It had all been a blur. One moment Steve was fighting Hygra agents and the next thing he knew he woke up inside a dark and filthy cell room. Whatever had happened during the mission someone must've snuck up behind him as he was fighting and dealt a painful blow to his head with something hard. With an electric shocker or a crowbar, he didn't know but his hair was matted with dried blood.

That was all about a week ago.

Sitting against the stone wall, Steve examined his arms. New bruises and cuts littered all over from this afternoon and in the crook of his elbows were spots of blood from needles that were unceremoniously shoved in. He ached all over but at this point he didn't care anymore. The torture and test runs had been going on ever since he first got here and he knew they weren't going to stop any time soon unless the scientist- who referred to himself as Doctor Bones which Steve thought sounded ridiculous- got what he wanted.

He sighed and shifted his body to where he laid on his side on the cold, hard stones. Only one cheap lightbulb lit the whole space and it was humid without any ventilation system or windows. Extremely uncomfortable but it was better than being inside the lab treated like a lab rat. It was most definitely going to be the same routine tomorrow of pain and he figured he might as well sleep early. It wasn't like he was going to escape tomorrow. He had tried that the second day he'd been here but it only resulted in a near death experience from five bullets to the back. Without his shield, which they immediately took away from him while he was still knocked out, he basically had no way of protecting himself in case he ever did try again. This Hydra base was more secured than he'd ever seen. Admitting it felt bitter but he wouldn't be able to leave this hell without help.

Forcing his mind and body to relax, Steve finally closed his eyes and let sleep overtake him.

It had been a little over two hours when Steve felt someone touching his shoulder. Startled, he jumped up and brought his fist back to punch whoever it was only to find no one. Not a single Hydra agent inside his cell and the door remained shut.

There was something still touching his shoulder and for a split second he feared ghosts actually existed but when he turned his head to look it wasn't a hand but a different type of creature.

It was a snail.

Now bewildered, Steve picked it up with two fingers and laid it on his other hand. It was roughly eight centimeters long and had a hazel body with a swirl of different browns on its shell. Steve had seen some of these creatures time to time during missions and exploring New York but he'd never paid any attention to them. Though with one inside a Hydra base that was an unusual place to find one.

Steve sat down and carefully set the snail on the ground. Looking around the room, he searched if there were any holes in the walls but found nothing. How did it get in here? He was too tired to figure it out as he looked at the snail.

"You shouldn't be in a place like this," he said. Even though it was just a snail, that didn't mean he wanted anything bad to happen to it. Every time Hydra agents forced him out of the cell they always left the door open. Maybe then the snail could make its escape. With that thought in mind, he laid back down and closed his eyes.

Hours later the unlocking and creaking of the metal door jolted him awake and this time Steve found three Hydra agents storming in with guns and demanding him to get up. He obliged and with the guns jabbing his back, they left the cell and headed to the lab that made Steve grit his teeth. It was just another day of experiments and beatings. Nothing new he thought grimly.

"Get in there," one of the agents said as Steve was roughly shoved to the ground back in the cell. With new pain and aches all over his body, he had no energy in himself to get off the ground. He heard the door shut and lock and Steve sighed in relief for finally being in solitude again.

Eyes flickering across the ground, he quickly sat up when he saw the snail still there in the back corner of the room. Slowly, he dragged himself up and crawled over to the snail and sat next to it. "Why are you still here?" he asked as he picked it up and stared at it. He didn't know how a snail's brain worked but now Steve thought it probably wasn't very bright.

He frowned but was somewhat surprised. "You really shouldn't be here," he repeated, "You're not strong enough and you won't survive." He must've looked like an idiot talking to a snail like it was a person, but no one was around and he didn't care at this point. He hadn't talked to anyone, aside from the doctor which Steve told him to 'go to hell', in days.

"But…" he paused. Maybe what he was about to say was probably insane and obtuse. Maybe he was going crazy himself, but that didn't stop his lips from forming a smile. "I appreciate the company, that is if you won't mind." He laid down on his side before setting it a foot away from his face.

If they're going to be stuck together for who knew how long, then he might as well give the snail a name. He was no professional at coming up with good and meaningful names but the first one he thought of kind of suited the snail. It sounded a bit feminine for a hermaphrodite but it was easy and made a lot of sense.

