#mob! steve

You opened the door and immediately squinted at the bright fluorescent light of the hallway as it hit you in the face. Standing there in a full suit was a man with tall, broad shoulders and kind blue eyes under a tuft of blonde hair you assumed had lost its styling from a long day. If you asked your best friend, her evaluation would be ‘totally your type.’ He was a gorgeous, pretty boy….yeah….pretty seemed like a fitting description. Good looks or not, though, he woke you up hardly two hours into your sleep schedule.

“What do you want?”

“Um, good evening. You’re…” he looked down at a sticky note in his hand. “…Decks, right? I’m here to talk to you about a matter concerning Honeybee-I mean-“

You cut him off, grabbing his arm to drag the handsome man into your apartment and out of the hallway so you wouldn’t get another noise complaint from the old lady next door. Although, it was probably already too late for that since he had been banging on your door for who knows how long. “Yeah, yeah, that’s me. I know what you’re talking about, come in.”

Steve gently closed the door behind him as you moved to turn on a lamp by the couch. You flopped down in an arm chair while he perched himself on the couch cushion closest to you. Even with your messy hair in the dim light, there was something intriguing about you to him.

You leaned back and squinted at him. “So what’s going on? Are you Bucket? I’ve been told about you.”

Steve straightened in his seat. Bucky was going to love that he was the topic of one of Bee’s conversations outside the farm.

He smiled and shook his head. “No, actually. I’m Steve. I work very closely with Bucky, though. I was sent here to take you over to the farm. There’s been an emergency and we need all the closest people there to help out.”

You looked at him skeptically. “Why didn’t anyone call first? Why were you sent here?”

“Well, from what I’ve heard, you probably wouldn’t have picked up if I called, and time is of the essence. I can explain more on the way there.” He shrugged.

You looked at him with confusion. “Listen, I love my friend and all, and I’m willing to be there for her, but I’ve got work tomorrow. What am I supposed to do about that?”

Steve waved his hand and closed his eyes in reassurance before speaking softly. “It’s already been taken care of. Just, if you could go ahead and pack a bag, grab only essentials because we need to get going.”

You groaned. At least you’d heard of Steve before, your bestie had described him as pretty decent, and you hated that she was right, in more ways than one. You grabbed a bag off the back of your door and tossed it at Steve. “Okay, fine. Pack some snacks, it’s a long way to go at this time of night.”

He simply nodded and walked to your pantry, packing up everything that could easily be eaten on the road, along with a few bottles of water.

You emerged from your room with a duffel on your shoulder to see him waiting for you on the couch, food bag in his lap.

When Steve saw you, he was captivated. You’d changed into an old college sweatshirt and sweatpants, hair in a messy bun, but your face looked like it was ready to take on the world, despite the premature rise from sleep.

He got up and followed you to the door, turning off the lamp on the way over. As you locked your apartment, you whispered over to him. “What did you bring here? Let me see your keys.”

Steve dug into his pocket, pulling out the keychain with a jingle. “Range Rover.”

You grabbed them out of his hands. “Perfect. I’m driving.”

It had been awhile since you’d been all the way out to the farm. You used to come and help out over the summers during college, mostly baling hay and feeding animals. It was fun, but it wasn’t your life. Your degree and passion had drawn you to the city and kept you there for all these years.

You explained that to Steve on the drive over, in between the times you made him feed you the snacks. You noted that you were proud you could still drive this route by heart, too. Steve told you a little bit about how he did business in the city and how he knew Bucky, along with a story about why Bucky was out here in the first place. You had already heard the story from your roommate, so it wasn’t a surprise, but you were confused as to why they hadn’t called some sort of law enforcement to help. Something didn’t quite add up, but if someone you trusted so much trusted these men, that was good enough for now.

As you were nearing the end of the drive, Steve continued in his attempts to make conversation. “So how did you get the nickname ‘Decks?’”

You laughed dryly. “It’s a-“ you cut yourself off. “Hold on, I need to make sure I make this turn. It’s kind of hard to see at this time of night.”

You heard the wheels hit gravel as you pulled into the driveway and in front of the house, the headlights briefly lighting up Curtis leading a couple horses and tying their reins to the posts of the front porch in the darkness of the moonlit night.

Your eyes adjusted as you moved to get out of the car and watched Curtis jog over to the passenger side of the vehicle where Steve had just stood up, sticking out his hand.

“Hey, I’m Curtis, you must be Steve. Buck hasn’t left her side yet, so I’m gonna take you on back.”

Steve shook his hand “Yeah, good to meet you.”

Curtis gave him a slight nod and patted his shoulder, then ran around the other side of the vehicle to greet you by the driver’s side door. He reached his arms around your shoulders to give you a big hug with a tight squeeze. “Good to see you, Decks.”

“Yeah, you too, Curtis. Steve told me what’s going on. We should probably get back there.”

You rubbed his back before Curtis freed you from the hug and nodded in response, then looked back at Steve.

“You know how to ride?”

Steve couldn’t help the scoff that came from his lips. “Not one bit.”

Curtis sighed and looked between the two of you. “Okay, no worries. You’re with Decks, then. I’ll help you up. We’ll talk over all the details on the way there.”

Curtis led you over to the porch and helped you up onto the bigger of the two horses, then helped to prop Steve up behind you before getting onto his own horse and leading you toward the mines.

As your hips swayed back and forth with the horse’s footsteps, you could feel Steve clinging onto you for dear life. “You can ease up your grip a little, ya know. We’re not even going that fast. And you’re like, five feet off the ground. I promise you won’t get hurt.”

You could feel Steve nod in acknowledgment, his head resting against your shoulder, but nothing changed. If anything, his hold tightened. You laughed through the vice of his arms that was squeezing your diaphragm and continued on to the caves in the distance.

“So Steve told me one of the caves collapsed, and I’m not surprised because I know how old these things are, but why were you guys even back there? How did it fall so suddenly?”

You looked over at Curtis and he met your eye. “I want so badly to say it’s Bucket’s fault, but I know it’s really not. Your dear bestie insisted we go for a walk to show him the mines, and when he kicked one of the supports, the whole thing came crashing down. Could’ve happened to anyone at any time, though.”

You nodded. “Well, I’m glad she’s okay at least, but being trapped in there must suck. Either way, we’re happy to help with whatever’s needed.” Steve hummed against your shoulder in agreement.

You stopped the horses at the mouth of the cave and yawned from the early hour, stretching as Curtis helped Steve, then you, down from the horse. A man with brown hair and broad shoulders sauntered over to the three of you, greeting Steve with a hug and you and Curtis with a handshake. He wore a hard look on his face, but you could see the lace of concern through his forehead and eyes. Ah, this was Bucket.

“I’d take you guys in, but it’s sort of unstable right now. I’ve got direct orders from Honeybee, though, as to what we’re all supposed to do.”

He went through the plan, but in your tiredness, you barely caught his words. “I’ll go back over it in the morning, but the general gist is that we need to keep everything running smoothly and draw as little suspicion as possible.”

You looked between the men. None of them had caught on to one important detail. “I’ve still got Steve’s keys, but Buck, you’ve gotta tell your guys to move their cars, then. I’ve never seen that many in the driveway. People will notice. Move them into the hay barn. It should be empty enough this time of year before the next round of bales gets made. Can probably fit most of them.”

You all looked at Curtis and he nodded in agreement. “Yep, just as she said.” Bucky snapped his fingers and a young kid in a suit came running over to him, ready to take the command. What an odd interaction. You shrugged it off, though. Your brain hardly had any power at this point. It was just enough to ride back to the house and move the Range Rover into the pool barn behind the garage before flopping down into one of the guest bedrooms.

You woke up with a jolt to one of the roosters crowing. You forgot how loud those little bastards were, but something about it was comforting. You got dressed and brushed your teeth before making sure your hair was out of your face. You could smell breakfast and followed Curtis down the stairs to see Bucky making plates already.

That was surprising. As far as you knew from your conversation last week, he was struggling to get out of bed, and now he was up early enough to gather eggs and cook for everyone? Weird.

The steps creaked behind you as Steve matched them with his own groan, flopping into a chair. He wore a set of farm clothes you believe he’d borrowed from Curtis and his hair was a floofy mess. It was kind of cute, and you’d be lying if you said you didn’t enjoy the casual wear in juxtaposition to his suit from the night before.

Bucky pulled out a sheet of paper and explained your tasks again. You were so excited to be put on animal feed duty. You loved petting the little goats and sheep, they were so adorable.

As Bucky explained Steve’s tasks to him, you watched an almost unreadable expression grow on his face. He looked almost scared, daunted, intimidated? Maybe it was just dread? Eh, he’d probably be fine.

You finished up your plate and set it in the dishwasher before getting on with your day.

At mid-morning, you rolled up to the farmers market to help run sales with Bucky. You caught the sight of Steve carrying in his last wagon load of produce crates. His biceps bulged as he placed them all in the right places, and you couldn’t help but drool a little. Not only did he look good while being put to work, but he didn’t complain while doing it. Sure, you knew Bucky was technically his boss, but something about his willingness to help out did you in. Made you feel warm.

You watched as Bucky gave him a final set of instructions, and Steve walked back into the field. Man, did his ass look good in those jeans.

Hours passed by running the market with Bucky. You could see that a few repeat customers were happy to see him, some even trying to go in for hugs and offer him free drinks. You could see the charm you’d been told about.

As things began to slow, you found yourself standing next to Bucky, the both of you watching an older customer leave with some produce and a small jar of honey.

“Mrs. Jensen is definitely a talker. I think she needs someone else around.” He leaned towards you to say it lowly.

You laughed in response. He demeanor now was the same as when he was dealing with her, but somehow she was still so happy with their interaction.

Bucky continued. “Maybe I’ll let Jake see his mom later if he’s good.”

That caught your attention. “Wait, Jake is here? Why? Like, the Jake that broke my best friend’s heart? I thought they haven’t talked since before college.”

You could see Bucky trying to avoid eye contact with you. He was hiding something. Why would Jake be here?

“He’s done a lot lately that has made business difficult for both me and Bee. Since we are business partners after all. My people reached out and he came to apologize. Also happens he’s able to run some pretty complex calculations on his computer. He was more than happy to help out down at the mine when he heard she was in danger.”

