I'm back :). Haha. So sorry for the long wait. I have been burdened with homework every day and had a terrible writer's block. I pushed past it though, but this chapter, I believe, it not up to par with the rest. I will try to make the next chapter much better, I promise.
I have also been using any free time I have to finish up an Age of Ultron story, which I will start posting before the end of the month, and I have been working my tail off on it.
Alright, I hope you guys like this very late chapter!
I don't own Cap.
"Seriously? The Avengers?" Natasha mumbled, holding an ice pack to her head. It was the next day and everyone seemed happy, undeterred by the looming threats hanging above their heads.
"You have a better idea?" Tony countered, looking pleased with himself.
"I'm actually rather surprised that you managed to come up with it by yourself," Natasha replied. "Good with blowing things up, yes. Good with words, no."
"Stop picking on me," Tony whined. "Besides, you said I could do whatever I want."
Natasha looked at him with a confused expression on her face. "I was pretty out of it yesterday, Stark. Don't push it."
Tony held his hands up in a defensive stance. "Not pushing it."
The group was silent again as Clint ate his cereal and Thor enjoyed a pop tart. Tony was the one to break the silence.
"We should do something today, get out of the house, and not for a mission."
Natasha pointed annoyingly to her bandaged head. "I am not going anywhere."
"Where do you propose to take us?" Thor asked, finishing his breakfast.
Tony thought for a second, his brow crunching together as scenarios rushed through his head. When the idea sank in, his eyes lit up.
"Beach," he said, almost in a mystified way.
"I'm in," Clint said quickly. Tony smiled and looked around the room.
"I'll go," Bruce stated, nodding his head.
"I will partake in this adventure. But Lord Stark, how will we get to this beach? We are miles away from the water," Thor commented.
"JARVIS, fuel up the plane. Me and my buddies are taking a trip," Tony ordered to the AI. "Capscicle, you coming?"
Steve thought about it for a second. He remembered the last time he had been on an actual plane. The horrible sounds of crunching metal and the coldness that seeped into his bones. He shivered just thinking about it. "You guys go ahead. I'll watch after Natasha," he said.
Natasha chuckled from the couch in front of the television.
Tony shrugged. "Okay, everyone, grab beach stuff and meet me downstairs in ten!" He rushed off to go grab his own stuff and everyone else followed. Soon, the floor was quiet. In a few minutes, they heard the garage open and close followed by the sound of engines growing fainter in the distance.
"Okay, spill. Why did you want to stay?" Natasha asked as Steve sat next to her on the couch. "And if you say to watch over me, I will slit your throat because you know I can handle myself."
"I haven't been in an actual plane since the crash. Even after they pulled me out. All those years, I never went in a plane. I did, however, go with Peggy to an island, which required a small plane. Kind of had a minor panic attack," he said sheepishly, running a hand through his hair. "I'm just not ready yet," Steve replied quickly and honestly.
"You get 'em too?" Natasha asked, catching him off guard.
"Excuse me?" he replied, a confused look crossing her face.
Natasha rolled her eyes. "The nightmares. Or am I just horrible at reading people?" she questioned sarcastically.
Steve looked away and nodded his head slowly. The nightmares were his burden to carry, something he shouldn't have admitted to. But he had, and the cards were laying on the table. "Yeah," he said simply.
"Tell me," she pressed.
He took a deep breath and thought very carefully about what he was about to say. "The plane. Bucky falling. All of the dead men, laying at my feet, their blood no redder than the color of our flag. Peggy and leaving her alone to face the cold hand of death. Just a mix of everything, I suppose."
"Hm," she said, almost looking amused. "Everyone has their skeletons."
"What are yours?" Steve asked curiously. He knew he may have just jumped over the line, but he wondered if she would be as open with him as he was with her.
Her face seemed to get a little paler in the morning light. Perhaps she was reliving her nightmares, her past, whatever her skeletons were. Steve had no idea about what she had done in the past, everything she had faced.
She could see it in the quizzical way he looked at her, a childish curiousness about the hellish past she had more or less lived. Memories began to flood her mind. The torturing, the Red Room, all of the blood that was dripping from her hands.
