I woke up the next morning and reached for my phone to text Nat about joining me on a run. When she didn't answer—to be expected since she was rarely up at this hour unless she had a reason—my heart sank a little. Sure, it was a long shot, but I knew she was usually up for a run this early when it was with me. Still, I decided to go for a run solo to clear my head.
Heading out the door of the compound, I noticed Emery's keys missing from the set of hooks Tony had installed by the garage for each of us.
It doesn't mean Nat is with her, I convinced myself. Emery has her own apartment after all.
I shook my head to clear it and started off at a slow jog. I figured I'd pace myself today. An hour later, Sam called me. I stopped at a bench and sat down.
"Hey, Sam, what's up?" I asked.
"Nat isn't here," he said. "There doesn't seem to be any movement from her room."
"I know she was out with Emery last night, so I'm not too worried. But thanks for checking in."
"Of course." He paused. "How far out are you? I might go for a run and catch up with you."
I looked around. "Uh, actually I was just about to start my run back. I needed to clear my head."
"No worries, Cap. I'll see you back at the compound."
I hung up then checked my messages. Still nothing from Nat. I hoped she was just sleeping and that Emery had gone for a drive. I tried not to worry, but with a target on my girlfriend's back from her ex-fiance and a mysterious new person out there running around manipulating Nat's face, it proved to be quite difficult.
Just as I returned to the compound, my phone pinged with a text from Nat: can't talk, call soon xo
I sent her a quick text back and went inside where I was immediately met by Wanda.
"Steve, we need you to settle a debate for us," she said.
"Debates aren't really my area of expertise, but I'll do my best," I replied.
I followed her out to the pool where the rest of the team was. Sam and Bucky were arguing about something—no surprise there.
"I'm just saying...a sorcerer is just a wizard without a hat," Sam was saying.
"Ok, so what about Gandalf?" Bucky challenged.
"How do you know about Gandalf?"
Bucky shrugged then met my gaze and smiled. "We grew up on The Hobbit."
Sam turned around and saw me. "Steve, back me up here."
"Sorry, Sam. I'm with Bucky on this one," I said, laughing. "Are you two behaving?"
"Man, I'm trying," Sam said as Bucky laughed.
After it seemed like the argument between my friends was settled, Pepper approached me. We hadn't talked much recently, but I knew she had been giving Nat a hard time about the kiss with Bucky.
"How're you doing, Steve?" she asked.
"I'm good. Nat and I...we're good. I trust her," I replied.
"I'm glad to hear it," Pepper said, "but you have a right to be upset."
I shook my head. "I know, but...this whole situation...she shouldn't have kissed him, but she didn't keep it a secret from me, which I respect. And honestly...I'm more worried about Bucky having feelings for her. But I can't really blame him if he did—unless he tried to make a move."
"You still haven't told him about you and Nat?" she asked.
"She doesn't want to tell him yet," I said.
Pepper tipped her head to the side. "What about what you want? A relationship is all about compromise."
"Pep, it's only been a few days since he got here. Nat has a more complicated history with him so if she doesn't want to tell him yet, I have to respect that. Sure, it would be easier, but she has her reasons," I told her.
Pepper nodded. "Well, if that's what you think is best...anyway, I'm glad the two of you are able to resolve things so quickly. I've always rooted for you to get together even before the first time you started sneaking around together." She paused. "You're good for each other. Even if you don't realize it, you complete a missing part of the other and I think that's why you work so well together."
I smiled. "Thanks, Pepper."
When she left, Bucky walked over to me. It was hard to be mad at him because he was my best friend and hadn't known that Nat was taken. I wondered what would've happened if he knew. But I also needed to know if he had feelings for her.
"Hey," he greeted me. "Have you seen Nat?"
I pushed down a sudden wave of jealousy and shook my head. "No, she and Emery are out somewhere I guess. Emery's keys are gone."
He nodded. "Makes sense. Listen, about the other day—I want you to know...what happened with me and Nat—er, Natasha...you know, seeing her has just brought up some unresolved feelings. If I'd known she was seeing someone, I swear I wouldn't have...you know I would never—"
I put up a hand to stop him. I knew exactly what he meant. I thought back to the days of living with my best friend in Brooklyn. The best friend who, while a charmer, backed off any time he realized the girl he was flirting with was already in a relationship.
