Author's Note: Hello, thank you for reading this Misdemeanors. This is not my first fanfiction, but this is the first one for this account. You may know me as xxjaimi122xx. I am finally getting back into the swing of things and seeing Thor: the Dark World has convinced me to post this story. Misdemeanors has been brewing in my mind for quite some time now. I love reviews and I do reply to them. Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated.
Enjoy!

Chapter Two: Explanations

I shifted anxiously under the blue-eyed stare of Captain Steve Rogers. Steve took a hesitant step toward me and seeing that I had no intention of moving, came to stand closer in front of me. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, trying to find the words to say. Eventually he found them and spoke, his voice soft.

"I don't understand. How can you be here? From what I understand it's been 70 years but you don't look any different than when I saw you in 1943," the last part was barely above a whisper. I tried to form an explanation in my head but the helpless look in the soldier's eyes caused me forget any plausible or redeeming explanation. However, before I could speak the director reminded us of his presence.

"Hold on, I must have missed something if you two are claiming to know each other. Now Captain Rogers has been an icicle for almost 70 years I demand an explanation as to how you know him, Agent Fyres." The anger and confusion in Director Fury's voice was evident as his authority coiled itself into his words.

Looking back at Fury, I gathered myself and put on the mask of calm that I had learned to wear most of my life. Fury has gotten closer putting me between the two men that were at risk of threatening my personal space. I took a step back away from both of them and spoke.

"I am not from around here, it was why I was pulled into SHIELD in the first place. But I didn't find my way here recently. I first arrived in 1942 and was stranded here with no way home. I found myself alone in an unfamiliar place with no idea what to do. But I was no stranger to war fare and enlisted in the American forces since fighting was the only thing I could do in this world without being completely out of place."

"That doesn't explain how you met Rogers," Fury persisted, unsatisfied. I glanced at Steve who was getting chairs for us then continued.

"From the training camp, I met Dr. Erskine and he had pieced together where I hailed from and offered me a position in his labs. I will not deny that in your sciences I was practically useless but he requested me at all the testings for my…other skill sets. While at the camps I met the Captain –who was not yet a captain –and we became fast companions as the other recruits pestered us both –myself for being a women and Captain Rogers for his small size. That's all there is to that tale."

Fury's face was unchanged as he stared hard at Steve and I. I used to be unnerved by the director's hard looks but I had long since grown immune to it. Steve, however, shifted uneasily under the scrutiny of the spy. In that moment I took the time to look at him and actually see him. It had been many decades since I first met the young-old captain and I had lamented his supposed death. I had thought that I would never look upon eyes as blue as his and see the compassion that laid there. Steve Rogers was a little miracle of unexpected events. 'Just a kid from Brooklyn.' Steve glanced at me and we locked eyes; a small smile curved his lips, the infectious action tugging my lips into a smile of my own. Fury cleared his throat.

"Well seeing as you two already know each other I have a new assignment for you, Fyres." Apprehension welled inside me at the director's words. "I want you to monitor Captain Rogers and help him assimilate. He will be discharged tomorrow and will be staying with you at your home. You have been spending too many nights in your SHIELD room. That's an order not up for discussion." Without another words, Fury exited the room.

Steve and I stood there awkwardly for a moment then sat in the seats he had provided, the one meant for Fury sat empty. The soldier and I stared at each other unabashed as we took in the situation. The telltale signs of stress were written all over the blonde's face and ingrained in his body language. His back was straight and stiff in his seat with his muscular arms crossed tightly over his chest. The perspiration on his brow from his previous boxing had dissipated but his brow was still knitted together and creased in contemplation. His eyes were what held me frozen, however. Those clear blue eyes were clouded with worry as he looked back at me. Guilt gripped me as he had once been one of my dearest friends but now he looked upon me with trepidation. During the war he had trusted me completely but my presence alone said that I had not done the same. The weight of it goaded me into action to escape such raw scrutiny. I stood and glided over to a small folding table that held the bandage that he wrapped his fist with. Wrapping the gauze around my own smaller fist I made my way over to the abandoned punching bag.

"Do you fancy a session? It's been a while since I did this with a partner," I half-muttered. Steve gave a small half-hearted smile and made his way to the other side of the punching bag. He held the bag steady as I gave a few testing punches then began to get more involved. "I know you have questions," I grunted, "and I am prepared to answer as many as I can."

"How old are you?" I scoffed at the question.

"It's rude to ask a woman her age so let's just say I am older than your homeland."

"But that's over 200…" I nodded, indicating that I was well-aware of that. "Um, you said you 'hailed' from somewhere. Where exactly is that?"

My punches became a little more aggressive as I answered. "I am from many places but I don't exactly have a home. Where I'm from is of little importance and I'd rather not discuss that."

Steve sighed in discontent as I avoided another question. "How did you get here?"

I thought over how to answer him and paused my blows. "I guess I got here by trusting the wrong people, I suppose. " Anger flared in me and I resumed striking the abused sack. "A long time ago I had very few friends and apparently they were the wrong ones for me. We decided to take a journey here. The leader of our little group was determined to prove a point to us. He was reckless and pigheaded and ignorant and idiotic and put us in the middle of a war zone. We became confused and scattered and hell broke loose. I found myself wandering around the German woodlands with the least liked of the group. Very few trusted him and even fewer liked him. But I did –and I was a fool to. Back then I fancied him and I guess you could say we were an item of sorts. It was never confirmed legitimate," my punches came harder as I reminisced. "Everyone told me that he was a mistake I would regret one day and they were right. We were sleeping inside of a large hollowed out tree –a redwood –when I heard him shuffle awake. I awoke as he left the tree. Then there was a blinding light, a crack, and he was gone. And I was alone." My strikes reflected my anger at the memory and with one final punch sent the bag and Steve back many yards –farther than when Steve broke the connection.

My breathing was erratic as I was taken back to that time. Tall trees. Burning wood. Tall grass. Autumn leaves beneath our feet. Green and blue eyes. Green blanket. The smell of peppermint. A beam of light. Nothing. He's gone. He's gone. No, he promised. But he's gone. He didn't come back. I'm alone. Alone.

Shaking my head I snapped back to the present to find Steve standing in front of me, his large hands placed on my small shoulders. Worry was evident in his cerulean eyes. I let out a shaky breath and gave him a smile, assuring him that I was alright. Silently, he took my hands in his and brought them up to my face revealing that the bandages were blackened and as if it were in a fire. I snatched my hands away from his and looked down.

"They never came back for me…" I whispered. The captain returned a hand to my shoulder in an expression of comfort and spoke softly.

"Everything is going to be alright, you know. I may not know your whole story but I'm not going to push you. I thought that you had lied to me and was afraid that I never had a friend in you at all but I see that you are the same person I thought you to be, just maybe a little stranger," he joked lightly. I chuckled and smiled, happy that our friendship hadn't been tarnished like I had feared.

"I am going to arrange some things, and I shall be back. Freshen up, it's about time you see New York." Steve beamed at the idea of going outside and began to unbandage his fist. I turned to go to the door but then walked over to him.

I took his larger frame in my arms and hugged him fiercely. I buried my face in the side of his neck as I was not much shorter than him. I felt his thick arms fold around my slimmer body and his face pressed into my hair. We embraced for a few seconds; the man out of time and the woman out of place.

"It's good to see you again, Steve."