Author's Note:
For those of us who are "Staron" fans, the treatment of the character of Sharon Carter in the movieverse has been frustrating to say the least. I am unsure how truthful are some of the things I've read, and likely the whole story will never be known by the fans, but I read stories of how Sharon was supposed to be the female lead in CA:WS, and that scheduling conflicts with Emily VanCamp and ScarJo's agent pushing for a bigger role for her ended up booting Sharon from much of the action, but that if you rewatch the movie and imagine Sharon by Steve's side instead of Black Widow from the point where he finds the flash drive is missing from the vending machine until they reconnect with Nick Fury and Maria Hill before the Trisk falls, that the relationship between Steve and Sharon makes a lot more sense later on and was original to the plot. Then, I hear of how a large number of scenes involving Sharon in Civil War were cut, leaving us with a mere 15 minutes of actual screentime total in the cinematic universe across 2 movies for a character who, in the comic books, is easily a superhero in her own right, a spy and warrior on par with Black Widow and not just "the girlfriend." Then Infinity War comes out, and Sharon gets not even a mention, not even a brief 30 second scene with Steve on the phone with her saying he'd be home soon to let us know she didn't just disappear after that famous kiss and her walking away, when she should have been on the Cap team at the airport. (Even the LEGO set for the airport battle features her as apparently was the original plan) It's unfair and frustrating for Sharon fans, especially those of us who have loved her character in the comics for years. The explanation the Russos give us is that there wasn't enough time to show Steve and Sharon "in an apartment somewhere trying to make it work," which I call BS if we can see Wanda and Vision getting it on in a hotel room, and Tony and Pepper going for a jog in the park, though that line from the interview of the directors gave me pause. Sharon and Steve are living together somewhere following the events of Civil War?! Fanfiction time! Hence, this fic was born. Hope you enjoy!
Safe House
Steve "Captain America" Rogers bowed his head against the sudden gust of cold wet wind, and pulled his ill-fitted, hastily acquired jacket closer around his chest. He was walking down a street in Amsterdam close to 10 PM at night, hoping he would not be recognized or spotted by anyone who might alert the authorities. He had several more blocks to go, and was hoping that he would get to his destination before curious eyes fell on his face, but also before he caught hypothermia. He might have joked that he could freeze to death, but his 70 year nap in a block of ice proved that that was likely not what was going to eventually killed him. To that end, and not for the first time, he wondered what *would* finally get him. Bullets, being dropped several floors out of the building, hit with an alien laser and dropped from the sky out of helicarrier hadn't done the trick. He had a grim suspicion that his end would either be violent or some 300 years from now after he had once again watched everyone he loved age and die or fall in an attack. It's seem to be his lot in life.
He glanced at the slender form of a young woman who walked in step with him but slightly behind, her own head bent against the wind and he could tell she was shivering. He felt his chest constrict slightly and a sense of urgency making him pick up the pace slightly more than he intended, for he did not want to rush her. Wanda Maximoff had already been through quite enough in the last couple of days, hell the last couple of years, thank you very much. The loss of her twin brother and her country of Sokovia in Ultron's attack, followed by rebuilding her life in New York at the compound with Vision, only to lose it all to the ideological battle between him and Tony, which culminated in her and those who had stood beside Steve being imprisoned on the Raft would be enough to cause anyone to have a nervous breakdown. This wasn't even counting the incident with Crossbones that had ended with her accidentally causing the death of civilians as she tried to toss Rumlow into the stratosphere before he exploded, for which she had felt enormous guilt, and when Steve had found her in the others on the Raft, she had been fitted with a device around her neck that had subdued her powers, leaving her helpless in her prison cell, which also had to be emotionally wrenching. She had been quite pleased to see him, and had easily run with the rest of them as they made their way out of the Raft and out of sight, but since they had reached the mainland and found some measure of safety in hiding locations, a dark cloud of silence had fallen over the somber young woman, and both Steve and Sam were concerned that the events might have been a little too much for Wanda.
