Steve left the next morning. He packed up early and slipped out of the tower with JARVIS as the only one he said goodbye. All the attention he got for lifting the hammer got under his skin. He didn't understand what it meant that he was worthy and he really didn't want to know. Instead of checking out the old neighborhood, he returned home. Parking his bike behind the nightclub, he grabbed his bag and headed up to his apartment.
When he got to his door, he searched for his front door key. Unexpectedly, someone from the apartment next door opened their door. It was an attractive blonde hair woman.
"Hi," she said.
"Hi," he replied.
"So you're my next door neighbor," she said. "I'm Sharon Carter. I just moved in."
"Hello, Miss Carter," he said.
"Call me, Sharon," she said. "And you are?"
"Steve Rogers. Steve," he smiled.
"Well, Steve, it's good seeing you. I know I'll see you around," she said.
She re-entered her apartment. Steve found his keys and let himself in. As he stood in his apartment, he realized just how not Christmas it looked. He had no decoration, no tree, and no creche, which would anger his mother. The thought of decorating too much didn't appeal to him, but he decided he'd like up a little tree, one of those trees that was like a foot tall, and a creche, as well as some Christmas music that he knew. Again, it was time to honor those he lost.
The next morning he got up and went to the Triskelio to train his team. With Natasha away and his being ready, he could take over. When he arrived at the gym at nine in the morning, the six members of the Strike team were waiting for him. He strode over to them and introduced himself officially.
"I'm Captain Steve Rogers. You are now my team. Whatever missions I go on that need a Strike team, you are that Strike team. Whatever missions you are sent on without me, they will have my approval. I expect us to be a team, to protect each other, and to have each others back. I expect this in battle and out of battle. Is that understood?" he asked.
"Yes, sir," they answered.
Steve turned his head to see Rollins once again watching him. This time Steve waved at him. He was tried of pretending that he didn't notice. He turned his attention back to his team.
"Let's start by playing king of the ring. I want to volunteers for the ring. The winner will be king of the ring until someone can beat him," said Steve.
"Are you going to fight?" asked one of his men.
"Not this time," smiled Steve. "Now I need two volunteers to start."
All six men raised their hand. Steve grinned. "I like it men," he said.
He choose two men. They got in the ring and started to spar. Steve watched intently, learning the style and fighting form of each member of his team. He smiled as he watched. This was familiar; this was what he was meant to do.
"Hey, Rogers," it was Runlow.
Steve turned and looked at him. Rumlow was walking towards them with a large agent who looked like he was spoon fed steroids.
"My man here wants to face the legendary Captain America," said Rumlow. "You up for it."
Steve looked at his men. They were waiting for his answer. Of course, Rumlow wouldn't offer this fight if his man was normal. Steve looked back at Rumlow and poined at the ring.
"Get in the ring, Forest," ordered Runlow.
Forest walked past Steve and climbed into the ring. Steve's men cleared out. Steve jumped into the ring. The two men faced each other. With a growl of fury and feral nature he attacked Steve. Steve could have avoid the man but instead he braced himself and met him head on. The agent's strength was definitely enhanced as he was able to move Steve almost an inch, but that was all. Steve grabbed his wrists and pulled his arms away from him then he jumped up and kicked him in the chest with both feet. Agent Forest landed out of the ring not far from Rumlow. He rolled around on the ground in pain.
"Anyone else, Rumlow?" Steve asked.
"Not now," answered Rumlow. He walked away leaving Forest where he was. Steve looked at his men and said, "Help him to medical."
They did.
AVENGERS
It was Christmas Eve. Steve wondered what Natasha was doing. She was on his mind a great deal lately. He tried to remember himself that one, she was his partner, and two, she was out of his league, but again and again he thought of her like he used to think of Peggy. Now that he was starting to sketch again, she had become one of his favorite subjects. There were times he felt like that ninety pound sickly kid from Brooklyn and most of those times was when he thought of Natasha.
Carrying three bags of groceries, he walked down the hallway towards his door. As he passed Sharon's door he heard breathing then as he stopped in front of his own door, he heard her door open. He turned to face her.
