A Proposal [Heart of Steel]
Heart of Steel - One Shot
Do not read before you finish the series.
The sound of birds was the thing that finally awoke the Queen. Not the abnormally blazing man that had his arms wrapped around her and pulled to his chest. It was so ridiculous sleeping next to such a man, that Y/N had to tell the servants to stop lighting a fire in their bedchambers unless it was freezing outside.
Y/N sighed and managed to turn around in her husband’s arms, so she was facing him.
Steve was still fast asleep, despite Y/N’s movements.
Y/N looked at her husband. His hair was starting to look rumpled. His beard was growing just a tad too long. She cupped his cheek softly. Perhaps he would let her trim both today. Especially before their guests arrived.
She leaned forward and kissed him.
Steve pulled her closer to his chest and kissed her forehead.
When he had awoken, she did not know.
“Time to get up,” she said through a smile.
“Not yet. I am King, the rest of the world may wait.” He sighed, “And right now I wish to be left alone with my wife.” Then he bit her shoulder playfully.
Y/N yelped, more from surprise than anything, and tried to shove him away from her.
Steve wasn’t allowing that.
Then there was giggling and shouting heading toward their door.
“It appears a certain Prince and Princess do not care for the King’s desires…” Y/N giggled into her husband’s chest.
Next thing they knew, two children were jumping onto their bed.
A panicked Wanda was standing at the door, breathing heavily. “Your Majestys,” she bowed. “I apologize. I tried to stop them–”
“Tis fine, Wanda,” Steve assured her.
“Father, the Agardians will be here soon. You promised we would practice on the training grounds before they arrived.” Joseph said while his mother had his gangly 8-year-old body in her arms.
Meanwhile, Isabella was playing with her father’s beard.
“I did promise that,” Steve admitted.
“Well, your father must have his hair cut and his beard trimmed before I allow him to do anything else,” Y/N warned. “He looks less like a King and more like a beggar.”
Steve played up a fearful face and looked to his son for saving. “We must not defy your mother or there will be hell to pay, Joseph.”
Y/N smirked. “I will ask Wanda to cut your father’s hair. Meanwhile, you and I will train. How about that, my prince?”
Joseph beamed, knowing that he wasn’t going to get the short end of the stick. He quickly jumped off the bed.
“Better deal for me anyway,” Joseph muttered to himself with a smile.
“I heard that!” Steve bellowed as he watched his son run out of their bedroom.
Y/N got out of bed with a laugh and started searching for her training gear.
Steve looked down at his daughter, who now laid atop his chest and still played with his beard. “And what of you, Isabella? Will you abandon your father?”
Her eyes were wide when she looked up at her father. “Will it hurt?” She whispered.
His brow furrowed. “Will what hurt?”
“When they cut it?” Her eyes looked back and forth between his hair and beard.
“No, my princess, tis nothing,” he tried to assure her.
“I will stay and keep you safe,” Isabella declared quietly.
Steve and Y/N shared a look. “I shall see you before the Asgardians arrive,” Y/N told her husband before leaning down and kissing him. Then she kissed the top of her daughter’s head.
“Bye, mama.”
——————————————
“There will always be another war to come,” Thor warned lowly.
The feast was large and loud. Asgardians were not known for their quietness. The fifty or so guests from the neighboring kingdom sounded three times larger than they were.
But the King and Queen preferred rambunctiousness over tense and polite silence.
Y/N frowned. “Not if Midgard can prevent it.”
“Your kingdom will run away from a fight, Your Majesty?” His eyes flickered to Steve, waiting for the King of Midgard to silence his wife like so many other men would.
But Steve looked rather relaxed.
“I do not wish to sentence the deaths of Midgard’s fathers, sons, brothers, and husbands,” Y/N retorted.
“Aye. Although from what I hear of your kingdom’s changes, that would include mothers, daughters, sisters, and wives, as well.”
“I wish to give the women of Midgard the opportunity to fight for their kingdom – the same opportunity that men are given. We are not forcing violence on any girl or woman. It is their choice and their choice alone.”
Steve was watching Thor carefully, daring him with his eyes to challenge his wife.
Training girls and women in Midgard to fight was an initiation from the Queen herself. Steve merely supported her.
If Thor intended to insult the Queen in front of him, he would have hell to pay.
Thor stared at the King and Queen for a moment, soaking in the tension.
Then, to everyone’s surprise, he let out the jolliest of laughs.
“I am only jesting with you, Your Majesty. Did you not know of the Asgardian women who have been fighting in our kingdom’s army for decades?”
Y/N seemed taken aback. “I…” But she shut her mouth quickly, not wanting to offend Thor any more than she might have already.
