The Best Man (Steve x Reader) One-shot

You were standing in the kitchen, pouring yourself and Steve a cup of tea. You had known each other for almost three year now. He had come to live in the same building – right above you – after the Battle of New York. You had become friends after the first year and after the second year you had even become best friends.

There had however never been anything romantic between you. When you first met you had already had a boyfriend and for the last couple of months Steve had also finally started seeing someone. Or at least, that was what he told you. You had never actually met the lucky girl.

There had only been that one night, several months ago, when Steve had cooked you dinner. While the food was baking in the oven, Steve had started to tease you that your boyfriend, Derek, wanted to move in with you. Apparently Steve thought you were way to messy to live with someone so uptight as Derek. You had thrown the bowl of lettuce at his head, immediately sorry as he started to chase you around his apartment.

He had lifted you from the ground and thrown you over his shoulder onto the couch. You had pulled him with you, causing the both of you to fall off the couch and onto the floor. When you had tried to push yourself from the floor, Steve’s face had been right in front of yours. He had wiped the hair out of your face and smiled at you the way only he could. You had felt your stomach turn as you looked into each other’s eyes, your faces moving closer to each other with every passing second. His lips had lingered on yours when the beeping sound of the oven had awoken the both of you out of the trance you were in. You had never spoken of that moment ever again.

Sometimes you wondered what would have happened if the two of you had kissed that day. Would you still be together with Derek? Would Steve have found himself a girlfriend? You could only guess the answer to those questions.

When the tea was ready, you walked back into your living room, smiling at Steve as you saw him going through one of your girly magazines. Clearly not meant to be read by a man, as he was frowning more and more with every page he turned.

‘Here’s your tea,’ you said sweetly, putting the hot, steaming cup on the table in front of him.

Steve quickly put the magazine away and looked at you gratefully as you seated yourself on the couch.

‘So, Derek isn’t here, I see,’ he commented, looking at the mess you had already created, even though Derek was just gone for several hours and would be back home tomorrow morning.

‘Shush,’ you laughed. ‘Don’t tell him!’

Steve shook his head, smiling, taking his cup of tea from the table. ‘Don’t worry. Your secret is safe with me.’

You nodded, taking a sip of the hot tea, almost burning your tongue. ‘Now that we’re talking about Derek. There is something I need to tell you…’ you said, taking in a deep breath.

‘Okay,’ Steve frowned, turning himself towards you, probably thinking something was wrong.

You started smiling like a madman and shoved your hand under Steve’s nose, showing him the large diamond ring you had been trying to hide from him the entire evening. ‘Derek proposed! I’m getting married!’

Steve choked on his tea, his face turning red as he tried to cough the water back up. ‘Congratulations,’ he spoke with ragged breaths after a few seconds, once he had recovered. He frowned at you a little, swallowing hard. ‘Wow, he proposed…’

You nodded. ‘Isn’t it great?’

‘I didn’t know you wanted to get married.’

‘Well, I couldn’t say no, now could I? Derek is good to me. He loves me.’

Steve nodded, smiling sadly. ‘I’m happy for you, truly.’

‘Thank you, Steve. There is one other thing I wanted to tell you, or actually ask you. You’ve been my best friend for over a year now and I don’t think there is anyone that knows me as well as you do. Apart from Derek of course. So, what I wanted to asked you: Will you be my best man?’

‘Best man?’ Steve laughed. ‘Don’t men usually have a best man? Aren’t you supposed to get a maid of honor?’

‘Well, technically that would be you. But I figured you would prefer the name best man.’

‘Wait, you’re asking me to be your maid of honor and help you with all the wedding planning?’

You nodded. ‘I know it might sound a little strange, but I don’t really have anyone else I can ask. All my cousins are completely obsessed with pink, and I can’t have pink in my wedding. I can’t ask my mom either. You know how she is with these sort of things. So, that leaves you. Please, Steve. Please say you’ll do it!’

Steve sighed. ‘Of course, [Name]. Anything for you.’

‘Thank you, thank you, thank you!’ you cried out, throwing yourself at Steve and hugging him.

