Captain's Hart

Chapter 12 Love?

Steve said farewell to Clint, the last of the group to leave the apartment after he shared a brief hug with Arianna, and then closed the door. Tony had needed to leave in the late afternoon, taking Bruce with him back to New York, to spend some time with Pepper in the evening. Natasha and Clint had left soon after, needing to get back to base before nightfall.

Steve looked back to see Arianna already starting to clean up as she started stacking the empty plates. He took a moment to fully appreciate her presence and everything she'd done for him, before he walked over to help her.

"Need a hand?" He asked playfully as he picked up the plates she'd stacked and she grinned. Looking over at him, Arianna teased: "Oh, Captain America, whatever would I do if you hadn't saved me from those dishes."

"Probably break them with your bare hands." He chuckled and she laughed. Shaking her head, she picked up another pile and they walked over to the kitchen, dumping the dishes into the sink. Before they could go back to the table, Steve touched Arianna's arm, getting her attention.

She looked at him with curious hazel eyes, which blinked rapidly as Steve said sincerely: "Thank you, Ria. For everything." Her lips curved up into a smile and she replied warmly: "You're welcome, Steve."

He nodded and made his way back to the table when Arianna changed course, moving to rummage in her handbag. He glanced at her curiously and then it was his turn to blink in surprise as she produced a blue-wrapped box. Arianna held it out to him, saying in a nervous tone: "Happy birthday, Steve."

He stared and she cleared her throat, saying more confidently: "I had to really think about what to get you, and it's not much but I hope you like it." She trailed off a little at the end and he had to smile. Taking it from her, he promised: "I'm sure I will."

She seemed to hold her breath as he peeled off the wrapping paper and opened the box inside. Steve froze, staring down in amazement.

"It wasn't just from me." Arianna admitted as Steve slowly reached in, his hand curling around the chain. "Phil had these kept safe, and I got Director Fury to give me clearance to get it for you and I went to get them cleaned and polished. I guess it's a four-way present from us three... and Peggy."

Steve glanced at her, his eyes swimming with emotion as he held up his old army dog tags. Arianna went on, starting to ramble nervously: "I asked her opinion, just in case, and she thought it was a good idea, but your original chain was broken so she gave us her old one that she'd kept preserved, to keep it somewhat authentic, and-"

Arianna broke off as Steve's face broke into a smile. "Thank you, Arianna." He said quietly and she fidgeted.

"You're welcome." Arianna answered at last just as quietly. Steve stared down at her, gazing down into her hazel eyes. She met his eyes for a moment before she broke away, quickly going back to cleaning up after the party. Steve stayed where he was standing as he slowly looked down at his dog tags.

His thumb rubbed along the familiar tags. When he'd first opened the box and seen them, he'd initially been overwhelmed by the memories they brought back of his time in the war and the Howling Commandos. But he was soon overcome by how warm Arianna made him feel, and how just looking into her eyes made his heart beat faster while his stomach clenched pleasantly.

Steve started as he realized that Peggy was right. Without meaning to, he had fallen irrevocably in love with Arianna Hart.

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December 31, 2012

Arianna laughed almost hysterically as Tony pranced about with the completely stabilized and healthy Pepper. He'd corrected the Extremis formula following the whole Christmas fiasco (with some help from Bruce and Arianna), and now they were happy to say Pepper was completely cured. Arianna only regretted that she had been unable to help before that.