Steve laughed as well. He knew Thor for quite some time. He considered the fellow king a friend and an ally.
“Thor, my Queen is used to men of ignorance, men who do not know the strength of women. Careful how you tease her, she is not one you wish to cross.”
Steve met Y/N’s gaze and gave her a small smile before giving a slow kiss to her cheek. It was his way of telling her everything was alright.
It was not a public display of affection Steve would do if they were sharing a meal with someone who was not as close to them as Thor.
“I did not mean to offend, Your Majesty. I just enjoy watching you unleash that sharp tongue of yours,” Thor smiled.
Y/N gave him a shy smile. “If you needed another reason for avoiding war – one which does not include empathy – then let it be the price, for you and I know that wars are not cheap.”
“Aye, you are right once again. And our people suffer for it more than anyone.”
“Mama! Papa!” Suddenly the door to the private dining room had been shoved open by little Isabella, no older than four. She rushed in, clearly having escaped her governess.
Many eyes turned to the little princess as she rushed to her father, climbing into his lap. Others didn’t even notice.
“Your Little Highness, you are meant to be in bed…” Steve warned as he helped her up. But his voice was not at all stern, instead it was filled with love.
But Isabella ignored him, burrowing her little body into his chest, making it clear that her only intention was to cuddle with her father.
Y/N reached over and brushed Isabella’s hair away from her face.
“You never read to me,” Isabella whispered to her father.
“I am sorry, my Isabella. But we have guests,” Steve muttered in her ear and gestured to Thor, who sat on the other side of the table.
Thor was amused by the little princess, already seeing Y/N in her.
But Isabella seems scared of the giant king who sat before her. She shyly hid her face in her father’s chest, knowing he would protect her.
It caused the rest of the table to chuckle at the child’s shyness.
“I wish to stay with you,” the princess told her father so only he could hear.
The King just nodded and nestled her closer to his chest, keeping one arm around her while the other could still freely eat and drink wine.
The great General King did not look so threatening when such a small, adorable child had fallen asleep in his lap.
Steve did not fear that his softness would make others perceive him as weak. He had proven is strength and tenacity in war and battle long before he married and had children.
He had made the mistake of believing he needed to be tough, stern, and cold with Joseph. A mistake Y/N quickly warned him not to continue. Steve did not repeat his foolishness with Isabella. And he realized he must show his son the same softness.
“You should be the first man that Isabella recognizes kindness from. If she does not see it from you, she will not know how to demand it in a husband and lover,” Y/N had told her husband. “And for Joseph, you should teach him that kindness is not weakness.”
Steve knew his wife had a point. A point he would never have come to on his own.
Now Isabella was fast asleep against her father. Not even the noises of a small feast could stir her.
Thor’s eyes were watching the sleeping princess.
Y/N had caught how the King of Asgard would look at her every so often.
“My son, Magni, is only a few years older than Princess Isabella,” Thor stated as he watched the little princess sleep. “Why do we not finally join our kingdoms through marriage and through blood?”
Steve knew not to look at Y/N, that her face was as composed as ever. But he saw her shoulders tense from the corner of his eye. Even his fist tightened at what he knew Thor was getting at.
“How does Prince Magni fair? Is he well?” Steve asked casually.
“Aye. He will be strong. And wise, like his mother.” Thor smirked then. “I see you avoid my question.”
“You wish to join our kingdoms through marriage and blood,” Y/N repeated before Steve could.
Thor could tell that the subject was making the Queen uncomfortable, despite her ability to hide her true emotions.
“It is merely the beginning of an idea, Your Majesty. It is not why I have come to Midgard. We can discuss it further another time,” Thor seemed to only be talking to Y/N.
He leaned forward then and made sure his eyes were filled with nothing but sincerity and understanding. “Women are respected, treated as equals. She would be loved by our people. It would be lucky to have her as its next Queen. Your daughter would be safe in Asgard. I give you my word Queen Y/N of Midgard.”
Y/N smirked then, and even let a light laugh. “Dear Thor, one should not make diplomatic decisions with all the wine and mead we have consumed.”
Thor let out a bellowing laugh and slammed his glass down, requesting even more wine.
The night went on with no other mention of a royal marriage.
When the night became rowdier with drunkards and dancing, Steve handed his sleeping daughter to the governess to put properly in her bed.
Once Steve’s hands were finally free, he grabbed his wife from behind, dragging her from whatever conversation she was having and spinning her around to the music.
It wasn’t entirely proper. But this was his Kingdom.
And he’d had too much to drink, so he’d do what he pleased.
Y/N laughed at the childish gesture.
