The Bachelor
Two days until wedding
Steve rolled over on his left side, yawning as he woke up.
He smacked his lips together as the morning sun filtered through the windows, stretched out his limbs, and rubbed sleep from his eyes.
When he opened his eyes his sight found Becca, sleeping on her back with her mouth open and the tiniest bit of drool coming out of it.
Steve wondered if other people would smile waking up to your significant other looking like this, if they thought the little drool was adorable and not gross.
Steve wondered lots of things.
The Alpha heard the creak of his bedroom door, shifting up and sitting he watched as his heart pounded, someone was here?
“Hey, Steve.” Sam’s head popped through, he whispered his words.
“What are you doing here?” Steve whispered back, looking at Rebecca to make sure she was still asleep.
The Beta smiled at that.
“Kidnapping you.”
What? Steve furrowed his brows, was Sam for real?
The door creaked a little more as Sam pushed the wood all the way open, slipping through and getting to work in Steve’s room doing... whatever.
“What are you doing?” Steve whispered, watching as his friend went to the closet and returned with their smallest suitcase.
“Packing you clothes, now get the hell up.” Sam said, grabbing pants out of Steve’s dresser drawer.
If Steve’s learned anything from being friends with Sam for over ten years, it’s that you do what he says and don’t ask any questions. The Beta’s never steered him wrong before, so with one last glance at Rebecca he got out of bed.
Only for Sam to turn around and laugh at him, pointing a finger at his boxers.
“Really Steve, ducks?”
The Alpha looked down, setting his hands on the material in attempts to hide (protect?) the little ducks.
“Shut up.” He muttered, feeling self conscious now.
Luckily Sam handed him pants and a shirt.
He slipped on some socks too, then followed the Beta downstairs and put his sneakers on from where they rested near the front door, on the white shoe rack Rebecca demanded everybody used.
Steve almost laughed when he looked down at Sam’s covered feet, clearly disobeying the shoe rule Steve was sure he knew about.
Sam stopped him after he put his jacket on, not letting him out the door.
“Okay first, cell phone.” The Beta said, holding out his hand.
“But how will Becca know I’m go-“
“I left a note upstairs, now come on, give it over.” Sam moved his hand closer expectantly.
Reaching into his pocket where he’d slipped it Steve obeyed, pulling out the device and handing it over.
Sam slipped it into his jacket pocket and turned to leave, obviously expecting Steve to follow him out the door.
Down the grass surrounded paved walk of his yard he saw the suv that belonged to Tony, the other Alpha sitting in the drivers seat with sunglasses on and the tinted window rolled down.
“Get in loser, we’re going shopping.” Tony said, then rolled up the window.
Fucking dramatics.
“We’re not going shopping.” Sam said exasperatedly.
“What- what are we doing?” Steve asked.
Just before Sam opened the back door of the vehicle, he turned to Steve with that wolffish grin.
“We’re gonna party.”
Steve watched as the door opened, all of his friends revealed to him with smiles on their faces.
“Let’s get this bachelor party started!” Wade cheered.
Steve laughed, climbing in behind Sam.
He couldn’t help but mutter to himself, “It’s only 9:00 in the morning.”
.•O•.
Rebecca,
Don’t worry about Steve, we’ll make sure he’s back before the wedding, just off to have us a bachelor party.
From, Sam.
Rebecca tapped her foot as she watched Bucky read over the letter.
“Well?” She said once he handed it back.
He just raised his eyebrows from where he sat, reclined on the couch with his feet and legs in T’Challa’s lap.
“He can’t just up and leave right before our wedding.” She said, frustrated that he wasn’t understanding.
Bucky and T’challa were the only two at the house at the moment, and when Rebecca came over right after waking up and finding the note she needed someone to talk to about it.
“He’s not leaving, just having a bachelor party. Which, by the way, he’s doing two days before the wedding instead of the night before. At least he won’t be hungover.” Bucky reasoned.
Ever since the Omega had found out the gender of his son he hasn’t really had any issues with Becca, probably because him and T’Challa have been so hung up on each other to even really notice her.
“But I need him here, how am I supposed to plan things without him?”
“If I’m being honest,” T’Challa said, looking up at Becca while he rubbed Bucky’s feet. “You don’t really need him to plan, it’s not like he’s put in much insight so far.”
God, why was that Alpha always so observant.
Bucky nodded.
“Yeah, Becks. You’ve got this.” He gave her an encouraging smile.
For the first time in a long time Rebecca felt a cold punch hit her chest, it felt like the wind was knocked out of her, though she remained still, not moving a bit.
He called her Becks.
He hasn’t- she hasn’t heard that in so long.
