Firelight
The journey to the Cabin was long, a continuous bending route that seemed to go back on itself. Steve was keeping track, remembering that they had taken 6 right turns in the last mile. They were lost; they had to be.
Bucky had long since fallen asleep, his arm still wrapped protectively around Steve. Natasha had woken up a few moments ago, her own eyes curious as she watch through the bulletproof window above their heads. Sam hadn’t woken up - the occasional cry would leave his mouth, the same name repeated over and over. Steve couldn’t imagine what it must feel like for Sam: He was in the middle of courting Mikey, and he had been ripped away from the Omega like wrapping paper from a child’s present on Christmas Day.
Steve kept thinking of the suppressants. He /really/ didn’t want to go on them. Steve (surprisingly) wanted to have his first Heat, wanted to feel what it was like to crave something that badly. He was told they were painful, that it would feel as though liquid fire was running through your veins and your head would only have one thought: To be filled, mated, bred. Steve wanted to feel what that was like.
“I haven’t had a Rut yet, either. So don’t worry, you’re not alone.” Steve glanced up to look at Natasha. Her own face was still tilted up to the roof of the truck, green eyes peering at green leaves.
“It’s not the same for you. You don’t need to go on suppressants.”
Natasha looked at him then, her eyes piercing through Steve’s skull. He shivered.
“Maybe not, but I understand your curiosity. I’ve heard Ruts are amazing… with a Mate…”
Steve said nothing. She understood him, slightly. Steve had heard of what Ruts were like, too. They were similar to a Heat: The need to Bond and Mate was so strong that some Alphas had torn down houses to get to an Omega inside. The thought that Bucky or Natasha could do that to him during their Ruts scared him. If he went on suppressants that wouldn’t happen – they would mask his scent and reduce his Heat cycle down to nothing more than an uncomfortable itch. This is why he knew he had to take them.
Bucky shifted in his seat next to Steve, slowly raising his arm from around Steve’s shoulder so he could yawn and stretch. He gradually opened his grey eyes, taking in the 3 others inside the truck with him and the tense atmosphere. “What’d I miss?”
Steve smiled softly at the sleepy Alpha, but Natasha scoffed and turned away to wake up the Beta.
A banging came from the front of the truck, signalling that they were about to arrive. Steve was thrumming with excitement though he wasn’t sure why. Bucky was stiff beside him, so Steve gently nudged his shoulder into Bucky. The brunet turned to face him, a look in his eyes that Steve hadn’t seen before. Bucky was smiling adoringly down at Steve, and Steve was smiling back, a twinkle sparkling in his blue eyes.
A cough was heard from beside them, and both males turned to face the now awake Beta. Sam raised an eyebrow at the two of them, arms crossed in front of his muscular body. Steve had the audacity to blush lightly, looking away from the Beta and shifting away from Bucky slightly. Bucky, however, blushed from head to toe – the red tinted his ears and ran down his collar to his chest. Steve’s eyes followed the trail before realising where his gaze was going and looked away as quickly as possible. Of course, Natasha and Sam noticed.
The truck took one last right turn, and suspension telling Steve that they were no longer driving on Tarmac. The road was bumpy, jostling the four of them about. Sam let out a yelp as he was thrown forward into Bucky’s lap. He looked sheepishly up at the Brunet, gulping when he saw a murderous look in the Alpha’s eyes. Steve placed one of his palms on Bucky’s knee, and the Alpha quit glaring, instead deciding to shove the Beta off him.
The truck came to a stop, the doors to the cab opening and closing. A moment later the door at the back opened and sunlight streamed into the truck. Natasha let out a hiss at the bright light whilst the others just squinted.
“Come on!” One of SHEILD’s men said, grabbing Steve by the scruff of his collar and tugging him out. Bucky hastily climbed out after him, Sam and Natasha following shortly after.
“Keep walking up that path for about a mile, the you’ll get to the cabin. There are 4 bedrooms, a kitchen and a lounge. There’s some canned stuff in a cupboard, but meat and veg you’ll have to get yourselves.” The other SHIELD Agent pulled a chain from around his neck, tugging it off and handing it over to Steve. There was a bronze key on the chain. “This key is for the panic room - in case one of you Alphas goes feral.” With that the SHEILD Agents got back in the truck and left.
“Well. That was very interesting.” Sam spoke sarcastically. Bucky shook his head and gently shoved the Beta, whilst Natasha looked on down the path that lead to their cabin. Steve’s eyes were locked to the chain in his hand. The bronze glistened in the sun’s rays.
“What should we do now?” Sam asked the group, looking at each of them in turn.
Natasha looked directly at Steve when she spoke. “Let’s see our new home…”
The sun was beginning to set by the time the time the group reached the cabin. Rays of blood orange slipped through the gaps in the trees, casting looming shadows over them. Steve shivered, the chill night air starting to seep into his bones. Bucky walked closer to Steve, grey eyes alert for anything moving in the shadows around them. Natasha was at the front of the group, walking at a quick pace that never slowed. Sam was at the back, occasionally looking behind them with concern.
“I think we should go back,” Sam spoke, voice slightly higher in pitch than usual. Bucky smirked: Sam was scared.
“They said it was up here. I’m trusting them that it’s up here. If not, we can set up camp. Bucky knows how to hunt.” Natasha called, not looking over her shoulder as she responded to Sam.
“You can hunt?”
Bucky grinned down at the Omega, wrapping an arm around Steve’s shoulders when he noticed that he was shivering. “Of course I can. You think I went camping for the fun of it?” He chuckled.
