Saving Steve (Steve Rogers x Reader)

Chapter 38 - Trailhead Nine

Bucky steers the car down a narrow gravel road. You swallow nervously, peering out the window and over the side. Only a few inches keeps you all from plummeting straight down the cliffside and into the dense canopy of tree tops below.

"Calm her down Rogers. Her heartbeat's giving me a headache."

You glance up at Bucky's voice and catch his ice blue eyes in the rearview mirror. Based on his tone, you expect to see irritation. But instead you find concern in the small creases around the corners.

"You okay?"

Steve turns from the front passenger seat and places a large, warm hand on your knee.

"Yeah. Sorry I just...don't do well with heights like this," you say breathlessly, trying not to look out the window again.

"We're almost there," Steve answers.

You let out a sigh of relief. Nearly three hours you'd all been riding in silence. And the farther from the theatre you traveled, the more nervous you grew, with only the occasional touch from Steve to remind you that everything's going to be okay.

"We had to come all the way up here?" you ask. "Couldn't she have just met us in the parking lot at the bottom?"

"Safer up here. Fewer people," Bucky grumbles.

You press your back against the seat and take a few deep breaths.

Almost there. Almost there.

Finally the road starts to widen once more, and Bucky pulls the car over. The two men step out and you follow, immediately seeking Steve's hand. He starts pulling you across the road towards a rocky plateau, but Bucky turns his back to both of you and disappears into the tree line, traipsing into the woods.

"Wait, where's he going?" you ask, casting a glance back at where Bucky had disappeared between the trees.

"The cabin. But...I want you to see something first," Steve answers.

You find yourself pulling against his hand as he keeps a tight grip on you, leading you onto the rocky plateau the hangs over a several-hundred foot drop.

"Steve, I think we're close enough," you say nervously. "I'm...I'm scared."

Steve stops and turns, reaching up one gentle hand to caress your face. "The most beautiful things live on the other side of fear. Trust me."

Steve offers you a small smile and holds his hand out to you once more. You take it and allow him to lead you across the plateau. You take a few more tentative steps, and suddenly everything below comes into view - a massive valley with a giant, sparkling lake set in the middle, surrounded by a kaleidoscopic canopy of treetops beginning to turn the faintest shades of gold and red and orange.

It steals your breath away.

"We don't get to see things like this often," Steve whispers, stepping behind you to wrap his arms around your waist as he rests his chin atop your head. "We need to appreciate them when we do."

"I wish I had a camera," you muse, taking in the sight as a soft breeze cooled by the first whispers of autumn caresses your cheeks.

Steve chuckles, the vibrations rumbling through his chest and into your back as you lean into him and take in the sight below. "If you're in the moment, you don't need anything other than your senses, Y/n," Steve whispers, kissing the top of your head softly.

"Still," you sigh. "I'd love to be able to see this again."

The two of you stand in silence for a moment longer until Steve steps back, taking your hand once more.