#that last sentence sounds like an innuendo but idk how to word it

[nibwhipdragon]

Ceratonoths are so funny because the males have huge lightning rods on their backs. but the fact only males have them, like with boar tusks or deer antlers means they use them to fight for mates. like how do they even fight with their back spikes

That's...quite an interesting observation, actually. I had just gone with the idea of "Oh males lead the herd so they have the protective lightning rod, because they protect" but you do bring up quite a good point! Maybe they get mates based on how big their rods are?

[joshusten]

kiss and make up

In which Honey wants a makeover and Guy gladly helps. (lots of kisses, fluff, makeover time!!!)

2.7k+ words [ao3 will be added when im not lazy lmao] [masterlist]

[CW and notes: typical guy innuendoes, honey doesn't know how to do makeup and they get a lil insecure about that fact, that being said i'm not really a makeup expert too LMAO, theres also lots of grammar mistakes probably ;--; and since like, makeup styles and visuals vary between people i tried to make it as vague and gender neutral as possible but idk if i really achieved that so keep that in mind and please let me know if i should change some wordings etc. ! oh and lmk about typos too hehe tysm!]

thank you so so much to my dearest friend @slushiepizza !! this wip is literally a year long and they've been a HUGE HUGE (x1000) help to me finishing (and convincing to post) this fic!! this fic's also inspired by fanart they made before and this yt short from that one anthony padilla interview. also yes theres a lil 2024 hbs guy AAAND jin (his gamer friend in that second hoodie video i think) reference too lmao HAHAHAH hope you enjoy!! :D "Ugh! Why can't I fucking–" 

“Piece of—!”

“Fuck!”

Another frustrated groan cuts Honey off. For the past few minutes, Guy had been hearing his partner's muffled frustrations from their room all the way to their humble kitchenette and he was seriously starting to get worried about what could possibly be troubling their usually well-composed lover.

He quickly turned off the stove, wiping his hands on the piercingly hot pink apron with the words "Please Do More than Kiss the Chef" embroidered on its body (a joke gift, courtesy of Rosa being his Secret Santa last year, that Guy legitimately used in his every day, much to his friend’s amusement). Fortunately, the lunch he was making was done by the time he decided to check up on them (and, really, it was just a simple one-pot pasta recipe he stumbled on Tiktok at 3 AM.)

Guy haphazardly hung the apron by a chair nearby—future Guy can worry about all of the mess later—and made his way to the hallway that led to their small shared bedroom.

He gently knocked a little melody on the door,  announcing his presence through the painted wood. "Honey?”

A thump was heard, as if something suddenly dropped out of surprise, followed by a faint “Shit!”

The man knocked again, this time with a furrowed brow.

“Honey dearest? Lover of mine? Is someone botherin’ you? Need to kick someone’s ass?” He joked, clearing his throat afterward for a more sincere tone. “But for real, do you need any help there, baby?”

The silence that followed almost tempted Guy to ask again before a loud sigh came from the other side.

"Yeah…It's unlocked. You can come in..." 

They almost sounded embarrassed. A little shy even. The man couldn’t help but grin at how comfortable Honey had become showing him their more vulnerable sides throughout their time together. 

Guy opened the door slowly to reveal their usual semi-tidy bedroom save for the mess that seemed only to be contained around Honey, whose head was currently hanging low in shame. Alarms went off in his mind once he processed the potential severity of the situation with how distressed his partner looked.

He rushed to where Honey sat, in front of the vanity where a variety of make-up products were strewn across the dark oak wood. Upon closer inspection, he could see that—

Oh. Uhm. This was interesting.

His partner’s frustrated face seemed to be an amalgamation of different cosmetics that looked like they were hastily smeared on and rubbed off multiple times. 

Patchy foundation, unblended blush, shaky eyeliner. 

Guy can practically feel the heat coming off their tinted face, furrowing their brows and averting their glare to the side.

“Look, I know what this looks like but—" Honey was never able to finish their sentence as a very, very poor attempt of stifled giggles reached their burning ears. Oh my god, he's never gonna let them live this down, is he? 

“Guy.”

“Wh-whaaaat? N-no, you look f-fine Honey! Pfft–” A snort interrupted the man's words of reassurance. 

“Guy, stop laughing, you asshole!” They groaned, sending a flurry of light slaps to Guy's shoulders, snickering along to indicate that they weren’t actually mad at him because, yeah, they did look a little silly (and his laugh was too damn cute to distract them from their predicament) but that still didn't make them any less self-conscious about it.

“I-I–OW! I don’t know what you mean, baby!”

Honey crossed their arms and made a face, looking away in a pretend-but-not-really sulk. 

“Fine, so I’m horrible at makeup ha-ha! Pack it up, jackass!”

To that, their boyfriend's laughter slowly died down, leaving him with a soft, sympathetic smile. 

“Okay, okay! I’m sorry! C’mere,” He apologized, beckoning them to come closer to which Honey begrudgingly complied. His smile brightened, pressing numerous quick kisses against his partner’s grumpy face, pulling away with a string of giddy giggles.

“Ew, I got your foundation on my lips.”

“Serves you right,” Honey huffed, unable to hold in a chuckle as they saw the faint splotches of the coating in their skin color on their boyfriend’s stubbled chin and pouted lips.

“So, uh, mind telling me what actually happened over here? ‘Cuz, Honey, you’re as pretty as a painting…given that it’s a painting my baby cousin can do, which I’m assuming isn’t what you were going for?” Guy asked, his full attention to his partner's make-up Frankenstein of a face.

The embarrassment rushed back to Honey tenfold but they masked it up with a shrug that looked timid regardless. “I dunno…there’s this event in the evening with my company and I just…wanted to try something new with my look. I-it's stupid. I started a lot earlier because I knew I’d need some time to learn but…I just can't get the hang of it!”

Sure, they know make-up isn’t all that easy to do but managing to tremendously fuck up something as seemingly simple as putting color on their face despite the amount of tutorials they’ve watched was just embarrassing to admit (especially to someone they’ve grown to care about what he thinks of them). They braced themself for more mocking laughter yet the teasing never came. Instead, they heard an excited gasp.

"Oh, I can do your makeup for you!"

…What?

"Uhm– I– You–?"

Guy picked up the wiped near Honey and started pulling a few from the already-opened plastic pack. The subtle clean scent of aloe vera wafted into their nostrils.

"I can do your make-up!" The man repeated happily, oblivious to Honey's quizzical stare. He gently grabbed their chin with one hand while the other one held the cleanser-soaked napkin inches closer to their cheek before he stopped and gazed into their eyes, "Can I?"

"Uh…Y-yeah. Sure." They felt their breath hitch at the sudden intimacy of the distance between them.

Guy beamed at that and started removing the product on their face but the confused expression never leaves it. He discarded the used wipes in the trash can under the vanity table and started sifting through their shopping spree's worth of cosmetics.

“I suggest you buy micellar water or cleansers instead of those wipes. They do a better job!”

“Uh, Guy?”

"Oh, you got this one! Yeah, I really like their formula, it doesn't feel too heavy on the skin. Well at least on my skin. Let me know if it doesn't feel comfy and–"

"Guy…"

"Woah, you got your shade just right with this one! Ah, but I think this brand oxidizes so the color might change–"

"Guy."

"Ooh, I haven’t seen this product before! Is this newly released or—”

"Guy!” Honey exclaimed, finally capturing their boyfriend’s ever-so-dwindling attention. “Babe. How…I mean, not that I'm doubting your skills or anything but��" 

By this time, Guy had already cleaned all of the makeup off from his partner and was now left with the face he was more used to seeing (and admiring).

"It's just…I've never seen you wear makeup. At all. Besides Halloween, I guess?”

The man simply grinned at that and continued rummaging through the cases of eyeshadows and face creams. “If you must know, a performer was moi!” 

“Oh, trust me, I'm familiar with your theatrics.”

“I’m just gonna pretend you meant that as a compliment,” He huffed, averting his gaze to the products that lay between them both. “Anyway, I did a lot of shows back then and, well, with constantly getting your face painted on, you pick up a few techniques, y'know? I even get to do my own makeup!”

The click and clatter of glass and plastic fills the room as Guy carefully examines each container with the same look he gets when he proofreads a revision of a script he made. It was almost weird to see how his eyes scanned the text of the labels and his habit of biting the inside of his cheek while focusing on the context other than the familiar blue light of his laptop.

“Got interested, asked my friends, then watched a few vids. I got to…’secretly borrow’ some of my mom's makeup to test out some looks.” The image of a teenage Guy experimenting with makeup much like what Honey was doing a while ago tickled their mind.

“But eh, college got in the way and I never really got the time to play around with some flashier makeup styles between delivering greasy ass pizzas and delivering exquisite screenplays that excite the mind and bewitch the heart.”

He held up a circular blush pot near a dumbfounded Honey. His eyes squinted with focus until he finally determined the blush matched their skin tone just fine. 

“Anyway, let's get some moisturizer to prep that cute face of yours!”

After Honey described what they wanted for their look, scrolled through Pinterest to get some inspiration, and watched a few more tutorials, the pair eventually got started with the process.

Guy put on an even layer of foundation, and concealer that he tried his best to match their skin, added contour, eyeshadow and blush according to the style they had requested, and painstakingly drew on some eyeliner (“Because everybody looks hotter with eyeliner!”). He had even let them try a few brush strokes of their own to get the feel of it.

Honey, on the other hand, felt like they were going to explode from the attention they’d been getting from him. Granted, they were no stranger to his affections yet something about the way he was so close—to the point where they could feel the warmth emanating from him, where the way his breath ghosts their neck made them tremble—it was a whole different experience.

The man added some finishing details to Honey’s face before announcing the final step: lipstick.

“Hm, let’s try these colors. Maybe it’s more your style.” He brought up a few plastic tubes with one hand closer to them, awaiting their input on his selection.

“Have you tried these brands before?”

“Uh, not really…I don’t think I’ve actually tried the liquid ones or the twisty ones. What’s the difference anyway? They both color your lips, right?”

Guy laughed at the sheer creativity of the nickname his partner had appointed to the lipsticks in his hand.  “Ah well, I’m glad you asked, Honey!”

He twisted up the matte tube and swiped the creamy formula on his lips, smacking them to spread it evenly. The color on his lips only emphasizes the smirk it formed, amused by the hitched breath Honey lets out as he gently cradled their face and brought it closer to his.

