Chapter Text
“This is ridiculous, Cap.” Wanda draped a pink jacket around her shoulders as she trailed behind Steve.
“Maybe a little worse than ‘ridiculous’”, Sam picked up speed from behind her, pushing twigs and little branches out of his way.
“I think it looks great on you, Wanda.” Vision’s voice emerged from behind Sam, his flying body invisible.
“Focus, guys.” Steve who was leading the way, stopped in his tracks. He hand-signaled the team to lay low as he bent down.
It had been nearly five days since leaving Wakanda, the four fugitives managed to avoid dropping any hints to the UN government on their whereabouts. For days, they tracked through forests, mountains, and rivers. Food intake mainly consisted of crickets and fishes cooked over fire pits they assembled from scratch with woods and sharp rocks. Sam took most of the credit for the provision of ‘camp’ survival guides while Steve contributed more in the physical work. With her superhuman ability, Wanda’s task on catching fishes was easily done using her magic. Vision’s main task was to be on the lookout.
Through the little gaps between the leaves, Steve saw an old and dingy single-story wooden house sits in the middle of the forest planted with tall trees. The wood panels that built its wall screamed a need for care, the glass on one window shattered and the gloomy vibe it radiated suggested long-term untenanted. The green leaves of the surrounding trees almost translucent as the bright sunlight shone through them, forming shadows on the ground beneath them. The sound of wildlife can be heard. It was almost such a fascinating view, for a quaint house to be sitting in the middle of a beautiful forest, yet the dead spirit of the house never blends into its lively surrounding.
Perhaps it was portraying something metaphorical?
“It’s clear, Captain. I have just made a big round and there are no signs of threat, not at least 3 miles radius of that house.”
“That’s the house she told you about?” Sam wasn’t too impressed with the run-down house.
“Should be. There are no other houses here in this forest in Sweden that I know of… well, at least of that I know of. Whatever. Follow my lead.”
Steve hunched his back and slightly bent his knees as he sneaked towards the house. The team tailed his back, making pattering sounds over the songs of the chirping birds. Each of them except vision had a wooden stick in their hands as temporary weapons. The door groaned at its hinges as Steve nudged it open. The creaking sound of the floor grew as more feet walked across the living room. The once white wallpaper now stained with dirt, a shabby couch on the side of the room collected dust, the room was empty and is void of spirit.
“Looks like she’s not been here for a long time, Cap.”
“Yeah.” He didn’t comment further, though he roughly knew how long it was ago. “Alright, I’ll check the kitchen to see if we have any canned food… if we’re even lucky enough. Take a short break for now, later, we’re most likely going out to hunt for food again.”
Clouds of dust burst into the air as Steve tossed his wooden stick onto the couch. He walked into the dim kitchen, slightly disgusted with the grimy counter-top surface. The tap gave minimal water due to long-term disuse. The cabinets contained nothing but dust and spiderwebs.
Steve sighed as he returned to the living room, giving the other three clues of what was, or wasn’t, in the kitchen. He slumped onto the couch, coughing as more dust entered his lungs.
“Captain, you can rest, I will go gather some crickets for some snacks now.”
“No, Vision, you’ve done enough. Take some rest.”
“I’m a robot, sir. Tiredness is not in my system. I’ll be right back.”
“I’ll follow you, Vis,” Wanda lifted a finger as she turned to Steve, “I know what you’re going to say, but I will not listen to you, Cap.”
Steve pressed one side of his lips together as Wanda delivered him a playful expression before leaving the house with Vision.
There was a short pause before Sam broke the silence.
“Given the state of this place, I assume this is not one of her secret hideouts anymore.”
“Well, at least we know now that she didn’t come here recently. That’s something. No news is still something.”
“But do you know why not?”
“Yeah.” Steve bit his lips. “It was one of her mission, about some hospital fire in a nearby country, Norway. She was on the run, and this was her hideout for about four months. It was nearly eight or nine years ago since she left here, she never came back.”
“Right. You’re still not explaining why she didn’t choose to come here this time around though.”
