I know... I know... It has been awhile. It just take me longer to finish this than usual. I am not sure why but I just couldn't sit down and write this chapter.

Same Copyright disclaimer as before. I do not own Marvel or anything Marvel related.

Chapter 16:

Ensnaring Memories

Once again, Steve could be found drawing, and once again, it was a drawing of Toni. No matter what he did or how much time had passed, he couldn't get her off his mind, and it was bugging him. How could she still be on his mind after all of this time? She had left him…well not left him. That would apply that there was something between them and there wasn't. They were just friends...No, he wasn't even sure about that, because no friend would do what she did. Toni left with no notice, no good bye, no anything. How could she just get up and go? Did she not care enough to say bye? He just needed a good bye. He might not have liked it, but he would have accepted it. Why didn't she?

Or maybe, something happened to her? Maybe, she was hurt? Maybe, she was dead? Steve didn't like those idea whatsoever, and his stomach jumped as he thought about it. If something did happen to her, he would hunt down the bastard and… Steve shook his head as he tried to rid himself of that thought. Why was he acting like this? Yes, they were close (though it all could've been a lie), but did he…? Could he say it? Was he? How could he be?

Steve took a deep breath as he stared at a sketch of Toni, which looked lifelike. His sketchbook was filled with lifelike pictures of her as he kept drawing her in the hope of working her out of his mind. He had tried focusing on other women, but not only did that feel wrong, none of the women attracted him. They weren't interested in him; they just want to be with Captain America.

What touched or attracted him to Toni or even Peggy, who he had found himself thinking about as well, was the fact that they saw him, though they both saw him differently. Toni, who hadn't seen him like this, had saw him as him, and being where he was now, he couldn't get pass that. He wanted that, but he doubted that she would want that. She, who didn't seem like the type to settle down, wouldn't even want him anyways. Why would she? He wasn't stupid; he knew he was too naïve her. Plus, there was also the fact that she left, a clear sign she didn't like or care about him. So the question was: did she really see him as him?

The glorified super show boy took a deep breath as he thought about their time together. He remembered all of the time she had spent trying to put a smile on his face. He had to give it to her: she was the goofiest person he had ever met; she didn't understand what the word normal meant. He couldn't count all of the times that she had driven him crazy, but it didn't bother him. In fact, he enjoyed her craziness; he wanted to experience her craziness. Those were warming moments for him. He took another deep breath as he thought about all the moments that led to him falling in love with her. There were so many moments.

There were numerous times during the middle of the nights that she had come bouncing into his room with some annoyingly cute comment, waking him up. Annoyed at first, Steve looked forward to her smiley and energetic face. Though he wished he could sleep more, he enjoyed seeing how bouncy she was. Yes, bouncy. She was bouncy, and to hear her speak, he could listen for hours. She was a philosopher.

At first, she had just paced in her (Well Bucky's) room, when she had been unable to sleep. She was quiet and unnoticeable, but one night when he got up to go to the restroom, he noticed her, and for the next week, he made sure to pay attention. Without fault, she got up every single night, and he could tell how defeated she was just by listening to her steps. Unsure of what to do, he laid in bed, listening to her. Near the end of the first week, he couldn't listen to her anymore and got up to check on her. He knew most likely that he would say something stupid or made her mad, but he just couldn't do nothing.

On that night, he had stood in the doorway for a while as he had tried to think of what to say. The door had been slightly open, and he had been able to look in. The state of Toni had worried him, but he could only watch her as she had paced across the room. She had looked totally defeated and exhausted, which was a different side to her. Most of the time, Toni had her cocky side up, and though he hated to see her like this, it had been refreshing to see another side of her.

When Toni had noticed him at her door, she had tried to play it off and hide her fear and nerviness with her anger, but it didn't take long for her to learn that she couldn't lie to him as Steve could read her, which she didn't like. After he had learned about her nightmares and after she had realized he wouldn't stop bugging her, she had started to let him in, though she would never talk about what was bugging her. Yes, he wanted to talk, but just knowing she would come to him was enough to warm his little heart. And though there had been a few setbacks, Toni and he became friends.

