A/N: A very short chapter but it's here to set up the next few chapters so bear with me :)

So I've caught a small cold which is making me procrastinate big time because suddenly 'I don't feel like it' is a valid excuse. Anyway, I'm really falling behind on writing these chapters cause I've been super busy (and lazy) lately, but I'm gonna try and see if I can catch up this weekend *fingers crossed*

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"Even if the whole world is

telling you to move...it is your duty to

plant yourself like a tree,

look them in they eye and say

'No, you move.'"
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There were two days until the UN conference in Vienna. Tony, Rhodey, Nat, and Vision had already signed the accords. Adelaide would have too if she could. She hoped that Steve and the others would come around eventually. She didn't want to think about what would happen if they didn't. Retirement? What would the Avengers be without Steve?

However, at the moment, while Tony was gone conducting business with Ross, Adelaide was at the compound with Vision and Wanda. She had decided to use a particular resource to help her locate Lukov. Even after all these months since Graves had induced a fear into her, she hadn't been able to rest. With Tony gone and FRIDAY alone, she thought she could use the AI to do a little digging and maybe even get her mind off of the accords.

"Anything?" she asked, coming to stand beside the hologram.

"Moscow," FRIDAY finally said, "I found a plane ticket. He was there a few weeks ago but..."

Adelaide's breath hitched in her throat. That was a real place. She finally had a location on him.

"But?" she asked, not sure if she wanted to know.

"That was a few weeks ago," she said, "Now, I don't where he could be."

She let out a breath, slamming the table with her hand. Of course. Every time they were closing in, something always happened. It was as if not only did Lukov want to keep information from her, but so did the universe.

"But..." FRIDAY started. Adelaide looked up, frowning.

"More bad news?" she asked, wrinkling her nose.

"Actually," she said, changing her form again.  An image of Lukov appeared, along with information that she already knew. "Lukov was Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, correct?"

"Yeah..." she said, not sure where she was going with this, "But he's retired and no one's seen him since."

"Even retired ministers have expectations," she said and Adelaide could somehow hear a smile in her voice. She looked at the AI's hologram, studying the face of the man on there that had seemingly ruined her life. "And as the minister of foreign affairs, he will be expected to make an appearance at the conference."

"I don't think that Lukov cares about what's expected of him," she scoffed. If he did, then he would have never bothered with her in the first place.

"What can you lose?" she said and the image of Lukov disappeared. Adelaide stared at the floor, biting the inside of her cheek.

The words echoed in her head. FRIDAY was right. She had nothing to lose. So she went to Vienna and if he wasn't there, then it would be no big deal. She would just come right back home, not having moved backwards or forwards.

"So you're saying that I, a teenager, should go to the United Nations conference in Vienna by myself?" Adelaide asked, crossing her arms over her chest with a frown.

"What could go wrong?" she asked mischievously.

-----

"What are you watching?" Pepper asked, coming to sit beside the teenager on the floor. Adelaide didn't like sitting on the sofa. Well, more specifically, the sofa at Pepper's place. It felt...strange. So she sat on the rug with a blanket and some pillows and lots of buttery popcorn.

"Pulp Fiction," Adelaide answered, scooting over to make room for her to sit. The teenager glanced at the clock hanging on the wall. "It's late, shouldn't you be sleeping?"

"No, mom," Pepper teased, "I can decide when I want to sleep."

Adelaide rolled her eyes, "Suit yourself."

They both quietly watched the movie for a while, enjoying each other's company. For the time being, the compound was chaos. With the accords and the conference, there was no room for calm. However, Pepper's place felt like the eye of the storm. No chaos, no accords, no conference, no Lukov. If she ignored the fact that they weren't in the Tower, Adelaide could almost pretend that it was like old times.

"How are things with Peter?" Pepper asked, her eyes still watching the tv.

"It's over," Adelaide sighed, "He hates me and I don't blame him."

"You really believe it's over?" Pepper asked, glancing at her. Adelaide swallowed.

"He can't even look at me," she said quietly, her voice breaking.

"I'm sorry things didn't work out better," Pepper said after a while. Adelaide took in a shaky breath.

"I'm leaving for Vienna tomorrow," Adelaide said, her eyes still on the tv. Pepper glanced at her again.

"For the UN conference?" she asked, pulling her knees up to her chest and resting her arms on them.

"Yeah," Adelaide said, taking in another deep breath.

And to find that son of a bitch, Lukov.

He was the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs. He has to be at the conference. She had been repeating it like a mantra in her mind. She was seemingly convincing herself, but it was the last string of hope she had. Singlehandedly, she couldn't capture him. Especially not in broad daylight. But the least she could ask for was a confrontation. And if he refused to compromise, then Natasha was going to be there with her at the conference anyway. She knew she could trust that woman to keep a secret if she needed her to.

