Steve Rogers stood on the flight deck of SHIELD's flying battleship, looking out at the waves of the Atlantic Ocean with a pensive look in his blue eyes. Since the battle for New York, he had been the only Avenger to stay with Fury; the others having scattered to their regular jobs.
A siren went off, echoing around the ship. Steve rolled his eyes and began to walk across the deck to the doors leading to the bridge. Fury had been conducting test flights more and more to test new engine ideas that Tony thought up.
At the thought of Tony, Captain America ground his teeth together. It seemed like all the other Avengers had a use except for him. Banner and Stark were making the world a better place, Clint and Natasha were enjoying their honeymoon in a warzone, and Thor was shacked up with some nuclear physicist in Arizona.
That left him, the out of date captain, alone.,
Steve was so absorbed in his thoughts, that he walked right into something, barely able to catch it before it hit the ground. The object let out a female squeak, and Steve looked down to see a blonde woman in his arms.
"Sorry, Ma'am. I'm afraid I was not looking where I was going." Steve said quickly, righting the woman on her feet. Upon closer inspection he saw that she was a plane mechanic, outfitted in the customary blue overalls.
"Good catch, sir." She replied, blushing a little.
"Steve Rodgers." He said, holding out a hand.
"Jennifer Hope." She replied, shaking it. Jennifer was short and petite, with long blonde hair that was currently falling out of two french braids, and large blue eyes that fixed him in a bright and surprised gaze.
"Where are you headed, Ma'am? I would be happy to escort you." Rodgers continued, willing himself not to cow on his offer.
"Actually I was-" Jennifer was cut off by the ship giving a violent lurch and throwing them both to the ground.
"That's not good." Steve said, helping his companion up. A column of smoke was rising from the front left engine. Another shudder hit the ship, and everyone on the deck looked at the rear engines.
"DOWN!" Steve yelled, throwing Jennifer and himself behind a plane just as the left rear engine exploded, sending shrapnel everywhere. The deck tilted sharply as the ship lost what little altitude it had gained from takeoff.
The plane they had sheltered behind began to slide closer as the deck tilted. Steve reached out his hands, bracing his feet on the cement.
"Move!" He yelled to Jennifer, who scrambled into the nearest doorway. Steve let the plane go, and it slid down the rest of the deck. He ran to the doorway and braced himself.
The ship hit the water with a bone rattling impact, the deck righting itself. Steve saw Jennifer smack her head on the doorframe, and he pressed a hand to her waist to keep her from falling over.
Alarms went off all over the ship and water sloshed everywhere.
"You all right, ma'am?" Steve yelled over the warning sirens. Jennifer touched her hand to her head, which was bleeding slightly.
"Just a small cut." She replied, flashing a weak smile in his direction.
"I better get up to mission control. See what the hell Fury and Stark did." Steve growled, rolling his eyes. "Will you be all right on your own?"
Jennifer nodded, and the Captain nodded back before turning and beginning to walk away.
"Wait..." Jennifer called. Steve looked back.
"Thank you, Captain." She said, smiling warmly. Steve gave his customary salute before continuing down the corridor. He heard her mobilize into action behind him, calling out orders to the other mechanics already swarming the deck.
It passed his mind as he continued to the bridge that Ms. Hope was the first person who'd managed to retain normalcy while in close quarters with him. It made his chest beat irregularly to think that anyone, albeit a woman, a gorgeous woman would behave like that. He wanted to turn right around and see if it had all been a fluke of his imagination.
It was a good feeling, somewhat foreign to him. Most people around the ship kept their distance, gawking at him from afar, which made him feel awkward and at times lonely.
After he figured out what the hell Stark and Fury were doing to the ship, he would maybe start visiting the deck again. See what would happen.
It turned out that the engine explosion was a failure of the forward thruster to rotate on command. Tony Stark had stalked around the bridge yelling at anyone who disturbed him until Fury finally sent him out to look at the engine itself. Steve had stood awkwardly to the side, unable to help the brains of the operation as they worked. He didn't have the smarts to keep up with Stark and Banner, and there was no danger of attack for him to see to. So, after some time he went back to his quarters and tried to sleep. It didn't work. He was restless, and couldn't stop fixating on the woman he'd seen that day.
After a while he decided to get some fresh air. Bypassing the guard at the airlock, he stepped out on the deck and felt the cold sea breeze wash over him. The sky was clear and the ocean was reflecting the stars. It was calming, and helped allay some of the cabin fever he'd been feeling. Aside from the now-repaired planes, the moon, and the ocean, he was completely alone. He wandered down the length of the deck and to the back of the ship, watching the propellers churn the water in their wake.
Steve couldn't put words to the feelings he'd been having. After the battle of New York, everything had been quiet. Thor had taken Loki to Asgard, and the Avengers had slowly dispersed. He was the only one without a "day job" - so to speak - to keep him busy in between missions. This left him wandering the ship with nothing to do but read in his bunk and train. He'd slowly amassed a huge library in his quarters that included all the prominent writers of the last 75 years. He'd found some interesting literature on his occasional shore-leaves, haunting used book stores and sales whenever he got the opportunity.
"Hey there." A familiar voice said to his left, interrupting Steve's thoughts. He turned his head to see a familiar , sans overalls, was suddenly leaning against the rail next to him, her hair loose from its earlier braids and flowing in the wind. She looked tired.
"Er, well. I suppose I should call you sir... Or do you prefer captain? Sorry..." She said, blushing furiously and avoiding his gaze.
