#readerxsteverogers

“Right.” (Y/N) sighs. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking recently, specifically about staying and whether or not I’ll go home. And I think… I don’t think I want to go back.”

Bruce works quietly a few feet away and Tony just stares at her, waiting for her to continue.

“Any thoughts on that?” she asks.

Tony shrugs and folds his arms. “Not particularly, no.”

“Tony-”

“It’s your life, (Y/N). I can’t tell you how to live it or where. I can, however, offer to help you in any way I can.”

“Really?”

“Of course. You’ve been here for the better part of a year now. You’re practically family at this point. Especially with all the baked goods you keep forcing on us.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” Bruce interjects.

(Y/N) laughs. “Okay, I get your point.”

“Good. So what can I do to help you with your predicament?”

(Y/N) takes a deep, steadying breath. “How hard would it be to get me a social security number?”

Tony shrugs. “With our connections I doubt it’d be impossible, but it may take a little while.”

“Okay. I’m sure I’ll have to figure out what to do about my missing birth certificate at some point anyway.”

Tony waves her off. “We’ll take care of it.”

“You say that like it’s easy.”

“Most things are when you have the money to make it happen,”

(Y/N) shakes her head. “Spoken like someone with money.”

“I can’t change who I am, (Y/N).”

She smiles and rolls her eyes. “What can I do to help you though? You said you’re close to testing?”

“Are you sure you’re comfortable helping? I wouldn’t want to force you into anything, especially now that you’re planning to stay.”

“I can help. I want to help,” she insists. “Just don’t abandon me anywhere and we’ll be fine.”

“I think she’d appreciate it if we avoided blowing her up,” Bruce adds.

(Y/N) gestures to Bruce. “That too.”

Tony chuckles. “I think we can manage that.”

“Ah shit, is it really five already?”

“Mm…” Tony squints at the clock on his display. “Looks like it, yeah.”

“Well this was lovely,” (YN) says, “But I gotta go.”

“Oh? Hot date?”

She grins and shoves her stool back from the tabletop. “Something like that, yeah.”

“Hope he doesn’t keep you out too late.”

(Y/N) laughs. “Can’t stay out too late if we never leave the tower.”

Tony’s suggestive whistle follows her through the lab doors. She just rolls her eyes, smiles, and heads up to her room to get cleaned up.

By the time she’s done in the shower she has a text from Steve letting her know the food has arrived. She dresses quickly and hurries to the common area to meet him.

When she arrives she finds the couch piled high with soft blankets and squashy pillows. Steve is sitting on the ottoman scrolling through movies. Beside him is a tray with take out containers. (Y/N) quietly walks across the room and wraps her arms around Steve’s shoulders. He immediately leans back against her and gently kisses her wrist. (Y/N) presses a kiss to the top of his head.

“This looks wonderful,” she says.

Steve tips his head back to look at her. “You think so?”

“Mhm, I’m a big fan of being buried alive in blankets. But, even better than that, you’re here.”

Steve smiles. “That’s real sweet.”

“Isn’t it?” Steve laughs and (Y/N) allows him to drag her down onto his lap. “What’re we watching tonight?”

He shrugs. “I figured you could pick one and I could pick one.”

(Y/N)’s eyes light up. “Really? You’ll be okay with whatever I want?”

“Why wouldn’t I be? It’s not like you’ll choose something bad.”

“Hey, you don’t know that. Maybe I’d pick the gore-iest thing you’ve ever seen in your life.”

Steve raises his eyebrows. You get nauseous just thinking about Human Centipede.“

(Y/N) gags. “Don’t even mention that movie. Reading the Wikipedia article was bad enough.”

“And that’s exactly why I’m not worried.”

(Y/N) sighs. “Yeah, okay… What’d you get me for dinner?”

“Fettuccine alfredo with chicken.”

“You’re so nice to me.”

“I know.”

(Y/N) laughs and Steve kisses her before picking her up and depositing her on the couch behind them. He covers her in blankets and hands her her food and a fork. He joins her soon after, handing her the remote as he settles in beside her. She flips through the movies while Steve repositions her legs over his lap and tugs the blankets over both of them.

She eventually settles on this dimension’s version of Pride and Prejudice that was released in 2005. Keira Knightley apparently looks the same across all dimensions, but the actor who played Darcy in her home dimension is, unfortunately, somewhat pinch-faced and looked like he’d smelled something terrible throughout his performance. The Darcy in this dimension, though, is tall and, mostly, regal. Maybe a little aloof. Overall, (Y/N) thinks he’s more handsome and that makes it easier to watch.

“Didn’t you just watch this last week?” Steve asks when she starts the movie.

“Maybe.” She opens her food and starts mixing the chicken chunks into the pasta. “I really like this movie.”

“I think you have a crush on Darcy.”

“Jealous?” Steve scowls at his spaghetti and (Y/N) frowns. “Steve, answer me.”

“A little, maybe?” He stabs a meatball. “I’m nothing like Mr. Darcy.”

She pauses the movie and reaches out to turn Steve’s face towards her. “Maybe that’s why I like you so much.”

“Are you sure?”

“He’s rude and unsociable and I know for a fact he’d make me convince him I’m worth his time. Why on Earth would I want someone like that? Especially when you’re the polar opposite of that. You’re warm and kind and generous with your time. I never have to worry that I’m annoying you. And sure, the actor is handsome, but you are so much more beautiful than him. There’s literally no comparison.”

“That’s really sweet.”

“And one hundred percent true.”

Steve sighs. “Well now I feel childish.”

“Why?”

“I was jealous of a man who doesn’t even exist.”

“I don’t think that’s childish. If you hadn’t talked to me about it, that would’ve been childish.”

“I still feel bad though.”

(Y/N) shrugs. “Even Captain America is allowed to get jealous sometimes.”

“You’re not upset?”

“No. Why would I be? There was an issue, we talked about it, everything’s fine now. Right?”

“I think so.”

“Then there’s nothing to be upset about.” She gently tugs on his shirt. “Gimme a kiss.”

Steve smiles, leans down, and gently kisses her.

“We should probably start the movie.”

“Probably. I think we should watch a different one though.”

Steve chuckles. “Okay, it’s up to you though.”

(Y/N) pulls up Spirited Away and settles against Steve. They eat and watch in relative silence, save for the occasional comment on how beautiful the animation is. (Y/N) sets her food to the side about halfway through the movie. Steve finishes his food soon after and wraps his arm around (Y/N)’s shoulders. She immediately relaxes against his chest and smiles when he kisses the top of her head.

When the movie ends they clean up their mess from dinner, They spread out fully on the couch before Steve gets to work choosing the second movie. (Y/N) settles heavily against his body and pulls the blanket up to her chin. Once Steve makes his movie choice he sets the remote to the side and gathers (Y/N) up in his arms. She melts against him as the opening credits for 101 Dalamatians roll. She’s never seen it and is immediately invested. She occasionally glances up at Steve to see how he’s reacting only to find he’s already looking at her. Each time he catches her he smiles softly, and each time (Y/N)s heart swells with affection. The final time he catches her she tips her head back, silently asking for a kiss. Steve happily obliges.

“That was insane,” (Y/N) says as the movie ends.

 Steve chuckles. “Parts of it are a little out there.”

“A little?” Steve lays down on the couch and (Y/N) allows him to drag her down on top of his body. “Who the hell wants to make a coat out of dogs? Let alone badly enough to go hunting for them in the city?”

“Okay, maybe it is a little insane,” he admits. He gently runs his hands up and down (Y/N)s arms. “Did you like it though?”

“I did. Very much.”

“I’m glad.”

(Y/N) rests her full bodyweight on Steve, crosses her arms on his chest, and rests her chin on her arms. One of Steve’s hands comes to rest in the small of her back. He moves the other to stroke the backs of his fingers over her cheek. She sighs contentedly and leans into his touch. He gently pushes her hair off her forehead before tracing his thumb over her cheekbone.

“That feels nice,” she murmurs. “I’m glad we did this.”

“Me too,” Steve says. “I wish we could do it more often.”

“So do I.”

(Y/N) slides herself up Steve’s body just enough to be able to look him directly in the eye. Without missing a beat, Steve moves his hand to the back of her neck and pulls her down to kiss her. She hums and smiles against his lips as she sinks her hands into Steve’s hair. His arm wraps around her waist and (Y/N) parts her lips just enough to let the tips of their tongues meet. Steve groans and his grip on her tightens, only serving to spur her on.

Somehow Steve’s hand finds its way under the hem of (Y/N)s shirt and she shivers under the force of his hold on her. With each slide of his tongue against hers she just wants more. More of his touch. His kiss. His everything.

He pulls away and she tries to follow him only to be stopped in her tracks at the sight of his dreamy expression. She smiles and tries to catch her breath. Beneath her Steve is flushed and breathless. His eyes rove over her face as if memorizing every part of her.

He gently combs her hair away from her face again and says, “I love you.”

She sits up slightly and searches his expression for any sign he’s joking.

“You do?” Steve nods. “Really?”

He chuckles, the sound comes out slightly breathless. “Really.”

“Steve, I-”

A bright, blue light suddenly fills the room, dominating the glow of the T.V. (Y/N) has to shield her eyes when she attempts to look at it. She finds two familiar faces in the middle of the swirling light. Two of her oldest, closest friends. She sits back on her heels trying to make sense of what she’s seeing.

“Peter?”

Peter grins. “(Y/N)! You’re alive!”

“Of course I’m alive, why wouldn’t I be?”

“We thought you were incinerated when the transport blew up. We’ve been trying to find you for months.”

Dread settles in (Y/N)’s stomach and she reaches out for Steve. He immediately takes her hand. She catches Peter’s eyes tracking her movement. Sees the way his shoulders tense and Johnny’s brows pull together with concern. She doesn’t miss when Peter shifts slightly closer to the portal.

“What the hell are you doing?” she asks, an edge of warning in her voice.

“We want to bring you home,” Johnny says. “Where you belong.”

“Why do you get to decide where I belong?” Steve squeezes her hand. She looks down at him, heart beating at a frantic pace. “Steve-”

“Do it,” Johnny says.

Before (Y/N) can even blink, webbing wraps around her arm and midsection. Steve cries out in surprise and tries to grab hold of her, but it’s no use. Peter hauls back on his webbing, sending (Y/N) hurtling through the air toward the portal. Steve bolts off the couch, but (Y/N) is back in Baxter Tower in mere seconds. The portal closes before Steve clears the ottoman.

WELL I did warn you there'd be a cliffhanger. And I'm sorry about what happened at the end there. It will not resolve for a Hot Minute lmao. Everything to come will be incredibly dramatic, but I had fun writing it so I really hope you'll all enjoy what's to come.

But! As always, I'd love to know what y'all thought of this chapter. What movies would you choose if you had a date night in with Steve? Do you think he would've liked 101 Dalmations? How do you feel about Peter and Johnny not giving the reader character a chance to choose? How do you think Steve feels now that his girlfriend has been kidnapped? Be sure to reblog, comment, and/or shoot me an ask and tell me all about it!

Tag List:

@ghostlyhamlet, @claws-of-vibranium, @buckysendoftheline, @ptprocrastination, @1950schick, @amayasymone23, @arfrona-and-marvel, @ek823, @fanaticfangirl001, @furrywerewolfcollector, @kissofvenom, @dawn-phantomhive, @fangirlwithasweettooth, @mairhof1, @starryeyesbadguys, @trap-house-homiecide, @buckywhitewolfbarnes, @kaepm981, @howdoesoneadult, @pcdmesamidala, @thefandomplace, @sian22redux, @lady-thor-foster, @feelmyroarrrr, @jazzcutie, @gaytonystark, @darling-loki, @geeksareunique, @tofeartheunknown, @queenoftheunderdark, @avengerscompound, @patzammit, @otterlycanadian

This fic:

He wanders through the halls, rubbing sleep from his eyes, until he smells warm, sweet vanilla wafting through the tower. He makes a beeline for the kitchen and arrives to find (Y/N) deftly moving between the mixer and the oven, swapping out baking sheets and checking on the progress of whatever she has in her mixing bowl. As he gets closer he sees the counters are covered in cooling racks which are, in turn, covered in batch after batch of cookies of different varieties. To the left of the stove is a cake still in its springform pan. Though Steve is still half asleep he can’t help thinking how good everything smells amazing. She really wasn’t kidding when she said she was great at baking.

