right person, all the wrong times - anthony bridgerton
summary: you and anthony have been in love with one another from the moment you met, but it seems as though nothing will ever happen between you. after you catch the attention of another gentleman, he realizes perhaps it’s time to finally do something about his feelings
pairing: anthony bridgerton x fem!reader
word count: 7.3K
tags: mutual pining, best friends to lovers, angst and fluff, period-typical topics (marriage is everything, gender roles, all that stuff), daphne being match maker as always, kissing, if i skipped anything please let me know.
note: i started this show two days ago and i’m already halfway through season 2. i couldn’t hold myself from writing whatever this is and i thought i’ll share since it’s the longest fic i’ve ever written. english is not my first language so writing in a way that resembles the show was a whole challenge for me!
a reblog and/or comment really helps me out as a content creator so thank you in advance if you take the time to do either!
all masterlists | read on ao3
You and Anthony have been best friends for years now. Even when he’s a few years older than you, the two of you became inseparable shortly after knowing one another. No one seems to know or understand you quite like he does, and you’ve become the person he always turns to when he needs someone.
It happened just a few months after you were introduced into society. You were lucky to bump into him that night in Ms. Danbury’s ballroom, and after repeated apologies and quick introductions, you stayed with him for the rest of the event.
Hey would u be up for writing an Anthony Bridgerton fic where Daphne's bff is distracting Anthony so that daphne could enjoy the balls without him interrupting,and they kinda fall in love?????
Sorry that was a hugeeee request. I've never done that before😅😅
Distractions
Pairing: Anthony Bridgerton x f!reader
Word count: 3.3k
A/N: This is a fic that I have been referring to as ‘Anthony without his trauma, but he’s still a dumb ass’ and ‘Anthony doesn’t oppose marrying for love, but he’s still wildly emotionally constipated’ so please enjoy! This ended up way longer than I intended and it still doesn’t feel fleshed out *shrug emoji*
Vauxhall Gardens
“Please,” Daphne begs. “I need your help.”
“It’s Anthony. I need someone to keep his attention away from me,” Daphne continues. “Otherwise I’ll never dance at one of these balls with someone who isn’t related to me.”
You can’t help but sigh.
Daphne’s brother loves her, and is understandably overprotective of her. As the “Diamond of the Season”, she’s the debutante that every eligible gentleman (and a few non-eligible men) have set their sights on. Someone needs to protect her. But Anthony Bridgerton would not be your first choice for that task either. He may love his sister very much, but he’s also an arrogant man and a rake. He thinks the worst of all men because he is the worst type of man. And if they were you would understand his behavior. He seems to have assumed that each and every male member of the Ton is exactly like him. The type of man that you try to avoid at these types of things.
“Fine. But you’ll owe me for this,” You grumble as you nod. Acquiescing to your friend's pleas.
Daphne’s your best friend. You’d been close since you were children, you were only about a year older than her, with mother’s who were close friends. She’d been your playmate and then your confidante as you both grew older. With your debut having taken place a few years ago, you’d been eagerly awaiting Daph’s debut, and the chance to partake in these events with a friend by your side.
But her older brother had put a damper on the entire season with his insane micromanagement of Daphne’s social calendar.
Turning away fortune hunters, you understood, but not letting her dance with a single gentleman at Lady Danbury’s ball? And then scaring off every suitor who came to call on her? It had taken Lady Bridgerton stepping in to convince Anthony that she could call on you in the afternoons without being accosted by men on the walk to your family’s home.
The man was on a power-trip, and was certain to destroy Daphne’s impressive chances at a great match this season if he kept it up.
“Bring me over, and then I’ll talk to him while you slip away,” You tell her as you spy the viscount’s gaze already searching the crowds for his sister.
She grins as she pulls you in and hugs you tightly, a silent thank you before she grabs your gloved hand in hers and pulls you in the direction of her brother.
“Anthony, you remember (Y/N),” Daphne says as she stops in front of her brother, prompting you to bow your head and give Anthony a small smile.
“Miss (Y/L/N),” Anthony Bridgerton greets you politely with a small bow.
“How have you been, Lord Bridgerton? I don’t believe we’ve spoken in several years, since before you graduated from Oxford,” You say politely.
“I’m well, It has certainly been a while, last time we spoke you had not come out yet,” He replies.
“Yes,” You reply with a quizzical look.
You sigh when you realize that you’ll have to keep up this conversation and come up with something to ask him if you’re to distract him.
“Have you read anything interesting recently?” You finally ask. Settling on a topic that is both non-threatening and that you’ll find at least half engaging.
“I’m afraid I haven’t read anything that isn’t a report from our estates in the past few years,” Anthony admits.
You have to stop yourself from rolling your eyes. “I suppose I should have known, a man of import such as yourself has far better things to busy himself with,” You tell him, unable to stop the corners of your lips from turning upward. “Like staring down every man who so much as looks at his sister.”
“I- that’s-” Anthony protested before huffing when he realized that the conversation would not be productive. “What have you read recently?” He asks instead.
“Pride and Prejudice and The Heroine were both quite good,” You tell him. Normally you would have continued to push but with the topic of books, you can’t help but give Anthony your honest answers. “I’ve read the recent Byron and Shelley, though I find them insufferable,” You add, your nose wrinkling with distaste.
“I also revisited Shakespeare, I heard the Theater Royal is putting on Romeo and Juliet in May, and I’d quite like to see it.”
“You’ve turned into quite the scholar in recent years, haven’t you?” Anthony asks, a bemused smile across his face.
“I’ve always been invested in my education, Lord Bridgerton,” You reply. “You’re just finally intelligent enough to notice.”
Anthony merely stares at you while you smirk, taking great joy in teasing him.
“Where did Daphne disappear to?” He asks once he’s recovered from your thinly veiled barb.
“Probably just to the powder room,” You reply banally, the lie easily forming. “I think she was going to try and find your mother afterward.”
When Anthony’s gaze zeroed on a subject over your shoulder and he seemed to have completely tuned you out you knew that he had spotted Daphne. You turned your own head, searching for Daphne in the crowd only to see her making her way to the dance floor on the arm of the Duke of Hastings.
“Oh!” You gasp.
That little minx.
Now you knew why she’d been so adamant to get her brother off her tail. She was interested in his best friend.
“Did you know about this?” Anthony asks harshly, though his gaze never tears away from the couple making their way to the dance floor.
“Of course not!” You protested. “I-I had no idea!”
“I thought they didn’t like each other,” You offer lamely.
The Trowbridge Ball
“Do you know where Daphne is?” Anthony asks as he appears suddenly at your side.
“Would you care to dance?” You reply.
You know it’s a faux pas. But you don’t really care. Besides, no one can hear you, and you need to distract him with something that will keep him occupied for several minutes.
He looks at you for a moment. Like he’s trying to discern what exactly you’re up to. But in the end, he nods.
“Of course,” He replies as he offers you his arm.
You place your hand in the crook of his elbow and allow him to shepherd you to the dance floor.
“Do you know where she is?” Anthony tries to ask again once the dance begins.
“I’m not your sister’s keeper,” You reply. “And nor, it seems,” You add as Anthony spins you around. “Are you.”
Anthony doesn’t reply and you can tell by his face that he’s still struggling to let Daphne take care of herself. Especially with the Duke’s interest in her.
“I’m sure she is fine,” You finally tell him once you’re facing him again. “Your sister is far more discerning than you give her credit for.”
“I never said she wasn’t-” Anthony begins to protest. “You are baiting me again,” He says as he looks down at the knowing look on your face.
“You’re learning,” You reply with a grin. “I know that you are only caring for her, that you’re overprotective because you love her, but she must marry this season, and you do her no favors if every man with any sense is scared of you.”
“You do not want to let your sister marry a fool, do you, Lord Bridgerton?” You ask him, your tone becoming more serious.
“Of course not,” He replies quickly.
“Then learn to step away,” You tell him.
Hyde Park
You should have expected Anthony to join his family at the park. And with the Dowager Viscountess and Lady Danbury chaperoning Daphne and the Duke, both you and Anthony were left to your own devices. So when he asked you to promenade, seemingly of his own volition you were taken aback.
“Have you ever been out of the country?” You finally ask after a few minutes of the two of you walking silently alongside one another.
“No, I never had the chance,” He tells you. “Have you?” He asks.
“I once went to visit my cousins in Scotland, and the Scottish certainly believe themselves to be another country,” You tell him.
Anthony hums in agreement with your statement.
“How many children do you want?” He asks.
Your eyes widened.
“My Lord?” You ask, clearly taken aback by the question. But he merely looks at you. “I suppose however many I am blessed with, though more than three or four would be a challenge to manage,” You tell him.
“Why haven’t you married yet?” He asks.
“Well,” You say, trying to figure out how to answer such an abrupt question.
“This is your third season,” Anthony says as if you hadn’t known. “You are truly accomplished, and far more eloquent than most of the ladies and the gentlemen in my acquaintance. I would think you would have already made a fine wife.”
“I think I ought to be offended by what you’re saying my lord,” You tell him with a small smile.
“My apologies, I didn’t mean to-” Anthony quickly begins to apologize.
“I ought to be,” You clarified. “But I am not. I suppose I just haven’t given much thought to marriage.”
“Most women are solely focused on the institution,” Anthony points out.
“Most women have no other choice. My family is secure, my parents are in no rush, my brother has a good enough head on his shoulders,” You tell him. “I have a great privilege in that. So I suppose I ought not to waste it by marrying for anything less than happiness.”
“I see.”
“Yes,” You tell him. “Any other questions about marriage I can answer for you? I’d assumed at nine-and-twenty you’d grasp the mechanics of the marriage bed, but I could offer you an explanation-”
Anthony’s eyes widened as his gaze snapped to you, appalled. It was only when he saw the smirk on your face that he realized you were only poking fun at him.
“I don’t think that will be necessary,” He replies.
The Penwood Ball
Distracting Anthony Bridgerton had been much easier than you’d expected. And surprisingly less annoying. You often found yourself surprised by the fact that you were looking forward to spending time with him.
Anthony greeted you seemingly the moment you walked through the door.
“Lord Bridgerton,” You replied with a smirk as he offered you his arm.
Taking it you could have sworn you saw Daphne laughing in the corner with Simon, and so you quickly pivoted on your feet, pulling Anthony in the opposite direction.
“I’ve been thinking about what you said last week,” You told him. Once you had put a safe amount of distance between yourselves and Daphne.
“Why I am not married,” You clarify. “I realized that perhaps the truer answer is that no one has ever asked.”
“That surely cannot be true,” Anthony replies.
“But it is,” You tell him. “Most eligible gentlemen see me as a bluestocking, or as merely a platonic acquaintance. No one has ever seen me as more than that.”
“That is not true,” Anthony replies quickly.
“I think I would know better than you do, Lord Bridgerton,” You tell him with a roll of your eyes. “In case you’ve forgotten, we have not spoken in years until last month.”
“Besides, you only prove my point. You are certainly not looking for a wife,” You say.
“What makes you say that?” He asks, turning sharply to look at you.
“Everything about you, starting with the fact that you are wasting your time with me,” You explain. “And ending with the fact that you are the definition of a rake.”
“You can’t tell me that you don’t only spend time with me to get your mama and the other eligible young ladies off your back,” You tell him plainly.
“That is most certainly not the only reason,” Anthony replies. And for half of a second, he almost looks offended by your comment. “I can’t help myself if I find your charm beguiling,” He adds with a smirk.
“My charm? Is that what ruthlessly berating you is called now?” You ask with feigned confusion.
“Your jabs are far from ruthless, my lady,” Anthony replies.
“Then I shall need to sharpen my sword,” You tell him, raising your eyebrows.
Anthony begins to open your mouth and you can see the mirthfulness in his eyes.
“Do not make a double entendre out of that,” You say quickly as the very thought enters your mind at seemingly the same second it does Anthony’s.
“You are delightful company, my lady,” He says with a chuckle.
“And you are a ridiculous man,” You reply, though you can’t help but laugh with him.
The Greenwich Ball
It had been a difficult morning. You’d hardly slept the night before, and your mother, bless her heart, had insisted on you joining her for every single one of her social calls. You probably should have been glad that your mother was not foisting suitors on you left and right, but having to listen to every other mama in town discuss her own daughter’s prospects while you had to sit quietly at your mother’s side was hardly much better.
It had been exhausting, and now Anthony seemed dead set on making the evening as difficult as possible. He’d wanted to dance and now seemed to think that taking a turn about every room of the party was a worthwhile use of your time.
You weren’t sure what he was doing, or who he was looking for, but when you saw Daphne and the Duke standing in a corner, with the Duke whispering in her ear in a way that was nearly scandalous you quickly remembered your one responsibility and tugged on Anthony’s arm, attempting to lead him back in the other direction.
“What are you doing?” Anthony asks you as you continue to move around him, pushing him into the next room, towards the refreshments table.
You huff, already annoyed. “I’m supposed to be distracting you!”
To be fair, you and Daphne hadn’t spoken of her little scheme in a few weeks, but you had just assumed you were supposed to continue on with it, as she hadn’t said anything about ending it either.
Your eyes widen when you realize what you just said. Out loud. To him.
“What?” Anthony asks, deeply confused.
You consider lying to him, but your exhausted brain can’t seem to come up with a single plausible excuse.
“Daphne told me to distract you so that she could spend time with suitors without you scaring them all off,” You admit.
“What?”
“I was supposed to distract you,” You repeat. “And clearly you appreciated the break from your mother’s match-making, otherwise you wouldn’t have put up with me for so long.”
“You thought I was using you?” Anthony asks slowly. His tone is imperceivable.
“Weren’t you?” You ask slowly. Suddenly far less confident in your assessment of your relationship with the Viscount.
“Of course not!” He replies quickly. “I-” Anthony starts to say before he stops himself.
“But you were spending time with me because Daphne made you?” He asks instead.
You swallow. This was not how you expected this conversation to go at all.
“Well… yes, but…”
“But what?” Anthony presses
“I’m sorry, I didn’t think you would be upset,” You tell him.
“Yes, clearly you did not,” Anthony replies, his words clipped as he searches your face. “I need to have a conversation with my sister. Good night,” He states abruptly before walking away from you.
“Wait, Anthony, please, I’m sorry!”
You’d never felt so awful, so guilty before. Or so confused.
