Steve should have known better. He was a glutton for punishment, and Brooklyn warned him. At the time, he'd scoffed at her warning, but now that the snow was falling in massive heaps against the cabin's front door, he regretted brushing her off.

"At least we had the foresight to get some more firewood." Brooklyn called as she played with the thermostat, "I'll make it all toasty in here and you can snuggle up in all the blankets one last time."

Steve shivered, and he began to feel like he was moments away from having flashbacks of crashing into the ice when Brooklyn came up from behind and draped a blanket over his shoulders.

"Go get your leather jacket! That's cozy. The heat will kick on soon, and then you'll be sweating." Brooklyn ordered as she pointed to the bedroom, pulling her own knit sweater closer to her shoulders. When Steve hesitated, she shooed him, "Go! Stop being a frozen little baby! We're going to light all the marshmallows on fire."

"That doesn't sound good."

"I think it does."

Steve was aware of Brooklyn's affection for fire-toasted marshmallows so black and crunchy they left dark crumbs in her teeth. Steve, unable to just burn his snack to a crisp, sat patiently and turned his stick in steady circles until it was perfectly golden brown. By the time he had one perfect marshmallow, Brooklyn had always devoured at least two s'mores.

He grabbed his jacket from the bedroom, looking out the window for a moment at the falling snow. It blew against the cabin, and the wooden walls creaked as the wind picked up. "You sure this thing won't blow away?" Steve called into the other room as he pulled his leather jacket around his shoulders, grabbing another one of the knit blankets from his bed to take with him.

"Yeah. This thing was built to withstand the Hulk. It can handle a little snow." Brooklyn answered as Steve reappeared, but suddenly the lights flickered and went out. "Shit."

Steve reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, turning on the flashlight to shine on Brooklyn as she stood and carefully moved around the couch to check the control panel near the kitchen. He held the light behind her as she tapped away, but nothing happened. Her phone began ringing loudly and she pulled it out of her jeans, shoving it between her cheek and her shoulder as she moved her hands along the side of the wall to find the breaker box. "Hello?"

"We've lost visual. Are you guys okay?"

Steve heard Fury's voice over the receiver as Brooklyn bumped into a small table and tripped, thrusting her hand out to the wall to steady herself as Steve grabbed for her waist. She handed Steve the phone, "Here, you talk to him. I'm going to see if I can find the circuit breaker."

He handed her his phone, and she took off to try and restore power, leaving Steve to deal with Director Fury, "Sir." Steve greeted easily as he stood in the dark, seeing easier than Brooklyn was able to. "It seems like the storm knocked out the power, but Agent Hayes is looking for the circuit breaker."

"Agent Hill has the schematics up right now, looks like the snow took out the power grid. We can come extract you if you need us to, but it won't be easy."

"We'll be okay." Steve told the Director quietly as he turned to see Brooklyn reappear, "You'll be here in the morning to pick us up anyway, right?"

"Agent Johnson will, weather permitting." Fury warned, and Steve noticed how Brooklyn was shaking. "Good luck, Captain."

"Thank you, Sir." Steve hung up and handed the phone to Brooklyn as she swapped with him. "Any luck?"

"What do you think? We're still in the dark." She grumbled while Steve watched her put her phone on airplane mode and power saver. "Gimme yours. We can't risk running out of battery in case we need to call for help. The fence is most likely down too, which means we're sitting ducks."

"Nobody is coming for us." Steve assured the woman, seeing how stiff and nervous she looked, "Hey, look at me. Do you really think I'd let anything happen to you?"

"No."

"Then stop worrying. The worst part of tonight is going to be how cold it is." Steve looked over his shoulder at the front door, hearing the wind howling furiously, "The wind might kill the fire."

"Yeah, but if we don't start it, we'll freeze." Brooklyn's teeth chattered and she pulled her sweater closer around her, "We should have left last week. I told you this would happen."

