Eris ▷ s.rogers [1] ✔️

28.| I LOST MYSELF AGAIN

STEVE STOOD ON THE EMPTY ROOFTOP and gazed out at the silent night beyond.

There were a million things going on in his mind, but only silence on his tongue. In a matter of four days, everything had come crashing down. Rumlow was dead. The team was split. Peggy was gone.

Eris had vanished.

Steve closed his eyes and tried to take a breath. Gone in her sleep, they'd said. A quick, painless death that had been a long time coming.

But it didn't make it hurt any less.

Everything hurt.

Steve rubbed at his temples, trying to quiet his thoughts. The current matter at hand was that of the Accords. But in his chest, his heart screamed otherwise. There was another matter at hand.

Eris had gone. Vanished into the night, not leaving a trace.

Only Vision had enough guts to bring up that fact that maybe, she'd finally taken her leave. That too, would've been a long time coming.

Had Eris ever become a friend? A trusted teammate?

The team seemed split on that too.

Which was why her vanishing wasn't top priority. Tony had the nearby satellites searching for the woman, but at the moment, she was on her own. Perhaps it was for the best.

She'd always claimed she didn't belong.

But that either, didn't make it hurt any less.

See you when I see you. Steve couldn't help but wonder now if that had been her way of saying goodbye. Maybe she'd always been more of a stranger than he'd thought.

His throat constricted and Steve sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"Cap?"

Sam stepped at his side. Steve hadn't heard the rooftop door open, but he wasn't surprised to see the man. The others would be flying out to Vienna, where the signing was to take place. But Sam and Natasha were going with him to London.

And then... then Steve didn't know where he'd be going.

If he'd finally wanted to settle down again, that hope was gone. Gone with the woman who'd vanished. Hope gone. It was a cruel irony.

Sam shifted at his side. "You good, man?"

"I'm good, Sam."

"Really?"

He chuckled softly. "What, I don't look it?"

"Since Shadow-girl left? No, not really."

"She did leave, didn't she?"

Sam placed a gentle hand on his shoulder and Steve forced a small smile. But it was clear that the man wasn't buying it. "Ross could've used her against us in the Accords, anyway. There's no way she would've signed. Maybe it works out."