IT DIDN'T HAPPEN. That was what Rhett told himself as he unlocked the deadbolts to let Nicky in, avoiding all the questions thrown his way, shaking his head and going back to his room, finally able to sleep.

It was what he told himself when he texted Steve later that night, asking if he wanted to watch the movies as it was a Saturday and the work he had could be put off. What he told himself when the man didn't reply right away, trying to remind himself that he was working and that he was fine.

It was what he told himself when the plan was set, forcing himself to be as excited as he would have been under any other circumstance. Captain America was coming over to his apartment, this was exciting.

He tried to quell the rising fear in his chest every time he closed his eyes, keeping all the lights on throughout the night, pretending to sleep when Nicky knocked on his door, asking if he wanted to eat.

He didn't know when he fell asleep, but it was a blissful, dreamless sleep. An empty that he once feared, but so deeply needed.

º º º

Steve tried to get as much rest as he could before he had to head over to Rhett's apartment. He had been texted the address when the plan was set while he was at work, something that he had been chastised for by one of his friends behind the bar.

"No sexting at work," she had joked, and he just rolled his eyes and pocketed the phone.

He had refrained from asking the man if he was alright, as it was clear through the texts that he wanted to avoid the topic as much as possible; it wasn't in his place to ask, not yet at least.

So there he was, waking up seven hours after he had gotten off of work at four, checking his phone and finding no messages from Rhett, but a missed call and a text from Sam, two texts from Tony, and a text from Wanda.

The text from Wanda was a check in, a long paragraph about how she was doing and various questions about how he was, asking if he had heard from Tony and if he was doing alright. He replied easily enough, smiling at her story about how she was using her powers to help with the chores around the farm.

The texts from Tony were regular check-ins, asking how he was doing, along with a quick mention of a news article saying that an unidentified man had punched a Nazi during a small outbreak a few days before.

from: Tony (8:43 am)
I don't wanna get mad at you
for this, but seriously? You're
supposed to be laying low

to: Tony (11:13 am)
He's a Nazi, Tony

from: Tony (11:18 am)
Yeah good point. Stay safe Cap

to: Tony (11:18 am)
You too Tony

He opened Sam's text without reading it, calling him instead. He went about making himself some breakfast—or lunch, as it was nearing noon—waiting until Sam picked up at the second ring.

"What's the plan today, man?" Sam asked, in lieu of a greeting, "Just stay at home, maybe do some sketching, be an old man?"

Steve laughed softly, shaking his head. "Actually, I'm gonna go watch a movie. Several movies."

"You got some DVD's?" Sam asked, surprised, "I thought all the Blockbusters had closed down. Do you even have a player?"

Steve laughed again, happy to hear the man's voice. "No, and I'm not watching alone. I was invited over to a friend's, I'm not sure what we'll watch, but I'm sure it'll be good."

"A friend?" Sam asked, surprised, "Uh, who is this 'friend?'"

"It's not like that," Steve drawled, rolling his eyes, "We just met at a coffee shop, we've been just sitting together for a couple'a weeks, now we're talking."

"A couple of—Steve, what have you not been telling me?" Sam cried, laughing, "Man, you gotta fill me in more. What's she like?"

"Familiar," he replied instantly, unsure why he was humoring him, "Familiar and nice. Very tall. Blond. He's alright."

"Oh," Sam said, pausing, "Oh! Oh, nice!"

"Like I said, it's not like that," Steve warned.

"I hear your voice, I bet you're doing that smile. The one where you're lying, but you want me to know you're lying. Have fun, lover boy, call me when it's over, I want details, life's so boring now," Sam said, laughing into the receiver.

Steve smiled at the sound, wishing that he could be there in person. "Bye, Sam. Stay safe."

The laughter quieted, leaving the kind voice of a man Steve sorely missed. "You too, Steve."

Steve sighed and got ready, checking to make sure he hadn't received any texts from Rhett. Nothing. It was odd, but not completely outlandish, so he quelled the rising suspicion and got ready; hopefully everything was fine.

He decided to walk, seeing as their apartments weren't as far away as they could have been. It was a wonder how he was able to afford the rent that he split with Tony, though he was beyond thankful that he was able to come back home. Even if it came at a price.