She had insisted that she was fine and perfectly capable of keeping up with them, but Steve knew the sooner he got her and everyone else to a safe permanent location, the better off they would all be. At least, that's where he hoped they were heading. His eyes fell to the dark figure of Clint Barton walking a block or so ahead of them seemingly unconnected with them. Without being too obvious, he glanced over his shoulder at the figures of Scott Lang and Sam Wilson walking together but behind them and across the street, coats and scarves pulled around their faces. They were all fugitives from the governments of the world and the American CIA and law enforcement. They had willingly gone against the Sokovia Accords signed by the UN, had caused in numerable losses in property damage to the Berlin airport, and had broken out of a high-security containment facility. And they had done it all to stop the release of 12 more Winter Soldiers, and apprehend Helmut Zemo, the vengeful Sokovian soldier who had orchestrated framing Bucky Barnes for the bombing at the UN and the rift between the Avengers. He was in custody now, thanks to the king of Wakanda, T'Challa, who had given them all amnesty in his country following the events of the week before.
Initially, when Steve and Bucky had returned from Siberia, leaving the king and Tony Stark behind to bring the real fugitive in to Everett Ross, Steve had been grateful for somewhere to run to. He had been equally grateful that the king's genius younger sister Shuri had offered to help Bucky by deprogramming him from the Hydra conditioning. They had put Bucky back in cold sleep until Shuri could figure out the process that would give him his mind back, but that had left Steve with the conundrum of what to do about his comrades on the Raft. He did not want to leave them there, and it was obvious they would not be given legal representation or fair trial. T'Challa had offered assistance, though Steve had been reluctant to accept it and bring the king into a potentially sticky diplomatic problem if it was announced that he and his country had helped American fugitives escape from custody. In the end, it had been at the suggestion of his girlfriend Nakia to involve there Wardogs, the Wakandan spy network of which she was a high-ranking member, to assist them surreptitiously. They had provided transportation and the necessary technology that Steve needed to break out his friends without too much fuss and no loss of life. If they were caught again, it would be easier to justify a jailbreak than multiple deaths of federal agents trying to stop them. In the end, everyone had simply been tasered, and the cloaked Wakandan aircraft on which they had escaped had deposited them in Poland as Steve had requested and gone on about its way, hopefully never implicating the small African nation.
Once they had arrived on the European mainland, however, gears shifted to not being recognized and finding a safe place to be. Again, the king had offered sanctuary in his country, but he had been in the middle of consolidating power after his father's death followed by some kind of major problem with a cousin or something, of which Steve had not gotten the entire story, but had received a message from Shuri later assuring him that Bucky was still safe and that she was making progress in curing him. A little later, she had sent a message confirming that her brother was firmly in power and things were going well, and that they were welcome to return, but Steve had opted against it. He was profoundly grateful that the royal family was willing to shelter not just him but all of his comrades knowing the kind of diplomatic incident that could cause, but it was precisely because of that that he did not want to trouble them any further. Wakanda was in the process of trying to find its place in the world as the advanced nation that it was, and its isolationist culture was not going to go away overnight. Steve highly doubted that the presence of several white foreigners in the King's Palace would help T'Challa in his diplomatic attempts to bring his country out of the mists. And he didn't want to jeopardize Bucky's safety either, for Bucky truly did need to stay there, and he was really only able to do so now because nobody really knew he was there. That still left Steve with a conundrum of where to go and where to bring his fugitive team.
However, he had a few options. The first one had started when he had found the folded up piece of paper in the left leg cargo pocket of his suit. It was tucked away neatly under the small first aid kit that he always carried in that pocket. Like all of the rest of their gear, his suit and shield had been confiscated by the CIA when he had found Bucky in Romnia. Then Sharon Carter had retrieved their gear from the locker and given it to them, thereby painting a target on her own back and killing her career with the spy agency.
