Animosity
Steve was careful with the placement of his feet as he snuck along the outer gates, sticking to the shadows and making sure he wasn't seen. Throughout the years, he had gotten good at the stealth part of this job. No longer did he burst through doors and knock enemies over the head. Okay, he still knocked people over the head, but he managed to do so in a quieter fashion—as proven by the guards that were knocked out and bound a few yards back. Though he couldn't take all the credit. His partner this mission certainly had a hand in taking down those guards before they could signal anyone. He chanced a glance back and gritted his teeth as he saw her skip along behind him. Amanda waved as she noticed him looking. He rolled his eyes but refrained from responding beyond that, opting instead to keep going.
Amanda was good at her job; quick and lethal. She was also a pro at getting on his nerves. There was nothing she liked more than getting a rise out of him, and though it took all his self-control not to snap at her, he didn't take the bait. He knew exactly what her goal was, and he wasn't about to give her a win. Another win that was. He'd already snapped at her on the plane, and all she had done was smirk. That damned smirk never seemed to leave her pretty face.
He didn't bother looking back again, knowing that while she might be skipping, she wouldn't risk being seen. As angry as she made him, she was good at this—trained in the red room and later recruited by Natasha to work for SHIELD. When SHIELD fell, Natasha had made sure to take care of Amanda—Tony had been quick to recruit her for the Avengers.
It was her link to Natasha and their similar training that made her the right partner for this mission, even if he had objected to the choice. It was no secret that Steve and Amanda didn't play well together. It wasn't like him and Nat, where conversation flowed and nothing seemed out of bounds.
However, with Natasha nursing a sprained ankle and the mission on a deadline, adjustments had needed to be made. Natasha would run point from the jet and Amanda would support Steve. It didn't help Steve's mood to hear Natasha encourage Amanda's behaviour with every laugh she could not contain. One minute with Amanda, and Natasha lost her ability to keep up her poker face.
And it's not that Steve disliked Amanda. He understood why everyone liked her. She was a good friend, fun. A little wild at times, but overall nice. However, as soon as they went in the field, she managed to get on his nerves—like today.
During briefing that morning, she'd been telling jokes instead of listening and then, when he tried to update her on the plane, she chose to ignore him and sleep instead. He'd been clenching his teeth since they landed, partly because she still had the ability to still complete the mission with success. Perhaps that's what annoyed him the most. She had no work ethic, didn't seem to take anything seriously, but she always landed on her feet. This made it harder for him to reprimand her.
As they made their way to the building they were about to break into, Amanda had been exchanging jokes with Natasha over their communication set. Of course, Natasha could be heard laughing in his earpiece. Amanda whispered proficiently; they wouldn't be heard unless someone got really close, and they were both too alert to let that happen. They'd staked the place out well enough to know the comings and goings of the few guards the place still held.
With the latest round of laughter clear in his ear, Steve approached the side gate that they were about to breach with anger clear in his steps. The guard placed by the entrance didn't stand a chance against him, even if he had noticed the pair earlier. Steve swiftly knocked him out, making sure to catch the body before it hit the ground and drag it into the shadows.
Amanda suppressed a smirk as she watched him take his anger out on the unsuspecting guard. She hadn't seen him slip like that before. Steve never lost his composure; he was the kind of person that appeared to be in complete control of his emotions. At least the Steve she had come to know. Natasha had told her in the past that Steve wasn't as uptight as she thought he was, but it had been hard to believe. It was part of the reason why she did her best to annoy him. She wanted to break through his hard exterior.
That said, if she messed up this mission because of that desire, she would not be able to forgive herself. As she looked at his angry face, guilt took hold of her for a moment. Then the mask returned and she felt the urge to wipe it off. He seemed proud that he had taken out the guard so swiftly, and Amanda repressed the urge to applaud and instead offered him a smirk as she nodded her head to the side. It was enough to make him frown.
