Despite only a few days passing by since they returned to headquarters, Steve saw Seren very little. It did nothing to help his concern for her state. Logically, he shouldn't be that worried. After all, the SSR had agreed to help Seren build a new suit for herself and a method of communication to reach her family. Peggy had even offered Seren to stay with her while they tended to matters in the city. And Steve and the others lived right in the same building for the time being. The fact remained that Seren was not alone, therefore nobody could hurt her. And it seemed like nobody wanted to hurt her anyways.
Nearly everyone had taken a liking to her. Howard was utterly fascinated with her knowledge of space and the stars. He was probably the one who spent the most time with Seren, as much as it pained Steve to think about it. The other soldiers who'd been kept by HYDRA with her seemed to have taken her in as their honorary comrade. They all knew that HYDRA valued her the most because of her "special" attributes and given that Bucky had shared what he knew, it didn't take them long to figure out that Seren was not from their world.
All in all, Seren was very much liked and cared for. Steve should be content…but it killed him. It was stupid, and so incredibly selfish of him, but try as he might he couldn't get rid of those feelings. Everyone got to spend time with Seren, everyone wanted to be around her, and she — bless her heart — was fascinated with the human world. She was eager to know what things were and what they did. Logically, she learned more educational things from Howard, what women typically did from Peggy, and then the idiot stuff directly from the other soldiers. Some of them had already tried getting smart with her but Steve, and Bucky too ironically, shut it down before Seren ever noticed.
Steve was furious with those particular men, shouting and threatening them to back off. Bucky laughed at him all night for that.
Tonight was a night they were all free, and once again Seren was very popular. It turned out, her alcohol tolerance was very strong. She could not get drunk and people just didn't buy it. So she proved them every single time. Once she got tired of the competition, she accepted the offers to dance. She liked the kind of music they usually played. She was a fast learner, especially when she had such talented teachers.
Steve watched his own best friend chat it up with Seren in the pub. He wondered if Bucky was doing it on purpose.
Bucky swayed them to the music and almost every minute or so, Seren would let out a giggle or two. Eventually, Steve couldn't take it and he turned to the bar to order another drink for himself…not that it would matter. As it turned out, he too couldn't get drunk. How ironic.
"Well, you look like you're having the time of your life…" Peggy couldn't, and definitely wouldn't, hide her laugh when she approached the bar. "What's the matter? I thought the men agreed to the plan?"
Steve took his freshly served drink from the bar. "They did." He had lined up the perfect team to take HYDRA's bases down and he should be happy. But he wasn't. He was far from that and he didn't understand why.
Peggy looked at him and then the dancers. "You know, I know I was against bringing her in. I thought she was a danger — an alien, for God's sake. How wrong of me to assume. Thanks for pushing on the idea to have her. She's done well for us. And herself."
Steve looked over his shoulder just enough to catch Seren. She was still laughing with Bucky. "Yup. Very well."
Peggy seemed to smile knowingly. "But you know something, she's still afraid. She doesn't say it, or show it, but she still gets very nervous around new people, around the medics. She's got nightmares."
Steve stopped drinking then and looked at Peggy, completely dumbfounded. "She does?"
Peggy nodded. "She's in the next room. I hear her screaming. I've come in multiple times but she never wants to talk about it. Can't say I blame her. What she went through must have been horrible. Prodded and relentlessly experimented on. It's terrifying. I'm glad she can find a moment to laugh."
Steve's shoulders slumped. God, he was just so awful. He was the worst human being. How could he be so upset that Seren was off dancing with someone when she deserved to have fun, to be happy.
Peggy kept looking at him while he went through his thoughts. Her smile grew. She walked off without saying another word. She'd said everything she needed to anyway.
Steve mulled over his thoughts for a few minutes until he heard the laugh again. This time it was a lot closer and when he looked back, Seren had stumbled on her heels nearly falling into the bar.
"Whoops!" She giggled and popped her head up. All her hair fell back over her shoulders. Unlike the rest of the women, Seren didn't seem like a big fan of the tight 40s curls. "Sorry," she planted a hand on the bar counter. "These heels — why are they so chunky? Is that to make a point?"
Steve truthfully had no idea how to answer that. No one ever asked him about fashion.
"What are you drinking?" Seren plopped down on the stool next to him. "I'm so thirsty. Your friend Bucky can sure dance!"
"Yeah, I've been told," Steve said, trying his best to keep his bitter tone out of the conversation. Unfortunately, Seren and her perfect hearing heard it well.
