《 It's Been A While 》Steve Rogers X Reader

~ Chapter 39 ~

Y/n Jay's Perspective

Laying on my bedroom floor, I hold the necklace in my hand and look at the lock, testing its weight. Quite heavy for a pendant.

I had been stuck in my apartment since the mall incident. Rumlow doesn't trust me to go anywhere without him, work included. I get up on my knees and start to dig through my bedside table drawers.

"There you are," I pull out my pliers and wire cutters. I had bought them when I liked making my own jewelry and then just stashed them in there. Using the tools I pry to pendant off of the chain and try to open in.

I end up searching under the kitchen sink for my tool box and grab a mallet to pound the lock with. After a while the pendant cleanly spereates into two sections. One was glowing.

Picking it up I look it over and chuckle to myself. That's how he knew exactly where I was.

"A tracker..." I look at the tiny electronic in my fingers. Rumlow, you sneaky bas----.

I jump a bit as my cell phone goes off. I let it ring out for a while before I even check the caller ID. It's just Sam. I haven't seen him in a while, though, I haven't seen anyone in a while.

"Sam?" I answer the phone and try to keep my usual sassy queen tome of voice. But, my ego has taken several severe beatings.

"Why are you calling me this early? I am not going on a jog right when I wake up, man," I chuckle but the other end of the line is dead silent.

"Sam?"

"Sorry to disappoint, but I kinda turned my phone off," I gasp and cover my mouth as I hear Steve's quiet voice from the other end of the line. He was safe, thank God.

"Steve?"

"Hey, y/n. It's been a while, hasn't it?" He laughs on the other end. I laugh with him, glad he's okay.

"What are you doing with Sam's phone?"

"Well, it's sort of a long story," his voice stays barely above a whisper. "I was kinda hoping I could tell it to you face to face."

"Say less. I'm on my way," I hang up and tie my hair in a curly low pony. I just put on my oversized Cannibal Corpse t-shirt and leggings. I head to the door and lock it behind me, leaving the tracker necklace on my nightstand.

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I hop out of the Uber and walk towards Sam's house. Seeing as my SUV was practically oozing S.H.I.E.L.D I've stopped using it as often.

I look around cautiously before knocking in Sam's screen door. His blinds open revealing his dark eyes. The door opens and he welcomes me in.

When I walk in, I spot Steve and Natasha sitting down at his dining room table. Steve gets up out of his chair as I run into his arms. I give him a bug squeeze and hold my tight grip for as long as I can.

"You're okay," I whisper into his chest as his huge arms practically cradle me.

"Just a little bruised up," he whispers in my ear and I ease uo. He laughs when he feels my grip loosen a bit. "How are you?"

"I'm okay, I'm okay. I'm sorry," I say in hushed voices only loud enough for us to hear. "I was being tracked. I put you in danger."

"We would've alerted S.H.I.E.L.D whether you were being tracked or not, y/n." Steve rubs my back and I bury my face in his upper chest.

As we have our quiet conversation, Sam and Natasha watch. To them it looks like we're just holding each other in our arms for a stupidly long time.

Sam folds his arms and sighs. "Is this why you never let me take you out on a date?" I can hear Natasha's stifled snicker and slowly pull away from Steve. He keeps a tight hold on me, though.

"Steve," I whisper and he let's go, his hands lingering on my hips for a second.

"Y/n," Natasha calls and I turn my head back to face her. "We've got a lot to fill you in on."

I raise an eyebrow at her and turn back to Steve. He looks at me with soft, serious eyes.

"What?"

They tell me most of what they learned from Armin Zola. I can't help but feel a tinsy bit left out. I mean, just imagine talking to a literal mad scientist! The circumstances could've been better but still, that must've been so interesting.

"So, HYDRA and S.H.I.E.L.D have been, essentially, the same thing all this time?" I ask rubbing my temples and pacing in Sam's kitchen.

"Correct," Natasha says.

"And now," I circle back towards Steve, who hasn't taken his eyes off of my since I arrived. "They are going to use Project Insight to eliminate all existing and potential threats to HYDRA and their 'new world area?' "

"And to top all of that off," Sam says, as he was just now getting told all of this as well. "They sent a missile to make sure you don't interfere. And my d---- boyfriend is pro HYDRA..."

"Okay," I lean back on the counter and take all of this news in. It hit me pretty hard, the fact that I was working with a terrorist organization to try and "play hero." Steve noticed my face and grabbed onto my hand, silently asking if I was okay.

"So the question is," Natasha starts. "Who at S.H.I.E.L.D could launch domestic missile strike?"

"Pierce," Me and Steve say in unison. He looks up at me and give me a chance to speak. "When you busted out of the building, Pierce called me in for a meeting."

"What happened?" Steve asks.

"Sharon had told him I was there and asked me why." I could feel both Steve and Natasha watching me with concern.

"Is that it?"

"Well, the rest is pretty foggy, but I'm pretty sure he called me a weird name. Zlota, Zlata? It sounded Russian or something." When I say the name Natasha's eyes widen slightly and Steve's brows push together.

"What?"

"It's nothing, y/n," Natasha says. "Now, how are we going to get any information on the very man sitting on top of the most secure building in the world?"

"He's not working alone. Zolas algorithm was on the Lemurian Star," Steve states.

"Well, who else was on the ship?" I ask. I don't know much since I've been on house arrest practically the whole time, but I try to contribute the best I can.

"Jasper Sitwell." Steve looks from me to Natasha and takes a deep breath.

"So the real question is, how do we get two of the most wanted people in Washington to kidnap a S.H.I.E.L.D officer jn brand daylight," Steve concludes.

"I'm not a fugitive, I could-"

"No. No way," Steve interrupts me and looks up at me from his chair. "I am not letting you get involved in any of this."

"Wh- but I am just a capable and qualified to handle this as you are," Steve was right about one thing, I am a stubborn little thing. Before we start to bicker back and forth, Sam speaks up.

"You don't." All three of us turn towards Sam, who had a determined look on his face. He drops a file on the table.

"What's this?" Steve looks at the file.

"Call it a resume."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Preview~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You never told me you were in the military."

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