“You have a caller,” Your butler announces as you and your mother sit at the breakfast table the next morning.
You’d hardly slept, but your mother refused to let you sleep in, your shared breakfasts were a tradition that she would not let you get out of easily, and as an early riser, she didn’t understand why others struggled to wake as early as she did.
“A caller? At this hour?” Your mother asks. Clearly surprised.
“A Lord Bridgerton, asking for Miss (Y/L/N),” He replied.
Your entire body froze as you tried to imagine why Anthony could possibly be calling on you. And at nine in the morning.
“He’s in the drawing-room,” Your butler adds.
“Yes, I’ll go right in, thank you,” You reply as you stand from the table. You merely give your mother a slight shrug of the shoulders as she looks at you curiously.
When you entered the drawing-room you found Anthony standing in the middle of the floor, seemingly pacing the room.
“Anthony, what are you doing here?” You asked as you made your way towards him.
He stops completely when he hears your voice, turning so that his entire body is facing you.
“I needed to see you,” He tells you.
“Why?”
“I love you,” He says.
Your heart stops when you hear those three words. Of all of the things you’d imagined Anthony coming to say to you, this was never on the list, not even in your wildest dreams.
“What?” You ask, thinking you might have misheard.
“I love you.”
“I don’t- What is happening?” You flounder as you laugh in disbelief.
“You said last night that I wouldn't have put up with you unless I was using you to get away from my mother and her matchmaking,” He explains. “But you’re wrong. I spent time with you because I liked it, and when I wasn’t with you I was thinking about when I would see you next. It was never about my mother, or my sister, or anyone else for me. It was about you, and how I want to spend my life with you.”
“You do not have to return these feelings, or say anything at all, but I just wanted you to know,” He says. “To me, you’re my person.”
“Oh my,” You finally say after a moment as you look up at Anthony’s tentatively hopeful expression.
“I think I’m in love with you too,” You tell him, a smile spreading across your face.
“Is your father home?” He asks, taking your hands into his own and squeezing them tightly.
“It’s nine in the morning, of course he’s home,” You tell him.
“I will speak to him at once,” He replies.
“Anthony,” You begin to protest.
“No,” He says quickly. “We are going to get married. And I don’t want to have to wait any longer.”
“Anthony,” You try again, pulling on his hand so that he focuses back on you and on the present moment. “You haven’t even proposed yet.”
“Oh,” He says before dropping down onto one knee.
“(Y/N) will you make me the happiest man alive and agree to marry me?” He asks.
You can’t help but laugh at his ridiculous antics before nodding.
“Yes, yes, of course,” You tell him.
Anthony grins as he looks up at you before he’s pushing himself back onto his feet and taking your face into his hands.
Notes: Based on this ask. I hope I did it justice! Also, a huge thanks to @geminixevans-stan for helping me with some plot details!
Steve Rogers x Female Reader
Word Count: 4.9K
Warnings: Some angst, some fluff, language, mentions of war, medical procedures, mentions of pregnancy.
Summary | After a fight at school, your son is forced to take some tests about his natural physical ability that could lead to more questions than answers. Calling in a favor from a friend means leading you right back to the place you tried to forget.
The caller ID that splashes across your screen gets your attention, inhaling a slow breath while your boss gives you a sympathetic look across the table, nodding for you to take it. She knows all too well what it will be about, rolling your cushy chair back and snatching up your phone, clutching it to your chest while slinking outside of the conference room. You already know what it’s going to be about, closing your eyes after you swipe over to connect, holding the phone to your ear, saying a silent prayer that it won’t be what you are expecting.
“Hello?”
“Hi.” The voice on the other is overly cheerful, enough to make you pinch the bridge of your nose. Reina always makes it seem less dire than it really is. “Sorry to bother you. It’s about Nicholas. Can you come down here?”
“How bad is it?”
You know your voice sounds disappointed, trying to take in a cleansing breath as worry threads around your mind.
“Well,” Reina continues with a slight pause. “There was another fight.”
“Oh my god -”
“He won,” Reina finishes. “But we need to talk about his… well, I’ll speak to you about in person.”
“I’ll be right there,” you rush out quickly, hearing her relieved sigh.
“See you in a bit.”
Your head hits the back of the wall, your phone still held tightly in your hand as you let out the breath you’ve been holding in since you answered the call. You’re grateful that your boss understands you – having three boys of her own – and that when you peek your head inside, you point to your phone, giving her an apologetic look before she nods quickly, turning her attention back to the meeting.
Grabbing your purse from your desk, you aren’t sure what you’ll walk into. Reina is the principle and calls that come directly from her are never good. As much as you’ve been in her office, there is usually a happy medium that comes with the working relationship you two have built. Your son isn’t a troublemaker, that much Reina has assured you, time and time again. But there is a limit to allowances that have been made and you are aware that time may be running out.
You don’t fault your precious son. At seven years old, he wants to do everything and anything at any given time. His energy can be a little much at times but his heart is always in the right place. He looks out for everyone and anyone.
A trait he gets from his father.
Nervousness takes hold when you finally get to your car, saying a silent prayer that things will turn out right.
-
“Mom?”
Two arms wrap around your middle, Nicholas’ head buried against your stomach as your hand cups the back of his head gently. His shirt is torn, mud caked on his jeans and splattered on his sneakers.
“What happened?”
“He was pushing Tati,” Nicholas mumbles against your blouse, pulling away to speak clearer. Your eyes narrow in on the cut under his eye, lifting up his chin as his eyes go wide at your expression.
“It’s fine, Mom,” he says quickly, trying to squirm out of your hold. “I got him worse.”
“That isn’t the point,” you remind him, trying to keep your cool as Reina pokes her head out of the doorway. “What did I say about fighting?”
“I don’t like bullies.”
“Nicholas James,” you warn him, Reina clearing her throat that gets your attention.
Standing in the doorway, Reina crosses her arms, her black ensemble matching her black Louboutins. The epitome of cool, you also know that she could singlehandedly make you look for another school, much like the others had done. But she won’t. Not with how much she adores him.
“Come on in,” she says warmly, Nicholas pulling away from you as he goes inside her office. “I promise, we are going to talk about everything.”
At the close of the door, you take a seat next to Nicholas, balancing your purse on your lap while he looks at you hopefully, his tongue poking at the loose tooth that has been moving for two days.
“Thank you for coming,” Reina begins, giving Nicholas a small smile. “I want to preface this as Nicholas did nothing that I wouldn’t do. Today, it was brought to my attention that another classmate of Nicholas’, Hunter, was pushing another student, Tati, repeatedly, thus causing her to fall. She’s alright and has since been taken home. Nicholas took it upon himself to stand in the way of Tati and Hunter. Witnesses claim that Nicholas pushed Hunter first.”
“He pushed me first,” Nicholas protests, looking up at you as he shakes his head. “Mom, I didn’t push him first, honest!”
“Alright, Nicholas,” Reina says gently, waiting for him to settle back down. “As I was saying, there were a few claims that he pushed Hunter first but Tati said that Hunter was the one who did it first and the witnesses happen to be friends of Hunter. I don’t think I need to tell you how that conversation went with the boys about the importance of honesty. However, Hunter’s father had some concerns about the impact of the push that Nicholas gave Hunter flew back a few feet. He’s fine but…”
Reina pauses, giving you a soft but uneasy smile.
“What is it?”
“They would like Nicholas to go in for some tests.”
“Tests?” you repeat, blinking in confusion. “For what? He pushed another kid.”
“I know,” Reina agrees softly. “His father was concerned that the impact of the push was stronger than normal. I assured them that there was nothing wrong, but he mentioned having the tests run voluntarily or…”
“Forced,” you finish for her, looking at Nicholas, who bows his head. “He’s seven. What do they think, he’s on something? He’s a kid.”
“I’m not sure what they’re thinking and believe me, I tried to get some answers but Hunter’s father won’t budge. He claims that his son has a very nasty bruise on his spine and that the cause of it is because of Nicholas’ strength.”
“You can’t believe that.”
“I don’t want to,” Reina admits, looking over at Nicholas as he holds up his chin with his hands, steading his elbows on his knees, his expression glum. “But I know you can appreciate the situation we are all placed in.”
“It doesn’t sound like I have a choice.”
“We don’t,” Reina admits. “But I promise that once we get the test results back, it won’t be an issue.”
“How long do I have?”
“Two weeks before he formally puts in a request. As of now, Hunter is suspended due to his actions and Nicholas is fine to continue coming to school.”
“Thank you, Principal Harper,” Nicholas says for you, his voice still full of sadness. “I’m sorry.”
“You needn’t apologize to me, Nicholas. I appreciate you standing up for Tati. Next time, we tell an adult, hmm?”
“Yes ma’am.”
-
The ride home is silent, save for the crinkling of the brown paper bag as Nicholas fishes out the fries that have fallen out to the bottom of the bag. His sweet face doesn’t make you feel any better about the events of the day. If anything, it’s stark reminder that if the tests are completed, there will be much more questions than answers.
“You okay, buddy?”
“Yeah,” Nicholas replies, stuffing three fries in his mouth before he chews. “He pushed me first though.”
“I know he did.”
“Are you mad at me?”
“No,” you answer quickly. “I’m not mad, honey. You were protecting Tati. I understand it.”
“I don’t like bullies, Mom.”
“I know. No one does.”
“Tati was going to get hurt.”
“I know,” you reply, your voice calm. “You heard Principal Harper. You’re fine, sweetheart.”
“Why do I have to take a test? Am I sick?”
“No,” you answer quickly. “No, you’re not sick. Hunter’s father is being a little ridiculous but we can’t fight that. We’ll get the tests done and then you’ll be fine.”
Clutching the steering wheel tightly as you stop at a red light, Nicholas shrugs.
“I hate tests.”
-
Pressing a kiss to his temple, his even breathing lets you know that he’s out for the night, his homework carefully packed back into his backpack. It’s been a long day, the stress of what is to come looming over your head when you pour a glass of wine. Eyeing your cell that is on the table, you know what needs to be done. It’s the only way that you’ll find peace.
Making that phone call will open you up to another world that you’ve closed off for almost eight years, ensuring that you were fine by yourself and that you didn’t need anyone after you saw the little two lines and the beginnings of morning sickness that continued throughout your pregnancy. Nicholas had been worth every bit of it and then some, remembering how you held him in your arms for the first time and that you made a promise that you would keep him safe.
Those tests would not keep him safe.
Taking the first sip of wine and leaning against the counter, you scroll through your address book, stopping at the name that makes you remember so much of what your past life used to be. Once upon a time, you were a promising young scientist, hopeful to discover what gamma radiation could do. Time had a way of changing your path, much like a steady stream could carve out a new river, sending you in multiple directions.
Your courage beginning to wane, you dial the number and toss back your wine, pressing the phone up against your ear as it begins to ring.
He picks up on the third tone, voice low and full of surprise.
“Kid? Is that you?”
“Hi, Doctor Banner.”
His laugh puts you at ease instantly, the worry slowly starting to ease.
“How the hell are you? It’s been years, what’s been going on?”
“I, um…” Suddenly it’s hard to speak, emotions floating to the surface, buoying amid your anxiety of asking him a question that you know will bring more inquiries.
“Is something wrong? Are you alright?”
“I…I’m fine. It’s my son.”
“You have a son? Wow. Congratulations, how old is he? You’re a mom! That’s awesome.”
“He’s seven.”
There’s silence on the other line.
“Seven,” Dr. Banner finally repeats slowly. “Second grade?”
“Yeah, second grade,” you answer, knowing he’s doing the math in his head. “I know I shouldn’t be asking you for help but I don’t have anyone else to turn to.”
“Whatever you need. Is your son alright?”
“He’s fine, yeah. He got into a fight at school and they want to run some tests.”
“Like a physical? I’m sure I could help but I’m all the way in New York and I’m sure that’s a drive.”
“It is a drive, yeah,” you swallow, nodding even though he can’t see you. “But I need a professional’s help. They want blood tests.”
“I’m assuming there’s an issue.”
“There will be, yes.”
Another long pause.
After a beat, you hear him clear his throat.
“I’ll clear out my schedule. Can you bring him tomorrow?”
“Yes,” you answer without hesitation. “We’ll be there.”
-
“You alright?”
Bruce looks up from his pictures, rubbing his eyes with his giant hands as Steve comes into view. He’s forgotten that he’s not the only night owl around. He’s heard Steve pacing back and forth in the compound, sometimes catching a glimpse of him going for a run in the middle of the night.
“Yeah. Didn’t get a lot of sleep.”
“You’ve been burning the candle at both ends,” Steve reminds him. “Might be time for a break?”
“Got too much on my mind. Still trying to reconfigure this sequencing and,” Bruce trails off for a moment. “Got in touch with a friend who needs my help. I cleared my schedule out for tomorrow but I need a favor.”
Steve nods in understanding, placing a hand on Banner’s arm.
“Whatever you need.”
“They may be here for a little while. Mind making sure they have a place to stay for the night? I think the guest quarters are still open, right? I’d do it myself but I can’t pull myself away from this project and I’m feeling pretty close that I’ll get it right. If you don’t mind, of course.”
Bruce knows that Steve won’t say no. He’s been slightly restless these days since the snap, still navigating the PR nightmare that has finally righted itself amid Tony and Natasha’s deaths and the destruction and re-population of an Earth that finally had to reconcile with assimilating those who had been lost back into the land of the living.
To put it bluntly, Steve was tired, even if he tried not to show it. Banner is also aware of the hushed conversations between Steve and Bucky, quieting down when Sam comes around and changing the subject. But Bruce sees the potential, the curiosity of Steve as he and Sam toss the shield around.
It’s only a matter of time before Steve gives it up.
“You got it,” Steve answers him, giving him a pat on the back. “As long as you promise to get some sleep, big guy.”
Bruce gives him a smirk, looking at his phone as a text comes through, confirming your visit tomorrow.
“No promises.”
-
“Wait!” you call out to Nicholas, the door slamming shut behind him while you hear his sneakers pounding the pavement, following suit as you close the door behind you, securing your purse on your shoulder. “Hold on!”
“Is this the compound, Mom?”
“Yes,” you answer him, both of you looking up at the building.
Once painted white, it’s now a cool shade of gray, infused with metal panels and tinted windows. Nicholas cranes his neck back, blinking as he continues to take it all in.
