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Steve was pacing around the room, panic filling his mind. You weren’t here. You still weren’t here.
The past few months, every night on the dot, you’d always appeared in front of him, no matter what he’d been doing, at precisely 11:00 PM.
So where were you now?
Steve checked his watch again and watched as the hands ticked ever closer to midnight.
“Come on, doll. Don’t do this to me.” He muttered under his breath.
Just as he was about to call Tony, again, your image flickered in front of him.
“Steve!” You shouted his name with an excited smile on your face, but Steve didn’t see any of it. He was too busy speeding through the maze that was his furniture to pull you tightly into his arms.
“You’re okay.” He breathed in relief as you pulled you into his firm embrace.
You were startled. In the few months since you’d met Steve, he’d never once come across to you as a hugger.
Still, not one to let a good thing go to waste, you shrugged and wrapped your own arms around him.
“Yeah.” You said quickly. “I am fine.”
Steve pulled away to shoot you a look and you pouted as his firm arms left you. Then, he reached down and tugged the bottom of your shirt up. Your breath caught in your throat as he reached a hand out to brush against the unblemished skin he found where there had been a jagged knife wound just the night before.
“Steve.” You said his name quietly. A breath of a whisper, but it seemed to snap him to attention.
He pulled away abruptly, your shirt falling back into place.
The two of you were breathing hard as you started at each other from across the room. You weren’t sure when he’d moved that far away, but you didn’t like it. You took a step closer to him when he shook his head as though clearing it and glanced at you.
“Where have you been, doll?” He asked. “I’ve been worried sick.”
You cleared your own head and your excited smile from earlier fell back into place, although the steamy passion in your eyes didn’t quite go away. “Oh, right! I figured it out! I know what’s been happening!”
Four months ago, you’d popped, quite literally, into Steve’s life and every night since then, like clockwork, you’d continued to appear.
Neither of you had been able to figure out what was happening, and after Steve verified that you weren’t a threat, he’d come to welcome your nightly visits.
For a long time, he kept them to himself. He liked the way you made him feel. When you were around, he was just Steve Rogers. He didn’t have to live up to some idea of who or what he needed to be.
Then, one night, he hadn’t managed to sneak away in time before you appeared in front of him in the common room. The rest of the team had immediately gone to a code red thinking that you were a threat. Tony had nearly blasted you out of the compound before Steve could calm everyone down. By the time the sun was starting to flicker up over the skyline, Steve had realized that his alone time with you was over. The rest of the team LOVED you and he was going to have to learn to share.
Then you started going on missions. He’d never been more afraid then when you’d gone on your first mission. Especially since it hadn’t exactly been planned.
Steve had gotten caught up in the middle of a fight and you appeared in front of him as you always did. You barely managed to avoid being impaled by a short-sword when you tripped over your own feet. You’d scrambled backwards and held up your hands and suddenly, the goon advancing towards you wasn’t holding a sword but a fluffy white rabbit. Steve had done a double take but had gathered himself together enough to fling his shield out and incapacitate the man before he’d been able to retaliate.
That was when you discovered you could manipulate reality when you chose to.
Stephen Strange had studied you, much to Steve’s frustration. He hadn’t detected magic in you, per say, though his interest had been fully piqued. He’d become a regular visitor at the compound ever since.
Loki, too, was drawn to you and your peculiar abilities.
Steve did his best to keep you away from the Trickster, though. He already had to compete for your attention with the rest of the team. He didn’t need a hack-show magician from another planet attempting to steal you away as well.
Still, no one had been able to figure your mystery out.
Until now it seemed.
“You figured it out?” Steve asked, breathing deeply.
You nodded in excitement. “I’ve been dreaming.” You said dramatically, spreading your hands out in front of you.
Steve nodded slowly as he waited for you to continue.
You didn’t.
“Oh. Uh. Is that it?” He asked awkwardly.
