CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

( NINE TO FIVE )

"YOU'RE LATE," THE monotone voice of her co-worker, Jessabelle notes as Quinn strolls through the back door of the store. She rolls her eyes as she watches a small smirk appear on Jessabelle's face. She had always been the one to look at the bad things and think positively of them. By positively she enjoyed seeing things go horribly wrong.

For some reason, Quinn had been instantly drawn to her morbid personality since she started. Perhaps it's because she hated this job as much as she did, she just showed it a lot more. Plus she had seniority and knew the ins and outs of this store like the back of her hand - along with the rest of Manhattan. If anything, Jessabelle had become somewhat of Quinn's first friend in New York that she actually made in the city. "If I said I helped someone out of a burning building, would you believe me?" Quinn questions, returning the smirk.

"Only if you gave gruesome details,"

Quinn let's out a low chuckle at her unusual nature. "You think I'd let people die?" Quinn questions as Jessabelle eagerly snatches the plastic cup of coffee from her hand, reading the label of the now cold macchiato. "You went to Foam Party without me, and didn't bring me anything? I'm the one who showed you that place. I feel a betrayal coming," Jessabelle notes in a dramatic fashion. "Oh, yeah, I'm sorry. I was going through another interview today," Jessabelle's eyes light up at the statement.

"How'd that go? Get another weirdo?" Of course she was only interested in hearing how people get under Quinn's skin or just finding it fascinating about the weird people of New York and what they do in their free time. She especially got a hoot out of the man who said he released a twenty foot python in the sewers. Even the thought of a snake that size made her shiver, even though she crossed him off as completely delusional.

"No. Thankfully I met with someone normal who has agreed to be my roommate," Quinn informs her with a know-it-all tone, a smug grin resting on her face. The statement alone is enough to make Jessabelle's brows raise. "Whoa so soon? Don't you have to run that by your landlord or something?"

"The less my landlord knows, the better. I'm just lucky she doesn't live in the same building as me," Quinn states, earning a chuckle from her co-worker.

She takes the last sip of her macchiato as her eyes survey the crowded store. Being in retail hasn't been something she was totally used to yet, nor was working with tech in retail. She could go on and on about a product and not sell anyone on it. She didn't understand how, everything seemed to be advanced enough, but not as advanced as Tony Stark's gadgets. She's had a few people come in and ask why they don't have the products Tony Stark adorns on a night on the town. It wasn't like she could help it, she wasn't in charge.

Tony Stark was good enough to save the world and threaten terrorists, but he was selfish enough to keep his technology a secret. Even when it came to the design of his phone. Although she'd like to get her hands on it and dissect it. Even with Steve being close to Tony he hadn't possessed any electronics that he had developed. Perhaps Tony didn't seem Steve tech savvy enough yet.

She shakes her head trying to clear any thoughts about Steve. This wasn't the time to start daydreaming about the perks of potentially dating him, if she could ever come around to it. She couldn't risk herself being attacked like she had before. Her eyes shift over to the table which had been reserved for her class, watching a few of the "students" come in and take a seat at the edge.

She had to get through six classes today. If she could survive this with the pleasant buzz her macchiato gave her from earlier, she could get home and work on EDGE. She groans as she looks at the clock behind her on the wall. She was going to have to start class soon. "What a lively group you've caught," Jessabelle sneers from beside her as she takes a gander at the people perched at the table. Quinn rolls her eyes as she let's out a small yawn. "I'll try to score you some numbers," Quinn teases as she steps away from the counter and out into the sea of new costumers.

"Remember, only old guys with money!" Jessabelle shouts after her, making her crack a smile and give her a thumbs up. A small group has started to form around half of the light wooden table that was roped off for the sake of her class which proudly adorned the name "Tech Help". A class with a slightly older demographic would come and seek help.

She admired most of the people being big enough to swallow their pride and admit that they needed help learning the vastly developing industry that was technology as it was slowly but surely starting to take precedence over the world. She cracks her knuckles as she perches herself at the head of a light wooden table, all heads snapping towards her to turn their attention to the instructor. She plasters a wide smile on her face as she greets her class, setting up her own laptop on to the large television screen beside the table so they could all see her desktop.

The class is a how-to basics of the MacBook that each individual possessed, and usually was about a forty-five minutes long tutorial that she had to go over multiple times throughout the day. Sometimes it took longer if a person wasn't grasping at the basics, but she'd try to help them understand the best she could, that's why she was there.

