By the time the team made it back to clean up and outside, night had settled on the compound.
The lights Pepper had Steve hang twinkled brightly against the purple evening sky, and music played softly as it carried across the open field, away from the buildings and out toward the bordering forest. The hot August air was giving way to a gentle breeze which fireflies were beginning to emerge and dance to, adding to the display of lights.
Jennifer Ford entered the party last, upon the request of her team, giving them a moment to prepare- and to hide her family as a surprise.
Given the extra time that they had, Jennifer took a moment to clean up and put on a new dress she'd bought on an outing with Pepper but had not yet had a chance to wear. It was a lovely little party dress, a pastel sort of green with white trim, stopping just above her knee and cut low enough to flatter her without showing too much, Pepper had even remarked it had an almost vintage feel to it, which Jennifer hoped worked in her favor where the Captain was concerned. She paired the dress with white pumps and her mother's pearls.
As she came down the stairs to their back patio area, she noticed that everyone had stopped and stared as she walked down the stairs. Jennifer, unsure with what to do with all the attention, stopped on the last step and put a hand on her hip.
"What?" She demanded, an amused smile playing at her lips as she looked around. Her eyes lingered on Steve, who looked almost starstruck as she came down the stairs, his mouth slightly open and ears reddening.
"You, ah, clean up nice, Doc." Clint offers, trying to break the silence. She smiles again as everyone enthusiastically agrees. She crosses the stone patio to where they'd all congregated, heels clicking lightly on the stone.
"We got you a little something..." Tony says, placing a champagne flute in her hands. "Close your eyes."
"You didn't have to get me a present y'all..." She laughs, closing her eyes as instructed.
"Oh, we got you a few of those as well. This isn't so much a gift as... Well, just open!" Tony says, the giddiness on his voice so apparent that Jennifer laughs, even though she has no idea what is waiting for her. When she flutters her large brown eyes open, they immediately fill with tears.
"Daddy... Gramma..." She says as she stumbles forward in a rush to embrace her family. Her father, a tall, thin and balding ginger man, towered above his mother in law and daughters, and his long arms wrapped all four of the women in a big hug. The Avengers all stood back and watched the emotional reunion play out. After a few tear and laughter filled moments, they separated and Jennifer turns to the other party guests.
"Have you all been introduced, then?" She asks, taking the tissue Pepper offered her to dab at her eyes, so not to smudge her makeup with her tears of joy.
"We have." Her sister, Alice, confirmed. "We actually got here a few hours ago. Tony took us to our hotel to check in and change, Gramma had a nap, then we came here. They told us you were with a patient so we decided to hide it out for the party."
"This place is amazing, Jen." Kierra adds, looking around.
"We're so proud of you, baby." Her Gramma says, gripping her hand for a moment. Jennifer takes her grandmother's arm and walks her over to a large white lawn chair, and settles her down before placing her cane where she can reach it.
"I can't believe you came." Jennifer sighs, her heart so full in the moment. Her friends have started to come over and join where she stood with her family.
"Mr. Stark here, he drives a hard bargain. Made it a bit too good of a deal, so I closed the garage for the week, and your sisters both took off. Hardest part was getting Mama Gertrude here on an airplane." Her father laughed, pulling a seat up beside his mother in law.
"I made it to eighty-seven years old with my feet firmly on the ground, Thomas. I didn't have no need to know what it was like in the sky. But for our Jenny-Bee, I made an exception."
"Thank you, Gramma." Jennifer laughs and gives her grandmother a kiss on the cheek. "It means so much to me."
The party, which was mostly food and the Avengers and the Ford/Fairfield family exchanging stories about the birthday girl, while Jennifer smiled and laughed. She opened presents, clothes from her sisters, a handmade quilt from her grandmother, a musicbox from her father, a new doctor's bag with monogrammed stethoscope and case from Tony and Pepper, and many other lovely gifts from the others.
