Steve endured Brooklyn's first two missions with a sense of ease he hadn't expected from himself. Her first mission lasted five days, and by the sixth she was home in Steve's arms, never having been so much as touched by anyone else. Two weeks later, she was sent out again to seduce a wealthy businessman with his hand in a series of dangerous mob deals. After enough alcohol, Brooklyn got him talking in bed, and she called Steve once he passed out from the hotel hallway in her nightgown.
"Are you okay?" Steve had asked nervously as he sat in his chair beside his record player. When he saw her name on his collar ID, Steve had pulled on his shoes and grabbed his jacket, ready to drive all the way to Wall Street if he needed to.
A shaky breath came from the other end of the phone, but Brooklyn answered, "Yeah. I got what I needed. I'll pull out in the morning."
"But are you okay? Did he hurt you?" Steve pressed. He was already holding his keys, and his legs were bouncing. He was ready to bolt the moment she told him the man had laid a hand on her.
"We slept together, but I'm okay." Brooklyn answered breathlessly, and Steve could tell she was shaken. "I've never felt so empty before."
"I'm on my way."
"No, I'm okay." Brooklyn told him quietly and Steve sat back down in his chair, setting his keys on the table holding his record player. "It just wasn't you."
"When you get back, I'll take care of you. Tomorrow's Friday, we can relax all weekend unless they call me in." Steve promised as he rubbed his temples, "We'll lay in bed, and I'll rub your feet. Have you been wearing your heels all day?"
"Yeah."
"Then I'll take care of that. I'll fill up the jacuzzi and you can soak. I'll join you if you let me." Steve said, hearing Brooklyn sigh dreamily on the other end.
"That sounds really nice, Steve." She murmured and Steve smiled weakly, realizing that being angry about Brooklyn's job wouldn't make it any easier for either of them. This was what she needed. She needed support. "I gotta go, though. I'll be back by lunch time. Ask if you can leave early?"
"I've been there nonstop since you left, I'm sure they won't mind if I take the afternoon off of training." Steve assured the woman, cradling his phone against his ear, "I love you so much. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Love you too." She whispered before hanging up, and Steve exhaled loudly, feeling a wave of calm wash over his body. It wasn't fun knowing Brooklyn was having sex with other men, but Steve supported her. She was good at what she did, and he was proud of her for doing what she did to protect what was right.
The next day, Steve stood on the tarmac at the Triskellion with a big bouquet of lilies hiding behind his back. He wore his uniform, knowing he owed Nat another hour of training after greeting Brooklyn, but he wanted to be there when she landed.
Before the quinjet had even touched the ground, Steve was making his way over to it with bated breath. When the back door opened, Brooklyn came bounding out, sprinting towards Steve and throwing her arms around his neck as he caught her, holding the bouquet behind her back as his other arm sat under her thighs.
She grabbed his face and dove towards him for a kiss, not bothering to be professional despite the other agents who followed her off the plane. "I'm so happy to be home."
"I've missed you, Sweetheart." Steve told her as he set her down gently before holding out the flowers for her. Her excited expression melted into one of surprise, and her eyes began to water. Steve panicked, wondering if he'd done something wrong, "Are you okay?"
"Nobody's ever gotten me flowers before." Brooklyn murmured as she smelled the lilies and batted her eyes quickly to banish the tears that threatened to spill. "Thank you. I love you."
"I love you, too." Steve pushed her hair behind her ear and kissed her quickly before resting his forehead against hers, "You have to go debrief?"
"Yeah. It should take about an hour. Maybe two."
"I'll wait for you. Widow said I could take a break from training to come meet you, but I have to go finish. She's not satisfied until she thinks I can actually take her. I'll wait for you at the garage?" Steve offered and Brooklyn nodded, clenching her flowers like they gave her life.
"Sounds perfect. I'll see you soon." She reached up on her tiptoes to peck Steve's cheek, and he felt his skin heat up at the simple gesture. "Also!" She called as she walked away, causing Steve to turn around, "That suit- it's… really, really good."
Steve grinned like a fool as he went the opposite way to meet Natasha back in the gym. He already knew he'd be taking several hits because the butterflies in his stomach were disorientating.
Steve was leaning against his motorcycle, engrossed in an article about war bonds from World War II, when Brooklyn finally appeared from her living quarters. Steve looked up and grinned when he saw her, seeing she still held her flowers protectively against her chest, "I hope you don't mind if I bring these to your place? I don't trust them in the common area, and I don't have anywhere to put them in my room."
