Chapter Fifty-Seven
That Tuesday Steve took Bucky to the train station, before heading to Scott’s to resupply the kitchen with the list Iris and Runa had given him. While Scott and Luis were loading up the wagon, Steve went to the notice board on the wall, looking over the notices. It was late in the year for it, but someone might have kittens ready to go to a new home, and Bluestone needed a few barn cats badly to keep the vermin down, all but one of theirs dying in the fire or succumbing to their wounds afterwards. He had also promised Runa he would get her a kitten at some point, but the need for barn cats was more pressing than the need to get a gift for his wife.
He smiled when he saw that there was a recent notice advertising kittens, and he made note of who had placed it, planning on going there as soon as he was done in town.
~*~
Runa looked up from her baking as Steve entered the kitchen, a hand cradled to his chest.
“You saw Bucky off all right?”
“I did.” He looked a little nervous.
“You took longer getting supplies than I-what on Earth?” She demanded as a tiny kitten popped its head up from behind Steve’s hand and let out a surprisingly loud mewl.
Steve gave a sheepish smile. “I promised you I’d get you a kitten.” He said as he stepped forward, carefully lowering his hand, the kitten still trying to cling to his sheepskin jacket with its claws and not finding much purchase. “It’s just… She’s a special kitten.”
“She’s adorable.” Runa cooed as she stepped over, reaching up to stroke the tiny head with a fingertip. The kitten was looking about with big eyes, and Runa frowned, noticing that they looked clouded. “What do you mean by special?”
He brought up his other hand and cradled the kitten gently, before forcing the little head to look up at Runa, despite the struggling. He gently forced an eye wide open, and Runa could see the milky cataracts. “She’s mostly blind, from what they could tell. They said… They said that drowning her would be a mercy, that she wouldn’t ever be able to hunt her own food and would get lost easily. That if they let her live something would pick her off quickly. I thought that since we were looking for a cat to keep you company, it wouldn’t matter if she could see or not, since we’d be keeping her to the house for the most part, not leaving her in the barn with two of her siblings.”
“Killing her would have been cruel at this age.” Runa said as she gently picked up the tiny calico kitten with the long silky fur, soft as only a kitten could be. Her body mostly white, both ears black with a splotch of orange on her forehead, orange and black splotches on her sides. Runa brought the kitten closer to her face and it let out another plaintive mew. “She’s perfect, Steve.”
“Not many people would call a half blind kitten perfect.” He looked relieved. “I should have known you would see beyond the surface.”
She smiled up at him. “Just like I do for you and Bucky.”
“Exactly like that.” He reached down, taking the kitten and smiling down at her. “I’ll fix this little one a place to sleep and let you get back to cooking.”
“All right.” She reached up and tugged him down for a kiss. “Thank you, Steve.”
“You’re welcome.” He smiled down at her, stealing another kiss before he left the kitchen. Runa went to scrub her hands before returning to her baking, a smile on her face.
~*~
That night the kitten—which Runa named Mercy—was settled in the mud room in a small basket padded with and old shirt of Bucky’s that was too tattered to fix and had originally been placed in the rag bag. It would do until Runa could make a more comfortable bed for the kitten, who had found Runa’s lap a wonderful place to be that evening, playing with the yarn as Runa knitted and getting tangled up in it.
“Will she be all right in the mud room?” Runa asked as she slipped into bed with Steve that night.
“She’ll be fine.” Steve promised her as he got into bed. “She’s a cat, sweetheart. Cats sleep in worse places than our mudroom. Besides, she has a bed made up just for her. She’ll be comfortable all night long.”
“But she’s just a baby.” Runa protested as she snuggled against Steve. “A half-blind baby.”
“We’re not bringing the kitten in here.”
“But-”
Steve moved to kiss her, deep and tender, until Runa was putty in his hands and the argument had faded from her mind. She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him closer as he deepened the kiss, hooking one arm beneath her and digging his fingers into her back, while he ran his other hand down her side, then around a bit to squeeze her rear, causing her to let out a little moan that he swallowed greedily. Then he rolled onto his back, bringing Runa with him so that she was atop him. Steve broke their kiss, only to drag his lips down the pale column of her neck, enjoying the feel of her slight weight atop him.
