Summary: Steve's at a ball in your honor at the behest of one of your brothers. It's here that his life may change in ways he never considered.
Warnings: none
A/N: This story is based on a reverse Cinderella withe some inspiration from the animated Anastasia and maybe a smidge of Enola Holmes (sibling dynamics at least). It's a story that's on my list to revisit and expand into something fun.
Steve Rogers Masterlist | Character Masterlist
Steve missed you.
It didn't matter he hadn't seen you in nearly ten years. Even after such a long time, he still missed you.
That's how much you'd changed his life in such a short amount of time. Less than an afternoon, and you'd captured his heart and his mind from that point on.
You'd saved him that day, and he never got the chance to thank you.
Your eldest brother had whisked you away before he could. He'd been adamant on giving you the education your parents wanted for you, something befitting a young lady compared to the heathen you'd become.
Steve hadn't thought you much a heathen. No, you were more like an angel. His angel.
His scrawny legs couldn't keep up with your brother's carriage, but he tried. Boy, he tried.
Seeing the carriage pull you further out of sight, he'd used what little air he had left to shout your name.
He hadn't thought it would be enough, but it must've. You glanced back. Your eyes met his even as he stumbled along the cobbled street. A sad smile settled upon your lips that moved but he couldn't make out the words. Your hand came up in farewell, and he returned it the best he could. His knees buckled beneath him and sent him down for the final time, his head dropping to his chest.
His stepfamily would be waiting, he knew.
The thought of returning to them churned his stomach. All the work you'd done cleaning him up. Your sweet smile and righteous anger at them would soon flame out, becoming but a distant memory.
Yet what choice did he ultimately have?
No one would take in someone like him. That's something that had been drummed into him since the day his mama died. He was good and stuck, and he knew it even as he hated admitting it.
A hand came to gently rest on his sunken shoulder that day.
The same hand gently clapped that same shoulder ten years later, pulling him out of his thoughts.
"Steven, I would've expected you to be out there dancing," his benefactor said, his voice only slightly tinged with amusement. "I didn't get you the finest clothing my money could buy for you to sit in the shadows."
Steve met his benefactor's gaze and bit back a groan. That slight tinge of amusement in his voice was nothing compared to the mischief in his benefactor's eyes. Shaking his head, Steve retorted, "I'm not sitting in the shadows, sir. I'm simply waiting to find the right partner."
"Wouldn't dancing accomplish the same? How can you find the right partner if you don't, shall I say, try them out?" His benefactor's gaze swept across the room then. His lips perking up at the corners after a moment as he added, "Or maybe it's that you already know who you want and fear making a fool of yourself?"
Following his benefactor's gaze, Steve's entire body stiffened.
Even with a mask in place and ten years having passed, a flash of recognition zipped through him. Your hair might've been longer than the last time he'd seen you, but the color remained the same. The softer lines of your face have also shifted, but the overall shape was still so clearly yours. Then, there were your eyes. They held a bit more knowledge, but they didn't lose their merry twinkle or that spark of mischief as you gazed around the room.
"Shall I reintroduce you then?" His benefactor asked, clearly enjoying this moment. "After all, I'm sure my dear sister would love to see the man you've become since that day."
Steve shook his head. "It's not necessary, sir. A street urchin like me would never be worthy of her company."
"Ah, I see my elder brother got to you. Even after so many years, you've taken his words to heart."
There was a warm sympathy in his benefactor's voice, something Steve didn't really want, but he had no recourse. It was true he'd grown into an acceptable man within society, but he'd never be considered of the genteel class. While he might be worthy of a woman in his lower ranks, he'd never be worthy of someone like you.
"Do you know why I took you in after her departure?"
Steve shook his head.
"Aside from that despicable man you called stepfather, I saw fire in you. I saw an intelligence that even the most powerful men in the upper ranks wished they had. I even saw the way you protected my sister that day when she confronted your stepfather and brothers. I witnessed the severe blows you'd taken in her stead. Already bloodied and bruised from another fight, you still stood up to them so my sister wouldn't have to experience it."
Pink suffused Steve's cheeks.
This had to be the most effusive defense he'd ever heard uttered about him. To hear it from his benefactor's mouth, it threatened to humble him in ways that nothing ever had before. The fact it wasn't lost on him how much his benefactor admired him stood out the most.
