The first place they hit was a mall.

"The first rule of going on the run is, don't run, walk," Natasha said as the two walked quite briskly

"If I run in these shoes, they're gonna fall off," Steve muttered back, adjusting the glasses Nat had gotten him.

Natasha turned and entered a Mac store where laptops were available. Natasha led him to one of the computers and Steve handed her the drive.

"The drive has a Level 6 homing program, so as soon as we boot up SHIELD will know exactly where we are."

"How much time do we have?"

"Uh...about nine minutes from..." she inserted the drive in the port, "Now."

Steve started looking around. He was almost dumb as rocks when it came to tech. He'd let Nat handle it so he could keep an eye around. After all, they were racing against the clock.

Natasha wasn't having a good moment either. On top of everything that just happened, this stupid code was not breaking. The more she typed, the more the program countered it.

"Fury was right about that ship, somebody's trying to hide something. This drive is protected by some sort of AI, it keeps rewriting itself to counter my commands."

"Can you override it?" Steve asked

"The person who developed this is slightly smarter than me. Slightly." Natasha replied, eyes not wavering from the screen, "I'm gonna try running a tracer. This is a program that SHIELD developed to track hostile malware, so if we can't read the file, maybe we can find out where it came from."

"Can I help you guys with anything?"

Both Natasha and Steve looked at the Apple employee, who had approached them. Natasha's demeanor changed all of a sudden as she broke a smile and swung herself half over Steve, "Oh no. My fiancé was just helping me with some honeymoon destinations."

"Right! We're getting married." Steve added, rather bit uncomfortably

"Congratulations. Where do you guys thinking about going?" the man grinned

Steve looked at the screen where the codes were still snaking around.

"That's what we were trying to find out," Steve replied, sightly positioning himself in front of the screen.

"Oh." The employee looked at Steve for a moment, as he adjusted his fake glasses, "I have the exact same glasses."

"Wow, you two are practically twins." Natasha deadpanned, attention back on the screen

"Yeah, I wish. Specimen. Uh...if you guys need anything, I've been Aaron." the man flashed them a stupid grin and his stupid name tag.

"Thank you." Steve gave him a small smile and Aaron left. Steve turned to look around when he spotted a guy from the SWAT team.

"You said nine minutes, come on." Steve reached for the drive but Natasha caught his hand.

"I just needed 30 more seconds, Rogers" Natasha frowned

"They found us, Natasha. We are running out of time here," Steve glared at her, grabbing the drive and pulling it out, "And you said whosoever developed this is smarter than you. We can't risk it. Not now."

Natasha glared back but then sighed and stepped back and the two exited the store.

"Standard tac-team. Two behind, two across, two coming straight at us. If they make us, I'll engage, you hit the south escalator to the metro." Steve quickly said, eyes darting in all directions o canvass the situation.

They noticed two agents heading their way.

"Shut up and put your arm around me, laugh at something I said," Natasha ordered

"What?"

"Do it!"

Steve quickly placed his arm around Natasha and laughed. Once they were clear, the two separated and headed for the escalator. As they are going down the escalator Natasha spotted Rumlow on the escalator next to them going up, she turned to Steve.

"Kiss me."

That sudden statement threw him off as he stared at her with surprise and shock

"What?"

"Public displays of affection make people very uncomfortable."

"Yes, they do." Just as soon as Steve agreed, Nat pulled his head and kissed him making. Once Nat made sure that Rumlow passed them, she broke the kiss and turned back around

"You still uncomfortable?" she asked, stepping down

"It's not exactly the word I would use," Steve muttered, trying to cool down the warmth of his blushing cheeks. This was not how he expected his first kiss after defrosting to be!

Once they were outside, they entered a crowded street, mingling with the crowd.

"We need to find another computer," Nat muttered

"Nat, wait, listen." Steve stopped and held Nat's arm, "Maybe we should contact someone who is smarter than the guy who made this. Who regularly hacks into SHIELD for kicks"

Nat rolled her eyes, "Let's find a payphone then"


They found it pretty quick and Natasha dialed the number she had come to remember by heart.

"Hello"

so she had just woken up. Lovely. Nat shared a look with Steve who shrugged.