That was the beginning of the end for Steve. He had been attracted to Toni since he saw her, but that wasn't abnormal. Any woman could do that to him, but there was something else to her that attracted him: she didn't listen. She never listened, even when he begged, and he was thankful for that. Yes, it was crazy to be happy because of that, but he was. He enjoyed the fact that she spoke her mind and refused to let others tell her what to do; however, he wished that she would at least take his words into consideration.

That smile of hers weren't helping either. It didn't matter the kind of smile or the why she was smiling, any smile of hers could make him melt, even her cocky smile, which he had seen a lot, could do that to him. He knew he was screwed, when he unconsciously started to do things just to make her smile, but he was really screwed when he started to do it consciously. Every time he was around her, he had do something to make her smile and he couldn't stop himself.

At first, it was hard to get her smile, because she was warily of him and his attempts. With her nightmares which she wouldn't even knowledge, he knew she was afraid to let people in, but he also knew he was getting to her as she started to fight him less. Eventually, she let her smiles out freely around him without him doing anything, though her nightmares were still bothering her. However, he learned that none of it mattered, because no matter how much she smiled at him, she would never want to be with him. He was just a friend to her, which was made clear to him every single time she played wingman for him. That alone annoyed the hell out of him, and though it showed him that she didn't like him like that, hearing her talk him up touched his heart. To hear her call him sweet, kind, honest, trustworthy, and the perfect man just made him love her more. Just hearing her distracted him from the nasty looks he received from the women that Toni had tried to hook him up with when they first saw him. He knew he was in trouble but he could do nothing.

Toni, on the other hand, could and did do something, and in the end, he was grateful that Toni and he didn't get together. When she had disappeared, she had broken his heart and he was unsure if he could fix it. He should've listened to Bucky from the beginning, when he stated he was going to get hurt. He was right, but he never thought Toni could hurt him that bad. Even with all of those weeks together, he barely knew her, so why was he so attached to her? And how could she not be attached to him after all of those weeks? How could she just leave? Why didn't she tell them she was leaving? Did she enjoy them worrying about her? Did she not care? How could she not care? Did she not know that he cared? He had spent days, even after Barnes had left, to look for her, and he had looked everywhere he could think of, including homeless shelters, but she was nowhere to be found. He had even tried her job, but all that did was revealed that she had lied the day she disappeared as well. If she lied about going to work, what else had she lied about?

Taking a deep breath, Steve stared at a picture of Toni before turning the page to a sketch of Peggy. Peggy was beautiful and his drawing of her did not do her justice. Steve didn't know he could like someone else until he met Peggy and he was very grateful to the agent, even if nothing did happen between the two. She had brought a smile to his face, when he needed something to keep him going. He would be lying if he stated she wasn't one of the reason why he was able to become Captain America, even if he was just a show boy. She kept him going.

Hearing someone calling his name, he closed the stretch book and pushed back his thoughts of Toni and Peggy. He had to focus on the show, which brought in much needed money that would save the soldiers. It did leave a bad taste in his mouth when he thought about the show as even with his super strength, he was still seating on the sideline while soldiers were dying on the front lines.

*O*O*

Steve exhaled slowly as he entered the Stark Tower, where he had been staying. He had his own place, but he couldn't bring himself to go there in the off chance that he could help here or if by some chance that Toni came back. If she did come back, he wanted to see her as soon as possible; he didn't want to waste any more time. He was going to tell her the truth that he loved her, and then he was never going to let her out of his sight again. He didn't care if she returned his feelings (ok, he did), but if she did, he would be the happiest person on the planet. Regardless of if she returned his feelings, he would never leave her side, even if she threatened him which she would do.

