Stark Found [completed!]

Chapter 16: Motivation

Steve

My search was never ending. Sam gave me pamphlets on PTSD. I spoke with former POW's. The internet was still proving to be endlessly useful. And yet, I still could not understand why Bucky and Sophie were treating me the way they were. You'd think I had betrayed them. We managed to find them, things were beginning to get back to normal between all of us, and now, suddenly, as if a switch had flipped, they were no longer the people of my memories.

After we were able to find a way to get rid of Bucky's brainwashing, things were better between us. I took a break from the Avengers, from finding Sophie, and we hung out. Just like old times. We were able to catch a few films we'd missed, and helped teach a few kids how to box at the local gym by our old neighborhood. Now he's back to brooding, again.

Sam said to, "Give it time. We can't understand what he went through with the brainwashing. Maybe something triggered a part of his PTSD and he's trying to deal with it on his own. When he's ready, he'd come back." But that was proving to be more difficult than I ever expected.

"Find anything?"

I shut the laptop out of surprise. Only when I heard the glass crack and saw that my fist had gone through the thin cover did I realize I was using a tablet. A broken tablet. Sharon shook her head, a smile playing on her lips as she took the seat next to me.

"Didn't know you were that type of guy."

"What type?"

"The type that watched-" she met my eyes. "Um, never mind. Hear anything else about the plane? Tasha said she'd be sending over anything she found."

"I-uh-no. I haven't heard any news. And Stark's satellites haven't been much help, either. They revealed nothing more than what we already knew. Something was distracting him, too, and he wouldn't help us get into the Canadian satellites to see if we could zoom in some more."

I sighed heavily. My shoulders dropped in sore pain. The super soldier serum didn't do much for anxiety. Especially since I have this constant need to fight and rescue.

"You're so tense. Need a massage?" Sharon offered. I leaned forward. She took that as a yes and sat on the back of the couch and began kneading my shoulders. It felt too good to object. Too often I was so caught up with working that I forgot to take care of myself.

I reached back and put a hand on one of Sharon's. "Thank you. I appreciate you being here through all of... everything."

She wrapped her arms around me, our cheeks touching as her head rested on my shoulder. "Of course. I'd do anything for you."

And I did something I thought I'd never do; I kissed her.

Sophie

After dinner, my dad dropped me off in front of the motel. He had continued to delay leaving the restaurant multiple times. I began to think he was up to something. Most of the time he was trying to convince me to let him rent out an apartment for me, or preferably buy a condo in Manhattan. I think the roaches was what made him decide it crossed a line. I had adamantly refused, but he was starting to convince me by the end of it. Whatever it took to shut him up.

Staring at the building in the dark, it didn't look so bad. All of the dirt and trash was hidden in the shadows, so that helped a lot with the curb appeal. All the thugs and vagrants standing nearby was a bit unsettling, but I knew I could take any number of them if it came down to it.