Approached
She always put the deadlocks in place. Eleanor repeated her thoughts to herself.
Ella didn't take another step in her apartment because of the red flag. Instead, she shut the door gently, locked it once more the way she'd found it and turned around. The men on the corner seemed even more curious because she didn't go inside. Their eyes followed her like she was a celebrity whispering just quietly enough for her not to hear them. She headed to the Café just down the street, where she took her phone out and hit the call button.
It only rang for a few seconds before Steve answered, "Ella?" She said she'd call him the following day, but it hadn't been that long since they'd hung up so she could get off the subway and out of the station without getting pickpocketed.
"Hey- uh- sorry to bother you again, were you busy?"
"No more so than I was twenty minutes ago?" His voice had the infliction of confusion in it. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah-I'm at the café by my apartment. I… um… I got home and the deadlock, you know the one on the inside of the door?"
"Yes?" He sounded a little more urgent, possibly sensing the urgency in her own voice.
"It was unlocked. Which is weird because I always lock it."
"Did you look around inside?"
"No, I shut the door, locked it again, and came straight to the Café to call you. I don't know, I think some of the gang members might have seen something, they were acting strangely too."
"You're going to the Café on the corner? Where we were last week?"
"Mmhmm. I-It could be just me, but I just had a bad feeling about it so-"
"You're right to follow your gut." She let out a breath, glad that Steve wasn't about to berate her on not going into her apartment. She did feel a bit like a wimp, but she was also extremely fed up with how the day had gone thus far. On the phone, she could hear the rustling of movement in the background. "I'll be there in fifteen minutes to pick you up and we can check your apartment together, okay? Maybe we can ask your gang member friends what they know."
"Yeah, Real detective work."
"Like Sherlock Holmes and Watson. You can be Holmes."
Again, it felt a little more like the weight was lifted off her shoulders. "Thanks, Steve."
"See you soon"
The moment she hung up the phone she was able to relax. She ordered a hot chocolate with extra whip cream and moved to sit down in a booth in the corner. She took a sip of her hot chocolate and stared out the window. The clouds were getting darker, thicker and heavier. A storm was slowly rolling in. She hoped that Steve grabbed his jacket on his way out and that he decided not to take his bike. From her elementary-like understanding of his super soldier procedure, he couldn't really get sick, but it still wouldn't be good if he got soaked on his way home.
Her relaxation only lasted two minutes before a white man with dark hair sat down in front of her. He wore a black suit and a pair of sunglasses, despite the cloud cover and the fact they were indoors. She could see two other men sit across the room, also wearing the same outfits, and glancing in their direction. For not looking suspicious, red bells were again ringing in her head once more. Her fight or flight senses kicked in for the third time that day. She put her hand down on top of her phone on the table to grab it, but the man put his hand on top of hers, causing goosebumps to rise on her arms.
"I wouldn't if I were you" He spoke with a low tone. He had a long severe face and short military cut hair.
"Wouldn't what?" She was too nervous to truly challenge him, but the look he seemed to give her behind the glasses made her uncomfortable. He didn't respond, so she went in another direction keeping her voice as steady as she could and not shifting her gaze. "Who are you?"
"That's what I wanted to ask you. How do you know Steve Rogers?"
Eleanor chewed on the inside of her cheek she ran her mind through different scenarios. She wouldn't be able to make it to the door, and his hand was still on hers to feel any movement for calling Steve. Even if she did make a run for it, she may have to leave her phone behind, and with three fully grown men who looked trained, she doubted she would get very far. "Who is Steve Rogers?" Maybe she'd seen too many movies but perhaps responding with questions would be the best strategy?
To her credit, the man did pause. "What is the nature of your relationship?"
"What relationship?" Again, she attempted to play dumb, also hoping to draw the conversation out as long as possible Steve was on his way. "Were you in my apartment?" she asked tensely.
The man didn't blink. "We were surprised when you turned around and left. Good training." Answering her question and causing her to look across the room once more at the men. Were they armed? She couldn't tell because she wasn't a spy. In the case they were SHIELD, wouldn't they know that? Where the hell would she get 'training'. Sure, she took a self-defense seminar in college but that was mostly how to get out of a wrist grab and a reminder to follow your gut. The man spoke again: "I work with SHIELD and we watch the Avengers and their associates with critical eyes in order to protect them from potential threats."
"Threats?" Eleanor glanced at her hot chocolate, sitting in front of them. She withdrew her hand away from her phone and reached for it if only to keep her hands from shaking at the intense stare she was receiving.
