Steve opened his eyes after seeing everything that Jane remembered of her past. She had a little trouble showing him the memories at first, as they weren't just being passed along as she did with Hendrik's. She had to untangle them from her mind first.
He blinked at her for a moment as he tried to wrap his head around it. When he managed to focus on her again, her face was marred with fear, and he could see that she was fighting back tears.
"Hey." He said, concerned, "what's wrong?" taking a step closer.
"You're disappointed in me, aren't you?" She asked.
"Why would I be disappointed in you?" He asked, confused.
"I must have done something terrible to be judged and punished the way I was." She swallowed the lump in her throat.
"None of that matters." He said, putting his hand on her cheek. "That happened so long ago. I know you, you're Jane, and that's all that matters to me." His heart ached at the memory of her slowly dying, trapped in the box.
Jane looked up into his clear blue eyes, her heart feeling like it was ready to burst at his words.
"What have I done to deserve you?" she whispered.
Steve pulled her into his arms, and she laid her head on his chest. His size didn't allow her to put her arms around his neck comfortably; she was too short, so she wrapped them around his waist and disappeared into his embrace, smiling as he gently planted a kiss in her hair.
"What happened to you while you were captive?" Steve asked tentatively.
She stepped out of his embrace and searched his eyes. They were brimming with concern.
"Steve, I'm not sure it's a good idea..." She began.
"Please?" He interjected.
As much as she didn't want him to know, aware that it would upset him terribly, she knew she'd learned everything about him and felt guilty for wanting to keep anything from him.
"Promise me you won't do anything rash." She said.
He frowned at her. "I'm not sure if that's a promise I can keep."
She swallowed and slowly reached up, placing her hand on the nape of his neck. She reached into her mind and let go of the memory of her week as a captive. Steve let out a sharp breath as the memories hit him and took a step back in horror, turning to lean on the kitchen counter with both hands. Horror turned to heartbreak which turned to pure rage, and he was struggling to hold it together.
Jane took a few steps toward him. "Steve?"
He didn't answer. She reached out and touched his shoulder. "Steve?"
He looked up and around, his face was hard with anger, and his eyes shone with the promise of tears.
She didn't know what to say or do to bring him back to her. His eyes darted to the door. She knew what he was thinking.
"Steve, no." She said desperately.
Her words only seemed to strengthen his resolve, and he turned and started to walk towards the door.
She broke into a run and reached it a second before he did, putting herself between him and it. "It's not going to change what happened." She said, holding her hands up defensively.
"He needs to pay for what he did to you." Steve spat through gritted teeth.
"And he will." She answered, her voice shaking, she'd never seen him this angry before. "Please don't..." she pleaded. "You're not like him... please don't let him make you like him."
Her words and the desperation in her strangely beautiful eyes hit him square in the chest. For a moment he grappled with the problem as Captain America. Cap wouldn't waste his time with this man; he believed that justice would be done and that good would prevail as long as good men were willing to fight for it. Steve Rogers, on the other hand, was a kid from Brooklyn who didn't like bullies and if ever there was one, it was this Jideo guy, he'd enjoyed torturing her. He was sitting safe and warm in the detention centre while the nightmare he'd just seen haunted the woman standing before him, the woman he loved. She had been made to suffer through it.
"Steve?" She asked.
It pulled him out of his turmoil. He saw her as if for the first time. She'd changed so much since that first night they met. She was strong and smart, and she was pointing him in the right direction, despite what she'd been through.
He clenched his jaw and looked down, shutting his eyes.
She closed the distance between them and gently run her fingers through his beard.
"Come back to me." She whispered.
He opened his eyes, and although he still felt very angry, he was overwhelmed by love for her. Standing on her toes, she stretched up and claimed his mouth. When she pulled away, he let himself be drawn in by the deep blue of her eyes and all that he was feeling took him over.
He picked her up, and she wrapped her legs around his waist, he put his one hand under her thigh to support her. A few steps had her pushed right up against the wall. He drank in her eyes for a moment as his fingers got lost in her hair and with just as much hunger as he'd picked her up with, he kissed her. His lips moving feverishly against hers. Her arms were around his neck and her fingers playing into his hair. As much as he wanted all of her, he wanted to do this right. A few breaths between their slowing kisses did nothing to sate him. He pulled away reluctantly, resting his forehead against hers.
"So when are we going on that date?" he asked breathlessly.
She smiled as she bit her lip, "tomorrow?"
"Yes, ma'am." He answered, grinning.
"I know I asked you, but seeing as I've never done this before, and I don't what it to be a disaster, would you mind showing me the way?" She asked.
He chuckled, "I don't have the best track record when it comes to dates."
"Well, this girl only has eyes for you." She smiled.
"This girl..." He said softly, tracing her cheek and drinking in every detail of her face.
"My best girl."
