A few days later, Steve told me how he became Captain America. From the innumerable failed attempts at enlisting in the army, Dr. Erskine and his super-soldier serum, Peggy, selling war bonds, going overseas as a part of the USO, rescuing Bucky, losing Bucky, crashing into the ice, waking up in New York seventy years later, moving into his current apartment, and finally being recruited for the Avengers.
"Wow."
"Yeah."
"Are you like, really great at hockey?"
His face rumples in response to my apparent non sequitur.
I finish, "'Cause you have to be strong and agile and know how to fight and, and do well on ice."
He glances to the ceiling, giving a flat 'help me' look.
"You know," Steve says after a pause. "There's still something we need to talk about..." He waits for me to meet his gaze.
"What's that?" My stomach flips in my nervousness.
"You lied to me. Our friendship started in a lie." Steve's face is stern in his seriousness.
My mind scrambles. "What are you talking about?"
"Your name isn't Anne." His firm façade cracks with his smile.
I drop my head into my hands. "Ugh."
"So I'm assuming that your name came from the Ãowyn that's in 'The Lord of the Rings'?" The amusement in his voice makes me want to hide under a blanket.
"Yes," I groan out. "My mom loves- loved literature. My middle name is from a character in a book called 'Anne of Green Gables' and also an entirely unrelated book called 'Persuasion'. That's easy enough, Anne is a plain, not embarrassing name. My dad chose my first name. He knew how much my mom loved literature, so he tried to choose something from a good book. Unfortunately for me, he was reading 'The Lord of the Rings' when my mom found out she was pregnant. Dad loved the character Ãowyn, loved how strong and brave and fierce she was for her family and her people. But he also loved that when the war was over, she was able to put that part of her aside and live happily without needing to find glory in war. My mom loved the suggestion immediately, of course. So, I guess that was that." I sigh. "I don't dislike the name. It just is so ill-fitting that it's honestly embarrassing. I'm not a warrior. I can't even smush a spider. They might as well have named me Radagast for all the similarities we share."
Steve shares a soft smile. "I think you have more strength and bravery and fierceness in you than you know. But I sincerely hope that you are never in the position to learn your limits."
âoâ
It's my day off and I'm spending the afternoon at a park, just a bit of a bus drive away. Yes, it's winter and I don't really exercise so you're probably wondering why I'm doing this. Truth is, after my mom passed, I found that I have a lot of time to myself, which isn't always a good thing. So when my walls feel too close, I go to the park and go for a walk or just sit on a bench and read or people watch. It's too cold today to just sit, so I'm going to walk.
I've made it about half of a circuit when I spy the coffee stand. I don't care for coffee, but they have some amazing hot chocolate. I order my usual â a medium with extra marshmallows, and hand Benny the cash. He's the owner and since I've made a habit of stopping by whenever I'm in the park, I've gotten comfortable enough with him to make some small talk.
"So how's Kennedy liking first grade?" She's his six-year-old daughter.
He smiles in pride. "She's loving it. She's already made some great little friends and she gets A's in every class. She says she want to be a teacher like Ms. Halbrook when she grows up."
"That's great! I'm so glad to hear that she's gotten outgoing enough to make some friends."
"Oh yes, now she won't stop talking to them! Annoys them half to death, I imagine." Benny says with a laugh. "Your hot chocolate." He hands me my drink. "See you again soon!"
"Thanks Benny, see you later!" I wave as I walk away. I'm pretty sure he doesn't know my name, he must have way too many customers to remember just one, but he's always friendly and open. I'd love to be able to be like that someday.
As I walk and sip my drink, I think again about everything that Steve had told me.
'I wonder if Peggy is still alive...Would he go see her if she was? It's obvious that he was in love with her...is he still?...'
The sound of clunking metal disrupts my thoughts. I look up from the pavement to see Iron Man has just landed in front of me. My cup freezes halfway to my lips.
"Anne," Tony's modified voice speaks through his mask. "You need to- what in the name of headgear is that?"
