AN: Bored author + Blizzard = Early updates! If you aren't in the northeast US, there is a crazy blizzard that's pretty much closed everything here, so I had some extra time on my hands today and decided to update early. Yay! For all of you in the northeast; stay safe, stay inside and read fanfic! Happy reading!
Disclaimer: I own no Marvel characters, only a slightly neurotic Charlotte. :)
I had the next day off, and taking Steph's advice, decided to do something productive. From the moment I woke up that morning I knew that I would spend the day sulking if I didn't find something to distract me. I rolled out of bed and started breakfast before turning to my bedroom closet and carefully easing open the doors, groaning when clothes, shoes and hangers spilled out.
"Fuck," I muttered. I had left this closet alone long enough, living in that state of denial where messes just kind of become such a part of your regular life that you stop seeing them completely, but if Steve was coming over that night I could at least make my room presentable. The other two times he'd been over didn't count. The first time I'd been concussed, the second time he'd barely been here for more than five minutes. This time he'd have a chance to see what my apartment really looked like. And after spending the night in his spotless, Stark maintained place, I was determined to at least make my apartment homey and clean.
Plugging my phone into my speakers, I selected a jazz playlist, the music upbeat and loud, perfect for cleaning. Penelope wound her way into my room, leaping onto my bed and perching there, finding a nice comfortable spot to sit and watch me.
"Oh I see. Come to watch and gloat huh? Well, we'll see who cleans out your litter box this week missy." Penelope stared at me blankly, licking her paw absentmindedly. I turned to the task at hand and groaned.
"Where in the world did I acquire this much shit?" I wondered aloud, grabbing a few trashbags and sorting piles into keep, donate and trash. By lunch I had filled all three to the brim, my closet finally gaining some order. I moved to the kitchen and made quick work of it, cleaning up after my breakfast and grabbing a sandwich out of the fridge for lunch. I worked my way around my apartment, dusting and sneezing, dusting and sneezing until almost five. Finally giving up, I headed to the shower to wash off the sweat and dust that had collected all over me from the past few hours of cleaning. The water felt like heaven on my skin and for the first time all day I had nothing to distract me from thinking about Steve. I was excited for him to come over tonight, to share one of my favorite films of all time and possibly introduce him to the wonders of a decent chicken tikka masala and garlic nan.
I ran a hand up my leg and grimaced, I supposed that since he was coming over I had probably better shave my legs to get rid of the short stubble that had grown over the past two days.
"I hate being a woman," I muttered to myself. Deciding to go all in, I gave myself the full treatment, shaving and lathering on my favorite body wash and then body lotion after the shower was over. I left the bathroom feeling pink and soft all over when my phone buzzed insistently. There were two missed calls from Steve within the last half hour and one voicemail.
"Shit," I cursed myself for taking so long in the shower and unlocked my phone, playing the voicemail.
"Charlotte, I'm so sorry, but I'm going to have to cancel tonight," Steve's voice said, louder than I'd heard it before, competing with the whooshing sound of air that I could only describe as an airplane or helicopter, "Something came up at work and I've got to go with the team to clean something up. I should be back by tomorrow, Sunday at the absolute latest. I'm really sorry-" a boom sounded in the distance and the connection got crackly, "Romanoff, what the hell was that?" Steve shouted and I strained to hear the unintelligible reply as another boom went off in the distance and the connection went staticky and disconnected.
"Seriously Steve?" I muttered, listening to the voicemail again, an unshakable sense of panic working its way up my throat. I dialed his number, but was met immediately with his voicemail.
"Hey Steve, it's Charlotte. I just got your voicemail and just wanted to make sure that you were alright. Um, let me know when you can. Bye." I sat my phone down and plopped onto the couch, the message playing over and over again in my head. He was fine, he just disconnected because he had to go. Without saying goodbye? A nagging voice in my back of my head muttered. I shook my head. I couldn't think that way. Steve was a big boy. He was Captain America for fuck's sake. He could handle himself. And he had a team of people supporting and helping him. The Avengers could take care of their own. Though the idea of Tony being in charge of keeping anyone safe, even himself, made me squirm. I turned on the tv, hoping to lose myself in a marathon of reality shows or something equally mind melting. Instead, a new report flashed over the screen.
"We're getting reports now on the situation in Sweden where it appears a unknown object has landed just outside of the metropolitan area of Stockholm. What had been previously assumed to be a meteor was disproven when a large insect like creature emerged from the structure and began firing on civilians." I shuddered as the footage rolled, a large, metal skeleton of some kind of bug crawled out of the wreckage and fired green laser like things at buildings. "Moments after the creature emerged, the area reported a high number of lightning strikes before Thor appeared and began to struggle with the creature," Thor appeared on the screen in a burst of light with two women at his side, who promptly ran as far out of range as possible. The large god attacked the creature, protected by some sort of green force field.
