A/N
I'M SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG!
My best mate had a hand in writing part of this and she took FOREVER.
Literally, I've been pestering and pestering until we had to write part of it together...
AAAAAAAAAAAAANYWAY yeah...
There will be another authors note at the end, so please read that!
anyway, enjoy!
'Cause he's stronger than you know
A heart of steel starts to grow
When you've been fighting for it all your life
You've been struggling to make things right
That's how a superhero learns to fly
Every day, every hour
Turn the pain into power
When you've been fighting for it all your life
You've been working every day and night
That's how a superhero learns to fly
Every day, every hour
Turn the pain into power
~ Superheroes, The Script
Laura was still finding bits of grit in her hair for weeks after that damn explosion. The bomb was planted by the last fragment of Hydra remaining; the aim being to eliminate all of the Avengers in one try so Hydra would only have to deal with S.H.I.E.L.D. It didn't work well. The most damage done was Pepper breaking her arm, meaning that Tony got very extremely pissed.
In other words, Hydra was done for now.
Skye had pinned down their final base: inside a mountain in the small amount of the German Alps, and that was where they were headed.
Laura, Steve and Coulson were inside the cargo hold on the bus going over the plan whilst waiting for the rest of their team, who were all running a bit late.
"Steve, are you alright?" came Laura's voice that broke through Steve's chain of thought; he knew exactly where they were going, and was terrified about possibly revisiting the final place- the final place he saw Peggy, kissed her, loved her, knowing that she was his.
Sure, he had Laura now, and he loved her with every fibre of his being, but still… Peggy was his first love and he would always have a piece inside of him that would love her until they day he died.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking." He replied, taking her hand and squeezing it hard.
The Avengers and Coulson's team appeared at the other end of the aircraft hanger as Coulson was starting to get impatient (which, in all Laura's years as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, she had never, ever seen before).
"Hey AC!" called Skye as she bounded towards the bus, her hair tied in a tight ponytail and at least four guns strapped to her legs and on her belt.
"Jesus Skye; exactly how many people do you plan to kill today?" joked Laura as the rest of their team approached the bus.
"You're all late." Snapped Coulson, glaring jokingly at the rest of them.
"Sorry sir, Tony decided it would be a good idea to switch all the guns in the entire weapons room with water pistols and nerf guns. It took us thirty minutes to find where he hid them all and get enough rounds that we wouldn't run out." Explained May, glaring point-blank at Tony, who was grinning to himself, probably about the 'genius' of his plan.
"For God's sake Stark, I leave you alone for ten minutes…" Coulson seethed. "Anyway… May, can you get the plane up?"
May nodded and strutted off as Fitz closed the cargo ramp and the rest of the group ascended the stairs and strapped themselves in to the various sofas and armchairs as the plane started to make its ascent.
"Skye; you, me, Trip and Hunter are going to head for the main communications room. Laura and Cap are going to secure the old, and really cool, underground runway. Banner, Romanoff and Barton are going to the main training rooms and labs. The rest of you stay close to the bus and create a perimeter; make sure no-one escapes." Barked Coulson; facing the entire group in the cargo ramp of the bus.
There was a short nod of agreement, and everyone filed out of the bus, headed for their various locations.
"Just you and me for this one." Muttered Laura to Steve as they rounded a corner, Steve in the lead; strangely like he knew where he was going. Steve nodded, before rounding a corner and shooting an agent.
"Why is it you know exactly where to go?" asked Laura as they entered the long, crumbling runway and started to walk towards the end.
Steve sighed, refusing to look at her as they passed an old, rusting car that looked like it had been parked there for at least seventy years. At closer inspection on Laura's part, there was the telltale sign of a Hydra vehicle, as there was the logo on the bonnet.
"Why aren't you talking to me?" asked Laura again, worried for him now.
