imagine Steve realizing for the first time that he's in love with Sam
There were more than a few things that the Avengers knew about Steve Rogers. He loved bad puns; he took his coffee black but with a sickening amount of sugar; he really hated Ross from the show Friends; and he was an absolute gentleman about sharing food… except when it came to donuts. Specifically, Krispy Kreme donuts. Sure, he’d murmur politely that someone else could have the last one, but the mournful way that he’d look at the lone pastry made it obvious that he really, really wanted them to let him at it. It became habit to just push the box in Steve’s direction when there were a couple left. It saved them the trouble of watching him squirm, honestly.
Today was a Monday. Avengers or not, they still hated Mondays because Mondays a) sucked, and b) meant the weekly briefing. The only upside was that Tony insisted on the world’s best coffee being present (Clint said that Folger’s was better, but they aggressively ignored that) and, of course, some boxes of fresh Krispy Kreme donuts.
Fury was currently gesturing at a hologram with his free hand (the other was occupied by his huge WORLD’S BEST DAD mug) as he informed Natasha that, sure, this time garroting the gas station attendant had turned out to be the right call, but that she had probably traumatized the cashier and caused more cleanup than was strictly necessary.
“She’s a cashier at a gas station, she’s seen worse,” Natasha mumbled around a mouthful of donut. Scott, who required almost as much coffee as Clint to function, grunted in agreement. Steve was only half-listening (Tony wasn’t listening at all; he was showing Rhodes new schematics on his phone. Or maybe kitten videos, based on the soppy looks on their faces.) He was waiting on tenterhooks for the last few donuts to come his way and… yes!
Steve subtly peeked inside the box to see how many were left for him today. Four! Nice. He smiled to himself as he closed the box and pulled it closer to his chest, but Fury cut off mid-sentence.
“I’m fine, Director,” Steve replied. He was perplexed; he felt more than fine. He felt great!
Natasha reached over to feel his forehead and he leaned out of range, making a face. “What’s the big idea?” He heard Bruce stir from his chair. He was usually dead asleep for the first 30 or so minutes of Monday briefings, and no one was about to startle him awake.
“No offense, Steve,” he said sleepily, “but you usually inhale those donuts.”
Steve felt the tips of his ears go a little warm. “I -- what? I don’t!”
“You do, Cap. It’s a little hard to watch,” Tony said without looking away from his phone. Rhodes just grimaced, deciding not to get involved in this one.
“Nat?” Steve said, pleading. She looked thoughtful for a minute before replying.
“Have you ever seen the game Hungry Hungry Hippos, Steve?”
“Gotta add that one to the list,” Sam Wilson said as he hurried into the room and flopped into the waiting chair beside Steve. He inclined his head apologetically to Fury and the others. “Sorry, sorry, I know I’m late as hell. Slept through my alarm, and then traffic--”
“Here, Sam,” Steve said, pushing the donut box towards his friend. Sam’s face lit up as he opened it and saw the pastries inside, and Steve felt like he was lying in a warm patch of sunlight when he saw Sam’s soft smile. The sound he made when he bit into a donut elicited a… different kind of feeling in Steve, but that was to deal with later. Mutters broke out around the table.
“That makes total sense.”
“Yeah, okay. Shoulda seen that one coming.”
“Wha?” Sam asked, nonplussed. Everyone was staring at him and Steve.
“Wilson, he saved the last donuts for you,” Natasha said slowly. Steve felt his face heat up. Had he been that obvious?
“That’s… nice of him? Thanks, man,” Sam said, clearly nonplussed. Steve cleared his throat and nodded, wondering if it was a good or bad thing that Sam seemed oblivious to what Steve had been not-so-subtly trying to say. Via donuts.
“If we can get back to the point,” Fury snapped. He brought up the next screen, a looping video of Cap diving in front of the Falcon to protect him from a spray of bullets that Sam could have easily deflected. “I don’t even know where to start with this shit, Rogers.”
Steve stoically listened to Fury lambasting him for being an idiot in the field, but about 5 minutes into the tirade… he felt a hand on his arm. Sam turned his head slightly, and his usual jovial smirk was a little more knowing somehow.
“Wanna split the last donut with me?” he whispered, pushing the box towards Steve. Steve knew the look of utter adoration on his face was probably visible from space, but he couldn’t help himself. He loved watching the sun rise, he loved Krispy Kreme donuts more than was probably healthy, and he damn well loved Sam Wilson.