⤷ february 25, 2013
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"Good peameal."
"Made it the same way I always do, Roberts."
Irina lets out a delighted hum as she cuts another slice of the meat, the juice spilling out onto the plate, making her all the more hungry. Steve smiles over from his place at the stove, flipping over the omelet he was making, effortlessly succeeding.
The past few months have been a grace period of sorts. After eight months of underlying awkwardness and tension between the two new roommates, they found their peace on Christmas Day, and have since been slowly working on building a relationship past just coworkers.
Now, they were friends.
Irina still had the occasional nightmare, but she never told Steve, in slight fear of his disappointment in hearing his sentimental Christmas present didn't, in fact, work for her.
She's been slowly introducing Steve to the pop culture she was shown by the Parkers, with them having Friday movie nights and the occasional binging session of some of the big tv shows going on at the present moment.
Steve had also gotten into introducing her to more old-fashioned things — namely music, as not many items from the 40's were on as many shelves nowadays, nor as relevant.
"You ever wanted to be a cook, Rogers?" Irina asks casually after they're both done with their breakfast, now cleaning up.
Steve had his shirt sleeves rolled halfway up his forearms, scrubbing away at the dishes and utensils while she was on drying duty, wiping at the dishes with a clean and dry cloth before putting them away in their correct cupboards and drawers. "Because you cook like Gordon Ramsey — without the shouting and the cursing and the overall unpleasantness."
Steve glances at her briefly, the ends of his lips flickering up. He focuses back on the dishes. "It never crossed my mind to be one, no. I was always focused on the war; on getting onto the frontlines and servicing my country —"
"God, don't give me a Captain America answer," she interrupts, her nose scrunching in slight distaste at his answer. "Try again. From the top."
Steve let out a small chuckle as he hands her a washed plate. Irina takes it, wiping it dry with her cloth. "Alright... I guess I never got into it because my Ma loved cooking — loved my cooking, too. She always told me how she thought I could do some great work as a chef, but after she died, I..." he let out a breath, giving a small shrug, "...guess the passion died with her."
She's silent for a moment, guilt written across her face as she opens the cupboard in front of her, reaching up and stacking the plate with the others. "...That was... Sorry. My bad," she sighs.
"No. No, you're fine," Steve insists, looking at her while offering her a wet cup. Irina glances at him as she takes it, holding his stare with a slight grimace. "Please, don't. It still hurts but...my Ma would scold me for wallowing in my sorrows. She'd want me to move on, and I have, for the most part."
Irina let out a small hum, glancing away as she took to circling the rim of the clear glass cup with the cloth. She frowns. "I...never knew my mom," she blows out a breath. "But it's good yours sounded like a nice woman. She raised a hell of a man," she comments, eyes flickering briefly to Steve with a tiny smile etching onto her lips.
He returns it with a low, sheepish chuckle. "Thanks, I suppose. You know, if you're ever curious about your mother, I'm sure Stark will gladly —"
She shakes her head immediately, shutting the idea down with a soft, derisive snort. "No. The man has enough on his hands, after the whole fiasco with the Mandarin. I'm fine just texting him once or twice a week to check up, really. It's...easier that way, to get used to him," remarks Irina. She smiles softly to herself while taking a washed fork from Steve and wiping it down after putting the cup away. She tucks the utensil into the drawer at her hips.
Her and Tony had been keeping more in touch after his near-death occurrence with the terrorist known as the Mandarin.
She wondered why Fury didn't call in the Avengers for it — not that she'd be joining anyways. It just would have been nice to at least be there for Tony while he was under attack and his girlfriend had gotten kidnapped.
She made sure to drill it into the billionaire that he'd better be worshipping the ground that woman walks on after what she's gone through for him, and is still remarkably sticking by his side. Honestly, she wouldn't mind one day meeting her. Pepper Potts, her name was.
Tony really liked her.
Irina softly clears her throat when she notices where her train of thought is going, and when the last utensil is tucked away, she leans away from the counter and lets out a groan as she stretches her arms. "Alright," she sighs when she's done, arms hitting against her sides again, "come on, Rogers. It's movie time. I'm showing you a classic, this time. We'll keep it fantasy and stay away from sci-fi for at least a few more months, at least until you're ready."
Steve chuckles in amusement as he wipes his hands dry and follows her out into the living room, hands tucked into the pockets of his sweats. "I really don't understand that genre," he admits with a sigh. "What's on the agenda today, Roberts?"
Irina flops onto the couch with little grace, but that only furthers Steve's small laughs as he takes the opposite end. She reaches out for the coffee table, grabbing the remote and pressing the power button. Their small television flicks to life in a second. With a wicked gleam in her eyes, she looks at the soldier on her right.
