ＳＬＡＴＥ ◼ STEVE ROGERS◼

ＮＩＮＥ

"I thought when we did combat, Howard would want to teach me. Didn't think he could pass up a chance to see me in workout gear,"

"He tried very hard to be your teacher, but he doesn't know a bloody thing about combat,"

Lottie chuckled, adjusting the outfit that Doctor Erksine had given to her for the next part of her training: combat. Peggy stood across from her, prepared to show her the basics. Howard had given her another shot of the serum not too long before hand, and now it was time to get to work.

"Well, I guess it's just going to be his loss in the end,"

Peggy smiled, stepping up to Lottie as she did the same to the agent before her. Peggy positioned her hands, guiding Lottie to do the same as her.

"The first thing you will always do is take up a defensive position. If you must engage in hand to hand combat, then a defensive position is going to help you gain the upper hand. If I do something such as this-"

Lottie's senses were kicked into overdrive as Peggy's fingers closed in around her wrist. Without even a thought to what her father taught her long before, Lottie's senses analyzing the situation as she sidestepped Peggy, breaking hold on the grip and pushing Peggy back a few paces. The agent smiled as she looked at Lottie, who didn't look fazed by the situation at hand at all.

"What was that?"

"My father used to teach me defense like that, to outsmart an opponent," Lottie explained, shrugging her shoulders at Peggy. "I also think the serum kicked in, just analyzed the situation and my reflexes followed along."

"Well, it was quite impressive,"

"I think so too. Now stop going easy on me," Peggy raised an eyebrow at Lottie's assertiveness. She had definitely changed over time in here, becoming less of helpless young woman and more of a fighter. Whether it was the situation or the serum at work, Peggy was impressed. "I think we've proven that the serum will kick in, that I can memorized patterns and find a way around them. Just fight me and we'll see where it goes."

"Very well then,"

Peggy came at Lottie, throwing a fist. Lottie immediately ducked and rolled away. She popped back to her feet, hands before her as she stepped into a defensive position. Peggy did the same, the two women circling one another in the training room.

"I've got a question for you, Peggy," Lottie dodged yet another one of Peggy's attacks, rolling underneath and landing a blow to her side before dodging once again. "You know why I'm here, but why are you here?"

Peggy lowered her guard, thrown off by the question from Lottie. The young woman took the opportunity, lunging forward and landed another hit on the agent before her. Peggy snapped back to reality, dodging before Lottie could hit her once again.

"I was engaged before the war," Lottie cocked her head at this, simultaneously, blocking another shot from Peggy. "My brother recommended me to be a field agent, but I declined. Once news broke of his death on the front lines, I took up the field agent position and proceeded to end my engagement. Now I work for the SSR."

Peggy threw a punch toward Lottie's face, but the girl was quicker. She took hold of Peggy's arm, flipping her so that she landed on her back on the mat below them. Peggy gave in, ceasing her struggling as she accepted that Lottie had beaten her.

"Losing people you care about is hard," Lottie mumbled, standing up before Peggy. She reached out her hand, grasping onto the hand of the Agent and pulling her up with her. "Losing my father was one of the hardest things I have ever had to go through. Knowing he died for something he believed in at least gives me some closure."

"Is that why you write to Steve and your friend James?" Peggy questioned, rubbing her now sore wrists as she looked at the woman in front of her. "Are you afraid to lose them?"

"They are all I have left," Lottie admitted, her eyes trailing up from the ground to look at Peggy. "I don't have my mother anymore, and the thought of losing Steve and Bucky is hard to think about, they've been there for so long. I thought joining this program, knowing that Steve might undergo this project, would bring me some semblance of peace but it hasn't."

"Why do you think that?"

"I met you, Howard, and Erksine. Now, I just have more to lose,"

Peggy couldn't deny that she was flustered at the admission. She had grown fond of both Lottie and Steve over her time with them, and the closer they got to the final product the more she realized just how much she cared for the both of them. Even Howard had admitted to how much he cared for Lottie, how he almost looked down on her like a sister despite his constant flirting. To know that Lottie cared for them as well brought a smile to her face.

"I guess being in love with your best friend doesn't help you sleep at night either,"

Lottie jabbed her elbow into Peggy's side as the agent laughed, bringing a smile to her face.

"Do I really make it that obvious? Both you and Howard guessed it immediately, even Doctor Erksine believed we were together,"

"That's because you should be," Peggy told her with a shrug. "They way you both talk about one another, it's something that people would kill to have. You smile when you get a letter back from Bucky, but the way you smile when you read the letters from Steve shows. I think you should tell him."

"We're in the middle of a war, I'll tell him once we win," Lottie told her with a shake of her head. "Now aren't we supposed to be training?"

"Yes, I think you're ready for your last training section before your last shot of the serum,"

"And what's that?" Lottie questioned, watching Peggy stalk over to a table in the corner.

Peggy picked up the gun, turning to look at Lottie with a smirk. The young woman's eyes went wide.

"Time to see how good of a shot you can be,"