Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“So what do I owe for the pleasure of your company sir?” Percy asks Nick. Currently both of them are in a conference room within the helicarrier, Percy is sitting on a chair with his legs propped up on the table.

“Don’t be coy Jackson, You know why.” Nick responds.

“First I need reassurance that you won’t back out.”

“You want me to give you my word?”

“On the styx.”

“Again?”

“That was a different deal.”

Nick sighs and repeats the words.

“You happy Agent?”

“Oh Very.”

“I want to make life easier for us demigods. We have a lot of bad rep, and there are things we do to survive that show up on our permanent record which makes us look like criminals. I need to use the SHIELD database to scrub that.”

“Make a better life. What is the information I get in return?”

“Everything about the Gods and how they function.”

“And Demigods?”

“I am afraid that's still on the need to know basis.”

Nick sighed. Well, he’ll take what he can get at the moment.

After giving Fury a gist of the gods and how they tend to work, Percy could tell that the man was confused.

“Jackson, you better not be joking.” Fury states.

“Unfortunately sir, I am not.”

“This is not what I was expecting.”

“Sir, don't underestimate them, even though their actions sound stupid.” Percy thought that if he was Immortal he might have also gone crazy after a century or two.

Sam Wilson is jogging around Washington, D.C. when Steve quickly catches up to him and runs past him. “On your left.” Steve states. Sam ignores the comment and continues to jog and Steve pass him, in a minute or so Steve passes by him again. He repeats “On your left.”

“Uh-huh, on my left. Got it.” Sam replies.

Sam continues jogging and Steve passes by him again. Sam yells “Don't say it! Don't you say it!”

“On your left” Steve repeats himself again.

“Come on,” Sam yells.

In anger Sam starts running faster trying to catch up to Steve. He isn’t able to, and gives up tired. He is sitting and catching his breath underneath a tree. Steve walks over to him and asks, “Need a medic?”

Sam laughs “I need a new set of lungs. Dude, you just ran like thirteen miles in thirty minutes.”

“I guess I got a late start.”

“Oh, really? You should be ashamed of yourself. You should take another lap.”

Sam pauses for a moment before he speaks “Did you just take it? I assumed you just took it.”

“What unit you with?” Steve asks.

“58, Pararescue. But now I'm working down at the VA.” Sam lifts hand to shake. “Sam Wilson.”

Steve shakes his hand “Steve Rogers.”

“Yeah I kind of put that together. Must have freaked you out coming home after the whole defrosting thing.”

“It takes some getting used to. It's good to meet you, Sam.”

Steve turns to leave, when Sam speaks up “It's your bed, right?”

“What's that?”

“Your bed, it's too soft. When I was over there I'd sleep on the ground and use rock for pillows, like a caveman. Now I'm home, lying in my bed, and it's like…”

“Lying on a marshmallow. Feel like I'm gonna sink right to the floor.”

Sam smiles and shakes his head. “How long?” Steve asks.

“Two tours.”

The two stay in silence for a while, “You must miss the good old days, huh?”

“Well, things aren't so bad. Food's a lot better, we used to boil everything. No polio is good. Internet, so helpful. I've been reading that a lot trying to catch up.”

Sam thinks for a second, “Marvin Gaye, 1972, "Trouble Man" soundtrack. Everything you've missed jammed into one album.”

“I'll put it on the list.”

Steve pulls out a small blue notebook and notes it down.

“You have a list?” Sam asks.

“Yeah,” Steve smiles, “One of my colleagues has made it his mission to make me accustomed to the twenty-first century.”

“Perseus Jackson. Right?” Steve asks Percy a few days after the battle of New York. They are currently in a room in the New York City, SHIELD HQ.

“Yeah.” The kid replies warily. Not a kid, Steve mentally corrects himself. A twenty year old man, who has possibly been in a war before. Steve saw it on his face when they first met. Steve was only a few years older than him when he took the serum.

“Yo Cap, You listening?”

“Sorry, I..”

“Got lost in thought, must be rough.”

“What?” Steve asks, caught off guard.

“I mean you were fighting World War Two you know, Nazis and all. Then you got frozen in ice and were brought out in a different century. A week later you are in the middle of another war. Didn’t even have the time to process all that happened.”

“Yeah. When I asked what happened, they said we won. They didn’t tell me what we lost.”

“Well I was never really that good at school, and it’s not like they teach us every historical event ever. But from experience, a lot.”

The two of them stand in a mournful silence. “Percy.”

“What?” Steve asked.

“Call me Percy, Perseus makes me feel like I am in trouble.”

“Okay. Call me Steve.”

“Well Steve, have you ever heard of the internet?”

“What?”

“Oh boy, let me tell you, even I am not that great with smartphones and computers. I can handle the basic shit. If anything confuses you just Google it.”

“Google?”

Steve picked up the smartphone that Natasha had gotten him. He slowly typed. A ding sounded from his right. Percy held his phone. He smiled and cheered. “Yes.”

Steve looked into Percy’s phone.

Steve: Hey.

“Steve Rogers aka Captain America, you can now add ‘can send texts’ into your resume.”

“I don’t think I need a resume. My name is enough for a resume.”

“Gods please don’t develop an ego like Stark’s. I can only deal with one of him.”

Steve laughs.

“Here.” Percy hands him a small packet.

“What’s this?”

“A gift.”

Steve opens it, inside is a small blue leather notebook. “I thought even though you have a smartphone, you're still an old man and have written lists.”

Steve’s phone pings. He opens it to see a text from Natasha, "Mission alert. Extraction imminent. Meet at the curb. :)"

“Alright, Sam, duty calls.” Steve continues “Thanks for the run. If that's what you wanna call running.”

They shake hands. “Oh, that's how it is?” Sam asks.

“Oh, that's how it is.”

Sam laughs, “Okay. Any time you wanna stop by the VA, make me look awesome in front of the girl at the front desk, just let me know.”

“I'll keep it in mind.”

“Okay.”

At that moment Natasha and Percy pull up in her car by the curb and she rolls down the window. “Hey, fellas.” Natasha greets them, “Either one of you know where the Smithsonian is? I'm here to pick up a fossil.”

“That's hilarious.” Steve replies.

“Hey, aren’t they putting up a new Captain America Exhibit? Since you miraculously returned from the dead.” Percy adds.

Steve rolls his eyes at Percy as he walks over to the car and gets in, Sam gives the car and Natasha an appreciative look. Percy rolls his eyes at that.

“How you doing?” Sam asks Natasha.

“Hey.” Natasha replies. Percy whispers, “Stop playing with him, Nat.”

