Disclaimer: I own nothing!
A/N: I'm so sorry this took so long but I had one of the worst cases of writers block. I couldn't decide how I wanted this chapter to end and I finally was able to finish it. I've started writing chapter 5 already and I know how the story is ultimately going to end but I need a lot of help! When you're done reading this chapter could you pretty please give me an idea on what you guys want to see happen in the story? I want to thank everyone who left me reviews on who they shipped together because I have a consensus on who will end up with Steve.
Steve's head snapped up. The team was slacked jawed.
"Nick this better not be some sick joke." Natasha glared menacingly at the former director.
Peggy saw a beautiful young lady in his arms. She glared at the red haired woman. Then there was an African-American man with his mouth open. Another man, about forty years old with an arrow in his fingers blinked rapidly. There was a man dressed in a lab coat with glasses on and with an amazed expression on his face. A man that looked like a carbon copy of Howard Stark stood there with a scared look on his face. That had to be Tony. Then a massive man with long blonde hair stood next to Tony looking quite confused. A strawberry blonde woman stood next to him with eyes wide open. Then there was Bucky, standing with his eyes wide and mouth opened. "Bucky, close your mouth, it'll make you look smarter."
"Peggy?" Steve asked in wonder while getting up from the couch. "It's really you?"
She nodded slowly, "Yes Steve, it's really me."
He walked up to her and laughed, embracing her in an enormous hug. She sighed and breathed in his scent. They stood there for a little while until Steve finally let go but keeping her at arm's length.
"What—how?" he asked.
"It's a long story," she replied. "But I thought you were dead."
"We can talk about it later. Right now we need to get you settled." Tony interrupted.
"Of course," Peggy smiled. "You must be Tony."
"Yes I am,"
"I figured, you look just like Howard."
"I get that a lot," Tony said. "It's nice to see you Aunt Peg."
Peggy's eyes widen, "Excuse me?"
"Sorry, that's what I used to call you…" he trailed off.
Peggy smiled, "It's alright."
"Peggy?" she heard her name said .
She was greeted by a warm embrace from Bucky. He held her tightly and smiled greatly. He led her over to the team and started to introduce them.
Peggy shook hands with everyone and exchanged warm smiles and greetings to this new group. When she got to Natasha, she tensed. This was the woman that Steve looked very comfortable with.
"Agent Carter, it's nice to meet you," Natasha greeted, face stoic. "I've heard quite a lot about you."
"As have I," she replied. "I've heard about your work and some of your past. It's quite fascinating. After everything, you still managed to be Fury's star pupil. And please, call me Peggy."
"Yes, I have a lot of red in my ledger and I'm always trying to wipe it out. Call me Natasha, there's no need for formalities."
The two women stared at each other for a while before Tony decided to interfere.
"How about we show you to your room Peggy?"
Natasha breathed out in a sigh of as the team began to disperse from the communal area. She stood up rigid, staring out the window at the city trying to process everything that had just happened in the last half hour. Aliens from different realms, brainwashed best friends, whole organizations hibernating within other organizations, people dying and coming back to life, super heroes from the 1940s being frozen and woken up in present day, a man creating the flying suit of armor in a cave, a man turning into a angry, green rage monster, Clint Barton getting married and having children, and hell even herself falling in love she could believe. So she didn't know why it was so hard to process that Steve's first love had been cloned, frozen, and kept in an ice box for 60 years while her clone lived the life that she was supposed to have. Maybe it was because cloning humans was theoretically possible but medically impossible in present time. Maybe it was because freaking Howard Stark had accomplished it in the late 1940s. She didn't know why she was surprised. No idea really. The spy had seen enough in her life to think that nothing could ever surprise her again. She was always prepared but this time, that didn't seem to be the case. Just when life seemed to be getting better, the big man up in the sky decided to throw yet another hurdle at her. As Natasha contemplated the possibility of it being a consequence for one of her many crimes, she felt a presence behind her.
"You know, for someone who's an expert at creating covers and putting on masks and playing multiple characters, you really suck at hiding your 'secret' relationship"
"What if I wasn't trying to hide it?" she replied.
"So you're admitting it, you have a thing with Steve."
There was a strange gap of silence between the assassins. "Yes we had something."
"You said 'had' as if what you two have is something of the past." The archer noted.
"Well after this, it definitely could be."
"Come on, Nat. You don't really think that he would just leave you like that for this woman. Yeah she's beautiful and seems pretty bad-ass but I think you are so much cooler."
"Oh shut up Clint, you're completely biased."
"No I'm not," he argued. "Siblings are always trying to make the other ones feel inferior. Trust me; they never say nice things unless they truly mean it. You're like my sister, and you know I don't go handing out compliments unless I really mean it."
Natasha's lips quirked up into what could be called a half smile, "I'm just having trouble processing things right now."