"It's… it's just that this place was my last mission in 1945. Bucky was dead, I was here, and then I jumped out of that car, leaving Peggy. And the next thing I know I'm being defrosted in DC and told that everyone I knew and loved is either dead or dying. This is one of the only places where my demons hide."
Laura nodded and sighed, before wrapping an arm around him and pulling him into a hug. Steve responded more than enthusiastically, pulling Laura into a kiss and throwing his arms around her.
They were broken apart very suddenly from the joint efforts of Skye in their ears yelling her favourite phrase to describe the two: 'GET A ROOM!' and the doors to the runway were flung open and a group of around twenty Hydra agents started to sprint towards them.
"So… this could be it." Said Laura in the most matter-of-fact voice she could muster.
"Yeah. I love you." Replied Steve; glancing at her briefly before focusing once again on the oncoming storm of Hydra agents.
"Love you too. Just- before we die… I need to say something." Laura closed her eyes. If she didn't die now, Steve was going to kill her.
"Oh God… is it fatal?" Said Steve, his eyes wide.
"What? No! I'm not ill!" cried Laura, looking up at Steve, pulling the most confused face she could muster.
"It's just… oh god, they're getting close now…" Laura tried to stall, her sudden burst of confidence gone.
"Yes, they're getting close, now tell me what's wrong!" yelled Steve.
The Hydra agents were almost on them now, and Laura drew her pistol, loading it with her first round of many, and placing a foot forward, ready to run as soon as she had told Steve.
"I'm pregnant. Good luck!" And with that, Laura sprinted towards the agents, with the entirety of Coulson's team and the Avengers shouting random things like "What?!" and "Get back to the Bus now!" into her earpiece. She shot the first two agents and swung a punch at the next, dodging bullets left, right and centre. Somehow she lost both of her guns, so she temporarily caught Steve's shield mid-throw to protect herself from the sudden spray of Hydra bullets. She grabbed a gun from some agents' hand, and started shooting randomly whilst keeping an eye on Steve, who was fighting four agents at once and half glaring, half staring wide-eyed at her. She threw the shield back at him once she'd managed to get out of the line of fire, before running back into the fray. About a minute of solid fighting later, they found themselves back-to-back in the middle of the fighting, shooting and throwing punches every second.
"How long have you known?" shouted Steve over the noise.
"Since the day before we got back from our honeymoon!" replied Laura as she ran forward to kick a man in the face.
"That long? THAT WAS A MONTH AGO! Who knew?" Half asked, half yelled Steve; throwing his shield and knocking out a few agents.
"Natasha."
"Natasha?"
"Yes. She was the only one I could trust not to go running over to you the second I'd told you."
"True, but why not tell me?" he asked, catching his shield and knocking one of the last few agents out.
"I wanted to help with this operation. You would have stopped me."
There was a sigh from Steve before they simultaneously punched the last agent, knocking him out cold.
"Well… not dead." Stammered Laura, starting to shake as she realised what was coming.
Steve was staring at her, emotionless and cold. Something Laura had never seen on his face before. This was true rage.
"On the bus… now." He commanded, and Laura was too tired and scared to disobey. She strode away with Steve hot on her heels.
The hulk is a heinous creature Clint muttered as the hulk ripped apart an armoured truck as if it was a present and watched the hydra agents attempt to scatter before he snatched them up ripping them limb from limb any loose ends Clint himself expertly struck them down from his perch in the rafters of the training room; he saw better from a distance. The whole room was spread out like a movie screen allowing him anticipate every move made by the masses of hydra agents storming the building.
He loved being part of the team, despite the jokes he knew the team liked having him with them.
He found himself loosing focus on his job a Nat caught his eye; she looked stunning and powerful as always but something about her today was mesmerising he could not keep his eyes off her. As the battle was drawing to a close with only a few hydra agents left to eliminate Natasha made her way cautiously towards Banner who was looking confused and frustrated at the lack of hydra agents. Slowly and tenderly she lifted her hand to meet the beasts, Clint was in awe. He knew that Nat has always meant something special to him but he had no faith that her feelings would match his and did not want to wreck the beautiful friendship they had.
