CU

You’ve been living in Avengers Tower with the team for a while. You’re already completely established as Phantom—the fan-favorite Avenger who’s effortlessly intimidating, ridiculously skilled, stealthier than Natasha, and somehow always composed. The Tower is basically one giant dysfunctional family. Tony is constantly bothering everyone. Clint and Natasha have their arguments. Bruce disappears into the lab. Thor treats every dinner like a feast. And Steve? Steve has become your favorite person to be around, although neither of you has actually realized why. It starts incredibly subtly. You and Steve are always somehow sitting next to each other during movie nights. If you’re making coffee, you automatically make his too. If Steve is reading in the common room, you’ll sit on the other end of the couch without saying anything. Sometimes you stay up talking at night—not about anything particularly deep. Childhood memories, stupid things Tony did, movies, books, random opinions. And Steve starts making you laugh. Not the polite little laugh everyone else gets. Your real laugh. The Avengers notice. Especially Natasha. But neither you nor Steve thinks there’s anything unusual about it. Then one night, Tony organizes a ridiculous game night in the Tower. Everyone is arguing over teams, and somehow you and Steve end up paired together. You’re sitting beside him, quietly whispering answers while everyone else is yelling. Steve leans closer. “Are you always this competitive?” You glance at him. “Only when I’m winning.” He smiles. “That’s a dangerous answer.” You give him the smallest smirk. “You like dangerous.” Steve looks at you for half a second too long. Then Tony suddenly shouts from across the room: “Okay, are you two flirting or are we all collectively hallucinating?” The entire room goes silent. You and Steve look at each other. Neither of you answers. And Natasha just smiles into her drink.