Reality in Motion

an offer

"So this is what it's like talking to a dead man." she said quietly while scanning the chip options in front of her, "A little anticlimactic, honestly."

"Well, next time we'll have to break out the Ouija board and some candles." came Fury's dry response on the other side of the aisle. Q tried not to smile to herself, reaching for a bag of popcorn.

The corner store lights hummed above them as she moved down the aisle to grab a bag of cheese curls. Fury followed on the other side, acting interested in whatever was over there. Luckily, it was late enough in the night that the store was pretty much empty - no one was paying attention to their spy tactics.

"How are you holding up?" he asked in an uncharacteristically way. She glanced over the top of the aisle, wanting to see if he was being genuine or just making conversation. But the look in his eye told her it was the former. Taking in a breath, she shook her head and looked back down at the chips in front of her.

"Fine, I guess." she shrugged, eyes darting to where her cast was wrapped around her wrist, peeking out from under her coat. Dawson's name stood out in big, aggressive letters. Nat's name was underneath in the prettiest script she had ever seen and the other side Steve had been using as an open canvas, drawing whatever he felt like whenever they were laying in bed together. She twisted her arm back and forth to create some friction between the cast and skin so she could relieve an itch.

Two weeks had passed since her Congress hearing. Surprisingly, they had decided not to arrest her - in fact, none of them had been arrested because of what happened on the Potomac. Something about the good outweighing the bad. She didn't question it. Was there such thing as a second second chance?

But just because they weren't arrested didn't mean they were totally free. She still had to answer every single question the CIA, FBI, DHS, NSA - all the acronyms, had about that day. They put shadows on them, watching their every move. Congress was still actively trying to prove that they did something wrong.

Still, everyone was moving on: Dawson had "retired" and was doing nothing but playing video games, Sam had gone back to work at the VA, the CIA was helping take down some of the secret Hydra supporters who had been exposed thanks to the data dump, those who worked for SHIELD but weren't actively involved in taking down the organization had moved on to other organizations - except for Q.

"Kinda hard to get a job when you took down and destroyed your old company." she sighed, "Everyone's afraid you're gonna do that to them too." she crossed over to the back of the store, where they kept the cold drinks. It wasn't like she hadn't been trying. Sharon had defected to the CIA and was trying to convince them to let Q into their program, but even being Peggy Carter's grand-niece had its limits. She tried to apply to companies outside of the world of secret intelligence, but with no college degree and a resume that was basically classified, her inbox was full of rejection letters.

Fury walked up next to her, their reflections staring back as they surveyed the drink options. Death suited him. He was dressed in all black, knit cap on his head matching the long jacket that went below his knees. He traded the eye patch for a pair of dark sunglasses, even though it was the middle of the night, and his arm was propped up by a sling he held close to his chest.

"No chance you'd be able to write me a reference letter from beyond the grave, huh?" she got a semi-chuckle out of him as he shook his head.

"And Rogers?" he asked, tone level. She was pretty sure he knew exactly where Steve was, but still, she'd humor him.

"Just left for New York, actually." she nodded to herself, "Something about the Avengers needing to find a scepter..." she trailed off, then shook her head, "I don't know." Although she did. She knew everything about why he went back to New York.