You looked at him skeptically. “Okay…”

After you and Bucky had finished cleaning up the farmers market, you headed back to the house to relax some. You slipped off your boots and laid down on the couch, pulling a blanket up to your chin.

You were shaken awake and opened your eyes to see a pair of blue ones before you. It was Steve. He smiled.

“Hey, Decks. It’s time for dinner. You want some?” You nodded, stretching to sit up, seeing Curtis and his cousin, your best friend, bringing food to the table. You scrambled to toss the blanket off of you and ran over. You’d never hugged her so tight.

“You’re not dead! I’m so happy to see you.” Was muffled into her hair.

She laughed and rubbed your back. “It’s good to see you, too, Decks. Now let’s get some food. I’m starving.”

You nodded your head, still not letting go, as she waddled you to your chair next to Steve. He looked at the two of you, noticing you felt for each other the same way he felt for Bucky. There was a deep trust and appreciation that could rarely be matched.

As you were eating, you hardly realized Bucky wasn’t at the table until it was brought up in conversation. After a long day, and frankly, a long week, you all went upstairs and straight to bed.

You woke up to the sunshine, somehow sleeping through the roosters, probably from sheer exhaustion, and changed into your college hoodie and sweats. You walked downstairs to search through the fridge and find something decent to eat. As you were making toast, Steve came down and pulled out the pitcher of milk along with chocolate syrup.

“Ooh! Can you make me one, too? It’s been forever since I’ve had chocolate milk.”

He leaned up into the cabinet above you, abs brushing your back to grab another glass. You shivered slightly at the touch. You weren’t around people much, let alone people who looked like that.

“Sure thing, Decks, as long as you promise to make me toast.”

Your eyes narrowed, looking at him for a second. “Deal.”

After eating, you sat on the couch with Steve, sipping your chocolate milk and making small talk. He stayed vague about his everyday business dealings, and you felt like you didn’t have much to add since a lot of your work was confidential, and you didn’t have much time to do things outside of it.

You watched Bucky run down the steps and peek his head in the office before closing the door behind him.

You were about to offer to play a card game to pass the time with Steve since Curtis was due to be done any minute and could join, but there was a knock on the door.

You opened it up to see a ridiculously large vase of hydrangeas and a delivery driver already retreating back up the driveway. Oh great, what sorry guy sent these? She’s gonna hate them.

You picked up the vase to bring it inside, not expecting the sour smell that came off of it. You held it at arm’s length, fast walking to the office before knocking on the door with your foot. You held the vase in one arm to quickly open the door, showing the flowerpot, your face blocked by the large bouquet.

“Ugh! Decks, get that out of here. Where the hell did those come from?”

You ran back towards the front door, where Steve was holding it open, to set them on the porch. “Just got delivered. Don’t worry, I’ve smelled worse. There’s a card here.”

It’s true, you had smelled worse at work before, but it still didn’t mean it was very tolerable after some time. Everyone else stood back, hands covering their airways as you plucked the small piece of paper from the petals and read it out loud.

“Peach, can’t wait to milk our deal together. -Cole”

Everyone exchanged glances, disgusted by the weirdly suggestive statement, as you pulled the hydrangeas out of the vase and tossed them into the yard. You peered into the vase and gave it a sniff. In the bottom was a white goop, which you assumed had once been a liquid before a chemical reaction took place.

“He put the flowers in milk…and,” you sniffed again, “lemon juice?”

You fought a gag while you carried the vase out into the yard and did your best to get all the chunks out of it, eventually opting to spray it out with the garden hose. It still was a nice vase.

In your attempts to clean it, though, you knew some of the spoiled milk had splattered back on you and you’d need to get it off as soon as possible. So much for enjoying chocolate milk with Steve, because you were going to remember that smell for months.

You turned off the hose and grabbed the vase, stomping back into the house and slipping off your shoes.

Now frustrated with the situation, even though the mess was partially your fault, you were done. Most of it was probably due to the fact you couldn’t finish sipping the delicious beverage Steve had made for you. You shoved the vase into Steve’s chest and he cradled it with an oof.

“Finish cleaning that. And dump out my glass. I won’t be able to drink milk again for months.” You grumbled, moving towards the steps.

“Where are you going?” You heard behind you.

“To take a shower.” Your head whipped back around.

You continued to stomp up the stairs before gesturing aggressively with your arms above your head. “WHY DO GUYS ALWAYS SEND YOU WEIRD SHIT LIKE THAT!?”

You could hear Steve as you reached the bathroom. “I think I’m gonna need a shower, too, after this.”

Steve and Curtis chatted while they waited for you. “So like, what’s the deal with the trucks?”

Curtis shrugged as he opened the back door for Steve to get in, seeing you coming from the house. “Good for hauling stuff. You’re not gonna see many people out here without trucks, so it’s a good thing your fancy SUV is hidden away.”

Steve nodded, thankful you were on your way to end his awkward conversation-making skills that were not working very well on Curtis. Well, either that, or Curtis wasn’t very talkative, however, he never saw that same issue when you were around.

After a nice long, hot shower to remove the scent, you were relaxed and ready to go. Steve could smell your perfume, causing him to smile to himself.

Curtis opened the passenger door for you to hop in, and the two of you talked in the front seat on the way over as Steve sat in the back, watching and listening.

After spending hours at the bar, you were standing near the edge of the dance floor, chatting with Bee.

“So what do you think of him?” She tilted her head to gesture toward the blonde, wearing a hat that looked entirely too good on him.

You thought for a second before answering. “He’s a charmer, alright, in a really weird, awkward way. Kinda reserved, but very helpful. I respect it.”

“Yeah, I thought so.” She nudged your shoulder with her own.

“Well hold your horses, there, Honeybee. Some of us need a little more time to see what’s going on under the surface. Not everyone seems to fold so fast like your tall, dark, and handsome Bucket. Steve’s got something to him I just can’t figure out.”

“You will. I’m sure of it. That’s why you’ve got your job and I’ve got mine. You’re meant to be a scientist. An investigator.”

You laughed and rolled your eyes. “Yeah, okay.”

The music began to blare up above your conversation. Well, that’s a familiar tune.

“Oh! You love this one! You remember the dance I showed you in college? I think you’ve got some new guests to teach!”

You looked over to the pool tables to be greeted by Steve’s gaze directed right back at you with a dopey grin. Must be the alcohol, you thought to yourself. Bee had already left your side to go get Bucky.

“Do you want to dance?” You mouthed to him across the bar. He shrugged and mouthed back “I don’t know how.”

You gestured your arm for him to come towards you “I’ll teach you. Come on.”

Steve set down his cue and made his way through the crowd, only able to see your hat through the sea of people. He crouched down to reach your ear so you could hear him in the loud bar. “Don’t make fun of me if it’s bad.”

You laughed and shook your head at him as you set him up to stand in front of you. “No promises,” you yelled back.

Next >

Bonus A/N: Thank you for reading! Comments, likes, reblogs, and asks are soooo appreciated.

What do you guys think of Decks? I love imagining her take the vase out to the yard, so fed up with the shenanigans that always happen around Bee.

Series Taglist:

It was Tuesday.

Tuesdays were the days you despised the most. They were the days when Steve and Bucky had meetings all day long. Like into the night. Which meant you were left alone all. day. long.

Before becoming 'their girl,' you had no problems being alone all day. You could use the time to do laundry, watch a show you had been meaning to get to, or even read a book; however, in the short few weeks you'd known them, they had you weak and craving their touch at all times.

You were instructed very strictly not to touch yourself. They knew what Tuesdays do to you, and they thrived on it. They loved imagining you, thighs trembling alone on the expensive leather couch as you dreamed of their cocks buried in your cunt, in the middle of their meetings.

"Uh, sir? Barnes?" An associate would stammer as he snapped his fingers in Bucky's face, bringing his attention back to the meeting.

He'd shake his head, a smile playing on his lips at the thought of you, and looked over to Steve with a smirk, who knew it meant they'd both be paying you a visit the next morning.

"Yeah, inventory, sales. Got it. Thanks, Barton."

You were also expected to be good. They had reputations to uphold and couldn't have their needy brat running amuck while they conducted business, but enough was enough. You couldn't sit another minute absentmindedly watching reruns of The Office while you imagined choking on Steve's cock. It was time to act up, get in trouble, stir the pot... after all, you were their good little cock slut and how could you continue any further without the cock?

So you stood up, going to the bedroom to decide on what to wear when you pranced into the meeting. Ultimately you decided on something subtle, a sheer lace black bustier paired with a matching thong and tights. You paired it with the pair of red-bottomed black heels they both loved to fuck you in, and wrapped a long jacket around it all-- sealing it with a bow.

You strutted out of the house, the single security guard they leave with you, standing from his chair. "Ma'am, where to?"

"The office."

"Miss, you aren't supposed to be here," one of the guards tried stopping you as you walked through the building, down the hallway to the big double doors where their meeting hall was. You shot the guard a look, who returned the look to your personal goon, who shrugged his shoulders and followed behind you, knowing you were far too determined at this point to make you go back home.

"You can stay out here, right?" You asked as you made it to the double doors, waving your goon off as you opened both doors wide, waltzing your way unapologetically into the room.

The meeting halted, every eye drawn to you as you stared at Bucky and Steve, walking around the long table to perch yourself on the glass. With your back to half the table, you sat between the men, legs crossed one over the other as you pouted down at them.

"Darling, what are you doing here?" Bucky asked, hand massaging the calf beside him.

"Aren't you supposed to be at home, baby?" Steve asked as his eyes raked your body from head to toe, finger between his teeth to muffle anything that may slip out.

"I was bored, daddies. I miss you," you whined, looking at each of them as you spoke.

Steve leaned closer to you, kissing the shell of your ear as he whispered so the rest of the room couldn't hear, "Daddy's busy honey, wanna keep him warm as we work?"

You bit your lip as he spoke, leg rubbing against Bucky as your eyes flickered from his growing bulge to his growing smirk. "Yes, please," you hummed in response, face turning to Steve's face, kissing his lips chastely as he pulled you down to his lap.

He sat you in his lap, adjusting your legs and coat around so the men at the table couldn't see as he took his hardening cock out of the fly of his pants and sat you on it.

