Steve's POV
Closing the door behind him he watched as Ronnie crossed the room to head into the closet to grab out some of the clothes she'd been loaned until their things arrived. Grabbing what she needed she headed into the adjoining bathroom sparing him a wondering glance at his continued silence. Now that he had her alone a bit of the fire went out of him after what happened in the hall. Steve had been upset, but he hadn't thought-
Looking around her room he tried to find the words that wouldn't escalate this talk into a fight.
Coming back out of the bathroom where she'd set her clothes Ronnie perched on the edge of the bed. When he still didn't say anything she seemed to deflate a little before straightening up. "Will you just spit it out Steve? Go on, tell me how I've made you mad by bringing in someone to help Buck that you don't like just because I briefly dated him four years ago."
She was right, he'd been angry because of who she'd called. He hadn't been thrilled with how flirty they'd been in front of him and the others as if everything that they felt for each other was nothing. As if how she felt for Bucky was nothing. The look of pain and confusion on his friend's face had him angry on his behalf. The discussion he wanted to have needed to be private because he was sure it would get very heated, but Ayo's protective gesture had him hesitant.
"I'm not thrilled about him being here, but you're right, if he can help Buck then I'll learn to live with it. You were also right. I am jealous of him and now that I know how I've felt about you this whole time I hate him even more." That wasn't what she was expecting him to say by the look of shock on her face. "I don't like that he knows it and rubbed my face in it and unknowingly Bucky's by calling you that nickname and holding you like that in front of us."
"But that's just Strange. He can't help himself." She says with a shrug that tells him she was blind to what the other man was doing. Whether willfully or naively he didn't know, but she had to know either way.
"He can. All you have to do is tell him not to. I know right now you're mad at me and whatever our future is it's uncertain, but Veronica, I.." Frustrated, he roughly ran his hands through his hair as his words failed him. "Damn it, this isn't coming out the way I want it to."
Standing up Ronnie held out her hands at her sides. "I don't know what I can tell you other than I'll tell Stephen to chill. I'm sorry that you feel that way, but you have to know that nothing is going on with him and I. He's dating someone, a doctor he works with. I've met her. She can handle his bullshit and actually likes doing it."
He didn't know that and if he had he might have seen what he was now. A man who liked to needle people screwing with him because he knew how Steve felt about Ronnie. "Oh.."
"Yeah, oh." Folding her arms under her breasts and standing with one foot to the side popping out her hip. "Contrary to current events not every man I come into contact with wants to get into my pants. And even if they did doesn't mean I'd let them. God, you know I'm so sick of being fought over. I didn't ask for any of this. I was just trying to help you out and now you and Bucky are professing your love for me and making me all confused. And on top of it I have Mischief following after my skirts across the damn ocean and a few continents!"
Throwing her hands into the air she began pacing restlessly back and forth as she angrily ranted. "You tell me you love me then I find out the whole thing with my parents. I get mad at you and push you away. I keep pushing and pushing, but you keep coming back. Buck tells me after mere weeks of knowing me he's fallen in love with me. I expect you to be angry or something, but are you? No! You kiss me after I stop the man who started all of this bombing bullshit and as we're in the middle of trying to get Buck help you tell me you are willing to share me. As if that was ever an option!"
Growling she picked up a pillow as she passed the bed and chucked it at him. Easily dodging it Steve caught it which only made her madder. "And then! Then I have him talking you up to me and being all self sacrificial, basically telling me he's letting me go. I don't think anyone's realized, but I'm not even with anyone! No one's asked me what I feel about either of you or how I'm dealing with all of this emotional baggage you all just keep coming at me with. All your stupid male fighting, staking claims on me. You all might as well piss on my leg for all the territorial bullshit you're all doing!"
It hurt Steve to see her like this. To know that he'd been apart of the problems that had been building up inside her that she'd been avoiding dealing with because of the Accords and the bombing until she blew up. None of this was how he'd envisioned telling her how he felt or the fallout of it all. He wanted to take it slow so as to not scare her off, but then she dropped the truth that she knew about Buck and her family and he just said it. Then there was Ross, Peggie's death and her funeral, the bombing and them going on the run..
