Okay, so look this chapter is actually on time! That being said, semester is about to start so I may miss next week's update. I'll try not to, but I make no promises.
Also, this story has already had almost 500 hits, and I can't actually believe that this is real life. Once again, I freaking love you people so much and I hope you're enjoying the bromance between Nicole and Steve. I might actually get into some genuine plot line and character development with the next couple of characters. Also, a little regards to the timeline. I'm not basing this off of the official Marvel timeline because, honestly, it seems a little rushed to me. Instead I'm trying to do things based more off of their release dates in the US. The exception to this is Nick Fury's Busy Week, which is elaborated more below.
Any questions, or if it's unclear let me know.
Also, if there's any aspects of the 21st century that you want to have Steve having a little trouble with shoot me a line and let me know. Other than that, keep enjoying!
Adara.
Chapter Five:
June 01, 1995, Location: 1459 Cherry Avenue, Atlanta GA
"Is your bag all packed, little bean?" Summer was always her favorite season, for a multitude of reasons. Namely because it meant that she didn't have to wake up early and go to school anymore, but that wasn't the only reason. Usually as soon as school let out she would pack her bags and spend the first half of the summer with her aunt and uncle out in Montana at their ranch. The second half of the break had her back in DC, staying with her grandma and grandpa. She would go to church with her nana Meredith, or to the beach and play in the sand. Her favorite thing to do when she was in DC with her grandparents was when Papou would take her to the Smithsonian and show her the Captain America exhibit. They would spend the entire day looking at things and Papou would tell her everything that they got wrong.
He had tried telling the people in charge of the exhibit, but apparently they didn't want to listen.
Which, Nicole had always thought that they were being stupid because her Papou was the smartest person she knew, and he had actually fought in the war with Captain America. But adults were actually pretty weird and far be it from her to point out that obvious fact to them. They had a tendency to get upset when a nine (and a half!) year old told them that they were being dumb.
Nicole wouldn't be able to go to the museum with her grandpa anymore though, ever since they had moved down to Georgia everything had changed. Mama didn't want her to go back to DC, not after what had happened. A lot of people, parents and students alike, didn't like the fact that she hadn't been hurt during the fire like the others. Said it wasn't natural, said it was her fault.
Mama told her they were just scared, and hurting, but Nicole knew better. Nicole knew that they were right. Because she remembered what had happened, she remembered the heat and burning and then there was fire and she was perfectly fine afterwards. Three boys had been sent to the hospital, one had died, and it had been her fault. Papou told her that she hadn't done anything wrong but… well, if that had been the case they wouldn't have had to move. Nicole wouldn't have to go to the Quarry—which was a scary name for a place that wasn't that scary—every day after school.
She wouldn't be able to set things on fire without being burned.
"Nicky?" Mama was standing in the doorway, her pretty red hair tied up in a bun. She still wasn't used to the sticky heat of the state, and to be honest Nicole really missed the snow as well.
Mama was waiting for an answer, school had let out two days ago and it was time for her to leave now. "Yes ma'am."
Emily Dugan smiled gently at her daughter, taking in the nine year olds appearance. She was wearing a pair of bright blue shorts exposing permanently bruised and knobby knees, her beat up sneakers and—of course—her favorite shirt. It had been a gift from her grandfather, as bright a shade of her shorts but with a comic book cut out of her favorite super hero. Of course, as soon as he'd given Nicole the shirt, Emily's father had taken the nine year old onto his lap and explained how much the real Steve Rogers had hated those comics.
"Good girl." A slight shift of apprehension went through the older woman as she grabbed her daughter's heavy bags. "Your ride is almost here."
This was the third summer that they had come, the nice blonde woman who took her away every summer since they'd moved down to their house. Mama had been uneasy the first time the nice woman had come, they'd gone and talked privately. At least, it was supposed to be private, but Nicole could be very sneaky when she needed to be.
I can help your daughter, mistress. I can show her how to control her abilities better than these mortals.
And then she had heard something… weird. It sounded like a strong wind blowing through the kitchen without rattling any of the pots or pans that hung from the ceiling. That had been the first summer that Nicole had been taken to the faraway place with the shiny gold buildings and the man with one eye.
