Into the Snow || A Captain America Love Story

67

Tori

I lie on my bed, my mind flooding with thoughts. I don't have Steve's soothing heart beat flowing through my ear to calm me. I don't have Steve's arms around me, protecting me from my worst nightmares. His calming words are just memories that haunt my mind.
     Yes, I am perfectly aware that I will have a nightmare tonight. However, I'm still going to panic when I wake up from it.
     I remember Fury's words from earlier today: "you're the one who knows most". The interrogation continued from those words, just telling names and breaking down the footage.
I know that Steve is probably sleeping, but going to be waking up soon because of the time difference. It is almost 1:00 a.m. here, almost 7:00 in the morning in Italy.
I want to sleep, but it is almost impossible. Every time that I am almost asleep, I jolt myself awake. By the time I do fall asleep, I wake from a nightmare.
I try to think of Steve's comforting voice to calm me, but it only works when he is the one saying them aloud to me.
I slowly drift to sleep again, but wake from another nightmare. It is repeating: sleep, nightmare, wake.
If I can't do something as simple as sleep, I am going to die in these two weeks.

•••

"It has a small detonator inside that triggered the fire," Bruce informs Fury, pointing to the ball.
I try to stay awake in the lab at headquarters, but my legs feel like they are about to give out. I run my fingers through my hair, trying to keep myself conscious.
"It's easily opened by twisting it," Bruce says, demonstrating by twisting the ball to show that it is in two halves.
"Good, so far," Fury says. "Continue your work, Banner. Stark, are you awake?"
"Hmm?" I ask, trying to keep my eyes peeled open.
"You need some rest," Bruce says.
"No, no, I don't," I respond groggily. "I'm fine."
"You have circles under your eyes,"
"I-It's nothing," I say, stifling a yawn.
"Please, you need some rest,"
"No," I snap. "I'm fine."
"Well, if you're perfectly fine," Fury says. "You can follow me."
I follow Fury out of the lab and down a hallway. I stagger down the hallway, catching myself on walls. We walk into a lit room, a table stretching across the middle of it. Chairs line the table, papers scattered in front of them.
"Sit," Fury orders.
I plop into a chair and he sits across from me. He picks up a paper and quickly scans it.
"Alright," Fury says, clearing his voice. "I've known you since you graduated from high school. You aren't one to keep any information."
"Oh really?" I snort. "I'd think twice about that."
"And you're particularly stubborn," Fury adds. "You're known for manipulating your targets. You've stopped doing that, why?"
"I don't see the point of it in any recent situations."
"Ah," he breathes, adding a note to his paper using a black pen.
"And before, I was on missions to kill a certain target. I had to manipulate my way around others to get to the targets. And you know the stories."
"Yes, yes I do."
"Anyway, why do you need me?"
"Ah yes," he hums. "After the fires, what did you do?"
"Bruce took Steve and I inside to bandage our burns," I say, choking up when I say Steve's name.
"Okay," he says, jotting something down. "That it?"
"We watched the news,"
"Oh, I remember that little story," he mutters. "Those idiots."
"Get back to the point,"
"That's pretty much it," he says.
"Okay," I mumble. "So, can I go?"
"No,"
"Why not?"
"Because I want to inform you that you might get a call." he says, handing me a phone.
"Why? I have my own phone." I say, not taking the phone from him.
"The only way we can get in contact with the Avengers in Italy without leaving any remnants of our calls."
"So you're saying that-"
     "Yes, you can speak to Rogers."
     My heart flutters. I can talk to Steve. Just hearing his voice will make my day. I take the phone and put it in the back pocket of my jeans.
     "T-Thank you," I say.
     "You're welcome?" Fury says, not knowing what to say.
     "No, really."