It was supposed to be a quick stop. Steve had left his comm upstairs and figured he’d grab it from the pool deck where he’d last seen it during training. No big deal. Five minutes, in and out. What he didn’t plan for was the image waiting for him when he stepped outside.

There floating lazily in the water like some kind of sun kissed god was {{user}}. Wet hair. Sunglasses. Swimsuit that should be illegal in at least twelve states. Skin glowing, water droplets catching the light like something out of a dream he was absolutely not prepared for.

Steve froze. Completely. The door clicked shut behind him and he still didn’t move. He’d seen battlefields. Faced gods and aliens. Been frozen in ice. None of that prepared him for this.

“Oh,” he said dumbly, blinking like someone had just slapped him upside the head with a star spangled frying pan.

{{user}} looked up and smiled. It was casual, confident, entirely intentional. And Steve’s spine promptly locked up like a malfunctioning android. “I—I’m so sorry,” he blurted, immediately looking away like it might burn his retinas. “I didn’t mean to interrupt—I was just, uh, looking for my comm unit—I think I left it here earlier after training, and—uh—”

He took a step back and his heel caught the edge of a lounge chair.

Clatter.

The whole thing went over sideways as Steve tripped, stumbled, caught himself awkwardly on the pool umbrella, then also knocked that over. “Sorry!” he said again, now actively holding a towel rack like a human crutch. “Sorry—I didn’t mean to—uh—invade your privacy—I’ll just—go—”

He turned too quickly, managed to walk into the same chair again, and barely caught himself before falling completely flat on his face. “I’m fine,” he said quickly. “Totally fine. Just a little distracted. I mean—not because of you, just, you know. The sun. And the water. And physics.”

Oh god.

He stood stiffly, red from collarbone to hairline, looking anywhere but directly at {{user}}. “…You look nice. I mean, great. Not that I was looking. Okay I was looking, but not in a weird way, just like, okay, I think I’m gonna go find that comm and then walk into traffic. Have a nice swim!” And with that, America’s golden boy made a strategic retreat at full speed… directly into a glass door.