‘Don’t thank me yet,’ Steve laughed, pushing you from him. ‘When is the wedding?’

‘February…’

‘Feb… [Name], that’s in two months!’

You nodded, smiling cheekily. ‘We’d better get on it then!’


A MONTH LATER
Steve had proven himself a real good friend. He had helped you with everything. You had made a list with all the things you wanted to have from family and friends, having more fun scanning useless things than you were probably supposed to. He had helped you pick out the colors for the wedding, the venue, the flowers, the cake, the table setting, everything. You had first asked if Derek wanted to help you, but he never seemed as interested as Steve or even agreed with you. After a while you had just stopped asking.

There was only a month to go and you still hadn’t gone dress shopping. Every time you wanted to go, something held you back. You didn’t know what it was. Maybe you were scared. Scared that you wouldn’t find the right dress. Or maybe that you would…

You were awoken from your strain of thought when the doorbell rang.

‘Honey, can you get it?’ Derek cried out from his study room. ‘I’m busy…’

You pushed yourself from the couch, putting down the bridal magazines. You made your way over to the door and opened it, finding Steve standing in the opening.

‘Steve, what are you doing here?’

‘Honey, who is it?’ Derek cried out again.

‘It’s just Steve!’

‘I came to get you,’ Steve smiled, walking inside your apartment as you shut the door behind him. ‘We still need to get you a dress.’

‘I know,’ you groaned, getting your jacket from the stand and putting it on.

‘Hey, Steve,’ Derek nodded, walking up to Steve and shaking his hand. ‘I hear you have been taking good care of my soon to be wife. How is the wedding planning going?’

‘Great,’ Steve replied, looking from Derek to you. ‘I think we have it under control.’

Derek smiled, pulling you closer to him and pressing an awkward kiss on your lips. ‘You picked [Name]’s favorite colors, right? Gold and pink?’

Steve frowned. ‘No… [Name]’s favorite colors are white and purple, actually.’

‘Oh, yeah, right,’ Derek brushed it off. ‘I need to get back to my work. Don’t give her everything she wants, Steve. Got to have a little testosterone in the wedding!’

‘Sure…’ Steve nodded, getting you by the hand and leading you out of your apartment.

‘So, where are we going?’ you asked, letting him lead you through the streets of New York.

‘You’ll see.’

After a few minutes of walking, Steve stopped in front one of the famous bridal shops in New York. You couldn’t believe he had been able to get you an appointment here so short notice. Maybe it did have its perks, being friends with Captain America.

‘What kind of dress are you looking for?’ your consultant asked you in the dressing room. Steve was sitting outside, waiting for you to come out.

You sighed, looking at yourself in the mirror, trying to picture yourself in a dress. Somehow that was difficult. ‘Something classic,’ you answered after several seconds, ‘and elegant. Not too revealing, but still sexy and romantic.’

The consultant smiled. ‘I’ll pull some dresses out for you.’

After a few minutes the consultant returned with several dresses. In the first dress you put on, you thought you looked like a Greek goddess. The material was very flowy and the one shoulder strap really gave it a Greek feel. The back was completely open and very sexy, but you didn’t feel comfortable in it. When you showed it to Steve you could see he didn’t like it either.

‘Derek will love it…’ was the only thing he said, before you shook your head and walked back into the dressing room.

The second dress you put on was a beautiful, strapless lace gown with a lot of cleavage. It made your body look amazing, but you constantly felt the need to cover yourself up. When you showed it to Steve he smiled, but shaking his head.

‘It’s amazing, but…’

‘It’s not me,’ you completed his sentence, still covering your boobs with your hands.

‘Would be a bit weird if you were covering yourself during the whole wedding, don’t you think.’

You nodded and walked right back to the dressing room.

The third dress you put on send shivers down your spine. It was a simple, but elegant dress. You bit your lip as you looked at yourself in the mirror. The dress had a sweetheart neckline, but was closed up to your collarbones with beautiful see-through chiffon. A belt with tiny sparkles accentuated your waist. Tears stung in your eyes as you realized that this was your dress. You just couldn’t decide if you should be happy or sad about it.