"Threats. Your presence with the Captain has been brought to our attention. The familiarity that you show with him raises our suspicions as to what your ulterior motives-"
Eleanor scoffed, ulterior motives? "I'm sorry what? He's a grown man, is he not?" Offended she was suddenly realizing that the time they spent together had been monitored. Had they gotten into her apartment before? How much of their privacy had been breached? "What do you want from me?"
"We will fund your removal from the state and replacement in a new location this week." He stated.
Eleanor took a few more seconds to try and comprehend what his sentence actually meant, "What?" his words felt foreign to her, as though he were not actually speaking her own native English.
"For the safety of Captain Rogers, and your own, SHIELD is willing to relocate you."
"Safety from what?" She chafed.
"Potential threats." Once again the man stated it like an obvious fact.
"Is Steve aware that you're here?"
He ignored her question, in a way, also answering it. "We would like to notify you that so long as you continue interacting with members of the Avengers your safety will continuously be at risk. If you do not agree to be relocated SHIELD will continue to monitor you, and you will be eliminated in the case you become a threat."
Her mind felt like it was reeling at a mile a minute as she tried to process what she was being told. Did they want to take her away from her only friend in New York for safety? What potential threats? Eliminated? Was he threatening her? Was she a threat? What kind of ridiculous spy movie did this guys script come out of? She played along for a second. "Would I be able to communicate with Steve wherever you relocate me?"
"No. your relationship would be permanently terminated"
"I-No." She shook her head. "Terminated? What are you, Arnold Schwarzenegger? I'm not leaving." Despite wanting to topple over like a spaghetti noodle, she held firm and looked right into the man's men-in-black sunglasses.
"Then you will not fall under our protection,"
She glared at him and gave an exasperated response feeling all of the stress from the day seep into her sassy response: "Stay out of my goddamn apartment."
The man stood and walked out of the building, his other two co-workers following he left, leaving Elanor staring at her phone and the coffee table. Flipping it out of its case she checked it for any blinking buttons that weren't there before. When none were found, she set down her mug and let her hands shake as she tried to slow her heartbeat.
She sat in shock until Steve walked in the doors. He approached her and put a hand on her back when he got close enough, causing her to jump and hit her knee on the table, nearly spilling her hot chocolate which was no longer steaming. Steve was quick to grab it from the table with his lightning speed reflexes, so she didn't spill when he noticed she was startled. "Ella?"
"My apartments okay." She ran a hand through her hair.
"What?"
"It-It was your friends. They were just here." She couldn't help her tone as a wave of helplessness rushed over her. She knew she shouldn't be angry at him, but she was angry at everything that happened over the course of the day.
Steve looked more concerned, but her hands were shaking, and her eyes just looked tired. "What friends?" He ran through his very small list of friends to try and figure out what she was talking about.
"SHIELD."
The Captain adjusted his posture, confusion falling all over his face. "They were in your apartment?"
"Yes. They-They said they wanted me to leave New York because I was a threat- I- something about terminating" She couldn't even form words. Was she putting Steve in Danger? Was he putting her in Danger? Even if he was, he was worth it. She hadn't had a real friend that she enjoyed spending time with in years. She knew that for sure. But was she?
"You're not a threat." Steve nearly growled. He took his hat off briefly to run a hand through his hair. She looked away from him as she stood up. "Ella, look at me." She raised her eyes to his. "You're not a threat."
She gave him a half-hearted smile. "Should I be as offended as I am? I can barely kill a spider without screaming."
Steve responded with a smile of his own and offered his arm. "Let me take you home."
"Can we get Ice Cream first?" While her hand gripped onto his arm as they walked out of the Café, Steve agreed and began to lead the way across the street to the black car he'd taken from the Stark Tower Garage.
They were quiet as they walked. Eleanor pondered more the meaning of her meeting members of the almost top-secret branch of the US. She considered their angles and the potential of someone just breaking into her apartment. She began to try and brainstorm other ways of knowing someone was in her apartment. Did she need a security system? She could already tell that her, now rational fear, would follow her for the coming weeks. Steve was quiet though as well, his jaw seemed to be a bit strained when she looked up at him, and fire seemed to blaze in his eyes as he kept an eye on their surroundings.
After they had bought the ice cream at a local grocery store and begun their trek into her apartment, Steve spoke.
"They shouldn't have done that to you." She could feel his arms tense as he thought about it. "I'm so sorry Ella"
Ella was quiet for a moment. "It-It just psyched me out. Today has been a wild ride. I- Did you know they were watching us?"
