rodrikstark's headcanons (part 1)

s. rogers + jealousy

scott gently takes your hand and puts it under the UV light. "how long again?"

you shrug. "like, two minutes. you can start on my other hand in the meantime."

he starts to paint a thin layer of blue on your other fingers. "thanks for letting me do this."

a small, sad smile twitches on your face. "cassie's a little old for you to be doing her nail polish, right?"

he focuses on his work, careful not to get any varnish on your cuticles. "yeah, but after i came back, there's all this new stuff she likes now or stopped liking from before, and i need to get caught up."

you sense movement behind scott's shoulder and glance up at steve, who shifts uncomfortably in his chair while reading a book in the far corner of the room.

he hasn't turned a page in a while. not since scott burst into the room, specifically asking for you to practice gel nail polish on.

the timer chirps and scott gingerly pulls you out to inspect his work, which is a little sloppy, but it's his first time. "ah! what a graceful hand, my beautiful lady!" he says, with a terrible posh accent.

the dull tap of a book closing and a chair scraping on the floor interrupts your giggling.

"lang," steve says sternly. "i think dr. banner needs help inspecting the gauntlet."

scott nods, getting to his feet quickly at steve's order. he gestures for you to put your other hand, only partially painted, under the lamp. "i'll be back."

you reset the timer.

steve takes hesitant steps toward you, not sitting down in front of you until scott shuts the door.

you hum quietly to yourself, admiring your nails as you wait for steve to come up with an explanation as to why bruce suddenly needed scott for something.

"they're pretty," he murmurs. "i like the color."

you bite the inside of your lip to keep from smiling too big. "i can teach you to paint my nails, if you want."

with a shake of his head, he says, "leave it to scott. he did a good job."

your hand has to stay beneath the light, but you still fidget self-consciously under his heavy gaze. "steve."

his jaw relaxes at the fondness in your voice; you hadn't even noticed how clenched it was.

very typical of him, to get a little jealous.

"i'm sorry," he mutters. "i couldn't take another minute of that." he grasps your free hand, intertwining your fingers. "him touching you, and making you laugh—"

you giggle. "well, that's—"

"talking about kids and family and—" he cuts himself off, standing up abruptly. "sorry."

you panic.

steve walks back to his chair to grab his book, sniffling quietly. he starts for the door.

luckily, the timer goes off. frantically, you free yourself and block his way, two firm palms against his chest. "hey."

"i'm never gonna be that."

you almost scoff in disbelief. "you don't..." your heart crumbles at his devastated look. "steve, you've never—"

"you deserve something like that, and i can't give it to you." he shifts his weight, about to move past you in that stubborn steve way.

flustered and at a loss for words for how to stop him, you stand on your tip-toes and gently flick his forehead. "you're so stupid, rogers."

the absurd action makes him chuckle, despite himself.

"we are trying to get half the universe back and you really think i'm dreaming about some perfectly normal, nuclear family life?" you wipe at a tear that has trickled down his cheek. "no. fuck that. normal went out the window a long time ago."

he looks down at his feet.

your fingers tenderly press against the underside of his jaw until he meets your eyes. "fuck that shit."

he nods, swallowing. "fuck it."

"you're all i've ever wanted, steve." your voice breaks. "and you're all i have left. we've gotta focus, baby. don't push me away."

steve cups your elbows, tugging you forward until he can kiss the top of your head. "okay, yeah. you're right."

"yeah, stupid." you throw your arms around his neck. "i love you."

"i love you too."