UNRAVELED ~ STEVE ROGERS [3]

Chapter Seven

I hovered over Steve’s shoulder, reading the Accords as he held them in his hands. His brow was furrowed, and his lips pursed in a hard line. I was sitting next to him, but I might as well have been sitting on him with how close I was. My chin was almost resting on his bicep, but I didn’t allow myself to touch him. There were boundaries I had given myself, and although I loved Steve with all my heart I couldn’t let him know. Every rom com ever created told me that. When you fall in love with your best friend, it changes things, and this was one thing I couldn’t bear to change.

We were only part-way through the Accords, but I had already made up my mind, and I had a feeling Steve had as well. I understood why they wanted to do this though. Restriction could be good. It could stop the endless stream of damage we left behind.

But if we were needed somewhere, and they didn’t let us go, then we’d have even more blood on our hands. And I couldn’t let that happen.

The section about Inhumans was even more specific with it’s restrictions. We couldn’t wear masks. We had to be recognisable. We had to be registered to be able to exist inside the law.

“Registration. That’s where it will start,” I muttered as Steve turned a page. Behind me, Sam and Rhodey were arguing but I tuned their babbling out.

“Where what will start?” Steve asked, not taking his eyes from the page.

“Registration leads to oppression. And oppression leads to exploitation. I’ve seen enough dystopian movies to know the signs,” I cursed, pausing to take a sip from my vodka filled hip flask. I desperately wanted a smoke, but Tony said I could only vape inside, so I guess that would have to do.

A cloud of berry smelling smoke wafted from my mouth and nose, dissipating within a few seconds. Steve scrunched up his nose but didn’t say anything. He preferred it when I used good old fashioned cigarettes, not my new-fangled smoke contraption.

“Secretary Ross has a Congressional Medal of Honour, which is one more than you have,” Rhodey said savagely behind me. I twisted around to watch the argument, hoping for some drama.

“So, let’s say we agree to this thing. How long is it gonna be before they LoJack us like a bunch of common criminals?” Sam countered.

“117 countries want to sign this. 117 Sam, and you’re just like ‘No that’s cool, we got it.’”

“How long are you going to play both sides?” Sam said harshly.

“I have an equation.” I spun around in my seat to see Vision, weirdly normal looking in his sweater and collared shirt. His golden eyes looked around at us.

“In the eight years since Mr Stark announced himself as Ironman, the number of known enhanced persons as grown exponentially. And during the same period, the number of potentially world-ending events has risen at a commensurate rate.”

“Are you saying that’s our fault?” Steve said sharply, looking up from the Accords.

“I’m saying there may be a causality. Our very strength invited challenge. Challenge incites conflict. And conflict...breeds catastrophe. Oversight…oversight is not an idea that can be dismissed out of hand.”

“Boom,” Rhodey said, gesturing at Vision and looking at Sam. I looked over at Tony at the same time as Natasha. He lay on the couch, one hand covering his pained expression.

“Tony, you’re being uncharacteristically non-hyperverbal,” she commented, smiling.

“It’s because he’s already made up his mind,” Steve said, his voice hard. I glanced his way for a moment, then back to Tony.