Natasha Stark: SHIELD

Chapter 12:

Steve: I had been in DC one day since I had been in Malibu. I woke up early, then decided to go for a quick run. As I ran past the Lincoln Memorial, I saw a man running. I darted past him. "On your left," I said, out of courtesy.

A moment later I saw him again. "On your left," I said.

"Uh huh, on my left," he said. I smiled to myself.

When I saw him a third time, I decided to turn it into a game. "Don't you say it, don't you say it," he started saying.

"On your left," I said, kind of laughing to myself.

"Come on!" he said. He attempted to speed up to catch me, but instead doubled over, breathing heavily.

Finally, I saw him sitting with his back against a tree, breathing heavily. "Need a medic?" I asked.

He looked to see me and laughed. "I need a new set of lungs," he said, "Dude you just ran, like, 13 miles in 30 minutes."

"Guess I got a late start," I retorted.

"Really?" he chuckled, "You should be ashamed of yourself. Maybe you should go take another lap." He paused, catching his breath some more. "Did you just take it?" he asked, "I assume you just took it."

At that point I noticed the symbol on his sweatshirt. Air National Guard. "What unit are you in?" I asked, pointing to the symbol.

"58th para-rescue," he said, "But now I'm working down at the VA. Sam Wilson." I helped him up.

"Steve Rodgers," I said, introducing myself.

"I kinda put that together," Sam said. He waited until he had his balance to continue. "Must have freaked you out, comin' home after the whole defrosting thing."

"Take's some gettin' used to," I said, "It's good to meet you Sam." I started walking away.

"It's your bed isn't it?" he asked as I was walking away. I turned back around.

"What's that?" I asked.

"It's your bed. It's too soft. When I was over there I slept on the ground, used rocks for pillows like a caveman. Now I'm home. And lying on my bed is like..." his words drifted away.

"Lying on a marshmallow," I interjected, "Feel like I'm going to sink right to the floor. How long?"

"Two tours," he said modestly. I nodded. "You must miss the good old days huh?"

"Well," I said, "Things aren't so bad. The food's a lot better. We used to boil everything. No Polios good. Oh and internet, so helpful. Been reading that a lot trying to catch up."

Sam smiled and adjusted his stance, "Marvin Gaye, 1972 Troubleman Soundtrack. Everything you missed, jammed into one album."

I pulled out my notebook I was keeping track of the list of things I needed to catch up on in. "I'll put it on the list," I said, writing it down. My phone rang with a SHIELD notice. It read: Mission Alert. Extraction Imminent. Meet you at curb. :) I could tell from the smiley face it was Romanoff. "Well Sam," I said, "Duty calls. Thanks for the run. If that's what you want to call running." I shook his hand.

"Oh that's how it is?" Sam asked.

"Oh that's how it is," I said.

Sam scoffed, "Okay."

I started backing toward the curb. "Anytime you want to stop the VA, make me look good in front of the girl at the front desk, just let me know."

"I'll keep it in mind," I said over the sound of an engine coming up to the curb.