“Solid lipstick doesn't last long. See?” 

He demonstrated this by pressing his mouth on the back of his hand a few times to reveal pigmented marks against his skin. The man even gestured toward his face to show that the tint of the lipstick had significantly faded.

“Huh.” 

Honey was definitely studying his lips, alright. It formed into the same old smile they never got tired of, this time with its edges slightly smeared from what he had done moments ago. They were so entranced that they didn't even notice Guy reaching for a clear tube, this time twisting it to reveal an application wand with a different hue of the lipstick before, quickly applying it on his lightened lips.

“While liquid lipstick—” His quip breaks Honey’s lip-centered daydream and with a sudden movement, Guy pressed his colored lips gently against Honey's bare ones,  the latter letting out a quiet squeak that made the man eagerly press down harder. He slowly pulled away, close enough to have just an inch of space between their mouths.

“...Is kissproof!” 

He was right. Honey could see that Guy’s lips still looked the same with no sign of smudging or transferring of the product. Not that the efficiency of the lipstick is what’s on the forefront of their mind at the moment.

“O-oh,” their voice cracked rather pathetically but Guy only let out a laugh, holding up the twisted-up tube of the lipstick he first used near the other’s visibly quivering lips.

“Hm…now that I see it, I think the shade on the ‘twisty one’ fits your look better. Let’s use that!” 

A wide-eyed Honey simply nodded in response.

—

“...And then here’s your make-up bag, just in case you need to retouch! So, what do ya think? Stunning? Iconic? Gorgeous? Oh, oh! Pulchritudinous? Ehh?”

Honey turned to the vanity mirror for the first time in a while and gaped in the reflection. 

“It's…” They raised their hand, opting to feel their face before deciding otherwise as they realized it might waste all of their boyfriend’s hard work. Honey racked in every corner of their brain for a word to encompass the awe they’re in right now, wishing they had even just a fraction of Guy’s mind to express it in words. 

But for now, they’re just Honey—who isn’t particularly known for their expertise in saying what they mean and they settle for the answer they weren’t satisfied with at all.

“It’s pretty.” 

The person staring back at them looked so different yet still the same. It felt like looking at themselves from a different perspective. Pretty was hardly an adequate descriptor for what they were looking at but it’s all they could think about in their dazed state (the way their partner beamed at their compliment told them he didn’t mind).

“You’re the pretty one, hon! With or without make-up! I mean, c’mon! Look at that smile!”

That earned a wider smile from Honey with Guy giddily matching it.

“I’d have to thank my handsome make-up artist for that. He did such a wonderful job after all.” 

“How do you suppose you’ll do that then, Honey?”

This time, Honey was the one to surprise their lover with a kiss.

BONUS SCENE:

“Do you really have to go?” Guy whined though he already knew the answer. That didn’t stop him from snaking a hand around Honey’s waist, who was just leaving through the door of their shared apartment.

“Yes, Guy. I really have to, especially with how long you’ve been painting on my face, there’s a possibility I might get late,” they explained, giving him an apologetic look despite the scolding tone of their voice. 

“Well, who can blame me when my Honey’s looking absolutely ravishing,” He pulls Honey closer with his usual goofy smile, though this time they notice a mischievous glint in his eyes, “Besides, just a while ago it seems like you wanted your face to be painted with something else, ehh—mmph!”

Honey had cut him off by pressing their lips tenderly against his once more, eliciting a relaxed sigh from him. They pulled back to see a pouty expression plastered on Guy’s face.

“Fuck. Y-you’re enjoying that stunt way too much, it’s not fair!”

“I wasn’t the one that started it!”

“Fine, whatever!” Guy lamented loudly, complete with his hand clutching overdramatically on his chest. “Be like that, go to your party, then! See if I care!”

Honey just rolled their eyes with a smile. “One last goodbye kiss?” 

And how could he ever say no to that?

So after a quick peck on Guy’s cheek (maybe two or three more), Honey finally made their way out the door, leaving him a bit lightheaded than before. 

Despite his lovesick state, he was quick to make his way over to the couch and started setting up his game console connected to their T.V. Since his Honey would be out for most of the night, he decided to invite a friend over to play video games and kill some time.

Knock, knock. Ah, speak of the devil. “Jin! Come in, man!”

Guy swung the door open to reveal a man his age, carrying a paper bag full of chips on one arm and a game controller on the other. He set down the snacks on the second-hand coffee table before settling himself on the couch his friend was sitting on. 

“Sorry for being a little late, just had to do a few things. So, what game are we…Oh.”

“Why? What’s wrong?” “Dude. I think you should look at a mirror.” --

yes jin like one of guys friends that he plays with in that one hoodie video. with no voice line or anything at all. that jin. LMAO

anyway i rlly hope u enjoy this :")) i honestly dont think its my best work LMAO but eh! im here 2 have fun man,,, and this probably would be my last fic (atleast in a while but aughh idk if i'll be active again here HAHAJHAD) so yeah!! hope u liked it tysm have a good night/day!!

[fic-dumpster]

Deer in headlights | Short stories: The tattoos fiasco

Bonten x Reader | 1333 words

Warnings: imma start labeling them as crack fics, grammar mistakes, Can be read as a stand-alone fic, mediocre writing<it is a warning, innuendos. Idk

With your first paycheck from working with Bonten in hand, you were buzzing with excitement. The number of digits left you dizzy at first, and you even went to Kokonoi and asked if there was a mistake. Apparently, there wasn't.

So here you are walking in the lower shopping levels of their office. For the first time ever, you had money to spare. You really didn't need anything, but there was this feeling of emancipation. You can understand some of Kokonoi’s fondness for earning your own cash.

“What to get?” You already had a lot of stuff, thanks to everyone, especially Kakucho and Takeomi. Then as you walked past a makeup shop, a black object caught your eye. “Oooh!! I’m getting that.” with quick steps, you walk in, paid, and left. Now bag in hand, you went back upstairs.

You announced that you wanted to go home and if anyone was available. You avoided saying the word taxi or walk alone; the last time you tried, they almost lost their shit, and Kokonoi went on a two-hour lecture about your safety and their peace of mind.

Thankfully, Mochi said he could drive you. He needed to run some errands, and by errands, you knew what kind. Before you could leave, Mikey held your wrist.

“Remember that we’re all going tonight.” you nodded eagerly.

“Dinner, right?” you asked, just to confirm in case... They had other plans, and you’ve forgotten about them.

“Yeah, Rindo’s turn to pick a restaurant,” added Takeomi.

“Why?” asked Ran with a teasing tone, “you wanted something else?” he curved his fingers around your waist. Squeaking a no, you walked out. “You’re cute when you shy away!” Ran’s strong voice echoed after you.

Mochi laughed beside you, “You look like a tomato,” he commented.

-

Dropping you off, Mochi said he most likely won't make it for dinner, so don't include him on the table since some of his errands would take time. Then, you both said your goodbyes.

Now alone in your place, you threw your shoes at the entrance and rapidly changed to something more comfortable for the project you had in mind. Almost bouncing your way to your discarded bag, you took out your new acquisition.

You know how everyone has those moments of losing control and bad decisions, do things you might regret later. In your case, it can happen but not how anyone would expect. Yours was a lot more.... different since your definition of danger consisted in crossing the street without looking both ways.

After reading the instructions, charging the device, and preparing yourself, with a low buzzing sound coming from the black object, you began.

A few hours later, the sound of the door announced their arrival. You could hear Kokonoi nag to Sanzu about not leaving your shoes neatly in the entrance and Sanzu just laughing it off and doing the same thing as you.

“Y/N! We’re home!” shouted Kakucho.

“Welcome back! I’m in the living room!” you stood up and stretched. Sitting on the floor for so long hurt your back.

“I got food; come eat!” Rindo said as he walked with multiple takeout bags.

So you made your way to the kitchen.

“Y/N, Rindo brought soup, so I need-” Kokonoi never finished his sentence. A loud crash made everyone turn. Kokonoi had dropped one of your plates. He froze from the image in front of him. There you stood and... “What the hell did you do to yourself?!?” He was going to have a stroke.

At his scream, everyone looked your way. Their reactions differed. Takeomi choked on his smoke. Rindo, who was purring soup on a plate, got distracted by your new acquisitions that he ended up dumping half of it out of the container. Sanzu seemed to love the concept and went running towards you and began to analyze your skin. From your arms to your legs, he even crouched down to have a better look.

“Hmm,” hummed Mikey as he poked your skin. He didn't seem mad, just curious.

“Mikey, stop jabbing your fingers in her,” Kakucho tried to stop his boss, “Y/N, sweetheart. Why-” the poor man was about to cry, and you panicked. Kakucho has always been so soft to you.

“Oh! No, no! Kaku-chan! The tattoos are fake! They last a day or so.” you reassured him.

“Thank god,” breathed Ran, who had been very quiet until now.

“Y/N, those aren't tattoos,” added Takeomi from your open window.

“I know they look weird... The machine wasn't doing a very good job,” you acknowledged. And it was true; your skin had a variety of smudges from different colors.

“The decapitated hello-kitty is my favorite,” said Sanzu

Kokonoi looked in horror at the amount of ink. “The what?!”

“Like I said, it wasn't working! It only printed half of it,”

“But why?” Asked Mikey, still poking at your wannabe tattoos as Kakucho kept trying to stop his actions.

“Ohh hmm... I saw the other day,” you lowered your gaze, “Ran and Rindo’s tattoos and Uhm...” your voice slowly became quieter and quieter. “A-and I thought they looked pretty.”

At your words, Ran fastly pulled you on his lap. You tried scrambling away only to be stopped by a chest on your back.

Rindo clicked his tongue in disapproval, “And where do you think you’re going?”

“Little Lady, here, likes our Tattoos, Rindo.” even en if Ran was talking to his brother, his intense gaze never left yours. “What should we do about that?” For a moment, the three of you forgot the rest was there.

“Would you like to touch them again...” Rindo guided your trembling hands inside his brother suit. “Like yesterday? I still remember. You know? Your grip is very tight,” that declaration had a double meaning. Ran and Rindo got a whimper out of you, and that’s when the other men present had enough.

Kakucho snatched your hand from Rindo’s hold. “That’s it; the food will get cold.”

