CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
( ROAD TRIP )
STEP THREE: DRIVE.
The lights of the small, government-driven town of Quantico seemed to fade away into the distance, swallowed by the darkness. The car was chilled by the air conditioning, along with the sudden realization of no going back that was starting to settle amongst the group. It fully enveloped Rome, who had become startlingly quiet ever since they merged on to the highway. However, in a way, Quinn seemed almost elated to be headed back towards New York. New York brought her comfort. To know she was surrounded by people who loved her like Robin and her mother and to be in the same vicinity as Steve made her heart skip in delight. She was the only one who wasn't showing any remorse for leaving the academy behind.
It took Linnea clearing her throat to bring her back to the real world. Their eyes collided in the rearview mirror. "How do I know where to go?" Linnea questioned uneasily, gripping the steering wheel tightly. She was extremely tense from being labeled as a defector. Quinn licked her lips, "Just drive North for twenty minutes and then pull over at the first gas station you see. We'll pick up a map there." Quinn directs her, trying to sound confident as she took initiative to place herself in the leader role. She ensured it by elevating her voice to carry out throughout the SUV so that everyone was on the same page and she wouldn't have to keep repeating herself, and if they were taught anything from the academy it was to follow direct orders from the leader.
"Or we could just use his phone." Lena nonchalantly states, picking up a golden iPhone from the center console. The screen illuminated showing a massive crack down the middle of the screen - it had seen its day. "Ugh, why'd he leave it in his car?" Quinn scoffs as she looks at the dirty screen. "We can't use it. If anything we need to get rid of it since he can track our whereabouts." she huffs out, leaning back into her seat with her arms crossed as if she were throwing a tantrum. Another hiccup in their plan is just what they needed. "You sure it's got a tracker on it?" Lena asks, examining the device in her hands before twirling it between her fingers. "It's an iPhone it literally has an app called 'find my phone'. Trust me, I worked at Apple." she answers in a frustrated tone.
Lena purses her lips, nodding her head as she took in the information. Her finger lingers over the button to her window, slowly rolling it down and letting the wind roar throughout the truck, whipping her hair around. The rumbling of the wind against the car engulfed the stagnant air throughout the vehicle, catching both Rome and Quinn's attention as they looked on to Lena. Very casually, Lena took the phone within her hands and tosses it out the window carefree before rolling the window back up. As she looks into the backseat she can see Rome sitting behind her with his mouth slightly agape and a sour expression pressed on his face, while Quinn didn't seem phased by the action. Lena perks a questioning brow up at Quinn, who always seemed to be the worrywart. "I'm not even surprised anymore," is all Quinn can muster out, gripping her arms tighter.
"We can't use ours?" Rome asks from beside her, pulling out his phone from his back pocket and looking at the screen. Quinn shrugs. "I wouldn't unless you want to be tracked."
"Why is it that everything can be tracked by you?" Rome wonders aloud, his voice suddenly sounding on edge and hostile. Usually, this would get on her last nerve and provoke her into arguing with him but with the way, the night has been she felt much to exhausted to exert that kind of energy on him. "Because we literally live in a day of modern technology that can easily be hacked or tracked. Turn your phone off," she commands him, her voice becoming more authoritative than what she was used to. It surprised her at first, she sounded almost exactly like Steve with how fed up he could sound talking about the underwhelming mechanics of the missions he'd go on. It surprised her, even more, to see Rome willingly follow her orders by turning his phone off and placing it in the pouch attached to the backside of the passenger seat.
Finally, she was getting somewhere with the team. If this is what she wanted to call a team. It was more like two friends being dragged out by her and a hostage in the form of an argumentive Aussie. Definitely the opposite of the Avengers. She wondered if they had butted heads in the beginning much like her ragtag group. She could believe it was possible, Steve was easy going - however, he was a man out of time. And he could be stubborn. Perhaps they were more alike than she thought.
