Red Thorn

Chapter 2

November 2011

The nights grew longer and the days shorter, the colder weather settling in as winter began to take its hold of New York City. It had been nearly five months since Steve had been fished out of the ice and unfrozen, thrown into a life so different to the one he'd previously known.

He was grateful that the Director had assigned Agent Red to help with his rehabilitation. At first he'd doubted his choice, feeling as though assigning him an agent who didn't talk much was an error of judgment on his part, even if she had been through something similar. But as it had turned out, Fury was right, she was the woman for the job.

Over the months the agent and super soldier had begun spending more time together. She'd explained that to start with she felt it was best to let him have some space, some room to breathe; it was something she'd felt in desperate need of during her own rehabilitation. Rehabilitation from what? He still didn't know, but he trusted that she'd tell him when the time felt right to her.

He felt more comfortable leaving his appartement, even if it only ever was with Red at his side. No matter how many times she had told him that it was okay, and she understood why he felt more confident with her there, Steve couldn't help feeling like a bother to the young woman living across the hall. Though over the past month, he had gone on a couple of walks around the city alone.

Red's weekly meetings with Fury had stopped after the first two months when she'd told him that if there was anything he needed to know, then she would make sure he did. But if not, she felt that SHIELD needed to leave the super soldier alone, at least for now. It was what had been done for her, and it needed to be done for him too. Steve needed someone by his side as a friend, not as an Agent with a mission.

She had even begun speaking more with him, all be it a little, but it was a big step for her, and she didn't wear her mask around him anymore. Once he had seen her without it once, she saw little point in keeping it on. That was one of the things that she and Fury had clashed about, but she was quick to remind him that the mask had always been her choice. She trusted the Captain not to use it, or lack thereof, against her.

"I fell asleep," Red grumbled, having just been woken up by the credit's music of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. After he'd read the books, Red insisted that they watch the movies together, it was another way of keeping him company without having to do much talking. "Capitaine?" she said, noticing that he was no longer sat at the other end of the couch.

There was no reply, but Red could hear noise coming from the kitchen. Following it, she found him stood by the sink in the dark, his grip cracking it ever so slightly as he stared at the running water. "I got to put her in the water," he said quietly.

"Capitaine?" she tried again; her voice low so as not to startle him as she edged towards him.

"This is my choice," he said, the sink cracking once more.

"I know..." Red took another step forward, placing her hand on his shoulder in a bid to ease him back to reality. As soon as her fingers grazed the navy-blue materiel of his t-shirt, Steve had a hold of her wrist, throwing her backwards. His baby blue eyes turned dark and cold. "Merde," she cursed under her breath, rolling off the counter she'd been hauled into. "I don't want to fight you," she pleaded, avoiding his punches, but there was no getting through.

"Capitaine, I need you to—" The air was knocked from her lungs and her sentence was cut short. She'd attempted to wrap herself around him, using her momentum to throw the super soldier to the floor, hoping that she could pin him there and awake him from his daze. But he'd caught her part way round, smashing her through the table.