STEVE HADN'T LAUGHED THAT HARD IN SUCH A LONG TIME. It was the end of the second movie in the Star Trek reboot and he and Rhett were laughing harder than they had any right to, Rhett having made a joke that shouldn't have been as funny as it was.

Rhett's glasses were somewhere on the ground and he had his hand over his eyes, shoulders shaking as he struggled to calm down. Steve sighed, shaking his head as he turned to look at the man, starting to laugh again just by looking at him.

His laugh caught in his throat, however, when the man pulled away his hand, revealing the bluest eyes Steve had ever seen.

His brain short-circuited as he stared, instantly remembering another pair of eyes, as blue as the ones that were trained on him with a brightness that he hadn't seen in such a long time. Everything about it was so familiar, and, yet, he couldn't remember a single thing.

"What?" Rhett asked, now frowning at the other man, searching his face for any explanation.

Steve stammered, shaking his head, feeling his cheeks grow red in embarrassment for his odd scene. "N-nothing, it's just—" he motioned towards his own eyes, trying to cover his face which was probably still visible despite the darkness, like an unwanted, red flashlight.

Rhett raised an eyebrow before realization dawned on him and he nodded, giving Steve a goofy smile, leaning his head against the back of the couch as he turned his body to face him. "My eyes? Yeah, I get that a lot, that's why I wear glasses."

Steve had to stop himself from asking why he'd ever want to do that. He couldn't help but remember the other pair of eyes, wishing that he could see them again, trying to recall the full face that came with it, only remembering the feeling he had whenever he looked at them.

It wasn't unlike the feeling he had now.

Before either of them could speak, there was the sound of multiple doors opening. Their attention immediately went to the front door, ignoring the sound of the two teenagers walking out, yawning.

"Honey, I'm home," Nicky called out, not looking at them as he tried to balance the groceries in his arms and the keys in his hands, sliding out of his shoes, "You watching the movie, why're the lights off? Are the kids here?"

"We're here," Diana yawned, glancing towards the two blond men on the couch, "Rhett brought his surprise."

Nicky looked over, raising an eyebrow. "Hm?" He looked towards the couch, narrowing his eyes as he struggled to see in the dark. "Oh, hey, are you who I think you are?"

Steve, assuming the man was addressing him, gave a small wave with the hand that was thrown over the back of the couch. "Hi. I'm..." he trailed off, debating on whether he should give his real name, or his alias.

After taking on sweep through of the people he had already met—one being too familiar to lie to, one having been in the life-changing battle in Germany, and the last somehow being affiliated with the two—he decided that lying wouldn't make much of a difference.

"Steve Rogers," Nicky finished, coming to stand by the teenagers, grinning down at him with a wide smile that his jaw seemed to be made for, "Nice to meet you, man, I'm Nicky Green. I'm friends with Tony."

"I thought you were his psychologist," Diana said.

"I can be both," he defended, turning to look at her, "I'm your friend."

She shrugged. "Debatable."

He shoved her lightly, Peter holding out his arms and catching her, albeit swaying himself, clearly tired. Steve motioned for the two to sit on the couch to his left and they obliged happily, flopping down on the love seat.

"I have to say, I thought that I'd be informed in advance that I was meeting you, I would've baked something," Nicky said, shooting a look towards Rhett who was pointedly turned away from him, making a face at Diana who was lying against Peter who was falling asleep.

"Sorry about that, Rhett had invited me over last night, he's helping me catch up on movies and pop culture," he explained, smiling as the man went to grab the groceries sitting on the dining table.

Nicky dropped the yogurt he was holding, throwing up his arms. "Wow, it's as if I don't even exist!"

Rhett turned around on the couch, shouting back, "There just wasn't time to tell you!"

"Oh, so now we're making excuses?" the younger man cried, "What happened to communication is key to a healthy relationship? Have we learned nothing from the children?" he demanded, motioning to the two teenagers.

"Sometimes there's no room for communication, it's a valid argument, and it's not that big of a deal!" Rhett shot back, shaking his head.

Nicky threw down the other pack of yogurt he had been holding, scoffing and pinching the bridge of his nose. "Not that big of a deal? Not that big of a deal. Okay. Okay, I see! I see, you find the hotter, more fit model and suddenly I'm not good enough anymore! It's not as if our relationship was built on this or anything, it's not like we've invested years of our lives into making this work or anything!"

"Look, it's just a one time thing, it won't happen next time," Rhett said, shaking his head.

"Oh, so there's a next time?" Nicky shouted, "Are you—how many others are there? Are you seriously going to drop all of this on me right now?"

