I Can't Help It - Steve Rogers

Chapter 15

Steve hears a knock on his door and so he approaches it to answer the soft knocks. He opens the door to see Rachel with a bag of popcorn and a joyful smile on her face. "Movie night?" she asks hopefully as she shakes the bag of popcorn. "Of course" he answers with a chuckle as he steps aside to let her inside. "What are we watching tonight?" Steve questions. Since Rachel and Steve were relocated in Washington DC to work for Shield, they were placed in the same apartment building and ended up hanging out more often. Rachel has spent the last couple of months showing him a bunch of films that he's missed out on. She's also been helping him adjust to the new century and Steve is eternally grateful for her help and support.

"I was thinking Pirates of the Caribbean. There's four but we can just watch the first one tonight" Rachel answers with a smile as she pulls the dvd from her bag. "Sounds like a plan" he smiles as she jumps in excitement and rushes to put in the dvd player. She sits herself beside Steve on the sofa as the previews start. Steve offers her the popcorn that he'd prepared and she takes a handful with a smile. "Are you at Shield tomorrow?" Steve asks her while they wait. "Not that I know of, but you know how spontaneous these missions are" she shrugs as he nods in agreement. "What about you?" she adds as she looks over at him. "Nothing planned" he answers with a shake of his head before the film starts.

About half way through the film, Rachel feels her eyes get heavy. She moves so that she's lying down with her head on a pillow and her feet beside Steve. Steve doesn't take much notice as they've had many movie nights and have ended up spending the night on each other's sofas. Their apartments are only a few doors apart so it isn't difficult for them to quickly change in the morning, without the hassle of travelling to their own home. The film finishes and Steve leans forward to see Rachel already fast asleep. He drapes a blanket over her before turning the tv and all lights off and going to his room.

The following morning Steve leaves his apartment as quietly as possible so he doesn't disturb the still sleeping Rachel on his sofa. He leaves before sunrise to have an early morning run as the sun rises. Rachel wakes to the sound of her phone ringing. "Hello?" she answers sleepily as she wipes her eyes and lies back down. "Agent Forbes?" Fury questions. "Yes sir" Rachel responds while sitting up to wake herself up. "I have a mission for you, Rogers and Romanoff, I'll send you the details" he explains. "Yes sir" Rachel replies before he hangs up.

Rachel quickly leaves Steve's apartment, using the spare key she has. They gave each other spare keys for occasions like this one. She changes into a clean pair of blue jeans and a black top and brushes her hair before grabbing her jacket. She gets into her car and drives to Steve's running path after sending him a text.

She pulls up beside Steve and another man and rolls down the window. "Hey fellas, either one of you know where the Smithsonian is? I'm here to pick up a fossil" she asks with a grin. "That's hilarious" Steve comments unamused as he opens the door to get in. She looks out the window to see the other man kneeling down to see her. "Hey" she greets. "How you doing?" he asks flirtatiously. "Can't run everywhere" Steve tells him. "No, you can't" the man responds as Rachel accelerates and speeds off. "I told you these missions are spontaneous" she states with a smile and Steve chuckles in response.

They arrive at Shield and are instantly on a jet to the Indian Ocean. The leader of the Strike team, Rumlow starts briefing them on the way. "Target is a mobile satellite launch platform, the Lemurian Star. They were setting up their last payload when pirates took them 93 minutes ago" Rumlow explains. "Any demands?" Steve questions. "Billion and a half" Rumlow answers quickly. "Why so steep?" Steve questions further. "Because it's Shield" Rumlow responds. Steve is silent for a few seconds as he pieces the information together. "So it's not off-course, it's trespassing" he states knowingly as he glances at Natasha. "I'm sure they have a good reason" she argues, unbothered by his statement. "You know, I'm getting a little tired of being Fury's janitor" Steve complains. "Relax, it's not that complicated" Nat states calmly.

"How many pirates?" Steve questions, getting back on track. "25, top mercs led by this guy. George Batroc, Ex-DGSE, action division. He's at the top of Interpol's Red Notice. Before the French demobilised him, he had 36 kill missions. This guy's got a rep for maximum casualties" Rumlow explains while showing pictures and data about Batroc on the screen. "Hostages?" Steve asks. "Mostly techs. One officer, Jasper Sitwell. They're in the galley" Rumlow answers, revealing a list of the hostages and their personal profiles. "What's Sitwell doing on a launch ship? Alright, I'm gonna sweep the deck and find Batroc. Nat and Rachel, you kill the engines and wait for instructions. Rumlow, you sweep aft, find the hostages, get them to the life-pods, get them out. Let's move" Steve orders before everyone starts gearing up.

"Did you do anything fun Saturday night?" Nat asks Steve after securing their channel of communication. "Well all the guys from my barbershop quartet are dead, so no, not really" he answers with a smile. "What about you Violet?" Nat asks as she looks over at Rachel, drawing attention to her new alias. "I was working so no" she replies after rolling her eyes at Nat calling her Violet. "You know, if you ask Kristen out, from statistics she'd probably say yes" Nat suggests to Steve as he prepares to jump out of the jet. "That's why I don't ask" Steve states as Rachel tries to show no emotion about the topic. "Too shy or too scared?" Nat assumes. "Too busy" Steve states and jumps out of the jet and Rachel hides her smile.