Fire and Ice

•19•

The house is in a smaller neighborhood, with neat condos and houses around it, all with trimmed, small front yards. They walk up the stairs to the porch. It's nice.

"Wonder how much this place costs," Kate mutters. Steve just shrugs and knocks on the door.

A few moments later, the blinds covering the window in the door go up, and Sam is standing there. Kate suppresses a sigh, wondering how much matchmaking she'll have to endure. He opens the door, looks at all three of them. "Hey."

"I'm sorry about this," Steve says. "We need a place to lay low."

"Everyone we know is trying to kill us," Nat adds. Kate just nods.

Sam hesitates a moment, studying them, thinking. Then, he opens the door wider. "Not everyone." Steve walks in first, then Kate, then Nat. Sam closes the door and drops the blinds again. "What do you need?"

"A shower," Nat replies.

"Ibuprofen," Kate adds. "And food."

He chuckles. "Shower's down the hall to the left."

"Cool, thanks. I'm going first," Nat declares, and Kate sighs.

"Towels are in the closet outside the door." He looks at Kate. "You should probably eat before you take that ibuprofen. I'll get breakfast going."

"Thanks," she mumbles, and he nods, heading into the kitchen.

Nat takes a quick shower, then Kate does, both discarding their dirty hoodies. Steve washes up in the sink while Nat and Kate sit on the bed, Nat drying her hair with a towel. Kate twists hers in her hands, the orange darker than it usually is.

"You okay?" Steve asks, walking in.

"Yeah," Nat lies. Kate only shrugs, dropping her hair.

Steve's brows furrow in concern, and he sits down in a chair across from them both. "What's going on?"

Nobody answers, and Kate turns back to Nat, getting a glimpse of Steve's expectant face. "Your turn to share. We're listening."

Nat sighs. "When I first joined SHIELD, I thought I was going straight... But I guess I just traded in the KGB for HYDRA. I thought I knew whose lies I was telling, but... I guess I can't tell the difference anymore."

Steve nods. "There's a chance you might be in the wrong business."

Nat snorts lightly, the sound mirthless. "I owe you."

"It's okay."

"If it was the other way around, and it was down to me to save your life — now you be honest with me — would you trust me to do it?"

"I would now," he replies. "And I'm always honest."

Kate scoffs. "I've heard some lies that would beg to differ."

"Nobody asked you, Kate," Steve jokes, shoving her shoulder.

"You seem pretty chipper for someone who just found out they died for nothing," Nat points out.

"Well, I guess I just like to know who I'm fighting." Steve shrugs. Then, he turns. "Kate?"

She sighs. "I thought I'd gotten out of it. I've shared too much with you people already."

"Not me."

She hesitates. But Nat shared, and he knows part of the background anyway. And he's shared a lot with her in the past year. "Remember when I told you... kinda why I joined SHIELD?" she asks, looking down, fiddling with her fingers.