She tilted her head at him. "Are you alright?" Steve nodded silently and drank the rest of his drink. "I don't understand. Bucky said your new friends accepted the proposal to fight HYDRA. You should be celebrating! Go dance or something!"
"I don't dance," Steve said.
"Correction!" Bucky suddenly appeared on Steve's other side, clapping his shoulder hard. "He does dance, but he always has a hard time finding a dance partner!"
Steve glared at his best friend. Shut up was written all over his face. Bucky just laughed and ordered himself a drink.
"Well, have you asked anyone here?" Seren asked innocently. "There aren't that many women around here but someone would say yes, I know it."
"Oh, doll, there's someone who would say yes if he just asked," Bucky said, discreetly nudging Steve while Seren looked out to the pub.
"Who's a doll?" Seren said distractedly.
Bucky chuckled. "Never mind. Steve, something you want to say?"
"I got a lot of things I want to say right now, Buck," Steve muttered.
"Oh! Peggy's found a table! Is it alright if I go join her?" Seren eagerly looked at the men on her side. "She's trying to introduce me to her friends she's made in the SSR. I haven't been doing very well so far…"
Steve barely hid his smile at that. Seren was popular amongst the men, yes, but she was either feared or misunderstood by most of the women in the SSR. She didn't get it, or so it seemed.
"Go ahead," he told her with an encouraging glance.
Seren beamed and hopped off the stool. "Wish me luck!" She said before marching off.
Bucky 'tsk'd' as soon as Seren was gone. "Were you always this pathetic?"
"You're a punk, you know that?" Steve glanced at him.
"Why? Because I asked your girl to dance with me?" Bucky's smirk was incredibly wide.
"Be quiet! She can hear!"
Bucky laughed. "But she wouldn't understand. She's a sweet one, not really my type, but still real pretty. I had to ask her to dance, man. We spent way too much time together at HYDRA and it wasn't exactly a party over there. Wanted to cheer her up, that's all. Honest."
Steve knew he shouldn't expect any explanations from Bucky. After all, he had every right to ask Seren, or anyone else, to dance…but it did sort of bring him some relief knowing Bucky didn't want Seren in any other capacity. "Really?" He signed to the truth with that one-worded question.
Luckily, this time Bucky didn't tease him. He just nodded. "Yeah." He drank from his glass. "She's a good woman. Back in the lab, she was the one bleeding and she kept telling me not to give up. She must have been on the verge of dying at least once a day from all the experiments but she always told me — and the others — that they would get out."
Steve stayed quiet for a minute. Seren had not told him much about her time with HYDRA, and he didn't ask either. Hearing her faith that something would save them managed to crack his heart a little. She had zero trust in humans but she still had faith that something would happen to save them all.
"She's a good one, don't be stupid and let some idiot woo her," Bucky said. "I like her but she's a bit naive when people flirt with her. Did it twice and she had no idea what was going on." Steve started glaring at him again. "Hey!" Bucky raised a hand in front of him. "She's pretty!"
Steve gave him a hard shove and went back to his drink.
~0~
Steve lost sight of Seren for an hour or two. He honestly assumed that she had gone home already but to his surprise, he found her in the corner of the pub and she didn't appear to be having fun anymore.
"Hey," he approached her slowly, and a bit bashful too. The last time he was near her when she was upset, she had fought him and nearly won.
Seeing him, however, pulled Seren away from the wall. "Steve, hi…" She seemed out of sorts, and her face was flushed.
"Are you alright?" Steve asked her. "I thought — the women you were with—" Seren let out a sharp scoff, stopping Steve in his tracks. He turned his head halfway, raising an eyebrow at her. "Did something happen?"
"It turns out that the women here are vile," Seren said, hugging herself. "They hate me."
"I take it the introductions didn't go so well…" Steve wondered how badly it must have gone for Seren to have separated even from Peggy.
Seren shook her head. There was not a trace of her laugh and giggles she had an hour ago. "I want to go," she said quietly.
"Seren, I'm sorry you had a bad moment, but you were having a fun time before…" Steve stepped closer to her, "Are you sure you want to leave?"
Seren raised her head at him and nodded. "Nobody wants me here. Peggy's friends made that clear."
"Fortunately, they don't speak for the rest of us," Steve smiled at her. "Listen, how about we stay for another 10 minutes and then I'll take you back to the apartment?"
"Steve, I can leave on my own. You don't have to cut your night short because of me."
"No offense Seren, but you still don't know the streets. I can't let you leave on your own and besides, I'm not exactly the party type. That's more of Bucky's thing."
