bulletproof

16

A/N *One swear word*

Y/N froze in her place, going through the possible scenarios that could happen the moment she turned around and looked at him for the first time in maybe a month? She took in a deep breath and swivelled in her chair, leaning her forearm on the back of her chair and beaming at the Dorito man scowling at her, leaning against the doorway.

"Steve!" She exclaimed, cringing internally as she heard the falsity in it and how its pitch went almost Alvin And The Chipmunks-esque.

She ignored the sharp pain in her shin from the harsh kick from Bruce and continued smiling at Steve, her cheeks aching more and more as she stayed in that facial feature. The smile seemed to get less and less genuine and more and more fake with each passing second.

She looked at him directly in his cold, blue eyes, deliberately and meaningfully. He glared back. Their eye contact started to become a staring contest, neither wanting to lose.

Tony cleared his throat, "Good morning, Rogers...do you want some coffee?" He offered, gesturing to the coffee pot, trying to pivot Steve's attention away from Y/N but failing, miserably.

"No, I'm good." Came the reply, curt and simple. Steve's voice shook with frustration and rage and everyone in the room flinched internally at the dramatic change of atmosphere in the spacious kitchen.

"Okay," Tony said, weakly, backing away to almost sitting on the counter behind him, knocking into the pot, "Y/N?"

Y/N didn't break eye contact with Steve as she responded, "No thanks, Tony, maybe later."

Nat cleared her throat from her place, making the action louder and louder each time to break the encounter between Cap and Y/N but to no avail. All she did was hurt her throat. Clint exhaled loudly and Bruce tapped his fingers on the counter, trying to defuse the tension in the room. 

"Well...I have some stuff to do so...yeah..." Tony hurried out of the kitchen as fast as he could without running, Bruce following him, tailing him, eager to get out. 

Nat and Clint took one look at one another and then at the staring pair and didn't even try to conceal their intentions, sprinting out as fast as they could, making their stools clatter to the tiled floor.

"So..." Y/N started, trying to ease the uncomfortable atmosphere and being the mature adult one of the conversation, "Not good, huh?"

"Yeah. Not good." Steve repeated, moving past her and reaching towards the fruit bowl centred in the middle of the island, "But you know, that's what happens when you actually do your job and work."

She flinched at that, "Look...Steve...I wasn't in my right state of mind...I needed some time away from everyone and...well...yeah,"  She explained, dragging her fingertips through her hair nervously, "But I'm ready to work and I'll take on any hard missions you have, no complaints." She lifted her hands up and showed her palms in a sort of sign of surrender and that she meant no harm in anything.

Steve scoffed, rolling an apple between his hands, "I should hope so. You've been sitting on your ass for the past few months, ignoring all of your responsibilities."

Y/N bit her lip in an attempt to stop herself from retorting but it slipped out before she could do anything to stop it, snapping, "You don't know a damn thing about what's been happening to me!"

The blond-haired man slammed the fruit on the table and stared at her with desperation and anger, "Because you shut me out!" He roared, his irritation driving his actions, "Every time I tried to help you, you slammed the door in my face. Did you really expect me to not take that at heart? It fucking hurt."