Momentarily confused by the smirk, Steve took half a second too long to notice the second guard that approached them to take over the station. Thankfully, Amanda didn't miss a beat and she jumped on the man before he saw them—using her thighs to cut off his air supply. Using her weight to manoeuvre him to the shadows where Steve was ready to catch the falling body. She jumped off and quickly grabbed the rope from the rucksack on her back. Amanda made quick work of the knots while Steve kept a careful eye on their surroundings.
Amanda could already see discolouration on the jaw of Steve's victim and she chuckled; he had really done a number on him. These guards would be sore when they woke up. They'd have a headache and a bruised ego, but unlike her targets before Shield, before the Avengers, they'd live to tell the tale. Exactly as Captain Rogers ordered—she'd been listening far more intently than he thought. When she was done tying up the guards, she stood back up and curtsied, before telling him to take the lead again.
Steve said nothing, the strain in his jaw the only indication that her curtsy pissed him off. Instead, he lightly dusted himself off and edged closer to the gate, making sure there were no other guards around before signalling her to follow him. Without further ado, she followed. He didn't question it in the moment, and he had not heard the words Natasha had solely directed at Amanda. He'd only heard the words that were meant for him, telling him to ease up and not let her get to him so much. Natasha knew him well.
"She's only doing it because you respond so readily," Natasha had told him on several occasions. And though he knew she was right, he just couldn't help it.
"Mandy," Natasha's voice sounded clear in Amanda's earpiece, "the curtsy might have been a bit much." Amanda chuckled and agreed softly.
"Perhaps that's enough pestering for today?" Natasha suggested and Amanda knew she was right.
It was like poking a bear but she couldn't stop herself. Around her, Steve was so strict and uptight, it felt like she needed to take a few jabs just to loosen him up—even if rational thinking told her that this wouldn't work.
When Amanda had first arrived at the Avengers compound, almost a year ago now, she'd worked hard to make people like her. She had wanted desperately to fit in, to prove that Natasha hadn't been wrong to bring her in. But it had been difficult for her to adjust to having so many people around her. After years of working alone, Amanda had some issues working with a team. It didn't help that it had not been her choice to join a team either—she'd been content as a spy, but the fall of SHIELD had blown her cover, and Maria had urged her to always have back up. And despite all of them being kind and welcoming, it had been tough on her.
It had been her second mission when it had all gone to hell in a basket. Her job had been to get in and out quickly; to preserve the coveted information that the stronghold they were breaking into held. Amanda had done her job quickly and sufficiently, but she could not in good conscience leave once she was done. An army, much larger than expected, had descended on her colleagues, and she had jumped into the fray without a second thought.
Steve had been angry since it had given their enemy the chance to undo her work. If they had killed or taken her, it would've all been for nothing. It didn't matter to him that none of that had happened. While he was glad that she had attributed to everyone making it out alive, he had been pissed that she ignored his direct order. It wasn't something Steve could easily forget or forgive.
"When we go through these gates all communication comes to a halt," Steve spoke softly, bringing Amanda back to the present.
Natasha was quick to agree, while Amanda pretended to think it over. Upon a stern look from Steve, she held up her hands with a smile, offering defeat. He shook his head, knowing she did it just to get a rise out of him, so he pushed his annoyance down and gave a single nod.
He busted the lock on the gate with his shield and nearly chuckled to himself; apparently he also still burst through doors. Perhaps he hadn't changed as much as he thought since his early days.
Once they were inside, they easily found the room where their objectives could be found and they were met with little resistance. It felt too easy. And while they went ahead with their mission—retrieving information on a terrorist attack in Washington DC—they were both immediately on edge. Uneasy, Amanda followed the steps that Natasha had provided and hacked into the system, wanting to download everything as quickly as possible so they could get out. Beside her, Steve anxiously paced the room, looking through cracks in the boarded-up windows into the empty hallway—she knew he was as apprehensive as she was.
They quickly learned that they were right to be worried because all too soon they were alerted to trouble by the sound of approaching footsteps.