You gave him an offended glare. “Steve. I’m dreaming. Right now. I’m not here. Not really. Or I am. But not really.” You huffed in frustration and gestured at your body. “This is some kind of astral projection. The real me is in bed a thousand miles away with the stab wound to the gut it took from the alien GOON last night and let me tell you, that took a LOT of explaining to the roommates. They didn’t buy my ‘fell on a steak knife while sleep walking’ story by the way. So. If we’re gonna keep doing this, I’m gonna need Natasha to teach me how to lie better.”
Steve had been shaking his head but at this, he threw a hand up. “What? No. Absolutely not.”
“Steve . . .”
“No . . . you’re . . . you’re lying somewhere with a stab wound to your stomach?” He asked, coming towards you and putting one of his hands on your stomach again.
You glanced down at his hands and then back up at his worried face. “Well. . . yeah. My real self is asleep at home. But it’s fine. I’m fine here, see?” You lifted up your shirt again.
Steve shook his head vehemently. “I don’t think you get it, doll.” He murmured. “I’m not letting you put yourself in danger again.”
Your jaw fell open and anger blazed in your eyes. “If you think for one second . . .”
The sound of an alarm pierced through the room and you and Steve once again sprung away from one another.
You smiled wryly at him and shrugged. “Duty calls.” You closed your eyes and before Steve could continue arguing, you blinked and teleported to the quinjet.
You stumbled to a stop in front of Sam who grabbed your shoulders to steady you. “Easy there.” He murmured. “What the hell was that?”
You shook your head to clear the sudden flare of vertigo and gave him a blinding smile. “New trick.” You said proudly.
Sam smirked. “Cap’ know about this?” He asked.
You sighed and stomped away. “He doesn’t need to know everything!” You called back.
Sam chuckled.
You pushed your way into the darkest corner of the quinjet and waited, hoping that the jet would take off before Steve made it down. He couldn’t yell at you if he wasn’t there to yell.
Unfortunately, everyone waited until he climbed inside before they took off into the night.
You sucked in a breath as Steve’s eyes scanned the space. You KNEW he was looking for you. You pushed yourself further back into your corner and willed yourself to be invisible.
Surprisingly, it seemed to work. Steve’s eyes skipped right over you before he sat in a huff next to Sam.
You let out a surprised chuckle before you glanced at your fingers. Now that you KNEW you were dreaming, it was time to see what other strings you could pull in this dream of yours.
The battle was intense. Though normally, your dream body didn’t seem to have issues running long distances or putting up intense fights, you were breathing heavy this time.
You watched as someone pointed a gun at Sam’s back. You gestured towards it, and suddenly the enemy soldier was holding a bouquet of daisy's. You let out a rushed laugh as they stared in confusion at their flowers only moments before Hulk came out of nowhere and batted them aside like an insect.
“Where are these guys coming from?” You grunted into your comms as you jumped into the air and soared higher than any human naturally should.
“I think . . . the base.” Wanda grunted.
You landed next to Steve who turned to you just long enough to verify you weren't an enemy, before he squared up and you went back to back, fighting back the enemies quickly surrounding you.
“You disobeyed orders.” He muttered angrily, throwing a punch into a soldier's face that knocked the man to the ground, completely unconscious.
You threw your hands up and a patch of quicksand appeared under several dozen advancing soldiers. “Don’t really remember you giving me any.” You pointed out chipperly.
Steve sighed in frustration. “You didn’t give me any time to.” He grunted.
“Charges set!” Nat called out. “Clear the area!”
Steve turned to you and you gripped him by the arm before you used your dream powers to transport you to the far end of the battlefield. Wanda, Vision, Sam and Nat came racing towards you just as an explosion sounded in the distance. You teetered back a few steps as the shockwave rolled through you, but managed to stay on your feet.
The six of you watched as the plume of smoke rose from the wreckage. Not for the first time you marveled at the sad beauty that could be found in the destruction.
Sam, as usual, was the first one to break the silence that followed missions like these. “Damn kid. You said you’d picked up a new trick. You didn’t mention all the others ones.” He turned to you and shot you a smile. You were just about to turn to him when a force ripped through you, causing you to stumble back.
