You can’t believe that this brought you to your Alpha. You also can’t believe that your Alpha is so incredibly hot. When he presses a kiss to the back of your hand in his truck you’re fairly certain you forget how to breathe for a second. You didn’t know that want would be so strong, so fast but you know, you know that you don’t want to be separated from him, ever.
“Can I take you out to dinner tomorrow? I have to work tonight otherwise I’d ask you for tonight.” He asks, his rich voice filling the space.
“That would be nice.” His hand is big in yours and you’re having a hard time looking him in the eye, you can’t believe that he’s your Alpha.
“Are you okay?”
“Yea, I just,I can’t believe that this is real. That you’re my Alpha and that I’d meet you because I was trapped in my apartment of all things.”
“Is it wrong of me to say that I’m glad that you got trapped in your apartment?” He flirts and you laugh softly.
“I guess not because I’m certainly not unhappy about it.” You flirt back and he grins over at you before he turns into the fire station.
You’re suddenly nervous again, there are so many of them, and many of them are Alphas.
“Hey Sweetheart?” Steve says softly and you glance over at him. “None of them are going to hurt you. None of them will even bother you.” it’s a little alarming that he can tell what you’re thinking
“It’s just, there’s a lot of them and only one of me.”
“Do you want me to scent you? Keep them away?” He offers and you bite your lower lip before asking.
“What if you have to leave?”
“For a fire?” You nod, “You’ll be in my private room. I’m the only one who knows the combination.”
“Okay.” You don’t move and he brings his hand up to his lips and presses a kiss to your wrist. You take a deep breath and take the handle of the truck and pull the door open. Steve follows suit and gets out of the truck and rounds the front to take your hand again.
“You want me to carry your bag?”
“It’s okay.” You tell him with your bag on your shoulder. He leads you into the station and only a few of the other firefighters even look at you. His friends glance over and give you smiles, another dark haired one smirks in your direction but Steve just leads you past them and up a flight of stairs.
His room smells so much like him that it nearly knocks you on your ass.
“So this is our space.” You like that he calls it both of yours, not his. Like you have claim in the space with him. “Please make yourself comfortable.” You put your bag on the floor in the corner of the room then drop down onto the little couch. “Can I come sit with you?” He asks and you nod.
Steve joins you and you end up talking for hours. You learn about his family, his childhood, his friendship with Sam and Bucky. He asks about your life too, you tell him everything. It’s so nice being able to sit with him and talk.
It’s almost midnight when a bell goes off. Steve jumps up,
“Stay in here.” He tells you before heading for the door.
“Wait!” You cry and he freezes in the doorway. You press a quick kiss to his cheek, “be safe.”
“I will, I’ve got an amazing Omega to come home to.” He tells you with a smile before running toward the where the trucks are.
You wait anxiously while he’s gone. You’d shut the door after you’d lost sight of him, then you’d smelled another Alpha outside the door. One you don’t recognize and you’d climbed into Steve’s bed to surround yourself with his scent. You curl into a ball on his bed and cover yourself with the comforter, imagining it’s Steve, there to keep you safe from the Alpha still outside the door. The only saving grace is that the other Alpha hasn’t tried to come in or break the door down or anything.
At some point you fall asleep. It’s warm and smells like your Alpha so it’s not much of a surprise that you do.
His hand is gentle when he slides it along your leg. “Omega?” He murmurs and you blink sleepily up at him. “You okay?”
“There was an Alpha hanging around the door and it freaked me out.”
“Oh.” He looks concerned, “I think that might be my fault. I asked Peter to keep an eye on you. If you needed anything.”
“Oh,” You can’t really be mad at him for not telling you, he’d been in a rush so the fact that he even thought about you is more than a little heartwarming.
“I’m so sorry Honey.”
“It’s okay.” You reach for him and when he gives you his hand you pull him gently toward the little bed. “Come sleep?” You offer and he laughs softly.
“You sure?”
“Yea.” He peels off his shirt and slides under the covers next to you. He’s a big man so not cuddling up against him isn’t an option, neither of you appear to be too bothered by the development.
“Omega?”
“Hmm?”
“I’m real glad I found you.” He says softly and you hum happily.
“I’m glad I found you too Alpha.” You say, butterflies flitting around in your stomach.
“Hey Honey? Can I kiss ya?” He asks sweetly and you tilt your chin up so his can press his lips to yours.
You cannot wait to spend the rest of your life with him.
A/N: This is immediately following the events in Who’s Counting? I also tied in a cute prompt from @the-ce-horniest-book-club bolded below - thank you!
Pairing: Firefighter!Steve Rogers x reader
Square filled: Firefighter AU for @marvelfluffbingo
No warnings - lots of fluff, touch of ominousness
Word count: 382
Divider by the lovely @firefly-graphics
Steve appeared, dressed in khaki shorts, black Nikes, and a plain black tee shirt pulling tight across his chest, stuffing his on-call phone into a pocket. You sighed quietly as he ambled towards you. “You ready?”
“Yup!” You gave him a sweet smile. Sam and Bucky were fist bumping behind you; Steve rolled his eyes at his friends.
“Better go now before they start planning something,” Steve joked as he offered you his arm. You straightened your back a bit, pleasantly surprised at the gesture. “Lead the way!”
After your deli lunch, Steve insisted on taking you to his favorite ice cream parlor. It had been quite the walk, but it gave Steve plenty of time to quiz you about your likes and dislikes. “Lately, I’ve been doing more cardio and dumbbell workouts mixed up.” You looked Steve up and down. “Looks like you never skip a chest or arm day.”
Steve chuckled at your assessment. “Leg day is really my favorite. Lots of squats.” You blatantly checked out his ass and whistled. “See, that’s why leg day is my favorite.” Your smile fell slightly and you inched closer to Steve.
“Don’t look now, but that guy in the gorilla costume has been following us for the past ten blocks.” Your whispered words reached Steve’s ears and he turned around, walking backwards. “I said don’t look,” you hissed.
Steve turned back to you with a grin, pulling you into his side. “I’ll bet you it’s just Sam or Bucky spying on us.” Just then the on-call phone beeped incessantly. Steve turned back around and noticed the gorilla costumed person still headed towards you. He frowned slightly but kept his tone light as he answered the phone. “Rogers.”
“A rash of fires broke out.” Captain Fury didn’t mince words. “I need you back at the station. NOW.” The call ended.
“Sorry we have to cut our date a little short,” Steve apologized. “Can I walk you back to your place?”
You smiled warmly at Steve. “I’ll walk you back to the station and get an Uber from there. Fair enough?”
The gorilla costume person passed by and Steve breathed a small sigh of relief. “Only if you give me your number and text me to make sure you got home in one piece?”
You and your best friend, Peggy own a famous bakery in New York, having started from the small building where you worked long hours to now owning a few staff members and loving it. Unfortunately an event leads to smoke and flames billowing from it as the fire department work to put the flames out, but maybe one flame lights itself.
Characters – Reader, Firefighter!Bucky, Firefighter!Steve x Peggy.
Word Count – 1278.
Part One / Part Two / Part Three / Part Four / Part Five / Part Six / Part Seven / Part Eight / Part Nine
‘I’m pregnant.’
‘I’m quitting.’
‘I’m getting promoted.’ All came at once, you shook your head and raised your hands slowing them down.
‘Woo, just slow down.’ You warned the three of them.
‘You’re quitting?’ Steve asked Bucky, he nodded.
‘I can’t become a firefighter again, not the way I was before and that’s okay.’ He said, Steve nodded at him.
‘I can travel the world now.’ He said, his hand tightening around your waist pulling you closer.
‘You’re being promoted, to what?’ Bucky asked him.
‘Chief.’ He said proudly, smile in widely. Bucky cheered before pulling him in for a bear hug, squeezing him tightly.
‘And daddy.’ Peggy added, you turned to her quickly making sure all the attention was on her.
‘You’re pregnant?” You asked Peggy, she looked at you and you looked between her and Steve, happiness beaming from the pair of them.
‘I’m pregnant.’ She confirmed.
‘Congratulations!’ You said, pulling her in for a hug.
‘Yeah.’ She said breathlessly.
‘We know it’s early but we want to ask you two a question.’ She said, you and Bucky shared a look before nodding.
‘We want you to be the godparents.’ She said, you and Bucky stopped what you were doing, shock evident on your faces.
