Living for Now

Before they knew it, a week had come and gone. Steve's mind was throbbing with all the new information he was gathering – from the multiple devices he was now using on a nearly day-to-day basis to the way society had changed as a whole, and Bridget couldn't help but feel sympathetic towards him. Unlike Steve, Bridget had been able to adapt to the change in time, move along with it as it went by, but he was being shunned into a brand new century without any knowledge of it, only having her as his safety net. Without her, Steve may not have been able to transition as smoothly as he did.

“Bridget?”

“Yes, Rogers?”

“Can you show me how to operate the microwave?”

Bridget looked up from her iPhone, noticing a light tint of pink spread across his cheeks in embarrassment. That was one thing they hadn't gotten around to – the microwave. There had been no need to use it during the past few days as they usually went out to eat so Bridget had never bothered teaching him.

“Sure,” she sighed out, rising from the living room couch and walking towards the kitchen, Steve following obediently behind. Setting down her phone atop the counter, she walked towards the machine. “What did you want to make?”

“Well, nothing at the moment, but I just want to know so I won't have to bother you in the future.” He replied. It was half of the truth, the other part being he really just wanted an excuse to talk and be around her more.

Looking around the kitchen, she looked for a bag of popcorn that she could use. As she searched, her phone's screen showed another alert.



Steve had noticed that alert popping up during the past few days. He was always curious as to what it meant, but he had dared not ask Bridget. He didn't want her to think that he was trying to pry or anything like that, however, his curiosity was getting the better of him as time had gone by.

“Found it,” she announced, reaching into a cabinet and pulling out a small pouch with plastic wrapped around it. The brunette tore off the wrapping and stashed the packet into the contraption after opening it up. “For popcorn, all you have to do is press this button and it'll automatically set itself to the amount of time it needs to cook.”

“Bridget?”

“Hm?” Bridget looked to Steve to give him her full attention, her expression looking rather soft compared to how she had always looked at him before.

“Your phone... what does that alert that always pops up mean?—The movement alert at 5478 Magnolia Road?”

Bridget stayed silent and her expression hardened, her brows furrowing and eyes narrowing as her lips formed a firm line. “That's my business, Rogers. You don't need to concern yourself with it.” She snapped. “I'll make you a chart so you know how long to cook certain foods.” With that, she stalked out of the kitchen out towards the balcony, grabbing her phone along the way.

His eyes stared at her in concern, his confidence slowly deteriorating as he was shot down. Why couldn't she tell him? What caused her to suddenly change her attitude? Why couldn't she let him in? He had so many more questions rushing in his mind, but those three were the most prominent. They were what caused him to lose sleep at night, what made him stare at her so wearily, but also what made him want to reach out to her, to remind her that he was there now for her to confide in.

Pressing the button she had pointed to on the microwave, he watched as the inside of the machine lit up, the small pack that was in there soon inflating, quaking with each pop of a kernel. As the microwave announced it was ready, he took it out, the aroma of melted butter wafting around him. After pouring the bag of popped kernels into a bowl, he threw away the bag and took one, popping it into his mouth to chew the fluffy piece of food.

Looking towards the balcony, his heart seemed to drop. His feet carried him to the door and out beside her instantly, his hand snatching away what she had and tossing it to the floor, the brunette yelling at him in anger as he stomped upon it, successfully putting out the cigarette.

“Rogers, what the hell are you doing?” She glared.

“You smoke? Bridget, you smoke? Why are you smoking? It's not good for you!”

“Oh, shut it, Rogers. You don't get to tell me what to do. I don't even smoke that often.”

“Bridget, it doesn't matter how often or not you do it. Smoking can kill you.”

“What does it matter to you?” She muttered, beginning to take out another from the pack in her back pocket.

As Steve watched her place the stick between her plump lips and begin to light up again, he could feel something begin to boil inside of him. His fists clenched tight and his brow furrowed together, his body trembling with anger. “Damn it, Bridget!” He yelled, taking the new cigarette from her mouth and tossing it to the ground to join the other one. Steve then ripped the pack out from her back pocket as well before stomping down on them with all his might. “It matters, Bridget! It matters one hell of a lot – especially to me!”

Bridget's eyes stared at him in shock. She had never before seen him lose his cool like that. It surprised her and even somewhat frightened her. The brunette wasn't sure of how to react to him.

Sighing, he ran a hand through his blond locks and sauntered towards the balcony's railing, using it to support him as he began to calm himself down while staring at the city below and around him.

