The soft chirps of the morning bird's melodies that filled your bedroom, sounded as though they belonged in an animated fairytale, for it felt like they were waking you up with a song sung especially for you. Their soft little chirps harmonizing with the other, and you imagined them flying into your room and pulling back your lace curtains with their beaks to let in the morning sun. But as your eyes opened slowly, the only thing that filtered into your room for the new day that waited on the other side of your window, was the warm sunlight. It bathed your bed in hues, that danced across the misilanious patterens on the quilt your grandmother hand stitched for you as a child. There was something raw and new about the mornings as spring bled into summer; there was a brightness to the sun that felt almost saturated. As though it wasn't true sunlight, that it was replaced with that of artificial light painted to look that bright. There was something in the first breath you took in as you woke to the light, that felt clearer and happier than in the colder months. There was just something about the air, that made the mornings easier to welcome. 

Slowly, as you allowed time for your eyes to fully adjust to the sudden flood of light and your body to wake from it's peaceful slumber, you swung your legs to the side of the bed. Your feet dangling for a brief moment before they pressed flat against the carpet, your bare pads feeling the soft fabric beginning to float in between your toes, as you began to walk the short distance to your window. The mocha colored carpeting was soft and warm, as the sunshine shone down across it. It was soothing, as you reached your small window and pulled back the thin drapes. And the light that had been floating in through limited rays, now had full advantage of the space. 

Leaning your left shoulder gently against your powder blue painted walls, you gazed out the window at the Washington D.C buildings in the distance, and relished in the warmth the sunlight bathed you in. The buildings within the city were far enough away that they didn't diminish the beautiful nature that awaited for you, the lush green trees that surrounded the side of your bedroom. A soft smile had since shadowed against your lips as you enjoyed the warm early summer morning, but the peaceful moment was soon interrupted by a loud and repetitive pounding at your back door. 

Jumping at the sudden burst of noise, especially alarming at this time in the morning, you took a breath as you reached for the thin cotton cardigan laid strewn over your nearby dresser. Wrapping the fabric around you, over the navy camisole and matching sleep shorts, you exited the comfort of your warm and calming bedroom. As your bare feet lead you down the hallway towards the door that waited beside the kitchen, you wrapped your arms around yourself as though a layer of protection. When it reality, it was merely an action of self comfort and warmth, as you ventured away from the spotlight of warm sunshine. 

The small backdoor was covered by a set of wooden shades that you tilted back, as your hand met the silver door-handle, and through the thin slits you were able to make out the figure waiting for you far before you pulled the door open. 

He looked as though he had been through hell and back. Every inch of his skin was dusted with a layer of grit and soot, that made it seem as though he had been trapped in a mine somewhere below in the depths of the Earth. His blonde hair was tousled and creased in different directions as the ash that covered it made it resemble a much darker shade. The clothing that adorned his body, which was also scuffed, ripped and stained with smoke and dirt, looked so out of place on him. As though he was taking refuge in the body of another, as you knew this wasn't a look he would usually strive for. But the thing that truly grasped your attention, and made your heart beat a rhythm or two faster, was the sight of his eyes. They were bolder than you had ever witnessed them to be before, and you knew that was attributed to the dark ash that shadowed his face. Making the rich ocean blue of his irises stand out like a sapphire buried within a pile of coal.

"Steve?"

Exhaling a deep breath, Steve Rogers's eyes locked with yours as he replied in a soft and remorseful voice. "I'm sorry about this, but we need a place to lay low."

"Everyone we know is trying to kill us." A woman's voice spoke up, and your eyes left Steve's to land on the person you hadn't even realized was beside him. Her appearance was just as exhausted and roughed up as Steve's was, and the red-head looked at you with something behind her green eyes. Something you couldn't completely read, but you knew if Steve brought her with him here, she wasn't a threat.

Opening the door wider, as your fingers tightened around the edge of the light oak colored wood, you stepped to the side as you nodded your head. "Of course, come on in."

You knew the moment their dust coated shoes tracked through your tile floored kitchen, that you had opened the door and let something you had no idea of into your home. Into your world. You knew from Steve's disheveled appearance and the way the mysterious woman--who you had yet to be introduced to-- carried herself, that you had just fallen head first into the deep end of a pool you had no right swimming in. But the moment your eyes locked with Steve's strong and steady blues, there was no hesitation or second guessing in your actions. When you saw a roughed up and tired Steve Rogers standing at your back door, asking for your help, you didn't have a choice but to let him in.

"I have some clothes you can change into if you'd like," Your voice seemed so fragile in the midst of two strong and intimidating beings, but you steadied your words as well as you could as you directed them towards the beautiful redhead. "and there's a shower upstairs you can use."

With a faint flick upward of her lips, a semblance of a kind smile, the woman nodded her head curtly with her appreciation. "Thank you." 

As you watched the last of the woman's straight but tangled red strands disappear up your short flight of stairs, you suddenly felt wildly underdressed. For the silence that filled the small space of your cozy little kitchen was stifling. It made you wrap your cardigan around your body tighter, as you stood beside Steve in barely enough fabric to make you feel comfortable. The air felt thick although goosebumps covered every inch of your skin, and your eyes kept bouncing from short glances in his direction to the pale white tile beneath your bare feet. 