"Of course. You'll have to hold them tight though. I threw out the bag they'd come in." Steve warned, hopping on his motorcycle, and reaching out to hold the flowers while Brooklyn climbed on behind him. Once she was settled behind him, he handed her the lilies and she tucked them inside her windbreaker as she held onto Steve with her right hand.
He could feel her shifting uneasily, clearly uncomfortable not being able to hold him with both arms. He slowly backed the bike out of its spot, then revved it to life before reaching back with his left hand and planting it tightly on Brooklyn's thigh, "I won't let anything happen to you. You know that, right?" He asked over his shoulder as she clipped on the helmet he always insisted she wear.
"I know." She said softly, knowing he could hear her easily over the roar of the bike, "I trust you."
Before she had a chance to change her mind, Steve sped off at full speed, driving with one hand and holding the woman behind him tightly with the other.
That night was quiet for Steve and Brooklyn. From the moment she stepped foot in Steve's apartment, he could feel something was off. He gave her space until she approached him, and he didn't pressure her to join him in bed. He watched her carefully as she pulled one of his undershirts out from his drawer, then went to the bathroom.
She closed the door and Steve sat on the bed, feeling the cushy mattress sink beneath him. He would have replaced it if Brooklyn didn't love it so much. He didn't want to tell her that it was too soft, and he rarely slept, because she'd feel bad. He'd rather lie awake at night with her, and sleep on the floor when he was overly tired.
"Steve?"
He stood at the sound of her weak voice, seeing her leaning against the bathroom doorframe with a towel around her chest and her dark hair falling in frizzy pieces over her shoulders. Without her makeup, he could see the dark bags under her eyes and what looked like tear stains on her olive skin. Steve cleared his throat, taking a tentative step towards her, "Yeah?"
"Would you like to join me?" She asked softly, and Steve was struck by how meek she was acting. This wasn't normal for Brooklyn. She was anything but shy with him, and this change of demeanor combined her worn appearance worried Steve. The man had hurt her after all.
He nodded and joined her in the bathroom, turning on the shower and stripping out of his clothes. Steve helped her into the shower, carefully closing the door behind them before turning to Brooklyn. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah." She answered as she pressed her hands to Steve's stomach, "It was just hard, getting back in the game. After being with you... it just doesn't feel the same." She paused as she reached up to push Steve's soaked hair away from his forehead. "I don't want it to feel the same. And I think that really scared me."
Steve smiled a little, thinking he understood what she was trying to say. "So maybe this is a long haul kinda deal?"
"Yeah. I think it might be. If that's what we both want?"
"It's what I want."
"It's what I want, too." Brooklyn exhaled as she took a step close to Steve, letting the water wash over her long hair, "I've been pretending to be somebody else for the past ten years of my life. Ever since I was a teenager, and I finally like who I really am. That's because of you."
Steve ducked his head, cradling the back of her neck as he tipped up her chin to reach her lips with his. He kissed her slowly as the hot water streamed over them both. She nipped at Steve's bottom lip and he opened his mouth to deepen the kiss as he spun them around, so Brooklyn's back was to the tile and the water pelted Steve's face.
He leaned one arm against the wall behind Brooklyn as the other one rested on the small of her back, giving her something to lean into as she leaned back to reach him. Her hand began to trail down his abs to his thigh, and he shuddered for a moment before her fingers ghosted across his cock.
"No. Not tonight." Steve murmured against her lips. She pulled away slightly and nodded breathlessly, her chest rising and falling as she reached for Steve's body wash. He nuzzled her face lovingly with his nose as she lathered his chest.
Brooklyn hummed disapprovingly as Steve poured too much of Brooklyn's expensive shampoo into his palm before sudsing it up and depositing all the soap on top of her head. "Great. Thanks."
Steve laughed loudly as her as he began working the suds through her hair, tangling it farther as he tried to get it clean, "You're welcome. I'm a professional."
"Yeah, I can tell." She reached up and grabbed a handful of shampoo and deposited it on top of Steve's shaggy locks. "There, now you'll have silky volumized hair too."
The soldier laughed as he massaged Brooklyn's scalp, eventually catching a glimpse of her content grin, "What? What are you thinking?"
"Just how I don't deserve this. You're too good to me, and I don't know how I ever got you to care so much about me." Brooklyn said as she rinsed the shampoo from her own hair, gazing up at Steve while the water washed away the memories of the past several days.
Steve traced the curve of her waist to her hip with the side of his hand, "I woke up to find out everything I knew and loved was gone. You were the one there to help me find my place in this world, and I don't belong here without you. I'll never forget everything you've done for me."
