CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN, settle

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ

THE NEXT COUPLE of days passed by normally for the couple, Ivanna finally told Steve everything that had happened. Lots of it shocked him, but he accepted the answers. He admitted that some of him wished he could help Walker, or try to get through to him. And Ivanna understood where he was coming from, as it was something Steve liked to do most often. They'd spent the day in, waiting for news on what had happened. And when nothing came in, they went to bed for the evening.

When Ivanna woke up the next morning, it was a slow and long process for her. She had finally gotten a few comfortable nights' rests after everything she had been involved with. She had nights of Steve with her, using his warmth to keep her comfortable. She knew that if Sam called they'd both go in, Steve still having one of his suits as well as his shield from Wakanda. He felt those would suit him better.

His side of the bed was empty, but she soon heard him coming from the bathroom. A smile crossed Steve's face at the sight of Ivanna waking up, and he sat on his side with his back against the headboard. He smiled down at her.

"Mornin,"

"Morning," mumbled in her sleepy daze. Steve chuckled, reaching down and combing her hair out of her face, "it still feels good having a bed back."

"I'm sure,"

Her eyes fell shut again, a content sigh passing through her lips, "Sam has the shield. I told him that he needed to take it...for you."

"As long as he's got it," Steve nodded, sighing as a confused look crossed his face, "I wish I could've been there. Or had been able to properly meet or get through to Walker."

"Yeah?"

Steve hummed in agreement, and Ivanna's phone went off. Her brows furrowed and she sat up, grabbing it off the headboard and holding it to her ear, "Sam?"

"Vanna, we're gonna need you," Her face went stone cold, and she stared ahead of her while Steve watched in concern, "the GRC ruling has been held off by the Flag Smashers. We know where they are, Torres found their ping."

"We'll be there," Sam thanked Ivanna and ended the call, and turned to Steve, "are you ready to suit up?"

"Aren't I always?"

The two got off of the bed and to the second closet in their room. Ivanna pulled out her case, grabbing a hold of her suit and weapons. Steve was beside her, grabbing his suit and the shield from Wakanda. As Ivanna changed into her suit, she reflected on every moment that led them there. Beginning with the fight in Wakanda.

After suiting up, the couple quickly traveled to Lower Manhattan, where Bucky was already waiting for them. The three got with one another and determined where they'd separate. Ivanna could tell that people were eyeing Steve with uncertainty, but he paid no mind as he watched Bucky walk away from them.

"I'm almost there," Sam spoke over the comms as Ivanna pushed through the crowds of people. She muttered small apologies but focused on getting where Bucky had told her to go.

"What's the plan?" Bucky questioned.

"Karli's gotta be close," Ivanna looked around as Sam spoke, watching for any sight of Karli or her friends, "keep your eyes open."

"Well, it could be anybody," Bucky interjected.

"And by the way, I called in some backup,"

"Steve and Ivanna?" Bucky questioned, "Yeah, I know."

Ivanna grinned at his words as some officers stepped out of her way, muttering Agent Niloleavna and letting her pass through. She listened to Sam and Bucky bicker for a few seconds but eventually paid it no mind.

"Do I hear Sharon?" Sam suddenly asked. Ivanna halted while Bucky answered. The blonde glanced around, realizing that Sharon was with Bucky.

"Hey Sam, I thought I'd get the gang back together," Sharon addressed from wherever she was and Ivanna began walking again.

"Thank you, you're risking a lot coming here,"

"I hear pardons aren't all they're cracked up to be anyway,"

"They're gonna move on the building soon, be ready," Sam interrupted Sharon and Bucky's conversation and Ivanna nodded, stealing glances at the people around her. There was silence for a few moments before she could hear Sam again, "What's going on on your end?"

"Nothing, all quiet," Bucky confirmed.

"Nothing," Ivanna repeated.

"No one's moving toward the building," Sharon added.

Ivanna walked away from the building, trying to catch sight of anyone far away or up close, as Sam spoke up, "Karli's not coming in. She's trying to force everybody out."

