punched_hitler | Don't close your eyes 'cause your future's ready to shine

Entry tags:

(amat),
psl

Don't close your eyes 'cause your future's ready to shine

Private PSL Post: Steve & Brooke
Setting: Amat-verse, after they are returned home - but the usual "memory wipe" didn't work quite as well as it should have. Slightly pre-The Winter Soldier events.

Steve Rogers had never been to Tree Hill... and yet, the name stuck out like a sore thumb in the back of his mind, and he didn't know why. He'd puzzled it over the entire ride there, but still come up with nothing - and then he'd stopped puzzling over it, because he had other things on his mind: namely, the mission. It hadn't been a difficult one - more of the regular clean-up duty Fury seemed so fond of - although he suspected it was the most action the little town had ever seen. One demolished bus station and several badly-damaged police cars later, the suspect had been apprehended and was on his way back to SHIELD headquarters for interrogation.

Steve and his team, however, were on standby - there was some question as to why their suspect had been in Tree Hill in the first place, and his team had been requested to stay put and find out why. That was Natasha's department, not Steve's, so he let her do what she did best while he and the rest of the team headed to the local joint nearest their hotel for some grub. They'd all ditched the uniforms, mostly because they were conspicuous (Steve's most of all) and although most of the men were actively engaged in conversation about the mission, the town, or the sports on the place's TVs, Steve was picking at his burger and fries, gaze fixed on his own half-reflection in the window, trying to see beyond the lighted inside of the restaurant into the rest of the town and figure out, once more, why this place felt... not familiar, necessarily. But important.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Tree Hill had seen some action before, but nothing quite like this. Nothing that destroyed a bus station and had that many vehicles in for repairs, especially vehicles that belonged to police. Most of it was self-contained to a specific group of people, or was more emotional damage than anything actually physical, which was what Brooke was dealing with at the time. Lucas and Peyton seemed to be growing ever closer, not even bothering to hide it, and Brooke was struggling with her senior year and starting up a clothing line. Not to mention these weird flashes of memories, so quick she could never grab onto them, so vague that she couldn't even figure out what the hell they were from. The dreams were the worst, though.

Needing a break from everything and definitely not wanting to go to Karen's Cafe, even if she missed Lucas' mom desperately and would love to see her, Brooke headed to the edges of town instead of sticking to the heart of it. There were a few dive bars out there, ones that never looked twice at her fake I.D., but she wasn't too sure if she felt like drinking. But, she figured as she walked up to the door of the sports bar/restaurant, being in a place where she could drink if she changed her mind would be ideal. Plus, she probably wouldn't have to pay for her own drinks in a place like this.

There was no one at the host stand when she first walked in so, as Brooke waited, she looked over the packed tables and the bar area, just to check out the clientele tonight. Her gaze landed on a group of men that were definitely not from Tree Hill; none of them really looked familiar, and she knew most of the faces here. But, as her eyes moved to the end of the table, she saw someone who gave her the strongest sense of deja vu that she was honestly surprised she didn't make some sort of audible noise. It was enough, however, that she stared at him without realizing it, brow furrowed as she tried to place him.

Steve was vaguely aware whenever someone entered the restaurant - when you were an agent of SHIELD on a mission, you couldn't afford not to be aware of your surroundings. Still, he was distracted enough that he didn't notice much about the person who'd just entered, until the agent sitting next to him traded a comment with his buddy and nudged Steve in the shoulder. "Hey, Cap. You've got an admirer."

Steve was, fortunately or unfortunately, a bit used to people staring at him - in both good and bad ways. He blinked, coming out of his daze a little, glancing at the man next to him before looking toward the front door. There was a young woman there - a young woman with a look on her face that was going to mirror his in just a moment, as his mouth opened a little and his brow furrowed. He... knew her. Didn't he? But he couldn't place her. How could he recognize her? Was it tied to the way this city felt like it meant something?

Steve had had some strange memories and dreams, too - but he'd always chalked it up to figments of an imagination that had been on ice for nearly 70 years. But right now... he suddenly had a feeling that maybe those flashes of another life... could mean something more. Of course, the men sitting around him noticed, starting to ask him if maybe he wanted to try out the local tail - but he ignored them. And he didn't know what possessed him to get up from the table, muttering an absent, "I'll be right back," and make his way over to the young woman who'd been staring at him. "I'm sorry... but do I know you?" He realized the second that came out of his mouth that it sounded rude, like he was calling her out for staring, and amended, quickly, "I feel like we've met before."

