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Steve had spent so much time in A.R.G.U.S Headquarters in Hungary that he had lost track of the week. What he thought was Tuesday turned out to be Saturday, and then finding out that September ended two weeks ago really made him question his sanity.
It was easy for field agents to lose track though. They’d fly across the international dateline and back again for a mission. They’d coordinate across 4 different timezones hours apart. “Military Time” in a way had its uses. But there was no “Military Day”, “Week”, or “Month” to really get a handle on time.
He would catch back up on simple life reality after a nights’ rest in his apartment in Washington D.C. After rest, some psych evals, and paperwork, he would be on the next airlift out to some other country again.
It sounded painstaking, but such was Steve Trevor’s life at this point.
Still, when he returned home, and dipped into bed, he felt the day’s strain like any other man. He had not much thought other than showering, changing into some comfortable night clothes and pulling back the covers of his recently neglected bed. He hadn’t even poured himself his evening whiskey.
Instead he pulled open his latest book, an attempt to read Dostoyevsky---one of many attempts, and continued reading from his spot by the bedside lamplight. Steve wasn’t adverse to reading. In fact, it may shock people to know that the ‘GI Joe Blockhead’ took to reading as a hobby, finding an increasing amount of comfort with his own imagination as he poured over text.
Steve was barely past the next page of his reading, when the phone at this nightstand lit up and buzzed. One glance at the caller name caused him to grasp at the device without a moment’s hesitation.
Diana.
Immediately it worried him. Thoughts ran through his head about what could possibly need his assistance if Wonder Woman couldn’t handle it. He hoped above all else that she wasn’t calling him so she could be airlifted to a hospital or the League Sick Bay.
After a second or two chewing on what his recently ex-girlfriend--if you really want to call her that--would be calling him for, he pressed on the answer button and held his phone up to his ear.
“Diana? Are you okay?”
He didn’t hide the fear in his voice, the worst possible outcome formulating in his head.
“Everything is fine, Steve,” he heard her calmly reply. “It’s been a while. I wanted to hear your voice.”
He paused at the end, allowing the book to close unattended in his lap without replacing the bookmark. Those words; the way she said them caused something warm and painfully familiar to spread through his chest. He could hear the smile in her voice...and a hint of desperation.
“Oh, sure…” he paused, almost cautiously, perhaps waiting to see if she would give more information. He wasn’t entirely convinced she was fine. “Yeah I’m here. You sure you’re okay? You sound like you’ve been through something rough.”
“No, it’s just…” she began, her voice clipped as if whatever was agitating her was taking over her thoughts again. “It was all nothing I couldn’t handle. Just today, I really was not in the mood; if that makes sense.”
“Do you want to give me more detail?”
“Spent the day babysitting the daughter of a colleague of yours, Ying. Turns out she’s quite the trouble maker for someone whose father gives them whatever they want. Well...except quality time I suppose.”
Steve sighed, “Yeah, that’s pretty typical of military dads like him. You spend months away from family, you’ll do anything to spoil them as an apology.”
“Did you do that with me?” he heard the wry humor in her voice. He chuckled heavily, hoping she could hear it over the receiver.
“I did but it had nothing to do with my guilt over being away.”
“Because I was away more.”
Her voice was hard in solemnity and he found it difficult to respond. This was the first time since leaving their relationship that Diana had bluntly brought up the cause of their split. In the silence that hung, Steve could start to feel an ache start to form in his heart. He could almost feel her sadness as well.
“Well,” he spoke up. “You had a lot of responsibility on your shoulders. Timing wasn’t...right.”
Even as he said it, it sounded like a lame excuse. But a phone call wasn’t the best place to express all the feelings and emotions over the incident. It was best to remain in the present.
Steve heard rustling over the phone. Diana was relaxing probably, given the time. She noticed the time too, because she said, “I take it you were reading in bed or sleeping before I called you.”
He chuckled lightly.
“What are you reading these days?”
“Dostoyevsky. Trying to run through the gamut of Russian literature.”
“Sounds fascinating.”
“It really isn’t,” his chest lifted with his heavy sigh. “But I’m powering through. What about you? What are you up to?”
He heard more rustling over the phone as she replied, “Nothing, just laying in my bed too. Talking to you.”
“I am known to be engaging conversation on occasion,” he beamed.
“Well, even apart, we managed to find some fun in our beds over the phone, if you know what I mean.”
Steve sat there, eyes staring blankly at a spot on his covers. Having had been in a relationship with the woman, sometimes long distance one at that, they had plenty of opportunities to...express their affection for one another through phone calls. Steve knew that tone. It was the same suggestive tone, spoken in a husk or a delicate whine, that told him of her longing. She ached for either him or intimate companionship in general. He wasn’t sure.
He did, on a very visceral level, miss Diana so much. He had memories of lying in bed, or on a army cot after lights out, of contacting her through his phone, hearing her voice soothe and cajole, in a deep throaty tone, tinged with desire, and he could not resist but to touch himself.
She did the same, and the image of what she could possibly be doing to herself was enough to get him riled.
All that was tempting, needless to say.
He had to be the rational one. The wise one, oddly. They couldn’t hurt each over a few moments of scratching an itch. If they got back together again, they would have to do it with clear heads, and an understanding of what they each wanted.
And Steve suspected that now wasn’t the time. Especially if Diana had just told him she had a rough day.
“Diana...we can’t,” his voice almost came out pleading. He thought he heard a huff over on the other line.
“I’m here to talk,” he continued quickly, almost fearing she would hang up on him. “It’s just that...you know we shouldn’t do...what you’re suggesting we do.”
“I know.”
He could relate to the disappointment in her tone. He was lucky he had a tome in his lap and he was sufficiently exhausted. He might have been a weaker man then.
“Diana, you know if you’re having a tough day, you can use me as your sounding board. I just think we should be careful. You know, maintain rules and such.”
He could feel that she was becoming upset. The silence was heavy over the receiver.
“I’m glad we’re speaking, Di. I don’t want to break away completely. I care about you. I want to know if you’re okay.”
He heard a sniff over a phone, and then a sigh. “I care about you too, Steve. You know that.”
The hurt was still there. In both of them. They weren’t ready to let go yet. Perhaps they never will. Steve prayed that wouldn’t be the case. He prayed that one day stars would align for both of them.
Hearing her voice, even over the phone, let the warmth of familiar comfort spread through him.
He felt less lonely.
“I hope it’s not too lonely over there,” Steve smiled into the receiver, soft and gentle. “It sounds like it wasn’t a rather quiet day.”
“Etta likes to find ways to keep me occupied. Met some interesting people, if I were honest. So, no, I don’t live exactly a solitary life.”
Well neither did he, surrounded by fellow soldiers and agents on missions. But that didn’t mean he didn’t feel solitary sometimes. She probably likely felt the same. That was what drove her to dial him.
Her voice was lighter, though noticeably more tired, “Well, I’ll let you go and catch up on your reading. Thanks for talking with me.”
Steve didn’t answer right away, wanting a little bit to keep the conversation going, but something stopped him. “Yeah, no problem, Di. I rather not bore you with what little I’ve retained from this book.”
A chuckle over the phone. “You could never bore me, Steve. But I don’t want to keep you all night.”
“Goodnight, Diana. We’ll chat later.”
“Goodnight Steve.”