“I’m gonna do my tests here?!”
“Yes,” you reply, leading him up the steps as you smooth out his jacket. “Remember, we’re on our best behavior. Right?”
“Right,” Nicholas answers, still preoccupied with the buttons that you press. “Are the Avengers here?”
“I don’t know,” you answer him truthfully. “I guess we’ll find out.”
“Basement,” Bruce’s voice calls out. “You know how to get there, right?”
“Sure do,” you reply, Nicholas slipping his hand in yours. There’s rarely anything he’s afraid of and for a moment, you’re not sure who is benefitting from the safe touch as the doors open. It looks much differently than when you were here, once upon a time when you would you’re your backpack over your shoulder as you ran toward the elevator, a protein bar in your mouth.
The same elevator where you met –
“Where are we going, Mom?”
“To see a friend,” you answer him, pressing the elevator button as the doors open, the indictor chiming as you usher him inside.
“For my tests?” he says, his voice suspicious as the doors close. “Are they nice?”
“You’ll like him.”
“Who is he?”
“A friend,” you repeat, knowing that he’s nervous. You touch the side of his cheek with your knuckle, making him smile – the same thing you did to him as a baby. “He won’t hurt you, I promise.”
He seems to relax at your words, jutting out his chest a little.
“I’m not afraid.”
-
True to his word, Nicholas glances up at the giant man with wide eyes, stepping in front of you.
“You’re my mom’s friend?” he asks, looking back at you with distrust. “That’s the Hulk!”
“Bruce,” Bruce corrects him. “Dr. Banner, to be exact. I haven’t been the Hulk in a long time. He and I… well, let’s just say we’re old friends.”
“How do you know my mom?”
“She used to work for me,” Bruce answers him, clearly entertained by Nicholas’ rapid-fire questions. “He’s definitely like someone I know.”
“You worked here?!”
“Do you know how long the tests will take?” you ask, trying to change the subject as Bruce looks back at you.
“From what you sent me, not too long. I’ll need to, uh, do some blood tests. You aren’t scared of needles, are you buddy?”
“Nope.”
Bruce gives you a look that you ignore. The email demands were enough to make you blindly forward it to Bruce, your reply to Hunter’s father and his attorney enough to keep them at bay. Anxiety reaches its peak when you glance at your son who is still enamored with Bruce, asking him a million questions while Bruce leads him to a chair.
“It’ll be pretty easy,” Bruce says. “I just gotta draw some blood and… hey, what happened here?”
Bruce motions to the side of Nicholas’ lip, a small scar present.
“Oh, that? I got hit!” he says proudly. “I got a trash can lid and this bully hit me and it hit me in the mouth.”
Bruce looks up from his chair as Nicholas retells the story with great and gory detail.
“Trash can lid, huh? I’ve heard of that being used as a shield before.”
“How many vials?” you interrupt, Bruce turning back to Nicholas.
“Four should do it. That should give me enough to run the tests I need.”
Crouching down next to him, Nicholas gives you a thumbs up.
“I’m okay, Mom.”
“Okay.” Smoothing back his hair, you place a kiss on his forehead, hearing his groan before you see his smiling face.
“It’ll be quick, I promise,” Bruce assures you, opening the syringe pack. “Five minutes tops.”
Nicholas doesn’t flinch at the sight of the needle, Bruce working quickly while you refamiliarize yourself with the lab. It’s bigger. Brighter than before, your eyes homing in on the lab table that you found yourself on top of, eyes closing at the thought of how he –
“All done,” Nicholas announces loudly, Bruce finishing up applying the band aid. “Can we go look around?”
“If Bruce says it’s alright.”
“Can we Bruce?!”
“I gotta run your tests so go nuts,” Bruce says with a knowing look at you. “I’m sure you still know your way around.”
“Come on, Mom,” Nicholas says, taking your hand while he drags you toward the door. “Let’s go!”
“Bruce,” you call out behind you. “You’ll call me when they’re done?”
“Of course.”
-
Bruce places the vials in the centrifuge, letting the machine work while he writes his notes. It’s a standard steroid test that is requested by the injured schoolboy’s father, his email poorly written as Bruce rereads it out of entertainment while he waits.
But when the centrifuge stops, he notices the thin blue line in the vials, putting on his glasses to see. It’s there, clear as day.
As much as he’s joked with you about similarities, he’s only seen the blue in one particular vial.
Reaching for the phone, he dials a number and waits.
“Bruce?”
“Can you come down to the lab, Steve?” Bruce asks, picking up one of the vials to look at it closely.
“Sure. Everything okay?”
“I had some questions for you regarding the serum.”
“Sure, I’ll be right down.”
Bruce thinks of how quickly Nicholas plopped into the chair, discarded his jacket while he waited for his blood to be drawn.
No fear.
Not even a flinch.
Bruce doesn’t have to wait long, the elevator doors opening as Steve enters, half dressed in a tight blue shirt, still clad his uniform pants and boots.
“You alright?”
Bruce places the vials back, looking at his friend for a moment.
“I’m tired,” Bruce admits, pushing back his chair. “All this… the snap, rebuilding this place… New Asgard.”
Bruce smiles at the thought of Thor and who is in charge now.
“I gotta be honest. I brought you down here because I feel like you’ve been thinking about giving up the shield. What’s holding you back?”
“That’s a loaded question,” Steve replies, leaning against the counter. “A lot. I know we’re not going to have a threat like Thanos but… I think about the rest. What else is out there that might be as bad as him. Maybe worse. I’ve been a soldier for so long. I don’t think I could just give it up that easily.”
“But you’re having discussions,” Bruce points out. “I see it.”
“Sam,” Steve swallows with a hard nod. “He’s the only one I think that could take it. That would take it seriously.”
“Why don’t you give it to him?”
“That’s a heavy load to put on his shoulders. He’s taught me a lot, Bruce. Things I never knew that have happened in this world. I’m not sure if that emotional toll is fair to him.”
“You’ll never know unless you ask.”
“One day,” Steve laments with a sigh. “When I have something to focus on.”
Steve shakes his head at the thought.
“So, no serum talk?”
“When you first transformed after the serum, how many samples did they take?”
“A lot,” Steve informs him. “At least twenty at the time. More when I came out of the ice.”
“Did they ever try to replicate it?”
“They tried. Never were really successful,” Steve says, looking at his friend as he gives him a sheepish smile. “Or, too successful.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Bruce says with a wave of his hand. “Interesting.”
The elevator doors open, Nicholas running toward Bruce as Steve locks eyes with you. He can barely get your name past his lips when he sees Nicholas, nearly skidding to a stop at the sight of him.
“C-Captain America! Mom, look!”
“I see him,” you say, your eyes on Steve as he smiles at you. It’s genuine, one of longing as Nicholas stares at him in awe.
“Do you have your shield?” Nicholas asks, moving around Steve while he peppers him with more questions. “We read about the battle and how you broke your arm! So cool!”
Nicholas hops up on the counter, Steve’s eyes moving toward the little boy as he studies Steve right back, tilting his head to the side as Steve opens his mouth.
“How did you…”
“What?” Nicholas asks Steve innocently, swinging his feet as he realizes what he’s done, his eyes going wide with realization. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to jump on the counter.”
He hops off, standing next to you as you pat his shoulder. Steve swallows hard at how quickly he descends the high counter, like it’s nothing before he sidles up your side.
“It’s okay. Nicholas, this is Steve.”
“Hi,” he says with a shy wave. “Sorry about the counter. Mom says I have a lot of energy.”
“Hey Nicholas,” Bruce calls out. “Wanna see the Falcon? He’s around here somewhere.”
“The Falcon?! Yeah!”
Bruce walks toward the elevator with Nicholas in tow, leaving you and Steve alone as they disappear from view once the doors close.
“It’s been a long time,” Steve says quietly. “I can’t believe you’re here. You look amazing.”
“It has been a long time,” you agree, hating that you’re suddenly shy. “Thank you.”
Steve nods, looking at the vials left behind. It’s too silent, almost as if he wants to say something but can’t, clearing his throat for a moment.
“What brings you to the compound?”
“Some tests,” you answer quickly. “A misunderstanding at school.”
“About what?”
“His energy levels are high,” you start, Steve nodding with you. “He tends to exert a lot more energy at school when it comes to physical activity. He got into a fight and -”
“He won,” Steve finishes for you. “He’s stronger than the kids he goes to school with.”
“Steve…”
“He’s mine,” Steve swallows, his eyes glassy. “Isn’t he? That explains the blue lines in the vials.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
His voice almost cracks, your eyes filling with tears at his question.
“When you found out Bucky was alive, you told me we had to end it. It was too risky, too dangerous for us because I’d be a target,” you start, trying to keep it together. “When you went to Raft to free them, I found out I was pregnant.”
Steve doesn’t say a word, his hands on the counter while he processes your words.
“You were off the grid,” you continue. “I didn’t fault you for that. Me reaching out and telling you that news… it would have put you and your team at risk. I went into hiding. It was better that way.”
“You did it alone,” Steve murmurs. “I should have been there for you and Nicholas.”
“You couldn’t. Not with the world being crazy. Then with the snap happening? I had to shield him from all of it. We were fine until he started beating up bullies.”
Steve can’t help but smile at your admission.
“He doesn’t like bullies.”
“Hates them,” you reply tearfully, wiping your tears. “He’s so much like you, Steve. I’m sorry that I hid. I didn’t have a choice, we -”
His mouth is on yours before you can say another word, his calloused and warm hands on either side of your face.
“I couldn’t stop thinking about you,” Steve says against your mouth. “Jesus, I looked all over for you when I got back. Then the snap…”
He holds you close, much like he did the first night you went on a date, looking up at the stars before you knew what the universes held.
“I couldn’t forget about you. I never forgot about.”
He pulls out a picture of you both, celebrating on the Fourth of July as you’re on his lap, giving him a kiss in a red, white and blue dress.
“You still have that?” you ask, sniffling as he kisses you again.
“Sure do. I told you. You meant the world to me. I thought you never wanted to see me again.”
Shaking your head, he sighs, mind going to Nicholas.
“How old is he?”
“Seven,” you answer, his forehead resting against yours. “He got into a fight and used a trash can lid as a defense.”
Steve kisses your nose, wiping away your tears.
“Sounds familiar.”
-
Nicholas is busy looking at the Quinjet when Steve stops.
“I don’t know,” Steve tells you quietly. “Maybe you should tell him.”
“I think you should show him.”
Nicholas turns around, looking at the shield in Steve’s hands.
“Cool!” he shouts, running up toward Steve. “Can I touch it?”
“How about this? I’ll throw it and if you can catch it, you can keep it.”
Nicholas’ eyes go wide as dinner plates, his eyes moving from you to Steve.
“Really?”
“Really. I’ll give you a head start.”
Nicholas takes off running, Sam lowering his sunglasses at the sight.
“I’ll tell you later,” you promise Sam. “Just watch.”
The shield flies through the air, Sam shouting out a warning before it’s plucked from the air, Nicholas holding it as Sam does a double take.
There’s scattered applause from agents who stop to see Steve jogging toward Nicholas as you and Sam follow behind. Nicholas flips it over like it weighs nothing, holding onto it carefully as he looks up at Steve.
“I can’t keep this, Sir,” he admits, trying to hand it back.
“Why not?”
“I just wanted to touch it. It’s yours.”
Steve crouches down, examining Nicholas for a moment.
“Are you sure?”
“Do you like bullies?”
“No.”
“Me either,” Steve agrees, watching Nicholas jut out his chest. He can see the similarities in his profile, the lump already thickening in his throat. “What do you know about your dad?”
“He fought a lot,” Nicholas remembers. “Mom said he loved me but he had to save the world. I guess he did but I haven’t seen him.”
Steve swallows hard at that fact, nodding.
“You know what you and your dad have in common?”
“No,” Nicholas says. “What?”
“I hate bullies too.”
“You hate bullies…” Nicholas says, blinking in confusion. “You… you’re my dad?”
“Yeah,” Steve manages, a tear slipping down his cheek. “I’m your dad.”
“Captain America is my dad?!”
His little voice echoes as he looks up at Steve in awe.
“Mom! You didn’t tell me Captain America was my dad!”
“Yeah, you sure as hell didn’t,” Sam quips.
Nicholas holds onto the shield, still looking at Steve carefully. Once he gets sight of you, he frowns.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I couldn’t,” you tell him honestly, wiping away a tear. “Some bad people were going to be after us if I did. But that doesn’t change the fact that he’s your father. I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you, sweetheart.”
Peering up at his father, Nicholas tilts his head to the side.
“Do you like pizza?”
“I do,” Steve says cautiously.
“Can we get pizza for lunch?”
“Yeah,” Steve replies, visibly relaxing. “I think I can do that.”
“Good, ‘cuz I’m hungry.”
Sam plucks the shield out of the ground as Nicholas grabs Steve’s hand, pulling him along toward the compound.
“You’re gonna leave this behind?” Sam asks, Steve stopping for a moment as Nicholas looks at his father.
“You keep it,” Nicholas says to Sam. “Captain America is my dad. I can get a shield anytime I want.”
Sam laughs, holding the shield as Steve pats him on the back.
“My kid has spoken,” Steve instructs Sam. “You wear it well, Sam. Been thinking about retirement. Sounds like now is the perfect time. It’s all yours.”
With a final pat on the back, Nicholas continues pulling him toward the doors, Steve slipping his free hand in yours.
“We got a lot of catching up to do,” he tells you, Nicholas shouting his goodbye to Sam and Bruce before he stops in his tracks.
𝗪𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 | 6’6” Steve, feral behaviour/feral!steve, nomad!steve, fluff, scientist!reader, gentle giant!steve, soft!steve, size difference, SMUT - minors DNI, size kink, manhandling, unprotected sex, creampie, sort of animal-like behaviour, mentions of dead parents, specific warnings in each part.
𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆 | S.H.I.E.L.D. had a lot of secrets, you just never expected one of them to be an actual person—a blue-eyed giant, wild manbeast at that.
