Bucky Barnes / Steve Rogers Imagines

Closing the Space (Steve)

You still lived in the same old apartment, Steve said they hadn't changed much since he lived there. The cabinets in your apartment were newer, but not by much, the old cast iron sinks and bathtubs that were there when he was still adorned the bathroom. Funny how much life changes yet stays the same.

Steve was helping you become stronger and learn to defend yourself after a situation with you last mistake. He was really sweet about it, he didn't push you too hard like a lot of trainers do. One night after training you grabbed takeout and went back to Steve's apartment to eat. "You're making good progress you know." Steve stated before shoving a pastrami sandwich in his mouth, one of his eyebrows raised.

You frowned at him shaking your head, "You know that's a lie. I'm no match for any of the people you know." You were on your ninth month of training and you didn't feel like anything had changed.

"You are just too close to it, you really have made progress. And yes, you couldn't take out any of the people I know, but most of the people I know have superpowers, a lot of money for gadgets or have been genetically modified. I bet you could take him if he ever came at you again though." Steve squeezed your hand for reassurance.

"You're probably right." you laughed looking back up at him. He always knew what to say.

"How about we watch a movie?" Steve smiled back at you.

You set yourself up on the couch, Steve put on The Shop Around the Corner. You were one of the only people who would watch the old movies he was familiar with, especially if Jimmy Stewart was in them, your "Old Hollywood" crush. You leaned up against Steve's chest with his arm around your shoulder. It had never been anything more than friendly, but it sure used to make Sharon mad.

The next thing you knew, Steve was shaking your shoulder slightly, your head had fallen sideways across his chest almost resting on your shoulder. "The movie is over, you must have fallen asleep." Your eyes opened slowly adjusting to the light.

You stretched, slightly, "I'm sorry," you yawned as you got up to grab your jacket and started looking for your purse.

"Y/N it's late I think you should sleep here." Steve stated, almost like a parent.

"I'll be fine." you admonished.

"Really, please stay here." Steve almost begged. "That place wasn't that safe back in the forties when I lived there and it doesn't seem to have gotten any better. I just don't want anything to happen to you."

You rolled your eyes at him, "OK, I'll sleep on the couch." You moved to hang your coat back up.

"I'll sleep on the couch, it's uncomfortable, you can sleep in the bed." Steve ordered.

"No, Sir. None of that chivalrous stuff with me. Besides big guy, it'll be less uncomfortable for someone small like me."

"OK, fine. Let me get it ready for you." Steve walked into the bedroom to find an extra blanket for you but by the time he came back he found you leaned back against the cushions, your head already lopped off to the side, sound asleep.

Steve smiled at you, "Alright, I'm not letting you sleep out here." he whispered to no response.

Steve picked you up and carried you into the bedroom just before he was about to lay you down on the bed you mumbled something. He swore he heard... "I love you Steve." Steve stopped dead in his tracks, your eyes were still closed your breathing slow and deep, you were clearly still asleep. He wasn't sure if he had heard right, or if  he was just hearing what he wanted to hear.

You woke up the next morning, laying half on your stomach half on your side, your left arm above your head and your right leg almost hanging off the side of the bed. You blinked a few times taking in the gray room, trying to figure out where you were. Last thing you remembered you had been arguing with Steve about sleeping on the couch. You had thought you had won but obviously he decided otherwise.

You rolled over to find Steve sitting on the other half of the bed, his back propped up against the headboard, he was reading a book. "Morning" you said, while propping yourself up on your arms and scooting back to lean against the headboard, mirroring Steve's position.

"Good morning." he said as he closed the book he was reading and set it aside.

"I thought you were going to let me sleep on the couch and then I wake up in a strange mans bed!" you joke yelled at him.

Steve put his hands up in the air, mocking being under arrest. "Alright, you got me. I just couldn't let you sleep on that couch." He was silent a moment wrestling in his mind whether he wanted to find out if what you said last night was true, or if he would just chalk it up to his imagination. "You talk in your sleep you know?" he paused again. "If there's anything you need to talk about, or anything you want to tell me, you know I'm always here for you."

Your face flushed, Steve knew he must be on to something, maybe he didn't mishear last night. You tried to think of what you could have said in your sleep and all you remember was a dream from last night where Steve was holding you, dancing.... romantically. You looked down at your hands wringing them in the sheets, you hesitated trying to make something up that he would believe.

"You know I don't keep things from you," you lied. "Sometimes I think you are hiding something from me though. I know you have to, with your job, your responsibilities, to keep me safe or keep me from knowing the worst of what you've seen. Maybe it's just your different life experiences maybe there are some things we can just not understand about each other, we'll never be able to hurdle over that space," you sighed. It all just came out, you didn't intend to say all that, you planned on lying through your teeth, not vomiting up words, you cringed at all you just said hoping you didn't just mess up your friendship.

You noticed Steve had gotten closer to you. "Y/n." he whispered as you turned your head towards him. "Then why don't we close the space between us." He leaned forward and you felt his lips on your own, warm, soft, hungry. When he pulled back you stared at him dumbfounded, your mouth hung open in shock. Worry suddenly crossed his face. "I'm sorry," he blurted out, "was I wrong?"

"No." you stuttered, relief washed over his face, confusion over your own. "I don't understand," was all you could get out.

"I love you," Steve confessed. "You said the same to me last night, I had to know if it was true because it's been true for me for a long time."

Your face was scarlet from blushing, your heart was beating fast, your eyes watered, tears threatened to make their appearance. "But you have such amazing people around you all the time and... and there was Sharon. I... I didn't even imagine you could even remotely think that way about someone like me."

Steve frowned at you, he hated hearing you speak this way about yourself. "Y/N, all that stuff doesn't mean anything. You're a good person, a beautiful person, that is what is important. You treat me like Steve, just Steve, no one has given me that since I was fighting Nazi's." He took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "By the way you've had a few boyfriends yourself I had to endure." he poked fun at you.

You closed your eyes a moment, shaking your head, chin almost to your chest. You couldn't believe everything he said, you opened your eyes slowly lifting your head to look into his eyes, searching them for any deceit but none was there, he was telling you the whole truth.

"I guess we've been fools, wasting all this time. It's been true for me for a long time too." You said as you wrapped your arms around his neck, he fell backwards against the bed as you kissed him with the passion of two years.