happy birthday @sgtbuckyybarnes!
Mal Coben + Steve Roger // Tongue Tied AU
After finally giving in to his feelings and spending one last night with Mal, Steve hangs up his shield and walks away from everything - his life, his friends, his new found family, and the woman he has fallen in love with.
He had thought he was doing what was best for everyone, until someone (not Bucky, definitely not Bucky, and he would hold up quite well under interrogation, thank you very much) lets Mal’s well-kept secret slip - she had Steve’s child.
Six years later, Steve finds himself stood in front of her once again, ready to meet the daughter he never knew he had.
Opening the door to the living room, Mal ushered her daughter inside.
“Go on, Gracie,” she whispered. “Go play with Harper for a bit, Mommy has to talk to her friend,” she smiled down at her and Grace paused for a few seconds, eyeing Steve curiously, before she did as her mother asked.
Closing the door as soon Grace was inside, Mal ran her hands through her hair before she turned and walked towards the kitchen, Steve following slowly behind her. Leaning against the kitchen worktop and crossing his arms over his chest, his eyes following Mal as she paced around the room, chewing on her thumbnail.
“What are you doing here, Steve?” she asked quietly.
“What do you mean, what am I doing here? I have a daughter, Mal.”
Steve pushed himself away from the worktop and took a step towards her. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“What?” Mal stopped pacing, rounding on him angrily. “Are you kidding me? Why didn’t I tell you? How could I tell you, Steve? I didn’t know where you’d gone, no one knew, no one could find you! I tried, Harper tried, Nat tried, even Tony tried, but you’d vanished! You disappeared! You are the reason you’re not in Grace’s life. You walked away from all of us without a second thought and you didn’t look back, so don’t you dare put this on me,” she snapped. “If you want to blame someone, try looking in the damn mirror.”
