Apartment #3 - Chapter 3
pairing: steve rogers x undercover!reader
warnings: 18+ SMUT*, Neighbors to Friends to Lovers, lots of angst, heavy mutual pining, hurt/comfort, eventual smut/romance/fluff
summary: as an undercover agent at SHIELD, her newest assignment involves moving in across the hall from her target. she's strictly ordered to keep her distance—no personal contact besides the absolutely necessary. the only issue? her new target neighbor turns out to be Captain America.
excerpt:
Jessica Grace Parker December 4th, 1989 569 Leaman Place Apt. #3, Brooklyn, NY 11201 Registered Nurse NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital
It’s the undercover alias she’s been assigned as a member of SHIELD’s Special Operations unit. The mission objective was rather simple—monitor the target and report updates as necessary.
She’s gone undercover more than a dozen times, so it’s not the details of the assignment or the temporary relocation she’s concerned about.
It’s just that her target was well… more unusual than most.
author's note: an idea that's been living in my head ever since steve asked sharon for that cup of coffee in their apartment hallway. as a SHIELD agent, the reader's real name has been [REDACTED] to preserve anonymity.
masterlist
“So. You all moved in?”
She lets out a drawn-out sigh, leaning back in her office chair.
“Yep. And the new apartment’s somehow smaller than the one I have now.”
“Smaller than a studio in Manhattan?” Thomas crinkles his nose, gaze fixed on his screen as he types off the rest of his latest mission report—a 0-8-4 mission to investigate some unregistered Asgardian technology that was detected on the Portuguese coast.
“Yeah, the whole building looks like it’s been there for at least a century. Wouldn’t be surprised if the plumbing’s gone to shit.”
“Damn.” Thomas tsks, muttering absentmindedly as he gathers the files on his desk, closing up the folder. “…well, if it’s good enough for Cap…” He sighs, before his head raises slowly with a newfound interest.
“speaking of whom…”
Folding his fingers over the desk, he wiggles in his seat in anticipation, like a lion ready to strike its prey.
“Did you see him? How was he? Everything you dreamed of and more?”
She rolls her eyes, snorting.
“First of all, I barely met him.”
Thomas gasps, practically jumping up in his chair.
“So you did see him!”
She shoots him a wide-eyed glare, giving the office a hurried scan.
“Barely, Tom. I just said hi.”
She tries to brush off her coworker’s overt interest, pretending to shift her attention to her monitor as she hits ‘refresh’ on her inbox.
Thomas, of course, doesn’t let up.
He groans, practically climbing on top of his spinning chair in excitement as he leans in closer.
“C’mon, girl, spill! I know there’s more than that.”
She purses her lips, glaring at the unread mail piled up in her spam box before swirling around in her seat, sighing in defeat.
“Fine, he just… he helped me with a couple boxes, and he uhm… hesawmykeychain.”
“I’m sorry, what?”
She rolls her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest as she huffs out another breath.
“That stupid keychain you got me, Thomas? He saw it.”
It takes what feels like a full hour for the realization to sink into Thomas’s face, and when it does, he’s a laughing mess over her desk, clutching onto his keyboard for support.
“H-holy shit, you’re kidding!”
He gasps for air, banging on the table as she playfully shoves his hands away.
“Oh my god, girl, I’d say I’m sorry, but… I’m not.”
At the deadpanned expression on her face, he breaks into another bout of giggles. Just as she starts to seriously contemplate strangling her coworker, her phone buzzes on her desk:
Messages
Grant Ward
1 Message
‘here.’
“Wait, so how did he rea… ugh, please don’t tell me that’s him again.” Thomas remarks with undisguised disgust, his mood making a remarkably quick 180.
“Yeah, we’re meeting for lunch today.” She mutters, slipping her phone and purse into her bag.
“What? What about our sushi date Friday?”
“Next week?” She stands up, shooting him an apologetic smile as she grabs her jacket from behind her chair.
“Ugh, I hope he chokes on his food.” Thomas sings under his breath, swiveling back around in his chair as he rolls his eyes.
