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wiypt-writes · 4 years

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Stark Spangled Banner

Ch 14: Nothing Personal

Summary: Steve confronts Fury about the Lemurian Star mission and the Director reveals just exactly what it is he’s been working on. However, when Fury is later gunned down in Steve’s apartment right in front of the Captain and Katie, the two are forced to run from the very people they’ve called colleagues and friends for years.

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

Warnings: Language! Violence.

A/N: I love this edit from @angrybirdcr

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Katie Stark and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

Chapter 13

Stark Spangled Banner Masterlist // Main Masterlist

“You just can’t stop yourself from lying, can you?” Steve seethed as he crossed the floor of Fury’s office.

Nick didn’t even need to ask him what he was talking about. Without turning round the Director spoke calmly. “I didn’t lie. Agent Romanoff had a different mission than yours.”

“Which you didn’t feel obliged to share” Steve pressed, raising an eyebrow as the Director spun in his chair to face him.

“I’m not obliged to do anything” Fury replied simply, looking at him.

“Those hostages could’ve died, Nick.” Steve pressed, holding the man’s gaze.

“I sent the greatest soldier in history to make sure that didn’t happen.” Fury stated, and Steve could feel his temper rising even more. He hated the blasé attitude the Director was discussing the issue with, like it was simply something he wasn’t all that bothered about.

“Soldiers trust each other, that’s what makes it an army.” He said after a short pause. “Not a bunch of guys running around and shooting guns.”

He wasn’t expecting the response he got. Fury leaned forward, frowning as he levelled Steve with a look.

“The last time I trusted someone, I lost an eye.” Fury spoke, his tone steely. Steve cocked his head to one side, crossing his arms but maintaining his silence. “Look, I didn’t want you doing anything you weren’t comfortable with. Agent Romanoff is comfortable with everything.”

“I can’t lead a mission when the people I’m leading have missions of their own.” Steve pointed down at Fury’s desk, stressing his point.

“It’s called compartmentalization” Fury eyed him. “Nobody spills the secrets because nobody knows them all.” Steve snorted silently and gestured at Fury. “Except you.” Fury took a deep breath and levelled Steve with a look. “You’re wrong about me. I do share. I’m nice like that.” Steve frowned as Fury stood up and motioned for him to follow.

“Where are we going?” Steve’s frustration was evident on his tone.

“You’ll see.” Fury stepped inside the elevator. Steve followed. “Insight bay.”

A photo of Nick’s SHIELD ID flashed up on the screen, surrounded by a green light. Then Steve noticed his, but the light was red as the SHIELD computer spoke. “Captain Rogers does not have clearance for Project Insight.”

“Director override, Fury, Nicholas J.” Fury spoke, without missing a beat.

“Confirmed.”

The elevator started to moved downwards. Steve leaned against the rail which ran round the middle of the glass box and clasped his hands in front of him by his belt. Despite his initial annoyance, he had found himself beginning to understand what the Director was saying. SHIELD had so many secrets, many a matter of national security. It made no sense for everyone to know everything, it was a security risk, he got that. But it still irked him.

“You know, they used to play music.” Steve said, his tone softer as he broke the silence, making a joke at his own expense.

“Yeah. My grandfather operated one of these things for forty years.” Fury mused, somewhat nostalgic. “My granddad worked in a nice building, he got good tips. He’d walk home every night, roll of ones stuffed in his lunch bag. He’d say ‘hi’, people would say hi back. Time went on, neighbourhood got rougher. He’d say ‘hi’ they’d say, ‘Keep on steppin’. Granddad got to grippin’ that lunch bag a little tighter.”

The flash into Fury’s personal life surprised Steve somewhat. He cocked his head to one side and looked at the man. “Did he ever get mugged?”

“Every week some punk would say, “What’s in the bag?”

“What did he do?”

“He’d show ‘em. Bunch of crumpled ones and loaded point twenty-two Magnum.” Fury smirked “Granddad loved people. But he didn’t trust them very much.”

Steve had to smirk slightly, thinking that Fury sounded a hell of a lot like his grandpa. He looked down for a second, and when he looked up he was aware that they had now travelled down the side of the Triskellion and were descending further, underground even. As Steve looked around he realised he was in some sort of below building hangar, and he looked out of the glass, spotting three giant Helicarriers. His mouth fell open in surprise, his brow furrowing.

“Yeah, I know. They’re a little bit bigger than a point twenty-two.” Fury remarked.

Eventually the elevator stopped and Fury stepped out, Steve hot on his tail as he watched people bustling around the hangar shouting, carrying things, fixing things. The helicarriers were bigger than the one they’d used during the Chitauri invasion, each being able to house at least twenty Quinjets.

“This is Project Insight.” Fury explained as he led Steve across the floor of the hangar. “Three next generation Helicarriers synced to a network of targeting satellites.”

And then Steve understood. “Launched from the Lemurian Star.”

“Once we get them in the air they never need to come down. Continuous suborbital flight courtesy of our new repulsor engines.” Fury stopped underneath one.

“Stark?” Steve asked, frowning.

“Well, he had a few suggestions once he got an up close look at our old turbines.” Fury nodded, as they continued. “But don’t worry, that’s not something Nova is keeping from you.”

“I wasn’t” Steve said honestly, as he looked up and around the hangar. “I trust my girl.”

Fury looked at him before he turned his attention back to the matter in hand and pointed up again “These new long range precision guns can eliminate a thousand hostiles a minute. The satellites can read a terrorist’s DNA before he steps outside his spidy hole. We gonna neutralize a lot of threats before they even happen.”

Steve crossed his arms. “I thought the punishment usually came after the crime.”

“We can’t afford to wait that long.”

Steve could feel the nerve twitching in his jaw. “Who’s ‘we’?”

“After New York, I convinced the World Security Council we needed a quantum surge in threat analysis. For once we’re way ahead of the curve”

“By holding a gun at everyone on Earth and calling it protection?” Steve looked at the director, frowning. He didn’t like this. It smacked of something HYDRA would do.

Fury picked up on his tone and he looked at Steve, arching an eyebrow. “You know, I read those SSR files. Greatest generation? You guys did some nasty stuff.”

Don’t I know it? Steve thought to himself as he took a deep breath. “Yeah, we compromised. Sometimes in ways that made us not sleep so well. But we did it so the people could be free.” He turned and pointed at the helicarriers before looking at Fury “This isn’t freedom, this is fear.”

“SHIELD takes the world as it is, not as we’d like it to be.” Fury stated simply. “It’s getting damn near past time for you to get with that program, Cap”

Steve shook his head. “Don’t hold your breath.” And with that he left.

He changed quickly, eager to put as much distance between him and SHIELD as possible for the rest of the day. After a short conversation with Rumlow about a mission report, he was on his bike and heading for Katie’s apartment, his mind whirling. What was Fury playing at? This wasn’t what he signed up for, at all. It felt so far removed from what he had joined the army to do, to keep people safe, free. Had he really changed that much? He felt a sudden pang for his Howling Commandoes, for Bucky, for Peggy, for Colonel Philips, for all those damned missions which had been simple- destroy HYDRA before they destroyed you.

Despite the fact he had woken up that morning and felt so happy with his girl being there, he couldn’t help but wish life was as simple as it had been back then.

*****

Katie’s morning had been far more productive. She had looked at a couple of transcript extracts her editor had selected. She had to admit, the guy had a good eye for a future blockbuster, and this one she particularly liked. After discussions, they settled on an initial run of two hundred hard copy of the books to be sold online, along with a downloadable kindle version, and if they went they would review how many more we needed.

Pleased with her mornings work and having cleared her diary for the afternoon, she had lunch in the kitchen and had just finished when she heard the elevator door open. She headed into the main area of her apartment to greet Steve, taking a deep breath as she noticed how drained he looked.

“Dare I ask how it went?”

His response was a sigh as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in for a hug, simply wanting to feel her close.

“That good huh?” She squeezed him back gently before she pulled away and headed towards the kitchen, him following behind her.

“Debrief was fine. Fury, however, went on about compartmentalisation, the usual crap.” Steve sighed, running his hand over his face, smiling softly to himself when he saw she was gathering stuff out of the fridge to make him a sandwich “And then shared something I really wish he hadn’t.”

“Like what?” she asked, throwing some turkey and mayo onto a sub. “Ever heard of Operation Insight?” Steve looked at her, even though he knew the answer. There’s no way she would have and not told him.

“No?” She handed him the plate containing his sandwich.

“Well apparently your brother has. Thanks.” He took the plate from her sat at the breakfast bar taking a bite of his food. He swallowed and then continued “Three huge hellicarriers that are basically designed to go up in the air and never come down based on Tony’s arc reactor tech. Programmed to monitor potential threats and wipe them out before they get chance to do anything.” She frowned, settling on the stool next to him. “And Fury has sanctioned this?”

Steve nodded, taking another bite of his food. “I don’t like it. Like I said to him, punishment normally comes after the crime.”

Katie could see he was really struggling with this and that his faith in SHIELD was running very, very thin. A lot of what the Agency did was political, not just about keeping people safe. She’d tried to explain that the lines were a lot more blurred than back in the 40s, but still had to admit she was kind of with him. As she pondered for a moment, Steve could see the cogs whirring in her brain, the slight v shape crease that always formed in the middle of her eyes when she was thinking was present. Steve didn’t blame her, it had thrown him too and he’d had the full explanation. The hangar had been huge, and there were enough people in there to make him realise that a LOT of people knew about it. What he didn’t know was who on his immediate team knew about it.

“I just wanna know who I can trust” He sighed, looking at Katie as she reached out gently, touching his cheek.

“I know, Soldier.” she said, softly before she shook her head. “Okay, no more talk about SHIELD or hellicarriers, or whatever.” She moved to pick up her soda. “What do you want to for the rest of the afternoon?”

Steve wanted to go to the Smithsonian. He’d been thinking about it since they had emailed him to invite him to open the exhibit on him, which he had politely declined. But he was curious to see what it was like, curious and also eager, after today, to be reminded of a time when he worked with people he knew inside out, people that he would trust with his life. And he was keen to share that with his girl, the woman who had months ago before they even started dating, been the one to help him pick what the museum would display.

