Longing (Steve Rogers x reader)

Horseback riding

Steve woke up as the sun was peeking through the windows and he looked down at you still sound asleep beside him. You looked so peaceful, and he was itching to document it. He pulled slightly away, and you moaned in your sleep before curling up more on the bed away from him. He breathed a sigh of relief, and reached under the bed for his bag and grabbed his sketching supplies. He sat up on the bed, and used his leg as a makeshift table before he started drawing you asleep soundly beside him. His eyes traced every line, every curve, and brought it to life on paper in shades of grey with his pencils. You moved to lay more on your back, and brought one hand up to rest on your forehead, and he smoothly changed pages, starting out on a fresh drawing. He could hear movement out in the hallway, and the distinct sound of Roxy making her way down the stairs, but you barely stirred and he continued drawing. You hummed in your sleep just as he was finishing his second sketch and you slowly opened your eyes with a slight frown on your face at the loss of body warmth.
"Steve?" you asked, blinking your eyes open.
"I'm right here, baby doll" he whispered to you and you looked at him with a small smile on your face.
"Why are you over there?" you asked, reaching out your hand to him. He proudly showed you his two sketches and you blushed slightly. He had thankfully left out the black eye from his drawings. "You're so talented" you whispered to him.
"I was inspired" he chuckled and put his sketchbook and supplies on the bedside table. "I think everyone is up already"
"The kids usually come in and jump on the bed in the morning" you gave a soft smile.
"I must have scared them away, or they are too excited with Roxy here" he gave a soft wink and you giggled. You reached for your phone and frowned at the time.
"I slept in a lot," you sighed to yourself.
"You must have needed it" Steve shrugged easily and he slowly got out of bed. "Do you need the washroom?" he asked, wanting to be attentive to your needs.
"I do need to use it quickly" you nodded and he gestured for you to go. You got out of bed and made your way to the bathroom and used the facilities before flushing and washing your face quickly. You didn't want to take too long, so you came back out and Steve nodded to you and went in to use the bathroom quickly. You took out a clean pair of dark blue panties and bra in satin material, before picking out your wool socks, dark blue jeans, a black undershirt and beige cable knit sweater for the day. Steve came out as you were finishing putting on your sweater, and he opened his drawers and started pulling out a clean pair of boxer briefs, a pair of light blue jeans, and a long sleeved white henley. You smiled at him and headed back into the bathroom to brush your teeth and hair. You carefully put your hair back in a bun, and added some moisturizer to your face. You thought about the time, but frowned at yourself, not wanting the kids to see your black eye fully. You started putting on your makeup carefully, making sure to distribute it evenly before adding a light brown eyeshadow and a black eyeliner. You finished with some lip gloss and came back out to see Steve had made the bed and was sitting on the side of it waiting for you.
"Thank you for waiting," you gave a soft smile and stood in front of him.
"It's not without its rewards" he hummed to himself standing up, and he quickly gave you a soft, lingering kiss on the lips. "Are you ready to go?" he asked in a whisper.
"Always" you gave him another quick kiss on the lips and grabbed his hand, leading him out of the room.

"Where's the boys and Roxy?" you asked as you got downstairs. You saw Clint was standing behind the couch and working on his braid for Lila who was sitting completely still. Laura seemed to be running around like a hummingbird in the kitchen, moving from one spot to the next.
"Outside playing until breakfast. She's got them wrapped around her paw. They actually had a sleepover in Connors room last night so they could share her" Clint grinned proudly. "Makes me think about actually getting them a dog, just to see them get along more"

