"Dad, can we not have this argument again? I just want to train like you said we would, Peter will be over soon and the last thing I want is to start another screaming match like yesterday." I huffed.
Dad rolled his eyes at me before walking towards the front door, we'd been fighting non-stop since I brought up the field trip yesterday.
Katie called me earlier saying tonight was cancelled due to last minute maintenance being done on the building, because of that I wanted to train instead so I'd keep my part of the bargain with dad.
"Only till five-thirty, tell Peter to head over quick if he wants to be involved." He said as we got to the elevator.
I pulled out my phone and texted Peter, as weird as it was going to sound, I really hoped dad and Sharon her a room tonight so they're in a better mood tomorrow.
"Are you guys going out tonight?" I asked looking over to him.
"That was the plan, yes." He sighed.
"I'm sorry that I'm interrupting your date night but this is the only time I get with you now. Not to mention I'm trying to uphold my end of our deal, but whatever." I said opening my texts to Jesse.
Dad groaned beside me in frustration as we waited to reach the gym floor, there was no way I was going to let him get out of training.
The doors opened and we walked out, my eyes still on my phone looking over the most recent message from Jesse.
'How are you guys going? Any better than yesterday? I wish I could be there to distract you, I get how it is when you fight with your parents. Maybe staying at a friend house for a few days might help over the weekend? MJ might be free. -Jesse'
I smiled to myself as I read it in his voice, since our date on Friday I've been taking with him almost every day.
"Okay, two hundred pushups." Dad said snapping me from my phone.
"Warm up first?" I asked confused.
"Should've done that before." He said walking over to the rowing machine and taking a seat.
I put my phone on the floor and dropped to the ground before starting my push ups, hopefully Peter would be here soon as he was a little bummed out from not being able to train yesterday.
By the time I'd finished my push ups Peter burst through the door, he rushed over and stood beside me waiting for his instructions.
"Are those the school gym clothes?" I asked looking at him as I stood.
"Yeah, I couldn't find anything else." He said giving me a hand.
"Less talking more working, two-hundred mountain climbers." Dad instructed.
We dropped to the ground and got to work, though it didn't take long for me to start getting tired.
"Two-hundred crunches, then a hundred squats." He said pacing.
I huffed before dropping flat and rolling onto my back, the bright lights made it impossible to keep my eyes open.
"Hurry up, I haven't got all night." He said firmly.
By the time we'd finished he called it a night, without a word he left the gym leaving us on the ground panting in exhaustion.
"What was that about?" Peter asked.
"Hes just in a mood, since work was cancelled tonight it threw his plans off." I huffed trying to stand.
"Plans?"
"Yeah, he's going out with Sharon tonight. They've been nothing but a headache the last three days, sometimes I wish I lived alone."
"Wait, did they sign the form for tomorrow?" He asked in a panic.
"Sort of, I'm going though." I assured him.
He looked over to me puzzled as tried to regain my breath, the doors from one side of the gym started to creak open making us both look.
Clint walked in and stopped looking at the two of us sheepishly, we waved before he made his way over to us with a duffle bag across his torso.
"Hey kids, you look.. Sweaty." He said as he looked over the two of us close up.
"Yeah, thanks for noticing." I smiled.
"Looks like Steve worked you guys hard, though he didn't seem to happy when I passed him in the hall." He said dropping his bag to the floor.
"Date night." I rolled my eyes.
"Thats still a thing?" He asked almost in disgust.
"Yeah, why?" I asked as Peter had a small nap.
"She's just not his type, she's rude and obnoxious. Honestly, she's one of the most frustrating people to work with too."
"Wait, you worked with her?" I asked crossing my arms.
"Yeah, long time ago. She worked with my wife, thing was she was arrogant making it hard to work with her. The amount of time she'd make a call only for me to try and get us out of her mess, prepared me for having kids though that's for sure."
"Was gonna say, isn't that just you and Nat working together?" I giggled.
"Nat was at least reasonable most of the time, Sharon was just a pain. Though, she is a Carter so she's held up in high regard... Sadly."
I thought about Nat trying to find information on Sharon when she first started seeing dad, if Clint knew her personally why wouldn't she just go to him?
