Chapter 11

Steve

Mark hadn't shown up to the debriefing after the mission. Over the next three days, Steve would see very little of Mark. He had hoped to catch him in the mornings before Steve left for his run or in the training room, but Mark was always gone before Steve had a chance to speak with him.

Steve tried to ask Andrea what was going on; she gave him very little information. "When he reveals his powers to people, he gets like this. I have only seen it happen one other time, Steve," Andrea told him. "It has something to do with his past. When he sees people react he always just closes off. I don't know how long this will go for or when he will speak to you again; I'm sorry I don't have more information."

Steve asked what allowed Mark to be open with Andrea about his powers. Andrea couldn't answer that either. "I am not sure. I knew he was strong since the day I met him. Over time I just kind of knew this is how he is. Maybe it is because he took me in he didn't feel the need to hide? I am not sure. I can't even tell you the day I saw him use his powers fully. It was a mission, but I just saw it as the job needed to get done, and Mark got it done," She paused when explaining this to Steve and realized what it was that might have triggered Mark. "I never questioned his motives either. I never asked him why he hid it from me or made it seem like I was scared of him. When you did that to him, he might have thought something else entirely. When he used his powers on a mission, I just hugged him at the end, excited we have accomplished another successful mission. It was an average day, a regular mission. Sorry to say Steve but you acted differently to him, and he took it badly."

Steve took Andrea's words to heart. He did act differently toward Mark. Steve tried to punch him in the face and confronted him on his strength when Mark caught his punch with ease not even flinching. Steve knew he messed up. The three days showed it was him who screwed up when he found out Mark had been in the lab with Tony and Andrea. Steve could have entered the lab to join them but who knows what would have happened. Steve did not know how to fix this. He was going to do his best to fix it, though.

He tried to see how Mark was reacting to Tony. Tony did not have much to say about the situation. "I don't know what to tell you, Steve. He hasn't changed when talking to me. When he came down in the lab, it was like we all were hanging out in the kitchen. We made jokes, talked; He asked about the projects Andrea and I were working on, Andrea and he acted like siblings… nothing changed. I didn't ask him about his powers or why he hid them, but he did explain it to me on his own." Tony said when Steve asked him. "I… I know we're best friends Steve, but I don't think it is my place to say what he told me. I think you should ask him yourself. It would be better coming from Mark." Steve wanted to ask Mark, but Mark wouldn't even be in the same room as Steve, Steve was not even sure Mark would be on the same floor as him at this point.

Steve tried to find Mark still. He went to the kitchen before dinner to see if he could find Mark cooking. When he arrived each time, all he would see the food prepared with three plates made for everyone. At least, Mark was still thinking of Steve to leave a plate for him. Steve felt worse when he thought of this. Even though he had hurt Mark, he was still thinking of Steve. Steve had to do something; maybe he should just confront Mark.

Steve decided on just that. He went up to the second floor and walked right up to Mark's door. He froze. Was he going to confront him? Was he ready for this? Steve gathered his doubts and knocked on the door.

The silence was his response. Steve knocked on the door, "Mark I know you know it's me, we need to talk." Steve was answered again by silence. He checked the door, and when he realized it was unlocked, he opened it and walked in. He saw Mark sitting there listening to music looking over files he had gotten from Fury. Mark didn't look up at Steve he just removed his headphones, "Sorry, I guess my music was too loud to respond. An ordinary person would take the silence as no one being home, not an opportunity to come in."

"You knew I was at the door; your skills are better than that. We need to talk, about what happened at the mission," Steve added, worried about how Mark would respond.

"What is there to talk about? You found out I can take down the Iron Monger and his robotic Dark Avengers with no problem. Or is it that I can block a punch from you with ease when you are trying to hit me in the face," Mark still didn't look at Steve. Steve felt uneasy standing there. He could tell he was nervous as he shifted from one foot to the other. He decided to continue.

