Nine days. Ten tops.
That's what Bucky said eight days ago, eight wonderful, mind-blowing, perfect days, and Steve still cannot quite believe it. The future has never seemed bright for him before, but it does now, especially in those few, precious hours between day and night when Bucky is lying next to him in his bed, which has been theirs ever since that fateful night.

They've touched a lot in those eight days, kissed as often as possible, but talked even more about the future, the present, the past. Steve has confessed that he never thought about finding another omega, and that he would have watched Bucky find his alpha and would have tried so hard to be happy for them; he added that it would have torn him apart inside, though, just a moment afterwards. Bucky has told him that all the alphas he flirted with when he was out alone were blonde and blue-eyed, and that the alcohol sometimes had made it possible to see Steve's features in their face when he squinted.
He has told Steve with the quietest voice and the sweetest blush on his cheeks that he wants to have children one day, three, and that he wants them to look like Steve. Who rewarded him with another kiss, whispering that he'd like that, as long as their children at least have Bucky's eyes.

What they have talked most about though, is their bond, how it will feel, sharing stories they've heard from other, already bonded pairs. There aren't many, because it's such a private, intimate thing, and those they've heard differ; some say it's like love, just stronger, some say that every bond is special, different. Steve likes that thought better.
So they've spent evenings talking about how their bond could feel, if it'd be a whisper in the back of their minds, or an almost physical presence, if it would be like a ribbon tying them together or a magnetic pull which wouldn't let them stray too far.
Bucky has whispered that he doesn't care one night, their fourth one, when Steve had been moving inside him slowly, gently, and Steve kissed him and agreed. Said that he doesn't care as long as he can feel Bucky always, every moment he spends awake and asleep.

Three days ago they told Bucky that they couldn't allow him to work on the docks anymore, at least not until his heat has passed, but while Bucky complains, because they need the money, Steve is happy about Bucky not having to go there anymore, not just because it means more time to spend together, but because it means Bucky is safe. Safe and in his arms, like he should be.

Making the most out of the time together isn't hard at all, not when they have to discover each other anew, when everything is so different all of a sudden.

It's that ninth night when Bucky wakes him, eyes wide and his scent overwhelming; Steve knows what he wants to say before the words leave the other's mouth. His heat has started.
Steve's hands are shaking when he reaches out, wrapping his fingers around Bucky's and squeezing a little. Although it's too early (it can't be more than the first, thin tendrils of heat spreading through the other's body, just a beginning, and to bond, Bucky needs to be mindless with it), Steve can feel his body responding, his alpha senses tingling.
They want him to take Bucky here and now, without even asking, but Steve doesn't give in, just moves closer and wraps his arms around the omega, pulls him as close as his weak arms will let him.
"C'mon, we'll wait together."

Bucky nods against his chest, and although there is no bond between them, Steve can tell that the other is excited, but scared as well. Which is no surprise; heats are painful things, torturous, and Bucky knows that Steve won't be able to fuck him through all of it, which possibly, probably, will make it even worse when they are mated.
And yet, Bucky pulls back after a second and kisses Steve softly. There is no hint of mischief in his eyes, no hidden joke, when he pulls back, just a new, unfamiliar tenderness.
"It'll be worth it, you know that, right?", he asks, and Steve nods immediately.
"I'm just afraid I won't be able to help you enough."

It's not a new feeling, if anything, Steve thinks, it's as old as he is himself, but Bucky just smiles, lips trembling, and leans in again, just needing the contact to soothe his uselessly firing neurons.
"You will be", Bucky says, and sounds absolutely certain, not a hint of doubt in his mind and Steve believes him. "You're my alpha now."

When they were still younger and just friends, and Steve still hadn't presented, he had asked Bucky how a heat felt. The other had just laughed and told Steve not to worry, he wouldn't have to know, but Steve had asked and asked and asked again, until Bucky had given in.
It had taken a few moments until the other had come up with an answer, looking as if he was struggling not only with the words, but the feeling he wanted to describe, but then Bucky had looked up with blue, strange eyes and said, Need. It feels like you need something, like a part of you is missing. Not a limb, something far worse, and you'd do anything to get it back.

