Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize. Only my OC, Amelia Carter's personality and story line belongs to me. All lines/reference from the movie belong to Marvel.
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The mall was bigger than anything Steve has ever seen. His head could not help but turn every which way to see the entire place. There were many different types of stores around him; flower shops, clothing shops, accessory shops, swimwear (or perhaps it was a lingerie store), and a whole bunch of other things.
"You like it?" He heard a voice say.
Steve looked down at his side to meet up with the light brown eyes he's starting to get used to.
"Yeah, this is real swell. I expected more people to be honest," Steve replied, looking around to see the few people shopping.
Amelia dragged him along with the rest of their group.
"Oh, well it is a business day and most people are at work right now which would explain the lack of customers," Amelia explained to him.
"Plus with the battle that just happened, I'm actually surprised to see people working," Steve put in.
"Mia!" Pepper called out from in front of the couple, her head turned to see them, "What kind of clothes are we talking about here?"
Mia tilted her head in wonder, "Well, the fight blasted my whole damn apartment so I basically have to start my closet from scratch."
Pepper made it her goal to restart Mia's closet under her supervision and sense of style. She got more colourful items of clothing for her than Mia would have liked, seeing as she prefers black over anything. Thankfully, Pepper stayed in the more neutral zone, only buying a few other colours. After just two hours of shopping, the two men the women brought were almost running out of arm space for more shopping bags.
While Pepper made sure that Mia got proper clothing for casual and formal wear; as well as any other accessory known to man, Natasha made sure that Mia had fun when it came to the lingerie and swimwear. Mia had loads of fun teasing Steve about which undergarments would suit her, loving the bright pink he would turn whenever she held up a lace bra or a thong. Mia laughed heartily, missing moments like these because usually she would tease Trip about it but now that he's used to her antics, it's not as fun anymore.
Saving Steve from having a heart attack when Nat suggested that Mia should try on a couple of pairs, they left Victoria Secret and moved on. As she said, Mia dragged a reluctant Steve to Calvin Klein to get him a couple of polo shirts and pants. Trip accompanied the couple and left Natasha and Pepper to do a bit of their own shopping.
"Amelia, this isn't necessary. I have a decent amount of clothes back in my apartment," Steve informed her but his arm was still being pulled by the brunette.
"That's nice Steven, but they haven't been approved by me," She told him, patting his hand.
Steve gave Trip a confused look, making him chuckle.
"She did the same to me, don't worry. Mia's a bit of a fashionista when it comes to other people, but not herself."
Steve nodded his head, he watched Amelia flitter around the men's section looking for shirts, sometimes holding up one then looking back at Steve and tilting her head before either putting it back or nodding in approval.
Mia made sure to make Steve try on the few shirts she picked out, loving the results she got. Steve has a habit of rolling up the sleeves to his elbow, showing off the mouthwatering veins on his arm. The fit of the shirts was never right considering Steve's measurements. His broad shoulders and narrow torso was a unique combination according to what the store has in stock but luckily, Mia managed to grab a few that were a good fit and the rest tailored to Steve's size.
"I still don't understand why we had to buy me more clothes. These are so expensive, I never imagined the inflation would be so high," Steve said, looking at the receipt in the bag.
"Tony loves having parties Cap so you need the right clothes for that, and it's nice to have variety. Besides, Tony's treat remember?"
Mia winked at him as she looped her arm around Steve's like she has been doing the entire day. She glanced down at the very many different bags he's carrying and felt a twinge of guilt and embarrassment.
"Are those heavy?" Mia asked, pointing to the bags.
"I didn't realize how many you were carrying. Usually, I'm not this bad because Trip can only hold so much, but Nat and Pep really took advantage of the two of you. I could take some off your hands if you want."
Mia was just about to reach for some but Steve moved them from her reach before chuckling lightly and shaking his head.
"That's alright ma'am, I can handle it. I gotta put my super soldier strength to use somehow when I'm not saving the world," Steve joked, eliciting a small laugh from her.
Mia grabbed Steve's arm and Trip's and lead them to their rendezvous point in the mall.
"Well, did we get everything?" Pepper asked Mia.
"Um, let's see we got casual, formal, undergarments and swimwear. We got accessories, shoes and makeup... Is there anything else?"
"Oh, don't forget workout clothes for when we fight," Tripp reminded her.
Mia snapped her fingers and pointed at him in thanks.
"I almost forgot, wow we haven't sparred in a while. Maybe we should do it when we get back," Mia suggested as the group made their way to the first store.
