Avengers Preferences

Rogers ~ I Love You

Name: Lara

Powers: Telekinesis

Relationships: Crush on Steve Rogers

Time: General Avengers timeline

We sat on opposite signs of the meeting room, attempting to make anything but eye contact.

"If we enter the HYDRA base here," Tony continued. "Then we have a greater chance of not dying on this mission."

Nat stood up and walked closer to the hologram Tony was manipulating, "Should we split up into teams? "

My eyes flickered to Nat's figure at her words.

"Yes, great idea," Tony exclaimed, closing the hologram. 

"Bruce and I will enter through the front door with a distraction. Nat and Barton, obvious pairing. We need a pair to stay on lookout in Central Park..." He turned to me and then looked at Cap from across the room. "You know, I was gonna say Lara and Cap but there's clearly something going on between you two-"

"We're fine," Steve interrupted. "It's just a mission, we can put aside our differences for that."

I nodded at his comment still refusing to make eye contact.

"Okie dokie, meeting adjourned!" Tony exited with the rest of them. I stayed in my seat, lost in thought, until Nat placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder.

She whispered, "Meet me in my room, I can tell you need to talk."

--

Across from each other on the bed, my limbs crackled under the pressure of sitting criss cross. Tensions climbed stairs to our presence and overflowed to the brims at the ceiling.

Uncomfortable stares at anywhere but our eyes continuously transferred back and forth as neither of us could choke out a word. Why'd he have to say anything? We were fine, just the way we were. Why did he have to make it complicated?

He took at deep breath as I remained silent towards his statement. Please, just tell me he was lying to make me laugh. None of this has to change. He didn't have to say-

"I love you..." he whispered, and I shuddered at the sound.

The silence lingered off his tongue. 

I managed to whisper as my eyes choked tears, "And I don't want to..."

A heavy sigh escaped his lips as a sudden tear rolled off his cheek and stained the sheets. Steve doesn't cry... I made him... What the hell did I even do, though? 

My phone buzzed on the bed in between us as a text from Tony sent in. He looked away for privacy as I picked up the device and saw that Tony needed me in the command center.

Shutting off my phone, I fluttered my eyes towards Steve as ours eye connected through the tension. A slight, guilty, but innocent smile appeared on his face as he bobbed his head for me to go. 

I unfolded my legs and grabbed my items from his dresser. Once out the door, before closing it, I peeked in one last time to see Steve put his head in his hands and sputtered scattered breaths.

Whispering to myself, "I don't want to..." I shut the door and began pretending nothing happened.

--

"So you love him..." Nat trailed off.

I quickly interrupted her thought, "What? How did you get that from my story?"

"You said you don't want to, yet you never say that you don't."

I stared straight ahead as I attempted to gather my thoughts. "Even if I loved him," I paused to collect my emotions so I could at least muster out a sentence. "I broke his heart. There's no way he still feels that way after all that-"

"Jenny, if you telling yourself you don't want to love him didn't change any of your feelings, you telling him that won't change his. Why not take advantage of the fact that you both are in love?"

Nat made eye contact with me as my eyes guiltily fell to the floor.

--

"Tony said in the briefing that we have to stay at this bench and watch for suspicious characters, Steve relayed, motioning to the bench we were approaching in Central Park.

He pushed his hand out to invite me to sit down, as I did he shoved his hands back into his jean pockets and made a slight whistle with his mouth. Squinting his eyes, he scanned the perimeter of the busy park.

I crossed my arms and leaned slightly away from him.

"I have something to say," we said in unison, prepared to break the silence.

"You first," Steve added swiftly, interested.

Without looking at him, I began, "Tell me that it's not true and that you're lying. You never cry, I didn't mean to make you cry. Tell me you were trying to make me laugh. You didn't mean to say-

"I love you..." He trailed off and glanced towards me. "You don't want to-"

"But I love you," I finally stated. His eyebrows raised at my statement as he held his breath. "I wanted things to stay as they were. Because if we went from friends to lovers, we could go from lovers to enemies in a snap... I don't want that to happen to us, I don't want to love you. But I love you, Steve Rogers, and that's something I can't escape. I love you-"

My words were interrupted by Steve lifting my hand and unclenching it as he placed a light kiss on top of it. "I love you," he stated.

Instinctively, I wrapped my arms around his neck as he pulled me into a tight hug. Separating slightly, my eyes shut and our lips slowly connected for only a moment. He pulled away, his bright orbs dialated at my stare. My eyes shut again, before I quietly whispered, "I love you..."