Chapter Text
You sniffed the air before you started walking along the streets, paws padding softly on the cold ground.
Usually on the full moon, you would find ways to amuse yourself. Your pack was gone, and your human side said that you couldn’t take a human for a mate, so you had just wandered. Chased funny looking animals. Bounded through forests. Occasionally howled - though it really wasn’t the same without your pack.
Tonight was different, though. You just wanted to be near him. The kind, gentle warrior. The one who fought not because he wanted to, but because he had no choice. Because he had to. You weren’t really a fighter, but you’d fight for that reason. To protect the people you loved.
He missed his old pack, too. You could sense it in him. He’d lost them a long time ago, but it still hurt him sometimes.
He didn’t want to be alone either.
You rounded a corner to see him walking through the streets. You hurried towards him in an attempt to catch up.
He turned around, and you stopped. You looked up at him. He wouldn’t hurt you, but he might reject you. He could send you away.
You hoped he wouldn’t.
“Hi there,” he looked down at you. “I thought someone was following me. Was it you?”
You stepped forward, gazing at him curiously.
“Huh,” he squatted down to see you better. “What’s a pretty wolf like you doing in the middle of the city?”
You wagged your tail slowly.
“You seem tame,” he spoke. “Do you have an owner? Is someone out there looking for you?”
You took another few steps towards him.
He reached out slowly, and allowed you to sniff his hand. You leaned forward, and he paced his hand on your head, gently petting you. You stepped further into him, and he brought a hand to your neck, running a hand through your fur. Possibly searching for one of those round things the dogs here wore.
You’d never be caught dead in one of those.
“You’re friendly, aren’t you?” he commented. “But no owner? Hmm.”
He stood back up. “Well, you should go back home, wherever that is. A wolf really doesn’t belong in the city.” He scratched gently between your ears and turned to leave.
You followed him.
He looked down at you as you fell into step beside him. “Coming with me, are you?”
You wagged your tail, looking up at him.
“Well, I live in an apartment and wolves don’t really belong in those. Shouldn’t you be in the woods?”
You nudged him in the leg and followed up the stairs to his apartment building.
“You really aren’t meant to come in here.”
You looked up at him, tail wagging slowly.
“Oh, all right,” he opened the door and let you through before he walked to the elevator. “You know, bringing a wolf into your home is probably not recommended. So I’ll make you a deal - you can stay with me tonight if you don’t eat me, okay? We’ll go speak to some authorities about getting you somewhere safe in the morning.”
You waited patiently while the elevator brought you to his level, then followed him through a corridor before you waited while he unlocked the door and allowed you to slip inside.
You woke up the morning after the full moon feeling refreshed. Revitalised. Energised.
It didn’t make any sense.
Full moons had been hard on you ever since you lost your pack. Having no one to run with meant that your wolf had to find ways to entertain itself for the whole night, which often left you exhausted and sore the next morning.
This morning was nothing like that. You were the complete opposite. And you smelled slightly of Steve.
You frowned. Perhaps you had run into him at some point during the night. Your wolf side had always liked Steve, so it wasn’t completely unlikely that if you came across him you’d stop for a moment to say hello.
You shrugged off the thought and started getting ready for work. When Sam had suggested you go to work for the Avengers, you’d thought he was insane. First of all, you were a werewolf trying to stay in hiding - hanging around a bunch of super-people wasn’t going to help. Secondly, why did the Avengers even need a receptionist?
But as he had pointed out, you were perfect for the job. You were strong enough to deal with any threats that might come into the Compound unannounced, your wolf instincts enabled you to tell who was likely to cause trouble instantly, and you desperately needed to do something. Without a pack (you had searched for others, but couldn’t find any) fitting in with human society seemed to be the best option.
And, if the hunters did manage to find you again, you wouldn’t be putting the people you worked with in danger, because the Avengers could take care of themselves. It really was perfect.
So you’d agreed to an interview, and despite refusing to tell anyone why Sam thought you were such a good fit for the job, they liked you. So you started working. It had been three months ago now. Three full moons. You still missed your pack, but it was better.
Once you entered the Compound you made your way to the desk and started going through the morning messages. A grand total of three UFO sightings, a madman who thought he was the real Captain America (apparently the one you had was a fraud) and two prank calls. This was why the Avengers needed a receptionist. You weeded out the real jobs from the crazies, so they only had to focus on Avenging.
“Morning!” Sam called cheerfully to you as he entered the building. You grinned up at him, your inner wolf bursting with excitement.
“Rough night?” Sam asked with a grin as he leaned over to place a coffee cup on your desk. He reached forward and scratched you behind your ear.
You let out a low grumble in your throat and leaned into his touch before you realised what he was doing. “Stop it,” you protested suddenly, slapping his hand away.
Sam laughed.