Natasha stepped cautiously towards Bruce; time for a lullaby. Cautiously she crouched low; "hey big guy, sun's getting real low." Her voice was shaking but her body remained calm. She reached out to the Hulk and he returned the gesture.
His eyes rolled backwards and he stumbled, the green starting to fade away. Then he dropped down and a shockwave pulsated through his body as a blast threw her back.
She stumbled to her feet with ringing of the explosion still in her ears.
Bruce was on the floor, fragile, pale, and unmoving. The only colour was from the trickles of blood seeping from his mangled body.
Natasha fell towards him, and searched his person desperately for a pulse.
Left wrist- nothing…
Right-nothing
Neck- NOTHING
"God damn it Bruce, stay with me" she thought, rolling him over and starting to pump his heart.
Clint got the last agent before the explosion had even finished. How could he have missed it? How the hell did he miss that? Natasha had been right there, so beautiful and ferocious, like a wildfire. He had lost focus for a second. One damn second. Then it happened, and Banner was gone.
Clint slammed down the stairs, taking two at a time to reach Natasha before she did something drastic.
She was crouched over him, still trying to restart his heart and bring him back… Clint rushed towards her until he was about a metre away then he faltered- what could he possibly say to make this better?
He walked slowly towards her and placed his hand on her shoulder. She looked up and they locked eyes. A mutual despair formed as Clint slowly helped her to her feet.
She was heavy- her whole body was limp, as if a part of her had passed with him.
He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, his heart conflicted between kissing Natasha and grief for Bruce. He had just decided to go with the latter when her lips brushed against his, a hand running through his hair as she steadied herself against his chest. Clint froze, his thoughts racing, but all seeming to come back to the red haired woman still kissing him softly. Then he responded enthusiastically, pulling her closer and deepening the kiss.
Their comms suddenly crackled into life as Laura's voice spoke into their ears, it was hard to make out what she was saying at first; clearly she wasn't talking to them, but there was one message that was crystal clear came at the end, and made Clint and Natasha separate entirely and shout separate messages down their earpieces;
"I'm pregnant".
"What the HELL were you thinking Laura?"
This had been going on for an hour. An hour that Laura had spent promising several people that she would 'never, ever try something like that again!'
It was Coulson's turn.
And Steve hadn't turned up yet.
"Would it make this even marginally better if I asked you to be godfather?" Laura asked, trying desperately to awaken the part of Coulson that would scream if he was Captain America's child's godfather.
"Not the time."
Damn
"Has he said anything to you?" asked Laura, her eyes meeting Coulson's for the first time since he entered the holding room on the bus.
Coulson glared for a moment, before his eyes turned to an expression of pity.
"Only that he might not have much to do with you for a while." He said, avoiding eye contact.
Laura's heart stopped. She couldn't- no- wouldn't do this without him.
"What?" she asked in a small voice.
"You need to understand that he's very angry. He broke the glass on one of the windows in the situation room because Tony of all people tried to calm him down. He's only angry because he loves you so much, and because he already loves your child so much. He can't believe that you would endanger the happiness that the two of you have. He was truly happy for the first time since before Bucky 'died' in 1945 when he married you, and he doesn't want to lose that happiness after everything you've been through together. He's already lost you once before. Can you imagine what he would do if he lost you a second time? He'd be so devastated I don't think he'd want to live anymore. He really loves you."
By the time Coulson had finished, Laura had tears in her eyes and a hand running through her hair in desperation.
"I… I didn't know I meant that much to him." She whispered, before putting her head in her hands and sobbing.
"Of course you do. Why else do you think he married you?" Asked Coulson, a hint of laughter in his voice.
The door swung open, and there stood Steve, a dangerous glint of rage still in his eyes.
"Coulson, may I have a word with my wife?" he asked, clenching his teeth at the word 'wife' and refusing to look at Laura.
