"Hey Cap, you been to the capital recently?" Amela asked, sitting down at the table occupied by Steve Rogers. The Avengers had a day off today- no random alien invasions. So Steve was sitting in Amela's restaurant while the other Avengers did whatever they do in their spare time.
"No."
"Want to come with me? I'm going this weekend, starting early Friday and coming back late Monday."
Amela rarely got a vacation, being the owner of the Manhattan branch restaurant. And when she did, she always traveled. She never invited anyone always going on her own. So getting invited was a once-in-a-lifetime-chance that Steve immediately grabbed.
"That would be great. But if aliens attack, I'm going to be needed here. What time Friday?"
"I leave here at six a.m."
Today was Wednesday. That gave Steve one day to pack. Amela had told him what to bring, since she said she remembered the things she brought when she went to the Washington D.C. in eighth grade. On the list was sun block, five t-shirts, five pairs of comfortable pants/shorts, undergarments (Steve blushed at that but Amela had a poker face on), comb, deodorant, jacket (Steve was taking his bomber jacket anyways), comfortable shoes meant for walking a lot, toothbrush, 4 sets of pajamas, things to entertain him on the drive, and a hat, sunglasses, toothpaste (since Amela was bringing some and was willing to share), and camera were optional.
Apparently, all of the other Avengers had been invited as well, but they didn't come along. Tony claimed he had meetings in Seattle those days (which was confirmed by Pepper), Bruce had been to Washington recently and didn't want to go again, Thor was visiting Jane in New Mexico, and Clint and Natasha had been in D.C. so many times they could draw you an extremely accurate map of the town, airplane routes, and sewer system. Yeah. That often.
So at 5:45 a.m. on Friday, Steve was dressed in a blue plaid, long-sleeved polo that was tucked into his khaki pants with his bomber jacket and brown loafers. He was trying to put Amela's suitcase away for her, but she said "I can do it my own damn self, thank you!" and proceeded to do it herself (apparently, she wasn't a morning person). Steve insisted on putting his own suitcase in, to which Amela didn't argue.
Amela was dressed in a light purple t-shirt with black boot-cut jeans and leather boots. She said that they were a gift from her friend and that they were more comfortable than her tennis shoes. Her shoulder-length brown hair was pulled into a ponytail. She had on a black newsboy hat. She went around to the driver side and Steve went to the passenger side.
It was about an eight hour drive from Manhattan to Washington D.C. However, Steve had his pencils and sketchbook, a book Amela suggested to him (the book was Eragon. He had already read Lord of the Rings to understand Clint's nickname, and he loved it, so when he mentioned something about it, Amela said that there was a book with the same medieval principals. The book was Eragon. So far, Steve had made it until just after Brom died.), and he had Amela to talk to, but only on the interstate. Amela had a CD filled with all these random songs that she had found. Currently, Amela was mouthing the words to "We're Marching On" by… Steve thinks it was called One Republic.
Eight hours, a need for a new sketchbook and an impromptu stop by a bookstore later, Amela and Steve had arrived in D.C. Amela had rented out a space- two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a decently sized kitchen- for her and Steve. They stopped by here first, dropped off their stuff, and left to start touring.
"Well, Steve," Amela said, making sure to use Steve's actual name instead of her nickname for him (which was Cap and what he was called on the field), "we've got four days and a lot of stuff to see. A lot of this is war memorials. There are also a few museums, such as the Smithsonian. And then there's Arlington, which you've been to. Out of all Washington D.C., and all wars that happened with the US and all we wished ever will, which memorial do you want to start at?"
Steve was quiet for a few moments. "Let's go to the president's memorials first."
"Alright, but we can't go into the Washington Monument. Down for repairs, the bricks on top were cracking, I think. So we've got the Lincoln memorial, the Teddy Roosevelt memorial, the Jefferson memorial, Washington Monument, and the MLK memorial. You know Martian Luther King Jr., right?"
"Yes. It's a little weird, but it's heartening to see that most people are treated like humans."
"Indeed. Let's hope people suck up their stereotypes and actually look with sense instead of prejudice."
