· 。ﾟ☆: *.☽
▎V I S I Q U E V I O L E T ▎

· 。ﾟ୧ ⋆. 𝗥𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗢𝗣𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡,
𝗪𝗥𝗢𝗡𝗚𝗟𝗬 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗠𝗘𝗗. ₊˚.༄
ACT TWO  ━━━  CHAPTER TEN,
❝ it's gonna be okay, i promise ❞

"𝓔leven Wakandans were among those killed during a confrontation between the Avengers and a group of mercenaries in Lagos, Nigeria last month. The traditionally reclusive Wakandans were on an outreach mission in Lagos when the attack occurred." A female reported said.

King T'Chaka of Wakanda appeared on the TV screen as he spoke about the attack, "Our people's blood is spilled in foreign soil . . . not only because of the actions of criminals but by the indifference of those pledged to stop them. Victory at the expense of the innocent is no victory at all."

"The Wakandan king went on to-" The woman was cut off when Steve Rogers pressed the pause button on the remove, making the screen freeze.

Steve turned his head around when he heard a male reporter speak from another TV, "They are operating outside and above the international law. Because that's the reality, if we don't respond to acts like these."

Lucrecia Maximoff sat on her bed, watching the news about the damage she's done with her head resting on her hand. "What legal authority does an enhanced individual like Lucrecia Maximoff have to operate in Nigeri-"

The TV was turned off, Lucrecia took a deep breath but didn't look to see who did it since she already knew.

Steve crossed his arms and leaned against the doorway, staring at Lucrecia. He knew that she was blaming herself but he didn't believe that it was her fault, she lost control but it wasn't her fault that she did.

"It's my fault," the Maximoff girl spoke up, still not looking at the blond male.

He shook his head, "That's not true."

"Really? Turn the TV back on, they're being very specific." She finally looked at him, Steve lowered his head, not wanting to look at her expression.

"I should've clocked that bomb vest long before you had to deal with it. Rumlow said "Bucky" . . . and all of a sudden I was a 16-year-old kid again, in Brooklyn." He said, walking up to her and sitting beside her on the bed.

Lucrecia shook her head, sighing. "I had two options  . . .  and I chose the right one but I failed." She said, gesturing to the two options that she could've done. One, place a force field on herself and Steve and still kill the people around them or two, to do what she did but instead of losing control and blowing up a building, she was able to contain him without hurting the citizens of Lagos.

She smacked her lips together, "I just- I just lost control, I don't know why but I did."

"It wasn't your fault that you lost control. People die every day, but it was on me." Steve blamed himself, looking at her.

Lucrecia looked back at him, she bit the inside of her cheek and looked away. "It's on both of us."

The two of them stayed silent for a moment, none of them speaking. It was a comfortable but tense atmosphere, Lucrecia felt safe when she was with Steve but she didn't know if he still trusted her after what happened.

Steve broke the silence, "This job . . ." He paused as he looked at her with a soft look, "We try to save as many people as we can. Sometimes that doesn't mean everybody. But if we can't find a way to live with that then next time . . . maybe nobody gets saved."

Lucrecia stared at him with a look that was unknown to Steve, she was extremely grateful that he came into her life. She didn't know what she would do without him. Steve has played a big part in her life, he was there whenever she needed him just as she was always available for him, no matter what.

"That still doesn't change the fact that I was the one who sent Rumlow in the building. You can't change that Steve, a few inspiring words can't fix what happened." Lucrecia snapped out of nowhere. It was like something in her head snapped, she didn't know what it was but she didn't like it and neither did Steve.

Steve took her hand and held it in his before he lifted it up to his mouth and pressed his lips to the back of her hand. The whole time he did it, he was staring straight at her, not breaking eye contact.

Steve couldn't help himself as he moved closer to her, Lucrecia didn't move as he went in to possibly kiss her. The two of them closed their eyes as their lips were an inch away from touching.

Steve took the first move and closed the space between them, Lucrecia's doubts and worries started to lift from her shoulders when Steve's lips made contact with hers.

Lucrecia kissed him back and placed her arm on the back of his neck, Steve positioned his hand on her waist, bringing her closer.

At this moment, it was just the two of them enjoying the long overdue moment.

Neither Steve nor Lucrecia attempted to kiss after the little peck that Lucrecia gave Steve back in the changing room, none of them talked about it ever since.

The kiss got heated in only a few seconds, the two of them were as close as they could get. Lucrecia loved every moment of it, she loved how her lips perfectly moved against Steve's soft ones. It was like they were made for eachother.

