"You guys, grow up. This has to be you. No one is gonna believe it if any of us pair up, and we need her skills to get inside their heads," Tony insisted. "Cap, off you go. Natasha's ready to darken up that hair, and you need to let your beard grow in."
Steve's eyes widened as he looked at Tony and then to you, "you aren't serious. You're not."
Tony grabbed Steve's shoulders and spun him around, giving him a solid push towards the exit and a firm slap on the arm. "Everyone knows what you look like, genius. Can't be undercover if you don't cover."
Once the Captain gave in and finally left the room, Tony turned to you with a wide grin full of mischief, and you were immediately worried about your own fate for this mission. "You, young lady, have something special." He opened a drawer at his work station and pulled out a box that held a beautiful diamond ring of at least three carats, at your best guess.
"No. Hell no," you resisted, holding your hands up and trying to back away. "Tony, that looks real. I can't."
"It is, and you will."
He smiled as he walked around the table, holding the ridiculously expensive bauble between his fingers. "Now don't worry, sweetheart, it's just a loan. We have to make this as convincing as we can. Gimme," he commanded, taking your left hand and sliding the ring over your finger. "See? Perfect fit."
You looked down at your hand in disbelief, terrified by the trust he was placing in you with it. A slight wave of nausea came with the realization of how real they were making your identities; how far would they make you go into it? You had only worked and trained with Steve directly a handful of times, normally being paired with Clint or Natasha for stealth missions rather than the smash and grab type that Steve led.
"So, um," you said with a quiet cough, "any other surprises for me?"
"Of course! This is me! I came up with this genius move all on my own!" Tony ran to the back of the lab but you lost sight of him and it only made you more nervous as to what he would appear with. When he finally came back into the light, your jaw dropped and your heart felt like it had sunk into your stomach.
"Check it out!"
"Tony," you choked, "even you can't be this cruel." You covered your mouth with your hand and stared at him, "how do you expect me to work in that thing?"
His smile only grew as he held up the vest in front of himself, laughing out loud at the thought of you wearing it.
"No one is gonna shoot an expectant mother, right?"
~~~
After a week of studying the personalities, routines and acquaintances of your targets, the two of you felt confident enough in your own covers to begin the mission. You were expected to infiltrate a group believed to be a developing HYDRA cell, but posing as a marital support group led by the two people you were assigned to take out.
"You're shaking," you whispered to Steve, sitting next to you in the circle of what appeared to be married couples. "Calm down."
He reached over and took your hand, but you had to fight the urge to pull it away. Of course your "husband" would hold it, so you should be better prepared for casual contact with Steve.
"I am calm," he whispered back, "it's...chilly in here."
You chuckled quietly at his lame attempt at a lie and gave his hand a squeeze as the group leaders walked into the room. Now would be the moment of truth; would they recognize you? Your face wasn't as well known as some of your teammates, but even with his darker hair and beard, Steve had features that were hard to conceal.
"Good evening, everyone," they began, looking around the room and pausing for a moment on you. "We have two new members joining us today, so please make them feel welcome." The man pointed towards you and gave you a smile that felt contrived and forced, making you uneasy. "Please, introduce yourselves, if you would be so kind."
Steve's grip on your hand tightened, so much so that you felt a sting as the blood began to drain from your fingers. He stood first then pulled you up to meet him, releasing your hand to wrap his arm around you and bring you into him. "Hello, I'm Sam, and this is my wife, Maria." Tony thought it would be funny to use team names, but also to be sure you wouldn't forget them.
"Have we met before?" the man's partner asked, eyeing the two of you suspiciously. "You look really familiar to me."
"I don't think so," you replied with a smile, glancing up to Steve. "We only just moved here about a week ago, and this is the first time that we've been able to leave the house." You gently rubbed your hand down the front of your falsely rounded belly and sighed, "there's still so much to do and we're almost out of time to do it."
"Well, nonetheless, we are glad to have you join us. I'm Robert and this is my wife, Liz." The pair took their seats and you followed suit, sitting back in your chairs with Steve's hand returning to yours. The man was still looking at you, holding your gaze though he was addressing the group. "Let's begin, shall we? Alright, everyone, take a deep breath and calm your mind."
~~~
With the first meeting done, Steve helped you into the car and hurried around to the driver's seat, slamming the door and quickly starting the vehicle to speed away.
"Steve, seriously. Calm down. Does undercover make you that nervous?"
