The five following days Steve didn't talk to Eleanor were some of the hardest days he'd had in a long time. He wanted nothing more than to show up at the school Eleanor worked at, or to show up and wait for her in her apartment. But he knew she needed time to work out her own thoughts. Pepper had discussed with him her possible mindsets. On her own, Pepper did a background check and looked a little deeper into Eleanor's past, though the only thing she told Steve was what she figured sparked her pulling back. Eleanor's father. Steve spent the following days in thought, very carefully debating his next steps. He wasn't sure what aspect of her father's death had spooked her, but something did. Lucky for Eleanor, Steve didn't give up on people he called his friends. It wasn't in his nature. And if he listened to the smug Bucky-like voice in the back of his head, Eleanor was more than a friend.

He waited until the early evening that Saturday, knowing she'd have the weekend off. When he stopped the car in front of her building, he noticed that they hadn't done too well with clearing the recent snow on the staircases. They were more slippery than usual and the serrated edges didn't help keep traction they way they should have, but it didn't stop him from gracefully bounding up them. Since it was so cold, no one was on the street, and while he did notice a car or two idling on the corner, he knew at the least the gang here would not be targeting Eleanor. He couldn't help but note though that the sun was getting lower by the second soon it'd be getting dark around 5. He didn't have much time before it got really dark but he did have faith that it wouldn't matter.

Reaching the door, he knocked three times and waited, listening very carefully to the movement on the other side of the door.

Eleanor kept herself as busy as she could with maintaining classes. Her façade seemed to be working in front of the students. They didn't know her well enough to see a change, which helped. She ran into Harold twice, and he ignored her, much to her relief. The rest of the staff was kind, but everyone knew she was only there temporarily, so they didn't put too much effort into getting to know her. Two days that week she went into the Humane society, and both days she kept herself busy when she returned home with lesson plans.

Staying consistently busy was the key to her success. It was the key to her maintaining her own sanity. It was only Saturday afternoon that it sunk in she was back to being alone. Her hand reached for her phone only to realize that she had no one to call. It was safer that way, she told herself. Steve had stopped calling earlier in the week, and she was finally able to relax, she could leave her phone on. But the silence of her apartment without him was loud. It was becoming louder by the day. Eleanor stood and walked to the kitchen. The least she could do was busy herself with baking.

She'd just pulled out the second batch of cookies from the oven when there was a knock on the door. Eleanor figured it was someone looking for the wrong apartment and tried to ignore it, but the second round of knocks made her at least a little curious. She crept to the door quietly and was surprised to recognize the person on the other side. Her breath caught and she stepped away from the door. She could pretend to not be home. From the glance she'd gotten he looked okay, and that was all she needed to know, any worry for him quelled. But she needed to keep him at a distance.

"Open the door Eleanor," Steve said. She knew he could see the light change when she stepped close enough to the peep hole. He could probably hear her breathing or even her walking down the hallway. She debated it and she rested her head softly on the door. She was a fool to think he'd give up easily. Why was he so persistent? "Eleanor, please." Perhaps it was the pleading sound of his voice that made her flip the deadbolt. She undid both the locks and then paused at the doorknob slowly turning it. When she stood there, she could feel the cold air of the day. They were at four inches of snow already, even though it was hard to believe autumn was over. Eleanor's pants were layered though from an earlier trip to the grocery store, the chill was only felt on her arms through her sweater. Steve looked the exact same, though he sported a beanie and a hoodie that made him look more like he should be buying a longboard.

His face was serious, and Eleanor tried to not look into his eyes, knowing that she wouldn't be able to look away. Neither of them said anything for a few moments. Eleanor felt her fingers wrap around the fabric of her long sleeves. She wasn't waring any makeup, and she was sure that he'd be able to see the bags under her eyes. Sleep wasn't coming any easier these days. "Get your coat. We're going on a walk." His captain voice was on, and there wasn't really any room for discussion. Eleanor knew she could say no, but something inside her pulled her to do as he said so instead she stood frozen. Steve nodded to the coat hanger and her boots. His bright eyes bore into her and she moved to shake her head, to say no. "Please." He added. Just like with the door, Eleanor tried, her mind told her mouth to refuse, but her heart moved into the kitchen to turn off the oven. Something in her resisted the screaming protests, the repetition of 'cursed' didn't stop whispering in her ear and down her neck when her hands wrapped around her hat. It didn't stop when she pulled her gloves from the drawer next to the door.

