Steve Rogers One Shots

Close to my Heart

September 1941

"Buck, why do we have to take pictures? It's expensive."

The wind blew around you, whipping at your dress and threatening to blow it up above your thighs. You struggled to hold your skirt down while your other hand was busy keeping your hair in place.

"I want pictures of m'friends," Bucky cried, spreading his arms. "It's sunny and Steve's face is all healed up. Who knows how long that's gonna last?"

Steve rolled his eyes.

Bucky finished setting up the brownie camera and held it against his chest, the lens pointed in your direction.

"You look beautiful," Steve said as he joined you on the sidewalk.

You ran your fingers through his hair, half playing and half trying to fix it. You averted your gaze when you caught the look in his eyes. His baby blue eyes held so much affection, so much tenderness...

"Right, stop gazin' into each other's eyes and look at me," Bucky shouted from his spot.

You grumbled something under your breath while you stared at your feet. You had cream coloured shoes with matching socks and a long dress that stopped right under your knees. Beige wasn't exactly your colour, but you didn't have enough money to buy your own clothes so you had to make do with hand-me-downs. Though when Steve said you were beautiful, you believed him.

You stood shoulder to shoulder with Steve and held his hand tightly in yours while Bucky snapped the picture.

"It's in the box," Bucky said with a bright smile. "Alright, Stevie. Now take one of me and your girl."

You took a picture with Bucky, giggling a little when he hugged you from behind. After that, you took the camera from Steve's hands and bossed the boys around until they agreed to take a picture. Bucky slung his arm over Steve's frail shoulders and gave him an excited look. Steve grinned at him.

"Stop gazin' into each other's eyes," you said with your best imitation of Bucky's accent.

Bucky cocked his head and gave you a reproachful look, though you could see the corners of his lips twitching slightly.

"Better take that picture before we're both a hundred, dollface," he teased.

"Quiet, Buchanan, or I'll make you all blurry," you replied, smiling mischievously, while you held the camera against your chest.

You took the picture and handed the camera back to Bucky. When you turned to your boyfriend, you noticed that he was staring into space with a frown on his handsome face. It wasn't an uncommon occurrence, Steve kept things to himself. He also rarely showed affection, especially in public. Taking pictures in front of passers-by must have been a little difficult for him.

Every time he came back from his cancelled double dates looking like somebody had kicked his puppy, his mother would say: "be careful Steven, a heart broken too often turns to stone." So he learned to protect himself. He had built a barrier around his heart and decided he'd break it when he'd find the right person. And then you found him.

It wasn't easy to love someone with a guarded heart, but you did and you knew he loved you too, even if he couldn't say it. It was in the way he looked at you, listened to you, smiled at you, talked to you. He found that breaking down those walls was a little more difficult than he had imagined. But he was no quitter.

"Steve?" you said quietly as he continued staring into space.

Bucky lagged behind, giving you a little privacy. He stood there, counting up the spare change from his pocket. Steve glanced up, his baby blue eyes half hidden behind his hair. You wanted to swipe the strand of blond hair off his face, but the intensity of his stare froze you in place.

"I love you."

Shock rendered you speechless. He had never said it before and you certainly weren't expecting to hear those words. Not today, not... ever. You felt a tingling sensation in the tip of your nose and knew you were about to cry. Without thinking, you gave him a kiss on the lips and hugged him.

Steve envied your ability to open up, your emotions pouring out like rain. If only he could show you how important you were to him. He wrapped his arms around you and held you close, forgetting for a second that you were in the middle of the street. He smiled when you told him you loved him.

Bucky, who was still trailing behind, made sure the camera was stable against his chest as he took a picture of this unforgettable moment.