Reconnoiter || Guns N Roses, David Bowie, Bon Jovi

Reconnoiter: Eleven

I raced into the kitchen at top speed, relieved to see Axl standing at the opened refrigerator, spooning something into his mouth from a jar.

"You've got weird ass food in here," he said through a mouthful, "who the hell keeps fifty thousand jars of caviar on hand?" He swallowed, and shoveled more of it down his throat. "What the heck!" I hissed at him, rushing over to sit his caviar on the counter and pull him back toward the bedroom. "You can't be out here! Cap might see, it won't be pretty for either of us."

"What is this, middle school? You didn't tell your Cap that you have a guy?"

If only it were as easy as saying 'Hey, Cap. I've got a... significant other now. He's really cute, and happens to be the leader of a group of domestic terrorists.' No, because Cap is supposed to be my guy unfortunately, and I'm not supposed to have real feelings for the leader of the domestic terrorists. He's supposed to be collateral damage.

"I can't, alright? Trust me when I say that, he's the most protective person in the world. Come on." I managed to get him back inside the comforting safety that was my room, as he sucked the stray bits of caviar from his teeth loudly. "We've gotta blow this joint, we've got a lot of shit to do tonight."

I knew I should probably go to CIA HQ, I'd been skipping the meetings for days but I couldn't say no to those eyes. "Alright, sure, just... I'm gonna grab some water, I'll change and then we can go." He nodded quietly, and I left the room, closing the door softly behind me. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding, wiping a bit of sweat from my brow. If I hadn't woken up when I did, things could've gone badly.

The elevator doors opened as I was halfway through my drink, and Cap appeared. I nearly sucked water down my windpipe as he took my glass and placed his hands on my waist, leaning in for a kiss. I moved out of the way just in time and his lips landed awkwardly on my cheek. He pulled away slightly and gave me a skeptical glance, tucking a stray curl behind my ear.

"I haven't seen you in quite a while, love." I could look at his face and see that he knew exactly where I'd been, exactly what I'd been doing. I swallowed.

"Yeah, well... I've been busy," I whispered, knowing that Axl could be listening to every single word we were saying right now. "I see, I just... thought you could make time for me, after the other night." He pressed himself into me even more. I wanted to be anywhere else- wait, scratch that. I wanted to be in the next room with the object of my affection, not the man who felt like my second father.

"About that, I... I don't think we should make that a regular thing. Not until we're... married." I whispered the last word so lowly he barely heard, and his eyes were sharp. "Why is that?"

"It's improper." He stared at me for a good long time, taciturn. He removed a small plastic case from his suit pocket, and held it out for me. "They're pills. Take one every day at twelve o'clock. Never miss one, or they won't work." He turned on his heel and walked toward the elevator. "But... what for?"

"You have your way, if you want to make me wait. It won't be a regular thing until we're bound, but... I want to be safe, in the event of any... occasions." I wanted to tell him immediately that there would be no more 'occasions,' possibly ever again but I didn't. I kept my mouth shut, and nodded. "Be home tonight at a decent hour. We need to talk."

I waited until the elevator doors closed completely before skidding back into my bedroom. It was empty, but the window was wide open, suggesting he'd left without me.

My heart leaped into my throat as I quickly took off my clothes, and dressed in some new ones. I could feel the afternoon heat seeping in already so I put on a pair of new shorts and a t-shirt, briefly running a comb through my hair. He had certainly pieced together my true identity from something Cap said, and used his expert spy skills to compromise me.