Back then, it sounded horrible, but now, when Steve thinks back to that day, the reality is even worse; Bucky is in his arms, trembling and silent, gritting his teeth and drawing each breath so deliberately as if even that was a difficult chore. He's hard, and his thighs are wet with slick, and Steve just wants to help.
During his last heats, Steve has never seen Bucky, out of obvious reasons, but he knows what it is omegas do when they're still unbounded, so Steve pries one hand off Bucky's hips (which is difficult, every muscle in his body protesting against letting go of the other) and reaches between their bodies. Maybe he can soothe at least the worst of the ache.

But Bucky doesn't let him. Gasps and reaches down, wraps his fingers around Steve's thin wrist and pulls his hand up again, placing it on his hips. "No", he mutters, moans into Steve's neck, and clings to him harder, "Don't wanna come. N-Not before you're in me."

What he means is not before we're bonded, and that takes Steve's breath away a little; he doesn't answer anything, can't. Instead just moves closer, until their chests are flush against each other's, Bucky's heart racing and Steve's trying to keep up.

They end up waiting for hours, Bucky's breath hot against Steve's skin, feeling like a plea although neither of them says many words; feeling is enough, smelling is. Because Bucky smells amazing, smells like long, too-hot afternoons spent in the sun, like lazy smiles in the morning and the life which lies ahead of them.
Every breath he takes tickles Steve's alpha instincts, makes them flare up and twist under his skin, wanting to take control; staying still is the hardest thing Steve has ever had to do, but Bucky asked him to, so he does.

And then, finally, after what feels like an eternity, Bucky pulls back, warm, soft skin brushing across Steve's arms and chest. The omega still stays close, as if it was hard to break away completely, and Steve understands, because he doesn't know if he could bear doing that, either. Being close to Bucky like this just feels too right.
Every nerve in his body is on fire, screaming at him to take what is his already, but Steve doesn't listen, instead waits for Bucky to find the words he so clearly wants to speak.

"S-Steve", the other finally mutters out, swallowing as if his mouth was too dry, his fingers brushing over the nape of Steve's neck, "Steve, I think it's-"
Bucky's voice trails off, and even in the dim light of morning, Steve can make out his blown pupils, his lips still wrapped around silent words. And really Bucky doesn't have to say more to make Steve understand anyway.

"Yeah, yes, I've got you, don't worry, I've got you", Steve whispers back without thinking, hoping that Bucky won't concentrate on the words, just the sound of his voice. Still, he doesn't quite know what to do, so Steve does what comes natural, leans in and kisses Bucky softly, just lips on lips and his hands on Bucky's chest.

Or rather, that is the plan.
The second their lips touch, though, no amount of willpower can hold Steve back anymore; he might be frail and sickly, but he is still an alpha, and Bucky is gorgeous and his and in heat. What was supposed to be gentle turns passionate, Steve's lips parting and his tongue licking into Bucky's mouth.

Before Steve can worry is this is still okay, if he is taking it too far, Bucky moans, starts kissing back messily, and oh God, he's in heaven. Without thinking, Steve moves one of his hands to Bucky's face, cupping his cheek and feeling soft, warm skin and the hint of a stubble.
His teeth are tugging on Bucky's lips, his second hand sliding around the other's body, feeling Bucky tremble under his touch; it's addictive, and Steve doesn't know if he could stop if he wanted to. If Bucky wanted him to.

Tipping Bucky back onto the bed is easy, because the other follows every small movement Steve makes, laying down and looking up at Steve with wide, desperate eyes, his lips kissed red. And Steve follows within a moment's time, settling down between Bucky's legs and taking only a moment before he captures the other's lips into another kiss.
He should ask Bucky if he wants them to do this, just to make sure, to give the omega a last chance to change his mind before he won't be able to do so anymore, but it's impossible; every time Steve tries to pull back enough, his muscles just stop moving.

