The Shadow [a marvel fanfiction]

The Winter Soldier: Chapter Three

There is nothing worse than disappointing someone you love. They cared for you and believed in you and supported you; they thought the world of you and placed you up on a pedestal to admire you and everything you do. They want you to be the best person they know you can be—and you fail. You fail so hard.

Guilt tore Marie apart.

Her first mission was a success. They rescued the hostages and took out the bad guys. Fury was pleased. She should've been happy. She should've been celebrating.

But none of that mattered. Steve was disappointed in her.

Marie trudged along the sidewalks of Washington D.C. People rushed around her, pushing through the masses. Tourists wandered around aimlessly, their eyes looking everywhere but directly in front of them.

She hadn't seen Steve since they landed at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters. He marched to Fury's office and didn't look back. Natasha tried to assure her that everything was fine; that Steve didn't understand the nature of the mission. Marie shrugged her off and scrubbed the blood out of her uniform. She didn't go back to Steve's apartment. She slept in a park that night—well, she didn't really sleep. She just sat there and came up with thousands of apologies she would never say.

A woman shoved past Marie, knocking her into another person. They stumbled off into the road. She groaned as her shoulder smacked off theirs. It was like running into a steel wall.

"Shit," she hissed and grabbed her arm. She glowered after the woman before looking at Boulder-Shoulder.

He was tall and wore a large black jacket, jeans, and black sunglasses. Strands of brown hair stuck out from under his baseball cap, which he wore low and covered most of his face, and nearly brushed his shoulders.

"People-People don't even look where they're go-go-going these days," she sighed, awkwardly rubbing at the already-forming bruise on her arm. The man didn't respond, quickly stepping around her and melting into the crowd again.

Marie frowned, her eyes following the baseball cap. Rude. Shaking her head, she hopped back onto the sidewalk and fell in step with the bustling crowd. She focused on the ground beneath her feet and counted her steps to pass the time; to distract herself.

She ran into another body.

"Sorry," she muttered, not bothering to look up.

"Marie?"

She turned back to see Sam, dressed in a nice button-up. She tried to pull her lips into a smile, but it came off as a grimace. "Sam. Hi."

"What's up?" He asked. An easy smile sat on his lips, but his eyebrows furrowed as he stared at her. She could only imagine what kind of a state she was in. She shrugged and looked away, staring at the cars that raced past them.

"Nothing. Just-Just wandering around, I guess."

Sam gestured behind him. "I've got a meeting at the VA. You're welcome to join us."

"I'm-I'm not a veteran."

"I saw the footage from New York." Marie's gaze moved back to him. His eyes were earnest. He didn't know anything about her, only what he saw in front of him and whatever he glimpsed on the news. But he saw through her front; she couldn't even fool herself.

"Come on."

Silently, Marie walked by his side. Sam chatted as they walked, mentioning his favorite places around D.C. and recommending a few restaurants. She nodded along and provided one-word responses when necessary.