“Wait, so what are your thoughts on Grant again?” She smirks amusedly, hand on her hip, purse hanging from one arm.
“Oh, he’s just a sweetheart! So glad you guys are back together.” Thomas claps, blinking up at her with fake enthusiasm.
She only rolls her eyes in response, no longer bothered about her friend’s open disapproval for her on-again off-again relationship with Grant.
2 years she’s known Grant Ward, ever since they collaborated on a week-long asset extraction case in Marrakech. He was the confident, charming type from the get-go—a perfect foil to her more withdrawn attitude around new people—and for the first few months, it felt like a match made in heaven. Things started to get a little rocky around month 5, and though she understands the concerns her friends have voiced about the instability of their relationship, a part of her is determined to prove them wrong.
When she arrives at the first floor of their building, he’s waiting for her at the lobby cafe.
“Hey, sorry I’m late.” She huffs out a breath, sliding into the seat opposite of his.
“Hey, one sec” he mutters without glancing up, slumped backward in his seat. His gaze remains fixed on his phone, thumbs moving quickly across the screen as he types out a long message.
She lets out a quiet breath, glancing around at the crowded space as agents and other SHIELD employees walked in for coffee and some quick grab-and-go options: turkey sandwiches, salads, fruit cups.
“I didn’t know this place served lunch.”
“Hmm?” Grant hums after a long pause, eyes flit rapidly across the screen, head nodding though she doubts he’s heard her. “… yeah, just—“ Another ding sounds from his device and his brows perk up, eyes quickly scanning whatever message is lighting up his phone.
She frowns, sitting up in her chair as she leans forward.
“Is that about work? Everything ok?”
“Yeah, yeah, everything’s fine.” Grant licks his lips, sucking in a breath, and the divot between her brows deepens.
“Listen, [REDACTED]….”
He slips his phone into his pocket, uncrossing his legs and leaning forward.
“…I need to talk to you about something.”
An invisible rope goes taut in the pit of her stomach.
“Okay.” She murmurs slowly, eyes flitting between the hard set line of his jaw and the serious lines under his eyes.
“I’ve been thinking about us lately, and…”
The rope in her stomach stretches farther and farther, the pressure building up in her lungs.
“I think it’s best if we call this off.”
The rope snaps loose, and the blade of the guillotine swings down.
She opens her mouth, but all the air’s been sucked out of her lungs and she’s left gaping like a fish out of water.��
“I… what?” She manages to choke out.
From across the table, Grant heaves out a sigh, running a hand through his hair.
“Yeah, I mean, it’s just with this relocation gig you’ve got going, I never see you anymore, and I just…. I think we drifted apart, that’s all.”
Her entire body immediately goes rigid at the mention of her new assignment—it was something that Grant had been opposed from the very start:
‘Brooklyn? Really? What the hell does Fury want you to do in that shithole?’
He had complained.
She had tried to convince herself that he was being protective, simply worried because she wasn’t allowed to let him in on any of the assignment details. But deep down, she always knew it was the green-eyed monster—at the onset of recruitment, he was disappointed to learn he wasn’t included in the short list of agents whom Fury considered for the assignment.
She should have known better. About him. About all of it.
“Sorry, are you… are you dumping me right now?”
“No, listen, baby, I think you’re great—“
And the condescension in his voice as he croons ‘baby’ is the last straw that blows the whole fuse.
“—okay, you know what? First off, I am not your fucking baby.”
“…and second, don’t pretend like you haven’t been texting someone else these past few weeks.”
From the small glimpses of ‘miss you <3’ and ‘when are you getting back?’ on his phone, to the way he’d regularly blame overtime for last-minute date cancellations—everything was so obvious in retrospect.
He scoffs at her accusatory glare, as if the idea was unimaginable.
“I haven’t been texting anyon—”
She lets out a sharp laugh, head tilting back as her nose pricks, tears clouding the corner of her vision.
Why had she given him the benefit of the doubt? Deep down, she had known all along.
“—you know what, Grant? That’s great.” She stands up abruptly, chair dragging loudly against the floor as she snatches up her belongings off the table. “…but if you’re gonna cheat on me, at least have the fucking balls to admit that you’re the reason we’re not together. Not me or my fucking job.”
