Avengers Imagines

Ch. 2~Steve Fluff/Fall Series

Steve doesn't like parties.

Noisy, impersonal, dark things that they are. I know this and that's why my eyes find him in the crowd every once and a while just to make sure he isn't contemplating another dive into the ice to escape all this.

It's Tony's first day of Fall bash. Pumpkins are everywhere, orange, yellow, and red spotlights dance around the room as if searching for felons but instead find heroes. Black and orange streamers decorate every still surface and I know for a fact that there are confetti canons waiting to go off when Tony gets just drunk enough.

This isn't as big a party as Stark would usually throw since we've moved to the new facility, but everyone seems to still be having a good time. Tony and Rhodes are teasing each other like crazy with Pepper to referee over on the grey couches, Natasha and Wanda are talking at the bar with Vision close by, and I'm close to the live band sipping on my gin martini and keeping a close eye on Steve. He's leaning against the far wall and creeping closer to the exit.

A smirk on my face, I put my drink down and slither through the swaying bodies on the dancefloor until I've reached the elusive Captain. "Planning an escape?" I ask and he looks up from the amber liquid swirling in the glass held in his hand to meet my eyes. A little relief passes over his face that it's me and not some stranger, but he still looks wary.

"You gonna stop me?" He replies with a smile teasing the edges of pink lips.

"Tempt you, maybe. Dance with me?" I offer him a hand and he straightens as his eyebrows raise. Soft orange light passes over him and casts him in a darker light. Golden locks turn golden brown, blue eyes look darker like storm clouds, and the shade thrown across his face makes him look older than he is. Still not a hundred though.

He seems to think about my proposal a moment, surveying my face and expression before downing the amber courage and setting down his glass. "It's been a while." He admits and takes my hand. Callused, tender, and warm. Steve's always so warm, no matter where we are or what the weather. He's like his own little sun. We walk onto the dancefloor and he raises our clasped hands, then slides a hand onto my waist as my hand lands on his shoulder.

"So far, so good." I commend him and receive a small smile. "Sorry Sam couldn't come. Said his mom would box his ears if he missed another family meal to pow around with Captain America." Those blue eyes light up at the mention of his friend and a quiet laugh escapes his tight chest. A little tension rolls off his broad shoulders.

"Eh, it's alright. Family's important." He tells me as a song definitely not meant for slow dancing comes on and we keep slow dancing.

I consider his words and his pretty face. "So why, during this lovely, family event, are you trying to escape?" I ask and he sighs, looking over my shoulder with a half-smile on his face. Blue eyes once again meet mine and he pulls me a little closer. Whether a conscious or unconscious action, I don't care.

"Family can be a bit too much at times. Especially when...not everyone is here." He murmurs the last sentence and that weight is back on his shoulders again. A moment passes and I realize we've stopped swaying.

I take a step back but tighten my grip on his hand. "How about a walk then?" My hand waves to the door and Steve's eyes turned surprised and amused.

"Now you're helping me escape?" He teases as we slowly walk to the doors hand in hand. Neither of us make a move to let go and I feel his warmth travel throughout my body. I meet his eyes and feel that familiar spark in my heart at the small amount of happiness there.

"Something like that. Actually, I want to show you something." I reveal and my steps quicken once we're out of the main party space. Steve picks up the pace to keep up with me and seems to look a little younger as excitement fills those blue eyes. "I know Bucky made you come. He called and told me to keep an eye out on 'his punk.'"

Steve's eyes widen. "He called you?" He repeats in disbelief, looking at me in a new light. "He has your number?"

I nod and tug him around the corner and into the stairwell. "The minute you left the apartment. He told me you didn't want to leave him, but since things between him and Stark are still rocky he wanted to sit the party out. Thought you might be down so I kept an eye on you." He stops us once we've reached the top of the stairs and I turn towards him, shocked a little when I realize we're so close in the small space.

Those bright eyes soften as he looks at me. "What's going on here? What'd you do?" He asks curiously, eyes wide and radiant smile on his lips. He looks younger than I've seen in a while. Guess he doesn't get a lot of good surprises in his life. That's why I put this together. I slide closer to reach the door and our noses brush. We both breathe in sharply at the feeling, then look to one another's eyes. Smiling self-deprecatingly, those baby blues glance between my eyes and lips. Before something else happens, my hand turns the knob and pushes the door open. Steve reluctantly turns and those pretty lips part as he exhales in shock.

A cool breeze raises constellations of goosebumps across our exposed skin as we step out onto the roof. A small portable record player, my own, plays Louis Armstrong's Skeleton in a Closet from Pennies from Heaven. The music seems strange out here, but the way Steve tilts his head and shuts his eyes a moment to listen tells me he thinks the opposite. This is his New York, I suppose. There's a table littered with covered foods; Irish soda bread, champ, stew, even colcannon with a little heart charm in the middle. Two copies of H. G. Wells' novel, War of the Worlds sits on the end next to some cheap whiskey Bucky snagged for me. Cardboard cut outs of black cats and pumpkins lay against the food table and the one thing not keeping with the 30s-40s theme are the little pumpkin string lights on the edge of the orange table cloth. My eyes watch as Steve turns to look at each and every variable.

When he finishes and looks to me, I can't help but blush slightly. Blue eyes wide, smile wider, hair a little messy from the amount of times he's run his hands through it in disbelief, he's breathtaking. "Is everything right?" I ask a little hesitantly.

A few steps bring him to me and he frames my face with his big hands. "Did you do all this? Make all these things?" He asks quietly, tone insistent and hands gentle.

I nod, leaning into his touch a little. "Bucky told me what to do. Sorry it's not completely perfect, but this is as close as I could get. Tony has yet to make a time machine." I joke lightly and he exhales a little. The smell of whiskey washes over me and I swallow a little nervously.

"Thank you." He tells me earnestly. "This is incredible. You're incredible." His voice lowers with every word until he's practically speaking onto my lips.

"You're incredible." I breathe and press my lips to his full ones. Soft, tentative, and warm, so warm. I can't even feel the chilly air around us. Especially not when one of his hands leaves my face to wrap around my waist. Forget warm, everywhere he touches feels like fire ripping its way through me and settling in my gut. Chest to chest with my hands balling up his button down, a little moan slips from my lips when he rocks his hips into mine. Just barely, his tongue teases me by running over the edge of my bottom lip. A cleared throat has us springing apart and looking towards the door.

Bucky's sitting on top with a cowboy hat placed crookedly on his dark hair. "Done yet?" He asks with a smirk and hops down, walking over to us. Shit, I forgot he was part of the surprise. I look at Steve sheepishly, but he's absolutely glowing with happiness. Bucky reaches up and puts a clown nose on Steve's. Giggling, I watch Steve furrow his brows and accept the brown cowgirl hat Bucky smushes on top of my head. "Happy Fall, punk." He punches Steve's shoulder and gifts him a rare grin.

"Thanks, jerk." He responds and Bucky steps between us to the table of food. Steve and I meet eyes and he steals a quick kiss before we both walk to the food behind Bucky.

And it's looking like a good Fall too.