Jane went down to the gym early the next morning, the events of the night before kept playing in her mind and at times, she could still feel his touch. She remembered how he gently kissed her goodnight at the door to her apartment after they'd had dinner and felt a blush creep onto her cheeks as she rode the elevator down. Dog was looking up at her curiously.
He caught her eye, and she looked at him. "Don't you dare judge me from down there," she quipped playfully, and he let out a sniff as if he understood her.
Steve's night dealt him one dream, in particular, that had him standing under a cold shower at 06:00 am.
He pulled on his sweatpants and a white T-shirt to go and work out and listened as Jane headed down to do the same thing. He made his way down the hall to Nat's room and knocked.
"Nat, it's me, Steve."
It was a good few minutes before she opened the door, dishevelled from sleep.
"Are you incapable of sleeping past the crack of dawn?" She asked him with bleary eyes, a little annoyed.
"I need your help." He said.
"Of course you do." She mumbled, opening the door for him. "But first, coffee," she motioned with her hand to the kitchen as she collapsed on the couch.
He put on a fresh pot of coffee and brought some for Nat before he sat down next to her on the couch.
"So, what do you need my help with?" she asked.
Steve felt heat flush his cheeks and cleared his throat. "I want to take Jane out on a date, tonight."
Nat resisted the urge to croon "aww that's so sweet!" She knew it would annoy him.
"What did you have in mind?" She asked, a devilish grin on her face.
"Something simple." Said Steve, "A real date. A nice dinner and maybe dancing. I know we can't exactly go out into the city with everything that's happened and I was hoping you could help me with what I have in mind."
"Sure." Said Natasha, intrigued.
Steve shared his plan with her, and by the end of it, her eyes were shining.
"Do you mind if I ask for Shuri to help me? I'm not sure I can find everything you need in a day." She said.
Steve nodded. "If you have to."
It was just after ten in the morning when they'd all gathered in the throne room.
"We have to go to South Africa, as soon as possible." Said T'Challa.
Everyone seemed to agree.
"How are we getting there?" Asked Shuri. "We can't exactly all file out of the Fighter when we land there. It's too dangerous."
"I agree," said Steve. "This is Hydra we're dealing with."
"I suggest we split up and take different routes at different times." Proposed Nat.
T'Challa nodded as he thought about it. "That could work." He said.
"Nakia and I will go last on the Fighter on an official visit. That should not arouse any suspicions as we travel that way quite often. Miss Romanoff and Mr Wilson can make up the first team to leave and travel in your usual manner."
"Great, road trip with my BFF." Said Sam sarcastically.
Nat shot back with a sly grin; "you can go conscious or unconscious Wilson. It's entirely up to you."
T'Challa looked at the two of them as if to say "are you finished?" before he continued. "Captain Rogers and Li liweyo should leave shortly before Shuri; I think assuming the identities of tourists would be best."
"And who am I supposed to go with?" Snapped Shuri.
T'Challa dropped his eyes before looking at his sister. "Are you not waking the White Wolf for the last time tomorrow?"
"Yes, but he's not ready." She retorted.
"He'll have to be." Replied T'Challa.
"Get everything ready, plan out your routes. We will meet again tomorrow to share and discuss our plans. Let's decide on a rendezvous point once we're in South Africa.
"There's a lot of farmland around the Cradle of Humankind," said Nakia.
"We'll find a suitable piece of land once we're there and send you all the coordinates." Said Nat.
"Then that's settled." Said T'Challa.
Natasha stood next to Steve as they took in their handiwork. "D'you think she'll like it?" asked Steve.
"She'll love it." Answered Nat reassuringly.
Shuri had managed to find many of the things that Steve had asked for, and where she couldn't find anything, she'd substituted with whatever she had at hand.
"You really like this girl, don't ya?" asked Sam as he climbed down the ladder.
"What makes you say that?" Quipped Steve.
"Come on, it's getting dark, and you need to get cleaned up." Said Nat.
Shuri had spent the afternoon with Jane, keeping her distracted by teaching her a traditional Wakandan 'board game'. Jane kept glancing at the kitchen clock, and when the minute hand closed in on 19:00, Shuri sprang up.
"You should probably get ready for your date." She winked at Jane.
"I love how keeping something from everyone in this group generally means that everybody knows." Teased Jane.
Shuri chuckled. "Have fun Li liweyo," before she closed the door behind her.
By the time 19:50 rolled by, Steve was excited, very nervous and fumbling with the flower he was trying to fix to the bracelet. He'd chosen a large white Peony, and it was at the perfect point between being a bud and an open flower. When he finally managed to get it to sit right, he took a deep breath and checked himself in the mirror. He was wearing leather shoes with a pair of slacks and a white long sleeve collared shirt. He debated with himself one more time whether he should wear the tie laying on the bed, when something occurred to him, and he reached for it, stuffing it in his pocket.
He walked out of the lounge and shrugged on his leather jacket before taking the corsage he'd just made and left his apartment.
On the other side of the hall, he took another deep breath and knocked on her door.