Fandom: MCU
Pairings/characters: Steve Rogers x reader, all Avengers pre AOU
Words: 4297
Prompt/summary:
Thor wants to try Secret Santa for Christmas. Someone has something special in mind for Steve, and makes damn sure she picks his name.
"I have an idea." Thor came trampling into the kitchen, slamming Mjølnir down on the counter. He shook snow out of his blond hair, the soppy flakes landing on the counter.
"Honestly, Thor," I chastised, sweeping my arm across the surface and wiping the snow away with my pyjama arm.
"My apologies. But I have an idea. Where are the others?"
"Exercising," Clint answered with a yawn. "Too awake in the morning for their own good."
Clint, Tony and I were always the ones having a late breakfast. Natasha, Bruce and Steve were always up way before the crack of dawn, putting the rest of us to shame.
"What's your idea, Point Break?" Tony asked, filling the coffee pot with freshly brewed coffee.
"Jane and I watched a movie last night, and there was this concept called Secret Santa." Thor almost bounced on his feet as he spoke, clearly very excited about his idea. "I would like to try it."
"I'm game." Tony refilled the coffee cup Clint had been holding out ever since Tony starting brewing a fresh batch.
"Me too," I said. I had never been part of Secret Santa before and thought it could be a fun thing to boost the Christmas spirit around the compound.
Thor looked around, grinning. "Barton?"
"Sure. Could be fun."
And so it was that the Avengers were going to do Secret Santa. Clint and Thor took it upon themselves to arrange it, and three weeks before Christmas all of us were gathering in the common area to pick names. I was sitting in my favourite seat, taking in the decorated room while waiting for the stragglers Steve and Bruce. I had just gotten home from a week-long mission and had only seen Pepper getting the boys to bring out all the boxes of decorations before I left.
It was beautiful, to say the least.
There was a giant tree in front of the floor to ceiling windows, packed with stylish and colourful ornaments and warm white lights. Poinsettias scattered around the room. Garlands across the edge of the bar and along the bannisters. Wreaths that matched the tree on every other window pane. The decorative cushions on the couch and chairs were exchanged with large plush snowmen or stylized Christmas trees. A few strategically placed mistletoe.
"Enjoying the view?" Someone suddenly stood in front of me and I looked up.
"Steve! Hi! Yeah, Pepper's done a great job."
"How was the mission?" He sat down next to me on the couch.
"It's all in the report."
"That bad?"
I just grunted and he chuckled.
"Okay, now that we're all here," Clint began, "it's time to get this started."
Thor stepped up with a small glass bowl filled with slips of paper. "Barton has relayed the rules for me and we have adapted them for us. You will each pull a name from this bowl –"
"No using powers or assassin abilities or other sneaky skills to pick an easy name!" Clint interrupted.
"Certainly not! And you will have to find a gift you think they will enjoy and mark it with their name only. We'll open them together on Christmas morning and guess who they're from. Don't tell anyone who you picked!"
"Everyone understands the rules?" Clint asked.
"It's not rocket science, Hawkeye. Yes, we understand," Natasha said impatiently, blowing him a raspberry. She was first in line and Thor approached her, holding out the bowl. She looked at Clint as she reached inside and started rummaging around.
"No assassin abilities!" Clint reminded her.
She didn't reply but kept staring at him as she grabbed a piece of paper, pulled it out. She read the name quickly before crumpling the paper in her hand.
Steve was up next. "If we pick our own name?"
"Put it back in and try again," Thor explained.
Steve nodded and reached inside and was quick to pull out. He held his hand close to his face and unfolded the paper. "We're good."
Then it was my turn. No powers they said. I could feel Clint's gaze burning into me as Thor held out the bowl. But I'd gotten an idea during my mission, and pulled on a thread of the energy running through my veins as I raised my hand towards the bowl. I trusted my instincts completely and let my fingers slip around a certain piece of paper, ignoring all the others. Withdrawing my hand, I felt the paper was comfortably warm in my hand, letting me know it was the right one. Feigning ignorance, I opened it just enough to see the name, shielding it in my hands.
