“Tell you what.  You come with me to this fancy thing and I promise we’ll go somewhere memorable after.”  Goosebumps lit up the back of your neck as his breath carefully landed on sensitive spots.  You giggled and scrunched your shoulders up to your ears as his light kisses tickled you.  You turned towards him to prevent anymore shenanigans.

“Before I agree, I have two questions.  One, do I have to wear a costume to either of these things, and two, what’s your definition of memorable?” His eyes turned from playful to sinful in an instant, and he quickly leaned in, but was genuinely surprised when you leaned back, out of reach of his lips.

His shoulders dropped as he sighed.  “Tony’s is a costume ball, so yes, and the after….let me take care of what we wear.”  Your “uh-oh” radar stood at attention, and since everything you felt showed immediately on your face, Steve grinned and took your hands, kissing your knuckles.  He lifted his eyes and caught a trace of a blushing smile.  

“Trust me.”

___________________________

You were an outsider to the world of the Avengers and Captain America.  You worked with elementary-aged children as an instructional technologist, and loved everything about it.  You met Steve Rogers when he agreed to attend an event honoring his friend Tony Stark at a prestigious education and technology conference.  You were the head of the conference hospitality committee and in charge of making sure the famous hero was comfortable and at the right place at the right time.  

“....I knew she was quite the dame the minute I saw her, but the attraction was a bit one-sided.” Whenever Steve told the story of how the two of you met, it was accompanied by disbelieving chuckles from the assembled audience.  After all, you didn’t fit the superhero girlfriend archetype to which most movies and society pages subscribed.  You were definitely a “big girl,” or other labels that were much less kind.

There were lots of places in which you didn’t fit.  You had just enough quiet confidence to ignore the idiots and still feel good about yourself, a career and life that wasn’t defined by your size, and a passion for doing exactly what you wanted to do, when you wanted to do it.  You’d had your fair share of suitors, both casual and serious, and thankfully, friends that lifted you up when those pairings didn’t work.

“It wasn’t as one-sided as you make it out to be, I just figured Captain America had more than enough on his plate and wasn’t looking to add anything to it.”  You walked through the group that had assembled and gave him a drink and a kiss on the cheek.  You placed your hand on his chest and immediately felt a wave of calm happiness go through you as the strong regular beat of his heart ran under your palm.  

You had told this story enough times in the last 5 years that it sometimes felt scripted.  His turn.  “Little did she know that outside of my day job, my plate was pretty empty.  Good thing she looked up from her clipboard long enough to notice I couldn’t look away when she was in the room.  After I worked up the courage to ask her to join me for a drink and a walk, things took a turn for the better.”  He put his drink down and covered your hand with his while turning his head to leave a soft kiss on your lips.  Your eyes slowly shut of their own accord as you breathed him in.

The goal of these charity balls was to schmooze potential donors; to tell stories that bolstered their egos and satisfied their curiosity about the famous people in attendance.  You had accompanied Steve often enough that you knew how much they took out of him.  He preferred punching his way out of trouble over chatting up millionaires with stories of long-ago glories and pain. While he was known world-over he was a raging introvert and ironically, happiest in times of quiet peace.   When you noticed his discomfort, you wanted to grab his hand and pull him away from the masses, ignoring the comments and questions about who you were and why the two of you were together, and keep him just for you.

As these thoughts churned, you met Steve’s eyes from several feet away and reflexively smiled.  He looked so handsome, but so done.  He had given his speech, made himself visible and available for almost two hours, and now was doing everything in his power to give his current mark the signal that he had to leave.  He kept breaking eye contact, scruffing up the hair on the back of his head, and subtly rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet.  Time for you to save him.

“Excuse me, Captain, but you’re needed in the situation room.”  Your stage whisper was just enough to get him out of there but let the guest feel like they heard something top secret.  He quickly shook hands and took his leave, while you stayed behind to answer any remaining questions and provide some well-rehearsed anecdotes.  Interest waned quickly following Steve’s exit and it wasn’t long before you were alone and wishing Tony, Pepper, and the rest of the crew a good evening and riding in the private elevator to the upper floors.