This was the third.
The knock came on the front door. It wasn't soft and questing like it usually was when the nice woman came, it was loud and boisterous. Through the door they could hear someone hissing. "Easy brother, you don't want to shatter the poor woman's front door!"
"I didn't knock too hard. It isn't my fault that Midgardian architecture is so frail." There was a pause. "Do you think they heard?"
"I think that everyone on the block heard." Came the sarcastic reply.
Mama had evidently had enough and, sharing an arch look with Nicole the woman went to answer the door. Crowded outside on the porch standing shoulder to shoulder were two very large men. Nicole caught a glimpse of red cloth and green leather before mama stepped inside and let them in.
Holy crap! Those were the largest men that she had ever seen! They were easily taller than Papou, and the blonde was very muscular. He had shoulder length, wavy hair and a long, scruffy beard. His face had a smile on it, a large, rosy cheeked smile and twinkling eyes.
Nicole instantly liked him and he looked familiar. She thought that she had seen him before, with that long red cape and hammer.
His brother was even taller, with slicked back dark hair and more angular features. His face was somber, twisted in a slight mask of annoyance, and he didn't actually look nearly as happy. She wasn't quite as sure how she felt about him either.
"Hello ma'am!" The blonde one boomed, his voice so loud that it made Nicole flinch. And she was used to loud people; Papou had a laugh that could be heard by the neighbors if you got him going well enough. "You have a lovely home. I am Thor Odinson and this is my brother Loki. We come on behalf of our mother Frigga, who regrets that she couldn't make it. She has taken ill."
Mama was not impressed, and her arms crossed under her chest in the stance that Nicole recognized. She was actually becoming very cross. "First of all, use your inside voice. Second of all, explain to me why I should believe you."
It was the tone of voice that she used when she expected no nonsense from anyone, no matter who—or how tall—they were. The dark haired one, Loki, smiled slightly. He gave mama a slight bow, gesturing towards the kitchen. That was where grownups went whenever they wanted to talk privately. "I understand your concern. If I may speak to you alone?"
Brown eyes scanned both men critically, the type of look that made the 5'2" woman seem much more imposing than she was. It seemed like she glared at them for forever, and Nicole made herself busy by fiddling with the strap of her book bag. She had been on the receiving end of that look before, whenever she was acting out, and knew that it could be a very powerful expression.
"Behave." That word was directed at her, before mama turned towards the doorway. Loki followed, leaving her alone with his brother.
Of course, Nicole always behaved… well mostly.
She sized up the blonde man out of the corner of her eye with a guarded expression, watching as he hung his hammer on the hook for the coats. He noticed her attention and smiled warmly at her, taking a few steps forward and kneeling down. "Hello little lady. You must be Nicole."
Her first instinct was to shy away from the attention, but that would be rude. And superheroes didn't just hide when they were uncomfortable. "I am. And you're Thor."
His smile widened at that acknowledgement, and he reminded her of a golden retriever that she'd seen at the park once. "You are one of my mother's best students you know, she looks forward to these summers."
"I… have fun when I'm there." The praise warmed her slightly, and Nicole found herself becoming more relaxed around the friendly man. "It's very interesting."
They sat in silence for a few moments, before he pointed slightly to her shirt. "That is an interesting shirt. Is he some sort of Midgardian hero?"
Nicole looked down at her shirt for a moment, lips pulling back into a smile. "Oh yes! He's Captain America and he's the best hero! He fought with my Papou—grandpa—during the war and fought a lot of bad people to save the world!"
"He sounds like a very brave and strong warrior." They had found common ground, and Nicole bounced on her heels.
"I want to be just like him!"
IOI
August 24, 2011, Location: 19th Street, Brooklyn NY
"Son of a bitch! How is this even possible? God mother—!" It was impossible. It was downright impossible. It had to be.
"What's the problem, Dugan?" She was also going to kill him.
Nicole glared at Steve out of the corner of her eye, a low growl rumbling from the back of her throat. He was leaning back against the couch, feet propped up on the coffee table and one arm slung over the back as he watched her smugly. The Wii remote was in his other hand, and on the television screen Mario was doing a victory lap around the Rainbow Bridge.
