UNRAVELED ~ STEVE ROGERS [3]

Chapter Fifteen

STEVE

Bucky was unconscious and sopping wet when Steve put him in the backseat of the stolen Mini, and less wet but still unconscious when they locked his metal arm in the rusted vice of an old warehouse.

It had been a mission fitting them all in the small car, with one unconscious and another unable to use her hands, but they made it in the end.

After arriving at the warehouse, abandoned and useful for a temporary hiding place, Keight wandered off to another part of the building, saying she needed a place to think. Steve had begun to think about what had transpired in the office with Tony again, now that the drama was over. He was hurt, that much was obvious. But he wasn't so angry anymore. He understood why she did it, the underlying loyalty to her family and her father, her desire to protect those she used to know. But it was wrong to keep them in the dark for so long. Maybe she had thought people would treat her differently because of her title. It definitely seemed like something she would worry about. And maybe he would have, but no one would know now. The past was behind them, and he thought it was time to move forward, even if it still hurt.

Bucky was slumped over, still out for the count. Steve could count on Sam to keep an eye on him and left to find Keight. He took with him a drink bottle and a t-shirt they had found in the car. Last he saw, she had had blood smeared across her face and black mascara stains on her cheeks, and he thought she might want to clean up a little.

He found her sitting on an old skywalk that probably wasn't safe, her legs dangling over the edge and her metal gloved hands sitting awkwardly in her lap. The chains coiled around her, and she leant her forehead on the second bar of the railing, her eyes closed.

"Battle not with monsters, lest you become a monster, and if you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes into you. Friedrich Nietzsche said that," she mumbled, without moving. Steve sat down cross legged beside her.

"Who's that?" he asked. Her eyes opened slowly, and Steve could see how bloodshot they were from crying.

"I don't know. I read in a book somewhere, I think," she replied, turning and facing him. Her neck was a galaxy of bruises, and her lip was still swollen and bloody because it hadn't had a chance to heal.

"I didn't know you read books," Steve smiled, but Keight only glared at him.

"Something about it always intrigued me, and for some reason I always remembered it. Now I know why. Its because its about me," she said, turning back and facing away from him.

"I don't think you're a monster," Steve said softly, scooting closer to her. She sighed.

"No? Well I do. And the rest of the world does too. I lied to everyone, and I'm sorry," a single tear rolled down her dirty cheek, and Steve felt a swell in his chest like nothing he had ever felt before. He reached out, as if to touch her, then thought better of it.

"You did what you had to. And yeah, it hurts that you lied to us. But I understand why you did it. And I forgive you," Steve said, waiting for her to turn back around. But she didn't.

"You shouldn't forgive me," she whispered.

"Why not?"

"Because I don't deserve it."

"You need to stop saying that!" Steve's voice was loud and Keight turned her head sharply to stare at him. He sighed. "You're always saying you don't deserve things, and, uh, man it annoys me because you and I?" he pointed to each of them. "We've been through hell. Normal people, don't go through the things we do. And yeah, we've done some bad stuff. We all messed up, even me. But the amount of good you have done, far outweighs the bad. You've saved people. There are people out there who are alive because of you."