He drove without saying anything until you were nearly back to the house and about to enter the garage. "It's not being undercover, even though it's not really my strength, I admit. I just have a really bad feeling about this, (Y/N). I don't feel ready to protect you...us, here."
"I can handle myself."
"No, I know that," he smirked, "believe me, I've seen it." He slowly pulled the car into the drive and waited as the garage door opened. He didn't drive in right away, pausing to be sure there were no surprises awaiting you inside. "What I mean is, I can't protect us from what they do to people. They brainwash and manipulate, and I don't know how to fight that."
You turned in your seat to face him and put your hand over his, still tightly gripping the steering wheel. "Okay, how about this? We've had our first meeting, we still know who we are, and we're home safe. Let's grab dinner and try to get some sleep. We have all day tomorrow to get a plan set, alright?"
"Yeah, you're right. You're right," he sighed, smiling slightly, but then grinning more as he looked at you.
"What?"
"Nice touch, by the way, that whole rubbing the belly thing. Very convincing."
"Thanks,' you said with a nod, looking down at the contraption you were still wearing, "I'm not the mommy type, so this is probably the only time I'll ever look down and see this. But don't get me wrong, I'm more than ready to rip this off, so get a move on, Rogers."
~~~
After the movie was done and the dinner dishes were cleared, you were eager to finally get some sleep after the long day of moving into the house and coming face-to-face with your targets. The shower was a little smaller than the one you were accustomed to at the tower, but it still provided a nice hot respite for your tired body to relax in, and you took your time allowing the water to soothe you, nearly falling asleep standing up. You finally convinced yourself to exit, quickly wrapping a towel over your hair and another around your body so you could quickly brush your teeth before drying off.
"(Y/N)?" Steve's voice said timidly through the door, with a small knock to follow.
"Come on in."
"Hey, did you notice- oh, sorry!" He opened the door and walked in but hurried out when he saw you in only the towel that only barely covered you. "I thought you said come in."
"I did," you chuckled, "it's fine, Steve. After that last time we patched each other up, I think the mystery is gone."
You watched a slight hint of pink grow in his cheeks as he re-entered the room, still averting his eyes from any point near you. "Right. Well, okay, um, did you notice that there's only one room in this house?"
"I did."
"So I'll be on the couch then if you need me."
"What?" You quickly spit out the last of your toothpaste and reached through the door to pull him back towards you. You hadn't even thought about the idea that he would so chivalrous, but you should've known better. "Steve, come on. We can share the bed. We're adults."
He looked down the hall, then into the bedroom, back down the hall, and finally to you. "I suppose it would be more comfortable. It's a pretty small couch..."
You gave him a pat on the arm and turned him towards the bedroom, pushing him through the door. You had slept next to each other on a mission before, and other than it being in a bed and not on a hard floor of the jet, this would be no different. When you looked at the uncertain expression on Steve's face, you suddenly realized that Stark had done this on purpose. Any opportunity to embarrass the Captain was an opportunity eagerly taken, but you would work hard to not let that happen this time.
Taking your time to finish drying your hair so that he would have time to settle in to the idea of shared quarters, you finally made your way into the bedroom to see him uncomfortably balancing himself at the very edge of the mattress, leaving a large empty space on the other side. When Steve saw you in the doorway, watching him struggle, he sighed and laughed quietly at himself, rolling over onto his back.
"Okay, okay. It's fine. I'm fine. Just get in."
You carefully slid under the blankets, taking extra care to not make any contact with Steve, just so that you didn't scare him off. Reaching up to turn off the lamp on the table next to you, you paused to turn back to look at him over your shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile. "Don't worry Cap, this is business."
Within minutes of darkness filling the room, both you were fast asleep and no longer caring about the new arrangements. A few hours later, however, you woke slightly disoriented, still exhausted, and feeling like you were sleeping inside a hot oven. In your half-awake state you could feel heat emanating from Steve, but you also felt something holding you down; the blankets didn't seem so heavy when you got into bed, but maybe you had taken them all as you slept.
You opened one eye and startled, quickly opening the other to find Steve's arm draped over you, and yours over him, lying wth your head on his shoulder. As you came to full wakefulness you realized that your legs were interwoven together and you had no way to escape them without waking him too.
"Steve," you whispered, but got no reply. "Steve, wake up."
"Hmmm?"
"Captain Rogers," you said a little louder with more determination, "wake up."