He watches her bustle around the kitchen, entranced, for nearly fifteen minutes before he realizes she has no idea he’s there. At that point he decides to move further into the kitchen and make his presence known.

He leans on the counter to the left of where she’s working and hopes he doesn’t startle her.

She jumps very slightly when she catches him in her periphery only to immediately relax moments later. She slips the cookies she’s just taken from the oven off the baking sheet onto a cooling rack and squeezes his arm gently before sliding another sheet of parchment with prepared cookie dough onto the hot baking sheet and putting it back in the oven. She sets a timer on her phone before leaning against the sink, folding her arms, and sighing.

“Hi,” she says, voice little more than a whisper.

“Couldn’t sleep?” Steve asks.

(Y/N) shakes her head. “No.”

“How long have you been up?”

She frowns and looks around the kitchen, pointing her finger to each batch of cooling cookies, silently counting out her work. She tilts her head from side to side as she calculates the time. Her frown deepens as she meets Steve’s eyes again. “Three hours.”

“Three?!” (Y/N) nods. “Shit, (Y/N), are you okay?”

She shrugs and Steve gently gathers her up in his arms. Her body relaxes against his and she wraps her arms around his waist and buries her face in his chest.

“I think I’m freaking out a little,” she mumbles.

“What? Why?”

She doesn’t answer immediately, almost like she’s trying to decide how much to tell him. Eventually she says, “Bruce and Tony had a breakthrough a few days ago.”

“Okay? What’s that mean for you?”

“I can’t stop thinking about whether or not I’ll have to go home,” she admits. “Sure, a breakthrough like this is exciting and will change the world forever, and I can appreciate that. But…” She sighs. “I hate how selfish this will make me sound.”

“There’s no one here to judge you, sweetheart,” Steve murmurs.

She almost laughs, but the sound comes out strained. “I don’t want you to think less of me.”

“I’ve done my fair share of selfish shit, (Y/N). Based on that, and what I know about you, whatever you’re gonna say won’t change how I feel about you.”

“I-I’m scared that I’ll have to go home,” she admits. “And I’m not ready. I… I’ve barely had you for two months. I’m not ready to let go.”

Steve’s arms tighten around her shoulders. She’s voiced her apprehension about going home before. But each time it’s been theoretical. Tony and Bruce’s work would stall and everyone would settle back into life in the tower until they found a new solution. It seemed like a goodbye, no matter how temporary, was far off in the future. But now, just as (Y/N) feared, that day may be closer than he’d ever expected. And he’d been so focused on how happy he was to be in this relationship that he forgot about the fact that it may come to an end.

“I’m not ready to let go either.”

(Y/N) briefly hugs him tighter before she pulls away. Before he can get too far, Stve kisses the top of her head. She wipes a couple of tears from her cheeks, but he can see the corners of her mouth turn up in a small smile. She tips her head up slightly and Steve doesn’t hesitate to kiss her. (Y/N) begins to lean into him again just as the timer goes off. She curses, turns off the timer, and slips on an oven mitt before rotating the cookies in the oven.

She turns back to him and says, “So if it wasn’t already obvious, I bake when I’m stressed.”

Steve chuckles. “Yeah, I gathered as much.” He shoves his hands in his pockets and watches her remove cooled cookies from parchment paper. “Did it help?”

“A little.” She looks around the kitchen, taking in the carnage. “I might’ve bitten off more than I can chew this time, though.”

“Maybe I could help you finish up,” he offers.

(Y/N) stops in her tracks, staring at him in disbelief. “You’d do that?”

“Of course. Just tell me what to do.”

“Jesus,” Tony says. “You look like you haven’t slept in a week.”

“I know.” She drops the plate of cookies on the table and plops down on her usual stool. “I was up late baking.”

Bruce raises an eyebrow. “Is that why the kitchen smelled so good this morning?”

“Probably. I used a lot of vanilla.”

Tony trots over and gestures at the assortment of cookies. “What’ve we got here?”

“Uh…” she points to each cookie as she names them. “Chocolate chip, molasses, crinkle cookies, salted peanut butter pretzel chocolate chip, and pecan sandies.”

“Holy shit. You were busy.”

“That’s only half of it. There’s a cake in the fridge that still needs to be frosted and like four other types of cookies in various containers on the kitchen counter.”

“How the hell did you get all that done last night?”

“I have a very nice boyfriend.”

“Ah.” Tony picks out a molasses cookie from the pile. “Since when do you bake?”

“Since forever.” She frowns and leans heavily against the table. “Just haven’t done it much since I got here.”

“So what’s with the sudden urge to bake?”

(Y/N) sighs. “Couldn’t sleep.”

Bruce raises an eyebrow. “Oh? Why’s that?”

She shrugs. “I’ve been feeling anxious since you had that breakthrough with the transport. At first I was freaking out about what’ll happen once you get the transport up and running. I thought baking would help get the energy out, and it kind of did for a little while, but something still just feels off, and I don’t know what it is.”

“You’re freaking out about, what, going back?” She shrugs but nods. “We’re not going to make you go back.”

“I know.”

“And it’s not like you’re going to get randomly whisked away.”

“I know! But there’s just this underlying dread that I can’t get rid of.”

Bruce frowns. “Are you sure it’s dread?”

“Pretty sure,” she says. “Not really sure what else it could be.”

“Well, you might be feeling guilty.” (Y/N) raises her eyebrows and Bruce continues, saying, “We’ve talked about your concerns about going back before. You’ve mentioned that you have family and friends back home who rely on you for support. But you’ve also expressed that you don’t necessarily feel supported in return. And maybe I’m overstepping here, but it seems like we do give you the support that you need. Especially Steve. You seem comfortable here. Happy.”

“You do. And I am.”

“Well then I think you might feel guilty. Maybe you’re worried that you’re letting everyone back home down because you want to stay.”

“Maybe a little,” she admits. “I just… I feel like they’d want me to come home.”

“Want, or expect?”

(Y/N) shrugs. “Maybe a little bit of both?”

“Okay. So what?”

“I don’t want to let them down.”

“If you staying here, your happiness, lets them down, then maybe they’re not paying close enough attention to what you need.”

(Y/N) opens her mouth, but Tony speaks over her. “Needs aren’t always the things that keep you alive. You need food and water, sure. But you also need guaranteed safety and time to actually relax-”

“You’re one to talk,” she mutters.

“I’m good at giving advice, not taking it.” (Y/N) chuckles. “Point is, you’re allowed to be happy here. You’re allowed to prioritize that happiness. If your folks back home don’t want you to chase that, maybe they have some work to do.”

“Maybe…”

Bruce sighs. “Just stop worrying, alright? You have a home here for as long as you want it.”

“And a family,” Tony adds. “Regardless of whether or not you can stand us.”

(Y/N) laughs. “Thank you. Both of you. Really.”

“Of course,” Bruce says. “We’re happy to help.”

“Now,” Tony says, “Is this baking situation one where we can place orders?”

She laughs harder. “Maybe eat what’s already made before putting in an order.”

“Why’d you drag us in here?” Johnny asks. Peter elbows him and he unfolds his arms. “Have you made any progress?”

“As a matter of fact,” Reed says, “I have.”

“Oh?” Sue raises an eyebrow. “Do tell.”

“Work building the transport went much faster after I enlisted Ben’s help. I believe our newest prototype is ready for testing.”

Peter seems skeptical. “Testing?”

“We’ll start by moving small objects before moving to larger targets.”

“And how long will that take?”

“It’s hard to say. I’m hoping we’ll have positive results in less than a month.”

Peter sighs, but Johnny seems relieved. The three of them continue bickering. Sue meets Ben’s eyes from across the room. She mouths “Thank you.” The corner of Ben’s mouth lifts in a small smile and he nods.

--------

Part 16

Once again, thank you so much for your patience, guys. I'm plugging away writing the rest of the story, so I'm hoping to have it finished before summer.

But! As always, I'd love to know that y'all thought of this chapter. Do you think baking is a healthy way for the Reader to deal with her stress? Is this level of baking maybe too much? Do you think Steve offering to help is sweet? How do you feel about the Reader character talking to Tony and Bruce about her concerns/fears about going back home? How do you feel about Reed making progress on rebuilding the transport? Be sure to reblog, comment, and/or shoot me an ask and tell me all about it!

Tag List:

@ghostlyhamlet, @claws-of-vibranium, @buckysendoftheline, @ptprocrastination, @1950schick, @amayasymone23, @arfrona-and-marvel, @ek823, @fanaticfangirl001, @furrywerewolfcollector, @kissofvenom922, @dawn-phantomhive, @fangirlwithasweettooth, @mairhof1, @starryeyesbadguys, @trap-house-homiecide, @buckywhitewolfbarnes, @kaepm981, @howdoesoneadult, @pcdmesamidala, @thefandomplace, @sian22redux, @lady-thor-foster, @feelmyroarrrr, @jazzcutie, @gaytonystark, @darling-loki, @geeksareunique, @tofeartheunknown, @queenoftheunderdark, @avengerscompound, @patzammit, @otterlycanadian

This Fic

(Y/N) sighs and scrubs her hands over her face. “Okay, so where do we go from here? Are you able to send me back?”

“No, that’s not within my power.”

“Alright.” She sighs once more and nods to herself. “Okay.”

Steve places one hand on (Y/N)’s elbow. He softly asks, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.”

“You sure?”

She chuckles. “Yeah, not much I can do about it, right?”

“Well, no…”

(Y/N) pastes on her best smile and looks around at the gathered Avengers. “Looks like you’re stuck with me for a little while longer.”

“Ah, don’t say that,” Tony waves her off. “It’s a pleasure to have you.”

“Besides,” Natasha says. “You’ve just barely started training. It’d be a shame if you left now.”

“Ah, well, clearly I can’t leave now. I’d lose all my progress.”

Strange clears his throat and, when all eyes are once again on him, says, “Seeing as I am no longer needed, I’ll be leaving.”

As Tony opens his mouth to offer to show him out, Strange opens a portal and disappears through it as soon as he steps through.

(Y/N) frowns and shakes her head. “What a weirdo.”

Steve nods. “Agreed.”

“Do you guys have to work with him often?”

“No we do not,” Stark says.

“Hmm. Well I think I’m going to go lay down and process this information for a bit.” She presses her lips together for a moment. “Yeah, I think that sounds like a good idea.”

(Y/N) nods to everyone and excuses herself. She walks through the hallways, more than a little numb and confused because she already knew the chances of Strange being able to magically send her home were slim to begin with. Still, she can’t help the disappointment that slowly settles over her.

She sighs and steps into the elevator, absentmindedly scrubbing her hands first over her stubby hair and then her face. She leans against the back wall and, just before the doors close, someone sticks their hand in the small gap, forcing them to slowly reopen. Steve steps into the elevator as soon as the gap is large enough and leans against the wall beside (Y/N).

“You sure you’re okay?” he asks.

(Y/N) nods. “I’ll be fine.”

“That’s not what I asked.”

“It’s an answer, isn’t it?”

“It’s part of one.”

“Man, you’re persistent, aren’t you?”

“I think most people would call it stubborn. Or annoying.” She huffs out a laugh and Steve smiles. “I’m serious. Are you okay?”

She nods. “Yeah. I’m alright.”

“You’re disappointed.”

“Is it that obvious?”

“No. You’re usually more talkative though.”

“Mm. Yeah. Sorry about that.”

“Nothing to be sorry for. You just got some pretty heavy news. All things considered, you’re handling things pretty well.”

“Dissociating in the elevator is handling it well?”

“Well you’re not rocking back and forth in a dark corner. I’d say you’re handling it better than most would.”

“Ah yes, the full mental breakdown. A classic.” She spares him a glance and sees him crack a smile. “Yeah, no, I don’t think I’m really the mental breakdown kind. Spent too much time compartmentalizing shit over the last fifteen years. Too many walls, too much barbed wire. Nothing leaks out of these ears.”

