Hold On Soldier ✔️ | marvel

49. Safe House

The jet lands outside a large farmhouse, it's a broad field of grass with a cute little home in the center. It's difficult to look at something so vulnerable. It looks too happy and cute standing in the middle of such green and bright colors. When we slide out of the jet we all walk towards the house.

Thor strides up, "What is this place?"

"A safe house?" Tony replies mocking Clint from earlier.

"Let's hope." Clint says as we all enter the warm house, "Honey, I'm home." He smiles as a lady approaches, "Hi. Company. Sorry I didn't call ahead."

"Hey." The pregnant women smiles and kisses Clint's cheek.

"This is an agent of some kind." Tony confirms with us in shock.

Clint introduces his wife to us, "Gentleman, this is Laura."

"I know all your names." Laura smiles shyly.

Clint gets excited as children run into this awkward scene, "Ooh, incoming."

"Dad!" Clint picks up his giggling daughter.

"I see her!" He kisses his daughters head and proceeds to greet his son, "Hey, buddy! How you guys doing? Ooh..."

Tony continues the joke as we are stunned, "These are...smaller agents."

Clint's joy has paused our current misery, i'm grateful. I'm not trembling anymore but I can still remember it all, Clint smiles still, "Look at your face! Oh, my goodness!"

"Did you bring Auntie Nat?" The little girl wonders cutely.

"Why don't you hug her and find out?" The girl rushes towards Natasha who picks her up in her arms happily.

Steve apologies gently, "Sorry for barging in on you." It's like I haven't heard his voice in centuries, it stings my ears as I remember him dying hours ago.

"Yeah, we would have called ahead, but we were busy having no idea that you existed." Tony presses.

Clint nods as he finally explains, "Yeah, well Fury helped me set this up when I joined. He kept it off S.H.I.E.L.D's files, I'd like to keep it that way. I figure it's a good place to lay low."

"Honey. Ah, I missed you." Clints wife Laura let's out a relief sigh that sounds like she's been holding in for the time he's been gone.

"How's little Natasha, huh?" Nat places her hand on Laura's stomach happily.

Laura hesitates, "She's...Nathaniel." While everyone reunited and chats a little I notice Thor phase out. He can't take what's going on in his head which causes him to rush out of the house. We begin to separate to do our own things, I venture on my own and collide with Steve on the way. His eyes are wide and Thor isn't with him. He attempted to talk with him, I assume Thor left.

When I look at Steve questionably he answers as if I spoke, "Thor left, his vision made him curious about what it really meant." He said with slight defeat.

I can't even look at him or Tony right now, "Bastard left when we were just getting started." Tony joked.

I take a step back, uncomfortable, "I need some air." My nerves have calmed, knowing none of the vision were true. When Ultron said mind games did that mean altering my brain or putting the irreversible future in it? As I walk out the exact place Thor did I practically am forcing every step. It couldn't have been real, Pierce is dead. My feet slam against the fresh untouched grass. But it could symbolize something. All I hear is the punching from my vision that would alter my location every time. I laid a hand on my scalp where the gun placed a bullet as I stagger. I feel suddenly exhausted and my legs buckle. When I hit the grass I feel the warm comfort of the soil. If it weren't for the earth holding up my soul I'd be falling again. I adjust from my kneel and lay within the grass not caring about the potential mystique bites or leaves that could weave between my hair strands. I listen to the peaceful area I've been stranded at. Stranded. It feels like I'm all alone, but it's nice. Maybe Clint was right to say this is a safe house. I hear bickering in the distance and when I sit up I see Tony walking away from Steve. Steve looks at my direction and I look away. Eye contact has always been our connection, today it's our downfall. I fear every step he takes, I feel the swoosh of the grass as he approaches.

"Izzy." He says my name, a whisper, delicate so it won't hurt me. When I lay I stare at the sky, when he calls to me I close them, "Izzy."

"Yes Steve?" He kneels beside me because I hear his knees crack in the process.

"Look at me please." He sounds desperate in his voice, "Are you ok?"

My eyes open and when I see him I push down my anger with concern, "No, are you?"

"I'm working through it." He replies slightly relieved I can face him now. He stays a good distance though because he doesn't want me to freak out any more than I already am. "We've been needing to talk, Wanda's vision and about what happened at the boxing rink."

"I know, it's hard." I admit at a fast tempo. I'm trying to control myself and he can see this. He sits now beside me and I lift to a cross legged position.

"You know i would never wanna force anything out of you." He tells gently, "I just hate seeing you like this." He adjusts his legs to be more comfortable, "I've seen it ever since New York, it's only gotten worse."

"Tony is saying it's anxiety, like he had." I say, "I just don't think that's it."

"What do you think is going on? Hydra?" Steve recalls only snippets of what I've told him.

I groan irritated as I admit, "It's mostly that. Ever since my parents, I've hated Nick and everyone but then I find out that it was Hydras cause. Pierce and... Bucky knew me. I just don't know how."

"They altered Bucky's brain, they could've..." He stops himself out of rage.

"Wanda knows me too, and Ultron knows this." I press, "They can use this against us."

"They can't throw anything at us that they haven't already tried," he reassures, "We already went through their strongest Solider."

I remember Wanda's smirk, "I can't do that again, I can't keep feeling Loki and Hydras control." I sound pathetic as I pierce my nails into my palms.

"I can't either..." Steve gives me an empathic and painful smile. "Her visions aren't easy but we've faced them. We know they're just illusions. We know you're not one of the bad guys."

I release my now wounded hands, fingernail slits are placed where I squeezed. We see Tony and Fury come out of the barn. Fury. "I can't face them."

"What do you mean?" Steve responds to my words with confusion.

"My vision. Fury, Tony... you. I can't shake off this." My gut agrees but Steve places his large hand on my shoulder.

"You faced me, you can face them." Steve smiles, "And I faced you even though that was hard."

"You had a vision about me?" I am taken back, I never asked him what he saw. I mean I didn't go into detail myself.

"I would've been surprised if you weren't in mine." He says then smirks, "I was in yours wasn't I?"

"Yeah but it wasn't the best circumstances." I reply with a light laugh, "The way you all looked at me... The countless encounters where I hurt you all. Tony killing me, It was the hardest thing I faced of the many situations I dealt with."

"Why would Tony kill you?" Steve questions.

I hesitate to answer, "Because I killed all his friends."