And off they went. First, they went to the Lincoln memorial. Amela took pictures of a few things, such as the oversized Lincoln, the Gettysburg address, and the speech written on the other side. She also took pictures of the murals nearby the ceiling. She also took pictures of Steve. But these pictures weren't the cheesy-posed-say-pickles pictures. These were pictures Steve didn't know she was taking until she showed him. He had to say that he liked those more than the ones where everyone was posed. Then they went to the Washington Monument, or at least the outside, where Amela pointed out the airplane lights at the top and took a picture, then one with Steve looking at it.
The weather was slightly overcast, but it was pleasant. Amela admitted it to being her favorite weather.
Then they went to the Teddy Roosevelt memorial. The main theme was water and Theodore Roosevelt. At one of the statues, it showed Theodore sitting, but a blanket was covering him. Amela explained that Theodore Roosevelt was paralyzed. She thinks it was from polio. He didn't want people to know because he thought that they would think of him as weak. So people did their best to hide the fact that he was paralyzed.
Then they went to the MLK memorial. Amela showed Steve the reflecting pool she wasn't allowed by in eighth grade because the school didn't want to fill out paperwork because a curious kid fell into the pool. It was almost 7:30 by then.
"C'mon Steve. The Jefferson memorial looks beautiful at night."
And it did. The view was beautiful as well. Deciding that that was enough for one day, they headed back to the rented space and Amela made both of them dinner.
Steve wasn't surprised at the fact that she could cook, seeing as she had owned the Gaulben for awhile now. She served Steve a grilled hot dog on a grilled bun, with mustard, ketchup, and relish bottles placed next to him for his use. Chopped onions were in a bowl, also placed near him. Amela's meal was less homemade. She had leftover fish and some French fries she threw in the oven for a few minutes. Tartar sauce was on the side.
When both were done, Steve insisted on doing the dishes. Amela relented, but only if she could dry them and put them away.
While they were doing the dishes, Steve asked Amela "So why'd you invite me to come along with you on this trip?"
Amela dried the plate she was holding and put it away before responding. "Well, several reasons Cap. First one being I wanted to. The previous travels were I guess you could say, self discovery. I had money and I had time. I did what I wanted with nary a time limit. Second one being that I thought you would appreciate seeing the war memorials, and that no soldier was truly forgotten. And the third reason being that I wanted to show you something that I'll tell you about once we're finished here."
It was now about ten o'clock at night. By the time they finished, it was 10:30.
"So what was the other reason you wanted to bring me here?" Steve asked.
Amela smiled oddly. She dug around in her bag and pulled out a flyer.
"You do know why World War 2 was happening, right? Not just the Americans, but why Germany was fighting? Not Hydra, Adolf Hitler."
"Yes, the Holocaust." What a terrible tragedy. Over 6 million Jewish dead, either by disease, hunger, concentration camps, or death camps, and all because of the Nazis.
"They created a museum. The Holocaust Museum. It has many exhibits. They have Daniel's story- it's a kid named Daniel who survived a concentration camp. They also have an exhibit on Nazi propaganda, which is how the Nazis practically brainwashed their citizens. And then, they have an exhibit… on you. On you in WW II and your influence, and what they know you did. They also honor Peggy and the General and your group and Bucky and everyone else you fought with you. They honor the other Avengers too- but it's only a mention, really. Apparently, they're debating whether to build a monument to you guys or not."
Steve was… flattered, he supposed, but he was also happy, and sad, and just plain amazed. They wanted to make a memorial… for him? And not just him, the Howling Commandos and Peggy and Bucky and everyone else and… and…
Steve just sat there, mouth opening and closing, doing a pretty good goldfish imitation.
Amela snapped her fingers in front of his face. "Earth to Cap'n… Earth to Cap'n…."
Steve snapped out of it. "I… truly don't know what to say."
"You don't have to say anything. Now c'mon Cap, we've got three more days and a lot to see. Off to bed with us."
And they each went to their separate rooms, did their separate things, and fell asleep.
Amela woke up at 7:00 a.m. to Steve attempting to make eggs.
