Swan Song ✧ STEVE ROGERS [✓]

54 - Secrets & Lies

RAEVANNA DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO ANYMORE. She felt like her whole world was crumbling around her; like everything she cared about was slipping away from her. First the problem with Aphrodite, which led to her rocky relationship with Steve. Then, the Accords threatening to tear the Avengers apart. Now, Peggy's death. It was beginning to feel like the world was out to get her, and that no matter what she did, nothing could stop or change that. She wanted to curl up in a ball and hide, or figure out a way to make it all go away, and have everything return to the way it was. But she couldn't. That wasn't how life worked, not even for a faery.

Now, she stayed a few paces behind Steve as he walked beside Sharon through the woman's hotel. Raevanna could see the chemistry between them; it was painfully obvious as they chatted like old friends. Raevanna wanted to interfere; as much as she respected Sharon, Steve had been her boyfriend first, and she was still protective over him. But she didn't, because she knew she didn't have the right to. Despite the fact that it hadn't been something she had complete control over, she had still kissed someone that wasn't her boyfriend. She couldn't blame or fault Steve if that caused him to end things between them.

"My mom tried to talk me out of enlisting, but, um, not Aunt Peggy," Sharon was saying. "She bought me my first thigh holster."

Steve grinned. "Very practical."

"And stylish," Sharon added with a smile. 

Sharon and Steve stopped by an elevator, then faced each other as they waited for it. Raevanna stopped a few paces away, her hands in her pockets as she looked down at the floor. 

"CIA has you stationed over here now?" Steve asked Sharon.

Sharon shook her head. "In Berlin, Joint Terrorism Task Force."

Steve smiled. "Right. Right. Sounds fun."

Sharon returned the grin, saying teasingly, "I know, right?"

Steve nodded and smiled again, falling silent for a beat before he spoke. "I've been meaning to ask you. When you were spying on me from across the hall-"

"You mean when I was doing my job," Sharon corrected him with a small smile. 

Steve nodded slowly. "Did Peggy know?"

Sharon sighed, her smile fading. "She kept so many secrets. I didn't want her to have one from you."

After a moment, the elevator arrived. Sharon nodded gratefully at Steve as she stepped towards the elevator. "Thanks for walking me back."

Steve nodded back. "Sure."

Sharon stepped into the elevator, and the doors closed, taking her up to her room. Once she was gone, Steve turned around and walked towards Raevanna, a soft sigh leaving his lips.

"Hey," he said. "Sorry about that. We should get go-"

"Don't worry about it," Raevanna said softly, shaking her head but refusing to look at him as she cut him off. "Besides, it's nice."

Steve frowned. "What's nice?"

"You and Sharon," Raevanna said. "It's nice, the two of you. You two get along really well. And it seems like she likes you."

Steve's eyes went wide; despite his lingering anger towards her, he still couldn't see himself dating anyone else. "No, that's-"

"She's a better fit for you than me," Raevanna went on, picking at her flaking white nail polish. "So if you want to be with her, I won't stand in your way."

Steve shook his head. "Raevanna, I don't want to date her. I mean, she's Peggy's niece."

"My point exactly." Raevanna looked up at him, her words harsh but her eyes full of sadness. "Don't lie to yourself, Steve. You and I both know I was your second choice." Then she walked away without another word.