"Have you heard from Stark recently," Steve asked and Sharon shook her head no. "It's been way longer than I expected."

"Agreed," she nodded as she continued to fold laundry. "I did not expect to play house with you for the whole summer and then some. Morgan starts school in a few weeks."

"Do we have any idea where he is," he asked and again, Sharon shook her head no. "He's the worst."

"Agreed," she sighed. "That guy I had dinner with might have proved useful though. I sent the info to Stark and Banner, but I haven't heard back."

"Extremis or the serum?"

"Extremis. Someone got their hands on Maya Hansen's research and was trying to sell it. Naturally, everyone wanted to sell it to the Powerbroker because of the new super soldiers that got made," she said ruefully. "Anyway, he turned out to know the guy selling it and I bought it."

"The Powerbroker does have a soul," he teased and she threw a shirt at him. "Hopefully there was something in it."

"I skimmed it before sending it over. There was a section on how it can mutate and a study on the mutation. Let's hope that's what happened here."

"We might be out of here before we know it," Steve said, glancing at Sharon to see if she reacted. She just continued to fold the rest of the clothes, keeping her face neutral. Sharon had mixed feelings about everything that comes next when Tony comes back, she's been trying to not think about it but it seems she can't do that any more. She felt herself panicking and needed to leave when she saw how Steve was looking at her.

"I'm meeting Bucky for lunch, I'll be back later," she said suddenly, picking up the laundry basket to bring upstairs, leaving Steve confused.

"What did you tell Steve," Bucky asked as she sat down at the table in the restaurant they were meeting in. "I've got a million texts from him freaking out that I'm going to do something untoward and reminding me I'm a taken man."

"I told him we were meeting up for a threesome," she deadpanned and he rolled his eyes. "I said I was meeting you for lunch. Sorry he thinks that's code for sex."

"Yeah, he was never good about that," he shrugged.

"Doesn't help I kind of ran out of the house and left him with the laundry," she said and he laughed.

"So, how's it going?"

"It's going," she said. "I sent that study to them, hopefully it helps speeds things along."

"What's your next move," he asked. "Sounds like Stark may be coming back soon if that study helps."

"I don't know," she sighed. "I don't want to go back to Madripoor, but I don't have a place here."

"You can buy something."

"That's not what I meant," she said, throwing a fry at him. He caught it in his mouth with ease and smirked at her. "Everything just felt so temporary and then it became very real. I didn't plan for this."

"You have a job, you can stay with any one of us until you figure out where you want to live," he said and smiled at the exasperated look on her face. "Shar, your place has always been with all of us. Like it or not, we're your family."

"I know," she said, looking down at her plate.

"Is it Steve?"

"It's always Steve," she rolled her eyes. "I still really care about him. I just can't get it out of my head that he abandoned me for my aunt. He left all of us for Peggy fucking Carter. That's a hard blow to come back from, especially for me."

"It's shitty," Bucky said with a nod. "But you want to try again, I can tell. If you didn't you would have blown him off every time he tried to speak with you."

"I do, but I don't know if I can and that's the issue. We've been spending more time together and it reminds me of the smaller moments we had together on the run, when we had some downtime between running from someone trying to kill us and having sex. I feel myself closing off when he gets too close because I'm scared."

"I get it, but you can't live your life in fear anymore. You're safe now."

"Yeah, with you, with Natasha, with Sam. Steve's the one person who still can really hurt me. Haven't I been hurt enough?"

"Of course," he said sympathetically. "You just have to decide what's worth it. Do you want to give a life with Steve an actual chance or do you want to keep yourself hidden from everything, including potential happiness?"

"What if it doesn't work? It clearly didn't work the last time."

"Different circumstances now," he said with a shrug. "You're not on the run together, you're both law-abiding citizens who can be super boring together. He's finally pulled his head out of his ass and realized how good he has it here."

"Law-abiding," she snorted. "I don't know."

"I can't make the decision for you, and I'm obviously not trying to. I did tell Steve if he hurts you I'll go Winter Solider on his ass."

"That means a lot," she smiled.

"For what it's worth, I think you should give it one more shot. You want to know why I never really tried to pursue anything past what we were?"

"I'm not sure," she said warily.

"I could tell you weren't over Steve, no matter how many times you said you were. There would be moments when you'd look at me and go to say something, and I'd see the light disappear from your face and I knew you thought of something you really wanted to tell him and I wasn't him."

"Bucky," she said softly and he shook his head. "You were never a replacement for him."

"I know. We cared about each other in the ways we needed, and we still do. That's why I'm telling you this, because the way you lit up in those moments was everything. I see it when we talk now sometimes, but I see it so often when you're with him. Don't deny yourself that happiness because you're scared to get hurt. You won't need to pick up the pieces by yourself again if anything happens."

"I would have totally lost myself in Madripoor if it wasn't for you, I hope you know that," she said, grabbing his hand that was on the table. "But you're right, I missed him. I missed what we could have had, I still thought it was an option until I found out he left."

"He's back, so it's still an option," he reminded her and she sighed. "You just have to take the step."

"Promise you have my back when he hurts me again?"

"Always, but he won't," he reassured her. "So, you got the check today?"

"I hate you," she laughed as she pulled out her credit card. "It's on Stark."

"Now you tell me? I would have ordered so much more!"

When Sharon had gotten home, she saw a note on the counter from Steve letting her know he was dropping Morgan off by Sam's so she could have a sleepover with Natasha. She went upstairs to shower and think about what Bucky had said to her. Could she let Steve back in fully? She didn't know, but she knew she wanted to. She didn't know how much longer they had together, and she was scared they would go their separate ways and never speak of this time together again. They made real progress, and she felt that she was really getting to know him and she was letting him get to know the real Sharon.

She sighed as she turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. She heard the front door shut and figured he was back from dropping Morgan off. Sharon quickly towel dried her hair and changed into a shorts set before heading downstairs. She smiled to herself when she noticed Steve staring at her legs as she walked down the stairs toward him.

"Morgan and Nat partying all night?"

"Seems like the plan," he said, shaking himself out of his daze. "She's probably teaching her how to fight."

"No better person to learn from."

"How was lunch," he asked, not making eye contact with her.

"It was good, we haven't really caught up like that in a while. He was a perfect gentleman," she smirked at his blush, knowing he was outed.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

"So, can I cash in on that rain check," she asked as she held up a take-out menu. "Unless you have plans."

"No plans," he smiled brightly. "You sure this is how you want to spend a Saturday night?"

"Absolutely," she told him sincerely. "I'm thinking vegetable lo mein and dumplings are a must."

"Beef and broccoli too," he said and she nodded. "Remember your safe house in Bali?"

"I loved that place," she sighed. "I had to get rid of it when I moved to Madripoor."

"We were there for a week together I think," he said and she nodded again. "I think we ate every type of food the area had to offer."

"You can eat for like a family of twelve, Cap," she teased. "That was a good week."

"Just the two of us and not a threat in sight," he said.

"Until one did pop up and you had to go. I think that was one of the last times I saw you," she said, feeling herself close off again from the topic, but trying to fight it. "I really did enjoy those longer times we had together, it was nice to live in that fantasy for a while. The quicker visits were always a reminder of reality."

"I never wanted to leave during those longer stays."

"I never wanted you to leave," she told him honestly, before turning back to the menu. "A couple egg rolls sound good too right?"

"And two orders of kung pao chicken," he added, knowing the conversation was over - for now.

"It's a sin that it took you so long to watch these movies," Sharon said as they started the fifth Harry Potter movie.

"Sam tried to get me to watch them, but then Tony convinced me that Twilight was the must-see to enhance my pop culture knowledge," he said and she started laughing. "What I'd do to get those hours of my life back."

"At least he didn't get you to watch Fifty Shades of Grey."

"He tried," he said. "I didn't take the bait this time."

"Well, I'm glad to give you a proper moviecation," she said and he gave her a weird look. "Pitch Perfect will be next time."

"Next time," he asked hopefully and she blushed.

"Yeah, next time."

"Did you ever think of dating Bucky," Steve asked suddenly and Sharon felt herself still. "Sorry, I didn't mean to just blurt that out. You don't need to answer. I shouldn't have even asked, I'm sorry."

"No, it wasn't like between us," she said eventually. "I wasn't in a good place mentally just yet, so much was going on. Helping him and Sam felt like I was doing good work again, like I always planned to do with SHIELD. The two of us were able to do more covert ops together since we weren't flying around with red, white and blue wings. It just happened and then kept happening for a bit, until we decided to stop."

"I'm really in no position to feel like this, all things considered, but it bothers me."

"Of course it does, I had a thing with your best friend. You also left me to pursue a two-year relationship with my aunt, so I think we're even," she said. She wasn't going to apologize to him for this, she did nothing wrong.

"Fair enough," he said.

They continued to watch the movie in silence, albeit a more tense silence than usual. Steve was mentally berating himself for even bringing Bucky up. He had no right to feel jealous, he left them for Peggy, but he couldn't control it. He glanced over at Sharon who was focusing on the movie more so than usual, so he knew she was trying to stay normal for his sake. He sighed, feeling that he messed things up again.

"Nothing more ever happened with Bucky because he wasn't you," she said quietly, finally deciding to stop living in fear. "I wanted that life with you, not with anyone else."

"I wanted that life with you too," he said, his voice barely a whisper. Sharon thought she heard him wrong, but didn't want to question it. Instead of talking more, she shifted closer to him. She leaned into his side and rested her head on his chest. He grinned as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head, thinking how right this felt and how he hasn't felt this content in a very long time.

"Happy, why are you calling me at 2am," Steve said as he yawned, careful not to disturb Sharon as he got up. They had fallen asleep on the couch together watching a movie, and at some point she shifted so her head was resting on his lap.

"Tony's back. Whatever lead Sharon had that she gave to them panned out and Pepper's stabilized," Happy said, practically screaming into the phone out of happiness.

"That's amazing," Steve said, smiling to himself as he looked over at Sharon as she shifted and pouted in her sleep when she felt he wasn't there. "When is he coming?"

"Tomorrow night."

"Okay," Steve nodded. "Morgan is having a sleepover with Nat tonight, they'll drop her off in the morning and Sharon and I will start to move out."

Steve let out a sigh when he hung up with Happy, glancing back down at Sharon. He knew he should probably bring her up to bed and they should sleep separately, but this was their last night in this weird bubble they've been living in. Everyone's been calling me selfish, he thought to himself as he went back on the couch and back to their original sleeping positions. It wasn't the most comfortable for him, but the small smile on Sharon's face as she resettled on his lap was worth a million sore backs.