Lena shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "It's cold in here," she notes, rubbing her arms to resonate heat. Quinn tries her best not to roll her eyes. "Maybe you shouldn't have rolled the window down." she scoffs under her breath, leaning her head back on the cool window of the car. "Oh, baby, do you need me to warm you up?" Rome purrs, sending an eerie chill down the girl's spine. "If you come back here I could make sure you get all the body heat you need," he adds in for good measure, trying to be as seductive as he could. He tugged his bottom lip between his teeth as he waited for a response from the woman in the passenger seat, who ignored his comments.
"Lena?" he pesters, stating her name at least twice more before Quinn rolled her head lazily over to her right to look at him. "I don't think she likes you," she says, stating the obvious. It appeared as if she had lifted a weight off of Lena's shoulders, as she watched her rigid posture turn more fluid and relaxed at the statement. She was too scared to tell Rome she wasn't interested in him at this point, she was glad someone else could speak up on her behalf. "What? You don't know what you're talking about zombie." Rome hisses out, throwing a glare in her direction that she merely shrugs off with a humorless chuckle.
"I think I do. I'm just trying to save you from some heartbreak and humiliation."
"What do you mean?" he questions, his gaze narrowing at the blonde next to him.
"Lena," she begins, throwing her friend a questioning look. She didn't want to be the one to tell drastic news without explicit permission from that person. Out of the corner of Lena's eye, she can see Quinn expectantly waiting for an answer, to which she gives her a small nod before wrapping her hand around Linnea's. "Lena plays for the same team," Quinn announces, turning to watch Rome's face soak in the news.
Each second passing by was like a beautiful musical note passing through her ears as she watched an array of emotion glaze over his face. First confusion, then denial, finally, landing on anger which was a tell-all with the scrunch of his brown and a crinkle forming in the center of his forehead. "What the hell, I thought I'd be getting a date out of this?" he angrily exclaims, facing forward towards Lena who was just smirking in the front seat. "That might've been a lie." Lena nonchalantly says, watching her brilliant scheme unfold. Rome presses his whole weight into the back of his seat, his arms crossing his chest with a pout on his face. If Quinn didn't know any better she'd say he looked like a toddler who couldn't get the candy he wanted.
"Well, that's just great!" Rome huffed, his voice rising out of frustration. "Now I'm in a car on my way to New York with a zombie and two -"
"If you like your tongue I wouldn't finish that sentence," Lena warned, twisting her head around her seat to peer behind him. An ultimate stare off between the two - who definitely hated each other by now. Quinn forced a pressed smile upon her lips as she looked over at the very pissy Rome. "It'll all work out in the end." she insists in a singsong voice, trying to cover her nervousness. At any given moment, she knew that Rome could still betray them, however, it wasn't like he wouldn't be reprimanded too. Everything was starting to fall into place.
It took only twenty minutes for Linnea to pull off of the highway to a remote gas station in the middle of nowhere, Virginia. It appeared to be the only thing lit up within miles. Of course, there was a question of why they were stopping only for Linnea to point out they were running out of gas and the SUV was a big gas guzzler. Quinn took note of that information. If they stopped every hour, it would take more than five hours to get to New York. However, since the tensions in the car were high it was nice to step out and get some fresh mountain air albeit was somewhat tinged with the scent of gasoline.
Her legs ached as she stretched beside the SUV, taking a moment to let her defenses down. They were miles away from the academy, it would take them a while to get caught from here on out but there were still moments where she felt the need to be cautious. The others followed Linnea and her lead of stepping out of the vehicle to stretch. It would be the only time they could for a while and it was starting to get cramped in the car.
Quinn didn't seem to miss a beat when she noticed all of them outside of the car. It was time for her to be a leader, to be what she could imagine Steve to be. She cleared her throat before pointing towards Linnea who had already begun pumping gas. "Alright, Linnea get gas. Lena -"
"I have to pee!" Lena shouted as she scuttled off towards the gas station.