“God, that sounds terrible.”

“Have you ever seen something leak from someone’s ears?”

“No, should I have?”

“No. Be glad you haven’t, it’s horrific.”

“Wait, have you seen something leak from someone’s ears?”

“How do you think I know it’s horrific?”

“I don’t think I want to know more.”

“A wise decision. All I’ll say on the subject is that aliens were involved and they weren’t the peaceful E.T. kind.”

“That makes sense.” The elevator stops and Steve holds his hand out as the door opens. “I guess this is you.”

“It sure is.”

As (Y/N) steps out into the hall he asks, “You sure you’re good on your own?”

“Yeah, I think I just need some time to myself. I process better when it’s quiet.”

“Alright.”

“Plus a nap couldn’t hurt. I’m still a little sore from that last training session with Natasha.” (Y/N) massages the back of her neck. “She really doesn’t pull any punches.”

“I think she believes we learn through pain.” Steve shakes his head. “I’d argue with her, but her methods seem to work.”

“You’d argue with her, but she could totally kick your ass.”

Steve chuckles. “That too.”

(Y/N) smiles. “Thank you, Steve.”

“For what?”

“Just existing.”

Steve’s eyebrows draw together in confusion, but his smile doesn’t waver. “That’s it?”

She nods. “Mhm, that’s it.”

“Oh. Well that’s not much, is it?”

“It’s everything. Honest.”

Steve attempts to respond, but his mouth just moves soundlessly. (Y/N) smiles and heads to her room.

“I thought you weren’t going to flirt.”

Steve sighs and closes the fridge. “I’m not flirting.”

“You’re absolutely flirting.”

“How is any of that flirting?”

Natasha folds her arms and leans back against the counter. “The little smiles, the jokes? That’s flirting, Steve.”

“It’s banter, Nat. Conversation.” Natasha raises her eyebrows. “It’s not flirting!”

“Okay. then explain what it is, then.”

“It’s friendly conversation. Banter, at most.”

“That sounds like flirting, Steve.” He scowls. “I’m only saying this so you’re not heartbroken when she leaves.”

“You think I’m not thinking about that? Of course it’ll suck when she goes back, but I won’t be sad because I’m losing a potential lover. I’d be sad because I’m losing a friend who I genuinely care about.”

Natasha sighs. “God, that’s sappy.”

“I’m allowed.”

“Never said you weren’t.” Steve rolls his eyes and Natasha smiles. “You really like her.”

“Nat-”

“No, you actually like her.” He scowls. “This is serious.”

“Maybe it is.”

“Well shit.”

“No, not shit. (Y/N) is great.”

“Never said she wasn’t. Teaching her has actually been fun.”

“Really?”

She nods. “She’s picking things up much faster than I thought she would. She’d honestly make a formidable member of the team.”

“(Y/N) doesn’t want that.”

“Sometimes what we want doesn’t matter.”

“What she wants matters. She doesn’t want to be a hero. Based on what she’s told me, I don’t blame her. Hell, looking at what we’ve been through, I wouldn’t want her to be like us.”

“Commendable.”

“Nat-”

“No, really. She’s lucky to have someone looking after her. Especially you.” Natasha shakes her head. “This isn’t her reality. This is only a mirror of her home. She’s friendly with the rest of us, but she’s close with you. And you’re not really close with anyone.”

“Hey! I’m close with you, aren’t I?”

“I’m a spy, I don’t count.”

“I think you do.”

“Fine. But I’m still right. About all of it. And I’m glad you have her.”

“For now.”

“It’s not like you’ll lose the ways she changed you when she leaves.” Natasha pats Steve on the arm before she leaves the kitchen. “And if losing her is too much to bear, you could always ask Wanda to put all your memories of her in a box and hide it somewhere in your mind where you’ll never find it.”

“Very reassuring, thanks.”

She waves as she disappears around the corner and calls out, “It’s what I’m here for Steve.”

“Okay, what am I looking at here?”

“We’re trying to recreate whatever it is Richards threw together to get you here,” Tony says. “Not that I know for sure what he did. Your descriptions weren’t all that helpful.”

(Y/N) grimaces. “Sorry. Can’t really say I’m any more helpful back home. I mostly just make sure Reed doesn’t blow himself up.”

“No, I understand. This is new territory for us. It’s not every day we need to travel between dimensions.”

“I know. I appreciate the fact that you’re willing to help at all.”

Tony leans against his work table, arms folded. “Why wouldn’t we be?”

(Y/N) shrugs. “I fell into your lap. There’s nothing saying you needed to take me in and make sure I get back home.”’

“It’s what any decent human being would do. Or should do, at least.”

“Regardless, I appreciate it. Thank you.”

“You’re very welcome. Now-” Tony rubs his hands together- "what can you tell us about Richards' monstrosity?"

"Not much. As long as you avoid overheating and loose wiring, I'm sure you'll be fine."

"That's your criteria for a good machine?"

"Well, the last one kind of fell apart and blew me up, so yeah. If anyone can circumnavigate that, you probably can."

"We really need to put you in therapy."

"Eh, I think I'm doing fine, all things considered."

“Those things you’re considering are being blown up by your employer and getting sucked into a different reality. Sure, you’re handling it great. But, speaking from experience, you could always be handling it better.”

“Ah, an idealist in every reality, I see.”

“Not sure I like the sound of that.”

“You’ll get used to it. Maybe.”

Tony sighs, and shakes his head. “Do you have much going on these days?”

“Steve and I have lunch most days. Natasha and I just started training too. So not really, I guess.”

“Training with Natasha is impressive. How’s that going?”

“Well enough. I have these powers, but I don’t really know how to use them outside of my regular day to day activities.”

“You want something more to do?”

“Why, you have something you need?”

“Well, I know you’re traumatized from your time with Richards, but I was wondering if you’d be willing to muscle around some equipment for Banner and me.”

“Really? That’s it?”

“Well we have a few things that need moving, but we don’t trust the big guy to help and Steve is usually otherwise occupied. You’re our last resort.”

“What about your suits?”

Tony grimaces. “They’re in the shop for repairs, at the moment.”

“No shit?”

“Not joking. It’s incredibly embarrassing.”

(Y/N) laughs. “Yeah, I’ll bet.”

“So you’ll help?”

She shrugs. “Sure, why not? It’s not like I’m doing much else.”

Tony’s shoulders sag with the release of tension. “Thank you.”

“If I tell you I think something’s gonna blow up, you listen to me though. I’m not getting burned again.”

“Agreed. None of us are desperate for a repeat.”

(Y/N) holds her hand out to Tony and he shakes it. “Then I do believe we have a deal.”

-----

Part 7

At last, we have our answers about the Reader character's place in this reality with a side of existential crisis. I'm excited to get deeper into the story and have them settle in a little more in the tower.

But! As always, I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter! Do you think they'll be able to get the Reader home? Is working with Tony and Bruce a good idea? Is Natasha a little too invested in Steve's relationship wtih the Reader? Be sure to reblog, comment, and/or shoot me an ask and tell me all about it!

Tag List:

@ghostlyhamlet, @claws-of-vibranium, @imagine-assembling-the-avengers, @buckysendoftheline, @ptprocrastination, @1950schick, @amayasymone23, @arfrona-and-marvel, @ek823, @fanaticfangirl001, @furrywerewolfcollector, @kissofvenom922, @dawn-phantomhive, @fangirlwithasweettooth, @mairhof1, @starryeyesbadguys, @trap-house-homiecide, @buckywhite', @kaepm981, @howdoesoneadult, @pcdmesamidala, @thefandomplace, @sian22redux, @skeletoresinthebasement, @lady-thor-foster, @feelmyroarrrr, @jazzcutie, @gaytonystark, @hermionie-is-my-queen, @darling-loki, @geeksareunique, @nyxveracity, @lemonadeorange73, @sad-darksoul, @tofeartheunknown, @queenoftheunderdark, @avengerscompound, @patzammit, @otterlycanadian

This Fic:

Sue sighs. “ It seems like you’re really taking this seriously.”

“Everyone lectured me enough times, I was bound to get the message eventually.” He adjusts one last bold before turning to face her. “I can see now how callous I was at the outset. Everyone was hurting and I just treated it like a catastrophic end to an every day test. I’ve been too detached.”

“You have,” Sue agrees.

“I’ve been trying to do better.”

“I know. I’ve been paying attention. All of us have been. I appreciate the effort you’re putting in.”

Reed sighs, searching her face for answers. “Are we going to be okay?”

“I think we are,” she says softly.

The corner of his mouth twitches up into an unsure smile. “Okay.”

“Do you know when the transport will be ready?”

“It won’t be long now. Maybe a week, if everything goes to plan.”

Sue seems satisfied. “I’ll tell the others.”

(Y/N) had no idea how fun it would be to bake with people. First Steve offered to help her through a night of manic baking and now Wanda is working with her to bake and decorate sugar cookies.

About a month ago, after her baking marathon, Steve started a cookie cutter collection for her in hopes of encouraging… healthier baking habits. It started with basic shapes like circles, squares, and stars, then quickly snowballed from there into far more intricate shapes. She has a whole set of seasonal shapes, a set shaped like school supplies, several different book shapes, comic speech and sound bubbles, and a few jars and bottles.

Today, they’re working with the cookie cutters shaped like jars and bottles.

Wanda hovers over (Y/N)s shoulder while she mixes the sugar cookie dough, asking questions about the recipe. (Y/N) let her have a pinch of the raw dough to try before it went into the fridge. They eat lunch while they wait for the dough to cool enough to work with.

Wanda is left to mix the royal icing as (Y/N) rolls out and cuts the cookies to bake. She helps Wanda when she has questions about the two icing recipes. (Y/N) is a little too excited to explain that they need two recipes because they result in two different consistencies of icing; stiff and flood consistencies.

“The stiff consistency is for outlining the cookie. Flood is thinner and is used to fill everything in. Kind of like a coloring book.”

“Sounds easy enough.”

“And we’re using a soft-bite icing recipe,” (Y/N) says, “so we can actually eat the cookies. No one wants to eat hard icing.”

“Well…”

“Clint doesn’t count. He’s basically a garbage disposal.”

Wanda laughs and (Y/N) goes back to cutting cookies. They work in companionable silence.

(Y/N) replaces baked cookies with raw and transfers baked cookies to cooling racks while Wanda finishes up with the icing. They mix colors into the icing while they wait for the cookies to cool enough to decorate.

Vision makes a brief appearance to see what they’re doing. Once his curiosity is satisfied he floats away in search of something else to do, though he promises to come back later to see the decorated cookies.

When the first rack of cookies are cool, (Y/N) gives a brief demonstration on how to use stiff icing to outline the desired shape and floor consistency to fill everything in. She sets Wanda loose to start decorating, and she picks up on how to do everything fairly quickly. (Y/N) readily expresses how impressed she is.

They chat while they work, initially talking about the movies they watched the night before and the date Vision had planned for Wanda last week. In theory, it sounded like a fun date, but the way Wanda recounted it had (Y/N) laughing hard enough to cry.

“He tries,” Wanda says. “And I find his determination very sweet.”

(Y/N) takes a deep breath in an attempt to calm down. She can’t help giggling before she manages to speak. “It sounds like he has the capacity to be very romantic.”

“He does. And sometimes he gets it very right.”

“And other times?”

“Other times he fills my bedroom with mums because I mentioned I liked them two months ago.”

(Y/N) shakes her head, grinning. “What a man.”

“You are making fun of him.”

“A little, yeah, but he seems sweet. And he obviously makes you really happy.”

“I suspect it’s very similar for you and Steve.”

“I don’t know.” (Y/N) absentmindedly swirls two colors together on the cookie she’s decorating. “I mean, yes, he’s incredibly sweet, and he makes me really happy. But I think he and I are very alike in some ways.”

“Bad ways?”

“Probably not. But definitely in ways that have led to a few very serious discussions.” She frowns. “Granted, they’re conversations we probably would’ve needed to have eventually anyway, but I’ve never been able to date much, so I kind of have to learn what is and isn’t normal as I go.”

