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CHAPTER EIGHT
BACK TO BASICS

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      Nicholas J. Fury was a frightening man. Katherine had only been ten when she'd met him, teary-eyed and still riding the lows she felt from her family's death. Back then, he had been this looming presence that just exuded confidence and seriousness, like nothing you said would ever be important enough for him to listen to. That feeling hadn't gone away over the years, but she had built up a hesitant relationship with him. He respected her as an agent, and that was all she could ever ask of him. When Austria had happened, he had even looked at her with a shred of pity he tried to hide, but she had caught the glimpse of it. 

      Him behind the screen of a computer didn't make him any less intimidating.

      They had scheduled a briefing for when Lionel was going grocery shopping, and she had encouraged Captain Rogers to accompany their driver. That way she and Fury could discuss his progress without feeling like they had to tone it down for the Captain's sake. Well, without Katherine feeling like she had to tone it down. She knew Fury well enough to know that he would never hold back for anyone's sake. Since Katherine didn't know just how much Captain Rogers trusted Fury yet, she figured it was a better idea to keep them apart.

      "Status report," Fury said through the grainy speaker before Katherine could even say hello.

      "Signs of PTSD, but that's normal. Nightmares, depression, anxiety. Normal stuff given what he's been through."

      "Physically?"

      "He's fine. I'm not sure what the limitations of the serum are, since Erskine didn't leave much notes, but I'd imagine his stats haven't changed since the forties." 

      "Socially?"

      "He's been out of the house approximately twelve times now. Some nervousness in big crowds, but he does better one-on-one. Our outing at the museum proved to be successful."

      "This is a significant improvement. I knew you were the right person for the job," Fury mentioned, leaning back in his chair. It was rare that he handed out compliments, so she took it with a respectful nod. Truthfully, there really hadn't been any other choices. Sure, there were agents that didn't work in the field, but they were rookies and didn't have the kind of security clearance to take on Captain America just yet. "And getting him up to speed on the modern world?"

      "It's happening slowly but surely. It wouldn't be beneficial for his mental health to stress him about this now."

      "I'm trusting your judgement on this," Fury agreed, nodding his head and crossing his arms over his chest. However, she sensed that his words weren't completely true. Hence why they were having pretty much the same conversation that she'd had with Barton weeks prior. "Continue on with the work you're doing, Agent Baker. It's my assumption that you'll come home sometime around May or June, like we previously discussed. That will give him enough time to get used to the modern world and you enough time to figure out what the hell happened at Austria."

      Fury had yet to bring up Austria, but she knew that he had been upset about it. It was supposed to be covert, and not result in the deaths of the agents. They could have used them for intel. Katherine had screwed up. But when she'd returned from Austria, Fury hadn't said anything, just given her a look that conveyed how angry he was at her. It wasn't until Wendy suggested that he take it easy on her that he let the situation drop, but it was only a matter of time before he threw it back in her face.

      "Don't give me that look, Baker," Fury said, rolling the eye that wasn't hidden behind the patch. "I've not discussed Austria since you returned. Whatever mental block it has on you, we need to get rid of it."

      Katherine's hands were hardly clean of murder. There had been unfortunate times in the field that she'd had no other choice. But to willingly go against orders and kill the agents they were sent to capture? The worst part was, Katherine always had a smidge of guilt when she killed. In Austria, that feeling had been gone.

      Someone had told her once that when the guilt of killing went away, that was when she'd truly lost herself.

      "I know, sir," Katherine managed to stutter out.

      "We need Silhouette back in the field. You weren't meant to sit behind a desk all day."

      And just like that, the screen was black. Fury was gone.

      He had been right. Silhouette wasn't meant to sit behind a desk all day. She was too important, too helpful. But maybe Katherine Baker was meant to be out of the field. For too long, she had identified Silhouette and Katherine Baker as one person. The same coin, but representing the two different sides. Now, however, she wondered if Silhouette was a different coin entirely. 

      The first few months after Austria, Katherine had been sent to a mandatory therapist. There was one at the base, on standby in case anything like Austria ever happened. Katherine was all for trying to talk it out in therapy, but it hadn't helped much. All Doctor Ashbury could do was recommend some breathing exercises and antidepressants. Since Katherine had already been on those since her family's deaths, it didn't change her daily life in the grand scheme of things. Eventually, her appointments with Doctor Ashbury went few and far between until they stopped completely. That had been just weeks before Captain Rogers had woken up.

