Enchanted
Chapter Six
Steve had woken up a bit later than usual, having felt completely safe in the home of the man whom believed in them. And the thought of Trinity just down the hall. Either way waking up at seven was refreshing form waking at five in the morning or having no sleep. Drinking some coffee–he really needed to figure out the timer for his coffee maker–Steve walked over to the living room and grinned at the two men groaning in pain. He sipped some of his drink when the front door opened, a sweaty and panting Trinity walking in. She smiled at him before looking in the living room. She laughed out loud, making the two men groan even more with pain, turning on to their stomach or side.
"I told you–we all did–that out drinking Steve was impossible."
"Oh my God, not so loud!" Will moaned, burying his face against the cushions.
Laughing some more Trinity ran up the stairs, yelling over her shoulder. "You better get up soon, I'll be making your favorite breakfast!"
"I think I rather be sick." Stone groaned, falling back on to his back. "Please tell me that Phil still has his coffee maker timer go off at six in the morning?"
Steve smiles, "Yes sir, he does. And it's still hot."
"Oh, thank God!" Will muttered, rolling out of the couch. "Man, I haven't drank like that since I was in my twenties."
Steve chuckles and walks away, Will and Stone slowly dragging behind him to get to the kitchen. He sat on the bar and watched as the two NEST agents fight sluggishly for the first cup of black coffee. Although he wasn't all that keen on being around the man whom has a history with Trinity he had a good time the night before. And Trinity was right, he did learn a bit more of the culture today due to her friends and uncle. He was even surprise by Natasha getting along with Carly, but the other woman also surprised him by her tougher exterior which was so unlike her softer look on the outside.
Apparently her father and brother were in the army. Her dad was retired while her brother had died in combat. Both men had entered the military due to the stories they grew up on Carly's grandfather's, Aron Brooks, told about a man wearing a red and blue and white uniform with a shield of the same color and a white star in the middle by the name of Captain America. As expected the shy man had flushed with embarrassment, and praise from what Carly's grandfather had told them about him.
Steve was reverted back to the present when he heard both men in the kitchen groan with pleasure at the sip of the black drink. They muttered about aspirins and started looking for it, mindful of slamming drawers so as to not irritate their hangover even more. Phil then came down the stairs and chuckled at the two sorry states his friends were in. He walked into the kitchen and opened a drawer neither man had checked yet and handed over the bottle of pills before making himself a cup of coffee instead.
Phil looked back to Steve and held up the pot. Steve nods and held out his cup, the other man pouring enough until there was room for cream and sugar. Phil then goes about making breakfast, telling the two men to take a shower, but they stayed, wanting to finish more coffee.
"Anything I can do to help?" Steve asked, getting ready to stand from his chair.
"No Cap, I'm good. Rini will be down soon to help." he grinned over to his idol, "Besides you're a guest, set back and relax."
"How do you do it?" Steve suddenly asked quietly. "How are you able to live these two different lives?"
Phil smiles sadly over his shoulder. "It's hard to lie to family, but here, with Trinity and Sam I can be myself without the lies. Because they, too, have to lie to the rest of the family. Even with my sister and her husband–which is Sam's parents. Rini and I can't even tell all of the truth because it's still top secret, despite them knowing about the Autobots."
Steve frowns, "What about Trinity's mother?"
Phil sighs sadly as both Will and Stone stayed quiet. "My youngest sister died of cancer. Trinity was only a babe–two years old–when my sister passed. Penelope was the life line of my brother-in-law after he returned from 'Nam–sorry, Vietnam. Trinity has been missing that woman influence–now I love my older sister, Judy, but she isn't the best mom role model really. And if Penelope was still alive, so would her father."
Steve frowned, "How do you figure?"
Phil smiled ruefully, scrambling the eggs. "She would have helped him coup with the shooting of an innocent kid."
Steve wanted to ask what happened but stopped himself as it was not his business. However Trinity spoke up, Steve cringing as he wondered how much she's heard and felt both embarrassed and ashamed talking about her life without her presences. He looked her over, noting that her hair was straight this time around, and pulled back from her face by a clip. She wore eyeliner to bring out her gray eyes even more, her bangs swept over her eyes, making her look mysterious…and just plain hot-looking. She wore tight jeans into brown heel boots and a black and white striped shirt that was too large and falling over her left shoulder.
"It was an accidental shooting, his friends told him so, not even IA found any fault but my dad wouldn't listen. So he lost his job to drinking on the job, his friends labeled him as a loss cause, and then he lost himself to the alcohol." Trinity began to take out ingredients for breakfast, shooing Will and Stone out. "Only then did he send me away to my aunt in California." she whispered to the silence. "I knew my father loved me and I was too young to understand what it was that happened so I couldn't help him. I only learned by Uncle Phil when I was fifteen, but by then my dad was a loss cause even from me." she scoffed, grinning, "That was a year before Bee came into mine and my cousin's life, and then the Autobots world."
