dreams for another day

"What do you mean by that?" Yelena asks, leaning back on the couch, scrolling through some document she had to approve on her little ipad. "Like…" You took a moment to think, placing the clipboard you had down on your lap for a second, "he kept mentioning things about my appearance, like he told me that I should grow out my hair, and get my lashes done, AND try a certain lip color." You said, thinking back to the night. "And it wasn't even in like a 'I think this would suit you' way, more like 'I want you to look like this' kinda way."

"I told you, New York boys that look like that are little freaks" says Yelena, shaking her head side to side. You sigh, leaning your head back onto the couch, "I thought he was so cool, but apparently he's just a loser… and not even one of those cool losers."

As the two of you complain on the couch, doing some work, John was in the kitchen listening to you the entire time. He just came in to make some little smoothie for his workout, and ended up hearing you guys. He's overheard you, Yelena, and Ava talk about this guy for the past couple of weeks, how he's treated you over the couple dates you've had. Sure John was a little prick, but he wasn't this immature.

He tried not to make a big deal out of it, but John always liked it when you were around. When you'd sit in the corner of team meetings to take notes, waiting for them on the pad whenever they arrived back from a mission, or giving the team their water bottles during training, he couldn't keep his attention off of you. Though, he didn't talk to you much, sure some small conversation, or some requests for work, but never truly personal. Most of the things he's heard of you have come from things Yelena and Ava had said in passing, but whenever he did hear those little things, he relished it every single time. There was just something about you, something that enamored him so much.

'could treat you so much better than this jackass.' He thought to himself, putting the lid on his smoothie. John could say something to you right now, say that you should stop going out with him and look for a man somewhere else, somewhere a little closer, but not today. Today he'll just go about his day, continuing to keep this to himself.

In the training room, John continued to beat the punching bag, his throw a little rougher than usual. The thought of this random guy just pissed him off to a certain degree. But you wouldn't really want him, he thinks. John's older than you, divorced, a dick to his teammates, and don't even get him started on his past. He wasn't the type of guy girls like you want.

Maybe he was thinking too hard because suddenly out of nowhere he hears the doors of the training room open, and sees you. It's like something knew. "Hey Walker" you say, making your way towards him. John throws one more punch before taking a break, turning towards you, looking down at the wrapping on his hands for a second. "Hey" he responds, huffing as he catches his breath, sweat dripping down his skin. "I'm just making my rounds, seeing if you guys need anything. You want some water or something of the sorts?" He takes a moment to look at you, the way your hair is done, how your clothes fit you, the way your hands rest. "um.." He quickly snaps out of it though, not wanting to seem creepy.

"I think my water is almost empty, and a Gatorade sounds nice too…" he says, wiping some of the sweat from his forehead. "Okay," you say, walking over to get his water bottle, "Ill be back in a bit!"

He watches as you walk out of those doors, taking a second to think about you before going back to the punching bag. John loved the way you looked at him, he could tell you wanted to know more about him, try and get a little closer, but he didn't know if that was the best thing for you. You really shouldn't be concerning yourself over him.

When you came back he was wiping himself down with a towel, finished with that portion of his workout. You said hi to him again before handing him his water bottle, "thanks" he said softly. For a moment he felt the tips of his fingers graze your skin, his stomach fluttering a little as he realized. It wasn't much but it did a lot for him. He drank his water before closing the lid and putting it down onto the bench, John looked back at you who looked like you were waiting for something.

Just looking at you, John thought fuck it. A little advice wouldn't hurt. The other already have their own opinions of him.

"I think you should stop going out with that guy" he said softly. "What?" you said, confused but you didn't show any sign of running off. "Sorry.." he said, grabbing the other bottle of Gatorade you brought him, "I just overheard you and Yelena talking earlier when i was in the kitchen" "oh." "not to like tell you what to do, but if you're uncomfortable then maybe stop it before it gets too weird."

You take a moment to think, maybe he was right, it could get worse and you'd be subjected to this guy for who knows how long. Looking back up at John, you give him a little nod, "yeah… maybe you're right. Thanks Walker."

"Call me John." He says, patting his hand on your shoulder before walking back to the gym. The feeling of his hand on you sent something down your spine. It felt kinda nice. His size next to you made you realize how much of him you never really recognized. You wonder how big his hands would be next to yours, or even other parts of you. How would the callouses feel against your skin? How do the freckles on his skin look like up-close?

Sure, you've had the thought that he was good looking, handsome in a classic American kinda way, but never really thought of the details. As he walked away you could see the way the muscles on his back moved with him, and you tilted your head a little as you watched. You were a little enamored with him.

As John went back to his routine, he tried to act like he didn't notice, but he could tell you were thinking about the interaction you just had with him and that you were watching him as casually as you could. He knew it was a little wrong, but he loved the feeling of your attention. Before he started a new set on the machine he looked back at you, who was still staring at him. "I'll see you later yeah?" he says, a small smile on his face. You quickly snap yourself out of whatever was going on before scrambling to get your stuff. "Yeah!" you say, starting to make your way out of the training room.

"See you later… John." It felt a little weird to say his name that way for the first time, but you could see that he liked it. You could tell you were getting a little flustered, and proceeded to get out of there before either of you could tell what as going on.

A couple days later, you were going around the tower again, holding a small box of cookies while you searched for literally anyone. Lucky for you, as you turned around the corner, somewhere down a hallway near Johns room, you bumped into him. Looking up at him again, that feeling came back to you. "whoops- sorry" he said, giving a little chuckle. You never really gave much of a thought towards facial hair but for some reason you really noticed it on him. The short stubble of his beard growing out.

Wonder what it would feel like against your palm…

"Its okay" you reply, laughing a little too nervously. "uhm-" taking a second, you remember what you were doing. "I helped Bob bake some cookies, and I was trying to see if any of you guys wanted to try it?" you said, lifting the container up a bit. You look at him in the eye, and suddenly you notice how blue they actually were, and how nice his lashes were too. "Sure" he says, a small smile on his face, only breaking eye contact when he looks down to get the treat.

Taking a bite, he nods in approval. "Its good" he says, still chewing. He looks at you again at he eats the cookie, continuing to hum and nod. Enamored, you just watch him, enjoying the smile om his face. You could feel that some sort of intimacy was building, and you were letting it happen.

"oh- you have a little something" you try and make a gesture on your face to mimic where the crumbs on his face were, but when he tried to wipe his cheek he didn't get it. "Its more like a little-" and suddenly, your hand was reaching up to his chin, thumb grazing against his scruff and getting the crumbs off as you feel the texture of his beard on your skin. When you put your hand down, he smiles again, still looking at you. "Thanks." he says, a little under his breath. For a moment you realize just how close you were, it didn't take much for you to hear him.

"I gotta go find the others" you say softly, looking back down at the cookies. "Okay then" he says before quickly grabbing another one from the container, "see you later."