Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel, Captain America, or Agents of SHIELD; much to my dismay. I do - however - own every movie and television show in the MCU, at least a dozen Captain America figurines, and a few Peggy Carter cosplays.


Chapter 9 - Here I Go Again

The weeks since Steve and Skye met flew by. What time they weren't on small SHIELD missions - Steve - or recruiting new Inhumans for the Secret Warrior squad - Skye - they tried to spend as much time together as possible.

Dinners in the base's dining hall, lunches together in Operations Building Commons, quick jaunts to their favorite coffee shop, and slow nights curled up on Skye's futon watching her Netflix queue.

Although, it definitely wasn't 'Netflix and Chill.' Steve made the mistake of calling their dates that once, and Hunter laughed so hard Steve thought he'd pass out. It was the fondue mistake all over again. Eventually, word got back to Skye about the phrasing he used, and no one had ever seen the good Captain blush like that. Fitz, Mac, and Hunter have bets going as to how many euphemisms will cause him to flush like that again.

The current count is twelve.

`No, their date nights are something Steve would never want to replace. He gets to cuddle his girl while she caught him up on television and movies he missed while he was frozen in time.

And speaking of Frozen, if Steve ever watched that movie again, it would be too soon. There was too much singing, inconsistencies, and make-believe animals for his liking. That's not to say he didn't like the other Disney movies that came out during his sleep stage, in fact he was a big fan of Meet the Robinsons. Lewis going forward in time and seeing all of this new technology reminded Steve of how he woke up and wasn't in the forties anymore.

Yes, things were much different than he was used to. When he crashed the plane into that ice, he was in the middle of a war with Nazi Germany, but when he woke up, that war was over, and another with Hydra was just beginning. It had been a long four years: the Chitauri invasion, the fall of SHIELD, Ultron running amok, and then Steve looking for Bucky in between all of those things.

But Bucky had finally been found, and Hydra had been driven back into the shadows of Hell in which they came, and now Steve had some down time that he hadn't had since before World War II.

With some of the down time, he really liked spending time with this new SHIELD. He liked learning espionage techniques from Morse and Hunter, and he really liked working with Fitz to create new gadgets to use out in the field. Although, he won't ever tell Fitz, but none of these new-fangled things work nearly as well as the ones Howard created almost a century ago. Working with Coulson this time was different, too. The lightness he once had - when he worked with Steve and the Avengers - was gone. Steve had never died before, so he's positive that the experience would definitely change a person, but there is a darkness that wasn't there before, and Steve is worried about Coulson's mental state because of it.

The rest of Steve's time is spent with Skye in one form or another. He really liked the dates they went on, but his favorite thing to do was to just sit and be with her. There was something about the girl that drew him in, captured his heart, and caused him to never want to let go of her.

She was a precious thing that he wanted to protect and save from the harsh realities of the world. But Skye was different; she was someone who could take care of herself, and would if, and when, the time called for it. Just like Peggy had always been.

Speaking of Peggy, Steve was on his way to Skye's suite so they could make their way to the new home Peggy just moved into. The last time Steve was in New York, Peggy was having one of her rare lucid days. She and Steve talked about several things, the new SHIELD, the new Avengers, and the new lady love in Steve's life.

When she found out that Steve was living in Virginia at the new SHIELD base, she made the decision to move closer to her friends. She had just made the move, and had a few days to settle in before calling Steve and demanding he bring himself and Skye to visit.

As soon as Steve got to Skye's apartment, she opened the door for him before he could even raise his fist to knock on it. The small smile she gave him caused him to chuckle because it was so innocent and full of both hope and apprehension. "I heard you bouncing down the hall." She raised up on her toes to give him a swift kiss on the lips before taking his hands into hers.

Steve glanced at her face and saw her worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. "You all set?" he asked her, looking down at her lithe form and noticing her dressy pants and nice shirt; not her normal attire, that's for sure.

"Yeah, I'm ready," she sighed and leaned her head on Steve's shoulder before mumbling into it.

"What's that? I couldn't hear you because you are talking to my clothing."

Skye raised her head and looked exasperatedly at Steve. "I'm nervous, okay? I've never met Peggy before, and I have heard all of these great things about her from Phil, and Jemma, and you. And I just want her to like me. I mean, not only am I dating her ex-boyfriend, but I'm a pretty high ranking official in the spy organization she created," she rambled. "I'm terrified, Steve. I don't want her to think that neither of you are in good hands."

Steve gathered her firmly into his arms, and squeezed gently. "Skye, you have nothing to worry about. I'm the one who should be worried." Steve joked with her," Knowing Peg, she'll be telling you all the stories she has about me from the War."

Skye looked up at Steve, and saw the honesty in his eyes. Honesty, and something else; something more. The intensity in his gaze caused her to look away from him, and sighed in acquiescence. Steve began to run her back, and he bowed his head and touched his forehead to hers. "I know she's going to love you, Skye. You're both strong, independent women, with a strong moral compass." He pecked her lips before continuing, "and as an added benefit, you both adore me."

Exasperated, Skye slapped at Steve's chest, and turned to walk down the corridor towards the stairs. As she walked down the hall, Steve could have sworn he heard her utter, "should have worn my boots today; the crap is piling up pretty high."

Yeah, Steve thought, Skye and Peggy will get along very well.


AN: I know, I know… It's been forever and a day since I last updated. But I have good news! I got a job! And it's one that keeps me pretty busy and challenged, so naturally, I love it. I just wanted to give you all this little snippet to show that I have not abandoned this story, and that I will see it through to completion… Just how long that will take, I don't know.

What I am aiming for is shorter chapters closer together instead of longer chapters weeks (or months) apart. So, here's a short chapter 9. I'm hoping I can get a short chapter 10 to you by this time next week, or the following. (Remember: new job is keeping me super busy in addition to my responsibilities to the blog I write and live tweet for.

As always, the credit for the original Trust Cap ficlet belongs to ozhawk. I just asked politely to continue on, and she said "yes." This chapter also has not been betaed, so any and all mistakes are mine, and I apologize profusely for them.

Again, I am super sorry for the lateness. But I'm hoping that now that I've got my schedule working well that I will be able to write more often.

Until next time, #TeamCap!