You made your way out of the dressing room, holding the soft fabric of the dress in your hands. You could see Steve’s eyes going over your body and he opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out. He stood up from his chair and placed himself next to you as you looked in the large mirror in front of you.

‘You look amazing,’ Steve whispered, looking into your eyes through the mirror. ‘How do you feel?’

You smiled sadly. ‘Like a bride…’

‘Do you like it?’ the consultant asked you, walking up to you and looking at you in the mirror. ‘It really suits you.’

You nodded. ‘I love it.’

‘You’re a lucky man, captain,’ the woman smiled, looking at the both of you. ‘Will this be the dress?’

‘Oh, we’re not…’ you both said, looking at each other, turning red. ‘Yes, this is my dress,’ you quickly spoke to the consultant, stepping down from the pedestal and rushing back to the dressing room.

‘I’m sorry,’ the woman said as she walked into the room. ‘I just figured the two of you were a couple. You just looked… right together, you know. So, then who is the lucky man?’

‘Derek,’ you replied, putting off the dress. ‘He’s a writer. We’ve been together for over three years now.’

‘How wonderful!’

You nodded, looking at yourself in the mirror as you put on your clothes again. You swallowed hard, not knowing what to think anymore. You couldn’t get the look on Steve’s face, of when he first saw you in that dress, out of your head. You could only hope Derek would look as astonished and happy as Steve had.


A DAY BEFORE THE WEDDING – DURING THE REHEARSAL DINNER
Steve was sipping from his glass of champagne, listening to the conversations people on his table were having. You were sitting next to him and Derek, laughing at something one of your guests had said. Steve wanted to be happy for you. Happy that you had found happiness, but somewhere deep down he just couldn’t.

‘Hey, capsicle,’ Tony whispered to Steve, poking him in the side with his elbow. ‘Have you told her yet?’

Steve shook his head. ‘No.’

‘But you are leaving tomorrow morning. You can’t just not show up to her wedding.’

Steve sighed, knowing he had to tell you he had been called in for a mission. He wouldn’t be able to attend the wedding. He hadn’t told yet, because he knew you would be devastated.

‘I’m just trying to find the right words…’

Tony shook his head, emptying his glass of champagne in one large sip. ‘What about that other thing we talked about…’

‘Not now, Tony,’ Steve replied, gesturing to Tony he should stay quiet. ‘Not here.’

‘Oh, come on!’ Tony cried out. ‘Just tell her,’ he spoke again, but softer after people had started staring at him.

‘You know I can’t.’

‘Bullshit. When are you finally going to pull your head out of the sand, Steve? Just another day and it’s too late.’

‘It doesn’t matter. You’ve seen them together. She loves him. Not me.’

‘Yeah, right,’ Tony laughed softly. ‘I’ve seen you together. I’m telling you, she loves you. Not that stupid excuse of a writer… She’s just waiting for you to tell her she’s making a mistake.’

‘Maybe… But I can’t just…’

‘Excuse me ladies and gentleman, I would like to make a toast to my beautiful fiancé, [Name],’ Derek interrupted Steve by tabbing his knife against his glass. ‘We’ve been together for over three years now and I haven’t regretted a day. You are so beautiful and I couldn’t imagine myself marrying anyone else. Except Megan Fox, of course! Who wouldn’t want to marry her!’

Derek’s family laughed, while Steve could see you smiling awkwardly and your mother looked at Derek as if she wanted to shoot him.

‘I’m just kidding,’ Derek laughed. ‘I love you, honey. Till death do us part.’ He raised his glass and waited for everyone else to follow him, before he spoke again. ‘Now let’s get drunk and forget this whole day ever happened!’

Agreeing sounds came from the party, but Steve just put his glass of champagne back on the table, without taking even a sip.

‘He’s really good with words, isn’t he,’ Steve whispered to you.

You turned around to him, still holding your glass in your hand. You smiled at his words and sighed, shaking your head. ‘He means well and he promised he would behave tomorrow.’

‘I bet he did… Look, [Name], about tomorrow. I won’t be able to attend the wedding. Fury has called me in for an important mission. He insisted it couldn’t wait another day.’

