All I Need (Vampire Diaries/Captain America Fanfic)

15. A Hundred Reasons Why

Of course, it was only pure coincidence that led me to New York. And it was even more of a coincidence that I just happened to find my way to Avengers Tower. Once you set foot in NYC, it was all anyone could talk about. It would be weird not to visit, wouldn't it?

It was a weird building, so tall that it was impossible to miss. But even if you could miss it, the huge 'A' definitely gave it away. You couldn't pay me enough to live in such an obnoxious place.

I knocked on the front door against my better judgement. This was a stupid decision, I was supposed to be staying away from Steve. But after what had just happened, I was pretty sure that I had nowhere else to go. And maybe talking to Steve would get rid of the image of Harper's heart in my hand.

"Please state your name and business," a voice said.

"Um, Serena Salvatore. I'm here to see Steve, if he's here?" I responded warily.

There was silence. I contemplated turning around and going somewhere else when the door opened. Steve wasn't on the other side, but I recognized the person instantly.

"You're... Iron man... right?" I asked. I'd seen pictures everywhere after he'd outed himself as a superhero. Everyone knew Iron Man.

He smirked and stuck out his hand. "Tony Stark, nice to meet you."

"You too. Is Steve here?" I asked, looking around as he ushered me inside. Considering the outside of the building was so over-the-top, the inside was... ordinary.

"You're Serena? From Mystic Falls?" he asked, ignoring my question.

"You know who I am?"

"Steve talks about you," he answered, pushing the elevator button. "Come on up."

I followed him, trying to hide my smile. Steve had told people about me? Maybe coming here wasn't such a bad idea after all.

"Steve," Tony Stark said as we entered what appeared to be a living room. "Someone's here to see you."

He pushed me forward, until I was standing directly in Steve's eyeline.

"Serena?" he asked in disbelief.

"Hi," I said sheepishly. A part of me wanted to believe that the memory of him was better than the real thing – that when we actually came face to face again, I'd feel nothing for him but friendship.

"You're Serena?" a woman asked, a smile on her face.

"Um, yeah," I said. It wasn't like me to sound so unsure of myself.

"I'm Natasha," she said. "Come and sit down." She gestured to the seat next to her.

"Actually, why don't we go to one of the other hundred floors of this place?" Steve asked with a smile. I nodded and followed him up a flight of stairs. "So, what are you doing here?"

I thought about why I had come there, and my eyes filled with tears. "I-" I started, internally cursing myself for being so weak. "I did something. And I had nowhere else to go. And I wanted to see you."

He took a step towards me, before backtracking and stepping back.

"Are you OK?" he asked. "Can I do something?"

"Yeah," I nodded, closing the gap between us and wrapped my arms around him. He was wary at first, but within seconds he hugged me back tightly. We stood that way for minutes as I cried myself dry. It was the first time I'd cried since James, and I needed it.

"Want to talk about it?" he asked.

"I can't," I said. "Not yet." Not ever, I added in my head.

"Then, come and sit," he led me to the sofa and sat next to me, his knee touching mine. "I'm sure this is all a bit weird.

Then I remembered that I wasn't supposed to know his secret.

"How did you find out?" he asked.

"You never called me. I had to investigate. And you didn't exactly hide your real name," I said. He chucked slightly, leaning back on the sofa.

"I'm sorry I didn't call. I kind of felt like I should give you some space. First you told me that you wanted nothing to do with me, then you gave me your number. I wasn't sure if you knew what you wanted."

"That's fair," I said, because it was. I didn't want to get involved with Captain America, but I couldn't seem to stay away from Steve Rogers. "It's just that, there are a hundred reasons why we shouldn't be together. But when I'm with you, I forget every single one."

"Serena, you're the most complicated person I know. You send mixed signals, you're blunt, we're opposites. And yet, I don't care," he said.

"Steve, my life is more complicated than you know. There's stuff about my brothers and my friends that I may never be able to tell you. There are some things I do that I'm going to spend the rest of my life apologizing for. There's so much that I don't want to drag you into," I said. By now, it was clear that I was deeply in like with him, and it felt like he was too. But I wanted to offer him an escape. I'd never be able to tell him what I really was, it was too dangerous. Yet, I needed to be around him, he was good for me. He made me want to be better.

"Look, I'm not the most... confident guy," he said. "I was born in 1920 and I've kissed two girls, one which wasn't even a proper kiss. I don't know anything about this stuff, about relationships and love and dating. I don't know how to be a boyfriend. But, I think I like you enough to... to try that stuff."

"You don't know me, not really." I said.

"You don't know me really either, yet here you are," he said, gesturing to our surroundings. He was right, of course. I hated that!

"I just don't know if it can work," I said, making another excuse.

"Can I kiss you?" he asked politely, ignoring me. I smiled and nodded. He leant in.

In movies, the first kiss is always interrupted by someone, leaving the audience tense and frustrated, ruining the moment. Ours wasn't like that.

It was short and sweet. Our lips felt in sync, like they'd been doing this for years. We broke apart and he smiled one of his famous lazy smiles. I pulled him closer, pressing my lips to his once again. He had one hand in my hair and one on my cheek as I deepened the kiss. I wrapped both of my hands in his hair and leaned down so that I was lying on the sofa and he was on top of me. We made out for what felt like hours, before he stopped abruptly and pushed himself off of me.

"What's wrong?" I asked, making a mental note to text Caroline every detail of what had just happened, she'd appreciate it the most. Plus, I didn't know if Elena was speaking to me after what I did.

"I just, I want to go slowly," he said. "We both know where that was heading."

I laughed and kissed his cheek. "Slowly," I promised.

OK, so I shouldn't have been there, and I definitely shouldn't have kissed Steve. But as long as I kept him away from Mystic Falls, from vampires, everything would be fine... right?

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