Chris stepped back, motioned him into her apartment and Steve breathed a sigh of relief. If she'd gone to shut the door in his face, he'd have let her.

Steve followed her into her living room, taking a seat on the couch. Chris sat in the chair across from him, smoothing at her hair that was pulled back in a messy bun with loose strands framing her face in a way that he thought was adorable. He'd love to sketch her like this, no makeup, plain clothes. It truly showed just how beautiful she was.

Her slender figure, however, disappeared under the faded old jeans and hoodie she wore. Chris had shed some weight, Tony has also noticed, and she really had nothing to spare.

That was his fault too. Once again, Steve had managed to fuck everything up and he was just hoping he'd convince her to give them another chance.

Chris hadn't answered a single message from anyone in three weeks and he was desperate. Bucky's state was dark and brooding and he wasn't really sleeping, not without her there. Desperation had made him a stalker. Steve had followed Tony up the hallway, lingering outside her apartment once the other man was inside. What Steve heard made his heart feel heavy but confirmed some suspicions he had.

Chris already had it in her head that one day, she'd be out of the picture. She'd decided it was just meant to be him and Bucky and there was no place for her. This was the second time she tried to step back, to step away from them when they wanted her as much as they wanted each other. He hadn't realized that she'd felt this way before their relationship had even begun.

What he needed to know was why she felt that way. Were her insecurities getting the better of her? Was it too much to be in a relationship with both of them? Had they not given her what she needed?

"Thank you for talking to me," Steve meant it. He sat back on the couch, making sure his body language wasn't threatening in any way. "Sweetheart, I'm so sorry about what happened. I really am. You were right, about every bit of it. Just because I lost my temper didn't give me an excuse to… do that."

"No, it didn't," Chris's gaze met his. She looked so tired.

Steve blew out an exhale. "The only excuse I have to offer is that when Tony came and told me what happened that day, that you'd found out you were restricted to the compound and that you'd left anyway, I lost it. It had nothing to do with my confidence in you and how you handle yourself, Chris. I was partly angry at myself because yes, I should have told you. I was the reason Buck didn't tell you. Just so you know that had nothing to do with him."

Chris nodded, her hands twisting in her lap.

"We were on the other side of the world," Steve went on. "If someone had gotten their hands on you, I wouldn't have been able to do anything about it. I know you're wanted for the things you helped the bureau do. But someone could take you to get to me if they found out about us, and they'd hurt you because of me and I can't…"

Her gray eyes were wide on him now. "How could any of them know that we…?"

"Because things like that just have a way of getting out," Steve said slowly.

Chris nodded. "I heard Sam won the bet. So… everyone knows now?"

He didn't like the tinge of fear in her expression. Steve had thought it would bother him, if and when people figured out what was going on between the three of them. Now that the cat was pretty much out of the bag, he found it didn't bother him at all. And Bucky didn't care, he just wanted her back.

"Yeah, I think everyone knows now," Steve said bluntly.

"Are you…okay with that?"

"I didn't think I would be," Steve told her, holding her gaze. "Turns out people have always thought Buck and I were together behind closed doors."

Chris nodded, smirking. "I thought you were together when I first met you."

Steve shook his head. "That they know we're seeing you? I don't care so long as they don't say something out of line to you. I'll never be ashamed of being with you or Buck if that's what you want to know."

Chris dropped her gaze.

"Does it bother you that people know?" Steve wanted to know.

She looked back up at him. "Not at all."

That was a relief because he'd worried if word got out, it would be a lot for her considering who they were and on top of everything else.

"There are worse things, Chris, like not getting to see you," Steve admitted. "You haven't left this apartment in weeks. You haven't answered anyone and… Sweetheart, please accept my apology. I'm so sorry. I had no right to do that… That was no way to handle the situation."

Her eyes had grown shiny, a lone tear slid down her cheek.

"Did I hurt you?" he asked carefully.