"Hi," he said.
"Food shopping?" she asked.
"Yeah, well, I thought I cook myself a Christmas meal," he said.
"Christmas for one. That doesn't sound right," she said.
"Where are you off to for Christmas?" he asked.
"I'm a nurse so I can't go home. I have a shift tomorrow. I guess I'm doing Christmas for one, also," she said.
Steve smiled, "No, you're not. Join me."
"Really?" she replied.
"Really," he said.
He let them into his apartment then he took the bags into the kitchen. She looked around noting how he lived and what personal items he had about. Steve came out of the kitchen.
"We are going to have ham, garlic mashed potatoes, green beans, and a birthday cake," he said. "The birthday cake is a tradition my mother started. She said it was Jesus birthday so we might as well celebrate like it is."
"I like that," she said.
"I'm going to go wash up then start cooking. I like my Christmas meal on Christmas Eve, another tradition," he said. "Why don't you get comfortable. There are some movies over there, music is on my cellphone unfortunately, but I do have Netflix and Amazon. Someone made me get them."
"Maybe I'll see if there is anything worth watching," she said.
"Good," he smiled.
Steve went into his bathroom and washed up. He usually wasn't so bold with women. Maybe it was thinking of Natasha that made him bold. He wasn't sure of the reason, but he was glad he invited someone to dinner.
After he finished washing up, he returned to find Sharon had her shoes off, her feet curled up on his couch, and was looking for something to watch.
"Do you need any help cooking?" she asked.
"No, I can handle this." he told her then he went into the kitchen to start cooking.
"Romantic comedy, action, drama, animation, what are you interested in watching?" she called to Steve.
Steve stuck his head out of the kitchen and answered her, "Something of the season would be nice."
"Okay, a Christmas movie. I think I know one that will work, The Santa Clause and The Santa Clause Two,' said Sharon. "They are Christmas movie, but funny. At least, I find them funny."
"Then let's watch them," smiled Steve. "I'll put dinner on."
AVENGERS
"Lila, let Auntie Nat enjoy her hot chocolate," Clint told his daughter.
Lila was drawing using the coffee table right beside Natasha. She kept nearly spilling Natasha's hot chocolate in her enthusiasm to draw and color.
"You father and I have a friend who can draw well," said Natasha.
"Who?" asked Clint.
"Rogers," said Natasha. "Did you read his file? He went to art school."
"Oh," Clint said then he took a sip of his hot chocolate.
Laura came into the room with Cooper trailing her. Both Cooper and Lila were excited by Christmas Eve. They sat in the living room, which was festively decorated and had a seven foot fully decorated Christmas tree. Laura sat on the sofa next to Natasha.
"How is Captain America?" she asked.
"Captain America?" asked Cooper. "He's the guy from World War II who fought the Nazis, right?"
"That's him, Coop. What we talk about here isn't for friends or school. Understand," said Clint.
"Yes, dad," said Cooper.
"Rogers is what you'd expect," said Natasha.
"I'd expect a hero who give his life for his country or his men," said Laura.
"That's him," smiled Clint.
"Clint, he's more than what they write about in the history books," said Natasha.
"Really, Tasha?" asked Clint.
"Really," smiled Natasha. "He's a... good man."
"Is as handsome as those pictures of him in the history books?" asked Laura.
"Hey, why do you care?" smirked Clint.
"Curiosity," she said.
"He's six foot three inches of muscles and, okay, he's handsome," said Clint. "Right, Tasha?"
"If you like prefect," replied Natasha.
"Nat has been acting as his partner with me gone," said Clint.
Laura looked over at Natasha and elbowed her then asked, "Come on, tell me the truth, Nat, is he hot?"
Natasha almost chocked on her hot chocolate. She out her drink back down on the table then looked at Laura with one of her cold Black Widow glares.
"He's my partner," she stated ending the conversation.
"Coulson nearly swoons over him and Fury made him a level 8 from day one," said Clint. "He is different from most men."
"How come he's alive?" asked Cooper.
