Worship Her - Steve Rogers (AU)

Chapter 5

Walking into the club the next morning, Nat came out of her office and noted her friend in an irritable mood. "Delivery for you out back". She nodded to the locker room and Maggie heaved a sigh.

"Not another".

"Nope, he's switched things up a bit". The smirk on Nat's lips said it all, and Maggie simply shook her head and went to see just what Steve had sent her now.

Pushing the door open, she saw the wreath perched on a stand - the writing 'With Sympathy' on a sash draped across it, and a little card pinned to it. Ripping it open, the message was there. 'My condolences on your own death - Steve x'. She stifled a laugh that tried to escape from her and sighed. "He just won't stop until I speak to him will he?"

"You're both as stubborn as the other - he won't give up and neither will you, but at some point someone has to break".

"Think he might leave me alone if I actually do speak with him?" There was no way that she was telling Natasha about him calling last night. She'd not really slept much after all, the annoyance that he had her home phone number being enough to keep her up.

Nat shrugged at this. "Who knows? What Steve wants, Steve generally gets", then looking to the wreath. "Dumpster?"

"Not this time. I suppose it is kinda funny in some ways".

"Can't say he hasn't got a sense of humour". Nat said and headed back to her office while Maggie got to work.

Peter restocked the bar while she checked off what had come in with the delivery. "So...did you get any calls last night?" The teen asked, then regretting the slip up

Maggie's head whipped up from her clipboard. "You gave him my number didn't you?"

"I...well you see..." Peter began to stumble over his words, trying to make up something that wouldn't get in trouble.

"For crying out loud Peter! What did he promise you?" She knew that Steve would've given or promised him something in return for his efforts.

Peter swallowed. "VIP pass to the LA date they're playing..."

Maggie let out a groan and ran her hands down her face, muttering "I will kill him..." to herself while the teen apologised over and over again. "It's fine, don't worry - no harm done..." Other than a night with lack of sleep. "Come on, let's get back to work".

**

Like clockwork, the 2pm call came - Maggie this time heading to the phone and contemplating before picking it up. "The Zion..."

"Magpie?" Steve sounded surprised that she was even answering considering that she always avoided it. He knew that much.

"Don't call me that". She snapped. "Do you have just any idea what the fuck you did last night?" The irritation of it all flooding back.

He sounded terrible. "Not really...remind me? And could you not shout so much? My head feels like Thor's bass drum right now."

"You got Peter to give me my phone number and then proceeded to call me when you were high! To top it all off? You passed out during the conversation!" She continued, not caring if he felt that his head was about to explode or not.

"Shit..."

"And the funeral wreath? Seriously?"

He chuckled tiredly. "You liked it then?"

Maggie pursed her lips. "It was...creative, if that's even the right word. I didn't know that you had a sense of humour".

"Just trying to get your attention".

"Well you got it- Now what the hell do you want?" She asked, patience wearing thin with him already.

"You". Came the serious answer.

"Sorry, no sale".

He sighed. "Would you at least come to one of the shows then? Come on Mag, I'm trying here. I've sent flowers which - for the record - isn't the kind of shit that I do. But I did it anyway. We got off on the wrong foot..."

She let out a 'hah!'. "Wrong foot? Every damn limb was wrong!"

"Which is why I'm trying to make it up to you. Come to the gig in LA, please?". He didn't care if he sounded as though he was pleading. He would 100 percent always be on his knees begging for this woman. Begging to her. And he didn't get on his knees freely for any woman, no matter how many he'd screwed over the years. 

"No".

Whatever, he wasn't listening anymore. "I'm sending the ticket anyway, I already promised the kid he could come".

"Which I'm pissed at also, he's a kid Steve! You can't use him to get what you want!"

Steve paused for a moment. "Look, I can't remember what I said last night, but if it was offensive or out of order then I'm sorry. I had too much..."

Maggie rolled her eyes at this. "Is that always the excuse with you? Having 'too much'? Because if so then I was right. You're just as bad as the rest of them". She'd seen the bands that had played at the bar, the ones who were well known like Asgard and made the headlines. They had a reputation - and so did he. Some of the things he'd apparently done were no secret. Not when they were splashed over the papers and magazines. 

"Maggie..." The sound of the dial tone told him that she'd hung up.

He'd send the ticket anyway, and if she came then she came. If she didn't? He'd still keep up with the calls to try and make her. He wasn't giving up on her. 

Getting dressed and putting on his sunglasses, Steve and the rest of the band quickly made for the tour bus, a sea of women trying to rip at their clothes after catching wind of the band staying in the hotel. They'd been camped outside all night and now as he got on with security holding back the fans, he did something for the first time in his life that he never had.

He prayed that Maggie Jones would see him for him - would take him as he was.

If only she would give him a chance.