Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Again, it happens. They miss the soldier- this time it looks like it was only by hours. And Steve has failed Bucky once again.

Months have passed, and they’ve barely gained anything. Sam and Steve, they follow the soldier, but they’re always a bit too slow for him, and they manage to lose him every time. It’s draining Steve, but he continues anyway. He’s failed Bucky so many times; as a scrawny kid so many times, the only time it mattered in the war, and even now.

He’s glad Sam’s been with him, or Steve would have fallen himself long ago.

But he’s done it again. They can’t follow him straight after, they never can. Always a while after they lose him, Bucky leaves a clue, and they follow it, and the cycle repeats.

Sam’s gone back to Avengers Tower after this one- no point staying. He’d offered Steve a ride to his apartment but Steve just can’t. Not tonight. Instead, he wanders the city. The neon lights hurt his eyes after a while, but he can’t seem to bring himself to go back.

It’s around midnight when he realises he needs a drink. Of course, he knows he can’t get drunk, but he needs that taste. Plus, he can always try. It’s not as if it’ll hurt him with this body. Hell, he could probably smoke and it wouldn’t affect him, but it never appealed to him (and what example would it set?).

So. Bars. It would be useful at this point if Steve actually knew any bars, but alas, Steve doesn’t drink. Not on normal occasions, anyway. He looks around, walks a bit more on streets that seem familiar but that the dark has obscured from him. Finally, he spots a young man walking alone, and he calls over to him.

“Hey- sorry, excuse me. Do you know any bars nearby?” Steve asks, somewhat timid for a man like him, but hey, he’s never done this before.

The man turns to him and looks him up and down. “Yeah,” he says slowly. “Yeah, actually, there’s one that’s just opened a few months ago that you’d like. It’s just, you follow that street there, and then you take a left, and go on for a little while until you get to it. It’s called The Apple Pie, and you might miss it if you’re not paying attention.” The young man uses dynamic hand gestures to get his point across.

“Thanks, man,” Steve tells him sincerely, and the young man smiles at him before they part.

He keeps his mind in the present while he walks. Store, store, store. Turn left. There’s a car shop, a jewellery shop, a phone shop, a café, a clothes shop…he almost misses The Apple Pie, the front of it is so disguised. He almost wonders if it’s closed, but there’s definitely an ‘open’ sign on it.

He pushes the door a little, and it gives easily; the exterior is just a ruse. The inside isn’t dark, but it’s not light either, the lamps being different colours, hidden by translucent screens around the bar. Different relics are hung up or stuck to the walls, such as old motorcycles and guitars. Even some old recipes are graciously stuck to the walls in what could be a reckless manner, but comes off as more professional than that.

Steve takes a few steps in, looking around, noticing that there are quite a few customers on a variety of stools, mainly men. Some are dancing in the far side of the bar. It isn’t busy, but there’s enough noise for it not to be awkward. Interesting music which Steve understands to be modern dance music is playing quietly.

The wet pitter-patter of rain sounds behind him, and Steve smiles a little, making his way over to the bar. The bartender gives him an appreciative look as he sits between empty stools. A minute passes before he asks Steve what he wants to drink. Steve asks for Apple Smirnoff vodka. It’s appropriate, Steve thinks. The bartender winks at him, introducing himself as Scott, and moves away, and it’s then that Steve notices something’s different.

He looks around, observing the people, mostly male, around the room. Sure, it’s a little quieter than it’d been described to him, but maybe that’s due to the time of night. Some guys are playing darts in the corner. He turns back around.

Some of the men across the bar look at him in the way Steve remembers Bucky looking at dames in the 30s and 40s, Steve takes a breath to ask the bartender when he’s overridden. “Yeah, it’s a little different to the usual. We wanted to be a less chaotic bar, ‘cause around here there aren’t many casual gay bars.” Scott gestures to the various people around the room. “Some prefer it this way, and we have a lot of regulars.” Scott smiles at him, putting his hand on his hip. “I didn’t catch your name.”

“Oh, I- I’m Steve.”

“Nice to meet you, Steve,” Scott tells him, and holds out his hand. Steve grasps it with his own, and they shake, Scott bringing Steve hand up to his lips and kissing it. Steve doesn’t have enough time to process it before Scott gives him his drink and is called away by a woman on the other side of the bar.

He blinks, taking it in, before shrugging and taking a sip of the vodka. It burns a bit in his throat, but pleasantly so. He takes another few sips, hoping in vain for it to affect him in some way. So, a gay bar then. That’s what he’s wandered into. At least nobody here seems to have recognised him yet. Plus, he’s always known himself to be bisexual, so it’s not as if this is anything new.

