Longer time writing this one, but longer chapter as well. Enjoy.
Steve awoke to find himself a picturesque view of a mountainous and wooded country side. The sun was shining and straight in his face to start the day. Granted, he got this view every day, but it didn't dim in quality from day to day.
All part of being an Avenger.
He rose from bed, took a quick shower, put on some running clothes, and headed to the track. He alternated which exercises he would start his day with, usually in the company of Natasha or Sam. Neither of them was up right now, so he took it upon himself to start his own routine.
Running long distances was always his weakness before the serum, so he committed himself to always run a few miles to start each day, even though he technically didn't need to. He just like the idea of a steady, daily schedule to stick to and follow. The others varied in their day to day operations but he didn't.
After a couple laps, Steve noticed something. Natasha and Wanda, both of them in jogging gear, begin their own set of laps around the track.
Steve slows down to catch up them. "Didn't expect either of you to do this at this time of day," he tells them.
"Natasha thinks I should try it more often," was Wanda's reply. "You know, the who exercise thing. I still don't get it, when I can just fly."
"You're flying capabilities are still untested," said Natasha, jogging at a steady pace. "Even you don't know the full limits of what you can and can't do. Like Ghost said earlier, never a bad idea to have a backup plan."
So the three of them jogged together , without much pressure. Wanda went her own pace. Not being a super soldier or a former KGB spy, she was significantly slower than Steve and Natasha. She didn't quit, however, and effort was always something to be appreciated.
A few more minutes passed, and then Natasha stopped to check her phone. "Fury wants me," she said to Steve, leaving him and Wanda together. She winked at the Captain before leaving.
Great, thought Steve. Natasha's playing matchmaker for the hundredth time this week. At least it keeps her mind off Banner. Bruce Banner still hadn't been spotted since he'd taken off in a Quinjet and piloted it over the Pacific, and Natasha was taking it somewhat hard. It was probably her first experience with falling in love.
And maybe that was why she was trying to set him up again with Wanda: to keep her mind focused on someone else.
Thanks, Natasha. You always were a bro.
Steve slowed his pace further so that Wanda wouldn't feel so discouraged. He could tell she was starting to pant and needed some air.
She looked good, he'll give her that. Her jogging clothes are stylish and form fitting, and there was no doubt Romanoff had a hand in her wardrobe. As the other woman on the team, that sort of thing tended to happen. In any case, it was working well for everyone involved.
Eventually, Wanda stops to take a break. She put her hands on her knees, let out a few deep breaths, then headed over to a bench for a drink of cold water. Steve figures he could take a break as well.
"Well, how'd you do today?" he asked her.
"A little better," she replies in between pants and with her usual accent. "Natasha wants me to up my time each and every day. I wonder why she didn't stay longer, but I don't want to look in her head again."
He understood that. Natasha did not appreciate having her head messed with. She easily had the darkest past of any of the Avengers, new and old, and most certainly did not appreciate having painful memories brought back to light.
Piss her off enough and she'll destroy half the country. That was Natasha's main argument for not letting Wanda Maximoff on the team. Her reasons for keeping her out were both practical and personal. It had taken some convincing from both Steve and Barton, however, to change her mind. The fact that she was trying to set up the new girl with Captain America was either her way of punishing him, or she just liked getting people together.
"I wouldn't look in her head, either," said Steve. "Best you keep to yourself, alright?"
"Right," she mutters. "Don't tell her, but I think she doesn't want me flying because she's one of the only people here who… ahem, can't fly."
Steve had to raise an eyebrow at that. The only other Avenger who couldn't fly was himself. In fact, he told her that then and there.
"Fine," she said. "Let's race, then."
"You're in no physical condition to start increasing your mileage again."
"I never said anything about running." With that, she floated herself up and flew off towards the barracks. Steve shook his head and ran after her.
The conference room at the facility is, by Steve's measurements, needlessly large. Another of Stark's touches, no doubt. Steve sat down in a chair between Wanda and Rhodes. Sam, Vision, and Maria Hill were on the other side of the table. Ghost stood at the door. Fury and Natasha were notably absent.
"New week, new assignments," said Hill, ever so business like. "First off, there's clean up duty in South Africa."
There were a number of groans across the room. Everyone knew that the Hulk had gone berserk while the old team was in South Africa hunting Ultron (thanks in no small part to Wanda) and that Stark had been forced to deploy his Hulkbuster armor to put an end to it. However, the ensuing fight caused billions in damage and several dozen deaths. The South Africans, upon hearing of the creation of the new Avengers team, attempted block anyone connected to them from entering the country. It had taken Fury some time to persuade them to allow them back, and only to atone for the mistakes of others.
