Agent Sakuara

SHIELD ANALYTICAL ROOM. NIGHT.

Nick Fury is facing several large monitors, in conference with members of the World Security Council.

"This is out of line, Director. You're dealing with forces you can't control." A figure of an old man shrouded in darkness said.

"You ever been in a war, Councilman? In a firefight? Did you feel an overabundance of control?" Nick Fury questioned.

"You saying that this Asgard has declared war on our planet?" the same man confirmed.

"Not Asgard. Loki." Nick Fury corrected.

"He can't be working alone. What about the other one? His brother." An old woman's voice was now heard.

"Our intelligence says, Thor is not a hostile. But he's worlds away, we can't depend on him to help. It's up to us." Nick Fury explained.

"Which is why you should be focusing on Phase 2, it was designed for exactly..." the old man before started saying but was cut offed by Nick Fury.

"Phase 2 isn't ready, our enemy is. We need a response team." Nick Fury informed.

"The Avengers Initiative was shut down." the same man reminded.

"This isn't about The Avengers." Nick Fury countered.

"We're running the world's greatest covert security network and you're gonna leave the fate of human race to a handful of freaks." the same old man mocked.

"I'm not leaving anything to anyone. We need a response team. These people maybe isolated, unbalanced even, but I believe with the right push they can be exactly what we need." Nick Fury tried to persuade.

"You believe?" the old woman before asked sarcastically.

"War isn't won by sentiment, Director." reprimandanded by the same old man.

"No, it's won by soldiers." Nick Fury replied.

BROOKLYN GYM. NIGHT.

Somewhere in a very old boxing gym is Steve Rogers pummeling a punching bag. With every swing, a memory flashes before him and he tries to fight them off and repress.

Flashback. Steve is running through the forest, dodging mortars, gunfire and the energy firearms.

Then he was back on the plane again saying "There's not enough time! I gotta put her in the water!"

Steve's rage builds as he punches the bag. His punches gets stronger.

Flashback. He was back on the plane again. The Red Skull picking up the Tesseract.

He sees his compass with a photo of Yumhee Sakura.

Steve closes his eyes for a second then he punches the bag harder.

Flashback. He was on the bed. Yumhee under him. "I've always been yours Steve. All of me." Then she kissed him passionately.

Steve opens his eyes and punches again. The bag starting to tear as another memory flashes.

Flashback. "Oh my god!" a SHIELD scientist exclaimed.

Inside Project PEGASUS at Antarctica, he was lying down on a medical slab, half frozen. Two SHIELD scientists run over to him with hi-tech devices to see if his vitals are up. Then a SHIELD scientist informed "This guy is still alive!"

Steve finally tears the bag open with his punch. It comes off it's chain, sand spilling out. He stands for a moment, breathing hard, letting out almost seventy years of repressed feelings.

After taking a few calming breaths, Steve picks up another punching bag which lays next to another five bags. He hooks the bag up and starts punching again.

Nick Fury walks in. "Trouble sleeping?" He asked.

Steve stopped and looked at him before replying. "I slept for seventy years, sir. I think I've had my fill." He continues to punch the bag.

"Then you should be out, celebrating, seeing the world." Nick Fury said while walking towards him.

Steve stopped punching, looks at him then starts walking towards to the bench. "I went under, the world was at war. I wake up, they say we won. They didn't say what we lost." He said while removing the tape off his right hand.

"We've made some mistakes along the way. Some very recently." Nick Fury simply said.

Steve just looked at him again before asking. "You here with a mission, sir?" He proceeds to remove the tape off his left hand.

"I am." Nick Fury honestly answered.

"Trying to get me back in the world?" Steve sarcastically asked.

"Trying to save it." Nick Fury said seriously while handing Steve a file on the Tesseract.

Steve receives the file and sits on the bench. "Hydra's secret weapon."

"Howard Stark fished that out of the ocean when he was looking for you. He thought what we think, the Tesseract could be the key to unlimited sustainable energy. That's something the world sorely needs." Nick Fury explained.

Steve returned the file to him before asking "Who took it from you?"

"He's called Loki. He's not from around here. There's a lot we'll have to bring you up to speed on if you're in. The world has gotten even stranger than you already know." Nick Fury informed.

Steve stands and grabbed his duffle bag while saying "At this point, I doubt anything would surprise me."

"Ten bucks says you're wrong." Nick Fury said to him while he picks up a punching bag. "There's a debriefing package waiting for you back at your apartment." Nick Fury informed him but Steve kept silent and started walking out of the gym.

"Is there anything you can tell us about the Tesseract that we ought to know now?" Nick Fury asked at his retreating back.

"You should have left it in the ocean." Steve seriously replied.

STEVEN'S APARTMENT. NIGHT.

"Are you really sure breaking in in his apartment is okay?" Stephan asked his mother for the third time.

Yumhee looked at her son smiling before replying sarcastically. "Why don't you say that louder so that his neighbors can hear you and report us."

Stephan held his tongue while his mother picked the lock. After a few more seconds, they successfully heard a click sound. Yumhee turned the knob and slowly opened the door. When nothing happened, she walked in nonchalantly with her bag. Stephan stood at the doorway hesitating but he eventually decided to follow his mother. He didn't forget to close and lock the door.

