RHETT DIDN'T EXPECT TO HEAR THE NAME STEVE ROGERS AGAIN. Sitting in his cot, he had been thinking back to how he had been selected to be a part of the program in the first place, though nothing had yet to begin. He was starting to become much more upset when he heard a shout.

"They fucking did it!"

Jumping to his feet, he and the others in the bunk rushed outside, all gathered around one of their own who was holding up a newspaper, displaying the headline and leading story.

Rhett peered over the shoulders to read, heart stuttering when he caught sight of the name.

Steve Rogers.

Grabbing it from them despite their shouts, he scanned the article quickly. Steven Rogers was a common name, it wasn't necessarily the same man, it couldn't have been, the scrawny boy from Brooklyn, there was no way.

It had been so long.

But there, in the picture. It wasn't the same body, but the man standing there had the same determined eyes and he knew. He knew it was him.

"C'mon, Reiser, let's see."

Rhett let the newspaper be ripped from his hands, the other men huddling over it to discuss.

Of all the people, Steve Rogers. He couldn't find it in himself to be surprised.

"Hey!"

The nine men all turned to find their commander looking at them, much more human than he had been before, his next words almost apologetic behind the firm finality.

"It's time to start your training."

º º º

Steve was buying groceries for them. It hadn't been a very big list, nor something so grandiose. He had left the school after teaching and Nicky had asked if he could help them stock up, the two afraid to go out often. He had agreed easily, finding no harm in helping, especially as the two were feeding and housing him most hours.

It was a few days after the plan had been decided and it wasn't until Steve was climbing the stairs and pulling out his new spare keys that he realized how domestic this was.

When Rhett had given him his keys, it had been casual. A simple explanation that it was just easier, and there was no reason for him not to have one, as Diana did as well.

But there was, making his way into the loft like he lived there, when he had only been with Rhett for so long.

He must have been standing there for some time, as he was greeted with a tap on his arm.

Jumping and whirling around, he found himself looking down at Diana who had her hands in her pockets, frowning.

"You okay?" she asked, pulling out a set of keys of her own, "You looked upset."

"I'm fine," Steve coughed, stepping aside to let her open the door, "Just thinking."

"What about?" she asked easily, closing the door behind him, watching as he walked towards the kitchen, beginning to unpack.

"This," he confessed, holding up a carton of eggs, placing them in the fridge where Nicky always did. The fact that he knew was telling enough.

"Does that scare you?" she asked, sitting on the bar stool, "Already being so comfortable in Rhett's routine even though you haven't been dating long?"

He thought for a moment, continuing to put away the groceries. "Yes. But we were friends, and I had spent time here before."

Diana nodded, propping her elbows up onto the counter. "Then why do you look ready to run and never come back?"

He grimaced at her word choice, feeling the need to defend himself. "It's not as if I think this is bad, it's just...sudden."

Diana nodded knowingly. "And you're surprised that it's moving so fast and you're starting to second guess if what is happening is genuine or a product of something else."

Steve's hands stilled and he thought. He had been drawn to Rhett because he had been so familiar, perhaps that was why he had decided to pursue this as far as he had gone.

But then he looked at the groceries and remembered all the times he had just wanted to hear the man speak, how he had talked him through, just before he began to spiral. That was all Rhett, and only him.

"That's why I came, but that's not why I stayed," he said, finally, and she smiled.

"I'm glad you figured that out," she said softly, much more calm that he had ever seen her, "You're less complicated than me."

He couldn't help but laugh, shaking his head as he leaned against the counter, facing her. "I think that mine is a much more complicated story."

She tilted her chin challengingly. "You wanna bet?"

He smiled wryly, glancing at the clock. "It depends, how much time do you have."

She shrugged. "I got out of school early and Nicky won't be here for another two hours, so we have some time."

He shrugged as well. "That's not enough time, but I'll make it work."

º º º

Rhett wasn't allowed to go home without someone else anymore. After the ambush, Nicky had insisted that they head home together, or the man find someone else, Steve being the most likely candidate.

He didn't think he'd be heading back home with Tony Stark.

