Work Text:
Working for The Avengers certainly came with perks. The resources, the technology, the ability to hang out with exceptional people and the paid housing at the Compound, to name a few. The Compound, though, was at this point an ecosystem grown around the Avengers having picked up the slack when S.H.I.E.L.D. had fallen. On Tony Stark’s bankroll there were now close to two thousand people focusing on not only protecting the world but also making it a better place. In addition to task force agents under Captain Rogers’ command, there were countless overachieving scientists ranging from nuclear physicists to anthropologists. Additionally, of course, there were all the people working to provide services for everyone on the A.I. Campus, as it was known due to many sharing the feeling of being back in college, in the best way possible. Truly, it was a small city with the housing, the restaurants, the coffee shops, the bookstores, and many who worked here hardly ever left. After all, it was a lot easier to drag yourself into bed after an all-nighter in a lab if said bed was a hundred yards away instead of in the New York City.
Someone less professional than you might’ve added frequent hangouts with shirtless Steve Rogers to the list of perks, but you were better than that. You would never make him uncomfortable like that, since underneath all the armor you were designing for him, he was very much a human being who deserved respect.
But that certainly didn’t mean you were blind.
Captain Rogers was a sight, in a suit or without it. But he was also a lot more than a pair of strong arms and wide shoulders and visible abs. Or thick thighs or blue eyes or gorgeous blond hair or large hands.
Where were you, again? Oh, right. You really needed to stop getting distracted by your thoughts, especially with a gun in your hand. Steve wasn’t even in here, just the breastplate part of his suit which was draped over a mannequin that looked like a feeble thing inside all the armor. You were pretty proud of it. You’d surpassed even your own skills with it. You were good in your craft, excellent at it to be honest, graduated with honors in three different majors. Material tech required multi-disciplinary approach, and you had truly embraced it, a spark in your eyes, ideas buzzing in your head.
Perhaps that had been what Tony Stark had seen in you, but no matter what the answer was, an internship for the renowned Avengers Initiative had turned into a permanent position as a researcher had turned into sharing a lab with Tony. You were thankful for the closeness. After all, you now played a crucial part in attempts of saving the world, and it was a lot of responsibility to bear.
Not that you minded. You were essentially born for this. With deliberate movements, you loaded the gun in your hands and backed away to the other side of the room.
On the other side of the sound-proof, shock-proof, missile-proof glass, Steve Rogers waited, his hands in his pockets. Tony was crouched over his worktable, and the metallic, oddly charming smell of welding filled the air.
“I’ve noticed that your visits to my lab have become a lot more frequent over the last three months,” Tony said.
“Well, there’s the suit project,” Steve said after clearing his throat. “It requires my presence more than your previous ones.”
Steve didn’t look at him, and he definitely didn’t look at you, shooting at his new suit on a mannequin with a .44 Magnum, your legs in a confident stance, the flowy dress on you whirling with your every movement. No, definitely not. You lifted your earmuffs off and waved at him before holding a finger up in “Just a sec” gesture.
“And it certainly doesn’t have anything to do with my new assistant,” Tony hummed from behind his welding mask.
“I don’t like your implications, Tony,” Steve grunted.
“What do you mean? I was simply saying that she’s very talented. Of course you’d be interested in working with her. What kind of other implications do you think I have? Tsk tsk, Captain.”
Steve didn’t want to dignify that with a response. You unloaded another round of bullets onto the prototype of his suit and smiled so bright the glow in your eyes was visible even from under your safety glasses.
“You know, you could just ask her out,” Tony said.
“Or I could not, Tony. She’s technically working for me. That’s a delicate situation, and she’s not into me.”
You’d been working for the A.I. for about six months now, three of which directly for the Avengers. Technically, you were Tony’s consultant, and not directly under his command, but still. It was a flammable situation, especially with how close you’d grown to the team.
“You have a book club,” Tony said.
Steve glanced down at the hardcover tucked underneath his arm. So, you liked the same books he did. So, you swapped things you loved. So, he had spent few sleepless nights in eBay bidding wars over some rare volume you’d mentioned in passing, only to drop it nonchalantly on your desk a few days later, feeling like he was on the top of the word as your eyes started to shine. Any of that didn’t really mean anything.
