The Angsty Chapter. Ali, you can do the dun duns now, if you still feel the need. ;) Sorry it took so long to update. I lied to all of you :( but it just ended up being a lot longer than I had originally planned and thus took me longer to write. So here ya go! Hope it was worth the wait :)

Dinner was a crazy affair. Tina also got to meet Pepper Potts, who attempted to restore some order, but it didn't work that well. Tina liked it. She was an only child, and unused to this kind of clamor at the dinner table. But it was so much fun! Bruce and Thor were by far her favorites. Thor likable and funny, albeit extremely loud. He was charming and sweet, although a bit nuts as far as Tina could tell. He almost threw his cup on the ground, but then caught himself at the last moment, cringing. Tony sighed and set down something that looked rather like a Taser with great disappointment. Tina really didn't know what to make of that. Bruce was kind and quiet. He made her feel comfortable, and did his best to tone down Tony (to no avail…but the effort was nice anyway). Clint was friendly, but Tina could tell he was micro-analyzing her every movement and word. It made her nervous. Tony had the quickest wit Tina had ever witnessed outside of a movie. He couldn't have been more hilarious if he was scripted! Even when she was the butt of 99% of his jokes, she ended up enjoying him. Tony seemed like he was genuinely happy for Steve, despite all the innuendos he kept perpetuating to make the couple blush in sync.

"You know Steve's the captain of something else, too?" Tony asked Tina during dessert. She shook her head no, looking at the genius/billionaire/playboy/philanthropist with interest. Steve frantically shook his head no, silently pleading his friend to stop. "We also call him Capta-" At this point Steve apparently determined that Iron Man was indeed going to go too far, and launched himself across the table and tackled Tony, effectively preventing him from finishing the sentence. Clint started slapping the table and laughing out loud. Bruce sighed tiredly and watched the wrestling pair.

"Tony, don't be nasty," the scientist lectured half-heartedly.

"Yeah," Clint said, still overcome with giggles, "Don't be mean to Captain Virg-" Steve kicked the chair out from under the archer, silencing him as well. Tina's cheeks pinked a little as she caught their drift. But she felt kind of happy, too. She wasn't alone in her beliefs, at least.

Natasha was unexpectedly pleasant. Tina had a sneaking suspicion she was trying to avoid or at least lessen Steve's wrath. The soldier in question had never been happier. All his friends were together and safe and Tina was there with them. The only downside to the night was the thought of lethal Natasha pulling a knife on his fragile, defenseless Tina. He kept a pretty consistent stink-eye going at the spy for about half an hour until he got distracted. The team watched a movie together after dinner. It was their tradition, unless something better was going on. Tonight was Clint's choice: Mean Girls, his favorite. Tina's, too, coincidentally.

Steve drove Tina home and kissed her goodnight. He felt like he could fly. Life was good again. What would be a modern saying? Oh, yeah. Life was 'so fetch'. Steve smiled the whole way home.

A routine quickly became established. Tina would come over the Tower after class, work on art or hang out with Steve. She'd stay until after the nightly movie and go home. Slowly but surely, she was unconsciously wrapping the team around her fingers. Although Clint had been distrustful initially, even he was starting to really relax around her. Thor, Tony, and Bruce had always liked her, and even Natasha was beginning to not feel the need to interrogate her violently.

…

Tina was stressing out pretty badly. She had all her finals this week. She thought she was pretty well prepared, but at the same time was still worried. She desperately wanted to do well. In order to be the kind of artist she wanted to be, she needed to have good grades, so she'd be hired. Tina was therefore spending all her time pouring her heart into her finals, most of which were projects. And Steve was on a 'more difficult' mission with Clint. Because she needed another thing to stress about. She added a few brushstrokes to the portrait she was working on and adjusted the light behind her.

"Abby? Does this look super-realistic to you?" Abby poked her head out from behind the canvas she was working on.

