Dead without you ~ stucky

"Are you sure about that?" It's the weirdest thing; my senses are completely trained on Steve and I constantly forget about his friends. "You don't look like you're able to stand, let alone walk."

"I'm sure," he says in a final tone.

Steve tries to get to his feet, but as he's bound to fail, I move quickly, helping him up and supporting him. He still refuses to let go though. Instead of holding onto my wrist, his hand suddenly slides lower and he wraps his fingers around mine and intertwining them, which, thankfully, makes it easier for me to help him stay on his feet. I wish he'd let go though. For some reason, his touch unnerves and reassures me, both at the same time and I don't know what to make of that. Why is everything so damn confusing?

"Let's get him onto the chopper." Fury is already on the move, getting the helicopter started again.

Romanoff and the other guy monitor me closely, but don't attempt to help. It's up to me apparently. Steve is a dead weight against me and in the end I'm carrying most of his weight, practically dragging him along. If only he would let go. This is the perfect moment for me to make a run for it. Once I stop supporting him, Steve will go down and his friends will be too worried about him in order to come after me.

I wriggle my fingers in an attempt to free my hand, but Steve merely tightens the hold again. My tactic actually backfired; Steve is holding on as tightly as he can, almost to the point of cutting off the blood supply to my fingers.

"Ease up, or I might have to break your fingers anyway," I warn him. I'm willing to let him get away with a lot – as it seems - but that's where I draw the line.

Steve seems to realize why I said that and complies, but only marginally. I carefully flex my fingers, getting the blood supply going again. The arm has gone numb, which isn't a good sign, but at the moment, the lack of pain is a blessing.

"Help me," I tell Romanoff once the two of them are inside the chopper. They pull Steve onto the seat while I'm forced to move along and to sit down next to him. Steve's hold really restricts my space.

"Hold on, back there," Fury announces. "We're heading for the hospital."

I read between the lines and hear what he's not saying. It's in his tone and the way he looks at me when he thinks I'm not watching. He wants to arrest me, put me away, and get me away from Steve. I even understand that he wants to do away with the threat I represent. I would do the same thing if I was in his position. He'll use the first opportunity he'll get. I need to be quicker though. The moment Steve finally lets go, I need to make a run for it. Steve suddenly slides toward me and ends up resting his head against my shoulder.

I freeze in shock at the unexpected contact. Once the surprise wears off, I wonder what to do. Should I push him off? But he's wounded. Instead I fight down the urge to pull him close and to hold him. Romanoff's grin catches me off guard. Why does she look amused? She can't know what I'm thinking.

"Sam, something tells me we will have a hard time separating those two!"

So his name is Sam. I file the information away and hope I won't forget it. His name is Sam, and my former target's name is Steve. Steve and Sam... I should be able to remember those. Sam and Steve, Steve and Sam. Damn, I'm making myself dizzy repeating their names. It always happens when I try to commit something to memory, or even worse, to remember something.

"You might me right," Sam replies.

The underlying tone in his voice is hostile. I recognize it at once. Romanoff and Fury sound different when they address me. This guy though... what was his name again? Was it Sam? He sounds like he can't wait to put that bullet in my head and finish me off. Oh wait; he's no longer pointing that gun at me. When did he put it away and why didn't I notice? Probably because my senses are currently trained on the wounded man resting against me.