Steve's heart did another strange twist in his chest as he thought about Sharon. The former SHIELD agent who had lived next-door to him for two years, keeping an eye on him for Nick Fury. The one who had stood down Brock Rumlow the day the Trisk and SHIELD had fallen. Later, he had been able to review the video footage of that day and had been taken with the way she and her colleagues had stood up to the Hydra agents, buying them precious few seconds that had been needed to stop the ships. He had seen the vicious knife slash to her arm that had dropped her but she had still found a way to kick the hapless tech Cameron Klein away from the station in time to avoid him being shot, only to see her pop up and begin shooting at the STRIKE team members as if she felt nothing in her arm. Then she had dropped out of sight after SHIELD fell, and he had not thought much about her in the two years that followed. Then, two weeks ago, Peggy Carter had died and he had seen Sharon at the funeral and come to realize their familial connection. At first he had been irritated with her again, but hearing her explanation of why she had done the things she had and kept her relationship to Peggy a secret made sense to him and he had warmed towards her. When they had lived next-door to each other, he admitted he had quite the crush on her. Not knowing who she was, she had seemed sweet and nice and sardonically funny. Natasha Romanoff had told him once that one of the main things to remember about assuming an undercover identity long term was that it was important to try and be yourself as much as possible if it was longer than a month For example, she said, if you really like sushi for lunch, then your cover should probably like sushi as well, because it made it easier to not have to remember small details like that if they were really aspects of yourself. Sharon had mostly confirmed this notion in the few hours they had spent talking after Peggy's funeral, when he found her to be much of the same person he thought he had known in his neighbor "Kate," only perhaps a bit more jaded and with a biting sense of humor. Part of the reason he had been so irritated to find out that she was a spy for SHIELD was that he had believed he had known who she was as a person, only to discover that she was probably nothing like he thought. Then, at the funeral, he realized that she really was quite the same as she had always been, and that meant that the person he had a crush on did exist, he just knew her real name now. And she was Peggy's niece.
That had thrown him a bit. He wasn't sure if he was breaking some kind of unspoken social role or karmic laws by continuing to harbor feelings towards Sharon, knowing he might have been her uncle under different circumstances. But then, when she had literally thrown everything away to help him, he had to admit that he just didn't care who she was. He liked the girl, he wasn't her relative, and he just could not deny it to himself any longer. So he had kissed her. He half expected her to clock him across the jaw for it, but had been immensely relieved when she had returned the kiss. Quite enthusiastically, actually. Which Steve took to mean that his feelings were probably reciprocated on her end as well, and if she found their situation weird, it was not enough to prevent her from responding. But then they had been forced to part ways, everything had gone to shit, and now here he was trekking across cold dark Amsterdam streets looking for a place he had never been with several other people who could be severely punished if they were found.
He'd had the opportunity to talk with Sharon on the plane from England to Bern following the bombing about any contingency plans that they should have in place just in case they were needed. Sharon had admitted to him that old habits die hard and as a spy, she had several locations around the world and stashes that could help him if ever needed. They had arranged a secure means of communication, and when he had gone after Zemo in Siberia, Sharon had assured him that she would find a way to keep in touch. After everything has settled down and he was getting ready to leave WakAnda to retrieve his comrades on the raft, he had been meticulously going through his suit to make sure there were no tracers or other means of following him imbedded in it. As a soldier from World War II, it was his custom to obsessively go over every inch of his gear and weapons on a regular basis to check for any possibility of failure or tampering, as he had learned in the army. That was when he had found the small piece of paper under his pocket first aid kit. It ended up being coordinates to a small park in a village in Poland, which was why he had the King's transport deposit them all there. There was a World War II Memorial to fallen soldiers in the middle of the park, and he had immediately headed towards it. He found the next set of coordinates carefully chiseled near the boot of one of the soldiers in the concrete pedestal, which ended up being the location in Amsterdam to which they were currently heading. From satellite images, it appeared to be an old house converted from an ancient warehouse on one of the canals. He had no idea what they would find there, but he hoped it would involve a safe space behind a locked door where they could sleep. A warm place would be even better. Food would be heaven. He also hoped that it was indeed Sharon who was leading him there. The scrawl on the written note that he had memorized and burned had appeared roughly feminine, but that didn't mean anything. Barton's well-trained spy eye and Wanda's telepathic and telekinetic powers had not identified anyone following them at the park, so he was going to have to put his faith in the hope that this was not a trap.
