Heroes of New York (Steve x Reader)

You were running down the hall, pieces of paper in your hands. You had promised your boss you would have your presentation ready by twelve, but because the only copy machine on your floor had broken, you had had to fix it before you could print all your flyers.

When you heard screams, you stopped running and looked around you. It wasn't until then you noticed that most of the offices were empty and people were gathered around the stairs. Instinctively you dropped all the papers and reached for the gun on your belt. There wasn’t one. You sighed, remembering you were no longer part of the Special Forces. You had left that part of your life behind. Or at least you tried to.

'What's going on?' you asked one of your colleagues. She seemed ready to cry any minute.

'New York is under attack,' your boss, David, said as he helped his employees get down the stairs.

'What do you mean?' you frowned. 'Under attack by what?'

'I... I don't know,' he mumbled. 'I don't want to know.'

The ground shook and the glass of the windows in one of the offices next to you shattered. You looked outside and saw alien like creatures flying around on what seemed like boards.

You turned your head back to David, who also stared at the creatures that were flying through the city, seemingly shooting at anything that moved.

'Oh my God...'  you whispered.

David nodded, putting his arm around your shoulder and pushing you towards the stairs.

'We have to go, [Name]. They’ve already torn down the conference room.'

'Those creatures are inside?'

David swallowed hard, nodding again.

'What about...'

'They're dead,' David said, no emotion in his voice, even though he was talking about his friends. If he wouldn't be talking to you like that you would have thought he was in shock. 'Everyone in the room is dead. We need to go.'

You nodded, following everyone down the stairs. When you were almost on the bottom floor, your phone rang. You picked it up quickly and heard soft cries on the background.

'[Name]?' you sister's voice was nothing but a whisper, but you could hear she was in panic. She started to cry softly and tried to say something, but you couldn't make out a single word.

'Vera, calm down. I can't hear a word you're saying. What's going on?'

Your sister worked in the same building, just a few floors above you. She ran a special day care program she had put up for the single mothers and fathers that couldn't afford the exclusive New York day cares. You figured she and her colleagues needed some help with the children.

'We locked ourselves in the day care,' your sister cried. 'They're on the hallways, [Name]. I don't know what to do.'

You stopped as you realized your sister was still up there with those creatures. Your mind started to race as you thought of all the things that could happen and how you could stop it. Even though you had tried to suppress your Special Forces training, you had never been able to forget.

David stopped next to you while others passed. 'We have to get going,' he said, grabbing your hand.

'No, Vera and the kids are still up there. We need to help them!'

David seemed to hesitate for a few seconds, but then shook his head.  'I can't... my wife and kids, I...'

'It's okay, I'll go by myself,' you said, already running back up again. 'Call the police!'

'Wait!' David cried out. 'I have a gun in my office. The code for the safe is my birthday.’

You nodded, running further up, pushing yourself through all the people.

‘Don't do anything stupid, [Name]!' you heard David scream, but you ignored him. He didn’t know you were trained for things like this from a very young age. He had no idea who you really were. No one did.

'I'm coming, Vera. Just hang on,' you told your sister before you hung up the phone.

The higher up the building you got, the less people you encountered. You figured most had escaped just in time. Looking outside however, you didn’t know if they were better off down there or up here.

When you were at the right floor you ran through the door and stormed into David’s office. You opened the safe inside his desk and took the gun out carefully. You loaded the gun and looked at the pictures of David and his family. You couldn't blame him for not coming. He had a family to think of.

You quickly made your way back to the stairs and ran up some floors. At the right floor you took a few seconds to take a breath. You could hear footsteps behind you on the stairs, but that was probably from all the people that still were running down.

You hesitantly opened the door and pointed the gun out in front of you. It took you back to your Special Forces days. You had completed your training top of your class even though you were a woman. You were a more than excellent marksman and your sweet, but stern appearance made you the perfect candidate for undercover work. When your last mission had gone south, you had left the Special Forces behind. That was two years ago. You hadn’t touched a gun since.

As you were walking down the hallway, you checked for the third time if the gun was loaded and ready to fire. You could hear weird noises coming from around the corner. As you looked inside the offices you could see most people were gone, but there were also a lot of bodies laying on the floor. An image you would never be able to erase from your memory.

As you neared the corner the noises grew louder. You were almost certain the aliens were waiting for you there.

