The Captain's shield flew over your head, creating a breeze through your hair but narrowly missing you while skillfully and accurately hitting the Hydra guard in the chest, knocking him out. You had practiced this with him for a while; you were perfect fighting partners and always worked as a team, so you developed signals for various techniques, and the shield was the first to be worked out. If you were going to be working so closely, you had to be sure that you knew when to duck.
"Beautiful throw, Cap!" You stood and ran past him to storm the bunker behind you with Tony. As you passed, your hand landed a firm smack on his butt. He jumped and spun around to look at you, hearing you laugh as you ran into heavy fire. You saw it as a teammate sign of approval, but he saw it as a reason to be confused and bewildered.
When the battle had been won and the team was loading onto the jet for the ride home, you knew Steve would bring it up. It was just one of those things that happened without any thought, and you hoped it wouldn't get you into trouble. Steve could be just as playful as the rest of the team, but during missions he would be all business.
"(Y/N)."
He sat next to you with a small nod in your direction, but didn't say any more for the rest of the flight back. You didn't really want to bring it up either, so you sat in silence during the awkward trip. Once you arrived, however, Steve turned to you once the rest of the team had departed.
"Why did you do that?"
"Do what?" You gave him your best innocent look, knowing full well what he was asking.
"When your...hand...when you...on my..."
"Steve, spit it out."
He leaned closer to you now, keeping his voice low, looking behind him to be sure that none of the other team members were listening, then quickly back to you. "Why did you slap my ass?"
"Cap, it was just a 'go team' sort of thing." You smiled faintly, trying to insinuate that it was nothing more than an innocent occurrence. You really didn't want this to become a big deal, and you were beginning to regret the whole thing. "Like they do in sports, you know? When the quarterback connects with the receiver, like you did with the shield?"
He sighed and nodded his head, contemplating the reasoning that you had given him. When he accepted it and finally stood, he disembarked from the jet, ready to head back to his room for the night. He paused before he was out of sight and turned back to you, "okay, good. Well then, thanks for the support, I guess."
~~~
You really were trying to not let the hand slip happen again, but it was inevitable; the target was just too tempting. You had found Steve attractive since the day he recruited you to the Avengers, but being your superior officer it was more than inappropriate for you to pursue anything. Working as a pair, so closely and for so long now, your friendship was solid and you had given up on it ever becoming more.
"(Y/N), on your six!"
As you raised your arm into the air, just as Steve had taught you, the shield connected; you spun and covered yourself as the shots bounced from it. "Thanks, Cap!" You shifted it to your hand and threw it swiftly into the assailant, knocking his weapon away and throwing him back into the building behind him. The shield bounced off several trees and returned to Steve's arm. You ran past him, and your hand joined with its target; the Captain jumped slightly at the sensation, and you squeezed your eyes shut in regret of the slip you had just made. He turned sharply to look at you, his eyes wide.
"Shit. Cap, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to-"
A shot rang out that clipped him in the back, knocking him towards you; but you leapt forward to grab him as he fell. "No, no, no! Steve!" He was much heavier than you anticipated, but you were able to lower him to the ground without causing him too much pain. "Steve, are you okay?"
"Worth it," he groaned, his hand clutching his lower back, rolling over to look at you. His face was squeezed into a grimace, holding his breath as he spoke. "Hope this wasn't your plan, getting me immobilized to get my attention."
"Oh my god, Steve. Seriously?" Covering him with your own body, you easily shot the guard who took him down. Looking around the battlefield, none of your teammates were in sight. There was no way you could lift him, and he wasn't in any shape to walk, so you called for reinforcements. "Tony, can we get the Captain a lift, please? He's becoming delirious."
"Oh, yes." You looked down at him with a smirk as he spoke, his own expression oddly playful given his current condition. "I'm completely crazy, (Y/N)."
~~~
"Well, thankfully, this wound is fairly minor. I've gotten the bullet out, and should have you back in one piece in a few minutes." After a few moments of silence as you stitched his wound closed, you gave a heavy sigh, knowing that this was your fault. But how would you apologize? Would he even accept? Had you damaged your working relationship with the best partner you ever had?
"Listen, Steve, I'm sorry. This is completely my fault, I don't know what came over me." Your words were rushing out, desperate to make it all okay. "It's just...I was goofing around, maybe trying to be funny...I don't know...but I don't want this to screw up working together. You're the best partner that I've ever-"
Your apology was interrupted when he rolled onto his side, grabbing you behind your neck, pulling you to him for a kiss that sent a shock through your body. He sat up to wrap his other arm around your waist, lifting you from your chair and onto him. When the kiss ended, he looked at you and gave you a mischievous smile. "I'm sorry. You were saying?"
"I was saying, um, that I was sorry." You struggled to catch your breath, your gaze darting from his eyes to his lips for just a second. "For being a distraction. It won't happen again." Your expression changed to shock when you heard and felt a slap to your own behind, followed by a tight squeeze.
"Well, (Y/N), I'm sorry that I can't make the same promise."