He let himself hope briefly too that Sharon would be at the location they were heading towards. He really wanted to see her again. Talk to her. But he also told himself not to get his hopes up. It was highly unlikely that she would be quick to cross paths with them again, probably having gone underground in another location where she would be safe for some time. And even if she was there, it didn't necessarily mean anything. One kiss under a bridge did not make a relationship and he shouldn't expect too much of her, especially since she had, once again, just lost her entire world because of him, her job, her home, and all this only a week after losing her beloved aunt. She may not have been an adverse to a single kiss, but that didn't mean that she was OK in her head with the fact that he had been in love with her great aunt and now had feelings towards her. He was willing to bet he could reconcile that fact in his own mind, but he wasn't sure if Sharon had done so in hers. Not that he wouldn't be extremely happy to see her, I if only to know that she was safe and alive and not deposited on the Raft a few hours after he had broken his friends out of it.
Barton had slowed a bit to allow him and Wanda catch up, although Lang and Wilson continued to keep their distance across the street. They seemed to have arrived at the destination. The wind had picked up and rain was moving in. The wind was cold and chilly across the canals and the mist that hung in the air was starting to solidify into sticky rain. Steve suppressed a shiver. He never really told anyone, but he hated the cold. The crash that had sent him into hibernation had not sent him into a complete coma. Periodically, over the years, he would come to fuzzy consciousness and realize he was not yet dead. It had been horrifying, the wall of white and cold so deep he could not feel his body. More than once he had prayed for death, but had been rewarded only with unconsciousness again. Then SHIELD had found him and brought him back, and he realized it was 70 years later, everything was different, his friends were all dead, and Peggy was elderly and dying, having lived a full life with a family without him. He had never wished so deeply that he had perished in that crash. Forming a connection with the Avengers had been what saved him and brought him out of his shock and depression. Sam warned him that it was quite likely he was suffering from PTSD, not just from World War II but from the events that had brought him into the 21st-century. They talked about it frequently between the two of them, and Steve had to admit he was doing better, but nothing good has ever happened to him in the cold. He was adding up the events in Siberia to add to that theory. Surrounded by cold, he had lost the Avengers and Tony's friendship while trying to save Bucky. He fucking hated the cold.
He shook himself out of his ruminations as Hawkeye came to a stop in front of a set of steps leading up to a red door framed in white that was their destination. They looked at each other wordlessly and Steve glanced at Sam and Scott across the street as they turned down an alley out of sight keeping an eye out. If this ended up going south, at least the two of them had a chance to get away. Steve nudged Wanda behind him and motioned for Barton to bring up the rear behind her as he climbed the steps, took a deep breath, and knocked. A small panel slid up in the door and on it, for it appeared to be a touchscreen, came the message "Place hand over screen." He looked at Clint who shrugged, not sure if this was a trap, but Steve took a deep breath and placed his hand over the panel. It flashed green three times, and then words appeared on the panel. "Welcome Captain Rogers."
The door unlocked and swung open, revealing a shadowy entrance hall with no lights on and the slender figure of a blondish woman standing in the doorway. Steve's heart leapt for a bit. Was it Sharon? The woman urgently beckoned of them inside and without thinking, Steve stepped in, followed by Wanda and then by Barton. Sam and Scott came jogging across the street at Steve's wave and they quickly followed everybody inside. The woman closed the door securely behind them and locked it, and then turned to face them while snapping on the hallway light.
Steve's heart sank. The woman was not Sharon. She was built much like Sharon, slender and lithe, and the manner in which she held herself bespoke of some heavy combat training and conditioning. But who was she? Then, suddenly, he heard Clint draw in his breath sharply and Steve felt himself tense up ready for a fight or an ambush. But then Clint laughed.