“You horn dogs, behave.” Sanzu pulled Ran’s chair. As a result, you fell backward, only for Rindo to catch you.

“Sanzu, be careful!” shouted Kokonoi

“Yeah, Sanzu. Be careful; your jealousy is showing.” Rindo retorted.

A snickering Takeomi clapped a hand on Sanzu’s back. “Let it go; Mikey looks like he’s about to throw a tantrum.” His words were like a waking up call to everyone.

On cue, Bonten’s boss muttered, “I’m hungry; hurry up.” and following his words, your stomach grumbled out loud.

Everyone sat down. Although, you could see Rindo and Sanzu kicking each other under the de table.

“I’m helping you take all that,” Kokonoi’s voice interrupted the silence.

“It’s okay; they will be gone by tomorrow,” you explained once again.

“They look like bruises. We don't like that.” finished Kokonoi. You noticed he said we... And you looked around the table. All eyes corroborated Kokonoi’s statement.

Kakucho, who sat beside you, placed his hand on your thigh in a comforting manner.

-

“This was a horrible decision,” mumbled Kokonoi as he scrubbed a beheaded hello-kitty on your right leg.

“Yeah, kinda,” you agreed as your head popped up from the bubbles in the bathtub.

“I see you both are having fun,” sarcastically commented Rindo, who appeared at the door.

“Shut up,” you and Kokonoi let out at the same time.

“I’m thinking of managing your income from now on,” Kokonoi said while adding more soap to his washcloth.

“Good idea,” snickered Rindo, “no more spending five hundred in a tattoo printer.”

“It’s your fault! For looking all... All...-” your pouting face slowly submerged in the soapy water.

“All what? Hmm?” a teasing smile formed on Rindo’s lips. Rolling his sleeves, he dipped his hand in the bathtub. “Tell me, was it my tattoo?” he reached for your waist underwater.

“Yah! Stop! Yes! Your tattoo looks hot!” You screamed from the tickling on your sides.

“Rindo!! That's enough!” Shouted an annoyed and now wet Kokonoi.

[wikiangela-fanfics]

"How long will you stay?" - Sambucky

Part 3 to "You should smile more"

This took a looong while to write lmao

And it turned into a fucking long fic too hahaha (8k words, wow)

Idk, I actually like this one 😊

and again, thank you SO SO SO much to @tasteslikestrawbebbies for beta-reading ♥♥♥ really wouldn't be able to post it without you haha

Ao3

Part 1, Part 2

Enjoy ♥

***

Soon, they went out and Sam was relieved to not be alone with Bucky.. He still wanted him as close as possible, and he might have been walking way too close to him, their shoulders brushing. He desperately wanted to kiss Bucky, too. He really felt like he was getting addicted to those lips after just three kisses. He needed it. Fortunately, they were around people, so he was able to stop himself. He wasn’t that far gone yet.

They took a stroll around the neighbourhood, and went to the docks, meeting people everywhere. Bucky turned on his charm and everyone seemed to take to him. It seemed so natural, but at the same time it was bizarre. Sam was amazed. He’s known Bucky for a few years now, and he would never imagine him being so… charismatic. He knew stories about young Sergeant Barnes, from before he became the Winter Soldier, he heard how Bucky used to be. But to actually see it, it was odd. But also really nice, to get to see and know this side of him. He looked so… at peace. Sam has never seen him like that before he came to visit. It seemed that his little town might just be the place for Bucky to settle in. Sam found that he would really like that.

So yeah, people were nice, as Sam had told Bucky they were, and no one cared about his past or his metal arm. All that mattered was that Bucky was polite and friendly, and so fucking charming. Sam couldn’t stop staring at him, and he was pretty sure there was a soft smile on his face, and he wouldn’t be surprised if his eyes turned into freaking hearts. And people were smiling at him as if they could see it, which, yeah, he didn’t even bother trying to hide it.

Other than introducing Bucky to the people they were meeting, he took Bucky all around the town. He showed him all the places he used to hang out at, all the places that had some history and stories Sam could tell Bucky… and Bucky seemed to really enjoy listening to him. Of course he wouldn’t be himself if he didn’t tease Sam the whole time, but Sam had a nice time with him.

With that and everyone stopping them for a short conversation, which sometimes lasted so long Sam had to make up excuses for why they really had to go, it was already early afternoon when they were on their way back. They were walking, because nothing was actually that far, and it’s not like they were in a hurry. Sam actually really enjoyed just being in Bucky’s company.

“So how do you like the town?” Sam asked, glancing over at Bucky. And again he was struck by how gorgeous that man was. His hair was a bit messy from the wind, he was looking ahead, so Sam could only see his side profile, the sun illuminating it, making his perfect face look even better, somehow. His expression was calm and almost blissful.

“It’s great.” Bucky smiled, looking briefly at Sam. “I really like it here.” he added almost shyly. Which was a new look on him. “The town is beautiful, the people are nice… and spending time with you isn’t the worst.” his voice was quieter now, as if he didn’t really want to admit that. Sam chuckled and purposefully bumped his shoulder into Bucky’s.

“Thanks. You’re not a horrible company either.” he responded, earning a beautiful grin from Bucky. And then he tripped and almost fell, which made him realize that he’s been staring at Bucky non-stop for the past couple of minutes. He cleared his throat, averting his gaze and looking back at the road ahead. He hoped Bucky didn’t see him almost tripping, but he wasn’t looking at him anymore so he wouldn’t know what his expression was. “So you like it here.” Sam repeated Bucky’s words. Buck hummed in confirmation. “Then, uh, how long do you think you’ll stay?” he dared a small sideways glance at him.

“I promised-” Bucky started, but Sam interrupted him.

“No, I know, I know. I just mean.” he sighed, cursing himself for starting the topic. “Let’s say I wouldn’t want you to go. Wouldn’t tell you to leave.” because he’d never do that. He wanted Bucky around as long as possible. “How long do you think you’d wanna stay?” he was looking at his feet now. He didn’t see Bucky, who was quiet, so he was worried about what the answer might be. And then he had a ridiculous thought - what if Bucky didn’t want to be there at all and came just because he promised? Which was just insane, he had just told Sam he liked to be there.

“As long as you want me here.” Bucky replied finally. Sam looked at him again. Bucky seemed and sounded confident in his words. He was still looking ahead, but there was a fond smile on his lips. “However long that might be.” he turned his head and their eyes met. Sam couldn’t contain the wide, happy smile that he felt tugging at his lips. Bucky’s smile widened as well in response. He reached out and squeezed Sam’s hand for a second before letting go and looking ahead again. They fell into a comfortable silence.

It was what Bucky said before. The same words. But Sam knew they had different implications here. Despite there being just two sentences, there was much more said between them at that moment. Sam believed he understood Bucky perfectly, and if not, well, then he was an idiot with way too high hopes. But from what he got out of it, he knew that Bucky wanted to stay. He wanted to be there, maybe permanently. In this town, in Sam’s life. He was happy here, that much Sam could see just by looking at Buck. And if Sam never told him to go, he would just stay. Forever. And Sam was down with that. He would love that. He wanted Bucky around for the rest of his life… and that thought was scary. And it led to: oh my God, I think I love him. Which was even scarier. They kissed three times, they were going on a date, Bucky was making jokes and innuendos about them having sex, and yet Sam still wasn’t sure where they stood. Because nothing with Bucky was easy, and it never would be. But he was alright with that. They needed to talk, but they would get to that. Maybe by then Sam would stop freaking out about the fact that he’s in love with James Bucky Barnes, the guy he had sworn he didn’t wanna see after the whole thing with Karli and the Flag Smashers was over. Separate long vacations. Yeah, right. Now he never wanted them to be apart again. How that happened, he had no idea, but here they were.

He looked at Bucky again and smiled. He didn’t need to know how it happened, even if it was the most insane thing that could’ve happened to him, and that includes all the robots and aliens they fought, and even being snapped out of existence for five years. All he needed was Bucky, and he was sure now that he would always be there.

“Gotta find something to do, though.” Bucky broke the silence after a while. “Can’t go around the town and do nothing every day.”

“We have time to figure it out.” Sam said without thinking.

"We, huh?" Bucky smirked, glancing at Sam. When their eyes met, his smirk turned into a wide grin. We could be understood as yeah, me too, can’t save the world every day, but he did not mean it in that way, not entirely. He meant me too, but also, we’ll figure it out together because you’re staying with me and I love you. And he knew Bucky got that, maybe without that last part, that was just… it was like once he thought about it and realized it, he couldn’t stop thinking about it. It was repeating in his head and he felt like a giddy, lovesick teenager. He got it bad.

“Shut up.” Sam rolled his eyes, shoving Bucky lightly. He couldn’t help but grin back. His hand itched to grab Bucky’s, but he didn’t think they were there yet. So he kept his hands to himself, changing the topic and conversing with Bucky for the rest of the way.

***

They ended up going to the docks again and hanging out with some people there, and helping with some stuff. Bucky even ended up lending a hand with moving some heavy things. While Sam watched with a huge grin on his face, because Bucky was beautiful, and when he was in a t-shirt, showing off his strength, picking up such weights easily as if it was nothing… that was doing it for Sam.

And he knew he was being really obvious, as he was getting knowing looks and smirks from people around him, who have known him forever, but he didn’t care. He meant it when he said that those people were always welcoming and accepting. It was his favorite place in the world. And it just got even better, with Bucky staying for an indefinite period of time. He just couldn’t help smiling at the thought. And it was on his mind a lot.

“You’re really gone on that boy, huh?” said Mrs. Harris, one of his neighbors, who was sitting next to him at the moment. There was a fond smile on her face. “You’ve been swooning over him since he came here the first time.” she observed, obviously having seen them together before, probably when they were working on the boat.

Sam just blushed and rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t stop smiling. Then he chuckled lightly. “Yeah, I think I am.” he said with a sigh. If Bucky’s super hearing could pick it up from where he was, Sam didn’t care. He would be glad, actually, because that meant he didn’t have to say it to Bucky’s face, at least for now.

They talked some more, then Bucky joined them, and they just sat there for a while, chatting and hearing all the neighbors tell Bucky stories about the town. But then it got late. And they had a date.

“C’mon, old man.” he said, clapping Bucky on the leg, as he was getting up. Bucky just looked at him in confusion. “We have a thing, remember?”

