Chapter 3
Telling his family that he was going on a mission would be a hundred times worse now that he heard what Peggy thought about it.
He grabbed his phone and texted Natasha to meet him in a bar they always went to. Natasha was a close friend, an anchor, someone who always had his back.
He just needed to talk to her. He had already dropped off the kids at school. Peggy had refused to talk to him for the rest of the morning. When he had told her that he was meeting Natasha, she had been even more angry and jealous.
He entered the bar called Whip & Fiddle. Natasha was seated in the back of the room. She was ordering something. Steve sat down next to her. She looked at him with raised eyebrows.
“What happened?” She asked.
“My relationship with Peggy is suffering because of my job – She just told me that she couldn't do that anymore, you know, me being away for dangerous missions she doesn't know anything about. I understand why she acts like that, but I don't know what to do, Nat.”
Her expressions softened when she heard the desperation and helplessness in his voice. “Steve. She said seriously. “I know you feel torn between your family and your job, but do you really think Peggy would make you choose between them?”
When he didn't answer right away, she asked: “What do your kids think about it?”
“I don't know, Natasha. I know they're afraid that I'll get hurt on missions, but it's happened in the past, and I recovered quickly.” Nat's eyes flashed curiously at this, but she kept her mouth shut.
“The worst thing is that I'm going on a new mission in five days, and I haven't told them yet.”
Natasha's eyes widened at this. “Wait, what?”
“Yeah, exactly." Steve sighed. He buried his face in his hands. “What do I tell them? What do I tell Peggy? She's gonna be furious, especially after we just … discussed it.”
Natasha sighed and leaned back in her seat. “What have you gotten yourself into, Steve?” She sighed. He rubbed at his eyes and shook his head. “I'm a mess sometimes, am I?" He asked with a sigh.
Natasha arched an eyebrow at him. “Sometimes?” She asked, a small smirk on her lips. He smiled.
Both of them knew they were changing the topic because neither of them was really comfortable with speaking about it, but Natasha wanted to help her friend at least a little.
The smirk disappeared and her expression turned serious again. “Steve, I can't really help you even though I want to, I really do.” She grabbed his hand and squeezed it. “You need to figure this out yourself. I can't tell you what to do. If I told you what to do, you might regret it later.” She paused for a few seconds, swallowed and continued. “Try to find out how to deal with this situation, avoiding it won't help anyone. Just try not to lose yourself when you do that.”