"Buck, please. I'm not mad. It's ok," I said.
Bucky sighed. "You can say that all you want, Steve, but I see the way you look at her."
I opened my mouth to protest, but he kept going.
"Whoever this guy is she's with must be pretty special. She told me that she's happy. He makes her happy. But I also want you to be happy."
I sighed. "I am happy, Buck. And I understand where you're coming from on this. Believe me, if I had the chance to be with Nat, I'd never let her get away. She's just...she's something special."
Bucky's mouth twitched up into a smile. "Mission accomplished. I finally got you to admit you have feelings for her."
I laughed at his comment and pushed him into the water.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
A while later, Bucky came up to our room, frowning.
"Buck, what's wrong?" I asked.
"You need to see this," he said. He handed me his phone that displayed a cryptic text message from a blocked number: 1461 Crimson Peak Rd, Apt 12. Come alone
"That's Alexei's address," I said, recognizing it from my stakeout with Wanda. "Why would someone want you to go there?"
"It could be a trap. Probably is. I guess maybe Alexei saw the video of me and Nat," Bucky said.
"Why would that be relevant?" I asked.
"Because the last time Alexei saw me was when I was sort of dating Nat—while she was engaged to Alexei," he told me.
Of course, I'd know that detail already because Nat had told me when he had explained her connections to Alexei.
"You think he might be trying to lure you there to eliminate the competition?"
Bucky shrugged. "It's possible. If you want to come with me, we can check it out."
I nodded. "Let's suit up."
Twenty minutes later, we parked in front of the building we'd been guided to by the mystery text. We went up to the apartment labeled '12'. The box outside said it was registered to a KS.
What are the odds...I thought to myself.
I raised my hand to knock on the door, fully prepared to bust down the door if needed, but Bucky stopped me.
"I hear voices," he said.
I listened closely and sure enough, I did too. I reached out to jiggle the door handle and it opened with ease. But not without a surprise on the other side.
"Steve?" Nat stood in the doorway, lowering her stun gun when she saw I was the intruder at the door. "What are you doing here?"
"We could ask you the same question," Bucky answered for me.
"We're following a lead," Emery supplied, frowning as she glanced between me and Bucky.
"A lead you may have compromised by coming here," Nat added, giving me a look.
I turned to Bucky. "Show them."
Natasha and Emery exchanged a look. "Show us what?"
Bucky consulted his phone and showed the girls the message he'd received.
"When did you get this?" Natasha asked, jabbing her finger at the message.
"About an hour ago," Bucky said.
Natasha and Emery shared another look.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"That's um...that was right after we got here," Emery said. There was something else in her expression that I couldn't quite decipher. I felt like she was lying—at least in part. It was mid-afternoon at this point and I knew she and Nat had been gone all morning.
"Why would someone send that message? Unless they knew you were here," I mused.
"No one knew," Nat said.
"Someone knew," Bucky said. "I have a bad feeling that Alexei has been scouting us. Something feels off about this place."
"What makes you say that?" I asked.
Before he could answer, an explosion rang out, destroying our exit. Natasha and Emery jumped toward me and I covered them the best I could with my shield as Bucky blocked some of the impact with his arm.
I felt someone reach for my non-shield hand. Natasha was crouched next to me breathing heavily.
"It's ok," I whispered into her hair. I gave her hand a reassuring squeeze before lifting the shield to assess the damage.
"Everyone ok?" I asked.
"Just a little shaken up," Emery said as Natasha coughed and pulled stuff out of her hair.
"Looks like that blew our exit," Bucky observed. He swung his arm to readjust it.
Emery walked across the apartment and looked out onto the small, but still intact, balcony. "We do have one other option. But I don't think you're gonna like it."
I looked out the window. "It's a good thing we're only one floor up. Alright team—it's gonna be a tough jump."
Natasha followed my gaze out the window. "Aiming for the pool should reduce some of the impact."
"We're running out of time," Bucky said. "Someone knows we're here and that blast was a warning. I've seen this before—the second won't be far behind. And that one will be meant to kill."
I nodded. Natasha and Emery exchanged a look for the third time since we'd arrived.
"Time is of the essence," Emery said.
We all stepped out onto the balcony to survey the jump.
