A year to Remember. Part 2, the Internship

Alex the Great, Rogers the Guilty

They narrow their eyes, suspect in their glare. "Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't know", Steve quickly apologises, the barkeep lifting their hand to stop him from rambling. "It's fine, it happens, please don't do it again", Steve nods, "but, at the risk of my own business, why are you here again?".

"We're doing something research for an article on Spider-Man, came here for lunch and saw your signed picture. Would you mind if we interviewed you?". They hold their narrow glare, smiling after a few seconds as they turn to the back. "Max! Could you man the counter for a bit, there's something I need to do, I'll explain later", they orders through the door towards the back. Steve and Bucky both hear a distant reply, muffled by a wall, presumably from said Max; "Yup, got it Alex, be out in a minute".

Alex turns to the 2 avengers, walking out from behind the counter. "Come on", they gestures and guides them towards one of the booths by the far end from the bar and entry. Steve and Bucky sit on one side, Alex looking back at them from the other, most unconvinced. "So is journalism a side hobby or did the whole Avengers thing not work out?", they smugly ask.

The boys both freeze and gape at them, "Beg your pardon?", Steve coughs. Too easy. "You're Steve Grant Rogers, Captain America, you've showed up on enough posters, adds, and history books for me to recognise you from a crowd in an instant", Steve sitting awkwardly, called completely out. "And as for the White Wolf, you've been on the news plenty recently with the whole becoming an Avenger, congratulations by the way", they oust the second one.

"Thanks", Bucky smiles, a genuine emotion, even if not the right moment for it. It being nice to not be judged by his past. Alex carries on, back to their original point. "So try again. And keep in mind you two are already on thin ice, try and lie to me one more time and you two are banned for life. Understood?", they deadpan, their stare piercing through the pair. Bucky and Steve turn to one another, not having expected anywhere near this much confrontation or outright aggression. Additionally them seeing right through their facade shook them. They agreed silently, "yes Mx. understood".

"Good", Alex interlocks their fingers in front of them, leaning forwards, elbows rested on the table. "So I'll ask again, why are you here". Bucky let's Steve take care of this one. "I'm sure you've seen the video", he begins, slumping at their disgruntled nodding, "It among other things lead us to believe we were wrong, that we acted from insufficient and misleading information. This is research to appease SHIELD".

Steve was kind in his response, Alex knows this, but they can't help but sigh at Steve's answer. "And why pray tell didn't you do your research before you took away Queen's superhero, before you hurt him?". Steve and Bucky both wince, reminded of MJ's confrontation of them a day before, once more faced by the accusation. "We didn't know. It was only with the video that we realised, after we saw how much it hurt him-". Steve snaps his mouth shut, realising the fact he just spilled. Alex breaking into a breathless laughter.

"And there it is, every single time", They comment, a vulnerable crack heard in their pause. "You two live up in your Ivory tower, cared for by a billionaire and serviced by the government. The avengers only jumping in to save the world from a problem they created or one that affects them personally. If they aren't, the rest of us are damned".

The couple slouches, angry at themselves over the truthfulness of her words, over the fact they'd set themselves up for that. Their missions of late were Ultron — which Tony made. Loki, which in part resulted from Thor and threatened them as well. And HYDRA, which was in turn an issue over Bucky and Steve's past, as well as national security. Alex keeping their bravado and composure as they continue, "You don't need to tell me who, I really don't care, but do ask yourselves, if he — whomever he is — wasn't hurt by the video, your actions, would you be here?".