Four Weeks After the Fall of Hydra
"Are you sure about this, Lizzy?"
Rolling her eyes at his insistence of asking her the same questions over and over again, Elizabeth nodded pointlessly before speaking into the receiver with an exasperated tone. "Yes, I'm very sure, Stevie." Then, glancing across the familiar skyline of New York, she added, "Besides, it's a little late to change my mind now. Don't you think?"
She heard a chuckle from the phone then and found herself grinning despite herself. "Yeah… it's just… so quiet without you around."
Twirling a lock of hair absently around her fingers, Elizabeth raised her eyebrows. "Quiet huh? I figured you'd like that."
"So did I." The phone was silent for a small while, with neither party feeling the need to fill it. "How's Tony?"
Peeking back to the man sat behind her, Elizabeth smirked before replying. "Oh, you know… he's loud, annoying – thinks he's the perfect man, delusional."
Her list of Tony's qualities was cut off when Steve's laugh sounded loudly over the phone. "So just the same then?"
Tony shot her a look of mock hurt as she replied. "Exactly the same." Shooting Tony an overly sweet smile, she glanced back to the bright skyline beyond the window. Elizabeth wanted to say something substantial now - to show him how strangely grateful she felt - but she always struggled with grand words of emotion. "I-uh…" Shaking her head, Elizabeth quickly rethought her phrasing. "Thanks for letting me do this, Steve. I just… I needed to get away… you know?"
A heaved sigh sounded from the phone then. "I get it, Lizzy… it's okay."
A poke in her back caused a yelp of aggravation to sound from her then and she swiftly whirled around to playfully glare at a smirking Tony. "You okay, Lizzy?" Steve's voice succeeded in at least partially regaining her attention but she wasn't given the time to form a reply as the phone was suddenly yanked from her hand.
"Hey!" She complained loudly, her voice breaking off into a cough as she finished the word. Grimacing at the sudden flaring pain in her throat, Lizzy didn't attempt to retake the phone – understanding Tony's sudden disturbance of her conversation.
"Sorry, cap. Time's up – Doctor's orders." Tony was strolling casually around the couch in the center of the room, one hand resting in his pocket, as he spoke with Steve.
Elizabeth's gaze was following his every step, anxious to know what he and Steve were discussing. It seemed she had belatedly realized just how much she would miss Steve and wanted to at least share a last few words with the man.
"Yeah, yeah, I'll tell her." Tony glanced to her and made a show of rolling his eyes while pointing to the phone. "Uh-huh," he was now making a show of dramatically nodding his head, "Yep… yep… got it, Steve. Bye, Steve."
Elizabeth had the distinct impression that Steve had still been talking when Tony had hung up but she didn't bother chastising him for it. Following his lead in settling heavily down upon the springy sofa, Elizabeth shot him a sideways glance – eyebrows raised.
"What?" He asked innocently, as he absently flicked through the endless channels on the ridiculously large television.
"Steve?" Was the question she rasped out, her vocal chords were beginning to ache and she dared not attempt much more. Thankfully, Tony seemed to understand her meaning.
"Oh, you know. It was the usual dither." He waved his hand as though it didn't matter in the slightest and Elizabeth poked him in the cheek. "Ugh, fine," he groaned, "'tell Lizzy I said goodbye, tell her to be safe, tell her not to do anything stupid, tell her to listen to absolutely everything you say.'" She rolled her eyes then and gave an obvious noise of disagreement.
"Okay, maybe that last one was fake." Rolling her eyes once more, at his skeptical use of the word maybe, she heaved herself from the chair. "Where are you going?" He asked, jumping up beside her – acting like an excitable child.
A little confused at his strange reaction, she gestured to the door and supplied him with a single word answer. "Bed?" Strangely, she phrased the word like a question.
His face seemed to fall somewhat at her explanation and he practically pouted at her. "Oh but Liz…" He gestured to the flickering light of the television screen before looking back to her pointedly. Elizabeth figured he wished to continue his aggravating campaign to make her watch seemingly every single movie ever made – whether good or bad.
Huffing, Elizabeth ruefully shook her head before heading towards the door. "Tomorrow." She shot him with a smile, knowing that insomniac Tony would likely remain in the room for another three hours or so despite her leaving.
The room she had been supplied with was huge, almost as large as hers and Steve's entire apartment back in Washington. It all seemed a little over the top in her opinion but she didn't know what else she should have expected from Tony's place.
The bed was exceptionally comfortable. The soft mattress gave way under her weight, making it seem as though she were sinking into a cloud or something equally as heavenly. The smooth silk of the sheets was instantly relaxing and each time they slipped over her skin she practically sighed in absolute contentment. Overall, it was the most comfortable bed that Elizabeth had ever encountered and yet, she still couldn't sleep.
After waking up in a cold sweat and with burning lungs for the second time that night, Elizabeth gave up on the prospect of sleep entirely. She spent an hour laying pointlessly in bed, struggling to prevent her eyes from sliding shut once more, before she eventually heaved herself out of bed. Almost instantly, she regretted her decision as the cool air of the room chilled her to the core. Snatching the thin blanket from the now messy bed, she moved to the window.