“Can't run everywhere.” Steve says after he rolls down the window of the back seat.

“No, you can't.” Sam replies.

He watches as Natasha quickly pulls away and drives off.

“Did you pull the running thing with that guy?” Percy asks.

“Yeah.” Steve replies.

“Anyone ever tell you that you are a little shit.”

“No one has called me since I was injected by the serum. But once before that I was called a little motherfucker.”

“You punch that guy?” Natasha asks.

“Nah. I said to him yeah a little guy who fucked your mother.”

“So he punched you.” Percy chuckles.

“That he did.”

Natasha laughs. The car drives off in the direction of the SHIELD HQ.

Chapter Text

Somewhere over the Indian Ocean

The trio are in a Quinjet flying over the ocean. Percy looks out the window with a small smile. Even though Zeus had long ago abandoned the prospect of blowing him to bits in the air, he was still wary of air travel. The ocean was and forever will be a home to him.

“ The target is a mobile satellite launch platform: The Lemurian Star.” Agent Rumlow debriefs them. “They had just sent up their last payload when pirates took them, ninety three minutes ago.”

“Any demands?” Steve asks. Dam Percy thinks he’s in mission mode. Not on a mission Steve is usually more fun.

“ A billion and a half.”

“ Why so steep?”

”Because it's SHIELD's.” Percy answers

“ So it's not off-course, it's trespassing.”

“ I'm sure they have a good reason.” Nat states

“ You know, I'm getting a little tired of being Fury's janitor.”

“Relax, it's not that complicated.”

Percy silently agreed with her and Steve. He understands both sides but he’d rather not go in detail about either of them. Because at the end it’s not about what Fury gets, it’s what he gets in return.

“How many pirates?” Steve asks

“ Twenty-five, top mercs, led by this guy. Georges Batroc.” Rumlow replies, showing them a photo of Batroc on the monitor. “ Ex-DGSE, Action Division. He's at the top of Interpol's Red Notice. Before the French demobilized him, he had thirty-six kill missions. This guy's got a rep for maximum casualties.”

”Hostages?”

“Uh...mostly techs. One officer, Jasper Sitwell.” He pulls up Sitwell's photo on the monitor. A bald guy with glasses, Percy remembers seeing the guy on some mission he had with Nat. “They're in the galley.”

“What's Sitwell doing on a launch ship? Alright, I'm gonna sweep the deck and find Batroc. Nat, you'll kill the engines and wait for instructions. Percy, you sweep aft, and Rumlow you find the hostages, get them to the life-pods, get 'em out. Let's move.”

“Strike, you heard the Cap. Gear up.”

Percy has never worked with Rumlow before, he has only ever worked with Coulson, Clint, Nat and Steve. He needs to be careful, out of this group only Nat is aware of his powers. She did ask him to be her backup in case the ship sinks. At the comment Percy had raised an eyebrow and Nat had smirked in return.

The group are getting ready to dive off the jet; as Steve speaks into the comm “Secure channel seven.”

“Seven secure” Percy confirms

Natasha confirms “Seven secure. Did you guys do anything fun Saturday night?”

“ Well, all the guys from my barbershop quartet are dead, so... No, not really.” Steve replies.

“Made some cookies, I’ll give you lot some, call them post mission success celebration” Percy states.

“Coming up by the drop zone, Cap.” The pilot stated.

“Oh the world famous Jackson Cookies, don’t mind if I do,” Nat continues as Percy smiles at her. “ You know, if you ask Kristen out, from Statistics, she'd probably say yes.” Nat says to Steve.

“ That's why I don't ask.”

“Too shy or too scared?”

“ Too busy” Steve yells and jumps off the jet.

”Was he wearing a parachute?” Rumlow asks.

Percy smiles, “ No. No, he wasn't.” And jumps off the jet himself, he is wearing a parachute unlike Steve demigod powers do not give him as much durability as the serum gives to Steve.

After jumping out the jet Steve dives into the ocean. He then proceeds to climb onto the ship. He spots one pirate near where he climbed up. He swiftly and silently knocks the guy out. He runs towards two other pirates who are on guard. Steve throws his shield, knocks out pirate one, slides beneath some ropes, grabs his shield and knocks out the second pirate. He secures the shield on his back. No alarm is raised. He is suddenly interrupted by one of the pirates pointing his gun at him and yelling, “Don't move! Don't move..”

Suddenly the pirate is shot dead by Percy, as he parachutes down onto the deck behind Steve

“ Thanks.” Steve says.

“Yeah. You seemed pretty helpless without me.” Percy quips.

Natasha and Rumlow parachute down onto the deck, with the rest of the strike team, to join them.

“What about the nurse that lives across the hall from you? She seems kind of nice.” Nat says not giving up on their previous conversation.

“Secure the engine room, then find me a date.”

“I am multitasking .”

“How come you never try to set me up?” Percy asks, detaching his parachute.

“You’ll scare them off.” Natasha states as she jumps down to the lower deck.

Percy sighs, he rolls his shoulders, Steve further orders, “ Rumlow head down towards the hostages, they are your priority. clear as much of your path, Percy take care of the stranglers.”

“Copy that.” Rumlow acknowledges the order, he speaks into his comm, “Strike you heard Cap’s orders let’s roll.”

Rumlow is the head of the SHIELD strike team that is with them. Percy teams up with him. They encounter only three other pirates on the deck. Percy shoots one and the other is shot dead by Rumlow. The third isn’t even aware of their presence until Percy shoots him in the back of his head.

Rumlow and the strike team head towards the hostages with a nod to Percy. While Percy heads the other way, now he needs to reach the hull before he receives Nat’s signal.

on the deck

Steve moves quickly climbing up the ship to the control room, where he spots Batroc. Steve shoots a bug at the side of the window. He can now hear what the two are talking about, “I do not like to wait. Call Durand. I want the ship ready to move when the ransom arrives.”

“Yes, Batroc” the pirate replies.

The pirate makes the call, “Durand, Start the engine.”

In the engine room

“Okay.” Durand puts the phone down, turns to see Natasha behind him “Hey, sailor.” she greets him with a smile, as she kicks behind his knee. He yells out in pain. Natasha pulls out a rope from the back. And wraps it around Durand’s throat choking him.She uses him as a boost to jump off, as she moves downwards, she pulls out two guns one in each hand, shooting any pirates that have the unfortunate luck of getting in the way of the Black Widow. She shoots the guy beneath her four times before she lands on him. Then proceeds to shoot the two men below her through the grilled floor. The two drop dead.

