Not A Perfect Soldier, But A Good Man

Time had begun to blur together for Wanda. Between the first fight with Thanos, and then supposedly being gone for five whole years, and up until now... Wanda wasn't sure how long had truly passed. Days? Weeks? Months? She had lived years in her own little world, living her perfect, happy life with Vision and their children. But in reality, only days had passed. Days since she'd been brought back to life when it felt as if no time at all had passed, days since she'd tried to bring Vision's body home, days since she'd followed the map Vision had left for her and driven to Westview, days since...

She no longer felt like herself. She was hurt, grieving, and so incredibly confused. For years she had believed herself to be one thing, only to now discover she was something completely different. And not only that, she'd been a wife and a mother, and now she was nothing. Now, she was once again a fugitive.

She'd hidden away for a few days in a lone cabin she'd found in a secluded piece of land, and it had taken no time at all for her to clean it up with the help of her magic. For those few days, she poured over Agatha's book, barely getting any sleep at all as she allowed the spells to consume her waking moments so she wouldn't have to think about other things. And then, she discovered a spell where her physical body could sleep and she could still continue her studying.

She had been fine on her own. This was her life now, wasn't it? But then as she read the book, she could hear her boys crying for her, calling for help. She couldn't be alone again after that, but she didn't know where to go. She knew where she wanted to go, but it took her a while to muster up the courage to actually knock on his door.

"I didn't know where else to go." She murmured shamefully as he opened the door. Steve, who had always given her a chance to redeem herself. Steve, who had always supported her and never judged her. Steve, who had been her truest friend.

She hadn't let it all break through the surface, however, and Steve had made it clear his door would be open to her if she sought him out. Of their entire group, she was one of the two people he was most worried about, the other being Bucky, of course. And now, here she was, hoping he would be true to his word one year later. But if anything could be known about Steven Grant Rogers, it was that he kept his promises, and his word.

Uncertain how such a gesture would be received, he placed his arms around Wanda's waist regardless, hugging her for a moment and letting it linger for a scant few moments until he thought he should let go. Some small display of comfort might at least reinforce that she was welcome here, and perhaps it would, on some level, put her slightly more at ease.

When he finally did peel away from her, he stepped aside slightly. "It's alright, it's alright. Come in, Wanda." On some level, he had almost felt how broken she was inside the moment he'd pulled her into that hug, and, while already not about to turn her away, he understood just how much worse things were. This wasn't another Lagos, when he had showed her some comfort and empathy then, too. It seemed...almost like she had no direction at all. Maybe out here, away from everyone (save for himself, of course) she might find some solace. That was his hope, anyway. Finding hope where during times where it seemed where there was none was something Steve had been pretty good at.

@ofgunsandlipstick said:

🌿

Send 🌿 to meet my muse under the mistletoe

"Oh, is that why you were so determined to get me to dance with you specifically on this spot then?" Steve's smirk showed that he knew that was the exact reason, of course. He hadn't even seen the plant hung in the doorway above them until Peggy had pointed it out, and he already knew that the 'dancing' was a false pretense. The couple dancing was simply not what was going to happen. She planned to keep Steve far more occupied with something else...primarily, her lips. How could he possibly refuse? Besides which, that plant was essentially seen as a binding contract to kiss during the holidays, wasn't it?

"Mm, no idea what you're talking about, darling," she teased, voice muffled as she spoke between kisses. "I was just dancing."

Steve wrapped his arms around Peggy, pulling her body close against his as he shared another kiss with her, this one a bit more intense in the midst of their seemingly incessant teasing. "Between you and me, if we keep this up, I doubt we'll be doing any more dancing right now."

Returning to Earth every once in a while to see her brother and keep in touch with the friends she had made was a positive experience. Seeing familiar faces in an unforgiving galaxy was always pleasant, and something she was truly grateful for.

In times of uncertainty, Mantis treasured the allies the Guardians had worked with. She had arrived to the Avengers compound to assist them in their work, which was to fortify Earth against potential new cosmic threats. If more planets stood together in solidarity, hopefully that would make them stronger.

"Huh?" Mantis blinked, not understanding why Steve had been so confused by the light kiss she had pressed to his cheek. "I wanted to apologize. For what happened last Christmas, remember? I saw you at the Walk of Fame, I tried to give you a hug but you ran away. Have I made you uncomfortable? I'm sorry!"