Shelly.

He stared at Shelly for a while longer, taking note of the detailed markings and the way it moved its weird looking eyes, before letting his body relax and closing his eyes.

Another guard slammed the door open waking him up. It was only one this time but he didn't move to get up. There was probably a dozen of them hiding behind that door. The guard slid a tray of food across the floor before shutting and locking the door again.

Every few days they always sent him a little bit of food but Steve never bothered eating it. He refused to give them what they wanted. He'd rather die of starvation than live long to have their way with him. After not eating for over a week he had lost so much weight and strength he thought that a month later he would look like his scrawny old self. Or maybe even die.

Remembering he had a cell buddy, Steve searched for Shelly. It didn't take too long to find it as it was a few feet away across the cell. Getting up, Steve hissed at the aches still all over his body. He should've been healed by now but since he never replenished his energy by eating the serum wasn't working properly as it should. Not that he had any problems with it.

Picking Shelly up, he stroked its shell with his index finger, feeling the grooves along his skin. "Good morning," he said but then wondered, "Or evening, or whatever time of day it is." Without a window in sight he lost count after a few days.

He was about to go through his normal day of sitting there waiting for the agents to come and leaving the food untouched but when he looked to actually see what the food was he noticed it was bread, raspberries, and a water bottle. An idea suddenly popped in his head and he went over to it.

Setting Shelly down, he opened the water bottle and poured a little in the cap and then ripped the berries into pieces. He placed it in front of the snail and watched it move towards the food and eat it. It ate just as slow as it moved but Steve didn't mind spending minutes watching it eat.

"I won't let you die," he told it, "Not in here."

Days went by with the beatings and experiments. Steve was already used to it all but he was just grateful that they at least continued giving him fruits and water. He always gave it to the snail because he refused to let it die. He probably shouldn't care about a creature such as this but caring for it gave him something to do in this retched place. If Shelly were to die it would be all because of him and Steve wouldn't know what to do. He didn't want to be alone again.

Watching Shelly eating smashed strawberries, a loud rumble escaped his stomach. He placed a hand on it as if that would do something but the noise only got louder. He was practically dying from starvation to the point he moved sluggishly. Hell, even the agents lowered their guards because of it.

His eyes moved from the snail to the left-over strawberries and roll of bread on the tray. Mouth salivating from just looking at it, Steve weakly grabbed a strawberry and nibbled on his share. It was only a fruit yet it felt like he was in heaven.

Steve still had hope. He still believed his team would come save him and he didn't want them finding him dead. Hydra could do as much as they wanted with him he didn't care this time. He refused to die just yet.

"Besides," looking back at Shelly, fondness grew in his chest, "Who's gonna watch over you if I'm gone? Certainly not Hydra."

The next day the agents barged in and whisked him away to the lab. Once there the routine of needles shoved in his arms and blood drawn while strapped down to a chair happened all within a few minutes. That was usually it and then he would sit there while assistants ran his data through a computer. He never expected the doctor running this place to come visit. Steve had only seen him three times in the past for a short amount of time and it was usually to try and intimidate him which was futile.

"Greetings Captain Rogers," Bones said, not even looking him in the face as he read the paper on his clipboard, "How are you?"

Steve glared daggers at him, "How about you look at me and see for yourself."

The doctor made no move to look up, "Don't worry I already know. I was just trying to be polite. But that's not why I am here, I came here to tell you that today is the last day for test runs."

"And what makes me believe that?"

"Because my team has finally done it."

Steve scoffed, "In what? Creating another serum? That isn't new to me Doctor Bones. Before you even inject it into anyone my team is going to find me and kick your ass." He wasn't usually fond of cursing but he was just so tired of everything.

"Close, but not quite," Bones replied, not even acknowledging Steve's threat. It was only when he finally looked up from his clipboard did Steve see the sinister look in his eyes and smile. "It's actually more of a de-serum if you want to call it that. Tomorrow we'll inject it into you and probably celebrate watching you revert to your old self."

Eyes widening, Steve tried to free himself from the straps on his wrist and ankles. He seethed, "And then what? You're going to kill me since I won't be able to do anything?"

