It took a week for her to get all the plans in order for their trip to Brooklyn. He spent that week mostly hanging out with Dawson; she was being very secretive about their plans and refused to talk to him - even cancelling their bidaily meetings, which meant it was serious. She wanted everything to be a surprise for him. So after he was finished with his run and Natasha's training sessions, he left the Triskelion with Dawson, who took his apology about feeling bad for not remembering who he was with a grain of salt. They would head back to his apartment and watch different movies or tv shows until way after the sun set.

They made it through the rest of the Die Hard movies, a few new horror movies (one was called Saw) along with a bunch of other old movies - they were apparently the classics. All their movie and tv show watching was referred to as marathoning, which was an odd term for Steve; he always thought marathons were more related to running, but apparently it was also a term used for watching copious amounts of media in a short amount of time.

By the time the week was up, he was tuckered out from all the different movies and tv shows he had seen. He had never consumed that much media in his life. His notebook had about three or four pages filled up with things from each movie or show that he didn't understand. There was so much going on in his head, sometimes he forgot if it had actually happened or if it was just part of whatever movie or show they had watched. He needed a break. And he needed Q.

Thankfully, she rescued him from his intense binge-watch (another term from Dawson) week on Friday morning after his run. She was waiting for him at his apartment, which he noticed she had cleaned from tip to top, instructing him to take a shower while she finished packing him a bag of clothes. He knew her well enough to know she would pick out things that wouldn't make him stand out - which meant none of his slacks or plaid button ups. But he was surprised to see a pair of dress pants and a nicer button up shirt folded in there along with the rest of his clothes.

Then, she herded him out of his apartment and into one of those Ubers. She passed him a folder with the specific instruction not to open it until they were on the train. The fact that they were taking a train surprised him; he figured they'd be driving or at least take a SHIELD plane. She wasn't even dressed in her usual pencil skirt, button up and blazer combo, having traded them out for a pair of black stretchy pants, a plain white tee shirt and a long grey cardigan. She had dressed for comfort rather than professionalism.

He kept his baseball cap low as they boarded the train, placing their duffels on the shelf above the seats. According to her, the train ride would take a little over three hours - same as the car ride. The train looked fancier than he remembered trains being: they had assigned seats, the seats were comfortable, there was enough leg room and no one had to stand. As he sat in the seat by the window, he did a quick survey around the train car they were in to make sure he knew where the exits were and how many people were on the train. Being so early in the morning, it wasn't as crowded as he thought it was - there was a middle aged woman in a business suit similar to the ones he saw Q wearing sitting across from them, but there was still a good amount of people.

When the train started moving, a nudge from her got his attention and he glanced over to see that she was holding out a piece of paper that was resting on top of a hard surface of a book and pencil. The paper had an empty Sudoku puzzle printed on it and he noticed that she was holding an exact copy.

"Last one to finish has to buy dinner tonight." she challenged, "And we're going somewhere suuuuuper fancy." she added as an incentive. He raised his eyebrows at her, but took the puzzle, accepting her challenge.

Before getting to work on his puzzle, she held out one of her earphones - the small white thing fit into his ear so he could listen to his music whenever he wanted. It was one of the better inventions of the new century. He let her choose the music, knowing they were getting closer and closer to the type of music he had heard on the radio during their first day together. But instead, she turned on some sort of music that didn't have any lyrics, just a bunch of different beats. It helped him focus on the puzzle; he didn't have to listen to what the singers were trying to say.

Almost finished with his, he glanced over at Q's puzzle to gauge her progress. She was slumped down in her seat, unlike how she usually sat during their conversations and one leg was tucked under the other as she chewed on the top of her pen. She caught him looking at her puzzle and immediately shifted in her seat, tilting the book closer to her chest so he couldn't see. She looked almost offended by his actions, glancing from his face to his puzzle and he couldn't help but tilt his away as well.

"Were you trying to cheat?" she asked, raising her eyebrows up.

