The Storm
Pairing: Steve Rogers x female reader (Y/N)
Summary: Your mission with Steve is at an end but a series of massive storms heading towards your location has grounded the jet. The two of you seek shelter in an abandoned cabin for the night and after a quick dinner of SHIELD rations, your focus shifts to pretending you're not terrified of the storm, barely noticing the super soldier is happy to finally have some alone time with you.
A/N: This was a pretty random idea... that I am not supposed to be working on but here we are🤦♀️ I hope you all like it! ❤️
"It's just a little further," you say over your shoulder, the super soldier nods in response as he follows you through the dense trees. The sky continues to darken as the wind howls around you, a shiver runs up your spine but it's not just from the gradual drop in temperature or the steadily falling rain. You can feel the slowly building panic you always sense when a storm gathers and you have no idea how you'll make it through the night without your teammate finding out your secret fear.
"You did really great finding this place, Y/N," he says with a proud smile when the cabin comes in to view a few minutes later.
"Thanks captain," you respond, thankful your cheeks are already red from the weather so he wouldn't be able to notice your blushing at such a minor compliment.
This isn't even close to your first field mission but his approval always makes you feel a bit excited. You've been with SHIELD for a little over two years and have been accompanying the Avengers for almost as long but this mission is different. It's the first time you and your long time crush have been sent together with no other backup. Most missions require five or six people but this mission was fairly straightforward and could be completed with just a team of two.
"Steve," he reminds you with a friendly smile as he climbs the three steps to the moss covered porch behind you.
"Steve, right, sorry," you grin awkwardly and look down, kicking a small rock off the porch to avoid eye contact with him.
You can feel his eyes on you but you don't look up until you hear him breaking the knob on the door to the cabin. "After you," he says politely, swinging the door open so you can get dry and hopefully warm.
"Well this is cozy," you say sarcastically as you step out of the driving rain and wind into the musty cabin. Your eyes try to adjust to the dim light as you move your flashlight slowly back and forth across the small space. Rain pounds on the metal roof overhead but thankfully there don't seem to be any leaks.
Steve walks in behind you, pulling the door shut and leaning his shield against it to keep it closed now that the lock is broken. "Didn't think that part through," he chuckles as he rubs the back of his neck.
"I wouldn't worry about it, it looks like the lock might have been the only thing in this place that works," you giggle in response.
Steve flicks on the light switch next to the door you missed and smirks as the cabin is illuminated, "Not the only thing."
You groan in embarrassment and put away your flashlight. "I would have figured that out," you tell him and he hums in response as you walk in opposite directions.
In the far corner stands what you hope is an empty refrigerator, a leaky sink and hot plate on the scratched and cracked butcher block counter. You head towards what was once a quaint little kitchen and place your pack down next to the hot plate without bothering to open the cabinets. If there is any food in there, you can already tell you wouldn't want to eat it. Who knows how long this place has been abandoned, you think
Steve walks to the large stone fireplace in the living room and his voice draws your attention from your thoughts of how romantic this place could have been years ago. "Firewood looks dry," he tells you, touching a few of the round logs that rest to the side of the fireplace.
"Oh great," you say cheerfully then your mouth falls open in amazement.
The super soldier picks up a piece of wood from the pile and tears in it half with his bear hands as easily as you would tear a piece of paper. He chuckles and you put your hand over your mouth when you realize you said, "Wow," outloud and not in your head. Thankfully, he doesn't turn to look at you, continuing to tear the next two logs then place them in the dusty hearth.
He runs his fingers through his damp blonde hair and looks around for a box of matches, smiling when he finds them on the mantle. Once the fire is lit, he stands up and undoes the brown leather harness he uses to secure his shield to his back. You can't help but watch as he pulls off the leather top of his blue stealth suit to reveal a white undershirt that clings to his muscles.
Steve looks at you over his shoulder and smirks when his eyes meet yours. You immediately flush at being caught watching him and focus on the bag you brought from the jet. You hear him walking towards you, the old wooden floorboards creaking under his heavy boots. Unzipping the bag you check the SHIELD issued rations.
"Anything good?" he asks, looking over your shoulder.
"Cream of onion soup or... cream of mushroom soup... or cream of chicken soup," you tell him as you pull out each can, unable to hide your disappointment by the selection.
"You pick first," he offers with a shrug.
"I guess I'll go with the one," you pick up the soup which you hate the least then groan, grabbing the broken bag of crackers at the bottom. A sudden loud clap of thunder cause you to jump, dropping the bag with a fearful gasp.
"You alright?" Steve asks, his voice full of concern at your reaction to the sound.
"Yeah, yep, fine," you say unconvincingly as your heart hammers in your chest.
The super soldier bends to pick up the now completely broken crackers and puts his hand gently on your shoulder. "You sure?"
