We Rise, Only To Fall / Steve Rogers

8

Batroc

I didn't know what time it was, all I knew was that it was far too early for someone to be knocking on the door of my apartment. The sun was filtering in through the curtains that I hadn't managed to fully close in a half-drunken stupor last night and I could already feel my tangled hair sticking up at the back of my head when I sat up and groaned.

I checked the time: 4:30am. "Fuck!" I swore loudly but another loud rasp on the door pulled me out of bed. "I swear to God, I'm going to murder whoever this is."

As I opened the door, Steve stood smiling at me, his broad shoulders blocking most of my view, his muscles visible through his rather tight grey shirt (not that I was complaining). His goofy smile was plastered on his face as always as he looked down at me and I suddenly grew conscious of the fact that all I had on was last nights shirt and my underwear (and for some reason half a sock).

"You look dreadful," he said and I frowned.

"That is no way to talk to a lady now, is it, Rogers?" I shot back and him and he grinned and shook his head. "Besides, we can't all be genetically modified into a chiseled superhero and wake up perfect, can we?"

"No, ma'am, we can't," Steve ran a hand through his blonde hair and I had to stop myself from staring too hard at the muscles in his arm as he did so.

I averted my gaze and tried to brush my own hair down with a hand before wiping under my eyes to remove the no doubt left over makeup. "So, what brings you to my neighbourhood at the crack of dawn?"

"I thought you might like to accompany me on a jog? Thought I'd take a run around Lincoln Memorial and I know you like American history?" he offered.

More than you know, Rogers. "You woke me up at four-thirty in the morning to go running?" I asked in disbelief.

He threw me another grin and a shrug. "Why not?"

I turned around and stalked back to my bedroom. "TEN MINUTES!" I yelled back at him and distinctly heard Steve laughing at me before I slammed the door shut to my bedroom.

~

Steve was much faster than me. And that shouldn't be a surprise; ever since the fight in New York, Steve and I had grown closer and I took it upon myself to help him grow accustomed to modern day society, which included everything from food to movies to music, as well as him in turn training me every now and then. I watched for hours the way he and Natasha would fight together, always ending in a tie, but secretly I believed Nat had the edge Steve just somehow lacked.

Both looked incredibly hot whilst doing it though.

But today, Steve really didn't hold back, racing past me before I could even yell at him.

I had almost caught up with him on the bridge alongside the Potomac River when I reached another runner, his grey jumper barely even stained with sweat whereas my dark grey top was clearly giving away the amount of effort it was taking to move my legs.

I could hear Steve running up behind us as I leveled with the other guy and as he passed he said, "On your left."

We took no notice, but the man gave me a smile. "Care to join me, miss?"

He seemed nice enough, so I nodded. "Sure. My partner's not waiting for me, so I might as well join you. I'm Rose."

"Sam."

By the time Sam and I had done another quarter of the river, Steve was already coming up behind us. "On your left."

"Uh-huh. On your left. Got it," Sam said, visibly a tad agitated by how fast Steve was at running.