STEVE WOKE UP WITH A CRICK IN HIS NECK AND SOMETHING LEANING AGAINST HIM. Opening his eyes, he glanced around, wincing at the sun that was just starting to rise, peeking through the large windows in front of him. He sighed softly, trying to move his left arm which was weak, asleep and trapped at his side.

He looked over and scoffed softly to himself, tilting his head back. There, leaning on his arm, was Rhett, his legs splayed over the rest of the couch, his body trapping Steve's legs underneath him, mostly on top of him than next to, as the couch wasn't big enough to fit both of them without one falling.

"Rhett," he whispered, moving his arm slightly, "Rhett."

The man groaned, shifting and looking around, yawning, "What?"

Steve stifled a laugh. "Can I have my body back?"

Rhett paused in the middle of stretching, frowning at the words. It wasn't until he shifted that he realized the position they were in. He pushed himself up and off of Steve, continuing to stretch, sighing as his back popped.

The other man sat up and did the same, cracking his back and rubbing his face, looking around. "Well, I have to say, that was fun." He gave Rhett a lopsided smile, and the other man rolled his eyes.

"Phrase it like that, sounds like I slept with you," he coughed, grabbing the note Nicky left on the coffee table before leaning back against the couch cushions, purposefully avoiding Steve's gaze.

When the other blond man wouldn't stop trying to catch his attention, he scoffed, setting down the note and turning to look at him. "What, man, you just woke up."

Steve grinned when he looked at him and Rhett found that he was just looking into his eyes, almost transfixed as he maintained the intense eye contact. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore, glancing towards the TV.

"What?" he asked, turning away, "You reading my mind or something?" He seriously hoped not.

"Your eyes are so blue," Steve said, leaning forward, "They're familiar, I don't know how, though."

Rhett's heart stopped and he struggled to breathe, a million thoughts racing through his mind all at once. He bit his lip, looking into Steve's eyes, searching for any sign of recognition, but coming up empty.

"You say that to all the guys you crash with?" he asked, trying to make light of the conversation, pushing back Steve's shoulder lightly. The man budged only slightly, still leaned forward.

Rhett glanced at his lips briefly, only for a moment, before sliding off the couch, standing up and stiffly walking to the kitchen, leaving the other man to watch him go.

"You want bacon, I can make something," Rhett asked, already pulling out the meat to thaw, despite the two having to wait a while.

"Sure, if you'll let me stay, I have no plans," Steve replied, resting his arm on the back of the couch, head propped up lazily.

"Why would I kick you out?" Rhett asked, walking back towards the man, leaning against the side of the couch, crossing his arms.

"Maybe you're sick of me," Steve proposed, falling back against the seats, resting his arms behind his back, his clothes rumpled and hair unkempt, and Rhett didn't realize that he hadn't taken a breath in quite some time until he realized he was getting lightheaded.

"That depends, are you gonna let me sit?" he asked, moving to tap at Steve's leg, inwardly sighing because he didn't even seem to have felt it, smiling at him challengingly and he physically wanted to restrain himself.

"It's my couch," he argued, throwing up his arms.

With a sigh, he leaned over, grabbing Steve's legs with both arms, tugging as hard as he could, pushing them off the cushions and onto the floor, throwing himself onto the cushions before he could lose his place again.

"Personal space," Steve said, the two shoulder to shoulder, legs thrown on either side of the couch, sitting in the middle of the fairly brown monstrosity that Rhett and Nicky had hauled in from the side of the road.

While he had said it, Rhett noticed that the man made no move to separate himself in any way, relaxing into the position and sighing, closing his eyes for a few moments, the sun warming his face, giving him an almost ethereal glow. If Rhett was an artist, he'd draw him.

"Now who's staring?" Steve asked, eyes still closed, and Rhett actually had to bite his fist to calm himself down, trying not to breathe too heavily.

"You alright?" the man asked, opening his eyes and looking at him, concerned.

"I'm fine," Rhett breathed, "I'm fine, we're fine, I'm fine."

Steve laughed softly, glancing at the clock, smile dropping. "Aren't you supposed to be at school?"