SR: Thank you.

Y/N: You’re welcome.

SR: FRIDAY tells me you’re on your way upstairs.  Good, I’ve got a promise of a memorable evening to deliver on.

Y/N: I haven’t forgotten :)

You were shocked when Steve opened the door wearing his red, white and blue suit and holding his shield.  The cowl was pulled off his head and bunched around his neck while he smiled brighter than he had all evening.

Your body sagged as you sighed, not believing his smile.  “Don’t tell me you got called for a mission in the last 2 minutes?”

After assuring you the suit was his Halloween costume and important for the next part of your evening, he showed you your outfit.  You smiled at how comfortable and natural it felt.  After a quick kiss, it was time to go.

Walking the streets of New York was never an easy thing for Steve, except for tonight.  On this night, any superhero (or bad guy, or crazy person) could walk relatively unnoticed, as they were dressed as many others were.  While you held hands, you lit up every time you saw a little Captain America, a teenage Winter Soldier, or grownups dressed as a sexy Black Widow or Iron Man. There were even a fair number of Deadpools and Lokis.

“We’re going to have to break the bad news that we didn’t see many Falcons or War Machines tonight.” You laughed while Steve groaned.

“As silly as it sounds, that’s going to be a thing.  I guarantee we’re all going to hear about misrepresentation and lack of parity for at least a week.”  It took you a minute to realize he had stopped walking and was no longer beside you.  You stopped, the skirt of your costume twirling in a wide arc as you turned to him.  His eyes found the piece of skyline he was looking for, and as you followed his gaze upwards, your heart melted.

“Perfect, babe.  I couldn’t have come up with a better way to spend Halloween.”

Before you arrived at the elevator, Steve was stopped multiple times to shake hands, take pictures, and sign autographs.  You unjoined your hands and stepped aside, happy to watch the smiles and laughter Steve managed to pull from people who were usually shaking from nervousness to meet their hero.  Eventually, the crowd was satisfied and he sought out your hand before taking the elevator upstairs.

His arm snaked around your waist, his gloved hand landing on the rises and falls of your substantial behind.  You leaned your head against his shoulder, smiling as he kissed the top of your head.

 “I love you, Y/N.”  You looked up at him and pushed up to kiss him and return the sentiment, as the elevator dinged your arrival.

“Ready, Cap?”  He loosed his hand and pulled up his cowl, raised his shield, and gestured with it for you to exit before him.  You let your hands grab fistfuls of the gauzy skirt fabric, smoothed your pin curls, and stepped out with a smile on your face to a lobby filled with parents, nurses, and doctors.  He quickly sought out the medical staff, introduced you, and asked for a briefing.  Afterwards he spoke softly and with care to the parents, asking permission to see their children and any anecdotes that might help him make a connection.  He took a deep breath, grabbed your hand, and walked into the first room.

 You’d visited children’s hospitals with him a few times, but had always stayed in the rear, watching what you could, talking with parents and the medical professionals about any needs they had, any help you or the Avengers could provide and making plans with Pepper to meet those needs.  Tonight was the first time you stood beside him, watching the tired but happy smiles, hearing the excited breaths and quiet voices filled with joy, and feeling the soft skin of the small bandaged hands.  The pain and purity were overwhelming, but you took your cue from Steve and plastered a smile on your face.  Eventually it became real, as you took pictures of the kids with their hero, answered questions about Bucky and Iron Man and The Falcon, and made their parents smile for the first time in too long.

At the end of the night, with the children falling asleep from happiness and excitement more than pain for once, Steve grabbed your hand and held you to him as you bid goodnight to the people he considered real heros.  

He surprised you when he pressed the “up” button and the elevator doors opened to the roof.  “Let’s get some air, huh?”  It was Halloween in New York, on the rooftop of a 30-story building.  He might not have been affected by the weather, but you, in your costume with no coat, quickly started shivering. When he noticed, Steve wrapped his arms around you and laid his chin on top of your head, flooding you with warmth.