"Not really." She snorted at that, a cute sound. "I had to be careful sitting down that first week."

"Are you okay now?"

Chris nodded.

Steve took a deep breath, wanting to get to the heart of the issue.

"Do you really think that one day Bucky and I will just kick you out?" Steve asked matter-of-factly. "Do you really believe that? Or… is that something that makes it easier for you to… back out of this?"

That got her attention. Her eyes widened.

"I'm… afraid of that," she admitted.

Planting his elbows on his knees, he leaned forward. "Have we ever given you a reason to feel like that? Not saying we haven't. If we did it was unintentional. But I'd still like to know."

"You love each other, Steve," Chris's voice was shaky. "You've loved each other for so long."

"And you think we don't love you?"

"No, I don't think that. And it doesn't bother me that you love each other. It doesn't." Chris blew out an exhale. "You've just never needed me to make things work."

"So you keep saying," Steve said gently. "No, we don't need you. We want you there. Both of us, Chris. And yes, we have known each other for a long time, almost a hundred years now even though neither of us was exactly conscious for most of it. But you didn't answer my question. Have either of us ever given you a reason to feel like one day we'll be tired of you?"

Chris dropped her head. "No," she whispered but he heard it.

"It's only been a few weeks with you, Sweetheart, and we're both gone for you," Steve said slowly. "You have to know that. We were gone a lot of that time and will be in the future. We're just asking if we can have a future with you… Being with you, for both of us, just feels…"

"Right," she finished.

Steve smiled, nodded.

Chris smiled back before her face crumbled and she began crying. In a panic, Steve crossed the space to her, scooping her up easily and placing her in his lap as he took her seat. Chris clung to him tightly, her tears soaking his shirt.

Steve pressed a kiss into her hair, grateful to get to hold her like that after so long.

"I told you I have problems," she muttered against his chest.

Steve chuckled at that. "Then you're in the right place. Buck and I have plenty of problems. You're not alone."

"I worry," she spoke pressed against his chest, "I'm never going to be able to hold on to you two."

"You're not going to be able to get rid of us," Steve countered gently. "It's not like you've had a lot of luck so far."

Chris chuckled through her tears at that. "No, I really haven't."

"Haven't you ever stopped and considered that maybe we feel the same way? I've never understood the entire celebrity thing myself. Being a soldier, fighting for others in the army when the world was at war, was all I really wanted to do. I guess being famous and all that goes with it is what some people enjoy. There's also a lot of extra responsibility that goes with it. Expectations. I didn't exactly sign up for that part."

"You could have any woman you wanted," Chris pointed out. "Either of you."

"Yeah, that's great except the one we both want hasn't talked to us in weeks," Steve said with no ire. "The thing is, you're not competing with anyone. We're not exactly fighting women off at every turn, Sweetheart. All I ever wanted and really didn't think I had a chance at, was a woman who could handle me and all the baggage that comes with me. I'm a brooding asshole who enjoys feeling sorry for himself for all that he's lost."

"When you're not blaming yourself," Chris added quietly.

Steve nodded. "I'll admit to that… Then there's Buck. Bucky's a traumatized ex-assassin who still has PTSD and terrifying nightmares and doesn't trust himself. When you came along, and Bucky found you, found all that I'd been looking for, I was happy for him. Jealous, but happy. Imagine how it was for me that you were willing to make room in your heart for me too? What are the odds that we were ever going to find you, Sweetheart? It doesn't make a lot of sense for you to be afraid of us getting tired of you when we're both just marveling that we've had you at all and all the love you've brought with you."

Her slender arms tightened around him, her little heart flying in her chest.

"You going to take Tony's transfer offer?" Steve wanted to know.

Slowly she pulled back, her gaze meeting his. He undid the rest of her bun, it was precariously wobbling on one side of her head at this point and smoothed her hair back from her face.

