Another request by Lalelu10001! I hope you enjoy! (Also peep the Grey's reference lol)

You first met Steve when Director Nick Fury introduced the two of you on a mission. You're past was one of mystery to everyone (except Fury) which worried Steve at first. Then, the mission happened, and he realized you were a damn good agent and almost immediately was able to put his trust in you.

It started casual, where you two would throw jokes back and forth to one another, until finally it snowballed into you two becoming the best of friends. No one really even knows the moment where you went from 'acquainted' to 'besties.'

You guys were nearly inseparable, too. Whenever you could hang out with each other, you did. It got even easier when you joined the Avengers.

The solidifying moment for you? That was probably the night you two opened up about everything. You were a tiny bit tipsy and Steve was high on the night.

You don't know why you decided to tell him, but you did. Steve finally heard about your past and what brought you to SHIELD. It was a hard story to listen to, but you knew he needed to know it.

It meant everything to him that you trusted him enough to open up.

Then, you two were talking even more, and you told him something you genuinely never planned to reveal.

"Is it bad that I kinda have a tiny crush on you?" you said in a fit of laughs.

Steve was still laughing, but shook his head. "No, no, cause I have one, too," he wheezed out though his laughs.

When the two of you realized what you had just admitted out loud to the other, you both froze.

Steve spoke up again. "But... I don't know, I just... I still think about Peggy all the time and I don't know if I can ever truly move on from her or forget her. It feels... wrong."

The one that got away. You knew about her and how Steve felt, which is why you felt so stupid for telling him that you felt the way you did.

Things were strange for a while after that. You guys distanced yourself automatically, not even talking to each other about it. The others noticed the shift, too, and didn't know how to take it.

"(Y/n), I'm sure it's fine. Just... talk to him again. Be friends again. Don't be weird about it, either, just... talk," Natasha told you one day.

You sighed. "Yeah... yeah, I'll go talk to him. But not confrontationally, I just wanna have my best friend back."

Natasha gave you a playful glare. "I thought I was your best friend?" she asked, but she knew the answer.

With a laugh, you replied, "Know your place." The two of you went down in a fit of laughs.

A couple days after your conversation with Natasha, you slowly started hanging out with Steve again. It was clear to you how much he had missed you as well, and finally you guys started hanging out like before.

That's what you were calling it. Before and after. It wasn't really an incident that marked the time, just... before and after.

The only reason there was a before and after is because after you told Steve about your tiny crush out loud, it grew. Like, a lot. You hadn't intended for it to happen, you honestly hoped the opposite would happen. Your friendship with Steve was one of the most important things to you. You couldn't lose him for real.

Sadly, no matter what you did, your feelings wouldn't go away. They may have grown even stronger the more you tried to bury them.

It came to a new peak after The Snap. That day in Wakanda was the worst thing. It tore you apart and you lost yourself and who you were after people dusted away.

Steve found you one day, sitting in your shower with all your clothes still on, sobbing. He just came in and sat with you (turning off the water as he did). No questions asked- none needed to be- and he didn't try to offer rallying words. He just stayed there with you.

Those five years brought you two closer than ever before, and at a point, you saw it going in the direction your heart so desperately wanted. And, lest your eyes deceive you, it seemed that Steve agreed.

You decided to talk to Natasha about it one day. She was doing some ballet in a forgotten dance room, and you just observed for a second, noticing just how much her red hair was growing back in.

"I feel like Steve's feelings for me have grown too... and I'd love to try and make a leap but... gosh am I scared," you said.

Natasha looked at you through the mirror. "(Y/n), of all the times you've thought about telling Steve, this is the perfect one. Truly amazing timing. People are wanting to start fresh again, to create a new life as they realize we might not be able to bring back their old ones."

There was an unspoken phrase that you picked up in her eyes.

'Peggy is gone.'

It was awful to think, but you knew one of the reasons Steve couldn't let go of her was because she was still alive. Even if she had been able to move on and have her family, Steve couldn't bear to do it to her. Now, however morbid and horrible it might sound, she was gone. You thought maybe that would finally help Steve let go of the past he couldn't have.

You nodded once. "All right."

The two of you left the room and went out to the kitchen where Nat worked on some more Avengers stuff. When she was talking about people wanting to move on, she wasn't referring to herself.

You sat off to the side, not listening until the blue-ish glow was gone from the room and the conversation was over. That's when you took your cue to bring over the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches you made. You didn't question the tears, because you pretty much already knew what they were for at this point.

The two of you were quiet until a new voice come in. "I'd offer to cook you guys dinner but you seem pretty miserable already."

You looked up and smiled at Steve, warmth flooding your chest when he made eye contact with you. He smiled right back.

"You here to do your laundry?" Natasha asked, the emotion gone from her face and voice.

"And to see some friends." Again, he let his gaze linger on you for a second.

Natasha and Steve spoke for a second as you got up to grab some water. Peanut butter wasn't something you ate without a drink by your side.

It also gave you a moment to let them talk and le you pull yourself together. You wanted to do it. You wanted to tell Steve how you really really liked him.

Unfortunately, you didn't get the chance. "(Y/n)!"

