You can read ahead up to 70 chapters on my patreon: https://www.patreon.com/GGS6395
It all seemed to have unfolded shortly after Arthur returned from space, right around the time he struck that deal with Fury and pulled off the big operation. That was also when he first met her, at one of SHIELD's smaller outposts…
Yes, the very same place where a teleportation circle still hides inside the women's bathroom.
The moment Arthur saw her, her name came rushing back to him. Partly because he'd just glimpsed her photo the day before.
Sharon Carter.
For reasons he couldn't quite explain, hearing her name stirred a sudden wave of melancholy within him. He lifted his eyebrows slightly, softening his expression, and extended his hand.
"I didn't expect to see you here."
She gave him a curious look, sizing him up from head to toe.
"Looks like you already know who I am."
She stepped aside slightly.
"You're a little different from how I remembered."
Arthur pressed his lips together, then stepped inside the office. Natasha was busy scribbling notes behind her desk. Brock leaned against the wall with a distant look in his eye, still grappling with the shock of everything that had just happened.
Natasha ignored Arthur. Arthur ignored Brock. He and Sharon found a quiet corner of the room.
Arthur sat down first and gestured toward the chair opposite him. "Please, have a seat."
Sharon settled into the chair, lips pressed tightly together, her gaze steady. For a moment, neither of them spoke. The silence was thick with a subtle awkwardness, not unbearable, but definitely there.
Still, it wasn't true that there were no feelings between them. Behind this woman stood someone Arthur had known all his life. And for Sharon, the man sitting before her carried a name she'd heard since childhood, one whispered in legends and battlefield tales.
"I'm not sure how to address you properly," Arthur finally said, breaking the silence with a hint of awkwardness.
He knew he couldn't treat her like Tony, casually tossing out nicknames like "niece" or "kid." It felt like that would cross some unspoken line.
"You're my senior. Just call me Sharon," She said softly. "This isn't our first meeting, after all."
"I know," Arthur nodded. "But the last time was so brief that this time might as well have been our first real conversation."
"That's fine by me," Sharon smiled. "Honestly, I think we should forget the past. None of it really defines who we are now. Natasha gave me the rundown on Camp Lehigh... I was honestly shocked."
"Sorry if I scared you," Arthur said with a helpless grin.
Sharon chuckled quietly.
"Only a little. I never imagined the world held truths like this. If not for you, who knows how long it would've taken for us to finally see things clearly?"
"The Battle of New York revealed quite a bit already," Arthur said. "Never underestimate humanity's intelligence. If it weren't for certain forces stirring the pot behind the scenes, the world might already be in chaos."
Sharon nodded in agreement. Then she spoke quietly, "I'm not sure what else to say… but now that I'm here, I understand what's at stake. I'll do my best."
Arthur smiled, appreciating her straightforwardness. He gave her a steady look and stood up before speaking. "Welcome to the Camp Lehigh."
"Thank you," Sharon replied, nodding as she shook his hand.
With that, Arthur turned and left.
Natasha had only called him over to meet Sharon. Now that they'd met, that was all. Any deeper conversation wasn't right, not yet, because there still wasn't enough common ground between them.
At the end of the day, they were still strangers.
As Arthur stepped out of Natasha's office, a sudden heaviness settled over him. He couldn't say why. Later, Arthur found Bucky walking out with a gun casually slung across his shoulder.
"Where are you headed?" Arthur asked.
"The rooftop," Bucky answered.
Bucky gave him a bemused look as he spoke. "Every time I see you lately, you seem to be standing at some kind of life crossroads. If that's true, I just want to say--"
"Say what? That you're my life coach now?" Arthur interrupted with an eye roll.
"No," Bucky sighed. "What I want to say is that you've got a hell of a lot of crossroads in your life. Most of us walk a straight line... but you? You're running through a maze."
Arthur chuckled despite himself. 'What kind of twisted fate was this?'
The two made their way to the rooftop Bucky had mentioned. Just like the spot where they'd watched the sunset before, this rooftop was Bucky's sanctuary, his escape.
But now, Arthur was there too.
"Why the hell are you everywhere?" Bucky muttered, realizing the phrase had never felt more true.
As if from nowhere, Arthur pulled out a bottle of wine.
"Where there's me, there's good liquor."
"If it were just the liquor without you, that'd be even better," Bucky teased, eyeing the bottle while giving Arthur a pointed look.
Arthur rolled his eyes again and conjured two wine glasses, one for each of them.
Under the starlit sky, a soft breeze weaving through the rooftop, they shared a drink.
They talked for hours, neither recalling who started it, nor how it ended.
They just talked. By the time the conversation faded, the sun was rising. Bucky stood, bathed in the golden dawn light.
"I'm leaving."
Arthur, smelling of wine and squinting at the morning sun, asked, "Where to?"
"To see the world," Bucky said. "I've done what I can here. Trained the new recruits. Besides the Mark Series, we've got you guys; no one on Earth is dumb enough to mess with Camp Lehigh now. But I want to see the world again... The world we fought for, the world we protected. I want to see what it's become."
Arthur blinked, muttering, "Go then… Just… don't come back."
Bucky's voice was steady. "I'll be back. Call it selfish, but I will. It won't be long. I'll return to end this once and for all."
(End of Chapter)