“I want you, sweetheart.” He murmured in a voice rough with desire, moving to look up at her with unashamed hunger. There were still awkward moments between them, and shy spells, but those were becoming fewer and further between as they all grew used to one another and more comfortable with their new dynamic.
Runa looked down at him, her sapphire eyes shining in the faint light that filtered into the room through the windows. “I need you.” She told him, her voice a caress in the darkness. “Is it all right, without Bucky here?”
“More than all right.” He promised her. “It doesn’t have to always be the three of us together, remember?” There had been a night where Runa had been content to simply watch Steve and Bucky together, though they hadn’t neglected her entirely. She simply hadn’t felt like participating that night, and they had respected that. She had also informed them that they didn’t need to hold themselves back on her account. She could have gone to the other room they had made up for such purposes, but she hadn’t wanted to sleep alone. She slept best curled up between Steve and Bucky. So she had stayed, and watched, and learned a few things in the watching.
“I remember.” She moved to kiss him again as he slid his hands up her thighs beneath her nightgown, pushing up the thin fabric and caressing her soft skin. She could feel him pressed against her through their nightclothes, not fully hard yet, but getting there. Impulsively she sat up, reaching up to unfasten the buttons at the top of her nightgown before pulling the fabric up and over her head, tossing it aside.
“Now there’s a glorious view.” Steve chuckled huskily, looking up at her above him, caressing his hands up her waist before sliding them to her breasts, palming them firmly, then running his thumbs over her nipples.
“Not as good as the one I have.” Runa countered with a grin, a flush riding high on her cheeks at how brazen she sounded.
Steve chuckled. “What a situation to be in. Both of us thinking that the other is one of the most beautiful things we’ve ever seen.” He moved to sit up, capturing her lips in a tender kiss, “Because you are, you know.” He finally breathed against her lips, “One of the most beautiful things in the world, a true work of art. If we’re not careful they’ll take you away from us, lock you up in a museum.” He teased, causing Runa to laugh.
“Who would do such a thing?” She managed to ask. “You and Bucky make me feel like the most beautiful woman in the world. And I know for a fact that you two are the handsomest men. When I first got here you could have knocked me over with a feather when I saw you.” She ran her hands down his chest, then tugged up his nightshirt. “I wondered why someone like you needed to put an ad out for a mail order bride.”
“I made that much of an impression when we first met?”
“Oh yes.” Runa assured him as they got his nightshirt off and cast it aside to join her nightgown on the floor. Neither of them were wearing drawers, so she could feel his heated flesh against his and almost whimpered at the sensation. “I got off the train and found myself staring at the handsomest men I had ever seen in my life.”
Steve chuckled. “Bucky too?”
“Well, we weren’t married yet, so you can’t blame me for looking at him.”
“I could never blame anyone for looking at him like that. That would be the pot calling the kettle black.” He kissed her again, and then moved to worry her earlobe lightly between his teeth. Runa gasped, groping for him in the darkness and griping his shoulders, clutching at him as she placed kisses along his neck, breathing in his musky scent. The aroma of soap lingered from his bath earlier, but beneath that was a scent that was Steve’s alone, a smell that comforted her, made her feel safe and protected when it enveloped her.
“We’re all just a bunch of pots and kettles.” She giggled as she reached to card her fingers through his hair, nails raking his scalp. Steve let out a pleased growl at that, grabbing at the braid her hair was in and using it to pull her head back so he could crash his lips against hers once more, tongue delving into the honeyed depths of her mouth, dueling with her own. He caressed down her body with his other hand, before dipping it between her legs so he could stroke at her slit, his touch gentle. As he began to caress her, start getting her worked up, she reached down to grip his cock firmly, just the way he liked it.
As Steve slipped two fingers into her wet heat and pressed his thumb against her clit, rubbing firm circles into it, she began to stroke him, matching the pace he set. He moaned as she ran her thumb over the head of his cock, smearing a drop of precum over it as she traced the smooth flesh in a slow circle.
