Alright, another update! Wanted to update earlier but life got in the way. I'm still not really back to normal yet after what happened so I have zero motivation to write, but I had this and at least one more update after this ready, so I figured I could at least read it through and update for you guys. :)

Thanks to those who favorited and followed, always makes me smile when I get a notication telling me someone has!

And a special thanks to love . fiction.2017 and lovingvamp346 who reviewed! :D

Also, lovingvamp, I completely agree with you. Tony's too full of himself but also afraid. His fear makes him not want to take responsibility for anything anymore and so he confides in Ross and the accords to make him feel better. I feel like Tony would have come to his senses after a while and decided to apologize to them all, but then Steve busts them out so it can't happen.

Guys! Before you start reading, the first sentence of this chapter, as immature as my brain is, may sound a bit sexual... But it made me laugh so I didn't change it XD I suppose if I hadn't said anyting no one would have noticed but... oh well :P

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 23

Breathing heavily, Steve rolled off of Tony, taking some seconds to catch his breath before he stood up again. His body ached where Tony had managed to get in some good punches, though now it was over. No more fighting. No more pain. It was over.

He gripped his shield and pulled it from the chest of Tony's suit. The arc-light buzzed slightly as he did so, though it did not come back to life. Tony rolled over to his side, breathing equally as heavy as Steve. He watched his previous friend walk over to Bucky.

"That shield doesn't belong to you!" Steve stopped walking, his back still facing Tony who could not see Steve's reaction. "You don't deserve it. My father made that shield!"

Four men, one woman. I… I stole the formula… I stole it from Stark – Oh, God, Steve… I killed Stark…

Lifting his chin up, Steve let the shield fall to the ground. It clattered loudly and Tony watched with wide, horrified eyes as Steve simply walked away from the shield towards Bucky, helping the poor one-armed man up to his feet before they both limped even further away from Tony. It was done. It was over.

Half-unconscious, Bucky clung to Steve. There was no direct blood coming from where Tony had ripped his arm off, though seeing as Bucky obviously had some form of feeling in his metal arm, Steve could not even begin to comprehend the pain his friend was in. The door was still open just like it had been when they had arrived, and outside, T'Challa was standing with Zemo tied up on the snow-clad ground in front of him. T'Challa wore his suit, though had removed his mask, holding it under his arm.

"Your highness," greeted Steve once more.

"Steve," greeted T'Challa, his eyes looking from Bucky to Zemo. "I wanted to apologize. I wanted to avenge my father's death. And I thought… I believed the media when they said it was your friend Bucky-"

"It's okay," said Steve with a hint of a smile on his lips. "No need to apologize."

Bucky let out a groan.

"No. There is need to apologize. But words will not suffice. Please… Let me help. You are fugitives in your world. Let me take you to my world. Let me help you and your friend."

Steve glanced down at Bucky who could barely stay upright. He knew he was a real fugitive by now and indeed he had no real means to help Bucky while being a fugitive. No hospital would take them in, nor did any hospital have the means to help Bucky with his metal arm.

"Alright. But we need to make two stops first."

Avengers HQ

The jet landed and Steve, glancing back towards Bucky who was sound asleep at the back of the jet, stepped out. They had landed in the forest surrounding the HQ, just in case some of the Avengers had returned home already. And when Steve overlooked the premises, he did indeed see the red hair of Natasha walk over to the garage. Sneaking as best as he could, he quickly made his way over the grass and inside the compound.

A strange sensation of calmness overcame him when he entered the empty living room area. He glanced at the sofas where the Avengers not too long ago had sat and argued over the accords, remembering how close Maria had been sitting to him. He let his fingers trace over the sofa, a soft smile gracing his lips at the memory of her smile. Though he had to snap himself out of the trance, knowing the others were here and that he only had come to gather the belongings of those Avengers that had not stepped away from what they used to be.

Luckily, the corridor was empty of any Avengers. Though seeing as all the doors were closed, Steve still snuck down the corridor quietly in case any of the Avengers were in their rooms. He started with Wanda's room, grabbing a bag from underneath her bed and carefully placing her belongings in it. Steve smiled sadly at a picture of her and Pietro as children, smiling at the camera and hugging each other lovingly. He placed that picture on top of her clothes, careful to not break it.

Next was Sam's room. Seeing as Sam valued his wings above anything else, he did not have that many belongings at the Avengers HQ. Most of his stuff were probably at the house; a place Steve was not going to visit as he was sure it was watched securely. Instead, he packed a bag half-full of clothes before moving on to the next room; Maria's and his.