"Thanks for driving me," he mumbled, climbing out the car that was worth more than his life.

"Sure, Nicky's roommate," Tony said, adjusting his sunglasses, "While I did love our riveting silence, I have other people to pick up, so, uh, stay safe, don't die."

Rhett smiled as the man sped off, leaving him on the sidewalk. Turning around, he made his way inside, jogging up the stairs, heart racing as he glanced over his shoulder every so often.

When he walked inside, he found Diana and Steve talking in the kitchen, Diana on one side of the counter on a barstool, Steve inside and leaned forward, listening as the girl told him about how her boyfriend was driving a car without a license.

He had to pause for a moment, just looking at them. If one didn't know either, they would assume they were related in some way, maybe that he was even her father.

Walking home to this scene, it really made the housewife jokes a bit too real.

He cleared his throat, catching their attention. "What's going on?"

"Rhett," Diana called, waving him forward, "You know us both, whose life is more complicated?"

The man scoffed, glancing between the both of them. "Seriously?"

The two nodded seriously, blue and gray eyes looking at him expectantly.

"Well..." he began, "I think that you both have had very complicated lives, but for very different reasons, so comparing them wouldn't necessarily be fair."

The two groaned, sharing a look over the counter.

"He always does this," Diana complained, dropping her head onto her arm.

"Yeah, but what can we expect from an elementary school teacher?" Steve asked, shrugging.

Rhett just stared, because everything about the scene was odd. He caught sight of the grocery bag half empty on the counter, meaning that Steve had gone shopping for them. Diana had her backpack thrown to the side, now fully comfortable in their loft to treat it like her home, even more than she might her real home.

It was an odd domesticity that he hadn't planned on.

"Nicky's in his room," he said, tapping Diana's shoulder, trying to alert her to leave him and Steve to talk.

She threw up her arms. "Seriously? I thought he was at the office."

He shook his head, eyes never leaving Steve's. "He only had Tony who had to cancel anyways, so go on, he's waiting for you."

She sighed, grumbling about the lack of communication and how their relationship wouldn't last in a fanfiction as she dragged her backpack alongside her, disappearing into his dark room.

Steve motioned towards where she had just been. "She's a good kid."

Rhett nodded, sitting down on the stool. "Uh, yeah, she's-she's great."

Steve reached out to hold his hand, and Rhett couldn't help the way his hand jolted back, even for just a brief moment. But it was enough for the other man to notice.

"What's wrong?"

Rhett had never understood the description of 'kicked puppy' until that very moment. He felt his heart wrench as Steve looked at him with the utmost hurt and worry, as if begging not to be left, but understanding if he was.

"Nothing," he said quickly, grabbing his hand and squeezing it tightly, "I just—I don't know, what are we? What is this?"

Steve nodded sagely, tugging Rhett until he walked around the counter, sighing as he was pulled into a hug. It was that movement in itself that seemed to solidify the question, proof of his point.

"So I was thinking," the super soldier said, "I noticed that what we have is...shockingly domestic."

Rhett nodded. "Yeah, and we haven't been, you know, together long."

"Yeah," Steve began, "But we did this even before then. Granted, not very long since then, but considering the circumstances, this isn't very surprising."

"Why do you even stay here so much?" Rhett asked, pulling away to look at him, "I mean, I'm not complaining, but..." he trailed off, unsure of what else to say.

Steve looked at him with the saddest smile Rhett had ever seen. "Because after I moved back here, I wasn't sure how long I had until I couldn't stop running from the war."

Rhett sighed, tapping his arm as he remembered how Steve had to remind himself that the war was over just to stay okay. His first few years away from home had been hard on him, stuck in a hidden apartment complex with a bunch of people.

"I don't think someone caring about you is necessarily a cure to a problem," Rhett tried, "You know, love doesn't cure depression and all that."

"But it helps to know you're not alone," Steve countered, "And you understand, at least somewhat. You and Nicky."

He nodded, both for his reasoning and his statement. "Well, good to know we were able to help, at least a little."

"I also like having you around," Steve added, trying to lighten the mood, pulling him close again, "I don't just like you for your eyes, you know."