"A lot of things combined," she simply said. The memories continues to flash before her eyes. A river of red flowed in her mind. She thought she had gotten better at hiding her past. Evidently not.
Natasha could feel herself growing faint and Steve's expression turned from one of curiousness to one of utter terror.
He rushed forward and caught her as her eyes closed and she slipped off the couch. Steve lifted her up gently, glad that he caught her. His face was red, however, scared that she would wake up at any moment and slit his throat for picking her up.
"Natasha?" he asked quietly, her sleek figure remaining motionless in his arms. He sighed and got a good hold on her before getting in the elevator and taking her to his floor. Steve softly set her down on his bed, making sure a pillow was under her head. Natasha's red hair fanned out brilliantly against the white sheets. Her face was so peaceful. Steve went into the bathroom and wet a cloth with cool water before returning to her. Then he set the cloth on her head and stepped back.
Her chest rose and fell in a normal rhythm. Steve's thoughts drifted to something he had not done since the war. Since before the crash… He shook his head to clear the memories and dug his sketchbook out of his cabinet. Picking up a pencil, he sat in the chair in the corner of his room.
Steve studied her soft features and her flaming hair, glistening from the light that poured in through the window. He drew the pillow beneath her head first, airy and big. Next he sketched her hair, fanned out elegantly and connected it to her face. Steve drew her face the way he saw it, soft and innocent in the moment of rest. He drew sleek curves down her body and finished it off by drawing the knife that was always in her holster on her hip.
Steve took a breath and looked at what he had drawn. "Not bad for an old man," he thought to himself, smirking because he knew that was what Natasha would say.
"Mr. Rogers, there is a patron at the door," JARVIS informed him. Tucking the sketchbook under his arm, Steve looked at Natasha one last time before exiting the room and traveling downstairs.
When he opened the door, a delivery man was standing outside, holding a box of pizza. "I have an order for Mr. Stark," he said plainly.
A look of confusion crossed Steve's face. "He's out. We didn't order any pizza," Steve said, trying to close the door. "Thank you."
The man's boot stuck in the door. "What am I supposed to tell my boss?" he asked.
"Be honest and say you made a mistake," Steve replied, trying to be helpful yet forceful. He needed to get back to Natasha.
"Oh, you don't understand," the man stated, opening the door so he and Steve were face to face. "My boss doesn't work like that."
He opened the box and a cloud of mist poured from it. Instinctively, Steve held his breath, but not fast enough. He felt some of it go into his lungs and begin to cloud his vision. Steve lashed out with his right hand, connecting with the man's jaw. He twisted Steve's hand back, forcing him to flip and land on the floor.
Steve opened his eyes and already the effects were starting to wear off. He swept the man's legs out from under him and used his confusion to land a solid elbow to the man's temple. He dropped like a stone.
Proceeding with caution, Steve moved to the elevator and went up to the communal floor, grabbing his shield which still lay next to the couch. The feel of the cool metal against his skin always made him feel safer.
He pushed the button for his floor, taking a deep breath before the doors slid open. Steve ducked behind his small sofa and peered over it with curious eyes. Hushed voices were coming from the bedroom. With quiet feet, Steve ran over to the door separating the bedroom from the living room. He peeked in, making notes as he did. Five men in all, every one dressed in HYDRA gear. Two stood over the bed, one guarded the broken window, and the other two searched the room.
As one of the men walked towards the door, Steve lashed out and hit the man's windpipe. He went down and Steve knocked him out. Now holding the others' attention, he threw his shield at the guard by the window and he fell stories to the ground below. One man tried to run past Steve, but got caught in his shield as Steve brought it up and around, cutting off his air.
The other two drew their weapons and began to fire just as the third man dropped. Using his shield as cover, he walked over to the men and did the same to them. One managed to get a bullet to scrape by his leg, sending a torrent up pain up the limb. It lasted only momentarily, as soon all five men were gone.
Steve marched over to Natasha, who's eyes were opened and dazed. A syringe lay broken at the foot of the bed, scattering broken glass throughout the room.