"Has Nat asked you about her?"
"Yeah, though my answers weren't what she was after." He chucked as he set up him quiver in his back.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, she came to me and I told her there was nothing I knew that she didn't already know. I try not to get close to people, my wife was the exception when I met her."
I smiled softly at him while he set up his bow, his home life was incredible considering how crazy his life was in Shield.
He use to tell me about when he was a full-time agent working with Fury, the risky missions and thrilling adventures he'd go on.
But all he wanted was a home, a family to come home to.
"How is everyone?" I asked.
"Good, thanks for asking." He smiled.
We hung around with him while he messed around with new arrow heads, Peter mainly just napped while I started questioning how the heads were made and of they were affective as throwing weapons.
My phone started playing Tom's Diner making me scuttle to get it out from my pocket, looking at my screen a picture of Jesse in his navy blue tuxedo with a huge grin popped up with his caller ID.
"Hey, what's up?" I answered.
"Hey, not much. Just wanted to see what you were up to? You working tonight?" He asked.
"No actually, last minute maintenance so they aren't playing tonight. What about you?"
"I'm working but only for an hour, I'm covering for one of the other waitresses. Did you want to hang out when I'm done?"
My lips curved into an even bigger smile as I thought about it, I hadn't been able to see him since our date since I was flat out with training and him with work.
"That sounds great, what time do you finish and where did you want to meet?"
"I'm just about to start but if you want to meet me at that little diner that I took you guys to then I'll see you around six?"
"Awesome, I'll see you then. Have fun at work." I giggled before hanging up.
"Was that your boyfriend?" Clint asked as I put my phone away.
"Yeah, that was Jesse." I smiled.
"You know, I was a little worried when Sam told me you got a boyfriend. I see you much like a daughter of my own, I know you call me your uncle but honestly sometimes I feel like your dad more than Steve is some days." He said going on a tangent.
"Okay then dad, want to go back to what your were saying in the first place?" I chuckled lifting my brow.
"Oh, yeah. I was worried about the guy, lots of weirdo types around your age. When I spoke to Steve about him though he said he was a pretty cool kid, much like you guys are. Gives me a little more hope for when my girl starts dating." He smiled as he packed away his things.
"Wait, what am I gonna do then?" Peter perked up from the floor.
"I didn't even know you were still alive." I laughed.
"Neither did I for a moment." He said sitting up.
"You can hang out upstairs if you want? I'll be back later, then we can get everything ready for the field trip." I suggested giving him a hand up.
"Ready? What do you need to get ready for a field trip that lasts a day?" Clint asked confused.
"We wanted to make sure we have all our books and stuff so we wouldn't have to go into school early, we're leaving at ten in the morning so we get a chance to grab food before be go in and have a sleep in." Peter said as he stretched.
"Thats.. Actually pretty smart, let me know how it goes. I'll be at the compound this weekend, then I'm on holiday the next five weeks." He said as he made his way towards the exit.
We followed him out of the gym and to the elevator before parting ways, we waved goodbye as we left the elevator and walked towards my apartment.
"Do you think Clint gets paid for his time off by shield still?" Peter asked as I unlocked my door.
"I think so, I believe he's still technically a shield agent but I might be wrong." I said letting us inside.
"Is it okay if I use your shower? Maybe a spare change of clothes too?" He asked as he aired out is shirt a little.
"Yeah of course, don't be too long though as I need one too." I laughed before walking to my room.
Peter had been over enough now that he kind of knew were most things were, I went through my walk in and pulled out some of the sweats that use to be Nats from when I first moved in along with a oversized jumper setting them on the bed for Peter.
While I looked for a nice outfit I thought about telling Jesse tonight, it might of been a little too soon but I also didn't want to sneak around it all with him.
Eventually I settled on one of my plain black v-neck longsleeves and some black jeans, I only had worn hoodies or my cropped jacket in my wardrobe which were not really what I wanted.
"Liz!" I heard Peter shouted from down the hall.
I rushed over to the clothes that I put aside a made my way to the bathroom, as I neared the door was slightly ajar and steam was flowing out of it.
"You should probably start leaving some spare clothes here at this point." I laughed handing the clothes through the door.
