Steve paused in the bedroom doorway and smiled to himself. Emily lay on her stomach, her sleep tousled hair spread across her pillow and bare back. He placed a steaming mug of coffee on the bedside table next to her before moving towards the closet and pulling down his bag. The zipper seemed absurdly loud in the near silent room, but when he glanced over his shoulder she hadn't so much as twitched.
Having found what he was looking for, Steve crept towards the bed and gently started to pull the blankets away from her, ignoring her groan as she nuzzled into the pillow. Placing a knee on the bed, he shoved his hand under his pillow before bracing himself over her and sweeping her hair to the side to kiss across her shoulders.
"Time to wake up," he whispered in her ear, grinning as her nose scrunched. "Rise and shine, Sweetheart." The corner of her mouth twitched before she smoothed out her features. He kissed the back of her neck before shifting further down the bed. "Reveilles toi mon amour." When she still didn't open her eyes, he huffed a laugh and began to kiss his way down her back. She shifted when he pressed his lips to the flares of her hips, and he grinned before biting her ass.
"Ouch!" Emily jerked and smacked his shoulder, her attempt to roll away impeded by his arm.
"Dia dhuit ar maidin."
"You are literally a pain in the ass," she groaned, settling onto her back and dragging her hands down her face. "I want to sleeeeep."
Chuckling, Steve surged upwards and caught her pouting lower lip between his teeth, pushing her arms over her head and pinning her wrists down with one hand. Emily tried to say something but he cut her off with a bruising kiss. His free hand slid down her side and curled under her thigh to catch her knee with the crook of his elbow, guiding it up to her chest so she could feel him in the cradle of her thighs. His hips rocked against hers, the thin fabric of his running pants doing little to hide his erection, and her nails dug into his hand.
When he finally pulled away, Em's chest was heaving and her eyes slowly opened to meet his. "You're in a mood," she panted, flexing her wrists and rolling her hips. He let go of her leg and pushed the hair away from her face before placing a chaste kiss on her lips.
"What can I say?" he smirked before leaning down and licking a stripe up the curve of her breast to swirl his tongue around her nipple. Her hips bucked up to meet his when he closed his lips around the sensitive flesh. Emily let out a stuttering breath, pressing her breasts against his mouth as he suckled at her before tugging with his teeth. The gasp she let out caused him to grin as Steve kissed and licked his way across the valley of her chest. "I've got a gorgeous woman in my bed."
"N-not my usual morning wake up call," she breathed as he lavished his attention on her other breast. Goosebumps rose on her skin as he lightly trailed his fingers down her body. He felt the growing wetness between her thighs as he cupped her, fingers teasing between her folds and making Emily moan as he brushed her clit. Steve swallowed her high pitched whine as he thrust two fingers into her, feeling her flutter around him as he pumped his hand. He gave her a predatory smile when she arched off the bed as he curled his fingers and stroked her clit. She tried to pull her arms down but he kept them pinned above her head. "Come on," she pleaded, curling her leg over his waist and trying to encourage him to go faster.
Steve had every intention of dragging this out, but her movements had shifted his pillow and the corner of the box he'd placed there peeked out. The sight pushed that plan out of his head and he leaned up to bury his face in her neck, kissing and sucking marks into her skin. Em threw her head back, giving him better access and he pushed her harder until she came with a cry. Her chest was heaving against his as he withdrew from her and brought his hand up to his mouth and licked the taste of her off his fingers. Emily groaned and, when he finally let her free, wrapped an arm around his neck while the other reached down between them to stroke him.
"Hang on, Sweetheart," he said, shifting away from her deft hand. "Gotta ask you something."
"It can wait."
"Already waited too long." He rolled off of her and pulled her to sit on top of him. Grinning, he ran his hands over her thighs, up her back, and gently pulled her down to kiss him. Em reached up to card her fingers through his hair before cupping his face. Her lips brushed his, and he smiled against her mouth while reaching under the pillow. There was a soft click as he thumbed open the ring box and brought it into her line of sight. "Will you marry me, Emily Rose Harthorn?"
The moment he'd seen the ring, he knew it was the one and the look on Emily's face told him that he'd been right. Her kiss swollen mouth hung open and her wide brown eyes fixated on it. Vine motifs curled around the white gold band, dotted with diamond chips, and two smaller stones flanked the large round center diamond. "Babe…"
He sat up quickly, and she let out a soft 'eep' as she slid into his lap. "I love you so much, Emily. You are everything to me, so will you please marry me?"
"I asked you first," she sniffled.
"But I have the ring. So is that a yes?"
"You're not going to give me a speech?" she teased. "Or get down on one knee?"
"Do you want me to?" Steve asked, raising an eyebrow. He'd just put his hands on her hips to move her off of him when she grabbed his face and pulled him in for a searing kiss.
"I love you. And we're going to tell people about how I proposed to you because this isn't exactly a story we can share," Em said when she pulled away, tears zig zagging down her cheeks. The grin Steve gave her was blinding, and he rolled them and peppered her face with kisses while slipping the ring from the box. Her hands scrambled to pull off his shirt and he paused long enough to capture her left hand after she'd flung the offending material away.
Pressing a kiss to her palm, Steve whispered his I love yous into her flesh while sliding the engagement ring he'd bought just after their first date to Coney Island onto her finger.
OOO
Emily woke slowly, the heavy weight of Steve's arm and leg draped over her as his even breaths tickled the back of her neck. She would have been content to lay there if her bladder wasn't so insistent about getting out of bed.
It took some maneuvering, but she eventually wiggled out of his grasp. After grabbing a pair of shorts and t-shirt from the dresser, she closed the door silently behind her and escaped to the bathroom.
As she washed her hands, Em tilted her head to look at the bruises that decorated her neck and sighed - she'd definitely need to break out the concealer before going into town. Her hair had also dried in an interesting way after their shower, but she fixed that by putting it in a ponytail after getting dressed. It was only when she was in the living room with a rewarmed cup of coffee that she allowed herself to actually sit and look at her engagement ring.
It didn't feel strange, Emily thought while holding her hand out and twisting her fingers to better catch the light on the diamonds. Usually there was a period of time where it felt awkward to have a ring on that particular finger, but not this time. (She tried not to think about the fact that her finger had felt empty for weeks now.) What she did find funny, however, was how all three of her engagement rings were so different from one another.
The first… her heart ached just thinking about how excited Garrett had looked, slipping the white gold ring with three square diamonds on her finger the day he asked her to take a literal and figurative plunge in Arizona. Em blinked away tears, remembering what that ring had cost them and placing it on his coffin in Arlington.
The next one had been a simple silver band and a solitaire diamond that was presented to her on one knee in Hyde Park before Steve went to assist in the liberation of France.
But this one - this gorgeous ring - was going to be the last one.
Feeling a bit more alert, she grabbed her glasses from the coffee table and walked towards the kitchen to refill her coffee before retreating to the office to start planning. Which was where Steve found her when he came searching nearly an hour later. "Look who's finally up," she teased.
"I was up before you. That was just a nap."
"Did I tire you out?" Emily raised an eyebrow in challenge and smirked while twisting in her chair to face him.
"You are a very demanding woman," he grinned, coming to a stop in front of her. Steve reached down to cup her cheek, tilting her face up. His lips hovered over hers when he said, "Two times is a lot for an old man like me."
Emily laughed against his mouth, her hands tangling in his hair. "You and me both."
"Well, four times for you." She smacked his arm at his cocky expression.
"Well if we're going by that count, you had three this morning, sir." Steve's lips ghosted along her jaw. "So I was thinking - "
"Then I'm not doing my job right," he cut her off, moving the chair so he could kneel in front of her.
"Last night - "
"Then I definitely wasn't doing my job right." She rolled her eyes and grinned when his hand gripped the back of her neck and pulled her in for a bruising kiss. His free hand guided her legs to wrap around his waist.
"Well, not all of us fell asleep right after." His hands slid under her shirt and started to tug it up before she caught them.
Steve gave her an unimpressed look. "You fell asleep before I did, Sweetheart."
"Well you snor - " she squeaked when he squeezed her ticklish spot and tried to push away his hands when he continued his assault. It was only when she nearly tipped backwards in the chair that he stopped, his hands wrapped around her hips to keep her steady. Still chuckling, Em tossed her glasses onto her notebook and wiped away the tears streaming down her face.
"So what were you thinking about while I wasn't snoring?"
That sobered Emily quickly and she bit her lower lip. "How do you feel about getting married this weekend?"
"This - this weekend?" he frowned. "Four days from now?" She nodded and he sighed. "Em - "
"Hear me out before you say no, please?" Steve huffed and stood, taking her hand to pull her to her feet and led her around the piles of paper and books on the floor. He sat on the bed and tugged her down to sit on his lap. She sat stiffly, ready for a debate.
"I'm listening."
Emily draped one arm over his shoulders and reached up to smooth Steve's fly away hair before trailing her fingers down to curl in his beard. When she finally raised her eyes to meet his, he gave her her favorite crooked smile and she sagged, her hand dropping to her lap. "I don't want to plan a wedding." His eyebrows shot up at her whining tone - clearly that wasn't the reason he was expecting. "It's so much work and I just… I don't want to."
"You don't want a wedding."
"I...it's just…" Em took a deep breath. "If you want a wedding, I will absolutely… We can do that. But I… I would go to city hall with you right now and we could be married in an hour if I didn't think my family would kill us for doing that. Maine has no waiting period - I looked it up last night. But if you want to get married in New York, we'll have to wait 24 hours. And we can do that but…"
"So this doesn't have anything to do with the subpoena?"
"I mean," she shrugged, sighing heavily. "It does and it doesn't."
"What do you mean?" Steve watched Emily tilt her head back and close her eyes, her chest rising and falling as she took one deep breath and then another. Her fingers dug into his shoulder, and he clasped her hand, bringing it up to brush his lips over her fingers and graze over her engagement ring. "Sweetheart?" He heard her swallow, and when her eyes opened they drifted to the corner of the room to avoid his own. Still she didn't say anything, though her lips parted.
"I-I don't want to wait." Tears shone in her eyes, and Steve felt his heart clench.
"Emily - "
"We have the worst luck," she said, half choking on a laugh. "If it's not my ex coming back from the dead, it's me getting shot while aliens invade and then you leaving me. Or you almost dying while I'm back in the 40s. And I don't want to tempt fate anymore by waiting. And if we… if we wait - your name is out there now, mon coeur. It's just a matter of time until someone figures out who you are. And if we wait until after I testify - "
"I don't want to marry you because of - "
" - then it's a thing. It's me marrying you because of that, when keeping your secrets is the least of the reasons I want to marry you. But it'll be… it won't be… " Emily paused and had to take several deep breaths before she pushed away from him. Steve resisted for a moment before sighing heavily and letting her go. He leaned forward and watched her pace, trying to figure out how to phrase what she wanted to say. Finally, she came to a stop in front of him and lifted her chin. "I'm not marrying you."
His heart plummeted to his stomach. "Wha - "
"I am not marrying you - Captain America," she said, her whole body jerking as she squared her hands and motioned off to the side. "I'm not. I refuse, I'm not… I'm not marrying him," her head shook as she moved her hands to frame him. Her eyes implored him to understand. "When I marry you, I'm marrying you, Steve. But if we wait, it's him I'm marrying. I'm not… I'm not marrying Captain America. And the longer we wait the more time people have to figure out who you are and it'll be a - "
Steve's hands shot to grab hers and he yanked her closer, his lips crashing against hers as he twisted to pin her on the bed underneath him. He took advantage of her gasp of surprise and deepened the kiss, his hand on her back pulling her tight against him. "Say it again," he whispered against her lips.
So she did.
Emily poured every hope and goal and regret into that kiss. Every time she'd wanted to kiss him during those first few months that she held back. Every hurt and pain she'd been unable to shield him from. Every moment she'd caused him to doubt how much she loved him. Every night that they spent together. Every morning that she woke up safe and warm in his arms. Every morning she woke up alone and worried for his safety. Every conversation about their future.
How much she wanted to marry him. How she wanted to raise children with him. How she wanted their kids and grandkids and great-grandkids to know how much they loved each other. How she wanted to watch him grow old and grey at her side. How she wanted to die before him so she didn't have to imagine another day without him.
Every time she had stood beside him, and for every time she would.
Steve panted against her mouth when they broke apart, and she saw a sheen of tears in his blue eyes when they met hers. Em smiled and flicked away the few that dampened his cheeks. "Do you still question it?" she asked. "That I want to marry Steven Grant Rogers? That I want this to be for us, and only us? Not for the world to see?"
"This weekend," he rasped before covering her hands with his and gently pulling them away to brush feather light kisses on her palms.
OOO
They spend the day hovering around one another - fingers trailing across an arm or back, kisses pressed into bared skin - reluctant to leave one another's side after being so vulnerable that morning.
Around two, they got a call from the Stark lawyers who outlined their plan to respond to the Senate Intelligence Committee to ask for clarification and point out the lack of procedure, and then offer to submit a written response to questions if necessary. They, like Steve, didn't want her to testify but hadn't been able to say they could keep it from happening - as officers of the court, they couldn't encourage a client to ignore a subpoena.
After exchanging a glance, Em and Steve decided not to say anything about their engagement.
When he started to retreat into himself, Emily pulled up a playlist on her phone and pulled him into a swaying dance in the living room. He held her tightly and eventually moved them to lay on the couch with her draped across his front. His fingers made a circuit, stroking from her lower back up her spine and down again, as she listened to the slow beating of his heart.
When they eventually got around to calling her family, they were ecstatic and surprised that they needed to be in Maine in just a few days.
Carter had offered his congratulations and said he would of course be there.
Steve sent a text to his team just before they went to bed and purposefully left his phone in the living room.
OOO
She was sitting cross-legged on the couch, tapping her fingers against her mouth and frowning at the email she was drafting, when Steve looked up from his third sandwich. His head tilted to the side and he stood, brushing the crumbs from his hands.
"What do you - "
"Shh," he hushed, holding a hand out to cut her off. She raised an eyebrow and opened her mouth again when he shook his head. Silently, he motioned her out of the living room while reaching under the couch. She bit off a gasp when he pulled out a handgun.
"Where did - "
"There's someone coming down the driveway. Go to the room and out the window if you hear anything."
"What - "
"Go! Please," Steve added, seeing the slightly panicked expression on her face. "I'll come get you." Hesitating only a moment more, she stood and put her computer on the coffee table and pressed a fleeting kiss to his lips, keeping as far away from the gun in his hand as possible. She paused in the dining room and turned back to see him giving her a tight smile. "Go, Sweetheart."
She'd just closed the door behind her when she heard the car pull up, the gravel crunching under its tires. After slipping on her shoes, she crept to the window and slowly pulled back the curtains. Without thinking, Emily flew out of the bedroom and ran down the hall, shoving aside Steve where he stood in the doorway.
Caroline Harthorn barely had time to get her arms up before her daughter was sobbing in them. "Ma puce, what's wrong?" Holding her tightly, Caroline gave Steve a concerned look over Em's shoulder, and he gave her a sad smile while tucking the gun into the back of his jeans. His hands free, he turned to greet Lauren and tried to keep the surprised look off of his face when Jessica climbed out of the backseat, shifting awkwardly.
"Come on, let's give them some privacy," Lauren said, wrapping an arm around her own daughter and guiding her into the house. "We can grab the bags after. You don't happen to have any coffee ready, do you Steve? Mom's been on the road since two, so I'm sure she'll want some."
"I can, uh," he said, glancing at the two women in the driveway, the elder of whom waved him away. "I can make some."
Alone, Caroline pulled away and cupped Em's face, using her thumbs to brush away her tears. "What's wrong, baby?"
Emily took a stuttering breath, her eyes sweeping over her mother's face. It had been ages since she'd seen her, between work and the war and SHIELD. "I-I don't know what to do, M-Maman."
"That's why I'm here, ma puce. I may not be a lawyer like your father, but I do know a thing or two about you." When her lower lip started to wobble again, Caroline gave her a gentle chuck under her chin before taking both her hands and squeezing them. "We'll figure it all out, Emily Rose, don't you worry about that. But for right now, you need to eat something because you're too skinny."
Inside the house, Steve gave her a worried look as he stood beside the gurgling coffee pot, gun once again out of sight. Lauren was leaning over the kitchen island and quickly pushed away and came to hug her before grabbing her hand and grinning. "Damn, Em! That ring is gorgeous! You did good, Steve" she added, throwing a wink to her soon-to-be brother-in-law. "Looks like Em appreciates it too." Lauren looked pointedly at the rather large hicky Steve had left on the side of her neck, making them both flush.
"Thanks."
Jessica shifted awkwardly in her chair when Emily turned her attention to her niece. "Jess…"
"I get it. Mom and Dad talked to me about it already," the teenager said, crossing her arms over her chest. Em glanced at Steve, who sighed.
