, you’re smart enough to have figured it out.”

But then she wasn’t that sure about how good she would have been trying to come up with a code to hint him to things and maybe she could have asked Peggy to help her, but then the woman might have tried to discourage her from doing so, but that didn’t matter now. Bucky knew now and had seen the results, she was just thankful he hadn’t seen her in the choir girl outfit (on the few times she donned it) since she wouldn’t have been able to live that one down.

“Yes, but well I could never tell if my mom and your parents were teasing us due to how close we were and still are, I mean…many of the neighborhood kids did as well and people on your work.” Which explained why she had tried to avoid dropping by his work a lot since, well, some of the things his co-workers had said had pissed her off enough and she didn’t wanted him to lose his job, a small smile appeared on her face. “You know you’re important to me as well, Buck, you’re probably the most important person in my life and it was always enough to be at your side for as long as I was able to be.”

[disassembling]

"I can't say that it bothers me," he said with a small shrug of his shoulders. He was far more pleased that she had been given the opportunity that she deserved after so long being teased and beaten down based on her size and refusal to back down from challenging against wrong. "I think I like the surprise better," he remarked before flashing another smile at her. "Besides, I wouldn't have believed I would be looking you in the eye even if you'd hinted at it. That sort of thing requires seeing for believing."

He supposed that he should have found this sort of situation awkward spilling his guts in a letter like that, but he knew better by now. He'd turned down a few girls himself and out here where life was not a guarantee, it seemed fitting that he declared his feelings. "It really doesn't matter what they thought about us because we had each other and our opinions of each other were all that mattered," he said as he rested his chin on his knees. "Do you think you could love me in return someday? Maybe after you wrap up this whole war thing?"

[eleutheria]

There’s a light chuckle at that, of course it doesn’t bothers him, she was sure that it wouldn’t since it was him and he always made a lot of exceptions with her, but she still had to apologize and all with him since she didn’t wanted to feel as if she was taking advantage of that little aspect of their dynamic –even though she sometimes kind of did, but with little things. “And what a surprise it was I suppose, at least you were spared the sight of seeing me as a bit of a chorus girl.”

She stays quiet then because he was right, they had never cared or minded what everyone thought about them or any opinion they had, if they had let such things get to them well they wouldn’t have lasted this long together, any comments just slid by and it was just there never getting past the bubble of their shared world. There’s a small sigh and she looks up at him, pondering on his questions before taking a deep breath. “…No.” Slowly she rests her hands over her lap and looks away for a bit. “You can’t ask to have something you already have, Buck.”

[disassembling]

Oh, the idea of her as a chorus girl was really amusing to think about and given how well she had done here saving so many of them, he suspected there was some video of her days dancing around. He'd get to see it; he's sweet talk his way into seeing it from other people and then tease her about it. "Well, not yet anyway. There's always time for enjoying a chorus show."

They were bonded early and inseparable, so he never minded what people said. He enjoyed their friendship and for him that was all that mattered; he and Stephanie had always easily gotten along with each other after all. Yet, her refusal momentarily froze him before she clarified, and he was certain she put it like that just to crush his hope for that split second. "So... being in love in a warzone can't be so bad? Too bad it's still life and death most of the time."

[eleutheria]

And now he’s getting a frown from her part. “No, you’re never seeing that, never.” It will kill whatever good image she might have earned while saving them, she didn’t though being able to manage to learn and not screw up a choreography while wearing a pair of heels and a miniskirt was that impressive, she will also need to get rid of her choir girl outfit before Bucky could see it and try to tease her for it, maybe Peggy could help her with that.

She sighed just a bit and shrugged. “Well it is not a crime.” But then, would that distract them on the field? She still wasn’t even sure if Bucky was going to be allowed back or not, she had heard something about discharge for him and she might still be shipped off somewhere, there were a lot of different probabilities in front of them. “Not a lot of people can, well, have this while being here right? So I guess that means we are lucky.”

Or at least she wanted to think they were.

[disassembling]

"Don't think you can hide those pretty new legs from me. I know how to swindle far better than you do," he said with a smirk that clearly said he was going to do the swindling to get a look now that he knew it bugged her. It was only fair because she had worn it in the first place, and he was her best friend. It was his job to collect all those embarrassing moments to tease her about them.

No, it wasn't a crime. Nurses and soldiers were apparently quite frequent about their trysts, so he couldn't imagine anyone being anything but jealous of them. Once he was a little more rested and ready for deployment, he thought they could maybe catch a mission together. Maybe he could even transfer to whatever unit she was running, being a Captain and all. "I don't think luck has much to do with it," he reflected before scooting down the cot closer to her and leaning in to plant a kiss on her cheek. "We've always had each other."

and mother hen/waifu steph appears

[eleutheria]

She flushed just a bit at the comment about her legs, she really didn’t thought her legs were that worth to mention, never mind how fitting the costume was and the way she saw it, her body was practical for battle and she hadn’t stopped to appreciate or notice if her new appearance was more aesthetically pleasing or not, besides she was also sure part of his motivation was to have further ammo to tease her. “No, really you don’t need to see me parading about in heels and a skirt!”

