#I’m curious to see how many of the narrow misses get write-ins

[redskull-fanatic]

Obsession.

“How long is this gonna take?”

Captain America scanned the outside of the Hydra base, finding possible ways to get in. This base was one out of many he has seen. It seems the Skull has an endless supply of places to hide.

At least, that's what his friends think. Steve knows better. The Skull does not hide, he waits. He sits back, sharpening his talons, waiting for the perfect opportunity to show itself. An excellent time for a surprise attack.

Steve could only imagine what the Skull looks like now: Sitting back in a leather chair, eyelids relaxed with a gentle smirk playing at his lips. Possible muttering to himself, either of possible plans or things he could do once he claimed victory.

This made Cap chuckle, knowing Skull's downtime would be ruined by him. It's part of their little game, they make jabs at each other. No matter how petty it is.

"Hello, Cap? You didn't answer my question."

Steve looked over at Hawkeye, a playful smile on his face. "Oh, don't worry. It won't take long." He turned his attention back to the base, and continued to scout.

Hawkeye wasn't too happy with that answer. He sighed, "That's what you think, but I know it won't happen."

Steve raised a brow, "What do you mean?"

"Oh please, don't act like you have no idea what I'm talking about. Steve, you'll get distracted. Somehow, Skull will find us. Then, instead of this mission taking about ten minutes, it'll quickly lead up to an hour. An hour of my time wasted, and an hour I could've spent watching the t.v. while Thor and Hulk aren't hogging it." Hawkeye's last complaint made Steve roll his eyes. Lately, those three have been fighting over that new flat screen Tony put in. The bickering has been turning the tower into a mess, and Tony has voiced his complaints more than once.

Steve turned to face Hawkeye, "Okay look, if you want to leave, fine. I'll just handle the mission by myself. Not like Skull will miss you."

Hawkeye narrowed his eyes, "Woah, what the hell does that last comment mean?" Quickly, Hawkeye shook his head. "Y'know what? Nevermind, don't answer that. I'll just- I'll stay out here, while you go in and do your kicking-Hydra's-butt thing."

Cap smirked, "So, you're just going to sit out here?"

Hawkeye sat on a rock, and pulled out a few arrows. He examined them with a smug grin, "Looking pretty while doing it."

Steve rolled his eyes, chuckling, then turned his attention back to the base. "Okay, I'll be out shortly."

"Keep telling yourself that, bud." Hawkeye murmured, aiming one of his arrows at a far away rock.

Steve decided to ignore that comment.

000

Getting in was easy. Steve found a way to sneak through the vents. He discovered an entrance to an empty hall and decided to walk down it. So far, the base was eerily quiet aside from the few Hydra agents he has seen.

He found all of this… Odd.

Captain America was used to Red Skull falling off the radar. Hell, he's been doing that ever since the War. Skull normally fell silent after an attack, normally he'd return after a few weeks. Lately, it's been months since he last saw the Skull.

This made Steve on edge, worried even. What was the Skull doing that took months of hiding? Months of being locked away? Something big, it has to be something big.

Or, he could just be messing with the Captain's head. Steve narrowed his eyes at that thought. Red Skull has been taking a lot of joy just messing with the Captain; using vague words, performing strange actions, lingering around too long.

The muttering was by far the worst.

Steve hated the muttering. Red Skull mutters to himself in his native language, German. The past few years, Steve has quickly picked up on the language to fully understand what the Skull says at all times. Now, he sort of regrets the decision.

Rogers has found out the Skull mutters very concerning things. Most seem obsessive in nature, Skull muttering something is his. He constantly says "mine" under his breath, and describes how "No one has the right to claim what's his."

Cap knows he's referring to the world, taking it over and everything. Or, at least he used to. Lately, he isn't so sure anymore.

He's been uneasy for awhile. It all started when Hawkeye pointed out something Steve wished he didn't.

"So, answer me this." Steve could feel the smirk on Hawkeye's face, even when standing behind the soldier.

“How much do you truly know the Red Skull?”

Steve froze, making a face. He turned around, "What do you mean?"

Hawkeye laughed, "Cap, I overheard Widow tell Falcon you are "The Red Skull File." Apparently, you know everything. Not even S.H.I.E.L.D has a file on him, well a good one. They all just go to you."

Steve made a face, he felt uncomfortable. Hawkeye shrugged, "Hey man, I just wanted to know how much information on Skull you got stored up there."

Rogers stood there. He tried to think, but his mind was foggy with this uncomfortable feeling.

He simply answered with, "Too much."

Though now, it felt like he didn't know enough.

Steve suddenly felt himself run down the hall, the memory made him panic. Quickly, he slowed his pace. Eventually, he came to a stop and took in his surroundings.

All he needed to do was find out what Skull was doing. Wait, what Hydra was doing. Why did it have to be the Skull specifically? Tony only was curious about Hydra. Not the Skull.

Steve stood in silence for a minute. The only thought that swept across Steve's mind was; He should be.

After a brief look around, Steve decided it was better to head to the center of the building. Normally, the more important rooms are located there. So, Cap made his way down.

000

After awhile of searching and some quiet run-ins with a couple Hydra agents, Steve found a room he never thought he would.

The Red Skull's office.

Rogers stared at the door for seemingly forever, with its golden plaque giving itself the title of: "Red Skull's Office." Steve couldn't believe it, he found the office of his mortal enemy.

Why did this surprise Steve so much? It made sense Skull had an office, he was similar to a dictator. However, Steve never thought in a million years he would actually see the Skull's office.

He kept staring at the door, with a strong desire to go in. Should He? It was a breach of privacy. Though, Skull has no qualms getting into Cap's personal space. Seemed like the fiend couldn't get enough of it. They always had to be close, by Skull's standards. It had to be personal.