"Nat can be intimidating until you get to know her," His voice was like a breath of fresh air, for the moment his words hit the atmosphere, you took a deep breath your lungs had been craving. "but she isn't going to hurt you, I promise. I wouldn't have brought her here if I didn't trust her."

Your eyes lifted from their blank stare at your now dirtier kitchen floor, and locked with Steve's calm blues. It was almost unnerving how his eyes could stay so still and settled in any situation he may find himself in. For the pressure that followed them in when they stepped into your home, was palpable in the air. But Steve looked at you as though nothing could faze him. As though he only focused on one crucial thought at a time, and in this moment, that thought was you.

"There's only one shower," You swallow deeply, as your voice softly speaks up. "but you can get cleaned up in there."

Just left of the kitchen, there was a small bathroom and you led Steve towards it in the quiet that followed. He flicked the light switch, illuminating the snug but bright room. And the pale yellow walls lit up and resembled the sunshine you stood in just minutes ago, as Steve moved to stand in front of the white porcelain sink. He looked so out of place standing here, his soot covered clothes looking like someone sprinkled ash across a valley of perfectly white snow. And as you watched him look at his reflection in the large round mirror, it seemed surreal to see him standing here with you in your own home. 

Reaching up into the top cabinet, as Steve proceeded to unzip his dark blue sweatshirt, along with a grey graphic tee shirt that you knew he had not a clue what the picture meant, leaving him standing to your left in nothing but ripped and muddy jeans that looked unbearably tight for him, and a white tank top that had begun to turn grey from the ask that clung to his skin, you grabbed hold of a soft washcloth. And turning back to the man that made butterflies explode in the pit of your stomach, you reached under the faucet and let the running water soak through the cloth. 

"I really am sorry about this," His voice was hushed but it felt thundering in the small space. With your heart racing like a car going a million miles on a racetrack, you turned the water off and your eyes flickered up to look at him. "it was never my intention to drag you into this mess."

Pulling your bottom lip inward with your teeth nervously, as your eyes dropped to the cloth that dripped with excess water in the sink, you shook your head softly. "It's alright Steve."

Steve exhaled a breath, and you couldn't distinguish if it was from the exhaustion you could see evident across his face or if it was a puff of air before his lips curled into a soft smile. But with your eyes casted down at the cloth in your hand, you wouldn't know for sure. 

You could hear him inhale as though he was about to say something to respond to your short assurance with, but your voice beat him to it. "You're bleeding."

Your two words brought Steve's attention away from your face, for you could feel when his eyes dropped, because it felt like you were back standing in front of the sun. His gaze rushing over your flesh with warmth that made your chest feel light, until his blue eyes pulled away and the warmth instantly grew cold. His right hand that gripped tightly to the rim of the sink, was cut up and beginning to bruise. But it was the dark crimson blood that slowly oozed from the multiple lacerations on his flesh, and trickled down the edge of the bright white sink, that caused you to speak up. And before Steve could even begin to think of something to say about the small injury you knew he probably barely even felt, you pressed the wet washcloth gently to his wounds. Watching as his blood soaked through the once white wash cloth, spreading across the fabric with a deep rich color. Almost resembling that of spilled red wine, but with a strong metallic scent that faintly began to rise in the small space. 

"Thank you."

His tone was soft; and the calm in his voice washed over you like a gentle wave in the ocean. There was always something about Steve's voice that made you instantly feel safe. Something in the genuine kindness that was always found in his tone, that made you feel like he wrapped his arms around you, and shielded you from any fear, any pain. And the tranquility he always managed to somehow possess when he spoke, it made your racing heart slow and your tumbling thoughts stand still. He had an effect on you that was like no other, one you couldn't quite explain even if your tried, for you hardly knew the man. But there was something undeniable about Steve Rogers, and something that made you crave his presence when he wasn't around.

Lifting your shoulder up lightly, in the motion of a faint shrug, you continued to keep your eyes focused on the cloth that was nearly completely red below your fingers. "You don't have to--"

Your words are abruptly cut off by the simple act of Steve's left hand reaching over and resting flat against your working fingers. The touch of his warm flesh against your own, that burns with anxiety, stills your movements completely and leaves your mind spiraling out of control.

"I do," Steve retorts in the gentlest tone, that causes your eyes to hesitantly flicker up to meet his awaiting gaze. And any breath that you were somehow miraculously breathing, dissipated the second your eyes locked with Steve's blinding blues. For it felt as though, through the strength of his soft and beautiful gaze and the faint curl of a smile against his perfectly pale lips, that you were drawn from your body. Floating somewhere far above your body that stood frozen in place beside him, everything inside of your chest empty and your head somewhere else. 

But with a simple shake of his head, that causes his eyes to break off the contact and his fingers to slide from their placement on the very edge of your skin, you were returned. Abruptly, dropped back into your body as you stood breathless and shaky as you watched Steve laugh faintly at himself as he still shook his head, his eyes focused downward towards his shoes. 

