Rogue Solider

Fresh Start

I woke up on the floor panting and crying tangled up in my comforter. I wiped my forehead and noticed I was also in a cold sweat. I stood up and looked at my digital clock and it read 2:00 am. I knew there was no way in hell that I was going to be able to sleep so I made my way down the stairs and to the kitchen. The light in the kitchen was on and someone had something in the microwave and I had an idea.

Grateful for the fact that I slept in socks and did not take them off, I crept to the corner before the living room and stopped. I crouched, then jumped in the air. " HAAAAA!" I said and when I landed on the ground I slammed my feet with a thud on the floor. Steve jumped so hard that popcorn flew all over the place and he turned around eyes wide with shock and surprise. I started cracking up so hard I had to grab the counter for support.

Steve started softly laughing as well while picking up his mess. As I calmed down I started helping. " I have not laughed that hard in years. I haven't laughed in general in years. Thank you." I threw away my handful of popcorn then sat on the counter. Steve grabbed a new bag of popcorn and looked at the instructions.
"Why are up this early?" I raised an eyebrow at him "I could ask you that same question."  He smiled at me and I saw something flash through his eyes that looked like sadness.

"Some nights I sleep through and others I don't." I nodded my head in sympathy. "Same here." He looked at me with empathy "Bad dream?" I nodded my head and looked at my fingers while twiddling my thumbs. "You know sometimes when you get memories as your dreams for a certain amount of time?" Steve nodded his head looking at me intently.  "Well um........ long story short a guy named Donovan said he had an early birthday present for me and it was killing my best friend at the time Jessie in front of me then taking her body out on my birthday."

I sniffed and noticed I was crying so I put my head down I not hands hoping that Steve did not notice. I never thought about Jessie or the day she was murdered. I started crying so hard my body was shaking and then I felt strong, warm arms wrap around me and start swaying side to side. My sobs got a bit louder for a few seconds then I called down and was done. I wrapped my arms around Steve's middle and hugged him back.

He rubbed my back a few times and let go but kept his hands on my arms. "Look at me." I kept my face down and then I felt him gently lift my chin so I was looking at him and felt butterflies in my stomach, and it was new and I did not understand it. "Look at me please. There is no way that I am going to let them take you back. You are safe with me." He rubbed my arms and few more times giving me a small smile.

Steve went to a cupboard, pulled out a bag of popcorn, and put it in the microwave. "You know I can relate with you as far as best friends go." He kept his back to me my turn to comfort someone. I thought to myself. "My best friend Bucky and I were on a team that was going to a Hydra base to shut them down once and for all during WW2. Our team was on one of their trains that was going to that base. We came to a cliff and he fell off the train."

I sat there staring at the back of his head. He turned around leaning against the counter with his arms crossed. He was taking deep breaths and his eyes looked like they were about to turn into Niagara Falls. I held my arms open for him. He smiled at me, came over, and hugged me. "I should probably thank Tony for knocking me out because that was the longest I ever slept since leaving Hydra." I said trying to lighten the mood.