Neither of them spoke another word when she shut the door, and Eleanor didn't ask questions when he opened the passenger door to the car. Eleanor told herself this would be the last time she'd see him. She'd finish it today, but for the last moments she couldn't help but savor his presence. She did everything she could not to relax in the car, the smell of Steve next to him. His movements as he adjusted the gears and backed them out of the parking space he'd borrowed for a few minutes. Eleanor focused her energy on looking through window beside her. The distance between them physically was small, but she still felt a world away. She offhandedly hoped that he'd take her to a place the subway reached. They sat in silence for a while, before Steve fiddled with the radio. The radio was usually her job, and he gave her a chance to turn it on before he realized she wasn't going to talk to him. He kept it turned down low, but the tunes filled up a little space in the car.

He maneuvered them through traffic for a while before Eleanor was able to tell they were headed for Central Park. It had always been in walking distance, but instead he chose the far side of the park to find a spot. It took a while, New York had too many cars. When he pulled into a parking space, she couldn't help but stare into the trees. He got out, and Eleanor did too, though a little slower. She walked around to him, and his hands rested in his pockets. He nodded in the direction he wanted to walk.

Just as the car ride had been quiet, it was silent between them. Aside from the squish sound of their boots in the snow the park seemed quiet as well. They walked past the occasional couple, but as the sun was setting, people were headed inside and away from the cold. Hot chocolate sounded appropriate. Chocolate fought dementors. Eleanor let her mind wonder to anything that didn't include Steve or their walk at that moment. She just followed him, half a step behind until he sat down at a bench. Their bench. They had walked almost a mile from the car just to sit down at their bench. She should have figured. She felt the anger bubble up within her. Without realizing it he was beginning to spoil the memories she wanted to keep. She knew it was only right for everything to end where it began but it was so painful, and her heart squeezed around itself. She willed her eyes to not water. She wasn't going to sit down.

Steve realized this as she stared down at the bench. Her eyes lifted and stared at their surroundings.

"What do you want?" She was able to say, her voice dry as she focused on sucking the emotion out of it. She could feel all the emotions in her throat. He didn't say anything to her. She could feel his eyes on her. The silence echoed. "What do you want?" her eyes finally met his. They were in mission mode and she knew it'd be harder than she had anticipated. Why couldn't he just let things go?

"I want to know what's wrong." He said calmly. His voice countered her own, which was slowly starting to sound hysterical. She pulled her emotions back again, feeling them try to rear their head, to knock her off her own carriage. She wouldn't be that person and she wouldn't make a scene.

"Nothing."

"What's nothing?"

"What are you a fucking therapist?" She cut back. Steve didn't even flinch at her curse. It felt wrong in her own mouth, but she needed him to leave on his own. Her mind reeled through her different options, the things he didn't like. How could she become that?

Steve continued to stare at her. His voice was too even when he spoke. "He's not coming back to haunt you. Your dad is dead." The words were the same words that Eleanor tried to tell herself but could never fully believe. He would always haunt her. The curse would follow her to her grave. It didn't fully compute that he knew and she hadn't told him. Steve stood back up from the bench. His blue-green eyes watching every twitch of her face. She couldn't take it.

Eleanor took a few steps away, moving toward the bridge.

"He's dead Eleanor."

Her mouth opened before she could stop it, the reigns she had been pulling on broke and she could almost feel them whip against her heart. "So is everyone else." She bit back at him. Her back stayed turned, but she could feel her shoulders drop as she said it aloud. He didn't know about her foster brother, or her college roommate. He just knew about her mom, Mike. He didn't understand that whatever coincidence it may be, it wasn't ending anytime soon. If she let herself care, someone would get hurt and she'd be left to deal with the pain. "You will be too." She could hear his breath behind her, just above her own. His boots squashing in what was left of the snow on the ground, the few spots that no one had stepped in. His face came around her again.

"I won't be."

"You can't promise that." Eleanor pushed past him and moved toward the bridge again. She didn't get far before his iron grip grabbed her arm, just nearing the top of the arch. There was no escaping him. She tugged, and he did eventually let go, but her legs suddenly felt like jelly. The water that normally rushed under the bridge was so frozen on the edges it was down to trickling in a single stream. In a brief second, It turned to red, the blood that soaked her socks. The cold felt even colder and Eleanor had to close her eyes and focus on her breathing.

"You can't live a life pushing people away."

She kept her eyes closed, "Why can't I? Who makes the rules? Maybe they just decided that I'd be bett-"

"Alone?" Steve interrupted. "No one is better alone."

"I am. You get used to it"

"Open the door Eleanor." He said it for the second time that evening, but this time there was no door. She knew what he was referring to.

When her eyes opened again she stared at their surroundings. There was so much white. She let the words go, her hands closing and opening as she tried to pump more blood into them, "Hurt follows where I go Steve. It's not going to end. As long as you're with me, I'm just going to keep dragging you down and there are a million better things you have to do than to pull me up."

