The Mimic

67

A/N: Just as a heads up, I will not be describing y/n's outfit for the party because I want everyone to feel as included and comfortable as possible. So go find yourself an outfit that you love!

Operation 'Impress the Girl' seemed to be going smoothly. 

Peter was so, so nervous, but he was grateful that the team always had his back - well, some of them. Sam found it funny to tease the poor kid, which he'd been scolded for several times but still carried on. He claimed that it was payback for 'ruining his wings' back in Wakanda. Apart from Sam, everyone else seemed to be pretty supportive. It was quite sweet to see, actually. They were all so protective of Peter, viewing him as a little brother or son - not in a way that Peter was babied, though, they all just wanted the best for him. However, that protectiveness came with everyone trying to give him advice. So Peter was struggling to decide between Steve and Bucky's advice of being a gentleman, Thor's advice to show off as much as possible, or Tony's advice to act as smooth as possible.

"Are you sure?" Peter asked curiously, a confused look on his face as Scott handed him a pack of playing cards. He was currently sat at the breakfast bar, trying his hardest not to ruin his suit in any way. "Of course I am! Magic is the way to a woman's heart. How do you think Cassie turned up?" He hummed proudly. Peter scrunched his face up in disgust, shaking his head in attempt to try and get the thought out of his head. "Aw, Mr Lang! Why'd you say that?" He sighed, setting the pack of cards on the counter. Scott laughed, opening up the pack of cards and taking two out, one for him and one for Peter. "Sorry, kid. But it's true! You've got to think about this type of stuff now that you're a man!" He exclaimed, causing Peter to bury his face in his hands out of embarrassment. "No, no I don't! I don't want to know!" Peter exclaimed, trying to get Scott to stop talking about it. 

Y/n and Natasha had their ears pressed up against the kitchen door, listening in as Scott just embarrassed Peter more and more. "I swear Scott isn't even with Cassie's mom anymore." Natasha murmured with a confused smile, moving away from the door. Y/n nodded, laughing as she stood up straight. Scott's advice was completely fake, he just wanted to teach someone his card tricks. "Yeah, but let's just let him carry on. He's probably the person that can cause the least harm when it comes to advice." Y/n shrugged, a smile appearing on her face as she heard Peter begin to complain again. "Really? An ex-convict gives the least harmful advice?" Nat asked sarcastically as the pair begun to stroll away from the kitchen. Y/n hummed in thought, she had a point. "Hey, it's not like the rest of us are angels. To be honest, we've probably done worse." Y/n laughed, causing Natasha to nod in agreement. It was true. If the team weren't 'The Avengers' almost all of them would be in prison for some reason or other. "Anyway, you need to go get ready! Almost everyone is dressed except for you, and this is your party!" Nat exclaimed, causing y/n to sigh in frustration. "But it's so much effort." She complained as they made their way toward her bedroom. Y/n leant against her doorway, a frown on her face. Natasha rolled her eyes at y/n's complaining, crossing her arms over her chest as she stood opposite y/n. "Well, it's going to be worth it. Don't you want to show the rest of the world how awesome you are? A bombshell and an Avenger." Natasha grinned, making slight jazz-hands as she begun to make her way toward her own room. Y/n smiled at the subtle compliment, watching as Nat walked away. "I think that bombshell title is already taken by you!"

Y/n soon ended up stood in front of the mirror, staring at her reflection. Something was off, but it wasn't her outfit. She loved what she was wearing, she felt great in it. But y/n just had this feeling of fear in her chest, almost like it was suffocating her. She was terrified of actually announcing herself as one of the Avengers. What was she even going to say? There were going to be so many cameras in front of her, so many faces, what if she froze? Y/n took in a shaky breath, picking at her nails out of stress. She hadn't told anyone how nervous she really was for the party. Y/n was supposed to be the confident one, she always was at missions. But this was different. Missions were easy, she didn't have to speak to anyone but the team. This wasn't going to be easy. She knew it'd all be fine, of course it'd be fine. But the idea of it was terrifying. 

However, y/n was quickly ripped from her thoughts by a knock on the door, plastering a smile back on her face as she turned to find out who it was. It was Bucky. Of course it was Bucky. He slowly walked into the room, staring down at himself as he tried his hardest to tie his tie. "Hey, can you help with this? I haven't done something like this since nineteen-forty-something, and I'm sure that Steve will just make fun of me instead of-" Bucky suddenly cut his rambling off when he finally looked up, his eyes wide at the sight of her. She looked amazing. Bucky quickly cleared his throat, his cheeks heating up slightly as he held out his tie for y/n to take. "Help? Please?" He asked. Y/n smiled fondly at Bucky's reaction and rambling, the butterflies in her stomach had appeared again. He looked great too. "Of course I can." She smiled, taking the tie from Bucky. The pair were inches away from one another, both trying to hide their bashful smiles. Neither had seen one another so dressed up before. "You look great." Bucky murmured, watching their reflections in the mirror as y/n worked on his tie. Y/n smiled happily, glancing up at Bucky for a split second before she looked back at the tie. "So do you." She hummed sweetly. Bucky's opinion was the only real opinion that mattered to her. She could hear those compliments all night, yet the simple blush on his face would stick in the back of her mind the whole time.

"Are you as nervous as I am?" Y/n admitted with a nervous laugh, she'd finished the tie, but she hadn't moved away. It was nice being this close to him. Bucky sighed in relief when y/n mentioned being nervous. "Oh my god, yes. I haven't been to a party in so long, and I doubt they're the same." Bucky chuckled, meeting y/n's eyes. Y/n laughed quietly, not averting her gaze from his eyes. "Good, because I'm terrified." She grinned. "I don't even know what I'm supposed to say to all those people." Y/n admitted with a slight shrug. Bucky smiled, moving to cup y/n's face with his hands. "Well, I think you should just be yourself. Say what comes to your mind. I just know that they're going to love you." He hummed sweetly, causing y/n to roll her eyes. "You're so corny." She teased, but she didn't move away from his hands. Bucky gasped dramatically, a happy grin on his face as he pressed a quick kiss to her lips. "You love me for it, though." He chimed. Y/n laughed, peppering a few kissed back. He was right, she loved how corny he was. Even if it sounded so stupid sometimes.