So instead, he stays between Bucky's legs, his own cock hard and leaking, but although his brain is dizzy, foggy with want, Steve ignores it for now, just continues kissing Bucky. His lips, although they're already tender and swollen, then down to Bucky's neck, biting at his jaw, his pulse point.
He trails his lips over Bucky's chest, tasting skin and sweat and the sweetness of the omega's heat; even after a week of this, Steve is still amazed that he is allowed to do this now.

A mark or two join the ones already strewn across Bucky's skin (because Bucky likes to be marked, Steve has found that out quickly), red and still shiny with spit, and Steve just keeps kissing, licking, sucking. Until there are two strong hands reaching out for him, dragging him up again so Bucky can smash their lips together in the most desperate, most graceless kiss.
"Jesus, Steve, just fuck me", Bucky groans out as soon as he has pulled away enough, sliding his hands down Steve's back, over the curve of his spine to his ass, pulling him closer. Their cocks brush against each other and even the small amount of contact is almost too much, sends Steve's mind reeling and makes Bucky gasp.

If Steve could have said no before, he can't now, not when his skin is on fire (it's his rut, which has always been so soft, almost gentle, but now is so much more intense, now that Bucky is here), when every nerve is aching for the omega's touch. His omega's touch.
He kisses Bucky again, just because he can, kisses him hard and passionately and then, with shaking hands, pulls Bucky's legs up to wrap them around his waist. It's not difficult, because Bucky helps along the second he realises what Steve is doing, tightens slick thighs until they are wrapped around Steve just like the sweet, sweet scent of his heat.

For a moment, Steve just stops, doesn't move or breathe or think, just feels. Because this might just be the most important moment of his life, the most important decision, and although his body is screaming at him, wanting nothing but to bury himself in Bucky's heat, Steve refuses to let it pass without cherishing it.
So he strokes a hand down Bucky's flank, who is trembling and shivering and begging under his breath, even while he reaches down to position the head of his cock against Bucky's hole.

The other is even slicker there, hot and seemingly sucking him in; Bucky is squirming and grabbing for Steve with large hands, trying to pull him closer. Which isn't hard, because Bucky is still so much stronger, and so Steve doesn't push into him, but falls, his cock sliding into Bucky's waiting hole so easily.

The effect, though, is the same. It feels like nothing Steve has ever felt before, Bucky is hot and tight around him, slicker than ever before, but that's not what is so important, what is important is that suddenly, Steve can feel Bucky.
Not strongly, just a hint of the other's feelings, of the way he thinks and what he wants, but it's still overwhelming, more than anything he would have thought possible. Steve stills without wanting to, feels the rut fading, giving him more control of his motions and his thoughts, just stares down at Bucky and feels the omega's disbelief inside himself.

"You can…?", he still gasps out, his voice breathless because it just feels so good, and Bucky nods almost frantically, tightens his legs around Steve's waist. Pulls him closer, until Steve is buried inside the other up to the hilt.
It felt amazing before, but now it's better, because Steve can feel how good Bucky feels as well.

Slowly, because he is shaking all over, Steve pulls out, thrusts into Bucky quickly again, because moving away from the other is torture; it's neither hard nor rough, but it draws moans from both of their lips. Bucky's hands are everywhere, touching and grabbing and holding onto him, trying to pull Steve closer, who follows Bucky's silent pleas and, almost bending Bucky in half, kisses him.

It's the same as always and yet so different, even the small touch of lips, their breaths mingling, feels so much more intense now.

Steve tries his best to set a pace, but it's hard between straining muscles and rattling breaths and the overwhelming feeling of Bucky all around him, inside him, the other's presence slowly intertwining with his own. It doesn't seem to matter, though, at least not much; Bucky cants his hips up to meet every thrust Steve can give him, moans and gasps, leans up for more kisses and looks, feels, just exactly as overwhelmed as Steve does.
They move in synch so easily now, and Steve almost forgets about the pleasure coursing through his body, making his nerves sing and his skin tingle.