Rhett's heart stopped. Whirling around, he glanced at the clock, sighing heavily when he caught sight of the time, which was still just reaching seven.

"God, don't scare me like that," he groaned, burying his face in his hands, "I got time, but if you want bacon, you're gonna have to make it yourself. And, uh, gosh, I'm not gonna kick you out, but you will be stuck here for about eight, nine hours."

"If you don't mind me hanging around, I'd like to stay," Steve said, looking around the loft, "This place is a lot more...lived in, than mine." He rubbed the back of his neck, clearly uncomfortable with sharing that piece of information.

"Well, I'm not gonna lie, I'd love to come home and find you here, so if you want to stay, I'm not complaining," Rhett said, and he found way too much pride in the way Steve ducked his head, blushing profusely.

The man turned to look at him, his smile as sweet as spun sugar. He parted his lips, as if he were about to say something, but said nothing, instead choosing to just smile at him and Rhett just wanted to stay there forever and stare, because never in his life did he think he would ever get that smile aimed at him again.

"I should get going," he whispered, forcing himself to stand, heading towards his room, "Don't wanna get in trouble with the school."

He stiffly walked towards his room, ignoring the feeling of Steve's gaze trained on his back, reminding himself that this was his reality and his reality didn't involve any connection with anyone, because, in all honesty, he didn't want to go back.

Not now. Not when he was just starting to get comfortable.

º º º

"Steve, are you okay?"

The super soldier looked up from where he was trying and failing to make scrambled eggs, eyes wide and hands covered in egg yolk. He tried to smile, but found it more of a grimace, feeling guilty for getting caught wasting their groceries.

Luckily for him, however, Nicky just laughed, setting down his bag, locking the door behind him. "Are you trying to make Rhett something?"

"Uh..." he replied smartly, glancing between the man and the eggs, wishing that he could just melt into a pile on the floor.

"He said he didn't have breakfast and forgot a lunch, but he set out the bacon," Nicky explained, walking into the kitchen, surveying the mess. He blinked. "How did you survive on your own, seriously, did you buy take out every day?"

"No, I mostly just cried myself to sleep," Steve muttered bitterly, washing his hands of the sticky substance, shuddering as he remembered the feeling of blood on his hands.

Nicky carefully reached out, showing his hand before placing it on Steve's arm. "Steve, do you want to talk about it?"

The man shook his head, pulling away. "I'm fine. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that, especially after wasting your food."

"Dude," Nicky laughed, patting his shoulder, "I'm a psychologist with a PhD, I already earn enough money without adding on my other job which pays very well. A few eggs aren't going to get us evicted from our home."

Steve laughed at that, standing back to let Nicky arrange the bowls, the younger man knowing what he was doing much more than he was. As Nicky went about working, he decided to strike up a conversation, feeling uncomfortable just standing there.

"You and Rhett have known each other for a long time?" he asked, deciding to find some common ground between them.

"Yeah, about nine years," Nicky said, turning around to smile at him, bowls and spoons in hand, "He's all I got, really, and it's kind of the same with him."

"Do you not have family nearby?" Steve found himself asking, sounding hypocritical seeing as he didn't have anyone else left, except maybe Bucky.

Nicky froze at that, biting his lip. After a moment, he shook his head. "My mom...okay, well, I grew up in Harlem, but that's a whole different story, but I don't associate with my family. My step-brother was in the picture recently, but that's irrelevant now, and my mom recently called because of that, but no. Just...no."

"I'm sorry," Steve said, noticing the tension in the man's shoulders and the clear distress on his face, "I didn't mean to—"

"No, it's fine," Nicky said, waving him off, "The past few months have just been...difficult. But we're fine now, hopefully, and there's nothing to worry about. Hopefully."

"Hopefully?" Steve parroted, rising an eyebrow, "Should I be worried?" He asked it partly as a joke, but his small smile soon faded when he saw the alarm in the other man's eyes.

"Nope!" he cried, "Nope, not at all. Oh God, Captain America is...no, please don't be worried, that would be...ah..." he trailed off, leaning against the counter and rubbing his temples.

