Man Out of Time - A Captain America / Avengers Fanfiction

Chapter 38

Chapter 38

"Doo-do. Do-do-doo-do!" Bernice sang, flapping her dish rag at the open window as she tried to coax the last of the smoke-filled air out of her apartment. In the background, the big-band oldies station she'd tapped into via the internet blared 'Take the 'A' Train,' the brassy sounds of Duke Ellington filling the apartment as she cleared the aftermath of her little egg mishap. Most of her egg mishap. She stared up at the ceiling, pieces of dried yellow egg-yolk visible against the white paint. She was going to have to scrounge up a ladder to get that down.

"Would you like me to get that for you?" Steve leaned against the doorway to her bedroom, a little worse for wear, but glorious in all of his hunkiness wearing nothing but plaid boxer shorts and a bruise that ran from his ankle almost all the way up to his knee.

"Steve!" Bernice said. "You're supposed to be in bed!"

"I've been asleep for three days," Steve said, giving her a grin. "Could you tell me where the little boy's room is?"

Duh! The first thing any person wanted to do after rolling out of bed in the morning was take a wee. She realized she was staring at the tent in his boxer shorts instead of his face and blushed. "It's … um … right there."

Steve hobbled towards the door she'd pointed at, pausing to catch his balance next to the easel with the masterpiece she'd painted of him posed on the still rings in his gym. Thank goodness she'd had the sense to throw a tarp over it! Now that would be embarrassing if he saw she'd been lusting after that gorgeous body of his after all! Not that it was the only thing she liked about him. Not by a long shot! She'd meant what she'd said when she'd realized it was the sensitive, artistic side of him she'd fallen in love with. That didn't mean she couldn't appreciate the gift wrapping that package came in!

"That's a lovely nightgown," Steve said, color rising to his cheeks as he tried his best to look at her face instead of the outline of her nipples just barely visible through the silk. "Where did you get it?"

"Victoria's Secret."

"Victoria has a secret?" Steve asked.

"No. It's a store. Victoria's Secret."

"If Victoria has a secret, why would she want to alert everyone to that fact?" Steve asked, his forehead furrowed in confusion.

Bernice burst out laughing. The strains of Duke Ellington grew louder as the brass instruments rose to a crescendo, a perfect backdrop to his cluelessness. She glided over to give him a hug, amazed at how hard and taut his waist felt as she stood on tiptoe to plant a kiss on his surprised lips.

"Get in there, you!" Bernice ordered. "Before I show you exactly what Victoria's secret is!"

She wedged her shoulder under his armpit, stabilizing him enough to finish walking across the living room without needing to hop. Steve lingered at the bathroom door, pausing to taste her lips.

"Do you mind if I take a shower?" Steve asked. "It's … uh … I think maybe I'm a little ripe?" One hand came up to rub the three days of razor stubble he was sporting. Not a terrible amount. With his fair complexion it looked more like peach fuzz than the beginnings of a beard. But she had never seen him with so much as a missed whisker on his chin so she could tell it bothered him.

"Pink razor is mine," Bernice said. "Just be careful you don't fall over and bang your head in that old-fashioned tub. You're too big for me to pick up. It's a good thing I got you as far as my bed before you passed out or you'd have spent the last three days sleeping in my hallway."

Steve's expression grew serious. "I didn't mean to … um … sorry. I didn't mean to … um … burden you this way."

"You came home to me," Bernice said, taking his face between her hands and searching his eyes. She gave him a kiss, more tender and less teasing. "You can show up on my doorstep any time you want and I'll still love you. No matter how banged up you get."