Being an Avenger was like a dream come true. You loved nothing more than to fight alongside some of the most powerful and respected heroes in the world. As an Avenger, you gained the confidence and courage to do so many things you never thought you would be able to do. However, despite all the self-assurance, you were unable to keep some fears and concerns at bay. As hard as you tried to keep your worries hidden, somehow they always revealed themselves in the end.
You and the rest of the team were in briefing room listening to Steve prepare everyone for an upcoming mission. You sat there spacing off, only paying attention to the sound of Steve's soothing voice. You could listen to that voice all day. You were brought out of your thoughts when you heard your name.
"Natasha, Y/N, and I will drop down from the Quinjet and invade the base. Clint will keep it in the air until I give him the all clear to land it. We don't want a repeat of last time," Steve stated.
"Oh yes, and what happened last time?" Tony enquired, a smirk beginning to form on his lips.
Clint groaned and sunk into his chair. "I may or may not have accidentally almost landed on Bruce," he grumbled.
"It was not a good time to be on the Quinjet," you retorted, flashing back to the Hulk hurling the Quinjet a couple hundred feet while you were still inside. Luckily, you and Clint were the only ones left inside the jet at the time, so the others were able to complete the mission without any bumps and bruises. Due to the little fiasco, both of you were out of action for a couple weeks.
"It was a good time to be outside it, though," Sam quipped. Everyone in the room laughed, except Clint.
Clint raised both of his hands above his head in defeat. "It won't happen again."
"Whatever you say, Wack-a-Hulk," Tony commented.
Steve gave an annoyed look to Tony before turning back to the rest of the group. "Anyway, Natasha and Y/N, make sure you've got a parachute. I'm not sure how many are still left on the Quinjet."
At the word 'parachute', your eyes grew wide. You had never used a parachute before. You weren't the type to willingly jump out of planes to get where you needed to go. You preferred the ground where gravity intended for you to be. You were okay with heights, but only if you knew you were safe and secure, like inside a tall building or an airplane. Looking down from somewhere such as a cliff caused your stomach to form into knots. Every mission thus far, you traveled from place to place via the ground. You never voiced this fear, because you didn't want to seem weak and incapable in front of everyone, especially to a certain captain. You were an Avenger. You were supposed to be fearless, bold, and daring.
Steve noticed the change in your expression, but continued speaking to the group. "Everyone suit up. Let's meet back here in thirty minutes."
Everyone started filing out of the room, you quickly following suit.
"Y/N," you heard Steve say behind you. You turned to look at him.
"Yes, Steve?"
"Are you okay with how we're doing this mission?" he asked, concern filling his eyes.
You stared at his piercing blue eyes for a moment, hesitating to answer. "Yep," you finally nodded. "I'll see you in thirty, Captain." Steve sighed lightly as he watched you leave the room. He didn't believe you, but let you go on your way. He knew you were stubborn when it came to voicing your own concerns about certain things, but that wasn't going to stop him from getting to the bottom of this. He wanted desperately to make sure you were okay.
Once everyone had gathered back together, they all headed to the Quinjet. You walked past Steve who gave you a worried look. You adverted your gaze, hoping he wouldn't catch on to your silly fear. You caught up with Natasha and Wanda and began to chat with them, avoiding Steve completely.
For the entire ride, you could feel Steve's eyes on you like daggers. Unfortunately, you weren't the only one to notice this.
"What's with Steve?" Wanda asked just above a whisper. You shrugged.
"He's been staring at you this entire time," Natasha stated. "Something is definitely up."
"He does that a lot," you retorted. This much was true. You always caught him glancing at you from time to time. It gave you a glimmer of hope that maybe he liked you, too. You always brushed that thought away, not letting you get too ahead of yourself. It was obvious he cared for you, but then again, he cared for everyone on the team.
"Oh, does he now? I wonder why," Natasha gave you a knowing smile. She and Wanda both knew how you felt about Steve, but you swore them to secrecy. If this got out to the rest of the team, you would never hear the end of it. Natasha insisted that he had feelings for you, too. You would just roll your eyes, figuring she was just trying to make you feel better.
"We'll be reaching the drop zone in three," Clint announced. Everyone started to get ready for their descent. You followed Natasha as she went towards the back of the Quinjet to get her parachute. You picked yours up and put your legs through the loops on the bottom of the harness. You slid your arms through the remaining loops at the top. You watched Natasha as she tightened the straps over her chest and did the same, wanting to appear as if you knew what you were doing.