“Bridge,” he began, goosebumps coming upon her skin as he called her by her old nickname. “You just don't get it. I still care for you. I still love you. You're still always on my mind. Nothing's changed for me. Seeing you smoke when it has the potential to hurt you hurts me, too. I don't want to see you hurt in any way possible. It hurts me much more than how you've been treating me for the past week.”

Bridget felt a bad feeling spread throughout her stomach – guilt, and she looked down at the floor, thankful that he wasn't staring at her. Then a thought struck her. Things may not have changed for him, but for her, her whole world had been put upside down. After she had given birth to Stephanie, everything was different. The normalcy she had once had, the life she had always dreamed of having, both were taken away from her in a matter of seconds when Peggy Carter had come knocking upon her door.

“Well, Rogers, you know what? Believe it or not, I think you're the person who has hurt me the most.” Steve turned around to face her and stared as she continued on. “I'm like this because of you. I'm here right now because of you. Do you think I ever wanted this for myself? I didn't want to play secret agent, Rogers. I just wanted a normal life, but I got this instead. I've seen all there is to see in this world, I've been through hell and back, and I've even killed people before because of where I am today. Do you really think that this was the type of life I wanted to lead?”

Steve was in disbelief as she ranted about her life up till now, his curiosity only growing stronger. He wanted to know, he needed to know what had happened to her. His body was beside hers in an instant, his arms wrapping around her form and bringing her into his own. “Bridget, I'm sorry. If I'm the one who caused this to happen to you then I'm so, so sorry.” He murmured into her silky hair, breathing in her familiar scent for the first time in what felt like an eternity.

“Your apology won't do anything, Rogers. You can't change the past.”

“I know, Bridget, but we have the future. I can be here for you from now on.”

“You can't promise that.”

“I know that, too, but that doesn't change the fact that I want to be with you from here on out. You just have to let me in, Bridget. I can, and want, to be here for you to rely on again. I want for us to go back to how we were, back to our glory days. Where it was only me and you.”

Bridget managed to pull herself away from the long embrace, keeping him at an arm's length as she stared at him. His blue eyes were clouded over with longing as he began to recall the past, and Bridget knew she had to stop him before he could convince her to give in. “They're called the glory days because they're in the past, Steven.”

“Well, I don't see why we can't make more to look back on in the future.”

The two stared at one another in a tense silence. Neither one could look away from the other, their gazes interlocked in a fierce stare that could surely carry on for the remainder of the evening. However, that wouldn't come to fruition as a voice soon broke out from the living room.

“Having a lovers' quarrel?”

Hearing his voice, Bridget snapped out of her trance-like state and pulled herself away from Steven's embrace in seconds, walking into the home like nothing had ever happened. “Fury, haven't you ever heard of knocking?”

“I have, but I find it faster to simply walk in.”

Ignoring his retort, she leaned up against the kitchen wall and looked at him expectantly. “So, what is it you want?”

“You.” Her brows came together and she motioned him to continue by giving him a nod in his direction. “You, Agent Hill, and I have some business to take care of. It's urgent so we'll be leaving immediately.”

Nodding her head, she disappeared into the hallway and into her room, returning only a minute or two later with a whole new ensemble. Instead of her usual blue jeans and v-neck blouse, she was wearing black, slim fit denim jeans with a plain white tee as she began to fix the shoulder gun holster she was putting on.

Steve couldn't help but stare at the two 9mm guns she had placed within them. It was like he was being slapped in the face by reality.

“Rogers,” she called, and he shook his head to get it on straight.

“Yeah?”

“I've been calling you for the last...” she sighed and shook her head, telling herself to not let it annoy her. “Nevermind. Toss me my jacket. It's right there.”

He looked to his side and saw her black leather jacket spread across the sofa, and he tossed it to her like she had asked. She slipped it on with ease, the piece of clothing masking her guns perfectly and she nodded to Fury.

“Let's go.” He nodded back.

“Have take out like usual, Rogers. There's money in the kitchen drawer.”

The pair began to head towards the door and Steve walked after Bridget. “Hey,” he took hold of her wrist and she turned to face him.

“I don't have time for this, Rogers.” She muttered.

“Just think about what I said, okay?”

Bridget shook her wrist free of him, not giving him an answer as she made her way into the elevator, the doors sliding close right after she entered and leaving her and Fury in silence.

“Trouble in paradise, Spencer?” He questioned, referring back to her and Steve's earlier argument.

“Shut it, Patchy.” Bridget replied, making a reference to his eye-patch and causing Fury to roll his eye at her retort.

Bridget wasn't in the mood to deal with his smartass remarks.