TOXIC ~ STEVE ROGERS [1]

Chapter Thirty-Six

When we entered Central Park, Rogers had his hand on my back, a small gesture compared to the hug he'd given me after I left Loki's cell.

It was nice. I didn't think much of it, and why should I? It was a gesture of a friend, because that's what we were.
You don't save the world without being friends afterwards.

As we walked, all of us, I mulled over the conversation Fury and I had had before we left.

A tap on my shoulder and Fury pulls me away from the others. He looks down on me, his face rather soft for such a tough man.
"I know you don't have much to go back to Miss Walsh, and I want you to know you've got a job here. If you want it. We could always use some good soldiers like you." I shake my head.
"I'm not a soldier sir. But I'll think about it. I'm not sure what I'm doing anymore." Fury purses his lips.
"Well, I'm not the only one that would like you to stick around," he grins, and glances behind me before wandering away. I look behind me, and see Rogers smiling at something Natasha said. His eyes flicker to me for a second, before looking at the floor. I almost swear he blushes, but I don't say a word.
I wouldn't want to embarrass the old man, after all.

The Avengers gathered around Loki and Thor. Loki had a sleek black muzzle on, but his eyes still roamed over all of us.

One by one, we shook Thor's hand. I came last, and instead of shaking my hand he pulled me into a tight hug, his beard scratching my face.

"You fight like a warrior, Keight Daughter of Walsh.  I believe your mother was a Valkyrie," he whispered quickly in my ear, before pulling away.

"A Valkyrie?" I asked quickly, before he could move away. He grinned.

"Use your, what do you call it? Internets. You'll find something," he bowed his head at me before moving away to Loki.

Tony opened a silver case, and Banner drew out the glowing Tessaract that had caused all this pain. He placed it in a glass tube in Thor's hands. Once it was inside, Thor offered one end of the tube to Loki, who reluctantly took it in his handcuffed hands.

With one last look at me, Loki and Thor were swept up in a blaze of rainbow light, and they were gone.

There was a moment of silence, of quiet rememberence before anybody moved. There wasn't any time going by at all. It was just us, the ones who saved the world, and almost sacrificed our lives for it.

Tony had dark circles under his eyes. I hadn't talked to him much since New York, but even I could tell going up into the portal had taken it's toll. No one had mentioned it, at least not to his face. The helicarrier had been a bustle of whispers and gossip ever since we returned from the city. At first I was the main topic of discussion, but soon people moved on to Tony, and I wasn't sure if he actually knew he was being talked about. If he did, he didn't try to stop it.
Agent Barton and I had spent a lot of time together afterwards. Fury and countless others, including the World Security Council had interrogated us about being mind controlled by an alien. It was interesting, the way both of our experiences differed. I guessed it was because he had been controlled more but the Tessaract, whereas Loki's own magic had taken over my mind.

I did notice that Barton was let go a lot earlier than I was, and asked fewer questions during our lovely sessions with Fury. There was an obvious trust bond between them, something I had yet to accomplish.

I couldn't tell what Natasha was feeling, and I didn't want to ask. She was one of my only visiters during my confinement that wasn't there to grill me. She came simply as a friend. It was nice, having someone look out for me like that.

Of course, I would never admit it.

Banner was still a mystery to me. I hadn't seen him at all since New York, and seeing his calm, collected human self was very disconcerting. How could both the chill, kind man and the raging green monster be the same person? If I were any other person, I would have thought it was impossible. But I wasn't any other person. I myself was impossible, and I had seen the impossible.

I guess there wasn't much that could suprise me anymore.

Rogers had been stoic through everything. He was like a pillar, who held everything and everyone up with him. It almost seemed that nothing could made him crumble.

But in my spare time in that last week I'd read his file. Or rather, his files.

I didn't think he was as strong as he let on. It had been three and a half weeks since he'd come out of the ice. It was only two weeks after that he was asked, or ordered to become a soldier again. It explained his attitude around not on Tony, but me too. He was, excuse the pun, icy. He had yet to get used to the modern world, the technology and culture of 70 years into the future. That and the shocking realization that everyone he had known in his previous life was gone. Or so old they wouldn't remember him anyway.

It saddened even my hard heart.

Then, all at once, people began moving. Hugs were given to everyone, however awkward. We had to keep up apperences, I guess.

After Tony hugged me, he pushed a small metal box into my hands.

"I had my team at Stark Tower come up with a little something. Should be helpful," he said, before moving away. I tucked the box into my jacket pocket, ready to open later.

Natasha wrapped her arms around my waist and pulled me close in a hug.

"I hope I'll see you around," she whispered, before moving away and giving me a stunning smile. She really was beautiful, in a rather tragic way.

Natasha and Barton got into a black SUV, while Tony and Banner got into Tony's flash sports car. Both parties drove away into the distance, and left Rogers and I standing alone.

He moved towards an old style motorcycle that sat on the edge of the concrete where we sat. I put my hands in my pockets, feeling my new SHIELD issued phone and a wallet full of cash. My backpack full of personal items (everything I currently owned in fact) was at a secure SHIELD base in Queens ready to be picked up, when I wanted it.

When I decided what the hell I was doing, actually.
So until I decided, I was stuck in Central Park like a hobo.

"You coming Keight?" Roger's voice trailed into my thoughts from a few feet away. I looked over at him, sitting on his motorbike like a model. Did he even realize how gorgeous he was?

I was suprised by his question.

"So it's Keight now huh? Does that mean I get to call you Steve?" I teased. Rogers smiled shyly and looked away towards the city.

"No." His voice said no but his eyes said yes when they locked onto mine.

I walked to him and put my hand on the end of the motorcycle.

"Where are you going?" I asked. He shrugged.

"I don't know. Where would you suggest?" He said. I hopped on the back of the motorcycle, and without hesitation wrapped my arms around his waist. I felt him tense, and then relax.

"Let's go get food," I said from behind him. I felt his muscles clench as he chuckled.

"Alright. Food it is."