A/N
Thanks for the comments and subs and kudos and what have you, guys! They mean a lot!
Not too much happens, but think of it like the calm before the storm.
Kat was just as relieved to see leave as any of the men. She hadn't been off the warfront for six months at least if she was counting correctly, and it was beginning to wear on her. She was grateful that she'd found Bucky and Steve here - they kept her going when she really just wanted to take a long sit. Debbie, too - a little feminine company was desperately needed every now and then.
She spent the first hour of the trip back through the forests towards England reading all the letters her family had sent her over the months, and wondered if there would be anything new waiting for her in England. She hoped so. She missed her parents and brothers terribly sometimes, even if she was glad that they were very far away from the things she saw weekly, sometimes daily.
For once they were moving into their own territory, and they made good time toward the nearest town with a train station, energized by the prospect of leave. Bucky walked toward the rear, making sure to keep the slower ones moving, and occasionally rotating wounded or exhausted men to ride on one of the jeeps. The conditions on the roads meant that the lighter the vehicles were, the better they moved, so the men took turns walking. He didn't tire anymore under most circumstances, not physically at least, so he kept them moving without too much effort. Occasionally he looked up to where Steve was doing much the same at the front, keeping the eyes of the men (and women) forward, keeping their spirits up. The contrast and similarities struck him as amusing, and oddly appropriate. Steve, all energy and clean smiles and good faith, and him at the rear with a firm hand and a strong arm to keep the stragglers moving. They made for a good team, and it sat well with him.
The journey took a couple of days, but even that felt like leave to most of them, as tired as everyone was. Kat had gotten a brief break around six months ago, when Steve had liberated the majority of the men from the 107th who had been behind enemy lines, but that had been a week in some hospital in England, working to keep the more injured of the men alive. She'd gotten one night off, meant to be spent at one of the pubs the rest of the unit had filed into, but she'd spent it sleeping instead. She understood why she'd been needed - they were never in an abundance of nurses. Still, this meant her excitement for the coming week or so was palpable as she stepped off the ship and onto dry (well, damp and muddy) land, arm in arm with Debbie, though her head was craning for Bucky or Steve, hoping to make some sort of plan to meet later. Debbie chuckled by her side, and she felt an elbow nudge into her ribs.
"He's behind us, Kit-Kat," Debbie informed her slyly, leaning in to give the information with the new nickname she'd come up with on the first leg of the journey. Kat thought there were worse things to be compared to than chocolate confectionery. She also knew that Debbie was referring to Bucky - she hadn't told Debbie about Steve's inclusion. Debbie gossiping about her and Bucky could only hurt Kat - Debbie gossiping about Bucky and her and Steve? That would draw much more trouble than she could risk.
Still, she wasn't going to make it easy on her friend. "Who?" She asked, raising her eyebrows at the blonde curiously. Debbie elbowed her again, harder. "Ow, okay. I'm trying not to be too obvious. Clingy. You know."
"Oh, honey. You're already obvious -" Kat gave her a hell of a look, and Debbie raised her free hand in surrender. "Alright! Not that obvious!"
"So," Debbie pressed as they walked. "Are you actually planning on sleeping at the nurse's quarters with me? Or should I just resign myself to a lonely leave?" She pouted playfully.
"Say it louder, why don't you!" Kat shushed, making big eyes at Deb. "I'll make no promises, anyway. Plus, I have no idea if this..." she waved her hand a little, looking for a word, and landed on, "thing, with Bucky carries here, so, who knows," she finished, shrugging slightly.
"Mhm..." Debbie hummed, not sounding like she believed a word Kat was saying. She nodded toward the waiting city. "Well then, why don't you go ask your boy for an escort? I want to explore."