For weeks, the team had surveyed the place, counting ten guards on any given day. The number of footsteps that they could hear coming closer told them that their information was off. Incredibly off. There was a minimum of two dozen pairs of feet marching their way and Amanda counted down the seconds as she wished for a way to speed up the process. 96%…97%. It went far too slow for her liking. 99%—100. She pulled out the flash drive and secured it in her boot, that way it couldn't accidentally fall out of a ripped off pocket or a torn rucksack. Losing a shoe would be noticed much faster.
"Let's go!" Amanda said, and Steve nodded, stepping towards the door they had come in through. He stopped there, seeing the soldiers coming around the corner. He pushed Amanda back into the room, closed the door, and used his shield to break off the handle. It would slow the soldiers down for a moment. Hopefully long enough for them to find another exit.
"Vents," Steve whispered, and Amanda nodded, the urgency of the moment effectively grounding her. She felt no desire to play with her mission partner.
Instead, Amanda moved quickly and jumped on a chair, successfully swinging to the grate that sat over the vent. Putting her weight on it, she jiggled and managed to get it loose. Steve caught her as she came down. The grate gave a loud clang, but they didn't care; it no longer mattered. They'd been made and stealth was no longer a requirement, only swift action.
The door rattled as something hit it, and Steve gave Amanda a boost with his shield, making it easy to climb up. She then took his shield from him and crawled back to give him enough room to jump up and climb in. They had only just cleared the room when the first soldiers trickled in.
The vents were small, and it wasn't easy to manoeuvre through with the shield between them, but they made it work as best they could. The soldiers had chosen not to follow them up the vents, so they had to be wary before climbing down from them—those soldiers would be anticipating their reemergence. Three rooms down, they stopped and listened for movement. When they heard none, they decided to get out of the vents and try the hallways again. They'd be able to move much faster on the ground.
"Once we get out into the hallway, we start running," Steve said, using his authoritative voice, and Amanda repressed a smart comeback. "We take a left, then a right and we should come up to another side door." He looked through the floor plans he had saved on his phone. Amanda checked them over his shoulder and noticed two other ways out. Instead of pointing them out, she decided to follow her captain's lead. A first, and one he was too busy to notice or appreciate, but she would be sure to fill him in once they were safe.
Carefully, they left the room they were in and started running as fast as they could. Steve took the lead, checking ahead and Amanda kept an eye on their rear. Three hallways down, they realised that the floor plan wasn't accurate. There'd clearly been some unknown construction going on. It fit with their faulty intel. And it left them in a bit of a pickle.
"Left," Steve ordered, assuming Amanda would follow, but instead she stopped.
"Are you sure?" She asked, looking to the right instead. Both hallways were empty, but something felt off about them. She'd much rather have turned back. The soldiers hadn't found them yet and there was an eery silence pressing down on them. Even their own footsteps seemed to disappear into the void.
"When I give an order, I expect you to follow it," Steve spit out, and she couldn't help but sigh. They'd done so well so far, but now there was a shift in his voice and behaviour, and it irked her. If she had taken a moment to analyse him, she would've known he was nervous—but she didn't take that moment, so she reacted as she always did, because poking the bear was such a hard-to-shake habit of hers.
"I might've missed that class," she said with a happy lilt to her voice, but there was an undertone that raised the hairs on the back of his neck. Steve knew he was treading on thin ice with her, but he couldn't be bothered to slow down. He was too wired for that.
"Not the only one you missed," he grumbled, his anger quickly flaring at her nonchalance. It was eery how easily she rattled him.
Logically, he knew that he would have to question her behaviour. To see if it was a mask to hide her true feelings. To wonder if he triggered her as much as she did him. After all, there were others with whom she worked well—Natasha and Sam for starters, and they were two of his closest friends. So why did he continuously clash with her?
"Oh? What else?" she asked, her voice going dangerously low.
"Teamwork," he said flat.
