It was nearing 3:30 a.m, and you were struggling to not close your eyes. Sleep threatened you, whispering in your ear, taunting you, but you refused to submit to its deadly temptations. So here you were now, eating boatloads of chocolate because you needed the sugar rush to keep you awake as you studied for your finals.
You had gone back to college to earn your masters degree after two years of SHIELD training and nearly five years of being an Avenger, and you were questioning if that was really the best decision, and if you should've finished your years off all at once instead. But you were determined to get a solid education and a bit of training in before carrying on with your life.
Finals, a brutal thing. It kept you up through the late hours of the night when you should be getting a decent sleep. It clung onto your thoughts, making you stress out over it 24/7. In the shower, while on walks, while eating, while hanging out with friends. Every second of every day, it stuck in your head.
Letting out a tired groan, you put your head down on the cool, marble counter. This is hopeless, I'm never going to finish...you thought. At best, it was going to take another three to four hours, but by then, it would be morning, and you'd be heading back on campus to begin the first day of exams.
A light clicked on in the hallway, and you heard a soft voice call out, "Is someone there?"
You didn't respond.
"Hello?"
The person shrugged and looked around, then caught sight of your figure slumped over the pile of textbooks in the kitchen.
Steve.
"Hey, what are you doing up this late, Y/N?" he asked.
You looked up at him and gave him a look. He was immediately concerned upon seeing your face, dark circles under the rims of your red, puffy eyes, and the pile of Hershey's wrappers in the trash can.
"Finals?"
You nodded and reached over for your pencil, determined to actually try harder this time. "Exams start tomorrow...and I don't understand anything I'm reading right now...I'd kill for coffee. Literally."
He slid into the chair next to you, and picked up a spare pencil, facing towards you. "You need help?"
"Uh huh." You rubbed your eyes and pointed to the problems you didn't understand.
"Oh, I see. What you have to do is this..." For the next hour, he explained how to solve the problems and quizzed you on certain terms to ingrain the facts into your brain. You were surprised at how well he explained everything, he made everything so easy to understand so by the end of that hour, you were exhausted, and really, really, really just wanted to fall into your bed and sleep. But you felt more confident. "Do you get it now?"
"Yeah."
"Come on, now, you have to sleep."
"But I need to---" you protested.
"Sleep is more important. If you don't get enough sleep, you won't be able to focus. You'll do fine. You got all the terms right."
"Nnngh..." You stretched your arms in the air and yawned.
"Okay, come on, let's get you to bed, sleepyhead." He picked you up and carried you, bridal-style, back to your room.
"Thank you..." you thanked him, your voice muffled by your pillow. "I would've been up all night if it weren't for you."
"It's nothing. Look, you really need to sleep now. You need the energy for tomorrow."
"Goodnight," you mumbled as he pulled the blankets up to your chin. "You're the best." With that, you fell fast asleep.
He placed a gentle kiss on your forehead and left, smiling to himself.
The next morning, you woke up feeling a bit tired, but more refreshed than before. You slid on your slippers and shuffled to the kitchen, where Steve was pouring coffee into a mug. He set it onto the table, giving it to you, and you gratefully took it. A plate with a croissant was waiting there for you, too, and you quickly finished it in just four bites.
"Thank you again," you said in between bites, devouring the bread. "You really didn't have to, though."
"I did, you were really tired, and you deserve it," he replied, sitting down in the chair across from you. "Think you're ready?"
"Thanks to you, I am. I've never felt so prepared, actually." Taking a sip from your coffee, you looked over at the pile of textbooks still at the kitchen counter and smiled slightly.
-----
"I aced it! 100! I actually did it!" You burst into the Avengers HQs, holding up your papers, a huge grin on your face. A big, fat, A+ with a comment from your professor: Wonderful explanations and use of words! was written in red across the top of your paper. The second parts of your exam were online so those would be posted later in the evening. You were happy nonetheless because all these hours of relentless studying had paid off.
"Hey, how'd it go?" Steve came downstairs, observing you.
"I actually passed! I got a perfect score!" you squealed. "Then this means I'm set to graduate this month! Thank you thank you thank you!"
He chuckled and pulled you into a bone-crushing hug. "See, I knew you could do it!"
After a few seconds, he didn't let go, although he had the choice to, and the atmosphere suddenly went from happy and bright to all awkward, as Tony walked in on you two locked in a tight embrace. "Hey, lovebirds. What's all the noise about?"
"Stark!" You waved the papers around in Tony's face. "I passed my English finals!"
"Oh, that's great! I'm proud of you."
"Steve?" You turned to the super-soldier, who was still looking at you admiringly. "I get a reward for this, right?"
"Sure, why not. What do you want?"
"I don't know."
"How about I take you out tonight?"
"On a date or with a sniper gun?"
He and Tony both laughed at your response.
"Surprise me."
