My beef with Stark got put on hold after my change of clothing and leaving Stark Tower with Steve.
I'd refused the motorcycle helmet when Steve suggested I put it on, since he was the one driving us to the restaurant. I was already in danger, so how much more could this possibly add on? Steve didn't bother to argue with me on it, but he didn't wear the helmet either, as usual.
We weaved through the New York traffic to find a quaint little restaurant deep in the city's heart. Steve parked the bike in the lot, and the two of us walked alongside each other towards the entrance. I licked my lips nervously. I'd thrown on the first things I could find in Pepper's closet: a loose, black blouse, with some rather fancy dark jeans.
The host greeted us, and before Steve could even tell them how many people were dining, we were recognized and pulled to our own special booth. Steve and I exchanged looks. We knew this was Stark's doing, the evil bastard. He'd had this planned from the moment I'd refused to get out of the tower.
"Sometimes I think Stark is destined to be a master villain instead of a hero," I said once Steve and I got seated on each booth. "I mean, he crafted all this in just a short amount of time." And I knew why. Stark had this fascination that Steve and I were dating, or about to date. He claimed to see the telltale signs, whereas I thought he was babbling nonsense.
"Well, we can't get too mad at him," Steve said thoughtfully. "It's a nice place. Let's just hope he's paying."
I laughed. "Well, if he is, let's not be cheap."
We didn't make a lot of talk until we had to wait for our food.
"Looks like we both got duped by Stark," said Steve.
I snorted. "Oh, no, more like you did. He must've been pretty convincing through messages." I said this teasingly, of course.
"I thought I was talking to you." He shrugged. "An innocent mistake."
I rested my back against the back of the booth.
"Are you okay?"
"Hmm? Yeah, for now I am."
"Hey." My eyes looked at him at the pickup of his gentle tone. "This is just temporary."
I swallowed. "Yeah, temporary..." I looked away.
"It is, Kiara. I know it. You've never had trouble before, and if you did, it was because you weren't strong enough. This is something different."
"Can we...Can we not talk about my powers, Steve?" I asked. "If I want to air out, I want to air out properly. No talk about...that."
"All right, then. What do you want to talk about?"
"Well, I guess we can start by me getting to know Steve Rogers." I smiled timidly. "I know very little about you, aside from what I already know."
"You can always read a file on me, but you—on you, you need to tell others." His eyes twinkled in curiosity. "I want to know about you. About anything you want to tell me."
I chuckled. "So eager. Well...my parents don't possess any...you know. They're ordinary by Asgardian terms. Mum was a sweetheart, Father was always protective of me. I guess that's what comes with being the only child."
"Are they...gone?" Steve asked carefully.
"Not that I'm aware of, no." I looked at him curiously. "Why?"
"You just used past tense, so I wondered if..."
"Oh, no, no. My parents aren't dead. At least, if they were...Thor would let me know somehow." I swallowed, now fearing the prospect of finding out my parents were deceased. "I guess it's not fair to ask you if your parents are still alive."
"You would be right on that. My parents died when I was little. Mom died of disease, Dad died because of war."
"Is he the reason you wanted to enlist?" I remembered Steve mentioning he'd tried so hard to be in the Army, but because of health issues, he was always denied. It was hard to imagine a scrawny Steve Rogers. Skinny Steve had to have been shorter than me.
"Probably played a small part in it, but probably very small."
"As small as you had been?" I teased. I lost the joking façade quickly, clearing my throat. "I can't imagine growing up without parents."
"I had a good best friend, and his family." Even though the name wasn't mentioned, a sadness sunk into Steve's blue eyes. Something told me his best friend was no longer around. I knew it was best to avoid this topic. I wanted this to be a happy outing, no tears, and no melancholy feelings.
Our conversation died down when our dinner arrived. We ate quietly, hearing the occasional murmur of chatter around us. I winced at the obnoxious laughter of one woman. Some people had no decency.
Between bites, Steve and I would get a word out. I was more of the talker during this time, reminiscing about my childhood. When my abilities were first discovered. Steve had playfully scolded me that I was breaking my own request for the night about not discussing my abilities. So I moved on from that, to the day I had met Loki.
"He was a fine, handsome young prince," I said fondly. Loki would be over the moon and back if he heard this. "I was an admirer from afar. I'd never dreamed he would introduce himself to me, let alone have something grow between us." I felt heat creep into my cheeks. I cleared my throat out of embarrassment. "Did you ever...?"
"Find someone?" Steve finished for me. He wiped his mouth with a napkin. "There was someone. She was beautiful, strong-willed too. I met her when I trained."
I leaned in. "She sounds like a tough woman."
"She was a fighter, loyal to her cause." I could hear the sadness seep into his voice now. "We'd had the start of something, but around that time..."
"What was her name, again?" I asked softly. I vaguely remembered him telling Todd and I a bit of his backstory after the events of New York had ended.
"Peggy. Peggy Carter."
"I wish I'd met her."
"You probably still could."
