unspoken thing |STEVE ROGERS 2|

3

I was dressed in my first Countessa outfit as I stepped onto the quinjet, all eyes turned to me. Natasha and Clint looked proud, Bruce was uninterested, Tony and Thor clapped as I did a spin. Steve smiled at me fondly as I sat down next to him.

"You look beautiful." He said faintly and I gave him a tiny smile as my heart melted. "I remember when you first went into battle with it on."

"Oh yeah, you were definitely a fan of it," I chuckled, bowing my head. "How's Bucky?"

Steve sighed, turning his eyes towards the sky. "Under ice, trying to undo whatever Hydra did to him. Like reprogramming him, I suppose you could say." I placed my hand on his and he looked down at it, surprised.

"He's going to be okay." I lightly squeezed his hand, feeling all my love for him rushing back at me. "Maybe I can see him under after we get off this mission?"

He gave me a lopsided grin and leaned closer to me. "I remember you saying you didn't want to be near me this mission." I blushed and smiled at the ground.

"We're friends, Steve." I said and bumped my shoulder with his. "Bygones be bygones." Steve just pressed his shoulder into mine, leaning on me, not saying a word. I stayed silent and let him lean on me.

As Steve explained he plan and what positions everyone was at, I met Natasha's eyes. She wore a small smirk and I just rolled my eyes, but I felt my face still blushing. I stayed quiet, making a few statements here and there to Steve's plan, but mostly I was just remembering the times where I wasn't Countessa and he was just Steve Rogers in Patties.

I remembered why I fell in love with him. His leadership, how caring he was for others on his team. I loved the way he was softer around me, how different his eyes looked when they turned to me, asking for input for the mission.

But he left.

That was a sharp smack with reality and my heart twisted. It must've shown on my face because Thor looked concerned. I slipped into his mind, making my presence known, of course.

I'm alright. Don't worry about me.

Are you alright, Lady Maeve? He questioned back, not even remotely concerned that I was in his consciousness. You look unwell.

I just remembered something, that's all. I replied, slipping out of his mind and back into mine. Steve had gone silent while the other Avengers chattered among themselves. I knew I shouldn't tap into Steve's mind, it was wrong. But I wanted to know what he was thinking, why he could've left me like he did.

Against my better judgement, I did. I crept into Steve's mind to see what he was thinking about. And it was me. It was when we were in the control room during Project Insight. I was nervously wringing my hands, a blush on my face. Steve thought about how beautiful I was in that moment. His words echoed through my head as he remembered saying them.

I love you, too, Maeve.

Then Steve thought about my sleeping figure on his bed. He lightly sat down next to me and pushed my hair out of my face. He placed a kiss on my cheek and then put a note on the bedside. He picked up his bags and walked out the door, agony stretching his chest and tears streaming down his face.

He was thinking about the day he left.

I quickly left Steve's thoughts. I felt my cheeks wet, and I tried to wipe them away as quickly as possible. If he felt that much pain, why would he leave? Why didn't he just stay with me? I felt Steve shift and lean more against me, and I did the same for him.

"Can I ask you a question?" I asked softly, my voice lowered so only he could hear it. "In the note, you said that I would understand."

"Do you really want to talk about this now?" He asked and I bit my lip, nodding. He cautiously placed a hand on mine again. "But we will talk about it."

I gave him a small smile then returned to my thoughts, slipping my hand out from under his. We still leaned on each other, like there hadn't been a single day passed between us. It was nice, in a way, but on the other hand, why should I go back to him when he hurt me?

"Tell me, hot stuff, you and Cap... were you...?" Tony spoke while gearing up and wiggled his eyebrows at me. "I mean, the guy never shuts up about you."

Steve blushed as I laughed. "We went on exactly one date." I nudged Steve. "And he just became obsessed with me. Took me on a dangerous mission where I jumped out of a plane--"

"And was taught how to use a parachute three seconds before." Natasha put in and I nodded in agreement.

"I was nearly blown up by a terrorist, had my powers stolen from me momentarily, stopped an actual missile hurling though the sky, was shot at, and then saved the world." The Avengers laughed, but Thor seemed concerned.

"Your powers, lady?" He asked and I shivered at the memory.

"Hydra had a serum. It was this terrible black liquid that the Winter Soldier injected me with. It stunted the one good thing about me, and it was the worse few hours of my life."

"Your powers aren't the only thing that make you special, Maeve." Steve said, narrowing his eyes at me. "You know that."

"I'm sure, Rogers." I rolled my eyes playfully. "And the worst part of it all," I paused for dramatic effect that caught all the Avengers' attention. "I had to kiss this old geezer." I nodded at Steve and his whole face turned red, the Avengers were howling with laughter.

"If my memory serves me right, newbie, I could've knocked you over with a feather afterwards." Natasha butt in, making a 'oooo' wash over the team.

"I mean, it was his first kiss since 1945, how good could it be?" I smirked at Steve and his jaw dropped in disbelief.

"BURN, OLD MAN!" Clint howled with laughter, pointing at Steve and the rest of the group followed suit.

"Alright, alright." Steve grumbled, standing up. "Suit up, we're here."