‘The fairy godparents?’ Bucky asked, Steve let out a loud laugh but Peggy shook her head.
‘If you want to die your hair green, sure.’ She told him, he smiled and nodded.
‘I’d love to.’ He said, pulling her in for a hug, squeezing her but not as hard as he did with Steve.
‘Y/N?’ She asked, you tilted your head to the side.
‘I mean, do I have to die my hair pink?’ You asked them, motioning to your own.
‘You’d suit it.’ Steve told you, you nodded.
‘I know I would, but I don’t think I want my goddaughter’s first impression of me is bright pink hair.’ You told her, she smiled widely before squeaking and pulled you in for a hug.
‘So what are you going to do?’ Peggy asked you, you shrugged your shoulders.
‘Well I suppose, travel the world, see Paris and the Grand Canyon before making it back for the your birth.’ You told her, she smiled widely.
‘So you two are serious?’ She asked, Bucky pulled you close as you looked at each other.
‘I mean, if I find a hot guy in Paris or he finds women I’m not going to complain about him leaving me.’ You said jokingly, he scoffed beside you.
‘I mean, your looking at the hottest of the hot.’
‘Ehhh.’ You trailed out, before he buzzed your side and you jumped away from, sending a playful glare towards him.
‘What are we going to do about the business?’ Peggy asked, you looked at her before running your lip between your teeth.
‘We can run it from where every we are, the team understand how we run things and I think we can promote someone.’ You said, Peggy thought about it before nodding and smiling.
‘You ready?’ Peggy asked you, as Steve and Bucky we’re saying bye to each other.
‘Yes.’ You informed her.
‘Do you have everything with you?’ She asked, you snickered.
‘Yes mother.’ You teased her, she smiled before bounced her leg up and down.
‘I’m going to miss you.’ She admitted, you gave her a small smile.
‘It’s not like I’m moving away, we’ll be back in six months.’ You told her, she nodded before tears welled her eyes.
‘Don’t you dare cry.’ You warned her, pulling her in for a hug.
‘I’m not its just the hormones.’ She sobbed as she wrapped her arms tightly around you. You chuckled but kept cuddling her as you swayed back and forth.
‘Calling all passengers for the ten thirty one plane to London.’ A voice called over the speakers.
‘I have to go Peggy.’ You told her, she squeezed you tighter before moving away from you, wrapping her arm around Steves waist as Bucky took your hand.
‘Well we’ll see you soon.’ Bucky said, they pursed their lips and nodded.
‘Keep in touch.’ Steve called out, you and Bucky nodded.
‘We will.’ You said, they nodded before the pair of your turned around before you looked at each other before walking away and taking the first steps to your life for the net six months.
6 months later.
‘Sorry we’re late.’ You apologised, Bucky entering the room behind you as you were both breathing heavily.
‘It’s okay.’ They both said together.
‘Are you okay? Is she okay?’ You asked as you made your way over to Peggy’s free side, Bucky placed a hand on your back as he stood beside you.
‘We’re fine.’ Peggy said, calming you down.
‘She was born half and hour ago, and she’s healthy.’ Peggy informed the pair of you.
‘Do you want to hold her?’ She asked, you looked at her with wide eyes.
‘Can I?’ You asked, she nodded before she went to move but Steve placed a hand on her lap and he stood up, bending down and lifting her sleeping form up. You gasped quietly as you looked at her, you placed your arms correctly allowing Steve to place her in the crook and you fell in love.
‘Y/N!’ Peggy said loudly, excitement in her voice.
‘What? Am I holding her wrong?’ You asked, suddenly feeling panic take over you.
‘No, I want to know when you got that ring on your finger.’ Peggy said, Steve looked at your hand and looked to Bucky.
‘We can talk about it later, I want to focus on your just now.’ You dismissed it, as you looked at the sweet baby girl in your arms.
‘Have you named her yet?’ You asked them, glancing up at them as they nodded.
‘Abigail.’ They both said together.
‘Abigail Rogers, well aren’t you the prettiest thing I’ve ever saw?’ You asked her as you rocked back and forth slightly, Bucky was leaning over your shoulder, his hand on your waist. Peggy and Steve shared a look.
‘So when are children in the picture for the pair of you?’ Peggy asked, you looked up at her the same time and Bucky, before you looked a t each other before looking at Abigail, not saying anything.
‘Are you serious?’ She asked, her hands dropping to her lap.
‘You come back with a ring and a bun in the oven, what was in the air over there?’ She asked, you laughed before Abigail woke up and started wriggling around, opening her eyes she revealed her baby blues just like Steve, paired with the black locks she was going to be a beauty.
‘I think she’s hungry.’ You said handing her back over to Peggy, who leaned forward with the help of Steve undid her gown. You and Bucky looked away giving her privacy.
‘So where did he pop the question?’ Steve asked.
‘Romania.’ You answered, playing with the ring that shone in the light.
‘I’m decent.’ She told the pair of you, you both turned around and Steve was now holding Abigail, which made her look tiny.
‘And when the did baby making start?’ She asked, you looked at Abigail but she was back asleep.
‘In the plane.’ Bucky said, you whacked his chest with the back of his hand, he winced before he laughed.
‘It wasn’t baby making then, it was sex.’ You told him, he raised an eyebrow.
‘After he proposed to me.’ You said, she smiled and nodded.
‘Any tips about travelling the world?’ Steve asked as he placed Abigail into the small cot.
‘Yeah, don’t join the mile high club, it’s horrendous.’ You informed them.
Description: A much needed trip to the laundry room takes a turn for the worse when you realize you’ve locked yourself out of your apartment. The next move you make doesn’t play out quite like you’d hoped and ends up turning south, and fast. But, your luck starts to change when a neighbour finds you in a rather compromising position and offers his help.
Masterlist HERE.
Word Count: 9,280 ish.
Pairing: Modern!Steve Rogers x Reader.
Rating: G - mainly floof.
Warnings: Curse words. Poor life choices, don’t try this at home. Slight description of high heights and the fear that goes along with that.
Requested: Nah, this just popped into my head and so I wrote it lol
A/N: I sadly don’t own any of these characters. And no beta reader either, so I do proudly own all the errors and this story, so there’s that.
You slowly walked down the hall towards your apartment door. One hand holding your laundry basket as it rested on your hip, the other hand trying to locate your damn keys. You finally reached the door and dropped the basket to the floor with a thud, your folded clothes bouncing up upon impact. As you stood in front of the door, patting down your body, searching for the noticeable bulge of your keys. However, you quickly realized that they weren’t on you, as all you were wearing currently was an old pair of pj shorts and a t-shirt, neither of which even had pockets. Got to love laundry day attire. You glanced down at your laundry basket, giving it a good look over, but again, no keys there. You reached out and tried the door knob, giving it a few hopeful jiggles, but alas it was, in fact, locked. Shit.
You stood there looking around, trying to remember when you’d last seen your keys. Realizing instantly that you didn’t remember grabbing them off your counter when you’d headed down to the laundry room.
Now normally you’d have needed your keys to get into the laundry facility, but a week ago your building manager had switched the laundry room door to a key fob entry system, for better security, and you being the oh so smart cookie you were, had put the key fob on it’s very own lanyard. That way if you ever lost your keys, you wouldn’t have to pay the ridiculous replacement cost of the fob.
So now, here you were with your clean laundry and your expensive ass key fob, buuuuut no apartment keys. How’d you lock your door without your keys, you ask? Oh, well, let me explain that for you. You see, you have this fancy door knob, one that you could lock while open and then close the door behind you and it would stay locked. So cool, right?! No need to waste precious time putting the key in and locking it like any other normal schmuck. However, it made locking yourself out of your place, faaaar to easy. As you were currently realizing. So, you still ended up being the schmuck in the end. Just a fancy schmuck. Figures, this was just your luck. One of the few times you actually got a night off from your gruelling nursing job, and here you were, locked out of your damn place. You sighed and dropped your head back in frustration. Just staring up at the hallways ceiling and trying to come up with some sort of plan as to how, exactly, you were going to get into your locked apartment.
Then an idea crossed your mind, you’d left your bedroom window open and if you were super careful, and lucky, you’d maybe be able to climb in through it, as it was just off the fire escape. It was honestly a dumb idea, but it was the only one you had as there would be no managers around till the morning. And as it was 9pm, that was still quite a few hours away. And even if you called them, no one would show up for hours. You left your laundry basket sitting in front of your door, it was a pretty secure building, so only neighbours would be in the hallways, and you hoped none of your neighbours would stoop so low as to steal your clothes. But you’d just have to make this quick, just in case.
