Mister Rogers // Steve Rogers

VII.

I felt a gentle, warm hand placed on my forehead as my consciousness slowly returned. I felt myself propped in a seated position against a hard wall. Opening my eyes, I took in the darkness of the alley surrounding me, meeting eyes with Steve who was hovering above me.

"Addy," he gasped, swallowing a lump in his throat.

"Hi," I croaked out, my voice tired and my head pounding. "Where-"

"I got us out of that place, don't worry. But I don't know where to go from here," he said, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.

I touched the back of my head, rubbing it slightly to turn the discomfort I felt into pain.

Steve immediately reached for my hand, touching the part of my head lightly, "I'm so sorry, are you okay?"

I nodded, smiling at him half-heartedly. I stayed silent as I thought. If Steve didn't know where to go then what? Were we really supposed to just turn ourselves in?

I brought my hands to adjust my position, touching the cold cement floor beneath me. I shivered ever so slightly at the touch. Steve noticed but I waved my hand, assuring him I was fine.

"Steve, do you know any..." I paused, searching for the right words, "I don't know, trustworthy people outside of S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

"I mean I guess, he's a pilot but-"

I cut him off, not allowing him to find any negatives, "Great, lead the way Cap."

-

Steve knocked on the glass door and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

I turned my head to look up at him, "So...you never told me who this...friend was?"

"You know him-" he said before the door in front of us slid wide open.

Sam Wilson, the running man, looked at us, confused, and opened his mouth to say something when Steve quickly stopped him, "Hey, I'm sorry about this. We need a place to lay low."

"Yeah, really low, we're currently trying not to get killed by everyone we know," I bit my lip, waiting for Sam's response.

"Well, not everyone," Sam said, opening the door wider to let us in. He looked around outside cautiously before shutting it along with closing the blinds.

"Natasha will be here soon, do you want to shower first?" Steve stepped into the house and then turned around to face me.

"Yes, please," I said, a hint of desperation in my voice. I was in dire need of a warm shower.

I shut the bathroom door behind me, immediately removing my grey hoodie. I decided that since I had bled through my white, long-sleeve compression shirt, that I would just wear my sports bra for now, as it wasn't too revealing and looked just like a semi-cropped tank top. I checked my black leggings, and seeing that they were still in good condition, kept them to wear.

Once I had fully stripped, and checked several times that I had locked the door, I stepped into the warm shower. The hot water ran down my head and back and a blissful sigh left my lips. Part of me was tempted to stay in the shower forever but I kept my time in there concise.

After I had dried my body and changed back into my sports bra and leggings, I left the bathroom, my wet hair falling straight behind my back. I took my towel with me to dry my hair.

Stepping out of the bathroom, I observed Natasha, Steve, and Sam's heads turn in my presence.

Natasha clicked her tongue, looking me up and down, "Jeez Marrese, have you ever made it out of a mission conscious?" She scoffed, sarcastically.