“Right.” a wide smile showed up on his face. “Well, we gotta go. It was nice talking to you all.” Bucky said, as he also got up, smiling charmingly at their company.

As they were walking back, Sam could feel Bucky staring at him. He wasn’t gonna comment on that this time, remembering how he was the one staring at Bucky before, which he obviously had to notice.

“What?” he asked finally, as they were getting close to the house. Sam wanted to get cleaned up after the day and maybe look kinda nice, even if they were just going to the local bar for drinks and something to eat.

“You sure you wanna go on a date with me?” Bucky asked, a bit shyly. Sam looked at him with a frown. “Tonight?”

“Why wouldn’t I? You don’t wanna go? ‘Cause we don’t have to.” he added quickly, not wanting to seem pushy. Though, to be fair, Bucky did agree. Making inappropriate jokes that made Sam’s brain stop working while he was at it.

“Of course I wanna.” Bucky rolled his eyes. “I just mean, we spent the whole day together. I would get it if you were fed up with me.” he chuckled.

“I’m always fed up with you.” was Sam’s automatic response. “I just… you might be the most annoying person I’ve ever met, and yet I still wanna hang out with you.” he shrugged. Bucky just hummed in acknowledgment. “But we can just stay at home and watch a movie or something. If you want.” he added, thinking that maybe Bucky just didn’t wanna go out, since he clearly stated that he did want to go on a date. Which still sounded ridiculous. Sam and Bucky going on a date. Insane. But then again, so was them kissing and Sam being in love with Bucky.

“Sam.” he didn’t have to look to know that Bucky rolled his eyes. “I wanna do whatever you wanna do.” that was interesting, because Bucky explicitly said that they’re not gonna do what Sam wants to do tonight, not on the first date or whatever. But Sam wasn’t about to say that, he didn’t want to seem desperate. Although he had a feeling Bucky might know what he was thinking anyway. Thankfully, he didn’t say anything either, but there was a smirk on his face, when Sam glanced at him.

“Then we’re gonna go for a drink.” Sam decided. He was surprised to find that he was actually looking forward to that. To have some sense of normalcy after all he’s been through the last couple of years. Of course by normalcy he meant going out for drinks with a person he was attracted to and had feelings for. That person being Bucky was still a huge shock, but who was he to question it? The heart wants what it wants. And his traitorous heart apparently wanted Bucky.

“Okay.” Bucky said, bumping his shoulder into Sam’s. While doing that, the back of his hand touched Sam’s and he has never wanted to hold someone’s hand more. But before he could make up his mind on whether to go for it, they got to the house and Bucky went to take a shower after the day of walking everywhere and then helping out at the docks.

***

Around an hour later they were at the bar. They ordered their drinks and food and… they were sitting there in silence, opposite each other. But it wasn’t weird or uncomfortable, it never was between them. And before Sam realized it, they were having a staring contest, initiated by Bucky, who had an amused smirk on his face. Like always, Sam could not win with the master of staring, especially when the waitress brought them the drinks and snapped him out of it. He shook his head, chuckling.

“You’re impossible.” he said, but couldn’t contain a small, fond smile. Bucky just shrugged and took a sip of his drink. “Can I ask you a question?” he added, just to start any kind of conversation. And he was kind of genuinely curious.

“I think that’s usually what people do on dates. You know, talk.” Bucky answered, his voice low and quiet, but Sam heard him perfectly.

“Yeah, I know.” Sam rolled his eyes. “I was just wondering. If I hadn’t kissed you first…” he saw Bucky’s cheeks get pink and it was truly a sight to see. “Would you ever make a move?” he smiled smugly, as Bucky looked at the drink in his hands and licked his lips before answering. Oh wow, those lips. Suddenly Sam regretted going out because all he wanted to do was grab Bucky’s beautiful face and smash their lips together.

“If I was sure you felt the same way, yeah, probably.” Bucky shrugged, looking to the side now, his face red. It was so amazing how embarrassed he could get talking about feelings.

“So you like me?” that was a stupid question and Bucky’s look and raised eyebrow told him as much. But he asked anyway.

“You think if I didn’t, I’d still be here with you? On a date? Or that I would kiss you? Or, you know, want to stay here?”

“Yeah, okay, I know, dumb question.” Sam chuckled, taking a sip of his drink. “You know, a few weeks ago I never could’ve imagined we’d end up here.”

“No one could’ve.” Buck said. “I never thought that I’d even ever-” he cut himself off and chuckled nervously. “Nevermind.” he kept looking at the table.

“Buck.” Sam felt bold and took Bucky’s hand that was on the table. He didn’t give a fuck if people saw it, everyone in the town already knew he was in love with Bucky. And if it got out and the media found out… well, he also didn’t give a fuck. Not at the moment. He thought he knew what Bucky wanted to say, but he couldn’t be sure, so he just gave him a questioning look.

“It’s fine, I don’t wanna ruin the mood or whatever.” Bucky said, but didn’t pull his hand away.

“Okay, let’s change the subject then. But just so you know, you can talk to me about anything.” he added and Bucky just squeezed his hand and smiled. “Imma repeat myself again, but damn, your smile is gorgeous.” Sam added with a goddamn involuntary sigh, already feeling embarrassed at saying that. He should really get a grip, but Bucky’s smile was just doing things to him. At the sight, his pulse was quickening and his heart was doing backflips, and his lips were automatically forming into a smile too.

“If I knew all I had to do was smile to get you like this, I’d have done this ages ago.” Bucky laughed, relaxing again.

“Really?” Sam’s eyebrow raised. Bucky blushed again.

“I mean, I always knew you were, um, hot.” his face was now red, and it was at the same time beautiful and satisfyingly funny. “I didn’t like you very much, but, you know.” he shrugged. Sam was grinning now. “Oh, shut up.”

“I’m not saying anything.” he laughed. But he had to tease him a little bit. “Aw, you’ve had a crush on me for ages. That’s adorable, Bucky.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You basically did.” Sam argued with a teasing smile.

“I didn’t use the word crush. Because that’s not true.”

“Do you even know what having a crush means?” Sam questioned.

“Yes, I know what it means.” Bucky’s tone sounded almost offended that Sam would even imply that he wasn’t up to date with all the slang and what-not. He knew that Bucky was behind on a lot of things, which was really understandable, of course, but still it was very amusing. “I can use the Internet. And I talk to people.”

“Really? You talk to people?” Sam’s eyes widened in mock-shock. “Who? You hang out with people young enough to know shit like that? Wow, and here I thought you only talked to me, or some old men. You know, closer to your old, old age.”

“And you say that I'm annoying.” Bucky rolled his eyes, probably already knowing that Sam was not gonna let that go. Although, truth be told, Bucky had some things he could tease Sam about, too. “But you gotta admit, despite my ‘old, old age’, I still got it.” he smirked. “I mean, I have you practically throwing yourself at me.”

“So your memory’s back now?” he decided to not acknowledge the comment about throwing himself at Bucky. It was kinda true, anyway, there was no arguing, and that fact just made him blush.

“Yeah, thanks to you. Forgot already? Maybe your memory needs some refreshing, too.” he felt Bucky’s foot bumping into his, almost like a kick, but lighter.

“Maybe it does.” Sam automatically licked his lips, earning a huge, smug grin from Bucky. His gaze focused on Bucky’s lips. “Yeah, that might just be the case.” he added a little distractedly, not able to stop staring, making Bucky’s smile widen. And there was another nudge to his foot under the table, which snapped him out of his daze. “Sergeant Barnes, are you trying to play footsie with me right now?” he asked with equal amounts of amusement and amazement.

“Oh, am I?” Bucky asked faux innocently, looking Sam straight in the eyes, as their feet were now basically tangled together. It was new and different, and completely unexpected, but not unenjoyable, especially seeing that amazing smile on Bucky’s face. “I’m pretty sure I just moved my foot, and you started assuming shit.” Bucky added, his tone teasing, while one of his legs basically wrapped itself around Sam’s calf. A thought crossed his mind that they were at the bar and the lack of any kind of tablecloth was making their legs visible to anyone who looked in their direction. At least it was dark. But honestly, he didn’t really care. He couldn’t, when all he could focus on was Bucky and his smirk and that mischievous glint in his eyes, and the fact that he was touching him. Sam’s skin felt like it was on fire, and Bucky looked like he was having the time of his life.

“You’re impossible.” Sam repeated with a soft laugh. Bucky just winked at him and took a sip of his drink. And the way Sam’s insides fluttered at the wink... He was just so gone on Bucky it was ridiculous. He was just glad they could still act normally, joke and tease each other, without any awkwardness, despite the very obvious tension in the air.

The rest of the evening remained in the same light, happy tone, they talked all the time, about a lot of different things, obviously adding some teasing, like they always do, and some flirting, too. They had some more to drink, which caused Sam to get quite tipsy, while Bucky seemed stone-cold sober. The damn super soldier metabolism. Sam didn’t really think about that when suggesting to get a drink.

So now here they were, walking back home, Sam constantly bumping into Bucky every couple of steps, which the old man found really amusing. To be honest, Sam figured that if he had two or three drinks more, he would be tripping over his feet. Fortunately, that wasn’t the case. Otherwise he would die from embarrassment. Well, he still might, because apparently tipsy Sam talked without any filters.

“So are you staying because you like it here or because I’m here?” Sam asked at some point and if he was sober he would freak out. Or, he wouldn’t let the words out of his mouth, because that was just… completely unnecessary. Additionally, he wrapped his hands around Bucky’s arm and basically clung to him, which he didn’t even realize at first. He was both too tipsy, and too comfortable with Bucky. Maybe the last part was a good thing, since they were trying to build something here, but he was aware that a big part of their whole relationship was teasing and making fun of each other, so he knew that he would probably be reminded of his clinginess at some point.

"What do you think?" Bucky answered, turning his head to look at Sam with amusement and a smirk.

“I think you just wanna be where I am.” he said, more sure and confident than he was about anything else. “And if I went back to DC, you’d go with me.”

“Do you wanna go back?”

