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You entered your apartment with a huff, closing the door behind you with your elbow as you hauled in two fistfuls of grocery bags in your hands, scurrying to set them down in the kitchen before looking around to take in your surroundings.
“Steve?... Buck?”
You called out for your partners as they were nowhere to be seen, but it didn’t take long before you heard hushed giggling coming from the bedroom followed by the sound of shuffling you could only assume was the concealment of whatever you came home to.
When no one came out your curiosity peaked as you tiptoed over to the room to bear witness to your two boys suddenly turning around to face you, obviously hiding something behind their backs.
“Hey, Sunshine!” Steve greeted you with a smile, “you’re home early…”
“Actually, I’m late. I stopped and got groceries on my way.”
The realization made Steve’s face scrunch in confusion as he looked down at his watch while Bucky only shrugged and nudged Steve’s hip with his own to pull his focus back while he strode forward to take your hand.
“Time’s relative, Doll.” He pulled you in to him so he could press a quick kiss to your cheek, “how was your day?”
You eyed him suspiciously as you refused to swoon over a peck on the cheek, leaning to try and look behind the two of them despite Bucky’s efforts to hold you away.
“It was fine… What are you two hiding?”
Just as the answer was about to be revealed with you swerving past Steve, a metal arm was snaked around your waist, and you were hoisted up onto Bucky’s shoulders with ease making you squeak out a scream of surprise as the two of them giggled.
“That’s none of your business right now, Sweetheart.”
As you struggled to break free this only gave Bucky the opportunity to tickle your side causing you to kick harder for freedom to no avail.
“Steve help!!”
Your cries for aid were cut off by a fit of uncontrollable giggles before Steve, the golden boy that he is, gently pries you out of Bucky’s hold to set you down.
“Alright, alright, the jig is up, Buck,” Steve chuckled softly and pulled you in for a close hug, “sorry about that, love.”
Soon enough, Bucky came up beside you holding a flat box in both of his hands with a defeated sigh.
“Right… Well, truth is, Stevie and I got you something.”
The box had two strips of your favorite colored ribbon tied around it but was missing a bow, clearly something they had lost the opportunity to attach when you interrupted their surprise, but it was charming nonetheless.
“A gift? What for?”
You took the box to place your lap after you sat down on the edge of your shared bed, staring up at them with an excited smile but that didn’t quite ease your confusion. For a moment you panicked, wondering if you missed some kind of anniversary or holiday that would catch you off guard. However, these fears were quickly forgotten when the two super soldiers sandwiched you in between them by sitting on either side of you.
“No reason, we just saw this and thought of you.” Steve placed his hand over your knee and kissed your cheek as he said this while you felt Bucky’s arm wrap around you.
The gesture made you smile, your eyes nearly tearing with joy as the idea of being so special to someone (let alone two people) that you would randomly be on their minds throughout the day was still so foreign to you. Nonetheless, you excitedly removed the ribbon and opened the box.
Inside sat a navy blue dress that was delicately folded to fit its dimensions, but when you pulled it out to reveal the full cut you saw what made the plain-seeming garment so special.
This wasn’t an ordinary dress you’d find at the store, as you were staring at a 40s-style swing dress. You inspected it closely letting your fingers glide down the stitching from the demure tie neckline to the stitchwork under the bust creating the period-accurate silhouette of the Grable tea dress.
The boys were watching you with concern the longer it took for your reaction as you simply sat and took it all in.
Surely they hadn’t found this at the store. A gift like this was planned despite how they tried to undermine the sincerity of why they got it for you… But soon enough you smiled, standing up to hold it against you in the mirror; a response that made them both light up.
“It’s beautiful…”
“You really like it?” Steve let out a subtle sigh of relief as he stood beside you in the mirror.
“Of course I do! Why wouldn’t I?”
Bucky shrugged, “we weren’t really sure… After all, you could argue it’s not exactly today’s style…”
“Well I love it,” you laid the dress against the bed to pull them both in for a hug. “Thank you so much.”
As they held you close, the two smiled, each kissing your cheek and holding you closer to share this moment as long as I could before you parted to put away the groceries you neglected and go about the rest of your day.
But that night as the three of you slept, something was itching at you keeping you awake. Steve was spooning you from behind holding you closely while Bucky slept on his back with you resting your head on his chest. Usually when you were restless, the gentle rise and fall of Bucky’s chest as he breathed would lull you into slumber but even then, particular worries for your boys kept you up.
No matter how much the future progressed, no technological or societal advancement would change the fact that Steve Rogers and James Barnes were from a different time that they were perfectly in their right to miss in subtle ways.
They both preferred their current time, after all, they lived through the great depression, but there were still the simple pleasures they hadn’t allowed themselves to enjoy for a long time.
Their gift to you gave you an idea, a thought that eased your worries and made you smile as you allowed yourself to get some sleep in their arms to carry out your plan the following day.
