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paperweight91 · 5 months

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Dream a Little Dream of Me

Part 3

Summary: the aftermath of your mission with Steve.

Warnings: none

A/N: This is just a quick update as I’m somewhat stalled on this. Please leave feedback! Likes and reblogs are always welcome! ❤️

You found yourself unnervingly warm as you awoke. Unsure of your surroundings. You began to panic as you were unable to move, until you felt two solid arms wrapped around you. Suddenly it all came back to you, just as it had when you had landed back on the train. It was all real. The arms that were wrapped around you were Steve’s.

You angled yourself in his embrace to get a better look at his face. He was still unconscious. Even though he was out, the strength with which he held you was unwavering. You lifted your hand to his face and quietly whispered his name, hoping to ease him back into consciousness. His lashes twitched as you gently called to him before finally opening. His piercing blue eyes looked at you questioningly for a moment before realization crossed his face.

Slowly he got to his feet, before helping you to stand as well. “All good?” Was all he asked as he looked you over. You nodded, but before you could open your mouth to respond he was continuing. “C’mon, we gotta get back to the Quinjet, I’ll send someone else in to the retrieve the data, we need to get you back to the compound.”

With a hand on you at all times, like he was afraid you were going to shatter, he guided you out of the facility and back to the Quinjet in what felt like no time. Rather than let you sit in the back, Steve pushed you to sit in the co-pilots seat as he readied the jet for take off. It was then that you realized you must be in shock.

“I thought it wasn’t real…” You trailed off as you stared out the window. Steve reached over to you seat and put a comforting hand on your shoulder.

“I know, we’ll get back and get it figured out, I promise.” He was smiling at you earnestly. A look that up until now you had never been on the receiving end of. You kind of got now why all the girls swooned when Steve gave them that look.

“Why are you being so nice to me?” You blurted before you could stop yourself. Sure you and Steve and shared a moment back in that abandoned hospital, but that didn’t mean you were friends now.

He gave you a befuddled look, “What do you mean?”

“Steve, let’s be honest, you’ve never really liked me. And you’ve definitely never been happy that I was brought onto the team. So what gives, why are you being so nice to me?” You were squinting at him suspiciously as you spoke. You figured this was a reason to get you off the team, maybe that was why he was being nice.

Steve sighed and stared out of the windshield of the jet for a few moments before putting it in autopilot and turning his seat to face you. “I wasn’t hard on you because I didn’t like you. I was hard on you because I was worried. All of us, in some way, shape or form on the team are enhanced. You’re not, not even a little bit. I didn’t want to put you in a situation that could get you hurt, or killed because I’m so used to working with people who are enhanced. I was scared.” He paused for a moment, like he was trying to figure out how best to articulate his thoughts.

You wanted to yell, or make a snide remark, but you found yourself agreeing with him again. Steve makes all the calls for all the missions the team goes on at the end of the day. If something were to happen because you were in a situation that was over your head, you knew you would be reluctant to ask for help. “I’m sorry I called you an ass.”

He laughed and looked confused, “You didn’t?”

“I did, I actually called you worse, but most of those were in my head, so I’m not counting them.” You gave him a strained smile, before your face fell as realization dawned on you. “Oh God, if everything on the train is real. And everything here is real - what is happening to me? Steve, I’ve been going there since I was a teen!”

He shushed you and leaned from his seat into your space. He pulled you into a tight hug, and you buried your face in his neck. He slowly rocked you as he ran his hands up and down your back. You had a flash of a memory of Curtis doing the same thing.

Your dizzy spells were getting more and more frequent. You had to find a way to make them stop. You stumbled through the tail end looking for peace and quiet. You needed the buzzing in your head to stop.

You tripped over one of the toys the children had left laying around. As you stumbled, you felt strong arms circle you from behind, pulling you back against a broad chest. You sighed at the warmth and crisp scent of Curtis, who you knew by feel and scent alone now. “Sweetheart, you alright?”

You turned in his arms to face him, looking up at him through your lashes. “I’m sorry, I’m just tired. You know how it is down here, finally get to sleep and this stupid train hits something.” Curtis laughed at your lie.

“Yeah, somethings you can just never used to huh?” He pulled you over to his cubby, rooting around. You weren’t sure what he was looking for until he pulled back triumphant. “I’m not gonna tell you what I had to do to get this.” He winked before presenting you with a thick scarf. He wrapped it around your neck with surprising tenderness. As you inhaled you caught a strong whiff of Curtis and sighed.

Tears welling in your eyes you said, “Thank you Curtis! You don’t have to do this.”

His smile was genuine as he shushed you and pulled you back into his chest, slowly rocking and running his hands up and down your back.

You were rocked back to the present by the sound of the Quinjet landing, finding yourself still snugly wrapped in Steve’s arms. “You think you can walk?”

You nodded before heading down the ramp to solid ground. “C’mon, let’s go find Tony and Banner - I called ahead to make sure they were ready for us.” He started to lead the way, but stopped short when he noticed you weren’t following him. He turned back to you to give you a quizzical look before holding his hand out towards you. Your eyes shot to his and searched. What you were looking for you weren’t quite sure, but Steve just stared back at you earnestly.

