Chapter 7

By: MysticFantasy

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For once there was no evil trying destroy the city, world or the rare day off.

Since Steve had been out for nearly two weeks, Fury had decided to give the rest of the Avengers some time off in order to clear their heads. The SHIELD director noticed that they weren't operating like they normally do and he knew it was because their captain wasn't present.

He himself had noticed that he felt a little more stressed than usual and hadn't realized how much pressure Steve took from him just by keeping the Avengers in line and in good team working condition.

Since the captain had been out, Fury didn't fail to notice that tension was starting to get high between the remaining Avengers. He'd put Tony in charge of the team until Steve returned but they could all admit that it wasn't going very well.

The practice battle proved that enough when a few of them almost got seriously hurt. It was still a little amazing to know that a battle was the one time Tony Stark would ever listen to someone else and actually follow orders.

Fury sure hoped that Steve would awaken soon and return to them. The world wasn't the only thing that needed Steve Rogers.

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The group of five quietly walked into the hospital room and found places to settle down. Silence fell upon the room. All of them had their eyes on Steve, waiting for a sign that he knew they were there with him or if he was going to wake up.

"Hey," Tony said breaking the silence. "Why don't we tell the captain about Barton's latest mission?"

"Do it and die." Clint warned.

"What happened?" Bruce asked curiously.

"Someone mistook him for a male prostitute." Natasha answered with a smirk as Clint lightly scowled toward the floor.

"What is a prostitute?" Thor asked with confusion written all over his face.

"Uh...it's illegal for one thing." Bruce started. "We'll explain it more to you later Thor."

The thunder prince seemed to accept that for now and would make sure that he recieved a proper answer later. There were too many things about Midgard that he didn't understand as it is and he especially didn't like it when he felt he did not know his new friend's very well.

"I had to go undercover and look like a street dealer. Guess my choice in clothing wasn't up to date in dealer fashion."

Natasha and Tony chuckled. They both knew that Clint took his disguises more serious than the rest of them, which was good since he was a master of them and got the job done easily enough.

"Did you get any offers?" Bruce asked making Tony laugh.

"I'm not going to answer that." Clint answered as he slouched in his chair and crossed his arms.

"You did. Didn't you?" Natasha asked.

"Maybe."

"Well, at least you know you've got the looks for it." Tony said.

"Well maybe you should see if you have what it takes." Clint replied.

"I bet I could get more offers than you in one hour." Tony said.

"Are you guys really making a bet to see who can prostitute themselves more?" Natasha asked with a raised brow.

"No." the two answered.

"Sounds like it." Bruce said with a smirk.

"Hey, you're making me try to push you into a bet of such manner." Tony said playfully.

"That wouldn't work out for anyone." Bruce replied.

"So how did the rest of your quest turn out?" Thor asked.

"Pretty much according to plan." Clint answered. "I found the guy we were after, broke his leg, put a gun in his face and SHIELD showed up to take him in."

"Well, at least one of us knows how to formulate a successful plan besides the captain." Thor said.

"Maybe Fury needs to put you in charge of the team until Capsicle comes to." Tony suggested.

"No way. You can have it. I don't think I could handle the role of leadership." Clint said.

"I don't think any of us can." Natasha said. "Steve's the only one who can do it."

"No kidding." Tony agreed. "He's got everything worked out before the fight even happens. It's kinda creepy when you think about it. Like, how in the world does he figure out where to put everyone in a time span of two seconds? Three tops."

"He's got the mind for it." Bruce answered. "That's why he was so successful during the war and why so many soldiers were trying to join his unit."

"Can't say that I don't blame those guys for trying to join Steve's unit." Clint said.

"Yeah but they wanted to do it once they found out how big his reputation as a super soldier was getting." Bruce said. "They wanted a piece of the fame that he was recieving for all the good he was doing."

"Still, he never let himself get taken in by all that fame." Natasha said.

"He could have let himself have a little fun." Tony said.

"Leave him alone Tony." Natasha said with a small smirk. "You know how he is about his morals."

"I know." Tony replied. "Not many people out there who care about themselves like he does."

"I wonder if people teased him about it in his time." Clint said.

"I'm sure they did." Tony said. "But I bet it was because of how he looked before he ever put on the spangley outfit."

"I'm sure it was." Bruce said. "I saw a picture of him before the super soldier program."

"What did the Captain look like before this program?" Thor asked curiously.

"You probably won't believe me Thor but Steve was a very skinny person. Maybe skinnier than Natasha and he was shorter. He also had a lot of bad health problems." Bruce answered.

"Then how is it that he became such a great warrior?"

"A man named Abraham Erskine noticed that Steve was a good person who only wanted to help others. He offered Steve the chance to become this great soldier. When Steve accepted the offer he became Captain America and did all of the great things we told you about. He had wanted to do those things before but because he was so small and ill he couldn't push himself to do much. Becoming Captain America finally allowed him to do the things he wanted and dreamed of."

"So he was a noble warrior even before he became a captain?"

"He was." Tony answered. "My father told me a lot of stories about Steve and I couldn't believe that Steve had been the way he is even before becoming a super soldier."

"Guess it's pretty easy to see why Fury right away picked Steve to lead this little group of ours." Bruce said.

"Yeah." Clint agreed. "Steve's the only one who could figure us out enough to know how to use our talent's where they're needed most."

"And he's about the only one who can keep us in line." Natasha added.

"He just has that kind of authority." Bruce said. "I never thought I would see the day when the Other Guy actually listened to someone."

"That kinda freaked me out too." Clint admitted propping his head on his hand. "Imagine what else Steve could get him to do."

"Let's just hope that the big guy will be used for fighting bad guys only." Bruce said.

"I'm sure he will." Clint replied. "Steve isn't the kind of person who abuses his power."

"That's also something you don't see very often these days." Tony said. "Hell, if it wasn't for Capsicle I probably wouldn't even still be hanging around SHIELD."

"I also confess that it is only because of the captain that I continue to agree to the battles that the director places upon us." Thor stated. "He has kept secrets from us but Steve has never done that. I trust him greatly and am very willing to follow him. I have never said that about any mortal before."

"Guess there's a first for everything." Tony said. "I trust Steve the same way and I don't say that often about anyone."

"Same here." Clint said. "In this line of work, trust is something that can most likely get you killed unless you find the right person to trust. But I trust Steve with my life and he hasn't given me any reason to question him."

"I can relate." Bruce declared. "I thought for sure that Steve would resent me when he found out that I had tried to replicate the super soldier serum and used it on myself but he didn't and instead found a way to use my mistake for a good cause. He trusted me enough to know that I wouldn't do anything wrong. Something like that hasn't happened to me in a long time."

"What about you Nat?" Clint asked. "What makes you trust him?"

Natasha was silent for a moment as she thought over the question.

What exactly was it that got her to trust Steve so much and him trust her in return? There had to be something. She could recall many times that he's either saved her life or protected her from something dangerous.

That was enough to trust him but why did he trust her?