When the Lights Go Down in the City // Open
iminthearmynow:
A chuckle resonated from the back of his throat. Again came the mental images of a dog version of himself. Though he quickly pushed those aside and offered a small smile. “Most of that is the Super Soldier Serum, I can’t claim most of the strengths for my own, but I appreciate that thought. And since there’s none left we can’t exactly test it out on any canines to see if they might not be smarter than me after an injection.”
He let out a laugh at her comment on Chewie. “An alien cat? I can only imagine the scratches I would receive on trying to ‘rescue’ her, then. Perhaps I’ll let the little old lady with flight powers do that then. You’d have better luck getting her down.”
He smiled at her posture and barely managed to grab his ball cap when she hoisted him up and into the midnight sky. The trip this time was far shorter than their excursion to Coney Island, but the view was as impressive. He didn’t think he’d ever get over the beauty of his city from the sky. And envied Carol a touch for her ability to see this as often as she’d like. Steve thought it might be the only skill he wished Dr. Erskine had been able to add in.
They landed only a few minutes later and he took in the sight of the cityscape from Lady Liberty. It took his breath away. He supposed that most people wouldn’t get as caught up in the emotions of it as he did. He had only been up here one time before… a very long time ago, and it was the only time he had ever made it up because of how sick he was and how hard it had been to climb the stairs. It was a sight he never forgot.
He forced his eyes away from the incredible view as she called after him. “A water is fine,” he replied, his voice slightly thick. “This place is… wow… I just-” He cut off, eyes wandering back to the skyline. He took one last look before pulling himself away from the deck and following her inside. It was certainly a lot different from the last time he’d seen it. In fact, if he hadn’t had the original so ingrained in his memory, he wouldn’t have been able to picture her apartment as anything less. He nodded as he scanned the visible areas of her home. “Your home is great, Carol. Thank you for allowing me over.”
Carol didn’t bother to suppress the snort of laughter at his continued protests. “Deflect all you like, but that serum didn’t create something from nothing. It had to have something to work with, and that was all you. Is all you. Serum or not, you’re damned impressive, Rogers.” She grinned widely at him. “I’d say I’m the same way, but I guess I was already a badass before the Psyche-Magnitron incident. It was the icing on the cake.”
She eyed her compatriot as he took in the view, clearly quite moved. “It’s something else. If you’d told me I’d be living here one day, I’d’ve laughed you out of the city. Hell of a set of circumstances that led me here. Rent is killer, though.”
After grabbing the glass of water for Steve and a beer for herself, Carol took a moment to snag a jar of salsa and bag of chips as well. She shot her guest a smile as she re-entered the seating area bearing the goodies. “You’re more than welcome, Steve. My door is always open.” She paused a beat, then laughed. “Well, metaphorically anyway. I’ll let security know to add Captain America to the permitted list. The statue is closed to the public these days, so they’re a little bit stingy with letting people in. Perks of being my friend, I guess.”