"Oh Steve, let me." Steve gladly moved out of the way while Amela grabbed milk and added it to the partially cooked eggs. She then grabbed the griddle and six slices of toast. She put the toast on the griddle and mixed the eggs, nabbing cheese and a grater from the refrigerator and the cupboard, respectively. She flipped the bread and grated cheese over the eggs. She grabbed two plates, set them on the table along with salt and pepper. Steve grabbed forks and placed them next to the plates and then poured two glasses of orange juice for each person. Amela served the eggs (two for her, six for Steve) and the toast (two for her, four for Steve). They ate in peace. Finally, Steve asked "What are we going to do today?"
"Well, today we're going to The Capitol Building, then to the National Archives, the White House, and then the Smithsonian Air and Space. I think that will take up most to all of today. We'll tackle the Holocaust Museum and Arlington tomorrow. And then on the final day we'll do the war memorials. Is that okay?"
Steve thought for a few minutes. "Is it okay if we switch around the war memorials and today?"
"Of course! I wouldn't have asked if it wasn't. We have the Vietnam, Korea, WWII, and more memorials that I either can't remember or can't pronounce their names."
And so off they went. And for your information, they're using bicycles they rented from a tourist center to get around. Amela insisted they visit the Korean Museum at night, but they finished seeing the other memorials earlier, so they went to the Smithsonian.
Long story short:
They spent a total of four hours at the war memorials.
They spent one hour traveling on bikes.
They spent five hours in the Air and Space Museum. Don't ask how, but Amela bought a stuffed lion and some things Steve was looking at. Amela also showed him these dog tags that were still bright and shiny. She told him she got them on her eighth grade trip.
They went to the Korean memorial. Steve almost jumped out of his skin when he noticed the realistic statues. The faces of the people looking at him, though… the faces were so young, some were younger than he was when he joined.
Now, it was very rare to catch Captain America crying (you would usually just see him holding his head in his hands murmuring nothings into the air to himself). But seeing all these war memorials, seeing all the names and the faces and just knowing what happened to some of them…
It was too much, and Steve broke down.
Amela knelt down next to the man.
"C'mon, Steve, there are benches over here."
No one really paid any attention to the two adults. Amela chose a good place- you could see most of the memorial, but not the faces, and people wouldn't notice you.
Steve sat there, crying for the men and women and children who lost their parent or sibling and unborn kids who would never know their mom or dad and everyone else.
Amela patted his back.
"They're doing alright now, Steve, they're doing alright. They're up in Heaven, or teaching their kids or grandkids or great grandkids about war and teaching them to hold things close and live life because you never know when it's going to go away. They're surviving, Steve, and they'll be okay. Shshshshshshhhhh… it's okay, Steve. It's okay."
She kept murmuring comfortingly to him… until some jerks came up.
"Aw, is the big man sad?" what looked like the leader of the bullies came up.
"Aren't you a little old to be acting like a playground bully?" Amela shot back.
"What? You need your girlfriend to stand up for you?" The two goons behind him grinned, obviously please with their leader's response. Steve, however, was not. He had stopped crying, but was just holding his head in his hands and muttering to himself, which was common.
"Well, son, she's not my girlfriend. She'd be a pretty awesome one, but my heart's someone else's." (Amela smiled at his comment about her.) "Next, I've been in a war. I've lost everyone I knew. Everyone. My best friend, my other friends, the man who made me who I was, and as far as I know, the person who my heart belongs to. So, yes, son, I am sad, because I understand."
"A great and terrible thing, understanding. A great and terrible thing," Amela added her input.
"And lastly, you never answered her question. And it's rude to not answer a lady."
Steve stood up now, his height being a good half-foot taller than the other man and his goons. Amela kept sitting on the bench, looking at the man with a mild expression of questioning.
The man gritted his teeth. Steve assessed it as a normal high-school bully group- one has all the brains but no brawn, and the other 2 having the vice versa.
Jeez, did a bad teenage writer write these guys or what? I mean, really.
"Yeah, whatever." The three people walked away, apparently deciding it wasn't worth the fight.
