Sharon sat on the porch, trying to pretend the past half hour had never happened. She had gone from dating Captain America to spying on him kissing a spy, then back to her seat to pretend she hadn't seen a thing. She was even sipping from a fresh glass of water. The sounds of a movie drifted through the screen door, inviting her inside, but she stayed where she was, watching the breeze make ripples on the lake in the waning daylight. She had read the day could stretch to over twenty hours at this latitude in the high summer; how cliché that the sun was setting at this moment.

She casually drank her water as Steve appeared at the tree line, sprinting toward the house. Was he that eager to end things with her, or was he just…he was always exerting himself. The ultimate soldier and athlete probably treated lovemaking as a cardio workout. Okay, that was a lie even Sharon couldn't tell herself; a man like Steve was too considerate to… Why even think about it? She was never going to have the opportunity to find out, just like Aunt Peggy. She would spend her life holding onto an impossible dream underneath false happiness and… Sharon caught herself on the porch railing as she stood. Had Aunt Peggy really been faking all those years? She found it hard to believe. The conviction gave her confidence as she greeted Steve with a kiss on the cheek. "Sit. I got you a glass of water."

"Oh." He seemed confused by the glasses set on the table between the two chairs for a moment. "Thanks."

"Well…you've been out in the woods, working hard. Training."

"Not so hard." He drank the water down in a series of long gulps. He covered his mouth to conceal a burp. It was hard to find him unattractive even when doing unattractive things. He set his empty glass on the table. "I…uh…I think we need to talk."

"Hm."

"We…I never meant to make you think…maybe I should just be honest."

"I never thought you were anything but honest."

He sighed heavily. "It's hard to be honest with everybody when you aren't even being honest with yourself. But none of that is your fault. That's all on me."

Now that it had started, Sharon found it easier to accept the end. "You don't want to be in a relationship with me. You want to explain. So, explain."

Steve tried to take another drink from his empty glass, awkwardly setting it down when the gesture failed to buy him any time; it was surprisingly adorable to watch him being awkward. "I..I never meant to hurt you. The first time we kissed, it was right after Peggy's funeral and you had risked your career, your life to help me and Sam and Bucky and…at the time, it seemed right. What you said at the service, it was…"

"I spoke from my heart."

"I know. You sounded like her. You…you reminded me of her and when you met us, you reminded me so much of her that I…I made a bad…no, I made the wrong decision. And I didn't realize it until…"

"Until now." Sharon bit her tongue, not wanting to reveal that she had been watching him with Natasha. "I'm not my Aunt Peggy, and, despite my aspirations to be like her, I would never take it so far as to date the same man."

He was silent for so long that she was about to suggest a refill on water when he said, "We…we never even had a date. A real date. We were supposed to go dancing."

"She told me. Captain America's the guy she made a date with at the Stork Club while he saved the world." She watched him clench his jaw a few times before adding, "She was happy, you know. With Uncle Dan. They had a good life."

"I know. I saw the pictures." He rolled the glass between his big hands. "They never had kids."

"They were okay with that. I think they liked being able to give us back at the end of the weekend or week of irresponsibility. They were great. I have so many memories of them, of her. She was…amazing."

"Amazing. Yeah. She was."

"She was." Sharon waited a moment. It was weird to be involved with a man who could, under other circumstances, have been her Uncle Steve. Even if those circumstances had never happened and she had a chance to…no. He wasn't the kind of man to divide his heart. "So, I know I'm not my Aunt Peggy and I know you don't mean that as an insult."

"I…yeah. She was one in a million."

"You need to realign your parameters."

"I know, I know. It's a billion or a trillion, now. But the sentiment stands. I can't imagine anyone like Peggy…and I'm sorry for trying to fit you into her mold."

"I'd be insulted if it weren't such a great mold."

"Yeah." He chuckled. "Well, I suppose you want to know who broke it."

"It's not my business." She waited a beat before adding, "Although it's not hard to guess."

"Not a lot of options in Nowhereberg, Sweden," he admitted. "I don't suppose it would make you feel better if I told you I love her."

"I think that's been pretty obvious since you came back from the Raft without her, but…I'm happy you've found someone to love, if she loves you just as much."

Sharon didn't wait for a reply, but took both glasses into the house to put them in the dishwasher. She sat down beside Wanda, who was watching a horror movie. After a few minutes of mindless gore, she asked, "Anything good?"

"Never is."

"Why do you watch these?"

"Period dramas are boring. At least these movies make you jump sometimes."

Sharon glanced toward the porch, though it had grown too dark to see outside. "Good point." She maintained her focus on the television when the backdoor closed a few minutes later, not checking on whether Steve had come in alone or not.