The alarm in Steve's voice had you abandoning your drink on the kitchen counter and running back out to where the others were.

"What? What's going on?"

They were looking at the screen in front of them, so you took a look as well. The live feed of the front gate showed Scott Lang, Ant-Man. From the airport almost ten years ago.

That was the start of another mission. Another job to save the world. Except this one was to bring everyone back. And it almost went perfectly, except to get that one stone Natasha gave her life. Then Tony gave his life to snap with all of them and take out Thanos and his army.

By the end of it, you wanted to retire. You wanted to move on with your life and find something that made you happy.

Unfortunately, Steve is who made you happy. You figured, this was your chance. This was the 'out' you thought you and Steve could use.

You found Bucky hanging around outside Tony's cabin after the funeral. "Hey," you greeted, walking up to be by his side.

He turned and smiled at you. "Hey." You two weren't close, but you knew a lot about him. Bucky knew a lot about you, too.

"You okay?" you asked him. He just shrugged. "Well, we're glad to have you back here. I know Steve especially is."

Bucky smiled lightly, but it wasn't the big smile you anticipated. Before you could ask him about it, though, movement caught your eye.

You turned and saw Steve in his Captain America suit with a silver briefcase in one hand and Mjölnir in the other. You couldn't help but stare at him and think about the life you guys might be able to have.

But then things seemed to process, and you turned back to Bucky. "Wait- what's he doing?" you asked.

Bucky gave you a confused look. "You don't know?" You shook your head. "He's going back to put all the stones back in their proper places in time."

You nodded, as it made sense. But then you let your thoughts continuously evolve and landed somewhere that had your heart stopping.

"You don't... you don't think he'd stay back there, do you?" you asked. "With... her?"

The look on Bucky's face was exactly the answer you needed.

You didn't waste another second and turned away from Bucky without saying bye and hurried over to where Steve was.

"Steve!" you called, grabbing his attention quickly. Once you were in front of him, you kept talking and didn't let him get a word in. "Don't do it. I know that this is selfish and horrible of me but please come back after you deliver those stones. Please. Because... because I love you Steve. I love you so much. I have for years. I thought it was a tiny crush and I tried to make it go away but I couldn't. And yet...

"This is the chance for us to happen. You can have a life of your own, Steve, and I want to be there with you. Please. Call me selfish, call me whatever. But I can't keep trying to convince myself that I don't love you because that only makes me love you even more. So pick me. Choose me- love me. Please."

Your chest rose and fell heavily, and you swear you could feel a single tear drop down to your cheek.

Steve was about the same. He had so much written on his face, and his mouth moved like he wanted to say what those emotions were, but nothing could come out. All you wanted was for him to say something. Almost anything would do.

"Hey, Steve! We're all ready for you!" Smart-Hulk called out.

The two of you kept holding eye contact, though. If only he would say something.

Finally, Steve cleared his throat and you felt your heart start racing even faster in anticipation. "Uh, yeah, I'll be right there." He turned and went to the platform, with the others.

You could feel your entire body deflate. You thought him rejecting you would be the worst thing he could do. However, this just proved you wrong. Tears filled your eyes and Steve's figure became blurry as you watched him disappear.

A hand came upon your shoulder. "I'm sorry, (Y/n)."

You turned and gave Bucky a sad smile. "It's... it's fine. He made his choice."

You pulled yourself away from him and slowly walked over to the lakeside. It was such a beautiful day. So... peaceful.

There was a bench nearby, and it seemed like the perfect place to have a cry, so you did. You didn't sob, though. What was there to sob about? You just let the tears fall and stared out into the lake. Too much was happening. You just wanted one happy thing.

You sat on that bench for a while. You don't know how long. Everyone left you alone, thank goodness. No one needed to know about any of this. You just needed to find a way to move on.

"(Y/n)?"

You froze. The tears seemed to stop and your mouth gently fell open.

Turning around, you saw Steve standing behind you, no briefcase and no hammer.

"I- I thought about what you said. I really did. And I was so ready to stay back then and live the life I thought I was supposed to have but... but I realized... I'm not- that's not the life for me. Not the life I'm to live.

"I also couldn't stop thinking about you. I've been scared to admit I feel the same way but you're right. We deserve this chance at a new beginning- a happy ending if we can."

Your smile was starting to hurt your face. "Steve..." you started as you stood up.

"Please give me the chance. I'm sorry for how I left I just was worried to say anything then. Please, I-"

His babbling was annoying you, so you pulled him into a soft kiss to give him your answer. There was no hesitation on Steve's end to kiss back. He wrapped his arms around you, and you wrapped yours around his neck.

When you finally pulled back from him, the smile quickly returned to your face. "I think I can give you a chance."

~Fin~

A/n: and here you go! I briefly thought about making this ending either ambiguous or sad, but then wanted to do something happy (because I may or may not have something kinda angsty planned)

I'm still hanging out overseas but now that my study abroad trip is over, I'm kinda letting myself chill more and have just tiny bit more time to write. I know I keep saying this and then following it up with 'hey I actually don't have that much time' so we'll see if I'm lying right now or not.

See y'all next week!!!!!