Just as Steve was about to lift her up on his lap, they got interrupted by two Maximoff siblings entering the room without a warning.

"Hey, Lu- Oh my God."

Steve and Lucrecia immediately pulled away, looking at Wanda and Pietro who were stood by the door. Wanda's eyes were wide and Pietro, as always, looked confused since he wasn't there in time to witness the heated make-out session.

Lucrecia's eyes grew wide as did Steve's, their cheeks turned bright red in embarrassment.

"I- Uh . . . Wanda," Lucrecia spoke up first after the long silence. "What are you doing here?"

Wanda blinked at them, glancing between the two. She didn't answer as a grin formed on her lips, then she started to squeal excitedly with a big smile on her face. Pietro furrowed his eyebrows at her before he looked at the two people on the bed, his eyes growing wide as his lips parted at their position.

Steve and Lucrecia furrowed their eyebrows at Pietro's reaction before realizing it, themselves.

Lucrecia had her arms looped around Steve's neck and her leg was on his lap, Steve had one of his hands on and her waist and the other one on the side of her neck, they were super close too.

Steve raised his eyebrows at their position and Lucrecia let out a quiet gasp before she stood up, lifting herself from his lap and his hold. Steve stood up as well, his cheeks redder than it has ever been in his whole life.

Before the two of them could try and explain, someone came through the bedroom wall making all four of them look at Vision who had literally just gone through a fucking wall.

"Holy shit!" Lucrecia screamed, looking at Vision in shock as she placed her hand on her chest. "What the hell, Vis?"

"Language."

Vision looked at the people in the room, realizing that he could've just entered through the door.

"I apologize if I scared you, it wasn't my intention to." Vision apologized, his eyes set on Wanda who smiled at him.

Lucrecia glanced at Wanda and back to Vision, she suspected that something was going on between her sister and the red robot. "Since when could you go through walls?"

"Since forever," Wanda answered for him which made Steve, Lucrecia, and Pietro's eyebrows go up in question.

Steve nodded slowly and looked at Vision with a questioning look.

"The door was open so I assumed that . . ." Vision trailed off, he looked at Steve and pointed his arm at the super-soldier. "Captain Rogers wished to know when Mr. Stark was arriving."

Steve nodded and moved his gaze to the ground, "Thank you. We'll be right down."

Vision nodded awkwardly and looked at the door, "I'll use the door."

Lucrecia watched as he walked to the door, she narrowed her eyes at him and Wanda suspiciously.

"Oh, and apparently, he's brought a guest."

"We know who it is?" Steve asked and Lucrecia nodded in agreement.

Vision glanced at Wanda and Pietro, it seems that the three of them were here for the same reason. "The Secretary of State." He answered before walking out with Lucrecia's siblings following behind him.

Wanda winked at her before she left and Pietro glared at Steve.

Lucrecia shook her head and put her hands on her forehead, Steve looked at her and she just shrugged.

"We better get going," Steve suggested to which Lucrecia nodded in agreement, her lips forming into a straight line.

"Yeah, we should."

          "𝓕ive years ago, I had a heart attack and dropped right in the middle of my backswing." Secretary Ross said as the team was seated around the table. Though, none of them seemed to be very interested in his sob story.

"Turned out it was the best round of my life because after 13 hours of surgery and a triple bypass . . . I found something 40 years in the Army had never taught me. Perspective." He continued, the team just gave him bored and unimpressed looks. "The world owes the Avengers an unpayable debt. You have fought for us, protected us, risked your lives . . . but while a great many people see you as heroes, there are some . . . who would prefer the word "vigilantes". . ."

"What word would you use, Mr. Secretary?" Natasha questioned.

Ross looked in her direction, "What about "dangerous?". . ." Lucrecia tilted her head at him, her eyes narrowed. "What would you call a group of US-based, enhanced individuals who routinely ignore sovereign borders and inflict their will wherever they choose and who, frankly, seem unconcerned about what they leave behind?"

He stepped to the side, the screen infront of them appeared. "New York," the screen showed footage of the battle in New York back in 2012. Hulk was jumping from building to building, breaking them in the process. Rhodey turned to look at Steve and Nat who were seated behind him.

"Washington, D.C." A Quinjet fell down and splashed water everywhere as people ran and screamed. Sam put his head down, remembering his involvement in that fight.

