Steve's Diary

July 10, 2014

Dear Diary,

I really didn't know where to go from there. We were fugitives, Nat and I, and S.H.I.E.L.D. can only search for us at Camp Lehigh for so long before they realize we're not there and, therefore, not dead and still on the run, for that matter.

We couldn't go to my or Natasha's place, mostly because mine is in ruins and her's is way too obvious and I'm sure they're already there.

Hell, I've been here a while and I just realized now that I don't know a damn person that doesn't work for S.H.I.E.L.D., or... at least I didn't until recently.

What about that Sam guy? I'm sure he wouldn't mind, right?

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It was pretty early in the morning when we get there, probably 7 or 8 o'clock. I knocked hoping he wouldn't be out on a run or at work or something. Luckily, I saw him approach the glass door and it was like a weight was lifted off my shoulders.

"Hey, man," he greeted me, a confused look written across his face seeing as both Natasha and I were both there and... considering we both looked a wreck and were covered in dust from the bomb.

"I'm sorry about this," I told him, really meaning it. "We need a place to lay low."

"Everyone we know is trying to kill us," Natasha added, looking worse than I did.

He looked between the both of us before stepping out of the doorway. "Not everyone," he replied, showing us that there really are still naturally good people in this crazy world. We walked in and he shut the door behind us.

Thankfully, he let us shower and clean up so that we didn't look... well, homeless, even though we were.

I had just finished washing up when I walked back into the room he had been nice enough to lend us. "You okay?" I asked Natasha as I stood in the doorway from the bathroom.

"Yea," she looked up as she dried her hair.

Like Hell I'd believe that. I put my towel down and walked in, sitting across from her and looking her right in the eyes. "What's going on?" I continued.

She looked at me like she wasn't sure where to start or if she even could. "When I first joined S.H.I.E.L.D. I thought I was going straight," she revealed. "But I guess I just traded in the KGB for HYDRA." She paused and sighed. "I thought I knew whose lies I was telling, but... I guess I can't tell the difference anymore."

"There's a chance you might be in the wrong business," I said with a smile, reusing her line on her, herself.

"I owe you," she answered plainly.

I shook my head. "It's okay."

"If it was the other way around," she started. "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," I replied. "And, I'm always honest."

"Well, you seem pretty chipper for someone who just found out they died for nothing," she commented on what Zola had said.

"Well, guess I just like to know who I'm fighting," I told her truthfully. Besides, I didn't die for nothing- I died for my country... and it's not like I had someone like Bucky to live for, anyway.

"I made breakfast," Sam announced as he walked up and stood in the doorway. "If... you guys eat that sorta thing." He walked out again.

We followed behind him.

"So, the question is," Nat began again after we walked into the kitchen and sat at the table with Sam there, too. "Who at S.H.I.E.L.D. could launch a domestic missile strike?"