That night, he took you out to a fancy dinner which turned out to be a lot more romantic than you'd imagined. Tony wouldn't stop texting Steve's phone to check up on you, to make sure you were okay. Steve reassured him that you were fine and that you hadn't been eaten by any aliens.
-----
Well, maybe you got a bit too tipsy that night since you were so happy, and drunkenly admitted something that in your normal state, wouldn't be caught dead saying.
"I like you. You're all mine. You always will be my everything, baby..." you slurred, stumbling as you tried to regain balance, a goofy grin on your face.
"Okay, okay, let's get you home now," he said, catching you before you fell. He knew you'd taken a few too many sips of wine, but couldn't help but think about your words.
Was what you said really true, or a lie?
For the second time, he carried you in his arms and set you down on the couch. At this point, Natasha walked in. "Hey, how'd the date go?'
"She drank too much wine, and she..."
"She what? Please don't tell me it was a striptease. I don't want to hear about it." She covered her ears, shaking her head.
"No, it wasn't. She just said...things."
"What did she say?"
"She said stuff like, 'I like you' and 'You'll forever be mine, baby' or something along those lines. I don't know." He pressed his fingers to his temples, slumping in the chair as Natasha passed him a cold glass of water.
How was something that seemed so simple so much harder than a mission?
"She what?"
"I don't know if she meant it or not." He took a long sip of water before setting the cup back down.
"I think she did, but she didn't mean to let it slip. I've heard her talk about it to Sam and Bucky a few times."
"She wouldn't."
"I think she does. Wait, but when did you start caring about what she thinks?"
"I don't care."
"Sure sounds like you do. You like her!"
"Keep on dreaming, Nat. It's not happening."
An hour later, you woke up with a nasty migraine. "Ewww..." you moaned, "my head hurts like hell. What happened?"
"You passed out. Too much wine," Steve stated, bringing you an icepack. You placed it to your head and sighed, taking in the chill it gave you.
"Oh." You pushed yourself into an upright position on the sofa and pulled the blanket tighter around you. "Did I say anything while I was..."
"Yeah, you did," Natasha finished for you. "You spilled your guts, in fact, about..."
Then the memory came rushing back. You, drunkenly admitting your not-so-secret feelings for the Captain, stumbling as you climbed into the car, him carrying you back. "Oh god...Did I really?"
"You did," he responded after a few moments of silence, clearing his throat. "Anyways. You feeling okay?"
"No, I feel like utter crap." You stuffed some potato chips in your mouth and leaned back against the sofa, staring up at the ceiling.
"But Y/N..." Steve began. "Did you really mean that stuff?"
"Uh, what?" You feigned cluelessness. "W-what stuff?"
"About you having feelings?"
"Don't even think about lying, Y/L/N," Natasha defended his point, "because I know the collection of 78 pictures of him you have in your 'OMG ITS THE AMERICAN DREAM' album in your camera roll."
You blushed furiously at this statement.
"You have an album in your camera roll about me?" he asked, curious.
"SHE HAS AN ALBUM IN HER CAMERA ROLL ABOUT THE CAPTAIN?" Footsteps came pounding down the stairs and you were met with the excited, fangirl expressions of Bruce, Wanda, Clint, Bucky, and your dad.
"Oh god," you groaned, face-palming yourself.
"You just got exposed, sis!" Bucky exclaimed, taking your phone to show the various pictures you had of Steve, and some cute text conversations.
"Ha ha ha, how cute," Steve laughed, watching as you scrunched your nose, your cheeks tinted pink.
"You have no right to tease her, Steven," Tony held up Steve's phone, "We all know about your 'MY REAL SUPERHERO AND MY LOVE' album of my precious Y/N that you have in your camera roll!"
"Ooooooh..." everyone let out low whistles.
"You mortals are appalling. Please just get it over with and tell the truth that you like each other," Loki rolled his eyes, visibly annoyed by the whole situation. "Captain, if you can fight in wars, you can do a task as simple as this."
"He's right," Vision agreed. "Just admit it."
Thor leaned in and whispered something into your ear. You shook your head wildly at first, but after a few seconds of convincing, you gave in and nodded. "Go for it, Lady Y/N," the God encouraged.
"Y/N is a really close friend of mine, and we do not have time for---" Steve began to explain himself, but was cut off by you running up to him and throwing your arms around his neck, smashing your lips against his.
He was taken aback at first, stumbling a bit, but quickly caught on, snaking his arms around your waist and pulling you closer. A fiery, exploding sensation flooded your body, and you never felt so alive, not like this, before. It was unfamiliar to you, but you liked it, and you were especially surprised that you even had the guts to do it in the first place.
When you broke apart, both of you were gasping for breath, faces going from bright pink to bright red.
Sounds of howling and applause filled the room. "That was so smooth, sweetheart," Tony praised you. "I was waiting so damn long for that to finally happen."
"YES! Go, Cap!" Clint pumped his fist in the air.
"That's my best friend!" Bucky cheered, bringing Steve in for a man-hug.