"I don't want to." Her eyes were red, still filled with tears. "But I've created quite a mess, haven't I? I heard you two fought. Tony told me Nat is pissed at both of you and so is Darcy and Jane. And Bucky…Is he okay? His nightmares?"

Chris buried her face against his shoulder again at that last question. Steve just held onto her, smoothing a hand over her hair, down her back.

"He's exhausted," Steve told her, "like you are. And mad at me. But he'll be okay. The nightmares, so far, haven't been bad. He just really wants to see you."

"I'm so sorry," Chris mumbled, holding on tighter.

"I am too, Sweetheart," Steve whispered. "But we're going to be okay. We will."

"I don't want to distract the team or you," Chris went on tearfully. "I don't want to cause problems. I'll do better. I'm sorry I'm hard to live with."

"I am as much to blame as you are," Steve whispered. "And I won't do that again… Unless you want me to."

Again, she pulled back to look up at him. "I might… want you to one day," she admitted, her face blushing a deep red. "Just… not as hard."

His brows rose at that. He'd remember she said that. Bucky would be so happy.

"If there's anything you ever want to try, Sweetheart, just ask. We're not likely to tell you no."

Chris held that gaze for a moment then nodded.

"Also tell us no if there's anything ever introduced that you're not comfortable with," Steve went on. "I felt terrible once my anger wore off. Bucky was right. I have a huge problem with a man laying hands on women or children and I know that's old-fashioned and sexist apparently but that's how I think… Look what I did. Buck and I need to be especially careful with you."

At that, Chris sank back into his arms, snuggling against him and he couldn't remember the last time he'd felt so relieved. It was no time at all until she'd nodded off there in his lap and he didn't want to disturb her right now. Pulling his phone from his pocket, he saw he had messages from Bucky.

BB: Where are you?

BB: Did Tony talk to Chris?

BB: Is she okay?

Grinning, Steve took a picture of him and Chris. Even though her face was turned away from him, it was enough for Buck to see what was going on.

A full minute hadn't passed when he got an answer.

BB: Where?

SR: Her apartment.

It couldn't have been five minutes when Bucky walked in, the relief obvious in his expression as he approached them.

"Is she okay?" he asked gently.

Chris lifted her head at the sound of his voice. "Bucky?"

"Yeah, doll, I'm here." Kneeling next to the chair, he allowed Chris to take his face in her hands and press gentle kisses to his lips. "I've missed you so much."

"Missed you," she mumbled, wrapping her arms around their dark-haired lover. Over her shoulder, Steve watched some of the tension ease from Bucky's face. Immediately he knew how this was going to have to go.

"Come on," Steve prompted. "I need to put you two to bed. You'll both sleep for three days."

"Four," Chris mumbled under her hair, turning back to Steve and stretching on his lap.

"We'll see," Steve said, kissing her cheek.

Bucky seemed all on board. "Let's go to yours, Stevie. Doll baby doesn't look like she's slept in weeks."

He scooped Chris up so Steve could rise from the chair. Then he stopped and frowned at her. "You didn't eat either?"

Chris didn't look like she knew what to say and Steve shook his head, wanting Bucky to let it go. For the moment.

They grabbed her phone and a couple of other items and headed to Steve's apartment. Bucky took Chris straight to bed while Steve called out for Chinese food. Just maybe if he got her favorite dishes she would eat at some point.

For now, she was back with them, where she belonged, and tonight that was good enough.

Chris woke up at some point in the dark, surrounded by warmth. It took her a moment to remember that she'd talked to Steve. She kind of remembered Bucky coming in after that. The rest she must have slept through.

Next to her, Bucky was shifting in his sleep, his muscles tensed. He seemed caught at the beginning of a nightmare and her heart sped up as she considered what she should do.

She'd wake Steve if she really needed to, she decided. As it was, she curled up behind Bucky, her legs curled up behind him, her right arm smoothing up and down his. When it started to worsen, Chris slid up behind him, so her lips were by his ear as he began talking in his sleep, real fear growing in his voice.

