Interlude pt 2.5
Part 1 Part 2
Word Count: 1611
Genre: Angst
Summary: A little insight into what Steve is thinking
Pairing: Steve x reader
It had been a whole week since you left, and Steve was determined to at least find you. He already spent the first day in your room, hoping that you would change your mind and come walking through that door and he could throw himself at your feet and beg for forgiveness. The second day was spent pretty much doing the same but also spamming your phone with calls and messages, asking you to come back, apologizing, asking you to give him another shot. He knew that you wouldn’t want to see him, but he wanted to know that you were okay. You’d taken off with the duffel bag full of your clothes and some personal trinkets, telling Tony that you needed a break. Tony would have sent the entire iron legion out to find you if he didn’t know where you were, and Wanda and Nat also weren’t worrying, so Steve had spent the third day trying to convince them to tell him where you were so he could make sure you were safe. Of course, they had to respect your space and not tell him, but Steve could see the guilt when Wanda denied him. He tried looking for you at all your old haunts, your old apartment before you moved in to the compound, hotels, Strange’s headquarters, the diner, etc. No luck. Were you even in the country? The same planet? The same realm? He cursed the fact that you had completely disappeared off the face of the Earth.
He was going to try and get some answers. He head into your bathroom to shower, opting to use your shampoo while he was at it. He really missed you. All he could feel while you were gone was heart wrenching pain and guilt. He tried convincing himself that he deserved this, considering he had promised that he wouldn’t let you down this time, but he did, and now you were gone. What if you decided to retire? What about the mission you had wanted to go on the next month? The one that Bucky had asked you to come with along with Steve and Sam to one of Hydra’s bases? If you came, would you even want to talk to him?
He shook his head to clear the cloud of doubt in his head, something he had picked up from you. He wasn’t just going to wait to find out. He should find you. He sighed. Every time he thought of you, his heart ached, and honestly, it was difficult to stop thinking about you. He didn’t realize the impact you had on his life until now. Usually, if he was feeling down, it didn’t take long for you to find him in your room, laying in your bed and hugging your pillows before you joined him, spooning him from the back even though you looked like a ridiculously tiny backpack on the back of his giant frame. If he slept past dinner, usually you’d either wake him up or save him some dinner. It was cliche, but the bed was so much colder with you gone.
He got changed into a shirt and jeans before walking out of your room before he caught a whiff of something familiar, and warm, and comforting. His heart rate picked up and Steve practically sprinted to the living room before he found Bucky curled up on the couch, his hair tied up into short tail as he bit into a chocolate muffin, watching two teens crying in a hospital.
“ Buck?” Steve whispered and Bucky shot up, knocking a whole paper bag off his stomach and onto the floor, a couple of muffins rolling out on the ground.
“ Steve, I can explain. Parker told me to watch this movie- Steve hadn’t even noticed Bucky was tearing from watching the movie. He was merely staring at the two gigantic muffins larger than his entire fist that had rolled out from the paper bag. You’d baked muffins for him before, and it smelled exactly like that. And you’d always made them bigger because Bucky and Steve could wolf down the muffins like they were nothing. No matter how much Steve told you that you didn’t have to since muffins were unhealthy, it never stopped you from making them, and it didn’t stop him from scarfing them down.
“ Bucky where did you get those?” Steve whispered. Bucky paused the movie, reaching down to pick up the muffins and place them back in the paperbag.
“ I got them at the cafe downstairs. They’re really fucking good,” Bucky smiled, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. Steve could tell that Bucky was lying, and Bucky knew that Steve knew. It was undeniable that Bucky had gotten them from you. And that means Bucky either knew where you were, or that Bucky still had some way of contacting you. The fact that you’d still be willing to let Bucky into your life but not Steve, it stung and Steve wanted to lie on your back and fold himself up and just pretend that none of this had happened. It felt like ever since you left, someone had left a vice on his heart, tightening it every time he thought of you.
Steve just nodded before he forced a smile at his best friend. You and Bucky had been close, and he completely understood that you couldn’t sever your ties to Bucky, and that you wouldn’t be cruel enough to make Bucky choose between you and Steve.
“ Is she doing okay?” Steve whispered, wringing his hands together as he sat down next to Bucky on the couch, staring at the paper bag of muffins. Bucky let out a long sigh, stuffing the remainder of his muffin in his mouth, just so he’d have time to consider what he was going to say as he wiped the tears from his face. Of course you missed him, in fact you’d looked like you hadn’t gotten enough sleep in a long while, but you hadn’t wanted Steve to know. You didn’t say anything to Bucky about Steve or when you’d be back, you hadn’t asked about him either. It was only right he didn’t ask you either.
“ She’s coping,” Bucky finally sighed, glancing at Steve every now and then nervously. Maybe he shouldn’t have asked to bring so many muffins home. Steve didn’t say anything, his glacier blue eyes fixed on the bag of muffins in front of him. Bucky frowned, turning the tv off and turning to face his best friend, pulling Steve’s shoulder so he’d face him.
“ Look, you can’t just keep moping around like this, it’s not like you,” Bucky frowned. “ You need to get up off your ass, and do something.” He could barely hear the last part as Steve groaned and threw his hands up in the air.
“ I can’t! I just can’t Buck,” Steve got up, kicking the couch back. “ I try to work and I think about how I pushed her away because of work. I don’t work and well… I don’t exactly have a lot to do.” Steve shrugged before running a hand through his hair, frustrated. He did everything with you. You’d brought him to museums, brought him to art galleries and libraries to do research and catch up on the time that had passed. You had brought him to the movies and introduced him back into the world. In fact, Bucky reconnecting with Steve had been made easier as Bucky told you more about Steve in the past, and you’d told Bucky what he was like now. You had made everything so much easier for him. He couldn’t do anything without thinking about you.
“ Then find something new to do! Get a dog, get a cat, maybe even get a fucking hamster if that’s what you want but you can’t just keep lazing around back home like this. If Y/n were here she’d think you’re being ridiculous,” Bucky frowned, getting up and snatching up the muffins and bringing them to the kitchen. Steve groaned again before clawing at his face.
“ Well she’s not here, is she?” Steve growled, the deep sound reverberating in his chest as he glared at his best friend. Bucky rolled his eyes before scoffing. He knew that Steve was practically harmless to him. No doubt, Steve could beat him up if he wanted to, but he knew Steve wouldn’t. He just missed you a lot.
“ No, she’s not. And can you do anything?” Bucky slammed the fridge shut before taking out a jug of orange juice. “ Face it pal, you fucked up, Y/n left, but she’s going to come back, eventually, but she’ll come back. So are you just going to keep sulking or are you actually going to get shit done so you can spend time with her when she comes back?” Steve sat on the bar stool, still glaring at Bucky. The only reason he was mad at Bucky was because he was right. There wasn’t anything he could do now. You weren’t here now, and he had already messed up and there wasn’t much he could do. You didn’t want to be found, which meant he probably won’t be able to find you even if he tried. The only thing he could do now was wait for you to come home, and get work done. If you didn’t want him always working when you were around, why should he stop when you were gone, only to continue again when you were back? He had to keep going, but the only thing that would keep him going was hoping that one day, you’d come back.