"By yourself or with me and him? If it's the latter I think you've lost your mind," she snorted, well aware that given the freedom of not being in the middle of enemy territory and military rank, she was probably going to look a little foolish in her eagerness to be around Bucky (or Steve; though she'd have to be careful there). Still, she looked around again, twisting further this time to find Bucky walking a hundred yards back, listening to something Pinkerton was rattling off about, though he looked distracted. She hoped he couldn't hear her and Debbie's conversation.
"With you and him, of course!" she protested. "You expect me to wander around London unescorted? Come on, Kat, let's explore a little before I lose your attention entirely. Please?"
"God, fine," Kat rolled her eyes, though she was smiling. "Your boring funeral." She turned and waved at Bucky, hopping once a little.
"If he's so boring, why are you so eager to spend time with him?" Debbie asked with a smirk. "See if he can bring Captain Rogers along. Maybe you can set us up," she teased.
"He's not, I'm going to be," she laughed, shaking her head as Bucky failed to pick up on her wave, and hopped again. "He's a delight - he'll distract me to stupidity, you'll have to carry the conversation. You know. I'm drunk on it, Debbie, you know how it is! And," she paused, trying not to give anything away, either as gossip fuel or something that would risk their careers. "Steve's got someone, I heard. What about Jones, though, huh? He's cute!"
"Does he? Drat," Debbie sighed. "Of course he does." Bucky saw Kat and started wading through the crowd toward them. "Jones is alright, but he isn't Captain America."
"Yeah, I know what you mean," Kat said absently, trying not to put the feeling she wanted to into the words. She wanted to grab Debbie's shoulder and tell her Believe me, I Get It, wanted to share on that one night she'd gotten with Steve and Bucky both, but a secret was best kept. It wasn't too hard to fake distraction with Bucky getting closer, a smile appearing on her face without her noticing.
Debbie kept an amused eye on her as Bucky finally reached them. "Hello girls," he said with a grin that had a little of his pre-captivity lightness to it. "How was your trip?"
"Oh, not so bad - better now," Kat beamed, a bounce in her step as they walked. She wasn't sure where they were all headed - barracks maybe - but she didn't care at the moment. "Yours?"
"Better now, yeah," he said with a grin. "Company makes all the difference, and you two lovely ladies are far better company than any of those blokes. Still, it sounds like everyone is going to find a bar. Do you want to join the crowd? Or find somewhere else?"
"I think Debbie wanted to explore a little, though I don't know if the bar has changed her mind at all," Kat said, looking over at her friend with a slight lift of her eyebrows in question. She was up for anything involving Bucky, who she hadn't gotten to see all that much during the journey here. She wished they could involve Steve without making it out to be a setup for Debbie - which would only lead to a sore heart for her friend and an awkward date for Steve - but it was possible he was off coordinating where they were all staying, anyway. She couldn't spot his tall figure in the crowd, but she wasn't particularly well equipped for it.
"The bar sounds like a good start," Debbie agreed with a smile. "It will be nice to have a cold beer for a change. I never have gotten used to it warm."
Bucky smiled, and crooked both arms in a friendly offer. "Shall we, then, ladies?"
Kat and Debbie shared a smile together that communicated the shared experience of appreciating Barnes' charm, and both hooked their arms with his.
Kat and Debbie both got quite drunk - Bucky never seemed to lose his head, despite the number of beers he disappeared - but Kat supposed that was the serum, like Steve. She didn't comment on it, but Debbie noticed.
"Why are you- why are you so sober," she'd demanded, leaning against Bucky's side and peering up into his face, and Kat had appeared to the rescue, pulling Debbie away a little.
"Debbie, you're soused. He's drunk! Just look at him!" Kat said forcefully, holding a hand out towards Bucky like it proved her point. It did, however, work on Debbie.
Bucky walked her and Debbie back to the quarters that had been set up for the only two women in the unit, which ended up being a small townhouse shared with a couple other nurses on leave who were in the other bedroom. Bucky waited outside on the sidewalk for Kat to put Debbie to bed in the low bunk and then she grabbed her bag and met Bucky out front again, a smile on her tipsy face in the dim light afforded by the streetlights.
