July 4th, 2015.
"SURPRISE!" The crowd cheered loud joyously, not a single long face in the room. Tony stood in the middle of the room, holding a birthday cake with an American flag icing on it. "Happy birthday, Capsicle." The billionaire uttered humbly, still looking a bit guilty after the whole Ultron fiasco that happened recently. They haven't talked much lately; the two of them. There was just this unresolved awkwardness whenever they're in the same room.
Steve hadn't expected this kind of surprise. Not after all the tension that built up between him and Tony, but he had to admit, it's a very nice gesture. Family sticks together no matter what, right?
Tony, as per se, led the party the whole way through, shouting out loud to keep the spirit going, talking Steve into igniting the first firecrackers before letting everyone else join in, encouraging Steve to keep taking shots although the two of them know that the captain is incapable of getting drunk. He kinda wished that there were less people here, though. He wished that it could just be them alone, the Avengers, as a family, not a huge gathering filled with all these people whose faces he could barely recognize. That aside, he had fun; laughed whenever somebody does something stupid; like a random drunk guy who tried to flirt with Wanda, sexual jokes exchange between Tony and Clint, and some lady who tried to swing from the chandelier. They danced, they drank, they partied like they were normal people; oh how nice it feels to feel normal, just for once. Tony even tried introducing him to some of his model friends, who are all beautiful, but none interests him. "Tony, I appreciate the effort but I'm fine on my own!" Steve shouted over the loud sound of music around them. Tony ignored him, shaking his head stubbornly and carried him to the dance floor. "Go out there and show them you're an animal!" Steve wanted to say something back, but he got pulled into the crowd, in the midst of sweaty bodies dancing and grinding against each other. He wanted to get out of it but people keep pulling him in, particularly ladies who seemed so desperate for a chance to get him as their own. He didn't feel like grinding against anyone there, in fact, at that moment, he grew anxious, and slightly frustrated. He harshly told a lady to back off, and pushed his way through the crowd. It's not fun anymore, it just felt annoying. This is not how he pictured his birthday party would go, or the Independence Day, for that matter. Staring down at the view of New York City from the balcony he just hoped that he could be ultimately alone for the rest of the night.
Then he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned, was ready to turn down any other offer from a random lady but was met with a pair of soft lips landing on his. He closed his eyes for a mere second; admiring the feel of those lips meshed against his, enjoying how they tasted sweet and how she smelt so good. He saw her green eyes just before she kissed him; and right after she pulled back from the kiss he looked at the red headed assassin confusedly, while she looked back at him with parted lips and a thankful look, "thank you." She mouthed. Steve peeked behind her shoulder and found a middle aged man giving them a dirty look before turning away to leave. "He's been following me all night. I had to do something." She took his hand and made her way to lean by the railings of the balcony, shoulder to shoulder, eyes looking out to the festive night sky; brightly colorful thanks to the firecrackers scattered all over the sky. Steve was still taken aback, it took him a moment before he finally replied, "You're welcome."
"You don't mind if I stay here for a bit, do you?"
"Nno, no." His tongue felt numb and his cheeks felt hot, he knew his lips were trembling. What is this? What's happening? "Of course not."
"Happy birthday, by the way." She flashed him a kind smile, her eyes pierced at his with a teasing look, probably aware of the fact that he was blushing. He managed to smile back, ignoring the party noises around them and the strong beats of music that deafened their ears. His heart was beating so fast and he felt drops of sweat prickled through his skin; what is this? It's not like he hadn't kissed her before. He did once, on that elevator! She's a professional, she only did it because it was necessary, Steve. But atop all that, he knew that he felt safe right here, with her, holding her hand just like this. And he knew he was being crazy by doing what he did next, but he leaned to kiss her again anyway; feeling his heart skipped a beat as he did so, anxious that she would push him away and said no;
But she didn't.
She simply kissed him back, and kept on kissing him until their surroundings felt quiet. Lips to lips, tongue to tongue. Smoothly, tenderly and patiently. We have all the time in the world, Steve. He pictured her say. They didn't care that people were watching, they didn't even care what their friends would say or think. All they knew was that the kiss felt good, and it felt right.
She pulled back, kept her lips inches away from his with a breathy sigh, "happy Independence Day, soldier."
He wondered how far she would let him go; he wondered how far they should go. This was the first time that he realized how much he wanted her, how much he craved for her lips to never leave his and wish for his hands to be allowed to wander along her smooth curves. He chuckled and smiled, moving to kiss her again if only Tony hadn't come up to them, severely drunk, putting an arm each around Steve and Natasha's shoulders, squealing; "HOW'S MY BIRTHDAY BOY?"
Steve glared at the billionaire, irritated, but he saw how Natasha simply bit her lip and chuckled with glee, and when her green eyes met his, they brought a smile to his face, too.
The clock struck three in the morning when the last 'strangers' in the party left the premises. Everyone who stayed put was none other but the Avengers plus Maria Hill and Jane Foster; who Thor specially invited over, and all of them were tired and/or wasted. Tony, who was now slightly sober after throwing up at least twice tonight; wait, it's last night, suggested that they huddle up, sit in a circle on the floor, and play a game.
Tony Stark was the last to join the circle, bringing an empty bottle of wine along with him; "Spin the bottle!" he suggested, sliding the bottle to the middle of the circle. Most around the circle reacted with a shrug and murmured "sure", while others snickered. Vision leaned close to Wanda and expressed how he could not comprehend why humanoids do this, and that left Steve Rogers being the only one who remains abstain.
"No one wants to kiss you, Tony!" Clint shouted, everyone else agreed. Steve shyly threw a glance at Natasha, who was seated comfortably next to the archer. She wasn't looking at him, was murmuring something to Maria Hill, something that sounded like "If only Pepper was here he would be dead."
"What are we, sixteen?" Steve decided to speak up. Every pair of eyes in the room turned to him, but Natasha's seemed to be the only ones he cared about. She was smiling dauntingly at him when she said; "Why, captain, are you scared?" and everyone else laughed.
Instead of giving in to her teasing he decided to quip back, "Are you, Romanoff?", causing everyone else to cheer "whoa…", although he truthfully dreaded this more than anything. Yes, they just kissed a few moments ago but for some reason he still hesitates about whether or not she would let him kiss her again. Was that kiss a spur-of-the-moment thing, or was it real for her too? So, although the idea of kissing everyone in the room seems terrifying, if that's what it's gonna take to get a chance to kiss her again, he'll take it.
Tony spun the bottle, "let's just play! No re-spins no matter what. You kiss who you get."
Steve was sure he heard Sam Wilson vocally protest about it, but nobody else seemed to mind the rule, for now, at least; most guys find girl-on-girl lip-lock amusing and Steve is guiltily not exempt from that. Having to kiss a guy, however, is another thing. It sounds rather scary, honestly.
The first spin landed on Maria. When the bottle spun again, Steve felt his heart beating so fast, hoping so badly that it won't point at him. Luckily, it didn't. It landed on Sam Wilson who was sitting next to him. Both were drunk, trippingly crawled their ways to each other and locked lips in the middle of the circle while everybody else cheered and encouraged them. Steve glanced at Natasha, who was watching the two with a smile. He wondered what she had in mind.
"Alright, alright, cut it out, you two!" James Rhodes stepped in and waved at the two. Maria giggled and stepped back to where she sat, lipstick smeared and a silly smile, Sam Wilson returned to his seat next to Steve and muttered, "holy hell she's fine" with a chuckle.
Next spin. Steve hoped dearly that it would land on Natasha and then him. Oh man, if only. Oh wait… It did. The tip of the bottle clearly is pointing at her right now. He watched as her mouth wordlessly parted with surprise.
"Whoo, red! It's your turn!" Clint elbowed her with a laugh and she returned him with a punch on his arm. Clint stopped laughing by the time he realized the next spin landed on none other than him. Steve scowled inside.
"Uh…," Clint raised a brow. "You know what, guys? I think I should sit this out. I'm sorry for not announcing this earlier; I'm just a bit drunk"
Everybody responded with a no, complaining and whining that he's not being fair, except Steve who again, stayed quiet, and Natasha, who seemed to agree with her best friend; "Guys, guys! It's different. Clint's married."
"But we've made a rule!" Tony protested.
