(a/n: i'm currently in japan so my updates will be infrequent due to the fact that i'm traveling, sorryyy)
It was a quiet, breezy morning, and you were in the middle of a nice, long sleep when someone suddenly burst through your door.
"Whaddayawant," you grumbled, pulling the blankets over your head and covering your ears with your pillow.
"Wake up, Y/N. It's Friday," Steve, your best friend's, voice answered. "Didn't you make a promise that we'd go running together?"
"Just ten more minutes," you mumbled sleepily. "I'm tired."
"I know how much you want to race against me...so we can race..." he bribed you. "You have been waiting a while for one, after all."
"Okay, okay," you sat up in bed, rubbing your eyes. "But I should probably remind myself not to let you barge in here at 5:30 in the morning."
That was a mistake you were sure to never make again. When someone as motivated and determined as Captain America came bursting into your room at the crack of dawn it didn't exactly put you in the best mood.
Even though you did, maybe sort of, have feelings for him. Because nobody ruined your beauty sleep.
"Fifteen minutes, then meet me at the front door, sleepyhead," he called as he walked out of your room.
To be honest, the only reasons why you willed yourself to get up out of bed were to 1: race against him because you were one of the most competitive people in the compound and 2: see him in a tight T-shirt.
That was all.
You quickly slipped on your sports bra, tank top, and leggings before putting your phone in your pocket and spreading sunscreen across your face.
As promised, Steve was waiting at the front door, in a T-shirt that showed off his well-defined muscles and training sweatpants that showed off his equally muscular legs. It took a lot of self-control for you not to sigh right there upon the sight of him, but somehow, you managed.
A smirk crawled its way onto his face. "You ready to get crushed, Y/L/N?"
"Ah ah ah, don't get over-confident, Captain," you warned, wagging a finger at him. "Let's go."
You two were just about to head out the door when a voice behind you caused you to stop in your tracks.
"And what are you two going out together for this early in the morning?"
Both of you turned around to see Clint standing there in his PJs, arms crossed and tapping his foot with a mischievous look on his face.
"Running," Steve answered plainly.
"That's romantic. Have fun," and with that, he waved you off.
Weird, you thought to yourself, your cheeks still burning from his comment.
Once you got to the park, Steve pulled out his phone to set the stopwatch. "Alright. Let's see who can reach three miles the fastest. On three."
"Three..." you started.
"Two."
"One. Go!"
With that, you were off, feet rhythmically pounding against the sidewalk and legs pumping you forward as fast as they could go.
You didn't see Steve anywhere the first few minutes, which slightly worried you, but you were sure he was either way ahead or way behind. Either way, you didn't stop running, and kept moving.
Then you saw him a few meters ahead, and grinned evilly to yourself. He doesn't know what's coming, you thought. Breathing hard, you quickly caught up to him until you were right behind him.
"On your left!" you shouted, and zipped past his sprinting figure.
You turned around for a quick second to see him laughing to himself and shaking his head as he continued to run.
Unfortunately, a few more minutes later, he zoomed past you. "You look cute when you're pissed off," He ruffled your hair before speeding up again.
Your cheeks flushed a bright red, and you tried your best to ignore his comment as you continued moving on.
"On your left!" you shouted as you sprinted past him a second time.
And a third. "On your left!"
And fourth. "On your left!"
And fifth. "On your left!"
Wow, I'm getting pretty good at this thing, you complimented yourself as you heard him grumbling under his breath behind you, trying to catch up. I'm faster than the Captain!
"Okay, okay, time's up, you win," Steve panted, placing his hands on his knees as he bent down to take a quick breath. "You're really fast."
"Good game," you congratulated, shaking hands with him. "Need a sip?" You offered him your water bottle and he took it gratefully, taking a long drink.
"I challenge you to one more race."
"And that is?" you questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"Catch me if you can!" he exclaimed, and took off across the park, speeding across the grass.