"Mm. Yes. But add a bit more detail to the hair…it's looking a little flat." Tina nodded her thanks and continued her work. She felt her pocket buzz and pulled out her phone. It was a text from Steve. Which in itself was pretty impressive…he must've been practicing. How sweet. "Home safe. Going to bed. I will call you tomorrow." Brusque, but hey, it was a start. She responded with a heart, hoping that he would understand it. If not, he could ask her tomorrow. Tina relaxed and glanced at her watch. It was only seven o'clock. She still had plenty of time to work.

…

Steve stumbled into the Tower and dictated a text for JARVIS to send Tina. He felt drained. The mission had been awful. It was successful, but at the cost of hundreds of lives. Steve couldn't get the sounds of men screaming out of his ears. After his shower he changed out of his suit into a pair of soft pants and the t-shirt Tina had worn recently. It still smelled like her. The scent was comforting to him. He washed his hands in the sink over and over again. He could still feel the stickiness of blood on them no matter how many times he scrubbed them. Steve shook his hands dry and stared at his own reflection. There were enormous bags under his eyes that looked like bruises, and there were little scratches on his neck. Steve poked an actual bruise on his arm. Ouch. He didn't even remember getting that. Maybe that was when…Eh. Steve didn't feel like thinking about the fight any more. He crawled into bed and pulled the covers over his head, letting himself drift off.

…

Tony was feeling content. Clint and Steve had been passed out for a few hours but everyone else was in the living room. Now that the whole team was home, they all could relax. Natasha was playing chess with Bruce (and about to lose terribly) and Pepper was snuggled up next to him reading.

"Natasha, if you want my opi-" Bruce began patiently.

"No! No, I'm doing this myself," she growled staring at the bored. Bruce sighed and sat back. Pepper turned a page. Tony played his game for a little longer, enjoying the relative silence, except for the quiet music. "Hah! Wait, Bruce don't try to lose on purpose!" Natasha chastised. Bruce chuckled.

"Oh, I'm not. I'm just trying to make it so the pieces spell my name when I win." Natasha glared at Bruce.

"That's it. This game is over," she said in disgust as she stood. Tony heard a sudden smashing noise. The whole team looked around in confusion until a blur of blue and gray came barreling into the room. Steve leaped over the couch like it was a hurdle and smashed into the stone fireplace. He crumpled into a heap on the ground momentarily. Tony jumped off the couch and hurried over to his friend. Then, the soldier's head snapped up, eyes scanning the room like they did on the battlefield. He straightened up and hid behind the pillar, breathing heavily.

"Steve? Buddy?" Tony asked hesitantly. Steve jumped and his eyes widened, but he was clearly still not seeing the Tower.

"I-I-I fought to g-g-g-get here. I ran. I came to save Bucky! And…and...but n-n-now…" Steve sprinted across the room, stopping at the bar. "No, please, please no!" he begged with some unseen force. Steve's face started to crumple up. Is Captain America about to cry? Tony asked himself. He felt panicked and helpless. What on earth was causing him this much pain? He desperately wanted to do something. He wanted to make it better for his friend. And he had no idea what to do. Who could help? Who could make it better? An answer came immediately to his mind. She's just a frickin kid, he discounted the thought. What could she do? Steve leaned on a stool from the bar. "I c-c-can't, I can't," he whimpered, tears rolling down his face. "Please don't make me." Steve knelt in front of the stool, resting his head on the seat. Pepper picked up her phone and dialed a number.

"Who?" Bruce whispered as he edged closer to Steve.

"Tina," Pepper said into the phone, "Come right now. Steve…he's sleepwalking or having a flashback or something. Oh, you're already-oh that's great. Run. I don't know but, he-he's not making sense. Come right now." Pepper slammed the phone shut after a monosyllabic answer from Tina.

"Wait, wait," Clint murmured, eyes still glued on his leader, "Can we even trust her? She's a random girl. Steve hasn't even known her that long. What makes you think she'd be able to deal with this?" Natasha nodded her agreement as she tiptoed closer to the Captain.

