AVENGERS CIVIL WAR

Chapter 11

"Natasha!"

Steve's voice startled Natasha as she entered the Avenger's Tower from a morning run. The stress of the previous day was pent up and running was the only way to burn it off for Natasha. The whole time she ran, she sensed she was being watched. Natasha always trusted her 'sixth sense'. She knew S.H.I.E.L.D was keeping an eye on her because they didn't trust her at all. Which is smart, Natasha often thought.

Natasha stopped walking, turning to face Steve. He came near her.

"I didn't get to see you yesterday, I just heard you'd come back. Where were you?" He looked immensely concerned.

Shit, Natasha thought. "I was on a private mission. It's confidential, I'm afraid I can't say."

Tell him that Bucky was in their basement? Not a chance.

"I was worried about you."

"I'm not a little girl, Steve. I can do what I want." Natasha's words came out harsher than she had intended for them too. She tried to make it up by saying, "Thanks for worrying though. It's nice to know I was missed. I'm sorry about Peggy. She was quite a woman."

Steve still was numb from Peggy's death; it had yet to register. "Thank you, Nat," he softly said.

Natasha touched his arm, before mounting the staircase to her room.

----

"Are you asking me out?" Sharon raised her eyebrow.

Sam stood awkwardly in front of her. "I just was curious if you wanted to grab a coffee."

"All the way downstairs at the cafe..." Sharon put on a pretence of deeply considering it. She looked at her desk, stacked with paperwork. "Well...I'm SURE the paperwork can wait." She winked, getting up and following him to the elevator.

"Sometimes I wish we didn't have so many amenities in this tower, so we'd have an excuse to actually go out," Sam remarked. Sharon laughed.

"We could always make a reservation somewhere," she said, looking over at him. "If you want to properly ask me out."

Sam grinned. "Alright, Sharon Carter, tonight would you like to go out with me somewhere outside of this goddamn prison of a tower?"

"I daresay I would," Sharon flirted, flipping her long blonde hair back. The elevator doors opened and they stepped into the cafe.

----

Peggy stepped out of the cab, the rushing sound of the city filling her ears. New York City was much louder than she had remembered when she was younger. And notably more polluted. Peggy held her badge in front of the scan at the front door of Avengers Tower. Fury had made her one so she could get inside without a huge security scene.

Her steps were light on the floor as she quietly came inside, taking it all in. The lobby of Avenger's Tower was a sight to be seen; soaring ceilings, natural light pouring in from the massive windows, and glass. Glass everything. Glass staircase, glass elevator, glass tables. What wasn't glass was marble. Peggy was almost afraid to move at first, for fear she would break something. A voice startled her out of her observing trance.

"What is your name?"

It was such a familiar voice. Peggy turned to the sound of the disembodied voice, muffling a shriek of shock with her hand at the sight of Vision phasing through the wall.