Work Text:
She waits by Bethesda Fountain.
It’s taken literally months to set up this meeting. He’s not an easy man to contact. Jessica scoured the Internet, then Mattie resorted to asking Frank for help from the guy who found the IGH files in the first place. Even Micro had difficulty getting in touch.
But then Micro got a message, relayed it via Frank to Mattie, and here she is, sitting on the edge of the fountain, her fingers trailing in the water. It’s crowded on the terrace, kids running around, tourists taking photos. She resists the urge to hide her face, flip up her hood (even though she’s not wearing a hoodie).
The fountain always reminds her of undergrad, when Foggy took a drama elective and had to learn the epilogue from Angels in America. He’d loved the scene, loved the play, insisted on reading parts of it out to her, and she’d appreciated the richness of the language and imagery.
This angel. She’s my favorite angel, Foggy would recite, speaking of the statue at the centre of the fountain. I like them best when they’re statuary. They commemorate death but they suggest a world without dying. They are made of the heaviest things on earth, stone and iron, they weigh tons but they’re winged, they are engines and instruments of flight.
Mattie can appreciate something that embodies contradiction.
She’d recognize the heartbeat anywhere. She’s never heard another like it; well, that would be true anyway, she can tell anyone’s heartbeat apart, but this one is special. So slow and steady, a bass note when most of humanity lives in the treble range.
He sits next to her, companionably.
“Hi,” he says.
“Hi, Roger,” she says. He chuckles.
“Never gonna live that down, am I?”
She shrugs. “It’s as good a name as any.”
He pauses.
“You look really good.”
“Wish I could say the same,” she says with a smile. She nods towards the terrace. “Your friend, the one who’s watching us. That Black Widow, or Scarlet Witch?”
There’s a pause, and she hears the crackle of a voice in his ear: “Steve, you’re the one who knows her. It’s your call.”
“Black Widow,” Steve Rogers says. Mattie nods.
“She’s the one who didn’t want us meeting at the gym?”
“She thought it was too confined, not enough sightlines.”
She nods again. “I always did like this place.” She flicks some water at Steve, and he laughs.
“And your friend? The one with the leather jacket?” he says, and Mattie can hear Jessica start from her position on the bench across the way.
“My partner. Sort of. She was involved in all of this.”
“OK. You want to take a walk?”
“Sure.”
She tucks her hand into his elbow and lets him guide her up to the top of the terrace. Natasha Romanoff keeps a respectful distance, but clearly a watchful eye. As they walk, Mattie pulls the USB key from her pocket and slips it into Steve’s hand.
“That’s everything we have on the IGH experiments,” she says softly. “I thought…I thought you should know. They were trying to recreate Project Rebirth. Trying to recreate you, I guess. Seems they got at least part of the way there.”
“Thanks.” The USB disappears into his pocket as he shakes his head. “Can’t say I like the idea of the government having super-soldiers right now.”
“Yeah, I can see that,” she says lightly. “Last thing I’d want is Thunderbolt Ross having a superpowered goon squad at his beck and call.”
“Did you - have you…”
“I haven’t sent a copy to the Avengers,” she says quietly. “Not yet. I’ll leave that up to you.”
They’ve reached the top of the terrace, and Steve stops.
“You know, the last time I was here, we were sending Thor and Loki back to Asgard - all of us, together,” he says.
“Lot’s happened since then.”
“Yeah. You ever wish…” He trails off.
“What?”
“Nah, it’s just - sometimes I wish we did get that drink.”
She smiles. “Would it have changed anything?”
He holds her at arm’s length, and she guesses he must be regarding her.
“Might’ve been able to find you, after,” he says. “Or ask you to join the Avengers.”
She tries not to look taken aback. “Why would you do that?” she says, proud that her voice is steady.
He steps forward and leans down, and breathes “Daredevil” into her ear. She keeps her face neutral.
“I always guessed,” he says. “After the Fisk case, especially. You would’ve been great. Guess I missed my chance, though.”
“I would’ve said no.”
“Really?”
She tilts her head to the crowd beneath them, to the city around them. “Too much to do here.” She lets go of his arm, but he catches her hand. It’s her left hand, and he turns it to see her rings.
“You got married,” he says.
“I did.”
He squeezes her hand. “He makes you happy?”
She smiles then. “Yeah, he really does.”
“Good. I’m glad.” There’s no waver to his heartbeat.
She tugs on his hand, and steps in so she can lean up on her toes and kiss his cheek. He’s grown a beard, since the last time she did that.
“I know things are tough for you right now,” she says, “but if you need anything, you know how to find me.”
She feels his cheek move against hers as he smiles.
“We’ll keep an eye out for you,” he says, stepping back. “Take care of yourself.”
“You too.”
He melts into the crowd, Romanoff slipping next to him. She can hear them quietly discussing the pros and cons of sending a copy to Tony Stark.
“Did I hear that right?” Jessica says next to her. “You had a thing with Captain Fucking America?”
“It was never a thing,” Mattie says. “And it was a long time ago.”
He was just a ship that passed in the night.