"Isn't that something that couples do though?" He asked before closing the door.
"I don't think so, dad has a change of clothes for Nat. They've come in handy a few times actually, though the bloodstains are always a pain to get out of the towels." I said through the door.
After a few minutes he opened the door with the slightly too small sweats on with the towel over his head, he'd wrapped the hoodie around his waist leaving him shirtless.
"I always forget you're hiding a six pack under your shirt." I teased jabbing his stomach.
"Knock it off, I just got my muscles to relax." He said batting my hands away.
"My turn." I said walking back to my room and collecting my clean clothes.
As I walked back to the bathroom Peter had already made himself comfortable on the couch, I flicked the side of his head playfully as I passed making him groan.
The door closed behind me as I threw my pile of clothes on the counter, stripping to nothing I got in the shower and turned it on.
"No I won't hesitate no more, no more." I sung to myself as I adjusted the temperature.
The water ran hot while the steam filled the room, I moaned softly as the water hit my skin.
There was nothing more amazing than having a hot shower after a hard workout, though, the kiss i shared with Jesse was pretty great.
After cleaning myself I got out and started drying my hair, I didn't bother putting anything in yet since my hair was dripping wet and I had no spare towel.
"Liz, it's there any snacks?" Peter asked from the hall as I shut off the dryer.
"Try the cupboard the stove!" I shouted getting dressed.
His footsteps made their way back down the hall as I pulled on my jeans, as I tried to button them they seemed a little tighter than usual.
Pulling on my shirt I walked out and over to the lounge, Peter was now sitting with a bag of popcorn in his lap and phone in hand.
"What do you think?" I asked standing next to the coffee table.
He looked up and over at me before his eyebrows raised, he looked over me wide eyed making me a little nervous.
"I think you look great, are those the jeans you bought a little bit ago?" He asked.
"Yeah, they seem to have shrunk though in the wash. They're a little tight, but I'll manage." I said moving in them a little.
"What about a jacket?"
"I'm not sure, honestly I don't really have anything that's warm enough without looking like the state of marshmallow.." I sighed.
"Do you still have Jesse's jacket from when we went bowling?"
My face lit up at his words, I hadn't had a chance to return it yet.
I ran to my bedroom and over to my chair throwing everything off it till I found it, I pulled it over me and it was a little big on me but a jumper under it should keep it snug.
"Your welcome." Peter laughed from my doorway.
"Thanks, I completely forgot." I said taking it off and putting it on the bed.
"Its okay, just bring me back some food and we'll call it even."
"What were you thinking?" I asked looking over to him.
"I don't really mind, anything hot." He shrugged.
We made our way back to the couch to watch some TV before I had to leave, thankfully he remembered where the diner was so I could look up directions.
I said goodbye to Peter and he wished me luck, part of me was excited while the other was nervous of what could happen.
As I walked out into the street the cold air hit me, with with this kind of weather you'd think it was Winter already.
I hailed a taxi in hopes of at least be able to get close to the diner before I had to meet him, my plan was to get there a little early so I could think about how I wanted to talk to him and everything.
"Here we are, that will be ten-eighty." The driver said looking at me in the rear view.
"Here, thanks." I said handing him the small change and getting out.
The diner was just round the corner now and I was about fifteen minutes early, gave me a chance to grab a drink and something to eat.
The streets were packed even for a Thursday making me a little more anxious as I walked, people knocked into me left, right and center making me clutch my bag and phone tight.
The large blue neon sign hung out the front of the diner as I finally arrived, the front entrance was very different and really was much busier.
I moved into line and waited as others were being seated, by the time I got to the front of the line my nerves had dissipated thankfully.
"Hi, welcome to- Wait, I know you."
I looked up at the waitress confused for a moment till I looked over her, she was the one that served us the night of our double date.
"Oh, hi. Delilah wasn't it?" I asked smiling.
"Yes, great memory. You're Jesse's girl aren't you?" She smirked.
I giggled as I nodded thinking about my relationship being summed up in a song title, her hand moved to my shoulder as she guided me over to the front counter.
"I'll put you over here, you can thank me later." She winked before walking back to seat others.
