Chapter Text
January 2013 — six months after the Battle of New York
Isabella felt as though she could lay in his arms for an eternity, his arms holding her firmly to his bare chest. She knew by now the sun had begun to creep through the dark curtains, though she could not bring herself to pull away from the Captain’s hold. She smiled up at him gently, his peaceful form encapsulating her entirely. Steve had returned late the night prior with Tony and Barton, and by instinct he had found himself at Bella’s door — not that she had dared to complain.
“The Starks Captain— Bella’s gonna flip when she sees today’s headline” Clint muttered, dropping the day’s newspaper firmly against the centre table as he reclined into the couch.
“They’ve made headlines again?” Natasha muttered, leaning forwards and pulling the paper towards her. “Isabella Stark pictured with alleged boyfriend, World War Two veteran and fellow Avenger, Captain Steve Rogers”.
“I used to get the brunt of it, I imagine they were devastated to find out I had settled down” Tony scoffed, announcing his presence. He approached the sofa, setting his coffee mug against the centre table.
“I know you own the place but at least use a coaster, Stark” Natasha scolded, swiftly correcting the man's mistake.
“Why don’t we just hide the paper?” Clint muttered. He leaned forwards, taking in the glare from his two friends.
“And all the other’s in the city?” Tony commented. “Not that easy, trust me”.
“No, I mean this one. What’s the odds they’ll make front cover again tomorrow? They’re not the Royal Family for fucks sake. Saves Bella and Steve seeing it, certainly saves Abel from seeing it?”.
“That’s— That is a heavily flawed plan” Tony muttered, shaking his head. “But—”.
“We are not hiding the newspaper” Natasha frowned.
“Good morning, Captain Rogers” Bella smiled, her gentle hands brushing the few stray strands of hair behind his ear as he returned her grin, albeit groggy. “Morning’” Steve murmured in response, squinting his eyes slightly. “W— What time is it?”.
“Just gone nine” She said. “You’ve slept in, Captain. The team will rejoice in the fact you didn’t have them up at six for training”. She was almost laughing, the dim light that broke through the curtains illuminated her already radiant silhouette. Steve Rogers was admittedly smitten by the Stark before him.
“What’s on the agenda today?” Steve asked softly, sitting up slightly. Bella followed his movement, curling into herself beside him.
“Well, I’ve got a shit tonne of admin work to get through and Abel’s got soccer in the afternoon too, oh, and you’ll have your mission briefing later today I’m assuming?”. Steve nodded in response.
Steve’s thumb rubbed gently against Bella’s wrist, a silent rhythm he kept when lost in thought but did not want to speak.
“Did you sleep well?” He said finally. Bella bowed her head slightly, burying her face in the crook of his neck.
“Better than normal,” She said quietly. “Something screams safe about having Captain America in your bed”.
Steve stifled his laugh, shaking his head gently. “Perhaps we should get out of bed before the others notice…”.
Bella smirked gently, pressing her lips gently to the Captain’s cheekbone. “I’m sure they can handle another five minutes without us”.
“Tony, what’re you doing?” Bruce asked dubiously, leaning over the back of the couch. A mug of tea placed firmly in his hands.
“Tony, what’re you doing?” Bruce asked dubiously, making his presence known as his feet padded across the hard-wood floors of the tower.
Tony had moved from the couch, an apron slung around his neck, covering his suit. He stood over the stove, the scent of pancakes lingering in the air — burnt pancakes.
“He’s cooking,” Clint muttered, curled up against the sofa.
“You don’t cook, Tony?” Bruce muttered, only adding to his confusion.
“I do when my sister is about to find out she’s on the front page of every paper in New York playing tonsil hockey with America’s most wanted virgin” Tony remarked.
“What?”.
In silence, Clint took the newspaper from the centre table and handed it to Banner. Bruce seemed to read it carefully, even going as far as to find the page inside the paper dedicated to them too.
“Bella’s gonna rip into them, I’m telling you we should have hidden it” Clint said.
“And have her kill you?” Natasha replied, an eyebrow raised.
“Better him than me,” Tony said quietly. “One time—”.
The elevator dinged. And after a moment, Bella Stark emerged with a rather smitten Steve Rogers not far behind. Bella wore one of Steve’s shirts that ended just above her knee, paired with a pair of joggers. Bella paused, confused.
“Why’s everybody staring?” She asked cautiously. Steve halted behind her, his hand snaking along her arm before finally reaching her wrist. He took her hand in his gently. Tony gagged.
“PDA!” He yelled. “PDA—”.
Bella pointed her middle finger in her brother's direction, of whom mimicked a gasp of disgust.
“Have you— Tony, have you been cooking?” Bella asked suddenly, approaching the kitchen area. “You never cook, look at that. Is that— Is that meant to be a pancake”.
Bella was looking at a charred pancake. Her eyes wide.
“Breakfast in bed?” Tony grimaced, nudging the plate of charred pancaked towards Bella and Steve. Steve swallowed thickly, hoping he or Bella wouldn’t be forced to eat the atrocity.
“What did you do?” Bella asked.
“Why is it always me — I think the batter was too thick and the temperature was too high. It’s funny, cause I can fix a car in a heartbeat but suddenly I’m beaten by—”.
“No, I know you can’t cook,” Bella said, her tone hurried. “I mean, what have you done?”.
“Me, I’ve done nothing” Tony held his hands up in defence. “Can’t a man express his love for his sister occasionally?”.
“Not you,” Bella remarked. “You’re up to something”.
“Erm, Bella,” Steve muttered. Bella turned sharply. Steve was eyeing the newspaper that sat plainly atop the centre table, the front cover visible for all to see. In their failing attempts to distract Bella, it seems they had forgotten to actually move the newspaper to somewhere she wouldn’t find it.
“Oh, for God’s sake, what is it—”.
She had marched over to the centre table, taking the paper in her hands firmly. She unfolded it, her face dropping as she read the headline.
‘The Stark’s Captain — Isabella Stark pictured with alleged boyfriend, World War Two veteran and fellow Avenger, Captain Steve Rogers’
“Bella—” Clint started.
Bella stared at the image. She blinked, and then blinked again. The photo could have only been a week old. They had been pictured in Central Park. They were in the park with Abel and Izzie. She cursed beneath her breath.
“How did they get this?” She breathed out, finally looking away from the paper. She looked directly at her brother, a slight panic in her stare.
“I don’t know,” Tony said quietly, biting his lip.
“Oh my God,” Bella said quietly. “Is this on every paper?”.
“Pretty much” Clint shrugged, looking towards his friend.
“Is there nothing more important to print nowadays, or is it all just scandals and love affairs?” Steve said coldly, taking the paper for himself.
“Or spoiling TV shows,” Clint grumbled. “They spoiled Friends for me”.
“How many times is this now?” Steve asked carefully.
Bella shook her head, groaning loudly. “I miss when this was you” She said, pointing at her brother.
“I don't,” Tony remarked.
“Bells,” Steve said gently, taking Bella’s hand. “It was gonna happen eventually”.
Bella frowned. “I know. I know. I just— I wanted it to be on our terms, y’know”.
“It’s just a photo,” Steve reminded her. “We aren’t doing anything wrong”.
Bella smiled gently, looking lovingly towards Steve Rogers. Steve lowered his head carefully, his lips pressing lightly to hers. Her cheeks flushed a deep shade of pink. Tony gagged in the background, Bruce swatting him over the head. And Clint wolf-whistled at the pair.