The Heart Thaws In Its Own Time (Steve Rogers x Natasha Romanoff)

Chapter 2 - How To Help A Friend

"Good for you, take a rest," she said. "I won't keep you then. I just wanted to check in on you... So everything is good then?"

"Uh, yeah... just doing some reading," Steve assured.. Wait, I can't do this alone... Wanda turned to start walking away. "Wait.... Wanda?" he called out.

He couldn't find the words. Nothing came out.

"Steve, do you need to talk?" her voice was gentle and reassuring.

He stared down at the floor. "Yes... Please. Would you mind?"

"Not at all," she smiled softly. He stood aside to let her through the doorway.

"Thanks, Wanda, I appreciate this," he said as they walked into the room.

"You have been very good to me, Steve. You trusted me when you didn't have much reason to..."

He chimed in. "And you trusted me without having much reason. That was a big leap of faith, Wanda."

Nothing else needed to be said to convey the mutual respect they had for each other. They sat down in matching chairs.

"I could use a friend," he said. His deep voice, normally so confident, instead sounded fatigued.

"I'm here," she reassured. "What do you want to talk about?"

He shifted and stretched his legs out, trying to find a position that would help him feel less awkward. He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, clasping his hands together. He looked at his hands and slowly raised his eyes to look at Wanda without moving his head. "I'm having nightmares," he confessed.

Wanda nodded her head in approval and tried to remain quiet, giving him time to speak.

"...Bad ones."

"You've been through a lot in your lifetime... and a lot lately," she said calmly. He remained silent. This was a side of him she was not used to, he was normally very self assured. She felt a small pang of anxiety in her chest. "You can trust me, Steve. This is all between us."

"I do trust you. That's why I thought you might be the perfect person to talk to. These are thoughts I've been choking back a long time... and yes, it's also about what happened, too. It's becoming paralyzing to me. And that just can't happen anymore." He paused to collect his thoughts. "I don't feel like me right now. I can't hide out in Wakanda forever, it feels like we have been here for months already. I have to get my life back on track." He trailed off, not knowing where to start.

"Tell me," she demanded softly.

"I've always been a vivid dreamer. I think it's the creative side of me. The line between reality and dreams is extremely blurred for me when I wake up... and often I have trouble discerning if it was actually a dream. It all feels very real. I can touch things, I can smell, I can feel temperature and wind..." he trailed off. "I dream mostly of past memories... traumatic things. But I also have nightmares of things that have never happened."

"That must be terribly confusing to wake up that way," she added.

Steve nodded and sighed lightly.

"Wanda, I really hate to ask this of you. But do you think...." he looked up at her, his mouth slightly contorted into a grimace. "Do you think there is anything you can do to help me - with your powers? ...I don't want to take advantage of you... and I..." he wasn't sure how to tell her the next part. "I keep dreaming of everyone I have lost in my life. There's no one left. I'm..... alone."

Wanda leaned forward and put her hand on Steve's arm, looking directly into his face to let him know she was serious. She interrupted him, "I know this is hard for you to ask of me but we are friends. I feel honored that you should ask this of me. And you are not alone, Steve. You have me... you have all of us." She leaned back into the chair. "I understand what you mean though - about being alone. Everyone from your old life is gone."

Steve's confidence temporarily returned as he said "thank you" in his deep voice, sounding relieved and hopeful. His mind wandered for a second. Wanda handles herself like someone much older than her years. Poor thing has been through hell. She's lost her parents and then her brother. Pietro was all she had left and he's gone now too. She still manages to smile.

Steve corrected his thoughts. This is temporary, Steve. You'll end up on the other side of this. Just see it through.

Her words rang out in his mind... You have all of us. He blinked hard trying to shake the thought that their group was dwindling. Natasha was already gone. He didn't have her anymore. She'd left Wakanda with Clint weeks earlier. Clint needed to get home to his family and Natasha... well, Steve wasn't sure why she'd left in such a hurry and without a real plan. Or at least if she had a plan, she wasn't sharing. None of them really knew how being a fugitive was going to affect their lives. Wanda was missing Vision and her new home at the compound, Sam had had enough of being away from home and Scott was missing his daughter Cassie terribly.