Marvel Imagines ;)

steve - flower talk

(Inspired by some tumblr post)

You stared at the wedding invitation in your hand, before promptly spitting on it and ripping it in half. A couple that happened to walk by at that exact moment gave you a particularly nasty look, so you decided sticking your tongue out at them was the best response. Damn happy couples and their stupid hand holding and cute loving looks. They could go straight to hell for all you cared.

A small flower shop was on the same street you were storming down. It'd have to do. As you opened the door a bell chimed your entry rather cheerily. You held down your disgust.
The smell was intoxicating, but you barely noticed it as you strode into the shop and slammed a twenty dollar bill on the front counter.

"How do I passive-aggressively say 'fuck you' in flower?"

Heads turned to look at you in horror, and you decided to stick your tongue out at them to. Damn the consequences, you were tired of judgmental assholes.

"Language," said a voice from behind you. You flipped them off over your shoulder, even though you couldn't see them.

The lady at the front counter seemed to be holding back a smile with difficulty. She was unfairly pretty, with rosy-red hair and full lips.

"Well, that's quite a demanding request. I think I'll have to get the best of the best to help you," she said. "Steve, could you come over here a sec?"

You waited, tapping your foot restlessly. The shredded wedding invitation was still clenched in your fist.

"What can I do for you?" a voice asked from behind you. Startled, you turned around. And froze.

He was... Well, he was fucking gorgeous, to put it lightly. Tousled golden hair, baby-blue eyes, and abs you could see through his shirt. You resisted the urge to poke them to see if they felt as rock hard as they looked. Was everyone who worked here just drop-dead sexy?

"I-I... Um..." You could barely string a single sentence together in his presence. God, where did all that bravado you had earlier disappear to?

He simply smiled at you, a smile that made you weak in the knees. Because, dimples.

Oh, hell.

This probably happened to him all the time. You were just another sad bimbo in his eyes.
You took a deep breath, rolling your shoulders.

Pull it together, Y/N.

"Look, your request was pretty specific. Why don't I take you into the back and show you some of my ideas?"

You just nodded like a speechless fool.

"So, what kind of 'fuck you' are you going for?" He asked you as you strode down isles upon isles of different types of flowers.

"Hmm, lets see... 'Rot in hell you dirty, disloyal, adulterous whore' pretty much sums it up."

Well, that earned you a slightly surprised smile. You ignored the way his upturned lips made your stomach flip. God, his lips.

"Okay, okay, I think I see where your going with this."

You turned down the isle with hundreds of orange coloured flowers.

"Now, as you may or may not know, the orange blossom means purity and loveliness. And red, of course, is the universal colour of love."
You made gagging noises while he talked.

"Asphodels are a good choice. They mean 'my regrets will follow you to the grave'."

That peaked your interest. "I like the sound of that."

Eventually you settled on a bouquet that, despite yourself, was beautiful. And deceptive. At least you avoided the flower that meant 'death to your first born child'. Steve said that was going too far. Instead, he offered you one that apparently meant 'a promise of eternal genital lice', but you thought he was just saying that to make you feel better. Despite yourself, it was working.

"If you don't mind me asking, what did this guy do to you that was so bad?" Steve asked after refusing to let you pay for the flowers. Ever the gentlemen. Disgusting. Also cute. But mostly disgusting.

"Do you want the long version or the short version?"

"I've got nothing but time. Well, except the job I have to get back to." He smiled. Damn him.

You laughed. "Short version it is, then."
Steve looked at you expectantly with wide blue eyes.

"So there was this girl," you began. Steve's eyes widened even further. "I loved her, thought she loved me back. I've never been too good at relationships. People say I have commitment issues, something about my divorced parents and unreliable dad, but, anyways," Steve smiled at you, and you caught yourself stumbling. You had to look somewhere else besides his gorgeous face (and body), so you looked at the torn wedding invitation in your hand. "I didn't want to live together. She said it was fine, but the woman I found in her bed a few days later had to disagree." You laughed brokenly, voice wavering. "Fast forward three years, and I get this in the mail." You held up the destroyed letter in you hand, a few bits of paper floating down to the floor. "An invitation to their wedding."

Steve's eyes closed, slowly. "God, that's ..."

"Yeah, but their engagement isn't even the worst part."

He looked at you expectantly. You couldn't help but think he resembled a puppy, with those blue eyes.

"The worst part, is that I don't even have a date." You laughed hoarsely. "There's nothing more embarrassing then showing up to your ex's wedding alone." You looked down, staring at your feet, the shredded invitation: anything but Steve's face that you knew would be filled with pity.

"I don't mean to be forward," Steve began. Something soft brushed against your chin, forcing you to look up. "But, if you want – I mean, you can say no, I won't be offended ..."

"Steve?"

You had never seen something so cute. He was stumbled over his words, and god ... You wanted to jump on him right then and there.

"If you have no one else to go with, then ... I'd be happy to take you."

"I ..." You couldn't help the giant smile from forming. "I would love that. But, we should probably go on a few dates first."

"Does tonight work? I get off at five."

You couldn't believe that this man was actually asking you out. You had kind of meant it as a joke, but ... Perhaps this was how you could heal. With this sweet, kind, selfless man. Perhaps it would be good for you ... to finally let yourself try again.

"Five definitely works for me."