#s.r.

But when you do see him?? It's like the clouds have parted. Your eyes light up, straightening up in your seat as you wave happily, not caring that you're jostling JJ and Garcia as you do.

"Spence! You're here! I was trying- trying to call you but," You frown again, "my phone is being weird." The frown can't stay for long, though, as you climb haphazardly over JJ's lap in order to stand in front of Spencer, lauching yourself at him with a giggle.

He can barely keep his balance, widening his stance a little before running a hand up and down your back with an indulgent smile.

"How much have you had, angel?" He stares pointedly at Elle as he speaks to you, who raises her palms in a repentant gesture. You mutter something into his shirt, words muffled as you don't seem willing to take your face out of his chest just yet.

"What was that?" "I dunno, Spence. Can we kiss?"

He flushes, and no matter how drunk they are, JJ and Garcia can always pick up on an instance where they can tease him. They giggle behind their hands, unsubtly whispering about how they've got to tell Morgan about this. Spencer can't bring himself to care, though, not when he's got you in his arms, your chin propped up against his chest as you look up at him pleadingly.

He can't help himself, bending down painfully at the neck to plant a kiss on your lips.

After making sure Elle is alright shepherding the other two home, he sweeps you out of the bar, bundling you up in his cardigan before putting you in the passenger seat of his tiny car. He's not a huge driver, so he has less of his attention on you than he'd like, but you don't seem to notice, chattering away mindlessly in the passenger seat about how the music was sooo good tonight and your friends are so cool spence i might steal them (you have).

Once you make it back to your apartment complex, he half-drags you into the lobby before giving up and hoisting you onto his back piggy-back style. It's surprisingly effective, not only to get you moving faster, but the sight of his brown hair right in front of your face shuts you up real quick.

He doesn't really realise why until he catches a glimpse of you in the elevator mirror, and the view of your eyes trained fixedly on his hair, clumsy hands trying to be gentle as you braid some of it, has his eyes practically turning into hearts.

Once he finally gets the two of you into the apartment, he makes sure you're holding on tight as he undoes your strappy shoes, placing them in the shoe rack overflowing with mismatched pairs. After toeing off his converse with nowhere near as much care, he maneuvers the two of you into the bathroom, depositing you on the bathroom counter. You whine softly at the loss of his hair in your hands, but his tolerant smile has you melting, looking up at him with a dopey smile.

Your adoration nearly has you forgetting to process what he's doing. He's darting around the messy bathroom, grabbing bottle after bottle until his arms are full.

"Spence, what are you doing?" The drinks have clouded your processing skills, and all you want to do his hold him and go to sleep.

He shoots you a small smile, depositing the stuff on the counter next to you before approaching you, cotton pad in hand.

"I've gotta take off your makeup, you know you'll feel uncomfortable tomorrow if you go to sleep with it on," Your eyes are glassy, looking up at him as he swipes at your face with the utmost of care. All the emotions that you harbour for him seem to bubble up inside you, until you can't take it any more.

If you were more lucid, you'd write him a poem. Maybe organise a fireworks show, or buy him a star. But, you're still held in the throes of alcohol, so it's all you can do to blurt out: "You're so so pretty Spence, I love you."

Despite the gesture not being nearly as extravagant as he deserves, blood rushes to his face, and he ducks his head a little as he kisses your forehead wordlessly. He continues to wipe at your face, much gentler than you would, revelling in the feeling of your soft skin under his hand, calloused from his gun.

Finally, once he's done, he helps you out of your dress, handing you one of your pyjama pants and a shirt of his to wear to bed.

As soon as you're dressed, looking achingly cozy perched on the counter, hair mussed and clothes draping over your form, he helps you down to your feet with hands firmly on your waist. He wraps his arms around you from behind, waddling the two of you to the bedroom and tucking you into the covers.

At long last, he slides into bed next to you, giving you some space in case you're overheating still. You can't have that, though, and shuffle along the mattress until you're tucked into his side. Falling asleep almost instantly, you push your head into the crook of his neck, and he buries his face in your hair, inhaling deeply and whispering into the darkness,

Luke knew he shouldn’t have listened to Garcia. The minute he parked his car, Luke felt like he was invading Spencer’s privacy.  Garcia had tracked Spencer’s phone to a small café that they have never seen before. It was close to Quantico but not on their route to the office. Nor Spencer’s route. How did he find this? How did he get here? Spencer doesn’t drive and this isn’t exactly walking distance.