Once your harness was completely on, you started feeling slightly nervous. You hoped no one would notice. You glanced over to Steve and saw he was no longer looking at you but at Tony and Sam instead, fully engaged in a conversation. You huffed a sigh of relief. Maybe you could pull this off. All you had to do was pull chute and hope the parachute opened, right? You snapped out of your thoughts when you heard Steve speak up.
"Everyone who doesn't need a parachute, deploy now. We'll follow suit shortly after," he commanded.
You felt a rush of wind flow through your hair as the door of the Quinjet opened. You watched as Tony, Sam, and Wanda leapt out with ease. After a few seconds, Steve motioned for you and Natasha to jump next. With no hesitation, Natasha stepped towards the edge and plunged towards the ground below.
You walked towards the opened door and peered over the edge. Tiny patches of green and yellow filled the ground below. Buildings were just tiny specs mixed amongst the sea of green and yellow. You were a lot higher than you initially thought. You gulped and grasped the side of the door, the fear finally setting in. There was no way you could do this. Steve noticed your uneasiness and walked towards you, putting a hand on you shoulder. You looked up at him.
"Are you sure you're okay with this, Y/N?" he asked with a concerned expression.
"Y-yeah," your voice cracked. You mentally cursed yourself. So much for keeping your uneasiness hidden.
"Y/N," he said more sternly, staring at you intensely trying to read you. You shifted under the weight of his eyes. You looked back down to the distant ground below. The image before you started to swirl so you grasped the side of the door even tighter. You looked back at Steve.
"Steve, I-,"
"Here," he said as he offered his hand to you. You took it instantly and he led you further into the Quinjet.
"You should've told me you were afraid of heights."
"I know," you muttered. "It's just-I didn't want you to find out."
"Why not?"
You sighed. "I didn't want you to think I was weak."
"I would never think that about you, Y/N. Not now, not ever," he urged. You looked at him with a baffled expression.
He noticed your confusion and continued, "It's normal to have fears. Everyone's got them, even me." You smiled slightly. "If I knew you were afraid of heights, I wouldn't have told you to parachute down there. I never want to make you do something that makes you uncomfortable." You were taken aback by his kind and caring words. You could tell he was sincere in what he said and felt a twinge of guilt for not telling him sooner.
"You can stay here while I go join the rest of th-"
"No," you interrupted, courage suddenly flowing through your veins. "I should be down there fighting. I want to jump." Steve was surprised by your sudden change in demeanor, but smiled at your bravery.
"Alright."
"Steve," you paused. He looked at you. "There's something else I need to tell you." He nodded for you to go ahead. "I, uh, I've never used a parachute before," you said as you scratched the back of your neck. He smiled at you even more.
"That's okay, I'll teach you."
"Right now?"
He nodded. "We'll do a tandem jump down there. Let me go put a harness on." You watched him as he slid into the harness and tightened the straps. He motioned for you to come to him so he could attach your harness to his. Your breath hitched when you realized how close the two of you were together. You were thankful you were facing away from him so he couldn't see the red starting to spread across your cheeks.
He led you over to the edge of the Quinjet and you peered over again. You inhaled a sharp breath and closed your eyes.
"There's nothing to be scared of, okay? I'm right here," Steve reassured as he squeezed your shoulders.
You looked back at him and nodded. "Let's do this."
Steve leaned over the edge and before you knew it, you were falling. A surge of wind swept over you as you fell. You felt butterflies in your stomach start to emerge from the rush of the initial drop. As you continued to free fall, you felt weightless. All your anxieties and fears in that moment vanished. You were at peace. Suddenly, you jerked up and were taken out of your tranquil moment, indicating Steve opened the parachute. Now you were slowly floating down towards ground, the patches of green and yellow gradually becoming larger.
"That," you breathed heavily, surprised at how much that actually took your breath away, "was amazing." You heard Steve chuckle behind you.
"Not so bad after all, huh?"
"Not at all," you looked up at him and smiled. "Thank you so much, Steve. I wouldn't have been able to make that initial jump without you."
"Anything for you," he beamed down at you, his cheeks beginning to dust pink.
You continued to float to the ground, enjoying the silence and proximity of each other. Soon enough, you landed. Steve carefully unattached his harness from yours and you turned around to face him. He wrapped his arms around your shoulders and pulled you close.
"I knew you could do it," he whispered in your ear.
"Thank you for believing in me," you mumbled against his broad chest.
"Geez, what took you guys so long?" Tony yelled. Surprised, you leapt out of each other's embrace.
"I think I know," Natasha smirked.
"Now, let's not jump to conclusions," you laughed.