"What is all this?" she was referring to the smattering of pizza boxes littering the floor of her apartment. She dropped her keys into the small ceramic bowl by the door, finally back from her walk around the square.
Something she was doing for nothing more than to keep up appearances; she couldn't have whatever agent that was monitoring the GPS of her ankle monitor get suspicious about her lack of movement. That would raise some questions, and might even cause a surprise visit. One she couldn't risk having given who was her current house guest.
"Uh, well," Steve got up from his crouch on the floor and brushed his hands off while surveying his work, "figured we could do a little pizza tour, but since it's a little bit risky to be out right now," he was referring to himself. Though Q was wary that anyone would recognize him given the facial hair he was currently growing out, "I brought the pizza tour to you."
Ever since Q had her momentary lapse in memory, Steve had been doing little things here and there to either test her memory or make sure she still remembered certain events or milestones. Amazon packages showed up on her doorstep that were puzzles she had already done, crossword and Sudoku books for the two of them to work through in the evening before retreating to their separate beds or couches. He asked her questions about certain topics they had discussed in passing, or moments they had shared together; like visits to the Smithsonian or the diner they went to some mornings after his run. There had been viewings of movies they had watched together: (500) Days of Summer, Hercules, The Fault in Our Stars - the movie they had seen on his birthday. Of course, complete with her go-to movie theater snack of too buttery popcorn and M&Ms.
Q had caught on to what he was doing rather quickly. But her surprise at the fact that he was making such an effort outweighed any other feelings toward the little quizzes he was giving her. It was even more surprising than realizing that he remembered so much about their relationship - even things from when they weren't in a relationship. A romantic one at least.
The fact that he had stuck around, despite how they had left things in Wakanda, made her believe that he really did care about her. Maybe they weren't together, and maybe it would be a long time before they got back together, but she was still grateful to know that he wanted her to be okay. And would do anything to make sure she was.
"Like the one we had in DC." she remembered fondly with an equally fond smile to match. His eyes met hers, a little smile peeking out of slight relief.
"So you do remember." he relaxed a bit at the realization that he wouldn't have to explain it to her.
"I'm not a complete blank slate, Steven." she chastised him a bit with a shake of her head. Sometimes she wondered how much he thought she actually forgot. The quizzes were becoming so constant that it was clear he thought that it was a lot.
Letting out a slight laugh, he moved over to the couch where two of her notebooks were resting on the cushions. The ones she had bought because she liked the covers but never actually used - preferring her yellow notepads because of the professional vibe they gave off. No SHIELD agent used flowered, hard backed notebooks that had little ribbons as bookmarks.
"Made up a few scoring sheets too," he grinned as he handed her one, "Cause if we didn't write it down, we'd just be fu-messing around." he reminded her while she gave him an unamused look. Still, she took the notebook to look at the scorecards he had sketched out on each page. The top of each page was titled with the name of the pizza place, and the same categories were present from their first pizza tour. He had even drawn little stars that were supposed to be filled in as a rating.
Over the past few days, Steve had done some research on what was going on with Q. While he wasn't sure which specific memories she had lost until it was pointed out to him, the internet proved to be useful in giving him a better understanding of the kind of amnesia Q was going through, along with little tips or tricks to help her heal. He was certain it would resolve on its own like it had with Bucky, but he wanted to be sure. Thus, the at home pizza tour. He hoped the familiar favorite food would help jumpstart whatever other memories she had lost. Pizza had been a staple in their relationship. It was something they always ate together, and had countless conversations over.
"C'mon, before the pizza gets cold." he waved her to him, wanting her to make her way through the minefield of pizzas to start where he wanted her to. There was clearly a route, which he explained to her before she could ask. Mapped out by distance from her apartment, he put the pizza shops that were closest to her toward the end while the further ones were in the beginning since those would get colder faster.
