Chapter Text
Steve Rogers stood in the middle of his new apartment and thought, well, fuck.
It wasn’t a bad apartment, not at all. It was the perfect size for a single man in his, technically, early thirties, with two bedrooms, one bathroom, an open plan kitchen/dining/living room and a small balcony that overlooked the busy New York street below him.
If Steve was being honest, he was really happy with the building. It was near a park with good running tracks, not too busy, easy to navigate and evacuate in case of an attack, and of course, it was in Brooklyn.
Steve was swearing because now he actually had to follow through with his idea to retire and pass the shield to Sam, move to Brooklyn and get a life.
“I think this is the last of it,” Sam said behind Steve, carrying a coffee table with Clint. They deposited it just by Steve’s feet and stood back up, smiling at each other.
“Well, Cap. I’m really happy for you.” Clint clapped him on the shoulder after wiping sweat off his forehead. “Even if you aren’t technically Cap anymore but isn’t Cap more like a state of mind anyway-”
“What bird boy is trying to say,” Tony stepped away from the wall he was leaning on. He had decided to tag along for the move from the Compound to the apartment, even though he didn’t help other than giving Steve a new laptop. “We’re gonna miss you, Capsicle.”
Steve smiled at the three men standing in front of him. Yeah. He was gonna miss them too. “Thanks, guys, for helping out. I really appreciate it.” Clint rolled his eyes, obviously upset that Tony hadn’t actually done much. “I’ll miss you guys too.”
Tony smiled, really smiled, and kissed Steve on the cheek before walking out. “Don’t be a stranger, Rogers.”
Clint kissed Steve on the other cheek, teasing Tony for his affectionate ways. “Yeah, don’t be a stranger.”
Steve watched both of them go, an ache in his chest. Was this a mistake? Did he not think this through enough? Was he going to spiral even more than he was doing before and end up worse off?
Sam could probably read his thoughts because he placed a hand on Steve’s shoulder, gaining his attention. “I know you feel like this could be a mistake, but trust me. I really feel like this is the best thing for you right now.”
“I know, I know.” Steve let his head hang, closing his eyes. “I’m just gonna miss seeing you guys every day.”
Sam squeezed his shoulder. “Yeah, well, I’ll make sure I send you heaps of videos and send Clint your way when he gets annoying.” Knowing Clint, that could be every day. “But really Steve. Embrace this change. It will be good.”
“Thank you, Sam.” Steve wrapped his arms around Sam in a hug.
He hoped Sam knew that the thank you wasn’t just for that little bit of advice, but for being the friend that Steve needed and would need for the rest of his life. Sam has been there during the nights when Steve came to him crying, and he was there when Steve did something reckless on the field because he didn’t feel like living anymore. Sam was also there to take up Steve’s offer to hand over the mantle and name of Captain America. Steve knew he’d be thanking Sam for the rest of his life.
“No problems, Steve.” Sam pulled back from the hug and gave Steve one more smile. “I’ll see you around.”
Steve nodded and then watched his best friend leave out the door. He closed his eyes, suddenly hit with a wave of emotion so strong he was surprised it didn’t topple him over on the spot.
“You okay there, Rogers?”
Steve jumped, his hand flying to his back to grab at a shield that was no longer there. He spun around instead, with his fists in front of his face, only to see Natasha standing in the doorway to the balcony.
“Jesus Christ, Nat!” Steve sighed, rubbing a hand on his forehead at the spike of adrenaline.
She didn’t respond but just stood there. Her eyes searched his face in a way he had become familiar with. This wasn’t Black Widow calculating her opponent, but Natasha Romanoff concerned for a close friend.
He sighed again, knowing that the conversation they were about to have wouldn’t be easy. He sat down on the coffee table Sam and Clint brought up. “When did you get here?”
“I haven’t been stalking you from the balcony for long if that’s what you’re asking,” she said. She uncrossed her arms and took a few steps towards him before stopping.
He looked up at her, and something in his eyes must have broken her because her face softened. She took the last few steps towards him and placed a hand on his forehead, pushing his hair back from his forehead. He kept looking at her.