“Oh! Oh! Look!” Penelope slapped Luke’s arm and he winced. And Luke turned his attention towards where Garcia was pointing. It was Spencer. He was sitting at one of the tables with a book in hand. He looked normal, nothing that would alert Luke.

A woman walks in to the café and walks towards where Spencer was sitting. He looked up from his book and smiled at her. She leans in before sitting down and …

“Oh my god. Oh my god. Did they just kiss? Did you just see that? Because I saw that.” 

“Yes, I saw it too Garcia.” Luke rolled his eyes at her excitement while masking his own. He felt happy for the kid. He has had a couple of rough years and he looks genuinely happy. Spencer hasn’t stopped looking at her since she walked in. His smile hasn’t left his face. Even his body language was relaxed. He just looked comfortable. 

“What’s the plan?” Penelope asked.

“What’s the plan? You are the one who dragged me here. And you didn’t have a plan?” 

Luke joked.

“I thought we had to save him from, I don’t know, the mafia or something. I didn’t know that our boy wonder had his own girl wonder.”

“Well, it was sorta obvious.”

“Excuse me newbie. I am not a profiler, I am just a techie.”

“But you work with profilers, and you sorta do some profiling so how didn't notice this is beyond me.”

“You know what Alvez? I am never telling you anything. I knew I should have brought Emily.”

“She would have said the same thing I said.”

“Absolutely not. She is an angel. You are just a pain in the ass. Why did I think it was a good idea to bring you into this?”

“Because nobody else would indulge you and your adventures.” Luke rebutted before being startled by a voice.

“Garcia? Luke?” Asked Spencer while holding hands with the mysterious woman. Luke and Penelope hadn’t realized that the happy couple had left the café and Spencer noticed his friends in the car. Now they were caught red handed. 

Luke rolled his window down while Penelope gave the couple a smile. She might be regretting tracking Spencer’s phone.

The mystery woman smiled at the nosy friends. She looked amused at the situation while Spencer looked like he wanted the ground to open up under his feet.

“Hey mighty professor……” Garcia started to say.

“What are you both doing here? Did you track my phone?!”

“In my defense, you bought an Iphone….” Garcia said. The mysterious woman chuckled at her statement. 

“Well, better late than never. I guess.” The woman stated. Spencer sighed and rubbed his eyes. The woman gave him a soft smile and rubbed his arm to calm him down.

“Garcia. Luke. Meet Y/N, my girlfriend.” Garcia squealed so hard that Luke had to cover his ears.

“Hello beautiful. It is soooo nice to meet you.” Y/N laughed at her excitement. She was just like Spencer described her. 

“Nice meeting you too.” Y/N said to her. Suddenly, Y/N’s phone started to ring. She took it out of her purse.

“It's the department's secretary. I have to take this.” She said letting go of Spencer’s hand and walking to a less crowded place to answer the phone.

“She seems nice.” Luke pointed out to Spencer who was looking into the direction of where his girlfriend had gone.

________________________________________________________________

The send off was filled with tears and mothers yelling for their sons safe return. You don’t remember if Steve cried, too busy focusing on your own tears that clouded your vision. You remember Bucky’s mother holding onto him for almost up until he boarded the giant, dark grey ship. You remembered Becca sobbing loudly next to Steve. You remember the way, after his mother letting him go, how he held you. It was tight and all consuming around your smaller frame, his right hand tangled deep into your hair as his left arm wrapped around your waist and his hand was latched to your hip. You remembered how he breathed deeply, shushed you quietly as your violent tears soaked the shoulder of his forest green jacket.

“Don’t cry sweetheart, I promise everything will be fine,” Bucky mumbles into your hair. 

“You can’t promise that James. That’s not fair,” Your voice is scratchy as you cry out a reply. 

“You’re right, honey. But please promise me something? Promise that you’ll look after Steve for me, yeah?” He pulls away just a bit to stare down at your surely makeup stained face. 

“W-What?” your brows furrow, face tilting into the warmth of the soldiers hand. 

“It’s just... Steve’s always had me there, during his father, after his mother. I need you to make sure he stays out of trouble... Keep em’ safe for me alright? He’s kinda stupid,” The smile that adorned James’ face was beautiful as he spoke to you. 

You’d miss it immensely.

“Okay, yes-yes I promise.” You nod your head in agreement, pushing your cheek into his hand even more. 

A sharp intake of breath made its way to your lungs as you see a few tears run down Bucky’s face. You quickly wipe them away, leaving your hands to rest gently on each side of his face. 

“See you soon. Right doll?” His smile spoke volumes as he stared down at you. 

“Of course, Bucky. I’ll see you soon,” You answer, voice shaky and weak. 