By now, steam was coming from her ears, and she couldn't even contradict him. She'd been a spy for so long, trained to close herself off from others, she had forgotten what it was like to be part of a team. Natasha understood this, Sam managed to work around it easily, but as soon as the number of the group rose above three, Amanda balked. And it had pissed off Steve on a number of occasions, which had started their strained relationship. She knew she should work on that, but it was hard to let people in after a life of having to distrust everyone.
It would've been so much easier to remain a spy, and sometimes she resented Nat and Steve for blowing her cover when SHIELD fell. Then she reminded herself that they had done what needed to be done and she calmed down. She knew it was reckless to keep her walls so high now, but old habits died hard.
"Care to explain?" she asked, her voice strangely calm. No matter how right he was, nobody liked to have their flaws spelled out to them. Especially not as they were trapped in a building full of enemy operatives. Tensions ran high enough without any snide remarks.
In the jet, Natasha was anxiously awaiting their return. The comms were still down and she was getting more worried by the minute. It appeared that the mission had not gone according to plan, though she had no way of finding out what went wrong. With no other options, she called Tony.
"What's up, Red?" he asked on the second ring.
"There's been radio silence for over half an hour," Natasha said. "Retrieving the info should've taken 15 minutes at most."
"I'll send Sam your way," Tony said, knowing that Sam and Clint were only a short distance away for a stakeout.
"Thanks," Natasha whispered, not reassured. She hung up after promising to keep him updated. Natasha hated that she was injured. She wished she could go in, but she also knew she was in no shape to help them. She'd make it worse if they were in trouble. They'd have to protect her as well. If something had gone wrong, it would be better if they didn't need to worry about her. All she could do now was hope Sam would arrive soon, and that they'd turn on their comms again. Still, she strapped on her weapons and readied herself for battle. No limp would stop her from helping her team. She would give them just a little longer to resurface.
"Last week," Steve hissed at her, bringing her thoughts back to their previous mission, where she'd jumped in front of Sam just as he was about to take a shot. What Sam had not seen, nor had Steve, was that Sam's target carried a detonator in his hand. If he had let it go, who knew what would've blown up. And while they eventually all came to understand her intentions, Steve was angry that she had not told them as she was moving—instead waiting until it was all over and done with, the detonator safely taken from the perpetrator and disarmed.
"I was saving your ass! Would you have liked me to let it go?" she exclaimed, not expecting him to answer. They both knew she was right. "My team was in danger, and I saw an opportunity—you can't expect me to ignore it," she lamented after a few seconds of silence, and Steve groaned. He could almost hear Natasha cackling at those words—if she found out, he would not hear the end of it. There was a familiarity in that statement that he wasn't willing to admit to at this point.
"I'm responsible for keeping all of you safe. I can't do that, if you keep making your own plans." Steve said, a little defeated. She was right, but she needed to understand that he was trying to keep her safe as well.
"How about this?" she started, and though the words were promising, the glint in her eyes was menacing and he worried of what was to come. "I'll follow your orders, unless I see a REALLY good different option?"
Steve groaned, annoyance clear in his body language. He was about to reply when a high pitched beeping interrupted him. He looked back at Amanda, seeing in her eyes the same confusion that he felt. She stepped around him, glancing into both hallways, trying to find the origin of the sound. There was nothing to see. Steve laid a hand on her shoulder and she instinctively stepped closer to him, both of them knowing something was very wrong.
"Aman—" Steve began, when a loud explosion resounded around them and shook the ground they were standing on.
The wall to their right collapsed and caused cracks to appear in the surrounding walls in rapid succession. Debris came down around them and Steve acted quickly, pulling Amanda into the room to their left and pushing her underneath a sturdy looking desk. He crouched down beside her, using his shield to protect them as much as it could, while the ground kept shaking and they feared that the building would fall down on top of them.
"Nat!" Tony's voice was sharp, frantic. "Jarvis detected an explosion. What happened?"
