Friendly Face

Chapter 5

You decided not to ask Steve about the drawing that day. You didn't want to embarrass him and he was so easily flustered. You'd ask him about it later. Maybe. Or just steal his sketchbook to see if there were others. Yes, that sounded like a much better plan. Maybe while he was in the shower. You'd have to wait a few days so his guard was down before you attempted it.

You also knew that Steve was overprotective. You hadn't quite appreciated it until you were living alone with him. "You don't have to stay up with me," you told him your second night there. It was past the hour he usually retired and you were sitting out on the porch with your laptop, scrolling the internet. Of course the safehouse cabin had excellent wifi. "I have a strange sleep schedule and probably won't go to bed for awhile,"

"I don't mind," he reassured you, lying through his teeth. You nodded and 'decided' to go into the cabin. He locked all the cabin doors himself and checked the cabin to make sure it was safe. He was still uneasy until you went upstairs to your own room. You could just as easily surf the web from your bed as you could from the couch in the living room, and it made Steve happier knowing you were safely on the second floor with him where you were easier to defend.

Overprotective soldier.

*

Your days fell into a pattern. You spent the mornings training with Steve. You realized quickly that under the army training and everything he'd learned later in life, his basic combat skills came from the perspective of someone constantly fighting larger opponents. That perspective really helped you learn and you found yourself enjoying learning the basic combat skills.

You'd spend the afternoon enjoying nature around the cottage. It seemed to make Steve happy to be outside, especially when he got to sit and relax and draw for awhile.

The evenings were taken up with catching Steve up on history and pop culture.

About a week after you started this trip, Steve spoke up on what he wanted to do that day. "We should check out those hiking trails," he told you warmly. He didn't usually speak up, and while hiking wasn't your most favorite activity, but you'd go for him.

"Sure," you told him brightly and you packed a small backpack of supplies. You didn't need much, but thought it would be a good idea to have some bottles of water and snacks for the super soldier especially. That boy could eat.

You zipped up the backpack and weren't surprised at all that Steve took it from you to carry himself. "I'm perfectly capable of carrying a tiny backpack of supplies," you had to protest anyway. You weren't weak or helpless just because you weren't a supersoldier.

"Of course you're not, doll," he told you warmly as he slung the bag onto his back. "But my mother raised me right," he teased, just as he always did when he was insisting on proper manners.

You sighed and rolled your eyes, but as always you were pleased with his old fashioned courtesy. "Whatever you say, winghead," you teased and he laughed in reply.

You walked side by side along the trail with Steve, both trading old stories from when you were kids. He had much better stories and you learned all about his best friend Bucky, and all the times he'd gotten beaten up fighting bullies.

At least you knew why he fought like he was used to fighting against bigger opponents.

He kept his pace human slow for you, strolling along the trails companionably. "C'mon Y/N, we're almost at the top!" he told you excitedly and took your hand to drag you the rest of the way up the rise you'd been climbing. He wanted to see the view from the top, presumably to sketch it later. You were out of breath, not used to physical exertion like hiking all afternoon even at human pace, the trails were still through the woods, but Steve really wanted to get to this rise and you couldn't argue with his enthusiasm.

You made it to the top of the rise and looked out at the ocean of trees surrounding the hill you were on. It was admittedly a gorgeous view. There were trees as far as you could see, though there was a little stream or something similar at the bottom of the hill you were on so there was a small break before the treeline.

You were both standing at the edge of the overlook, a reasonably safe distance from the actual edge. Or so you thought, until the edge crumbled from under your feet. The entire world fell out from beneath you and you shrieked as you fell.

"Y/N!" Steve yelled from the top of the overlook where he still had purchase. You fell down the wall of the overlook, trying to reach for purchase, trying to do something to slow your descent as you hit the wall on the way down. It only took an instant and there was nothing you could do. You landed hard, not at the bottom of the ravine like you'd feared, but on an outcropping of rock barely big enough to support you maybe halfway down. You yelled again when you landed hard on one ankle, which promptly gave out and you crumbled in a heap. "Y/N! Are you alright?" Steve demanded helplessly from the top of the ravine.

"I'm ok!" you called back when you calmed your breathing enough to reply. "Ankle's busted, though, and I don't think I can climb back up!"

"I'll get you back up, just hold tight!" Steve called down to you. You couldn't see him easily from your terrible vantage point and you weren't risking moving and falling further. It was a miracle you'd hit this rock instead of falling to more injury. You wouldn't consider that you could've died.

You didn't know where he got it from, but a rope came down to you a minute later. "Tie that around yourself and I'll pull you up!" Steve called.

"Are you sure?" you asked hesitantly, unsure how he was going to pull you up the side of the cliff.

"I've lifted 800 pounds before. I can manage one injured doctor" he replied, with the sound of an eyeroll in his voice. You tied the rope around your middle and held onto it in front of you.

"Alright!" you called and you quickly, but carefully, began to rise back up the side of the cliff. As you rose, you saw that Steve was just deadpulling the rope, not even tethering it on anything. The muscles in his arms were working at lifting you carefully and even though you were terrified, you could appreciate the view, since Steve was strong and he wasn't going to let anything happen to you. The second you were close enough he grabbed you by the arm and hauled you the rest of the way up, wrapping his warm strong arms around you tightly.

"I've got you, you're safe," he promised as he looked you over to make sure you were actually ok. "How injured are you?" he asked after he'd held you long enough to appease himself that you weren't actively dying.

"I landed hard on my ankle. It's not broken, but it's not happy with me either," you told him. You'd looked it over quickly, but you were a doctor and knew the difference between a broken ankle and a twisted one on sight.

Steve swept you up into his arms effortlessly. "C'mon, doll, let's get you back to the cottage and we can get that fixed up," he told you, his voice worried. You didn't argue since you couldn't walk and wrapped your arms around his neck. He carried you the entire miles walk back without stopping or setting you down once.