Work Text:
Steve Rogers had learned that the twenty-first century held many absurdities—as if everyone were trying to be more, filling the city with sounds, images, and noise. Cars were too fast. Phones were too small.
People seemed to have an almost pathological need to put cheese on everything.
And, it seemed, no one wanted Steve Rogers around.
It hadn't been hard to find out; he had simply overheard Romanoff talking to Barton.
“What time are we going?”
“Eight.”
“And Rogers?”
There was a pause. And then: “Do you really want Rogers at the party, Clint?” Romanoff asked, her voice cold but not cruel. “You know, I’m not his type, and he’d just ruin all the fun.”
Steve swallowed hard. It was clear he had never been enough. He’d had one friend in his entire life, and that was James Buchanan Barnes. Anyone else wouldn't have even given him a second glance.
The conversation between the two continued, but Steve didn't listen any further, preferring instead to return to his room—a gift from Stark, just like the rooms given to all the other Avengers.
Steve reflected on their actions. He wasn't angry. He knew their decision not to invite him was perfectly reasonable, and he had learned to recognize reasonable things. They were the ones that hurt the least when you tried not to think about them.
Steve sat on the edge of the bed.
He looked at his phone—a gift from S.H.I.E.L.D.—filled with the numbers of agents, none of whom ever thought to text him.
Steve had thought he was doing a good job. He had spent months trying to figure out how to live in the twenty-first century. He had learned to use a smartphone. He had discovered he could order practically anything via an app. He had even tried Stark’s iced coffee and decided that it wasn't coffee at all.
But some things seemed harder. Like figuring out when the others actually wanted him around. Maybe they didn't want him.
Maybe it was simpler that way.
They had a life. He had a history.
And it could never be the same thing.
When Steve left the Tower to go work with S.H.I.E.L.D., he didn't tell anyone.
Fury would let them know when the next threat required their presence.
The group had made it clear that they didn't want Steve around unless there was a fight.