A/N - So sorry for the late update guys! Almost two weeks! Whoops… Summer vacation has crashed upon my life, bringing with it many people and lots of activities, so it has been rather difficult to find time to write. But here it is at last, and I hope you enjoy it!
I do not own any of the MARVEL characters or places, I simply write about them.
Many thanks to my dedicated beta, squirrellnut, and for sacrificing much of her time for this story and for me.
Chapter Two: Steve
"Alright kids, this is where the going gets tough," stated Tony Stark as he nonchalantly waved his million dollar skis around his head, very nearly decapitating several of his teammates.
"What was this run called again?" Clint peered skeptically down the steep slope. Natasha smirked and slapped the archer heftily on his back, making him squawk and grapple for a hold of her jacket. Scowling at the two agents, Steve also looked down the unnaturally long ski run, sincerely doubting that he would enjoy his trip down. Shaking his head in resignation, he shared a look with Bruce and grimly vowed to himself never to accept an invitation to go skiing with Tony ever again. This could not end well.
"What's wrong, Birdie? Afraid of flying the coop?" Tony jabbed Clint in the side, almost sending him tumbling down the hill. Disentangling himself from Natasha, the agent sniffed in disdain and turned away, feigning indifference.
"Maybe I just value my life more than you do, Iron Pants."
Tony rolled his eyes, and then leaned close to the group, lowering his voice theatrically.
"They say that at one point a man was skiing here and half way down the hill he was attacked by fifteen bears and eaten. They later found his mangled remains along with bloody paw prints leading away into the forest. And every night you can see the silhouette of a man and fifteen bears gliding down this very slope."
Clint's eyes were wide, and when Bruce patted his back reassuringly he jumped in surprise, swinging around and nearly punching the scientist in the jaw before he caught himself and smiled halfheartedly.
"Well! Off we go then. You go first, Clint ol' boy." Unceremoniously breaking the quiet atmosphere, Tony quickly shoved Clint down the hill, laughing heartily as he did so. Narrowing her eyes at the millionaire, Natasha sent him a withering look before taking off down the hill after her partner.
"Hah! Crazy woman. No sense of humor." Grumpily stabbing his ski poles into the snow, Tony swiftly shoved off, yelling back at the two remaining Avengers on the hill, "See you at the bottom! Don't stop for shawarma!"
As Tony rapidly disappeared into the oncoming mist, Bruce and Steve silently shared another look.
"Well. Doctor Banner?" Raising an eyebrow at the taciturn scientist, Steve couldn't help but dwell on the unattractive idea of skiing down the run so encouragingly nicknamed "Crossbone Hill".
"Those storm clouds don't look too good." Bruce gestured with his hand to a mass of menacing black clouds in the sky that appeared to be rapidly advancing towards them, swallowing up clusters of fluffy white clouds one by one and blocking out the brilliant sunshine that had seemed to promise a beautiful day just that morning. Squinting upwards, Steve 'hmmed' in agreement and shifted his skis, psychologically preparing himself for push off.
"Well, here I go." Tentatively pushing off, the super-soldier gathered speed, and glancing over at Bruce, grinned, and the scientist smiled back. Maybe this isn't so bad after all, Steve thought, as the sharp wind rushed past his face, carrying small bits of ice that struck his face like tiny grains of sand. Anyway, this felt a lot better than being stuck in a meeting with Nick Fury. The run seemed to go on forever, and the soldier recalled Tony's passing comment about "Crossbone Hill" being almost 20 minutes long. As Steve entered a small grove of trees the wind changed considerably, increasing from an exhilaratingly sharp breeze to icy cold gusts that swept up the snow into light flurries around him. The sunlight peeking through the treetops dimmed, and then faded altogether behind an ominous cloud. Surprised at the sudden change in the weather, Steve looked up quickly, warily gauging the dark sky, and noted the biting wind that howled in his ears.
All of a sudden he felt himself to be once again the single occupant of a burning, crashing ship, helpless to steer, and plunging to his death in the Arctic. Closing his eyes briefly he thrust the image out of his mind but Peggy's broken voice echoed in his heart, haunting him, calling to him. Without warning tears welled up in Steve's eyes and blurred his vision. In his desperate effort to wipe them away he veered sharply to the right, and losing his balance fell to the icy ground in a tangle of skis and poles, just barely missing a tree. But as his right ski caught on an unseen tree trunk it snapped in two, sending Steve rolling further down the descent only to slam into another tree and fall into darkness.
Steve felt cold. Not put-on-an-extra-sweater cold, but really, truly cold. Though his eyes were closed, everything felt white. The ground was hard beneath him, and he felt very–for lack of a better word–soggy. Yet oddly enough his mind registered his body as perfectly comfortable.
A sudden shock ran through him at the unexpectedness of the strong gust of icy wind that blew over him, ruffling his damp hair. Bruce's concerned voice filtered through at last, and the soldier groaned and shifted, shivering in the midst of the storm.
"Steve!"
His eyelids fluttered, and tired eyes managed to slowly bring the scientist into focus. Squinting in the raw wind that blasted about him, Steve studied his whitened surroundings, trying to recall what had happened. Sitting up proved to be far more difficult than he had expected, and his head swam, throbbing in sync with the sudden stab of pain in his right leg. A look of anguish crossed his face, and he squeezed his eyes shut, biting back a moan. A warm hand against his forehead, and another on his wrist prompted him to open his eyes with an immense effort, encountering Bruce's warm brown gaze.