“Most people have to do that,” Wanda says.

“Well that makes me feel better.” She tilts her head to the side and turns her cookie to get a better angle on the bubble she’s trying to make. “Dating a superhero doesn’t really make things easier.”

“It certainly doesn’t,” Wanda agrees. “But you seem happier when you’re with him.”

“I am happier,” she admits. “He makes me feel seen and understood. I don’t have to fight to be heard with him, he just sits and asks because he wants to listen. If he likes me half as much as I like him, then we’re probably doing pretty good.”

Wanda grins. “I’m glad to see everything worked out.”

“Went through a lot to get here,” (Y/N) jokes.

“Speaking of, I noticed you’ve been slightly more anxious lately. Is everything okay?”

“I mean, kind of.” She frowns, moves her finished cookie to the side and takes her time picking a new one. She chooses another mason jar. “It’s different from what it was before. And now it’s mostly just a low level sense of dread.”

“Is it tied to anything specific?”

“It’s usually connected to my feelings about going back to my dimension. I don’t fully know what triggered it, but it’s calmed down over the last month. So, like I said, it’s a low-level sense of dread.”

“Hm, strange.”

“Everyone else seems to think so too. Including me.”

“Other than that, how do you feel? Safe?”

“Of course. Safe and happy. And more settled than I thought I’d be.”

“Then perhaps it’s just a feeling of unfamiliarity.”

“Could be.”

“Maybe we should focus on the cookies instead of this conversation.”

(Y/N) laughs. “Won’t argue with that.”

They continue to chat as they decorate, though about lighter things. By the time they’re halfway through, it’s clear they both have a favorite shape; Wanda prefers the long necked potion flask and (Y/N) likes the mason jars. They decide to each decorate their favorite shapes moving forward and split the beakers between them.

They’re about ninety percent done when Steve, Clint, and Bucky wander into the kitchen.

Clint’s eyes light up when he sees the racks of drying cookies. He does, however, refrain from taking one.

“Another baking day?” Steve asks.

“Mhm,” (Y/N) hums. “Nat cancelled training for the day so I needed something to do. Wanda volunteered to help.”

Out of the corner of her eye, (Y/N) catches Clint reaching for one of the decorated cookies. She smacks his hand and gives him one of the undecorated beakers instead.

“Don’t reward him,” Bucky says.

Knowing he’s scolding Clint and not her, she says, “I’m not, I’m not wild about decorating that shape. He’ll be saving me some work.”

Clint attempts to thank her, but it comes out muffled around the cookie in his mouth. (Y/N) just barely manages to contain her laughter.

Bucky mentions they have a meeting to get to. Before he can drag him away, Clint pulls something from his jacket pocket and holds it out to (Y/N). It’s a new cookie cutter.

“Found this yesterday,” he says. (Y/N) takes it and turns it over in her hands. “It’s a camera with a stamp for the details.”

She smiles. “This is great, Clint.”

“You don’t have one like that, right?”

“No, I don’t. I really appreciate it, thank you.”

He grins and follows Bucky to the elevator, hands shoved in his pockets. Shortly after, Wanda has finished decorating her cookies and excuses herself. Steve takes her place next to (Y/N) and watches her decorate for a little while.

“It looks like you two got a lot done today.”

“Mhm,” she hums.

“Did Wanda already know how to decorate cookies like this, or did you teach her?”

(Y/N) uses a toothpick to tweak the shape of a leaf she just piped. “I taught her.”

He’s quiet for a moment before asking, “Do you think I could try?”

“You want to?”

“Yeah, looks fun.”

(Y/N) grins and puts her piping bag to the side. “You actually want to learn?”

“Of course. It looks similar to painting. I think I could do it.”

“Oh you absolutely can, I’m just excited that you’re even interested.”

“Why wouldn’t I be interested?”

(Y/N) stares at him, quiet for a moment, before she says, “If I weren’t covered in icing I’d kiss you right now.”

Steve smiles. “You could still do that.”

She shakes her head. “Not the way I want to. And especially not with you wearing a shirt that’s obviously dry clean only.”

Steve laughs before realizing she’s not joking. “You’re serious?”

“Dead.”

He chuckles and shakes his head. “You’re ridiculous.”

(Y/N) begins to protest only to immediately close her mouth when Steve gently tips her chin up and kisses her. She hums and leans into him slightly before pulling away.

“Sneaky,” she says. “Very sneaky.”

Steve grins. “Got what I wanted, though.”

She narrows her eyes and smears icing across his cheek. He just laughs and kisses her again.

(Y/N) launches into an explanation about how to outline and flood the cookies. Steve listens intently and pays especially close attention when she describes how to pull one color through another with a toothpick to get interesting shapes. She shows him how to mix colors, then sets him up with his own piping bags and shows him how to fill them. Within fifteen minutes, he’s working on his own cookie by himself.

They work side by side in silence for an hour. By then, all cookies have been decorated and (Y/N) is feeling quite satisfied with the work everyone has put in to finish such a massive project. She sets her final mason jar to the side and leans over to check on what Steve’s doing.

On the mason jar cookie in front of him, Steve has created a tiny terrarium scene. There’s leaves, soil speckled with lighter spots of brown, and moss he’s textured with a toothpick. He’s even added little beetles in a couple of places.

“Holy shit,” she says. “That’s amazing, Steve!”

His face flushes and he pokes at the moss a little more in an attempt to make it look fluffier. “You think so?”

“Absolutely! I would never have thought to do that to make a moss texture.” (Y/N) watches with satisfaction as Steve’s ears go pink. Softer, she says, “It really does look good.”

The corner of his mouth quirks up. “Thanks.”

“Of course.” She rests her chin in her hand, watching as Steve puts the finishing touches on his cookie. “Y’know, if this superhero thing doesn’t pan out, you might have a career in cookie decorating.”

“Mm,” he puts down his toothpick and turns to her with a lazy smile. “Would we open a bakery together?”

“Depends. You think you could do cakes too?”

He shrugs. “I could learn.”

“Sounds like we have your retirement plan then.”

“I like the sound of that,” he says. “We. Us.”

“Yeah?”

Steve grins. “Yeah.”

She smiles and absentmindedly pushes her icing bag to the side. “That’s really really nice to hear.”

Steve raises his eyebrows, though something almost hopeful softens the expression. “Yeah?”

(Y/N) nods. “Yeah.”

“Okay,” he says softly. “Good.”

“Good?”

“Definitely good.” He gently bumps his shoulder against hers. “Do you have plans tomorrow night?”

“Depends. Did you have something in mind?”

“I was hoping we could have a movie night, just the two of us. I’ll order food and we can just have a stress free night on the couch.”

“That sounds wonderful.”

“I’ll take care of everything, all you’ll have to do is show up.”

“And that sounds even better.”

“Then it’s a date.” His phone chimes and he sighs when he checks the message. “Looks like they need me in that meeting after all.”

(Y/N) frowns but hums contentedly when he kisses her forehead as he gets up to go.

“See you later?”

“Absolutely,” he says.

As she watches him disappear from the kitchen, she can’t help thinking she needs to talk to Tony about his offer, provided he even remembers he offered it in the first place.

---------

Part 17

So, wonderful news, I just finished writing chapter 19, so I have at least three more chapters after this one ready to go. I'm working on 20 right now, so fingers crossed I can actually meet the goal of having this story finished before summer.

But! As always, I’d love to know that y'all thought of this chapter. Do you think Reed is taking his time and being careful because he wants to, or because he's tired of his family lecturing him? Would you want to join the Reader and Wanda for a cookie decorating day? How do you feel about the team putting together a cookie cutter collection for the Reader character? Do you think Steve would be good at decorating cookies? Could the Reader be gearing up to stay in this dimension for good? Be sure to reblog, comment, and/or shoot me an ask and tell me all about it!

Tag List:

@ghostlyhamlet, @claws-of-vibranium, @buckysendoftheline, @ptprocrastination, @1950schick, @amayasymone23, @arfrona-and-marvel, @ek823, @fanaticfangirl001, @furrywerewolfcollector, @kissofvenom922, @dawn-phantomhive, @fangirlwithasweettooth, @mairhof1, @starryeyesbadguys, @trap-house-homeicide, @buckywhitewolfbarnes, @kaepm981, @howdesoneadult, @pcdmesamidala, @thefandomplace, @sian22redux, @lady-thor-foster, @feelmyroarrrr, @jazzcutie, @gaytonystark, @darling-loki, @geeksareunique, @tofeartheunknown, @queenofheunderdark, @avengerscompound, @patzammit, @otterlycanadian

This Fic:

“I’d like to get to know you better.”

“Huh.”

“What?”

“Nothing. Just seems very un-Black Widow of you.”

“And you’re making this judgment based on… what, exactly?”

“It’s nothing to do with you, specifically. I’m sure it’s entirely different here, considering the dimension hopping. But back home, I’m way too low on the totem pole to matter to someone as important as you.”

“Well, around here, you’re a hot topic.”

“Somehow that sounds worse than being invisible.”

“We won’t know until Strange gets back to us.”

“Ah, so the jury’s still out on whether or not I’m a threat.”

“In the strictest sense, you are a threat. With your healing ability and strength, you’re a very real threat.” Natasha smiles at the sight of (Y/N)’s discomfort. “But that’s not necessarily a bad thing.”

“I don’t know how threatening I can be. I can barely throw a punch.”

“Do you want to learn?”

(Y/N) shrugs. “Maybe a little.”

“I’m sure something could be arranged.”

(Y/N) gasps. "Really?"

Natasha seems amused by (Y/N)'s enthusiasm, and she's not sure if that's a good or bad thing. Natasha simply nods and says, "I don't see why not. Might as well give you something productive to do."

"I was just thinking about how bored I am."

“Well we’d hate for you to be bored.”

“I appreciate the consideration.”

Natasha chuckles and (Y/N) tries not to treat that as a victory. “Strange should be dropping in some time in the next few days. One of us will come get you when he arrives.”

“Okay, sounds good.”

Natasha nods and walks off down the hall. (Y/N) watches her disappear around the corner and shoves her hands in her pockets before she starts the trek back to her room. She’s met her reality’s Doctor Strange, but only in passing. He seemed nice. Not especially personable, but she can’t really attest as to whether or not he’s actually like that. He’s only visited the Fantastic Four during working hours, so he’d always been in a hurry. He was nice enough to say a quick hello before portaling back to the Sanctum. Will this Strange be more standoffish, or will he be more cheerful? Maybe he wasn’t a surgeon in this reality. Maybe he was a pediatrician. Pediatricians have to be nice, right?

She turns the corner and, startled by Steve’s sudden appearance, stumbles back with her hand pressed to her chest.

“Jesus Christ!” she hisses.

Steve chuckles. “Sorry.”

(Y/N) sighs and leans against the wall. “How are you so quiet?”

“Years and years of practice.”

She takes a deep breath and calms herself. “What’s up?”

“Oh, uh… I just wanted to check on you and see how you’re doing.”

“Oh! I’m fine. I just talked with Natasha. She said she wanted to get to know me better.”

“Really?”

“You seem surprised.”

“Not exactly. I figured she might stalk you for a little longer.”

“Huh. Am I prey to her?”

“Maybe a little. But I think most people are.”

“Somehow that’s not entirely surprising.” (Y/N) cocks her head. “But is it still stalking if you know someone’s following you?”

“You knew?”

“Not that it was her, no, but it felt like someone was watching me. Also, definitely didn’t know if she’d cop to it. There’s also the possibility that she wasn’t even there to begin with, so I could’ve very well been talking to an empty hallway.”

“That happen often?” Steve jokes.

(Y/N) shrugs. “More often than I’d like. But it’s not like I can just stop talking to myself, right? I’m my best collaborator, after all.”

“Well, it’s hard to argue with that logic.”

They both chuckle and (Y/N) sighs when the laughter peeters out.

“Oh!” She snaps once and Steve’s attention jerks back to her. “Natasha offered to teach me how to fight.”

“She did?”

“Yeah, I joked that I wasn’t a threat because I can’t throw a punch and she offered to fix that.”