Jennifer couldn't help but notice there was one name missing from the list of those she'd thanked, but she decided she was having much too nice of a birthday to worry on that for the moment. The music picked up, and Tony came across the patio and bowed low in front of her Gramma Gertrude, before holding out his hand and asking the elder lady to dance. Gertrude had smiled and took Tony's hand, and he slowly let her lead him to the dance floor. Clint followed suit with Natasha, Sam had ask Kierra as well. Pepper crossed over to the food table where Steve was hovering and hit him hard in the ribs with her elbow.
"Go." She nodded to where Jennifer watched fondly as Alice was laughing with Rhodey, who attempted to dance in time with the music. Vision spun Wanda past the two, pausing for a moment to offer a tip which Rhodey shrugged off and made Alice laugh all the harder.
"I, uh..." Steve blushed.
"Now." Pepper scolded. Steve nodded and moved along the edge of the patio, trying to keep out of Jennifer's line of sight until he was right next to her.
"Hey." He said awkwardly, looking ahead as he spoke to her.
"Captain Rogers." Jennifer replied, glancing over. Steve had cleaned up into a nice, light purple buttondown shirt and khaki pants, his belt and shoes a coordinated chocolate brown.
"I- I don't suppose you would do me the honor of a dance?" Steve stammers out. Jennifer blinks a couple times, then looks over.
"Really?" She asks, and the genuine surprise in her voice stings Steve a little. He nods, and holds out a hand.
"Please." He adds, quietly. Jennifer nods and lays her hand on his, allowing him to lead her out where they begin to sway to the music as a new song comes on. Jennifer watches out of the corner of her eye as her Grandmother has Tony take her back to her seat and he begins to dance with Pepper. Jennifer's mind starts to run away with her, looking at the others all paired up and dancing. Vision, not seeming to know he and Wanda were being watched at all, places a quick kiss on the young woman's forehead.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Steve says, before spinning Jennifer out and back into him, pulling her closer to him on the return, his hand on the small of her back, holding her flush with him as they danced.
"Its more like a quarter for them now, quite a bit of inflation since that phrase was, no pun intended, coined." She joked, looking up into Steve's deep, crystal blue eyes. Steve looked back into her deep, rich brown ones and waited, but he smiled at her joke.
"Well, quarter then. I accept the cost raise." He replies, hoping she will open up a little.
"I don't understand you." She confesses. "I mean, I had thought of us, of our... friendship..." She lingers on the word, emphasizes it, even, before going on. "I had thought of us one way, and it was good. Then you kissed me and... I realized that maybe, you know, things were another way. I maybe even hoped I was right about that. Then you stepped so far back that I am afraid that, not only was I mistaken in thinking you liked me in that way, but now you don't even want to be my friend anymore. I am honestly in shock you're dancing with me now, in front of the team."
These worse sting Steve worse than he was prepared for, and he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. The two have all but stopped swaying now. Steve takes another large breath before opening his eyes.
"Take a walk with me?" He asks, stepping back and offering his arm in an overly formal way. Jennifer looks him over and quirks an eyebrow, but she takes his arm and agrees, allowing the Captain to lead her away from the party and into the quiet of the garden.
"How long has that been going on?" Thomas, Jennifer's father asks Sam as the two men both pile some snacks onto their plates at the food table. Sam turns to look in the direction the other man had nodded, seeing Steve was escorting Jennifer away for a private moment.
"Longer than either of them actually know, honestly." Sam laughs. "Don't worry, Steve is every bit as much of a gentleman you'd think Captain America would be, and then some. Very old fashioned."
"Hmm." Thomas grunts, and almost jumps when he feels a hand on his arm, turning to see Kierra and Alice are also coming back for more snacks.
"She's a big girl, daddy." Alice reminds him.
"And a freaking Avenger..." Kierra adds. She looks up as Natasha comes over and rummages through the various drinks for a juice.
"How far along are you?" She asks, and the redhead freezes. Kierra smiles.
"I'm a midwife." She explains. "It's habit, sorry."
"Ten weeks, give or take." Natasha says, her shoulders relaxing slightly. Kierra moves over to the spy and gives a small smile.
"I'm sure Jennifer is perfectly capable, but I could come up a bit before your due date and help, if you'd like. Jennifer's training is mostly emergency and trauma based, but babies are my bread and butter." Kierra says proudly. Natasha gives a small, apprehensive smile.
