Different worlds (a Steve Rogers love story)

Chapter 27 - Unspoken Truths

"I'll take you back up." Steve said softly.
Hannah didn't know what to say, or do. The tears that had formed in her eyes were threatening to escape down her face more and more every passing second, reaching the point where she couldn't see and was relying on Steve to guide her back to her floor. They passed Fury on the way to the elevator, judging from the audio at the start of the sentence, he never finished, presumably due to some form of gesture from Steve.

Once they'd finally made it back to Hannah's floor, after what seemed like an age of holding back the tears that threatened to expose themselves, Steve quickly ushered Hannah into the living area and sat her down in the arm chair that was at an angle in front of the TV. He then disappeared for a moment before returning with a half full glass of water which he proceeded to place on the table next to Hannah before couching in front of her and taking her hands in his.
"What's wrong Han? Did you know that guy?" Steve said with concern across his face.
Hannah didn't reply, how could she? A single tear strayed from her eyes as she looked into Steve's eyes.
"Han, is that the guy you told me about? Wait, is that the guy that shot me?! I thought you killed him?!"
"Me too." Hannah choked out the words, looking down and seeing how small her hands were in Steve's.
"That's the guy that hurt me when I was with Hydra. The guy that sent me on assassination missions. The guy that shot you!"
By this point, the tears were in full flow, like a waterfall, streaming down Hannah's face. At the sight of this, Steve leant up slightly and pulled Hannah into an encompassing hug, his body heat doing its bit to calm her down, but not enough to fully halt the tears.
"It's okay Han, I've got you." Steve said as he rubbed circles on her back.

Once the tears had stopped streaming down Hannah's face, Steve pulled back and took her face in his hands.
"If you don't wanna come on the mission Han, the others would understand."
Hannah wiped the tears from her eyes on the back of her hand and sat up straighter.
"That's exactly why I am coming. I can't be afraid of him anymore, he can't control me anymore. I'm coming with you, for me." Hannah said with a defiant tone.
"Okay, if that's what you want then I'll happily join you on the mission Han. But you're my partner this time. Don't want a repeat of last time now do we?" Steve said, causing them both to laugh slightly.
"You've got it Steve." Hannah said with a smile.
"Okay, so, you ready to head back downstairs?" Steve asked with his head tilted slightly to one side.
Hannah wiped a hand down her face before smiling at Steve.
"Sure. Now or never, right?" Hannah said with a smile.
"Now or never," Steve echoed, returning the smile before standing up and holding his hand out for Hannah to take.

Hannah accepted Steve's gesture and the pair made their way back down to join the rest of the team.