The rest of her work day is fueled with nothing but rage—she nearly breaks her keyboard trying to draft a simple email, accidentally stomping over an office plant on her way to the fax machine. Matters are only made worse when she’s called in to deal with a tense hostage situation that drags on for hours on end.
By the time she gets back to her place in Brooklyn, it’s 8:21pm.
It’s 8:21 pm on a Friday night and her feet are aching, back tense from an afternoon of slumping over the mission control monitor.
It’s 8:21 pm on a Friday night and she’s just managed to climb up the last few stairs to her floor when her phone’s suddenly blowing up with text notifications from Thomas, Kristen from statistics, and a few other close friends from work:
‘OPEN THIS RIGHT NOW.'
‘What in the actual fuck? Did you know about this??’
‘Hey, I thought you should see this.’
Attached is a link to an Instagram story, uploaded by an account she recognizes as one of Grant’s buddies from work.
“What the fuck?” She mutters to herself, brows furrowing as she clicks on the video, squinting at the dimly lit but unmistakeable scene inside of a nightclub—Grant with another woman on his lap, drunk off his ass and laughing as if he hasn’t got a care in the world. The brunette in his lap reaches around, landing a deep kiss on Grant’s lips as his hands slide down her waist. The timestamp reads 10 minutes ago, confirming her biggest fear—not even 8 hours after they had broken up, and he’s parading around with a girl he’s probably been sleeping with for god knows how long.
It’s the third time the video’s playing back on loop when she realizes that angry, hot tears are dripping from her eyes, slowly making its way down to her jaw. She leans against the nearest wall, just outside her door, fingertips turning white at how harshly she was gripping her phone.
How could he do this, after two years of endless work and dedication?
Her knees can barely hold up her weight, stomach bubbling over with betrayal. Her eyes dart desperately across the screen, following their movements over and over and over—she doesn’t even hear the echo of the footsteps coming up the stairs behind her.
“Hey, you alright?” Her eyes snap up from her phone, but she doesn’t have to turn around to know who it is.
Great. Just fucking peachy.
She hastily turns off her phone and swipes at her cheeks, batting at the wet corners of her eyes before facing Steve. It doesn’t take a genius to notice she’d been crying, and his eyes immediately flit across her damp cheeks, the blurred mascara staining her lower lash line.
She fidgets with the rumpled edges of her blouse, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
“Hey.” She mutters, glancing back down at her phone though the screen is blank.
“Hi.” He tries to give her a friendly smile, though the corners of his mouth are noticeably stiff, a small divot forming between his brows.
“Are you… locked out of your place?” He frowns worriedly, eyes darting between her and the door behind her as he steps forward, raising his arm to gesture toward her apartment door. The keys in his hand jingle with his movements, while the other hand is balancing a flat cardboard box, patterned with red and black checkerboards on top. As he shuffles forward, she gets a sudden whiff of… oh, jesus.
Yeasty, cheesy, and the unmistakable aroma of fresh tomato sauce—all of which can only mean one thing.
She licks her lips, eyes flickering to the box in his hand before she clears her throat. She glances back toward her door, shaking her head.
“Oh, no, I just…”
Nope, just crying in the hallway cause I got dumped on by a guy who’s been cheating on me for weeks. How’s your night, Cap?
“… no, I’m not locked out.” She ends up muttering, though her feet stay rooted to her spot on the carpet, barely a few feet away from her door.
“Oh.” Steve nods slowly, pursing his lips.
“…right. Well, I’ll, I’ll see you around.”
Hesitantly, he continues forward, moving down the hallway. Now with her back turned to him, she only hears the soft jingle of his keys and his door creak open. And, yet, she doesn’t hear him step inside.
“Hey, Jess?”
Wincing, she turns around reluctantly, annoyance creeping up at Steve’s friendly gaze. He’s standing at his doorway, keys perched on top of the pizza box, his other hand resting on the doorframe.
Raising his brows, he quirks his head to one side and poses a question that throws her off guard.
“Have you had dinner yet?”