You sighed and took his hand, following him deeper into the Compound. You knew what was going to happen next. Experiments. You had heard of them at SHIELD. Any new recruits who showed signs of enhancement were experimented on before any field assignments. You shuddered as you thought of what Dr. Banner and Tony would come up with. As if sensing your thoughts, Steve let his thumb brush against the back of your hand. “Don’t worry, we’re just going to figure out what is going on, okay?”

You could feel your whole body tense as you got closer to the lab, and saw the rest of the Avengers talking. You stopped short and pulled on Steve’s hand. “Steve, I’m scared.” You couldn’t look him in the eye as you made your declaration, instead settling on his chin.

“I know, but I’m more scared of what could happen to you if we don’t figure out why this is happening.” He lifted his free hand up to your chin and tilted your face up to look at him showing you that his concern was genuine, then pulled you into the lab.

You looked around at the team, but were unable to meet any of their eyes. Natasha was immediately out of her seat to come and pull you into a hug. She whispered to you in a reassuring voice, but your head was buzzing so loudly you couldn't make out a word she said. It was Steve’s voice that pulled you out of your reverie.

“She’s in shock. I gave you guys the short version on the way back, but I figured you should hear it all from both of us.” He stood with his arms crossed across his broad chest, straining the material of his suit. From there you both explained in detail what had happened on the mission. How everything had gone sideways, right from the start.

“How long has this been going on?” Dr. Banner was kind, but you could tell he was intensely interested in what was happening to you. That didn’t bode well for the experimentation.

“I’m not sure.” You weren’t lying, the earliest memory you had of the train was in your teens, but how long had your dreams been you traveling to a far off land. “The first time I remember the train was my early teens. That’s when I met Curtis. He saved me, and so many other people. He made sure that we all got on, even if we didn’t have a ticket. He wasn’t much older than me, maybe seventeen? But he has always taken care of us. Before then? I don’t know, you guys have to remember I thought these were dreams, I didn’t think any of it was really happening.”

Tony wasn’t looking at you, but was frantically working on something on his tablet. Dr. Banner nodded, “We should probably assume you’ve been doing this most, if not all of your life.”

“How do we make it stop?” Steve’s question caught you off guard, and you immediately responded.

“We can’t make it stop yet!” You were furious at him for even suggesting it. However, his expression told you that this was the wrong response. It was like a switch flipped in your head and you finally felt back to yourself. “Captain, we can’t just leave those people, especially now that we know they need help. Curtis is strong, he’s a good leader, but we can help them in their rebellion against the front, just think of how many lives we would be able to save if we help.”

Steve rolled his shoulders and looked away. He didn’t agree. It was Natasha who responded, “I think we all agree that we should help those who need it, but realistically what are we supposed to do to help people in what, another dimension?”

You could hear the murmurs of agreements of the other Avengers. “So none of you will help? You’re going to let innocent people die?”

You could hear a pin drop in the silence that echoed around the room. No one would make eye contact with you. You huffed, “Fine. Then we will not be looking into this until the rebellion is done, I’ll bench myself.” Your last comment was made in Steve’s direction.

Tony finally looked up from his tablet and stared directly at you. “This is something you feel like you need to do?” It was posed as a question, but really you could tell he was confirming more than anything.

You stared straight into his eyes as you responded, “I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t.”

Tony nodded, “Alright kids, shows over. We’ll reconvene after ‘The Rebellion’ although you definitely need a better name for that.”

You smiled at Tony and turned to make your way back to your quarters. Deciding on a nice long bath before bed, so you could unwind the mess you had made today. You weren’t even sure how to file the mission report with Steve at this point.

***

Back in the lab the Avengers spoke in your absence.

“We can’t just let her keep doing this. You guys didn’t see her there. Something about that place makes her weak, and not just emotionally. She could barely hold herself up and she wants to help fight in a rebellion?” Steve was pacing as he expounded on all the reasons why your idea was terrible. He was just glad you weren’t here to hear him, he knew you would hate the way he was speaking about you now.

“What do you want to do Cap? Tie her to the lab? There’s no way that’s going to work. She’s a free person, she benched herself, outside of Avenging there’s not much else we can do to stop her.” Tony was surprising everyone, including himself, by being the voice of reason.

Natasha came up with the only solid plan that would appease everyone, except maybe you. “Then maybe we bench someone else to stay with her. That way we know that whether here or there, she’s safe.”

To the shock of all the Avengers in the room Steve volunteered himself, “I’ve already been there. She said that the last time she was there she was being held by Curtis the same as how I caught her, except he didn’t come back with her. I’m wondering if the serum is allowing me to go back and forth with her.”

Natasha looked worried, but the others agreed, so she kept her mouth shut. She definitely wasn’t going to be the one to tell you that it was her idea that had Captain America chained to your side 24/7 now.

***

#chris evans #curtis everett #steve rogers #curtis everett x reader #steve rogers x reader #dream a little dream of me

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