Their bond grows stronger with every thrust, stronger than Steve ever thought possible, although he isn't sure just why it surprises him – he should always have known that their bond wouldn't be a thin, golden necklace, a string of pearls, but a metal chain forged in the heart of a dying star.

In the back of his mind, Steve can feel Bucky's pleasure too, can feel the heat prickling on the other's skin, making him ache and want and need, can feel pleasure every touch and kiss and thrust brings and it only fuels his own lust. The rut, no matter if the frenzy of it has calmed, is making Steve a little stronger, a little more resistant, and his stubbornness and need to please Bucky does the rest; he forces himself to calm down and sets a pace which is harder than any Steve ever dared to try before, concentrates on his breathing and on Bucky's slick, tight heat all around him.

The other's eyes fly open, surprised and slightly worried (it shouldn't surprise Steve, really, Bucky is always so concerned, not even the heat could change that), Steve shuts him up with a kiss before he can even say a word. It's not at all refined, just lips against lips, teeth nibbling and Steve's tongue licking into Bucky's mouth, but it's what Steve needs right now, and just a second afterwards, he realises that Bucky does too.
With every thrust, it gets harder to concentrate, pleasure fogging Steve's mind until can hardly think, so he just lets go of all, lets himself get overwhelmed by the sensation, their growing bond and the intensity of the emotions he is feeling, both his own and the ones Bucky is projecting.

It's easy to lose himself, almost too easy, and Steve only realises that Bucky is close when the omega arches his back, rubbing the head of his cock against Steve's stomach, arms pulling him down into a messy, uncoordinated kiss which feels better than most of those they have shared already.
"Please, Steve, just…", he gasps, moans, begs, and Steve feels a wave of lust wash over him, which leaves him breathless and his mind swimming. His hands move on their own, one coming up to pinch one of Bucky's nipples, the other reaching down to wrap long artist's fingers around Bucky's cock, not even pretending he is able to stroke in time with his thrusts, instead just letting the omega fuck into his fist.

And it's enough. Only a few moments later Bucky is crying out Steve's name, spilling hot come all over Steve's hand, body arching off the mattress and into his alpha's touch. His muscles are contracting around Steve's cock, pulling him in and making liquid bliss shoot through Steve's veins, his moans mixing with Bucky's as he fucks him through his orgasm, with thrusts even sloppier than before.
Steve can feel it, the pleasure rushing through the omega's, his omega's, body, prickling on his own skin and making his muscles tense up; heat explodes in his stomach and only a few moments after Bucky has come, Steve follows.

Bucky drags him down into a kiss and Steve is moaning the other's name into his mouth, hips stuttering and thrusting as he comes deep inside of Bucky, filling him up with his come, and it feels like claiming Bucky all over.
The pleasure is making it hard to breathe, but for once in his life, Steve doesn't have the mind to worry about his asthma, his health, just rides out his aftershocks and feels Bucky all around him, warm and comforting and his.

But then the pleasure fades, and, while the rut slowly gives him back his body, Steve notices that he is shaking, trembling all over. His arms give out, let him fall down on Bucky's chest, and Steve is terrified, because there is an attack coming, some kind of attack, which he doesn't know, and it could be worse than his asthma, his weak heart, it could kill-

"Shhhh, c'mon, breathe for me, Steve, just breathe, okay?" Bucky's arms are around him, holding him tightly, he can feel his heart beat and through their bond – which is still the most amazing thing, the best thing Steve has ever felt – Bucky is sending something sweet, something calming. Affection, reassurance, love.
And it works, because Steve's breathing slows down, becomes more regular, steadier, and Bucky's hands are still rubbing those familiar circles on his chest.
"I've got you", Bucky breathes out and Steve nods weakly, presses a kiss to Bucky's collarbone.

Bucky's heat isn't over, he is well aware of that, but Steve is still glad for the few moments it has released Bucky from its grip, because he needs to share this new, sweet thing between them, this bond, with the omega.
"I can feel you", Steve mutters the other's skin, still overwhelmed, and Bucky tightens his arms around him as a response, presses a kiss to the top of Steve's head. It's the wrong way around, he is aware of that, and fairly certain that Bucky knows it too, but Steve doesn't mind it much, not when Bucky's arms feel so right around him. And really, they've always been an odd couple.

