Frostbite

Nine

My eyes fluttered open, but I was having a difficult time seeing straight. Apparently, I had managed to get back up and had just started to stumble through the ship, trying to escape the visions that were still haunting me. The images were still flashing sporadically in front of my eyes.

"Melanie... Melanie!" someone was saying, shaking my shoulder to catch my attention. I lazily peered around and finally noticed Clint right in front of me. I tried to speak, but no words would form. He caught me as another dark image caught me by surprise. It felt as though I had too much to drink. Damn witch.

"Come on," Clint urged, still keeping me steady, "The others are already on the jet." We slowly made our way off the ship and eventually came up to the ramp of the jet. Everyone else was indeed inside and looking pretty rough to say the least.

Natasha was curled up in one of the chairs, a far off look on her face. Thor was pacing around, clearly agitated and unwilling to stay still. Bruce was wrapped in a blanket, his eyes closed, looking morbid. Tony had a grim look on his face as well as he started up the jet. I realized then while glancing between the two that Bruce had hulked out and it hadn't ended well. Oh god.

Steve was slouched in a seat, his head in his hands. I immediately wanted to reach out and comfort him. Clint walked me over to him, and Steve glanced up at our approach. His arms immediately reached out for me, and I collapsed into his side, finally resting there.

Clint went up front with Tony and took the pilots seat, easily getting us up in the air. Tony pressed a few buttons after we had been flying for a few minutes, attempting to video call someone. It was Maria.

"The news is loving you guys. Nobody else is. There's been no official call for Banner's arrest, but it's in the air," Maria informed him.

"Stark Relief Foundation?" Tony asked.

"Already on the scene. How's the team?" Maria inquired.

"Everyone's...we took a hit. We'll shake it off," Tony sighed, glancing around at us.

"Well for now I'd stay in stealth mode and stay away from here," she advised.

"So, run and hide?"

"Until we can find Ultron, I don't have a lot else to offer."

"Neither do we," Tony said, switching off the monitor finally. He started talking to Clint, but I had stopped paying attention. 

Steve seemed lost in thought, and I gently grabbed his hand. His bright eyes focused on me, and I planted a light kiss on his cheek.

"Are you alright?" I asked quietly, not wanting to disturb the others, "Did you want to talk about what you saw?"

"I will be. And no, not yet," he shook his head, jaw clenched. I nodded, understanding and leaned back in my seat. He tapped my hand with his fingers and stared at me expectantly.

"No, not yet," I mimicked his reply. I was trying very hard to not think about the vision. It was too real, too raw. He nodded, pulling me closer to him and leaning down to kiss the top of my head. I shut my eyes and eventually dozed off into a dreamless sleep.