"Sokovia," the triplets tensed as they watched what had happened only a year ago. It showed a building falling which seemed to disturb Tony who was seated at the back, away from the others. Steve held Lucrecia's hand from under the table, seeing her being uncomfortable by the videos being shown.

"Lagos," Lucrecia gulped when the building that she sent Rumlow in was shown, she gasped when it showed a girl . . . a child, on the ground. Dead.

She looked away, the same feeling of guilt washing over her again. Steve saw how uncomfortable she was and rubbed circles on her hand to comfort her, "Okay. That's enough."

Ross nodded to one of his guards that were in the room with them, "For the past four years, you've operated with unlimited power and no supervision. That's an arrangement the government of the world can no longer tolerate."

The Secretary of State paused for a few seconds, "But I think we have a solution." The guard gave him a book of some kind before he placed it on the table and to Wanda.

"The Sokovia Accords."

The Maximoff's glanced at eachother in confusion, accords?

"Approved by 177 countries . . ." Ross informed them, Wanda moved the Accords to Rhodey who read it, "it states that the Avengers shall no longer be a private organization. Instead, they'll operate under the supervision of a United Nations panel only when and if that panel deems it necessary."

"The Avengers were formed to make the world a safer place. I feel like we've done that." Steve spoke, staring at his and Lucrecia's connected hands as he rubbed circles on hers to calm both himself and her.

"Tell me, Captain, do you know where Thor and Banner are right now?" Ross asked him only to receive no response. "If I misplaced a couple of 30 megaton nukes you can bet there'd be consequences."

Lucrecia saw how Steve was glaring at the table so she secretly sent a violet mist towards his temple, the magic in the mist going in his brain and making him less tense. Steve gave her a small smile which she returned.

"Compromise. Reassurance. That's how the world works. Believe me, this is the middle ground."

Rhodey lifted his hand up and then put it back down, "So, there are contingencies." He questioned the Secretary.

"Three days from now, the UN meets in Vienna to ratify the Accords." Ross answered. Steve looked back at Tony who was silent the whole time but Tony just looked at him, not saying anything, "Talk it over."

"And if we come to a decision you don't like?" Nat asked.

"Then you retire."

Nat just gave him a fake smile in response.

          𝓣he team moved to one of the plenty lounge rooms in the facility, Rhodey and Sam were arguing with Steve, who was reading the Accords, being in the middle of it.

"Secretary Ross has a Congressional Medal of Honour which is one more than you have." Rhodey told Sam as Tony rolled his eyes from his slouched position on one of the couches.

"So let's say we agree to this thing. How long is it gonna be before they LoJack us like a bunch of common criminals?" Sam argued.

The two men faced the team, "117 countries want to sign this. 117, Sam, and you're just like, "No, that's cool. We got it.". . ."

Sam looked at Rhodey who was already looking at him, "How long are you going to play both sides?"

Before Rhodey could answer, Vision spoke up. "I have an equation."

"Oh, this will clear it up." Sam said sarcastically as the team looked at the red robot.

"In the eight years since Mr. Stark announced himself as Iron Man, the number of known enhanced persons has grown exponentially." All of them looked at him in confusion, not knowing where he was going with this.

"During the same period, the number of potentially world-ending events has risen at a commensurate rate." Vision finished.

"Are you saying that it's our fault?" Steve asked him.

"I'm saying there may be a causality. Our very strength invites challenge. Challenge incites conflict. And conflict . . . breeds catastrophe. Oversight . . ." Vision paused, glancing at the team before continuing. "Oversight is not an idea that can be dismissed out of hand."

"Boom," Rhodey commented, looking at Sam with a 'see, I told you so' expression but he just looked at Rhodey in disbelief and annoyance.

Tony sighed and removed his hand from his face. "Tony. You are being uncharacteristically non-hyperverbal." Nat noted, looking at the older man.

"It's because he's already made up his mind," Steve said before Tony could.

"Boy, you know me so well," Tony said as he sat up, clutching the back of his head. "Actually, I'm nursing an electromagnetic headache." He explained, walking to the kitchen area.

"That's what's going on, Cap. It's just pain. It's discomfort. Who's putting coffee grounds in the disposal?" Tony asked. Lucrecia looked at Pietro with an accusing look, knowing it was him who did it, Pietro just shrugged which made his sister roll her eyes.

"Am I running a bed and breakfast for a biker gang?" Tony said sarcastically. He placed his phone on the fruit basket as a picture of a young boy came from the phone and into a holographic image.

