Her White Wolf

Chapter Eighteen

AN: Heavy smut warning/Slash Warning

~~~~~~~

Cleo took Steve's hand and glanced one last time at James. She gave him a wink and blew him a kiss before focusing on Steve. They climbed the stairs together and once they were at the top, she led him in the direction of the bedrooms.

"Did James tell you that you have your own room? Whenever you want to use it," she explained. "Would you like to see it, or do you want to see our room?"

Steve rubbed the back of his neck in nervousness. "I uh... I could see both? I assume that we'd be sharing a room at times. Although I'm not sure how big your bed is."

Cleo could feel the nerves coursing through Steve and she turned to face him once they were outside of the master bedroom. "Hey," she coached gently, stepping in closer to him. "Take a deep breath. Absolutely nothing has to happen unless you want it to, I promise."

"I know," he answered. "This is just... new." Steve smiled down at Cleo and watched as she opened the bedroom door. "It's nice in here," he commented, stepping into the room.

Cleo released his hand and stepped back into the room, her eyes moving around the large room. "We're still working on it. It's far bigger than the old house. But," she shared, stepping back a little further until she could touch their oversized bed, "this is also plenty big."

Steve eyed the overly large bed covered with a sleek looking gray comforter. "Did Buck let you pick the colors?" he asked with a short laugh. "He's a lover of monotone color."

She laughed softly as she nodded. "I figured that out when pretty much everything was black or navy blue," she mused, lifting one leg onto the bed so that she could sit, the other foot pointed towards the floor. "What about you? Will I need to force some color onto you too?"

"I don't mind color." He moved to sit beside her on the bed. "I think purple is my favorite honestly, and don't tell Buck, but his favorite is red or maroon."

As Steve sat beside her, Cleo reached back and pulled the hair tie out of her long, dark hair cascading over her shoulders. "Would he deny it?" she asked with an amused smile. "He likes to think he's mysterious. Poor guy doesn't always realize I can read him like a book."

Steve chuckled as he turned to lay on his side, propping up on his elbow. "Nah. He wouldn't deny it. Not to you."

Cleo allowed herself to relax further back onto the bed and onto her side as Steve did the same. She laughed softly. "I guess that makes me special, huh?" she asked as she stretched out and rested her head in her hand. She held his eyes for a long, quiet moment before she reached out and brushed a little of Steve's hair back. "What do you want from life, Steve?" she asked quietly.

"That's easy," he smiled. "I want to be able to take everything a day at a time and relax for once. I've been running to do things for so long now."

"You've carried a lot of responsibility for a long time," Cleo empathized softly. "But you can put your shield down now, Captain."

Steve smiled and looked down at the blanket. "That's hard to do. I think I'll always be needed in some capacity. Although Sam has stepped up for the Avengers, so I can take a step back."

Cleo couldn't imagine that amount of responsibility. It weighed on him, she could see that. "It's okay to be needed," she offered softly, "but knowing when you can step back a little is important too. You deserve to be Steve Rogers too."

He leaned into her touch, letting her run her hand through his hair, making him sigh. "It's hard to let go. I'm so used to serving others. It's what I've always done."