Natasha paused mid bite of apple when she saw Steve stride in dressed like that. "I mean... not yet but there could be if you played your cards right," she mentioned. "But that's up to you. Anyway... why the underwear model dress up session? Well... almost. Hmm. Have to give women everywhere something to dream about don't you?"

"...Natasha, I literally just woke up 15 minutes ago. I only got dressed after my shower this much because I was going to have some breakfast before I went on my morning run this time around." Steve let out a slight sigh. Knowing her, particularly with the way she cast her gaze at him...his usual means of exercise every morning wasn't going to be happening today, was it? There was a good chance that breakfast wasn't happening, either.

"Besides, it's not like anyone that's not you ever gets to see this much of me, and you're fully aware of that. Though if I didn't know better, I'd say you're sounding awfully...suggestive when you're telling me there could be something on my tank top. But if you're going to take things in that direction, I really don't see why you'd stop there and not just tell me that the problem isn't that there's something on it, but it's that I have it on at all."

Peggy's cheeks flushed. "Well, that's quite a compliment, Steve," she said. "Although, I wouldn't want anyone - especially you - to just die." She smiled. "Thank you, though. For saying I look good."

                                                        “I could do this all day."

americashielded, an indie MCU Steve Rogers sideblog written by Eph. Follows from valorandgold

inspired  by  devotedecay’s  non - sexual  acts  of  dominance  meme  ! send  in  one  of  these  for  my  muse’s  reaction  to  … (  add  ❝  reverse  ❞   if  you’d  like  to  see  how  my  muse  would  preform  the  action  !  )

[ shower ]   your muse joining mine in the shower.

[ choke ]   your muse choking mine.

[ kiss + soft ]   your muse pulling mine into a tender kiss.

[ kiss + rough ]   your muse pulling mine into a rough kiss.

[ pin ]   your muse pinning mine down.

[ wrists ]   your muse roughly grabbing mine by the wrists.

[ push ]   your muse pushing mine into bed.

[ rip + clothing ]   your muse tearing a piece of clothing off my muse.

[ spank ]   your muse spanking mine.

[ pull ]   your muse pulling my muses hair.

[ talk ]   your muse talking dirty to mine.

[ eyes ]   your muse making mine look them in the eyes during.

[ down ]   your muse pulling mine down by their collar / clothes.

[ knees ]   your muse telling mine to get on their knees.

[ hips ]   your muse pulling mine in close by the hips.

[ denial ]   your muse putting mine through orgasm denial.

[ many ]   your muse making mine orgasm over and over.

[ tied ]   your muse tying my muse down.

[ lazy ]   your muse lazily beginning to touch mine.

[ love ]   your muse telling mine they love them during.

[ dominance ]   your muse taking the lead and dominating mine.

[ submission ]   your muse letting mine take the lead and submitting to them.

[ humiliation ]   your muse humiliating mine, re: name-calling and verbal abuse.

[ pain ]   your muse hurting mine in bed, whether intentionally or not.

[ knife ]   your muse using a knife in bed, whether for threat or actually cutting mine.

[ hidden ]   your muse having sex with mine somewhere semi-public.

[ public ]   your muse having sex with mine in public, whee other people watch.

[ adore ]   your muse being near reverent with mine in bed.

[ dress ]   your muse having mine dress up in lingerie.

[ eat ]   your muse eating mine out.

[ sleep ]   your muse touching / beginning to have sex with mine while they’re asleep.

[ gag ]   your muse gagging mine, or or making them be quiet.

[ blindfold ]   your muse blindfolding mine.

[ praise ]   your muse praising mine in bed.

[ good ]   your muse calling mine a good boy / girl.

[ want ]   your muse telling mine they want them.

[ snarl ]   your muse growling and / or baring their teeth at mine during sex.

[ mark ]   your muse purposefully marking mine up with bruises, hickies, ect.