"I brought my bag. I figure telling Debbie and the others I crashed on the couch with a couple of my friends is less suspicious than when it's just you and me in your tent, right?" She chuckled, voice quiet. "Steve's got that squeaky clean reputation, after all."
"His place is only a few blocks away," he agreed with a smile, reaching out to take her bag. "He gave me the address before he disappeared to do whatever the big whigs needed him for." He slung her pack over his shoulder with his and offered her his arm. "Come on, let's go see where they put up the golden boy."
She took his arm with a grin and a wobble on tipsy feet, and let him lead the way. "I'm excited. Do you think he gets a balcony? Or something else silly that officers get?"
"I have no idea," he said with a laugh. "But it's an apartment with a kitchenette, which is a good start. The perks of being Captain America." They turned down the next street as he glanced at street signs, navigating based on what Steve had told him.
Kat gave a dreamy sigh at that information, though she'd brought her bag only intending to stay the night, unsure how welcome she was to stay longer than that. That, and she wasn't sure if someone would notice, or say something. But god... a kitchenette. A place to brew coffee. A functioning SINK. "The perks of knowing Captain America," she suggested, chuckling.
They passed a few other people in the dim, cool evening - a few lone men and one other couple, who were too busy with each other to cast any glances their way. Kat leaned in tighter to Bucky as they passed another pub, this one filled with rowdy soldiers, just like the one they'd left, though these she didn't know. When they were past, she relaxed a little again.
It was starting to get dark, and pubs and shops were closing shutters and doors to contain light as blackout approached. They reached the apartment building as the first streetlights - covered to shine down - were flickering on, and Bucky pushed the door open, guiding them to the stairs up.
Kat found herself in the front, Bucky a guiding presence against her back, and when he nudged her to a stop in front of the right door, she knocked crisply. Steve opened the door a moment later, a smile coming onto his face as he saw the two of them huddled in his doorway. "Come in, come in," he grinned, stepping back to let them enter.
They stepped inside, and Bucky shut the door before turning to look around. The apartment wasn't huge- a small sitting area and kitchenette, with a bedroom visible through one door and a bathroom through the other- but it was the height of luxury compared to months in the field. There wasn't a balcony, but there was a double window, currently tightly shuttered.
"Jeez, this place is great!" Kat said enthusiastically, in complete agreement with Bucky on this being miles better than a slightly muddy tent in the middle of the woods. "Oh my god, radiators," she gasped, walking over to stand by the nearest heater, holding her hands over the painted metal ridges, groaning at the heat it put off. "This is heaven. You'll never get me back in the field - I've decided I'm deserting."
Steve laughed, walking over to the kitchenette to fill up a glass of water and bringing it over to Kat, who, in her tipsiness, seemed to agree that maybe she did need to hydrate before she was hungover tomorrow, and drank heartily. "You better not desert. I don't know the good doctor Herman well enough to have to explain half his staff went missing," he retorted, and then looked over at Bucky. "You can put down the bags by the bedroom door if you want, Buck."
"Yeah, on it," Bucky said, dumping the bags unceremoniously by the mentioned door. There wasn't anything in there that could break, god knew. He looked around. "It is nice though," he agreed. "Could probably go shirtless without freezing my nipples off in here." He glanced at Steve, and smirked when he blushed.
"Yeah, definitely," she agreed, setting aside her water. Steve rolled his eyes at the team-up.
"Yeah, yeah - sit, you freaks. You guys want coffee, or is it too late for caffeine?"
"Coffee," they both said, though Bucky beat Steve to the kitchenette, waving him off as he caught up. "You sit. You make shit coffee, Rogers," he scolded, opening cabinets to find the things he was looking for and finding them well-stocked.