“That’s pretty superhero adjacent,” Steve says.

“I know, but lots of people learn to fight without becoming vigilantes.” She smiles. “You remembered.”

“Of course I remembered.”

“But that was last week.”

“Conversations with you are memorable, (Y/N),” he looks her directly in the eye, “You’re memorable.” She stares at him, lips parted, unsure of what to say. It takes a moment for Steve to realize what he's said and he awkwardly clears his throat. "Sorry, that was a little intense."

(Y/N) shakes her head. "No, it's fine. You just, um…" she laughs, "you kind of used your Captain America voice on me."

"Isn't that just my voice?"

"No, there's a difference between your normal, conversational voice and Captain America. Like there's a distinct tonal shift when you're either serious, or trying to get a point across."

"Oh."

"Yeah, I didn't realize that wasn't just how you talked until you brought me lunch that first time."

"Huh."

"No one's ever mentioned it?"

"Not without making it a joke, no."

"Mm, makes sense." Steve's phone chimes. "I probably shouldn't keep you much longer."

Steve frowns and checks the message. "I'm sorry, it's Tony."

"No, no worries. You're Captain America, after all."

"Still." He sighs. "Would you want to meet up for dinner?"

"Name the time and place. I'll be there."

The corner of his mouth ticks up. "I'll let F.R.I.D.A.Y. know as soon as I'm free."

“Reed says he might’ve tracked (Y/N) down,” Johnny says.

Peter shifts on the couch as Johnny plops down beside him. “Really?”

“Well, not exactly. But he picked up on an energy signature similar to his first interdimensional transport.”

“Well that sounds promising, right? I mean, it’s a start, at the very least.”

“Yeah, assuming it gets him anywhere.”

“If he can pinpoint where the energy landed, he should be able to work from there and maybe break through to wherever (Y/N) landed.”

“You really think he could ?”

“I don’t know. But I hope he can.”

Johnny sighs. “I feel like this is all we talk about anymore.”

“I know. But it hasn't even been two weeks.”

"That's almost two weeks without progress on Reed's part."

"Look, my semester is over in a week. After that, I can devote all my free time to helping Reed in the lab. Maybe that'll make things go faster."

"Maybe."

"We're all worried about her, johnny. But worrying and freaking out isn't going to bring her back."

"I know… but maybe a little?"

Peter sighs, but smiles. "Maybe a little."

"Anxious energy is still energy."

“We shouldn’t rely on it, though. You’ll wear yourself out before you get anything done.”

Johnny pouts. “Since when are you so logical?”

“I’m always logical.”

“No, you’re a book of dad jokes wrapped up in a very, very pretty package.”

“I can be more than one thing at a time.”  Johnny chuckles, but the sound trails off with a sigh. Peter grabs his hand and squeezes. "Look, we're doing everything we can. We shouldn't give up on her yet, okay?"

Johnny nods. "Yeah."

"Yeah?"

"Mhm."

"Good."

A light knock at the door pulls (Y/N) away from her book. She sets it to the side and barely has one leg swung over the edge of the mattress before someone literally floats through the door. She simply sits and stares as the Vision materializes in her room.

"Uh… hi," she says. "Vision, right?"

"Correct."

"Huh, okay. What can I do for you?"

He opens his mouth to answer, but is cut off by another knock at the door. This person waits for an answer. (Y/N) calls for them to come in and the door opens to reveal Steve, hair tousled, cheeks flushed.

"We've been over this," Steve says, eyes trained on Vision. "You can't just phase through people's doors!"

"I knocked."

"Did you wait for an answer?"

"Well, no."

"Then you don't go in."

(Y/N) watches with amusement as the two go back and forth. She chuckles when Steve turns his exasperation towards her. “Does this happen regularly?”

He sighs. “Unfortunately.”

“Incredible. That’s hilarious.” Steve bites back his smile and rolls his eyes. “What’s up?”

“Strange is here.”

“Oh! Okay,” she jumps up from the bed and moves to the dresser- “gimme a sec to put on some real pants and I’ll be right out.”

Steve nods and ushers Vision out of the room. As the door is closing, (Y/N) can hear Vision say, “I don’t see anything wrong with the clothing she is currently wearing.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Steve says.

The door closes and (Y/N) quickly strips out of her sweatpants and replaces them with jeans. She shoves her feet into a pair of shoes and heads out into the hallway to find Steve leaning on the wall across from her door.

“Did Vision leave?” she asks.

He nods. “Floated back up through the floors right after I closed your door.”

“Alrighty.” Steve gestures up the hallway and (Y/N) follows  along beside him. “So he just floats through walls?”

“Yeah, sorry about that. I’m sure you already know, he’s not exactly human. Boundaries aren’t really something he gets yet.”

“That’s fair. He’s a little more robotic, where I come from. This version is far more interesting than the one I already know.”

“Robotic how?”

“More interested in facts than anything else, really. This Vision seems far more willing to ask questions and learn than rely on whatever information banks he has access to.”

“Hm, interesting.”

“Exactly.”

“It sounds like you’re used to being around people who are very black and white.”

“Mm, maybe. Or maybe that’s just how they seem to me because I’m so far removed from them. Kind of like how you might view a celebrity.”

"That makes sense."

"What's Strange like?"

"Interesting guy. Not sure he had the best bedside manner Not sure he had the best bedside manner when he was still practicing, though."

"What kind of doctor is he?"

"A surgeon, as far as I know."

"Okay, very similar to my reality so far. Can't really speak to his bedside manner though. Haven't spoken to any of his old patients."

“I’d be worried if you even tried tracking them down.”

(Y/N) laughs. “Pretty sure there are more than enough forums online dedicated to reviewing him that I wouldn’t even have to bother.”

“People really do that?”

“Oh absolutely. The number of subreddits dedicated to the Fantastic Four is still crazy to me. I’m sure it’d be pretty easy to find at least twenty dedicated to you.”

“You mean the me from your reality?”

“No. You. Like the you in front of me right now.”

“Seriously?”

“Hate to break it to you, but you’re handsome, strong, and a public figure. People are going to fixate on you.”

The corner of Steve’s mouth quirks up. “You think I’m handsome?”

“I mean, it’s less of an opinion than an objective fact, but yeah.”

Satisfied with her answer, Steve stops just outside the doorway and gestures for (Y/N) to go first. She hesitates momentarily, takes a deep breath, and walks through with Steve right behind her. She’s greeted by Natasha, Tony, Clint, and someone who looks strikingly like the Stephen Strange she’s already acquainted with. He turns his attention to her and looks her over, face void of any discernible emotion.

“You must be Doctor Strange,” she says. She offers her hand and he’s slow to shake it. “I feel like I already know you.”

“Is that supposed to be a joke?” he asks, one eyebrow raised.

“Uh…” she glances at Tony, who just shrugs. “Yeah. Guess it didn’t land.”

“No, it was hilarious. I suppose.”

“Mm, no need to lie to me. I know not everyone’s my target audience. Steve pity laughs at enough of my jokes for everyone.”

“Hey, I laugh,” Steve says.

“Sure you do.”

Strange clears his throat, immediately drawing everyone’s attention back to him. “As entertaining as this is, I’d appreciate it if everyone could remember why we’re here.”

(Y/N) presses her lips together and nods. “Of course.”

Strange sighs. “Shall we begin?”

--------

Part 6

Sorry to leave off on a bit of a cliffhanger, it felt appropriate given we’re finally getting the Sorcerer Supreme lmao. Reader and Steve are getting closer! What a wonderful friendship, I literally cannot get enough of writing their dynamic.

As always, I’d love to know what you thought of this chapter! Do you think Natasha will be a good teacher? How would you feel if you were in Johnny and Peter’s position? Would you react the same towards Vision suddenly appearing in your room, or do you think you’d be far more startled? Be sure to reblog, comment, and/or shoot me an ask and tell me all about it!

Tag List:

@ghostlyhamlet, @claws-of-vibranium, @imagine-assembling-the-avengers, @buckysendoftheline, @ptprocrastination, @1950schick. @amayasymone23, @arfrona-and-marvel, @ek823, @fanaticfangirl001, @furrywerewolfcollector, @kissofvenom922, @dawn-phantomhive, @fangirlwithasweettooth, @mairhof1, @starryeyesbadguys, @trap-house-homiecide, @buckywhitewolfbarnes​, @kaepm981, @howdoesoneadult​, @pcdmesamidala​, @thefandomplace​, @sian22redux​, @skeletoresinthebasement​, @lady-thor-foster​, @feelmyroarrrr​, @jazzcutie​, @gaytonystark​, @hermionie-is-my-queen​, @darling-loki​, @geeksareunique​, @nyxveracity​, @lemonadeorange73​, @sad-darksoul​, @tofeartheunknown​, @queenoftheunderdark​, @avengerscompound​, @patzammit​

This Fic:

“What would you suggest?”

“Literally anything but hiding in our closet.” Johnny grabs Peter’s hand and drags him out of the closet and out into the hallway.

They barely make it to the elevator before they’re caught.

“Stop right there.”

They cringe and slowly turn around to find Sue with her arms crossed.

“Hey, Sue,” Johnny says.

“Don’t ‘hey, Sue’ me. Where do you two think you’re going?”

“Uh… out?” Johnny offers.

She shakes her head. “You’re not going anywhere but down to the lab.”

“Wh-Sue, what are we supposed to do there? Sit around and hope Reed feels bad because he hasn’t made any progress? You know that won’t work.” Johnny looks to Peter for support, but he just shakes his head and shrugs. He doesn’t have any better argument than Johnny does.

Sue scowls. “I’m sure you can figure something out.”

Sue drags Johnny and Peter down to the lab and the boys drag their feet the entire way there. Sue doesn’t see anything. Her anger seems to have dissipated slightly and she seems to recognize that she’s taking her anger out on the wrong people. Regardless, confronting Reed might be easier with back up, so she doesn’t apologize yet.

Right as they approach the doors, they slide open and they’re met by Reed, hair wild and limbs stretched at odd lengths.

“Good, you’re here, I think I’ve found something.” He turns back into the lab without waiting for a response.

Sue immediately follows, but Johnny and Peter wait a moment. They look at each other and Peter shrugs and follows Sue. Johnny is right on his heels.

“What’d you find?” Peter asks. He glances around the lab and notes that Reed has yet to rebuild the transport.

“I believe I’ve located (Y/N)’s energy signature.” He types frantically on the main console, eyes not leaving the display. “I believe I initially ran into difficulties because I cast the net too wide.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning she’s still here.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Johnny asks. “We know, for a fact, she’s not here.”

“Not literally here,” Reed says. “But her signature is still here. In this building. It moves between the floors throughout the day, but it never leaves the building.”

“So she’s in the same location, just in a different dimension?” Sue asks.

“Correct.” Reed finally turns away from his work and back to Sue, Johnny, and Peter.

“So we can get her back,” Peter says.

“I’m not sure yet,” Reed confesses.

Johnny opens his mouth to speak, but just sighs, shakes his head and walks away. 

Peter scowls. “So you’ve just been dicking around down here for two months tracking an energy signature? That’s it?!”

“I can’t bring her back if I don’t pinpoint her location first-”

“You could’ve been building the transport between searches!”

“If I’m dividing my attention between two projects, I can’t ensure the accuracy of either result.”

“You-ugh!” Peter balls his hands into fists. “Now I get why Sue’s always pissed at you these days.”

Reed opens his mouth to retort, but Peter walks off after Johnny. Reed turns to Sue. “Are you going to leave too?”

“I am,” Sue says. “Someone has to take care of our children, and clearly it won’t be you.”

“That’s not fair.”

“No, it’s not. But neither is being the only parent present in their lives.” Sue folds her arms. “You’re the only one who knows how to build this thing, Reed. You can ask for help, but we can’t fix your mistake for you.”

Reed frowns. “I’m trying, Sue.”

“I know.” She sighs. “Start building the transport, Reed. Try not to blow it up this time.”

Sue doesn’t wait for a response and walks away, leaving Reed alone in his lab.

