Asia stretched her fingers up, catching at the wind as Steve manoeuvred his bike through the traffic thronging 14th Street. When they pulled to a halt she pulled the bothersome helmet from her hair and shook it out, grumbling about the temperature in Washington DC. The Smithsonian, well the part of it they were visiting stood in front of them, the only reason Asia knew where to go was because she had seen Night at the Museum, and with a curl of her finger, she and Steve walked into the Air and Space Department. Asia knocked the sunglasses on her head to perch on her nose, today's disguises required no one to look very hard at the too. Once they reached the Captain America section, Asia gave Steve some space and went around the museum as a regular tourist.
"A symbol to the nation. A hero to the world. The story of Captain America is one of honor, bravery and sacrifice." She listened to the narrator with a slight smirk, little Stevie seemed to be quite the example setter.
"Denied enlistment due to poor health, Steven Rogers was chosen for a program unique in the annals of American warfare. One that would transform him into the world's first super soldier."
Asia snorted and paced back over to Steve. A small boy and Steve were having a stare off and Asia raised her finger to her lips, indicating for the troublesome child to hold his tongue. Steve watched the footage of himself with a sadness that was tangible and made Asia pity him. Goddammit did she hate pitying someone. Steve didn't need her pity, fuck, he needed her support.
"In this rare footage, everyone's favourite warrior, Captain America..." Asia nudged him with a less than sly wink and Steve walked over to a bunch of mannequins to avoid her gaze. The narrator continued.
"Battle tested, Captain America and his Howling Commandos quickly earned their stripes. Their mission, taking down HYDRA, the Nazi rogue science division." Asia's eyes found Steve, staring sadly at a display dedicated to a dark haired man.
"Best friends since childhood, Bucky Barnes and Steven Rogers were inseparable on both school yard and battlefield. Barnes is the only Howling commando to give his life in service of his country." Asia touched his elbow.
"You miss him." Steve nodded sadly and moved over to the unit about Peggy Carter as Asia looked over the files about Bucky Barnes. He was gorgeous, dark hair and very blue eyes, if Steve was hot well damn his best friend was smoking. Asia kept such thoughts to herself though, as she was aware of how much Steve missed his old life and friends. He may have her now, but you could only do so much to replace old friends. She listened in on an interview with Peggy Carter, a beautiful woman who Asia would place bets on having a thing with Steve.
"That was a difficult winter. A blizzard had trapped half our battalion behind the German line. Steve...Captain Rogers, he fought his way through a HYDRA blockade that had pinned our allies down for months. He saved over a thousand men, including the man who would...who would become my husband as it turned out. Even after he died, Steve was still changing my life." Asia felt sadness well in her throat, it was clear as day they had had something.
"Asia. I have to do something. Think you can stay out of trouble for a couple of hours. Go visit Sam or something." Steve sounded like he really needed to do whatever he was about to do, and she nodded, grinning easily. "Sure thing Stevie. Remember, we are having sushi tonight!" Steve smiled warmly and then with a wave, he turned and strode out of the exhibit. Asia did not go to Sam's immediately. She headed to the small flat she used only on occasions such as these and gave Wade Wilson a call before forwarding Steve a text about a PTSD support night she had decided they would attend and then arranged to get donuts with Sam Wilson. Staying out of trouble indeed.
"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." Asia bit her lip as a reminder to herself to keep her mouth shut. They had arrived late to the support evening, as sushi had distracted her and she had forgotten the time. Sam, who stood up the front, nodded out at all the veterans and Asia.
"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." Asia wanted to cheer when it had finished, it was all so sad and made her feel guilty and she hated that she couldn't help Steve, who had his serious face on.
Sam headed over to them at the end of the meeting.
"Look who it is. The running man." Asia butted in.
"And donut girl!" Sam gave her a smile before focussing on Steve.
"Caught the last few minutes. It's pretty intense." Sam nodded.
"Yeah, brother, we all got the same problems. Guilt, regret." Asia flinched but it was Steve that asked.
"You lose someone?" Sam's face was impassive.
"My wingman, Riley. Fly in the night mission. A 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." Steve murmured.
"After that, I had really hard time finding a reason for being over there, you know?" Steve inclined his head.
"But you're happy now, back in the world?" Sam nodded.
"Hey, the number of people giving me orders is down to about zero. So, hell, yeah. You thinking about getting out?" Asia high-fived him with a grin but Steve shook his head.
