Chapter 14: Homecoming
Traffic was hell. Stop-and-go commuters to Manhattan filled the streets. I anxiously tapped my steering wheel as the minutes ticked by. I have less than an hour. The idea of living at the Tower suddenly didn't seem so crazy.
Unlocking my phone with one hand, I check my texts. There were no replies from Tony's number. The text I had sent to Helen didn't get a response either. Impulsively, I decided to call her.
The phone rang and rang until her voicemail picked up. "Dr. Cho, it's Kate. Please call me ASAP."
I tossed my phone aside with a frown. How strange.
After parking, I decided to use the back entrance. The Tower was eerily quiet as I made my way to the elevator. Just as the doors were closing, a hand reached through to hold them open, and I just about screamed.
Happy appeared with a look of pure confusion. "Kate? What are you doing here?"
"Um"—I quickly pressed the button for the hangar level—"Steve texted me."
He released a tense exhale. "Tony called me. It's too short notice to bring anyone in." He tugged at the collar of his suit. "Do you know how to dock a helicarrier?"
I cocked my head to the side. "What's a helicarrier?"
Happy ran an anxious hand over his face as the elevator doors slid shut. "Oh, jeez."
Getting the hangar bay door open was the easy part. With Jarvis offline, we could only guess how to extend the docking arm for the helicarrier. The fact that Happy even knew about it impressed me. "This ain't my first rodeo," he joked, which made me smile. We sorted through dozens of holographic panels at the command console in the docking bay with no success.
Before long, a panel lit up with an incoming com. Happy and I locked eyes across the console, and I reached to answer it since I was closer.
"Tower, this is Helicarrier-64," a gruff voice said. "Are you receiving?"
I scrambled to turn on the video feed, but I couldn't find that one button…
"Hello, Tower? Hello, hello hello—"
"Uh, reading you loud and clear," I said into the panel. "Who's s—speaking?"
"This is Director Fury." Recognizing the name, I gulped. "We are T–2. Are we clear to dock?"
"Um, no, you are not clear at all…" I cringed as I heard the sound of Happy's palm smashing into his face. "Director, uh—is Natasha there?"
His voice became distant. "Agent Romanoff? They need you."
A few breathless moments passed, and then I heard the angelic sound of Natasha's voice. "Hey, Kate. You ready for this?"
I shook my head. "Yeah."
"Alright. See that panel across from you? There should be a keypad with a few other buttons…"
I pointed frantically, and Happy rushed into position. Between the two of us, we were able to keep up as Natasha rattled off her instructions. When the helicarrier came into view through the hangar bay door, my hands shook with nerves and excitement. I could barely focus on Natasha's voice.
Steve's up there.
Once we got the elevator working, small groups of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents started appearing. They were unloading strange silver cases, much to Happy's alarm. I anxiously scanned each of their faces as more and more people disembarked. Soon, Natasha and Clint stepped off the platform looking a little worse for wear. I couldn't bring myself to greet them.
After what felt like an eternity, I saw the red glint of Tony's armor followed by a glimpse of navy blue and blonde. I started maneuvering around people that had gathered near the command console. Eyes focused solely ahead, I muttered apologies as I blindly bumped into shoulders and elbows. Somehow, his eyes spotted me through the crowd. He smiled.
"Oh-my-God," I breathed, breaking into a sprint.
I ran into his arms and hugged him like I hadn't seen him in years. Feeling his arms tight around me made me want to scream for joy. I pulled back and beamed up at him, seeing the same excitement reflected in his eyes.
When Tony cleared his throat, I wheeled back and clutched my hands to my pounding chest.
"Campbell," he greeted, patting my shoulder as he passed. He looked exhausted and lacked the usual pep in his step.
"Mr. Stark," I replied, wanting to hug him a moment too late. "Welcome home…"
"Glad to be home." He glanced back at Steve with a wary look in his eye. "Cap," he said coldly.
Before I could wonder what was going on there, my full attention returned to Steve. He seemed just as speechless as I was, causing me to release the nervous breath I had been holding. Suddenly, his smile faded, and he shook his head.
"I was worried you wouldn't come up," was the first thing he said.
My eyebrows came together. "Why?"
He opened his mouth and then closed it. The uncertainty in his eyes caused my stomach to knot over on itself. Holy shit…he doesn't know how I feel.
I reached for his hand and started to pull him through the crowd. He followed me, but I sensed his reluctance. "Kate—"
"C'mon," I said, ignoring the heads turning in our direction.
Finally making it into the medbay, I slammed the door shut behind us. We were completely alone, and the air suddenly felt electric. We embraced with breathless laughter, and I reached my hands around his neck to pull him down into a kiss.