"She was headed over anyway to show Bruce something, she'll be here in a minute. Too late for your selfish paranoia," Pepper snapped. Bruce was standing just behind Steve then. Slowly the scientist reached out to him, hoping he'd already woken up. Or fallen asleep again.

He was wrong.

Steve's head whipped up at the gentle touch and he spun himself around on the stool.

"Hey, Steve, easy," Bruce soothed. Steve grabbed the chair and held it at arm's length as he backed up to the wall. The soldier's eyes were wide with fear and still wet from crying. "It's okay. We're your friends."

"No! No!" Steve shouted with sudden force, "You-you…you're not my friend! You h-h-hurt me and you killed my friend! It's your fault! But I'm not falling for this! Not again! N-not…n-n-no…" Bruce backed away, palms up. "I-I'm getting out, I'm…" Steve trailed off. Then he threw the stool through the huge window and jumped after it.

Steve was standing in the middle of hell. Red Skull was keeping everyone the Captain cared about in a warehouse surrounded by tanks. But Steve was ready. He'd fought this battle a hundred times over. Steve hurled his shield and struggled through the outer defenses. He reached the warehouse door and started beating it down with his shield. He knew what would be next. Bucky would die. Then he would slowly freeze to death while Red Skull laughed his evil, twisted laugh. The door fell and Steve stepped in, his eyes adjusting to the light.

"How did you get here?" a voice asked thankfully. The soldier gasped in shock. That was the wrong voice.

Plot twist.

His loved ones were all held individually by ropes over a pool of acid. Steve's eyes passed down the line. Tony was there, arc reactor glowing faintly. Clint and Natasha, looking at each other intensely. Bruce was unconscious. Pepper's lip trembled but she held herself together. Thor looked at Steve encouragingly. Bucky also hung there staring relentlessly at Steve. But the worst part was the figure in the background. Red Skull. And he was holding a knife to Tina's neck. Her beautiful green eyes were wide with terror, and tears rolled down her face. He could see her shaking from where he was.

"Steve? Buddy?" Tony asked again.

"I-I-I fought to g-g-g-get here. I ran. I came to save Bucky! And…and...but n-n-now…" Steve didn't know what to do. He sprinted closer to his friends to examine the ropes.

"I wouldn't," a voice with a heavy German accent said nastily. Steve glared at the villain viciously. "You see, Captain," Red Skull continued, "Their weight supports each other. Very clever pulley system. Designed it myself. If you cut one of them down, the rest fall and die. And the fumes from this particular acid happen to be quite potent. The longer you take to make your decision, the more the fumes eat through the ropes. And if you opt to choose this pretty little thing, you have to fight me. If I win, you all die. If you win, you keep her. But by the time you best me, your team will be long dead. Your choice, Captain."

"No, please, please no!"Steve begged, "I c-c-can't, I can't," he whimpered, tears rolling down his face. "Please don't make me."

"I won't make you," Red Skull said quietly, "But everyone will certainly die if you don't choose." Steve breathed deeply, shaking. He could hear Bruce saying something, but he wasn't quite sure what.

"Now Captain! Decide!" A hidden group of Hydra soldiers edged out from the wall at Red Skull's last exclamation.

"It's okay," they said synchronously, "We're your friends." Steve lifted his shield, still frantically trying to come up with a plan that would let him save everyone.

"No! No!" he shouted with sudden force, "You-you…you're not my friends! You h-h-hurt me and you killed my best friend! It's your fault! But I'm not falling for this! Not again! N-not…n-n-no…I-I'm getting out, I'm…" Steve trailed off. Then, he dove for Tina, putting his body between hers and Red Skull's wicked knife. He hoped that his team could forgive him for choosing the one thing he absolutely could not live without.

…

Tina ran into the living room just in time to see Steve dive through the window. Without a moment's hesitation, she ran to the hole, and saw with great relief that there was a walkway that he'd landed on. Pepper grabbed her hand and sprinted out the door, where the other Avengers were circled around Steve.

