Steve and Charlotte had been in a relationship for five months when Steve was first seriously injured in the field. It wasn't his first injury as Captain America (that's is, of course, not counting being frozen for 70 years, because, no, Steve refused to think of that time as being one where he was alive), but it was his first serious injury as Captain America the Avenger, and as Steve Rogers, Charlotte's 'boy'.
He didn't remember much about that time. He distinctly remembered sitting across from Charlotte in her apartment while she typed away an essay on her laptop as he drew her when he got the call to meet up at SHIELD headquarters. He'd frowned, but told Charlotte that he had to go, and that he would call-like always-when he was done. She'd nodded distractedly, told him to have fun and to be safe, all the while her hands kept on typing. So he'd smiled, given her a longing kiss (that had gotten her attention for more than a few seconds) and got himself to headquarters within half an hour.
Half of Brooklyn seemed to be almost leveled to the ground by the time the Avengers congregated to meet their enemy. Except it was not just one person they were fighting. It was an army of alien looking things that Thor tried to explained to the rest but failed to do so when the group was swarmed by them.
That was where Steve went into full Captain America mode, swiftly giving his teammates directions, while communicating with the backup SHIELD agents on where to strike while the Avengers took the brunt of the work. Steve had thought that that would suffice, and that they'd all be done by dinner time. He'd hoped so, anyway, since he had already made plans to drag Charlotte away from her essay and to hopefully get her to eat a decent meal (honestly, Steve could see a lot of Tony Stark's work ethic in his girlfriend).
Except it had suddenly been 8 pm and SHIELD helicopters were atop the battle, providing the Avengers with lighting, as well as the field agents sight so that the fight could be contained to the already damaged city. And Steve was exhausted, and he knew everyone else was too; even the Hulk seemed to be losing interest in all the smashing that yielded no real results.
And then there was white, hot pain on his side. It was dizzying, and the last thing he remembered was hitting the pavement while the com in his ear filled with the voices of Tony and Clint, who seemed to be the only ones to see his fall from their position high above.
He did not wake up until much later, although he was not sure how much time had gone by since that had happened. The first thing he was aware of was the light artificial lighting in the room, the hand holding his, and the tickle of long hair against his arm.
When he opened his eyes, he realized that Charlotte was asleep by his bedside, half of her on a hard, plastic chair, while her upper body rested on his bed, her left hand holding his, her wild, curly hair splayed around her and his arm. Her forehead was pressed against his forearm, and from the little he saw, he could tell that she had not slept well for a while because of the dark bags under her closed eyes, and the general paleness of her appearance. Her hair, too, looked unkempt; not in the usual unruly way that her curls framed her face, but in a knotted, shine-less halo around her. Her clothes, he noticed, were rumpled too, something that was unusual for Charlotte as she liked to look put together on a regular basis, she'd assured him once.
His right side hurt, he noticed a little while later, but he rejected the idea of calling a nurse (because he'd figured he was in a hospital) to let them know of his awakening, as he refused to wake Charlotte up. So he'd laid there, watching her back rise with every breath, and comforted himself with the sounds of her deep breathing.
Steve watched her for about fifteen minutes before he was startled by Charlotte's sharp intake of breath and her vice like grip on his hand. He was struck unable to do anything except watch her as she opened her eyes and took quick breathes to calm herself before she sat herself up (never letting go of his hand) and looked around the room. The hand not holding his came up to her hair to push it away from his face, but became tangled and stayed there when her wide eyes met his.
"Hi," was her breathless greeting. She slowly let her hand fall down and into her lap. Her stare was unwavering, yet her voice held a certain tremor when she said: "you're awake."
Steve nodded, because he was not too sure on what to say. Her brown eyes, usually filled with positive emotions, were suddenly bright and sad. And Steve knew that she would say that she could not put up with this. That she had to let him go. Because what kind of boyfriend was he if he was worrying her like this? He knew he was alright, but he had not been alright between the battle when he'd gotten injured and now. And he knew that he would not always be alright. That there would be more nights and days spent in hospitals, and that maybe one day he would not come back to her. She could not possibly want this for the rest of her life.
There was a long moment of silence, where Charlotte looked at him and he looked at her, but none spoke. Then she did-
"I put on the news after you left. They were on the scene the whole time, filming you guys. I saw when you fell. When that thing plunged that long pointy thing into you. And I saw you blank out. And then they were hauling you into a stretcher and into a black van, and the reporters were saying that it looked like you weren't breathing, and that there was so much blood that you could potentially be dead before they even got you to a doctor. I…I didn't know what to do. I called Tony, but, well, it's not like I have his personal phone number so they just kept taking my messages. And..." He saw as she took a shuddering breath to calm herself, "the news kept saying that you were probably dead. And your teammates weren't being seen out in public, so no one was making a statement on your progress. It was Tony that came out two days later to say that you were recuperating.