"I'm not sure yet. Sam just arrived, but the right wing of the building has collapsed," Natasha answered, her voice all business, albeit a little breathy, and Tony could tell that she was running. He should've known that a sprained ankle wasn't going to stop her.
"A team is on the way," Tony informed her and asked her to keep him updated.
Her reply was short, followed by a grunt, and he could only assume she was climbing. Tony hated not being able to help and paced the lab he was currently in. Beside him, Pepper was scouring their information for anything that might help them. Figuring out how their information could've been so wrong was a worry for another day. First, they needed to get their people out.
The communication lines had some static and everyone waited with bated breath, hoping to hear their teammates and friends give them some information. They'd settle for anything, as long as they were alive. When the static intensified, Natasha and Sam briefly stopped going up the rubble, hoping to hear something, anything. Relief washed over them when a very welcome voice sounded over the frequency.
"We're okay," Steve grunted into the comms.
"Are you hurt?" Sam was the first to speak as everyone relished in the happiness of their survival. His return to business also made Natasha aware of their surroundings again, and she kept an eye out for enemy operatives, while simultaneously scouring the debris for any sign of where Steve and Amanda were.
"Where are you?" Natasha asked, she and Sam moving again. There weren't any landmarks to guide them, nothing to indicate the location—they would need Steve and Amanda to guide them to where they were.
"The floor plans were off, I'm not sure where we are and we're stuck," Amanda answered, strain audible in her voice.
"What do you mean, you're stuck?" Tony asked. He was hoping to provide the rescue team with as much information as he could.
"Debris is surrounding us. It'll take a while to get through," Steve answered now, and they could hear him rummaging.
"Just stay where you are. Let us come to you," Sam urged them, knowing that a shift in the rocks could cause more debris to fall on them. It would be better to wait for the rescue team that Tony had sent. They'd be able to assess the situation better. An increase in helping hands would also make them move quicker.
"Nat, have you located them yet?" Tony asked a few moments later, his voice calm though an octave higher than usual. Natasha knew he was worried. Especially since it had been his choice to send in a small team. Steve had wanted to play it safe. Based on the information that they had at the time, Natasha had agreed with Tony. She wanted to tell him not to worry, that it wasn't his fault, but she knew it wouldn't help. Not until Steve and Amanda were safe, and they'd figured out where it went wrong.
"Not yet, I'll keep you posted," she promised without halting her movements. She felt the pain in her ankle increase, but she wasn't stopping now.
Natasha and Sam encountered no one else; no guards, no casualties. Thus confirming that this had been a preconceived plan. They had been targeted, and it made Natasha feel uneasy. Not only was it supposed to have been her, not Amanda, but it also meant someone had betrayed them. She exchanged a loaded look with Sam, who had come to the same conclusion. Fuelled by anger, she kept going, ignoring her pain and eager to find her friends. She would figure out who had it out for her and Steve, but that was for later. First things first; getting her friends out.
Redwing flew to the right, moving out of sight as they went left—eager to cover as much ground as they could.
"Steve call out!" Sam called loudly as they moved slowly through the rubble. "Mandy!" he added moments later. There was no reply.
They repeated the same action several times. Calling out loudly as they moved, then waiting a minute or two for a reply. The longer it took for anyone to respond, the more frantic they moved over the debris. Finally, a good fifteen minutes after they started searching, Steve called back, and they could breathe a little easier again.
It was then that they arrived at the epicentre of the blast. A thick wall of rubble blocked their path, and as Sam tried to get Red Wing through, they realised that this would not have a quick fix. They'd need proper equipment to get through this without destabilising it.
"What's the damage?" Natasha asked them, after informing them to sit tight as they worked to get them out. The rescue team was only 30 minutes out now—Tony must have sent for them at the same time as Sam—he must have felt something was off when she called.
"We're okay," Steve replied again, avoiding the real question that Natasha had asked. It didn't escape her notice that this was the second time he and Amanda didn't answer this question outright.
