*slides in on knees* Hey! I'm back! Hopefully I haven't overstayed my welcome or waited too long to start this story. But it's the last one, I promise! I am excited though; if I'm able to pull this off it should be fun!

A very special thank you to GraceSong for beta-ing this chapter as well! She made it 100x better and I am eternally thankful! *hearts*

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It was warm. Sutton tilted her head up and let the sun's rays kiss her skin as she reveled in the afternoon heat. Even if it'd been a few years, she still could never take the weather for granted. Although there was still a soft spot in her heart for gray skies and rainy afternoons, she had to admit that she liked not having to put on a jacket every time she went outside.

She stretched her arms, hardly noticing the pull of the metal imbedded in the side of her chest anymore, and hummed quietly. Her break was almost over and it was time to head back to the building holding her last scheduled lecture of the day. Her phone chirped again and Sutton gnawed on her lower lip as she read the text and fought back a smile.

[Well we should meet up since you're in town.]

She waited a couple seconds to reply.

[Sure! I'm off at 6 :)]

[I'll pick you up then.]

Sutton scoffed in mock offense as she slung her purse over her shoulder and started heading back towards the hotel that the conference was being held at.

[On that motorcycle? Fat chance!]

The cars whizzing by to her left forced her to pay attention to the road, putting her phone in her pocket momentarily while she crossed the street. After all this time the honking and rush of tires on cement had started to become more like background noise to her, but it filled the silence in a way she'd needed even just six months ago. Only about a block away the hotel came into view and Sutton would have to tell Steve that their conversation was about to come to an end. Another text from him popped up just as she was opening the messenger.

[You lost a bet, remember? You have to.]

Sutton frowned, her lower lip jutting to the side in a pout.

[Sorry! Can't talk. Gotta get back to work, Steve!]

[I'll be waiting on my bike!]

She mumbled under her breath, switched her phone to silent, and shoved it into her purse as she passed through the hotel doors. He'd used an exclamation mark; he was being snarky. She didn't have the time to inform him he wasn't funny.

The rest of the conference droned on. It was business as usual and Sutton only knew enough about the subject to be able to translate everything correctly. Even if she liked her job she was still happy to let her hair down and have a bit of extra time to socialize and then prepare for her flight home the following afternoon.

Untangling a few curls with her fingers as she exited the hotel, Sutton pulled out her phone to let Steve know she was all done. But two steps out the door and she spotted him leaned up against his blasted bike and grinning at her. Sutton threw her shoulders back and groaned. Steve laughed.

"Come on," he goaded. "Don't be a sore loser."

"I'm not a sore loser," Sutton argued. "I'm just not crazy. I've seen you zip around before; not everyone can be so fearless."

He rolled his eyes and reached behind him, pulling out a sleek black motorcycle helmet.

"I promise I'll obey road rules. Now here, put this on and let's go."

She continued to protest without any real conviction as she trudged forward and accepted the helmet. Steve settled on the front of the bike, and Sutton made sure her purse was zipped closed before sliding on behind him. After putting the helmet on Sutton hesitated a moment, her arms twitching at her sides, before she took a silent breath and wrapped them around his waist.

"Hold on tight!"

His voice was a bit muffled thanks to the helmet, but she snapped her head up and looked at the back of his head as her arms stiffened.

"Remember," she tried to say above the sudden rumble of the bike. "You promised to-AH!"

Steve lurched away from the curb and shot out into the flow of traffic with a laugh she could hear even above her screech.

[]

The restaurant they found themselves in was a small, mom-and-pop type establishment tucked away on an off street corner that Steve apparently knew about. It's out of the way location left most of the seating area comfortably empty and private. It was decently kept, despite showing wear from years of business. Sutton popped another pot sticker in her mouth and chewed while listening to Steve talk about some of the unclassified aspects of his recent missions.

Sometimes she still felt the cold slap from the reminder that she wasn't allowed to know things. That she wasn't special here and wasn't privy to all information.

"Luckily Rumlow was able to catch the new recruit by the straps." He shook his head. "It would've been a nasty crash otherwise."

Sutton frowned as she tried to recall who Agent Rumlow was. After her adventure through universes, SHIELD had insisted on another debriefing with her that had put her in one of their headquarters for a couple days. She was sure Steve and Natasha had introduced her to some of their team members at least once.