      He was a great distraction, she had to admit. In trying to keep him from succumbing to his sadness and guilt and confusion, it had kept her busy enough to not focus on her own. Though she wouldn't wish the pain and anxiety on anyone, she was glad that Captain Rogers understood what she was feeling.

      The padlock on the door let out a tiny little beeping noise when Lionel and Captain Rogers entered the code to the door, and it swung open to reveal him carrying in all of the grocery bags, Lionel standing uselessly behind him with his hands up, as if to tell Katherine he offered.

      "I hope we got everything that you needed," Captain Rogers said as he set the bags down on the counter. "We got some extra stuff that wasn't on your list. I was thinking tomorrow we could go to the fish market and you could make a traditional Swedish dish?" he smiled softly when he saw Katherine, and the sight of his breezy smile made Katherine's heart lighter. It was nice to see him so giddy, all traces of the pain he had suffered through gone from his features. 

      Katherine stood from the couch and made her way over to him, examining what they'd picked up at the store. There were lots of vegetables, since a lot of the fruits still weren't entirely in season yet, and several pounds of meat that she could keep in the freezer until they were ready to be used. "Thanks," she said, giving him a smile. "We'll definitely hit the fish market tomorrow."

      Lionel sat on one of the barstools and crossed his arms over his chest. "My daughter's birthday is tomorrow, so I'll be gone for two days. I already cleared it, but I just wanted to let you guys know."

      "Tell her I say happy birthday," the Captain mentioned offhandedly, helping Katherine unload some of the grocery bags.

      "How will we ever survive without you?" Katherine asked, and Lionel let out a laugh. 

      "Somehow, I think you'll manage. I'm taking off." He stood from the barstool and gave both Katherine and Captain Rogers hugs. It was comical to see him hug the Captain, who was a giant compared to Lionel, but she held in the laugh that threatened to bubble over. When Lionel let the door close behind him, Captain Rogers let out a breath.

      "You okay?" 

      He gave her a wry look. "Getting out today was difficult. It's just...one of those days, you know?" Katherine slowly stopped pulling out the groceries from the bag as he leaned against the counter, his large arms crossing over his chest. She could see the weariness in his expression, in the way he held his head low and the furrow of his eyebrows. It was an expression she was familiar with. She had worn it for most of her life, and was still struggling with it. Which was why when she finished putting the groceries away, she smiled at him.

      "I have an idea."

○✪○

      It had taken them about an hour to set up the at-home gym the way they wanted to, but Katherine had found wrestling mats in one of the corners of the gym and he had helped her set it out with no trouble at all. In reality, he probably could have done it himself, but he seemed to realize that she wanted to feel useful and allowed her to carry one end, though he carried most of the weight. Once it had been rolled out on the floor, they started to move the equipment like the elliptical and treadmill. Soon, the mat was pretty much the only thing in the center of the room.

      "You sure about this?" he asked hesitantly. It was the fourth time in the past hour that he'd asked the question. If she didn't know him, she might have been offended that he doubted her skill. But she knew it came from a place of genuine worry and not sexism. 

      "You know I was a field agent for the past seven years, correct?" Katherine joked, placing her hands on her hips. They had both changed into their workout gear, which consisted of a racerback tank and sports bra with leggings for Katherine, and a plain white shirt and grey sweatpants for Captain Rogers. 

      He didn't seem to be appeased by her answer, but shrugged his shoulders. Katherine had some of her music playing from the speaker she had brought in, but she could pinpoint the exact moment that he stopped hearing it. His eyes became more focused, staring at her with the steadiness of a sharpshooter. His muscles looked relaxed, but she knew from experience that they were poised and ready to be used. He seemed to be waiting for her to make the first move, and eyed her as she straightened her ponytail. The hair was a gamble because he could easily grab it in his fist and use it against her, but she felt in her gut that he wouldn't even think of it. 

      His eyes flickered to her left leg when she started to move it, just before he brought his hands up to defend himself as she shot at him like a bullet. Because of his strength, she knew that it would be difficult to get him down, but hopefully his strength didn't exactly equal battle strategy. She pulled away from his grip easily enough, knowing that he wasn't using his full strength and sneering a little at the thought that he was going easy on her.

