Longing (Steve Rogers x reader)

Diner

As you finished your morning tea, Steve was just finishing up his coffee. He smirked at you before he went back over the railing and went into his room to go drop off his morning coffee cup. The two of you had shared small chit chat as you looked out at the grounds. Your book laid forgotten on the swing seat beside you. You got up once Steve disappeared into his suite, and brought your book and mug back into your suite, before grabbing your purse and heading towards the suite door. You heard a knock when you were just a few steps away, causing you to giggle slightly. You opened the door and Steve stood there with his brown leather jacket on, and matching boots, holding a dozen long stemmed red roses, a glass vase, and a box of your favorite chocolates.
"Steve" you couldn't help but smile broadly.
"These are for you" Steve gave an almost nervous smile until you moved forward to take the items from him, then he suddenly seemed to exude confidence.
"This is wonderful, thank you" you cooed to him, and brought them all into your suite. You quickly grabbed a vase from the cabinet before putting water into it, and put the roses inside, setting it down in the center of your walnut coffee table.
"I was thinking, we could maybe go for a walk after we hit the diner" Steve stood in your doorway with a smile on his face.
"A walk? Where?" you were intrigued.
"Maybe at the park, you know before your appointment" he gestured vaguely to you, and you bit your bottom lip anticipating you wanted to say yes, but at the same time you had a lot of laundry to do before Tom and Roxy arrived.
"If it's a quick one, I have some laundry to do before." you nodded in agreement. You had been looking forward to this date, and wanted to spend the extra time with Steve.
"Yeah, me too. Mind if I join you?" Steve asked quickly and you couldn't help but giggle a little bit.
"Are you planning on spending the day with me?" you quirked an eyebrow.
"Every moment I can, yes" he nodded with a smile, clearly having no shame in his plans. You giggled again and he stretched out his hand to you in offering. You secured your purse under your arm and quickly took his hand, allowing him to lead you from the room. He led you down the long hallway, down the wooden stairs, and to the front door where he opened the door for you to exit first. As soon as you got outside he took your hand again, and led you to his parking spot where his old vintage Harley was waiting for you both, with two helmets hanging from the handles. He helped you put on your helmet first, before putting on his own. He jumped on and patiently waited for you to get on. You scooted onto the back and immediately wrapped your arms around his middle as he started the engine with a loud roar.
"You ready?" he asked, looking over his shoulder.
"As I can be" you giggled a little nervously. He placed his hand on your clasped hands for a moment before putting both hands on the handlebars and he peeled out of the parking lot.