"You're blowing this way out of proportion," Rhett scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"Are you kidding me?" Nicky exclaimed, "Considering the circumstances, I'd say this is perfectly in proportion, especially considering that we've had this agreement in place for nine years!"

"Nicky, I honestly didn't believe that I'd ever make be in the position where the agreement would even be applicable," Rhett pointed out, tone placating, though slightly patronizing.

"And the only time you'll ever be in it is when you decide to completely forego it!" Nicky finished, roughly sticking the orange juice in the fridge.

"I don't know what's happening, but I gotta say, he's got a point, Rhett," Diana said, now fully awake and invested in the screaming match, though mostly out of fear, if the way she was holding onto Peter's arm was any indication.

Rhett sighed, falling back onto the couch, back turned to the other man. "He's just upset because I didn't ask him to help with the movies and such."

"I was the one who—" Nicky began, only to stop when Steve turned back to him, intent on listening to his argument, unable to keep himself from grinning.

Nicky blinked at him for a moment, swallowing and pretending to couch, searching for a better ending. "I was the one who showed you all the stuff, it was like you were raised on a farm!"

It was a weak argument, but it seemed to appease Steve. Behind the man's back, Rhett gave Nicky a relieved look. He didn't smile, nor did he frown, he just looked him in the eye, and his point was made.

"What did you watch?" Nicky asked, giving up on his—mostly joke—tirade, continuing to put away the groceries with much less force than before.

"We watched Star Trek," Steve said, making sure that it was indeed 'Trek' and not 'Wars.'

"The reboot," Rhett specified, catching onto Nicky's look of shock, "You like the originals better, so you didn't miss much."

"It's fine," he said, shrugging, "Have you seen Star Wars, though?"

Steve nodded, thinking back to the night where Tony had burst back into the compound to visit, practically dragging Steve out of his training, shouting at him to take a break and at least try to be cultured.

"I watched the originals and the prequels with Tony," he said, unable to keep from smiling, "But I've yet to see the newest ones."

"There's another one coming in December, you should watch the new ones, then go with Rhett to it when it comes out," Peter said, trying not to jostle Diana who was trying to sleep against him, pinning him down.

Nicky motioned to himself, shaking his head ever so slightly. "Wow. Wow, okay. Okay, Peter, let's just remember who helped you out when you and Diana weren't even talking to each other. Who saved you from bleeding out all those times."

"I'm pretty sure that was her," he said, glancing over at Rhett who was laughing behind his hand.

Nicky sighed, pouring himself some orange juice, shaking his head. "You know, I'd like to be acknowledged some times, you know? Not always, but sometimes."

Steve smiled at him, turning in his seat. "Thank you for taking care of Tony."

The younger man paused, giving him a real smile, one that seemed to hide more than it gave away.

"You wanna watch with us?" Rhett asked, after a lull in conversation followed.

"No, I gotta work on my patient files," Nicky sighed, stretching, "But have fun, the last movie's pretty great. Pete, don't you have to hero soon?"

He motioned to his sleeping girlfriend who was pinning him down, fast asleep draped over him, looking incredibly exhausted now that Steve got a better look at her.

"But I don't really wanna watch the movie, so you guys have fun," the boy added quickly, scooping the girl into his arms and speeding off into Nicky's room, ignoring the protest from both the man and the teenager.

"Looks like it's just you and me," Steve said, watching as Nicky followed close behind, shutting the door firmly behind him.

"Yeah," Rhett coughed, reaching for his glasses, "But, hey, more popcorn for us!"

As he was about to put on his glasses, Steve reached out and took them, trying them on. He smiled over at the other man, looking at his blue eyes.

"What do you think?"

Rhett smiled for a moment, tilting his head. Then he rolled his eyes, scoffing, "I can't see a thing, Steve, it's dark."

Steve burst out laughing, doubling over as he struggled to breathe, handing the glasses back with shaky hands. Rhett laughed as well, unsure why Steve had laughed in the first place, but finding it incredibly contagious.

"Can you really not see?" the man asked, sighing and leaning back against the couch.

"Yeah, because it's dark," Rhett said, wiping the glasses and putting them back on, his blue eyes dulling significantly, "But these aren't prescription, they're just so people won't get too distracted by me."

"I would call you vain, but..." Steve replied, shrugging. He laughed softly, smiling at the man, his own blue eyes twinkling with mirth.

Rhett shook his head, sighing as he grabbed the forgotten remote, turning on the next movie, standing up and popping popcorn. Steve watched him go, an arm thrown over the back of the couch, watching as he hummed and waited.

The bespectacled man felt his stare and turned around again, much less scared, smiling goofily when he saw him looking. "Watch the movie, I'll be there."

