Romanogers One - Shots

You're Safe, Love {Steve}

<Steve>

warnings: none

"Steve, Natasha's been gone for almost a year," Tony spoke into my comms. "I don't mean to discourage you or anything, it's just if she was taken by the KGB and Zemo's decided to mess with her head, she's going to be nearly impossible to trace. Need me to send FRIDAY in?"

"No thanks, buddy. Just have the Quinjet ready," I said. "And it's not a waste of time. She's my girlfriend. I'll dive to the bottom of the sea for her. I think I'm close, anyway." I stood on the sidewalks in downtown Volgograd. It was busy, and people bustled past me, getting where they needed to go. I adjusted the light leather jacket I was wearing as a civilian cover. It was more difficult to hide the shield. I hoped it looked like a cosplay prop.

Several shiny buildings loomed over me. The classic large, dark windows glinted in the sunlight. Metal and glass doors showed busy people inside, sitting at desks, rushing around in suits with briefcases. I saw something else. I saw Hydra agents and KGB agents, all using this as their cover. The name of the business alone was a Hydra anagram.

The light glinted off of one of the briefcases and I saw the Hydra logo. The confirmation that I needed.

"I think she's in here. I'm going in." I strode into the building, trying to blend in with all the blue collared stiffs in here. I shifted and recalled the night Nat disappeared.

_________

It was the night after a tiring mission. Everyone was crashing in the Avengers tower. Natasha was hit especially hard. She sat in the Quinjet seat, tossing and turning. I couldn't tell whether or not she was asleep. Finally, she sat up and screamed. I watched her as she sat, panting. A sheen of sweat was visible on her forehead.

Nightmares. We all suffered from them, but Natasha's were the worst. She would often be found punching a dummy down in the training area at around two in the morning. Or she'd be down at Tony's bar, usually with shattered bottles surrounding her seat and several shot glasses. And usually herself, holding a gun, shaking, firing at every bottle of red wine on the rack.

So I sent her to bed, with two sleeping pills to keep her under. My mistake.

I awoke at midnight to the muffled sound of thumps on the window to her room, as the door between our rooms were open. Two figures tromped across the floor, and I bolted out of bed to take them. Something caught me by the throat and I was thrown backwards. I was frozen in place, unable to get up.

I saw them lift Natasha's prone form out of her bed, the moonlight glinting off of her red hair. I saw them lower her down, and then climb out themselves. Then the grip released. A machine dropped to the ground off of my neck. I didn't care. I ran over to the window. They were gone. And so was my Natasha. The Natasha I loved. The one I swore to protect till my dying day.

_________

"Steve, you've got six hostiles pinpointing you and headed your way," Tony warned me. I kept my walk even as I saw them. Characteristic black glasses, dark suits.

"The number one thing about going on the run. Walk, don't run."

Natasha had told me something along those line when we'd first had to go undercover. We had been in a large mall district, and we had been headed into the Apple electronics outlet, to download some things on a S.H.I.E.L.D drive. It was our first kiss, standing on that escalator. That lead to something bigger. And then she was abducted.

Shots rang out, shaking me back to reality. I dropped behind my shield. The place burst into utter chaos. Bullets pinged off of my cover, and I ducked behind a desk. I watched a man. He looked particularly nervous, and then he disappeared. I couldn't see where he'd gone, other than there was a rocky wall in front of him. Must've been the cliche: a movable rock. It was the most obvious choice, but most at S.H.I.E.L.D. were trained to choose the most sneaky, elusive traps.

I wasn't sure how I'd get there. Hydra agents were all but surrounding me. Pulling a gun from my holster, I fired at the closest agents and dove for the rock wall. I rolled and skid on my shield, then stood, using a hand to support myself on the wall. A rock shifted and it opened a crack. I pushed it open and ran in. That was too easy. It slammed shut behind me, and only a few agents made it through. I threw my shield, letting it ricochet and kill the remaining hostiles.

"Cap, where are you? We've lost all visual, as well as tracker," Hill said.

"In a secret section of the building. Do you have evac ready?"

"On your mark, Cap," she replied.

I snuck through a heavy metal door. It reminded me oddly of something I'd been told about before. Or seen. I wasn't sure. It had fingerprints on the glass with stains of blood. The door bolted shut, and had something written in Russian on it.

I cut the lock with the sharp edge of my shield and burst through. I saw a figure, hung upside down by its feet. I couldn't tell whether it was female or male. All of a sudden, swinging lights, like handheld flashlights came bobbing into the room. More agents. And Zemo himself from the sound of his voice.

"Get him!" Zemo shouted. Then he said something in Russian and the agents all attacked me in perfect synchronization. I launched at them one by one, knocking them out or shooting them or just plain up killing them. Soon they were all on the floor in front of me. Zemo stood in front of me. Then he launched for me himself.

"You will never get her," he hissed. He held a knife over my throat. Rolling out from underneath his grip, I kicked his legs out from under him, and hit him in the head with my shield. Then I stood, trying to find a light. From the lights that the agents had dropped, I could tell it was Natasha. The curve of the suit over her breasts, pale, blood covered skin, red hair. Her eyes were closed.

"Or maybe I will," I said. I found the light switch and flicked it on. In the better lighting, I could see how much of a wreck Natasha really was. Her face was so caked with blood and dirt that I could only see streaks of pale skin. She was strung upside down above a giant container of water. She was bound around the torso and ankles, and completely unconscious.

"Natasha?" I said. I pulled a knife out of my boot. I carefully cut her bindings and lowered her to the floor, cradling her in my arms. She still was unconscious, her breathing shallow. I splashed water onto her face, cleaning off some of the mud. "I have her, Hill. Send the Quinjet to the nearest evac area."

"Will do, Cap."

"Natasha, wake up, love," I said. She lay limp in my arms. I cleaned her face off and saw the criss cross of cuts on her face and body. Her suit was barely even a suit anymore. It was shredded. I pulled my jacket over her. I pushed her hair out of her face, untangling the knots in it. I couldn't imagine how much torture she was put through.

"Steve...?" She croaked. Her lips were dry, and they split when she spoke, a fresh trail of blood trickling down her chin, onto her neck. She was so small, she'd lost so much weight. I held her and placed her arm around my neck.

"Hey, it's me, Steve, yeah," I said, choking on my tears. It felt so good to hold her again. She shivered, and I noticed her suit was wet. "Where am I? W-what's happened?"

"You've been gone for a year Nat," I said quietly. "We just found you."

"Am I in danger?"

"No, you're safe, love," I said, kissing her on the forehead. I picked her up, trying to avoid her bruises. She shook violently in my arms. "Now, we're going to get you out of here." I cradled her in my arms and let her rest her head on my chest. Then I jogged towards the exit.

"Hill, I'm going to need the Quinjet now."

---

This is my Romanogers one shot book! If you enjoyed this, please go read my other Romanogers story Avenger or Assassin!