bakerstreet | The Superhero's Significant Other Meme

The Superhero's Significant Other Meme

The Superhero's Significant Other Meme

You're just an average Joe (or Joanna, as the case may be). You live a normal, unassuming life and go on with your day-to-day business. There is, however, one thing about you that is a little unusual - beside your sparkling personality.

You're dating a superhero.

So, what's in this week's issue? Are you childhood friends come together? Do you actually know your love is that caped crusader? If you do, is it a thorn in your side that you will always come second to the cause? Of course, there's always going to be that annoying time where they try to "protect" you by breaking up with you. Oh joy. Well, at least, how's your sex life? Surely those super powers can make for some interesting bedroom trysts. Maybe after one of them, you can tell your beau that you're a superhero, too.

...but what if your significant other isn't the hero? What if they're the villain?

Comment with your character, preferences, their position (superhero, significant other, either, etc), and comfort level (ie, no smut).
Reply to others.

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There was time later to go back, have her explain things in more detail - if she could. There was time later to really digest what she was saying, and what it all meant, for her. Right now, Steve just listened, trying to take in as much as he could.

When she said she wasn't from this Earth, his mind flashed to the Battle of New York, and he realized suddenly, "You showed up when the portal opened. When the tesseract was activated."

His mind was racing through the implications, and he didn't realize that nobody knew what the cube was actually called, or even of it's existence and involvement in the Battle, and it was knowledge that he, Steve the comics artist, shouldn't have.

Rogue's first instinct in reaction to Steve's assumption was to refute it, loudly and firmly, because that wasn't at all what had happened. But then she realized exactly what he had said and she... was so confused. None of the news stories about the Battle had mentioned any tesseract or even how the portal had happened in the first place. But Steve knew something. Her Steve, of all people.

"Steve?" she questioned hesitantly, unsure and yet certain she'd heard him correctly. "What are you talking about? I don't know what you mean."

It was his turn to freeze, going utterly still as she questioned what he meant. Then he realized what he'd said, and shut his eyes, pursing his lips in aggravation at his own stupidity. He'd done so well, hiding any knowledge he shouldn't have, for five years now.

"I..." he finally sighed, in defeat, and a little relief. "I told you, we have a lot to discuss," he finally said softly. "For now, let's just say, I was there during the Battle, in the thick of it, and learned more than just the average bystander would.

"I don't mean to put pressure on you, but... you're telling me what's going on, with you. I promise, once you've told me, I'll explain my story. But... suffice it to say, I will believe you, alright?"

His story. Oh lord, was anything about their lives real? Rogue knew she loved Steve, knew he loved her as well, but everything else... Was all of it lies? And why? She'd kept all of this from him because she'd been afraid, and then it had been easier, despite all her episodes of PTSD and the times she'd wanted to explain her quirks like wearing gloves when she had moments of anxiety. She'd been afraid of others finding out, of ending up back in a lab, but also... She'd also been terrified that he would hate her for it.

"I, uhm..." She took a shaky breath that failed to steady her equally shaky voice. "The war... We were losing. Everyone was losing. Billions of people died. We had to stop it. So we... I helped to... We changed the past, made it so the war never happened. But something- something happened and I ended up here."

There was a lot that she left out, of course. Painful details that would come out before long. But now, at least, pieces of the truth were being laid before him, and he could make his own decisions about things.

He hadn't meant to reveal quite so much just yet, even with those couple words - and didn't realize he had. He was too focused on Rogue and her story. Usually he was much more careful with his words when he had to skirt the truth, or even outright lie, but he'd never been so emotional during one of those discussions before.

If they'd changed the past... He tried to think about the conversations he'd listened to between Tony and Bruce, even occasionally Natasha would chime in, as well as all the stories involving time travel that he'd read. If they'd changed a significant portion of the past, Rogue should have... ceased to exist, he realized with a shiver. But, a former version of her would have still been around, in the new, changed world they'd created. Instead, whatever they'd done to erase history, had opened a rift, probably at the same time Loki's tesseract portal was open, and it had somehow sucked Rogue in, depositing her here instead of leaving her in her own world.

An entire war could never be summed up in a few sentences, and he recognized the vagueness of her response as a glossing-over of key events, but it was enough for him to get a picture, finally, of what was going on.

