Everly || Steve Rogers

40. Man With the Metal Arm

"Should I wait outside?" Everly asked shyly as Steve started toward the door of the VA building. He turned around and frowned, cocking his head to the side questioningly. 

"Why?"

"I don't know." She ran a hand down the back of her neck. "I didn't exactly... serve."

"Close enough." He chuckled, shaking his head lightly as he dragged her inside. As they made their way down the empty hallway, the distant voices grew louder. 

"The thing is, I think it's getting worse." A woman said. "A cop pulled me over last week. He thought I was drunk." Steve buried his hands in his pockets and leaned against a wooden pillar on the outskirts of the room. Everly looked around at the people who sat in the center, each of them listening intently. "I swerved to miss a plastic bag. I thought it was an IED." Her heart sunk and her gaze fell to the floor. She wondered if Steve often felt the same. It was easy to forget that he fought a war.

"Some stuff you leave there. Other stuff you bring back." Everly recognized Sam's voice and she peeked back up to see him standing behind a podium. "It's our job to figure out how to carry it. Is it gonna be in a big suitcase, or in a little man-purse? It's up to you." Though she was never really in the military, his words touched even her. She had put up with plenty of crap in her life, but she was tired of drowning in it. Soon enough she was snapped from her thoughts when everyone stood from their seats and headed for the doors. Steve stood up straighter as Sam started toward them.

"Look who it is. The running man." He joked as he stacked up piles of remaining pamphlets. Everly leaned up against the wall and folded her arms over her chest.

"Caught the last few minutes." Steve breathed. "It's pretty intense."

"Yeah brother, we all got the same problems." Everly let out a sigh as Sam continued. "Guilt, regret."

"You lose someone?" She asked quietly, her eyes briefly meeting his.

"My wingman, Riley." He nodded. "Flying a night mission. Standard PJ rescue op. Nothing we hadn't done a thousand times before. Until an RPG knocked Riley's dumb ass out of the sky. Nothing I could do. It was like I was up there just to watch." Everly felt her stomach drop and she glanced up at Steve knowing he must've felt the same way about Bucky. There was nothing he could do, he simply had to watch.

"I'm sorry." Steve responded.

"After that, I had a really hard time finding a reason for being over there, you know?" 

Steve shifted uncomfortably. "But you're happy now, back in the world?" Sam looked around and a smile played at his lips.

"Hey, the number of people giving me orders is down to about zero. So, hell yeah." He looked to Steve who stared blankly at the table before him. "Are you thinking about getting out?"

Steve shook his head. "No." Everly glanced up at him and he paused. "I don't know. To be honest, I don't know what I would do with myself if I did."

"Ultimate fighting?" Sam suggested, eliciting a laugh from them both. "Just a great idea off the top of my head. Seriously, you could do whatever you want to do."

Everly shifted her weight to the opposite hip and frowned at the feeling of a rock in her shoe. She peered down trying to nonchalantly move the pebble by lightly tapping her toe against the floor.

"What makes you happy?" Sam asked Steve, though she tuned him out, entirely occupied by the rock. She didn't even notice as her best friend looked down at her, a smile lighting up his face when she nearly fell over. He shook his head lightly.