Although she was definitely distracted enough to not notice too much around her as she tried to figure out where she knew him from, the moment the guy looked up, Brooke quickly averted her gaze. She could feel a faint blush coloring her cheeks; if she had been casually checking him out, it would've been fine, but she had blatantly been staring. What kind of person does that? The only thing she needed to make herself even look more like a freak was an open mouth and congestion to make her breathe out of her mouth. She glanced around, hoping to spot the hostess, but no such luck.

Apparently the service was seriously bad here.

She was actively avoiding the table the guy had been at so, when someone suddenly appeared beside her, Brooke wasn't expecting it. She was expecting him even less, so her previously smoothed expression shifted into a confused - and even a bit surprised - one again. "I don't know," she said when he clarified, which was the truth. She felt like she knew him, like they had met somewhere before, but she seriously couldn't figure out where or when. And the fact that he apparently felt the same made the whole thing even more confusing. "...which makes me sound totally insane or something." It was meant more for herself and Brooke smiled slightly, reaching up to tuck some hair behind her ear. "I feel like we've met before, though, too, I just can't figure out where."

No, the service hadn't been all that great - then again, bringing in a whole team of SHIELD operatives (and Captain America) had admittedly probably been pretty distracting. Distracting enough that no one had come to help the young woman who looked so unnervingly familiar before Steve could get to her.

He felt immediately bad at the way her expression morphed - maybe he shouldn't have said anything at all, maybe he was letting his post-mission nerves get to his head - but then she said she didn't know, and that wasn't exactly the standard reply. Usually it was either yes or no, wasn't it? And when she went on a breath or two later, suddenly he knew that niggling feeling in the back of his mind had to be right. It wasn't just nerves, or imagination. "Neither can I," he said. "But I feel like it's... on the tip of my tongue - well... tip of my brain?" He laughed a little, because that was a stupid expression. "I can't think of it, but I know I know... you."

Although he was still having trouble putting everything in place. And while he could place her face... somewhere in his memory, he couldn't place her name. So he figured she might feel the same way; he stuck out a hand, smiling a little awkwardly, but it was certainly genuine. "I'm Steve." Maybe a name would refresh her memory, help her refresh his.

Brooke couldn't help but smile when he said that bit about his brain and laughed. More than anything - the way he looked, the sound of his voice - that laugh made something twist in her chest, like she'd finally found someone she'd spent years searching for. How that was possible when she couldn't even remember where she knew him was seriously beyond her, but it didn't change the way she felt. Even her heart swelled a little in her chest and there was a strange, strong urge to hug him.

Thankfully he introduced himself and offered his hand before she had the chance because, if he hadn't, she honestly wasn't sure if she would've been able to ignore the feeling. Instead, she happily accepted his distraction and shook his head, her smile stretching a bit wider, though it was still mostly a polite, friendly one; there weren't enough pieces put together just yet for it to be a genuine Brooke Davis smile, not with everything that had been going on in her life.

"Brooke," she replied, then pulled her hand back. The name rang some faint bell in the back of her head but it was such a common one that she could be reading more into it than was necessarily there. She hesitated for a moment, not too sure what else to say, and glanced towards the table he'd come from. A couple of the other guys were still staring, like they were waiting for the climax of a really interesting movie, but they looked away the moment her gaze landed on them. "Where are you guys from?" Maybe that would help more than his name had, because they clearly weren't from around here.

He would have been a little confused if she'd hugged him, maybe - although maybe it might have triggered his memory a little sooner. As it was, he offered a handshake that was obviously firm, though of course he was careful not to make it anything more than that. "Brooke," he echoed quietly, still trying to put it together, along with her face - and that smile.

His mind felt like it was going a thousand miles a minute - like it did when he was developing strategies - but it was still falling short of the mark. Just barely, though. He could feel his mind struggling toward the answer, as though a mental hand was reaching out, but before it could really close on anything, Brooke asked him a question, and he focused on that instead, for the moment. That one, at least, he could answer - well. Vaguely. Because he knew she must be curious, and whether he knew her or not, SHIELD was still a well-kept secret unless it was one they wanted to be told.

"Washington - D.C.," he specified, though they were on the East Coast, so she'd probably assumed that already. "We're sort of on a business trip." Kind of. He paused, glancing over at the guys - some of whom were watching them openly, most of whom were pretending they weren't. "Would you… like to come over and have a seat?"

He wasn't sure if that sounded weird, or wrong, but he wanted to talk to her more. Still, this didn't seem like the place to do it. "Or - that sounds weird, doesn't it? I mean, we can sit at the bar. If you'd like. Let me buy you a drink." Okay, also not private, but at least not amidst a number of highly-trained SHIELD operatives who'd be hanging on their every word.

