Chapter Eleven - Easy Doesn't Do It

"Someday, I'm gonna be a police officer."

"Oh?" Isaac looked up from the homework he was grading and smiled. "I thought you wanted to be an astronaut. What changed your mind?"

Ariel smiled sadly as she felt herself waking up and watched as his visage rippled. "You died," she whispered.

It was one in the morning and her insomnia had attacked, so she'd focused on reading her Asgardian diplomatic prep files in hopes that they would put her to sleep. She was finally starting to nod off when a knock on her apartment door made her jerk in surprise. Ariel rubbed her eyes. "JARVIS?" she yawned.

"Captain Rogers is outside your door."

"Oh." She blinked. "Oh!" Ariel shoved her things off her lap and scrambled up and to the door. She jerked it open. "Steve?" she asked in bewilderment. She took in the pale draw to his face, the way his shoulders were hunched, and frowned. "What's wrong?"

"I, uh— Sorry." He flushed and shoved his hands into the pockets of his sweatpants. "I just, um."

"Bad dream?"

"Yeah. Something like that."

"Got it." She reached out and took his hand, pulling him forward. "Come on in."

"You have trouble sleeping too? JARVIS said you'd been awake for a while."

"Hmm? Yeah. I figured if I couldn't sleep, I could get some work done." She scrambled to clear the papers and books from her bed. "Give me a second."

"You really should slow down, you know," he said, watching as she stacked her things on her desk. "You were working all day, too."

"Well, I'm Earth's first space ambassador. That's . . . a lot of pressure." She moved past him and climbed into bed. Then she flipped back the covers for him. "You want to tell me what's going on?"

"You want to actually take a break for once?" he shot back at her.

Ariel held up her hands to show that they were empty. "I'm done working. I promise."

He eyed her for a moment and then nodded. Steve slid into the bed beside her. "I, uh. I haven't been sleeping well ever since I woke up."

"Right." She eyed him for a long moment. "How . . . long have you been awake?"

"About . . . nine months, I think?"

"Oh." She shifted close to him. "I thought it had been longer."

He shrugged and then opened his arms to her. "Most people assume that, actually."

Ariel buried herself in his hold against his chest. "So really . . . you're still pretty young, aren't you?"

"Um . . . yeah. I'll be twenty-eight next month. So I guess."

"God. Sorry, I just— Holy shit, Steve. I mean, I know we joke about you being ancient, but I think sometimes everyone forgets you're more my age than you are theirs."

"It's okay."

"Is it? Is it really?" She twisted to frown worriedly up at him. "Steve—"

"I'm fine."

She gave him a flat look.

"I'm mostly fine."

She narrowed her eyes at him.

"I . . . . I'm not fine," he mumbled. "Sorry, I lied. I, I don't know why I did that."

"I do." She shrugged and then settled back against his chest. "I mean, when during the war was Captain America allowed to be anything less than okay?"

Steve didn't answer that.

"Exactly. Military is a hell of a conditioner. 'sides, believe me, I know how hard it is to trust someone enough to admit that you're not okay." She pressed her hand against his and he flattened his fingers out and let her waffle their hands together. "Nightmares? Insomnia?"

"Um . . . both of those," he mumbled, dropping his head down so he rested his forehead on the top of her head. "It started out with just Buck falling, you know. And me not saving him. Again. But then I got this team and— You fell tonight. I couldn't grab you in time."

She hummed in response and squeezed his hand tightly. "I'm here," she reminded him.

"Yeah. I know." He curled his free arm around her. "Thank you."

Ariel groaned as loud music cut through her dream. "The hell?" she mumbled, struggling to consciousness. Arms tightened around her and she paused, reorienting and trying to remember who was in her bed. She yawned. "Steve, I gotta answer it."

He made a noise of complaint, but his grip on her loosened enough for her to unentangle herself and scoot to the side of the bed. Rubbing her eyes with one hand, she fumbled blearily for her phone and held it up to her ear. "Hello? Who is this? I think," —she interrupted herself with another yawn— "I think Clint changed my ringtones." She blinked, trying to clear his vision.

"Sweet! What did he change mine to?"

"Uhh . . . ." Ariel shook her head, honing in on the familiar voice. "Safety Dance."

"Huh. Original or a cover?"

