Summary: With a HYDRA Agent proving to be a little difficult to break, Fury calls in the Mistress of Shadow to get the job done. Whatever the consequences. Rachel knows this is part of the job, and she has to do whatever necessary to get the information they need. Even if a certain Captain does not agree with her methods.

Rating || Genres || Warnings: T+. Angst. Comfort. Romance. Mention of past trauma, torture and drinking irresponsibly. Also language.

A/N: I won't go into too much detail but this will get a little dark. But not too dark. Also be responsible when you drink everyone. And leave a review telling me what you think!

Rachel had forgone the glass after she'd poured her fourth drink. It was easier to simply press the bottle to her lips and take a swig. She was halfway done and still didn't feel the effects of the alcohol. She could thank her half-Asgardian parentage for that perk. Rachel had always wandered why it took her to drink so much to actually get drunk. Once the mystery of her parentage had been solved it had become clear to her. Another reason to curse her mother. She couldn't even get drunk to forget because of the woman. Goddess. Whatever she was. Or had been.

Flinching at the thought Rachel downed another gulp, her head bumping against the wall behind her. She had taken refuge in the recreational room of the Compound. Tony had built in a rather impressive bar area which held a number of alcoholic drinks and whatever one could ask for to make a cocktail. Rachel had grabbed the first bottle she could get her hands on. She was never picky with her drinks. Besides the sooner she felt the sting of alcohol the sooner she could erase the past hour or so from her mind.

"Is this really a good way to deal with what happened?"

The demi-goddess groaned as she heard the Captain approach. Raising her purple gaze to look at the man, her response was to take another swig from the bottle.

Steve's expression was one of disapproval. Like she gave a damn.

"I'm not in the mood to argue Rogers." She grumbled, allowing her gaze to drop, staring ahead with unseeing eyes. He didn't budge, his gaze dark and expression angry as he continued to look at her.

"If you knew that your method would have such an effect on you why did you go through with it? We could've found another way."

Rachel scoffed. "He never would've broken if I hadn't gone in. Look. We got the information. We saved the civilians from illegal experimentation. No one was hurt. No one died. It was a happy ending. So why don't you go report to Fury and leave me the fuck alone!" Her words was followed with a flicker in the shadows around her, her powers responding to her emotional outburst.

She couldn't take seeing the anger and disapproval in his eyes. But what hurt the most was the sadness that accompanied those two emotions. He knew more then anyone just how much interactions like that had an effect on her. Knew they weighed heavy on her mind and her heart.

So why couldn't he just leave it alone.

Rising to her feet, she drained the last few dregs from her bottle and made to move past him to get another bottle.

He stopped her with a firm yet gentle grip on her elbow. Rachel stood still, waiting to be told off. But the words never came.

Instead the empty bottle was taken from her gloved fingers. She kept her eyes towards the ground, feeling too ashamed to even look at the man. Steve simply turned her so they were facing one another, his hands gripping her forearms.

"I know what you did was needed. Doesn't mean I have to like it." His tone was one of disapproval. He'd never believed in the methods of torture but they were constantly at war. Sometimes a little extra force was needed. "Especially when it hurts you in the long run."

Letting out a small sarcastic laugh, Rachel raised her head to turn her stare to the wall beside them, refusing to look at him. "I was getting hurt long before you came along Rogers. What difference does your being here make?" Even though she spoke with a dry tone, there was an underlying sadness to her words. No one had ever given a damn about her. Not her mother. Her father. She was used to shouldering her problems on her own. Namely her powers. When she had first joined the Avengers, she had been recluse and distant. It had taken her a long time to actually come out of her shell and begin to form some kind of relationship with the rest of the Team.

Her relationship with the Captain had come as a surprise to everyone. Even her.

"Because I'm here now." He had leaned forward to rest his forehead against the side of her head. "And I'll be damned before I see you get hurt like that again." Steve knew of the effect negative emotions had on her. How overwhelming they could get. It was unconscious on her part. Most of the time, he knew she was strong enough to ignore those emotions. But making someone else relive them, and being in such close proximity had triggered her powers and she had felt the full extent of those emotions. Had collapsed under the strain. But she had held on long enough to obtain her objective. And now she just wanted to get rid of the after effects of those emotions.

The black haired woman finally turned her head to face him, eyes closing as she bit her lower lip. "I just want to stop feeling so emotionally screwed all the time." She finally admitted. "Just once I want to feel my own emotions rather then someone else's." Even now Rachel could feel Steve's anger and sadness. But it wasn't as overwhelming as it had been a few minutes ago. Steve seemed to notice that as well.

"I can remedy that."

Before she could ask what he meant by that, the demi-goddess found her lips being covered with his. She froze. Before she could fully process what was happening, he had pulled back and she was left to stare at him with wide eyes.

This was the first time he had kissed her. Normally she would be the one to steal kisses. Kisses that could be categorized as teasing pecks. Maybe one or two more heated ones after a particularly intense hand-to-hand at the gym. And she would always be the one to instigate those. So it wasn't surprising that she was left speechless with his little act.

"Cat got your tongue?" There was a teasing glint in his blue eyes as he smirked at her, feeling a little smug at having rendered her speechless. She blinked, gathering her wits about her, before a small smile pulled at the corner of her mouth.

"Just processing all of my emotions." She admitted, feeling a swell of happiness grow in her chest to know that they were actually just that. Her emotions.

Eyes flickering to the star on his chest, Rachel raised her hand to slowly trace her finger along the edge of the shape while his hands moved from her forearms to her waist, pulling her even closer. "Any conclusions so far?" He asked, watching her as she continued her tracing.

She shrugged, raising her head to look at him. "Just that maybe caring about someone else isn't such a bad thing."

He chuckled. "No. It isn't." Leaning down he kissed her once more. This one went on for a lot longer then the previous one. It was a little chaste compared to the one's they had had in the gym of the Compound, with his tongue gently seeking entrance, which she gladly gave. It was more gentle and slow, as if they were both savoring the moment and wanted it to last for as long as possible. Their lips moved with practiced ease, their bodies pressed together now, her arms moving up to slide around his broad shoulders, fingers teasing the hairs at the nape of his neck. He'd let out a small sigh of content once she had begun gently running her fingers through his hair. In response his hand began to roam the expanse of her back. She'd removed her signature black jacket and was wearing a white tank top underneath. His other hand had moved to cup her face, thumb gently tracing along the side of her jaw, before moving to push her short chin length hair behind her ear.

She was the first to pull back, but she didn't pull away, allowing their foreheads to rest together. "Going a little fast there aren't you Rogers?" She teased, panting slightly as she tried to catch her breath, referring to the fact that he had kissed her twice in a span of few minutes. His response was to nip at her lower lip and smirk at her reaction.

"Just making up for lost time, Doll."