‘What?’ you frowned at him. ‘No, you have to come. You’re my witness.’

‘I’m sorry, [Name]. I wish I could be there. I really do.’

‘B-but… Okay,’ you sighed. ‘I don’t like it, but you are Captain America. I knew this could happen. When they need you, they need you. I understand.’

‘[Name], it’s not like that, I…’

‘Don’t worry, Steve,’ you smiled. ‘I understand. I’ll ask my mother. You’re doing her a huge favor I suppose. But you’d better give me a better speech than Derek did, otherwise I’m dragging your ass to the wedding, mission or not.’

Steve laughed softly, thinking you were really a kind person. You always put other people’s needs above your own and you were the most forgiving person he had ever met. He knew exactly what he was going to say about you.

‘Excuse me, everyone,’ Steve started, pushing himself from his chair and standing up. ‘I also have a few things I’d like to say about [Name].’ Steve cleared his throat and continued. ‘[Name] and I have been friends for a good three years and she literally means the world to me. She is the sweetest and most amazing person I know. I remember the first day we met. She was playing some kind of music I had never heard before, really, really loudly and I had just come back from a long day of work and I just couldn’t stop myself from going up the stairs and banging on her door. I have never heard a person say sorry so many times in a row ever again.’

A laughter welled up from the party and Steve looked down to you for a few seconds, seeing you smiling at him with tears in your eyes.

‘You see, [Name] usually doesn’t think about herself first,’ Steve continued. ‘She is always so busy trying to make others happy, that she sometimes forgets to be happy herself. I think that is why we became such good friends. We are a lot alike. She is unbelievably caring and kind, and I want nothing more for [Name] than to be happy. Since we are all here today, I guess she found that happiness in Derek. What I am trying to say is, [Name], be happy and don’t let anyone ever steal that away from you.’

Steve seated himself back in his chair next to you and quickly took a sip from his champagne.

‘Thank you,’ you whispered in his ear. You pressed a kiss on his cheek and took his hand in yours, squeezing it slightly.

‘I mean it,’ Steve whispered back, looking into your eyes. ‘I want you to be happy. I need you to.’

‘What about you?’ you replied. ‘You should be happy too. Why is Sharon not here?’

Steve sighed, pulling his hand from yours. He looked down to his empty plate, trying to figure out what he should say. When he had finally found the words, he looked up to you again, finding nothing but confusion in your eyes.

‘[Name]…’ Steve started, slowly pushing himself from the chair again. ‘We both know I never really dated Sharon.’

Steve stood up from his chair, pressed a soft kiss on your cheek and walked out of the room, quickly followed by Tony. He turned around one last time, seeing you staring at him, your hand resting on the cheek he had pressed a kiss on, tears in your eyes.

‘I love you,’ he whispered, turning around quickly and running outside the building.


THE DAY OF THE WEDDING
Steve was driving his motorcycle through New York. He had gotten an address from Fury and he had agreed to meet him there. Steve looked at his watch to see the time and he realized you would be married in less than an hour. He tried to shake you from his thoughts, but somehow you wouldn’t leave.

He hadn’t been able to get you out of his head for several months now. Not since that one day when you had almost kissed. His stomach had turned and he had finally realized you were the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. But you were with Derek. You would always be, and today that would be even more final than it had ever been.

Stop it! He told himself. She’s with Derek. She loves him. He makes her happy. Don’t come in between that. You’re not that type of guy.

He looked at his watch again, biting his lip. The courthouse was on the other side of town, but if he would hurry, he could still make it for the ‘I do’s’.

Resolutely he turned his motorcycle around, nearly getting hit by a car. The driver honked at him and put up his finger, seemingly yelling nasty words at Steve.

‘Sorry!’ Steve cried out, before hitting the gas and sprinting away, hoping he wouldn’t be too late.

When he had reached the courthouse, he jumped off his motorcycle, not even taking the time to lock it. He ran into the large building, sprinting through the halls to find the right room.

‘Wait!’ Steve yelled as he pushed open the heavy doors of the right room. He walked inside, finding nothing but empty chairs. A man was sweeping the floor and another man was stacking the chairs on one another.