"Lay down toilet paper and then go pee!" she reminds her, cupping her hands over her mouth to increase her volume and range. She can barely spin around to see Rome's figure grazing past her, oblivious to what his command would be. She bites the inside of her cheek to avoid saying a snarky comment. She had to shape up, she had to be the leader in this situation. That meant being the bigger person, even though she desperately wanted to lash out at Rome for not respecting her that much.
She sighs before she turns to Linnea, her brow-raising to cover her annoyance. "I'll get the map. Any preference?" she questions. Linnea huffs out a humorless chuckle before shrugging her shoulders. "Just one that points to New York," she answers, leaning against the side of the SUV, watching the digital numbers flip over and over again, racking up the price. Quinn didn't even try to conceal she didn't find the quip funny, instead she pressed her lips together in a firm line before retreating towards the dimly lit gas station.
Finally, she had a moment to herself to collect her buzzing thoughts. It seemed as if this night would never end. Every moment was just as chaotic as the one before. Was this all worth it? Dragging innocent people into trouble with her? Her mind held a twinge of guilt. It was her duty to get Blair, not the others. She ran through her illy structured plan in her mind once again on repetition. Head to New York, then find Blair. That's all she needed to do. However, it may sound simple it seemed impossible with the way everything was being handled. Instead of everyone acting like a well-oiled machine, like they were taught in the academy, it felt as if they were rusty chains halting at each stop to get the better of one another.
As she rolled her eyes, she caught a glimpse of the clear sky. Dark with a thousand shimmering stars. Something that she couldn't really see in New York anymore. For one moment, she was alone. No prying eyes, no one looking to her for direction. It was just herself and the countryside. It relieved some tension caused by the stress of everything that happened but there was still a tight coil in her chest held for the impending doom that was sure to happen eventually. The soft chirps of crickets accompanied by the croaks of frogs, and the low hum of electricity filling the neon sign that attracted moths like a flame, filled the empty void of the night. She could stay like this forever.
Although, the humidity was as thick as a blanket, enough to suffocate anyone. It reminded her of her childhood home, the nights spent camping outback on whatever army base her father had been stationed at. It was a simpler time back then. A time that existed before the accident that crumbled her family, before she knew about Hydra before the Avengers were even formed, before she knew who Tony Stark was and when Steve Rogers was just a name in her history textbook that held no meaning to her. Now she was willing to risk her life to save someone she owed her life to. Everything had changed dramatically in just under a year.
As she approached the doors, she was surprised to see that the outdated gas station actually had an automatic door that slid open with an irritating squeak and ring of a bell. She was greeted by a cool gust of air conditioning that lured her in. She'd do anything to get away from the humidity. The glare from bright florescent lights made her eyes hurt for a moment but quickly adjusted to the bright world inside the gas station. She looked over towards the counter to see no one behind it. She curiously perked a brow up at this but her attention was suddenly drawn away by the sound of men laughing somewhere along the rows of thrown together junk food.
Thankfully the aisles of food weren't tall, she was able to spot Rome along the back wall looking at the assorted sodas, teas, and cold beer. She rolled her eyes. Perhaps she needed to get her own food. She couldn't survive on beer and jerky as he could. The mere thought of the taste of beer sliding across her tongue was enough to make her cringe. She shook off the feeling, eyeing the other patrons in the small station. Just a small group of men - three to be exact, loitering near the fountain soda and slushie machines, giggling to themselves. A bunch of drunkards. It was enough to make her feel uneasy. At least Lena and Rome were nearby, just in case anything happened. Not that she couldn't handle herself. The odds were just stacked against her.
She tried to ignore the sinking feeling in her gut and focused her attention on the spinning rack of maps, postcards, and souvenirs near the front door. She absentmindedly bit on her thumb, her brow furrowing as she spun the small rack. Her eyes skimmed across the sheer side of the rack for the right map. North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland...she counted in her head. She let out a small "ah-ha" as she found a map of the east coast. She was careful not to open the whole map, she remembered how difficult it was to put it back together when she was a child on road trips. Now with the convenience of having a map in the phone in her back pocket was really starting to weigh in on her mind. She didn't miss actual maps, and she knew Linnea had to be irritated that she'd have to glance at the map every ten minutes. It was all part of the job.