Rumlow and the strike team, place a bomb on the door to where the hostages are kept. A few of the strike team members drop down the ship’s sides to the window of the room where the hostages are kept.

Percy is traveling alone. He has managed to clear the aft, and is now headed further. He hopes Fury remembers when this mission will bite that one eyed bastard in the ass, because Percy told him so.

Steve is hiding and watching them from the deck.

“Radio silence from SHIELD, Batroc.” The pirate states.

One of the strike agents is in position and states, “Targets acquired.”

Percy tunes in on his comm, “Aft clear, no stranglers.” He patiently waits at the hull, satisfied with the amount of damage. He controls the water around the ship to ensure it doesn’t sink before they have left.

Below deck Rumlow points his gun at the bomb placed against the door. “STRIKE in position.”

Steve pauses for a second before speaking, “Natasha, what's your status?”

In the engine room

Natasha jumps down below deck and knocks out one of the pirates.

“Status, Natasha?” Steve asks.

“Hang on” She yells into her comm.

She jumps onto the pirate as he turns to attack her, she grabs his neck and shocks him using her wrist gauntlets. She rolls down on the floor as the pirate falls on the ground. She stands up and dodges an attack from another pirate, she kicks him in the crotch. He falls down. “Engine room secure.” She speaks into the comm. She grabs a pipe from the ground and knocks out the pirate. She drops the pipe and walks out.

Steve whispers in his comm, “On my mark. Three. Two. One.”

The strike team starts shooting at the pirates, the door blows open and Rumlow quickly kills the head pirate.

“I told you, SHIELD doesn't negotiate.” Stillwell says calmly.

In the control room

“Hello? Batroc, the line is dead. I lost contact with them.” The pirate tells Batroc.

Steve smashes in through the window using his shield, Batroc manages to doge the shield but the other guy gets hit. Steve enters the control room. Batroc kicks him in the chest upon entry and runs out. Steve grabs his shield and follows him.

“Hostages en route to extraction. Romanoff and Jackson missed the rendezvous point, Cap. Hostiles are still in play. Our count was off.” Rumlow briefs Steve.

“Natasha, Percy. Batroc's on the move. Circle back to Rumlow and protect the hostages.” Steve pants.

Silence on the comms. “Natasha” Steve continues, “Percy.”

From the side, Batroc kicks Steve. He manages to protect himself from the kick by using the shield. Steve falls on the ground. Steve rolls away dodging more kicks from Batroc. Steve tries to hit him with the shield, but Batroc dodges it, he manages to land a kick on Steve. Batroc punches and kicks at Steve. He is unable to go on offense, but manages to dodge and protect himself using the shield. Seeing an opening, Steve uses the shield to hit Batroc square in the face. Batroc gets up and starts violently attacking Steve once again, trying to punch at the super soldier. He fails to land a punch. Steve grabs batrock by the shoulder and knees him multiple times in the chest before throwing him backwards. Batroc backflips to avoid hitting the floor.

“ I thought that you were more than just a shield.” Batroc taunts.

Steve puts the shield on his back and takes off his mask. “Let's see.”

They start fighting again. Steve kicks him in the right leg, the stomach, and then performs a downwards somersault kick to the face, knocking him down. Batroc stands up struggling. Steve smashes him through the door of a room and knocks him out with a strong punch to the face.

“Well, this is awkward.” Natasha turns to Steve and gives him a small smirk.

“I fucking told you.” Percy states calmly, his arms crossed, waiting for Nat.

“What are you doing?” Steve asks.

“Backing up the hard drive. It's a good habit to get into.”

Steve looks back at Batroc, he’s out cold. Then looks at Percy, “Company. Moral support. Yada yada.” Percy waves his hands.

“Rumlow needed your help.” Steve continues, “What the hell are you guys doing here?”

Steve goes over to Natasha, standing next to Percy and looks at what Natasha is backing up “You're saving SHIELD Intel.” Steve states.

“Whatever I can get my hands on.” Natasha replies.

“Our mission is to rescue hostages.”

“No. That's your mission.”She finishes backing up and pulls the flash drive out. “And you've done it beautifully.”

As Natasha and Percy move to leave, Steve grabs them, “You two just jeopardized this whole operation.”

“I think that's overstating things.” Percy claims.

“Did you have the same mission as her?” Steve asks Percy.

“No” Percy suddenly looks at Batroc, “Shit, grenade.” Percy says just Batroc rises and throws a grenade at them. He runs away. Steve deflects the bomb with his shield, grabs Natasha and jumps through a window. Percy jumps behind them.

“Okay. That one's on us.” Natasha says, wincing in pain. Percy nods, “Yeah.” as he pulls himself up.

“You're damn right.” Steve says angrily as he gets up.

Percy looks at Natasha. “Come on, let's get out.”

En route to the extraction point Percy grabs Nat’s arm. “Don’t let it get to you” Percy tells her, “He isn’t like us when it comes to all of this.”

“I know.” Natasha whispers.

Percy lets her go, and scans the ship. Just one silent command and the ship will sink. As they board the Quinjet, Percy causes the ship to sink. After all, once he had cleared the aft he had spent a full five minutes damaging the hull. Steve eyes Percy.

Chapter Text

The Triskelion, S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters

Steve walks into Fury’s office, “You just can't stop yourself from lying, can you?” He asks angrily.

“I didn't lie.” Fury replies calmly, “Agents Romanoff and Jackson had different missions than yours.”

“Which you didn't feel obliged to share.”

“I'm not obliged to do anything.”

“Those hostages could've died, Nick.”

“I sent the greatest soldier in history to make sure that didn't happen.”

“Soldiers trust each other, that's what makes it an army. Not a bunch of guys running around and shooting guns.”

“The last time I trusted someone, I lost an eye.” Fury says standing up and leaning on his table, “Look, I didn't want you doing anything you weren't comfortable with. Agent Romanoff and Agent Jackson are comfortable with everything.”

“I can't lead a mission when the people I'm leading have missions of their own.”

“It's called compartmentalization. Nobody spills the secrets because nobody knows them all.”

“Except you.”

“You're wrong about me.” Nick looks to the side, “I do share. I'm nice like that.”

Percy's Apartment

Natasha sat on a couch in Percy’s apartment, with a bowl of blue cookies in her lap. “These,” Natasha says munching on a cookie, “are divine. Clint’s going to be pissed when he finds out.”

“Not my fault his mission is longer than ours.” Percy states, he puts three tupperware containers in his bag.

“Those for Steve.”

“I did tell him, post mission victory cookies.”

“He is mad at us.”

“Oh I know.” Percy waves her off, “It’s going to take him time. That fucker thinks SHIELD is like the military.”