(Y/N) is being dramatic. Realistically, she knows that. And yet, laying on the couch and sighing still feels right because it’s the only thing that’s making her feel better right now.

The two weeks Steve said he’d be away have come and gone without any further communication. Sure, (Y/N) remembers he mentioned they might be gone longer. That doesn’t stop her mind from running wild. Especially with the cliffhanger he left on. Who the hell tells someone they want to talk and just fucks off for two weeks? More than two weeks, actually. Does he just expect her to feel normal about that? After telling her he went out of his way to find her before he left, just to tell her he wanted to talk when he gets back? And what was up with that kiss? Not that she’s complaining, she found it very sweet in the moment. But now she’s left with nothing better to do than overthink.

She supposes she does have other things she could do. Tony supplied her with an overflowing digital library of any and everything she could ever possibly want to read. And she might’ve already read three book series from her childhood just to see if there were any differences between dimensions. And there were, but none that seriously changed the outcome of any of the stories.

She’s tried training on her own, but without Natasha’s guidance she never knows if she’s doing something wrong. If her posture is bad or her form is wrong. She started doing yoga in the mornings with Wanda and Bruce joins them occasionally, and that’s nice, but it only occupies her for an hour or two before the silence becomes too much and she needs a new distraction.

Bruce and Tony don’t have much going on in the lab at the moment, so all she has left is laying on the couch, sighing dramatically in hopes of someone coming by and giving her a project. Or worse, asking her why she’s being so weird.

Wanda pokes her head over the back of the couch. “Your surface thoughts are very loud.”

Startled, (Y/N) yelps and presses one hand to her chest. “Jesus, you startled me!”

“I’m sorry.”

“How do you walk so quietly?”

Wanda shrugs. “Force of habit, I suppose.”

(Y/N) takes a deep breath and slowly sits up. “Could you hear what I was thinking?”

“I could. Your mind isn’t guarded very well.”

(Y/N) frowns. “Is that a bad thing?”

“It depends. But in this instance, no. You are just very transparent about how you feel, so your thoughts are easy to hear.”

“Oh.”

“Steve will be fine,” Wanda says. “He always is.”

“I know.” She pauses. “What I mean is that I know he’ll be okay, but I appreciate the reassurance.”

Wanda chuckles. “I know.”

“Ah, right. I’ve never worked with someone who could read minds before.”

“I try not to. I only said something because you were worried.”

“I appreciate that.”

“I understand why you’d worry, though.”

“You do?”

“You worry that you’re moving too fast. That you won’t be here very long. That you’re getting ahead of yourself. But these are normal things for you to worry about.”

“Even if it’s normal, I still feel weird about it.”

“Because you have nothing to confirm or deny your fears, so there’s nowhere for your energy to go.”

“Oh.” (Y/N) sits up. “That makes sense. Still… I can’t help worrying-”

“That Steve may not feel the same way?” (Y/N) nods. “I’m sure you already know how he feels, but I think you’ll believe it more readily if you hear it from him. Even if I have seen exactly what he thinks of you.”

“I’m almost tempted to ask.” Wanda raises her eyebrows, but (Y/N) just smiles. “Almost.”

“Good choice.”

“Y’know, I’m glad I started doing yoga in the mornings. I don’t think we would’ve spent much time together otherwise.”

“Me too.” Wanda smiles. “I’ve enjoyed getting to know you.”

(Y/N) grins. “The feeling’s mutual.”

Wanda sticks around to chat for a while longer. Eventually Vision floats through and asks for her help on something. Before she leaves, they make plans to watch a movie together later.

Alone again, (Y/N) goes back to her room and spends the rest of the day reading.

“(Y/N), could you join us in the lab?” Tony asks, voice surprisingly clear over the intercom. “We have a surprise for you.”

(Y/N) sets the tablet she was reading on to the side and heads to the lab. Bruce and Tony are there, standing at one of the work tables with a young man between them. He seems comfortable with them and has a familiar mop of mousy brown hair. (Y/N) doesn’t examine why he seems familiar before approaching.

“That was fast,” Tony says.

“You call, I come,” she jokes. “Not like I’m doing much right now anyway.”

Bruce chuckles. “I hear you’ve been reading a lot recently.”

“I’ve been rereading books to see if there are any big differences, but it’s mostly just been hair colors.”

“Huh. Given how similar we are to the Avengers from your dimension, I suppose drastic differences in books would be odd.”

Tony clears his throat and Bruce and (Y/N) immediately turn their attention to him. “On that note, this-” he gestures to the young man beside him- “is Peter.”

(Y/N)’s eyebrows shoot to her hairline. “Parker?”

The young man looks surprised. “You know me?”

She chuckles. “I know someone very similar to you.” Peter cocks his head. “In my dimension, the two of us are best friends.”

He gasps. “You’re the one who appeared in the lab a while back?”

“I am. From what I hear, it was not a pretty sight.”

“Tony wouldn’t let me visit, so I can neither confirm, nor deny.”

“I’m sure I can talk someone into showing me the security tapes or something. But I’ve watched burns heal before. Tony didn’t let you visit for a very good reason.”

“I’ll take your word on that.”

Peter fidgets with his hands the same way her Peter does when he’s not sure how to say something. “You look like you have questions,” she says.

Peter seems surprised. “How’d you know?”

“I know a different version of you.” She gestures to his hands, “He fidgets the same way from time to time.”

“Oh.” His face goes red and he shoves his hands into his pockets. “Are you close with the other me?”

“I am. We met after he moved in with his aunt and uncle. We’ve been practically inseparable ever since.”

“Really? But you’re so much older than me.” Bruce clears his throat and Tony elbows him for his comment. (Y/N) just laughs. “Sorry,” Peter mumbles.

“It’s totally fine. I am older than you, but so is my Peter. He’s working on a doctorate right now.”

“Whoa, really?”

“Yeah, he’s just about done. I think he’ll either graduate this year or early next year.”

“Wow! Would I know this dimension’s version of you?”

“No, it looks like I’m unique to my dimension.”

His shoulders droop slightly. “Aw, okay.”

“And you should know my Peter isn’t a direct look into your future.” Peter looks surprised. “He’s not you and you’re not him. You’re from two totally different worlds and were raised differently.”

“How do you know?”

“Well… My Pete never had your resources when he was your age. Never would’ve worked for Tony. And I have yet to see you credited for any of the pictures of Spider-Man in the Bugle while I’ve been here.”

“That stings, (Y/N),” Tony says.

“Just telling the truth. Peter wasn’t on good terms with my dimension’s Stark when he was younger.”

“Why do I suddenly feel guilty?”

“I think that’s between you and your therapist.”

Peter laughs and Tonly rolls his eyes. (Y/N) can see him smile as he turns away.

Tony and Bruce rope Peter and (Y/N) into helping them with their project of the day. (Y/N) is tasked with sorting through heavy materials while Peter helps with the math and science where he can. Peter occasionally helps move a piece (Y/N) would have issues balancing on her own and takes the opportunity to ask her questions about her Peter. He’s surprise to learn her Peter is dating a man, Johnny, but not disappointed, and concerned when he learns how old May is.

“How can she be that old?”

“Time is a fickle mistress, Pete. It never stops moving. And it hasn’t treated her kindly.”

“I bet he worries about her,” he says, surveying what’s left of (Y/N)’s project. “I know I would.”

“He does. He loves May very much. And he does everything he can to protect her and the people he cares about.”

“Sometimes that’s not enough.”

“No, sometimes it’s not. But that’s why you have friends. People who care about you who you can rely on so you’re not doing everything on your own all the time.”

“How did he learn to ask for help?” Peter asks, voice quiet.

“The hard way. And when that didn’t work, his friends knocked some sense into him.”

He laughs. “Sounds about right.”

“You don’t have to make the same mistakes. You have people here who care about you and want to help however they can.”

“I know.”

“Good.” (Y/N) ruffles his hare and laughs when he tries to bat her hand away.

“(Y/N),” Tony calls. He gestures for her to join him when she looks over. “We have news from Steve.”

“Really?” She stops teasing Peter and rushes over to Tony’s workstation. “What’d he say?”

“Looks like they’ll be gone another two weeks,” he says. “Their lead fell through and they just picked up the trail again today.”

“Well shit.”

“It’s happened before. They’ll pull through just fine. Might even get back earlier than he says they will.” He taps through a couple of menus before going back to his inbox. “Wouldn’t be the first time it’s happened.”

“Okay, thanks for the update,” she mumbles.

“You’re still worried about him?” (Y/N) scowls and Tony gasps in delight. “Don’t tell me-”

“Tony-”

“Do you-”

“Shut up-”

“Have a crush on him?”

(Y/N) sighs and walks back to her project. “Everyone has a crush on him, he’s Captain America.”

“No, this is different.” He follows her and sends Peter to help Bruce along the way. “You’re impatient and you’re worried about him.”

“So?”

“So, something’s going on with you two.”

“There isn’t.”

“Oh really?”

“I’m not talking to you about his if you’re just going to tease me.”

“But it’s so much fun.”

(Y/N) tosses a couple of things onto their respective piles before turning back to him. “Not for me.”

Surprised he says, “So it’s serious then.”

“I don’t know, we haven’t talked about it.”

“But you want to.”

“It seems like he wants to. I don’t fully know what I want yet. But we won’t be talking about it til he gets back, so I have some time to sort out my feelings on the matter.”

“You’re taking this really seriously.”

“Of course I am. I can’t make a decision like this lightly. The fact that this isn’t my dimension is part of what informs how we move forward with whatever we decide-” Tony opens his mouth to speak, but (Y/N) doesn’t let him- “If we even have a decision to make in the first place.”

“Alright. Seems like you’ve really thought this through.”

“I have.”

“I respect that.”

“I should hope so.”

Tony pats her on the shoulder and leaves her to finish her sorting.

Peter heads home around five and Bruce, (Y/N), and Tony all have dinner together. They play card games until Tony loses interest and drifts off to the lab again. Without him, (Y/N) and Bruce talk about books and movies until they notice how dark it’s gotten. They say goodnight and (Y/N) heads to her room to get ready for bed before laying down to read herself to sleep.

She’d finished her last book the night before and is about to look for something new to read when she notices she has an unread message. Swipes away the library list and opens her inbox to find Steve’s name with a bold red three next to it. She doesn’t hesitate to open the messages.

I’m sorry we’re not back yet. The trail went cold and we’re slowly getting back on track

It may be another two weeks, but I can’t be certain.

I’m sorry to leave you on your own for so long. Especially with how our last conversation ended. I’m thinking about you. I miss you. I’ll be back soon.

(Y/N) feels a sudden rush of affection towards Steve. Sure he knew Tony would pass along his update. But he still took the time to message her. To reassure her. Something about that makes her miss him even more while simultaneously putting her mind at ease. She finds it incredibly sweet.

I’m sorry things aren’t going as planned. I appreciate the update though. Hopefully you won’t be gone much longer.

I miss you too. Be careful. Come home soon.

With that, she picks a long book without looking at the title and reads late into the night.

------

Part 10

More from the Reader's original dimension! More interaction with Tony and Bruce! And finally time with Peter! Writing the Reader character with this dimension's Peter was fun. He's so young and she's already seen her Peter grow into his powers, it felt like the perfect opportunity to give him some advice he should've had in the earlier movies.

But! As always, I'd love to hear what you thought of this chapter! Is Reed dragging his feet on purpose? Is Sue being too hard on him? How did you feel about the Reader character meeting baby Peter? What'd you think of Tony teasing the Reader? Do you think the Reader character is too impatient? Be sure to reblog, comment, and/or shoot me an ask and tell me all about it!

Tag List:

@ghostlyhamlet, @claws-of-vibranium, @imagine-assembling-the-avengers, @buckysendoftheline, @ptprocrastination, @1950schick, @amayasymone23, @arfrona-and-marvel, @ek823, @fanaticfangirl001, @furrywerewolfcollector, @kissofvenom922, @dawn-phantomhive, @fangirlwithasweettooth, @mairhof1, @starryeyesbadguys, @trap-house-homiecide, @buckywhite', @kaepm981, @howdoesoneadult, @pcdmesamidala, @thefandomplace, @sian22redux, @skeletoresinthebasement, @lady-thor-foster, @feelmyroarrrr, @jazzcutie, @gaytonystark, @hermionie-is-my-queen, @darling-loki, @geeksareunique, @nyxveracity, @lemonadeorange73, @sad-darksoul, @tofeartheunknown, @queenoftheunderdark, @avengerscompound, @patzammit, @otterlycanadian

This Fic:

(Y/N) smiles. “He wore you down? I figured you two would’ve been quick friends.”