You nod quickly and take the crackers back from him. "I'll heat up the soup," you change the topic, hoping he can't hear how much your voice is shaking. "Can you radio SHIELD and tell them where we are?"
"Yeah," he agrees but his gentle blue eyes remain on you. You keep your head down, setting up the portable stove that came with the kit from the jet. After a moment, Steve walks to the living area and calls Agent Hill to give her your location.
Your hands shake as you light the sterno, holding your breath to try and steady yourself when a flash of lightning illuminates the cabin. Please pass quickly, your silent prayer is interrupted by a crash of thunder that shakes the cabin.
You sit cross legged on the floor in front of the fireplace, finishing the last of your soup completely convinced that SHIELD just added random labels to each can. Although you checked the cans twice to make sure you had made yourself and Steve the correct ones you were sure in a blind tasting no one could tell the difference.
"Well, that was terrible," Steve jokes from his seat on the floor next to you.
You laugh and nod in agreement, your mood light since the thunder and lightning stopped just as you finished cooking. "I'm normally a way better cook than this, I promise," you tell him as he gets up, taking your empty bowl to clean up.
"Maybe when we get back, you can cook something for me that's not cream of leather soup," he suggests with a smile.
"Yeah, that would be fun," you answer eagerly, hoping he really means that. When he walks back towards you, you cover your mouth to hide a wide yawn.
"Tired?" Steve asks and you nod again. "I guess the bedroom is that one," he points to the only interior door in the cabin. You both walk towards the room, silently hoping for two beds or a least a bunk bed. He opens the door and you bite your lip at the sight of the single bed in the middle of the room. "I'll sleep on the couch," Steve offers without a pause like the gentleman he is.
"Are you sure? I don't mind sleeping out there," you insist. To be fair, the couch and bed were equally old and neither was likely to be comfortable.
"Yeah, I'll probably end up sleeping on the floor honestly," he laughs lightly and you smile.
"Okay," you look around the room, noticing only one small window and a dresser with two broken drawers.
"I'll see you in the morning," Steve says, his hand on the door handle. You tell him goodnight before he closes the door, almost hoping he'll leave it open at least a crack so he'll seem closer.
Rain falls heavily on the metal roof but that's not what wakes you from your light sleep. The room lights up as lightning flashes and thunder crashes almost instantly causing you to sit up, breathing heavily as your heart races. You look towards the window then check your watch, immediately wishing it was closer to morning but it's barely 2 AM.
You shiver, the sound of your rapid heartbeat in your ears drowned out momentarily by another clap of thunder. This is silly, you try to remind yourself. You're nearly thirty, you can't still be this scared of- your thought is interrupted by the howling wind throwing sticks and debris at your window. You curl up on the mattress and hold yourself, giving into your fear. Since you were a little kid, you've been terrified of storms and no amount of rational thinking has changed that. Not even becoming friends with the literal God of Thunder made you feel more comfortable when the rain fell in heavy sheets and the sky lit up with lightning followed by the deafening boom of thunder.
You groan and roll over, facing away from the window as if that will magically make the storm go away. Closing your eyes tightly, you can't help but wish the thin mattress came with a sheet or blanket you could hide under. Even with your eyes closed, you can see the room becoming lighter in a flash then let out a terrified scream as a nearby tree is struck and shatters loudly. You cover your mouth, hoping your scream was drowned out by the thunder that followed but the sound of the bedroom door creaking open tells you it wasn't.
Steve doesn't say a word but you can feel him standing at the edge of the bed, watching you. Your fear of the storm raging outside is stronger than your embarrassment and you are unable to pretend you're fine. The bed dips and squeaks but you keep your eyes closed, unsure of what's happening until you feel Steve's breath on your cheek lightly. He lays on his side facing you, his strong muscular arms wrap around your body as he gently pulls you towards his warm body.
He holds you silently, no hint of judgment, no treating you like a child promising everything will be alright or that you're okay. He doesn't say anything, he just holds. You squeeze your eyes shut tightly as the room lights up, your body tensing while you wait for the thunder that always follows. Steve's hand gently rubs your back in slow circles as he tries to calm you, his lips touch your forehead so lightly you're almost not sure it happened. Your fingers grip the back of his shirt tightly and you bury your face against his chest when the thunder crashes violently.
The rain falls heavily on the roof, the sound of the water hitting the metal seemingly in neverending waves but it's Steve you try to focus on. Pressing your ear to his chest, you force yourself to listen to the sound of his steady heartbeat, his chest rising and falling evenly as he remains unaffected by the storm that is terrifying you. His hand continues to rub your back and you feel your body relax under his smooth, repetitive touch. Gradually, you loosen the death grip you have on the back of his shirt but you keep your arm around him as you begin to feel safe. He breathes calmly despite the storm and you feel your eyelids growing heavy as your heart rate slows, your adrenaline fading.
