There were meetings, and then there were meetings…

He could deal with the usual 30 minutes, maybe an hour. But anything longer, and he was probably thinking up any kind of excuse he could to get out of it.

He just wasn’t a ‘sit down’ kind of guy. Sure, he could always grab something to fiddle with, like a fidget toy or something small he could twirl in his hands, but they weren’t exactly quiet - and he wasn’t really one for fidget toys anyway. Then there were things he could simply think about to keep his mind occupied, but there were only so many math equations he could do in his head before he would start to fall asleep.

That’s why you were a complete godsend in meetings. Sure, you had to go to them anyway, but he was so grateful for the little distraction from the droning of the speaker at the front of the room. If there came a situation where you were unavailable to attend a meeting, he was totally miserable. He’d need an extra pair of hands to count the number of times he’d received a lecture for dozing off.

As you entered the meeting room before it started, you could physically see the tension drop in Bucky’s shoulders, and the visible breath of relief he released from his chest.

Of course, you’d taken a seat next to him. He always made sure to keep one empty for you next to his own, and everyone knew not to try and test his patience by attempting to sit there, even as a joke.

Despite his much calmer demeanour beside you, he was still restless and a little fidgety. So, as the meeting progressed, Bucky slowly reached over and grabbed your hand from under the table, setting it in his lap as his fingers traced along your palm, mapping out your skin under his fingertips and committing it to memory (though he probably had all of you memorised anyway). His eyes had been straight ahead at the speaker the whole time, though it would’ve been difficult not to notice the subtle upwards twitch of his lip.