"No. I don't know. To be honest, I don't know what I would do with myself if I did." Sam blinked.
"Ultimate fighting? 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?" Steve muttered.
"I don't know." At the same time as Asia said.
"Me!" And Sam grinned.
"See ya guys, have a nice week." They nodded and headed back to Steve's place, that Asia stayed at pretty much full time. Their neighbour, who Asia had yet to tell Steve was an undercover S.H.I.E.L.D agent, Sharon was on the phone.
"That's so sweet. That is so nice. Hey. I gotta go, though. Okay, bye." When she saw the duo.
"My aunt, she's kind of an insomniac." Asia rolled her eyes, then Steve seemed to see she was doing washing.
"Hey, if you want...if you want, you're welcome to use my machine. Might be cheaper than the one in the basement." Asia scoffed and Steve knocked her sharply.
"Oh, yeah? What's it cost?" Sharon asked, smiling,
"A cup of coffee?" There was a shyness to Steve's voice and if Asia was so busy glaring at the bruise forming on her arm, she would have made googoo eyes at Steve.
"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." Asia's eyebrows shot up, bitch this is Captain America, if he flirts with you, you drop your panties.
"Ah, well, I'll keep my distance." Steve sounded a little saddened by the reaction and Asia gave Sharon a nasty look.
"Well hopefully not too far. Oh, and I think you left your stereo on." Sharon added as the two turned away from her, Asia muttering about setting Sharon's hair on fire.
"Right, thank you." Steve said, pushing Asia in front of him so that Sharon would not hear the vulgarity coming from the 5"6 girl. Steve entered the apartment after Asia, the music on making him nervous enough to grab his shield.
"I don't remember giving him a key." Asia said from the living room and Steve walked to join her.
Nick Fury sat on the couch in the dark.
"You really think I'd need one? My wife kicked me out." Steve blinked, he didn't know what to think.
"Didn't know you were married." Nick chuckled but there was something off about him. Asia moved towards the light as Nick spoke.
"There are a lot of things you don't about me." Steve shook his head.
"I know, Nick. That's the problem." The lights came on and both had to stifle gasps at they saw Nick's injuries for the first time. Nick typed something on his phone and showed them quickly.
'Ears everywhere.'
"I'm sorry to have do this, but I had no place else to crash." Asia laughed coolly as Nick wrote 'SHIELD compromised' on his phone. Asia muttered a curse word that made Steve glare at her.
"Who else knows about your wife?" Fury wrote back.
'You two and me." Nick sighed.
"Just...my friends." Steve raised his brows.
"Is that what we are?" Nick nodded.
"That's up to you." Suddenly there was a cascade of bullets and Asia screamed as Fury collapsed. Steve ran to him, whilst Asia went for the window. She turned to see Fury handing Steve a flash drive.
"Don't trust anyone." There was someone trying to into the apartment, and when they succeeded, Asia grabbed her knife.
"Captain Rogers? Asia Silver?" They saw Sharon from next door come in, Asia relaxed and lowered her knife.
"Captain, I'm Agent 13 of SHIELD's Special Service." Steve blinked, confused.
"I'm assigned to protect you. You already had Asia with you, so we knew you two would be fine but Asia tends to be unpredictable." Asia bared her teeth and Steve rested a calming hand on her arm, he hadn't lowered his shield.
"On whose order?" Sharon glanced down to the director.
"His." She knelt down beside Fury and radioed in.
"Foxtrot is down, he's unresponsive. I need EMTs." An agent replied instantly.
"Do you have a twenty on the shooter?" Asia and Steve both looked out and then they saw him, masked and all black, a hulking form.
"Tell them I'm in pursuit." Steve smashed through the window, and with a dramatic groan, Asia threw herself after Steve as they ran after the assassin.
"I hate running!" Asia yelled as she dodged a line and rolled beneath another. Steve shook his head.
"This is why we run in the morning!"
They caught the assassin on the next roof, Steve hurling his shield at the man, who effortlessly caught it. Asia's eyes widened.
"Holy shit, Steve he just caught your Frisbee!" Then she focussed on the assassin who suddenly hurled the shield back at her. Asia yowled like a cat and dropped, Steve grabbing the shield as it whizzed over her and quickly scooped up a shaky Asia as the assassin vanished over the side of the building.
Natasha entered the room that Steve and Asia had been waiting outside of for hours.
"Is he gonna make it?" She flung an arm around Asia's shoulders, the smaller girl glaring up at her.
