Her throat grew raw from the hours of screaming in pain, in agony. Hours of experiments and torture. Hours of chemicals being injected into her veins and her body feeling like it was on fire, or feeling nothing. She's scream for help, for her brother and her sister to save her, to make all the pain go away. In an instant, she was back in Sokovia. A mixture of war and the chaos that happened with Ultron. It was a blur of blue and a flash of red and flurry of bullets flying around her. Her eyes strung from the tears threatening to fall as she tried to take it all in at once. Why now? When everything finally fell into place? Why now, of all times, did it all have to fall apart at the seams. She's escaped, but she still felt trapped in their grasp. Hydra was inescapable.

She was back on the table. In the cold, metal table with her limbs strapped down and the familiar grin from the doctor that assured her this would help her achieve her goal. The nightmare started again.

She shot awake, breathing heavily and beads of sweat covering her head from the intensity of her nightmare. Another sleepless night. Aurelia just wanted one night of rest so her days training with her siblings and Natasha could be easier. But she resigned herself to accepting that that may not happen for a while. She sighed, pulling the remainder of her blankets off of her and walking toward the communal kitchen for a nice, warm cup of cocoa. She needed something sweet to sooth her nerves, since she hated tea.

To her surprise, Steve was already in the kitchen. He rarely hung around the compound unless he was training the new recruits. He was busy with other business that Aurelia knew wasn't any of her business. She wanted to leave, not wanting to disturb him in whatever state he was in. But before she could turn to leave, he had glanced over his shoulder at her and she froze in place.

Even in the dimly lit kitchen light, she could see the beautiful color of his eyes. A striking blue, a color that reminded her of the oceans back home. A color that comforted her almost instantly and put her in a trance almost every time she saw it. He offered a soft smile, turning completely to face her. She was thankful the room was dark, or she was sure he'd see the blush creeping onto her cheeks. "Couldn't sleep either?" He asked, his voice soft, yet rough from sleep. He'd just woken up no longer than she did.

"Um….yeah." She hesitated, forcing herself to continue on into the kitchen. He'd already noticed her, so what's the point of leaving now? She started gathering up the ingredients for her cocoa, instinctively pulling out two cups without realizing.

"Hot chocolate? This early?" Steve asked, sounding just like how Wanda does when she did this growing up. Aurelia rolled her eyes, starting to make them both a cup.

"You sound like my sister." She chuckled softly, leaning back against the counter while she waited for the water to warm. "She doesn't believe I should drink this as early as I do. But it helps me sleep. Well, more than tea or milk does."

"Well, as long as it helps." He smiled again. She thought that smile could brighten a room. But it wasn't as bright as it usually was. Not now. She wanted to ask, wanted to talk and help a friend in need. But he beat her to the question. "So, why are you? Nat says you've been tired during training. Is everything okay?"

You hesitated to answer, not wanting to let them know how scared you still felt. That you re-lived your time with hydra, the battle with ultron, the fear of losing Pietro. You re-lived it every night. Whatever trace of a smile you had quickly faded and you turned your gaze to the ground. "I'll be fine. It isn't anything that I am not already use to." You turned your back to him, pouring you both a cup of the hot chocolate. You forced another smile as you turned and set a cup down before him, letting the smell of the liquid fill your nose and clear you mind. For a moment, it was all okay. It felt like home again.

"I won't press you for answers." He began, taking a small sip, "But remember that your part of our team now. Here, were practically family. So we're here if you need to talk." His tone was sincere, reminding you all over again why you always enjoyed his company. The small talks you two have. He gave one last smile, taking the cup with him as he got up to leave. "You know where I am if you ever want to talk. Thank you….for the drink. Maybe it'll help me like it helps you." You nodded, smiling softly to him.

"Have a good night, Captain."

"It's Steve. And I hope you can get some sleep, Aurelia. I'll see you later."

—-

A/N: I know I haven't updated in god knows how long. (A year, but who's counting?) I had the worse case of writers block and life has been fucking insane. But I finally managed to get a short chapter out! So I hope you enjoy!