Trip's eyes widened and started shaking his head, "No, no, no, no. We've been shopping for 3 hours now and I've been carrying all these bags so consider me tired and that's not fair."
Mia laughed at that and Steve couldn't help but look at her and admire her laugh. Mia caught Steve looking at her from the corner of her eye and faced him.
"What about you Cap? Are you up for a friendly spar?" Mia asked him with a teasing tone.
"Uh..." Steve hesitated.
He knew how strong he is and how powerful his punches and kicks are and he wasn't sure he can pull back enough for Amelia to not get hurt. Steve wouldn't forgive himself if he injures her in any way.
Mia sensed his hesitation and nudged his arm with hers.
"C'mon Steve, I'm not that weak. I'm actually pretty decent," Mia told him with a smile.
Trip scoffed under his breath, but not quiet enough to go unnoticed by Steve.
"Decent my ass, sometimes I think I'm still sore from our last spar," He grumbled.
Mia rolled her eyes at Trip's exaggeration and argued on her behalf with him before Natasha put in her own two cents on the topic.
"Trip's right, Ames, you're beyond decent, if I remember correctly you had the highest marks in your year at the Academy. Plus you've bested Clint a few times and myself once or twice," Nat told her.
Steve considered what Natasha said, clearly if Amelia can win over Clint and Natasha, she can most certainly hold her own against a fight with him.
"Let's do it."
Mia turned towards Steve and raised her eyebrow, "Really? You sure?"
He nodded his head and shrugged, "As long as you're okay with losing then, I don't see why not."
Mia was surprised at Steve's teasing but laughed anyways, "Oh, that's how it is? You're on Cap."
After making a quick run to buy her workout clothes, and a stop at a toy store to get Clint a small Big Bird doll as a laugh, the group piled back into the car and made their way back to the Tower. Mia underestimated herself and passed out halfway into the car ride, her head resting on Steve's shoulder. She was quite exhausted from her talk with Fury and the 3 hours spent walking during their shopping spree. Steve smiled softly at the brunette, wondering how he's so comfortable with someone he just met and why he was feeling all sorts of things about her. The car slowed to a stop, signaling their arrival at the Tower. Instead of waking Amelia up, Steve scooped her into his arms and carried her to the elevator after being assure by Trip that he could handle the many shopping bags.
"Captain Rogers, which floor sir?" JARVIS asked as soon as Steve set foot in the elevator, surprising him a bit.
He still wasn't used to the technology around him.
"Umm... Miss Amelia's room please," Steve said aloud to the AI, feeling weird talking to no one.
"Of course sir, I'll have her door unlocked upon your arrival," JARVIS told Steve as the elevator began to move.
The sensation of the elevator woke Mia up and she took in her surroundings. She saw Steve's bright blue eyes and relaxed again, snuggling into his chest before she groaned.
"We were supposed to spar," She said after Steve asked her the matter.
Steve laughed quietly as he stepped out of the elevator, "It's fine, you're clearly too tired. That wouldn't be fair now would it?"
Mia heard the door open and saw the familiar layout of her suite. Steve carefully laid Amelia down on her bed, helping her get under the covers and everything. She looked at him with sleepy eyes, just taking in his face, ingraining it in her mind.
"How did you like the shopping trip?" Amelia asked sleepily.
"It was... eye opening," Steve told her honestly with a smile.
"Do you like it? The clothes nowadays I mean," She said, moving her arm under her head in a more comfortable position.
"Like I said this morning, there's more skin than I'm used to, but it's not all bad."
"That's good, next on our list is technology," She told him.
Steve smiled sweetly at her, "Thank you, Nat and Tony has an expectancy from me and it's a bit overwhelming."
"You're welcome, I promise to take it slow. It's what friends are for."
Amelia smiled sleepily at him, he could tell she was fighting to keep awake by the way her eyes were starting to droop.
"Go to sleep Amelia, we can spar when you wake up I promise," Steve told her softly.
"Okay, but I'm still gonna kick your ass later Cap," She told him, a bit muffled as she tried to cover a yawn.
"Can't wait, doll."
AN: I suck. I am still alive and it's the end of my spring break and I only finished writing one chapter and it's so short :( I'm so sorry if I haven't gotten around to writing TFWYSL. Family Ties is much easier to write because I don't have to base it off anything like a transcript so I get to finish chapters much quicker. I swear I am in the middle of starting the next chapter in TFWYSL so in the meantime, please enjoy this chapter! Follow, Fave, Review! xx -E