“A book club. Gee. Remember to get a tuxedo for our wedding,” Steve huffed, desperate to not let Tony see how much he was getting under his skin when they were discussing these stupid fantasies.
“Would it actually kill you to try to have something for yourself, once?” Tony grinned. “And I have five tuxedos already, one of which will be ready to roll when that happens.”
Luckily, you unlocked the door of the testing room and peeked out, your earmuffs now resting on your neck. Steve tried to look like seeing your smile wasn’t the best thing that had happened to him during the entire day.
“Hi, Cap.”
“Hi, Sunflower,” Steve smiled.
You’d missed the dress code of “sad colors and leather” when you’d first joined the A.I., and absolutely no one was letting it go. After three weeks of wearing your best muted color business casual and everyone still calling you Sunflower, you had decided to just own it. The white swing dress with yellow sunflowers printed on it that had earned you the nickname had become a work wardrobe stable along with similar others, floral patterns and bright colors fluffed up with petticoats.
Bucky had actually stopped you in the hallway once right after you’d moved into the Compound building where all the Avengers resided – after all, that was the closest to the lab. He had said with a half-wistful, half-grinning voice that it reminded him of home. Before catching yourself, you’d asked him if he meant all the skirts he’d chased back then, and he’d laughed. The abrasive comment had broken the ice from between you, and not before long, Bucky had become your go-to shooting call. Not to be confused with a booty call. And you were thankful for the fact that Bucky actually dragged you out of your lab to run twice a week. Not that your pace was much of a workout for him, but you didn’t make a show out of it, not when he seemed to be so happy to have someone to look after. He’d had three younger sisters back before, after all. If all it took to make him happy was your lungs exploding twice a week, you’d be happy to indulge him, especially when it meant getting a brother in return.
Steve, on the other hand, was something entirely else. You weren’t entirely sure whether you were thankful for the suit project or not – it made it natural to spend time with him but having to put your paws on his skin wasn’t exactly helping you with keeping your thoughts professional. He looked like an artwork just standing there, in a blue button-down and gray slacks, the shield casually hanging from his arm.
“How do you think it looks?” you said, nodding back to the breastplate hanging on the mannequin.
It was a nod to his S.H.I.E.L.D. time Stealth Suit, only with an even darker shade of blue on it, the star in front still there but dimmer, grayer, more subtle.
“Looks pretty durable, considering all the ammo didn’t even dent it,” Steve said. “What was it you wanted to me for?”
A lot of things, some a lot less appropriate than the others.
“Well, I’m experimenting with a bunch of ways to do the shoulder and elbow parts of the suit, to ensure the support but without inhibiting your movement with the shield at all. So, if it’s not a bother, I’d like you to test a few options and tell me which one is the best.”
“Of course,” Steve nodded.
“Step into my office, then, Captain. I’m ready for you.”
You were half certain you heard Tony mutter something very much not workplace appropriate at that behind his welding mask but paid him no mind.
You stepped through the door in the wall that separated your and Tony’s working spaces and put the gun and the safety gear back into the safe mounted onto the wall. As usual, your workspace was a mess, projects scattered on multiple tables, your 3D-printer humming like it always did, a bunch of experimental materials soaking in a fish tank full of battery acid to test their durability. Steve followed you, stopping to stand in front of your desk as he waited for you get the three suit sleeves from a side table.
“I’m almost done with that King,” you said. “You’ll get it probably over the weekend.”
“No rush. On the topic of books, though, I got something for you,” he said, making you snap your attention back to him. “It’s not coffee but…”
You hadn’t noticed the book tucked underneath his arm until he took it out and presented it to you with a wide smile on his face. You dropped the sleeves onto your desk and went around it to see closer, because no way he had…
“Is that a first edition first print?” you said. “Steve…”
The copy of Invisible Man in his hand was just that, you could clearly see it, if not from the book itself, from the way Steve had puffed up from pride underneath your gaze.
“I can’t take that,” you said. “How did you even…?”
Despite your words, you took the book from his hands, weighing it in your hands and very carefully setting it down to your desk. Wow. He’d pulled some miracles before but this…
“I was looking for a comic book Bucky used to love on eBay for his birthday and came across it. If I remember correctly, you don’t have it in your collection yet?” Steve smiled.