"I said the same thing to Bucky once." Steve pondered. His voice had changed. It'd become forlorn and without meaning to Eleanor looked up at him. "Do you know what he said?"

"What?"

"Bullshit."

Steve turned to her and watched her reactions. She adverted her eyes back down to the water as it moved underneath them. The breeze it brought with it was frigid, but her hat and scarf kept her wrapped up, and the only pink he could see was that on her nose and cheeks. His hands met her gloved ones and he turned her to look at him. He ran his fingers over the tips of hers. He couldn't help but feel a small smile when he looked down at her. Her eyes bore into his chest now, she still stubbornly refused to meet his eyes.

"You're going to leave. It's my curse. Like everyone else there's no point in sticking around." She looked over the bridge again. Away from steve. It sounded like she was trying to convince herself. Steve knew that he wasn't going to budge. Darkness was falling fast, and there was no way she'd get home before darkness fell. "I'm waiting for you to leave" she admitted under her breath. Her eyes closed and she bit her lip. The one thing she didn't do was pull away. She couldn't. He squeezed her hands to make her look up at him.

"You should know that I've never been too much a stickler for listening to authority." Steve mentioned offhandedly. "I'm not going anywhere, I'm afraid you're stuck with me." He confirmed for both her and himself.

There was some sort of shift in their relationship there had been a distinct sense of awkwardness in recent weeks. A shift in her eyes that told him everything would be okay. She believed him. She wanted to believe him. Her eyes rose to meet his and he saw the world in them. The fear and hope and worry and exhaustion. He could see the light that flickered when she smiled, the one that she'd tried to stomp out for fear of hurting either of them. "It's more painful to be away from you than it will ever be to be near you." He said quietly. The cloud of his breath floated away from the two of them.

She let out air from her nose, which also blew away. The battle she fought in herself was raging. He could see that too. He knew the moment her mind lost the battle and her heart one. The water welled up in her eyes and he gave a small smile as he let go of one of her hands to wipe it away. He stepped closer to her and glanced out over the bridge they stood on. She bit her lip and he could see her breath falter, but she didn't break eye contact with him. His forehead touched her own and they stood there. All else faded away. Steve's cold hands even felt warm. Her eyes closed for a moment, but when they opened, he could see more of her.

He'd been trying to work up the confidence for weeks at this point. He could do it. He knew he could do it. He couldn't overthink it. "C-Can I kiss you?" His voice dropped low, barely a whisper- surprising himself. His eyes moved between her own and her lips. His hands squeezed hers and put them down to both of their sides, taking away the space between them.

Her mind screamed no, but she was no longer listening to it. The words that came out of his mouth were the truth. She wanted them to be the truth, and he had never lied to her. Suddenly realizing she wanted exactly what he did in that moment, Ella lifted onto her toes, pushing her lips those final inches to meet his own. She let go with one of her hands and lifted it to the side of his face, not gripping his head, but rather holding it to keep her steady. His eyes snapped shut and for a few moments his mind went blank. Steve bent to meet her and add a little more pressure, letting her heels drop again to the ground. Her lips? They felt a little like something he'd been missing since he woke up.

They felt like home.

He put a little more pressure onto hers and felt her respond in kind.

It only lasted a moment, though it felt much longer. Heat washed over him from head to toe. It didn't matter that they were in a public place, or that she'd been ignoring him for days, or that it was beginning to snow. The only thing that mattered was that she was in his arms. When they pulled apart, neither opened their eyes. Steve rested his forehead on hers once more, savoring what was left of the taste of her lips on his own. When he did manage to peek, her eyes were still closed. Her face stayed neutral for a few moments before he could see the peak of her smile, she tried to hide it by looking down biting her lip the rosiness of her cheeks was now a little darker in combination of the cold and her blush. Her hand hadn't left his head. He could feel the warmth of her breath on his skin. His own heart seemed to beat in his ears.

"I-uh," He couldn't even form words, but her eyes opened and met with his. He'd already kissed her so why was his face heating up again? "Ella." What was that?! His internal Bucky Barnes seemed to yell at him in disbelief.

She sighed softly. "Steve." Her voice was at the same level his was, also sounding a bit breathless. She looked up at him again. "I'm sorry." She whispered to him. He could tell that the battle she fought in her mind was still raging, she still thought she was cursed. A sense of sorrow crossed her face as well, worry for him.