“You know, we’ve still not been to the Smithsonian since they opened the exhibit.” He shruged, hoping his tone was casual enough to make it sound like he hadn’t been thinking about it enough. He failed though, smiling as Katie looked at him, arching an eyebrow.

Busted.

“Call it curiosity.” He shrugged.

“You know what curiosity did don’t you?” Katie quipped back, her eyes flashing playfully.

“What?”

She grinned as she delivered the punchline “Killed the Cap.”

*****

“A symbol to the nation. A hero to the world. The story of Captain America is one of honour, bravery and sacrifice,” the narrator at the Smithsonian museum said as we entered the exhibit.

Steve paused to pull the collar of his blue jacket up a little further, a gesture that, along with the cap that was pulled down over his face, he hoped would prevent him from being recognised as they made their way to the start of the pieces.

"Denied enlistment due to poor health, Steven Rogers was chosen for a program unique in the annals of American warfare. One that would transform him into the world’s first super soldier,” the Narrator continued. Steve paused to look at the display to his right when Katie gently nudged him.

“Think you’ve been rumbled.”

Steve looked down at her, and then followed her gaze as she looked to her left at a small boy dressed in a light blue T-shirt adorned with the design of his shield who was watching the pair of them, his eyes growing wide. Steve smiled, put a finger against his mouth to indicate for him to keep quiet. The boy nodded and then turned, running back off to find his mum.

Without speaking Steve took her hand and led her over to the part of the exhibit that had an older looking motorcycle on a platform and some black and white footage playing beside it. The footage was of him in his older Captain America uniform, also currently on display, running through a battlefield.

“In this rare footage, everyone’s favourite war hero, Captain America…”

He didn’t stop to hear the rest, he could remember that mission by heart. It had been on the outskirts of Toulouse, liberating another HYDRA prison camp. Katie allowed herself to be led by him, this was his moment after all. They slowly walked to a display of mannequins dressed in his original suit, plus those of the Howling Commandos, which had been donated by their families. His eyes lingered on Bucky’s for a second and he took a deep breath.

“Battle tested, Captain America and his Howling Commandos quickly earned their stripes. Their mission, taking down HYDRA, the Nazi rogue science division,”

Katie looked at the uniforms, a smile on her face. She had only seen photos of Steve’s war suit, never seen it in person and it intrigued her. More so because this was something that her dad had made, something physical he had touched. She felt a tug on her hand again, and she looked up to see that she was being led to a section dedicated to Bucky. The familiar (albeit again, only from photos), handsome face of his best friend looked back at them as they wandered over to read what it said in more detail.

“Best friends since childhood, Bucky Barnes and Steve Rogers were inseparable on both school yard and battlefield. Barnes is the only Howling Commando to give his life in service of his country…”

The narration didn’t cover half the text on the black, glass screen and in Katie’s opinion it wasn’t a particularly good tribute to a man who had lost his life in such tragic circumstances. She read the rest of the text as Steve’s eyes skated over it, reading, despite the fact he knew it all. He wished he could have saved him, he really did. He’d loved him to have been able to meet Katie. But then, he wouldn’t have anyway. As he would have most likely been dead now. Or what’s to say things may or may not have ended up differently. Would Buck have been on the Valkyrie with him?

He watched the black and white footage playing, where the two of them were talking and then laughing about something and he felt the sadness hit his chest again. And as if she sensed it too, Katie gripped his hand a little bit tighter and lay her head against his arm, her weight giving him something to anchor himself too, and he was grateful for it.

They carried on walking and then they found there was a small cinema area a bit further round the corner playing footage and interviews. Steve paused for a second and then looked at Katie, the question stayed silent. She nodded and together they walked in, taking a seat on one of the benches. There was a bit of introduction footage, and then a familiar face appeared on the screen.

Besides him Katie took a deep breath and whispered a single word “Dad…” and he automatically dropped a hand to her knee, where she placed hers on top of his as the two of them watched her father an animatedly talking to the camera.

“Rogers was different” Howard spoke, smiling, the caption on the screen telling him the footage had been filmed in 1953. “He was constantly striving to do the right thing, with no fear or care for how it would affect him. He, err, when we dropped him behind enemy lines we had no idea if we would see him again. I narrowly escaped myself, the machine guns nearly took our aircraft down but without thought to how he would get back, he told us to leave him behind. When they declared him missing in action the entire company was devastated but, lo and behold… well they can’t keep a good man down.” Howard paused and then looked down and back up at the camera “I can only hope that if I’m graced with Children, they grow up to be half as driven as he was to do the right thing…”

As Katie looked down at her feet, a stray tear fell down her cheek. Seeing her dad there like that was raw. She knew that Tony felt the loss of their parents far more than she did, she had only been seven after all when they had died and Tony had been her father, if you will, for far longer than her actual dad had. But still, seeing him in front of her so candidly, talking about his hopes for his future children, made something in her chest tighten and she couldn’t help but feel sadness at the fact she never got the chance to really know him. Steve gently squeezed her knee, but then as they looked back up at the screen it was his turn to still as someone he recognised extremely well, her face painted into his memory for life, entered the screen and began speaking, also in 1953.

"That was a difficult winter. A blizzard had trapped half our battalion behind the German line. Steve, Captain Rogers, he fought his way through a HYDRA blockade that had pinned our allies down for months.” Peggy Carter stumbled slightly through the interview. “He saved over a thousand men, including the man who would become my husband as it turned out. Even after he died, Steve was still changing my life,” And despite the fact that she smiles slightly at the end of this line, it’s clear to see that talking about Steve affected her a lot.

Katie leaned against him and with a breath he lay his head on top of hers. “We haven’t seen her for a while…” she whispered as the video finished. “Shall we go on the way home?” He gave a soft chuckle and dropped a kiss to the crown of her head.

“You read my mind.”

*******

Peggy was pleased to see them, as always when she was having a good day. They both greeted her and after a few pleasantries they told her about their trip to the Smithsonian. Peggy smiled, informing them that she remembered the interview, like it was yesterday, apparently the man interviewing her had been an “utter rogue”, but she didn’t elaborate on what that meant further than saying he was worse than Barnes, which made Steve laugh. They chatted a little about her time as Director at SHIELD before she trailed off with a sigh as she noticed that Steve was uncharacteristically quiet. After a little gentle coaxing from her and Katie he told her what was on his mind.

“My whole life I’ve just wanted to do what was right, I guess I’m not sure what that is anymore.” He paused for a moment, thinking of how to voice his worries about SHIELD “And I thought I could just throw myself back in and follow orders, it’s just not the same.”

Peggy chuckled as she rolled her eyes and looked at Katie. “He’s always so dramatic.”

Katie let out a small laugh, nodding her agreement. “Tell me about it!”

Steve shook his head, a smile on his face as he raised his eyebrows slightly and looked away as Peggy continued to speak.

“Look you saved the world, we rather mucked it up.”

“No you didn’t. You know, knowing that you helped found SHIELD is half the reason I stay.”

“And the other half being?” Her eyes strayed to Katie who smiled, looking down and then up at Steve as he caught her eye, his hand resting on her knee.

“I quit remember?” Katie reminded her.

Peggy smiled “Indeed, a woman with principles. That I can get on board with. ”Katie gave a little smile as Peggy continued. “Look, the world has changed and none of us can go back.” She spoke softly. “All we can do is our best, and sometimes the best that we can do is to start over.“

At that she started to cough. Steve quickly picked up a glass of water from the table and rounded the back of the chair Katie was sitting in to try and hand her the glass.

"Peg?” He held the glass out as her coughing subsided and she took a sip. Once she had finished she looked up and stared at Steve as if she was seeing a ghost

“Steve?” Peggy breathed out in an amazed yet broken voice.

“Yeah,” Steve whispered, his heart sinking as he recognised the look in her face. Her memory had gone, again.

“You’re alive! You, you came, you came back,” Peggy whimpered. Tears were gathering in her eyes at this point as she tried to hold them back and Steve was struggling to do the same with his own. One of the smartest, nicest, bravest women he had ever met was being betrayed by an illness that was literally rotting her brain. It was cruel, and every time she did this, they went through the same routine.

“Yeah, Peggy.” Steve responded forcing a smile onto his face as Katie squeezed his hand gently, standing up so he could take the chair next to Peggy.

“It’s been so long. So long,” Peggy started to cry, giving up on holding back her tears.

“I’ll leave you with her.” Katie spoke softly as she gently touched Steve’s shoulder. His hand briefly reached up to lay over hers before he leaned over to take Peggy’s.

“Well, I couldn’t leave you.” He forced himself to smile. “Not when you still owe me a dance.”

Normally that calmed the old lady down, but not today. She was becoming more and more confused and in the end he had to press the call button.

“Again?” The nurse who attended asked softly, and Steve simply nodded.

“I’ll fetch the doctor.”

She ran her hand over her face, rubbing at her eyes slightly and waited as she watched various people coming and going out of the main doors of the hospital. It wasn’t that long before a familiar figure appeared, a flash of white T-shirt standing out against his dark navy jacket and equally dark jeans as he walked towards her, hands in his pockets. She stood up, not saying a word as she wrapped her arms around him and he buried his face into the nook of her shoulder and neck, his safe place, his hands gently resting on her hips as he breathed out a sigh.

“Is she okay?” she asked gently. “Yeah they sedated her.” He said as he pulled away.

“I’m so sorry Steve.”

“What for?” “Peggy…it’s so unfair.” “Yeah…” He replied simply. And it was. He wished things could be different, that Peggy wasn’t ill. That she could be home, with her family, living out the last years of her life with the dignity she had lived the rest of it. She deserved more. He looked over the car roof across the street and watched for a second, everyone milling about their business, getting on with their lives. Like he was, and whilst he wished things had been different for Peggy, he suddenly found himself thinking and wondering if he would change anything if he could.

