Captain America: The Phoenix

24. Quinn Rivera's Day Off

"You've never seen The Shining?" 

The two had somehow stumbled upon the topic of movies as they leisurely walked along the path long the far side of the compound. It was the quiet, grassy grove, far away from the rest of HQ, with the concrete path,  low hanging trees shielding them from the sun. 

Steve shook his head, "horror films aren't really my thing."

"Of course they aren't. So, what is your favorite movie?" She curiously asked.

"I don't have one," Steve answered, far too quickly.

"Lie. What is it?" She asked. "Citizen Kane? Casablanca?"

He playfully shook his head at her, then letting out a chuckle.

"What is it?"

"E.T." 

This surprised Quinn, for some odd reason. He was expecting some profound and erudite pick, but this choice was rather endearing. "Really?" She amusedly asked as they walked along the bend of the path.

"Yeah," Steve told her as he strode along with her pace, his hands in his jacket pockets. "After the battle of New York, realizing that aliens are out there, I became interested in the idea of outer space."

"And aliens." Quinn gave a short chuckle as she glanced up at him. Steve nodded, returning her smile. "I'm sure talk of aliens and outer space were unheard of in the 40s."

"Yeah, well, we had a lot of critical matters to deal with on earth, so," he shrugged. "Simpler times."

"I can only imagine."

"Well, what about you?" He then asked.

"My favorite movie?"

He nodded.

"Good Will Hunting."

"I've never seen it."

"You'd love it."

They then looked at each other, sharing a smile. It was moments like those where Steve felt like he could see her, like she wasn't hiding from him. She quickly looked away, however, her eyes going back down to her feet as they took step after step. Quinn, on the other hand, wasn't ever really sure how to feel around Steve. As much as she refused to acknowledge it, she was beginning to forge a sort of attachment to him and that was something she had so long trained herself to avoid, but she was beginning to wonder if it would be so bad to break her own rules.

"So, do you ever miss it?" Steve begun. "Home?"

Quinn hadn't really thought about it. She regularly checked on the progress of the reconstructions in the HQ database, but she hadn't thought of visiting the city, not for a while at least. 

"I don't know." She softly responded. "You know, I thought Los Angeles was my home for the longest time. But when my mother passed away, that feeling died with her."

Steve listened, as she was finally talking to him.

"I'm not sure I ever really knew what home was." 

He then noticed her realize how much she was revealing and she stopped talking, trying to play off the seriousness in her voice with a short chuckle. They walked along silently for just a second, the rustling of the leaves and the wind howling through the outdoors of the compound filling the void.

Steve could almost see the wheels in her head rolling again, knowing that she was constantly being plagued with anxious thoughts about the next time she would see the green uniforms. He watched as she yawned, turning her head away from him slightly as she did.