"What, no hello?" Nat rolled her eyes but focussed on Steve instead.
"I don't know." Nat addressed both of them.
"Tell me about the shooter." Steve blinked.
"He's fast and strong. He had a metal arm." Agent Hill strode in, nodding at Asia and Steve.
"Ballistics?" Maria nodded.
"Three slugs. No rifling and completely untraceable."
Asia made an ugly noise.
"Fuck." Two disapproving looks were sent her way but Nat sent her a sly look.
"Soviet made?" Maria nodded and turned to Asia.
"Ms Silver-" Asia shook her head.
"Just Asia, you've known me for two years." Maria swallowed and smiled thinly.
"We were wondering, well I was, I know of your history and I know you have access to obscure ways to track things that S.H.I.E.L.D has yet to use, do you mind?" Asia nodded.
"Sure, I'll get stop by later and begin running my codes." They were all distracted suddenly by the doctor yelling.
"He's dropping." A nurse moved around the bed.
"Crash cart coming in." Another doctor turned to her as the faces of the four watching dropped into expressions of sadness.
"Nurse, help me with the gauzes, please. BP is dropping. Defibrillator!" Asia muffled a cry as Fury flatlined.
"Charge to one hundred." The doctor ordered. Natasha pressed her fists to her mouth.
"Don't do this to me, Nick." Another doctor paced over.
"Stand back! Three, two, one. Clear!" They administered a shock with the defibrillator.
"Pulse?" The second doctor yelled.
"No pulse." The first called.
"Okay. Charge to two hundred, please. Stand back! Three, two, one. Clear!" They shocked him again.
"Give me epinephrine! Pulse?" The second doctor called again.
"Negative." The first spoke.
"Don't do this to me, Nick. Don't do this to me." Natasha whispered as the watched them continue to try to revive him. Steve turned away and Asia breathed out as they called his time of death.
"What's the time?" The doctor said softly.
"1:03, Doctor." The nurse spoke hastily.
"Time of death, 1:03 A.M." The others filed in, complete silence hanging over them like a cloud. Even Asia was silent, her body still and her eyes downcast.
"We need to take him." Hill hissed. Steve headed over to Nat.
"Natasha." There was no response but she touched Fury's head tenderly before turning and striding out.
"Natasha!" He called after her.
"Why was Fury in your apartment?"
Steve shook his head, glancing back at Asia, who was talking quickly with Hill.
"I don't know." Rumlow hurried up them, interrupting them.
"Captain, they want you back at SHIELD." Steve waved him off.
"Yeah, give me a second." Rumlow shook his head.
"They want you now." Steve gave him a cold look.
"Okay." Steve turned to Nat.
"You're a terrible liar." She walked off as a S.H.I.E.L.D agent hurried up.
"STRIKE team escort Captain Rogers back to SHIELD immediately." Rumlow nodded.
"I told him."
Steve glanced at the vending machine behind him and then followed Rumlow.
"Let's go." Rumlow inclined his head.
"Yeah. STRIKE, move it out." Steve slipped the flash drive into the vending machine, catching Asia's eyes as he did. He saw her nod and then her eyes flicked back to Hill.
Asia made her way down with Hill to the secured lab room on one of S.H.I.E.L.D's many outpost labs. This lab was more of less deserted, there were no people in her immediate sight. Maria turned to Asia, smiling thinly. Asia liked Hill well enough, she didn't have much of a sense of humour but she had always been lovely to Asia and that, in Asia's mind was what mattered.
"So, you're going to be here alone, because at the moment, S.H.I.E.L.D has been compromised, and because I trust you and it seems Fury did and Cap does, I'm giving you the heads up. Everything and everyone is not as they seem. You and Cap have been out of the loop, which is better, but I need you to be careful."
Asia nodded, slipping her laptop from her bag and flipping it open, already humming away, as Hill handed her the folder which she flipped through quickly, before spreading the files out on a comfortable part of the floor. She lowered herself as elegantly as possible in her chunky boots and sat cross-legged on the floor. Maria quirked her mouth a little.
"I'll leave you here then. It may take a while, so I'll come by in a day or two, promise me you will get some sleep this time?" Asia grinned at her, nodding but to herself, she muttered.
"Not fucking likely sweetheart." And with Hill's departure, she was free to blast what ever kind of music she wanted. And goddamn if she didn't need to catch up on some Sia, 1000 Forms of Fear sounded a little ironic now, but Asia reckoned she needed a bit of ironic.