I've always loved you (pt.4) 💧 Steve

                                    

                                          
Song: VAGUE003 - tonight 
                          
It's cold, so cold. 
                          
That's all you can feel at the moment. The cold winter air on the frozen lake. 
                          
Those bad guys upgraded since the last time, instead of keeping you in some weird ass basement, they're now keeping you tied to a chair on the middle of a frozen over lake, in the heart of winter with the minimal amount of clothing on. 
                          
'Now what?' Nathan, one of the bad guys snarls at his superior David. 
                          
'Now we wait...we wait for Rogers to show up...' 
                          
You scoff with a small smirk on your face, the crimson red painting your teeth and lips.
                          
'He won't show up...I'm retired and I haven't even talked to him since January...so I'll just stay here and freeze to death...' 
                          
Even though you lied through your teeth about not talking to Steve since January, you actually talk to him every day, you're becoming friends again, but he doesn't need to know that. 
                          
'Oh and neither is the rest of the team...I told them to fuck off a long time ago...' 
                          
'What a mess you are...' David chuckles as he roughly grabs your chin. 
                          
'Oh you should've seen it, complete chaos...' you spit at him. 
                          
He wipes the blood and spit off of his face and hardly lets go off you. 
                          
'Then we have absolutely no use for you whatsoever.. throw her in the lake...' Nathan nods and starts to untie you fro the chair. 
                          
You squirm and struggle to get out of his grip once he gets you loose from the chair. You were right about them not going to come here but you don't want to die for it to be honest. 
                          
'Y/n!' You hear a familiar voice. 
                          
'No...no no, you're not supposed to be here...GO AWAY!, STAY BACK!' You scream back at Steve. 
                          
'Let her go!' He yells as she starts to run towards the three of you. 
                          
You again squirm against the restraints, trying to pry yourself loose before getting thrown in the ice cold after below you. 
                          
'Push her in now...' David orders Nathan and with a little push you end up in the water. 'Close it up with your powers so she won't be able to get out..' 
                          
You slowly start sinking, still fighting off the restraints, trying to keep the small breath you took inside of your lungs.
                          
But before you can get yourself loose, your brain goes in survival mode, meaning that your brain shuts down your body. 
                          
'Steve she's in the water!, and he just closed down the only exit for her!' Natasha runs with Steve. 
                          
Something flips inside of Steve, something like a switch, Steve now isn't just America's sweetheart, he isn't this well thought through Soldier, he becomes this animalistic creature. He just snaps. 
                          
'I'll g after those two, you go save her...'  Natasha comments and Steve just nods. 
                          
When he heard you were in danger, Steve was the first to jump up to go and save you, he's always prepared and everything for a mission but when it's about you, when you're in danger, he runs in without using his head first. Just like he is doing down. 
                          
He drops himself down to his knees above the spot they sealed shut, he starts banging his bare fist around it, his knuckles starting to bleed from the impact he's making on the ice. He's so determined to save you that it doesn't even bother him, he's too focused to even care. 
                          
He realised something when you retired, even when he saw you in that damn dress New Year's Eve, he realised a long time ago that it's not just really good friendship he feels, it's more than that, he knew a while back that he felt different with you, he couldn't place it then because he only felt love for Peggy and Sharon but the feeling he got with you was different. 
                          
The cracking of the ice breaks the train of thoughts and he stands up again, he takes off his jacket, for you to wear when you get out. He asks Natasha, who has already taken out both men, to hold it. She just smiles at him and nods. She has known about the love for as long as Steve knows, maybe even longer. You're like Ross and Rachel from friends, there's always this unspoken thing. 
                          
He kicks the ice and it creates a small passage for him to dive through. He can see the shape of your body from the surface. He knows exactly where you are. 
                          
He gets ready and dives straight into the freezing water, which hardly affects him at all, he's like a walking furnace after all. 
                          
It does remind him of his past, the impact he had with the Valkyrie. The freezing cold he ended up in. It used to bother him and bring back memories, he remembers that when he got out he tried sitting in a bathtub, to bring back the feeling, he got an anxiety attack and never went near cold water again until this happened. And when you're in danger he won't hesitate. 
                          
He swims further down until he can reach you, he grabs ahold of your arm and pulls you towards him so he can fully hold onto you as he swims back up again. 
                          
The minute he reaches the surface he pushes you up, maybe a bit to harsh but right now getting you out matters the most. 
                          
He climbs out himself and in the meantime Nat cut lose the restraints that kept your limbs together. 
                          
Steve crawls over to you and checks for a pulse, there is one but it's very weak. He knows there's a big possibility that he's going to lose you. So he tried everything he can.

'You should try to give her CPR...maybe that helps...' Natasha is now panicking herself. 
                          
And the second Steve wants to put his mouth on yours you push him away and throw up the water that got into your lungs. 
                          
You take a few deep breaths before locking eyes with Steve and Natasha. You don't even notice that you're laying in Steve's arms until you shift yourself. 
                          
'Thank god...I thought we were too late...' 
                          
'You came...when I needed you...you were there...' 
                          
'Just like you're always there for me even though I've been an incredible dick..' he replies panting. 
                          
'I'm gonna a make a huge mistake by doing this...' you mutter making Steve frown. 
                          
You pull yourself up against his neck and you place your ice cold lips against his. 
                          
'Finally!' Nat squeaks. 
                          
She's happy at first but then she remembers you're on a frozen lake with little clothing, both wet from your trip underwater. 
                          
'I don't wanna be a cockblock, but you're both wet and y/n, you only have a shirt on, we should get you checked out so can we please go before you end up with serious hypothermia?' Natasha interrupts and you pull away from Steve. 
                          
'Here...I saved my jacket, I knew you'd be cold...' 
                          
'Thanks...' you smile as Steve gets up. 
                          
He pulls you up and carries you bridal style as Nat follows you to the jet. 
                          
'So guess I'm not retired anymore...' you mutter against Steve's chest. 
                          
'Good to hear..is hate to see you walk away again...' he replies.