As I took my seat at the front counter I had people either side of me, it was loud and the jukebox was going making it hard to tune out everything around me.
"Can I help-"
My eyes shot up as I heard the voice, as I did my heart raced as a shocked Jesse stood of front of me behind the counter in a basic white apron and brown dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up.
"Hey." I said as a smile curved into my lips.
"Hey, I'm sorry I didn't think you'd be here early." He said shyly.
"I didn't realise you worked here." I said leaning forward on the counter a little.
"Yeah, my parents own it so.." He trailed off as he looked away.
The soft pink in his cheeks made me giggle as he looked down, someone called from the other end of the King counter making him snap his attention there.
"I've got to get back to work, but as soon as the waitress I'm covering for comes in we'll go okay? I'll be back." He said frantically before leaning forward and pecking my cheek.
My whole body started to tingle as he rushed off leaving me a little taken back by his affection, my hand moved to the spot on my face making me smile to myself.
Though I couldn't shake that little bit of anxiety from my mind still, he likes me now and we seem to get along really great but would be being a Rogers change that? I don't want it to chance.
I pulled out my phone and started frantically texting Peter.
'I can't do it, I can't tell him. He's going to freak out and want nothing to do with me or be super over the top about the Avengers like Ned can be.. and I can't handle that. -Liz'
'You can't keep hiding it, what if he comes to the tower? He's going to figure it out, he's not stupid. -Peter'
'Then why are you hiding it from MJ? -Liz'
'Thats different, not even May knows so I have little chance of MJ figuring it out compared to Jesse who could literally walk into the Avengers tower and see you with ANYONE. -Peter'
I sighed heavily as I looked over his text, he was right but did that really mean I should tell him?
'Fine, I'll let you know how everything goes. Later -Liz'
I slipped my phone back into my pocket and thought about how I should talk about it or even bring it up, it wasn't exactly an easy topic to talk about in general.
Hey, so I'm the daughter of Captain America and my family is the Avengers. These people include a billionaire, super soldiers, a known assassin and sniper as well as a radioactive creature who has anger issues.. Oh, and a fucking God from Norse mythology.
I pushed my face into my hands in frustration and groaned softly, I was going to scare him away for sure.
"Here's a little pick me up, I could see you were a little down so I hope this helps." Jesse said from in front of me as a few dishes clattered in front of me.
I moved my head up to see a burger and fries with a large caramel milkshake with plenty of sauce and whipped cream, my face lit up as I looked over it all.
"Its on the house, I'm so sorry but I should be finished soon." He said before walking back off to serve others.
My jaw dropped as I looked over the meal, I couldn't believe he did this for me.
"You're a lucky lady." I heard a woman say from behind me.
As I turned on my stood I saw another waitress, she had a wicked smile as she looked over me.
"Yeah, I guess I am." I said sheepishly.
"I mean Jesse is a gentleman that's for sure, but you don't know the half of it honey."
"What do you mean?" I asked confused.
"Oh he's such a sweet talker, when he first started working here he had the young girls all over him." She giggled.
I swallowed hard at her words, she had to be messing with me.
"Really? I mean, he's really sweet to me." I said looking back to my food.
"Honey, he's a little heartbreaker. Just keep your eye on him, someone else might try and steal him." She chuckled before walking away.
My heart sank as I looked at my fries, was he a player? Is that what they're called?
I finished what I could of my food as I waited for Jesse to finish, every now and then I'd get a glimpse of hicm talking with others down the other end of the counter making it hard not to stare at him.
He was very charismatic as he talked to customers making the idea of him flirting with others harder to push from my mind, I dropped my eyes again as I he started walking back towards me.
"Hey, the girl I was covering for just got here so I'm just going to grab my things." He said standing in front of me.
"Great, see you in a second then." I smiled just before he walked through the kitchen doors.
I finished off what I could of my milkshake before standing and walking toward the edge of the counter, he walked out with his bag over his shoulder running his hand through his hair.
"Lets get out of here." He said walking over to me.
"Bye Jesse!" A few of the waitresses shouted as we walked to the front door.
He didn't look behind but instead just lifted his hand and waved behind him, as we got onto the street his hand slipped into mine making me smile softly.
