The Super-Soldier's Engineer | Steve Rogers x OC

008 | Peggy Carter

I'd been working in the lab for an hour or two, unaware of the time as the sound of the elevator doors rolling open reverberated around the room.

"Hi, yeah. I'm coming back up," I called out as I maintained my position at Bruce's desk, not looking up as I flicked through his notes on the serum, a bottle of ethanol sat beside me.

"No need," Steve smiled as he stepped out of the elevator, a bottle of champagne in one hand and a plate of snacks in the other. His voice made me jump slightly as I spun around in the chair.

"Hi-" I cleared my throat and anxiously ran a hand through my hair, "Hi. I was expecting Nat or Bruce or someone," I smiled as a small flush spread across my cheeks.

Steve shrugged as he gave me a sheepish smile, walking over and taking a seat beside me, "I just thought you might be hungry. Or want some company, or something. Or I can just go again, that's fine, too. I can see you're busy-"

"Steve, it's okay. I appreciate it. And you can stay if you want, not that I'm up to anything particularly exciting," I spoke as I watched him, in awe over his little ramblings.

"More exciting than the party," Steve laughed, leaning over my shoulder slightly as he peered at the notes, "What're you doing?"

"Well, I just got thinking earlier about if we could make that serum into an ingestible? Like maybe you could drink it, or take a tablet, before you go out and it'll give you some resistance or fast healing or something. It's just a thought. At the moment Bruce's idea of creating sort of a injection from it seems more reasonable, but alas," I shrugged, Steve staring up at me with total bewilderment, an adoring smile gracing his lips as he listened intently. My eyes moved to meet his pearly blues as I giggled at his expression, "In one ear and out the other, huh?"

"Maybe a little bit," Steve beamed as I giggled, the super-soldier resting his chin in his palm as he glanced back to the notes. The two of us went quiet as we looked to Bruce's book, silently reading to ourselves for a few minutes.

"Hey, Bonnie," Steve's voice broke the silence - I think that's the first time he's called me Bonnie? And I sure did love the way my name rolled off his tongue. I finished reading the sentence I was on before looking up to him, giving him a small smile as I hummed in response.

"I'm sorry for not being nicer to you," Steve pressed his lips into a slight smile as he watched me, his chin still resting in his palm.

"It's okay. I don't blame you for being wary of outsiders," I reassured before looking back to Bruce's notes, thinking as my eyes glossed over the page, struggling to take in any words as my thoughts processed.

"It's a bit more than that," Steve took a deep breath as he took ahold of the side of my seat, carefully spinning it to face him. I shifted my gaze up to meet his as my eyes were torn from the book.

"What is it then?" I shrugged, keeping my small smile as I watched him. Although Nat had already somewhat enlightened me, I didn't want Steve knowing that I had some suspicion of why he didn't like me.

"Um. You see... maybe I should just show you," Steve spoke quietly as he pulled a small compass from his pocket, flipping it open as his eyes met Peggy's, the portrait of her still perfectly intact.

"Oh, she's beautiful, Steve," I smiled as I looked at the small cutout, resting one of my hands on his forearm, giving it a comforting squeeze.

"She was smart, too," Steve mumbled before he smiled to himself, thinking back on his fond memories of Peggy as I rubbed circles on his forearm with my thumb. "Like you," he nodded as his eyes shifted to look at me.

A small pout spread across my lips as I attempted to hide it with a smile, my trembling bottom lip giving the facade away. I shook my head as I glanced between Steve and the photo of Peggy, his own eyes becoming a little glossy as he watched me.

"You just remind me a lot of her. It scared me at first," he spoke quietly as he looked back to the small portrait, smiling as Peggy smiled back at him. "You two share the same birthday, you know," he informed me before letting out a light chuckle, "That really scared me."

I hummed quietly as I wrapped an arm around Steve, rubbing his back as I rested my cheek on his shoulder, attempting to comfort him while gazing down at the photo of Peggy, "9th of April, huh?"

Steve nodded as he gently rested his head on top of mine, continuing to quietly speak, a small tear rolling down his cheek, "You remind me of the best parts of her."

Pouting again, I didn't even try to hide it this time as I looked up to Steve, gently wiping his tears before wrapping him up in a tight hug, "I'm sorry, Steve."

"Don't be," he hummed as he wrapped an arm around my body, reciprocating the hug as he moved his gaze back to the compass, watching it for a moment before flicking it shut and pocketing it. "It scared me at first, but I think I like having you around," he mumbled into my hair as he gave my body a small squeeze.

"You think?" I quietly giggled, attempting to lighten the mood as I shifted to get a better look at him, still keeping him secured in a tight hug.

Steve chuckled and gave me another squeeze before letting go, "I like having you around," he rephrased, his gaze lingering on me as a giddy smile spread across his lips.

I laughed again at his expression, letting go before giving him a small shove, "Do you think we should go back upstairs? Sam and Nat probably think we've snuck off. I can just hear them now."

Steve laughed as he rolled his eyes before looking to the champagne and snacks, "We could always have our own party down here?"

Beaming, I picked up a sausage roll and the champagne bottle, mumbling a "cheers" before taking a swig from it. Steve raised both brows as he chuckled, starting to snack as he watched me.

"Just cause you can't get tipsy doesn't mean I can't,"
I winked, leaning into his side as I looked around the lab.

"Don't over-do it. I doubt Bruce would be too amused if he found you passed out on the floor of his lab," Steve laughed as he slung an arm around my shoulders.

"I doubt you'd leave me passed out on the floor," I giggled, resting my head on his shoulder and taking another swig from the bottle as the elevator doors rolled open.

"Don't test your luck," Steve teased as he continued laughing, giving me a small squeeze.

Nat stepped in, pausing and taking a moment to just watch as Steve and I made quiet banter before erupting into laughter again. She smiled at the two of us, just grateful to see Steve enjoying himself. Nat contemplated leaving us for a second before quietly clearing her throat, giving us an apologetic smile as we abruptly separated, spinning to face her as our cheeks flushed.

"Sorry for interrupting, it's just getting pretty late and Tony wants you two up and early tomorrow morning," she spoke sincerely, her voice laced with a subtle regret at interrupting the blissful situation.

"It's okay. You're probably right," I smiled at Nat before placing the champagne bottle back on the table and looking to Steve, lowering my voice, "Thank you for coming down. And thank you for trusting me."

Steve just returned my smile, giving my back a gentle rub as I leant over to kiss his cheek. I placed a soft kiss to his skin, his stubble tickling my lips as his cheeks flushed a deeper pink. Standing from my chair, I giggled quietly at him, "Night night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite, Capt'n."

Steve chuckled through a sheepish smile as he gazed up at me for a moment before leaning back against the desk, "Goodnight, Bonnie."

Nat waved goodnight to Steve as I made my way over to her, linking arms with her and stepping into the elevator with a broad smile, pressing the number to our floor before giving Steve a quick wave, of which he reciprocated with a nod and giddy smile.

"You're so smitten," Nat whispered as the doors rolled closed, the two of us starting to giggle as I gave her a little shove.

"Am not."