The Law of Protection

Claire Taylor was someone that, under no circumstances, needed to be protected.

Steve found this out in a way that perhaps even stranger than their happenstance meeting.

Thursday was Gym day, and Claire knew this. Usually, she would go to the library for her weekly book-club and meet Steve back at her apartment for dinner. She would take home a microwaveable meal of some variety to make up for the lack of time and motivation to cook. Thursday night, because of this arrangement, was also movie night.

Steve loved movie nights. Not only was he catching up on some pop culture Claire decided he sorely needed, but it also meant they spent more time together. Both the New York and Bucky incidents were responsible for taking activities off the list of things he could do to take his mind off the memories and nightmares, and Clare gave him something that could.

Peggy was dead, and it had ripped him apart. Strike.

SHIELD didn't exist anymore, so his work was out of the question. Strike.

He saw Sam occasionally, and Natasha even less. Strike.

That only left Clare as a viable option of someone he could socialise with, and although he could have gone out to find friends, he found that he would have rather spent his time elsewhere. Not many people took well to finding out they were friends with Captain America, anyways.

He interacted very little with the regulars at the gym, because he usually stayed longer than they would, and only ever spoke to them to exchange pleasantries. Besides, he only ever saw them on Thursday, and he was often too distracted by the thought of seeing Claire again and the pile of books and DVDs she would greet him with.

He was thinking about that now, as he and Claire walked side by side to the library, where they would part for the afternoon.

Her hand dangled beside his, her fingers in reaching distance. Steve was slowly becoming accustomed to displaying his affection for Claire in public. It was easier on the decks of the Empire State Building, especially the lower observation decks where nobody ever bothered to go. He could hold her hand there, kiss her and hold her in his arms without the fear of anyone looking on.

Although there wasn't much of a cultural shock in that area between 1940 and the present day, Steve was still someone who hadn't had much experience with girls and Claire was so much of a blessing that he didn't dare upset her.

He turned his head to the side and watched her bounce beside him, her steps light and her eyes lively. Her hand reached out for his, and he let her take it whilst a smile spread over her lips.

The library became visible in the distance, and suddenly Steve wished that it was further away. He slowed his pace slightly, and let the busier people pass them until they reached the steps in front of the entrance.

He turned to her, and the corners of his eyes crinkled when they met hers, wide and blue and wise.

She surprised him, then. "Let's mix it up a little." She said. Steve raised an eyebrow, and grinned. "What do you have in mind?" He asked her.

Clare smiled, and her eyes shone. "Can I come with you to the gym?" She asked. Steve was surprised by her request, but he couldn't say no when she was looking at him like this, her hand gently clasping his.

"Sure, but haven't you got book-club?" He asked. Claire shrugged. "It got cancelled today. Half the group called in sick. Must be that sinus infection that's going around." She said nonchalantly, and Steve found himself grinning. "Okay, yeah, sure. We'll head there now." He said, and started walking again like they never stopped.

Claire's steps were impossibly lighter, until she was practically skipping down the streets whilst he held her hand. People stared at the two of them, the bouncing girl and the guy that looked at her like she was a million dollars, and found it hard not to smile.

Steve let her pull him along, turning corner after corner and crossing street after street until they reached the gym, tucked into a small street close to Steve's apartment.

They went inside, and Claire said a hearty hello to the man at the counter before they crossed inside. There, Claire greeted every regular she knew, whilst Steve opened his locker and took out the tape for his wrists. He took a punching bag from the racks and hung it on a bar on the ceiling.

Claire pulled out a chair when Steve took his first swing, and watched him. After a while, the weight of her stare was a comfortable weight on his back as his fists flew and hit the bag in rhythmic bursts. An hour passed by, and then two, and Steve lost himself in the motions.

Behind Steve's back, Claire had gotten up and was walking around, looking at the memorabilia at the back of the room. Her fingertips grazed the walls and posters. She climbed into the old and dingy fighting ring and looked around at the scuffs on the elastic and posts.

"Hey! You can't be in there! Get out! What the hell is a girl doing in this gym?" A loud voice called from the entrance of the gym and Clare and Steve turned around simultaneously. The owner of the brash voice was a square man, covered in rippling muscle from head to toe. He was shaped square and his nose looked like it had broken multiple times and set crookedly. He looked like a pro-wrestler, a heavyweight wrestler, and immensely out of place in the small amateur gym.

Steve stepped out from behind the punching bag. The smile had disappeared from his face as he wrapped the tape tighter around his hands. "She's with me." Steve said simply.