      He rushed at her, and she barely had time to duck out of the way, turning quickly and kicking her foot upwards to try and get him in the side of his face. She underestimated how fast he was, and her eyes widened a little in surprise when his hand shot out to grab her foot and twist it, forcing her to propel her body in the direction he moved it, twirling a little in the air before landing unsteadily back on her feet.

      But he was starting to smile. And that was all that mattered. 

      She shot out her hand to catch him in the jaw, but he moved too quickly, grabbing her elbow and side-stepping her. He was behind her now, elbow still locked in his grip, close enough so she could feel the breath on her neck. The angle was awkward for the arm that he held, so she kicked her foot backwards and caught him on his shin. Still, that wasn't enough to surprise him. She tried again, moving her other arm to try and elbow him in the gut and wind him enough to let her go, but he simply caught that in his hands too.

      Jesus, this was going to hurt, she thought to herself before she slammed her head backwards, her skull meeting his jaw with a horrifying banging noise. The surprise of it was enough to have him jumping backwards, rendering her free from his grip.  Her head pounded a little, but the adrenaline was keeping her from feeling the full pain of it.

      "You're not giving a hundred percent," she said in an annoyed tone of voice, narrowing her eyes at him. He was rubbing his jaw, his eyes void of all the guilt and anxiety she had seen in them earlier. Instead was a fire, like this was the first interesting thing he'd done in months.

      "I am," he argued, grinning a little at the statement. He was lying through his teeth and they both knew it. "You're stronger than I give you credit for."

      She laughed. "Strength sometimes doesn't mean shit. It's strategy." As soon as she finished her sentence, he was running at her again. She dropped into a crouch, swinging her leg out so it would get him in the ankles and hopefully send him tumbling to the ground. Unfortunately for her, his size didn't distract from his focus and concentration, and he jumped over her swinging foot at the last second. When she cursed, he just laughed. He descended upon her, ready to pick her up by the arms and trap her again, but she quickly rolled herself backwards to get some distance between the two of them and could stand without him interfering. Back on her feet, she held up her hands in front of her defensively. 

      It was her turn to run at him, throwing a punch that missed its mark entirely. She wasn't terrible with hand-to-hand, but because her body was small and she hadn't done this kind of fighting in a while, she was tiring out easier than she would have in any other circumstance. She knew that she had to end the little sparring session before her body crumpled from the weight of exhaustion. If she had her bow and arrow, this fight would have ended more quickly than it had begun. Turns out, fighting a super soldier was more difficult than it looked. 

      He went to grab at her and she kicked her foot into the back of his knee. He didn't drop to the ground like she had hoped, but his knee bent just enough for his height to get to where she wanted it. Using his bent knee as a stepping stool, she jumped up on it and wrapped her leg around his neck, throwing her body backwards onto the mat. When her body made contact with the ground, she wrapped her other leg around his neck and grabbed the hand that tried to reach up to unravel his neck from her grip. With his neck and arm incapacitated, there weren't many other moves he could pull.

      She saw the arm she didn't hold reach to tap the mat with a quick pattering motion. She released the iron-like grip her thighs had on his neck and let go of his hand. He was a terrible, sweating mess, but she imagined she looked the same. Instead of standing, the both of them just laid on the mat, staring up at the ceiling.

      "How long has it been since you've been on a mission?" he asked, and she hated that he didn't even seem out of breath.

      Her eyes closed. "Coming up on six months. I had one, it went badly, you cropped up on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s radars and I was assigned to you. Fury thought I needed to get out of the field for a while."

      "Did you think you needed to get out of the field?" 

      She turned her head to look at him. He had his head propped up on one of his arms, and though his eyes were on the ceiling instead of her, she could tell that he was eagerly awaiting her answer. "Yeah. It was probably for the best. I...I kind of lost control for a minute there. Forgot myself and the mission. Treated it like a personal vendetta rather than a job. Fury was smart to take me out."

      "And does he want you back in?"

      Katherine twisted her body so she was leaning her head on her hand, elbow propped up. Her eyes met his and he moved slightly to copy her position, the both of them facing each other. "He thinks he does. But he wants my skill, not necessarily me. He still thinks that I might be a loose cannon. I'll definitely have to go through evals before he puts me back in the field permanently. Obviously I'll go back if it's a huge crisis, but...I think I might be a little terrified of myself."