"I would never." he copied her expression, but tried to make it look innocent. Her eyes narrowed as she stared at him for a long moment, trying to get him to break. Instead, he changed the subject, "Why do you use a pen?" he asked, nodding to the pen in her hand. His question threw her off; her eyes darted down and away from his and to the pen. Over the past week apart, he hadn't been able to ask her any of his allotted ten questions a day and he was ready to make an argument about fairness. But she instead of calling him out on the question, she surprised him by answering it,

"Uh, because that way you can see your mistakes." she said, lifting her head up to look at him with small smile. She lowered the book her puzzle was resting on, showing him all the scribbles she had made while she figured out the puzzle, "Sort of a metaphor for life. You can't go back and erase your mistakes." she shrugged. He stared at her puzzle for a moment before looking back at her,

"That's really deep." he said, mock serious and acting overly concerned. She rolled her eyes at him. He smirked at her before pointedly looking at her puzzle again. Making sure she saw, he went back to his own puzzle, copying where she had some of her numbers. He heard her let out an offended gasp and then she shoved his shoulder away from her, jostling him a bit.

"God, you're such a punk!" she exclaimed, annoyed with him. He raised his eyebrows up and tilted his head to the side, staring at her for a moment and seeing the corners of her mouth twitch up.

"No one's called me a punk in a very long time." he responded, pulling down the corners of his mouth. He called himself that, in his head, but the last person to say it out loud was...Bucky. His chest tightened instinctively at the memory, but instead of reacting as he normally would at the thought of Bucky, he found himself laughing lightly.

"Well, maybe they should." she said matter of factly. He glanced over to her to see that the corners of her mouth were pulled down as she shrugged lightly. Rolling his eyes at her, he nudged his shoulder into hers, making her sway to the side.

"Stop it." she said, playfully smacking him with her book. He scrunched up away from her and let out a little noise before glancing down at her puzzle,

"You have two sixes in the middle row." he quickly pointed out. She looked back at her puzzle and groaned, scribbling out her second six as she cursed under her breath. He watched her for a moment before going back to his own puzzle.

But before he started back up again, he noticed that the woman sitting across from them had a wry smile on her face. He did a double take, realizing that her gaze was flicking in between him and Q. Shifting in his seat, he got her attention and she gave him a knowing smile, but lifted her hand up.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to stare." she apologized, even though she didn't seem too upset or embarrassed at getting caught. She shook her head slightly, "You two just make a cute couple."

That got Q's attention. He felt his breath catch in the back of his throat at the insinuation in surprise and braced himself for her reaction. Her head flicked up from her puzzle and she quickly shook her head, shifting up in her seat,

"Oh, no we're not a couple." she quickly corrected the woman, "Just friends." she said simply, but firmly. Steve nodded in agreement, giving the woman a tight smile. He noticed she didn't say co-workers like she had when Kate assumed the same thing a couple months ago. Friends were better than co-workers.

"Right, right, of course." the woman agreed, waving her hands in front of her, "I didn't mean to assume."

"It's alright." he tried to assure her it was alright, pairing it with another not as tight smile. She gave them an apologetic smile, then went back to whatever book she was reading.

Q looked over to him, slumping down in her seat as she did and giving him a semi-amused smile, pairing it with raised eyebrows. She didn't seem offended or angry by the woman's assumption, but almost like it was funny to her that anyone would think that they were a couple. He returned the smile and then went back to work on his puzzle.

A little while later, he heard Q let out a content sigh. He glanced over to see that she was finished with her puzzle - a proud smile on her face. She shimmied her shoulders and picked up her puzzle, flashing it at him.

"Allll done!" she sang out victoriously, "Looks like someone's buying dinner tonight." she teased, poking him in the side. He made a face, raising his eyebrows up,

"Is that so? Are you really confident that you're correct?" he asked, wanting her to doubt herself.

"A hundred percent certain." she said with a firm nod. He let out a slow breath and shook his head slowly as he quickly filled in the rest of his boxes, then gestured for her to get the answer key. She stood up and reached into the front pocket of her duffel bag that was resting on the shelf above them.

Unfolding the piece of paper, they compared their answers with the filled out puzzle. She was faster than him and she let out a victorious whoop. Grinning at him, she started her shoulder dance again, poking his arm to a beat in her head,

"I won. I won. I woooooooonnnnnnnn." she bragged.

