BLACK PHOENIX | S. ROGERS

two

"I'm sorry to have to do this, but I had no place else to crash."

SHIELD compromised.

Laikyn's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Compromised by who, she thought. It was then that she finally understood why Nick was being so shady and secretive all of a sudden. He was always shady and secretive, but recently it was more than normal.

"Who else knows about your wife?" Steve asked. His shoulders were tense. His comfortable demeanor long gone.

Just us.

"Just my friends," Nick said rising to his feet. His hand immediately grabbed his side and both soldiers noticed.

"Is that what we are?" Laikyn asked, speaking for the first time.

"That's up to you," The dark-skinned man responded.

All of sudden, three bullets came through the wall and hit Nick square in the chest. Laikyn quickly grabbed her gun and pointed it in the direction the bullets came from. The light-skinned woman stood to cover Steve as he dragged Fury into the next room. Both of them kneeled down beside Nick, worry washed over both of their faces. Steve was ready to go after whoever pulled the trigger, but Nick stopped him. "Don't trust anyone," he wheezed out before losing consciousness.

"Captain Rogers? Laikyn?" A voice called out.

The curly-haired girl wasn't focused on that though. All of her attention was directed towards the man bleeding out on her best friend's floor. "Stay with me, Nick. You gotta stay with me." The woman tried to place as much pressure on his chest as possible, but the blood kept coming. She quickly checked his pulse. "Sharon, his pulse is fading."

"EMTs are on the way." The blonde informed.

"Is he gonna make it?" Laikyn asked, her voice cracking.

Sharon looked up at the agent. Never once had she'd seen the soldier this distraught. Laikyn was strong and showing emotions was never her strong suit. No matter how she felt, she knew how to mask how she was feeling. She was taught from an early age that showing emotions made her weak. That letting her emotions get the best of her, would get her compromised. But here she was, slowly falling apart.

"I don't know, but you have to be strong. For him."

•••

The tears were becoming increasingly hard to hold back as Laikyn stared into the operating room. Steve's hand rested on the small of her back, his thumb moving in a circular motion in an attempt to soothe the girl. That small act caused the first tear to slip from Laikyn's copper eyes. The blonde just pulled her closer and placed a quick kiss to her forehead.

"Is he gonna make it?" Natasha asked appearing beside Liz. Steve muttered a simple, "I don't know."

"Tell me about the shooter," the redhead demanded. Her voice was shaky.

"He's fast...strong. Had a metal arm."

Steve's answer made Laikyn stand up straight. Both women looked at each other, tears in their eyes. They both thought the same thing. He's back. The mere thought of Phoenix's old accomplice sent a shiver down her spine.

Soon enough, Maria Hill entered the room.

"Ballistics?" Natasha asked.

"Three slugs, no rifling. Completely untraceable," the brunette answered lowly.

"Soviet-made," Natasha and Laikyn said at the same time. Laikyn's jaw visibly tightened. Those were the same bullets she used to shoot oh so long ago. The same bullets she used to take the lives of innocent men, women, and children. The same bullets she shot when she worked for them.

Laikyn's thoughts went soon forgotten as Nick began to flatline. Her hand was quick to grab Steve's and she held onto it for dear life. He squeezed it gently as Nick's time of death was called. 1:03 am. Her heart dropped and the pain of losing a loved one hit her like a truck. She had never lost anyone before because she had never had anyone to lose. Now, she knew what if felt like. She let go of Steve's hand and wiped away her tears. Without a word, Laikyn made her way into the hallway filled with doctors and STRIKE personnel. She just wanted to be alone. She knew the doctors were going to let her see the body, but she wasn't sure she was stable enough to handle that... not right now.

"Cap, they want you back at SHIELD," shd heard Rumlow say, "Laikyn too."

"Yeah, give me a second," Steve said his focus on Natasha.

"What if I don't want to go?" Laikyn tested, her usual hard state peaking through.

Brock only sent a glare her way. "They want you both now."

Steve's ocean eyes met Laikyn's golden brown ones. Neither of them wanted to go back, not when Nick wasn't in charge anymore.

As the blonde fell into step with the brunette, he whispered, "You know what this is about?"

"Nope, but I vote that we make a run for it. I'm pretty sure we can take them," Laikyn muttered back. "You know, this isn't going to be good."

"I know, but we'll be fine as long as we're together."