CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE —
( Don't test me, Rogers. )

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Evelyn Parrish woke up with someone dipping the bed beside her. She didn't need to open her eyes to know Steve had just woken up. She peeked one eye open and saw him getting changed, then closed her eye and let out a groan.

"You going out running again?" She asked him, her voice groggy and horse.

"Yeah, just near the Washington Monument," he told her. "I'll be back by eight."

Evelyn groaned before sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "I'll go, too," she told him.

Steve grinned and leaned over to place a kiss on her head. "Great. I'll see you out there." Steve stood up and exited the bedroom.

Evelyn sighed before climbing out of bed and grabbing the first pair of leggings and a sports bra she could find. She quickly and quietly slipped them on before throwing her hair into a bun and spraying deodorant. She left her room and grabbed a breakfast juice from the fridge before exiting the apartment.

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Due to the super soldier serum pumping through his veins, Steve Rogers was one hell of a runner. His legs moved incredibly well together as he moved them at an incredible speed around the park. Evelyn watched on for a bit as she sipped on her breakfast juice.

"Never been here before?" A voice suddenly asked.

Evelyn quickly turned to her side and saw an unknown dark-skinned man approach her. Judging by his posture and the genuine smile on his face, Evelyn instantly knew that the man meant no harm to anyone. So, she relaxed back into her normal posture.

"Never been running around this park before," Evelyn replied.

The two watched on as Steve sped past them.

"He's been doing this daily for the past month," the man said. "Gets here at five on the dot and sprints laps of this park until eight. I don't know how he does it."

"Well, he can't really...he doesn't..." Evelyn changed her posture as she pondered over what to tell the stranger. "He has trouble sleeping and staying asleep, I guess."

"I understand. Going through the same thing myself," he said.

Evelyn frowned and turned to him before noticing the logo planted on his breast.

"I try to help him with it because I have experience, but—" Evelyn sighed deeply. "It'll take time."

Evelyn noticed Steve beginning to approach them again, so she smiled lightly as she turned back to the man. "It was nice talking to you," she told him.

He smiled back. "You, too."

Evelyn jogged down to the bin and threw in the empty breakfast juice bottle before jogging down the path. No sooner than one minute later, Evelyn could hear feet approaching and turned back to see Steve slowing down to jog beside her, not a bead of sweat on him.

Evelyn shook her head. "You're crazy."

Steve let out a short laugh. "What part of me is crazy?"

"The fact that you don't sweat part," she said. "Normal people sweat. It's a part of life."

"I'm not a normal person, am I?" he smiled.

"Neither am I," Evelyn said. "However, there was that one time I saw you sweat," she thought lightly. "The first time you ever saw me naked, and we—"

"Okay. Yes. I remember that," Steve said, his cheeks finally turning red. "I had every right to."

"It was adorable of you," Evelyn grinned.

"Remind me again how you lost yours?" Steve asked a small smirk.

Evelyn slightly narrowed her eyes. "Don't test me, Rogers."

"Wouldn't dream of it, Parrish."

Steve decided to push ahead and began to run. Evelyn, not taking his shit anymore, began to run after him, quickly catching up.

"I'm still stronger than you, Mr America," Evelyn told him, easily keeping in time with his running.

"You wish."

Steve once again pushed ahead.

"Was that a challenge?" He didn't reply, but Evelyn could hear his laughter fade away. "You're on."

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Evelyn collapsed onto the grass with a huff and just stared up at the blue sky. "Forty laps in two hours," she breathed out. She then threw her fists up. "Victorious."

Steve chuckled lightly as he approached her, hands on his hips as he caught his breath. "I let you win."

"No you didn't," Evelyn replied quickly. Her stomach then made a loud noise, and she frowned as the sun shone in her eyes. "Now I'm hungry." She held her hand up. "Want to go to the cafe down the road?"

Steve grabbed her hand and hauled her up. "I didn't bring any money."

Evelyn pulled her card from out of her leggings pocket. "Don't worry. I've supplied us."

Steve hummed lightly before Evelyn grabbed his hand and they began to walk to the cafe. When they arrived they took a seat at a table that sat outside of it. Evelyn grabbed the menu and let her eyes skim over the details before handing it to Steve.

Steve raised an eyebrow in response. "You've already decided?" he asked.

"Scrambled eggs on toast with a Cappuccino. Easy," She said with a small smile. "I'm easy when it comes to breakfast."

Steve hummed before looking down at his menu. "I've got it," he said after a few short moments. He closed his menu and stood up, before walking over towards the counter to order their food.

