RHETT WOKE TO THE SMELL OF BREAKFAST AND PENCILS. He stirred, thinking that Nicky was cooking, only to realize that the comforter tugged around him wasn't his own. Taking a deep breath, the memories of the previous night came flooding back, riding on the waves of the cinnamon scented pillow he was resting on.

Stretching, he looked around, smiling when he caught sight of Steve who was by the small stove, sitting on his small table, sketching. The man glanced up from his larger sketchbook, one Rhett had never seen before, and smiled softly, blushing as he looked back down at his paper.

"Morning," Rhett greeted, unable to keep the sly smile from his face as Steve's face grew more and more red, "You alright over there."

Steve cleared his throat, moving to check up on the eggs he was cooking. He was wearing a tank top which showcased not only his arms, which Rhett was more than pleased to see, but also his full body blush.

"Quit staring," Steve mumbled, rubbing at his arms which were a light red, his neck much brighter.

"Could say the same for you," Rhett shot back, shifting his position in the surprisingly comfortable sheets, "You never quit staring at me and look, you were drawing me while I was sleepin', that's just creepy."

"Shut up," Steve scoffed, his red shoulders up to his bright red ears.

Rhett sat up, the sheets pooling around his lap, exposing his bare chest. Steve, who had just started to glance over at him, turned away quickly, his face so red that Rhett was honestly worried something was wrong.

"Steve, are you okay?" he asked, all semblance of teasing gone. Standing up, he padded over to the other man, placing a hand on his arm, "Hey, was it something I did—"

"No, you're fine," Steve interrupted, turning off the stove to face him, arms crossed over his chest, "This is fine, I just..." he trailed off, looking away.

Rhett's stomach dropped. Did he regret what they did? He glanced over at the small waste bin by the window, catching sight of the familiar foil wrapping and small packet. Nicky had really pulled through, though he had to wonder how he figured they would need it.

"Do you want me to leave?" he asked, feeling himself already starting to grow numb, distancing himself so it wouldn't hurt. At least, not as much as it would.

"No," Steve said, and Rhett had never been happier to hear that word in his entire life.

The joy must have shown on his face because Steve, who had been almost frowning, his lips curled downwards, softened, a small smile forming as he just looked down at him, leaning against the counter next to the thankfully unlit stove.

"I wanna kiss you," Steve said, blushing slightly as he spoke, "Is that something I can do now?"

Rhett held up his palms, grinning. "I sure as hell won't stop you."

Steve laughed as he leaned forward, placing a hand on Rhett's cheek, moving it down to tilt his head up, despite the two being about the same height. He wrapped his other arm around the man's waist, tugging him forward.

Rhett could only figure that the universe was either rewarding him or warning him. After all he'd been through, this was possibly one of the only things he had ever let himself wish for without any hope. Yet there is was, right there in his reach, and he had been able to get it. Just the thought of it made his heart race and his knees weak.

"Was that okay?" Steve asked, pulling away, "I haven't really..."

Rhett kissed him again, just because he could. Because he had been wanting to for so long, and he would be damned if he didn't take advantage of this while he could.

"That wasn't an answer," Steve said once they pulled away and if he hadn't stopped him, Rhett was just going to kiss him again.

"What do you think?" Rhett scoffed, and Steve sighed, smiling as he shook his head, looking away from him.

"So...what was this?" Steve asked, pouring the eggs onto a plate, handing them to Rhett who took a small step to the left, already reaching the small table, taking the fork handed to him.

"What do you mean?" Rhett asked, watching as Steve pulled up the other chair, facing him, a fork in his own hand.

"I mean," Steve began, taking a bite of egg to give himself some time, "I dunno, are we gonna just let this slide, is this casual, what?"

Rhett raised an eyebrow. "Tony's been catching you up?"

Steve blushed, coughing as he glanced away. "Natasha, actually. And Sam. But mostly Nat."

The teacher laughed, throwing his head back, oblivious to how Steve smiled at him, smiled with a fondness that could only be from an old friend, even if that old friend didn't know it himself. It was a smile that Rhett had never seen, and most likely never will.

"Well," Rhett said, clearing his throat, glancing at the eggs, stabbing a piece with his fork, "I don't know about you, but I had fun. And I don't know, you're a pretty good cook. I wouldn't mind keeping you around."

Steve opened his mouth, trying to come up with a good response, only to come up short. So he just smiled before standing up from his chair and leaning forward, kissing Rhett so softly and so sweetly that Rhett had to wonder how truthful the man was that he hadn't had much experience.

When Steve pulled away, he found himself staring into Rhett's eyes again. His eyes so full of something that he couldn't describe, so familiar. He hadn't been able to stop looking at him, even forcing himself to keep his eyes open during their time together the night before.

"I think you just like me for my eyes," Rhett joked, too used to Steve's staring to worry that maybe he was remembering.

"Oh definitely," Steve said back, completely serious. After a beat, he began to smile and Rhett scoffed, pushing him away.