“That must’ve been expensive, I’m not sure…” you started.
He waved his hand, grinning.
“Don’t worry, it wasn’t. Someone didn’t know what they were selling. It’s a small price to pay for keeping the lady who is responsible for designing stuff that keeps my insides, well, inside, happy.”
The last part was technically true. And two thousand dollars for seeing you smile like that was even a smaller price to pay. Your whole face was shining, your eyes alight, and without remembering your oath of professionalism, you jumped towards Steve and hugged your arms around him. For a second, he was startled, and then a large hand landed in between your shoulder blades, his head dropping down, his face almost in your hair.
“Thank you so much, Steve. You’re the best.”
“It’s nothing, really,” he whispered.
You knew you needed to let go before things turned awkward, but his warmth was making it really hard to do. And he wasn’t backing away, either.
You needed to get a grip, and so, you stepped back, letting out an awkward laugh.
“Well. Now that we’ve started the touching, why don’t you take your shirt off?”
Steve’s gaze snapped into your eyes, and you could feel the heat in your cheeks. He didn’t seem offended, though, more curious and amused.
“I’m sorry. Tony is a really, really bad influence,” you said, laughing. “But I’ve designed the suit sleeves to have some compression on it, to help prevent injuries in case you get another brilliant idea to jump off a skyscraper, so they’re designed to be used only with a sleeveless undershirt under it. So, get your guns out, Captain.”
Steve grinned.
“I’m sorry to disappoint you but I’m wearing a t-shirt underneath this one. Will that work?”
You shook your head, biting your lower lip. Not that you minded seeing him entirely shirtless but… Steve was also a person and the fact that he was entirely otherworldly hot didn’t mean he wanted to be naked all the time. Had it been Tony who had gotten the serum, he probably would’ve never worn clothes again, but Steve was a lot more proper.
“I’m sorry, I should’ve told you in advance to dress for the occasion. We can do this some other time,” you said.
Steve’s smile was gentle as he shook his head.
“No, it’s alright. I can just be shirtless. If you’re comfortable with that.”
You nodded. After all, it was nothing you hadn’t seen before. He shed both his shirts and extended an arm for you as he sat down.
Working with the suit returned you made you snap back to your professionalism as you started fastening the plates of the arm piece in place. Steve’s eyes followed your movements with curiosity. The material was just slightly cool against his skin, not unpleasantly cold. Despite the fact that it shone like metal, it molded to hug his arm with a pleasant compression as you snapped the last piece in place. Now that they were all in place, the whole thing looked like a high-tech version of a knight’s glove. But the material wasn’t inhibiting his movement at all, feeling barely like a silk glove on him as he turned his hand.
“Wow,” Steve said.
You grinned.
“Yeah. I’m pretty proud of it myself. It’s derived from that nanotech-infused poly-paraphenylene terephthalamide I’ve been experimenting with. I finally got the tensile strength right without compromising the fluidity,” you said. “Give it a spin in the test room with your shield so that I can see how the joints work.”
Steve stood up from the chair and grabbed his shield from the ground but before he started to make his way back to the testing room, he stopped to meet your eyes. There was something serious on his face.
“You do know that you’re damn brilliant, Sunflower?” he said. “This stuff is downright impressive.”
Your mouth felt dry at the praise, as deserved as it was, because it always felt different from Steve’s mouth. More earnest.
“Thank you, Cap. I appreciate it.”
Tony never knocked when he stepped into your workspace, and tonight was not an exception. You lifted your head from your screen, eyes burning after hours of staring at your 3D models.
“Quite the Friday night you’re having here,” he said.
You glanced at the clock. Half-past seven in the evening. Not that late, especially here with all the brilliant, driven people hyperfocusing on their projects. You glanced behind yourself to see the darkening evening outside.
“Are you of all people going to lecture me about the importance of a work-life balance?” you said to Tony.
“No, just thought I’d bring the party over here.”
He shook his head and leaned back out of the door to take a tray into his hands. At first, you thought it was something he needed a hand with, and then you saw the large pitcher full of red liquid and two glasses with celery sticks in them. You grinned.
“It’s a pretty sad party for just the two of us,” you said.
