Rules of Friendship | 18+

𝘍𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯 ♡

𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦

➵➵➵➵➵➵➵♡➵➵➵➵➵➵➵

Love was the sound of Serenity's voice after a bad day.

It was a Rusty Tavern night, Brooklyn was blistering hot today, so much so that most businesses had shut down for the day. Bucky, Sam, and Serenity had all been busy, Serenity was at her mom's house, Bucky and Sam were doing something for Rebecca, and I've been alone all day. I don't usually mind the day being alone, it made me feel great, but today was the anniversary of my father's death, and I was fucking struggling. I could barely get out of bed, my mother could barely get out of bed, Serenity stopped by early this morning, while we were both asleep, made us breakfast, and left a little note that I read over and over, burning it into my brain. But when she texted me saying that they were going to the Rusty Tavern, and if I was up to it I could join them, if not she was going to grab a bag and stay at mine, I knew I needed to get there, I needed to feel her, to hold her, to hear her say she loved me.

I jogged down the stairs to the basement bar, the clinking of billiards balls filled my ears and I scanned until I saw Sam and Bucky playing at the back left table, Serenity sitting on one of the barstools watching them, a bottle of beer hanging out of her fingers.

And god, she made me breathless. Even in just a simple outfit like she was wearing today. It was a pair of shorts and a tank top, but she was beautiful, and she was mine. Serenity Rose Parks was all mine and that was what was propelling my feet forward when all I wanted to do was crawl back into bed. I was halfway across the bar when Serenity looked up, her eyes so fucking soft, showing me so much love as she pushed off her stool, handed Bucky her beer, and started walking toward me. I was paralyzed when she rounded the table, and when her arms wrapped around my neck, I buried my face in her hair, trying not to sob at the feeling of her. Serenity was my safety, she was my home, and she was the air in my lungs. And I fucking needed her today.

"I love you," Serenity's voice was gentle in my ear, her lips pressing against my temple, "He would be so proud of you."

"I love you," I whispered into her hair, pulling her tighter to me, her back arching in my hands at the angle, "He would've loved you so fucking much."

I pulled back to look at her, and she had tears in her waterline, my thumbs instantly coming up to wipe them as they spilled over her cheeks, "I hate seeing you upset," Serenity whispered and I gave her a small smile, leaning down to kiss her gently, her mouth was so soft, so plush, against mine. And she swallowed any pained sound I made, because when my tongue brushed hers, I knew for a fact I loved her more than anything in the world, and I almost lost her. If I didn't have her today, I'm not sure I was going to be able to keep going. Slowly I pulled away, my hands still resting on her hips, and she gave me a small smile, "I'll go get you a beer, go sit with Bucky and Sam."

So I walked through the rest of the bar, ignoring the calls of my name from groups of women who clearly didn't care I just kissed the girl of my dreams in the middle of this bar. I wasn't the same Steve as last year, and maybe that's why today hurt so much more. Today would've been the day I indulged in everything horrible. It would've been a day of drugs and alcohol and so many random hookups my body would hurt the next day. But instead, I stayed in bed and tried to not let the grief consume me whole, the only thing I had been looking forward to was every hour, on the hour, Serenity would send me a text, and it made me smile because she cared so much.

"Hey," Bucky looked at me with a sad smile, pulling me into such a tight hug I felt myself being pushed back together. "I'm sorry man, he's looking down at you with a smile though."

Sam gave me a quick hug as well, mirroring what Bucky said as I sat on the stool that Serenity once occupied, my legs parted as I waited for her to return. As if I made her magically appear she was in front of me with an ice-cold beer, her gray eyes soft and caring. "I said the same thing," She told Bucky over her shoulder before I wrapped an arm around her waist, tugging her close to me, pressing my nose against her throat before I took a drink of the beer she brought me. "Well something along those lines," She dismissed her attention from Bucky and Sam after, turning back to me and wrapping her arms around my neck, her fingers playing with the hair at the nape of my neck. "When you want to go we can, I figured we should stay at yours so your mom isn't alone."