When he turned around, Yumhee just walked out of the bedroom. "You can sleep first. I'll wait for your father."

Knowing that his parents have a lot to talk about, Stephan didn't argue with his mother. He noded then went straight to the bedroom, closing the door behind him.

Yumhee sat on the couch while browsing her phone, passing the time as she waits for Steve.

After more than an hour, she finally hears someone at the door. She stood up immediately and walked near the entrance.

When Steve was able to unlock the door, he grabbed his things again and pushed the door gently with his elbow. When he looked up, he stopped on his tracks and just stared wide-eyed at a smiling Yumhee.

After a long minute of silence, Steve dropped his things and hesitantly asked "Yumhee...?"

Yumhee's smile widen even more. "Steve." She said happily.

Steve took a couple of staggering steps before he runs to her, securing his arms under hers and lifting her slightly for an embrace. Tears started silently falling on his face. "How...?" He asked, totally baffled.

Yumhee giggled. Steve lets her go, placing his hands on her cheeks. "I missed hearing that." He smiled widely at her.

"I missed you too Steve." Yumhee puts her hands on top of his. "You don't know how much I missed you these past decades." Tears started to fall on her face too.

Steve kissed her slowly at first, like rediscovering the feeling it brought to him. Then he kissed her more passionately as he grows more confident. After a while, they separated. Breathing heavily. Steve leanend his forehead against hers and they just stayed like that for a minute, savoring the moment.

STEVEN'S APARTMENT - LIVING ROOM.

When they were able to calm themselves, Steve hands Yumhee a cup of hot coffee as he sits beside her on the couch, facing her.

Yumhee accepts the cup of coffee with a smile and took a sip of it. Steve just watched her every move.

"Stop that. You're making me uncomfortable." Yumhee scolded him.

Steve chuckled. "Sorry. I just...I can't believe that you're still...young?" He said honestly.

Yumhee nodded, understanding his confusion. "Well...do you remember when I was abducted with my father?" she asked cautiously.

Steve was feeling a lot of negative emotions with the mention of the incident — mostly rage, disappointment and regret, but he nods his head.

Yumhee looked at him, seeing a lot of different emotions flashing in his eyes, mostly bad ones, she hesitates to continue. She understands that for him, everything seems just like yesterday. She sighs heavily and put her left hand on top of his. "We can talk about it some other time if you like." She smiled at him.

"No." Steve shakes his head. "It's okay Yumhee. Please...I want to know everything that happened to you, including the bad ones." He held her hand and squeezed it for reassurance.

"Okay..." Yumhee then started to narrate what happened to them until the day they discovered that Stephan and her age ten times slower than the normal rate.

"Where is he?" Steve asked nervously but expectantly.

Yumhee smiled at his reaction. "He's sleeping in the bedroom. Do you want to see him?"

Steve shakes his head. "I don't want to disturb him. I can wait until tomorrow. It's already very late anyways."

Yumhee laughed at his answer. "You do realize that though I said he looks like a six or seven year old, he's already almost seventy years old. Be careful how you act with him. He doesn't want to be treated like a child especially since you know his predicament." Yumhee warned him.

Steve noded his head. "I'll make sure not to forget."

A comfortable silence envelopes them for a brief moment before Steve cautiously asked a question he most wanted to know right now. "Yumhee...I uhm..."

When he didn't continue, she encouraged him. "Go on. What is it?"

Steve held her hands and looked her in the eyes. "Is there someone else? Or was?"

Yumhee just gave him a look. "Are you being serious right now?" she deadpanned.

"Yes...actually." Steve replied.

Yumhee released a sigh before speaking. She puts her hands on his cheeks and looked him dead in the eyes. "Steven, when I promised you before that everything I am is yours, I was being serious. Now, what would I have to offer to anyone else when there's nothing left to give?"

After hearing this, Steven smiled widely. He leaves the couch and bends a knee in front of her. Yumhee's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. It was now Steve's turn to laugh at her reaction.

Before Yumhee can say anything, Steve retrieves a ring from his pocket. It was a round-cut ruby with small round-cut diamonds surrounding it forming a flower-like design with a thin gold band. A 1940s engagement ring style.

"From the first moment I saw you, I knew that you were going to be special to me Yumhee. You are the first woman who truly saw me for who and what I really am, and appreciated what she did see. But I didn't love you because of that nor did I love you because you chose me, the me before the transformation, over so many other men lining for your affection. I love you simply because that's what I feel." Steve paused for a moment, wiping some of Yumhee's tears. "Our future is uncertain, so I want to cherish everyday that I am given by spending it with you. I think we both have waited long enough for this. And frankly speaking, I don't want to wait anymore. So Yumhee...I give you the rest of my life. Can you give me the honor of giving yours to me?"

Yumhee hugged Steven tightly. "The honor is all mine." Steve returned the hug, smiling widely.

When Yumhee was able to calm herself somewhat, Steve put the ring on her left ring finger. They had a simple celebration between themselves with a bottle of wine. After talking for another hour, Steve finally remembered the debriefing package Director Fury sent him.

When Steve returned to the couch with the files, Yumhee offered to help him. They spent a good hour studying the files and Yumhee helping Steve familiarize himself with some of the basics in this modern world. After that, they cleaned everything before they decided to finally hit the sack. To not disturb Stephan, they both slept on the couch holding each other.