Coming Down ➢ Steve Rogers

three

Chapter Three;

Delaney ran through the crowd, pushing people aside, her heart hammering in her chest. Steve was there. Her head swam; it was hard to draw breath, for suddenly she was unable to function. 

This shouldn't have happened. She shouldn't have run into anyone from the Avengers, from S.H.I.E.L.D.. What were the chances that Steve would be there? The chances were so small... Yet it had happened.

After pushing her way through one section, Delaney slowed to a walk. She knew there was no way she could outrun Steve; he had superhuman speed, she did not. Her best bet to get out unseen would be to blend in with the crowd, and running would distinguish her from the others at once. Delaney fought the urge to turn around and see where Steve was. Instead, she focused on walking at a normal pace, trying to appear interested in the exhibits. She suddenly wished she wasn't in her work uniform. A jacket and jeans would be so much better to blend in with the crowd, not her crisp white shirt.

Somehow she made it out of the Smithsonian and descending the steps, heart still beating frantically. She wasn't in the clear yet, she still needed to find a crowded street to disappear to –

"Delaney! Lane, wait!"

Delaney closed her eyes. Damn it. 

There really was no avoiding Steve now. Slowly, she brought her feet to a stop but didn't turn around; she heard Steve's footsteps as he ran to catch up to her. He stopped just behind her. Delaney gripped the straps of her bag so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

For a moment, neither of them said anything. The silence grew between them until it was almost a tangible thing, something Delaney could cut through with her bluntest knife. She shifted, her discomfort growing.

"Where've you been?" Steve breathed eventually.

Everywhere, nowhere. Cities in America and Europe and Asia. Delaney swallowed and kept her gaze on her feet, not moving, not reacting.

"Lane, we've missed you," Steve persisted, voice quiet. It was steady, though Delaney could detect pain and some form of heartbreak beneath it. She squeezed her eyes shut and drew in a deep breath. "All of us. Natasha, Clint... They're still scared out their wits for you. You disappeared without telling us anything."

Delaney opened her mouth, though no sound come out of it. She blinked rapidly; she hadn't been confronted with thoughts as to how her friends were doing since she left. Natasha and Clint... She wondered if they'd searched for her. Of course they had... Though she'd never considered just how worried they would feel while doing so. Being confronted with that made her heart shatter.

"Lane, say something."

Steve was almost begging, pleading. Delaney struggled to find the strength to give her words voice.

"I had to do it," she whispered. Her back was still turned to him. "For everyone's safety: my own, and yours."

"We stopped an alien invasion in New York. If we could do that, then..." Steve trailed off and sighed. "Lane. Please..."

"Steve," she said abruptly. She licked her dry lips. "I'm – I'm sorry I left. But I really had no other choice."

"Look, Lane..." Steve sighed. Delaney saw him move his head from his shadow; she too glanced to the side and saw a few people had hesitated, looking at them. "This isn't exactly the best place to talk. Could we, move someplace else?"

Delaney bit her lip.

"Fine," she relented. She knew Steve would respect her desire and leave her alone if she asked... But she couldn't bring herself to shut him out. She knew she should walk away but right then, she succumbed to the desire of her heart to have a friend by her side after two years on the run.