When Maj woke, she found herself cuddled up with the giant furnace that was Steve Rogers. With a groan, she removed herself and moved to the kitchen. Another groan escaped her when she saw the time. 4:13 AM. Of course, she would be the one to wake up before him. In the time she'd known the man, he was always the one waking her. What a turn of events. Deciding that it was too early and after grabbing a drink of water, Maj returned to her spot. Steve would be awake in the next hour or so. Another hour of sleep would do her wonderfully.
Maj woke to the furnace moving around. She groaned and rolled over, falling to the floor. Steve, who tended to have amazing reflexes, forgot who he was and watched her fall. She knew he was aware of his surrounding. With a glare, Maj got to her feet and stretched. As Steven was in the bathroom, she decided to start the coffee. She couldn't understand why people liked the stuff- hot chocolate or tea were her poisons- but she figured it was a nice gesture. Especially since he had at some point put away the remaining food. She was actually shocked there were leftovers, but then again, Steve knew her love of Korean.
After a quick shower, Maj went back to find Steve leaning against the counter with a mug in hand. It was a sight she'd seen before, but she couldn't help but smile. As the thought of his offer invaded her mind, but, the smile fell. She was going to miss him, although she hoped he would visit or she could go to him. It would be a horrible day if their friendship ended because of his move. "Morning."
"Good morning. What are your plans for today?"
She thought for a moment. After the previous day, Weasel wouldn't mind her skipping a day, but the guys did look forward to seeing her. Then again, she could stay in and wallow with despair. Her friend was leaving and Alec was still away with family. Maybe a self-care day was in order. "Uh, not sure. I was thinking of staying home today." Steve nodded. "I mean, I know you're busy so it's not like I can ask you to hang."
"You could. It's not like I have much to do."
"Yes," she drawled, "you do. Fury remember?"
"That can wait. How about this, I'll head home and on my way back, I'll grab a few things and we can just spend the day together. Sound good?" Maj stared at him for a moment before giving him her affirmative. "Good. Mind making breakfast or should I pick something up?"
"I'll cook. Anything in particular?"
"Whatever you want. I'll be back in an hour."
Once Steve was gone, Maj moved to the living room and collapsed onto the sofa. Spending as much time as she could with him wouldn't be a bad thing. She just wanted to sleep. The young woman was grateful that she had at least gotten ready for the day. It made her upcoming thirty-minute snooze worth it. eEven if she wouldn't be able to get a head-start on breakfast.
'Of course, when I want to snooze my body refuses to let me.' Fifteen minutes had passed since she had set her alarm and sleep was nowhere in her imminent future. With more grumbling, she gave up and made her way to the kitchen. 'Might as well get a start on.' It was only as she looked through her pantry that she realised it was severely lacking. There wasn't enough to feed a super-soldier with an incredible metabolism and herself. 'Guess a trip to the store's in order.' Shoes on, Maj rushed out of the apartment and hoped she'd be back before Steve.
Five minutes to spare. That's how long Maj had to get the food started. She hated rushing, but this was one time she had to do so. The coily-haired brunette set everything out and disposed of the bags. It would be unfortunate if Steve saw them. He would know she had nothing in the house. The more rational part of her wondered why she cared so much, but that was stomped out. Everything needed to seem as if it were fine. He needed to go to DC.
A few minutes after she had finished the first stack of french toast, Steve made his entrance. In his hand was a bag of what she assumed was food. Eyes wide, she stared at him. How had- the snoop! She should have known better. The amount of time they spent at each other's place had only grown into familiarity. Mi casa es tu casa. For the most part, there were very few things that were off-limits. Without saying a word, Maj motioned to the eggs. Chuckling, the blond went to whisk some eggs.
Breakfast eaten, the pair settled back in the living room. They had decided to continue catching up on what Steve had missed since being a popsicle. Which meant Maj introducing him to the world of Doctor Who. The history buff in her had thought of going through the decades and pulling relevant pieces, but then figured, pop culture was so much more important. So there they sat, watching Chris Eccleston reboot the series.
By the time we reached Dalek, Steve was about ready to call it quits. "You can't be serious? Too much science fiction? Steve, you do know that you fall into that category, right?"
"How?"
"Much love to Erskine, because without him you wouldn't be here, but out of context, a mad scientist made you all muscle-y," a poke at his upper arm, "and tall and yay America. Okay, maybe not the last part, but he made you into a freaking human Dorito!"
"Really, Maj? A human Dorito?"