Faster than you could track, Nat had pulled her gun from her holster and shot someone across the field.
You weren’t paying attention though, as you glanced down your body and looked at the gaping hole that was currently pouring blood down your chest.
You let out an odd sounding chuckle. “Well . . .” You paused and cocked your head. “Don’t know how I’m gonna explain THIS to my roommates.”
Steve gently grabbed you by the shoulders and helped you lay on the ground. “Doll! Stay with me.” He murmured, pressing down hard on your chest.
He glanced to the side and yelled at the team to go prep the jet.
You stared up at the sky an odd sort of smile forming on your face. “You know, they say that if you die in your dreams, you die in real life. You think that’s true, Stevie?” You asked.
Steve shouted your name and reached up a blood-stained hand to turn your face to look at him. “Doll, you need to tell me where your body is. You need to tell me where you are.”
Your image started flickering underneath his hands and he yelled your name more desperately.
“I think . . . I think someone’s calling my name.” You whispered.
You vanished altogether.
Sam and Nat raced back with a stretcher just as you disappeared. The three of them stared down blankly at the blood stained dirt before Nat glanced at Steve. “Steve? What do we do?”
Steve couldn’t pry his eyes away from his bloody hands. He shook his head slowly.
“Steve?” Sam pressed.
Steve glanced up sharply, shouldering the Captain persona in an instant. “Call Tony.” He said darkly. “We’re going on a manhunt.”
You groaned as you opened your eyes slowly. You’d been lying in this rather comfortable bed for at least the last ten minutes, relieving in graphic detail everything that had happened. You’d been debating for the past two minutes whether or not you wanted to open your eyes and check to see if you’d made it or not.
Eventually, the rational side of your brain won out. You were in too much pain and your bladder was too full for you not to have survived.
Unless this was hell.
But surely you hadn’t done anything to warrant that . . . right?
Cautiously, you pried one eye open and glanced around the room. Your other eye flew open in shock and you glanced around the room more fully.
Nope. Your brain wasn’t lying to you. You were in a room you recognized well having spent more than one night talking Steve’s ear off in here while he recovered from some of his more idiotic ideas.
You pushed yourself up and groaned as your muscles shifted painfully. Surprisingly, your chest was one of the few things that DIDN’T hurt. You pulled the neck of your standard-issue hospital gown down and froze. Your free hand slowly rose up, almost of its own accord, to brush the unblemished skin there. “FRIDAY?” You called out hesitantly.
“Ma’am?” The robotic voice responded.
“Am I dreaming?” You asked.
The voice seemed to laugh. “No. You’re very much awake.”
“What the hell?” You murmured. You shook your head and threw your feet over the side of the bed. You stumbled and threw your arms out, wrapping them around your IV pole, just barely managing to save yourself before you face-planted on the tiled floor.
“I really can’t recommend that you do that ma’am.” FRIDAY said.
You ignored the voice of reason and hobbled a few steps away. Once you were standing by the windows you turned, still clinging to the pole, and held up a hand at your hospital bed. You took a deep breath and closed your eyes, concentrating hard.
“Doll?” A voice asked from the doorway.
Three things happened in quick succession. Your eyes flew open, you stumbled forward dropping your hand, and you lost your hold on your support pole.
You moved to fall through the air, dropping quickly, but Steve’s super instincts had him racing towards you. He caught you around the waist only moments before you and the ground became intimately acquainted.
You turned to face him, your lips only inches apart, a fact which both of you seemed to notice in the same moment.
“Hi.” You whispered.
“Hi.” Steve echoed, helping you back to your feet before gently leading you towards the bed.
You tried to resist, but he gave you a look which demanded obedience as he tucked you back into the hospital bed.
You were rather tired all of the sudden, so you let him do it without too much fuss.
“What were you trying to do just now?” He asked, once he was satisfied you were comfortable. He sat on the edge of your bed and crossed his arms.
You picked at the blanket. “I . . . uh . . . was testing to see if this was real or not.” You admitted, unable to look him in the eye.
