Winter's Nightmare

Memories

Steve's POV October 16th, 2019 4 PM

They had spent most of the day going through Hydra's reports on Lia and Bucky. There was so much information for the Winter Soldier program, but they cut it down to just the years Lia had been with Hydra. She had always glossed over what they had done to her when she had first gotten here. Steve and Tony hadn't wanted to push her to tell them. After all She had Olivia to talk to so they were content that she was at least talking about it to someone.

Reading through the unredacted training and the conditioning reports tore them apart. Everything Bucky had told them had been the truth so far. Pierce had made Buck train Lia mercilessly day after day on top of beatings and out right torture. Steve remembered tracing over the numerous scars that littered her body while she slept next to him at night. Wondering, but never asking her to tell him what each one was from.

He didn't know if knowing now made any if it better, but he knew that it had only made him love her more. She had been through so much hell inside such a short amount of time and had come out of it with herself mostly intact. Aurelia was the strongest woman he'd ever met and if he could he'd show her how sorry he was. All he wanted was for his family to be together. To get to be there and raise their daughter with the love of his life.

They had to get away from the conference room that was covered in the details of her torture. So Tony and him had gone to sit in the living room in silence as they tried to process what they had learned when they saw the bright light of the Bifrost outside. Worried that Lia had decided to leave earlier than she had agreed they ran over to the windows.

Lia was out there there, but she was dressed in normal clothes greeting a man. It wasn't Thor. This guy had shorter blonde hair and a goatee. He was dressed similarly to Thor and Loki though and had a long thin sword attached to his belt. Lia hugged and then kissed him.

Steve froze.

Tony looked over at Steve with his hands raised. "I swear I didn't know about this guy. She never said or wrote to me that she was seeing anyone." Steve couldn't say anything. He just watched them.

He watches her take his hand in hers and lead him inside the compound. Figuring that she would bring him up to their floor they went out to kitchen to meet them. A few minutes later they come out of the elevator laughing still holding hands. The unknown man was holding a garment bag while Lia had a couple other bags Steve recognized as clothing bags from one of the places Tony shopped at.

"Sweetness, who's your friend?" Tony asked as he walked over to them with a smile.

Lia's smile slipped for a moment when she saw Steve, but he man squeezes her hand causing her to smile up at him. That was the smile she used to give him when she had loved him. He could feel his heart breaking at the sight of her gazing lovingly up at any man who wasn't him. "This is my boyfriend, Fandral. Fandral, this is Tony Stark and Katya's father, Steve Rogers."

Steve's chest felt tight like he couldn't breathe. She had a boyfriend and she brought him here. Breathe, Steve, breathe. Forcing a smile onto his face, Steve walked over to say hello and gave the blonde man his hand. Fandral gives Steve a warm hello and shakes it as he looked him over. Stepping back Steve unconsciously runs a hand over his longer hair and beard. He hadn't had time to get a haircut or a shave.

Everything about this guy screamed, 'I'm a good guy', but Steve couldn't help but hate him just a little. Tony was talking to Fandral while Steve just stood there looking back and forth at them. Lia looked happy and relaxed as she held his hand with their fingers intertwined.

Taking this time he studied Lia's boyfriend. He was a little taller than him with hazel eyes and longish golden blonde hair. His goatee was well groomed, if not a little pointy. Kind of like a pirate in Steves opinion. He was dressed in the style similar to Thor and Loki, but his clothes seemed more flashy than theirs.