"Neither. Steve is just fine, ma'am." He replied, allowing a small smile to creep on his face as he took in her features. He immediately felt relaxed in her presence, much different from earlier. She, however, continued to flush under his gaze, the darkness hiding any forward emotions hiding in her large blue eyes. He noticed the cut on her head had been stitched up.
"How's the head?" Steve asked.
"All better." She replied, absently touching it. It hadn't looked deep, and she didn't show any signs of concussion. He imagined she'd been called right back to work after the explosion and only after dark was allowed leave.
"It's beautiful out." Jennifer said after some time, her eyes cast out to sea.
"Indeed. This is one of my favorite places to be when I need fresh air." Steve replied. "It's comforting to watch the sea where we've been. You don't get this feeling when we're up in the air."
"God, yes. I agree with you there." She sighed and tried to tuck some of her unruly hair behind her ears, but it only kept escaping. Before he could stop himself, Steve snagged a stray curl and tucked it behind her ear, where it stayed. Their blue eyes met, and color stole over their complexions.
"Erm, fancy a stroll?" Steve asked, holding out his arm. He coughed awkwardly and put it down, remembering that walking arm-in-arm was no longer appropriate in this century. He inclined his head instead, feeling like a buffoon.
Thankfully, Jennifer laughed and began to lead them on a meander around the deck, her arms crossed to keep her hands warm in the sea breeze. Steve didn't feel cold, his behavior making him feel quite warm.
"What a day, huh? I imagine Fury had you working hard after the explosion." She said mildly, walking underneath the nose of a plane and swatting at the propeller. Her hand made a hollow clang against the metal.
"Me? I wish." Steve said with a hollow chuckle. "I'm no good at technology, I'm just the big dumb muscles around here."
Jennifer stopped, looking him up and down. Steve straightened his spine.
"Dumb, maybe. But you don't look that big." Jennifer said. Steve quirked an eyebrow and she giggled.
"You work with an Asgardian god and a two-story green monster. You hardly come in as big and dumb."
"All right, muscles then. If it doesn't have to do with combat or diplomacy, I'm benched."
Jennifer side-eyed his abs in an absolutely inconspicuous manner, looking to see if he noticed. He laughed, an unfamiliar feeling.
"I can't believe this." He said as he watched Jennifer climb a ladder to examine a panel on another plane they were passing.
"What?" She asked, pulling a screwdriver out of a pocket and twiddling a screw.
"You're the first person to treat me like a normal person on this boat. You're not star-struck, you're not wary, you're not anything. What gives?"
Jennifer stepped away from the plane and closed up the panel.
"You're an American, just like anyone else on the US crew. You do your duty. You're not a - pardon my french - fucking animal in a zoo. You're a real human being, and a fellow soldier."
Steve was floored by the passion he was hearing in her voice. It was flattering, the way she talked about him.
"Well, gosh. I don't know what to say, ma'am."
"You could say thank you." She reached out to him with both hands, and it took him a second to realize she wanted help down the ladder. He quickly boosted her down, setting her on her feet as if she weighed nothing. She stared at up him, her blue eyes calculating.
"Thank you." Steve said quietly. Jennifer took a short breath, her eyes still locked on his. Then he cleared his throat, dropping his hands and stepping back to a respectable distance. She looked down at the ground.
"Jennifer, do you like to read?" Steve asked, forging ahead before he lost his nerve.
"I don't have nearly enough time or space for books, but I've read all the classics. My favorite is Gone With The Wind." She replied.
"Well... I have too much time and space for books, and no one to share them with. Will you do me the honor of paying me a visit sometime?"
Jennifer stared at him, as if unsure she'd heard him correctly.
"Unless, of course, you have too many repairs to see to-"
"I will. I think I'd like that." She cut him off. "But..."
"But what?" Steve asked, heart thudding.
"Doesn't it say in the Avengers contract or something that they can't fraternize with other SHIELD employees?" She asked.
"Ma'am, I would never fraternize with you without your express permission. You can have my word on that. I have a friend named Melville who could benefit from your company."
Jennifer laughed, stepping closer to him. He could feel the heat from her small body.
"You can send me a message to my holopad anytime... Captain."
Then she was gone, leaving only a whiff of her shampoo on the sea breeze.
Steve had to take a moment to re-assess the situation. He began the familiar tread back to his bunk as his mind sorted through the information he'd just gleaned.
Jennifer Hope was the first person (and woman) to take notice of him. Theirs was the first real conversation he'd had in weeks, his mind was elated at the prospect of having someone to talk to about literature, of all things.
But he was acutely aware that his starvation for company couldn't drive his romantic feelings. That was how affairs happened and went down in flames. He wanted to stay on the side of propriety, but couldn't keep himself from admitting he saw romantic prospects in the young plane mechanic... at least he hoped he did. He wanted to see her again, and he wanted to make sure he was right before he caused the situation to backfire.
After a foggy evening workout where he couldn't keep his numbers straight, Steve showered and got ready to bunk down. But before he went to bed, he pulled a battered first edition of Gone With the Wind off his shelves in the living room. He'd been meaning to pick it up for a while, and now seemed as good a time as any to start it.
Steve found himself falling easily into the southern setting, Miss Scarlett and Rhett Butler keeping him company long into the night. He was entranced, and more importantly, he felt he had to know why Gone With the Wind was Jennifer Hope's favorite book.