"Me too", Bucky answers a moment too late, and he sounds amazed, incredulous, like he cannot quite believe it. Steve understands. "Inside me. Like you're…. like there is something which is me inside my chest and you're right beside it."
Steve nods, slowly, painfully tears himself away from the other's warmth so he can look at Bucky. There are the first signs of the heat returning, his pupils blown wide and his cheeks flushed, but Steve ignores them for now, just leans up to kiss Bucky's lips, slowly but still licking into the omega's mouth. It's their first kiss as a properly mated couple, and it's nothing short of perfect.

And it's unintentional, it really is, because their bond is still strengthening and Steve hasn't really had time to figure it out, but when he pulls back, Bucky is looking up at him with wide, beautiful, tender eyes; Steve only notices that he has sent all the love, all the affection he feels for the other through their bond, when Bucky's eyes go wider still.
He gasps, makes the sweetest little sound, and then, no matter if intentional or not, sends back what feels like more love than Steve's body can hold, bright and warm and intense; it feels like Bucky has laid the world at his feet, and, even more importantly, himself with it.

Bucky's heat lasts for another two days.
Steve tries his best, but cannot fuck Bucky through it like he'd need it; instead he offers his fingers and hands and mouth, makes his mate come again and again until Bucky finally sinks back onto the sheets, lying on his side, spent and pliant and still smiling.
And this time, they do it right, Steve pulling Bucky close and closer until he can nuzzle the other's neck, one of his arms carelessly thrown over Bucky's waist, the other pillowing his own cheek. He can't see his omega's face like this, but the proximity, and the bond – which has grown so strong that Steve almost thinks he can see it from time to time, feel it tangled around him and pulling him closer to Bucky all the time – make up for it.

"Never thought this would happen", Bucky mutters, and pulls Steve's arm tighter around himself. He sounds half-asleep already, and Steve can't blame him; they haven't slept more than a few hours in those last days. "You. Me. Bonded. Feels like a dream, not like real life."
"I know", Steve replies softly, nuzzles Bucky's shoulder and breathes in his smell. Maybe he is imagining it, but he thinks that it has changed a little, has become a little sweeter, a little stronger. "You're too good to be true."

He means it, but Bucky just chuckles, even if he does pull Steve's hand up to press a kiss to his palm. "You're such a sap", he replies, but there is a smile in his voice, and nothing but warmth and affection coming through their bond.
"Says the man who talks about this being a dream. Says the man who called me beautiful half an hour before", Steve teases right back; Bucky makes a small, indignant sound.
"I did not."
"Oh, you so did. Steve, so beautiful, oh, you're so good. And all that just because I had your dick in my mouth." He's never been too good with impersonations, but it's enough for now, enough to make Bucky laugh. And then go quiet.
"You are, though", Bucky breathes out, the words hardly even making the word stir. "I mean it. Even without my dick in your mouth."

The words shouldn't mean that much, but they do, because Steve is too thin and frail and sickly; he's exactly what an alpha should not be, but that doesn't matter as long as Bucky wants him. Thinks him beautiful.
"You are beautiful, Buck. The most beautiful omega I've ever seen. Beta. Alpha. Whatever. The most beautiful person." He squeezes Bucky's fingers, fits his body even closer to the other's, their legs tangled. "Inside and out."

"Sap", Bucky answers, but he sounds touched, and he sounds happy, and that's the most important thing.
"Shut up and go to sleep. You know you love it." Steve lets his own eyes slide shut, because he is exhausted and feels like he could sleep for a year, breathes in Bucky's scent and feels how it calms him down. Feels their bond pulsing between them in the same rhythm as Steve's heart.
"You're lucky I do." Bucky sounds like he is almost asleep already, his voice warm and soft and content; it makes Steve smile and nuzzle the omega's neck, prompting a sleepy little chuckle.
"Yeah… yeah, I am."