He stepped inside and was overcome with memories and emotions. The closet where Maria had tried to stuff all her clothes into after a shopping trip with Wanda and Natasha; the desk where Steve had found Maria asleep once after she and Tony had played a multiplayer game all night long; the bed… the sheets…

Opening up the closet, Steve packed two of his outfits before making sure to pack as much of Maria's outfits as possible. He remembered her having a small modelling show for him after she had bought all of those clothes and he remembered how good she had looked in them. But most importantly he had remembered which ones she had told him were the most comfortable ones, and seeing as Maria enjoyed comfortable clothes, he chose the ones that he remembered were comfortable. Having no other real belongings apart from their phones, which they had to destroy so Tony could not track them, Steve zipped the bag up and grabbed all three bags in one hand before sneaking out the same way he had gotten in. Neither Scott nor Clint had a room in the HQ, and so Steve had nothing more to do in there.

However, as he reached the living room and caught a glimpse of the staircase leading up towards the office, he paused. He remembered how he had told Maria that one should always end a relationship on a good notice, and not as enemies. Mainly because a friendship had good memories, and even though you cannot be friends with them anymore, you want to treasure those memories and not make them into sad memories. Steve had many good memories with Tony. Such as the first time he and Tony had helped each other on the helicarrier; the first time they had had a day out where Tony showed Steve all the places his father used to enjoy spending time at (albeit Howard didn't seem to have brought Tony with him); the day Tony had opened up about his and Peggy's relationship and the two had reminisced about her all evening; the day Steve had successfully, and easily, beaten Tony in an arm wrestling match which originally had been started by Clint and Thor… He could not let his memories with Tony turn bad. And he could not allow himself to be seen as a villain in Howard Stark's son's eyes.

Having made up his mind, Steve walked back over the grass and towards the jet hidden in the forest.

T'Challa turned the engines back on as Steve closed the door behind him.

"Sorry, but we need to send a package as well," said Steve quietly. "Oh, and buy a phone."

"Very well," said T'Challa simply, bowing his head as Steve sat down in the seat next to him. "And then we'll track down your friends."

"Our friends."

He still knew Tony was a good person, even though he had made a slight mistake. But that is what people do; make mistakes. And their friends, their true friends, are always there to forgive them. Just like Steve was now.

"Are you Tony Stank?"

Rhodey bit his lip, failing to keep all of his laughter in as he watched the old FedEx driver stand on the other side of the glass-door, staring over at them with expecting eyes.

"Yes, this is- this is Tony Stank. You're in the right place. Thank you for that!" Rhodey turned to Tony, sitting next to him on the floor with an annoyed look on his face, "I'm never dropping that."

Tony sighed, sitting up and walking over to the window, opening it up to sign the papers and take the package from the old man while Rhodey continued to make fun of him. With the package under his arm, Tony helped Rhodey back to his wheelchair before he excused himself to his office. The package held no indication of who it was from and he was rather curious. Especially since he could not remember buying anything new.

Walking up the stairs towards the living room, crossing it without saying hello to Natasha and Vision, walking up yet another flight of stairs, he finally reached his desk and opened the package on his own. Out fell a phone, a simple phone with all indications of what sort of phone it was scraped off of its outer shell. A letter was accompanied with the phone and Tony quickly read it, his curiosity turning into sadness as he immediately recognized the handwriting.

Tony, I'm glad you're back at the compound. I don't like the idea of you rattling around a mansion by yourself. We all need family. The Avengers are yours, maybe more so than mine. I've been on my own since I was 18. I never really fit in anywhere, even in the army. My faith's in people, I guess. Individuals. And I'm happy to say that, for the most part, they haven't let me down. Which is why I can't let them down either. Locks can be replaced, but maybe they shouldn't. I know I hurt you, Tony. I guess I thought by not telling you about your parents I was sparing you, but I can see now that I was really sparing myself, and I'm sorry. Hopefully one day you can understand. I wish we agreed on the Accords, I really do. I know you're doing what you believe in, and that's all any of us can do. That's all any of us should do. When you read this letter, the family members that are imprisoned will not be imprisoned anymore. I know you would have done the same had it been the other way around, and therefore I hope you will forgive me for what I've done. But Maria, Wanda, Clint… None of them should be imprisoned.

We're still friends in my head. So, no matter what, I promise you, if you need us, if you need me, we'll be there.

Rift Prison

"I wager the sun is on the rise… it must be nearly dawn." Sam's voice echoed through the corridor. The lights were kept on at all times, staying on a murky light-level that made it impossible for either of their natural sleep patterns to work. Maria felt like she had been awake for over 48 hours, even though she was unsure of how long she had actually been down there. Not to mention that her tiredness could be because of the baby.

"I got that reference," said Maria with a hint of a smile on her lips, though she was too tired to actually smile.

Several times a guard had been down there to convince Maria to come with them to the medical facility. Though Maria did not want to. She didn't trust Ross or the government to not try and use her abilities for their own good, the way Hydra had once tried to do by cloning her… She smirked at how absurd those thoughts were, comparing the government with Hydra… Then again… Who knows?

"Do you think we're going to get a TV at least?" asked Scott. "I'm gonna go insane if I have to stay in here much longer without any sort of entertainment."