Nicole sputtered, flinging her hands up disbelief as he just sat there. "This isn't possible. It was the first time you've ever played the damn game, and on the hardest friggin level and… you aren't human!"
"Jealous?" He laughed, watching as she jumped to her feet. The controller dangled from her wrist, the strap on it the only reason why it hadn't gone flying across the room by now.
"It's the only explanation. It is the only possible explanation. That or… okay, beginner's luck. I call a rematch." Nicole practically vaulted over the back of the couch, weight dropping down as the woman sat with her legs crossed.
"You can have as many as you'd like." Steve adopted a familiar shit eating grin. "I'm still going to win."
"Keep up that attitude blondie, I'll get you a fork for when you need to eat your words!" This time she would win; Bowser's Castle was her track.
This week was spent teaching Steve all about video games and their corresponding game systems. Yesterday they had spent the day playing Halo and, once he had gotten used to the controls he was unsurprisingly good at it. It was a war game after all, and Steve did have one hell of an eye for tactics and strategy. Which was much better than Nicole's on method of shoot people and hope you're going in the right direction. But Mario Kart… son of a bitch, how could he win on the Rainbow Bridge? On his first try!
"You nervous yet?" She taunted, fingers resting lightly on the buttons.
The light went from red.
"Not even a little bit." Steve smirked, sitting forward.
To yellow.
She narrowed her eyes, pupils shrinking into pinpricks. "You should be, cuz I'm gonna wipe the floor with you."
To green.
Nicole slammed her shoulder into the man next to her, fingers pressing into the button with a victorious cry as her avatar took off.
"Hey!" Steve yelped, arms flying akimbo at the sudden displacement of his balance. It was strong enough to knock him off balance without doing any serious damage. She suspected that he still wasn't used to her strength in spite of the fact that he had become her new sparring partner.
"All's fair in love and war." She shouted by way of response as he struggled to take off and regain lost ground.
Nicole took an easy lead, passing by the other players with the use of a few power ups and simple, skillful maneuvering. They rounded the first lap with her in first place, and Steve in fifth. He had an intense expression of concentration on his face, and Nicole felt her brows furrowing when he came up past Peach into third place.
"You're not gonna win pretty boy." She growled, though at this point she wasn't sure who she was trying to convince more; him or herself.
"You keep saying that, it ain't over yet." They reached the third lap with only Bowser between her lead and Steve closing in.
"We're in the third lap. Practically the home stretch." She hit the turbo strip, flipping through the air and thinking that she definitely needed some bonus points for style. "I told you, beginner's l—wait. No. Don't you dare Steve don't you—mother fuck!"
Blue shell of doom. Why hadn't she anticipated the blue shell of fucking doom?
Nicole could only watch in detached horror as she went spinning out, sputtering to a stop precariously close to the edge of the track. She began pressing buttons in a vain attempt to regain control of her life. "It's okay, there's still plenty of time. I can catch up. I got this, I'm a professional. This is only your second actual race and oH MY GOD FIREBALL NO!"
As she was knocked off of the track, on the other side of the screen Steve was just crossing the finish line. Nicole could only watch in horror, tears pricking her eyes, as the other computer characters whizzed on by.
She came in last. Again.
"Why dear god? Why?" This time the controller did go flying when she threw her hands up, luckily landing against the chair instead of crashing into the floor or something more valuable. Steve didn't answer that question, he just sat there looking so satisfied with himself, watching her. Watching as she began to ponder the truth of her entire existence.
Nicole snapped her head to the side, facing him with a bitter, evil look. He shrugged his shoulders innocently, gingerly setting his own controller on the stand beside his feet.
"You know…" Those blue eyes glittered mischievously. "Cheaters never win."
For a moment she could only stare at him, mouth gaping open in shock. She let those words sink in, processing them, before understanding dawned in them and she threw herself into the throw pillow beside the couch. She made a noise caught somewhere between a shriek, sob, and laughter. It was somewhat hysterical and completely hilarious as made evident by the fact that Steve was no longer able to contain his mirth.