♫ ·ﾟ𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐀 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭
𝗧𝗼𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗪/𝗖 | 23.9K + 7.1K in blurbs
𝗔/𝗡 | well hello everyone! This is based on my short drabble about Tarzan!Steve, but changed a bit for storyline purposes. In this verse, Sam has always been Captain America and best friends with Bucky. Also, since I felt weird with consent from Steve’s side, there won’t be smut until part 2 where he’ll fully understand what sex is. BUT, there will be an alternative dark!Steve version that’s sort of just pure filth because why not. No gifs/photos belong to me, found bottom ones on Pinterest [1 | 2] all credits go to the original creators. [*=smut] ☼ 𝐃𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐲 𝐊𝐨-𝐟𝐢 ☼
I don’t do taglists anymore. ˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ 𝐅𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 & 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲: @𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲
Feel free to send blurb requests or asks about this series!
Summary: Steve likes reader, but thinks she's too young for him. Based on this request!
Warnings: unspecified age gap (reader is ~19/20ish but it's never expressly mentioned), mention of abduction/torture, anxious reader
Word Count: 8100
a/n: ahh, this was pretty fun to right once I figured out how to start it! My heart goes out to those in houston who can't see Harry tonight :/ but it did inspire this fic. Also, the outfit I describe in this fic was inspired by this tik tok!
Masterlist
"Hey Pete! You ask MJ out yet?" You greeted your best friend with a smile, already feeling more at ease in his presence. Some might find it odd that your best friend is years younger than you and in high school, but you don't meet a wide range. And Peter is the perfect best friend.
When Tony found you in an abandoned Hydra base, you were very nearly dead. The agents deemed you unworthy of saving when they made their escape, leaving you chained in a room with no means of escape. If not for the Avengers, you would have died in that room. Or perhaps been forced to help Hydra had they finally been able to control your powers.
You were taken by Hydra when you were 15 years old. They killed your mother in front of you, reducing your living relatives to zero. After a few years of experimenting on you, the scientists were able to mutate your DNA. Although nothing seemed amiss at first, strange things started happening around you.
Anything electronic would experience a sort of power surge in your presence, ranging in power from causing static on a radio to blowing up a microwave. They had moved on to figuring out how to control your powers when they had to abandon the base you were being held in. Since it had been over a year and a half with no progress, they left you behind like trash.
The room you were kept in was lined with six feet of concrete on each side, effectively cutting you off from any source of electricity. Honestly, you considered it a miracle Tony was able to detect your heartbeat when searching the base.
"No," Peter rolled his eyes in your general direction, setting aside the web shooter he was tinkering with. "I'll have you know, I have a plan to ask her out when we're in Italy."
You pouted at his response, not needing the reminder that he was leaving for a few weeks. Since coming to the compound and learning to control your powers, Peter has been your closest, and really only, friend. The two of you bonded over the shared experience of developing powers overnight with no idea of how to control them.
Granted, the circumstances differed. Still, he understood how hard it was to adapt to life as an Avenger. Without Peter, you'd likely still be holed up in your room trying to figure out how to talk to the team in passing. The anxiety and stress you felt in large groups could be overwhelming. Having Peter to anchor you was beyond helpful. The two of you were like the siblings the other never had.
"Who am I supposed to hang out with if you're not here." You practically whined, falling into the chair behind you.
"You could, hear me out, talk to Steve?" Peter's eyes twinkled with mischief, his laughter audible when you abruptly looked around the room.
"How dare you call me out in such a public place." You murmured, sitting back down after confirming the room was empty. "And you know why I can't do that."
Steve was... intimidating to you. Not in a bad way, more like a he's-so-perfect-I-can't-talk-to-him-or-I'll-die type of way. You never failed to be a stuttering mess when he was in the room, even if he wasn't part of the conversation. Not that you were extremely sociable in the first place. You'd always been a shy and reserved person, and Hydra didn't help with that. The only person you actually had conversations with outside of missions is Peter.
"You always push me to talk to MJ, I'm just returning the favor." He shrugged, finally sitting down next to you. "I'll be gone for three weeks, it's the perfect time for you to branch out."
You rolled your eyes again, knowing he was right but not liking what you were hearing. It was true, he only bugged you about Steve as much as you bugged him about MJ. Plus, you really couldn't hide in your room the entire time he was in Italy. That would be too sad, even for you.
"Fine. I'll try to branch out... but just a little bit!" You could already see how proud he was of you for even promising to try. "But I'm not making a move on Steve... yet." You relented, knowing he'd likely eventually talk you into it... years down the line.
"That's all I ask." Peter smiled. "Plus, as soon as I get back we'll go to that concert together." That put a smile on your face, just as Peter intended. One of your biggest comforts after leaving Hydra quickly became music. Whether it be musicals, country, pop, or something else, you always turn to music to help escape. You've been looking forward to Harry Styles Love on Tour for over a year.
"Let's go make the most of your last night stateside." You joked, pulling him from the lab. The two of you ended up in the theater Tony had built for movie nights, watching Peter's favorite Star Wars. It was always an activity you enjoyed because Peter looked so happy every time he watched it, no matter how recently he'd seen it. There wasn't a more perfect activity for a send off event.
Naturally, the two of you fell asleep three movies in, leading to Peter rushing out in the morning to make it to his flight. It was a very on brand goodbye for Peter, always rushing from one thing to another.
Either way, he left you to your own devices in the kitchen, unsure of how to make good on your promise to try to branch out. Thankfully, an opportunity presented itself fairly quickly.
Wanda and Natasha came into the kitchen while you were still eating breakfast. The two had clearly just finished a workout and were laughing together as they started making smoothies.
"Hey, Y/N! Nat and I are going into the city for some shopping after this. Do you want to come?" Wanda extended the invitation, hopeful that you'd want to join them. With Peter gone, the entire team decided to make sure you knew they were there for you to talk to.
"Um, ye-yes. I'll come." You hesitantly answered, knowing Peter would be a proud little brother if he could see you now. "I'll just go get dressed." You quickly cleaned up from breakfast, bumping into a solid mass of muscle on your way out of the room. Two strong hands keeping you from falling over. "Sorry, I didn't see- oh, Steve?" Your eyes went wide when you realized just who you bumped into.
"Y/N, hi." Steve stopped in the doorway, hands releasing your shoulders once he was sure you were stable. He suddenly cleared his throat, one hand moving to rub the back of his neck. The two of you were just looking at each other when Nat spoke up.
"Good morning, Steve. Enjoy your run?" She smirked, eyes sparkling with a secret when the two of you break eye contact to look at her.
"What? Oh, um, yes. Same as always." Steve moved to his right, trying to get around you. Unfortunately, you moved to your left, effectively blocking his path. You both laughed, moving the opposite direction only to once again block each other's way. Finally, Steve put his hand on your shoulder, urging you to move to your right while he stepped to his own right.
"There we go." Steve smiled, his cheeks dusted with red. You could feel the heat in your own face, causing you to mutter your thanks before running to your room. Steve watched you go, turning back to the two women in the kitchen once you were out of sight.
"Y/N, hi." Wanda imitated the lower timber of Steve's voice, making lovey dovey eyes at Nat.
"Steeeve." Nat replied, her voice mocking your own, drawing out the syllable of Steve's name and returning Wanda's lovey dovey eyes.
"Oh, leave it alone, would you?" Steve grumbled, forcefully pulling bags of frozen fruit from the freezer. He added everything to the blender as quickly as possible, turning it on to drown out their teasing remarks.
"Just ask her out!" Nat shouted over the noise, grinning ear to ear when Steve's cheeks turned even redder. Steve turned the blender up, looking nowhere but at the spinning fruit.
The second the noise stopped, Wanda was ready with more ribbing. "She would definitely say yes!" Just then, Sam and Bucky joined the group in the kitchen.
"Who, Y/N?" Bucky questioned, trying to come to speed with the conversation.
"Say yes to Steve?" Sam eyed them, his grin growing. "Of course she would if he wasn't too chicken shit to make a move."
Steve rolled his eyes while pouring his smoothie into a travel cup. All it took was one night with Thor's Asgardian mead, and the team managed to coax him into confessing his feelings for you.
"I regret meeting all of you." Steve muttered, no real mirth in his words. The team laughed, calling more taunts as he quickly escaped to the elevator.
-
You were quiet on the way to the city, replaying the miniscule conversation you had with Steve in the kitchen. You barely said a handful of words to him, but it was enough to feel that familiar pit of nerves in your stomach. After visiting a few different stores, the three of you stopped for lunch.
"So, Y/N... what do you think of Steve?" Wanda questioned you, drawing you out of your own thoughts. It took a second for you to register the words, but you could feel the heat returning to your face once you understood the question.
"Not you too." You muttered, unfortunately loud enough for the two women to hear.
"Too?" Nat smirked, glad to have caught your comment.
"Ugh, Peter won't leave me alone about it! Although, it's fair because I bug him about MJ too." You rolled your eyes at the mention of your antics with Peter, something the rest of the team didn't know the details of.
"Peter Parker... teases you about your crush on Steve?" Nat quirked an eyebrow, curious as to how she was unaware of something like that.
"Yeah, but I told him I wasn't gonna do anything about it yet. So, he expects nothing from me but to actually talk to somebody else on the team, which I'm doing." You mumbled, not realizing just how much you were giving away. Without any response, you continued talking to fill the slightly awkward silence.
Nat and Wanda watched as you gushed about your friendship with Peter and your feelings for Steve, confirming what they already suspected. You talked through the entire of lunch, answering any questions they threw in.
You didn't even realize how much you had been speaking until the two of them had finished eating and you barely started. They brushed off your apologies, convincing you to eat while they took turns telling you different stories and information about themselves.
After lunch, you went shopping again. You hadn't bought anything earlier, and both Nat and Wanda were eager to talk you into getting some new clothes.
"What about this?" Nat held up a yellow sweater with a bow on the back, but it's not really your style. You offered her a smile, explaining how you don't need any new clothes. It does little to deter the two women from asking your opinion on anything they think you might like.
Finally, Wanda holds up a pink, plaid oversized blazer. A matching skirt was hanging next to her on the display. Your response died in your throat, head tilting while you look at the set. Before you could respond, Nat came up with a pair of shoes and a black corset top type thing. The neckline of the top was covered in lace, and the shoes match the color of the plaid on the blazer.
"I can wear this to the concert!" You excitedly whispered to yourself, unaware of the smiles on Wanda and Nat's faces. They were just glad to have found something for you.
After buying the clothes, the three of you head back to the compound. You were so exhausted after a full day of shopping, you went to your room and slept, completely missing dinner.
You woke up around 5, stomach grumbling and throat dry. After you climbed out of bed, you realized you were still wearing your clothes from yesterday, so you quickly changed into pajamas before heading to the kitchen for a snack and water.
Upon entering the kitchen, you spotted none other than one Steve Rogers, dressed for his morning run. You froze in the doorway momentarily, but before you could turn around he spotted you. He smiled in greeting, his hands preoccupied with filling his water bottle.
You smiled in return as you moved further into the kitchen, opening and closing cabinets in search of a snack. The two of you moved around each other awkwardly, both wanting to say something but unable to find the words.
He was closing his water bottle when you sat down with your snack, a packet of pop tarts you found in the back of the pantry. It wasn't even in the box, so the flavor was a mystery.
"Any guesses?" You asked, gesturing to the silver foil packet. When he raised his eyebrow in question, you spoke up again. "The flavor... I'm thinking s'mores." Guessing mystery flavors or things in the kitchen was one of yours and Peter's favorite games to pass the time between meetings.
He smirked in response, instantly confident he knew who bought the poptarts, and in turn what flavor they would be. "Brown sugar cinnamon."
"You sound pretty sure." You narrowed your eyes at him, questioning his confidence.
"Considering Tony and Sam are the only two childish enough to actually buy pop tarts, and Sam would never be careless enough to lose a packet, it's more than likely Tony bought that poptart. He only likes two flavors, and one of them was discontinued years ago, so let's hope it's not that one. That leaves brown sugar cinnamon." Steve grinned, proud to show off his deductive reasoning.
"Damn, Detective Rogers. I only guessed s'mores because it's definitely the best flavor, and I was hopeful." You both laughed, grinning at each other for slightly longer than what would be deemed normal.
Two pairs of eager eyes watched as you tore open the foil, laughter only growing when you revealed two pop tarts covered in white icing and red and green sprinkles. Strawberry.
"We're both losers today, Steve." You giggled, already breaking the edges of the pastry off to eat first. He smiled in return, picking up his water bottle and moving toward the door.
"You're right about that. I'll see you later?" He questioned from doorway.
"Yeah," you nodded. "I'll see you later." Watching as he moved down the hallway, you called one more thing to him. "Enjoy your run!"
Your smile lingered as you finished eating. It lingered when you changed for training. It even lingered when Nat knocked you down over and over in your hand to hand practice. In fact, it lingered until you fell asleep, replaying the little laughs over and over as you started dreaming.
It may have been one conversation- and a very short one at that- but it was a full conversation you made it through without the nerves taking over, and that was a reason to smile.
-
Your days began to follow a similar pattern. You'd go to training, spend time with Nat and Wanda, and occasionally talk to Steve. Your conversations even grew to be longer than 5 minutes. You didn't mind the repetition. In fact, it was comfortable, especially because your previous routine of annoying Peter had been disrupted.
You'd grown so accustomed to this new normal, that Tony's proclamation for a team movie night caught you completely off guard. Even Peter had never been able to convince you to join in on an event with the entire team, and he tried. A lot.
But, you'd never been invited by Tony in front of everyone before either. It would have been so much worse to announce to everyone that you were too anxious to spend a night with them.
"Sounds like fun!" You faked your enthusiasm, trying to appease the billionaire in front of you.
"Yes! I knew you'd come around. I'm that good." Tony continued mumbling about his achievement as you excused yourself. You were already overthinking everything that you could do to embarrass yourself, and needed an outlet for all of your nervous energy.
While you slipped out of the room, already cataloguing everything you could clean or reorganize in your room by the time you made it to the elevator, Nat and Wanda were already conspiring with Bucky and Sam to sit you and Steve next to each other during the movie.
"Whatever your planning, I want no part in it." Steve eyed the group suspiciously, observant enough to notice their conspiring.
"We were just discussing snack options for during the movie." Wanda shrugged, a mischievous smile showing through her casual facade. Steve watched on with suspicion as the group dispersed, leaving him with a slightly uneasy feeling.
-
You spent the rest of the day in your room trying to forget about the movie night. It wouldn't be so bad if you had spent any amount of time with Bruce, Thor, Clint, Scott, Tony, Bucky, and Sam outside of missions.