“Damn, that’s good.” He breathed out, and she let out a murmur of assent, rocking her hips against his hand. They moved together like that until he could feel himself dangerously close to the edge, not quite there, but close. He could feel the twitch of her inner walls around his fingers, and knew that she was just as close as he was, if not closer. Steve drew his hand away causing her to let out a whine of protest.
“You know I’ll get you there.” He soothed, “Don’t I always get you there?”
“Always.” She agreed, a little reluctantly.
“I want to try something different tonight.”
“Anything you want.” She promised him in a breathy voice that sounded as if it hardly belonged to her.
“Dangerous words.” He pulled away from her then, reaching to push pillows aside so he could sit leaning back against the carved wooden headboard of their bed. He reached out for her and she placed her hands in his, twining their fingers together as she moved towards him, understanding what he wanted. She moved to straddle his lap again, and he smiled at her.
“You all right with this?” He asked her, blue gaze meeting blue gaze before he searched her face, looking for any sign of hesitance or discomfort.
“I want to try it.” She murmured, “I’ve discovered that trying new things with you can be fun.” She grinned at him, and he grinned in response. “Very fun.”
“It always is, isn’t it?” He reached down and gripped his length, rubbing the head of it against her slit, teasing her with it as she remained on her knees above him. She moaned softly, then laughed, reaching down to place her hand on his, guiding him to her entrance as she slowly began to lower herself onto him. He moaned low and deep as he filled her, letting her set the pace, slow and almost tortuous. Then they were joined together fully, flesh flush against flesh. He bucked his hips up then, making her gasp as he filled her just that millimeter more.
Then she started to move above him, and it was the sweetest sensation he had ever felt, buried so deep in her inviting heat that they were practically one with each other, her so tight around him that the drag and pull as they rolled their hips against one another’s a feeling that couldn’t be beaten by anything else in the world. Well, almost anything. The best feeling was being inside Runa while Bucky was inside him.
Runa reached up, placing her hands on Steve’s shoulders to steady herself as she moved, not used to feeling completely in control of what transpired between them in their bedroom, but enjoying the heady feeling of it. She was the one setting the pace, Steve following her, giving her the freedom of choice she had been denied for so much of her life. She didn’t know that she could ever tell him exactly how much that meant to her, especially not with his thick heat inside her, the heat they created together almost searing her from the inside out.
Steve watched her as her small breasts bounced while she rode him, slipping a hand between them and stroking her clit, making her head fall back as she let out a throaty cry, cried out his name, both protest and praise.
“You’re so beautiful.” He breathed out, feeling the familiar tightening of his balls, feeling the tell tale twitch that told him he would soon lose control. “Come on, sweetheart.” He coaxed out, wanting to feel her coming around him, “We’re almost there.”
“Almost.” She agreed, before letting out another cry as he flexed inside her, something that Bucky liked, and that clearly pleased her. It was just about enough to bring her to the brink.
Then he touched her just right, they rolled their hips in perfect synch that touched all the right places inside her, and she cried out again, nails digging into his shoulders as she came around him. He let out a shout as he felt her tighten around him, setting him off, and he reached down to grip her hips, pulling her down onto him as he bucked up into her, thrusting through his own orgasm.
When he stilled she slumped against him, her arms around him, his arms around her, holding each other as they waited for their breathing to return to normal.
“That was perfect.” He murmured. “Almost perfect.”
“It was different.” She murmured, the soft, dreamy smile on her lips making itself known in her voice.
“Bad different?”
“No. Good different.”
“Good.”
“But not better different.”
He smiled slightly. “Good.”
They were silent a moment, feeling each other’s heartbeats and listening to their breathing.
“I miss him.” She finally murmured.
“I do too. But he’ll be back soon. Maybe a week at the most.” He promised. “Until then, we’ll keep each other company.”
“I do like the sound of that.”
“Come on, sweetheart. Let’s get settled in for the night.” He murmured, moving to kiss her tenderly.