❛  but i do care about you ... a lot.  ❜ ❛  do you really need me to say it? fine, i love you. happy now?  ❜ ❛  i didn't think you'd feel the same way.  ❜ ❛  the truth is, i don't want just anyone. i want you.  ❜ ❛  you know i love you, right?  ❜ ❛  i want to spend the rest of my life with you.  ❜ ❛  you're the only person who has ever made me feel this way.  ❜ ❛  can't you see how much i care about you?  ❜ ❛  i did all of this for you. because ... because i love you.  ❜ ❛  please don't make me say it. saying it is gonna make it real and i'm not sure i'm ready for that yet.  ❜ ❛  somewhere along the way, you became more than just a friend.  ❜ ❛  i can't keep pretending like i don't love you.  ❜ ❛  well, i like you. i really, really like you.  ❜ ❛  i like you a lot more than i ever thought i would.  ❜ ❛  you're an idiot ... but you are my idiot and i wouldn't have it any other way.  ❜ ❛  when we first met, i didn't think you'd ever mean so much to me.  ❜ ❛  i could do this on my own but i don't want to. i want you right by my side every step of the way.  ❜ ❛  for once, i'm gonna make the selfish choice and be with whoever i want to be. and that person is you.  ❜ ❛  you've made me so incredibly happy.  ❜ ❛  i wasn't planning on telling you like this but now is better than never.  ❜ ❛  believe it or not, i do enjoy spending time with you.  ❜ ❛  i still don't understand what i ever did to deserve someone like you in my life.  ❜ ❛  i love you. i'm in love with you.  ❜ ❛  just being with you is enough ... you are enough.  ❜ ❛  i love everything about you. even the things i don't like, i love.  ❜ ❛  i have been trying so hard not to say anything, to just ignore it, but i cannot do that any longer.  ❜ ❛  when i wake up, you're the first person i think about.  ❜ ❛  i've never felt a connection like this with anyone else ever before.  ❜ ❛  there's something i've been meaning to tell you for a while ... i love you.  ❜ ❛  don't ever do something like this again! i thought i'd lost you ... and i can't ever lose you.  ❜ ❛  i don't hate you. i actually like you. a lot.  ❜ ❛  you don't have to say anything, i understand. and i want you to know that i feel the same way.  ❜ ❛  what's not to love about you? you're beautiful and kind and you're overall the most amazing person i have ever met.  ❜ ❛  i have no idea how i ever managed to fall in love with someone as infuriating as you.  ❜ ❛  i just want you to know how i feel ... in case one of us won't make it.  ❜ ❛  i can't believe it's taken me this long to realize but i love you.  ❜ ❛  whenever you're around, i can feel the butterflies in my stomach.  ❜ ❛  but most of all, i hate how much i don't hate you.  ❜ ❛  you are the most important person in my life.  ❜ ❛  i love you more than words can express.  ❜

@amarvelousmencgerie said:

"I can't keep pretending that I don't love you."

Steve frowned a little, pressing a gentle kiss to Kara's forehead after she murmured that to him. He was well aware of what had her so preoccupied as soon as the words fell from her lips. He hadn't been sure she should have gone to such lengths in the first place, and now it was a decision that was clearly taking its toll. The Super Soldier took her hands in his own, lightly squeezing the backs of her hands with his thumbs as he looked her straight in the eyes.

His gentleness pulled her to him in a way that no one else could. Most would say he was stoic but Kara knew he was just thoughtful, always wanting to make the right choices. Maybe keeping it from her father was the wrong choice, maybe it wasn't at the time. All she knew in this moment is that she didn't want to be without Steve in her life beyond being at her side in battle. He'd slowly became her best friend, sometimes she felt like he was her ownly real friend. It had taken both of them so long to let go of their friendship and at first, she wanted to keep it all for herself. Sharing something so special with the whole world was the last thing she ever wanted to do.

Kara pulled his head against her, letting her eyes close as she could hear his heartbeat. "I know it had been my choice. I was selfish and wanted all those firsts to be for us, no one making fun of us. I didn't want the press asking questions and taking all that was so precious away from us." She sighed as her fingers traced over the nap of his neck. "I don't think he would have cared either because he has to know that there isn't anyone else that could relate with me the way you do."

"Not to say that I'm not just as much of a part of this relationship as you are, but...this specifically seems more like it should be your call rather than mine." Steve had conflicting thoughts, seeing both upsides and downsides to whatever Kara's approach might be, but he wasn't strongly gravitating to a particular decision. Seeing as the initial discretion had been Kara's choice and primary concern early on, the choice of whether to disrupt the status quo or let it remain was truly hers...but he sensed a certain amount of fatigue from his beloved in regards to concealing her feelings about him around anyone, and it wasn't as if he wasn't aware of how simply intense those emotions were. She'd done quite a lot to make him privy to that.

                                                        “I could do this all day."

americashielded, an indie MCU Steve Rogers sideblog written by Eph. Follows from valorandgold