Chapter 4
Stay out of the light
Or the photograph that I gave you
You can say a prayer if you need to
Or just get in line and I'll grieve you
Can I meet you, alone
Another night and I'll see you
Another night and I'll be you
Some other way to continue
To hide my face
Another knife in my hands
A stain that never comes off the sheets
Clean me off
I'm so dirty babe
The kind of dirty where the water never cleans off the clothes
I keep a book of the names and those
Only go so far 'til you bury them
So deep and down we go
"Wait!," Bucky says to himself, door still shut. He opens the front door swiftly. "Steve!" He yells out. "Steve!!"
But there was nothing.
-
-
"Steve!" Bucky yells again, panic rising in him once again.
It was dark tonight, darker than other nights it seemed. "Steve," Bucky calls out one last time desperately.
"Yeah?" He gets an answer back as Steve peaks back out of the garage door.
Bucky lets out all of the tight air in his lungs in relief. "I thought you-"
"I was just checking on Alpine," Steve uses his thumb to point behind him. "Sorry heard you calling but your door-."
"Stuck again." Bucky finishes Steve comment referring to the door on the side of the garage to get into. Yeah his garage as a whole was a mess. Thank god the door from the garage to the house still works...for now.
Steve nods. "Guessing the WD-40 didn't work too well."
"Eh it can only do so much," Bucky chuckles.
Steve reciprocates. "So what did you need?"
"Huh?"
"You were calling out for me?"
"Oh right," Bucky looks down and picks at his finger nails. "I uh..."
Steve waits, patiently.
"Well you know it's pretty late..." Bucky starts. "And dark out...dangerous..."
Steve squints at Bucky "You wanna drive me home?"
Bucky laughs nervously. God no. Not with a killer on the loose. "Well actually I'd rather not do that..."
"Okay...?"
"Was wondering if you'd stay over...?" Bucky says and looks up shyly.
Steve eyes dart up, he wasn't exactly expecting that after the day they had. "Are you sure?"
"I mean there still is someone on the loose," Bucky says. Even if it's not you.
"Uhuh...so you want me to stay for my own safety?" Steve asks trying to hide a smirk.
"Yeah..."
"No other reason?" Steve bites his lip and raises his eyebrows.
Bucky rolls his eyes and shakes his head. "Will you just get inside?"
Steve laughs. "Sure sure. Let me just grab Alpine so you can block the garage door. Wouldn't want anyone sneaking in."
"Hmm maybe if they were a toddler they could," Bucky says, defensive.
"Chucky?" Steve comments referring to the famous murderous doll.
Bucky groans as he heads inside to grab the plywood he had used on a different project. Steve chuckles to himself again as he pushes his way through the barely budging door to the garage.
About 15 minutes later, and a few new scratches on Steve's skin from Alpine, they're all finally inside. Bucky sits down, Alpine curls on his lap as if she never left. Steve sits besides him, apprehensive at first until Bucky looks up at him, inviting him in his space.
Steve moves his hand over to pet what he thought was a now sleeping Alpine until she lifts her paw to swipe him away. "She hates me," Steve laughs, grazing Bucky's thigh lightly as he pulls away from the cat.
"No she doesn't she's just used to you," Bucky comments, petting Alpine who closes her eyes as soon as Bucky's fingers touch her fur.
"I'd agree with you if it wasn't for the fact that she lived here first and she's never acted that way with you," Steve says lightly.
Bucky shakes his head and lets out a small smirk.
"She just misses her papa," Steve jokes again and goes in for another pet. Alpine lets him but she keeps her eyes on his hand cautiously.
"Yeah," Bucky says with a hint of sadness.
"There's..." Steve breathes in. "...an easy solution to that." He looks at Bucky. It was something they had discussed before but not seriously and today might not be the best day to start it but...
"Yeah?" Bucky asks even though he knows.
"Move in."
Bucky nods and looks down, lets the cat distract him. "Right."
"You don't want to." Steve says, his fingers lightly touching Alpine's tail on Bucky's lap.
"It's...not that," Bucky says, his hand disappearing in Alpine's fur, hoping Steve would finish his sentence for him again.
"It's that you want to find out if I'm a killer or not before you do?" Steve jokes, earning a light chuckle from Bucky with his cheeks blushing a light pink with embarrassment.
"Shut up..."
"It's okay," Steve sighs. "I will prove my innocence to you!" He jokes again.
"I don't know..." Bucky says. "My sweet innocent little cat doesn't even like you...seems suspicious."
"Hey!" Steve says, clutching his heart in exaggerated hurt as if he's been stabbed right through it. "That hurt."
And as if almost on cue Alpine stretches in Bucky's lap, presses her little paws on his leg closest to Steve, hops down and curls in a ball between the two men, though her head still rests on Bucky's leg she's now in between them. They both can feel her soft purring. Steve smiles warmly as he looks down.
They turn on the tv to watch something or to fill the silence. Steve couldn't gage if it was awkward or one of their peaceful silences they always had. It didn't feel awkward. The first thing they hear is an update on the case but Bucky switches it as soon as he hears. "No more of that today," he says as the channel changes. He stops on some HGTV show they watch as they dream of someday buying their own place. About an hour of House Hunters there's a switch to an RV show and Steve watches Bucky yawn then stretch behind him. Alpine still doesn't move a tiny muscle.
"Guess I should head to bed," Bucky says as he gently moves the cat's head away from his leg and gets up. Steve nods readying himself for Alpine to realize Bucky wasn't there again and scratch Steve's arm that's been petting her for the last half hour. He also readies himself for the pillow and blanket Bucky will ultimately get out of the closet to give to him instead of-
"You comin?" Bucky asks midway from the couch to his bedroom, shaking Steve out of whatever sleep plans he thought the night was going to take him and he smiles brightly.
"Yeah," he practically jumps up. "Just taking in the rare time Alpine is at peace with me."
Bucky lets out a small laugh as he waits for Steve to get up.
"Should I take her with?" Steve asks.
"Eh she'll find her way eventually," Bucky says holding out his hand for Steve to take.
And he does.