“Don’t be sad, Steve. This is a new beginning. One you deserve.” Nat said it with so much conviction that he wanted to believe it.
He rolled his eyes though, looking down at their feet. Her hand stayed in his hair, softly brushing her fingers through it. “I don’t remember much of my life before Captain America. You know that. I don’t know how to live without him.”
Her hand slipped down his face until she gently took his chin and moved his face up, forcing him to look at her. Anxious sky blue eyes met determined forest green. “You are Captain America, Steve. Steve Rogers and Captain America are both different people, and you need to realise that you are both and that it’s okay.” She bent down, smiling softly at him. “The problem, however, was that you were letting the Cap side of you dictate your life. You gotta look after the Steve side too, yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“Good.” She smiled at him, teeth and all. He knew that was her way of saying that she was proud of him. She kissed him on the forehead, and he knew that was her way of saying that she loved him.
She rose, and he followed her to the door. When they reached the door, Nat lent in a little closer to whisper in his ear. “Your neighbour is also really hot. You should get on that.”
He chuckled and watched as she smirked, before jogging lightly down the stairs to leave him be. He knew that was her way of telling him to get a life.
He took a step back into his apartment and closed the door. Steve was officially alone. He turned around and looked at the boxes scattered everywhere between pieces of furniture, some stolen from the Compound and others newly bought. A new beginning.
He rolled his eyes, went straight past the boxes that he would get around to eventually, and flopped down on top of the mattress in his room. He closed his eyes, thought about how he could finally be Steve Rogers and went straight to sleep that was not a grandpa nap, even if his friends might have called it that.
***
“You’re a fucking idiot.”
Bucky rolled his eyes at himself in the mirror, determined to look somewhat decent today. He had stayed up last night going over today’s lecture notes, even though he knows that he knows them like the back of his hand. Staying up late and waking up early meant little sleep, and he could clearly see it on his face.
He huffed and went to find a tie before standing back in front of his mirror, tying it effortlessly. He had a lot of practice of tying his tie with only one hand, and he pressed it against his chest, satisfied and happy.
Out of the corner of his eye noticed a flurry of movement outside his bedroom window. Bucky whipped around to inspect what it was, lowering his stance incase he suddenly found himself in a fight. There was nothing at the window though. A cat, possibly. He shrugged, internally wincing at his over reaction, turning back to the mirror to run a hand through his short hair.
“Dad!”
Bucky sighed. He gave himself a pathetic smile in the mirror and once realising how pathetic it looked, it quickly turned into a frown. He gave himself a thumbs up and then left his bedroom as another yell sounded out through the apartment.
“Yeah, sweetie?” He walked over to the balcony where he left Winnie after her early morning breakfast.
She was standing on the balcony, in her favourite yellow polka dot dress with a smock on top and her brown hair in a ponytail. She was grinning ear to ear, her hands covered in paint from her new obsession with finger painting, blue eyes just like his sparkling in the early morning sun.
He titled his head to the side, analysing the painting resting on the piece of cardboard placed on top of a low chair as a temporary easel. It was a mess of bright colours, ranging from pink to green to blue. He couldn’t quite work out what she was trying to make, but he smiled and squeezed her shoulder affectionately anyways.
“That looks great, Wins!”
She rolled her eyes and oh fuck his heart was melting. Every new thing she did, from rolling her eyes to helping him cook dinner, made him physically ache with love. “I haven’t finished it yet, Daddy.”
“Oh?” He scrunched his eyebrows together in confusion.
“I saw Black Widow!”
That made him even more confused. He knelt down in front of her, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear. “Black Widow?” She nodded. “Here? In Brooklyn?” She kept nodding.
His heart leapt into his throat and he quickly wrapped an arm around Winnie’s waist, pulling her with him and he rushed back into the apartment, closing the balcony doors behind him. He placed her down on the ground, crouching in front of her trying to shield her from any possible bullets that could come in through the window.
“Dad?” Winnie placed her small hand on his shoulder. “What are you doing?”
“Do you know what Black Widow was doing?” Bucky rushed, trying to listen to signs of a fight or anything that would draw the Black Window to a small apartment complex in Brooklyn.
