𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐄. | ❛ Moment of Courage. ❜

    JAMIE STEPPED OUT OF THE SHOWER, her wet feet flinching at the cold floor as she leisurely walked to the sink. Showering has been the last thing on her list with everything that has happened over a span of short days, and she wondered if the universe would give her a break. The medication Bruce gave her has made her more fatigued than usual and whenever she came back to the compound, she collapsed out of exhaustion. Her nightmares didn't get better. She was still waking up in cold sweat as her demons haunted her. But she hid that part from prying eyes, but she knew the others would eventually notice and worry, which she didn't want.

A tired sigh escaped her lips, feeling drowsy from the hot shower. She wiped the fog from the mirror, watching her reflection staring right back at her with the same dull eyes. She looked at her right, noticing a set of clean clothes laying at the small counter beside the sink.

Laura was kind enough to loan her some clean clothes. Much to the ex-soldier's dismay, she felt bad, watching the pregnant woman placing her clothes on her hands. She felt even more horrible at the fact that she had to give their room for her, reassuring her that they have plenty of rooms to sleep in. A small smile tugged at her lips at her remarks. "Your formalities and good manners doesn't work on me. Please, take these."

Jamie looked back at the mirror, a ghostly smile etched onto her features, her mind wandering back at their almost shared kiss between her and Steve. A swarm of butteflies traced inside her stomach, along with heat flooding her cheeks, painting a slight crimson color. She brought a finger to her lips, closing her eyes as she reminiced the feeling of his breath fanning her face—how his hands cradled her jaw. Her heart pounded harshly against her chest, feeling her body on fire.

She let out a shaky exhale, gripping the sink with her hands. She looked at her reflection once again, taking notice of her necklace wrapped delicately around her neck. She frowned, bringing her hand to touch the bands, clutching it tightly before she took it off. She placed it carefully inside the pockets of her suit.

Feeling like she spent an eternity at the bathroom, she walked out fully clothed with a towel in her hand as she dried her hair. She closed the door and lazily turned around and almost jumped out of her skin. She watched Steve sitting on the bed, noticing his tight grip on his shield along with his bounced legs heaving aggressively.

"Oh, I didn't hear you coming. Sorry, I almost used all the hot water." Jamie sheepisly said, her crimson cheeks going unnoticed. She walked to the nightstand, placing her suit next to the bed before turning her attention on Steve, who was nervously fiddling with his hands.

Steve had his gaze down his lap, a smile curving his handsome features. He chuckled, gesturing with his hand. "It's fine." he brushed it off, putting his shield on the side of the bed. He frowned, but it was quickly replaced with an awkard smile. "Uh, Laura said that there's not enough room for all of us.." he trailed off, his blue eyes looking into hers.

As much as Jamie tried to hide her smug smile, she couldn't. Her lips formed into a simper, sauntering towards him. "Laura put you into this room, huh? Well, you know what that means, Cap. You're sleeping on the couch." she joked, giving him another playful smile.

Steve's chest vibrated, feeling his shoulders shaking from his deep chuckles. "I mean—if that's the option, that's fine with me." he shrugged, giving her a fond look.

Jamie hummed before biting her lip, her eyes trailing over his handsome features. She titled her head to the side as she studied him, her heart pounding loudly against her chest. She felt herself moving closer, slowly sauntering towards him with a look Steve couldn't quite grasp.

Steve's breath hitched as she watched her, placing herself between his legs. He found himself looking up, his blue eyes gazing into hers lovingly. He felt her finger rest on his jaw, moving his head to look at her. "I wouldn't mind sharing the bed, Rogers." she said in a low tone, her intense gaze looking down at him.

Steve clenched his jaw, feeling his heart thudding violently against his chest. His lips curved upwards. Her hand on his jaw, caressing it gently made a tremor of fire swarm into his body. He drew a sharp breath. He knew she could hear his palpitating heart due to her enhanced hearing and he felt himself standing up from the bed, his eyes never leaving hers as he found himself towering over her. His intense gaze made her knees almost trembling.

Steve brought his hand to her face, his fingers interweaving through her wet hair. Her lips stifled back a sigh of pleasure. She bit her lip, founding her eyes staring at his chest. His hand traveled to her lips, his thumb ghostly running over her lips. He titled her head, making her to look at him. He gave her a soft smile.

It was like he took her in—devouring her like a scent as his eyes wandered to her face, studying every feature. He suddenly felt self-conscious, a look of hesistation, not knowing how to take it further. Jamie noticed his hesistance, giving him a smile.

Steve rubbed her cheek soothingly. "M'sorry, this is new to me. I, uh—I don't really have the best experience with women." he whispered, a look of shepisness etched onto his face as he felt embarrassed.

Jamie gently shook her head, giving him another smile. "You're doing great so far." she breathed, letting a small giggle. He chuckled, his cheeks feeling hot. She could still feel his body tense and placed her hands around his back, rubbing it comfortably. "It doesn't bother me, Steve." she said, inching closer, feeling his breath on her face.

"No?" he whispered, leaning his head against hers.

Jamie slowly shook her head, her lips ghostly brushing against his as she moved closer. "No." she whispered, her eyes sparkling. She felt his hand leave her hair, slowly trailing down the back of her neck, making Jamie release a soft sigh. "Kiss me." she breathed out, her pleading look making his heart flutter.

