Reality in Motion

big relationship steps

"Good morning, Agent Proctor." the smooth, butler-esque voice echoed around the bedroom, "Captain Rogers has returned from his morning run and is making breakfast in the kitchen." Q buried her face into her pillow and let out a groan.

"JARVIS, what did we say about titles?" her voice was muffled slightly, but she knew the artificially intelligent system could hear her.

"My apologies, Q." it corrected itself, sounding as apologetic as a program could. She sighed, rolling over in the empty bed and stretching out. Staring at the ceiling for a moment, she let herself wake up for a few more minutes.

A few weeks had passed since she moved into the Avengers' Tower with Steve to begin her work with the rest of the Avengers. While there were plenty of things she had to get adjusted to, living with Steve was the biggest challenge for her. She had never lived with someone she had been in a romantic relationship with before - she didn't count the two weeks they stayed at Dawson's together because that wasn't really living together. It was a big step for their relationship and one she was kind of nervous for. Her job she could plan for, living with someone presented challenges she couldn't always predict. Plus living together meant that they would see all sides of each other - even ones she still tried to keep tucked away.

But once she got adjusted, she found that living with Steve was almost a natural progression from their nightly sleepovers at Dawson's. It was actually kind of fun. They had slipped into routines that were surprisingly comfortable for how new they were. Mornings were spent sharing breakfast, afternoons consisted of her working with Maria and crossing paths with him every once in a while, and evenings were for pizza or takeout or date nights in the city. She could get used to it.

And her job was as easy as it ever was. There wasn't much she could do until the time called for it. Like the time Nat was in a tough spot in Sudan after going after some Hydra members and Q needed to prep a mission for the rest of the Avengers. It was pretty much exactly like the prep she did for SHIELD, only for a team of superheroes. Still, she liked her co-workers - Dawson had ended up getting the same offer as she did so it was nice having him around, and her boss wasn't as tough as she thought she'd be - Maria let her do her own thing until she was needed. All things considered, it wasn't a bad gig.

Finally getting out of bed, her bare feet padded across the room to the massive windows that opened on her request. The city spread out below her, already bustling despite how early it was. A light snow blew around in the wind as large pockets of people gathered on the sidewalks, attention turned to the streets. She could hear different kinds of music coming from below, mixing together in what should be a tragic tune, but actually kind of worked.

Suddenly, a large green balloon floated by the window, startling her for a moment before she realized what it was. A Hulk float. An amused smile spread across her lips as she watched the balloon bob in front of the window, twisting to the sides in the air as it wrestled with the wind. Down below, a crew of people moved it down the street, letting it join the rest of the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade that was happening.

Turning away from the window, she crossed the room to the door, stepping out into the hall and making her way to the kitchen. The smell of pancakes and sausage drifted down to her, getting stronger and stronger as she got closer. Instead of the various Christmas songs playing from the parade, a soulful song was coming from the speakers around the room. Steve was standing in front of the griddle on the island, flipping a pancake with one hand and sprinkling in a few chocolate chips into other pancakes with the other. He was freshly showered, dressed in a loose grey t-shirt and running pants, hair still a bit damp and spiked up in a way that made her smile. Somehow it made him look younger, like a frat bro straight from college.