Teach Me How to Read These Broken Lines

Charlie took her good ol' time making her way to the living room. She even stopped by her room to shower, after pretending that she was lost to take even longer. By the time she made it to see Steve, he was just getting up from his spot on the couch.

"I was starting to think you weren't going to see me," He admitted, rubbing the back of his neck out of nervousness and uncertainty.

"I was debating if I should, to be honest," Charlie admitted, feeling a bit awkward herself. She sat down in the empty lounge chair, letting out a small sigh. "But I should at least give you at chance, Gram would've wanted that."

Steve nodded his head and silence took over, neither knowing what to say. After what felt like an eternity, he cleared his throat as though the words would get stuck in his throat before he could get them out, "You look so much like her, you know." She did. When he first saw her, before it was announced she was his granddaughter, he noticed the resemblance to Peggy right away. It was remarkable, really.

"With your blue eyes," She smiled a bit at the memory of her grandmother. "She told me that all the time, 'You and your father have his blue eyes, I loved his blue eyes.'"

He smiled sadly at her memory, wishing he could have been there to grow old with her. "Tell me about him, your father, I mean. Is he still alive?"

"No, thank god." When she saw the horrified look spread across Steve's face, she sighed. "Look, I'm sorry, okay? But your son was far from a good person. He drank his life away, though he rarely got the effects of it. He drove my mom to leave and put me through hell when she was gone, especially after Gram died."

Steve blinked, dumbstruck. "I-I'm so sorry, Charlie." He didn't know what he should say, or could say.

Charlie shrugged, trying to play that this didn't bother her anymore. "He just couldn't take the pressure of living in your shadow I guess. I mean you are Captain America. Look, I"m gonna go to bed, it's been a long day...night Pops."

She practically ran out of the room before Steve could comprehend what she said, leaving him to mumble a goodnight after she was already half way down the hall. Instead of going to sleep like she'd said, she grabbed her guitar out of her room and headed to the roof. At least there she could clear her mind.

~~~

"This is wrong." Jess mumbled, though her eyes were fixed on the computer screen.

"It's not wrong per-say. We're just learning about our new roomy." It had been Tony's idea to watch Charlie and Steve's talk, quite frankly something about Spangles' granddaughter caught his attention and he wanted to know more.

Bruce shook his head from across the room. "It's an invasion of privacy."

"Are you trying to tell me you aren't the least bit curious?" Clint questioned.

"I am, but this isn't right. I thought you knew her from her past encounters with SHIELD anyway?"

Clint shrugged in response. "That was before I knew she was Cap's long, lost granddaughter."

"I didn't know she was either," Johnny piped up from his spot in the corner of the room. He wasn't watching the screen, but he could hear it from his spot.

Tony glanced over his shoulder, raising an eyebrow at the Human Torch. "What's your deal anyway?"

Ben, who had been quiet up until this point, decided to explain."They were-"

"She was with us, dating him," Sue cut him off, motioning over to her brother. "And she left. Without a word. We hadn't seen her, or ever heard from her until today."

Ignoring the various comments from the others and his sister, Johnny let out a small sigh, shifting his gaze to the ground. If only they knew...

~~~

"You play guitar?" Tony's voice nearly made Charlie jump out of her skin. She obviously hadn't heard the billionaire come up onto the roof.

"Fuck you Stark," She glared over at him, causing him to chuckle. "And yes, it would appear that way, wouldn't it?"

Tony took the seat beside her, still chuckling to himself. "Nobody likes a smartass."

"Is that so?"

He shrugged in response. "That's what they tell me anyway. Mind if I join you?" Not giving her a chance to reply and not really caring if she said no, he sat down beside her anyway. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Didn't you just ask me like four already?"

Tony rolled his eyes. "..there you go with the smartass-ness again."

Charlie chuckled, a small smile creeping on her face. She slowly nodded her head. "Only one. I'm kinda questioned out."

"Fair enough," Tony knew how much questioning she'd been through today, whether she knew he knew or not. "Whats up with you and Flamerboy?"

"You caught that huh?" Upon receiving a nod, she sighed. "Before I answer, answer me something Stark, were you ever in a relationship? Like a one hundred percent serious one?"

Though he was taken back for a moment, he quickly regained himself. "One."

She nodded her head, "Well...me too. I met Johnny when I was nineteen, I was still working for SHIELD and I was assigned to help the Fantastic Four. Things between us started pretty fast, and I fell hard. It was the first and only serious relationship I've ever been in. ...He popped the question..and I found out he was cheating on me a week later."

"Daaaaamn." Was all that managed to come out of his mouth.

"Yuuuuuuup," She said, popping the 'p'. She grabbed her guitar, returning it to it's case and stood up. "That's enough, Q&A for today. I'm heading off to bed, goodnight Stark."

"Night, Little Spangles."

Once she was down the stairs and heading down the hallway to her room, she pulled out her cell phone to call Penny. She was sure her roommate was worried about her. Penny didn't answer however, instead she got her boyfriend Leonard.

"What's wrong Charlie?" Leonard quickly picked up on his friend's discontent.

"..Leonard, today's been hell. I feel like I'm on some bad reality tv show or something."