Rhett couldn't find it in himself to laugh at that. Steve was trying, that much was clear, but it fell short, at least for the other man. It wasn't that he didn't want Steve around, or that he thought what they had was more due to Rhett's want for Steve to learn his story—that want had long since died out, even before their friendship truly started—but there was just something off that made it so he didn't want to laugh.

"Do you want me to step back, because I can if you want me to," Steve offered, much too understanding for Rhett's liking; he wanted someone to be selfish for him.

"No, I like you where you are," Rhett said, holding him tighter.

He liked his bed the way it was now, too cramped and smelling like cinnamon and vanilla. He liked the dining table sometimes set for three instead of two all the time. He liked having to shout about the hot water running out because at least now one of them appreciated the almost never-ending surplus of hot water. He liked coming home to see Steve.

Steve wanted to ask him so many questions, but he knew he wasn't in the place to. It wasn't his place to ask how he was able to keep a smile every day, how he still found the hope in people because for all he claimed to, Steve was having a lot of trouble.

Yet there was Rhett, a man who had to live with the knowledge that he let so many people die, playing baseball with kids in Central Park because he didn't like seeing them sad, as if the idea of other people feeling how he felt was unacceptable.

It was the only thing he could do, so he would do it for as long as he had.

"I'm glad, because I didn't really want to leave," Steve laughed, and Rhett laughed at that. He buried his face in the crook of Steve's neck and closed his eyes.

"So...when are you gonna start your training, Rhett?"

The man didn't move from where he was, Steve holding him in the kitchen, the two just standing there. "I don't know, Diana, sometime soon, probably."

The blonde took a deep breath and sighed, walking towards the fridge and grabbing a bottle of juice for both herself and Nicky. "Well, you're gonna have to start eventually, part of me thinks that you don't have much time left."

"What makes you think that?" he asked, slowly pulling away from Steve to look at the teenager who didn't seem to be in a rush to leave them alone.

She shrugged, closing the fridge door. "I mean, a lot can happen in a week, all I'm saying. Trust me on this. I sleeping over tonight, by the way, so I think tonight is a perfect opportunity for you to try and harness your powers."

"I do have responsibilities for my work," he pointed out, turning to watch her walk out of the kitchen, back towards Nicky's room.

"Then wrap up the heartfelt conversation and get to work!" she cried, opening the door to the room, "Let Steve sleep while you do, he's got his own work later tonight. Anyways, have fun." With that, she closed the door, disappearing to help Nicky doing who knows what with his computers.

Steve chuckled softly as he hugged Rhett, his turn to hide his face in the crook of the man's neck. "I think we should listen to her, she does have a point."

Rhett rolled her eyes. "Don't let her hear that, she's gotten really cocky since her life's started getting more stable."

Steve laughed softly. "Well, whether or not we tell her, I think we really should get moving."

Rhett sighed, groaning as Steve tried to move him. "I wish I could stop time, I don't want to do anything."

The super soldier laughed as he walked out of the kitchen, tugging Rhett along with him, the teacher's feet dragging against the floor. "Then start figuring out how, maybe we can have some fun with it."

Rhett perked up at that. "What kind of fun?"

Steve scoffed, rolling his eyes as he walked into Rhett's room, the man now following quickly behind him, closing the door behind them. "The kind of fun we don't get to have if you don't finish your work before I leave."

Rhett ended up finishing all of his lesson plans within four hours, Steve fast asleep beside him as he worked, leaving more than enough time for them to have a lot of fun.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

( 01.05.18 )

Fun fact, Tisha can't end her stories properly, but she did need this filler chapter because we needed to acknowledge that Rhett and Steve's relationship is really grounded more in mutual need for companionship and the romance came later.

Also, this is just a jumping off point for next chapter which is when we dive into my favorite portion in which I make up science-y stuff in my stories to explain powers and tech that my characters have because I honestly do love doing that, it makes me feel smart (for an example, check out Dexter because I was really proud of how I wrote an explanation for my character's powers)

That's all I have to say so...thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!