You quickly made your way to the stairwell and basically ran down the stairs. Your apartment was located on the 3rd floor and being that this was Brooklyn, it had a few fire exits around the outside. As most apartment buildings in this area did. And luckily for you, one of those fire exits just happened to be right where your apartment was. You pushed open the buildings front door and ventured around to the side, then halted to glance up at the fire escape, and attempted to steel your nerves. To say you weren’t a fan of heights was a bit of an understatement. You hated heights, feared them even. But this was currently your only option. So you surveyed the area then attempted to reach the pull down ladder, which—wasn’t going so well.
You peered around and noticed a metal garbage can down the alley a bit, then went to grab it. Chances are it wouldn’t hold your weight for very long and you’d probably end up having to replace the garbage can if you broke it. But you’d leave that for future-you to deal with. Present-you, just wanted in that damn apartment! You dragged it over, trying not to be too loud, the last thing you needed was someone calling the cops thinking you were a bugler or something. God, that would just make this whole experience so much more enjoyable. Not.
You lined the garbage can up with the pull down ladder then climbed on top, quickly grabbing the lowest crosspiece and pulling it down with all your might. It made an ungodly loud, metal on metal screeching sound but did pull down fully. You then slowly and quietly began to climb up, making it to the first landing and pulling the ladder back up into its original resting place, then you continued up from there. Taking massive effort to keep your steps light and quiet, which was a hefty task in and of itself, as the metal fire escape seemed hell bent on informing all your neighbours of your every move. You finally reached the third floor landing, which sat directly in front of your living room windows, so of course because of that exact reason, all those windows were locked tight. You stood at the edge of the railing, trying to figure out your next plan of action.
Your bedroom window was open slightly, showing that it was in fact unlocked as you’d remembered. But it was also about 2 feet away from the edge of the fire escape. And even though that doesn’t seem like that large of a distance normally, the fact there was a 3 storey height on that 2 feet gap, made it seem much, much more daunting. As if that 2 feet was all of a sudden a mile wide, and instantly all your courage left you. So you just stood there, attempting to get back your ‘give er hell’ energy from before, but that wasn’t proving to be a simple thing at the moment. You weren’t sure just how long you stood there, trying to either talk yourself into this, or out of it. Part of you saying to stop being such a baby and just do it already. While the other part adamantly shook it’s head and reminded you that if you slipped, it wouldn’t end well for you. At all.
“Fuck it.” You mumbled then swung your leg over the railing, promptly halting as soon as you were straddling it. This is a horrible fucking idea… You think I don’t know that? You’re gunna fall. Just shut up and let me do this! You slowly pulled your other leg over the railing, now standing on the opposite side of it. You know, the side you aren’t supposed to stand on, yeah, that side. Then with one hand that had an iron grip on the railing you slowly reached out with the other to push the window all the way up.
Once it was up and you were sure it wasn’t going to slam back down, you slowly turned yourself away from the railing, to face the window and then reached out with one hand again. You grabbed ahold of the windows edge then carefully release the railing with your other hand and grabbed the window frame. So now, your feet were still on the fire escape, and both hands were holding on to the window frame.
You slowly leaned forwards, then with another deep breath and a silent prayer to whichever God was currently listening, you pushed yourself towards the window and managed to pull your upper body in, with your legs dangling out, 3 storeys above street level. It was all going perfectly to plan, that is, until the window was jarred free, most likely due to your less then gentle dive into the window, and plummeted down towards you. It slammed into your mid back, which fucking hurt and you nearly screamed from both the shock and pain of it. But luckily you’d managed to muffle the sound just in time with your hand. Making it a low throaty yelp instead. You gave yourself a moment to breathe, and for your heart rate to drop back down to normal. Then you attempted to reach back with one hand to push the window back up, quickly realizing it was stuck. The impact with your back must have jarred it off its track slightly, so now it was pinned in place, which meant you were also now pinned in place. One half of you in your bedroom, the other half dangling 30 ish feet in the air. Great. Just fucking great. What the hell do you do now—
“Ah, whatcha doing over there?” A deep voice startled you, causing you to yelp again and then on instinct you went to look at where the voice had come from, quickly realizing you couldn’t see through fucking walls.
“I seem to be a little stuck.” You said loudly so he’d be able to hear you.
“I can see that,” he said and you could hear the amusement in his voice. He was clearly trying not to laugh at you. “But, ah, can I ask why you’re trying to break into my neighbours place?”
“Well you see, I um, I live here. This is my place, I’m um, your neighbour,” you paused, realizing that didn’t sound convincing, at all, “I locked my keys in my apartment.”
“How do I know you’re telling the truth?” He asked, but it didn’t sound suspicious, it honestly sounded like he was messing with you. But you’d never actually talked to him before. You’d just always figured you worked separate hours, as you’d hear him in his unit every once and awhile, but you’d never actually seen him in the halls. And you’d lived in this apartment for going on 6 months now.
“Shit, ah, my name’s Y/N, and I’ve lived here for 6 months.” You said, trying to think of anything that would prove you actually lived here. Then a thought popped into your mind, “Oh! My laundry!”
“Your laundry?” He asked, confused.
“Yes, it’s in the hallway! I was coming up from doing my laundry and realized I locked myself out! You can go check, it’s in the hallway!” You paused, then added quietly, “hopefully it’s still in the hallway.”
He chuckled, “Don’t worry, I believe you. Can you get the window back up?”
You attempted to try one more time to push it up, but it wouldn’t budge, “No, it seems to be stuck.”
“Okay, hang tight.” He said, and the words grow quieter as he spoke, you assumed he was walking away from his window.
You couldn’t help but laugh, sardonically and mumble, “what else am I supposed to do.”
“Right,” his deep voice startled you again, “sorry, poor choice in words there.”
“It’s fine.”
But this time you didn’t get a response, and everything went quiet again. “Hello?” You paused, “Are you still there?” Another pause, “I’ll take that as a no.”
You weren’t exactly sure what he was going to do, you just prayed it was something that would get you out of this damn window. And fast. Maybe he’d call the manager, and say it was an emergency. Hopefully that would get a faster response time as you weren’t exactly comfy wedged between the window and its sill. And your legs were starting to ache from just dangling there.
A few minutes went by and you were starting to panic now. Would you be stuck here all night? Was he ever going to come back? Calling the manager couldn’t have taken this long. Fuck. Look what you’d gotten yourself into. Having to rely on a complete stranger to basically save your stupid ass. You should have just called Wanda and asked if you could stay the night, and dealt with all of this in the morning. You know, when the manager was in her office!
You heard the ungodly loud metal on metal screech of the fire escape ladder, and then heavy footsteps quickly ascending the stairs, until finally they stopped at the railings edge near you. “Alright, I’m going to get you out of there, but I need you to trust me, okay?” He asked.
You nodded, then realized he couldn’t see it, “yeah, o-okay.” You stuttered, not sure what his game plan here was, but if it backfired, you’d have a very long fall ahead. So you were terrified, to say the least.
“I’m going to try to push the window up now, so you can finish climbing in.”
“Okay.”
You then felt the window move slightly, but that was about all it did. “Wow, it’s really in there.” He grunted. And you could feel him tugging on the window, but it refused to budge. “Okay, ah, that’s not going anywhere. It’s really jammed, and honestly might need someone to come fix it. But I won’t be able to get it any further up from this angle, so I am going to help you back out of the window.”
“What!?” You exclaimed, “that ah, that doesn’t seem like a very good idea.”
“Well it’s either I help you out of the window, or you just continue to dangle there.”
“Shit,” you mumbled, he had a point there, “so ah, what’s your plan then?”
“I’m going to help you get back over to the fire escape.”
“And how exactly are you going to do that?” You were genuinely curious, but also freaked the fuck out.
“You said you trusted me, right?”
“I’m probably going to regret this, but yes, I trust you,” you paused, “but just so you know, if you drop me, I will haunt you for the rest of your life. So, just, keep that in mind.”
You heard him chuckle quietly, “I won’t drop you, I promise.”
You heard some shuffling noises and a few weird clanks and clicks, and figured he was just getting himself into position, “alright, I’m going to touch you now, is that okay?”
