Archive of Our Own

Nat rolls her eyes, tugging Sharon forward by the arm, but Sharon stubbornly keeps her feet planted. “I thought you said we were going out with friends,” Sharon huffs, and Nat gives up on trying to tug her inside. 

“I did, and Steve’s my friend, so get over yourself, okay? It’s only for a few hours. I’ll pay for your food,” Nat throws in when she sees that Sharon isn’t going to relent, and that changes the blonde’s mood instantly. 

“Well, if you insist,” Sharon grins cheekily, finally following Nat through the door. 

Sharon has no idea what Natasha sees in Steve, as a friend or even a human being for that matter. Because Sharon’s not entirely sure that he is. A human being, she means. He’s more like an android. An annoying, well-dressed, epitome of annoying android placed in this earth just to piss her off, she’s sure of it.

Because honestly, who wears fucking sweater vests anymore? And to a casual hangout? God, if he’s not the most pretentious asshole she’s ever met in her life, she doesn’t know who is. 

She makes a point of flopping down into the booth without saying hi to him when Natasha does, and ignores the expectant look that he gives her when she does it. He may not be the kind of person to ignore his manners, but Sharon sure is, especially when it comes to her enemies. Which is a strong word to use, sure, but she’s not really sure what he is if he’s not her enemy. 

Plus, Sharon isn’t above being a petty bitch every now and again, so sue her. She has to find her entertainment somewhere. 

Steve rolls his eyes after about a minute of silence and finally addresses her. “Sharon,” he says, fake politely, and Sharon can feel her eyes rolling far back into the depths of her skull. 

“Steven,” she responds, equally as fake, and adds in a brilliant smile just to piss him off. His expression twists into a grimace, which Sharon ignores, reaching for a menu instead.

She debates picking the most expensive burger on the menu just to piss Natasha off, but then realizes that that’s probably a little too rude, even for her. Sam and Maria arrive eventually, distracting Steve for a while, but his gaze still flits over to Sharon every now again while she’s eating, as if he’s judging her for having an appetite. 

Sharon feels very tense under his gaze, to say the least, and can’t help but snap at him. 

“Take a picture, it’ll last longer.”

“I’m sorry?” he asks, and Sharon holds back a groan of irritation. He’s a good actor, she’ll give him that. He makes it sound like he has no idea what she’s talking about. Maria and Sam watch them warily, not wanting to cause a public scene. Natasha just looks giddy, which Sharon is definitely going to address later. For now, she’s just pissed off. 

“Oh, don’t play dumb,” Sharon hisses, trying to keep her voice down. “You think I’m gross or whatever, but I don’t care. I love burgers, so. Fight me.” It’s lame, but when Sharon gets to a certain level of anger she can’t really think straight. “Women can eat too, in case you didn’t know.” 

“Okay,” Steve responds with a faint chuckle, and god, Sharon wants to strangle him, she really does, “I think you’re projecting.” 

“That’s it, I’m leaving.” Sharon gathers up her stuff, shoving one last fry into her mouth with a pointed look at Steve, and starts to make her way towards the exit. 

“I was your ride!” Natasha yells after her, but Sharon’s too angry to think straight. 

“I’ll walk!” she shouts back, hating herself for needing to be so dramatic, but also feeling pretty smug about it. 

Sharon’s problem with Steve goes back as long as she can remember, which in this case actually means the first day of high school. She had come to stay with Aunt Peggy after her parents died, and starting high school on top of all of those feelings was rough, to say the least. 

Something about Steve’s smug attitude and endless put-togetherness had pissed her off to no end, especially because for a good year she felt like her life was completely falling apart. It didn’t help that he was unbelievably good at everything he did either. The one thing Sharon was good at, track, also happened to be his best sport, and he was good at everything else besides. Academics, sports, even fucking electives: he was the best in every class.

And Sharon couldn’t stand it. 