"That could've gone worse," Steve noted. He was feeling a bit better, though embarrassed, as shown by his pink cheeks.
"For them. Anyways, Steve, don't be embarrassed. Those guys were just assholes. It's okay to be sad, or happy, or angry. Times have and are changing; it's okay to show emotion. Now come on, we've got reservations at a restaurant. Let's get our bikes."
"You would be a good mother."
"If I ever wanted children, perhaps. I don't think I have the best examples."
"Well, neither does Tony."
"Tony doesn't have kids. That point is irrelevant."
The banter continued all the way to the restaurant Amela had chosen. Steve almost laughed when he realized what Amela had chosen.
It was the D.C. branch of the Gaulben.
Steve's mirth must have shown on his face because Amela spoke up.
"Yes, I know. I just wanted to see the difference, other than the obvious things."
The two were seated quickly. Amela ordered water to drink, as did Steve. The karaoke was going on tonight, but there weren't many drunkards.
"Probably because it's the capitol, and seeing as all these law enforcement agents around, you never know who's undercover," Amela theorized while picking at her fish she ordered. Steve hummed in agreement, taking a bite out of his hamburger.
Song of time (Time skip!)
"I'm headed to bed, Cap. Comfort food in the fridge and you know the rest. 'Night." Amela walked off to her room in the rental. Steve bade her goodnight but sat on the couch a little longer. Then he changed into his pajamas (blue bottoms with a Coca-Cola shirt, so red, white, and blue) and got under his present from Tony- an American flag blanket. Underneath, though, was a Canadian flag with Tony's scrawl of handwriting, saying "Happy 94th, Captain!" signed by all of the Avengers.
They were a family. A dysfunctional family, but a family none the less.
Song of time
Early the next morning, Steve woke up to Amela making breakfast. He changed into an Old Navy t-shirt that had an American flag on it (Tony did his wardrobe, if that's any clue) and another pair of khakis with his loafers.
Steve walked out into the kitchen/dining room to see that Amela had already done everything. She set the table, did the scarce amount of dishes, and a pile of folded laundry in a basket was in the corner. Amela was currently cooking pancakes, though Steve could smell bacon.
"Anything I can help with?"
"Nope."
"How long have you been up?"
Amela exhaled through her mouth, thinking. "Um… awhile. Since dawn, I think?"
"Do you ever rest more than five hours?"
"No." The statement was flat and simple.
The meal was served and eaten in silence. They then got on their bikes and pedaled away to their destination- a flower shop.
Amela bought pink carnations.
"I'll never forget you," Steve remembered.
"Very good, but they also mean a woman's love, a mother's love, and you'll always be on my mind."
Steve bought protea.
"Courage."
"Otherwise known as stupidly brave," Amela commented, trying to joke. It failed. "I guess jokes don't run in my family."
And off they went to visit a certain son of Coul's grave.
They paid their respects and saw the changing of the guard. They left soon afterwards, heading for their next destination- the Holocaust Museum.
Amela didn't know much about it.
"I was with my best friend on this trip, but at the Propaganda exhibit, we were only able to see a few things since we were really late. We only saw two exhibits, but I swear the assistant principal was going to carve us a new one when we got back on the bus."
So they went and saw the exhibits. Amela showed him the interactive items in Daniel's Story, such as his sister's suitcase that opened to reveal her doll, or the windows you could slide up to see what was happening. It was heartbreaking.
They took their time in the Nazi propaganda. The room felt hostile to Steve, but he wanted to know how the Germans corrupted their citizens. He noticed Amela shivering.
"Cold?" he asked.
"No… it's just… having your mind taken away is the worst form of torture to me… but taking it away without them knowing it… and them being so young…"
They left soon afterwards, heading for the Captain America exhibit.
Steve slowly forced himself into the room. He looked at the pictures that they managed to get of him, Bucky, his general, the Howling Commandos, Howard, the man who made him who he was, and Peggy. He looked at the models of the shields Howard showed him. He looked at the model of the plane's dash, compass and all. And finally, he listened to the recording of him and Peggy.
"I'm going to have to take a rain check on that dance."