Steve hip-checked Bucky in retort but went to go sit in the attached living room, sinking onto one of the couches, next to Kat, who had made her way there a second ago. "I just want to say.." Kat hummed, leaning her head back in the cushions and enjoying the ceiling tilting a little. "..that it's very nice that I don't have to make the coffee all the time. If ever," she added, holding a finger up, ostensibly at herself. She giggled. Steve chuckled a little.
"You're welcome. Can't exactly buy you dinner out in the field, but we can make coffee, at least. My Ma would be rolling in her grave if I made any bigger of a dunce out of myself, covered in blood and dirt and trying to talk to a woman anyways," Steve snorted, shaking his head at himself slightly. Kat looked a little pink-cheeked.
"You're saying you'd buy me dinner?"
"Of course he'd buy you dinner!" Bucky crowed. "He's a star-spangled patriot."
"Shut up, Buck," Steve muttered, not bothering to turn his glance away from Kat. "Yes. I would. I'd ask, anyway."
Kat's cheeks were pretty pink, and she looked both embarrassed and pleased. "Well, that's nice to hear," she smiled, hands clasped tight in her lap, the back of her neck hot from the beers. Just the beers, she hoped. "I'd probably say yes. I mean, I don't know, I'd have to check my schedule," she added, chuckling.
Steve felt a smirk come onto his face, and he was about to reply when there was a knock at the door. He frowned a little, standing. "Let me get that, could be important," he said, his Captain voice sliding into place by the end of the sentence, standing and heading over to the door with a glance back at Bucky. He pulled open the door without bothering to look through the peephole - only the higher-ups and Bucky knew where he was staying, so far, and was shocked with the sight of Peggy standing on the other side. He stood up a little straighter without thinking about it, clearing his throat hard.
"Hey, Peggy. What's going on?"
Peggy smiled, her eyes warm, a touch uncertain. They hadn't parted on the best terms. "I heard you were in town... I thought I'd stop by and say hello." She glanced past him as her eyes caught movement, and caught a glimpse of Kat. She stiffened almost imperceptibly, but then seemed to resign herself. "But I see you have company. Sorry to bother you, I should have called ahead."
Steve floundered internally for a second past what was considered awkward, trying to land on what to do - and then his strategic side kicked in, and he turned a little, looking over his shoulder. "Bucky, Kat, I'll be a minute," he said, purposefully making sure Peggy knew Bucky was there too. As far as his unit knew, it was a meeting with his friend and his friend's girl, who he was himself friends with, and Peggy should be under the same impression. Then he stepped out of the apartment, shutting the door behind him. "Just a friendly gathering," Steve shrugged, lying as best as his meager abilities allowed. "But we can catch up before they need something...?"
She looked him over, studying his face. He was a shit liar, but she wasn't sure what about yet. "Alright. How have you been? I've been following your reports... But how are you ?"
Steve took a moment to actually ask himself that question before answering, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm... I'm as good as I can be, I think. I've been looking out for Bucky, and he's got Kat now. I think she's good for him. So, besides the fact there's a war going on..." He shook his head a little, hands going to his hips. "I don't know. I'm better than okay. I'm fine, certainly. What about you?"
Her expression softened just slightly when he mentioned Bucky. The 107th had been through too much, and from the reports, Barnes had gotten rougher treatment than most. "I'm alright," she said with a small shrug. "They won't let me near the action nearly so much as I'd like or as would be practical. When I can't get out, I've been operating from behind the lines, pushing paperwork, but when I can I've been surveying captured German bases to see what I can learn." None of it was technically a lie, though the SSR meant she was on the front lines a touch more than she'd let on, and that occasionally the German bases weren't captured quite yet when she arrived.
Steve nodded, smiling a little, somewhat awkwardly. "Good. I'm glad they're not stifling you completely, even if it's still too much."
She nodded. "I'll manage. So... Bucky and Ms. Lewis... How long has that been going on?" She glanced back toward the door, though she kept him in the corner of her eye. The reports that came across her desk kept her well informed on the small little unit's names.