      Captain Rogers reached out, gently touching her shoulder. The touch was comforting, like an anchor to remind her that she was here, she was valid, and she was real. "You're a good person, Agent Baker. I sense that. Everyone makes mistakes." Her hand reached up to pat his, then grimaced a little at the sweat. "What?" he asked, grinning a little.

      "We both desperately need a shower. Rock, paper, scissors for who gets first?"

      "Rock paper scissors?" he asked quizzically, raising a brow.

      "Rochambeau," she corrected.

      The grin widened. "Rochambeau. Bucky and I used to do that when we saw a pretty dame we both liked. We all knew Bucky was going to win because he was the ladies man, but I liked thinking I had a chance." 

      "I'm sure there was some girls who would have gone for you and not Bucky." Katherine sat up, sitting on the mat and grimacing at the sweat that glistened when she pulled her body away. She would definitely have to clean this sooner rather than later. Captain Rogers snorted, but didn't say anything to refute her statement as he too sat up. Katherine placed her hand out in front of her, putting her other fist on top of it. He copied her motion. "Alright, so nowadays we say rock, paper, scissors instead of rochambeau. Put down your hand on scissors. Closed fist is rock, flat hand is paper, and two fingers are scissors."

      "Best two out of three?" He asked. Katherine nodded eagerly. 

      "Rock, paper, scissors!" Katherine frowned when Captain Rogers produced a flat hand and she presented her closed fist. He shrugged with a little smirk when she glared at him. "Rock, paper, scissors," she said again, and groaned when his scissors cut her paper. "Fine, you get first shower. I'll try and clean the mat up while you're in the bathroom."

      "I can help if you want," he offered, but she saw the longing in his eyes for the long, hot shower. She couldn't blame him.

      "Don't worry about it. You won, fair and square." She waved him off and he sent her a grateful smile. Once he moved out of the gym, Katherine grabbed some disinfectant spray and sprayed the mat down well, letting it air dry before she worked to fold it up and put it back in the corner they had found it in. Though she hadn't done any of the cardio or yoga she usually did, she felt herself energized and ready for the day. They didn't have any plans, but suddenly Katherine wanted to get out of the house and use the energy that had built up to do something fun.

      Captain Rogers was quick to get out of the shower, popping his head into the gym to tell her that he was done. She was quick to take one as well, still making sure to thoroughly scrub her body so she got all the grime off her skin before she got out and changed into her usual neutral colored clothing. Sophia gave her shit for wearing them all the time, but they were nice and comforting to look at. Made Katherine feel like she didn't stand out.

      "You look ready for the day," he commented when she exited the bathroom about thirty minutes later, her hair still a little wet but pulled up into a ponytail. He was wearing jeans and a comfy looking gray tee. She accepted the small bacon and egg sandwich he provided her and took a bite out of it. She noticed that he didn't like to season his with anything, just put an abnormal glob of cheese on it, so she grabbed the hot sauce out of the pantry and put a couple of drops on it. 

      "Was wondering if you wanted to go on a walk with me. No particular destination, but it'll be nice to get out of the house."

      He shrugged, seeming to be a fan of the idea. They finished up their sandwiches, Captain Rogers quickly grabbing his notebook, sketchbook, and pencils. He liked to bring them wherever he went because he "never knew when he would be inspired" or when he would "need to write a reference down." Katherine thought it was a rather endearing habit. The two of them exited the house, walking down the driveway and taking in the cool Delaware air. He was perfectly happy without a jacket, but as it was the first week of February, Katherine snuggled into the warmth her sweatshirt provided. Things were quiet between them for several minutes, but the both of them were comfortable with it.

      "It's going to be weird getting back into human civilization once the six months are up," Captain Rogers commented once they had been walking for about ten minutes. 

      Katherine looked over at him. "I know. Two and a half more months to go."

      "I can't believe it's already been four," he stated, and it looked like he wanted to stuff his hands in his pockets, which she had noticed seemed to be his nervous habit. However, due to the stuff in his hands, he couldn't. "Mind if we sit at that park bench? I want to sketch something."

