Summary: Bucky experiments with texting.
"So? Which one do you like? Take your pick, seriously. Any one of them."
"Tony."
Bucky gives him a painful look, like choosing a new cell phone is just that horrible.
"Seriously, you have to choose. You've been avoiding this for too long. I'm not leaving until you choose." Tony adjusts his sunglasses and plays with his cufflinks. Why is he even wearing sunglasses? They're inside. And that suit just makes him look like some stupid playboy philanthropist. Oh wait, he is.
Bucky sighs and gives a cursory glance at the phones laid out before him. They're all these fancy, huge-ass smart phones with screens that could probably break with just a touch of his prosthetic. He really doesn't need one. There is nothing wrong with having a flip phone. They're more sturdy, less likely to break, and he doesn't even really use it.
He sighs again and looks up at Tony. "Do I have to do this?"
"Yes, you do."
"But what's wrong with my phone now?" He takes out his current phone and flips it open.
"It's old, it's outdated, and it's time for a change," Tony states matter-of-factly.
"And what if I like it that way?"
Tony thinks about this before saying, "Think of it as an intervention, a new direction in your life," with a flourish of his hand.
Bucky just blinks and stares. For some reason he can't help thinking this is some kind of metaphor for his directionless life at the moment. It's not like he's depressed or moping about his apartment or anything. But then again it's not like he does much with his time either. Yesterday he spent four hours on Netflix. He does have a semi-life though. He has a sort of part time job that doesn't require a lot of human interaction. He's got some close friends, even if it's just a few. With the new addition of Steve of course.
He blushes and hopes to god Tony doesn't notice. He can't help it, he's already head over heels for the guy. Really, it's because of Steve that he's able to go out like a somewhat normal person and not freak out over every single little thing. He wants to try, he wants to be better. And Steve makes him want to do that.
If choosing a new phone is the next step then so be it.
Bucky gives a final sigh and picks up the closest smart phone to him.
"Ah, a wise choice oh great one."
"Shut up, Tony."
If Bucky's going to try this 'new direction' thing out, he's going to start with not fueling up Tony's ego.
He turns the phone over in his hands. It isn't too big so it can actually fit in his pocket. The screen looks durable enough, but that depends on how often he'll drop it or accidentally leave it with his jeans in the washer.
"Samsung is always a good choice. Not like one of those generic iPhones. Horrible durability. They shatter so easily. I had to force Rhodey to switch to switch over to Samsung. Anything but an iPhone and what are you doing don't hold it like that are you kidding me you're going to drop it. Here lemme just—" Tony makes a grabbing motion for the phone.
Bucky directs a threatening glare at Tony who backs off slightly. He knows how to use a phone thank you very much. He's not completely helpless when it comes to this techno-shit.
He swipes the screen across and watches as it brings up the home menu. Okay, he has to admit it is pretty cool. He touches a couple buttons here and there and watches the images with deep fascination.
He feels Tony nudge his side with a smug look on his face. "Told ya, an intervention."
Bucky rolls his eyes and returns to his new phone. "So how much is the contract and stuff? I gather it's pretty expensive right?" He says to the phone.
"Nah, don't worry about it. I've got it covered," Tony says casually.
Bucky looks up and squints his eyes. "It's not like I don't own a bank account or anything."
"I never said you did. But I'm the one who bought all these phones. Therefore everything is covered."
"So I don't have to pay?" Bucky asks slowly.
"Nope." Tony pops the 'p' at the end.
"Seriously?"
"Yeah, seriously."
He continues to stare at the billionaire. His face is unreadable, especially with the sunglasses which just adds to the whole poker face thing going on. Sometimes he can't figure out Tony. He can be a bit of an ass sometimes and talks a mile a minute about things Bucky will never understand. But then he'll do nice things like this and Bucky just doesn't get it. Pepper always said he was a genuinely nice person but didn't like to show it.
He shakes his head and returns to his phone. "I'll send you the check later."
He expects Tony to protest but all he gets is a shrug. "Sure, fine. More pocket money for me."
This is bad. His phone has already become an addiction and it's only been three days. He can't stop playing and experimenting around with it. He's downloaded about fifty new apps, most of which are games and things like Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest. He doesn't even have a Pinterest but he's about to find out.
And then there's the texting. He can actually send emojis now. His old flip phone couldn't even do that. And it's not the ones where you make them from certain symbols. It's like actual emojis. He and Natasha communicate through the language of emojis now. Clint gets in on it sometimes, and Sam is just getting plain annoyed with it.
From: Bucky [2:30 pm]
(¬‿¬)
From: Sam [2:32 pm]
stop sending me those goddamn faces
But here's the best part: he can text Steve now. Sure he could text Steve before, but he was also using a prepaid phone meaning he only had so many texts. Now he's got an unlimited plan (courtesy of Tony) and he feels the urge to call and text him every minute of every day. But he's pretty sure Steve will get annoyed if he does that. Steve may be great and all, but there's only so much he can handle. He's human too.
Although Bucky may or may not have given him his new cell number.
His thumb pauses above the screen. It's not like he just purposely decided not give it to Steve. He's certainly capable of doing it. It's just a bit.. intimidating. It's like something is holding Bucky back, but he's not sure what exactly.
How does he even go about this? The normal thing to do would probably be to text him saying 'Hey, this is Bucky!' But of course Bucky decides to complicate things and he's thinking of all these different scenarios of how to give Steve his new number. More than half of them are just absolutely ridiculous.
So instead of being a normal human being he settles for showing up at Steve's apartment the next day all fidgety and nervous.