"All I want is a night… Just some darkness…"

Wanda let out a groan, "How long are they going to keep us locked up in here?"

"Not for long."

All heroes straightened up at the sound of the extra voice, especially as they recognized the voice immediately. Maria shifted to lean against the bars, longing to see the face belonging to that voice. For God knows how long, all she had been able to see were memories of his face. But now… Now she would finally be able to see the real-deal.

"I've got T'Challa hacking the security," said Steve seriously as he paced back and forth. "Just a few more seconds."

Just as he said that, the dimly lit lights suddenly turned a red shade. The alarm had gone off, though Steve seemed calm.

"What's that?" asked Sam.

"The distraction," smirked Steve before the bars of all the cells opened up.

Without a beat of hesitation, Steve ran over to Maria's cell, embracing her and looking her over carefully. Her heart beat quicker than she had ever thought she'd hear it beat as she, with shaking hands, placed her hands on his handsome face. It shone with happiness of seeing her again and seemed more handsome than she had remembered it.

"Quickly," whispered Steve, pressing a soft kiss to her cheek before grabbing her hand, leading her and the others towards the door at the end of the corridor. Wanda was helped out of her straightjacket by Clint and immediately she shifted to stand next to Maria. They grabbed each other's hands as well, happiness filling their every atom at finally being free again.

They caught a glimpse of some guards running the opposite way, away from them, and before Maria or any of the others knew it, they were at the top of the prison, smelling fresh air again. The sounds of water crashing against the sides of the prison caused everyone apart from Steve to grow curious and as they neared the jet, they saw the prison was right in the middle of the ocean.

"Hey! Look, it's dawn!"

Maria and the others smiled over at Sam at the sight of the sun carefully peaking up from over the horizon and it took quite a bit of convincing before either of them followed Steve inside of the jet. Bucky was greeted kindly by everyone as they entered, bombarding him with questions over his arm and what had happened, though Steve simply ushered them further inside of the jet so they could take off.

"Rescue successful then," said T'Challa kindly, smiling over at the confused heroes, to which Steve chuckled.

"It's okay, he's on our side now," explained Steve who sat down in the chair next to Maria, his hand finding hers again while the jet took off, flying away from the prison.

"Yes! I knew you wouldn't let us down Steve," smiled Sam before leaning back in his chair.

"I even managed to get my hands on your gear," smiled Steve, pointing towards the back of the jet where indeed all of their gear lied in a heap next to three duffle bags.

"Now," said Maria, looking over at T'Challa, Steve and Bucky. "We want a mission report."

With the jet flying away from the prison, the ocean being the only thing anyone could see if they looked through a window, Steve, Bucky and T'Challa proceeded to tell them everything that they had missed right from where Maria and Steve had parted. Everyone had been shocked when Steve told them that the super soldiers had been killed by the doctor they had been after and when T'Challa told them what the doctor's original plan had been right from the start, everyone had grown quiet. Even with everyone's losses and their sacrifices to try and save the world, they had still failed. Yes, the world was safe but it had never really been in danger either. The doctor's, or Zemo's, plan had been to destroy what was keeping the world safe; the Avengers. And all that just to avenge his family who had died in Sokovia. His plan had worked… the Avengers were split, destroyed. Together they could keep the world safe, but they were not together anymore.

Therefore, Maria was relieved to hear Steve had offered Tony a phone to call him on, should the Avengers need them again.

"So… We're no Avengers anymore," sighed Sam.

"At least I got a taste of what it felt like," sighed Scott.

"And now? Where are we going now?" asked Wanda, who seemed to take the whole no-Avengers-anymore thing rather well.

"Wakanda. My home. My world. You will be safe there," explained T'Challa. "I will personally make sure that none of you are hunted in my country."

"Thank you," said Maria quietly.

T'Challa nodded his head at her before turning back to the controls, "We will be there in half an hour."

"Should be, uh, enough time to uh, reveal some secrets," coughed Sam, glancing over at Maria.

She sighed, standing up with Steve's hand still in hers, "Can we talk?"

Steve nodded, standing up and letting her guide him to the back of the jet where she sat the two of them down on a couple of foldable seats. No one could hear them from that far off, apart from Bucky and his super-hearing. Luckily, he already knew.

"Wow…" she breathed, nervously staring at Steve who was beginning to look a little worried.

"Is this the thing you promised me you would tell me after everything was over?" asked Steve quietly.

Maria nodded, "I've been wanting to tell you this for days now but… I literally thought of a thousand ways that I could tell you this while I was locked up and now that you're here in front of me, it's close to impossible to even say the words. I'm still afraid you're going to put me on the bench. Even though everything is over."

"Whatever it is," began Steve, moving closer to her and grabbing both of her hands. "I doubt it's worse than anything we've just been through the past couple of days."

"I'm pregnant."