Coming Down ➢ Steve Rogers

thirty one

Chapter Thirty-One

Delaney turned the page of her book – not Harry Potter, surprisingly, but one of Steve's favourite novels. She frowned, completely lost as she read the next paragraph. Had she really taken nothing in from when she read the last page?

Delaney shuffled back and reread the said page, paying even more attention this time. She bit her lip. An entire page had passed her attention.

It wasn't the first time it had happened, either. She'd already had to read lines and paragraphs multiple times to take it in. Her concentration was away with the fairies, it seemed.

Or, more accurately, fixated on the room just down the hall.

Delaney groaned and turned on to her side, as though by putting her back to the room her friends were fighting she could ignore it.

There'd been no raised voices, at least. That was something. But she still had no way of knowing what had happened – and she didn't feel like using her power to find out, either.

Oh, they'd argued before. With so many different personalities cooped up together, it was something that was impossible to avoid. But it had always been over something insignificant. Something that could be laughed over later, or forgiven with rolled eyes and shaking heads.

This? This involved the government. The way they conducted themselves. It wasn't something you could forget with a joke and light laugh. It affected their entire futures.

So what if she had to retire? Delaney didn't mind that. She'd been through so much chaos in her life that a nice break away from it all would be wonderful. Maybe she could move in with Clint and Laura, and live away from the world on their farm. That'd be nice. Or she could buy an apartment in Brooklyn with Steve – she was sure he'd love that.

But that would mean having to leave the Avengers behind, a group that would have been fractured and damaged. And that was what Delaney couldn't bear. She'd already been a part of one destroyed family, she didn't want that to happen to her new one.

A knock at the door drew Delaney's focus away from her thoughts.

"Lane? Can I come in?"

Delaney smiled and sat up, twisting to face the entrance to her room. "Come in, Sam," she called.

The door opened, revealing the figure of her friend. He smiled warmly – everything about Sam Wilson as warm, really – and Delaney scooted over so he could sit next to her.

"What's going on?" she asked quietly. She dreaded the answer.

Sam sighed. His shoulders slumped forward.

"It's bad," he said heavily. "Everyone's torn apart. Natasha wanted to come in and see you – but she agrees with Tony, and we thought that she wouldn't be the best person to talk to."

Delaney stiffed at his words. Her mind was suddenly numb, her body empty. When she next spoke, she barely felt her mouth move – her words were even distant in her ears.

"Natasha... wants to sign? She's technically against me?"

"Even Tony was surprised."

Delaney leaned over and buried her face in her knees.

"Who else?" she mumbled.

"I can only assume – we don't know about Wanda, she hasn't said anything one way or the other. But Tony, Natasha, Rhodey, and Vision look like they're going to sign. Steve and I don't want to. And we still need to hear from Clint."