"I hate you so much right now." The words were muffled through the pillow but Steve heard them nonetheless. Nicole honestly considered how much trouble she would get in if she smothered him to death right now, but she could just imagine the load of paperwork that would have to be done if she did that. And considering how much of a fan Coulson was, she had a feeling that her new supervisor would not be pleased.
Didn't mean that the idea was tempting.
"I think you were mentioning something about me eating my words?" That dry response was too much and Nicole grabbed the pillow and whacked him with it.
"I swear to God almighty Steven. Y'all are askin' for a butt whoopin." She drawled, her words becoming thick with her southern accent.
Steve didn't even try to defend himself, he just kept laughing as she hit him. The blows lost force the longer she went and after a few minutes Nicole herself ran out of steam. Blowing a strand of hair out of her face and sounding like a disgruntled horse she sat back against the couch and continued to pout aggressively at the television screen.
"Where are you from?" He asked suddenly, "because that's a southern accent isn't it?"
"Well I was born in Virginia, right outside of Arlington. My mom was a high school mathematics teacher, and that's where we lived until I was six. Then we moved down to Atlanta, which is where I stayed until college." Intertwining her fingers she pushed them up over her head and stretched out her back and shoulders. "I spent college near the Academy of Operations, getting my degree while doing training to become a field agent."
She grimaced as she recalled the sleepless nights, stress headaches and bruises as she'd tried to balance between the two. It had been difficult to say the least, and Nicole had considered quitting more than a few times over the years but… she was glad that she had stuck it out. Especially considering the friends that had been there to pick her ass up after it had been slammed into the ground. Like she had told Steve on his birthday; there had been missions they'd sent her on that had gone horribly, missions that kept her up at night more often than not. Nicole firmly believed that SHIELD was doing the right thing though, even if sometimes it didn't feel that way.
If it hadn't been for SHIELD—and the organization that proceeded it—Nicole wouldn't be sitting next to Steve Rogers. The novelty had long since worn off, it had worn off a few days after she had officially met him, and to her it was a good thing.
That wasn't to say that she didn't like the man. Present circumstances notwithstanding Nicole had a lot of respect for Steve and she was more than happy to consider him her friend. After she had apologized a few days before his birthday, they had reached an easier, more comfortable relationship. He didn't like to talk about his feelings, and that was okay because neither did she. It was perhaps a flaw; people always said that bottling ones feelings up wasn't healthy but… well, to her that wasn't what she was doing.
She processed her emotions logically, just like Steve.
"I suppose you already know where I was born." The blonde muttered, a thin smile on his face. "What with reading my file and all."
"Well, yeah, as well as other things." She still hadn't brought up the fact that there was an entire Smithsonian exhibit on him yet, though it had been rolling around in the back of her mind. And it felt wrong to keep the knowledge from him, it felt like oil dripping down her throat and churning in her stomach. She hated it, but she hated the idea of what would happen when she told him even more. They hadn't had a serious shouting match in over a month, Nicole liked that. She liked that he was relaxed enough around her that he would come sit down on the couch with his sketchbook and pencils without being secretive about what he was drawing. She really liked the fact that he was sleeping a little better as well. She could still hear his fitful rest through the wall, but the night terrors were… well, they weren't better. It would be a long, rough road to recovery but he was making progress.
Progress,her mother would tell her late at night grading tests, no matter how small is still progress. A person should celebrate the fact that they are consistently improving at something.
Regardless of how Steve was doing coming to terms with the emotional and mental strain of jumping the better part of a century, he was a quick mind when it came to learning new things. Especially when it came to catching up on the popular culture over the lost time. And a good way to catch up on the accomplishments of the human race would be to go to a museum.
Telling Steve about the Smithsonian exhibit would prompt him into wanting to make a visit. Which meant he would know exactly how wrong a lot of their information was, and would probably get upset about it.
Granted Nicole had her own reasons for avoiding the nation's capital when she could. Sure, a few months ago she had been living in DC but that had been in between missions and most of her time had been spent at the Triskelion. Less likely for the wrong people to recognize her there and bring up things that she would willingly sell her soul to forget.