"It's Nat"

"Yeah?"

"where are you?"

"Sleeping" she replied in a slurred tone

"Who's that?" that was a male voice that did not belong to Tony, Rhodey, or anyone they knew. So she is waking up from a one-nighter. Nat perispherically looked at Steve, who looked like he was trying not to listen but was failing, which made her almost chuckle.

"Just a friend," Rose replied to the mystery man

"Cyclops is dead"

"..."

They were some shuffling and tumbling, a "Excuse me" before they heard the door open and then close.

"come again" now she sounded wide awake

"Cyclops is dead"

There was a sharp intake of breath and some mutterings.

"HQ's compromised. We are on a run and we need help"

Some more muttering, more like swearing but then it stopped, "Wait. We?"

"Me and Steve"

"Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay," she muttered and exhaled, "where are you?"

"City Center DC, 10th St, DC"

"Okay," Rose exhaled again "Go to 3550, Passiac Street. Zip's 20016. Head there and stay low. I'll meet you there. it's protected. Key's champagne cake"

"Got it"

"Stay safe, guys. The last thing I want is to find something that happened to you two. I mean it"

"Meet us there." with that Nat hung up and turned to Steve, "We gotta move"

To her half surprise, Steve managed to hotwire a random car. Turned out Passiac Street was on the other side of the city. They couldn't take the metro, of the risks of being spotted by the cameras. Driving it was, then

"Where did Captain America learn how to steal a car?" Natasha spared Steve an amused glance, feet on the dashboard

"Nazi Germany."

Natasha hummed in return.

"And we're borrowing. Take your feet off the dash." Steve added and Nat complied. The silence lasted for a few minutes before Nat spoke up

"Alright, I have a question for you, oh, which you do not have to answer. I feel like if you don't answer it though, you're kind of answering it, you know?"

"What?"

"Was that your first kiss since 1945?" Nat asked with a sly grin

Steve spared her a look, "That bad, huh?"

"I didn't say that." Nat shrugged

"Well, it kind of sounds like that's what you're saying."

"No, I didn't. I just wondered how much practice you've had."

"You don't need practice."

"Everybody needs practice," Natasha replied

"It was not my first kiss since 1945. I'm ninety-five, I'm not dead."

"Nobody special, though?"

Steve chuckled, "Believe it or not, it's kind of hard to find someone with shared life experience."

"Oh," Nat slightly nodded, "then pray to tell, how did Rose fit that bill?"

Steve almost hit the breaks. What did she just say?

"Don't look so shocked Steve," Nat chuckled, "Your schoolboy crush over our little witch is not as hidden as you think it is. Why the hell do you think we tried really hard to make sure Rose would be with you on your birthday the whole time? Lemme tell you this, Rogers, it's really hard to get her to do something she didn't come up with. And we all worked really hard for that."

Steve's grip on the steering wheel tightened. If Nat knew, then who else? Did Bruce know? Tony? Worst, did Rose knew?

"They don't." Nat suddenly said, "Tony and Rose, I mean. Mostly oblivious, that pair"

"Bruce does?"

Nat chuckled, "He was the first to point it out to others." she looked at him, "don't worry, he won't hulk out on you. Believe it or not, bruce approves of you for Rose"

"does it matter, though?" Steve asked

"I guess not. But if you are gonna sit on your ass and just crushing over her, someone's gonna swoop in and claim her before you realize"

Steve chuckled "Rose is not the settling type"

"And you know that how, exactly?"

"She told me. She couldn't find a man the way she wants, who shares her sentiments"

Nat really wanted to either strangle them both or shut them both in a closet until they confessed and did each other.

"And I'm not the kind of guy she's looking for"

"Really?" Nat raised a brow "Lemme guess, she told you that"

"Indirectly"

Nat knew her patience was being tested this way. One of her close friends had a major crush on her pseudo-little sister and was not making a move. How was she to play match make like this?

"Do you trust me, Steve?" Nat looked at him

"Depends"

Nat rolled her eyes

"You share Rose's sentiments way more than you realize. And take my word when I say it, but that shared life experience you talked of, Rose gets it. Don't ask me how, they are not my beans to spill. You just need to talk to her one-on-one"

"What about Tony?"

"Okay, first, you need not think of Tony but his gorgeous daughter you have a crush on. Second, Rose has a thing for stupidly brave men, which reflects in your personality way more than you think. Third, heart of gold, have you looked at yourself?" Nat snorted

"You are manipulating her words"

Nat shrugged "If that's what you think, Rogers. but sometimes the truth is what is in front of you and you are ignoring it"

Steve gave her a look but then focused back on the road. he didn't say anything. Right now the bigger issue was finding the metal arm guy who assassinated Nick Fury


This was not how rose planned the day for. The previous night had been pretty amazing. her basic plan for the following day was sleeping till noon and then leaving to go back to her corporate life. But will whatever she wants ever happen? No!

She had woken up by Nat. At first, she guessed that Nat needed some pro tip or something regarding some mission, but Nat had dropped a huge bomb on her-Fury was dead. Someone managed to get one on the Nick Fury and that was fucking concerning. Like Tony had said, he was the spy. So whosoever it was, they were a danger to everyone.

Only for the second bomb to drop when she read a news telecast which said Captain America was now a wanted fugitive. What the fuck had Steve done?! She could handle him having bar fights and prank wars but becoming a national fugitive? Some serious shit was brewing and Rose wanted to be a part of the action. She was due home, anyway.

She looked at herself in the mirror before she managed to tie her hair in a haphazard braid and rushed out, only clad in her lingerie

"What's happening?" Dean asked, now awake and sitting on the bed, as he pulled his pants

Rose picked her discarded satin dress and pulled it on, "Some serious shit just hit the fan. I gotta go."

"where?"

"Confidential," she muttered and pulled her tan pencil heel sandals. She stood up and turned her back to Dean, "could you?"

Dean pinched the base of the zipper with one hand and pulled it up.

"Thanks," she pulled and started collecting her phone, purse, and other things that belonged to her

"So...Call me?"

Rose laughed and placed a sound kiss on his lips as Dean's arms snaked around her waist, pulling her closer

"If I'm ever back in the neighborhood" she smiled "but right now I gotta go. I've got some people hanging on me"


Steve pulled on the side of the road as Nat checked the address

"guess we are at the right place" Nat muttered, looking around. It was also a typical DC neighborhood. The buildings on that road were so similar it was hard to pinpoint the address. What was worse that none of the buildings had numbers or any indication of the address.

"Which one is 3550?"

Nat looked around, craning her neck, "could be a magical neighborhood. Address only visible to people with magic?" she shrugged, "Lemme ask someone."

Nat got out of the car, asking Steve to stay put, and approached a nearby flower shop.

"Good morning, young lady," the man greeted with a smile, a bunch of Irises in his hand "How can I help you this fine morning?"

"Hi," Nat smiled, "I was actually looking for a friend's place and I'm kinda lost. You big cities ad how confusing they can be," Nat scoffed, a fake New York accent shining through

"Of course of course," the man laughed, "What would be the address?"

"3550 Passiac Street. That's what she said"

"Well you are at the right place," the man chuckled and turned to face the road "the fifth building from my shop is the one. The brown one, yes"

"Thank you so much, sir" Nat smiled a little

"It's all good."

Nat made her way to the car and conveyed what the shopkeeper told her to Steve. Finally, they reached the spot and the two got out of the car. They walked to the front door and Steve pressed the bell. Nothing. Nat tried the door. Locked.

Well, she could try and pick the lock, but she didn't think people would appreciate witnessing it when she and Steve were practically on their run.

"Let's see if there's a side door," Nat muttered, pointing at the small alley next to the building. they entered the alley where they found another door. No doorbell and the door was locked.

"She said it was protected," Nat muttered

"By what?"

Nat exhaled, "Can't tell if it's magic or tech or both," she muttered, looking over the building when she finally spotted an odd brick. She walked closer to it only to spot a symbol on the brick she had seen somewhere before.

"that's one of Rose's tattoos," Steve scrunched his brow. Nat rolled her eyes. Of course, he'd remember.

Nat raised her hand to touch the triangle symbol only for the brick to suddenly deepen in and slide away, revealing a number pad.

"A four-digit code"

"Champagne cake." Steve muttered, "what kind of password is that?"

Nat raked through her memories trying to remember 'champagne cake'

"Steve, what kind of cake was there on your birthday?"

"Uh...butterscotch"

"Rose's?"

"Beer something"

"Butterbeer" Nat muttered "Tony's?"

Steve's eyes slightly widened as he looked at Nat, "Champagne"

Nat raised her finger and pressed 0-5-2-9 and enter

ACCESS DENIED

"Try 2-9-0-5"

Nat raised a brow at him

"Do it"

she did

ACCESS GRANTED

Steve shrugged when nat shot her a look "She's British. They have a different format for the date"

"Well, that was quite easy for someone as paranoid as Rose. Tony's birthday?"

the number pad slid closed with the brick again only for another brick to slid open and a small mic, speaker and camera appeared

"State your names." a female robotic voice ordered

"Not so simple now, huh?" Steve asked

Nat rolled her eyes and leaned a little forward, "Natasha Romanoff"

Steve took her place, "Steve Rogers"

The mic slid back, "Access granted. Welcome, Agent Natasha Romanoff, Captain Steve Rogers"

With a distinct click, they heard the door unlock and sharing a look, entered the place.

The door closed behind them, not that they paid mind.

They made their way in through the hallway which led to a living room. It was huge and looked posh, definitely Rose's. Next to the living room was a huge kitchen area which was half behind another wall. This one was bigger than their kitchen at the communal, back at the tower.

Just as they were looking around,

"Hello"

the two jumped at the sudden voice and turned to face the speaker. She was a petite platinum blonde woman with beautiful glazed eyes and a kind smile. She had a pair of apple earrings and her straight almost-white blonde hair was straight and flowy. She was dressed in a simple pajama set and held a mug of what smelled like tea in her hands

"Hi" Natasha greeted

Suddenly they felt like they were intruding into someone's personal space.

"I'm Natasha and this is Steve. W-"

"You must be Rosa's friends from her other work." she gave a small smile, "It's a pleasure to meet you"

"Likewise, mam" Steve added. It was the first time they had heard someone address Rose and 'Rosa' who was not a part of Fantastic 4 or a jerk or both.

The woman giggled quite softly, "I'm Luna Lovegood. I'm afraid we never had the delight of being introduced," she made her way to them. She was so light on her feet, no wonder they didn't hear her enter.

"Afraid so, Ms. Lovegood," Nat gave her a tight-lipped smile

"Well, it's alright. I suppose it has to do with the nargles colonizing your heads"

Steve looked at Nat. Nargles? he mouthed for which Nat shrugged

"Please do make yourself home. I'm sure Rosa is on her way here."

"thank you," Nat smiled but Luna waved her off

"Worry not, Ms. Romanova. Any friend of Rosa's is a friend of ours"

Nat raised a brow.

Suddenly there were some loud thuds and then a nearby door opened

"Have you seen my jumper, Luna?"

It was Ginny, who then noticed the presence of the guests. And she quietly receded back behind the door.

Steve coughed and looked away and Nat smiled.

"I was not expecting you guys over here"

"We are sorry for coming to your place unexpectedly" Nat smiled apologetically as Luna handed Ginny a random top to cover her bra-only state. Ever since Rose's birthday, the Weasleys had adopted the whole of Avengers as their own extended family. it was only fair if they got treated back that way.

"It's alright," Ginny pulled the top and stepped from behind the door, "Besides, it's Rose's place. We just squat over when we are around"

"Sure does look like it," Steve said, gesturing around

Ginny chuckled, "Wait till you see the fifth floor."

"fifth floor?" Steve asked

"Rosa owns the entire building," Luna piped in, handing the mug of tea to Ginny

Nat and Steve shared a look, "We didn't know that"

"Not a lot of people do," Ginny replied, "this place is open for all those who want some time away from family. Most of our close friends from school or my brothers come over here when they want to"

Before either of them could make a comment, the front door opened and then closed with a slam as Rose entered, slightly panting, dressed in a beautiful satin dress and high heels.

"How late am I?"

"Not much" Nat replied, assessing Rose's state

"Great, awesome. I'm sorry but you gotta wait ten more minutes. I desperately need a shower because I so don't wanna smell like I drowned myself in Axe body spray"

"One-nighter-gone-wrong?" Ginny chuckled

"Hardy har har," Rose snorted "I need your clothes"

"Nuh-uh" Ginny shook her head "You still haven't returned my grey dress and that pinstripe jumper"

"They are at dry cleaners" Rose protested "and come on, Gin. you are like the best sister in the world and I love you! Now can I borrow some clothes?"

Ginny just raised a brow.

"I'm gonna take that as a yes," Rose started walking towards the staircase. She did a 180 and looked at Steve and Nat, "10 minutes"

"Take your time," Steve said

"I'm afraid that is not a luxury we can afford here, Steve," she smiled grimly, "After all, every cop and camera in the country is on a lookout for you both"

Nat audibly groaned, "that's just fucking amazing"

Rose disappeared upstairs. Suddenly Ginny's eyes widened and she looked at the stairs,

"I swear to Merlin, Rose, if you touched my H&M or Zara or any of my new clothes, I'll hex you into next month!"

"that's adorable Ginerva," Came Rose yells from above.

Ginny broke into a mad dash as she rushed upstairs, which elicited a laugh from Luna and amusement from Steve and Nat.

"You need to get used to this," Luna told them before walking to the base of stairs, "Girls! Can we not have a fight here over clothes?"

"Tell her to fucking stay away from my closet!" Ginny hollered back

"It's just a temporary thing"

"That's what you said last time!"

"I did not!"

Luna sighed before looking at the guests, "I should break those two before they escalate it further"

"Of course," Nat nodded and Luna disappeared upstairs

"Never thought I'd see Rose like this" Steve chuckled

"Well, like Luna said, better get used to this"


Rose returned exactly ten minutes later wearing a new set of clothes-grey ankle-length jeans, an olive green sweatshirt, and a denim jacket with sports shoes.

"Please tell me I don't smell like Axe body spray any more" she looked at Nat

Nat took a whiff off Rose, "Just a faint trace"

"I need another shower," she muttered "But later. right now problem at hand."

Nat nodded. But before she could start, Rose stopped her

"What's wrong?"

"I called someone," she checked her watch "He should be here by now"

And then they heard the back door open and close and footsteps appear

Steve stood up and Nat blinked

"Clint?" Nat asked

Clint broke a stupid grin as he looked over the two, "You know I have so many questions right now. But first and foremost, why didn't you call me, Nat?"

"You are supposed to be on a mission in Hong Kong," Nat replied, folding her arms

"already finished it when Rose called." he replied, sitting down, "So, what's the situation?"

"Who all knows?" Steve asked

"Dad and Bruce do too. Thor isn't on Earth so didn't send him an emergency invite to the party," Rose replied as Luna handed her a mug of tea which she accepted with a small "Thanks" before she looked at them, "I would have called them both here, but dad's in Lyon buying some new company and I figured it won't be the best time for Hulk to show up. But they are both on alerts"

Steve frowned, "Why didn't you tell us you were telling them?"

"Whoa, easy there, Cap," Clint stood up, "We are a team. We fought a dozen of battles together. Are you doubting our loyalty at the moment when you need all the help you can get?"

"Someone managed to get a hit on Fury. And because I know better, I'd say it's as worse as assassinating a US president because that guy is the best spy in the world. No way would he be taken down by a regular run-in-the-mill assassin."

"Rose's right." Clint added, "Whosoever kicked Fury's bucket is a nationwide danger, if not worldwide. And that happens to be Avenger level threat," he looked at Luna with a smile as she handed him his mug of strong coffee "Thanks. Clint Barton"

"Luna. You're welcome" Luna smiled and went back to the kitchen

"They aren't wrong, you know" Nat looked at Steve

Steve took a deep breath, "Sorry. It's everything that's been going on," he exhaled, "Okay, so what's our plan?"

"First things first, how the hell did you end up becoming a national fugitive?" Clint asked Steve

Steve took another deep breath "SHIELD's compromised. HYDRA infiltrated it"

The air changed in the room.

"Wait," Rose stood straighter, "HYDRA kicked Fury's bucket?"

Steve looked at her and nodded.

"And do we know the leak?"

"I have a strong suspicion," at their questioning glances-which he also got from Nat since he hadn't told her much, he added, "Alexander Pierce"

"Never liked that guy," Clint muttered, "Kinda fishy"

"In Fury's absence, all power falls into Pierce's hand," Nat added, "It was a well-calculated risk"

"One which worked," Rose deadpanned staring at the floorboards, "And if Pierce's HYDRA and he's at SHIELD, he has some of the world's best tech to wor-"

Rose froze and her eyes widened.

"Rosie?" Clint asked

"FUCK!"

"Rose? What's it?" Nat asked

"Project INSIGHT! that fucking bastard has control over Project INSIGHT!"

Steve inhaled sharply as he also realized the fact.

"Wanna share that with the class?" Clint asked. Steve knew that none but authorized personnel knew of Project Insight and neither of the spies was authorized for that.

Rose took a deep breath, "Project insight is something Dad and I whipped up for SHIELD. They are a trio of next-generation helicarriers which a larger target range. They are linked to targeting satellites."

"Why would you and Tony build something like that?" Nat frowned

Rose frowned back "Because we did not have a clue that HYDRA was in SHIELD. And while neither of us trust Fury, he wasn't wrong with the argument he presented for them. It was just in case something like Loki ever happened again. A contingency plan. It concerned world security, so we built it. We aren't always gonna be there to protect the world."

"How were we not told about it?" Nat folded her arms, "All projects have a clearance of level 7 and above"

"Project Insight is for Level 9 and above," Steve replied

"You are level 8," Nat looked at him for which Steve shrugged

"Fury trusted me, I guess" Steve replied

"what's with you and Tony? How come you were involved with this?"

"Other than the fact that we built them, Dad and I've got clearance Level 9," she replied, sipping on the tea

"Is there a way to abort the project?" Clint asked, bringing back the topic

"Not from here, no," Rose bit her lower lip, "All their control systems have a slot. A proper chip if inserted can abort the mission"

"and where would we find those chips?" Steve asked

"I have them in my lab. Which is in Malibu. Don't fret about it, I can have it here in 30 seconds. I think there are bigger concerns are stopping Pierce ASAP and finding Fury's killer. 'Cause if he's still at large and we are the only thorns in their path, they will soon be coming for our heads"

"Do we know anything about him or her?" Clint asked

Nat snorted. "We have a name. Winter Soldier"

this time, Rose choked on her tea. She went into a coughing fit as Steve rushed to her and patted her back. Nat and Clint exchanged a look with a smirk.

"I'm okay, yeah. Thanks." Rose replied. Steve gave her a once over but settled closeby.

Rose looked at Nat, "Could you please stop dropping nuclear bombs on me? This is the fourth one! I swear I can only handle this much, Romanoff before my heart gives out!"

"You know Winter Soldier?" Nat raised a brow

"Way closely than you think," Rose muttered, keeping her mug on the table

"But he's a ghost story, right? No one has seen this guy in ages!" Clint argued

"I have," Steve muttered, "He killed Fury and...I've seen him"

"and there's his MO," Nat added, "Soviet slugs and metal arm"

"Oh that's Winter Soldier alright" Rose rolled her eyes

"How do you know him?" Steve asked

"Can't make a guess?" Rose deadpanned

"Okay, I know I'm gonna sound very stupid but...don't tell me you slept with him," Clint raised his arms in a placating manner

Rose fixed him a glare, "I didn't. Seriously, that's gross." Rose scoffed, "Winter Soldier has been credited with over 49 assassinations over the last 60 years"

"I thought it was over 12" Nat muttered

Rose shook her head "It's actually 51, but officially it's 49"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Steve frowned

"Winter Soldier has never missed a mark in his tenure, but twice. Now you want to guess who the target was?"

Rose mentally calculated. 1...2...3...4.

"You," Nat barely breathed the word

Rose nodded, biting her lip, "He tried to take a shot at me twice so far. Once when I was 16, another when I was 19. Never got a chance to ask him why. Now, I can do that."

"You knew he was HYDRA?" Steve's frown deepened

Rose inhaled, having an idea of what was to come, "I did. I knew HYDRA was around, but Winter Soldier was such a rare sight and HYDRA activity was almost null. It had always been hard to keep track of them. A few years ago, three years before they found you in ice" she looked at Steve before looking at others,

"I was keeping track of a HYDRA base in a small European country-Slovenia. Far as I knew it was the only functional HYDRA base there was. And then one day, out of the blue, there was an explosion and that base was blown to atoms. It wasn't HYDRA doing that to themselves, I know. it wasn't SHIELD, because there aren't any records, even authorized ones. I thought everything HYDRA-related, including the Winter Soldier, was finished in that explosion. I tried tracking but came up with nothing. So I stopped looking and focused on more important things in my life"

Silence.

"Where's your research?" Nat asked "Records of keeping track on the"

"I mainly focused on Winter Soldier." she rolled her eyes at their expressions, "Seriously? This guy tried to kill me twice and you don't think he'd pique my interest?"

"Normal people stay away from people trying to kill them" Clint muttered

"Never said I was normal," Rose muttered, walking into the kitchen. She opened a random cabinet and pulled out a manila folder, which she extended to Steve. Before he could grab it, she pulled it back a little, earning a raised brow from the blonde super-soldier.

"There might be some things you won't like when you'll see them," she warned, "You sure want to read it?"

Steve looked at the folder and then at her. There was some genuine concern on her face.

"I'll take the risk," he muttered and took the folder, opening it.

Rose sat down on a kitchen stool, grabbing her now cold tea. She knew what was to come and she knew Steve wouldn't take it lightly. And it was proven right when she heard some crunching of paper under the tight grip.

"How long have you known?" there was a difference in that voice, a demanding tone. And there was anger, hurt, a bit of betrayal, and guilt. But anger mostly.

"Rose?" Steve growled, "How long have you known?!"

Rose noticed Clint and Nat stepping closer should they need to step in.

"Only for a year before the base was blown," she replied, looking at him

"And why didn't you tell me?"

Rose frowned, stepping down the stool as she shot the super-soldier a glare. Okay, she understood that he was upset but that didn't mean she'll let him treat her like crap.

"Because I didn't think it mattered. He was dead. And we had bigger concerns. Like you adjusting in the 21st century. Then Loki happened and then Killian. I didn't get an opportunity!"

Before Steve could counter-argue, Rose continued

"How did you wanted to hear it, huh Steve? You wake up 70 years in the future, in a world you know nothing about. Then you get pushed down to fight a fucking alien army led by a deranged Norse God! and then the whole Killian shit-show. Then everyone moved in at the tower. How and when the fuck did you me to come over to you and tell you this? And how exactly would I have said that?

'Hi Steve, you know what, the best friend you thought died from falling from the train actually did not, but made it out alive. Oh, and now he's brainwashed by HYDRA and is their major weapon. And, by the way, he died a few years back in an explosion. Have a good day'. Is that how you wanted me to tell you?"

The paper crumpled further under Steve's grip

"Guys," Clint tried to step in but Nat held him back. Something was going on between the two and they needed to clear the air before they could work on this together.

"Oh, and in case you missed it." Rose turned and faced him with a strong glare and so angry, they had never seen her like that, "He tried to kill me. Twice. And lemme tell you, he got very close once for anyone's comfort. I could have died! So yeah, dad's too super pissed at this man, who tried to off me. Twice. And that is also the reason I didn't tell you anything."

the paper crumpled more and Steve's angry breaths were very audible.

Rose inhaled sharply before she ran a hand through her waves. Stress and tension getting a better part of her.

"I'm getting the chips," she muttered and vanished with a pop.

"what the fuck did just happen?" Nat muttered with a frown

Clint looked at Steve, "Please don't tell me Bucky Barnes is the Winter Soldier"

Nat's eyes widened at that.

Steve just slammed the folder on the table and headed out, slamming the door after him.

Nat picked the manila folder and saw the page, whose side was badly crumpled.

There written in clear words, next to a photo, were,

Weapon: ASSET

Codename: WINTER SOLDIER

Patient Name: JAMES BUCHANAN BARNES

Well, the other shoe just dropped.


Enjoy the next chapter and you know the drill.

Ciao