Of course, you trust them with your life and hope they feel the same when you're fighting the evils of the world together, but you've never spent time with them like you have Peter, Nat, and Wanda. You hadn't even had one on one conversations with them like you had with Steve.
Even worse, you know it's your own fault that you haven't spent time with them. You've seen Bruce and Tony in the lab, offering a wave when you pass through. Thor and Scott have always offered to include you in their antics. The same goes for Sam and Bucky. Nat even offered for you to come visit Clint and his family with her.
You've just haven't completely adapted to your new life as part of the Avengers. Training wise, everything was going swimmingly, but socially? Up until a two and a half weeks ago, you only ever talked to Peter! It's been challenging trying to figure out who you are after everything Hydra did to you.
In your efforts to forget your social anxiety, you reorganized your closet and desk, washed your sheets, remade your bed, and vacuumed the floor all before noon. Then you dusted every available surface you could find.
Once your room was done, you moved on to the hallways, then the kitchen, then the living room. By the time you were done, every residential part of the building you could access was spotless. You were just putting away your cleaning supplies when Friday announced it was time for the movie.
You glanced at the clock, realizing it was in fact 8 pm and you hadn't stopped cleaning for lunch, let alone dinner. You took a few deep breaths to steel your nerves, trying to prepare yourself for interacting with nearly the entire team at once.
When you finally made it down to the theater room, everyone but Steve was already there. You didn't even have time to think about how strange it was for Steve to be late with how quickly Nat was dragging you over to the only open couch to sit with her. She sat against the armrest, pulling you down into the middle to sit beside her.
She started pestering you about where you'd been all day, but rolled her eyes and stopped when Tony clapped for everyone's attention.
"Friday held a vote earlier, and of those who answered," Tony glared at you- you must not have noticed Friday's question in the middle of your cleaning- "Hush won out."
You hadn't heard of the movie, but when you opened your mouth to ask about it, Tony cut you off.
"No objections from people who didn't vote. Nat, will you help Sam with the popcorn?" His smirk had you on edge, but once again he gave no room for questions.
Just as Tony was asking Friday to open Netflix, Steve came jogging into the room. He quickly surveyed for an open seat, finding the only empty spot being the one next to you. He shuffled further into the room with a sheepish smile, feeling bad for interrupting even though the movie hadn't actually started.
"Did I miss anything?" He whispered, leaning closer to you to keep the volume down. You felt the familiar nerves in your stomach, but managed to whisper back an answer.
"We're watching Hush? I guess there was a vote..." You shrugged, not knowing anything about the movie or the vote.
"Dang, I voted for Little Women." He mumbled. "I've never been a fan of the jump scares in horror movies. They've always felt tacky."
You felt the heat drain from your face at his words. Even the typical blush from just being around Steve couldn't overpower the anxiety you felt at having to watch a horror movie with the team. You don't mind horror films per say, but you normally watched them in the comfort of your own room with Peter there for you to hide behind.
Steve could tell something was wrong by the way your whole body tensed and your eyes widened. "Are you okay?" He whispered, leaning even closer in an attempt to calm you.
"Fine. I'm fine. Totally fine. Everything is a-o-k. Peachy keen." You gave him a strained smile, swallowing the nerves you could feel building. One look at the disbelieving look on his face had you spilling your guts during the opening sequence of the film.
"I just normally watch horror movies with Peter. And he lets me hide behind him during the scary parts." You hid your face in your hands, embarrassed to admit to being easily scared during movies. Steve slowly reached for your hands, leaning down so he could look into your eyes.
"I won't tell anyone. And, you... you can hide behind me. If you want!" He nervously mumbled, eyes downcast after he said it. You squeezed his hand that still held your own, smiling and mouthing thank you as the movie started.
Oddly enough, Nat never returned to sitting on the couch with you. After she and Sam came back with bowls of popcorn, the two of them sat on a sectional in the back with Bucky, Wanda, and Vision.
The movie definitely wasn't the scarier than the scariest one Peter had watched with you, but in combination with your stress of being in such a large group, it got to you. Halfway through the movie you were practically glued to Steve's side.
You held tightly to his arm, lifting it up to shield your face when you wanted to hide from the screen. Occasionally you'd jump, burying your face between Steve's shoulder and the couch. He smiled each time you squeezed his bicep, fighting between enjoying having you so close and feeling guilty that you were so scared.
Bucky, Sam, Nat, and Wanda were all grinning as they watched the two of you get closer and closer throughout the movie. The four of them couldn't even explain the most basic premise of the film if they combined the parts they'd individually paid attention to. The group was so focused on you and Steve, they were surprised to see the lights turning back on.
They managed to pretend to be cleaning up the bowls of popcorn and straightening the pillows when you and Steve walked past them.
"i'll walk you to your room?" Steve offered, eager to talk to you even if just for a few minutes.
"Oh, um, thanks." You blushed, smiling at the ground. "And thank you for uh, everything during the movie. I completely understand it's a fictional story, but the idea of a masked man tormenting me in the woods freaks me out." You laughed at your own antics.
Steve smiled, nodding along to your explanation. "That's completely fair."
You just smiled, slightly bumping Steve with your shoulder because you couldn't find the words to convey how happy you were in the moment. You made it to your door much faster than you would've liked.
"This is where I say goodnight." Steve grinned, for once maybe believing you could have feelings for him.
"Oh, goodnight." You bit your lip, nervous about what you actually wanted to say. Just before he turned to leave, you called out, "Steve?"
He hummed in response, having a hard time focusing when you pulled your bottom lip into your mouth and released it.
"Will you stay?" His eyes widened and his mouth fell open, causing your nerves to skyrocket. "Nevermind! I shouldn't of- just pretend like I didn't say that. I'll see you tomorrow, goodnight!" You quickly ran into your room, practically slamming the door to avoid having to face any more embarrassment.
You forced yourself to get ready for bed as quickly as possible, hoping with sleep you'd be able to escape the look of shock on Steve's face. Luckily for you, the embarrassment outweighed any lingering fear you felt from the movie. Unluckily, the embarrassment still prevented you from sleeping. Instead you stared at the ceiling, coming up with a plan for avoiding your problems tomorrow.
-
Steve tried knocking. Hell, he tried opening the door but it was locked. He could've kicked himself for messing that up. An entire night sleeping in bed with you sounded like a dream come true, he just wasn't expecting the question. Eventually, he gave up trying to get you to speak to him and made his way back to his room.
Unfortunately for him, the night didn't end there. When he walked through the door, two of his best friends were waiting for him.
"Where have you been?" Bucky smirked, clearly knowing the answer.
Steve sighed, ignoring Bucky and Sam in favor of changing into pajamas. When he emerged from the bathroom, the two men were still staring at him expectantly.
"C'mon, man! We saw you two during the movie." Sam grinned, He was genuinely happy for Steve, but he wouldn't pass up the opportunity for a bit of light teasing. Much to his chagrin, Steve couldn't stop the blush he felt heating his face.
"I knew it! Did you tell her how you feel? Did you kiss her? Did she kiss you? Did-" Bucky abruptly stopped his line of questioning when he actually looked at Steve. "You didn't. Did you? What happened?" He practically whined.
Steve sighed again. He definitely didn't have the energy for this right now. "She just said something that surprised me and then panicked when I didn't respond. I'll talk to her tomorrow. Now please leave."
Steve ushered them out of the room, ignoring any and all advice they threw his way. Once he was alone, he finished getting ready for bed, but no matter how hard he tried he couldn't seem to fall asleep. Instead, he stared at the ceiling practicing what he would say to you tomorrow.
-
After spending nearly the entire night thinking about how to confess his feelings, Steve decided to make you breakfast. The only problem was that he didn't know what you liked. He'd never seen you making breakfast since he was always on a run when you ate.
Since Peter wasn't even in the country, Nat and Wanda were his best bet to find out what you'd like. Unfortunately, the two of them were nowhere to be found. They weren't in their rooms, the gym, the kitchen, or any of the living rooms. Friday must have taken pity on him because she abruptly asked, "Would you like helping finding someone, Captain Rogers?"
Steve cursed himself for forgetting about the AI, and quickly responded. "Please! Where are Natasha and Wanda?"
"Agent Romanoff and Ms. Maximoff left the compound early this morning with Ms. L/N. It is currently unknown when they will return."
"Oh, uh, thank you, Friday." Steve mumbled. He was confused as to what would cause you to leave early on a day with no scheduled training or missions. Normally, you and Peter slept in as late as you could manage.
Since making you breakfast would now be useless, Steve spent the day how he would any other time he had emotions he couldn't express- running an excessive amount and breaking a few punching bags.
-
Meanwhile, you were in full panic mode. You waited as long as you could manage in your room, but the second you saw any sign of sunlight you were getting dressed. Once you were ready for the day, you sought out Nat and Wanda to go with you back to the city. Luckily, they were both awake, although just barely.
"Where are we going?" Nat eyed you curiously, trying to figure out what happened last night without asking.
"And why so early? Wanda yawned while she brushed her hair.
You fidgeted your hands, feeling guilty for bothering them on everyone's day off. "I'm sorry! I was just really excited for the concert in a few days, and I realized I don't have any accessories to wear." You recited the cover story you came up with knowing they wouldn't believe you, but hoping they'd let it go for now. Fortunately they did, accompanying you to the city as long as you could stop for coffee on the way.
About ten minutes after they had their caffeine in hand, Nat and Wanda started questioning your story.
"I thought you already had the jewelry you wanted to wear to the concert?" Nat casually started the conversation. Wanda hummed in agreement, turning to look at you from the passenger seat.
"Yeah, but I wanted to get something different." You offered as an excuse.
"And this has nothing to do with a certain blonde haired super soldier?" Nat smirked.
"No..." You tried, but you knew it was of no use. One disbelieving look from Wanda and you told them everything that happened last night.
"...and now I have to avoid him for the next few days until Peter comes home and gives me an excuse to never talk to him again." You huffed, dramatically leaning back into your seat with your eyes closed to avoid their sympathetic looks.
"Y/N, I really think if you just talk to him this could all be figured out." Wanda tried to change your mind, but to no avail.
"Wanda, you didn't see the look on his face." You whined. "He looked like he'd rather jump out of a plane sans parachute than spend another second in my presence."
"In his defense, he doesn't need any encouragement to jump out of a plane without a parachute." Nat supplied, trying to lighten the mood.
"What?!" Your eyebrows shot up, face scrunched in confusion.
"A story for another time." Wanda glared at Nat. "Seriously, you should just talk to him."
"I'll think about it." You were definitely not going to think about it. "Can we just forget about it for now?"
Nat and Wanda agreed, moving on to talking about what jewelry you could match with your outfit for Harry's concert.
-
You managed to spend well into the evening, in the city. It made avoiding Steve much easier than you initially anticipated. Once back at the compound, you had the excuse of putting your newly acquired accessories in your room to escape for the night. Since you had eaten dinner before coming home, you had no reason to leave your room again.
Steve came and knocked on the door, but you just pretended to be asleep to avoid the conversation. A part of you felt guilty with how upset he sounded, but it was still too embarrassing to even think about opening the door.
The next morning, you enlisted Friday's help to avoid running into Steve in the compound. Whenever he was seemingly on his way to your location, Friday would warn you, giving you a chance to escape unnoticed.
It worked so well, the only time you saw him was during team training. With so many people around, he didn't want to bring up the conversation you had that night. Luckily for you, Tony had some questions for him after the workouts ended, giving you a chance to escape yet again.
You kept up this pattern for the next two days, managing to avoid Steve at all costs. Nat and Wanda tried pressing you to talk to him, but you couldn't handle the heartbreak that would come with the inevitable rejection. If you didn't talk to him, you could still hold out hope, no matter how flawed that concept seemed.
The only thing keeping you sane through the incredibly paranoing few days was Peter coming home and going to the concert. You were so excited to see your best friend again, that you could barely sleep the night before he was due to return.
You woke up in such a good mood that it changed your perspective on everything that had happened. Maybe talking to Steve was better than pretending nothing happened. It would do wonders for your blood pressure after all. It was decided. You would actually talk to Steve- after the concert of course.
However, your good mood lasted all of three minutes. When you checked your phone to make sure you still had time before you had to leave for the airport, you saw a text from Peter. His flight was cancelled due to the impending storm due to hit New York.
Unfortunately, because of the weather, he couldn't find another flight back until the next day, meaning he wouldn't make it back for the concert. Of course you understood he had no control over the weather, but it still ruined your excitement for the day.
You texted him back something about it being okay and how you were sad to have to wait another day before seeing him, then face planted back onto your bed. You stayed in that position until your phone dinged again, signalling a new instagram notification.
Harry Styles posted to their story
You clicked on the banner, sighing when the news matched what you expected. Unfortunately, because of the impending storm, it wasn't safe to have the concert tonight.
The two things keeping you sane for the past few days weren't going to happen. You sighed, ultimately deciding to check your email and figure out what was going to happen with your tickets. Hopefully the show would be rescheduled and you would still be able to go.
You flopped back onto your bed, no longer excited to start the day. Maybe you just needed to take a nap and start over with new expectations. So that's exactly what you did.
When you woke up again, it was nearly 1 pm. If you had been able to pick Peter up, the two of you would have been on your way back to the compound to get ready for the show by now. So, that's what you decided to do. Yeah, you wouldn't be going anywhere, but you could still dress up.
You jumped out of bed with slightly more energy than before, excited to do something other than wallow.
"Friday, can you shuffle Harry Styles please?" You smiled when she immediately started shuffling his two studio albums. "Thank you!"
You took your time in the shower, enjoying the hot water on your aching muscles. Avoiding Steve has made you so tense.
After your shower, you went through the steps of your hair routine. You originally planned something to keep your hair off your neck, but since you weren't actually going anywhere, you styled it in a more relaxed look.
Then you did your makeup. It took awhile for you to achieve the look you wanted, but eventually you had two nearly identical cat eyes with a soft pink glam look. You went for a bright, almost red, liquid lipstick to really have fun with it.
By the time you were getting dressed, you had already listened through both albums twice. The repetition didn't bother you though. In fact, listening to all of your favorite songs over and over put you in a better mood. You danced around your room, practically screaming along to Canyon Moon and Only Angel.
You were especially having fun when you were adding the final touches to your outfit and Kiwi started playing. Your jumping around made it more difficult to clasp the necklace, but at this point you were having too much fun to be bothered by something so trivial.