"We need to talk about how I treated you when I found out," Steve added.

Mark closed the files and turned away from Steve. "You acted like everyone else does, Steve. You were no different than the countless people who feared me when they find out what I can do. It was a typical reaction. It's okay; you see me as the monster I was made to be."

Steve was stunned at Mark's words. Did Steve see him as a monster? Was Steve afraid of him and that's why he reacted the way he did? Steve couldn't answer these questions on his own, but maybe his reaction answered them for Mark.

"I don't see you as a monster, Mark," Steve finally said.

Mark got up and picked up some books, throwing them on the bed to be in front of Steve showing their titles.

"The Demon Warrior, The Demon Blade, The Ghost Warrior of the Forest, all these stories are about me. Me and how I was a hundred years ago," Mark said to Steve.

Steve touched the covers of the books; they were old. Steve would not have believed Mark, but he knew Mark's secret of how he ages. He was aware that Mark was well over hundred years old. He looked at the covers again.

"These covers show a little kid on them," Steve said as he looked up surprised.

"Yeah well, a hundred years ago, I did not look like a twenty-eight-year-old man. I was a kid. As far as I know, I was made to be a killer. Those stories show how a child raised with one objective will turn out. I raised fear in people who I never even met. And if they did meet me, I would have been the last thing they ever saw in their life."

Steve found it difficult to take this all in. Raised to be a killer he thought. Mark had been made to be a killer. Mark didn't know anything else as a kid. Steve could see why being seen as a monster was hard on Mark.

"But you are not a killer anymore," Steve said.

Mark laughed at Steve's comment. "Yeah? What do you think I do as the world's deadliest assassin? I am still a killer Steve. I just do it for good reasons now, not mindlessly as I did in those stories."

Steve couldn't question Mark's words. He was still a killer, an assassin. He did it for good, though, to help people and make sure those who tried to do harm were put down for good. Steve thought back to the day they went to the grocery store, how Mark had treated him. How Mark made him feel good inside and feel like he mattered even if the only thing Mark did was wait so Steve could sign autographs and take pictures with his fans. Then Steve thought of the hug he gave Mark and how it made him feel. How every exchange made him feel. This could not be the killer who made him feel this way, it was Mark who did.

"A killer wouldn't be able to make me feel good about myself, or laugh, or… make me happy that you did the small things for me," Steve finally said.

Mark turned to Steve. The first time Mark had looked at Steve in three days. Steve felt happy he finally can look into Mark's eyes again.

"You treated me like Steve, even now, you are mad at Steve Rogers and not Captain America. I haven't had someone see me as Steve fully. Even at S.H.I.E.L.D. preparing for the mission. I was in the Captain America uniform, and you still called me Steve. You joke with me as Steve," Steve paused for a moment and realized what he had done wrong this whole time. "It's not fair," he continued "for me not to see you as Mark and only see your powers. You see through the super soldier and Captain America costume to see me. I should have looked past the powers and seen you. I messed up, didn't I?"

Steve watched as Mark formed a smile, "Yeah you did."

Steve felt happy he was able to make Mark smile. "Are you laughing at me for apologizing?" Steve added.

Mark laughed at Steve's question, "No, I just…" Mark was still smiling, but then he gave a really confused looked to Steve. "Did I do all that for you?" Mark asked.

Steve could feel his face flush. He didn't realize he let some of his emotions out. "You did," he answered, "And I have missed having you around."

Mark made another curious face at Steve, "You realize we have interacted with one another for two days and I ignored you for three. I am not sure if that means you had enough time actually to miss having me around."

Steve didn't know what to say. Mark was right, and maybe Steve was letting more out than he wanted. "I don't know. I guess since the first day I expected that's how things would be here. And then the morning with you, I just figured it was something that we would do every day. I guess I sound crazy now huh?"

Mark walked over to Steve, "Yeah sure do, friend," and smiled.