Ivanna sighed and looked over at who was approaching her, Steve. He was rushed and placed a hand on her arm," We gotta get in there."

Ivanna nodded and the two took off, meeting Sharon and Bucky at a door. They all walked in, Bucky setting off a metal detector

"You guys are gonna have to do something," they listened to Sam, "Don't let 'em out of the building."

Bucky turned to the three following him as Sharon said oops. There was no room for conversation as Bucky pointed someone out, "There's one of them. I'll get the evac."

Ivanna nodded, walking into the busking the rest of the way while Bucky walked away. Steve followed after her, and Sharon broke away to stop people from evacuating on one stairwell. The blonde rushed down a flight of stairs, watching for guards and the people around them.

Ivanna found herself in a parking garage, vehicles leaving. She turned to see Sharon watching them. She held her hands in the direction of the vehicles as Bucky walked down. Sharon's eyes went wide and she shook her head.

"Seriously Bucky, you had one job,"

"You worry about your guy, I'll worry about mine," Bucky remarked while climbing in a bike and starting the engine. He glanced back at Ivanna, "Niloleavna, you're coming with me."

"But I usually-"

"Come on,"

Ivanna reluctantly approached the bike and got on the back, firmly wrapping her arms around Bucky's torso as he sped away.

"Well that's one down," she could hear Sharon. But she tuned out the conversation between the other three as Bucky rounded corners and picked up speed. Ivanna braced herself.

"Bucky!" Sam shouted through the comm after Sharon warned them about the chopper.

Bucky came to a stop, eyeing down a street while Ivanna peered over his shoulder, "I don't fly man. That's your thing."

The engine revved and they were on the move once again.

"You got any Widow's Bites?"

"What? To be used in you?" Ivanna questioned loudly over the engine of the motorcycle, "There are innocent people in those, Bucky."

"I know," Bucky sighed, "but the guards are still there."

Ivanna nodded, running her hand along her thigh to the belt she had on it. She numbly counted the number of bites she had with her and nodded. Three vehicles had left, so there had to be at least three drivers. Ivanna watched out for the vehicles until she saw them in front of her and Bucky.

"Bucky what the hell?!" She shouted, he ignored her and picked up speed, slowly tilting the back of the bike up.

"Better find something to grab on to!"

The bike crashed into a roadblock and both went flying. Ivanna reached for a vehicle door while Bucky collided with one of the bodies. Her eyes landed on a Flag-Smasher still sitting in the vehicle. Their hand punched through the glass, grabbing for Ivanna's throat. She dodged, pushing off and landing on the ground, just in time for a small explosion to go off right in front of her.

"Ivanna!" Bucky shouted, she coughed from the sudden amount of smoke that was around her but ignored it to jump on the vehicle. She ran along the top of it, jumping down to see Bucky using his strength to pull on the door.

Bucky began punching the activator on the doors, shattering them until he could pull the door open. He and Ivanna's looked at each other, "Go get the other one, I'll take care of them."

Bucky nodded, leaving Ivanna to help the hostages out. There was suddenly a hard force against her back, sending her flying into the vehicle. Ivanna cursed, slamming into one of the walls as the weight shifted. A smasher came in after her, a pipe in hand.

"Aw, you wouldn't hit a girl would you?" She brought her legs up and kicked the smasher in the chest, causing him to stumble backward. It wasn't enough before he slammed the pipe down. Ivanna rolled out of the way, and it barely missed her head.

The blonde rose to her feet, punchinf the smasher in the face and throwing him off balance enough to put a hand on his chest and send a shock through him. He shouted in pain and fell to his knees on the ground, giving Ivanna room to run out.

She watched as the other vehicle took off, still closed. Bucky hadn't been able to get them out. She cursed and ran after it, watching as a body flew out and it crashed through a wall. Ivanna's heart was racing as she watched the vehicle hang over some metal support beams, tipping and jerking as the panicked people inside moved with it.

She then saw a body moving toward it and pulling it backward, but he was stopped by the smashers. Ivanna ran forward when he fell and the vehicle once again tipped, falling further before it stopped. Ivanna ran toward the beams that it had been sitting on, and Sam rounded the vehicle.