"What are your injuries?" she asked again, her words more direct and her tone telling them she wasn't accepting anything other than a straight answer from them.
"I promise we're okay," Steve bravely said; defying Natasha was a lot easier when there was a wall of rubble between them, and they both knew it.
"Amanda, what is it?" Natasha pushed, hoping she'd get an honest answer out of the other woman.
"Nat, don't worry so much, you'll get wrinkles," Amanda said with a chuckle, before finally giving the redhead the answers she wanted. "Steve tried to headhunt some rocks, but we all know he's thickheaded enough to take it in stride. And I've just got a little wound on my leg, nothing I won't survive."
"How'd you get the wound on your leg?" Natasha pressed again, not trusting the answer she'd gotten. Natasha knew them both well enough to know that they'd downplay a fatal wound if it meant they'd keep everybody calm.
"A piece of rebar nicked me. Steve's putting pressure on it. I'll be fine." The strain that had been in Amanda's voice before got more pronounced, and Natasha and Sam knew they had to move as fast as they could.
"Steve, is it a concussion?" Sam asked for clarification and he groaned when the captain gave an affirmative answer. It wasn't something that the serum wouldn't take care of, he'd be fine. However, it also meant that he'd be suffering the consequences now and would be off his game.
"It nicked your leg?" Steve whispered harshly, making sure his words wouldn't travel. He had turned off the comms to offer them some privacy while he scolded her. He looked at the rebar wire stuck in her leg, she'd definitely downplayed the injury. At least the wire kept the blood in place—for now. If it shifted they'd be in trouble.
"Oh come on, Cap, it won't do them any good to know that. Those rocks won't magically disappear if the situation gets more serious."
"I know that, but they need to know that you'll need medical attention as soon as we get out of here," he reasoned. It was one thing for him to pretend he was hardly hurting, another thing entirely to downplay someone else's injuries.
"I'm sure they saw through our answers," Amanda countered, and Steve couldn't deny that. They were both known to fib about these things. Amanda had once been shot on a mission for SHIELD and called it a scratch as a team was dispatched to get her. Steve had lost the trust of his teammates when he began jumping from planes without a parachute.
Steve worked to stabilise her leg as best he could in the limited space they had. The desk was damaged beyond repair, but it provided them with the materials to put a splint on her. To apply it, however, he had to move around and his head was swimming by the time he was done.
"Steve, please sit down," Amanda urged, reaching out to grab a hold of his arm.
"No, I have to keep going. I have to move some of those rocks," he stubbornly replied, moving to get up off the floor.
"Don't be an idiot. Your head must be exploding. Sit down and let me check that wound," Amanda pressed, pointing at the large gash on his temple where he'd been hit by the debris. She knew he'd be fine eventually, but he'd need to take a rest just like anyone else would with such a blow to the head. He healed faster, but he wasn't impervious.
"I'm the idiot?" he exclaimed, no longer thinking of the people on the other side of the debris. He failed to hear Sam bark out a laugh over his outburst. Natasha just rolled her eyes. They hadn't even lasted ten minutes without raising their voices.
"Yes, now sit," Amanda said calmly.
"That must be a new record," Tony chimed in on their comms.
"What?" Sam asked, wondering what this was about exactly.
"For them to raise their voices," Tony explained, and Sam chuckled, he couldn't deny that. He was just surprised that the sound had travelled through their comms since he was certain that Steve and Amanda had turned theirs off before they had begun arguing.
"Amanda and Steve in close confinement and annoyed," Tony added, mirth clear in his voice and nobody could blame them.
"Jesus Christ, this will be fun," Tony laughed, and Natasha could not help but join in.
"They'll tear each other apart," Sam whispered as he began to move loose rocks. He'd have to leave the bigger ones for when back-up arrived.
"We can still hear you," Amanda said, annoyance audible in her voice as she huffed. She couldn't possibly tell them they were wrong. Her track record with Steve wasn't good. She just wished she hadn't turned her comms back on, she did not need to hear this.