"You have a wonderful shoulder-waist-hip ratio. You look like a friggen Dorito, Steve. Guys wish they could have your body and women want to do dirty, nasty things to it."
"Maj!"
"Aww, you're red," the young woman cackled as she stood before him and pinched his cheeks. Steve swatted her hand away. "No need to be embarrassed. It's a nice body. I mean, I'm sure you got some action back in the day. You were on the chorus line."
"Oh my god." Steve covered his face with his hands. Maj continued to laugh as she watched his ears turn a lovely shade of red. "Why were you even looking?"
"Because you have a nice body. Besides, I wanted to know if it was real or if the drawings were to attract a female audience. Alec and I spent a weekend analysing the old images with the new ones." Steve stared at her for a moment before he leapt up and made a grab for her. Laughing, Maj rushed off, doing everything in her power to avoid the Dorito.
Unfortunately, her efforts were thwarted when Steve cornered her in and began to tickle her sides. The laughter turned into gasps as she tried to wiggle herself away but Steve wouldn't relent. "Are you going to stop?"
"N-never!" Probably the wrong thing to say, but Maj was having too much fun. "Y-you asked for IT."
"I did not. Say you'll stop looking and I'll stop tickling you."
"B-but you're a D-Dorito." Steve gave her a less than amused look as he continued his attack. As he reached for her arm, a force pushed him down. "Uh, Steve. You're heavy."
"I can't get up."
"What? What do you mean you can't get up? Steve, look if you wanted to cop a feel you could have asked. I'm a cool bro."
"Maj, I can't get up. It's like something's pushing me down."
"This isn't fun anymore." She pushed at him but like he said, the man didn't budge. Maj glanced at his arms and realised that he was actually straining himself to move. "This is some twisted joke. Think you can stop and try again? Maybe... it'll go away." Steve listened to her and not a moment later, he was able to pull himself back.
"What the hell was that?"
"No clue. But until we figure out what that was, we will never speak of it."
"We have to talk about it to someone about it."
"Duh. I meant not as a funny story. It could be a one-time thing? The universe fucking-sorry- with us. I mean what else could it have been?" Steve had no reply for her. Instead, he helped her stand and the two returned to an evening of Doctor Who.
Steve had left a little after nine. They'd talked about his upcoming move, with him telling her that he wanted to create his own team. Fury had one for him, but , Steve needed to get a feel for them. He was leaving in a few days on a test mission and would be back by the next Tuesday. Maj was bummed, but he wouldn't leave until after Thanksgiving.
Maj had gone to bed after her Dorito left. The thought of what had happened drifted away, a problem for a later date. When Maj woke from a particularly good dream- something about leading an army of flying squirrels- she found that the objects in her room were floating a few feet off the floor. A yelp left her as the thumped back down. 'Nope. Not dealing with it. Not today.'
In the coming hours, Maj went about her usual routine, messaging Alec and getting ready for the guys. She was interested to know how the night would go. She was sure the bar had fallen into despair in her absence, Weasel usually let them get away with anything but skimping their bill. If she hadn't known what was going on and that for the most part, the guys had money, she would have wondered how Weasel kept in business.
7 o'clock came around and Maj walked into the bar. She was greeted with raucous cheers. She had been missed. Since getting acquainted with everyone, one of the first things she did was check the board above the bar. Thankfully, no one had died in the last few days. With a smile, she got to work, regaling the guys with stories of the mischief she would get into with Clint as she did so.
By 2, Maj was exhausted. The guys packed alcohol away like nobody's business. It was a wonder they weren't dead, dying, or stumbling around in a haze. She couldn't help in finding humour in their blood being 90% alcohol. However, one thing that disappointed her though was Wade's absence. She hadn't made any inquiries about it. The less she knew, the better-their words. In the end, Maj figured he was on a job. She could only hope he came home relatively unharmed.
Turning the doorknob to her apartment, Maj froze by how easily it swung open. She backed away, moving to the opposite wall and pulled out her phone. Nat and Clint were a no-go, as was Steve. Tony was still in Malibu, the dick. Okay, he wasn't a dick, but she wished he was there. The only person she could call was Bruce. Problem was, would he be asleep? The sound of movement only spurred her and she dialled him. She waited for an answer but got nothing. 'Nut up or shut up.' Taking a breath, Maj entered the house, grabbed the baton Nat left under the couch's arm, and made her way through the house.
As she reached her bedroom-where the noise was coming from- Maj posed to attack. 'You can do this. You've got this. Don't be a chicken shit.' Battle cry leaving her, Maj rushed into the room, finding the intruder quickly as she had startled the hell out of him. Baton activated, she brought it down on their head. The intruder dodged and charged for her. With a squeak, Maj turned heel and ran out of the room.
