oh captain, my captain |STEVE ROGERS 1|

11

Natasha guarded my door and made sure I didn't get out. I dressed back into my clothes and paced the room, waiting for Steve to come back.

The redhead poked her head inside the room. She held up a stick of hubba bubba. "You want some?"

"I want you to let me go so I can go help Steve, but I also don't want you to try to break my arm again."

"You know, most people would've stopped by the 3rd try. It's impressive you've gotten to 12 escape routes." She crossed her arms, watching me as I paced.

"It's been nearly an hour and a half, Natasha, is that not suspicious to you?" I asked, pacing still.

"Of course it is, but there are things that he needs back here," Natasha replied. "You."

As if on cue, a man dressed in jeans and hoodie burst through the door.

He slammed Natasha against the wall and whipped off his hoodie. I know that head of golden hair anywhere, but why he was is pissed I had no idea. 

"Where is it?" He hissed.

"Safe."

"Do better!"

"Steve, what the hell are you going on about?" I asked, walking towards them, but he held out a hand to keep me at bay.

"Where did you get it?" Natasha questioned.

"Why would I tell you?" He demanded.

"Fury gave it to you. Why?" That's when it clicked that they were talking about the drive.

"What's on it?" I asked, tentatively stepping forward.

"I don't know,"

Steve shook her shoulders. "Stop lying!"

"Steve, I think maybe you should calm down a bit," I said, peeking around in the hallway.

"I only act like I know everything, Rogers," Natasha said, her face edged with shock at his mannerisms.

"I bet you knew Fury hired those pirates, didn't you?"

"Wait, time out," I grabbed Steve's shoulder and pushed him back, giving Natasha some room to breathe. "Fury hired those goon's on our mission? The one I nearly died on?"

"Why do you think I'm so upset?" He asked me,  but kept his eyes on Natasha.

"Well, it makes sense. The ship was dirty. Fury needed a way in and so do you," Since what she said was logical and Steve was angry as a million suns, it made him more angry.

"I'm not gonna ask you again," He growled.

"Okay, I'm just gonna go ahead and step between the two of you and just hope for the best," I kept both of them at arms length and stood dead center in the middle.

There was a moment of silence as Steve gathered himself.

I felt the feathery warmth of Steve's hand on mine. "I'm glad to see you up and running,"

I flashed him a smile. "Me too, Cap." I squeezed his hand. "Let Natasha speak. I'm, like, 73% sure we can trust her."

I know who killed Fury," She said, making Steve on edge again. I just rolled my eyes and kept him at a distance. "Most of the intelligence community doesn't believe he exists, the ones who do call him the Winter Soldier. He's credited with over two dozen assassinations in the last fifty years."

"So he's a ghost story," Steve replied sarcastically.

"Five years ago I was escorting a nuclear engineer out of Iran, somebody shot out my tires near Odessa. We lost control, went straight over a cliff, I pulled us out, but the Winter Soldier was there. I was covering my engineer, so he shot him straight through me," She pulls up her shirt to show us a scar on the side of her stomach.

"Oh, yikes," I whispered, getting a closer look. I just heard Steve chuckle from behind me. "What? That thing is crazy looking!"

"Nothing." Steve snorted again and I just rolled my eyes.

"Look, it was a soviet slug, no rifling." She smirked. "Bye bye bikinis."

"Yeah, I bet you look terrible in them now," I remarked.

"Going after him is a dead end. I know, I tried." She held up the flash drive. "Like you said, he's a ghost story."

I grabbed the drive and placed it in the waistband of my jeans. "Looks like we're ghost hunters, yeah?"

I turned while giving Steve a brilliant smile. He just look his head while laughing.

"The things you get excited about, I swear..."

"Nat needs civilian clothing, we go back to my place and get some, then go the city central at the Apple Store, figure out what's on the drive," I looked at them. "Sound like a plan?"

"It's like she's made for you, Rogers," Natasha sighed as she walked out the door.

I took them through the back alley ways to get back to my apartment. We saw art work there that Steve had never seen.

"You've never seen alley graffiti before?" I asked and slowed down my pace.

"No, but we have to keep moving." Steve tore his eyes away, buy I grabbed his wrist and stopped him.

"Stop and smell the roses, Steve, we have time." I smiled reassuringly as his eyes drifted back to the artwork.

"It's beautiful," He commented and I just watched him admirably. As he ran his fingers across the sharp lines of the works, I turned my eyes to a bewildered Natasha.

"How did you do that?" She questioned and I just tilted my head at her. "How did you convince Cap to just take a break from being on the run?"

I shrugged.

"So what? Are you together now?" Natasha gave me a playful nudge.

I just chuckled. "We've been on exactly one date and that was yesterday." I sighed while looking at the Captain. "We're trying."

She nodded thoughtfully. "I think it'll be just fine, newbie."

"This looks so much like a person!" Steve exclaimed, pointing at a mural of Elvis Presley.

Natasha and I just laughed.

"I really hope so," I breathed out, feeling myself fall in love with Captain America. "It's going to fucking hurt if it doesn't."