Things like screams of pain, wails of ambulance sirens, and the deafening boom of an overheated, highly pressurized explosion that still haunted the dark crevices of her mind.
I just wanted it to stop. Please just make it stop. Pleasepleaseplease—
"—ood. What do you think?" It took her a moment to realize that Steve was talking to her, and Nicole lifted a startled gaze to meet his eyes. "Nicole?"
"I—uh—what? I'm sorry, I was thinking." She admitted, schooling her features into a familiar mask. Now was not the time for those memories, or the familiar anxiety that accompanied them.
But then, Steve was a sharp guy and not a lot got past him. "Not very pleasant thoughts it seems. Everything alright?"
The genuinely worried look he gave her was met with a reassuring nod and smile as Nicole dragged her hands down her face tiredly. "Yeah. Well, more or less anyway."
And then he was watching her like that, the way people did when they didn't believe a single word of what you were saying. He didn't comment, he didn't move, he just watched her with skepticism in his eyes and a slightly sour frown on his face. It made sense, if she was allowed to mother him and make sure he was taking care of himself it would only be fair that Steve do the same.
"Okay, I was thinking about something that happened a really long time ago. It's not a pleasant memory, but I've moved on, yeah? At least I tried to anyway, but you know the world doesn't work like that all the time so what can you do? But for the most part I'm a functioning human being and will probably not dissolve into a puddle of tears." Nicole choked slightly on that admittance, shrugging her shoulders and turning her face away so that Steve wouldn't be able to see how uneasy she was. "Anyway, what were you saying?"
Luckily for her he seemed to have picked up on the fact that she really did not want to talk about it at the moment, and let the matter drop. "I was saying, I'm kind of hungry and we should get some food."
"Oh, yeah sure. Were you in the mood to go out, or order in, or—oh!" She flung herself over the back of the couch, legs uncoiling like a spring to propel her over towards the kitchenette table and the stack of papers on it. "I have a coupon for a café that's just over in Greenpoint called Café Grumpy. I mean, on the one hand, yeah we'll have to deal with a lot of hipsters, but on the other hand their coffee is the most beautiful thing I've ever tasted. So is their black pepper and banana cake. If you want something a little more substantial—and look at you—then I also have some coupons for that burger joint on 4th, and there's a bistro on Grand Street that's actually close to the coffee shop. There's technically a café just up the street too, so there's that. But my favorite place is actually up in Manhattan, and I know that's kind of a distance from here but I do need to go and pick up an order from this store in the Upper East Side or…"
She was still flipping through all of the little fliers and coupons that had been sent in the mail when she realized that she was being stared at. That was the point where Nicole realized that she hadn't actually stopped talking the entire time, not allowing Steve to get a word in edgewise.
"Sorry, I'll shut up." She shrugged sheepishly.
"Somehow I find that hard to believe." Steve smirked back at her, standing up to come along to the other side of the table. "But you said you needed to go to Manhattan?"
Standing next to him, Nicole couldn't help but realize just how much bigger than her Steve was. She wasn't short by any means, towering over her 5'2" mother by a good eight inches, but sometimes reality checked in and she remembered that Steve was a soldier that had killed more than a few people. It was easy to forget when they were hanging out, because he was sweet and quiet, someone used to taking up as little space as physically possible but there were moments when his size just couldn't be ignored.
"It's my mom and step-dad's tenth anniversary coming up and I got her a nice bracelet that I need to pick up from a jewelry store. And by nice, I mean I've been saving for the better part of six months to afford it." She fanned her face slightly with the stack in her hands, thinking that the air conditioner needed to be turned up because she was suddenly very warm. "But I can go another time if you'd like."
He shook his head thoughtfully, reaching up to rub the back of his neck with one huge hand. "Well, it's not like I actually have anything more pressing to do today. Why not? It's a nice day out, we can walk around and enjoy the sights. It'd be nice to see what all has changed."
Nice was, perhaps, not the word Nicole would have used. "Alright cool! Let me take Chauncey out really quickly that way we don't come back to any surprises while we're out."