"Oh, that's Charles Spencer, by the way. He's a great kid." Lucrecia frowned as she looked at Tony, why is he talking about this kid? "Computer engineering degree, 3.6 GPA. Had a floor-level gig at Intel planned for the fall. But first, he wanted to put a few miles on his soul before he parked it behind a desk. See the world. Maybe be of service."

Lucrecia shared a glance with Steve, both of them confused as to where Tony was going with this.

"Charlie didn't want to go to Vegas or Fort Lauderdale, which is what I would do. He didn't go to Paris or Amsterdam, which sounds fun. He decided to spend his summer building sustainable housing for the poor. Guess where. Sokovia."

Lucrecia looked down, feeling bad for the boy. He just wanted to have a nice summer but he, unfortunately, couldn't because of them.

Tony continued, "He wanted to make a difference, I suppose. We won't know because we dropped a building on him while we were kicking ass."

Lucrecia placed her fist under her chin, resting her head on her hand. Tony took a sip of his coffee, "There's no decision-making process here. We need to be put in check! Whatever form that takes, I'm game. If we can't accept limitations if we're boundary-less . . . we're no better than the bad guys."

"Tony, someone dies on your watch, you don't give up." Steve told him.

Tony tilted his head a bit, "Who said we're giving up?" He questioned the American hero.

"We are if we're not taking responsibility for our actions. This document just shifts the blame."

Rhodey interjected, "I'm sorry, Steve. That is dangerously arrogant. This is the United Nations we're talking about." Steve shook his head in denial and looked down at his lap as Rhodey kept speaking. "It's not the World Security Council, it's not SHIELD, it's not HYDRA."

"No, but it's run by people with agendas, and agendas change." Steve denied.

"That's good," Tony started as he walked closer to the team, "That's why I'm here. When I realized what my weapons were capable of in the wrong hands . . . I shut it down and stopped manufacturing."

Steve, still not giving up, moved his body to face the Stark. "Tony, you chose to do that. If we sign this, we surrender our right to choose. What if this panel sends us somewhere we don't think we should go? What if there is somewhere we need to go and they don't let us?" Steve questioned.

"We may not be perfect but the safest hands are still our own."

Tony looked down at him, "If we don't do this now, it's gonna be done to us later. That's the fact. That won't be pretty."

"So, you're basically saying that they'll come for me," Lucrecia spoke up for the first time, giving Tony a cold look.

Steve looked in her direction, his expression turning soft. "We would protect you," Steve replied making Lucrecia look at him.

"Maybe Tony's right." Natasha sided with Tony which got a shocked look from the man, himself. "If we have one hand on the wheel, we can still steer. If we take it off-" Nat said but got cut off by Sam.

"Aren't you the same woman who told the government to kiss her ass a few years ago?"

Nat shook her head, "I'm just reading the terrain. We have made some very public mistakes. We need to win their trust back."

Steve looked at the redhead with a look of disbelief on his face, Lucrecia looked at her with a confused look. Natasha always sided with Steve, what the hell happened now?

"Focus up. I'm sorry. Did I just mishear you or did you agree with me?"

Natasha looked at Tony with a look of regret, "I want to take it back now."

"No, you can't retract it. Thank you. Unprecedented."

Steve took his phone out of his pocket when he heard it make a notification sound, alerting him that someone has sent him a text message.

"Okay. Case closed. I win."

"I have to go," Steve told the team as he stood up from his seat, placing the Accords on the coffee table and walking away.

Lucrecia's eyes followed Steve, her face morphing into a frown. She looked at Natasha when the woman poked her shoulder, Nat gestured for her to check up on him. Lucrecia nodded and stood up, going to wherever Steve headed off to.

She found him leaning against the railing of the stairs with his head down and his arms crossed. Lucrecia sighed and slowly appeared beside him, a hand on his shoulder made his head snap up.

"Oh, Steve . . ." Lucrecia whispered after looking at his red eyes. Steve didn't say anything and just hugged her tightly.

She instantly hugged him back, rubbing his back lovingly as he sobbed on her shoulder.

She would've looked into his memories to find out what happened by now but she wanted to refrain from doing that, she just wanted to be here for him.

Lucrecia pressed her lips to the side of his head, "It's going to be okay, Steve. I promise."

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word count: 3536

© -𝙶𝙾𝙳𝙳𝙴𝚂𝚂𝙾𝙵𝙻𝙾𝚅𝙴, 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟷