Bless The Broken Road

A Deadly Reveal

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"The plan: is it in motion?" A deep voiced man spoke through the phone, his accent rumbling like the ground during an earthquake. It was hard to tell if he was angry or not but the intimidating man with wire glasses and thin lips who received the call didn't seem fazed.

"Yes General," the disgruntled receiver of the call replied back in Russian, his voice low but clear. He could hear the sound of children's chatter from outside the small room he'd locked himself in. It was almost time to go. "The plan is in motion."

"No mistakes Agent," the voice rumbled through the phone, the sound of him snarling raising hairs on the other man's arms. It was clear this was a do or die mission. One the Agent was willing to take.

"Understood."

——————

Steve had no idea how he got here, dressed in black with tears running down his face. The rain was pouring down like a waterfall, never ending in their brutal torment as they hit every inch of Steve's body. He was completely drenched but he didn't care. All he felt was numb.

Clouds adorned the sky, each one grey and dull to reflect his mood. In that moment, Steve honestly never thought it would be sunny again. He didn't want it to be.

More tears rolled down his face, dripping off of his nose and onto the ground as he angled his head down. Holding it up seemed too hard now; he'd lost the strength to do most things at this point.

"Steve?" Tony's voice broke, the lump in his throat moving up and down to make him sound imbalanced and broken. Which he probably was. Steve turned his head to the right, just enough to see Tony's frame in the corner of his eye, before he shut his eyes closed and squeezed, praying when he opened them all of this would go away. It was just a nightmare, he repeated in his head.

Tony was still standing to his right, soaked to his core, with a look of sheer pain written across his face. The rain had matted his hair down, the strands sticking to his face as he sniffled. His expensive suit was practically ruined, glued down to his body to show every crevice and muscle. Normally the sight would push a smile up on Steve's face but not now— never again.

Tears ran down Tony's face too, the dullness of the air seeming stiff between the pair. The brunette sniffled, taking a tentative step forward as his eyes shakily met where Steve was looking at the ground. He immediately looked away, feeling as if he'd been burned.

"I didn't know," Tony tried to keep his voice steady, throwing his walls up as he wrapped his arms around his torso. "I swear."

"All this time he was right under my nose," Steve growled, the words coming across harsher than he intended. He wasn't mad at Tony, Steve honestly believed him when he said he didn't know the truth, but he was mad in general. For months he'd been in agony, never knowing the truth about his child. For months he'd always assumed the worst.

And now . . . Steve knew the truth but it really was too late. He'd been given a second chance but the second he'd gotten a hold of it, that chance had been ripped from his fingertips.

They didn't speak after that, opting to just stand in silence as the rain continued to pour down on them. With each passing second, both of them got colder and colder but neither cared. No amount of chilly winds or unrelenting pelts of icy rain could compare to the way their chests froze and hearts shuddered at what they'd lost.

Tentative fingers reached out, their hands interlocking as their fingers shook. It was like holding a block of ice on both parties.

The silence became them as they stared down at the gravestone where a 11 year old boy's body rested beneath their feet, never to wake up.