Ivanna smiled at him, letting out a sigh of relief as Steve ran up beside her. Sam took Ivanna's hand and lowered her to the ground, Steve jumping down after them. Her eyes fell to a discarded and dented shield, and then the man with Bucky. John. She nodded at him, and he returned it.

They were interrupted by the sound of something flying, and Bucky catching it. Ivanna turned to see Karli and a few other Flag-Smasher around them, and the shield through. Karli was knocked out of the way, but rose to her feet again as Bucky tossed the pole aside.

"You of all people bought into that bullshit?" Karli asked Sam, taking off her mask as he approached her. Betrayal and disbelief were written on her face as the group behind Sam watched.

"I'm trying something different," Sam said, coming to a stop, "maybe you should do the same."

Karli began shaking her head, explosions happening around them. Fog filled the air, Ivanna looked around for any sight of where the smashers were going.

"This way," Sam instructed.

They all followed after him, as he led the way through the smoke and into a building. They were no longer above ground and Bucky made sure Sharon was aware of this as they began rounding corners. Sam still led the way, using his goggles to help them see.

"Looks like they split up," he pointed and John took off, Steve followed after him, Ivanna knowing what he was up to. She looked to Sam who nodded, both her and Bucky going with Steve and John.

They ran down a path, looking around to no avail. Bucky pulled his phone out, typing something up and looking at John. The two nodded and John led the way out, and the others were left to follow. They rounded the outside of the building.

"Mercy bears richer fruit than strict justice," John spoke with a smirk, then looked at Bucky as a siren wailed.

Bucky glanced at his phone and then to the super soldiers with a smug look, "It's a great app."

Ivanna snickered beside him, folding her arms while Steve side-eyed her, but she could see he was holding his grin back as well. Officers soon flanked the smashers, and they all looked around in a panic. Bucky paid them no mind, turning away.

"Thank you,"

They left the smashers to be arrested, Ivanna and Steve trailing behind John and Bucky. She could hear Bucky start mocking John and felt Steve's hand slide into her own. She looked up at him, brows furrowed.

"You could go talk to John, you know,"

Steve nodded, closing his eyes briefly as he squeezed her hand, "Eventually."

Ivanna squeezed it in return, the two slowly walking beside one another as Bucky continued throwing remarks at John. She smiled at their interaction and they made their way to the police cars and medics, with the onlookers around them. Many were still confused and surprised to see Steve.

He leaned against a vehicle, Bucky doing the same with another one. Ivanna watched the sky as Sam came into view, lowering to the ground with Karli's limp body. She frowned, brows knit together. Medics went to Sam with a stretcher, and he put her body onto it.

Sam walked toward the leaders, becoming bombarded by the media. Instead, he walked straight to the leaders as they thanked him.

"Are you still going forward with resetting the borders?"

"Our peacekeeping troops will begin relocating people soon," one of the women spoke. Ivanna walked up to stand beside Bucky, who turned to her briefly. They nodded at each other and looked back at Sam, "The terrorists only set us back a bit..."

"You have to stop calling them terrorists," Sam shook his head.

"What else would we call them?"

Ivanna tilted her head, watching her friend closely as he began speaking again, "Your peacekeeping troops carrying weapons are forcing millions of people into settlements around the world, right? What do you think those people are gonna call you? These labels...terrorists. refugee. thug, they're often used to get around the question, why?"

Lacont is the one who answered, "Those settlements that happened five years ago...do you think it is fair for the governments to have to support them?"

"Yes," Sam answered without hesitation, further captivating the attention of everyone watching him.

"And the people who reappeared, only to find someone else living in their family home, they just end up homeless?" Sam didn't answer the senator, and the man sighed, "I get it. But you have no idea how complicated this situation is."

"You know what? You're right," Sam turned to face the senator who was walking away, "And that's a good thing. We finally have a common struggle now. Think about that. For once, all of the people who've been begging, and I mean, literally begging for you to feel how hard any given day is...now you know. How did it feel to be helpless?"