"Okay, I'll secure the plants so that he doesn't knock them over." An unfortunate habit that her dog had whenever he was left alone for a long time was to get up onto whatever surfaces he could manage and knock over her plants. It had taken all of her effort not to shriek the first time it had happened and she'd come home to see her favorite aloe scattered across the living room of her apartment, dirt tracked into the carpet and clay fragments of the pot spread around the windowsill.
At least he wasn't as bad as the cat her housemate had brought.
For the most part Chauncey was being unreasonably reasonable. He went out without too much of a fuss—which couldn't always be counted on—and did his business. He didn't even try and sniff every single tree that they walked past. It was certainly warm out, and rather humid to boot, but the day was rather lovely. As she walked her dog up the street Nicole decided that she would broach the topic of the Smithsonian exhibit with Steve, and see what he wanted to do from there.
There was also the matter of the remaining Howling Commandoes. There weren't very many tangible links to his past that Steve could reach out and grasp, but the remaining members definitely fit the bill. Nicole liked to think that he would enjoy reconnecting with them, but at the same time… was he ready for it? For seeing the men who'd had his back in the war old and weathered while he looked the exact same?
She wasn't entirely sure who all from the old team was still alive, and before she suggested anything to her friend there was plenty of research that she would need to be done.
"Are you ready to go?" Steve asked brightly as she appeared from out of her bedroom, checking through her wallet to make sure that she had everything she needed.
The keys jingled when she grabbed them from the bowl on the table, and Nicole looped her finger through the clip that held the different rings. "Yeah. I hope we can find a good parking spot that's not too far away."
"Provided you manage to avoid getting hit by any blue shells." He offered innocently.
Nicole leveled a deadpan look at the blonde, already fed up with his sass. "Is that how you're gonna do me? Fine, buddy, you're so walking now." She stuck her tongue out childishly, making him laugh.
At least until she lengthened her steps down the hall and towards the elevator. "Hey! I'm just kidding!"
"Are you though? Really?" She asked dramatically, arms crossed as she tried to keep the amusement off of her face. "Because sometimes I wonder. And frankly Steve, that hurts. It hurts deep inside my heart."
He called her bullshit with a snort, shrugging his shoulders. "Does it hurt like a fireball?"
Nicole let out an undignified squawk at that, whipping around so fast that it sent her purple hair spinning in an almost perfect arc as her mouth gaped open like a fish. "Y—I—ow! Ow!"
The elevator pinged then, doors sliding open with the barest of rattles. Nicole entered first, leaning back with her arms splayed wide and adopting a pose very similar to the one she had worn in the elevator during their first meeting. She chewed on her lower lip, nose wrinkling as the elevator started dropping with a whirr. Her fingers tightened on the support railings, a slight tremor of unease going through her body. She was uncomfortable, her skin feeling dry and itchy in a way that no amount of moisturizer would be able to help. It had been almost three months since her last mission, and in that time with the exception of a few minor parlor tricks she hadn't used her powers once. It wasn't a huge deal, but it was a situation where she could feel the pressure building up in her and looking for an outlet.
She would need to make a trip to the Bank at some point to deal with it, because it always got worse during the dog days of summer.
IOI
Two hours, several shopping bags and half a turkey sandwich later, Nicole was sitting at a wrought iron table looking up at the skyline of the city as she sipped her soda. Steve was beside her, the remains of his BLT forgotten as he fiddled with the leather strap of his new watch.
"It's still a little loose." He muttered to himself, glaring intently at his wrist. "Ah well. It shouldn't fall off at least."
Nicole dropped her gaze to his figure when he huffed in defeat and set his arms on the table with a little force. "It's a nice watch."
He had picked it up while she was receiving the care instructions for her mother's bracelet from the man at the jewelry store. It was a lovely silver bracelet with diamonds inset and small star charms, as well as a maintenance warranty in case any of the stones were lost. It was nice enough that she could wear it out to some of the charity events that Jack went to for work, but not too expensive that her mother wouldn't be able to wear it every day.
The watch store had been a few buildings down, and Steve had chosen a relatively simple analog watch with a mechanical interface. Her favorite part of it was the fact that the watch face had an area where you could actually see the gears moving as the time ticked away. He had been playing with it and trying to adjust the strap to a comfortable diameter for the past hour though.
