VITALITY ↝ B. BARNES [1]

[8]

The air was full of static as Elysia circled the practice dummy, sending another punch at the center of its head. While she attempted to lace the punch with an electric charge, instead the sparks came out in a fizzle, not much more than an accidental shock between two people after shuffling on a carpeted floor. As she brushed a stray strand of hair that had fallen from her ponytail out of her face, she took a deep breath, shaking out her hand from the force of the punch and turning on her heel to leave the training center, and the dummy still taunting her from the center of the room.

Rather than taking the elevator back up to the living quarters, instead this time Elysia had opted to take the stairs, in order to give herself a few more minutes with her thoughts and burn off a little more energy before she attempted to fall back asleep. However, when she reached the ground floor, she caught sight of a familiar head of blonde hair sticking out from under a black baseball cap as Steve's retreating figure headed for the compound's exit.

With a concerned look, Elysia followed after Steve, barely outside the building when she watched the burly super soldier take off in a jog towards the surrounding field. Without thinking, she broke into a run after him, her much smaller strides breaking into a sprint to try and catch up with his jogging form. However, after a few moments, her stamina began to slip away, and it became apparent that her human running was no match for his super speed, even at what he likely considered to be a light pace.

"Steve!" Elysia called out, in an attempt to get his attention. "Rogers, wait up!"

As her voice reached the man's ears, he stopped his jog, turning to face where Elysia stood, panting, and he jogged back over to her, waiting for her to catch her breath and regain her composure before they began to walk.

"What are you doing out here?" Steve asked, his eyebrows furrowing together in confusion.

"I saw you leave," she explained. "I just wanted to make sure you were alright. Were the training center treadmills not up to your speed?"

Steve shrugged. "Back in the Army, we always trained outdoors. After I woke up, running inside just never quite felt the same. I'm alright, just..." he trailed off thoughtfully. "A lot on my mind these days, with Bucky and all."

"That must have been quite the friendship you two had back in the day." she said, shoving her hands into the pocket of her sweatshirt as they walked, the crisp summer night air dark around them with the exception of the lamplights illuminating the path around them.

"You could say that again." he agreed with a small sigh.

"How did you two meet?" she asked.

"I'm sure you already know this, but I was quite a sickly kid." he began. "Before the, uh, serum, anyways. Kids in Brooklyn love seeing kids that look small and defenseless; it makes them easier to beat up."

"Oh my god, he beat you up?" Elysia asked in disbelief, her jaw dropping.

"No!" Steve assured her, a surprised chuckle escaping his throat. "No, no, no, no, no. One day while I was getting beaten up, Bucky walked by and stopped to help. We were probably around six or seven at the time. He told the bullies that should pick on someone their own size, and he fended them off, himself. Afterwards, he helped me get back home before anyone else could come after me. I wouldn't say we were friends that first time, but after the second or third, we decided we should be friends."

"So he saved you," she concluded.

"I probably wouldn't be alive without him." he admitted.

"That's sweet," she told him, looking up at the moonlit sky and counting the constellations she knew by heart. "I never really had anyone in my life that I could count on like that before Tony found me."