"A couple months, I think?" He said, glancing up at the ceiling in thought. He shrugged. "I'm not sure. They're not exactly advertising it, but I think most of the camp knows something is going on."
That, at least, was true, though he was clearly still nervous, avoiding her gaze, his ears tinted a bit pink. "And what about you?" she asked, returning her full gaze to his face. "Seeing anyone?"
Steve did his darnedest not to squirm as he tried to think of a way to say no without lying. "Me? Who would I see?" He settled on, and cursed himself for it. "I- I'm pretty busy, anyways, with the war, and the fighting..."
Peggy watched him squirm, tried to figure out why he seemed so uncomfortable. "Steve... It's alright. I figured that... Well. I know you have other interests. I have no intention of holding that against you. So who is it?"
Steve's neck was red, but he was hoping that it was too dim in here for Peggy to tell. He was stiff now, conflicted and unsure. He liked Peggy - had, for a while, considered trying to make something with her. But then she'd walked in on that agent kissing him behind the bookshelves, and he'd rekindled something with Bucky, and found that he was just as interested in Kat... He wanted to tell her the truth. He knew he was a terrible liar, anyways, and Peggy was a woman of incredible integrity. He glanced at the door to the apartment, wishing he could ask Bucky and Kat what he should do. "It's really... It's not happening," he shook his head, looking at Peggy again. "Who would I see? I'm..." He cringed slightly, even as he said, "I'm not looking for anything."
He wanted to be straight with her, but it was hard to protect Bucky (and Kat, to a lesser degree, in terms of consequences from someone like Colonel Phillips finding out about them) while giving away their secrets.
Peggy had given up on being confused and moved on to investigation mode. She watched his movements, listened to his tone and his pauses, watched his breathing, his nervous swallowing, his glance-
The glance, in the end, started the pieces falling together.
Kat, clearly. But Kat was with Bucky. All of her contacts in the 107th- and there were many- had told her as much. Had she seen Bucky when she'd looked into the room she wouldn't have ever made her initial assumption, but he'd been in the kitchenette, out of sight.
So Kat, but Kat was with Bucky... Two-timing then?
But no, that would be too simple, and she knew better.
The pieces slotted into place and created a picture she never would have considered an hour ago. Her gaze sharpened with interest, and she sought Steve's eyes, confirming her suspicions. She found certainty in his uncertainty, and nodded just a little.
Steve's eyes widened a little as Peggy nodded not a nod of letting go, but a nod of... understanding . Steve wasn't a great liar, but he could read people well enough. It was what made him a decent leader. "Peg," he started, his voice hushed now, his shoulders tense, "I- no one can know. Please."
"Honestly, Steve," she scoffed dismissively. "You know what I do. I can, at the very least, keep something under my hat." She looked back to the door with curiosity now. "Are you happy?"
Steve relaxed a little, for the first time in the conversation. "Yes," he said, simply, quietly. "It's... Not the easiest arrangement to have, considering.. you know," he shrugged, referring to both his relationship with Bucky and the number of them not exactly being conducive to settling down openly. "But for there being a war on... I don't think I've ever been better. Maybe the war is even part of it. I'm making a difference." And despite the horrible things he saw weekly, the bodies of crushed civilians in tank-trampled villages, the sickening feeling of a body breaking on the other side of his shield... He was fighting bullies, and he was healthy, and he had Bucky and now Kat, too. Sickly Steve scraping by in New York, being beaten up in alleyways, stuffing newspapers in his shoes, watching his best friend and first love go off to face death alone... He couldn't have been happy like that. How twisted, to find happiness like this. But it was happiness.
She nodded, watching as- for the first time since she'd arrived- he told the truth. "Good," she said quietly. "I'm glad. It isn't... Conventional. But neither are you." She looked past him to the door again. "Keep them safe, Steve. Keep you safe. I don't want to see you hurt, any of you."
