A/N: Hey guys, I know it's been a while. I was going through old forum threads and noticed I never posted this one. So here's a bit of old drabby nonsense. I should have something up in a few days, as I'm presently editing some recent works/chapter fics that haven't been published... yet.

Passage of Time

It's been two years, and they haven't kept in touch.

Steve stares at the wall and lets his finger trace over the number on the calendar. It's old fashioned of him to keep a calendar on paper, he supposes, but in this day of digital media and communication it's a comfort to have one thing written out in front of him.

Two years.Has it really been that long? The world has changed much in those two short years. He still half-expects them to show up on his doorstep or for the team to be summoned just like last time, every last one of them identical to how they used to be.

Perhaps one day Natasha and Clint will appear on his doorstep, moving in sync as if they'd practiced their own special blend of choreography. Clint will probably be leaning casually against the wall, arms crossed and eyebrow raised as he silently asks Steve what took him so long. Natasha will be chewing on a piece of gum, leather jacket loose-fitting on her frame and accenting her curves as she gives him a smile that is both cold and welcoming. Or maybe they won't even bother knocking – they'll just pick his lock and he'll find them sprawled onto his sofa.

It is just as likely that Stark will be the one to appear, music blaring from his speakers as he struts up to Steve's door and enters his house casually as if he owns it (he might. Steve's only leasing the place). He'll likely act put out, as if Steve's lack of contact is a personal slight. It will take a while for Tony to admit that he was the one who sought Steve out, but eventually, after much dodging and griping, he will. Then he'll force Steve to a fancy dinner or throw him into a firefight.

It is far less likely that Thor or Doctor Banner will appear. Steve wonders how the god has fared in Asgard; he also wonders how long they have until Loki gets free again. It is no comforting thought' but Steve pushes it away quickly enough.

If Thor doesappear, he will probably take Steve out drinking so that they can 'prove themselves before their ancestors.' The fantasy brings a grin to Steve's face, but it vanishes quickly.

He glances at the calendar again and lifts his hand so that he can crumple it.

He doesn't expect Banner to ever show. Bruce is a loner by trade and teaching, and the man had never been a willing participant in the Initiative. But there's a nagging voice in Steve's mind that says 'he came back'and it makes Steve wonder if Bruce might pop up one day, dressed in ragged clothes and looking only half-awake as he tells Steve that he has a brilliant idea for an experiment.

Steve tosses the crumpled calendar into the nearly-empty trashcan. He glances over at the phone that remains ever charged and in easy reach.

It's been silent since the first day Fury talked to him.

Keep it, the man had said. One day we'll need you to pick it up.

But no one's dialed it and Steve's remained cut off. Some days he's tempted to pick up the phone and shoot off a text, and other days he sits as his desk and contemplates using email.

Yet he doesn't. He sits there and goes about his life, helping charities and fundraisers and tricking his mind into avoiding thoughts of the past.

Except... One day that all changes. One day he's watching the news, flipping the remote in his hand before he gets up to pull some food out of his fridge.

Then, suddenly the mostly quiet apartment is startled into alertness by a shrill sound. Steve looks up, freezes, and gapes for just a moment.

The phone rings.

With a calm he doesn't feel, Steve picks up the phone and speaks.

"Hello?"

"Captain Rogers," Fury begins. His tone is the exact same as it has always been. "We have a situation on our hands. Can you come in?"