Fandom: MCU
Pairing: Steve Rogers x female, mention of Natasha Romanoff, Clint Barton, Tony Stark
Words: 731

"Had I known this terrain would be as... hilly, I would have insisted Natasha and Clint do this mission," I mumbled. "No, not insisted. I would have threatened them to do it." I did a sidestep to avoid a tree stump that seemed to appear out of nowhere, then mimicked Natasha's voice. "Clint has the flu! Flu my ass."

"It's not that bad. You're doing good." Steve looked back at me, an encouraging smile on his lips.

"Shut up, Rogers. Not everyone has legs for days or super soldier serum running through their veins." I tried to blew him a raspberry, but we had been trekking for hours over rocks and tree trunks and stumps and across streams. Now we were climbing a bit higher up the mountain to find somewhere to camp for the night and at the same time have a good view of the valley. Safe to say I was getting pretty winded. Sure, I was an Avenger, but my powers and abilities did nothing to give me stamina. I had worked pretty damn hard for the stamina I did possess, but it was all depleted now.

"How does this look, doll?" Steve had stopped and called back to me.

It felt like forever before I reached him, and when I saw what he saw, I fell to my knees, letting exhaustion overtake me. It wasn't a clearing, but it was flat enough for us to roll out our sleeping bags and build a fire. I looked behind us and saw that it gave a decent enough view to keep an eye out for any Hydra agents who might be out on the same errand as us. I let myself fall over, cheek pressing into the needle covered ground.

"I take it this is okay?" Steve's voice was soft. In the corner of my eye, I saw him kneel down and felt his hand on my lower back.

"It's heaven."

"I don't know about that. Are you okay to get our sleeping bags out while I go try to find some sticks and twigs and wood dry enough to light a fire?"

"Yeah, I can do that." I smiled up at him, and he leant down to kiss my cheek and then he was off.

The only thing that kept my motivation going for this mission, was Steve. There had been rumours about a shack somewhere in these mountains where someone had collected a whole lot of weapons and biological samples from the aliens that attacked New York a few years back. Whoever had collected it seemed to be gone now, but Hydra had also gotten wind of it, and now it was a race to get there first. Hydra wanted to use it, and we wanted to destroy it. Tony and Bruce had made some kind of bomb that would make sure it was all gone, in a safe manner.

Having had a breather there on the chilly ground, I made it to my feet and let my backpack fall to the ground next to Steve's shield and backpack. I untied the sleeping bags, shifted some leaves and needles around, kicking away some smaller rocks, and rolled them out. They smelled musty, so I unzipped them to let them air out for a bit. But as I unzipped mine, I let out a shriek.

The biggest spider I had ever seen tumbled out as I scrambled back and hit a tree.

Through the bushes, Steve came as fast as he could. "What's wrong? What's happening? Doll?" He stopped short, taking the scene.

I just pointed with a shaking finger at the monster in the sleeping bag.

"A spider? You're not afraid of spiders."

"Huge spider."

"Yeah, it is huge. But I think..." Steve walked over and poked it gently with his boot, it rolled over. "It's already dead, love."

I felt some relief, but it was still too big to be allowed. "Just get it away from me."

Steve picked it up and put it in the middle of the two sleeping bags.

"Throw it away!"

"Someone probably picked it up somewhere exotic, we'll burn it, just in case. Are you and it gonna be nice to each other while I go pick up the kindling I dropped all over the ground when you screamed?"

"Just go, Rogers."

He chuckled as he left. "Love you too, sweetheart!"