Steve let out a breath. You couldn’t tell if it was a sigh or a chuckle. Steve reached out and took your hand in one of his, stilling your nervous picking.
“Does this feel real?” He asked gently.
You laughed. “It always does when I’m with you.” You said, glancing up at him.
Something heated in his expression.
“What makes you think it’s not real, doll?” He asked quietly, leaning closer to you.
You pulled your free hand up and pulled the neck of your hospital gown down again. You couldn’t help but notice the way Steve’s eyes zeroed in on the exposed flesh or the way his ears turned a bright pink.
“I distinctly remember getting shot, but look . . . no wound.” Your voice came out a little breathier than you had anticipated and Steve shifted closer to you at the sound of it.
He reached out a hesitant finger and gently stroked a line down your chest, right where the bullet wound had been. “No.” He agreed. “No . . . there isn’t. Helen Cho used the cradle on it. Fixed your stab wound too while she was at it.”
You sucked in a breath and moved to pull the covers off your legs so you could pull up your gown and check your abdomen.
Steve’s entire face turned an interesting shade of pink as he quickly grabbed your hands in his. “Maybe just take my word for it, doll.” He murmured.
Just glanced at him for a moment before a shit-eating grin slowly formed on your lips.
“Sir, yes sir.” You teased.
His eyes, which had drifted awkwardly to your hands shot up to your face at that and the blush died away as the passion in his eyes swam to the surface.
You gulped, suddenly unsure what to do now that you’d awoken that in him. Steve had NEVER looked at you like that before.
“How . . . how did I get here?” You asked instead, drawing his attention to something else.
A slow smile formed on Steve’s lips as he realized what you were trying to do, but he answered anyway. “I knew your first name, doll, and you’d just gotten shot in front of us. I called Tony up and he had FRIDAY look for person matching your description, with your name and a gunshot wound. Took him maybe five minutes once he really got started.”
You groaned and flung yourself back against your pillows. “My roommates are going to KILL me.” You murmured.
“No. No, they were very worried.” Steve shook his head. “We met them at the hospital when we transferred you here. They said, and I quote; ‘Make sure she comes back in once piece. We owe her.’”
“They met you?!” You screeched, shaking your head dramatically. “Oh, no, no, no. This is bad.”
Steve crossed his arms and leaned away from you, another smile already forming on his face. “Come on, doll, you’re being dramatic. They seemed like very nice people.”
“Owe me a good beating.” You mumbled, ignoring Steve entirely. “They’re gonna be so PISSED that I was on a first name basis with the Avengers and never once introduced them.” You started nodding your head emphatically. “Yup. I’m dead. They’re gonna kill me. That’s it. That’s how I’m going out.”
Steve laughed and reached out. He gently trapped your chin in his fingers and lifted your head. “Looks like you need a place to lay low for awhile.” He said. His words were strategic. A rational solution to your problem. And it WAS a problem, whether he believed it or not. It was so logical, you almost agreed on the spot, but there was a kind of mischief brewing in his eyes that you didn’t know what to make of. It made you pause.
“Come on, doll. Don’t you trust me?” He blinked those baby-blue eyes of his and looked at you with such an expression of hope, you couldn’t stop yourself as you blurted out the answer.
“Of course I do.”
“Then move in with me.”
You gaped at him like a fish.
Steve smiled and shook his head, dropping your chin. “Come on doll. Think about it? You’d be safe here. Surrounded by the Avengers and Tony’s security systems? No one would get their hands on you. Ex-roommates or not.”
You were still gaping at him as his teasing expression morphed into a serious one. He whispered your name gently, then he sighed and glanced at his hands. “I’ve grown used to seeing you every night.” He started. “But it’s not enough. I’d really like to be able to see you everyday too, doll.”
Steve glanced back up at you with hope and hunger burning brightly in his eyes again. “So whaddya say? Move in with me?”
In that moment, as you stared into his eyes and saw the earnestness there, you saw something else too. An entire future with a man you’d been falling in love with for months in your dreams.
You made up your mind. There was really only way to answer a question like that.
“How fast can we move my stuff?”