Elizabeth wasn't even certain as to how long she stood there at the window, absently watching the bustling city beyond the glass. When the sun cast its amber glow upon the city, Elizabeth finally moved away from the window. The sudden movement, after such a long period of inactivity, caused her to finally realize just how cold she had become.
Quickly moving into the next room, Elizabeth darted over to the thermostat – turning the heat up to a point that was likely a little unnecessary. "Morning." Jumping about a foot in the air at the unexpected sound of Tony's voice, Elizabeth whirled around and shot him a glare.
He made a show of wincing back dramatically as he took in her appearance. "Jeez, Liz – you look err… terrible."
"Gee, thanks." The tone of her voice was full of dry sarcasm.
There was silence then and Elizabeth could see that his expression was of concealed uncertainty. She doubted she would appreciate the next thing he said. As he spoke he awkwardly rubbed the back of his head, his eyes darting to the side. "Nightmares?"
It seemed that Steve had said a little more to Tony during their phone call than she had been informed of. Huffing, as her hand automatically came up to rub the skin of her neck, she avoided his eyes. "Nothing I can't handle."
This was not a conversation she wished to have with Tony Stark of all people. She had barely wished to discuss it with Steve either but she had had less of a choice in that conversation. Having known Tony since he was a teenager, it felt a little strange to talk to him about things such as this – she still sometimes viewed him as that devious teenager who never ever listened to his parents.
His parents… Elizabeth felt herself grimace at the thought of them, thankful that Tony had moved to the kitchen and was no longer watching her.
She still hadn't told him the truth – she was still busy convincing herself that he didn't really need to know. Elizabeth was constantly telling herself that telling him the truth would only make everything a thousand times worse, would only make everything far more painful for Tony. Somehow, she reasoned that she was doing Tony a service by not telling him.
Elizabeth barely believed this convoluted reasoning herself but she barely cared. She wouldn't tell him, she couldn't tell him. Elizabeth barely even wanted to think about it if she was honest with herself.
Nervously, Elizabeth began weaving her hair through her fingers as she wondered over the consequences of her cowardice.
Tony wouldn't find out… would he? She couldn't think of a feasible way that he could learn the truth but she knew that life had a way of throwing curve-balls her way. Would he feel betrayed?
"Liz?" Glancing up nervously, almost as though she were afraid that she had been caught doing something she shouldn't, she found Tony poking his head around the corner of the kitchen. "Waffles?"
Pulling her lips up into a tight smile, Elizabeth nodded awkwardly and walked towards the kitchen.
The museum hadn't helped much.
If anything more confusion had swelled within him as he desperately tried to understand everything that had happened. To understand all the feelings and thoughts and uncertainties that had begun to swirl around his mind.
There had been countless pictures of events he couldn't recall, images that were most certainly of him but… different somehow. The image of the man from the helicarrier dominated the entire exhibit and the now familiar pang of recognition continued to ping through him entirely. There were fewer images of the woman, but every small picture he managed to find increased his frustration tenfold. He knew her. He knew both of them – he was certain. It was as though the memories were somewhere within his grasp but he just couldn't find them.
He didn't know what to do, he didn't know where to turn… he just didn't know.
From what he had read he knew that they had all three of them been friends. The idea of that familiarity seemed reasonable and seemed to correlate with everything he had been thinking and feeling after their last encounter. The information he had skimmed over also suggested that he had been involved with the woman – they had been engaged even. It seemed ridiculous, that he could forget something like that, but he supposed the revelation fit in with how sick he felt whenever he thought back to how violently he had attacked her.
What puzzled him the most was the fact that he hadn't been supposed to do it. He had been told, resolutely and repeatedly, that she was to be kept alive and yet, he had likely been just seconds away from ending her life regardless. The strange relief he had encountered when it had been reported that they had both survived had been unexpected. Strangely, however, it had been somewhat nice to experience the feeling – it felt almost novel to him, to have something he cared that much about. Why he cared so much, however, was still a mystery to him.
As the quiet bus that he was sat upon came to an unexpected stop, he glanced up anxiously – his muscles coiling, readying for action. When an elderly lady shuffled onto the bus and noisily dragged a suitcase behind her, he almost smirked at his overly anxious reactions. He couldn't help himself, it seemed, from being slightly wary of absolutely everything.
Hydra, although controlling, were a sort of safety net. Thanks to them he had known who was good and who was bad, he had known what to do and who to trust. Without that continued certainty in his life he felt like a lost little kid. Although he knew he wouldn't miss the freezing, the pain, the mind bending and the constant danger he was put through, he missed the security and the certainty they provided.
Hydra hadn't been a good thing. He knew that now. But the question remained 'what should he do now?'
Surprise, surprise, it's a Tuesday and here I am!
While this chapter isn't chock full of action - I strangely really like it... obviously I hope you guys feel the same! This chapter, I feel, sets up how everything's gonna go up until civil war kicks in and I'm really excited to explore how Lizzy will be without Steve around all the time!
Shout out to both the awesome Jag and the awesome cherubs007 for their reviews last chapter!
I'd really love love love love if I could get three reviews for this chapter! But, regardless of reviews the next chapter will be up by at least next Tuesday because I'm not that mean :)
Thanks to everyone who has read, followed and favorited this story!