Hello everyone! So, another day, another chapter. We get to see a little more of Eve and Natasha together because their friendship is important to me too. I love Eve and Bucky, but Natasha's a close second. In the Avengers group anyway. There's also some talk about Peggy Carter and Sharon Carter, Steve's exes. Well, Peggy isn't exactly an ex, but yeah. Anyway, I hope you enjoy. Hang tight because there's more action coming!

When Eve walked into the bedroom, Steve's head immediately turned to find her, his eyes seeking hers out with deadly precision. He smiled at her as she held up the soup and she shook her head at him, moving to set the bowl on the bedside table to help him sit up. It was a stupid idea because he didn't bother to wait for her help, instead forcing himself upright with whatever strength he'd managed to accrue while she was making him lunch.

"You're supposed to be resting, remember?" she teased gently, brushing a hand over his forehead reflexively. He was slowly cooling down, the fever receding as his healing kicked in for real. It was reassuring and she let her lips quirk when he automatically leaned into her caress. He turned and pressed a kiss into her palm when she brushed her fingers down his cheek, knowing he enjoyed the feel of her cool fingers against his flushed skin.

"I am resting. That doesn't mean I need to sleep," he pointed out.

"You're full of shit," she accused, knowing that it was true. He just shrugged with his smile growing, obviously agreeing even if he wouldn't tell her so. Moving away, Eve grabbed the bowl she'd gotten him and handed it over, perching on the edge of the bed next to his hip. "Eat up, Captain Smartass. You need fuel to heal."

"That's a new one," he observed about her nickname, not seeming the least bit bothered. Then again, why would he be? It wasn't like she was being completely ridiculous with her nicknames for him. Most of them were incredibly spot-on, even Maria and Natasha had seemed impressed with her ability to sum him up in only one or two words.

"You deserved a new one after this last stunt. Honestly, I should never let you out again," Eve complained, shaking her head at him. He just took a bite of the soup, glancing down in surprise.

"This tastes exactly like…" he trailed off, eyes going far away. Eve let him have a moment to just remember. The memories weren't as far away for him and she let him have a moment to remember his old friends, his old life. A twinge of discomfort ran through her at the thought of the women he'd loved before, but she pushed it away. She couldn't live up to Peggy Carter or even Sharon Carter, but they were in the past and she got to share his present. That had to be enough.

"Dum Dum Dugan's. It's a family recipe that Mama Mags taught to me when I was nineteen. Nova and I were running around one holiday and she snagged me to teach me all the old family recipes. Elise knows them too. All the kids do," Eve explained softly, not wanting to interrupt whatever he was thinking. It didn't seem to work as he came back to himself and smiled at her again, this time the smile not quite meeting his eyes.

"Back in the day, Dum Dum was more likely to blow things up than cook," Steve informed her as if he hadn't gotten lost in his thoughts a moment ago. Lost in a past she wasn't a part of.

"I think that's where Nova gets the mechanics from. Sure, her dad's an engineer, but blowing things up is a habit she hasn't quite kicked yet," Eve shook off the part of her that wanted desperately to ask. About his past. About Peggy and Sharon and what had happened between them. Of course, she knew the story about Peggy from the files and the woman herself, but the story of Sharon was a vague rumor and what she'd pieced together from Steve after it happened and he'd almost gotten himself killed. All she knew was that Sharon had passed on information Steve had given her to the CIA, which she was currently working for. Eve knew that Steve had been upset, very upset. Heartbroken. It was the first time she'd seen him so devastated and she didn't want to see it again. But, God, she wanted to know if she measured up.

"Sounds like Nova's a handful," Steve offered.

"Definitely. But she's a good friend and she doesn't blow up anything overly important," Eve shrugged, used to Nova's propensity for pyrotechnics. One of the many reasons she wasn't allowed to mess with Eve's computers.

"Is there more of this?" Steve asked and Eve felt her jaw drop in surprise when she glanced in his bowl to see that the soup was almost gone already. His eyes were clearing of that look he got when he was thinking about the past and Eve knew it was safe to leave to get him another bowl full.