"Have you ever heard of Narnia?"
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By the time noon rolled around, they'd finished the first movie and had moved onto the second one. Steve enjoyed the first one thoroughly, his notable favourite being Peter, while Irina preferred Susan.
When her stomach grumbled softly, signifying lunch for them, she paused the movie in the middle of Peter's fight with Miraz. As soon as she did, Steve's head whipped to her, looking distraught at the disruption. "Wait — you can't pause it now! What if Peter doesn't make it?" He asks in a small, worried voice that made Irina burst out with laughter.
She shakes her head softly when getting up, stretching her legs and arms. "Good way to build the suspense," she teases. "It's lunch, anyways. Come on, let's see what we got," she gestures to the kitchen.
With a sigh, Steve reluctantly gets up and follows her, eyes trained on the tv screen for as long as they could be before they focused ahead. Irina lets out a small snicker. "Don't tell me I've gotten Captain America addicted to tv now. The country might hate me for tainting their golden boy," she says.
Steve fixes her with a deadpan, though his lips curled into a half smile. "Hah hah," he mumbles. Irina gives another snicker.
She looks through their cupboards and fridge, not finding anything good to make for lunch. They were running low on groceries, anyways, so a grocery run was due eventually. "Nothing good to make for lunch. How about we run down to the store and get some snacks and stuff? I think Mrs. Ramirez is on today."
The soldier nods. "Sure. It's been awhile since I've popped down there, anyways," he says, already making his ways over to the coat rack and shrugging on his brown motorcycle jacket. He offered Irina her black sweater, and with her nod, he tosses it over to her.
She shrugs it on, taking her key from the table by the door and walking out the door, Steve following close behind her. "I'll meet you downstairs. Just let me lock up," she says over her shoulder to him. The blond nods, walking ahead and disappearing down the staircase to the ground floor.
Irina locks the knob, checking it once, before stuffing the key into her pocket and turning around. Just as she does, their next door neighbour, Kate, steps out of her own door, black leather jacket on with slightly ripped skinny jeans. It's the most rugged she's seen the nurse. When she spots Irina, she immediately breaks out into a smile. "Emma! How are you?"
Irina smiles in return. "Just running to the store. Where are you heading? You look like you're about to beat up the guy who punched your younger brother and shoved him into a locker," she notes.
Kate laughs, a sheepish smile tugging at her lips. "Oh, no, I'm not. Just going out for a ride on my day off. It's good to see the city when I can. I'll take that as a compliment, though."
Irina lets out a small laugh. "Thanks. Want to walk out together? I'm just meeting my roommate in the lobby."
The nurse's smile grows, her eyes lighting up at the offer. "Sure!" They begin to walk downstairs, side by side. Irina keeps her hands shoved into the pockets of her sweater as they do. "You know, I wouldn't mind getting a cup of coffee sometime, if you wouldn't. It seems wrong that we've been next door neighbours for the past nine months, and we don't know anything past each other's first name. Not that I don't want to push you, of course!"
Irina smiles, slightly timid to the prospect. She'd prefer to keep her distance, in all honestly. Kate was a gem of a woman, really, but Irina couldn't risk it should something go bad and her entire life in DC were to go through a massive fallout, and the nurse was put in danger because of it.
She forces out a casual chuckle. "I wouldn't mind. Just...schedules and stuff are always hard to match up, you know? I wouldn't want to impose on your work at all..." she says.
Kate shakes her head. "Oh, you wouldn't! I'm sure we can find a date, someday. Only if you're comfortable, of course," she returns in assurance.
Irina purses her lips.
They walk out into the lobby of the apartment building, where Steve waits for her. He's leaning against the wall by the doors, tapping his foot anxiously in wait. When he catches sight of her, he smiles and breaks away from the wall.
She returns his smile, before glancing at Kate, who's looking at her with a smirk. Irina frowns in confusion, but when Kate lifts her eyebrows, eyes flickering briefly to Steve, she catches on, and panic immediately shows all over her face.
"Oh — oh, no no," she hurries out. Kate's smile only grows. "He's just my friend, really. Really — don't give me that look," she points a stern finger.
Finally, Kate breaks out into a laugh, looking away with a roll of her eyes. "Alright, alright! I believe you. Totally. Have fun running to the store, Emma. And stay safe. I heard there's been a few muggings in that area lately," she says with a flash of a worried look.
Irina reassures her with a small smile. "Oh, we'll be fine," she says. "Have fun seeing the city."
Kate bids goodbye with a wave, sparing Steve a smile and a nod as she passes, actions he reciprocates with a mumbled "Ma'am," while she leaves.