"Bobbi?! Is that really you? "
Startled, the woman turned her gaze on to Clint with a shocked look on her face, which then crumpled into a familiar smile and she laughed, and threw her arms around his neck. Clint returned the hug affectionately.
"Goddamn, Hawkeye! Fancy meeting you here!" she said.
"You're about the last person I expected to see, Barbara Morse." Clint admitted. "What are you doing here?"
"I could ask the same of you," she said, "though I expect Thirteen sent you here, am I correct? She called this morning and told me to look out for Rogers and visitors, but she neglected to mention you."
"You know Sharon?" Steve asked. "And who are you?"
The woman turned her gaze on him, studying him as of seeing him for the first time, though Steve suspected this was not the first time she had ever seen him. "Captain Rogers," she said with a nod. "Yes I know Sharon."
"You talked to her this morning? Is she OK?" he asked
"As of this morning, yes," the woman named Bobbi replied. "She's looking for Romanoff, and she expects to be here after doing her best to locate her. We heard Nat went AWOL on Stark. That means her ass is in a sling if she's found. So Sharon went to look for her."
"Good luck finding Natasha," Clint grumbled. "She's only found one she wants to be. Although if I had to put money on it, Sharon is probably the best one to find her. After you that is."
Bobbi smiled. "Well if you're here with Rogers, I guess that means you were with the group the busted off the Raft. Everybody is up in arms. You've caused quite a stir."
"My heart is breaking," Clint grumbled. "But you haven't said what you're doing here in a safe house. I assume that's where we are?"
"Yeah, one of Sharon's," Bobbi said. "Me and Hunter had to bolt here after Coulson's group was forced to disavow us to keep us from being executed in Russian prison. I'll tell you all about it."
Clint's eyebrows raised all the way to his hairline. "Hunter? You guys back together again?"
"We should never have gotten divorced in the first place," came the genial voice of a young man with British accent. Everyone turned to see a shadow detach itself from the darkness in the living room beyond the entranceway and step into the light. The man was about the same age as Bobbi, in need of a shave, lanky but clearly also trained. He seemed to recognize Clint, for he grinned and offered his hand which Clint took and the two men yanked each other into a bro hug.
"I was about to advise you to take your hands off my wife," Hunter said in a joking tone. Clint laughed. Bobbi however was shaking her head.
"Well this is awkward," she said. "My ex-husband and my ex-boyfriend hugging like they're dating now. I should take a picture."
Steve's head was spinning at the revelation. This woman had dated Clint? And then had been married and divorced, then reconnected to the other man Clint was now hugging? He wondered if he had hit his head at some point. But the three seemed fairly familiar with each other, so he was only just now starting to relax in to the realization that this was likely not a trap. He was also working on wrapping his mind around the fact that apparently Phil Coulson was still alive. He was going to want details on that later. And where was Sharon?
Clint turned to the confuse looks of his shivering comrades and said "Bobbi and Sharon were roommates at SHIELD Academy. When Natasha defected from the Russian intelligence unit and came with me, the directors thought the best way to bring her into SHIELD was to have her go through a few rounds at the Academy. We didn't expect to teacher any new skills, it was mostly for socialization purposes. Only nobody wanted to room with the famous Black Widow. There were some morbid jokes about never waking up if you went to sleep in the same room with her."
"But Sharon stepped up," explained Bobbi. "We took her in and that's how the three of us came to know each other. Nat wasn't with us for long, like Clint said there wasn't anything she really needed to learn. It was more about socialization. But then she and Clint were off on missions together as partners and then Sharon and I didn't see them much."
"But you two dated?" Steve asked and pointed between Bobbi and Clint.
Bobbi nodded. "He would come by our room looking for Natasha, and we sort of hit it off. Briefly."
"And then she met me out in the field," said Hunter with a smile. "I was better looking."
Both Clint and Bobbi laughed. And then her face became somber. "How are Laura and the kids?"
Steve stifled his mild surprise that this woman would know about Clint's family when Steve himself had not known until it was necessary. But Clint only smiled sadly and said "They were OK the last time I talked to them. I'm hoping to get back to them soon."