Seren peeked around Steve and spotted Bucky across the pub. He was dancing with another woman. "Yeah, sure seems like it," she nodded. "You don't want to dance?"
"Well, I mean — are you — do you want to dance?" Steve had gone red in a matter of seconds. Seren, however, had smiled at the question.
"If you're willing…yeah…" She let her arms hang on her sides. "I mean, if you're willing to be seen with me. I'm telling you, the women are so rude here. They love you, so…I mean, pick wisely."
"Can I tell you something?"
"Sure."
"Most of them didn't bat an eye at me before."
Seren was, of course, confused with his particular word choice. She would ask if Steve hadn't offered her his hand. She accepted and slid her hand over his.
Together, they walked towards the dance floor. Seren mumbled something about being watched almost immediately after they settled with the music. It was slower, which called for their hands together and one of Steve's hands on her back.
"You want to tell me what happened?" He said to her. She truly did look like a whole other person right now. He felt even more guilty for being so selfish when she had actually been happy earlier.
Seren's eyes were to the side, gazing at the other happy customers. "I'm an alien, Steve. Not a lot of people like that. In fact, less than 10 do."
"They don't fully understand who you are," Steve said.
"They know exactly who I am. That's the problem. Serves me right — I did throw half of them at the camp."
"You were scared—"
"I was a monster."
"You were far from that. The only reason the other soldiers didn't lash out is because they were literally out of energy."
Seren wouldn't look at him. "I'll always be the alien here. Humans aren't ready for foreigners like me."
"There are many people who would think otherwise but hey, take a look at our war. We're fighting to get rid of those kinds of thoughts, because not everyone sees differences in people. I, for one, think you're great." Steve was happy when Seren turned her head to him. "I know Bucky thinks the same, and definitely the rest of our team. Don't we count?"
Seren half smiled at him. "I suppose. Although it feels like I haven't really seen you lately."
"I know, I'm sorry…"
"Don't be. I get it. You're working hard…taking charge…" Seren brought one of her over his shoulder and around her neck. They grew closer to each other. "I may not understand everything, but I know that putting you in charge of taking down the HYDRA bases was the only right choice. I'm proud."
Two simple words created such an emotion in Steve's chest that he had no idea what to even call it. She made him feel so good and he wanted to do the same for her.
"Seren, whatever those women said, whatever they did, it doesn't ring true. You're amazing, you know that?" He lowered the side of his face next to hers.
"You barely know me," Seren whispered. She could feel his breath tickling her cheek.
"You survived for a whole year under HYDRA, quite possibly taking the worst of the blow, and you're out here trying to push forward in a whole new world. Did I miss something? Not everyone has the strength. I'm glad you do."
Seren smiled to herself. "You have no idea what goes through my head these days. Sometimes it feels like I'm floating through, no real finish line in sight."
Steve understood what she meant. The communication method with her mother was not at all close. She felt alone.
"Hey, when this war is over, and you're still around, you think you might want to see New York?" He had no idea what he was asking and why, but he felt the light shake of Seren's body as she chuckled.
"That's where you live, right? Bucky told me the name. You think they'd like me there?"
"Oh, you'd be very popular," Steve said, having no doubt about it.
Seren was smiling for a moment when they looked at each other. And then it waned.
Steve hated it. "Do you want to go now?"
Seren nodded. "If you don't mind."
"Of course not." He let go of Seren and offered her his arm instead.
As they walked out of the pub, Steve caught Bucky smirking at him from across the dancefloor. He definitely didn't appreciate the thumbs up Bucky sent his way.
"I'm sorry about dragging you out," Seren apologized on their walk. She looked up at Steve, truly appearing the part of someone guilty. "I honestly would have found my way back someway. I'm not entirely helpless here. You could have stayed and had some more fun."
"You know, bars were never really my thing," Steve admitted.
"I thought it was a 'pub'," Seren said, tilting her head at him.
"Ah, the English call it a pub. Americans don't."
"Right…" Seren's brows pinched while she tried to recall those names. Peggy had mentioned something about that as well. "Well, either way, you could have stayed."
"Is it that hard to believe I wanted to leave?"
"You hardly danced with anyone," Seren pointed. "Actually, I don't think I saw you dance with anyone. Why not? You're a good dancer."
Steve smiled. "Thanks. You're the first one to tell me that."
"Really?"
Steve nodded. "Mhm, kind of the first time I danced at all. I'm not using that as an excuse in case you secretly thought I was a bad dancer but, yeah…" There were only so many pointers Bucky could give him without actually doing it. Luckily, Seren didn't seem upset at all.
