Fear on Fire - Steve Rogers x Reader (Completed)

Part 3

1,242 words

"What's the plan, Cap?" You forced your hands to stop trembling from fear as you lifted your tired eyes up to meet Steve's. You were about twenty minutes from the submarine and you were beyond petrified. The excessive radiation of heat coming from the center of the ocean was enough of a clue for you and Steve to assume that that was where the submarine was located, but your only wish was for it to be a false alarm so that you could go back to the compound and hide from the people who were bound to suspect things soon enough.

Your heart thumped against your ribcage and the pounding repeated in your ears, reminding you of the thing you and Steve were flying above and had been flying above the past few hours. You evaded your eyes from the large windows that showed the entire landscape before you, which to you was only dark water that would swallow you whole if you were to fall in. It wouldn't allow you to scream for help, and its creatures would eat your flesh just seconds after the oxygen was ripped from your lungs.

"Tell F.R.I.D.A.Y. to land the Quinjet safely and then jump into the water and swim our way to the submarine. It should be surfacing in a few minutes." Steve shifted his weight and turned towards you as he spoke but kept his eyes on the view through the front windows of the jet. He was deep in thought, probably going over his plan again to ensure it was satisfactory for the mission.

Meanwhile, you had to grit your teeth, clench your jaw, and squeeze about every muscle in your body to prevent yourself from going into a panic again. You remained in your place, sitting on the floor with your legs in front of you and your arms to your sides as you focused on the spikes and patterns on your stealth suit in an attempt to regulate your breathing.

You finally processed Steve's words and you almost cried out, begging him to take you back to the compound, to abort the mission, to scream that you had Thalassophobia and that you couldn't do it, but that wasn't an option anymore. It was too late. Besides, you couldn't let your fear control your life anymore. You were sick and tired of having it hold you back. But swimming, in the deepest part of the ocean without a lifejacket or anything? It was probably the scariest thing you had ever thought about, and you would be doing it in a matter of minutes.

Or seconds.

"It's surfacing. Ready your weapons and I'll open the door. F.R.I.D.A.Y. land this jet somewhere safe and lock it up after we leave." Steve glanced over to you as F.R.I.D.A.Y. replied in her usual monotone voice and nodded as he watched you stand and prepare for battle. "It's gonna be cold water. We're in the Atlantic. But don't focus on that. Focus on the mission and no matter what, do not stop moving your arms and legs. Got it?"

You nodded, stomach swirling and blood becoming cold in your veins. He was right. It was going to be the coldest water you'd ever been in contact with but as long as you listened to Steve and maybe even tried not focusing on the fact that it was the ocean, you would be fine. You were stronger than a human, so maybe you were like Steve and weren't affected by cold water or any of that 'human stuff'.

"Good. I'll lower the jet so we won't need parachutes."

"It's not like you use them anyway," You mumbled, under your breath, but Steve's super soldier hearing caught it and he chuckled softly. You cursed softly and realized what you said and that you cursed. "Sorry."

He smiled and shook his head, grabbing his shield from the floor and placing it on the clip on his back before turning back around to face you. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be."

He slowly lowered the Quinjet until you could see the water and pressed the button to open the door. You felt the water hit you from your speed and the close proximity but you tried forgetting about that as you walked over and stood next to Steve. You began whispering to yourself that you could do it - that you would survive - but the negative thoughts would always outnumber the positive ones.

"Okay, on three." Steve paused and inhaled deeply. causing you to do the same. "One..." You grabbed his hand and wrapped your digits around the side of his pinkie finger. You thought about lacing your fingers with his but decided against that. He firmly gripped your hand and offered a reassuring smile. "Two... Three!"

You both jumped from the Quinjet and began falling right as the submarine surfaced. You braced yourself for the cold water and when it came, your body just about froze in fear and from the temperature of the water. You tried moving your arms and legs like Steve had told you, but it ended up looking like you were drowning. You glanced over and saw him offer you a look of worry and confusion.

"I..." You dug through your brain and tried thinking of something to tell him. He was getting suspicious and you both knew that the submarine would only be above water for a few minutes to gather more oxygen. "I'm not a great swimmer," You lied and he seemed to buy it.

"Just a bit longer, alright? Try not to be so abrupt. Follow my movement." You watched as he glided through the water slowly and effortlessly and attempted to copy it. "They probably already know we're here but we don't want to attract more attention than we need to." He smiled and began swimming faster. You kept up with him, and the thought that you were in the ocean completely slipped your mind. You were just... swimming with Steve, which was a pleasant thought.

In a short amount of time, you reached the submarine and Steve helped you to the top. You slowly walked across the vessel, careful to keep your footsteps quiet and watched Steve twist the latch to open the door. He jumped down into the submarine first in case you needed help, which you did, and helped you down before you glanced around seeing only darkness. You were both lucky you arrived late at night because not a soul was awake. At least, that's what you thought.

Steve must have heard them, seeing that he stepped in front of you and pulled his shield from his back, protecting you both from whatever was there. Suddenly, the lights switched on and you squinted before the figures stepped forward. Your heart began beating as you watched the HYDRA agents walk towards you and that's when Steve slowly turned around, finally noticing that you were both surrounded.

You couldn't process what was happening until you were being taken away from Steve who was attempting to fight off more than twenty HYDRA agents at once. And that's when you screamed. You screamed and kicked, throttling your body to escape the agents but it was no use. You had no powers because you were surrounded by water which was not one of your elements.

The last thing you remembered was screaming Steve's name before everything went black, and you were forced into unconsciousness.