Steve
The alarm rang and Steve awoke at the crack of dawn that lit into his room. He pulled himself from the sheets and rested his elbows on his knees to rub his eyes and yawned, getting out of bed. Stumbling into the bathroom, he splashed water on his face and put on a shirt that contrasted his blue track pants.
He stepped into the dark floor and went for the elevator that strung him down to the first. Picking up a pace, he reached the sidewalk and started his morning jog.
The walkway was bare and the streets were partially empty, allowing him to speed up. He had no idea where he was going or planning to stop as the jog became a run then a sprint.
His controlled breaths in the cold were slowed down as he returned to a jog and turned multiple corners. He hadn't realized how far he was from the tower when he found himself in front of Rue's apartment complex.
He trotted in place and sighed, shaking his and turned around, taking a longer way back to the tower.
The morning rush had struck by the time he had reached the lobby and phone calls echoed in his ears. The rush made him compiled with a group of strangers in the elevator who stopped at different floors until he finally reached the top.
"Want some breakfast?" Natasha asked.
Before he could answer, she had already set down a plate at the table with the rest of his friends and took a seat beside Thor. He glanced at his stack of pancakes he dowsed in syrup and started eating his.
"Where's Clint?" Tony asked, plopping in a chair.
"I don't know," Nat answered.
The elevator dinged and he stayed eating, knowing it was Clint.
"Hey, Spacewalker, come join us," Tony exclaimed, which made his heart jolt but he kept his head straight.
"Oh no, it's okay, I've already had breakfast," she said.
"Just come sit then."
Rue went around the corner of the table and sat beside her boss and across from him. He kept his eyes on his food but could see her pour a cup of orange juice.
Their eyes met and quickly dropped and Steve glared at Thor who had nudged him in the arm and started laughing cheekily. Tony joined and Rue couldn't help but smile as Bruce and Natasha's were dry and he stayed silent. Getting annoyed by their laughter, he stood to clear his plate.
"Why is the old man grumpy?" Tony questioned.
"I'm not grumpy."
Steve poured himself a hot cup of coffee and leaned in the corner of the kitchen, staring at all of them as he took a sip. He found her gaze but was too late to return the smile she had given before she looked down.
He sighed into the mug, feeling the heat press his face and he walked out of the kitchen, hearing their chatter as he entered his room.
"Stupid, stupid, stupid," he muttered to himself and sat at the edge of his bed.
His head lifted when the door opened and Natasha entered, closing it, and leaned back.
"You're different," she smirked.
"Am I not supposed to?" he asked.
"No, you just got tense when she entered."
"I don't know what you're talking about," he deflected.
"Steve it's okay to love again, it shows that you're living especially after the attack," she said.
He moved past her and left his room to the empty kitchen and set down his mug. Looking over his shoulder, Nat was still there and he moved, quickening his pace.
"What are you going to do?" she asked beside him. "Express your emotions on a punching bag?"
"Isn't that what you do?" he reversed. "But with people."
"At least you have a chance."
"She's Tony's assistant, I can't do that," he said, facing her.
"No such thing as can't. I'll get her to leave early and you can work from there."
"What's in it for you?" he inquired but she shook her head.
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An amazing idea had shot into Steve's mind as he watched Rue leave from the corner of the hallway. Once the elevator closed at sundown, he emerged from his spot and found Natasha in her office.
"What'd you'd do? Work for Tony?" he asked.
"Wouldn't be my first time," she said dryly, nearly stacking papers on the desk. "What do you have in mind?"
He shook his head with a quick wink and backed out, leaving her hanging as he walked down the hallway and opened the door to Tony's room.
"Hey Cap," he greeted.
Steve moved into his view as the man sat relaxed on the couch.
"I have an idea," he began, slightly grabbing his attention. "Instead of your assistant leaving and coming back every day, she should just live here and tend both ways in her powers and working for you 24/7."
Tony's eyebrows raised as if it was a good pitch then lowered when he stood but kept his distance.
"I may be an egotistical, billionaire, playboy, but I'm not an idiot- I'm actually a genius," he said. "A: stop acting like you don't know her name. B: she has her own life. C: I have eyes and ears everywhere."
"That's just me, sir," Jarvis spoke.
"There are lotta rooms here if she wants to move in, that's her choice, I don't care."
Steve's head dropped then lifted and stared before he stepped away for the door.
"And Cap," Tony called back and he looked over his shoulder. "She likes Chinese."
