Let Me Love You

Exposed

Steve's POV

"We should tell her." Nat says. "I mean, I'd want to know if my so-called boyfriend was cheating on me every other weekend."

"It's not our place, Nat." I sigh, my moral nature taking over.

"She's way too hot for him." Bucky speaks, crossing his arms.

"Ooh, someone has a crush!" Sam teases him, making him blush. "I totally ship it." He claps.

"What? Who's going on a ship?" Thor asks.

"No, it's.." Sam goes to explain but realizes that Thor is piss drunk. "Nevermind." He laughs, shaking his head at him.

"We should all probably get some rest." Bruce says, informing us that it's already 2am. He, Clint, Thor, Bucky, and Sam all make their way to their rooms.

"You alright Steve?" Nat asks, fixing her gaze on me.

"Me? Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" I ask, putting on a facade.

"Did you forget that I'm a spy." She crosses her arms. I shrug, pretending to not know what she's talking about. "I saw the way you were looking at her. How hurt you were when Tony introduced her." She continues. "You like her."

"Like her? I barely know her." I defend, getting up from my seat and cleaning up the mess from the party.

"Well you think she's cute." She says, helping me clean. When I don't respond, she smirks. "Why else would you have gotten so tense when Bucky was flirting with her or when Sam exposed Bucky's crush?"

"Because she has a boyfriend? Nobody should be flirting with a taken woman." I say, my nerves getting the best of me.

Natasha sighs. "Not a very good boyfriend." She shakes her head. "When she finds out, it's going to crush her."

"Well then we make sure Kate doesn't find out." I say, tying the first trash bag and setting it down.

"Hey guys." Kate says softly as she walks to the fridge and grabs a water bottle. "I see Tony still hasn't learned to clean up after himself." She shakes her head at the mess left behind.

"Nope." Nat fake yawns. "Do you still need my help Steve? I'm pretty exhausted." She winks.

"Oh, go get some rest, I'll help with what's left." Kate smiles and Nat gives her a hug before saying goodnight.

"So, how did Captain America get stuck on clean-up duty?" Kate asks as she begins to clean up on the other side of the room.

"We all chatted for a bit after you and Tony left until everyone else decided to go to bed." I explain. "I wouldn't be able to sleep knowing this mess was still out here." She smiles. "What about you? I thought you'd be busy with Stark."

"Oh God no. Not when he's like that." She shakes her head. "He knows I hate when he drinks too much but he does it anyway." She sighs in frustration.

"Tony will be Tony." I shrug, tying another garbage bag. "So how long have you two been together? Why haven't we seen you before?"

"We've been together for around a year but I haven't seen him in 5 months so it really doesn't feel like that long." She explains. "I've tried coming sooner but it's impossible to get in contact with him."

I nod, not wanting to say something that I shouldn't. We quickly finish cleaning and set the last bags down before sitting on the couch.

"He's never even mentioned me?" She asks, breaking the awkward silence. I press my lips together and shake my head. "Can I ask you something?" She asks, her head hanging low.

"Of course."

"Why.. When Tony went to introduce me, why did Natasha and Thor assume I was just a fling?" She asks, looking up at me. I could tell by the look in her eyes that she already knew the answer to her question, she just wanted confirmation.

I stare at her, frozen, not knowing what to say. "Kate, I really don't think-"

"I get it, you're Tony's friend, you wouldn't expose him to his girlfriend that you just met." She presses her lips together.

"No, Kate." I stand up and grab her hand before she walks away. She turns to face me, tears building in her eyes. I look down at her and my breath hitches in my throat. "W-What do you like about him so much anyway?" I try to change the subject.

Kate caresses my face with one hand and smiles flatly. "Goodnight Steve." With that, she turns on her heels and steps into the elevator.