Work This Out

Chapter 1 ~ New Years

Location: A graveyard somewhere in New York

I stand in the rain looking down at their graves. The graves of my parents and best friend, Brian Woodlum.

F L A S H B A C K

"Ow!" I whine as I fall off my bike, scraping my knee.

I start to cry as the blood slides down my leg.

"Sweetie we told you not to go so fast." My dad rushes to my side.

My mom comes over too and kneels down on my other side. She pulls me into a hug. "You know she's always like that. She's our little Speedy." My mom chuckles and ruffles my hair as I sniffle into her shirt.

F L A S H B A C K O V E R

Tears form at the corner of my eyes. I clench my fist, digging my nails into my skin, trying not to cry as the memories continue to flow through my head.

F L A S H B A C K

"Don't try to use it as if it's something else," Brian says to me. "It's a part of you. It is you. It's like another limb. It's an extension of you."

I take a deep breath and try again. I run around the speed lab he set up for me and then stop a few feet away from him.

"Hey, I think I got the hang of it!" I smile widely at him.

He smiles back and holds his hand up for a high five. I walk over to give him one, but then unconsciously run into a wall. I groan as I hold my broken nose and fall on my butt.

Brian winces and rushes over to me. "We got a lot of work ahead of us."

F L A S H B A C K O V E R

I feel the tears start to fall down my cheek, but I wipe them away as I hear footsteps behind me. I don't need to turn around to see who it is.

"Have the police found anything new?" I ask without turning to the person behind me.

"The bullets. They're soviet slugs, no rifling." Steve comes up behind me with an umbrella to cover my head. "We'll find whoever did this (Y/n). I'm just afraid of what you're going to do once we do."

I don't say anything as I stare at the graves. We stand in silence for a while before I turn to look at him. He seemed to be lost in thought and... sad?

"What's wrong?" I ask him.

My voice snaps him out of his thoughts. He shakes his head, "Nothing."

He's so bad at lying.

"Is it about that promise? When you promised that you wouldn't let anyone hurt me?" I ask him, remembering that promise very well.

"How did you—"

"I wasn't fully asleep." I cut him off. "It's okay that you broke that promise. It was bound to happen anyway with the lives we live."

That seems to make him feel better as he smiles down at me. I throw my arms around his waist and hold him tightly. "Thank you," I whisper.

Steve hugs me back just as tight. "For what?" He asks.

"For everything. For being there for me when I need you to." I say into his stomach.

"You're welcome." He tells me.

We stay like this for a few minutes before he slowly pulls away.

"C'mon. We gotta get ready." Steve says.

"For what?"

"Stark's having a New Years party and wants the whole team there."

I nod as we walk back to his motorcycle. I take one more look back at the graves.