I Thought You Were Different: Part 7

Control

Steve stood in the hallway outside of your room for the longest time, trying to shake off his own reaction to seeing Robert in person, as well as trying to decide if he would be strong enough to do this. If he was questioning himself, how could he expect it of you? "That's ridiculous," he mumbled under his breath, "she's stronger than you any day." It led him to replay the years together, broken up, back together, broken up again, back together again, as new parents and now grandparents, fighting at each other's side, and all of the fears that came with every bit of it. There were maybe a few moments in there that he'd trade away just to spare the pain of them, but overall, his life was what he wanted in every way. Steve just wasn't sure if he could or even wanted to have it all play out for an audience any more than it had been at the time. The Avengers weren't immune to the press, and only the last few years did they find some sense of peace from it all. The new team would have to adjust to that on their own now, after taking up the mantle. He had hoped this part of his life would be quiet and restful, and this offer put a halt to that idea. But, even with all of that, no matter how he felt, this wasn't a decision for him alone. Finally deciding to slowly push the door open, he peeked inside, making sure for himself that he wasn't interrupting time that you might want to yourself, knowing that you'd be as lost in your own mind as he was in his. "(Y/N)? Can I come in?"

"Of course you can, Steve."

He gave you a small smile and entered the room, gently closing the door behind him. He stood there rather than joining you on your bed, as if he still wasn't convinced that you were okay with him being there. "If you don't want to do this, I'll go back down there and tell them no right now. There's nothing holding us to this. Besides, this is going to add a new level of busy to our lives if we do it. Busy that we just got to slow down after so long."

"I don't want to say no just because of this freaking me out. I think I can work through that, and it actually sounds like it could be fun," you shrugged, "for sure for the kids if anything. I'm just not sure if I'm ready to go through it all again and bring up old memories. It's heavy stuff, you know that." You looked up to see Steve watching you intently, still standing firm at the door. He was waiting for you to pull the trigger, either for or against it, but you were giving him nothing concrete to hold on to. "I think I need to get them all on a call so we can talk this over together. Brooke and Grant are here, but Anthony and Esihle are flying in with T'Challa."

"I feel like it's been forever since we've seen those two," Steve nodded, taking a step closer to join you, only to be interrupted again by another unexpected guest. "FRIDAY, who is it?"

"It's Mr. Downey, sir."

"Wow, okay," you looked to Steve with a hint of concern, "he's getting pretty familiar fairly quickly, but go ahead."

"Hello again," Steve offered, opening the door, but holding his place to keep the man in the hallway. "Mr. Downey, can we help you?"

"Um, hi...yeah," he started shakily. "Evans told me to get my ass up here and be a man, so here I am, doing my manly best." When the two of you simply stared back at him with expectation of more and an explanation as to what that actually meant, Robert felt that much more nervous and figured the best way out would be to clear the room of one of you. "Captain...Steve...America...Rogers...if you wouldn't mind, and obviously you too (Y/N), could I...maybe... talk to her alone? I'll be quick, I promise. Don't let my sudden inability to form a coherent thought deter you."

Steve had to admit to himself, the guy had a charm to him. "Doll?"

"Yeah, sure," you agreed. "Steve, can you just let Ant know that we're gonna try to get the trio on the phone when I'm done?"

"You got it," he smiled gently, giving you a thumbs up when Robert was turned away just as he closed the door.

Robert spun himself slowly, looking around the room and realizing that he maybe should've asked you to meet him in a conference room, or the kitchen, or anywhere other than your bedroom. He suddenly felt completely uncomfortable and you picked up on it right away. "Where should I sit?"