Brooklyn swiftly swung around Steve and pushed him back one step so the water would rinse away all the shampoo and soap on his body. Her eyes watched it stream over his muscles, and she looked up at him with those weepy hazel eyes he'd seen earlier when he'd given her the flowers, "I just wish we could run away from it all. I just wish it could be me and you."
"It's just us now. Let's make the most of it." Steve said as he turned off the shower and pushed open the door before grabbing a towel and handing it to Brooklyn. "How about we spend some time by the fire? I have marshmallows. We can light them on fire."
"Only if you regale me with tales of your wonderous feats, Soldier." Brooklyn answered as she wiped off the excess water on her forearms. When Steve raised his brow in question, she added, "It just seems like a good way to spend an evening by the fire."
Steve carefully emerged from the shower and took Brooklyn's hands so she wouldn't slip, grabbing the shirt she'd grabbed for herself before pulling his own clothes back on, "Whatever you want, Sweetheart. I'll get the fire started."
"Okay." She murmured as she pulled the massive shirt over her head, "See you in a minute."
Steve left her to finish getting ready for bed, placing logs in the fireplace before lighting a match and tossing it in. He sat on the ground and watched the flames dance, longing to make Brooklyn's wish come true. If only he could take her away from SHIELD and everything they expected from her. But Steve couldn't walk away. Not when there was still more to do. He'd been given the serum to help people, and if he turned his back on that, Steve wasn't sure he could live with himself knowing there was still more he could do.
He looked up when Brooklyn snuck into the room and she snapped her fingers, "There's really no sneaking up on you, is there?"
"No. Super soldier, remember?" Steve teased as he reached up and tugged Brooklyn into his lap in front of the fire, burying his face into her heap of mahogany hair. He breathed her in as the wet strands tickled his nose, running his fingers under the hem of the shirt she was wearing. A deep hum came from inside her throat as she went limp in Steve's arms, allowing him to lull her into a sense of peace.
Steve wasn't sure how long they sat like that, but after a while he realized she was sound asleep in his arms. He kissed her cheek to see if she'd stir, but she didn't so much as sigh at the contact, so Steve carefully rocked to his feet and carried Brooklyn to the bed. Once she was on the mattress, she curled instinctively around the pillow and sighed as Steve crossed the bed and crawled in beside her.
He leaned on his elbow for a while, twisting his lips thoughtfully as he watched her sleep. Steve felt a wave of contentment wash over him and he laid down, gently tugging Brooklyn closer to his chest. He knew he'd happily sleep beside her for the rest of his life.
Brooklyn convinced Fury to excuse Steve from training for a long weekend over the Fourth of July. Steve, however, wasn't aware of her plans, just that he wasn't going back to work until the next Monday.
So, when his alarm started blaring at six am on Wednesday morning, he was surprised that Brooklyn was already up and milling about. Steve groaned as he sat up to hit his classic alarm clock as it teetered closer to the edge of his bed strand, "Brooklyn? Why are you awake so early?"
She bound onto the bed, bouncing despite Steve not moving at all, "Happy Birthday!" She yelled as she threw her arms around Steve's neck, rubbing his hairline as she gazed at him lovingly.
"Thanks," he grumbled in response, and Brooklyn leaned back to sit on her haunches, seeming to notice his sour mood.
"What's wrong, Soldier? It's time to celebrate!" Brooklyn teased as she brushed her nose against Steve's. She ruffled his hair before climbing out of bed and grabbing a green gift bag from the floor, "We have a full day ahead of us! Time to get up!"
Steve looked at the bag, forcing a grim smile, but he couldn't fool Brooklyn, "Thank you… I'm just, not really in the mood for celebrating."
"Why not? You're twenty-seven today. I think that's worth celebrating." She said softly as she sat down beside Steve in her white lace bra and matching panties. He couldn't help but notice that wasn't what she was wearing when they crawled into bed last night, meaning she'd either changed after he fell asleep or before he woke up. Either way, she was making his birthday a bigger deal than he wanted it to be.
He sighed and shrugged, "I'm ninety-five today. Kinda over celebrating."
"By the calendar, yes, but not by your heart. And your body. I'm sure it's not possible for a ninety-year-old to be as perfect as you…" She purred as she leaned against Steve, pressing kisses to the shell of his ear, but he didn't budge. Finally, she sighed loudly and pulled away, "Appease me, please. Open your present."