"Oh hush! You two have been getting on each other's nerves non-stop lately. This'll be good for you," Tony joked as Natasha began to inform them that they'd be out in no time.
Natasha's idea of no time wasn't like Steve's. It had been two hours and they were still stuck.
Two hours in which the irritation grew and many harsh words were spoken. It began with trying to figure out why their plans had been so far off from reality. Steve claimed it had been her intel. It didn't matter that there'd been three other people involved in gathering the information, each one verifying everything before accepting it as truth.
Amanda claimed he'd just been too distracted to pay much attention. It didn't matter that she'd been the one to distract him with her antics.
Then it came to preparation. Apparently, her not listening to the briefing had contributed to their lack of it. She countered that his strict approach left little room to improvise and that could've saved them. It didn't matter that neither one of them could have possibly predicted this. And neither improvisation nor strict rules were able to stop a bomb.
"You're lucky I moved as quick as I did!" Steve stated angrily.
"I know, I'm glad you bounced the rocks," Amanda replied with a sweet smile. "They would've done real damage to me, but your head hasn't been used for a while now."
"Seriously?" Steve stood and paced the little room they had acquired over the last two hours. Outside of their bubble the rescue team could be heard making slow progress. The ruckus they made was wreaking havoc on Steve's painful head.
"Look, Captain, I get that you don't like me, but if you could refrain from badgering me every single chance you see me, I might be more pleasant to work with."
"I don't badger you every chance I get. I actually swallow my comments quite often," Steve said innocently, knowing he was getting to her just as bad.
"Not often enough," she countered with a sigh.
"Perhaps that should be a sign that you need to adjust your attitude. I am your superior in the field, remember."
"Oh captain, my captain," she sneered, moving her arms to pretend to bow to him.
"Damn it, Amanda!' Steve exclaimed. He knew they were just antagonising each other now and it wouldn't help them. "I just need you to work in a team. We need to be able to rely on each other."
"You act like I've been stabbing you in the back, or dropped someone off a ledge. I've done nothing to warrant this."
"You talked through the entire briefing, which wasn't the first time. Then, when I tried to get you up to speed, you pretended to sleep." Steve was getting exasperated. "Tell me, if you don't take it seriously, how am I supposed to trust you to have my back?"
Amanda was stunned into silence. She had been talking through the briefing, because she had prepared all the points with Natasha. Surely, she could've stayed quiet, but it was so easy to piss Steve off and so fun to see him fuming—she hadn't thought he'd take it this far.
And on the jet, she hadn't actually been pretending to sleep. She'd worked through most of the night and put in some earplugs to get a little shut-eye before they entered enemy territory.
Hearing him talk about the situation from his point of view, made her realise the disconnect in their experience.
"Steve, I'd prepared the briefing. I knew what it said. So did Nat, which was why we'd been joking," Amanda spoke softly, working to calm herself. "Pissing you off was just a bonus."
She bit her tongue, scolding herself for adding that last bit. She didn't need to add any more to the tense situation. She needed to dissolve the situation instead. She loved to joke, to laugh and annoy people from time to time. But she did take her job seriously, and she didn't like the idea that someone thought she didn't.
"What?" Steve asked confused, her words had certainly knocked the wind out of his anger.
"I was up late to prepare the briefing with the latest information. I wanted it to be up-to-date in order to make the best decision about the size of our team for it. Especially since you and Tony didn't see eye-to-eye on that."
"I didn't know that. But why didn't you say something on the plane?"
"I had earplugs in, I knew you were talking, but didn't think much of it. I figured you were either berating me for something or complaining. I just wanted to get some shut-eye, so I ignored it."
"Those are some earplugs," Steve said skeptically. He'd never heard of earplugs that cut out that much noise.
"Stark invention," Amanda said apologetically.
"Seriously?"
"Seriously."
"I think we might have to work on our communication when we get out of here," Steve said after a few moments of silence, sheepishly scratching the back of his head. He had never really noticed how much of their interactions were based on assumptions.
