Love Lies

Chapter 30: The Past Shall Always Linger

Warm.

That was all she could feel as she watched the light leave her lovers eyes. The usual comforting cold of his life force being replaced by a warmth that grew each moment she realized he was gone forever.

"Sister—"

Thor reached for his sister but it was too late, in an instant she was gone from the world, nowhere to be found.

The rain poured endlessly on the pavement as Tasha walked quickly through the busy streets. She wasn't sure where she was going — only that she had to keep moving. Twice she nearly was ran over as she didn't understand the common knowledge humans had of motorized vehicles.

The rain fell harshly against the cold concrete as cars passed by, the lights keeping the dark sky lit up enough for passerby's to see their way through the night.

After hours of walking, Tasha found herself standing outside of an apartment. She felt a familiarity — and for a moment she felt something akin to hope — but that soon faded.

She knocked once.

Twice.

Three times.

She felt so out of place as she stood in the hall outside of the door, waiting as patiently as she could as her body became colder with each lasting minute of water covering every inch of her. Her heart thumped in her chest as she heard the faint footsteps move closer and closer to the door until finally, it was opened and she was met with a confused pair of blue eyes.

"Hello Captain Rogers."

•••

There was silence as the man looked Tasha once over, noticing how she was shivering from the cold.

"What are you doing here?"

Tasha looked up at Steve Rogers' face, a solemn expression on her own as she attempted to speak properly for the first time in hours. "I — I have nowhere else to go."

Steve stared at the trembling girl a moment before he let out a small sigh, leaning back against the door to give her entry to his apartment. Tasha muttered a thank you as she stepped into the small house, confusion at why there were so many small houses attached to one big one where multiple people lived, but quickly the thoughts vanished as she heard him shut the door before walking over to her.

"You can sit down." Steve's voice was surprisingly soft as he motioned to his couch.

"I— I'm sorry, I shouldn't have come I just —" Tasha tried to explain as she sat down on the stiff cushion. "I couldn't go home and I didn't know anywhere else on Midgard and..." Her words stopped when she noticed Steve was holding out a cup to her filled with some sort of warm liquid in it.

"Oh. Thank you..." Her nerves calmed for a moment as she took a small sip of the drink. She was taken aback by how good the liquid tasted. "This... this tastes very good. May I ask what it is?"

"Hot chocolate." Steve replied with a warm smile. "Do you want to explain why you're here alone? Is Thor not with you?"

"We... I left. I couldn't face him." Tasha admitted. "When I was on Midgard before, you showed me kindness when I did not deserve any." She said quietly as she stared at the warm cup in her hands.

Tasha was surprised when she felt a towel wrap around her damp shoulders.

"You didn't want any of that to happen." Steve replied as he sat across from her, watching her carefully. "You helped stop Loki. That's what matters."

The mention of his name made Tasha feel her heart break again in her chest, keeping her gaze averted to the ground as she felt the tears threaten to spill. Steve noticed this, and began putting two and two together.

"What happened, Tasha?"

"We... We had gotten home to Asgard. It was fine. Everything was fine." Tasha started, her words quiet and wobbly as she fought back the tears wanting to fall. "There was peace throughout the realms. Thor and I fought side by side with the warriors three — those are our friends — and I was truly happy for the first time in— well, a long time. But that never lasts." She sighed. "A — an old enemy of my father came after this powerful object. He— he killed my mother for it."

Steve frowned, "I'm so sorry."

Tasha smiled slightly at his kindness. "We wanted to avenge her, but we lost more in the process than I ever thought possible."

Tasha went silent as the memory played back in her head. Steve gently took the cup from her hand, moving to sit next to her. He could see the emotions in her eyes. He too had lost his parents when he was young, but to have it happen twice must have been tough. What could be worse? Steve then realized what was worse than Tasha losing her mother.

"Loki." Steve breathed out in recognition.

Tasha nodded slowly. "That's why I can't go home. I won't. But I know very little of Midgard."

"Hey," Steve rubbed her shoulder soothingly. "You're not alone, alright? I'm adjusting too. If you'll let me, maybe we can learn together."

Tasha smiled up at him, nodding. "Yes. I would like that very much. Thank you, Steve."

Steve taught Tasha many things, and helped her become a hero, rather than a villain. It took a while for her to come to terms with her new life— for over a thousand years Tasha lived as a princess, and now that was all gone and replaced by a team known as the Avengers. Steve was still learning about Earth as it was in the moment, seeing as though he was frozen for so long. The two found comfort in each other, and joy when they both thought there was none.

Tasha and Steve became fast friends, and soon after best friends. It had been a long time since he felt so close to anyone, and he felt responsible for the girl. Tasha was young and heartbroken — she deserved only good things. She got along with Natasha Romanov well, who also took Tasha under her wing.

When the whole Winter Soldier situation came to fruition, Steve wanted to keep Tasha out of the entire thing. She hasn't been on any real missions other than one, and he was arrows Shield would work her too hard. Though, Steve wished he would've let her know the situation once the winter soldier was shooting at him.

Before The bullet could hit Steve, it stopped right in front of his face before falling to the ground. His eyes searched for a moment until he began to smile. Purple light came from the sky as Tasha flew down to the Winter Soldier, using her magic to throw him back behind a car.

"Thought you could use my help." She said with a grin as she ran up to Cap.

"I could kiss you, you brat!" Nat called out with a grin as she dodged metal coming towards her.

"Maybe after we're done here, Nat!" Tasha joked with a smile as she hovered just above the ground. "He's gonna get out of that pretty fast. What have I missed?"

"A whole lotta shit." A darker skinned man with metal wings came to a halt beside her. Tasha looked at him with a curious expression.

"Tasha, Sam — Sam, Tasha."

"I know who she is. Why the hell didn't we get her earlier?!"

"Yeah, Cap," Tasha asked with her hands on her hips. "Why didn't you get me earlier?"

"I didn't want to bring you into this." Steve said with a worried expression. "You haven't handled anything like this —"

Steve was cut off as Tasha shoved him hard across the road as a bullet came towards him. "We'll talk later!"

A/N: some more Tasha x Avengers flashbacks for ya! Please comment ideas for future chapters. I need help lol