"I think you were a great dancer," she said. "I enjoyed it. Leaving the place had nothing to do with the dancing part, trust me."
"I'm going to choose to believe you there…" Steve said, side-glancing her with an expression that ultimately made her laugh.
They reached their apartment building in no time but instead of heading in, Seren decided to take a seat in the middle of the front steps. She smoothed the skirt of her dress out and looked at Steve.
"If you want to head back, I'm good now," she said, "I just want to look at the sky for a bit before bed."
But of course, Steve walked up the steps and sat down beside her. He was careful to leave a bit of space between them. "So, what are we looking at tonight?"
Seren was openly pleased with his decision and, barely containing her smile, she turned her head up at the sky. "Well, Earth's sky is very funny to me. On most planets that I've been to, you can always see space and all the stars and nearby planets. You can barely see anything here!"
"Yeah, uh, that sounds amazing, actually," Steve said, trying to imagine a sky like she said. "The problem here is that with all the lights, you don't get a lot of visual of the stars. Especially in the city."
"Yeah, I'm starting to get that…" Seren mumbled, "Still, I try to squint my eyes and see something. Like to imagine my mother is out on one of those stars…looking for me."
Steve side-glanced her, taking note of the downcast glint in her eyes. It happened almost every time she spoke of her mother. "I'm sorry," he felt the urge to say. "I'll help you however I can, I swear."
Seren managed a half smile. She got the feeling that he meant every word. "I think my mother would like you," she said suddenly. She caught Steve off guard. One of his feet slipped off the lower step, making him lose his balance. Seren giggled behind one of her hands.
Great. Way to go you idiot! Steve was bright red from embarrassment. "I, uh — she, uh — really?" He cleared his throat and brought both his feet to the same step below them.
"Mhm," Seren nodded, lowering her hand to her lap. "My mother's been here before."
"To-to earth?" Steve blinked.
"Aha. She was on a mission and she ended up here. That was twenty years ago for Earth. I asked Peggy for the current year."
"What, uh, what was she doing here? Or-or what did she do?"
"She never told me what mission she had, just that her mother — my grandmother — assigned her something. My mother dallied, I suppose, and she stayed here for a bit longer. She had a fascination with humans and all their customs."
"She was curious? I can imagine that perfectly," Steve said, nudging her side.
"Yeah, guilty," Seren chuckled for a moment, but there was something else that seemed to be on her mind. "She, uh, she met somebody here. I think he's from your home — uh, the States? She spent a lot more time on Earth than she should have. My grandmother was livid when she got back."
"How long did your mother stay on Earth?" Steve asked curiously.
"Long time," Seren replied, tilting her head up at the sky. "As a Celessian woman, she had to leave at the eight month mark."
"Why?"
"Because Celessian women tend to go into labor between the 8th and 9th month. She barely made the trip back." At that point, Seren could feel Steve's burning gaze on her. She didn't dare tear her eyes off the sky, not yet.
"Are you…how old are you again?" Steve couldn't remember if he'd ever asked Seren her age but now it seemed like there was no point. He knew what he knew.
"Time runs differently the further you're in space…" Seren said quietly. "But my mother arrived back in Celessia just in time to…"
Steve began to shake his head; there were way too many things to connect. "Are you…are you saying that—"
"I'm half human," Seren said, finally meeting his eye albeit cautiously. "My father was human."
Steve gawked at her, mouth completely wide open. If someone years ago told him that he'd be having this kind of conversation, he would have laughed in their face. "Seren, I'm…I don't…I don't know what to say, honestly…"
"Does it make me less scary? Or more of a freak?" Seren desperately wanted to know the answer to the question. She'd been asking herself over and over ever since she got to the city. She wondered how Peggy would take it — how the other soldiers would.
"Neither," Steve said automatically. "Because you're not scary and you're not a freak. Not to me. I…" A smile started spreading across his face. "I just don't even know how to react to this. This is beyond my knowledge! You're half human! Maybe that's why you're so captivated with things here. Because this is also your home."
"You think so?" Seren said, doubtful. "I…I've never been here. My grandmother forbade us from coming."
"What, seriously?" Steve immediately frowned. "Why?"
Seren sighed. She didn't notice when she scooted a bit closer to him. "Being half Celessian has some of its downfalls. My powers came in late — like really late. Developmentally, I'm weaker than most Celessians. I eat differently, I need more sleep, and I'm a bit slower."
"Seriously?" Steve was baffled with what he was hearing. She had taken down a whole ward of soldiers and continued to be a strong force within the SSR and she thought she was weak? Other people thought she was weak!?