Steve
"No powers?" Thor enquired.
I looked up, straight into his stormy blue eyes. "No powers." Good thing I was a good liar. He nodded and moved on to Tony and then Bruce and Clint, until he grabbed the remaining name for himself.
The entire room got very quiet. Only the faint car honk or siren outside was heard. Everyone kept a firm hold on the piece of paper in their hands, and the tension could be cut with a knife. Something that was supposed to be fun and exciting, suddenly felt like it became deadly serious.
"I'm going to go... get started on this," Natasha said, rising slowly from her seat and walking backwards towards the exit. The rest of us got up to go our separate ways too, and Natasha almost ran from the room.
"Did you get a good name?" Steve asked as we were walking out.
"Yeah, pretty happy with it. Already know what I'm getting them," I replied, giving him a wink before hurrying off, accompanied by Tony's laughter.
Safe and alone in my room, I immediately went to pull out a box full of yarn and knitting supplies from under the bed. I pulled out a half-finished pair of socks that was in there and laid them on the bed, along with a couple balls of yarn to finish them up. Then I sat down on the floor and looked through the heaps of unused skeins. Holding a few up and judging the colour combinations and the softness of the yarn. Finally settling on a few shades of blue, I tossed them onto the bed too and pushed the box under the bed again.
Yeah, I used my powers and cheated to pick Steve's name from the bowl. Ever since I met him, I noticed that he never wore mittens or gloves during winter. I knew his body temperature was a lot warmer because of his increased metabolism and he probably didn't need to cover his hands other than those sinfully delicious fingerless gloves he used for practicality during missions. But having been brought up by parents who wrapped me up in scarves and hats and mittens and thermal underwear and all kinds of warm clothes during harsh winters, I felt he needed at least one pair of good mittens for everyday use. I wanted him to be comfortable.
And of course, I had a huge crush on the man and hadn't yet figured out if or how I should act on it. I had a feeling he wasn't completely uninterested in me and thought this would be a good opportunity to test the waters.
The next couple of days I worked on finishing the pair of socks first. I spent so much time in the common areas and in meetings and briefings and they were all used to me bringing my knitting with me, even on missions. If I wanted to finish Steve's present before Christmas, I had to knit whenever I could, and I didn't want anyone to suspect that I was making presents. Once the big and fluffy socks were finished, I pulled them on and they were now my new favourite pair of snuggly socks to wear at home.
Steve's mittens were up next. I got some questions about who they were for when I first started them, and I just said I was knitting for charity. No one questioned that, as I often did knit for the local shelters and various organisations every winter.
One rare and quiet evening, I was sitting in my usual seat in the living room. Tony and Bruce were up in the lab, the faint sound of Christmassy rock coming from up there. Steve and Thor were pouring over papers and tablets, trying to find out where we might look for the sceptre next. Natasha was flipping through the channels, her legs in my lap and I rested my arms on them while I worked away at the first blue shaded mitten. Clint was sitting on the floor in front of Nat and me, grilling marshmallows on a log candle on the table.
"Hey, boys," I said, getting their attention. "Hold up a hand please!"
"What for?" Clint asked, but held up his hand anyway.
"Just want to make sure it's a decent manly sized mitten before I bind off." I held the knitting up against all three hands. It could fit them all, so I was good to go. "Thanks! Such big strong hands you all got." I winked at them, and Natasha snickered.
As I got back to the knitting and started binding off, Clint set down his stick with a half-eaten marshmallow on and grabbed the skein I was currently using. "It's so soft," he said, rubbing it against his cheek. "Can I convince you to give them to me, rather than charity?"
"This pair, not on your life. It goes where it's intended. But I'd be happy to knit a pair especially for you. Purple?"
"Yes, please! You're the best!" He leaned his head back and made a kissy face.
There was a small cough from Steve. I turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow, but he just grabbed a tablet again and moved his finger in a hasty motion over the screen.
