Steve was on edge for weeks following the incident. He didn't let you out of his own sight, and when he absolutely had to for meetings he made sure at least three guards were within a 50-foot radius of you.

You had attempted to persuade him to give you more freedom, which only ended in an argument you knew you wouldn't win.

"No, Y/N, I said no."

"Steve, c'mon," You huffed, "I'm still a person."

"I'm well aware." He stared you down on the other side of his desk, removing his glasses, "But you're also an Omega. A wanted Omega, and my Omega." You knew he was right, legally he owned all rights to you. But for starters, you loved Steve far too much to leave him. And second, even if you did, you had much bigger problems with Rumlow who clearly saw you as his top mission.

But the pain of staying within the house at almost all times was overwhelming. Even going out on the balcony was now seen as a threat. And you were about to combust with your need for fresh air. You were also about to slap Steve across the face and give him a real piece of your mind. But you knew there would be a whole new laundry list of problems if you chose that route. So you kept quiet. Like all Omegas were made to do.

"Sweetheart?" Steve's pleasant voice echoed into the room before his body, which found you comfortably suited in the library reading, legs over one arm of the chair, upper body over the other. You wanted to ignore him, so bad, after the fight. But the Omega in you moved your head up to look at him, your facial features still filled with anger and a message of "fuck you" you wanted to give to Steve. He sighed and lightly smiled, signaling the message had instantly been received. "You're cute when you're mad." You rolled your eyes.

"That's a cliche." You fired back, eyes going back to the book.

"It is," He said walking up to you, and leaning behind you, and kissing your neck. "But it's very true for you." You rolled your eyes. "You're still mad."

"What do you think Einstein?" You closed your book with extra emphasis on the sound this time.

"I think we can fix that elsewhere." He continued to kiss around your collar bone and neck.

"Steven, sex is not going to fix this." You lightly pushed him away. He willingly removed himself, sighing and looking down at the floor from where he was squatted next to you.

"Fine," He said, "Then what will?"

"I don't know, how about more damn freedom?"

"You know I can't do that." He looked up at you. "It's too dangerous."

"So what, am I going to be locked up in here forever?"

"Until it's deemed safe for you to go out."

"And when will that be?"

"When Rumlow's empire is destroyed." He began, "Or when he's dead." You rolled your eyes again, "Hey, he's more of a problem than you think he is. He's obviously after you, he's made that clear multiple times, but Buck, Sam, and I have been on his tail for years. His businesses are shady, possibly more so than his personality." You sat for a moment thinking about a response. Was he right? Yes. But did you want to admit he was right? No. "Here, why don't me and you talk about a way to give you enough freedom, but safe freedom."

"Okay," You agreed almost immediately.

"But ground rules: You will continue to have at least three guards with you at all times-"

"Deal." You said.

"You must have a gun with you at all times you go out-"

"Deal."

"And we will have parameters around the penthouse where you can go so-called 'alone'."

"Deal." You stated finally.

"Great," He said, "I'll talk to Nat and she'll create a safety plan, in the case anything happens." You nodded and agreed. Getting out of your chair you leaned up on your toes and gave him a long kiss, wrapping your arms behind his neck.

"Thanks, Stevie." You smiled.

"Anything for you, doll."

And that was the start of some freedom for you. It began with you and Steve continuing the Friday date tradition which had temporarily been postponed due to the whole situation.

"Stevie, calm down babe." You said, walking with him to the restaurant. He was tense you could tell, his head moving around every other second and scanning for anyone. "We have eight bodyguards."

"I know," He said, "I just gotta be sure."

Once seated at the restaurant you chose a corner table, not near a window, eliminating all outside possibilities of attack. But Steve was still on guard, and it was easy to tell.

"Darling," You set your menu down, looking up at him and placing your hand lightly on his own, "We can go home if you don't feel okay. Really."

"No, I'm okay." He stated, but it was too obvious for you that he wasn't.

"Babe," You began, "Look at me." He reluctantly looked up and you could see he was internally freaking out through his eyes. "We're going to be okay, okay? Just take a few deep breaths with me." And he followed, thankfully calming down only a few moments later.

The rest of the night was blissful from then. Lots of laughter and conversation easily passed the time. "Have you ever-" Steve began but paused, "Actually, nevermind." You guys were now done with dessert and just finishing drinks.

"What?" You asked, sipping your mind. He looked up at you and slightly smirked, "Oh come on, tell me!"

"Have you ever thought about marriage?" He asked and you immediately paused. Had you? Yes, all the damn time.

"Yeah, a little bit." You admitted.

"What do you think about it?"

"I don't know," You sighed, "I want to get married for sure, and I would like to have kids after we're married. But I also want us to take our time, not rush into anything." He nodded.

"How soon do you think that'd be?" He asked next and you lightly laughed.

"Mmm," You hummed, "Whenever you're ready I am."