He neared the building, looking up and squinting against the midday sun; it was nice. He found the gate, searching for the buzzer labeled GREEN + REISER.

Pressing it, he listened, waiting for some indication that he could come in. After about a minute of silence, he was about to press again when there was a response.

"Hi! I'm guessing you're the person the door's being kept unlocked for, so just head on up, I hope you're not here to kill us, because you're gonna be royally fucked up, let me tell you."

Steve blinked at the gate as it buzzed open, reaching out and opening it just before it locked once again, stepping inside and making his way towards the stairs, going up to the floor he had been told, searching for the right number, double checking the text.

He warily stood in front of it for a moment, hearing muffled voices from the other side. He had a strange feeling that this wasn't going to be as normal as he had been expecting.

He opened the door, peering in. It was a nice apartment, really. There was a dining table in the middle, a small set of armchairs towards the right side, the other being the kitchen with a counter and some barstools on the other side. On the farthest end was the living area where there were a series of couches.

It all looked very cosy and he felt safe in the room, as odd as it sounded.

He stepped inside and closed the door, locking the lock that was on the door, trying not to pay attention the series of deadbolts that littered one side of the door.

He was about to speak when a small sound caught his attention. Turning towards the kitchen, he saw a quick movement, sending him on the defensive, instantly suspicious, ready to fight if needed.

In a flash, a blonde teenage girl popped up from the floor of the kitchen, grinning up at him from behind the counter. "Hi!"

He startled, immediately raising a hand to his face, realizing he hadn't been wearing his glasses. "Hi."

She stared at him for a moment before realization dawned on her. She gasped, staggering backwards into the refrigerator, covering her mouth as she squealed. "Holy shit, you're Captain America! Peter! Peter, get over here!"

Steve stared in shock as she raced into a room which he hadn't seen, on the left of the living room, disappearing for a moment before dragging out a very startled looking teenage boy who was frantically looking about the room, trying to unlatch from her grip.

"Jeez, Diana, what's going on—" he stopped, voice caught as he stared right at Steve, opening and closing his mouth, "I need to leave right now, immediately."

He started to run towards the windows by the couch, only to be tackled by the girl, shouting as she pinned him down. "Peter Parker, you are not running away from this, I swear to—wait here."

She jumped to her feet, turning all of her attention to Steve with a bright, clearly nervous smile. "Hi! I'm Diana. Are you the surprise Rhett told us about?"

Steve blinked. "Rhett told you about me?"

"Well, he said he had a surprise," the boy, Peter, said, rising to his feet, fidgeting as he stood behind the smaller girl, "I am very surprised. Uh..." he gave a salute, dropping his arm awkwardly, "I don't know, is that something I should still do, I mean you're still sort of a Captain, right? I don't wanna be disrespectful or anything."

Steve couldn't help but laugh, waving him off. "You're fine, son."

Despite the two knowing his identity, knowing that he was in the city, he didn't feel unsafe. It wasn't the familiarity he had when he first spoke to Rhett, but it was the understanding that, if anything, these kids still saw him as a positive figure. It was almost as if everything was still okay.

"This is my boyfriend," Diana said, pushing Peter forward, the boy stumbling, landing less than two feet away from Steve, looking up at him with wide eyes, "You've met before."

"Nice to see you again," Steve said, sticking out his hand, "Remind me, where do I know you from?"

Peter began to stutter, turning back to look at Diana with wide eyes, hand outstretched but not in Steve's, like he was afraid to take it. The man decided to shake his, surprised by the firm grip the boy had, despite his fear; it was almost painful, if he was being honest.

"Nice grip," he commented, pulling away, "Sorry, where do I know you from?"

"Uh..." Peter began.

"You punched him in the face!" Diana chirped, grinning widely.

Steve stared down at the boy, shocked. "I'm sorry, I would never—"

"He stole your shield," she continued, "And you punched him in the face. Here, he has a video of it, actually." She reached into her pocket, fishing out her phone. "This is the greatest day of my life, I'm talking to Captain America, I should film this."

"I'm sorry, wait," Steve said, rubbing his face and pointing down at Peter, "You're the kid I was fighting?" He looked him up at down, shaking his head; the kid was scrawny, small and lithe, no way was he able to handle what he had dropped on him.