      "Sure." They made their way over. The park had a little lake in the middle of it, so when they were seated comfortably, he immediately set out to sketch the outline of the lake. "You think you're ready to get back out there in the real world?"

      Captain Rogers smiled wryly. "No. Yes. I don't know. I'm tired of feeling like a burden or an invalid, but I also know it's stupid to assume I know everything I need to before becoming a functioning member of society."

      "I assure you, there are several people around in this time period who haven't grasped the concept of being a functioning member of society." Both she and the Captain snorted at her statement and she watched his hand delicately trace a pencil across the page. She could see the beginnings of some of the plants around the lake form on his paper. "You don't have to if you don't want to, you know. We can talk to Fury. If you aren't comfortable—"

      "Fury wouldn't let me sit anything out and you know it," he said in a soft voice. The words were cruel and cutting, but she knew he didn't mean them that way. It was just another reminder that he didn't even own himself. Steve Rogers had been buried long ago. 

      "I could talk to him."

      "It sounds like he wouldn't let you sit out anything either," he argued gently.

      She pressed her lips together. "He wouldn't let Silhouette sit out. He'd be fine letting Katherine Baker sit out."

      "Silhouette?"

      "My S.H.I.E.L.D. alias. My version of Captain America."

      His hand suddenly made a striking dark line. Her eyes followed the movement. It looked like he was drawing the trunk of a tree. "There's a distinction between the two?"

      "There's a distinction between Captain America and Steve Rogers, isn't there?"

      He nodded absentmindedly, but she could tell most of his focus was on the sketch in front of him. She allowed herself to be silent, closing her eyes and listening to the sounds of the park around her. It was still too cold for any children to be out playing, so any voices she heard were from people who wanted to walk like she and Captain Rogers had. The lake moved every so often, making a sort of velvety sound against the dirt surrounding it. The loudest thing she could hear was the scratch of the pencil against the page, and sometimes the sound of an eraser being used. 

      "Tell me about Charlie," he whispered.

      Normally she would tense at a request like that. She would get clammy and avoid it. Talking about Charlie hurt. It was like this giant part of her heart that had died with her family that day. But remembering Charlie, with his bright smile and big brown eyes, hurt even more. Her parents at least had gotten to experience most of their lives. They had fallen in love, had children, travelled. Charlie never got those same experiences. Instead, there was just this empty space in her brain where memories of his should have been. She should have watched him fall in love, watched him learn to play the piano, watched him become a father. 

      When Captain Rogers asked, though...something was different. Captain Rogers, who knew much more pain than she would ever know. He had lost his family and friends. He had lost Bucky, who was just as much of a brother to him as Charlie was to her. 

      Which is why she smiled a little and offered the small bit of information that she knew wouldn't upset her. "He was afraid of Donald Duck."

      She heard him laugh. "Why?"

      "Didn't like how he talked. The sound used to scare him." 

      With her eyes closed, she could imagine that Charlie was sitting right there with her. He would be staring at the same lake Captain was, bugging every ten seconds to see what the super soldier was drawing. Though he would be twenty-two now, he would still be as curious as he had been when he was seven. Maybe he would be doing something stupid to make Katherine and Captain Rogers laugh, or maybe he would be skulking angrily because he hadn't wanted to go to the park. 

      "I used to paint his nails as practice for when I did mine. There was one week where he went to school with bright purple nails. Whenever someone asked about them, he just said that he was helping his sister." Captain Rogers continued to draw while she spoke, but she heard his soft snort of acknowledgement. "He was curious. He got into trouble more times than not because he was so nosey. It was more than that, though. He wanted to know how everything worked. If a machine moved in a certain way, he wanted to know why."

      Katherine wondered if Captain Rogers imagined Bucky like that sometimes. 

      "Tell me something about Bucky and Annie," she requested. The last time she had asked, he had shut her down. He only offered information about Bucky or Annie when he wanted to. And she would respect that, should he choose the same when he answered her now. But she would always remain curious, just like her brother.

      He cleared his throat and she heard the pencil stop moving against the paper. "He once got suspended for putting itching powder in the gym shorts of someone who had been bullying me. Come to find out months later, it was actually Annie that did it. He just took the fall."

      Katherine's eyes opened at that little anecdote, letting out a big laugh as the sentence settled between them. "That's priceless. The bully deserved it."

