"No, just curious," Steve said, holding his hands up placatingly. "I mean, I haven't actually seen your apartment, so I can't say for sure, but it seems like it's a fine spot. I was just wondering."

Gemma was quiet for a moment.

"Yes, I plan to move back in," she said. "It's my home. I'm not just going to abandon it."

Steve nodded. "Okay," he said. "I'll let Strange know, if I happen to see him first."

Gemma nodded. Going over to the wall, she pulled down a jar of tea and opened it. Giving it a quick sniff to make sure it was still fresh, she grinned.

"Mmm, this sounds good right now," she said. She glanced at him. "Want some? This stuff is a little on the sweeter side."

"Sure, I'll try it," Steve said with a little shrug. "Can't hurt to try it, at least."

"Great," Gemma said, grinning. "Come on, let's go upstairs, my good teapot is up there."

Steve motioned for her to go first, following her upstairs and looking around curiously. He'd never actually been in to the apartment before, after all.

Gemma unlocked the door and headed into the apartment, sighing a bit and relaxing even as she headed for the kitchen. Setting the kettle on the stove, she gave her teapot a quick rinse while she waited for the water to boil.

"Make yourself comfortable," she said to Steve.

"Nice place." Steve settled on the couch. "Looks very comfy." Not exactly what he'd expected, given that Kenzie normally lived here too.

"It is," Gemma said as she pulled out a pair of mugs. "It's home. Home has to be comfy, right?"

Steve smiled. "It doesn't have to be, but it's nice when it is," he agreed. "Makes things easier to handle."

"Definitely," Gemma said, grinning. "I'm sorry I don't have any food around, I'd ask if you wanted to stay for dinner if I had dinner to cook."

Steve snickered. "That's okay," he said with a grin. "If you want, we can run to the store. I've been told I'm a pretty good pack mule."

"You sure?" Gemma asked. "I mean, we can always go out somewhere..."

"Whatever you prefer," Steve said with a shrug. "Doesn't matter to me."

"Then let's go to the grocery store real quick," Gemma said decisively. "I feel like staying in this evening."

Steve nodded and motioned for her to lead the way. He was serious about being a pack mule, after all.

A couple weeks later, Gemma was finally settling back into her apartment fully. It still seemed big and empty without Kenzie around, but it was nice to have the company in the shop occasionally from Steve.

Steve didn't spend all his time with Gemma, but he did spend a few hours a day with her. He'd gotten pretty attached when she'd been around all the time, and he found he really enjoyed spending time with her, so he wasn't going to stop just because she moved back to her apartment.

Gemma had managed to get some interest in her shop, as well, once she put up a 'hiring' sign out front, and she'd managed to hire one and set up a couple more interviews with some local college students. All in all, things seemed to be going pretty well, right up until her magic got out of her control one morning and took down a set of shelves in the shop.

Steve was helping her do inventory, so he happened to be there when it happened. He went on alert at the crash, looking over at her.

"Everything okay?" he asked, frowning.

"I'm--I'm fine," Gemma said, still shaking. "I don't know what happened. Everything was fine, and then suddenly it got away from me."

"What did?" Steve walked over to her. "Are you sure you're okay? You sound pretty shaken."

"Don't-- don't come any closer," Gemma said wrapping her arms around herself. "I don't want it to go off again. My magic could hurt you.

"You won't hurt me," Steve said, watching her. "I promise, I'm fine. Just relax, Gemma, you'll be okay."