He was a kid.

"It's a long story," Peter sighed, "Listen, Mr. America, I'm sorry that we started on the wrong foot, I think you're a great hero and I hope you don't hate me, I was just doing what Mr. Stark said, I didn't know, but I hear you two are good now, so are we good?"

Steve patted his shoulder, walking towards the middle of the room, taking a deep breath. "Yeah, kid, we're good. Uh, where's Rhett?"

"He's sleeping," Diana said, "He didn't get much sleep, but he'll wake up in a bit. In the meantime, you wanna help me with this history assignment I have due?"

Steve blinked down at her, casting a questioning glance to her boyfriend who shrugged. "Nicky gave her something new that he and Reed Richards wanted to try out, it's just made her really energetic and left her without much of a filter. It's kinda cute."

"I'm not cute, I can destroy you," she argued, marching over to him, standing on her tiptoes in an effort to be taller.

Peter smiled, kissing her quickly before moving back towards the other room. "I gotta finish this before Nicky shows up, I'll be back."

"Okay," she said, watching him go before looking back up at Steve, slightly more subdued, "Okay, it's wearing off, I need to write down the time. On another note, how are you, Mr. Rogers, what are you doing back in the states, isn't it dangerous for you?"

"Tony said it would be safe enough for us to come back, since the public doesn't care too much and General Ross has bigger fish to fry," he explained, finding that there was no harm in confiding in a teenager as she had no one important to report to, and no one who would really listen, "It's tough, but he's helped me out a lot. I go by another name, wear glasses that alter my appearance slightly, I'm getting by."

"I'm glad you're back," she said, smiling, "Tony told me that he'd been working on patching stuff up with you for a while. You're important to him, you know."

Steve smiled at that. "Yeah, well, he's important to me too." He motioned towards the door where Peter had disappeared into. "So. You're dating the kid, huh? What's he call himself, Spider-Man? I saw what he had done, he's a good kid. Were you the other one flying behind him?"

She laughed softly, running a hand through her hair. "Yeah...we don't talk about that. I don't do what you do, that was a fluke. I mean, I still have the stuff, but I'm more of a medic than I am a hero, you know?"

She paused for a moment before continuing, "But, yeah, we're dating. It's kinda great. We have a system that keeps him safe and not dying from infections. I get paid in kisses and homework. It's good."

Steve couldn't help but laugh. "Kids these days?"

She scoffed. "This is the first time I actually feel like I can be a proper kid. Life was...rough after The Incident."

Before he could ask what she meant, they heard one of the door to their right open, both turning to find Rhett stepping out quickly, haphazardly dressed and disheveled, jumping slightly when he caught sight of the two blondes.

"Shit, sorry, Steve. Here, have a seat, you want a drink. Food?" he asked, rushing to the kitchen, motioning to one of the couches.

"A water, if that's alright, thanks," Steve said, smiling at him reassuringly, watching as Diana sat down on the couch as well, looking very at home.

"Why didn't you tell us that he was the surprise?" she whined, looking at the man from over the back of the couch.

"Because you wouldn't have believed me," he said, rolling his eyes, "And honestly, after the stunt you pulled last night, you don't deserve this surprise. Seriously? Breaking into the science museum?"

"It was our anniversary! We had to!" she cried, throwing up her arms, "Bugs, tell him!"

Peter poked his head out of the other room, completely deadpan. "I was forced to assist against my will, I had no say in the act and I refuse to support anything she has to say."

Steve watched with a smile as Diana made a noise of pure offense, jumping to her feet and running to the door, jumping on the poor boy just before he was able to close it. From the way he caught her, laughing, Steve had a feeling he purposefully left it open a few seconds longer, closing it behind her.

"They're interesting," Steve commented, pointing to the door where muffled voices could still be heard.

"Yeah," Rhett laughed, handing him the glass of water, "But they're great. Peter tell you who he is?"

"Yeah," he said, shaking his head, "Damn. I can't—I can't believe that's who he is. It's different when you're fighting, you focus on the goal. I wasn't even fully sure if he was a kid even when he was talking, he was just so strong. But seeing him here, a teenager. He's so small, reminds me of me, really. Well, except for the girlfriend, but times have changed."