"No." As they entered the apartment, Steve took off his hat and set it next to Ella's shoe rack. He followed her into the kitchen and watched as she took two bowls out and the ice cream scoop. "I'm going to speak with the director about the absolute invasion of privacy."
There was a moment when she just stood still, a serious look crossing her face. "I don't understand how they got into my apartment. The only other people with keys are my neighbor and my landlord. I mean if-" she stopped herself and rubbed her fingers against her eyes. Steve watched her quietly, his eyes softening and seeming to understand her concern. "And if they did it this time does that mean there's like—like listening devices? And have they always been listening? Are they following me and have I just not noticed?" she took a breath. Finally turning to Steve, she watched as he sighed. He looked out her kitchen window.
"I don't know." For a moment he looked like the Captain that people had said he was. His face morphed into determination and his chin lifted. "I will find out. And you will not be bothered by them again." When he made eye contact again, she could feel his words like a promise. She offered him a bowl.
"I-I'm sorry, I mean I"
"You have nothing to be sorry about." Steve suppressed the anger he had against shield and began to consider how terrified she must be. "They shouldn't have come here and they should have spoken to me before any monitoring. You are not at fault here."
"I mean if you hadn't met me the-"
"Stop." She bit her lip and refused to look him in the eye as they both stood in the kitchen. "You are one of the best things that have happened to me in New York. No one should dictate who I spend my time with or follow me where I go. This is a problem they have with me. Not with you. I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry Ella. I'm going to fix this." She didn't say anything else, but she did pick up her spoon and take a bite of the ice cream.
"Pizza and a movie?" She eventually asked.
Steve gave her a nod and grabbed the pizza menu out of the drawer she kept it in, giving her a push toward the living room.
They watched two movies that afternoon before Steve checked his watch and looked at the brunette. "What do you have planned for tomorrow"
"I have to substitute a morning class at a High School, and then I was going to spend the rest of the afternoon at the Humane Society." She gave him a small smile.
He paused and thought over her schedule then comparing it to his. "Okay. I'll contact Shield in the morning, and I'll give you a call once I've got it all figured out." He glanced at his watch. "It's past your bedtime."
She laughed and nodded her head. She stood from the couch and bit her lip, motioning toward the door. But he knew her. While watching the movie he had decided that he'd stay. Eleanor seemed to be a little extra jumpy, just the shutting of the door in the apartment next to her almost had her running away like a cartoon. She'd spent a lot of the movie glancing toward the window on the side of the room, despite the fact the blinds were closed. She wasn't a 1A actress in playing it all off, and she wasn't the most subtle person he knew.
Coming to a decision, Steve adjusted a pillow. "I'll sleep here tonight." He motioned the couch, it was comfy enough.
She stared at him like a deer in headlights. "What?"
"I-It'll make you feel safer. And I'll feel a bit better about it too." He hadn't seen any microphones in the room, or any cameras, but knowing that someone from SHIELD had been in the room also made him unwilling to leave her alone until he had fully sorted out the issue. Just because he hadn't seen them didn't mean they weren't there after all. Beyond that, knowing that she wasn't trained in self-defense and lived alone with neighbors that didn't have the best report with the law made him edgy. If the gang had seen SHIELD's presence, who was to say they wouldn't try to threaten her as they did with him. His mind went to the black eye she'd had for a week.
"I- I can't ask you to do that. This couch is way too small."
"I insist."
She shifted and glanced at the door her arm motioned to her room. "Then you sleep in my bed and I'll sleep on the couch."
Steve raised an eyebrow. "I'm not kicking you out of your bed." He stated.
"What is this, a romantic comedy? How about I run to the store and get an air mattress- we can"
"Ella. I'll be fine here, I swear."
"I'm not letting you sleep on the couch." He opened his mouth, but she cut him off, "Or the floor! If you sleep out here then I'll sleep on the floor, and neither of us will be comfortable."
"You're not sleeping on the floor or couch of your own apartment."
"Don't tell me what to do. If you won't let me sleep here then...then just-just sleep with me!" She raised her voice and then froze. Her face proceeded to flush red. Maybe her life was a romantic comedy. "I-mean. I mean I only sleep on like, a quarter of it. So like, there's room and uh-" She stared at him as he kept a straight face and stared at her blankly. Was he in shock? Had she offended his 20th century culture?
"No."
"Oh my god. Steve!"