As if to further that admiration, his benefactor turned towards him and grinned wider, adding, "It's for these very reasons that I raised you up as I have. You are a respectable man, Steven Rogers, and I find you quite worthy of my sister. Should you decide to pursue her and win her over, that is. I can only get you so far in her eyes. It'll be up to you to earn her trust, and dare I say, her heart. If you earn that, then you'll be the richest among us."
Prepared to ruminate on his benefactor's kind words and even his approval, Steve wasn't prepared for the older man to grab his arm and haul him across the ballroom. His benefactor didn't stop until they both stood just to the right of you and your friend.
"There you are, dear sister," his benefactor said with a wide grin on his features. "I'd like to introduce you to my assistant, Grant Rogers. He's proving quite shy this evening, so I brought him over in the hopes you might share a dance with him."
Hearing his middle name used instead of his first, Steve almost missed the speculative gleam that entered your eyes. The way you studied him had him almost fidgeting within the loosening hold of his benefactor. His lack of experience with women did him little good in this instance as he awaited whatever assessment you made of him.
He didn't have a clue that you'd recognized him as he had you. Despite the distance of the room, you'd seen his blue eyes. They were quite distinctive. No other guy you knew had ever had blue eyes quite like his. Those eyes had haunted your dreams for years. All of him had though you'd been quite unprepared for the way his skinny body to have filled out as well as it had.
When you smiled, his heart skipped a beat.
His knees nearly buckled when you nodded, saying, "It'd be my pleasure as long as the gentleman is willing. Are you willing, sir?"
The question stole his breath. Your eyes grew big, pleading, as if he were doing you the greatest favor, not the other way around.
Whether he nodded or not, he wouldn't ever remember.
But he'd never forget the way your hand felt as it slipped around his arm, settling in the slight crook of his elbow. It felt as though it belonged there even as you tugged him gently toward the dance floor.
"Follow my lead," you whispered so only he'd hear, but it was enough to have him swearing fealty to you and only you.
He'd follow you anywhere if you asked him to.
The dance steps proved simple enough as he kept pace with you.
It was only when you smiled at him that he'd miss a step, nearly stamping on your toes once, but he slowly got the hang of it. The song came to an end too soon, but he needn't fear as you asked, "One more? We did start that one near its end."
The flimsy excuse was enough to make his smile stretch to match yours.
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Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
✓ Live Streaming✓ Interactive Chat✓ Private Shows✓ HD Quality✓ Free Actions
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
So here’s how the story goes: in a little kingdom of littler consequence, a wealthy and powerful young man is visited by an old, decrepit beggar and his raccoon husband. The beggar asks the young man for shelter from the coming storm, and the wealthy man not only grants it to him, he welcomes the beggar and his raccoon into his home as honored guests. He places them beside him at his table, gives up his own place by the fire, and has his most comfortable guest room prepared for them
Well, we all know how this story ends, right? The beggar, to the surprise of no one, is in fact a powerful old fae, and he is so moved by the wealthy man’s kindness and hospitality that he resolves to grant him great favor in return.
Now, at the time, there is in this kingdom also a princess, who has resolved that she will marry only the person who brings her the golden goose who brings back summer to the kingdom every year. Why she wanted it was anyone’s guess, but one can only assume she was getting tired of suitors and sent them on a wild goose chase- oh, wait, wild goose chase. Little bit on the nose, don’t you think?
What? Oh, right. We all know how this story ends too- the wealthy man succeeds with the help of the old beggar and his raccoon husband, and marries the princess and eventually becomes king. In time, the princess gives birth to a son, a beautiful baby boy. The king, who has by this point grown quite close to the old beggar, names the old man as the prince’s godfather and gives him a home in the castle.
And the old man is so moved by the king’s kindness- not just to the old beggar but to his subjects as well- that the kingdom enters into a golden age under his rule.
Reverse Cinderella thing that pleases me: the six paragraph prologue that alludes to protagonist’s dad capturing a minor deity to woo the prince that is never touched on again then three paragraphs later it’s like “and then the story got interesting” like I’m sorry can you go back to the minor deity capturing because I thought that sounded pretty interesting in fact