With a small, lingering kiss to you forehead and one to each cheek, Bucky lets you go and steps back. With one final wave, he turns to the ship and begins to make the small journey to board. You feel the other three onlookers step beside you and gaze upon the heavy sea of green flowing onto the main deck. 

“Lord, please get my boy home safely. I beg of you,” Ms. Barnes words cut into your heart with a deep pity and you grab onto the sleeve of Steve’s shirt for stability. 

Your small group stands there, watching the process of everyone board as family after family says goodbye to their sons, fathers, brothers, husbands... 

At some point in time, you couldn’t remember when, James’ family went home, while you and Steve stayed at the docks until the sun had begun to set. You had stopped crying after you had run out of tears to shed, Steve being there to comfort you the whole time. He told you empty promises of James’ safe return in a couple months but you couldn’t believe him, you weren’t blinded to the fatalities and ugliness of war, for God’s sake your mother had been a nurse in the first World War, she had returned with an abundance of scars and lack of hearing, Your father wasn’t fortunate to be able to come home...

“You wanna get out of here kid?” Steve’s voice had broken you out of your seemingly endless train of thoughts as he quietly asked the question.

“I’m not too sure yet Stevie... You can go on home if you need, I know you get sick real easy and it’s gonna start gettin’ cold soon,” your voice was hoarse and painful as it ground its way from your lips. 

“Y/n, you know I would never leave you out here alone! Come on, let’s get some food in ya,” Steve stood up and held his hand out for you to take. 

You hesitated for a moment before allowing his hand to grab yours and stand up. 

________________________________________________________________

Steve ended up taking you to the same diner that Bucky had taken you to on your first (and sadly last) date. It was warm and quiet inside, the newest big band record playing from the jukebox filled the air quietly, creating a comforting environment that soothed your aching heart just the slightest bit. 

“You want some pancakes, Doll?” Steve asked, a small teasing smile gracing his lips. 

You pull a sad smile on to your face and shake your head, “Just a malt is fine Stevie, thank you,” 

“Comin’ right up,” he assured, lightly knocking on the table you had chosen for your visit before heading up to the counter to get the waitress’s attention. 

As you waited, your fingers messed with the hem of your dress, tugging at the soft material and running your fingers over the few wrinkles that had managed to set themselves into it. It wasn’t long until Steve had returned with too delicious malts in his hands. You both drank the majority of them in a comfortable silence, enjoying the warm atmosphere and  each others company. 

“He’ll be alright, I know he will,” Steve mumbles, his eyes gazing up at you and just for a second, it seemed as though Steve was trying to convince himself more than you. 

You reached across the table and placed your hand upon Steve’s, “You’re right, he will,” You tried to put as much confidence in your voice as you could muster, hoping it would be enough to calm you friend. 

“Are you ready to go?” 

You nodded in agreement, Steve wasting no time in standing up and offering you his hand like the gentlemen he was. “Thank you Stevie,” 

“No problem doll,” he smiles gently, removing his hand from yours and placing it lighting on your back.

The walk back to your apartment, you assumed, would have been uneventful, until Steve had seen a recruitment center, making his feet stutter in their movements. 

“Y/n your apartment is just down the block right?” he asked absentmindedly. 

A sigh escaped your lips before you could even think about responding, “Steven don’t-” 

“It’s fine, I’ll only be minute if you don’t feel comfortable walking the rest of the way,” Steve mumbled and began walking towards the entrance like he was in some sort of trance.

“Steven Rogers you will not sign up again. You’ve done it so many times your bound to get caught, you’ve never passed one before-” “Y/n my best friend just left on a boat to go save countless lives, I owe him this,” 

You hurriedly followed Steven into the mess of canopy and folding chairs, refusing to back down.

“You owe yourself your life Steve. This is ridiculous, there are so many other ways you can help,” Your hand reached out and gripped onto his arm, turning him towards you and staring into his eyes.

“What? Collecting scrap metal like little Timmy?” “Steve-” “ Working in a factory? Y/n men are laying down their lives. I got no right to do any less than them, that’s what you don’t get. It isn’t about me,”

Your brows scrunched in frustration, “right, cause you got nothing to prove? At all?” 

Steve’s jaw clenched as he glanced away from you, “You can’t stop me from doing this, Y/n. I’m sorry, you just can’t,” 

You let out another begrudged sigh and refrained from slapping the man in front of you, “Fine. I’m coming with you then,” 

“What? No you’re not, the war is no place for a girl like you,” You blanched at his words. 