"I should've called you," His glinting blue eyes hesitantly began to rise, as he looked to you with a sheepish expression that nearly made you combust. But with the look in his eyes that made your knees weaker than they already were, there was regret evident in every crevice of his tone. His words dripped in it, and it made your heart lurch towards him inside of your chest. 

"You've been busy." You remark softly, as you eye that his wound has since begun to clot. 

Steve lets out a breath, and the less faint curl of his lips warms you. "I was going to call," As the words escaped him, his eyes shut for a moment as he tilted his head forward as though his own brain was contradicting the words he just spoke. "I wanted to call."

Removing the cloth and draping it over the silver faucet, you lean your hip against the sink as you look up at Steve through your lashes. Anxiety coursing through your veins, and yet somehow, you find the strength inside of yourself to look the man dead in the eyes and whisper a single question. 

"So why didn't you?"

The smile straightened and his eyes seemed to settle, as though the waves suddenly dropped and the deep blue sea was still. The only thing that moved over the span of his near perfect face, was his nostrils, faintly, as he breathed in one breath after the other. His eyes were locked on you, unwavering, and in that moment he was more than beautiful. He was mesmerizing. 

"Because I thought I blew it?" Suddenly his face breaks as he speaks up again, and the light rolling of waves return to his blue eyes, but the raw and nerve wrecking and honest moment has yet to disperse. "Because I thought you deserved something better?"

"Do you really get to decide that?"

You weren't sure how the words were escaping you, for your hands still shook as though a bolt of lightening had struck from the clouds, but it felt as though he had you in some sort of trance. And everything you thought, and every little feeling you could recognize in the depth of your chest, was brought to the surface. You felt safe to express them, in the comforting embrace of Steve's warm gaze. 

"I'm not very good at this," Steve admits in a low voice, but his eyes don't dare leave you. "I'm 95, and I still don't have it down."

You knew he was joking lightly with you now, as you felt your own lips begin to curl upward into a small smile, but there was an underlying honesty that you couldn't miss. 

"And you think I do? You think, anyone really does?" You ask him with a hint of nervous laughter bubbling in the back of your throat. "Steve, we're all just out here trying to find someone, so that we don't have to go through this life alone."

Tilting your head to the right slightly, you gazed up at the man through your lashes as he stared down at you with a warmth that rushed over you like the sunlight from earlier. But you realized as you basked in his glow, that this was better than anything the sun could send beaming down upon you.

"I should've called." Steve breathed out softly again, but this time his breath fanned across your cheek, as his lips had grown closer to you somehow. The distance between the two of you had suddenly shrunk as you stood there together, and now you could feel the hot blow of air across your skin. Sending goosebumps over the skin of your arms. He felt so close and yet... not close enough.

"I think Captain America's allowed at least one mistake." You retorted softly, your heart beating against your chest as though fists pounding against a wall. But you could barely register the pain inside your trembling chest, as the very tip of his nose grazed against the burning skin of your cheekbone. It felt as though a butterfly fluttered down, and just softly landed on top of your sensitive skin. 

"You think?" You could feel his smile without even seeing it with your eyes, for it fanned against your lips as your eyelashes slowly began to flutter shut, swiping against his tanned skin faintly on their way down.

You could nearly taste him, the way his lips hovered over yours. His soft breath that warmed your skin, was all the air you needed to keep breathing in that moment. But the moment that seemed so perfect, so intimate, and unbreakable... broke. 

"Steve!" 

Natasha's voice rung throughout your apartment from the top of the staircase, and it was enough to separate you. The dense cloud that had trapped you both inside it's heavy trance, suddenly faded and you were both freed. But your eyes hadn't parted. Steve stared at you with parted lips and you could see the way his chest heaved slightly as though he was gasping for a breath. And your chest burned from the oxygen you had forgotten to breathe. 

"You should--you should go shower. Change. You'll feel better." Your voice seemed so lost in the room, despite the small space. 

Steve nodded his head curtly, and raking a hand through his tousled blonde hair, he began to turn around. You could hear as he walked the short distance to the door, the large puff of air he exhaled as though he had been holding it this entire time. 

Your head spun like you had just been on the wildest roller-coaster in your life, but there was an ache in your heart that suddenly caused yourself to call out to Steve just as his fingers wrapped around the door handle. 

"Steve," His head whirled around as his blue eyes found you instantly, and the warm fluttering feeling rose in the pit of your stomach. "I'm glad you used your one mistake on me."

A/N: I'm so in love with this one!! Oh my gosh! I am so freaking proud of the writing I was able to create on this one!!😍Every word, every line, I am just so happy with! I fell in love with this idea when it came to me, but it took me a while to finally decide to sit down and write because I wanted it to be just right... and seeing what I've created now, I can happily say it's even better than I could've imagined! I wanted this one to be a slow burn essence; skinny love kind of vibe. And I am so in love with what I was able to write!  I hope you all enjoyed this one!❤