I was in the middle of showing him how to use iMovie when Stark and Romanoff came through the door.
"Come on, Cap! It's a mac! It is not rocket science!" Tony shouted across the room.
"Just because your a computer genius, doesn't mean that everyone else in the world is." I snapped back.
"Capsicle, control you protocol controlled girlfriend." Stark said. Why is he an idiot? Our conversation about not making stupid jokes about us obviously didn't play well in Stark's mind.
We shifted in our seats from the awkwardness of everything. After Stark and Romanoff left, I turned to Steve and said "I'm sorry. I told Stark to stop, but he hasn't. He's such an ass sometimes." I rubbed my forehead and then the back of my neck. I still wasn't any better after the grenade at the bridge.
"Is your neck still hurting from the battle?" he asked me.
"Yeah, it's been twinging all day." I said and continued pressing down on it.
"Do you want me to..." he asked with raised eyebrows.
"Uh..." Bit inappropriate, but I really do not care anymore. "Yeah, sure. It can't hurt."
I laughed, a bit nervously and turned left, so he could access my neck. He brushed my hair out of the way, onto one side, and his warm fingers sent shivers down my spine. I tried not to let it show, but I think my body did it naturally anyway.
He put his hands on my neck and started rubbing the knotted muscle there. Wow, I feel so much better already. His super-strength must have helped with this some how. His touch against my skin made me feel so warm inside. I groaned slightly and leaned into his touch. I closed my eyes and he placed his hand on my shoulder, rubbing the muscle there too. Everything in me relaxed and I felt so calm. His arms slid down the sides of my arms and he whispered into my ear "Do you feel any better?"
"Much better thanks Steve. Can't believe you didn't ask earlier. I would've jumped at the opportunity to get a neck massage from you." I said smiling and sitting back down next to him.
"Well, I've never offered one. To anyone."
"No way. Also," I said smiling. "I heard that you can draw. Another thing that you haven't told me about."
He looked down at the ground and went a faint colour of red. "How did you find out about that?"
"Tasha told me the other day."
"Well, I don't usually tell people. Natasha is the only person that knows, but only because she spied on me sitting outside a cafe. I'll show you one day if you want?" he said, sounding a bit shy. He doesn't tell anyone about his drawings and he wants to show me them?
"Yeah, I'd love to." I said and smiled at him. He returned the smile and then looked back down at the computer. The light from the computer screen shined onto his face and I couldn't stop staring at him. The way his forehead creased when he got confused and then relaxed when he understood. A cough brought me back to the room and I angrily snapped my head to see who it was, but it was only Romanoff and she wouldn't tell anyone, so I relaxed.
"What do you want Natasha?" I asked. She had better have a good reason for interrupting me.
"Do you have a mission for me?"
I gasped and replied "Oh my goodness, I completely forgot about that." I pulled out the file from my bag and handed it to her.
"It's a small mission for you in Portugal. Information isn't needed from him, so you don't need to seduce him. Now that you are with Barton, Fury is no longer putting you on those kinds of missions. Unfortunately, some people still have to do them i.e. me tomorrow." I said sulkily. I felt Steve's eyes look at me when I said it, but I ignored his concern.
"Anyway, it is a shoot to kill mission. Standard in and out, so you should be back within 3 days. You are leaving tomorrow and Barton is being assigned a mission too, so we don't have to deal with him moping around all day."
"Okay." she said taking the file. "JARVIS, where's Clint?"
"He is in the gym, Miss Romanoff." he replied and she went into the lift, leaving us alone again. He was smiling at me like I imagined he did in the dream, which brought back the memory of it. My chest started getting heavy and he furrowed his eyebrows. Damn that beautiful forehead crease.
"What's wrong?"
"I-I need to go." I said, collecting my bag.
"Well, I'll see you later then." he said. I could her the upset in his voice.
"I forgot that I have to...sort some stuff out with Fury for tonight. Sorry." I said as an excuse and then ran off quickly to my room.
When I got there, I slammed the door and slid down it. How can I keep going like this? Everytime that I see him...it makes butterflies go round and round in my stomach like I'm going to be sick or something.
"JARVIS, where is Steve?" I asked.
"Mr. Rogers is currently in the training room."
"Thank you." At least he wasn't coming after me.
I forced myself up and went over to the wardrobe to pack my things for tomorrow night. Guns. Check. Food. Check. Slutty dress. Unfortunately also a check. The time was six o'clock when I asked JARVIS "Can you send Steve up here please? I need to speak with him." Okay, this isn't about my dream or anything, like I was going to tell him about that, but it was about a serious issue.
A few moments later, I heard a knock at the door. That was quick. I opened it saying "Sorry, if I disrupted your tr-" I stopped mid-sentence. Rogers was standing there, a light sheen of sweat glistening on his forehead most probably from the gym workout he had just been doing. Looking sexy as hell. I drew my attention back to his face, trying not to get distracted by his muscles on his body.
"My what?" he said, slightly breathless, making him appear even more attractive.
I shook my head. "Your training. I didn't mean to call you up here to interfere with your regime."
"I had finished and was on this floor anyway. So why did you want me?" I want you so badly.