"Currently we are watching the situation closely, and will continue to update you as soon as more details come in. Now here with us is-" the reporter droned on introducing some astrophysicist with apparent close ties to Thor. I zoned out, staring down at my phone. Was this the something Steve had to go and 'clean up'? I pulled out my computer, trying to find any and all information on the situation and coming up with basically everything the news report had already told me. I was halfway through an article speculating that the creature had come from another dimension and was just as confused about it's whereabouts when the breaking news bulletin yet again flashed over the screen.
"Breaking news, we now have reports that The Avengers have joined the fray. We can confirm that Ironman, otherwise known as billionaire Tony Stark, Captain America, Black Widow and Hawkeye are all on the scene. The Hulk however is currently not with the group, leading to some speculation that Dr. Banner has decided to leave the superhero team." I rolled my eyes at the blatant opinion being pushed as fact and watched on as some of the footage finally played on the screen, counting the people on the ground. Stark was in the air, shooting at the creature with little success, all of his blasts bouncing off that strange green shield. Steve and Black Widow were no where to be found and I watched on in horror as another creature emerged from the still smoking wreckage. I could feel my heart rate rising steadily as the TV cut back to the reporter, now speaking with yet another 'expert'.
What the hell was going on? Last spring an alien invasion, a little while before that the attack in New Mexico, not to mention all of of the shit Tony Stark got himself into over the last few years. The world was falling apart and it just so happened that helping fix it was the man I had unintentionally gotten myself tangled up with. I groaned and fell back onto the couch, closing my eyes and murmuring a little prayer to whatever God would listen.
"Please keep him safe," I knew that the idea of him staying safe was completely ridiculous and my hope that he would remove himself from the situation, like it seemed the Hulk had, was completely out of the question. He would fight with his last breath to save anyone he could. It was a quality that I had seen from the beginning and something that had immediately lit up my warning alarms but also attracted me even more to him. I wrung my hands, pulling out my phone and checking any incoming tweets or news alerts.
Nothing changed however, nothing at all over the course of the entire evening. The Avengers kept fighting and the creatures kept charging on. The team had managed to keep the things from gaining any ground, but didn't have any success in actually stopping the damn things. Every once in a while I would catch a flash of shield, but never caught sight of Steve himself. Before I knew it, midnight rolled around, then 1am, then 2am. Unable to keep up and my adrenaline and stress from watching and worrying finally catching up with me, I passed out on the couch around 3, still clutching my phone in my hand.
It was the insistent vibration of my phone that finally woke me up the next morning. Groggily I unlocked my phone and answered.
"Hello?"
"Charlotte! There you are, my god I've been trying to reach you all night. Are you alright?" Steph's frantic voice asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine why?"
"Haven't you been paying attention to Stockholm? Are you living under a rock?" she asked incredulously and suddenly the entire evening came rushing back to me. I sat up quickly, my back protesting loudly. I dragged the phone away from my ear, no messages, no calls, nothing from Steve still.
"No, of course I have, I must've fallen asleep, I missed the last couple of hours of coverage. Anything change?" I asked.
"Yeah, a bit. The Hulk showed up and somehow those weird green things went down. It's over. They took both of those things out and apparently everything's fine. You haven't heard from Steve?" I sighed in relief. It was over. They were safe. Thank god. But if they were fine, why hadn't Steve called?
"Uh, no, nothing yet. I just woke up," I answered.
"I'm sure he'll give you a call as soon as everything's cleared up. Damn that was scary. half of the staff was watching this morning when I came in and everyone's still a little spooked. I've got to get back, but I just wanted to make sure that you were alright. Want me to come over tonight?" she asked.
"No, I'm fine Steph. Get back to work," I responded, trying to infuse as much optimism in my voice as possible.
"Alright. Bye hun." she murmured before the call disconnected. I dragged myself off of the couch, moaning at the aches that had developed from a night of sleeping in such a cramped position all night. Wearily I checked the clock, noting that I had somehow managed 8 hours of sleep. I scrolled through my twitter feed, watching the updates come in just how Steph had described. I had almost made it to my bedroom before my buzzer sounded.
"Who the hell?" I muttered and pressed the call button.
"Hello?" I asked.
"Charlotte, can I come up?" I heard Steve's voice, slow and even, if a bit tired sounding. My heart leapt into my throat and I let out the remainder of a breath I hadn't known that I'd been holding for the past 12 hours.
