Never Go To A Stark Party

Chapter 8

To say that Steve had a broken heart would have been an understatement. He had a crushed soul, a betrayed mind--a bad fucking day. He lost one of the most important people to him because he had high expectations and was too clingy.

He shouldn't have expected so much, especially when it came to someone like Bucky. Not that Bucky was a terrible person, Steve still thought strongly against that, but he was a heartbreaker. He had always been one and would always be one, even if he had changed into a completely different person.

Sam pat Steve's back gently, the action comforting in a way that only Steve could tell was meant to be that way. The blonde sighed softly and glanced up at the other man.

He sniffled quietly as he rubbed his swollen eyes.

"God, I'm so sorry, Sam. I shouldn't have forced all my baggage onto you." He quickly wiped away a tear that started to build up in his eye before continuing. "I'm gonna lose you too if I keep being a crybaby. I-I'll stop."

He hurriedly began to straighten himself up, doing his best to look presentable, before he was stopped by Sam.

The man looked at him, sympathy and a bit of a scolding look in his eye. "You're not gonna lose me by expressing your feelings, Steve. What do you peg me for? An asshole?"

Steve chuckled lightly at the question and shook his head swiftly. "Of course not... I just.."

"You just?"

"I just don't want to overwhelm you. I don't wanna scare you away with all my insecurities and neediness. I.. I know some people don't like that." The man looked away as he spoke, his words coming out in a flurry. Sam stared at him, shocked by his explanation.

"Well, I'm not like those people. I'm your friend, Steve. And last time I checked, people who were really friends with someone didn't get annoyed when their friends came to them in their time of need." The shorter man shook his head, exhaling softly. "Geez', Cap', did Bucky make you feel like your feelings didn't matter? Did he make you afraid to talk about them?"

When he didn't receive a response, he raged on.

"Shit, maybe this is a good thing! You shouldn't have people like that in your life!" The man's eyebrows had begun to furrow, face deepening into an angry frown.

Steve quickly placed a hand on his shoulder to calm him.

"No, no he didn't...! He just... All this time, he's been avoiding me and it's just made me wonder if he's acting like that because I threw all my feelings on him at the party. I just... I practically described how every waking minute, from the second I woke up and I was still 16 in Brooklyn, to now, he was on my mind. I didn't even give him a second to breathe. You know, it just made me wonder if that was why he was avoiding me... Maybe I had overwhelmed him."

The other glanced over at him, eyebrows quirked. "But?"

"But..." Steve sighed. "I guess that wasn't the case. He just didn't think what happened that night was important. I was just another dame he could have a fun night out with."

The blonde was quickly pulled into a tight hug. He instantly returned the embrace and sighed into it, the sound heavy and heartbroken.

"Maybe we should tell Tony..." Sam started quietly after a few moments passed. Steve immediately pulled away, eyes wide at the suggestion.

"No! We can't do that!"

"Why not, Steve? That asshole hurt you! You don't gotta keep protecting him!"

"I-I know, but... But he has nowhere else to go! If Tony were to kick him out, he'd just go back to being a squatter...! I... I can't bear the thought of that." The larger man looked away pathetically, shoulders drooped. "Besides, Tony and I still aren't on great terms. He's still upset that I was willing to fight him for Bucky."