"You mean looking good for the cameras?" This question came from Falcon. Most of Johannesburg was cleaned up, but there were a number of anti-Avenger protests going on as they spoke.
Maria smiled, which was her way of saying Sam was correct. "Technically you're right Mr. Wilson, but that's for us to know. As far as the world is concerned, we're to be seen with both eyes at all times. We need to change that ASAP. Look at this building."
She pulled up an overhead projection of a South African skyscraper, one that had taken quite the blow. It was still being reconstructed.
"Cap, you should focus your efforts on rebuilding this lovely structure. I'm sending Rhodes and Wanda with you, given that their powers should give them the capability to do the heavy lifting alongside you."
That made sense. Rhodes was essentially the new Iron Man of the team. His suit had all the lifting capabilities of Stark's. Wanda's telekinesis, though it had not been pushed to the full limit of its capabilities, would doubtlessly be extremely helpful getting rid of debris and damage caused to the city blocks.
"Falcon, Vision, I'm sending you two to Albany. There's a local hostage situation that needs dealing with."
"On it," said Sam. Local matters concerned them just as much as the big ones.
"Maria," broke in Steve, "are you sure she should go? Wanda, I mean. There's no lost love between her and Africa, and once they find out she's back-"
"I can handle it," says Wanda with some confidence. "Besides, I want to show them I am not the monster Ultron had on his side before." It's the first time she's taken a stance like this on their mission ops, and everyone (mostly) agrees with her.
"So it's settled," chipped in Rhodes. "And if I may, where are Fury and Romanoff?"
"They're on an op to recover one of the NSA's spy satellites that went down in China," replied Hill. "Normally we don't take requests from Washington, but Fury thinks it'll give us some leverage in the future, and that's neve a bad thing to have. "
"Their feet wet?"
Maria smiled. "Colonel, imagine they're just about freezing right now."
The hangar bay at the faculty was just as impressive as the conference room. There was enough room her to supply at least a company's worth of military vehicles. One of the Quinjets was loaded for the ten hour or so flight to South Africa.
As Sam and Rhodes loaded the equipment in the jet, Maria approached Steve privately. "That was odd of you to doubt her. Normally you're the one taking her side."
"Just concerned about her safety. No harm there."
Maria just smiled back at him. "Well isn't that cute."
"You too?"
"Let's just say Natasha likes to confide in me. Anyhow, be careful with her. It's not just your mind she could mess up when she's triggered. There's dozens of construction workers where you're headed, not to mention the protestors. She screws with them, and it just adds fuel to the anti-Avenger fire."
"You're acting like I didn't know that already," stated Steve.
"I'm just making sure you're head's on straight." And with that she leaves him, while Wanda walks up to him.
"Let's do this," she said to him with the same air of confidence he knew was slowly building in her for days.
It gets boring in a Quinjet with only three people. Rhodey flew the jet, being Air Force and the military's liaison to the Avengers. That left Steve and Wanda to themselves.
"Hasn't been this quiet between us since Shakespeare," he utters, recalling yesterday night's date.
"I was focusing," she said back. "Focusing on fixing the leak under our feet."
Before Steve could reply, Rhodey looked back at them worriedly. "Something's wrong. The fuel tank on this thing is burning a lot more fuel than I expected."
"Yes," Wanda resounded, already aware of the problem. "I can try to carry the jet by myself."
It took her about ten minutes, but the Quinjet was now being fully supported by Wanda's powers alone. Rhodey even turned the jet off to save the fuel. Steve said, "Good. This is a taste of what we'll be heading into. Good practice."
"I never said thank you for last night. Not just the meal and entertainment. For helping me keep my mind off Pietro."
Steve was slightly relieved; he was expecting her to start melting at her brother's name again. "Of course. Just doing my duty as a friend. I'm here you whenever need it."
"Of course," she repeats to herself. Then, without thinking, she presses her lips on his. She was careful not to get too engaged with it, lest the jet fall.
She wasn't she why she did it. Maybe because Steve Rogers was the first man to truly be concerned for her wellbeing in years. Maybe it was how much of a perfect package he was. Maybe it was everything.
Steve looked both surprised and sheepish when she let go. "Ummm…" he stutters to himself, awkwardly.
"It was nothing," she dismissed quickly.
"I'm sure it was," he says, though he thinks it's more than that.