The doctor looked delighted watching him struggle. "Nah that wouldn't be fun at all," he smiled, "We'll just let you die from an asthma attack or whatever else you have." Turning around, Bones walked away laughing, "Have fun with him boys. This will be the last time to do it."

"You won't get away with this!" Steve shouted. The view of the doctor was soon blocked as three guards came in and cracked their knuckles.

That night Steve sat in his cell against the stone wall with his knees against his chest. He had to do something about this. He had to at least try and get out of here before they take him to the lab and take out something that's a part of him. The thought of being helpless and weak again sent a shiver down his spine. He couldn't imagine a world just as Steve Rogers and not also Captain America.

Shelly rested on his right knee as Steve brushed its shell with his finger. "This is it buddy, I might not be here any longer," he said, "If you got here on your own then I'm sure you'll be fine, but that doesn't stop me from worrying." Resting his head against the wall, he closed his eyes and pictured himself back home with Tony and the others. He longed to be with them again.

Roughly an hour passed before a loud noise jolted him awake. Realizing he had been asleep, Steve frantically searched for his friend and sighed in relief when he found it drinking water in the bottle cap. He crawled his way over to Shelly and picked it up and went back to curling himself against the wall. With Shelly in his palms, Steve strained his ears to hear if there were any more sounds.

There was a faint banging sound he could barely make out. Did they have to use a machine to de-serum him? If Doctor Erksine had to use a pod to inject the serum into him then Hydra would probably have to use one similar to it. Thinking about what they were doing had him bringing Shelly closer to his chest.

"It's going to be alright," he whispered to the snail, or more to himself he didn't know but that didn't stop his heart from racing and body trembling. Either way he was not ready.

And for the first time in a long time this feeling he felt was fear.

But he swallowed it down and stared headstrong at the door. "I'm not going to let go. I refuse to leave your side. I'll fight them if I have to," he told Shelly.

Suddenly he heard heavy steps that were heading right towards the door. Clenching his teeth, Steve shielded Shelly close to him as much as possible and braced himself as the door blasted open.

"Cap?"

Snapping his head up, Steve eyes widened as he saw Tony in his Iron Man suit staring down at him. Bewilderment and surprise crossed Steve's face before smirking, "Took you long enough."

He couldn't see Tony's face but he was definitely sure that he rolled his eyes. "Oh I'm sorry, this Hydra base took a little bit longer to track since it's underground in the middle of the jungle in Columbia," his sarcasm ever present, "But seriously Steve are you alright? You look like you had a rough day. Or rather a rough month."

"I'm fine," Steve said as he took the hand Tony offered and stood up, "What's the situation?"

"Half the agents are down but the scientist is still on the loose and unsurprisingly he ended up calling more agents for back up and they're on their way here."

Steve nodded, "Alright, did you get-"

"Your shield?" Tony interrupted, "Yep, it's against the wall outside."

A flood of relief washed through him as he sighed deeply. "Tony -geez- Tony you have no idea how grateful I am that you guys came back for me." Suddenly remembering what was in his hand Steve knew he had to put the snail somewhere. He couldn't fight while holding it. He feared he might lose it or even worse, accidentally kill it.

Kneeling down, Steve set the snail on the ground. "Don't worry, Shelly, I'll be right back," he told it before standing back up and walking out to grab his shield.

Tony followed him out gawking, "Um, Steve, why was there a snail in your hand?"

"Ask questions later, Tony."

A few minutes passed and they managed to knock out every single Hydra agent inside the base. Steve had made it his mission to track down Bones and when he found him hiding under a desk he had never felt so much joy swinging his shield at his face.

"Brutal," Tony murmured.

He turned around, "Are Nat and the others outside?"

"Yes, Steve, it's just you and Tony inside," Natasha's voice appeared from Tony's communication device, "And Tony, are you guys in the clear so I can set the timer off?"

"Yeah you can start the timer," Tony said.

Steve's brows furrowed, "What timer?"

"Cap, we're planted a bomb in here. We have to destroy this Hydra base, Fury's orders."

"It's set," Natasha spoke, "You have five minutes to get out of there."

Steve merely nodded and together they made a mad dash towards the exit, passing bodies and damaged objects along the way. Sprinting up the stairs, Steve's heart jumped in anticipation when he saw light at the end of the stair way. He'd never been more excited at seeing sunlight in his life. He made it, he was finally free. He and Shelly were finally getting out of this hellhole.