“Ah, yup. Yes.” Wow, smooth.
Then you felt a large hand skim your lower back, then your side closest to him, before something was tightened around your waist. It felt thick, like a strap of some kind. Then you heard a metal click. “Okay, I put a harness around your waist and attached it to the fire escape. So if you do slip, you will only fall about 5 feet.”
“That’s comforting.” You mumbled.
“Hey, it’s better than 30 feet.” He chuckled again.
“You do have a point there.”
“Now, I’m going to grab on to your waist,” he said, and you felt his arm wrap around you, “is this still okay?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, now very slowly, I need you to wiggle yourself out of the window. Can you do that for me?”
“Ah, yup.” You said then took a deep breath and slowly started to push yourself back out the window, feeling his arm tighten around you as you did.
“Perfect, you’re doing great, Y/N,” he praised you, sweetly, “just a little further. You got this.”
Just before you got the last bit of your upper body out the window he spoke up again, “Okay, that’s good.” You stopped moving instantly. “This next part is going to happen fast, I’m going to pull you out and bring you over to the fire exit, so be ready to grab it, okay?”
“Okay.” And as the words left your mouth you felt him pull you the rest of the way out of the window and then all of a sudden you were grabbing onto the fire exit. He released your waist and then effortlessly hopped back over to the proper side, unhooking his harness and then helping you back over.
Once your feet hit the landing you almost collapsed, your legs felt like mush and all you wanted to do was fall to your knees and kiss the metal ground. But you refrained. For now. You felt his arm wrap around you again, but this time around your upper back, “woah there, you okay?”
You nodded, “yup, my legs are just a little asleep.”
“Okay, hold on.” He said as he quickly unhooked the harness from around your waist then helped you sit down on the top step, “here, sit for a few while your legs wake up.”
“Good idea.” You nodded slowly, and he chuckled again. You turned to peer up at him, taking a moment to just admire your savior. You obviously couldn’t have seen him before, but now that you could you damn near blushed at how handsome he was. He was tall, you guessed around 6’3”-6’4”. Very well built, you could tell, as the almost too tight black t-shirt he was currently wearing wasn’t hiding a damn thing. And he was blonde. You always had a thing for blondes. As your eyes gave him another once over you saw him unhooking the clips from the railing and rolling up the harnesses. “So you just keep harnesses on hand?”
He looked down at you, and you could just barely make out that his eyes were a dark colour, maybe blue? And then he smiled and shook his head, “no, I use them at work, I just happened to have a couple laying around.”
“Oh? What do you do for work?” You paused, “if you don’t mind me asking, that is.”
“No, it’s fine.” He smirked, “I’m actually a firefighter.”
“You don’t say.” You said slowly, then laughed, “it all makes so much more sense now.”
“Oh yeah? Why’s that?” He wondered.
“You were really good at this,” you gestured to your bedroom window, “you really seemed to know what you were doing. I don’t even know you and I trusted you.” You shrugged.
“Well I’m glad you did. And ah,” he stuck his hand out to you, “I’m Steve, by the way.”
You shook his hand, “Y/N. But you already knew that.”
He nodded, “I did. But it’s nice to meet you Y/N.”
“Oh shoot,” you smacked a hand to your forehead, “I totally forgot to thank you for saving me! So, ah, thank you, so so much! Seriously, I’d still be dangling there if it wasn’t for you.”
“No worries at all,” he smiled, “I couldn’t exactly just leave you hanging there.” He shrugged, then nodded his head towards your lower half, “how are your legs feeling?”
You turned to look at your feet and wiggled them, then looked back up at him, “better, I think they’re all good now.”
“Good, then let’s get you off this fire escape and back on solid ground.”
“That sounds like a wonderful idea.” You said as you slowly went to stand, feeling Steve gently grip your elbow to help balance you. Just incase your legs weren’t fully back yet.
After a moment of you standing, he released your arm but kept his hand close to it for another moment, clearly gauging if you were okay on your own. He obviously deemed you stable as he dropped his hand back to his side, “I’ll go first, just in case you slip.” He said and then started to head down the stairs. You following closely behind.
When you reached the lowest landing, he dropped the rolled up harnesses to the ground and then skillfully descended the ladder. Clearly, given his day job, he was a pro at this. You, not so much. You had almost made it the whole way down without looking like a fool, but that didn’t last long. Just as you went to put your foot on the final crossmember, you overestimated it and missed it entirely. Sending you plummeting to the ground with a yelp. You braced for impact—but it never came. You slowly opened your eyes, not exactly sure when you’d closed them and came face to face with Steve. And yup, his eyes were in fact blue. Neat. “It’s okay. I got cha.” He said softly.
You just nodded, and waited for him to put you down. Which—didn’t happen right away. “Ah, Steve?”
“Hmm?” He hummed, as if he was completely out of it.
“Are you gunna put me down?” You asked quietly, and wiggled your feet that were dangling, once again, except this time only inches above the ground. Instead of storeys.
“Shit, right.” He chuckled awkwardly, then placed you back on your feet gently and took a step back from you, his eyes shifted to the ground as he rubbed the back of his neck, “sorry about that.”
“You prevented me from hitting the ground, no need to apologize for that.” You said as you waved it off, “and ah, thanks, again, you know, for saving me.” You paused, “again.” You cringed. Okay. Your awkward had now reached a whole new level. Damnit.
“No worries,” he looked up at you and smirked, “Again.”
“Well, I’m gunna go back in now,” you gestured over your shoulder with your thumb, as you took a step backwards, “I’ll ah, see you around though.” you waved, awkwardly, because let’s be honest, this is just who you are now. ‘Awkward Y/N’. That’s your new self appointed nickname. You’d just decided this right now.
All he did was nod his head, as the smile on his face grew huge. You almost swooned but then quickly spun on your heel and hightailed it out of the alley. You reached the front door—and instantly remembered you didn’t have any fucking keys. Damnit! You groaned and dropped your head back, and then heard a now familiar chuckle from behind you. You spun around to see Steve walking up to you, “Figured you wouldn’t be able to get in without keys.” He jiggled his for effect.
“Shit,” you mumbled, “yeah, that would probably help.”
He unlocked the door then pushed it open for you, gesturing for you to enter, “after you.”
You pursed your lips together then nodded and walked through the door, whispering a “thanks” as you did. You both climbed the stairs to the third floor, Steve ahead of you, and you might have checked his ass out. But if anyone ever asked you, you’d plead the fifth. You didn’t condone being a creep, but, my god, you sure could tell he climbed ladders all day. He had a glorious butt, not that you were lookin—Fuck. Who are you kidding. You couldn’t even lie. You’d basically stared at it the whole way up. God. You were such a creep.
He pushed through the door to your floor and then you both walked quietly down the hall, as you rounded the corner you noticed the hallway was …empty. Fuck! The hallway is empty! You halted your steps and groaned, “Well that’s just great.” You mumbled as you gestured to your door. Where your laundry hamper wasn’t sitting anymore. Who steals someone else’s laundry!? So freaking rude!
Your head whipped around at the sound of Steve chuckling again, you narrowed your eyes at him. Because honestly, who laughs at someone else’s misfortune.
He quickly wiped the smile off his lips the second he saw the look on your face, then cleared his throat, “I ah, I put your laundry in my place, so it wouldn’t go missing.”
Aaaaand you’re totally an asshole. Way to go. “You did?” You asked quietly.
“Yeah, figured I could just give it back to you once you were out of your window.” He shrugged, then gestured for you to follow him.
“That was really sweet of you,” you murmured, mostly to yourself.
He unlocked his door and then pushed it open and walked inside, the door slowly closing on it’s own after him. Leaving you awkwardly standing there, in the hallway. You weren’t sure if he’d wanted you to follow him or if he’d even be okay with you in his place, so you figured it was smarter to just wait for him to return with your basket. You glanced around the hallway just as the door swung open, startling you. You snapped your eyes towards it and saw he was now standing on the other side, giving you a quizzical look. His hand high on the door’s edge, “You didn’t have to stay in the hallway, ya know?”
“Oh, sorry, I just wasn’t—“ you stopped mid sentence as he stepped back and opened the door more.
“You’re more than welcome to come in,” he gestured for you to enter, “if you’d like, that is. You can call the manager about getting into your place.”