"And you're very modest about it." he shot back, making her scoff and roll her eyes as he batted her hands away from him. She grinned at him as she glanced over her puzzle once more. He moved to open the folder she gave him earlier in the morning, deciding it was time to look over what she had planned out.

The packet nestled inside the folder had DAY ONE stamped on the cover and he flipped through it quickly, trying to find the second day's section. His brow furrowed as he realized there was no day two. The plan was to stay from Friday to Sunday so there had to be a day two.

"Where's day two?" he asked, getting her attention. She raised her eyebrows at him, "There's only a packet in here for day one, not day two." he explained.

"Well, we can't have you getting ahead of yourself, can we?" she asked, tilting her head at him, "You'll get day two tomorrow." she said matter of factly. He rolled his eyes at her; of course she would only give him one schedule at a time.

Sighing, he started to look through what he did have. She had included everything from the hotel to the their meals and everything in between. Day one seemed pretty light; mostly it was a travel day, but she had slipped in a few things they would be doing. Museums and sightseeing were pretty much the two main things. He recognized some names like the Brooklyn Bridge and Jane's Carousel, but there were other attractions like the Sunshine Laundromat and the Brooklyn Art Library that he had never heard of before. She had done a good job at filling their day with things that were both familiar to him and unfamiliar to him. It was a nice mix.

The closer they got to New York, the more he found himself getting both excited and nervous. He hadn't been back to New York since he moved to DC and he certainly hadn't been back to Brooklyn since before the serum. He already knew how much New York had changed since he lived there, but he still couldn't help but be a bit nervous. Still, he was grateful she had decided to plan this trip for him; a part of him was excited to get back home where he once was just a normal, skinny guy named Steve. Not Captain America or the world's first superhero - just Steve.

After getting off the train at Penn Station, they got on another train to Brooklyn. This was more of the type of train he was used to. Hard plastic seats, the train car felt stuffy and was packed with people. He let Q have the empty seat while he stood above her, holding onto the railing for the thirty minute train ride. No one paid attention to them; either on their phones or reading the newspaper. It was beginning to feel like home again.

The train let them off at their stop and he walked next to her as she maneuvered her way out of the station. During the time from Penn Station to Brooklyn, it was sort of like she had become a whole new person; she shoved past people, became a little more aggressive and there was an annoyed, but focused look on her face. He couldn't help but laugh a little at her change in persona.

Once out of the station, they took a cab to the hotel she had booked them. He watched the city go by as they drove, getting flashes of past memories here and there from different buildings or streets. She was quiet next to him, letting him take it all in.

The hotel was nice, nicer than he expected. But then again, SHIELD was paying for everything so of course she would go above and beyond to make sure their trip was the best it could possibly be. She checked them in - under her name he noticed, and then they went up to their room.

"Oh no." Were the first two words out of her mouth when she walked into the hotel room. He stepped in behind her, trying to figure out what had made her react in such a way, "There's only one bed." she sighed out, walking forward and he noticed what she meant, "Shit, Cap, I'm sorry, I asked for two beds…" she trailed off, dropping her duffel bag and going over to the phone, "I'll take care of it."

"No, no it's okay." he stopped her. The room itself was amazing. Exposed brick walls, hard concrete floors - it was big enough for three of them. There were two floor to ceiling windows right by the bed and across from the bed, that had the perfect view of the city. A long couch sat under the window across from the bed and he gestured to it, "I'll just sleep on the couch."

"No, you won't." she said shaking her head, "I'll take the couch. You take the bed."

"No, no, no." he refused, shaking his head as well, "Take the bed, Q, I'll be fine on the couch. I've slept in worse places." he reminded her. She eyed him for a moment before giving in,

"Fine. But you're taking the bed tomorrow night." she compromised. He nodded, knowing that he would weasel his way out of it so she would have the bed again the second night.

Anyway, it wasn't like they would be spending a lot of time in the hotel room; he barely put his duffel down before she was already shooing him back out the door - talking about how they had to get started. Clearly, she wanted to stick to her schedule. He wouldn't have expected anything less.