Natasha hums. “I am going to take some of these home with me.”

“Go ahead.”

“So how does it feel to be level 8.5?”

Percy groans, Nat chuckles at him. “If I Knew that I had to talk to Maria this much I would have purposefully fucked up that mission. Besides, it's not like 8.5 is a real level.”

“Yeah but Fury at the top, then you have Level 9 like Hill and…”

“Yeah and us, not cut to be nines but know more than the eights.”

“Hence 8.5.” Nat smirks, Percy snatched the cookie out of her hand.

Fury steps into an elevator followed by Steve “Insight bay.” Fury orders.

“Captain Rogers does not have clearance for Project Insight.” The elevator computer states.

“Director override, Fury, Nicholas J.” Fury says leaning against the rail.

“Confirmed.”

The elevator shuts down and starts to move downwards,“You know back in my day,” Steve breaks the silence, “they used to play music.”

“Yeah. My grandfather operated one of these things for forty years. My granddad worked in a nice building, he got good tips.” Nick looks at Steve, “He'd walk home every night, roll of ones stuffed in his lunch bag. He'd say "hi", people would say hi back. Time went on, neighborhood got rougher. He'd say "Hi", they'd say, "Keep on steppin'. Granddad got to grippin' that lunch bag a little tighter.”

“Did he ever get mugged?”

Nick laughs, “Every week some punk would say, "What's in the bag?"”

“What did he do?”

“He'd show 'em. Bunch of crumpled ones and loaded .22 Magnum.”Fury smiles, “Granddad loved people. But he didn't trust them very much.”

Nick walks to stand beside Steve and looks out the glass elevator, Steve turns and looks outside too. Surprise coating his face, “Yeah, I know. They're a little bit bigger than a .22.”

Three large Hellicariers are being built, in a large underground basement.

Nick walks around showing Steve around. “This is Project Insight.” Nick explains, “Three next generation Helicarriers synced to a network of targeting satellites.”

“ Which were launched from the Lemurian Star.” Steve cuts him off.

“Once we get them in the air they never need to come down. Continuous suborbital flight courtesy of our new repulsor engines.”

“Stark?”

“Well, he had a few suggestions once he got an up close look at our old turbines. These new long range precision guns can eliminate a thousand hostiles a minute. The satellites can read a terrorist's DNA before he steps outside his spider hole. We gonna neutralize a lot of threats before they even happen.”

“I thought the punishment usually came after the crime.”

“We can't afford to wait that long.”

“Who's "we"?”

“After New York, I convinced the World Security Council we needed a quantum surge in threat analysis. For once we're way ahead of the curve. We decided to scrape the old Helicarrier and build new ones.”

“ By holding a gun at everyone on Earth and calling it protection.”

“You know, I read those SSR files. Greatest generation? You guys did some nasty stuff.”

“Yeah, we compromised. Sometimes in ways that made us not sleep so well. But we did it so the people could be free. This isn't freedom, this is fear.”

“SHIELD takes the world as it is, not as we'd like it to be. It's getting damn near past time for you to get with that program, Cap.”

“Don't hold your breath.” Steve turns and walks out.

“Did Fury ever talk to you about Project insight?” Natasha asks.

“No” Percy answers, “But I heard whispers about it.”

“What did you say?”

“Why do you assume I said something?”

Natasha give him a look, Percy sighs, “I told him that it is a fucked up idea. I’ll sink the ship no problem, but if he turns this into a me problem, I won't hesitate to retaliate.”

“He did nothing. I have to say Percy, I am impressed.”

Percy snorts, “It’s because he still doesn’t know enough about my side and he’d rather have me as an asset as opposed to an enemy.”

They two sit in silence, “Nat” Percy whispers, “I know that SHIELD gave you a second chance, and I know you are way more aware about this than me. Don’t let Fury control you until you are six feet under. To him we are nothing but pawns.”

Chapter Text

the Smithsonian Museum
The Captain America Exhibit

Steve looks over his past images and footage. He feels a pang in his heart when he is reminded about the glaring fact that Bucky is dead, Peggy is sick and bedridden. Through the exhibit he is reminded of a conversation he had with Percy.

“Steve, you think like a soldier,” Percy had said to him when they were sitting in a cafe, “Snap out of it.”

“What?” Steve says, “I am in a cafe with my friend who brought me here.”

“I am not talking about right now.” Percy sighs, “Look I understand the feeling of an attack lurking around the corner, but I was talking about the mission. SHIELD isn’t an army. They are a spy organisation. They don’t train together.”

“It's every person for themselves.”

“Yeah, working in a team is important.” Percy says, “But try to get out of it, I know it's hard.”

The waitress deposits their food and drinks. “Next” Percy says as he grabs a fork and stabs his pasta, “I am going to introduce to Brooklyn”

“It was there back in my day. I grew up there.”

“Did you ever go after getting defrosted?”

Steve hesitates, “No.”

“Great. A friend of mine lives there, you’ll like her, she’s a painter.”

Steve is visiting Peggy Carter, she is sick and bedridden, “You should be proud of yourself, Peggy.” Steve tells her looking at her family photos.

“Mm. I have lived a life.” Peggy continues, “My only regret is that you didn't get to live yours.”

Steve looks around sadly, “What is it?” She asks.

“For as long as I can remember I just wanted to do what was right. I guess I'm not quite sure what that is anymore. And I thought I could throw myself back in and follow orders, serve. It's just not the same.”

Peggy chuckles “You're always so dramatic. Look, you saved the world. We rather...mucked it up.”

“You didn't. Knowing that you helped found SHIELD is half the reason I stayed.”

Peggy takes Steve's hand in her hands, “Hey. The world has changed and none of us can go back. All we can do is our best, and sometimes the best that we can do is to start over.”

Peggy starts to cough, Steve turns to get her some water, he goes to hand it to her, “Peggy.”

“Steve?” Peggy asks as if she is seeing him for the first time.
“Yeah.” Steve smiles with sadness in his eyes.

“You're alive! You...you came, you came back.”

“Yeah, Peggy.”

She cries, “It's been so long. So long.”

“Well, I couldn't leave my best girl. Not when she owes me a dance.”

“Why SHIELD?” Percy had once asked Steve. Not expecting the question Steve had let himself get punched. Percy stops sparing.

“Why SHIELD, I mean you could have rejoined the army.”

“Why did you join SHIELD?” Steve asks Percy.

“Best for my interests.”

“Because you weren’t good at school?” Steve teases.

Percy chuckles, “Yeah.” Percy’s smile dies, “Honestly I was going nowhere in life and the opportunity presented itself. Like I said, best for my interests.”

