Longing (Steve Rogers x reader)

Loki's special tea

At the supper table you were having chicken alfredo, and when you sat down, you made sure the seat next to you remained open for Steve. You weren't feeling the best, but you felt confident in your decision.
"Songbird" Tony looked at you pointedly, and you looked back in surprise since it was normally a name that Nat reserved for you. "We were thinking about starting to train you in the lab, how does that sound?" he asked.
"In the lab?" you echoed in surprise.
"It's not like you don't know your way around a lab, but yes. Maybe even have you go back to school part time, and work the rest of the time so you'll be more comfortable in the lab with us" Tony said, and your eyes narrowed. Steve came into the room at that moment and sat down next to you and you glared at him, thinking this was his doing. He looked at you in surprise and confusion.
"What about my missions?" you asked, your voice clipped.
"You can still go on missions, but with a brain like yours it would be a waste not to have you working in the lab with us. Besides we are very behind on data entry and you are quick on the computer" Tony shrugged passing the food around.
"Do you have something to do with this?" you looked at Steve accusingly.
"No Angel, I don't" Steve shook his head.
"He did come to us with concerns, but we had already talked about it. You belong with this family, and we want you to feel confident that you always have a home here, regardless if you want to be in the field or not. You have been getting hurt more lately, so we discussed options between Tony and I. Steve had nothing to do with this" Pepper reassured you.
"I'm sorry, it's just... we had a discussion earlier and..." you trailed off.
"Yeah, you went MIA" Scott said. "We all got the text wondering where you were"
"MIA?" Thor asked him.
"Missing in action, she disappeared," he explained.
"Ah, who was watching Roxy and Tom?" Thor asked.
"I was," Steve and Bucky said at the same time.
"I'd love to have you in the lab with me Starshine" Bruce looked at you with hopeful eyes.

"I'll think about it," you decided. "I mean, it is what I wanted to go into," you added softly.
"Great! I'll get you enrolled in an online class to start" Tony picked up the phone and started typing into it.
"Whoa whoa whoa, wait. Just let me think about it" you flushed, thinking things were changing too quickly.
"Too late" Tony grinned from ear to ear. "It's just online classes, we will schedule your missions around them"
"But I still want to do my missions" you started eating, chewing your food and speaking slowly when food wasn't in your mouth.
"Done" Tony agreed. "I'll make sure to use your work email and I want to be appraised of your classes"
"And you can come to me with questions," Bruce added.
"Where are you enrolling me?" you asked Tony.
"MIT" he shrugged and you balked.
"Tony, I can't afford that!" you tried to argue.
"But I can, I want you in the lab with me. Only the best for my team" he said, and put his phone away.
"Are we having tea this evening?" Loki asked you.
"Yes, that would be lovely," you nodded eagerly.
"Good, I shall make the tea today. You look a little under the weather" he pointed out.
"I'm just a little light headed" you admitted. "I thought it was stress," you added softly.
"Regardless of the actual cause, I'll be making your tea" he went back to his food.
"Are you mad at me Angel?" Steve asked softly. You looked at him and saw the worry in his eyes, and you couldn't hold anything against him.
"Of course not, my love" you assured him. He gave a broad smile and nodded to himself before digging into his food. You took a large piece of garlic bread from the middle of the table and took a bite before continuing with your pasta.

