Lost in the Mirror (Avengers Fan Fiction)

[ 15 ]

The hallway was closing in on Delaney. She tried to pick up her pace so that she could get to the safety of her office quicker but it didn't seem to work. Her lungs weren't working and she felt like she was suffocating. Something was smothering her. Delaney gasped and stopped for a second to lean against the wall. Her throat was dry and closing up. She wanted to give up and just fall to the floor where she was but she knew she needed to get to her office in case something happened and someone trying to help her got hurt.

"Delaney?" A familiar voice spoke. Delaney couldn't put a face or name with the voice. Her head was spinning to much. She wanted to vomit. As she hunched over, a hand found her shoulder.

"Delaney, are you okay?"

"I-I–My.... office." She choked out. Hot tears stained her cheeks as she spoke.

"Okay, sweetheart, just count with me until we get there." Whoever it was helping her put their arm around her waist and led her down the hall. "One, two-Come on, Del. Count with me."

His voice was soft and soothing to her tangled mind.

"One.... One." She whispered, her hand squeezing his bicep.

"Good, good." He nodded his head. "Now two."

"Two."

"Three. We're almost there, sweetie."

"Three." Delaney closed her eyes and put her trust in the unknown person. With every number she took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly. By the time they reached twenty, she was at her office. The door was opened and Delaney pushed away from the person. She all but collapsed on to the sofa in her office. She leaned against the arm of the sofa with an elbow and proceeded to sob into her hands. Steve closed the door behind himself and went to her side. He placed an arm around her shoulders and almost instantly, she melted into his arms.

"It's okay, baby. I'm right here. I won't let anyone hurt you." He murmured into her ear, repeating the same thing over and over until he felt her start to calm down. She was giving off an excessive amount of body heat, something Steve didn't think happened to anyone other than himself. He brushed his fingers through her hair and pressed a soft kiss to her temple in an attempt to calm her down. "It's okay, Delaney."

She kept her eyes shut as she remained buried in his chest. His arms made her feel comfortable and safe. None of her worries could hurt her with his big, muscular arms around her.

"Steve." Her voice was raspy as she spoke into his chest.

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"Thank.... Thank you, Steve."

"Anytime, Delaney." He smiled softly. "Do you want to talk about it now?"

Delaney nodded her head and slowly took her face out of his chest. His arms left her and she scooted back in the sofa. She wiped her cheeks with the sleeves to her white long sleeve. Foundation, mascara, and eyeliner stained the white material. She pulled her knees to her chest, glad that she had worn dress pants that day, and continued to take even breaths.

"I-I just wanted to.... to feel something, Steve." She whispered, shaking her head as she kept her eyes on her knees. "I didn't want to feel confused anymore. I wanted to figure out.... who I was for myself."

"What did you do, Delaney?" Steve's brows crinkled together. He thought of all the things she could've done that could have made her have a panic attack like the one he had just witnessed. In all their years of friendship, he had only seen her have one panic attack and it hadn't been nearly as bad as what just happened.

"I kissed him." Her eyes shut and she hung her head. It took Steve a few minutes to realize what she was saying.

"You kissed Loki." He spoke quietly. Delaney nodded her head. "How did he react?"