Bobbi and Hunter nodded sympathetically.
"Well let's not stand here all night in the doorway," said Hunter. "We have some rooms picked out for you guys where you can crash, and stay here as long as you need to. This place is pretty well-stocked with provisions, tech, transportation, and security that impresses even me. But first you all look like you need something to eat. And could probably do with some warming up. I've got some bottles of Jameson in the kitchen."
"I heard that," said Clint shrugging off his duffel bag as Sam and Scott did the same. Steve shrugged off his own but did not drop it to the floor. Even though Clint seemed comfortable with these two, Steve preferred to keep the bag carrying his own gear in sight, though he missed his shield, which he had left behind for Tony in Siberia. It felt weird to not have it and just be carrying his duffel. He carried it into the kitchen following Bobbi and deposited in the corner. The others did the same as they shrugged out of their coats. Hunter was pulling bottles of beer out of the refrigerator and hauling a bottle of whiskey down from a cabinet. Wanda asked if she could just have water, and Bobbi smiled and said of course, though she could also make tea. A pot of something delicious smelling was boiling on the stove and Bobbi explained that she had kept it simmering all night, hoping they would come by, but that it reheated well if they had not. It turned out to be chicken pho. Everyone seem to know what that was, except Steve, and he watched in weary fascination as Bobbi ladled out humongous bowls of broth and noodles and placed a large plate of basil and mint leaves, beans sprouts and chopped up jalapeños along with a large bottle of what looked like hot sauce in the middle of the table. Sririacha sauce, Sam called it. Steve followed everyone's lead as they all gathered the items from the plate and dropped them in their bowls and began eagerly gulping down. Wanda doled out a generous helping of the hot sauce into his bowl and advised him to mix it up. After taking several gulps, Steve had to admit it was really good. It was basically chicken soup, and who didn't love that on a cold wet night after trudging through hell? He could feel his insides starting to warm up, although the gratefully accepted beer was not doing as much for him as it was doing for the others, who seemed to be relaxing.
As they ate, Bobbi filled them all in on her and Hunter's adventures following the fall of SHIELD. She had infiltrated a Hydra cell and in the process had come across Phil Coulson, still alive, and leading a group of expatriate SHIELD agents, including Melinda May, which had caused Clint to choke a bit on his soup in surprise and mumble something about a cavalry. The group that she had hooked up with originally had merged with his and SHIELD seemed to be on its way to reforming and going legit, which, unfortunately, meant they couldn't go to Phil's group, being fugitives. She explained how Coulson had evaded death, and the adventures of his group after she and Hunter had joined. Then she explained how she and Hunter had been caught on a mission in Russia, and the lengths that Coulson had been forced to go through to save their lives, which had involved disavowing them. Coulson had been able to spirit them funds and resources when they left, and at first they had gone to London to visit Hunter's family. But then, they realized that they could never be happy as civilians, and Bobbi had contacted Sharon working at the CIA who had given them the location of the safe house.
"What's special about this place?" Scott had asked.
"As far as we know," Hunter said, "nobody knows about it but Sharon. Apparently, her aunt was a high up agent in SHIELD decades ago, but had warned Sharon that working for fickle intelligence agencies usually meant that at some point they were going to have to disavow you and imprison you to cover their own asses. That she should always have a bolt hole to run to that was not on official channels. It's also well-funded. Apparently her aunt had independent resources nobody ever knew about. This place was supposed to be a secret location to house Sharon's family if it were ever needed. A place no official channel would know about."
"Like I did," Clint said. "It took a good deal of effort to keep my family and farm location off the books. I'm pretty grateful for that now, considering what went down with SHIELD."
"You'll have to get Sharon to explain the whole story to you, if she ever comes by," said Bobbi. "But apparently this house was originally her aunt's. Nobody knew about it except her and her aunt. Then, when me and Hunter needed a place to go, she had asked her aunt if it was OK for us to come here and her aunt said yes. I've been meaning to thank her and if I ever get the chance."
"She passed away last week," said Steve quietly.