Having a finished mitten to use as a template, I quickly started on the second one during a meeting the next day, earning an amused shake of the head from Steve as he led the meeting. I finished it that same evening and hid the pair safely in my closet and in the morning, I headed out to find some purple yarn for Clint. His pair took a fair few days to finish, I had too many other things to do, and Steve sent me and Natasha on a recon mission, having possibly found the location of the sceptre.
It was just a couple of days left before Christmas when I decided to make Steve a second pair. I still witnessed him walking in and out of the tower in the chilly, biting winter wind, and it was just the incentive I needed to make a second pair that he could alternate with. I used red yarn this time.
I was sitting by the bar one evening knitting away and keeping Tony company as he stocked up on alcohol for the holidays. Steve wandered in with his hair all wet from clearly having just showered. He sat down next to me and glanced at the knitting several times as we talked. He'd seen me doing this many times before, and I'd even knitted a cover for his shield on a dare once, but he seemed very interested in it all of a sudden.
"How many pairs have you knitted for charity this month?" he asked suddenly.
"Just three," I replied. I had felt guilty for saying I was doing it for charity and not actually having anything to give away, I had squeezed in a few projects in between everything else I'd made. "And two hats and a scarf. Haven't had time for more than that. You've given me too much work, Captain." I winked and swear I saw him blush lightly.
"I've asked her to make me a pair of socks since I've worn out the pair she got me last year," Tony said. "But she just tells me she doesn't have time." He feigned deeply insulted.
"If you're nice, you'll get some for New Year's." I winked at him and he winked back.
That strange coughing sound came from Steve again, drawing my attention back to him. "It's nice that you're doing this for charity every year," he said, a small smile on his lips, the kind that made my heart skip a beat.
"Yes, well..." I shrugged, looking back down at my work. "I like knitting, it relaxes me. And there's only so much I can drown friends and family in, so why not do something useful with it."
"You should ask her to knit you something, Capsicle," Tony suggested before disappearing down behind the bar to tear open another box of some expensive wine. "Maybe a cock-warmer?" He stood up again, a bottle of wine in each hand. "That's a thing, right?"
I felt my face go hot for a moment and glanced at Steve, who was definitely blushing now. "That's a thing, yeah. I know how to make one. Don't ask me why, but I do."
"You can't say that and not expect me to ask!"
"I don't kiss and tell." Figuring that was my cue to leave before being interrogated, I winked at Steve, slid off the barstool and sauntered out, a red skein tucked safely under my arm.
Christmas morning finally arrived. It was all so perfectly fairy-tale like when I walked into the common area in my snowman pyjamas and those big fluffy socks I had made for myself. We'd gotten a light snowfall during the night, it was dark and the skies were clear for now, allowing us to see a small handful of stars through the light pollution from the city. Most of the Avengers were there already, but looking very tired after Pepper's gigantic Christmas dinner the night before.
I flopped down in my usual seat, pulling my feet up under me and greeting everyone with a "Merry Christmas". A few greeted tiredly in reply. It had really been a gigantic dinner, and it had gotten pretty late and there had been a tad too much alcohol for some.
The last stragglers finally came in, our honorary Avengers and guests for the holidays, Sam and Rhodey, followed by Steve. The latter sat down next to me and laid a hand on my knee briefly, wishing me Merry Christmas.
"Thank you for dinner last night, Pepper," Rhodey said, grabbing the last available seat on the couch.
"You're welcome, James," Pepper replied. She had just emerged from the bar with a pot of steaming hot chocolate and began pouring it into the mugs set out on the coffee table. "I'm glad everyone had a chance to attend this year."
"Shall we get started?" Thor asked, being almost the only one without a hangover and awake enough to feel eager. He had always been fascinated with Midgardian holiday traditions, so it was no surprise that he was already moving towards the Christmas tree to begin handing out presents.
We started with the Secret Santa presents first. We all went in turn, everyone curious about what everyone had gotten.