"I know." Steve replied as he wandered to the kitchen to grab the matches before doubling back to kneel in front of the fire, "You were right, but it's too late to change it, so we'll just have to make do. It's kind of fun, actually. We can't rely on all your modern technology to save us."

"I hate that you're getting a kick out of this, but when you start having PTSD flashbacks, don't come crawling to me." Brooklyn hissed and Steve heard her bump into the couch and yelp in pain.

Steve chuckled and lit the match, leaning it against the firewood until it caught on. "Hold still. Wait until you can see."

"I'm sorry that I don't have super senses and can see in the dark!" Brooklyn stumbled again, but this time she crashed against Steve's shoulders, causing him to drop the match into the flames. "Shit, was that our last match?"

"No. Even if it was, I can start a fire without them. Stop worrying. I've got this." Steve told her as she carefully knelt beside him. He heard her grunt as she fell onto her butt and lean against the couch, and he looked back at her to see her shivering as she held her sweater tightly. "You're worse in the cold than me."

"It's a long story."

"It's going to be a long night. I have time." Steve answered as he pushed himself back to sit against the couch with Brooklyn. "This is the first time nobody can see us."

Brooklyn folded her hands together and looked to Steve, "Yeah?"

He blinked down at her when he realized she was asking him what he meant, "I'm just saying, we're actually alone for once."

"And what do you want to do about it?"

"Talk about all the things you don't want to talk about." Steve replied and Brooklyn rolled her eyes, "What?"

"We could have done that at any time, I just don't want to." Brooklyn argued as a terrible gust of wind struck the kitchen window. She huddled closer to Steve and he put his arm around her to hold her close. She glared up at him as she leaned into his side, "Don't think this will make me talk. I'm just cold."

Steve pulled the blanket off of the couch and wrapped it around Brooklyn's shoulders before nudging her forward, "Sit in front of me. I'll keep you warm."

"No."

"Don't be stubborn." Steve spread his legs so she could sit between them, "My blood runs hot. Between the fire and me, you'll be warm."

Brooklyn narrowed her eyes at Steve, then looked to the fire and pulled the blanket tighter around her shoulders before she shimmied her way between Steve's legs. Steve saw her arch her back to stay away, but he wrapped his arms around her torso and pulled her back, leaning his chin on her shoulder as she growled softly in displeasure. "This isn't so terrible, is it?" Steve teased as he held her tightly, enjoying her squirming more than the contact. "You know, during the war, us guys would have to do this with each other."

"I can't decide if that makes me feel better or worse. It makes me feel better because imagining you spooning another man is funny, but it makes me feel worse that we are in war conditions." Brooklyn leaned her cheek against Steve's and he felt his face begin to warm up in response, blushing in the darkness. Brooklyn giggled, "I know you so well."

"What?"

"I knew if I leaned my face against yours, your cheeks would heat up because you're embarrassed."

"I'm not embarrassed, I was caught off guard."

"I'm between your legs, Steve. Me pressing my face to yours is what catches you off guard?"

Steve pursed his lips, lowering his head so his jaw was pressed tightly over her shoulder, "Are you uncomfortable?"

"No. But, like, this isn't romantic either." Brooklyn mumbled and Steve smirked, turning his head and bumping his nose against her jaw. "Like, yeah, it probably should be, but it's just like a mission. We're doing what we need to survive."

"Why are you so worried about it then?"

"Because you're always so flirty and adorable and I need you to stop." Brooklyn bit back, but she leaned farther back against Steve's chest.

Steve tilted his head back so he wasn't leaning over her anymore. She would think it was because she'd asked him to stop, but Steve just didn't want her to see him grinning. "I'm not flirting with you."

"Yes, you are." Brooklyn answered as the fire popped. "Maybe not intentionally, but you definitely are. Maybe you're just really charming. Either way, I can't wait for you to get laid, so you can stop treating me like your girl."