‘I’m sorry, sir,’ one of them spoke to Steve. ‘If you are here for the wedding, it is already over.’

Steve nodded, swallowing hard. It had been too much to ask for the wedding to be a little delayed.

‘Bride or groom?’ the man asked as he continued to stack the chairs.

‘Excuse me?’

‘Were you here for the bride or groom?’

‘Bride…’ Steve sighed, taking a seat in one of the chairs that were still standing. He took his head in his hands and rubbed his eyes.

‘Hey, aren’t you that Captain fellow? Johnny, what was his name again?’ the man cried out to his colleague.

‘Captain America,’ Steve whispered.

‘Yeah, that one! Well, son, you missed a hell of a wedding.’

Steve nodded, cursing himself for waiting so long to tell you he loved you. For going on that stupid mission while he should have been here standing right next to you. But most of all, for not kissing you that one day. If he had, then maybe everything would have been different.

‘Tell me something,’ Steve asked both of the men that were cleaning around him. ‘Did she look happy?'

‘We weren’t here for the wedding, son. We’re just the cleaning crew.’

‘Oh, I understand.’ Steve pushed himself from the chair and walked out of the room again. ‘Thanks anyway.’

‘No problem, captain!’

Steve made his way back out of the courthouse, taking in a deep breath. Luckily his motorcycle was still standing where he had left it. He jumped on and checked his phone, finding several missed calls from Fury and Tony, but he didn’t feel like talking to either of them. He put on his helmet and drove off, back to his apartment.

He parked his motorcycle in the garage underneath his apartment building and made his way inside. He took out the mail from his mailbox and walked up the stairs, going through the letters as he made his way up.

‘Steve…’ you called out his name as he walked up to his apartment door, still looking at his mail.

He turned his gaze towards you, seeing you push yourself from his doorstep, still wearing your wedding dress.

‘[Name]? What are you doing here?’

‘I needed to see you…’

Steve frowned, walking closer to you. ‘I don’t understand. Shouldn’t you be at the wedding reception?’

You sighed. ‘Shouldn’t you be on a mission?’

Steve smiled a little, evading his gaze from you. ‘I went to the courthouse, but you weren’t there anymore.’

You nodded. ‘I couldn’t do it…’

‘Couldn’t do what?’ Steve asked, taking another step closer to you and feeling his heart race in his chest.

‘Marry Derek…’

Steve swallowed hard, looking into your eyes. ‘Why not?’

‘I was standing in that room, hearing the judge say all kinds of things about Derek and I realized that everything was perfect. The colors, the flowers... the dress. But not the man I was standing next to.’

Tears were stinging in your eyes and Steve took another step closer, wiping away the single tear that ran down your cheek.

‘Why did you never tell me you love me?’ you whispered as Steve stroke a strand of hair out of your face and tucked it behind your ear.

‘You were already happy with Derek. I didn’t want to come between that.’

‘You should have just told me.’

‘And then what,’ Steve smiled sadly. ‘Nothing would have changed, [Name]. We were just friends…’

‘You don’t get it, do you? Everything would have changed! I love you too, Steve. I only accepted Derek’s proposal to try and get you out of my head.’

Steve looked into your eyes, letting your words sink in. Did you just tell him you loved him?

He pulled you closer to him, slipping his hand over your cheek to the back of your head. He caressed the side of your face with his thumb. Your faces moved closer to each other with every passing second, until his lips lingered on yours and after all those months thinking about it, he was finally able to kiss you.

You let your hand rest on Steve’s arm as he kissed you slowly, feeling your soft and sweet lips against his. Steve swallowed hard, letting his forehead rest against yours.

‘I thought we promised to tell each other everything…’ he whispered against your lips.

You smiled, leaning in for another kiss. ‘I guess we both broke that promise.’

‘What do we do now?’ Steve asked, taking you into his arms and pressing you against him. ‘I don’t want to lose you by moving too fast.’

‘You could never lose me, Steve. Not even if you tried.’

‘You promise?’

‘I promise…’



THE END