Nadia

It was five in the morning and I was staring blanking at my room's ceiling – wide awake. Memories of my past were still bothering me in my sleep and it wasn't just them. The incoming war was also preventing me from sleeping because my gut keeps on telling me that there was just something amiss about this whole thing. As I tried to think all of this over, it just wasn't adding and rather than answers, more questions just kept on popping up. Another frustrated sigh escaped my lips. This was no use and lying here on this bed was just making it worse.

I should just get up because clearly, I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep anyway. Carter and I were going to spar together soon anyways. Better go early then. Standing up, I changed into some comfortable workout clothes. On my way to the training room, I pondered upon what happened yesterday in that place.

I was really grateful to Carter for what he did for me. It felt nice to just for once forget about everything and laugh to your heart's content. At least, some of the weight on my shoulders was lifted and it really felt good.

A loud thud snapped me out of my thoughts as I noticed the light coming out from the training room. Who on earth would be awake this early in the morning? With my curiosity getting the best of me, I walked into the room and it surprised me to see that familiar man up so early just to blow off some steam.

Steve was punching a bag like there was no tomorrow and it seemed like he hasn't been here that long, judging from how sweaty he was. As I watched him land another punch at the poor bag, something in him caught my attention. His eyes reflected all of those things that he tried to bury – all the pain and sadness.

Not taking my eyes off of the super soldier, I saw myself in him. Every time we vented out our feelings, we constantly relived the memories that we desperately tried to forget. All of these memories that haunted us flashed before us whenever we land a punch and everything was there – the pain, regret, sorrow and most of all anger.

Steve punched the bag again, causing it to sway violently. He looked at the bag like it was the only way that he could forget about everything else and be in his own world. His eyes reflected everything. They showed me just how broken this man was.

To be honest, it shouldn't even come as a surprise to me, because I couldn't even imagine myself if I stood in his shoes. Waking up seventy years later, only to be told that you lost everything you once had and knew. It was a mystery to me how he still wasn't breaking down because if it were me, it would have driven me insane by now. It seemed that he had enough because he punched the bag one last time, causing it to break and fly across the room.

I then decided to let my presence known. "Never thought anyone would be up this early in the morning."

Steve quickly snapped his head towards me, looking quite surprised to see me. Only did I notice now that he looked quite tired, probably from lack of sleep. He wiped some sweat from his forehead and said, "Me neither. I'm surprised to see you up so early to punch a bag."

"Force of habit. You?" I shrugged my shoulders but Steve gave me a look that told me he wasn't convinced at my lame excuse of being awake at the moment.

"Can't sleep." He slowly took the bottle on top of the bench and drank from it. I knew it. It was bothering him and it just made me more curious. Something in him was intriguing me so much. Tilting my head to the side, I looked at him with knitted brows.

Before I could even stop myself, I blurted out the thought that was running through my head. "Something bothering you."

He looked at me with slightly wide eyes. Then, the next words that came out from his lips surprised me and made me tense. "Yeah… I can tell it's the same for you."

Heaving a sigh, I said, "Let me guess. Nightmares."

"They just won't go away." He blankly stared at the wall, which made me think that he was having another flashback. I knew exactly what that felt like and I could empathize with him in a way.

"They won't go away because they're part of you." I wrapped my arms around myself. "Memories of the past."

"But, one can hope, right?" He tiredly slumped on the bench.

"We hope but we both know how it is." I sat beside him as another sigh escaped my lips. "No matter how much we try to run away, they're always gonna be there to serve as a reminder."

As he looked at me in the eye, he then finished it for me, "A reminder of all of the things that we lost and we try to forget."

"We always question why things turned out the way they did. Why us of all the people out there?" I glanced at him and paused for a moment before continuing, "Because all of those once treasured memories were now just a constant reminder of how every single thing slipped through our fingers."

"We're alike in a way." He leaned forward and placed his elbows on his knees. "The only outlet of our emotions is through feeling this physical pain of punching a bag. Somehow it just makes everything seem a little easier, a little bearable."

I knew what he meant. Losing Ethan felt like everything around me just crumbled down. I knew everyone tried to help me but nothing could express how much it hurt. The only way I knew to prevent myself from drowning in my misery was to push myself to the limit.

"In hopes of trying to keep ourselves together." I heaved another sigh as he glanced at me.

He gave me that look that I knew so well and clearly understood. Going through the same yet different thing, we understood each other somehow. None of us spoke after that and It wasn't an awkward silence. We were taking this chance to enjoy a moment of peace and silence. These were the only times that we could have a peace of mind. It felt good to talk to someone who understood you.