“I mean, I’ll have to, eventually.” Sam shrugged with one arm. He was vaguely aware that he was really leaning on Bucky at that point, but he didn’t seem to mind. After all, he was super strong, so that probably wasn’t even fazing him. It occurred to him that Bucky must’ve been pretty comfortable with him too, if he didn’t mind him invading his personal space that much. “It’s better to be close if the people need Captain America.” he said with exaggerated pride. He knew it would be hard, and his doubts were still there, but he could do it. He had to. Plus, he wasn’t alone, he’d have Bucky with him, hopefully. “I have a place there. I’d probably get a job.” he added. He’d been thinking about it, and it made sense. He couldn’t just stay in Louisiana forever, as much as he’d like that. And he needed to make a living somehow. But that all was stuff to think about when he wasn’t intoxicated. Right now, it was Bucky who had all his focus. “So, you know, this is more like vacation. Which we deserved. And then we’re gonna go back to DC. Or Brooklyn, if you prefer that, that’s good enough for me.” He talked too much. He was tipsy and he kept talking and he was a bit afraid he would freak Bucky out with all his planning for the future. They were on one date, for God’s sake. He needed to chill. But then again, he was a bit drunk, so he didn’t care all that much at the moment.

“We, huh?” Bucky chuckled. “That’s presumptuous.”

“C’mon, like you’re not gonna follow me anywhere I go.” Sam rolled his eyes. He really felt super confident right now. That could end with him saying even more embarrassing things, but he’d leave freaking out for the morning.

“You might have a point.” Bucky somehow freed his arm from Sam’s grasp and put it around his arms, bringing him as close as he could while still walking. “If you want me, I’ll go wherever you want.” Sam felt a kiss on his forehead. Oh, so Bucky was gonna be sappy now? Well, maybe he figured since Sam was drunk, he would get away with saying shit like that without teasing later.

“Aw, that’s adorable.” Sam ginned. “Never would’ve guessed that you can be so cute.”

“I’m not cute, shut up.” Sam didn’t need to look at Bucky to know that he rolled his eyes, but his tone of voice was light and amused.

“You shut up.” he shoved Bucky lightly. “I had a nice time.” he added suddenly, changing the topic completely. “Tonight. With you.”

“Me too, Sam. Like I said earlier, you’re not the worst company. Or the worst date.” Buck responded, laughing when Sam elbowed him, with what was supposed to be his full strength, but clearly didn’t work. And just like that, they were back to bantering the rest of the way.

***

They barely stepped inside the house when Sam pulled Bucky in for a long, enthusiastic kiss. Honestly Sam thought about those lips the whole evening, and he just wanted to keep kissing Bucky for as long as he could. Which wasn’t very long apparently, because Bucky pulled away way too soon.

“It’s late. You should get some sleep.” he said and went towards the living room, leaving Sam in the hallway, a little confused. It wasn’t that late. And they could stay up, it wasn’t like they had work in the morning or anything. Wow, he realized that he really just wanted to stay up and make out with Bucky. Well, not only make out, but nothing more was going to happen, so he’d settle for kissing.

“What are you doing?” Sam asked as he followed the other man into the room.

“Going to sleep. What does it look like I’m doing?” Bucky glanced at Sam before reaching for the folded blanket.

“You don’t have to sleep on the couch, you know?” Sam said, leaning on the doorway, probably emboldened a bit by the alcohol. “Plenty of room in my bed.” Bucky looked back at him, a suggestive smirk forming on his face. “Don’t even- I mean sleep. Just sleep.” Sam hurried to add before Bucky could make a comment and remind him that it’s not happening. “Get that fucking smirk off your face before I change my mind.” that got a small chuckle out of Bucky.

“You sure?” he looked kinda nervous as he put the blanket down and turned fully towards Sam.

“Yes, I’m sure. Don't make it weird.” Sam rolled his eyes, walking over to Bucky, grabbing his hand, and leading him to his room. Before that, Bucky managed to grab his bag from the couch.

Once they changed and settled in bed, Sam basically laid on top of Bucky’s chest, their faces close.

“Uh, hi?” Bucky said with a confused smile.

“Hi.” Sam answered, grinning like an idiot, before capturing Bucky’s lips in his again.

Bucky immediately reciprocated, putting his metal hand on Sam’s back, and his flesh one on the back of his head. Sam put one of his hands on Bucky’s cheek, while the other he used to prop himself up. Feeling Bucky’s strong body underneath him was incredible and a bit frustrating, because he just wanted him even closer. His head was swimming, probably from the alcohol, but he chose to believe that at least part of it was because of Bucky’s kisses. It was getting more and more heated, with tongues and teeth, and Sam’s hand started to travel from Bucky’s face to his arms and chest… and that’s when Bucky broke the kiss with a groan. Sam was vaguely aware of making a disappointed sound too, as he chased after his lips.

“So that is why you wanted me in your bed.” Bucky said, licking his lips as he looked up at Sam. “Are you trying to get in my pants, Wilson?” he raised his brow.

“Maybe.” Sam smirked, going in for another kiss, but Bucky leaned away, as far as he could with Sam still on top of him. “Buck.” he basically whined, though he’d never admit that. He just wanted to keep kissing him, goddammit.

“Sam, you gotta go to sleep. You’re drunk and tired, and it’s late. There will be plenty of time for this later.” he said, his hands trailing up and down Sam’s sides. It felt nice.

“Fine.” Sam murmured, then rolled off Bucky, but cuddled up to him immediately. “But can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Were you serious? About, y’know, the first date thing?” he felt like he was drifting off already, as soon as he laid his head down on Bucky’s flesh shoulder. Well, Bucky was right, he was really tired, apparently.

“In this case, yes.” he answered.

“Care to elaborate?” Sam asked, not feeling satisfied with the answer. What the hell did that even mean?

“I mean, if we were, I don’t know, in my apartment or something, and not in the same house as your sister and nephews, and if you weren’t drunk… who knows how the night would end.” there was a hint of teasing in his voice.

“So. When we’re alone and sober…” Sam trailed off. “Okay. That can be arranged.” at that Bucky laughed, maybe a little too loud, which made Sam shush him.

“Wow, you’re unbelievable.” he kept chuckling. “Calm down, we’ve only gone on one date.”

“Hopefully there will be more.” Sam was basically half-asleep at that point, but still awake enough to keep the conversation going.

“Yeah.” Bucky kissed the top of his head. “Goodnight.”

“Night, Buck.”

***

When he woke up, Bucky was wrapped around him, still sleeping soundly and calmly. It seemed like he didn’t have nightmares that night, and Sam was really happy for him. Bucky actually confided in him that it happened more rarely when he was here. That was good. He still had a long way to go, but that was progress. Sam turned so that he was facing Bucky, and smiled widely, running his fingers through his hair. He could wake up like that every day.

But then he was reminded of the alcohol he consumed the previous night, because he really needed to take a leak. He didn’t wanna wake Bucky, so he carefully tried to slip out of his embrace. He mostly succeeded, with the other man startling just twice, either not waking up somehow, or just choosing to stay in bed and not acknowledge the world just yet. In any case, Sam was free to go to the bathroom.

When he was done, he planned to just go back to bed, but he saw his sister in the kitchen, and smelled the delicious coffee she was drinking.

“Hi.” he greeted her, going straight for the coffee pot.

“Morning.” Sarah grinned, leaning against the counter, as Sam reached for the mug and poured himself some of the coffee. “How was your date?” she asked, her tone clearly teasing.

“It was great. Could’ve ended a bit better, but well, besides that, it was awesome.” he shrugged, leaning against the counter opposite Sarah. He had no idea why he was saying this, it would make more sense if Bucky was there and he could tease him about it, but nevermind. He just woke up and was before his coffee.

“Oh, so it was a date? You just said that you were going out.” Sarah was clearly a bit surprised, but also amused. He did say that when he saw her briefly before going out, because why would she need to know more? But he also didn’t feel the need to hide anything, especially from his sister.

“Yeah, Bucky and I went on a date.” he rolled his eyes, but couldn’t contain a smile. It sounded ridiculous and unreal, but it happened. He was on a date with Bucky, and then they slept in one bed. Crazy. “So would you stop flirting with him?” he added, just a little bit annoyed.

“Excuse me? He’s the one flirting with me” she laughed.

“You’re encouraging him, though. And he’s just being a little shit, he’s not flirting.” well, Sam wasn’t really sure about that, but he was gonna put a stop to it anyway. Again, he was not jealous. Just a bit irritated.

“Oh, I get it, he’s trying to rile you up, huh?” Sarah was grinning now. “But I know that, Sam.” she gave him an exasperated look. “I’ve known that he had eyes only for you since I met him. And you’ve been pretty obvious, too.” she took a sip of her coffee.

“No, I wasn’t. That’s bullshit.” he said, sounding offended. Even though it was more than probable for Sarah to see right through him. She knew him really well, after all.

“Sam. It’s enough that you look at him and you get this dreamy look on your face, and you can’t stop smiling. You’re so smitten.” she chuckled. Sam couldn’t argue with that. “I’m happy that you two worked it out, though.” she added, more seriously now. “But if he breaks your heart, I will kill him.”

“I don’t doubt that.” he laughed. “He won’t, but thanks, I appreciate it.” Sam felt silly thinking that, because they just started dating, but he genuinely believed that this is something that’s gonna last. He believed that Bucky wouldn’t leave him, or break his heart or whatever. In Sam’s mind, there was literally no chance for that. Which was ridiculous. Their relationship was new and fresh, and what if something like that did happen? But then again, he’s known Bucky for much longer, they’ve been through a lot together, and they developed some kind of friendship that seemed to naturally evolve into something more. Suffice it to say, he wasn’t worried. But he didn’t need to think about that now. He should really just take it one day at a time before freaking Bucky out or something.

They were silent for a moment, just sipping their coffees, before Sarah spoke up again.

“I see that Bucky didn’t sleep on the couch.” Sam just hummed to let her know he was listening, as her statement didn’t require an answer. “But you said that the date could’ve been better. So what went wrong?” she asked, seeming half curious, half amused.

“Apparently, Bucky’s a damn gentleman.” he grumbled into his mug, earning a loud laugh from Sarah.

Just then the object of their conversation walked into the kitchen, and Sam’s lips immediately formed into a wide grin.

“Mornin’.” Bucky greeted them, a soft smile appearing on his face too, upon looking at Sam.

“Hey, Buck. How’d you sleep?” Sam asked.

“Surprisingly well.” he answered, his smile widening. “What are you guys talking about?”

“Nothing.” Sam answered, at the same time as Sarah said:

“You.”

