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EVELYN LET OUT an exasperated sigh as she waived her arms in surrender. Her chest was burning, her heart was pounding, and she just wanted to nap.

"I call it, I call it! I can't do it anymore." She told her running partner as he flew by, her hair tussled from his wind.

The man halted in his tracks and spun around to face the blonde. He had his signature golden smile and looked as though he hadn't been running for the past 20 minutes.

"Come on, Eve. We're almost there!" Steve tried to motivate her, jogging over to her smaller form.

He rested his hands on her arms and straightened her posture as she tried to recover from the intense exercise.

"Steve, this is ridiculous. I'm not as strong as you." She replied with a slightly annoyed look on her face.

"You will be. We just have to get you there." He assured her before gently pushing her to start running.

She scowled at the man but started to walk slowly. The man took off past her, and she let out another sigh as she tried to keep up. As she fought for her life on the trail, another man suddenly passed by Steve, startling her slightly. The man raised an eyebrow before picking up his speed to pass the guy.

As Steve passed by him, he called out,

"On your left."

Evelyn watched as the chocolate-skinned man began to pass by Rogers, who only picked up his speed. The two began to fade into tiny figures as they seemed to race each other. The blonde hung her head in defeat and continued at her leisurely pace.

Eventually, Eve made it to the two men - the stranger on the ground panting heavily as Steve stood over him, barely breaking a sweat.

"Need a medic?" Steve asked the man, who laughed in response and shook his head.

"I need a new set of lungs. Dude, you just ran like 13 miles in 30 minutes." He told him with an astonished look.

"I guess I got a late start." He said with a shrug and pointed to the puffing blonde behind him.

Evelyn sneered and smacked him on his muscular arm, knowing it didn't affect him in the slightest.

"He's such a show-off." She told the man as she rested against her friend.

"Is he? Yea, he should be ashamed of himself. Go take another lap." He told Steve jokingly. Steve stayed quiet for a moment.

"Did you just take it? I assume you just took it." The stranger added sarcastically.

"There's a good chance he did," Evelyn muttered, wiping the sweat from her brow.

Steve wrapped an arm around Eve to help steady her but ignored her comment as she looked at their new acquaintance.

"What unit are you in?" Steve had noticed the sweatshirt the man was wearing.

"58, Pararescue. But now I'm working down at the VA. Sam Wilson." He reached his feet and stuck his hand out to the two blondes.

"Steve Rogers." He shook Sam's hand before Evelyn did the same.

"Evelyn Hayes." He nodded at her before looking back to Steve.

"I kind of put together who you were. Must have freaked you out coming home after the whole defrosting thing."

"It takes some getting used to, but I have help. Nice to meet you, Sam." He nodded towards Evelyn before starting to turn away.

"It's your bed, isn't it?" Sam asked, causing Steve to pause and look back.

"What's that?"

"Your bed, it's too soft. When I was over there, I'd sleep on the ground and use rock for pillows, like a caveman. Now I'm home, lying in bed, and it's like. ." He trailed off. Evelyn frowned at his story.

"Lying on a marshmallow. Feel like I'm gonna sink right to the floor." Steve finished his sentence.

Eve frowned further and rested her small hand on her friend's lower back, gently rubbing small comforting circles on the fabric. She didn't like what Steve had gone through while she was gone. She wished she was there to help him when he needed it.

"How long?" Steve brought her out of her thoughts.

"Two tours," Sam responded.

"You must miss the good old days, huh?" He added on.

"Well, things aren't so bad. Food's a lot better; we used to boil everything. No polio is good. Internet, so helpful. I've been reading that a lot trying to catch up."

"He just can't seem to get the hang of it, though." Eve teased with a smile, earning a chuckle from Sam.

"Marvin Gaye, 1972, "Trouble Man" soundtrack. Everything you've missed jammed all into one album." He told them.

"I'll put it on the list." The man replied as he pulled a small notebook and pen out of his back pocket.

Evelyn groaned at the thing and watched as he jotted down Sam's suggestion. Above that read "I Love Lucy (Television), Thai Food, Star Wars/Star Trek" and many other things he wanted to experience. Evelyn thought it was adorable that he still wrote everything down like the little grandpa she thought of him as most days - but she wanted to get him away from the pocketbook era.

Steve and her phones buzzed before Evelyn could open her mouth to tease him. The blonde quickly pulled the phone from her back pocket and read the text message she assumed they both had received.

"Mission alert. Extraction imminent. Meet at the curb :)"

"Time to go," Eve stated, slipping the device back into her pocket and turning to leave.

"Alright, Sam, duty calls. Thanks for the run. If that's what you wanna call running." Steve joked.

"Oh, that's how it is? What about her?"

"Oh, that's how it is. She's a work in progress." He assured their new friend.

Eve gaped at her friend and landed another punch to his arm. He faked pain and rubbed where she had hit. The blonde scowled and began walking off without him.

"I'm leaving you here." She told him.

"How? Are you going to run from me?" He shot back with a grin.

Eve's eyes narrowed even further before she turned away, giving him the cold shoulder gesture. He laughed, turning back to Sam one last time, letting his friend wander off.

"Okay. Any time you wanna stop by the VA, make me look awesome in front of the girl at the front desk, just let me know." Sam told him.

"I'll keep it in mind." He assured him as he turned to go after Evelyn.

Before the blonde could get far, a car whipped up to the curb, startling her slightly. The window rolled down, and Natasha was smirking in the driver's seat.

"Hey, fellas. Do one of you know where the Smithsonian is? I'm here to pick up some fossils." Evelyn flipped off her redheaded friend as she slid into the back seat.

"That's hilarious," Steve replied as he opened the passenger door.

"How are my favorite people?" She asked as she looked between the blondes.

"Just drive."

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