"And what happens in this place, stays in this place." Jane added. Everyone else aside from Steve, Natasha and Clint seemed to nod in agreement.
Natasha took a fleeting glance at Steve for a second, before turning to look at everyone else and then back to Clint, a nervous look on her face.
Steve lets out a sigh. Here it goes. She needs a save and he's the best chance to give her one; he's their leader after all. "She doesn't have to." Steve spoke up, speaking with a stern voice like he would during missions. She looked at him surprised, everyone else expressed their disappointment. "She doesn't have to kiss Clint and Clint doesn't have to kiss anyone tonight. It would create a problem, guys. He's a married man with children. The rest of us are not."
Thor raised his hand, "But Lady Natasha should still kiss someone to make this fair."
"How about our birthday boy himself?" Tony smirked and cocked a brow, getting everyone to cheer for them; "KISS! KISS! KISS!"
Oh dear lord. Is this a dream? When he looked at her with flushed cheeks and uncontrollable heartbeats, she was looking at him with a smile; thin and kind but mysterious and luring. She rose up from her seat and walked over to him; causing his heart to skip a beat, and he swore the world stopped rotating when her lips touched his. The world was quiet, and it was peaceful; he reached for her, not wanting her to be away for another second, but at the same time knew that the kiss had to end sometime; feeling paralyzed as she pulled away biting her lip and returned to where she sat in the circle. Everyone clapped their hands. He saw Clint laughing and saying something to her, she laughed back with him for a moment before noticing that Steve was looking at her the whole time. They smiled at each other. And he was sure that for a second right there, he caught her blushing, too.
They continued with the game for quite a few more rounds which resulted these pairings below; Wanda and Rhodes, Jane and Maria, Natasha and Vision, Sam and Rhodes; the one which resulted complaints from both parties but they leaned in for a really quick smooch in the end anyway, followed with a 'yuck', Thor and Natasha, Steve and Wanda; it honestly felt so awkward when they'd done it, the kiss didn't last long at all, and basically everyone tried to kiss everyone else they haven't kissed by the end of the game. But it was the kiss Tony gave Steve in the end that made the highlight of the night. The man was so drunk that he loudly whined that the bottle wasn't being fair for not landing on him even once. He then went over to Steve and pulled him to a drunken kiss, which Steve reacted by trying all his might to pull back. This caused the whole room to fill with laughter. By the time they decided to wrap up, the sun already peeked up on the horizon and so they all stayed put; watching the sunrise from The Avengers tower's balcony. Clint and Jane were missing for a few moments, but when they returned, they brought a whole tray of coffee for everyone.
"What do you think of the birthday, chief?" Sam elbowed Steve when he was leaning on the balcony's railing on his own. Steve took the coffee that Sam handed him and smiled with gratitude. "I'd say it's a good one."
"We should take a day off. To celebrate." Sam suggested while Steve rolled his eyes. "This birthday is a day off. We've done enough celebrating, Sam."
The falcon scoffed, glancing over at Maria Hill who was giggling with Tony and Thor not far away from them. "Whatever you say, cap." Steve noticed how he looked at Maria, how interested he seemed at her. He knew Sam probably wanted to chase this…opportunity. Maybe he should cut them some slack. To enjoy life like normal lads would do; Go take a nice girl to dinner and, if they're lucky, finally get laid. Steve blushed just thinking of that wish. He wonders if he even is ready to take things to that next level.
Without realizing it, he was already looking at her, the beautiful red-headed assassin, wrapped in a simple black dress that hugged her body perfectly; she was standing alone looking at the sky, sipping her black coffee in peace. Another day off sure wouldn't hurt, right?
"You gonna walk over to her and talk to her?" Sam elbowed him again, snapping him out of his thoughts, back to reality. Steve felt heat burning on his cheeks. "Relax, it's natural." Sam Wilson convinced him once he saw the look on his face. "I saw you two making out last night before the bottle game. It's not like you two did it in private."