"The Stork club, eight o'clock. And don't you dare be late."
Again a hasty exit was made soon afterwards. After a recovery trip (Amela had just really dragged him to a nearby ice cream shop and bought him some really good chocolate cookie dough ice cream), they were on their way to the Capitol Building. A brief viewing of the building and then a quick tour around the progress of the capitol later, Amela checked in a brought Steve to a Senate session. It wasn't as boring as her eighth grade trip visit, she said afterwards. That time all they heard were names.
It was almost time for dinner, but they went to the White House first to snap a few pictures when a lady came up and started going on about the world ending in three days.
"Lady, I know we have freedom of speech and religion here, but another lady said the same thing about… seven years ago. The world almost ended last month, but the Avengers stopped that from happening. Why should I believe you?" Amela asked, not waiting for a response and dragging Steve away.
"They were the talk of the class for the next 15 minutes," Amela said, referring to the religious people. They had dinner at some restaurant that didn't look too crowded. Steve had pizza and Coke and Amela had fish and chips with Dr. Pepper. Then they went to rest.
The next day, Steve made breakfast. Well, he got out two bowls and some cereal and poured it into said bowls along with some milk, but still. Amela woke up soon afterwards, thanking Steve and eating her cereal.
"Today we're going to the National Archives and then souvenir shopping. That okay?" Amela asked.
"Sounds swell," Steve replied earnestly.
So they did that. Amela was laughing and changed her ringtone on her phone to an actor saying "I'm going to steal the Declaration of Independence."
They browsed the Archives and shopped. Steve bought a quill set and some WW2 items. Amela bought a hoodie and an FBI hat. They left.
"Well, that covers most everything on my list," Amela said.
"Most?"
Amela grinned. "I always wanted to go to the Library of Congress."
It was about noon when they went there. They stayed until closing and headed back to their rental.
"Well, Steve, tomorrow's the final day. What do you want to do?"
Steve thought for a moment.
"Let's get the team something."
"What?"
"I have an idea." Steve grinned.
Song of Time
The next day, the Avengers minus Steve had gathered around a table with a large brown box on it. It read:
We had a lot of fun on our trip to the Capitol. Shame you guys didn't come, but we got you some things anyways.
Sincerely,
Steve
Amela (Steve has most the credit though, I just paid for the stuff.)
In the box, there were six hoodies that had the nicknames of the crew on the back of each one.
"Tweety Bird"- it was written in yellow on a black hoodie. Clint's.
"GBPP"- short for genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist. Written in gold on a crimson hoodie. Tony's.
"Green Science Bro"- Purple against dark green. Bruce's.
"Point Break"- Black on silver. Thor's.
"Spider on Fire"- red writing on a black background. Natasha's.
Underneath the hoodies were little things for each team member from two different people.
A science kit for Bruce from Steve. A book called "Flowers for Algernon" from Amela.
Natasha got a toy gun and target from Steve. A toy sword from Amela.
For Clint, Steve got a Nerf bow and arrow set. A paperweight from Amela, which Clint laughed at. Probably some conversation between the two no one else had heard.
For Tony, a book on recent developments in human-like robots (he was thinking about giving JARVIS a body so that way he could do more than watch the Avenger's Tower and things through the Iron Man suits). Steve's present. And from Amela, a shawarma cookbook.
For Thor, a quill writing set and a pair of sunglasses. From Steve and Amela respectively.
And to all of the Avengers, miniature action figures of each one and one group one. Tony took them and tinkered with them, so Natasha's shot her guns (extremely small bits of foam), Clint's shot arrows (each one did a different thing, either grappling or frost or minor explosions), Thor flung his hammer (which was attached to a string so it always returned), and the Hulk's smashed and roared. Steve's Saltued and threw his shield. The group one was when they all united against the Chitauri in the circle, with Natasha reloading her guns, Clint drawing an arrow, Thor swinging his hammer, tony doing whatever tony was doing, Hulk breathing, and Steve switching shield hands before a recording said "Avengers: Assemble!"
Needless to say, the Avengers all took a vacation with Amela (separately) when she offered.