Chapter 5

By: MysticFantasy

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Natasha carefully held the bag in her arms as she walked to Steve's door. She was really hoping that he would let her in so they could talk.

Even though most people believed that she didn't care for others, she was really worried about him.

Coming to his door, she knocked a few times and waited. The warmth of the bag seeped into her arms and hands as seconds slowly passed.

A small click alerted her that Steve was at the door and, sure enough, it opened and he stood on the other side.

She right away noticed the bags under his eyes and the small stubble covering his face.

"Hi." she greeted. "Can we talk?"

Steve didn't look like he was going to answer her but then he stepped to the side and allowed her in, closing the door once she was inside.

The spy was glad to see that his apartment was still neat and orderly. She had been afraid that it might be a total mess. Worse than the lab after Tony and Bruce pulled an all night experiment.

She walked over to the table and placed the bag down.

"I brought you something to eat." she said.

"Thanks." he said. "Thirsty?"

"No, thanks."

"So...what do you want to talk about?"

"Steve, I want to know why you've been so down lately." she flat out said. "I'm really worried about you and so are the others. We just want to know what we can do to help you."

"There's nothing any of you can do to help me." Steve said. "None of you could possibly understand my situation."

"Finding yourself cast in the future without warning?"

Steve nodded.

"Steve, you're right. We can't possibly understand what it's like to be thrown almost a whole century into the future with everyone we know left behind. For you, it happened in an instant. No time to prepare for it or anything. None of us went through something like that but...we want to help you see that you've been given a second chance at life."

"And what chance would that be? Am I suppose to suddenly be this era's greatest hope? Then what? Date? Start a family? Actually have friends?"

"You don't think of us as your friends?" she asked a little surprised.

"We're teammates and co-workers."

Natasha lightly sighed. It actually stung a little at hearing him say that he didn't think of the team as his friends. Just people that he worked with and fought alongside with.

"Look, I appreciate what you're trying to do for me Natasha but...it's not going to change anything. I'm a man out of time who doesn't belong in this era or any other except my own. Only I'm stuck here."

Natasha lightly glared at him.

Stuck?! He was stuck here?!

"You really don't believe that we care about you, do you?" she asked.

"I know all of you planned these little visits as a way to see if I'm still alive and not planning anything stupid. Don't worry. I'm not. But I know that all of you just see Captain America. Not Steve Rogers."

Ding.

Natasha felt like a curtain just opened and let in enough light to fill the entire apartment.

Steve wasn't just alone, he felt that everyone just saw the super soldier and not the man. He was already out of his time and in another where people knew the legend of Captain America but not the man behind the stripes.

He felt like everyone had forgotten about him and everything he had done during the war. That he was just another nameless person who did more than his part only to be pushed aside.

He was down right feelings truly alone.

Everyone he knew was gone and he felt everyone didn't even know the real name of Captain America.

Natasha walked over and wrapped her arms around his torso. She felt Steve tense under her touch but didn't make a move to remove himself.

Instead, she felt his strong arms wrap around her.

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Sorry for the delayed update and that the chapter is short. The next one will be longer.