"In comparison to other Celessians, yes," Seren nodded. "And trust me, I see it too. I inherited half of my genes from my father. I'm an outcast at home, and I'm an outcast here. I'm too human for Celessia and I'm too alien for Earth." She brought her elbows on her knees and rested her chin on her hands. "Go figure."
"Seren, I think you're putting a lot of pressure on yourself for something that's out of your control," Steve said. "Personally, I don't see anything wrong with you."
"That's what my mother says — used to say," Seren muttered. "She still loves Earth and everything about it. She said she loved my father too. And that if he met me, he'd love me too."
"Does he know…?" Steve dared to ask.
"My mother was so in love with him that she told him everything," Seren said, shaking her head. "My grandmother was so furious. 'Humans — they're so behind that they deem anything different as monstrous'. According to her, my mother cursed me. I'm doomed to be the weaker link." Steve had not met Seren's grandmother but he was positive he despised her. "I wasn't supposed to hear that argument, nor the ones after that. My mother's talked to me many times about this stuff. She swore that my father would love me. He didn't care what she was; he was excited to meet me as a baby. But my mother had to leave; she was afraid human medics wouldn't be able to help her in labor."
"Why didn't she ever come back?" Steve wondered what could have stopped the woman. If her own mother was against the idea of a half-human granddaughter, why not leave?
"I don't know," Seren replied. "I think in the end, she was scared that I would need help from Celessia. My grandmother, hard as she is, is the Matriarch and she knows everything about everything. She's taught me so many things. For better or for worse, she's helped take care of me."
"Under backhanded compliments," Steve said abruptly. The moment he heard his own words, he apologized. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean—"
"It's alright," Seren straightened herself up on the step. "My mother would say something like that too. She would have definitely liked you."
Steve felt something warm in his chest — pride. He was proud of himself that he would have Seren's mother's approval. "Do you know who your father is? Maybe-maybe we can find him."
"Find him?" Seren blinked a few times.
"Yeah, if it was about 20 years ago, he could still be alive. Do you know his name?"
Seren deliberated her answer. At first, the idea of meeting her father was exciting but then it turned into fear. "I-I mean…she told me his name once. Course I didn't forget. He's my father. But do you think he'd want to meet me? I mean…you know…that was 20 years ago for him. If he's still alive, he could have a whole family. There might not be any more room for me."
Steve reached for one of her hands on her lap and held it gently. "I think you should at least try. You never know what could happen."
Seren looked down at their hands then at him. "Would you be there if that happened? If I found him…would you come with me?'
"Why ask what you already know," Steve smiled at her.
"Brooks Soul," she said. "That's his name. That's my father's name." It felt strange saying her father's name in the open. She never spoke the name on Celessia for fear of her grandmother finding out.
"We can start searching tomorrow," Steve said determinedly. The SSR owed him anyways so maybe he could cash that favor in. "Nice to meet you, Seren Soul."
Seren laughed softly. "That's not — if my grandmother heard you, she'd shoot you. My name is Seren Dade."
"Until you meet your father and decide otherwise, you are Seren Soul." Steve unintentionally tugged her closer with her hand still in his. She didn't seem to mind as she was smiling from ear to ear. Once again, he saw the freckles on her cheekbones, and they seemed to highlight her bright green eyes.
"I'll admit that I have thought about using my father's name," Seren said quietly, not leaning back. "My name — Seren — it means 'star' and if you pair that up with my father's name, it means—"
"Star soul," Steve started to smile with her. "What a perfect translation."
Seren then pulled her hand out of his and tugged the collar of her dress to show Steve what was sitting around her neck. It was a choker with a shining star pendant. "When you turn 21, you're officially regarded as an adult in Celessia. You go to a special mine and carve out a star. The very first one you carve is your star. Mine happens to shine kind of strange. Not even that can be normal about me. It never shines the same color twice in a row. Nobody else's does that except for mine. My mother says it's because I'm made of something different."
"I think she was right…" Steve said slowly, eyes flickering from her pendant to her lips. When did they get so close? If he moved just a bit more, their noses would bump. "A star soul. There's no one else like you."
"There's nothing else like this," Seren said, dropping her pendant. "It's why Zola wanted it so badly. Unfortunately for him, it never responded to him. Couldn't even crack it in two. It had to stay with me."
Talking about Zola was the last thing Steve wanted to do, though he did make a note to beat Zola just a bit harder for trying to take something so special to Seren away from her.
"You're amazing," he said breathlessly. He didn't know when he'd run out of air.
