𝒑𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒕 || s. rogers & b. barnes

14||; '𝒕𝒊𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆

"They didn't change you," Steve murmurs. "Thank God they didn't change you, too. Irina, thank you. Thank you," he says, voice thick with emotion. "Thank you so much for staying."

Her thumb brushes gently over the skin at the back of his neck, eyes fluttering shut. The action causes a few more tears to cascade down her cheeks. "Thank you so much for coming," she whispers.

There's a distant voice in Steve's ear, and she notices the comm piece stuck in it. It sounded like the female agent from the helicarrier, two years ago. Hill, was it? After a moment, Steve breaks the hug, but keeps one hand on her waist as the other presses against the comm. "Right. Sam, can you give me a ride?"

"What's the plan, Steve?" She asks, her arms sliding from his neck to hold his biceps, frowning. They were back in the game now. A battle needed winning.

Steve looks at her with a stern frown. "You're going to get off this thing. That's the plan for you," he says.

"What — Steve!" She exclaims.

"I can't risk losing you to HYDRA again, Irina! I can't. I won't."

"You can't really risk losing me if what we're doing right now is taking them down," insists Irina. "I want to end them more than anyone — actually, probably just a close second to you... but who gives a damn about technicalities — look, Steve, just let me do this with you!"

Steve's eyes dance between hers, flickering, unsure, but she raises her eyebrows, pushing, and he lets out something between a sigh and low groan. "Jesus — alright. How did you even get out?" He asks as he leads her towards the edge of the helicarrier.

She smirks. "Did what I did best, is all," she shrugs. "And by that I mean I kicked ass and did some major cool sneaking around that should have earned me the Pink Panther theme playing overhead as I did it."

The soldier snorts softly, looking over the edge of the helicarrier, before looking back at her in amusement. "I missed you," he admits.

Her smile falters slightly. "I thought you were mad at me. About not telling you about — y'know..." she murmurs.

Steve shakes his head. "No. No, I could never be mad at you for being scared. Whatever happens, whatever will happen...whatever you did or will do that's bad, I'll stand beside you. I'll never leave you again," he promises, regarding her with a soft look in his eyes. "You're a good person, Irina. A really good one."

Irina looks back at him, lips pursed. "I'm sure there are many who disagree," she mumbles, looking over the edge.

Steve's eyes remain on hers. "I don't care. This is what I think, what I know. It doesn't matter what you did then. What matters is what you do now. And you're doing damn good things," he says. "Now, you ready?"

She glances at the soldier. "Ready for what —" But before she can even finish her question, Steve wraps an arm around her waist, and jumps off the edge of the helicarrier, taking her with him. Instantly, her arms latch around his torso, and she screams, "Not again! Not again!"

They're only in the air for a few seconds, before Sam is swooping in, taking Steve's free hand and pulling them towards another helicarrier. He groans, the weight of them straining, but he manages it, setting them down on the ground and landing beside them. She and Sam make eye contact, the latter looking surprised to see her.

"When did you join the party?" He asks.

"A few minutes ago. Missed me?"

"You missed a cool reveal."

"Oh really? Care to tell me 'bout it?"

"Nah, it'll ruin the fun," Sam says with a grin, before looking at Steve. "You know, you're a lot heavier than you look."