"It'll do." He agreed, before finishing off his sandwich. His expression looked troubled and considerate as though he was trying to work out how best to approach a subject. "So, you're my liaison to SHIELD, right? If there's something I need I talk to you about it?"
Nicole set her cup down then, attention focused on the blonde fully. "Yeah, what's up?"
"I… ah…" Steve was definitely nervous about something, she could tell by the way his eyes dropped to the chips still on his plate. "Was just wondering about my personal affects. The things recovered from the wreckage, and when I can get it back."
Nicole frowned thoughtfully at that, brain instantly flipping into full work mode as she contemplated his request. Everything from the wreckage would be catalogued and inventoried before put in storage until SHIELD scientists could pour over it. Depending on how high of a priority it was made, that could take anywhere from a few months to a few years. However… "Your personal things… I'm trying to think it wasn't exactly like you had a lot of stuff on the plane. But, I can talk to Coulson and see about what we can get back. The shield and uniform should be down with the rest of the wreckage, was there anything in particular?"
He took a drink of his water, cheeks flushing slightly. "Uh, my compass. I don't even know if it made it through the crash but if it did I would really like it back."
She pursed her mouth, nails tapping against the edge of the table. "I'll shoot an email to Phil as soon as we get back. If memory serves, and it usually does, the wreckage is being housed at the Triskelion so once it's found we'd have to make a trip to DC. Or I can see if it can be shipped down to the Bank."
"You don't have to take me up to DC." Steve offered hurriedly, "I mean, you've already done enough to help, so you can just have it shipped down to save the trouble."
"Steve, it's my job to make sure you have everything you need. More than that, you're my friend and I enjoy helping. So relax. And actually…" Her sentence dwindled then as she took a deep breath. They were already on the topic of it—or close enough anyway—she might as well bring it up now. "Going to DC might be a good idea anyway."
"Oh? How come?" His curiosity was piqued then, and Nicole took an overly fizzy gulp of her drink to collect her thoughts.
It burned a little going down. "Well… the Smithsonian Museum has a pretty extensive Captain America exhibit and I thought you might want to check it out."
He appeared stunned for a few moments, leaning back heavily in his chair as one huge hand came to cover his face. Nicole watched him uneasily, waiting for his response. "Okay."
That… had not been what she was expecting. She had prepared for disbelief, annoyance even, but not the calm resignation. "Okay?"
He arched an eyebrow at her hesitant question, no doubt noticing the way she was tensed. "It's not like I'm not surprised. Hell, they made comics about me when I was alive. I'm just wondering if I should expect the same ridiculous story telling of my life."
"Well…" A grimace followed the way she dragged out the word. "According to my grandpa, they got a few things wrong, and some areas are a little more threadbare than others. If you'd like, I can make an appointment with the curator in charge of the exhibit and you can sit down for a nice chat with them."
His response was cut short by the sound of what seemed like a jet shooting by overhead. It wasn't a jet of course, if the cheers of several people nearby were anything to go with. Even so, any wishful thinking that the source of the noise was somewhat normal was dashed by the flash of red and gold that went jettisoning to the dominant force in the skyline. It looked like Iron Man was returning to his tower after a long day of saving the world. Or, at the very least, saving himself.
A few years ago genius-billionaire Tony Stark had been taken hostage in a little cave in Afghanistan. And instead of waiting for the government to come save their number one weapon's producer he had built a suit powered by an electromagnet and rescued himself. That had been when the world had changed, and all of the strange things that SHIELD was working so hard to keep secrets were starting to spill out of the cracks. Just a few months prior in May everything had blown up in what had to have been the most stressful week for SHIELD. Bruce Banner, a man who had been trying to recreate Erskine's original super soldier serum had gone on a rampage across Harlem. The serum had backfired on the man, creating a mixture in his body that had been waiting for the right catalyst to come along and set it off. That catalyst had been a gamma bomb that had turned him into an eight foot tall green beast known as the Hulk.