Sam gave her a death stare, while Bucky chuckled, his cheeks reddening. Before he could say anything, though, Sam asked: “Coffee?” already reaching for another mug.

Bucky looked amused, but it seemed that he let it go for now, accepting the coffee from Sam.

Soon after that, the boys came down for breakfast, which Sam had started on in the meantime.

Later, as they all sat at the table, eating breakfast and talking, Sam took a minute to just look at the rest of them. Bucky fit in so perfectly, everyone loved having him around. And he was so good with the boys, who were really excited whenever they got to spend time with him. As Sam was looking at Bucky intently listening to some story AJ was telling, while Cass tried to interject, and Sarah tried not to laugh but at the same time keep some sort of peace at the table, he knew that this was as close to perfection as it could get. This was his place and his family. He wouldn’t exchange it for anything. And as his gaze met Bucky’s, he was filled with so much affection and love, he felt as if his heart was about to jump out of his chest, and over to Bucky, probably. They smiled at each other and he knew that this, here, was the happiest he’s ever been.

***

It was about a week later when Bucky asked him out again. It was an agonizingly long week for Sam, with Bucky now sleeping in his bed, and them still not going further than some heated make-out sessions. Sam was pretty sure he was going to lose his mind if they kept this up. He loved just having Bucky around, and he loved that despite them getting romantically involved, their whole dynamic barely changed. But he was getting frustrated. So when Bucky suggested a second date, Sam eagerly agreed.

He couldn’t have expected what Bucky planned, though.

He found himself on his boat, just before sunset, a blanket spread on the deck, with a couple of pillows, and a picnic basket with some food and a bottle of wine. Sam was amazed.

“What the-” he cut off, looking from the prepared picnic to Bucky, and back at the boat. “I- uh, I had no idea you could be so, um, romantic.”

“Yeah, well.” Bucky rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “I wanted to do something nice. And maybe spend some time alone.” he shrugged, his cheeks reddening. “And the boat is fixed up now, so… I gotta admit tho, Sarah really helped with the food. It’s not much, but-” he shrugged again.

“It’s amazing.” Sam smiled, bringing Bucky closer and leaving a soft kiss on his lips. It wasn’t that late and there were still some people at the docks, but he didn’t really give a fuck. He wanted to kiss Bucky, and that’s what he was gonna do, no matter what others might say. Or what might get leaked to the press. He would worry about that later.

“Okay, let’s just get going, before the sun goes down. I’ve been told that sunsets are romantic or some shit.” Bucky’s whole face was red now, and he clearly tried to downplay his emotions and the fact that maybe he also thought that sunsets are romantic and wanted to look at one with Sam. It was adorable, and Sam just wanted to stay in that moment forever.

“Yeah, okay.” he just said, still grinning from ear to ear.

Soon enough, Bucky steered the boat out on the water, quite far from the docks, while Sam made comments about how he’d better not drown his family’s boat and since when could he steer a boat, anyway.

The sun was quite low when they both finally sat down on the blanket. Bucky poured them wine, because of course the guy brough fucking wine glasses on deck, and they just sat there, enjoying the snacks prepared by Sarah, and looking at the beautiful sunset. At some point Sam glanced at Bucky though, and he couldn’t look away. Bucky was so gorgeous, and in that moment it was even more accentuated by the relaxed look on his face and the light from the setting sun. He was more beautiful than the sunset. And Sam just… Sarah was right, he was smitten. He was so gone, there was no turning back.

“You’re staring.” Bucky said, his gaze still on the horizon, taking a sip of the wine.

“I like the view.” Sam responded, enjoying how Bucky’s cheeks immediately got pink again. “Besides, you’re always staring. I think I’m entitled to stare a bit too.”

“Sure.” Bucky chuckled, glancing at Sam. Then he leaned in to kiss him. This kiss was short, chaste and sweet, and it was just perfect for that moment.

Sam loved kissing Bucky. They managed to kiss quite a lot in the short time since they’ve started doing that, but still every time they did, he felt the same excitement as if he was kissing him for the first time. And that reminded him of how nervous and panicked he was, which seemed silly now, that he could just lean in at any moment, and it would most likely be reciprocated.

And he loved this whole date, it was so simple and peaceful, and it was just them. Bucky really seemed to know what Sam wanted, or maybe he just wanted the same things, but either way, it was nice. It was wonderful. And so surprising, Sam never would’ve thought Bucky could come up with something like this. Although… did he, really?

“So, this date.” Sam leaned back on his hands, looking at Bucky curiously. “You thought of it yourself or did Sarah help you with that, too?” he kept his tone jocular, to make sure Bucky knew that he wasn’t serious. He loved it anyway, no matter where the idea came from.

“I came up with it.” Buck admitted, looking away. He seemed kinda shy, which only made Sam smile fondly. “I just thought you might like it.” he grumbled.

“I love it, Buck.”

“Good.” he looked at Sam, giving him one of his most charming smiles. “For once you’re not gonna complain.”

“I never complain.”

“Whatever you wanna tell yourself.” Bucky rolled his eyes and Sam kicked his leg lightly.

“You’re lucky I like to spend time with you, ‘cause usually you’re annoying the shit outta me.” Sam laughed.

“I am lucky.” Bucky’s voice was quieter and softer this time. Sam was amazed at how they could go from teasing and joking to serious conversation and right back. It was crazy, but then again, so were they.

“You’re gonna be all sappy the whole date?” he asked because it was stronger than him. Honestly, he wouldn’t really mind that.

“I dunno. But if you have a problem with that, you can always leave and go home.” he gestured vaguely towards the docks, which were pretty far away now.

“We’re on a boat, Buck.” Sam rolled his eyes, but he knew Bucky and he knew what he was gonna say next. So he was just humoring him now.

“Can’t you swim?” he smirked.

Sam chuckled despite himself. It wasn’t even funny, and he predicted that was what was gonna come out of Bucky’s mouth. And he still couldn’t help a laugh. His feelings and infatuation with Bucky were progressing, way too quickly for his liking.

A while later, they found themselves laying down on the blanket and pillows, looking up at the dark sky and the stars. It was a beautiful, clear night, and the stars were almost as captivating as Bucky, but not quite, which is why Sam kept glancing at him once in a while. A couple of times he caught Bucky looking at him, too, which made him feel all giddy.

They were also talking and finishing the one and only bottle of wine that Bucky brought.

Then at some point Sam propped himself up to take a sip of his last glass, and never laid back down, instead leaning in and kissing Bucky. Soon enough, they were full-on making out, pressed against each other. When Sam felt Bucky’s hands roam over his body, one even landing on his ass, this time he pulled away, albeit reluctantly. Bucky groaned in disappointment, moving his kisses to Sam’s neck.

“Sam, what the hell?” he asked, his voice muffled by Sam’s skin.

“Uh, I really don’t want you to stop. But I have a question.” Sam said, panting a bit already. Bucky sighed with exasperation and pulled back to look at Sam and raised his eyebrow. “If I remember correctly, last time it was not being alone in the house and the alcohol. So I just need to know if you changed your mind or if you’re just being a tease right now.” he said that more seriously than he felt, but he wanted to know how he should approach the situation.

“That’s why there was only one bottle of wine, Sam.” the exasperation was still in Buck’s voice. “Enough to get you a small buzz, without getting drunk. And I figured wine would’ve been romantic or something.” he mumbled the last bit, reluctantly letting it slip. “And it’s not a first date.” he added louder, with a smirk on his face.

“Okay.” Sam licked his lips and took a deep breath. “So we agree what’s happening here, right? We’re gonna do the nasty?” he wiggled his eyebrows.

“Just say have sex like a normal person.” Bucky rolled his eyes, capturing his lips in a passionate kiss again.

And finally, freaking finally, Bucky didn’t pull away when Sam’s hands slipped under his shirt. Even better, Bucky took it off and Sam could admire him in his full glory. He actually took a second to stop kissing and just look, because damn. He moved so now he was straddling his lap, and trailed his hands over Bucky’s chest and then down his arms, feeling the difference in the textures, and Bucky seemed a little bit nervous for a second, before Sam smiled and brought both his hands up to leave a kiss on each of them. He had no idea why but the metal arm was definitely doing it for him. Soon, that arm wrapped around his hips and brought him even closer to Bucky, if that was possible, and they kissed like that for what felt simultaneously long and too short. He briefly thought that it was so great that it was summer and the night was warm, but that thought disappeared as soon as Bucky flipped them over so that Sam was on his back, feeling the hard boards underneath, and Bucky started trailing kisses down his now bare chest. And he got lower and lower and lower… and Sam was losing his mind, this time in a good way. That was about to be the best night he’s had in a long while.

***

Later, laying on the pillows and the blanket that they were half wrapped up in, Sam felt blissful. Once again he couldn’t take his eyes off of the man beside him. He just… Bucky was the best thing that could’ve happened to him. He has grown so much over the past couple months, and Sam couldn’t have been more proud. He was an amazing person, with a big heart and this whole grumpy facade that hid a real softie. Sam loved their conversations and even, or especially, the bickering and teasing. He secretly loved Bucky’s sense of humor, too, even if it sucked and he was rarely funny. Plus, he was just gorgeous and Sam wanted to keep looking at him forever.

“Whatcha thinking about?” Bucky asked, his flesh hand tracing small patterns on Sam’s arm.

“Nothing.” he smiled, leaving a soft kiss on Bucky’s lips. It wasn’t really nothing. But he felt like it was too soon to say. Even if he was more sure of it than anything.

He was undoubtedly, completely, utterly in love.

Bucky raised his eyebrow but didn’t say anything. Just flashed him that gorgeous, soft smile, and Sam just melted, going in for another kiss, he just couldn’t resist. He hadn’t felt happier in years.

Yeah, he really loved Bucky.

THE END

[temilyrights]

For drabble challenge, the first one with Jenny Shepard? I'm dying to see more Jenny×Reader 😁

1. “That’s starting to get annoying.”

Word Count: 1112 (word count what??)

A/N: Jenny Shepard x Reader. Lol, so this took a while and idk. It’s over the word count cause I didn’t know how to cut it down anymore ahaha. Thank you for requesting, it was nice to write some Jenny! Enjoy! 