She blinks, and manages to shake her head.
He purses his lips, stepping forward, away from his dim apartment and back under the hallway lights.
“Well, if you…” He huffs out a breath, eyes flitting downwards then back up.
“… if you haven’t eaten yet, would you want to share this with me? Don’t think I can finish it on my own.”
He smiles, brows raised invitingly. Her eyes dart between the pizza box and the unassuming expression on his face, and she sucks in a quiet breath.
“I…” She’s dumbfounded, the second time she’s at a loss for words that night, feeling the whiplash of being dumped a minute ago and now being offered pizza by Captain America.
“…are you inviting me inside your apartment?”
It takes a moment for the implication behind her question to sink in, and when it does, Steve’s face is as red as the squares on the box he’s holding.
He perks up, noticeably stiffening. The tips of his ears are the first to turn scarlet, and soon he’s blushing a deep crimson all the way from his cheeks down to his neck.
He sighs, ducking his head, brows pinched together in distress.
“No, that’s… I’m sorry, that’s not what I me—”
And, despite everything that’s happened, she finds herself trying to bite back a smile.
“—hey, I’m kidding.”
His eyes snap up, eyes scanning her expression before he lets out a breath, letting out a sheepish smile.
“I’m sorry, I… I didn’t mean for that to come off as creepy.”
And after a while of trying to refrain from smiling, her mouth finally breaks open, and she lets out a quiet laugh.
“It didn’t. You’re okay.”
He seems a little reassured by her laugh, and remains standing in his doorway, door opened only a fraction of the way, and starts to bounce on the balls of his feet.
“Right, so…”
Despite the temporary escape she found in making Steve’s blush, she’s never seriously considered taking Steve’s suggestion. It would be insane, to break Fury’s direct order to maintain ‘no more contact than absolutely necessary’ in the first week she’d been assigned to the mission.
It was still a nice gesture, though. Nice to see that there’s more to Captain America than a friendly smile and a firm handshake.
“Uhm, t-that’s a really nice offer, but… I’m not really hung—”
And what she had planned on saying was: I’m not really hungry, enjoy your pizza.
What comes out, though, is a loud rumbling much further down south, just above her belly button.
She turns rigid, head snapping down to the traitor in her belly. And now, it’s her own face that’s as red as a slice of pepperoni.
It’s only then she realizes that she hasn’t had anything to eat since breakfast, on account of what happened at lunch with Grant.
From the way Steve’s brows perk up in newfound interest, she’s sure he’s heard the noise, and braces herself for whatever embarrassment would follow getting caught in the world’s most pathetic lie by Captain America.
Instead, America’s hero wordlessly steps back out into the hallway, letting his door close behind him with a soft ‘click.’ Finding a spot in the hallway, opposite her door, he plops straight down, laying the pizza down in his lap and stretching his legs across the expanse of the hallway.
She watches, wide-eyed and dumbfounded—it’s almost comical, how he has to cram his long legs into the narrow space between his side of the wall and hers. Bent at the knees, yet the soles of his feet still press against the other side.
She glances down at his sneakers, perched up against the wall—a pair of old-fashioned trainers, navy blue and white, with soles tattered and grey from what seems like years of use.
Her eyes trail up a pair of worn 501 Levis, and a navy blue henley that displays an ungodly amount of muscle even under the dull lighting of the hallway.
“You’re welcome to join me.” Steve grins nonchalantly as he pops open the top of the box, peering up at her under a set of friendly brows, almost as if challenging her to resist.
A tentative whiff as the smell of pizza drifts right up under her nose, and she lets out a loud sigh, dropping her shoulders.
The next moment, she’s turning on her heels. She heads straight for her apartment door and walks through, the door slamming shut behind her.
Not even a minute later, she’s back outside, holding up two ice cold beers by the neck. Hair thrown up in a loosely tied knot above her head, the top two button of her blouse undone.
Steve’s worried head snaps up at the sound of her door, the lines between his brows dissipating in relief. He smirks, sinking back into his seat on the carpet.
She plops down against the wall facing him, handing him a bottle before taking a swig from her own.