You nodded, “ah, okay. Thanks.” You said as you walked into his place, instantly noticing your laundry basket on the floor near the living room. You looked around and saw that his suites layout was a mirror of yours. His furnishings were mismatched, but not in a cheap way. They all went really well together, as if every piece had been hand picked to tie a different piece into the room. There were personal touches everywhere, photos on the wall of various friends or family. Little trinkets, books and photo frames on a free standing shelf up against the far wall, in between the two large living room windows. A couch and chair, mismatched but yet, matching. With a simple wood coffee table, and a tv on it’s stand along the left wall, that separated the master bedroom and living room. There was a few plants scattered throughout and a lamp in a corner. All and all, it wasn’t what you were expecting at all. At least not from a bachelor—he was a bachelor, right? “Ah, your place is really nice.” You offered lamely, “did you decorate it yourself?” God, you really are so awkward. Who asks that?! Hopefully he wouldn’t notice that, that was your weird way of finding out if he was single or not. Or at least if he lived with anyone.
His chuckle led you to believe he’d read between the lines and knew exactly what you were asking, “Yeah, I did. Well, myself and my roommate.”
“Oh, you have a roommate?” You turned to look at him momentarily then glanced around, half expecting someone to appear out of thin air now.
He nodded, “Yeah, he’s at work currently.” He said as he moved towards the kitchen, “do you want anything? A drink or?”
You shook your head, “no, thank you though, I’ll just call the manager and then get out of your hair.”
“Okay,” he said then gestured to the entry table, “phones on the table, I believe the manager’s numbers are on the notepad beside it.”
“Perfect,” you wandered over to the table and glanced at the notepad, scanning for the late night number you’d need. You found it then pick the phone up and dialled. As it rang you glanced over your shoulder to look at Steve, while he poured himself a drink. Before you could stare to long at him a groggy voice spoke. “Hello, this is Susan.”
You quickly turned back towards the wall, “ah, hi, Susan. This is Y/N, from 3C.”
“What can I do for you Y/N?” She asked groggily, but sweetly.
“I seem to have locked my keys in my apartment. Is there any way someone can come let me back in?”
“Ah,” she paused and you heard some shuffling noises, “I can call maintenance, but I’m not sure how long they will take, not until I speak to them. Are you at the building now?”
“Um, yeah, I am.” You nodded then glanced back at Steve, who was watching you intently, you looked back towards the wall, “I’m just at a neighbours currently.”
“Okay, I’ll give them a call and then I’ll call you back, is this a good number to reach you at again?”
“Yes, yeah. This one works.”
“Alright, talk to you shortly.”
“Perfect, thank you Susan.” You said then hung the phone up and turned to Steve, “she is calling maintenance to see what they can do, said she’d call back shortly.”
He nodded then headed into the living room, he placed his drink on the coffee table and then plopped down on the couch. You hesitantly followed and sat down in the chair, “I hope you don’t mind me waiting here.”
He leaned forward to grab the remote off the coffee table, “not at all. Hopefully they can get you back in your apartment soon.” He said, not unkindly though. Maintenance had a reputation for taking hours to show up for anything, so you figured he knew that, and hoped you wouldn’t be locked out all night.
“Yeah, fingers crossed.” You replied as you settled into a somewhat comfortable silence, both just staring at the tv, watching some random cooking show. Chopped, or something like that. You weren’t to sure.
“Are you okay if I change it?” He asked out of the blue and it took you a moment to comprehend what he was asking.
“Oh, yeah. No, uh, please, feel free.”
“Bucky loves these cooking shows, I just have never been able to get into them.” He shrugged and brought up the channel menu.
“I’m guessing Bucky is your roommate?”
“Yeah, been best friends since we were kids.”
You were just about to reply and then the phone rang, you glanced at Steve to check if he wanted to get it or not. He gestured that it was okay for you to answer it and you sprung up and quickly made your way to the phone. Picking it up and saying, “hello.”
There was a pause and then a voice that definitely didn’t belong to Susan spoke up, “hello? ah…” you heard some muffled sounds, that resembled the caller pulling the phone away from their ear, and then heard a mumbled “did I call the wrong number again?” Which you figured wasn’t directed at you as it sounded a little to far away from the mic. You quickly looked at Steve, who saw the nervous look on your face and was just getting up off the couch to come save you from whoever was on the phone. Then another soft but confused, “nope, that’s our number.” Before the voice grew louder, like he’d put it back to his ear now. “Ah, who is this?” He asked.
“Oh, um, Y/N,” you said quickly, “I live ah, next door, in 3C.”
“Okay, Y/N from 3C,” he chuckled, “why are you answering my house phone?” He asked but you could hear the amusement in his voice, “is Steve there?”
“I was waiting for the manager to call back, and um, yeah,” you glanced at Steve who was now standing beside you, “he’s right here,” you passed him the phone and mouthed, “Bucky, I think.”
He chuckled and nodded as he took the phone, “What’s up, Buck?”
You moved back towards the living room, not wanting to intrude on their convo, but you could still hear it clearly, as you were only about 7 feet from Steve.
“Not even close,” he whispered quickly, then turned to face away from you, “Nothing, just waiting for—” he was clearly cut off, “no, I wont pass the phone to—“ cut off yet again, “it’s not like that and you know it,” there was a pause, “oh please, you’re one to talk,” another pause, followed by a deep sigh, “can we please talk about this later?” Another pause, “fine, fine. Whatever. So what do you want, jerk?”
It took everything in you not to burst out laughing at the one side of the conversation you were currently hearing. You instantly figured Bucky was a little shit, in all the best ways. And Steve was obviously more reserved. They were probably like yin and yang, and you’d have killed to be a fly on the wall for an in person convo between them. It was probably hysterical. To say the least. “Fine, yeah, see you later.” He finally said then hung the phone up, you only knew that because you heard the sound of it being placed back on the receiver. You’d stayed facing away from him after he’d turned around. “Sorry about that,” he offered lamely from behind you and you peered over your shoulder at him.
“No worries at all,” you waved off his apology, “hopefully I didn’t create to many,” you paused to think of the right word, “problems. For you.”
“Ah, no. None at all. Bucky is just,” he sighed deeply, “being Bucky.”
You nodded, “ah, gotcha.” then turned back to the tv, as you couldn’t look at him and not grin like an idiot over what you’d heard. Granted, you’d only heard half the convo, but you knew it was entirely about you. It didn’t take a rocket doctor to figure that one out.
The phone rang again, and this time Steve answered it. But probably not just because he was closest to it. You guessed he was worried it be his roommate again, calling back in the hopes you’d once again answer it and he could interrogate you further. “Hello?” He said, “yup, she’s right here.”
You stood up to go take the phone from him but halted when you saw a frown slowly form on his face as his eyebrows pinched together, “ah, okay, and that’s the best they can do?” A pause, then he slowly nodded, “not really ideal, but I guess there really isn’t much we can do about it.”
Now you frowned as well. That was not sounding good. At all.
“Ah, right. Okay, thanks Susan. Yeah, I’ll tell her.” He said a quick goodbye then hung up the phone.
“That didn’t sound good?” You hesitantly said.
He rubbed the back of his neck and his eyes drifted to the ground again, “yeah, no, it wasn’t really. As I’m sure we both suspected, maintenance said they couldn’t be here till the morning, and by that point Susan will be in her office. So she sends her apologies, but you won’t be getting back into your suite tonight.”
“Well shit,” you groaned and dropped your head back, mumbling “That fucking sucks.” Now what!?
“I’m sorry, Y/N.” he said softly and you quickly looked at him.
“Not your fault at all. I’m the idiot who locked my keys in my apartment.” You sighed, “would you mind if I used your phone one more time? I just want to call my friend and see if I could crash at her place tonight.”
“Ah, yeah, of course.” He paused, “this might be a little forward, but you are welcome to stay here, if you’d like.”
“Oh, I couldn’t ask that of you.” You shook your head, “You’ve already done way too much for me.”
“Honestly, it’s totally fine. You can have my bed, I’ll sleep on the couch.” He paused, “it has a lock on the door, and I can change the sheets.”
“You have a lock on your door?” You asked skeptically.
“Yeah, I uh, don’t always trust the,” he hesitated for a second, “people, Bucky brings over. I’ve had a few things go missing in the past. So now I lock up when I’m not going to be home for the night.” He shrugged.
