Lusus Naturae (Cap/Bobbi)

[Barbara "Bobbi" Morse-Barton]

Times like this, Bobbi found herself ridiculously grateful for Fury's incessant machinations.

Not because S.H.I.E.L.D. had been instrumental in her meeting Hawky (which was rather bittersweet, but she did appreciate that), not because they had used some of her own research and others in order to save her life (although, she could not exactly be upset about being alive), but because of Fury's determination to keep one Steve Rogers around.

Steve was one of the few people Bobbi could honestly consider a friend. And though she didn't like to show how fragile she still was, the Captain was the one person she could rely on. After a run or sparring with everyone's favorite Captain, Bobbi felt like she could stitch herself back together for a little while longer.

He was also one of the few people that didn't make her feel like a freak. She'd switched to plastic in her apartment for the most part. Plates and glasses and wood were all so....shatterable.

Sighing gloomily, Bobbi rested her chin on her hand as she looked down to the city below. Admittedly, sitting on the roof of any building was not the smartest move, but she wasn't so high up that the fall would kill her.

Probably.

Seeing Hawky flirting with other people was enough to make her consider trying every once in a while, but she was too selfish, too scared, and also just not quite that low.

No, she would just watch, and text her whole one friend, far more cheerily than she actually felt.

Top of the morning, Cap!

[Steve Rogers]

Everyone insisted on making him adapt to every modern 'convenience' that there was, despite how much of a pain each one could be. Steve did not like cell phones. It made him feel like he never was alone, not really, like at any moment, awake, asleep, whatever, he was subject to being called upon. Well, sometimes he didn't mind, like when Tasha would ring him and tell him to meet her somewhere. He did like that.

And, apparently, whenever Bobbi did as well.

Bobbi Morse was become a good friend now, because they really got each other. Fellow Super Soldier Serum syndrome, Cap called it in his head. They could relate on a level that most could not. It did not hurt either, that Miss Morse didn't make him feel so out of his time.

So when Bobbi, what was the word, texted him, Steve smiled and fumbled his way through a response, stopping, closing it and rewriting a good three times.

Good morning Bobbi! How are you?

Now, Natasha would berate him for being so boring, but Steve couldn't help but be like that in writing, it just felt natural to him.

[Barbara "Bobbi" Morse-Barton]

Mockingbird was pleased to find that she didn't need to wait too long for a reply. Steve was getting better at manipulating his phone, apparently.

Smiling fondly, Bobbi responded to his text as quickly as her chilled fingers could type.

At the moment, rather cold. How about you, Steve?

[Steve Rogers]

The Captain had kept his phone out assuming Bobbi was going to reply to him, and it had turned out to be correct. He saw her answer and then immediately responded.

Believe me, I'm no fan of the cold either. Meet somewhere warm? Lunch?

Steve hit send and smiled, he had the day off and Natasha was off on some mission in Russia, something she wouldn't tell him about, which meant he didn't want to think about it either.

[Barbara "Bobbi" Morse-Barton]

Steve's offer to meet for lunch came as a surprise. Not that he wanted to spend time with her (Bobbi knew that Steve was too genuine for him to be faking their friendship after all), but because she had not realized just how long she had been sitting up here. It was nearing noon now, and Bobbi had made her way up to the roof closer to eight am.

No wonder she felt frozen.

I would really appreciate that. Anywhere in particular? I'll head over.

[Steve Rogers]

When Steve got his text back, he tried to make a quick decision on a place to go. He was much better at face to face conversations, and texting was the exact opposite of that. He looked out his window and frowned a bit, realizing he always had to travel to his favorite spots. But, it was New York City, and that made it worth the trouble of a cab or the subway system. Making a choice, Steve tapped out his idea.

Tony's shwarma place is a bit too new age for me, to be honest. How about pizza? We could meet at John's, it's my usual place. It's between 6th and 7th Ave.

Happy with his pick, Steve sent the text off before going to get his coat.

[Barbara "Bobbi" Morse-Barton]

Bobbi wasn't sure what 'John's' was, but Cap had given her a small enough area to look in. Chances were, she would manage just fine.

