Reality in Motion

ruined reunion

Steve was waiting for them at the main entrance of the compound. He was dressed in a simple t-shirt and jeans, which surprised her. A part of her was expecting him to be in one of his Captain America uniforms. Only because she had figured since this was the Avengers Compound, he'd always be acting as Captain America. It was nice to see that he was comfortable enough to let the facade fall.

Ever the gentleman, Steve stepped up to open Q's door for her. He gave her a smile that reached his eyes, which made her heart skip a beat. He was actually happy to see her. Not just pretending for show. Though her nerves had been all over the place regarding her decision to come back to New York and to Steve, the simplest of smiles from her quasi-boyfriend had been enough to quell those nerves a bit. She had made the right decision. It was time, and she needed to be there for Steve. She wanted to.

"Hi." he greeted her alongside the genuine smile, "Did you have a good flight?" he asked politely. She raised her eyebrows and made a face, not giving him a positive answer because she hadn't really. Despite all the tricks Bucky had taught her, being stuck in a tin can at three thousand feet in the air for multiple hours was much different than wandering around a local farmers' market.

"We made it." she settled on, making him laugh a bit and shake his head. Taking her small suitcase from her, his eyes then darted to the inside of the car behind her, silently wondering where the rest of her stuff was, "That's it." she told him with a shrug. And it was true. She hadn't left with much to begin with and anything else she bought later or got was left at the beach house in Ukraine since they left to Romania to find Bucky before he disappeared again.

He gave her a quick smile and nod, adjusting his grip on her carry-on. His other, free hand reached out for hers. She hesitated for a moment, not expecting the motion, but still moving her hand to take his. His fingers intertwined with hers and she felt herself relax a bit more. A good decision.

"Hey, man," Dawson greeted his ex-friend with an upward motion of his chin, "What's up?" he asked, trying to act casual and cool despite the last, tense interaction the two had had. Steve took in a breath and took his hand away from Q's, only to reach out to Dawson. She watched the two do the handshake he had taught Steve way back when in D.C. then nod at each other.

"Uh, I think Nat's somewhere around here." Steve tilted his head toward the entrance of the compound, "She's looking forward to seeing you." he added, getting a scoff from Dawson because he clearly didn't believe him. He made eye contact with Q, the two of them silently communicating for a moment. He wanted to make sure everything was good, and that she was okay - which she was. After a brief moment, he glanced back at Steve and made a face, adjusting the grip on his bags,

"Guess I should go get my room assignment, right?" he asked a rhetorical question, using it as an excuse to leave the two of them alone. She gave him a grateful smile, watching him walk off into the compound before returning her attention to Steve.

"I don't know who he expects to tell him where his room is." Steve's brow furrowed in worry and she laughed a bit,

"He'll figure it out." she waved her hand in the air, "Or just yell at someone until they tell him." she smiled at her friend's retreating back, Steve's head turning to look at her with an easy smile.

"For the record, you'll be staying with me." he turned his whole body to face her, one hand moving to settle on her hip. She raised her eyebrows up,

"Is that so?" she asked, receiving a noise of affirmation back from him. Then he paused, moving away from her a bit, but his hand stayed on her hip.

"Unless you don't want to." he backtracked a bit. She could tell he was suddenly a bit unsure of what he had just said. Even if they were better than they had been, he didn't want to assume anything. The ground beneath them was still a bit uneven. "I mean, there's enough space for you to have your own room - really they're like little studio apartments. Just with a shared kitchen and common room area." he explained a bit. She wanted to laugh; she hadn't seen him this nervous in a long time. She was always the nervous one where he was always the level headed one. And as much as she wanted to tease him and continue to watch him get flustered, she knew it would be better to reassure him.