Steve leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead, before taking a deep breath. "I didn't travel through time or space. Not like that, although it kind of felt like it, at first. I... you know the Avengers? How everyone thinks Captain America is some new guy they stuffed in the suit, to promote patriotism, or whatever?" Steve had openly scoffed when he heard talk show hosts discussing it, or saw tabloids speculating on who the "New Cap" was. "He's the original guy. He was born in 1918 in Brooklyn. He fought in World War II. And he went down in a plane over the arctic. Except because of the serum... I didn't die. SHIELD found me, and revived me, in 2011. I'm Captain America. The original-- the only one."

He'd never said the words before. He'd thought them, plenty of times, going over them in his head, how precisely he would tell Rogue, but he'd never dreamed he'd actually tell her. He was terrified she wouldn't believe him, or she'd believe him and become angry at lying to her about something so huge and ongoing for so many years. He was terrified SHIELD would find out, and he wouldn't be able to continue fighting.

Edited (late edit, sorry!) 2016-08-18 05:40 (UTC)

Rogue was tense at that familiar kiss to her forehead, because she was bundle of anxious nerves and she couldn't get her body to relax even a tiny bit because of how her world was being turned upside down. And then he told her, finally, that secret that she'd never even once suspected and... Well, she believed him. Steve didn't lie, not about important things - whatever the reason he'd lied about this, it had to be a damn good one or he'd never have done it.

But lord, what a day this was turning out to be. Captain America. She was married to Captain America. Just that day, she'd worried that her artist husband had been trapped in his office while the world went crazy outside the door, but instead he'd been right there in the thick of it, risking his life to keep the world safe. And all those missions she'd read about, seen reported on television. All those times things had seemed terrible and the public had worried that one of the Avengers might not make it out of this one... What if he hadn't? Even superheroes could be killed, she knew that all too well.

That terrifying thought shot through her and only seconds had passed when she suddenly threw her arms around his neck and clung to him as tightly as she could. She was too scared to cry, but she trembled slightly and gripped his shirt in her fingers, knuckles turning white from the pressure. "All those times I could have lost you..." It was barely a whisper, but she held him even tighter, and it felt like she was falling apart.

He wasn't expecting her reaction, although maybe he should have been. Steve wrapped his arms around her, feeling an intense wave of relief wash over him - followed quickly by an even stronger wave of guilt than normal, because she hadn't signed up for this, falling in love, being married to a superhero, who risked his life every time he went out. This couldn't be what she would have chosen if she'd known all the facts--would it?

"I wanted to tell you," he said in a hoarse whisper against her neck. "I--there were so many times, I wanted to, I swear. But you can't know-- no one can, except my teammates. Welcome to the 21st Century, Cap - if you want your shield back, you gotta sign this nondisclosure," he muttered, more to himself, but it was a fairly succinct explanation. "I don't know why they don't want anyone to know-- but sometimes I didn't want you to know, either," he said, in a true whisper this time; confessing his selfish thoughts and actions. "I didn't want you to worry, I didn't want you to be at risk, just by knowing who I was. I was glad you didn't know." His voice cracked on his last words, and he squeezed his eyes shut against the tears forming there, pressing his face to Rogue's skin, hoping she didn't pull away, but still terrified that any minute she would.

He'd wanted to tell her. That he'd wanted to even once... A gnawing ache started in her stomach, because she couldn't say the same, and she felt so incredibly guilty and awful for that. He deserved so much better than her and her baggage.

"I never wanted to tell you," she confessed in her own broken whisper, the world disappearing beyond their little bubble that was being slowly shattered into pieces. "I never wanted you to know what I am, what I've done. What if you hated me for it, or what if someone found out and put me in another lab? I couldn't survive that again." Tears stung at her eyes and her throat was so tight she could barely get the words out. "I'm sorry, I didn't want to tell you. I'm sorry." But even then she held on to him, refusing to let go unless he made her.

He still wasn't clear on what she thought she'd done that was so horrible. She'd said she was a murderer, but her words hadn't made sense at that point; and if it had been war, he could only assume she'd been fighting for her life. Did she think he'd never killed anyone before?

...of course she didn't. Just because he'd told her he was Captain America, didn't mean she'd had a chance to really understand the full ramifications of what that meant. She knew he fought in battles against things, entities that the police and army couldn't handle. But he wasn't a soldier anymore, and she'd never seen him as one.

"I am never gonna hate you. Marie," he said softly, using her given name like a prayer, a touchstone for both of them. "And I'm never gonna let anything happen to you. Nobody's gonna find out anything, okay? I promise."

If he could lie to the person who knew him best for over 4 years, he could lie to protect her with no remorse.