"I wanted you to go through everything on the internet concerning you. People can gossip a lot and I want you to find out what's out there. That sound alright to you?" I asked.
"Yeah, sure. Want to meet in the kitchen in say half an hour? I need to get changed first."
"Of course. Take a shower, whatever you need to do." I replied. Don't you dare think about him taking a shower...damn you Hill.
"Alright, I'll see you then." he said and walked away, as I fought back a smile. He noticed and raised an eyebrow. "Something amusing?" he asked.
"Nothing." I said, with a small smile.
"Hmmm, for some reason I don't believe you." he replied, with a devious smirk. God, he looks hot.
"I'll never tell." I said, shutting the door and going back into my room. This continuous flirting made me want to kiss him even more. Does he know we're flirting? Does he even know what flirting is? I bet he doesn't.
I sat down at my table and read my new book to pass the time. What am I going to do about this? I can't tell him, but we feel so connected all the time. Like there's nothing else that matters apart from him...what are you doing with your life! I mentally screamed and slammed the book on the table, my face following the books logic by face-planting the pages. I didn't remove my head from the pages until half an hour later when I was scheduled to meet Steve. I walked into the kitchen and Steve was sitting there, waiting for me.
"I'm not late." I said, as I walked over to the sink to get a drink.
"I know. I'm early. Now how do I search for all this?"
"Google."
"Google?"
"Google is the answer to everyone's problems." I explained and brought up google for him to use.
"Okaaaay..." he said, wearily and then said "What do I do now?"
"Type in a question or someone's name. Anything."
"Okay..." he said and typed in 'Maria Hill'.
A bunch of links came up relating me to Cap, but instead of browsing through all of them, which I thought was quite sweet, he went into the images section. There was me in battle, me in S.H.I.E.L.D gear, me in lingerie, me in...wait, what? Cap obviously saw the photo of me in nothing, but my underwear, because his eyes went ridiculously wide. "I...I didn't mean...I.." he stuttered, but then gave up and continued staring at the photo. I could tell his breathing was increased and his pupils were dilating. I can't believe this. That was for a mission.
"Cap?" I said loudly and he snapped out of his trance.
"Sorry." he said quickly and closed the tab. There was a silence between us for a couple of seconds.
"I'm guessing you haven't exactly been up to date with what's considered normal now." I said.
He shook his head. "Not exactly no."
I took the computer off him and typed in 'Captain America Steve Rogers'.
A bunch of links came up. Some of me and Steve, but mostly either about him or him and Bucky. I passed the laptop back and said "Here. You need to look through what people know and what they believe. Okay?"
He nodded and took the laptop. I pulled out my book from my bag and pretended to read as I heard Steve click through the different links. Just knowing he was there, made me feel better. After about an hour and a half, I was bored and frustrated. I hadn't gotten further than 10 pages of my book and Rogers was biting his lip which made me want to go over there an make him bite mine. Don't think like that.
JARVIS' voice broke us out of the deafening silence. "Mr. Barton is cooking for the team. Would you like any food?"
"Uh, yeah sure. What is he cooking?" I asked.
"Chicken Vesuvio."
"Sounds great. Cap?"
"Yeah, sure." he replied, but sounded so sad. What was he looking at? I was about to ask him what it was, but Clint and Natasha came through the living room and went into the kitchen.
"Steve, what's wrong? What did you find?" I asked, coming over to sit on the rest of the sofa that he was sitting on.
"I found this." he said quietly and showed me the screen. It was an article about him and Bucky Barnes.
Was Captain America responsible for Bucky Barnes' death?
I had read Steve's file and it talked about him and Barnes being friends since they were born. Barnes died falling from a train. I recall the documents saying that Steve had tried to save him, but couldn't quite reach him. I placed a hand on his closest shoulder and he leaned down against it. "It's not your fault. You couldn't do anything to save him."
"I could've tried to get to him quicker." Steve argued. I felt a tear fall onto my hand and I slid onto the sofa next to him. Wiping the tear trail of his face, I said "I read the report. It you went any further, you would've died in the process."
"Maybe that wouldn't have been such a bad thing."
My hand stopped half way across his face and I pulled it away.
"I'm in the wrong time zone. I can't even say a computer name right and I'm always messing up. I don't fit in here."
"That's not true. You do fit in. And even if you feel like you don't, you will, because I am not letting you go that easily." I said.
He looked up at me sideways and said heart-fully "The only thing keeping me here is the Avengers and you. I haven't got anyone else. No more family. No more friends. Just you guys."
His words warmed me to the heart, so much that I started crying too. His hand came up to my face and he said "Hey, don't be upset. I'm meant to be the sad one remember."
"I don't like seeing you upset." I admitted and he pulled me into a hug.
"I'm sorry, I just can't seem to click with this place. The only thing I seem to click with is you. Your such a good friend." he said. Friend? FRIEND? FUCKING FRIEND? I continued to act upset just to cover up my breakdown inside my heart.
"Same. Your a really good friend too." I said and hugged him tighter. Just let him go and you can move on quicker.
"Now," I said, pulling away from him. "lets go see what Clint's made for tea." He smiled, shut the laptop and we made our way over to the kitchen.
Damn the friend-zone.