7
Steve woke up and looked around. He could feel his body's dull aches where his injuries were and could hear Sam's Marvin Gaye music playing quietly.
"It's about time you woke up," Sam said. "I was starting to wonder if you ever would." Sam threw a mischievous smirk Steve's way.
Letting out a pained, humorless chuckle, Steve winced a little.
"Don't go hurting yourself."
"You're hilarious, Sam."
Sam smirked at that. "You missed a really attractive nurse coming in to check on you."
"I doubt I'd be interested."
"I think you'd like her." Sam turned off the music and leaned back, looking at Steve with a small frown. "She was a little weird, though."
Steve's brows furrowed. "Let's worry about her later," he groaned.
"Is that supposed to be a good thing?" she hissed.
"I don't know!" The Soldier hunched his shoulders. After the Angel managed to find a change of clothes, the two were back in the streets of DC.
The Angel crossed her arms over her chest. She could faintly feel a bubble of irritation and frustration in the pit of her stomach. When the Soldier gave her a sidelong glance, he could see the emotion written clear in her eyes.
She was in no way pleased.
"That was Captain America?" she muttered.
His lips pursed.
Her eyes lowered.
"It'd be best if we left DC," the Soldier said, "while he's still in the hospital."
"Because he will look for you?" she murmured.
"Because he thinks there's a chance of saving me."
She let out a snort. As if Captain America could understand what it meant to be in their situation. The man had everything—the Avengers, a good reputation, people who adored him. Captain America was an icon for the people, a symbol of a better future. What were they? They were assassins, trained killers, weapons. Anytime someone saw either of them, it instantly meant someone would die.
Was that kind of life really what she wanted?
"What more about this friend of yours should I know?" Sam asked. Though Steve had been awake for over an hour, Sam stayed to keep his friend company.
Steve sighed. Sam only knew as much as he'd been told, which wasn't much.
"Buck was married," Steve said. "It was about a year before the war started. Bucky and I knew her from school—she was smart, pretty, and sociable. Everyone loved her."
"You liked her?" Sam said with a smirk.
"For a little bit. But she was interested in Bucky—all the girls were. It took Bucky a little longer to like her back, but when he figured it out, I never saw someone as happy as him." Steve let out a slow, slightly pained, sigh. "They got married, then the war happened. Buck got shipped off and became sergeant. She managed to land a spot overseas as an agent in the earlier days of SHIELD. Bucky wasn't complaining—he got to see his wife."
—Mad World—
"I still can't believe you're here." Bucky, Rosalie Joy, and Steve—who had managed to land a position in a special Military program—were sitting around, after Bucky's and Steve's training, picking at their food. Bucky kept an arm slung around Rosalie Joy's shoulders, making it clear to the other men that she was taken.
"It took a lot of convincing," she giggled, gently nudging her husband. "Besides, I'll be training under Peggy, so I'll be hanging around base a lot."
Bucky tightened his grip on her, bringing her closer to him. "No complaints about that."
"Don't even think about trying to sneak into my room either," she huffed, poking Bucky in the ribs. "I'm not getting in trouble if you try something stupid!"
"Hey! What makes you think I'd do something like that?"
"Buck, that sounds like something you'd do," Steve chuckled.
"Please behave," she said, looking up at Bucky with those doe-eyes he couldn't resist. "For me?"
A soft look came across Bucky's face. He nodded.
—Mad World—
"Seems like he was a good husband," Sam sighed.
Steve nodded. "But she was taken—while the Commandos were gone, there was a raid on one of the bases we were on and she was taken. No one ever found her." Steve felt as if his heart was in his throat. "I've never seen Bucky look so broken before. Not even three weeks later, he fell off the train and..."
Sam nodded. "If you ask me, Bucky managed to survive falling from a train. Has it occurred to you that this wife of his is still alive?"
The plan was to get as far from DC as possible. With Rogers still in the hospital, it seemed to ease whatever tension the Soldier had, but the Angel was still feeling tense. HYDRA had tried taking her out—tranquilizing her. Was that how she was going to end her mission? With secret HYDRA agents looming just out of her reach to knock her and the Soldier out at the right time? She hunched her shoulders.
"If you're truly trying to avoid recapture, hanging around me isn't a wise choice," she muttered.
He grunted. "If they're trying to do something to you, then they're going to do something to me. I highly doubt it matters if you captured me or not."
She pursed he lips.
"If you're some kind of master assassin, at least attempt to look like you're not going to kill someone," he hissed, lowering his head to her ear. "I've already seen multiple people looking in our direction—you're making us look suspicious."
"I'm making us look suspicious?" she seethed. "What am I doing that's suspicious?"
He glared down at her.
"If you want to get out of the city so badly, quit your complaining." Her eyes narrowed. "Let's get this over with."
Author's Note:
Sorry for the long wait to put this up! Here it is. Part of the reason this wasn't up right away was because of responsibilities and because for some reason I have trouble finishing whatever I start right away. It's like a gradual process with me. I know it must be annoying for you guys, but I am trying to get better at finishing these chapters as soon as possible! As a head's up, too, any kind of reminder that whenever I post a new chapter the previous one is in its place, I know. It happens. I think I've mentioned it before, but I thought I'd say it [possibly again].
OK, then! Sorry for that little rant.
'Captain America' is not mine. I own nothing in the Marvel universe, only my characters and fillers.
Leave a helpful and kind review, please!
Thank you.
Susan Strong