"You have nothing to be sorry about." He pulled back and pressed a firm kiss to her lips. "I love you, and I'm not angry. I'm never gonna be angry about you trying to protect yourself. Even from me. Okay?"

Hearing her name and that particular phrase fall from Steve's lips brought on a new wave of guilt and an old grief. She'd had to lie about so many things, though her name had never been one of them, and Steve sounded so very like Remy in that moment. He didn't know what he was saying, she had to remind herself. He didn't know what she was capable of, the risk she'd taken in being with him, the choice she'd made that should have been his.

The kiss was too brief, and her heart raced because with each second she felt their time together was growing shorter. Their little world, perfect for the two of them, was crumbling under their feet and it was her fault.

"But I should have been protecting you," she protested weakly, looking at his shoulder instead of meeting his gaze. "All these years, I could have... Those nights I woke up screaming and wouldn't let you touch me? I could have killed you. My mutation is in my skin; I absorb the life force of other people through touch."

It sounded monstrous, and she felt like a monster.

Steve took a deep, cleansing breath, mostly just to give himself a moment to process what she was saying. 'Absorb life force through touch' sounded like she drained people, which was probably how she'd killed them. He thought of all those nights she mentioned, how he'd coaxed and pleaded with her to let him comfort her. Hours of sitting by helplessly while she cried, respecting her wish not to be touched; thinking it was due to a traumatic experience, which it turned out was true, but he'd drawn entirely the wrong conclusions as to what it really was.

"We've touched plenty of times," he finally said gently. "You've never hurt me. And I know you, Rogue." He still spoke softly, but his voice grew firm with conviction. "If you'd honestly thought you would hurt me on a random day, you would've run. You would've made an excuse, or tried to break my heart, or maybe just packed up and left me a Dear John note, but you would've left, to try and protect me. You never did. And I trust that judgment."

He could already tell that this was going to be a harrowing discussion, and much like when she had nightmares, he would have to comfort Rogue in any way he could. He never minded that; only the fact that she felt this way in the first place. But it was always exhausting, emotionally and mentally, for both of them. He felt selfish for wishing she didn't feel that way, too; she wouldn't be the Rogue he knew if she didn't feel so strongly.

If only she could make him understand that she hadn't run because she'd been selfish. For one of the first times in her life, Rogue had allowed herself to be completely selfish and had done everything she could to keep this wonderful man in her life. It wasn't that she hadn't thought about running, she'd considered it so many times over the years whenever things got bad, but she'd wanted to be with him so badly that she just couldn't let him go.

"I didn't want to lose you," she admitted, sounding absolutely miserable. "I finally had everything I'd ever wanted - someone who loved me who I could touch. I couldn't give that up. I couldn't."

And the thought of possibly losing it now was terrifying. Even though everything she knew about Steve and everything he was saying now should have convinced her that he wasn't going anywhere, she couldn't shake that fear.

The sigh Steve gave now was soft, quiet, and infinitely sad. He tilted his head into Rogue's line of vision, making sure she was looking at him before he said sweetly and sincerely, "What on earth makes you think you're going to lose me now?"

Maybe she had been selfish to stay with him - but he considered himself equally selfish, if not more so. She could have hurt him at any time; but he could have been killed, during any one of the battles he'd fought over the past 4 years, and Rogue never would have known the truth, unless one of his friends decided to break protocol and inform her.

First, he had to make Rogue understand that he wasn't going anywhere. This didn't change anything for him. Then, they'd get around to discussing whether or not his being Captain America, and actively fighting, changed anything for her. There was still the potential this could all come crashing down around them... But it wouldn't be from his end.

He'd always known just what to say when she was in one of her bad places; why should this time be any different? Four years she'd known him, and for years he'd stayed by her side through good times and bad. He'd seen her in hysterics from her nightmares, had taken care of her when she was sick (no easy task), and despite their occasional fights over each others decisions, he'd still proposed. He had slipped the ring on her finger and had remembered every anniversary, every birthday, every big occasion. He'd shown up with flowers for no damn good reason other than he wanted to give them to her to see her smile.

No, she wasn't going to lose him now, the voices in her mind assured her. If anything, she was even more stuck with him now than before. Especially with their child growing inside her...

"I love you," she whispered, leaning in for a hesitant kiss. One last chance for him to change his mind, to break her into a million pieces and take the easy way out.

