Chapter 13
"Are you sure about this? Wouldn't you be more comfortable in your room?" Steve questioned as he set Cara down on the couch, her limbs still numb and her head rolled to the back of the couch, but she narrowed her eyes at him all the same.
"I already told you why I wanted to be out here, and even in my room I wouldn't be completely comfortable. My preference leans toward higher up places." Cara replied. "Of course, I'm grounded right now." she grumbled as her head rolled to the side, taking in the sight of the bandage around her arm where Banner had taken her blood.
Steve glanced around, an alert look to his eyes, and he seemed anxious as things had been eerily silent since the building practically shook. "Are you sure this is the best idea though? Someone did just try to kill you not twenty-five minutes ago."
Cara would have shrugged if she could have. "I'm a SHIELD agent; of course people have tried to kill me." She replied nonchalantly, but privately she thought it was rather strange for Buck to have shown up after all this time. Sure, there was the chance someone could have hired him to kill her. "I should really think of wearing a mask or something, people are beginning to know who I am."
"Well," Steve said as he sat down beside her, respectfully keeping his distance, "the good news is that most civilians just think you're an Avenger."
"My brother found out I was still alive through the tabloid," Cara retorted darkly, "and then there's the possibility this isn't even about me. 'Tasha and I were talking about how your enemies could come to the same conclusion that Barney had and think whatever is between us is real."
"Give me some credit, at least my arch-nemesis isn't running around freely." Steve retorted and Cara rolled her eyes. His expression then turned a bit tentative. "The tabloids aren't completely off the mark though, we are friends, right?"
Cara stared at Steve for a long, tense moment, her eyes narrowed as she decided whether to answer or not. "Yes," she said finally, "I suppose we are friends, but there is a big difference from being friends and to that completely moronic thing the Bugle is trying to sell. I'd planned to try and get in touch with them, but with how and you and Stark have been acting like I'm glass or something I haven't been able to yet."
"Hey," Steve said defensively, "we've been backing off, and to be fair, this isn't something I really know much about."
For a brief moment, Cara allowed one of her awkward smiles to cross her lips. "Don't worry; I don't know much about it either."
Steve suddenly looked concerned though. "Are you sure you're alright? You look like you're in pain." Cara's smiled was instantly replaced with an instinctive scowl. "Oh, so you are okay then, good to know."
Cara rolled her eyes. "You know, for someone who doesn't like Stark as much I don't, your snarks are starting to sound a lot like his."
Steve's expression turned sheepish as he rubbed the back of his head. "Well, I wouldn't say that…" he trailed off and Cara snorted.
The blonde felt her muscles begin to regain feeling, but when Steve made another motion to speak, Cara felt her hands numb and her hearing fade out. It reminded her of the time in the gym's shooting range and she gritted her teeth as she waited for the bout of nauseas to pause. Cara saw Steve's head jerk up and he looked nervously back at her, but she could guess what he was worried about even without being able to understand him at the moment.
"I know." She said once feeling returned to her hands and her hearing was regained. "Last chance to leave."
Steve looked at her, his expression turning resolved. "No, I'm staying right here. You're still a part of this team, and I'm not just gonna abandon you because that's what you think I'd do."
"This is your punishment for me as team leader, isn't it?" Cara questioned dryly.
Steve shrugged again. "I won't smother you, you know; I'm just trying to look out for you."
"Well you don't, Tony's got JARVIS doing that already I'm sure." Cara retorted and furrowed her brow at the surprised smile that flitted onto Steve's face. "What?"
"Tony?" he repeated.
Cara gritted her teeth, her hands gaining enough feeling that she could clench her fists. "It was a slip of the tongue; it won't happen again." She said, but that smile didn't leave Steve's face until he looked up at the new arrival in the room. Cara waited for Thor to say something, but when nothing was said, she sighed wearily. "Did Stark and Natasha tell you anything?"
"Indeed they did; are you injured?" Thor questioned.
Cara blinked as she was expecting this conversation to start with an entirely different question. "Um, yeah, I just hit with a muscle relaxant, but it's harmless."
"That's what you claim anyway." Steve pointed out. "It's not like you haven't downplayed your injuries before."
Cara shot him an irritated glare. "Now is not the time to bring this up; I might have learned my lesson about hitting you, but I'll annoy the hell out of you enough to ditch me." She growled. "My brother says I'm very good at that."
"You hate your brother, so what's the point of bringing it up?" Steve retorted while Cara glowered at him again before looking up at Thor again.
"What was with the building shaking?" she asked. "I can understand the surprise, but, uh, you seem remarkably calm."
"Iron Man and Black Widow explained greatly how you felt about this child." He replied.
Cara blinked, wondering just what Stark and 'Tasha had actually said, and whether or not they perhaps exaggerated the tentative acceptance she'd had of her situation. 'Note to self; get 'Tasha to tell me what she'd said.' she thought, as it was less likely that Natasha had been the one to add on any dressings for how she felt given what she knew about Stark. "I'm not sure what else I can say then." she said and smiled awkwardly.
When Steve gave her an odd glance, Cara tried to ignore it as she felt she'd just taken a step back with how she really felt. Lying was going to come back and bite her like everything else, but she wanted to put it all behind her herself.
