Five's a Crowd | Stucky / Marvel Polyamorous LGBT Romance

Chapter 3: Steve

TW: Mention of the past death of a parent. Medical stress and quarantining.

Nicky barely slept that night, tossing and turning between Steve's arms and Bucky's until he finally took a blanket and a pillow and left the room. Steve held Bucky then, whispering comfort in his ear and trying to stroke sleep into his hair.

In the morning, Steve found Nicky curled up on the floor in the hallway outside of Charlie's door. He paused, but then decided to skip his morning workout, instead he just got back in bed and went back to sleep.

When he next woke up, Bucky and Nicky were curled around each other next to him. Bucky must have woken up, found Nicky in the hall and brought him back into the bedroom.

Steve got up and decided to do his morning workout, even though it was almost noon. He put up a quick out of office notification on his email, and snorted at the absurdity of it all. He was only a room away from his "office" but he was definitely not going to be "in office" disturbing the sleeping boys, so he supposed it was accurate after all.

He finished the workout half heartedly, and then decided to make them all breakfast. He realized with a start Charlie probably had been up for hours without food or... water? Did he even have a cup in his room?

He whipped out his phone and dialed Charlie's number.

He ran an anxious hand through his hair and whispered anxiously into the phone. "Hi."

"Good morning." Charlie's voice was rough with sleep.

"Oh god I.... Did I wake you up?"

"Well... I got up at 5 but...It all seemed a little pointless today, so I just went back to bed."

"Oh... okay I... I was worried you had been awake the entire time and were starving... do you have a cup for water in there?"

"I do, but a fresh one would be nice. And just a little food. I'm really not hungry..."

Steve busied himself around the kitchen, grabbing a bag and stuffing it with granola bars, fresh fruits, beef jerky, and other snacks. He added in a few bottles of sports drink, two bottles of water and two fresh glasses. He momentarily thought about how useful it would be to have a mini fridge in each of their rooms if they ever had to quarantine again. He filed that away for later.

It was easy to navigate the kitchen. Everything was sparkly clean, since he and Bucky had taken turns scrubbing down the entire apartment last night until they collapsed into bed around Nicky. He threw in a few sweet treats for good measure and then headed to Charlie's room. He knocked softly but firmly, put the bag on the ground and walked all the way back to the kitchen before texting Charlie.

He could just barely hear the door open and shut, and he got a confirmation text from Charlie.

He then busied himself starting breakfast. He was just about done when Nicky wandered into the kitchen.

His hair was wet and his cheeks were slightly pink, but other than that he looked pretty haggard.

"Bucky's in the shower," he intimated, leaning his back against the fridge door and staring up at the ceiling.

Steve didn't think a response was necessary. If they hadn't showered together, it meant they had probably had sex and Nicky had escaped to the shower before Bucky could drag himself out of bed. He knew that Nicky often used sex to process emotions, but he didn't look much better than he had the night before.

Steve quickly served them both plates of eggs and toast and then led Nicky to the table.

They sat across from each other and Steve steadily pressed his foot against Nicky's leg under the table. They were silent for a few minutes before Nicky spoke.