You only stopped dancing when you wanted to take a picture to send to Peter. Hopefully he was doing something fun with his friends while stuck in Italy for another night. You smiled in the picture, genuinely happy with how the day ended up after such a pitiful start.
After sending the snap, you realized just how hungry and thirsty you were. Getting ready while dancing is a lot of work! So, you slipped off your shoes, not actually needing them in the compound, and made your way to the kitchen.
Friday paused the music in your room, starting it up again in the kitchen when you arrived to an empty room. You smiled to yourself, bobbing your head to the music as you looked for a recipe. Deciding to treat yourself to a home cooked meal instead of a bag of chips, you searched through the pantry for every ingredient you'd need to make your grandma's mac and cheese.
It wasn't a fancy recipe by any means, but it has never failed to cheer you up. You got to work boiling the pasta and cutting up the ham and slices of american cheese. It only took about 20 minutes to get it in the oven to bake.
You sat on a stool by the island, mindlessly scrolling through social media while you waited for the timer to be done. You were so caught up in reading some random article, you didn't notice when Steve came into the kitchen.
He froze when he saw you. He hadn't even been looking for you this time, so he was caught off guard to actually see you after three days of you avoiding him so efficiently. He was just about to say something when the timer went off.
Instead, he watched as you excitedly ran to the oven and removed the dish. You carefully removed the aluminum foil from the casserole pan, stirring the melted cheese into the pasta before spooning some into a bowl to eat. You nearly dropped it when you turned around and saw Steve staring at you.
"Ahh! Steve! Don't sneak up on people!" You laughed. "Do you want some mac and cheese?" You grinned, reaching for another bowl without his response. Steve was shocked. He expected you to run the second you saw him, not offer him some of your food.
Once you had two bowls of mac and cheese, you sat them next to each other on the island, gesturing for Steve to join you. He did so slowly, still unsure as to what caused your change of heart.
"Did you do something special today?" He questioned, vaguely gesturing to your outfit and makeup.
"Nope." You smiled at him, spooning more food into your mouth to cheer you up.
"Oh, well you look beautiful." He sounded so sincere, you nearly choked on your food. After you managed to swallow the food in your mouth, you replied.
"Thank you." You sighed, figuring you should explain the outfit. It did seem a bit dramatic for eating dinner in the compound kitchen by yourself. "I was supposed to go see Harry Styles tonight, but with the storm it ended up not happening."
"Harry Styles?" He scrunched his eyebrow, trying to place the name. He knew he'd heard it before, usually coming from you. "Is he your boyfriend?"
You audibly laughed, dropping your spoon into your mac and cheese to avoid spilling any. Steve watched with a confused expression, not understanding why his question was so funny.
"If only." You sighed dreamily. "Harry Styles is a singer. Peter and I were supposed to go see his concert tonight but it was cancelled because of the unsafe conditions. Pete's flight was also cancelled. I decided to get ready for the show anyway to cheer myself up." You shrugged, feeling a little weird for being so upset about a concert.
"Oh, right! Harry Styles! He sings the watermelon song?" Steve asked, making sure he had the right singer.
"Watermelon Sugar, yeah." You chuckled, feeling even happier in Steve's presence.
"Well, you really do look amazing. Maybe Harry would've seen you and asked you out." Steve tried his hand at cheering you up even more, but the words tasted bitter in his mouth.
"Doubtful. You know how many incredibly beautiful people go to his shows? So many. Besides, I may have a crush on Harry Styles but it's just a celebrity thing." When Steve raised his eyebrows in confusion, you tried to explain it better. "I mean, I'd say yes if he asked me out, don't get me wrong. I'm just not delusional enough to expect that to happen. Besides, he's not who I have actual feelings for, ya know?" You froze, realizing what you just said and who you said it to.
"Well, he'd be lucky to date someone as incredible as you." Steve's words made the butterflies erupt in your stomach again. "Who, um, who do you have feelings for? Peter?"
Again, you laughed. "No! Pete's my best friend. He's like the brother I never had."
"Oh, so who?" He pressed the question, needing to know if he you felt the same.
"Steve..." You sighed, not wanting to return to the embarrassment of a few days ago. "I don't think-"
"Please?" He whispered, turning his stool to face you. "Y/N, I can't go back to you avoiding me."
"I'm sorry. I, I never should have said anything. I just, I thought maybe you felt the same and then you looked so horrified... I won't avoid you again, okay? I might, um, I might need a few days though. Just to figure out how to act like I'm not in love with you now that I know you know I am." You got up, deciding to clean up from dinner while you spoke to distract yourself from the tears you could feel burning in your eyes.
"Y/N-" Steve tried to respond, but you cut him off.
"Really, it's okay. I get it. You probably think I'm too young or whatever. It's fine. I can't fault you for not feeling the same."
"Y/N, really I-"
"You don't have to explain yourself, Steve. I get it. I'll be fine. I promise."
"I love you too!" He didn't yell, but his words still felt like they echoed in your mind.
"You... you love me?" You whispered. You were frozen in pace, one hand holding the dish of pasta while the other held the spoon you were using to move it to the tupperware.
"I do." He answered, now moving round the island to stand next to you. He gripped your wrist, first removing the spoon from your hand and then placing the casserole dish back onto the counter. "I love you so much, and when you asked me to stay with you the other night I panicked because I didn't think you meant it in the way I wanted you too.
I thought you were scared from the movie and just wanted someone to reassure you. I knew if I stayed in that bed, I'd end up telling you how I felt and I was terrified you wouldn't feel the same. I mean, you're incredible. I thought you would want someone closer to your age. Someone who wasn't frozen for seventy years." He lamented, admitting his own insecurities.
"Steve, I don't care that you were born before my grandparents... and maybe even their parents." You joked, smiling when he let out a small chuckle. "And I don't want to date anyone else. I want to date you."
"I want to date you too." Steve moved his hands to your waist.
"Does this count as our first date?" You grinned. "I mean, I dressed up and we ate dinner together. I feel like it could count."
"Do you want it to count?" He questioned, his own smile matching yours. You nodded in response. "Why?"
"Because, if we just had our first date it means you can kiss me now because we've finished dinner." You smirked, enjoying the faint blush on his cheeks. Thankfully, he felt the same.
He kissed you with all of the pent up feeling he'd been hiding for months, and you returned the kiss with equal fervor. You were so caught up in each other, you both failed to notice as other team members entered the kitchen.
"About time, punk." Bucky interrupted the moment, grinning at the two of you like the Cheshire cat.
"I for sure thought you'd figure it out after the movie." Sam added, ignoring Steve's pointed glare.
"We really set them up for success." Wanda sighed, moving further into the kitchen to investigate the source of the delicious cheesy smell. Noticing her attention on the mac and cheese, you quickly provided a diversion.
"I made mac and cheese! You are all welcome to have some." You shoved the dish toward them, Steve supplying bowls while you grabbed more spoons. While they were distracted, you tried to slip out of the room.
"You're not eating?" Nat questioned, eyes not even leaving the mac and cheese she was serving herself.
"Nope, we already ate. Bye!" You abruptly turned, running down the hall to your room. Steve quickly followed behind you, eager to spend more time with you now that you've both admitted your feelings.
"They're not going to let us live this down." He laughed, shaking his head at their antics.
"Nope, but at least now we can team up on them." You winked, earning another small laugh from him.
"Do you want to watch a movie?" Steve asked, unsure of how the two fo you should spent the rest of your night. You nodded, pulling him over to your bed and setting up your projector.
"Have you seen any Disney Channel Originals yet?" You questioned. You dramatically gasped when he said no, knowing exactly which ones to show him first. "Okay, Lemonade Mouth or Starstruck?"
"Hmm, Starstruck, because that's how I feel around you." Steve smirked, full on grinning when you rolled your eyes.
"You're so cheesy." You laughed, but leaned even closer to him when the butterflies returned to your stomach.
"Yeah, but you love it." Steve joked back, just as eager as you to cuddle during the movie.
"That I do." You admitted, finally fully cuddling with him once the movie was set up. "Now, sit back and enjoy."
The two of you spent the rest of the night cuddling and watching movies, every so often working in a kiss or two... or twelve. Eventually you fell asleep, still wrapped up in each other's arms.
-
You were sitting on the couch with Steve the next day when Peter returned to the compound. You failed to notice him entering the room, too caught up in your blossoming romance.
"I can't believe I've spent the last three days avoiding you when I could've been kissing you!" You whined, snuggling closer to him.
Steve laughed, squeezing you closer in return. "Don't worry, darling. We've got forever to make up for it." He placed a kiss on the top of your head, also unaware of Peter's presence in the room.
"Wrong." Peter exclaimed, staring wide eyed at the two of you. You both jumped, startled by his sudden proclamation. "You don't have time right now, because I have questions." He pulled you from the couch, already asking question after question in the hallway on the way to your room.
"Sorry, Steve!" You shouted down the hallway, laughing at the pout on his face. He smiled to himself at the sound of your laugh.
"Just make sure you're done by dinner! We've got plans!"
Summary: Steve thinks you’re too young to like him despite the obvious hints you’re dropping.
Warnings: unspecified age gap
Word count: 2246
a/n: I’ve clearly spent too much time on TikTok recently, but inspired me to write something so that's good. It was loosely based on a request for a young reader x Steve, but I forgot part of the request so I'm gonna write something else for that one! Also, I wrote this on my phone so please excuse any typos I missed when trying to edit it lol
Masterlist
Messing with Steve is one of your favorite things to do. Tiny pranks, over the top flirting, poking fun at his lack of understanding of technology. Anything you can do to get him to roll his eyes and chuckle.
Nat would say it’s because of your feelings for him. She would be correct. Not that you’d ever admit that to anyone. Nope. So instead, you have your fun, and enjoy the way his eyes crinkle and his cheeks redden.
Your newest method of hearing the sweet sound of Steve’s laugh? TikTok. It’s a double whammy. One because he doesn’t understand the app and two because a lot of the trends make him blush.
It started as a fun way to blow off steam. Sometimes, being one of the younger and newer team members made you feel like an outsider. Of course, Peter was younger than you, but he had his own friends outside of the team. You didn’t have anyone else. When Tony found you and invited you to join, it was you against the world. Now you have this makeshift family.
Having your account on TikTok helped you when you hadn’t really become a part of the group yet. You bonded with Peter because of his account, and you found a new way to make Steve blush.
Anyway, you’ve learned way more TikTok dances than you ever would have thought just to see his pink cheeks. It’s not even always over the top dances that have him chuckling. The last trend you did had him laughing the entire day. It was that sound about Wednesday Adams having one thing on her mind. Only when it said homicide, instead of a deadpan expression you panned the camera to show Bucky and Sam arguing over who got the last donut.
Of course, you knew when you made the video it would appeal to Steve’s sense of humor. Sam and Bucky feature in a lot of your videos for that exact reason.
In general, you make a lot of videos featuring the Avengers just to keep Tony happy. He likes to be the center of attention, plus the only way he would approve of your account was if it could also feature as PR for the team. You agreed, as long as you had final say over what you posted. There’s nothing scripted or designed for a specific reason, you just feature the team sometimes.
Like when that sound from the Big Bang theory was popular amongst Avengers fans, you made a video confessing to Pepper that you’d been thinking about the Avengers, panning to show the team during training.
Of course, the text on the screen said “you are an Avenger” instead of “I believe that”, allowing you to play off the joke. But still, it was fun to include the team.
One of your favorite videos features none other than Scott Lang, mostly because nobody else would do it. Scott thought it was hilarious though.
Using the sound from New Girl, Scott played Schmidt and you Jess. The text on the screen read as follows:
Scott: You just walk around all day thinking about America’s Ass?
You: Yeah, don’t you?
Scott: No! How do you get anything done?
You: It’s hard…
Steve blushed like crazy when everyone cornered him to watch it. Bucky, Sam, and Tony wouldn’t stop bringing it up for at least a month. A part of you hoped he might make a move after that video, seeing as you put yourself out there, but he just assumed it was a joke and laughed it off.
Honestly, you were running out of trends that you could use to get him to understand your feelings. You only had two ideas left, and one of them would be mortifying if it didn’t work out…
-
“Steve. You’ve got to be kidding me.” Bucky sighed, exasperated with Steve for the umpteenth time that month. “You’ve been pining for forever, just make a move!” he whisper yelled, doing his best not to throttle his lifelong friend.
Steve rolled his eyes, purposefully ignoring Bucky’s pointed glare. The two men had spent the last hour looking through your TikTok account. Bucky was adamant that you liked Steve, but the blonde didn’t believe it, despite the so called proof Bucky kept forcing him to watch.
“Buck, would you please just back off? We’re friends. She’s too young to want to be with me like that.” Steve blushed, thinking about the context of his words.
Before Bucky could say anything about how repressing his feelings is bad for him, a new video popped up on your account. Bucky smirked when he saw the thumbnail was once again a picture of Steve, this time with a beard. Steve took the silence as an opportunity to escape, walking into his closet to change.
The video opened with a video of you and Natasha just hanging out, you lip syncing to the words “I like you have a cupcake.” You repeated the words as the video cut to you and Tony.
Bucky nearly dropped the phone when “smack my ass like a drum” blared from the speaker. He cackled bending over in a fit of laughter when he realized that’s what Steve’s picture was used for- and one where he had a beard to boot.
“What is it now, jerk?” Steve emerged from his closet, having changed into loungewear. The sight of Bucky fully cackling had him nervous.
Bucky tossed him the phone, doing his best to stop laughing long enough to tell him to watch the most recent video. With a hesitant sigh, Steve obliged.
Again, Bucky rolled his eyes at how obvious Steve’s feelings were. The second he saw you on the screen, he smiled. And not one of those half hearted polite smiles, a full on happy smile.
Steve’s eyes widened, nearly bulging out of his head when he got to the end of the video.
“‘She doesn’t want to be with me like that.’” Bucky mocked his friends earlier words, grabbing his phone back. “Punk, I don’t know how much more obvious she could be.”
With one more glare in Steve’s direction, Bucky finally left him to his own thoughts. Okay, so you made a lot of videos about how you find him attractive. That doesn’t necessarily mean you’d want to be in a relationship with him. Leave it to Steve to talk himself out of everything Bucky had spent so long trying to convince him of.