The overwhelming relief he felt, hearing her say those words, made tears start to prickle Steve's eyes. He pushed them back by closing his eyes and leaning forward to meet her, no hesitation as he reached a hand up to cup her cheek and pressed his lips to hers. When he pulled back, he pressed his forehead against hers for a moment, echoing her own words. "I love you."

Taking a deep, steadying breath, Steve pulled back a little and opened his eyes. He studied Rogue, his eyes flicking back and forth as he searched her eyes and face, wondering just how he could bring up the fact that she hadn't really acknowledged the revelation he'd told her. Sure, she knew he was Captain America, and it had scared her...but then the conversation had turned back to her. He didn't begrudge her that, because he wanted her to understand that there was nothing that was going to make him leave her, and that included her past, and her mutation. But now...

Now there was still the matter of him being Captain America, an active fighter. And just what that meant for them, as well as their unexpectedly-growing little family.

But in the end, Steve just couldn't bring it up again. Not now. He wasn't running away from it, he wasn't. But Rogue had to be a wreck; he could see it on her face, she'd been stressed probably all day, and this had only made it worse. He decided to leave it alone, for now. If she brought it up, he'd tell her whatever she wanted, but otherwise, he'd just mollycoddle her and shower her with affection, as his way of proving that he still loved her, and wasn't going anywhere.

Pulling back a little more, Steve slumped back into the softness of the couch, gently pulling Rogue down as well, until she rested against him. He kissed her hair, and murmured again, "I love you." No matter how he tried, the words were tinged with resignation; how long would it be before she demanded answers from him. How long before she decided that she hadn't signed up for this, that he wasn't who she thought?

Steve wasn't the only one who was thinking of the bombshell he'd dropped on her. It had been an almost traumatically revealing conversation, the both of them sharing closely guarded secrets and taking all the risks in the world in doing so. But she hadn't yet said anything because she'd been thinking it over at the back of her mind, turning it over like a piece of a puzzle that needed to be fit somewhere.

Except it didn't. That piece had already been fit into her life and she just hadn't known it. If she had known from the beginning, maybe things would have been different, but there wasn't a point in bringing that up. Steve Rogers had wedged himself thoroughly into her heart and she was just going to have to make room for Captain America too.

"So all those times you were late to dinner," she commented quietly, her tone easy if tired, "you weren't really stuck in traffic with a dead cell battery, were you?"

Steve winced, even as he turned his head to rest his cheek on the crown of her head. "Not... all the times..." He tried to think back, over the years, just what excuses (lies, his conscience chimed in ruthlessly) he'd told her. All the times she'd brought something up, and he'd acted confused--had been confused--at what she was saying, because it involved a lie he'd had to tell her to hide the truth, and he couldn't keep them straight in his head for long periods of time.

"I'm not nearly as absent-minded as I seem," he finally murmured. "I just... I couldn't..." He licked his lips, trying to figure out how to explain it to her. He'd worked so hard to define himself by more than just the moniker of 'Captain America,' but on the flip-side, he couldn't give it up, he couldn't define himself without Captain America. "I'm... so much more than just Captain America," he finally said. "But I wouldn't be me, without the shield, too."

He knew, in his heart, that Rogue's revelation about her origins, and her powers, wasn't going to change how he felt about her. But he couldn't convince himself that the same would be true for her. For one thing, while her powers were still something to consider, for the most part, her lies were about the past; his were too, but they were also ongoing, and now that she knew, it would change how she saw him, he felt. And he didn't want that. He didn't want her to think of him as Captain America, as a fighter; he wanted to stay geeky artist Steve Rogers with her. Everyone acted differently around him once they learned who he was, and part of him was glad that SHIELD kept his identity such a closely-guarded secret, just because it meant less people looked at him with that hero-worshipping gaze when he was out of costume.

She could see that this was bothering him, really truly weighing on him the way her secret had weighed on her. It dawned on her that he was afraid of losing her, the exact same way she had been. They really were two sides of a coin, weren't they?

"Sugar, Steve, if anyone understands that you're more than just a superhero, it's me," she told him gently, lifting her hands to cup the back of his head, smoothing her fingers over his hair. "For almost a decade, I worked as a teacher by day and went out fighting at night. We kept our lives as separate as we could so it didn't affect the children, and I was never a pilot or a skilled martial arts fighter in the classroom - I was just Rogue, their teacher who got way too excited about Alexandre Dumas and wouldn't stand for anyone being impolite."

