Fire and Ice | Avengers/Steve Rogers

five.

"So, what exactly are we doing here?" Vera asked over her shoulder nervously, playing with her fingernails as she stood in the corridor.

Vera had her back to Steve, who was desperately trying to pry open a bolted door marked 'SECURE STORAGE 10-C' as Vera kept guard, looking up and down the corridor for any passing agents, or even worse, Fury.

The metal of the door strained as Steve broke the locks and bolts, sliding the door open with little effort. Vera jumped as he did so, causing Steve to chuckle slightly. Steve gave the corridor another quick glance before turning to the orange-headed woman in front of him. His determined eyes softened as he met her worried ones.

"Come on." Steve ushered the woman in, respectfully placing a gentle hand on the small of her back. "The goal is to find something against Fury, something's not adding up. I can feel it."

"If the Captain says it doesn't add up, it doesn't add up." Vera teased slightly as they walked in together. Steve smiled down at the woman.

Vera surveyed the room as they walked in. The storage room itself was a large, dark room, almost warehouse-like filled with stacks and stacks of brilliant metal crates. Steve's hand dropped from Vera's back as he walked forward looking around. Vera dragged her finger over one of the crates, feeling the cool sensation under her warm skin. Her eyes closed for a second, feeling the metal heating slightly, her skin prickled with a tingling sensation before her reverie was interrupted.

A thudding noise startled her, she turned around to see Steve leaping up onto a crate before ricocheting onto the metal catwalk bridge above causing Vera to snort.

"Show off." She said as she rolled her eyes and found some stairs to climb.

She joined Steve in his hunt.

They indulged in the peaceful silence of one another. Steve brought an almost serene feeling to Vera, his presence almost washed away the troubles clouding her mind. Almost. He stole a glance at the woman with curiosity. Her face was the image of near-complete peace. It was refreshing, a contrast to the world beyond the room they were in; a world of military drills and war tactics.

She wasn't brought up in this life, that much Steve could sense. Unlike himself... and Peggy. She was the product of blissful ignorance, and yet her mind was tortured.

"Can I ask you a question, Vera? If you don't mind." Steve wondered, breaking the silence as they continued to peek through dozens of metal crates.

"Well, it depends on the question I suppose, go ahead." Vera chuckled nervously, not meeting his gaze as she closed yet another crate.

"What happened to you? To make you hate your abilities so much?" He asked, still staring at her.

Vera froze slightly, thrown off by the question. No one knew what happened, only Vera and Wyatt. Images, glimpses of her memory flashed behind her ember eyes. She closed them for a split second to hold back the tears before opening them and turning to look at Steve.

"Like I said before, my powers are unpredictable. So, let's just say some victories are still losses, depending on what, or who, was lost in sacrifice for the victory." Vera said smiling sadly. Steve noticed Vera picking at her fingernails as she looked down at the hard floor.

What she said struck a chord with Steve. An image of his old best friend appeared in his mind. The chestnut hair and light blue eyes, the cheeky grin. Steve nodded with a sympathetic smile, knowing exactly what she meant.

Steve continued to ask her small, light-hearted questions, slowly getting to know the closed-off woman. Their conversation was slowly relaxing Vera, she felt safe, she felt at ease.