Evelyn's phone suddenly chimed, so she pulled it out and looked down at the message she received.

NAT: We're receiving massive weather changes on our radar back at work. Boss reckons it's the god of hammers. Are you expecting him?

Evelyn frowned as she searched for her uncle but didn't see him anywhere.

EVE: No??? He's not with me, and I haven't seen him since New York

NAT: Boss reckons that he's gone off to visit his gf

EVE: Well, Evelyn reckons that boss should let the god of hammers be

NAT: Natalia agrees. Man's a god. He can do what he wants

EVE: Exactly! Btw, I hope you're having fun at work

NAT: Eat a patriot

Evelyn let out a chuckle before Steve walked back over to the table. "Having fun without me?" he asked with a smile as he handed Evelyn her coffee.

"Oh, no. Definitely not," Evelyn grinned as she took it. "It's just Nat anyway."

"I thought she was at a conference?" He said.

"She is, but this is Nat we're talking about, a super spy who could probably text me without anyone noticing, even though she's in a room with about ten other spies," Evelyn chuckled. "And she just did it to notify me that Fury thinks Thor's in town."

Steve frowned. "Really?"

Evelyn nodded. "The radars are showing the same signals as when Thor arrived in New Mexico and on the Quinjet when we had Loki."

Steve hummed as he sipped his juice, and Evelyn lightly frowned as she watched him zone out and stare into the distance. Evelyn rested her elbows on the table and placed her head in her hands.

"Wanna talk about it?" She asked him.

Steve's gaze flickered back to her before he sighed. "It's just the same," he admitted. "It started with you, me and Bucky laughing and enjoying ourselves, and then the next minute, the two of you are falling off the train."

Evelyn reached across the table to grab his hand, reassuringly squeezing it. "Steve, what happened wasn't your fault. It was HYDRA's, not yours."

"I know, I just can't help but feel guilty," Steve sighed. "My best friend died, and the woman I love was taken and turned into an assassin."

Evelyn let out a sigh before retreating her hand just as a bright light illuminated the park just beside them, and a beam shot into the ground, causing some people to run away from it as others took photos. Evelyn and Steve shared looks before standing up and bolting over towards the light.

They quickly hurried into the park, where a large group of pedestrians stood around with their phones out, either recording or taking photos of what was happening. Once Evelyn and Steve finally made their way through the crowd, Evelyn was pleasantly shocked at noticing who was in the middle of it all.

"Thor!" Evelyn called out, watching as the God of Thunder turned around to face her with another person with him. "Jane?"

Jane's face instantly brightened upon seeing a familiar face. "Evelyn?" She asked, walking up to her. "Hey, it's been a while."

"Yeah, since New Mexico," Evelyn said. She then held her arm out towards Steve. "Jane, this is Steve Rogers. Steve, this is Thor's girlfriend, Jane Foster."

Steve pulled on a smile. "It's nice to meet you, ma'am."

Jane nodded back at him. "You, too."

Evelyn then frowned as she looked between her and Thor as the god walked up to them. "What're you two doing here?"

"You said that next time I returned to Midgard, I could take you up to Asgard," Thor said as he stood beside Jane.

Evelyn raised her eyebrows. "You're here to take me to Asgard?" Thor nodded and smiled. "Thank you so much!" Evelyn gave Thor a massive hug, one that made him stumble backwards a bit.

"Evelyn..." Steve said quietly, frowning at them. Evelyn turned towards Steve and noticed the uneasy expression on his face.

"We'll give you two a minute," Jane told them before she and Thor walked away.

"Evelyn," Steve sighed as he grabbed her hands.

Evelyn raised an eyebrow. "Steven," she copied.

"I think this is a bad idea..." he started.

"If you think this is a bad idea, come with me," Evelyn countered.

"To another planet?" He asked hesitantly. "I don't think I'm ready for that kind of adventure yet."

"But I am. I have to go. This is the planet where my father grew up on," she reminded him. "I will be alright. And Thor will be with me the entire time. Everything will be alright."

Steve sighed, held his arms out, and gave Evelyn a massive hug, his arms going around her back as Evelyn's went around his waist. He then pulled away and looked down at Evelyn, who smiled at him. "Be safe."

Evelyn smiled back. "Always," she told him. "Just let Fury know I won't be at work."

Steve chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, of course."

Evelyn placed a soft kiss on his lips before walking back over towards Thor and Jane. He held onto the two women and looked up at the sky. "Make sure you hold on," he told them. Suddenly, a big orange light blasted down onto them and pulled them up.