Reality in Motion

hydra's plan

By the time they got to Sam's house, morning had broke. It had been a full twenty four hours since everything had begun to spiral out of control and it hadn't slowed down for a moment. Time didn't feel real anymore. And now, they were at some stranger's house, hoping he would let them crash until they could figure out a plan of action.

None of them wanted to draw attention to themselves, so they ignored the front door in favor of a side window. Natasha leaned on Steve, still regaining some of her strength after what happened in the bunker. He had an arm around her waist and checked over his shoulder to make sure Q was okay behind them. She was, carrying her backpack full of stolen goods and glancing around every so often to make sure no one on the street was lingering for too long. Not that there were many people out and about at eight am to begin with.

With a knock on the window, the three of them waited a moment until the blinds were pulled up and Sam opened it. He was obviously confused - why wouldn't he be? Three strangers, covered in ash and dust, looking like they just came from a war, were standing at his window in the early morning.

"Hey, man." he greeted Steve first, sounding wary. His eyes flicked over the other two who were flocking him on either side.

"I'm sorry about this." Steve immediately apologized, knowing it wasn't polite to just show up unannounced at someone's window, "But we need a place to lay low."

"Everyone we know is trying to kill us." Nat chimed in, voice rough from lack of use and inhalation of smoke. Sam stared at them for a moment before taking a cursory look around above their heads. He let out a sigh and stepped to the side,

"Not everyone." he responded as a way of inviting them inside his house. Steve helped Nat through the space before following after her, Q bringing up the rear, "Guest room's down the hall. There's a bathroom with towels and whatever else you need." he explained, gesturing down the hall. The group mumbled out their thanks before heading down the hall to the bedroom.

Q went over to the bed, setting her backpack down as Steve checked out the bathroom. Natasha moved over to one of the chairs, lowering herself down and watching as Q opened her backpack up. Her stomach rolled a bit as she realized how much she had stuffed into the backpack in her fit of of crazy.

"I managed to grab some clothes and other things." she started, pulling out random items, "I didn't know you were with him, Nat, but there's...a lot." she sighed, realizing how much she had actually took from the store.

"How'd you manage to fit all of that in there?" Nat asked, getting to her feet to look through the items both on the bed and still in the backpack. She winced, then pulled in her bottom lip.

"Practice." she answered quietly. Nat gave her an impressed look before grabbing a black tank top and a pair of black leather pants. She went into the bathroom as Steve was coming out, shutting the door behind her.

"You went shopping?" he asked, noticing all the items on the bed. Again, she winced. In the moment, she hadn't thought anything of stealing, but now that she was being forced to explain what she had done, she felt guilty about it.

"Sort of." she sighed out, glancing over to him to give him a timid smile. He nodded at her, understanding what she meant, but deciding not to press on it. It didn't matter; she had managed to get them fresh clothes.

Turning her attention back to the items on the bed, she gathered up a few pieces for him. A blue shirt, a pair of khakis and a jacket. She turned around, stepping up to him and holding out the clothes with another small smile. He returned it, taking the items from her. He glanced over his shoulder to where Nat was getting changed in the bathroom. As much as he wanted to take Q in his arms and hold her tight, he didn't want to risk Nat finding out about the two of them quite yet. It wasn't the right time.