Make You Feel My Love
~Book IV~

Disclaimer: I do not own Civil War or any other Marvel characters in this story. All I own is the story I've come up with and my own characters.

Chapter 4

"Maria-" he said, looking a little lost after the silence that had appeared between the two of them. That alone was enough for Maria to spring to action. Her primitive side awoke within her and she ran over to him, grasping onto him and hugging him close to her. He wrapped his arms around her too, holding her equally as close to her as she was and although the hug hurt physically, it felt amazing all at once.

"Never again…" she whispered, gently brushing her lips against his ear as she did. "Never be apart again…"

His arms curled tighter around her, if that was even possible, and he pressed his face against the crook of her neck, breathing in her scent. "Never again…" he repeated.

Neither of them knew how long they stood like that, simply hugging each other and revelling in the feeling of finally having each other close again. Their body heat mixed together and their surroundings faded. The only thing that was important to either of them, was the person in front of them.

It was Steve who pulled away first. As the gentleman he prided himself on being, he tried his best to keep himself in control, to simply offer her a cute smile instead of taking her right there and then the way he actually wanted. It was a side-effect of not having seen her plumb lips and beautiful, twinkling eyes for so long; A side-effect he could not help but blush at.

Maria smiled at his blush, not knowing the full reason behind it. She gently traced her fingertips over his reddening cheeks, feeling the outlines of his cheekbones and the softness of his skin. There was nothing more perfect in the world than Steve in her eyes. She could see his skin as though there was a fuzzy effect on it, making him shine and look completely angelic. None of the small imperfections were noticeable to her. Not the small scars from years of being Captain America, none of the small wrinkles in his skin as he smiled at her… All he was in her eyes, was perfectionism.

"I've missed you…" she said quietly, instinctively leaning up to his lips. She was not a gentleman, or lady, and was not prepared to keep her inner beast at bay. The void inside of her was on fire and she knew that she could probably lift an entire house with the energy she had gained from finally meeting Steve again. Something inside of her ached for him… And she was not about to just let this moment slide away from her.

Though Steve noticed the look in her eyes. The fire that had erupted in her emerald eyes, twinkling at him and enlightening the same fire inside of him. Though he was not about to let into such feelings. Not now when it was all just lust and less passion and love. Hell, he was not even sure what sort of relationship they were in anymore. At one point she had been his girlfriend, at one point she had been his fiancé. But then he hurt her and she hurt him. And then she left him completely… Where were they now? What were they now?

Gently, so as to not hurt her too much, he leaned away from her inviting lips. Taking a step back, he tried his best to control his own emotions and the pain it caused him to step away from her.

"I've missed you too… So, so much," said Steve before gently grabbing her hand. "But let's build this up again. Slowly."

The fire that had been in her eyes disappeared and was replaced with a gentle light of hope. She smiled at him, "Let's work our way back up to that point… It's the only thing I want right now."

"Good," smiled Steve, gently squeezing her hand before she shifted so she was leaning against his arm.

Hand in hand, they left the labs and walked down the hallway towards their rooms in silence. Neither of them talked to each other, none of them said a word or even wanted to say a word. All either of them wanted was to be close to the other and for that, neither of them needed to say a word.

Steve's room was still next to Maria's and when they reached her bedroom, Steve leaned down to her cheek and pressed a loving kiss to it. His mind went back to a certain moment they had shared together a while back…

He gently placed a kiss against her forehead, his lips lingering there for a while before he pulled away just enough for him to speak; "Only your forehead is this beautiful."

She furrowed his brow at his words, cocking an eyebrow at him as he smirked down at her before he shifted slightly, pressing a kiss to her right cheek; "Only your cheek is this beautiful."

A smile started to appear on her lips as her heart warmed up at his words. Her hands reached up to grab onto Steve's arms, holding him close to her.

Then, he shifted slightly in order to kiss her nose gently; "Only your nose is this beautiful."

She giggled at his antics this time, a genuine smile spreading across her face and reaching her eyes, making them glisten as she looked into his perfect, blue ones. And then, her smile faded as he moved so that his lips were lingering close to Maria's. An intense feeling took over her body then and there. An intense feeling that she hadn't felt before towards anyone. A feeling of neediness; a feeling of pure and other admiration.

"Only your lips are this beautiful," he whispered, his breath touching her lips and making a warm sensation run down her spine…

His lips lingered close to her cheek, a new fire igniting inside of him which was making it difficult for him to move away from her. Their hands were still intertwined with each other and she glanced at him, afraid to move her head as she herself was relishing in having him so close to her. She could clearly see the conflict in his eyes. The fact that there was a conflict in his eyes made her move back from him, leaning against her bedroom door as she gently placed a soft kiss to his knuckles. She wanted to be close to him and not start from square one. Though if he was conflicted about what to do, she was not going to be difficult about it. They had a plan, they were going to start anew. And she was going to help him get through it.

He sighed unconsciously at her moving away from him before smiling at her gesture.

"Good night, captain," she said, gracefully opening the door and sliding inside, only letting go of his hand at the very end when she had to close the door behind her.

Steve stayed standing by the door, his face inches apart from it as he continued to fight the fire inside of him. Maria was on the other end, sliding down the door as she took deep breaths to control herself as well. The fire and the joy of being reunited with him was so much… So perfect…

She turned her head to listen through the door, hearing him softly begin to walk away. With a soft smile on her face, she stood up again and let herself fall down onto her own bed.

Indeed, she was home again.

She, Wanda and Natasha had breakfast together. All three girls had been up later than any of the men, who most likely were already downstairs exercising or preparing for the morning training session; the first one with Maria there as well. They enjoyed each other's company even though Natasha was mostly quiet and listened in on their conversation, sometimes making a joke or two.