Armed with their notebooks and pens, the two began to make their way through the six pizzas. Less pizzas than the previous time, if only because of the limited options they had to begin with. Just like their original pizza tour, they were only judging plain pizzas. Toppings could not only sway their decisions, but add flavors that weren't necessarily there to begin with and would affect the taste. With pillows under their butts, it was easy to scooch along the route Steve had set up, instead of getting up then sitting back down after every pizza was finished. There was an ongoing discussion of the pizzas they ate, along with their opinions, but their ranking was never shared. Not until the end.
"Don't make a big deal out of this," Q started while examining the crust of the fifth pizza, "but I can't remember the last time I had pizza." she glanced at him to see his reaction, but he just sat back on his hands,
"Maybe your last birthday?" he wasn't sure if they had pizza in Wakanda, but her birthday was the last time he could remember her eating pizza. She paused, but then nodded, "Do you...remember that?" he asked carefully since she hadn't given him any clues as to if she did or didn't know what he was talking about.
"Was that the birthday where you ate me out two different times?" she pretended to ask with a smirk while his face immediately flushed at her words, "Yes, Steve, I do remember my birthday." she grinned as she popped the rest of her crust into her mouth. He put his hands up to defend himself from her sass.
"Just wanted to be sure." he clarified while she laughed a bit. Reaching for another slice of pizza, he easily handled it in one hand while the other steadied him on the floor, "We ate pizza on my birthday one year too." she had remembered what they had done on his birthday the day before, but he wanted to make sure that it hadn't slipped away like the IKEA stools had.
"We did." she gave him a slight smile as she reached for another slice, "Though, I think this pizza is better." It was only then did she realize how much of their relationship revolved around pizza. From birthday celebrations to first non-dates, pizza had been the food of their relationship. It made sense that she hadn't had it since her birthday or even during their two year separation. It reminded her too much of him, and what she had lost.
"Oh, absolutely." he agreed with a grin, "But it's not as good as Totonno's." The reference to the pizza place in Coney Island was another small quiz of his. Just to see if she remembered the day they spent at the amusement park. As she took a bite of her pizza, she eyed him warily.
"I know what you're doing." her mouth was half-full of pizza as she called him out, but he was able to understand her all the same. She had gone into this tour thinking it was just something fun and nostalgic for the two of them to do. Not realizing that he had an ulterior motive. Just like every other time. The surprise had worn off. Now she was getting frustrated and annoyed.
"I'm not doing anything." he adapted a look of innocence. She tilted her chin down to give him an unconvinced look. She had caught on to the little game he was playing. The one he had been playing since she had admitted to having some lapses in her long-term memory.
Every so often, he'd prompt her with little questions or statements in an effort to try and see if she remembered what he was talking about. Most of the time she did, sometimes she didn't. Still, she could tell that this was his way of figuring out what she did or didn't remember. He thought he was being sly about it, but apparently he wasn't subtle enough.
"You're trying to figure out what I remember or don't remember." she pointed out the obvious. He continued to play it cool and casual.
"Is that a bad thing?" he wiped his hand on his pants so he could grab his notebook and pen to score the pizza they had just finished. She considered his question for a moment, chewing thoughtfully on her bite of pizza before answering.
"No, but," he looked over at her, not expecting the but, "it sort of makes me feel like you're almost...quizzing me." she swallowed hard at the unexpected emotions that started to bubble like the cheese on her pizza, "Like you're quizzing me on our shared past. Our relationship." she paused, staring at the rest of her slice and picking at the crust, "And if I don't get a question right, if I don't remember something, then I fail." she blinked a bit, realizing tears were beginning to form, "You've been doing it ever since we realized I was forgetting things." she finally looked over at him to see that his gaze was on her steadily and seriously, "It's not like I know what I don't remember, Steve." she finished rather softly. She couldn't very well pick out moments that she didn't remember if they weren't there to begin with. There was a moment of silence between them as Q's words weighed heavy in the room. He understood where she was coming from. He never meant to make her feel like she was failing at remembering their relationship. He just wanted to make sure she didn't forget it - or him. Enough people already had.
