Echo

Chapter 17

Steve's POV

He was wrapping his hands with athletic tape when Sam came bursting into the team's personal gym knowing that Steve preferred to use this gym when he wanted privacy. "Steve, you need to find Quinn now and fix this!" Raising his eyebrows at his friend in disbelief.

Hadn't he just told him what happened between them on the mission? Why would he all of a sudden be taking her side? He should know that Steve was nowhere near ready to talk to Quinn. "Sam, not now. I'm in the middle of something here." Turning back to the reinforced bag he started punching.

Ignoring his friend's dismissal Sam walked over to Steve, grasped the back of his shirt and whipped him around to face him. "Not this time. If you don't fix this with her she's gone and she won't come back." Steve shook his head, Sam wasn't making sense.

Why would she leave? Quinn was an Avenger regardless of his feelings for her. She belonged here. "What are you talking about Sam?" His question came out harsher than Steve intended, but he didn't apologize or take it back.

Sam placed a hand on Steve's shoulder trying to get him to really listen this time. "I talked to her after you left. Man, she didn't know at all that you've been in love with her. Quinn thought this whole time you hated her that's why she was with Bucky. She waited for you to make a move, but you didn't. She used Bucky to move on. Then you were with Sharon, the biggest mistake of your life by the way." Was no one ever going to let him live her down?

How many people were going to come after him about this? He already felt bad enough and now he was being punished by having a taste of Quinn but not getting to keep her. This is why he was here he needed to think and the best way to do that for him was to work out his aggression of his conflicted feelings on a heavy bag because a run just wouldn't cut it today.

Sam continues on not waiting for Steve to reply. "What else was Quinn supposed to think? Tony told her to fix things with you for the good of the team. She said that if she can't fix things with you she's leaving so she doesn't split up the team. She won't come back if she leaves, Steve. If you want to work things out with her it's now or never. Put your hurt feelings aside and go find her. You didn't tell her how you felt so she moved on. That's on you. Not her. You got hurt, yes, but you never gave her the chance to tell you she wanted you too back then." Steve just stands there with his mouth hanging open as his eyes darted over to the door.

Quinn used to have feelings for him? Suddenly all of the small signs she'd been giving off of her interest slammed into him making him feel like an idiot. He'd been so wrapped up in his own head about how she was out of his league and how he probably wasn't the kind of guy she normally went for to notice that she had been interested in him. He waited too long and she had turned to Bucky for comfort. Steve knew that much from talking to Natasha, but now Sam had talked to her and got it directly from her that she'd had feelings for him.

God, he fucked up big time. Steve thought talking to Bucky had wiped the past away. Like an idiot he'd completely forgotten about Quinn in all of this. He had made the decision to go after her without talking to her. And then after they'd had sex he'd just been so caught up in his feelings for her that he'd been staring at her. He couldn't help it, she had looked so beautiful in her afterglow. That's why she shut down on him. She thought it was just sex for both of them not understanding his feelings for her until she saw it in his eyes making her bolt.

Sam and Natasha were right. This was his fault, not hers. He had to find her. Unwrapping his hands quickly Steve asked Sam where she was. "I don't know. She took off after freaking out on me. I thought she was looking for you, but then I found you with no Quinn in sight." Steve left his things in the gym in his haste to find her not caring about it for once and Sam let him go to get the girl of his dreams