Ivanna tilted her head as she listened to Sam's words, letting him challenge the senator, "Now if you could remember what it was like to be helpless, and face a force so powerful it could erase half the planet...you would know that you're about to have the same impact."

Sam's words were causing everyone to reconsider, Ivanna realized this as she looked around at the people around her, "This isn't about easy decisions senator."

The senator shook his head at Sam's words, "You just don't understand."

Sam scoffed, "I'm a black man carrying the Stars and Stripes. What don't I understand? Every time I pick this thing up, I know there are millions of people who are gonna hate me for it. Even now, here...I feel it. The stares. The judgment. And there's nothing I can do to change it. Yet I'm still here. No super serum, no blonde hair, or blue-eyes. The only power I have is that I believe we can do better. We can't demand that people step up if we don't meet them halfway. You control the banks. Shit, you can move borders! You can knock down a forest with an e-mail, and you can feed a million people with a phone call. But the question is, who's in the room when you make those decisions? Hm? Is it the people you're gonna impact? Or is it just more people like you?"

Lacont opened her mouth to speak, but Sam wasn't finished. Ivanna could hear everyone's mind changing on the subject, "I mean, this girl died trying to stop you, and no one had stopped for one second to ask why. You've gotta do better senator. You've gotta step up. Because if you don't, the next Karli will. And you don't wanna see 2.0. People believed in her cause so much...that they helped her defy the strongest governments in the world. Why do you think that is?"

The senators and leaders remained silent, and Ivanna glanced back to see Steve watching Sam with a proud smile, and her attention returned to Sam, "You people have just as much power as an insane god...or a misguided teenager. The question you have to ask yourself is, 'How are you gonna use it?'"

Sam walked away from the leaders, nodding at John as he approached Ivanna, Steve, and Bucky. She smiled wildly at Sam, not holding back from throwing her arms around his neck as she finally, finally, shed a happy tear for the first time since this all began.

"I'm so proud of you," she whispered.

"What're you, my mother?" Sam joked and put her back on the ground. Ivanna grinned and shook her head, wiping her tears away.

"Just a very proud friend,"

Steve came up behind Ivanna, hugging Sam as well and saying congratulations. Sam returned the gesture, telling Steve to thank him before they separated and everyone turned to Bucky.

"Sorry, I was, uh, I was texting and so all I heard was, um, 'a Black guy in Stars and Stripes,'" both men chuckled and Ivanna smiled, glad to see them finally getting along. She noticed Steve was eyeing John and pushed him toward him. Steve glanced back at her, and she nodded in response before joining Sam and Bucky, "nice job, Cap."

"Thanks," Sam sighed, and Bucky patted his shoulder. They walked behind the ambulance to see Sharon leaning against a car and patching herself up.

"Sharon?" Bucky questioned.

"You're blocking my light,"

"We gotta get you to a hospital," Sam told her when they reached her and saw Sharon holding a bandage against a gunshot wound.

"She's not gonna listen," Bucky sighed.

"Hey," Sharon said panting, "it's not the worst thing that happened to me all week."

"Told you,"

"Uh, cap?"

Ivanna looked to Sam, and Sharon sighed, looking at Sam with a small smile, "I think he's talking to you. For what it's worth...I think the suit looks good on you."

Sam chuckled, "Thanks."

"Alright look," Bucky gestured at Sharon, eyeing her wound, "can we get out of here please?"

The blonde reluctantly sighed, and Bucky followed after her, a hand hovering over her arm as he led her to a car. Ivanna let Sam walk away, and wandered back toward Steve. He was walking away from John, a proud smile on his face as he approached Ivanna.

"So?"

"I think we should go home," she breathed, wrapping her arms around his torso while his hands fell to her hips. She didn't care if the whole world was watching, "get some takeout. Some sleep. Maybe a dog or two. Or cats."

"Yeah?" Steve chuckled and she nodded, laughing as well, "I like the sounds of that."

"Me too," she smiled and rose to her toes as Steve pressed his lips to hers. It was a short kiss, but it meant the world to both of them.