Steve looked from Brooklyn to the bag as a tiny smile crept onto his face. He pulled aside the loose tissue paper to find a little flat box, "What is it?"
"So, gift giving must be a new invention? No Christmas, no birthdays where you're from?" Brooklyn teased. Steve huffed and opened the box, finding a license inside.
He looked to Brooklyn suspiciously and she just looked at the ceiling, feigning innocence as if she hadn't just gifted him a fake ID. "I have a license."
"I know. But this one has your real age. And a fake name so nobody will know you're Captain America. That way we can celebrate under the radar and nobody will bother you."
Steve did a double take, realizing the ID said his name was Grant Hayes. She'd used his middle name and her own last name, but the finishing touch was that his birthday read July 4, 1985. "You know this is illegal?"
"We work for the government, Steve. We aren't going to get arrested for giving you a fake ID. I promise." Brooklyn said as she took the license and pushed the rest of the bag towards Steve, "The rest of your present is more for me. Well, all of it brings me joy, but what we do will bring you joy."
"Do I even want to know?"
"Yes, open it. It'll be fun." Brooklyn ordered as she settled against the pillows beside Steve. He pulled out the tissue paper to find a massive red t-shirt and blue shorts underneath a stark white baseball cap with an American flag on it. He pulled out the hat and put it on his head, then proceeded to hold up his shirt. He raised his brow to Brooklyn, noticing the shirt was at least two sizes two big, and that was saying a lot for Steve. She shrugged, "What? Gotta hide all the sexy going on under there. I don't want all the men and women of America gawking at my husband on his birthday."
"Husband?"
"Oh, yeah." Brooklyn said as she reached over to her bedside table and grabbed a plain black band that she handed to Steve, "I mean, I gave you my last name. Figured it could be fun. It'll add to the whole 'This isn't Captain America' thing."
Steve slid the ring onto his left hand and smiled as he looked down at Brooklyn, noticing her left hand was bare, "So how big of a rock I get you?"
"Casual, nothing too flashy. You're a carpenter. I work as a nurse." Brooklyn said dreamily as she gazed out Steve's window while the sun began to illuminate the room. "We've been married three years. Originally from Kansas, but we moved out here when you got a job working for a construction company building housing for homeless veterans."
"You really have this whole life story thing planned out." Steve said as he slung his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close, "You ever imagine what our real story would be like?"
"That's too scary for me." She answered quickly, meeting Steve's gaze, "I live a life of make-believe. This is the most serious relationship I've ever been in, I'm sure as hell not going to imagine our own fairytale ending."
Steve pressed his lips to her temple, "I do." Brooklyn stiffened, and Steve continued, "It isn't like we had a lot of time to explore our options back in the day. You found a nice girl, you got along, you married her. The idea of marrying you isn't so scary to me."
"One day at a time, Rogers." Brooklyn murmured as she slid a fake wedding ring up her ring finger. Steve gazed at it a moment, taking in how Brooklyn looked at it almost longingly. She seemed to catch herself and shoved his arm, "Get showered, we're going for breakfast."
"Where?"
"You have a couple of options. Really anywhere that has free birthday food. We're making quite a few stops." She winked and rolled out of bed to head to the bathroom, turning on the water to tell Steve she expected to join him.
Steve finished off his IHOP breakfast and leaned back against the vinyl cushions as Brooklyn sipped her milkshake, "So, birthdays are good, right?"
"I've eaten almost twenty-thousand calories and it's not even noon." Steve groaned and rested his hand on his stomach. He hated that he felt full, and that most of the contents of his stomach were cake and ice cream. It had taken lots of convincing to let her take him to IHOP for real food after six different bakeries and ice cream stores. "I need more than just sweets."
"The Mexican restaurant down the road gives free tacos for your birthday?" Brooklyn suggested and Steve lulled his head to the side and stared at his girlfriend incredulously. She sighed, "Fine. We'll eat something 'healthy' for dinner." She used air quotes around the word healthy and Steve laughed at her.
"Where to next, Wifey?" Steve teased and Brooklyn leaned forward to kiss him, grabbing onto his massive shirt that hung loosely from his shoulders, effectively hiding his Captain America-ness from the world. Judging by the way he wolfed down every scrap of food set in front of him, the restaurant patrons wouldn't bat an eye if they'd been told he actually filled out the shirt he wore, had it not been for the tight shorts he wore around his slim waist. He couldn't help but think he looked like a bum, and maybe that was by design. For once, his girlfriend was the knockout getting all the attention, and he slipped by happily. He enjoyed loudly proclaiming Brooklyn was his wife whenever a man's gaze lasted a little too long.