"Yes, of course." I immediately buzzed him in and tried to take stock of how I looked at the moment. My hair had been thrown up into a high messy bun after my shower and was now a complete disheveled mess. My eyes were bleary from staring at screens all night and though I had gotten 8 hours the night before, I still had dark circles dragging down my usually bright eyes. I groaned and pulled my hair out of my bun, unable to make myself care that much about how I looked. Three even knocks sounded at my door and I pulled the door open to reveal an exhausted looking Steve standing there, seemingly all in one piece and safe. Relief washed through me and I couldn't help but throw my arms around him. He held me tight and we just stood there for a few seconds, taking each other in and trying to convince ourselves that everything was finally alright. After a few minutes Steve pulled back and kissed me softly.
"Can I come in?" he asked. I smiled.
"Of course," I opened the door and Steve stumbled in, obviously exhausted and I was shocked to see him carrying his shield on his back, new scars on its surface. He shrugged the shield off and laid it next to my couch, wincing as he shrugged out of his leather jacket.
"Are you alright Steve?" I asked hesitantly. He turned to me, dragging a hand through his hair. Scars that I hadn't noticed marred his face and he was filthy, smelling faintly of oil and metal.
"I'm fine. Just a few scratches here and there," he said tiredly. He looked as if he would pass out on the spot, he was so exhausted, "I'm sorry I didn't call first. I meant to, but the reception wasn't great and I wasn't sure if you'd be awake yet-" I stopped him, pressing a few fingers lightly to his lips.
"Don't apologize Blue Eyes, I understand. Are you sure you alright? You look like you've just been through hell." I murmured, brushing his hair from his face and examining a cut high on his cheekbone.
"I'm fine really. The serum makes me heal faster and keeps me going longer, though I kind of feel like I'm hitting a wall right now," he admitted quietly.
"If you need to lay down, my bed is all yours," I offered and his brows lifted suggestively. "Not that way boy scout, calm yourself. At least not until you're feeling better. You need some rest." I began ushering him toward the bedroom but he stopped quickly.
"No, I can't get into your bed like this, I'm filthy," he said, "Could I maybe use your shower?"
"Of course," I ushered toward the bathroom door, "feel free, please." He started towards the bathroom before turning to look back at me.
"Could you maybe join me?" he asked sheepishly, "I don't really want to be alone." he looked at me with these sad, blue eyes, eyes that had seen more destruction and pain than any lifetime I would live. I sighed, my heart breaking for him.
"Sure, no problem. Just no funny business okay? You need to relax." he nodded and headed into the bathroom. I paused before joining him. "Oh I am so screwed." I muttered.
Inside, Steve had already turned the shower on, and from the steam rising over the curtain, he had it on scalding. He shed his pants, revealing a pair of red boxer briefs and legs covered in small bruises and cuts. He worked his shirt over his head, barely able to supress a hiss of breath as he stretched his arms up higher.
"Oh Steve," I murmured, finally seeing the damage on his chest, a huge, angry and purple bruise lighting up his entire right side. "My God, what happened?"
"Got thrown up against the side of the quinjet by one of those bugs. Took a decent hit, broke a few ribs." he admitted.
"Broke a few ribs? You should be at the hospital!" I exclaimed, ghosting my fingers over the borders of the bruise.
"No, I'm fine, really," I looked up at him skeptically. "The doctors wouldn't know what to do with me. By this time tomorrow I'll be completely healed, you'll see." he soothed. I sighed heavily.
"Just get in the shower. I'll be in in a minute." He shed his boxer shorts and eased into the shower, giving me a wonderful view of his butt. I shed my clothes and joined him, my dinky showerhead just hitting the back of his neck. He stood directly underneath it, eyes closed, steam rising around him, hair darker blonde with moisture. I placed a hand on his chest gently and looked up at him.
"Are you sure you're alright? Do you want to talk about it?" I asked. He shook his head slowly.
"Not yet. Soon though, okay? For now I just need to-" he stopped, taking a deep breath and I understood immediately.
"I have shampoo and conditioner here, along with body wash if you don't mind smelling too girly for a little while." I offered. He smiled slowly, closing his eyes again.
"Thats fine, just hand them to me?" he asked. I opened his hand and gave him some shampoo, watching him reach up and wince.
"Wait," I stopped him, taking the shampoo from his hand and lathering my own, reaching up to work it through his dark blonde locks. He sighed, bending his knees a bit to make it easier for me.
"Is this alright?" I asked hesitantly.
"Yeah, its perfect." he replied softly.