“Peggy” Steve says, “She founded SHIELD. I knew her back in the day. If I am going to do what's right then the organisation she started may be the right direction.”

Percy hums. “Come on, I want to spar with weapons.”

Fury is alone in his office“Secure office.” Fury orders the computer, all the windows are blackened, he takes out the flash drive Natasha had downloaded all the files from the the Lemurian Star and places it in his computer.

“Open Lemurian Star's satellite launch file.” He orders.

“Access denied.”

“Run decryption.”

“Decryption failed.”

“Director override, Fury, Nicholas J.”

“Override denied. All files sealed.”

“On whose authority?”

“Fury, Nicholas J.”

An expression of worry and confusion covers his face. He walks to the elevator. “World Security Council.” Fury orders.

“Confirmed.”

*. *. *. *. *. *. *.

Fury walks out and catches Alexander Pierce, who is in the middle of a meeting. His assistant walks in and whispers in his ear, the meeting ends as soon as he walks out. “I work forty floors away and it takes a hijacking for you to visit?” He says as a greeting.

“A nuclear war would do it too.”

The two shake hands, Fury tilts his head towards the meeting room, “Busy in there?”

“Nothing some earmarks can't fix.”

“I'm, uh...here to ask a favor. I want you to call for a vote. Project insight has to be delayed.”

“Nick, that's not a favor, that's a subcommittee hearing. A long one.”

“It could be nothing, probably is nothing. I just need time to make sure it's nothing.”

“What if it's something?”

“Then we'll both be damn glad those Helicarriers aren't in the air.”

Pierce hesitates a moment before replying, “Fine. But you gotta get Iron Man to stop by my niece's birthday party.”

Nick shakes his hand, “Thank you, sir.”

“And not just a flyby, he's got to mingle.”

Steve heads down to the VA Sam mentioned, he can hear a female voice, “The thing is I think it's getting worse. A cop pulled me over last week, he thought I was drunk. I swerved to miss a plastic bag. I thought it was an IED.”

“Some stuff you leave there, other stuff you bring back. It's our job to figure out how to carry it. Is it gonna be in a big suitcase or in a little man-purse? It's up to you.” Sam says.

Once the meeting ends Steve waits outside in the hallway for Sam.Sam walks over to Steve, “Look who it is. The running man.” Sam says as he grabs the brochures form a table.

“Caught the last few minutes. It's pretty intense.” Steve replies.

“Yeah, brother, we all got the same problems. Guilt, regret.”

“You lose someone?”

“My wingman, Riley. Flying a night mission.Standard PJ rescue op, nothing we hadn't done a thousand times before, till RPG knock Riley's dumb ass out of the sky. Nothing I could do. It's like I was up there just to watch.”

“I'm sorry.”

“After that, I had a really hard time finding a reason for being over there, you know?”

“But you're happy now, back in the world?”

“Hey, the number of people giving me orders is down to about zero. So, hell, yeah. You thinking about getting out?”

“No. I don't know. To be honest, I don't know what I would do with myself if I did.”

“Ultimate fighting?”Steve laughs at Sam’s idea. Sam continues, “It's just a great idea off the top of my head. But seriously, you could do whatever you want to do. What makes you happy?”

“I don't know.” Steve looks up and catches Percy walking in.

“Yo Steve,” Percy waves and smiles. He is carrying a blue backpack.

*. *. *. *. *. *. *.

“How did you know I was here?” Steve asks him.

“I guessed,” Percy replies, turning to Sam “Percy Jackson.”

“Sam Wilson.” Sam introduces himself.

Steve is still looking at him with shock. “You know I owed you,” Percy digs into his backpack and hands Steve a Tupperware container.

“The cookies?” Steve asks.

“Yeah man,” Percy pulls out another box, opens it and offers it to Sam, who is amused by the entire interaction and picks one, “Thanks.”

“Why are they blue?” Steve asks.

“Running family tradition.” Percy replies.

Sam munches on his cookie with a thoughtful expression, “Jackson you mind?” he gestures at the box.

“Yeah, take the entire box.” Percy hands it to him. “Come on, Steve.”

“What the hell?” Steve asks, confused.

“I walked here, I don’t have a ride and there is something I want to show you.”

Percy had taken Steve to a pool. It was currently evening, the pool had a bunch of kids learning how to swim on the shallow side of the pool. Parents sat around nearby, some were swimming laps all around.

“The pool at HQ is good. If I want peace and silence, I go there when I want to relax.” Percy says, “I come here when I have bad days or I am just lazy. HQ is pretty far from where I live.”

Steve looked around. Kids smiling and swimming. Percy smiles at the scene, “Figure it out Steve, you can’t be a soldier in an endless war.” The smile drops, “I have seen a fair share of my friends be manipulated, betrayed and die. You can’t do anything if you are a soldier following orders.”

“Aren’t you one?”

“No. The moment Fury does something that is going to jeopardize me, my friends or my family, I won’t hesitate to go against him. He has known that since day one. So Steve, know this.” Percy turned and put a hand on Steve’s shoulder, “ You have a friend in me. And I still have to show you around Brooklyn.”

“Did you just sneak in a Toy Story reference?”

“Ah ha so you have started to go through the list.” Percy pulls out another box of cookies, “Now if you’ll excuse me.”

Percy walks to the lifeguard, “Hey Isabela.”

“Percy, how's Estelle?”

“She’s good, went back to New York after summer break ended.”

“She was a joy to have around.”

Percy smiles, “Anyways, I bought a lot of cookies.”

Isabella blows the whistle hanging around her neck. “The kids love it when you take over coaching, they have fun.”

“I see how much work lets me out.”

“Percy.” A small boy comes running towards him smiling.

“Jordan, what's up little man.” Percy squats down, and raises his hand in a fist bump. Jordan reciprocates. Percy opens the container offering the kids who come running behind him cookies. “Don’t eat too many, most of you are still running laps.”

Most kids hand their share of the cookies to their parents before they are explained why they shouldn’t eat them right now, and go back to swimming. Steve walks up to Percy, “Wanna join sometime?” Percy asks.

“Maybe.”

“They have a store indoors, you can buy swim trunks and join now, if you want.”

“Actually you know what, I’ll do that.” Steve smiles.

Steve and Percy are walking towards Steve’s apartment. “That was a good change of pace, thanks.” Steve looks at Percy.

“No problem. We all have our days.”

A blonde woman walks out of the apartment opposite Steve's.

“That's so sweet. That is so nice. Hey. I gotta go, though. Okay, bye” she says into her phone, she turns to Steve, “My aunt, she's kind of an insomniac.”