The clarification was actually appreciated because Brooke wouldn't have been sure if he'd meant D.C. or the state. Anything was possible with airplanes, and he didn't exactly have the most distinct accent in the world. Although just because he was from D.C. didn't mean he was born there. She frowned slightly to herself; it felt like a good portion of the questions she wanted to ask him she already knew the answer to, she just couldn't quite pull them up.

She glanced back towards him when he asked if she wanted to join his group, her eyebrows lifted slightly. Her expression made it pretty clear she didn't really like the idea, not with the way they'd been looking at her, so she wasn't terribly surprised when he went on to offer a second option. "I think the bar would be better," she said, glancing once more towards the table Steve had been at, then towards the bar. There were a couple stools open on the side his coworkers were on, which meant Steve and Brooke would have their backs to the guys, which made her feel a bit better. Something about this whole thing just felt really off, though she wasn't sure if it was because they weren't bothering to hide their staring or if it was because of whatever this weird deja vu thing was.

Either way, she offered Steve a smile as she looked back towards him and nodded in the direction of the stools. "The drink's are on me, though; it's the least I can do for an out-of-towner."

She wasn't the only one having a hard time thinking of conversation, because it felt like this might have been one they'd already had. But even though his mind was still swimming, he focused on the here and now, looking relieved she hadn't taken his offer the completely wrong way - though he grinned a little lopsidedly, saying, "The first round's on you. I'll buy round two, deal?" Never mind that he could drink as many rounds as he wanted without any effect; a beer now and again was still nice, and he wasn't planning to get her drunk, either.

He paused just a second, then said, "Hang on." He beelined back to the table, where his team didn't even bother pretending to ignore what was happening. He leaned over the table, looking at the men, saying, "Not a word. You gentlemen eat your dinner; I'm going to have a drink with... " He tried not to pause, because that would give the wrong impression, but he still wasn't sure what he was to this girl, and vice versa. "An old friend."

And with that, he walked back over to Brooke, not giving any of the men the chance to goad him about it. Oh, they'd sit there and watch them, and they'd talk, but they wouldn't do anything worse - at least, not until the next briefing. He'd probably go through hell, then, but right now, finding out how he knew this girl, why he remembered her but couldn't remember her, was more important.

He motioned to the bar - to the chairs facing away from his men, looking toward the glass-backed bar - and let Brooke lead the way. He ordered a beer once they sat down, waiting for Brooke to order something for herself, whether it was food or a drink or both - before he went on. "I'm sorry about them. They won't bother us." It was probably clear he was in charge of them, not exactly like a 'normal' business trip, exactly, but he couldn't help that. "But I like your town. I admit... I was sure I knew the name, when it came up. I didn't know why. It must be because I know you."

Brooke, from Tree Hill. It was so close, the answer, he could practically taste it, glancing at her face. "I met you..." Where? When? It felt like a long time ago, and yet not so very long ago at all. But how could that be?

Brooke considered protesting but she just nodded instead, "Yeah, alright. Deal." Though she'd probably argue with him when it came time to order another round, especially since she was starting to feel oddly comfortable around him. It still didn't make any sense to her and she still couldn't quite place where they knew each other from - it was there, somewhere, it was just really, really foggy -but she felt... Honestly, like she'd stumbled across an old friend. Someone who maybe even meant a lot to her at one point? Though how that was possible if she couldn't remember any details was beyond her.

She nodded again when he told her to hang on and tried really, really hard not to watch him walk away. Partially because the guys at the table were still staring and partially because she didn't want to seem like she was checking him out (although hot damn was he attractive), but mostly because it felt strange. So, after a moment, she glanced around the bar again and shook her head slightly to the hostess who was finally coming over to her.

When Steve reappeared, Brooke gave him another smile before heading over to the bar. She ordered a whiskey and coke, figuring she'll start easy until she gets this whole thing figured out, and glanced over when Steve apologized. "Don't worry about it," she said, casting a brief glance over her shoulder towards the table. Sure enough, some of the guys were still staring, so Brooke turned around again and folded her arms on the bar top. Steve definitely seemed to have some kind of authority, though she didn't ask; they could get to that eventually.

Tucking some hair behind her ear, Brooke shook her head slightly. "I don't--" But as their drinks were set down in front of them, Brooke looked away for a moment and when she looked toward Steve again, it hit her. Or, well, something hit her; she wasn't sure if it was right at all or if she was just going crazy (crazier than she already felt), but something in her gut told her it was at least a step in the right direction. Her brow furrowed as she looked over Steve's face and then glanced toward his neck for a moment. "Was it an island?" Her gaze lifted to meet his again, hoping for some kind of sign of recognition. "I remember being surrounded by water, and it was almost like... Greece?" Which was ridiculous because Brooke had never been to Greece before. Hell, she hadn't even left the country before.