His head whips round when someone sits down next to him, already with a drink. He’s wearing a well-fitted black tee and leather jacket, with hot pink cords that look better than they really ought to. He’s quite young, or looks it, and his hair is coiffed. Steve can’t make out the colour of his eyes in the low light, but he has an attractive face regardless.

The man takes a swig of his drink and turns to Steve with an easy smile. “Steve, is it?” Steve nods cautiously. “I couldn’t help but overhearing. Anyway, I haven’t seen you in here before. I’m Sebastian.”

Steve nods in acknowledgement, smiling back. “Good to meet you. Are you a regular here, then?”

Sebastian laughs, a low pleasant sound. “Oh yeah. There are quite a few of us. You planning on staying?” he winks.

Steve blinks, before hesitantly saying, “Well, it seems like a nice place-”

“Sebastian! How mean. You’re scaring the nice man away.” Steve turns to his other side as a blond man with an amazing jawline wearing a grey shirt and cargo pants settles next to him. “Chris. Seb and I are together, but it’s nice here and we’re open…to new things. What’s your name?”

“Steve, I’m Steve.” Steve stutters, not used to this much attention.

“Steve. Nice. Do you live near here?” Chris asks energetically, and Steve can’t help but smile as he answers.

“I’m not entirely sure where ‘here’ is. I went for a walk and the streets kinda blurred.”

Sebastian chuckles, amused, and Steve faces him again. “Well, do you know where Tony Stark & co’s tower is?”

“Yeah.” If you only knew.

“The Apple Pie’s only a block away from that, if it helps.”

“Oh…then yeah, I live kinda near here. What about you guys?”

“A little,” Chris tells him. “A few blocks away, anyway. Sebastian lives practically down the street.”

Steve sees Sebastian’s pout out of the corner of his eye and smiles at him. “Guess that means we have more chance of seeing each other on the street, then,” Steve nods towards Sebastian, and he perks up with an angelic grin.

“That depends,” Challenges Chris, looking from Sebastian to Steve. “What do you do for a living?”

“I, uh…work in law enforcement, sort of.” Steve winces at his own idiocy. He was never good at lying, though he’s not technically lying now.

“Sort of?” Asks a new voice from further down the bar. “What do you mean sort of?”

Steve takes another drink of his vodka and replies, “It’s complicated.”

The other man smirks and shakes his head. His friend nudges him. He’s ginger, bulkier than Chris and Sebastian, and looks like he’s just come from an office job. The man next to him has much darker skin, much less hair, and is dressed much the same. “I’m Neal. This is Derek. Who’re you?”

“I’m Steve.” He wonders how many times he’ll have to say it tonight.

Neal opens his mouth to say something, but Derek overrides him. “Hey handsome. No need to sweat, because we won’t. Push you. Right Neal?” He sends a look to the man next to him, who rolls his eyes and sends an amused smile Steve’s way. He says something to Derek, and they resume their conversation.

“More regulars,” Chris tells him, and Steve looks back at him.

“Are they together?”

“Neal and Derek?” Sebastian snorts. “Not fucking likely. They’re friends from work, and they enjoy three things. One, patriotism. Two, sex. Not with each other, though. And three, pissing each other off.”

“Sounds like best buds,” Steve comments, which makes Sebastian and Chris laugh.

“Oh yeah, they really are,” Chris agrees.

“So…what do you guys do?” Steve asks, bringing them back on topic.

“Chris directs short films,” Sebastian says proudly. “He’s really great. I’m a police officer, off duty obviously, so I guess that puts me closer to you than Chris.” Sebastian smirks at Chris, and Chris laughs.

Suddenly, his phone buzzes in his pocket. He goes to fish it out, opening his mouth to apologise, when the song starts playing. It’s “The star spangled man with a plan”, and Steve freezes. He’s going to kill Tony.

Chris and Sebastian watch him with mild surprise, not saying anything. Closing his eyes, he retrieves his phone, leaning back in case they want to continue their conversation. They continue to watch him.

It’s Tony who’s calling him. He accepts the call, and the first thing he says is, “What the fuck, man?” Chris and Sebastian cover their mouths to hide their laughter.

“Wha- the ring tone?”

“What else?”

“I thought you got more calls than this, I set this days ago.”

“…I’ve been busy.” Steve sighs.

“So I’ve noticed. I’ve also noticed that it is 1am and you are not home.”

