"Buck, that's not how you do it."
James took a deep breath, running his metal fingers through his fingers for a moment. "I think I got the hang of it."
He shook his head, pushing away stray bits of hair from his face. His right hand still gripped the phone. He could feel Steve leaning over his shoulder and judging him.
"Buck, just listen to me." Steve said. He had that strain in his voice that suggested he was trying to keep himself from punching a hole in the wall.
James's arm tensed up as he kept it raised up in the air. "How hard can it be? All I have to do is look at the stupid dot and press the stupid button."
The blonde man behind him let out a huff of breath. "First of all," he whispered, reaching forward and tapping the screen, "the camera wasn't even aimed at you."
Bucky's face turned red as he watched the image flip and he appeared on the screen of his phone. "Okay."
Steve chuckled as his best friend huffed, blowing some hair out of his face again. Even if there wasn't hair in his face, it gave him something to do other than focus on Steve's face so close to his own.
"Well, what now?" James asked impatiently. He glanced to his side, but quickly turned away again as Steve's eyes met his own.
Steve laid his arm over Bucky's shoulder, his chin resting on top of the other man's head. Before James could shake him off, Steve chuckled.
"Just take the picture, already. It's not rocket science." Steve smiled widely as Bucky huffed again.
"Says the man who learned this from Tony." His words were barely audible as he mumbled them under his breath. The volume didn't matter, as Steve laughed anyway and tightened his grip on Bucky.
James smiled feebly, staring at the image of Steve resting his head on top of his own on the phone. He pressed the button, hoping the weird spaz of the screen meant the photo was taken. Steve whistled softly, and Bucky took that as a sign that he did it right.
Steve lowered his head down again, laying it right beside Bucky's. He felt the smaller pieces of hair move around as Steve nudged their heads lightly together. James's face reddened again, but he took another picture to appease his best friend.
He could see from Steve's reflection on the screen that he was clearly enjoying himself. He turned his head slightly to face Bucky, and Bucky looked at him skeptically through the corner of his eye. It was then that Steve laid is hand over Bucky's and grabbed the phone before turning his head and kissing him.
James hummed softly out of sheer surprise, leaning up against Steve as their lips melted together. He was almost lost in the warmth of the other man's mouth when the soft snap emanated from the phone and pulled him out of his daze.
Steve drew his head away first, releasing Bucky's hand as well. His hand, and his phone, fell back into his lap. "Alright, get back to work, soldier." Steve smirked, pushing Bucky's head playfully.
Bucky looked over his shoulder to see if anyone was watching, his face red from embarrassment. Steve chuckled and shook his head. "Don't be so shy." His smile stretched from ear to ear before he turned his back to him.
James grunted and smoothed his hair back into a ponytail. "Aye, capt'n." He saluted sarcastically. He set his phone down on the floor again before laying back on the bench press.
He gripped his hands around the metal bar, watching Steve walk across the workout room to the treadmills. Why he bothered with the treadmill, Bucky didn't know. Maybe he didn't want to run outside and leave Bucky in there alone. He'd even shown Bucky around enough times he doubted he could get lost again.
The blonde man stuck the earbuds into his head, turning on the music before cranking up the speed on the treadmill. Bucky laid his head back down with a soft thud, both relieved and upset that Steve's attention was off him now.
He finished a few reps before his mind started to wander again. He kept looking over at Steve, listening to the loud and rhythmic beating of his footsteps against the machinery. Bucky figured Steve's attention was set enough on the window in front of him, so he put the weight back onto the bar and picked his phone up from the floor.
It took him a moment to calm down and not crush the phone in his hands as he finally got it to unlock. He found Steve's contact-being as it was the only contact other than Tony's, who had programmed it in there first thing-and smiled to himself.
Bucky opened up the camera again. His left hand curled around the metal bar, picking it up and effortlessly bringing it down to his chest. He made the effort of including it in the picture before sending it to Steve's phone.