It just seemed unfair to let people buy him drinks when they never had the desired effect. But they could argue about that later; for now, they ordered their drinks and got them fairly quickly, given the place was busy but not too overly crowded. At least they had this portion of the bar to themselves, which seemed like a good thing.

Brooke might have looked away, but Steve was busy watching her - the way she tucked her hair behind her ear, he knew he'd seen her do that before, but it wasn't until Brooke looked right at him - at his neck - and said something about an island, about Greece, that things started to finally click into place. Slowly, like rusty gears, but…

"No, it wasn't Greece," he said slowly, hand reaching for his beer but his eyes were trained on her face. Even so, his real focus was inward, as he felt the last pieces finally connect. "But it was an island. It was - "

There was a palace. And a population of… of prisoners. With collars - and there had been…

"Oh." Suddenly, looking a little… well, it was a mixture of mortified and shellshocked. It felt like a year's worth of memories were suddenly flooding back into his brain; once the connection had been made, it was like the thing holding them back had crumbled. He'd felt out of time and out of place before, but this was… truly different. "Atia."

And of all of those memories suddenly flashing to the forefront of his mind, there were quite a few that involved getting to know Brooke… very well.

Privacy was definitely preferred, Brooke was starting to realize, and she was even more thankful than she had been before that Steve offered heading here instead of forcing the idea of sitting with his coworkers. Though as more things started to click into place, the idea of Steve forcing anything on her was seriously ridiculous. He wasn't that sort of guy. Even if things were still somewhat vague and blurry around the edges, she knew that much in her gut; he wasn't that sort of guy. And for some reason, she trusted that feeling more than she maybe ought to, considering how well her history with trusting guys has been.

At least he had a touch of familiarity with the sensation; Brooke just felt like she'd been hit with a steamroller or five when he said that name - the name of the island and the goddess, that freaking bitch Brooke felt a hatred towards burning in her gut already - and everything came rushing back. Her hand actually gripped the edge of the bar top because she feared that the force of the memories, of everything that she'd been through on that island, would knock her over. Her stomach churned as memories flashed through her head; some were wonderful and amazing, of course, but others dug deep and cut open wounds she hadn't even realized were healed before now.

Her brow furrowed deeply as she stared at Steve, noticed the way he looked awkward and embarrassed, and she knew exactly what he was thinking about. But being someone who didn't regal sex as some huge thing, Brooke was focusing on other aspects. Like the boyfriend she'd had there, being attacked by some kind of seriously messed up monster-person, the friends she would probably never see again. It felt like her heart was splitting in two all over again and she wasn't sure how much more of that she could take.

Despite all of that, however, Brooke smiled. Because if nothing else, they'd solved the riddle; they'd put the pieces together and they figured out how they knew each other. Not to mention they somehow managed to get one up on that stupid goddess because Brooke distinctly remembered how memories were supposed to be wiped completely of Atia when they were brought home. It was definitely something to smile over despite everything else, both the memories of Atia and what she was dealing with then and there in Tree Hill.

"Well," she said as she picked up her glass and lifted it in Steve's direction for a toast, "Here's to me being one hell of a memorable first time." The shock of all of this and the reality of it would probably hit her hard later, she could almost guarantee it, but honestly? Even with everything else she was feeling, there was some serious relief washing over her as well, and she wanted to focus on that.

Plus, now that she remembered knowing Steve as well as she did back on that island - plus the mortified look he was already sporting - Brooke couldn't help but tease him. Hell, maybe it would even help him relax somewhat.

Steve sputtered a little at the toast - and maybe colored a little, too, although he'd somehow gotten just a little better at that, the past year or two. Maybe it was just Natasha's constant wheedling - if you showed any kind of weakness, she'd just latch onto it, and the same was true of his men, who were sitting just behind them now. They couldn't see his face, but he definitely didn't want a blush creeping down his neck.

Besides - he knew Brooke, really knew her now, and although they didn't exactly share all the same views on sex… she had always been understanding. She'd never made fun of him, really, for being his first - or for his being cursed when it had happened.

So he raised his beer clinking his glass with hers, carefully. "I do remember it being one hell of a first time." And it had been the start of a very… memorable (and unique) day. He took another long swig of beer; it wouldn't do anything, but he actually liked the taste - at least, now that he could afford the decent stuff.

Cursed. Geez. It was definitely disorienting, the way everything came back so naturally, the way the floodgates had simply opened and now he knew he was sitting here with an old friend, rather than just thinking it. Actually -

"Whew. The last time I saw you… it was 70 years ago," he said, laughing slightly, raising his fingers to one temple. Okay, it hadn't felt like 70 years had passed to him, but he'd been in a very different mindset, then. A different place, to be sure. So it was doubly strange, to be staring at Brooke now, because everyone he'd known back then was either dead or in a home, and it was strangely refreshing to see Brooke as she'd always been, smiling at him. "And it's good to see you again - now that I can remember who you are."