"Well, if he wants personal," Steve held his shield tighter, "I'll give him personal."

And with that quip, he carefully opened the door.

000

Steve braced himself for anything; the Skull sitting at his desk with blueprints, Red Skull standing in the middle of the room with guests, even him standing directly in front of the door ready to attack the Captain.

That last option would be the worst option. Schmidt catching the Captain off guard, trapping him, then going on some monologue. Skull seems very fond of talking to his rival, telling Rogers almost anything. It's personal, and Steve knows how much Schmidt likes getting personal.

Hell, things have gotten so personal, Steve sometimes calls Skull by his last name. It's a slip up that has turned into a habit. Skull seems to be doing the same thing, calling his foe Rogers.

However, Cap feels as if things have gotten too personal.

He's noticed the way Skull looks at him. Whenever Steve is captured, and at the Skull's mercy. There's a fire in the man's eyes, a hunger. Something driven by a powerful emotion. Steve prays that emotion is hate, and nothing else. Lately, he's been feeling like he's wrong.

Once the office door opened, surprisingly no one was there. It was empty.

Steve found this confusing, where is the Skull? Why is this base so empty?

That's when it hit him, Skull must be at another base.

"Of course," Steve thought out loud, looking around the room. It made sense, Skull liked to be on the move. It's constant progression with him, moving onto the next idea, the next base, the next battle. Skull was a go-getter, Steve sort of liked that about him.

"Maybe there's some intel in here…" Steve continued to think out loud, "Tony wanted something. I won't leave until I get answers."

Captain America scouted out the room, and it was a weird feeling. An exciting feeling.

He glanced at the walls for cameras, making sure he was safe. Then began snooping about.

He noticed the walls were dark, the entire room was dark. Each wall possessed velvet red curtains, with delicate Hydra symbols stitched into them. The redness of the curtains was reflected with the fluffy carpet on the floor, the floor also painted black. Either that, or black stone. Schmidt seemed to like this black and red combo a lot.

Nothing else was of note, just a balcony covered by more curtains and a few nice chairs.

Steve immediately made his way to Schmidt's desk, a place bound to have Hydra's next move.

Cap noticed the golden plaque on the desk, titled "Red Skull." It was similar to the one on the door.

The desk contained a small vase of roses, a skull that Steve couldn't tell if it was real or fake, a mug full of different pens and pencils, and some sort of intercom. The desk was rather clean, everything was neat and tidy.

Until, he noticed a notebook sitting right on the table. Immediately, Steve snatched it to read whatever was in it.

Upon opening it, Steve noticed Skull writes in German instead of English.

"Must be to confuse people." Steve chuckled, and started reading.

He didn't find any plans, but instead found… Pages detailed the Skull's inner turmoil. It described his frustration, his desire, his need for something.

Cap wasn't too sure if he wanted to go on, but he decided to at least read the next two pages.

Both were all about Captain America. Detailing how he looks, sounds, fights, and even smells like.

Steve suddenly dropped the book, as a similar uncomfortable feeling bubbled in his belly. God, he knew Schmidt was obsessive since his friends teased Steve about it, but… This? This didn't feel right.

Quickly, he backed away from the book until he bumped into something else. Steve looked behind him to find a control panel. Above it, were various screens.

"Ah, security cameras!" Steve looked around for an on button, "This should give me some info on Hydra's latest schemes."

Yeah, once he got the information, Steve could head out and forget what he just read. He might not even remember, hopefully he wouldn't.

"Ah, there it is!" Steve pressed the red on button, and watched as all the screens lit up.

The color drained from his face.

All of the screens were displaying videos of Captain America.

The Skull has been watching him. Not only watching, but recording him. Steve noticed the halls of Skull's many bases in the videos, he remembered certain moves he did in the past. Steve had to look away once he saw a clip he assumed was only recorded recently.

His brain couldn't comprehend what he was seeing. The screens were all of him. There were so many. Was the Skull watching him? How long has he been spying on Steve?

All Steve could say was, "… God." Why did the Skull have these?

He glanced back at the notebook on the desk. Oh god, was Schmidt actually obsessed with him? Rogers knew they knew each other, he knew they had this strange chemistry. He knew Schmidt got jealous whenever Cap wasn't focusing on him, he knew Skull didn't care for his friends. Steve thought of it all as normal, it was normal. That's what Red Skull does. He never thought twice about it.

"Oh god," all the realizations hit Steve like a truck. They've been doing this for years. They have known each other for years. Cap has always chased after Skull, he knows so much about him. God, why was that so weird? Why is that so creepy? Hawkeye was right, Steve always got drawn to the Skull. It was part of their sick little game, the one they have played for centuries.

Steve slowly turned off the monitors, "I'm in so deep."

He couldn't stay here, Schmidt was recording him. Skull would know he read the journal,  saw the videos. Cap could only imagine whatever else Schmidt was hiding from him.

Whatever disturbing, obsessive things he was hiding, Steve didn't want to know.

000

As soon as he heard a noise, Steve was gone. He ran out of the room, leaving the door wide open and not making sure to cover his tracks. Some Hydra soldiers probably noticed him, but he didn't care. They most likely saw a flash of red, white, and blue.

Hawkeye was startled by Steve's sudden return. He laughed, in a surprised kind of way. "Well, well, well, the great Captain America returns. In a little over fifteen minutes, might I add. Wow Cap, guess you found something good enough to make you bolt out of there. What did you find?"

Steve looked at Hawkeye, not noticing the fear and worry that clouded his own blue eyes.

"Nothing," he said quickly, "Nothing at all."