It was both very strange and somehow oddly fitting to get a shortened and kinder version of the shotgun talk from Peggy of all people. He chuckled a little, rubbing the back of his neck. "That's the plan. Keep everybody safe." His hand dropped back to his side. "Thank you," he said, softly, sincerely. "For understanding."
She gave him a tired smile. "You aren't difficult to understand, Steve. You're a good man. That's simple." She stepped back, nodding toward the stairwell. "I should go."
He nodded a little, sliding his hands in his pockets. "Alright. Need a walk to your car?" He knew she didn't. She knew he knew. He offered anyway.
She shook her head. "No, I'm fine." She turned and headed to the stairwell, opened the door, and turned back. "You still owe me a dance," she said with a smirk.
"You got it," he agreed, chuckling again. "The unit is meeting at some pub tomorrow - something with Lion in the name? If you're not busy...?" He was much more relaxed, now that he didn't have to lie. Damn but he hated lying.
"I ship out tomorrow at 0600," she said with an apologetic shrug. "But soon."
"Oh, okay," Steve nodded. "Well, if plans change..."
She smiled a little more. "If plans change I'll ask around for the pub with the Lion in the name and check all two dozen of them to find you all," she teased.
Steve chuckled, shaking his head sheepishly. "Alright. Good luck on your mission, Peg."
Bucky and Kat stepped away from the door with the abrupt disruption of eavesdroppers when Steve opened it. "Well?" Bucky asked, unashamed. "What did she say? This door is surprisingly soundproof."
Steve rolled his eyes in exasperation. "You, too, Lewis? I mean, I expect it from him," he pointed briefly at Bucky, and Kat chuckled into her hand, looking just a little sheepish. Then he took a deep breath. "She guessed about us. I'm not great at hiding anything from Peggy, and it doesn't hurt she knows me pretty well," Steve said with a wince, rubbing the back of his neck again like it would solve anything. Kat looked less sheepish now and more alarmed.
"Do we need to be worried? Do you think she'll say something?"
"No," Bucky said with more confidence than he felt. "She's not the kind of woman to let the rules get in the way of what she thinks is right, and she cares about Steve. We aren't hurting anyone. If she has a problem with us, she'll tell us herself."
Steve nodded. "What Buck said. She's a good woman, in more ways than the government tells her to be." Kat nodded a little, looking less alarmed but still like she might want to sit.
"Come on," Bucky said, walking over to the kitchen. "Coffee." Steve followed with a sigh, and nodded, pulling out mugs. "So then," Bucky said. "That does beg the question- is there officially an 'us'?"
Steve and Kat both looked at each other like they expected the other to answer, and then at Bucky, like maybe the answer would come from him, but nobody said anything for a long moment, until Kat broke in, just before Steve was breathing in to break the silence somehow, "Yes. Yes, right? I mean, I know we can't make it obvious and we should probably have a discussion about how exactly we want to go about being in public together... But yes, right?" She looked between the two of them, looking like she was trying very hard to be steady, but her uncertainty was peeking out.
"I think yes," Bucky said with a nod, glancing at Kat with an encouraging smile. "I don't want to give either of you up." He looked to Steve, who let out a small laugh. "I guess that's that, then."
"Well, good," Kat smiled, adjusting her skirt a little as her confidence came back. "I'd hate to have been lying when I told Debbie Steve had his eye on someone else," she added, and chuckled a little, rubbing her eyes. Then she pointed at the kettle. "Coffee, please, I'm begging you. Your little ol' regular human here needs caffeine to keep this night going."
"Coffee," Bucky agreed with a smile, taking the mugs from Steve and starting to fill them. There was milk - unspoiled, surprisingly - in the little fridge, but - unsurprisingly - no sugar. He added milk to his and Steve's cups, and glanced at Kat, raising the carton a bit with a questioning eyebrow.
"Yes, please, the less bitter in my coffee the better," Kat said effusively, excited about the prospect of more coffee in her life that wasn't jet black.