The rest of the day was spent walking around Brooklyn and going to the aforementioned spots that were in the packet he paged through on the train. He found the laundromat was actually home to a secret room that had over twenty different pinball machines. They spent a good hour playing all the different games together. The art library was his new favorite place; it was a collaborative library of artists' sketchbooks from all different times. She wandered around the library while he spent most of their time leafing through different sketchbooks. A part of him was worried that she found their activities boring, but she didn't give anything away - letting him spend as much time as he wanted wherever they went and participating in everything alongside him.

As they continued to visit new and old places together, he felt his nervousness disappear. He felt at home again. It had been a while; DC certainly wasn't home and yes, Brooklyn had changed drastically over the years, but it still felt more familiar and more homey than DC ever would.

The sun was setting as they walked back to their hotel. It had been a nice September day to explore the city - there was a light breeze and the temperature had started to drop from the sweltering summer heat they were used to. He had his hands in his pockets, glancing around the familiar block as she walked next to him, arms crossed over her chest. Everywhere they had been throughout the day had a slight tint of familiarity to it - whether it was an old attraction or a new one. There were still memories throughout the city that he hadn't thought about in ages. The people - like Bucky, who he shared these memories with might not have been around anymore, but the memories were a nice reminder that those things had happened. At one point they had been present, now they were just past.

Passing by an alleyway, he paused in front of the entrance, making her stop a few paces in front of him.

"What?" she asked, doubling back to meet him at the opening of the alley.

"I, uh, got beat up in this alley." he said, pulling his hand out of his pocket to point down the alley, "Yeah, a few guys stole these kids' ball so I tried to make 'em give it back." he told the story, remembering how he confronted the bullies only to be beat up by them - tossed back and forth like a rag doll until Bucky came in to save the day per usual. Q was quiet for a moment before laughing to herself,

"Oh my God...I think I beat someone up in this alley." she responded, pointing down the alley and making him look at her - surprised by her answer. Firstly because he had forgotten that she was from Brooklyn as well, but then also because he couldn't imagine her beating anyone up.

"Really?" he asked, eyebrows raising slightly as he glanced over her body. He really couldn't see someone like her beating someone up; she had no muscle mass and was already getting winded from the walk.

"Yeah…" she trailed off, "I don't remember why, but I know it was this alley." she nodded to herself, "Probably because my brother was bein a lil shit and I had to save him from getting his ass kicked." she laughed lightly.

"Jar. And that sounds familiar." he answered, pulling the corners of his mouth down. Bucky always had to break up whatever fights Steve was getting himself into - even though Steve always tried to tell him that he had it under control. He stood there for a moment more, but she turned away, resuming their walk back to the hotel, "You have a brother?" he asked, realizing she had given away a little piece of information he was unaware of.

"Mhm." she nodded as he caught up with her, falling into step next to her, "And a sister. Both younger." she added, "We call my sister Surprise because, well, she was a surprise." she raised her shoulders up and laughed a little.

"Does your family still live here?" he asked, knowing he was treading dangerous waters. She always refused to answer any of his questions about her family. But considering she had brought up her brother on her own and they were in her hometown as well, he figured he might as well try.

"No, they, uh, moved to the suburbs before my sister started high school." she answered, surprising him once again. She gave him a small, tight smile, which he took as a warning to stop asking questions about her family, "You didn't have any siblings, right?" she asked, brow furrowing as if she was trying to remember what she had read in her files.

"Just Bucky." he answered, knowing Bucky was more like a brother to him than any sibling could be, "He had a younger sister, but I don't know what happened to her…" he trailed off, realizing it was true. Before the war, she had been shipped off to boarding school and he had tried to get in contact with her after Bucky's death, but she refused to answer any of his messages. Steve knew she blamed him for Bucky's death and he understood why.

"I'm sorry." she gave him a sympathetic smile, pulling him out of his thoughts before he could think too hard about it. He shook his head at her, not wanting to get into the serious stuff after such a fun day.

"It's ok." she took in a breath and nodded at him, the two of them falling into a comfortable silence as they walked back to the hotel.

Instead of going into the hotel, she passed by it, making him pause for a moment and get her attention. She raised her eyebrows at him, matching his expression as he pointed to the hotel lobby.

"Aren't we…?"

