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As Bucky walked around the space that him and his best friend Steve called home, he noticed the slight chill in the air, the kind that burned his lungs and only hit in the cold winters. He instantly knew this wasn’t how it was supposed to be as he tried to find the source of this invading, creeping chill yet no matter how hard he looked he couldn’t find it till he reached the metal container that rested on the wall. Stone cold was the heater.
Bucky cursed to himself as he contemplated his options all he knew is that Steve couldn’t come home to this. The smaller man was currently at his job that he maintained down at the small florists shop down the road and Bucky just knew he was going to be cold when he got home. This chill wasn’t a problem to Bucky, he could easily wrap maybe a blanket or two around himself and be quite contempt where he was, but he knew Steve wouldn’t be able to handle these kinds of temperatures without getting ill, which meant Bucky would have to end up caring for him trying not to get too touchy feely as he hid his secret from the small man.
The truth was over the years the two men had known each other Bucky had developed a somewhat kind of crush on the other and couldn’t stand seeing him being as ill as he was especially in this cold winter weather. Bucky knew he had to do something before the other got home. He peered around at the small apartment that he and Steve occupied and tried to determine the best course of actions. He glanced over to where the fireplace sat but didn’t get anything but the sound of a cool gust of wind sounding out of it as it lay bare and desolate no fuel in sight.
Bucky stood in the middle of the room in thought, he must have been deep in it as he didn’t notice the door open and close as the blonde man entered. This man then soon joined his side as he continued to scour for answers suddenly jumping when he realised where he was and how close his flatmate was Bucky let out a “Oh hey Stevie, didn’t expect you home for another 30 minutes everything okay down at the shop?”
“Hey to you too Buck I guess, and we closed early no ones wanting to go out into the cold, so we got sent home.” Was the explanation proved by the other half.
“Yeah, yeah makes sense.” Spoke the brunette rubbing the back of his neck as his face flushed, he knew in this weather his face was likely to be red anyway and was glad for the cover up.
“Wait a minute, Buck why is it so cold in here?”
“oh yeah I was trying to solve it before you got back but the heaters broken, and I know how cold you get easily and how ill you get and all that so I was trying to get fuel…..” the brunette continued on rambling not noticing that the blonde had left his side momentarily to reach for the many blankets that lay in his bedroom, one of them being from his mother who made it for him for this exact reason. He returned quickly to the older man side with his loot in his arms struggling under the weight.
Bucky had realised he had been rambling but hadn’t noticed that the other wasn’t listening, he glanced over to his side where a pile of blankets now hovered there, somewhere in there he knew was the man he had slowly started to fall in love with.
He reached over taking the heavy load from the other relieving him of his duties and looked over to the blonde for an answer.
“I guess I was thinking we could cuddle, Y’know I heard somewhere body heat is one of the most effective methods of warming someone up and I just thought Y’know…” it was now the Steve’s turn to ramble on until Bucky grabbed his wrist and dragged him to the couch that sat in the middle of the room. The two fell chest to chest as they got closer and closer the heat emanating off theirs bodies mostly Bucky’s though as Steve was only reduced to bones in this cold climate.
Bucky reached to the pile that Steve had brought him and layered them on top of them both. Bucky expected Steve to leave, to complain and shove him away, they were only friends after all. Yet Bucky’s thoughts were soon proved wrong as the smaller man reached round his body and snuggled into his side reaching for the warmth he desired. The two men lay in silence until Bucky could hear the slight snore of Steve sleeping. It was at this point he chose to for the first time since Steve had got in to look the other in the face directly and whispered a meaningful, “I love you Stevie and always will. I’m with you till the end of the line.”