While Banner worked on duplicating the device, the Captain went on a SHIELD mission, which he had taken to get his mind off Toni's disappearance, but it failed to distract him as she was always on his mind. (Though it might've not been a distraction regardless as he was looking for the stole devices.) Thinking about her didn't divert his attention away from the mission too much, and besides no one could take him (well besides Thor or the Hulk) in a fight. He kept thinking about what she would say in retort to the criminal he was trying to catch, and he had to hold back a few laughs as quite a few snarky, smartass things came to mind.

Shaking himself back to the present, Steve took a seat on a couch and stared at a magazine sitting on the table. On the cover was a picture of Toni in one of her many iron suits; her face was visible as she held the helmet in one arm, while the other was firmly at her side. She had a smug look on her face. Steve wasn't surprise with the cocky look as that was the standard Stark look, even her father, Howard, had that look, and though it annoyed the hell out of him, it looked right on Toni's face, a face that he desperately wanted to see.

He flipped to Toni's article and read it as he had done many before. He smiled at Toni's smartass comments and thought about all of the times she had been snarky with him and how he wanted to ring her neck. Her nonstop comments were anything but funny, and they annoyed the hell out of him. He had no idea of how he fell for the spunky brunette, when all she did was insult him, but there was something wild about her, something special. He could see it the second she had decided to fly into the warm hole. It hit Steve hard that someone like Toni would sacrifice her life without hesitation. It was then that he saw her and not her snarky, smartass comments. He could see her compassion.

What made him fall hard were the memories of her in the 1940's, which kept appearing in his mind. Though she still had a smart mouth then, there had been something different about her. She was willing to let him in, unlike in the present where she had shut him out. In the present, she had let everyone else, including Romanoff, in but not him. Why in the hell would she let Romanoff in over him? Romanoff barely liked Toni. Yes, he was jealous over that as it wasn't fair! He had tried to connect with her, but she couldn't have it. It frustrated him to no end. In the past, she allowed herself to have some fun and she included him in it. He had no idea what changed, but he wanted that Toni back. It was hard to remember they were the same person.

However, the chest piece wasn't the only thing similar between them. He had seen the fear in both the present and past Toni, which most people missed. She didn't hide herself in her lab because she was lazy or selfish. She hid, because she didn't want anyone to notice how tired and exhausted she was. She didn't want anyone to see how worn out she was. She didn't want anyone to see that she had weaknesses, that she wasn't as strong as she portrayed herself. She refused to let anyone see that or let anyone in, which was clear by the lack of a personal touch in the Stark Tower. He had not seen one picture in this place, and there was no homey feeling in this place, well if he did not count the lab, where it was clear she had spent all of her time.

Steve exhaled as he stared at the center fold of the magazine. The picture was of Toni, but she wasn't in one of her suits; instead, she was in a simple pink bikini that left nothing to the imagination, even the arc reactor was visible. Her pose was seductive; Toni was laid out on a white chaise lounge (Steve was surprise he knew what that was called). One arm was draped across her stomach, while the other one laid above her head. One leg was out stretched while the other one was bend up. She had a look in her eyes that could draw anyone in, including Captain America.

Though he hated how sexual this time was, he couldn't help but stare at the picture. Toni was breath taking; her body, including the reactor, was perfect. Although he cared for more than just the body, he found himself desiring to touch her; he closed his eyes for a few seconds as he tried to clear his mind. He just wished that everyone else couldn't or hadn't seen her so exposed. He knew it was a completely different time and sex wasn't a taboo, but still. He did not like it. He didn't like it that so many people had seen it.

Taking a deep breath, Steve closed the magazine and set it on the table. He knew since Toni had become Iron Man, she had quiet down and kept a low profile. She had only done a few articles since then, but this was the first time that she had posed for one wearing a bathing suit since getting the reactor. She reminded each of them of this as she shoved the magazine in the Avengers' face.

