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05 | i only tried once

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i only tried once

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It was a few days after Steve had run into the teenage girl by the name of Cara, but she still haunted him, following his every movement, every thought. He was constantly uneasy, feeling as if she would show up again while he was roaming the streets, and...well, that part he didn't exactly know. All he knew was that she needed help, and it seemed as if he was the only one that could give it to her.

In the other room, Bruce Banner was feeling the exact same way. The unnamed girl's eyes were all he saw when he closed his own. That fact alone scared him out of his wits.

I need to talk to someone about this, he told himself, and took a step towards the door, Natasha in mind. No, he decided, she'd be too wigged out, wouldn't she? No, he had to go to someone he knew would understand almost anything, having gone through almost anything already, which included being frozen in a humongous block of ice for seventy years.

So he proceeded to walk out of his room, heading to the main open space, in search of Steve Rogers.

"Hey," was all he said when Bruce came up on his left side. "What's up?"

"Nothing," he replied, and decided to press a little further. "Actually, something. Don't judge, okay? It's just, I haven't been able to talk about it yet. To anyone."

"What, Nat and you?" Steve grinned, glancing at him out of the corner of his eye. "That's a pretty obvious one, there, Bruce."

His cheeks grew warmer by the second, and hastily shook his head. "No, not that. It's this other girl. I mean, she's a teenager, so--"

"A teenager? Banner, really! I thought you'd have at least a sliver of common sense!" Steve's face was one of complete and utter surprise, with a small bit of disgust.

"You know," Bruce sighed, "you're really starting to sound like Tony. And oh my god, no. That's disgusting," he added, lifting his eyes. "It's just...when I was leaving the apartment building, she was checking in, and she didn't have any money to pay for it. So I may have paid for her."

"That's very generous of you," was his answer, and grinned at his friend. "So what's the big deal? You broke now?"

"Actually, yes," Bruce mumbled, but shook his head again. "That doesn't matter, though. I can't get her out of my head. Her eyes haunt me, and I wish I could had done more. It was like she--"

"Needed help?" Steve finished. When Bruce confirmed his suspicions by nodding, he continued, "Was she, by any chance, a blond? Short curly hair with bangs?" He made gestures to get the images in Bruce's mind, but they were already vivid.

"Yeah, she was. Dark brown eyes?"

Steve nodded. "I think we met the same person."

"How'd you bump into her?" Bruce asked.

"Quite literally. I was exploring the city like I usually do, and then she just ran into me. She looked like she was lost, like she was looking for something, but it was always out of reach."

"Mmm," Bruce rubbed his temples in deep thought. "I wanna help her, don't you?"

Steve nodded.

"I just don't know how to find her again, not to mention convince her to let us help."

At that exact moment, noises of struggle are heard by both men, and they turn, curious, in the direction of the sounds coming from behind them.

In entered a red-cheeked Nat, dragging behind her...

No, Bruce and Steve thought in disbelief. It can't be.

But they had to accept the fact, no matter how unbelievable, that the curly blond they'd been describing just moments before was now standing across from them, her face screwed up in pain due to Nat's firm grip on her ear.

"Wh-what are you doing?" Steve said in astonishment.

"She tried to steal my wallet!" Was Natasha's furious reply.

"Did you actually drag her up here by just her ear?" Bruce asked in a soft voice, pity for the teenage girl.

"Yes, she deserved it!" When his eyes widened, Natasha scowled deeply. "Bruce, that's not the point--"

"Hey," the girl said, "I know you two." She pointed at Steve. "I bumped into you a few days ago. And you," she looked at Bruce with admiration and thanks, "you paid for my first month in my apartment." Her voice relayed the feelings she'd shown on her face, and Bruce blushed.

"Wait, what? You guys know her?" Nat's angry tone had changed into something even more dangerous, if it was even possible. "Did she try to steal from you?"

"No, woman, I just told you!" The girl blurted. She sighed, scrunching her eyes closed. "Would someone please tell her to let go of me?"

"Let go of her," the two men said calmly, and all of them--minus Natasha--visibly relaxed.

"Thank you," the teen sighed again, rubbing her ear. "You've got one hell of a grip, lady. But that fucking hurt."

Steve swallowed the scolding that had risen to his lips after hearing the girl's foul language. "What do you mean, she tried to steal your wallet from you?"

"Exactly that, she tried to steal my wallet!" A hand rose to cover her face. "You guys are hopeless."

"But...she wouldn't steal, she's just..." Bruce thought aloud.

"What, a teenager?" The girl, as Steve knew, Cara, scoffed. "Come on. I've got to survive somehow."

"But you shouldn't steal," Steve reprimanded her, authority taking over his voice. "Stealing is bad, Cara."

"For god sakes, you know her name?!" Nat exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air.

Bruce looked over at his friend. "Yeah, you know her name?"

"That's a minor detail," Steve hastily explained, and continued to look at the teenager that had invaded the Avengers' life.

"Whatever, am I done here? Can I go back to my apartment?" Cara asked.

"No."

Even though the three adults had said it, they all voiced their opinions differently in the word. Natasha, as we all know, was furious that she even asked it, knowing that she deserved to be punished. Steve had denied her request in the hopes of being able to find out more about her, and Brice said no just because he wanted the conversation to lean in the direction of finding a way to help her.

"God, I can't believe I got myself into this," Cara groaned. "All I did was try pick pocketing once!" She held up a finger as she said it.

Bruce let a rare smirk cover his face as he looked at a still fuming Nat. "See, she's just a teenager," he said, "she isn't a criminal."

Cara looked gratefully at him. "Thank you," she answered, "someone understands."

Nat sighed angrily, and stormed out. Steve peeked at his friend, and said, "I think you might want to go after her."

Bruce grimaced. "Yeah, I think so, too."