Irina walks up to her roommate, who turns back to her with a slightly crooked smile while he tilts his head to the doors. "Alright?" He asks.
"Yeah," she nods. "C'mon. Let's get these movie snacks so you can get back to getting sucked into your television, gramps," she says, passing by him with a pat to the arm.
"Really, Roberts?" Steve groans, dipping his head down as he follows after her.
Irina glances over her shoulder, a smile stretching her lips as she lets out an amused giggle at his expense.
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The walk down to the bodega she worked at took only fifteen minutes, and when she pushed the door open, signifying her arrival with a ring of the bell above it, both she and Steve are immediately greeted enthusiastically by Mrs. Ramirez, who was situated at the counter.
"Emma, Steven, so good to see you two!" The elderly lady greets with a smile. "Emma, estimada, it's your day off. You shouldn't be here," she scolds, wagging a wrinky finger at her.
Irina passes by the counter with a sheepish smile. "We're just here to get some snacks for movie night, Mrs. Ramirez. We won't be long, swear," she says as she walks up and down the aisles, picking and choosing snacks and food to make until she gets paid Tuesday, and can buy their apartment a new batch of groceries.
As she picks and chooses foods, Steve stays by the counter to keep Mrs. Ramirez company, offering her a smile. "It's nice to see you again, Mrs. Ramirez," he says, offering his hand to shake hers with.
Mrs. Ramirez coos at his smile immediately, taking his one hand in both of hers and patting the top of it. "It's good to see you, too, dear. You haven't been around lately. Emma seems to enjoy herself more when you're around, I hope you know," the lady says with a slightly cheeky smile.
Steve blinks, slightly confused, before he smiles more sheepishly. "Well...thank you, ma'am," he chuckles, blue eyes glancing briefly at Irina, who was picking out some pop drinks for them by the coolers.
"I've told you to just call me tía, Steven," scolds Mrs. Ramirez. "Or even Lucia is fine. Don't make me feel any older than I already am."
Steve grins, all cheek. "You're no older than I am, Lucia," he says.
"Alright, got it!" Irina calls when she approaches the counter, placing all the snacks she'd gathered onto the countertop with a huff of victory.
Steve eyes the brightly-coloured bags, obviously filled with sugar beyond compare, and looks back at Irina with a judging look. "Roberts..." he sighs.
Irina waves him off. "Oh, don't get your spangled outfit in a twist, Rogers. I got you a few healthy things. Besides, it's rule number one during movie nights that it's one of the only nights you're allowed to eat mountains of junk food without consequence, so go all out," she says proudly. Peter taught her that.
Steve rolls his eyes softly, his lips twitching into a smile as he shakes his head. "Alright, fine," he submits with a sigh.
Irina grins, already digging out the cash as Mrs. Ramirez checks out the items, watching them with glittering brown eyes of amusement. "You know, you two remind me of myself and Diego when we were still young and spry," she notes casually. "I can still remember what it was like at the height of our love. We'd just gotten married, you see, and we just couldn't stop —"
"I'm going to stop you there," interrupts Irina as Steve goes pink in the face, turning around as he coughs madly into his fist, obviously having choked on some spit, "before you emotionally break Captain America. We're just roommates, Mrs. Ramirez. We've been over this," she scolds lightly while the elderly lady smiles to herself and hands Irina a bag.
She begins to pack away their food. "Steve's busy enough with work as it is —" a white lie, but then again, Fury has been calling him on more missions as of late, " — and I'm not looking for another relationship to handle on my plate. I still have to keep you from bashing Mr. Ramirez's head in whenever he mixes up the cash in the register, or sneaks a cigarette into his shift," she says, glancing up and lifting an eyebrow at her boss.
Mrs. Ramirez gives a small huff of indignation at her words. "That old fool really needs to get off those wretched things," she defends. At Irina's look, she break out into a small smile. "Alright, estimada, you win. But you should get out more, live your life. You're a fine young woman! Dashing young men would be flocking at your feet if you went out more," she says. "But hurry along, now. And take care of yourselves —"
"On the ground, now!"
Hers and Steve's heads whipped to the doors immediately when they swing open, revealing a duo of men in ski masks with pistols pointed their way as they come in.
Mrs. Ramirez lets out a frightened gasp, and slowly, Irina slides the filled bag off the counter and to her side, her eyes flickering to Steve's large back. "Steve," she whispers, slightly fearful she may have to step in.
"Don't worry," Steve mutters out in a low voice, keeping his eyes trained on the two men as he slowly raises his arms in a surrendering notion. "I've got this. Just dive for cover when I say so."