His face suddenly went pale.

Shit.

Shelly

They were a few feet away from the exit but Steve stopped dead in his tracks, leaving Tony to stop flying and looked back at him.

"What the hell are you doing, Steve?" Tony demanded, "We need to go before, you know, die!"

He took a hesitant step back. "I-I," he choked. He left the snail all the way back in the cell room. He had completely forgot about Shelly when he had promised it that he would come back. He couldn't believe that he was going to let his companion die.

Taking a few more steps backwards, Steve dropped his shield in terror. "I can't," he managed to say, "Not yet, there's someone I need to save." Not wasting anymore time he whipped around and dashed back down the stairs.

"Who?!" Tony yelled, he hadn't left his spot but he felt extremely tempted to go after him.

"My friend!"

As soon as he passed the desk the doctor was under he heard Natasha blaring through the comm Tony had given him earlier. "What the hell, Steve, Tony just told me that you're running back to save a snail. Get out of there now."

"I can't leave it," Steve repeated.

"It's just a snail."

"It's my friend, Natasha."

He figured that saying her whole first name was enough convincing when he heard her give a heavy sigh. "You have two minutes. Don't die or I'll never forgive you," she warned.

"Thank you," Steve said and he meant it. After running down a hallway did he finally make it to the cell. When he entered, he found Shelly eating the leftover blueberries from yesterday.

"Can't eat right now," he said as he scooped up the snail in his left palm and darted out of there. Frantically running to get the hell out when Natasha told him he had one minute left he jumped over broken desks and stones, almost tripping over an abandoned gun.

A few seconds later Tony spoke, "Where are you right now?"

"Uh," Steve looked right to see broken windows and inside was the laboratory. He swallowed, "I just passed the lab."

"Holy fuck," Tony wheezed, "You're not even halfway out. Hold on I'm coming after you just- just keep running."

Steve took a quick glance at the snail, making sure it was okay. "Don't worry, you're going to be fine," he reassured. Look at this, he thought. He'd never imagined that he would risk his life for a snail of all things.

Turning a corner, he finally saw Tony flying towards him. He slowed down as Tony went behind him and wrapped his arms around his waist before blasting back towards the exit. Steve let himself relax as his feet dangled above the ground and avoiding all the rubble. After barely eating and torture for a month he desperately needed to catch his breath. "Thanks," he breathed out.

"Shut it Cap, I'm not in the mood to talk while I'm trying to save our asses."

Natasha came back to the comms, "You have 10 seconds guys."

"Hold onto my right arm. Steve," Tony ordered. He unwrapped his left arm and put it out behind him, blasting his repulsor from the palm to give an extra boost.

"3 seconds."

"C'mon," Tony muttered. They were now back to the stairs and they could both see the exit again. Steve unconsciously pressed Shelly closer to his chest as the light got bigger.

A split second after they went out the door the whole base collapsed from the explosion and caved in, crushing everything inside. Tony flew up towards the sky and whistled in triumph.

Adjusting his eyes to the light, Steve could see the whole view below them. He saw the vast jungle stretching out for miles and just below them was a giant circle of broken soil and trees over the once was base. "Whoa," he whispered. Bringing Shelly out of hiding he showed it the view, "Look at this."

Tony took them to the Quinjet which was located a hundred meters away from the base. Steve was excitedly looking forward to touching the ground that wasn't stone or tiles. He couldn't wait to move freely.

Tony was still five meters above ground when he caught Steve off guard and dropped him from there. Yelping in surprise, Steve landed on his back and wheezed. "That's what you get," he heard Tony say.

Looking down, he opened his hands and held his breath, hoping that nothing happened to injure his friend. Only when he saw Shelly looking perfectly fine did Steve let his head fall back on the grass and smiled. "We did it," he sighed in relief.

"You're so stupid," Tony said as he landed next to him but smirked and offered him a hand again.

Steve grinned and took it, "Well what can I say, we grew a strong bond."

It had been two weeks since the rescue and Steve had made a full recovery. There had been no missions during that time which allowed him to stay and rest in the Avengers tower and eat everything out of Tony's refrigerator.