He felt Katie still in front of him, reacting to the fact he himself had changed posture, and as he looked down at her he was suddenly struck with the answer to his question. Despite everything, despite his sudden feelings of nostalgia sparked by the events of the last twenty hours or so, no he wouldn’t. Because whatever had happened, every action, every decision, it had led him to the girl now in his arms, and he loved her so fucking much it hurt. Yeah he had loved Peggy, he still did in some ways, but it was nothing compared to this. Nothing.

He reached out and took Katie’s hands, pulling up her arms so they were round his neck, pulling her closer to him as his own hands joined at the bottom of her back

“I love you.” He said gently, needing her to understand, to believe him. “My best girl.”

“I hope I’m your only girl, Rogers.” She sassed back with a sniff, and he smiled softly, happy that she understood.

“How about we head back to mine and not leave the flat for the entire day tomorrow?” Steve looked down at her, the idea suddenly coming to him and her face lit up. Katie loved lazy days. It was rare Steve was in the mood for them, his incessant energy normally meant he had to be doing something. But on the odd time he agreed, it usually involved them staying in bed till about midday, then watching old movies on the TV under a blanket on the couch, maybe a bit of fooling around and then calling a take out before retreating back to bed. Right now that sounded like a damned fine idea. “Can you clear your diary?”

“Consider it cleared.”

“I just wanna make one quick stop on the way home” He suggested, his journey of contemplation was leading him to one more place. He glanced at his watch before planting a kiss on her lips as she looked at him questioningly. “Thought we could pay our jogging friend a visit.”

********

“Look who it is. The running man and his pretty girl.” Sam joked slightly as he came over to the doorway where Katie and Steve were stood.

“Hey.” Katie smiled as he dropped a kiss onto her cheek.

“Caught the last few minutes. It’s pretty intense,” Steve commented as Sam shook his hand.

“Yeah, brother, we all got the same problems. Guilt, regret,” Sam shrugged. As his sentence went on his voice got more serious and softer.

“Have you lost someone?” Steve asked, perceptive as ever. Katie mentally cursed herself for not filling him in fully, but Sam didn’t seem too bothered to talk about it. He nodded gently.

“My wingman, Riley. Fly in the night mission. A standard PJ rescue op, nothing we hadn’t done a thousand times before, till an RPG knock Riley’s dumb ass out of the sky. Nothing I could do. It’s like I was up there just to watch,” Sam paused to cross his arms over his chest, his posture slightly tense. “After that, I had really hard time finding a reason for being over there, you know?”

“But you’re happy now, back in the world?” Steve asked

“Hey, the number of people giving me orders is down to about zero. So, hell, yeah,” Sam joked, loosening up slightly, before getting a bit serious, “You thinking about getting out?”

“No.” Steve replied quickly before he took a breath. “I don’t know. To be honest, I don’t know what I would do with myself if I did.”

“Ultimate fighting?” Sam shrugged and Steve laughed as Katie snorted. “It’s just a great idea off the top of my head. But seriously, you could do whatever you want to do. What makes you happy?”

Steve turned his head to look at Katie, an unconscious movement, smiling gently as he shrugged. “I dunno…”

“Oh I think you do.” Sam said, smirking slightly as Steve placed his hand on the small of his girl’s back.

“Oh, stop by the front desk on your way out,” Katie turned to Sam, smirking, and he raised an eyebrow in question,

“We asked for you by name.” Steve clarified.

“She seemed thoroughly impressed.” Katie finished. Both of Sam’s eyebrows rose at that and he looked down the hallway towards where the front desk was.

“You two are the best.” A smile stretching across his face as he began to turn to head down the hall. “Stop by anytime.”

“No problem.” Steve grinned in amusement as Sam jogged his way down the hall.

It was gone eight by the time they got home, having made a pit stop for a beer on the way. Steve held the door open for Katie, and she stepped into the apartment building and started to climb the stairs in front of him, giving him a quite pleasing view of her ass as her hips swayed side to side in front of him.

“Sam’s right you know.” She continued their discussion from the bar. “And so is Peggy.”

“What about?”

“If you wanted to get out you could do, start over.”

He took a deep breath. “I don’t know what I want, but spending the rest of my life playing janitor for Fury is not it.”

“I can write you a resignation note.” She grinned and Steve chuckled slightly and then took a deep breath.

“You know, it’s funny when I think about it. Us, stuff, what we’ve done and how far we’ve come in a year.”

“You’re saying it like it’s a bad thing.” She teased as she stepped onto his landing.

“No, that’s not what I mean at all.” He took a deep breath as she headed towards his door and turned to face him “You know, I’ve never really talked to anyone or shown them about my past in detail or introduced anyone to Peggy bar you.”

“Well I am your girlfriend.” She shrugged, holding onto the hand that wasn’t digging into his jeans pocket to fish out his keys. “Your best girl.” At that he smiled. “So you should be able to talk to me about anything.”

“I know, I’m not explaining myself very well.” He remarked, finally succeeding in obtaining his keys. And he wasn’t. He was trying to tell her that he couldn’t imagine his life without her, that he wanted her to share his everything, including his home.

“Spit it out Rogers.” She teased as he slid the key into the lock.

He took a deep breath. “Coming home last night and you being there…and then this morning…it was perfect, Doll, and I want that all the time.” He turned to face her leaving his key hanging from the door. “How would you feel about us maybe moving in together?”

She paused for a moment, looking at him, realising he was deadly serious. She raised her eyebrow.

“I thought you came from a time where man and woman didn’t live together until they were married?”

“We could get married if you want.” He blurted out. That made Katie raise both eyebrows as she studied him again, her mouth dropping into a small ‘o’. Steve looked back at her, trying to keep his face passive, as if it had been a joke, even though he knew it wasn’t. He’d known for months she was the one.

But to blurt it out like that? Outside his apartment door, in such a dumbass way?

Way to go, Rogers.

Katie cocked her head to one side, there was a funny look on Steve’s face that she couldn’t place. But whatever it was, even if Steve was serious about them getting married, she knew him well enough to understand that was not how he would want to propose, and that he was probably kicking himself about stumbling it out the way he had done. So she broke the nervous tension, as she always did, with a slight joke.

“You know, that’s not much of a proposal.” She slid her arms up around his neck. “But its one step up from you’d make a great housewife, I suppose.”

“Should I try again?” A cheeky grin spread across his face, glad the tone was playful, his arms circling her waist “Yeah, with a big, fuck off Tiffany diamond.”

“I didn’t think you were so materialistic?”

“Well, you know what they say? Diamonds are a girls’ best friend.”

“And there I was, thinking it was me.” He muttered, his lips pressing onto hers.

“That’s so sweet!” A voice interrupted and they both turned to look at Kate, his neighbour from over the hall. For a split second Steve thought she was talking to them but it soon became apparent she was on the phone. “That’s so nice…but hey, I gotta go…okay bye…”

She dropped the phone into the basket of laundry she was carrying before grinning at us both “My aunt, she’s kind of an insomniac”

Steve smile before looking at the basket of washing in her arms as he dropped his arm round Katie’s shoulder “you know if you want…if you want, you can use my machine. Might be easier and cheaper than the one in the basement.” “Thank you, but I already have a load in downstairs actually, and you really don’t want my scrubs in your machine.” She grinned. “I just finished a rotation on the infectious diseases ward, so,”

“Ah, well, we’ll keep our distance,” Steve grinned, holding his hands up, palms out.

“Hopefully not too far.” She chuckled. “Don’t want to lose my best neighbour. Okay, well I better be off.” She turned to go before she stopped and spun back round to look at Steve. “Oh, by the way, I think you left your stereo on.”

“Right, thank you.” Steve watched her go, frowning. He looked at Katie as they both pressed their ears to the door. The record player was certainly on but…

“We definitely didn’t leave that on before.” Katie looked at him, as the gentle tones of Kitty Kallen Long Long Time hit their ears.

Steve held his finger up to his lips and gestured to the window, before leaving Katie where he was. He ran off, down the stairs as fast as he could and then he scaled the gate on the fire escape easily. Once he reached the steps which were parallel to his window he took a running jump, easily pulling himself up over the sill and into the kitchen area. Quickly and quietly he moved along the wall, picking up his shield which was leaning against the shelving unit. Holding it up, he cautiously peered round the corner of the room into the living area and instantly relaxed when he saw Fury lounging in a chair.

“I don’t remember giving you a key.” He said, somewhat sardonically.

“What, you really think I’d need one?” Nick replied. Steve shook his head and headed to the front door of the flat, pulling it open.

“Fury.” He said with a roll of his eyes, turning and walking back into the apartment.

“Huh?” Katie asked as she followed him into the living room, where the music was coming from, to see Fury sitting on the couch in the dark.

“What are you doing here?” She demanded.

"Nice to see you too, Nova. And in answer to your question my wife kicked me out.”

“I didn’t know you were married,” She continued, frowning. And she didn’t. And she wasn’t sure that he was.

“There are a lot of things you don’t about me,” Fury replied casually.

“I know, Nick. That’s the problem,” Steve grumbled walking forward as Katie remained where she was, eyes narrowed at her old boss. Steve flipped on the light switch, instantly recoiling in surprise when he noticed Fury’s injuries. Besides him Katie gasped slightly and moved to get closer to help but Fury indicated for her to stop and the both of them to stay quiet. He turned off the light again and typed something on his phone.

'EARS EVERYWHERE’.

Bugs? His apartment was bugged? By who? They both exchanged a glance and instantly Katie looked up and around the room, as if she expected to see a microphone glaring at them.

“I’m sorry to have to do this but I had nowhere else to crash,” Fury looked around a bit before he typed something else up on his phone:

'SHIELD COMPROMISED’.

Steve and Katie shared another glance, the pair of them wide eyed. This was bad.

“Who else knows about your wife?” Steve asked, keeping his voice even.

Fury showed them another text;

'YOU TWO AND ME’.

“Just my friends,” Fury grunted in pain while getting up and walking closer to them.

“Is that what we are?” Katie blinked at him. She still hadn’t completely forgiven the man for lying to them all about Coulson.

“That’s up to you.” Fury replied, his eyes darting from Katie to Steve.