Steve watched her thoughtfully, "But if your mother was still alive and saved your father you would have never met the Autobots or even become an agent."
"Or even come out of her shyness." Phil added.
Trinity smiled ruefully, looking back at Steve. "That's what sucks the most. I love how my life became, but at the same time I wished for a life with my parents."
Steve was uncomfortable with the tension between Trinity, Will, and Stone before leaving Phil's home. So he kept quiet, making sure not to shift in his seat. He heard Trinity sigh with annoyance, shifting slightly. Her uncle, Will, and Sam all wanted to take a drive but they wouldn't tell her where they were going. She had asked–or more like threaten–Will and Stone but neither of them opened their mouths and Steve knew Trinity only got more annoyed. She was on the driver side of Sideswipe while Steve sat next to her, not wanting neither men to be in the same car as her. She ignored them when they started protesting, which Steve thought was childish but funny at the same time.
When Sideswipe turned down a street–a familiar one to the young woman in the driver seat–Steve heard the sharp intake and looked over to the younger woman, seeing her tensed up in her seat. Despite the angry look on her face her eyes betrayed the pain and hurt, Steve wondered what it was that she was thinking at that moment and what this street meant for her.
"Damn it Side," Trinity growled, gripping her seat.
"Sorry Rini, Phil's orders." Sideswipe told her sadly.
Steve placed a hand on her own, Trinity immediately turning it so that she intertwined their fingers together, holding on to him tightly. She was breathing hard, her eyes set on a single building that was looming closer. When the transformer came to a stop Trinity did not move a muscle as Steve continued to frown, confused to what was happening, letting her nails dig into his hands. Bumblebee and Dino stopped behind them, Phil immediately getting out and walking over to the driver side. Steve went to get out but Trinity held on to his hand, shaking her head for him to stay. He sat back and looked at the building in confusion, seeing Will and Stone standing with Sam, Carly, and Natasha.
He turned to the driver side when it opened, Phil looking in. He frowned with concern when he saw blood flowing from his hand–Steve hadn't told Trinity as he knew that it will heal as soon as she let go. Phil kneeled next to his niece, putting a hand on the one that was gripping the seat and the other on her shoulder. He went to say her name, but Trinity spoke up, Steve frowning further with concern, wondering what was going on.
"I can't do this, Uncle Phil." Trinity whispered with a hitch in her voice. "I just can't."
Steve looked around the neighborhood. They weren't in a bad one but it wasn't a good either, most of the other buildings housing dingy bars. Phil leaned up to kiss her forehead, closing his own eyes in pain before going back on his hunches. Steve saw her eyes full of sorrow and dread for whatever the building had meant to her and the pain in Phil's eyes and body language.
"Uncle Phil," Trinity forced through her lips, continuing to stare at the building, her grip on Steve tightening even more.
"It needs to be done, Trinity. You need to grieve properly." Phil tells her sternly, grateful that he told her to put on her hearing aids.
Trinity whimpered quietly, tightening her hold on Steve before finally letting him go and getting out of the car. Steve follows suit, not taking his eyes off of the woman as she slowly moved to the sidewalk with Phil holding on to her arm. Her breath continued to come in pants, Stone quickly coming to her other side.
"Cap, Natasha I can ask one of the Autobots to take you back to SHIELD's." Phil started, looking to the three Avengers.
"I like to stay," Steve tells him. "If that's all right?"
Trinity holds out her hand to him, Steve taking it as she squeezed tightly. "Stay, please."
The way her voice whimpered had everyone concerned to the point that not even Stone objected or become jealous of him. Steve knew then that this was extremely emotional and crucial for Trinity and she was going to need as much support as they can give her. He just hope that the mystery surrounding the building will shed some light soon.
Phil nods and looks to Natasha, "I know you have contracts to do, Acree can take you back."
Natasha smirked at the Ducati, "Next time. I wish to stay."
Taking a deep, ragged breaths Trinity dragged Steve forward towards the door. She enters the building and walks down the hall of the first floor, Steve feeling her pulse beating quickly from her wrist. At the last door Trinity placed a tentative hand on the knob, her eyes blurred by the tears threatening to fall. Steve looks up at Phil who moves to her side and unlocks the door, Trinity pushing the door open. She enters with the continuous daze, and stand stills in the middle of the living room/dining room/kitchen. A sob broke out after a long silence, Steve holding her tightly against his chest as she cried.