“Oh, that makes sense.” You nod, “but I couldn’t force you to sleep on the couch, I can take it. That way you can have your bed.”
He chuckled, “Trust me, you won’t want to be on the couch when,” he glances up at the clock on the wall, “Buck gets home in 3 hours. He isn’t exactly quiet.”
“Oh, yeah. No. I guess I don’t really want that.” You laugh. “But won’t he wake you up?”
“No, I’m used to his noise levels. I’ve passed out on the couch a few times before and he hasn’t managed to wake me up yet.”
“Okay,” you sigh, “if you insist.”
He smiles, “I do, just give me a few to change the sheets over.”
You nod, “yeah, of course. And thank you, Steve. Seriously. You’re a lifesaver.”
“So I’ve been told. It sort of comes with the day job.” He laughs then walks into the master bedroom. Right, firefighter. You chuckle to yourself then patiently wait for him to return. Which luckily doesn’t take long, as he reemerges a few moments later with a small stack of blankets, sheets and a pillow, in his hands, plus a charging cord on top. “Okay, all set.” He said as he moved towards the couch.
“Thanks,” you smiled then moved towards the bedroom door, halting at the threshold, to turn back to him, “ah, goodnight, Steve. And thanks again, for everything.”
He smiled back at you, “goodnight, Y/N. see you in the morning.”
You nodded then shut the door, hesitating for a moment before deciding to leave it unlocked. Just in case he forgot something and needed in the room. You turned and then just took in his room, it was super clean and everything had a place. Which wasn’t really a surprise. Steve seemed like a well rounded, tidy guy. You were glad the roles weren’t reversed as you’d be ashamed if he saw the current state of your room. You weren’t a dirty person, by any means, but your room got a little out of hand sometimes. You just had so many clothes, most of which you never even wore, but just couldn’t part with. Your hamper was overflowing, and the accent chair in the corner was covered in clothes you’d tried on, but decided against and just hadn’t managed to hang back up. And your closet was, a nightmare, if you were being honest. You were always coming and going in such a rush between shifts, that your room sort of got the shit end of the stick when it came to cleaning. The rest of your home was damn near spotless, but that was because you hardly spent any time in it. And the odd time you did have friends over, you wanted it to look nice for them.
You walked quietly around the room, just looking at all the little touches. The artwork on the walls, the photos on the dresser, the books on the nightstand. Your hand reached out to move the top books to see the ones underneath. Noting that he had a great taste in literature, as your eyes landed on your favourite book that was hidden in the middle of the stack. You refused to open any drawers though, as that really wasn’t polite, so you just took in everything on the surface. Everything you could see without being a complete snoop.
After a few more minutes you pulled back the corner of the dark blue duvet, on his king sized bed, figuring a guy of his size would need a king size bed. You gingerly climbed in and pulled the covers back over you. You wiggled around, trying to find a comfy position, which didn’t take to long as the bed was honestly super comfortable. You were slightly jealous of his bed game. And once you were all settled in, you finally noticed the glorious smell coming from the pillows and blankets. You involuntarily took a large whiff, just basking in the glorious smell you could only describe as ‘clean man’. It smelt of clean laundry, and a delicious musky cologne.
You clearly hadn’t really had a chance to smell Steve, because that was a little creepy, but you figured he’d smell pretty damn similar to his bedding. To say the smell was comforting, was an understatement. It had been far too long since you’d laid in a bed that smelt of a man. Your job really didn’t allow for much in the way of relationships or boyfriends. You’d had one for about a year, but that ended 7 months ago when he couldn’t take your jobs hours anymore. He wasn’t mean or rude about it, he just sat you down one day and you both talked for hours, then amicably decided it would be best to end on good terms right then. Instead of waiting for things to turn sour. So you looked for your own place, and promptly moved into the apartment next door. You know, the one you currently couldn’t get in to. Your mind slowly began to cloud and before you knew it, you were fast asleep. Both from the exhaustion of all that had happened tonight, on top of the comforting smell of Steve’s sheets. Yeah, you didn’t stand a chance.
You woke to the light filtering in through the cream curtains, they managed to block most of the direct light, but gave the room a soft glow. Your ears instantly perked up at the sound of metal hitting the tiled floor, followed by a few muffled curse words. You sat up and rubbed the sleep from your eyes before flipping the duvet off and padding to the bedroom door. You opened it, glancing around but didn’t see anyone at first. That is, until you saw Steve stand up from his momentary hiding place behind the kitchen island. You made your way towards him, mumbling a soft, “morning,” as you did. Not wanting to startle him.
But clearly you’d failed on that endeavour, as he whipped around at the sound of your voice, metal mixing bowl in hand, with a shocked look on his face. One that he quickly corrected into a apologetic smile upon seeing you, “Morning.” He quickly said then added, “sorry, I hope I didn’t wake you.”
You took a seat on one of the barstools at the island counter and waved off his concern, “No, not at all. I woke up right before you dropped that,” you chuckled and gestured to the bowl in his hand.
“Okay,” he chuckled as well, “good. I um, I’m making pancakes, if you want some?”
“Pancakes sound wonderful.” You smiled and he nodded then turned around and rinsed out the bowl then began making breakfast, “so, any word from Susan?”
“She actually called about an hour ago,” he said over his shoulder, “I didn’t want to wake you up, so I hope you don’t mind, but I went and met her at your place, she let me in to grab your keys. Once I had them, I left and locked back up,” he pointed to the hallway table, “your keys are over there.”
You glanced at the table to see your keys sitting there then turned back to him, “I don’t mind at all, thank you so much for doing that.”
“No worries,” he glanced at you and smiled, “I’m just glad you can get back into your place again.”
“Me too,” you sighed contently, then give the apartment a once over, realizing someone was missing. “No Bucky?”
“No, he likes to sleep in after his shifts.” He chuckled fondly as he glanced at the clock on the oven, “we won’t see him for a few more hours.” ….’we’? You figured he hadn’t even noticed saying that, but just how easily the word fell from his lips made your heart flutter, just a little.
“What does he do for work?”
“Same as me.”
“Oh, so you’re both firefighters?”
“Yeah, we joined up at the same time.”
“That must be hard. Living and working with your best friend.” You said quietly, more a voiced thought then anything else.
“It has its challenges for sure,” he said as he placed a plate of pancakes and a bottle of syrup in front of you, “but he is like a brother to me. And we don’t always work the same shifts. So it isn’t too bad.” He shrugged then grabbed some utensils and placed the next to your plate. “Do you want any coffee?”
“Well that’s good then. And oh god, yes, I’d love some coffee.” You happily groaned.
He laughed as he grabbed a mug from a top cabinet and poured you a cup, “anything in it?”
“2 and 2 please.”
He nodded and quickly added them to the cup then stirred it and placed it in front of you, before making up a cup for himself and taking a sip. “So, what do you do for a day job?”
You quickly finished chewing the pancake in your mouth then took a quick sip of coffee to wash it down, “I’m an ER nurse.”
“Oh wow,” he said, slightly wide eyed, “that would explain why I’ve never seen you in the halls.”
“Yeah, I always just figured we worked different hours.” You shrugged.
“That must be an intense job?” he asked, but it wasn’t really a question, more just a informed guess.
“Probably no more intense than your own.” You laughed.
Before he could say a word in response you both heard the creak of a door opening followed by a grumbled, “there better be coffee.” You both turned to the source of the voice, seeing a groggy, still clearly half asleep Bucky walking out of his room.
“There is,” Steve replied, “your up earlier then normal.” He added, the words sounding less like an observation and more like a suspicious remark.
“Well, we have company,” Bucky glanced at you and gave a cheeky little grin, then shifted his gaze to Steve and shrugged, “would be rude of me to sleep through that.”
You side eyed Steve and saw the death glare he was currently giving Bucky, one he was clearly trying to hide from you. “Uh huh. Right.” He said, skeptically. Which only caused Buckys grin to widen as he moved into the kitchen to make a cup of coffee. Steves eyes following him as he did, as if his friend was a ticking time bomb and if he didn’t keep a close eye on him, he’d go off and leave a bunch of chaos in his wake.
You had to hold back the giggles that wanted to escape at the interaction between the two guys. This moment instantly solidifying in your mind that Bucky was, in fact, the little shit you’d assumed he was. And you loved every second of it. You just sat there, happily munching your pancakes and sipping your coffee, just waiting to see what would happen next.