Steve missed this; missed Mark poking fun at him playfully and missed that no matter what Mark would not hinder Steve to be himself. Steve just smiled back. "I don't know. You're not like anyone else I ever met." Then Steve realized what he said and how Mark would take it. "I mean you are different… to me. Wow, I am not doing good at this. I just don't know what to say," Steve added.

"Then don't say anything at all," Mark said as he hugged Steve. Steve felt all the tension of this conversation leave him. He relaxed as Mark had his arms around him. He stood there for a good minute before he broke the silence, "So am I forgiven?" Steve finally asked.

"I thought I told you not to say anything at all," Mark said lifting his head to meet Steve's, smiling, and showing his teeth. Steve never noticed how much he liked this smile. He couldn't help but smile back at Mark. And Steve realized he was only inches from Mark's face. He felt his heart race once he realized this. What is going to happen? He thought to himself. And then Mark let go, nothing will happen. Steve thought, and he slowly felt disappointed that nothing did happen.

Mark still stood there smiling, "So what did you have planned for the day?" Mark said finally breaking the silence.

"I was just going to go to the training room and use the punching bag," Steve answered.

"Guess I will see you around then," Mark said as he sat back down on his bed and picked up the file he was looking at earlier. Steve took the hint and began to walk out of the room, before he left he heard, "Steve!"

Steve turned around to face Mark. "I missed you, too," Mark said with a smile and put on his headphones. Steve just smiled and left the room. As he walked down the hall, Steve saw Andrea grabbing something from her room. She looked up at him, noting his smile. "So you two made up?" She asked Steve.

Steve nodded, "Yeah we did. It was a more intense talk than I thought it would have been."

"And did this intense conversation lead to other intense things?" Andrea asked putting a hand on her hip. Steve turned red. "No just talking, and a hug to make-up," he said.

"Shame," Andrea sighed. "If only you two could see how you look at one another, maybe you would think differently," and she went down the hall to the stairs.

How do we look at each other? Steve wondered if everyone was picking up on something he didn't. Maybe he didn't want to understand what was going on for him. He went to his room to change.

Steve was working on his fifth punching bag when he saw Mark walk into the training room. He stopped to look at him, "Hey."

"Hey yourself," Mark said as he walked over. "So do you enjoy taking on defenseless punching bags?" Mark asked as he eyed the four broken punching bag on the floor.

Steve laughed, "It's the only way to get my endurance and strength up."

Mark looked at him, "No it's not. In fact, it's keeping your endurance and strength stagnant. You won't improve if these are your only opponents while you train."

Steve leaned on the punching bag, "What do you suggest?"

"A sparring partner," Mark said as he walked to the center of the room, "You told me you would volunteer to spar with me, Why not take that up now."

Steve looked at him with worry in his eyes. He did offer to spar with Mark in the beginning, but before he knew the truth. "Won't that be a little unfair to me?" Steve finally asked.

"How are you expected to grow in your skills if you don't take on stronger opponents? And don't worry I am a master at managing my strength. I will only go a little bit higher than your strength, and as you train to match mine, I will slowly go up more. That way it's like lifting weights and putting on more weights the more you train, get it?"

Steve smiled and walked over to the center, "I get it, but why are you doing this for me."

Mark looked as though he was coming up with a thoughtful answer. "Well, you want to get stronger. The Steve I have come to know seems to want to push himself and those around him. So what better way for you to do it?" then Mark smiled a mischievous smile, "And it will be fun to throw you around on the floor. Who knows you might like it too."

Steve turned bright red from that comment. He did miss how Mark knew how to make him smile or turn multiple shades of red. "And who says I won't be the one throwing you around on the mat?" Steve responded.

"That's only if I allow you to," Mark said, "And who knows maybe I will let you." Steve couldn't help but turn even darker red.

"So ready to get your butt kicked Steve?" Mark asked.

"Does that mean you are going to be watching my butt the entire time?" Steve replied as he got into a fighter stance.

