It had been a long hard day, and anyone watching Alison hit the punching bag could guess that.

The woman, had her black haired up in a bun that had become messy after so many hours of erratic movements, her petite body was sporting her familiar gym uniform, black t-shirt and shorts with the required white tennis shoes.

She was hitting the heavy bag with all the rage and frustration pinned up inside her. Sweat dripping down her forehead and already making its way down the back of her t-shirt.

She was a mess. Hair sticking into her face as she swayed her fist harder and harder, ignoring the pain that came with it.

It was hard to stop herself from thinking, and she knew that she would never achieve her goal but she tried anyways.

Block the mission, block Fury, block-

"Ma'am, are you alright?" a deep voice broke Alison from the rage spell she had entered. She gasped as the pain finally hit her like a train. She felt as if she had been hitting a piece of wood for the last hour.

She moved away from her swaying punching bag as she inspected her bleeding knuckles.

What is wrong with me?

"Great" she mumbled to herself as she saw the sweat mixing with her blood. Why had she thought that it would be a good idea to punch away her frustrations? It was far too obvious that her self-destructive ways were going to make it into another decision she would regret.

A small cough beside her startled her, instinctively she swung her fist as she turned. It came naturally to any person with her kind of training, and even more when they were on edge.

"Oh shit" Alison exclaimed as her knuckles collided with something very hard, she heard a sickening crack followed by a excruciating pain traveling from her hand all the way to her shoulder.

She took a step back in shock, her busted hand cradled on her chest, tears in her eyes. It was then that she saw him, he was looking as shocked as she was, his mouth hanging open and his hands up

"I'm-I'm sorry" her voice was strained and she noticed how breathless she sounded finally noticing just how fast her heart was beating. Her eyes found a red stain on the white tight t-shirt of the man and realize that it was her blood.

"I'm sorry I hurt your hand" "I'm sorry I punched you"

Both apologized at the same time, making the other smile slightly. Alison looked back at the punching bag and noticed for the first time the mess she had made.

"I'll clean that up so you can use it, just let me call maintenance" she started to make her way towards the phone beside the door when the unknown man gently grabbed her arm

"Everyone is gone, I think" Alison watching the tall blond frown to himself and she realized that she had no idea who he was.

That's strange. Alison had started working at SHIELD when she was 20, and after almost 8 years she took pride in knowing all the people that worked with her; This guy was a complete stranger, not even his face was familiar.

"Who are you?" she tried to sound casual but she was sure that he picked up the suspicion on her voice.

She crossed her arms over her chest and without meaning to, she gave him a better view of her cleavage.

He blushed quickly averting his eyes to the equipment on behind the woman, something that caught Alison off guard. It had been so long she had seen a male have such a reaction, it felt far too innocent for a grown up man who easily tower over her.

"I'm Steve, I-I'm- Director Fury told me I could come down here if I wanted to" he finally stopped tripping over his words when his eyes found hers. Blue and dark brown clashed as they stared silently for a few seconds, Alison in distrust while Steve looked like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Alright, well, since I can't clean it up till morning I better change the bag" the woman walk back to her previous spot, trying to pay no mind on how her body reacted when their arms brushed against each other.

"Just let me-" Alison was trying to get the bag down with her least damaged hand but after a few seconds the bag was easily lifted by Steve who had decided to help the struggling woman.

"It's okay, I rather we first took care of your hand ma'am" he was putting the bag on the floor so he didn't caught Alison's eyebrow raise when he called her ma'am. She wasn't used to being helped, just as she knew everyone she worked with everyone knew her too and everyone knew that she didn't like being helped. Ever.

She reminded speechless as he fetched the first aid kit mounted on the wall. His long legs made the distance seem shorter and in a couple of seconds he was back with something for her wounds and a elastic bandage.

He dropped himself on the floor, looking up to Alison who slowly followed. She tried hard not to pay attention to the tugging on her stomach as he dabbed into a cotton ball some disinfectant

"May I?" his tone was still shy and he smile slightly as she put her hand up for him to take. His touch was surprisingly gentle, with the muscles he packed Alison was expecting him to be a bit rough but he treat her as if she was glass.

"Is it okay for me to assume that you're new here?" Alison surprised herself when she talked, she wasn't really known for being the one to make small talk but something was pushing her to talk to Steve. He briefly looked up from her hand, just in time to see her wince when he dabbed a particularly deep cut.

He gave her a guilty look and nodded- "I got here only a week ago ma'am" when he finished he took her other hand.

Alison inspected her hand, it was bruised badly and was already swelling. Steve took it between his with even more care than the other one. He slowly wiped the blood away and then apply the same treatment as the her other hand

"You can call me Alison" she mumbled after a few minutes of silence, they were both watching Steve's bigger hands work slowly and after that last comment they reminded silence for the rest of the time. The only time Alison emitted a sound was when Steve had to straighten out her hand to wrap it on the elastic badge.

"I still think you should see a doctor as soon as possible" a frown was plastered on Steve's face as he watched his finished work, this cause Alison to chuckle thinking on how many times she had gotten injured on missions and had deal with it on her own

"I'm not a fan of doctors but thanks Steve" she said as she raised to her feet, the adrenaline from her work out was already leaving her system and it left her feeling tired, sore and drained.

"It was no problem ma'a- Alison" the tall blond quickly corrected himself as the woman shoot him a glare.

"Sorry for the punch newbie" Alison gave him a guilty smile over her shoulder. And when she was almost out the door he called out a goodbye to her which made her wave back before completely disappearing.

Steve found himself punching a little less hard that night. Her dark eyes dancing on his mind the whole time.