Scott insisted on taking Roxy out for her walk while Sam and Bucky sulked about it, but decided to join him while you lost Tom to Loki who carried him back upstairs with pride. You went back to Nat and Bruce's suite to grab your belongings then joined Steve in the suite and saw he was pacing the floor.
"Doll, I swear Tony had everything planned out before I even got there. I just brought up the idea of having kids and he mentioned having you in the lab. I was supposed to get to talk to you first" Steve blurted out as soon as the door was closed.
"It's okay, baby. I get it. Tony always likes to be the first to bring things up anyways" you gave a soft smile.
"I made you something" you handed him the bundle of items all wrapped up. Steve took it curiously and first unwrapped the scarf and he grinned before a pair of baby booties fell to the floor and he looked at them in shock. He quickly picked them up and looked at you.
"Is this your answer?" he asked hopefully.
"Yes Steve, I want to take that step with you" you nodded and he quickly wrapped his arms around you and pulled you in for a tight hug. He kissed you hard on the lips until you relaxed in his hold, then his kiss became sweeter and softer. His tongue dancing with your own in your mouth. You felt connected to him so intimately in that moment. It was like you had overcome another hurdle in your relationship, and felt glad for it.
"We should get started," he pulled back from the kiss.
"You've already started!" you burst out laughing. "How about cuddles for tonight?" you asked him with your best doe eyes.
"Fine, but since there are no missions this week, don't be surprised if I drag you upstairs for a quickie" he winked at you and you flushed.
"Loki is going to be here soon" you reminded him.
"Loki knows to give us a few minutes" he pulled you in for another soul searing kiss. You couldn't help but think you would never get tired of his kisses. His hands went to your ass and he squeezed and pulled up. You did a small hop and wrapped your legs around his hips as he held onto you. He took a few steps and pushed you up against the door and thrust his hips forward slightly just so you could feel what you were doing to him. He wanted you, end of story. You wanted him, but your body needed a little bit of a break. You felt like throwing caution to the wind when a polite knock came at your door and Steve groaned. You tapped him on his shoulders and he pulled back from the kiss and sighed heavily before setting you down gently on your feet. You saw the scarf and booties had been discarded on the floor along with your knitting needles and Steve was quick to pick it all up. You fixed your clothes and opened the door to see Loki standing there with Tom under one arm, and holding a box of tea with his other hand.
"Good evening" he gave a soft smile.
"Hello Loki" you invited him in. He nodded and came into the room and headed directly to the kitchenette, taking down all the mugs he needed, honey, and the milk from the fridge. You went to go help him but he shooed you out of the room.
"I brought a special tea just for you, the rest of us will have the cream of earl grey" Loki advised you.
"Why do I get special tea?" you asked, confused.
"In good time. You'll like this one, it will help with the light headedness you have been experiencing" he assured you.
"What does it taste like?" you were curious and looked to see the tea bags were hand filled and made by him.
"You will like it" he promised.
"Did you make it?" you asked.
"Yes" he nodded. "Now go choose your book, you haven't been reading as much lately and you need to relax" he pointed out. You happily went to the living room and selected a romance novel that you had been eyeing for a while. Loki finished with the tea, and you saw he had made two hot chocolates, three teas, and had a cup waiting to the side.
"Jacket" Steve reminded you and you giggled, making your way to the bedroom to grab your jacket and slipper boots to go outside to enjoy the sunset. You were first out the door, but Steve was close behind you with one of his extra blankets. He laid it across the swing so you wouldn't be bothered by the freezing cold furniture. You smiled at him, and he held the door open for Loki to come out. Loki walked out with the three mugs and handed you the large pink one. You sniffed at it curiously and it smelled like Christmas in a cup. You hummed happily and took a sip and the flavors exploded across your tastebuds. It tasted like Christmas in a cup. You moaned and sat back a little more relaxed. You noticed the dizziness was going away quickly and you gave a quick smile to Loki.
"Thank you, this is wonderful" you grinned.
"Anytime. Drink that every morning for the next while, it will keep your flu symptoms away" Loki promised.
"I'll drink this everyday regardless. How did you make this?" you asked curiously.
"I have some herbs from Asgard, and from a local apothecary to make different types of teas. The store bought teas don't always settle as well for me" he admitted. Steve sat down beside you and pulled you in and you cuddled into him.
Tom, who had been following Loki around since supper, came out onto the balcony and meowed as Loki sat down. He took the opportunity to jump up on his lap and settle in. The three of you looked out at the sunset of reds and golds and couldn't help but feel lucky to be together with this makeshift family you had forged on the compound grounds.