Then out of nowhere came a rapid succession of gunshots. Steve quickly pushed Katie out of the way, the pair of them taking cover behind the kitchen wall as Fury groaned before he collapsed down to the floor. Steve scooted forward, keeping as low as he could, pulling him into the kitchen. Katie knelt next to him and tried to check his injuries through his black clothing when he reached up and handed something to Steve.

“Don’t, trust anyone,” he coughed before passing out. Katie and Steve both looked at what he had been handed and saw that it was a flash drive. Steve curled his hand around it and looked at Katie, but before either of them could say anything else there was the sound of someone breaking into the apartment. Steve quickly moved into a defensive position, in front of Katie and Fury, raising his shield.

“Captain Rogers?” a familiar voice suddenly called out and they watched as Kate, his neighbour, cautiously walked in with a gun pointed. “I’m Agent Thirteen of SHIELD’s Special Service.”

“Kate?” Steve frowned, shaking his head. He’d just about had his fill of surprises.

“I’m assigned to protect you.” She continued

“On whose orders?” Katie snapped.

Kate stopped as she spotted Fury lying on the floor. “His,” she dropped besides Katie, checking Fury for a pulse and then spoke into her radio

“Foxtrot is down, he’s unresponsive. I need EMTs.”

“Do you have a twenty on the shooter?” A SHIELD agent questioned through the radio.

Then there was a movement on the other side of the window, on the roof adjacent to the building. Steve instantly glanced up and saw a flash of silver and the shadow of a figure running across the rooftop.

“Tell them I’m in pursuit.” He said and with that he took a running jump and smashed straight through his window, and through into the office building opposite. Steve ran, keeping his eye on the man, smashing through walls, windows, anything in his way. Eventually he caught up with him on the roof and flung his shield at the assassin who, to Steve’s shock, caught it with one swift move in the hand of his metal arm. There was a pause as Steve could do nothing but eye the man with surprise before the shield came flying back. Steve caught it, with both hands on its rim but the force pushed him back a few yards along the gravel surface of the roof. By the time he had stopped the momentum moving him, the assassin had jumped. Steve ran to the edge of the building and looked down.

He was gone.

*****

“What happened?” Hill asked as they all looked through the glass window at the hustle and bustle of the operating room. Steve moved his arm from around Katie and took her hand in his, squeezing her fingers gently.

"He was at my apartment when we got home.” Steve started. “I hadn’t even had chance to ask why when there were two blasts, then another. Someone shot him through the window- three times. I tried to go after the shooter, but I lost him on the roof of the building across the street.”

Steve had no doubt in his mind that if there was anyone else in SHIELD they could trust right now it was Hill, but both he and Katie kept quiet. He had taken Fury’s warning of trusting nobody seriously and had told Katie as much as they had strode through the ED of the hospital. Both were aware that Hill was studying them, side on, her face stony.

“What aren’t you telling me?” She asked quietly.

“Nothing.” Katie answered for them.

Before Hill could drill either of them anymore, the door to the observation room flung open and heavy footsteps crossed the room, stopping at the other side of Katie.

“Is he gonna make it?” Natasha asked, almost inaudibly, staring through the window.

“We don’t know,” Hill mumbled.

“Tell me about the shooter,” Natasha whispered

“He’s fast and strong. And he had a metal arm,” Steve said, letting go of Katie’s hand to fold his arms across his chest and as he did, they both caught the look of recognition and slight fear on Natasha’s face reflected in the window.

“Ballistics?” She swallowed heavily.

“Three slugs. No rifling and completely untraceable,” Maria answered softly.

“Soviet made?”

“Yeah,” Maria looked at Natasha in shock. Steve turned to face her, as did Katie, but she didn’t look back. She stared straight through to the operating theatre but before Katie could ask what it was that she wasn’t saying, the operation room went into overdrive. Machines started beeping erratically, the doctors and nurses were rushing around the room and the panic was palpable even behind the glass. But they couldn’t save him.

“Time of death, 1:03 A.M.”

A few moments passed as the four of them stood completely in shock. Katie reached up to wipe a tear that had trickled down her cheek away, before Natasha turned and almost sprinted out of the room.

Steve pulled his hand out of his pocket, turning the flash drive that Nick had given him over in his hand. Nick had been killed because he knew whatever it was that was on that drive. What could possibly be so bad, so secret, so dangerous that the Director of SHIELD was deemed a threat for knowing? He glanced up at Katie who was watching him, tears in her eyes. She might have had her issues with Fury, but he was a good man and would never have wished him dead. With a sigh Steve placed the item back into his pocket and pulled her in for a hug.

******

A little later, they were all in the same room as Nick’s body. Natasha was by him, hardly having moved a muscle, almost like she was in shock. And it unnerved Katie. Nat wasn’t one to really show emotion but then again, Fury had meant a lot to her. The door opened and a doctor entered, speaking to Hill. She nodded and then walked over to Katie and Steve, coughing to clear her throat.

“They need to take him.” She said, her voice cracking slightly. Steve nodded and stepped forwards.

“Nat. Natasha…” But at that she turned away from them all and made her way quickly into the corridor of the Hospital. Katie and Steve looked at one another, before they hastily followed her.

“Why was Fury in your apartment?” Natasha span around to ask Steve. Her eyes were filled with sadness, but Katie could also see suspicion etched on her pretty features.

“I don’t know,” Steve sighed shrugging his shoulders, and before the conversation could go on further they were interrupted by Rumlow.

“Cap, they want you back at Shield,” He informed them, gently touching Katie’s shoulder. “You too Nova.”

“Alright, give us a second,” Steve nodded dismissing Rumlow, perhaps a little more harshly than he intended, as he turned back to Natasha but Rumlow was insistent

“They want you now,”

“Alright” Katie spoke firmly but calmly. Rumlow nodded and then moved back down the hallway.

“You’re a terrible liar.” Natasha shook her head at Steve with her trademark smirk that didn’t reach her eyes before she turned and left.

“What the hell is on that drive?” Katie asked Steve after a moment of silence.

“I don’t know, but it’s what Natasha was saving data to on our mission the other day.” He replied before he looked up staring very focused into a vending machine to his right, which was open as a janitor filled it up. He didn’t want to take the drive back to the Triskellion, just in case. He knew that something wasn’t quite right.

Katie caught his eye before glancing around the hallway that was mostly full of SHIELD agents, luckily they were all congregated on the other end.

“Do it.” She nodded, figuring out his intention to hide the item “I’ll distract them.”

Without another look back at him, she began to stride forwards towards Rumlow.

“Its almost four am.” she glanced at her watch. “What do they want us for Brock? We already told Sitwell what we know and I don’t work for SHIELD anymore, remember?”

Rumlow shrugged “Honestly, I don’t know Nova. I’m just under instructions to get you both back to base.”

At that point Steve reached them, but he wasn’t stopping. Taking Katie’s hand he nodded to the STRIKE leader

“Let’s go.”

“Yeah,” Rumlow fell into step with them, fixing his earpiece. “Strike! Move it out.”

Steve drove to the Triskellion, Katie’s car flanked by the Armoured SUVs as they sped through the streets of DC. Katie dozed off for ten minutes and Steve let her sleep, lost in his own thoughts. He had expected her to be called in alongside him, especially after she had been, along with him, the last people Fury had spoken to him before he died. But he wasn’t happy about it, he wanted her as far away from whatever the hell was going on as possible. Once they arrived he gently shook her awake and the two of them were given an hour or so to grab something to eat. Neither were hungry, but they forced down their sandwiches, Katie’s brain working in overdrive as she did so. Something was nagging at her, and she was trying to make the connections, figure it out, but her head simply kept replaying Fury getting shot over and over.

“Foxtrot is down, he’s unresponsive. I need EMTs.”

“Do you have a twenty on the shooter?”

She frowned.

“What is?” Steve asked, coffee in his hand as he sat back on one of the large chairs in one of the common rooms by the kitchen area.

“Before…when Kate…Agent thirteen, whatever the hell her name is called back to base…she said Fury was down and needed EMTs…”

She paused and Steve waited, knowing how her analytical brain worked. She had to follow threads, talk them over or write them out, letting them weave together as she did. A look of comprehension crossed her face as the threads connected.

“Sitwell…” She whispered.

“What about him?” Steve asked. “He was the one that replied, at least it sounded like him.” She bit her lip, but not in the seductive way that made his crotch twitch, the way she did when she was thinking “And he asked…do you have a twenty on the shooter.”

Steve frowned, not quite sure where this was going. “Okay…” “Well, how did he know Fury had been shot? How could anyone know he had been shot?”

Now he understood. He understood completely. Damned it she was clever. “They couldn’t.” He sat up and leaned towards her, his voice dropping. “Not unless they were there or Kate…whoever, told them.”

“And she didn’t. She just said he was down and unresponsive.” “Which means…” Steve began, but Katie finished for him. “Sitwell knew about the hit. Because he was in on it.”

The both looked at one another, their faces wearing similar looks of shock. Fury was right, SHIELD was compromised. But how far, they had no idea.

Before Steve had chance to say anything else, the door opened and Rumlow stepped in

“Secretary Pierce is ready now guys.” “Thanks.” Katie nodded, shooting Steve another glance as they both stood up.

“Not a word.” He mumbled as they got into the elevator “We say nothing, not until we figure out who we can trust.”

“If we can trust anyone.” She mumbled back.

*****

“Captain, why was Nick in your apartment last night?” Secretary Pierce looked at Steve as he sat on the couch next to Katie in the large office.

“I don’t know.” He answered in a soft voice.

“Did you know it was bugged?” Pierce pressed on.

“We did.” Katie nodded meeting the secretary’s eye. “Because Nick told us.”

“Did he tell you he was the one who bugged it?”

Steve took a breath and glanced at Katie, his expression stony but the two of them shared the understanding.

No, no he had not.

“I want you to see something.” Pierce continued, and gestured to a monitor just behind the couches we were sitting on. On the screen was a man tied down to a chair, he looked to be currently being interrogated. Katie didn’t recognise the man, but Steve did. It was Batroc, the lead merc from the hijacking of the Lemurian Star.

“Is that live?” Steve asked.