I didn't know why I was becoming more curious about this person and I just had this urge to ask him about certain things. Right at this moment, all that was running through my head was that my curiosity needed to be sated.

I was the first one to break the silence. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"I'm just curious." I glanced at him as he waited for my question. "How are you coping with all of these? Because I can't imagine myself being in your position."

He sighed before saying, "It's been hard since I woke up from the ice. Honestly, I feel lost. Everything was just different from how I remembered it."

"Well, seventy years is a really long time." I gave him a small smile, making him let out a short laugh.

"Yeah, it is. I just… I don't feel like I belong. Everything, I used to know, changed. Coping with everything is very challenging. I know I can get through this but it's just been really rough since waking up." Steve leaned back onto the wall and said, "Technology also improved so much and all I can say is that we don't work well together."

The way he said it made me chuckle while Steve looked at me with an amused and boyish grin gracing his face.

"It's gonna get better. Just give it time." I then remembered what he told me before. "I kinda know how that feels." Steve only gave me a confused look as I continued, "To feel like you don't really belong."

He furrowed his brows and I could tell he wanted to ask the story behind that but thank God, he didn't push it. I didn't want to spill everything again. But now that I thought about it, I kind of did already.

My train of thoughts was interrupted when Steve said, "You know, I don't really understand why you would want this line of work. You could do whatever you wanted that didn't involve any of this. You're a beautiful dame after all."

I raised a brow at him as he flushed and corrected himself, "An agent. No, no. A woman. Definitely not a dame." His eyes slightly widened after realizing what he said. "I didn't mean that! You're not ugly. Very far from that. You're very beautiful. I meant a beautiful woman. Yeah, that's what I meant. Definitely!"

The whole time he was saying that all I could do was look at him in shock. What on earth? I then pursed my lips into a thin line because this was really awkward and weird. I was having a sense of déjà vu right now and then, I remembered our talk on our way to capture Loki about a day ago. Yup, definitely. This was like 'Off to Germany: Part Two'.

"No offense but exactly when was the last time you talked to a woman?" I bit my bottom lip to stop myself from laughing after seeing his flushed face.

"Well, this is the longest conversation I had with a woman actually." He let out a small laugh.

I then smirked at him, making him blush a darker shade of red. "I can tell."

"Well, since we're here." I stood up and faced him while he gave me a confused look. "Let's have a little sparring."

"Why?"

"Well, my friend was supposed to do it with me but apparently, that lazy bum didn't wake up again," I muttered in annoyance, making his eyes gleam with amusement, as he stifled a laugh.

Steve then shook his head. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not?" I raised a brow at him.

"I don't want to hurt you."

"You're not gonna hurt me, Rogers." I walked to the center of the sparring area before turning back to him. "Besides, that's a part of it. You can look at it as a way of letting our frustrations out."

Steve was still hesitant, seeing as he remained seated on the bench. I finally got a bit impatient and narrowed my eyes at him. "I don't take no for an answer. Now get your ass off of that bench before I make you, Rogers."

His eyes widened at my actions probably because he wasn't used to modern day women, who could be quite bold and aggressive. After hearing my order, he quickly stood up without the need of further persuasion.

"Yes, ma'am!" He was quite stiff now and this was quite amusing honestly.

My face scrunched up after hearing him call me 'ma'am'. "Stop calling me ma'am. I'm not old. Besides, I'm pretty sure you know my name by now."

"Okay, ma'am." He quickly corrected that when he saw my narrowed eyes. "Nadia."

For some weird reasons, I couldn't stop myself from letting a smile appear on my face as he returned it with one of his own. "Now, that wasn't so hard, was it?"

When Steve stood in front of me, I quickly went into a stance and said, "Hit me."

His eyes were as wide as saucers again. "What?"

"I said hit me." I gave him a look, furrowing my brows.

"I'm not gonna hit you-"

"If you won't start, I will." I didn't even let him finish as I aimed a punch at his head but he quickly dodged it. Fast reflexes. Using his shock to my advantage, I sent an uppercut and he just moved away on time. A kick was sent to his stomach but he blocked it with his hands.

Steve's instincts kicked in and he quickly sent a punch to my face. Fortunately, I moved my head to the side and blocked the punch with my arm. He then took this chance and punched my stomach, making me slightly lurch forward and groan.

Steve's eyes widened in horror after realizing what he did. "Oh God! Nadia, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you! That punch was a lot stronger than I intended!" He then went on and on.

