Tess (A Dark!SteveRogers AU)

Chapter 2

Steve Rogers sat outside of his home, smoking the tobacco he'd rolled just minutes earlier and contemplating on the deal that he'd just struck.

The last person he'd expected to see dragging his ass to him was Brock Rumlow's, and as the man had been looking down the barrel of at least ten guns, it was clear that he wasn't going to succeed in shooting Steve, even if he wanted to.

But no.

He'd come to literally strike deals and all but give his sister to Steve in return for ending the feud between them. "Guess you'd better sit your ass down". Steve had gestured and grabbed a bottle of whiskey, pouring them both a glass before propping his feet up on the table and smirking. "So... you've come to sell your sister like the cattle you rustle..."

"Don't act like you're some kinda saint Rogers, I know what shit you get up to after darkness falls".

"This ain't about me though is it, Brock? No... why do I get the feeling you've got yourself in too deep?"

Brock sat back and downed the whiskey, studying the glass. "I stole some shit from that mining owner Johaan Schmidt, not just some of the cattle he keeps, but he knew it was us. Already he sent a warning..."

"What kind?" Steve asked with some disinterest.

"The corpse of one of my men..."

Steve feigned his shock. "Tragic, and so you came running to me instead of putting on your big boy pants..."

"Believe me, you are the last person I wanna be doing deals with, especially after what you did to my father, but in this case, I'm prepared to do what I can if it means no more bloodshed for our families, guaranteed protection from both sides, and perhaps even some dealings in anything we loot from our nighttime jobs".

"One word of what I really do apart from smithing to anyone around here and I won't hesitate to kill you Rumlow...so..." He swung his feet from the table and now leant in. "This sister of yours, what's she like?"

"As untamed as they come"

Steve snorted. "Not for long, one-foot outta line and she'll know about it".

"And you lay a hand on my sister and..."

Steve tutted with a little shake of his head to the man who had sought him out to all but beg for help. "Guess you can go find someone else to help you out".

"She's my sister"

"And yet you care enough to hand her over to me. Once you do, she's mine. You have no say in what goes on behind these doors" Steve stated. "She may not take any shit from you, but from me? She's gonna have to whether she likes it or not".

Brock glared at him. "She won't like it; I know that for a fact".

"Like I said, she'll have to accept it". Steve shrugged at him. "She'll have to be a wife, do her duties like all wives do. Any complaints will be resolved accordingly". He saw that Brock was re-evaluating his choices before he sighed knowing he had no other way of rectifying his fuck ups. "I'm prepared to lay down this deal and seal it if you are. No more bad blood, or blood split whatsoever, I get your little sis and we'll have your back should Schmidt choose to pounce. As for the nighttime activities? We can come to an agreement about that another time".

Extending his hand, Brock took it, and the men shook on it.

That had been just hours before and now Steve was thinking about all the different possibilities in his head. Of course he'd heard of Tess Rumlow. Who hadn't. She had just as much of a reputation as her brother.

"Your daddy wouldn't like it". Sarah Rogers now joined her son's side, having overheard the conversation from where she'd been resting in her bedroom.

"I know ma".

"How do you know he's not got some ulterior motive? For all you know this could be a trap".

Steve shook his head. "I heard about Johaan Schmidt and what happened with one of the men, Rumlow ain't lying his ass off for once. He just wants someone to hide behind being the coward he is".

"I just hope you know what you're doing Steve, last thing I want is for the Rumlows to stab you in the back, and I mean literally, because I wouldn't put it past that Tess Rumlow to do so and even you know she would".

"Let her try if she wants to, but she's gonna regret it if she does".

Sarah knew that her son could fend for himself, however it didn't stop her from worrying every night they went out rustling or robbing wagons amongst other things. All it would take was a bullet and she could lose him.

They'd built up a respectable business with blacksmithing, providing a good cover for what they truly did. Sarah had never quite agreed with the way of life that was undertaken after the town fell silent, but she'd never been listened to by her husband. Joe Rogers had simply told her that it was not her business to involve herself with. She was a wife and her job in all this was to simply do her wifely duty - Steve's statement that she'd heard him say to Brock earlier, echoing this.

But Tess Rumlow? She certainly didn't sound like the type to stay quiet about something like that. Not with the upbringing she had. She'd want to be out there with Steve, and whether he'd allow that was a different matter altogether.

Sarah could already sense that the marriage itself would be incredibly strained and would consist of power struggles. If Tess Rumlow was as stubborn as her son was? Then there was no hope for a peaceful life.

Seeing James Barnes now approaching with Sam Wilson, Sarah knew she should return inside so the men could talk. "Guess you're gonna have a lot of explaining to do" She told her son with parting words and disappeared into the house.

"Come on then pal, why have we been summoned?" Bucky asked as he reached Steve. "Did Sam fuck up on a job again".

"Keep on like that and I'm gonna shoot you", Sam muttered with a glare. "So why are we here? We had word from Romanoff and Barton about a new target?"

Steve shook his head, "Not yet, but you'd best sit down..."

The men looked at one another and then sat on the steps of the porch. "What is it? Bad news?"

"Depends on how you look at it, but for me? Yeah, I guess so". Steve told them before coming out with it. "I'm getting married..."

Bucky grinned, "You old dog, to who? Why haven't we met the lucky lady?"

"Because I only stuck the deal this afternoon...even I ain't met her".

"Wait...what?" Sam frowned.

"Steve finished smoking his tobacco and ran a hand through his hair. "Rumlow came to me this afternoon...we made a deal to end the feud, but I'll explain more about that later - but as for what was part of it? Well...he's offered his sister up", he now paused before confirming their thoughts. "I'm marrying Tess Rumlow".