And while they were still trying to clean up Harlem, an unknown artifact had dropped down in the form of a hammer in New Mexico. A hammer that had been very familiar to Nicole. The aftermath of that included the knowledge that Earth was not alone in the universe, especially as an alien weapon known as the Destroyer had—as the name implied—destroyed a small town in the desert. The aftermath of Thor's visit to Earth had… it had brought with it more bad news than she was willing to deal with. Nicole had wanted to be on the team that went to deal with the New Mexico incident but she couldn't. Fury had wanted her keeping tabs on Banner, and she couldn't rightly explain that she personally knew the Asgardian. Nobody outside of her immediate family knew the truth of where she had gone during the summers since she was six. And considering the fact that it was a secret that she was keeping from the Intelligence agency, Nicole couldn't imagine what telling her boss would do. She could imagine though, and that was bad enough. From what she had pieced together though… the whispers she had heard through SHIELD and later when Frigga had sent a projection to her apartment. Loki had died, and everything had hurt.
Before she could process that, however, Tony Stark had started acting even more erratically than usual. Coupled with the fact that the son of one of Howard Stark's jilted business partners had decided to build his own suit and then attack Madison Square with drones… it had been very busy indeed. SHIELD had sent their best to deal with the three separate incidences; Natasha Romanoff had infiltrated Stark's staff as his personal assistant, Barton had gone with Coulson to New Mexico and she had been in charge of the team that had been working to keep the government off of Banner's back while he slipped back into hiding.
Now that his little crisis was over though, Stark had seemingly turned over a new leaf and was acting as a consultant with SHIELD regarding matters that were above her pay grade to worry about. She had only met the man a few times in her life, before his father had died, and she had been less than impressed. Especially considering that their first official meeting—when she hadn't been a child—had ended with him being drunk and throwing up on her.
"So that's Howard's kid." Steve mused thoughtfully, eyes trained on the tower as well. "I don't believe it."
Nicole wrinkled her nose then, scooping up the remains of her yogurt and granola. "The similarities between the two are remarkable, really."
That caused a small, funny smile to spread across his face. "I'll believe it. Still, underneath all of his bluster Howard was a good man."
"And underneath all of his bluster, Stark is still an ass." Nicole offered cheerfully, watching as the waiter came up with their check. She immediately reached for it, at the same time that Steve did. The blonde was quicker than her though, collecting the leather folder and flipping it open in mild interest. "Steve…"
She wasn't one to allow people to pay for her meals, especially when she had the means to take care of herself. Steve, however, was as chivalrous as a man from the thirties could be and leveled her with a stern glare. "Nicole."
"I can pay for myself." She growled determinedly, arms crossed over her chest.
"I'm aware that you can. But weren't you just mentioning how much that bracelet—and I quote—made your bank account cry?" Brown eyes narrowed on him then, and she reached for the check only to have him jerk it out of her reach.
"Let me at least cover my food." She complained, making him shake his head.
His lips twisted into a slightly sour, stubborn expression that she was beginning to realize meant that she was not going to get her way. His features smoothed after that, though the stubbornness didn't leave his eyes. "We're adults, Nicole. This isn't a big deal and I'm paying."
Clearly ending the matter Steve pulled out his wallet and laid a few bills in the folder. Waiting like a preying animal, the waiter scooped it up before Nicole could protest, let alone slip her own money into it. They were left with her glaring bitterly across the table over her cup. "If it makes you feel any better, you can pick up the bill next time we go out."
It did, kind of, and she tossed her balled up napkin at his head. Steve caught it of course. "Fine, but I'm leaving the tip."
He looked like he was about to argue, but caught himself as his mouth opened. Steve shrugged instead and Nicole had to resist the urge to whoop in victory. Instead she folded a few bills and placed them under her now empty glass. As they sat there waiting for Steve's change, she turned her eyes back to the silhouette of Stark tower.
"You know, you can meet him if you'd like." She offered after a few heartbeats. It took the blonde a second to realize what she was talking about, but his eyes followed hers to the tall building. A wistful expression crossed his features before it was gone again, and he looked oddly serene.
"Maybe one day." He decided, the harsh line of his shoulders slouching slightly. "But I don't think I'm quite ready for that yet."
"Yeah? Alright, that's fine. We'll just take small steps then."
Because progress, no matter how small, was still progress.