“She climbed up the side of the building,” Winnie was saying. “And stayed on the balcony next door for a bit. She saw me and waved at me, Daddy!”
He turned his face back towards hers and copied her giant smile. “That’s so great, sweetie! But what did she do next?”
“She went into the house next door.” Winnie shrugged, looking down at her paint-covered hands.
He raised his eyebrows in surprise. Black Widow is currently next door? “Was she fighting anybody?”
Winnie shook her head and tried to brush the stray piece of hair back behind her ear, but Bucky caught her hand just in time to stop it so she wouldn’t get paint on her face. “No. She wasn’t even dressed in her super cool suit, Daddy!”
He let out a breath that he didn’t even realise he was holding. Thank God. Black Widow being seen in public was usually associated with some sort of spy mission and the fact that she wasn’t in her suit or fighting anyone gave him a little peace of mind. She could be undercover though, doing recon for an even bigger mission but he was confident in Natasha Romanoff’s abilities that no harm would come to Winnie if she could help it. It didn’t answer the question of why Black Widow was currently next door, however, but he felt like he could figure that out later.
He glanced at the time and groaned. “Alright, Winnie. We better get going soon.”
She groaned too, rolling her eyes and walking away from him to go back to her painting. He chuckled to himself. “Do we have to go to school? I want to see if Black Widow comes back!”
He stood up, going to the kitchen and getting out some snacks and putting them into her lunch box. “Yes, we have to go to school. Miss Morse told me that you’ve got someone coming into school today to talk about stranger danger.” He heard her huff and without looking at her he could tell she was crossing her arms. “And my kids have a very important paper due so they’re very stressed.” He reminded her.
“Your kids are always stressed, Dad.”
He laughed, thinking about his classes and the breakdowns that he had had to endure over the years. “Yeah, they are.”
Bucky looked up from placing her now packed lunch box into her backpack to find her standing in the doorway to the balcony, her paint-covered hands hanging by her side and the biggest pout he had ever seen resting on her face. His face immediately softened, his lips twitching upwards. She had been trying this recently, a big pout and big puppy dog eyes, to get her way. Little did she know that he had become immune to it because she used it so much. All it did was make him love her even more.
“Don’t you think they should have a day off then?” Winnie asked, making her voice smaller.
Bucky sighed, zipping up her backpack. “How about we make a deal?”
She brightened at that and bounded over to him, standing right in front of him and raising her chin so she could look him in the eye.
“We both go to school-” Winnie physically deflated until she was folded in half, her head and arms dangling to the floor. “-but after school, we bake some cookies and take them next door. Maybe whoever’s just moved in can tell us why Black Widow was there.”
She straightened back up and contemplated it for a bit, her face scrunching up adorably. “Would we keep some of the cookies to eat?”
“Of course.”
“Okay!” Winnie smiled.
“Perfect!” He smiled back and bent down, one arm around both her legs to carry her to the bathroom. “Now, let’s get this paint off of you.”
***
Bucky successfully dropped his daughter off to school and made it to his classes right on time. Being an Associate Professor of Twentieth Century History at college took up a lot of his energy, but fucking hell he loved it. He had a total of five classes, each filled with kids of varying ages, shapes, and sizes, but each had a passion for history that he fed off of. Every year he taught the same course, but the fire never left. He loved analysing how the world was reshaped with new borders, power structures, ideologies, and movements, the cause and effect of decisions.
He knew he was a history nerd, something of which he was proud, and he was quite happy to be a part of the small percentage of the population that loved their jobs. He was glad that Winnie had someone to look up to that had a passion and drive and he could only hope that she would follow in his footsteps and find the perfect career for herself.
The only cons of his job, there was a small list, was the stress of assignments and exams. Whilst he didn’t actually have to sit either, he cared so much about his kids and their grades that it caused a mountain load of stress on him, never mind that he had to mark them. Becca said that it was nice but unhealthy. Bucky liked to focus on the nice part.
Bucky was just finishing up his final class for the day when his phone rang. He quickly answered a student's last question before fishing it out of his bag. He sighed in relief when he saw that it was Becca.
“Did you know that the French eat around 30,000 tons of snails each year?”