"Of course. I made enough to feed an army. Or, you know, you," she quipped, taking the bowl back. Steve smirked and rolled his eyes as she started for the door.

Starting into the hallway, Eve let her smile drop, wondering if she could ask Steve the questions that were suddenly burning in her mind. She wasn't stupid. He'd loved women before. There had been rumors he was going to ask Sharon to marry him. Okay, Natasha had perpetrated that rumor, but it was still valid. He might have been. They hadn't talked much about his relationship status while on missions and Eve hadn't pushed when he'd broken up with her. Anyone who'd read the files knew about Peggy's story, but Eve had gotten an account first hand and they weren't reassuring. Sure, only one kiss had been exchanged, and they weren't dating, but Peggy had loved Steve fiercely. For the rest of her life.

Living up to a legacy like that was damn near impossible, no matter that she was growing to realize her feelings for Steve ran deeper than she'd originally assumed. It was easy to be with him, to fall for him. He was the great American hero. But he was also an amazing man and that was probably more attractive than his superhero alter ego all together. Especially when he was so fiercely determined not to leave her.

"You okay?" Eve almost jumped when a voice interrupted her musing. Natasha was standing in the doorway of the apartment with an eyebrow raised. Her hair was red again, a bit darker than before and straightened out. The blonde was completely gone and it looked like she'd cut it a little, trimming the edges into something softer.

"Oh, yeah, sorry. I didn't see you," Eve forced a smile, but Natasha just frowned at her, following her into the kitchen.

"All right, now tell me the real problem," Natasha demanded firmly. Eve glanced in the direction of Steve's bedroom, wondering if he'd hear if she told Natasha her thoughts. It wasn't like Natasha would tell him, Natasha was a master secret keeper, even from her own team. And it wasn't Steve's fault she was being ridiculous.

"I just… Do you think Steve loved Sharon Carter?" Eve asked, glancing away from the woman and scooping some soup into the bowl.

"I don't know if it was love, but yeah, he liked her. They dated for over a year; of course he liked her," Natasha informed her and Eve fought a flinch. Sharon was everything Eve wasn't. Beautiful, strong, whole. She was a specialist and practically a superhero in her own right. Agent 13 was a legend in SHIELD. Eve had met her at family reunions with Nova as well. The Dugans brought in all the Howling Commando families and called them family reunions, so Eve was familiar with all the descendants, the ones that worked with SHIELD and those who went outside the agency. Sharon had been one of the few she hadn't really gotten along with, but that had more to do with the woman's willingness to lie at the drop of a hat than it had to do with anything about Steve. "I feel like that's not what the real question is here though. Just ask it; I won't judge you."

"I'm just being ridiculous," Eve hedged. Natasha might not judge her, but Eve was judging herself.

"It's not ridiculous. Just ask me. You know I'll be honest," Natasha reminded her. Eve frowned a little, unsure if she wanted honesty. The answer to her question was going to be painful.

"I shouldn't even be thinking about it. It's none of my business and, even if it was, it's something I should bring up to Steve. But he's sick and almost died and I can't…" Eve trailed off, sucking in a deep breath and setting Steve's bowl on the counter. She hadn't had the time to really break down and cry over what had happened. First there was the driving back to the Tower, Sam and Bucky on guard the entire time, then there was Steve being sick and refusing to let her go. Then there was finding groceries and checking on her own apartment, which had escaped any damage, thank god. Being in her own clothes again was immeasurably comforting, but she hadn't had a moment of rest to really let what happened sink in.

Natasha stepped forward and Eve almost jumped when the other woman pulled her into her arms, hugging her tightly. Eve froze, slowly wrapping her arms around Natasha as well, accepting her comfort for what it was.

"You've had a rough few days. Sometimes, being on the sidelines is worse than being there. Being marble is a terrible burden," Natasha informed her. Eve sighed and pulled back, wrapping her arms around herself.

