Chapter Text
Practically falling through the front door, you breathed a sigh of relief. Steve was on your heels and together you enter the safe house, utterly exhausted.
You and Steve had been sent on a mission to a Hydra base in the Alps. When things went drastically south, you flew the quinjet as close as you could without being tracked and walked the last ten miles to the safe house, a small cottage on the outskirts of a little rural Italian village.
Things were complicated by the fact that you had taken a bullet to the thigh back at the base. Steve had his fair share of cuts and scrapes, but being a supersoldier made it a little easier for him to push through. He had tried to offer his help for the first few miles, but you were far too stubborn.
By the time you were about halfway there you started to fall, Steve wrapping his arms around you before you hit the ground. He carefully picked you up and began carrying you.
“I’ve got you,” He had said, somehow managing to walk faster.
“Sorry…” You had replied, hating to be weak, hating to have to rely on others.
“Just don’t die on me, okay Y/N?” Steve had reassured, a small smile peeking through the concern on his face.
Then there you were, thankful beyond reason to have reached the safe space. After closing the front door behind you, Steve scooped you up once again and laid you down onto a nearby sofa. Somehow finding even more energy, he was off in search of medical supplies.
Your kind companion returned in record time, apologetic for what was about to happen. You merely gritted your teeth and prepared as he swiped antiseptic over the wound. You were in too much pain to care when he had to rip the leg off of your mission suit. The next few moments were filled with screams and pain, but by the end, the bullet was out, and you were stitched up.
“Thank you,” You breathed, wiping the sweat from your forehead.
Steve just nodded, fixing you with a shy smile that made your heart flutter. When he started to tend to his own injuries, you swatted his hand aside and took over. It was the least you could do after he had freaking carried you for six miles.
“You’re going to need to take off your shirt…” You said, trying not to blush at the request. He had a large gash reaching from his collarbone almost all the way down his pectoral.
Steve looked a little sheepish, but complied, pulling the red white and blue material over his head. Having been friends since he came out of the ice, you’d seen him shirtless before, of course. You had to patch him up during other missions, and the training room got really hot….but the sight still made you feel like you couldn’t catch your breath.
Staying as professional as possible, you tried not to blush, and avoided eye contact. Although, by not looking at his face you missed the unashamed way he was watching you. Over the years, Steve was able to relax around you. He never told you, but you made him feel like himself. Like if he was still that skinny kid from Brooklyn, you’d still be one of his closest friends.
“Did you send a transmission to Tony before we left the quinjet?” You asked, needing to break the silence as you cleaned the gash and bandaged it. You didn’t bother with stitches. He healed so fast that it would close within hours.
“They know we have to lay low for a little while.”
“How long do you think?” You asked with a bit of a smile. “It’s not so bad, being here is a little like a vacation.”
“48 hours at least.” He said as you moved on to the cuts and scrapes on his arms.
When Steve was all patched up, he helped you limp into the next room which held a queen bed, a closet and a simple wooden desk. Backs to one another, you each changed into tee shirts and SHIELD sweatpants from the closet. No longer caked in blood, you practically swan-dived into the fluffy duvet, ready for some much needed sleep.
“I’ll be on the couch if you need me.” He said, back tracking to the living room.
“No, stay. There’s no way you’ll sleep comfortably on that tiny thing. We can share a bed, right? How long have I known you, Steve? I won’t be offended if you snore.” You teased.
He chuckled and decided to join you under the covers. You turned on your side so there wouldn’t be any pressure on your injured leg, and faced Steve. He smiled sleepily at you across the half a foot of bed between you.
“Sweet dreams, Steve.” You mumbled, eyes falling closed.
“Sleep well, Y/N.” He replied, feeling like he never wanted to leave the comfort and warmth of the moment with you.
~
“Oh my god, Steve. They have movies here!” You exclaimed, flicking through the drawer of DVDs underneath the old TV set across from the couch.
“Which ones?” Steve asked from the safe house’s kitchen, where he was making simple peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for your meal.
“Alien, Titanic, Star Wars, Oh! Sleepless in Seattle! I love this movie so much.” You said, snatching the case and putting the disc in the machine.
“What is it about?” Steve asked, placing the food on the table and helping you get back to the couch.
“You’re about to see.” You said, wiggling your eyebrows goofily. “It’s a romance though, so if I make any...unusual noises or shout at the screen don’t say a word.” You fake threatened.
“Should I prepare for the squealing that came from Bridget Jones’s Diary?” He teased.
“Maybe. Shut up.” You said, grinning.
Steve just mimed zipping his mouth shut as the movie began. By the time Annie was telling her coworkers about the radio show, you were curled up against Steve’s side. This was your usual position when the two of you watched movies together, but it never failed to make Steve smile.
He wrapped an arm around you and left a kiss on the top of your head. It was risky for him, but when you only snuggled in closer, his smile widened. He chuckled when you shouted at Annie and Sam to talk to each other during the scene in the street, and pulled you close when you cried at the end.
He felt honored that you allowed yourself to be more...you when you were with him. While you worked, you were professional and sometimes a little cold. You knew how to do your job, and you would do it gracefully and efficiently. Steve respected that. He preferred the side of you that laughed loudly at bad puns and cried at the end of romantic comedies. That was the Y/N he fell in love with. Not that he’d ever tell you that though. It would make things too complicated. Besides, you only saw him as a friend.
The next few hours were spent reading to each other, playing cards and talking. Eventually, the two of you ended up laying on the bed, limbs slightly tangled, talking about love.
“Being in love is weird isn’t it?” You mused, looking up at the ceiling.
“I suppose.” Steve said.
“Falling in love is fun. It’s all butterflies and having them in your dreams. But being in love...that’s the weird part. It has all the stuff from falling in love, but with this added certainty. You trust someone so much that you give them your heart, and you believe that they’ll take care of it. The tricky part is if they don’t know they have your heart. That’s when they might accidently squish it, or drop it, or...wow this analogy went way off the rails.” You laugh, turning your head to look at Steve.
He was watching you with a strange expression that you were afraid to decipher.
“No, it was a nice one.” He whispered. “Have you...given away your heart recently?”
“No,” You said. “I gave it away a while ago...I’m not sure if he knows he has it...but he hasn’t hurt me yet, so I know I was right to trust him.”
“Really?” Steve breathed, the way you were smiling at him made a bubble of hope begin to swell in his chest.
“Really. How about you? Where’s your heart?” You asked, face inching marginally closer to his.
“I’d like to think it was stolen. Or maybe it ran away…” He said, moving in as well. “The first time I saw her, I saw that she was strong and beautiful. She was also kind, and I feel like I’m discovering new things about her all the time. Every time she speaks I know that my heart couldn’t be in better hands.” He said.
“Does the heart thief have a name?” You asked, nose just barely nudging his.
“Y/N…” He whispered, beautiful blue eyes boring into your own.
You smiled, moving in the last few centimeters and kissing him deeply. Your fingers threaded through his blond hair as one of his hands rested on your hip while the other cupped your cheek.
You pulled away to breathe, “I love you.”
“I love you.” Steve returned before pulling you in for a more intense kiss.