The hours seem to drone by, as she continues to explain the basic technology to people who were in desperate need of help. The once sunny sky that provided most of the light in the mainly glass building was substituted by the evening sky, growing more and more dark. She always liked it at night, as the lights from the skyscrapers lit up beautifully.

"Score anything for me?" Jessabelle questions as she approaches Quinn on her soon-to-be finished break. Jessabelle always requested Quinn to get her some numbers of any older gentleman, as she thinks that he would take care of her financially. She was always saying that if she could find herself someone rich enough she'd quit her job. Quinn deemed it as not the best outlook on life but, it's not like she could have any input on her life. She shrugs her shoulders as she places a chip into her mouth.

"I'm not lucky today," she states with a snarky grin. Usually, she could possibly score unwanted numbers by older gentlemen. "How's Enzo?" she questions her co-worker, trying to change the subject. Jessabelle's arms cross her chest as she stands in the middle of the doorway. "I don't know, he hasn't been home in a couple of days," she sighs out. This was clearly causing her a headache. Quinn perks a questionable brow as she bites into the last chip in the bag. "You don't know where he is?"

"If I did I would've told you when you asked how he was," Jessabelle seethes, a scowl overcoming her face. She had struck a nerve. It must've been a sensitive issue for her today. Quinn shrugs her shoulders in a form of an apology. If she didn't want to know where her estranged boyfriend was that was her own deal. If she was as close to her as she was Jo she'd be up her ass trying to find him but it's clear that they'll never be that close since Jessabelle just wants to push Quinn away.

They sit in silence for a moment, trying to let the awkwardness settle between the two. Jessabelle's fingers lightly tap the door-frame as she tries to gain confidence to be the bigger person and end this little tiff. "Anyways, I just came in here to tell you that people from your fifth class have started to show up and you've caught yourself a hot one,"

Quinn scoffs at her judgement. It obviously wasn't the best. "How old is he?"

"Surprisingly not that old. But he's hot and that's all I really cared about. Slide him my number?" Jessabelle gushes, twirling her enclosed hands up by her face in a pleading way. Quinn rolls her eyes. She had a boyfriend but wanted to get out of the relationship that bad. She could understand wanting to get out of the relationship with Enzo disappearing from time to time and being secretive about it, but it didn't sit well that she was already hunting for new partners while being with someone. However, if she gave her, her opinion on breaking up with him beforehand she'd just smash it down. "I guess," is all Quinn can respond with as she exits the break room.

The hum of voices escalate in volume as she exits the employees only area to the front of the store which was now beautifully illuminated by the twinkling lights of the skyscrapers surrounding the building. Her gaze immediately turns towards the small area roped off for her fifth class. Most of the seats had been taken, she didn't realize that it was going to be that full. She freezes mid-step over towards her class when she notices a familiar face sitting at her table.

The hat and the glasses may throw everyone through a loop but she could recognize Steve Rogers from anywhere. He must've been the younger man that Jessabelle was talking about. A laugh hitches in her throat as she thinks about Steve and Jessabelle together. Polar opposites.

She watches as he takes out his own laptop from a case and places it on the table in front of him. He catches her gaze and returns it with a sheepish smile. If she didn't know any better she'd say that he had a light blush on his face. She tries to hide a smirk that was growing on her lips but ultimately fails, causing him to smile wider. A pit of nerves cluster in her stomach as she perches herself at the head of the table. This was a new sensation for her. She had never been nervous to instruct one of these classes.

"Uh," Quinn begins, her voice drawing the attention of her class, including a pair of blue eyes that had never left her. She can feel the heat rising to her cheeks as she nervously fumbles with her laptop. "Good evening everyone, my name is Quinn. I'll be instructing you on how to use your MacBook," she gives them a firm smile which Steve returns making her stomach knot.

During the lecture Quinn stumbles over certain words, stammers whenever a question is asked. Each time she messed up she sent an apologizing glance towards Steve who would merely smile up at her, giving her a boast of confidence before she would ultimately lose it again. She had never felt more distracted in her life. Usually she liked his presence, it gave her a sense of comfort and stability but today it had her on edge.

If Jo hadn't gotten in her head about how they were supposed to be together and if he wasn't so kind and adapting to her anti-social nature after the brainwashing maybe she wouldn't have developed this crush on him. There are several points during her lecture where she can't even stomach to look at him as she thinks about what had happened during the time she was brainwashed. She went against everything her father had engraved in her moral code. He would've been disappointed to say the least.

The burning question of why Steve even wanted to be around her after all that had happened was still at large, even though Jo has convinced her he has feelings for her as well. As she dismisses the forty-five minute session, she huffs out a sigh and placing her hands on her hips, watching everyone pack up their laptops and (unbelievably) notepads.

