Marvel imagines pt.4

German is the mother tongue 🌿 Steve (request)

Song: Kali Uchis - telepatía.

Imagine; your mother tongue isn't English but German, you try your hardest and even though the avengers tease you in a friendly way, you still take it a little personal.

I did my research on what languages Cap actually speaks and I was actually surprised because apparently he knows English (duh), Russian (????!!! All the fanfics can go with the trash then)  Japanese (not that surprising actually idk why) Spanish, Italian and German, but let's pretend he doesn't know German in this.

Also I dug up my own German for this, I dusted it off just to be a show off. I live next door to Germany and het I don't speak it fluently while my language is pretty much the same, well not the same but you get me. Just like South- African, i think, it's pretty much the same but I also don't speak that.

Now that I think of it, I'm disappointed in myself, I know a little French but my only languages I can speak fluently are Dutch and English... I should start learning German, South-African and Russian, Russian because its a cool language and I always wanted to learn that... okay done with the rant... on with the story!

•••

You feel your head slowly tilting forward before you force it back again. It feels so heavy, just like your eyelids. You've been studying most nights, trying to learn English.

You don't show that it hurts, you never were someone to get easily offended. Especially around your own family. But lately it has been getting to you.

You keep trying to find the English words for something small like an animal or a thing. Last time you tried to say "squirrel" and it came out way different than you intended it to. They laughed a little too loud at that and it really hurt.

So you started learning English in the late hours of the night. With a dictionary and willpower you plow through that book every single night.

'Ugh... why is this so hard?' You sigh upon hearing your own accent deep through the sentence easily.

'Y/n? Is that you?' Steve asks, you gasp and fling the dictionary across the room, right into Steve's face.

'Oh my gosh! I am so sorry!' You apologise as you hurry out of your seat and hastily pick up the dictionary, but of course Steve is much quicker than you.

He reads the cover before you roughly rip it out of his hands. 'What's that?'

'Nothing...' you defend yourself, he sees right through it.

'Y/n...' he warns.

You sigh as you drop the book on the counter and take a seat at it. He sits down next to you. 'What's going on?' He asks.

'I am trying to better my English...so far no luck... I can't even say.. squi... squires.. squid?'

'Squirrel...' Steve answers for you. 'Exactly...'

'You shouldn't take it personal Y/n.. you never did before.. why now?'

'It always bothered me a little bit.. but the way they laughed at me... it felt different... it hurt more... so I want o learn normal English...'

'How is that going?' He asks, no judgement just a genuine question.

'It could be better...' you drop your head on the counter and Steve can't help but chuckle at your cuteness.

'Would you want my help?' He suggests and you turn your head to the side to look at him. 'Would you want to help me then?'

'Of course...' He smiles laying his arm around you.

'Okay... I'll pick a word... I'll say the German word for it and you'll tell me the English word that goes with it.. how does that sound?'

'Okay... go ahead...'

He opens the book and starts the search for German words. It means a lot that he is willing to help you like this. A lot more than he realises.

'Das Eichhörnchen...'

'I will shoot you Steve...in ze legs, because the shield is ze size of ze dinner plate and you're an idiot..' (if you get this we become instant besties)

He starts laughing and you can't help but laugh with him.

And that's the start of a language being learned both ways. You teach him German, and he teaches you English. This man knows French, Russian, Japanese, Spanish and Italian but somehow German never caught on and he's from the war in which most people spoke German in that area, but you're not one to judge quickly. He was a frozen lobster for 70 years.

'Its time for THE test...are you ready...' he asks exaggerating all over the place.

'Bring it on baby...' you pretend to desires for a moment.

You're goofing around of course. He's making it into some kind of million dollar question game show, not that you mind, it's quite endearing.

'Okay... the English word... for an animal that lives high up in the trees-'

'SQUIRREL!' You yell and his eyes go wide. 'Was that bad?' You ask, immediately shying away.

'No!, no that was good!' He cheers and sticks up both hands for you to high five.

'So, now that you won the question, what will you do with the grand prize?' He asks grabbing a kitchen tool and using it as a microphone.

'Well Mister Rogers... I would need to know the prize first...'

'The prize is a date with me...'

'In that case... pick me up at 6?' You reply. 'Wait really?'

'I won didn't I?' You smirk back at him. He stalks closer to you and pulls you out of your seat and into a bear hug.

'You know...' a very groggy and annoyed voice sounds from down the hall, feet shuffle closer to you. 'It's very cute and all.. this thing you got going on...but not AT 3AM IN THE NIGHT WHEN WE ARE TRYING TO SLEEP!' Tony rubs his tired eyes. 'Also I don't get your obsession with squirrels all of the sudden but it's weird..'

'Then you shouldn't have laughed, it's called karma...'

'Whatever... just stop making so much noise for the love of god..' He turns away from you again.

'And a good night to you Tony!' You yell after him. The shuffling stops and your eyes widen in realisation.

'GO GO GO!' You yell as you push Steve towards the elevator.