Steve shrugged his shoulders and buried himself further into Bucky’s side, breathing deeply and taking in the comforting scent of his best friend. Bucky smelt like woodsmoke and pine needles. If Bucky noticed Steve acting Cling-y-er than usual, he said nothing.
A shadow appeared in the distance, tall and blocky. It was too tall to be a human or animal, and it was too wide to be a tree.
“FOUND IT!” Natasha shouted, bolting down the road to get to the cabin.
“HEY!” Sam shouted, taking off after the red head.
Bucky let out a chuckle, watching as the Beta tried to catch the female Alpha, whose speed could not be matched. “Race ya?” Bucky grinned, eyes looking to Steve’s.
The blonde said nothing, walking for a millisecond longer before sprinting after the others, a cackle spilling from his lips at Bucky’s gasp of surprise.
“HEY, YOU CHEATER!” He laughed, running after the Omega.
Eventually they caught up with Sam and Natasha, Bucky ruffling Steve’s hair as they approached.
Natasha was stood on the porch, rattling the door knob to see if it would budge. Sam was peering through the windows, struggling to see anything through the grime.
“Won’t it open?” Bucky asked, brows furrowing in confusion.
Natasha shook her head, mouth tilted as she contemplated what to do. Steve walked up the steps to the porch, noticing that they all creaked. He stood parallel the door, eyeing the hinges that were covered in rust. He nodded his head, took a step back, raised his foot with the intent to kick down the door, only Steve’s Omega body held no strength, and he was the one who fell down.
Sam cackled with laughter while Bucky rushed to Steve’s aid, helping him up to check if he was hurt. Natasha finished what Steve had tried to do and took the door down with little effort.
The four of them peered inside the cabin. It was pitch black, no light coming in from the windows at all. Only a metre or so from the door was illuminated, and even then the light was quickly fading.
Bucky walked to the edge of the tree line, picking up a few sticks and walking back over to the group. “Stevie, can I borrow that key?” Steve had no idea what for, but handed his best friend the bronze key anyway.
Bucky took the key and began scratching the sticks with it, almost like he was striking a match. Eventually a few sparks flew from the wood, and then they became flames. Bucky lit the other sticks with the first and gave them out to everyone. Steve looked on with shock.
The four of them walked cautiously into the cabin, their temporary torches lighting the way. They quickly found the layout of the cabin: The front door opened into a living room with a fire place, some dried moss and twigs already in its pit. An archway led into the kitchen, small but adequate. There was no fridge, no oven, but there was a stove, cupboards, sink and eating utensils. There was a door in the exterior wall of the kitchen, which, when opened, revealed blankets and dishcloths. Between the Kitchen and Living room was some stairs leading to the second floor. The group decided to investigate once it was daylight. For now, they decided to sleep together in front of the fire. Bucky lay his and Steve’s torch into the Pit, gently breathing over the flames to get them to catch on the moss and create a bigger fire.
“I’ll go get some fire wood.” Bucky said, walking over the fallen door and out into the night.
“I’ll help.” Sam called, rushing out after the Brunet.
“Nat? You wanna help me find some blankets?” Steve whispered to the Alpha, walking toward to cupboard when she gave a nod.
Together they built a comfortable space in front of the growing fire. Natasha laid some blankets down on the two sofas, whilst Steve lay the rest on the floor. Natasha and Bucky could take the Sofas that night – he and Sam would sleep on the floor. Steve ended up building his area into more of a nest, completely by accident. He usually only did it when he was nervous. That was when Bucky and Sam returned. Sam’s arms were loaded with fire wood, while Bucky had a whole deer corpse in his.
“What on earth-“ Steve began, but was cut off by Natasha.
“FOOD!” The red head cried, scrambling up from her seat on the sofa to get the animal from Bucky’s arms. “Sam! Come help me cut it up?”
The Beta nodded, dumping the logs into Bucky’s still-outstretched arms and following the female Alpha into the kitchen.
Bucky walked over the fire and dropped the logs, chucking a few into the flames and watching them catch alight. The brunet turned around to see Steve. His mouth was still open in shock, and he was still sat in the middle of his nest that took up both his and Sam’s sleeping space.
“You’ll catch flies, like that.” Bucky smiled, reaching two fingers out to place them under Steve’s chin and close his mouth.
The Omega came to his senses, dropping the blanket in a hurry. “Can you help me take it apart? I’ve taken up to much space…”
Bucky looked worriedly at Steve. The Alpha knew Steve only made nests when he was anxious or scared. “Stevie? Are you okay?”
The Omega let his shoulders slump, a large exhale of breath leaving his frail body. “I don’t know.”
Bucky didn’t hesitate in wrapping Steve in his arms, cradling the blonde boy to his body as he rocked him. “I’ll sleep here with you tonight, yeah?” Steve nodded his head.
Natasha and Sam appeared through the archway, a frying pan filled with slabs of raw deer meat. “The stove runs on electric and we don’t have any, so we’ll have to cook it here.” Natasha spoke, eyeing the two cuddled up by the fire.
Bucky nodded his head, shuffling out of the way to allow Natasha to cook the meat.
The four of them watched in silence as the red meat slowly turned a dark brown. Sam brought in plates from the kitchen, placing a slab of meat on each. They ate in silence, each thanking Bucky for the kill once they were done. Sam left the plates in the sink before climbing onto the sofa, tucking himself into bed. Natasha did the same.
Bucky had Steve in front of him, both laying on their side as they watched the fire dance. Bucky carefully placed the chain around Steve’s head, watching as the metal shone in the firelight.
“Goodnight, Buck.”