He took in a deep breath and pulled you tighter to his chest before the recognition hit him and his eyes shot open. Instinctively he pushed you away, gasping at what had just happened. His face was immediately bright red, and you couldn't help but feel bad for him, but also a little bit to blame for the whole thing.
"Hey, it's okay," you said, trying to reassure him.
Steve's eyes were still wide, sitting up to turn on the lamp. He sat in silence for several minutes, and you knew not to interrupt his thoughts, so you waited. When he finally stood, he still refused to look your way as he made his exit. "I'll be on the couch."
~~~
The next morning was a dance that you had perfected without a single moment of practice. He grabbed his coffee while you cooked the bacon and eggs. You poured your juice while he made the toast. You sat and ate together, but in silence and without words. He left first, cleaning his dishes and going to dress for the day. When he returned, you left to do the same. Hours had passed before eye contact was even considered, and it came only when the official business of the mission was discussed.
"I'm going to invite Robert and Liz over to see the house in a few days, so we should get ready."
"Okay, good," Steve replied, still looking at the tablet on the table in front of him, "we need to go over this list of questions so we don't forget anything."
You stood from your chair and walked to him to take the tablet, but he didn't freely offer it to you when you reached towards him. His fingers were tapping on its edges nervously, trying to keep his focus on the job and not the uncomfortable topic that he was clearly avoiding. If this mission was to go forward so that you would look like a legitimate couple, this needed to be resolved immediately.
"Nothing happened, Steve. Let it go before you jeopardize this mission."
"I knew it was a bad idea."
"Yeah, that was just scandalous," you huffed, reaching down to yank the tablet from him forcefully and returned to your chair across the table from him. "How can we live with ourselves?"
Steve pushed his chair back harshly with a loud scrape against the floor and stood, leaning over you with his closed fists pressed against the table. He was mad but you weren't about to back down; he was taking this too far and it needed to be stopped. You stood to challenge him, mimicking his stance across from him, holding his gaze despite your instinct to back down under his authority as your superior.
"You don't understand, (Y/N)-"
"No, Captain, you don't understand," you snapped, "you need to pull it together. When we leave here today, you know as well as I do that we're probably going to come home to a bugged house. You saw how they looked at us; they're suspicious. From this moment on, we need to act the parts we were sent to play or we will lose. I shouldn't have to tell you to keep your head in this mission, Steve, but here I am. Focus on the damn job."
Steve stood straight and smiled, completely unexpectedly when you had anticipated being reprimanded for your outburst. He nodded and sighed, sitting back down in acceptance of his own scolding. "Yes, ma'am."
~~~
"Honey, I'm going to bed!" you yelled down the stairs to Steve, doing your best to remember his alias and not messing it up in case the house really was bugged. "Don't be too far behind me!"
"Five minutes!" he called back, so you finished up in the bathroom and tucked yourself into bed, waiting for him to join you before turning out the lights. The night before was such a disaster that you would be lying if you didn't think you were nervous about tonight, hoping that he could maintain your cover and stay in bed for the entire night. You were just about to drift off when you felt the mattress sink slightly under his weight, so you rolled over to make sure he was doing okay this time.
"Hey, baby," you said, though it felt uncomfortable to be talking to your Captain that way, "are you feeling better? I know last night you weren't doing so well."
"I feel much better tonight, don't you worry." He slid his legs under the blankets and pulled off his t-shirt, throwing it on the floor next to him. It was hard to not stare, and you did your best to not, but it was clear that you were failing when he stared back and waited for you to stop. "Okay, well good night, doll," he finally interrupted, leaning over to kiss your cheek. "I...love you."
"Yeah," you said as you cleared your throat, breaking your gaze from his muscular form, "love you, too."
~~~
That night it happened again; a few hours later you woke with your head against Steve's chest, your arms around each other, and your legs intertwined. Both times you had no recollection of how you got there, and there were no dreams that would have precipitated it.
"Honey, wake up." You nudged him a little, trying to not startle him and risk a reaction that would give you away. "Sam, honey, wake up."
Steve snored quietly a few times before opening his eyes, this time not moving as quickly to release you. "Sorry," he whispered, "I don't know why." He slid his arm from beneath you and rolled to his side as far away from you as he could get for the rest of the night.
