Imagine If You Assembled The Avengers: Volume 3

Poly Problematic (Rogers/Danvers x reader)

Poly relationship

Being next to Steve was never, ever awkward. Even in the beginning of the relationship, he was a place of comfort for you, and he made it so easy to fall for him. It was almost too easy, and you thought you had found the one; you had believed that with every breath in your body and with every beat of your heart until the day you met someone else. It was like a punch in the gut when you felt it, from both overwhelming connection and overwhelming guilt as Steve stood at your side none the wiser.

He had readily connected with Carol Danvers when she first came to join the Avengers team, but it was on a purely professional level for him. Sure, he liked her well enough; she was a natural on the field, and they bonded quickly in their military knowledge and experiences. It didn't take long at all for them to become friends.

But you kept quiet for a long time, waiting for the feelings for her to pass. Surely it had to be simple infatuation, right? You barely knew her, even after several months of working together, though that was your own doing for hanging back. She probably thought that you were avoiding her, and despite her attempts to draw you out and make a connection, you persisted. This feeling had to go away, and you were going to do whatever you needed to so that would happen. You needed to because you loved Steve and that was it.

It wasn't it, though.

She had broken you down and you finally let her in, you talked for hours at a time, connecting with her just as easily as you had with Steve and it was exhilaratingly terrifying. She was magnetic and addicting, and you couldn't find a way to break your habit; even when Steve began to notice. You started to hide your time spent with her, but you never pushed boundaries and you remained faithful to Steve; you remained physically faithful to him but your emotions were willing to be shared. You were getting just enough of a hit to keep your cravings satiated but you had no idea how long it would last. When you couldn't take it anymore and the guilt told you that you had to do something about this, it was time to talk to Steve. You couldn't imagine losing him, but you also couldn't maintain what felt like a lie.

It went nothing like what you would have expected from him, from a man of his time. Never in a million years would you have foreseen it, but once you told him everything, and made it clear that your feelings for him hasn't wavered, he did the unexpected. The almost unthinkable. He agreed to share you if that's what would make you happy. That's all he cared about, was that you were happy, and that you still loved him too. He knew it would be challenging, and he prepared himself for the jealousy that was sure to arise, but he did his due diligence. After a slightly uncomfortable talk with Natasha and Thor when Tony and Bucky completely shunned him, and a few books of study on polyamory, he took the leap.

Everything was great for a long time. The two of them never argued over you, and they maintained their professionalism on the field. There was never an interest from either of them to connect with each other as you had with them, but you told them both that if they ever wanted to pursue more, it wasn't off the table.

Since she worked across the span of the universe, Carol was gone frequently, sometimes for much longer than she was home. It left you feeling like a part of yourself was missing, and it was sometimes a lot to handle. Steve always understood, but over time it became a little harder on him too. Not because he missed her in any way, but because he hated to see you upset in a way that he couldn't help fix.

"(Y/N)?"

Gently rolling over in your bed towards him, you put your book on the bedside table and glanced back over your shoulder. He had been reading too, but now he looked as if he had abandoned that idea long ago and had been staring at you for who knew how long. "Yeah?"