With my knees slightly bent, one of my hands was placed on my knees for support as the other tried to soothe the pain on my stomach. Damn, that serum really did a work on him. That punch really hurt. Taking a deep breath, I stood up and turned to Steve, who was still frantically looking at me.

"Nadia, are you okay? Does it still hurt?"

Raising a hand up, I then answered, "I'm fine."

"Are you sure? I really punched you too hard. Is it still red?" He still wasn't finished, apparently. I pursed my lips into a thin line while still listening to Steve's never-ending questions and concerns. Okay, that was enough.

"Steve, you're rambling. Shut up and listen." I blankly stared at him, making him stop and stare at me. "It's okay. I'm fine, okay?"

"Oh, okay." He sent me a sheepish smile as a light tint of pink dusted his cheeks.

"That's just the start." A smirk made its way on my face as I went into stance again. "I'm gonna get my payback."

His lips then quirked up into an amused smile. "I better watch out then."

Smirking at him, I quickly charged at him and sent a hook to his right cheek. He blocked it and sent another straight punch to my face, making me push his arm to a different direction. I took this opening and elbowed him in the face, pushing him away from me.

Steve groaned as the smirk came back on his face. "Really?"

"Told you so." I shrugged my shoulders and returned his smirk with one of my own.

He got ready and waited for me to attack. I then tried to punch him but he blocked it again. Steve aimed a hook at my head but I ducked down just in time. A small groan escaped his lips as I kicked him on his left knee, sending him on one knee. I went to hit his face again but he brought his forearm up and blocked it. Steve then rolled over just in time to avoid my roundhouse kick. He then slid towards me and took this chance to kick both of my lower legs, making me fall onto the ground.

"Ugghh…" My head hit the mat as Steve went towards me with a worried look.

"Nadia, are you okay?" Steve then reached his hand out to me. "Here, let me help."

I took his hand and once I was up, this was another advantage for me. Turning around, I pulled my weight forward and flipped him over my body. A loud thud echoed through the whole training room as the super soldier hit the mat, earning a grunt from him.

I crouched down beside him with a smug smirk on my face. "I win."

A chuckle came out of his lips as he tried to even out his breathing. "Didn't see that one coming."

"It's called letting your guard down." I sat beside him and continued, "I just used what was offered to me."

"Well next time, remind me to never do that again," he answered back before chuckling. "You know, for someone as small as you, you sure do pack a punch." Steve had an amused smile on his face before laying his head back onto the mat.

Chuckling, I smirked at him and leaned back with my hand placed behind me for support. "That's why you never underestimate your opponent."

He laughed again and said, "Yeah, tell me about it."

I shook my head in amusement and let out a small laugh. Quick and loud footsteps disturbed the peaceful and comfortable ambiance between us. Steve and I quickly looked at the entrance to see who it was.

"Oh God! Nadia!" my boisterous friend shouted as he entered the room. "I'm so sorry! Please don't kill me! I-"

Once Carter realized that I wasn't alone, he stopped babbling and took in our appearance. I rolled my eyes at him as Steve laughed again after seeing what I did, seemingly amused by me and Carter. Carter's eyes darted between me and Steve as his curiosity was piqued. "Am I interrupting something?"

"No," both Steve and I said at the same time, making us glance at each other.

"Oh…" Carter's mouth formed into an 'o' and I was so sure that he was suppressing the urge to smirk at us. This was not good at all. He was definitely going to fish about this so I decided to change the topic.

"You're late. Again. For the third time this week." I glared at Carter as he laughed nervously.

"About that, you see… I, uh…" He was nervously looking at anything but me.

"You overslept again. You, lazy bum."

"Hey! In my defense, I stayed up late for something important."

"Yeah, right." I rolled my eyes and said with sarcasm dripping in my voice, "Beating your top score in Galaga is so important."

"No, I wasn't playing," he answered without looking at me in the eye.

"Don't you think I know you by now after being your friend for the last ten years?"

"Psshh…That's impossible." He made a face, showing that he didn't believe me at all. From the corner of my eye, I could see Steve trying to hold his urge to laugh as he watched us in amusement.

"Really, Carter? You wanna play this game?" My eyes quickly narrowed after he answered me with a shrug. "Fine."

"You stutter when you can't come up with an excuse. You can't look at me in the eye when you lie. Then, you fidget so much when you've done something to piss me off or annoy me."

He looked at me with wide eyes as I smirked and said, "You still want me to continue?"