Paperwork Confessions

You could do this. You could totally do this. I mean, this was Jen. If she didn’t feel the same way it would be awkward, sure, but at least you would finally know. You needed to know because recently she’d been doing things that made you want to believe that your feelings weren’t so one-sided.

Her soft smiles, lingering touches, and the amount of time you’d been spending together outside of the office...Your heart was in turmoil. You wanted this so much. 

“That’s starting to get annoying,” Jenny mumbles, looking up from her paperwork and towards the pen in your hand which you’d absentmindedly been clicking for the last few minutes. 

“Sorry,” you mutter, dropping the pen to the table. 

She watches you for a moment with a frown before returning her attention to her work. “If you’re tired you can go home. I know the paperwork you’ve got there isn’t due until the end of the week.” 

“No, it’s fine. I need to get it done if I want to get out of the office at a reasonable time on Friday.” You shake yourself from your thoughts, picking your pen back up and try to read the work you haven’t touched for the last fifteen minutes. 

“Oh? Big plans?” Jenny looks at you with interest, and your cheeks heat up.

“Hopefully,” you smile, dodging her eyes, ��just depends on...things.” Like if you want to date me or if I can ever plump up the courage to ask. 

“Like as in a date plan? Or…?” She frowns, “I didn’t know you were seeing anyone.”

“I’m not. She’s not…”

“She? So, there is someone?” 

Shit “Hmm, well, yeah. We aren’t, she’s not, it’s complicated.”

Jenny takes off her glasses to assess you, dropping her own pen to the table to give you her full attention. “Ziva?”

“No.” That would be complicated considering Ziva and Tony had been making eyes at each other all year. 

“Abby?”

“Not my type.”

“Cynthia?” 

“Does she even like women?” 

Jenny frowns, “The lady from the coffee shop?” 

“What lady?” 

“The one that flirts with you every time we go in there.” 

“There isn’t-Wait Lydia?” Lydia was a barista that worked at the coffee shop you frequented. She was friendly with you and usually had your coffees ready by the time you made it to the counter, but that was just because you were a regular. Sure, the two of you always chatted but- “She doesn’t flirt with me.”

“Oh, come on, you aren’t that oblivious. She is constantly winking at you and offering you free treats.” 

“Yeah, because she’s been trying to convince me to tell-” Your jaw clicks shut and Jenny’s mouth morphs into that political smile she’s perfected. The one which is supposed to make her seem cordial. To you, it just means she’s putting on a show, and that hurts.

“Oh, she knows?” Jenny asks, picking up her pen to try to seem unaffected but you could see the hurt hiding underneath. 

“She worked it out,” 

“How?”

“Uh…” Right, how did the barista you spoke to for a maximum of five minutes a day work out your crush before the woman you spent most of your time with? Lydia had because you almost always got two coffee’s, even when Jenny wasn’t with you so you could surprise her with one at the office. And she may have also caught you staring at Jenny on multiple occasions...but how do you explain that to Jenny without actually explaining it to her? “I don’t know, she just did. How’s Parker’s review on the Truman case?” 

“That’s your worst attempt of changing the conversation ever.” Jenny’s small smirk fades away, “but if you really don’t want to tell me, don’t worry.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to tell you. I do. I just…” You take a deep breath, okay. It was time. You could do this. 

Her eyes soften as your panic becomes obvious, and she reaches out and lightly squeezes your hand. “Come on, I mean as long as it’s not Gibbs then you’re safe.” 

“Oh, god no.” Your face scrunches up in disgust and Jenny’s arches her brow causing you to duck your head. “Sorry, no offence.” 

“None taken.” She chuckles, “Although, good to know you think so highly of my dating choices.” 

Your lips twitch, “Would this be a good time to tell you I didn’t like Michael much either?” 

“Only if I can tell you that I didn’t like Celia or Evelyn.” 

“Hey! Evelyn was nice, and the only reason you didn’t like Celia was because she was a major flirt. At least I wasn’t dating someone who only knew how to talk about cars.” 

Jenny rolls her eyes, “Right because Celia turning every single sentence into an innuendo wasn’t annoying.” 

“True,” you laugh, “maybe you should pick the next person I date.” 

Multiple emotions flicker across Jenny’s face so quickly you don’t have time to process any of them. She settles with a small smile, brow arching, “Hm, what about your mystery woman?”

You shrug, “Like I said, it’s complicated.”

“Describe her for me.” 

“What?” 

“You heard me. Describe her.” 

Swallowing roughly, you look to your hands, “Uh, okay. She’s pretty amazing, headstrong. Stubborn, god so stubborn.” You chuckle, “It’s nice though. She knows exactly what she wants, knows how to demand the attention of a room and does it with such grace and effortlessness. She can be very intimidating but when you know her you get to see the beauty of how kind and caring she is.” Jenny’s watching you closely when you finally lift your head again, you take a breath. “She has the most beautiful green eyes and short red hair.” Jenny sucks in a breath, and you smile sadly, averting your eyes. “But like I said, It’s complicated.” 

Silence stretches on for what feels like forever but in reality, is only a minute. You’re planning your escape and how to avoid Jenny for the next billion years when she finally speaks up, “Well If I’m still choosing who you date next, I think you should ask her out.” Your head snaps up. Jenny’s biting her lip to stop herself from grinning, “This woman sounds great.” 

“She is,” You nod, your own smile now threatening to make itself known. “Jen, would you go to dinner with me on Friday?” 

She smiles softly, “yes. I’d like that a lot.” Jenny reaches across the table and squeezes your hand before letting go and picking her pen back up, “Now we better get this done, I have plans Friday.”

“Yes, boss.” You smile, returning to your own paperwork with a giddy smile.

[bangtanstanst]

Sweater Weather

When Jungkook comes back from a run and you have the audacity to laugh at his admittedly bad decision to go outside in the rain, he makes sure to take his revenge.

pairing: husband!jungkook x reader

genre: (domestic) fluff, non-idol au

warnings: a lil bit of implied smut/innuendos but what else is new fjdks

word count: 1.4k

anonymous requested: “Don’t give me that look.” with husband!Jungkook.

a/n: hi everyone, I hope you’re all doing well :) I know this fic is a little short but I hope you like it nevertheless, I had fun writing it!♥♥♥ Also idk but this might ruin tomato soup for you for a hot minute so read at your own risk fjdkssdlfjk

requests | masterlist

Rain is battering the windows, so loudly that the sound overpowers the soft music you have playing in the background. You’re humming along to the melody nevertheless, lifting the lid of the sole pan on the stove to check on the soup that you certainly did not get out of a can. It’s simmering nicely and so, you put the lid back down with a satisfied nod. Turning around, you grab the box of breadsticks from the counter and rip it open, glancing at the clock displaying on the microwave. You let out a sigh, longingly looking down at the breadsticks – if only Jungkook would run a little faster and get ho–

You hear the front door slam closed and your head snaps up. Eyebrows raising, you listen to the sound of squelching footsteps, lips parting when your husband steps into view.

His hair is lying flat on his head, rainwater dripping from his dark brown locks to the floor. His grey workout shirt glistens in the living room lights, clinging tightly to his skin – he’s absolutely and completely soaking wet.

You try to stifle your laughter as he waddles further into your apartment, his arms held up square at his sides to keep them from touching his body. When a giggle escapes your lips, however, he comes to a stop, narrowing his eyes at you.

“Oh, no, no, no,” he says as he shakes his head, raindrops splattering to the walls and floor. “Don’t give me that look.”

“What look?” you reply innocently, scratching your cheek when you still feel your lips twitch.

He narrows his eyes at you, arms still held square. “That one,” he replies, lifting an arm to point it at you. “That ‘I told you so’-look.”

His tone and frown are serious, but his lips are starting to curl upwards and you can’t help but laugh yourself, shrugging as you put the breadsticks down. “I mean, you’re the one who decided to take a run when there was a huge grey cloud, like, right around the corner.”

“You said I would be fine!” he huffs, bending down to cautiously take off his soaked sneakers, now speckled with mud. “Who would’ve thought my own wife would lie to me like this?” he adds, sighing in disappointment as he fumbles with his shoelaces. “I mean, do our vows mean anything to you?”

Simply snorting, you shake your head, turning back to the stove. “I remember you explicitly vowing to put up with my sarcasm ‘until the sun swallows the earth’,” you remind him, pointing the ladle at him. “So, really, I should be asking you that question.”

He looks up to narrow his eyes at you and you stare back at him, narrowing your eyes just the same, tilting your head while you’re at it.

You seem to win the staring contest when a small smile curls at his lips and he breaks eye contact, stepping out of his shoes and putting them away. “Never mind,” he says with an ever-widening smile, walking over to the kitchen. “Anyways, how’s that soup doing?”

You watch him approach you with narrowed eyes, the look on his face making you all too suspicious. “It’s all warmed up now,” you reply slowly, keeping your eyes on him as he puts his chin on your shoulder, arms slowly but surely sneaking around your waist. “We just need to set the– Jungkook!” you exclaim when he suddenly tightens his embrace around you, feeling cold rainwater start to seep through your hoodie.

You try to wiggle out of his embrace, hitting the back of his hand – but he just hugs you tighter. “Jungkook, let go, you’re soaking me,” you whine, arms falling limp to your sides when you realise your hits aren’t working.

“Oh?” he merely hums, pressing a watery wet kiss to your temple. He grins against your skin when he feels you shiver in his arms.

“Clothes! My clothes!” you correct, leaning away from him in an attempt to keep up the façade of not being affected by this at all even though you can basically feel his whole damn body press against you and–

He just chuckles, leaning forward with you so he can kiss your cheek. “So sorry to hear that, babe.”

You sigh in defeat, though you do manage to stay composed even as his cold hands brush your bare skin underneath your hoodie. “You don’t seem very regretful about it, Jeon,” you say through a huff.

“And you don’t seem very angry about it,” he says, leaning back.

Looking up at him, you can’t help but smile at his bright grin. “Just put on dry clothes before I make you,” you tell him with a shake of your head, picking up the ladle to stir the soup once more.

“Fine,” he says through a sigh, tightening his arms around you one last time before dropping them and taking a step back. You scowl when you feel your hoodie sticking to your body, and you pull at it, only for it to go right back to clinging to your skin.

“You should change into a dry pair, too, while you’re at it,” Jungkook says, raising an eyebrow at you as his eyes flicker down to your hoodie.