"Rumlow? He's the scruffy, dark haired one?"

Steve nodded as he ate another forkful of General Tso's chicken. Her frown ticked down further.

"Huh."

He tilted his head at her tone and Sutton snapped her gaze down to her plate.

"What? Did you not like him from the ten seconds you met him?" He laughed lightly before his face grew serious again. "Or did he say something to you?"

Sutton was quick to wave her fork in a negative gesture.

"No, no he didn't. I... just. I don't know. You'll think I'm judgemental." Steve raised both his brows and Sutton sighed. "I know it's been a few years, and it's probably wrong of me to use movie logic still, but," she waved her free hand around in a helpless gesture. "It's just that he kinda has bad-guy-face."

"Bad guy face?"

Steve laughed again and Sutton tried to defend herself.

"It's a thing," she insisted. "I don't know. Maybe it's not his face exactly, but… how he looks. The way he looked at people. It made me uneasy."

Steve eyes immediately softened. She saw the sympathy in on his face before she realized why it was suddenly there.

"Hey," his tone was soft and Sutton ran a hand through her hair.

"It's not related to that," she interrupted quietly. "He doesn't remind me of Khan."

His posture eased slightly, though his smile was still just that pull to the side people do when they're not quite sure you're being honest with yourself.

"It's probably just his training. He's a soldier first and I don't think he can quite turn it off."

"That's probably it."

After that, the conversation drifted away from SHIELD and to the more mundane topics that Steve always managed to make more interesting. By the time they'd finished dinner it was starting to get late. Sutton let out a quiet sigh as she glimpsed the last of the sun lingering at the horizon while she clung to Steve. Steve was less concerned with the sunset and more with hazardously weaving between cars he deemed too slow. As they zipped back towards her hotel, her fingers dug more tightly into his jacket and she made sure to curse all two wheeled modes of transportation.

In front of the hotel, Sutton passed the borrowed helmet back to Steve and watched as he put it away instead of using it himself. She shook her head but didn't say anything because arguing with him about helmet safety was pointless. If his skull was that thick maybe he actually didn't need one.

"Thank you for dinner," she said. "Even though I could have paid too."

He smiled lopsidedly at her and Sutton felt warm.

"Well that'd be rude when it was my idea in the first place, wouldn't it?"

Sutton rolled her eyes despite the fact that she was smiling.

"Ah! You've always got something, don't you? Well, fine." She pointed a finger at him. "But just remember that you're obligated to foot the bill now if you get any ideas."

He mimed drawing a cross over his heart and Sutton bit the inside of her cheek as she shook her head. The night was starting to take over the sky and though the streets were no less quiet, around the two of them it seemed to be still. She was just about to speak when Steve nodded towards her hotel.

"What time do you fly out tomorrow?"
"Um, late afternoon. It's kind of nice not to have an early morning flight for once."

Steve's face adopted a glint of mischief and Sutton's smile flickered.

"Oh no, wait. I mean it's a red-eye! I actually need to get my stuff together before-"

"So you have time for a morning run. Just like old times."

Sutton opened her mouth to protest, closed it, considered if she had a chance to win this argument, and sighed.

"When and where?"

[]

The arc reactor in her was humming as Sutton struggled to maintain pace in her run around the Washington Monument.

Gosh darn Steve, with his gosh darn superhuman speed and endurance, and his gosh darn blue eyes that had made her say yes to this.

There was literally no way that she could even come close to keeping up with him. Even though she still did cardio. Even though she was still taking self defense classes and in the best shape she'd ever been in in her life! And it was certainly infuriating that he invited her to join him only to disappear into the distance just to lap her now and again with a "not smug" look on his face.

Sutton was breathing heavy when she heard someone coming up behind her and, assuming it was Steve, she tensed up in the temptation to stick out a leg and see if he'd trip on it. But it wasn't Steve after all. It was a man who was breathing just as heavily as she was and Sutton almost tripped over her own feet when she realized he looked familiar. He was handsome, with warm brown skin and a friendly face with eyes that looked like they could quickly shift from cheery to soulful. His hair was trimmed in a military cut though he wore a thin stylish goatee that circled his mouth. He managed to give her a flashing smile as he kept pace with her.