Seren bit on her bottom lip. She forgot all about pendants and stars the more she gazed at Steve. "You're a good listener…"
"I-I've been told…" Although if she asked him who had told him that, Steve wouldn't be able to remember. He wouldn't even be able to remember his own name right now!
Seren closed the small space between them and kissed him. The moment Steve felt her lips on his, he felt like he'd come to life in a way that not even the serum had done to him. Kissing back was an instinct. Who would deny a new spark of life?
Seren parted first, almost as if to gauge his reaction. Kissing wasn't something she had planned on doing but she also didn't regret it. She just wanted to see what Steve would do…or say.
It turns out it was neither or. He was too stunned to speak…and it made her laugh.
She stood up from the step and a moment later, so did he. She moved to the next higher step so they could be on a somewhat similar height. There, they gazed at each other until words came to mind.
"Thank you for saving me," Seren said, "I, uh, don't think I ever said that to you. I'd be dead if it weren't for you."
"I'm glad you aren't," the words tumbled from Steve's mouth. He almost smacked himself for saying it but it seemed to be funny as Seren giggled. "I mean, you know, I…"
Seeing him fumble, Seren took her chance and leaned over to kiss him again. He stopped all attempts to talk. Her hand had come to rest on his cheek, like she was making sure he didn't slip away from her. If only she knew that he had no plans for that, none at all.
Seren pulled back first again and, with a smile, gave him a short kiss on the lips. "Thank you for walking me back. Goodnight." She then hurried up the steps and disappeared into the building.
"Good…goodnight…" Steve drew in a big breath as he stared after her. He did not move from his spot for another five minutes.
~0~
For the first time in a long time, Seren woke up from a good sleep. She was content while making breakfast — trying to make breakfast. She was still learning how to use some things. The stove was one of them.
Peggy had told her not to use it alone for fear of burning either herself or the whole apartment. That morning, however, Peggy walked into the kitchen and found Seren setting up a proper breakfast on the table.
"Well good morning…" Peggy said, absolutely bemused with the sight. "What is all this…?" After last night, she thought Seren would for sure be upset with her because of her very rude friends. Peggy had gotten up with the intention of telling Seren how she'd ripped her friends for their awful behavior. To put it in simple terms, she thought Seren would be depressed again.
"I tried making breakfast how you do it…" Seren said, resting her hands on the back of the chair. "I got fruit — by the way, I don't know about you but I think bananas would taste better if we stored them in the fridge — and then I made that tea you like. I didn't spill the water this time!"
"And it's not burned…?" Peggy's lips quirked into a smile.
"Not this time!" Seren said proudly. "Although, full disclosure, I did have to use my powers to sort of balance out the heat stuff. Your burners are weak."
"Hey," Peggy said, feigning offense.
Seren chuckled. "Try it! Try everything! And you can be honest if it's not good."
Peggy pulled out a chair and sat down. As she was serving herself, she motioned Seren to sit down as well. "You're not expecting me to eat all this on my own. Last time I remember, you've got a higher calorie intake."
Seren wouldn't deny that. She sat down across from Peggy and started serving herself a plate.
"So, about last night…" Peggy had only said those four words and yet it was enough for Seren to drop her fork. Peggy stopped and looked at the woman.
Seren felt her face warming up. "Uh…last night?" She picked up her fork off her plate.
Peggy nodded slowly, her gaze still lingering on her. "Yes, I want to apologize to you about my friends."
"Ooh, your friends…" Seren sighed of relief.
Peggy once again raised an eyebrow at Seren. "Yes…I know you were upset and rightfully so."
"Peggy, it's not your fault—"
"They shouldn't have treated you like that and I'm going to make sure that it doesn't happen again, I promise."
"Peggy, it's okay," Seren smiled. "What they do doesn't reflect on you. I…I get that it's hard. I did hurt them…maybe apologizing to them might be a good start."
"Absolutely not," Peggy said firmly. Seren blinked a few times. "You shouldn't apologize to people who are rude and stuck on presumptions. When they're ready to have a civilized conversation, we'll be here."
A small smile spread across Seren's face. "Thanks, Peggy. I promise I'll try to be more, uh, normal."
"Just be you, Seren, that's all we ask."
Seren's smile spread even more. She began to eat her breakfast.
"Now you want to tell me what's got you in such a joyful mood this morning?" Peggy knew something was up when Seren nearly choked on her fruit.
"N-nothing, just…" Seren cleared her throat, "Excited that I'm continuing to learn my way around these things," she made a pass at the table. "That's all."