Tony smiled with one corner of his mouth. It wasn’t the first time he’d shown off his bartending skills to you, and he knew you’d say yes. After all, some of your best ideas had come after the absolutely uninhibited bragging competitions with Tony after a drink or seven.
“It’s never a sad party when I’m in attendance.”
“Alright, then. Give me two minutes to queue these up to the printer.”
RE: perks of the job. Tony made a great Bloody Mary. And these ones were especially great, the spicy bite of Tabasco just right. And, apparently, covering a pretty hefty dash of vodka underneath it as you soon found out, leaning back in your chair after filling your glass up for the third time. Tony was under the influence himself, too, his eyes shining with the same happy buzz you were feeling in your veins. After he finished the story about Steve punching Nick Fury in the face, he leaned forward in the chair on the other side of your table.
“You know, we’re all really happy to have you here. I haven’t seen Frostbite being that much at ease in ages,” Tony said. “You’re a great addition to the team.”
“I’m not in team,” you said. “Not that way, anyway. I’m just the backup.”
“Much needed one, then,” Tony said. “I hope you haven’t been driven too crazy by the team. I mean by the others. I, myself, am adorable, of course.”
You snorted into your drink at his expression.
“Nah. Great people. Exceptional ones.”
With that, Tony’s expression shifted into one of unashamed curiosity, and you realized that it might’ve been a trap.
“Anyone particularly exceptional?” he said, grinning.
You reached for the pitcher and filled your glass, hoping he would be distracted from the question so that you wouldn’t have to answer. Of course, Tony wasn’t that easy to throw off course, not when he knew he was onto something. Damn him and his genius intelligence.
“It’s not really… inapp… appropraiet… Fuck. We shouldn’t be talking about this. You’re my boss”, you huffed.
“I’m off the clock,” Tony said. “And so are you. So, it’s just two geniuses discussing the less intellectually fortunate.”
Had you not been drinking, you probably would’ve denied the genius part. But the buzzed you certainly wasn’t going to, especially not after the thoroughly impressed glow in Captain Rogers’ blue, blue, blue eyes earlier today after he’d finished his armor testing.
“I think you might have a crush on someone,” Tony grinned.
It’s not like you hadn’t known where this was going but him laying it out like that was pretty direct, even from him. You almost snorted your drink out of your nose, feeling the burn of the tabasco as you pressed your hand to it and cursed. Tony shifted in his seat, leaning towards you as he took a more comfortable interrogation posture, his fingers brushing the high-tech Stark Watch on his wrist.
“Ohhh, who is it? I think I have a guess,” he said, grin widening as he leaned forward, spinning his glass in his hand now.
“No one. You’re such a twelve-year old, Tony. I can’t understand how someone actually married you,” you laughed.
“I still don’t know,” he said. “I just got lucky, I guess. I did. I wish everyone got as lucky as me. Come on, Sunflower. Who’s the lucky one?”
You weren’t going to talk about this. You weren’t going to. It was not appropriate, but unfortunately, all the appropriate parts of your brain were currently drowned in vodka and tomato juice. Tony wasn’t the most patient person, so he jumped the gun.
“You know, there are rumors about you and Bucky.”
You looked at Tony over your drink, flabbergasted. Bucky? What the hell? The laugh that escaped you was probably rather undignified.
“Bucky?” you snorted. “Please. He has annoying big brother written all over him. I love him but I wouldn’t touch him with a ten-feet pole.”
“You know, there are rumors about you and Bucky.”
In the gym at the opposite side of the building, Steve stopped dead in his tracks, his arm freezing mid-way from hitting Bucky’s face. Bucky stopped, too, straightening up as he heard his name being mentioned through the comms. Tony’s voice was followed by your half-laughing huff:
“Bucky? Please. He has annoying big brother written all over him. I love him but I wouldn’t touch him with a ten-feet pole.”
Despite the situation, he couldn’t help but shoot a knowing look at Steve.
“Told you, punk,” he said. “What do you think –“
Before he could finish his sentence, Tony’s voice was back again:
“But I just think you might be into older guys, that right? I think certain Captain might have gotten your attention.”