"You still have to buy me dinner, remember?" she asked teasingly, walking backwards as she did. He rolled his eyes at her, hoping she had forgotten about that.

"Right, right." he jogged a little to catch up to her, ignoring her gentle push into his side, "Where's this fancy place we're going?"

"You'll see." she sang out, a knowing smile on her face.

He followed her down the rest of the block and she crossed the street over to a food cart that was on the corner. Confused, he crossed over as well, meeting her in front of the food cart. It smelled delicious and spicy and she had a massive grin on her face.

"Tacos." she whispered out, splaying her hands wide and wiggling her fingers toward the food cart that was finishing serving the couple ahead of them. Steve couldn't help but laugh at how much she hyped up the place they were going. He was ready for a fancy steak dinner or something of the sort, but instead she took him to a taco food cart.

She ordered for both of them, but he paid - as previously agreed upon. They got their tacos and a Mexican soda before walking back toward the hotel again. She waited for him to take his first bite; he had never had a taco before or really any Mexican food. And it was delicious and very messy - the fillings kept trying to fall out of the soft shell which made it difficult to both eat and walk for him. She seemed to realize this and, after laughing at him, they sat down on the curb of the street to finish their tacos.

"So how was day one?" she asked around a mouthful of taco. He nodded as he chewed his bite, swallowing before answering.

"So far, so good." he responded, "Thank you, Q. Today has been really fun."

"Good, that's really good to hear." she looked genuinely happy that he was enjoying himself. And he was.

By the time they had actually made it back to the hotel room, it was late - they had stopped at one of the delis for ice cream. And it was clear that she was wiped out from the day of activities. They had done a lot of walking and he knew she was not used to that much physical movement. He stayed quiet, reading one of the books that were in the room while she worked on something for the next day of activities.

At one point, he looked over to see that she had fallen asleep amongst her papers. She was still sitting up - her head was propped up against the headboard and her mouth was open slightly. He moved over to the bed, wanting to organize the papers into a pile on the nightstand so she didn't crumple them in her sleep. Placing a pillow behind her head, he gently set her head back down and held his breath as he did, hoping that the movement didn't wake her. She stayed asleep, head slumping to the side and cheek resting against her shoulder.

Stepping back, he figured he might as well try to fall asleep as well. It had been a long day and he wanted to be well rested for whatever she had planned for the next day. But as usual, he still had a lot of pent up energy and just couldn't get comfortable on the couch. He didn't want to stay in their room; it felt weird and awkward to watch her sleep, so he left the room - making sure he had a room key as he went down to the lobby. He just needed to walk around, tire himself out so he could sleep. Usually he would smoke while he did, like he had before, but Dawson not so nicely told him that the same cigarettes he was given for his asthma now caused cancer.

He didn't make it outside, instead pausing at the entrance of the hotel bar. He didn't know what possessed him to walk into the bar, but he found himself settling down in one of the empty stools and ordering a whiskey neat - just as Bucky did whenever they were at the bar together. It had to be the city. The bartender gave him the drink and he stared at it for a moment, twisting it around in a circle before a voice got his attention,

"Can't sleep?" he looked down the bar to see a woman about Q's age sitting a few seats away from him. Her hair was long and dark, but straight as a razor's edge as it slid down the open back of her dress. It a tight, black dress, revealing a lot more of her olive skin than Steve was used to seeing and paired with high black heels.

"Ah, no." he answered her with a slight laugh, not knowing if it was a rhetorical question or not. She gave him a smile before getting up from her seat only to move down to the empty seat next to him.

"Erica." she extended her hand and he took it with his, shaking it once,

"Steve." he introduced himself, an arrow of panic slicing through his gut; he didn't have his trusty baseball cap with him, she could recognize him in a moment, even with the bar lights being so low. Not only that, but her smile was beginning to make him nervous; he had seen it on women before - when they would flirt with Bucky. Usually he would end up taking them back home and staying there for the night, leaving Steve to walk the woman's friend home before walking home by himself.

"In town for business or pleasure?" she continued with her line of questions.

"A little bit of both?" he responded, his answer sounding more like a question, "I used to live here, but it's been a while since I've been in town." she lifted her chin at him, nodding slightly as the grin stayed on her face.

