And They Were Roommates (STEVE ROGERS X OC)

Chapter Fourteen

The happenings of the night of Steve's injury didn't happen again, even though he had been away for different smaller missions throughout the week. It bothered Taylor a little, fearing that he might hide his injuries from her so she wouldn't worry as much. The missions were frequent however, something which she didn't understand, since Steve would just tire out much faster if he didn't take a break between them, but no one seemed to share her view on the matter.

Apparently, Steve earned quite a good amount of money by sometimes risking his life for the agency that took him in after being discovered frozen in the ice. She knew he wanted to partake in the bills desperately, but he was overworking himself in order to save money, which wasn't at all necessary in her opinion.

The subject of Taylor's thoughts walked down the stairs as she was finishing her morning coffee, looking too gorgeous for the morning hours. Most people needed time to get themselves together in the mornings, and she was that person, but he seemed to be just too perfect for that as well, already looking ready for any casual event just after getting out of bed. She envied that.

"Morning," Steve greeted, shooting her a smile as he headed for the fridge. Taylor made a bet in her head that he would be taking out the orange juice carton.

"Hey, any missions today?" She asked casually, her lips quirking up at the sight of him pouring some orange juice into a glass. He was quite the enthusiast of that damn juice.

"Yes. A couple more and I'll be able to rent that flat of my own," He grinned, and Taylor almost spat out her coffee. "It's close to S.H.I.E.L.D. and I won't have to leech off you anymore."

"You are anything but a burden, Steve," She stated sternly, looking into his bright blue eyes. She couldn't imagine him leaving.

"I need to start being independent, you know that. And if I get my hands on that flat, I'll finally be closer to that," He explained, leaning back onto the kitchen counter.

Taylor stared at him for a moment, not wanting to argue with him, especially with that sentence. She completely understood where he was coming from, and the independence he craved. She was the same before moving out of the Malibu mansion, she wanted to have her own home, build her own reputation and climb the ladder at work to achieve something by herself.

She understood him, but she was selfish. It was very selfish of her, wanting to keep Steve by her side in the penthouse just so she wouldn't be alone, just so he wouldn't leave her. But still, she couldn't help it, couldn't help the thoughts circulating her mind, frightening her, and making her grow angry.

"Fury helped me find the flat, he said he would help me out if I didn't have enough for the first few months." Steve went on, completely oblivious to Taylor's shift in mood.

"And you think you wouldn't be a burden to Fury if you feel like you are a burden to me?" She questioned, her tone too harsh for her liking. The words escaped her mouth before she could stop them, and she saw him freeze, saw the lights in his eyes vanish. The room felt cold all of a sudden. "I didn't mean to- I'm sorry, I-"

Steve didn't reply, just slammed his glass down onto the counter, but the twitch of his lips revealed that it was unintentional. Without looking at her, he grabbed his coat from the hanger beside the door, slipped into his shoes, and pulled his favorite baseball cap into his eyes, while Taylor watched helplessly, trying to figure out what the hell she should do, but to no avail.

"I'm going on a walk," Steve stated coldly, making her shiver, the door slamming shut behind him as he left.

She stared at the closed door with a grimace, feeling the tears well up in her eyes, forcing her to look up to keep them from spilling. She messed up, she knew that, and she had to find a way to apologize to him. He was going to be moving out sooner or later, and there was no way to stop him anyway, he was too stubborn for that. She had to move on if she wanted to keep her heart from breaking, but she feared she was past that point already...