“I don’t live with you, how the hell do you know?”

“You answered your cell but not your house phone. It’s a little obvious, Steve.”

“Whatever. What do you want?”

“I’m just checking on you. Sam says you were pretty upset earlier.” That’s odd. Tony actually sounds concerned.

“Yeah, well, it’s happened before. We were close, again, but we couldn’t do it.”

“That sucks. Are you okay? Where are you?”

Steve raises his eyebrows as he thinks of a response. “I’m fine, I’m in a bar near- near you.” Steve catches himself just in time.

“The only bar near the Tower is…are you in that new bar that opened this year? The queer one?” Steve doesn’t say anything. He really should have checked his facts before telling anything to Tony. “You are, aren’t you? Wow, Cap, I didn’t think you were into that type of thing. Given, I haven’t been there so I don’t know what it’s like, but still.” There’s a teasing tone to Tony’s voice that Steve grits his teeth at.

“Goodbye, Tony.” He moves to end the call, but Tony calls out, getting louder and louder, trying to stop him.

“No, no! Cap! Wait a second, will you?” There goes nobody recognising him; the phone’s the same distance from his as from Chris and Sebastian, and Tony’s speaking exceptionally loud, even for him. “I was joking, Cap. You know what a joke is, right? No, no, don’t, I’m kidding-” Tony babbles again as Steve almost ends the call again.

“Is that it, Tony? Are you done?”

Tony sighs. “Just one more thing.” Tony takes a deep breath, and Steve furrows his brow, before Tony practically shouts, “Hey Bruce, did you know that Captain America likes it up his a-”

Steve ends the call, eyes narrowed, blushing and frowning furiously. Unconsciously he hunches over when he puts his phone away. His eyes flick to Chris, Sebastian, then to others close by who are looking his way in surprise, which includes Scott, Neal and Derek.       

Nobody speaks for a moment, until Sebastian clears his throat.

“So, law enforcement, huh?”

Chapter Text

After Sebastian breaks the ice again, the mood continues on as normal- people shrug and go back to their drinks. If some of them send one more glance Steve’s way than they would have, well, it’s not his problem.

Of course, then Chris and Sebastian get started.

“So, Captain America walks into a gay bar,” Chris drawls with a smirk.

“O Captain, I’d like to feel your patriotism.” Sebastian winks at him with a boyish grin, making Steve and Chris laugh.

“Is everything about you star-spangled? Even…” Chris waggles his eyebrows at him, and Steve knows he’s in for it.

“I heard you have a surging righteousness, if you know what I mean,” quips Sebastian, wrapping his arm around Steve’s shoulder.

“Law enforcement, huh? You can ‘enforce the law’ on me any day,” Chris punctuates his words by wiggling his hips attractively, quite a feat for a man sitting on a bar stool.

Steve responds before either of them can think of another innuendo. “Well, the way I see it, those hips are illegal.” Chris and Sebastian stare at him for a second before grinning with devilish delight.

Chris leans forward, eyes lit up with mirth, and he asks, “Are you going to have to handcuff me, sir?”

Sebastian sends a jolt through him by poking him in the sides, saying, “Have you got a large baton?”

There’s an overdramatic gasp behind them which makes the three of them jump. Steve turns first, super serum reflexes apparent, but Chris and Sebastian aren’t far behind. A beautiful blonde dame stands a foot away. Her navy strapless dress emphasises her pose; one hand on her hip and one over her mouth. She towers over them, perhaps because they’re sitting or perhaps because she’s wearing high heels sharp enough to kill a man. Her body language says ‘scandalised’ but her face says ‘into it’.

“I’m sure a gentleman such as Steve Rogers would never partake in such vulgar acts.”

At first Steve’s confused, but he goes with it. “No ma’am, I’m just doing my duty, which may involve punishing some wrong-doers.”

Sebastian hums appreciatively, and the woman sticks out her hand. “I’m Natalie. I’m a regular here. I’m also hoping you’ll stick around.”

Steve takes her hand and they shake, Steve lifting hers to his lips and kissing it like he’s been taught is respectful. Natalie blushes slightly, smiling. “Plus, I’m bisexual, so if you need to punish me like those two naughty boys…be my guest.”

It’s Steve’s turn to blush; she reminds him of an agent (Lorraine, was it?) who once got him in trouble with Peggy for accidentally kissing her. She was a good kisser, not that he’d ever told anyone.