"I'm waiting for you," Steve replied, and Rhett had to turn away and lean against the refrigerator, wondering just how he had wound up in this mess in the first place, scoffing to himself.

When the popcorn finished, Rhett went back to the couch, backing up the movie that neither of them had paid any attention to, Steve having still been watching him while he was in the kitchen.

Steve moved closer, reaching for the popcorn, and Rhett would never admit to holding his breath when he did, only able to breathe when they were at a respectable distance apart.

If he missed the entire plot of the movie hyper focused on Steve, well, who could blame him.

º º º

By the time Nicky and the teenagers left their room, Steve and Nicky had just finished watching another romcom and looked too tired for two fully grown men who had just been sitting around and eating popcorn for the better part of six hours.

"So, Cap, are you fully educated?" Diana asked, leaning against the back of the couch, poised between the two men, staring at the screen of movies, "Never knew that was here."

"I can cross off Star Trek off the list, though I have to say, the rest of the movies were all recommendations from Rhett, so I'm not really all that close," Steve said, passing her the notebook.

"Looks like you'll be coming over for a while then," she hummed, raising a pointed eyebrow at the man who frowned at her, shaking his head minutely.

"If they'll let me," Steve replied, casting a smile over to Rhett who smiled back, trying not to look as ridiculous as he felt inside.

"You're welcome here anytime," Nicky called out, "Green and Reiser's Home for Wayward Superheroes. I should make a sign."

Before Rhett could make a comment, Steve was stretching, arching his back off the couch and he would be lying if he said he didn't stare. The man checked the time, raising an eyebrow. "I should probably get home and sleep before my shift starts. Thank you for this, Rhett, I honestly had a lot of fun."

"Thanks for coming," he said, rising to his feet, fixing his shirt, "Like Nicky said, you're welcome here anytime, if you ever wanna watch a movie, just ask."

"I might just take you up on that," Steve said, smiling as he looked into those blue eyes that weren't as so blue now that they were hidden behind glasses.

After saying goodbye to the other three—he pulled Peter aside to give him a quick apology and pop talk, to which the boy nodded eagerly with wide eyes, breathing heavily as he mumbled, "Captain America thinks I'm a good kid," to himself—Steve made his way out of the apartment, casting one last glance over to Rhett before heading home.

When he reached his apartment, he collapsed onto the bed, needing to be fully energized before his shift, which would no doubt be taxing.

As he drifted off to sleep, he could still see the bright blue eyes staring back at him. He wasn't quite sure whose they were.

º º º

They were eating takeout when the inevitable conversation began. He was sitting at the dining table with Nicky and Diana—who would have been home alone and, thus, decided to stay the night which rarely happened—thinking back to his day with Steve, ignoring what had happened the day before.

"I can't believe you're dating Captain America," Diana finally said, shaking her head, "Nicky should date Tony, then we can form a club."

Nicky frowned, shaking his head. "No. Seriously, let's just not go there, because there are a lot of reasons why we shouldn't."

Rhett raised an eyebrow, but decided not to ask, since Nicky would legally not be allowed to tell him. "We're not dating, Dina, we're just friends."

"That's what Peter and I were at first," she argued, taking a bite of her orange chicken. She looked over at Nicky, who wasn't smiling like he usually was.

"What happened yesterday?" he asked, tone now somber, setting down his fork. "Seriously."

Rhett sighed and leaned back in his chair, rubbing his eyes. He glanced between a concerned looking Diana and a tired looking Nicky, giving up trying to hide.

"I think he's back."

Nicky groaned softly, rubbing his eyes, and Diana glanced between the two men, frowning. "Who's back. The Vulture? Did-did he come by?"

"No, not him," Nicky mumbled softly, resting his head against his hands, looking at her tiredly, "Wish it was, though."

That was all the girl needed to hear to know that this was worse than she had expected. "What's going on?"

Rhett shook his head, biting his lip. "How much time do you have?"

She shrugged. "I have all night."

He sighed, leaning against the table. "That's not enough time, but I'll try to explain." He took a deep breath, too numb to care about anything, even his own safety.

"I was a different kind of solider..."

AUTHOR'S NOTE

( 12.06.17 )

This was a pretty bad ending, I had one in mind, but I completely forgot it when I went to write the ending, so now we have this! I'm kinda trying to figure out how to write the hero trio, but I'm trying and I hope they're alright (I'm writing Diana the way I did in the last chapter of Lonely Hearts, I'm now realizing, but anyways...)

I know there wasn't really anything in this chapter, but there will have to be filler, character development chapters and there will be certain things that spur the story forward, as character development tends to do. As you saw, Steve and Rhett had a sorta moment, and we see just how Rhett's familiarity is affecting Steve, you know?

I don't have much else to say so...thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!