Synopsis: Bucky, Steve, and reader in the '20/'30/'40s. May do a couple of parts??? Let me know.
"Why won't you just leave me alone?" you growled at the boys in the alley.
"Just let us walk you home. That's all," one of them insisted.
You knew it was more than that, and you wanted no part of it whatsoever.
You could tell by looking at the way they walked and talked that they weren't made of good character.
Your father, before he died, taught you two things that he said would be important. One, how to judge good character and to be a good person yourself, and two, self-defense, even though it was considered 'unladylike' for a woman to do so.
"No," you replied, deadly serious. You were much shorter than these guys, but you hoped that your boldness would make up for that.
"I'm afraid you don't have a choice, lady," the biggest guy said, coming close to you. His breath was hot on your face.
He grabbed you by your wrists. You raised your foot in the air and slammed the heel of your shoe into his foot, causing him to cry out in pain and release you from his grasp.
His gang shuffled in nervousness.
"Don't just stand there!" The leader screamed. The boys were knocked out of their daze and ran towards you.
"Great," you mumbled, you wouldn't be able to handle these guys on your own. Still, you made do with your shoes, slipping them off your feet and using them as a weapon. Heels were a pain, but when you travelled alone, you always made sure you had a pair on your feet.
However, shoes weren't going to get you far. A arm grasped around your neck in a headlock, and every move you made caused his grip to tighten. You coughed, trying to suck in air to avoid passing out.
"Yeah, you better stay still," he snarled.
"Yeah," a new voice joined as the guy holding you crumpled to the ground, "You better stay still."
You, unfortunately, got crushed by the guy who fell. The guy who helped you, though, rolled the guy off of you.
You heaved in air as your body ached.
"Are you okay, Miss?" the man asked, offering you a hand up. You gladly accepted it, stumbling to your feet. The man had dark hair and was accompanied by a shorter man with blond hair.
"Yeah," you coughed. "I'm fine, but my mother will kill me for ruining this outifit and set of shoes."
"Eh, just wait until she hears how you held your own against those guys, and she'll forgive you. Where did you learn how to fight like that?" the blond asked.
"My father, before he died. My mother works as a nurse now. She sent me to pick up some produce until those guys interrupted me," you told them, gesturing to the knocked out guys lying around the alley. "Thank you, by the way."
Your mother would have scolded you for telling these strangers those things, but you trusted them.
"No problem. The name's Bucky," get said, holding out his hand for a shake.
You turned to the shorter one and held out your hand. For some reason, a look of surprise spread across his face.
"I'm... Steve," he said, returning the handshake.
"(Y/N)," you smiled.
"Do you want us to walk you home?" Bucky offered.
Your smile faltered. Had you been to quick to trust?
"Is something wrong?" Steve asked.
"No, it's just those guys asked me the same thing. Besides, I have to get the produce still."
"How about we come with you, and if you want us gone, you say the word and we're out of there. Plus, you might need two bodyguards out there," Bucky promised.
You weren't exactly sure how Steve would be able to defend you, but these people seemed trustworthy and friendly. You needed the company.
"Fine. But no getting distracted."
~~~~~
You three got very distracted. Somehow, Bucky managed to find all the free sample tables and all of the sales in the market place. It was incredible though, how he managed to see all of it. Either you were too rushed to notice or didn't care enough to visit the tables.
"Guys," you said, biting a piece of chocolate bar the two bought for you. "This is great and all, but I've been away from home for two hours and I still haven't gotten what I initially needed to get."
Honestly, though, you probably weren't even hungry for dinner after everything you had eaten for free in the market.
"Relax, I got you everything you needed while we were roaming around the market," Bucky said.
Alas, when you turned around to look at him, he was holding a bag full of produce.
"Bucky, you didn't have to pay for everything!"
He shrugged. "You allowed us to accompany you this afternoon. It was the least I could do."
"Thanks..." you said, still in disbelief. You gratefully took the bag from his hands.
"Fresh flowers for a discount!" a man advertised from a couple stands over.
"Can we check them out?" you asked Steve and Bucky.
"Lead the way," Steve said.
It wasn't hard to find the stand. It's bright colors and wonderful aromas danced through the air.
"Which one is your favorite?" Steve asked you.
You scrunched your eyebrows together in thought. How could you chose just one?
"This one," you said, pointing to the (Y/F/C) flower on the stand.
Steve handed the man some money and handed you the flower.
"Aw, come on, man!" Bucky complained. "Now I've got to by the lady one, too."
"No you, don't--"
You were cut off by him handing you another of your favorite flowers.
"Guys, you have to stop buying me things. You did enough earlier by helping me out of that tangle with those guys in the alley."
"Fine. We won't buy you anything else," Bucky promised.
"Good. All I want to do is hang out with you guys."
Steve gave a lopsided smile. "You hardly know us."
"True," you agreed, "but in that amount of time you've made me want to be friends with you guys for awhile."
"It's been a fun couple of hours," Bucky agreed.
You widened your eyes. You totally forgot that you were supposed to be home an hour ago.
"My mother is going to kill me twice! I've ruined my clothes and now I'm late!"
"Hop on my back," Bucky said, leaning over so you could crawl onto his back.
"Are you sure?" you hesitated. You had no doubt that Bucky was strong, but it had been a long day and your house was about two miles away.
"I'm sure. Steve will carry the groceries."
"Race?" Steve asked.
"Only if you're willing to be beat," Bucky answered.
"It's on," Steve grinned as he wrapped the bag of produce around his shoulders. You climbed onto Bucky's back.
"I'll tell you guys which way to go. And, please, don't run into anyone," you said, glancing at the busy streets.
"GO!" Bucky yelled with no warning, causing you to tighten your grasp around Bucky's shirt.
"I'm not going to drop you. Relax."
You loosened your grip but didn't let go.
Steve and Bucky were a lot faster than you expected them to be. Besides, both of them carried extra weight.
"This is it," you told them, surprised at how short the trip was. You slid off of Bucky's back and took your produce back. "I'll see you around, I hope?"
"Bucky and I know where you live now, so you'll be hanging out with us pretty soon."
"If you ever need anything, let us know, doll," Bucky said, giving you a soft hug.
"Like paying for my groceries?" you grinned, walking up to your front door.
"Yep."
You waved and stepped through the door.
"Do I want to know why you're covered and dirt and your shoes are broken?" your mother immediately asked, grabbing the groceries out of your hands.
"Probably not."
"I do want to know who those two gentlemen are, though."
You laughed at your mother's prying. "Friends."
"Good friends, I hope?"
"Yeah," you responded. "Probably the best ones I'll ever find."