“Yeah, they picked him up last night in a not so safe house in Algiers.”

“Are you saying he’s a suspect?” Steve didn’t take his eyes off the screen “Assassination isn’t Batroc’s line.”

“It’s more complicated than that. Batroc was hired anonymously to hijack the Lemurian Star. He was contacted by email and paid by wire transfer, and then the money was run through seventeen fictitious accounts. The last going to a holding company that was registered to a Jacob Veech.” Pierce said handing Steve a folder.

“Am I supposed to know who that is?” Steve skimmed through the file offered to him in curiosity and confusion.

“Not likely. Veech died six years ago. His last address was 1435 Elmhurst Drive. When I first met Nick, his mother lived at 1437.”

“Wait,” Katie frowned as she gathered what Pierce was suggesting. “Are you saying Fury hired the pirates? Why?”

“The prevailing theory?” Pierce shrugged. “The hijacking was a cover for the acquisition and sale of classified intelligence. The sale went sour and that led to Nick’s death.”

“If you really knew Nick Fury you’d know that’s not true.” Steve replied strongly, and he believed it. Fury was a lot of things, but a traitor he was not.

Pierce nodded in agreement. “Why do you think we’re here talking?” He then got to his feet and began to walk towards the window. “See, I took a seat on the council not because I wanted to, but because Nick asked me to because we were both realists. We knew that despite all the diplomacy, and the hand shaking and the rhetoric, to build a really better world sometimes means having to tear the old one down. And that makes enemies.”

Steve didn’t like the way this was going. He looked at Katie and gestured for her to stand as he did. Pierce turned back around and looked at them both.

“Those people that call you dirty because you’ve got the guts to stick your hands in the mud and try to build something better. And the idea that those people could be happy today,” Pierce shoved his hands in his pockets. “Makes me really, really angry. Captain, you and Miss Stark were the last ones to see Nick Fury alive. I don’t think that’s an accident.” Pierce said matter-of-factly. “And I don’t think you do, either. So, I’m going to ask again was he there?”

“He told us not to trust anyone.” Steve said honestly.

Pierce made a humming sound. “I wonder, if that included him.”

There was a tense moment of silence before Steve spoke again. “I’m sorry. Those were his last words. Excuse us,” He turned to leave, picking up his shield that he sent down upon our arrival and attaching it to the harness on his back, before ushering Katie out of the room slightly ahead of him.

“Captain,” Pierce’s voice halted him mid step and he turned to look at him. “Someone murdered my friend. I’m going to find out why. Anyone who gets in my way is going to regret it.” Pierce’s voice rang out again, a pointed look in their direction.

Steve wasn’t a stupid man, and he knew that was a veiled threat. He took a deep breath, considering his response, before he decided appearing un-rattled was the best option.

“Understood.” He nodded, holding the door open for Katie to step through keeping himself between her and Pierce as he followed, anchoring his hand on her back to keep her moving.

“You should have lied.” She whispered.

“Huh?” “Back then, said we didn’t know why Fury was there. By telling him that he told us not to trust anyone he knows we know and that we’re hiding something.” Her tone was a little panicked and Steve simply took a deep breath.

“We need to get to the hospital and get that stick.” He looked at her, remaining adamant that whatever it was that was on there would hold the answers. He looked up and down the corridor before they stepped into the elevator.

“Operations Control” Steve spoke as the elevator scanned his face and Katie’s Guest ID.

“Confirmed”

Just as the doors were about to close, Rumlow stepped in with two other STRIKE agents.

“Keep all STRIKE personnel on site” He was saying. Both the agents nodded and voiced their acknowledgement of his order. “Forensics.”

“Confirmed.”

“Cap, Nova…” Rumlow nodded to them both.

“Rumlow.” Steve acknowledged him as the doors closed and they started to descend.

“Evidence Response found some fibres on the roof they want us to see.” Rumlow turned his head to look at Steve. “You want me to get the tac-team ready?”

“No, let’s wait and see what it is first.”

“Right.” Rumlow turned back and Steve looked out of the side of the elevator, pondering what his next move was. Chase down the man responsible? The drive? The elevator stopped at the next floor and Rollins plus a few more SHIELD and Strike agents entered, Steve moving over slightly to allow them in.

“What’s the status so far?” Rollins was saying.

“Administrations level” another one asked, before they continued whatever it was they were talking about, moving round to find a space behind Steve and Katie.

He noticed Katie look round, a frown on her face, but before he could say anything Rumlow spoke, looking over his shoulder at Steve.

“I’m sorry about what happened with Fury. Messed up, what happened to him”

“Thank you.” Steve nodded.

Katie could sense something was off. Years of training as an Agent didn’t just leave you when you quit, and those years of training had taught her very well to read body language. Rumlow was alert, too alert, and it was more than just a nervousness because Fury had been killed. There was an atmosphere in the lift, and she glanced at one of the agents that had joined them at the last floor. He was still talking, normally, but he there was a bead of sweat dripping down his cheek from his temple.

Steve could sense it too. He watched as Rumlow and Rollins exchanged a glance and looked down at Katie who was watching him, nervous expression on her face. He shook his head gently, instructing her to keep calm.

The elevator stopped and another agent entered.

“Records”

This one stood in front of them, facing the elevator doors and it was then with a slight air of exasperation at allowing it to happen, Steve realised they were surrounded. Whilst he wasn’t too concerned, he knew he could more than likely fight his way out, it was his girl he was bothered for. It had been months since she had been in active combat, and this was going to be brutal. Besides him Katie stiffened, feeling very underprepared for what was about to go down. She had no weapons, nothing. Instinctively Steve gripped her hand and pulled her forward so she was stood next to him instead of behind and moved his feet apart slightly, hands on the buckle of his belt, adopting his Captain stance, preparing for what was coming.

“Before we get started,” he sighed, looking down before he stared straight ahead, “does anyone want to get out?”

His eyes flicked to the back of Rumlow’s head. There was a moment’s pause before all hell broke loose. They both put up a good fight, ducking, diving, punching. Steve was then shocked with a baton, but he simply grit his teeth, absorbing the electricity into his body. It hurt, but it wasn’t unbearable. And then, three of them managed to snap one of his arms to the wall of the elevator using some kind of metallic clamp, before five of them piled on him at once, attempting to pin his other arm in too. He kicked out, taking down as many as he could.

Just as Katie had floored the second of the agents who had launched at her, she was grabbed from behind by her hair and hauled to the edge of the elevator, being wrestled roughly to the floor by Rumlow who was instantly on top of her, trying to get her wrists from where she had positioned them underneath her body in an attempt to stop them restraining her.

"Brock…” She spoke gently, looking at him as she swallowed. “What’s going on?” “I’m sorry Stark.” He shook his head. “Just following orders.”

“Yeah well follow this.” She snarled, the anger brewing in her as she jerked her head forwards as hard as she could, feeling it connect with his nose. He yelled, and then her head snapped painfully to the right as he back handed her straight across the face. She felt her lip split and the warm, metallic taste of blood hit her taste buds, stars flashing in front of her eyes as her ears began to ring from the harsh knock.

Steve saw Rumlow land the blow to Katie’s face and let out a growl of anger and aimed another kick at the final agent standing, causing them man to collide with the side of the elevator before slumping down. He turned, pulled on his arm as hard as he could, wrenching the cuff off the side of the elevator and looked up in time to see Katie, who was now pinned against the wall by another set of those damned cuffs, take a blow to the ribs from Rumlow causing her to cry out in pain.

“Rumlow!” Steve yelled causing the man to whip his head round, surprise on his face. Katie, using her arms as leverage, swung her legs upwards, kicking Rumlow with both feet. The STRIKE leader stumbled slightly as Steve snarled at him, his entire body and face alight with rage “Touch my girl again and I’ll fucking kill you.”

Rumlow got to his feet, holding one of his arms out, electric rod in his hand “Whoa, big guy. I just want you both to know, this ain’t personal.”

He then lunged at Steve with his electric rod but one on one Steve was easily able to defend himself, he moved to the right, dodged and grabbed Rumlow, throwing him harshly upwards where he crashed into the ceiling of the elevator, before falling to the floor, unconscious.

“Yeah well, it kind of feels personal” Steve said, his breath slightly ragged from the exertion. He used his foot to flip his shield over like a Frisbee, catching it perfectly.

“You alright?” Steve asked, stepping over the bodies that littered the floor of the elevator to get to Katie.

“Yeah.” She assured him. Steve cut the cuffs that were restraining her into two pieces with his shield and she bent over, his hands gently on her back as she rubbed at her side before straightening up and stalking over to where Rumlow was beginning to stir slightly. She kicked him hard in the face, causing him to flip backwards and he was out, unconscious.

“Nothing personal.” She spat, then looked up at Steve. There was a moment during which they both looked around, trying to make sense of what had happened, before the elevator doors opened and Steve pulled Katie sharply behind him. They both stared at a team of STRIKE agents pointing their weapons into the elevator. Steve raised his shield.

“Drop the shield! Put your hands in the air!”

Steve looked round, and spotted the elevator wires to the left of Katie’s head

“DUCK!” he yelled at her, and as she did, he swiped with his shield over her head sending them plummeting. Eventually the emergency brake systems kicked in and the elevator stopped, slightly misaligned with the doors by a few feet. As Katie bent down to retrieve a gun and some ammo off one of the Agents, Steve forced the door open, intending to climb out but more STRIKE agents were approaching. He closed the door again and looked at Katie, then around the glass walls, looking down below us at the glass roof of the main Triskelion atrium.

It was a long way but they could make it.

“You’re fucking kidding, right?” Katie exclaimed, realising exactly what he was thinking.

“Give it up, Rogers! Get that door open! You have nowhere to go!” came the yell from the floor outside the elevator door.

“Do you trust me?” Steve asked, both his hands cupping Katie’s face.

“Of course I do, but…”

“Then hang on…”

She sighed and jumped onto his back, swinging her legs round his waist and her arms round his neck. Steve raised his shield in front of him, before he propelled them forward and broke through the glass in the elevator, spreading his arms out wide as he fell to prevent them from tumbling through the air before tucking his body as tightly in to his shield as he could. Katie did the same, burying her head into his back as they crashed through the glass ceiling and hit the floor with a loud clang, to screams and shouts from people all around the atrium.