"I finally got a hold of Tony. I stayed outside his tower until I saw him come in and had to shout for him to see me, but he did, and he was enraged when he found out SHIELD hadn't told me about you. He yelled at a lot of people to get them to let me see you because SHIELD refused to let a civilian into their hospital…"
The first tear fell down her cheek and Steve watched it streak down her cheek in frozen silence. "I thought you were dead." She mumbled brokenly, and then she was sobbing, deep breaths that caught in her throat and Steve was able to move again.
Against the protest of the pain, he gently guided her so that she sat on the bed with him. He tucked her head underneath his head, one hand tangled in her hair while the other enveloped her from behind. Her hands bunched up against his hospital gown, holding herself against him as sobs shook her body. And all Steve could say was a constant mantra of, "I'm sorry," whispered into her hair.
It took a while for her to stop the shuddering sobs, and a few more moments for those to turn into shuddering breaths against the hallow of his neck, where she had nuzzled into when the sobs had subsided. "I was scared." She mumbled into his neck.
Steve pulled her closer, their bodies as melded together as possible give their positions in the hospital bed. "I'm sorry," was all he was able to say, because he honestly did not know what to tell her. He knew telling her that this would not happen again would be a lie, and he refused to lie to her. Getting injured was part of the job, almost an expected occurrence, really, so how could he promise to never make her be scared again if he knew it would be an empty promise?
Suddenly, Charlotte let go of her firm grip on his gown, her tired eyes meeting his in earnest. "You shouldn't be apologizing. I chose to date you even when I knew that this could happen. I just… it all took me by surprise. If anything, I think it was the media saying that you were probably dead, and the lack of contact with anyone that knew about you that had me terrified. That, and the realization that I hadn't told you that I love you… that I've been past liking you a long time ago, and have been in love with you for a while now but have been unable to say it out loud for fear of scaring you off." She smiled and cut him off when he opened his mouth to respond. "You don't have to say it. I know-"
And he cut her off with a searing kiss, because, really, he loved her too, since that fateful seventh date, and he felt like a fool for not telling her before. He stopped to mumble, "I love you," against her lips before kissing her again.
And soon she was laughing against his lips, and he could do nothing but join her, against the protest of the stitches on his side. "We really need to brush our teeth." She told him with a brilliant grin.
"I don't know, I have an excuse. What's yours?" Steve teased because they'd known each other long enough, and they were in a relationship, and, darn it, they were in love.
Charlotte groaned but smiled nonetheless. "I brushed them this morning, I swear! It's just I fell asleep and well, if we're planning on keeping this up, you're going to have to eventually get used to the dog breath every morning."
Steve should have turned red and stumble with his words at the implications behind her words, but he couldn't. He really was looking forward to morning breath if it meant it'd be Charlotte he was waking up next to. "I look forward to it, then."
Charlotte smiled shyly at this, her cheeks, which had looked pale in her sleep, gained some redness at his statement. It really amazed Steve how she could be brash about some things, say things that were 'awkward,' as she put it, without even batting an eyelash, yet she would flush a pretty pink when he would turn the tables. It was adorable, Steve could admit.
"So…um, should I get a doctor, or something? You're not in pain, are you? I'm sorry, I was so caught up in sobbing like a child that I totally forgot about your injury."
"I'm alright. I don't think I need-"
"And he's awake! And on the third day, he shall rise! Yes, no? That's what the book says, right?" Tony burst through the door in his typical fashion, a tablet in one hand while the other held a vase overflowing with yellow roses, a 'Get Well,' card pinned to the glass.
"He was out for five days, Stark," Natasha deadpanned as she entered the room after Tony, a stack of magazines in her hands.
"We come bearing gifts, my friend!" And that was Thor, who had joined them for the time being, it seemed. Nestle between his arms and chest were an assortment of bending machine snack bags. "My apologies, for the Man of Iron forgot to mention we were bringing gifts. I am afraid I only have these to share for the time being."
"It's like the three magi," Charlotte said and Steve chuckled.
"Oh, come on! I welcome you back with a reference that I knew you would definitely get and you don't even blink!" Tony groaned. "Honestly, that's very ungrateful of you."
"I understood it, Tony, although I'm not entirely sure you phrased it well. Thank you, though," Steve smiled again.
"Did he do the Bible reference? He's been practicing that for the last three days, even when we told him you wouldn't think it hilarious," Clint said as he came into the room, a paper bag full of what smelled like burgers in his hands, and Steve was suddenly aware of how hungry he was.
"We missed it?" Bruce piped, a tray of hospital food with him. He made his way over to Steve, "Eat this before you eat the burgers." He instructed, placing the tray of pathetically colorless food on his lap when Charlotte stood from his side on the bed. Steve almost frowned at the loss of warmth, but Charlotte patted his knee in acknowledgment as she made towards Tony to take the vase from him.
"The cheesy flowers are for Cap. Tablet's for you, though. I expect you to throw away that thing I saw you using the other day," Steve heard Tony tell Charlotte, and he smiled. That was Tony accepting people, Pepper had once told him. Apparently, insulting technology that did not have Stark's name printed on it, and a gift of actual Stark technology was Tony's warped way of accepting a friendship.