"Lets get out of the cold, I'm parked around the corner." He said walking along to the side alley.
"Oh, do you borrow your parents car while their away?" I asked as we walked towards the carpark behind the diner.
"Actually, this is my car. Took me a long time to pay it off but its all mine, means I don't have to worry about using my parents car while their home." He chuckled.
He lead us over to a silver Toyota Camry which looked pretty new, he unlocked it and held the door open for me making me giggle.
We got going and I couldn't help but overthink everything, maybe I shouldn't bring anything up. The car stopped and I looked around outside, we were in the driveway on a house which looked somewhat familiar.
"Is this.. Your house?" I asked.
"Yeah, well.. It's my parents house, I'm not that wealthy. But, this isn't where I usually stay."
"What?" I asked even more confused.
"My parents bought a condo in Manhattan to keep me close to school and work and this is the family house, I stay here over the weekend usually keeping the house in shape since Lily is often away and so are my parents. Come in, I'll show you round." He said before getting out the car.
I could see a light on inside the house making me nervous, the last thing I needed was to see Lily right now, as much as I missed her this wouldn't be a happy reunion.
He lead me over to the front door and my body froze as the door swung open, tunnel vision set in as my body went into full panic mode.
"You okay?" He asked as i tried to calm myself.
"D-do you mind if we just go for a walk? W-we can go in later." I stuttered.
"Yeah of course, but are you okay?" He asked as his hands went to my shoulders.
He looked down to me as my vision started to become normal again, my panic started to subside as I took in a few deep breaths.
"Yeah, I just.. Really have to talk to you about some stuff." I said dropping my eyes from his.
"That's okay, let's walk then." He chuckled.
His hand slipped into mine before we started walking away from the house, the neighborhood was thankfully quiet too making it a little easier to clear my head. The cold wind picked up a little making me scrunch up my face and pull the jacket tighter, Jesse squeezed my hand softly before moving round me and putting his other winter jacket over me.
"Thanks, but won't you be cold now?" I asked adjusting the second jacket over my shoulders.
"No, I'm fine. I run pretty warm so it's actually nice feeling the cold air. As long as you're not cold I don't care, I just hope it helps a little at least." He smiled as I looked to him.
"Thank you, you really are a sweetheart." I giggled.
"Wow, only my mom calls me a sweetheart. Thank you though, I'll take that as a compliment." He laughed.
"Really? It seemed the girls at the diner would call you that.." I trailed off.
"Oh god, what did they say to you?" He sighed rolling his eyes.
"Nothing, just that you were.. A sweet talker?" I said almost unsure if I should've even been talking about it.
"Yep, sounds about right with Emily. About my height, little older than me with blonde hair?" He asked.
"Y-yeah."
"She's full of it, don't listen to her. She's just angry with me because when I was younger I thought she was really pretty and sweet, then when I hit sixteen I turned her down because she was in her early twenties. Got all up in arms because I made a point when i was about fourteen saying I'd ask her out one day, things change and honestly I didn't really feel comfortable dating her especially after seeing how she acted towards others."
My heart sank as I thought about his words, I guess it was possible that was the case. The idea of an age gap being the problem made me feel a little self conscious though seeing as I tried to pursue Bucky for so long, I guess it was a pretty big thing even in others eyes..
"I hope she didn't make you think twice about me." He said concerned.
"Honestly, a little. But I have a hard time trusting people outside my family, so please don't take it to heart." I said smiling softly.
His lips curved into a smile before leaning closer to me, I stopped walking as he moved in front of me. The street lights were just enough to light up his face and the sidewalk we stood on, his hands moved to my waist before he leaned in and pressed a kiss to my lips.
The smell of cooking oil and milkshake topping filled my senses making me giggle as he pulled me a little closer, as he pulled away from our kiss he tilted his head softly looking over my face making me shy away.
"Sorry, been wanting to do that since I saw you in the diner." He said softly.
I giggled nervously as he pressed a kiss to the top of my head, he hugged me tight for a moment giving me time to think about what I wanted to say.
"Jesse?"
He pulled away from me a little making it easier to look at him, his smile still bright on his face as he waited for me next move.
"I really like you, but I need to be honest with you about some stuff." I said moving a little further from his grip.