"Okay, I can tell you this but you have to keep it secret," said Clint.
"Okay," said Cooper excitedly.
"When he flew that plane into the water, it was an ice sheet, meaning that the water was freezing. He froze in the ice and we found him not too long ago." explained Clint. "When he thawed out, he was alive. No one expected that."
"Least of all him," said Natasha.
"It's amazing but kind of sad. He must be lonely," said Laura.
"I guess it can be for him. He does alright, though," said Clint, who then looked at his watch. "You two have to get to bed in an hour. No arguments, right?"
"Okay, dad," said Cooper.
"Yes, daddy," added Lila.
Laura leaned over and whispered to Natasha, "The you can give me the real scoop on Captain America."
AVENGERS
Steve and Sharon finished watching the second movie. The dinner and dessert was eaten. It had been an enjoyable Christmas Eve. Sharon yawned then she checked her watch.
"Oh, God, I should get going," she said.
Steve stood up to walk her to the door.
"I had a great evening. Thank you," Steve said.
"I did, too," she said.
Steve walked her to the door. He reached passed her to open the door. As he did Sharon turned and gave him a gentle kiss on the lips. The kiss surprised Steve but he didn't pull back.
"I really enjoyed myself, Steve. I hope we can have coffee together sometime," she said.
"Yeah, that would be nice," he replied.
He opened the door and Sharon left slipped out of the apartment. Steve watched her from his doorway walk to her apartment and let herself in. Once she was in her apartment, he closed the door. Closing his own door, he returned to the couch to watch the end of the movie. As he watched he though of Sharon and the kiss and smiled, then suddenly he thought of Natasha and his smiled disappeared. Instead his breathing became deeper and his body started to respond to thought of his partner.
"I can't do this," he said to himself.
He stood up ad headed into the bathroom in order to take a cold shower.
AVENGERS
Steve waited in the situation room for Fury and Hill to arrive. He and his Strike team were waiting for the mission. Steve sat listening to his men talk, joke, and try to act like they weren't about to go on a dangerous mission. The door to the situation room opened and Natasha entered wearing her catsuit and weapons. Steve smiled. She came down and sat beside him.
"Hey, Cap," she said. "Trying to go on a mission without me?"
"Have a good Christmas?" he asked.
"Yeah, it was nice. And you?" she asked.
"I had a surprising good one. My next door neighbor had Christmas Eve dinner with me and we watched movies," he told her.
Natasha gave him her best spy smile. I want to know who this neighbor is, she thought.
"Sounds great, Cap," said Natasha.
Fury and Hill entered the room. They came to the front of the room and Hill brought up a images of the Port of Bosaso in Somalia. Images of a freighter named the Castalia dominated. Fury cleared his throat.
"AIM has filled this ship up with experimental weapons. In three days they are having a sale, the proceeds of which are going to be shared with Hydra. I want you to sink the ship and destroy the weapons," said Fury.
"You go in quietly, do your job, and exfil. Maximum damage with no footprint," Hill said.
"This is not a sanctioned op," said Fury, "but I'll be damned if I'll let AIM and HYDRA send out experimental weapons and profit form them."
"Sir, what sort of security does the ship have?" asked Steve.
"Twenty-five mercs. AIM likes to hire mercs. Although I think that if the relationship with AIM and HYDRA continue they'll be HYDRA soldiers," said Fury.
"You'll have semtex charges to plant all over that ship and the cargo," said Hill.
"I want this to be a clean op," said Fury.
"Yes, sir," said Steve. "Stealth Quinjet?"
"Of course, Captain. Our best one," smiled Fury. "They won't see you coming and they won't see you leaving. Mission is tomorrow. Dismissed."
Fury and Hill left the room. Steve stood up and looked at his men.
"Your my men. You're the best. You've been trained by the best. Make me proud tomorrow," Steve said.
His men cheered him. Natasha elbowed him in the ribs and whispered, "Show off."
AVENGERS
The Quinjet was coming in under full stealth mode. The red light was on and Steve was checking his equipment. Natasha and the Strike team were checking their gear and parachutes. Suddenly Natasha noticed Steve didn't have a parachute.