Bruce got a new lab coat with the muscles of the Hulk printed on them, he claimed to be insulted, but he did put it on and wore it the rest of the morning. He thought it might be from Tony, but turned out Clint had special ordered it for him. Natasha got two shiny, golden daggers with a very obvious Asgardian design, which she seemed to already cherish. Tony got a signed AC/DC box set that he handled as if it would break if anyone breathed on it. Bruce said he thought he'd never use his superhero status for "personal gain" but anyone could see that whatever bad karma Bruce thought he'd get, was cancelled out by how happy Tony was. Clint got a gift basket with a whole variety of coffee beans and chocolate bites to go with each type of bean, and after guessing correctly that Natasha had given it to him, she just said he hoped it meant he would be awake enough to be on time for training after this.
Then it was Steve's turn. He poked and prodded the badly wrapped gift for a bit, then unwrapped it so slowly and carefully I thought I would explode. When the two pairs of red and blue mittens were revealed, he just looked at them for what felt like an hour.
"Weren't the present supposed to be secret until unwrapped?" Bruce asked.
"It was," Thor said.
"No one knew who they were really for," I said, swallowing my nerves, afraid that Steve didn't like them.
But then his fingers moved over the top mitten as if caressing it, before looking up at me with slight confusion in his bright blue eyes.
I tried not to let him see how anxious I was. "I've noticed you never wear anything on your hands when you're out and about, and I know you probably don't need it. But... it's cold, and I just thought..." I shrugged.
"I love them," he said quietly. "Thank you."
I breathed out, stomach doing a somersault. "Oh good."
The room got very quiet and I was just staring at Steve's hand still testing the softness of the yarn.
"You turn," Thor said, nudging me from his seat on my other side.
"Right, right. Sorry." I felt a blush creep up my face, but I pretended like nothing and began untying the red ribbon on the really big black box decorated with silver snowflakes. There were now only two people left whose gifts hadn't been opened, Tony and Steve. My heart started hammering a violent tattoo in my chest as I came to the realisation that Steve might have picked me. I lifted the lid and found a huge cookie jar inside, filled to the brim with Rocky Road. "Oh my God, I love Rocky Road!" I exclaimed and looked first at Tony, whose face was blank, then Steve, who shrugged.
"They're homemade," Tony then said. "But I didn't make them, they're safe! Pepper knows a guy."
"How did you know these are my favourite at Christmas?"
Tony smirked as only he could. "I have my sources."
"Thanks, Tony." I opened the lid and grabbed a bite, it was delicious, and probably not good for me at all.
Thor was the last one, and Steve had gotten him a big heavy book about all kinds of Christmas traditions from all over the world, and Thor was over the moon.
"Now that your little game is over, can the rest of us open our presents?" Sam asked, fingers already digging into the wrapping paper on the soft looking present in his lap.
Chaos ensued and there were crumpled wrapping paper and curly ribbon and forgotten labels all over the place in a matter of minutes, all hangovers temporarily cured, everyone acting like children. I hadn't gotten a big haul, but I got a bunch more yarn, a new pair of combat gloves, a calendar book I had been drooling over, and a big snow globe with Santa and his sleigh inside.
Once things began calming down, I drank the rest of my hot chocolate, and then piled my presents in my arms and stood up. "I'm going to go put this away before breakfast," I said.
"Yeah, me too," Natasha said and quickly gathered her own pile and followed me out. Safely out of earshot, she caught up and nudged me with her shoulder. "Nicely done with Steve's present."
"What do you mean?" I asked quickly, not looking at her.
"Nothing. Just... Nicely done. Clever."
I didn't say anything until I reached my door. Then I turned to her and grinned. "Thanks."
I opened the door, carefully balancing the presents in my arms, Natasha was already down the hall. But then she called out. "You didn't use your powers, did you?"
"You're the spy, you tell me," I replied and slipped inside, closing the door quickly behind me. I wasn't sure, but she may have laughed.
Just a few minutes later, there was a knock on my door. I was on the floor in front of the bed, trying to make room in my box for all the new yarn, the jar of Rocky Road next to me. "Open the door for me, JARVIS?"
"Yes, ma'am."