"Thank you." she nods and heads back to Clint, uncomfortable with how quickly the other woman had read her, even if it was a professional talent.
"Well, Kierra knows, I guess." Natasha huffs, sitting down and sipping at her juice. Clint looks confused, but he waits for more information. Natasha finishes her sip and lets the straw go. "She just ask me how far I was, then she told me she's a midwife. She even offered to come help Jennifer with the delivery, since Jen is more trained in emergency and trauma. It was kind of sweet, when you take away the element of invasion of privacy."
"A lot of women are very in tune with that, Nat. You may have to get used to that." Clint offered. Natasha rolled her eyes.
"Unless Bruce is found, I am not leaving this compound." She huffs. She looks out past the patio and onto the field toward the forest, and she notices that Steve and Jennifer have sneaked away, walking along the paved walking trail in the moonlight.
"Oooo." Clint says, turning to see what has caught Natasha's attention. "Think he'll man up?"
"If he doesn't, I'll do it for him." Natasha says, sounding both amused and annoyed before sipping at her cranberry juice again.
Steve and Jennifer walk in silence for the first few moments, waiting until the music and noise of the party are all but faded away behind them as they went along the pale cement paved walking track, which circled the entire compound, a four mile track in all, if walked in total. When the sound of the others was far enough away, Steve cleared his throat.
"I do... like you, Dr. Ford." Steve says at last, breaking their silence. "A lot."
"It still sounds so much like there is a 'but'. I'd rather just hear it." She sounds almost mad at him. Steve lets go of her arm and stops walking.
"I've been in one, very limited relationship in my entire life. Which saying out loud is somewhat embarrassing, to be perfectly honest." Steve confesses.
"Why?" Jennifer questions, her nose wrinkled as if it was the most absurd thing she'd ever heard.
"Because... Because I have no idea what I am doing. Because I have this... This public image but inside I'm still some ninety pound kid from Brooklyn who can't talk to women. I haven't got Tony's charm or charisma, or Thor's vast flirty skills... I'm just... I'm awkward." He shrugs heavily. "I don't know how to say what i feel or even have any idea where to begin."
"Just... say what you feel." Jennifer offers. "I will if you do." She says more quietly, and she steps closer, her long eyelashes flutter a little, Steve guess on purpose because Jennifer isn't bad at these things, and she does enjoy a good flirt, especially with Sam when Steve is around.
"I- I think you are with one of the most beautiful, kind women I've ever had the absolute honor to meet. You make my heart flop around in my chest in a way it hasn't in decades, and in a way I honestly never thought it would again. I adore your patience and your compassion, the strength and courage you bring to everything you undertake. I wanted nothing more than that kiss we shared the night Ultron struck, and nothing but more of them since. I just didn't know how to..."
Steve's words are cut off as Jennifer grabs his shirt collar and pulls him down slightly, pressing her lips into his. Her small hands are balled into the fabric of his shirt. The kiss takes Steve by surprise and he stiffens before one hand instinctively moves to her lower back, like he had held her during their dance. The other hesitated at his side before caressing her cheek gently. Steve felt like his heart would fly out of his chest as their kiss deepened, her lips dancing over his and he felt Jennifer smile into him. A sudden flash of light took them both by surprise, causing them to separate.
"Really, Sam?" Jennifer and Steve say in unison, as Redwing hovers next to them.
"What?" Sam replies through the speaker. "He's been flying around the whole party, taking pictures the whole time. Thought you two might want one to remember this moment, but you got too far from the lights, he had to use the flash." Sam said with a laugh.
Steve laced his finger's through Jennifer's and he pulled her closer, her face hiding in his chest.
"Sam." Steve scolded, his voice firm.
"Yes, sir, Cap." Sam said, and Redwing turned to fly back toward the party.
"Shall we?" Steve said, pressing a kiss into the doctor's forehead.
"Yeah." Jennifer said with a smile. "Yeah, let's head back."
So... I forgot about this story until I was watching FATWS and I had to pick it back up. I'm sorry its been so long, but I'm back now. Please please please review!
Thanks for reading!