"Natasha," he said, trying to regain his breath.
"Hey. You handled them pretty well," Natasha said, smirking.
He had no idea if they had injected her with something or had tried to take something out, possibly both. He scanned her arms, where he found a thin trail of blood leaking out. Steve found the other syringe by the window, also broken and red with her blood.
"When they stuck me with the needle, it woke me up. But I couldn't move. Some sedative or something, but it's worn off now. They tried to draw blood. I don't know why," she said, responding to Steve's confused look.
"JARVIS," Steve said out loud to the AI.
"Yes, sir?"
"Lock down the tower. No one gets in or out. Send an emergency message to the others, tell them to get back here immediately. There may still be more HYDRA agents inside the building."
"They have informed me that they are leaving presently," JARVIS replied. The floor was silent.
"What should we do?" Natasha asked.
"Stay here, wait for them to come back. Yell if anything happens," Steve said, his mind in battle mode, handing her a loaded gun. Even in her weakened state, she took it with strong hands. "I'm going to sweep the floors for more agents."
"Good luck," she said. Steve nodded and exited the room.
He ended up finding four other men. Two on the roof and two on the lower floor. Soon, all eight of the remaining men were tied up and gagged on the communal floor after Steve had swept them for weapons.
When he returned to Natasha, he was limping and had a new wound on his forehead.
"All gone?" Natasha asked curiously. The haze was gone from her eyes and she was seated comfortably against the headboard of the bed.
"I found four more. They're tied up downstairs."
"Didn't one fall out the window?" she asked.
Steve nodded, eyes trained on the floor. "I should've been more careful. This is going to draw unwanted press, I know."
"You did what you had to."
Once again they fell into an uneasy silence.
"What made you, you know, pass out earlier?" Steve questioned, taking a seat on the bed.
"My past pretty much. I thought I had control over it. I guess I've lost my hold," she said quietly.
"Anything in particular?"
Natasha hesitated. "A few things. But I'd rather not share." Just like that, her walls were back up.
"The Avengers have entered the building," JARVIS informed them. Steve nodded and gave Natasha a hand to help her stand up as she held the cloth to her head. They made their way back to the communal floor.
"This will take forever to clean up," Tony complained. That was the first thing they heard out of the elevator. Tony was pointing to the bloody, unconscious men that sat tied up in the center of the room.
"We'll find something to do with them," Steve said, walking into the room. All eyes fell on them.
"Nat, are you okay?" Clint asked, rushing over to her. With careful hands he removed the cloth from her head and put it back, satisfied that she had no more injuries. "What did they want with you?"
"Not sure exactly. But they drugged her and were trying to pull blood," Steve said, sitting on the arm of one of the couches.
"Not good, not good, not good," Clint muttered under his breath, pacing the floor.
"I am just happy to see that you are both well," Thor announced. His hair was still wet from the beach. An image of a surfer flashed across Steve's mind for a moment, making him smile slightly.
"They're HYDRA, no doubt about it. All we have to find out is what they want and why," Bruce stated, tapping the octopus symbol that was evident on all of the men's shoulders.
"We can drop them off at SHIELD tomorrow," Steve said and quickly corrected himself. "What's left of it, I mean. The rest of the HYDRA agents are long gone, so hopefully these guys will be in the right hands. They'll probably be out until the morning, anyways. Some of them have…nasty head injuries."
"Looks like we've got a mission, team," Tony joked from the kitchen, where he was drinking a glass of water. "I'd say suit up, but that's Capsicle's thing, and we aren't going anywhere else today."
Natasha rolled her eyes in annoyance and lay down on the couch.
"Another movie night?" Clint questioned. Natasha nodded from her place on the cushions and Bruce agreed. Tony was all for it.
Steve sighed. "Alright. Tomorrow, we have to get to the bottom of this."
"Okay, so are we watching Inception or The Hunger Games?" Tony asked, already sifting through the various movies online.
"Put on the least annoying one," Natasha mumbled. Tony picked the film and they all sat around the television, watching intently.