Not that they couldn't tell exactly what was going on by the look in Bucky's eyes as he stated fixated on your figure sliding down Steve's length, and that wasn't evident enough, the sounds eliciting from yours and Steve's throats would be a good indication.

He got you situated, balls deep in you, back pressed against his chest as he left kisses on your coat-clothed shoulder, elbow going back to resting on the arm of the chair.

Bucky smirked, chuckling as you looked at him sweetly with a smile as if his partner wasn't buried in your cunt. "Right, where were we?"

The meeting went on, as normal. The men white-faced and wide-eyed as you glanced around to them all, giving them soft smiles- a small apology for interrupting.

You had anticipated the meeting ending rather quickly, but it seemed to be endless...

"Our output is excelling. Sales are going well."

"We need to expand production sites. We were thinking westward to secure the state line."

"That would start a gang war."

"Yes, but an easy one."

Sighing softly, you looked down at Bucky, his head held in a hand that was wrapped around his chin, thoughts unknown to you, but you could hope they were consumed with you.

You hoped they were consumed with the thoughts of your cunt wrapped around his cock, juices of anticipation dripping out of you and onto his balls. And whether you knew it or not, that is exactly where his thoughts were.

Steve, below you, had been distracted the moment your warm, wet pussy swallowed his length. The feeling of you stretching around him, welcoming his girth so nicely, was far too much for him to be able to hear another syllable about sales and production. His fingers raked along the expanse of your exposed thigh, the other hand toying and twisting your hair around his index.

You came here to stir the pot so stir you did. You ground your hips down, gently as to not bring additional attention to the three of you, but the sensation caught Steve off guard, causing a deep groan to leap from his throat. You bit your lip softly, giggling to yourself and avoiding the stares from around the room.

Steve gripped your hair in the hand he had been playing with it and pulled harshly, leaning your head back to his shoulder as his lips found the shell of your ear, "Good girls don't embarrass daddy in his meeting, sunshine," he spat at you through gritted teeth.

Bucky did his best to continue the meeting, eyes shooting to look at the both of you out of the corner of his eye to get a glimpse at your body.

Steve let your hair go, allowing you to sit up again, and you pouted, internally damning all of the other men in the room to hell. You wanted to be bent over the desk and dealt with like like the dirty cock slut you were.

After a few more moments, you glanced back to Bucky, your last chance to get this meeting derailed. As you glanced in his direction, you caught his eyes glancing towards you as well. Smirking at him, you lifted a small hand and waved your fingers at him innocently, mouthing, "hi daddy."

His eyes rolled, finger leaving his teeth as he stood up abruptly, pushing the chair he occupied back, "Gentlemen, I think we've covered enough for tonight. That's a wrap on tonight."

You bit your lip to hide your excitement as you watched him dismiss everyone, your pussy clenching over Steve as he stood up, arm around your waist holding you in place as he followed Bucky through the side door to their office.

"Lay her on the desk," he instructed as he began rolling his sleeves up to his elbows, suit coat already discarded to the back of a chair.

Steve carried you over to his desk, as it was the cleanest. Bucky's was littered with important papers and documents still to be read and signed. He put your feet on the floor, pulling his cock out of you before leaving you to remove his jacket and roll his sleeves up as well.

Bucky made his way over to you, metal fingers grabbing your chin harshly, tilting your head up to look at him. His lips inches away from your face, hot minty breath fanning over your face as you looked into his domineering eyes. "This fucking mouth," he seethed as his free hand helped you up on the desk. "Open."

You did as you were told, eagerly dropping your jaw to leave your mouth open for him as you watched him spit directly inside, thumb rubbing on droplets that escaped to the sides of your face before bringing the digit to your mouth. You closed your mouth around the cold thumb, swallowing all of the spit he offered you as you watched his eyes grow darker at the sight.

Steve made his way around the desk and leaned you down to lay down, your head leaning off the desk on his side. "She sure knows how to use it to get what she wants, doesn't she, Buck?" He said as he lowered himself down, kissing your lips upside down.

"Maybe we should remind her who is in charge?" Bucky suggested as he plowed his heavy, thick cock inside your cunt without warning.

You squealed at the sudden feeling, legs wrapping around his waist to pull him closer.

"God, you're so loud today, baby. We've got another meeting starting soon, and if you're not careful, you'll scream so loud that another group of people will know how slutty you really are," Steve whispered into your ear before standing straight up and unzipping his pants, pulling his hardened length out and slapping it around your mouth. "You're so lucky that I'll give you something to choke on so they won't know."

You opened your mouth wide once more, tongue sticking out eagerly as he lowered himself into your mouth until his balls were hitting your face. "Relax baby, relax that throat of yours," he cooed as his hand wrapped around your throat while you breathed deeply through your nose and allowed his cock to push further inside your body.

Bucky, still pounding into your cunt, legs now raised above his shoulders to better his angle, groaned as you gagged around Steve. "God, Steve, look at it in her throat."

He hummed, pulling out to let you breathe, and saw the tears that had started falling down your face yet your tongue still held out for more. "Such a cock hungry slut," he muttered as he pushed his length back inside your throat, hand around your throat squeezing gently which caused him to groan at the sensation.

"Fuck," he hissed, "can jerk myself with your throat, sweet girl," he mumbled through muffled groans as he stroked your throat, jerking himself off as he thrust in and out of your throat.

"Fuck, Steve, that's hot. She loves it," Bucky moaned as his hand found my clit, rubbing circles into the bundle. "She's fucking dripping on my balls."

You were full on both ends, tears falling from your face as you gagged around Steve's cock and pleasure spilling from your cunt and down to meet Bucky's balls with every thrust, and the sensations of Bucky's cold fingers around your clit and Steve's hand squeezing himself with your throat was sending you over the edge.

Your pussy clenched down on Bucky's cock, signaling that you were close, and his hand raised from your clit and came down on it harshly. "Nu-uh. You cum when you're told to," he spat as his thrusts sped up, racing to meet his orgasm.

You groaned around Steve, whining about needing to cum, and unbeknownst to you, Steve had looked up at Bucky, nodding to him.

"Okay, cock slut. You can cum. Cum on my big cock. Lemme know how good you feel," Bucky cooed, metal hand working your clit as the other grabbed at your nipples.

You groaned around Steve, back arching up to meet Bucky's calloused digits as you let the band snap and came hard on his cock, Steve's muffling your screams as you felt a rather unfamiliar sensation leave your body. Steve and Bucky went silent, air leaving their bodies as they released their load in both sides of your body while watching your body spasm below them.

"God-fucking-damn it, doll!"

"So fucking hot."

You wiped your face as both men pulled themselves out of your holes, letting you sit up to see the mess you had made. Your face grew hot as you noticed Bucky's pants and white shirt soaking wet.

He brought a hand to your cheek, stroking it with the back of his hand as he pulled the shirt off. "That was amazing, doll," he whispered reassuringly, kissing your lips sweetly as Steve threw a clean shirt at him.

"We keep clean clothes in the office for blood splatters but making our girl squirt is fine with me, too," Steve said as he walked closer to Bucky and you, handing him a pair of pants as he brought his lips to yours as well.

You sat up, pulling your jacket back around your body and securing it with a tie. "Go home, we'll wrap these meetings up and meet you there in a few," Steve said, slapping your ass as he led you to the door.

Not only was there a gift basket, but a decently large paper bag sitting on your desk that had seemingly already been ripped open. Great. Someone already contaminated the crime scene. As you peeked over the cellophane wrapping of the obscenely large basket, you were greeted by a certain detective, leaning back in your rolling chair, feet kicked up on the desk, to-go container and fork in hand.

“Hey, Decky! About time you came in. Your pasta was getting cold, so I thought I’d help you out with it. There’s so much here!”

Your brows furrowed as you observed detective Lang slurping down a bite of carbonara, the container already half gone.

“What the hell, Scott? What is going on?”

Scott shrugged and used his fork to swirl up another bite. “What? Not like you were gonna finish all of that pasta in one go. Figured I’d take some off your hands.”

“Wha-“ you stood there, flabbergasted, mouth opening and closing while you contemplated your next words. You grabbed the receipt on the paper bag to see the contents listed, with ‘SR’ written in red sharpie at the bottom. It looked like it was all your favorites from Steve’s restaurant, plus some new items.

Your confusion increased as you pushed Scott’s feet off your desk and scooted over to read the card on the gift basket.

“Sorry our night got a little interrupted. Buck appreciates the kindness, though. Feel free take it all out on me. I’ve got a knock-out time planned for us. -SR”

There was an address on the back and an additional note for you to meet him there after your Thursday shift. And to… wear athletic clothes? What?

An amused smile began to creep onto your lips before the realization came crashing down and you whipped around. “Hold on a second, what the fuck, Scott!? You’re eating my gift!! Not to mention something that a civilian dropped off at a police precinct. That could have been poisoned!”

Scott laughed as he set down his fork in the container. “Nah, I knew it at least wasn’t poisoned. One of Steve’s guys dropped it off.”

You grabbed the lid off your desk and placed it on Scott’s pasta container before ripping it from his hands. “Hey! I wasn’t done yet!”

He leaned forward to grab it back out of your hands before you whisked it away again. “Ah ah, no. Answer my questions first and then you can have my pasta back.”

Scott sighed exasperatedly, his shoulders slumping forward. “Okay, fine. What do you want to know? That’s really good carbonara and I want it back ASAP.”

“Yeah, I know. That’s why it was sent to me. Now, tell me how you know one of Steve’s guys dropped it off… and what do you mean by ‘Steve’s guys?’”

Scott shrugged again. Some detective he was. “I don’t know. I was at my desk when I saw it all get delivered. You know how Steve is. He’s got those delivery boys that help him out. Sure, I consider him a pal but I don’t ask too many questions about that. I understand he’s a busy guy. You’re just lucky I commandeered the area before Walker caught a whiff. That’s literally all I know. Now it’s time for you to answer my question.”

You rolled your eyes and begrudgingly handed him back the container. “Okay fine. You’re lucky I like you way better than that street rat, Walker. You get one question. One.”

Scott smirked at you as he popped off the lid and threw it back over your desk calendar. “Now I know Steve and I are well acquainted, but what’s he doing sending you things? You do him a special favor or something?”