Your heart started to beat uncontrollably in your chest as you saw one of the creatures coming towards you from across the hall. His gun was pointed at you and his finger pulled the trigger. Because you were much faster, you were able to dodge the first shot he took. You didn't give him the chance to fire at you twice. With only one shot you took him down, the bullet sinking in the flesh between his eyes. He fell to the floor and his body trembled for a few seconds, until he was dead.

You took in a deep breath to lower your heart rate. You hadn’t shot anyone since you quit the Special Forces, but you now knew it was like riding a bike; you could never unlearn. Your father said almost every day your aim was too good to just sit in an office, but you didn't want to fight. Not anymore at least. Not after your brother had died.

The sounds of the gunshots had attracted more aliens. You didn't know how many bullets were still in the gun, but you didn't think you would make it out alive.

You took out several of the creatures, until suddenly a man was standing behind you, throwing something at the last alien standing in the hallway, knocking him to the ground. He fell down a few inches from your feet, but before he got up again, you shot him through the head. The shot echoed in your mind, until a voice pulled you to reality again.

'Ma'am, are you alright?' You looked up at a man in a blue suit, holding a round shield.

You nodded, looking at the aliens that were laying on the floor and you wiped the sweat from your brow. 'Thanks for the help.'

He smiled. 'It seems like you already had it under control.'

You gave him a small smile back, but frowned as you looked at him more closely. 'Who are you supposed to be exactly,' you asked him. 'Captain America?'

'Well...'

'Oh, God!' you cried out, interrupting him when you remembered what you were doing here. 'The children!'

You ran around the corner while the man in the blue suit followed you. Together you took out the remaining aliens. When you were at the right door and it was still locked, he pulled it out of its hinges. Without thinking about why and how he was able to do that, you ran inside, finding your sister and her employees cuddled around the children.

When Vera saw you she cried out your name and told the children to stand up quickly. She embraced you, but when she saw the gun in your hand and the spatters of alien blood on your clothes, she let go of you.

‘You picked up a gun again… for me?’

You nodded. ‘Let’s not make a big deal out of it. We need to leave this place now and find somewhere safe for the children.’

She nodded and did as you had asked. You watched the man that had just helped you, get all the children out of the room and instructing Vera’s employees what to do and what to tell the children about the dead aliens. They followed his instructions and ran towards the stairs.

'You coming?' he asked you as you were still staring at him. 'I can't protect all of you if you don't come with me.' He handed you his hand and looked at you seriously.

‘I can take care of myself,’ you said, but nonetheless taking his hand and stepping over the body of one of the dead aliens.

'I know,' he smiled at you, as you were running back to the stairs together, following the children down the stairs, both looking over your shoulders numerous of times to make sure no aliens followed you.

When all the children were on the bottom floor, the man ran outside the building to check if the coast was clear. After a few seconds he gestured you could take the children outside. You did what he had asked and led the children outside. Most of their parents were waiting for them across the street. Vera and her colleagues tried to find a safe spot to hide together with the remaining five children. As the man in the blue suit came walking up to you, you told Vera you would be with her in a few minutes.

'You saved their lives,' you told the man, looking into his deep blue eyes. You figured he must be handsome under his mask. It made you wonder who he really was.

He smiled and shook his head. 'If you hadn't distracted them, they would have broken through the doors. You're the one that saved them.'

'Wouldn't my dad be proud...' you mumbled.

'Excuse me?'

'Never mind,' you laughed. 'I'm [Name] by the way. [Name] [Last name].'

'Steve,' he said. 'Steve Rogers.'

'Otherwise known as Captain America... Funny. I get it. You don't want to tell me your name.'

'No, I...'

'Thank you for your help with the children,’ you smiled sweetly, ‘but if you would excuse me, my sister needs me.'

You left him behind, looking at you while you walked away. When you looked over your shoulder to see if he was still there, he was gone. You had been disappointed he didn’t want to tell you his real name. But he probably had a good reason for it. Or maybe... maybe he truly was Captain America... You decided it didn't matter any way, you would never see him again. Which was also dissapointing.

After you had put the gun in the belt of your pants, you ran after Vera, who was running to a coffee shop a few feet away. She was holding one of the younger children, while one of the older girls ran beside her. Her hair was sticking to her tried up tears. You would do anything to take away what these children had seen.

In the coffee shop, people were hiding behind tables. Vera and her employees lowered themselves down as the men and women made room for the children.