"Nevermind, I think we should see other people," Rhett exclaimed, placing all of his attention on the eggs, pointedly ignoring Steve who was trying to catch his eye, pouting exaggeratedly.

"Though, really, I think I should be getting home soon," he admitted, apologetic and reluctant, "I got work to do, 'm sorry."

"It's alright," Steve said, shrugging, "I understand. But, um, could I see you again? Maybe tomorrow or...?"

Rhett couldn't help but roll his eyes, more fond than annoyed. "You were always welcome, Steve, now you just have another reason to. I'd be really upset if you didn't."

Steve nodded, smiling to himself. "Okay. I will keep that in mind."

As the two ate in relative silence, just appreciating the other's company, Rhett couldn't help but think. Couldn't help but notice the way something had shifted between them, how there seemed to be something different about the way they were in each other's presence, as if something had changed.

Whatever had happened, if he could, he would have stopped time and just stayed there. It would have been better if he had.

º º º

It was the first of December and Steve was surprised that he hadn't heard from Rhett. He had expected to receive something about it now being the Christmas month—he expected it more from Nicky, but he wouldn't put it past the teacher—yet he had heard nothing the entire day.

He hadn't gone to go visit, like he had during the past week, because he had spoken to him the night before, and the man said that he was going to be helping Nicky build a robot so he wouldn't be on his phone. So it wasn't a surprise that he had heard nothing, though he did miss the man's presence.

He looked up from his sketching when he heard the sound of his phone ringing.

He grinned when he saw the caller ID, more excited than he'd be willing to admit. "Sam."

"Hey, man, sorry it's been a while, what's new? We haven't talked since Thanksgiving, right?" Sam seemed to be doing something in the background, the sound of keyboard clacking somewhat evident.

"Yeah," Steve said, unable to keep from smiling, "You've missed a lot."

"Oh, I hear that smile, what did you do?" Sam was grinning from the other end of the line, sounding much more interested than he had been moments before, the keyboard clicking coming to an abrupt halt.

"More like who did me," Steve mumbled, and suddenly his ears were filled with the sound of Sam screaming down the phone.

"My man!" he cheered, "Who was it, how'd you meet, was it just it a one time thing, I need details!"

"You need to get out more," Steve laughed, "And his name's Rhett, the guy from the coffee shop, and no it was not."

"Damn," Sam said, most likely nodding in approval, "Respect. Well now that he's clearly important, I need you to tell me everything about him. And give me his number, I can't threaten him in person, so I need the next best thing."

Steve laughed, because he missed his friend, but he had new friends and everything was just going so right. "Yeah, I'll tell you about him, but I'm not giving you his number."

"Aw, c'mon, why not?" Sam groaned.

Steve licked his lips, remembering Rhett's comment about Nicky and Sam. He could mention it. But something told him that Nicky might actually be serious, and he'd rather not ruin anything for him.

"Because he said you were his favorite Avenger."

º º º

It had already grown dark by the time Steve and Sam hung up, the former having to argue his case for the latter not to steal his newfound boyfriend. Sam had had to go briefly, as he had been working, and it was during this time that Tony called him to remind him that he had unlimited talk and text and that it was all thanks to him.

"Thank you for the new phone, Tony, you really didn't have to. I really appreciate it, though," he had said when the man first called him.

"Yeah, yeah, don't start crying," Tony had drawled, dismissing him, "I just got it so you couldn't be traced. And so I can keep an eye on you, so have fun knowing that." He had hung up a moment later and Steve had only been able to laugh.

It was nearing midnight, nearly time for him to start making his way to work, when he heard a loud knock on his door. He paused, wondering if he had heard wrong; no one ever came to visit him, especially unannounced.

Then came another three knocks. Casual, like someone dropping by for a visit in the mid-afternoon in a suburban neighborhood, not Steve's apartment building in the middle of the night.

Putting on his glasses and preparing himself, Steve opened the door, peering out warily.

On the other side was Rhett, his face bruised and his right eye purple, his lip dripping blood with a large gash on his cheek. He was leaning against the doorframe, keeping himself on his feet. When the door opened, he smiled.

"So I have some explaining to do."

— END OF PART ONE —

AUTHOR'S NOTE

( 12.27.17 )

I did it! Yes! I not only finished Part One before the end of 2017 (right now, it's December 21, 2017), but I also got 17 chapters of a sequel story written. Can you believe this! I failed last year, but not this year! Whoo!

So Part Two will have all your questions answered, we'll learn all about Rhett, we'll see more kid Rhett and Steve, but also early on Rhett and Nicky, it's gonna be an experience. So I hope you guys stick around, it's gonna be awesome! I hope!

Also, uh, sorry for the sexual themes within this chapter. Yeah, I actually omitted a lot more themes (like, an entire scene that implies that they have sex again), because it was just not relevant to the chapter plot, I believe, but there had to be something, considering that they did sleep together. So, yeah, these won't be frequent.

Anyways! That's all I have to say so thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed and stay for Part Two!