Insights
DJ Dubois

April 2014

Pairings: Mostly Natasha-Peggy. Some Natasha-Steve. Of course Steve-Peggy implications….

Notes Part 1: SPOILERS for "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" are contained in this story. You have been advised….

Notes Part 2: The characters from "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" belong to Marvel and Universal. Please send comments to dante0220 .

Chapter 1 [Original SHIELD Headquarters—Army Base, Wheaton, NJ]

Despite being two hours from New York and an hour inland, a deserted army base seemed to be at the ends of the Earth. For decades, thick chains and padlocks across its chain linked fence's gates held the outside world at bay. Neglect marred the base during this time. Unmown grass swayed tall and free in the warm breeze. The barracks' brick facades chipped and corroded under Tempus' perpetual assault.

Ghosts of the past—both real and inspired by Memoria's prompting—haunted the facility as well.

Just the place for the secrets of the past to languish…..

Natasha Romanov scratched her head in wonder. In her time as a master spy with the KGB and SHIELD, she had gained a great deal of insight into the people around herself. She'd learned to adjust to different strategies and personalities on the fly. She'd learned when to adhere to orders, when to compartimentalize and when to go 'constructively-rogue'. Such skills were a survival trait in her business.

Yet since she'd met Steve Rogers, it seemed her whole world had turned on its ear,

Well in all fairness, it hadn't been all him…. After all, she'd had to deal with Bruce Banner in India first on Nick Fury's behalf. Then she'd been swept up into the Avengers initiative and thrown into battle against Loki and his alien allies. And now she was dealing with a game of political high stakes poker worthy of the Cold War itself….

…and that wasn't counting Fury's death either.

She ground her teeth while following Steve out of the hidden elevator into the sublevel of SHIELD's original headquarters. Why are we here? What could be so important? She considered her guide curiously. Rogers is seeing ghosts. Are we on a false lead? She watched her guide survey the entry way.

Steve stopped in front of some pictures. His eyes locked on the two central portraits—a familiar man and a woman. Despite being in mid-mission, he allowed himself a rare moment to remember the pictures' subjects fondly. A smile creased his lips.

She recognized the man's portrait instantly from SHIELD's databases and his likeness to a certain industrialist/teammate. "That's Stark's father, isn't it?"

Steve nodded almost absently. "Howard." His eyes drifted toward Peggy's picture and stayed locked on it. Despite his lost love's telling him to move on recently, his heart relaxed and felt a warm tingle from her younger visage. He knew her advice had been out of concern for him. She wanted him to move on and have a life….

…she didn't want him to be alone and a wallflower all of his life….

I don't care, Peggy. I don't need to dance with anyone else. He sighed heavily and frowned.

Even though the Captain's back was turned to her, Natasha clearly read the emotions in his posturing. She heard the sigh. What the Hell? Whoever she is, she definitely had some connection to him! "Who's she?"

Steve didn't answer; his mind still on Peggy. For a full ten seconds, he didn't move an inch. Then he forced himself to move on….

…leaving the Widow's unanswered query along with his beloved's portrait….

Natasha considered the portrait for a brief second. Granted she'd poked and prodded Steve about potential dates and women of interest. She hated the fact that he was so wrapped up in duty and not in his life. But then she remembered something from Steve's file….

…the words Fury himself had added….

"I had a date."

Could this be the woman with whom he had the date? Granted both she and Steve had bigger fish to fry at the moment. However, as soon as the mission had wrapped itself up, she determined to get to the bottom of this particular mystery.

Having made that assertion, she followed him into the bowels of the ancient facility…..