Love Grows: Love Series 1 (demon!Bucky and pre-serum!Steve omegaverse au)

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HEART RAPIDLY fluttering, hands sweaty, worrying his lower lip with his teeth, Steve knew what he wanted to do, but wasn't sure how to do it. He had been thinking about asking Bucky out for a long time now and had attempted to ask at least twice. However, every time Steve decided that today was the day that he was going to ask the alpha out, he chickened out. The thing that always stopped him was that he didn't want to lose Bucky, and he was afraid that this would push the alpha away. After all, Steve had never been a catch growing up and who would want a scrawny, pregnant omega going through a divorce?

It also didn't help that every time the omega was around the brunet his overexcited hormones reared their ugly heads and kicked his lust into overdrive. Sure, he found the brunet attractive, who wouldn't? With that strong jawline and those intense stormy eyes, Bucky was a force to be reckoned with. Especially when those pillowy lips tugged up at the corners and crinkled all the way up, causing his eyes to squint in glee. Steve was certain that Bucky could talk the Devil into doing his bidding with just a flutter of those enviously long eyelashes.

"Hey, Buck?"

Attention on assembling the white 3-in-1 crib, the alpha hummed in acknowledgement, "Yeah?"

Now or never, Steve supposed. Baby kicking and heart racing, he worried his lower lip. Unsure how to ask the brunet on a date. Then, he realized that he didn't even know what kind of date he wanted to do. Museum? Dinner? Movie? Theater?

"Stevie?"

Blinking away all of the decisions he still needed to make, Steve asked, "Yeah?"

"You okay?"

Nodding, Steve marked over his twenty-seventh week bump. A nervous tic that he didn't realize Bucky had picked up on until the brunet lowered his steel eyes from Steve's face to his abdomen. Bucky placed the screwdriver beside himself as he sat on the floor and prompted, "You're sure you're okay?"

Letting out a deep breath, Steve lowered himself to the beige rocker-recliner. Vulnerability was something that Steve loathed. Especially when it came to his insecurities flaring. The only thing that Steve seemed absolutely certain of was that Bucky could do better than him. And he felt the way he had when he first got with Hodge.

That thought alone made him nauseous.

Scenting the unease rolling off of Steve, the alpha reached out and carefully marked Steve's knee. Assuring the blond, "Whatever's on your mind, you can tell me. I'm all yours."

"All ears," Steve corrected, giving Bucky a small smile, "The saying is, 'I'm all ears.'"

Playfully, Bucky rolled his eyes, "You know what I mean."

"Yeah," Steve kept his gaze on his bump, "I do."

"So..." Bucky prompted.

"Okay," Steve let out another deep breath to try and steady himself. It didn't work nearly as well as he had hoped. Before he asked what he really wanted an answer to, he nearly pleaded, "Don't laugh."

"I won't," Bucky earnestly assured.

"I mean it. You can't laugh because the only other person that I asked out was Josh Tyler in seventh grade for the Valentine's Dance and it took me the rest of middle school to live that rejection dow–"

"Wait," Bucky interrupted Steve's babbling. Fighting a grin, "Are you asking me on a date?"

Eyes widening as he tried to think back to everything he had said aloud, Steve nodded. Holding his breath, Steve prayed that the brunet didn't laugh in his face and that if he was going to laugh, for him to be out of his apartment. Because, really, Steve had his doubts of Bucky being interested in him. Even as just a friend seemed a little too good to be true.

"I would love nothing more."

"Really?"

"Yeah, really," Bucky confirmed. He softly chuckled and admitted, "The only reason why I haven't asked you out is because I didn't want to rush you."

For a moment, the pair just stared at each other, smiling. Steve's heart settled, staring into Bucky's steel-blue eyes. God, he was handsome. So goddamn handsome that sometimes Steve was afraid he'd wake up and realize he had just dreamed the brunet up. But he was real and Steve wasn't dreaming – the kid jumping on his bladder made that much evident.

"So," Steve started, watching Bucky return to the half-put together crib. "What did you have in mind? For our date?"

"I have a lot of ideas," Bucky chuckled, ducking his head to study the instructions. "Candle lit dinner. Touring a museum. Scoring some tickets to the opera."

"That's some fancy taste, Buck," Steve teased, even though they all sounded fine to him. Better than fine, even. In fact, Steve thought it sounded perfect. He had never been on a date like that. Ever.

"Well, I figured that swapping spit at the movies was more of a second date kind of thing."

Blushing, Steve bit back his grin but still managed to joke, "Please, that's a pre-date activity."

Meeting his bluff head on, Bucky gestured with his hand holding the screwdriver, "Should I go pick something now, or do you wanna wait until the crib is done?"

Tossing his head back as he laughed, Steve was glad to have Bucky there with him. At first he had felt like he was taking advantage of Bucky and his helpfulness. But now he felt certain that perhaps the alpha had preyed on him and just used the ploy of helping him to simply spend more time with him. Unsurprisingly, Steve didn't mind. All Steve knew was that he was spending time with Bucky and that was all he currently wanted.

Well, spending time with Bucky and perhaps having a chicken fajita with grape jelly on the side.