About Last Night: Green Series 1 (Pre-Serum Omega!Steve x Alpha!Bucky MPreg AU)

Twenty-Two

Steve was already on his second pistachio shake and Bucky was still just sitting there quietly. Sure, Steve might've been using the frosty drink as a security blanket and a way to keep himself preoccupied since Bucky was – very clearly – not acting like the Bucky that he knew. But Steve figured that he deserved to have extra shakes after the puke-fest earlier and the shock of Bucky's former lover that left Bucky almost comatose. Not that Steve could blame him, of course. Knowing that if he had seen one of his exes, he'd probably be just as quiet. Especially if Steve had been engaged to one of them.

Wondering if Bucky needed a little prompting, Steve asked, "Do you wanna talk about it?"

"Not much to talk about," Bucky shrugged, keeping his focus on his order of chili cheese fries. Even though Steve hadn't seen Bucky actually eat one of them.

"Okay," Steve sighed, pushing the shake away. Wondering if he should ask for the check and suggest they leave already. But Steve wasn't sure if Bucky would leave with him or go back to his apartment to be alo–

"Okay, fine."

Steve looked up from his bacon cheeseburger to watch Bucky. As he shifted in his seat, Bucky started, "Sharon and I were high school sweethearts. Back then, it just seemed natural for us to spend the rest of our lives together, ya know?"

Never having a relationship like that, Steve didn't know. But he wasn't going to tell Bucky that when the handsome alpha was focusing on a straw wrapper, talking about someone who was important to him at one point in his life.

"She wasn't happy with me when I joined the army. But we loved each other, so we moved past it," Bucky chewed on his lip and didn't bring his gaze up to Steve's. Whereas Steve couldn't remove his gaze from Bucky, even if he wanted to. "Got engaged. All that cheesy shit that was inspired by the best omroms.

"It was during my second tour when I had my run-in with the IED," Bucky's high-tech prosthetic shifted, "It wasn't the same after that. I wasn't the same.

"I had a lot of issues, and I didn't treat Sharon the way that she deserved," Bucky quietly admitted. Not even a moment later, he amended, "Not bad, or anything like that. Just... not how I should've been. I was distant and moody. And since I wasn't treating her the way I used to, I ended things. For a while, she checked in on me. Tried to work things out between us. But at the time, I needed to work on myself, and that's what I did.

"The man I am now, isn't the same man I was with her, nor who I was after I returned from Iraq." Bucky looked up at Steve, extending his arm across the table to hold Steve's hand as he promised, "I'll always be good to you and the baby."

"To me and Squirt," Steve corrected, his voice raspy and tight as he attempted to hold back the sudden wave of emotion from Bucky's words.

A grin stretched up and crinkled his eyes. Bucky confirmed, "You and Squirt."

As he pulled back his arm, so he could continue eating, Steve worried his lower lip. In honor of, I'll Show You Mine, If You Show Me Yours, Steve figured it was only fair to talk about his own exes. Even if they were better off buried in the back of Steve's mind along with his most embarrassing stories. Like the time that in the fourth grade when Steve peed himself on the school bus and everyone thought that it was a water bottle spill. Or at the fifth grade talent show where he performed the Mulan classic, Reflection, and everyone applauded before the song was over because they wanted him off the stage. Or the time –

Steve shook his head, now wasn't the time.

"I, uh... I know what it's like," Steve started. Not sure where he was going, just knowing that he was going somewhere. "Having a partner that's distant."

Bucky hung his head, ashamed. Under the table, Steve extended his leg until he found Bucky's. Fondly rubbing his foot against Bucky's, Steve continued, "About two years ago, I was in a really bad relationship. It was the first relationship after my mom passed and I went along with a lot of shitty stuff that I usually wouldn't have taken before.

"Eventually, he started getting pressured to mate me. His parents especially," Steve found himself in Bucky's earlier position. Not wanting to look into those steel blue eyes when he admitted, "So, he tried to force it on me."

"Steve, you don't have to –"

"I do though," Steve sat up in his seat. Trying to muster up some courage as he told Bucky, "I don't know where this – between us – is going. But I know that I don't want to mate you. Not because I don't care about you – because I do. Just... I don't think it's necessary. My mom was mated to my dad, and when he dipped, she had to have it broken. Hell, even Mandy had to have hers broken!"

Taking Steve's shaking hand in his, Bucky assured, "You don't have to convince me how serious mating is. You don't want to mate, we won't mate. Easy as that."

"Easy as that?" Steve repeated. Confidently, Bucky nodded. And even though Steve had been thinking about living together ever since his t-shirt meltdown, Steve chose that moment to suggest, "So, just moving in together wouldn't be out of the question then?"

"Really?" Bucky's undivided attention was focused solely on Steve.

"I mean," Steve's heart slammed against his ribcage, "If that would be... okay."

"Are you kidding?" On Bucky's face, there was a grin so bright that it warmed Steve to the bone. Then, it all came crashing down, "Wait."

"'Wait,' what?" Steve asked, trying to remain calm.

"Okay, um," Bucky ran his hand through his hair and leaned closer, "Is this a real offer? Or is this just hypothetical?"

Deciding to just go for it, Steve clarified, "Real offer."

Bucky bit back his grin – or tried to – as he asked, "Is Greg allowed to come?"

"Of course," Steve scoffed, "I wouldn't have asked if she wasn't."

"So, you're really asking me to move in?" Bucky asked. Steve nodded and Bucky leaned over the table to kiss him. With their lips still connected, Bucky answered, "I'd love to."

"Good," Steve let out a breath of relief and Bucky flashed him a dopey smile, looking at Steve as though he gave him the best gift ever. Steve realized that maybe he had.