-
You were desperate at this point. You honestly thought the cupcake one would send him over the edge, but it didn’t work either. It has been three days, and you know Steve’s seen the video because everyone likes to tease him about it.
“Naaaaaat, it’s not working,” you whined, dramatically throwing yourself onto her bed. She laughed at your antics, briefly looking up at you before deciding to stop what she was going and give you her full attention.
“Look, not only is Steve one of the most clueless people I’ve ever met when it comes to women, but he can also talk himself out of believing someone’s interested in him. Especially you.” Nat watched as you lifted your head from her comforter, slowly turning to stare at her with narrowed eyes.
“Especially me?” you questioned. Why would you have a different standard?
“Y/N, Steve’s from the 40s. He’s super old fashioned. You're a hot young thing, super up to date on modern trends. He thinks you're just messing around as friends because he doesn’t believe someone as young as you would be interested in actually having a relationship with him,” she spelt it out for you, sick of trying to get you to figure it out on your own.
You took a minute to fully understand what she was saying, but then sat up when a new idea struck. “So you’re saying I need to be more direct?”
Her eyes narrowed, but she nodded nonetheless.
“I’ve got an idea. Thanks Nat!” you ran from the room before she could question your newest plan, instead checking to make sure her notifications were on for posts from your TikTok account.
-
“Steve!” you shouted when you saw him down the hall, about to turn a corner. He immediately stopped, turning back to see you running at him. “I need your help!”
You pulled him into the gym, briefly glancing around the room to make sure it was empty. Confirming nobody else was present, you set up your phone on one of the weight racks to record the two of you. It was already open to the recording section of TikTok, the sound you needed queued and ready to begin.
“What’s going on?” Steve looked between you and the phone, nerves heightening as he realized what you were doing. All of your videos about him thus far hasn’t actually involved him filming anything.
“I just need you to react to this trend, okay? It’s kind of old, but that doesn’t really matter,” you spoke quickly, trying to start the video before he could decline.
The music started playing instantly, with Steve awkwardly looking between the screen and you. He wasn’t sure what exactly he was reacting to, and it had him on edge. Just as the song reached the chorus, you turned and grabbed his face. Throwing caution to the wind, you followed through with your plan before you could back out, kissing him with all the passion and emotion you’d been holding back.
Steve froze, clearly surprised by your actions. Before you could pull away, he wrapped his arms around you and pulled you closer. He kissed you with equal passion and emotion, no longer paying attention to your phone recording the moment.
Neither of you noticed when the music cut off, too wrapped up in each other. When the need for air overpowered the desire to keep kissing him, you pulled back to gasp in a few breaths. Steve leaned his forehead against yours, eyes closed and breathing erratic.
The two do you spent the next few moments just breathing, trying to come to terms with what just happened. You gasped when his hands moved, one resting on your waist and the other cupping your cheek. His eyes were still closed when you chanced a glance at him.
“What was the trend?” he breathily whispered the words, still coming down from the high of kissing you.
“Huh?” you mumbled, unable to comprehend the question when he was still touching you like this.
“The TikTok trend? What was it?” his grip on your hip tightened, but his hand framing your face remained gentle.
“Oh, uh, it was- it was kissing your best friend/crush.” You whispered, heart still racing from his proximity. Your nerves had never been greater. Yeah, Nat always tells you that Steve has feelings for you, but what if he was just being polite? Maybe he didn’t know how to reject you when you kissed him out of nowhere, and now he’s trying to find a way to turn you down gently. What if-
“Was my reaction good enough to post?” he broke your train of thought with another question. You took a minute to think about the question, your brain still moving like molasses
“Um, that depends…” you froze when his eyes opened and stared into yours.
“On?” he prompted you to continue.
“Which caption I can use.” you finished the thought, finally remembering the two most common outcomes of the trend.
“What are the choices?” Steve smirked when you looked flustered, clearly not expecting this conversation.
“Uh, the two-” he began rubbing small circles into your hip with his thumb, effectively cutting off your train of thought again. It wasn’t until he lightly squeezed your hip again that you remember you were answering his question.
“Right! The two most common captions are some variation of ‘this was so awkward’ or ‘we’re dating now’,” you managed to blurt out the choices, blushing when he smiled at you.
“Well, I know which I prefer…” you waited with bated breath as he prolonged the silence, enjoying seeing you so on edge. You nearly whined when he let you go, moving to pick up your phone from the weight rack.
You watched in silence as he typed out a caption, tapping each letter with his pointer finger. A small smile formed on your lips at his adorable old man behavior. He then managed to find the post button, adding the video to your account before handing you the phone to see what he chose.
Your smile only grew after you read the caption, dropping the phone and immediately kissing him again.
-
Meanwhile, Nat had gathered the rest of the team that happened to be around to wait for whatever video you had planned to be posted.
Tony, Sam, Bucky, Wanda, Vision, Peter, and Clint all watched as the new video popped up on the screen. Peter bounced with excitement when he heard the song, instantly recognizing the trend. The rest of the group watched as you kissed Steve, mouths gaping open when he actually kissed you back.
Fans were already commenting about how long it took for the two of you to get together, but the team was too focused on laughing at the caption to pay any mind to the comments.
She said the trend was kind of old, but that fits because I’ve got a habit of waiting too long anyways.
Summary: Steve has a secret... until suddenly he doesn't. Steve x Single Mom!Reader
Warnings: canon typical violence, probably some cursing
Word Count: 4349
a/n: I really fell in love with this idea. I think I dreamt it, but honestly I'm not sure. You can visualize Lily anyway you'd like, I just chose this picture bc it's cute.
Masterlist
"Ninety-nine, One hundred." Lily jumped out of the closet, ready to follow your instructions. She checked the phone, just like you said, but it was broken in the fight.
Instead, she packed her backpack with anything she thought she could need in an emergency and left.
She walked confidently through your apartment door, down the stairs, and to the subway stop. Maybe it was this confidence that lead the adults surrounding her to leave her be, or maybe it was just the fact she was in New York City and passerby couldn't be bothered.
Either way, she successfully made it to the station before anyone questioned her. When one of the transit employees asked her where her parents were, she replied with the only thing she thought would confuse them and allow her to continue on her journey.
"My daddy died when I was a baby, but mommy says he's always with me in here." She put her little hand over her heart, staring wide eyed at the woman helping her. The woman turned to a colleague, unsure of how to respond, and Lily made her escape.
She quickly pulled her mom's subway card from her pocket, scanned it, and walked through the barricade. By the time the employee turned back to her, Lily was already lost in the crowd.
She followed what she remembered from Steve's emergency instructions to the best of her ability, getting on the orange line train and taking it until Avengers Tower was announced as the next stop.
From there, she traveled with the crowd. She followed tourists, sticking close to other groups, pretending to be part of different families as she approached the tower. Despite never being there, Lily recognized the building.
With all of the remaining confidence in her six-year-old self, she walked through the doors straight to the information desk. Unfortunately, she was not immediately noticed by the receptionist. It took three very polite renditions of "excuse me, please" for the woman to finally realize there was indeed someone speaking to her.
"Can I help you?" The woman looked behind her, expecting a parent or guardian. "Where are your parents?"
"That's why I'm here. Stevie said to come here if there was ever an emergency." Lily replied as evenly as she could. The adrenaline from the situation was wearing off, and her emotions were beginning to get the better of her.
"Stevie?" The woman replied, utterly flabbergasted by the child in front of her.
"He said to tell you the emergency code. He made it my birthday so I wouldn't forget. 10112017" Lily had tears in her eyes as she continued. "You have to type it in so he can help my mom!"
After a few seconds of shock, the receptionist typed the code into the Stark Enterprises emergency alert system. She clearly didn't expect anything serious to happen, but she figured avoiding a full scale meltdown from the little girl in front of her would be best.
At first, nothing happened. Lily looked at the receptionist, the receptionist looked at Lily, and everyone else continued about their day.
But then, just as the receptionist was about to ask Lily for her name and if she knew how to contact a guardian, every Avenger in the tower came running into the lobby.
-
"Hey, Wanda. Vision." Steve greeted the two as he made his way toward the fridge, ready to refuel after training. Bucky, Sam, and Nat were quick to enter after him, coming from the same training session.
"I'm making sweet potato toast, anyone want some?" Steve took out the cookbook Tony had given him as a joke last Christmas, already flipping to the familiar page to look at various topping combinations.
Each team member replied, listing various reasons as to why they wanted to avoid eating more sweet potatoes. It seemed Steve was on a kick, but everyone else was sick of them.
"Suit yourselves." He laughed, already scrubbing the root vegetable to dispose of the dirt. He followed the steps in the book, still reliant on the instructions despite having made the meal- or a variation- dozens of times.
"Still reading the steps, Capsicle?" Tony shook his head, pouring himself a glass of cranberry juice.
"I just need to make sure I do it right." Steve replied, unphased by the teasing remark. No matter how long he spends trying to catch up to the modern world, Steve will never feel confident cooking.
Before Tony could jump into his usual spiel about how Steve needs to find a girlfriend who will cook for him, Friday made an announcement.
"Mr. Stark, as per the Morgan Protocol, I am alerting you of an unaccompanied minor in the lobby."
The announcement from the Irish voice confused the room, all eyes turning to look at Tony. He replied to Friday before addressing their stares.
"Any idea who it is?" His gaze briefly flickered to the ceiling while he awaited a response.
"Running facial recognition as we speak. Nobody matching her description was reported missing."
Tony attempted to leave, but he was bombarded with the same question from each Avenger present.
"The Morgan Protocol?" Steve's voice could be heard above the rest, so used to commanding the room.
"Yep. I put it in place when Morgan was born. If there's ever an unaccompanied minor in the Tower, Friday alerts me. You've got no idea how many kids will come here just for a chance to meet us." Tony replied casually, trying to avoid any heartwarming speeches.
Sam opened his mouth to reply when Friday chimed in again. "Facial recognition failed. Should I have the child escorted upstairs?"
Suddenly, a warning alarm accompanied by flashing red lights began to sound throughout the residential area of the tower.
"Tony, what the hell?" Nat yelled over the noise. The entire team was covering their ears, glaring at Tony for the suspected glitch.
"Friday, cut the alarm." Tony sighed, figuring there was a glitch in his newest security measure for the families of those on the team.
"The Family Emergency Alarm was triggered via manual code input." Friday replied. "It was entered on device 7114 in main reception."
"Which code triggered the alarm? Who gave the code?" The room was tense as they awaited the response. It could have been an accident. Someone typed the wrong code into the alert system. It's not unheard of.
"The code was 10112017. Captain Rogers' code." The majority of eyebrows furrowed while Steve's heart plummeted. "It appears the child gave the code."
Without waiting for anymore information, Steve ran from the room. He was down four floors before anyone else entered the staircase.
"Steve? What the hell?" Bucky called after him, the other Avengers also sprinting down the stairs. When their Captain panics, the team follows.
Steve ignored the pleas for him to explain, instead focusing on reaching the lobby. The child must be Lilly and if she's unaccompanied, than where were you?
-
"What the fu-" The receptionist cut herself off, remembering Lily was still standing in front of her. Although the swear may have been warranted.
Captain America himself was sprinting through the lobby, the other Avengers following rapidly behind him.
"Lily!" He breathed a sigh of relief to see her uninjured, immediately falling to his knees and pulling her into a massive hug.
Whether it was the stress of the days earlier events finally catching up to her, or the sight of Steve in such a flustered state didn't matter. Lily couldn't control her emotions anymore, instantly bursting into tears.
"Oh, sweetheart. It's okay. You're okay." Steve reassured her, gently swaying side to side while rubbing circles on her back.
"No! No, it- it's no-not." She sobbed, trying to explain but struggling through the tears.
The spectacle of Steve Rogers consoling a sobbing child in the middle of the lobby did not go unnoticed by agents or guests alike. A crowd was beginning to form, all eyes flickering between the unknown child, Steve, and the rest of the Avengers.
"Why don't we move this upstairs?" Sam suggested, already feeling boxed in by the crowd. He and Bucky cleared a path to the elevator, Nat guiding Steve by the elbow as he continued to whisper to Lily, trying to slow her tears.
The elevator ride was awkward to say the least. Steve paid no attention to anyone other than Lily, leaving the rest of the group to exchange eye contact in an attempt to figure out what the hell was going on. Who was the kid? Why did she know Steve's Family Emergency Code?
Nobody dared to question him while he was still focused on Lily. Instead, they dutilly followed him back to the kitchen, watching as he set her on a stool and gave her a glass of water.
She calmed down relatively quickly for a six-year-old. A few sips of water and a couple of minutes following Steve's breathing and she could speak normally again.
"What happened? Where's Y/N?" Steve questioned softly, still oblivious to the multitude of stares coming from his friends.
"She was taken..." Lily whispered, eyes wide and already filling with tears again. "I did what you said! The plan you told mommy to follow if she was ever in danger! I got on the train and came to the tower and gave the nice lady the code and waited for you!" She spoke the words in one breath, nervous hands flying in any direction she could achieve.
"Got on the train?" Tony mouthed to Nat, eyes wide. Just the idea of such a small child travelling alone through New York's Public transportation scared him.
"Taken?" Steve questioned the word, throat tight. This was exactly what he was trying to avoid by keeping his relationship a secret.
Lily nodded her head rapidly, not stopping until Steve cupped her face in his hands.
"Lily, I need you to breath, sweetheart." He spoke softly in an attempt to ease her nerves. "My friends and I, we're going to find your mom, okay?"
"Stevie, I'm scared." She shrunk in on herself, making her 3 foot frame appear even smaller.
"I know, but you know who we are, right?" He gestured behind him, eyes still focused on Lily as she nodded.
"Avengers. Heroes." She listed the two words, one right after the other.
"Exactly, and we are going to find the bad people who took your mom and get her back. I need your help though. Can you do that? Can you be a hero?" Steve felt his heart clench as he thought about what he was about to ask.
Lily nodded again, although much calmer than before.
"That's good. I need you to tell me everything you remember." Steve cringed internally at making her relive the events that clearly traumatized her, but he saw no other choice. He needed the information only she had.
Lily took a deep breath, preparing to tell the story of the afternoon's events.
-
"Mommy!" Lily abandoned the toys she was playing with in favor of jumping into her mother's arms.