"Hi," Steve blinks in surprise. He puts on a warm smile. "Sorry, if I had known you were coming over I would have cleaned up a bit." He glances down sheepishly at his paint-splattered shirt.
Calling first might have been more sensible.
Bucky tucks a stray hair behind his ear. "Uh, so, I got a new number?" He wants to physically hit himself with a baseball bat.
Luckily Steve doesn't think twice of his horrible social skills. His eyebrows rise up in a comical way and he tilts his head to the side. "Yeah?"
"Yeah. So um. Yeah…" Bucky groans internally. He can't talk today.
Steve's mouth quirks up and he's trying so hard not to laugh. He can tell Bucky's trying. He coughs. "It's a shame though. I only have your old one, so it might be harder to contact you."
Bucky doesn't seem to get the hint and just keeps talking in broken sentences. "Oh, er, yeah, it might be. Real shame. Yeah."
After a moment Steve huffs out a laugh. "Buck. That means I would like your new number."
It takes him about a minute but he gets it. "Oh! Number, right. Yeah. Uh, yeah hold on." He fumbles with his phone but manages not to drop it. He swipes up with a shaky finger and fires off a quick text.
Steve's phone buzzes a minute later and he smiles at the number popping up on the screen. Once he's got it saved in his phone he looks back up and is still smiling.
"What?"
"Nothing," Steve shrugs, "Just kinda happy right now."
"O-oh okay. So I'll—uh, text you? Later?" Bucky asks hopefully.
If anything Steve's smile only grows bigger. "Can't wait then."
Bucky doesn't even wait till he gets home. Once he's stepped foot outside the building he whips out his phone.
From: Bucky [1:45 pm]
hey there. is this ltr now?
(He prides himself on his use of the new texting lingo.)
When he doesn't get a reply right away he starts panicking. Was it too soon? Is he bothering Steve? He did look busy when he came to the door. Oh god what if Steve is ignoring him. It was too soon. Definitely too soon. He sounds like some needy—
Bzzt bzzt.
Bucky flicks the screen open at lightning speed.
From: Steve [1:50 pm]
i think this is def later
Bucky stares at the text. The phone buzzes again and he almost drops it in surprise.
From: Steve [1:52 pm]
ᕙ(`▽´)ᕗ
He stares. Oh my god. Steve sent him an emoji. A freakin emoji. Bucky shouldn't be this happy, but he is. He's excited in fact.
From: Bucky [1:54 pm]
\(• ◡•)/
He clicks his phone shut and he can't help smiling the whole way home.
Now that he knows Steve isn't annoyed by it and is actually enjoy this as much as Bucky, he can't help texting him five bajillion times a day.
From: Bucky [4:00 pm]
im bored ಠ_ಠ
From: Steve [4:01 pm]
already? /˚,˚\
From: Bucky [4:02 pm]
⁀⊙﹏⊙⁀
From: Steve [4:03 pm]
thats a weird one ૅ.ે
From: Bucky [4:03 pm]
can i change ur contact name on my phone?
Steve doesn't reply for a while and Bucky is afraid he's messed up again. It was just an idea. It wasn't exactly supposed to be insulting, but he's bored and he seriously has nothing to do. He stares down anxiously at his phone until a new message pops in.
From: Steve [4:08 pm]
as long as i get to change yours
He can feel his heart beat calming down. He really does suck at social cues.
From: Bucky [4:09 pm]
and wut would u change mine 2?
From: Steve [4:09 pm]
if I tell you will you get mad?
From: Bucky [4:10 pm]
noooo of course not
As an afterthought he sends another text.
From: Bucky [4:12 pm]
Y is it that bad
Again Steve doesn't reply right away and Bucky is left thinking of the worst possible scenarios. When he finally does message him back Bucky just kind of stares at his phone.
From: Steve [4:19 pm]
…i was thinking Bucky Bear?
What. Just what.
It's not like he's mad, just… confused. Does he remind Steve of some kind of teddy bear? Is that even a thing? How does he even respond to this.
From: Steve [4:20 pm]
sorry that was weird wasnt it?
Bucky can't help smiling fondly. Somehow this is just so Steve. How long must it have taken him to work up his courage to ask that? He decides to indulge him a little.
From: Bucky [4:21 pm]
show any1 that on ur phone and i will personally come after u myself ᕙ(｀皿´)╯
From: Steve [4:21 pm]
so i take it thats a yes then?
From: Bucky Bear [4:22 pm]
im changing u 2 Punk Rogers
From: Punk Rogers [4:23 pm]
what?! but i wanted something cuter.. (╥﹏╥)
"Oh my god," Bucky mutters to himself. Why does Steve have to be so Steve?
From: Bucky Bear [4:23 pm]
i think it fits u PERFECTLY (─‿‿─)
From: Punk Rogers [4:24 pm]
┻━┻ ︵ヽ(`▭´)ﾉ︵ ┻━┻
He furrows his brows. He hasn't seen this one before.
From: Bucky Bear [4:24 pm]
wut in the world is that supposed to be
From: Punk Rogers [4:25 pm]
its a person flipping over a table! cute right?
Oh. My. God. That's it. He's so done for.
From: Bucky Bear [4:26 pm]
ur adorable. did u know that
From: Punk Rogers [4:26 pm]
(っ◕‿◕)っ ❤
Now Bucky is really confused. Is that supposed to mean Steve loves him? But Steve wouldn't tell him that across a text. He's the type of person who would rather say something that important face-to-face. Maybe Bucky is just looking too into it (as usual). He's flailing about and doesn't know how to respond, so he just settles for this:
From: Bucky Bear [4:28 pm]
유❤유
He locks his phone and buries his head in his arms to hide his growing blush.