“Thanks.”
With a curious gaze, he slowly takes the bottle from her fingers, eyes following her as she tips her head back for a large swig. From across the hall, Steve rotates the box in his lap, offering her the first slice.
As her eyes flit over his order, she can’t help the smile that immediately tugs on her lips
“Good choice.” She murmurs amusedly, reaching for a slice to find it still warm.
“Yeah, figured it’s a classic.” He picks up a slice himself, the one next to the one she’s chosen, and sets the box down on the scraggly carpet.
She nods in agreement, practically drooling at the slice of heaven in her hand.
“Clean. No bullshit.”
A large cheese pizza, classic NY style.
Thin crust, decent char on the bottom though not too burnt. A generous layer of melty cheese and tangy red sauce.
“… wish life was more like that. No bullshit.” She mutters nonchalantly, more to herself than anything. He chuckles in response, the sound echoing down the hallway as he lifts his slice in the air.
“I’ll cheers to that.”
She laughs alongside him, surprised by how much easier it feels to smile all of a sudden.
“Cheers.”
One bite of the crispy, chewy, cheesy goodness, and all her troubles start to melt away.
“Mmm.” She lets out a low moan, eyes fluttering shut as her head bumps against the wall with a soft ‘thunk.’
“…fuck, that’s good.”
“Glad you like it.” Steve responds amusedly, smirking at her from over the rim of his beer. He’s got one arm resting over his knee, leg propped up against his chest while the other remains on the floor. The muscles in his forearms flex as he raises his bottle up to his lips, tipping the drink back.
Before her eyes can wander further, she clears her throat, glancing back down to the pizza in her hand. A second bite shoved hastily into her mouth before she can even swallow the first and good lord, did pizza always taste this good?
“Where’s this from?” She chews, lifting the top of the box off of the carpet to peer at the logo.
Before she can get the top more than an inch off the floor, however, Steve stops her with a quick hand, the width of his palm almost covering half of the box. Her eyes snap up to meet his smirk, brows raised and uncharacteristically mischievous.
“I’m afraid that’s top secret.” He tsks, and she gasps in response, feigning shock with a hand over her chest.
“Wow. Gatekeeping your pizza place? After I offered you my beer? That’s cold, neighbor.”
As soon as the last word escapes her lips, she perks up with a start, biting her tongue at the realization that she’d just used a goddamn nickname to refer to Captain America.
Her gaze snaps up at Steve, fear brewing in her chest to find that he was… laughing.
A good, hearty chuckle, head tipped back and all. Leaning back against the wall, holding his pizza in one hand, clutching his stomach with the other.
From this close a distance, she can spot every detail—like the tiny scar that hides between the small wrinkles on his forehead when he raises his brows. Or the small crows feet tugging at the corners of his eyes. The ridiculously long eyelashes that flutter every time he blinks, casting shadows over the tops of his cheeks. The small ridge in the bridge of his nose that’s slightly off-center. His plump bottom lip, stretching around a set of pearly-whites as he smiles, proposing a question:
“So how long have you been living in the city?”
“Hm?”
She freezes, eyes snapping up to meet his curious smile.
“You mentioned you moved here from Manhattan. How long have you been living there?”
And the sudden segue into this new inquiry intrigues her, more than anything. Because whatever the variation of the question—‘how long have you been coming here?’ or ‘how long have you known so-and-so?’ or, of course, the age-old ‘you come here often?’—they all usually come across as unwarranted and creepy, a half-assed attempt at a pick-up line at best.
Yet, from Steve, it only reads as part of a friendly, neighborly conversation. Open and honest, no ulterior motives. No bullshit.
It’s refreshing, to say the least.
“Not… not too long. Moved here for work.”
She mutters quickly, taking another swig of her beer, and licks her lips as a raw memory edges into her mind at the thought of work, more bitter than the beer that hits her tongue.
“…what about you?” She murmurs, watching a moment of conflict cross his face.
He recovers quickly, smoothing over it with a smile:
“Moved around a couple times, but… Brooklyn’s always been home.”