"Really, Romanoff," the archer scoffed. "We've seen so much shit go down recently that Cap's old flame arriving here in her young and youthful state should be the least surprising thing."
She sighed, "You know, sometimes I wish I had Laura here instead of you."
"That hurt," Clint whined half-jokingly. "I've known you for what, ten, twelve years now?"
"Eleven," Natasha corrected.
"Whatever, a long time." He waved flippantly. "I've never known you to give up anything you've ever want. When you find it, you spin your web around it tightly and use your stubbornness to make sure you never let it go. But I also know that you will do whatever it takes to do the right thing. Sometimes what you want and what's right go together. At others, they could be on completely opposite sides of the spectrum. Still, I know that what you want more than anything in the world is to make things right. Just make sure that when you make that decision, keep in mind what's right for you too. It's okay to be selfish with love."
Steve sat down on his bed after accompanying Pepper and Tony for Peggy's grand tour of the tower. There was no way this could be possible. He had seen Peggy in the nursing home just last week. She was alive but fading fast. But how could this surprise him? The definition between what was reality and what was fiction had become nonexistent at this point. Peggy is here. She's young. She's my Peggy from the past. She had been frozen for years like I was. She's real. This isn't a dream. And that was the most difficult part to digest. This wasn't a dream. But it wasn't real life either. Things like these did not happen in real life. This was not a fantasy. This had become a nightmare.
It seemed irrational that having Peggy was a nightmare but it was. He was afraid. Afraid of losing her again. Afraid of waking up to world where she doesn't exist. But it wasn't just the fear of not having her that was tormenting him. It was the fear of having her. It was the fear of her destroying everything he worked so hard for. But it wasn't just Peggy he was afraid of. He was afraid of Natasha. No, he was afraid for Natasha. They'd been getting so close. They'd been dating in secret for about 4 months now. What are we kidding, everyone probably knows. He had finally found solace in his life. He was healing. She was healing. They were growing and falling for each other more and more after every bit of time that they spent together. And he wasn't going to hurt her. He was confused and would not throw everything away just because Peggy had marched into his life. Sure, he still loved her. Peggy was his first love. But, did he love Natasha? Of course he did. He had loved her long before the night after a long mission when they decided to stop dancing around each other and stop ignoring their feelings for each other. But who am I willing to lose?
Seconds later, he was snapped out of his reverie by a velvety voice. "It's ok,"
"Natasha," he whispered
She walked up to him and wrapped her arms around his midsection. "I know how much you love her. I know that you thought she was gone and you chose me to be your second best and that's okay. I've always known that you'd never love me as much as you love her. I always knew I would have to compete with her, but I only thought I had to compete with her memory. Yeah she gave me her blessing that day but it wasn't even her. I can't use that as permission to be with you. You still belong to her. She never gave you up, Steve. Peggy is beautiful, radiant, and good. She is so much better than me. That's who you need Steve. That's who you deserve. And if seeing you happy means that I can't be with you, so be it. Just know that you are the only man I really ever loved."
Steve stood there awestruck. She said loved. Her words were so endearing and so selfless and he had no idea how he could've ever thought to leave her. "Nat, I'm not leaving you."
"What?"
"Yes Peggy is here but, I can't just throw away everything we have."
"And I won't let you throw away your life to be with me when the perfect girl, your right partner, is standing a few floors above us." She replied. "Take her on a date. Go dancing. You know how now."
He stared into her eyes for a long time, gaze unwavering. She's not kidding. They stood straight, neither backing down on their preposition.
"Peggy is your best girl. You only don't want to leave me because you don't want to feel guilty. But I insist, I can't let you give up this opportunity. Peggy is a hundred times better than I am. She's England and you're America. The perfect allies. You complement each other. She grounds you, Steve. She can give you happiness, love, hope. She can tie you to your past. She can understand you in ways that I won't ever be able to understand you. You need her Steve. She holds a place in your heart that I can never capture." Natasha squeezed his hand as she walked away, eyes filled with unshed tears. "If you can't hear me out then let's compromise. We'll be together but it'll be an open relationship. That way you can see if you'll end up choosing Peggy or me. And that way, I can begin preparing myself to move on if necessary."
Steve stood in place, shocked at her words. "But, Tasha, you're my girlfriend, and I know you hate titles but that is the simple truth. I would be a very good boyfriend if I took another gal out on a date, no matter if my girlfriend gave me permission to. This isn't a game."
"Exactly Steve," she said. "That's why I want you to have the ability to make that choice. Just take her dancing, that's all I'm asking. You never got to experience what we have with Peggy. Yeah, I don't wanna lose you but, what if you're making a huge mistake? What if I'm not the right partner? You'll never know if you don't give yourself the chance to find out."
"Why are you doing this?"
"Because it's the right thing to do."
What do you wanna see happen next? Drama? Action? Romance? Friendship?