Eyes swelling with new tears, you sniffled and pressed closer to Steve, your throat tight and aching, the lump too large to swallow past.
"It'll be alright," He murmured, hand smoothing out your hair. You could only nod, your face pressed into his chest. He'd pulled one of his sweaters onto your early when he'd first discovered you, and snuggled into it now, the large sleeves providing much needed warmth.
"I just-I just-" You sobbed then, struggling to muffle the sound of your terrible bellows through the sleeves of his sweater. Steve only pulled you closer, his arms tightening around you.
"He was an asshole, alright?" He started, his chin resting on top of your head. "He couldn't see what was right in front of him, just-" Steve sighed then, turning his head so he could rest his cheek on the top of your head instead. "Forget about him."
You nodded, wishing desperately that the memories of your boyfriend-ex boyfriend now-of the past year and a half would just disappear but they remained, a burning reminder of your failure. Because the truth was, your boyfriend wasn't an asshole, in fact he was very kind and generous, but your work and lack of presence in the relationship had driven him away. So you'd come home that afternoon to find him sitting at the kitchen table in your apartment looking tearful and upset, but his mind had been made up. You knew that you should have been happy because hey, he was just looking out for his own good right? Bur all you wanted was for him to be holding you right now instead.
"Why couldn't I see what I was doing?" You demanded, eyes spilling over again as you hiccuped, struggling to breathe through your congested nose. "We talked about marriage, and kids and now-n-now-" You choked back a sob and sniffled into Steve's shirt, whimpering as you desperately tried to remain quiet. This was so embarrassing.
"I'm sorry (Y/N)..." Steve murmured, sighing quietly afterwards. "I'm really sorry this had to happen to you...But maybe, it was for the best. Did you really want to lose your dream job because he couldn't understand the importance of what you do?"
"Nonono!" You insisted, pulling away from him so you could look at him, quickly wiping your red, itchy eyes. "I was in the wrong! I couldn't just put him first for once...take some time off...come home on time..." You burst into more tears, your lip trembling uncontrollably.
"Please don't cry," Steve begged softly, pulling you even closer to his body, if that was even possible. "You know I hate seeing a lady cry."
You pulled yourself away from him for a moment, though his hands stayed on your arms as you peered up at him.
"Do you think I should call him?" You asked, voice shaking as you struggled to suppress tears. Steve frowned at you before rubbing the mascara off underneath your eyes with his thumbs.
"No baby girl, I don't," He sighed, dropping his hands so he could look at you. You dropped your gaze when you heard his nickname for you, ignoring how it made your cheeks heat. Your boyfriend had never liked it when Steve had called you that...He'd hated it to be honest.
But who cared about what he thought now? Steve was the one who was here, Steve was the one who was consoling you and telling you everything would be okay, with his pretty pink lips drawn into a pout.
You'd always known Steve had had a thing for you, hell everyone did. Steve knew you were aware of it as well, but he was kind enough to never speak about it, especially since you had had a boyfriend.
Had.
You turned your gaze up to Steve suddenly, your eyes raking over his rigid jaw and the way he was tugging on his lower lip with his teeth as he gazed at the wall beside your bed, lost in thought, as usual. You'd always had a small thing for Steve, I mean who wouldn't?
The idea of kissing him was suddenly all too appealing and you paused for a moment, heart beating wildly in your chest as you mulled over the idea.
Should you do it? Would he be upset? What if he didn't even like you anymore? What if he pushed you away?
Steve turned towards you then, shoulders slouched as he dropped his hands into his lap, his gaze lingering on your mouth for a moment too long before he was meeting your own lingering gaze.
Man, what the hell.
Without another thought you grasped the sides of his face tightly within your hands and pulled him harshly towards you, ignoring his widening eyes as you feverishly pressed your mouth against his. It was chaste and quick, your mouths pressed tightly against one another's before you were hooking a hand around the back of his neck and pulling him closer to you.
Steve grunted in surprise, a hand landing on your thigh as he struggled to maintain his balance from where he sat on the edge of your bed. He wrenched himself away from you suddenly, gasping for air as he stared at you, dumbfounded.
"What-what're you doing?" He demanded in a soft tone, blue eyes blown wide.
"Kissing you," You responded breathlessly, palms on his jaw as you dragged him back in. His mouth landed on yours with a muffled grunt and you tugged him forward again. Steve let out a surprised yelp as he fell forwards, hands landing heavily on the bed as he held himself above you, careful not to crush you.
"(Y/N)," Steve said, staring down at you confusedly, cheeks dark with blush. "What are you doing?!"
You stared up at him from where you lay on the bed beneath his much, much larger body and suddenly you felt your chest tighten, your breath catching in your throat. Embarrassment and a deep sense of regret had your chest feeling as if it were about to cave in and you quickly averted your gaze, your hands landing on his arms as you struggled to push him away.
"I-I am so sorry," You murmured, voice shaky as you moved to roll away from him. However Steve's arms stayed firmly in place, hands placed on either side of your head and acting like a cage of sorts.
Cheeks hot and stomach twisting, you demanded that he move again, voice even more unsteady than the last time you had spoken. Your stomach rolled when he spoke.
"Don't tempt me like this."
It was breathy and dark, his voice deep and scratchy. It was almost as if you could hear the blood rushing through your veins, your breath caught in your throat as you turned your gaze to meet his own steel blue one.
His pupils were blown wide, jaw clenched.
"Pardon?" You demanded softly, confused at his sudden behavior. There was no way Steve was this-this aroused. No. Yes, you knew that Steve had a crush on you, but he was the gentleman, America's hero, the do-gooder who said no to vulnerable women. He wasn't supposed to cage them in and stare at them like his will was draining by the second and at any moment he would-
"I don't give a damn anymore," He whispered harshly and you frowned, a small squeak escaping your parted lips just as Steve allowed his body to fall, pressing it tightly against your own and pinning you against the bed as his hands tangled in your hair, his mouth pressing hot, open mouthed kissed against your jaw.
"Steve!" You gasped, eyes widened in almost comical shock as your gaze landed on the ceiling above you. His actions had caught you off guard and a soft moan nearly slipped from between your lips as his grip on your hair tightened and he forced you to tilt your jaw upwards, further exposing your neck.
"I don't care if I'm your God damn rebound," He growled into your ear, breath hot as he breathed heavily against your dampening skin. "I'll be the best God damn rebound you've ever had."