He smiled as he remembered Romanoff's reaction; she gave Toni a look of irritation that no one could keep a straight face through while saying, "Stark, why in the hell do you think I want to see that." However, Romanoff couldn't keep a straight face either as Toni gave her Toni's famous puppy dog face, which made her break out in laugher. When Toni showed Barton, he couldn't keep a smile off his face (which Steve didn't like at all) and kept turning it to look at it in different angles. It made Steve want to slug that smile right off his face, but that wouldn't be good. Toni wouldn't have approved and it would've earned an ear full from her. Banner, on the other hand, just shook his head at the picture and sighed as he eyed the brunette's big smile.

After he got passed it and even after saying 'he didn't want to see it', he could see that Toni was beaming. Not only was she proud of the article, she was clearly proud of her body. She may not flaunt her body by wearing short skirts or skin tight dresses, but it was clear to everyone around her, even when she wore oversized t-shirts, that she had an amazing body. He may not have agreed verbally whenever she brought it up, though he did confirm it with glances whenever he thought no one was looking. There were a few times he had thought that Natasha and Clint had caught him as he noticed both of their smirks.

Yes, he had it bad…

Hearing someone walk in, he turned to the door and gave a weak smile to Banner. "How's it going, Banner?" Steve asked, turning and resting his arm on the back of the couch.

Bruce gave him a calculated look. Steve, who was still wearing his Captain America uniform, looked like he had been through hell both mentally and physically. "How are you, Steve?" he asked as he stepped toward him.

"I don't think you would like any answer I give you."

"Probably not," he answered as he took a seat in the chair across from Steve. "But I will ask again. How are you?"

Steve glanced at him. "Did you finish the device?" he asked, not answering him.

He eyed Steve. "With Toni's blueprints and JARVIS's help, I was able to finish the device, but I still need a damn power source. Nothing I tried worked." He paused. "I even tried to build one of Toni's reactors, but I failed. I'm not really an engineer like Toni." He let out a chuckle. "That woman is a genius. Not sure how she did it. "

"Toni likes to blow minds," he stated fondly.

"So how are you?" Bruce asked again. He was still eyeing Steve.

"You aren't going to stop asking, are you?" Steve asked. He leaned back and stared up at the blue ceiling, which was outlined in dark wood accents. It had a warm feeling.

Banner leaned back in this own chair and stared at the ceiling as well. "Nope."

Steve glanced at Bruce, who was staring intensely at the ceiling. "How aren't you a mess?"

"Because I'm not in love with Toni. I care for her deeply, just not in love," Banner explained.

The Captain almost jumped at that. "What?!" He paused as he thought about denying it, but it only took him a few seconds to realize that it would be useless. "How did you know?"

Banner let out a small chuckle as he looked at Steve. "At first, I thought I was crazy for thinking it, but I kept seeing things. Toni may have thought you were an ass, which I agreed. You were an ass at times. A major-"

"HEY!" Steve shouted. "I'm not an ass." If anyone was an ass, it was Barton…or even Toni. He was most definitely not an ass. "I was-"

He waved him off. "I know it was because you were protective. You were an ass out of love," he stated with a laugh.

Steve stared at him as he scratched his head. "You know that doesn't make any sense."

"After I got over the shock that you liked Toni, I couldn't help but notice all of the signs, and let me tell you, your unrequited loved is cute and a bit sad. You're like a puppy." He paused to laugh at Steve's red face. "Natasha, Clint, and I are taking bet to when you snap and shove Toni against a wall and kiss her."

"W-wait, what?" Steve stuttered. "Unrequited love? Bet? What?" There were so many things running through his head and he was unsure of what to make of them.

With a smile, Bruce leaned forward in his chair and took a deep breath. "The three of us made a bet of when you would snap and reveal your love to Toni. Clint had already lost. He thought you would've done it when you saw that centerfold of Toni. He was being overdramatic for a reason."

Steve was confused. "He did what?"

