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Sam had never really believed in the idea that pets took after their owners. He thought it was just another way people tried to project human traits onto their animals, and he thought it was stupid. Well, he had thought it was stupid, then he met Bucky’s cat. A cat Sam had been completely unaware Bucky even owned.
Bucky had offered his apartment to both Sam and Sharon as a place to regroup and decompress after the fight with the Flagsmashers and dealing with the GRC. Sam had gladly taken him up on the idea not really feeling like flying all the way back to Louisiana and not wanting the attention a hotel stay might bring. Sharon had declined, deciding to use the government’s focus on the incident in New York to go and see her family.
Sam and Bucky had managed to hail a cab fairly easily and headed to Brooklyn. The cab driver had barely reacted to either of them and Sam guessed it was a testament to the weirdness he likely saw in New York on a daily basis but he appreciated the sense of normalcy it brought.
By the time they reached Bucky’s apartment, the adrenaline was wearing thin and Sam was ready for the night to be over. He’d followed Bucky inside who had immediately disappeared into the bedroom to change. Sam glanced around the room pleased to note that Bucky looked like he’d invested in a bit more furniture in the last few weeks, with a small coffee table and a sofa pushed against one wall. He turned to place the shield against the wall only to jump back as he spotted a white cat sat on the counter staring straight at him.
“Er Buck”, Sam called out trying not to make any sudden movements and not taking his eyes off the cat who was still staring at him, “there’s a cat in your kitchen”
Bucky came out of the bedroom in a fresh pair of jeans and a black t-shirt and looked between Sam and the cat.
“That’s Alpine”
“Wait the cat has a name?”, Sam finally took his eye off the animal to look at Bucky to make sure he was definitely aware of what Sam was referring to.
“She lives here, I can’t just call her cat”
“I’m sorry you have a cat?”, Sam still couldn’t quite believe what he was hearing, or how casual Bucky was as he walked over to the counter to allow the cat to climb up into his shoulder.
“I’m sorry, you’re telling me that you, a man who when I last came here had barely any furniture and an empty fridge, are responsible for keeping an animal alive?”
Both Bucky and the cat, Alpine Sam mentally corrected, turned to stare at him with identical sets of blue eyes, and Sam couldn’t help but feel like the cat suited Bucky. Maybe having something to look after would help to remind Bucky to try and look after himself a bit too.
“Feel free to borrow some clothes”, Bucky said changing the subject and nodding towards the bedroom and Sam realised he’d momentarily forgotten the reason he was in Bucky’s apartment. He took one last glance at the cat before heading into the bedroom to change.
When he emerged a few minutes later Bucky had made coffee and was moving over to the sofa with Alpine still on his shoulder. She jumped off when Bucky leaned down to place the mugs on the table. Sam followed her with his eyes as she took up position on the armchair and seemed to go right back to staring at him.
“So where did she come from?” Sam asked as he took a seat and picked up a mug
“Found her in the alley a few weeks ago, and I didn’t want to leave her out in the rain. I asked around but no one knew of anyone missing a cat so..” Bucky shrugged Sam could tell he was trying to sound like it was no big deal but Sam saw the way he was looking at Alpine. Sam wondered just how hard Bucky had looked for any potential owners.
“She suits you,” Sam nudged the man next to him, “she has the same staring problem. I think she's plotting to kill me”
Bucky rolled his eyes but turned back to look fondly at his cat. Who had curled up on the chair but her eyes were still fixed on Sam. He decided the best thing to do was just ignore her, and that’s what he did making small talk with Bucky about where things were likely to go now he’d announced to both the US government and the world that he was Captain America and that the Flagsmashers had been stopped. For the time being anyway.
Sam glanced towards the chair only to discover that Alpine had vanished. He glanced towards the kitchen only to come face to face with Alpine perched on the arm of the sofa her eyes fixed on him.
“Jesus!”, Sam jumped sideways almost landing in Bucky’s lap. The man just laughed, “not funny Buck your cat has picked up on your stealth techniques”
“She’s just trying to say hello”
Sam wasn’t so sure but decided to reach out slowly anyway only to be met with a swift swipe of a paw and Bucky’s laughter.
Sam glared at his friend “you knew she was going to do that didn’t you”, Bucky just shrugged again and picked up the empty mugs to return them to the kitchen.
“Sofa’s yours for the night if you want it”
“Sure although I was actually surprised to see you now own a bed,” Bucky said nothing in response just headed towards the bedroom returning a few moments later with spare sheets.
“Hey Buck, your cats not going to kill me in the night is she? ” Sam wished he was only half joking.
“Your Captain America Sam, I’m sure you can deal with one small cat” and with that Bucky was gone.
Sam turned to Alpine as he got himself comfortable.
“You better not kill me”, she just took one last slow look before jumping back to the armchair. Sam realised then that the cat hadn’t made a single sound all night, weren’t they at least supposed to meow or something. He shook his head, Alpine was definitely Bucky’s cat.
Sam was more exhausted than he’d realised falling asleep within minutes. He only woke up when he heard movement in the kitchen the following morning. He opened his eyes only to be met with the blue eyes of Bucky’s damn cat staring at him from where she was perched on his chest.
“What the hell!?” Sam shot up off the sofa barely staying on his feet and was beyond annoyed to see that Alpine didn’t have the same problem landing gracefully on the floor before returning to her chair.
Bucky started laughing “your cat is a demon”, Sam said pointing angrily at him, “you’re made for each other”
Bucky just laughed harder. Sam seriously questioned, and not for the first time, his decision to partner with the ex-assassin and now he knew he’d have to deal with his damn cat as well. Sometimes Sam really hated his life.