Sometime in the afternoon, Steve and Bucky were called to a meeting with the team which they assured you was nothing to worry about. While you offered to tag along, their refusal only aided you in conducting your own surprise for them when they returned home.
“Hey doll we got-”
As Bucky led the two of them in he was cut off by the sound of music playing from the TV’s speakers.
“-Takeout…”
He and Steve both carried in a few Chinese food containers each that they set down when they entered.
Their ears were filled with melodies that were familiar to them ranging from the 20s to the 40s arranged in a playlist displayed on their television screen, and just as they were left staring in confusion they heard heeled footsteps entering the room with them.
“Welcome home, boys.”
And there you were, standing in the fitted dress they bought for you with a sensible pair of heels to match. There was a string of pearls looped around your neck and you had styled your hair as close as possible to what women of their day were able to achieve. Even if you couldn’t get your curls to lay properly, the sight of you made them freeze.
Steve’s expression softened staring at you in admiration while seeming entirely breathless. On the other hand, Bucky’s jaw clenched while his eyes scanned you from head to toe before he smirked and stepped forward to take your hand and twirl you around for both of them.
“Look at you, angel… I mean I knew it was gonna look good but this?
You couldn’t help but blush as he rested his hands on your hips to pull you close and overwhelm you with a deep kiss, and Steve wasn’t too far behind as he delicately brushed his fingers across your shoulders and down your arms.
“What’s with the music, sweetheart?”
You parted from Bucky’s kiss to lean against Steve, looking up into his clear blue eyes and practically melting at how his gaze completely captivated you with his love for you.
“A surprise… I figured the three of us could do some dancing…”
The suggestion made them both smile and before you knew it you were practically gliding across the floor.
Bucky was the first to sweep you into his arms for a dance. After all, he did have more experience with these kinds of things as he held you against him with one arm wrapped around your waist and the other holding your hand, smirking down at you as he led you both in stepping to the rhythm. You felt like your eyes never lost contact no matter where he brought you, even leaning into a dip where he watched a slight fear of falling flash across your expression as you reaffirmed your grip on his shoulder making him chuckle.
“I’ve got ya, princess.”
He brought you back up and held you securely, leaning forward to boop his nose against yours making you giggle and hide your blushing face away by tucking your head under his chin to rest against his chest.
As comfortable as you were like this you knew it was soon going to change as Bucky calls over to Steve.
“You light on your feet, Cap?”
He chuckled lightly and shook his head, “we’ll see, won’t we?”
With that, Bucky stepped away to twirl you into Steve’s arms. Such a transition made them both laugh as you settled with your new partner.
Steve gently ran his hands down your arms, taking your wrists to loosely rest them on his shoulders to wrap around his neck as his hands settled on your waist to roam while your hips swayed to the slow rhythm of the tune.
“You are simply… breathtaking…” He brushed a stray piece of hair from your face before holding your chin to press a sweet kiss to your lips that you gladly returned before you found his hands roaming your body as you swayed.
When Steve danced with you there was less technique than Bucky as he found himself focusing less on the act of dancing and more on his deep and genuine love, letting his fingers glide down your sides and wrap around to feel up and down your back. There wasn’t anything inherently sexual as he caressed you, as the way he rested his head on your shoulder and held you only showed you just how much he only wanted to be as close as possible.
He inhaled deeply as the scent of your perfume overwhelmed his senses before he spoke softly in your ear.
“Thank you… I know it’s just dancing but-”
He paused, trying to find the right words but this allowed Bucky to step in behind you, resting his metallic hand on your shoulder while gently holding the back of Steve’s head with the other to pull the both of you in closer and press a kiss to Steve’s forehead. He swayed alongside you both as suddenly the three of you were slow dancing together to the music.
“But it means a lot, doll…”
Bucky smiled and kissed your cheek before letting himself get lost in the melody with a relaxed sigh.
For a fleeting moment, the three of you were lost in your own world. What year it was didn’t matter, anything occurring outside your little apartment didn’t matter, because for a moment, just a moment, this was all that existed to you and you could only close your eyes and let yourself get lost in the love the three of you shared for one another.
You three went on to dance for what felt like hours– or maybe it was hours– either way, it wasn’t until moonlight crept through your curtains that you found yourself lounging on the couch with your partners.
You had kicked off your heels a long time ago. Now you laid back against Bucky while Steve laid on his front side in between your legs, resting his head against your stomach giving you the chance to run your fingers through his hair and massage his scalp.
Music continued to play around you as you three rested in a comfortable, wordless silence before Steve sighed happily and chimed in.
“You know… I still think it sounds better on vinyl.”
Bucky hummed in agreement but you could only roll your eyes with a chuckle, “maybe… but who would like to get up from this to change the record every time it finished?”
This comment made them both pause, and before you knew it Steve let out a groan and shook his head, effectively nuzzling himself closer to you with a sigh.
“You win this time, 21st century.”