The bitter bite in her mouth softens a little at the nostalgic note in Steve’s gaze, her eyes tracing the soft creases in his shirt as she recalls his backstory:
Born and raised in Brooklyn, with a WW1 veteran dad who passed early and a mom who worked as a nurse. Not enough money to pursue art school, got caught a handful times getting into alleyway fights. Then tried to enlist on five different occasions, got rejected the first four times. Aside from the basics, though, there was little official documentation on Steve Rogers’ earlier days in Brooklyn.
Her thoughts are suddenly broken by her phone buzzing loudly in her pocket—just by the ringtone, she knows whose calling her.
She freezes, momentarily paralyzed as her phone continues to go off loudly. Steve’s eyes flit over to the source of the sound but remains quiet. After a few more rings, the phone goes silent, before starting up again with another call.
At that, she lets out an exasperated sigh, digging into her pocket before aggressively sliding the mute button on her phone. She tosses the phone on the carpet with a harsh ‘thud,’ hand reaching up to rub at her temple.
“Those are some persistent spam calls.”
Steve murmurs quietly.
She snorts, her rage temporarily dissolving into a dumfounded laugh that leaves her chest aching.
“That would be an insult to scammers everywhere.”
“You avoiding someone?” It’s obvious from his careful gaze that he doesn’t want to pry.
“You could say that.” She murmurs, eyes still lowered to the ground. Then, after a small pause:
“…it’s my boyfriend. Ex, actually.” She quickly corrects herself, scrunching her nose as the word leaves a sour note on her tongue.
Out of the corner of her eye, Steve opens then closes his mouth, giving her a small nod in understanding.
“I’m sorry.”
And, all of a sudden, she feels tears cloud her vision at the first words of consolation, his deep and warm timbre unlocking something fastened inside her.
Fuck, fuck.
“No, don’t be.” She chokes out a laugh as she blinks rapidly, feeling her nose prick with tears. Before she can stop herself, the next words are already tumbling out of her mouth:
“He broke up with me at lunch today. Turns out he’d been fucking this other girl for over a month.”
And it had to be the fatigue, the beer, or some combination of both that was loosening up her lips right now, because there was no way her lucid self could be consulting Captain America about her goddamnlove life.
“…and he had the audacity to break up with me. Can you believe that?”
Steve stays silent for a while, and she doesn’t have the courage to look up. Then, out of the blue:
“He sounds like a real asshole.”
Her eyes snap up as she lets out an incredulous breath, smiling.
“You’re damn right.”
Two more slices of pizza and a couple beers later, the weight on her chest feels noticeably lighter.
“Thanks for the pizza, my treat next time.”
An empty promise, she knows.
There can’t be a next time.
Steve nods, smiling.
“Anytime.”
He takes a small pause, pursing his lips as he casts a quick glance down at the carpet near her feet.
“…shame you got rid of it.” He murmurs.
“Hmm?”
“Your keychain.”
He points at the the set of keys resting on the floor between them, which had fallen out of her pocket sometime during the night. Upon realizing that he was referring to the absence of the red, white, and blue shield—she had made sure to remove it after the embarrassing encounter earlier that week—her confusion quickly turns into red hot embarrassment.
So he had noticed.
“Uhm, yeah, it was uh…” She clears her throat, bending down to snatch it off the floor.
“…getting a little bulky.”
“Bulky, huh?” He quirks his head, raising his brows, and the tip of his nose catches the lighting in the hallway.
“….so you’re not a fan?”
Eyebrows raised incredulously, she turns to him, eyes carefully surveying the unreadable expression on his face.
“I’m sorry?”
“Of Captain America? I noticed your keychain was his shield.”
She knew this man was good, but surely he couldn’t be that good?
It had been less than a week since the start of her mission. If he had already caught onto her identity, she would surely be saying goodbye to her steady 7-year-career at SHIELD. Upon a second glance, however, she realizes that the teasing glint in his eyes is a little less strategic and a little more… demure.
Could Steve Rogers poking fun at her keychain because of some other reason?
Her cheeks grow pink at the thought, but she pushes the thought elsewhere.
And because he thinks that she’s the clueless one in this conversation, she decides to play along, lips curling up in a coy smile.