She would find him after the conference and she hoped that upon seeing her, he would agree to talking with her. Just one conversation was all she needed.

That was, if he came out of hiding and showed up in the first place. And that was a big if.

If he wasn't there, then she would come back home empty handed, like usual. No steps forward or backward. But the plan had to work. It had do.

"Adelaide..." Pepper sighed, resting her hand over the teenager's, "I don't think it's a good idea."

It took her a moment to realize that she was talking about going to Vienna, not talking to Lukov.

"But I already have my ticket," she argued. Pepper let out a small laugh.

"Well, since you've already made up your mind," Pepper said, giving her a small smile. Adelaide looked at her again, squeezing her hand slightly.

"You know me so well," Adelaide grinned.

"Because you're just like him," Pepper smiled.

"It's the Stark genes," Adelaide said and they both laughed.

Suddenly, Adelaide's phone rang and she pulled it out of her pocket, glancing at the caller ID. It was Nat. But what was she calling for at this hour?

"Hey Nat, is everything okay?" she asked. A beat passed in silence. Adelaide shared a worried look with Pepper. Adelaide's heartbeat sped up.

"Natasha?"

"It's Steve."

-----

LONDON

Whatever Adelaide had expected her week to consist of, it had not included seeing Captain America cry.

Margaret Peggy Carter had passed away.

Adelaide stood at the back of the church, with Natasha as Steve and the other pallbearers carried the casket into the church. Her heart broke at the sight of Steve walking up the aisle. He might be Captain America, but this weight on his shoulders was probably the heaviest he had ever carried. She couldn't even imagine what he was suffering through at the moment.

She didn't know Peggy, but she knew that Peggy was one of the few people who was still alive from Steve's old life. No one knew how it felt to be asleep for 70 years and wake up to a whole new world where everyone you knew was gone. Of course he loved Peggy.

"And now, I would like to invite Sharon Carter to come up and say a few words," the priest said. A woman that Adelaide didn't recognize stepped up behind the podium.

"Margaret Carter was known to most as a founder of SHIELD...but I just knew her as Aunt Peggy," Sharon started, "She had a photograph in her office. Aunt Peggy standing next to JFK. As a kid, that was pretty cool. But it was a lot to live up to. Which is why I never told anyone we were related."

Adelaide smiled.

"I asked her once how she managed to master diplomacy and espionage in a time when no one wanted to see a woman succeed at either. And she said, compromise where you can. But where you can't, don't. Even if everyone is telling you that something wrong is something right. Even if the whole world is telling you to move..." Sharon said, now looking at Steve who was sitting in the first row, "it is your duty to plant yourself like a tree, look them in the eye and say 'No, you move.'"

As her words sunk in to the teenager's mind, Adelaide realized that, maybe, somehow, Peggy was right.

If you didn't believe in yourself, who would?

-----

Natasha had the teenager wait outside after the church had cleared out so she could talk to Steve. Maybe convince him to come with her and sign. Who was she kidding. It could never be that easy.

As she walked into the church, she found Steve standing at the front with his hands in his pockets. He looked...defeated. He turned around at the sound of her footsteps and sighed, dropping his head. The assassin came to stand beside him with a small smile.

"When I came out of the ice," Steve started, looking away as he pulled his lips in, "I thought everyone I had known was gone...Then I found out that she was alive. I was just lucky to have her."

"She had you back, too," Natasha said softly and Steve smiled, shaking his head at the floor.

"Who else signed?" he asked, knowing why she was here.

"Tony, Rhodey, Vision."

"Clint?" he asked.

"Says he's retired," she answered with a small smile.

"Wanda?"

"TBD," she answered and a heartbeat of silence passed between them, "I'm off to Vienna for the signing of the Accords. There's plenty of room on the jet."

Steve sighed, staring at the floor. Natasha watched him, studying his expression.

"Just because it's the path of least resistance doesn't mean it's the wrong path. Staying together is more important than how we stay together," she tried. Would he give in? Was she strong enough to see them fall apart? Not just anyone. This was her family. She couldn't give up on them.

"What are we giving up to do it?" Steve asked and the assassin sighed, understanding.

"I'm sorry, Nat. I can't sign it," Steve said softly, shaking his head. Natasha nodded slowly.

"I know," she said, making the super soldier look up.

"Then what are you doing here?" he asked. Natasha looked at him and she hoped that he could see in her expression what she couldn't put into words.

"I didn't want you to be alone," she said, smiling for a second and shrugging. She held her arms out, pulling him in for a hug. "Come here."

Regardless of which side they were on, family was still family.

-----

A/N: I really really love Steve and Nat's relationship. They both deserved so much better. Especially Nat. Still not over what happened to my queen.

TWO MORE WEEKS UNTIL CHAPTER 56!!! It's deadass just going to be a chapter with literally her memories lmao but I'm so excited!!!!!

Question: Favorite character in the mcu?