The next night was the same, and the night after that. Each time, however, he was slower to pull away and had found his way back to you last night. You didn't turn him away either. It was comforting to just have contact with someone from your real life; someone who was with you in living a life you didn't own and with no one else in your life that you knew. It was very isolating undercover, and you didn't like it at all.
Tonight was the night before Robert and Liz were to visit and you felt more anxious than ever; it could go really well or it could all crumble in front of you. You had spent the day with Steve, studying their lives and making sure you were sound on the details of your own cover so that you would be consistent when answering their questions of you. It had been a long and arduous day, and sleep was more than welcome.
"Goodnight, babe."
"Goodnight, doll."
Over the course of only a few days it had become easier to talk to Steve this way; so much so that you did it without realizing it already. You fell asleep with a smile crossing your lips, hearing him fall asleep so quickly, knowing that it meant he was becoming comfortable with you as well.
When you woke a few hours later, as you had done each night, you felt different. You opened your eyes and looked down; Steve had his arms wrapped around your waist and his head resting on your stomach, breathing slowly and deeply along with your own rhythm. Your left hand was resting on his head with your fingers woven into his hair. He looked so peaceful that you chose to not wake him tonight and let him sleep.
"Sweetheart, wake up."
"Hmm?" you groaned quietly, having fallen back asleep only a short time ago.
"Doll, wake up for me."
"What, St...Sam? What's wrong?"
"I really need to tell you something," he whispered, but before you could answer, his lips met yours, gently but intensely, waking you quickly from your deep sleep. You responded eagerly, taking him by the back of the neck and pulling him in closer. His arms wrapped under your back as he lifted you from the mattress and into his chest, but you put your hands up to stop him and pushed him back.
"Steve, we can't be distracted right now," you panted breathlessly, upset with yourself that you stopped him, now that you realized how much you wanted him to continue. "This has to wait."
"How long?"
"We need to finish this, and we need to be focused. You know that." You looked in his eyes and saw a man that you had never seen before. He was always the Captain, always in command and always professional towards you. But now he was much softer, and his eyes were searching yours for acceptance. It hurt you to your core to deny him, but it wouldn't be for long.
"Once the job is done, I'm all yours."
~~~
"So, Maria, you said that you've been here almost two weeks now, right? How do you like our little town so far?"
"We like it very much, don't we hun?"
Steve coughed slightly on the bit of food he had just taken, glancing at you and covering his mouth with a napkin while he regained his composure. "Yes, sweetheart, we certainly do." His hand reached over and took yours, lifting it to his lips for a light kiss. "I think we've finally found a home."
"Well that's just wonderful," Liz replied, smiling while taking a drink from her wine glass, her eyes never leaving their fix on you. "It's always nice to watch a new family find their place in the world."
The choice of her phrasing caught your attention and your focus. Your eyes flickered towards Steve but you hoped that she didn't notice your nerves suddenly heightened. When his hand tightened his grip on yours you couldn't help but straighten in your chair, knowing that he caught it too and it wasn't just your anxiety getting the better of you.
"Thank you, Liz. We do appreciate the welcome we've received, from you and from the group."
Robert set his fork and knife down quietly, leaning back in his chair and crossing his hands on his lap as he looked between you and Steve. "I can only hope that our support isn't misplaced. There are a few within the group who...have some concerns."
"Bob, now isn't the time," Liz whispered.
"I think this is the perfect time, dear," he sneered, glaring at her as he spoke, "you see, Sam, a few of our members came to me with the idea that you might not be who you say you are. You or your wife. They said there was a familiarity about you that they couldn't quite place. Of course, we had to monitor you to either quell or confirm our suspicions, and I must say, you were doing very well until just last night."
Steve kept a grip on your hand but slowly lowered it below the table and out of Robert's eye line, releasing it so he could check his weapon; you did the same and tapped his foot with yours to signal that you were ready if necessary. "I'm not sure what you're talking about," he said cautiously.
Liz held up her phone and you cringed at the sound of your voice playing through it. 'Steve, we can't be distracted right now.' She set her phone down and smiled at you, but it was forced and frightening, sending a chill through you. "And there it was. You screwed up. Just remember, (Y/N), the death of Captain America will go down in history as your fault."
Steve bolted up and flipped the table, knocking them both backwards, grabbing your hand and pulling you behind the nearest wall. "This isn't your fault! Don't listen to her!" he yelled over the commotion, shooting at the pair while dodging their return fire and trying to block you. "I shouldn't have been a distraction!"
