It had been days since Steve's first Shield mission, and once they had arrived back at their apartment building, Camryn hadn't spoken a single word to the man. She was being petty, she knew that, but she also didn't care too much. She needed time to come to terms with the situation before she could hold a conversation with Steve, which unfortunately left the poor man in the dark.

Ever since the mission, Steve had been left wondering what he had done to anger Camryn so much. He hadn't meant to, and it was discouraging to him as he felt like he had already lost the only person he had really connected with in the twenty-first century.

Deep down he knew he wasn't at fault, and after replaying everyone of their conversations he knew there was nothing he had done to make her mad, but he couldn't help but feel guilty.

He was smart enough to know though that he had to wait for Camryn to make the first move. He had stopped attempting to make contact with her after the first day of radio silence, and after some convincing, he knew she ultimately had to apologize to him for her behavior.

He just had to be patient, which was luckily one of his strong suits when it came to women. He just hoped Camryn didn't leave him hanging.

It was another two long days before there was a knock on his door, and Steve knew there was no one else it could be. His super soldier hearing may have aided him as well.

"Hey," she said softly when he opened the door. "Look, I think we have a few things we need to talk about. Mind if I come in?"

"Depends. Are you going to tell me what's going on? Or are you going to continue to ice me out? Because trust me, I've had enough ice to last me a lifetime." He said, opening the door wider for her to step inside.

"I'm here to talk." She assured him, laughing nervously. "I owe you an explanation anyhows, so yeah…"

Camryn had never been great at apologizing. Even if she was younger she would do everything to avoid it. She hated being wrong, especially if it was her sister outsmarting her.

But Steve wasn't her sister, and she knew he hadn't intentionally done anything. He didn't do anything to deserve her silent treatment, and she wasn't that same little girl anymore.

"I'm not mad at you specifically, I promise." She started out. "I'm more frustrated with the situation, and quite honestly, Fury."

Steve took a seat on his couch and motioned for her to join him, deciding to stay quiet for the time being. He would see what she had to say first.

"Ever since I was a kid I've kinda been outshined by my siblings. My sister was the super smart one, my older brother was the athletic one, and Chris… he was just everyone's favorite. He just kind of had this air about him that made everyone love him. Me? Not so much." She sighed. "My entire life I've had to work really hard to get my fair share, to get where I am today. I joined Shield when I was thirteen, and I have fought every day to get where I am."

She paused, taking a breath.

"When I found out you were just… handed your position, it hurt, and I don't like showing it, so it makes me mad. And I have no right to be mad. No right to be upset, because you weren't just handed it. Not really. You went through all your own stuff to get where you are too…"

"But in the heat of the moment it seemed like I didn't deserve what I got?" Steve finished for her. "Camryn, I never meant to undermine you, or try to outshine you or anything."

"I know, I know. And that's why it's stupid, and why I'm apologizing." She said. "I'm sorry for getting mad. I'm sorry for not being as professional as I should have on the mission, and I'm sorry for treating you horribly these last couple of days. Will you forgive me?"

"Of course, doll. Thank you for apologizing. And I knew you were never mad at me." He said.

"Doll?" She asked before she could stop herself.

Steve's cheeks flushed when he realized what he had said. It had just slipped out without him even noticing.

"Uh, yeah. It's a 40s thing. Sorry," He apologized quickly. He just hoped she didn't ask any more questions. He really didn't want to explain the meaning behind it and embarrass himself further by having to tell her he called her beautiful.

"Okay then…" She said, sensing his reluctance to talk anymore about it. She'd worry about it later. "Look… I want to make it up to you."

"Camryn, it's really alright. You don't have to." He said, shaking his head.

"But I want to. Just hear me out. I know there have been a few things you have wanted to do, so I was thinking maybe we could go out for the day and do them?" She suggested.

Steve was about to answer when his watch buzzed, and he frowned, looking down at it. This time it wasn't a mission briefing, it was just a normal summons to headquarters.

"Oh… it looks like I have to go." He said softly, glancing up at Camryn. "I'm sorry. Another time, okay?"

"Yeah, okay. It's okay. I promise I understand." She replied. Sure she was a bit disappointed, but she wouldn't say anything. He had to work. "I'll just leave you to get ready. Make sure you have an overnight bag. There's no telling what they want you to do."

"Yeah, thanks for the advice, Cami. I'll see you later." He said, walking her out the door.

"See you later." She said before heading upstairs to her apartment.

Camryn expected she wouldn't see Steve for a few days, but what she didn't expect was to get a similar message that he had only an hour after he had left. Despite her confusion, she quickly got ready, going through her normal rituals of writing Emma a note, saying goodbye to her cat, and double-checking her packing list before heading out the door.

When she got to Shield, Steve was waiting for her with a sheepish expression on his face.

"I hope you didn't have any plans." He said. "They wanted me to lead a security detail in Washington and I requested you to be on my team."

Camryn looked at him in surprise. "Really? Even after what happened on the last mission?" She asked.

He nodded. "You apologized, and we still got the mission completed. I think we actually make a pretty good team. If you're ready to go I can explain the mission to you on the way to DC."

She nodded in understanding before following him to the Quinjet that would take them.

"There is a very important Gala happening tomorrow evening. Apparently, they wanted me on the detail." Steve explained. "Fury said there have been multiple threats against the event already which is why he wanted the best of the best… and why I chose you."

"So the entire mission is just basically a protevtive detail? Keeping an eye out for anything strange?" She clarified as they sat down and strapped in.

