IMAGINES: CAPTAIN AMERICA x READER

Night visitor

Captain America fell in love with an ordinary girl. He became fond of milk lattes with velvety snow-white foam and became enamored with the captivating blue-eyed barista who worked at the café from Tuesday to Thursday.

And on their very first date, he hurt her. He argued with the naive dreamer who refused to believe that everything in the world was divided into black and white. She wanted to bring joy to everyone around her and heal the hearts of the lost with her kindness. He fled, spouting harsh words, and left. He was frightened by himself, his words, and the emotions stirred by a single date, along with the light in her eyes that looked at him so trustingly.

It seems that, back then, Captain America felt, for the first time since his awakening, a profound sense of responsibility for the world that had become his reality. It was at that moment he realized that he was not only fighting against his past but also protecting a new present while safeguarding the future of people who couldn't protect it themselves.

And the Captain left the girl and stopped visiting the café for her milk lattes, to avoid bringing trouble. He didn't want her to become his weakness and suffer one day...

But he couldn't forget the sparkle of her blue eyes and the radiant smile that lit up her face every time he opened the café door, and the bell above his head rang.

Steve began visiting her at night. He found her home and, through an open window, slipped into the small apartment under the slanted roof of a five-story building. He started coming to her every night, and while she slept, the Captain watched over her, admired her from a distance, and thought, thought, thought.

Steve contemplated the innocence of her soul, her selflessness, and her responsibility. The Captain questioned whether he was worthy of being called a protector. Why did people consider him righteous when he didn't see himself that way? He thought about all those he had saved and those he hadn't. He berated himself for his weaknesses but rejoiced that he hadn't lost himself in this new world.

And with the first rays of dawn, he would leave. The Captain was vanishing with the last breath of the night wind, promising himself never to return, leaving her home behind.

But as night approached, his heart would begin to beat irrevocably loud, and he felt irresistibly drawn to the low house with the slanted roof, where the blue-eyed barista, wrapped in a down blanket, was already asleep. Steve couldn't leave her. He couldn't forget or abandon her; he couldn't stop watching over her peaceful sleep.

"Going to your milk foam again?" Iron Man asked one night, when he caught the Captain fully geared up, leaving his bedroom.

"You need to decide whether to be with her or leave her," Tony said in response to his friend's silence. "You can't keep visiting her under the cover of night, hoping neither she nor any of our enemies will find out. You know better than anyone how dangerous that is."

Stark's words made Rogers think. The entire way to her cherished home, he thought, thought, thought.

The Captain thought again about death, about all those he hadn't been able to protect, who had left this world too soon. He thought about Barnes-his best friend, who had protected him from bullies throughout their childhood. But when it was Steve's turn to protect his friend, everything went wrong. Steve couldn't save him; he couldn't protect Barnes. He lost him.

The man didn't want history to repeat itself. He feared losing the new friends he had found in this world and also feared losing the quirky girl who made him love milk lattes with their snow-white foam...

And that night, he saw the toy figure of Captain America standing on a small bedside table next to the blue-eyed girl's bed.

He had to decide whether to leave her or, risking it all, give their love a chance. He sat beside her all night, listening to her steady breathing, unable to take his eyes off the small figure of himself.

His heart pounded wildly, resisting the thoughts of leaving her, knowing that if he did, he would never see her again. His mind screamed inside, trying to silence his heart and explain how dangerous it would be for the quirky girl to be near him...

The Captain sat until dawn, and only the first cold rays of the morning sun forced him to tear his eyes away from the toy figure and leave the apartment in the house with the slanted roof once more.

The next night, as the morning rays played on the Captain's pale face and the night's darkness began to retreat from the room, the man started to rise from the soft chair to quietly leave the girl once more. She stirred reluctantly in her warm bed, stuck one leg out from under the blanket, and whispered:

"Don't go." The words made the Captain freeze in his chair. "I'm not afraid to be with you, and you shouldn't be afraid either. I promise you'll never lose me, that I'll fight alongside you until the happiest end."

Steve's heart skipped a beat.

"Stay," the girl repeated, emerging from under the blanket and looking at the man with her trusting eyes. "I'll make you coffee."

Her blue eyes looked hopeful and trusting, with no trace of fear. That look said everything would be alright; it was a brave look, and that bravery flowed to the Captain. He suddenly realized that he couldn't control everything in this world and that if he only nurtured constant fear for his loved ones, he would not only take all the light from their lives but also fail to make them happy or brave.

Steve suddenly exhaled and felt a forgotten warmth spread through his veins.

"Then I'll make pancakes," he smiled back at his blue-eyed happiness.