"But you didn't fall for it." He stood and crossed to the tablet on the counter. He looked quickly through his emails to see if there was any progress on Natasha's and Clint's search for the stolen SHIELD technology. There was no news so he turned back to Steve, who was staring at the magazine as if it was the only thing in the room. "Natasha picked never. She doesn't think you would ever tell Toni."

"Why is that?" he asked, knowing that Romanoff probably had a point. If he was going to do it, he would've done it already, but things had changed and he couldn't keep it in anymore.

"One-sided love." Steve looked at him as if he was pained by it. "She doesn't think Toni will love you back, granted she doesn't think much of love anyhow so I am not sure if she's a good judge."

That was Steve's fear, but if that was the case, he needed to know, so he could move on. "And what about you?"

"I think you'll tell her, which will probably be as soon as you see her again, and then you probably won't let her out of your sight again, which will just annoyed the hell out of her and she'll probably slap you for it." They both chuckled at that as they knew she would.

"And do you think she'll return it?" Steve asked as he got up and slowly crossed to the long panel of windows. He stared down at the crowd as he thought about their lives. They were the lucky ones; they had no idea of what was going on. They had no idea that Toni Stark was missing. They had no idea of how much danger they were in.

Bruce took a deep breath. "On that, I'm not sure. Toni's hard to read."

Steve closed his eyes. Bruce was correct; she was hard to read, even if he could tell when she was nervous or scared (though she would never admit she was). If he had to guess using all of those insults, she wouldn't return this feelings; however, with Toni, logic meant nothing. With her, insults were a sign of affection.

"So how are the memories?" Bruce asked as he couldn't stand the silence anymore.

"It's getting worse."

"Toni's changing things?"

"Nothing major that I can tell, but things are changing," he answered as he closed his eyes as if he was in pain. His head hurt when he thought about the past and Toni. There were too many conflicting memories. "I still can't remember anything after her flat-lining." He was sick and tired of that nightmare; he wished he could find out what happened after that. Was she alive? Why couldn't he remember?

"Maybe, you should rest," he stated as he stepped toward Rogers.

The Super Soldier glanced at Bruce as he approached him. "I can't sleep," he answered. "My mind won't stop. These memories won't stop." He paused. "I think I can understand why Toni can't sleep and why she's always in the lab."

"Yea, because her mind won't stop," Bruce replied. "Her brain is always moving, always thinking." He had a weak smile on his face. "It's that brilliant mind of hers."

"I don't know how she can function like that."

"How are you functioning?" Bruce paused as he looked the dead tired Rogers over. "How did that mission go?"

Steve took a deep breath as he turned away from the window. "The devices stolen from Black Hawk were there but they were moved. We missed them by an hour or so, but the mission wasn't total waste. We did find something." Knowing that it would not get him drunk, he stepped to the bar. "Do you really think these devices can help?"

"They might, but I need to look at them." Bruce eyed the alcohol in Steve's hand. "So how are you functioning?" He asked again. "Is it wise for you to go on these assignments?"

He had reached for a glass but he decided against it and just drunk out of the bottle. "I'll go crazy if I stay here and do nothing," he stated as he took a drink. He stared at the bottle for a second before completely downing it.

"Steve!" Bruce yelled as he crossed toward the bar in a hurry.

"I can't get drunk anyways," Steve countered as he threw the empty bottom into the wastebasket. He picked up another bottle and took off the cap.

"Doesn't mean you should." He eyed Rogers, trying to read him. "What's happening in that head of yours?"

"It's hard to process the memories," Steve admitted as he took another drink. Although these memories gave him glimpses of Toni, they were a painful experience. They felt real, but at the same time, they felt wrong and fake, and there was no control of them. There was no order to them, and he couldn't get the one that he really wanted. He wanted to know what happen to Toni in that hospital. Seeing a worry look on Bruce's face, he added, "During the war when I found out that the 107 were captured outside of Italy, I went across enemy lines to save them with no care to what happened to myself."

Bruce watched as Steve took another drink. "You saved them single handily. I know about that," he stated. "Everyone knows that. So what?"