His smile slowly dropped to almost a concerned look, he dropped his hands from my waist and took my hands in his instead. I could feel a lump in my throat as I tried to speak making my body hot, my grip on his hands tightened a little as I bundled up my courage.
"I haven't been completely honest about myself, it's really hard for me to talk about this so I want you to know that you can walk away if you want." I said looking at the ground.
"What do you mean?" He chuckled softly.
I looked back up to him to see his smile was back, he seemed so kind and caring that I almost didn't want to tell him.. Something like this would change a lot, not just for myself but for him.
"I-I'm.. My name is Liz Rogers.. Not Carter, that's my mother's maiden name." I whispered looking at him dead in the eye.
My heart almost stopped as I watched him process my words, the smile faded once more as he looked away thinking about what I'd said. His hands dropped from mine for a moment as he stepped back a pace or so, his hands moved up to run through his hair as he exhaled deeply.
"Look, if you want to walk away I get it. I-I just didn't want.. I didn't want to lie to you." I said nervously.
He looked up at me again and I felt like a deer in the headlights, his expression started to shift to disbelief before surprised. I moved my hand to under my armpits trying to hide away as if it would work, he stepped closer to me again before wrapping his arms around me.
His arms rested on the tops of my shoulders and his head pressed to the top of mine, we stood there in silence for a moment as I tried to understand what was happening.
I moved back from our hug to look at him again before speaking.
"I'm confused, are you okay with this?" I asked nervously.
"Yeah, yeah I am." He said as a smile creeped back onto his lips.
"Okay, so.. There's another thing." I said trying to stay calm and not explode with energy.
"Really?" He asked in shock.
"Yeah, it's about Lily.." I said shying away.
"I know where this is going, you don't need to say anything though."
I looked up at him confused before an almost guilty cheeky look found it's way to his face, I lifted my brow as I waited for him to explain.
"Lily told me about you, not a lot but she explained that you were the girl she was interested in at boarding school. She'd mentioned you being a little more than just a friend as well as you being very different, I didn't really understand what she meant at the time but everything's falling into place now." He said biting his lip.
My jaw dropped open slightly, she'd told him about me? About her crush? Oh god..
"Oh god." I started laughing.
"Oh yeah, sneaking off into the local town and playing pool. Gotta say, that's pretty badass." He smirked.
"I can't believe she told you about me, that's so awkward."
"Its not awkward, what's awkward is I've been going out with Cap-"
My hand flew up to his mouth grasping his face, he looked at me surprised by my sudden reaction.
"Maybe we should go back to your place." I suggested as I took my hand away from his mouth.
"Yeah, maybe that's for the best." He said scratching the back of his neck.
We made our way back to his house and the same room light was on up on the second floor, I held his hand as we walked to the front door.
"Lily I'm home!" He shouted as we closed the door behind us.
There was soft footsteps from above that eventually made their way to the large St of stairs in the entry way, my grip tightened a little on Jesse's hand making him move closer and peck my cheek.
Her eyes met mine as she got half way down the staircase, I couldn't help but smile as I looked at her.
"Hey." She smiled brightly.
"Hey Lily, good to see you." I smiled letting go of Jesse's hand.
She rushed down the rest of the steps before almost bowling me over in a hug, she was a little taller than I remembered now standing about MJ's height or maybe taller.
"You've grown." I laughed.
"Yeah, you haven't though." She giggled pulling away from our embrace.
"Do you think its because...?" She asked softly.
"Its okay, she told me on our walk." Jesse said walking closer.
"Wait, so I can just tap about it now?" She asked.
I smiled and nodded making her sigh heavily, I couldn't help but laugh.
Bout time, I've been avoiding telling him for so long now. Mom kept saying i could eventually but God i didn't think I'd have to wait this long." She complained.
"I get what you meant now though, she really is one of a kind." He said pecking the top of my head before walking to what looked like the lounge.
"Looks like you have him wrapped around your finger." She smirked before grabbing my hand and taking me to the lounge.
It wasn't the night I was expecting but it was good, I felt relieved that I'd told him and honestly felt safe about it.
Though, its going to be weird inviting him over now.