A/N: Once again, thanks for reviewing people! Keep them coming! Sorry for the short chapter because I had a bit of a setback with the next one, but do not fear! It will be coming soon.
A long shower it was. Hot steaming water poured over her head, back and shoulders, as if the scalding water could burn away her sins. She couldn't tell if she was crying or not. She stayed there and sat looking blankly at the bathroom wall for what seemed like an hour, watching the swirling steams of vapor rise and dissipate. She was jealous of water's airy form. It was free and she wasn't. Turning off the water, she dried herself off and changed into loose sweatpants, a tank top and shrugged on a blue hoodie. She exited the bathroom with her hair in a wet and tangled mess. She knew she looked like shit but she didn't care. As expected, Grumpy was sitting on her bed, playing with his coin nervously and snapped up his head when he saw her. She said nothing and crawled into the bed next to him. She brought her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.
"Grumpy, I killed someone," she muttered, tears beginning to form, "I didn't mean to…it was an accident…." Her excuse sounded pathetic in her ears. The soldier suspected it the moment he saw her face in the car. He suddenly grew hot with hatred towards HYDRA, towards Pierce, everybody for putting her in this position. His fists clenched but he relaxed when he saw her retreating into herself even more. She didn't need his hatred now. She needed him, just as much as he needed her. He moved closer to her and pried her arms from her legs.
"You had no choice. It was your mission," he convinced her. She stared at him for a long time.
"Grumpy, I have something to tell you…" she trailed off softly, afraid of surveillance, "I'm not….normal." That statement made him confused. What did she mean? Yes, she was strange but that was part of her personality, which he found quite agreeable. A knock came from the door and Rumlow came with her package, trying to ignore the asset's closeness to the medium.
"Pierce wants you to get to work right away," he said.
"Tell Pierce he could shove it. I'll do it tomorrow," she muttered in annoyance. Rumlow grunted and left.
Grumpy turned back to let her explain but she shook her head, "Forget it." Not long after that, they retired to their respective beds. Kennedy curled up in bed, ashamed that she couldn't get it out. She had to tell him eventually. She owed him so much. Was it that she was scared of him telling HYDRA? Or was it that she was frightened of him not accepting her?
Rumbling booms and gunshots filled his ears. A war zone. Men were screaming at each other to clear the line of fire. A man, blonde and muscular with a red and blue shield led them on. His vision rippled to a snowy mountain with a train zooming past on its side. He was holding on for dear life, the blonde man straining to reach him. The terror he felt was agonizing. He was going to die. "NO!" Then everything went dark and cold.
The soldier woke up with a cold sweat and moved his sheets to find them damp. He looked around the dark room and saw Kennedy crouching down next to his bed, watching him with concern. Just her presence alone seemed to calm him quite a bit.
"Looks like we're both screwed up," she gave a little scoff. He was relieved to see her partially back to her normal self. His nightmare imprinted itself in his brain. What the hell was that? Who was that man?
"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked ironically when she wouldn't even speak about her own problems. He didn't answer.
"Plenty of time for that later, I guess." An idea then occurred to her, "Help me with this." She gestured to the bed and gripped the headboard. He confusedly took the opposite end and they carried it to place it…right against hers. His stomach was doing that annoying flippant behavior. The soldier saw that she didn't want him to be alone and she didn't want to be either. Did she have nightmares too? Whatever the reason, his heart slowed to a steady beat and the jitters left his body.
They both climbed in their makeshift king size bed and lay down on their sides, saying nothing, looking at each other. It was a peaceful, comfortable silence that became common place in their time together. They would not say anything, but rather remained grateful for each other's presence. Their strange friendship was not made entirely of words; Kennedy knew that for sure since Grumpy spoke minimally. However, she didn't mind and she knew that Grumpy appreciated it.
"I forgot to ask how your mission went," she said, getting comfortable, slightly punching her pillow to support her head properly.
"I failed," he replied tightly, feeling ashamed and irritated at his failure. He knew he had to complete it as soon as possible. He couldn't take her with him since she had to stay and work on the machine. He didn't understand why he was supposed to protect her when HYDRA kept separating him from her. It made no sense. What was really going on? It came to his attention that this was the first time that he legitimately questioned the people he worked for.
"Do you think we will ever leave this chaos, Grumpy?" He tried to make his expression as impartial as possible. Should he tell her about his idea? It would be safer for her if he didn't. If he was discovered, he would be punished, yes, but she wouldn't get it as bad. When he didn't reply, she gave him a sad smile.
"Yeah. I don't think so either." She sat up and sighed sadly, wrapping her arms around her knees, watching the wall in contemplation. The soldier sat up as well, trying to discern what she was thinking.
"You're going back out there. Probably soon," she stated, looking at him with sympathetic eyes. He slowly nodded, hating their unjustly circumstances. So they waited in a tense and defeated silence, waiting for the marching steps of combat boots to approach their door. The HYDRA agents did not disappoint as soldiers burst into the room and threw Grumpy's mask/muzzle into his lap.
"Time to suit up, asset. Mission starts in half an hour," the leader ordered gruffly.
Grumpy's gaze turned to Kennedy, not acknowledging the commander.
"I'll lock the door. Be careful, yeah?" she told him. He did not answer, instead putting on his mask and following his superiors out the door to his next mission, not knowing what exactly he was going to find there.
Pierce and the behavioural scientists watched their pair on the camera. The attachment was so pronounced. They couldn't be without each other. She was quickly becoming his stability system. He operated based on her doings. It was absolutely remarkable. HYDRA really did find a treasure and a convenient one at that. It was a shame that things were going to come to an end so soon. This potential romance was very entertaining. The strike team reported on their little incident in the van as well. Pierce's hypothesis was proving itself right and he was always right anyway. The last piece of the puzzle needed to fit in now. How would they fair under the pressure of the soldier's next mind sweep?