Bobbi seemed surprised. "You knew her?"
Steve realized that Sharon had not volunteered certain information to her former roommate, and so he just nodded.
"I'm sorry to hear that," Bobbi said somberly. "I wish she would have mentioned it, but she was sort of in a hurry. She only said to look out for you guys. That she was sending you here."
"When will she get here?" asked Steve, trying not to appear too eager for an answer.
"Honestly I have no idea," said Bobby. "She may not even head here at all. I actually have only seen her once since Hunter and I got here a couple of years ago. Not that we're here all the time. We get bored sitting around. And with so much evil in the world, there is no shortage of work to do. We go out on freelance missions on occasion. There's no telling if she's even coming here when she's finished doing whatever she's doing. I assume this is probably not the only place in the world she has to run to."
Sam glanced at Steve knowingly, and Steve tried not to seem too disappointed. He had been hoping Sharon would be here, safe and sound when he arrived. Now, he wasn't sure if he would even ever see her again. He tried not to focus on how much that idea disappointed him. Or how much he was beginning to miss her. The rest of the meal past somewhat amicably, with Bobbi and Hunter asking Clint about his family, Natasha, about people they had known in SHIELD, and for details on what had happened with the splitting of the Avengers. But when Steve noticed Wanda basically asleep on her hand at the table, and glanced at his watch and saw it was midnight, he slowly stood up and the others got the hint.
Hunter stood up quickly and begin to gather the now-empty bowls. "I'll clean up in here," he said. "Bobbi can show you where you can sleep."
"We can help clean up," said Scott, nodding at Sam as they moved to help.
"Thanks mate," said Hunter, "but I've got it, really. You go catch some shut eye. You can make waffles in the morning or something."
Scott gave the other man a tired grin and nodded, leaving Hunter to clear the table. Bobbi motioned for everyone to follow her, and they grabbed their bags and followed.
"There's one bedroom and full bath on this floor," she said, "and me and Hunter have that one. Sharon has a room on the second floor that we kind of leave open in case she ever drops in. It's her house after all. There's a room for Natasha down the hall from her, and another room that you can have, Captain. The rest of you are on the third floor. All floors have two full baths and the first floor has a half bath off the kitchen. There is a full gym and other stuff in the basement that we'll show you tomorrow."
Steve met Clint's interested glance. Hunter had mentioned that the place was well stocked with not just provisions but also tech. Was the basement where the tech was? Steve supposed they would find out soon enough. He allowed Bobbi to lead them to the various rooms she had mentioned, gave Wanda a reassuring shoulder squeeze as the younger woman followed the others up to the third-floor. He hoped she would get some rest now that they seem to be safe. Of all of them, that kid needed the most. Steve made his way to the bedroom that Bobbi had pointed out for him. It was comfortably decorated with a large bed and a flat screen TV on wall. There was a dresser and a walk-in closet. A window overlooked the canals down below. He was not an expert in spy craft, but he carefully swept the room looking for bugs or other recording devices. He found none, although he knew that didn't mean they weren't there. He sighed at the fact that he was becoming so paranoid. He supposed it was the company he kept.
Bobbi stuck her head in the open doorway. "Captain, you've got the bathroom down the hall if you want to shower. And something else I need to point out if you don't mind?"
He nodded and she stepped in the room motioning for him to follow her to the walk-in closet. "All of the rooms in this house have an escape hatch." She opened the door and pointed out the small trap door in the floor of the closet. She explained how one stood on it for five seconds without moving, then stomped your foot on it three times strongly and the trap door would open and deposit you into a tunnel slide to that wound its way down to the vehicle depot beneath the house. From there, there were multiple routes of exit and transportation should an attack ever come through one of the doors or windows. Steve had to admit he was impressed. That was good to know. After bidding him good night, Bobbi trotted out of the room and down the stairs to her own room.
