Pairing: Bob Reynolds x female reader
Summary: The Thunderbolts love to tease Bob about how down bad he is for you.
Warnings: flirting. teasing. fun times with the Thunderbolts. yearning a bit. touching (innocently). heart eyed Bob. no use of y/n.
The first mistake is introducing you to the team game night.
The second mistake is letting Yelena discover how easy it is to embarrass Bob in front of you.
Because now? She absolutely lives for it.
“Okay,” John says dramatically, throwing cards onto the table, “someone explain to me how Bob won three rounds in a row.”
“Statistical probability,” Bob answers quietly.
Yelena narrows her eyes. “Suspicious answer.”
You laugh softly beside him and Bob glances over immediately. And there it is. That look. That impossibly tender oh there you are expression he gets every single time you smile at him.
Ava notices instantly. “Oh my God,” she mutters.
“You’re doing the face again.”
Bob freezes. “What face?”
“The one where you look at her like she personally invented sunlight.”
Your face immediately heats up.
Across the table, Alexei gasps dramatically. “Yes! Puppy eyes!”
Bob looks genuinely alarmed now. “I do not have puppy eyes.”
“You absolutely do,” John says.
Yelena points at you. “And she likes it.”
Bob nearly chokes to death and you hide your smile behind your drink. “I think it’s cute.”
Complete silence. The entire table watches Bob short-circuit in real time.
His ears turn pink instantly. “…Okay,” he says weakly after a second. “You think I'm cute?.”
Yelena slams a hand against the table triumphantly. “He is blushing!”
“No you don’t,” you murmur affectionately beside him and Bob looks at you only to immediately softens again.
Ava groans loudly. “UGH. There it is again.”
The next incident happens during training. Which is unfortunate, because the entire team witnesses it.
You’re sparring with Bucky. Which is a bad idea, honestly. Not because you’re unskilled, but because Bucky fights like a brick wall with emotional repression issues.
One badly blocked hit later and you stumble backward with a sharp hiss. Bob is across the room instantly. Like genuinely superhuman fast.
One second he’s standing near the weights and the next he’s beside you gripping your shoulders carefully. “You okay?”
The concern in his voice is immediate. Sharp and protective.
You blink up at him. “I’m fine.”
Bob’s eyes scan you anxiously anyway. “Your wrist is hurt.”
Bucky watches this interaction silently. Then slowly glances at Yelena.
Yelena grins like a maniac. “Ohhhhh he is DOWN BAD.”
Bob closes his eyes briefly. “Please stop saying that.”
“You moved at speed of light,” John says. “That was insane.”
Alexei points proudly. “Power of romance!”
“It was a reflex,” Bob argues weakly.
You smile slightly. “That’s kinda sweet, actually.”
Bob looks at you. And once again ... Puppy eyes.
Ava physically throws her hands into the air. “I cannot keep watching this every day.”
But the real disaster happens two weeks later. At IKEA. Nobody knows how it happened. One minute the team is discussing tactical equipment. The next somehow everyone is wandering through IKEA on a “quick stop.”
Which is already dangerous.
Then John and Alexei discover the fake apartment displays. Which becomes catastrophic immediately.
“You two,” Yelena says suddenly, pointing at you and Bob. “Pretend to be a married couple.”
Bob nearly walks into a fake wall. “What?”
“Yes,” Alexei agrees enthusiastically. “Tiny domestic experiment.”
You’re already laughing, but Bob looks deeply suspicious. “This feels targeted.”
Before Bob can escape, Yelena physically grabs your wrist and shoves you both into one of the fake living room setups. “Go go go.”
“What are we supposed to do?” Bob asks helplessly.
“That is not an activity.”
John immediately sprawls across the fake couch. “Oh my God, look. Bob already looks like he pays taxes.”
The team loses it instantly. Meanwhile Bob stands frozen in the middle of the staged living room while you laugh beside him.
Then you casually fix the collar of his jacket. A tiny gesture. Nothing dramatic. But Bob stills immediately. His eyes flick down to your hands and then back to your face.
And suddenly the teasing around you fades into background noise, because he’s looking at you again. Like that.
Soft, warm. Entirely gone for you.
Your expression melts a little too. “Your collar was weird,” you murmur quietly.
Bob smiles faintly. “Thank you.”
And unfortunately the team notices EVERYTHING.
Yelena screams from across the showroom: “THEY ARE FLIRTING IN SCANDINAVIAN LIVING SPACE.”
Bob physically folds in half from embarrassment. You laugh so hard you accidentally lean against him. And instinctively his arm wraps around your waist. Easy and protective like it belongs there. Natural such as breathing.
The whole team goes silent. Because for one tiny second, the joking fades. And they all see it.
How careful Bob is with you.
How much calmer he looks around you.
How you automatically lean into him like you trust him completely.
It’s sweet enough to hurt. Even Bucky softens slightly. Then Alexei ruins the moment instantly. “You should buy fake couch for kissing.”
The entire group erupts again.
Bob drops his forehead directly onto your shoulder in surrender while you laugh helplessly into his hair. And somewhere underneath all the chaos and teasing and ridiculousness, something warm settles quietly into Bob’s chest.
Because for the first time in a very long time, being loved doesn’t feel frightening.
Thank you so much for reading! All interactions are highly appreciated