He kissed me earnestly, his hands gripping my waist. I didn't realize we were moving backwards until I felt the edge of a gurney at my lower back. He lifted me onto it, angling his face upwards to avoid breaking the kiss. Soon my lungs were screaming for oxygen, and I had to pull away.
Not wanting any distance between us, I cradled his head to my chest with both hands. "Gosh, Kate…," he breathed into my neck, running his hands up my back.
He doesn't know, a voice in my head repeated.
A lump grew in my throat.
He could leave again at any moment without knowing.
I started to freak out. My heart started hammering in my chest. I felt lightheaded and nauseous. I couldn't catch my breath. Am I having a heart attack?
It was my fight-or-flight response.
"Jesus Christ, Steve," I strained out. "Jesus…"
I felt his arms loosen as he reacted to my voice. "Are you okay?"
"Shh," I hissed, clutching onto him and squeezing my eyes shut. "I need to get something out…out of my system." Suddenly, tears started rolling down my cheeks. Fuck!
His voice was all sympathy as he stroked my back. "Honey…"
I pulled back and looked down at him, fully showing him my ugly crying face. His expression crumbled, and his lips parted wordlessly. "It makes me si—ick," I croaked, "how m—much I love you."
His face swam in my vision as his hands cupped my cheeks. I just sat there trembling and sniveling like a child. Then, he was kissing me. It was wet, breathless, and made me feel like I had actually died and gone to heaven.
When he broke the kiss, he wove his fingers into my hair and rested our foreheads together. "You love me," he repeated softly.
I tried to nod. "So fu—so much…you have no idea."
Just then, I heard the door open with a metallic creak. My eyes popped open to see Thor, the god of thunder himself, leaning halfway around the corner. Whipping around, Steve wiped his mouth with the back of his hand as I desperately tried to dry my face with the sleeve of my sweater.
"Stark?" he asked.
Steve gestured around sarcastically. "Not here," he chirped.
Thor made to leave and then stopped. "You Midguardians and your tears," he muttered. "They are without end."
The door clunked shut behind him.
I blinked, too shocked to say or do anything. Steve pinched the bridge of his nose for a long moment before letting his hand fall. When he looked at me, I burst out into uncontrollable laughter. He started chuckling too, and soon, we were both lost in fits of laughter.
"Oh, God," I wheezed, holding my aching stomach.
Trying to shake the smile off his face, Steve peered up at me. "Can we go home now?"
"Please," I laughed as I gripped the edge of the gurney. He helped me down as if I weighed nothing, and I held onto his arm before he could get away. "As long as you promise to never drink with him again."
He rolled his eyes dramatically. "Wouldn't dream of it."
He stripped off his uniform top before we left, stuffing it into the leather case with his shield. This left him wearing a tight undershirt, some conspicuous-looking cargo pants, and his leather boots. Though he was still pretty recognizable, I didn't say a word. I didn't want to risk breaking whatever spell had allowed us to slip away so easily.
Once we got on the road, I noticed that he leaned the passenger's seat back. Before I could ask him all about the mission, he started asking questions first.
"Did you pick up shifts at the hospital this week?"
His perceptiveness surprised me. "Nope," I laughed, making a turn at an intersection. "I offered, but they never called me."
"So what did you do all week?"
Tilting my head, I thought back to all the crazy things that had happened to me: losing all my progress on the experiment, getting harassed at the club, running from muggers in the ghetto. Then I thought about James—the smell of his cigarettes, his icy gaze, and the promise I made.
"…Not much."
"Did you have Lacy over?" he asked.
I hummed and glanced at him until he looked at me. "It was really rough not hearing from you," I murmured.
His eyes fell. "I'm sorry. As soon as I lost my phone, I knew it would put you through hell. And then Tony's…well, anyway…"
As I rolled up to a red light, I took the opportunity to really look at him for a long moment. He was slumped back in the seat with a hand on his face, his eyes aimlessly tracking movement out his window. I felt a smile tug at my lips. He really knows me.
"It's alright," I said. "You're home now."
"After everything settles down, I'm gonna take some leave," he said, reaching over to take my free hand and squeeze it. "The team needs a long break."
I nodded in agreement, imagining the chaos they must have gone through. "Oh, Steve…where's Dr. Banner?"
He sighed tightly. "He's fine, but MIA."
"Oh." I frowned. "And what about Dr. Cho?"
When he didn't respond right away, my eyes darted back to him. A hollow expression had overtaken his face.
Wanted to give a quick shoutout to a new reader, KirikaAndo, and an old reader, WindSongEnchantment. I get so excited to read your reviews! Thank you so much and stay awesome :D -Scarlet