A moment of silence on the comms, and Steve found himself praying both that he could hear the answer and that the broadcast would be cut off. His focus was entirely on the words despite the training aching in his muscles. This was so so so inappropriate from Tony to make him eavesdrop on this conversation over FRIDAY’s ability to send messages to anyone over the comm system.
“Yeah, maybe,” came your answer, halfway a drunken giggle.
Maybe. Steve found his heart leaping into his throat, but he also wasn’t going to listen to something you were clearly telling Tony under false sense of it being in confidence. He was going to shut it off, and then color drained from his face, making Bucky’s grin disappear. Steve had frozen in place, staring at the Stark Watch on his wrist and tapping it with no avail.
“It’s on the emergency channel. I can’t shut it off. It’s broadcasting all over the Compound. I’m going to fucking kill him!”
There was real fury in Steve’s voice, but he was already running, Bucky following close behind as they barged into the corridor. Steve’s suspicion was confirmed as the conversation you and Tony were currently having was coming out of each and every comm in the building, and also in the other buildings, including the apartment ones, making what you were saying perfectly clearly audible to everyone:
“But that’s hardly my fault if he’s done that, right?”
Tony was looking at you, expecting you to continue, a very curious grin on his face, and a floodgate inside you had been properly knocked open by his pestering and all the Bloody Marys.
“I mean have you seen him? He looks as if…” you tilted your head, looking for an apt metaphor from the depths of your drink, “Mount Rushmore had a baby with that Mich.. Michelo… that David statue guy’s David and then that baby spent 30 years in Navy Seal training. It’s fucking ridiculous. My 3D-printer can’t keep up with the material I need for his armor since he’s so huge. And his hair is so shiny I feel like I should be wearing sunglasses when he’s in the same room.”
You took a sip from your drink, which was probably an exceedingly bad idea considering the confession currently pouring out of you.
“And he smells so goddamn good. Like fresh laundry and clear skies. That’s even more ridiculous that anyone smells that good, like something out of those real shitty romance novels but let me tell you, Dior would make bank on Eau De Steve. He has it all, hasn’t him, and it’s not like I haven’t noticed how much muscle he has when I get to be the one to design made-to-measure armor for him. His biceps are bigger than my thighs. And I come pretty thick, like the kids say,” you shook your head in disbelief.
“You’re the kid,” Tony laughed. “You say that.”
“I’m 25.”
“Three years younger than our Star-Spangled Man, then. Could very well work out.”
Why was he so keen on the topic of Captain Rogers? You hadn’t that obvious with your crush before, certainly. It’s like he wanted you to keep talking about Steve. It’s not like you were particularly against it, though.
“Please, Tony. It’s not like I don’t like him, but he’s probably drowning in ladies already. Who wouldn’t be into him when he’s that amazing? He’s not just a total hunk but he’s also so damn kind and considerate and such a good person and I literally saw him move to another table in the full cafeteria the other day so that a pregnant lady would be able to sit down to near the lunch line. As if it’s not enough that he already looks like a work of art due to whatever shit Erskine cooked up in his lab, it’s like his soul is beautiful, too. He’s so pretty and kind he makes my knees weak by just looking at me,” you said. “But he doesn’t see me like that, and frankly, I’m just happy to be around him. Every time I see him my day gets better. Everyone wants to be their best self around him, right? That’s why he’s the leader, right? He’s inspiring, honestly. He keeps pulling miracles to find some book I mention once. Who does that? What the hell has humanity done to deserve it? Or his cheekbones?”
“I think he likes you,” Tony grinned. “I think that’s why he brings you all the books. And the coffees.”
Oh yes, the coffees, Frappuccinos just appearing to your desk even on the days you didn’t see him. You snorted. The thought of Steve Rogers being into you was absurd.
“No, he doesn’t.”
“Yes, he does. You should tell him to ask you out. Maybe that’d get through his thick head.”
“I’m not going to embarrass him like that,” you said. “No matter how much I want to kiss him. That would put him in an awkward position because of the suit project. That suit is going to look so glorious on him, not that he isn’t glorious already but the way he’s going to look in that is going to probably make a lot of ladies spontaneously combust. It’s not like I specifically aimed for that, but he could turn up in a potato sack and look like a Greek god. And not one of the pervy ones. He’s honestly mesmerizing, like he’s some sort of Dracula, who can make me fall for him with just a look and hypnotize me.”