Katie gave a soft groan, rolling off Steve who moaned and stretched out, having been winded from the impact. But Steve knew they had to keep moving. With a monumental effort, he pushed himself up onto his knees, took a deep breath and offered his hand to Katie to help her stand. They both took a quick glance around before he started to run, pulling her with him. She stumbled slightly, but Steve kept hold of her, not letting her fall until her legs seemed to be working again.

And then they ran.

**** Chapter 15

**Original Posting**

#stark spangled banner #steve rogers #Katie Stark #steve rogers x ofc #steve rogers x original female character #steve rogers fanfiction #steve rogers fic #mcu #mcu fanfic #captain america #chris evans #chris evans characters

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lettheladylead · 4 years

Note

My heart kinda hurts not seeing goldie can we get a fic where goldie is in the last house? Also it gets a little spicy in the middle👀👄👀

(ok so this fic DEFINITELY got away from me. also there’s no spiciness) [ao3 link]

As the sleigh pulled up to what Webby excitedly referred to as “the last house!”, Scrooge couldn’t help but feel a faint familiarity. The snow was much too thick to really tell where they’d landed, but he could just make out a small wooden cabin a few hundred feet away.

He glanced left and right before looking up at Santa. “Someone lives here?”

The jolly bear chuckled and shrugged. “They’re living here tonight, at least.”

Webby and Scrooge shared a confused glance at that comment, but still - he had a job to do. Webby handed Scrooge the box that Santa handed her and Scrooge made his way towards the building.

Even as he got closer, the snow was still too thick for him to really get a look at the cabin, but it seemed very old and barely used. If he didn’t know any better, Scrooge would think Santa was trying to trick him by sending him to an empty home with nothing but a lesson in humility inside. But Scrooge held onto his hat with his free hand and smirked, thinking about how if there was a child in there, they’d be overjoyed to get some coal and some warmth in the middle of this freezing storm.

Scrooge shoved the door open as quietly as possible, hoping that the rush of cold air wouldn’t wake anyone up. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room in front of him, Scrooge froze.

This was his cabin.

Why in the world were they here? His brow furrowed and he looked all around him, taking in the memories of White Agony Creek and his first big gold nugget and Goldie and being King of the Klondike and -

His thoughts were cut off by a noise coming from the bedroom. There weren’t any lights on, but he was sure he heard something. Was he delivering a present to some straggler who’d taken claim of his cabin when they had nowhere else to go? Some homeless child with no one to turn to? A squatter that wouldn’t leave even if they could?

With an agitated inhale, Scrooge took a few quiet steps towards the door and slowly pushed it open - knowing just how to prevent any loud creaks or squeaks. No matter how many decades ago he lived in that cabin, he could never forget the small details.

His eyes had to adjust again - a little bit of light coming from the full moon outside the window gave him a better view than before - and Scrooge was caught by the most unexpected sight in front of him. In fact, if someone had told him he would see such a thing, he would’ve called them insane.

But instead...there was Goldie. Right there, laying on his old bed. Her back was to the door, she was bundled up in a bunch of blankets she’d clearly brought herself, and she had headphones on that - if his hearing was still working right - was playing some very old Christmas music.

And even with all of that in front of him, the thing that struck Scrooge the most was the neatly wrapped present sitting on the mattress next to her. It even had a little bow on top...and a tag that had his name in clear, bold letters.

In all the shock and awe of the magical image in front of him, Scrooge lost his grip of the present he’d brought and it fell to the floor with a loud thump! He jumped an inch, but Goldie practically leaped into the air while simultaneously trying to detangle herself from the blanket bundle and get her headphones off so she could figure out what was going on.

When they finally locked eyes, she had her headphone cord wrapped around her neck and through her hair, two of the blankets were still covering half her arms, and her hair was sticking up in every other direction.

He thought she looked absolutely beautiful and gave her a simple smile.

“S…” she started with a stutter that he didn’t expect. “...are...are you really here? Or am I hallucinating from the cold?”

Scrooge smiled even wider. “I’m here.”

“Ah.”

He thought she was going to continue her thought, but instead Goldie’s face just turned a bright red and she kicked her leg back, knocking the present off of the bed and out of Scrooge’s view. Then she stood up with a surprising amount of grace (all things considered), shimmied her way out of the blankets, and ripped the headphones off of herself and threw them behind her. She then started to retie her hair, flattening the top of it without saying a word.

“So…” Scrooge finally broke the silence, realizing she didn’t want to talk about what he just walked in on. “...what’re you doin’ here, Goldie?”

She was still tying her hair back into her favorite ponytail when he spoke, but his words made her lose concentration and her scrunchie slid down her hand - shooting off towards Scrooge like a rogue rubber band. He caught it with ease and closed his fist around it.

Goldie sighed and let her hair fall down along her back. “...just...celebrating Christmas. What else?”

He finally moved from his spot at the door and took one of her hands in his, gently placing the hair scrunchie back into her palm. “You celebrate Christmas here?”

She turned to him and stared down at the fabric in her hand. “...sometimes.”

“Why?” he asked quietly, leaning his face closer to hers.

Goldie still wasn’t looking at him. “...where else would I go?”

Scrooge lifted up a hand and placed it against her cheek. “How long have you been coming here? You could’ve told me. I...I would’ve -”

She shook her head and shoved him away from her. “It’s not-! I...I didn’t want you to be here! It’s just that I don’t have any family so it’s...it’s comfortable for me!”

He rolled his eyes at her obvious lying and took a moment before suddenly shoving her - with Goldie caught so off-guard, she fell back onto the bed with a loud oomf! and Scrooge crawled past her without any trouble. He ignored the creaking of his old bones as he grabbed the present she’d kicked off the bed before and quickly stood up and looked at it.

“Hey!” Goldie shouted, the deep blush on her cheeks growing darker by the minute. She followed him and tried to grab the gift out of his hands, but Scrooge held it high above his head so she couldn’t get to it. She practically growled as she tried to reach it and Scrooge responded by placing his free hand on the side of her face and pulling her in for a kiss.

Goldie quieted down immediately and melted into it, letting her hands rest on his shoulders.

Scrooge felt a small bit of sympathy for how embarrassed she was...very small. It wasn’t like she hadn’t teased him for his sentimentality a million times over the years, and he was going to enjoy this moment for decades and decades to come.

As soon as the kiss ended, Scrooge shoved her again - letting Goldie fall back onto the bed once more so he could focus on the present. This time she took the hint and stayed seated, huffing out a shaky breath and crossing her arms over her chest. She almost looked like she was going to leave right then and there.

He walked back to the mattress and took a seat next to her, still holding the wrapped box in his hand. It was small and there wasn’t much weight to it at all. He noticed her staring down at her lap and put the box down on the bed between them. If he didn’t know better, he’d almost think she was tearing up.

“I won’t open it if it’d really bother you that much.”

Goldie let out a short, harsh chuckle and wiped the back of her hand against her eyes. Scrooge had seen her cry before - very few times, and it was usually followed by her walking out of the room - but this felt different somehow.

“...no,” Goldie finally said with a scoff. “You should.”

His curiosity got the better of him and Scrooge grabbed it again, quickly tugging off the bow and placing the ribbon beside him. He tore the paper neatly and lifted the lid of the box, raising an eyebrow in confusion when he saw what was inside.

He reached two fingers into the box and grabbed it, holding it in front of his face. “...a key?”

“Mmhmm,” Goldie hummed, staring at the object in his hand.

Scrooge frowned and continued inspecting it. It looked very old, and worn...it was an unusual shape and seemed to be made of brass. “A key to where?”

She shuffled around a bit and nervously tugged at some of her hair. Scrooge thought she looked adorable, but the shyness was definitely leaving him more confused.

“...to me.”

“To...you,” Scrooge repeated, not sure he heard right.

Goldie shrugged her shoulders and spun one of her hands around while she spoke. “Stick the key into any door and when you open it, it’ll lead to wherever I am. So if you need my help with something or you...just want to see me...or whatever. You don’t have to ever use it. But it’s yours if you want it.”

There was a tinge of pink on Scrooge’s own cheeks - though it didn’t compare to Goldie’s - and he looked down at the key again. “That’s...is this...one of the Lemurian Anomaly Keys?”

She nodded and hummed in confirmation.

“And you’re givin’ it to me? Just like that?” Scrooge sounded shocked, but he had the biggest smile on his face and was one hundred percent ready to kiss her again.

Goldie shrugged. “It only works with the matching key…” She pointed at a bag on the floor that Scrooge hadn’t noticed before. “...so it’s not much use just for me.”

He reached over and grabbed her face again, tugging her to him for another quick kiss. “Goldie, dear, when did you find this? It’s amazin’.”

She laid her forehead down on his shoulder and sighed. “...1977.”

Scrooge froze for a second before grabbing her shoulders and shoving her upright in front of him. “Did I hear you right? 1977? Why are you only just giving it to me now?”

“It’s...I just…” Goldie swatted his hands and turned around. “I...I don’t know, Scrooge. I just...I didn’t want to just give it to you. I wanted you to...come get it.”

“How could I come get it if I didn’t even know you were here?” Scrooge asked genuinely, feeling a little frustrated thinking of the number of times he could’ve used her gift to get out of sticky situations or bring her on adventures with him. “We havenae spent Christmas Eve together since 1897! I couldnae have…”

He stopped talking as she stood up and walked towards the window, hugging herself.

“...Goldie?”

“I knew you didn’t remember. I knew it and I still came here anyway,” Goldie spit out with a bitter, cold laugh. She turned around and glared at him, feeling an indignant heat in her chest. “You told me...you told me on December 18th, 1966 that you wanted to spend Christmas with me, in this cabin - just the two of us. That’s what you said to me!”

Scrooge gulped. She was right, he didn’t remember that.

She glared down at the floor. “And I was dumb enough to think you really meant it. So I came here.”