"Stand up and lean back," I told him and rinsed the shampoo out, careful to avoid his eyes. Then I lathered up body wash, using my hands to gently wash the dirt and sweat from his skin, being careful not to touch his bruises too roughly. I grabbed conditioner and did the same as I had with the shampoo, not realizing that this position brought my breasts right to his eyes level. Steve however, had definitely noticed. Halfway through conditioning his hair I felt a little nip at the side of my breast and yelped quietly. He continued, nibbling his way gently around my nipple. I leaned back, pushing him to rinse out his hair. He looked down at me hungrily, his hands cupping my breasts together gently. I stood back on the flats of my feet, looking up him questioningly.
"Steve…" I warned.
"I'm fine, I promise Charlotte. Its just. You're so beautiful. All I could think about while I was gone was how much I wanted to see you again. I didn't even make it back to the tower. I couldn't wait any longer to see you. I know I probably should've gone home and showered and changed, but I needed this. Needed you." My heart broke a bit at the tenderness in his eyes and voice. I reached behind him and turned the water off, grabbing a towel for both of us.
"I know, Steve, I'm just so happy that you're okay. I got that voicemail and then I saw the news and I was so worried about you," I admitted quietly, looking down at my toes. Steve tipped my chin up with a large finger, digging into me with those clear blue eyes.
"I'm fine Charlotte, I'm here. A little tired, a little worse for wear, but in one piece." He soothed. I smiled up at him softly, seeing the exhaustion in his eyes, but even past that to the emotion behind them. I swallowed hard, feeling a wave of matching emotions rising up within me. I cleared my throat and attempted to clear my head.
"Hey, come on, we should get you to bed." I reached for a towel, wrapping myself and then grabbing another to shake out some of the moisture in his hair. He looked so tired, and he gave in quickly, anchoring his hands on my hips as I dried off his upper body, suppressing a hum of appreciation as my hands worked over his shoulders and arms. His head was down, his eyes downcast and he looked so very tired. Without warning, his hands tensed on my hips and he pulled me closer, burrowing his face against my shoulder. I yelped but conceded quickly, feeling his need to be close to me like a ache in my soul. It wasn't just his body that had been beaten up in Stockholm, but something else had happened that shook him up in a bad way. My hands found the back of his neck and stroked softly.
"Hey Boy Scout, we've got to get you into a bed ASAP or you're gonna end up sleeping on my bathroom floor, because I sure as hell can't hold you up." Steve sighed and picked up his head, kissing my forehead sweetly before grabbing the towel, slinging it around his hips and walking past me to the living room. I sighed heavily, watching him walk away and feeling distinctly in over my head. This man was finding his way into my heart and I just couldn't bring myself to push him out for the life of me.
I followed after him, finding him standing in the middle of my living room, slightly bewildered. I chuckled and placed my hand on the small of his back, guiding him into my bedroom and thanking my lucky stars that I had cleaned yesterday and hadn't made it to my room the night before. I ushered him to the bed, easing him into what I had allowed to be one of the few luxuries I had allowed myself when I bought the apartment. The queen size bed was firm but plush, and big enough to dwarf me, but would fit Steve perfectly. It felt a bit strange, tucking him into bed like this, but from how wiped he looked, he probably wouldn't remember much of this anyway. His eyes were closed the moment his head hit the pillow, his breathing slowly evening out. I leaned over the bed, brushing a damp lock of blonde hair off of his forehead, giving into the urge to kiss his smooth brow as the worry lines began to unfurl and disappear.
"Sleep well Blue Eyes," I murmured, turning away from the bed before being tugged back by his hand on my wrist.
"Charlotte, wait," he mumbled, eyes half closed.
"Yeah?"
"Could you stay here with me? Just for a bit," he murmured, clear blue eyes staring at me entreatingly. I felt the crack in my heart widen a bit more and nodded.
"Of course Steve." I smiled, climbing onto the bed and wriggling into be next to him, trying not to jostle his injured side too much. Surprisingly, Steve pulled me closer, snuggling himself closer to me before sighing heavily and murmuring into my hair.
"Thank you Charlotte, for everything." His body finally began to relax, each muscle loosening and going still, only moving with each breath. I closed my eyes, damning myself for letting my heart break for him. Easing back slowly, I sat up next to him in bed, trying hopelessly to stop looking at him. But I couldn't help myself. He had fallen completely and wholly asleep, his face finally peaceful, the small scratches there already softening and healing. I brushed my fingers over his brow, smoothing out barely existing lines. Longer than expected lashes kissed the top of high cheekbones, stubble sprouting all over his cheeks and chin. I ran fingers over the bristle, letting it scratch my skin slightly. Pulling my hand back I sat next to him, staring straight ahead, realization washing through me. I was falling for Captain America. And I was falling hard.
"Fuck."
AN: Yeah, so this was a huge chapter. I just wanted to set up a bit of intimacy between Charlotte and Steve, just because I know it can be hard to get around the whole superhero thing. Hope you all liked it! Review!