“Well, hello to you too, sister.” He said, sarcastically.
“Shut up.”
He grinned and turned to pack his laptop into his bag. “How’re you doing, Becs?”
She sighed. “Oh, I’m doing terrible, Bucky. Europe is just the worst. The terrible food and the culture. Ugh! The culture. How dare they?”
“So you’re having fun then?” He slipped his bag onto his good shoulder and held his phone to his ear with the same hand. He quickly checked the time whilst waiting for Becca’s answer. He had an hour until Winnie got out of school.
“I’m having the best time of my life,” Becca was saying. “I just left France yesterday and I’m currently on the way to Switzerland. Did you know that French boys are the best kissers? So much better than Brooklyn scum.”
Bucky rolled his eyes, making his way to the subway. “I did not know that. I have never kissed a French boy.”
“You should get on that.”
“Maybe you could bring a French boy home? Any keepers?”
She sighed wistfully. “No.” There was a pause, long enough that Bucky stopped walking, tilting his head to the side.
“Becca?”
“Speaking about home, I’m thinking that I won’t be home this weekend but I’m going to extend my trip for a few more months.”
He blinked in surprise before continuing walking. “Okay. Can you afford that?”
“Yeah. I’ve been working while I’m here and Ma and Dad said they’d pay for the flight home for me.”
“Huh,” Bucky quickly walked through the gates to the subway station. “Well, that sounds good, Becs. I’m happy for you. As long as you stay safe.”
He could tell she was rolling her eyes. “Thanks, Buck. I’m sorry about Winnie, though. I know she was excited to see me again but I feel like I need to do this.”
“That’s okay,” he slipped through the open doors into the subway cart. “As long as you send some pictures for her she’ll be okay. And presents. Lots of presents.”
Becca laughed. “Of course.”
“And I’ll book her in for more after school care for when you’d normally pick her up.”
She sighed. “Thanks, Bucky. I really appreciate it.”
“Of course, Becs.” He grinned. “I’m expecting presents too.”
“Nope,” she said as his jaw dropped. “Bye!”
“Talk to you later, you brat.”
He rolled his eyes before putting his phone in his back pocket. A small smile played on his lips as he thought about his sister. They’d been thick as thieves growing up, either ripping out each other's hair or laughing until they cried, with little in between. Through everything Bucky’s been through, Becca stayed at his side and never wavered in her support.
She was a phenomenal woman, an amazing aunt, and the best sister that Bucky could have ever asked for. If she needed some alone time skipping through Europe and having the time of her life, Bucky would only ever be happy for her.
The subway came to a stop at his station. Bucky quickly slipped out, trying not to bump people too much. He made it out safely before heading up to the street. He got to Winnie’s school with time to spare.
He pulled out his phone again, smiling when he saw that Becca had already sent through some photos of her in France. She sent some food pictures, one of her on top of the Eiffel Tower, and then a selfie with a three-legged cat in a dirty looking alleyway. He hearted that one before saving them all to his camera roll to show Winnie. He put his phone back before tilting his head back to let the extremely rare January sun wash over his face.
He lost track of time and then suddenly something jumped on top of him, narrowing missing where the sun doesn’t shine but going straight for his knees, nearly making them buckle out from under him. He let out a grunt as giggles filled his ears. He looked down to see his daughter grinning at him, her arms wrapped around his legs.
“Were you sleeping, Daddy?”
“Of course not, Winnie.” He wrapped his right arm around her waist and he lifted her until she was hanging by his side.
“Have you forgotten about our deal?”
“Of course not!”
“Good.” And then she wiggled until he had no choice but to drop her.
She started to skip next to him as they walked in the direction of their apartment. All thoughts of cookies quickly left her head as she started a very detailed description of every second of her day. Bucky had gotten used to this excessive talking and knew exactly when to make noises of agreement or disagreement.
He timed his gasp perfectly in the story about how Kellie had pushed Ollie’s colouring pencils off his desk and muttered wow in the conclusion of how Winnie and Lucy had made a new friend with Johnny. She followed him into the bodega on the corner of their block, continuing to talk and talk as he grabbed chocolate chips and milk. She didn’t stop talking until they made it to their landing.