"That's all?" Peggy asked suspiciously.
"Mhm, that's all," Seren nodded and picked up her fork again.
Peggy continued to stare at Seren with eyes squinted, but Seren insisted that everything was fine.
~0~
Howard had sent for Seren in the morning saying her suit was nearly done. He just wanted her input on some final details. Seren was delighted with the news and joined Peggy that morning at the SSR.
Seren knew exactly where Howard's lab was, having spent most of her time there when she was in the SSR. Peggy walked with her halfway to the lab.
"There's some things I have to take care of with Phillips. Will you be alright?" Peggy asked Seren in the hallway.
"Yeah, of course." Seren was still grinning from ear to ear, had been all morning so far. Peggy thought it was strange.
"And then we're all going to meet with Howard afterwards," Peggy said. "He's going to show some of the weapons he's developed for the soldiers."
"Will Steve be there too?" Seren asked with a beam on her face.
"Yes…" Peggy nodded. "And myself, as Howard…would you like the attendance list?"
Seren laughed. "I'm good, thanks."
Peggy would never say it out loud but Seren was acting very strange. She would much rather have this version of Seren than the depressed one, she would just like to know what the reason behind it was.
Seren went in to see Howard but it turned out that he was busy handling another matter. She was told to wait but of course doing so alone was not very appealing. She found out soon after coming into the city that being alone was even worse because she had no idea what could happen. The only reason she insisted on her new friends leaving her was so as to not take away their time from important tasks.
She left the lab to go find Peggy. Hopefully, she could stick to the woman's side until Howard was ready for her. She wouldn't admit it but she was also keeping an eye out for a certain blonde that could also be around.
She made the turn into a new hallway and to her shock, she found Steve. He was not alone — he was far from it. He was kissing another woman, one that — if memory served right — had been at the pub the previous night. She had not been kind.
She coughed intentionally and very quickly felt a deep rage start in her stomach. It was something she'd never felt before. It was absolutely horrid.
At least they both seemed to be embarrassed when they broke apart — Steve shoved the woman away a bit hard, but Seren wouldn't waste thoughts on it.
"Seren—"
"I think Colonel Phillips was looking for you," Seren lied through gritted teeth. She had no idea what Colonel Phillips was doing at the moment but if Steve got into trouble for interrupting him, she wouldn't lose sleep over it.
Her eyes flickered to the other woman. "I remember you," she smiled politely. "And you are absolutely right. My strength is very uncontrollable." Her sweet smile spread while the other woman paled. "Accidents do happen."
Seren turned and walked away. She had no stomach to see Howard or any of the inventions he prepared for them.
"Seren!" Steve chased after her. "That wasn't — it wasn't what you thought it was!"
Seren smiled sourly, picking up her pace. Unfortunately, they were both pretty similar in their speed. "I'm from another planet, Steve, not stupid. You're free to do what you want anyways. You've done so much for me, I won't get in your way."
"Seren, c'mon—" Steve reached for her arm but Seren easily pulled it away.
"I have to go find Peggy, scuse me," she muttered and made a show of walking even faster. With any luck, he'd get the message and not follow her.
And he didn't follow.
~0~
Seren did not show up to meet Howard as planned. Once she learned this, Peggy set out to find out what happened. It wasn't like Seren to miss an agreed meeting, especially when it concerned something so important to her. Thankfully, Seren had not left the SSR, although it wasn't because she didn't want to.
"I forgot the streets," she complained to Peggy. They were on their way to meet Howard.
"Why would you want to leave without meeting Howard first?" Peggy couldn't wrap her head around it. "You were so excited to see what he had for you. Did he upset you?"
"No, of course not!" Seren said quickly. The last thing she wanted was for Howard to pay for something completely unimportant. "I just…I started to feel bad." Depressed, more like it.
"I know you don't like the medics but maybe we can have one of them check you out?" As soon as Peggy suggested the idea, Seren refused.
"No way in hell! No thanks! Nu-uh!"
Peggy half smiled at her. "Alright, then how about we just get you home early? Soon as you meet with Howard, I can have you taken home."
"Yeah, that's a better idea," Seren nodded. "Honestly, it's probably just something I ate this morning. My stomach's not used to getting food so easily now. Good food, you know. I'm sure after I take a nap or something, I'll be better."
Peggy agreed and led her into the lab where Howard was working. Unfortunately, Seren also caught sight of Steve talking with him. And just like that, anger flourished in her chest again.
"Mr. Stark, I've found your missing client," Peggy announced as they joined the men.