"Don't get too used to that, it's just for fun." She snapped playfully and pulled some cash out of her purse for their drinks. "How do you feel about pandas?"
"I have no ill feelings towards them." Steve answered simply, leaning his elbows on his table, "Are you taking me to see pandas?"
"Yes." Brooklyn answered simply, "We're only doing fun things. Nothing educational or history related. We're going to the zoo. And then fireworks. And then…" Brooklyn looked both ways and Steve followed her train of thought, "then maybe we can see if there's any fireworks between the two of us, Hubby."
Steve felt his skin heat up at that, taking a deep breath before whispering, "Only if you call me that in bed."
"That's super weird, but it's your birthday." Brooklyn laughed boisterously and Steve grinned.
Steve chuckled and slid out of the booth before offering Brooklyn both of his hands, "Sounds perfect."
She allowed him to pull her to her feet and he draped his arm over her shoulder as he led her out of the IHOP, proud as ever to have such a beautiful dame on his arm, and on his birthday no less. No war, no aliens, no death and destruction in sight. It almost made Steve consider Brooklyn's suggestion of running away.
As they walked along the streets of D.C. in search of more activities to waste the day on, Brooklyn's phone began to ring loudly from her shorts pocket. She pulled it out and looked to Steve nervously, "It's Fury."
"Okay." He replied sadly, knowing she was about to be pulled away for another mission. There had only been two since they'd been together, but it was two too many.
"Director," Brooklyn answered shortly, clenching her jaw as he spoke on the other end, "You agreed I could have the day off…" She looked down at her watch, then to Steve, "I can get it done later, I'm with the birthday boy… Yes, I promise. First thing Monday morning. Yes. Alright… Bye."
Steve studied Brooklyn for a moment, noticing how she rubbed the back of her neck anxiously, "What did he want?"
"He thinks I need to make sure all my 'hardware' is up to date." She grumbled before clenching her jaw. Steve narrowed his eyes, looking past Brooklyn as she led him down the street towards the zoo.
The fact that Director Fury wanted Brooklyn to have her tracker updated gave Steve alarm. It most likely meant that she was about to be sent somewhere that they needed to keep track of her, and that made him uneasy. He hated how easy it was for SHIELD to watch over Brooklyn, and by association, him. He just wanted a little privacy, but being the national hero that he was, nobody wanted to give them any.
"So, pandas. And then ice cream?" Steve suggested and Brooklyn looked up at him suspiciously.
"You said no more sweets."
"Yeah, but I know how much you like that Larry's ice cream place, and it's on the way to the National Mall."
Brooklyn considered this for a moment, then nodded, "Okay, sounds like a plan."
Steve took her hand and held it tightly so she couldn't itch the back of her neck, but he couldn't help but wish that there was something he could do to make his girlfriend feel like she wasn't trapped in a cage.
As dusk settled over the National Mall, Brooklyn and Steve sat on the grass with ice cream and a bottle of whiskey Brooklyn had snuck in her bag. Steve leaned back on his right hand, holding his ice cream cone off to the side as he got situated for the two hour wait for the fireworks. He was blissfully unaware of his girlfriend stealing a lick of his ice cream until he turned and accidentally smashed it into her nose.
"Sorry!" Steve yelped as Brooklyn laughed, rolling onto her back after wiping the vanilla ice cream off her face. Steve grabbed her fingers and licked it off before leaning on his elbow beside her, careful to hold his cone away from Brooklyn. His baggy shirt draped over her as she ran her hand under it to rub his stomach. "You know, I look like a disproportionate tourist." Steve teased as he felt Brooklyn trace along his abs, "You could have gotten me a shirt that fit."
"That child at the zoo couldn't take his eyes off of you, but Mom didn't even bat an eye. I think my disguise worked great." Brooklyn replied as Steve scooped off a chunk of ice cream and dropped it into her mouth. He finished his cone and shoved the napkin in the pocket of his shorts before laying down next to Brooklyn. As they gazed up at the clouds together, she murmured, "Wasn't it nice? Being like everybody else for once?"
"I wouldn't have enjoyed half of what we did if people realized who I was, especially today. Would have been a media circus." Steve grumbled as he reached down and took Brooklyn's hand in his. "But, honestly, I think my favorite part of today was pretending to be your husband."
He fiddled with the fake wedding ring on her finger, wondering if she'd say no if he asked. Steve was ready to make a life with her, but Brooklyn was scared. Times had changed, and their two months together was nothing compared to the years people took to make sure they'd found the right person these days.
