Love Me (Steve Rogers Fanfiction)

Chapter 7

AMERICA'S POV

You'd think that after all these years, I'd get used to nightmares. Waking in terror is an old friend of mine. Telling myself it wasn't real is an evening tradition. Nope. It never goes away. And this one was worse than ever.

The minute I stagger onto the jet, still dazed from my visions, I find a blanket and wrap it tightly around myself. I'm not even cold, I just need something that feels like security. My grip on it is so tight that the corner rips. I throw it off and start pacing. At times like these, it's not easy for a person like me to stay still. My fingers flicker at my sides, little blurs of motion. It doesn't help.

No one on the jet speaks for the longest time. There's nothing to say. I can only imagine the horrors they also had to witness. Eventually, Maria calls in, and Tony quietly converses with her.

"The news is loving you guys. Nobody else is. There's been no official call for Banner's arrest, but it's in the air."

"Stark Relief Foundation?"

"Already on the scene. How's the team?"

"Everyone's..." He sighs as he takes in our battered state. "We took a hit. We'll shake it off."

"Well, for now, I'd stay in stealth mode, and stay away from here."

"So run and hide?"

"Until we can find Ultron, I... don't have a lot else to offer."

"Neither do we." He goes up to the cockpit to talk with Clint, who mentions something about a safe house. I finally give up pacing and go to sit by Steve, who has not moved from his position staring at the wall since we boarded. I don't say anything, just lay my head on his shoulder. He shifts, then tilts his own head so his is resting on mine. He's here. He's fine. They all are. You didn't do anything. That vision was meant to unhinge me, and it did exactly what it was supposed to do.

I don't sleep for the entire flight. I'm scared to close my eyes, scared to relieve anything all over again.

It's sunrise when we land a little ways away from a small farmhouse. We all slowly start to walk, Clint leading. I stick close to Steve's side, just in case. The house really is pretty, big and yellow and homey. I could never imagine living somewhere so peaceful. I don't think my life will ever calm down enough. It's hard to even think of a permanent residence somewhere, considering how many years I spent on the run.

"What is this place?" Thor asks as we climb the steps.

"Safehouse?" Tony answers with doubt in his voice.

"Let's hope," Clint says. A smile spreads across his face as he pushes open the door. "Honey, I'm home!"

A heavily pregnant but still beautiful brunette woman pokes her head out of the kitchen, looking at us all with bewilderment, but the minute she sees Clint, her eyes light up. "Hi. Company. Sorry I didn't call ahead," he says softly as he puts his arms around her.

"Hey." She kisses him. My eyebrows shoot up higher than the ceiling, and I look at the rest of the team, but they're just as confused as I am.

"This is an... agent of some kind," Tony mumbles. I shoot him a look. 

Clint grins at our expressions. "This is Laura." We all do our best to not look weirded out: Tony even offers an awkward half-wave. Earth's Mightiest Heroes indeed.

"I know all of your names," she says, a slightly embarrassed smile on her face. Quick footsteps thud down the stairs, and I automatically stiffen, but Clint's smile only grows.

"Oooh, incoming."

"Daddy!" Two little kids, a boy and a girl, come barreling at him. He lifts the girl up and hugs the boy. "I see her! Hey buddy! How are you guys doing?"

"These are... smaller agents."

The little girl looks up at Clint in awe. "Did you bring Auntie Nat?" Natasha, who had no smiles for herself or anyone else all night, brightens considerably when she sees her.

"Why don't you hug her and find out?" The little girl runs into her arms and Natasha picks her up.

"We're sorry for barging in on you," Steve says to Laura respectfully.

"Yeah, we would have called ahead, but we were busy having no idea you existed," Tony adds, staring at Clint pointedly the whole time.

"Yeah, well Fury helped me set this up when I joined," Clint explains. He puts one arm around his wife and the other around his son. "He kept it off SHIELD's files, I'd like to keep it that way. I figure it's a good place to lay low."

While Natasha, Clint and Laura talk, Thor storms outside. Steve goes after him, and I just stand there next to Bruce and Tony. It's awkward. The three of us are the reason we're in this mess.

"You okay?" I whisper to Bruce. He shakes his head. "Yeah, me either."

I excuse myself and go out to stand next to Steve on the porch. "Where's Thor?" 

"He left. Something about his vision. He didn't tell me anything else." He sighs. "I think we're just gonna have to trust him on this one." 

"Okay." I slip my hand into his, and we stand in the silence of the morning sun until he looks down. 

"You're still wearing it," he says in disbelief. The ring. Yesterday seems so long ago. 

"Why wouldn't I be?" 

"I'm sorry," we both say at the same time, then look straight at each other in amusement. All of my anger at him disappeared the moment I thought the nightmare was real. 

"I'm sorry," I say again, biting my lip in thought. "I should have told you about Ultron. I shouldn't have kept it a secret." 

"And I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you." He draws me close for a hug, and I lean into him. It feels so good not to be fighting anymore. For a minute, life feels safe again. "Are you okay? She played with your mind, too." 

I shake my head. "No. Are you?" 

"No." 

"You can tell me, if you want," I say gently. I don't want to force him into anything. 

"It was pretty straightforward. We were on a mission. I made a bad call and you were shot. I couldn't do anything to save you. I had no idea how, and you were too injured, anyway." He swallows, his voice tightening. "You died in my arms. And I was alone." 

"Steve, no," I whisper, heartbroken. "I'm so sorry." 

"It looked so real." 

"It was just a trick. A cruel mind game. I'm right here." He nods, still not completely sure. I give him a kiss on the cheek. "I'm here." 

"What about you?" 

"It was our wedding. I heard my, um... the words in Russian. And then everyone disappeared, my dress was covered in blood and ripped up, and, um, they made me kill you." My voice is all but nonexistent by the end, and Steve's embrace becomes stronger. 

"Doll, I'm sorry. That will never happen. We won't let that happen. We're a team, right?" 

"You promise?" 

He gives me a soft kiss on the forehead. "I promise." 

New update! Hope you guys enjoyed ;) Current mood is AMAZING because Camila Cabello's new album drops at midnight