My ears perked up. "She's still alive?"
"Yeah. I've been, uh, trying to find her. See her. Maybe get a chance to catch up on old times."
"That would be nice. I'm sure you'd be a shock to her system." I winced. "Sorry, I just realized how bad that sounded. She must be up there in age by now..." Oh Gods, Kiara, know when to shut your mouth!
"It's all right, you didn't mean it," Steve assured me. I refrained from shaking my head in awe at the man across the table from me. How collected he was. How understanding he was. He had a faraway look in his eyes, like he was pulling himself back into the past. "Before I'd been put into the ice, we, uh, we'd planned a date. To go dancing." I could see a lost love in his eyes.
I didn't know what Stark saw, but from what I observed now, I highly doubted Steve Rogers was courting me. He seemed to still be hanging on to Peggy Carter. I couldn't blame him. She had meant something special to him.
"You kind of remind me of her, a bit," he said quietly.
"I-I don't see how I could," I said uncomfortably. "If it's the accent, the similarities probably end there. I'm sure I look nothing like her." Change the topic, change the topic. "Did you want to try some dessert?"
"If Stark's paying." Steve tried to be teasing.
"Even if he's not, I think we should end this dinner on a good note. And nothing says a good note like dessert."
Dessert did put some life back into Steve and myself. We shared. And, like we had hoped, the bill was picked up by Stark. If only we had known that sooner.
The cool breeze rustled through our hair as we walked back to the motorcycle. To appease Steve, I put on the bloody helmet and respectively hugged him from behind on the way back to Stark Tower. The roar of the vehicle seemed calming too, despite how obnoxious it was. But it wasn't as bad as that woman's laughter in the restaurant.
After some maneuvering through traffic (and some rather rude honks of car horns), Steve pulled along the sidewalk, where a glowing Stark Tower awaited. He kicked off the motor, and I removed the helmet, shaking out my hair. I climbed off, putting the helmet on the seat. Like the gentleman he was, Steve escorted me to the entrance of the tower.
"So, was that so bad?" he asked, nudging me in the ribs.
My mouth parted slightly. Steve was right. Nothing had happened. No fires. No death. No accidents. It was a quiet, rather enjoyable night. "This is probably a fluke," I said.
"Come on, Kiara. Take it as a positive."
"Okay, Mr. Optimistic," I joked. "Thank you, for this."
He chuckled. "I'm not sure I'm the one you should be thanking."
I frowned slightly. "I'll figure out what I'm going to do about Stark later." I paused for a moment. "Listen, Steve...if you're really adamant about finding Peggy, if you need some help...I'd be willing to check into things. If you want me to, of course."
"If I get nowhere, I'll recruit you."
"Promise?" I teased.
He smiled. "Promise. Well, here you are."
I sighed through my nose. "I miss my apartment." And I missed Todd. I missed it being just the two of us. I missed him being away at his job. Instead, he was training to become a field agent for S.H.I.E.L.D.
"You'll be back in it in no time, Kiara." Steve rubbed my back.
I turned to him, hugging him. I felt no tears coming on, I just felt like I needed this. Like he needed it too. He returned the favor, but he didn't hold me as tight.
I held in the yelp as I felt a burning sensation in my limbs. What is this? I breathed in Steve's scent. He smelled like gasoline (from his motorcycle) and leather. I would be joking if I said he smelled like freedom and bald eagles.
The second sharp burn was hotter, forcing me to flinch. I pulled away, hoping to make a getaway before this escalated.
"Goodnight," I told him softly.
"Goodnight."
I took one step before I was burning from the inside again, and this time, it elicited a cry of pain from me. My skin pulsated, and I swore I saw it grow red and raw.
"Kiara!" Steve was at my side in a second. He recoiled the second he tried to touch me.
"Don't try it again!" I squeaked, buckling to the sidewalk.
"What's happening?!"
"I-I don't know." I felt a sweat break out on my forehead now, dizziness was settling. This is new. New and freaking scary as hell. "Call Stark."
"Better yet, I'm getting you inside."
"Steve, don't touch me!"
But he ignored my plea. His clothes singed and smoked when they came into contact with my bare skin. I groaned in pain, holding down the scream in my throat. The fire, it was growing. It was burning.
"Steve," I whimpered.
"Shh."
"I can't control it."
"We'll figure this out."
My eyes closed, and all I was alert for now was sounds.
"J.A.R.V.I.S.!" Steve shouted. We had to be in the tower. "Get Stark! We've got a situation."
"How bad of a situation is it, Captain Rogers?"
"Just do it!" I croaked to the AI. "Or better yet...J, turn on the sprinklers."
"I'm sorry?"
"No questions!"
By the time I felt the first drop of water touch—and heard it sizzle when coming into contact with my skin—the intense heat inside forced me unconscious.
**Stiara cuteness ^.^ But, I don't know, you guys. You think Steve's still hung up on his badass first love, like Kiara believes? Or are you on board with Tony aboard the Stiara ship?**