The conversation de-escalated from there, you two leaving only a few minutes after. The walk and drive home was nice and relaxing, now both of you feeling safe.

"So how was tonight?" Steve asked, the two of you taking off your shoes in the penthouse.

"Wonderful," You smiled.

"Good." He gave you a quick kiss, wrapping his arm around you. "Can I show you something, real quick?"

"Yeah of course." He grabbed your hand this time, leading you to the main room where some red rose petals were placed in a neat straight line. Your mouth dropped, "What is this?" You asked.

"C'mon," He smiled, "I'll show you." He led you, still, your hand in his, down the path of roses which then led out to the balcony which was lined in a small circle with candles and even more rose petals and now roses.

"Steve," You gasped at the beautiful sight which was a mixture of city and flowers. "It's gorgeous." He smiled down at you.

"Not nearly as gorgeous as you." And just like that, he got down on one knee. Your moth dropped even wider. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small, tiffany blue box. He popped it open displayed a ring, a huge diamond the shape of an emerald larger than your fingernail on it. "Y/F/N Y/M/N Y/L/N," He began, "You are the actual light of my life and the most beautiful woman on this plant." He continued, "I ask you, from the bottom of my heart, if you would give me the greatest honor of my life, and marry me?" You smiled.

"Of course, Steve." He took your left hand, slipping the ring on, getting up and giving you a long kiss, which you happily leaned in to. "I love you." You told him and smiled.

"I love you too." He smiled back down.

-Time skip-

"SHOW IT TO ME NOW!" Rachel ran into the apartment and pushed back both Steve and Bucky to me, grabbing my left hand. "Oh my-" She gasped as she moved my hand around, letting the diamond glisten. "This is absolutely gorgeous." She smiled up at me before turning around, "Bucky, take notes." He rolled his eyes as both he and Steve walked over to us.

"Congrats, you two." He smiled at both Steve and me.

"Thanks, Buck." I smiled and walked over to him, hugging him.

"Funny how you two were the slowest to get anywhere in your relationship, now you're the first to get engaged." He told the two of us and we both nodded.

"So who wants a drink?" Steve asked next and everyone nodded.

Conversation flowed easily as always, anything that came to mind became a topic. Until Bucky asked for Steve, "Hey, Steve," Bucky spoke up, "Could I speak to you, momentarily in your office."

"Yeah, sure." He said, the two men wandering down the hall. You glanced at Rachel, who displayed a clueless face. But you both shrugged it off, assuming it was just business.

"I still can't believe you're engaged." Rachel smiled at you, taking a sip of her wine, "But I'm so happy for you two, you seem so happy."

"Thanks." You smiled. "I feel that way." You took a sip of your own, "I'm just glad that out of every Alpha that could have picked me, I got Steve. He's wonderful and so kind."

"We've all come such a long way if we think about it." Rachel brought up next, "I mean, I still remember when being even close to Bucky felt nearly impossible." You nodded.

"Or when Steve would touch me and I would flinch," You began, "That's crazy."

"But that's what we were supposed to be." She responded, "Toys for alphas. Our job is technically to have pups and please them, that's it."

"We just got really lucky."

"Hey you two," Bucky walked in Steve right behind him. "What were you two gossiping about?"

"Gossiping?" Rachel snapped, "Only you do that Buck." He rolled his eyes. "And what were you two talking about?"

"Nothing that involves you," Bucky responded, now on the couch across from you two.

"Oh," Rachel said and smirked, "Mhm." Her sarcastic tone came into play. "So when's the wedding?" She asked next and you choked on your drink.

"We got engaged like two days ago-" You began.

"Seems long enough." She sighed, "Do you at least have a wedding planner?"

"We're going to get one," Steve said, sitting next to Bucky and across from you.

"But we're also not rushing into anything." You finished and Steve nodded. She rolled her eyes.

"At the rate, you two are going you'll be pregnant in two weeks."

"Eh," You responded, "I want to enjoy alcohol for a little while longer before we have pups. The wine cellar can't drink itself."

"And we've agreed to wait until we're married to have kids," Steve added on.

"But aren't you two bonded?" Bucky asked. You nodded.

"Well yeah, but we wanna keep some things traditional." You responded. "And it'll be a joint decision."

"Right," Steve concluded.

-Brief-time skip-

"You're sure you want to have kids, right?" Steve asked you while you two were in bed that night.

"Yes of course Stevie." You responded.

"You're sure?" You sighed.

"Steve," You began, "I've told you a million times, I really do want to have pups. And I know you do too. But babe, I know you're still worried about what Peggy said, but she was wrong."

"Okay." He said barely above a whisper.

"Hey, look at me." You sat up, moving his chin with your fingers so his face would be towards you. "You're going to be a wonderful dad, I know it. And we don't need to worry about all this right now, okay? When the time's right well have pups." He nodded.

"I love you," He began, "A lot."

"I love you too."