Her stomach tightened as she felt a small rumble coarse throughout her torso. She hadn't realized she was hungry until she tasked Rome with snack duty. Beef jerky was okay, but it wasn't a great snack food for the whole trip. And beer was definitely out of the equation. Placing the map under her arm, she began sifting her way down the aisles full of junk food. They had been feeding her the bare minimum of what appeared to be prison food, she had forgotten what a good snack looked like.
She had picked up a total of a bag of chips, a packet of Reese cups, and one bag of sour patch kids before she had even made it to the beverage aisle. Her lust for her appetite consumed her senses, leaving the rest of the world out as she searched the chilled fridges for something to quench her thirst. Finally, her mind had been made up as she chose an Arizona Tea and a Coca-Cola - both were tied for her top spot and she figured she could down both before New York. All she had to do now was reorganize herself before heading towards the car again.
She haphazardly flopped the snacks and map on the counter near the fountain and slushie machine, barely taking note of the snickering men aside her. However, her mind instantly flooded with worry as she felt someone's unfamiliar presence beside her. Of course, it was one of the drunkards. She had seemingly gone from the opposite end of the gas station right to where she didn't want to be.
The man flashed her a coy smile, the whiskey still fresh on his breath. "You got yourself q-quite an appetite," he noted in a slur. Her eyes flickered down to her snacks, and then quickly back at the man. She tried to ignore the comment, giving a polite but small smile before trying to tend to her pile of goods. Everything inside her screamed for her to get away, the men, albeit, drunken and not the best looking for a small Virginian town, wreaked if potential danger. The man seemed to retreat for a moment but was coerced into stepping beside her once again with the encouragement of his buddies. "Hopefully your eyes aren't bigger than your stomach."
Her brows furrowed at this comment. Was this his attempt at flirting? The solid whooping of his friends only solidified that it was an attempt to woo her into a stupor. She ignored the man, busying herself with situating the map under her arm. As she turned to leave she felt an unfamiliar hand on her shoulder yank her back, and she was once again, face to face with the drunken man.
The giggling and redness of his face only threw his friends into a sully as he tried to apologize to her for rudely yanking her back. A scowl now rested upon her face. She didn't want to cause a scene but if anyone tried to get cheeky with her, she would have to defend herself. Besides, it wasn't like Steve would be here to save her unlike when he did with Maddox. "Not the talkative type are ya?" The man quickly rebuttals after he regains his ability to talk. His voice was still hoarse from giggling. "Just leave me alone." She stated, her tone harsh and firm, loud enough to gain the rest of the patrons in the gas station's attention.
"Oh, sure, sure darlin'. I'll leave you alone after we've had some fun with ya." The man's stature started to enlarge after he stood up to his actual height, instead of being somewhat slumped over from the alcohol. She swallowed a lump in the back of her throat, as she gaped up at him. She could handle him, and him alone, but if his friends decided to go in, she wouldn't be sure she could withstand it. The odds were starting to stack against her.
"Hey!" A familiar voice rang out from the end of the aisle, which made her twirl around. For once in her life, she was relieved to see Rome. His face had contorted into an expression between anger and confusion as he eyed the drunk men. Her eyes grew wide as his gaze rested on her, seeing that she had begun to panic in the few brief moments before. His boots thumped against the linoleum floor as he made his way to where she was at, to be by her side as he continued to eye the men. "Is there a problem here?" he questioned, looking at the man closest to her.