When you were about to do the same you saw several aliens walking into the bank soldiers just had led people into. Your mind started to race again, as you thought of all the things that could happen and how you could stop it.

Vera followed your gaze and shook her head. ‘No, [Name],’ she whispered to you. ‘You left that life behind, remember?’

You swallowed hard, looking at her. ‘I have to, Vera. It’s what I was trained for.’

‘And it got Brian killed…’

You didn’t listen to her anymore and made your way outside the coffee shop. You pulled the gun from your belt again and ran across the street, avoiding all the people that were still screaming and running around.

‘Get to the subways,’ you screamed at them, while you threw yourself behind a car as one of the boards with aliens flew over, shooting several people down.

You peered into the bank and saw all the men, women and children standing close together in the main hall. Terror could be seen in their eyes as they all looked at something above them. The windows just one floor up were all gone. If you would be able to get up the balcony, leading to those windows, you could get in without the aliens noticing.

You climbed up one of the cars standing near the bank and estimated you would only just be able to reach the balcony if you jumped. But it was worth a shot. You took a few steps back and ran over the car, jumping at its highest point. With your fingertips you were able to grab the balcony, but your body slammed into it hard, knocking out the air from your lungs. You quickly pulled yourself up and threw yourself over the railing. As you regained your breath for a few seconds, you could hear the people inside scream.

You picked yourself off the ground and made your way inside through one of the broken windows. You saw Steve fighting several of the aliens. They had him surrounded and Steve looked around him, trying to find some way out. You didn't waste a second and stormed towards the aliens, pointing the gun at their heads. You clicked the safety off and dropped yourself to the floor, causing you to slid right through one of the aliens’ legs. Before he even knew what was happening, you put a bullet through his head and he fell backwards. Your diversion gave Steve the time to knock one of the other over the railing.

The third alien attacked Steve from behind and tried to choke him. He pulled off Steve’s mask, just as you put two bullets in his head.  Steve looked at you gratefully as the remaining came running towards you, growling and pointing their guns in your direction.

Steve knocked you to the ground as the blue flashes of their guns were flying just passed your head. You panted heavily as he lay on top of you. A weird feeling spread through your body, while you looked into his deep blue eyes.

'You again?' He said with ragged breaths. 'I'm starting to think you're not just a concerned citizen...'

You smiled as Steve reached for the alien gun that lay next to your head.

'Special Forces, but I quit two years ago.'

Steve's expression changed, as if he had just adjusted his whole image of you. That was why you didn’t like to tell men you were ex-Special Forces. It made them feel intimidated. As you looked in Steve's eyes however, you saw something different, but you couldn't say what.

He pushed himself off of you and ran towards the aliens that was storming at the both of you. A weird beeping noise that resembled that of a bomb filled your ears and your eyes caught a weird looking device the other remaining alien had just picked up.

In slow motion you saw Steve fighting the alien, shooting at him repeatedly, until his body didn’t move anymore. From the corner of your eye you saw Steve’s shield laying near the window. You ran towards it as the other alien was ready to throw the bomb at you. As you picked up the shield, Steve turned around to see how you were doing. When he saw you holding his shield and the alien throwing the bomb, he screamed your name.

‘No!’ his voice echoed through the bank.

As the bomb hit the shield, it exploded, pushing you outside the building. You could feel the heat from the blast burning your skin. You landed on a car several feet outside the bank. You were certain you had broken every bone in your body.

When you tried to get up, you were still able to get yourself off of the car, which meant the damage to your body wasn’t that severe. As you let yourself drop to the ground, next to the car, Steve came running out the building, looking around him to see if you were still alive.

When his eyes locked on yours, he swallowed hard, walking up to you. He lowered himself down to you, taking his shield from your shaking hands.

‘Please, don’t ever do that to me again…’ he whispered, while stroking the hair out of your face.

‘I wasn’t planning on it,’ you smiled. ‘How do I look?’

Steve sighed, letting his eyes go over your body. His cheeks turned red as he realized nothing was wrong with you, apart from the cuts and bruises and possible broken ribs. Only the right side of your face by your ear was a little burned, but otherwise Steve thought you looked amazing. He had never met anyone like you.

‘You look fine,’ he said, while helping you get up.

‘No need for flattery, Steve. I know I look like shit.’

He laughed. ‘Steve? I thought you didn’t believe me.’