Steve snorted, "I'm sorry I gave you the wrong impression. Maybe I just got too comfortable with you and didn't realize how I was coming across." He shifted himself away from Brooklyn until he could stand and grab some more wood to toss into the fireplace. As the flames grew, Steve felt his body heat up, but one look at his friend told him she wasn't feeling the warmth, "We'll be warmer if we sit together."

She twisted her lips and glared toward the bedroom, "I know."

Steve sat beside her but kept his distance, waiting for Brooklyn to accept his warmth and presence. She was too proud to admit she needed Steve, but he figured she'd come around to snuggling up to him eventually. As the wind continued to howl outside, Brooklyn's resolve began to dissipate.

Finally, she looked up at Steve with big doe eyes and a sad expression, "It's not like I never considered it, you know. The idea of us. It's just not a good idea."

"The cameras are out. Whatever happens tonight, nobody has to know. You can let me get close and then pretend it never happened. Whatever happens tonight, we won't bring it up again. Deal?" Steve asked as he raised his right hand toward the flames.

Brooklyn nodded slowly as she watched Steve like a hawk, "Deal."

"Now, tell me why you hate the cold." Steve ordered as he walked around to the back of the sofa and pushed it closer to the fire so they could lean against it while staying warm. Brooklyn stayed quiet until he came back to her and nudged her closer to the fire.

He noticed how intensely she watched the flames, and she barely moved when he sat behind her and pulled his legs tight against hers as he leaned his chest into her back. Steve waited patiently as she grabbed onto the sleeves of his jacket, running her fingers along the thick material until she whispered, "There was a mission. I was fresh out of training, just eighteen years old. My team and I were dropped off in the middle of nowhere somewhere in Northern Europe. We were supposed to rendezvous with the local authorities, SHIELD got an anonymous tip that they had information about The Ten Rings. Should have been easy, but it was an ambush. I was young and scared and I hid while the rest of the agents I was sent with fought and died. There was a man with a tattoo on his wrist of the Ten Rings symbol, and he captured my team leader. Cut the tracker right out of his neck while he bled out from his left shoulder."

Brooklyn shivered at the memory, grabbing her own shoulder instinctively. Steve tightened his hold around her and buried his forehead into her hair above her ear. He could feel how shaky her breath was, and he wondered if she saw her memories as vividly as he saw his, or if that was another gift from the super soldier serum that kept on screwing him over.

"They took him, knowing they could torture him forever and nobody would find him. What they didn't realize was I was still alive. I followed them, then ditched my uniform in the nearest town for clothes from a homeless woman. I found their hideout and I saw them trying to extract their information for Project Pegasus. I waited outside in the snow with nothing but a thin jacket for six hours until SHIELD tracked my location and got my team leader back. I was rewarded with a promotion, and thrust into more dangerous undercover work. Fury was the Deputy Director at the time, and he said that the smartest thing I could do was to stay alive. He commended me for being selfish enough to save the mission, and that Rumlow wouldn't have survived if I hadn't called for backup. Still not proud of it though."

"I'm thankful you ran and hid." Steve muttered against her cheek, but Brooklyn stiffened at his words.

"You wouldn't have." She turned her whole body to look at Steve fully, sitting cross legged between his thighs. He saw her eyes drop from his blues to his lips for just a moment before coming back up to meet his gaze, sending Steve's pounding heart into a frenzy. "You wouldn't have just sat by and let your team die to save your own skin."

"Just because I wouldn't have done it doesn't mean you shouldn't have." Steve wondered if Brooklyn would recoil away from him if he dared to kiss her, "I'm so thankful you stayed out of the fight."

"Yeah," she murmured as she looked down again, blinking slowly as she stared at his lips a moment longer than before, then she shook her head rapidly and looked up with wide eyes, "So, yeah, that's why I hate the cold. Because I remember getting picked up in the jet and not being able to feel any part of my body. I had hypothermia and they were worried I might not make the trip home. Like, I'm okay with a little snow, it's pretty, but this freaks me out a bit."