"How long are you in town for?" she asked, lifting up her glass to her lips. It didn't have much of whatever she was drinking left in it and he knew she was doing that to make a point. Years of watching Bucky taught him well, he just never got the chance to execute anything he had learned. Ladies weren't necessarily lining up to talk to him or wanted him to buy them their next drink.

"Just the weekend." he answered, giving her a nod and rolling his lips in, "With a friend." he added on as an afterthought. He didn't want to be rude to her, but he certainly didn't want to give her the wrong idea. Not that he wasn't interested; he was - she was very beautiful and seemed very interested in him. Her hand found its way to rest on his thigh, which surprised him. He wasn't used to women being so forward with him; usually they never gave him a second look.

"Where's your friend?" she asked, glancing around the bar.

"Oh, she's upstairs." he responded, "Passed out when we got back." Erica pulled her hand away from his thigh, her brows furrowing a bit.

"Wait, like your girlfriend?" she asked, stressing the adjective. Steve quickly shook his head, letting out a little laugh,

"No, no, we're just friends." he repeated what Q had told the woman on the train. Why did so many people assume that he and Q were together? Couldn't men and women be friends these days? Dawson and Q were...

"Oh." Erica responded, interrupting his internal debate with himself. She looked disappointed for some reason, "Right, okay, I'm sorry to have bothered you. I didn't know you were here with someone." she gave him a tight smile, all traces of confidence from a few minutes earlier were gone. He suddenly felt bad and reached out to stop her from leaving,

"You don't have to go." he got her to turn back to face him, "Like I said, she's sleeping upstairs. And I could use some company." he found himself saying, realizing it was true. She gave him a small smile, different from the coy one she had been giving him a few minutes earlier, and settled back down in her seat,

"I'll stay...but only if you buy me another drink." she tapped her glass. He laughed a little and nodded,

"Of course." he agreed, getting her to give him a genuine smile at him as he ordered her another...Mint Mojito and he ended ordering one for himself too; whiskey was always Bucky's drink.

While he was drinking with his new friend, Q suddenly woke up out of her sleep - letting out a sharp gasp at the feeling of her body falling through the air. Her heart pounded against her chest as she took in her surroundings, realizing she was in the hotel room in Brooklyn. Her neck hurt from the uncomfortable angle it had been at while she was sleeping. Rubbing the back of her neck, she looked around the room - only to suddenly realize that Cap was nowhere in the room.

"Fuck." she muttered to herself, scooting off the bed and finding her shoes. She grabbed her room key before heading down to the lobby.

As she waited for the elevator, she tried not to panic. Surely he wouldn't just run off like that. He knew better and she though they were passed that. He trusted her, called her a friend and said that he had a good day - why would he just leave?

Stepping into the lobby, she looked around the main area, knowing he would be easy to spot. He was tall and built like a truck - he stood out in a crowd. But when it was clear he wasn't in the lobby, she started for the doors; she remembered running into him in the middle of the night when he was out for a walk. He admitted to her that he did that sometimes when he couldn't sleep.

She stopped before she got to the door; she heard his laugh. Brow furrowing, she turned to where the sound was coming from - the hotel bar. Creeping forward, she peered around the corner of the doorway, seeing that he was sitting at the bar with some woman around her age. Not only did he stay, he found a new friend. They weren't sitting super close together and his back was to Q, but she could tell how relaxed he was. The woman was grinning at him as she told him a story, motioning with her hands as she did so and Q heard Cap's laugh once more.

Her heart blossomed at the sight of him naturally interacting with the woman. They looked to be having a good time and he didn't seem worried about being recognized without his hat on or anything like that. She watched them for a few more moments before deciding to stop creeping on them. He was fine.

So she turned away from the bar's entrance, the feeling of worry and panic dissipating as she walked back to the elevators. It was replaced by the sense of pride, but tinged with a small sensation that she couldn't quite put her finger on. She ignored it as she got back to the hotel room, changing into her pajamas and getting into the bed once more.

A/N: Huge thank you to everyone who reviewed! Please don't hesitate to tell me your thoughts/your complaints. I live for reviews!