I really didn't want to be here. I would honestly rather have been at the gym, than at this club.
I sat off in a corner booth quietly, as I watched the people around me have a good time, and wished I hadn't let Tony and Nat talk me into coming along. I thought back to how I had even agreed to this.
I sat forward on the couch, the TV low so I'd have some background noise without being distracted, as I pondered over the files on Bucky. Ever since we took down Hydra, I'd been searching for him and I hoped the old files on him would give me a clue as to where he could be.
"Steve, there you are. Been looking for you," Tony's cheerful voice distracted me.
"Haven't moved since lunch," I mumbled, glancing up as he sat next to me, his couch dipping slightly.
"How did you not know where to find him? He has the same routine everyday. Wake up, eat, workout, shower, eat, reread the same six files, watch TV, eat, sleep, repeat," Natasha's voice broke in as the other side of the couch dipped lower, too. I closed the file with a sigh, seeing I wasn't going to be able to concentrate with the two of them.
"It's not always the same. Sometimes, I workout twice or I wait until after I shower to eat," I defended.
Tony sighed, shaking his head sadly. "We have got to get you laid,"
I rolled my eyes at him and shook my head. "I'm not into one night stands, Tony. Never have been, never will be," I told him for the thousandth time.
"Okay, so then we need to get you a girlfriend," Tony shrugged and I stood, grabbing the files, needing desperately to escape this conversation.
"Unless guys are more your thing, I'm not judging," Natasha snickered and I turned around, arms crossed.
"Listen, Tony, if I find--" I began, but he rolled his eyes and held up his hands.
"I know, I know. 'If I find someone it'll happen on my terms and will be with a nice girl who's first thought isn't that she wants to lick my body up and down'," he mimicked me, and my face heated.
"I don't remember saying anything about licking my body," I mumbled and he stood, walking towards me, Nat trailing behind.
"Either way, you need to loosen up. We're going to a club on Saturday. Come with us." He offered.
I shook my head. "No thanks."
Tony sighed in frustration as Nat put an hand on my crossed arms."Listen, as your friends, we feel it's our duty to make sure you have a good time, plus, you're kinda the only Avenger without a significant other," Tony pointed out. I was tempted to look at Natasha, but figured that wasn't fair, since no one knew where Bruce was.
"Fine." I sighed, resigned.
Tony returned to the table with two beers and a scotch, setting the scotch in front of me as he took a sip out of one of the bottles, sitting in the booth.
"Where's Nat?" I asked, avoiding looking at the dance floor when a couple openly began sharing their tongues. I'd like to think I'd adapted pretty well to society after being frozen for thirty years, but there were still some things that threw me off and made me uncomfortable.
"Bathroom," Tony explained and I nodded before he pointed to a redhead across the room.
"What do you think of her?" He asked and I groaned inwardly. He'd been asking me about nearly every girl that passed.
"She's pretty, I guess," I commented, just to get him off my case. In truth, I thought her makeup was over the top, where she'd be a natural beauty without it, and her dress left nothing to the imagination, giving her an air that she knew she was good looking and had no problem flaunting it.
"Good, because I asked her to come over and talk to you," Tony told me slyly, grinning as he took another swig of his beer.
"No, Tony, you didn't," I protested, sipping my scotch and relishing the burn. He grinned and said nothing and my heart sunk when she began sauntering, yes, sauntering, towards us. I glared at Tony as she stopped at our table, leaning a hand against the side of the booth.
"Hey boys, mind if I join you?" she asked, eyeing both me and Tony openly. Before I could answer, she slid in next to me, her bare thigh brushing my jeans and I inched away slightly.
"So, what's the great Captain America doing here at this dump?" she asked, licking her red lips as she turned her body towards me.
I held back a gag at her perfume and forced a smile. "Just here to relax, ma'am. Same as everyone else."
She laughed loudly and placed a perfectly manicured hand on my shoulder, as if we were friends.
"Nobody is here to just relax. Most of us are here to get lucky. What about you, Mr. America? Looking to take someone home?" she asked huskily, leaning into me. I mentally vowed to never let Tony or Nat talk me into anything ever again and gulped nearly the entire glass of whiskey.