“Because she nearly got killed when they found her here. She was just around here somewhere when shots were fired, she managed to escape and hid in the forest for days before coming back. They’ve raided her place, took away some of her belongings and food. So, umm, when she told me about this place, she said to only come when we’re in trouble and when she’s not with us. She didn’t want to risk anyone finding us here if she’s here with us.”
“Homegirl really cares for you no matter what huh.”
Steve kept his gaze low, his hand swept his hair back, feeling the greasiness at the roots. He was silent but multiple voices in his mind began to speak. Perhaps she does.
“What’s going on in your mind, Cap?” Sam crossed his arms as he leaned on the run-down wall, the wood creaked to the pressure applied to it.
“It’s nothing, Sam. Don’t worry about it.”
“There’s a lot of stakes going on, man. You gotta let it out, you’re not Captain America now, be Steve Rogers.”
Steve raised his head to share eye-contact with Sam. The beaming sunlight entered the room through the window next to Sam, some of it bouncing off the side of his face. Steve could see specks of dust floating around, the room still smelled of age.
Sam’s right. I’ve two people who represented the life I had before the ice, one’s gone and one’s back in the ice. I’ve one friend who was always by my side but now running as a fugitive on her own. I’ve just fought a good friend who built a home for us. Aside from Wanda and Vision, Sam’s the only close friend who would probably understand me most now.
“First, I lost Peggy, then Tony, then Bucky, and now I don’t know where Natasha is. I don’t know, Sam. It just feels like time’s not enough for me. As a soldier, the time you share with your teammate is limited and you have to deal with the loss of people of your own. I didn’t think it applies outside of war too.”
The tears swimming in his ocean blue eyes reflected the sunlight shone on them, his elbows rested on his knees as his right thumb rubbed circles on his left hand’s knuckles. Sam nodded in silence to portray sympathy.
“That’s a lot to deal with, Steve.” Sam used his first name this time, reminding him that he’s not the Captain America the world knows right now. “You didn’t have enough time with them, but you didn’t have enough time to grieve your loss too. And I’m not only talking about Peggy, I mean your other friends too.”
“Not sure if I’m granted the time to do that, Sam. The world always seems to be needing Captain America.”
“Not now, though. And you’re here with us, we’re your family and friends too.”
Steve swallowed a lump in his throat, rolled his tongue across the inside of his left cheek and stared on the dull braided mat sitting on the floor in front of his feet.
“Tony… I sent him a spare phone and a letter when I was in Wakanda. He’s yet to call me, but it’s not even a week so I guess time will tell. I guess time’s not really a limit on this friendship, if it eventually works out.”
“What are your feelings about this whole thing though?”
“Heartbroken? A little. Torn-in-between maybe. I’d protect Bucky no matter what, but I don’t want to fight my good friend from this modern world, man. Lost. Definitely lost, because I don’t know what to do now, other than to wait for a call from Tony and wait for Bucky to come out from going under again. Yet, I also don’t know what to do with the four of us.”
“Mhmm.”
“Five. Five of us. See? There we have another problem. I don’t know how to find or contact Nat. I can’t even call her cell-phone because they would’ve tracked us down.” Steve’s fingers ran through his hair as he buried his face in his forearms. “I know she’s good at hiding from the public’s eyes, but I am worried for her, Sam.”
“Me too, Steve.”
“When she aimed that widow bite at us, I didn’t lift my shield up for defense.” Steve let out a small chuckle and shook his head, “I once told her I trusted her to save my life, and she really did it this time. Now, she’s a fugitive too, because of me. That’s the cost of being a hero, isn’t it? Putting your close ones in danger.”
Sam pushed his foot against the floor to regain balance, he took some light footsteps towards Steve, who finally let a tear streamed down his strong bony face. He gave the sorrowing man a squeeze on the shoulder. The emotional toll of the death of Peggy and the recent events with his close friends had taken up too much of him.
“You know she’d say that its not your fault if she’s here, Steve. And we don’t mind being in this circle of danger, that’s what good friends and family do.”
“Thanks, Sam, you’re a good man.” He sniffed before wiping his tears.
“What’d I say, dude, Captain Amer- no, Steve Rogers needs my help, there’s no better time to say I will.”
The two exchanged smiles with one another before heading outside to join Wanda and Vision.