You sighed and crossed your arms and legs, leaning back and squinting at your closest work friend. “First of all, that was two questions. And second of all, no. You know I’m not in the habit of sharing confidential information. If you must know, Steve and I are…friends. And we hung out, like once…or twice, but there was kind of a wrench thrown in the second one. I think this is his way of making it up to me.”

His grin grew toothy. “Yeah, okay. ‘Friends.’” He put up his hand that wasn’t holding food in air quotes. “Whatever you say, bud. Steve and I have been friends for half a decade, but you don’t see me getting gift baskets and lunch deliveries.”

You shook your head as you spun his chair around and nudged it forward for him to get out. “Well, I wouldn’t complain if I were you, bud, because you’ve evidently benefitted from the gift nonetheless. Don’t you have crimes to solve?”

Scott hopped out of the chair with a startle at your aggressive push. “Yeah, yeah, whatever. Enjoy your little present from your boy. I’ll be back later to talk to you about those tests you ran last last week I asked for. And for some snacks.” He winked before running off, ducking to scarf down the rest of his meal.

You sighed before plopping down into your seat and hiding behind the basket and your computer monitor, trying to keep your excitement under wraps. You untied the ribbon at the top of the present and pulled down the rustling covering to finally take a look at everything inside. The contents were…broad… to say the least.

On top were some scrunchies, the exact ones you loved to use to pull your hair back in the lab, actually. And under that were duplicates of all the snacks Steve had brought over to your place the previous weekend that you still had in abundance.

Your cabinets were going to be endlessly stocked at this rate. In there, too, you found an adorable teddy bear dressed up in a suit. If you didn’t know better, you’d think it was supposed to look like someone who was growing all too familiar. But next to it was also a stuffed hedgehog and otter wearing the same? He must’ve seen your one hedgehog flower pot on the mantle and assumed it was your favorite. Now the otter, that was an interesting choice, although not unfounded. Maybe he knew you were a card carrying member of the zoo and aquarium.

Speaking of flower pots, though, as you dug to the bottom to see an assortment of candles, your perusing of the varieties of scents was cut short by another delivery.

Two men came in holding flower pots and vases. From what you could make out, there was a small cactus and a fern, and a large arrangement that seemed to hold one of every single type and color of flower under the sun being carried by the first man. You peered over the contents of your desk to see Detective Lang nodding at you. Great, this was drawing attention.

The second delivery boy came with a huge vase full of red roses, to which Scott shrugged and shook his head, pointing and mouthing, “that one’s not one of Steve’s guys,” to you.

Before you could get up to even look at the cards to the flowers, a manifestation of the unwanted attention you had garnered was sauntering over to your desk in the form of Detective John Walker. Literally the worst guy here. The only reason he was a detective was because he was so focused on pleasing the dude bros of superior management, but God forbid he take advice from you or any female officer on the force.

Before you could stop him, he reached out and grabbed the card out of the roses. “Got a secret admirer, Decky?”

You rolled your eyes, tempted to slap his hand and keep him away from your stuff. “Don’t call me that. Only friends call me that.”

He laughed as he read the small piece of card stock he fiddled with between his fingers. “What about Lucas Bell? Seems like he’s a friend, and maybe more than that for sending you a bouquet like this.”

Your eyebrows furrowed. Lucas? You searched through the other arrangements to see if there was another card, which you found in the colorful, less aggressive bouquet. SR. Somehow the both of them had sent you flowers on the same day? What was Lucas doing sending you flowers? You literally never talked to him. You made sure of that as much as possible. It was so odd.

From what you could gather, Steve had sent you the gorgeous flowers, along with the potted plants, and a single wooden yellow rose you hadn’t noticed before. Sure, it was… a lot, but it was tasteful, and something about it made you warm. Poor thing really just sent one of everything possible, but it was the kindest gesture that had happened for you in a long time. If this was the apology you got for something as simple as an interruption from Bucky on something you weren’t even sure was a date, then there’s no telling what else Steve could possibly have up his sleeve. His ridiculous, designer sleeve.

In a strong juxtaposition, though, looking at the bouquet from Lucas almost made you sick to your stomach. Such a forward flower to send out of the blue to someone who you almost never talk to. You knew you couldn’t call and complain to your mom about this, either, because she’d say something about him being so sweet and famous. Like those were good markers in a partner: fake television demeanor qualities.

Walker set down the card again and began to rifle through the contents of your gift basket. “Man, looks like Lucas really wants you to go on a date with him. Sent you all these sweets and said so in the card. Mind if I steal some?”

This time you did smack John’s hand, giving him a scowl. “This isn’t all from Lucas. Only those stupid roses over there are. And no, you can’t have anything. This is my stuff. God, for being a detective you’re terrible at reading the room. Now leave.”

Walker raised his hands in compliance and walked away. “Damn, okay. Don’t think it’s fair Lang gets pasta and I get hit, but whatever. Enjoy your love letters.”

You rolled your eyes before going over to the other side of the desk and reading the card from the roses. As much as you hated it, Walker was right. Lucas was asking to meet up. Just for a nice walk along the river. Sure, that seemed like an enjoyable activity, but only with someone you knew well enough to hold conversation. And he was more of the type to talk at you than with you.

You took the vase of roses over to the break room, placing them on the center of the table and shoved the card in your desk drawer before sitting back down again at the space cleared of everything except for what Steve had sent. When you peered around, you were satisfied by the reduction in glares your way as you sniffed through the remaining candle scents and chose what pasta to eat while working through your shift. Only Detective Lang was witness to the dopey smile on your face.

By the time Thursday had come around, you had finished all of your pasta leftovers and burned through a candle and a half, thoroughly enjoying all Steve had left you, even though you could tell some of the items were him throwing darts at a wall and hoping one would hit just right. But the thing was, just about everything in that basket was a straight bullseye.

You parked your car and got out on the busy street, dressed in a pantsuit from having to stand witness in a trial earlier. You were in the middle of a city block with shop windows recessed into the ground, standing at the top of a staircase, preparing to head down with a bag containing your athletic clothes in hand. You tightened the hair held up with your new scrunchie and took a deep breath. It looked like an old gym. Not quite what you expected, so you pulled out your phone to double check you got the right place. In your state of minor distraction, you just barely clocked the sound of shouting and pounding footsteps coming from your side. But by the time you looked up to see a man sprinting towards you, it was too late. He shoved you out of his way, down into a puddle. You were barely able to sit up enough to see someone else chasing him, far behind and much slower. You squinted as the form changed from a jog to a walk and came into focus. Walker. He threw his arms up in exasperation when he saw it was you.

“Way to fucking go, Decks. You let my perp get away!”

You stood up out of the stagnant water, brushing yourself off ineffectively as it had already soaked into the material. Luckily, you were going to be changing soon anyway, but after that and everything else, today was not the day for Walker to get all high and mighty with you.

“Walker, that’s not my job. How was I supposed to know that was your perp? Or a perp at all?”

He rolled his eyes and threw his hands to his hips, looking at your bag that still was thrown to the side on the ground, not making an effort to pick it up. “Who else would be running in a city? Obviously someone guilty!”

You bent down to grab the dusty duffle and slung it over your shoulder, cocking your head to your side. Your voice was becoming sharper, meaner. “People run in the city all the time, but that’s besides the point. How am I supposed to ID any of your perps if you refuse to tell anyone about your cases or let them help you until it’s too late? The reason that guy got away is your fault because I wasn’t properly informed. Maybe if you weren’t so wrongfully prideful and said where you were going or who you were going after before you left, you could’ve had backup. From someone actually on shift.”

Walker groaned and straightened his arm out past your shoulder, gesturing towards the direction where the man ran. “I was assuming you would take on that responsibility and be able to see the man very evidently running away from me, but no, you were stupid. Just like how you were about Lucas Bell. Maybe if you were smart, you would’ve taken him up on that date. Yeah, I saw how you discarded those roses. But just like the way you shove off your work, you shoved him off.”

You scoffed. Your annoyance made it so you couldn’t hear a jingle of a bell from the door down the steps behind you open while John was yapping on and on. “What does that have to do with anything right now!? Walker, I don’t shove off work, and if I’m stupid, you’re a literal brick. I’ve told you time and time again, I’m working dozens of cases at a time to your one, so you can hop off my back. Plus, I’m not a detective, but by the fact that you are, I can’t believe you’d be so brainless.”

You watched as his boastfully broad shoulders began to slump into an almost cowering form, so you kept going. “And what’s up with your obsession with Lucas Bell? I see the way you throw yourself at him at every crime scene. Do you think he’s going to give you some sort of connection? You’re a cop. You should be the one with connections! Is it a crush? Go home. To. Your. Wife.”

You were heaving breaths after your rant as you felt a presence loom over your shoulder. You turned to see what it was, only to be met by a familiar chest, upon which sat a head of messy blond hair, connected by a pair of shoulders that were begging to be let out of the confines of their white t-shirt and a thick neck somewhere in the middle. Steve.

He looked down and gave you a smile before shooting an intimidating gaze at Walker. “I believe you heard her. Go. Home.”

John simply nodded and turned to jog away in the direction from where he came, not daring to look back.

Your eyes stayed on Steve, but you didn’t share his smile, still frustrated with the situation. “I was handling that.”

He simply nodded, grabbing your bag off your shoulder and putting his hand on the small of your back to guide your down the stairs. “I could tell. You were doing a great job. Bullies need stood up to. I really don’t like them.”

You laughed dryly, walking through the door he held open for you. “Yeah, he’s pretty much as awful as it gets.”

You walked in to see the old gym, occupied mostly by a bunch of older guys using punching bags on the other side of a boxing ring, but otherwise empty. No one even spared the two of you a confused or judging glance. Steve gently directed you to the back of the room, handing your bag back and gesturing to a locker room. “You can go ahead and change in here. No one will bother you. And then come find me in the ring.”

He left you with a wink and a pat on the back.

Throwing endless punches was just what you needed after that whole altercation with Walker, and Steve was more than happy to oblige. He stood opposite you in the ring, giving small directions and corrections you were taking exceptionally well. After the initial rage wore off, the two of you stopped for water.

Steve handed you your bottle as he took a sip of his own. He had been relatively quiet so far, so you decided to ask him a question that was on your mind. “So why here? Why’d you want to go boxing?”

