Nothing but trouble

We need to talk

A still sleeping Katherine's head rested on his chest, her arm around his waist with her hand curled around his metal bicep. He hadn't gotten a lot of sleep once they finally stopped their sex marathon. He just couldn't get comfortable on the soft mattress after too long and add in being in a space that wasn't his and he was wide awake. What few hours of sleep he did get had been decent, but he put that at exhaustion from his mission, worrying about Sam and his time with Katherine. Taking a deep breath at the magnitude of what happened with them caused her to shift away from him and roll over onto her other side.

Snuggling into Steve's back tucking her face into the space between his shoulders seemed to have woken him up because he reached behind him to pull her arm around his back to his chest. A sleepy version of her voice softly disrupted the quiet of the room. "Morning Captain. Wait, is it morning?" In an equally soft voice Steve responded.

"Yeah it's still morning, barely. It's 11:30. Is Buck awake?" He asks, shifting around to face her. Closing his eyes Bucky played possum. He didn't know why, it just felt he needed to give them this moment alone.

"I'm surprised he's still asleep and still in bed. He has a hard time like I did when I first came back. It's a soldier thing. You get so used to sleeping anywhere and everywhere for so long that it's hard to get comfortable and stay that way on a mattress." He explains. The bed shifting had him thinking that he had probably pulled her into his side since her warmth seemed to be further away.

"Hmm, maybe I really did him in." Katherine snickers. He could imagine her biting that full bottom lip of hers, her beautiful eyes sparkling with laughter. "I really enjoyed last night. Not gonna lie I was a little surprised that you said yes to it. You don't seem the type to regularly join in on a threesome."

"I'm not. That was the first time actually." Surprise colors her voice as she moves closer to him. "Why did you say yes?"

"Because I wanted you. I have for a while, but with how you feel about Bucky and how he feels for you I didn't think I'd get another chance so I took it." Steve's voice became husky with desire for the small woman and Bucky couldn't find any sign of jealousy like he had felt at the start of last night. It was probably because of who he'd shared her with and because he trusted Steve with his feelings for her. Hell he trusted Steve with his life the least he could do was trust him with Katherine.

"What do you mean how I feel about Bucky?" Her voice got even quieter as she shifted on the bed, probably putting some space between him and her. "Don't do that, come back here. All I'm saying is I know how he feels about you and while you don't like admitting your feelings I know you like him too." Suddenly Buck was listening harder wanting to catch every word.

"Maybe, but like Matt told him when he sought him out I don't do relationships. I've never been that kind of person. Relationships are messy and there are expectations from the other person I doubt I'll be able to meet which will end things that much sooner." Disappointment coursed through his chest at the hard edge of finality in her tone.

"So because you've never tried dating before and because you're afraid you're never going to try? Kat, relationships are scary to everyone. No one knows how things are going to work out, but if you think you've found the right person then it's worth it to try."

Speaking even more softly she said, "And if I told you Bucky wasn't the only person I wanted to be with, what then? Think I want to be judged by everyone for wanting more than one person at the same time? It's bad enough I'm judged everyday because of how I look and what I can do. I don't want to be judged for that either."

"We've talked about this before. The only opinions that matter are from the people we care about. You need to understand that you owe no one a goddamn explanation. Everyone around you is temporary. Only your loved ones matter and even then you don't owe them anything. So if being with Buck and this other person will make you happy, talk to him and them and see if they'd be open to it. I think you'd be surprised by his answer." How often did Steve and Katherine talk like this? As far as he knew she didn't talk to anyone like this except for her brother.