"You know, it kind of creeps me out when you do this," Steve told his friend calmly, smiling faintly as he glanced up once at the man sitting across from him.
"I'd say sorry, but that'd be a lie." Bucky replied with a smirk, chuckling.
The two sat at a small cafe somewhere in New York, like they did almost every Saturday after their morning workout. Steve would draw whatever came to him- usually a neat sketch of a building nearby or a person sitting in the cafe itself- and Bucky would watch him while drinking his coffee. At first, Steve didn't notice his friend watching him. In fact, at first, Bucky didn't watch. He'd bring books along, shoved down so far into his workout bag that they often came out messy, with pages bent or torn. He felt he had too much to catch up on. So many years spent as the Winter Soldier and now he had to learn everything about the world around him.
But then one day, he forgot a book- realized he left it on the counter in the apartment SHIELD had sanctioned for him. Rather than run back and grab it, he decided to just people watch and hope for the best. He figured he could learn something about the way people interacted in the new time. So, he sat down in his usual spot across from his best friend and looked around for a little while. It was interesting enough, but it got pretty boring pretty fast. That was when he looked to Steve, hoping to distract him. Instead, he got caught by the look on Steve's face. The gentle calm and happiness that had been absent from his features for far too long. Bucky found himself staring for hours until Steve finished and gave a bright smile at his newest drawing.
It took Steve about a week to realize that Bucky had stopped bringing books with him. The familiar sound of a turning page stopped and left only the sounds of the city. Steve paused the line he was on to look up, acting as though he was taking a look at the object once more when his eyes met Bucky's. The blond blinked, surprised into silence for a moment before brushing it off. It wasn't as though this was something Bucky had never done before. Even in the years before the war, Bucky liked to just be around Steve and watch him work. It had always been a bit unsettling to him back then, but he never commented on it. But after another week or so of him just watching, Steve decided to say something.
The sudden drop of his pencil had the ex-assassin furrowing his brows in confusion. He continued to watch quietly as his best friend looked over at him with his lips pressed together, like they always did when Steve was a little annoyed. Then, "Why are you watching me?" the blond pressed, sitting back in his seat. Bucky smiled.
"I like seeing how you relax when you draw," he mumbled. "It reminds me of before." Steve froze at this. It wasn't every day that Bucky mentioned their life before. Mostly because he didn't quite remember it all. Everything came to him in bits and pieces, not quite fitting properly in his mind. So word that he remembered something from before the war even started was a big deal to the two of them. Without another word on the subject, Steve picked up his pencil and returned to his drawing. He never commented on it again. And still, every Saturday morning, when they go to that little cafe in New York after their workout, Steve draws and Bucky watches while sipping at his coffee. Like this, they are at peace. Things might not be so different in this future world after all.