Not since before-
“Thanks- um... Thank you, James.” She said, her voice a little breathless.
Luckily Bucky was distracted when T’Challa pushed on a particular spot on his arch and his whole leg flinched back.
“Mm, that tickled.” He laughed at his Alpha.
“Sorry,” T’Challa said, bringing Bucky’s leg up to kiss the top of his foot.
Rebecca started to wonder again, something she’d been doing a lot around these two.
What a wonder they were.
“Hey,” Bucky said, looking back at her.
She made eye contact, willing herself to pay attention if he was willing to talk to her.
“We’re gonna go shopping later, for baby clothes, if you wanna come with. Take your mind off things?” He asked.
She looked at him for a moment,
No doubt, and no hesitation.
His face was only welcoming, and kind.
So, so kind.
Looking to the left she found T’Challa to not even pay her any mind, his eyes only for Bucky, smile gracing the Alpha’s face.
It looked kind too.
She swallowed, and then smiled at him.
“I’d love too.”
.•O•.
“Alright! Pre-party brunch!” Clint cheered.
“How early is this party actually supposed to start?” Steve asked, sitting back in his chair.
They were on the patio of a cute little restaurant, Tony had declared earlier that he was funding this entire outing and that no one would have to worry about a thing.
Something Steve felt he was always taking advantage of was Tony’s generosity when it came to his friends, no matter how many times the other Alpha said it made him happy to make others happy.
“Well,” Tony started, holding his fingers up one by one as he listed off today’s events.
“We have the kidnapping, check. Then brunch, check- or well, that’s still happening right now so- half check. And then we’ve got-“
Sam covered Tony’s mouth with his hand, halting the Alpha from speaking another word.
“Don’t give it away man, it’s a surprise remem- EWW!” The Beta exclaimed as he ripped his hand away.
“What?” Tony asked defensively. “Someone puts a hand over my mouth and I’m not supposed to lick it?”
“Nasty...” Sam muttered as he wiped his hand with a napkin.
Steve shook his head at the two, turning to Wade in the small hopes the Beta will give him any details.
“No!” Wade said, shaking his finger at Steve. “Don’t give me those puppy dog eyes, Rogers. You’re getting nothing out of me, nuh uh. No sir-ee!” Wade said, crossing his arms and petulantly looking in the other direction.
“I didn’t even- Wade-“
“You know what you did!” Wade said, looking away until his food arrived and he became a wild animal, chowing down into his pancakes with no fork.
Well, that was odd.
But who is Steve kidding, it’s Wade.
Steve threw his hands up exasperatedly. “Can someone at least tell me I’ll be back before my wedding?”
“No problem, man. We got you.” Clint said, pointing his fork at Steve and winking.
Steve would just have to take his word for it.
“So,” He turned to his left to start a conversation with Wade, only for the Beta to hold his hand up, pancake still in his mouth and say, “Too soon!”
This was gonna be a long ass day.
.•O•.
“Oh my god look at the Dinosaurs!” Bucky said, holding up a onesie to show T’Challa and Becca.
His face was alight with a smile, and the two indulged him with returning ones.
“We can’t get too much right now, remember.” T’Challa said, once again reminding his boyfriend that they still had to ship all of this back to LA.
“But I want it all.” Bucky said, becoming distracted by another clothing item, this one space themed.
The Alpha just sighed, a hopeless expression on his face.
Rebecca smiled at the pair.
She was having a really great time, it was nice to hang out with people that weren’t Steve. Its not that she didn’t enjoy his company, but they honestly didn’t have as much in common as she’d like. But he was nice to her, and it meant she always had a friend to do things with. But hanging out with Bucky, it made her remember the times they used to have together, back when they actually were friends.
T’Challa didn’t seem to really care that she was there, which surprised her. She assumed he’d be upset with her company, yet he seemed unfazed by her intruding in his and Bucky’s time together.
She wonder if her brother ever got bored of T’Challa the way she did of Steve, if he wished to spend time with others more often like she did.
With the way they obviously loved each other, fiercely and unapologetically, she doubted it.
When Bucky was a distance away from the two, in his own world of baby clothes and baby love, she decided to ask T’Challa something.
“Do you ever have to guess your love for him?”
He looked over at her, his eyes puzzled by her phrasing.
“As in doubts?” He asked, eyes genuinely curious for an answer.
“As in... not knowing. Unsure.”
Hmm.
All he did was hum at her, until eventually he looked back her way.
“When I met him, James, I was not immediately in love as you so often hear from others. It wasn’t love at first sight, it was like at first sight I suppose. I liked what I saw, but, I love what I learned.”
She looked up at him, her head tilted high from the height difference.
“Learned?” She asked.