"Steve, where's your parachute?" she asked.
"Don't need one. I'm jumping first and into the water. Once I'm on the ship I'll start taking out mercs, so by the time you parachute down we can start a clean and planting the Semtex," he stated. "Then we swim out into the water and get picked up by the Quinjet and are gone."
"I know that you're a frigging Super Soldier, but you might get injured jumping intot he water without a parachute," she growled.
"I've done this before, Nat. I'll be fine," said Steve. He offered her a smile. She glared at him.
The green light came on. Steve deployed the ramp then he looked at his men.
"You jump in five minutes. See you on the ship," he said then he turned and jumped.
Natasha growled as he did. She couldn't believe that he risked his body without considering... without considering how those who cared abut him felt. She took a deep breath. When she got back to DC she was definitely going to check up on who his neighbor was.
"Everybody get ready. We jump in three," she said.
The team leader Agent Miles walked up to Natasha.
"Sir, I have three men with bags of Semtex ready to start setting the stuff once we are on the ship. I'd like them to jump last," he said.
"Your team, your orders," said Natasha.
He nodded his head and then gave the order for those men to jump last. Natasha looked at the clock on the side of the Quinjet. It was time to jump.
"Jump," she called then jumped.
The Strike team followed. As they landed on the ship, they saw bodies of mercs strewn about. Natasha immediately pulled her sidearms and took off looking for Steve, while the Strike team did their work. She found Steve five down six men. Before he could attack them, she took out three. Steve took two out with his shield then he kicked the last one overboard. Natasha strode up to him.
"You're bleeding," she said.
He looked at his right shoulder and shrugged, "Yeah, it's a through and through. I'm fine."
"You are a jackass," she said.
"Nat, what is it?" he asked.
"You're just a jackass," she said then she broke into Russian. "Stupid cowboy doesn't care about his body or his life."
"I'm not a cowboy," he mumbled.
They headed off to find the Strike team. They had succeeded in their cleanup and were finishing up planting the Semtex. Miles approached Steve.
"Captain, the cargo is filled with Semtex. We are almost down," said Miles.
"Let's get to the aft and get ready to swim," said Steve.
"Yes, sir," said Miles.
Steve and Natasha headed towards the aft. He looked at her, but she refused to look at him.
"You can't be mad at me forever," he said.
"Asshole," she said in Russian.
Steve shook his head. They reached the aft. Steve saw the Strike team coming. Miles looked at Steve.
"We have three minutes, sir," said Miles.
"Over the side," said Steve.
Everyone went over the side of the ship. Steve hit the water and started to swim at a slow pace not wanting to leave his team behind. They swam and swam hard until they saw a shimmer above the water and the Quinjet appear. The team headed for the Quinjet and were helped onto it by the co-pilot. Once they were on board, Steve ordered, "Get us out of here."
As the Quinjet went to stealth mode and started to take height, they heard the a loud explosion. Steve gave his Strike team the thumbs up. He then looked at Natasha, who was seated beside him.
"Are you still mad at me?" he asked.
"Strip off your top. I'll bandage your wound," she growled.
"I'm fine. Just leave it," he said.
"Do it or I'll give you another gunshot wound," she spat.
Steve decided not to argue. He undid his tunic and took off his top. His shoulder was still bleeding, though less than it was. She grabbed a first aid kit and started working on him, applying a little too much alcohol to the wound causing Steve some pain. He didn't open his mouth.
"I wanted their first mission to be a success, Nat," he said. "I knew I could make sure of it by landing first."
"Shut up, idiot," she said.
"Nat... I'm sorry," he sighed. "I don't want to fight with you."
"Just shut up, Rogers, and let me be angry. It will go away," she said.
He looked at her with his blue eyes and she stared back. Shit, love is for children. I can't be falling in love with Captain America, she thought.
"I'll buy you a nice dinner," he said. "How about it?"
"Okay, my choice of places," she said. "But don't talk to me about this op. Understood."
"I understand," Steve smiled.