Frostbite

Three

Knowing Steve would come back to his apartment eventually, that's where I went. I had taken the day to make the trip to visit mom and dad's graves. I didn't go as often as I should, the hole they had left behind was still gaping and it was something I avoided prodding at when I could.

I made my way into the apartment building and climbed the stairs up to his floor. I used my key to unlock the door and let myself in. All the lights were off, and nothing looked disturbed, but something felt wrong. I quietly snuck around the corner into the living room, pulling my pistol out as a precaution.

"Jesus Christ!" I gasped. Sitting in one of the chairs was Director Fury, and he looked like hell. He was cut up, bruised, and bleeding from multiple places. I attempted to speak, but he held up a finger signaling me to wait. He turned on the radio next to him, letting the soft music fill the silence.

"Got kicked out, I need to talk to Rogers about crashing here," Fury said slowly. He wanted to wait for Steve; someone was listening. Nodding, I kept silent and sat opposite of him, balancing the gun on my knee and keeping the hall to the front door in my peripheral vision.

We stayed like that for what seemed like forever. There was a small thud from the back of the apartment. Standing slowly, I raised my weapon and crept towards the origin of the noise. When I rounded the bookshelf, I found Steve huddled behind his shield.

"Damn! What is with you people sneaking up on me today?" I huffed, putting my gun away.

"I didn't see your car out front." he defended, lowering the shield.

"Well, no, I had to park down the street."

"What's going on?" he finally asked, noticing I was still tense. I grabbed his hand and dragged him into the living room where Fury was still sitting, barely able to move. Steve looked between the two of us in confusion.

"He needs a place to stay," I said, trying to appear normal.

"My wife kicked me out," Fury tacked on.

"Didn't know you were married," Steve commented, his eyes still flicking between us. He hadn't noticed Fury's injuries yet.

"A lot of things you don't know about me," Fury admitted.

"I know, Nick. That's the problem."

Steve flipped on the lights and was taken aback. Fury pulled the switch on the lamp, putting us back in the dark. He then pulled out his phone and typed something, turning it toward us, so we could see. It read: 'ears everywhere'.

"I'm sorry to have to do this, but I had no place else to go," Fury continued as he wrote another text. This one said: 'Shield compromised'. I groaned internally.

"Who else knows about your wife?" Steve asked, tensing up again. Fury showed us another text: 'You and me'.

"Just...my friends," he responded hoarsely. He slowly rose from his seat and came closer.

"Is that what we are?" Steve pondered.

"That's up to you."

Suddenly, there was a popping sound and Fury cried out in pain. Steve shoved me, and I flew sideways, crashing into the hallway. I recognized the noise for what it was: gunfire. Two more shots rang out, and Fury collapsed to the ground. Steve quickly dragged him towards me. He was coughing up blood and moaning in pain.

I jumped up and ran to the kitchen, grabbing a towel. When I came back, Fury was handing Steve a flash drive. Dropping beside him, I attempted to put pressure on the wounds, my hands slightly shaking. He just smacked my hand away lazily.