Tony’s grin shifted into something even more inappropriate at all your ramblings.
“Well, I don’t think you would honestly mind being put in an awkward position by him.”
God, there were a lot of vodka in that pitcher.
“Well, when I said he makes my knees give, I can think of something I could do while –“
A loud crash interrupted you, and even in your drunken state, you realized that Captain Rogers literally crashing through the wall of your lab was confusing. He looked so flustered you hadn’t thought it possible for him, the mighty, put-together Captain to be like that, his ears red.
“What –“ you started.
He wasn’t looking at you, deliberately so.
“Tony, what the hell do you think you’re doing, shut it off right now!”
Shut what off? What? You glanced down at your glass, wondering if there was something that made you hallucinate all this because even considering the constant chaos on the Campus, this was odd. Tony was laughing so hard he could hardly breathe.
“Relax, Cap –“
Steve stepped closer to him, radiating the sort of authority that made you think about all the things you’d said earlier, and the ones you hadn’t said, ones much, much more NC-17.
“It’s on the emergency channel, you fucking moron. It’s all over the Campus.”
All the color left Tony’s face. He glanced down at his wrist, his clock, and swallowed hard. You were still trying to understand. Steve in his training gear looking so embarrassed, Bucky now appearing behind him and crying from laughter, Tony looking like he had just been told he’d meet his maker soon. He pressed a button on his watch.
“I’m sorry, I…”
“What… What exactly was all over the Campus?” you whispered.
Tony couldn’t look at you. Oh no. Oh no no no. In wordless horror, you glanced at Steve, who now met your eyes and gave you a tight smile.
Emergency channel. Tony had been broadcasting on emergency channel. Steve had heard your conversation.
And not just Steve. The whole entire Campus, every single room, every single corner had heard you talking. The revelation cleared your head.
Tony’s face was white as his gaze was bouncing back and forth between you and Steve. In the background, Bucky was still absolutely wheezing.
“It was supposed to only be audible to Cap, I swear, I was trying to –“
Tony didn’t make it further than that when you threw your still almost full glass of Bloody Mary at his face. The splash of it was truly satisfying, the Tabasco probably burning his eyes, and god, he deserved that, he deserved that after ruining you like this and so thoroughly embarrassing you in front of Captain Rogers. And everyone else. God. How would you ever face him again? Or anyone? Fuck everyone else, what did you care, but Steve didn’t deserve this, certainly not. You glanced at him.
“I’m so sorry,” you said to him, and then you ran out.
You had planned on spending the rest of your life in your apartment but after four days, you ran out of coffee and Bucky, the asshole, was refusing to bring you more despite your increasingly colorful threats against his wellbeing. He hadn’t mentioned Steve or Tony, so you knew he still had retained some inkling of sanity despite playing with fire by refusing you your caffeine. Alright. You could do this. And you would do it with your head held high, goddammit.
Half an hour later, dressed to the nines in a scarlet-red swing dress, same color lipstick covering your mouth and a coffee in your hand, you walked into the lab, passing Tony without so much as a glance.
“Sunflower –“ he started but stopped, clearly not knowing how to continue.
Tony dropped his tools – well, at least he was sorry, because that was a first – and took a step towards you, but you didn’t stop walking or turn to look at him.
“Thin ice, tin man,” you said as you slammed the lab door behind yourself.
Alright. Perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad. No one had laughed at you at the Starbucks, at least to your face. Over the last four days, you had reached the conclusion that you might’ve vocalized a lot of the thoughts that ran through the heads of everyone on the Campus who was into men. Perhaps they would not hold it against you. And if they did, they could just go to hell. After all, you hadn’t gotten this far by living your life according to the opinions of others.
There was a second 3D-printer next to your previous one, with a red bow on it. As you walked around your table, there was a small object on the table with a post-it stuck to it. It read only Sorry! :( in Tony’s messy scribbling. As you took the post-it off and realized the object was a key fob with the prancing horse of Ferrari on it, a small grin crept up on your face. You turned your head, shouting through the closed door:
“Still very thin ice, tin man! But perhaps an inch thicker!”