‘I changed my mind…’ you bite you lip looking in his eyes and a weird feeling spread through your body again.

Steve smiled at you, helping you get to safety. ‘We need to get you to a doctor.’

‘Have you seen the state of New York lately?’ you replied, pointing at all the collapsed buildings and dead bodies lying in the streets. ‘I’ll be fine, Steve. Go save other people. I can take care of myself.’

'But...'

'Go!'

He sighed. 'Just don't do anything stupid.'

You smiled, pressing a kiss on his cheek. 'Not without you.'

His cheeks turned red again as he picked his shield up. He straightened himself and smiled at you, the left corner of his mouth slightly pulled up. 'Ma'am,' he nodded to you.

'Captain...' You nodded back.

You watched him run away, until you couldn't see him anymore. You could only hope the fight was over soon and you would make it out alive. Most of all you hoped you would see Steve again. There was just something about him you couldn't put your finger on.




*****Several weeks later*****


You put the dirty dishes in the sink and poured yourself a glass of wine. It had been several weeks since the attack on New York. It was a miracle your apartment had been still standing. Because Vera was not so lucky, she had stayed with you for a while. Today was just first dinner alone in a long time.

You sighed, seating yourself at the kitchen counter. You hadn’t seen Steve since that day, but he also hadn’t been off your mind. You had tried to look for him, but he almost seemed to be a ghost. Whomever he worked for, they didn’t want anyone to find him. Or maybe he didn’t want to be found. Either way, you were probably never going to see him again.

As you were about to pour yourself another glass of wine, there was a knock on the door. You weren’t expecting anyone, but maybe your neighbor’s cat had escaped again. You made your way over to the door and without looking through the little looking glass, you opened the door.

A man with a black trench coat and a black eye patch over one of his eyes stood in the door opening. Two other men stood behind him.

‘Hello, miss [Last Name],' the man with the eye patch said.

‘Can I help you?’ you asked, frowning, wondering how he knew your name.

You looked at the men that stood before you and noticed the the shapes of a gun could be seen in their suits.

‘Aren’t you going to invite us in?’ the man with the eye patch asked, while your head was already racing.

You smiled sweetly, cocking your head a little. ‘How rude of me, please come in.’

Just as the man was about to step into your apartment you slammed the door in his face, causing him to back away screaming, grabbing his bleeding nose.

Without wasting a second, you ran towards your bedroom. You almost slipped and ran into the wall, but you quickly regained your balance. You pulled open the empty drawer and pushed the bottom, revealing a hidden part of the closet. You reached into it and just as the man with the eye patch appeared in the bedroom you had pointed two guns at the men standing beside him.

The man with the eye patch laughed, getting the blood from his face with his hand. ‘He told me you were good.’

‘Who told you?’ you asked, moving yourself across the room, so you could have a better view of the other men that had come walking into your apartment. ‘Who the hell are you?’

‘My name is Nick Fury, director of S.H.I.E.L.D.’

‘They’re with you?’ you pointed at the men and woman standing on the rooftop of the building across from your bedroom window.

Fury laughed again, nodding. ‘You never forget Special Forces training, do you?’

‘What are you here for, director?’

‘The captain thought you might be a good addition to the team.’

‘The captain?’ you lowered your guns, as Steve came walking past the men that were pointing their weapons at you.

‘I do believe you have already met,’ Fury said, gesturing his men to lower their weapons.

Steve smiled at you, while you put the safety back on the guns and put them in the drawer.

‘If you wanted to see me again, you could have just called,’ you smiled back.

‘I know,’ he replied. ‘I needed some time after everything that had happened. When I got back and told Fury about what you had done, he wanted to talk to you.’

You walked out of the bedroom, towards Steve. He lay his hand on the right side of your face. You could still see the bright, red scar the blast of the bomb had caused. He caressed it with his thumb and smiled sadly.

‘We’re here to offer you a job,’ Fury said, interrupting your moment.

‘I already have a job,’ you said, keeping your eyes on Steve.

Fury laughed. ‘I better job then. You’ll be part of a special team.’

You sighed, breaking eye contact with Steve and focusing your attention on Fury.

‘What team?’

Fury smiled, as the men and woman you had seen on the rooftop – and as you looked closer you realized it were the same people that had been called the Heroes of New York – came standing next to Steve and Fury.

‘The Avengers.’