'Dammit.' She wasn't quick enough and the person managed to grab a hold of her shoulder and yanked her back. Thankfully, she was scrappy and managed to get out of their hold... for a second. As they grabbed onto her ankle, the intruder dropped to the ground. She could see them trying to get up, but they-the man- couldn't move. Maj managed to remove herself from his grip and stared the more he grunted in an attempt to right himself.
She managed to find her phone and once again called Bruce. When he didn't reply, Maj called Tony.
"What can I do for you, kiddo?"
"There's someone in my apartment! Bruce wouldn't answer. I don't know... Tony." Her breathing came out quick and heavy. Tears fell down her cheeks and the longer she stood there, the harder it seemed for her to breathe. Her chest hurt and she couldn't understand why this was happening to her. Why did things like this seem to happen to her? She voiced her thoughts to Tony, feeling more and more hysterical with each word.
"Calm down. Where are you? Hiding?"
"He can't get up. I don't- I don't know why but he can't reach me."
"I'm having JARVIS alert Bruce. Keep an eye on the guy but get as far away from him as possible. Do it now, Maj."
She moved to the other side of the living room, eyes trained on him. The longer she watched, the less he seemed to struggle against the force. "He's not moving much. I think he gave up."
"Don't get any closer to him. Bruce will be there in five minutes." Maj let out a breath, wrapping her arm around her. "It'll be okay, kid. I'm going to have to add security measures to your place. The spies should have known better."
"It's not their fault. Clint needs time to recuperate. Nat needed to go with him."
"They could've-"
"No. I have a job and friends here. Besides, it's 'couple' time. Nat's what he needs right now."
"Capsicle?"
"Mission. He'll be back tomorrow... well later today."
"Maybe you can stay with him or have him stay with you. Doesn't matter how you do it. You shouldn't be alone."
As I went to agree, Bruce rushed into the apartment, looking all types of dishevelled. "Bruce is here. I'll put him on." I handed the phone over and after a minute or two, Bruce ended the call and returned the phone to me.
As I pocketed it, I allowed my eyes to roam over to the man. He was incredibly still. Bruce followed my gaze. "How long has he been still?"
"Um... a few minutes. Is he breathing?"
"From what I can see, no. Do you know how this happened?" I shook my head, debating on whether I should tell him about what happened with Steve and the floating furniture. "Well, SHIELD is on its way. Apparently, Tony had also alerted them. He'll be gone in-" three agents entered the room. "-now." After a quick discussion, they left with the body.
"Thanks for coming, even if it took forever to get in contact with you."
"I was working."
"Of course you were. I'll grab you a pillow and blankets. The sofa is very comfortable." Bruce started to stammer about staying the night, but I refused to allow him to leave. There was no way in hell I was staying in this apartment alone. "Bruce, someone just broke into my place and tried to do whatever to me. I'm not staying here alone. If you leave, I'll go with you and I'll ask JARVIS not to let you into your lab. Please stay. Less temptation and you'll actually get sleep. Besides, I'm scared to be alone." With a defeated sigh, Bruce waved me off to get the sleeping utensils.
The next morning, Bruce was quick to leave. He had promised to leave his phone on loud, just in case. Maj was particularly grateful for the notion, but she knew how uncomfortable with the notion he would be, her calling while he worked. Instead, she told him not to worry about it and that she'd get Steve to stay with her. The look of relief wasn't missed, but she let it go. She was very aware of her friend.
After a quick breakfast, Maj decided that she didn't want to spend the day indoors. Throwing on a warm jacket and packing her bag with necessities, Maj left the apartment to explore. As she walked around the area, Maj realised that she didn't particularly want to stay in Brooklyn, deciding that she wanted to go to the beach. It was too cold to swim, but it was nice enough to walk around. If she had wanted warm sand, she would have asked Tony to fly her out.
An hour and a half later, Maj found herself at Rockaway Beach. The area was pretty empty, with only locals around. She was perfectly okay with that too. Maj didn't feel like being around the masses. Unlike the city, there was no bombardment of tourists, especially this time of year. It also meant that the trails were empty. More alone time for her, especially since she needed to go over the events of the previous night.
Returning from one of the longer trails, Maj stopped by Rockaway Tacos. She hadn't had the pleasure of eating there before, and while she wasn't a fan of fish tacos, she was willing to see if they could change her opinion. So ten minutes later, Maj found herself at a far corner table, three fish tacos, a glass of watermelon lemonade, and a side of chips and guac. The tacos weren't too bad, but it was the drinks she liked. She had also tried their pineapple mint which was as good as the watermelon. If anything, she'd return for those.
