UNRAVELED ~ STEVE ROGERS [3]

Chapter Thirteen

"Who are you, Keight? I want you to say it!" Tony ordered. Keight was silent for a moment, her head hung low, and when she raised it Steve realized there were tears in her eyes, and her lips trembled but somehow, she lifted her head high, and when she opened her mouth her voice did not shake but was as strong as fierce as the ocean.

"I am Princess Khethiwe Nkosazana Udaku, eldest daughter of King T'Chaka, sister to Prince T'Challa, Deputy General of the mighty Dora Milaje and second in line for the throne of Wakanda."

There was silence. Steve stared at her in a new light. She had lied and deceived them because she was royalty. She was a princess, in line for a throne, and yet she had lead them to believe her childhood was horrible, that she was a criminal, that she had had to work hard and had almost died for it.

She had lied to him about who she was, and now how could he trust her to help them?

"It's crazy because I could have found all this out, if I had dug deep enough. But you know why I didn't? Because I trusted you! I thought I knew you, and so it wasn't necessary for me to dig around your history. Turns out, I was wrong. You can't be trusted," Tony said bitterly. Keight had hot tears running down her face, staining her pale white skin. She took a shaky breath.

"I didn't- I thought I was protecting my friends and my family. But by the time I realized it wouldn't make a difference, it was too late. I dug myself into a hole and I couldn't get out and I'm-"

"You're what? You're sorry? Sorry doesn't cut it. You lied to us for four years, Keight. You were never who you said you are, and you know, it hurts being lied to." Steve had to finally speak up after watching Tony grill her, and the anger he felt was a combination of anger towards Tony and anger towards Keight. This was the woman he had grown to care about, who was one of his best friends, his partner and comfort. A part of him understood why she did it, but the rest of him spoke over that small voice in heated betrayal.

"You think I don't know that? My father lied to me for years about who I was, about what I was! I wanted to tell you, but Fury and my father told me to lie, to hide it because it might put my family in danger! But I've had enough. I'm tired of it all. Throw me in a cell and leave me there, because that's what I deserve," she was crying, her entire face wet, black streaks of mascara and eyeliner trailing down her cheeks. Her lips shook, her eyes were bloodshot, and Steve realized the only reason she was angry was because she cared too much.

"No one is going in a cell," Steve said, leaning forward.

"Oh yeah? Cos I'm pretty sure that what Secretary Ross wants to do. Who knows, maybe he even has the original human battery plans from SHIELD. I might be of some use after all," Keight spat, her eyes wild and bright. She truly believed that she was irredeemable, that there was nothing she could do but become an experiment and it would be what she deserved.

But despite the anger, the betrayal and the frustration, Steve knew Keight. Being a princess didn't change her personality, didn't change the way she was. It was, after all, just a title. And although he was hurt that she lied, and he didn't know if he could forgive her yet, he did know her heart. Deep down, underneath the lies and the pain, beneath the layers of sarcasm and vodka, Keight was kind, and heroic, and brave.

She didn't deserve any of the things she thought she did, and Steve was going to make damn sure none of them ever happened to her.

"Uh, I have another question; someone else must have known, right? Apart from Fury. You couldn't have kept it a secret from everyone?" Tony inquired, his face still terrifyingly unreadable. Keight looked down, and sobbed, maybe once, her shoulders heaving. She looked so small, nothing like the foreboding figure she was in battle.

"I don't- I don't think-"

"Dammit Keight who else knew!?" Steve slammed his hand on the table, and Keight flinched, like maybe she thought he would hit her. He hadn't meant to sound so mean. He hadn't meant to scare her, but once again that part of him that was so mad took over.

Keight licked her swollen lips, fresh tears escaping her eyes.

"Brianna and Max, the people I went to school with before New York. Jason Barrowman, my ex-boyfriend who died in New Zealand. Mia's sister Natalya knew. But she, she died in New Zealand too. There were two HYDRA agents who knew. I killed one of them, and the other is who knows where. And, Natasha knew. I told her after D.C. And Sam found out yesterday," she choked, her voice waning as another round of sobs hit her. She almost doubled over, and Tony made a move to help her but thought better of it, staying still.

"You know, I thought I was going to be mad when he told me. I thought I might even hit you. But, I'm not really angry. I'm disappointed. God, I sound like my dad," Tony rubbed his temples with his fingers, screwing up his face for a moment. Steve watched Keight, the competing emotions of anger and pity, and something else he couldn't explain, running around his head.

The something else won over, and he stood and went to her, gathering her up in his arms, the metal encasing her hands and the chain wrapping around her waist digging into his skin. She struggled out of his grasp and stared at him.

"Hit me," she whispered. He stepped back, and Tony watched grimly.

"What?" Steve said, shocked.

"Hit me. I know you want to. You know I deserve it. Hit. Me," she said it louder this time, standing up straight and inclining her head towards him.

"I'm not going to hit you," Steve said, his anger somewhat dissolved at seeing her this way, having given up on herself. She blinked at him, once, then twice.

Then she broke.

She screamed at him, begging, pleading for him to hit her, to make her feel pain because she knew he wanted to. And he did. But he couldn't make himself do it, he couldn't make himself lay one hand on her, even though that anger burned in him.

The armed guards came in, and they grabbed her by the arms, and they dragged her away screaming Steve's name, cheeks streaked black and her eyes dull, lacking the life he had grown to care about so much.

"You see, this is what I'm talking about! Ever since Ultron, she's been getting worse, and now, I don't think she should be out there anymore," Tony said, folding his arms.

"Maybe that's on us. Maybe, we didn't do enough," Steve picked up the pen again, fiddling with it.

"Uh, pretty sure we tried. We sent her to therapy, we talked to her, I even got that adjoining door to your rooms, which, by the way, no one else thought was a good idea. So yeah, I think we did our best. But she is, she's messed up and she can't be around people," Tony closed his eyes and sighed.

"Then where does she go?" Steve said angrily. Tony sighed once again, the stress getting to him.

"We'll send her to the same psych ward as Barnes. Different part of the building, but at least she won't be alone. And hopefully, we can visit her in a year or two." Steve knew that Tony was doing the best he could, that he was trying to make this situation work but shoving a broken, hurting girl, no matter what she had done, into a psych ward wasn't what needed to be done.

"No, Tony! You can't just throw her in a psych ward and hope she gets better. She needs us. She's just a kid!"

"GIVE ME A BREAK!" Tony yelled, snapping suddenly. He put his head in his hands.

"You don't think I know that? I hate seeing her like this, but there's nothing else I can do. I'm doing what has to be done...to stave off something worse."

Steve nodded faintly.

"You keep telling yourself that," he placed the pen back in its case with its matching partner. "Hate to break up the set."

And with that he left the office, leaving Tony holding his head in his hands and watching Bucky ruefully on the screen, wondering if he would ever get Keight back, the Keight he loved, the Keight he knew he couldn't do without.

Authors Note

Any thoughts on Tony's response? I'm sorry its so harshhhhhhhh 

Comment your suggestions :)

~JJ