Changing World (Short Story)


Steve comes into the living room, slightly pouting. Everyone gives him a glance, but goes back to doing their own things. Everyone typically tries to stay out of each other's way. No one wants a fight to break out. They're a team after all.

He sits restless on the couch, constantly shuffling and fumbling with his hair. He just can't sit still and it's really unlike him. He's usually as quiet as a mouse.

Becoming annoyed, everyone watches him, wondering what could possibly running through his head. "You okay?" Bruce asks as he moves again. Not only is it annoying, it's distracting. It had to be stopped.

"So, no one was gonna tell me, huh?" He asks with a soft glare, making eye contact with each of them.

Everyone furrows their eyebrows, glancing around. What's he talking about?

"I had to find out for myself. Nobody was gonna tell me." He continues as he watches them grow more and more confused.

"Alright, what are you talking about?" Tony asks for everyone. He was growing the most annoyed with this weird blame game Steve was playing. If it was something they did or rather didn't say, he wanted to know and get this over with.

Steve jumps to his feet, pointing at them. "When did the Dodgers move to LA?" He demands.

Everyone looks around at each other, trying not to laugh. That was it? Baseball?

"Well?" Steve persists as their laughs grow louder. "Come on, guys. When did they move?"

"They left Brooklyn in like the 50's, dude." Clint chuckles. Everyone thought that what he was implying was something important. Nothing as simple as the Dodgers leaving Brooklyn.

"Don't you guys think that would have been something to tell me? That's my team and now they're across the country!" He whines as everyone shakes their heads and laughs.

"Sorry, Steve. We'll make sure to tell you these things." Bruce smiles as they calm down.

"Thank you." He scoffs before exiting the room again.

Everyone's calmed down and Thor is the last one laughing, looking around at them. "Why were we laughing again?" He asks with grin.

xxx

"Hey, guys. I got a question." Steve says as they were working in the lab.

"Yeah, well, I got an answer." Tony replies, continuing to type on the computer.

"Does Peter ever smoke with you guys? I mean, I offer him one but he never takes it. Does he just not like me? Am I coming on too strong?" Steve asks. Everyone stops, staring at Steve with wide eyes. He feels heat rushing to his cheeks as he feels their eyes on him.

"You offer Peter cigarettes?" Tony exclaims, tossing out his arms to the side.

"Well, yeah. I wanna get to know the guy. Ya know. Stand outside. Have a smoke. Chat a little." Steve explains, talking with his hands.

"Cigarettes are terrible for you, man." Bruce says, shaking his head.

"Wait. What?"

"Not to mention illegal for Peter. The kid's only like 15." Clint adds before popping some food into his mouth.

"There's an age limit?"

"Wait, wait. Go back. How often do you do this?" Tony asks, slightly glaring.

"Every time he comes over. I offer him to come outside with me. I light a cigarette then offer him one but he always declines. I thought he just didn't like me." Steve says, clearly in distress as well.

"Steve, cigarettes are terrible for you. They like clog up your arteries and stuff. You shouldn't be smoking, let alone be offering it to children under the legal age." Natasha scolds.

"Nobody told me!" He scoffs. "I was always recommended it by my doctors to help with my colds and asthma."

"No. That's just, no. Totally wrong." Clint says, shaking his head.

"Are you trying to kill my intern?" Tony asks.

"No! I didn't know it was bad!" Steve defends, holding up his hands in surrender.

"Well, we can at least be thankful Peter has declined every time." Bruce says. Everyone quietly nods their heads except Steve. "Right?" Bruce asks when he sees Steve not agreeing.

"Well, the first time I asked he accepted." Steve begins slowly. "But he immediately put it out right in front of me. I took that as a sign he didn't like me so I left."

"Oh, Steve." Natasha sighs, shaking her head. She walks over, patting his shoulder. "You've got a lot to learn." She smiles.

"It would help if you guys would tell me things like this." He chuckles, making everyone else slightly laugh.

Thor continues laughing until he notices he's the last one. "What's this cigarette?" He asks with a grin.

xxx

"Really, guys. I thought we went through this." Steve says, entering the kitchen.

"Through what?" Natasha asks, popping up an eyebrow.

"You guys gotta tell me these things otherwise I feel like my world is just falling apart." He sighs, resting his hands on the counter.

"What's the matter?" She asks.

He takes a deep breath, shaking his head. "I just, this whole thing blows my mind." He continues with a chuckle. "How can you take out one of my organs and put it in someone else. And actually have it work like it should. Who figured this out?" He asked, pointing to his stomach then Natasha's.

"Yeah, organ transplants are pretty amazing." Bruce smiles, looking up from his meal. "It saves thousands of lives every year."

"Just wait till you hear about livers." Tony says, walking in and rising out a cup and leaving it to dry in the sink.

"What's special about livers?" Steve asks, clearly curious. The science of it all just caught his eye and he couldn't believe it was true.

"Well, they can grow back. People can have part of it cut off and then put that part into someone else. In both of them, the liver will regrow the other part it's missing." Tony says, leaning against the counter.

Steve's jaw nearly drops to floor. "Really?"

"It's possible, but most liver transplants are from the deceased like other transplants." Bruce says. He was glad to see Steve taking interest to this fascinating procedure. It really was hard to imagine, especially considering he grew up in a world without vaccines.

"Where did you stumble upon this information?" Clint asks, fumbling with the toothpick in his mouth.

"Since none of you told me, I found it on my own. It took a little bit, but I eventually got to a page taking about technology that changed the world. And, trust me, that changed my world." He says as Thor stands from his chair.

"I'm sure it did. It changed my life as well." Thor says, grabbing Steve's shoulder. "Well, it possibly would if I knew what an organ or a liver was."

~~~~~~~~~~

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