"Yeah, well you better take her back to the kitchen she came from. This isn't her place." The man's eyes gleamed maliciously in the light.

"You can't talk to me like that." Claire said, walking up to the barrier elastics in the ring.

"Learn to muzzle your dog." The man replied, but directed his reply at Steve. Steve tightened the tape and cracked his knuckles. "Look, don't talk to her like that, okay? She's just looking around." He said.

"I didn't see a sign anywhere I wasn't allowed in." Claire added unhelpfully, fired up by the man's sexist comments.

"Look, bitch, do you want to start something?" The man growled, and dropped his bag on the floor. He started towards the ring.

"Claire…" Steve warned, walking up to the ring at the same pace. Claire backed up until her back hit the elastics on the other side, and watched the other man climb into the ring. The people still in the gym had stopped what they were doing and watched with bated breath as the situation unfolded.

"Look," Claire said uneasily, aware that she might have bitten off more than she could chew, "I don't want conflict."

The other man grinned evilly. "It's too late for that now. How about you put your money where your mouth is?" He taunted, and rushed forward.

Steve saw this and started to move, and reached the ring in one step. He was about to climb in when Clare did something he didn't expect. As the man came rushing up to her, his steps heavy and his fists swinging, she ducked under his swing, thrust her palm into his solar plexus and in a manoeuvre that was too fast for Steve to register, flipped the heavier man over her head and onto the floor.

She nimbly skipped out of reach as he groaned and got to his feet. She took on a defensive stance, palms outstretched and ready when he came rushing at her again. This time, the man ducked low and moved to grab her legs, but Claire danced out of his reach before he could, and he slammed into the elastics.

He righted himself again, and ran towards her, striking out with his arms and legs. Claire blocked a fist with her right forearm, a kick with her shin and another arm by pressing a particular painful pressure point in his shoulder with her index and middle fingers.

He groaned in pain when she swept his legs out from underneath him, and he crashed to the floor with a heavy thud. He was dazed and in pain, and he didn't get up after that. He just lay in the centre of the ring, moaning through gritted teeth as Claire skipped out of the ring and walked up to Steve.

"I'm getting kinda hungry. Do you want to go back to mine?" She asked innocently. Steve could only nod.

Later, when they were sprawled out over Claire's couch with the TV on, remainders of an Indian microwave curry spread out on the coffee table, Claire addressed the elephant in the room.

"Sorry about today." She said. Her feet were propped up in Steve's lap, and he was playing with her toes.

"No, that's okay." He answered, as his mind replayed the afternoon's events. "What did you use, judo?" He asked her.

Claire grinned, baring her teeth when she turned her head away from the TV. "Hapkido, actually. It's a mixed martial arts thing. My dad is a third Dan black belt. He taught me when I was younger." She explained, whilst on the screen, Marty McFly was being shown the Delorian for the first time.

Steve nodded. "And how long have you been doing it for?" He asked. "Well, I did it fairly often when I was about 15, and I still do classes to sharpen my skills occasionally. Things like that have a tendency to never really leave." She said.

Steve smiled, and patted the space next to him. Claire grinned and swept her legs off his lap to scurry across the couch and flop down beside him. She put her head on his shoulder the moment his arm rounded hers, and curled into his side.

"I take it you don't need protection, then." He said, and a small smile played at the corners of Claire's lips. "You could humour me once in a while." She said. Steve grinned, and whilst Marty McFly flew across the realms of time and space, he kissed her.

Claire hummed appreciatively at the spontaneous action, and Steve commended himself on the fact that he was getting better at this. Claire slotted her fingers to his jawline, and relaxed.

It lasted an eternity before he pulled away. "You're adorable. Small, but adorable." He told her. Claire faux-frowned at him. "Dangerous, deadly, and a whole bunch of other things, and a little bit adorable." He amended.

Claire grinned in satisfaction and put her head on his shoulder. "Don't you forget it." She said. She felt Steve's lips against her head, and a sleepy smile stretched over her lips. Steve and Claire turned their heads back to the TV, and just like it did for Marty McFly, time stood still for them.

It was needless to say that the next time that Steve went to the gym, Claire went with him; and she wasn't bothered again.

Hey everyone!

Sorry for the crappy formatting on the thing I posted yesterday. This new formatting system is kinda freaking me out.

Anyways, this story is dedicated to my dear friend SpectrumLight, whose birthday it is today :) I do hope it's more legible. It features Claire, an OC I created for her with her favourite Avenger.

If you liked this story, please review and tell me why!