"Hey," he managed to breath out. Sutton blinked owlishly, trying to place where she'd seen his face before.

"Hi."
The sound of sneakers thundering on pavement sounded from behind them and the man's face twisted down in annoyance.

"Don't say it," he suddenly shouted. "Don't you say it!"
"On your left."

"Come on!"

"Show off," Sutton chimed in with a laugh.

She watched as the man tried to keep up with Steve in a frustrated scramble that quickly died. Sutton kept to her own pace, knowing better by now. Any attempts to catch up would only be maddening and pointless.

Steve continued on for another lap, but the other guy had stopped on a lawn, walking in circles for a moment to cool down before dropping down onto the grass. Sutton slowed herself, deciding he had the right idea, and stretched her hamstrings before idling near him.

"Are you with that guy?" The man asked in an incredulous tone as he threw his thumb back in Steve's supposed direction. "Why would you hate on yourself like that?"
"He can be very persuasive," Sutton huffed. "Also, he blew up my phone this morning until I tried snapping the thing in half."

The stranger laughed, showing straight white teeth and Sutton swore she'd seen his face before. Not here though, from before. An actor? Had she seen him in a movie?

Important, her brain supplied. Wouldn't that make him relevant here? He had to be somebody.

"Well, sucks to be you, then."
Sutton snorted.

"Oh no. I'm on a flight out of here soon. He's not tricking me into doing this again."

The man laughed again, and then Steve was strolling up, hands on his hips as he looked between them, smirk still on his face.

"Either of you need a medic," he quipped. Sutton rolled her eyes and the man raised his brows in disbelief.

"I need a new set of lungs. Dude, you just ran like thirteen miles in thirty minutes."

"I guess I got a late start."
Sutton groaned.

"Don't boost his ego."

The man seemed to agree with her, he shook his head and cast a disappointed look at Steve.

"You should be ashamed of yourself. You should take another lap." He waited a beat as no one moved. "Did you just take it? I assumed you just took it."

Sutton snickered as Steve changed the subject to ask what unit the man was with. She only just noticed the crest on the man's sweatshirt, and despite growing up in a military community she didn't recognize it.

"Fifty-eighth, para-rescue," the man supplied. "But now I'm working down at the VA. Sam Wilson."

He held out his hand to Steve and rose to his feet as they clasped hands.

"Steve Rogers."

"I kind of put that together. But I didn't catch your name?"

Sam turned to Sutton and held out a hand, dialing up the charm in his smile a couple notches. Sutton smirked and took his hand.

"Sutton Regan. The token normal friend."

"Well, not too normal," Sam pointed out, gesturing to where her arc reactor had become visible with the way her workout shirt had pulled to the side. Sutton was quick to readjust her shirt.

"Fancy pacemaker," she explained sheepishly.

An alarm she'd set on her phone buzzed and she hurriedly turned it off before turning back to Steve.

"I have to get going if I want to shower and make my flight. Thanks for the reminder that all my physical training is pathetic and sad compared to you."

"Aw, don't be like that. You're able to keep up better than you used to."

Sutton mock glared.

"How would you know? You're always at least three miles ahead."

"I was trying to be nice."

Sam looked amused by the exchange, his brows high on his head as his lips twisted up and Sutton shook her head, quickly checking her phone again.

"Whatever, I better go. I'm really glad we got to meet up, Steve. Don't be a stranger!"

She went to hug him goodbye, but remember she was sweaty and hesitated. Steve met her halfway anyway.

"Same goes to you," he said. "Have a safe flight."

Sutton nodded, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear as she waved back at Sam.

"It was nice to meet you, Sam! Please befriend this sad, old man. He won't even go play bingo so he meets no one."

Sam played along and agreed to take care of it. Sutton then focused on hailing a cab to take back to her hotel. No way she was going to run all the way back.

As the taxi pulled away from the curb, Sutton couldn't shake the feeling that she hadn't seen the last of Sam Wilson.

[]

The ground shook on her way out of the hotel. She was trying to hail another cab, her suitcase trailing behind her with her purse resting on top, when the sidewalk beneath her began to tremble. People around her paused as well, staring widely at each other and the area around them. Sutton watched in a silent stupor as the potted plants outside the hotel doors rattled and the stoplights down the block swayed. There was almost an audible rumble, but it had to have echoed up through the buildings, because it didn't sound like it'd come from the earth.

