//: Hi everyone! I've been working on this chapter for the last few weeks and finally finished it about 4 hours ago. I intended on posting it later tomorrow but I just couldn't sleep - I was so excited! Enjoy!
I open my eyes and find myself sitting in a metal chair, in a dark cold room. The room smells like dust, as if it hasn't been cleaned in years. My wrists burn from being tied up by ropes. "Steve?" I call, praying for someone to hear me. "Someone? Help," I beg, my voice turning into nothing more than a whisper.
I stretch out my fingers and touch the ropes. I'm desperately grasping at the knot in attempt to untie myself. It's useless. I bite my lip, knowing I have to dislocate my wrist to get free. I squeeze my eyes shut and brace myself for the pain.
"Now, now. That isn't necessary," a voice calls. It's so familiar. So smooth and rolling; a voice I know only from a dream. The rope simply disappears off my wrists and I'm free.
"Who are you?" I ask, taking a step toward the mystery man. Before I know it, we're in a different room. A place familiar to me. My old bedroom. It smells like those terrible scent things I used to plug into the wall, and all my posters of boy bands still hang on the walls. I sit down on my bed cautiously, tuck my feet under my body, and wait for the person to show themself. This may be home, but I should still be careful.
"Oh Hannah," the same man, now a shadow in the doorway starts. "It's been so long." He walks out and I can see dark raven hair and piercing green eyes.
"Loki," I say, but it comes out as a whisper.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I'm sorry for... everything. I'm sorry for leaving you," he says, walking toward me and giving a hug. I can only slightly return the embrace, genuinely confused.
"Nobody stays dead for long, do they? What's going on?" I ask, separating from his hug. He wavers for a second, unsure what to say, then finally begins speaking.
"I've come here to warn you. Your Captain is, well, dangerous. I wouldn't trust him."
I let out a small laugh. "I'm dangerous too. I trust myself. Steve is completely fine."
He leans toward me, brushing hair out of my face. "I'm just saying that you're not safe around him. I don't want you two together. Please, it would tear me apart if I had to take matters into my own hands."
"No, please," I whisper, my eyes filling up with tears. "Please don't do anything. Steve and I are fine." I can feel my face heating up and I start to panic. I don't need him to take action again — to control me.
"I'm just doing what's best for you because I love you." With that, he starts to walk away.
"Please no!" I call, trying to get his attention. "Come back! You can't do this to me!" I attempt to get up but fall back to the bed, flailing. The whole world starts to shake beneath me when I realize it's all a dream.
"Hannah!" Steve's voice yells. I squeeze my eyes shut and shrivel into a ball, wanting the noise to stop. The next time I open my eyes, I'm in the room at Disney. Steve is sitting up next to me, still shaking me awake. When he realizes that I'm up he collapses next to me and pulls me as tight to him as possible.
"You worried me," he whispers, his face only inches from mine. "Is everything okay?"
I try to catch my breath, wiping a tear away from my eyes. Am I really okay? "I will be. Just a nightmare." I cover my face in my hands and let the darkness overflow my vision. It's refreshing.
"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. But if you do, I'm right here for you," Steve says, bringing a hand up to smooth down my hair.
"I will talk about it... I just need to relax first," I explain, adding a pitiful laugh. I slowly sit up in bed and uncover my eyes, looking back around the room. Pictures adorn these walls. The bed is larger and far more grand. This is a safe place.
"We can put on a movie, or go rent a board game downstairs. We could go for a walk-"
"A walk sounds perfect. Let's go for a walk," I say way too eagerly. Right now I'm just trying to compose myself and clear my mind. Steve hands me a jacket and we quietly sneak out of the hotel room. The whole trip out of the hotel building is silent, and we don't talk until we're on the sidewalk looking up at the hotel.
"So what's got you upset, Doll?" Steve asks, grabbing onto my hand. I focus on the steady way our hands swing while we walk. The air is cooler than I expected which makes me grateful I brought my jacket.
"It's a lot..." I state, trailing off slightly. When he doesn't respond I shakily start retelling the dream. "Loki was there. Before I knew it I was back in my old bedroom. But it felt... different. It wasn't anything like a dream. It was so... real. I don't know if you understand, but the way I saw him—the expression in his eyes—it was real." I take a deep breath. "He told me a lot of things, but mainly that he didn't like us together. He said if I don't do anything about it then he will. Obviously I don't want to jeopardize us, but I'm just... I'm really afraid. I'm afraid that he might hurt you or... control me again." I bite the inside of my cheek hard to keep from crying. Steve has remained silent, but his grip on my hand tightens. I can see his jaw stiffen and I just know he's about to lose it.
"What a creep! You know what... next time I see him I'm gonna... slug 'im in the nose! I'll let him 'ave it!" Steve yells, frustrated, his Brooklyn accent coming out. "Nobody's touchin' my best girl."
I try to hold my laughter in, but I can't help it. I love that even in the worst moments he's able to make me smile. "Ease up, Dreamboat. This isn't the '40s anymore. But... thank you," I say, pulling him into a hug, burying my face into his shoulder in the process. His arms tighten around my waist and at this point I know he'll never let me go: I'll be safe here forever. I'm still giggly from his outbursts, and if he's embarrassed then he's pretty good at hiding it's When he lets go I realize we've circled all the way around the parking lot and are back at our hotel.
"Are you good to go to sleep or do you want to keep walking?" Steve offers. I grin at him.
"Let's go to bed. I'm super duper sleepy," I urge, pulling him toward the building and eventually to our room. We don't speak at all until we get to the bedroom: it's a comfortable silence. I shake off my jacket and turn around, deciding to actually change into pajamas this time because I had fallen asleep in my clothes earlier. Once changed I plop onto the bed and sprawl out across it.
Steve, however, doesn't go straight to bed. He sits gingerly on the edge of the mattress, staring uneasily at the door. I grab him gently and pull him back into bed; luckily his exhaustion gives in and he lets me force him on to the bed until he's comfortable.
"Nothing's going to hurt us tonight. So long as I'm with you I know I'm safe," I whisper soothingly, running my hands through his hair.
"I really think I should stay up and keep watch, just in case-"
"Listen to me," I say softly, tilting his chin up so he can look into my eyes. "Nothing is going to touch us. We'll be a-okay." He smiles and wraps his arms around me and I know he can feel it too. A sense of completeness. A feeling that is unusual and strange, yet reassuring to me. I finally found what I've been searching for my whole life, and Steve has too: a home.
So I've been working on a Peter Parker story for a while in between chapters and have a lot of it completed (it's much shorter than this story), but I'm not sure if I want to post it yet or not. Let me know what you think!