He let out a breath. "Which… I don't think is supposed to happen." So… why? Was there a reason? For a split second, he wondered if they weren't back there, if this was all another curse, another lie… but that couldn't be it. He couldn't believe that the past few years had been a lie. Atia had a lot of power, but she'd never done anything like that. Unless… "Maybe she didn't count on any of us running into each other, after the fact." Then again, how could she? Steve should be dead, he couldn't exactly argue that.

That sputtering and blushing was exactly what Brooke had hoped would happen; it meant that her memories of him were true, that he really was the old-fashioned, kind-hearted, awkward guy she'd grown so fond of. And the same guy who ripped a door literally off of her house at one point when his collar stopped working. As that memory flashed through her, Brooke glanced over Steve's frame again. There was absolutely no change in his size from back on Atia, which meant that the goddess hadn't messed with that, which was good. He wasn't exactly a small guy and Brooke wasn't too sure how she'd feel if he'd somehow shrunk there.

Hopefully there wouldn't be any surprise house destruction here, either.

Of course, all of that was forgotten when he said how long it had been. Her mouth fell open slightly in shock even though she knew he was from the '40s - just like Bill and Leckie, the memory of which made her heart ache so painfully in her chest that she honest to god thought she was having a heart attack. "Wait," she said after he finished talking, her free hand held up like it would do any good to prevent his train of thought from continuing. "We can deal with all of that in a second. Right now, I kinda need you to explain the whole 'seventy years' thing. Because you definitely don't look any older than the last time I saw you."

Could it be possible that the same was true for Bill and Leckie? Could they have somehow been transported back home and kept the same age? Or sent back to the present instead of the past? Her stomach churned in a mixture of fear and excitement because if that was the case, she could find them again. If it wasn't... Well, she could still find them, but it would be drastically different and she wasn't sure if she could handle seeing the both of them old, wrinkled, and gray.

Thankfully, Steve knew his strength here, and it hadn't gone anywhere. It had taken some getting used to, that collar and the way it affected him, mostly because he'd only known the two very extremes: having virtually no strength, and having a lot of it. There had never been any in-between before Atia, and he actually hadn't felt any different, with or without that added strength, until it was too late.

But no - there aren't any doors ripped off anything, these days, unless it's intentional.

Of course, Steve almost winced when Brooke's mouth fell open - of course, she wouldn't have expected that. It was… extremely extenuating circumstances. Some days, he woke up and couldn't believe it, himself, until he rolled over and saw the digital clock or his cell phone rang. He wasn't sure he'd ever truly get used to living in this century, but he was trying his damnedest. And trying even harder to put on the exterior of someone who was just fine with things, in the meantime. After all, project an image… and eventually, you came to fit that image. He figured he'd catch up with his eventually.

But yeah, he'd better explain, hadn't he? "It's… a little complicated," he started, turning a bit better to look at her. "It wasn't very long after I, uh, returned from Atia. I had to stop a German bomber from reaching the East Coast. The only way to do it was to put her down in the water, in the North Atlantic, before it was too late." He paused, though not for effect. It was hard, sometimes, remembering that. He'd been in a bad place. His best friend had just died. He'd wanted revenge. He'd wanted to save the world. And he hadn't been sure he wanted to come out of it alive.

He shook his head a little, taking a breath and going on. "That was 1945. The next thing I knew, I was waking up and it was 2012." His voice didn't exactly change, necessarily, but it did grow a little quieter. "You remember what I told you, back in Atia? About the experiment I was a part of? I guess it kept me alive for sixty-seven years - on ice." The last thing he'd remembered was the water closing in over his head. He'd been drowning.

And then he'd been alive, and warm, and utterly lost in a world where very few people he knew were still alive.

"So here I am," he finished, trying to smile nonchalantly, though it was a little hard. "None the worse for wear. No backpay, though," he added, trying to get a little laugh out of her, at least.

Brooke, of course, let him take his time, listening intently to his explanation. And not just because the whole thing was fascinating, if a bit odd, but also because she truly cared about him. Especially now that she remembered everything. Steve had been an important person to her back on Atia and even though things were confusing right now, and even though neither of them should remember a single thing about the island, that hadn't changed one bit. Not to mention the fact that although he was quite capable of taking care of himself, especially here without the collar containing his powers, Brooke had a desire to protect him, if she could.