"Laura, let me help you" you quickly hurried to the kitchen and she stopped to give you a grateful smile.
"Where's all the dishes? I'll set the table" Steve quickly offered, joining you.
"Thank you, you two" she sighed and quickly started showing Steve around the kitchen while you took over making the eggs and bacon, remembering how everyone took them. You had noticed that Steve liked the yolk in his eggs when at the compound, he would always grab an extra egg if there was yolk, so you knew to make him three. Laura took a moment to breathe before she went to the island and continued with preparing what you figured was the lunches for the day. Steve came over and started working on the toast while you continued with breakfast, and gave you a soft kiss on the cheek when you looked so focused on what you were doing. You looked at him and gave him an adoring smile before going back to the bacon again. The eggs were basically done except for yours, and you didn't want to burn the bacon. Laura finished with making the lunches and put them into containers.
"Honey, can you call the boys in?" Laura called into the living room as you started on your eggs. You were getting admittedly hungry, and took the bacon off the stove.
"I'll get right on it, almost done," Clint called back. Steve started asking what plate went where, and you instructed him quickly, telling him who's was who's and he nodded, adding two slices of toast to each plate, along with a few slices of bacon each. By the time you were done plating your own food, Steve put on your bacon and toast for you and you gave him a quick kiss just as Clint called for the boys to come into the house. Lila came running into the kitchen and she filled Roxy's kibble bowl while everyone made their way to the table.
"How was your first morning in the fray?" Clint looked at Steve with a twinkle in his eye.
"I loved it, I hope there's more" Steve answered back honestly.
"There's always more" Clint winked at him good naturedly.
"How did you two sleep?" Laura asked once everyone was settled in.
"A little too well, I slept in" you admitted softly. "I didn't have the boys or Lila come in and wake me up"
"I warned them that you two might be sleeping naked" Clint chuckled evilly. Your face went bright red and you sputtered slightly, not knowing what to say to that.
"That's how he keeps them out of our room" Laura whispered to you and you nodded, looking at Steve who was grinning to himself.
"Did you sleep naked?" Nathaniel asked quietly.
"I sometimes do" you didn't lie.
"With Steve in your bed too?" he asked quickly, and you felt your face flush again.
"That's what two people do when they love each other," Laura quickly explained and gave him a look that told him the rest of the conversation was off of the table.
"Have you ever rode a horse, Steve?" Clint asked after a prolonged silence as everyone was eating.
"When I was in the howling commandos I did, and I went on a few dates over a year ago where they wanted to go horseback riding" Steve paused before answering.
"Then you should be just fine," Clint smirked to himself. "We have a few extra horses in the back"
"I'm staying home today, I want a bubble bath" Laura told him quickly. "Steve can have my horse," she added.
"You're not coming?" you asked in surprise.
"Not today, I need a day" she gave a small smirk. "Besides, I have a babysitter all day tomorrow" she chuckled looking at you. "You and Steve have a full weekend"
"I'm looking forward to it" Steve put his hand on your lap and Lila looked over with a knowing smirk. You gave her a small smile and went back to your food.

After breakfast it was like a whirlwind of excitement as the kids went to get ready for horseback riding. Laura pointed out that Roxy was exhausted, where she was fast asleep beside her food bowl. She told you not to worry about her, and just leave her at home for today. You hesitantly agreed, wondering if Roxy would really be okay. You knew Laura would take good care of her, and she seemed to be fitting in with the family easily, and that eased your anxiety. You agreed to leave her with Laura and headed out to the barn to help saddle everyone up. You got your regular horse, a tall brown and black mare with a star on her forehead named Star. Steve got Laura's black stallion and got up on him easily. The kids started leading the way out and you made your way along the side of the vast forest that lined Clint's property. You knew you were headed to the river that was a few hours ride away. You took in the fall leaves that were quickly changing, and the bit of chill in the air. The sun beating down on all of you seemed to be your biggest reprieve, helping you stay at least a little bit warm. You had regretted not grabbing your jacket for the weekend, or borrowing one of Clint's for the ride. You chanced a few looks over at Steve who looked perfectly comfortable, riding right beside you the whole way. Lila and Cooper had their own horses, but Nathaniel was riding behind his dad on his horse, everyone was still a little anxious about letting him ride on his own.
When you stopped at the riverside, you looked out and marveled at the fact that there wasn't a neighbor in sight, and Clint really had the perfect getaway. You got off Star and helped Lila while Steve went directly to Nathaniel to help him down. Cooper was able to get down on his own, and seemed to be very independent. You couldn't help but think he was growing up quickly.
Clint let the horses go graze while he set up the small picnic, but no one was hungry yet. The boys went to skip some rocks while Lila asked you to sit on the ground so she could play in your hair. She took your hair out of its bun and quickly started working on a matching braid to hers, while Steve and Clint joined the boys with skipping rocks. You hummed thinking this was perfect, and Lila turned on some of her music to play softly while she played in your hair. You kept your eyes closed as she worked. As soon as she was done, she came around and took a selfie with you and you both made kiss faces at the camera and giggled at how silly you were being. You both laid back and gazed at the clouds and pointed out different shapes to one another. You were at it for a while, while Steve came over and laid down on the grass beside you, taking your hand in his and looked up and joined in on the game. You looked over at Steve and he gazed back at you, bringing up your hand and kissed your knuckles with a soft smile on his face. You couldn't imagine loving him more than you did at that moment. You realized you had likely been in love with him for a long time, and you were ready for whatever life was going to throw at you.