“I feel as though you can’t be in love until you learn someone, their personality, the thoughts they share, the emotions they give you. Of course I liked James, he’s gorgeous, and I like his looks. But I love his soul, and I had to learn that, had to be taught the knowledge of his soul.”
“He taught you?” She asked, voice quiet in the pastel store.
“Yes. You can’t learn ones soul unless the information is willingly given, and the only one who can do that is the teacher.” The Alpha said, a small upturn to his lips. Rebecca followed his eye line, the invisible trail ending on her brother, who looked through racks of clothes with a hand on his stomach.
“Have you let him learn you?” She asked, not taking her eyes off Bucky.
T’Challa didn’t look away either, although he could tell, even from the start of this conversation that Rebecca wasn’t really asking about him and James, she was comparing her own life to theirs. T’Challa wondered if she found what she was so desperately searching for, seeking out.
“If I was a textbook he’d know my whole being cover to cover.”
Rebecca closed her eyes.
Sometimes getting what you want doesn’t mean you’ll like it.
.•O•.
“You having a good time?!” Sam shouted in his ear, trying to be heard over the loud music.
The deep beat of Drake’sNonstop thrummed through the loud speakers of the strip club they were in.
Steve lived up to popular belief between his friends and blushed at the dancers for the first half hour of their arrival.
So far everyone was pretty split up,
Tony was about twenty feet from them enjoying a lap dance with a drink in his hand.
Wade was off somewhere trying to win his on and off again girlfriend back, who worked here.
Clint was giddily sitting at a seat near the stage, money (curtesy of Tony stopping at the ATM) ready in hand to be distributed into G-strings.
Sam, the good married man that he was, stayed away from any women that were definitely not his wife. The Beta stayed close to Steve, making sure the Alpha was having a good time. Steve appreciated it, seeing as this wasn’t really his scene and he found comfort in the fact that he had a friend close by.
“I’m uh, a little uncomfortable! But, slowly getting used to it!” Steve shouted back, leaning towards Sam’s ear.
“It’s okay man, I told them if you didn’t wanna be here we could go to a normal club!” The Beta said, laughing at Steve relieved look.
The Alpha nodded, “Can we please do that?!”
“I’ll round up the troops!” Sam said.
As Steve waited around a blonde Omega came up and started dancing against him, her ass pressing back into him. She was working him over, trying to excite him into paying.
He stepped back and she took the hint, shrugging and walking away.
Thank god they were moving on.
.•O•.
By their third club of the night Steve was pretty fucking drunk.
Which he was happy about, because it had been awhile that he’d let himself relax like this with his friends.
The Alpha was in the middle of the dance floor flailing around like nobody’s business, although, considering he was quite a long and large human it kind of became other people’s business, considering his drunk flailing ended in a lot of people getting smacked by those muscles.
Billy Idol’s RebelYell was blasting through the building (something Sam requested of the DJ, considering Steve’s absolute obsession with Billy Idol.) and the Alpha drunkenly sang along to every lyric.
“Oh god,” Tony said from the bar. “Is he air guitaring?”
“He’s so talented...” Wade said next to him, nodding his head to the music, eyes glued to Steve’s embarrassing dance moves.
“MORE! MORE! MORE! MORE! MORE!” Steve shouted.
“Alright! Let’s get you some water Drunk Steve.” Sam said, pulling his friend from the dance floor.
“I... I need to, gotta pee.” Steve slurred, grabbing at Sam’s shirt, eyes wide.
Sam patted his shoulder.
“Okay man, lets find the bathroom.”
Steve stumbled his way after Sam, hand locked with the Beta’s.
They ended up in the ally outside after finding the ridiculously long line to the single person bathroom.
Sam was on the phone with Natasha, letting her know that he hadn’t let Steve die yet while the blond took a piss by the dumpster.
Steve was done pretty fast, and when he turned back to Sam the Beta was still on the phone.
What to do, what to do.
Oh!
He should call somebody.
Be on the phone just like Sam, Sam was an adult and Steve needed to act like one.
Luckily the Beta gave him his phone back Incase he got lost and needed to call him, so Steve pulled the device out of his pocket.
But...
Who should he call.
Maybeeeee his mom?
No.
Hmm?
Becca?
Hell no.
Bucky?
Well... that sure does sound like a good idea.
Steve swallowed, blinking his eyes to clear his sight and leaning against the dumpster so he didn’t end up on the ground.
He scrolled through his phone, and if he had been a lot less drunk he’d have realized he didn’t have Bucky’s number.
Clicking on what he assumed was Bucky’s name, it was in the B’s for Christ sake! He held the phone up to his ear.
It rang...
Rang some more.
Wow, this phone has been ringing for a long time now.
