I'm Here | ✓

35 - News Flash

"If you're going to tease me about it, I will kick your jaw down your throat." I'm not kidding about that, and I think my tone gets the message across, because Sam takes a second before responding,

"Listen, man, I don't have anything against you being gay, alright? I just wanted to confirm the rumors."

I think that's comforting? At least he's not homophobic, even if he is an asshole sometimes. A loyal asshole, nonetheless. Steve just has that effect.

"Thanks, Sam." I lean my head against the wall. "Where'd you hear that?"

"You are so gonna make fun of me. I'm subscribed to this one celebrity news channel, alright?"

I burst out laughing, even if it's only to make him angry. He tries to backpedal quickly.

"It's just to follow the super-enhanced news, okay? Plus, you've got a dopplegänger out there, some actor guy. I just wanted to keep tabs on him - you know what, that's not the point. Somebody got photos of you dancing and holding hands with Steve. It's security camera footage from some hotel manager, and people are making connections about how you guys keep making sacrifices for each other despite, well... your history, in particular."

I think this over for a minute before chuckling sadly. That hotel manager might not have been homophobic, but she certainly wasn't shy about outing us to the rest of the world, either.

"We'll deal with it. Anything else?"

Sam scoffs. "Yeah. Don't fuck Steve."

"No promises."

"I swear to God... our little trio we have here is gonna be awkward as hell if you two do it. I am never going to get this conversation out of my head." I can practically hear him facepalming on the other side of the phone.

"Listen, I'm not saying I want to get frisky with him, but I have been curious to see if the serum, you know, did as much for him as it did for me..."

He hangs up on me, and I laugh. Honestly, I'm comfortable with my relationship with Steve right now. Maybe that'll change as we get closer, but for now, this is it. It was just funny to allude to it to see how irked Sam got.

I slip the phone into my back pocket and walk back up the stairs before realizing I essentially locked myself out of the apartment. I sigh. I don't want to wake Steve up, but I also don't want to be stuck out here until morning. I raise my hand to rap on the door before it flies out from under my hand, startling me. Steve stands in the doorway, looking flustered and then relieved. He wraps one arm around me and drags me inside, shutting the door.

"You freaked me out, Buck. You can't just leave like that." He runs his fingers through his unkempt hair.

"Sorry. Had to take a phone call." I twirl around Steve and slip the phone into his back pocket, keeping my hand there for a little longer than my ma would've thought was appropriate. I give him a slight smirk and watch him blush, hard.

"Who called me?"

"Sam." I flop on the couch, stretching my legs over the side and letting them dangle. I look at him upside down. "Apparently, the news that you and I are dating is out."

Steve hums worriedly. "Shit. That's not good."

"That's what I thought." I twist a strand of my hair in between my fingers.

"Who told?"

"Remember that broad from the motel? Yeah. She leaked some security camera footage."

"But we didn't do anything public..." Steve's eyebrows furrow. "Did we?"

I roll my eyes. "We danced on the patio."

"Yeah but... I didn't think there were security cameras."

"We were both wrong. We weren't careful." I drape my right arm over my face. "It'll settle down in a bit."

"I just don't want the next need headline to read 'Supersoldier lovers Captain America and the Winter Soldier murdered by agents.'" Steve peels my arm away from my face and I look up at him.

"Do you know how many guns I have?"

He smirks and leans down, giving me a small kiss. "How many?"

"Seven. I've got twelve knives, too." I hold up my left hand. "And a metal arm. We'll be fine."

"I'm gonna have to take your word for it." Steve sounds less than convinced, and honestly, he's probably right. The only reason I'm listing off weapons is because I'm also trying to convince myself that whatever I plan to do won't land us both in the hospital too.

Well, it wouldn't be the first time and it probably won't be the last, so I settle a little deeper into the couch.

Steve yawns, and I remember how he was asleep before I locked myself out. I sit up awkwardly. "Let's just go to bed. We'll figure this all out in the morning."

"Good idea." Steve scratches his head and I walk behind him, wrapping my arms around his hips and tilting my forehead against his back. This is more convincing to me than all the weapons I've ever used.

"Mm. You're warm."

"You know what else is warm?" Steve asks with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "Blankets." He spins around in my arms and picks me up. I accidentally let out a squeak of surprise and wrap my legs around him to prevent myself from falling. He laughs. "Remember when you'd do this to me?"

"Remember when you took super steroids and thought you could one-up me?" I lay my head in the crook of his neck. "Cause that was dumb as shit."

"You can't use that every time."

"I can and I will."

He tosses me onto the bed and plunks down on my right, his unofficial side. We slide under the blankets and I shift around a bit, trying to get comfortable without leaning on my left arm. "I should get Shuri to make me a detachable one," I moan, before finally deciding I'll just sleep on my back. Steve chuckles.

"I could arrange that."

"I was kidding." I take a second to think about it. Actually, it might be kind of useful. "Unless...?"

He makes a curious sound. "I can ask. I bet she can do it."

"If she can't, it's no problem..."

"Go to bed," Steve says with a little chuckle.

"Good night, Steve."

"Night, Buck. Sweet dreams."

I hope I have some. I'm getting really sick of all the nightmares that make me regret coming here. I smile and snuggle a little deeper into the pillow, feeling Steve's calming breath against my ear.