Steve slumped as the mood shifted, but kept his expression even so Brooklyn wouldn't catch on to his disappointment. "Well. I don't like it either. For obvious reasons."

Brooklyn hummed and turned back around to lean herself against Steve's chest again, turning slightly so she could look up and see his face, "We're two peas in a pod."

A quiet chuckle rumbled through his chest, and he felt Brooklyn relax against him as she nuzzled his collarbone with her cheek, ducking her head under his chin as she ran her fingers up and down the thin fabric of his shirt beneath his jacket. Her touch shot firecrackers through Steve's chest and he ran his right hand over her messy hair as his left arm kept her snugly tucked against him. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Her voice was muffled, but Steve caught her words, and the strained tone in which she spoke them. "This is it for us, Steve. You and I need very specific things, and we can't offer them to each other. You know that right?"

Steve nodded against the top of her head, knowing it was for the best, but that didn't make it any easier to push away the daydreams he'd thought up over the past few weeks. "I know."

"We have Stockholm Syndrome." She giggled, but Steve wasn't in a laughing mood. "Steve? Did you freeze?"

"Yup." He answered, swallowing his confliction and mussing her hair to make it frizzy before stretching his arms above his head and yawning, "See, I'm starting to fall asleep."

"No! No, you can't! What if you don't wake up until 2082?" Brooklyn cried out teasingly as she shifted to sit on her knees and grab Steve's cheeks, "I'd miss you."

Steve sighed and grabbed onto Brooklyn, pulling her flush against his chest and pulling them both to the ground, "Now who's flirting?"

"Still you."

"Uh huh, you keep telling yourself that." Steve grunted as he reached up and pulled down two of the decorative pillows, "We made a deal, whatever happens tonight, we never speak about it again."

Brooklyn's eyes widened and she smirked as she sat up to look down at Steve, "You want me to take your virginity, Cap?"

"No. I want you to shut up and sleep beside me. You're like an obnoxious carnival prize, but we'll both sleep better if we sleep together." Steve patted the floor beside him as he rested on his forearm. "I know you'll be weird about it, so when the jet arrives, we'll pretend it never happened."

"I do like being the little spoon." She laid back down and cuddled up to Steve's body, nestling the pillow under her cheek as she pressed her ass against his crotch, "Don't wake up hard."

"Shhh, I said I wanted you to shut up so I could pretend you were a stuffed bear." Steve purred into her ear and she giggled as he smiled at the back of her head. He draped his left arm over Brooklyn and slid his right under his pillow and hers, allowing him to tuck her under his chin again, "If the fire goes out or you get cold, wake me up, okay?"

"Okay."

"Shhh, I said be quiet." Steve said as he moved his large hand to cover her mouth and half her face.

Steve heard Brooklyn huff, "I hate you," but she grabbed his right hand and relaxed against him. After a couple of minutes, when Steve was sure she was asleep, he whispered into her hair, "I love you, too."

Author's Notes: Sorry for not responding to your comments yet! I'm editing this one myself so my brain has been frazzled with writing and editing and I've been a terrible responder! (My normal process is write, then pass the story to my husband, where he does a soft edit, then to my best friend who does an intense edit. I try to never go back and read it a second time so I don't overthink it)

Marvelover1- Thank you for your three reviews! I'm so glad you find the plot intriguing and are enjoying it! I had this idea and decided to run full speed ahead with it, and I'm really enjoying making a darker storyline than my usual fare!

LadyBelle91- Thank you so much for your review! You have no idea how happy it made me to know you came over from my other story, because this one is so different for me to write! To answer your question: it will be pretty cannon convergent until CAWS, and then it will change the storyline of the rest of the MCU moving forward! So it's a little like Erskine to Ellis in the fact that it rides along with the movies, however, after CAWS it will become its own entity (Most likely in the form of a sequel).

Thank you both for reviewing and please fell free to message/review anytime! The more reviews I get, the faster I upload the story!