Amanda could only nod in agreement. He was right. It appeared that much of their animosity was based on miscommunication and expectations—they'd need to figure that out before they went into the field again.
"Do my ears deceive me?" Tony's voice rang through the silence that followed. "Did they just have their first mature conversation?"
"It appears so. Weird," Sam replied, a smile clear in his voice—he and Tony were enjoying this. Thankfully, Natasha was wise enough to keep her commentary to herself. For now. Amanda was certain that she'd hear the ridicule when there was no longer a wall dividing them.
Getting them from their prison took another two hours. Hours that were mostly spent in quiet contemplation and gentle inquiries to the other's health. Amanda had been very aware of the wincing that Steve did whenever he moved quickly—despite the serum in his veins and the years of head butting, he was in pain—and she wondered how a concussion would influence him. She'd be down for the count.
Steve couldn't muster much speech without betraying his pain and he was still too proud to show much weakness in Amanda's presence. Instead, he focussed on her pain, which was much easier to do. And though she barely groaned when the rocks around them moved and more debris fell on them, he knew she was in trouble when blood began to trickle from her wound.
By the time they were out in the fresh air, the atmosphere between them had changed, and while they hadn't worked through all their issues, there was a silent agreement to keep from arguing until they had. Amanda tried to keep her joking to a minimum, and Steve bit his tongue whenever she did something he disagreed with. It wasn't easy—years of animosity wasn't easily forgotten, but they both made the effort and recognised the effort made.
On the plane, Amanda tried her best to be her joking happy self, but her blood pressure began to plummet halfway through and worry took hold of her teammates and friends. Her skin paled, turning ashen, and she went quiet. Nobody was used to her quiet demeanour, and it quickly informed them how serious this was. Amanda was loud on a bad day—this was apparently worse than bad.
Arriving at the compound, Amanda was rushed off to surgery, where the rebar was removed from her leg, so the damage could be properly assessed. The wire had nicked an artery and it was much more serious than Amanda had tried to make it out to be. The surgery lasted hours and by the time it was finished, it was late into the evening.
Helen Cho had sent everyone to bed, citing rest as a remedy from surgery, so when Amanda woke up she thought she was all alone. She soon found out how wrong she was.
"Still got the leg I see."
Steve's voice startled her and she quickly looked to the dimly lit hallway where Steve was leaning against the doorframe. He seemed unsure of himself and she couldn't blame him. Despite their conversation, there was still a lot of animosity they'd have to work through, and it was tough to determine where they stood with each other now. Should they talk? Be friendly? Make an appointment? Amanda didn't know, so she followed his lead—humour.
"Well, I asked for a wooden one, but they wouldn't budge—said it was overkill," Amanda said, shrugging.
"And here I thought you were attempting a whole new career path," Steve replied with a smile. Amanda hadn't noticed how cute he was when he smiled. Perhaps because he rarely smiled in her presence.
"Piracy was a lifelong dream," Amanda said, trying to sound as earnest as possible.
"Sorry, they thwarted your dreams." Steve chuckled, cautiously stepping into the room and taking a seat by her bed. He was told to rest by his doctor, but he hated having to wake up every two hours and decided to stay up entirely instead. Perhaps walking around was pushing it, but he had felt the need to check up on Amanda.
"I guess I'll just have to annoy you a while longer." Amanda winked at him and Steve grimaced dramatically.
"That might not be such a bad thing," Steve added a moment later with a shy smile, looking at her through his lashes, and Amanda could not help but laugh. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad.
"Captain, my captain."
A/n: This turned out quite different than I had imagined, but it was where the story took me. It's also a lot longer.
Anyway, this was for star-spangled-man-with-a-plan's Hamilton Challenge on tumblr.
The amazing gnomewithalaptop on tumblr was my wonderful beta for this (like she if for pretty much everything I write) Thank you for all your hard work and kind words! I truly appreciate you.