Steve tilted her head as they leaned in. Jamie met his kiss with a dreamy sigh, sliding her hands up to wrap around his shoulder as she deepened the kiss. Steve pulled her closer, his hand placed at the curve of her hips. They smiled against the kiss, her hands delved into his hair before pulling away, both gasping for air.

The pair let out a flustered laugh, a shy look etched on both of their faces. Steve smiled, tucking away her hair behind her ears, his finger carefully trailing over her bruise on her eyebrow. "There's no way I kissed the Heroine." he admitted with a flustered face, his panting matching hers making her let out a laugh, her eyes crinkling.

"Did I exceed your expectations, Captain?" she cheekily said, a wide smile forming her face.

Steve hummed, gently cupping her face. "Well, I think I need to try again to see..." he mumbled, pulling her into another searing kiss. Jamie closed her eyes. His lips were soft and hesistant, but it soon turned hot and intense. Before they knew it, the pair fell on the bed, with Jamie landing her face on his chest. The pair laughed. Jamie rolled over, her back hitting the mattress with a thud. She giggled, turning her face to look at him, he already stared at her. She moved closer and stradled his waist. She cupped his face with her hands, looking at him lovingly. "God, you're perfect." she mumbled against his lips, her hands massging his scalp.

Steve's heart pounded loudly against his chest. He brushed away her hair, a smile on his face. "That's all you, sweetheart." he said before she planted another peck on his lips. She pressed soft kissed against his skin, a hand holding his face as she trailed kissed down his jaw, his neck. Steve rolled them over, with him towering over her. Jamie raised her eyebrows, looking at him with a look. "Thought you were gonna shower, Rogers."

Steve groaned against her skin, nibbling her skin and trailing soft kissed down her neck. "The shower can wait."

▹

Jamie hurried down the hallaway, her hands interwined with Steve as they fasten their pace towards the kitchen. The halls were echoing with laughs and flustered giggles emitting from the pair, making heads turn to the muffled sounds coming from down the dark entrace. Jamie smiled, her hands slowly leaving his hand, earning a soft smile as she gave his hands a little squeeze before they walked their respective ways towards everyone.

At the kitchen, Nick Fury had his back to his team, making a sandwich for himself. The others looked at the pair, a knowing look etched onto their faces as they watched them finding a seat. Jamie tucked some hair behind her ears, clutching Steve's flannel closer to her neck before taking a seat beside the redhead, who looked at her with a smirk.

Natasha moved her gaze to Steve, watching him slumped against the wall, his arms crossed like two swords, avoiding eye contact. She pressed her lips together, her eyes moving back to the brunette, her eyes trailing over her features.

"Ultron took you folks out of play to buy himself time. My contacts all say he's building something. The amount of Vibranium he made off with, I don't think it's just one thing." Fury shared his thoughts, turning his body around, acklowdening Steve and Jamie in the process by giving them a nod.

Steve cleared his throat ignoring Tony's burning gaze. "What about Ultron himself?"

Natasha titled her head towards Jamie, a growing smile rested on her lips. She brought her hand to her flannel, moving the clothing to the side, revealing a love bite adorned on her neck. The redhead pressed her lips together, stifling back a squeal. Her eyes lit up, covering a hand on her mouth. She shifted on her seat, meeting Tony's gaze, who pumped his fist in the air with a smug look.

Twenty bucks. Tony mouthed at Natasha, his eyes glistening.

Jamie scracthed the back of her neck, feeling heat surge across her face. She stifled back a smile, softly shaking her head at the redhead before turning her head to her. She saw her ecstatic face, hidden with a stoic look and she gave her a look. She tuned out Fury's voice, her gaze moved to Tony, who gave her a wink before throwing the dart towards the board.

"We're so having that talk later." Natasha whispered into her ear, making Jamie roll her eyes.

"Ultron's got an enemy, that's not the same thing. Still, I'd pay folding money to know who it is." Fury's voice pulled the duo out of their bubble, their expressions turning serious.

"I might need to visit Oslo, find our "unknown."" Tony said, his hands fiddling with the dart.

Natasha sighed, gripping onto her drink. "Well, this is good times, boss, but I was kind of hoping when I saw you, you'd have more than that." she interjected, a look of disapointment tinted inside her eyes.

Fury gestured with his hands. "I do, I have you. Back in the day, I had eyes everywhere, ears everywhere else. Here we all are, back on earth, with nothing but our wit, and our will to save the world. So stand. Outwit the platinum bastard."

Jamie cocked her head to the side, a closed-tipped smile resting on her lips as she stared at Steve. "Steve doesn't like that kind of talk." she jested, earning a quiet chuckle from the redhead beside her.

Steve shifted his body, his eyes gazing down at her with raised eyebrows. "You know what, Barzinji?" he retorted, a smile forming his face as he gave her a playful look.

Fury looked back and forth between the pair, his eyes narrowingly painted with slight amusement. He finally put two-and-two together, his mouth forming into an o-shape. His lips curved up, but his face was serious. "So what does he want?"

"To become better. Better than us. He keeps building bodies." Steve replied, his gaze diverting away from the ex-soldier towards Fury.

"Person bodies. The human form is inefficient, biologically speaking, we're outmoded. But he keeps coming back to it." Tony added into the conversation, sauntering to the others.

"When you two programmed him to protect the human race, you amazingly failed." Natasha shot, giving the two scientists a side eye.

Bruce shook his head. "They don't need to be protected, they need to evolve. Ultron's going to evolve."

Fury furrowed his eyebrows. "How?"

"Has anyone been in contact with Helen Cho?"