Mark laughed. "So he has jokes, I didn't know the modest Steve Rogers had it in him."

"You bring it out of me," Steve said playfully. Mark didn't take a defensive stance. "Well ready when you are," Mark said.

Steve hit the mat hard. He lost count after the 9th time he hit the floor or the wall, or Mark put him in a hold… well, Steve kept count of those. He was exhausted. He felt every muscle in his body hurt. He never put himself through a workout like this before. Mark walked over to him.

"See this is how you build yourself up. You never felt an exercise like this because you never had someone stronger than you to manage it," Mark said looking down at Steve.

Steve looked at Mark; He didn't even break a sweat during this whole training. Steve was hoping to see some exhaustion on Mark. "You sure you only went a little bit above my strength, you don't even look tired," Steve Said between breaths.

"I have a many more years of training. I can manage my energy output and only use what is needed. So it takes a lot to make me tired." Mark walked over to grab two water bottles, came back, and sat next to Steve.

"I was hoping to throw you at least once," Steve said reaching for the water bottle.

"Only if I let you," Mark said making a face. Steve laughed at the face Mark made. "And I didn't feel like letting you. It was much more fun throwing you around. And call it payback for what was said three days ago."

Steve sat up and took a drink of water, "So now we are even?"

"I don't know? I might harbor a little more anger toward you. Let's go another three rounds and see where my anger is at."

Steve shoved Mark playfully causing Mark to fall over. Mark just remained on the ground giving Steve a serious look, "You shouldn't have done that." Mark said.

"And why not? What are you going to do about it?" Steve taunted playfully.

Mark maintained his serious look and held up his water bottle. He slowly unscrewed the cap.

"You wouldn't dare," Steve said.

And Mark just replied with a smile when he took the cap from his water bottle.

Steve tried to get up to run, but Mark was too quick for him. Mark grabbed Steve by the arm and pulled him down, pouring water all over Steve's head. Both were laughing in the aftermath.

"I can't believe you just did that," Steve said wiping the water away from his face.

"Really? Cause I can."

"You are something else you know that," Steve said. Steve could not fully understand why he was different with Mark. Steve was always the stoic soldier, able to respond to situations quickly and efficiently. He never found it easy to show affection to others or even acted like this with Bucky. Somehow Mark was able to pull out the real Steve. Steve leaned back and laid there for a while thinking about what just went through his head. He did not know how long he was in silence, and he did not realize he was using Mark's leg as a pillow. Steve quickly got up when he realized it.

"Well, now my leg is cold. Thanks, Steve," Mark said as he stood up.

"Why didn't you tell me I was lying on your leg?" Steve asked Mark.

Mark turned to Steve, "Cause you looked comfortable and like you were thinking about something. I didn't want to bother you when you were comfortable. So I endured the pain of my leg falling asleep. No biggie."

"You always do that for me. Why?" Steve asked.

"You enjoy questioning my motives don't you?" Mark said. "Well, you don't seem to notice when you are happy and enjoying yourself. Something always gets in the way. In a way I guess I am just taking care of ya. Someone's got to watch out for you and make sure you are taken care of." Mark smiled as he headed to the door.

"And who is going to take care or watch out for you?" Steve asked Mark as he slowly followed Mark to the door.

"Don't know," Mark paused and let a long period of silence pass, "It's been a long time since someone tried to take that job."

Steve heard the words and realized the deeper meaning behind them. It's been a long time meaning someone tried before. Steve didn't want to ask. He felt like today was enough of serious discussion.

"Time to get cleaned…" Mark paused as he opened the door. "Hi? Can I help you?" Mark said to someone behind the door.

"You can help by moving," Steve recognized the voice, and he felt both happy and sad at the same time.

"Steve," a man shoved Mark to the side and ran to hug Steve.

"An asshole you know Steve?" Mark asked.

"He's not an asshole," Steve said, and he turned to the man to kiss him, "Welcome back Bucky."