"Perfect," Howard beamed. "I've got some things for you too, Seren!"
Seren was unwilling to smile even under his cheery gaze. She crossed glances with Steve. He seemed unsure of himself.
"I don't want to disturb if you're not done," Seren said to Howard and stepped a few — a lot of — steps back. Peggy, dumbfounded followed.
"Nonsense, we're almost done," said Howard dismissively. "Think Steve's chosen his preferred weapon. Isn't that right?"
Steve still seemed reluctant, eyes lingering on Seren while he reached for the shield they'd been discussing before the women arrived.
"That one?" Peggy said, sounding doubtful.
"Don't be fooled, Agent Carter," Howard said with a smirk. "It's completely vibration absorbent. Should make a bullet feel like a cotton ball."
"If you have it, how come it's not standard issue?" asked Steve, grazing a few fingers down the shield. It felt normal enough.
"It's the rarest metal on earth," Howard answered both. "You're holding all we've got."
Steve considered the uniqueness of the weapon and looked up at the others. "What do you guys think?"
All Howard needed was to give a thumbs up. Peggy merely shrugged; one weapon more or less was about the same for her.
Seren, however, smiled tartly. "I don't know, I think it should be tested."
"It's gone through a series of—" Howard had just started when Seren shot a blast of star matter from her hand. Steve barely reacted in time and pulled the shield in front of his face.
Both Howard and Peggy jerked back, utterly stunned. The shield remained perfectly intact. Seren stared at it, then at Steve when he lowered the shield. His eyes were just as wide.
"I owe you an apology…" Seren waited a moment then looked over at Hogward. "You were right. It is strong." She turned on her heels and stormed out.
Peggy slowly leaned off the table, hand on her heart as its beats started to slow to normal. Then, she looked over at Steve, still shell-shocked. "What did you do?" She whisper-hissed then went after Seren.
Steve was at a loss of words as well. He met Howard's gaze, and the man was basically asking the same thing as Peggy. The only difference is that Howard had more of a 'yikes' expression on his face.
~0~
When Peggy finally caught up to Seren, the latter was already nearing the entry point of the headquarters. "You want to explain yourself about what happened back there!?"
Seren stopped walking only out of respect for Peggy. "I'm sorry!" She turned to Peggy. "I didn't mean — I'm sorry!"
"Don't apologize to me," Peggy said incredulously. "I'm not the one you shot at with outerspace powers!"
"No," Seren agreed, "I just shot at Steve — oh my God…" Her eyes widened, comprehending what she'd done. She brought her hands together in front of her mouth. "I shot Steve."
Peggy's eyebrows raised. She was absolutely floored but she had a suspicion that something had happened between Seren and Steve that was just eating Seren up.
"So you just woke up today and decided to shoot at a fellow colleague?" Peggy said, crossing her arms. "Or is there something you want to get off your chest?"
Seren slowly lowered her hands from her face. "I, uh…" Her eyes roamed their immediate area, wanting to keep her words just between them. "I don't know what happened." And she really didn't know how it happened. "One moment, Steve and I are talking last night and the next, I'm kissing him. We're kissing. And then today, I see him kissing another woman and at first I was angry, then I was sad but then I got angry again and I-I just, I—"
"Decided to shoot him," Peggy said, her lips stretching into a smile. "Good. He deserved it."
Seren's brows furrowed. "You're not mad?"
Peggy chuckled. "No. He had it coming."
"No, but…" Seren sighed, "I could have hurt him. In the end, he can do whatever he wants. I'm the one who kissed him. I was just stupid for thinking things that weren't."
"Mm, I wouldn't go that far…" Peggy moved over to Seren's side, bringing one arm around Seren's shoulders. "What do you say we go out for lunch today? I can show you some shops."
"Why?" Seren made a face.
"Don't you go shopping when you're upset?"
"Our clothes were always made for us," Seren said, shrugging. "My family's important."
Peggy laughed. "Of course! My apologies, your highness! Well, then I'll have the pleasure of showing you how to shop around here!"
Seren walked with her out of instinct. She didn't really have the cheery mood to go and shop, but she supposed it was better than going home and lying in bed all day.
A/N:
Fun fact, there was a point where I wondered if I should've started Seren's actual fic in the CATFA. But, of course, I didn't and now here we are. I'm having fun with this version of Seren because in this story, she's the one who fell harder ('He fell first but she fell harder' trope) and she has no idea wtf is going on.
P.S. As always, I have an AO3/Wattpad account under "noblecrescent" and a tumblr account under "saiilorstars" if you'd like to follow :)