Which was why, when he was talking, she reached over and set a hand on his knee. It wasn't meant to be suggestive, just something to let him know that she was there and though she was definitely confused about all of this, she could imagine how hard all of that had been to go through. (She could almost hear the guys back at the table Steve had been sitting at nodding in approval, though she might've just been imagining their eyes still on her and Steve.)

"The least they could've done was given you a serious bonus," she said with a bit of a smile. She gave his knee a squeeze a moment later, though, and her brow furrowed a bit in concern. "That's horrible, though, Steve. I'm so sorry." What else could she say to something like that? Selfishly, though, she had to admit, "I am really glad it ended up that way, though. Weird as this whole thing is, it's really great to see you again."

Steve was grateful for the way Brooke listened - and the way she didn't immediately look shocked or disbelieving. Then again, when they'd both just remembered what felt like a whole other lifetime in the blink of an eye… well, maybe not much could come as a shock after that.

Still, the way she touched him, just put a comforting hand on his knee, was appreciated - even if his men probably noticed it, too. They were sharp, and he had no doubt that sitting with their backs mostly to the rest of the dining area was doing very little to keep things private, when said dining area was occupied by some of SHIELD's best black ops agents.

He just shook his head a little, not belittling the apology, but saying, "It is what it is. I can't change it. I don't even know if I would, if someone gave me the chance." That plane had needed to come down, and he'd been the only person in a position to do it. He wasn't sorry - for that. But there were a few other things he regretted. He tried not to dwell on them, though. Regretting never did anybody much good.

Although when Brooke pointed out that she was glad it ended up that way, that it was good to see him, he couldn't help but glance up and laugh a little. "You know… it's really great to see you again, too." It was almost - almost - like she had stepped out of 1945 and into his life here, simply because that had been the last time he'd seen her. It was familiar and comforting in a way he hadn't expected. "And I'm glad we ended up here - even if the travel I end up doing for work ends up being a little… messy." As in, the town definitely had some messes to clean up, but at least the threat seemed contained. Now he was doubly glad. "But - what about you?" he asked, because he'd known Brooke's passions and ambitions on the island, and what she'd done with them. He wanted to know about her here, too. In the real world. "How have you been? What are you up to?"

Brooke definitely hadn't been oblivious to what had happened around town, though she hadn't been entirely sure what caused the various destruction and messes. Now, sitting next to Steve and remembering what he'd told her about his life back on Atia, it all made sense. Or more sense than it had, anyway, and she was thankful things weren't any worse. After all, she distinctly remembered how Steve had ripped the door from her house; she could only imagine what sort of damage he could do if he were fighting someone, perhaps even someone with equal strength as him.

Which brought up a lot of questions, most of which Brooke figured he wouldn't be able to answer. Like what else the government was up to. If they were injecting people back in the 1940s with serums that gave them ridiculous strength, she could only imagine what else they were getting away with. And, most importantly, she wanted to know the actual reason he was here.

Before she had the chance to even ask, however, Steve asked his own questions and Brooke smiled faintly. While she had grown up quite a bit on the island, she was still eighteen here, still a senior in high school getting ready to graduate in a few months. Her age hadn't mattered quite as much back on Atia, but how would Steve feel about it now? Especially considering their very sordid past, thanks to the goddess.

"I've been alright." That was a bit of an exaggeration, however; things were a mess in her personal life, but she didn't necessarily feel like dumping all of that on Steve. "I've been really busy with school and Clothes Over Bro's, the fashion line I started here?" She'd had Enchanted Clothing back on the island, but she couldn't remember if she'd told Steve about the line she had here. "It's definitely not as exciting as being pulled out of the ocean, but not all of us can be Captain America."

A lot of damage was, unfortunately, the answer to that little thread of curiosity, and he'd tell Brooke that if she ever asked it. He tried to keep damage to a minimum, but honestly, he'd settle for keeping injuries to a minimum - and deaths to zero - and take the damage, any day. Still, he felt bad for coming in here and making a bit of a mess of the town, even if it had been necessary. He hoped Natasha was having some luck, too, on her end of things.

Although really, he wouldn't have been able to answer most of Brooke's questions simply because he didn't know the answers. He was a soldier, and he was an agent of SHIELD, but while he had high-level clearance, that didn't mean he was privy to everything. SHIELD operated strictly on the "need to know" principle, and he supported it - most of the time. No, it wasn't perfect. But there were plenty of things he didn't need to know, and that was okay. He just cared about knowing enough to do his job, and make sure he could keep everyone (his team and civilians) safe while he was doing it.

Although he couldn't have gone into a lot of detail about why he was here, no - but he could have told her something. Enough (maybe) to satisfy her curiosity, but he wasn't necessarily going to offer that information unless it came up. And besides, he'd much rather hear about how Brooke had been doing.