"Ok, everyone. On three," I said. "One. Two. Thr—" Just as I got to three, a second explosion rang out and we jumped, landing in the water.
I came up for air and swam to the edge. Pain rippled through my chest, but I pushed it away.
Nat coughed as she climbed out of the pool. "Well that was better than it could've been."
"Steve, Nat—a little help here!" Bucky called to us.
We ran to his side where he held an unconscious Emery in his arms.
"What happened?" Natasha asked, crouching by her friend's side.
Bucky shook his head. "I don't know." He laid her flat on the concrete and started CPR.
"C'mon, Em. Breathe," Nat whispered.
After a few painful moments of uncertainty, Emery gasped, her eyes opening wide and coughed.
"What happened?" she asked.
"You stopped breathing when we went under water," Bucky told her, his voice soft. I hadn't heard him talk like that since we lived in Brooklyn.
He brushed her wet hair out of her face, letting his fingers linger ever so slightly on her cheek.
"Did someone kiss me?" she asked.
Bucky smiled softly. "Technically it was CPR. But, yeah."
Nat raised her eyebrows at me and we exchanged silent glances, obviously thinking the same thing: well that's new.
Once we were sure Emery was fine and could walk, we made our way back to our cars. Nat and Emery changed into spare clothes in their car. They even had a few spare towels for Bucky and me to use. We proceeded back to the compound after that with the intention of debriefing what had happened.
I'd called Tony on our way back, so he greeted us at the door of the compound and ushered us all inside. After we'd changed into dry clothes and Sam had checked Emery out to make sure she really was ok, Nat relayed the information she'd discovered with Emery.
"We have reason to believe that Kristina Sokolov is calling the shots," Natasha said. "We don't know what that means about Alexei at this time, but we need to be on the lookout. Since Alexei's apartment no longer exists, we don't have much to go on until someone slips up and makes an appearance."
"I saved the intel you gathered before the explosion," Tony said. "The four of you need to take a rest and then we can resume the details of this case in the morning."
The group dispersed after that. I stifled a groan as I stood up from the sofa, falling back onto the cushions.
"Steve, are you ok? You look like you're in pain," Natasha said, walking over to me and sitting down.
"I'm fine," I told her, forcing a smile.
She raised an eyebrow, clearly not believing me. "May I?" She reached out a hand to my chest.
I nodded.
Her fingers lightly brushed against the fabric of my t-shirt right over my ribs and I winced, unable to control my reaction.
"Sam," Natasha said. "I need your expertise over here."
Sam came over and frowned at my pained expression. "What's going on?"
"I think he bruised a rib," Natasha answered.
"I'm fine," I said.
Natasha crossed her arms over her chest. "Raise your arms."
I sighed and did as she instructed, barely lifting my arms before I dropped them again in pain. Natasha caught me as I Iurched forward.
"Ok, Steve. Just try to breathe," Sam said. He turned to Nat. "We need to get his shirt off."
"Sam, I said I'm fine." I tried to sit up straighter on the sofa.
"You're stubborn, you know that, Steve?" Natasha said. She tugged at the fabric of my shirt, attempting to get it off over my head. But considering I could barely raise my arms, it wasn't going to happen.
"We're gonna need to rip it," Sam said.
Natasha took the bottom hem of my shirt and tore it, easing it off of my shoulders. Her eyes widened when she saw my chest.
"What?" I asked, looking down. My chest had an ugly bluish-purple color to it.
Natasha and Sam exchanged a glance.
"We're gonna need to wrap your ribs to prevent further injury," Sam said. "And you're gonna need to rest. Which means no funny business between the two of you." He looked pointedly at Nat when he said that.
She held up her hands in defense. "Deal."
Sam lightly wrapped my ribs so he wouldn't injure them further. "You are one lucky man, Cap."
"How so?" I asked.
Sam smirked. "For starters, anyone else would've ended up with broken ribs. Those are a lot harder to treat without complications. Plus..." he trailed off briefly, glancing across the room at Natasha "you have one pretty fantastic girlfriend. She's so gentle with you."
I smiled and glanced across the room where Nat was now talking with Pepper and Wanda. "Yeah. She's the best thing to have ever happened to me."
Natasha caught my gaze and smiled back.
I am one lucky guy to have found such a wonderful girl to fall in love with.
---
A/N: GIF is from Pinterest :)