Shelly had been accepted into the Avengers as their pet. Tony hadn't complained as he called it 'low maintenance' and even bought a 50-gallon tank filled with moist soil and leaves instead of water for it to live in.

At first, Steve had been ecstatic to have the snail with him. Most of the time he spent sitting on his bed and watching his friend doing almost nothing inside the glass that was on top of his dresser in his room. He even created pages of sketches and paintings of the snail. But as time went by Steve's excitement seemed to dim.

Walking up to the glass, he bent down and watched Shelly drink from the plastic bowl. He smiled, but he felt the complete opposite from happy.

Natasha raised a brow. "You want to release the snail?" she asked as if she couldn't believe what he said.

Steve nodded, looking down at Shelly in his palm, "Yes, I feel like it would be best to have it living freely. I did some research and it turns out there's a large garden attraction a mile away. I think that's a good place to leave it."

He had walked into the living room where everyone was sitting on the couch and floor watching tv. The moment he announced what he wanted to do everyone stared at him with looks ranging from confusion to sympathy.

"But isn't he like, your best friend?" Clint spoke up.

"I wouldn't necessarily call it that but yes I do care about it but at the same time we can't just keep it here forever," he tried explaining. He didn't want to stay around them anymore, he had to get this done before he might end up changing his mind. "I'm leaving," he announced, "I'll be back in a few minutes."

Turning around, he started making his way towards the elevator when a hand clasped his shoulder and Tony appeared next to him. "I'll go with you," he said.

Tony drove them to the garden and when walking past the black metal gates Steve's mouth went agape. "This place is huge and-"

"Gorgeous? I know I know," Tony finished, "You picked a good place, rarely anyone maintains it yet it still looks great so I think this is a safe place for the snail."

Steve followed him to the corner of the garden and examined the space. There was a large maple tree surrounded by bushes and a few feet away was a shallow pond. It was the perfect place.

Kneeling down, he set his hand on the floor and watched Shelly get off. "You may have not known what's been going on this whole time but thank you for staying with me until the end," he told the snail as he stroked its shell a few more times and for the last time.

He heard Tony snicker behind him but ignored him and continued, "Enjoy the freedom in your new home, you deserve it." When he watched Shelly slide away into the bushes and hide Steve stood up but made no move to leave.

Tony came up to his side and stared at the bushes, his face looking impressed. "Wow, I'd never thought you'd grow so attached to a snail. So much that you would even risk your life for it. That is some serious devotion of friendship right there. I must be high on drugs if I ever thought of doing that."

Steve never took his eyes off the spot he last saw the snail and clenched his fists. "All that time I've been held captive I had always thought that I'd be alone," he began solemnly, "But then I found that little fella in my cell. At first I thought nothing of it but as days went by with the beatings and experiments I always found it there still inside my cell. At the end of the day we were always stuck together and I guess it kinda just grew on me."

He finally tore his eyes away to look at Tony, "If you hadn't saved me that day, if it were any other day after it, they would've already injected me with something that would've made me my old self again. So, when I heard those noises I thought they were preparing their machines or whatever it was and for the first time since being in that base I felt fear and panic run through me. The snail was the only thing that gave me hope that things would turn out fine in the end. It was the only company I ever had."

Tony stared at him in silence, his lips pursed as he thought before finally saying, "Then why not keep it?"

Steve shook his head. "I couldn't," he explained, "I realized that I was only treating it like when we were in the cell. I didn't want it trapped inside a glass box for the rest of its life. It deserves the same freedom I got when you and the others freed me. This is the least I can do." He sighed, "Anything can happen now that it's on its own but at least it's living its life how it should be."

He must've looked down about it because Tony placed his hand on his shoulder and squeezed it, "If it was fine inside a Hydra base then it will be perfectly fine in this garden."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Steve smiled.

They walked away from the spot and out of the garden, heading back towards Tony's car.

"But still," Tony continued and Steve already knew what he was going to say, "I can't believe you bonded with a snail. You seemed more attached to it than your teammates and that breaks my poor heart."

"Are you implying that you're jealous, Tony?"

He scoffed and rolled his eyes, "Me? I would be jealous of a snail? Of course not, that sounds so absurd. I can't believe you would say that."

Steve actually laughed.

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