Washington, D.C., 2014
Aurora jogged around the Potomac, passing an African American man in an Air Force sweatshirt before Steve blew by her.
She rolled her eyes and sped up, her dark brown hair tied into a thick knot in the back of her head. She passed the African American man again, swinging her arms at a quick but steady pace that stretched the sleeves of her gray athletic shirt and black running shorts.
She finished her run and stopped beside Steve, who had—of course—beaten her there.
"Hey, Aurora," Steve said with a grin, his blonde hair ruffled from his run. He jogged backward around her teasingly. "On your left."
Aurora smiled and laughed softly, pushing his chest playfully and looking at him with bicolored eyes—one green and one brown. "Very funny, Steve. I'm sorry I don't have super serum that makes me—" she gestured to his entire body. "—that."
Steve laughed. "No, but there's a trade-off. I don't have—" he gestured to her head. "—that crazy brain."
She laughed again. "Crazy indeed."
He smiled at her.
Aurora sensed a new mind appearing nearby them, and she turned to see the man they were running past leaning against a tree, breathing heavily with a sweat ring around the neck of his sweatshirt.
"Need a medic?" Steve asked when the man dropped against the tree.
"I need a new set of lungs. Did you two just run thirteen miles in half an hour?" He asked breathlessly.
"Guess I got a late start," Steve replied with a smile, placing his hands on his hips.
"Really? You should be ashamed of yourself. Go take another lap." His head fell back against the tree. "Did you take it? I assume you just took it."
Aurora laughed softly.
The man looked at her. "You too. You take another lap too."
Aurora snorted. "I got up an hour before he did. I didn't run thirteen miles in half an hour. I'm not that good. I just timed him on that last one."
Steve chuckled again. He stepped toward the other man and held out his hand to help him up.
The man took it and heaved himself to his feet with Steve's help.
"Sam Wilson," the man greeted with a nod.
"Steve Rogers," the captain replied with a nod of his own.
"Yeah, I figured that out," Sam said with a smile. He turned to Aurora. "Hey."
"Hi," she replied with a smile, her heterochromic eyes glittering. "Aurora Banner."
She held out her hand for Sam to shake, which he took happily.
"Nice to meet you, Aurora," Sam replied with another smile.
"Nice to meet you too." She smiled, noticing his Air Force sweatshirt again. "Air Force? What unit?"
Steve stepped forward, suddenly interested.
"Fifty-eighth para-rescue," Sam informed them. "But I work at the VA now. What about you?"
"Me?" Aurora asked, but she knew he could tell she was a veteran too.
"Yeah, come on. I can tell." Sam insisted. "Army? Navy? Marines?"
"Army pilot," Aurora admitted.
Steve looked at her in surprise. "I didn't know you were in the army."
"There's a lot you don't know about me, Captain Rogers," she replied with a smile.
"Apparently." He smiled, his blue eyes shimmering.
"You must miss the good ol' days, huh?" Sam asked Steve.
"Well, things aren't so bad," Steve admitted. "Food's a lot better—we used to boil everything. No polio's good. Internet, so helpful. Been reading on that a lot, trying to catch up."
Sam paused and thought for a moment. "Marvin Gaye, nineteen-seventy-two, Troubleman soundtrack. Everything you missed jammed into one album."
"I'll put it on the list." Steve pulled a journal out of his back pocket.
Steve and Aurora's phones went off at the same time, suddenly drawing their attention to those. It was a text from Natasha, telling them they had a new mission and that she'd be there to get them.
"Alright, Sam, duty calls," Steve told him, shaking his hand just before Aurora did. "Thanks for the run. If that's what you wanna call running."
"Oh, that's how it is?" Sam said, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, that's how it is," Steve confirmed with a smile.
Aurora winked. "Good to meet you, Sam. Maybe we can catch up sometime."
"You two should come down to the VA sometime," Sam said with a smile. "Make me look real good with the lady at the front desk."
Aurora laughed. "Well I wouldn't help you that much."
"I dunno. Let me flirt with you a little and we can see how much good it does."
Steve flushed almost uncomfortably and Aurora laughed.
"What's the matter, Cap?" She asked with a smile. "Flirting still a foreign concept?"
He rolled his eyes. "Very funny, Aurora."
They spoke with Sam a little more before a black Lamborghini rolled up, and the winged door opened.
Natasha sat inside. "Anyone know where the Smithsonian is? I'm here to pick up a fossil."
"You're hilarious." Steve grumbled.
Aurora laughed and slid into the tiny backseat before Steve took the shotgun side and they left for their mission.
