Toxic | Steve Rogers

Chapter Nine: Dreams and Betrayal

Steve couldn't tell if he was if he was awake or asleep. His eyes were closed, and his breathing was steady.

But he was aware of all this.

Usually, when you sleep, you don' t know your sleeping, but Steve did. His mind was blank, and his thoughts were clear. He was abruptly aware that he wasn't dreaming.

"No you're not" a voice said in his head. "Adora?" he thought, and pictured her smiling at him. "Why aren't I dreaming?" he asked her. His image of her in his head faltered.

"You were" she told him carefully, "But I had to stop you. It's easy this way, because when you wake up, you won't remember this"

"But, why won't I—" he was cut off, darkness surroundng him like a blanket, and his consciousness was lost.

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The sunlight streaming in the window in Steve's room irritated his eyes. Steve sat up, running his fingers through his blond hair. The sleep in his eyes quickly went away as he smelled food wafting through the air. He licked his lips, and looked at the chair bedside his bed. Adora was curled up on the small seat, her hair splayed out and her eyes closed. Steve could almost hear the sound of her breathing, in and out. He got up quietly, picking up his clothes from the night before. He slipped on his clothes, watching Adora as he did.

Steve could stare at her all day.

Her eyes fluttered open, and he quickly looked away, not wanting to be caught.

"Good morning" he said to her, and she smiled at him. "Good morning" she replied, sitting up.

"Did you sleep well?" Adora asked pointedly. He looked up at her, and met her eyes. She stared back at him, her face emotionless.

"I did" he responded. He hadn't even dreamt at all. "Did you, did you have any dreams?" she asked carefully. He gave her a strange look.

"I don't remember" he replies, studying her with his blue eyes. She nods, and gets up, and Steve realizes that she was wearing a long t-shirt, and her dress was folded neatly by her side. He could feel himself blushing.

"What?" she teased, walking towards the closet, and swung the door open. Steve hadn't even known that it was there. She pulled out a smaller shirt, a button-up. She pulled out a pair of jeans, and pulled them on.

Suddenly she turned around, her back towards him. Steve saw her bite her lip, and he turned around, and he could hear her pulling off the other shirt. His face was hot, mostly because the fact that she was right there was all he could think of.

"You can turn around now" he heard her murmur, and he turned. "Do you wanna go up first or...?" she trailed off, gesturing towards the door. Steve's eyes widened. He hadn't realized what it would like if they came out of the same room.

"Uh" he said, rubbing the back of his head, "You can go first" She nodded, and winked at him, and strode out the door. His eyes followed her as she left, a warm feeling in his chest.

Steve listened, waiting to see if he could come out. He walked over to the door, and opened it an inch. The coast was clear. He opened the door all the way, and stepped out. The tower was quiet, the only sound he could hear was his breathing.

"Boo" he heard a masculine voice say, and he jumped, his hands clutching the door. Sam's face appeared, and he relaxed. Sam was grinning, and walked towards him.

"Man, I got you good!" he said, as Steve leaned in for a hug. "I didn't know you were getting back today" Steve responded, smiling. Sam shrugged. "They gave me the option to take the day off. I thought I'd come visit you. But" he said, giving Steve a knowing look, "I saw that girl come outta your room. I didn't know you had a lady!" Steve blushed, shaking his head.

"She's not my girlfriend, and we didn't sleep together. Her name's Adora. She's Natasha's replacement" Steve told him. Sam laughed.

"What?"

"C'mon Steve, at this point, she'll probably end up as your girlfriend. So why was she in your room then?" he asked, grinning.

"I was helping him with his dreams" a voice said from behind them, and Sam raised his eyebrows. Steve turned around, And there was Adora, leaning against the wall. She always seemed to show up when he was talking about her.

"Sam, this is Adora. Adora this is Sam, a friend of mine" Steve said gesturing towards Adora. Sam stepped forward, putting his hand out for her to shake. She took it, an amused smile on her lips.

"So" Sam said, glancing at Adora, "I heard you're hear to replace Natasha" Adora smiled, and nodded.

"What's special about you?" he asked, Steve shot Adora a warning look. She gave a slight nod of her head.

"I can shape shift, control dreams, and alter people's feelings" Sam raised his eyebrows, impressed.

"Shape shift huh? Is this your actual form?" he asked, and Steve noticed Adora flinch.

"It is" she replied cooly. Steve met her eyes, and Adora was quick to look away.

"I've never seen you shape shift" he found himself saying to her, making her raise one eyebrow.

"That's right, you haven't. You want a demonstration or something?" she teased, a small smile playing on her lips. He grinned back.

"Maybe I do" he said, and by the look on Sam's face, he wanted to see her shift too. When he looked back at Adora, she wasn't there. In here place was someone different.

Peggy.

Steve gasped, and a pang of shock shook through him, and his heart skipped a beat. The rational side of his brain was trying to tell him that it wasn't really her, but the woman in front of him made him skeptical.

"Peggy" he whispered, breathing heavy. When the face in front of him smiled, something inside him faltered. Anger spread through him, feeling hot as it coursed through his veins. He was on her in seconds, his hands around her neck. He shook the woman's shoulders, pinning her against the wall.

"Stop" he growled, and the look of surprise and hurt on the woman's face pained him. Adora appeared back under his fingertips, glaring at him. Steve released Adora, moving away with a huff. He glanced at Sam.

"Excuse me" Steve said angrily, and stormed out of the building. He was heading to the training room.

Steve would go through many punching bags that night, and not all of them made of sand.