Steve hated the public gym. For starters guys there tend to look at him like he was challenging them. Second the women tend to stare openly at him like he was a piece of meat they wanted to eat. And third, he had issues with showering with the other guys. Though he had long stopped being the short stick man that would be laughed at the moment his shirt was off he still wasn't comfortable about being around so many naked men who seemed to enjoy standing around nude talking about sex like it's the weather. Yes he hated the public gym. Only reason he went there was because Bruce had lost control and ended up trashing the gym in the tower. Tony had joked he was planning on having work done on the gym anyway. At least Steve hoped he was joking and that having the Hulk destroy the gym wasn't part of Tony's plan to mess with his head.
Steve let out a heavy sigh as he came out of the public gym, swearing to himself that he was going to make Tony finish the work on the tower's gym because he couldn't handle one more day of those men and women treating him like less then a human. A sound from his right made him jump as his head snapped towards the sound. A sigh left the lips of the figure standing next to the gym doors. Dressed in a pair of tight blue jeans, a brown belt, a light pinkish t-shirt with the word primrose over a black spaghetti strap, around their slim neck was a black ribbon with a cross hanging from it, and on their head seemingly holding most of the dark hair out of site was a blue baseball cap. "Why bother telling me to meet you here when you're only going to refuse to show Mar?" Steve snapped out of his daze and finally took notice that the woman he had been staring at seemed to be disappointed with someone. "Miss?" Her pale face turned to him and she gazed lazily at him with jade green eyes as a faint "hmm?" left her lips. "Is something wrong?" He automatically asked, one of his habits when nervous around someone. "I was to meet someone here but like always they called and said they weren't coming. I think he just likes to interrupt my studying." She dismissed. "Boyfriend?" He asked before scolding himself. "No. I don't have one of those. By choice that is." Steve nodded, not sure what else to do. The woman gave him a small smile and held her hand out. "I'm Crysella, but you can called me Chris." Steve took her hand and smiled. "Steve." She nodded before glancing at her phone. "Well Steve if you got the time I was going to go grab a tea and slice of cake at a near by café. Care to join me?" Her eyes held a spark of something that seemed to pull Steve while the friendly tone of her voice put all his past worries and annoyances out of his mind. "I would love to." Taking his hand Chris show Steve where the café was and the two spend three hours chatting about everything and anything that popped into their heads.
"Where were you? The gym's finally done so you can break it in later." Tony asked as Steve finally entered the living area. "No thanks Tony. I think I'll stick with the public gym." At Steve's words Tony nearly dropped his glass. "After all that complaining about how you hate the treatment there you want to stay?" Tony more demanded then asked. "What brought on the change of heart?" Bruce asked from over the top of his laptop. "Well let's just say I found a reason to learn to like the public gym." Tony suddenly grinned at Steve. "What's her name?" He asked. Steve sighed known Tony wouldn't drop it and most likely just end up following Steve around tomorrow. "Crysella." He answered. "Nice name. She go to the gym?" Bruce asked. "No she was suppose to meet a friend outside it but they called and cancelled shortly before I left the gym. We talked a little then she invited me to join her at her favourite café. We agreed to meet outside the gym again tomorrow and go to the café, though what we'll talk about I have no idea since we seemed to have told each other everything about ourselves." Steve laughed. "Everything?" Tony asked. Steve stopped laughing and looked away. "I uh wasn't sure how to bring up the war, or the ice, or even all this." He confessed. "You'll have to tell her one day Steve. She'll find out on her own and then she'll be mad at you for not telling her." Bruce warned him. "I know. I just want her to like me for Steve. Not Captain America." Bruce nodded his head in understanding while Tony just asked, "Why? You'd get more girls if you let them know you're a hero."