“I don’t know… I always thought he was kinda overrated.” She pouts, fighting to suppress a smile.“
“…Captain America. Even the name sounds kinda douchey, don’t ya think?”
Contrary to her expectation, he lets out a loud laugh, head almost knocking against the drywall behind him. He glances down at her, hands on his hips, giving her a curious smile.
In this light, she thinks, he almost looks like the Captain America from the WW2 recruitment posters in the 30s—the fresh-faced, doe-eyed version of him untouched by decades of war.
“You know, I’ve always wondered who came up with that name.”
That night, as she waves goodbye to Steve and retreats into apartment #3, Fury’s voice bounces around in her head: ‘…primary directive is to maintain minimal contact with him. Nothing over what’s absolutely necessary.’
Yet, in the solitude of her bed, all she can think about is Steve—the soft peaks of his hair under the dim lighting of the hallway, the concerned divot between his brows when she had teased him. How he had leaned into their conversation so that he could hear her better, as if Captain American didn’t have better things to do than to listen to her tragic little love tales. That boyishly charming smile he had on his face when he offered her pizza, and again when he asked coyly about her keychain—so much of that innocent warmth she thought he’d lost.
Reminiscing the nostalgic light in Steve's eyes when he'd told her that Brookyln’s always been home, she begins to wonder just how deep the blue runs.
Apartment #3 Masterlist
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December 15th
You prepared for this day for weeks. You were determined to get it all set-up today, so you could have everything you dreamed off.
“Do we have to?”
You shake your head in dismay as you arrange everything in front of you, “Of course we do, you Grinch! We need to get into the holiday spirit.”
“Playing Christmas music non-stop is not enough?”
You turn back to glare at him, “What are you trying to say Buck?”
He shifts on the couch to lay on his side, “Maybe we should skip all of this, get in bed and cuddle.”
“Laying on the couch, doing NOTHING, is not enough?”
His small but evident pout takes over as he gets the ball from Leo, your dog, “You’re not here.”
You smile as you gather all the supplies together, “That pout is not changing things today. If you don’t want to help, that’s fine Bucky. Get in bed and rest up.”
Bucky gets up immediately, to hug you from behind, “I’m helping, but we are staying together the whole time. We are not splitting up.”
He kisses your cheek and jaw while pulling you closer to him.
“Fine! FINE. Don’t get too comfortable though. If I feel like you’re being distracting, you’re getting kicked out.”
It doesn’t stop him from smothering you with kisses. He follows you around and carries all the supplies, as you gather everything you shopped for the tree.
“Okay, so the aim is to make it as pretty as possible.”
“How do we do that?”
You hand him the lights, “You go with your gut feeling.”
“That can’t be true.”
You stop Leo from trampling over the decorations, “Do you have any better advice?”
“No, but who has a gut feeling about Christmas trees?”
He hands you the light to cover your side of the tree, “Literally everyone. You have a gut feeling about everything. You should know.”
“Why would I know?”
“I mean, at work don’t you act on your gut feeling?”
Bucky looks at you annoyed, “No, we can’t go on gut feelings, Y/N. We analyze and go according to the plan.”
You knew he was lying, so you continued to look at him plainly.
“Fine, there’s a bit of that. There can’t be gut feelings for trees Y/N.”
You adjust the lights as Bucky covers the rest of the tree, “I beg to differ. You always have them and your gut feeling leads you to the right direction, mostly.”
“Yeah?”
You nod and hand him the reindeer ornament, “For example, my gut feeling led me to you. I mean, obviously, you being amazing is the main reason but it’s also because I had that feeling that anything with you would be everything I would want and need.”
Bucky’s eyes were glued to you, his smile taking over on his face, “I love you.” Leo sniffs Bucky, “I love you too Leo.”
“If you guys are done, can we please get back to the tree?”
Bucky sighs and starts hanging the ornaments, “She’s always trying to come between us.”
You scoff, “You didn’t even want him Bucky.”
“That’s not true bud. Y/N!”
“You deserve it.”
An hour of fussing later
“We did a stand-up job.”