He lightened her cup significantly and slid it over, returning the carton to the fridge and retrieving his and Steve's drinks, handing the lighter one to the taller man. He knew how he liked it.
Bucky took a long sip as he walked back into the living space, considering the couch for an almost-curious moment before sitting down slowly. He let out an obscene moan. "Fuck. Cushioned seats. I've missed you so."
Kat had to work not to snort any of her coffee, but then said, "I was too tipsy earlier to really appreciate them. Scoot over." She ordered, walking over and sinking into the seat with a slow breath. Steve smirked, and walked over to nudge Kat's leg.
"You both scoot. I bet we can fit three on this thing."
"Maybe," Kat said mock-doubtfully, "But I don't think the couch will like it."
"No one said it had to," Steve said, lifting Kat up effortlessly as Bucky shifted over, and depositing her half in his friend's lap before sitting in the freed space, small though it was. Bucky laughed, his arms wrapping around Kat's waist.
She laughed as she was manhandled into Bucky's lap, and laughed harder when Steve sat and the couch groaned (but thankfully held). Somehow, she managed not to spill her coffee in the movement, though she was careful not to squirm too much without knowing where Bucky's own mug was. "So," she said when she got her breath back, "I'm crashing here, right? I do not feel like walking back through London in the dark to the nurses' quarters."
"Yes," Bucky and Steve said at once. "We can sleep out here if you want the bed," Steve offered.
"Or we could pull the cushions off of the couch and the mattress off of the bed, and all pile together," Bucky suggested.
"Oh Steve, you're such a gentleman," Kat chuckled, reaching with her free hand to grasp Steve's for a second, squeezing in appreciation, before letting go and twisting to point at Bucky. "We're doing that. Maybe we can drag them into the bedroom, so someone knocking early wouldn't immediately see our pillow fort?"
"Good plan," he agreed, smiling. "Probably not the height of all that is moral and proper."
"Don't remind me, please, I'm only just barely rationalizing this whole situation," she snorted in dry amusement. Steve nodded a little. He knew what she meant. He'd grown up Irish Catholic - the guilt and denial he'd felt when he first realized he was head over heels for Bucky had been hard to work through. And he still had his faith... But there were things that priests and scripture couldn't tell you, and Bucky was one of them. He didn't know what the future was, with the three of them, but he knew it might be difficult.
He was a strategist, or, his late mother would say, an over-thinker, so it was in his nature to look ahead. What would happen, once the war ended, if they all decided they wanted to keep what they had? There was no court of law he knew of that would bind together three people, and even then they would know about him and Bucky... Maybe Kat could marry Bucky, and they could share a house, pretend Steve was a bachelor - it was a role Steve was used to for sure... He was brought out of his thoughts by Kat, who had apparently drained the rest of her coffee and leaned forward to put the empty mug on the coffee table, only Bucky was making it difficult for her for his own amusement, which she had picked up, laughing and squirming. "Bucky!"
"Here," Steve said with a laugh, taking the mug and setting it on the table.
"Spoilsport," Bucky groused, hauling Kat back into his lap with a triumphant grin.
She squeaked the sort of squeak that indicated she was having a good time and not at all offended, though she reached back and lightly flicked Bucky's shoulder, playfully. " Thank you, Steve. We might've been at it all night otherwise," she grinned in amusement. "How's it feel, seeing two of the most stubborn people in the U.S. army? Oh.. wait.." she held a hand up to her chin in mock-serious thought, her brows furrowed in concentration. "I think I also know how it feels..."
"I think we're all at a draw for that particular honor," Bucky said with a laugh. "But at least I've got the best view."
"How's that?" Kat asked. "The back of my head more attractive than I realized?" She smirked, and Steve snorted a little into his coffee.
"Far more attractive," Bucky shot back without missing a beat. "You're great to look at from any angle."
