Longing (Steve Rogers x reader)

A snails pace

Steve was excited. As soon as you both had finished your coffee, he headed back to his suite to get changed into a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt. He took the time to brush his teeth and his hair, and looked at himself in the mirror. Regardless of the pain he was in, he was still all smiles. He finally knew what it was like to sleep beside you, and he wasn't disappointed. You had curled right into him, and it felt so right to have you there. He checked his phone and saw that Bucky wished him good luck for today. It was the third date. Technically there had been more, he just disguised them as hanging out, or spending time together. He was trying to find the confidence to ask you to be his girl. He wanted the pair of you to be official, and no room for misunderstandings, or God help him, that Tinder app making a reappearance. He didn't think you would, but he wouldn't put it past mischievous Loki to put it on your phone again if you weren't official. Asking you should be easy, but he felt a lot of unease in his chest, and it wasn't just from the gunshot wounds. He had never taken this step before, and wasn't sure this was even something people still did these days. He sat down on his couch for a moment, his brain running rampant with endless possibilities of what could happen today. Last night was the first time he had heard you voice any doubts, and it was clawing at the inside of his brain. One of the things that brought him some semblance of peace was you asked him to spend the night, and that was worth every second. He almost wished he didn't sleep, so he could have enjoyed it even more. But he was exhausted by the time he got home, and he was glad that he took that step with you. If anything it made him realize how deeply in love with you he had fallen.

Steve went to go towards his bedroom door, but there was a quick knock on the door. It repeated itself before he even got there, and he wondered who in the world would be in such a hurry to see him. He opened the door to reveal Bucky who was holding a dozen roses in his hand, and he shoved the flowers at Steve.
"Buck?" Steve asked with a billion questions in his eyes.
"It's for your date, don't screw it up punk" Bucky was still holding out the flowers to him. "Listen, I got up early to go get these for you since you are injured. Take em" he spoke in a whisper.
"Thank you" Steve's face broke out into a smile. He figured this would definitely work in his favor.
"Just don't screw up asking her to be your girl. It's important. She needs to know you value her, and that she's all you think about," Bucky started coaching him. Steve flushed a bit and took a few steps back, inviting Bucky into his room. "Make sure you don't look at any other dames while you are on the date, and keep your eyes on her"
"That will be easy, she's the only dame I see" Steve watched as Bucky anxiously went and sat down in Steve's favorite armchair.
"Be confident, and be a gentleman," Bucky warned him.
"I am working on it" Steve flushed again.
"Here, take this too" Bucky reached into his back jeans pocket and pulled out his wallet. He flipped it open and pulled out a condom and Steve could barely hold back anymore.
"I'm not going that far tonight" Steve shook his head.
"Just in case, you need one for luck" Bucky shoved the foil package at him.
"I don't think I'm in the right shape. I just got shot, remember?" Steve chuckled a little.
"Just put it in your pocket, ya punk" Bucky's face went a little red. "You might need it anyways, and it's a lucky one"
"How is it lucky?" Steve asked, finally taking it and went to set the roses down in his kitchenette. He took a moment to put the condom in his pocket.
"It comes from my lucky box, it hasn't failed me yet" Bucky broke out into a grin. "Besides, they fit larger sizes" he chuckled.
"I feel like this is rushing her," Steve frowned slightly.
"It's being safe in case anything happens" Bucky reasoned quickly. "By the kiss marks you left on her neck the other day, you two might just jump the gun" he shrugged and stood up. "Alright, you've got what I came here for. Just be the confident man I know you can be. You'll be fine" Bucky tapped Steve on the cheek and walked to the door. "Maintain eye contact, dames love that" he added as his last words of advice.
"I'll be fine, thank you Buck" Steve flushed, and almost pushed him out of his suite door. He leaned against the door once his best friend was gone, and pulled the foil packet out his pocket and looked at it and bit his bottom lip before pulling out his wallet and putting it in there instead. It was better to be safe than sorry. Neither of you had the talk yet, and he didn't even know if you were on birth control or not. He knew you had an aversion to taking medication so he highly doubted it, but then again he didn't know everything about you. Not yet at least.
Steve sighed heavily to himself and mentally prepared himself for what today would bring.