Guilt washed over him. “...you’ve been comin’ here every year since 1966?”

Goldie huffed and ground her teeth for a moment before reaching down and grabbing her bag from earlier and throwing it right at Scrooge’s head. “Yes, alright?! And I’ve felt like an idiot every Christmas for over fifty years and now you’ve made it even worse!”

He dodged the bag and let out a frustrated sigh, knowing the signs of an inconsolable Goldie and deciding that, for once, he was going to stay and see what he could do. As she was reaching around for another thing to throw at him, Scrooge took one of her blankets from earlier and attacked her with it - wrapping the thick fabric around her and holding it in place with a bear hug, then bringing her back down onto the bed with him.

She struggled against his arms, but Scrooge just held her in place and thought about ways to calm her down.

“Goldie, I’m sorry,” Scrooge said quietly, the apology feeling foreign on his tongue. “I didnae know! You never said anythin’! Even when you came to my Christmas party you didnae say anythin’…”

She shook her head and rolled her eyes, blinking so rapidly it almost seemed like she was trying to stop herself from tearing up again.

“Cause I knew you weren’t serious about it!” she yelled out, her voice muffled by the blanket. “The only thing more humiliating than you finding out that I’d already spent twenty Christmases waiting up for you...is this nightmare I’m currently trapped in.”

Scrooge felt her struggling stop and loosened his grip around her. “Goldie…” He moved away, watching the blanket crumple around her as she laid back down on her back and splayed her arms around herself. “...I’m here now. Isn’t that worth somethin’?”

She scoffed again. “Not particularly.”

He leaned down and hovered over her, his beak not even an inch away from her’s. “I’d like to make it worth somethin’...” he whispered as he leaned down to kiss her again.

Before he could, however, Goldie shoved him back again. “Wait...why are you here?” she finally asked.

Scrooge frowned and leaned back so he was sitting upright again. “I, uh...Claus recruited me to help deliver presents.”

The attention coming off of her shame brought Goldie back to life a bit and she sat back up to stare at him. “Excuse me? Claus, like...Santa Claus? Your so-called nemesis?”

“The one and the same.”

“...wait, but there’s no one here on the Nice List,” Goldie said with a smirk and a sniff. “So why’d you come here?”

“To be perfectly honest, I’m not sure,” Scrooge said with a frown, hoping that wouldn’t upset Goldie even more than she already was. “I suppose Claus thought it’d be a good idea to meddle in my affairs. But he told me to bring the last gift in here, so I did.”

Goldie didn’t react to his confession, seemingly over it already, and looked over towards the door. “Is that my gift?” she asked, pointing at the sad-looking box laying on the ground.

Scrooge followed her line of sight and smiled sheepishly. “Y-yes, well...it’s not exactly…”

She hopped over the bed and quickly grabbed it, tearing off the bow and paper without hesitation and ripping off the lid, leaving a mess of paper all over the room. Scrooge had an unshakeable urge to clean up the mess before remembering that he didn’t live there anymore.

Goldie pulled the small chunk of coal out of her box and stared at it for a second before letting out another laugh - this time it was more genuine and less terrifying. “Yeah, of course. This makes sense.”

Scrooge rubbed the back of his neck. “I, um...that may not be the present he meant for me to give you.”

She looked back at him with a raised eyebrow. “What do you mean? Did you swap out all the real gifts for coal so you could prove some dumb point about heat being better than toys?”

“Um…” Scrooge tapped his fingers against the cold blanket on his lap. “...yes?”

“Of course you did,” Goldie said with a sigh, dropping the coal back into the box. She took a moment to let out one last short, breathy laugh and then turned to the duck in front of her. “You’re the worst, you know that?”

Scrooge scoffed and held his new key up in front of him. “And yet, you want me to come see you anytime and anywhere, hm?”

Goldie didn’t respond for a few moments as she walked back over to the bed, taking a seat next to him again. “...yeah, I guess I do.”

Overwhelmed with happiness, Scrooge placed a hand under her beak and tugged her face upwards so they could lock eyes once again. Goldie responded in kind, leaning forward to kiss him and quickly wrapping her arms around his neck.

They stayed like that for a minute, just enjoying one another’s company, when Goldie finally pulled away and patted him on the cheek. “So...if this was your last stop, any chance you’d stay the night?”

He smiled and put one of his hands on top of hers. “Eh...Claus and Webbigail have probably figured out my coal plan by now...I should go take care of that.”

“Hmm…” Goldie hummed, thinking about kissing him again. “Come back when you’re done?”

Scrooge thought about that for a moment before reaching down with both hands and lifting her into his arms, bridal-style. Goldie squeaked and squeezed his shoulders. “I think it’d make more sense for you to just come with us!”

Goldie laughed. “You’re going to hurt yourself, hun.”

“Oh, I know.” Scrooge’s back cracked as he turned them around and took a step away from the bed. “But it’s worth it.”

His arms started to shake a bit and Goldie forced him to put her down, smiling as he struggled. She looked from the bed to her bag and back to Scrooge’s eager face.

“...alright,” Goldie answered finally. “But don’t expect me to stay for breakfast, I am not dealing with a bunch of excited kids that early in the morning.”

Scrooge kissed her again and squeezed her hand. “And I’d never expect you to.”

#ducktales #scroldie #scrooge mcduck #goldie o'gilt #how santa stole christmas #fic #fics #scottsgirloducktalelovero #carro answers

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shadow-assassin-blix · 3 years

Text

Beauty & Her Beast

CHAPTER 1

Another Blix story, I know. I always wanted to write her into the Marvel-verse and this was one of many ideas that I came up with: Blix as a mutant. I want to eventually add mutants to this world. This chapter goes through Civil War, and the rest will follow through the other movies and eventually the tv show. There will also be flashbacks to how they met, and missions etc in later chapters.

Let me know if you want to be tagged.

Steve was after Rumlow; chasing him down in a marketplace in Lagos. The chase ended as he caught up to him, throwing punches left and right. Rumlow gauntlets had hidden blades that he attempted to stab Steve with.

It took several more powerful blows until Rumlow was on his knees, ripping his helmet off. Steve stumbled over to him, breathing hard.

He frowned upon seeing the extensive burns on Rumlow’s face.

“All things considering, I think I turned out okay,” Rumlow weakly joked.

“It’s over Rumlow. You’ve lost,” Steve stated staring down at him.

“He remembered you,” Rumlow began with a pant.

Steve stared at him confused, “Wha-”

“Your buddy, your pal, your Bucky. Got all weepy about it. Looking for him, right? You won’t be able to find him. Not unless you find her,” He teased, further distracting Steve.

“Her who?” Steve questioned.

“My old second. She’d know where to find him. Hell, I’d bet money she’s with him right now. Too bad you’ll never learn that,” Rumlow ended showing the detonator he had in his hand.

He pressed it, Steve jerked his shield to protect himself from the blast, but it didn’t explode as he expected. Steve looked around and spotted Wanda using her magic to contain the explosion. She tried to redirect it to explode in the air, but her power went awry. The exploding sphere crashed into a building, injuring many.

The days that followed were tense as the damage done in Lagos gained more attention, especially when it was revealed that there were emissaries from Wakanda that were killed.

When Steve and Wanda were requested to meet with the rest of the team and the Secretary of State, he knew nothing good would come of it.

They were presented with the Sokovian Accords. As they discussed what happened, Steve turned to Natasha.

“Nat. Rumlow… mentioned I should look for his former second. Do you know who that was?” Steve asked trying to make sense of what he was told.

“I’m guessing you’re not referring to Rollins?” Sam asked sitting down, wondering where this was going.

“Rollins was his third in command for quite some time. His previous second? Her name was Blix. She never… gave a last name. In fact, no one even knew her age. She was strong, and… I remember hearing rumors about her having some sort of power, but no one knew what. Well. Rumlow probably did, they dated for a time,” Natasha explained thinking on it.

“So. Her connection to Bucky would also be a mystery,” Steve concluded with a sigh.

Natasha nodded with a frown.

“There… should be some photos of her though,” Natasha noted as she typed on the table’s keyboard.

A moment later they were shown a file, that was mostly blacked out and several data points incomplete. Her face appeared, and Steve studied it for a moment.

She had brown hair, green eyes, facial scars on tanned skin. The only info they really had beyond that was a note that stated she had left SHIELD of her own accord and it was marked a month and a half before the events of the Lemurian Star.

“Does it say why she left?” Steve wondered looking over the file trying to find some sort of clue.

“No. But I did hear something about… getting badly injured. She almost died and that led to her leaving,” Natasha replied crossing her arms.

“Sorry. Why is this important?” Tony cut in, tired of this redirection.

“Rumlow said that if I wanted to find Bucky, I need to find her. But she may already be with him,” Steve explained tiredly as his phone went off.

“So. You’re looking for a ghost with a ghost? Awesome. Great,” Tony snarked rolling his eyes.

“Listen, I-” Steve began his phone buzzing again.

A text message came in, stating that she had died in her sleep.

The she in question, he knew was Peggy, and he felt his heart drop. He knew it was inevitable, but it didn’t stop the sting of it.

He got up stating he had to go, and as he made his way downstairs, he paused. Everything felt like it was crashing all around him. He knew he had to focus on one thing at a time, but he was not signing the Accords. Not unless he knew what they were getting into with them.

A few days later, he was in London, at Peggy’s funeral. He thought about what could have been, but he also thought about his life since waking up a few years back. He had been fairly happy, and he knows once he finds Bucky again, his life would feel semi-normal again. Beyond that, it was nice to have Peggy back in his life, even if it was just for a short time.

He was thrown off his stroll down memory lane when Sam nudged him, directing his attention to the current speaker. The “nurse” who spied on him. She introduced herself as Sharon, Peggy’s niece.

The service went on, and Natasha told him about who signed the Accords, and how she was on her way to Geneva to be a representative of it. Steve refused to go; he couldn’t trust what these documents would lead to. He couldn’t risk potentially being under someone’s rule, their thumb, when innocent lives were in harm’s way.

