Slow Dancing & Apple Pie

One

Steve Rogers had never been one to jump into bed with someone. A lot of people assumed it had something to do with old-fashioned values. But the truth of the matter was, prior to his change thanks to Erskine's serum, he had been a beta with an alpha mate. When the serum didn't just change his body but also his designation, it did something to that established bond. Despite the fact that alpha/alpha mates were pretty much illegal, they had every intention of reestablishing the bond.

But first there was a war to win. Fights to be had, bullies to be defeated. Bucky had been captured and tortured, Steve disobeyed orders to rescue him. Together, they formed an elite and unquie band of fighters dubbed the "Howling Commandos". They were specifically created to fight against HYDRA, taking down base after base in an attempt to wipe out that twisted organization.

Then the worst thing happened, and Bucky was gone. Steve ended up laying his life down for the good of not only his country but the entire world. Piloting a jet and crashing it and what it carried deep into the ocean in the Artic. And he died.

Or so he thought.

When he woke up in a different century, a man long out of his time, there were new kinds of battles to be won. The idea of finding and taking a mate had to be put on the back burner. So, when he learned that the mate he thought lost forever was still alive he stopped at nothing to save him.

And in the end it had been for naught—because thanks to a genocidal maniac he lost him all over again. Everyone lost someone in The Snap. Some people lost more than others. There was nothing for those left behind to do but try and pick up the pieces and move on.

Steve was trying to do just that. He ran support groups, he volunteered with pups, he watched as Natasha tried to keep together the fractured Avengers. He was surviving just like everyone else. Determined to live out the rest of his life alone and unmated; he just didn't have any interest in falling in love, having a family, or finding a mate.

And then he met you.

~*~*~*~

"David, I don't care that Jake dared you to do it, you could have gotten yourself killed," you scolded the adolescent pup standing with downcast eyes in front of you. Steve, who'd stopped by to drop off supplies, leaned against the doorway and watched. Standing there with your back to him, hands on your hips, disappointment and just a small hint of fear lacing your scent. You smelled like apple pie, and that alone made him smile. Bringing to mind memories of a different time.

You dismissed the pup and then scrubbed your hands over your face as your shoulders slumped with exhaustion.

"Long day?" Steve asked.

Jolting in surprise, you spun around. Your hands immediately touched the collar you wore designating you as an unclaimed omega. Likely a nervous habit. Steve held up his hands in apology. "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you."

Shaking your head, your fingers touched your collar a second time before you ran a hand through your hair. Now that you were facing him, Steve was struck with how pretty you were. He couldn't even remember the last time he had a thought like that.

"It's fine, I just didn't realize anyone was here let alone Captain America," you said.

"It's just Steve. And I was dropping of supplies, heard you lecturing and got curious."

"Ah."

Steve tilted his head towards the doorway the pup had disappeared through. "So, what did Jake dare David to do that almost ended up with him dying?"

You reached down and picked up some stray toys on the floor, taking them over to a bin in the corner. "Idiot jumped down and was gonna touch the third rail before transit cops stopped it."

Steve's eyebrows winged up, his hands tucking into his pocket as he whistled. "Yeah, that could definitely kill ya."

"Don't I know it."

You turned at your name, smiling at the two younger pups came rushing in to hug you and beg you to read them a story. Steve watched as you agreed and let them drag you out of the room. This was just one of many places like this. A kind of group/foster home for pups who had lost their families and no relatives could be found.

Seeming unable to leave, Steve wandered out to chat with the beta currently staffing reception. He learned that you had just recently moved here; transferring in from somewhere out west once the pups you had been fostering since the snap had all presented. Unlike here in the city, you'd been fostering them alone in your own home with no help.

Forty minutes later you were walking back into the front of the house, yawning as you pressed your hand into your lower back and stretched.

"Man, the twins couldn't seem to pick a book they could both agree on—" you paused noticing Steve where he was sitting on the sagging couch. "Oh, you're still here."

He stood up, smiling a little ruefully. "Yeah, I uh—wanted to see if maybe I could walk you home? Jane said that you're off around now."

Your eyes slid over to the beta, who was giving you a wide toothy smile and wiggling her eyebrows at you. Rolling your eyes, you turned back to Steve hesitating for a moment. He was an alpha, an unknown alpha, and you were an unclaimed omega. You'd heard stories of how things like unwanted claimings would happen to innocent unsuspecting omegas in the big cities.

But this was Steve Rogers, Captain America himself, the boy scout, America's Golden Boy and Sweetheart. Surely, you'd be safe with him? Even though you know that Jane had only told him you were done with work tonight because she was bound and determined to find you a mate, you figured that wouldn't be happening here. Steve just had old-fashioned values; and walking an unclaimed omega home at night probably fell into that.

"Alright. Just let me do one last check and I'll meet you outside."

Steve nodded, watching you walk through a doorway and disappear before he stepped out on the porch, leaning against the railing as he waited. A few minutes later, you came out, pulling a purse over your head.

You gestured in the direction you needed to go, Steve falling into step next to you. He caught another strong whiff of your scent; sweet and appealing in a way he hadn't experienced before. You didn't live far from the home, only ten blocks, but rather than feeling annoyed with his presence you found yourself pleased that Steve was there.

The two of you talked mostly about the pups currently residing in the home. It was clear that you cared a lot about them, even if you'd only been working there for a few months. In that short walk, Steve found himself inexplicably drawn to you.

When you arrived at the building you lived in and you turned to face him, you both seemed to feel the spark of attraction. Reaching out, Steve tucked a strand of hair that had fallen into your face behind your ear. Then his hand curled around the back of your neck, his head dipping to capture your lips.