"I'm going to go get another drink. Excuse me," I asked, pointedly waiting for her to move so I could get out. She frowned and flipped her hair as she slid out, talking to Tony as I walked as fast as possible away. I sat at the bar, nodding when the bartender asked if I wanted a fresh drink.
This wasn't my scene. I didn't belong in this bar with the music deafeningly loud and people looking to take a random stranger home to have sex with.
A couple more girls approached me, and I was polite, if not curt, and they eventually gave up, leaving to go find an easier conquest probably.
A brunette stopped at the stool next to me, sitting down and asked the bartender for a beer, crossing her long legs gracefully as she turned around to watch the others, and I wondered why someone as good looking as her wasn't out there dancing, too.
I thought about talking to her, since her purpose of coming over didn't seem to be to flirt, but another guy, whose appearance screamed sleazy, strode over, flashing a smile at her. I focused on my drink again, watching them out of the corner of my eye.
He crowded her immediately and I could tell she didn't know him by the way she clenched her bottle, but tried to stay polite.
"Can I help you?" she asked, her voice carrying a slight accent I couldn't quite identify.
"I just saw you sitting here and thought you looked lonely," he slurred slightly, wrapping an arm around her. She tensed and I grit my teeth in annoyance. It amazed me how disrespectful men could be in the 21st century.
"I'm not lonely, so you'd probably better run along now," she told him, annoyance clear in his face, as she began to try and wiggle free.
His arm tightened around her, pressing her closer against him and I was two seconds away from getting involved. Instead, I decided to wait to see if she really needed help, watching as the bartender disappeared around back.
"You need to let go of me. Now." she told him with deadly calm. He laughed and leaned heavily against her as she set down her beer, so his nose brushed against her neck.
"There's no need to play hard to--" he began, before she whipped around and slammed her elbow into his gut. His eyes widened and his arm fell to clutch his stomach as he went down. As others began to stare she turned around, calmly sipping her beer again.
I was unable to hold back a chuckle, and she looked at me warily, a hesitant smile on her face.
"Good job." I complimented her and she tucked a curly piece of hair out of her hazel eyes, shrugging.
"Thanks." She smiled, and paused before adding "I'm Kat."
I smiled back as a new bartender came on shift. "Steve."
She looked closely at me for a minute and then spoke. "Rogers. I know. I owe you. My roommate wouldn't be here today without you guys," she smiled.
I shrugged. "It's our job, ma'am." The bartender motioned to my almost empty glass and I began to shake my head no, when she spoke again.
"Let me buy you a drink?" she asked me and I nodded after a moment's hesitation. Tony seemed to be content talking to Nat and the girl from before and I couldn't get drunk, so why not?
She tipped her head towards my drink and told the bartender to put it on her tab before turning to face me.
"Never pictured Captain America would be into a place like this," she commented, lifting a brow in question.
"He's not. He's into getting his friends off his case," I joked and she laughed softly. I smiled slightly, taking a sip of my scotch, the burn more intense than usual.
"I can relate to that. My roommate Cassie is the one who made me go out today or I wouldn't be here." She rolled her eyes, taking another sip of her beer.
"You don't like dancing?" I asked, surprised. She looked like someone who knew her way around a dance floor.
"Dancing is fine, as long as I'm not being groped by random strangers. Which happens every time I'm here, by the way," she scoffed, crossing her legs as she threw her head in the direction of the dance floor.
I frowned, glancing that way, disgusted. "Really? I'm sorry. Some guys just don't know when to quit." I shook my head in scorn.
She laughed."Tell me about it. I'm pretty sure the only reason nobody else has come over yet, is because I'm talking to you," she confessed, biting her bottom lip.
"Well, then, let's not stop." I smiled slightly. "So how'd you and your roommate meet?" I asked her, taking another drink.
"She put out an ad saying she needed a roommate and I applied, even though I knew it was a long shot." She shrugged.
"Why was it a long shot?" I asked, brows furrowed.
She smiled sheepishly. "I don't make a lot of money. And at the time, I was unemployed. She was looking for a roommate, because she couldn't pay the rent all by herself, but she took a chance on me, because she said she saw something in my eyes. She claimed I had to have been desperate if I wanted to be her roommate. The apartment isn't on the best side of town."
I nodded in sympathy. "Been in that position. It's not fun. So where do you work?" I asked her.