“Yeah.” Steve smiles. Percy just nods. Percy clocks her as a fighter.

“Hey, if you want...if you want, you're welcome to use my machine. Might be cheaper than the one in the basement.”Steve tells her.

Oh he’s clueless. Percy thinks, I swear I have seen her before.

“Oh, yeah? What's it cost?”

“A cup of coffee?”

Maybe I should have gone back home.

“Thank you, but um...I already have a load in downstairs, and, uh...you really don't want my scrubs in your machine. I'm just finished orientation in the infectious diseases ward, so.”

“Ah, well, I'll keep my distance.”

“Well hopefully not too far. Oh, and I think you left your stereo on.”

“Oh. Right, thank you.”

Steve’s neighbor leaves, while Percy gives Steve a look. Steve stops checking out his neighbour, to give Percy a signal. He points at the door to his apartment and then his ear.

So Steve didn’t leave his stereo on. They hear music as they cautiously enter the apartment through the window, Steve grabs his shield for protection and finds Fury sitting on a couch in the dark.

“I don't remember giving you a key.” Steve addresses Fury.

“ You really think I'd need one? My wife kicked me out.”Nick replies.

“Didn't know you were married.”

Percy slowly looks around the apartment. He spots nothing, Percy looks around for a light switch.

“A lot of things you don't know about me.” Nick replies to Steve.

“I know, Nick. That's the problem.” Percy finds the switch and turns on the light. They take note of Fury's injuries for the first time, but Fury indicates them to be silent. Percy turns off the light. Fury types on his phone, turns it around for the two to see, "ears everywhere"

“: I'm sorry to have to do this, but I had no place else to crash.” Fury speaks as he types; he turns the phone around."SHIELD compromised"

“Who else knows about your wife?”Fury shows them another text; "You and me"

“ Just...my friends.”

“ Is that what we are?” Steve gestures to him and Percy.

“That's up to you.” Fury gives Percy a pointed look, one he can’t decipher. Is he saying that they are friends? Or is it in Percy’s best interest to have him as one? Before either Steve and Percy can get a word in, Fury is shot three times.

Chapter Text

Steve looks out the window for the shooter, while Percy quickly drags Fury to the next room. Before he leaves Fury hands him the flash drive, “ Don't...trust anyone.” As Fury passes out, Percy spots Steve behind him. They two share a look. Suddenly, they hear someone breaking into the apartment.

“Captain Rogers?” Steve’s neighbour aka cautiously. Of course, she’s an Agent. Percy gets up, as Steve kneels near Fury checking his pulse he whispers, “Damn you Nick.”

“Captain, I'm Agent 13 of SHIELD Special Service. I'm assigned to protect you.” She turns into the room, and nearly collides with Percy.

“: On whose order?” Steve asks. She notices Fury lying injured on the ground and Steve beside him.

“His.”

Sharon pulls out her radio, “ Foxtrot is down, he's unresponsive. I need EMTs.”

“: Do you have a twenty on the assailant?” the agent on the other side asks.

Steve notices the shooter through the window.”: Tell him I'm in pursuit.”
Steve smashes through his window and runs after the assassin. Percy sighs, he pulls out his phone. He opens his contacts, and calls Natasha. As he steps out of the apartment.

The assassin has long hair until their shoulder, the lower half of the face covered with a black mask. That is all Steve is able to make out before the assassin starts to run. Steve chases them through an office building smashing through the walls, when he finally catches up with the assassin on the roof he throws his shield at them. The assassin catches it with one swift move, the hand they catch the shield in is completely made out of metal up till the shoulder. They throw the shield back to Steve, then jumps down the building disappearing out of sight.

Natasha goes to the hospital to meet up with Steve and Percy. They watch doctors operating on Fury.

” Is he gonna make it?” Natasha asks.

“ I don't know.” Steve replies.

“Tell me about the shooter.“

“He's fast and strong. Had a metal arm.”

At that moment just then Agent Maria Hill also joins them

“Ballistics?” Natasha asks her

“Three slugs, no rifling. Completely untraceable.”

“Soviet-made.” Percy guesses.

“Yeah.”

Suddenly they watch in shock as Fury's state deteriorates. The doctors and the nurses rush about trying to counter the issue. A nurse grabs the crash cart. The four stand in shock as the medical team uses the defibrillator
.
“Don't do this to me, Nick.” Natasha whispers. Looking at the scene before her.

The defibrillator fails. They detect no pulse.

“: Don't do this to me, Nick. Don't do this to me.” Natasha whispers to herself as she touches the window.

the four watch the doctors as they continue to revive Fury but Fury is still showing as flatlining, Steve turns away as they finally call his time of death

As the doctors call Fury’s time of death, Percy is very made aware of the weight of the pen drive in his pocket.

The trio are in a room where Fury's dead body has been laid out, Natasha is looking at Fury's body with misty eyes, close to tears. Hill joins them.

“: I need to take him.” Maria states.

Steve goes over to Natasha,” Natasha.” she doesn't respond, instead she tenderly touches Fury's head then turns and walks out, Steve follows her,

Percy is in the room with Maria. “Didn’t know that you were going to be here,”he states.

She gives him a look as she grabs the gurney, “Heard the news, I had to show up.”

Percy scoffs.

“Jackson, you have a very different motto when it comes to this. It’s obvious.”

“Call it my fatal flaw.” The pen drive weighs heavy in his pants. As Hill pushes the gurney outside. Percy can’t help but wonder, what was Fury thinking? And what’s on the pen drive? Knowing that one eyed bastard he probably wanted Steve to be the one who had the pen drive.

“Natasha!”

:“Why was Fury in your apartment?”

”I don't know.” Lair she thinks. What was Fury thinking?

they are interrupted by Rumlow, “Cap, they want you back at SHIELD.”

“Yeah, give me a second.”

“They want you now.”

“ Okay.”

Steve turned to walk away, “You're a terrible liar.” She says to him as they leave.

Natasha wonders what was so important that Fury went to Steve. He doesn’t trust her. Why would he? she won’t trust her either if she was in Steve’s shoes. That’s what she hates the most. “Natasha. It has to be him.”

“That’s my guess.” She says turning towards Percy. He stood alone in the hallway with her. Percy looks her in the eye, and hugs her. When her face touches his shoulder, she realizes that she had started crying.

SHIELD HQ The Triskelion

“For whatever it's worth, you did your best.” Pierce tells Sharon.

“Thank you, sir.”, she turns to leave “Captain Rogers.”

