California

Chapter 16

It's been a full 24 hours since we arrived at the hospital. Cannerts officially deemed us all not infected, which was such a relief. I've done my absolute best to avoid Steve. Though Peggy did come hunt me down and scold me for not going to see her yet. Despite what happened, I've been trying to spend as much time with jake as I can.i need to see how I actually feel about him before I can try to figure out my next move. I thought once we were cleared he'd want to be close, but he's been somewhat distant. Quentin also has been hanging around us more so Jake is almost completely avoiding any physical contact with me. This just further confuses me about what happened between Jake and Quentin's mom. It seems like tension is high between Steve and Peggy too and I think Peggy has been trying to stay in her lab as much as she can to avoid Steve.

"Hey." Steve approached me as I was flipping through an old magazine I found in one of the hospital rooms.

I scan the room at our friends who thankfully aren't paying attention before I glance up at him. "Uhhh hey." I closed the magazine and laid it on my lap. "What's up?"

"You're avoiding me."

I quirk an eyebrow. "Peggy is avoiding you. I'm just over here staying out of everyone's way. Not much a criminal lawyer can do for a virus."

Steve rolled his eyes. "I know you said you needed to clear your head, but I think we need to sit down and talk this out."

"It has been less than a day since...you know. I've not really had a lot of time to process it. So sitting down and talking won't do anything except piss one or both of us off!" I replied in a low growl.

Steve pushes off the wall and stalks across the room, plopping down beside Bruce, glaring at me for a few seconds before turning his attention to what Bruce is working on. I huffed quietly and rolled my eyes, tossing the magazine onto the table beside me. I look over and find Jake giving me a concerned look. He says something to Clint and Tasha before making his way over to me. Crap.

"Hey." He sits down across from me and gives me a small smile. "Everything okay? Seemed like you and Steve were arguing."

I muster up a fake smile and nod. "It's fine. Steve and I tend to argue just about every time we talk."

"So I know you guys have history but you've never really talked about him."

"Me, him, and Sam were in the same unit." I look down at my hands, wringing them together. "Steve and I also used to date. But it was like a lifetime ago. Before this happened, I hadn't spoken to him in about five years."

Jake purses his lips and glances over at Steve. Steve's eyes flit up quickly to look between me and Jake and then back at Bruce. "So why are you guys always arguing?"

"It's a long story, Jake. We just butt heads a lot. Our last mission together, Sam got really hurt and others got killed. I blamed myself and cut everyone off. I burned a lot of bridges. So tension is high considering how awful I was to everyone after that." I reach over and squeeze his hand. "Everything is fine though, don't worry about it."

He nods and flashes a genuine smile. Quentin walks in about that time. Jake pulls his hand away, running it through his hair. Q announces he's hungry and asks if anyone else wants anything. B says she needs a break and offers to walk with him to grab food. Once they're out of the room, I see Jake try to subtly relax.

"Are you okay? You've been...weird. Mostly since I met Quentin." I ask quietly.

A look of guilt flashes across his face before he shakes his head. "Everything going on is just weird. I'm fine, Charlie. I promise. I'm gonna go see if they need any help with the food. I'll be back."
••
The next couple of days were crazy. B and Bruce we're getting so upset that they still hadn't found a cure. Patients in the hospital were still dying. The governor announced the cordon was not being lifted anytime soon. Things weren't getting better. The air was constantly thick with tension. Steve had started ignoring me and Jake was spending less and less time around me. I avoided the labs at all costs.