She couldn't wrap her mind around why people would notepads if they had computers, however, that's the pot calling the kettle black as she shortly realizes that she's been using her notebook to write down notes about EDGE. Little tweaks and quirks, nothing too big. Once again she locks eyes with the famous Steve Rogers, who had gone by the alias of Roger during the session. It caused her to snort. Some disguise.

"You know I can't teach class if you can't stop giving me googly eyes," she smiles at him as he approaches her, a slight smirk on his face. His brows raise at the term that she had used. "Googly eyes? I was just interested in learning," he teases, trying to give himself a little bit if cover as he taps the laptop case slung around his shoulders. "What are you doing here?" she questions even though she knew he was there to merely see her, unknowing that he made her feel nervous.

"I was interested in learning," he replies, repeating himself from before. This makes Quinn mentally slap herself. Of course he was there for her but his intentions were purely meant for him to learn about how to use a laptop. She cringes at the thought, she didn't mean to neglect him on how to use a laptop, he never asked and she never offered. "Well, we could've done that in private, you know what I mean," she insists, her cheeks heating up as she thinks of the innuendo.

"What time are you off?" he asks, catching her off guard. She crosses her arms as she slowly begins to sway from side to side, a nervous habit that she's picked up on. "I have another class," she sighs in exasperation. "I get off around nineteen hundred,"

"Have you eaten anything?"

"A macchiato and some chips," she answers honestly. It was all she could think to eat at the time. It wasn't like she was all that hungry or could even eat while at work.

"Quinn," he tuts while shaking his head. Her small smile turns into a a slight frown as she watches him. She wasn't in the mood for a lecture, especially at work. "What are you thinking?" she questions, already knowing what was about to play out. "Falafel King," is all he responds with.

"Not that healthy," she replies, a smug grin on her face. She knew she could corrupt him when it came to street food. No one could get over the taste of Falafel King.

"When did that stop you?" he smirks.

"When you kept saying that I can't live on a diet of just street food,"

"You can't," he retorts, his tone getting a little serious which causes her to drop her snarky attitude. "I'll meet you back here after your shift,"

"Can you do me a favor?" she asks, earning a perked brow from Steve. "Can you take out Rudolph? I haven't been home since noon-ish,"

"Is the key still above the door?" he questions earning a nod from Quinn. Not the best tactic to hide a key but it was something. With that he turns to leave without saying goodbye to her. Any more social interaction could cause her to get in trouble with her manager. She can't hide the fact that she's a little hurt when she watches him leave. She wanted to stay with him, stop working and just be around him. She huffs out a sigh as she walks behind the counter towards a smirking Jessabelle.

"Slide him my number or take him for yourself?" she accuses, making Quinn brows raise as she checks her phone for the time. Just another two hours. "No to both, he just had a question regarding the gigs on the MacBook," she lamely lies. Jessabelle's unamused face draws her attention once again. "There were whispers saying that that was Steve Rogers,"

"Captain America? I don't think he has time to visit an Apple store. He's probably off saving the world," she answers, her nerves standing at end at the mention of Steve. She didn't realize that he'd be recognizable under that hat and frumpy glasses. She starts to sweat on the spot, hoping Jessabelle wouldn't notice. "Maybe," she purrs, loving the way Quinn seemed to squirm. "You two did a lot of talking, did he mention it to you?"

Quinn shakes her head vehemently. "Didn't get a name, but I would definitely tell you if that was Steve Rogers and it wasn't. He was a total nerd," she lies, desperately hoping to throw Jessabelle off her trail. She wouldn't make a mistake by telling her she knew Steve personally, she couldn't risk her being a target, she was honestly an innocent bystander. Jessabelle thankfully seems bored with the conversation and leaves to help someone out, using her way too cheerful customer service voice that Quinn knew all too well was fake. She takes this time away from Jessabelle to compose herself. She had just barely dodged a bullet.

~BOOK TWO; AGE OF ULTRON~

THE DISTINCT SOUND of a familiar bark alerts Quinn that her friend awaits her to walk her home. She huddles for warmth in her jacket as a gust of wind blows through her. She hated working at night because if how cold it got. No matter how many millions of people were in the city it still remained freezing. Her eyes catch a familiar figure, sitting down on a ledge accompanied by Rudolph. Her eyes widen at the sight of the four legged animal. Did they walk here all the way from Greenwich? That was far too far for Rudolph to walk to and from, it was hard for her to do it, which is why she always took the subway.

