Chapter 56: Nightmares and Daydreams

"Agent Stinger, quel est votre emplacement?" (Agent Stinger, what's your location?)

"Je suis au dernier étage, Colt. Restez en place pas nécessaire, je serai dans environ 10 minutes." (I'm on the top floor, Colt. Stay put, back up not needed, I'll be out in approximately 10 minutes.)

"Bien reçu." (Copy that.) I lean back against the brick wall, folding my arms and checking my watch. 10 minutes. I tell myself, trying not to worry about Luc. I look back around the corner, up at the corporate building we're targeting. "Si vous n'êtes pas dehors dans 10 minutes, je viens po-" (If you're not out in 10 minutes, I'm coming f-) I gasp, losing my breath as someone pulls me back, further into the alley. I try to let out a yelp or cry of help, but a hand covers my mouth.

"Gardez la fille tranquille, et cela ira par facile." (Keep quiet girl, and this'll go by easy.) A gruff voice says in my ear. Realizing the person who has a hold of me is just some bum, and not a boss of mine, I take my left arm and elbow the person in the ribs. The hand over my mouth lets up, ever so slightly, and I bite his hand. I'm dropped to the ground and whip around pulling a knife out from my belt. There's four men, much larger than me all standing in front of me. The one I bit is holding his hand, looking the most vengeful. I huff, looking at the men waiting for one of them to act first.

"Fille, vous venez de faire le mauvais choix," (Girl, you just made the wrong move,) The one I bit growls. One on the right lunges at me, but I grab his wrist, pulling him forward and using his own force against him, pushing him into several trash cans. Turning back to the other three, they all begin sulking forward towards me. I flip my knife in my hand, holding my forearm as a block, the blade pointing out, my knees bent, and my other hand at the ready for an attack.

"Colt, je viens maintenant."(Colt, I'm coming now.) I hear Luc say.

"Eh bien, attrape-la!" (Well, get her!) The one I bit shouts. The other two men come at me and I slice the one from the left in the arm, him howling as I do so, the other one though grabbing a hold of my arm and pinning it behind me. I stomp on his foot and head butt him. He releases me, and when I turn around, he's holding his nose, but that doesn't stop him from running at me again.

What do I do, I can't. There's nothing- *gasp*

I make a noise of surprise as my knife sinks into the man's abdomen. I push him away from me and he hits the brick wall, holding his stomach as he slides to the ground. I stare at him, but pull my gaze to my hand with the knife covered in blood. Another grunt takes my focus and I whip around to the two other men still standing.

"Qui diable êtes-vous?" (Who the hell are you?) The one I cut asks while he holds his arm. I breathe heavily as I wait for one to come forward.

"Fille effrayée?" (Scared girl?) The one that seems to be the leader says huskily. I still don't reply, and the one I cut comes forward. I don't have time to think as I lunge at him, but also begin hearing footsteps come closer to the alley. I duck under his arms as he tries to grab me, summer-saluting on the ground and behind him. I slice his calf and he falls to the ground. "

Pourquoi petite chi-" (Why you little bi-) I stand up and roundhouse him right in the head before he finishes. I huff out a breath as I look at his unconscious body on the ground. My gaze takes me back to the other man. The one I stabbed. He's... He's not breathing.

I killed him.

I don't even hear the last man coming up behind me, but I see Luc at the end of the alley, as well as the knife he hurls towards me. I duck just in time and the knife sinks into the man's shoulder. He hollers in pain and I kick one of his legs out from under him, causing him to take a knee. I punch him, sure to knock him out. I bend over, hands on my knees, breathing heavily. I look up at Luc as he walks over to me.

"Je n'allais pas te frapper, te sais." (I wasn't going to hit you, you know.) Luc chuckles, offering me his hand.

"Eh bien, belle photo," (Well then, nice shot,) I say, holding his hand, but looking over at the man I stabbed. Luc notices the dried blood covering my hand and follows my gaze.

"Je visais son coeur..." (I was aiming for his heart...) He says, I think in an attempt to ease my conscience, but he's too caught up in the dead body. "As tu..." (Did you...) I felt the tears prick my eyes as Luc points at the body.

"Ils-Ils m'attaquaient, et ils étaient trop rapides et je ne savais pas quoi faire." (They-They were attacking me, and they were too fast and they were too fast and I didn't know what to do.) I cried, disgusted with myself. Luc simply held my hand tighter.

"C'est bon, ne pleure pas, ma gemme. Cela allait arriver finalement, nous le savions tous les deux." (It's okay, don't cry, my gem. This was going to happen eventually, we both knew that.) Luc consoles me, pulling me into a hug. The moment didn't last long; we soon heard sirens. Whether they be for Luc and I's mission or someone reporting noise coming from the alley, it was time to go. Luc held my hand tightly and I made sure to drop my knife. We ran down the alley and around the corner, away from the police. If Luc wasn't pulling me along, my feet wouldn't even be moving. I could barely breath. I'm a murderer. What kind of human being am I becoming? I start hyperventilating. Everything goes black and I don't know where I am. I'm surrounded by blood, and, slowly, I look down, seeing my entire body covered in the thick, sticky liquid. I scream, the blood rising around me like a lake. It drowns me, my screams becoming silent.

