Devil of Menace

2 - Briefing

Steve and I are working out our frustrations in our gym. His grunts fill the room as I focus on what I'm doing. The sounds of his skin hitting the punching bag echo as sweat begins to soak his shirt. I stop what I'm doing as Nick walks in, I nod in acknowledgement of his presence as I unwrap my hands. Steve lands one punch on the bag and sends it flying across the room, sand spilling everywhere. He leans down and hooks up a new bag as Nick asks, "Trouble sleeping?" Steve goes back to punching before saying, "You here with a mission, sir?" The question peaks my interest as I walk next to Steve and catch his next punch. Beginning to unwrap the bandages on his fists I motion for Fury to elaborate, "I am."

I glare at his lack of detail, "Trying to get me back in the world?" Steve asks. "Trying to save it." Nick finishes. "Looks like you're needed Cap." I say as I hand Steve a bottle of water. "Vik is already briefed but it doesn't hurt to keep her here." Nick hands us a series of files on the Tesseract and projects. "HYDRA's secret weapon." Steve murmurs. "Howard Stark fished that out of the ocean when he was looking for you." Fury explains and Steve nods. "Vik told me." He adds. "He thought what we think, the Tesseract could be the key to unlimited sustainable energy. That's something the world sorely needs." Fury finishes. "Who took it from you?" Steve asks. "He's called Loki." I answer, "He's not from around here. There's a lot we'll have to bring you up to speed on if you're in. The world has gotten even stranger than you already know." I say.

Steve scoffs lightly, "At this point, I doubt anything you say could surprise me." Fury raises an eyebrow, "Ten bucks says you're wrong." He turns to me, "There's a debriefing package waiting for him back at your apartment." I nod as Fury turns to leave the gym but he stops. "Is there anything you can tell us about the Tesseract that we ought to know now?" Without missing a beat Steve voices my thoughts, "You shoulda left it in the ocean." And with that Fury leaves. Steve sighs, "Why didn't you tell me?" He asks softly. I hold his hands in mine, "I wasn't authorised. In any other case I would've." He smiles and kisses my forehead, "What do we do now?" I laugh, "That's the question. There's one idea but it's gonna take some work. An old initiative, Fury started working on it in the '90s after an attack from an extraterrestrial enemy. A team of advanced people with extraordinary abilities to fight the battles humanity is unable to fight alone." I recite from many a meeting with Nick about the option. "Sounds intense." Steve says as he picks up his bag. I nod in agreement.

We arrive at our apartment and Steve pulls me in for a hug, "You hungry?" He asks, chin atop my head. "Yeah but we both need to shower because you're ridiculously sweaty." I say before handing Steve a takeout menu. "Order something." I say as I head to the bathroom, "Where are you going?" I hear Steve yell. "To shower." I shout, closing the door and stripping off my clothes. "Can I join?" Steve's voice echoes. "If you're fast enough." I reply, turning on the hot water and stepping under the stream. The pressure relaxes my muscles as the water beats down on me. I hear the door click open and Steve enters the steamy bathroom. He strips silently and steps in, I don't turn to look at him but I feel his hands quickly begin to work soap into my shoulders. His lips follow the trail of his hands before he rotates us so that he's under the water and I do the same for him. We stay under the water for a little longer before stepping out and I wrap myself in a towel.

I head to my room and slip on a pair of leggings, one of Steve's sweatshirts and put my hair in a loose bun atop my head. I reenter the living room as Steve pays for the pizza. He places it on the coffee table before taking his place next to me. He opens the box and grabs a slice, leaning back he flicks the bun. "What was that for?" I ask, switching on some rom-com on a random channel. "Nothing, you just look cute princess." He says and I roll my eyes, "I thought I was angel." I mock. Steve laughs, "What? You don't like princess?" He questions. "I don't want to be a princess. I want to be a formerly evil queen who reluctantly redeemed herself for the greater good." I explain. "You read too much." Steve mutters around a mouthful of pizza. "Damn right I do." I retort.

Two pizzas and a terrible rom-com later, Steve's eyes begin to droop. "Come on you big lug," I say standing from my position on the couch, "Let's get you to bed." Steve groggily stands, leaning his weight on me. I drag him into his room and drop him onto his bed, I go to leave but Steve grips my wrist and pulls me down too. I sprawl out on top of him, knowing he won't let me go. "Goodnight Stevie." I whisper before I let the heaviness of my eyelids consume me, sleeping soundly on Steve's chest. The man is like a furnace and his soft snores wake me half way through the night. I breathe heavily beside him as images of James flash through my mind. Guilt tears its way through me as the intimacy of the situation shatters my comfort. I can't fall for Steve, not like this, not when I still need James to be complete. I know Steve cannot replace him and yet I feel like that's what I'm trying to do. I brush the thoughts aside and focus on getting back to sleep before Steve wakes.