𝚂𝚠𝚎𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚝 • 𝚂𝚝𝚎𝚟𝚎 𝚁𝚘𝚐𝚎𝚛𝚜

06 • First Dates

Steve was thankful to have fought off whatever cold was building in his body. His date with Millie was tonight and it was all he'd thought about, or really, she was all he'd thought about.

This morning Steve had woken up with yet another tent, and as much as he'd hated to admit it, he couldn't help but slip his hand into his pants and relieve himself while thinking of the beautiful brunette that had seemingly captivated his life.

The rest of the day was spent running around his apartment in a frenzy, cleaning absolutely everything twice over despite the fact that Millie and him weren't spending time in his apartment tonight, but were instead, going to the pictures. He tore through his wardrobe and drawers multiple times, hoping that a better outfit would miraculously appear, but they never did. He was stuck wearing his typical oversized shirt and trousers combination, which he hated. Steve didn't have much money, so almost all of his clothes were hand-me-downs from Bucky. They weren't in bad shape, though a little dated maybe, but even when Bucky was an early teenager, he was still larger than Steve is now.

Steve held his arm out and focused on his watch which slid slightly on his thin wrist. He was supposed to meet Millie at her apartment at 6, and it was only 4 now. He had been constantly checking his watch throughout the entire day, and time felt as if it were creeping by at a snails pace.

The phone rang, making Steve nearly jump out of his skin, and he jogged into the hallways to answer it.

"Hello?" Steve answered.

"Steve, how are ya?" Bucky's voice sounded into the phone and Steve felt his shoulder relax, there was a small part of him that worried it may have been Millie, calling to cancel.

"I'm fine, Buck. Just...you know, preparing for tonight."

"Steve, you don't have to lie to me. Your first date is a big deal, it's okay to be nervous."

"Who said I was nervous? I told you, I'm fine."

"Steve?" Bucky's voice was blunt and monotonous.

"What?"

"Your voice is literally shaking."

"Oh piss off, Buck." Steve snapped. To anyone else, they might have been taken aback by Steve's tone of voice, but Bucky just laughed.

"Look, I'm coming around, okay? I got something for you."

"Okay, but you can't say long. I'm meeting Millie at six." Steve let out a breath. Maybe seeing his best friend would calm his nerves.

"Don't worry, I'll be gone before you know it. See you soon, buddy." Bucky hung up the phone and Steve let out a huff.

Steve had never felt this way before, and every possible thing that could go wrong, probably would go wrong. He had no idea how Bucky did it so easily and so often, it seemed that he was taking a new girl in a date every couple of weeks, though he always wound up going back to Dot at some point. If Steve was honest, he wouldn't be surprised if Bucky ended up marrying Dot. Bucky, of course, tried to tell Steve that marriage just wasn't his thing, but Steve knew his friend all too well. Deep down, he knew Bucky wanted to be a husband and a father, whether he admitted it aloud or not.

Steve passed his mothers room and looked longingly at the closed door. He had only slipped in briefly the other day to collect his folded pyjamas that Millie left there for him, the smell of his mother's room was too overwhelming for him. A part of him felt guilty, he knew his mother wouldn't want him to be in such pain, especially over the thought of her, but he couldn't help it. His mother was a wonderful woman, and it killed him that she wouldn't be able to meet Millie, this other wonderful woman.