"Promise you won't push me away again and I'll accept." He told her, his voice just as low. She nodded. Her eyes closed in a long blink. Then her hands slipped out of his and she removed one of her gloves, holding her pinky up. He linked his with hers. After, he pulled her closer and enveloped her with his arms. Even with her fluffy coat she was small. Her hands wrapped around his back and he put his nose into her hair.

They rested in an embrace for a little while longer. "We should get back to the car." This time he shifted when she looked up at him their foreheads touched once more. Steve didn't really want to move, but he knew it was getting colder by the second.

"I'd like that," The brunette used the hand that was on his head to run it through her hair, brushing it all to the side and shifting on her feet. When she pulled back, he took her hand and adjusted the glove back onto it. He took it between both of his and squeezed it and she squeezed back, causing his grin to widen. He let go of her hand and offered the crook of his arm to her in its stead, and she slipped her arm right through as they began to stroll in the direction of her apartment.

They were quite for a few minutes before he spoke again, "I was supposed to take you to dinner first…" He couldn't help but sigh. "But I'll make it up to you? Tomorrow maybe?"

Like bells he was carefully attuned to her laugh. It had been too long since he last heard it, and made him smile to himself. "I believe my Sunday is free, but I've gotta check my schedule." He looked down at her to see a smirk on her face. He scoffed.

"A busy body are you?" he nudged. Her foot dropped into an untouched part of snow and it took a second for her to get her stride back. She giggled.

"So busy. Weekends for substitute teachers right?"

Their dynamic was not back to normal but it was close. Steve knew it would take time for both of them to build up trust once more. There was still a deeper conversation that they needed to have. But at that moment, they'd figured something out. He didn't want to push their luck it too far.

When they arrived at her apartment, he stood out front of her door, their hands still connected, even after she had unlocked the apartment. She looked up at him once more with her big brown orbs. He could tell she knew exactly what he was thinking because she laughed again, a bit awkwardly. "When you look at me like that I don't know what to do with myself because I can't tell what you're thinking" she said quietly.

He didn't let her get another word in before swooping down and meeting his lips with hers once more. Pulling away he looked at her closed eyes for the second time that night, this time meeting it with a chuckle of his own. "I was thinking about that." When her eyes contacted his, she shifted, and then looked down at the ground, suddenly finding her shoes very interesting. Steve took another breath.

"I wasn't joking Eleanor." He watched her. "I'm not going anywhere."

"I know. I'm sorry." She watched him. "I don't know-" she paused. "I haven't had a friend, in a really long time. I haven't felt like this in years," The pink on her face didn't go away, and something told him it wasn't the cold anymore.

Steve smirked. "Me either."

She hit him.

"Come have some hot chocolate before you catch a cold."

Both Eleanor and Steve knew she was just making up an excuse for him to stay a little bit longer.

They both stepped into the warmth of her apartment, and Steve shut the door. Her phone was ringing in the living room, and Eleanor moved swiftly over to answer it. The number was marked as unknown, but it was an LA area code. She slipped off her glove and set it on the couch and picked it up, sliding the green button. "Hello?" She asked, watching Steve's expression with her own. He was taking off his boots and hanging his jacket. He methodically put his scarf into his hat and set them on the table.

"Thursday. Nice to hear you're a real person. Why do you have an Apple brand phone and not a stark phone? The security isn't half as good."

"I- uh- who is this?" She couldn't help but look at her phone again. Steve was moving further into the apartment and paying more attention to her conversation his cheeks were a very light pink, and Eleanor couldn't help but wonder if he got cold after all.

"Come on Thursday." The voice on the other line said, "You know who this is. Benefactor of a Mr. Steve 40's pants Rogers." Eleanor couldn't help but crack a smile. Steve seemed to have frozen himself when he heard the words.

"Tony Stark?" Eleanor asked, just to clarify.

"One and only. So, you're coming to thanksgiving dinner next Thursday, which is fitting because it maintains the Thursday thing. I already told Pepper. And I know you don't have plans I checked. Tell Steve I say no one likes people who keep secrets." Steve reached out for her phone, but Tony was already saying "Bye" The phone clicked off when he glanced down at it, and they both blinked at the screen. The conversation had begun and ended in 37 seconds. She looked back up at Steve. She moved around him and began to take off her own coat.

"I guess I've been invited to a Thanksgiving dinner then." She said. Steve watched her as she turned into the kitchen. "What do you think I should make?"

She didn't need to glance over her shoulder to know Steve was grinning, and it was a surprise when his hands wrapped around her waist and spun her around, his lips dropping to meet her own.

A/N: I know I said this would be out Tuesday or Wednesday, but apparently I meant Saturday. Sorry! Still looking for a beta, Reviews still make me post quicker, and Thanks for Reading

Lots of Love from MONA.