𝙼𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝙼𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚙𝚞𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 ~ Steve Rogers

Withholding the Truth ~ 24

Steve now dons his suit, prepared to embark on the mission at hand alongside the others— the quest to locate Ultron. However, he finds himself handed the less desirable task by the group: deliver Eva's phone without arousing suspicion.

Entering the guest room he guided Eva to the previous night, Steve closes the door with a hushed precision, mindful of the fact that Eva should still be concluding her time in the adjacent shower rooms. A hint of unease lingers as Steve, unaccustomed to such covert maneuvers, surveys the room, contemplating the optimal spot to discreetly place her phone before swiftly making his exit.

His gaze flits to the unmade bed, and with a sense of urgency, Steve strides towards it. Swiftly, he tucks Eva's phone beneath one of the disheveled pillows, orchestrating the scene to suggest she absentmindedly left it there while she slept. A soft exhale of satisfaction escapes him as he turns towards the door.

As he reaches for the handle, the door yields without his touch. Reacting instinctively, Steve steps back, narrowly avoiding a collision. To his surprise, the door reveals a vision of Eva—cloaked in nothing but two strategically placed towels, one draped around her body and the other securing her damp hair.

Evangeline's eyes widen at the unexpected intruder in her provisional sanctuary. Her hands instinctively move to secure the top part of her towel, ensuring its integrity. Steve's eyes, mirroring her astonishment, focus on a different wavelength, captivated by the unforeseen tableau unfolding before him.

" Qu'est-ce que tu fais?" Eva inquires, eventually, her tone carrying a blend of curiosity and suspicion. She steps inside, allowing him to close the door for her privacy, and raises a brow, her gaze fixed on him with a discerning scrutiny.

Steve swallows, clearing his throat in an attempt to regain composure. Endeavouring to maintain eye contact solely with her face, he responds a tad too hastily, "I was, uh, just checking where you were." There's a hint of uncertainty in his words. Eva perches herself on the edge of the bed, one arm still securing the towel around her body as she gracefully removes the other towel from her head.

Eva remains silent, opting to towel-dry her hair while keeping a careful eye on the soldier. A subtle twitch at the corner of her lips forms into a smirk as she observes his evident fluster, his gaze determinedly avoiding hers. Suddenly, a vibration emanates from beneath the pillow, drawing both of their attention in that direction. Eva glances back at Steve, now wearing a faint frown, yet she shifts her position to reach for the phone without bothering to check the notification. Her smile makes a reappearance as she tosses the phone to the side of the bed.

"So, Peter returned my phone in the end?" she muses, her tone playful. 

"Huh? How did you know?" It's Steve's turn to wear a puzzled frown.

"You really believe I wouldn't notice the only possession I have in this place go missing?" Eva laughs, shaking her head, and resumes towel-drying her hair. "Especially when it mysteriously disappears right after Peter, the last one in that room, leaves. Your room," she explains, her gaze intent on his.

"So why didn't you say anything?" Steve seems to have forgotten about his earlier awkwardness, his gaze matching hers with quite the intensity.

"Would there have been much of a point?" Eva shrugs in response. "Would any of you really have done anything? Besides, if Peter needs to take my phone to find a reason not to trust me..." She trails off, discarding the towel she was using for her hair, letting it fall to the floor as a long silence envelopes them both.

"Who's the voicemail from, Eva?" Steve finally queries after their hushed silence, his tone returning to the stoicism that Eva is accustomed to receiving from him. He straightens as she looks over, appearing somewhat stumped by his question.

"What voicemail?" Eva responds, her expression innocent.

Steve finally walks over, picking up the phone from her side as she only watches him approach.

"The voicemail on your phone, Eva?" he asks.

Still frowning, Eva relinquishes control of her phone, observing as Steve manipulates it until he clicks a button, allowing the threatening message to play out for both of them to hear. Her eyes widen, betraying that this is genuinely the first time she's listening to this ominous voicemail. As the message concludes, Eva merely glances up at Steve, a glare now etched onto her features.

"You've truly not heard that until now?" Steve lowers the phone in his hand, now a little hesitant but maintaining a stern expression. Eva shakes her head slowly, her glare softening.

"Well, who is it?" Steve tries a different approach.

"Je ne sais pas," Eva answers simply, conveying that she does not know. However, frustrated with the lack of answers, Steve rolls his eyes and lets the phone fall back onto the bed beside her.

"How could you have a message like that on your phone for a week and not hear it until now, Eva?" Steve persists, finding it difficult to accept her apparent innocence in the matter.

"Je ne sais pas, Rogers!" Her scowl returns as she stands up from the bed, visibly annoyed.

"And you expect me to believe you?" He argues, moving closer in frustration. The two of them are unusually close now in this heated confrontation.

"Why the hell would I lie?" Eva growls through her teeth.

"Because all you've done is lie, since the second you walked in here." His voice drops to a lower octave, matching her intense glare. Eva laughs bitterly in response.

"I haven't lied once. I've told all of you the truth when asked... Withholding information for my safety isn't lying." Eva's voice carries a dangerous tone, fueled by anger at the accusations being made.

"Okay..." Steve responds in a lower tone, inching even closer. "So I'm asking you, Eva. Who the hell is after you?" There's a pause as Eva hesitates, the proximity between them suddenly palpable.

"I DON'T KNOW!" She yells, her voice echoing throughout the room. The heavy glares persist for a tense silence until Eva finally steps back, pointing to the door. "Sors d'ici," she commands, her jaw clenched.

This breaks Steve out of his vexed expression. He hesitates at her words but eventually sighs deeply, shaking his head in disappointment, and heads for the door. Eva watches him, still glaring. "I'm also going to need some clothes... Didn't exactly pack for an overnight stay," she drawls sarcastically, gesturing to the towel wrapped around her body. His eyes briefly flicker there until he walks out, closing the door behind him without another word.

Alone in the room, Eva lets out a frustrated sigh, her emotions swirling in the aftermath of the confrontation. She moves to the edge of the bed, running a hand through her damp hair, and then grabs her discarded towel from the floor, only to toss it across the room in anger.

As she paces the room, her mind races with unanswered questions and a lingering frustration at the mysterious threats that seem to encircle her. The voicemail still echoes in her mind, a haunting reminder of the dangers she faces.

Meanwhile, outside the room, Steve leans against the corridor wall, exhaling heavily. The encounter has left him uneasy, torn between a desire for answers and the recognition that Eva might truly be in the dark about the threats against her.

With a resigned shake of his head, Steve contemplates the complexities of the situation. The mission to find Ultron now seems intertwined with a more personal mission — understanding the tantalizing mystery that is Eva.