“Behave, Your Majesty,” she warned.
Steve pulled her body close to his and pressed his forehead to hers. “I only wish to dance with my wife.”
So they danced. Steve barely let her take half a step away from him the rest of the night. No one else would dance with his Queen. But it didn’t matter, for she didn’t want to dance with anyone else anyway.
It was almost morning by the time they finally left the royal hall. The King and Queen parted from their guests, everyone left for either their guest rooms or their own homes.
The royal couple had slowly sobered up.
Y/N had been so sweaty from all the dancing and drinking that she requested a bath before she got anywhere near her heavenly bed.
Throughout the night, Steve had noticed his wife’s forced smiles and that distant look in her eyes she’d have when she didn’t think anyone was watching.
Steve slowly made his way to the bathroom.
Steam arouse from the water as Y/N leaned back with her eyes closed.
There was no shyness between them any longer.
Her nudity was something familiar to him now. He still worshipped it, desired it, yearned for it.
However, his gaze lingered and beheld it still. He noticed how her body grew strong and toned from her training and fighting, a rarity for the women of their time. It only made her even more beautiful to him.
Steve kneeled and sat on the ground, leaning on the edge of her tub.
“Y/N,” he whispered as he reached out and stroked her cheek.
She sighed, but did not open her eyes.
“Will you not tell me what has made you upset?”
She slowly opened her eyes, but stared up at the ceiling. “What has made you believe I am upset?”
“Surely you do not truly believe I am that daft,” Steve tried to tease.
Y/N smiled and finally turned to look at her husband.
Steve’s face then went serious. “It was the talk of union, was it not? Of Isabella and Magni?”
Y/N looked away. “She is barely even a child.” She shook her head. “How can I sit and speak of her marriage when she has barely lived any life at all?”
“You and I both know the King of Asgard is enthusiastic. He speaks his mind openly without considering the consequences. It was not a threat. We have not insulted him.”
“But then I wondered…perhaps it is for the best,” Y/N quickly added.
Steve showed his surprise, there was no need to keep composure when the two of them talk in private.
“Perhaps if I had known my whole life who I was promised to…” She didn’t finish the thought.
Both of them knew what direction it would take them.
Maybe things would’ve been different. Maybe they would’ve been exactly the same.
“Childhood to friendship to marriage,” Steve mumbled.
Then he watched his wife. Her mind racing faster and further than he would ever be able to track.
His sharp and formidable Queen.
“She is not leaving us anytime soon, Y/N.”
“It will be sooner than you realize,” she countered.
“Tonight we will dwell on it no longer,” Steve advocated.
Then he started taking off his own clothes.
Y/N looked at him with amusement. “And what do you think you are doing?”
“Getting in the bath with my wife,” he told her with a smug look.
“You are not!” She quickly sat up straighter. “The bath will overflow!”
“As if I care,” Steve growled before lowering himself in.
The Queen shrieked as the water did exactly as she had warned.
Y/N pretended to act annoyed. But she was giggling seconds later as Steve pulled her onto his lap. She was forced to straddle him, even though the bathtub was plenty big enough for the both of them.
Steve gripped her hips tightly.
Y/N lowered her head.
Her lips crashed onto his, moving in the exact way that she knew excited him.
She pulled back ever so slightly. “Perhaps we should just have another, hide them from the rest of the world so can keep them forever.”
Steve chuckled and kissed her again.
But Y/N could tell he thought she was teasing him.
She pulled back and looked into his eyes. “I mean it, Steve.”
Steve quickly pulled away from her. “Absolutely not.” It was his Kingly voice, one he almost never used on Y/N.
The King of Midgard would give his Queen anything. Anything, except this.
Though Joseph’s birth held almost no complications, Isabella’s was the opposite. Isabella did not sit normally inside her mother. Steve did not like to reflect on the details, but he almost lost both his daughter and his wife that night. It still brings him nightmares every so often.
“You will not give me this?” Y/N challenged as she moved to the opposite side of the tub and crossed her arms.
In this particular moment, Steve hated that he always got so wound up by her defiance and persistence.
He glared at her. “I will make love to you, Y/N...But please do not ask that of me. I would have a hundred children with you if I knew your life would not be at risk. But after what happened with Isabella… I cannot bear it again. I will not even consider it.”
His blue eyes sunk with a sadness and fear.
Y/N couldn’t stay upset with him when he just spoke so truly of what his heart and mind felt on the matter.
She slowly made her way back to him.
Y/N kissed from his chest, to his shoulder, then up his neck.
“No more children,” she agreed in a breathy whisper.
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Heart of Steel - Masterlist