I glance up and remember that I'm wearing my orange knit creation. "It's a hat. I knit it myself. Sits pretty cunning, don't cha think?" I grin, absurdly pleased that I'm finally in this situation.
"Did you mean for it to turn out like that?"
"It looks exactly like I wanted it to! Haven't you seen 'Firefly'?"
"No," he answered flatly. "Anyway, you need to come to the tower. Right now." He sounds rushed now that he remembers why he came.
"What? Why? What's wrong?" My heart starts to pound.
"It's Steve."
âoâ
"Tony, when you said it was Steve, I assumed that you meant he was hurt or in trouble, not that he didn't want to play with you." I stare flatly at the man before me.
"Hey! This is a bonding experience for the team and he didn't want to do it. The only thing I could think of to make him change his mind is you! He won't even answer his phone anymore when he sees that the call is coming from me or Bruce!" he defends, throwing his hands out in frustration.
Bruce groans from the couch across the room, muttering something about "no one wants to participate. It's just impossible to avoid when you live here."
"I was having a perfectly nice day walking through the park with my hot chocolate. You could've just asked me to call him from there! But no, you had to take me to the tower straight away, we couldn't even wait for a car, noooo, we had to fly!" I crinkle my nose at Stark.
This makes him smile. "It was urgent. I was getting bored."
I make another face. "You made me drop my hot chocolate for a poker game!"
"I'll have JARVIS make you a fresh cup once you call Steve." He tries to make puppy dog eyes but it isn't working very well.
"Fine. But just so we're clear, I'm not rewarding you for your bad behavior, I just want hot chocolate."
He just grins like a child and waits for me to make the call.
While I wait for Steve to pick up, I stick my tongue out at Tony.
"Hey Anne, what's up?" Steve sounds a bit echo-y and out of breath. He's probably at the gym again. Boy needs a hobby.
"Hi Steve," I say flatly. "Look, Tony really wants you to come to the Tower."
He sighs. "He got to you, huh?"
"You could say that." I give Tony the evil eye. "He kidnapped me. Took me out of the park and flew me to the tower."
"He did what?" Steve asks lowly.
"Yeah, made me drop my hot chocolate. Listen, about this 'team building' thing, I think it's important to him. Would you mind just stopping by and staying, I don't know," I glance to Tony who puts up three fingers, "about three hours or so?"
I hear him sigh deeply on the other side of the line. "I don't know...I kind of need my days away from Stark."
I roll my eyes. "You're both children. Although I can at least understand your feelings. If it makes you feel any better, I'll stay until you're done and then we can make Tony put on his suit and we'll throw rocks at him or something."
"I'm literally standing right next to you."
I wave off Tony's comment as I hear Bruce chuckle quietly from behind his book.
"Well," Steve hesitates and I know I've got him. "That does sound pretty good. All right, I'll come. But you have to stay. If you're there, it's less likely that I'll do something to Tony that might be considered unAvenger-like."
I smirk at Tony while I imagine Steve throwing a banana cream pie in his face.
'What can I say? I'm a sucker for the classics.'
"Deal!" I quickly say before he changes his mind.
I hear him chuckle. "Just give me thirty minutes to get cleaned up and get over there."
"Okay, see you soon. Bye Steve," I answer, smiling.
"Goodbye Anne."
Before I can even hang up, Stark starts mocking in a ridiculous cartoon voice, "Oh, Anne. I'd do anything for you! Even put up with that terrible Stark. Anything to spend time with youuuu. You're just such a swell gal!" He rolls his eyes.
"Tony, are you jealous?" I ask with a raised brow.
"Don't be absurd. I think our little soldier boy has a crush and it's just so cute." I might have believed him if he hadn't spat out the last word.
I hum. "I thought Bruce was the one who turns green."
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A/N: I freaking love Robert- Tony- *shrugs* same thing. Also, this chapter is pretty much pure fluff. Sorry not sorry.