A slight smile formed on his face and he took the door out, walking down the hallway. He passed Nat who stared at him and entered the elevator, waiting for the shuttle to go down.
The lobby was half empty when he went through and made it outside. He quickened his pace down the bare sidewalk and turned multiple corners for the fast-food restaurant. He read the menu and paused, not knowing what to get.
"What can I get you?" the cashier asked.
"Uhh..." he trailed off. "Family size."
After paying, he wandered to the side and took a seat at an empty table, impatiently tapping his fingers on the shiny wood. His mind began to run on how he would talk to her or how he'd act and wondered if she was home or if she'd already had dinner.
The worker set the large bag of takeout in front of him and he warmly smiled, standing, and left. From the store to the apartment complex, was a quick walk and he took the elevator to her floor and gently knocked on the door.
"H-hi Steve," Rue greeted. "I wasn't expecting you."
"Sorry, should've told you," he said.
"It's fine, come in. I was just making lemonade."
"Well I did want to come by empty-handed so I bought Chinese," he explained, setting it on the counter.
She smiled at the bag then cheekily at him and poured two glasses to hand him one. There was an awkward silence as he took a sip, tsking his tongue at the sweet and sour flavor.
To break it, he watched her gracefully tie her curly hair and take out the food from the bag. She made a hum at the smell and look of the meal, grabbing a foldable cup.
"You can sit," she said, moving to the couch.
Taking after her actions, he took what seemed appetizing and sat at the edge of the couch beside her. They sat in silence and he wanted to start a conversation but there wasn't a great topic when she started to laugh.
Steve glanced at her but she quickly fell silent, concentrating on the drink in front of her. When he turned away, small giggles formed and he snapped towards her and caught her laughing at him.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"You're so stiff," she said.
"I'm quite comfortable."
She made a sarcastic hum, rolling her eyes before she set down the cup and curled onto the couch. He tried to do the same but with his stuffed stomach, he slid onto the floor to stretch his legs underneath the table.
"It was cold," she spoke.
He looked at her and found her laying down, staring at the ceiling and he figured she was talking about her life-changing moment in Sokovia.
"The somewhat roomy cell was where I stayed in. Through a glass was where they watched me and I watched them work. Two others had been experimented on by the scepter; twins. The one next to me had asked if I had been used and she wondered if I would survive."
There was a pause in the story but she continued, "I encouraged her to use her newfound powers to break us out but she despised that I worked for Stark; probably a personal vendetta. After that, I don't know what happened until I woke up in the lab... like this."
"I'm sorry about what happened to you," he said.
"It was no one's fault, I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"Do you wish you could've gone back and left before they had shown up?"
"Yes and no," she answered but there was no explanation to it.
He stayed quiet, playing with the rim of his shirt, and wondered if she had fallen asleep. He glanced over to see she was still awake but just in her own thoughts.
"Have you ever been in love?" she whispered.
"Yes."
"Me too."
"Is he still around?" he asked curiously.
"Well... we didn't end badly, we just separated to catch our own dreams," she explained. "You?"
"She thought I was dead and moved on," he said softly. "Now, she's old and I'm still... the same."
"Are you okay with that?" she asked.
"Yeah," he said. "A-are you my therapist?"
"No," she chuckled.
"You know what I have realized," he began, trying to sound casual. "I don't have your number... in case of emergencies."
She lifted, letting her hair toss over her shoulders, and exhaled, tilting her head.
"I think you're smart enough to get it," she said. "If you weren't, you wouldn't have been able to find my apartment."
"Or it would be easier if you lived down the hallway of the tower," he muttered.
Steve bit his inner cheeks from being found guilty and chugged the rest of the lemonade. When he turned to look at her, she had been too close and he wondered if something was going to happen.
"Are you interested in someone like me?" she asked.
From the way her eyes narrowed, he repeated the question in his mind and found the condescending tone in it. He decoded the words to realize it had a deeper meaning than just a love interest.
"No."
She set her feet on the floor and leaned forward with an exhale.
"Can I show you something?" she inquired, lending out a hand.
Without answering, he took it and a portal opened, sucking them into the blue cloud. He found himself floating in the starry void of the oxygen bubble he remembered she had.
Steve was able to see Rue paused in a position, looking out to the constellations in front of them. Controlling himself, he was able to swim in mid nothingness and slowed down beside her. There was no communication as they watched the beautiful Orion's Belt glow around them.
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Orion's Belt- Sabrina Claudio
If y'all didn't know, she asked if he was racist and if he dated black girls.