Even if it was still pretty weird, admittedly, remembering everything that they'd done - especially during that first curse. That had been a doozy. And a hell of an introduction to sex. But… looking back on it, now that he could look back on it, maybe it had been for the best. He sure as hell knew he'd have been stumbling all over himself if he hadn't been so absolutely turned on, and he also knew that it had been, in a way, safer for both of them. He'd always worried, a little, that sleeping with a woman after the procedure would be a bad idea. If he really let go, he could hurt someone, and badly. In Atia, he'd been strong - but not as strong as he was without the collar. It had been far, far less likely that he could hurt his partner. And now that he could remember it, it had given him a good chance to learn.

Age-wise, though… well, yeah, maybe it would be pretty strange, once he realized that he was a good ten… er, seventy-five years older than Brooke.

Which he was starting to, a little, when she mentioned school. Even so, he tried to push it aside - age didn't matter, not really, not when she was his friend, right? Sure, they'd done things that were more than friendly, but they'd been compelled, for the most part, and he'd tried to put it behind him then. It seemed like as good a plan as any, now.

"I don't know that it was so much exciting as... cold," he tried to joke, although it had also been a lot of other things, too. Confusing. Unsettling. And the memories, vague though they were, of drowning weren't something he liked to think about, either.

So it was definitely much easier to focus on Brooke. "But you're doing clothes here, too? That's great to hear." Because she had been very passionate about it - and, as far as he could tell, very good at it, too. "Sometimes I think exciting is overrated. I know I thought it once or twice on Atia, too," he said, with a good-natured smile. "Either way, though, that is exciting. Are you going to stay here and do it, do you think?"

Brooke let out a sound of agreement about that comment about exciting things on the island. Comparatively, the heartbreak and betrayal she was going through here in Tree Hill was actually far less destructive and horrible when she remembered everything from Atia. She'd died there, after all, and been through the ringer more than once. She'd met people who were dead back home and went straight back to their deaths when they left. She'd made friends and lost them, all because of the whims of some psycho in charge of when people came and when they left. Of course, it was easy to tell her head that and not so easy to convince her heart of it.

But she focused instead of Steve's question, shrugging somewhat in response. "I was actually thinking about going to New York, but it really depends on if anyone's even interested in my line. It's a little bit harder to make a name for myself here than it was back on the island." There hadn't really been too many other clothing shops there, after all. "But I was just part of a fashion show and it went really well, so who knows what will happen next?"

Honestly, even if Clothes Over Bro's didn't get picked up by anyone, Brooke was planning on leaving Tree Hill. New York may not be the final destination, but she'd definitely find someplace where people didn't know her. Where she could reinvent herself and forget about Lucas and Peyton.

Atia had certainly been a place where things he'd thought were impossible happened, where people didn't stay dead - he'd died, too, it was just that only one person on the island had ever known, and she'd never told. Neither had he - and where people were compelled to do things and never realized it until after the fact. Where people chose to do things, for survival; and yet, he'd always felt that they were stronger for it, stronger than Atia, if not physically, then at least in other ways.

Not that it had ever stopped him from trying to find a way to beat Atia, to send everyone home.

Although it hadn't worked. Yet here the both of them were, not really the worse for wear, and catching up again. It was just strange... but not in a bad way. "Oh yeah? Well, if you've never been, it's changed a little, but I still know my way around," he offered, with a grin. "I think it could be a good move - and I've seen your stuff, remember? I think it'll get noticed."

Okay, he didn't have an eye on the fashion industry, but Brooke had been creative, talented, and she had drive. He liked to believe that would get her pretty far. "And good for you - that sounds like a good start to me, if anything."

Either way, he couldn't have blamed her for wanting to get up and move on. Sometimes that was for the best. "And if you're ever in DC, I think I've finally gotten the hang of living there, too." Not that he had a lot of free time, but he did spend what free time he had getting to know the city, as often as not.

It was about then that he heard a little burst of static from Rumlow's radio. When he glanced over, the agent was deep in discussion with - well, it had to be Natasha. Maybe she'd found something. Except it didn't appear to be a good something, because Steve knew the look on his face, and it was a very unhappy one. "Sorry, Brooke," he said, frowning a little and moving to slide off the bar stool. "I should probably see what this is about."

"I was actually there about a year ago, but it'd still be nice to have someone around who could show me the ropes." Honestly, it'd just be nice to have someone around that she knows, especially in a city as large and busy as New York. She smiled at the compliment and ducked her head somewhat; it was easy to say that but she knew that the fashion industry was rough. It wasn't going to be as easy as getting involved in Enchanted Clothing, but honestly? That was probably the best thing for her right now. After all, Clothes Over Bro's had been started to help her mend a broken heart. Maybe throwing herself into it full-force, without school on top of it, would help her even more and give her the drive to fight for what she wanted.