She leaned in a little closer, sliding one hand down to the side of his neck. That wasn't enough, she knew, to be able to convince him that they were okay. At least with this, they were going to be fine. So she kept going, her voice firm but soft. "This isn't going to change the way I see you," she promised him. "I'm still going to expect you to take out the trash, and help dry the dishes. And just because you're a superhero doesn't mean you get to leave your art supplies all over the apartment, that rule is not up for negotiation." An almost sad smile curled at the corner of her lips as she added, "Just maybe let me know if you can before you go off to fight something big and scary, alright? I'd rather you tell me than hear about it on the news."

Steve's eyes closed without his conscious thought, as Rogue began petting the back of his head in that soothing gesture. He soaked in her words, part of him reveling in finally hearing the undiluted truth of her past. He hadn't realized until now how different she sounded when speaking about her past; usually her words were slower, more measured and careful than when she spoke on other topics, and it was incredible to hear her finally speaking normally about this part of her life, as well.

But she was right. Just hearing that she understood where he was coming from wasn't enough; so he was relieved to hear her say this wasn't going to change how she saw him. Hearing her talk about all the ordinary, everyday things they took care of around the house, the things he reveled in for their mundanity, helped relieve a little of his anxiety, his shoulders dropping even as he smiled in amusement when she brought up the ongoing war with his art supply stealth take-over.

The reminder that she would worry about him, every time he had to fight, sobered Steve, and he tightened his arms around her. "I'll try," he said, hurrying to add apologetically, "that's all I can really promise. But I'll do my best to let you know, if that's what you want. If I can't get away with it, I can at least let Bucky know, so he can tell you. You two can fret together, if you like."

Since Bucky already knew about Steve being Captain America - since Steve really, more than Cap, had been the one to bring Bucky in and rehabilitate him, Bucky was part of the small contingent of people who actually knew what Steve really was. It was almost as much of a relief to realize that not only would Steve not have to lie to Rogue any more, but now neither would Bucky. He'd hated asking his best friend to lie to his wife, who had become good friends with Rogue over the years, as well.

Rogue melted into his arms, drinking in his promise to try to keep her in the loop on things. She knew that it was a difficult promise to keep, but she was grateful that he could even try to make it happen at all. It meant a lot to her, and she was about to tell him so when he brought up Bucky.

She leaned back slightly in confusion, frowning as she asked, "Bucky? How does he--?" It made sense, of course, that he would know Steve's secret. They'd been friends forever, she could see it in their every interaction, but why had Steve been able to tell Bucky and not her? Why...

Bucky. Eyes widening, her jaw dropped slightly. They'd been friends since childhood, she'd heard all sorts of stories about the trouble they'd gotten into all those years ago. They weren't lying about all of that, they couldn't have been, which meant that Bucky was as old as Steve, somehow. "Good lord, I wish I could have a drink right now," she breathed, resting her forehead on Steve's shoulder in the hopes that her head would stop swimming.

Caught off-guard, Steve realized with a start that while he'd explained who he was, he hadn't had a chance - or even thought about - explaining Bucky. It was obvious watching any of their interactions that they'd known each other a long time, and Rogue of course had heard them reminiscing about their childhood together from time to time. They'd kept the stories vague and highly edited at times to keep her in the dark, but she knew they were literally lifelong friends. His eyes grew comically wide and he opened his mouth, even though he had no idea how or where to even start explaining the long, sordid situation.

Her uttered wish made him pause, realizing once again that she was pregnant. He had barely any knowledge of 21st century pregnancy health, but he'd gleaned enough to know that both smoking and drinking her considered almost taboo for a pregnant woman now. Until some time had passed for them, though, he had the feeling there would be portions of time where the reality of Rogue being pregnant would slip his mind, as it had just now. Between his secrets and hers, this news had been pushed to the back of his mind.

Hoping to try and lighten the mood a little, Steve pressed a kiss to her temple. "Well, you're in good company. I can't get drunk, so there's no point of drinking for me." He was known to enjoy a beer or three with friends on occasion (including Bucky, who also couldn't get drunk, but insisted on trying from time to time, anyway), but for the most part, he just didn't find alcohol appealing. Rogue knew that, of course; they'd been together for years, she knew his small habits. He'd explained it vaguely at the time as not wanting to lose control. If he could get drunk, that would definitely be reason enough for him not to, anyway.

Steve's gut twisted in worry at the thought, but he pushed it firmly aside. He wasn't Joseph Rogers, and he would undoubtedly make mistakes, but he knew he'd be a better father than the one he'd had.

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The Superhero's Significant Other Meme

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