Crying for the lost man seeking peace with what he's done. Crying for the man who loved her enough that he knew he couldn't take care of her. Crying for the father Trinity never knew and missed. Steve muttered nonsense into her hair, looking up to Phil, Sam, Will, and Stone watching on with pain for the woman they all loved and cared for. It took some time but Trinity finally took a deep breath and turned to her uncle and friends.
"Photos, medals, and books will be packed and sent to Phil's place. Anything else can be given to those that need it."
At everyone's nod Trinity moved to the far right wall where a built-in shelf was full of medals and photos. Steve walked next to her, noticing the police plaques and medals, the pictures of a younger man in his uniform until his mid-forties, and pictures of a child from infant to the age of ten and a woman who looked exactly like Trinity, if a bit like Phil. He was looking at one in particular where the woman holding an infant that was being held close to her face, the sun shining behind them like a halo, water and tress in the background.
"My mother," Steve looked to his left at Trinity, who was now looking at the picture he was just examining. "She took me to a pond in Central Park that she loved to go to think or read. I was only two months old and she was afraid that I would get sick. But as you can see it was a beautiful day and she had no worries." she sighed, touching her mother with her right forefinger. "My father never knew his parents as he was a foster child and my mother's parents died when she became of age. My father raised me as best as he could, and he did a damn good job about it before he had to ship me to my aunt's."
"I'm sorry," Steve whispered, not really knowing what to say. "About your mother's cancer and your father's drinking," he blushed mentally kicking himself of his inability to speak with a woman and making him sound like an ass.
Trinity exhaled softly with amusement before she begun to take them down and placed them into boxes Sam placed by her, wrapping them in old newspapers her father had kept over the years. Steve started to help before helping the men pack all the heavy furniture as Carly and Natasha packed clothes and threw away anything that was used and perishable. There wasn't much talking, except when someone asked where something was going. Trinity worked on autopilot, the others worried for her when she never spoke to anyone else. She didn't even take much but a bathroom break, wanting to be finished.
All too soon Trinity stood in the middle of the now empty apartment, hugging a photo that was of her at the age of seven and her dad in central park feeding ducks. The same place her mom had took her when she was an infant. It was the last good memory of her father as a couple of months later did his life spiral down with the shooting. She was startled when a hand cupped her face and a thumb brushed the tears away that Trinity didn't know she was crying. Light gray eyes showed concern, Trinity hugging the photo tighter against her chest, the sobs she was holding back making her hiccup.
Stone swallowed thickly, leaning forward and kissing her forehead. He closed his eyes when a small sob actually left her lips, feeling his heart break at how broken she became over losing her father. Sliding his hand from her cheek to wrap around her shoulders Stone guided her out. Trinity was like a zombie, physically she was there but mentally she wasn't She was barely away of the conversations around her, but felt the presence of everyone there. Stone moved her towards Bee, Trinity's hand automatically grabbed Steve's arm.
Every bit of comfort Trinity needed Stone wasn't going to object. The little war to win Trinity has been on a standstill since they reached the building. Trinity was flanked between Steve and Stone, curling more towards Steve as his body gave out more warmth. The drive back to Phil's house was a blur, with Phil carrying her to her room. When he laid her down it was only then she gave into the heart wrenching sobs, Phil climbing into bed and holding her, muttering nonsense against her head. As soon as she was asleep Phil let her be, mentally exhausted himself. He sighed, nodding to the group in the living room, all of them concern for the woman upstairs.
"She fell asleep. Thank you Natasha and Steve for your help. I'm sure one of the Autobots can take you back."
The two Avenger's looked at each other, Steve not really wanting to leave, nodded. They had to go back, if just to get a change of clothes. Phil walked them out, Carly going into the kitchen to start a late dinner. Phil asked Bee to give them a ride, his responds was opening the doors. Steve turned to Phil, who smiled reassuringly, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"She'll be fine, Cap. I'll call you if anything happens."
"Thanks Phil."
With that reassurance Steve got in the driver seat. Phil thoughtfully looked after the Camaro, a slight frown on his features. He liked Steve–idolized him, really–but his niece meant more to him and he was afraid that Steve will hurt her in the end. Not intentionally, but hurt her nonetheless. He still has that old fashioned mindset, if Steve wanted to make her happy he would let her go. Or if an enemy found out his identity he will make sure not be close to her again.
And that, Phil knew, will break her heart. She had her heart broken with her father, she wouldn't be able to last with someone that she will learn to love.
A/N: What do you guys think? Please review and let me know! Oh, and I have a full time and part time job, and I'm going to school full time. I'm still writing things down, just typing them up will be a bit difficult. You guys are just lucky that rather than doing homework I'm doing this instead! :)