"Honestly, I don't think I'll ever really have a reason to go there, but I'll definitely give you a call if I find one." Washington D.C. didn't hold much for her, since she wasn't really a history buff, but if Steve was living there, she could find a reason to head out and visit him.

Brooke followed Steve's gaze to the table of his fellow soldiers, eyebrows knitted together somewhat. Even if she didn't know any of them except for Steve, especially the one talking on the radio, his expression was surprisingly easy to read. So she nodded when she looked back toward Steve, giving him an understanding smile.

"I'll be here," she said.

"Well, if you've just been there once, you can't possibly have seen it all," he said with a smile - he was still re-learning his way around, himself, but a lot of things hadn't changed, and he would still be happy to show her around.

And the same went for D.C. - he didn't have a lot of friends, and he'd never actually had a houseguest, but he'd be happy to make an exception for her, or even just to take her around, maybe actually take some of the time off that he was owed - because he was owed a lot, given exactly how often he took it (i.e., not at all).

But first, there was whatever the matter was that Natasha was radioing them about; by the time Steve got to the table, Rumlow was discussing the situation quietly over the connection, but Steve didn't need to have peak human hearing to know that something wasn't right. He caught the words accomplice and about to have company, which definitely spelled trouble - and that was plain to see on Rumlow's face.

"Company?" he echoed, managing to fit himself between Rumlow's chair and the agent seated next to him.

The former nodded, starting to say, "On its way, apparently, and not the friendly kind," when the flash of headlights and the sound of car doors slamming caught Steve's attention from outside.

"Too late," one of the other men said, cocking his head toward the window. Steve frowned, glancing at the front door of the bar - glass, and not very defensible. Then he glanced over at the staff, who hadn't seemed to notice anything, and Brooke, who was still sitting at the bar, looking a mix of understanding and maybe a little curious.

It sounded like a good number of men - and there was no way to hold them off. Not if these were accomplices to what they'd dealt with before. They'd have to do something about them, which meant, "Get the staff out of here. Through the back door," Steve said, glancing to the pair of men seated at Rumlow's right. "Brooke - my friend, make sure she gets to safety. Take her back to the safe house if you have to - you can trust her." The men looked a little unsure, but nodded - if Captain America said someone could be trusted, then they could be trusted.

All the same, he was sure Rumlow was about to protest, so he added, "You don't have to tell her anything. I just want her safe."

As the men started to get up all around the table, Steve figured Brooke might be more amenable to being rushed out the door under armed escort if he explained (at least a little) first. He made his way back to the bar, trying to look reassuring, even if she'd probably seen the look on his face a minute ago. "Look, we've got… company incoming," he said, as tactfully as he could. "We're going to get you and everybody else out of here, but I need to take care of this. You can trust my men, I promise, okay? They'll keep you safe."

Considering Brooke was watching Steve and the other guys pretty intently, she saw the way he glanced toward the door and couldn't help but frown a little. He didn't look terribly happy - none of them did, really - and she felt an odd sense of foreboding blooming in her stomach. To combat it she took a healthy swig of her drink, though the way all of the men stood and Steve started heading her direction completely undid anything it might have done.

"Okay," she said, hesitation in her voice; the idea of being taken anywhere with a group of men she didn't know didn't exactly sit well with her. But she trusted Steve - trusted him with her life, truthfully - so she slid off her stool. "You totally owe me a few answers later, though." One of the men walked up to them then and Brooke glanced toward him briefly before looking back to Steve. "Be careful."

The new guy - not the one that had caught Steve's attention earlier but one of the others sitting at the table - reached out to place a hand on her back. She kept her confused and worried gaze on Steve for a heartbeat longer, then allowed herself to be rushed out the back entrance, following the rest of the staff and bar patrons (who were luckily few in numbers). They had just reached the back door when the front slammed opened and she instinctively ducked, covering her head with her arms, even as she turned her head to see what was happening.

Through the window she could see a woman in a black leather bodysuit pull up - quite impressively - on a motorcycle just before the solider who had escorted her this far pulled her out the door and into an SUV that had just pulled up in the alleyway.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Don't close your eyes 'cause your future's ready to shine

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MY TAG'S NOT AT LONG AS YOURS i'm sorry ;;

PFFFT WHATEVER not every tag has to be a million words long I love them all~

GOOD <33 i'm leaving the actiony part up to you b/c i'm not 100% sure what you wanna have happen

OKAY hopefully this works let me know if it's not enough to go on

wow i have no idea how this tag got so old... also! we can do some timeskip, if you want?