"I'm sorry," he ended up saying, "I was just trying to help." she nodded at his response; that much had been clear, "I guess I'm not sure...of the right way to go about this."
"Neither am I." she raised her shoulders up rather sadly, "I just know I don't like being tested like this." he could understand that. His entire life had felt like a test. Even before the soldier serum, life had tested him with all his ailments and birth conditions. Then leading up the serum, the few weeks in basic were a test. And from the moment he had gotten the serum, it had been test after test. Including his time with Q - and especially when she had left.
"We can just...talk." he settled on with a raise of his hand, "No quizzes. No tests or whatever." he sliced his hand through the air to punctuate his point, "Talk about the past or the present." she noticed how he didn't say future, but didn't comment on it, "I mean, you know everything about me, but." he gave her a half smile and she tried not to roll her eyes, then added, "I...when I mentioned the IKEA stools and you told me what you were thinking...I liked hearing that." the smile stayed on his face, "I want to know what's been going through that head of yours." he admitted, letting Q realize that for the first half of their relationship, the professional part, it had been very focused on him. He didn't really get a chance to see her reactions or know what was going through her head at certain times.
"I'm sure there's plenty of stuff I don't know about you." she circled back with a teasing smile, "Didn't know you were in Thailand before you came here." she pointed out matter of factly and he let out a small laugh and shook his head.
"Regardless," he pivoted back to his original point as they scooched over to the last pizza, "I want to help. You helped me a lot back in D.C. so it's about time I repay the favor." the two of them reached for their slices at the same time.
"It was my job," she reminded him, repeating herself as she had a few nights prior, "It's not yours." she pointed out before taking a bite of her pizza, "You don't owe me anything." she managed out around her bite. After everything they had been through - what she had and hadn't done, she considered them even in every sense of the word.
"I think I owe you at least a little bit, Queenie." he countered with a small laugh, "You did teach me how to kiss after all." he teased her slightly, this time watching her face flush at the reminder. At least she remembered that.
"I'm sure you would've figured it out." she tossed her hair over her shoulder with an air of casualness, even though he could tell she was still blushing at the memory, "And, if I remember correctly, you had kissed a couple of ladies before me, Steven, so the foundation was clearly already there." he smirked at her deflection, taking a bite of his pizza while he thought about the night of the Mets game.
"You know, now that I think about it," he started after swallowing his bite, "that really was a bad kiss." she let out a bark of a laugh at his realization, grinning widely.
"Oh, top ten terrible kisses of my life." she teased him back and he let his eyes roll, but was still smiling.
"I was aware of that then, and am aware of that now." he examined his slice of pizza as he talked, "You made that incredibly clear." he glanced over to meet her smiling gaze.
"You got better, don't worry." she assured him, pairing her words with a pat on his knee.
"I had a good teacher." he complimented her easily while she tried not to smile, "That night especially." he pointed at her with his pizza slice. Again, her cheeks flushed at the thought of their slight make-out session at the bar after the game.
"I was a little drunk." she defended herself, "Pretty sure I had had four drinks by that point, and you know how that makes me get." he laughed at her explanation.
"Competitive." he summarized easily. Four drink Q was very confident in her actions, and didn't shy away from a challenge. Making it clear as to why she decided to teach him how to kiss on that fateful night after the baseball game. She gave him an amused smile at the word he used.
"Sure." she agreed, knowing he was right, "So...how long has it been now since you kissed someone?" she prompted casually, only glancing at him quickly before looking back down at the pizza in front of them. Steve tried not to smile at the actual question she was asking: if there was someone else in his life. Almost like she was...jealous of something that wasn't even happening.
Part of him wanted to let her stew in it; think about if there was anyone he had been kissing during their separation. Just as he had thought about while she was away. That wouldn't be very kind of him, considering their circumstances. For some reason, he wanted to make sure she knew there was no one else. There never was for him. And he was almost certain there hadn't been for her either.