She stopped short at the door to the apartment of the new neighbour, 3A, where she claimed that Black Widow had been.
Bucky walked straight past her to their own door, fiddling around with the keys.
“Dad! Look.”
He spun around to see her pointing at a new welcome mat out the front of 3A. “Wow. A welcome mat.”
“That means we’re welcome to give them cookies!” She gushed, a huge grin overtaking her face. She rushed past him into the apartment, flinging her backpack to the ground before running to the kitchen.
“No, missy!” He called closing the door behind him with his foot. “Unpack your bag and then we can make cookies.”
She groaned, dragging her feet to the bag with the biggest frown on her face. He grinned, kissed her forehead on his way past and went straight to the kitchen to bake some cookies.
***
Steve groaned.
It was official. He regretted this so much. In what world did he believe that he could actually live by himself?
Granted he did that in the 30s after his ma passed but that was when you didn’t live, you just survived. That was before he knew that he had a perfectly good Compound filled with people he considered family waiting for him only a few hours drive away. That was before he was Captain America and before he let Steve Rogers slip through the gaps. Before, before, before.
Fuck everything.
He didn’t unpack much during his first day alone. He took a few hours sleeping on his mattress and when he woke up, Steve felt guilty he had wasted so many hours that he quickly opened his front door, dropped a cheap welcome mat out the front that Clint had bought for him as a joke and then closed his door again.
Steve then sat on the floor in the middle of the open living area, cried for a little bit before his stomach rumbled. He ordered some take out from a Chinese place, then called again and ordered more food because of his enhanced metabolism, cried a little more and then slumped back on his mattress. He picked up his phone, clicked on her contact and waited until she picked up. It only took two rings.
“Have you been crying?”
Steve sniffed. “No.”
There was a beat. “Fucking hell, Rogers. How many times do I need to tell you that you are capable of this?”
He shrugged, his throat clogging up with emotion. “I know,” He picked at a loose strand in his red Iron Man hoodie. “I’m Captain America. I’ve saved the world before so I can live by myself.”
“And you’re also Steve Rogers who survived the Great Depression, who is strong and compassionate.”
He let out a sigh, his shoulders slumping until he could rest his forehead on his bent knees. “Thanks, Nat.”
He knew that talking to her would reassure him that he could do this. He had come to learn that Natasha knew a lot of things, was great at reading people and believed in him wholeheartedly.
“Tell me what you achieved today.”
“I, uh, ordered take out, which forced me to talk to a person. And put the welcome mat in front of the door.”
Nat chuckled. “Good. Baby steps, Steve. No one is expecting you to have your life together and made within the first day.”
Any leftover tension washed away like a leaf in a river. “Yeah. I even opened a window.”
“Speaking of windows,” she said, as Steve’s face contorted into confusion. “I was looking through your neighbour's window-“ he made a small noise of protest. “-and I think you should introduce yourself to him.”
“Why, Nat?” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “What happened to keeping the fact that I live here on the down-low?”
“Your neighbours will find out eventually. Make sure it goes well, though, okay? He’s good looking.”
He rolled his eyes. “Thanks.”
“No problem.”
He was about to say something along the lines of a sarcastic response when he heard a knock at the door. He sighed again, slowly getting up from the bed. “Gotta go. Someone just knocked on the door.”
“God, I hope it’s Hot Neighbour.”
Steve really wished it wasn’t. He hung up on Nat, knowing he’d probably call her another five times before he went to bed at some ungodly hour in the morning. He brushed a hand through his hair, before rubbing his face. He quickly padded to the door, and tossing all thoughts about safety and secrecy, swung open the door.
Holy fucking shit.
The man standing on his stupid welcoming mat was godlike, and Steve would know. He had met multiple gods, but nothing quite like this man. High cheekbones, a sharp jaw that would probably cut his finger if he traced it, and those lips. Goddamn, those lips. Pink and lush and so kissable. If Steve Roger didn’t know that he was an awkward panicked bisexual by that point, he knew that this man would have confirmed everything for him. Especially in that white button-down shirt and light blue jeans that hugged everything just right.
