Dead Memories

10

Chapter Ten

First there was the search for Steve. She used "search" as a gross exaggeration, since there was nowhere to look. Steve vanished into thin air, so there were really only two possibilities. Either he went through Loki's portal with Barnes (whether he went willingly or not mattered very little), or he'd been dragged through one of the golden portals by the creatures. They all obviously hoped for the former, although that option didn't give them much to be happy about either.

Loki was just one of the reasons. Sure, Sam kept repeating that Barnes remembered Steve, but Natasha wasn't about to trust one of the most dangerous men on the world just cause he claimed to have regained some of his memories from the early 20th century. And he was working with Loki.

Natasha was absolutely certain Thor had not lied to them. He was a lot better at both subterfuge and deception than most people gave him credit for, but Natasha doubted he could've faked so much grief and raw pain. He did not know his brother was alive, Loki was just that good when it came to lies. Magic probably made things easier on that front.

They stayed in Poland for a few days, but they all knew there was no point. If Loki and Barnes could raid five Hydra facilities around the world under twenty-four hours, they could pop up with that portal wherever they liked. There was no way to tell where they would show up next, since the Hydra base in Poznań was their last and only lead. They didn't even know whether they would go after Hydra again, or if they were done with them. It was frustrating beyond words how one-sided this conflict was. Barnes and Loki knew the board and the pieces, while the rest of them didn't even know which game they were playing.

All in all, it was a unpleasant three weeks for everyone. And now Steve was back. Right as rain, not a scratch on him. He lost some parts of his uniform, but that was about it. Natasha was eager to get intel out of him about what happened to him in the past weeks, which is when a whole new level of frustration started.

'I told you it was not three weeks for me,' Steve said.

'Yes, and that's about all you said,' Natasha told him as she leaned on the doorway. Steve was back in Washington, didn't even consider going to New York. Not that she expected him to accept the offer of going back to the Tower. And it wasn't even about Vision or the Maximoffs. She was rather sure Steve and Tony did not talk to each other since Ultron. If Steve needed help with anything he called Sam, then called her, and usually asked her to bring Clint along if she wanted to. When things went really bad he was happy to accept help from Thor, Hill, Bobbi, or Sharon, and reluctant to accept help from Wanda, Pietro, and Vision. He always argued that Bruce wanted to be left alone, and nobody ever tried to ask him to contact Tony.

The last three weeks helped the rest of them to build back some of the bridges - that while not burned - but were seriously damaged. Of course Steve was not around for that, since it was all for him. He brought them back closer together than they were in months, but somehow remained on the outside.

'I told you about the N'Garai,' Steve said as he started putting away his groceries. Natasha caught him coming home from the store.

'Yes, they're evil demons, very helpful.'

'What exactly are you expecting from me here?' Steve asked.

'I'd like you to tell me everything you have not told me so far,' she answered simply. Steve sighed.

'It's not relevant,' he said.