It was just one thing after another and no one had any time to sit down and process anything, but his girl.. She bottled everything up inside that she felt wasn't a priority until she'd explode. It was a leftover trait from growing up without her parents or having Tony there to actually support her in the way he should have. She would hide how she felt so it wouldn't be a burden on anyone else. That's why Steve had always told her to be open and honest with him no matter what so she wouldn't ever have to feel like this.. it broke his heart that he'd done this to her.
Striding into her path he grasped her upper arms to get her to stop, tilting her chin up to make her focus on him. "Ronnie, Sweetheart, calm down and take a breather. Take a deep breath for me okay." Doing as he said until the heightened flush in her face dimmed a bit. "That's it, good girl. Now that you've got it all out how do you feel?"
Opening her mouth she thought about it before she closed it and took another deep breath. "Better, kind of."
Gently stepping into her he wrapped his arms around to hold her, relief flooding his heart when she melted into his embrace. "I'm sorry. You're right none of us have been very fair to you. In the midst of one crisis after another Buck and I have unloaded how we feel about you and that's selfish of us. Truth be told we might have had a conversation about you on the way over here and not in the way you're thinking so don't start in on me." He tells her when she opens her mouth to have another go. "What I mean is we agreed to back off as best we can while you figured out who you wanted, if you even wanted to be with either of us or both of us. It's not conventional if it's the third option of having the both of us, but we just want you to be happy."
Staring up into his eyes Ronnie asked, "And what about Loki?" Steve took his own advice and took a few deep breaths before answering her.
He had to tread carefully here. Either she was messing with him or she was being serious. He just couldn't tell, but he wouldn't take the chance to hurt or piss her off, not again. "What about him?"
Furrowing her brow Ronnie sighed as she said. "Well I- That is, I mean.. I don't know what I mean, but when I'm around him I don't know. It's hard to explain."
"You're attracted to him." She nods, tucking her face back into his chest to avoid seeing whatever judgment he might feel in his eyes. "Do you have feelings for him?" She shakes her head as she shrugs her shoulders not understanding herself how she really felt about the Asgardian yet.
Wanting to try to take this one step at a time he gently tugged on her ponytail to get her to look at him. "Tell me how you feel about him and Bucky. Keep it simple, Buttercup."
Giving Steve her patented Veronica looks usually reserved for her brother she asked him, "How honest do you want me to be here?"
Chuckling he told her seriously, "Just lay it all out, Ron. It's the only way I can help you figure out what you're feeling." Staring back at him she nodded as she thought about what he asked her to do.
"I love Bucky, but in a different way than I love you. He.. I feel protective of him, but not in the way like he can't take care of himself. More like I don't want anything else bad to touch him and I want to show him that he's worthy of being loved and cared about." The absolute sweetness that was Veronica Stark had his heart expanding in his chest. Even after finding out Buck had been made to kill her parents, that she could still love him, told Steve how good and kind she really was.
"As for Loki, well I haven't known him long enough to love him or have any real feelings for him outside of attraction, but I could see something happening. Maybe, I don't know. I don't think he wants that, which is fine. It's more like we had this electric moment four years ago and because we never got to explore it it's still there, ya know." He did know. That's how he had felt about Peg, but unlike Ronnie he never got to explore that feeling.
Extracting herself from his hold Ronnie moved to lean against the table by the bathroom door. "It feels wrong telling you any of this. You tell me you love me, your best friend tells me the same thing and now Loki is.. whatever Loki is. I'm feeling pulled in a hundred different directions and you two aren't making this any easier."
"Of course I don't want you to feel like that, Sweetheart." Licking his lips Steve walked slowly over to stand in front of her. "I meant what I said to you in Siberia. Ronnie-"
The sound of a knock on her door as it opened had them both looking over to see Bucky coming in. "There you two are. I had to get out of there. The back and forth between those two was giving me a headache." At the serious expressions on both of their faces he closed the door. "What happened?"
"Nothing, James, everything is fine." Straightening up Ronnie pasted a smile on her face trying to soothe his already frayed nerves.