"Original."

Steve made an annoyed sound and his arms wrapped around her, him gripping the edges of her comforter to keep it around his shoulders. "Why do you keep your room so damn cold?" he mumbled.

Ariel glanced back at him. "Sorry." She shifted so that she was against the headboard and Steve's head was pillowed against her stomach.

"Oh my god, do you have someone in bed with you? Oh my god, oh my—"

"Shut up. Hey, JARVIS, can you set my room's temp to match Stevie's room." She dropped her hand to Steve's head and started carding her fingers through his hair.

"Of course, Agent Hayward," the AI responded.

"Oh my god!" Beth shrieked. "You slept with Captain America!"

"I did not."

"You fucked Captain America! Oh. My. God."

"I did not fuck Captain America," Ariel hissed into the phone, her fingers tightening in Steve's hair.

He jerked a bit, blinking up at her. "Um . . . . Who are you talking to?" he whispered.

"Bessie." She pulled the phone away from her ear and put it on speaker. "Say hi to the most annoying love of my life, Stevie."

"Oh." He stared at the phone. "Hello, Elizabeth," he greeted cordially just before dropping his head back against Ariel's stomach and looking like for all intents and purposes he was planning to go back to sleep. Ariel returned to combing through his hair.

"Hey, Captain!" Beth trilled. "Are you in Ari's bed?"

"I'm not answering that," he murmured to Ariel.

She rolled her eyes. "Did you need something, Bess?"

"Just have a weird case that we just closed on. The client said I could share the details after I mentioned that you'd be the one receiving it. Unsolved missing person. Fiancée sued the hospital her man disappeared out of."

Ariel frowned, pausing in her movements. "Is there something special about it that made you think of me?"

"I— It's just weird, Ari. Want me to send you the info?"

"Huh. Yeah, sure, I'll take a look."

"Sweet. Sending it your way now! I've gotta go, though. Have a meeting. Have fun with Steve!"

"For the last time, I am not—" Ariel cut herself off, glaring at the screen that showed Beth had ended the call. She groaned and tossed her phone back on her nightstand. Then she slid her hands down to Steve's tense shoulders and started working out the tension there. "Hey, big guy. How'd you sleep?"

"Well, I actually slept," he mumbled. "Thank you."

"'Course. JARVIS? Did I get the email from Bessie?"

"Yes. Would you like me to display it?"

"Please."

The email popped up and Ariel glanced across the documents attached before opening the first one. As she read, Steve eventually disentangled himself and escaped from her bedroom. About twenty minutes later, she heard her shower start running. That made her look up from the info for a moment, but then she refocused.

She was finally interrupted when Steve shoved a plate directly in her eye-line and proudly announced, "I made muffins."

Ariel dismissed the documents with a wave of her hand and took the plate, inspecting the food curiously. "I didn't know you could bake."

He ran a hand through his wet hair and sat across from her, holding his own plate. "I had a box mix I grabbed from my suite. It's not as good as what you make, but it'll work." He took a bite and then mumbled, "How's the missing person's case?"

"Weird. Sorry, the client approved it for my eyes only, so—"

"It's fine. Though . . . are you sure about it? On top of the ambassadorship—"

"I'll be fine. Trust me, I've been doing this for years. Doubling time has its advantages."

He looked doubtful. "Well . . . just don't push yourself."

Ariel smiled. "I know my limits."

She didn't mention how she always ignored them.

"Pair off," Steve ordered. "Ariel, you're with Thor. Tony, you're with Clint. Natasha, with me."

"Ugh," Tony groaned. "Why do we have to do this?"

"Team training is important," Steve said firmly, stepping up to spar first.

"Then why isn't Brucie sparring?"

Bruce sighed. "Do you really want to risk me hulking if someone hits me, Tony?"

Tony took a long moment to answer, actually seeming to consider it. Ariel snickered. "Personally I'd love to see Tony spar the Hulk. Is that just me?"

"Yes," Steve answered easily. "That's definitely just you. Natasha?"

The woman nodded, already in her stance. "Ready."

"JARVIS, three minutes on the clock." He tilted his head to the side. "Or surrender."

Natasha smirked. "I'm Russian, Rogers. I don't surrender."

"Alright then. Begin."