“No, we butted heads from the moment we met right up until we were forced to work together to save New York. Granted, that was a matter of days, but it still happened.”

“Wow.” She chuckles and shakes her head. “That’s wild. I keep forgetting that I need to throw out everything I know about the Avengers from my Earth, because you guys really aren’t anything like them. Publicly or privately.”

“In a good or bad way?”

“A good way, of course. I don’t think I’d spend time with any of you if that weren’t the case.”

“That’s fair.” Steve taps his thumb against his glass. “How’s work with Tony been going?”

“Good, so far. Right now I’m mostly just observing how he and Bruce move around the lab. Trying to figure out how to anticipate their needs. Learn where everything is so I can grab something when they ask for it.” She bobs her head from side to side as she works out what she wants to say. “It’s peaceful, so far. At least in comparison to my last gig. Safer.”

“Good.” Steve leans back in his chair and smiles. “I’m glad.”

“Thank you. Having people genuinely care about my safety is taking a little while to get used to, but it’s a nice change.” She pauses a moment. “In the workplace, I mean. Johnny and Peter have always cared.”

“I’d hope so,” Steve says. “You seem pretty fond of them.”

“It’s hard not to be, they’re good guys.”

“I don’t think you’ve talked about Johnny much. Did you meet him around the same time you met Peter?”

“No, we met years later. I was in college, actually. Pete n’ I were supposed to meet at a cafe to work on homework. I misremembered the date and showed up a day early. I was walking in as Johnny was leaving and we crashed into each other.” Steve winces and (Y/N) chuckles. “He got coffee all over my favorite winter coat.”

“I assume he apologized.”

“Oh, profusely. He actually bought my drink. We wound up chatting for a couple hours before I realized Peter hadn’t showed up. We had a good laugh about it after we figured out what happened. But I don’t think I’d change anything about what happened. Except maybe the amount of sugar Johnny had in his coffee. I was so sticky that day.”

Steve Laughs. “Was the coffee hot?”

“I honestly don’t remember. If it was. I didn’t get burned badly enough to notice.”

“Did you introduce Peter to Johnny?”

“No, actually, they’d known each other for years because Peter’s Spiderman. He just hadn’t told Johnny his civilian name at the time.”

“So you did kind of bring them together.”

“Maybe a little, at street level.” (Y/N) smiles. “They’re good together. And they don’t make me feel like a third wheel when we all hang out. I think they both remember how much being the odd man out sucks.”

“Oh?”

“Well. I mean Peter was close with a well known flirt in high school and Johnny’s sister, Sue, has been with her husband since Johnny was a kid. Sure, they’re family, but it’s not impossible to still feel left out. From my experience, even perpetually single folks tend to forget what it’s like after they find someone. But not Pete n’ Johnny.”

“I’m glad you had them,” Steve says. “What do your parents think of your job?”

“Ah, hm… See, that’s where things get sad, for lack of a better term.” She takes a shaky breath before continuing. “We lost mom to cancer when I was in college. She fought it for a long time, but it always came back. Always somewhere new and more aggressive than the last time.”

“Oh, (Y/N)-”

“And dad didn’t handle it well. I mean, he did his best to hold it together, but the bills kept piling up and he just seemed to feel so- so-”

“Helpless?” Steve offers.

(Y/N) nods. “When mom finally let go, I thought he might finally be able to relax a little. Not fully, obviously, but I figured he’d have an easier time keeping his head above water. But he just lost himself in his grief. Shut everyone out, including me. I don’t think my powers helped the situation.”

“Steve nods. “I can see how that might be the case.”

She hums contemplatively. “He slowly closed himself off from everything. I think he allows himself to be talked into going to Thanksgiving and Christmas with the family most years, but I doubt he gets out much outside of that.”

“Losing someone you love like that is hard,” Steve murmurs.

“I know. And I know the way I talk about this sounds callous. But I grieved my mother long before she died. By the time she was ready to go, I was just trying to enjoy the time I had left with her. I just wish I could’ve done more for dad, y’know? I mean, I helped pay off mom’s hospital bills over the years, but there really isn’t anything I can do when he won’t even answer my calls.”

“You’re doing your best.”

“You’re probably right. And it’s not like there’s much I can do for him while I’m in a different dimension.” She tries to laugh, but it comes out watery. “I just miss him, y’know?”

Steve nods. “Yeah, I do.”

“God, you’re probably one of the few people who actually do understand.” She sighs and shakes her head. “I’m sorry I dumped that on you. It was kind of a lot.”

“Don’t apologize.” Steve reaches across the table to cover her hand with his. “I wanted to know more about you. Sometimes that isn’t pretty. I appreciate you telling me regardless.”

“Thank you.” (Y/N) fidgets with the napkin next to her plate. “I’ll be honest, it’s really hard to not make a joke right now. I don’t love feeling vulnerable.”

Steve chuckles. “We’ll have to work on that then.”

“Ah- no, Steve, I can’t ask that of you.”

“You’re not asking. I’m offering. Insisting, in fact. Because I care about you.” (Y/N) frowns. “You’re still not used to that?”

“No, I’m not. And the fact that you’re Captain America definitely isn’t helping things.”

He sighs in faux exasperation. “How can I get you to just see me as Steve? No uniform or shield, just me.”

“No clue.”

Steve studies her face, a warm smile tugging at his lips. “We’ll figure something out.”

(Y/N) rests her chin on her hand. “You think so?”

“Absolutely. I’m determined to make it happen.”

She smiles. “I appreciate that.” Her phone buzzes and she frowns when she sees the notification.

“What is it?”

“It’s Natasha. I’m late for our session.” She flashes him a guilty smile and starts to clear her table setting. “Guess I lost track of time.”

“I’ll take care of this, you should go.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I can handle cleaning a couple of plates. You have somewhere to be.”

“Okay.” She gets up and pauses as she’s pushing in her chair. “I’m really sorry I have to leave like this.”

“It’s okay, (Y/N), honest. It isn’t anywhere close to a problem.”

“Thank you.” Her phone buzzes again and she sighs. “I should probably go.”

“You should.” She groans and he chuckles. “Go, we’ll talk later.”

“Okay.” Before she walks away, (Y/N) says, “Thanks for lunch, by the way.”

“It was my pleasure, honest.”

(Y/N) smiles and rushes off to meet Natasha.

“You’re late.”

“I know, I’m sorry.” (Y/N) quickly sheds her jacket and moves to the mat to begin stretching. “I got distracted.”

Natasha quirks one eyebrow. “Oh? I think I remember you saying something about having lunch with Steve today.”

(Y/N) feels her cheeks flush with heat. “We did have lunch today.”

“And did you have a good time?”

“Uh… yeah it was nice.” Natasha has never asked questions like this before and (Y/N) isn’t entirely sure what to make of it. “We had a really good conversation.”

“Oh?”

“Well, I mean, it’s always nice to talk to Steve. He’s been genuinely kind to me ever since he decided I wasn’t a threat.”

“Nice is definitely one way to describe him.” (Y/N) frowns, but Natasha continues. “It seems like you two are getting closer. He really seems to like you.”

She pauses and turns to look at Natasha, confused. “He’s friendly with me, sure. I think he just wants to make sure I’ve settled in okay, though.”

“Tell me, do you think he has lunch with his friends all the time?”

“He had lunch with you, Sam, and Tony two days ago.”

“That was a team meeting. Tony just wanted an excuse to order in. Steve even brought you leftovers after.”

“Huh.” Natasha stares at her, as if expecting something more. Surely she can’t be implying that Steve likes her. Can she? “Even if Steve does like me, and I’m not saying he does, it’s not like I’m going to be here forever. I’ll have to go back to my dimension eventually.”

“That’s it?”

“What else would there be? He’s great, I like talking to him, but I don’t belong here. Why would I let myself think any differently?”

Natasha looks disappointed, but in the way that a show didn’t end the way she wanted it to. (Y/N) watches as she momentarily presses her mouth into a thin line before sighing and getting back to work. “Fine.”

“Fine?”

“Yeah, fine.”

“Okay.”

“Finish stretching. We need to work on your form today. You’re powerful, but you can’t rely on that alone.”

------

Part 8

There we have it! More backstory for the Reader character and Natasha meddling in things she knows she shouldn't. Or maybe she should be? Who knows lmao

But! As always, I'd love to know what you thought of this chapter! Are Steve's lunch dates with the Reader cute? Does it seem like she's getting more comfortable with him, or intentionally keeping her distance? Is the Reader a little too good at compartmentalizing? Should Natasha try and get the Reader and Steve together or let the cards fall where they may? Be sure to reblog, commend, and/or shoot me an ask and tell me all about it!

Tag List:

@ghostlyhamlet, @claws-of-vibranium, @imagine-assembling-the-avengers, @buckysendoftheline, @ptprocrastination, @1950schick, @amayasymone23, @arfrona-and-marvel, @ek823, @fanaticfangirl001, @furrywerewolfcollector, @kissofvenom922, @dawn-phantomhive, @fangirlwithasweettooth, @mairhof1, @starryeyesbadguys, @trap-house-homiecide, @buckywhitewolfbarnes, @kaepm981, @howdoesoneadult, @pcdmesamidala, @thefandomplace, @sian22redux, @skeletoresinthebasement, @lady-thor-foster, @feelmyroarrrr, @jazzcutie, @gaytonystark, @hermionie-is-my-queen, @darling-loki, @geeksareunique, @nyxveracity, @lemonadeorange73, @sad-darksoul, @tofeartheunknown, @queenoftheunderdark, @avengerscompound, @patzammit, @otterlycanadian

This Fic:

Tony laughs. “Fine. Is Steve the reason you had a long night?”

“He might be.”

“You really know how to tell a story, (Y/N). You don’t skimp on detail.” She laughs. “So what happened?”

“He came to my room after he got back last night and I- hmm… well I might’ve dragged him into bed with me.”

“You didn’t,” he says, doing his best to sound scandalized.

She nods. “And we finally had that conversation I’ve been agonizing over for the last month this morning. It went surprisingly well, by the way. And then we fell asleep again until Steve had to leave for a meeting.”

“It went well?”

“It did,” she confirms. “Smashing success, even.”

“Wow, you work fast.”

(Y/N) nearly chokes. “Excuse me?”

“Oh come on, you spent the night together and your conversation was a smashing success. What is that, if not innuendo?”

She laughs. “You really think I could pull that off?”

“You think you couldn’t?”

“You think two people who think waiting almost five months before confessing feelings for each other is rushing into things are going to immediately have sex?”

“Hm, true. You do move at a glacial pace.”

“I wish I could be offended.” Tony chuckles. “It’s not like we did nothing, though.”

“Oh?”

“We kissed a bit.” She smiles and hides her face in her hands. “It was really nice.”

Tony grins and (Y/N) peeks through her fingers just in time to see. “Way to go, kid.”

She shakes her head. “Is it weird that I feel really… calm about this? Like I feel like I’m missing that giddy teenager feeling.”

“That calm is exactly what you should be feeling,” Tony says. (Y/N) meets his eyes, unsure, and Tony rounds the table to gently place his hand on her shoulder. “When you meet the right person, when you spend time with them, you should feel calm. Comfortable, and safe. That giddy teenager feeling is what professionals call anxiety.”

(Y/N) laughs. “Ah, thank you for your wisdom.”

“After watching you freak out for a month, it’s the least I can do. And I’ve been through this. The finding someone amazing and wondering why the butterflies aren’t there. Except I tried to sabotage it and you definitely shouldn’t do that.”

Her eyes go wide. “Shit, Tony. How’d it turn out?”

“Well, we’re still together, so I’d say it turned out pretty good.”