"A while." he responded without giving her the direct answer she wanted. Neither confirming or denying that there was someone else. Still, she took it in stride - reaching for another piece of pizza while she commented on his answer,
"Sure you remember how it's done?" she acted like he was the one with the memory problems not her. With a glance at him with a raise of her eyebrows, it was clear she was goading him a bit, though she feigned innocence.
Both of them could feel the shift of the energy in the room. Of course they were broken up, and he had shot her down the last time she had tried to kiss him, but there was still some sexual tension between the two of them. That couldn't just go away because he broke up with her. An attraction was still an attraction - something that affected both of them. There was a line they were teetering on right then. Steve knew exactly what she was trying to do, and so did she. He also knew what he was supposed to say, and what he wasn't supposed to say. But he decided not to say anything.
Instead, he cocked his head to the side - amused smirk evident on his face. Her eyebrows twitched only a bit, eyes on him while she waited for his answer. One she wasn't going to get in the way she expected. He set down his slice of pizza without a word, then shifted closer to her. There was only a pizza box separating them, which he moved to the side so he could be sitting right in front of her.
His hands moved up her arms to her shoulders before he gently cupped each of her cheeks, tilting her face upwards just a little bit. Her eyes were on his, waiting for him to either pull away or lean in closer. Heart hammering, she tried to control her breathing as his eyes darted to her lips, then his tongue instinctively darting out to lick his own.
Slowly, he moved his face closer to hers, tilting his head ever so slightly to get the angle correct. The anticipation was the best and the worst part of it. When his lips finally brushed across the corners of hers, she had to resist the urge to deepen the kiss for fear that he might come to his senses and pull away.
He lightly dragged his mouth over to the center of mouth, nose brushing up against hers. His hand moved to the back of her head to support her as he tugged her face closer so he could deepen the kiss. The new facial hair scratched against her skin, but it didn't bother her that much. Instead just gave her thoughts about where it would feel elsewhere. The clean, smooth faced Steve she had known was gone. While she knew he was still the Steve she knew, he seemed...elevated. Less beholden to standards thrust upon him by the government he had operated under for the last several was excited to discover this new, confident Steve - facial hair and all.
On instinct, she moved her hands to grasp at his shirt, bunching it in her hands and pulling him closer. She kissed him back, ignoring the little voice in her head that was reminding her that they weren't together anymore, that he had shot her down the last time she had kissed him. He had kissed her. And just because they weren't together, didn't mean they couldn't do things. Before Steve, there had been plenty of men she had been with, but was never with. Hell, Steve even was one of those men during their short-lived reunion in Croatia. So she ignored the annoying nudge that reminded her how she wanted things to be different. Real. If this was what he wanted, if this was how she got him back, she would take it. It could be real later.
When he finally began to pull away, she was reluctant to let him. Unsure of what would be waiting when she opened her eyes. He lingered: placing soft, open mouth kisses against her lips until he was gone, but his hands stayed on either side of her face.
When she did finally open her eyes, he was staring at her. Those blue eyes of his piercing right into her soul. But not in anger or in a way that would make her think he was upset. More like a piercing softness.
"Do you?" he was almost as breathless as she was. It took a second for her to realize what he was asking: if she remembered how it was done.
"Of course." she replied softly, immediately. Even if she hadn't, she did then.
She moved to kiss him again, and this time he let her. Eagerly kissing her back in the process, then pulling her onto his lap so she could wrap her legs around his midsection for support. Leading them to make out on the floor beside the half a dozen empty pizza boxes.
A/N: A heavily requested moment was the baseball game/kiss so! Here we are! Some light making out amongst pizza boxes. Honestly, I didn't even realize how much pizza was a theme for these two until I started re-reading chapters to figure out what to bring back haha. Oh well! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Please let me know all of your thoughts and feelings! As always, I hope you're all staying safe out there.
And happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there! If you don't have a mom, I'm your mom now ok bye!