That wasn’t a question he was expecting, and it wasn’t one he wanted to truthfully answer. Sure, the two of you had hung out before, but this isn’t the usual destination of a date, much less a third date. If he was being honest, it was because he wanted to make sure you knew self defense. With your proximity to him and Bucky, it wasn’t out of the question that you might need those skills if the time came. When the time came, when he could finally bring himself to tell you about his job outside of the businesses you knew.

Instead, he just shrugged one shoulder, sliding the sparring mitts back on his hands. “Thought it might be a good release of pent up energy. Lang told me you had to sit for a court case today, figured you’d want to blow off some steam. And now that I see what other stuff you’ve got to deal with on a daily basis, I’m wondering why I haven’t asked you to join me every day. You need it after working with a douche like Walker. Although, I’m not sure if my poor hands could handle much more.”

He feigned a pout as you let out a breathy laugh, putting your gloves back on, as well, agreeing with his assessment. As the two of you stepped back into the center of the ring and started another round, albeit slower, Steve piped up. “Okay, my turn. What’s the deal with Lucas Bell? I heard you two talking about him. Did you guys mean the news reporter?”

You sighed, doing your best to keep a rhythm to your punches and ducking under Steve’s arm. “Uh, yeah. That’s the one. Lucas and I grew up together, so he contacts me every now and again. Sent flowers to my work the other day. Asked to take me for a date on the riverwalk, but I turned it down.”

Steve shuffled lightly on his feet, keeping you on your toes. He did his best to imbue his tone with genuine curiosity and nothing else. “Why’d you say no?”

You stopped in your tracks, but kept your arms up. “Well, do you think I should’ve said yes?”

Steve felt something in his gut at that. Of course he didn’t want you to have said yes, but he had no jurisdiction over that. And he still wasn’t exactly sure what was going on between the two of you. Whether or not you considered it friendship or something more like he had wanted it to be. “Well, I’m not in charge of you.”

You nodded and went back to throwing soft punches. “That’s right. But you should know, he’s historically not my favorite. He’s nice and all, I guess, but I honestly can’t stand him. Never been able to since we were kids. Everyone always thought it was nice that he would bring me flowers and stuff but it was just obsessive and weird to me. I never bought into his charms like all our neighbors expected me to. Anyway, I enjoy someone else’s company a little more.”

Steve hung on to the last part of your statement. Were you talking about him? He hoped so. But after getting caught up in the thought of that, he didn’t realize he had stopped moving until you gave him a punch on the shoulder.

Instead of flinching or being upset, though, he just shared your playful smirk at the dreamy look on his face and replied with a quip. “C’mon, Decky. You can hit harder than that. Where’s all that energy? I thought the pasta I sent you would have helped to carboload for today.”

You laughed and mixed it with a deep breath before going back in, harder. “Oh trust me, I could do this all day. And thanks for that gift by the way, it was really nice of you.”

Your eyes caught his sparkling blue ones for a second, sharing sincerity. “Any time. Honestly. You can go into any of my restaurants whenever you want and get anything you desire. On me. Just say your name and they’ll know.”

You shook your head free of his earnest gaze. “Steve, that’s no way to run a business. You can’t just give handouts to everyone.”

“They’re not for everyone. Just for you. Let me do this. That way you never have to worry about cooking for yourself on those hard days when you get home late. You can enjoy a carefree night out, or the celebration of a solved case. Let me at least do that for you.”

You finally relented, dropping your head to your chest before finally beginning to punch Steve’s hands as hard as you were at the beginning of the session. You next word came through clenched teeth, partially from his persistence and the smile you were trying to bite back at just how giving he was willing to be for you. “Fine.”

Steve smiled brightly at your new found energy and the acceptance of his offer. “Atta girl.”

Next >

Bonus A/N: we all know a Walker, but we all deserve to know a Steeb

You had come into the lab even earlier than your schedule demanded today to get a few more results compiled for an important case that was set to go on trial soon. It seemed like almost everything was on the rise lately, causing you to have to take on more cases at once, and the same thing went for the DA’s office. That’s what brought you here, transporting important files a few blocks down, far outside your usual basement-to-crime scene-and-back domain.

Usually, detective Lang would take the evidence up to the DA’s office for whatever case was going on, but he wasn’t in today and this was top-priority. You knew how to do it, just never had to, so you were slightly tentative on where exactly you were going. But, either way, there was no way in hell you were going let Detective Walker even think about touching your files. You didn’t trust that rat of a man, which is how you found yourself walking up the steps to the DA’s office on your own.

It was a nice change of pace, at least. The air was slightly less stale above ground, although way more humid. The sun even peeked at you from beyond the dense cloud coverage. As you made your way through the DA’s office, you weren’t quite sure how they could all stand the amount of searing natural light that must pour through the floor-to-ceiling windows. Sure, your office could stand to have a little more non-fluorescent light, but this was too much. Plus, it probably cost a fortune, this new office having been built just a few years ago as one of the few actions of the office that you didn’t quite agree with.

One thing you did agree with, though, or at least hoped you did, was Andy Barber. He was seemingly a nice guy, but you had never met him. You voted for him for DA, so you were hoping he wasn’t that bad, but all you had to go off of was his case prosecution method and whatever the local paper had to say. According to them, at least you knew he’d be in his office over his lunch break, lining up with yours. DA Barber was notorious for working hard. It was something you and many citizens respected him for, although you were sure his wife and son thought differently.

You walked through the hallway towards his office, transporting the file that was clenched tightly in your hand, hoping you’d be received well. Distracted by checking the room numbers instead of peeking inside the offices, you removed a set of stiff knuckles from the Manila folder in preparation to rap on the door when the image on the other side sharpened into focus. You froze with your fist in the air as your jaw slightly dropped and your eyes shifted back and forth a the sight before you.

Two sets of blue eyes, attached to bodies dressed in suits, stared back at you through the glass, the one in the large desk chair holding mild confusion, yet intrigue, the other holding….maybe amusement and….was that…fondness? But definitively it was slight trepidation.

The man at the desk, DA Barber from the looks of it, gestured for you to come in. You did your best to will your body to move from your rigid position, swallowing thickly and lowering your arm to the door handle. Your feet felt nailed to the ground, weighed down by cement in the shuffling steps you took to get into the office. Your eyes kept wanting to shift to the man who sat opposite of the desk, the one you’ve seen around a lot lately, at work and in your mind, as his own gaze was glued to you.

Remembering where your were, you made a beeline for the DA, sticking out your hand. “DA Barber, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you, sir. I come bearing that evidence you asked for.” You introduced yourself as he shook your hand, nodding and smiling in acknowledgement.

He gestured for you to sit down in the other leather chair positioned in front of his desk before waving a hand toward the man who had been silent thus far, despite the way his clear blue eyes had practically been screaming at you since before you entered the room.

“Please, Andy is fine. I hear a lot about you, especially from this guy right here. You know Steve Rogers, right?”

You nodded, looking over at Steve, just to catch the way his gaze averted yours just for a second, before locking in again in the formal, respectful manner he always tried to hold.

“Yes, Steve and I have met. And you can call me Decks, if it’s all the same. I hope I’m not interrupting anything, I can come back later if you want to discuss the file once your lunch date is over.”

Andy laughed and nodded to Steve once again. “I see what you were saying.” He looked back to you, slight creases in the corners of his eyes from his smile as he raised his eyebrows at you. “You’re funny. But no need, Steve is involved somewhat with this case and can stay for the discussion.”

You simply gave a curt nod, all business, opening up the folder and turning the documents toward him before going through your results.

You had spent way longer in Andy’s office than you had anticipated, half talking through the case and half just getting along with the gentlemen in front of you. Honestly, it was nice to finally have a conversation with people who understood your line of work, not only the mechanics of it, but where that work led, even if you still weren’t exactly sure what Steve did or what this all had to do with him.

Before you knew it, it was time to head back to the lab so you could grab your stuff to go home. As you started running down the steps and out the front door to try and beat the rain that threatened to fall soon, you heard tapping steps behind you.

“Hey, Decks, wait up.” You stopped and looked over your shoulder to see Steve gliding down the staircase, long legs making the strides look effortless.

He caught up and you continued walking back to your lab as he joined you, easily matching your brisk pace. As you were about to open your mouth to ask him why he was walking with you, your stomach growled over the sounds of even cars passing on the street and interrupted your train of thought. You simply looked at him, the two of you sharing an owlish gaze before busting out into a small bout of laughter.

“So you’re speeding off to dinner, then, I assume?” You shrugged, swerving around a parking meter before looking back at him.

“I wish. I’ve gotta hit the lab to get my stuff and then head home, but I’m way too tired to make anything, so we’re looking at either takeout or leftovers…”

Steve contemplated for a second as the two of you reached the precinct, and opened the door for you. “So, that’s what, with Saturday night traffic and cleaning up your space, an an hour? Maybe two before you actually get food in you?”

You descended the steps towards the basement, pulling out your keys to unlock the lab space and letting Steve in in front of you. “Yeah, I guess so, and I can already feel the hangry coming on, but I mean, at least there’s no one around who’s going to have to deal with it. It’s just me.”

Steve stopped in the middle of the room and turned around to face you. “No, Decks. I do. I have to deal with it, especially now that we’re friends.”

You looked at him with a raised brow. “Steve, we hardly know each other.”

He shrugged. “Then get to know me. How about I propose you a solution? What if I told you I could cut that time in half? From right now to you having an actual meal. I’ll help you clean up the lab here and then you and I can go to one of my restaurants. I’ve got a couple that aren’t far at all. On me, and I’ll guarantee food will be in your mouth within ten minutes of sitting down.”

You grabbed a pair of gloves, tossing the box to Steve for him to put on his own. “While I appreciate the offer, and I will put you to work in here, I can’t ask that of you, Steve. Plus, look at me, I’m a mess right now. And I’m sure all your restaurants are fancy. Could I even wear this to one of them?” You gestured up and down to your body, clad in jeans, one of the few perks that came with working Saturdays instead of a weekday, a casual shirt, windbreaker overtop and hair slightly ragged from a mix of the wind and a long day.

“I think you look fine, but, Decks, please, let me do this for you. You deserve to eat a good meal after how hard you’ve been working. And if it makes you feel better, I’ll change out of this suit so we match. Sound good?”

