«Star Shadows» A Night Angel Sequel

CHAPTER XXVI - AGENT COULSON IS DOWN

April 2012. 10:00. S.H.I.E.L.D's Helicarrier. Somewhere in the sky.

Third Person POV

Steve didn't let go of Sophia, and frankly? Sophia didn't want to let go either. The comfort of his embrace was so soothing, so calming. She felt safe, like his arms were a place where she could forget about every little thing that tormented her, about the world and just be there, in peace. It was like she fitted so well in his arms, that she didn't want to move. It was a sort of shield for her from the reality of the world, her current reality, and she knew that if she moved or if he moved his arms, she was going to be exposed to the world again and she didn't want that.

Steve knew how much Phil meant to Sophia, so he knew what she was feeling right now, he knew this was being hard on her and that she just needed support. But he didn't think he was the right choice for that.

As he held the crying woman in his arms, the words that he said to her at the storage room and at the lab were surfacing to his mind once again and guilt started to make its way into his chest, like a heavy weight pulling everything down. He had said awful things to her and even though she had said a few words of her own, she was just reacting to the things he was saying, it was normal, but he felt like he should be the last person to offer comfort after everything he had just said.

But as she tightened her hold on him around his torso and her small, delicate fists gripped the fabric of his suit, he knew he didn't want to let go, he wanted to hold her and ease all of her worries and sadness, to make her forget of the pain that was starting to run through her veins. He just wanted to protect her from any pain and any harm that might come her way. He had wanted to do that since the first day he met her, but he knew she could and was a very capable woman of taking care of herself. It didn't matter, he was going to do it for as long as he lived, he made a promise to that in the moment.

After what seemed like hours and her body stopped shaking with sobs, Steve pulled away a little and placed a hand on her cheek, removing the tear staining her cheeks. Licking his lips, afraid to break the silence, he cleared his throat softly.

-I'm so sorry, Sophie.- He said, sincerity clear on his face and dripping from his voice.

Sophia could feel the emotion his words were spilling and she instantly knew they were real, that he meant it. Nodding softly, she opened her mouth to speak.

-Thank you, Steve.- Her voice was barely above a whisper and it was hoarse from all the crying, but still, Steve heard her and at the sound his heart clenched, he could almost feel the pain in the simple two words she had spoken. Moving her arms from his torso, before she let them fall, Steve grabbed her hands on his, the warm touch instantly calming Sophia. He took a look at her hands and saw them stained in crimson, the blood had already dried in her hands, his eyes instantly checking for any injuries or looking for the source of the bleeding, but then he found just the small cuts he had seen before when she saved him that were no bigger than half an inch, and he knew those were not the source for the blood covered skin, that's when it dawned on him.

Sophia was the one that found Phil.

She was the one to see him first, to be there until the medics and Nick arrived.

She saw life leave his eyes slowly and his body shut down.

She had tried to save him.

The blood on her hands, was Phil's

Suddenly, Steve's heart broke a lot more for her. When he felt her crash into him minutes ago, he had thought that she had been coming from somewhere else and found out about the news on her way back, but now that he saw her hands, all the pieces fitted together like a puzzle.