𝚂𝚠𝚎𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚝 • 𝚂𝚝𝚎𝚟𝚎 𝚁𝚘𝚐𝚎𝚛𝚜

36 • Good Different?

Song: The Night We Met
Artist: Lord Huron
—

Millie finished making her hospital bed, tucking in the corners under the mattress until the sheets were perfectly flat.

"You know, someone can do that for you." Steve's voice startled her, but Millie turned around with a slight smile

"Just because they can doesn't mean they should have to."

"They'll just have to strip and wash the sheets in an hour or so anyway." He stepped up behind her and came so close to kissing the top of her head, but he refrained. "They do every night."

Millie still didn't have much energy, and would get random bursts at strange moments. Sometimes she'd wake up with the sunrise and sometimes, like today, with the sunset. It may not have been worth making the bed in the evening, but she was desperate to feel productive. She felt like such a nuisance and guilty for taking up such space.

The last week or so in the SHIELD hospital was strange to say the least, overwhelming too. Everything she knew had changed, including who she thought was still alive.

Her parents were long gone, both passing sometime in the 1980s. Steve told Millie he had hunted down their burial sites when he thawed and would take her there one day, along with Sylvia's.

Millie slowly found herself being more comfortable with Steve, leaning more into his light little touches. It definitely would take time to get used to him, she was still confused and overwhelmed with his new body.

She did, however, wish he wouldn't be so distant. He was loving, yes, but more platonically . And that made Millie's heart crack.

He'd hold her hands and hug her body, which was starting to put some missing weight back on, and kiss her cheek briskly, but that's it.

It was strange, because Millie craved his body... but she wasn't sure which one. And she craved Steve, but Steve wasn't the same. She had no idea if she was still something he'd like, and she was too afraid to ask.

She'd lost everything, if she were to lose Steve too, she didn't think she could cope. She'd gone through it once, no more, please no more.

Steve wanted to do more, he wanted to lift her up and spin her around, crush her with his weight while he made passionate, beautiful love to her...but he was far too scared.

Every single shower he'd had since that first one after the mission where they found Millie had been spent trying to desperately wash off the guilt, the pain, and it never went anywhere. Steve had done things, made decisions that, had he been in the right mind and still with Millie, would've never done.

He was refraining because he wasn't sure if Millie would still want him when she found out what a coward he was.

Too scared to die alone so he seeked comfort in another woman, too lonely to go to bed one night so he plunged himself into another woman's warmth, regretting every moment of it.

A knock took both Steve and Millie out of their trances and Tony walked in. "So, figured out where you're going to stay yet?" He asked and Millie furrowed her brows.

"I-I'm not sure... I thought I'd just figure it out when I got out"

"Well, you're getting out tonight, and I wanted to extend an invitation to stay at the Avengers facility, we have plenty of room for you." Tony smiled. "Unless, of course, Steve...?"

Steve looked at Millie and his lips twitched into a slight smile. "I mean, I'd like for you to stay at mine." His hand crept out and latched onto Millie's gently. "Only if you're comfortable with that, though."