You sighed, starting to clear the clutter all around and signaling for Steve to do the same. He wasn’t going to move, though. Not until you gave him an answer. His eyes were boring into your soul despite how soft they looked, the hopeful smile on his face adding a sparkle you couldn’t resist. You looked at him and cocked your head to the side in exasperation, the back of one gloved hand perching on a popped hip, the other pointing towards Steve’s nose. “Ugh, fine. But none of that fancy bullshit. I want actual food, like you said. I don’t have the brain power for high-brow culinary transformation right now. Understood?”

Steve beamed at you, elated with your confirmatory response and ever amused, happy to comply by your demands. “Understood. So how do you feel about pasta?”

Steve pulled your car up to the entrance of his restaurant and tossed the keys at one of the young valet attendants, the other opening your door. You stepped out and looked at the elegant, yet humble storefront, surprised that you had never been here before. Sure, you worked close and you loved pasta, but you never even dared to try getting a reservation and were often too tired to even think of going anywhere but home for dinner, especially here.

Out of the corner of your eye, you witnessed Steve’s Range Rover pull up to where your car was moments ago, an arm reaching out and handing him a duffel bag. Steve slung it over his shoulder and nodded at you, opening the door for you to go inside.

“Mr. Rogers and Ms. Decks. Right this way, please.” The hostess immediately greeted the two of you, leading you back to a booth in the corner of the room, able to see the entire space. On your way there, though, you could see the nice clothes everyone was in. Yours were nothing akin to theirs, but no one spared even you a glance, which was oddly comforting, but a little unsettling.

Steve whispered down to you that he was going to change and you nodded, picking up and perusing the leather-bound menu in front of you. You hadn’t even finished reading, let alone made a decision, before Steve was already sauntering back to the table, now wearing a pair of jeans, white t-shirt, and navy blue bomber jacket. Oh man, did that make his eyes pop. His outfit was quite similar to yours, but just fit him perfectly in every way.

He gave you a shy smile as he slid into the booth, nodding towards the menu. “Find anything good yet?”

Your eyes went wide as you blew out a breath. “Steve, it all looks good. I can’t even decide what I want.”

“Well, what’s your favorite?” You snorted at that.

“My favorite? I’m not quite sure…. I mean, I cook spaghetti for myself the most, but that’s because it’s easy, not necessarily because it’s my favorite. What do you recommend?”

Steve clicked his tongue before responding to you. “I think I know just the thing.” He hardly raised two fingers off the table before a waiter was at his side, listening to Steve’s instructions on a ‘tour of the menu.’

“And any wine pairings this evening?” Steve looked to you in deference of the question, before you simply shook your head.

“No, thank you. Just water for tonight should be alright.” The waiter curtly nodded and walked away.

Steve was right, you timed it on your watch. He guaranteed ten minutes for food to be in your mouth, it hardly took eight. Steve watched tentatively as the plates were set before the two of you on the table, letting you portion out what you wanted first. The second the first bite hit your lips, you swore it was heavenly. Your store boxed spaghetti and jarred sauce held nothing to this rigatoni alla vodka, or the simple scents you had gotten off anything else so far.

As soon as you swallowed, you looked across the table at a very knowing glance. “Holy fuck, Steve. This is delicious.”

He nodded, finally serving himself and sipping his water before digging in. “The greatest, right?”

You hummed, taking in the amazing food, paired with the atmosphere. The rain beat against the window, adding to the coziness of the restaurant and the comfort and satisfaction provided by the food in front of you. Damn, this was good pasta. If Steve was going to insist on being around you so often, you were going to make sure he brought this along with him every time. Now that you tried it, you were never going back.

The two of you opted for silence as you continued to eat, at least for the first few bites. When you thought about it, Steve probably hadn’t had anything for as long as you, although he was taking it much better.

As the meal went on, though, the two of you fell into an easy conversation. It almost infuriated you how well the two of you got along. It was like talking to an old friend, except one that never got too explicit about their job description. Steve knew all about yours, and you knew all about his life growing up with Bucky plus a few interests, but that’s pretty much where it stopped. It wouldn’t have been a concern if he worked an everyday 9-5 job, but he didn’t. Something just didn’t quite add up, but that honestly wasn’t your concern. If he wanted to own a bunch of businesses, at least they made quality goods like this linguini. You were still astounded by how much he was able to control the room, though.

“So, like…what’s the deal?” You interjected just as he was about to take another bite.

“I’m sorry?” Steve was caught off guard, even though he could see the flashes of gears turning in your mind sporadically throughout this whole dinner ordeal.

“Sorry, I actually didn’t mean to make that as harsh as it came out, but like…you can’t tell me there hasn’t been a pattern of behavior with you all day today. I just wanted to point it out.”

Steve set down his silverware to put his full focus on you. Everything he had told you up until this point had been honest, and he wondered if he was about to be persecuted. The conversation had been fine, and the two of you were having a good time, but he couldn’t blame you for being a little bugged by his vague answers and workarounds.

“I just feel like everywhere you go, you command people around. If it were anyone else, I feel like they’d be all cocky about it, making false promises, but so many people are out here lending you their attention like you run things. Sometimes even in my workplace.”

“Decks, I, uh…. I don’t know how I’m supposed to take that.” His eyes slightly narrowed at you, unsure of where this was going next.

“I guess, it’s, uh…. It’s a compliment? But really more of an observation. And I’m saying I feel like I’m the only one who sees it. Feeling like a regular old Lizzie Curry.”

Steve furrowed his eyebrows. “Um, am I supposed to know that name? Is it someone you went to school with? Is it one of your coworkers?”

You let out a chuckle. “God, no. You’ve never seen that movie? It’s an old western. You know what, come over and we’ll watch it, plus you can listen to the song it inspired, too. Steven, you uncultured dog”

He laughed and rubbed his neck. “Okay, okay, I get it. But you don’t mean like… right now, do you?”

You pushed your plate of food away from you, more than satisfied with the best meal you’ve had in months. “I mean, I guess? If you wanted to. I’m not working tomorrow. I’m not even on call, so sure, I could technically stay up. It’d be worth it to see someone else’s reaction to old film.”

Steve sheepishly smiled before sinking a little into the seat, signaling the waiter to come back and package the leftovers, sure to send you home with extra bread, too. “I would love to, but I actually have an important business meeting.” He checked his watch. “That I’m about six minutes away from being late for already. Tomorrow?”

You nodded, pulling your jacket on and accepting a bag from the waiter. “Yeah, tomorrow works.”

Steve slid out of the booth, sending a message on his phone before sliding it into his back pocket to put as much attention towards you as he could. “Okay, perfect, I’ll come by at seven.”

You vigorously shook your head. “No, way too late. Make it five.”

He looked at you incredulously. “Five!? Okay, fine. Let me make some phone calls. I’ll see what I can do. I can probably rearrange some things.” He sighed and pulled out his phone again, holding it up to his ear and sending you a wink and a wave before getting into the Black SUV that sped to the curb, meeting him as soon as he touched the sidewalk.

You spent the day Sunday cleaning your entire apartment. Sure, it was your normal cleaning day when it could be, but something made you feel like it needed to be extra spotless. You were in a zen, music blasting, dancing around with your mop, which was luckily the last thing you had to do.

You at least didn’t have to worry about preparing snacks or anything for Steve’s visit, texting him the command to get them on his way over, since you were already doing him the ‘gracious service of hosting,’ as you had said. He got a kick out of that one and obliged you, even texting Bee to get your preferences and personally picking them up instead of sending out a lackey.

He was surprised by how short Bee’s texts to him were, though, considering they usually had chipper conversations. Maybe he would call her later, or at least tell Bucky to since they had both been in a good mood the last time they’d spoken.

Steve pulled into your parking garage and went to the trunk of his car to grab his duffel so he could change into comfy clothes once he got up to your place. As the lift gate opened, though, Steve was terrified for the first thing he saw to be a shoe, attached to a leg clothed in Ralph Lauren pants. Steve took inventory of what was going on in his trunk as Bucky, the man attached to said shoe and pants turned over and groaned. Luckily, it didn’t appear that he was injured, but his eyes were quite puffy and his hair was in a mess, and not how it was back at the farm.

Bucky was wearing one of his junk suits: one that he didn’t care what happened to it. One that was marked as comfy, that he could throw it away in a second.

This was less than an everyday suit. Usually, Bucky wouldn’t be caught in anything less than Armani, even known for wearing Brioni almost every day. He must’ve really been going through it, especially since his hair has never been seen professionally without at least half an ounce of gel in it.

This was bad, and it was the last thing Steve needed right now, as the time was crunching and he didn’t want to delay your snacks or this date….wait. Was this a date? Was last night a date? Whatever, he didn’t have the time to think it over, though, instead looking down at the mob boss sprawled in the trunk and trying to gather information as quickly as possible.

“Bucky, what the actual hell is going on right now. Why are you in my trunk? Were you crying?” Tears were something Steve had only seen from his best friend a handful of times over their lives side-by-side, so for them to be so suddenly present was a concern.

Bucky sniffled before putting his best attempt of an angry face on, although it looked more like a pout. “I miss her, Steve. It’s only been a week, but I just can’t stand to be away. She’s stuck in my head and we were never even anything official. I’ve been trying to drown myself in work, but all I’m really drowning in is…sadness.”

He swung his legs to finally sit up under the tailgate. Steve knew Bucky had thrown himself into work, the man had been back for six days and had hardly been seen outside his office while Steve was sent out for all the in-person necessities. Steve slapped his hands on the shoulders of his best friend before meeting his gaze, then eventually pulling him in for a hug. “Okay, I get it. But she’s not gone. She’s only a few hours away and you can call her whenever.”

Bucky shook his head and sniffled. “No, I can’t call her. It’ll just make it worse. I just need a friend right now. Can I hang out with you?”

Steve sighed and placed his hands on his hips, questioning the plausibility of the situation. He had been getting along with you so well this weekend that the last thing he wanted to do was ruin it. And it would be indecent of him to cancel when he was already here, bearing snacks.

You were perched on the couch in your nice, comfy clothes scrolling through the TV to find the movie you had told Steve about. It had been awhile since you had seen it, but from what you could remember, it was hilariously ridiculous and you’d be happy if you could just get one person to share in the spectacle with you.

