can you please write steve's reaction when he comes home to sam and bucky having built a chicken coop and adopting like twelve baby chicks
OH BOY CAN I!!!!!! this is the cutest fucking thing holy shit!!!! ft baby chickens, sweet soft boyfriends, and emotional supersoldiers
The house is strangely quiet when Steve opens the door. No TV, no bickering or banter, no music. Steve pauses in the doorway, alert, and hears water running in the kitchen, someone moving around. Steve lets out the tense breath he had been holding and shuts the door.
“I’m home!” He calls, pulling his jacket off and dumping his bag by the door. He can deal with the sweaty clothes later. Right now he wants to see his boyfriends.
Sam rounds the corner into the hallway quickly, grin splitting his face. He’s the most beautiful thing Steve’s seen in the last week, and Steve starts to feel better just from his presence. Sam just has that effect on him.
Steve wraps his arms around Sam’s waist and pulls him in close, burying his face in Sam’s neck. He’s warm and soft and he smells like...hay.
“I missed you too,” Steve mumbles, kissing his neck and then leaning back for a proper kiss. He means to ask about the smell but he gets distracted when Sam sighs into his mouth and parts his lips. Steve hums and deepens the kiss.
They part when arms wrap around them both from behind Sam, Bucky’s hands sliding under Steve’s shirt.
“Don’t stop on my account,” Bucky says, grinning.
“Shut up,” Steve says, freeing one hand from between them and pulling Bucky in by the back of the head. Sam’s head rests on Steve’s chest, watching them, and Steve feels the last of the mission tension draining from his body, for the time being.
There’s a little sound, and at first Steve thinks it’s Sam or Bucky, but then it comes again and no, Steve has definitely never heard either of them make that kind of noise. He pulls back, looking around, hand still resting at on the back of Bucky’s neck.
“Did you guys hear something?”
When Steve looks back, Sam and Bucky are both looking shifty, glancing at each other and not meeting his eyes. There’s another little chirping noise, and then something sharp pinches the meat of Steve’s hand below his pinky.
“Ow! What the--” Steve pulls his hand away from Bucky sharply, taking a few hairs with him. Bucky winces but doesn’t move. Sam snorts. “Did something just bite me?” Steve asks, staring at the tiny red mark on his hand.
“I forgot she was there,” Bucky mutters and Sam starts to laugh.
Bucky half turns, and Sam reaches into the hood of his sweatshirt. “We were going to surprise you,” he says as he pulls his hands out.
“Is that a chicken?” Steve asks, too confused to think of anything else to say. It definitely is a chicken. A tiny, fluffy, yellow baby chicken, with a little orange beak and feet and little black eyes. It glares at Steve and peeps and looks tiny and indignant cradled in Sam’s hands. He brings it close to his chests and scratches it’s head softly with one finger. Steve stares.
“You kept talking about all the pets we could get,” Sam says. Bucky is running a finger down the chick’s back, smiling at it. “And we thought a dog or a cat - well it wouldn’t be fair, since we all have to leave so often. But chickens are a little more independent. Harder to care for, maybe, but we already talked to the others, and the neighbors, and we found some people who would help out if we all had to leave. And you two eat more than enough eggs, we could use the help.”
Steve can’t stop staring at the little creature nestled against Sam. It’s still glaring at him, but he thinks that might just be its face. It’s - Steve’s eyes sting. It’s too cute. He opens his mouth and nothing comes out, and he looks at Sam and Bucky helplessly. They’re both watching him with soft, fond expressions, and Steve feels - overwhelmed. He’s choking up.
“I--” he croaks, and looks back at the chick. Its eyes are starting to droop shut.
“You wanna hold her?” Sam asks. Steve makes a small, strangled noise and nods quickly. He steps in and cradles his palms under Sam’s. Sam opens his hands and nudges the chick into Steve’s. She peeps, eyes opening fully, and turns her gaze to Steve again. She settles into his palms easily enough, though, and snuggles in even further when he brings her to his chest. Steve can’t stop the tiny broken noise he makes.
“You got me chickens?” He asks finally, voice cracking. He’s gonna cry. What the fuck. He’s gonna cry because his boyfriends bought him chickens and they’re fluffy and cute and he’s holding a tiny baby chicken and it is too cute and Steve is going to cry.
“Yeah, pal,” Bucky says, bringing a hand to Steve’s face. “We got you chickens.” He strokes his thumb over Steve’s cheek and Steve feels the smear of wetness and it’s kind of embarrassing but he is completely powerless to stop it, after the mission stress and now this precious, fluffy creature and how immensely loved he feels.
“I - I love her. I love you guys.” He sniffs.
Sam leans against his side. “You wanna see the others?”
“There’s more?” Steve asks, and laughs wetly at his own pathetic squeak.
“Yeah, she’s got 12 siblings,” Sam says. He wraps an arm around Steve’s waist and starts to guide him through the house. “Baker’s dozen. Good luck or something according to grandpa here.”
Bucky ignores the jibe, tucking his hand into Steve’s elbow instead. “This one is Stevette.”
Steve laughs for real at that. “Excuse me?”
“Cuz she’s all gold and stuff but she has angry eyebrows,” Bucky says, grinning hugely. Sam is giggling again. “And she bosses all the others around.”
Steve huffs and nudges them with his elbows, careful not to jostle the chick - Stevette. He raises an eyebrow at her, runs a thumb over the soft down on her head. His chest hurts from too much emotion.
“Don’t worry,” Sam continues. “We named a couple after us too. And Nat got one. She pretended not to like it. There’s a couple for you to name too.”
Steve shakes his head and sniffs again. “Well, “ he says to Stevette. “I guess that means you’ll have to help me keep these two in line, huh, cutie?”