bakerstreet | I want this for Christmas.

I want this for Christmas.

The Lap Pillow Meme

From TV Tropes: A good way to show the physical intimacy and trust which a couple have is to rest one's head on the other's lap. Usually, the man does the resting while the woman provides the lap, not only because of anatomical reasons but because the lap-owner is typically of a nurturing nature more associated with femininity. Bonus points if she's feeding him grapes or stroking his hair. In some cases this is done between people who are not necessarily lovers, to comfort someone who is weeping or injured.

Or, in the case of the meme: screw the rules, we'll do anything. Maybe they're tired and just found a good place to rest? Maybe both parties were asleep? Hard to tell. All we know is, someone's head is going to be on another person's lap. Shenanigans will ensue.

How this works:
→ Leave a comment with the usual information in the subject line: character name, fandom. Any preferences, including what you don't want, should be included as well.
→ Congratulations,whoever tags your character has their head on your character's lap!
→ Tag around. Please please tag around.
→ Have fun, and be excellent to each other!

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"Hey..." he murmurs softly, curling his fingers into Steve's hair again as he presses closer. "I know, it's-" he sighs softly. "I'm trying. I swear to God, I am."

Steve's voice is muffled, but he can still understand him anyway. "I'm working on it. You'll see," he mumbles, pressing a kiss to Steve's temple. "It'll be different when we get to California."

Of course Bucky's trying. Steve feels a little guilty voicing his fears and worries like that. If Bucky wasn't trying things would be very different. Maybe at the end of this roadtrip he won't be so afraid Bucky's going to disappear again.

"I know. You're doing great." Steve relaxes his hold and lets out a breath. "I can't help the heroic speeches sometimes."

He's got to trust Bucky. Steve's got to remember that. Bucky is giving it his best.

He rolls back onto his back to look up at a ceiling. "I guess thinking about the war brought that out."

"You were giving speeches way before you were Captain of anything," he chuckles lightly. "You might've only been 90 pounds soaking wet, but you had the courage of twenty guys twice your size."

Bucky shakes his head, "It's fine, Steve..." he insists in soft undertones, smiling slightly as he follows Steve's gaze up to the ceiling. Briefly. A moment later, his eyes trail back down to Steve's face. "It's okay. Promise."

"Yeah, well, I couldn't fight with my fists. Figured words were the next best thing." Steve almost misses those days sometimes. Everything seemed a little easier even though it was really hard.

It is probably fine. It will be fine. They'll be okay. They always came out okay, no matter how sick Steve got or how little money they had. They always made it somehow.

"I believe you." He smiles back at Bucky. "I believe in you."

Always had. Always would.

Bucky misses those days, too. Just two kids struggling to make it. He even missed the docks sometimes. “At some point on this trip, we should go fishing.”

His breath catches in his throat at that last comment, “You might be the only one,” he says on a sigh, shaking his head a little. “But that’s the opinion I care the most about, so I’m okay with that.”

"I haven't been fishing since... I think '37?" Steve can almost remember sitting on some rocks with poles in the river. A river that probably wasn't safe to eat anything out of given pollution at the time but they did anyway because the fish they caught were free. "We'll have to get some poles somewhere. I bet Yellowstone has good fishing."

They can look at the map later and pick the state they want to fish in. Steve thinks they're both going to be terrible but that's not really the point. The point is to do it.

"Always got me in your corner." He squeezes his hand tight for a second. Eventually, he'd get Bucky to believe in himself as well. It's just going to be slow going, apparently.

“Definitely been awhile,” he nods a little in agreement. It would be fun, and that’s really all he needs out of it. “That’s an easy fix, at least.” There might even be rentals for that sort of thing. “We’ll figure it out. We’ve got plenty of time.”

He smiles and returns the squeeze, “I know I do,” he says softly, a tiny smile hiding in the corner of his mouth.

Edited (Phone tags 😬) 2022-12-26 00:02 (UTC)

He chuckles a little. "Maybe that's how I get you to go camping. We go fishing too." Steve likes the idea of roughing it which he knows doesn't appeal to Bucky. He thinks it'll be fun, if only for a night or two. Not for long. They did that during the war and it had definitely not been fun.

Steve rubs his thumb across Bucky's knuckles gently. "I forgot all about the mistakes I made drawing. Were you trying to distract me that much?"

He figures it's time for a lighter topic. Bucky's revealed a lot about his hopes and fears. Steve's got him to agree to dinner out of the hotel room. That's a good conversation.

"I might be agreeable to that," he says with a grin. He may not want to rough it the whole trip, but there would be plenty of chances for veering off on side-trips like that.

"No," He chuckles lightly at that, watching the thumb running along his knuckles with a smile that's softened at the edges.

"I think I'll start the drawing over again." He sighs a little, still idly brushing his thumb back and forth. "After dinner. And I'll sit up for it."

Better posture and sitting at the little desk in the room would definitely help him draw better. He could focus on the details a little better and wouldn't be distracted by Bucky's fingers in his hair.

He wasn't going to get up right now. This is nice. It's been a long time since he relaxed like this with anyone. It's nice to feel safe and content. God, being with Bucky makes him so happy.

"Hmmm, yeah," he chuckles softly. "good idea." That feather-light touch is like a jolt every time he reaches one side of his hand and starts the trail back the other way.

There are so many different things they can take the time to do and see and explore. He decides he'll start thinking of things and write them down to discuss more details with Steve later.

"Is it too late for a nap?" because it might be a really good idea. He's so comfortable, and Steve doesn't seem keen to move, either.

"I don't think so." Steve turns his head to glance at his watch, which is old fashioned with hands instead of digital. "Go ahead. I can move if you need me to."