“Neighbor.” Steve replied coldly. He turns his attention to Pierce.

“Ah, Captain. I'm Alexander Pierce.”

“Sir, it's an honor.”, they shake hands.

“: The honor is mine, Captain. My father served in the 101st. Come on in.” Once they enter Pierce's office where he shows Steve an old photo of Fury with Pierce, “That photo was taken five years after Nick and I met. When I was at State Department in Bogota. ELN rebels took the embassy, and security got me out, but the rebels took hostages. Nick was deputy chief for the SHIELD station there. And he comes to me with a plan. He wants to storm the building through the sewers. I said, "No, we'll negotiate." Turned out the ELN didn't negotiate, so they put out a kill order. They stormed the basement, and what did they find? They find it empty. Nick had ignored my direct order and carried out an unauthorized military operation on foreign soil. He saved the lives of a dozen political officers, including my daughter.”

“So you gave him a promotion.”

“ I've never had any cause to regret it. Captain, why was Nick in your apartment last night?“

“I don't know.”

“You know it was bugged?”

“I did, because Nick told me.”

“Did he tell you he was the one who bugged it?”When Steve doesn’t reply, Peirce continues, “I want you to see something.”

The footage is of Batroc being interrogated.

“ Who hired you, Batroc?”

“Is that live?” Steve asks.

“Yeah, they picked him up last night in a not-so-safe house in Algiers.” Peirce replies.

“Are you saying he's a suspect? Assassination isn't Batroc's line.”

“No, it's more complicated than that. Batroc was hired anonymously to attack the Lemurian Star and he was contacted by e-mail and paid by wire transfer. And then the money was run through seventeen fictitious accounts, the last one going to a holding company that was registered to a Jacob Veech.“

“Am I supposed to know who that is?” Peirce slides a file to him.

“Not likely. Veech died six years ago. His last address was 14-35 Elmhurst Drive. When I first met Nick his mother lived at 14-37.”

“Are you saying Fury hired the pirates? Why?“

“The prevailing theory was that the hijacking was a cover for the acquisition and sale of classified intelligence. The sale went sour and that led to Nick's death.”

“If you really knew Nick Fury you'd know that's not true.”

“Why do you think we're talking? See, I took a seat on the Council not because I wanted to but because Nick asked me to, because we were both realists. We knew that despite all the diplomacy and the handshaking and the rhetoric, that to build a really better world sometimes means having to tear the old one down. And that makes enemies. Those people that call you dirty because you got the guts to stick your hands in the mud and try to build something better. And the idea that those people could be happy today, makes me really, really angry.” He hesitates a moment, “Captain, you were the last one to see Nick alive. I don't think that's an accident, and I don't think you do either. So I'm gonna ask again, why was he there?”

“He told me not to trust anyone.” Why isn’t he mentioning Percy? Steve wonders.

“I wonder if that included him.”

Steve replays the moment in his head, Fury dying on the floor, him telling both Steve and Percy not to trust anyone. Him handing Percy… then it clicks. Percy has the pen drive.

“I'm sorry. Those were his last words. Excuse me.”

Steve picks up his shield, places it on his back and starts to make his out of the office

“Captain. “, Steve stops and looks at Pierce, “Somebody murdered my friend and I'm gonna find out why. Anyone gets in my way, they're gonna regret it. Anyone.”

“Understood.” Steve turns and leaves.

Steve leaves Pierce's office and he steps into the elevator, “Operations control.”
“Confirmed.”

Just as the elevator doors are about to close Rumlow steps in with two STRIKE agents, “Keep all STRIKE personnel on site.”

“Understood.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Forensics.”

“Confirmed.”

“Cap.”

“ Rumlow.” Steve nods. The elevator doors close and they start riding down, “Evidence Response found some fibers on the roof they want us to see. You want me to get the tac-team ready?”

“No, let's wait and see what it is first.”

“Right.” Steve notices one of the agents touching his weapon suspiciously. Suddenly the elevator stops and more SHIELD and STRIKE agents enter.

“Administrations level.” The agent says.

“Confirmed.” is the monotonous response from the computer.

“I'm sorry about what happened with Fury.” Rumlow spoke to Steve, “Messed up, what happened to him.”

“Thank you.” There is tension heavy in the air. Steve looks at the agents in the elevator and notices one of them is sweating, then the elevator stops and more agents enter.

“Records.”

“Confirmed. “

Once the door closes, Steve realizes that he has been ambushed. He sighs, “Before we get started, does anyone want to get out?” The silence is loud enough for a pin to drop.

Suddenly one of the agents turns and uses an electric rod to give Steve a shock. The others grab him and try to strap his wrists with magnetic cuffs, Steve manages to knock some of them down but one cuff remains, then Rumlow uses his rod to give Steve a shock. Steve manages free himself from the magnetic cuff and knock all the agents down, he turns to Rumlow.
“Whoa, big guy. I just want you to know, Cap, this ain't personal.” Rumlow stated.

Rumlow then goes to attack Steve with his electric rod but Steve manages to defend himself. He punches Rumlow, and knocks him out with his shield.

“It kind of feels personal.” Steve looks down at the beaten agents, he picks up his shield. Then the elevator door opens. He is faced by a team of STRIKE agents pointing guns at him.

“Drop the shield! Put your hands in the air!”

Steve uses his shield to break off the elevator wire, it sends the elevator down, as he forces the doors open he sees more STRIKE agents approaching him, he closes the door and looks for a way out.

“Give it up, Rogers! Get that door open! You have nowhere to go!”

Steve breaks through the glass in the elevator and plummets down to the ground floor, Steve gets up and starts running off towards the garage. He grabs the keys to his motorcycle. He rides out of the SHIELD garage on his motorcycle, evading the obstacles laid out but then a Quinjet emerges ahead of him.
“Stand down, Captain Rogers. Stand down.” ,the Quinjet lowers its machine gun, “Repeat, stand down.”
Steve throws his shield at the Quinjet, damaging a wing, he rids out of the HQ.

Jasper Sitwell shouts ” Eyes here.” Shaon looks up at him, “ Whatever your op is, bury it. This is Level One. Contact DOT. All traffic lights in the district go red. Shut all runways at BWI, IAD and Reagan. All security cameras in the city go through this monitor, right here. Scan all open sources. Phones, computers, PDAs, whatever. If someone tweets about this guy, I want to know about it.”

“With all due respect, If SHIELD is conducting a manhunt for Captain America, we deserve to know why.” Sharon states, she worked on that cover for months. She deserves a damn good response for that.