      "Yeah, he ended up getting suspended too. Not before landing a nice punch to my left eye. It was swollen shut for almost a week, bruised black for about three." He gently turned his sketchbook towards her. That was new for them too. He wasn't afraid to show her his sketches anymore. She felt privileged that he didn't mind sharing this part of himself with her.

      She leaned over to examine the sketch. It was a beautiful depiction of the lake, with large weeds surrounding it. It looked complete, but he was still drawing something underneath it. When he pulled his hand away, she saw that it was a silhouette of her profile, eyes closed and face tilted towards the sky. 

      "You're so talented," she said absentmindedly. "I always wanted to be good at something like that."

      "Apparently you're good at fighting," he retorted, giving her a small smile as he remembered their little sparring session. "You ever use weapons? Like how I use my shield?"

      Katherine looked out to the lake. "I'm best with a bow and arrow. There's another agent, Barton, he and I always mess around and try to see who hits the most targets. If Romanoff or Sophia didn't mediate, we'd be in there for days. Usually it ends in a tie. Other than that, I'm pretty okay with daggers too, but I don't use them much. I'm not the biggest fan of hand to hand combat. I was trained in it, obviously. All field agents are. But it's not my preferred."

      "Did you at least get to pick what weapon you used?"

      Katherine shrugged. "When I first became an agent, I went through this...try-out of sorts. They put you in a room with a bunch of different weapons and you see which ones you're most proficient with. It doesn't always work out like that, since sometimes Fury recruits pretty well-known combat people, but for most field agents, they have to be proficient with at least three weapons before they're sent out into the field. And they have to be able to beat Romanoff in a spar."

      "Romanoff?" Captain Rogers asked.

      "Notorious agent for S.H.I.E.L.D. She's slightly frightening, but she knows her stuff. Once you get to know her, she's really cool. I showed Fury I was decent with a bow an arrow, daggers, and a gun pretty quickly. I think I was only in there for two hours. But it took me six tries to beat Romanoff. And I'd been doing training for seven years before that," she explained. He looked surprised. She wondered if it was because he had automatically gained his strength and stamina instead of having to build it up, like she had when she was training to go into the field. She didn't envy him for it or anything. But it was funny how different their circumstances were.

      "Will I have to go through that training? Beating Romanoff?" he asked suddenly.

      Katherine couldn't stop the laugh that bubbled up in her throat. "For some wild reason, I don't think they'll make Captain America go through the same training."

      "But then have I really earned a place at S.H.I.E.L.D?" She could sense that it was important to him to earn his keep. But she also heard the undercurrent of bitterness, like he still wasn't sure about S.H.I.E.L.D. as a whole.

      "Do you really want to?" she asked. "I thought you were still on the fence about them."

      That seemed to get through to him, and he pursed his lips as he thought about how he was going to answer.

      "No one's expecting you to trust us right away. I didn't trust S.H.I.E.L.D. right away, either. And yeah, I guess I'm a little biased because they took me in, but S.H.I.E.L.D. saved my life. More times than I can count. But...you have a choice, Captain Rogers. I know it may not feel like it, but Fury will let you walk away if you genuinely want to hang up the mantle."

      "That's the thing," he whispered, closing his sketchbook and setting his pencil down, "I'm not sure if I want to hang it up." 

      The two of them stared at the lake some more, letting his words sink in. He had a choice, sure. If he walked away from this, Fury would still provide him with enough money for him to live comfortably on until the day he died, whenever that may be. He wouldn't be obligated. He didn't...owe them like she did. Katherine couldn't ever imagine walking away from S.H.I.E.L.D. Because it wouldn't just be S.H.I.E.L.D. she was walking away from. It was Sophia and her family, it was the only life Katherine had ever known since she was ten, and it was the idea that without S.H.I.E.L.D, all she'd be was a sad little girl who lost her family.

      "Ready to head back?" Katherine asked, standing from the bench and pressing her palms together to get some warmth back in them.

      "Sure."

      It wasn't home they were returning to. Home for Captain Rogers meant a little place in Brooklyn with Bucky by his side. Home for Katherine meant sitting around with Sophia's family, listening to Wendy tell a joke and call Katherine mija. But it was a hell of a lot better than S.H.I.E.L.D, which was what the both of them needed at the moment. 