Getting to the diner took a lot less time than you anticipated. Steve was an expert driver, and was quick to get through early morning traffic. As soon as he parked, you got off excitedly, recognizing the diner. It was the one that you habitually went to with Nat and Bruce.
"Have you ever been here before?" Steve asked a little excitedly.
"I come here a lot with Nat and Bruce, if I'm going to be honest" you flushed a little bit. "We always get their pancakes. It's our Sunday tradition when we go to the farmers market" you beamed.
"I have never had their pancakes, it sounds like something I should try" he grinned in response, helping you to take off your helmet. He put the helmet on the handlebars, quickly joined by his own, before he took your hand again and the pair of you walked towards the doors of the diner. He stopped you at the front door, and opened it for you before you walked in. He came in and stood behind you, putting a hand on your lower back protectively as you waited to be seated.
The host that came to seat you was one that you had a few times before, and he knew your preference for something out of the way and not where there were a lot of people. He grabbed two menus without a word and led the pair of you to the back corner, that was a bit out of the way, just enough that it wasn't overly noticeable. You both also had a perfect view of all of the exits, something Nat had ingrained in your brain to be necessary. The host left you the menus and quickly left to go get water and coffee for you both.
"Nat's spot?" Steve asked quickly, but wasn't really asking.
"She likes a view of all of the exits" you nodded quickly.
"It's a great exit strategy" Steve gave a small smile. "Did you know Nat and Bruce met in Calcutta? Nat was ordered to bring in Bruce for his research on gamma radiation, back when Loki tried to steal the tesseract when he was under mind control"
"I heard they had a rocky start," you nodded. "Eventually the only person that could calm the Hulk down, before Bruce got a better handle on the Hulk, was Nat"
"They still made it work" Steve gave a smile, that made you feel a little weak in the knees.
"They make it work every day" you nodded with a small smile. "Clint makes it work with Laura too, you should see him. He's like a different person when he's at home with his kids" you smiled softly. "He's always working on something new for the house, and when he's not working on something, he is planning on the next renovation" you giggled.
"We all have our coping mechanisms," Steve grinned.
"What's yours?" you asked, leaning forward on the table and resting the palm of your hand under your chin, getting increasingly more interested in the conversation.
"My art, just like yours, is reading," he pointed out quickly. Showing you that he paid attention to you even when you didn't acknowledge it.
"How did you know that?" you batted your eyelashes at him.
"I pay more attention than you think. I've had over a year to study you" he bit his bottom lip, and your gaze went to his lips automatically. The host came back and gave you each a cup of coffee, and a glass of water before quickly leaving.
"You're making it sound like you were doing more than studying," you giggled.
"Maybe I was, would it be that bad?" he asked, gazing at you in the eyes. You found yourself flushing a bit under his attention and you batted your eyelashes slightly.
"No, I don't mind" you spoke barely above a whisper. "I might have been watching you too," you admitted softly, adding cream and sugar to your coffee. Steve quickly mirrored your actions, seeming to be taking his time to enjoy the moment.
"So what's your favorite color?" he asked, licking his lips.
"What do you think it is?" you asked a little coyly in retaliation, taking a sip of your coffee.
"Pretty sure it's red" he took a sip of his coffee, looking at you over the rim.
"Why red?" you quirked an eyebrow.
"Red shoes, red nightgown, red lipstick, red dress..." he started listing off everything he could think of that was red. You whispered that your favorite color was indeed red but also one other color as well , and he didn't even look surprised at the fact. He started making small chat while you waited for your waitress. She came over and had the good sense not to bat an eye seeing you and Steve together. You both ordered the chocolate chip pancakes, and had a good natured chuckle that it wasn't even planned. She quickly hurried away, and Steve reached out and took your hand, keeping his voice barely above a whisper while he spoke to you about different things, and asking you about yourself. You didn't go too much into your past that he didn't know. You didn't think your past trauma was the right place for a date. When the pancakes came, Steve let go of your hand, and you both silently dug into your food happily.
"You were right, the pancakes are great here" he seemed surprised while cutting another bite sized piece off.
"Bruce and Nat have me addicted" you giggled slightly as you chewed on your food.
"These are pretty sweet," he commented and brought his fork up to his mouth to indulge in the sweet treat.
"Just like you" you slid that in there smoothly.
"Not as sweet as your lips" he gave a soft smile and you had the good sense to flush a bit at his comment. "Speaking of, I can't wait to taste them again" he added with a confidence you wish you had.
"You seem pretty confident" you gave a sexy half smile.
"I know what I'm hoping for" his eyes ticked to your lips and you licked at some syrup that had gotten on your lips. His eyes darkened as he kept looking at your decadent lips, and he licked his own while just imagining what he was going to do later. He turned the conversation back to just small things, the get to know you questions you normally would talk about on a first date and you both bonded over your love of the documentaries on TV. You both quickly finished and the waitress came and gathered your plates from the table and refilling yours and Steve's coffee cups. Steve reached across and started playing with your hand again, maintaining eye contact with you. You shyly would look away once in a while, but his gaze remained almost heated in the way that he was watching your every move.
"One bill or two?" the waitress came back suddenly, breaking Steve's intense eye contact with you .
"One bill" Steve took out his credit card quickly and handed it to her before you could even utter a word.
"I can pay for mine" you blushed slightly.
"I insist. Let me be the gentleman my mother brought me up to be" Steve's eyes glinted with delight feeling a sense of pride as he brought up his mother. You bit your bottom lip unsurely, however gave a hesitant nod.
"Thank you" you whispered softly in appreciation.
"So the mall is next?" he asked you taking your hand again.
"I don't see how I can fit the bags on your motorcycle" you frowned slightly.
"We will go and get them to deliver it to the compound" he shrugged as though that solved everything. You nodded happily, liking that resolution. "Then we can hit the park before we go back to do laundry. After laundry we will go get Roxy and Tom" he grinned at the thought of a whole day spent with your undivided attention.
"You've got it all planned out" you giggled slightly.
"I've got your whole day planned" he chuckled.
"What else am I doing today?" you quirked an eyebrow.
"Well, we are going to have to sit in your room or on your balcony for the rest of the day, because Roxy and Tom need time to get used to their new surroundings. It takes three days doesn't it?" he asked quickly.
"Three days, three weeks, three months is the rule" you nodded. "Three days to get used to me, three weeks to their new home, and three months to be completely comfortable."
"It's a good thing they are going to a good forever home" Steve grinned. The waitress came back with the handheld card terminal, and Steve was quick to put in his details and pay. The waitress' eyebrows went up at the size of the tip that Steve left for her.
"Thank you!" she said meaningfully and Steve nodded to her, but brought his attention back to you. You finished your coffee, and Steve took the last few gulps of his before putting his mug back down on the table with a light thud.
"You ready?" he asked expectantly.
"Yes, of course" you smiled and stood up from the table. He quickly joined you, and put his hand in the small of your back, leading you back out of the diner. He stopped at the door and opened it for you again, getting you to walk out first before he followed you out.
"Don't forget to hold extra tight" Steve grinned at you, helping you put on your helmet again. You nodded and watched as he put on his own and he slipped back on the motorcycle. You quickly scooted on, and wrapped your arms around him tightly again. He revved the engine to life, and started making his way towards the mall.