Of course, you didn’t mind that it was Steve, either. You rather enjoyed his company. It wasn’t overbearing or obnoxious, at least when it was just the two off you, and when he wasn’t trying to flex his knowledge. This weekend so far with him had just been… easy, though. And most of all, he listened. It was so hard to find someone who was like that, especially in your line of work. You were one of the best forensic scientists in the area, but many wouldn’t give you the time of day, mostly the shitty cops you worked with besides Lang. With Steve, outside of what had happened the first time he came into your lab, you felt as though your expertise was respected.

You were pulled out of your thoughts by a firm knock on the door, followed by murmuring on the other side. You opened the door to see Steve holding a bunch of grocery bags, along with his duffel. Behind him was another man in a suit, kicking his feet.

“Bucket? What are you doing here?”

Steve sighed for what felt like the hundredth time and walked through the door you were now holding open, towards your kitchen to set down the snacks. “He’s not doing super well right now. I hope you don’t mind that I brought him.”

Steve looked at you with anxious anticipation as he walked towards the bathroom door as Bucky spoke up.

“Yeah, Decks. I’m really sorry to just show up unannounced, but going back to work after a month in the middle of nowhere was a hard transition.” That among other things were racing through his mind, but honestly, you got it. Hell, even coming back after a single weekend was hard, so you couldn’t blame the guy. He looked about as bad as Bee sounded in your phone call with her the other day. You just nodded.

“You won’t even know I’m here.” He looked at you with pleading eyes, rivaling the most helpless puppy you could possibly dream up.

“Okay. That’s fine, just get changed and you get to arrange the snacks. Does Steve have a change of clothes for you? I’m instating this apartment as a business attire-free zone.”

You looked over to where Steve was still leaning against the door frame where he shook his head. “I mean, I’ve got extra pants for him, but do you have another shirt or sweatshirt I can borrow?”

Movie time found you and Steve on opposite ends of your small couch with Bucky in the middle, the three of you holding bowls stacked high with all of your favorites, and seemingly Bucky’s too.

Bucky wore Steve’s clothes while Steve wore one of your old, oversized college hoodies from the collection. He had picked it out when you took him back to your room to try to find something that would fit one of the buffest men you knew. During this time, Steve told you all about what was going on with Bucky, and you understood. Being away from a loved one is never easy, you missed Bee everyday, too.

To your surprise, and honestly a little annoyingly, the sweatshirt Steve grabbed fit him better than it fit you. You missed the smug grin he wore as he slipped it on, happy to be hugged by your scent.

You hardly got to enjoy the sight, though, as a brick wall of a man sat between the two of you, jaw constantly clenching with the way he had steeled his feelings and demeanor. Bucky would never let anyone but Steve see him cry, but you had no idea how much it meant that he had even let you have a glimpse at him feeling sad.

Watching a movie that was almost purely taking place on a farm probably wasn’t the best decision. That wasn’t technically your fault, though. You had already chosen it and Bucky’s surprise visit wasn’t going to make you change your plans more than you already had by him just being there.

About half way through, he paused it, getting up to make the three of you drinks from whatever was in your cabinets, giving you and Steve the opportunity to talk about what had happened so far.

“So how old is she supposed to be?” Steve pointed at the screen.

“My best assumption is late twenties, early thirties if they were trying so desperately to marry her off at this point and still expecting kids. But she looks a little older than that, right? She was like, fifty when this was filmed.” You popped another gummy bear in your mouth.

“Ah, makes sense. Yeah, I’ve been so thrown off this whole time. Old-time expectations and behaviors are…interesting? I guess I’m not surprised, but it’s also quite alarming to see it portrayed so casually on the screen.” You nodded in agreement.

“Oh definitely. But you have to agree it makes it a little funny. I don’t think I could make it through the whole thing if it wasn’t laughable.”

Steve gave you a tight-lipped smile before Bucky covered your view, handing the two of you drinks. Steve was grateful for the break in eye contact. He wasn’t sure how he could tell you that misogynistic behaviors like that were so prevalent in his and Bucky’s line of work, and they jarred him in real life just as much as on the screen. Neither of them wanted a life like that, though, even if they had been a little misguided by the models in their youth.

The three of you settled in again, you and Steve throwing your feet on Bucky’s lap after he had almost sat on top of them.

You finished your drink and the movie, falling asleep there on the couch soon after. You woke up hours later with a blanket over you, borrowed sweatshirt folded at your feet and house as pristine as could be, two men nowhere to be seen and your door locked.

Next >

Bonus A/N: Brownie points if you can tell me what movie they watched.

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Despite the way there were new, more outlandish cases to deal with, the days were surprisingly routine. Come in, visit a crime scene, run some tests, go home, do it again. You lived for that sort of zen. The detachment of simply putting your head down and getting to work was what you were used to, and then once you were home, it was like a sanctuary. You could lounge, pick up another hobby out of the thousand you’d already started, and crawl into your fresh sheets.

It’s not like you were entirely a hermit, though. You got along with your coworkers and would commonly joke around with them, but first and foremost, you were a proper worker, doing your job. When something really needed done, you’d lock down in the lab, music blasting, and crank out results.

Steve was the same way. He tried to keep his days as routine as possible, despite the way work brought something new everyday. Rival gangs needed monitored and law people needed bribed. Shipments and production needed to be kept on a tight schedule and up to pace with increasing demand.

There wasn’t much time for it, but he’d found certain images and memories start to take hold in his mind. They were different from the grade school ones of Bucky, or his times learning the ropes of his trade, or the first suit he’d ever worn. They were new, they were…warm? Lacked that same rigidity? They were of you. Driving his car effortlessly, petting a baby goat as it bleated happily, teaching him to dance…small, little moments that he couldn’t let go of, but he didn’t have time to replay enough.

He did his best to stay proper in his business dealings. Steve was known for his gentlemanly demeanor, truly a golden boy of the underground, or…at least as much of one as an individual could be given the legality loopholes he was constantly trying to jump through.

On the outside, he was smooth as a beach. Fluid with the crashes of waves this industry threw at him. He’d gotten good at rolling with the punches without a single blond hair out of place. But inside? It was a hurricane. The wind raged and echoed in his ears, putting him on edge. It was sensory overload.

Everyday, he found his attention wanting to wander more and more to that simpler time, not romanticizing it for the lack of pressing responsibility, but for the fact he spent genuine moments with someone who was unlike those in his world. Unlike the men so obsessed with maintaining their place on top or squashing others to get there. They were all about the money, but you were working for the people, and for the betterment of the city. To solve cases and give peace to families. And Steve knew he was all too often on the other side of that, even if he prided himself on only taking out the worst of the worst. The ones who deserved it. They were the ones endangering women and children, who to him, were the distastefully vulnerable and undeserving of wrath, despite the fates they were met with from the awful men Steve rid the world of. He wasn’t breaking his set of morals and rules, he was just breaking the law sometimes. Steve was a good man, he just happened to make his living doing bad things.

He didn’t have time to reflect on that right now, though. Things had seriously picked up in recent weeks. Bucky was soon to return, but it didn’t help that Steve felt like Lloyd was unrelentingly on their asses. Leading the organization when it came to the normal stuff was fine, but the extra protections Bucky was making him run, along with the extensive research and monitoring was already taking its toll. Steve was used to a lack of sleep, he basically lived on adrenaline and black coffee, but another night where he was fielding calls and sending out directives without a wink was causing his emotional guard to fall.

It was early morning as Steve sat at his desk. He’d ordered Sam to head out hours ago, but as the sun was cresting over the horizon, not even that searing glow could keep Steve’s tired mind at bay. The levees against the flood were weakened beyond belief. The hurricane was about to make landfall.

Just then, the phone rang. It was one of his contacts down at the police station. That wasn’t new, but the specific news was and Steve wanted to be there in person to get every bit of information he could... and perhaps catch a glimpse at the one person who could scratch that new itch in his brain. Maybe, finally, at least he could catch a nap in the car, as Steve called Gio to drive him over.

Over the couple weeks you’ve been back, you couldn’t help the way your mind wandered constantly, either. Even your favorite playlist couldn’t keep you on track, so you opted for silence, the scenes replaying of your time on the farm doing plenty to help you block out your surroundings.

You were working on a particularly difficult case currently. There was no time for distractions. The overcast sky just added to the ambiance of the feeling that something unusual was looming over you. You pulled yourself out of your thoughts, along with the keys from the ignition, and took a deep breath, letting it out sharply to get yourself ready. When you’d gotten out of the SUV and to the crime scene, Detective Lang greeted you.

“So I’ve got good news and bad news. Which do you want first?”

He guided you along the River walk and down the rocky shore where a victim laid, waves still lapping over her feet as photographers and cops gathered around the scene, surveying it for evidence. A small crowd had gathered along the pathway, held back by barricades and uniformed officers. At least you were here before the news crews.

“Bad news first, always. You know that.” You spoke with a purpose, slipping on your gloves after pushing up the sleeves of your department-issued windbreaker and cuffing your pants so they wouldn’t get wet.

“So far, looks like it was blunt force trauma with a side of torture. Very little evidence to go off of, especially considering there are no open wounds and the tools used for this kinda thing could be in any household.”

You crouched down by the body and immediately took note of the bruising. You hummed in acknowledgement and looked back up at the detective, his head framed by the cloudy, gray sky, the rising sun now hidden. Fitting for a tragedy like this. A woman your age subjected to that sort of an ending…

“And the good news?”

He sighed, looking up at the sky, hands on his hips, before he dropped his head back down towards you.

He winced. “Body’s fresh? Disposal doesn’t appear very well thought-out.”

You nodded and looked around for any piece of evidence that hadn’t washed away. He was right, it was gonna be difficult to pull many testable elements.

“Well, I’ll do the usual work-up, then, and let you know when you’re good to get everything over to the medical examiner.”

He curtly nodded and turned on his heel to speak with the witnesses before you began to pull out your kit, swabbing for anything of note.

After you finished collecting everything you could, you carefully slipped back through the background and away from the slew of reporters now blanketing the scene. Ugh, you hated those block heads. Especially Lucas Bell, the weird little ray of sunshine you went to school with growing up. For some reason, he thought the two of you were actually friends, despite never having even given him the signal you appreciated his presence. The worst part: you could tell he wasn’t hitting on you. He would genuinely seek you out at crime scenes, that gross happy smile on his face, calling you by the birth name almost no one used anymore in favor of your college nickname. Every time, it was, “hey, remember me, old pal? Great to see you! Any information you’re willing to share?” Who the hell was so chipper when their job was literally to report tragedies?

