Chapter 3
Despite their awkward stepping around the whole 'abduction' topic, the two of them fell into a comfortable living arrangement. Bucky would cook their meals and Steve did the few other chores to keep his little cabin clean.
It had been a sickeningly domestic few days for them and Steve loved every minute of it.
"Do you ever leave?" Bucky asked one night while they lounged on the couch, eating another hot meal and watching b-rated horror movies. "I mean, I know you don't go into the city but how do you get anything?"
Steve stretched his legs, his toes digging underneath Bucky's warm thighs as he yawned, "Clint gets me stuff."
"And Clint is…?"
He blinked, trying to place the weird lilt of Bucky's words, "My neighbor. He owns the next farm over, my ma left an account for me and he just pulls my expenses from that and delivers everything here."
Someone on screen got brutally slashed and both Steve and Bucky flinched as blood sprayed everywhere. Inside the cabin it was cozy and warm, warm enough for Bucky to live without wearing a shirt but his toes were still cold as ever.
He kept pushing his feet beneath Bucky's thighs and when he got no complaint, he snuggled deeper into the couch cushions.
"That's nice of him," he said finally, eyes never straying from the gore of the screen.
Steve nodded, wiggling his toes a little bit before pointing an accusing finger at the screen. "How can she run in those things?! Why do her shoes have spikes on the back, doesn't that hurt?"
"Are you really telling me that you don't know what stilettos are, Steve?" Bucky laughed, turning to look down at him and Steve had figured that was the end of that.
Well, it had been the end of that up until the rumbling sound of a truck pulled into Steve's driveway. Steve had been in the middle of applying painstakingly detailed layers to his latest painting and had become so focused that he didn't realize anyone had arrived.
Bucky's voice was what pulled him away from the canvas, "And you're Clint?"
"Yup, and this is my girlfriend-"
"Friend," another voice interrupted.
"Natasha. We live a few miles from here, just up past the bend," there was a splashing sound. "Aw, coffee no…"
And… yeah. When Steve entered the living room, there was a small puddle of coffee on his floor and it was just like Clint to make a mess every time he visited. For once, Bucky had a sweatshirt on and was giving Clint a very thorough stare down.
"Steve, you didn't tell us that you had company," the redhead called to him, pulling his tiny frame into a tight hug. She whispered lowly in his ear, "Does Sam know you have a human staying here?"
"Of course," he said with gritted teeth. Immediately, he was defensive and maybe a little protective of Bucky now that he was at the end of Natasha's paranoia.
"And does he know about us?" Steve sighed, that's what she had really been wondering and when she pulled away he was sure that the glare she leveled him with would haunt him in his sleep. "Steve?"
Us. They were both what humans would consider aliens but unlike Steve's soldier race- Natasha's were planet eaters. They destroyed solar systems, depleting planets of their natural resources and leaving entire galaxies as ghost towns.
Steve's race fought wars and hers started them.
Despite their violent upbringings, they both found refuge here on Earth and Sam had made it very clear that only people cleared by MIB could know about their true nature.
So he couldn't really fault her for being paranoid when she came face to face with an abduction victim at Steve's cabin.
"Don't worry about it, Nat." He crossed his arms and rolled his eyes, "Did you guys bring me those new sleeping aids? I swear, I'm becoming an insomniac at this point."
Natasha shot him a look full of questions before digging out a hefty pharmacy bag.
"I didn't know you got yourself a boyfriend," Clint said while dropping his head onto Natasha's shoulder. "If I knew you were seeing someone, I'd stop trying to set you up."
"You should stop doing that anyway," Steve huffed, mopping up the spilt coffee with a rag. "And Bucky isn't my boyfriend but he will be staying for a while so don't scare him away."
He looked pointedly at Natasha, "Please."
She only rolled her eyes in reply, stealing Clint's coffee and making her way back onto the porch to bring in the groceries.
"Tony told me you were lonely and I was like, 'you know what would help? Dates.' So here I am," Clint spread his arms out dramatically, falling onto the couch. "Trying to help and what do I get? Mr. Grouch and no coffee."
Bucky shifted his weight, staring down at Clint like he was the weirdest specimen he's ever come into contact with. Which is exactly what Steve had thought the first time he met Clint too.
"Man, if you want coffee, I just started a fresh pot," Bucky called out, walking into the kitchen as Clint trailed behind like a wary puppy.
