The Sharpest Lies [Bucky x ReaderxSteve]

Nineteen

"Where's your head at?" At Sam's question, Steve blinks himself back to the present, realizing belatedly he'd zoned out. That wasn't a good thing. Shrugging his shoulders, he refocuses on the meeting.

Sam nudges him with an elbow and lowers his voice even further, "Seriously man, where'd you go? You had quite the dopey look on your face."

"I did not, now shut it," Steve mutters back. He liked Sam, quite a bit. He was one of the few he considered a true friend, nearly right up there with Bucky. Though they didn't share quite as long of a history. But he wasn't really ready to discuss something like this. Something like craving a woman that didn't belong to you.

He might've known, or at least he was 98 percent sure anyway, that Bucky wouldn't have a problem with what occurred between him and you this morning. There was still the fact that he hadn't even talked to him about the whole thing on Saturday, let alone you in the kitchen. God you were beautiful when you came...

"If you don't mind, I'd like a moment to confer with my men?" Bucky is saying.

"There's a small conference room on the other side of the office."

Sam and Steve both straighten and follow Bucky out of Stark's office and into the indicated conference room. It's a glass fishbowl style, but the moment the door shuts, the glass goes opaque.

"Fancy," Sam quips, looking around the room. "What are the chances that the room's bugged?"

"This is Tony Stark we are talking about," Bucky says quietly, pulling his phone out and glancing at the screen. "I wouldn't be surprised if he literally has the whole place linked to that AI system of his. Including the bathrooms. Video and sound at the very least, if not other ways."

Tony Stark was a genius when it came to pretty much anything mechanical or electronic. It's why this deal was such a big deal. Having the kind of tech that Stark has access to would make their business all that more profitable.

"Aren't you worried about that?" Sam asks.

"Not particularly. Stark's an eccentric, but he's got no love for good ol' Uncle Sam," Bucky says. There's a half smile on his face and Steve can guess exactly who was causing it. Tucking his phone back away he looks up and asks Steve, "So?"

"As far as I can tell, it's all above board. Or well, you know." Steve shrugs and smirks, "As above board as we get."

Bucky rolls his eyes, leaning against the edge of the table and crossing his legs at the ankle and pulling his phone back out. "Sounds good to me."

"What are you doing?"

"Making them wait."

"Always the little shit aren't you?"

"When I can be."

Fifteen minutes later, the three of them return to Stark's office to find him standing at the window and staring out while the Maximoff twins; Wanda and Pietro, lounge in the sitting area.

"So, is this thing going through or what?" Stark asks without turning around.

"Yes, let's get this ball rolling."

Back outside and waiting for Sam to bring the car around, Bucky's eyes settle on Steve. Thoughtful for a moment as he watches Steve pull out his phone to check it.

"What are you doing tonight?"

Steve's head came up, eyes narrowed. "Nothing. Why?"

"You should come over."

"Alright, you haven't asked me to come over since we were kids, so what gives?"

Bucky watches the car pull up to the curb and the two of them head towards it. "Well, how else do you plan on finishing what you started?"

~*~*~*~

Staring at your computer screen, chewing on your bottom lip, you're in the middle of a hardcore internal debate with yourself. When Steve dropped you off this morning, he said neither he nor Bucky would be able to get here around your lunch time so you'd have to order in. Which was fine.

Except now, you were craving a gyro. Like hardcore if you didn't get it you might die level of craving. And not just any gyro. No, you wanted one from Tessa's. A deli five blocks over from where you worked. And they didn't deliver.

Tapping your fingers on your desk, you pick up your phone to see if either of them texted to say plans changed. Nothing.

Would it really be that big of a risk to walk to Tessa's to get a gyro? After all, it was what? A six or seven minute walk? You could go there, order to go, and likely be back in 20 minutes and satisfy this insane craving.

But Bucky doesn't want you to risk yourself. The little voice in your head says. You huff at it. You understood his concern, but honestly, you worked in a good part of the city. A relatively safe part of the city. You'd never once had any problems walking in this area, never been accosted, never had anything bad happen.

What's the worst that could happen?

Decided, you slip your coat on and pick up your purse.

"Where you headed?" Mary asks as you pass her desk.

"Gyro from Tessa's."

"Ooooo, can you grab me a hero?"

You wave in acknowledgement and push through the doors. When the weak spring sun hits your face, you tip your head up to the sky for a moment, appreciating the warming weather. You hum lightly to yourself as you start out, you weren't originally from the city, you'd come here for college. But you loved it, you weren't sure you would originally, having come from a small town you'd been concerned with feeling overwhelmed. And sure, those first couple of months were a bit of a culture shock, but you'd fallen into the rhythm of the place fairly easily.

Something catches your eye in one of the shop windows, so you stop and move over to examine it. Head tilting, you examine the display of rings with a little smile on your face. You wondered what kind of ring Bucky would pick out for you. Would it be something as classic as a diamond or would he go for something more untraditional.

Your heart trips when you realize what you were thinking about. Marriage. When did you start thinking about that?

Probably around the same time you agreed to have his babies. The voice in your head answers simply. Right. If you were willing to start a family, and god that thought still thrilled and terrified you, why wouldn't you start thinking about marriage too.

Moving on from the display, you wonder if that's actually something that Bucky even wanted. By the time you got to the deli, you'd decided you'd ask him about it. What was the point in wondering when you could get an answer directly from the source. If there was one thing you'd learned, it was that Bucky made time for you no matter what, and he didn't keep any of his thoughts from you.

The past couple of weeks, since learning the truth of things with Garrett, you couldn't help but compare them. And compare your relationship with each of them. Bucky might work in the dark, but he didn't carry all those red flags you ignored for years with Garrett. It still makes you blush when you think about just how much Bucky seems to worship you. It wasn't something you are used to.

But it was really nice.

You're two blocks from work when the hairs on the back of your neck rise, and warning bells go off in your head and stomach. There's nothing you can do about it. Because just as you're registering the sense of danger, you're being yanked off balance and into an alley.