“Noted!”
“In case you want to make it another inch thicker, get me a third printer!”
“Noted!”
Smiling just a bit, you sat down and booted up your computer to get to work, opening the files of the bulletproof vest you’d been designing for Bucky. One of the joint types you’d tested with Steve’s armor wouldn’t work for that but perhaps a similar one would be a better solution to join the plates of Bucky’s vest together.
It took less than ten minutes for a knock to be heard from your door. Surprised that Tony had lasted even this long, you said:
“You better have the third printer with you, Tony.”
“It’s not Tony,” a gentle voice said. “Is it okay if I come in?”
You swallowed, hard, and straightened up in your computer chair. You worked together. You were designing an armor for him. There was no point in trying to avoid him, and sooner you had this discussion about your inappropriate crush, sooner you could put it past you. Apparently, he seemed to think the same, since the fact that he was here this fast could only mean that he had asked Tony to tell him when you were back.
“It’s okay, Steve,” you said. “Come on in.”
Over the last four days, you had had a lot of time to think what you would say to him, in between figuring out ways to end Tony, but your carefully worded and practiced apology left your brain immediately when Steve opened the door and slipped through.
“What are you wearing?”
Steve grinned as he stopped to stand in front of you, holding his hands behind his back in a soldier’s pose.
“A potato sack.”
Indeed, he was. Instead of a shirt, he had on a burlap potato sack with holes cut out for his arms and head. It was paired with blue jeans, and despite the fact that the combination was ridiculous, you hadn’t been wrong. He still looked like a Greek god. How had he even found a potato sack that size?
“I figured that if they’re going to laugh, let them laugh at me.”
“Don’t tell me you’ve been walking around like this for four days?”
Steve’s grin just widened.
“I have. Tony has been trying really hard to hold all his Marilyn jokes. I’m pretty sure he’s been paying Clint a lot of money to tell them for him.”
“I hope Clint’s taking him to the cleaners, then.”
Your cheeks were burning, and you were trying really hard to fight the smile on your face. Of course, he would do just something like this. You’d been embarrassing, and he would volunteer to take the fall. Though, you doubted anyone was laughing at him when he still pulled the outfit, if you could call it that, off like that.
“You didn’t have to. I got myself into this mess,” you said. “I was so inappropriate. I’m sorry I said all those things.”
“Well, it’s hardly your fault, right?”
Your eyes blew open. Did he just… It was clear where Bucky had gotten all his bad influence on being such a jerk. You huffed but lost the battle against the grin on your face. It seemed like that was a sign Steve had been waiting for. He went round your desk to stand beside you, and you spun around in your computer chair, tilting your head up to see his face. There was something softer in the blue of his eyes now.
“I got you a nice-to-have-you-back gift,” he said.
“You really didn’t have to, Steve. Not after I embarrassed you like that.”
You hadn’t expected that he would be mad at you – not a guy like him. A good soul, like you’d oh so colorfully outlined to the entire Campus. But you hadn’t expected this, either, almost total lack of awkwardness. Or him turning up in a potato sack of all things. If anyone should’ve gotten a gift, it was you. Steve set your favorite Frappuccino down on your desk.
“Bucky told me you’ve been threatening to rip off his arm and beat him with it if you don’t get your coffee. Didn’t want to risk it,” Steve laughed. “Even though you clearly have it under control. Like always. I shouldn’t expect anything less from you.”
Steve nodded towards your coffee cup. You blamed your heart beating on the five shots of espresso you’d downed in the drink. Not on Steve’s closeness. No, ma’am. You let out a nervous laugh as your hand wrapped around the new drink.
“Really? Have you forgotten how well I had it under control just four days ago?” you laughed.
You got out of your chair as you took a sip out of your drink to avoid looking at Steve. A nervous energy was coursing in your veins but against your expectations, it wasn’t embarrassed. More… anticipatory. This was going better than you had thought. Maybe things would return to normal with Steve.
Or maybe…?
There was something tender in Steve’s eyes when he was looking at you, and the softness of his voice matched that.
“I don’t forget things, due to the eidetic memory,” he said. “And I’m certainly not going to even try to forget hearing someone talking about me like that, especially when she’s someone I thought was way out of my league. I would’ve preferred to keep those conversations private, perhaps, but that’s on Tony and not on you. I’m not sorry it happened. Not at all.”
