You guys, I am seriously overwhelmed with the support for this story! I really appreciate all of the follows, favorites and comments! They motivated me to roll out two more chapters this morning! :) Let me know what you think, I hope you enjoy!
PS- thanks for sticking with me on Steve. I promise, I had a vision for where his character was going, and I hope you like the shift over the next chapter!
Ella inhaled the scent of herbs and spices of her Chai tea deeply, trying to calm her nerves. She sat in the little coffee shop three blocks down from Stark Tower, waiting for Steve to meet her.
She snickered a little. They were, quite literally, having a sit down.
After last night, she'd asked Steve to meet her somewhere private so they could get on the same page about how to treat James (or Bucky, depending on whose side you were on). They needed to have a meeting of the minds, so to speak.
Her heart started to race as Steve entered the little shop, baseball cap pulled low and aviators on. He nodded in her direction, and she gave him a little half smile she hoped looked genuine. He got his coffee, black, and slid into the seat across from her, taking off the glasses but keeping on the cap.
"So…" He raised his eyebrows at her.
"Um, well, thank you, for meeting me," she said quietly, forcing another smile.
"Well, you're welcome. Thank you, uh, for asking me to…" He forced a smile back.
God, this was awkward.
She sighed, taking a sip of tea for patience. "Listen, I think maybe we got off on the wrong foot here. In all honesty, we've been on the same team all along, we just have different methods here. I mean, we both want him to live a healthy, happy life, right?"
Steve sighed and nodded. "Yes, of course."
She reached across to squeeze Steve's hand gently with her own. "I want that, Steve. I swear to you, I want that for him."
He nodded, squeezing back her hand with his. "I know you do, I believe you. It's just… You don't even know him, so how are you supposed to help? That's what I don't get."
She pursed her lips, tilting her head. "To be fair, Steve, you don't really know the man he is right now, either. And neither does he. I think that's part of the problem. You know who he was, I know who he is a little bit just because of our connection, but no one knows who he wants to be."
Steve swallowed, smiling a bit as he nodded along. She breathed a sigh of relief and took another sip of tea. Maybe this could work.
"So what do we do?" Steve asked with a curious raise of an eyebrow.
She smiled, shaking her head a bit. "I'm not really sure. What do you think?"
He pursed his lips in thought for a moment. "I could tell you about who he was, if you want," he offered.
She bit her lip as a smile spread across her face. "Why not tell him, too?"
He snorted a laugh at that. "Isn't that why we're meeting here in the first place? Hasn't that been the problem?"
She giggled a little, leaning back in her chair. "That's not what I meant. What if you tell him, without really telling him?"
He shook his head. "You lost me, Ella."
She tilted her head, grinning as her eyes lit up with a plan.
A few hours later, Ella and Steve had gathered Tony, Clint, Natasha, and Bruce in the large Avengers common area in Stark Tower.
They stood together in front of them, grinning wide as they gestured to a large whiteboard covered behind them.
"Okay, so we think we have an idea for helping James maybe get some of his memories back, or at least start to make some new ones," Steve began, emphasizing the name James. Ella smiled proudly at him, squeezing his arm before continuing.
"We were thinking. Steve knows Bucky really well, but that person might as well be a stranger to James, and he barely even knows anything about himself now…"
"Right…" Tony rolled his eyes.
"So?" Nat was interested, at least.
"So… Now, this was really Ella's idea," Steve praised, beaming down at her before turning to whip the sheet off of the whiteboard.
"So, we thought we'd make a list. Of everything he used to like, his favorites for anything and everything Steve could remember. And then we'd each add our favorites too, and he could pick some to try, or all if he wanted, and then in the last column he'd fill in what his favorites are now!" She clapped proudly at that, smiling wide as Steve beamed at them.
"What do you think, guys?" He was grinning ear to ear, eyes bright with excitement.
"I think it's a miracle you two have smiled at each other more than yelled," Tony drawled, a hint of amusement in his eyes.
"It could even help spark some memories for him," Bruce mused, a small smile as he nodded his agreement. "I'm in. Would we all do all of the activities with him?"
Ella nodded, "Some of them. Some we could do as a group, and we were even thinking some one on one so he could get to know everyone a little better, while they got to know him too."
Nat smiled wide, giving her a thumbs up. "Count me in. But don't put me down for the sex positions I see listed at the bottom. You'll have to help him learn about those on your own," she finished with a wink.
Ella blushed crimson, clearing her throat as she pulled out a bunch of markers. "Alright, who's first? You guys fill it out, and I'll go get him on board."
He couldn't help the smile spreading over his face at her enthusiasm, and she knew it. She could see the reluctance in his eyes, but he'd agreed to participate and she was practically bouncing with excitement. She was babbling about ice cream flavors as she led him down the hall towards the common room so he could look at the list and pick out where he wanted to start, when his hand shot out to hold onto her wrist, turning her gently to look at him.
"Ella, wait a second," he said softly, a frown forming on his brow.
Her face fell, thinking maybe he'd changed his mind. He shot her a smirk, rolling his eyes. "Not backing out, sweetheart, just want to make a bit of a deal."
"A deal." The suspicion in her tone made him snicker and his smirk grew wider.
"Yes, Ella, a deal. I'll do the list, wholeheartedly. But in the meantime, we need to start training." He was serious, she could feel it radiating off of him.
She swallowed and nodded, giving him a little smile. "Alright, James, we can train."
He shook his head, taking a step closer so she had to crane her neck up to keep his gaze. "I mean it, Ella. Serious training. I've been thinking that if you're going to be bound to me then you need to be able to defend yourself."
She started to interrupt, but he brought a hand up to press a gentle finger to her lips. "Not just from me, doll. From the people who will want to kill me, probably for the rest of my life. And they'll want to kill you, too, if it gets out about us, even if they just think we have a normal relationship. I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to you, Ella," his voice cracked on her name, and he pulled her into a bone-crushing hug while his fear rippled over her, bringing tears to her eyes.
"Okay, James. We can start training first thing tomorrow," she whispered into his chest as he held her tight.
He nodded, pulling back to turn and walk towards the elevator, but her gentle tug as she twined her fingers through his flesh hand and kept up with him brought him to a stop. "James?"
He gave her a little half-smile, eyes warm as his metal hand came up to brush the hair out of her eyes. "Yeah, doll?"
She smiled shyly at him, lashes fluttering. "I don't think I could live with myself, either, if anything happened to you." Her heart raced as the cool metal returned to stroke her cheek, the back of his fingers grazing her cheekbone before sliding down to cup under her chin, forcing her gaze back up to his.
"I know, doll. I can feel you sometimes, too," he winked wolfishly, and her cheeks flushed crimson as she wondered what, exactly, he'd felt.
