Grief
Chapter 1
A cold wind swept through the city as Steve Rogers walked down the sidewalk, little droplets of rain landing upon the concrete and in his hair, plastering the blonde strands to his head. He folded his arms to his chest, huddling deeper under the jacket that sat on his shoulders. A shiver wracked his body and his limbs trembled. He was so cold. His nose was frozen, and his fingers were stiff. He'd been out all night, aimlessly wandering around the city in the rain. It was 1:23 in the morning, and he'd left the avengers tower around 8:30 that night. That's how long he'd been in the rain; in the cold, blistering wind. Tears leaked down his face, staining his cheeks. At around 8:00 that night, he'd gotten a phone call; a very sad phone call. Peggy Carter was dead. She had been the only thing that connected him to his past, connected him to his rightful home. He let out a gentle sob, sniffling. She was dead.
He sat down on the edge of the sidewalk, staring down at a puddle of water that had collected between his feet. The street lamp above him shone down on him, the light from the bulb reflecting in the puddle. He stared at the light as it danced in the water, his thoughts suddenly disappearing. A car drove by, its tires splashing water up from the street and onto Steve. Now he was drenched. Not that he cared. He didn't care about anything anymore. The avengers meant nothing. Being the Captain meant nothing. Staying alive meant nothing. Steve didn't care if he was cold. He didn't care if he was hungry, or tired. He just didn't care. Nothing mattered anymore. Not without her. He sat there for what felt like hours but had been nothing more than 30 minutes, sobbing to the heavens. "Why her….?" He whispered. "Why not me, instead?"
Steve pulled his legs up to his chest, resting his chin on his knees. He closed his eyes, still shivering, his teeth chattering. He hadn't meant to fall asleep, but he did.
Natasha and Tony had been driving around the city for almost two hours looking for Steve. They hadn't noticed that he'd left the tower until Natasha went up to his room to check on him. They'd heard about Peggy, and they had decided to give Steve some space, knowing that he probably didn't want to talk about it. They had assumed that he'd just been going to bed, but when the clock struck midnight, and Natasha went to go check on him and he wasn't there, Nat and Tony had become worried. They knew that he'd run off, because it's what he usually did when he was sad or angry. But he usually wasn't out this late, and for this long. That's why they were so worried.
"Tony, we've been out for nearly two hours now and we've scoped the entire city. Where could he possibly be?" Natasha asked, glancing at him.
Tony sighed. "I don't…hey! What's that?" He pulled over, pointing at something that was slumped over on its side on the sidewalk.
Natasha climbed out of the car, racing over to the figure. She dropped to the figure's side, realizing that it was a person. She pulled the person's hood off, gasping when she saw that it was Steve. "Steve?!" Nat called out, rolling him onto his back. She patted his cheek multiple times, trying to rouse him. "Steve." He didn't respond.
"Is it him?" Tony asked, running over.
She nodded, tears gathering in her eyes. She quickly scooped Steve up into her arms, carrying him to the car. She laid him down gently in the back seat, then she climbed in, lifting his head up and placing it in her lap. He was shivering horribly, and his lips were tinted blue. "Hurry! Get us home before he freezes to death,"
Tony raced over to the driver's side door, hopping into the car and beginning to drive towards the avenger's tower.
Natasha glanced down at Steve's pale face, stroking his cheekbone with her thumb and running her hand through his damp hair. "What happened to you Steve? What happened?" She whispered, hoping that he'd be okay.