-Across the city-
A young girl awoke screaming, the red silk sheets beneath her twisted and covered in white feathers. Her bedroom door opened as a guy, 22 dressed in a casual black suit entered. He snapped on the lights and joined the now crying girl on the bed. "Haru what's wrong?" He asked, his smooth deep voice a whisper as he held her and stroked her blond hair. "I saw blood. Pain and fire. Darkness stirs from it resting place. And there was a girl in the middle of it all. Eyes like green fire, the mark of the Fool on her right breast." The girl, Haru cried as her wings curled in on her. The guy tensed for a moment before relaxing, leaning down to kiss her forehead as his chestnut brown hair brushed the skin there. "The Fool is not bound like you or I Haru. That is what makes those born to the Fool so prized. We must find this girl before she can be tempted." Haru nodded her head in understanding. "I-I shall try to dream of her more. Of her face." Haru promised. "You must not force this Haru. After all they take so much strength from you. Rest now. I shall find this Fool." He then laid her down, taking a moment to look over her small thin body covered in a silk white night grown before covering her and shutting off the lights. "Tristan?" The guy "hmm?" as he looked back at her from the door. "There is one more thing I saw. A protector baring a shield. I saw him by her side, his arm around her waist as if to keep from losing her." Tristan nodded to this. "I shall look for this protector then. He may lead me to her. Now sleep Haru. Sleep and dream of nothing." He whispered before shutting the door. "The Fool and her protector? What game does fate play this time I wonder?" He mused to himself before taking an elevator down seven floors to rejoin the party he had been hosting before Haru summoned him with her cry.
-Two months later-
Steve and Chris were breathless as they leaned against a building. They had just pulled a prank on Steve's friend Tony and had to run just so they wouldn't get caught. "I haven't done something like that since I was a kid." Steve laughed as he bought two bottles of coke. "He's going to find out who did it. But until then, and even after that we can enjoy the fact that Tony Stark is covered head to toe in glitter." Chris laughed as she took the offered bottle and opened it. "Hey Chris. We've been friends for two months now. I was wondering if we could be more then just friends?" Steve was trying hard not to stare at his feet. Wanting to show Chris just how much he had come to care for her. "You mean dating?" She asked with a raised brow. "Well yes. I would really like it if we could go on a date. Or two." Chris smiled at Steve's goof grin before chewing on her lower lip. "Steve dating me isn't like dating other girls. There some pretty weird people, and things in my life." Steve chuckled. "Crysella, I both live and work with two spies, two geniuses one of which is full of himself and relies way to much on his machines, while the other lives in constant fear of turning into a raging monster, plus we have a Norse god who loves Pop Tarts way too much." Chris laughed at that. "I don't really think anything else could be stranger then my friends." Steve finished. Chris smiled lovingly at him before nodding. "Alright Steve. I guess you really could handle me as your girlfriend. So when should our first date be?" Steve took her hand and began leading her to the nearby theatre. "How bout now?" He asked, to which she laughed and agreed.
"That her?" Tony asked as he held his phone up to Steve, showing a picture of him and Chris planting the glitter bomb. Tony was still covered in glitter, making it hard for Steve not to laugh. "Yes that's Crysella." He finally managed to get out. "Nice work landing her!" Tony didn't even seem to mind the glitter he was covered in, just happy that he finally had a face to go along with the girl's name. "What did she say?" Pepper asked as she joined the two, giving Tony a strange look. "She said yes. Thank you for the advice by the way." Pepper waved the thanks off. "It's no trouble Steve. I had a feeling she was ready to start dating you." Pepper then found herself staring at Tony's phone. "That's her." He told her. "Wow Steve. She looks really nice." Steve blushed slightly. "She's great. The kind of woman I always hoped to find." He admitted. "So when you bringing her to meet the team?" Tony asked. "I'm not." And with that Steve left to take a shower, laughing as Tony cried out, "Come on!"
-That night, half way across the city-
Chris along with a girl with blue hair in dress pants and a white button up shirt entered an ally. "So he asked you to be his girl?" The blue haired girl asked her. "Yeah. We had just pranked a friend of his when he asked me. He's so sweet. I don't deserve the guy." Chris said as they stopped at the end of the ally and the blue haired girl removed her right glove, reviling a deep blue gem on the top of her hand. The girl pressed the gem to the back wall causing it to ripple. The two then stepped through the wall. "Hey I'll gladly take the guy." Their clothes had changed into thigh length white dresses, their boots gone as they walked bare foot through the grass toward a large mansion. "No way. I may not deserve the guy but I plan on keeping him." Chris laughed as the two entered the building. "Oh well. Did you finish you task yet? I'm still behind on mine." The girl sighed. "Yeah check it out." Chris then made a small red dragon appear on her left shoulder, it moved, blinked, and even let out a small flame before disappearing. "Oh! Magic is way too easy for you!" The girl pouted. "Easy Sarah. You'll get it. I'll help you during break ok?" Sarah nodded her head before the two girls entered their classroom. There ferret on the desk transforming the moment they were seated into a young man in a casual black suit with chestnut brown hair. "Welcome back everyone! To day we shall be looking over some of the great mistake shape shifters have made in the past. This will be a treat for you as well as a reminder to always focus on the form you wish to take." The teacher greeted/warned them in his smooth deep voice. "I just love Mr. Amor's voice." Sarah whispered, to which Chris rolled her eyes and opened her book.