Sharing a look with him Steve couldn't lie to his best friend. Shifting his eyes over to her and back he raised his eyebrows. Understanding filled Bucky's eyes as he glanced back at Ronnie. "Oh, I'll uh, I'll come back later."
"No, Buck, stay. This involves you too." Ronnie frowned up at him, but he kept his eyes on his friend. Maybe if they all sat down then they could figure this all out before Bucky told her the second half of Shuri's plan.
+++
"Steve, what the hell? Do any of your apologies actually mean anything any more?" Shoving him as much as she could she looked up at him in shock as disbelief flooded her. How could he do this to her after all of his talk about wanting to help her figure things out? This wasn't what she thought he meant by that at all.
Grasping her hands he begged her to listen to him. "I'm giving the three of us to the chance to work this out. You've told me how you feel about Bucky, I think you should tell him and then we go from there."
"What exactly do you think that'll accomplish? That all of a sudden I'll just want to be with the both of you or something? Life doesn't work like that, Steve." He groaned as he ran a hand through his hair gripping it a little in frustration.
"No, that's not what I meant. I'm really not getting this out the way I mean to." Looking over at the other man in the room to see the fear of rejection in his eyes had Ronnie's anger deflating. Catching her attention Steve motions for her to sit down on the bed. "Ronnie, please just hear us out."
Walking over to his friend Bucky placed his hand on Steve's shoulder to get him to stop digging himself into a deeper hole. "Steve, what are you doing? She isn't ready for this conversation."
Turning to Buck she asks him incredulously, "You're telling me that you'd really be okay with me dating the both of you?" Standing up Ronnie adamantly shook her head no. "I can't do that and I refuse to choose between you two. I won't come between friends."
"Doll, calm down." Making a no gesture with his hands at his friend Steve grimaced realizing Buck didn't realize those two words never ended well for the man.
Scoffing Ronnie crossed her arms under her breasts and popped out her hip as she tilted her head. "You obviously don't understand that telling a woman to calm down will make her do the exact opposite."
His adorable half grin flashed over his face as he walked closer, marginally softening her stance. "Duly noted, doll. Still, getting all worked up isn't going to do anyone any good. Let's take a beat to figure this out calmly."
Waving her hands out to her sides before jabbing her index finger at each of them in turn. "I love you both, but I'm getting really tired of you guys telling me to calm down!"
Smiling, he stepped even closer, basically vanishing the last bit of space between them. "You love me?" Glaring at him she spoke without thinking.
"Yes, damn it. I love you, I love Steve and I like Loki, doesn't mean I'm happy about it." Seeing his happiness immediately dim it snapped her out of her tirade making her reach for him. "Buck, wait I'm sorry, I didn't mean that I regret loving you."
Taking large steps towards the door he held up his hands in a push away gesture. "No, Veronica, I get it."
Shit, this wasn't how she wanted to tell him that for the first time! Frustrated, she stalked over to him, grasped the front of his shirt and pulled him down and kissed him hard. Melting into the feel of him under her lips and her hands Ronnie wrapped her arms around his neck as he deepened the kiss. Taking control he gripped onto the back of her neck half cupping her head as he brought her up against his body and dipped his tongue into her mouth.
By the time Bucky pulled away she felt a little light headed so it took her a second to realize that as he stepped back he handed her straight into Steve's arm. It felt so natural that Ronnie raised up on tiptoe to meet his seeking lips. Like with Bucky Steve took control of their kiss only he picked her up by the back of her thighs, spreading her legs to wrap around his waist. As he licked and nipped at her lips Ronnie felt Bucky press up behind her.
Pulling away for breath Steve gripped her chin to turn her face back to Buck's silently commanding them to continue their kiss. Writhing between the men Ronnie's body throbbed as they each pressed to her core and ass. Moaning as she gasped for air she reluctantly pulled away resting her forehead against his cheek as Steve kissed along her neck. His quietly deep voice fluttered across her ear, his erection pressing against her aching clit. "See Buttercup, we can work if you give us a chance."
She couldn't think as she wondered if he was right, her brain seemed to have dumbed down several IQ points as the arousal of her body amped up. Nipping at her ear Bucky groaned as his erection pressed along the seam of her ass. "Doesn't this feel right, doll?"
To be continued...