It only lasted probably a minute and a half, but it was enough to be startling. Sutton hadn't experienced an earthquake in a long time and didn't think they were a common occurrence on the east coast.

But after a minute there were no immediate aftershocks and she had a flight to catch, so she shook off the shock and continued frantically waving until one of the cab drivers finally noticed her in the crowd.

When she hopped off the plane in New York a bit over an hour later, the news updates on her phone were already letting her know that the earthquake hadn't been a localized incident. Sutton frowned, opening the first article that showed up and read over the information. The earthquake, or so it was being called, had been widespread. More than widespread. Worldwide. Her arc reactor beeped as her skin went briefly cold and the airport crowd around her disappeared.

Worldwide? A worldwide, simultaneous earthquake? Even if it wasn't huge that just… just wasn't possible! No way all the tectonic plates could collide at once.

Sutton shoved her phone in her purse and carted her carry on after her, skipping baggage claim since it'd been a short trip and she hadn't needed it. In her mind she tallied up how long it'd been since she'd gotten back from her dimensional travels and since Thor had defeated Malekith.

About a year, she calculated. A year of relative quiet. Sure there were things that would pop up now and again but nothing huge, nothing Avenger worthy, had occurred in awhile. Sutton chewed the inside of her cheek.

She hopped public transportation back into the city. Briefly she wondered if she should make a quick stop at the gym in her apartment before she settled in, but then decided that the jog with Steve that morning had been brutal enough.

There were a couple of messages waiting for her when she remembered to take her phone off silent. Tony had sent a text asking if she'd gotten back alright and a warning that he didn't think that earthquake had actually been an earthquake at all. Sutton closed her eyes a moment and rubbed at her face, dropping onto her overstuffed couch and just breathed.

[My flight was fine,] she eventually sent back. [But I really hope you're wrong.]

She really wanted to forget. Sometimes she actually could. But now all she could think about was that haunting warning and the image of destruction as the Avengers lie dead. Those dreams had stopped one day just as suddenly as they'd come, and she had convinced herself it was because they weren't relevant anymore. Now she wondered if maybe she'd been fooling herself again.

Maggie had texted her too though, so she distracted herself with reading over her message.

"Oh! The bridal shower! Right!"
Sutton sighed in the relief that she hadn't missed the event, and had actually gotten a gift for her friend already. Maggie and Phillip were finally tying the knot and Sutton was an honored bridesmaid alongside Avery and Maggie's sister. Sutton text her back that she would definitely still be there this weekend and that Maggie better be ready because she already knew what Avery had gotten her and it was hilarious. Not terrible, she reassured, just hilarious. Maggie still only responded with an unamused emoji.

Sutton skipped through the rest of the week. She had her gift for Maggie wrapped days in advance and there was a new dress she'd gotten on sale hanging in her closet ready to wear. The spring weather was starting to get warmer, but Sutton was still glad that the dress had three-quarter length sleeves. It was a robin egg blue with white collar and cuffs, and it would do nicely at the cafe that Maggie was having her shower at. One might assume that given Maggie's half shaved hair-do and sharp-enough-to-cut eyeliner that she was a bit more punk than she actually was. But it was clear given how the wedding preparations were going that Maggie was actually a huge romantic who just preferred low maintenance styling.

The afternoon of the bridal shower, Sutton slipped into the dress, touched up her makeup, pinned a few errant curls down, and grabbed the gift and her purse before slipping out the door.

The cafe was a Spanish style establishment, and it was apparently a place that meant something to Maggie, as she, her sister, and mother often ate there. It boasted a chic, unique dining experience that struck Sutton as very consistent with how New York liked things. The atmosphere was warm and generally calming, but Sutton definitely didn't need directions from the hostess to find out where her group was. Laughter rose above the sound of music in the corner of the cafe and several tables had been pushed together to accommodate the number of people attending the party. Sutton found a seat next to Avery and squeezed herself into it.

"Hey girl! Glad you could make it before appetizers showed up."

"I'm not late," Sutton protested.