A nap now might be the only sleep Bucky gets tonight. Steve doesn't like to think in those terms but he is. If Bucky gets some sleep now that's good. It'll be some sleep instead of none.

"I'll wake you up when I get hungry." Because eventually he would. Steve's metabolism and muscle mass demand food on a regular basis.

Bucky peeks at the time on Steve's watch and decides he's right, they should be fine for it before dinner. "No, why would I want you to move?" he snorts softly, "I'm trying to take a nap with you, dummy," he ruffles Steve's hair a little with a chuckle.

"You want to sleep sitting up?" Steve raises an eyebrow at him because that sounds like a great way to get a bad crick in his neck. "Here, I can sit up so you can lay down and get comfortable. But I'll stay."

If the trick to getting Bucky to sleep is for Steve to be there that's fine. He can get a book to read while Bucky sleeps. Or pick up his sketchbook again. If Bucky does sleep he could get away with sketching a sleeping Bucky.

Maybe Steve should feel guilty sketching when Bucky can't tell him to stop but he really loves drawing Bucky. He's just got such a classical face. Yeah, that's the reason.

He starts to sit up so that Bucky can get comfortable.

“I’ve slept in worse places and positions,” he isn’t sure whether that’s a point in his favor or one against him. But this was a fair compromise, if Steve wasn’t eager for a nap.

Any sleep he can get is better than nothing and he tries to take it when it presents itself; not like he’s doing much else with his life at the moment. Some nights are a breeze and others a hurricane. If only there were a way to see which might be coming ahead of time.

He shifts with Steve, in something of a swap of their position. Bucky moves further down against the mattress and rests his head in Steve’s lap “S’long as you’re not going anywhere,” he mumbles softly.

"Where would I go?" Steve asks rhetorically.

He waits for Bucky to get comfortable before he drags his sketchbook over. Steve turns to a fresh page, still unhappy with the cityscape. Looking at it makes him frown.

"You just get some sleep." Steve drapes an arm over Bucky's chest so that he feels secure. It still leaves his hand free to draw. But he's not going to start while Bucky's awake.

Steve only starts to draw when Bucky's actually asleep.

“I dunno,” he shrugs with a soft smirk. He could get bored and start wandering the area around the motel. Maybe he would go on a run.

Bucky opens one eye and peeks up at him for a moment, “you make a pretty comfy pillow, you know that?”

Runs are for the morning when Steve needs to burn off any restless energy from the night before. And wandering a motel is a good way to get recognized and mobbed. He wants a nice quiet vacation where he's just Steve Rogers and not Captain America.

He chuckles softly and taps Bucky's chest. "Take your nap, old man."

Maybe he should stop talking to Bucky but it's hard to ignore him with those pretty blue-grey eyes looking at him and a little smile on Bucky's face.

He hums softly and shrugs, “Maybe,” he mutters.

Unless Steve recalls the very specific weakness Bucky has always had to having his hair played with. Find the right rhythm and he’d be asleep in about 10 minutes.

“Maybe I’ll just lay here and talk to you instead.” He smirks up at him again, a cheeky little grin.

"I remember you coming home from the docks and falling asleep on the floor with barely a hello, how was your day to me." It always made Steve feel a little guilty. Bucky worked himself to exhaustion to make sure they had enough money to pay rent and for Steve's inevitable illnesses while Steve struggled to find regular work in the neighborhood.

If Bucky wanted to sleep he could do so anywhere. Before the war, anyway.

"I think if you really wanted a nap you'd be asleep already." He ruffled Bucky's hair affectionately. Of course, he knows how to soothe him to sleep. He remembers that from their days living together. "Your leg was falling asleep and you were too nice to tell me to move."

"That was different," as so many things then were. But if asked, Bucky would say he'd do it all over just the same. Well, everything before the war, anyway. The rest deserves a do-over, which he feels they're kind of getting now, even if it's decades late.

Unwittingly, he leans into that touch like a cat chasing affection it's suddenly decided it wants. He huffs a soft sound that's not quite a laugh. "No," he insists, shaking his head. He doesn't bother to elaborate at all, though, instead he just loops one arm lazily across Steve and settles against him with a soft, contented sigh.

Something warm and soft blooms in Steve's chest watching Bucky make himself comfortable. He hugs Steve like he's a teddy bear. The trust between them hasn't gone anywhere. Even after almost killing each other, they're still like this.

He doesn't have words for how happy Bucky makes him. The future's great. He does like it. It's better, though, with Bucky.

"It was different." He catches on and pets his fingers through Bucky's hair like back in the day. Because sometimes Bucky would flop on him after a long day of work and bitch about it while Steve petted his hair.

Just like this.

Steve is a big ol' teddy bear- soft and cuddly, safe and warm. All the best combinations for a guy you're taking a nap on.

He's not really asleep yet, but god the feeling of Steve's fingers in his hair is a little piece of heaven right here on Earth. A soft sound bubbles up from the back of his throat and he can feel his eyes getting heavier by the second.

"Wake me up for dinner," he mumbles sleepily. It's almost like a magic sleep switch for him, really. Comfortable and warm and familiar. His breaths are even and slow as he drifts off.

"You got it." Steve chuckles softly as Bucky finally settles down.

He keeps combing his fingers through his hair, a little worried if he stopped that Bucky would wake up. He really needs this rest.

Luckily, Steve's a super soldier and can multitask really well. While he pets Bucky he sketches with his other hand. Of course he draws Bucky curled up against him, getting the rough shape down quickly.

He can draw Bucky's face from memory alone. He's quickly onto details and shading, almost getting lost in the tender practice of drawing his best friend.

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I want this for Christmas.

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