"The new memory has Toni in it."

"What?"

"Toni was there. She was captured and tortured by the Red Skull," Steve revealed. It made him sick and mad as he thought about it. How could anyone torture a woman?

"She was… what?" Banner asked, shock. "Why was she there?"

Steve stared down at the half emptied bottle. To learn that Toni was captured tested him. Not only did it scare him, it angered him. How could she go with the 107 into the battlefield? How could she be that stupid? She must've known that she would be captured? Or did she do it knowing that he would save her? Did she have that much faith in him? Whatever the case, he didn't want to feel like that again, though it couldn't compare to how he felt when he saw her falling from the sky. "I don't know. Maybe, she was looking for a way back."

Bruce's eyes opened. "She needs a power source just like I do."

An idea popped in his head. "Do you think…" He trailed off as he thought about the power she would need. There would only be one thing in the past that could have the juice needed.

"I do," he stated as he turned away from Steve and crossed to a phone.

Rogers eyed him as he picked up the phone. He could've asked JARVIS to make the call, but both of them felt weird using the AI. "Who are you calling?" he asked.

"Director Fury. He was trying to contact Toni, using Loki," Bruce answered.

"Loki? Seriously?" he snapped as he slammed the bottle down, shattering it. The alcohol splashed, covering him, but he paid no attention to that. He was too pissed to care. "He almost destroyed New York and we're turning to him?" He didn't want that psychopath near Toni, especially when she was defenseless.

"I get you don't like this plan, but this is the only plan we got."

"No, you can finish that device," Steve countered. Nothing caring to clean up his mess, he stepped toward Bruce. His anger was clearly visible in his eyes.

"Yea, I just need an impossible power source, which I'll never find or get." He paused, eyeing him. "Calm down," Bruce ordered, seeing that the Captain was going to do something that he wouldn't like.

"Calm down? We're trusting a murderer!" Steve yelled, so annoyed that they or SHIELD could dare ask Loki for help. That was no doubt in his mind that Loki would betray them as soon as he could. "What-"

"Relax, Rogers," Natasha stated, interrupting him. Stepping into the room, she had a look of pure annoyance on her face. "Yelling at Banner isn't a good idea."

Bruce stared at her as he knew why she said that. "Him yelling at me won't bring him out," he replied. Romanoff just looked at him. "But I get your point."

Steve only glanced at Bruce before he glared at the assassin, not caring about her annoyance as he was annoyed himself. "I will not relax. We're sending a mass murderer to try and save Stark," he explained, switching to Toni's last name. He didn't feel comfortable saying her first name in front Romanoff. Heck, he didn't feel comfortable saying in front of anyone; he himself could hear how emotional he was when he said her name, which was reason why he stuck to saying Stark. They didn't need to see how emotional he was.

Natasha took a deep breath as she eyed him. "You don't need to worry. Loki struck out. He wasn't able to make contact. He tried a few times." She turned back to Bruce. "Is he okay?" she asked, knowing that she couldn't ask Rogers that.

"It's complicated," Bruce answered, eyeing him from the corner of his eyes.

"I'm right here," Steve said, waving his hand. "And what do you mean when you stated he didn't make contact."

"It means how it sounds. He tried and failed."

"Why did he failed?" Bruce asked.

"He gave Fury some long stupid reason," She answered. "It doesn't matter why. It doesn't change the fact that he couldn't, which means we need that device to work, Banner."

Bruce took a long breath. "I'm working on it. Harder than I thought it would be and I knew it would be hard." He showed his annoyance with a harsh exhale. "Toni couldn't have made this harder if she tried. She loves to make me sweat," he stated with a small smile.

Steven narrowed his eyes at Banner before turning to Natasha. "How can we be sure that he isn't lying?" he asked. He wouldn't put it pass that man.

Before anyone could respond, someone answered from the doorway. "He could be, but what would be his reasoning for that?"