The door swung open, but I didn't look up to see who it was.
"You're going to ruin your breakfast if you keep eating that." Steve was standing by the foot of the bed, arms crossed, but an amused look on his face. I had just stuffed my face with another bite of Rocky Road.
"Schteve!" I exclaimed, chewing quickly and swallowing.
He bent down and stole a piece from the jar, then sat down on the bed. "Mmm, they're delicious."
"Worth ruining breakfast for?"
"I don't know about that. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, you want to do it right."
"Oh, what do you know, Rogers." I blew him a raspberry and went back to stuffing skeins into the box and there was a slightly awkward silence for a bit.
But then Steve spoke. "Uhm, the mittens," he began.
My head snapped up, a skein clutched in each hand. "You didn't like them?"
"I love them, I really do. They're so soft and so beautiful and... Well." He grinned a bit. "But... I just got to ask... Because..." I dropped the yarn into the box. A light red tinge crept up his face and he seemed very interested in my desk chair. "I thought one was supposed to keep it a secret. And I... I don't know. Never mind." He suddenly stood up and strode towards the door.
But, without allowing myself to think, I pulled on the energy inside me and was up and slipped between him and the door before he could reach the handle. "Stop," I said, laying a hand on his chest, but dropping it quickly. "I cheated," I admitted.
"Cheated?" Steve frowned down at me.
"I used my powers to choose your name for Secret Santa."
"Why?"
Now it was my turn to blush and stumble over my words. I looked down at his shoes. "I wanted to. I wanted to... I don't know... I thought it'd be a way to show you... To see if..." I sighed. I was a badass avenger, I had strong powers, I could face aliens and monsters and unbelievable evil, but this goddamn man was tongue-tying me just by being alive. Just because he had those beautiful blue eyes I could stare at forever, because he had that soft blond hair I wanted to bury my hands in. Because he was so warm and kind and had that huge golden heart that made his smile look like the sun. Because he was so tall and strong and I always felt safe in his presence, but still couldn't get my words out right. "I kinda have feelings for you," I said finally, still looking at his shoes.
"So you cheated and chose my name and knitted me mittens?"
I still didn't look at him, sure I would see rejection in his eyes. But then his fingers were on my chin and made me move my head up. I still couldn't see what his expression was because I kept my gaze downward, but it didn't matter, because his lips captured mine and I couldn't open my eyes if I wanted to.
His lips were even softer than I had imagined, somewhere in the back of my mind I recognized the lingering taste of hot chocolate on him, but my stomach was doing all kinds of flips and jumps and I couldn't focus on much of anything except how his lips felt.
All too soon though, he broke the kiss but leaned his forehead against mine, warm breath wafting over me, hand falling to my shoulder. "I wish I could knit," he whispered.
It was so far from anything I had expected, that I pulled back and frowned at him, but he just grinned, slowly opening his eyes. "Okay. I could... teach you?"
Steve slid one arm around my waist to pull me flush against him and moved his hand up to cradle my face. "If we're going to communicate with knitted clothes, I should make you two pairs of mittens too."
It took a few seconds for the meaning of his words to sink in. But then my stomach began doing even more acrobatics. "We can use words," I said breathlessly.
Steve closed the gap between us again. My eyes fluttered closed, but he didn't kiss me. Instead, his lips were close enough so I could sense them. "I kinda have feelings for you too," he said and I felt the words against my lips. "And I told Tony you love Rocky Road."
"Oh," was all I could get out before he was on me, warm and sweet. I stumbled back half a step and was then trapped between Steve and the door. This kiss was so much more, tongues wrestling with each other, lips melding together, and I could definitely taste the hot chocolate on him now, the Rocky Road too. My hands went up around his neck, tugging lightly on the short hairs there. Steve pressed me against the door and the room was suddenly too hot, was the sun inside?
Loud shouting, the sound of running and then squealing out in the hall broke our moment and we pulled apart breathlessly. I couldn't help the giggle that left me.
"Breakfast?" Steve asked.
"Yes, please."