You set the Frappuccino down on your desk to avoid dropping it before returning your eyes to meet Steve’s. Was this actually happening? Was he saying what you thought he was saying? Perhaps you had actually died of embarrassment and were now in some very weird and pleasing afterlife? You opened your mouth, but no sound came out. Steve was standing so close you could feel the heat of his skin.
“You thought I was out of your league?” you managed to croak.
Steve smiled. His warm, big hand reached over to grab yours, and the thumb brushing over the skin of the back of your hand was making it hard to focus on his words.
“You’re so absolutely brilliant with the things you do, and in addition to that, you’re kind and funny and interesting and considerate, and not to mention breathtakingly pretty. I’ve had an embarrassing crush on you ever since I saw you in that sunflower dress the first day here, and I never really thought I stood a chance. But it made me happy to spend time with you. To find you books. In fact, I’ve got one for you now. Not a first edition, though.”
Steve turned your hand with his so that your palm was facing up, and without breaking eye contact, he pressed into your palm something he had been holding behind his back in his other hand. Your brain was trying to remember how to breathe. He had a crush on you. He. Had. A. Crush. On. You. Luckily, you could turn your attention towards the thing he’d given you while you learned to talk again. With a delicate movement, like everything sudden could make this moment vanish, you pulled your hand up to examine the paperback he’d given you.
Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
Of course. A laugh escaped you as you turned it upright and examined it, noticing the large, yellow sunflower that accompanied it. The stem of the flower was serving as a bookmark of sorts. Steve was smiling when you glanced up at him, relaxed despite the growing electricity crackling in the air. Well, it’s not like how you felt towards him was any kind of a secret anymore. Feeling his gaze on you, you opened the book from the page the sunflower was on, carefully setting the flower itself onto your desk. It was easy to tell what Steve had meant with it, since a line on the page was highlighted with a yellow pen, from Mina Harker’s Journal:
“Now I shall learn something pleasant, I am sure; for it will tell me the other side of a true love episode of which I know one side already....”
Alongside it, on the margin of the book, was written with a ballpoint pen “Dinner tonight? I promise I won’t bite!” followed by a smiley with small fangs.
You drew a long, hard breath in as you turned your face up towards Steve. Despite everything, there was something nervous on his face, now. Still at a loss of words, you decided to do something else that would get all your thoughts across. You dropped the book onto your desk, grabbed the surprisingly soft burlap of the potato sack with both hands and pulled him down for a kiss.
Steve was startled for the briefest moment and then you could actually feel him smile against your mouth as he slipped his hands around you and pulled you up against him. Just in time, since your knees were giving out under you as you finally tasted his soft lips, surrounded by that gorgeous fresh scent of him. In a gesture that was pure indulgence, you ran your hand from his cheekbone into his hair and pulled his mouth even tighter against yours, and his hands crumpled the fabric of your dress as you did. It was nothing more than a kiss, and it was everything, a promise, a culmination.
By the time you had to breathe, and you had to break the kiss to breathe since there was no way you were going to be able to process anything else while Steve’s lips were on yours, you were far from having had your fill of touching him. Lightyears away. You let your hands run over his arms and join together behind his neck, and he held you close with an arm draped across your back as the thumb of his other hand brushed over your cheek. Through the haze of the kiss and the heat of his closeness that was making you high, you realized from the look in Steve’s eyes that you hadn’t been the only one mesmerized.
“I hope that’s a yes, Sunflower.”
“That’s a yes, Steve,” you whispered. “Though… The night is damn far away, and I think my boss is in no place at all to whine if I take the rest of the day off. So, a lunch before the dinner?”
Steve was grinning like he’d won the lottery, and he dropped his head to rest his forehead against yours.
“Sounds like the best plan I’ve ever heard.”
“Let’s go, then. Though you’re going to have to change.”
“What? Not Greek god enough for you?” he teased.
You huffed.
“Trust me, that is not the problem. But I think I’d love to see you in one of those blue button-downs, so I can tell you a bit later all about how good you look in those, this time without all of the Campus eavesdropping on us. After all, some things should stay private.”