"Yes. Exactly. We'll get to DC soon, and we'll have the rest of the day to do whatever we want. They have us a hotel." Steve explained. Really they had gotten him a hotel, but he wasn't making Camryn sleep in the Shield barracks. That would just be mean. "Then tomorrow we get to work with the security detail. It'll be mostly Shield agents, but we have to touch base with personal bodyguards."

"And we only have the day of the gala to plan this? Seems a bit ridiculous." She said, shaking her head.

"It's mostly planned, we are just supposed to look over it and make changes as we deem necessary." Steve explained.

"That makes more sense." She agreed, nodding her head as they took off.

The ride was cut in half thanks to the speed of the Quinjet, putting them landing only two hours later. Camryn wasn't upset about that. Flying wasn't her favorite thing after the jet crashed in New York.

Camryn sighed, grabbing her bag as they headed off and into the DC headquarters. "Okay, where's this hotel?" She asked curiously, glancing at Steve. "Wait… actually, can we make a detour?"

Steve frowned as he glanced at her. "What kind of detour?" He asked curiously as he got in the driver's seat of the car they were being lent for the trip.

"The Air and Space Museum?" She suggested sweetly.

Steve made a face of confusion before nodding. "Okay. I don't see why not. Let's check into the hotel first and set down our stuff and then we can go." He decided.

Camryn nodded, letting him take the lead and drive them to their hotel. She was worried her plan could end horribly, that she could upset Steve and leave him unable to go on the mission, but she hoped that wouldn't be the case. She was well aware that Steve didn't even know the extent of what lied in the Air and Space Museum, but she was sure he would be surprised, regardless of if it was a positive or negative reaction.

When they checked into their hotel, Camryn groaned when she saw the single bed. She looked at Steve, crossing her arms over her chest sternly.

"You were the only one who was supposed to stay in the hotel, weren't you?" She asked. After all, they were in the nicest room in the hotel. And she knew they would have had two beds if they planned for her to be there.

Steve's expression was sheepish as he rubbed his neck. "Maybe." He said, glancing away from her gaze. He couldn't bring himself to lie to her. "It's okay. I can take the couch. You can sleep in the bed." He assured her. He didn't want her to be uncomfortable by sharing a bed with him. In all honesty, he wasn't sure he was ready for that either.

"No, no. We're both adults. We can handle it. Right?" She pointed out, setting her bag down. "Now come on. We wanna have time at the museum."

The museum was packed full of people, and Steve had decided to go with an incognito look. Even without the Captain America exhibit, he was so easily recognized. Being a celebrity was exhausting, and he had no desire to deal with the possible swarms of people.

Once through security, Camryn was on a woman on a mission, grabbing his hand and leading him along. Steve didn't understand what was happening, his brow furrowed in confusion.

"Cami, why aren't we looking at anything?" He asked her, hyper-aware of how her hand fit into his. The minimalist of contact seemed to get him all flustered, and his cheeks had a nearly undetectable tint of pink on them. She made him nervous in a way he wasn't used to.

"Because we are going to an incredibly specific exhibit." She told him, hoping so far he hadn't seen the influx in children wearing Captain America merchandise. "Close your eyes."

Steve wasn't sure what made him follow the command so easily, but he knew he trusted Camryn. It was why he had picked her to go on the mission after all. In a short period of time after waking up, she was the only one who had made a real effort to help him, and with that came a build up of trust, something that seemed to be a luxury in Steve's eyes.

They continued walking for a few more paces before Camryn stopped him, saying a quiet 'you can open them' he was sure he would have missed had it not been for his enhanced hearing. She was nervous. But why? He wondered.

He opened his eyes slowly and saw something that surprised him. Plastered all over the walls was him. There was a graphic on one wall of him when he was skinny and weak, only for it to fade and show him after he received the serum. He heard a narrator a moment later, beginning to tell a story — his story specifically.

"Are you okay?" Camryn asked after a moment, seeing his shell shocked expression.

"Uh… Uh… Y–Yeah. But," he took a breath. "What is all of this?"

"It's you." Camryn said simply, wringing her fingers together. "It's about your life. Both before and after you became Captain America. You were the world's first superhero. An American icon. Of course they had to honor you in some way."

Steve moved forward, looking around. His hands had begun to shake slightly, his heart rate increasing. An entire exhibit of him. It just didn't make sense. When he saw the exhibit on Bucky, his heart seemed to stop and he was overwhelmed with emotion.

"There's a part about Agent Carter too, later on in the exhibit." Camryn said gently. It was common knowledge in the twenty-first century the two had feelings for one another, so Camryn was trying to ensure she was being tactful.

"Peggy?" He asked brokenly.

It was the most raw emotion Camryn had ever seen from him. She took a step closer, lacing her fingers through his and hugging his arm.

"Do you want to go through? Or would you rather just go back to the hotel?" She asked. The question was meant to gauge his mental state, and to show him she would support him in whatever choice he decided to make. She didn't want him to think he was obligated to go through.

"Hotel." He admitted after a moment. He wasn't ready for this. It seemed like such a big step. Even if all it was was seeing his early life and his accomplishments. But there was something uncomfortable about it too, everything talking about him like he was dead.

He should have been, he knew that. But it seemed like there were bigger plans in store for him, ones already in play from the moment he went in the ice. He was never supposed to die, even if he wished he had.

"Okay, let's go back to the hotel then." She agreed, squeezing his hand.

It felt like it had been forever since he had had someone so supportive of him. The last person he could remember was Peggy. Even after Bucky had died, Peggy did what she could to help him where he needed. Steve saw those qualities in Camryn and it made his heart warm a bit.

Maybe things weren't so bad after all. He hoped it meant he could get through it. After all, it seemed like Camryn might be all the support he needed.