His eyes finally landed on her, as bits and pieces came back to him. He vaguely recalled seeing the brunette at the street market. In fact, Magna's face was the last he remembered before everything faded into blackness. He remembered the concern in...
"So, let me get this straight," Magna was enjoying herself. Cradling her coffee in both hands, she examined her friend's face, watching the blonde as she secured the plastic lid over the rim of the cup. The latter breathed in and out slowly, bracing herself. "Last night, when I called several times to vent and you picked up and yelled 'Magna,not now!!' before hanging up, you were..?" she trailed off, one expectant brow raised.
Sharon winced a little, and Magna noticed how tired her partner looked. Still, the blonde nodded once, lips in a tight line. "Kind of in the middle of a shooting, yes."
Magna's eyes were wide, as was her smile. "You better tell me everything!"
Coffees in hand, the two left the cart and began walking towards the hallway again, heading back to Magna's office, the sound of their boots clicking on the cold, shiny floors. Their steps were steady as they were fast, the two barely glancing around as they spoke.
»»————- ✼ ————-««
"NEIGHBOR?"Magna rasped, choking on her coffee. Her footsteps halted as she sputtered, bracing herself on someone else's desk until she could suck in a breath that wasn't blocked by liquid.
Sharon crossed her arms, watching her as her friend regained composure, wiping a few tears out the corner of her eyes.
"That's cold," she mumbled under her breath, in disbelief. "... No pun intended." The blonde rolled her eyes and turned around, leaving her behind. Magna shook her head and rushed her pace to catch up with her.
Hours earlier Nick Fury had been brought to the hospital in Bethesda, Maryland, where he died, and Alexander Pierce questioned all agents who had been present at the shooting– including Sharon. As the latter and Pierce stood at his office door, he had comforted her, telling Carter she had done all she could. Turning to leave, she saw Steve for the first time since her identity as an undercover agent had been revealed.
It was unclear for Magna how long Sharon had lived across the hall from Steve, but it was long enough for the agent to see him as a person, not just a symbol, and come to genuinely respect Steve Rogers, the person, as much as she did Captain America, the Avenger. They were familiar enough with each other to engage in flirtation, though Sharon was careful not to let it lead anywhere.
Steve was a big believer in ideals, and Sharon likely understood how little Steve would appreciate being lied to and didn't want to lead him on any more than she had to. She was prepared to lie to him to complete her mission as his protector, but she refused to emotionally manipulate him.
She respected him far too much for that.
»»————- ✼ ————-««
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
»»————- ✼ ————-««
"Ugh, I can't believe they assigned you to him and you didn't tell me," shoving Sharon's shoulder, Magna shook her head and bit the inside of her cheek to suppress a smile.