"I'm not marble. I'm terrible with emotions and I've never had a serious boyfriend. I've never felt about anyone the way I feel about Steve. But he's Steve Rogers. He's Captain America. Not just the guy I like, but the guy America loves. He's had his great love. I don't… How can I measure up to that?" Eve knew her voice was getting higher and higher as she got more upset, but she couldn't stop it from pouring out. God, Natasha was a great interrogator.

"You're as much marble as I am. And I'll let you in on a little secret: Being strong involves feeling strongly too. That means everything you feel is so powerful, it can overwhelm you. I was honed to use anger, hate, and vengeance. You honed your own emotions," Natasha grabbed a bowl from the cupboard and got herself some soup as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Then again, she could make anything look like the most natural thing in the world. It was part of what made her such a good agent. "And if Steve ever makes you feel like you need to measure up to someone else, I'll personally kick his ass for you. No one should make you feel that way."

"He doesn't. I told you, it's me." Eve blinked hard to hold back the tears that threatened, knowing that it was no use to cry.

"Then I'll tell you. Steve liked Peggy Carter. A lot. He doesn't talk about it much, but he associates her with home. The time he should have lived in. Sharon was like a memory, a photo negative of Peggy. Just as strong, just as stubborn, but different in all the ways that really mattered. She put her job above him and he was heartbroken when he found out. He would have given her everything. But she chose the CIA over him and he broke it off with her. Not the other way around. Peggy's the love he lost, the one that slipped away while he was sleeping, and Sharon was the life he could have had. He put his dreams on her and that wasn't fair, that wasn't who she was. And then there's you."

Eve didn't even want to know what Natasha thought of her and Steve. Steve was everything she wasn't. Strong, capable, confident. He was wonderful and Eve was normal. Better organizational skills than most, but not remarkable like Natasha and definitely not like Steve himself.

"Hey, listen to me. I've never seen him look at a woman like he looks at you. And I've certainly never seen Barnes try to get to know one of Steve's girlfriends. Honestly. When Sharon walked into a room, Barnes used to walk out. With you, he actually makes an effort to get to know you, to be your friend. That means something, especially coming from someone like him." Natasha smiled and grabbed a spoon, waving it at Eve, who frowned at her. James being her friend had little to do with Steve now. In fact, James tended to come to her when Steve was elsewhere, too busy to focus on him. Most of their friendly moments had come when she was alone and James came to see her. She had a feeling he was aware she wasn't as cautious around him as the others. "Steve might not even know it yet, but he adores you. And it's different than when he was with Sharon. I saw them together. You're… You're that sickening couple everyone looks up to. Loving and easy going, like you've been together since you were sixteen. It's a good thing. You two together is a good thing."

"I want to ask him, but it will hurt him and I don't want to do that." It was the honest truth. She was desperate to know now that she was thinking about it more, but she wasn't about to ask. Not when it could hurt him. Peggy had hurt because he'd woken up and she'd already had her lifetime. She'd married, had a life, helped build SHIELD. Sharon had hurt because she'd willingly betrayed him. Eve didn't want to bring that pain up again, especially when he was sick.

"If you don't bring it up, it'll hurt you. And he'd want that less," Natasha pointed out. Eve sighed, picking up Steve's bowl. Talking to Natasha had helped a little. She didn't feel like crying anymore. But she hadn't answered all of Eve's questions, nor could she. The only way to get answers was to talk to Steve himself, and she wasn't going to do that tonight.

"I know. But not right now. After everything that's happened… Besides, it's too soon to start being crazy. It's been what? Five days?" Eve almost laughed at the absurdity. Five days and she was already going crazy, wondering if she was good enough. That had to be some kind of record.

"Go on. Go feed the man you're dating. I'll finish eating and clean up a little," Natasha waved her away and Eve sent her a grateful smile, breathing out a sigh of relief. Natasha wasn't pushing for any more information and Eve was finally back in the Tower. At least she hadn't failed Nova too in all of this.