"It's a Sanders tablet, for your information. And it's very reliable, sometimes. You just didn't catch it on a good day," Charlotte replied, not taking the outstretched tablet.
"Oh, please. First of all, I'm pretty sure it's the oldest model the company even has out. Actually, no, I'm 100 percent sure that they don't even make such outdated technology anymore. Secondly, the thing needs wi-fi to even perform the most basic functions, so, yeah, I'm pretty sure I caught it on a fairly decent day considering that all of SHIELD's technology is provided by Stark Industries, so the wi-fi was certainly perfect at the time. And thirdly, I will gladly accept your gratitude for my kind gesture. So, you're welcome."
Charlotte's brown eyes narrowed, "I've just dropped it a few times. It's why it's slow to begin with. Also, I bought it with three years' worth of savings when I was in high school, and I'd rather not part with something that is still functioning and that took such a long time for me to obtain," here, Steve could see her eyes softening, " But thanks, anyway. It was very kind of you." Her words sounded sincere.
Steve understood what she was saying. In the months that he had known her, he'd come to realize that she was very appreciative of what she had. Her laptop, for example, had a crack on the edge of the screen, made a dangerous wheeze when turned on, and had to be rebooted at least once a week because of a virus. Yet Charlotte refused to part with it because she had worked every single day after school, and every weekend her senior year in high school as well as the summer after in order to pay for it. Her present resources did not leave much money for a new laptop, either, and she'd told him that her parents were already having problems getting her brothers supplies for the school year to begin with, so she would not ask for help. When he'd arrived at her apartment with the laptop Tony had given him a while back and that he did not particularly use, she'd frowned and turned it away, saying that she would manage with Magnus (her laptop's name) for the time being. He would have insisted she take it had he not seen the offended look in her eyes.
Tony scoffed and Steve almost stopped him before he said, "Three years' worth of savings and that's all you could get? Not even one of those fruity tablets?" Tony scoffed, but pushed the tablet into her hands, "Take it. Seriously."
Charlotte's chin was tense, and her eyes were narrowed once more, and Steve knew that was her mad face. "I said, no thank you. You've helped me enough with Steve, and I can't even begin to imagine how I'm going to repay you for that. I can't take the tablet. Seriously." She pushed the tablet away from her and towards Tony once more
"Tony, drop it." Bruce interjected when he saw Tony open his mouth to object. "Obviously, you're both stubborn and no one is going to win the argument. Charlotte, just take the tablet. It's Tony's stupid and confusing way of saying he likes you and you're friends now. Tony, stop criticizing."
There was a long pause in which everyone stared at the Tony and Charlotte. It was a tense few seconds before Charlotte's posture seemed to deflate and she sent Steve a quick look. He gave her a small smile and a raised eyebrow, to which she responded with a sigh and a small smile of her own.
"Thank you," She took the tablet from Tony with a sincere smile. "But I'm not throwing the other one away. I can think of people that would kill to have my crappy old Sanders."
"Maybe a museum." Tony snorted but without real malice.
"Maybe." And then Charlotte was sporting a small smirk, her eyes teasing, "So, we're friends now?"
"As if." Tony responded, but smiled anyway.
That's when Steve remembered that he had not properly introduced her to Thor and Clint before. Or anyone, really, since in the five months that they'd been in a relationship he had not properly introduced them to his teammates. It wasn't because he didn't think they had anything serious going on. It was really just that he was scared of introducing her to Captain America's life and putting her in potential danger. The least she knew about his alter ego, the better her chances of not getting involved were. But he supposed his present injury proved his plan to be wrong. If he had only introduced her properly to his teammates, than maybe she would have been the first contacted of his injury, and she would not have had to go through what she did in order to get to his bedside. So he cut into the middle of the conversation Tony and Charlotte had sprouted about some of the functions of the tablet.
"I don't think I've properly introduced Charlotte to everyone, so-"
"We're way past that, Captain. We've had three days to interact." Clint grinned, handing him a burger wrapped in plastic. "Kind of disappointed we hadn't met her before. What, are we embarrassing you now?"
Charlotte chuckled. "I think it's me he's more embarrassed of. I even embarrass myself at least once a day, and most of those moments happen in his presence."
Tony quickly responded, "That's sad, Cap, even I know that's not how to treat a lady. Not letting her meet the teammates just because she's embarrassing-"
"So sad, Steve. I'm hurt, really, I thought I was your girl-"
"Gosh, Cap, I think Charlotte's gonna cry-" Tony turned to Charlotte, "I think you should cry."
"Oh, I'm getting there."
Steve groaned. "You're my girl! You're supposed to take my side." But Steve was just glad and happy that they all seemed to get along. He was relieved, too, that Charlotte seemed to fit right in with the group; especially with Tony, whom he knew she had had only a few, but very rocky, interactions with. "You two should not have ever met."
"'Cause I'm embarrassing, right?"