Daybreak | Steve Rogers

Chapter Fifteen: On The Run

I had changed into some casual clothes, covering my platinum hair with a hoodie and reluctantly removing my necklace. The scar on my cheek had been covered up and I looked pretty ordinary. I had a gun tucked into the waistband of my jeans and I had a couple of backup weapons hidden on me. My favourite was a bracelet shaped like a snake, which had a hidden dagger in it. I rarely got to use them, but having something like that to protect myself always helped me to feel a little safer.

The three of us made our way through the crowded mall, doing our best to blend in. If anyone noticed us, they'd hopefully just think that we were friends on a shopping trip. "First rule of going on the run," Nat spoke carefully and quietly, "Is don't run, walk"

Rogers scoffed, "If I run in these shoes, they're gonna fall off"

We managed to get into a computer shop, where dozens of laptops were set out on tables for the use of the public. "The drive has a Level Six homing program," Nat explained, "So as soon as we boot up, SHIELD will know exactly where we are"

"How much time will we have?" I asked, glancing around to check for all of the exits.

"About nine minutes from..." she plugged the drive in, "Now"

I glanced around again, catching Rogers' attention. "You okay?" he questioned softly, frowning at me in concern. I nodded and gave him quick reassuring smile.

Nat began to type and click furiously, "Fury was right about that ship, somebody's trying to hide something. This drive is protected by some sort of AI, it keeps rewriting itself to counter my commands"

"Can you override it?"

"The person who developed this is slightly smarter than me. Slightly"

I sighed and moved closer to the laptop, "Let me try. I picked up a few things from my br... you know who"

She nodded and stepped aside, letting me have a go. "I'm gonna try running a tracer," I murmured, "This is a program that SHIELD developed to track hostile malware, so if we can't read the file, maybe we can find out where it came from"

"Can I help you guys with anything?" we turned to see an employee approaching us.

Nat immediately jumped in, nodding towards Rogers and I. "Oh, no. I'm just helping my sister and her fiancé pick out a honeymoon destination" she giggled, her voice sounding overly sweet and friendly. I smiled and moved closer to Rogers, hiding my left hand in my pocket.

He nodded and awkwardly wrapped an arm around my waist, "Right. We're getting married"

I pulled away from him and returned to the laptop, ignoring the tingling feeling in my stomach. "Congratulations. Where are you guys thinking about going?" the guy grinned.

"New Jersey" Rogers answered, glancing at the laptop.

The man's eyes narrowed and I felt my heart stop, "I have the exact same glasses"

Nat chuckled, "Wow, you two are practically twins"

"Yeah, I wish," he gestured to Rogers, "Specimen. If you guys need anything, I've been Aaron"

Rogers huffed impatiently as soon as he was gone and leaned over my shoulder, "It's been nine minutes"

"Relax... got it"

The laptop showed a map of New Jersey, gradually zooming further in until it listed the exact location. Nat frowned and glanced at Rogers, "You know it?"

"I used to. Let's go"

Something felt strange as we exited the shop, they found us. "Standard tac team," Rogers mumbled, "Two behind, two across, and two coming straight at us. If they make us, I'll engage, you hit the south escalator to the metro

Nat huffed, "Shut up and put your arms around us, we'll laugh at something you said"

"What?"

"Do it"

He pulled both of us close, the two of us chuckling as we looked up at him, averting our eyes from the two agents.

We got on the escalator and Nat nodded towards something before pulling her hood down. My eyes widened when I saw Rumlow coming up on the other escalator. I span around to face Rogers, "Kiss me"

"W-what?"

"Public displays of affection make people very uncomfortable"

He nodded, "Yes, they do-"

I quickly placed my hands on either side of his face and pulled him towards me, crashing my lips against his. He tensed up for a moment, his face heating up considerably. After a moment, he relaxed and let his hands rest on my waist, gently pulling me closer. The buzzing feeling in my stomach got worse and I could feel my cheeks flush. 

As soon as I was sure that we had passed by Rumlow, I pulled away and began to move down the escalator as fast as I could without looking too out of place. "That was something" Nat teased under her breath.

"That was nothing" I snapped back.

She rolled her eyes and turned to Rogers, "You still uncomfortable?"

He shrugged, a dazed look on his face, "It's not exactly the word I would use"

A/n:
It happened!!! Omg, I'm going back over the book before I publish it and I forgot how fun it was writing the first couple of books. Anyway, hope you're having a good day/night. Love ya!