"Bucky, wake up," Chris whispered. "Please. You're having a bad dream. You're safe. You're with me."

He was still tense, so she kept it up, making a chant of it and repeating those words in a soft whisper. Slowly, very slowly, the tension eased from his body. He wasn't ready to fight anymore, wasn't pleading.

Chris knew the moment he woke up, wide-eyed and looking around. Rolling onto his back, he looked up to see Chris above him, propped on an elbow. The relieved exhale he blew out broke her heart a little.

"Did I do… anything?" he asked quietly.

Chris shook her head. "It was just a bad dream. I think you came out of it before it got really bad."

"I love you," he whispered, the sincerity in his eyes in the dark had tears stinging the backs of her eyes. "I'm so glad you're here."

"I love you too," she told him, and she did even though she was still concerned about their future.

Carefully, he rolled them, shifting her over him and on her back, further away from Steve.

Bucky lowered his head, claiming her mouth in a kiss that was desperate, seeking. "I need you," Bucky whispered into her ear. "Please?"

Grabbing the hem of Steve's shirt, she pulled it up and over her head. Bucky lowered himself, drugging her with soft kisses that took her breath away. His lips scorched a trail over her jaw, down the column of her throat and then closed around one nipple until her back arched off the bed. She spread her legs at that, allowing him to situate his hips between them as he moved down her body.

Her panties were pulled quickly off, and she expected to feel his weight then, but no. Pushing her thighs apart, his mouth dove for her mound and he meant business. Her thighs tightened about his head, her hands clutched in the satiny locks of his hair as he made her gasp and writhe under him, getting her ready. He didn't stop until she came, smothering her own cries in her arm and the pillow. When the world came back to her, Bucky had positioned himself above her, lining himself up at her entrance.

Chris did moan when he began to sink into her. Between the last mission they'd been on and the last three weeks, it had nearly been two months since either of them had been inside her and her channel clutched at him greedily.

"Not gonna last," he whispered harshly in her ear, beginning to move. "You feel good. You feel too damned good, baby."

Chris wrapped herself around him, wanting to comfort him, wanting the release he offered her. Slowly the fear and dread that tarnished his mind began to fade and his emotions began to change.

Desire. Love. Need. Need. NEED.

When Bucky began thrusting hard, she knew he was close. She wasn't even chasing a release at that point, she just wanted him to have his, to have what he needed.

Bucky didn't like that plan.

"Doll baby, I need you to come," he pleaded with her. "Please. For me?"

His flesh hand gently reached between their bodies, sliding down to find her clit and teasing it with the most delicate strokes. It never failed to amaze her how her boys were so strong and yet, they could be so delicate, so careful with her.

Bucky knew exactly how to touch her to make her come apart. She buried her face in his shoulder, the sharp cries from her released muffled into his damp skin.

His thrusts lost their rhythm and gained in strength, just on the edge of pain when he finally found his release, crying out in the darkness of the bedroom.

They lay there trying to regain their breath, both of them just knowing they'd awakened Steve. When a loud snore was their answer, they both laughed.

"How did he sleep through that?" Chris asked as Bucky eased off of her.

"He's always been that way," Bucky told her. "I used to bring girls back to our place before the war. A lot. Most of the time, my little punk just slept right through it."

"I'll bet he didn't every time," she whispered.

"Nah, not every time," Bucky told her, pulling her against him and tucking her under his chin. "And not one of them was anything like you... I'm sorry I woke you up."

Chris snorted. "I'm not."

Bucky's chest bounced as he laughed at that. "I missed you so much, doll. I hope Steve made things right by you. I don't like being away from you."

Chris snuggled into his right shoulder, draping an arm and a leg over him. "I don't like it either. Everything's okay, Buck."

"Good." He pressed a kiss into her hair as she listened to the strong, steady beat of his heart and let the comforting sound lull her back to deep sleep.