"Oh no you didn't!" You started running again, this time, in an attempt to actually stop him.
After several tiring minutes, you were finally able to catch him. You jumped onto his back, wrapping your arms around his neck and your legs around his torso.
"Oof," he let out a grunt, and struggled for a second before adjusting you so he was supporting your legs better.
"Can't beat me," you whispered into his ear playfully.
"Stop flexing," he fake-pouted, but you could tell he was trying to hide his smile.
"You know you love me," you teased.
"You're lucky I do love you or else you'd be dead meat," he said as he set you down.
If it weren't for the noise from the chatter of the people wandering around the park, he would probably be able to hear the butterflies fluttering around in your stomach, and the sound of your rapidly beating heart.
What exactly did he mean by that?
Or were you just overthinking things?
Yeah, you might just be overthinking things.
"Still mad that I beat you, twice, Cap?" you asked.
"Nope," he poked your nose jokingly. "I let you beat me, you know."
You crossed your arms, suspicious. "It seemed like you had a pretty hard time catching up. I don't think you 'let' me beat you, unless that was some really, really good and detailed acting."
"Okay, fine. You are really good at running."
An elderly couple passing by saw the two of you teasing (or flirting with?) each other back and forth, smiling at each other, observing you.
"Excuse me," the old lady said, putting a gentle hand on your shoulder.
"Yes?" You turned around to see her kind expression, standing next to the old man.
"I just wanted to point out how cute the two of you are," she stated, her smile growing wider. "I love seeing younger couples out and about. You are very lucky to have such a wonderful girlfriend, young sir."
"Thank you, ma'am," Steve cut in, putting an arm around your waist and kissing the side of your forehead.
You were simply confused now as to what was going on.
"Have a nice day," the man waved, and with that, they left.
"Why did...b-but we..." you spluttered. "We're not even..."
A smirk appeared on his face. "They're not wrong. We do look good together, and not just when we're working together on a mission."
"Wow, Rogers," you nudged his shoulder. "What an ego you got there."
"You're pretty cute when you get embarrassed. I think, cuter than when you stabbed multiple HYDRA soldiers in the face in Sokovia."
"Steve?" you stopped walking momentarily, and so did he.
"Huh?"
"Do you want to do this again?"
"Let you beat my ass? Nope," he chuckled, making you grin.
"No, just casual running. No races," you offered.
"That'd be nice," he agreed. "It's a date."
"Don't be weird, Cap," you warned, although on the inside, you were fangirling.
You headed back, and were greeted by the entire team sitting there on the couch.
"Called it," Natasha tapped Clint's shoulder, leaning back against the couch. "Told you they'd be out for longer than an hour. Now pay up, boys, you all owe me ten."
The guys groaned and all reluctantly pulled out ten-dollar bills to hand to her. She plucked them from their hands, looking victorious. "Thank you."
"What's going on?" you asked, confused.
"Oh, we were betting on how long you'd be out on your morning date together," Bucky snickered.
"It wasn't a date," you groaned.
"It was," Steve corrected, causing all jaws to drop to the floor. "And we had fun, right, Y/N?"
"Uh...yeah, we did," you said a few moments later. "It was fun. I totally beat him during the race."
"And that's an extra dollar, boys," Natasha finished, "since they had fun on their date."
They all handed over a dollar each.
"Oh!" Wanda exclaimed, sitting up suddenly. "I made a bet that Y/N would be super flustered and she is, so five dollars each, Tony! And you too, Barton."
"Now for the ultimate question," Clint piped up. "Do either one of you have feelings for the other?"
"Goodbye!" you shouted, and ran upstairs to your room.
"That's two bucks each, all of you," you heard him say from downstairs.
There were some more nearly inaudible voices, but you could tell whoever it was, was trying to protest.
"Okay, Captain. Because you also have feelings, that's four bucks each, from all of you."
He liked you, too?
Who knew running could start a whole revolution?