As the two flew into their spar, Ariel got busy taping her knuckles and sizing up Thor. A hand clapped her on the shoulder and she glanced to the side. "I'm screwed. You know that, right?"

Clint grinned. "I wouldn't say that. You could probably figure out how to take Rapunzel down if you really tried."

"Steve said no powers."

"You're more than your powers, kiddo. You know that."

"But against a god?"

His grin just widened. "Good luck. You're gonna need it."

She huffed and turned back to the match just as JARVIS called time. Breathing heavily, both of them stepped off the mats. Steve motioned to her. "You're up."

Ariel took a long, shaky breath and stepped up, turning to face Thor. He beamed at her. "It is an honor!"

"Yeah, sure." She lowered herself into her stance. Three minutes. That's just how long she needed to last.

"JARVIS? Timer." Steve cleared his throat. "Begin."

Thor thundered forward and Ariel dropped out of his path, sliding between his legs. She hooked his ankle as she went and he stumbled. Ariel pushed off the ground and latched onto his back, curling her arm around his neck.

Something twisted her shirt and she squeaked as she was yanked and thrown forward. Ariel locked her legs around his shoulder and refused to fall. Thor brought his other hand back to hit her and she nailed him in the face with her foot. And just like that, she found herself flung across the room.

All the air slammed out of her when she hit the wall and sank to the floor. Her back screamed in protest when she tried to move and she felt iron in her mouth from where she'd bitten through her lip. Ariel sagged forward, coughing, and distantly heard worried voices. A shadow fell over her.

"My apologies. Ariel, are you alright? I didn't mean to harm you."

Thor bent down and extended a hand to her. Ariel reached shakily for it. The moment she had a good grip, she kicked off the ground and over him. When she landed, she rolled and yanked him with her. He hit the ground with a deafening thud and Ariel kept his arm twisted behind him and placed her foot on his neck. "Surrender?" she asked, lip stinging and blood trickling down her chin.

With the way his face was pressed into the ground, Ariel could just barely see the edge of Thor's grin. "I do," he said.

At that, Ariel released him and stumbled back, wiping at her mouth. Off to her right, someone said, "Holy shit." Tony. That was definitely Tony.

"Hey." A hand touched her shoulder. "Let's get some ice on you." Steve steered her from the mats. "Tony, Clint, go ahead." He guided her to the bench and then opened the first aid kit. He brought out the ice pack and cracked it to activate it. He pressed it into her hands. "There you go." He grinned. "Good job. I was wondering if you'd be able to take Thor down. Nice psychological tactic."

Ariel pressed the ice pack to her lip and squinted at him. "You paired us on purpose, didn't you?"

"Of course I did."

"You jerk. Thor's like six times my size!"

"And yet you beat him, didn't you?"

"'Cause I managed to trick him. That's not gonna work again."

Steve's grin grew. "Well, then you'll just have to try again, won't you?"

"Hey, Tony, you missed dinner so I brought . . . some . . . ." Ariel trailed off, staring at the workshop. "Um . . . Tony?"

He stopped and glanced at her, wrist deep in one of his suits. "Yeah?"

She stepped cautiously forward and set the bowl on one of the tables. "Um, are you . . . okay?"

"Yeah. Why?"

Ariel glanced pointedly around the cluttered workshop, littered with suit parts and blueprints and empty coffee mugs. "How long have you been down here?"

"Not too long."

"Sir has been in the workshop for fifty-seven hours," JARVIS informed her.

"Thanks, J." Ariel crossed her arms. "Tony.

Tony scowled. "Way to throw me under the bus, baby boy. Did you need something, Wheels?"

"I brought dinner. JARVIS, when did Tony last eat?"

"He has had two smoothies in his time here."

"Right. Okay, Stark, stop what you're doing and eat. It's some yummy stroganoff for you right here, okay?"

"But—"

"Now."

He squinted at her. "Christ, okay, fine. You don't have to get all scary on me." He wiped his hands clean and moved for the bowl.

Ariel sighed and softened her tone. "Tony . . . what's going on?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're . . . working yourself to death in here. We hardly see you. What's going on?"

Tony blinked at her. "I'm fine."

"Tony."

"I'm fine, Wheels. Really."

"I don't believe you."

"I know."