"Okay, okay! Jeez…" He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "You're worse than Nana when you're like this."

"You're saying something?"

"Nothing… Hate it when you're so full of sass… I feel like so attacked…" he sulked as I slyly grinned at him.

"This is why you should never play this game with me."

Our banter was cut short when a laugh came out of a certain soldier's lips, making both Carter and I look at him. I raised a brow at him as my lips quirked up into an amused smile and Carter was doing the same thing.

When he noticed the silence, he flushed and said, "Sorry, I couldn't help it. It was amusing to watch you two."

"It's fine." Shaking my head, I smiled at him and let out a small laugh. Just the did I notice that Carter was looking between me and Steve with that familiar glint in his eyes.

Carter smirked at me before turning to Cap. "I haven't introduced myself. I'm Carter Williams. Call me Carter."

"Steve Rogers." Steve took Carter's extended hand and shook it.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Cap."

"Likewise." Steve smiled back.

"So, what were you guys doing just now?" Carter gave him that shrewd smile, making me purse my lips and glare at him. This was really bad because I could practically see those annoying thoughts that were running through his head.

"Sparring," Steve answered.

Carter merely raised a brow. "Just sparring?"

"Yeah, because a certain someone ditched me. Again." I glared at him, making him pout. Steve just chuckled at the free entertainment in front of him.

"You're seriously not gonna let that go, are you?"

"Do I look like I'm gonna let it go anytime soon, Carter?"

"No…" he grumbled like a little kid, who was being reprimanded. Steve laughed and shook his head while I smirked at my best friend. Time to end this. I was so sure Carter was going to bring it up again.

"Well, time to go. Thanks for the training, Rogers." I walked towards the exit while fixing my messy hair.

"Uh, Nadia!" Steve called, making me stop in my tracks and turn to him. He had that smile on his face again and it was confusing me. "Uh, do you think we can maybe do this again next time?"

I tilted my head to the side in confusion before giving him a small smile. "Sure. See you later."

I then started walking away as he said, "Yeah. See you, Nadia."

For some weird reasons, I couldn't help but let a smile appear on my face. It didn't last long because it was replaced by a frown when Carter quickly followed me with that annoying smirk on his face.

"Don't you even dare, Carter."

"No, I definitely will." He gave me a knowing smile when I turned to him. "What was that?"

I continued walking. "Nothing."

"No, there was. Something is going on between you two."

"Nothing is going on."

"You're trying to avoid it again." He sighed, making me stop in my tracks.

"You're letting your imaginations run wild again."

"No, I'm not. I'm not stupid, Nadia, and so are you." He crossed his arms over his chest and looked at me in the eye. "The way he looks at you was different and you weren't the usual you when you were around him today."

I kept quiet as he continued, "You smiled more when you were with him a while ago, which rarely happened since you know what happened. You were different."

"Carter, you're not gonna find anything because there is nothing."

"I'll definitely find something." He gave me one of his infamous smirks.

"Well, you're gonna need lots of luck."

"Challenge accepted!" Carter yelled as I walked away.

This reminded me of Tasha's words, making me question things that I tried to ignore. When I looked into Steve's eyes, I saw something that I didn't expect to see. They gleamed with happiness and amusement but there was something else. What was that? That unknown emotion in his eyes as he looked at me. Why was he even acting like this towards me anyway? I didn't get it at all and it was confusing me so much.

That unknown emotion in his eyes was there the whole time, especially when I laughed at him for the first time. The look on his face hinted me that he didn't expect what I did at all. Well, I wasn't expecting it as well.

This was me we were talking about. I wasn't one to do these kinds of things with someone I just met a few days ago. Besides, I became closed off after losing Ethan. Those unexpected laughs and smiles from me weren't intentional. They just happened without me knowing it and before I could even stop myself.

There was nothing I could say to all of the things that Carter said because he hit the nail on the head. I fled the scene before it got even worse. I couldn't let Carter dig any further. He was right when he said I was different because I felt it too.

What the hell was happening to me? Maybe it was because Steve and I understood each other's pain in some ways. But, was it really just that? Why was I acting like this towards Steve Rogers? He was making me feel things that I shouldn't be feeling. I didn't even know what was happening to me anymore. It was scaring the hell out of me.

Here you go, guys! Thank you for the follows and favorites, really happy to know people are liking this so far! :) What do you think about it? :) I love seeing the interactions between Carter and Nadia. Please drop me a review. :) Until next time~~! :D

Btw, any suggestions for a ship name for Steve and Nadia? ;)

- Sylkes