Swan Song ✧ STEVE ROGERS [✓]

29 - On the Run

WHEN RAEVANNA WALKED UP TO HER APARTMENT, SHE WAS SURPRISED TO SEE THAT THE DOOR WAS UNLOCKED AND SLIGHTLY AJAR. Instantly on full alert, she created a ball of black fire in her hand and pushed open the door with the other, stepping into the apartment with her defenses raised. The lights were off, but music was playing softly in the background from Raevanna's speaker. Raevanna couldn't help but be worried, since she remembered Steve telling her that Fury had been in his apartment in this exact same scenario before he was killed.

As Raevanna stepped into her kitchen, she saw the silhouette of a woman beside the counter. There was the smell of coffee in the air, which told Raevanna that the intruder had made herself some coffee. However, Raevanna didn't drink coffee, and there was only one person she knew who did.

So Raevanna turned on the light, blinking in surprise and lowering her defenses when she saw the familiar short, dark brown hair. "Blake?" Raevanna asked in disbelief.

Blake turned around with a grin, and Raevanna gasped. Her friend looked absolutely horrible. Her right eye was blackened and swollen shut, her nose and forehead were bruised and bloodied, and her bottom lip had been split and was covered with dried blood. Her clothes were bloody and torn, and Raevanna could see bleeding gashes on Blake's side and on her leg, as well as bleeding bulletholes on her leg and a puncture wound on her shoulder.

"Holy shit," Raevanna said, rushing over to Blake. "What the hell happened to you?!"

"It's not as bad as it looks," Blake wheezed, hissing in pain when Raevanna put her hands on Blake's ribs.

"Not as bad my ass," Raevanna retorted. Looking up at her friend, she guided her over to the couch as she said, "Come over here and lay down." When Blake started to protest Raevanna held up a hand to stop her. "Nuh-uh. Don't fight me on it, we both know I'll win. Now lay down."

Blake stretched out on the couch, wincing again when her back hit the fabric, and Raevanna gingerly touched one of the wounds, retracting her hand when Blake hissed in pain.

"When did you get these?" Raevanna asked.

"Couple hours ago," Blake replied.

Raevanna's eyes went wide. "And they haven't healed yet?"

"Nope." Blake shook her head. "These guys obviously did their research. They used Bloodstone on me, you know that's my one weakness."

Raevanna's jaw clenched in anger, but she said nothing about it. Instead she nodded and said, "I'll make you some tea, it'll help with those injuries."

She returned to her kitchen, taking down a mug and filling it with water. Then she looked up at Blake, who had pushed herself up to an upright position. "Who did this to you?" Raevanna asked as she stuck the mug in the microwave.

"Rumlow," Blake managed to say.

Raevanna whipped her head up. "Rumlow?!"

"And a couple other agents," Blake went on, then added with a dry laugh, "I was horribly outnumbered, I still don't know how I made it out of there alive."

Raevanna took the now finished mug of water out of the microwave, then dropped a teabag into it before opening her cabinet and taking down a few of the herbs she'd brought over from Elyon. "Why did he hurt you? What'd you do?"

"Despite what they think, nothing," Blake answered. When Raevanna frowned in confusion, Blake told her, "They... they blame me for Fury's death."

Raevanna gasped. "What?! You can't be serious!"