      It wasn't home they were returning to. But it wasn't war, either.

○✪○

      Captain Rogers had raised his eyebrows at the coffeehouse's name, but Katherine thought it was funny. Brew HaHa! was a brick building with an assortment of photos scattering the walls. It was the kind of cozy coffee shop that Katherine always saw in movies. And they had specialty lattes, which Katherine had decided she wanted to try today.

      "Is there seriously a latte called the Sugar Daddy?" Captain Rogers asked, raising an eyebrow that disappeared under the hat he was wearing. 

      He'd long since gotten used to the fact that Katherine drank her coffee with mostly creamer. He wondered how sustainable it was to survive on coffee that had more sugar content than a baked pastry, but it made Katherine happy.

      "Isn't it great?" she asked, eyes scanning the menu. There were more normal ones, like the Neapolitan, but then there were ones he didn't know, like one called the Jack Frost. She leaned over to him and he noticed the faint smell of whatever clean perfume she used. Katherine wasn't fancy with her clothes or jewelry, and the perfume she used reflected that. It smelled nice.

      "Sure," he replied, sounding incredibly unsure.

      She grinned at his hesitance and walked up to the counter. "Hi," she said to the teenager working behind the bar. "Could I get the Coconut Dream? And whatever he's having," Katherine pointed her finger at Captain Rogers.

      "I'll do the...Thin Mint," Captain Rogers said after a few moments, eyes squinting at the menu.

      Katherine paid (despite him protesting that he had money) and the two trailed to the chairs right next to the window. February in Delaware was cold, but the sun was still shining and it felt nice on her skin. "Did you have coffee much?"

      "Nothing called the Sugar Daddy, I assure you."

      She waved off his sarcasm. "Did you drink it black?"

      He shrugged. "That's all I really had to choose from. Especially when we were out on missions, we'd brew our own. It tasted terrible, but it was caffeine."

      Their drinks were delivered to them and she attacked hers with vigor, immediately slurping a long pull of the latte. His was good, he'd admit. If anything, it was a little sweet for his taste with the dark mocha syrup, but the mint balanced it out pretty well. Katherine looked like she liked hers, humming happily once she had consumed most of it. 

      It was nice to sit with her somewhere other than the safe house. Now that the two of them had been there for almost four months, the newness of everything was starting to wear off and they were both going slightly stir crazy. They hardly needed to clear things with Fury anymore, just a quick text to him to tell them they had planned to leave the house. It was feeling less like a prison and more like just...existing.

      It hit him slowly, then. He trusted Agent Baker. 

      He didn't trust much since waking up in this strange new world. He definitely didn't trust S.H.I.E.L.D., and he didn't know if he ever would. Peggy being a founding member was one of the only reasons he even gave S.H.I.E.L.D. the time of day. But he trusted Agent Baker. He'd learned things about her since the beginning of their little vacation, and he liked what he learned. She was a good person, something that this world was sorely lacking.

      She had her secrets, sure. He still didn't know the extent of what had happened in Austria, despite the fact that she'd alluded to it more than once. But it was hypocritical to hold that against her. He had secrets too, after all. 

      So he smiled when she set her latte down and it was almost completely gone. 

      "Want to try some?" she asked, holding out her cup to him. 

      "Sure. Would you like some of this one?" he asked, gesturing to his own coffee concoction. She had been eyeing it (not so slyly) since about halfway done with her coffee. 

      She nodded enthusiastically and they swapped cups. Hers was good, but way too sweet for him. And, he was finding that he wasn't a huge fan of coconut. "It's...interesting."

      Katherine laughed. "You can say you don't like it. It's okay. Yours is good." She handed it back to him and he was happy to get rid of whatever it was she liked to drink.

      They sat for a few more moments in the coffee shop, just looking out the window. There was a newspaper on the table in front of them and he picked it up, scanning the pages. They still had little cartoons and comic strips in there, which was nice to see. He remembered that Katherine had mentioned drawing something like them under an anonymous name. Maybe he'd consider it. It wasn't a horrible idea.

      "What're you thinking about?" she asked.

      That I trust you and I really hope I'm not going to regret it. But that was too complicated. So, he just shrugged. "Nothing."

      They stayed at the coffeehouse for another hour.

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