Rhett laughed at that, throwing his head back as he sat next to the man on the couch. "Speaking of, you have a list of movies? I can set up the TV, it's stowed away right now."

"Yeah, I do. Um...here, why don't you just take your pick," he said, pulling out the notebook and handing it to him, placing his hands on his legs, feeling a little out of place.

"Ooh, you haven't seen any Star Trek? Gosh, uh...damn, I wanna show you the new ones, but there's so much lore with the old ones, I'm not so sure. You know, I'll just explain them to you," he mumbled, glancing back towards him briefly, searching around for a remote.

"I'm fine with that," Steve said, raising an eyebrow when the man raised a remote above his head triumphantly, flopping down next to him on the couch, pressing a few of the buttons.

Motioning to the windows they were facing, he asked, "What's the remote for, and should we move?" He looked around for a TV, only to find that there was nothing there.

Rhett merely held up a finger, never taking his eyes off the remote as he fiddled with the buttons, biting his bottom lip. Steve stared at him, wondering just what was going to happen. He was about to open his mouth and ask another question when he heard a whirring sound, startling him.

He watched as metal blinds appeared on the windows, blocking out all the light, drenching the room in darkness. He fisted his hands in the couch, suspicious and afraid, only for his fear to devolve into awe when he saw a small hole in the floor appear, a TV instantly appearing.

"H-how—" he began, gawking, and Rhett shrugged.

"My roommate's kind of like Tony Stark, only less rich," he explained, "He's a psychologist, but he also designs tech. The TV's paper thin, holographic, I think, a lot like Stark tech. He fiddled with the layout of the place, I think. Here, let me get the other remote, all our stuff's digital."

"Are you allowed to mess with the walls?" Steve asked, looking at the floor and the ceiling, connecting them to other people's housing.

Rhett scoffed, searching around for the other remote. "What they don't know, won't hurt 'em. Besides, we've lived here since before The Incident, we keep this place running."

"You were here for The Incident," Steve said, more of a statement, than a question. He glanced towards the room where they kids were, thinking. "She was too."

"Yeah..." Rhett drawled, standing up straight, the other remote in hand, "That's her story to tell, I think. But she was affected dramatically by that. Me, I was just here. Didn't do much, unfortunately."

Steve didn't know what to say to that. He just looked at him, wondering why a civilian seemed so upset at not being able to do what he and his team had barely been able to. Rhett glanced at him briefly before looking away.

"Here, let's watch," he said, pulling up the movie quickly, "I'm gonna make some popcorn, do you like anything on it?"

He thought for a moment. "Sometimes, Sam likes to put extra butter and have M&M's on the side, though I don't know if you like that."

Rhett's grin seemed to light up the completely dark room, brighter than the dull glow from the dark TV screen. "That sounds amazing."

Steve smiled back, watching him move around the kitchen, getting the popcorn ready, talking about something that Steve wasn't paying much attention to, if he was being honest.

The man felt his stare and whirled around quickly, staring at him with wide, fearful eyes. Steve frowned slightly, changing it into a reassuring smile. Rhett's terror melted away into one of relief and something else that he couldn't describe, before turning back to his work.

Steve just continued to smile, seemingly unable to stop when he was looking at the other man. He could already hear Sam hollering at him through the phone.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

( 12.04.17 )

I MISSED MY DAUGHTER, DID YOU? Ah, it's so much different writing her from another person's perspective, and she felt a lot different than she was before, but she is happier and I'm just so happy to have her back.

I know that Steve and Rhett have only been talking for a week, knowing each other for a total of three weeks, give or take, and they will have more bonding time, but it won't be as long as Diana and Peter had; really, it's not that much shorter, if I'm being completely honest, but we'll just have to see. (For the record, the date is October 18, as their anniversary of the Pluto thing was October 17 (I know the days don't match up with normal calendar changes, but shush))

Also, for the record, at the time of writing this, the Infinity War trailer came out just yesterday, and I have not watched it, and most likely will not, but I'm almost 99.9% sure that the setting of this story does not work with canon, but you know, I'll make it work (I already made it so Tony and Steve are talking again and such so...)

Anyways! I don't have much to say so...thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!