Actually she was now wondering if there were rules against this kind of relationships, but even if they were she doubted they will be the first ones trying to work around them and why was she even thinking of this? It’s not as if they had changed their relationship from friends to being more, sure they had pretty much exposed feelings but hadn’t gone that far yet. A small smirk appeared on her cheek. “Well geez Barnes, my first kiss and you give me a kiss on the cheek; you sure know how to woo a woman.” She shook her head. “Now you need to get more rest or are you hungry? I could go get something for you.”

LOL she's brilliant to deal with

[disassembling]

He gave her a knowing look but said nothing more on it, aware that he would get to see her in skirt and heels before the day was out. It was now his mission, and he was certain some of the show girls still around would be more than happy to point him in the direction if he winked and flirted a bit. He even thought about showering and cleaning up now that he had opportunity to do so.

He figured there were no rules given she was really the only high ranked military officer who was also a woman. Besides, who was going to tell Captain America she couldn't date someone? The love story would be beautiful in the tabloids back home. He smirked at her chiding. "That wasn't a first kiss, Steph. It has to be on the lips for first kiss." He reached out and caught her chin, cutting off any thought of her wandering away from his bedside as he kissed her full on the lips, putting every effort into making it feel nice and be memorable. "No, I'm fine with you here." He was hungry and still tired, but he didn't care. She was more important.

lol isn't she lovely this lil brooklyn girl

[eleutheria]

She narrowed her eyes at him, oh she knew him alright and she knew he was going to try and find that chorus girl thing, why had she listened and thought it was a good idea to do this? Damn politician that had somehow smooth talked her into it, she didn’t even had hope the rest of the girls will say nothing if Bucky approached them, her only hope was for them to be gone and soon, which they were meant to do anyway since the Fate of the tour was now up in the air.

But now that she thought about rules, she wasn’t sure if they could apply to her since her rank wasn’t exactly military wise and it had been just given for the tour, maybe that will change now that she had managed to bring back all of them. Before she could say something about teasing him and all, she was now actually getting her first kiss, in a tent in the middle of a warzone where anyone could come in and with her best friend, now something she’s not sure of, still recovering and well it wasn’t how she envisioned but it didn’t took away from the importance or what she was feeling at the moment.

Her lips were tingling a bit when he pulled back and just a bit unconsciously, she licked her lips to try and well she didn’t know what, before she focused her attention on him again. “Are you sure? I wouldn’t take too long and I am sure you must be hungry.”

He's going into smooth talk mode. Beware

[disassembling]

James had kissed girls in more public areas, and he thought that anyone who thought to walk in on them deserved to be teased about the whole lip-locking thing. Besides, he wasn't about to complain about anything right now because he was live, just stolen Stephanie's first kiss, and she hadn't refused to date him either. Today was a good day, and he wasn't going to let opportunity pass him by regardless of an open tent camp.

The corner of his lips quirked in a knowing smile when she licked her lips, giving her a wink of approval. His focus was on her though, so he could ignore the cramping of his belly that said he should eat something. Later, he told himself. The isolation ward had made him feel strange after all, and he was still working through the kinks of what they had injected him with.

"Nah, I just had a snack, so I'm good," he said, thinking the kiss was enough to sustain him. "If you wanted to come over and lay down on the cot to keep me warm though, I wouldn't complain about that. It'd be like old times, though I'm still outer spoon."

omg she is not sure how to deal with his smooth talk aimed at her

[eleutheria]

While she was more than aware that he didn’t mind or cared about such displays of affection, hell she had seen him engaging in those before much to her chagrin, well she was different that him and she wasn’t used to such displays considering she never had the chance to get used to it, she had always been overseen and never given a second glance if someone did happened to notice her once, and it’s probable she might not get used to it unless he tries hard to get her used to it.

She flushes just a bit at the wink, how was she supposed to keep up with him? She wasn’t the kind of girls he was used to have around, she wasn’t even sure if she would be able to keep his attention for long or something, and really she should think about stuff like this right now, she didn’t wanted to ruin this moment between them. And she will try to oversee the fact her heart is now beating a bit faster than usual.

“I don’t think a kiss can sustain you for long, Buck, you need actual food.” She ponders on his offer for a bit, it is a rather tempting one, but her ‘take care of him’ instincts are kicking still. “Can I get you something to it and then lay down with you so you can spoon me as long as you want?”

She's pretty much given him permission to flirt with her all the time

[disassembling]

He appreciated the flush that stained her cheeks, finding that he hadn't earned one of them from her in a very long time. Normally flushes came to her face to indicate an asthma attack or after fighting someone in an alleyway, so this was far more pleasant and something to be savoured. She loved him after all, and he loved her, which was pretty much the only excuse to flirt with her and see if she would blossom up before him. He knew she wasn't like the others; she was a keeper after all.

"You'd be surprised how long a kiss can sustain me when I know there's more coming down the line," he replied with his best charming smile for her. He had never used his charms on her, and he was doing it now to see if he could earn more blushing out of her. "You can come and lay down and all will be well, Stevie."

when did she do that?