“A girl like me? Steve I grew up with three brothers, I have two master's degrees, and I have more than enough knowledge on what goes on in war due to what my parents went through before I was born, so excuse me but you have your views completely backwards. Now, let’s get this done and over with so I can go home because today has been complete hogwash,” You huff, grabbing Steves wrist and dragging the frozen man over to the check-in. 

________________________________________________________________

Steve was now sitting on an exam table, shoes pushed off into the corner and sleeves rolled up. You sat in another corner, ankles neatly crossed and hands folded stiffly in your lap. A young doctor stood at the small counter set up, quietly going over the documents in hand. You had no doubt they would reject Steve, just like the other five recruitment offices. Steve had the longest list of illnesses and disabilities you had ever seen, when he had first introduced himself to you it was after he had suffered an asthma attack while walking around the market with Bucky. 

Everything seemed fine until a pretty nurse walked into the room, quietly whispering into the doctors ear and leaving with him in a hurry. You could see Steve stiffen from where you sat as he quickly looked over his shoulder, his eyes roaming to the sign above your head, stating that it was illegal to lie on your form. 

“Steve,” you bit quietly in warning, your ankles uncrossing and getting ready to dash out. 

“Yup, got it, leavin’, you were right,” he agreed immediately and jumped to put his shoes on. 

“You’re damn right I was,” you mutter under your breath, too stressed to remain ladylike. 

Another man enters the room and you both freeze from your escape, two sets of wide, cautious eyes stare at the intruder as he casually walks over to the counter.  “So... You want to go overseas, kill some Nazis,” the accent made the both of you perk up a bit as you stared in awe at the doctor in front of you. 

“Excuse me?” Steve asked, slightly taken aback. 

“Dr. Abraham Erskine, I represent the Strategic Scientific Reserve,” the man walks over to you, offering his hand for you to take, which you quickly do, shaking it firmly and quietly saying you name before the doctor moves back to Steve. 

“Steve Rogers,” the man introduces, stiffly taking the others hand. 

Doctor Erskine turns away and begins to shuffle through his stack of papers once more, “Where you from?” Steve asks suddenly. 

“Steven,” you gasp at his rude intrusion and the meaning behind it. 

“It’s alright miss, I live in Queens, but if it’s that important to you, I originate from Germany, this bothers you?” Erskine’s response is calm as he turns to Steve, giving a pointed look at the other man. 

Steve shakes his head quickly, “no,”

There’s a beat of silence before the doctor responds, “Where are you from, Mr. Rogers? Mmm? Is it New Haven? Or Paramus? Five exams in five different cities,” 

He had been figured out, a sigh escaped your lips and you clapped your hand to your forehead in a mixture of defeat and frustration. 

“That might be the wrong file-” “forget about the exams, I do not care about the exams... Five different tries, now that is something I am interested in. Do you want to kill Nazis?” the doctor asked, eyes locked onto Steve's. 

“Is this a test?”

 “Yes;” 

“I don’t want to kill anybody, I just...Don’t like bullies,” Steve answered, his voice quiet but firm. 

“There are many big men fighting this war, have been for a long time, maybe now what we need,” the doctor paused for a moment, glancing in your direction, then back to Steve, “maybe we need a little guy,” 

Your eyes shot up in shock, “You’re taking him?” 

“I can give him a chance,” the doctor answered. 

“I’ll take it,” Steve agreed quickly, hopping to his feet. 

Doctor Erskine turns to you, “Miss Y/L/N, you seem... Upset,” 

“I made a promise to someone I care deeply for that I would keep Steve from doing anything stupid,” you let out a dry laugh, standing up and looking to the man who had sealed Steve’s fate. 

“So that means it would likely be best you accompany him, yes?” 

“What?” Both yours and Steve voice ask in shock, glancing at each other then back to the seemingly crazy doctor. 

“It doesn’t take much to look up a last name in these files and see if any family has served before, Miss Y/L/N. Your parents are highly decorated service members, I can only hope you have inherited their gifts?” 

You smile proudly and look Doctor Erskine in the eyes, “Fully graduated with a Masters in molecular biochemistry and another in Bioengineering sir,” 

“Your parents must be very proud, you have a chance to build upon that pride. I have a place for you on my team,” 

“A-Are you serious? Would I be staying alongside Steve?” Your voice shook as you tried to understand your situation. 

“Assuming that he doesn’t waste his single chance, that is correct. So, are you truly willing to keep your promise to that person? Will you be joining us?” Both men stared back at you expectantly as your mind reeled to catch up with what was happening. 

It only took a moment to figure out your only option.