Never in a Million Years |N.R|

|21| Answers.

I woke up to someone gently shaking my shoulder, as well as whispering my name. When my eyes opened fully they were met with the harsh light of day, but they then quickly focused on Natasha who was smiling at me warmly.

"Come on, we're here." I didn't offer an answer, instead confirming I'd heard her by raising myself to a sit. My entire body groaned, now stiff as well as achey from being curled up for so long. Steve was already waiting outside the car, leaning against the hood as I slowly clambered out.

Once Natasha and I had joined him at his side, he led us towards the front door and up the couple of steps. After giving our surroundings a quick once over he knocked against the glass of the door, the pane rattling slightly under the force of his hand. We waited for what felt like forever, despite it only being a couple of seconds, before the blind on the other side suddenly whipped up. The face that was revealed was all too familiar. It was the guy Steve had been talking to when we picked him up from his run the other day, right before everything took a turn for the worse. That felt so long ago now. Sam Wilson was his name, as far as I could remember from overhearing Steve.

He wasted no time in opening the door, continuing to stare at us in shock.

"Hey, man" he offered, glancing at Natasha and I momentarily before looking back to Steve.

"I'm sorry about this. We need a place to lay low." That was definitely an understatement on Steve's part.

"Everyone we know is trying to kill us" Natasha offered quickly, which sounded more like it.

"Not everyone." I let out a silent sigh of relief, not wanting to draw attention but also unable to fully conceal how much of a weight had been lifted at those words. We were safe, even if only for a little while.

Sam moved aside and urged us to come in, Steve and Natasha stepping through first with me behind. I offered a quiet "thank you" as I passed him, still trying to remain somewhat invisible, to which he smiled and replied with a "no problem." Before closing the door he quickly peeked outside and scanned the area much like Steve had, before closing it and lowering the blinds. He definitely knew what he was doing.

"You guys look like crap, no offence. I'll grab you some towels and you can have showers. Then someone can explain to me what the hell is going on." Without waiting for a response from any of us he walked to a cupboard a little down a hallway and picked up a pile of them. He then turned on his heel and handed one to each of us. When he got to me he eyed the gash on my forehead, which I'd forgotten about until that moment.

"That looks like it needs stitches. I've got the stuff to do it for you if you'd like?" As much as I appreciated his kindness, something engrained in me meant there was no chance in hell I'd let him do that. He was basically a stranger, and as nice as he was he still needed to earn my trust. Considering my track record with that it was going to take a lot more than giving us a hiding place for me to trust him.

"That's okay, thanks though. If I could have the supplies, I can do it myself." His eyebrows shot up at my reply, probably shocked by the fact I was going to stitch my own face but also by my nonchalantness about it too. It wouldn't be the first time.

"If you're sure" I just offered a small smile of reassurance before he looked over all of us again. "The bathroom is down there on the right, help yourselves." I didn't want to butt in and go first, quite happy to be the last one with only cold water left if it meant I could wash all of the dirt and blood off of me.

"Nat or Orlova you can go first. I need to talk with Sam about some things." Natasha and I just nodded before he and Sam walked over to the kitchen. Now that I was away from Steve and the unwavering uncomfortableness that he brought me, all I wanted was to sit down. So without another thought I limped over to one of the sofas and collapsed down onto it. If I could've stayed in its comfort forever I would've.