"He left this morning," he manages, through lips that feel numb. Her words ricochet through his skull, causing a high-pitched ringing in his ears from shock.

Rendezvous with Steve. With Steve. But -- Steve wouldn't keep this from him, not something like this, he wouldn't, not even if Fury--

Her question hits like a hammer, and a rough, cracked breath of laughter escapes him. "Yeah, you could say that."

He can't stop looking at her as though she'll vanish any second, even as a part of him starts cataloguing a number of tiny details that just don't add up.