My Forbidden Soldier

V

It had been a few days since your coffee outing with Steve. He had come by the next morning after his training session and apologized for leaving early that evening. You had told him that it wasn't a big deal, and it honestly wasn't, you were only mildly upset.

It had been almost a week since you had arrived at the compound too. You had easily learned that everyone was almost always busy training, investigating, or something related; Most of the rooms during the day were empty so you barely talked to anyone, though you didn't mind. You had bumped into Widow a few times on your way to the gym to workout, or whatever you called a workout; which was nothing compared to what you saw from some of the other members. She had briefly mentioned some game nights that the team did, and was inviting you. You had told her that you weren't sure, and you didn't want to intrude, but that maybe you would eventually join. She usually just shrugged it off and made sure to bring it up to you every time you saw her.

***

It was now Saturday, which meant that you had to go and shop with Pepper. At first, Stark had made it clear that you weren't allowed out of the compound until your big reveal to the media, but Pepper had managed to convince him otherwise. You had no idea where you would be going, you only knew you had 7 hours to be fully ready to walk your first red carpet with Captain America. Sure, you were nervous, and for multiple reasons. Pepper had seen that and tried to calm you down. She assured you, as everyone else had about this whole arrangement, that it would be fine and that you were in great hands.

The car that you were in with Pepper finally stopped. Your chauffeur for the day went around and opened the door, guiding you two out to this luxury boutique in town. As soon as you walked in you were greeted by the staff. By the looks of it, they had opened just for you. You greeted everyone back and immediately started eyeing the dresses. Pepper was behind you, watching from a distance.

You had never been exposed to such high-quality and gorgeous dresses. Before you had been kidnapped and taken to the compound you led a normal life. You had a cozy apartment, an average salary, and the karaoke bar where you sang every Thursday night and drank until you were barely able to walk home safely. You didn't mind before either, you were at peace with yourself and you'd never had any serious relationships; or any relationship for that matter. You were genuinely fine on your own. And when Adrian came along, his Thursday nights were shared with you at the same venue. Now though, it was all different. You were about to be somewhat famous, or at least be a household name. You would be attending red carpets, going to lavish parties, and helping the Avengers.

You were still walking around, just browsing until you came across a mannequin with the most captivating dress in the world. It was glimmering, royal blue, and looked perfect for the occasion. The front was a deep V-neck and the back came low too. You had to try it on. You managed to wave over Pepper and an employee and ask for a fitting room. They immediately led you to the designated area with the dress.

You slipped into the room and after what took you 15 minutes and Pepper coming to help you zip up the back, you finally got the dress on. You turned around to see Pepper staring at you, looking like a proud mother.

"Y/N, you look stunning,"

"Thank you"

You turned out to look for a mirror since there wasn't one in the room. You managed to find a large 3-way mirror down the hall with the other dressing rooms. You stepped up and looked at yourself in the dress. It was breathtaking. No. You were breathtaking in it. You had never tried on or been near a dress that made you this confident. Yeah, in high school and college you had attended formals and proms, but none of those dresses even held a candle to what this one did. You turned around and saw that Pepper was behind you.

"I think this one is the one," you said.

"Well, that didn't take long at all,"

You managed to slip out of the dress by yourself and get changed back into your normal clothes. When you left the fitting room you found Pepper in the shoe section holding up shoes to a smaller version of the dress you had just tried on. She turned to you, holding a few different pairs, and signaled for you to come over and try them on. It took you both a total of 5 minutes picking out a shoe. Once she found out your shoe size, it didn't take long to find a matching heel for your dress.

Employees were all-around cleaning up and attending to us, as soon as Pepper gave the go it was time to checkout. She had assured me beforehand that Mr. Stark was happy to cover all the bills. Pepper told me that it was like a thank you for signing on to Project FAM. Although you hadn't legally signed anything yet, you were more confident about the plan than before. And honestly, you weren't planning on backing out.

***

You had been at the compound, or your home, as everyone else around you was encouraging you to call it, for a few hours. Since Pepper had allotted more time than it took to find your dress, you had a couple of hours of relaxation before the prep team had to come to do your hair and makeup. Before you knew it was up, there was a knock on the door. It was Pepper and the hair and makeup team. Behind them was Widow and another red-headed girl that looked to be around your age.

While the stylists were setting up around us, we all talked. Widow introduced the other girl as Wanda Maximoff. Wanda was also shy like me, Widow said that you both had a lot in common. She had also mentioned that Wanda was new to the compound and team and that she joined the team during the Battle of Sokovia. You had to admit, it felt nice to have someone that - in a way - was as new to this as you.

Before long, the team was ready to begin my makeup. The girls still talked, but you had to be extra still due to someone moving around and blending in powder all over your face. Before you being 'taken in' by the Avengers, you hadn't ever worn this much makeup. You were always a natural girl, just putting concealer to brighten your features and an ounce of mascara to extenuate your lashes. You had tried to tell everyone in the room that natural was better and suited your style, but they all said the same thing, you needed lots of makeup to not look ghostly on camera. And you couldn't disagree with that. You just hoped that the people in charge didn't make you look like a clown at your first big event.

Once the makeup was ready, the hairstylist finished curling your hair. Pepper had insisted that you leave your hair down and not put it up. She said that it would look better with the style of the dress, and everyone had agreed to that. Widow and Wanda left your room when both hair and makeup were finished. You waved to them both as they stepped out, and then you and Pepper went to your bedroom to change into the outfit.

As soon as you had finished putting your shoes on, you heard a knock on the door. Pepper asked Friday who it was and let him in the door. It was Steve. You stepped out of your room. He was dressed in a tuxedo with a matching tie to his dress.

"Wow, you dress up nice for a fake date" he called out.

"Thanks" you blushed. "I didn't know this was considered a fake date" or a date at all. You left that unsaid though.

By this time most of the people had left your apartment, now it was just you and Steve. Pepper had managed to slip out too, leaving you with a wave and a wink. Steve walked up to you and held out his arm, motioning for you to link yours both together. You accepted and headed out the door, first making sure you had everything before you left.

***

You and Steve still had your arms intertwined as you got into the car and headed to the city for the night. It was comforting knowing that Steve was there by your side. You were finally starting to realize that this mission may not be so bad after all...