"It wasn't because we didn't trust you. It just - "
"I wanted it quiet," Steve cut her off, making all three Harthorn women turn to look at him. "I, uh" - he rubbed the back of his neck - "I wanted to keep that part of my life separate from you guys - you and your brothers and sister. I don't know if we'd've told your parents and grandparents about it if… New York." His eyes darted to the hidden scar on his girl's lower stomach before he cleared his throat. "I, erm, I didn't really have anyone growin' up but my Ma and - " he stumbled on a name, and Caroline reached out to rub his arm as he swallowed hard - "Bucky, so it was nice bein' around you all and just bein' Steve. So if you're gonna be mad at anyone, be mad at me and not your aunt."
Jessica pursed her lips, her eyes darting between Steve, Emily, her mother, and grandmother. She swallowed and straightened in her chair, flicking a strand of blonde hair over her shoulder before leveling her brown eyes on Steve again. "You're really Captain America?"
"Yes."
"Did you really fight in World War II?"
"Yes."
"And my great-grandfather did this?" she waved at him.
"How did - " Lauren started, staring at her daughter.
"It's all over the internet, Mom. All you have to do is Google Auntie Em's name and Erskine pops up, and then his name's attached to Steve's."
"Well then the Senate definitely knows," Emily sighed, looking back at Steve whose expression tightened.
"The Senate?" Jess frowned.
"They want me to testify about what's going on."
"Because you worked for SHIELD too."
"Yeah. And yes, Opa Erskine made the serum that did that to Steve." Jessica heaved a sigh and settled back in her chair, glaring at her knees. "Jess, I - "
"Lied."
"Jessica Nicole," Lauren warned, but Em shook her head.
"I did."
"Didn't trust me."
"No, I - "
"Treated me like a kid."
"You are a kid."
"No I'm not."
"Yes you are!" Emily yelled. "You are a kid, Jess, even if you don't want to - "
"You just - "
"You have no idea what it's like keeping all these secrets! I didn't want that for you! Do you know how hard it is to not be able to tell your family about who you're dating, or your job, or your fucking day!"
"Emily - " Steve said.
"Because you don't trust us!"
"Because you're a kid! Because you are a fucking kid, alright? And I didn't want to put you in a position to have to lie to your friends, or put you in danger because guess what? Our name is now attached to Steve and the Avengers. And you know what that means? It means that people are going to fucking try to exploit that - they are going to send people after us, like they did with Ryan, because we're - "
"And whose fault is that?! You're the one who chose to stay with him after you found out - "
"I love him, you - "
"Apparently more than you love your family - "
"How dare - "
"THAT'S ENOUGH," Caroline yelled. "That's enough, both of you! Jessica - go. Go for a walk while I talk to your aunt."
"We'll both go," Lauren said, giving her oldest child a look when she opened her mouth again. The screen door slammed unnecessarily hard behind them, and Caroline rounded on her youngest.
"There was a different way of handling that. I know you're under a lot of pressure right now, but you know better." When Steve pushed off the counter and opened his mouth, Caroline put up a hand to stop him. "She has a right to know her history and what this means for the family, just like the rest of us. I'm not saying she went about it the right way, but you owe us all that much, Emily Rose. You have a very complicated life - the both of you," she added, glancing at Steve. "And the rest of us are just getting a peek at it right now, so there's going to be a lot of questions and you need to be prepared for them."
"We are," he said. Em felt him at her back, and took a shaking breath while squaring her shoulders.
"This isn't easy, Maman."
"I know, ma puce, I know. For any of us. But for right now, she gets to be an angry seventeen year old whose favorite aunt lied to her for the last year. And you, my baby girl, get to be a bride. So we're going to have a cup of coffee and talk about what you want to do for your wedding."
"She doesn't want - "
"We're not doing - "
"You are having a wedding," Caroline Harthorn said, raising an eyebrow. "I don't care if it's just a few us in the backyard - you are having a wedding because your father will never forgive you if he doesn't get a chance to walk you down the aisle."
"He can do that at city hall," she whined.
"Emily Rose."
Steve couldn't help the smile that pulled at the corner of his mouth. It was worth the elbow in his side when his fiancée saw it.
Author's Note: "Ma puce" means 'my flea', which is a term of endearment in French; "Maman" means French. I based Em's ring off of the Adeline Vintage Diamond Engagement Ring if you'd like to take a look. Wanted to give Em and Steve a bit of time to just enjoy being engaged before introducing a bit of angst with Jessica, who sees Em more as a friend than an aunt so the betrayal hurts more. And I love Caroline, even though I don't write her often. Her and Lauren are just... such Momma Bears when it comes to their kids. ANYWHO, only one month between updates! Maybe this working from home thing is helping with writer's block? Thanks for reading!