Alexander Pierce enters the room, “Because he lied to us. Captain Rogers has information regarding the death of Director Fury, he refused to share it. As difficult as this is to accept, Captain America is a fugitive from SHIELD.”

Chapter Text

Disguised as a civilian dressed in a hoodie, Steve goes to Percy’s apartment building. Natasha is standing in the empty apartment devoid of furniture. “Where is it?” Steve asks as he shoves her into a wall.

“Safe.” She replies unfazed.

“Do better!”

Natasha scoffs. “Fury wanted to give it to you.”

“Fury gave it to Percy. Why?”

“Because he was there, he is a variable Fury can’t control.”

“What's on it?”

“I don't know.”

“Stop lying!”

“I only act like I know everything, Rogers.”

“I bet you two knew Fury hired the pirates, didn't you?”

“Well, it makes sense.” Natadha cocks her head to the side.

“ The ship was dirty, Fury needed a way in, so did you.“ Percy states entering the room with a black backpack on his shoulders.

“We know who killed Fury.” Percy states.

“Most of the intelligence community doesn't believe he exists, the ones who do call him the Winter Soldier. He's credited with over two dozen assassinations in the last fifty years.” Natasha explains, Steve lets go of her.

“So he's a ghost story.”

“Five years ago we were escorting a nuclear engineer out of Iran, somebody shot out our tires near Odessa.” Percy says.

“ We lost control, went straight over a cliff, I pulled us out, but the Winter Soldier was there. I was covering my engineer, so he shot him straight through me.” Natasha continues, as she pulls up her shirt to show him the scar on the side of her stomach, “Soviet slug, no rifling. Bye-bye bikinis.”

”Yeah, I bet you look terrible in them now.” Natasha smirks.

“Going after him is a dead end. I know, I've tried.” Natasha states.

Percy holds up the drive, “Like you said, he's a ghost story.”

Steve takes the flash drive from him ,”Well, let's find out what the ghost wants.”

Steve and Natasha go to the mall disguised as a civilian couple, on the comm Percy says, “Why can’t I go to the mall, tell me?”

“You got that trouble maker aura.” Nat states.

Percy is sitting in an alley nearby, monitoring the CCTV, “You sure the mall security won't notice us in their system?”

“I am good at what I do Jackson, now shut up. “

“Copy that”

“ The drive has a Level Six homing program, so as soon as we boot up, SHIELD will know exactly where we are.” Nat tells Steve, Percy checks the cams. He spots a car. Time to borrow that car. Percy abandons the area, and goes to the valet.

“How much time do we have?”

“Uh...about nine minutes from…” , she pops the flash drive into a MacBook Pro. “Now, Fury was right about that ship, somebody's trying to hide something. This drive is protected by some sort of AI, it keeps rewriting itself to counter my commands.”

Percy bumps into the guy who just parked the car, “Sorry” he mumbled. Keys in his hands.

“Can you override it?”

As the driver is outta sight Percy is in the car. Tablet in hand. Shit

“The person who developed this is slightly smarter than me. Slightly.”

“Rumlow and his team have pulled up outside,” Percy informs.

“I'm gonna try running a tracer. This is a program that SHIELD developed to track hostile malware, so if we can't read the file, maybe we can find out where it came from.” Nat states.

“Can I help you guys with anything?” an employee asks them.

“Oh, no. My fiancé was just helping me with some honeymoon destinations.” Nat says sweetly.

“Right! We're getting married.” Steve glances at Natasha.

“Congratulations. Where are you guys thinking about going?” the employee asks them,”

“ New Jersey.”

Percy snorts.

“Oh.” the employee looks at Steve for a moment, “I have the exact same glasses.”

“Wow, you two are practically twins.” Natasha Deadpans.

“Yeah, I wish. Specimen.” the employee glances at them, “Uh...if you guys need anything, I've been Aaron.”

“Faster Nat, they are in the building.” Percy reports. He starts the car.

“Shh, relax. Got it.” she says, “the signal is coming from Wheaton, NJ. You know it?”

“I used to. Let's go.” Steve says, pulling the flash drive from the computer and they walk out of the store.

“Standard tac-team. Two behind, two across, two coming straight at you.” Percy reports going to the evac point.

“If they make us, I'll engage, you hit the south escalator to the metro.” Steve orders

“Shut up and put your arm around me, laugh at something I said.” Natasha declares

“What?”

“Do it!”

Steve quickly puts his arm around Natasha and laughs. They are obscured from sight. As they are going down the escalator Natasha spots Rumlow on the escalator next to them going up, she turns to Steve“Kiss me.” she says.

“What?”

“Public displays of affection make people very uncomfortable.”

“Yes, they do. “

She quickly pulls down Steve's head and kisses him, making Rumlow look away as he goes past them on the escalator.

“Are you still uncomfortable?” Nat teases him.

“It's not exactly the word I would use.”

Once they are a safe distance from the mall. they all relax a bit. Percy drums his fingers on the wheel as he drives.

“ Where did you learn how to steal a car?” Natasha asks Percy.

“Sometime when i lost my memories when I was sixteen.”

“And we're borrowing.” Steve says, “Take your feet off the dash.” Natasha takes her feet off the dash.

“Alright, I have a question for you, oh, which you do not have to answer. I feel like if you don't answer it though, you're kind of answering it, you know?”

Oh percy thinks, this will be fun.

“What?”

“ Was that your first kiss since 1945?”

“That bad, huh?”

“I didn't say that.”

“Well, it kind of sounds like that's what you're saying.”

Dam, Percy turns to see Steve’s expression, he seems weirdly calm.

“No, I didn't. I just wondered how much practice you've had.”

“You don't need practice.”

Percy scoffs, “Everybody needs practice.”

“It was not my first kiss since 1945. I'm ninety-five, I'm not dead.”

“Nobody special, though?” Natasha says. ]

“Believe it or not, it's kind of hard to find someone with shared life experience.”

”Well, that's alright, you just make something up.”

”What, like you both?”

”I don't know. The truth is a matter of circumstances, it's not all things to all people all the time. And neither am I.”

”That's a tough way to live.”

“ It's a good way not to die, though.”

“Besides I don’t lie about my life,” Percy says, “it’s more of not giving y’all the specifics.”

“Since the first day.” Nat mumbles

”You know, it's kind of hard to trust someone when you don't know who that someone really is.”

“Yeah. Who do you want me to be?”

Percy hums in agreement.

“How about a friend?” Steve says.

“Well, there's a chance you might be in the wrong business, Rogers.” Natasha laughs, Percy knows she’s tense about this.

“I thought we already were.” Percy states. He makes eye contact with Steve through the rear view mirror, Steve looks away.