𝐀𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 | 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐑𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬

P.S. I Love You

The moment Seren stepped into Steve's apartment, she couldn't imagine anyone else but him living there. It was completely him in all aspects. It was warm, cozy and very neat. She even spotted the old record player she'd gotten him for his birthday 2 years ago. Warmth blossomed across her chest knowing he actually used her gift. He had a decent amount of records to choose from, having began a collection almost immediately after getting the record player.

"Seren, do you want something to drink?"

Seren tore her gaze from the record player to find Steve waiting for her to answer. He was being cautious with her and with good reason. She was well aware of her erratic behavior tonight. "I'm good, thanks," she smiled lightly. "I like your place. Some of the furniture is familiar, actually."

Steve nodded. "Yeah, I wonder why...?" They shared a small laugh. Seren had chosen most of his furniture for his first apartment. Back when he was just getting used to the new world, she'd done almost everything for him.

"I really like it," Seren reiterated. She set her purse on the coffee table. "I think you've made it very you."

"Is that a good thing? Because I've gotten several complaints from Chloe that it could be a little less old..." Steve shook his head at the memories. Sometimes, Chloe Winters was too much.

"You can kick her out any moment," Seren said, making them laugh again. When they got past it, Seren grew serious. "I don't think I've thanked you for keeping an eye on her while I was gone. In fact, I'm pretty sure I've just been pretty rude these past days when it comes to her."

"You don't have to—"

"I know Chloe can be a handful sometimes and the fact you let her stay here — in your room while you take the couch — means a lot. Anyone else would've just sent her on her way already. So, really, thank you so much."

"I've already told you — she's become like a little sister to me. Plus, I got a secret too..." Steve made a nod towards the couch. "It's a pull-out."

"Aah," Seren chuckled.

"Better than just a normal couch. Sometimes I forget how much better this world is in terms of inventions."

Seren started making her way to the couch. "But other things are far worse, aren't they?" She gave him a sharp look just as he was about to say that it wasn't true.

"Some things could stand to change a bit..." He said with his hands raised in front of him. Seren smiled at him and sat down. She patted the empty spot beside her for him. "The cellphone things could be a little less, uh, brainwashing?" He came to sit with her. He would continue the random subjects with her if it meant easing her nerves from the event. "I've seen so many people crash into others because they won't look up from their phones."

Seren chuckled. "Yeah, that tends to happen a lot. It's so weird, when I was growing up, there weren't cell phones like these. The first ones were so big and then suddenly we switched to these small things. Early 2000s is when we got cell phones with cameras in them."

"Did you have one?"

Seren snorted. "No! They were expensive. Plus, my parents didn't want me getting used to having all that stuff around me. They thought S.H.I.E.L.D. was plenty." At the mention of the organization, Seren fell silent for the next minute. It seemed like his distraction attempt wouldn't be working out so well.

"Seren, what is it?" he asked her. "If you ask me, the night went really well. You said everything exactly how it should've been."

"Yeah, I did. Everything went perfectly," Seren nodded slowly. Her bottom lip became chewing gum at that moment. "Maybe that's the problem."