Bad For You

14

"Gnarly Harley!" Lane grinned when she noticed the young man entering the loading bay as she loaded the last bit of her equipment onto the jet. Their mark wasn't far out of the city and the van could have been used but with the change of plans Natasha wanted to make sure they could get away from the warehouse quickly if need be. "How's it going Iron Baby?"

Harley shook his head but smiled as he approached and held out an elbow for her to bump. "You know I hate that name."

"Yeah," she said, before reaching up to ruffle his hair. "But I think it's adorable and I do what I want."

They chatted together for several minutes as the others arrived and began to board. Clint, Sam, Natasha and Bucky each grabbing an earpiece as they passed the equipment and reviewed a floorplan for the building they'd be raiding. This mission was small work in the grand scheme of what they did but Lane knew it would likely be her last before she took off and she couldn't help the tiny pang of sadness in her heart as she looked around. She pulled in a deep breath as she shook her head to toss out the somber thoughts and focus back on Harley who was talking about a mid-term he was prepping for. It sucked that she had to leave the compound, she liked it well enough and enjoyed constantly having people around to hang with but as long as she could get Paloma and her family to go with her she could survive losing the rest.

"Hey, Harley." Her head whipped around and a wave of heat rushed up her spine from where Steve's hand landed softly. Though he was dressed and ready he lacked his usual bravado and there was a weariness around his eyes. "Lanie."

Her brows came together as she took a half step back and looked him over. "You good, Captain? You look a little worse for wear."

"Right as rain," he said as he gestured for Lane and Harley to board and they obliged, Harley taking the lead and Lane falling into step with Steve. "But I do have a favor to ask."

"I will not be telling you my skincare routine. I know this face could pass for well under my twenty seven years and I practically glow in the sun but I work hard to look this good and you don't need any help in that department."

She flipped the braid of her hair over her shoulder with exaggerated movement, heading to follow Harley to a seat but Steve grabbed her wrist and gently turned her to face him. A small spark ignited behind his eyes that chased away some of the weariness. "Did you just say I look good?"

She patted his face with her free hand, holding back a grin. "Come on, you and I both know you live rent free in a shit ton of men and women's fantasies with those All-American looks. I personally prefer a man who grimes up good but that doesn't mean I can't see your appeal. Now what did you need?"

Natasha bumped her knee against Bucky's to get his attention and when he looked at her she jerked her chin toward the scene at the top of the ramp. Lane's fingers trailed down Steve's chest after she'd patted his face and from his friend's blush Bucky suspected she'd just said something very inappropriate but knowing Lane that seemed on brand. Maybe not usually with Steve but still nothing surprising.

"What am I looking at," he leaned in and whispered, eyes not leaving the scene afraid to miss what she wanted him to see.

"Look at their hands."

Lane's satisfaction at making Steve blush was interrupted by a sudden rush of blood from her brain when she felt his hand on her wrist slide down and his fingers intertwine with hers briefly as he asked, "if you decide to go off book and enter the building tonight, please be careful?"

She took two steps back, pulling free and reaching up to run a hand over her hair before scratching at her neck, trying to dispel the feeling of his skin on hers. She was leaving. Soon. And even if she wasn't just making shit up in her head and he actually was coming on to her it didn't matter. In a few short weeks she'd be nothing more than a ghost to him. "Didn't I already prove I can take care of myself?"