And his hair? Short and floofy and Steve needed to stop all thoughts of running his hand through that hair and tugging at it. Eyes that had been flickering around finally settled on Steve and the feeling that he always got right before a battle, when his body knows that he’s about to jump out of a plane without a parachute and his stomach swoops and his heartbeats when he finally does it hit Steve one hundred times harder than it ever had before. Blue-grey was now his favourite colour.
“Hi.” The man said, and Steve suddenly realised that yes, he was staring at this beautiful angel and yes, it was most definitely creepy and awkward.
“Hi!” Said another voice and Steve was forced to peel his gaze from the most gorgeous man to walk the Earth to a little girl, standing in front.
Oh, Steve realised. Daughter. Which means he's probably in a relationship.
Steve tried not to show his disappointment on his face and let a smile take over his face as he looked down at the little girl. She was cute, very cute, with a small nose and high cheekbones, and brown hair falling to her shoulders. A quick glance back to the man to see yeah, they had the same structural features and same coloured eyes. Shit.
“Hey,” Steve said instead of are you into guys because I need you right now because that would be rude and inappropriate. “How can I help?”
The man placed a hand on the little girl’s shoulder and that’s when Steve saw that his left sleeve was pinned to just below the shoulder. Amputee. Interesting. He made sure not to let his eyes linger there to make sure that the man wouldn’t be uncomfortable.
“Well, we saw that you moved in today, and since we’re your only neighbours on this floor we thought we’d introduce ourselves.”
So he was Hot Neighbour. Nat wasn’t wrong, his name suited him. Steve thought that maybe a Nice should be added in there though. When he had first come out of the ice, it was a shock to his system at how much etiquette had changed. Or maybe it was just the way that Sarah Rogers had raised him to always be kind. Steve knew that Sarah would be very impressed by Nice Hot Neighbour and his daughter.
“This is Winnie.” Nice Hot Neighbour smiled and Jesus Christ, Steve was fucked. “She’s my daughter. And I’m Bucky.”
Nice Hot Neighbour, Bucky, extended his right hand to shake Steve’s. Steve did the culturally accepted thing and shook it, trying to maintain a nice smile, not a crazy one.
“Nice to meet you, Bucky. I’m Steve.”
Bucky smile grew a little, a faint blush on his cheek. Steve felt the world disappear around him as Bucky looked at him again. He didn’t realise that they still had their hands clasped until Winnie spoke.
“We made cookies!”
Steve jumped slightly, letting go of Bucky’s hand, and turned his attention to Winnie. He then saw the plastic container, filled with choc chip cookies, that she was clutching in her hands.
He smiled again, squatting to be eye level with her. He raised his eyebrows, trying not to think about the very hot, probably has a wife, man standing right there. “Wow! For me?”
Winnie nodded, shoving the cookies into his hands. She had a little bit of flour on her nose and Steve felt his heart-melting a little. She was adorable. “Yeah. Daddy said it was a good excuse to come and talk to you and find out why Black Widow was on your balcony.”
Steve’s jaw kind of dropped in shock for a second before he quickly recovered, looking up to Bucky for confirmation. He was blushing again, a cute pink tint to his cheek and ears, and had put his hand back on Winnie’s shoulders.
He laughed awkwardly. “When I said to be subtle, Wins, I actually meant to be subtle.” He rolled his eyes before looking back at Steve. Thank god for his superhuman balance because he would most definitely be on the floor by now if he weren’t Captain America. “Sorry that there was an ulterior motive here. We would have introduced ourselves anyways.”
Could Steve fall in love with someone based on voice? It felt like angels were singing. Steve stood again because he wanted to look at Bucky a little more. “No, no, that’s okay.”
Winnie, not happy that the attention had been turned back to her dad, grabbed Steve’s hand and tugged. “Why was Black Widow on your balcony, Mister Steve?”
Steve felt his eyes widen a little at the cuteness of Winnie Whatever-Their-Last-Name-Is. “Oh, uh, I moved in today and Black Widow was helping me out.” Lies, she was spying on your dad and giving me emotional advice.