As they had eaten all of their breakfast, they made their way downstairs to where the training rooms were. Steve was jogging around the rooms with Sam in tow. They were talking, even though Sam looked a little more than out of breath, and upon seeing the three girls arriving, they jogged over to them. Vision gracefully walked over to them while Rhodey put down the weights he had been lifting and joined them as well.

Steve and Natasha explained what the usual training sessions looked like. In the morning, each of them did what they wanted individually. Steve usually training with Sam and Rhodey, doing some weight lifting or cardio. Natasha and Wanda sometimes joined them, though usually Natasha did her own thing while Vision and Wanda tried their best to understand and train their powers – either through meditation or actually practicing. Maria nodded her head, feeling more excited about the afternoons in which the new Avengers got to go through simulations to train as a team and work together. She wondered how far they had gotten with Steve and Natasha's help.

"I'll join Wanda and Vision then," said Maria, earning a surprised look from Steve and Natasha. "Six months of training and I can now lift some things with my mind."

She continued on telling them about Xavier and his help. How she had found out about the void inside of her and how she could use it on physical objects. Also, she showed them her new sword and all of them had been extra interested in the gems on the handle. She made sure no one touched the sword, having had a small accident with Logan a month ago which told her exactly how dangerous it truly was to others. Luckily, Logan could heal. Though none of her family around her could.

They scattered afterwards, Maria followed Wanda and Vision to a little corner of one of the training rooms and sat down with them on the couches. In front of them was a little table filled with objects. Maria learned that Vision was actually the one training Wanda, seeing as he already had most of his powers in control. The only thing Vision was still trying to figure out was what his powers were and where they came from. A question Maria and Wanda were both equally as interested in.

While Maria could lift little objects without any hand-movements, Wanda's powers looked a little different. She could move bigger objects as well, and always used hand-movements and soft, red mist to move things. Maria wondered if her powers would have a color as well, or if hers were simply different, originating from somewhere else.

Towards the end of the training session, close to lunch-time, the three of them had been talking about the various speculations around Vision's powers for quite some time. Vision had been smiling at the crazy ideas Wanda and Maria came up with – crazy and not so serious ideas – and he still wore the same smile as everyone went upstairs for lunch.

The sun was shining in through the windows and Maria left Wanda's side upon seeing Steve sitting in a lonely chair by the windows. Sam had been eyeing him every now and then, a worried look on his eyes. Though he had stayed away from Steve sitting alone, not eating anything. Something told Maria that something had happened on the mission she had yet to ask him about. The night before when she had had the chance to ask him had been so filled with fire and emotions that she had simply not asked yet. But now, she was sure something was wrong.

She brought a chair with her and sat down next to him by the windows, ignoring the laughing and chatting of the others over by the dining table. In her hands she held a plate with a sandwich on it. She knew that his super soldier serum always made him extra hungry and him not eating anything meant he would get really hungry or tired later on.

"You need to eat, super soldier," she said carefully, smiling softly at him as she offered him the plate.

Her voice had startled him which worried her greatly. He had been deep in thought about something, which was not like him.

"Thanks," he said simply, avoiding eye-contact and taking the plate from her with a smile.

For a while, she waited for him to finish the sandwich. The two simply sat by the window in silence, looking out over the facility and the forest surrounding it. The green grass and the summer sun looked really inviting to Maria all of a sudden and she wondered if she and the girls could maybe arrange a picnic for later on. Maybe as a sort of present to the New Avengers if they did good on the simulations.

When Steve finished his sandwich, he placed the plate on a nearby coffee table. She glanced at him, "What's wrong, Steve? Something's bothering you…"

He sighed, finally glancing at her. She saw the sadness and the hurt in his eyes and she grew worried that maybe she had done something.

"The mission I was on… It was to follow up some leads me and Sam had found on… Bucky. I didn't find him," said Steve. "He had been there… But he was already gone when I got there. As though he knew he had exposed himself and that I was coming. He's running away from me, avoiding me… After so many years of friendship…"

"Steve," breathed Maria, her eyebrows furrowed in sympathy as she gently placed a hand on his shoulder. "When he's ready to be found, he'll let himself be found… You cannot take this personally."

"I can't help but do," he muttered, leaning into her touch for sympathy and comfort.

"I know," she gently replied, shifting her hand to caress his cheek. "But you shouldn't. And until he wants to be found, you have to keep on trying. He has no way of communicating with you. You don't know when he wants to be found."

"Maybe I should take a break from it. Give him some space."

"Maybe… It's a complicated situation. But I know that he's running from being a monster. That he thinks he is a monster… After what Hydra did, I wouldn't be surprised if he was convinced of that. And I know what it's like to feel like a monster. But I also know that when you go through something like that, none of your actions are aimed to hurt those close to you."

"I had you when I was lost in this world," said Steve, glancing at her lovingly. "He has no one."

She sighed, nodding her head. "He'll have us one day. When he decides to let himself be found."

Steve's eyes filled with gratitude over her words. He gently grabbed her hand turning it over so he could trace the lines in her palm. It tickled, making her smile.

"You barely know him and you're still willing to let him into your life? Just like that?"

"He's your friend," she said softly. "I'm going to stand by your side no matter what you get into or who you are friends with. Besides, he seems like a sweet guy. I want to get to know him."

"Thank you," he smiled, intertwining his fingers with hers before leaning over to her, pressing a soft kiss to her cheek.

What did you guys think of the reunion? It's all going really well, isn't it? Hehe, you just wait until things start happening... *evil smile* for real though, I'm super excited about what you guys will think about my plan for Maria and Steve's relationship.