Meeting Liberty- A Captain America Fanfiction

Chapter Three

It was odd for Liberty- waking up in her own room, that was. She hadn't had her own room in a long time, not since her parents… She pushed the thought out of her mind as she sat up. The room was bright with the early morning sun streaming in through the thin veil of curtains, the light gleaming off the light yellow walls. Liberty pushed the thick blankets and swung her legs off the bed to stand up. Her toes dug into the thick carpet, another nice change. At the girls' home, the bedroom floors had been wooden and it had been impossible to get out of bed without getting instantly cold feet- well, not impossible, but Liberty hated wearing socks to sleep in.

Even though she didn't have to stick to the old schedule she'd become routine with, Liberty still went into the bathroom at exactly seven, which had been her time. She took her time, though, and enjoyed a long hot shower. When she emerged back to her room thirty minutes later, her hair was scraped up into a ponytail and she was dressed in her most comfortable clothes- jeans and a sweatshirt with the Hulk on it. Liberty hoped Steve wouldn't be bothered by her wearing a shirt with a cartoon depiction of someone he knew, but the Hulk had been a somewhat favorite superhero of hers, her uncle aside. After all, he could turn into a giant green monster and that was a bit impressive.

After leaving her own room, Liberty tiptoed down the stairs to the main area, not sure if the other two occupants of the apartment- Steve and Natasha- were up. She guessed they weren't, as the rest of the house was empty. Liberty thusly went into the kitchen and, without even thinking, began cooking breakfast with the basic foods the house had. Eggs, milk, bread, and jam were all available, though there wasn’t much else which concerned Liberty with lunch possibilities…

By time breakfast was done, Natasha had emerged- having been awake for hours after hearing doors open and shut in the middle of the night. She had helped Liberty toast the bread on the stove since they were short a toaster, and had promised Steve would take her to the nearest store to stock up on food… And also a toaster seeing as all the toast turned out burnt.

"Where's Uncle Steve?" Liberty asked as she prepared a third plate of eggs and toast for her uncle, who didn't seem to be coming down for breakfast.

"Left this morning," Natasha sighed, "He doesn't sleep well, so he goes running. A lot. He'll be back soon, most likely, just put his plate in the microwave or something. That'll keep it warm." Natasha saw the look of hurt cross Liberty's face, but the strong girl smiled and nodded, doing as Natasha had instructed.

The two settled in the small dining area, on either side of the rectangular table. They had left the head seat reserved for Steve, who didn't show up until after the two had finished eating and cleaning up.

"Oh, you're up," Steve said, obviously surprised as he walked into the kitchen. Liberty was sitting on the counter while Natasha was drying off the dishes.

"I've been up for nearly two hours, Uncle Steve," Liberty sighed.

"Which leads to the question, where have you been?" Natasha asked, watching Liberty as she went to the microwave and set it to heat for thirty seconds.

"I was out running… thinking… I lost track of time," Steve shrugged. Natasha let out a heavy breath and shook her head before grabbing Steve's collar, dragging him into the next room. Steve, though confused, let her.

"You can't be doing this," Natasha whispered sharply, "You can't go off leaving in the middle of the night for hours."

"I wasn't out that long-"

"I heard you leave the house at two this morning, Steve," Natasha grumbled, glaring.

"Okay," Steve sighed, "I'm sorry. I am, honestly. I didn't think she'd be up this early- she's a teenager. Don't teenagers these days sleep in?"

"Depends on the teenager," Natasha shrugged, "But Liberty doesn't. She was starting on breakfast before eight."

"Oh," Steve mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Yeah. You should have seen her face when I told her you weren't here," Natasha guilted, crossing her arms, "Now, you will get in there, eat the breakfast she made, and later you will take her to the store to get food. And a toaster. And a Black Widow t-shirt."

"A Black Widow t-shirt?" Steve questioned, raising an eyebrow. Natasha once again shrugged.

"She has a t-shirt with Bruce on it. Why not support her favorite spy?"

"Do they even make t-shirts with you on it?"

"They make them with the spider, and that's all it requires to get the message across," Natasha smiled, "Or people might think she's a supporter of the Black Widow killer. Scare off the boys."

"You have yourself a deal," Steve chuckled, "The less boys around, the better. I do not want to have to deal with that sort of thing…"

"You won't be the one dealing with it, I will," Natasha snorted.

"No boys for you or me, then," Steve decided, turning and walking back in the kitchen, where he apologized to Liberty for being so late.

"It's fine, Uncle Steve," Liberty smiled, setting a plate in front of her uncle, "Will you still be taking me to the store later? I really think this house could use some food. And a new toaster."

"Yeah, sure," Steve smiled, glancing at the image of the Hulk on Liberty's shirt, "You a fan of him?"

"Huh?" Liberty blinked, quickly looking down at her shirt before grinning, "Oh, the Hulk? Well, Bruce banner, I guess.. Yeah, I think he's cool. I mean he's an awesome scientist on gamma rays and all that, plus he turns into a spectacular monster and helps save the world."

"Spectacular, huh?" Steve laughed, taking a bite of burnt toast, "He'd like you. I'll see if I can't convince him and Tony to come visit sometime, if you'd like that."

"The Tony Stark?" Liberty asked, jaw dropping a little, "My gosh, I love his work! All the technology! I used to be a robotics club back before… Well, I was the head of the team. We made some pretty neat things based on his works."

"So you like science?" Steve gathered, proud to have learned something about Liberty.

"Yeah, I do. And math- I love all the patterns you can find. It's really intriguing," Liberty grinned.

"Well, if that's the case, I can get you some books on math and science… Do they make those?"

"They do," Liberty laughed.

"Then, I'll get them for you. That will keep you busy," Steve smiled.

"So I don't meet boys?" Liberty asked slyly, winking. Steve choked a little on his egg.

"Ah, you heard that?"

"Yes, but don't worry. I don't really see a point of a relationship in high school. Besides, soon enough I'll be out in the real world. I can keep to myself until then- that's not saying that I won't have any friends who are boys."

"Of course not," Steve agreed. He watched as Liberty came towards him, leaned down, and gave him a hug.

"Besides, I wouldn't want to cause any sort of issue. I know you're doing your best and you don't really know how to handle this, so I'll keep it as simple as possible," Liberty said softly, "And thanks again, for taking me in." Steve wasn't sure exactly what to say. Thank you? Maybe. In the end, he just hugged her back.

"It's no problem," he finally responded.

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A/N: New chapter! Yay! Steve seems to be... doing an alright job. But hey, he's new to this! Tell me what you think!