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Captain Steve Rogers lifts the last of the boxes from the U-HAUL. He can't wait to start unpacking them once they're inside his new apartment. As he lifts the last box from the U-HAUL, he feels an exciting sensation buzzing through him. So this is what freedom feels like, he thought to himself.
Since he was awakened from the ice, Steve has been living on the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier. At first he didn't mind, but then he started getting cabin fever, kind of. The loud swooping of the propellers started to give him a headache, the ear-ringing sound of the sirens from weekly practice drills made his headaches even worse, the idolizing glare of S.H.I.E.L.D. personal watching him through the glass window as they pass by his quarters got on his nerves constently, the quarters itself was so plain and depressing to be in, and the lingering desire to return to society finally got the best of him. So, he went to Director Fury and requested to be moved off the helicarrier. A few weeks later, Steve found an apartment located in Brooklyn not far from where Steve grew up as a child. A couple of days later, he rents it out. Less than a day later, the Captain's moving in.
The U-HAUL drives away from Steve and his stack of cardboard boxes. He watches as it turns a corner far down the street and vanishes from view. Steve turns around and begins lifting boxes up off the sidewalk.
Mary hears the roar of an engine. She places the plate and sponge back into the soapy water and grabs the towel hanging off the oven handle to dry off her hands as she walks across the kitchen over to the window. She pulls back the curtains and looks down. To her amazement, a huge stack of cardboard boxes was standing by itself on the pavement sidewalk. What type of idiot would leave boxes out like that in the street? Must be asking for 'em to get stolen.Then out of the blue, she sees a tall, blonde man wearing a white button-up shirt and khaki pants, gleefully walk up to the boxes, taking the top box off the stack, and walks away. She gasps and says, "I know it," as she throws the towel to the counter.
Without hesitation, Mary hauls ass out of her apartment, down the hallway, begins making her descent down the staircase and... BOOM!!!!
Steve had no earthly clue what hit him, but he knows that it knocked him to the ground. His head was spinning, and his back was hurting like hell. Whatever hit him must have collided with the box he was holding 'cause it was laying beside him with an oval-shaped crater. He slowly sat up and place both hands on his head to stop the spinning. Great, might as well go out and buy new dishes.
He heard an "Owww" not too far from him. Looking up, he saw in front of him a young woman laying on her side, barefooted in blue jeans and a light blue T-shirt. Steve's heart started to race. Oh no. She must be unconscious. He quickly got up and raced over to the woman. He gently flipped her onto her back, being extra careful with her head.
Steve grabbed her left wrist to check her pulse. He couldn't feel any. He laid the hand on her abdomen and checked her pulse from the side of her neck.Thank God. She had a pulse. By what he could tell, the woman isn't badly injured and was still breathing normally. He looked up at her face.
"Madam," Steve softly spoke, "are you alright?"
No response.
Wavy, reddish brown hair covered her face. With a light, gentle touch, he racked as much hair out of her face as he could. The woman's skin was soft and so unbelievably pale that it made Steve's skin look like it was tan. He slowly pulled back her left eyelid.
She couldn't get up. She felt tired all of a sudden. She couldn't feel her limbs, but she could care less.
Suddenly, she felt her body being rolled over by a pair of strong hands. She couldn't muster up the energy to open up her eyes, but she could tell that her sense of feeling was still working. She felt a light pressure building up around her left wrist as it was lifted up and then carefully placed on her stomach. Then something firm yet gentle touched the side of her neck, then disappeared. Moments later, she felt her hair being pushed out of her face by, what feels like, fingers. When most of it was gone, Mary could feel a cold breeze around her face. She didn't feel as tired as she used to be.
Then she felt something applying pressure to her eye. Her right hand grabbed a thick wrist and she opened her eyes.
Both of the woman's eyes pop open. She looks up at the ceiling and then looks at Steve. She gasps and quickly gets up.
"Madam, please wait," Steve begins to say, but she doesn't listen.
As soon as she stands on her feet, she begins to stumble. Her knees buckled as her body starts to fall. Before he could think, Steve got behind her, grabbed her by the waist, and pulled her into a bear hug.
"Wooo, try to be more careful next time, madam," Steve said to try to lighten the mood even though he knew deep down that this was going nowhere in the right direction. She needs to get to a hospital. Steve had a feeling that she had internal injures.
She tries to struggle out of his strong grip, but Steve isn't letting her go anywhere. "Hey hey hey, I'm not going to hurt you! Please stop struggling! You might be injured!"
The woman suddenly stops struggling and became still for a long while, long enough to notice the scent of apples coming from her hair. Steve can't help but inch his nose just a little bit closer to her hair. Then he notices how perfectly his arms wrap around her waist. It actually feels quiet comfortable. Then, she turns her head around towards Steve. Those eyes... her eyes... were two shining emeralds that were so easy for Steve to get lost in. They're so beautiful, and yet... The expression on her face looks way too familiar to Steve.
Mary is seriously scared right now. She has no idea who the hell the guy is or why he's hovering over her. She recognizes him from when she was looking out her window. That's the guy who was stealing those boxes! And he's OVER ME!!!
She starts to panic. She tries to get up so that she can get away from him, and there was no point in saving the box 'cause she knows that she's too weak to actually fight this guy. He's too freakin' huge... got da... run... Then like every other great plan she's ever came up with, she starts to fall, but then a strong pair of arms grab her from behind and pulls her towards the owner. Her back hits something hard... no wait... this feels like... SHIT! She can feel the guy's chest plastered onto her back. Ok, this dude is getting way too personal.
She tries to wiggle her way out of his embrace, but he just won't let go. The next thing she knows, she hears these words: "Hey hey hey, I'm not going to hurt you! Please stop struggling! You might be injured!"
Mary stops. This guy... thinks I'm hurt?! And yet, the guy's voice was... so soft and gentle. The arms that were wrapped around her waist made her feel safe and secure. What the hell is wrong with me? Then, she feels him breathing in and out of her hair. The sensation makes her shiver. Ok, this has got to stop.
She turns her head around to see the man face-to-face. Her heart begins to beat rapidly. The man's face was... perfection. His blonde hair shined like the Sun, bright and beautiful. His lips were full and pink and so kissable, but the best of all were those eyes. Those eyes were at just the right shade of blue that seemed to go along with the rest of this man's looks.
God, how am I going to get out of this one?