She made a disgusted noise in the back of her throat. "A bar called 'The Locker Room'. It's very similar to a 'Hooters', except it's for the sleazy. You wouldn't believe how many of the guys treat me and the other waitresses like hookers." She shook her head. "But it's a job." she sighed.
I felt bad for her, I really did. She seemed like a really great person with really bad luck. And listening to her talk, I could hear how much it really bothered her, despite the tough exterior she had. "I'm sorry you have to go through that," I told her honestly, placing my hand on top of hers.
She looked at me in surprise for a moment, then laughed. "Y'know, if you hadn't just sat there and listened to my life story, I'd have thought you were looking for a quick hookup."
I reddened and let go of her hand, gripping my drink as I choked.
"Oh, sorry, uh, I didn't mean--" I stammered.
She held up a hand, laughing. "Hey, calm down, I was just saying. I know you weren't hitting on me."
I ducked my head in embarrassment, feeling slightly nauseous all of a sudden.
She looked at her phone with a sigh."Well, I appreciate you talking to me and keeping the creeps at bay. But I've gotta get home. Cassie needs my half of the rent money by tomorrow and that means I've got an extra shift tonight." She smiled and stood, pecking me on the cheek. "Thanks again." She smiled, going around to the other side of the bar to pay her tab.
I watched her for a moment before my head felt fuzzy and not because of the kiss.
I stood shakily and looked for the nearest exit, my head suddenly pounding as my vision began to blur. I couldn't be drunk, that was impossible, plus I hadn't had that much. An exit sign flashed at me through the haze and I slammed into the back door, stumbling out and leaning over the dumpster, breathing heavily.
A second later, the door opened again behind me and two sets of footsteps sounded at my back. Expecting Tony and Nat, I shook my head.
"Guys, something's up. I don't feel right," I said hoarsely, my vision fading in and out.
"You're not supposed to," an unfamiliar voice responded and I spun around, wobbling a bit. Two large guys advanced on me and I took a defensive stance before my stomach clenched and I was forced to double over in pain.
One of the guys shoved me and I went down on my back, my vision darkening as I looked up at the sky. I shook my head and rubbed my eyes, trying to sit up before one of the guys kneeled over me, a gun in his hand.
"Some hero," he scoffed with a thick accent, pressing the muzzle to my head. I closed my eyes as pain rolled through me again, gritting my teeth. I was totally helpless and nobody even knew where I was.
The door banged open again and a slightly familiar voice called out worriedly. "Steve, you okay?" My eyes flew open.
"Kat! Get out of here, now!" I warned, the yelling making my head pound harder. The guy on top of me said something in a different language and jerked his head in the direction of Kat. His colleague nodded and started towards her, as I tried to clear my head enough to think. It wasn't just my life in danger now.
I heard a cry of pain and struggled as the man on top of me growled and glared at me for a moment, before standing and heading towards Kat, as well. I immediately rolled over, my head spinning and my body screaming at me to stop moving, and looked over in their direction. What I saw made me think I was hallucinating.
Kat was fighting them. And winning. The first guy's nose was bleeding heavily and the second barely ducked a kick aimed at his head, dropping the gun in the process.
I rose to my knees and clutched my head, my muscles failing me for the first time in 70 years. I looked over at Kat again, through the pain, to see her pull a dagger with a long black blade out of her boot and throw it at the first guy, who was running at her for another shot.
It hit him square in the chest and he went down, his eyes wide with surprise. She had the other guy on the ground and was making her way over to me when the first guy with the knife still in his chest, shot at her.
Her hand flew to her shoulder and a scream escaped her as she dropped to one knee, her hair hiding her face.
"Kat!" I cried hoarsely, trying to stand again, but falling backwards as the last guy kicked me in the ribs from his position on the ground nearby. My head smacked against the concrete and my vision blackened.
I could hear angry words exchanged between Kat and the man seconds before a howl of pain.
I blinked, trying to fight the darkness spreading from the edge of my vision as Kat's face loomed above me, worried.
"Don't fight it, Steve. Close your eyes. You'll be okay, I promise." I shook my head, moving my lips to ask if she was alright, and how she did all that, before a sad smile graced her lips and she ran her fingers over my eyes, closing them and I promptly lost consciousness.