Quinn begins to stomp her way towards an undisguised Steve, who was promptly hanging on to a small cartridge of falafel in one hand. He smiles once he catches sight of her, waving the cartridge to her. Her mind becomes flustered at the sight, forgetting why she was even heated to begin with. Even if he had walked this far it wasn't like she wasn't happy to see the two, she would even go to lengths to say she was thrilled to see Rudolph here after her long day.

The golden retriever jumps up onto his owner, whining in greeting as she leans down to pat his head, only to be greeted by a sloppy kiss from him. If there was anything consistent in her life besides the chaos it was Rudolph, and no matter what hell she had been put through he still loved her. Hopefully, her time of chaos was going to be over, as soon as she sent her mother to Woodruff's facility, she could finally have some peace of mind.

Maybe even have the gull to ask Steve on a date. The thought alone was enough to make her heart skip a beat. "H-hey," she stammers out as she greets him, lifting up from her crouches position. He smiles at her as he hands her the cartridge in his hand, the savory smell of the Mediterranean food was tempting to her but she wouldn't act like a complete slob around Steve. She couldn't. "Did you walk all the way here?" she asks, while popping in a small ball of the delicious food. Steve shrugs. "Figured he could use a walk,"

"He'll be tired on the way back," Quinn notes as she begins to walk away from her place of work. "Well it's a good thing I can carry him," he chuckles in response, falling in step with her. This is true, she's never seen anyone pick up Rudolph so easily without the dog struggling. Perhaps he felt comforted by Steve's presence as well. "Did you learn anything today at the lecture?"

"Yeah, I did not know about the sky. It'll be super helpful on missions,"

Quinn stops dead in her tracks as she tries to decipher what he means, her lips pursing at the word 'sky'. "What do you mean by sky?"

"The thing, where all your information on your phone or laptop goes after you save them to it,"

"Please tell me you're not trying to say the cloud," Quinn smirks as she sees a faint tinge of pink come to his cheeks out of embarrassment. "I am almost positive that Stark will have something better than the cloud for your missions. Something elite and extremely secure. Something that can't be hacked by the general public,"

"Like you wouldn't want to know what I do on missions," Steve teases, earning a scoff from Quinn. "Frankly I don't care. The less I know the better,"

Steve's brow perks up at the very un-Quinn like statement. "This is a new side. You were always prying for me to tell you what was happening on the missions,"

She huffs out a frustrated sigh, "Yeah and then I got my brain scrambled for being too inquisitive. It's best I put my interests elsewhere,"

"Like EDGE?" Steve questions, his hand gripping on to the leash tighter as he mentions the device. For some reason Quinn playing around with technology made him feel uneasy. Not that she wasn't qualified to but after she had explained what the device would do he could easily see several flaws in the description. Hopefully, it didn't work and she wasn't some mad scientist.

Quinn just hums at the sound of the name for the device as she continues to chow down on her food. Explaining EDGE to him once again would just cause him to get even more confused about what it was than he already was. He wasn't one hundred percent adjusted to this time, she didn't want to complicate things for him further. Her eyes absentmindedly drift down to his exposed and relaxed hand, watching it away back and forth with each stride. If only she had the courage to intertwine her fingers with his. She cursed Hydra for taking away her memory, perhaps if she still had her memories with him they could be something. Now she has to start from square one again while he repeats the whole process with her. She just hoped he could remain patient for her.

"Quinn?" Steve's questioning voice brings her out of her train of thought, surprising her. She glances at him with wide eyes, wondering what's happening as she sees that he's holding Rudolph's leash towards her, a couple of new faces have joined them on their walk. "Can you hold this?" he repeats, handing her Rudolph's leash, the golden retriever was collapsed on the ground at her feet. Still confused as to what was happening, Quinn takes the leash and watches his every move with question.

He turns back towards the new faces, placing his arms behind the two women and smiling as they pull out their phone. Quinn rolls her eyes. Of course he had been recognized. She wonders if this had ever happened between them in DC but he seemed infinitely more popular here. Everyone wanted to be friends with an Avenger. She waits patiently off to the side as they harbor him questions that she knew he didn't feel comfortable answering, admiring the large buildings.

She had lived in a lot of places during her lifetime thanks to her father's career, she had seen the deserts of Arizona, faced the sheer mountain cliffs of Colorado, and survived the hot southern sun of Georgia but nothing quite as beautiful as the big city. Once again she greets Steve as he buds goodbye to the women. He leans down and huffs out a playful, straining grunt as he picks up the golden retriever who refused to walk any further. "Big fans?"

"Biggest," he corrects in a sarcastic tone.

