Best Friends - Till the end of the line

Get Me Down There.

A month later Rose was on a mission with Steve and Clint to retrieve the equipment being used to make the new super soldier serum. They had encountered and enhanced being with a gun that Steve had described as very similar to a Hydra weapon he'd seen back in the 40's. 

Steve jumped on to the back of a truck carrying the equipment, luckily when they blasted the back door to get rid of him he jumped in the air, landing back on the damaged door. "Well he's definitely unhappy. I'm gonna try and keep him that way." He informed the others through comms. 

On the jet Rose was sat with Clint waiting for the right moment to go and help him. "You're not a match for him Captain." Clint replied very matter of fact. 
"Thanks Barton." Steve said back with a shake of his head, still hanging on to the back of the truck. Rose smiled, "he's got a point Stevie." He was severely outgunned at this point.
As Steve climbed up the soldier in the truck pushed him back into the wind shield of the car behind.  

"Barton! Get me down there!" Rose ordered him as she got herself ready on the motorbike that was waiting on the jet. "Give me a minute!" Clint was trying to find an opening for her to land safely. 

Meanwhile Steve had managed to lure the man out of the truck and on to the top of it. "You know what's in that cradle?" The man sneered, "the power to make real change and that terrifies you." Throwing his shield Steve began to fight him, "I wouldn't call it a comfort." He replied whilst dodging punches and gun shots. The soldier managed to catch Steve off guard, kicking him on to his back. Steve's shield falling into the road. 

"Someone needs to put that shield on a rope! I swear he loses it every time!" Rose was always picking it up for him, it had become a long standing joke between the pair of them. 
"Rose you got a window!" Clint caught her attention as he came to a clear bit of road where she could land the bike. He counted her down from 4 before turning to her with a smile, "give 'em hell." 

With that Rose roared the bike to life and off she went. Zipping her way through the traffic, earning her some choice words from drivers as she went. Finding the shield she grabbed it without slowing even for a second. "I'm always picking up after you boys." She said through comms with a smile. Coming round the corner she could see the Hydra agent holding Steve by the neck. She slid the bike underneath the truck and threw him the shield. "Try not to lose it next time!" 

"Clint, can you draw the guards out away from the cradle?" She had a plan but it wouldn't work if there were people still in there. He replied straight away, "let's find out." He began firing at the cradle which seemed to work a treat, flying off the guards followed him. After a few minutes he noticed they were no longer following him. "Vipes, they're heading back to you, so whatever you're gonna do. Do it now." 
Rose got the bike close to the truck, "I'm going in. Stevie can you keep him occupied?" 
Steve couldn't believe what he was hearing, full of sarcasm he replied. "What do you think I've been doing?" 
Rose couldn't help but smile and when she got her window, into the truck she went, the bike crashing in spectacular fashion. 

After they had successfully retrieved the cradle, they were on the way home absolutely exhausted. "Well that went well." Rose said as she started cleaning a bullet wound on her arm. Steve came over to her and took over for her, the wound would heal in a few hours but keeping it clean helped the healing process. "Yeah, but it's not over yet. There's more serum out there and now they know we know." 
"Always bursting my bubble Stevie." Rose looked at him and he gave her a slight smile. It made her wish Bucky was there, she knew he would want to know about more super soldiers. When she turned back to Steve he knew the question before she asked it. 
Steve shook his head, "no I haven't spoken to him either." 

Bucky had promised they would make it work whilst he was in Wakanda, after all he was the only person Rose had ever loved, a bit of distance wouldn't change that. Bucky however had refused to answer her calls and Shuri said he wasn't talking to anyone at the moment. 

Yet another nightmare came that night, it was a reminder of how they'd met. The alleyway, the bully, the bully about to punch her back when Bucky appeared and got rid of him. It was bittersweet to see his face and hear his voice in her dreams but it always led to her screaming when she realised it wasn't real. 

Loki walked through the door, and as usual Steve wasn't far behind. A few nights prior Loki had convinced Clint to move rooms so he could be next to her should she need him. Conjuring the usual supplies of water, a cool cloth and a bundle of Disney films he slowly started bringing her round. He noticed Steve was still stood watching, "what is it Rogers?" 
Steve shook his head, "you care for her." 
Loki didn't quite understand what he meant, everyone here cared for her. Steve seemed to understand his confusion. "Forget it. Tell her she can come to me if she needs to." With that he pushed off the doorframe and headed back to his room. 

The next morning Loki woke to her being gone, this was nothing new. After her nightmares she often only slept for an hour before getting up. He made the bed for her, it was a little something he always did and then ran a hot bath, too hot for most mortals but that's how she liked it. He placed a spell on the water to stop it losing it's heat and headed off to find her. 

Rose was in the training room, a bow and arrow was her weapon of choice today, the guns were getting boring and they reminded her of Bucky. Clint was giving her a hand. He stood behind her and altered her stance for her. "Move your foot slightly to the left and you'll hit the target. You're aim is good, it's the footwork that's letting you down Vipes." 
Rose listened and released the arrow, she watched with a smile as it hit the target she turned around and high fived her friend. "Thanks Barton." 
"Anytime, you'll have to come over to the farm-" 
He stopped as he saw Loki approaching there was very few people that knew about his wife and the life he had outside the Avengers. Rose was one of them, it warmed her heart to know he trusted her with that information. As he went to leave she called him back, "quick question. Why do you call me Vipes? Everyone here, well apart from Loki and Tony call me Rose." 
Clint looked at her with a smile, "because you're too badass for a boring name." He clapped her on the shoulder and headed out. 

Loki walked over, "does it not bother you that he uses the name Hydra gave you?" He asked genuinely intrigued. Rose thought about it, "they gave me the name but I gave it meaning Lokes. So no it doesn't bother me, being Viper is part of who I am and I wouldn't change that for anything, it brought me to everyone here. There is not a single piece of my past that I would change." Loki could understand that, Odin had granted him the title of God of Mischief but it was him that made it mean something. It belonged to him, not Odin.