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The Other Stark (Steve Rogers x fem!Stark reader)

"Come on, Y/N! I know you can do better than that!" Clint yelled at you as he knocked another arrow. You were panting and sweat was rolling down your body. Learning to use these powers of yours was harder than you thought. You couldn't seem to hold it together long enough, but you knew that you needed to learn. You had to get this. If not for your sake then for the safety of the team, your brother included.

Several months before, your brother Tony and the rest of the team had rescued you from a HYDRA base. You'd been kidnapped and experimented on. Soon, you could produce force fields out of thin air. It was an amazing ability. If only you could keep a force field up longer than a few seconds. That's when Clint decided to train you. You were supposed to be blocking his arrows, but you weren't doing a very good job. You'd barely missed being hit several times.

Steve was watching your training session with a small smile on his face. Yes, you were struggling but there was a fire in your eyes that Steve admired. That wasn't all Steve liked about you. He liked that you were soft spoken unless you were passionate about a subject. He liked that you got excited about the small things, such as when Tony brought you your favorite donuts. He liked that you didn't poke fun at him for being "old". Mostly, he liked that you tried to stay positive, despite everything you'd been through.

"I'm trying, Clint!" you growled out, catching Steve's attention. You almost never got angry. Sighing, Steve got up and made his way over to you. He placed a careful hand on your shoulder. You glanced back at him. "She needs some help, Cap." You groaned. "I don't know what else I can do, Steve. I'm trying. Really I am." Steve smiled and Clint wrapped an arm around your shoulders. "We know you are, Y/N. Why don't we take a break for today?"

"I'm sorry, Clint." The archer shrugged. "No big deal. I know you can get this. You just need something to help you out. Maybe next time I'll get Tony in here and shoot at him." You glared at him and Steve rolled his eyes. Clint laughed and left the room. You turned to face Steve and he saw the worry in your eyes.

"Hey, what is it?" Steve asked. "I'm not getting any better, Steve. What if, when it comes down to it, I can't protect myself or one of you?" Steve blinked in surprise. It never failed to amaze him how different you were from your brother. Tony had all the confidence in the world or at least that's what he portrayed while your confidence came and went.

Steve gently gripped your upper arms and looked into your (e/c) eyes. "Y/N, I have every confidence that you can do this. I know you can." You gave him a watery smile. "Thanks, Steve," you replied before wrapping your arms around him. He rested his chin on your head as he held you close, trying to comfort you.

"Hands off the sister, Rogers," Tony's voice came from the doorway, making you jump and hit Steve's jaw. "Ow," you whimpered at the same time Steve said it. "How about you mind your own business, Tony." you told him, rubbing your head. Then you whispered to Steve, "Sorry, Steve." He shrugged and chuckled. "Did you want something, Tony?" Steve asked and your brother nodded. "Yeah. Mission from Fury and Y/N has to come with us." Your eyes widened. Were you ready for this?

No...no you weren't. Try as you might, you couldn't seem to hold a force field for long. Luckily Natasha had been training you to fight so you were able to defend yourself somewhat. But you soon felt the fatigue from dodging bullets. It wasn't until you saw that Steve was in immediate danger that you were able to do anything.

From your peripheral, you saw the gunman with his gun aimed at Steve. You panicked at first, but you knew you had to do something. "Steve!" you cried out, running over and willing a force field to protect him. The bullet bounced off the force field and you smiled. You were so focused, you didn't notice the second gunman until it was too late. "Y/N!" Steve threw his shield at both HYDRA agents and ran over to you. You sank down to the ground and hit your head. Steve's blurry face hovered over you before your eyes closed.

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You felt someone holding your hand when you came to. A soft groan escaped your lips as you tried to open your eyes and were blinded by bright lights. "Hey there, Sweetpea," your brother's voice cut through your haze. Another groan came forth before you could finally open your eyes. "Tony." Your voice was hoarse and soft, but Tony heard you anyway.

"You know, the whole point of having a defensive power is to protect yourself," he joked in typical Tony fashion. "Shut up. I was protecting someone else. Where's Steve?" Tony scoffed. "You really like the guy, don't you?" You chuckled once before wincing. "That obvious?" Your brother rolled his eyes. "You practically sacrificed yourself for the old man. I'd say it's pretty obvious."

Tony gave you a smile and patted your hand. "You haven't slept. You need to go get some sleep." Tony got up and kissed your forehead. "Now that you're up, I can do just that. I'll send the Capsicle in." Tony left the room and Steve entered a moment later.

He approached your bed and took your hand in his. "Why did you do that? You didn't have to. You could have protected yourself." It took you a moment to realize what he was talking about. "I didn't see him and, even if I had, I wouldn't change what I did. You're more important to the team than I am." Steve sank down into the chair.

"Don't say that. Please. I don't know what I would have done had you died. You're just as important to the team as I am. You're just as important to me..." Steve trailed off, unsure of whether or not he should continue. "I am?" He nodded, his baby blues focusing on your face. "You're important to me too, Steve."

Steve smiled and kissed your hand. "When you're up to it, I'd love to take you dancing, Doll." You laughed lightly. "I'd like, although I think you'll have to teach me. I'm not a very good dancer. Tony got all the dancing genes." Steve cleared his throat and, still smiling, he said, "I guess we'll have to learn together."

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