He held the phone away from his ear to see if Sam was still here, can’t be caught calling Bucky in front of Sam that’s a big no no.
Hah, no no.
Oh, did that beep?
Is it a voicemail?
Okay, time to talk.
“Heyyyy. Bucky I- I need to talk- to tell you something-“
.•O•.
“Why are we watching the Hunger Games?” T’Challa asked.
“Shush,” Bucky said, slapping a hand against his boyfriend’s leg.
“They’re good movies.” Rebecca said.
They all sat on the couch, Bucky under T’Challa’s left arm, and Rebecca on his left, eating the microwavable popcorn their parents had.
Everyone had gone to bed, so it was just the three of them downstairs.
Becca had borrowed some of her moms sweats and planned to stay the night, considering she didn’t wanna be at home alone.
After her insightful conversation with T’Challa the three ended up having a really good afternoon, they got food, and blue icees because Bucky had a craving and everyone knew blue was the best icee.
Then they got pretzels at the mall, before returning home for dinner with the family.
Her mom was absolutely ecstatic at the sight of her twins finally having a good time together, Winnie couldn’t stop smiling at them the whole night.
When she told them all goodnight she squeezed them in a hug together, and then slipped out so only Rebecca and Bucky were hugging.
Becca didn’t really blame her, it’s been so long since she’s had her two kids together and actually acting like adult siblings.
Rebecca noticed her brother kept moving, clearly not being able to get comfortable.
“Are you okay?” She whispered.
He smiled at her, nodding. “Yeah, he’s just kicking a lot. Guess the popcorn got him going.”
“Or the icee from earlier.” T’Challa piped in, eyes still on the tv.
“Probably a combo.” Bucky said, rubbing his lower belly where there was most likely a limb jabbing him.
“Does it hurt?” Rebecca asked.
She’d always been a little freaked out by pregnancy, and it was never something she really wanted to go through.
“Not really, he’s not big enough for it to be real painful yet. It’s just uncomfortable right now, especially because I’m usually in bed at this time and he’s probably pissed I’m not laying down.”
Bucky noticed his sister staring, and he smiled a little.
“Do you... do you wanna feel?” He asked.
She looked up at him, eyes wide and brows at her hairline. Mouth parted in shock, and... fear?
“He won’t bite.” Bucky reassured.
“He might.” T’Challa said, laughing when Bucky hit his leg again.
She raised her hand, letting it hover over the pregnant belly.
Bucky sighed and put his hand on hers, pushing it down against his T-shirt and moving it to the little kicks. It was still kind of hard to feel from touch, but it was at least noticeable.
“Holy shit...” Rebecca said, breathless.
Bucky laughed.
“That’s happening inside of you.” She said, looking at Bucky like she was surprised he wasn’t surprised by that.
“Yeah, I can feel it.” He chuckled.
In the distance she heard her phone ring, the ringtone she had set for Steve’s contact going off.
It didn’t seem import at the moment, so she let it go to voicemail. He was probably just calling to apologize for leaving without telling her, it was his nice guy complex.
Bucky held out his left arm, inviting her to lean into him.
She smiled at him, easily fitting into his side.
He left his right hand atop her left on his belly, and they finished the movie.
They made it half way through Catching Fire when Bucky finally fell asleep.
T’Challa picked him up in a bridal style, he looked at her, his lips twitching in a smile.
“I’m glad you two had a good time today.” He said.
“Me too.”
“See you tomorrow.” He said.
“Yeah, goodnight.”
She watched him carry Bucky up the stairs, watched until they disappeared at the top.
Smiling at her lap, Rebecca decided to check if Steve left a voicemail.
She took the phone into the bathroom with her, deciding to listen to it before she grabbed the cheep toothbrushes her parents kept for guests out of the cupboard.
Entering her password she let the voicemail play.
“Heyyyy. Bucky I- I need to talk- to tell you something-“
She looked up into the mirror, seeing her surprised eyes in her reflection.
“I just- I wanna say I’m sorry- I- I love you. I miss you, you’re sooooo perfect. I know, I- I know I fucked up, bad. Really, really bad... I shouldn’t have slept with her, I just. You’re having a baby, weird. That’s weird. God, you look so good though. So, sexy- wow.”
Another voice cut in,
“Steve?” Was muffled in the background of the call.
“Steve who are talking too?”
“I’m talking to- to Bucky. Or, I guess not? It’s the mail voice- the- shit- voicemail-“
“What! Steve hang up, get off the pho-“
BEEP
The voicemail cut off, and her options to save or erase spoke through robotically.
She dropped her phone, watching her reflective self cry.
Big, fat tears.
Sometimes getting what you want doesn’t mean you’ll like it.