My feet stumbled through the brush of the forest that lined the North side of the compound. The potions and herbs book Loki had given me was nestled nicely under my arm and a small basket on the other.
"Where are we going?" Bucky asked a few paces behind me.
I hummed, "Not sure, darling. Looking for something." Small red berries on a spiny shrub. I clicked my tongue, looking around some more.
"Oh," I cried, spotting a barberry bush. Carefully, I stepped over fallen branches and large roots to kneel beside the rosette leaves.
Bucky and Steve stood behind me quietly as I reread the same passage I had practically memorized already. Berries for stomach pains, roots for antiseptics, and leaves for coughs.
I spoke the soft spell as I trimmed each ingredient from the bush, carefully placing them in separate bags in my basket.
The boys watched as I worked, thanking the bush for its service to me and standing with a proud smile on my face. They grinned back at me.
"All set, sweets?" Steve asked.
I nodded and clutched my things to my chest, excited to get back to the compound and make my first draught.
My feet skipped happily along the forest floor with my boys trailing not too far behind. I heard their thoughts, watching my form bounce down the small sloping hills.
Cute, sweet girl, my love, angel.
I smiled to myself. This is what I wished every day could be. One day.
The boys followed me inside as I got to work on the simple potions. They sat at the bar. Bucky cleaning a knife, and Steve drawing in his notebook.
My lips pulled into a smile every time I turned to catch them staring at me. I felt happy, and even happier when my draught for stomachaches seemed to work.
I'll have to show Loki later.
I turned to the boys, motioning to come see my boiling pot of pink liquid. They stood over it, hesitant to smell or taste it. I laughed at them, "It's medicine, idiots. It won't kill you." Gently, I ladled it into jars that Loki had given me from his library.
In the afternoon sun, it was brightly pink like strawberry lemonade. Triumph spread through me. My first success.
Steve and Bucky were smiling at me. "Good girl," they mumbled against my forehead as they pressed kisses to my skin.
I set the jars to cool, and we turned as Bruce skipped down the steps. He smiled at us, "Hello, you three. How are Stella and the boyfriends?" His voice was teasing as he echoed Loki's greeting to Steve and Bucky.
"Just fine," Bucky sighed. "How's Thor?"
Bruce narrowed his eyes at him, "Touche." He walked around the kitchen island and came to stand next to us. He inspected my cooling pink jars with an approving nod. "They look good, Stel. Nice work."
I smiled at his compliment. My heart swelled any time someone recognized my efforts. I knew they didn't know anything about magic, but it still meant a lot that they tried to be supportive and pay attention to my work.
"What are you guys doing tonight?" Bruce asked.
Steve hummed, "Stel wants to bake cookies and watch a movie, so," he laughed. "What she says goes."
Damn right.
Bruce grinned at my boys, "Good men." He grabbed a drink from the fridge and left to go back upstairs.
I turned to the boys with my hands on my hips. "Cookie time?" I asked.
They looked at me with amused expressions, standing over me and watching my face. "What kind of cookies, doll?" Bucky asked as he fixed some hair behind my ear.
"Are you sure we can't just go upstairs and watch the movie now?" Steve asked with a tease in his voice.
I huffed, rolling my eyes and shoving their wandering hands off of me. I walked around the kitchen, gathering flour, eggs, milk, and everything else we needed. "No, we cannot watch the movie now because then we'll never make the cookies." I tried to make my voice as stern as possible, narrowing my eyes at them when they smirked.
"Fine," Bucky sighed. "What's first?" He stood next to me, watching as I opened the bag of flour. A gleam appeared in his eyes as Steve brought me measuring cups. Quickly, Bucky stuck his fingers in the flour and puffed it into my face.
My jaw fell open, and my eyes glared at him. "Bucky," I warned. "Fuck you."
He grinned at me, "Oh, I'd love to, darling." His fingers dove back into the bag, and he threw more flour at me.
Steve, ever the enabler, joined him and brought flour cascading into my hair.
Fine, I sighed. My fingers fell into the flour, bringing a large handful out and throwing it into their faces. They laughed, trying to shield themselves from the impossible to clean off powder.
Thus, our war with flour began.
In a whirlwind of puffing clouds, we were all quickly covered head-to-toe in dust. It caked onto our skin and hair. We looked like ghosts.
I laughed, loud and obnoxious as I looked at the boys. Steve looked as if he was regretting ever agreeing to date both of us, and Bucky was miserably trying to dust flour from his hair. I grinned, "You two started this. I just wanted to bake cookies."
"Well," Bucky sighed. "It wasn't a total loss. " He stepped closer to me with a wicked smirk on his face. "Now, I can drag both of your upstairs to shower." Forcefully, he lifted me over his shoulder and carried me up the stairs. Steve wasn't far behind us, and a distinct smile pulled at his features.
I'm sure my face was blushing pink; those two always knew how to make me flustered. Even the simplest act could make my heart skip a beat.
We reached our room, shedding our dusty clothes and stumbling towards the bathroom. Alpine weaved between our feet, fascinated with the flour that puffed around us.
Steam filled the room quickly with hot water melting away the caked on dust. Our hands wandered and scrubbed over each other, tracing lines in the hills and valleys of our hips and muscles. I sighed when Steve gently pushed me against the shower wall, kissing my neck as Bucky's lips moved down Steve's towering frame.
As I did every time, I touched Steve's thoughts, hoping to hear a whisper of something he liked, something he wanted us to do or say. Usually, I heard nothing. He was blank and vanilla, perfectly content with whatever happened. But this time, I heard it, faint as a breath of air. I grinned to myself.
Gently, Steve pushed into me as Bucky continued kissing down his back and across his hips. I sighed, letting my nails dig into his shoulders for support. My head tilted back, and Steve's hands held my hips firm, a small smirk pulling his lips up.
I gasped, and pleasure seeped through me. "Ah," I whined. "You're so good to us, daddy."
Steve faltered for a moment, eyes wide with shock. He stared at me before laughing. "Naughty thing," he mumbled. "Reading my thoughts." His pace quickened just as Bucky's fingers glided down his abs.
"You like that?" Bucky asked teasingly. He leaned into Steve's ear, his lips ghosting along his soaked blonde hair. "You like it when we call you daddy?"
I grinned, watching the way Steve's face fell slack with pleasure, and his mind fell into a quiet hum.
The three of us together were a whirlwind of strong and steady emotions. Constant bickering or professions of love. In each others thoughts as if they were our own. I felt them existing within me like my own beating heart. They were with me always, and always, we were together.
My mind ceased to function as their thoughts thundered louder and louder into my mind. When I rose my head and opened my eyes again, Bucky was holding me firm, rocking our hips together as Steve kissed his shoulders and mused his long curly hair.
A gentle gasp choked my throat, and I shuddered violently under Bucky's firm grasp. His hands remained steady on my hips, moving us together a few more times before he came as well, heaving and soaked with both sweat and the steaming shower water.
He grinned and let his head rest against mine. Steve pressed kisses to both of our foreheads, murmuring I love you through the rushing shower waterfall.
There was nothing I would not give to have those moments of us together, smiling against each other's skin, forever. I decided then that I would force Steve and Bucky to come to a compromise. They would not lose each other. I would not lose either of them. We would be together for as long as we could.