You were done with the tree. Bucky and you were sitting in front of the tree, admiring the beauty.
“We did. Now, go, get dressed.”
Bucky sighs, “Right now?”
You get up and try to pull him off the floor, “COME ON BUCK!”
Bucky gets up as slow as he can as you throw his clothes at him.
“I need 20. I better see you both camera ready.”
“Waaiit,” Bucky pulls you back, causing you to go back to him, bumping into his chest.
Bucky’s arm snakes around you waist and your hands automatically loops around his neck. He pulls you closer to him, his face leaning towards yours and his eyes on your lips. Whatever you had to say was stuck in your throat. Bucky closed the distance between to place his soft lips on you. And cue the butterflies. You were always surprised by how it never stopped with him. No matter how familiar you were to him, everything felt like it was one of your first.
Only Bucky could turn something so soft and nice into a full blown, heavy makeout session. Before it got out of control, you pulled back and walked to your room.
You quickly changed into your clothes and got ready as fast as you can. You did your hair and made your face look as presentable as you could.
“Okay, I’m almost done.” You get the tripod and your phone off the counter, and walk out of the room, “Are you guys-“
Your heart melts when you look at Leo in his matching PJ set. You get on your knees to kiss his nose, “So fucking cuteeeee. I love you so much Leooo.”
“Leo looks good, but he’s a close second.” Bucky kneels down to pet Leo. Both of them in matching PJs was a sight you would hope you would never forget. Your reality had nothing on the vision you had for the Christmas photo.
“Yeah? Who’s first?”
“Me, obviously.”
You laugh, “Obviously. You look handsome Buck.”
“I have nothing on you, doll. Come here,”
Bucky peppers you with kisses, as Leo tries to knock the tree down, “Buck, let’s take the picture. I don’t know how long that tree can’t stand this bully.”
You set the tripod in front of the tree, and angle your camera right.
Bucky pulls Leo away from the tree into his lap, “Bud, you need to calm down. Be good okay?”
You took few test shots to see if you liked it, and you loved the pictures. Bucky and Leo looked so adorable, you knew what your new wallpaper would look like.
“Okay, so we’re all going to be sitting on the ground.”
You crawl back to them, “How should we pose though?” You sit beside Bucky with your hands holding his arm and Leo on his lap, “Maybe like this?”
You click on the remote to take the picture and crawl back to your camera to look at it. You pout as you look at the picture, “I don’t know. It’s not giving ‘We’re going to have the best Christmas ever!’”
“I have an idea.”
“Hmm?”
“Crawl back,” You crawl back to him, “Sit between my legs.” You give him a confused look, but he opens his legs for you to sit in between.
“Okay, now hold Leo.” Bucky hands you Leo, “Easy. What are you doing?” you ask.
“Trust me.”
Just then ‘Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)’ by Darlene Love, plays on the speaker.
“Do you like it?” Bucky asks you. You nod, with no hesitation, “I love it.”
“Gimme the clicker thing.”
You hand him the button, “Are you sure you can work it?”
“Ha ha doll. Now, I want you to sing along and not think about the camera, okay?”
You sang along to the music, swaying with Leo, with Bucky joining in on the ‘Christmas’ and ‘Please’ parts.
“I want you to look at the camera,” You look at the camera with Leo snuggled under your chin, “I love you so much Y/N.” Bucky presses the biggest kiss on your cheek, with his arms around your waist.
The song ends and Bucky takes Leo back into his arms, “Go, check if you got it.”
You get your phone and move back, so you could look at the pictures with him.
“Oh, Buckyyyyyyy, I love THEM!!!”
It looked so candid and like all of you. Leo snuggled under you, Bucky and you singing your hearts out to each other. You looked exactly how you felt about each other, especially the last one. You knew this one was it. You were going to frame it, forever cherish it.
You pull Bucky to give him the biggest hug, your arms around his neck and your face under his neck, hugging the living shit out of him, “I LOVE YOU SOOO MUCH!”
Bucky laughs, “I love you too doll.”
And that is how you got your new wallpaper. Happy Christmas everyone!!!
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