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There were a lot of issues that came with your living in your apartment. It was an old building from the nineteen-tens, so this knowledge wasn’t surprising. Issues such as the faulty radiator that never worked in the winter, the windows weren’t insulated, the half-inch gap between the bottom of your front door and the floor, and the thin walls separating all the apartments. For as many issues there were, you couldn’t deny the benefits. Like the cheap rent, the sweet old lady who was the landlord, how few neighbors you had. Speaking of neighbors, the biggest benefit of this apartment was your next-door neighbor at the end of the hall. Steve Rogers, the Avengers’ very own Captain America.
You recall when you first moved in the apartment being completely silent. You’d assumed it was vacant, until one day you heard your landlord, Mrs. Evelyn, greeting someone happily. Soon you heard the door next to yours open and close for the first time. A few minutes passed where you heard some movement next door before the silence you’d grown used to from it returned. Curious who your neighbor was, you decided it could wait considering the late hour it was. It was a few weeks before your schedules allowed your paths to cross again.
You were in your hospital issued scrubs, balancing your grocery bags in one hand while holding a new plant in the other. Trying to get your key into the lock, you were ready to give up when they slipped from your fingers. With a defeated groan, you placed your head against the door while staring down at the keys.
“Excuse me,” a friendly voice said. “Would you like some help?”
“Please,” you answered while turning around.
When you turned around, all you saw at first was blond hair, a muscular body bending down to grab your keys, and a leather jacket. Once he stood to his full height, you were shocked by how much this man towered over you. Steady hands slid your key into the lock and turned before retreating to his sides, leaving your key in the door.
“Thank you,” you finally caught a glimpse at the man’s face, “Mister Rogers.”
His cheeks flushed lightly, “No problem miss…?”
“Y/N,” you shifted the plant to rest between your side and the arm holding your groceries to reach a hand out in greeting. “It’s nice to meet you.”
***
It’s been four months since meeting your quiet neighbor. You learned he wasn’t in often, having missions that last weeks at a time. It wasn’t uncommon for you to see him entering his apartment, still in uniform with his shield, as you were both coming home from and leaving for your shifts at the hospital.
The two of you slowly became friends as your paths crossed. You’d begun to text occasionally; it was mainly Steve texting you his apologies whenever he’d be coming home at an ungodly hour. There were occasions where one of you would ask the other to grab the package that was being delivered, if either of you needed something from the store, or if you could explain to Steve something from the twenty-first century. Having one of earth’s mightiest heroes as your neighbor was a quiet affair. You’d grown close in your time together.
It was time for your monthly movie night together. This month was at Steve’s apartment, and despite him arriving just this morning he insisted tonight be movie night. You had on your slippers and a pair of sweatpants alongside your black t-shirt with a fox printed on it. Knocking on his door, you adjusted the bag of snacks in your hand. The door opened quickly, Steve’s approach inaudible.
“Hi,” he smiled, “come in.”
With how he towered over you, you had to look up from the white shirt that clung to him to meet his eyes. With your gaze moving upward it was no surprise when your eyes were focused on the dark bruise that was high on his cheekbone. You shuffled past him into his apartment. Once he closed the door, you couldn’t hold in your concern.
“Are you alright? What happened?” You stood on your tiptoes to gently touch the skin around his bruise.
“I’m fine,” he reassured. “It’ll be gone in the morning, plus it doesn’t even hurt.”
You pouted at his answer, but didn’t protest when he took your hand in his. He led you across the apartment to the living room, sitting the two of you on the couch. Before you could ask, he placed a blanket across your lap while you grabbed the remote. You cuddled into your side of the couch as he put his feet up on the coffee table. Tilting his head back to rest against the couch, he turned to face you.
“How was your shift?” He asked you like every time the two of you hung out.
“Horrible,” you groaned.
“What happened this time?” He chuckled.
“It was horrible. Today was my rotation at the emergency room, and I swear it was one of those days where the most bizarre people came in. A woman and her mother came in, and the mother claimed she was very dizzy. Making sure she was okay, we determined it was just vertigo. I was the one who had the pleasure of informing them of the diagnosis as well as handing over the discharge papers, but when I said it was just vertigo the daughter looked at me and replied with ‘no, she’s a libra’ and she was completely serious. Then as soon as they left I had to handle a fellow nurse who claimed a man that came in with kidney stones was just looking for drugs because ‘the uterus looks healthy.’ And that was at the start of my shift, it only went down from there.”
“That’s…a lot. But can I ask one question?”
“Sure.”
“What’s a libra?”
At his question I couldn’t contain the laughter that erupted from me. Steve furrowed his eyebrows at my reaction, and I finally managed to reply, “It has to do with when her birthday is,” between peals of laughter.
Steve took a moment to process my words before he chuckled, too. Shaking his head, Steve gently took the remote from my hands. My giggles finally subsided as he turned on the television.
“What do you want to discover today?” I gently ask.
“I think the next movie on my list is Rocky. What is that?” He curiously looks at his small notebook.
“It’s a movie about a boxer. Technically it’s five movies about a boxer, but overall it’s a boxing movie.”
“There’s five of them? I only have the first two, I thought that’s all there was.”
I shrug, “You don’t have to see them all. You don’t even need to watch all of the first one. It’s all about what you think you should learn about, y’know?”
“I guess so, yeah. I just don’t think we ever had movies that continued on that many times. Why would they do that?”
I grab the remote and begin to pull up the Rocky movies, “Well, some people really like them. And because of that, more movies about it get made.”
Steve nods at my response, focused on the television as the opening credits roll. I relax on the couch, enjoying being next to Steve.
***
The sun has long since set and we are halfway through the third Rocky movie. The temperature has dropped and I can’t stop the occasional shivers that rush through me. It isn’t until another one hits that Steve pauses the movie. He quickly goes into a different room before emerging with a cream knitted sweater.
“Sorry, the radiator’s broken again. This should help though,” he offers it to me as he sits down.
I stare for a moment before taking the sweater from his hand. I pull the soft material over my head and am shocked by just how much it engulfs me. The sleeves fall well past my hands and the sweater ends just above my knee. The soft material works quickly at capturing my warmth and keeping it around me. I sigh at the coziness of it before realizing the way it smells like Steve. A fresh, minty scent, clean smell, trapped in the fibers of the sweater. I curl into the sweater, enjoying having the material on me. Steve presses play on the movie again before sitting closer than before.
It’s as the credits roll that a yawn escapes me. I stiffly stand up and stretch. Steve begins to pick up the snack wrappers from the couch while I shuffle to get my slippers on again. All too soon, Steve is following me to his front door. As I reach for the handle, Steve gently turns me around.
“So I was thinking,” he starts off timidly, “that next time I’m back from a mission. Maybe we could go get dinner together? And maybe we can go around the city.”
“I’d really like that,” I smiled up at him. “It’s a date.”
“Yeah, it’s a date,” Steve smiles down at me, before kissing the top of my head.
I wrap my arms around him loosely,“Oh! I almost forgot your sweater, here–”
“Hold onto it. It’ll keep you warm while I work on getting our radiators fixed. If mine’s broken again it’s likely yours will be, too.”
“Okay. Good night Steve,” I gently kissed his cheek.
“Good night sweetheart.” Steve opens the door for me and I step out.
I hear his door click shut moments after mine.