"Are you okay?" Steve asked, unsure of how to proceed; he seemed distressed and slightly out of it, leaning against the cabinets to remain on his feet.

"I haven't slept in a few days," Nicky mumbled, beginning to sway.

"Okay," Steve said, reaching over and picking up the younger man with ease, keeping a firm grip even while the man flailed, yelping, "Calm down, I got you. I want you to get some rest, we can cook the food when Rhett comes back."

"But what about you, you're just gonna sit on the couch?" Nicky asked, struggling against his grip, "Damn, are you even trying?"

Steve scoffed, rolling his eyes. "I'll probably take a nap, I'm pretty tired out myself."

"Take Rhett's room," Nicky offered, "His bed is comfy and it smells like him, so you'll like it." He had stopped fighting against the hold, now letting himself be cradled, arms thrown around Steve's neck.

The blond blushed at the insinuation, deciding not to comment as he walked into what he presumed was Nicky's room, eyes bugging out at the computer screens and blueprints literring the room.

"Well, no wonder you can't think," Steve mumbled, depositing him onto the bed with minimal fanfare, moving to gather up the blueprints and turn off the computer.

"Wait, don't," Nicky said, an arm out, "Just turn off the monitor, don't turn off the whole thing, I'm running an algorithm. And could you just stack them up put them over there?" he asked, motioning towards the blueprints, then over to a spot on the floor.

That didn't work for Steve. He complied with the request to just turn off the monitor, glad to be rid of the humming of the computer fans, plummeting the room into a silence that he hoped Nicky was comfortable with; for himself, he needed noise to sleep, but perhaps the silence would calm the younger man down.

He rolled up the blueprints and set them on the desk, rearranging all the notebooks into a pile, setting all the pens and pencils into the cup that held all the others, rearranging as much as he could.

When it was all neat, he turned to find Nicky curled up on top of his covers, exhausted. While he wanted to just leave, he didn't like the idea of the man sleeping in any form of discomfort.

"Do you want the blanket?" he asked, nudging him awake.

"Hm?" Nicky said, looking around, "Damn, it's quiet in here. Uh, yeah, wait, I'm gonna get dressed. You should too, you've been wearing that tight shirt since yesterday, uh, change into something of Rhett's or take a shower, do what you like."

"T-thank you," Steve stammered, making his way out of the room, "Get some rest, Nicky."

"Yeah," the man sighed, moving towards his closet, "Thank you, Steve. Really."

With a nod, the super solider exited the room, closing the door softly behind him. He stared at the door directly across from him for a moment, before glancing over at the bathroom to his left.

He did need a shower. Hopefully Rhett wouldn't mind if he snitched a shirt and some sweats.

Walking into the room, he had to just stop and stare for a moment because, while it was plain, it just screamed Rhett. From the blue sheets to the grey desk to the messily organized stacks of paper, it was the embodiment of him as a person.

Not wanting to snoop too much, he opened the closet, not paying attention to the boxes littered around, choosing to just grab the first pair of sweatpants and the first t-shirt he could find, closing it quickly and rushing to the shower.

He wouldn't admit it, but he practically wasted their hot water. His apartment didn't always have hot water running and while he was used to the cold, he did miss the hot showers he sometimes took at the Tower and at the compound. Nicky had said that money wasn't much of a problem.

Relaxed and refreshed, Steve tugged on the clothes, finding that the shirt he had grabbed was miraculously too big, probably why it was shoved into a small pile on top, clearly no longer being used. The sweats were alright and it was needless to say that Steve liked this place much better than his own.

He made his way into Rhett's room, a wave of discomfort and embarrassment washing over him as he stood at the foot of the bed. He glanced back at the closed door leading out to the living room; he could just sleep on the couch.

But Nicky told him to stay in Rhett's room, and he had a feeling that it would be worse for the young man if he found Steve on the couch. So, albeit slightly reluctant, he climbed into the bed, drawing the covers around him carefully, the room much too cold to be without a blanket, his tolerance be damned.

It was indeed a comfortable bed and Steve would rather die than admit that, yes, he did like the smell, he found it calming and almost familiar.

He drifted off to sleep with a feeling of safety, an odd thing to feel, really. Though, if he was being honest, it wasn't very odd at all.