Still, Brooklyn didn't pull away and she didn't brush off his confession. She just laid beside him silently, gazing up at the sky. Steve spared a quick look, seeing her brows were drawn. "I don't mean to make you uncomfortable. I just want you to know where I'm at. I'm not in any rush."
"I know you're not. It just scares me. The idea of settling down. With what we do, it's… it's not a reasonable dream, Steve." Brooklyn said as she rolled onto her stomach, bending her knees to wave her tennis shoes over her thighs.
Steve gazed at her in her tiny denim shorts and red crop top. Her hair was pulled into a high ponytail that draped over her back, thick strands tickling her tan skin as Steve watched her, wishing she'd trust him to survive, "We're gonna be okay."
"You don't know that." Brooklyn argued and Steve sat up, looking over at the water. "Steve, we can't get married, we can't have a family. That isn't how this works. You realize I fuck other people for a living, right?"
"Yeah, but it doesn't mean anything. Plus, I'm better than them." Steve teased as he placed his large hand against the back of her thigh, rubbing it gently and earning a dirty glare from his girlfriend. "What?"
"You were worried about your fake ID saying you weren't elderly, but you're all down for public indecency?"
"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm just enjoying time with my fake wife." He smiled sweetly and she sighed, laying down on her arms as Steve moved his hand from her leg to her back, rubbing it gently. She hummed and closed her eyes as they relaxed in the evening, enjoying their brief moment of anonymity as the crowd began to grow.
Steve pulled her hair to the side and rubbed Brooklyn's shoulders as she moaned happily, pulling a deep chuckle from Steve's chest, "Sweetheart, we're in public. Control yourself."
Before she could quip back, he spanked her ass and she jolted at the contact. Steve's laughter rang through the air, causing people to turn and look at them, but Brooklyn just glared at him from her place on the grass. "If only these people knew… you pervy old man."
"Hey, it's my birthday, you have to be nice to me." Steve argued as he grabbed the bottle of whiskey and twisted off the cap before taking a long swig. Steve sighed, "I miss when this stuff actually did something."
"I'm honestly glad it doesn't. You're the only person I feel safe enough to drink around." Brooklyn admitted quietly as she sat up and took the bottle by the neck, "I don't enjoy feeling like I don't have control. Had a few missions that didn't end the way I wanted to because of it."
"You've never mentioned it before." Steve studied her as she took a slow sip, then handed back the whiskey, "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I knew you couldn't get drunk, and that even if I did, you wouldn't take advantage of me." Brooklyn answered with a sad smile, "I can't say the same for everyone else. Even the others at SHIELD."
"Did somebody…" Steve trailed off, swallowing down the anger that was bubbling in his chest, "I'll kill them."
"There's no need for that. I'm fine. We all make bad decisions sometimes. I just don't like to be under the influence unless I know I'm in a safe situation." Brooklyn scratched the base of Steve's neck beneath his baseball cap. "If you're here, I know I'm safe."
Steve screwed the cap back on the whiskey and pulled Brooklyn close to him as the sun finally dipped below the horizon and the lights around them illuminated the area. The two cuddled up next to each other in silence for a while, just enjoying the view of the water as they waited for the fireworks.
When the show was about to begin, Steve shifted Brooklyn to sit between his legs and he wrapped his arms around her, trapping her against him. She looked over her shoulder and asked, "What's this for?"
"For the best birthday ever." Steve said before kissing her cheek. "For making me feel needed, but also taking care of me. For letting me love you, even though you don't need me."
Brooklyn twisted to kiss him full on the lips, grabbing at the back of his shaggy hair as she breathed heavily, "Before you, I didn't need anyone. Now I'm not so sure I can live without you."
A thundering boom alerted them that the fireworks started as blue and red illuminated Steve's face, but his eyes were locked onto Brooklyn, "I love you. More than I've ever loved anybody."
Her eyes flickered to his lips for a moment before she dove in, kissing him passionately as the fireworks went off behind them. He grabbed the back of her neck and shoved his tongue down her throat, deepening the kiss until somebody beside them yelled to get a room.
They broke apart in a fit of giggles and Brooklyn settled back between Steve's legs, wiggling herself into place as he draped her arms around her midsection. She tilted her head and beamed up at Steve, taking in his profile in the fireworks light, "Happy Birthday, Steve."
He kissed her quickly, then rested his chin on her shoulder to enjoy the fireworks display. Within the hour, they'd be home at his apartment, and they'd make some fireworks of their own.