Chapter Thirteen
Silence. Pietro was gawking, Wanda was wide-eyed.
Steve was blushing. His demon was blushing. Bucky abruptly pushed away from the table and Pietro. "You mean it?" he demanded. Steve nodded mutely. "you want - after - you don't mind?" Bucky asked disconnectedly. Steve nodded again. He looked down at the blond demon, incredulous. Steve had saved his ass repeatedly and invited him to move in, so maybe Bucky should have realized the demon valued him, but - wow.
Bucky contemplated kissing Steve on the spot. Judging by the look in Steve's eyes, Steve wouldn't mind that in the least.
Then Pietro broke in. "What? This was my date!" he exclaimed.
Steve actually growled at him, a deep, intimidating noise. "You - dammit, Pietro!" he said as the boy began to laugh. "You're grounded, you imp."
"Don't live with you anymore," Pietro choked out. Wanda shook her head. Bucky smiled a bit. He definitely liked the personality of this kid.
His eyes drifted back to Steve. He, he liked Steve too. He had to be careful. He didn't want to drive Steve off. He'd already done so much bad. He wanted to make Steve smile and see the light in those blue eyes. He wanted to have the permission to curl close to Steve when he couldn't sleep. He wanted so much and he'd only just met the guy. His guy. He shook himself. Steve had asked him on a date, for god's sake. Not asked him to get married or shit like that.
"So. What are you two doing for your date?" Pietro queried.
Steve paused. "How does Paris sound?" He asked Bucky. Bucky blinked once. Twice. What. Paris?
"Uh." Bucky coughed. Wanda and Pietro were actually smirking at Steve. "That seems ... Like - uh, a lot. I was thinking coffee or something." He shut down the side of his brain that provided graphic images of the 'or something'.
"They have coffee in Paris." Steve muttered. "C'mon, Buck. I can transport us without a problem, I promise." He raised his eyebrows meaningfully. "There's this beautiful little cafe on the Rue -"
A knock at the door interrupted. Wanda tensed. "The Shield?" She asked. "They stopped by yesterday." She pressed her hand to her hip, grimacing as if it hurt. Bucky guessed her brand lay there. Pietro bristled. "If Agent Vision -" he spat. Wanda sent him a cold glare.
"They stopped here yesterday, too." Steve commented. He walked to the door slowly as a second knock came. " No one should -" he glanced through the peephole. "What the hell?" He opened the door to reveal a large guy in army fatigues with a huge red mustache.
"Steve. Are you -" his crimson eyes fell on the three people in the kitchen. "Oho. Two gifted and a mortal. I didn't know you'd have breakfast ready."
"Dum-dum." Steve sighed. "They're friends."
"You've made friends with -" Dum-dum glanced at Bucky. "Him?" His eyes narrowed, and he glanced between Steve and Bucky. He carefully scented the air. "You're sure they're not a meal?" He asked slightly softer, but Bucky was listening hard. "Fee, fie, foe, fum, I smell the blood of a human."
Steve glared at Dum-dum hard enough that the big guy stepped back. "Alright, chief, you do you." He muttered.
"Di you need something?" Steve snapped.
Dum-dum smiled. "Had a question, but I forgot it." He lied and abruptly disappeared. Steve slammed the door.
"Should we make breakfast now?" Wanda inquired carefully. Steve nodded, returning to the kitchen.
"What was that about?" Pietro voiced the real question.
"I don't know." Steve ran a hand over his face. "Dammit. Sorry. Shit. I don't know, you guys. Here, just -" he waved his hand and transported himself away. They all glanced at each other and a loud crash came from another room, followed by a yell.
Bucky headed towards the sound. He knocked on the likely door. "Steve? What's wrong?"
The door opened and Steve abruptly leaned his head against Bucky's chest. Bucky froze, then slowly, slowly, reached up and ran his fingers through Steve's hair. Steve's shoulders sagged.
"I don't know. Dum-dum is ..." He grimaced. "He's like one of my classmates, or army buddies - from Hell. We had the same basic goals back then. Since then," Steve pressed his ear over Bucky's heart. "I've grown up. Learned. He, he and the others, they haven't. Not really. What I do know is that nothing good will probably come of that."