At Hero's Bay

Post-Credits「1」- The End of the Beginning

𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬

𓄹 𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐕𝐄 𓄼

It had been a full day of flying with no planet insight. The road back to Earth was filled with murmuring periods of sleep, long talks about the differences between human life and aliens, and the occasional buzzing of music from small contraptions with strings. Steve held his curiosities in his mouth, fearful that he might prod into a topic that none of them wanted to discuss, whether it'd be times of battle or affiliations. On the tip of his tongue, stiff even as Steve wandered through a dreamless sleep, were words that could have been said to the Amisian girl.

She was a quiet one, despite all that she had been through. This was a time of grieving, after all, he understood, marveling at her smiles that she managed to give them as she passed around portions of dinner. He watched her movements that glided slowly across various panels and floorboards of the ship, every fickle thing that seemed to want to catch her slip up and break down. He instantly bites down on his caring and protective nature, feeling spite in his own tendencies.

Y/N needed space, Steve snapped at himself.

"I'll be back with a flask of water. Seems like your friend there has a hard time eating the fire-snap porridge." The Amisian points amusingly towards Tony who is clutching his tongue, face puckered red and sweating, rolling from his seat and onto the floor to take a breather.

Steve holds in a chuckle and nods as she excuses herself, eyes taken from her retreating form and to Natasha and Tony. Romanoff chews mindlessly at the red chunks in the auburn liquid, stirring her spoon slowly in the mixture. Steve is already concerned.

"Something on your mind?"

It takes a few seconds for Natasha's eyes to even lift but is thankful for his unwavering patience.

"I had a hard time sleeping," She explains, dropping her spoon and folding her arms, "Had some kind of dream...a nightmare? I don't know..."

"Wanna talk about it?" Steve asks gently, a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Something different constricts Natasha's face, something that could be akin to Tony whenever he had his own night terrors. Unfortunately, it was all insoluble as the man himself could not refute it. Her lips slant while it pries open, her eyes adrift as if she's looking back into her own mind.

"I remember floating, I guess. I was in the air or something...or in water. At first, everything was really calm but then a flash of light just slapped me across the face. Then, I'm drowning—er—falling. I don't know. I just...sink,"

Steve listens attentively, beginning to trace small, soothing circles along the arch of her back as she struggles to continue.

"And then, I'm somewhere dark...or I see something dark. Like everything is moving and shaking and I got really scared. This black mass just starts coming after me. Before it caught me, I just woke up in a cold sweat."

"Jesus, Nat. That sounds terrifying." His voice somehow shifts like the colder atmosphere.

"I know." She mumbles, putting her head in her hands, raking her fingers through her hair.

"Don't worry about it, okay? It's just a—"

"—Here you go."

Steve's heart drops to his stomach when he sees Y/N return. The light behind her makes every discernible feature full of dark shadows. But when she dips smoothly to come down to Tony, he finally sees the creases and features of her smile as she offers Stark a flask of water that he drank from eagerly. He swallows everything without a second thought. The lighting is better now as she comes to sit next to them, smiling comfortingly, and is oblivious for a moment towards the tense change in the room—the unease in Steve and Natasha.

"Is something wrong?" She asks with a tender voice, trying to meet Steve's gaze.

However, before Steve Rogers lets those unresolved questions slip from his tongue, he sees that Natasha has already moved on from the matter. He is unsettled as she puts the filled spoon to her mouth with trembling hands, eyes indifferent and away from all three of them.

Give her some space, he thinks again, she needs space.

"No, nothing's wrong." Steve lies through his teeth, all with a smile.

[Y/N] will return.