The little Stark

out of the shadows

A giddy Steve steps of the elevator to the med floor and hears laughs and giggling coming from the recovery room.

Has she lost her mind and is giggling to herself? I thought everyone left the tower?

Steve continues out of the elevator and towards the ajar glass door. "You're so pretty darling. Even when your olive tan skin's so pale and dried blood streaks within your hair, you're still so pretty."

Steve opens the door and sees Stas smiling widely. He looks over to the light blue plastic chair besides her reclined hospital bed and sees Loki planted beside her. "Oh. Uh I'll come back." Steve replied to the two souls who watched him peek his head in. "No, um it's okay,Steve."

He looks at her and back and Loki and starts to walk backwards towards the hallway. "No seriously. Please. Stay." Her lips lightly pouted and her head slightly tilted to the side to catch his gaze out the door. Steve slowly walks back into the recovery room and the three of them exchange glances.

"Well, I shall get going, darling. I must get some sustenance for my stomach is growling." Sighing, Loki placed his two hands on each of the arm rest and pushed himself to stand on both feet.

"Rest up, darling." "Bye Loki!" Still beside the doorway, Steve steps to the side to allow Loki to walk out. He closed the glass door behind him with his one free hand that didn't hold the snacks and pillow pet and sat in the blue seat that Loki previously sat in. "Don't sit there." Stas looked him right in the eyes and smiled. "So is this nice cold floor where I am supposed to sit? Or maybe this rolling food tray table?" Laughed a confused Steve.

"No, silly. I'll scooch over and you can sit next to me." "No no you're still recovering and sore. I don't wanna get too close and hurt you." "Steve. I'm a big girl. I'll be fine. Come sit next to me please." She was pleading and begging and using her famous puppy dog eyes. "Now how could I resist a face like that?" "See?"

She said gently pushing herself over to provide room for the tall, gorgeous, dirty blonde superhero next to her. "It's the least you could do to make up for earlier." Stas joked. Getting ready to lay next to her he replies, "Stas, about that I-" "Steve. Please. I was trying to lighten that subject. It's okay. Really. Just a whole misunderstanding and overreaction from my part."

"Okay just take my apology for that situation. It wasn't even my place to comment." At this point he was laying next to her close. Their legs and sides of each other's bodies were touching because well, there's only so much room in a hospital bed. "Capsicle. Stop. Let's just let it go. It's embarrassing anyways." "I mean it really isn't but um-" He tried to look for away to change the subject before he made her upset again.

He looked down at the pillow pet he grabbed from her room and decided to bring it to her attention. He reached over the guard rail of the hospital bed to the blue chair that held the snacks and pillow pet. "Here. I grabbed this from your room and thought it may help this whole recovery process you're in."

"Duggy!" She exclaimed while her face lit up. "Duggy? As in teach me how to dougie?" She looked over at him stunned with her jaw practically on the floor. "1. um NO! Duggy as in what I named my doggy pillow pet. And 2. for such an old man who lived in a block of ice for decades, I'm shocked you know that song." "I don't live under a rock Stassie."

He was still laughing at her response and facial expressions. "I have a question by the way. It's super serious. I need you to be honest." Steve asked sternly looking into her brown eyes. Scared, she replied, "ye- yes?" "Why is it that you like the movie Cars so much?"

A sigh of relief escaped her rose colored lips. She playfully hit his arm. "You scared me! Don't ever phrase a question like that oh my goodness!" "The whole point was to scare you! You seemed like you're hiding something.. What is Anastasia Blair Stark hiding hmmm?" He grinned and squinted his eyes and playfully tickled her neck causing her to squirm and giggle. "I'm not hiding anythingggg and to answer your first question, how could I NOT like that movie so much! Everything about it is perfect. I've watched it so much I can basically recite it."

"As a 20 year old woman, don't admit that to anyone else." He laughed. "Oh hush. I'm sure you have a movie you absolutely adore but you're not supposed to." "You're right. I do." "Oooo what it is." "It'sss... something I won't tell you." He winked knowing he lead her to believe he was going to tell her. "What else could you possibly be hiding hmm?" She smirked. "Nothing." He turned red. "Oh really? Because the redness is your face is telling me otherwise, Rogers." "Whatever, Stark. Let's watch Cars now, huh? What do you say?" "I say yes!"

An hour or so into the movie:
Stas began to lay her head on Steve's shoulder as the movie went on. They both heard a buzz and Steve lifted his phone up from his lap to check the notification. It was a text message from Sam.

Wilson🦅: Hey Cap. I know I said a few days ago that Agent Carter reported to me that you had a month to decide what you what to do with the Winter Soldier Mission. It's two and a half weeks now. It's dangerous, Cap. We're talking about a trained assassin. We could potentially be talking about life or death here. It's a fine line. Just put some careful thought into it. See you later at the tower.

Steve didn't reply to the message. He looks over to the perplexed person who had her head on his shoulder. "So that's what you were hiding, wasn't it?" "Stas I- I don't even know if Im going to go through with it." "Who's Agent Carter anyways? Is she with S.H.E.I.L.D? I haven't heard of her before?" She began to fidget with her fingers. Steve seeing an anxious and nervous girl who he's grown to have feelings for and care for was an emotion he couldn't explain.

"She's new.." He trailed off. "Cmon. By the way you're speaking I can tell there's more to this." "She's Peggy's niece." "As in Peggy Peggy?" "Yea." "Oh." She lifted her head off his shoulder and looked down.

He couldn't help but think why did she care so much? Why was this bothering her? It's not like he's never been on a mission without her before.

"Does this bother you? Stas?" He noticed her mindset and headspace were somewhere else. "Stassie?" "Oh uh no no it doesn't. Just the ya know "life and death" thing seemed serious ya know? Doesn't sound like something I want my friend participating in." "Ah. But like this isn't my first mission without you, Stas."

"I know I know but we weren't friends before. Now we are. I don't wanna lose my friend." "Stassie. I'm not going anywhere. You hear me? I promise you. You've got me." He took her face into his hands and put their foreheads together. With their faces touching she was still looking down. "Look at me Stas." She didn't budge. "Stassie, c'mon" She lifted her eyes and their eyes met one another. His green eyes stared directly into her brown ones. "Ah. There she is." "If I go, I promise you I'm coming right back." "Pinky promise me."

He stuck out his pinky and linked his with hers. "Steve." She pulled their faces away. "Yes?" "If you go, I go."