Steve laughed, a full-bodied laugh that left him clutching his side, and Kat looked over at him with a hint of blush on her cheeks and demanded, "What?"
Steve shook his head a little, and said, still gasping for breath, "I knew he was going to be so thoroughly charming that it didn't matter that the first thing he said was nonsense - he's got the speed of an Olympic athlete in charm!"
"Thank you very much," Bucky said with as much of a mock bow as he could manage in his position. Then he settled and pulled Kat more against him. "So. What do we do tomorrow?"
"Sleep in, " Kat said firmly, "At least until the sun is starting to come up. I haven't slept in in ages."
Steve nodded. "That's a good start. And we have the pub visit in the evening - so the rest of the day is ours. Day after that I know they want some of us in for propaganda shoots, but if all goes well, we'll be done early."
Kat sighed at knowing she was going to lose the company of the two of them for a few precious hours - which inspired her next sentence, "Well, I say we make a late appearance to the pub and spend most of the day being indecent with each other. I mean..." she glanced around them at the apartment. "We're just not going to get the opportunity like this again for a while."
Steve flushed red, but Bucky grinned hungrily. "That is an excellent idea. It has been far too long."
"It's been far too long, and I think I'm really going to enjoy the novelty of not being afraid someone will interrupt us," she laughed, leaning back in Bucky's lap enough that she could turn and kiss him on the cheek, and reached for Steve's hand, pulling it onto her lap and lacing her fingers with his. "Plus, maybe I can weasel a feat of strength or two out of you boys, hm?"
"You really are fixated on that," Steve said with a laugh and a shake of his head. "Haven't you seen enough of us throwing things around?"
"A lady could always see more is all I'm saying," Kat shrugged innocently, grinning at Steve.
He turned to Bucky, amusement clear on his face. "Are you hearing this?"
"I am," he said with a warm smile. "Sounds like she's asking you to strip tease. Which, honestly, is a request I whole-heartedly support."
"I wasn't, but, actually, we'll say I was," she said teasingly, squeezing Steve's hand before making a show of letting go of it and shooing at him with her hands. "Go on! Show us the act you did up on stage, but with some pizazz!"
"I hate you both," Steve grunted. "I want you to know that." He shoved them both over against the far side of the couch. "I could just kick you out."
She eeped and laughed, though half pouting through it. "You wouldn't. Steve Rogers, kick out his two best friends into the city at night? Unimaginable."
"Oh, he would," Bucky assured her. "Very forcefully. Then about ten seconds later he'd feel horrible, come running after us, force us back inside, and make us apology tea."
"You talk big game for someone who followed my every moment like an overprotective guard dog when we were growing up," Steve retorted.
"Ohh, I bet that was adorable!" Kat gushed, shifting sideways in Bucky's lap so her arm was slung around his neck and shoulder and her feet were in Steve's lap, so she could better see both of their handsome faces.
"It was damn annoying, is what it was," Steve said through an exasperated smile. "All this Captain America stuff? That's me paying you back the favor, Buck. My turn to yell at your back alley brawl opponents," he snorted, smirking and jostling him again.
"I think we could call it even if we wanted," Bucky snorted. "We've traded enough paint in this war that it's hard to keep track."
"What does that mean?" Kat asked, leaning her side into Bucky's chest, resting her head on his shoulder.
"Between me shoving him out of the way of bullets and him chucking grenades back at people, I think we've saved each other's bacon enough, is all," Bucky sighed.
Steve shrugged. "Still going to be protecting your ass, so I don't see how much of a difference that makes."
"Don't bicker," Kat yawned, squeezing Bucky's shoulder and nudging Steve with her foot. "Either someone needs to kiss me or put me to bed, I'm not picky, but I absolutely have got to get some horizontal cuddling either way. Which is it gonna be, fellas?"
A/N A Glimpse or two should be coming later today- I haven't decided exactly which to use yet, but hopefully they'll be out by tonight! Lookin forward to your thoughts!