Draw Me Your Worries | S. Rogers x Reader

Ch. 17 - It's Healing

This is definitely more of a filler chapter.

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Steve was at work the following day, so he didn't see y/n until she returned from breaking up with Eamon since she said she'd do it after she got off work.

He made sure to have a nice dinner waiting for her when he arrived, in which the actual cooking part included a lot of confusion and searching because he didn't exactly know the layout of her kitchen yet.

She came in looking tired, her sluggish movements giving away that her talk with Eamon didn't go very well.

"Hey," he greeted sort of uneasily, knowing what went down. "How was work?"

"Well, Stark's been wanting to get into nanotechnology, so everyone's busy all the time."

"I don't know what that is, but it sounds complicated."

"Mhm. How was your day?"

"Lots of lumber."

She sniffed around as she walked further into the apartment. "It smells like food in here." As she came closer to him she commented, "And you smell like wood."

"How'd he take it?"

"Very well. Which actually made me feel even worse. He's truly a great guy."

"I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault. I'm the problem."

Steve knew that things were never going to be the same as it was between them. As much as he wished nothing changed, everything did. Y/n became this wonderful woman who was the perfect balance between loving and independent. He just wished he could have been there to see her grow.

They shouldn't give each other their everything yet because both of them had evolved into themselves. Establishing something now would be too fast for them.

"You're not the problem," Steve countered. "You've done what you think is best for you. That's all anyone can do."

"I know. But it doesn't make the shitty feeling go away." She looked up at him. "And it won't go away for a long, long time."

He knew she was talking about when she broke up with him, practically telling him that she felt awful for a long time afterward.

She didn't have to leave him, he thought. He genuinely believed they could have made it in a relationship. He tried saving it.

When he moved into Avenger's Tower, he was truly less busy and spent most of his time alone or with the other Avengers. He could have done what Thor did with Jane when he was with her and gone and lived here with her in LA this whole time, never having a problem.

It's not her fault though. She just did what she thought was best for herself and he could never blame anyone for that, even if he thought it was wrong.

"Come on, I made dinner."

They ate in stale silence, not uncomfortable but the atmosphere was a little tense as if both of them had something to say but neither was going to say it.

After dinner, she excused herself and went to bed early. Steve just assumed she was exhausted from her long day at work and her breakup. Steve cleaned up before doing the same.

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The two of them fell into a routine of work, taking turns making dinner, eating dinner together, and then doing some mundane thing before going to bed.

They caught up with each other on what transpired during the years they were separated. She told him that she moved up the ranks quickly at Stark Industries and was one of the top engineers there. She gave him bits and pieces of her work and how it all played a role in the advancements of the company.

Steve told her that Bucky was alive and the entire story behind him. He told some stories about working with the other Avengers in the Tower and later training more like Wanda and Sam in the Compound. He went into how the Accords started and a little more into his experience fighting against the discrimination of enhanced individuals.

He continued working at the lumber yard. Due to his strength and stamina, he was a reliable and proficient worker that everyone wanted around during their shifts. He still didn't mind the suspicious feeling he got from it all, choosing to ignore it and not draw attention to himself.

Steve brought up him moving out when he was able to afford it, but y/n shut down the idea and insisted that he stay with her. That was okay with him, he would rather stay with her.

Eamon eventually came around and agreed with y/n that they could just be friends. Steve was okay with this, Eamon was a good man and it made her happy. He and Eamon became civil friends after a while as well, bonding over Steve being who he was and y/n.

She continued to paint and draw in her free time and he loved to simply watch her. He missed her delicate hands and unique ideas. Only after a few months of living with her did he get into art again, the inspiration striking him unexpectedly after spending so much time with art block.

He got quite good at drawing realistic portraits. He already had plenty of self-experience with it in the 30s and 40s, but the practice served him well. Y/n patiently taught him all of her tricks and using what he learned, he developed it all to turn it into his own style.

Neither of them put any "label" onto their relationship, per se. They didn't want to. They knew they both loved each other and were happy in their consistent daily lives. All Steve ever wanted was a domestic life and here he was going to work and coming back to the woman he loved every day. Sure, there was no small house in the suburbs with a white picket fence, but this was more than enough as long as he had her. This life was close to perfect. This was the life he'd always wanted.

After two years of course, Steve's dream of having a peaceful life collapsed yet again when Bruce (he hadn't known Banner had returned) called him on the phone that Steve had given to Tony.

There had been an alien attack on New York, where Tony, Bruce, the Spider-kid from Queens, and a couple of wizards tried to fight before one of the wizards got kidnapped so naturally, Tony and Queens went after the wizard in their spaceship. They were now in space somewhere and no one knew if they were dead or not.

Earth needed the Avengers back.

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Steve was putting on his Captain America uniform, in which the faded black spray paint and empty chest where the white star used to be gave it a rugged look. He was getting ready for a fight.

Y/n watched him from the doorframe with a dejected look on her face. Steve took notice of this and began, "I am so sorry about this, Daffodil, but you know I have to help them."

"It's okay, Steve. I understand why you have to go," she replied with a sad smile, an understanding angel as always.

"What did I do to deserve you, hm?" He gave her one of the many kisses he planned on giving her as he said his temporary goodbye to her. "I don't know when I'll be back, but I promise I'll be back as soon as this is over."

"Alright." When he was putting on his fingerless gloves, she spoke again, "This feels kind of nostalgic."

"What does?"

"You, leaving to go on some mission and me, staying here."

"It's too dangerous for you, Daffodil, you know that."

"Despite your nickname for me, I'm not some delicate little flower." She came up to him and cupped his cheek in her hand. "I love that you always protected me, I do, but maybe if you allow me to help you with this then it can be over quickly and I don't have to worry about you."

He nuzzled into her hand. "I don't know what I'd do if you were hurt."

"I'll stay away from the action, I know you and your friends can handle that. I can help with whatever tech you need and offer any kind of assistance that I can, please Steve."

He was still unconvinced, but he had to admit that she was making sense. He knew her skill set and if they had any issues he knew that she could help.

"Steve, please."

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Thor: Love and Thunder is so chaotic and I'm totally here for it.