"Hey there, Cap. How's your head?" The underlying tone of anxiousness in the older man's voice nagged at something in Steve, but he managed a small shrug in an attempt to assuage Bruce's obvious worry.
"Been better." Shivering again, the soldier wrapped his arms around himself, and tucked his chin into his chest in an effort to conserve warmth. The cold wind whipped about the solitary duo, and Steve shifted nearer his teammate. The two grown men laughed awkwardly before huddling even closer together, sitting side by side to keep warm. Bruce pulled his cellphone out and informed Steve that he'd already tried calling Tony but to no avail. Gazing dispiritedly at the near-zero reception display on the electronic screen, the scientist sighed. Steve closed his eyes, unconsciously curling into himself as far as his broken leg would allow as Bruce lightly slapped him on his cheek, telling him to stay awake.
"Hey Steve, don't fall asleep on me." Forcing his eyes half open, Steve complied while clenching his jaw to still his chattering teeth, almost physically feeling his lips turn blue.
"Mmm cold, Bruce." Mumbling his complaint to his friend, Steve's numbed mind wandered, far back through the dusty halls of his memory. Reality seemed to fade, and the coldness of his body seemed to recede. Warm memories of his happy family, and his mother's kind smile glowed radiantly in his mind. But before long the fuzzy images also began to dissipate, and Steve felt himself slowly succumbing to the darkness that persistently clawed at his consciousness. Bruce's sudden exclamation of happiness jerked the super-soldier out of his quiet state.
"I've got reception! Oh, baby Steve! This is great! Hey, Tony?" The scientist was practically shouting with joy next to the soldier as he dialed a number on his phone, and Steve flinched at the noise in his sensitive ears. He could hear Tony's voice on the other end of the call, but he really couldn't muster enough energy to feel happy about it. All he wanted to do was sleep…
"Hey Steve! Don't fall asleep! Uh, yeah he doesn't look too good Tony. You might want to hurry. Track my phone and you can find us. Hey, Steve! Look at me. Focus on my voice, and don't fall asleep." The minutes ticked by and Steve barely kept himself awake, mostly because Bruce kept slapping his face, gently at first, until he realized that the soldier was so cold he couldn't even feel the slaps any more. A few minutes stretched into seemingly hours for Steve, and his mind wandered towards the inviting relief of unconsciousness again. The snow and wind still howled with vehemence, and the piercing pain in his leg seemed to recede into a dull throb as the limb grew numb. Everything was quiet before Bruce suddenly perked up next to him after apparently hearing something, and jumped to his feet yelling Tony's name into the wind. The sound reverberated around Steve's throbbing head, and he groaned in complaint, instantly gaining the scientist's attention.
"Hey, Steve. It's gonna be alright kid. Tony's here. They found us." The super-soldier absentmindedly nodded his head, and let it fall to his chest again in exhaustion. His eyes slipped closed but then opened again when he heard another familiar voice calling him.
"Hey Capsicle! How you feeling, big guy?" Tony's cheery voice was a welcome sound, but Steve instead shivered and coughed in answer.
"C-cold. And d-don't call me ca-capsicle." The billionaire shared a concerned glance with Bruce, and before Steve realized what was happening, the two other men had him on his feet and supported between the two of them. His leg made a painful objection to the sudden movement, and the soldier groaned in pain. Tony's armor was cold and hard against his shivering body, and thats when he realized that Bruce was also shivering violently too. Steve wanted so badly to ask if the scientist was alright, but his tongue felt thick, and his eyes slid closed of their own accord. Tony's voice took on a stronger sense of urgency.
"Let's get you two out of here- Oh! Look, the cavalry have arrived."
For what seemed like the hundredth time that day Steve forced his eyes open again, and was relieved to see Clint and Natasha jogging towards them through the receding fog, closely followed by several S.H.I.E.L.D. medicals. Steve shrugged off Tony and Bruce's support, and in a sudden spurt of energy stood on his own two feet. Foot. The super-soldier showed his two agent friends his best, cheerful smile that deteriorated into an uncontrollable shiver in the wind. Someone tossed a large thermal blanket over his broad shoulders, and Steve drank in the warmth it offered to his nearly frozen body. The steady throb of his heart pulsed through his body, and his vision suddenly grew dark around the edges as a blood rush threatened to overwhelm him. Losing his balance, he nearly dropped to the ground but was saved by eight hands belonging to four very concerned Avengers.
"Whoa there, Spangles. Hey, would somebody get Bruce a blanket too? He's shivering like a sheared sheep." Bruce's injured dignity protested at Tony's degrading comparison, but he gratefully accepted a blanket from another agent even as Clint and Natasha helped Steve towards the waiting S.H.I.E.L.D. ship. Directing Bruce in the same direction, Tony placed a casual arm around the scientist's shoulder.
Steve felt drowsy as Natasha murmured nonsensical comforts into his ear, and Clint kept a supportive hand on his back. Stepping into the quinjet, the soldier was greeted by a wave of warmth that washed over him comfortingly. Tony was talking quietly with Bruce, and the billionaire sat the scientist down next to Steve, who was already wrapped in several more blankets, and drifting off against Clint's shoulder. As the ship gradually gained altitude, Bruce leaned over and whispered into Steve's ear.
"Hey hey, kid. Told you we'd make it." The two shared a smile, and Steve whispered back at the scientist before falling asleep
"I'm never going skiing again."
There you go kids! It turned out to be more team-centric rather than Steve-centric like I originally planned, but oh well! I still rather like it. I shall hopefully be updating again soon. Let me know your thoughts in a review!