See you there, Captain.

Standing up, Bobbi pocketed her phone, then took a deep breath.

And jumped.

Across the street to the next roof, then again to a slightly lower one, before letting herself fall, fall down into an alley so she could walk out casually onto the street. One quick glance to the signs at the nearest intersection, and Bobbi angled left across the road.

Walking at her old pace would take a while, but it would also help warm up her muscles, so Bobbi was going to take it slow right now.

[Steve Rogers]

There was a big red tarp that read John's in white, it was hard to miss it while walking on Bleecker Street. The Captain had no doubt that Bobbi wouldn't have any trouble finding it.

Steve sent an agreement to Bobbi before heading down the elevator, JARVIS called him a cab. It was a bit more than just a walk for the Captain. There was a car arriving for him not ten minutes after JARVIS asked Steve if he wanted one.

It was easier to just take a cab today than to brave the weather on his motorcycle.

And a lot less cold.

He could feel it sink into his bones just walking from the front door into the cab.

Suddenly, the Captain was hoping that Bobbi hadn't just been sitting outside.

[Barbara "Bobbi" Morse-Barton]

Okay, it was quite a long walk. Once feeling had started to return to her extremities, Bobbi began to jog.

Still a lot slower than she could go, but plenty of people went out for a run throughout the day. Even if most of them didn't continuously speed up while doing so.

By the time Bobbi made it to John's, her face was red from the cold. Being super-ized did not make one immune to the elements, as Bobbi's nerves seemed very keen on reminding her. Just moving into the lobby had her shivering from the change in temperature. For all that it was warmer, Bobbi couldn't precisely feel the heat. It was more that she was defrosting enough to feel how cold she had been before.

A quick scan of the building showed no sign of her friend, so Bobbi elected to ask for a table for two. Maybe if she was sitting, she could adjust to the temperature less obviously.

[Steve Rogers]

Steve's ride wasn't stopped by traffic or anything of the sort, it was just a bit of a ride from the tower to the part of the city that housed his favorite pizza. He filled the void by watching people pass by and grinned, it was nice to spend time with Bobbi, because she made Steve feel not so, different. And, while Steve knew that in comparison to some of the others, he wasn't exactly the odd one out, he was still from another time, it was just a bit alienating. Talking and spending time with Bobbi was like easing into the shallow end and learning to swim. Each time you got a little more comfortable in the water and better at swimming.

With most women, Steve might as well have dove into the ocean. And that was only people he considered friends, like Maria Hill. Natasha Romanoff was another story entirely.

When he finally made it, Steve looked around and wondered if Bobbi had already arrived. After a few minutes, he went inside to get a table and wait again.

However, when he did get inside, he saw a familiar head of blonde hair. Steve grinned and went to go join her.

"Afternoon, Agent Morse," Steve only teased a little bit.

[Barbara "Bobbi" Morse-Barton]

Fortunately, Steve did not keep her waiting too long. Some of the redness in Bobbi's face and fingers had cleared, and she was no longer shivering quite so violently.

"Afternoon, oh Captain my Captain," came Bobbi's response.

[Steve Rogers]

Steve grinned when he found her, and chuckled a bit at her reference. Steve had been watching a lot of movies, it had been part of his adaption process, Fury had insisted.

"Afternoon. So, still cold?" Steve asked, but he could tell, because her cheeks were kind of rosy right now.

[Barbara "Bobbi" Morse-Barton]

Bobbi shrugged. It was easier to pull off 'happy' when Steve was around, but she was not about to lie to one of her few friends either.

"Sensation is slowly returning. I'll probably be cold for a while."

[Steve Rogers]

Steve nodded a bit, "It's pretty cold this year, at least compared to when I was a kid."

Then again, Steve now had a very odd sense of coldness. That happens when you're frozen for seventy something years.

[Barbara "Bobbi" Morse-Barton]

It was so easy to fall into a rhythm with Steve. He was one of the few people Bobbi could both meet up with on a spur of the moment, and discuss the weather with while not sounding like the topic was a complete avoidance strategy.

"That's global warming for you."

Bobbi quirked a small smile.

"It's nice to see you."