She’d made this known to literally everyone at school, but that didn’t stop people from being friends with him or asking her why she hated him so much. And, in Sharon’s defense, did she really need a “why”? Steve just bothered her, is all. She didn’t think it was a big deal, except for the fact that he seemed to invade her life in every way possible, from being Aunt Peggy’s favorite bag boy at the grocery store, to being friends with Natasha, Sharon’s best friend. She was just sick and tired of him, to be honest, and she wished that he’d just leave her alone. 

“Can you get that?” Nat asks Sharon, as she’s setting up all of the snacks and board games for their game night. Nat had thought of it a few weeks back, and they’d made it a weekly event, inviting their friends to hang out every Friday night to let off some steam and ignore their responsibilities for a few hours. It was less exciting than going to a club, sure, but it was fun and they lived in a small town, so. 

Sharon makes a show of complaining, but gets up to open the door anyway, immediately wishing she hadn’t. Steve Rogers is standing there, looking as casual as she’s ever seen him, even though he’s still wearing a button-up. What a dork. 

“Wrong house,” Sharon starts, attempting to close the door in his face, but he just laughs good-naturedly, sticking his arm out to keep it open. Sharon strains against him a bit, but then gives up when she realizes it’s no use. “I hate you,” she mutters as he forces his way into the house and her personal space, and Steve shrugs like he doesn’t mind. Asshole. 

“I know,” he says, like it doesn’t bother him. Sharon follows him back into Natasha’s living room, wondering what the hell he means by that. 

“Oh good,” Nat says when she makes her way into the living room, “you’re here.”

“Isn’t it just grand?” Sharon quips, giving Nat a pointed look, which Natasha completely ignores, continuing her conversation with Steve. “Sam and Maria are still coming, right?” she asks him. 

“Actually, they can’t make it. But Bucky’s on his way.”

“Wait a second,” Sharon pauses, hating the direction that this night is going in. “Aren’t we playing pictionary?” Aka, a team game. One in which Sam is usually her partner. And Nat and Bucky are dating. So that just leaves…

“Looks that way, partner,” Steve smirks, looking over at her, and Sharon swears she feels vomit swimming up her throat. 

They end up winning every game, which is surprising. Once Sharon gets over the initial disgust of being on the same team as Steve, she realizes that they actually make a pretty good pair. Which, gross, but in the context of Sharon’s intense competitive streak, it’s actually pretty great. 

“You’re not a bad artist,” she tells him while Bucky’s helping Nat clean up the living room. 

“Was that a compliment?” Steve teases, causing Sharon to roll her eyes, “Alert the presses! I think that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.” 

“Well, don’t get used to it.” 

“Wasn’t planning on it.” 

“You are the most frustrating human being I have ever met,” Steve gasps around her mouth, and Sharon ignores him, focusing instead on undoing the buttons of his shirt. Stupid, pretentious prick with his stupid layers and stupid shirts with buttons. Why can’t he just wear t-shirts like every other high school boy on the planet? 

“Shut up,” she mutters, shucking her own t-shirt off, not giving him the satisfaction of removing it himself. 

“Make me,” he banters back, and Sharon does just that, fastening her mouth against his. 

His lips move down her neck, and if she closes her eyes, she can pretend that she’s somewhere else, with someone else, until he opens his mouth again. 

“Why do I even like you?” he grumbles against her skin, more for his own sake than hers, she assumes, but something bubbles up in her chest anyway that she immediately shoves down. 

This is stupid, meeting up with him in abandoned closets and empty locker rooms, like her life is a shitty version of a CW show, but she can’t bring herself to stop. He just drives her absolutely insane, even more so because he’s so good at what he does to her body. She hates him even more for it. 

“Because I’m awesome,” she tells him, and he huffs out a laugh, running his fingers through her hair and tucking it behind her ears. It’s oddly intimate and Sharon has no idea what to do with what he says next. 

“Yeah, you are.” It was so much easier when she just hated him, hated him. Now it's more like Sharon just "hates" him, and the difference between the two is startling, making her stomach churn in a horrible, unexpected way. Stupid, gorgeous football player Steve Rogers, with his stupid talented mouth and soft hair. God, she is so fucked.