Dark Arrow

Fifty Four

My adrenaline spiked as I worked my way through the abandoned office building in Tokyo. My arrows flew, landing in their targets as blood soaked the floor. This was what I lived for now, seeing the light drain from the eyes of people that didn't deserve to survive the snap. Everyone I loved was gone and yet these assholes still had the audacity to breathe the air that should've been saved for those I lost. 

One ran, flying down the stairs quicker than I could chase him. I wouldn't let him escape, I had to find a different escape route. I ran through the dark hallway and noticed a window at the end. It was a risky jump but to catch the man running it would be the perfect opportunity. 

I ran and smashed through the window, jumping through and landing with a roll to soften the blow. I landed right behind him and pulled the katana from my back. I was too close to let an arrow loose. 

He stiffened as he heard my footsteps, the putrid smell of urine flooding my senses before I ran the blade through him. 

"Nothing personal." I muttered as he fell to the floor. 

I felt the eyes on me before I saw them, there was only one person that made me feel that way. Steve. 

I turned to face him, wiping the blood from my blade in the crook of my arm. 

"Rain. Stop." He said as he stepped out of the shadows. 

It was a mixture of trepidation and relief as he came towards me. I knew this was coming but I'd hoped to outrun it for a little while longer. 

"You shouldn't be here Steve." 

I holstered the blade on my back and pulled my hood down to face him. I expected him to stop in his tracks, I knew he could see the darkness in my eyes. It should scare him the way it did everyone else, instead he carried on walking towards me. 

"Neither should you." 

"Why can't you just let me go?" 

He pulled the bandana from my face, resting his palm against my cheek. "Because I love you, now come home." 

I wanted to push him away, to tell him to stay away from me but I was too weak. I couldn't do it and instead for just a moment I allowed myself to revel in the feel of his hand against my skin. A moment before everything came crashing down around me, because once he realised what I was and what I'd become he'd walk away for good. The truth was that it was that pain I was avoiding. When he realised what I'd become, how far I'd fallen, he'd walk away and never look back. 

***

The compound was all but deserted when we got back. The evidence of Thanos threatening to swallow me whole. I walked into Steve's room and went straight for the freezer where I had no doubt there was still a bottle of vodka that I'd stashed there so long ago. 

"Talk to me." Steve encouraged as I took a swig from the bottle. 

I welcomed the burn as it warmed me from the inside out. This conversation was something I'd had nightmares about for months. 

"And say what Steve?" I snapped. 

"You could start with why you ran."

I scoffed and lifted the bottle to my lips again. "You know why." 

"You could've come back after Dr Cho."

"I didn't have a choice."

He glared at me, trying to decipher the very vague answers I was giving him. The way his eyes pierced into mine almost made me want to fall right back into his arms, but I couldn't. He didn't know the truth, and when he did he'd send me right back out the door where I should've stayed.