Ballet Shoes
Chapter Six
Splash
There now, steady love, so few come and don't go
Will you, won't you be the one I'll always know?
When I'm losing my control, the city spins around
You're the only one who knows, you slow it down
- Look After You - The Fray
First it was bringing food over to him, now Penelope volunteered to help clean Steve's apartment.
"Is my place that bad?" chuckled Steve.
Penelope smiled as she wiped the kitchen counter. "This place could use the feminine touch… I'm a neat freak. If I see a mess, I clean it up. I do it to my apartment, too."
Steve was at the sink washing dishes. "Probably why you're one of the best at SHIELD… If you weren't as organized, SHIELD wouldn't be were it's at now."
Steve actually complimented her. Everyone else just brushes off the details, though Steve recognized the work she did. No one ever reached out to her like that before.
"Thank you…" a small smile was on her face. "You have no idea how much that means to me."
"And thank you… for what you're doing for me these past few weeks. The days seem less lonelier, and I actually think I'm able to adjust to everything around me. You're amazing, Penelope… Without you, I wouldn't be where I am right now."
He gave her so much praise today. At this rate, she was going to turn into goo.
"I'm… I'm glad." She nodded. "I know what it's like to be alone, and I'm glad that you're feeling better now."
"May I say something?"
Penelope nodded. "Sure, go ahead."
"This may sound strange," began Steve. "Though everyone sees me as Captain America. They expect so much from me, thinking I'm this big hero, but when I'm with you I'm just Steve. When I'm with you, I can just be me."
Whenever someone talked about Captain America, there was this gleam in their eye. When Penelope first met Steve, he was just like any other guy or solider. Spending more time with him, she saw what made him special, and it was beyond what the people said about him. What he had was so much more greater.
"That… that wasn't strange," breathed Penelope. "I'm glad you said that. I'm glad that you can be yourself around me."
She was used to being on her own. The friends she had, she could count on her fingers, though perhaps it wouldn't hurt to add one more. She built her walls tall and high. When everyone left, Steve was still there.
The smiles were still on their faces. Steve looked so different when he wasn't in his Captain America gear. Though the messy hair and wrinkled shirt did have a certain charm and character.
Water then splashed all over the kitchen and the sink. Steve cursed under his breath. He accidentally turned on the faucet to full power after he finished with the dishes. As he turned off the sink, both of their clothes were wet.
"Are you alright?" chuckled Penelope.
The flustered look on Steve's face was so amusing, even though he doused himself heavily. "I'll live…"
"I'll get a shirt, hold on a sec…"
She shouldn't be laughing, especially when Steve just went through an ordeal, though him being wet and frustrated just made her smile.
They did laundry about an hour ago, so she knew where the clean shirts were.
Walking back into the kitchen, she had two shirts in her hands.
"I hope you don't mind if I borrow one of yours, is that alright? I'm just as drenched as you are…"
Looking up, she saw Steve already took his wet shirt off, showcasing his entire front body. It was a deer in the headlights reaction. Her insides grew tense.
She was an adult. She and Steve were colleagues and friends. She wasn't a school girl, why was she acting like this?
Come on, Penelope, give him the shirt already…!
With all her strength, she pulled out his shirt. As Steve reached for it, their fingers brushed against each other.
"Of course…" he began. "Wouldn't want you to catch your death. And thanks… for the shirt."
Penelope nodded, eyes lurking away as he changed. "Glad to have helped…"