The man opened his mouth to reply but his friends - who had appeared to be sober enough to not want a brawl - pulled him away, quickly hushing the man silent. She begrudgingly looked towards the floor in embarrassment. She could only imagine how weak she must've looked to Rome at the moment. It was something she didn't need, especially since he kept questioning her authority. "Quinn let's get going." Rome's voice was curt, short, and concise as if it had pained him to even mention his name. He brushed by her elbow, beckoning her to follow him just by his touch.
Reluctantly she followed his lead, keeping pace behind him as they exited the aisle way. Her confusion grew as she crept up to the cash register that was still abandoned like it had been when she entered. She took a step closer to peer behind the counter to see if some form of life was lurking behind the wall. Before she could place her goods and lean across the divider Rome was once again yanking on her elbow. She whipped her head around with a scowl on her face as she met his eyes. His eyes narrowed at her and then he darted towards the door, keeping a subtle yet fast pace.
She knew what the look meant, but she didn't know if she had the guts to do it. Her toes curled within her shoes as she looked anxiously over to the abandoned cash register with immense guilt washing over her. However, she was reminded that she wasn't alone when she heard the men in the soda aisle start giggling once again. Rome was right. They had seen their faces. It was best not to stay anywhere too long after making a scene.
She followed Rome's lead by quickening her pace and treading out of the door, into the humid night, without looking back. She could see Linnea's questioning gaze from the entrance of the store as she finished pumping the gas. It must've been a sight to see Rome calmly exiting the store while she looked like she was in shambles after committing grand theft.
She threw her snack into the seat of the SUV, making sure Rome wasn't touching her goods, before rounding the side of the vehicle to Linnea. She flipped the map out from underneath her arm, waving it between them. "This was the only, non-confusing map I could find for you." She notes as she passes the paper off to the driver. Linnea momentarily raises her brows as she attempts to unfold the map while still trying to pump the gas. Quinn watches as she fiddles with the paper, the rustling sound being the only thing louder than the fluorescent lights above her head. "It'll do," Linnea grumbles out in approval.
With this, Quinn takes this opportunity to crawl back into the car. The coolness of the October night was starting to take its toll on her. As she opened the door she half expected to see Rome devouring his snacks, and Lena in the front trying her best to ignore him. Instead, she found that the backseat that she had shared with him was empty, which was useful because she placed all her snacks in the middle, however, she felt a tinge of loneliness. She peered into the back of the SUV to see Rome splayed across it, his eyes closed and his breathing deep. He was obviously trying to catch some shut-eye before the shit storm in New York hit.
He seemed different to her. More vulnerable now than he had before. He also showed a protective side in the gas station against the men. Maybe he wasn't as bad as she had pegged him to be. The lingering thought of his fist driving into her face did sting the thoughtfulness and she simply turned away from him.
"Are we all here? Bladders relieved? Hunger fed? Thirst quenched?" Linnea asks as she fumbles to get into the driver's seat. There's a collective eye roll from the other three in the car, everyone was on edge and even the slightest joke seemed to upset the group's mood. "Just go." Rome basically groans from the trunk, relieving Quinn and Lena's thoughts. The longer they stayed in one place, the bigger the target on the back of their heads were. With a slight twist of the keys in the ignition and the slight fumbling with the map on the center console, the car purred to life. It was time to finally start their venture toward New York.
~ BOOK TWO: AGE OF ULTRON ~
QUINN WOKE WITH a sudden start as her head began slipping against the cool glass of the tinted window. At first, her senses were blurred together, her mind was clouded with grogginess as she looked at her surroundings. She had almost believed she was back at the academy, and waking up in the backseat of a car slightly alarmed her. It wasn't until she caught sight of Lena dozing off in the passenger seat that she realized where she was.
Her brows furrowed as she hit her head softly on the back of her seat. How she could convince herself to go through with breaking out of the academy was beyond her. It went against everything she worked for, let alone she let down her mother and worst of all Steve. As she looked out the window, watching the streams of lights flicker by in the distance from the highway she couldn't help but let out a breathless chuckle to herself. Life had a funny way of changing a person.