His face flushed red too. "That is definitely not proper I mean- I'm not going to intrude on your space like that-" He hadn't ever seen her bedroom, it was just the door that was usually cracked open slightly in which she would sometimes disappear into. She could see the 1940 mentalities flittering through his head as he tried to think of every excuse possible.
"You don't have any other options. I'll sleep on the couch if you're uncomfortable wit-"
He ran a hand through his hair. This was the exact opposite of what he was expecting. They were in the 21st century, and it wasn't barred to sleep in the same room as a woman, he wouldn't be giving her any social stigma… "Fine. I mean, if it's not going to bother you."
She stood still for a moment. "Uh. Okay. Great. Glad we got that figured out. I'm going to go make sure all my laundry is in the laundry basket and change into pajamas. I'll- I'll be right back," Eleanor walked quickly into her room and rapidly began to clear anything that seemed weird off her dresser, throwing a few things on the floor into her hamper and shutting the top. She picked out long pajama pants that she rarely wore and an old College T-shirt.
Glancing around her room one more time, she determined that it would have to do.
Peeking out the door she spotted Steve standing by the window once more, glancing out the blinds into the dark evening.
"Okay we're good, make yourself comfortable." She moved through the living room to the restroom.
As she walked in after brushing her teeth twice and braiding her hair, she looked at Steve. His back was propped up against the headboard and his legs were under the covers as he scrolled through something on his phone. He'd folded his jeans and the sweatshirt he'd been wearing and had set them on the side table. Ella felt her face redden for what felt like the hundredth time that day. Steve glanced up as she moved further into the room and pulled the covers back on the opposite side of the bed. It was a full, so slightly larger than a double, but there still wasn't a ton of room. Ella slid down into the covers and Steve glanced at her, lifting an eyebrow.
When she nodded, he clicked the light off on the bedpost next to him. Her eyes took a few moments to adjust as he slid into the bed and tugged on the covers she could see his form but she definitely couldn't make out many of his features. They were both very still for a moment before Eleanor giggled.
"This is weird."
Steve also laughed and turned to face her. She could almost feel his breath on her nose. "It is a little. But your sheets smell good."
Eleanor dug her face into her pillow to keep from making any noise aside from a laugh. She felt her cheeks heat up a bit more. Turning over her leg brushed against Steve's and they both recoiled. Steve when to get up.
"I'll just sleep on the couch then – " he began but Eleanor grabbed his arm.
"We both just need to relax. Tell me a story about Bucky."
Steve settled back down and went through his memories. "When we were ten he stole the sheets off of his sister's bed and brought them to my house so we could build a boys-only fort. We used the chairs and were somehow able to prop my bed up on the side. I don't remember exactly what we did when we were under there, but my mom came home and nearly yelled at us because she was worried the bed would crush us if it fell."
"Was it a wooden bed?"
"Yeah. Beds were a lot less comfortable. I had a mattress, but it wasn't nearly as soft as this one."
"Do you prefer softer or harder beds."
"I don't know, I don't have a particular preference, but these newer beds are sometimes harder to fall asleep in for me,"
Eleanor stared. Steve laid on his back and looked at the ceiling. Eleanor scooted a bit closer and rested her arm on his shoulder. "It'll get better with time I think." She said offhandedly. Steve's head turned to make eye contact in the darkness. He put his own hand over hers softly, giving it a pat and nodding his head.
"The beds at the foster home I was in were softer than the ones that I'd had when I was home. I had a foster brother that always complained that they were too soft to jump on. But he loved to jump on literally anything. Once he jumped onto a chair to reach a higher cabinet and it buckled under his weight. He ended up on the floor in a heap and the house mother lectured him for twenty minutes before forcing him to take a shop class to build another one." She laughed and Steve could feel her mint fresh breath on his shoulder.
He chuckled himself. They both became quiet again. Eleanor drifted off to sleep first, her breaths evened out and she seemed to relax a bit more, her hand adding more weight to his shoulder and her face burrowing a little bit more into her pillow. Steve stared at her for a few seconds before taking his hand and wiping a strand that had fallen out of her messy braid away from her nose. He glanced at the window and then glanced at the door before moving a bit closer to her and wrapping his arm underneath her pillow. Finally relaxing, he too fell asleep.
A/N: What a long chapter- How's that for some fluff? I'm a huge fan of cliches. I love awkward character interactions too.
Review (Thoughts? Suggestions?) Also Favorite! AND Follow! Your responses really do encourage me to write chapters faster, and put them out quicker. Now that I've got a relatively decent idea on where this story is headed, I'm super excited.