Ballet Shoes

Chapter Two

Remembrance

The case wasn't getting easier to solve. The boat that was smuggling the drugs were leaving a docking bay on the coast of Izmir. One tip that they did have was one of the cargo holds had the same logo in a docking bay in Morocco as the hold that was seen in Izmir. Some one had to infiltrate to see what went under before the signal died out once the boats were in water. Since Penelope was familiar with that neck of the woods, being from the Mediterranean, SHIELD thought she'd be the best candidate to go.

It was a risky mission, though for the safety of those in Southeast Europe, she had to go. She still had relatives in Greece. If not for her safety, than the safety of her family and the younger generation.

She had been out on the field before as an agent and as a detective. As long as she was careful, no one would suspect her and she'd make it out alive.

Penelope looked at her calendar.

October 6.

She breathed. It was the anniversary of her mother's death. She was assassinated by government protesters years ago when Penelope was six years old. Her father was Ambassador of Greece to the United States, also running imports and a Mediterranean oil company. This made him a great target, and Penelope was in danger as well, though on the day of the assassination, it was her mother they took. On the security video feed, they saw that the bullet was meant for her father, and her mother got in the way to protect him.

Not a day goes by she doesn't think about her mother. Since meeting times didn't cram her schedule, perhaps it was time to visit her grave. It had been a while since the last time she did. If her father wasn't too busy, maybe they could have dinner afterwards. The last time they spoke on the phone, he was still in New York.

She was in the elevator, skimming the last of her paperwork before handing it in, until a voice called out.

"Hey, could you hold that, please…!"

Glancing up, she pressed the doors to open. Thank goodness she managed to get it on time. Hopefully, the agent who just stepped in wasn't in too much of a rush. Turning, she saw that it was Steve Rogers.

Flashes of the night eating Chinese food on the bench came back to her. Out of all the agents in the building, they had to be stuck in an elevator together. Steve smiled and nodded.

"Agent Onassis."

Penelope nodded, trying to be professional. "Hello, Captain Rogers…"

As the elevator moved, each second seemed to be growing slower and slower. What do you say to a colleague after you just been on a faux mission that was meant to be a blind date? She didn't knew Steve that well.

When she spoke to Natasha, Natasha told her how Steve was in a completely different world than theirs. He was practically on another planet, and he knew no one in this time. He was homesick for his old life. For a moment… Penelope felt bad for Steve, being all alone by himself. When her family moved to America for her father's work, she wanted to go back to Greece badly. The days in private school in America didn't make it better either, having not know anybody there.

"Excuse me…" She breathed, breaking the silence. Steve's eyes were on her. "If you don't mind me saying… Being in a different place after leaving everything you knew can be tough. It can get lonely, and you feel like you can't connect with anybody. I've heard your story, and I just wanted to say… I'm sorry this happened to you."

His face was still, his piercing blue eyes unmoving from where she stood.

"Thank you," he finally spoke. "The future is a different place, though Howard Stark did promise us flying cars back then…"

She felt herself chuckle, a smile coming on to Steve's face. Who knew he had a sense of humour.

"I hoped our time doesn't shock you too much," she smiled. Lots of things have changed over seventy years. How he managed to take it all in, Penelope will never know.

"It takes some time getting used to, though the internet is impressive. One thing's the same though..." He began. "There's still corruption out in the world. Little people being stepped on, taken advantage of... The way I see it, the world's still not an equal place."

Penelope was amazed by what Steve said. No matter how advance the world's technology got or how good standard of life could be, there was still inequality around the world. With her father being an ambassador, she heard loads of stories of how minorities and parties were held down against their will. It was probably why Steve joined the army all those years ago. It was the reason why she wanted to be a police officer.

When the day came she got to be a detective, she was glad she was finally moving up to help others. To make a world a better place. When she was recruited into SHIELD, she couldn't believe she was finally moving up as a government agent.

"I completely agree..." she nodded. "Though as long as there's people to stand up for their rights, to fight for others... it makes me glad to see the world isn't as bad."

Once their eyes locked, a smile was on her face. A smile was on Steve's face as well. Who knew they thought so alike. She was glad they both finally saw through the incident that Natasha put them through.

"Listen..." he breathed. "If you're having any trouble with a case or anything, I'd be more than happy to help you out."

The elevator door opened.

"I'm always here." He gestured to the corridor.

She waved a goodbye. "Thank you... I'll definitely let you know."

After that night with Steve, Penelope thought it was always going to be hard when she ran into Steve, though maybe it wasn't going to be as bad as she thought. He was a decent man, looking out for the interest of others. It wouldn't hurt to get to know him more.