“Is Natalie flirting with the boys again?” another feminine voice calls from the direction of the door. A brunette struts in, wearing a lacy red dress and pumps to match, her curly hair bouncing as she heads towards them.

Sebastian laughs beside him, clapping a hand on Steve’s knee. “Not to worry, Haley, it’s only one boy. And given who it is, I think it can be excused.”

Steve nods his head respectfully towards her, and to her credit, she only takes a few seconds in shock before she playfully curtsies back. Natalie grabs her around the waist and Steve averts his eyes to Chris and Sebastian, who are instead eyeing Steve up.

Chris meets his eyes and shrugs with a grin. “Not my fault if you’re a sexy bastard. Bonus points for being the heart of America.”

“Now, I wouldn’t say-”

“’Course you wouldn’t. Which is why we’re saying it for you.” Sebastian overrides him smoothly, flashing him a sweet smile.

Natalie, having thoroughly greeted Hayley, motions behind her and suggests, “Hey, boys? Wanna migrate to the couches? More room for whatever dirty acts you want to commit this morning.”

Steve grabs his drink and the others follow suit. As Natalie prepares to order Hayley a drink, Chris shakes his head in mock disappointment. “I thought you knew me better! I follow the third date rule quite strictly.”

“Since when have you needed to use it, though?” Quips Hayley, earning her a few laughs.

Sebastian leans over to Steve and stage whispers to him. “That means you need to come here at least twice more.”

“Well, if it’s anything like this every time, I fully intend to,” Steve replies honestly. Sebastian grins at him and takes his arm playfully when they move as a group to a set of couches in the corner of the bar.

There are three couches in a circles facing in; Hayley and Natalie take one, while Steve, Chris and Sebastian take another, leaving one empty. Neither take up the full couch, leaving a lot of room for relaxed posture (and probably intended for a lot more, judging by the widths of the couches too).

The talking commences around him and Steve’s content to just sit, sip and watch the people around him. Sebastian’s hand shifts sometimes when he’s animated while speaking to someone, but other than that it remains gently holding Steve’s arm. The contact reminds him of Bucky, so many years ago.

He observes the smiles, the laughter, the flirting going on in their small group. Unlike most social situations similar to this, Steve doesn’t actually feel awkward and out of place, at least not yet.

Steve finishes his drink and pauses, his eyes darting around with nothing to do as he mentally checks himself for any signs of being affected by the alcohol. He sighs when, as he expected, he finds nothing. He leans back in his chair, wondering if it’s worth ordering another drink. Before he’s made up his mind, a weight settles on his shoulder, and he twists around.

“Is it true that you can’t get drunk?” The voice has a slight French accent to it, and belongs to one of three men standing behind the couches. They’re all looking at him in interest- the Frenchman has on a leather jacket and jeans, the others sporting dark red and blue suits that hug their figures too much to be for work, but are, admittedly, attractive. The Frenchman has short, dark brown hair and a moustache. One of the others has the same, but with a longer face, and the last has straight, black, slightly longer hair. Steve thinks he might be part Japanese, though that might be due to how much he looks like Morita, one of his old Howling Commandos.

“Unfortunately, it’s looking that way,” Steve responds truthfully, if a bit bitter. The conversation seems to die behind him, and he knows he’s attracted the group’s attention, too. Sebastian’s hand tightens in comfort on his arm. “Can’t hurt to try, though.”

“Can I get you a drink, so you can continue to try?” The Frenchman asks with an innocent tone of voice his face betrays. Steve’s lips quirk up, and he raises an eyebrow.

The man points to himself. “I’m Bruno.” He gestures to his left, then his right, saying, “this is Kenneth, and JJ.” The men behind him give him a little wave as they’re introduced- the one with the shorter hair is JJ, the longer Kenneth.

Steve gives a mock salute to the three, and comments with a smirk, “I’m Steve, and I’ll take that drink.” He hears soft laughter behind him and figures he’s said the right thing.

“What would you-”

“Surprise me.”  

 Bruno smirks at that, turning back to the bar. Kenneth and JJ slide into the circle of couches and occupy the empty one.

“That must suck,” Kenneth says once they’re both seated, gesturing to Steve.

“Hmm?” Steve asks him, not quite catching on.

“Not being able to get drunk. How does that even work?”

Sensing that the group is hanging on his every word (a change from being in Tony’s presence), Steve shifts so he’s facing the whole group. Sebastian moves his hand from Steve’s arm to his knee, and Steve ignores the hot spark that shoots through him at the touch.

