Consider: Bucky lets Alpine wander all over their kitchen counters if she pleases. Steve, however, tries to keep her off the counters. Sometimes Bucky walks in on Steve having a dead serious conversation with Alpine (sometimes even in his serious, disappointed Captain America voice), like, c'mon, girl, we talked about this.
OKAY CUZ ALPINE AND STEVE'S FEUD FEEDS MY LITERAL SOUL LIKE ON FUCKING GOD THIS IS EVERYTHING TO ME. now this isn't about kitchens or sandwiches, but you get the gist.
also norman is their dog. here is a picture commissioned from the super talented @hopelessartgeek by my dear friend @buffyscribbless !!! coolest thing ever!!!!
Enjoy!!!
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“Bucky, get your fuckin’ cat, Jesus Christ!”
Steve resists the urge to throw the goddamn thing as Alpine bats his head with her paw for the millionth time since the movie started. Norman was growling up at her, drowning out the sounds of Indiana Jones in the background.
“If you wanna murder her already, I’m not gonna stop you,” Steve grumbles to Norman, ducking his head as Alpine takes another swing at his ear.
“No, no one is murdering anyone,” Bucky snaps, padding into the room and plucking Alpine up from her purchase on the back of the couch. “You coulda just moved her if she was bothering you so much.”
“I tried!” Steve cries, sitting up indignantly. “She just hissed at me and started doing it again!”
Norman was whining now, turning in circles by Steve’s feet and casting furtive glances towards where Alpine was grooming herself on Bucky’s lap.
“That fucking gremlin seems to only like you,” Steve says, not bothering to keep the distaste from his tone.
“She can sense that you’re bothered with her,” Bucky says, staring lovingly down at Alpine, who is now asleep against his stomach.
“I don’t think cats work like that,” Steve scrunches his nose. “I just think she hates me.”
Bucky shrugs. “She’ll warm up to ya.”
“Hip hip fucking hooray.”
-
“Norman, no! No, Norman, leave her- no- fuck, BUCKY!”
Bucky barrels into the room freezing momentarily to take in the scene of Steve holding Norman back while Alpine shoves soil at them from her perch on one of the windowsills.
He stifles a laugh and Steve shoots him a glare. “Shut the hell up and get your fucking demon out of the succulents.”
Swallowing his laughter and putting on a solemn face, Bucky crosses to Alpine and sets her on the ground.
“She’s just restless,” Bucky insists. “I just need to get her a cat tree or something.”
“Then fucking do it and don’t let her mess with my plants!” Steve just barely stops himself from stomping his foot.
“Okay, okay.” Bucky raises his hands in mock surrender. “I’ll go do that now. Go walk Norman or something.”
Steve huffs, grumbling to himself as he grabs Norman’s leash off its hook. On his way out, he tosses a middle finger in Alpine’s direction.
“Steven Grant!”
“She deserves it!”
-
It’s the middle of the goddamn night and Alpine is scratching. Bucky had kept to his word and gotten Alpine a cat tree, but since then, the fucking terror has done nothing but scratch the fucking thing. Steve wouldn’t mind if Bucky hadn’t insisted that they keep the tree in their bedroom so, ‘Alpine can sleep near us, c’mon, you let Norman sleep in our bed.’
Steve had lost that argument as soon as the Norman card was pulled. You can’t really argue with hypocritical logic.
“Will you please stop already!?” Steve hisses into the dark quiet of the room, careful not to wake Bucky or Norman up.
He sees Alpine’s yellow eyes turn in his direction and they hold eye contact for a tense moment before she hops up onto the bed next to Steve.
“Oh no you don’t,” Steve says through clenched teeth as Alpine begins to knead her paws into his stomach.
Steve groans, letting his head drop back onto the pillow. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”
-
He’s home alone, fist clenched tightly in his hair as he tries to regain control over his breathing. Norman’s hovering nearby, providing company and comfort, but not coming closer for fear of overwhelming Steve.
He hadn’t expected the movie he’d been watching to trigger him, but one loud fight and a door slam later, he was 7 years old again, cowering under the kitchen table while his ma and dad screamed at each other.
The shaking is getting worse and Steve has half a thought to call Bucky, but he’s in a meeting right now at the Tower and that would be unfair to ask of him. No, he could handle this by himself. Everything was going to be okay.
Another shout sounds from the TV and Steve gasps, reaching for the remote and forcefully shutting it off. He braces his forearms on his knees and leans forward, opening his eyes and attempting to tap back into his surroundings. Norman comes a little closer, nudging his hand with his nose until Steve begins to run a shaking hand down his head.
It does a little to calm his nerves, but his heartbeat is still too erratic and his senses are still foggy and anxious. Across the room, Alpine meows loudly and Steve looks up in time to see her knock her plastic food bowl off the counter. It’s empty and bounces when it hits the ground and Alpine fixes Steve with a look as if to say, ‘feed me’.
Steve huffs out a surprised laugh, panic forgotten as he stands from the couch, crossing to pick up the bowl before filling it with cat food. He sets it back on the counter and watches in surprise as Alpine nestles her head against his arm before digging into the food.
“Ya know, you’re not actually that bad.” Alpine purrs in response and Steve smiles. “I think I might not hate you.”
Alpine cuts herself off from eating and begins to convulse violently, spitting up a hairball a few moments later.
Steve blinks. “What the fuck.”
Alpine just looks at him again, meowing.
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