Winnie gasped like he had given her the greatest news ever. “How do you know Black Widow?” Her eyes grew to the size of large chocolate chips.
“Her and I used to work together.” He said because it was true. And neither Bucky nor Winnie had seemed to recognise him yet, which made him feel like Steve. “She’s one of my bestest friends in the whole wide world.”
Winnie’s jaw dropped as she started to gush “oh my god” over and over again. Steve smiled before looking back to Bucky. Bucky’s own eyes widened a little when Steve made eye contact, and the faint pink tinge from before deepened. Recognition flickered through his beautiful blue-grey eyes and Steve sighed internally. Of course, Captain America would ruin any chance of being friends with Nice Hot Neighbour. Steve prayed in that split second that Bucky wouldn’t ask for an autograph or a selfie, or faint, or even worse, propose, which had actually happened numerous times before. Actually, the more Steve thought about it, he would probably say yes.
But Bucky didn’t do any of those things. Instead, Bucky wiped all surprise off of his face and smiled at Steve. Steve felt himself smiling back.
Winnie was now pulling on the end of her dad’s shirt. “Mister Steve is best friends with Black Widow, Dad!”
“I know, sweetie.” Bucky smiled fondly down at Winnie, causing Steve’s heart to melt in the process. “I heard.” Bucky’s eyes flickered back up to Steve, searching for something and once he had found it he looked back at Winnie. “You can ask Steve one question before we should head back home. If that’s okay?” And Bucky was looking at him again so Steve nodded because apparently, he would take over the world for his neighbour that was cute and sweet.
Steve squatted down in front of Winnie again as she scrunched her face up in concentration. Her eyes were closed so Steve looked up to Bucky in question.
“She’s thinking,” he shrugged, the sleeve of his left arm shifting slightly. “Black Widow is her favourite superhero. Sorry.”
Steve laughed, shaking his head. “No, that’s okay. She’s probably my favourite too.”
Bucky titled his head to the side in confusion, gesturing to Steve’s hoodie. Forgetting he was wearing it, he looked down in surprise to see a cartoon Iron Man with its gauntlet raised. Steve chuckled. “Stupid gift from Tony. He thinks it’s funny to buy us Avengers merchandise.”
Bucky lips twitched and he opened his mouth to say something in return before Winnie’s hands shot out, her palms resting on Steve’s cheeks. Startled, Steve’s wide-eyed gaze turned to the little girl who had a crease in between her eyebrows from all the thinking she had done. Stupidly, he felt kind of special with Winnie’s small warm hands on his cheeks. Like he was lucky to be held by such an awesome wholesome kid.
Bucky made a move to remove Winnie’s hands from Steve’s face, and as much as he would love Bucky’s hands near his face, Steve didn’t feel uncomfortable. So he winked at Bucky to say he was okay. Winked. At Bucky. Jesus H Christ, Steve needed to get a grip.
“I have my question,” Winnie stated with the same power and force as to how the President would declare war. “Is Black Widow as cool as she looks on TV in real life?”
Steve squinted, considering his answer. “No,” and oh my god his heart broke at how quickly Winnie’s face fell. “She’s waaaaaay cooler in person.”
And just like that Winnie was smiling like the sun and Steve was very happy because of it. Winnie squeezed his cheeks excitedly before pulling her hands away from his face and spinning to her dad who was watching the whole interaction with fondness.
“Did you hear that, Daddy?” She was jumping now. “Black Widow is cool in person!”
Bucky ruffled her hair. “Yeah, yeah, I did. Now, what do you say?”
“Thank you, Steve!” and Winnie ran towards him, barrelling into him like a bull before wrapping her arms around his waist in a hug. He froze for a moment before wrapping his own arms around her to return the hug.
She pulled away first, smiling up at him before removing her arms. Steve felt like he was going to cry. He wanted more of this. More of these cute hugs and harmless questions about the Avengers and more eye contact with Bucky so without thinking he opened his mouth. “Winnie?”
“Yeah?”
“You can come round any time you like to ask heaps more questions, if your dad lets you, okay?”
She squealed and hugged him again. “I’m going to think of a list!” She giggled and ran off to her apartment, swung open the door and ran in. Steve watched Bucky in fascination as Bucky’s face softened looking at his daughter's excitement.