You bobbled your head as you mocked him to yourself and got back into your work SUV. Ugh, you hated that guy. And all the other reporters. You didn’t wanna be on camera. What if you wanted to work for the FBI one day? Huh? What then? Can’t have your face out there all willy nilly and then expect to be doing covert ops. Nope. You prepared to race back to the precinct, ready to drown yourself in an afternoon of attempting to suck evidence out of a cotton swab caked in river grime and essentially, air, if you could count that as evidence.

You drove back through the pouring rain. Another thing to be annoyed by. First, the longing for your simple weekend once again, then the intrusive thoughts about annoying little reporters, and now, the near-flooding on the roads. You could hear her in your head now, Bee saying “rain makes corn. It’s a good thing.” You rolled your eyes, to be honest, you liked the rainy atmosphere, but you know what rain also makes? Bad drivers. At this point, it was just best to get back to the lab, buckle down, and stay there, where no one could possibly bother you.

You were hours in to your intensive testing. Your spectrometry readings gave the smallest peaks, hard to say if the readings actually were something or just background noise. You were happy to put in the time, but something just felt…off. It was infuriating and not helping your mood, but you tried your best to keep it separated from work. It wasn’t perfect, but it was your best. Another small thing going wrong could push you over the edge, though.

You opted to just look at a small fabric sample, deciphering if there truly was some thread of note caught in the weave. You just needed to concentrate and you knew you could find something. You were purely focused and zoomed in, using your Loupe glasses, paired with several lamps overhead, with the highest hopes of even a shred of confirma-

“Decks? More like Specks.”

The sudden voice that echoed through the lab startled you, causing your head to shoot up and bump against one of the metal lamps.

“Ow!” At that same time, the forceps and piece of fabric flew out of your hands and onto the floor. It didn’t help that you knocked into your instrument tray on the way, sending all those onto the floor, as well.

Great, now you had to go to the stock room to find a new package of sterile ones. This was the last set left in the lab. You looked up from where you watched the evidence fall, rubbing your forehead with the back of your gloved hand, eyes narrow at the business man in a suit who was previously leaned against your doorway, now tentatively walking towards you to crouch on the ground.

“Steve, what the hell?” You trailed off for a second. “You and Bee really do have the same sense of humor. I thought she just told me that as a selling point.” It came out as an irritated growl. You rolled your eyes as you squatted down to start cleaning your mess.

Steve laughed. Selling point? Bee talked to you about him? And tried to make him appealing? He wasn’t sure why, but he felt a certain warmth in his stomach at that. He pushed it down as much as he could. Either way, he truly did get along well with her.

“Well you know what they say, birds of a feather and all.” He joined you near the floor after having grabbed a glove, picking up some stray instruments and placing them back in the metal holding tray.

You muttered lowly as you finally stood up and turned away from him, after grabbing the fabric off the floor gingerly and placing it in a plastic protective case. “More like wasps of a stinger.”

Steve disposed of his gloves and looked over the results on your computer. You quickly hit the keys to lock the screen, sure to cast him a nasty glare. The last thing you needed was to get accused of leaking evidence.

What was he doing here, anyway? With those broad shoulders and that skinny waist. What did he even need shoulders that big for? How did he even shop for clothes? You swear his waist was literally the same circumference as your thigh. They don’t carry stuff like that in department stores.

Steve looked at you with a confused glance as you removed your gloves and washed your hands. There was a hint of humor in his voice, but it was mostly filled with caution at your attitude.

“Um, I don’t really shop for clothes? I’ve got a tailor. He’s pretty good.”

After your hands were dry, you facepalmed harder than ever before. You couldn’t believe you said that out loud. Maybe you did need to interact with more people outside of work. You were too comfortable talking to yourself. You took a deep breath before turning around and looking at Steve again. His face now mostly held tentative kindness, and that was a nice change to the anger that was sitting in your belly all day today. You still couldn’t help what you spat back, though.

“You have a tailor? In this economy? Of course you do…rich prick.” The last part was grumbled under your breath, but Steve still caught it. Where was this hostility coming from? He thought the two of you had gotten along great before. What changed?

Steve’s hurt caused him to fire back, albeit much nicer than you had. “You’re calling me rich? Decks, I’ve seen your apartment, it’s nice. Especially for this city. Way nicer than my first place.”

First off, what was that supposed to mean? You were still suspicious about exactly what Steve and Bucky did for a living. You knew they made a lot of money. Steve wore designer suits, if he could help it, and you assumed Bucky did, as well, but what business did they have being this built?

You let go of that, though, wanting to just get back to work after the disturbance, but why had you been disturbed in the first place?

“Steven, what are you doing in my lab?”

He was taken aback. Woah, full names. He knew your full name, but didn’t dare to find out what would become of him if he used it. It didn’t seem like many did. He wanted to go about this the right way. He didn’t want abuse his delicate position as a friend of a friend when you were so close to the law…yet.

He stood upright and pressed his shoulders back. Right, he was here on business. He had to remember that. It wasn’t a personal call and he had to stay professional.

“I was actually meeting with Scott, er, Detective Lang. He called me about the new case that came in this morning.”

You nodded slowly. “You knew her?”

Why did that make you nervous? Of course Steve knew women, like, duh, but something burning rose in your chest in anticipation of his response. Why did you care? You didn’t even want him here. Right?

He shook his head lightly. “No…well, sort of? She was an employee of one of my businesses. A salon.”

One of his businesses, of course. A salon was…interesting… but you guessed not out of the question with how perfect his stupid perfect hair always was. Whatever, just because he was here for some questioning, doesn’t mean he had to pay you a visit.

“Okay…so why did you come in here?”

You looked up at him from the odds and ends you were shuffling around your work bench out of nervousness.

“I actually wanted to see you, maybe help out a little?”

You eyed him skeptically, ignoring the way your chest sent a tingle down towards your fingertips. “You know when someone offers to keep close to a case like that, it usually means they had something to do with it, right?”

Steve put his hands up in surrender. “I swear this wasn’t me. I just genuinely care for my employees. Did you check under the fingernails? Maybe there was some DNA there or something?”

Your gaze became even more burning towards him. “Yes, Steven. I checked under the nails. That’s like, the first thing you do in cases like this. But why would you know that, anyway? And how can you say you care so much about your employees if you didn’t even know the girl?”

He rubbed the back of his neck. He was usually much smoother than this. How did you intimidate him so much so suddenly. Oh no…Is that where the name ‘Decks’ came from? Were you gonna hit him? Deck him? Did you have a pension for beating guys up? If he made a wrong move, would you literally punch him? Give him a black eye? Sure, much worse had happened to him before, but he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to emotionally recover if the damage came from you.

Either way, Steve didn’t want to find out, so he continued quite cautiously and uncomfortable within your domain, lacking the confidence that came so easily to him in all his usual business dealings and the quasi-leadership role he found himself in.

“I um…I watch a lot of CSI shows?” He hoped that was believable, but he knew it came out like a squeak, almost. He may as well be a little kid losing fights in a back alley again. He cleared his throat in an attempt to get his voice back to normal. “I do care for my employees, though. And my reputation, and the ability to make sure nothing like this happens again to anyone involved with me.”

You sighed at that. You can understand the want to prevent future disasters, especially when it came to someone working so low at the bottom of the food chain for such a major company. As you slipped your Loupe glasses back on and readjusted your lamps, you gestured for Steve to take a seat in your computer chair while you moved to a stool by the lab bench.

“Okay, fine. I’ll let you hang around, but don’t tell me how to do my job.”

You couldn’t help the way the corner of your lip turned up, just out of Steve’s sight, as he strutted over and plopped down into the rolly chair, watching you with a smile and his fingers laced behind his head.

Next >

Bonus A/N: I’m very excited for what’s going to grow between Steve and Decks. She’s a lil independent thing and he’s just so “idk what to do bc I’m supposed to be in control but I’m doing everything on her terms” and I love it. Lmk what you think!!!

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14. Do they enjoy PDA, or are they more private with affection?

Do they enjoy PDA? Not really. They’re both quite private and appear proper to those around them. Sticklers for following rules and customs, and happy to keep that affection to themselves. The most you may see out in the open is hand holding or a forehead kiss, maybe a cheek kiss, but almost never lips. They’ll sit close and whisper jokes in each other’s ears, or roll their eyes at Buck and Bee, laughing quietly amongst themselves, but that’s pretty much it. Oh! And of course they enjoy a good dance😉

21. Do they enjoy domestic life?

Yeah, I’d say so. Decks and Steve already live pretty domestic lives on their own. They both have their own places, which comes with cleaning, cooking, maintenance, and bills. Steve has a cleaner employed, although he hardly uses them since he’s almost never home and can keep tidy on his own. He’s a big fan of meal prep and everything having a place. Due to his schedule, though, he tends to get home late, which often ends up in takeout food. Decks has no issue cleaning, but she’s honestly not the best cook. She can get by, and what she makes is edible, but it’s nothing like her parents can make and she’s just grateful she’s only cooking for herself in case her learning attempts fail. When she and Steve get together, she doesn’t want to be expected to cook for him. She knows how all those other mafia wives can be and she doesn’t want that expectation, and he doesn’t place it on her. She’s got her own life and doesn’t want to be subservient to a man. He wouldn’t have it any other way than an equal partnership. So Steve makes the effort to be home earlier, even if he has to leave again after to go back to work, just so he can spend dinner with her. She’s quite regimented on needing food in her mouth before 6pm, otherwise she’ll become an absolute troll, and not in the cute way. The two of them go to the bookstore and pick out and purchase a cookbook, finding recipes they want for the coming week so they can stock up on those groceries, and then learn to cook them together. When they’re not both called in to the weird demanding hours of their jobs, they lay on the couch, her cold toes tucked under his warm thigh, as they watch a show, and then after, she pulls up a YouTube video explaining the lore surrounding it. Side details: Decks also has a good deal of house plants, and as we’ll see in the next few chapters, loves a good pasta. Maybe one day the two of them will get a pet.