The talking might have died down, but that didn’t mean the conversation did. You noticed a few different pointed looks from Steve and a few body gestured from Bucky in response. His back was to you as he made his coffee so you couldn’t see his facial expressions but you assumed they were just as expressive as Steves. Clearly they were having a full on, non verbal, discussion that only two lifelong friends could have. Bucky finally turned to face you, a smirk on his lips as he took a sip of his coffee and hummed happily, before sticking his hand out to you, “I’m Bucky, by the way.”
You giggled at Steve’s eye roll, then shook his hand over the island counter, “Y/N.”
“Yeah, 3C.” He chuckled, “it’s nice to finally meet our neighbour after months.” He turned to Steve, and chuckled, “who knew there was a cute chick living nextdoor all this time.”
You blushed and laughed at that but before you could reply Steve did, “Buck,” he warned, “can I speak to you for a minute. Privately.”
“That’s rather rude, leaving our guest all alone.” Bucky replied, cheekily. And oh god, these guys needed there own reality tv show. Because you’d totally watch it.
Steve looked about ready to either drag Bucky out of the room, or smack him upside the head. You glanced down at your now empty plate and mug then spoke up before Steve could murder Bucky, “I should really be going,” you said as you stood from your stool, “thank you for breakfast, and letting me crash here, Steve.”
He snapped his eyes from Bucky to you and went to open his mouth to speak, but Bucky was a little quicker, “you’re leaving, so soon?”
You smirked and looked at him, “yeah, I should really be getting out of your hair now.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that, you’re no bother to us,” he said quickly, “isn’t that right, Steve?” He asked as he swatted Steve’s chest with the back of his hand, receiving a grunt in return.
Steve rubbed the spot on his chest and shot Bucky a nasty glare, then his eyes landed on you and softened, completely, “it’s no bother at all, but I’m guessing you’d like to finally get back into your apartment.”
You nodded, “yeah, that I would.” Then you walked over to your laundry basket, picking it up and resting it on your hip before you turned back to the two men. Who were once again having a nonverbal conversation, that halted the second they realized you were facing them again.
“Ah, do you want help with that?” Steve asked as he gestured to the basket.
“No, I got it.” You replied with a smile as you walked to the entry table and grabbed your keys.
“Alright, then let me walk you out.” He said as he moved towards the door.
“It was nice to meet you, Bucky,” you smiled and went to follow Steve.
“Yeah, you as well, hopefully we get to see you around more often now.” He said back.
You nodded then joined Steve at the door, as he opened it for you. You exited into the hall then turned back to him, “I know I’ve said this so much already, but thank you again for everything, Steve.”
He smiled, “it was no bother. Really. Just ah, promise me if you get locked out again, you’ll just come knock on our door. Instead of trying to break in again.”
You giggled, “I will. Promise.”
“Okay, good. I’ll sleep better knowing you aren’t going to be dangling from anymore 3rd floor windows.” He chuckled.
“I’m glad to hear it. Bye, Steve.” You waved then started down the hall.
“Ah, bye, Y/N.” you heard him say back as you did.
You wanted to glance back, really you did, but you fought through the urge and just as you reached your apartment door you heard the soft click of his door closing. You finally unlocked your stupid fancy door knob and entered back into your suite. Releasing a deep breath, and hoping you’d get a run in with Steve again soon.
A thought crossed your mind and you laughed then shook your head. No, you can’t deliberately lock yourself out of your suite just so you can see him again. Because that’s insanely creepy and all together stalkerish. So you resigned yourself to just hoping you’d get to bump into him in the halls a little more now.
Over the next three weeks, you got your wish. Ten fold. It actually started to feel a little suspect, but you weren’t complaining. 6 months of living here and never once crossing paths with Steve or Bucky. And yet, in the span of three weeks you’d managed to see them both damn near daily.
Bucky would stop and chat with you, so long as neither of you was running late for something. He’d ask how you were and offer for you to come hang out with them. Sadly you’d usually either been just coming off a long shift and were dead on your feet, or heading to start your next one. So you hadn’t been able to take him up on the offers yet. But he’d always just nod, smile and reply, “next time then.” And on occasion he’d comment about how, “well, you do know where we live, so pop by any time.” To which you’d laugh and tell him “will do.”
When you ran into Steve, he was never as forward as Bucky, he’d make simple small talk. Asking how you were and how work was going. On occasion he’d be covered in dirt and ash, clearly just getting off shift, and waiting till he got home to shower. Every emergency worker had their own way to decompress after a particularly difficult shift. You assumed part of his was taking a nice long shower in his own home, where he could just stand and unwind on his own terms. You only figured that because you had a similar step in yours, plus the hospital showers just weren’t as good as your own. When you had stumbled upon him in that state, you’d ask how he was doing, truly, and question softly about his shift. He’d tell you little bits, usually nothing too deep. And you’d listen intently and just let him say as much or as little as he wanted. You knew from personal experience not to push more then that.
But today, today was a little different. You’d just stepped out of your apartment door, and as you were putting your key in to lock up, you heard the guys door open abruptly and then a stumbling Steve emerged into the hall with some force. He quickly collected himself, shooting a pointed glare back into his open suite door, just before it slammed shut. You heard his deep sigh right before he shifted his attention to you, giving you a shy smile and an awkward wave.
You laughed and waved back, figuring Bucky was behind this little ‘impromptu’ hallway meeting. Then finished locking your door and directed your attention to Steve, “fancy meeting you here.”
“Ah, yeah.” He rubbed the back of his neck, “are you just heading off to work?”
You smirked, “nope, got one of those illusive days off. If you can believe that.”
“Oh yeah?” He asked, intrigued. “Got any exciting plans for it?”
“Ah, nope. No set plans, I was just going to go wander around and get some fresh air. You heading somewhere?” You asked.
“No, nope. No plans either.” He shrugged.
“Did you want to join me?” You asked, hesitantly, preparing yourself for his possible decline.
His eyes snapped to you then, but just as he opened his mouth to reply his suite door abruptly opened again, “he’d love to!” Was yelled out of it as one of, you assumed, Steve’s jackets came flying into the hall. He barely reacted in time to catch it and then the door slammed shut again, the sound of the lock clicking into place hitting your ears a second after.
Steve groaned softly, probably hoping you wouldn’t hear it, but you had. And you couldn’t stop the laugh that burst from your lips. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
“God, he is just so damn pushy.” Steve mumbled as he put his jacket on and shot the closed door a quick glare, then started to walk towards you, “but he’s right, I’d love to.”
You smiled and tucked your keys into your purse, as you both headed for the stairwell door, “so, where to first?”
“Coffee?” He asked.
“Sounds perfect, my treat as a thank you for saving me that night.”
He shook his head adamantly, “nah, my treat this time. You can get the next round.”
The smile on your face grew even bigger, and even though you wanted to fight him on this, you didn’t. Instead replying with, “Deal. I’ll get the next round.”
You both glanced at each other as you made your way down the stairs, smiling like a pair of idiots at what you had both just implied. You weren’t sure what this little coffee date would lead to, or where this would all go, but you were excited for the possibilities it presented. And let’s be honest, any chance to glance at this handsome mans butt up close, was a perk all on it’s own. One you’d never turn down. Not in a million years. And to think, this all started because you ended up Locked Out of your place. It’s funny how life unfolds sometimes.
Warnings: Mentions of sexual activity, Angst, Complexly sad Steve, Mention of War, Mention of Death if you squint
Authors Note: I love firefighters. They’re always sweet and I know plenty of people they’ve saved. One day I was thinking about parallels between Steve’s self sacrificial nature and the nobility of firefighters and.. then there was this.
Steve is an emotional man. It’s much of the reasons you fell in love with him, but it takes a deep toll on the both of you when he feels like he’s failed.
one night, when the both of you are learning to share a bed, and after heavy lovemaking that has both of you left with slick skin and swollen lips, he presses the cool metal of his dog tags into your palm and tells you you are his god given solace.
he brought the War home in his heart. He couldn’t rest knowing there was unrest still, so he joined the department not long after returning home.
this does nothing for your peace of mind, as he always seems to think the only way to stop bad is to put himself in front of it and make it swerve like a speeding tractor trailer: it takes him down anyway.
he has always seen himself partly as the price of Justice, at the heart of any revolution, because revolutions are constantly brewing in his own. your love stablizes him, gives him something to lose. you also teach him slowly that he means something more than a pawn, a lesson that his military background did not aid in teaching.
sometimes, you shower together and he stands and lets you wash the soot off of him after a hard day.