"She's" Steve stopped, finding his breath caught. He didn't know why but it was as if he was finding a reason not to walk over to her and ask her for the certainty he surely is looking forward to; mostly because he knows he won't be able to handle a rejection, and that she's a co-worker who he sees daily; meaning everything would be awkward regardless, and that at the same time he wonders if she even is interested in the idea a relationship. Let alone with a ninety year old virgin. He remembered that she took a beating when Banner left; she was very quiet and reserved about the sensitive topic but Steve, having had spent most of his time with her lately, he had her open up a bit. Got her telling him things; about her confusion, her insecurities, her feelings. He didn't know why but he listened to her every word, and made sure he was always there when she needed him the most. It was as if he needed to make sure that he at least tries to make her feel better. And he loves her voice. Gosh, he really does. Some nights he would just think about what it would be like to hear her sing, to let her sing him to sleep. If he could have a playlist of her voice he would put it on replay and listen to it a whole day long.
"She's what?" Sam cocked a brow, impatient by Steve's irresponsive manner.
Steve lets out a sigh. "She's still with Banner, I think."
"Banner's not around anymore."
Steve shrugs. "I don't know I'm just I'm not sure. We're so different, Sam." That's it. Finally. A reason. A reason that not at all made him feel better. You're such a coward, Steve.
"She's a broken hearted hot chick who just spent last night lip-locking with you. How can you NOT be sure?" Sam looked at him like he was an idiot, a complete lunatic. Steve chuckled. The man had a point there. "GO." Sam's mouth formed a perfect O when he said it. "Man, you're a wise-ass but you know jack shit about this stuff. Trust me, go and talk to her."
He took a deep breath and started walking, a small step at a time, body rigid like a stick, walking like an awkward penguin. Halfway through she turned and saw him; she smiled, wearing that exact same smile that he saw her wore last night right after he kissed her. His heart was now beating in a wild pace again. He's not sure he'll be able to say anything to her.
"Hi." She started. He was a hundred percent sure his face looked red as a tomato when he said 'hi' back.
"You wanna get coffee?" Wrong question. She laughed at him, waving her coffee cup while biting her lip. "Right." He corrected, looking away. "Smooth, Steve. Smooth." He tried muttering it but his every word felt like he was speaking on a high volume speaker. It just makes him feel worse. He carefully glanced at her; she was holding out a laughter. Shit. She noticed.
"Steve." She called with her trademark husky voice, her green eyes staring right onto his baby blues, a radiant smile on her pink lips. "Say, uh… wanna give me a lift home?"
"Yes. Yes. Absolutely." He kept nodding and nodding until he realized he must've looked so dumb and ridiculous so he stopped but added another awkward "Absolutely."
Steve waved Sam a thumb up as he walked after Natasha towards the elevator, in which they spent the whole way through making out like horny teenagers. He's not even sure who started, it just sort of… happened. He held her hand once they stepped aside the elevator, as they walked across the garage to his motorcycle, and she hugged him tight when he drove her, his thoughts went hazy with ideas; just… ideas of what he wants to do, choices that are open to them, where this all could be going. They practically live together in the Avengers Facility, though, that kinda makes it easier, right?
But after he walked her back to her quarter with his lips barely leaving hers the rest of the way; they stopped at her door and looked at each other with a similar look; hesitance. Worry. Confusion. And he can't seem to get rid of those thoughts even as other parts of his mind kept trying to picture different ways for him to get her to bed.
"Maybe not… now." She muttered and he nodded, looking down to the carpeted floor and his old brown shoes. "Thank you for everything, though."
"No." He scoffed. "It should be me thanking you." He suddenly found himself analyzing a thousand reasons why she said no. Is it because of me? How bad am I at kissing? Did I behave like a jerk? Do I smell bad? Am I too blonde? Too polite? Too innocent-looking? Even if she said yes, even if they stepped in her room, would anything really happen? Would I let anything happen? Am I even ready for it?
"Hey." Her palm cupped on his jaw and she directed him to stare up at her. She had a kind smile on her face when their eyes finally met. She looks sincere but Steve wonders if he could actually trust her right now. "Happy birthday." She leaned to place a smooch over his lips, while he just stood there, not knowing what to say or do next. She did the same, just standing there in silence waiting for him to say something. An awkward silence passed until she finally ended it by excusing herself and stepping into her room; leaving him staring at the wooden door for a good while before walking back to his own quarter with a ton of thoughts stuck in his mind.