Steve gathered up some clothes to sleep in, but before heading to the bathroom, made his way upstairs to ensure that the others were settling in. Scott Lang appeared to have fallen directly asleep on top of his bed without bothering to get under the covers, although Wanda had thrown on some nightclothes found in the drawer of her room and was already asleep in her bed. Sam was in the shower, and Clint was lounging on his bed surfing channels, but not looking at all tired enough to go to sleep. Knowing Clint, Steve figured the other man would probably be up most of the night making sure there was no trap. Steve made a mental note to get as much sleep as he could so that he could stay up while Clint was asleep later. He figured the seasoned spy was not going to allow himself to rest unless he knew someone like Steve was conscious somewhere in the building. After bidding everyone good night, he headed back down to his own floor. He headed to the bathroom, but stopped at the door that Bobbi had indicated was Sharon's room. He hesitated for a moment, then slowly opened it.
He stepped inside and looked around. Unlike his own room, and the rooms that his companions were sleeping in, this one did seem to be a bit more personalized. The bedspread was what looked like a handmade quilt, not a generic department store bedspread like one could find for just any old room. There were three pictures on the dresser, one of two people who appeared to be Sharon's parents based on the resemblance, one of Peggy, and another that look like the entire Carter clan taken together at what was probably a family reunion, with an old photograph of Peggy's husband superimposed into one corner and another, more modern picture of a young man in army gear superimposed into another. Steve recognize Peggy's grown children and some of her grandchildren in the picture. He had seen them at the funeral. An elderly Peggy sat in the middle of the group, surrounded by her grown children and grandchildren and one great-grandchild. Sharon stood with her mother near one end. Steve noted that Sharon strongly resembled her mother, not the rest of the Carter clan. Her father had died in combat years before this picture would have been taken, and Peggy's husband Daniel Sousa would have been dead twenty years at that point following a sudden stroke, Peggy's son had told him. The second photo of the young man in combat gear must be Harrison Carter, Sharon's father and Peggy's nephew. He stared at the picture for several minutes, making a mental note to check on the Carters when he was certain there would be no harm to him or them, to make sure they didn't suffer any fallout from his or Sharon's choices and actions. They were civilians and should be left out of this, and he didn't want anyone harassing them.
The pictures would be convincing enough that this was really Sharon's place, and Clint seemed to recognize Bobbi and Hunter, but he knew a part of him would be uneasy until he saw Sharon herself standing in this house, reassuring him that all was OK. If only he could be certain that this was truly her place and she had led him here. He pulled open the top drawer of the dresser, hoping that this didn't make him too much of a creeper and also hoping this wasn't an underwear drawer or something, but he wasn't sure what he was hoping to find. The drawer seemed to be filled with size 6 women's clothes, similar to the ones he had seen her wear when she was posing as his neighbor. Then he saw the holster with the gun in it in the corner. It was well worn and the strap slightly frayed. It was a thigh holster. He felt himself smile and he ran his fingertips over it.
This must be the one Peggy gave her when she joined SHIELD, the one she had mentioned.
He was still uneasy, but he was less uneasy than before. This wouldn't have fazed Clint, in fact Clint or Nat would probably view this as evidence of a trap lying in wait. But Sharon seemed to know him, knew how he would think. He felt in his gut that this was a legit sign from her, left in a way he would accept. He took a deep breath, closed the drawer and left the room, closing the door behind him. The shower felt amazing, and the bed was fairly comfortable too, but he still tossed and turned, his mind jumbled with the weight of everything that was happening. The Avengers split, half of them imprisoned and then jailbroken out, the look on Tony's face when he saw the video and then attacked. Dropping the shield behind him. The voices of US senators on TV disavowing him and his fugitive friends and questioning their character for not signing the Accords. The haunted look on Wanda's face. The sad one on Clint's knowing he couldn't return to his wife and children. The anxiety of wondering where Sharon and Natasha were and if they were still free and safe. Fear that someone would discover T'Challa's role in helping him and cause a diplomatic incident with Wakanda. What would become of Bucky? What did their future hold? It was almost too much. It was two hours before he finally fell asleep. Three hours later, he woke to the sound of birds chirping in the trees outside and the growing light of the sun coming up over the canals of Amsterdam.