"Why would he help us find Stark?" Steve countered staring down Barton, who was leaning against the door frame. He held his bow in front of him as if he had just gotten back from a battle and hadn't had the chance to disarm. "He has to be up to something."

"Well, if he helps us, it helps his sentence," Clint responded. "But yea, he could be playing us all, but at the same time, he might not."

"And are we going to sit around and do nothing as he tricks us?" Steve snapped. Clint eyed him but said nothing.

Natasha took a deep breath. "Even if he does trick us, there isn't much he can do. Thor is keeping a close eye on him."

"I still don't like it," Steve stated. No matter what any of them said, none of them would change his mind. He was set: Lori was not the answer. He huffed as he crossed the door.

"And who said we did?" Bruce stated as he watched Steve puff angry.

Steve looked back over his shoulder at them. "It sure seems like it," he muttered as he stormed out of the room. He didn't want to listen or talk about this anymore, as it just pissed him off. Seriously, how could they trust Loki? He murdered half the city and countless more, and they were trusting Toni to him? How could they do that?

As he entered the room he had been staying in, he wondered maybe if he was the crazy one. Even though everyone was worried about Toni, he was the only one who was having trouble sleeping. Maybe, the lack of sleep was getting to him and he was overthinking this. Maybe, he wasn't thinking logically. Maybe, help from Loki was the only way. If so, why was he making such a big fuss? Shouldn't they try everything regardless of if they liked it or not?

Shaking his head, he crossed to the mirror in the room and stared into it. He could see why everyone was worried about him; he looked like shit. He looked totally exhausted with those huge bags under his eyes; plus, he was still covered in mud and sweat. "Rogers, you look like shit," he told himself as he turned away from the mirror.

He eyed the bed, wondering if he should try to sleep. There was a chance that he could dream of Toni. Sometimes, the dreams were of the desires he had, but lately, they were just painful memories. Each and every time, they woke him up in a cold sweat and he couldn't get back to sleep once he had them; however, they were insightful. Though it annoyed him that she was messing with the timeline, he enjoyed them, because it was a chance to see her. Maybe, he would learn what the hell had happened to her, though he might not like what he learned. She could be dead…or she could be alive and these memories could be the key that they needed to her get her home.

Steve took a deep breath as he crossed to the bed and sat down; he remembered the first time that he met Toni. He wasn't referring to the time in Germany, when they were fighting Loki; no, he was referring to the time in the empty lot. It was when he didn't know about superheroes, magical items, or aliens. Those were the days that everything had made sense. Though finding Toni in that field did not make sense, he knew what to do and what not to do, well besides falling in in love with Toni, who seemed to hate him. She seemed to like Bucky, who didn't trust or like her, and that just annoyed the hell out of him. He cared for Toni, not Bucky. She should've liked him, not Bucky… Well, she did like him before he came Captain America, but after that, she looked at him differently, and Steve could guess why. Bruce was right: he was an ass.

He exhaled slowly and crawled into his bed, not even bothering to change out of his dirty uniform. Laying on his back, he stared up at the ceiling, thinking about how Toni disliked him, and he couldn't blame her. With the way he treated her, he would hate himself too. One second, he treated her like a spoiled rich girl, who couldn't do anything; and then next, he treated her as something fragile, something that he had to protect. Though he didn't mean to, he made her feel like a child, which was the last thing he wanted. He wanted her to feel safe not trapped.

Steve inhaled slowly. He wasn't sure if it was the altered memories that were doing this to him or what, but he couldn't let anything happen to her, even if Toni couldn't understand why he was doing so. As Steve felt himself drift, he thought about how much he hated time travel.

Sorry, no Toni in this chapter, but she'll be back in the next chapter, though she won't be a happy camper (not that she was to begin with).

And poor Steve. His memories are really messing with him and it'll just be getting worse for him. By the end, he'll really, really hate time travel. Haha.

UNTIL NEXT TIME!

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