Lightning flashes but you don't tense up, instead you keep your eyes closed and nuzzle against the super soldier's firm yet surprisingly comfortable chest. His hand rises to the back of your head, his fingers running through your hair and you can't help but let a sleepy smile slip free. You yawn against his body and Steve whispers, "Go to sleep Y/N, I've got you."
The morning sun filters through the only window in the bedroom as you open your eyes. You yawn and try to sit up but quickly realize you can't. Steve is laying on his back on the small mattress and your head is resting in his chest. One of his strong arms holds you around your waist and his other hand rests on your back.
You bite your lip, quickly filling with embarrassment not just at how scared you had been of the storm but at the fact that Steve saw you. You wrack your brain trying to come up with a valid excuse for how you acted while gently try to untangle yourself from his grasp.
He groans lightly when you twist and his hand falls from your back. "Stay," the super soldier mumbles without open his eyes, his hand moving back in place. Before you can come up with an excuse to move again he adds, "I just want to enjoy holding you a little longer before we have to go home."
You're silent, looking at him as you try to process what he said when his eyes open and his gaze finds you. "I'm really sorry about last night-" you immediately begin to apologize but he shakes his head and you stop.
His fingers run slowly through your hair the same way they had last night and you close your eyes, resting your head on his chest. "I'm sorry you were so scared," he says, his voice low and you can tell he's moments from falling asleep again.
"I don't like storms," you mumble the understatement of the century.
"I noticed," he chuckles lightly and you tense as a wave of embarrassment floods through you but then you feel him place a soft kiss to your forehead. You open your eyes, sitting up enough to look at him when you remember he had kissed you like that last night. He strokes your cheek gently, looking into your eyes and suddenly seeming much more awake. "I didn't mean to laugh," he tells you and you nod, believing him easily since he's never lied to you before.
A part of you still wants to pull free from his hold and never talk about last night again but then he smiles and you feel your heart race for a different reason. "I've wanted to cuddle you like this for so long," he admits causing you to wonder if this is all part of a very realistic dream. "I asked Agent Hill to assign you for this mission so we could have time together but I hadn't planned on the storms hitting or-"
"Or my ridiculously childish fear," you interrupt him, sitting up out of his grasp.
"That's not what I was going to say," he shakes his head and sits up against the wooden headboard. He sighs then looks away, "I had everything I wanted to say to you planned out in my head before you woke up but it's not coming out right." He lifts his head to look at you and you feel yourself fighting the urge to curl up in his arms again.
"Start over," you suggest with a small smile. "I won't say a word," you mime zipping your mouth shut and he laughs.
"I really enjoyed cuddling you last night and I hope I was able to make you feel safer," he says a bit more confidently. "When we get back, I'd love to take you up on your offer for dinner... preferably as a date."
You giggle when he adds the last bit and nod.
"Is that a yes to a date?" he asks, his voice more unsure.
In response to his question, you cuddle against his chest then look up, kissing his cheek. "Yes, and I promise not to make soup," you reassure him.
He laughs again, his arms wrapping around you comfortably then he leans down slightly to press his lips to yours. You kiss him back and can't help but groan when he pulls away before you want him to. He smirks at your reaction and reaches over to grab his radio which is blinking and beeping to get his attention. Steve doesn't let you move from his hold while he talks to Agent Hill and when he's done he kisses your cheek. "Time to go home," he releases you and you instantly miss being in his arms.
The sound of thunder rumbling in the distant causes you to freeze in the middle of the bedroom, your smile fading quickly. Almost as soon as the fear begins to set in, you feel Steve's arms around you. He presses his chest to your back and rests his chin on your shoulder when you place your hands on his arms. "I can tell Agent Hill we're going to stay here until the storm passes if you need?" he offers, his voice gentle but you shake your head.
"I'll be okay as long as you stay with me," you look up at him.
"I wouldn't want to be anywhere else," he leans down, kissing you again as the thunder rumbles again.
I hope you liked this!! Please like, share and comment if you did ❤️❤️ Please let me know if you want to be added to my taglist!
(I wasn't really sure who to tag for this cause I don't really have a Steve list)
@soubi001 @mochie85 @lokiswife-dark-fox-queen @multyunervisesuperfan @cabingrlandrandomcrap @lulubelle814 @goblingirlsarah @alexakeyloveloki @siconetribal @jiyascepter @eleniblue @muddyorbsblr @alyeskathewave @loz-3 @firedrakegirl @km-ffluv @biodegradable-glitter-fest @wolfsmom1 @hopefuldreamers-world @anukulee @trojanaurora @babygirl-panda19 @catsladen @stargazer-luna @gruftiela @bolontiku @scrumptious-finicky-illusion @crimson25 @lokiandbuckysdoll @holdmytesseract @wolfsmom1 @peaches1958 @michellewgrt @jaidenhawke @mochie85 @itscomplicatedx @motherofmischief @lethallyprotected @biaswreckedbybuckybarnes