[eleutheria]

Well she might need to get used to having the look he was currently giving her aimed at her, not that she hadn’t seen it before but yes first time it was meant for her and she was bravely trying not to flush even more, she knew he was probably enjoying it way too much and she didn’t wanted to give him that satisfaction just yet. Somehow she doubted their relationship was going to change that much, except with the fact there might be more smooth talking and flirting from his part, okay and maybe kissing oh…God…how was she going to deal with that!?

And yes her attempts at keeping the flush on her cheeks at bay suffered such a painful and slow death right now, she really thought she was a bit more immune to his charms. “Fine,” She looked down for a bit, trying to hide her face now. “I will lie down with you for a bit, but after that you’re going to get something to eat, alright?”

She said she loved him; that's open season for his charm

[disassembling]

James knew for a fact that she was getting flustered from his looks, and he was amused by that more than anything. After so much fear and pain, it was nice to have something to smile about, something to tease her with. They had been parted many months with little communication with one another, but it was so easy to fall back into old times with her because they knew each other so well. It didn't matter that they loved each other; they were always together regardless of the mutual feelings involved. The war didn't seem like such a bad place now that she was here.

He shifted back on the small cot he had been sleeping in, turning on his side to make room for her as he lifting the flimsy standard issue blanket in the same inviting way he had done when they were kids. "Sure, just a bit," he said with a shrug. He suspected it would be longer than she thought as he planned on snuggling up and getting her some much needed rest as well.

well okay then who would have thought that was all that was needed.

[eleutheria]

As unused as she was to the looks and the attention, it made him happy and given all that he had gone through –from being on the field, which had apparently been an experience that had been so hard for him and then being kidnapped, tortured even, being able to give him a bit happiness over this mayhem was good for her and well, she was probably going to get used to all the attention and probably even enjoy it, considering how close they already were the transition really shouldn’t be that hard from friendship to more and she was more than sure everyone was going to realize the change right away.

A small smile appeared on Steph’s face at the rather familiar motion, with a mild of her eyes she moved to take a seat on the cot and moved to take off her boots, she wasn’t going to get in there and dirty the sheets giving more trouble to others, before she moved to lie down on her side and just looked at him with another amused smile. “Are you happy now, Buck?”

Yep, all he needed was to exchange love

[disassembling]

He knew that she would give in if he made it clear that he was not going to let her get up to get him something to eat when he would prefer to snuggle down and possibly doze with her instead. It was a rare opportunity in these times, so he wasn't about to pass it up for pitiful nutrition anyway. What man actually would?

He smoothed the flat of his hand up her back as she stripped off her boots and moved to join him like old times. He probably shouldn't have felt any different about it, but after all that had happened, the warmth of her body next to his was a comfort. He tucked the blanket around them and settled down behind her, slipping an arm around her waist. "When am I not happy about things where you're involved?"

wow think of all the time they could have saved

[eleutheria]

It was probably a bit sad how easily she could give in to some of his requests sometimes, the whole reason she had agreed to those silly double dates he planned was due to him poking her enough, and it shouldn’t be surprising that it wouldn’t be different right now, but then it wouldn’t hurt to indulge him and it’s not like if he couldn’t eat something later, even if she still thought that was something he needed to do before cuddling her.

Besides in a way she kind of needed the comfort of his closeness and to further reassure herself that he was here and alive, she had after all gone through that suicidal mission for him. A small sigh escapes her lips when he settles behind her, basking in the familiar comfort of the position despite where they are at the moment. “Well you were not happy when I ended picking fight with bullies on a nearly daily basis, remember?”

It was more fun with the awkwardness though

[disassembling]

James was way too used to getting his way around her in some cases, so this was really just saving him having to really bribe her to come to his side. He knew that she needed the down time, the return to something so familiar to them, as he did and there was no denying how much they had always enjoyed it. Before it had been a friendly gesture, a bonding of them together. He didn't let it feel any different even if he knew that others might think of it that way now that she had filled out and saved his life. He had always believed in her.

He slipped an arm around her waist, nestling down behind her comfortably. "I didn't like picking you up on the other side of them, but I respected that you stood up for what you believed in. That was more important," he replied, resting his cheek against her eat, allowing himself to relax against her. "I'm glad you never change."

lol they have been awkward all of their lives

[eleutheria]

Stephanie supposed that right now there was supposed to be a different meaning for them doing this, but it didn’t exactly felt different altogether, except for the fact they had apparently stopped beating around the bush when it came to feelings, not that she thought they had been exactly doing that all these years, no matter what their parents and rest of the people around them had claimed, in that case she supposed this shift in their feelings had happened as the natural course of things like most aspects of their friendship.

There’s a light laugh at that and she shook her head a bit. “It wouldn’t have hurt you to tell me that more often, instead of scolding me so much.” And God, he had nagged at her so much back then and it was clear she wasn’t the only one that could do that, with a small smile she moved to press a bit more against him. “Let’s see if you keep thinking like that later.”