Imagine If You Assembled the Avengers: Volume 1

Terrible Things (Steve Rogers x reader)

Based on the song terrible things by Mayday Parade

Past events are written in italics.

By the time I was your age, I'd give anything

To fall in love truly, was all I could think

That's when I met your mother, the girl of my dreams

The most beautiful woman, that I'd ever seen

"Dad, if you don't know how to tie a bowtie, just tell me and I'll have someone else do it. I'm sure Tony would have it done by now."

"Son, just don't."

Steve's tongue was poking out from the corner of his mouth as he struggled to get the tie just right, quietly cursing under his breath just enough to feel some satisfaction but not so loud that anyone would hear it. After countless attempts, he pulled the strip of cloth from around your son's neck and put it around his own. "I can only do a tie if I'm wearing it," he grumbled as his fingers once again began to attempt to maneuver the silk into anything presentable.

The boy laughed, looking past his father to watch in the mirror as he buttoned his vest and smoothed out the material with slightly shaky hands. "Dad, you look more nervous than I do. I swear, if mom could see you now, she'd die laughing."

Steve closed his eyes and the boy groaned, slapping his hand over his eyes and turning away. The joke was a simple mistake, not meant to cause the stabbing pain in Steve's chest that would take hours of solitude and alcohol to quell. Steve slowly opened his eyes and returned to the task at hand, putting on his best stoic front.

"Dad, I didn't mean to...it was a slip. I'm sorry."

~~~

Bucky stood behind Steve, reaching forward in an attempt to teach him how to tie a proper knot. It looked so easy when someone else did it, and even as Steve watched every twist and fold of the material, he just couldn't seem to master it.

"Come on, Buck. We're gonna be late."

"Well maybe if you could do this yourself, we wouldn't be," he mumbled as he pulled the tie tight and looked in the mirror for one final check. "I swear, Rogers, if we're late and it messes up this date, I'll sock ya in the nose so hard you won't wake up for a week. I've wanted to go out with this girl for forever, and she was nice enough to bring a friend for you."

Steve grabbed the tie and shook the knot loose just a bit, convinced that Bucky had pulled it so secure on purpose. "What ya tell her about me?"

"Only the good stuff."

~~~

Steve stood just behind Tony, absently and silently watching as his son walked up and down the length of the garage of the tower, trying to select which car he would borrow to pick up his date.

"Dad, which one?"

When there was no answer, Tony turned around and nudged Steve, giving him a confused look that quickly turned to concern. "Cap? Hey, Cap, what's going on?"

"What?" Steve said with a start, pulling himself out of his own mind and back to the moment before him. He shuffled his feet and straightened his posture, embarrassed that he was so absentminded. "Sorry. Um...how about the red one?"

"Okay? But which red one?" The boy stood at each vehicle, waiting for his dad to look and give an opinion on which was a better fit. "Yo, dad! I said, which one?"

Steve waved his hand dismissively and turned away, knowing that if he couldn't interact fully then it was best to not interact at all. "Have Tony decide. He's better at this stuff..." His voice trailed off as he entered the stairwell, breaking into a run and taking the steps three-at-a-time until he reached the top floor. When he reached the pinnacle, he sat down hard and wiped the small beads of sweat from his brow, resting his arms on his thighs and holding his head in his hands. "Dammit," he whispered. "I can't do this. I can't keep my promise, (Y/N)."