Irina gives a single nod, but pauses when she realizes Steve couldn't even see it. Oh, well, he probably guessed she agreed.
Guess Kate was right about the muggings, she just never guessed someone would be so brave as to try a robbery in the same neighbourhood as Captain America.
"I said get down, man," one of the robbers said, gesturing down to the floor with his gun before training it back on Steve. Irina waits with baited breath for his signal.
Steve's eyes flicker to the barrel of the gun, not even flinching. "...You sure you know how to use that, son?" He asks, lifting a dryly amused eyebrow at the robber.
The man falters. "What — of course I do, asshole! I said get on the ground!" He roars, gun shaking slightly.
Steve, in a flash, reaches up and grabs the barrel, pointing it up when the action registers with the robber, and he shoots without thinking. The gunshot rings, and Irina dives behind the counter as Mrs. Ramirez bends down with a cry.
"It's okay, it's okay!" She assures the older lady, reaching out to hold her hand as Steve fights on the other side.
He knocks out the first robber with a single elbow to the face. When the second lifts his gun to let off a shaking shot, Steve is faster, and grabs hold of his wrist to bend it far enough that the gun drops, the second robber crying out in pain at the uncomfortable angle of his wrist. Steve lets go of it, giving the man a single, solid punch to the face, before he's crumpling to the ground, Captain America standing victorious over them.
He turns to the check-out counter. "It's alright!" He calls. "It's over now."
Irina punches out a small breath of relief, slowly helping Mrs. Ramirez stand. When Steve's in sight, she shoots him a grateful smile immediately. He returns it with a nod.
"Oh Dios mio," Mrs. Ramirez exhales as she steadies herself agains the counter, Irina dutifully aiding in every step. She looks at her, and breaks out into an awed smile. "Thank you, estimada. Thank you." She turns to Steve, and her smile grows. "And you, querido chico. I don't know what would have happened had you not been here."
Both Irina and Steve smile at her thankfulness. "It's really no problem, Mrs. Ramirez. Take the day off, though, after that," she grimaces. "Maybe go home and spend the day with Diego. You deserve it."
Mrs. Ramirez is hesitant, but she nods nonetheless. "Oh... I suppose you're right. Oh, truly, querida niña, querido chico, thank you. Thank you," she holds both of Irina's hands in her own, smiling gratefully up at her. "Take Monday off, dear. And don't you worry about it," she says as soon as she sees Irina's hesitant look. "You saved me, dear girl. You, too, Steven. Both of you have my thanks."
Irina shares a look with Steve, who smiles brightly at her. She can't help but break out into one, too, as she looks back down at her boss. "...Alright," she sighs.
Mrs. Ramirez grins.
𓆩*𓆪
After seeing Mrs. Ramirez home just down the street, both her and Steve walked back together. Irina swung the bag full of snacks in her hand, with Steve having another one in his hand, his full of treats and 'Thank You' gifts from the elderly Spanish woman after seeing the robbers off with the cops.
Irina recalls the spectacle with a sliver of guilt, and frowns at the pavement squares as they trek back to the apartment building. "Steve," she calls. Steve's eyes slide to the side of her face, and she grimaces. "I'm... I'm sorry I didn't do anything to help."
"Hey, don't you worry about it one bit," Steve assures her, nudging her shoulder gently with his arm. "I had it handled all on my own. Besides, you protected Mrs. Ramirez. That was brave of you, Irina."
Her grimace deepens with spite. "I still can't help but feel like a coward for being too scared to do anything," she mumbles out with a sigh.
Steve stays close to her as they continue to walk, his eyes boring into the side of her head, gleaming with sympathy. "You don't want to fight anymore, Roberts. You've made that clear, and that's fine. You're allowed to not want to be apart of the fight anymore. Don't wreck yourself over it," he says.
"But if you weren't there," she asks hypothetically, "if it was just me, and those robbers, and I didn't fight, and Mrs. Ramirez lost her life —"
"Then don't focus on the "if"'s," Steve interrupts her. "Focus on what happened, and how it turned out okay for everyone."
Irina purses her lips, still cursing herself for being a coward, but she didn't want to fight with Steve, not when they've been on a good streak since Christmas. So she tries to let his words work on her, to let herself believe them.
Don't focus on the bad.
Focus on the good.
She nods, and Steve smiles proudly. He lifts his arm up, silently offering. Irina glances at him, at his arm, and her lips twitch up into a smile. She nods.
Steve lets his arm drape over her shoulders and pull her close. Irina leans into his figure as they walk, swinging her bag gleefully.
Being friends with Steve Rogers wasn't half bad.
𓆩*𓆪
Y'all ready for it to go to shit?
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