At all costs

Chapter V

« We must be prepared. No rush. No hesitation. » Steve states.

Nat nods in agreement, pushing back the sense of urgency to fly immediately to Greenland. She hates to admit it, but going right away would be a huge mistake, considering the fact that Steve doesn't have his shield anymore and their lack of training the last few months. They need to get more information. That's why she is frantically typing on her computer keyboard. She's trying to get into a Russian server, hack into their satellites. They are the only ones powerful enough to provide them with accurate images.

« Are you in already? » Steve wonders.

« Not yet. »

Steve feels powerless. He is aware to be overwhelmed by technology and even more so by computers. He prefers to let Nat act. She is much more talented than him and anyway, he knows that she needs to act to calm down. He won't stop her from acting, he doesn't want to die. Yet, he wishes he could help her more, besides fighting. He can't help but play with his fingers, waiting. He already checked around the house, cleaned the bedroom, done the dishes, washed their clothes. Three times each. Nat rolls her eyes and looks at him.

« Stop it Steve. You make me sick walking around like that! » she groans.

« I'm sorry, it's just- » he sighs loudly.

Her eyes soften. She isn't mad, how could she?

« Come here » she tells him, tapping the couch next to her.

Steve walks and sits next to her. Her perfume reaches him, and closes his eyes two seconds to savor its flavor. She takes his hand, still tapping on the keyboard with the other, and caress his palm with her thumb. That's incredible the power she has on him. This simple gesture manages to appease him almost immediately and he lets his body relax on the couch.

He realizes he felt asleep only when Nat caresses his cheek to wake him up. Still half asleep, he takes her tiny hand in his and kisses her palm.

« I'm in, Steve. »

He looks at the screen. Indeed, Nat has successfully completed her operation and is now connected to Russian servers. Steve is watching the pictures live. Nat focused all the research on Greenland. Despite high technology, images remain blurred or incomplete due to the magnetic disturbance. However, they are able to distinguish an organization into concentric circles. Thanos' army is huge. If he ever decides to put it into action, as things stand at the moment, there is very little chance that anyone will be able to stop him. In the centre of the circle, a kind of base can be seen, as big as a football field.

« It's awful Steve, we... We can't. If he decides to attack, we will never be able to handle it. » she says, staring at the screen.

Steve takes her chin between his fingers and lifts it up to make her look at him.

« Listen to me, » his voice is calm and confident « we will. We will manage because you and I are connected. We will succeed because I swear we won't be alone if he attacks. We will succeed because the Avengers will stand the ground. WE will stand our ground. We already saved Earth twice. We won't fail protecting it once more. »

He catches one tear falling on her cheeks with his thumb.

« We will do everything we can to win. And as Tony would say, if we can't protect Earth, we will avenge it for sure. » he smiles.

Nat smiles back and Steve feels a little better knowing he changed her mood a little bit. She pecks his lips and pulls away. She lies down, her head on his nap. His heart flinches when his eyes lay on hers. She has huge black under-eye circles, way sharper than before. He noise that recently, she seems more pale and even skinnier than before, although they manage to eat so much as they did so far. He hopes she isn't sick, because it would mean he is leading her directly to her death. As strong as she is, even she can't fight endlessly while being sick.