As she finished up, she messaged Wade, spoke to Alec, and shot Steve a text asking him to come over once he could. Wade had replied with a snarky comment and Steve hadn't replied at all. She hadn't expected him to. He was probably finishing up the mission, on the plane back, or in debriefing. Finished and friend duties 'completed', Maj decided it was time to head back to Brooklyn.
Instead of heading home, Maj opted to head straight to Sr Margaret's. It made no sense for her to go home, especially if she would end up there in a few hours. As she walked in, she spotted Wade sitting at the bar. He hadn't noticed her so she snuck up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist.
"Ready to profess your undying love for me?"
"More like checking you for injuries."
"Hello, nurse."
"I'll end up killing you, Wade." She downed the shot that was in front of him and went on to mess with the other guys.
An hour or so later, four unfamiliar men entered the bar. Once they sat themselves down, Maj went to take their order. Her interaction with them was less than rewarding-there was something off about them. She squashed the feeling and decided that she wouldn't particularly pay them any mind. There was no need to cause any trouble. That was Wade's department.
True to his personality, Maj was left with the unfortunate task of delivering a buttery nipple to the table, courtesy of Wade Wilson. None of the men looked pleased with the drink, and one stood and approached him. Mack had grabbed onto her arm, pushing Maj into the booth and standing at its entrance. Since fights were pretty common, one of the guys would act as her protector, although it was a pretty closed off group and they were in the right state to know she wasn't a part of the brawl. Maj was off-limits, but the strangers didn't know that.
A sigh escaped her as she saw the man's face contort in anger. Whatever snarky comment Wade said got under his skin. What surprised me was how quickly Wade dispatched the man. He usually liked to play around with his prey- for lack of a better term. The other men stood but instead of going for Wade, they left the building altogether, leaving behind their friend.
When Steve texted to let her know that he was on her way, Maj told Weasel she was leaving, wished the guys good night, and rushed out the bar with a smile. Her smile fell when she saw three of the unfamiliar men leaning against the wall. Not wanting to deal with them, Maj went in the opposite direction. Her heart quickened when she realised they were following her. 'I should have had someone walk with me. Idiot.' She should have, but no one was ready to leave. If she were smarter, she would have asked Steve to pick her up, but it wouldn't have mattered now. With the realisation they were behind her, Maj broke into a run.
She paid no attention to where she was going, and like the other times, Maj found herself backed into an alley. It was getting old if she were honest. With nowhere to go, Maj faced the men, catching a glimpse of their feral smirks. She was trapped. Knowing what was to come, Maj closed her eyes and waited for the pain, wishing something would deter them.
When all she heard were their yells, Maj peeked out to find they were a few feet off the ground and only getting higher. She watched in shock as the stopped at the top of the building- about fifteen feet. The men continued to struggle against the unseen force for a moment before they plummeted to the earth with more force than was possible. They hit the ground with a sickening thud, their bodies leaving impact craters where they hit. With wide eyes, Maj scampered around them and ran the rest of the way home.
The moment Maj entered her apartment, she collapsed to the floor. Her body trembled, breaths heavy, and tears fell. She couldn't believe what had happened. It was getting ridiculous. How was it happening? Maj near jumped out of her skin when a hand touched my shoulder. A quick glance up had me barrelling into Steve. A blubbering mess, she somehow managed to get what happened out. Steve wasn't happy with me-the frown lines were a dead giveaway- but he did his best to comfort me without the lecture. Once Maj managed to calm down, he sent her to bed with the promise of seeing Bruce in the morning.
What! Finally a post. Can I just say though, the second half... I accidentally deleted it and had to rewrite it so it probably isn't as good at the first half. I was writing it in a speed thing and it didn't have an undo. I meant to copy-n-paste it. So yeah. That happened. I need to get better at life. I did it a while ago with my novel, except I had 2 chapters left to write and I lost everything but the first 4 chapters. Yeah, I suck.
Anyways, hope you enjoyed it. This by far was my favourite chapter to write. The Steve/Maj bonding was particularly my favourite. I mean, they're adorable. It's all set up for later, promise. Also, our favourite spy will be making her appearance soon... like soon, soon. But yeah, let me know your thoughts.
TimeLordsRule: Thanks so much. Hope you enjoy this chapter.
CrystalVixen93: Thanks :} Hope you like this chapter.