And then, it clicks – the sly grin tugging at his lips, the way he tilts his head at you as he slowly but surely makes his way over to the bedroom, eyes never leaving yours…

“Wait,” you gasp, lips parting and eyes widening. Jungkook freezes in his tracks. “Are you seriously trying to get me out of my clothes?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about!” he denies right away, wearing the widest grin you think you’ve ever seen as he whirls around and literally skips over to the bedroom.

With a sigh, you look down at your wet hoodie and then back up, eyes flickering to the bedroom. You can hear Jungkook softly singing to himself in there as he rifles through his wardrobe – the sound of a man who knows he’s won.

Letting out a huff, you slump your shoulders, putting down your ladle in defeat. Fine. “I cannot believe my own husband would betray me like this,” you say loud enough for Jungkook to hear. “Do vows mean anything to you?” you add, reluctantly heading to the bedroom.

He laughs, glancing at you as you walk in and pulling out two of his hoodies, tossing one over to you. “Didn’t I ask you that, like, five seconds ago?” he questions, peeling off his wet shirt and draping it over the back of a chair in the corner, right on top of the sweats he’s already switched out for a dry pair. His hair is starting to dry, subtly curling at the tips.

“Avoiding the question, are you?” you tease, pulling off your wet hoodie and tugging the dry one over your head as he does the same.

“I’m offended you don’t already know the answer,” he replies with a snort, a smile curling at his lips as he walks over to you, gently taking your chin between his thumb and pointer. You huff some stray strands of hair out of your face and he smiles softly, brushing them off your forehead. “Of course they mean something. I mean, we did do the whole blood pact thing, so it’s not like we can get out of them, can we?” he jokes.

“Oh my god, you ruined it,” you groan, letting out a laugh as you step out of his embrace, returning to the kitchen. “Let’s just have dinner and watch a movie or something.”

You can hear him chuckle as he follows you. “Ah, and eat the soup as red as the bl–”

Abruptly spinning around, you squeeze his lips closed. “You’ll get me out of my clothes later if you stop talking now,” you interrupt him, trying not to finish his sentence in your head and ruining dinner for yourself.

He nods, lips curling into a smile even as you’re holding them closed. You only let go once you’re sure he won’t continue, narrowing your eyes at him – but he just grins at you.

“Still got it!” he says proudly, pressing a quick kiss to your lips before skipping back to the kitchen.

You huff, shaking your head. “And to think you only had to mention blood pacts to get the job done!”

He looks over his shoulder as he grabs two soup bowls from the cupboard, winking at you. “Simple, but effective.”

You can’t say he’s wrong.

a/n: thanks so much for reading, I hope you liked it!! Let me know what you thought, I’d love to hear from you :) I hope you have a great day/night wherever you are!♥

requests | masterlist

[silverfacedherald]

Yeah, not a romantic gesture. Deans not known for listening to romantic songs, so odds are theyre not the romantic ones. Also? Didnt make it for cas. It was one of his personal own mixtapes. People made mixtapes for a ton of reasons, theyre not excessively romantic

Hey Nonny!  Thanks for sharing your opinion!  Here’s my thoughts on all the interesting points you brought up.

To be completely honest with you, that’s not what I got from this text conversation.  I’m saying that because: “I’m leaning towards romantic gesture”, “ahhhhh both like each other but don’t want to admit it to each other so it’s an awkward dance around”, with the conversation ending with “they gotta play it out somehow man idk how but it’ll hopefully work out“ “I feel like the mixtape helped [with them both not being straightforward]”, and ending with a very pro-romantic comment that “that must just be frustrating to watch both people just playing footsie around each other basically”.  Which to me is a perfect way to sum up Dean and Cas’ relationship: a Will They or Won’t They and a Just Kiss Already

As far as I know, Dean is very well-known for listening to (and loving) romantic songs.  His two favourite songs (both by Led Zeppelin) are Ramble On and Travelling Riverside Blues.  Let’s look at some lyrics here to see whether there are any romantic themes within his two favourite songs, with Ramble On first.

(chorus)

Ramble onAnd now’s the time, the time is nowTo sing my songI’m goin’ ‘round the world, I got to find my girlOn my wayI’ve been this way ten years to the dayRamble onGotta find the queen of all my dreams

(verse)

I ain’t tellin’ no lieMine’s a tale that can’t be toldMy freedom I hold dearHow years ago in days of oldWhen magic filled the air’T was in the darkest depths of MordorI met a girl so fairBut Gollum, and the evil one crept up and slipped away with herHer, her, yeahAin’t nothing I can do, no

(ending that keeps repeating with different variations of sentence structure until the song fades out)

I gotta keep searching for my baby (baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby)

While this song is very much about living free and traveling the world - not to mention the references to The Lord of The Rings - it’s also very much about finding a lost romantic love.

Now let’s look at Travelling Riverside Blues, though my face is turning slightly red just thinking about it.  I am going to use the BBC Session version of the lyrics, if only because that’s what first comes up on iTunes.

Well I know my baby, If I see her in the dark I said I know my rider, If I see her in the dark

See my baby, tell her, Tell her hurry home Had no lovin’, since my baby been gone See my baby, Tell hurry on home I ain’t had, Lord, my right mind, Since my rider’s been gone

Squeeze my lemon ‘til the juice runs down my leg Squeeze it so hard, I’ll fall right out of bed Squeeze my lemon, ‘til the juice runs down my leg

Spoken: I wonder if you know what I’m talkin’ about Oh, but the way that you squeeze it girl I swear I’m gonna fall right out of bed

Nothing can be said about this song except that it is laden with sexual innuendo (or just plain sex).  It’s definitely not a “you’re my everything” romantic song *cough erotic cough*, but if you want to say that Dean isn’t known for listening to songs that have romantic/non-platonic relationships, then this is an example of that not being the case. 

(and here I get to finally use my knowledge of the songs Dean has listened to/been in the show; courtesy of my love of music and making playlists) Now overall, the songs Dean has played throughout the years can go into three categories: traveling/living free, fighting the good fight, and romance.  Some examples of songs (definitely not all) with romantic themes that Dean has listened to include: Burnin’ for You, Can’t Fight This Feeling, Time After Time, Round and Round, Who Do You Love, No One Like You, You Shook Me All Night Long, Back In the Saddle, Heartbreaker, Imaginary Lover, Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow, Heat of the Moment, Heartbreak, Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel, Cherry Pie, It’s Never Too Late, Shake It Off, and Good Love Gone Bad.  (I won’t go over these lyrics, as this answer post is already way longer than I first intended).  Some of these songs were first played even in season 1, showing that Dean has always had a big taste of romantic music, or at least songs that include romantic themes within them.  A direct example of Dean enjoying a romantic song early on is a scene in season 2 (I believe it was 2x05 Simon Said) where after hearing a romantic/love song (Can’t Fight This Feeling by REO Speedwagon) on a jukebox at the Roadhouse, he later sang the song while in the Impala acapella-style because “I can’t get it out of my head”.

And now back to the mixtape.  There’s 13 Zepp songs on it; Dean’s top favourites.  So obviously Ramble On and Travelling Riverside Blues are on it.  That leaves 11 songs unknown to us viewers.  There’s a post out there somewhere that listed all of the Led Zeppelin songs there are and counted how many are in each type of themes (I’ll have to dig for it, but once I find it I will definitely link it here).  In the end, the majority of songs are about romance or just plain erotic.  With Led Zeppelin being known as very romantic and erotic, Dean’s favourite songs both having romantic themes in them, and the fact that Dean likes romantic songs overall, it’s smart to assume that at least two or three more songs on the mixtape are about romance in one form or another.  Also, as @cornerbackcastiel points out (x), there has been exactly 13 Led Zeppelin songs referenced in the show, with 5 of them having romantic/erotic themes (2 of them refer to romantic relationships, but the songs aren’t mainly about that).  This possibly means that these are Dean’s top 13 favourite songs (though I don’t think so), and even if they aren’t, it shows that there are romantic themes within the songs that Dean at least listens to and enjoy.

Moving on.

True, it isn’t explicitly said whether Dean “just” gave Cas one of his favourite mixtapes, or if he actually took the time to make a mixtape to specifically give to Cas.  So it’s really up to us to figure out which of those is true, unless they mention it again in the show and clarify it for us (which I highly doubt).  So say Dean gave Cas one of his mixtapes.  My lovely friend @paisleyfifteen pointed out to me that this is Dean we are talking about here.  “Dean, who is very possessive of what little personal objects he has (especially his tapes), gave that to Cas AS A GIFT.  LIKE GAVE IT AWAY.  IT’S NO LONGER HIS.  That in and of itself is romantic.  Especially because Dean made it for himself so it must be personal.”  Music is also very important to Dean, it has been a constant in his very hectic life.  Music isn’t only sound to Dean, it’s something that helps him get through life.  To both weep and celebrate with.  So to show Cas his favourite music, it was not only a show of his tastes and to introduce Cas to “good” music, it was also to show Cas his inner self.  So while Dean might not have made the mixtape for Cas (though I learn towards that he did), it still has profound importance/meaning.

The last point you mention is that mixtapes are not “excessively romantic”.  Searching on any search engine, you can see what a mixtape means, and further, the meaning they hold when a gift.  For example, searching “why do people make mixtapes” gives me “Before CDs, there were cassette tapes. As a form of courtship, a person would record songs on a tape that they thought articulated their love for another person. Then, they would give the tape to them. This was called a mixtape.“  The first thing that shows up when searching “what does the gift of a mixtape mean” is “A Mix Is Still The Most Romantic Gift”.  Then, since Dean not only gave Cas a mixtape, but a mixtape of his favourite songs by his favourite artist: “when a guy shows you his favourite songs” the first thing to come up is “16 subtle ways your man shows he loves you (when he’s too scared to tell you)”.  Let’s try gender neutral: “what does it mean when someone shows you their favourite songs“ and the first article it gives me is “What the Music You Love Says About You and How It Can Improve Your Life”.  That last search gave me a non-romantic meaning, but it’s about how your favourite music reflects on yourself; a baring of your soul in a medium that is better than words.  I don’t know about you, but giving a mixtape of my favourite songs by my favouite artist where at least one song is highly erotic, is not something I would give to a platonic friend.

Thank you for the ask and hopefully I helped to make some sense of the mixtape!