That was the funny part about living, a person is never the same as they were a year ago or hell even six months ago. The changes could be drastic or as little as changing what kind of dish soap someone used. She just happened to be going through a drastic change. Whether it was good or bad, only time would tell. What she hadn't realized was that everyone else that had tagged along with her was also looking for a change in their lives. Linnea wanted to get away from her family, Lena wanted to prove that she had the ability to control a hostile situation like this one. Even Rome was changing. Rome, who had vowed to be her worst enemy and hated her just for being associated with Steve Rogers, saved her life back at the gas station - or at least saved her the trouble of causing a scene with the drunkards.
She lazily turned her head towards the back end of the trunk where Rome lay, still in the same position he had been in when she last saw him. Her lips drew into a thin line across her face as she thought of a way to say thank you to him. Even though he was annoying, what he did took guts. He didn't have to do that for her.
Before she could even register what she was doing, her hand snaked its way back into the trunk over to where he was. Her hand slightly tapped across her forehead, causing him to groan. "Hey, you are awake?" she whispered. She lightly hissed out in pain as he caught her assaulting had, twisting it slightly. "Of course I am. Why would I not be?" he answered in a low yet, annoyed voice. She ripped her wrist out of his grasp, cradling her hand while rubbing it.
Once again, without thinking, Quinn hoisted her legs over the back of her seat, causing Rome to let out a sigh of frustration. She wiggled her way down, laying beside him yet separated herself with the empty bags of beef jerky he was adamant about stealing. "What the hell are you doing, Quinn?" he questions as she settles herself in. She hesitates for a moment, looking into his sleep-deprived blue eyes with confusion yet a hidden fascination hid underneath her gaze. He cursed to himself, realizing his mistake.
"You just called me Quinn," she says, her voice is light and filled with astonishment. He scoffs at her newfound adoration of hearing her name come from his lips, it sent a small shiver of displeasure down his spine. "Don't get used to it. It's late and I'm tired." he excuses his strange behavior, trying to downplay the small gesture. Quinn merely nods her head, sinking further down into her lean as she stares out the back window along with Rome, watching the scenery come and go with each passing second. "Where are we?" she asks after a moment of silence.
"We just passed Philadelphia ten minutes ago." Rome lazily answers. Quinn merely mouths the word, "oh" before returning to her silence. The tension was palpable. He knew she was back there for a reason, however, her stubbornness hid her true intentions making her a mystery to him. She felt the thickness in the air as well, how his eyes would dart from her to the ceiling and then out the back window. If she didn't know any better she would've mistaken this awkward behavior as being nervous or finicky. However, she decided to finally break the tension by turning on her side, propping her head upon her elbow as she gazed at him following her lead and doing the same.
She lets out a small sigh before her eyes dart to the floor then back to him. "I came back here to thank you for what you did back at the gas station," she mumbles out, her voice barely above a whisper. She didn't want to attract the attention of Linnea and have her wondering what the hell was happening in the back end. Or get the wrong picture. "I-I didn't want to cause a scene with those guys." her voice cracks with how low her volume was, creating the illusion that she was vulnerable. Rome grunts in response, leaning to lay on his back once again and look out the back window. She could see the wheels turning in his head. He was obviously mulling over her small gesture of appreciation, a slightly interesting take since he thought he had done enough damage to her emotions to not even get her to register any nice gesture towards him.
"Do you think you could've taken them on by yourself?" he questions quietly, turning his head slightly to look at her surprised expression. It was an odd question to ask, but she couldn't lie, she wouldn't have been able to take out all of them, not without making a scene. Before she can even answer, he rolls his head over to look at her. For a moment it's silent but then he begins to speak. "Zombie or not I still think what they were planning to do was wrong," he says so softly that it sounds delicate like he was almost too embarrassed to say it too loud. He didn't want anyone to know about his soft side. A coy smirk finds its way to her lips. "Even to me? The girl you literally punched in the face several times?"
