Chapter 1
Steve is sweeping the kitchen floor when two cars pull into the driveway right at the same time. He frowns. They aren’t supposed to come for another two days.
He walks out to the front of his house and leans against the door frame. Of course it would be Sam already jumping out of his cruiser and frantically grabbing his bags from the backseat.
“You really want to secure that guest room, huh?” Steve says with a hint of laughter in his voice.
And of course Nat would be the other one, storming out of her black Maserati, grabbing her suitcase from the trunk to start running towards the house without a word, Sam hot on her heels.
“Should I be running too?"
“You’d better, otherwise I hope you brought a tent,” Steve can’t stop the huge grin from overtaking his face when he sees one more person leaving Sam’s car. Bucky leans against the vehicle and smiles back at him. Steve walks up to him and stops to just take him in. His hair is slightly longer than the last time he was here, pulled into a small half-bun and his skin is deliciously sun kissed. His face is covered with a two-day scruff and his eyes are even more blue in the bright sunlight. He shakes his head with a smile and kisses Bucky passionately. God, he's missed this. “Took you long enough.”
“You, out of all people, should know that the world needs Captain America at all times.”
“But there’s two of them now.”
“But—“ Bucky is cut off because Steve is kissing him again, laughing into his mouth. “Punk.”
“Jerk,” Steve says and pulls out his phone to let everybody know the guestroom is off the market.
steve: the guestroom’s taken
peter: WHAT
peter: isn’t it like,,, two days until the party starts?
steve: yes
peter: isn’t that cheating?
steve: i said whoever was first. i didn’t say when you can start coming
bucky: also, it’s sam
rhodey: oh, of course it’s sam
steve: or nat
steve: they literally arrived at the same time
tony: go check if they haven’t killed each other over the damn room yet
steve: we’re on it
Steve grabbs Bucky's tiny backpack from the car - he doesn’t need much because his frequent visits result in him leaving half of his belongings everywhere, and they walk into the house.
Bucky is nearly topped over by Nala, Steve's labrador, who jumps on him and starts licking his face as soon as they walk in.
"Nala! Hi baby! Yes, I missed you too!" Bucky says in a high pitched voice, kneeling down and letting her kiss him everywhere. Steve's heart is going to explode. He takes a quick picture before clearing his throat.
"You weren't half as happy to see me as you were to see her," he deadpans.
"You aren't half as great a kisser as she is," Bucky retorts, the joke evident in his voice, and winks. He gently pushes Nala away, gets up and points at the stairs. "Anyway, we should probably go upstairs to check if there's any blood to clean up yet."
The scene before them is to say the least surprising. They expected to see either Sam or Nat lying dead on the floor. What they didn’t expect was Scott and Hope lying on the bed and eating popcorn while watching TV, Sam and Nat nowhere in sight.
“What the fuck?” is all Steve manages to say.
“Oh, hi!” Scott chirps and looks at them with a wide smile. “Didn’t see you there. Drag Race can be so gripping sometimes,” he says, his eyes wide, before focusing back on the screen, Hope just waving at them briefly.
Steve glares at them and looks around the room. They look pretty settled in already, their clothes everywhere and wet swimming suits hung up in the window. “How-- How long have you been there? Where’s Sam and Nat?”
“Shh, they're about to lip sync for their lives!” Scott shushes him and leans forward, his eyes focused solely on the screen as he starts singing along to Jealous of My Boogie.
This must be a joke. Steve just walks up to the TV and turns it off, Scott and Hope protesting loudly. “I won’t ask again.”
“They’re putting up their tents,” Hope explains. “And we’ve been here for what? Three days?”
“I’d say it’s been four already,” Scott looks at her confused.
Steve makes a face.
“They’ve been here for four days and you didn’t know?” Bucky snorts from beside him. Steve elbows him in the guts.
“It’s their goddamn suits! How was I supposed to know?” Steve whines. "Now half of my fridge contents disappearing for no reason makes sense."
The entire room is laughing, and Steve finally cracks too. This is ridiculous.
steve: y'all won't believe this shit
tony: what now
bucky: scott and hope have been there for four days already and steve didn't know
peter: JHSDHHFSDJF
steve: it's not funny young man
peter: IT IS
tony: they were oddly quiet in here, we should have seen it coming
bruce: how does one not notice someone living in their house for FOUR days?
steve: IT'S THEIR SUITS shut up!!!
scott: you just wish you were as smart
peter: ok but STILL! four (4) days!!!!
thor: hi guys off topic but can korg come too
bucky: omg he lives
steve: ...sure?
bruce: hi thor how are you!
thor: hi bruce i'm well
thor: btw he won't be a bother he doesn't even need a tent
thor: he's literally a rock
steve: ...:)
steve: good
Steve looks up from his phone and shakes his head at Bucky.
"This is gonna be a long week."