Steve laughed, and Bucky joined in. Was it possible for the soul to leave the body?
Bucky turned back around to Steve, putting his hand into his pocket and rocking back on the balls of his feet. “Uh, thank you, Steve Rogers. That means the world to her.”
Steve shrugged and rested his shoulder on his doorframe trying to seem nonchalant even though he wanted to kiss Bucky until they were both drunk. “It’s no problem. You guys brought me cookies, so really, thank you, Bucky…”
“Barnes.” Bucky smiled.
“Thank you, Bucky Barnes.”
There was a beat, where the world stopped. The sound of car horns from the street, music from a few floors down, the hum of the apartment's electricity all washed away. Where the heavy problems of Steve’s identity faded into the background and all that was left was Bucky and Steve smiling at each other like a couple of idiots, eyes just scanning each other and trying to commit the other to memory. The moment was interrupted, however, by a voice yelling, “Daddy, I need help!”.
Bucky sighed, almost as if he didn’t want to leave and wanted to stay there. Steve’s heart jumped at the thought. He gave Steve a small smile. “See you around, Rogers.”
Steve tried so hard to make sure his smile didn’t reveal how much he wanted to see Bucky again. “See ya, Barnes.” And he gave Bucky a small little wave which had him mortified but made Bucky laugh and return the wave.
Steve watched Bucky walk back towards his door and kept looking at 3B until alarms went off in his head that Bucky had indeed closed the door a few minutes ago and would not walk out again and yes it was creepy. He sighed, banged his head on the doorframe to push unwanted thoughts out of his mind and walked back into his lonely apartment.
There was a text waiting for him on his phone from Nat.
Nat Romanoff: He’s hot, isn’t he?
Steve Rogers: Shut up.
Nat Romanoff: I’m right tho.
Steve Rogers: You’re right about a lot of things.
Nat Romanoff: Did you get his number?
Steve Rogers: No.
Nat Romanoff: Steve!
Steve Rogers: What? He lives next door, I’m sure I’ll see him again. Plus he has a daughter.
Nat Romanoff: And that means that he can’t be gay?
Steve Rogers: Well, it certainly places a question mark above his head, doesn’t it?
Nat Romanoff: Don’t be a fucking idiot, Rogers. Keep talking to him. A non-Avenger friend would be good for you.
Steve Rogers: I do have non-Avenger friends!
Nat Romanoff: Name one.
Steve Rogers: Carl.
Nat Romanoff: The coffee guy?
Steve Rogers: Yeah, okay. I’ll try and find a way to become friends with Bucky.
Nat Romanoff: Cute :)
Steve Rogers: Fuck off.
Nat Romanoff: Love you too <3
***
Bucky fell against his door the minute he closed it.
Fuck, shit, fuck, shit, fuck, shit, fuck, shit, fuck!
He was surprised when 3A opened their door and he found himself standing in front of a literal god. That jawline and those crystal blue eyes and that shoulder to waist ratio belonged to some demigod. And 3A’s hair was blond and short and sticking up everywhere as if he had just been running his hands through it. Those lips looked so god damn kissable, Bucky could almost feel them kissing his neck.
In that red Iron Man hoodie and grey sweatpants with no socks, he looked so snuggling and cute and Bucky was fucked. His new neighbour was a combination of cute and hot and James Buchanan Barnes was fucked. Bucky knew one hundred per cent why he was fucked when 3A was so sweet with Winnie and made sure to be at eye level with her, treating her like she was a person and not some kid.
The worst thing was the fact that 3A was actually Steve Rogers, aka Captain Fucking America. It wasn’t bad per se. Bucky liked Steve or Captain or whatever civilians were supposed to call him. He was a great leader, seemed like a good person who fought for the right things and had an amazing ass in that suit of his. The problem was that Steve Rogers/Captain America was by all accounts straight. At least to the public he was.
And that meant that Bucky would not be able to kiss those lips.
His attention was drawn away from inappropriate thoughts about his neighbour when Winnie called out to him again. Bucky sighed. This was going to be interesting.