"I thought Rudolph was your biggest fan,"

"He is. Just don't tell them that," he gives her a playful grin that makes her slightly chuckle. She doesn't know how Steve manages to walk with Rudolph in his arms and talk to her at the same time while watching where he's going, being careful not to trip over anything on the sidewalk and stepping up the pace when it came to crossing a busy intersection. She was happy that he could accompany her on her way home, she hadn't seen him in a couple of days.

As they approach her building, Steve places Rudolph back down on his feet where the dog relaxes and seemingly melts onto the sidewalk. Steve chuckles at Rudolph's lazy antics which Quinn admires with a small smile. If anyone could love that dog more than her and Jo it would be Steve. "I'm surprised you carried him all that way," Quinn attests as Steve leans up to talk to her. "He's only eighty pounds," he shrugs, placing his hands in his pockets. She rolls her eyes at him and repeats what he says sarcastically. It must be an easy statement to say being Captain America.

She fidgets awkwardly as the weight of the silence falls upon them. She can't help but look away as he gives her a side-eyed look, something she had started to see as more romantic than friendly. "Speaking of your strength!" she says a little louder than normal, which makes Steve laugh as she blushed from embarrassment. She didn't mean for it to come out that way, she just felt way too nervous for some reason. She clears her throat after apologizing. "Speaking of your strength, do you mind if I borrow you on Friday to move in my new roommate?"

"New roommate, huh? Are they nice?" Steve's voice sounds a little on edge. Rightfully so, after the numerous incidents with failed interviews for the room he half expected her to cave in to a kleptomaniac. He's surprised when she nods her head.

"The nicest person I've met in New York so far,"

He gives her a small, joking pout, causing her to nudge his arm. "Oh, come on, we met in D.C. not here," she corrects him. "So what do you say? Help me out?" Her hand extends out towards him to shake on the deal. Steve peers at it questionably as he hums. "Deal, but it comes with a price," he quickly adds the last part as he shakes her hand, making her arm go limp.

Her eyes narrow at the Avenger. "What's the price?" she asks feeling like she was being conned by her friend. He smiles as he closes the gap between the two, causing Quinn's heart to race and her face to become flushed. Her mind ran towards what could possibly be happening, but could it really be happening? It almost felt like a dream to her. She takes a plunge and steps closer to him, leaving barely any space between them, a smile appearing on Steve's face as his eyelids become hooded. She can almost feel him swoop down to go in for the kill when she hears a phone jingle. From the sound of it, it wasn't hers.

He pulls back, groaning in the process. He peers down at the screen as he pulls his phone out of his pocket before apologizing to Quinn as he answers. She let's out an exasperated sigh. She was never going to get a nice minute with him to talk about their connection. It seemed like something was always preventing them from having a moment. Whether it be Quinn's cowardice or people recognizing Steve at the wrong time. Perhaps pursuing him would be a waste of time. Plus it would relieve her of ever being a prominent damsel in distress if someone were to attack him once again.

As he returns she takes her sour frown and forms it into a fraud smile, hoping he couldn't see the distress that was taking over. "I have to get going," he sighs out, his tone sounding unenthusiastic. "So soon?" She doesn't mean to sound desperate for his presence, she had just walked forty-five minutes with him while talking. He nods, his lips pursing into a thin line. "Stark hired a PR rep for me since I live at the tower now. I guess I'm being talked about on the internet,"

Quinn once again raises a confused brow. "You mean you're trending on social media -"

"That's the word she used," he snaps his fingers at the word, causing Quinn to roll her eyes. She tucks her arms together across her chest tightly trying not to feel disgruntled about the situation. "Are you free your next day off?" he asks, perking her interests. "I have Friday and Sunday off. Friday is when I help move Robin in," she informs him. "Let's do something on Sunday," he suggests, causing her to raise her brows. Was this a date or was this a hang out or was she teaching him? "Like what?" she questions.

Steve shrugs his shoulders as he takes a step back from her and Rudolph. "It's a surprise," he says with a smile. He bids her a goodbye as he begins walking away, waving at her, leaving her confused on her doorstep.

A/N: Just a little update, I'm working on two new Steve Roger stories! They're not based in the MCU, they're kind of like an AU of sorts. However, not as planned out as Hey America! They will be updated every two weeks (it may go to monthly depending on how busy I am with the other stories since they're kind of on the back burner until Hey America! finishes - and I laid out all the chapters for Hey America! and I think it's somewhere between 160-175 chapters so this isn't ending any time soon), so it'll be Hey America! and one of the new stories. - Moonie