Coulson nodded and slipped out of the room, locking the door and striding off.
"Steve I-"
Laura was cut off by Steve putting his hand up to silence her. He was facing the wall with a hand on his forehead. He was still wearing his uniform and his shield was still strapped to his back.
"I'm not here to hear your excuses or apologies. They just thought you should hear it from me rather than anyone else."
Laura frowned and stood up, walking towards Steve slowly.
"What's wrong?" she asked, her stomach churning. She knew what was coming. Someone hadn't made it.
"It's Bruce. He was caught off guard and an agent took advantage of that. He's gone. And then there's Trip... stab wound from some alien artefact that only some… including Skye, can touch. Gone as well."
Laura just stared at him. It was at least five minutes before either of them made any movements.
Laura crumpled. She cradled her head in her hands and lay on the floor and just sobbed.
"I… I think you should go Steve." She sobbed; all pretences and conduct gone. This was how she was really feeling. How she had been feeling since the last day of their honeymoon. Since she was shot. Since as far back as getting the news Coulson was 'dead'. Then everything came out. She cried for what seemed like hours before Steve's strong arms pulled her in a sitting position and wrapped themselves around her.
And there they sat for hours, a husband comforting his wife. A wife depending on her husband for support.
Laura sobbing until she had no tears left and Steve cradling her, silent tears rolling down his face for his lost team-mates.
At some point they took off and at some point they landed. All that time they just sat there, crying together. Sharing and comforting each other in their pain.
They didn't talk after that. There was nothing he wanted to say to her. For weeks he ignored the pained looks she gave him. The sadness in her eyes hurt him, but she had hurt him even more. The only time he didn't refuse to share the same room as her was at Trip and Bruce's funerals. He even went so far as to sit next to her and comfort her. But it wasn't the same for a long time.
He kept himself busy. Going on several missions with a teenage agent, the youngest S.H.I.E.L.D. agent ever, called Kim Frost, and eventually becoming good friends with her.
She kept herself busy, not going on any missions, but helping with the logistics and communications side of the field operations. She commanded a couple of his missions, but he only ever listened to the instructions. It was Kim who really talked to her to keep her updated.
Kim didn't even know he was married, she just thought they didn't like each other much.
It was only just before her first scan did he decide that he couldn't do this anymore.
She was sat in her office typing away at her computer when the news that he had scanned his ID on the machine to enter her room flashed up on her computer. Hesitantly, she clicked to let him in, and, almost in slow motion, he entered.
"What can I do for you Captain Rogers?" she asked, keeping her eyes on her screen and trying to keep herself from shaking.
"I can't do this anymore."
Laura's head snapped up, alarm present all over her face.
"What?" she asked, her hands beginning to shake violently.
Steve strode across the room towards her, picking her up bridal style, making Laura let out a small cry, and carried her towards her armchairs that she had on the other side of the room. He deposited her in one and stood a few feet away from her, staring at her.
"I'm not saying that everything is forgiven Laura, because good god do you have a lot to answer for. But I can't go on pretending you don't exist, and watching you experience all the milestones that we should be experiencing together at the moment. You are having my child, and I want to be a part of that. Hell, the biggest part I can. But you also didn't tell me any of this when the time was right. And that time was the moment after you found out. But I love you, I have since the moment I met you, and I always will."
Laura had tears in her eyes for what seemed to her like the hundredth time this week.
"You mean it?" she asked, her eyes meeting his.
"I really do." He replied, walking over to her and kneeling down next to her.
"Will you be my wife again?" he asked, placing his hands on top of hers.
Laura nodded, wiping the tears from her eyes before meeting Steve's lips and finding herself standing up and wrapping her arms around him.
A/N
So this is the last chapter of this fic, but I am doing an end credits scene, which I'll release a few hours after I release this. Look out for that!
Thanks to everyone for reading/favouriting/reviewing! it really makes me happy!