-The next day-
"Hello Crysella." Two perfectly synced voices greeted her. Turn she let out a small groan. "Hello Jack and Jade." The two before her were brother and sister; twins. Jack was in his normal black hoodie with its cat ears, sucker hanging out of his mouth. While Jade wore a white one and was chewing gum. They stared at Chris with their large black eyes like they were expecting something. "What?" Chris finally asked him. "They say Duke's back in the city." Jade started. "And that he's looking for the Fool!" Jack finished. "The Fool? There hasn't been a Fool for over 2,000 years. Why would one appear now?" Chris asked. The twin shrugged their shoulders. "We don't know." Jack answered. "But someone's paying a great deal of cash to Duke to find them." Jade finished. "See ya later Crysella." They both cheered before running off. Hmm? Duke's back and he didn't even stop by to say hello? Well now, I'll just have to remind him how rude that is. Chris then turned on her heels and headed for the docks.
Seeing the red head of her old male friend made Chris smile. His hair was still as messy as it had been the day she first met the Seeker. The eye patch over his right eye so worn yet would clearly hold out for many more years. His costum long black coat lay over his body like a blanket as he slept on the floor of the old warehouse they were in. She could just make out the hilt of his sword hidden under the edges of the coat. Making sure to stay out of reach, as well as making sure they were alone Chris sent a small bolt of lightning at his nose, causing him to snap his grey eye open and leap up, sword at the ready. "Morning!" Chris called cheerfully to him. He let out an annoyed sigh before running a hand through his hair. "Was starting to think you would never find me." He gave her a smirk that to anyone else would've been enough to make them fall in love with him. But not Chris. She wasn't like everyone else. "Yeah well my informers are behind. Why didn't you come stay at my place Duke? You know I have the room." Duke shrugged as he threw on his coat. "Hear you got yourself a boyfriend. Didn't want to spoil it for you." Chris sighed and signalled him to follow her after casting a spell on the sword so no one would be able to see it. "Steve's not like that Duke. He isn't the jealous type. Besides he knows no one has caught my eye other then him." Duke gave another shrug. "Guys just seem me as a challenge. I blame the eye patch." Chris laughed at that. "Come on Duke. I'll get you to my place and we can catch up."
-That night-
Steve was running late. He was supposed to have been at the theatre five minutes ago. Although he knew Chris wouldn't be mad at him he hated making her wait. "Whoa!" Steve skidded to a halt as a strange looking woman stepped out in front of him. "Hello fine sir. Lovely night is it not." She greeted him as she bowed, removing her top hat. Steve could only stare at her in wonder. She was dressed in a suit with a strange pattern designed in gold on it. Her hat had a red rose and three white feathers. Her hair and even her very skin was snow white while her lips were ruby red. She wore a purple mask over her eyes with gold designs that seem to bring out the blue of her eyes. Just under the left side of her mask was a small pink heart. And in her hand was a small stick that appeared to be made of light blue glass and gold. "Ah! On your way to meet that special little lady are you sir. Then allow me to bid you farewell. Yes, Angela shall not keep you a moment longer." Steve seemed to blink and she was gone. Like she hadn't been there to begin with. "What?" Steve asked no one before remembering he had a date he was already late for.
"Hey there you are." Chris greeted Steve before kissing his cheek. "Sorry I'm late. I almost ran into a woman going to a costume party. Least I think she was going to party. Why else would she dress like that?" When Chris asked about the woman Steve told her everything he knew about her. "Angela? She said her name was Angela did she?" Chris frowned in thought. "Yes. Do you know her?" Steve asked. "Not in person but I have heard of her. Best to keep away from her Steve. She has a habit of causing trouble for people." Chris warned as the two took their seats. Steve wanted to question the warning but since the movie was starting he figured it didn't matter.