“And no, it actually wasn’t. I haven’t felt this good after a full moon since before…” your voice trailed off.
Sam smiled sadly at you. “You good?”
“Yeah, of course,” you breathed. “Anyway, it was weird. I woke up all energised.”
“Really? What did you do last night?”
“You’ll have to ask the wolf. I don’t remember a thing.”
Sam hummed. “Interesting.”
Your wolf perked up again. “Steve’s here,” you muttered under your breath, warning Sam not to talk about wolf related things. He nodded his understanding as Steve entered the reception area.
“Sam,” Steve greeted. “Y/N.”
“Morning Steve,” you smiled back.
Sam responded with a quick wave.
“Messages?” Steve asked you.
“Yeah, big one this morning. Apparently you’re an imposter. The real Captain America phoned last night.”
Sam snorted.
Steve smiled. “They don’t have any evidence, do they? I put a lot of effort into this ruse, can’t have you lot finding out now.”
“I think we’re good,” you told him, “But I’ll let you know if anything incriminating comes my way,”
“Excellent,” Steve leaned on the top of the counter, glancing down at you. “Why does Sam only bring you coffee once a month?”
“Can’t have her getting spoiled,” Sam responded. “I bring her too much coffee and she’ll start expecting it all the time.”
Steve frowned, considering. “But why is it always the same time of month?”
“Well Steve,” Sam grinned. “At a certain time of the month, a woman’s body goes through some changes. As a result, they tend to be a bit moody, so it’s best to stay on their good side.”
Steve raised his eyebrows and looked back at you.
“Ignore him,” you spoke. “He thinks he’s being funny.”
“Excuse you,” Sam protested. “I know I’m being funny.”
Steve sighed and smiled back down at you. “You let me know if anything comes up,” Steve instructed, tapping gently on the counter before he turned towards the elevator.
“I always do.”
“So,” Sam grinned, turning to Steve once they were in the elevator. “You and Y/N, huh?”
“I’m sorry?” Steve asked, looking at Sam.
“Oh, don’t play coy with me, big guy, I see the way you are with her.”
“I don’t know what you mean.” Steve replied. “I was just checking in to make sure we haven’t missed anything.”
“Yeah, but you were giving her the look while you did it.”
“What look?”
“You know,” Sam did his best impression of Steve’s flirting look.
Steve screwed his nose up. “I do not look at her like that.”
“Hey,” Sam continued. “I totally approve. You two are adorable.”
They stepped out of the elevator and made their way to the meeting room for their morning conference.
“You should ask her out,” Sam continued.
Steve stiffened. “That’s not... I’m not...”
“I don’t see the harm. Ask her out, get to know her a little bit, you might even have some fun.”
“Oh, really?,” Tony spoke as they entered the conference room. “How do you propose Steve has fun?”
“I was just telling Steve that he should ask our lovely receptionist out,” Sam told them. “He’s been giving her the look.”
“I have not!” Steve protested.
“Yeah, you have,” Tony told him. “I noticed that last week.”
“You should do it,” Nat interrupted, seemingly excited at the thought of Steve going on a date.
“Actually, I’m with Steve on this,” Clint put forth. “Don’t ask her out. She doesn’t tell us anything about herself or what she does, we’re literally just trusting Sam when he says she can take care of herself. And now that we’re on the topic, are we sure that she’s not a vampire?”
Sam chuckled. “A vampire?”
“Yeah, she avoids mirrors. Has anyone noticed? And there’s something about her eyes that’s just… unnatural.”
Well that was amusing. Sam made a note to tell her about it later. She’d probably find it as entertaining as he did.
“She’s not a vampire,” Steve responded, taking his seat. “If she was, she wouldn’t be out during daylight hours.”
“Oh yeah? How do you know that all the myths are true?” Clint asked.
“I fought with vampires in the war.”
“You what?” Sam asked. “Seriously?”
“Yeah,” Steve nodded. “They weren’t fans of Nazis. Although there was a Nazi vampire cult we came across in Germany which…” he shrugged, then turned to Clint. “Garlic won’t do anything to prevent them from sucking your blood, by the way.”
“Did you ever try to get back in touch?” Sam asked. “Those guys might still be alive.”
“Yeah, we don’t really get along. Dracula decided that super soldier blood would give him some pretty amazing powers, so I try to avoid him now.”
“Dracula as in Count Dracula?” Tony questioned.
“Actually, he goes by King Dracula now.”
“Is he joking?” Clint asked. “I can’t tell if he’s serious or not.”
“I think he’s serious,” Sam replied. “But that’s irrelevant. I can tell you with absolute certainty that she is not a vampire.”
“You know what she is though, right?” Tony asked.
Sam sighed. “She’s a good person, she’s trustworthy, and if someone tries to hurt her, they’ll regret it. I promise she won’t try and suck anyone’s blood. Now, show we get to work?”