*gasp*

I look around. The bed sheets are perfectly white, like a wedding dove. My room was alight with the soft glow of the moon. The only thing that seemed accurate was my sore throat. It was a dream. I tell myself. I take several deep breaths before pushing the covers off of me and walking to the bathroom. I don't bother with the lights as I look at myself in the mirror. My skin is clear, but I still feel the need to wash my face. After splashing my face with cold water once more, the water drips from my chin and onto my feet. I'm wearing shorts, so I inspect my legs as well. The water was dripping down my forearms and making the sleeves of my red jumper darker. I pulled it off, shivering slightly from the sudden cold hitting my bare chest, minus the brace for my ribs. I walked into my closet, throwing the jumper in the corner and grab a light blue sweater. After slipping it on, I pace my room for a moment, thinking about my dream. It wasn't much of a dream; more so a memory. I think of the screaming at the end and touch my neck. I guess I actually screamed and that's what woke me up. I shake my head, releasing another breath and walk out of my room and down the hall towards the kitchen.

God, what the hell could have brought this on? It's ridiculous, that was nearly 10 years ago. Why on Earth- Ow! Son of a bitch! I step back, one hand on my head, the other bracing myself against the wall I just fucking ran into. I rub my head already thinking of some badass excuse as to why I have a bruise on my forehead, ya know, something better than "I ran into a fucking wall."

"Jade?"

I sigh, closing my eyes. Great. I walk around the corner and see Steve standing up from the kitchen table. I wave, keeping my eyes on the ground, too embarrassed to look at him. "...Hey..." There's one dim light on above the sink, but otherwise, everything is dark, and quiet. "You didn't... see that, did you?" I ask, still rubbing my head.

"If I say no, would that make you feel better?" Steve asks, after walking up to me. I finally look up at him and smile. "Do you mind if I take a look?" I move my hand and he brushes his thumb over the area. I hiss in pain, squeezing my eyes shut. "The area's tender and throbbing." Steve says, rather soldier-like, before he quickly picks me up by my hips and placing me on the counter across from the fridge.

"Oh, Steve, I'm fine." I say as he spins around to the fridge. He frantically searches through the freezer, without responding, and comes out with a bag of frozen peas. He walks to the counter and places it on my forehead.

"There, how's that?" He asks adjusting it and then looking me in the eye.

"Steve, I'm fine," I repeat, taking his hand and moving it down to the counter. He leaves the peas on the counter, but his hand is quick to return to my head as he tries to inspect the tender spot on my forehead again, despite the dim lighting. Again, I close my eyes, making some noise of pain.

"Sorry! Sorry," He apologizes, right hand still on my face.

"Steve, I'm okay." I try again at reassuring him, while taking his hand once more and holding it as I look him in the eye. "Why are you awake?" I ask after a moment of silence passes between us.

"I heard you." He says quietly.

So I did scream.

"Yeah, did you have a bad dream?" He asks, his thumb rubbing over my knuckles. I pass over the fact that I thought aloud and answer.

"Yeah..."

"What about?" His voice is the smoothest I've ever heard it.

"The first time I ever killed someone," I say, looking away from Steve.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" He offers.

"I was 15. It was Luc and I's sixth, maybe seventh, mission. It was supposed to be easy. Luc just had to recover some data from this big corporate building. This group of men though..." I kept my gaze down still. "I was supposed to wait in an alley down, and across the street. This group of men tried to attack me and I-"

"You defended yourself. Did you mean to kill them?" Steve interrupts.

"It was just one." I'm sure to correct him quickly. "And, it was an accident. There wasn't much I could do and he came at me so quickly." I didn't notice I was crying until Steve wiped away my tears.

"Then?"

"I took care of the other two, but Luc saved me. And then, in my dream, I was alone and surrounded by blood. I started screaming and then I drowned." Steve pulls me into a hug, and I cry more.

"It's okay Jade." He coos, brushing my hair. I push myself back, wiping my face.

"Sorry." I say forcing a smile.

"Don't apologize. Now I just have more of a reason to hate HYDRA." Steve holds my face making sure I look at him. "15. They put you through so much, and you were just a kid. I'm so sorry Jade."

"It's in the past," I say, pulling Steve's hands from my face and holding them again.

"But here you are suffering from it," Steve says, blue eyes looking more tired than ever. "You didn't deserve any of this."

I don't know why I was leaning closer to him. I don't know why he was leaning closer to me, him standing between my legs as I sat on the granite countertop. But I do know, I don't want it to stop. I let go of his hands and rest mine on his chest as his go to hold my cheeks.

His lips are softer than I thought they would be. Softer than I'd ever imagined. With his rough exterior, I wouldn't think he'd be so gentle. I realize that most people wouldn't describe Captain America as rough, but let's keep in mind this man was a soldier during the Second World War and literally fought Nazi's; some of the nastiest people ever. So yes, I think this man is rough, but here he is, being oh-so gentle. Not only in his kiss, but his touch too. He held my face, his thumb caressing my cheek as I tilt my head and lean into his hand to get a better angle. Even with me sitting on the counter, he has a height advantage to me, causing me to sit up straight and tilt my head up. My hands cling to his shirt and I want to pull him closer, wrap my legs around him and run my fingers through his hair. But, I restrain myself.

After all...

He is still a virgin.

A/N: Hello hello! I'm back with a new chapter!!!!

*GASP* 

Steve and Jade! Yes, yes, it's finally happened. I told you the wait would be worth it. So, what do you guys think???? I wrote the kiss scene like 8 months ago, because I was so excited myself, so I hope everyone likes it. What do you guys think will happen????? How will they handle this??? Believe me, even I had a difficult time coming up with something. 

What do you think of Jade's dream? How fucked up is Jade from HYDRA? I'd love to hear your thoughts and theories. Thank you all so much for reading! I really do appreciate it and all of my lovely readers! Thank you, thank you, thank you! 

Don't forget to vote and comment! Thanks guys! 

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