"Hi baby." You cooed, graciously hugging your child. "Thanks, Hannah." You gave the teenager her payment for babysitting, waving goodbye as she left your apartment to return to her own up one floor. "What do you want for dinner?" You asked your little girl, grinning when her eyes lit up.
"Chicken nuggets!" Lily bounced with joy, excited for you to be home from the store.
"Okay, sweet pea. Clean up your toys and then you can help me with dinner." You set her on the ground, watching as she ran to clean everything up.
Your apartment was small, but it was well kept. Living in New York, afterall, didn't allow for much space. You and Lily managed to keep everything organized. If you didn't go into Lily's room, it almost looked as if no child lived their at all. Lily always kept her toys in the storage bin in the living room, or neatly organized in her own room.
She closed the lid to the bin after throwing the last of the toys inside before running to join you in the kitchen. Lily got to work, dutifully washing her hands so she could help with the food.
The two of you laughed and sang as you cut the chicken into small pieces for Lily to dip into egg and then breadcrumbs. She shook the shake and bake container like a maraca, smiling wide.
Just as you put the tray of chicken in the oven and pulled out a salad kit, the sound of car doors slamming drew your attention to the window. One glance outside was enough to put you on edge.
There were three SUVs, each holding two to four people all dressed in black, guns on their hips.
"Lily, I need you to hide, okay? Don't come out unless I tell you to or it's been quiet for 100 seconds. Then call Steve." You ushered her into her room, quickly hiding her behind the clothes hanging in her closet.
"Mommy!" She called before you could close the door, eyes wide with fear and confusion.
"It's okay, sweetheart. Just call Steve if I'm not here, okay?" The six-year-old nodded, knowing by the look on your face that something bad was going to happen.
She listened from the closet as a loud banging came from the front door. A loud crash could be heard, likely the door being kicked in.
You fought off the attackers as best you could with your limited self-defense knowledge, but it didn't take long for the large group to overpower you.
"You won't get away with this. He'll find you." Lily focused on the sound of your voice, trying to stay quiet.
"Let him. Cut off one head, two more grow in its place. Hail Hydra." A voice Lily didn't recognize replied. The sounds of retreating footsteps slowly faded away, and Lily began counting.
-
"And I counted, but the phone was broken! So I followed the emergency plan you made with mommy when you thought I was sleeping." Lily finished her story, energy fading fast.
"Hydra? You're sure that's what the man said?" Steve asked, trying to remain calm in front of Lily.
"Yes. And the thing about the heads. I remember that 'cause it's gross." She stuck her tongue out, reminding everyone of just how young she actually is. She followed the grimace with a yawn, balling her hands into fists to rub her eyes.
"Are you hungry?" Steve asked, concerned for her wellbeing. She nodded, still rubbing her eyes. Tony quickly supplied one of Morgan's fancy lunchables, already having peeled the plastic off.
Lily thanked him politely before quickly eating everything, her dinner was interrupted after all. Not even five minutes after she ate, Lily was asleep in Steve's arms. He carried her down the hall to his room, gently tucking her into his bed.
He spared a moment to observe her sleeping form, heart clenching at the idea of losing her or you. The second he was back in the living room, all eyes were on him. Well, all but two pairs who were somehow missing.
"Bucky and Nat are on the way to the garage. Send them the address and they'll check out her apartment." Tony supplied, figuring that would be his first question.
Steve nodded, pulling out his phone to text Nat the address.
"She wears a bracelet with a tracker in it, if we're lucky it will still be active." Steve supplied, already pulling up the software on his computer. Tony showed him how to use it in an attempt to convince him to put himself out there and find a partner. He just didn't know it worked.
As the software loaded, Steve finally looked up at his teammates. No, his friends, family even. He could see the questions in their eyes, yet nobody was voicing them.
"Friday, can you conference in whichever car Bucky and Nat took?" Steve asked. Despite knowing it was probably a simple task to start a group phone call, Steve still turned to the AI for help with most technology related tasks.
"Did you find something already?" Bucky's voice could be heard on the other end, the faint sound of the GPS in the background. Steve did his best to ignore the hurt he could hear in the inflection of Bucky's voice.
"No, but I figured it'd be easier to explain everything once." Steve sighed. "I met Y/N in the park. Lily walked right in front of me while I was running, nearly knocked me over." He chuckled at the memory, remembering exactly how flustered he was when you insisted on getting him a new water bottle when his fell to the ground and cracked.
"How long ago?" Tony questioned, pulling Steve back into the present.
"Almost a year and a half." Steve wore a soft smile, happy to have had you in his life for so long. "She broke down my walls without even trying. I would meet her and Lily for ice cream, or to go to a bookstore. Normal things. Took me six weeks to officially ask her out."
"Why all the secrecy?" Nat questioned. She knew Steve was hiding something, but she didn't think it'd be this big.
"I wanted to keep them safe." His voice hardened. "You can all see how well that worked out. I never should have gotten involved. If something happens to her... Lily's already lost her father." Steve's throat tightened, the fear and stress at not knowing where you were eating away at him.
"Hey, don't talk like that. We'll find her." Sam encouraged him to remain positive. "Do you know the code for the tracker bracelet?" He gestured to the computer screen, where the software had finally loaded.
He typed in the 9 digit code, having memorized it before even giving you the bracelet. He also knew Lily's code, although she was currently safe and sound in his room.
The three seconds it took for the little red dot to appear on the screen were the longest of his life.
"She's in upstate, possible headed to Canada." He watched the light as it moved farther and farther away from him. Through the phone, blaring horns and screeching tires could be heard as Nat turned around.
"I've got a jet on the roof." Tony supplied, already moving to retrieve his gear. "It's smaller than the ones in the compound, but it'll do."
Steve jumped up, ready to join the fight when Sam pushed him back into his chair.
"If that little girl wakes up and you're not here, she'll panic." His eyes were sympathetic, but his tone was firm. "Sit this one out, Cap."
"Sam, I can't lose her." Steve was close to tears, eyes flickering between Sam and the hallway where Lily was sleeping.
"If Hydra knew about Y/N, they likely also knew it was a secret. They'll probably be expecting you, but not the cavalry." Wanda supplied, trying in vain to ease Steve's nerves. "They won't be prepared to fight all of us."
Steve nodded, knowing he couldn't leave Lily all alone. It broke his heart to watch his friends leave without him, but there's nobody he'd rather have fighting for him.
He watched the floor number above the elevator rise until it finally reached the roof. Despite the powerful engine of the jet, it couldn't be heard inside the building. Nobody outside would know it was even taking off if not for the lights.
He sighed, pushing off the wall and heading for his room. If he couldn't be with you, he would sit with Lily.
He gently opened and closed the door to his room, moving silently until he reached the chair by his bed. There was enough moonlight for him to see Lily's face. She looked so peaceful, something he was grateful for. Hopefully hiding in the closet was enough to shield her from too many nightmares.
He planted himself in the chair, eventually dozing off in the dark and near silent room.
-
"Stevie?" Lily poked his cheek, her favorite way to wake him up. "Stevie!" She called louder. He jolted, taking on a fighting stance before registering exactly where he was.
"Lily! Are you okay?" He questioned, scooping her up into his lap. She nodded, eyes wandering around the dimly lit room.
"Is mommy back?" Her voice was laced with fear and sadness, the emotions competing to see who would win.
Steve glanced at his phone, noticing a few messages. He opened them to read that you were indeed on the jet, although no mention of your condition beyond alive.
"Not yet, but my friends found her. She's coming back now. Do you want to wait for her on the roof?" Steve asked as he replied to the messages asking for a status report.
He watched as the tension visibly melted from her tiny body. "Can we get a snack first?"
Steve laughed, rising with Lily still in his arms. "Sure thing, peanut. What are you hungry for?"
"Ice cream!" She smiled, eyes questioning if he would let her get away with it.
"Just this once, I think it's okay to eat ice cream in the middle of the night." Steve whispered conspiratorially, heading for the kitchen. He grabbed two of Tony's specially ordered quarter pints of Ben and Jerry's.
After grabbing some spoons, he headed to the elevator to get up to the observation deck. Once they sat down, Steve looked at the flavors he grabbed.
"Do you want phish food or chocolate fudge brownie?" She squealed in excitement.
"Phish food!" He pulled off the lid, handing her a spoon and the small container before doing the same for himself. The two sat in a comfortable silence as they ate their ice cream and observed the city.
As the lights of an aircraft grew closer, both Steve and Lily leaned forward, eager to know if it was the jet.
"Mommy!" Lily cried, ice cream abandoned on the floor by the couch they were seated on. Steve's own ice cream fell to the ground as he scooped her up and waited for the jet to land.
The second it was safe to go out onto the landing pad, Steve was through the doors. The ramp into the jet lowered, and Tony was the first one out, gesturing for Steve to just wait a second.
You emerged, leaning on Bucky as you limped down the ramp. Steve's eyes scoured your body for injuries, but not finding anything other than the limp.
"Mommy!" You looked up, a smile growing immediately at the sight of Steve and Lily. She jumped from his arms, running to you as fast as her little legs would allow.
"Hi peanut! What are you doing up? It is way passed your bedtime." You questioned, lifting her into your arms, transferring more weight onto Bucky as you leaned further into him.
Steve stood frozen, the utter relief to see you uninjured and talking as if nothing happened jumpstarting his heart.
"Stevie gave me ice cream!" Everyone but Steve snickered, amused by how quickly Lily threw him under the bus.
"Wow, America's Golden Boy broke the rules?" You teased, eyes flickering between Lily and Steve.
He finally broke out of his trance, moving across the rook in three quick strides to scoop you and Lily into his arms. he held you both close to him, whispering about how happy he was to have you both with him.
"I met your friends." You stage whispered, laughing when the group of Avengers looked mildly guilty for eavesdropping.
"You did." Steve nodded, not caring that his secret was out now that he had you in his arms again.
"That's not fair! I didn't meet anyone." Lily huffed. "They just stared at me and then I fell asleep."
You and Steve laughed, promising her introductions in the morning.
"But don't we have to go home?" She looked between the two of you, a small pout forming at the idea of leaving.
"Move in with me." Steve blurted it out, ignoring his still present friends.
"Are you asking?" You teased, leaning more weight into his body as the exhaustion from the day caught up to you.
"I am. Asking. Both of you." Steve smiled shyly, eyes flickering between you and Lily.
"What do you say, Lils? Do you want to live here?" You asked, already knowing you'd love nothing more.
"Yes! There's ice cream, and lunchables, and the roof is so high!" She listed the limited information she knew about the tower, excitement pouring out of her.
"Good. Me too." You looked at Steve, eyes full of love.
"I love you so much." Steve pressed a soft kiss to your lips, laughing when Lily gagged.
"I love you too." You whispered back.
"Now, let's get you to the med bay to fix up your ankle." Steve gently set Lily on the ground, scooping you into his arms.
"I want to be carried!" Lily complained, still running on sugar.
"Lily, this is my best friend, Bucky. Can he carry you?" Steve gestured to his fellow super soldier. Lily eyed him suspiciously.
"Do you like chicken nuggets and ice cream?" Her eyes narrowed expectantly, one eyebrow raised. Bucky looked at Steve, brows furrowed. The blonde gestured for him to answer.
"I do." Bucky replied hesitantly.
"Okay! You can carry me." She jumped into his arms, already trusting him since he was Stevie's best friend.
The group of four set off toward the elevator, ignoring the remaining Avengers until after they pushed the button.
"The rest of you can come too." You supplied, eager to get to know them more.
"Before you ask, yes you can pester us with all the questions I know you've been holding back." Steve sighed.
There was a mad rush toward the elevator, everyone piling in as the doors closed. Tony chimed in with a question before the group descended even one floor.
"Did it really take him six weeks to ask you out?"
Summary: Your hopes of Steve reciprocating your love come crashing down when Peggy shows up in the modern world.
Request: Anonymous - original request here
Warnings: angst, reader is very insecure, belief of unrequited love, swearing, implied sex (nothing explicit)
Word count: 4.4k
A/N: lot of Steve love on my blog recently, but I’m not mad about it. Thank you to the sweet Anon who left this request
Dividers by @maysdigitalarts
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The day Tony Stark hired you was the day your life changed forever, in more ways than one.
You were employed as his lab tech, a vital role in developing new suits and weapons - with this title, you worked closely with all the Avengers, learning their abilities and powers intimately to be able to optimise their equipment. It was the chance of a lifetime to work alongside the genius which was Tony Stark, but what you hadn’t counted on was the way your heart fluttered every time a pair of ocean blue eyes, which belonged to Steve Rogers, met your own.
This is extremely unprofessional, you thought to yourself every time you caught yourself staring. You were hired to do a job, not ogle at the tall, broad Super Soldier whose toothy smile melted your resolve.
You couldn’t help your heart skipping a beat every time Tony instructed you to work with Steve - unfortunately this didn’t happen as often as you hoped. You soon discovered his vibranium shield couldn’t be improved, the strength to weight ratio superior to any other metal or alloy you had available, so you settled for his infrequent trips to the lab to make small improvements to his stealth suit.
Overtime, few and far between professional meetings lead to quick coffee breaks where Steve would insist on paying every time, even when he bought yesterday; then coordinated lunch breaks where Tony would jokingly scold you for losing track of time and tell you to get back to work.
Your interactions evolved into Steve sneaking into the lab while Tony was out, initially popping in to ask quick questions such as reminding him how to download new apps onto his phone, or what an OS update was. But with time he would stay longer, inquiring about what you were working on, and occasionally inviting you out for drinks with the rest of the team.
He no longer came to the lab solely for testing or equipment checks, and you found yourself deeply disappointed on days where he didn’t stop by. He visited so frequently you could now tell it was him who entered the lab just by the sound of his distinguishable footsteps.
Your ever growing crush on him became your most closely guarded secret. However, you couldn’t help but hold eye contact with him for a beat longer than normal when saying goodbye as he left for missions, attempting to innocently ask Tony how classified assignments were progressing, just to ensure he was safe, and your hugs lingering when he came back - all of which were noticed by every other member of the team except Steve.
When he returned, Steve would sit in the corner of the lab for hours on end as you worked, updating you on what occurred during the mission and asking what he missed out on while away. Your heart swelled at the thought that he only ever came to you for this sort of update - he could ask anyone in the facility, Tony or Fury would have a more complete summary to bring him up to speed, but he still came to you.