“Okay, good.” She sighs. “What’re you working on today?”

He pats her on the shoulder and moves back to the other side of the table, saying, “We’ve stalled a bit on our progress with the transport. I’ve been trying my hand at the calculations Banner was working on last week.” He taps around on his display and sighs. “We’re doing our best, but I can’t say there’s a true end in sight for this project.”

“You seem frustrated.”

“I am. We’re not working with a strict deadline, but it is time sensitive.” Tony scowls. “We’re not even close to running tests with this thing.”

“What if it wasn’t time sensitive?”

“Hm?” He frowns at his work. “What’s with the sudden change of heart?”

“I don’t know if it really is sudden,” she says. “I’ve been here for almost five months and this is the longest I’ve gone without having to use the full scope of my powers. You and Bruce have made sure there are no workplace accidents, Natasha has been weirdly nice the entire time I’ve known her, Wanda, Vision, and I have been surprisingly fast friends, and then… And then there’s Steve, and everything that comes with him.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning, unless you want to get rid of me, I have a whole host of reasons to stay and put down roots.”

“Is this what you and Bruce were talking about a couple weeks back?”

“Not in such specific terms, but yeah. How that some time’s past and Steve’s back, I feel more confident talking about it in a more concrete way.”

“Well, I’m not gonna kick you out, and I own the building, so you’re welcome to stay as long as you’d like.”

(Y/N) chuckles. “Thank you.”

“Might have to get you a social security number if you’re sticking around though, considering you don’t technically exist.”

“That’d probably be smart.”

“Do you still want us to work on the transport?” he asks.

“I figured it’d be a puzzle you’d feel compelled to solve.”

“Aw, you know us so well.”

She shrugs. “I’m a quick study.”

“Will you use it once it’s finished?”

“I think so. There are people back home that I can’t just leave in the dark. They deserve to know I’m alive, at the very least.”

Tony smiles and continues with his data input. “Very responsible.”

“Thank you.”

“For what it’s worth, we do enjoy having you here. There’s no pressure for you to make a final decision right now.”

“I know. I appreciate you giving me the choice, though. I’ve never really had the final say in anything before.”

“Then I’m honored we can be your first.”

(Y/N) laughs. “If you need help with anything today, I’m happy to offer my assistance.”

“If something comes up, you’ll be the first to know.”

“Can you guys just let this go?” Steve asks, voice tinged with a whine.

Natasha leans back in her seat and folds her arms. “No.”

“We can’t tease (Y/N) about this,” Clint says. “She’s too nice-”

“She’s also a guest,” Natasha adds.

“Exactly. So that just leaves you, Cap.”

Steve pinches the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger and sighs. Sam claps him on the shoulder. “Come on, man. We tease because we care.”

“And because you react.” Clint shakes his head. “Really, how have you not learned by now?‘

“Honestly, I should’ve.”

“Give him a break.” Bucky smiles at Steve from across the table. “He’s just missin’ his girl. We’ve been stuck in here for hours.”

“You used to be so patient,” Natasha says.

“Wh-It’s been four hours!” Steve splutters.

“Like I said,” Natasha smirks. “So patient.”

Steve rolls his eyes and shoves his chair back from the table and stands up. “We’re done here, I’m gonna go.” He’s met with a chorus of ooh’s and he scowls. “I haven’t eaten anything today. And maybe I do want to see (Y/N). Sue me! We were gone for a month.”

Bucky laughs and gets up from his seat. “I’ll join you.”

Steve sighs and leaves the conference room. Bucky follows shortly after and is soon walking beside Steve down the hallway. Steve beelines for the elevator and Bucky just barely slips in before the doors close. Bucky watches the floor numbers and frowns.

“Where are we going?”

“(Y/N)’s in the lab,” Steve answers.

“Ah.” Bucky leans against the elevator wall. “You really want to see her, huh?”

“Mhm.” Steve shoves his hands into his pockets. “I know I was impatient.”

“You were,” Bucky agrees. “But I get it.”

Steve sighs. “I just want to make the most of it while she’s here.”

“You think she’s just gonna disappear?”

“You know she’s not from this dimension. She’s worried she’ll have to go back at some point, and it’s a fear I understand. If she might not be here in a month, I want to have as much time together as we can get.”

“Huh. Y’know, it’s been a really long time since I’ve seen you this invested in someone.”

Steve’s face goes red. “Yeah, well… she’s worth it.”

“Good. I’m glad.”

“You wanna meet her?”

“Meet the girl who made it worth risking Natasha’s wrath? Absolutely.”

Steve laughs and steps up to the doors as they approach their floor. “I’ll admit, it was worth it.”

“Can’t say I’d feel the same. She did her best to embarrass Clint n’ I the first time she caught us in the same bed.”

“You were on the jet, Buck. I don’t blame her.”

“It’s not like we had sex! We were just cuddling.”

“It was a shared space.”

Bucky shakes his head. “No winning against you.”

“Consider it payback for the teasing.”

They step out of the elevator and find the doors to the lab held open. Just past the threshold, Tony stands with his back to the doors, pointing to something they can’t see. He shakes his head and gestures again.

“What’s he doing?” Bucky asks.

“I got no idea.”

Steve steps into the lab, Bucky right on his heels, and finds Tony and (Y/N) rearranging lab equipment. Tony is directing traffic and (Y/N) s on the other side of the lab, large box of scrap held aloft as she positions another with her foot.

“Enough with the feng shui shit, Tony. Can’t we just put these in the corner?”

“I thought you, of all people, would appreciate a little organization in the lab.”

“I’m not saying I don’t. Just that I’ve been holding this crate for the better part of twenty minutes and we still need to clear the floor so you can sort out the footprint for the transport.”

“Oh, come on, you’re strong. Twenty minutes is nothing.”

“It’s not nothing. It’s annoying.”

Tony laughs and directs her to put the crates next to a set of drawers along the wall. As she shoves the crate on the floor with her foot and drops the second on top Bucky steps up beside Steve.

“You weren’t kidding when you said she was strong,” he says.

“She can lift more than that.”

“Damn, really?”

“Mhm.” Steve points to the machinery along the wall. “From what Bruce tells me, she moved all of those when they were rearranging the lab a couple days ago.”

“Guess they didn’t finish.”

Steve shrugs. (Y/N) catches sight of him and immediately crosses the room, grinning.

“Hey!” Steve smiles and draws her into a hug. “How was the meeting?”

“Boring,” Steve says. “Has Tony been behaving?”

“As well as he can.”

“Should I be offended?” Tony asks.

“Only if you want to be.”

Steve laughs. “There’s someone I want you to meet.”

(Y/N) steps away from Steve just enough to see Bucky. She meets his eyes, smiles, and extends her hand to him.

“You must be Bucky,” she says.

Bucky readily shakes her hand. “And you’re (Y/N).”

“I am.”

“How’d you know who I was?”

“You don’t look too different from the Bucky Barnes in my dimension.” She bobs her head from side to side. Also doesn’t hurt that you’re one of the few people close to Steve that I hadn’t met yet.“

“Huh.” Bucky glances at Steve. “He did say you were smart.”

“Aw,” she looks up at Steve, still smiling, “Listing off all my virtues to your friends? Gross.”

Steve shrugs. “He asked.”

“Have I lived up to your expectations so far?”

“I’d say so,” Bucky answers. “Your hair is shorter than I thought it’d be, though.”

“Well, it burned up on entry, so I had to start from scratch.”

The expression on Bucky’s face says he’s not sure how to react. But, Tony laughs, Steve snorts, and the sly smile playing at (Y/N)’s lips lets him know that he’s allowed to be in on the joke. He smiles and shakes his head.

“I can see why he likes you.”

Her expression softens. “That’s a huge compliment. Especially coming from you.”

“I’m surprised you hold my opinion in such high regard.”

“You’re Steve’s people. Approval from you, someone who knows him so well, is important to me. And to him, I’m sure, though he probably wouldn’t say it outright.”

Steve tries to protest, but Bucky interrupts, saying, “No, she’s right. Outside of work, you do look for approval from others.”

“Buck-”

“Not everyone,” Bucky clarifies. “Just the people closest to you.”

“Everyone does it,” (Y/N) says. “It’s part of adding someone new to your circle. The fact that you’re an Avenger means you need to be more cautious about it. Doubly so when deciding when or not it’s worth dating someone.”

Steve blinks in surprise. “You’ve really given this some serious thought.”

(Y/N) taps her temple. “Perks of overthinking.”

“She’s really good at that, by the way,” Tony says. His phone pings and his face lights up when he sees the message. “Looks like I suddenly have dinner plans.”

“Oh really?” (Y/N) asks.

“Really.” Tony heads for the hallway. “Close up when you’re done.”

“Have fun!” (Y/N) calls.

He waves over his shoulder and disappears into the hall without looking back. (Y/N) moves deeper into the lab and puts a few tools back in the proper drawers.

“How was work?” Steve asks.

“Good! Tony’s working on the math right now so Bruce can have a couple days off. There wasn’t much for me to do so I mostly just hung out.”

“Do you hang out with Tony often?” Bucky asks.

“No, but I offered myself up as a human forklift while you guys were gone because I needed a distraction.” She grabs her tablet on her way back to Steve. “He was more than happy to put me to work.”

“And the work is… good?” Bucky sounds doubtful.

“Well, compared to my last job, this is practically paradise.” Bucky seems confused and (Y/N) looks to Steve. “You didn’t tell him about Reed?”

Steve shrugs. “Not in depth.”

“Ah, well, I used to get blown up at least once a month back home. Shuffling crates around and moving lab equipment is nothing.”

“Huh.” Bucky’s phone buzzes and he sighs when he reads the notification. “Shit, looks like Clint already got himself into trouble.”

“How? He’s been home for less than twenty four hours.”

“He’s Clint, Stevie. He always finds a way.”

“Right.”

“I should probably go.” He extends his hand to (Y/N) and she readily shakes it. “It was great meeting you.”

“You too!”

“I’ll see both of you later.”

He claps Steve on the shoulder on his way out of the lab and heads for the elevator.

“Does Clint get into trouble often?”

Steve sighs. “Habitually.”

“Sounds about right.”

Steve hums. “Would you want to get dinner?”

“Sure! What’d you have in mind?”

“I was thinking we could go out.”

A slow smile shapes (Y/N)’s features. “Like a date?”

“Yes,” he smiles and reaches out a hand to her, which (Y/N) immediately takes, “Exactly like a date.”

“That sounds wonderful.”

“How do you feel about Italian?”

“Positive,” she says, gently tugging him towards the hallway. “Very positive.”

------

Part 13

And there we have it! Bucky and the Reader have officially met. I think this is the beginning of a lovely friendship, if I may say so. But, then again, this is the first of, hopefully, many interactions moving forward. I don't control what happens, I just put it on the page and make sure everything is spelled correctly lmao.

But! That said, I'd love to know what y'all thought of this chapter! Do you think Bucky approves of Steve and the Reader character's relationship? Do you think Tony rearranges the lab too much? Is Tony happy for the Reader and Steve? Does he give her good advice about her feelings? Are they already worrying too much about being separated? Be sure to reblog, comment, and/or shoot me an ask and tell me all about it!

Tag List:

@ghostlyhamlet, @claws-of-vibranium, @buckysendoftheline, @ptprocrastination, @1950schick, @amayasymone23, @arfrona-and-marvel, @ek823, @fanaticfangirl001, @furrywerewolfcollector, @kissofvenom922, @dawn-phantomhive, @fangirlwithasweettooth, @mairhof1, @starryeyesbadguys, @trap-house-homiecide, @buckywhitewolfbarnes, @kaepm981, @howdoesoneadult, @pcdmesamidala, @thefandomplace, @sian22redux, @skeletoresinthebasement, @lady-thor-foster, @feelmyroarrrr, @jazzcutie, @gaytonystark, @hermionie-is-my-queen, @darling-loki, @geeksareunique, @nyxveracity, @lemonadeorange73, @sad-darksoul, @tofeartheunknown, @queenoftheunderdark, @avengerscompound, @patzammit, @otterlycanadian

This fic: