Chapter Twenty-seven: Project Insight
Natasha and Steve successfully rescued the Lemurian Star from the hands of pirates although there had been some hiccups. Apparently, Fury had sent them on the same mission with different jobs and told Natasha not to tell Steve. That was a dumb move on Fury's part. Emma heard all about from Steve when he arrived back at the triskellion. Now, because of Fury, there was a part of Steve that lost trust in Natasha. It just didn't make sense to her not to tell Steve. What if he had died or had gotten seriously hurt because Natasha was doing something else and neglected to tell Steve? She was mad at Natasha but she was only following orders and Emma couldn't blame her for that. She was absolutely furious with Fury.
That was until he showed her and Steve the hellicarriers. She wasn't sure what to think. Project Insight. Holding a gun to people's heads was putting it mildly. She wanted to end violence, the hurting of people, but she didn't think she could take away people's freedom. She wasn't sure what the solution here was but she knew it wasn't this. It made her feel sick to her stomach.
Emma drove with her grandfather to the Captain America exhibit located in the Smithsonian.
Emma knew that Steve was looking for answers but she wasn't sure what he would find here. They walked to the memorial made in honor for Steve's friend, Bucky Barnes. He talked about him sometimes when they would have dinner in her apartment. Sometimes Natasha would join them.
Bucky was the kind of man who always stuck up for the little guy, the underdog. He had been that way since they were kids. Steve said that Bucky had the biggest heart of anyone he had known and loved more deeply. Steve would then cut himself off to avoid talking about someone else. Emma could sense it though, that there had been someone else in Bucky's life that Steve didn't want to talk about. A lost love, maybe. Emma didn't push it though.
"Best friends since childhood, Bucky Barnes and Steven Rogers were inseparable on both schoolyard and battlefield," the electronic tour guide spoke. "Barnes is the only Howling Commando to give his life in service of his country."
The video of him and Steve laughing was of decent quality. Bucky had been a very handsome man. It was too bad that he hadn't been frozen in ice too. Emma blushed at the thought and they moved on to a video of her Gran talking about Steve.
"It had been a difficult winter. A blizzard had trapped half out battalion behind the German line. Steve, Captain Rogers, he fought his way through a Hydra blockade that had pinned our allies down for months. He saved over 1,000 men. Including the man who would. . . Who would one day become my husband, as it turned out. Even after he died, Steve was still changing my life."
Steve looked over at Emma and smiled proudly at her. He wrapped an arm around her and kissed her forehead. Emma could feel the compass that Steve had given her in her pocket, she was very aware of it now. He had given it to her after his talk with Peggy, saying that he held onto it long enough. Every day that Steve was a part of her life he was changing it too and Emma loved every minute of it.
"I love you," he whispered and she squeezed him back, letting him know that she loved him too.