Solaris ⋯ Steve Rogers|Marvel Cinematic Universe

[chapter 65]

The Avengers Tower living area was packed with people as Tony saw the soiree a chance for the Avengers to schmooze with the city's powerbrokers in a post-SHIELD environment, showing that they were not merely superpowered vigilantes. Evelyn was chatting with Natasha and two former SHIELD agents who were invited to the party.

"Shit, Rhodey's coming." Evelyn exclaimed quickly grabbing her newly filled champagne glass and stumbled on her feet. "I can't hear the War Machine Story again.

"Boom, you looking for this?" Natasha recalled the story with a smirk as Evelyn ran away from the seating area.

She looked around and saw Thor chatting up with veterans, animatedly telling a story as Clint hung out with Dr. Cho. As she was making her way towards Maria, she spotted Steve playing pool with Sam. Having not seen them since she arrived, she made her way over to the duo.

"Come back, come back." She heard Sam speak to the ball.

"Hey, gents." Evelyn spoke up, making her presence known. "Who's winning?"

"Evelyn." Steve greeted her with wide eyes, taking in her outfit.

"I'm not winning?" Evelyn asked with a frown making Sam snort next to her.

"How much drink did you have girl?" Sam asked giving her a side hug.

"Clearly not enough." Evelyn shrugged, downing her drink. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I uh..." Steve rubbed the back of his neck, looking at his feet then at her face. "You look great."

"You're not so bad yourself, Mr. Rogers." Evelyn winked at him, gently patting his chest. "But I would lose the jacket, it kind of throws off your outfit."

With that, she left the two men there, Steve looking at her with a dumbstruck look as Sam laughed. Walking around the party with a buzz in her head, Evelyn couldn't keep track of time as she finally made her way back to Natasha who was mixing cocktails at the bar.

"The usual." Evelyn joked, sitting on the barstool.

"Maybe I should cut you off." Natasha stated seeing her sway on the stool. "He's looking at you."

"Hmm?" Evelyn swirled around and her eyes briefly met with Steve's, the latter quickly looking away. "Oh, I told him to take off the jacket." She stated biting back a smile. "Doesn't he look so much better like this?"

"As much as I'm enjoying the drunk Evelyn, I'm taking this from you." Natasha reached over the bar and took Evelyn's glass. "You'll thank me later."

"You're no fun." Evelyn frowned, getting on her feet.

She walked over to Steve and Thor who were hanging out with veterans as Thor poured something into one of the veteran's drink.

"Can I?" Evelyn reached for Steve's drink and took a sip before he could object. "Fuck me!" She wheezed out, slightly coughing at the burning sensation she had never felt before as Steve choked on his saliva, patting his chest. "What's in that?!"

"Asgardian drink." Steve took the glass from Evelyn's hand. "You okay?"

"Mmm." Evelyn mumbled, slightly leaning against him. "Just trying to keep the buzz going."

"Why?" He asked, his breath sending shivers down her spine. "Are you cold?"

"No, no." Evelyn shook her head and looked to her left, realizing how close they were standing. "I should uh, I should go. Maria was looking for me."

"Be careful." Steve grabbed her waist when she stumbled, their noses almost touching. Evelyn gulped loudly, feeling like her heart was beating in her ears.

"Yeah." She breathed out, collecting herself before walking away with hurried steps.

"Who has my sweet and sour chicken?" Evelyn asked as she handed the box with spring rolls to Steve.

The party had finally ended and the Avengers along with Maria, Rhodey and Dr. Cho were lounging around, half-filled glasses of wine, bottles of beer, and partially eaten plates of sushi and cookies littering the table in the middle of the seating area.

"Here." Tony handed her a takeout box, going back to his chat with Rhodey as Natasha was chatting with Bruce on the side.

Dr. Cho was dozing off on an armchair as Maria and Clint sat on the floor with playing cards. Evelyn saw Thor hand Steve the Asgardian liquor, both men putting some in their beers. Seeing Evelyn eye the small flask, Thor quickly grabbed it from Steve and put it in his pocket, sending her a grin.

"Don't worry." Evelyn put the takeout box on the table and leaned back on the sofa, her arm brushing with Steve's as she extended her legs. "I'm not drinking for a week."

"Really?" Steve asked her with a raised eyebrow making Evelyn scoff.

"Wanna bet on it?" She asked him with a mischievous smile.

"All right." Steve looked at her with a matching smile. "What do you have in mind?"

"If I win..." Evelyn pondered over her options for a minute before getting an idea, a huge grin on her lips which scared Steve a little. "If I win, you're doing the Star Spangled Man with the Plan."

"Uh, what is that?" Thor butted into their conversation with an intrigued look.

"It's nothing." Steve shook his head, sending a warning glance at Evelyn to keep quiet. "And if I win?"

"I won't show Thor your old videos." Evelyn winked at him, taking a sip from the bottle in his hands before thinking about it and Steve shot her an amused look. "Obviously, starting from tomorrow."