He lets out a soft chuckle, an honest to God sound she thought she'd never hear come from him. "Believe it or not, you're starting to grow on me." he teases. This whole new demeanor was starting to freak her out a tiny bit. She had never seen him actually care for her. It was strange but nice. In a way, she could still hold a grudge, let her anger get the best of her the same way she let it get between her and her mother but she felt the need to push aside the frustration and anger she felt for this newfound acquaintanceship.
Her grudge against her mother caused her nothing but grief and she was paying for it, she couldn't hold another pointless grudge. Life was too short. "Plus I could use the competition back at the academy," Rome speaks up, forcing her brows to furrow. The academy. As if they'd take her back after pulling a stunt like this. "That's if I go back," she replies, settling her hands to rest on her stomach as she looked up at the ceiling.
"If-shmif, you'll come back. You can't resist me." he taunts with a devilish smirk.
"Have you forgotten who I'm seeing?" she scoffs.
"Oh trust me, I couldn't even if I wanted to. You're all the rage in the media at the moment. Captain America's mystery woman." he responds, boredom and a bit of mockery hinting in his voice, although it could be mistaken as a tired tone as it was the middle of the night still, and it had not looked like he hadn't gotten any sleep. She half-heartedly laughs at his statement. Up until this point, she had completely forgotten that the media had been prying to get to know her. "Not so mysterious now, am I? Just an army brat from North Carolina." she shrugs.
"Yeah, I was wondering, how exactly did you end up with Hydra?" he questions, propping himself up on his elbow as he turned to look at her. The abruptness of his question put her on edge, especially with the mere mention of Hydra. She couldn't exactly remember what happened that made her involved with them, but there was a feeling of terror - like she had been tortured with no end in sight that made her blood curdle just to think about it.
"It's not very clear," she replies, her lips firming a slight frown as she continues to sink further and further into feeling helpless against Hyrda. "I can't remember most of what's happened this year," she says gruffly, rubbing her temple to soothe the headache she was starting to get from overthinking the endless possibilities that could've happened to her while she was under their control. "From what they've told me I was hijacked at home. They meddled with my brain, and I ended up hating Steve and S.H.I.E.L.D.," her voice trails off.
She could've lost more than herself under their control, she could've lost Steve, she could've lost her mother, she could've lost everything. In a way, she did end up losing Steve. At least the Steve she used to know before Hydra took control. "I lost a lot of memories that day. I lost a part of myself." her voice is soft, it's barely above a whisper. She almost gets lost in her thoughts until she rolls over to her side to see Rome examining her with concern in his eyes. The same look that Steve and Jo would give her from time to time after the incident as if she was a threat to herself.
She can feel the heat in her cheeks start to rise as she realizes that she just spilled everything to someone she had declared she had hated twelve hours prior. She turns to him, hiding the disdain in her eyes with a cocky yet fraud smile that seemed to trick him. "Weird part is, I can still feel where they took a part of myself away," she informs him, earning another concerned yet horrified look from Rome as if she had over shared sensitive information. She gently glides her fingertips right above her left temple. "It's right here," she exclaims, tapping the soft, scarred part of her head.
Rome's brows furrow as he examines the spot she was touching from a distance. "So if I touch it, will you go all sleeper agent on me?" he questions, hesitantly reaching out towards her. She scoffs while batting at his hand. "No, I've touched it like a million times. It's kind of become a nervous habit to touch it when I'm anxious," she answers. Rome bites his bottom lip as he reaches his hand out once again, cautiously stretching towards Quinn's scar. Absentmindedly, she grabs onto his hand, guiding him towards the spot where her brain had been scrambled. She notes that his hand is fairly warm considering being in the air-conditioned car for so long. He's half expecting her to wince as he places his finger on the slightly scarred skin, wondering what tools could've caused this scar tissue yet be so discreet.