He didn't get it right away, and James had began to panic a little bit as he thought he had somehow done it wrong. He checked to make sure he didn't send it to Tony, but then again Tony would probably just get a good laugh and make it his new lockscreen. Fortunately, his anxiety diminished as Steve slowed down the treadmill and fished his phone out from the pocket of his sweats.
A wide and dorky smile spread over the blonde man's face as he saw the photo and caption labeled, "I'm so strong." Bucky couldn't help but smile as Cap shook his head, took a moment to reply and slipped his phone back in his pocket.
Bucky gripped his phone tight enough in his hand that he thought he may crack it. The few-second-long suspense before Steve's text message lit up his screen was agony. Bucky smiled before he even read it, his finger sliding across the screen to open it.
Steve was back in his own world of determination, so luckily everything else was blocked out as he ran. Bucky just rocked back and forth childishly, dangling his legs on either side of the bench press and swinging them back and forth.
The photo Steve had sent was equally as dorky, if not more. He had the stupidest smile on his face, and was giving Bucky a thumbs up. The message in the bubble under it read "That's my man."
Those three, stupid words had Bucky's heart racing like a teenage girl. He kept repeating them over again, wondering what Steve's voice had sounded like when he said it.
He couldn't help but scroll through the photos, finding the image Steve had taken of them by surprise. Bucky wasn't sure what to expect, but he didn't think he'd feel so warm just by looking at it.
Steve had his lips pressed against Bucky's, but it wasn't as forced and embarrassing as he thought it would look. The taller man had a soft smile frozen on his face as they kissed, and there Bucky was, slightly below him, his eyes closed droopily and his mouth parted for Steve's kisses.
He never wondered what Steve would look like when they kissed. Seeing it now had made him yearn for a hundred more, all with eyes open so he could see the way Steve's fluttered closed. He'd like the see the way those few strands of blonde hair fell down over his forehead, or the way his skin looked up close.
Bucky just wanted a kiss he hadn't had before. He was sure he wouldn't be able to kiss Steve with his eyes closed for the longest time.
After admiring the way his partner looked captured in time, he sent the photo to Steve's phone as well. He wasn't so anxious this time, as he was growing confident in his texting skills.
Steve too had smiled before he even fished the phone back out of his pocket. He managed to keep running as he unlocked his phone, viewing the message Bucky sent.
Apparently, Steve had felt the same way about the photo as Bucky did. His footing on the treadmill stumbled, and he lost balance. He almost dropped his phone as he slid off the end of it, one hand gripping the railing as his feet slid onto solid ground.
He looked over his shoulder, panting and gripping his phone as the treadmill still hummed with life in front of him. Bucky laughed, not caring how loud he was since Cap couldn't hear him anyway. Steve's face was redder than he'd ever seen it, and his lips moved as he cursed something under his breath.
Steve took a deep breath before pulling himself up on the treadmill. It took a moment for him to get used to running on it after the incident. Once he did, he quickly typed a reply to Bucky and let his phone drop into his pocket for good. Any more text messages would have to wait until a time when he would have less embarrassment.
Bucky smiled to himself, picking his knees up and resting them on the bench press seat. He swayed back and forth, waiting for another reply from Steve that would make him giddy and light hearted again.
Instead, all that he sent was a little emoji blowing a kiss.
Bucky's face lit up with frustration. He tapped the screen frantically, kicking his legs against the seat of the equipment like a child throwing a tantrum. He gripped the phone so tightly his knuckles turned white as he searched for the same text to send.
Where's the stupid yellow person?!
Clint laid his sweat towel over his shoulder. He furrowed his brows, staring at the other two Avengers from the other side of the work out room.
"Are they texting each other from the same room?" He asked quietly.
Clint look over at Tony, who leaned against the doorframe. Tony tossed his bottle of water around from hand to hand, his eyes glued to Cap and Bucky.
So cute.