As you’re rubbing his back to coax him into sleep later, he tells you how devastated he feels when they can’t save a house.
That watching someone’s eyes when their memories and unsalvageable keepsakes fold into the flames and crumble to dark dead dust.. is haunting.
He always feels like he is just a little too late, and hates that his job is response to tragedy. He always agrees that saving lives makes it just enough worth the aching of his Lower back and sleepless nights.
The day he saved his first soul... put him on top of the world. he took a trip across the galaxies and looked down from the heavens. So he stays.
The two of you are also involved with a lot of volunteer work via the fire department, and a part of a tight knit community of families and friends. The both of you had a bigger impact than you knew, yours starting in the nights when you rubbed his aches away and talked him through his feelings.
for calls out while the two of you are still in bed, he kisses your forehead twice, and then once more for good measure and holds you a tight second. Then he practically rushes out of bed like he’s scared he’ll never leave.
And you always pretend to still be sleeping, because you know somewhere in his heart he has the same fear he might not come home to you.
For this reason, you both exchange I love yous before bed each night, no matter what precedes them
You were stupid excited about today. You’d bought an ice cream maker and when it got delivered it took every ounce of self control you had to not open it.
Okay if you were honest you had opened it but only to fish out the directions so you didn’t mess it up.
You have all the ingredients in the fridge when Steve comes home you pop off the couch where you’ve been working on your latest book.
“Hi!”
“Hi Omega, you seem excited.”
“I am.”
“Have you planned dinner yet or can I make it?”
“You want to? I thought we could just do pizza?”
“I want to. I also have your present upstairs. It’s kind of a repeat, I hope that’s okay.” He looks worried, like you’ll be upset.
“Well, I’ve loved everything you’ve given me so I don’t see this being any different.”
“God I love you.” He murmurs and you laugh softly before pressing a kiss to his lips. “It’s in the bathroom closet. If you wanna go get it I’ll get started on dinner.”
“Okay.” You jog up the stairs and he heads for the kitchen. You know he didn’t have any fires today, which is a massive relief. You find the gift in a bag in the closet then head back downstairs. Steve has some beef out and you can’t help but laugh, you’d expected something milk based, like something with cheese.
“Kinda morbid don’t you think?” You ask stepping into his side and wrapping your arms around his waist.
“Maybe a little. But I know you love a good burger.” He isn’t wrong.
You stay curled into his side while he cooks, you talk about your day and Steve presses the occasional kiss to the top of your head.
After dinner he slides your gift to you, it’s an oatmeal milk bath mix.
“Oh! I’ve always wanted to try this.”
“Really?”
“Yea, it’s supposed to make your skin so soft.” You tell him and Steve hums softly, “you wanna take a bath later?”
“Always.” He says with a little smirk and you laugh.
“You ready for yours?”
“Sure.” You pull out all of the ice cream making stuff and his eyes go wide. “Did you get me an ice cream maker?”
“Yup!” You tell him clapping your hands excitedly.
“Sweetheart! Yes!” He pulls you to him and kisses you quickly. “You have so much stuff!” He’s like a kid in a candy store and you can’t help but laugh, you love seeing him like this.
You spend the next hour making ice cream. You do a vanilla base with add ins of chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, strawberries and blueberries. The fruit is kind of a miss, it gets too cold when it’s churned but Steve is thrilled with the gift either way. You’ve got to admit you’re pretty proud of this one and you can’t wait to keep trying different add ins.
You’ve been dreading today. You know that Steve is going to do something crazy and actually buy you five golden rings. You’d thought about donuts but it felt like a lot of food ideas and honestly you’re kind of sick of making food.
After wracking your brain for what feels like days you decide to just suck it up and buy five boxes of donuts to bring to the fire station. You load Cooper into the car and head to your favorite bakery, Quicksilver’s, and give Pietro a wide smile when you and Cooper walk inside.
“Hey Fawn! Five golden rings?” He asks and you laugh.
“How many of us are doing this?”
“A couple. Probably not as many as you think.”
“I was gonna buy five boxes and bring them to the fire station. Should I not?”
“I don’t know if anyone else is so you should be fine.” He says pulling a box out from under the counter. “What kind so you want?”
“Whatever you want.” You watch as Pietro loads up all five boxes with six donuts each then rings you up. After you pay he picks the boxes up and rounds the counter.
“I’ll carry them out for you Fawn.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course.” So you lead him out to the car and he loads the donuts into the trunk of the car.
“Are you coming to the Christmas party?”
“Yea, I wouldn’t survive Becca’s disappointment if I didn’t.” He tells you shoving his hands into his pockets. He’s been so good to her, you’ve always liked having Pietro around, even if it was hard on Steve and Bucky for a while.
“See you then. Thanks for the help.”
“See you.” He heads inside and you make your way to the fire station.
When you get there you let Cooper run and you bring the donuts into the station and up to Steve’s office.
“Woah Sweetheart,” he says with a soft laugh, “you clean Pietro out?”
“No, but I figured I’d get enough for everyone. You get first dibs. They are your present after all.”
“Thank you Sweetheart.” Steve says standing as you put the boxes on his desk. He rounds it and presses a kiss to your lips. “You want your present now?”
“If you have it.”
“I do.” He goes into the closet and pulls out a suspiciously small bag. “Happy fifth day Sweetheart.” He says handing you the bag. You open in and open a larger jewelry box than you were expecting. Inside is a pair of gold small hoop earrings, a gold chain necklace, a diamond and gold set bracelet and a gold ring with three black diamonds in it.
“Holy shit, Steve this is too much.”
“Nothing is too much Sweetheart.” He argues as you stare down at the jewelry, “wanna put any of it on?” You nod and set the box down to remove the necklace. “The ring should fit your middle finger.”
“Okay.” You turn away from him and he puts the necklace on as you slip on the ring.
“Bracelet?”
“Are you sure it wasn’t too much?” You can’t help but fret a little, this isn’t supposed to be the biggest gift and if this isn’t the biggest gift what does he have planned for biggest?
“I promise.” He says putting the bracelet on your right wrist.
“Next year we’re putting a price limit on this.” You tell him and he laughs softly before kissing you again.
“Come on Sweetheart. Let me spoil you.” He teases and you give him an amused look and he laughs. “Love you Omega.”
You’ve been hustling all day to get things done. Food is ready, drinks are cold, and your pack and some friends have started to wander into the house. You’d decided to go for formal wear and when Steve had come out of the bathroom in his forest green velvet jacket you’d been stunned speechless.
“Like what you see Sweetheart?” He’d teased but you’d only been able to nod. He looks so fucking good.
“You look incredible too Sweetheart.” You glance down at your black sequined dress you certainly feel like a million dollars.
“Are you ready?”
“Yea, do you wanna exchange gifts now?”
“Later please.”
“Okay.” He gives you a quick kiss then you head downstairs just as Sam and Carol come wandering into the party.
You don’t get to spend as much time with Steve as you’d like, just a few quick kisses as you pass one another. Clark and Punkie bring their whole pack, most of whom you’ve met or at least heard of. It’s a wonderful time. Just before midnight Steve comes and gets you from the conversation that you’re having with Diana and Bruce.
“I wanna give you your gift.” He murmurs into your ear as he takes your hand.
“Excuse me.” You tell them but Steve just smiles,
“Come on. Everyone outside.” He says and the group all start moving toward the back of the house. You look up at him in confusion, but Steve just grins down at you.
Then the fireworks start.
“Drums bang.” He says and you laugh, you kiss him wrapping your arms around his neck.
“I love you.” You tell him and he kisses you again.
After the fireworks show is over your friends and pack all head out. When you’re alone again and he looks at you with a raised eyebrow.
“You want your present?” You ask cheekily and he looks amused. “Come on.” You tell him leading him up to your room. You’d also done the word bang but you’d gone, dirty. You bought a pretty dark blue teddy and panty set, one that you can’t wait for Steve to see you in. You park him on the bed then change in the bathroom, when you come out his eyes darken and he lets out a low groan.
“Damn Sweetheart, merry Christmas to me.” You laugh and make your way to him and he pulls you into his lap.
