Forward to the Past [Steggy] ✔

Chapter Five

Steve's POV

Flashback

"I'm telling you, you should date Sharon," Natasha insists, and I scoff.

"That isn't happening," I grumble. "It just doesn't feel right. Not after... not after Peggy, you know?"

"Steve, you and Peggy were done over seventy years ago. Move on."

"It doesn't feel right," I repeat, glaring at Natasha as she navigates the car through New York. "I'll find someone to date, sure, but I just don't feel like it should be Sharon."

"Fine, Mr. Stubborn." Natasha sends me an amused look over her shoulder. I give her an eye roll in return. "What about Bucky?"

"What?!?" I exclaim, my eyes going wide. "Me and.... me and Bucky?"

"Nothing's wrong with it, Steve," Natasha says, shrugging. "I'm just wondering."

"No, no, not me and Bucky," I assure her, and she smirks. "Natasha, just let it go. I'll find someone when I find someone."

"Don't wait too long," Natasha says, coming to a stop in front of my apartment building. "And you know Sharon's always free if you need her."

"I'll keep that in mind, but it's not happening." I get out of the car, and Natasha grins at me one last time before speeding off in the direction we'd come from.

Not five seconds after the car has left, I hear a low whistle from across the street, and glance up to see a young woman standing with her hands on her hips, staring after the car, her dark brown hair cascading in waves across her shoulders.

"That was some car," she calls over to me after a moment, beginning to cross the street. "That your girlfriend?"

"Huh? Oh, no," I say, chuckling as the woman nears me. "Not at all. She's just a friend."

"Some friend, with a car like that." The woman extends a hand. "I'm Sasha."

I shake her hand, nodding. "Steve."

"Do you live here?" She asks, and I nod again. "I just moved in across the street," Sasha continues, jerking a thumb back over her shoulder at the building across the street. "Moving from a small town in Nebraska to here was a bit of a shock."

"I bet it was." I laugh. "I've lived in New York all my life. I can't say I've really experienced the small town country feel."

"It's... different." Sasha smiles. "Very different. But I think I'll get used to it here."

"I'm sure you will," I agree. "How long have you been here?"

"Just a couple of hours," Sasha replies after taking a quick glance at her watch. "But the moving truck got delayed and that won't be here for another four hours, so I can't get into my apartment yet."

"You're welcome to come over to my place until you can get in," I offer, and Sasha looks surprised.

"Really? You'd do that?"

"Yeah, why not?" I shrug, thinking that maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing to get to know someone. Maybe Natasha would even approve. "Come on, follow me."

Sasha nods and I hold open the door for her as we enter the building and go up the stairs (some idiot set off a firework in the elevator so that doesn't work anymore).

"Hey, I'm home," I announce as I unlock the door to the apartment and walk inside. Bucky and I live in the same apartment because whoever is left of S.H.I.E.L.D. still doesn't trust him and it gets to be an issue sometimes.

Bucky appears from around the corner and then blinks at the sight of Sasha and me. "Who's this?" He asks.

"Oh, I um, just moved in across the street," Sasha explains. "But I can't get in yet, so..."

"Ah. So Steve invited you here." Bucky rolls his eyes at me. "Classic."

"Hey," I complain. "At least I'm not mean."

"Are you saying I'm mean?" Bucky shoots back.

"No! I'm saying that being nice is better than being mean! I wasn't insinuating anything about you being mean!" I say indignantly.

"Sorry," Bucky says to Sasha. "Steve thinks he's very subtle. He's not."

"Shut it!" I snap. "I was trying to be nice and you ruined it!"

"I still think you're nice," Sasha says, stifling laughs. Then she extends a hand to Bucky. "I'm Sasha."

Bucky eyes the hand nervously. "You're a lefty," he says warily, and I know exactly what he's thinking. He'd have to shake her hand with his left, and... Well. Bucky's left hand isn't exactly normal.

"Yeah," Sasha says, and after a minute of awkward silence in which Bucky refuses to shake Sasha's hand, she withdraws it, looking a bit put off.

"Does she know?" Bucky asks me quietly, out if Sasha's earshot, and I shake my head. "Let's keep it that way, okay?"

I nod, and Bucky looks satisfied. "I'm James," He tells Sasha, who smiles at him, though she still looks perplexed.

"So... You and Steve...?" She frowns at the two of us, and Bucky and I exchange awkward glances.

"What?" Bucky asks cautiously.

"Are you two together?" Sasha elaborates, and I feel heat rise to my cheeks.

"No. We're just good friends," I explain. "That's actually the second time I've been asked that in the last half hour."

"Oh." Sasha looks embarrassed, and she stares at the floor awkwardly for a second.

"Um, would you like something to drink?" I ask.

"Just a water, please?" Sasha requests, and I head to the cupboard to get a glass.

"Ice?" I ask. Sasha shakes her head, so I just fill the glass with water and hand it to her. "Why don't we all sit down instead of awkwardly standing in the middle of the hallway?" I suggest, and Sasha nods, looking more comfortable as we settle ourselves on the couch.

We purposefully avoid the topic of work so as to not run into the issue of Sasha finding out who we are, but while we talk, we find out that Sasha lived in Cambridge, Nebraska, and worked at a library for a few years after college before moving here. She's twenty eight years old.

I wonder if Natasha would approve.