His fingers graze against the sensitive skin, which makes Quinn hiss out in pain. He reacts his hand as if he had just touched fire, watching her lay limp on the floor of the car, eyes shut as if she had been knocked out. Panic starts to seep in as he realizes that he has done something wrong. "Quinn?" he calls out his voice littered with alarm and shock. When she doesn't respond, he knows something is wrong. "Quinn!" he yelps, crossing over towards her limp body. His thoughts were running at a mile a minute, as he took her shoulders in his hands.
"What's happening!" Linnea shouts from the front. "I don't know!" he shouts back. As he begins contemplating on whether he should place her down and perform CPR a light groan escapes her lips, grabbing his full attention. "Quinn?" he whimpers, clutching onto her shoulders still. "Ready to comply. Hail Hydra." she drones out in a monotone voice. Lena, who was dead asleep before Rome started shouting, starts to unbuckle her seatbelt at the mere mention of Hydra, determined to get back there and fix the problem. "Snap out of it!" Rome shouts, shaking her shoulders violently. It takes a few rough shakes before a small, cocky, grin appears on her face, followed by a low chuckle. He stops shaking her, breathing heavily as he scans her features. Her eyes are slightly open as she continues to chuckle. "You should see the look on your face right now."
He immediately drops her from his hands, causing her to hit the floor of the car with a solid thud, which only makes her giggle even more. The more upset he was, the funnier it seemed to her. "Aw, you do actually care," she states, in between laughs, attempting to latch on to his wrist only for him to rip her grip off of him. Waves of anger boiled inside of him. He didn't like to be mocked, especially about his emotions. It was something that shouldn't be tampered with. "Of course I care!" his voice is as sharp as it is loud and stern, causing her to stop her fit of laughter. "It's not funny. I thought you were really gone."
"Why would that matter to you? I thought you'd love to get a few hits in with me." she retorts.
"I don't know, because, contrary to your beliefs I actually don't want to fight you." he barks back, leaving her surprised as he continues to rant. "I think you're overqualified to even be in the same class as me seeing as you were trained at agent level in the world's most secure government branch. I don't think I'd last a second if you switched back to a sleeper agent." he's left breathless once again from his rant, letting all his frustrations out on to her, leaving her speechless.
"I'm sorry," she apologizes in a meek tone. Seeing her cruel stance seemed to soften Rome's thick exterior. "I didn't know you would react badly to that," she mumbles out while scratching the back of her neck. She had seen him belittle her, take out his frustration on her, but she had never seen him shaken up before. It was strange. It almost made him out to be human.
Each minute they had spent together in close proximity she started to realize he's not a sinister person, he's more complex than she had taken him for. She sits upright next to him, hugging her knees to her chest as she felt somewhat scared of his presence yet determined to make everything right with him. "Look," she sighs out. "I know what it's like to feel like you can't control a situation. It's scary. I didn't mean to make you feel like that." She glances over to him, a slight glossy tint to her blue eyes, to show that she meant what she had said and was taking it close to her heart. "I'm genuinely sorry." she apologizes, her voice somewhat trembling as the sinking feeling of being helpless starts to set in. It was a feeling she didn't want to wish on anyone, no matter how hurtful or vile they were to her. She wouldn't even wish it on Priya.
She turns her head and rubs her misty eyes onto her shirt before looking towards Rome who had kept an indifferent expression on his face. "Friends?" she questions, sticking out her hand for him to shake. It was something she had never thought she'd be saying to Rome but as he had delicately put it before, he was starting to grow on her. The longer it took for him to reach out to her, the more awkward she felt and the more guilt and self-doubt started to settle in.
But for once in his life, he decided to not leave her hanging. He tightly grasped on to her outstretched hand, with a begrudging groan. "I guess." he hums out lazily, which makes the edges of her lips slightly raise into a small smile. The sight of the small smile and the tears in Quinn's eyes made Rome roll his own in annoyance. "Now quit crying. We've got two more hours of being in the car together and I don't think I can handle being strapped in next to a baby."
"Deal."