You pushed past Steve to kneel next to him, joining in the fight. "Worth it!"
Robert crawled out from behind the table, hiding himself behind another wall and just out of sight. Liz attempted to crawl in the opposite direction but you managed to land a shot in her leg, inciting even more of her rage. She rolled onto her back and returned fire, hitting you in the false belly that you had yet to remove. Steve gasped and pulled you back behind the wall, ripping the vest away.
"Cap, I'm fine! It didn't go through, just go get him! I'll take her!" Steve quickly kissed you and took off after Robert while you slowly crept around the wall to find his wife. "You really are an evil bitch, aren't you?" you called out to her, "shooting at an unborn baby?"
"There isn't even one in there!" she yelled back, confirming that she hadn't made it out from behind the table. "So how vicious can you be, (Y/N)? Hmm? I'm wounded and you've got me cornered. Are you going to kill me even though you have the upper hand?"
"Yes."
"Not even a second of hesitation. I'm impressed," she panted, and you could hear the pain in her voice as she struggled against it. "You would make a strong addition to HYDRA, you know. You could climb the ranks quickly. Become a leader. You can't honestly tell me that you're happy in the shadows of Rogers, can you?"
You had been slowly creeping up on her as she spoke, your gun held ready in front of you, knowing she was still armed as well. "Nowhere I'd rather be." A few steps more and she came into view, her gun poised and ready to shoot. A small twitch in her index finger over the trigger caught your eye, and without a second thought, you finished the job.
Panting as your nerves still held a tight grip over you, and feeling your heart race, you paused to try to calm down before trying to assist Steve. You closed your eyes and took a long, deep breath, letting it out slowly; when you opened your eyes, you startled at Robert standing on the other side of the room, his gun drawn. You quickly raised yours though your hands were shaking now, scared of what might have happened to the Captain.
"Where is he?" the man asked angrily.
"Not here, obviously," you replied with heavy sarcasm, "but that's okay. I can finish you all by myself. Just ask Liz. Oh, wait," you paused kicking the table flat on the ground, displaying her body behind it, "she might not have much to say."
He looked at his wife with wide eyes, his gun dropping just slightly. You saw Steve's shadow in your peripheral vision, but you made the momentary mistake of glancing over at him, leaving yourself open to the bullet that imbedded itself in your shoulder and made you drop your weapon. Your vision darkened and filled with stars; you dropped to sit on the floor, trying to breathe through the searing pain and to stay conscious. The last thing you saw was Steve knocking Robert to the ground and taking a lethal shot before you passed out.
~~~
From what you could tell you woke up in the back of an ambulance, with the voices of Steve, Tony and Natasha just outside. The pain in your shoulder was gone, but the groggy feeling of pain killers was making your mind swirl. You sat up and waited for your balance to come back and for your vision to steady before attempting to stand and make your way towards the team.
"I don't think I want anymore undercover missions for a while, if you don't mind."
"(Y/N), what the hell? Sit down!" Steve commanded, grabbing you and putting you back on the gurney. "What do you think you're doing? You're injured."
"I'm injured because you distracted me," you smirked, "again. Right after you apologized for being a distraction, if I'm not mistaken. If this is how this relationship is gonna go-"
Your words were interrupted by his lips against yours, and you smiled into the kiss with a small laugh escaping you before you could hold it back.
"You think that's funny?" he scoffed, "I can't say that's a reaction I've ever received before."
"I think it's just all the stress. Definitely not funny, sorry."
Tony jumped into the back of the rig, sitting down on the bench across from you. "You guys ready to head home? Get things back to normal? We've got the jet powered up and ready if you are."
"I think we need to stay one more night," Steve replied, winking at you before turning around to face Tony. "You know, make sure everything is cleared out so we don't leave any trace behind, stuff like that."
"Stuff like that...right. I gotcha." He was about to jump down and out of the vehicle when you grabbed his arm to stop him. You sighed and pulled the ring from your left finger, glancing at Steve before handing it to Tony.
"Here, I don't want to be afraid to lose this anymore." Tony accepted it from you and nodded, putting the jewel deep into his pocket before leaving for the jet. "I think I might actually miss having that on," you said quietly, looking at your empty finger and becoming aware of the lack of weight on it now. "It's funny how fast I got used to it."
Steve took your hands in his and kissed each one before moving to kiss your lips one more time. "Don't worry, sweetheart. I'm sure I can find you an even better one soon enough."