"No, I'm being serious. Maggie got here early so she ordered some, and I'm

pretty sure these ladies are waiting to hoover up whatever gets set down on the table first."

Sutton laughed with Avery as they settled into their chairs with the conspiratorial agreement to keep a lookout for the waiter in order to get a headstart.

Sutton was still joking with Avery as the shower quieted down into idle chatter. A few

other of Maggie's friends and relatives had joined in the conversation and Sutton managed to maintain casual chitchat despite having never met any of them before. After a while she was truly pulled into another conversation and Avery had to wave a dark hand in front of her face to get her attention. Sutton glanced at her to see her gesturing to Sutton's phone.

"Can I borrow it real quick? I left mine at home."

Sutton perked up and unlocked the device before handing it over.

"Sure, no worries. I've done that before."

As Avery focused on the phone, Sutton turned back to the conversation. One of Maggie's aunts had just been in the middle of explaining how to make authentic empanadas and she really wanted to hear how the rest of the recipe went.

After Avery had completed whatever she needed a phone for, she insisted on taking a few selfies with Sutton, and Sutton was a bit jealous that Avery managed to look like some radiant, magnificent flower that had just blossomed out of rich soil while she'd perhaps managed to pull off looking Church Chic. Not that there was anything wrong with that, but all it took sometimes was another girl looking drop dead gorgeous to make you question your fashion choices.

But still, Sutton had to admit that Avery had a knack for selfies, she knew all the right angles, and they both looked good in the ones that she decided to keep.

"Send me those," Avery said as she pulled her jacket off the back of her chair and slung her purse over the crook of her arm.

"Done and done!"

There was a jazzy tune, and Avery dug through her purse, pulling out her phone, and grinned.

"Thanks, girl!"

Sutton's smile faltered.

"Wait. If you had your phone, why did-"

"See ya! Bye, Maggie! I'll text you later, yeah?"
"What did you do!"

She scrambled with her phone, already knowing it was too late as her gut flipped in anticipation. The others around the table tittered in laughter at her antics, but Sutton knew better than to underestimate Avery.

"Oh no, no, no."

She hadn't!

She most definitely had.

Avery had taken a few candid shots of Sutton chatting at the table and sent a mass text out to everyone in her contact list.

Everyone.

[I "don't know" who Sutton's crush is, but I'm sure you're here somewhere. Look at her! You're welcome.

Also, hey Mr. Stark! You should definitely give Avery Johnson a raise for not giving out your personal number!]

The ladies at the table roared in laughter when Sutton muttered what her most definite ex-friend had done. She was dead now.

Despite generally living normally and being kept out of the "Avengers" and "SHIELD" loops, Sutton still had some high profile, private numbers on her phone. For emergency purposes. And now they'd gotten spammed with her face and weren't going to be amused. Hopefully the encryptions on her phone would block most of these numbers from being seen by the civilian people she knew.

Crap. She was going to get a call or two about this.

And then the replies started coming in.

[Sorry to disappoint; I don't date employees.]

[Shut up, yes you do. Sutton, secret crushes? What gives? I thought we were close. I taught you how to fight and everything.]

[THIS IS A SECURE CHANNEL. INVESTIGATIONS ARE UNDERWAY.]

[You look nice.]

Sutton's heart spiked at the automated warning, but her face actually went warm at the compliment. Gathering up her purse and tossing money onto the table for her bill, Sutton quickly excused herself from the shower and made a bee-line for the exit.

"Delete," she chanted as she half-jogged down the sidewalk. Her fingers fumbled over the screen as she tried to erase all traces of the giant group chat. "Delete, delete, delete!"

Her screen when black and then her ringtone when off as she received a call

from an unknown name and unknown number. Sutton came to a sudden halt on the sidewalk and bit her lip, hesitating before wincing and hitting the accept button.

"Miss Regan. I thought we were clear that this was a "end of the world" emergency number only."

"Director! Hi! Sorry! Yes! Well, you see, this was all a misunderstand-"

"Miss Regan."

"Yessir?"

"Don't let any friends borrow your phone again."

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Some Good News: I have the first four chapters written already and am going to aim for posting once a week. Hopefully I'll be able to keep up this pace!

Some Better News: I am still totally accepting reviews/feedback! *wink wink*