º º º

Rhett came home to Steve Rogers cooking eggs and bacon while wearing in his clothes.

He gaped for a moment, glancing over to Nicky who was just exiting the bathroom, the younger man raising his eyebrows at him with a smile, gesturing over to Steve who was either too wrapped up in his work to notice them, or was pretending not to.

"Honey, I'm home," Rhett called out, walking over to Steve, ignoring Nicky's offended gasp. He leaned over the counter, smiling at him. "How's the most amazing man in the world doing?"

Steve barely looked up from where he was arranging the bacon. "I don't know, how are you doing?"

Rhett choked up, his face turning red and his heart racing in an instant. "F-fine."

Steve looked up from his work to smile at him and Rhett's heart had never hurt more.

"Here, try," the man commanded, holding out a piece of bacon towards him, "I'm not so sure how these turned out, I don't know what you like."

Rhett glanced towards Nicky who was making his way into the kitchen, wondering just how long he was going to be able to last if the scene kept playing out in this way.

Nevertheless, with shaking hands, he pushed himself forward, parting his lips and taking the proffered piece of bacon, his tongue darting out to graze the tip of Steve's finger. He tried not to smile as he noticed the man shiver ever so slightly, mainly focusing on the taste of the bacon.

"It's good," he said, pretending not to notice Nicky who was filming the entire thing, "I like it."

"I'm glad," Steve breathed, staring at him, hand still partly outstretched.

They stared at each other for a moment, neither blond knowing what to do next, challenging the other to do something first. Neither wanted to move, wanting to follow whatever the other did for fear of consequence.

"Hey, can we eat?" Nicky asked, the tension dissipating immediately.

The two men sighed before nodded, Rhett setting down his bag on the couch and walking over to take some of the plates to the table, sighing when he saw that Nicky had sent the video to Diana.

"I hope you know what you just did," he grumbled, grabbing the plate of eggs from Steve who was glancing between them, confused.

"Oh, believe me, I am well aware," Nicky drawled with a grin, grabbing a plate of bacon and making his way to the table, "C'mon, Cap, let's see what you made."

The three men sat down, Steve taking the seat at the head of the table as the two men sat across from each other. He felt more than a little uncomfortable sitting at the head of the table in a home that wasn't his, but Nicky had patted the seat and he didn't want to be rude.

"You make a great housewife," Rhett said around a mouthful of eggs, "Damn, this is good."

"Yeah, can you marry me?" Nicky asked, taking a sip of orange juice, "Or Rhett? One of us? Because we come in a package deal, if you take one, you take both."

"Unless you're Sam Wilson, in which case Nicky won't share," Rhett added, snorting when he was kicked roughly in the shin.

"You know Sam?" Steve asked, turning to look at Nicky with surprise and barely concealed excitement.

"Yeah, we went to school together," he coughed, tugging at his collar, "It's a long story, uh...let's not get into it now, I haven't spoken to him in years."

"His is a very strong love," Rhett whispered loudly to Steve, earning a displeased shout from Nicky. "But seriously, if you want to marry me, I have no problem with that."

Steve scoffed, shaking his head. "I don't know, you men only ever want one thing."

Rhett shrugged, feigning nonchalance as he took another bite from his eggs. "What can I say, baby, a man's gotta eat."

He winked and Steve nearly spit out his juice, choking and coughing as he tried to swallow, mixed between a laugh and just sheer shock and embarrassment. Rhett and Nicky weren't much help, laughing too hard to help the man except for a few pats on the back, trying and failing to be forceful.

"We almost killed Captain America," Nicky said, once Steve was alright and they had all calmed down, "Would that be considered treason? Like, desecrating a national icon?"

The sound of the loft was filled with the echoing sounds of three men laughing harder than they had laughed in a very long time. A joyful sound that seemed to slip through the windows and the walls, filling the building and the city with the blissful feeling of happiness. Perhaps fleeting, but felt all the same.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

( 12.18.17 )

I honestly love this chapter? I don't know why, not much happened, but it was just a cute lazy day chapter and Steve talked to Nicky and there's a little like