Steve watched the two of them interact as if a bomb might go off (with Clint you never know) and even if Clint didn't come around often, he really wanted the both of them to get along. Well being his friends, and everything...
"Bro," Clint whispered with wide eyes after he took the first sip from his cup. "This tastes like Jesus and coffee beans had a liquid baby and then Martin Freeman blessed it."
The sound of Bucky's laughter bouncing off of the kitchen walls pulled a grin from Steve's lips and if he hadn't seen the red blur of Natasha's hair, Steve wouldn't have known she was behind him.
"So he doesn't know about you, I'm assuming?" He nodded and frowned when she sighed at him. "When's he leaving then?"
Steve whirled around, face burning as he hissed lowly at her, "What do you mean? He isn't leaving."
She raised two perfect brows and sipped at her coffee calmly, "You're planning to live here with him forever? Humans don't do that unless they're romantically involved, Steve."
The two men continued to joke and laugh in the kitchen, oblivious to their conversation. Steve bit his lip nervously, pulling at the frayed hem of his shirt.
"Ma and I lived here together," he reminded her. "Family lives together and I'm not sure yet but I think I want him to be family. I've never met anyone like him before."
Tilting her head, she looked over Steve's face thoughtfully. He knew that she and Clint had a thing going on that was more romantic than not, which was fine since Clint knew about them both and accepted it.
But Bucky was different.
"I'm not trying to give you a hard time," Steve crossed his arms and snorted but she ignored him. "Humans are different than we are and they expect honesty from family. If you're planning to have him stay then he should know what he's staying with."
He flinched at the word 'what' not 'who', as if they weren't really people either. Steve knew that Natasha had a lot of shit to work through still, her home planet had been one of the few that took pride in breaking their inhabitants down. She still carried that with her but she had been getting better at considering herself a separate being from her race.
Or so he thought.
"Yeah, I'll think about it," he bit out before walking back into his room to finish painting.
Hours later, Bucky had brought him tea and dragged him out of the secure darkness of his room. He really wanted to stay wrapped up in his blankets but the puppy pleading eyes of Bucky Barnes was not something you could fight.
Steve had been losing spectacularly at some board game that Bucky had unearthed when he asked who Sam was.
"Unless it's personal?" Bucky back pedaled, hands held up away from Steve's stricken look. "Natasha kept bringing him up when you went to hide in your room."
"No, he's like my best friend and super important," Steve muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. "He's kind of, like- the director of the Men in Black? He helped clean up after you crashed and Nat knows he'll have to question you eventually-"
"How would Nat know that? Did you tell her that I was, what? Some kind of charity case, battered abduction victim that you decided to help?" Now Bucky was pacing like a caged animal, threading his fingers through his hair as he spoke. "Now they know I'm some kind of freak!"
"You aren't a freak, Buck-"
"Tell that to the metal arm," he growled. "Now I have to tell some government official about what? Everything?"
Steve stood up but didn't know what to do to calm him down, "Sam just needs to take a statement, he said it would all be confidential. I didn't tell Clint or Natasha anything, Buck, I swear."
"Okay, okay," he breathed out, starting to slow his pacing. His fingers reached out to rub at his shoulder and he sat back down in front of Steve. "Okay, I can t-try to do that, I guess."
He searched the man's eyes and tried to breathe normally, usually the icy grey color would give him delightful shivers but now it was flat and guarded.
"Anyways, let's finish up this game so I can take all your money," he exhaled, picking up his pretend cash again. "But Steve…?"
He hummed in question, looking down at his pale, tapered fingers with guilt. Steve knew he had to call Sam that night but he should've told Bucky that sooner. He didn't because he wanted Bucky to feel safe with him and instead, he only managed to upset him more.
"Is it just me or does Natasha never blink?" Slowly, Steve lifted his head to lock eyes with Bucky. "Like, she's super intimidating, right? How the hell does a goofball like Clint get along with her?"
Steve giggled nervously, relieved that Bucky hadn't been asking if Nat was an alien and instead wondered about something else entirely.
"Honestly, I have no idea," he smiled up at Bucky before groaning as he rolled the dice and landed on one of the other man's properties. "Is it necessary to have a hotel there, really?"
Bucky just chuckled and held out an empty palm, "Pay up, Stevie. I gotta make a living somehow."