When you came out of your suite with Roxy and Tom, Steve was waiting outside your door already dressed for the day. You had gone with a black low cut blouse, and a pair of light blue high waisted jeans with your red converse sneakers, thinking that Steve likely would want to go for another walk. You had to giggle softly, seeing that you were almost wearing mirroring outfits. Although instead of red shoes like you, he was wearing his brown boots. You gave him a soft smile, and he leaned down and gave you a soft, but chaste kiss on the lips. He took your hand and led you down the hallway and stairs, and towards the dining room. You carried Tom with your one free hand, and Roxy was close on your heels, knowing the routine by now that she was headed for her favorite kibble.
You deposited Tom beside Alpine, and he quickly started digging into his meal and Roxy made her way to her own food dish. Steve squeezed your hand and let go, before walking over to an empty chair and pulling it out for you. You sat down and waited for him to sit down beside you. He didn't disappoint, and winced as he sat down.
"You're surprisingly nimble for a hundred and seven year old man that just got shot just yesterday" Tony quipped as soon as he pulled in his chair.
"I need my Kevlar vest replaced" Steve winced as he moved his arms on top of the table.
"Already in the works, you are off missions for the next week, at least" Tony pointed at him and Pepper grabbed his hand and put it back down. "What? First Y/N, now Steve. I'm going to start having heart issues"
"I looked at the updated mission docket while I was getting ready. That's a bigger team than usual. I'm looking forward to Paris" your cheeks went a little red. You weren't looking forward to being away from Steve, Roxy or Tom however.
"Good, your abilities are what we are depending on for the mission. The team will make a distraction while you branch off and get the data" Tony informed you quickly.
"I'll have the base plans memorized by Monday" you nodded, confirming you understood.
"I'll take care of Roxy and Tom for you, since I have to sit this one out" Steve whispered in a promise to you.
"Thank you" you gave him a grateful smile. You paused to look at him for a minute, thinking about how easy it was to wake up in his arms this morning. You were glad that he stayed the night, and now your bed would smell like him tonight when you went to sleep. You weren't sure how you felt about him not being there, now that you had broken that barrier. You knew it wasn't proper, but at the same time you wanted to spend every spare second you could with him. You saw him wince as he reached for some toast in the center of the table, and you grabbed the plate for him and passed it to him. He gave a small smile and took two slices, and you put the plate back for everyone to have access to. "Maybe we should cancel our date today" you looked at Steve worriedly.
"No way, I have it all planned out" Steve shook his head quickly.
"You got shot, I think you have a pass. I'll pay you back for the tickets" you tried to reason with him.
"No, I don't want to cancel. I'm fine, I've been looking forward to this all week" Steve took your hand and in front of everyone, brought your knuckles up to his face and kissed them softly. "Don't let me down now" he added softly.
"It's just... you're clearly in a lot of pain" you sighed, feeling a little defeated.
"He's been in worse shape" Bucky quickly spoke up. "He still got up and kept going. The punk doesn't know when to slow down"
"Maybe he needs someone that will slow him down" Nat passed you the platter of food, and you quickly took what you wanted and then started filling Steve's plate with generous portions that he usually took before you reached past Steve and handed the platter to Thor. Steve grabbed your hand for a second time and kissed your knuckles again, whispering a soft thank you to you. You flushed a deep red and Wanda gave a small giggle at how shy you were suddenly acting, after a moment ago you were just taking charge.
"I think he needs someone to push him to go a little faster sometimes" Sam gave a knowing smile at the two of you. You looked at Steve and saw a small flush go across his cheeks before he started eating. You wondered what that comment could have meant, but let it go for now. Sam however continued speaking and you didn't have to keep guessing. "I mean, it took him over a year to finally make a move"
"God, I hope he doesn't move that slowly for everything," Nat said without missing a beat. You couldn't help thinking about the steamy makeout sessions, and silently agreed with her. Loki let out a small chuckle, however kept his comments to himself. You spared Steve another glace as you felt his hand settle on your thigh again, and he was grinning to himself. You thought back to sleeping with him last night, and figured you were going at a good pace. You had meant to bring him his t-shirt that he had left you in your living room, but you had forgotten it in your haste to grab Tom and Roxy for breakfast.
"Where is the date today?" Pepper broke the silence, while everyone was eating.
"It's a surprise," Steve grinned as he took another bite of bacon. You had been very generous with his breakfast portion, and wasn't sure if he could finish it all. He was, however, determined to try. "We probably won't be back for lunch," he added quickly.
"We won't?" you asked in surprise.
"Don't worry Songbird, I've got Roxy and Tom" Nat quickly reassured you.
"We have plans" Steve said cryptically, and you arched your eyebrow in curiosity. He was being so mysterious about today.