Heartlines | Steve Rogers

XIII

THIRTEEN
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During his travels, Steve did his best to keep in touch with Meredith. At the end of her day, she would sometimes receive a call from him and they would talk about what leads he had— which were little to nothing— and the adventures he and Sam had taken on. She always tried to help out any way she could, giving her input or helping in a technological way. It seemed Bucky wanted to stay gone and away from Steve's grasp, but more specifically, HYDRA's. Maybe he needed space after everything that happened, that would make sense. He was still human, after all. She tried to tell Steve, but it only resulted in him dismissing her. He couldn't accept no for an answer. That made their relationship a hard one, as all of this began to take a toll. It seemed Meredith was the only one who could see that, though. Maybe she was the only one who was hurting.

Despite everything, she still understood where he was coming from and why he was doing what he was doing. That was the thing about them, why they worked. They understood each other's struggles and their priorities. They understood each other's work, more specifically. Meredith was the kind of person who knew it would be hard sometimes, but always wanted to work through it. Steve was the same way, whether it seemed like it at times or not. If he wanted to keep something bad enough, he would. She had faith they could make it work, and was doing her best to hold on. That's why she was pleased when the issue of finding Loki's Scepter came up.

After Meredith, Steve, and Sam uncovered that HYDRA was secretly working within S.H.I.E.L.D., it became obvious to them that the Scepter wasn't in good hands after all. After little-to-no contact with each other for about a year, the Avengers were called in by Maria Hill to the new and improved Avengers Tower, designed by Meredith and Tony. They discovered when they got there that each of them had their own floor, curated to them according to their interests and talents. When Steve arrived, he went straight to Meredith. He hadn't spoken to her much since he went looking for Bucky, that was true, and he knew that, but she understood, right? Or, was he just making himself feel better when deep down he knew he wasn't doing right by her.

He walked up behind her as she was in her lab. He could see maps on the holographic screens with red pinpoints. That must be the HYDRA bases they needed to take on. As she stood there, going through whatever files and information she was going through, he wrapped his arms around her waist. He picked her up and swung her around quickly as she let out a help of surprise. She could easily tell from the strong embrace who it was. When he put her down, she turned around to look at him, a smile on her face. "Steve,"

"Hey, Mer." He returned a wide grin. His hands remained on her hips, and her hands rested on his arms. He leaned down and connected their lips. She gladly kissed back and it was obvious when her hands traveled up to his face. She ran one of her hands through his hair. He closed the gap between them as he pulled her closer to him. After a moment, they each pulled away breathlessly. Kissing one another was some euphoric feeling that was almost indescribable.

"Welcome back." She breathed out. Everything that happened between them the last several months disappeared from her mind. All the worries about their relationship, she felt like she had no doubts when she kissed him. When their connection was rekindled.

"And what a welcoming that is." He let out a chuckle as her cheeks began to turn red. She looked down at the floor with a smile on her face. She felt like such a teenager. That was the best kind of love, right? Suddenly, she heard footsteps approaching. She recomposed herself as she pulled away from Steve. He gave her a weird look but said nothing when Tony entered the room. The fact that she hadn't told Tony— or anyone, for that matter— about her and Steve probably wasn't going to be a good thing.