Mister Rogers ⍟ || Steve Rogers

5

Steve had left me in the empty hospital restroom while he retrieved the hard drive he had left behind. 

I stood over the sink, splashing cold water over my face. It didn't help. My reflection looked like someone I couldn't recognize. My eyes remained hard, and my shoulders were unusually tense.

To me, S.H.I.E.L.D. had always been a safe place. However, in the past 24 hours, it had all slipped right through our fingers. The place I had spent the past few years of my life calling home was now lost, and the only person who could help had just been pronounced dead. 

Unexpectedly, Steve stormed into the restroom, shoving both of us into a stall.

I looked at him, my eyes concerned and searching his for any signs of imminent danger, "What took you so long?"

"I found Natasha. She told me about Fury's killer," he whispered. He paused. "But it looks like she's going to stay here for now. She's still mourning."

I studied his face and recognized the lie. Slowly, I asked, "Where are we going where Natasha can't join us?"

"We're going to find out what's on this." He placed the hard drive in my palm. 

I flipped it around in my fingers a couple of times before firmly shaking my head. "The minute we plug this into a computer, S.H.I.E.L.D. will know exactly where we are. There will be hardly any time to look through the files."

"We'll work fast then, before they can catch us," said Steve.

"There has to be at least a dozen firewalls keeping this information safe."

"Just find where the drive was made, that's all I'm asking," he said.

"Well I'm no where near Natasha's level when it comes to hacking. We should just ask her--"

"I'm asking you, Addy. I don't trust her like I trust you," interrupted Steve. He shook his head. "Not yet. She hasn't proven she's on our side. Look, I can't do this alone. I need your help."

I wanted to say yes and just go with him, but it wasn't that simple. I knew Steve would protect me, keep me safe, but a mission like this was far past what I had been trained for. The teams I once worked with would be fighting against me and it was the unpredictability of the future that struck fear in me. I would never admit any of this out loud, but I could tell Steve already knew. However, he also knew I wouldn't let him go against all of S.H.I.E.L.D. alone. 

Steve reached for my hand, closing my fingers around the hard drive in my palm, "What do you say?"

"This is insane," I mumbled, rubbing my eyes tiredly.

"To the mall, then," he pulled my hand, leading us out of the restroom.

-

I struggled to keep up with Steve's fast walking pace as we traveled through the mall. I looked up at him and saw his eyes nervously scanning our surroundings, "You know if you keep looking like that you're going to blow our cover."

He slowed his steps instantly, keeping his head forward. I held my eyes on him, smirking. "The glasses were a nice touch."

Without breaking stride, he reached over and shoved the brim of my baseball cap down over my eyes.

"Hey!" I pushed it back up, shooting him a look as I slipped my hands into my pockets. His stoic expression had been replaced with a satisfied smile.

We finally entered the Apple Store and I selected a laptop that faced a wall in the back. Steve tapped my waist, nodding to the security camera pointed directly at our laptop. He stood behind me, blocking the screen from the camera's view.