"I fought you once, I can do it again!" he yelled against the wind.

"Steve, we don't want to-" Clint's sentence was cut off by a monster punch to the gut from Steve. In the same movement, the soldier threw Clint bodily into Thor, who thankfully kept his balance, catching the moaning archer.

"Tina, run! Run!" Steve screamed hoarsely. Tony motioned for the artist to go inside.

"He's dangerous. Bruce is getting some knockout chems. Back up!" Tina shook Pepper's restraining hand off and ran forward.

"Stop," Natasha hissed, catching Tina across the chest with her arm.

"Steve," Tina said plaintively. The soldier's head whipped around to her. His eyes looked black in the lack of light. She ducked Natasha's arm and wrapped her arms around Steve. Only after she did so did she contemplate the possible stupidity of her action. Tina disregarded thought almost immediately. This was Steve. Steve would never hurt me. Ever, ever. He promised me. Tina felt a tentative hand touch her hair, although he remained just as tense. Tina squeezed him tightly. "You're in 2012. We're on top of the Stark Tower. All around us are the Avengers. And Pepper, too. Oh, and me. I'm here too. Tina. You were dreaming, honey. There's no one here to fight." Steve began to shake. "Let's go inside," Tina said softly, leading him by the hand. Steve's legs gave out before they got to his room. He collapsed in the hallway, trembling and feverishly fighting tears. Steve curled up in a ball, staring out at the Avenger-filled hallway like he still wasn't all the way there. Tina knelt in front of him, still holding onto his right hand. She caressed his cheek with her thumb.

"Tina?" Steve asked faintly.

"Yeah, Steve, I'm right here."

"Tina."

"I love you, Steve."

"Don't go. Please," his voice broke at the end of his plea. Tina pulled Steve's stiff arms around herself and laid his head on her lap.

"I won't. I promise." Steve made a choking noise. "Steve, can you do one thing for me?" Steve looked up at her and nodded frantically. "I want you to cry, please," she said sounding almost detached. Steve's eyes widened with confusion and a touch of fear. Tina put her lips to Steve's ear and whispered, still conscious of her audience. "Real men can cry. They cry because they're tough enough to admit 'I don't know what to do' or 'I'm scared' or 'I'm really sad'. Sissies don't cry because they're not manly enough to admit that they have feelings, too. You need to get this out. You have for a while now." Steve made a weak motion toward his room, and Tina helped him there, tucking him in bed and settling next to him. She felt like her heart was breaking, watching him suffer. Tina desperately wanted to know what he dreamt that had upset him so much. She would have given anything to make him feel better.

Steve cried that night. Tina held him close.

The Avengers slept in the hall, listening to Steve's pain.

Steve held onto Tina like she was a lifeline. She felt like one, at the moment. He was drowning. Sadness, fear, anxiety; everything bad he'd felt since childhood came flooding out. Steve shook with sobs and thought of the countless nights he'd spent almost exactly like this; alone in the dark, overwhelmed with grief and terror. But then he hadn't cried. Somehow not crying was worse then letting go, like Tina had said. But there was something terrifying about releasing all these emotions, too. He knew couldn't have handled it if she wasn't here with him. He felt her hands rubbing his back and her fingers running through his hair. She smelled like vanilla and acrylic paint. Her voice was soft and low, whispering words of comfort. Tina was a candle in the darkness. She was a light bulb. A spotlight. Stadium lights. Try as darkness might, it couldn't get past her radiance. Steve was lulled into a gentle slumber by her heartbeat. He slept under her protective glow.

Soooo! Did I make anyone sad? I love to know these things :) What do you guys want to see more/less of? Where do you think Steve and Tina are going to go from here? Any and all comments/requests are appreciated!

Thanks so much to all of you who review this thing! You're my inspiration to keep writing. All of you who read and don't take credit for it=naughty list. Well...not really. :)

Review, all you lovely people!