“My metabolism burns four times faster than the average person, so yeah, not being able to get drunk is one of the side effects. It does suck, sometimes. I have problems too, like any human being…I can’t exactly drink them away for a night.” Steve grimaces.

“Wow,” says Chris, looking at him with sympathy and respect mingled in his gaze. “But, the metabolism thing- does it affect…” He gestures to his legs.

Getting his meaning, Steve laughs, while the others look at him, eager to know the answer. “You know what? I haven’t tested that.”

This starts surprised murmuring throughout the group, and Bruno returns, setting down Steve’s drink with a seductive wink before settling down next to JJ, who quietly explains what he’s missed. Kenneth, with a surprised expression, addresses Steve. “Surely you must have had sex since getting super-jacked. I mean, women- and men- must be throwing themselves at you!”

“What, like you all are?” Steve quips, earning him laughter from the group, and Sebastian strokes his thigh suggestively. “No- well, I’ve been with people, just…nothing serious, y’know? Not intense or anything. No-one really stuck around long enough for me to want to test it out, I guess.”

“We’ll rectify that,” Natalie purrs, eyes flashing with mirth. The rest of them make varying noises of agreement interspersed with sounds of amusement.

“Oh, I bet you will. Wait- yeah, you’re all regulars here, right?” Steve cuts himself as he realizes he doesn’t actually know, and takes a swig of his drink. It tastes strange to him- a drink he hadn’t tried yet.

“Yep!” Hayley nods, hair bouncing at her enthusiasm. “You’ve met most of us, actually. Only two regulars you haven’t met yet. Boy, have they missed out. But, if you’re planning on coming back at least twice more, you should have plenty of time to meet them.”

“Wow, that’s a lot of you…” Steve trails off, not knowing exactly what to say.

“I call first dibs!” Sebastian exclaims, and the groups erupts into chaos.

Chris doesn’t even bother, just laughs at the rest with Sebastian. He catches Steve’s eye and sobers immediately, saying, “I’m either first with Sebastian or close after.” Steve tries to keep a straight face, but Chris breaks first into peals of laughter which has Steve following close behind.

It’s odd, he thinks, that he can be this relaxed around people he’s only just met about- he checks the time- an hour ago, some much sooner. It’s a bit like with the Avengers, but the dynamic is very different. At least, sex isn’t a normal conversational topic with the Avengers, and he’s glad for it.

No, it’s much more like the Howling Commandos without the war going on around them. The thought makes him miss them, and especially Bucky, with a passion, but maybe this can become a thing for him, something else to keep him grounded.

…Peggy was right. He is overdramatic.

“Can I get your numbers, or is that going too far?” He asks the group, calling attention to himself once again, albeit not really meaning to.

The regulars immediately take out their phones, which range from basic to hi-tech. He notes that Hayley and Natalie’s phones are very modern, same as Chris and Sebastian’s. As he’s about to take his own (far superior thanks to Stark) phone, Kenneth calls to him.

“Just how good are you with modern technology, anyway?”

In response, he continues to take out his phone. Chris and Sebastian had sort of seen it before, but he had mostly hidden it behind his hand. It’s quite similar to the one SHIELD had given him, only it was very obviously Stark’s tech and it contained a lot of random jokes from Tony to Steve embedded in the coding.

They all stare at it in fascination, as Steve expected, and he continues to open the ‘add contact’ screen. He presses the close button on a bubble that pops up, containing, “Making contacts for people you knew in the 40s isn’t cute anymore, Rogers, it’s just sad.” Despite never having done anything like, Steve knows it’s better not to bring this kind of thing up with Tony, lest he be subject to even more teasing.

“Numbers?” Steve questions, nonchalantly, and it prompts those still staring in awe at the phone (namely Bruno and JJ) to bring up their phones.

They swap numbers, and Steve ends up with nine new numbers in his phone. “I’m gonna have to ask you not to call when an alien invasion or the end of the world is upon us, ‘cause most likely I’ll be unavailable,” he tells them.

Unfortunately, he can’t ignore the time ticking away, and he has ‘work’ tomorrow. A small division formerly of SHIELD has a location on another HYDRA base so Steve, Sam, Natasha and any others who want to join are heading to the division to work on techniques to take it out.

He promises them that he will be back, possibly tomorrow but with no guarantees. He says goodbye to Scott the barkeep, and some others he didn’t get to interact with him smile and wave at him when he leaves The Apple Pie. Thankfully, it’s stopped raining so he can walk home in peace.

When he does go to sleep, for once he has a smile on his face.