The Teen Avenger (Book 2) (Avengers X OC)

The VA (3)

Mia's POV:

I knew Steve would not like the idea of Project Insight. Even I didn't, but you know Fury, he can be so damn persuasive.

'Don't hold your breath.' Steve said and walked away, giving me a glare. I sighed when he was gone.

'He'll get used to it.' Nick said. I scoffed.

'No he won't. Don't you see, even I didn't agree with this at first because I had the exact same reason.' I said.

'Mia, we had this conversation and you agreed to help with this.' He said.

'Well, I don't think you need my help now, everything is fine. Launch will be as planned. I can't lie to Steve anymore Nick, he's my best friend.' I said, giving the tablet I was holding to him and walked away. I snapped out of my suit and went to the garage. I went to my apartment and took a long shower. I then wore some clothes, my gloves, and went to the VA, I hadn't gone for some time and wanted to see Sam as well. 

'Hey Sam.' I said as I walked in just before a session.

'Hey Mia. What are you doing here?' He asked, giving me a hug.

'Completed the mission, took some hits. Decided to come here.' I said and he chuckled.

'Well, once I told the others that I had met you this morning, they really wanted to meet you.' He said and we went inside.

Steve's POV:

After visiting the museum and Peggy, I decided to go by the VA. When I went inside I saw Sam and Mia both in the front, listening to a woman. 

'I think it's getting worse. A cop pulled me over last week, he thought I was drunk. I swerved to miss a plastic bag. Thought it was an IED.' 

'Some stuff you leave there, other stuff you bring back. It's our job to figure out, how to carry it. Is it going to be in a big suitcase or a little man-purse. It's up to you.' Sam said

'Look, I can't guarantee that everything will turn completely back to normal, but it will get better. Sometimes it might seem like it's just a never ending loop, sometimes it might feel like you're going back down, back in that hole. That's fine. Take a day to grieve when trying to get better. You will see change.' Mia ended. The woman smiled and nodded. After the session was over, the woman bid both of them goodbye and Sam turned to me as Mia was catching up with everyone else. 

'Look who it is. The running man.' Sam remarked.

'I caught the last few minutes, it's pretty intense.' I said, putting my hands in my pocket.

'Yeah brother, we got the same problems. Guilt, regret. Mia does a favour to herself as well when she comes in here.' He said. 

'What happened to her?' I asked, not knowing much about Mia and why she comes here.

'Don't know the entire story but she feels a lot of guilt and has a lot of pent up anxiety, and  depression trying to keep her past at bay.' He said and I nodded. 

'What about you? Did you loose someone?' I asked.

'My wingman, Riley. Flying a night mission. Standard PJ rescue Op. Nothing we hadn't done a thousand times before. Until an RPG knocked Riley's dumb ass out of the sky. Nothing I could do. it's like I was up there just to watch.' He said.

'I'm sorry.' I said.

'After that, had a really hard time finding a reason to stay there you know?' He said and I nodded.

'You happy now?' I asked and he nodded.

'What about Mia?' I asked

'Mia doesn't really like to talk about her problems. She will help others willingly, but when it comes to her, she would just turn away. It's been a hard time for me trying to break down her walls. I couldn't do much but she does talk to me sometimes. That is a lot of progress from when she first started coming here.' he said and I nodded. I looked over at her and saw her bidding goodbye to the last people and coming towards us.

'Bye Sam. I'll leave. Meet you tomorrow?' She asked.

'Sure. Take care of yourself.' He said, giving her a hug. She went in the room and came back with her bag and jacket. Not acknowledging me. 

'Why is she not talking to you?' Sam asked, noticing her behaviour. 

'The mission I had left for, she had one inside it. I was mad since the hostages could have been killed. Didn't really get a chance to think about it and started ignoring her.' I said, sighing.

'Well, I would suggest that you fix that. She told me that you guys were best friends and perfect for group missions. I have not seen her talk like that about any other person. Believe it or not, you're really important to her and cares about what you think about her.' Sam said and I nodded, regretting ignoring her. 

Mia's POV:

'Bye Sam. I'll leave. Meet you tomorrow?' I asked. 

'Sure. Take care of yourself.' He said, giving me a hug. I went in the room and came back with my bag and jacket. I then went to my apartment and made some dinner for myself. At about 9 in the night, I got a distress signal from Nick. Saying to come at Steve's house, armed. I quickly snapped into my suit and left my apartment to go to Steve's. When I reached, the door was closed and some slow music was playing. I knew other ways to get inside the house so, I slowly and carefully got inside from a window, my gun in front of me. 

'I don't remember giving you a key.' I heard Steve's voice.

'Steve? Nick?' I called out, turning a corner and saw Steve in front of me, with his shield and Nick on a chair in front of him. 

Steve's POV:

I drove back to my apartment on my bike and reached at about 9 o'clock. I reached my floor and met Kate, she was talking to her aunt on her phone, holding a laundry basket.

'My aunt, she's kind of an insomniac.' She said. 

'Hey, if you want... If you want, you're welcome to use my machine. Might be cheaper than the one in the basement.' I said.

'Yeah? What's it cost?' She asked.

'A cup of coffee?' I asked, finally gathering up the courage to ask her out.

'Thank you, but I already have a load downstairs and you really don't want my scrubs in your machine. I just finished a rotation in the infectious diseases ward, so...' She said.

'Well, I will keep my distance.' I said, kind of disappointed. 

'Hopefully not too far.' She said.

'Oh and I think you left your stereo on.' She said.