Barely two hours later, there had been an attack at the conference. They were scrambling to figure out what had happened. All they knew, was someone matching Bucky’s description was seen near the crime scene. Everyone was determined to paint Bucky as the villain, and everyone was on high alert for him.

Steve knew one thing: he had to get to Bucky first before anyone else. There had to be a logical explanation for this.

Sharon was able to give him a slight head start, which he appreciated. He was in Bucharest, Romania within an hour. It didn’t take long to find the apartment Bucky was hiding in. Steve stepped inside cautiously, looking around.

He spied two mugs sitting on the counter and spotted some gear that was nowhere near meant to fit Bucky.

“What are you doing here?” Came Bucky’s voice behind him.

Steve turned around and tried to explain the situation as Sam told him that the building was surrounded by cops.

Suddenly he felt a presence behind him, and he glanced back to see the woman, Blix, holding a gun pointed at him. She slowly circled around to his front, standing protectively in front of Bucky.

“We are surrounded. We need to move quickly, Soldat,” She spoke, her voice slightly gravelly.

“This doesn’t have to end violently. I want to hear his side of the story,” Steve tried to explain calmly, looking around hearing all the cops approaching their location.

“We’ve been here for months. As far as I am aware, Bucky does not have the power to be in two places at once. I could possibly find a mutant or two who has that power, but it wasn’t us,” Blix said heatedly.

“Then come with me and explain that to the others. Because so far, they all think he set that bomb,” Steve pleaded.

“We’re out of time,” Blix whispered to Bucky in Russian.

SWAT busted through the windows, and Steve and Bucky began to fight them off. Bucky threw a piece of furniture to further block the door, as police tried to bash it down.

“Bucky! Stop! You’re going to kill someone!” Steve shouted at him.

Bucky grunted as he smashed a cop into the floorboards, to reveal the hidey hole that had his stuff in it.

“I’m not going to kill anyone,” Bucky growled as he grabbed the bag, before tossing Steve out of the window.

Blix grabbed her stuff, dodging flying bodies as the guys fought. One cop tried to grab her arm, and she quickly twisted his arm around, slamming her palm into his shoulder, dislocating it, before tossing him into the wall, knocking him out.

When Steve was thrown out, she moved over to Bucky.

“Get to that roof. I’ll meet you there,” Bucky tells her as he made to move to the door.

She nodded, “Be quick.”

Using her power, feeling shadows all around her, she teleported from the apartment to the roof across the way. As she waited, she would use her powers to stop cops from entering the apartment building. She would send the ones repelling from the roof to random locations far away from the building.

Five minutes passed, and Bucky came bursting through a lower window, landing on the roof in a roll. He snatched up his bag, took her hand and they ran forward. Suddenly Bucky was tackled, and in turn so was she, by a man in an elaborate cat suit. Bucky shoved her out of the way as they fought, trying to protect her.

When the guy had Bucky pinned, claws desperately reaching for Bucky’s face, Blix acted. She moved forward and whistled for his attention. As he glanced up, she threw her foot upward in a kick aimed at his face. He moved to dodge, allowing Bucky to rollaway.

A helicopter whirled above them; a cop was shooting bullets at them. It was quickly knocked out of the sky by a man wearing a flight suit. Steve, who had caught up, was trying to stop the man who attacked them. Blix and Bucky took that as the opportunity to run.

When they got close to the edge, Bucky suddenly picked her up, holding her to him as he jumped down, his metal arm grabbing ahold of the side of the building to slow their descent.

As they straightened up, and rushed down a busy street, Blix grumbled, “Really wish you would give more warning when you’re going to do that.”

They ran hard, racing out onto a busy highway; Bucky, after tossing the driver, stole a motorcycle and Blix hopped onto the back with him.

Bucky was dodging cars left and right, trying to outrun their pursuers. Blix ducked under one of his arms, swinging around to face the opposite direction. She pulled out her handgun, shooting at the tires of the police cars. She disabled several before turning her attention to the man who was chasing them.

She tried to aim at his legs/feet, trying to either trip him up or hinder him. He dodged the bullets easily. Her clip ran out, and she grabbed a small grenade from her pack. She threw it up at the ceiling, causing a small explosion. It did them no good as the man caught up to them and caused the motorcycle to crash by swiping at the wheel.

Blix held onto Bucky, using her powers to try and lessen the blow as they skid to a stop.

Bucky muttered, “I hate when you do that. Guess I deserved it.”

“Would you rather I have road rash? Cause… unlike you… I don’t have super healing,” She groaned, the crash having landed both him and the bike onto her.

They got up as Steve and the man in flight suit, caught up to them. They were both staring at the man in the cat suit, trying to figure out who he was.

There was a loud CLUNK as a man in a silver iron-man suit appeared and informed them that they were under arrest. Blix and Bucky sighed simultaneously; annoyed by everything. Blix quietly held her hands up in surrender as an officer walked up to her to take her things. A pair of cuffs was placed on her and she was escorted to a car, alongside Steve and the other 2 men.

Bucky was taken into a separate car and placed in a glass box. Blix glared at it angrily; he was being treated like an animal and it infuriated her.

As they were taken away, the man she sat next to, Sam as she found out, began talking…

“So… you like cats?” Sam asked T’Challa, who simply sighed in response.

“Sam,” Steve stated, in an admonishing tone.

“What? Guy shows up in a cat suit, and you don’t want to know more?” Sam questioned.

“Your suit. Its vibranium, isn’t it?” Steve confirmed moreso than asked.

T’Challa explained the history behind the Black Panther, the myth, the legend of it to the Wakandans.

“And you? How the hell did you get to the other roof so quickly?” Sam asked Blix turning to look at her. “Better yet, were you the one making all the cops disappear randomly?”

Blix glanced at him briefly, ignoring his questions.

“It is also curious that you have no wounds from the motorcycle crashing as well. Barnes, it is understandable, super soldier and all. But you? As far as anyone is aware, you are simply human,” T’Challa also commented, glancing back toward her.

“‘Simply human.’ Hm. Never heard those words used to describe me. Let’s just say, your majesty, I am far more complicated than you’ll ever know,” Blix said raising an eyebrow.

The SUV had pulled into a large garage, teeming with agents and cops everywhere. The doors were opened, and the three men with her, impatiently waited to have their cuffs removed.

When an agent approached her, she pulled her hands forward, revealing she had gotten out of the cuffs. She dropped them with a purse of her lips, turning to the vehicle that held Bucky. As he was unloaded essentially, she moved toward him.

A burly cop began to step into her path, to stop her.

“If you know what’s good for your own health, you’ll move out of my way,” Blix warned, her stare hard.

He looked at her for a moment, looking between her and the agent in charge, before slowly stepping away. She moved past him, making her way to Bucky.

As she came up to the glass, she squatted down, and looked around for a moment.

“Are you okay, my Soldier?” She asked him in Russian, her voice quiet.

He nodded, his eyes glancing around behind her, before connecting to hers.

“I’ll get us out of here,” She whispered her promise, her hand touching the glass for a moment.

“I know. Be careful,” He murmured back. “Don’t do anything reckless.”

She sighed at that, nodding before standing up, and walking back over to Rogers and the others, joining them as they made their way upstairs. A short blonde man informed them that their belongings were now in their custody, and they would get a receipt of the items confiscated.

A redhead, Natasha Romanoff, appeared, saying it was now government property. Blix grew somewhat annoyed at that, thinking over the items she had kept in her small duffel and the weapons she had.

They were led into a conference room, where Stark was on a call, finishing it with faked outrage.

After a brief argument between Tony and Steve, Tony turned his attention to her.

“And you. Who or what the hell are you? I have 15 very confused SWAT officers trying to figure out how they went from breaching a building to standing in dumpsters 10 blocks away?” Tony questioned her, planting his hands onto the table as he leaned over it, scrutinizing her.

She doesn’t answer him, her right hand she noticed was twitching and somewhat shaking. She frowned deeply at the behavior, trying to make a fist but was unable to.

T’challa who had taken a seat near her, noticed his ring reacting to her presence.

“Your arm… is it vibranium?” T’Challa asked her curiously.

She looked over at him, sighing as she weighed her options for a moment. She wasn’t quite sure if she wanted to answer or not.

Steve sat across from her, connecting the dots, “In your file… what little that wasn’t redacted… it said you left after an injury? Your arm?”

She turned her arm, to face her palm upward, tapping the middle of it. The skin tone faded to reveal a dark silvery robotic arm, that ended halfway up her forearm.

“One of my last missions… STRIKE… or... I guess HYDRA rather… sent me and my team into this tiny village in Ethiopia. We were told it was to protect them from mercenaries who wanted to steal from their diamond mines,” Blix began with a roll of her eyes.

“Let me guess… it wasn’t diamonds?” Steve asked sarcastically.

Blix shook her head, “They had a small mine of vibranium. We were there for 3 days… nothing. Started to believe it was just rumors. On the 4th day, a group of men appeared, and tried to take over. They… tried to show their strength and make everyone fear them… by threatening a child. Little girl who was just trying to get some bread. I jumped in front of her, held my arm out to try and deflect the blade as much as possible.”

“The blade was so sharp… that I didn’t feel it. Took a full minute for the pain to register. By that point, my team had taken care of the mercs and I was passing out from the pain and blood loss. When I woke up, I had this,” She wiggled her fingers, or at least tried to, the fingers moved for a second before stopping.

“Apparently that child was the Chieftain’s daughter. He was very appreciative of my protectiveness. The blades amongst my things were gifts from him as well,” She finished with a pointed stare at Natasha.

“Why is your hand malfunctioning?” Sam asked staring at curiously.

“Pierce saw an opportunity. A new super soldier for his arsenal. The programming… or brainwashing whatever you want to call it, was never finished. The first year or so it worked fine, but it slowly began to have problems. Small things, not being able to fully grasp cups, fingers not moving properly. The past few months, it has taken to twitching/shaking at random times. Can’t really use it when that happens,” Blix explained waving her left arm with a half-shrug.

“Where does Bucky fit into this?” Steve asked quietly.

“I was his handler. About 2 months before the whole Lemurian Star nonsense… Well. Pierce realized that his memory was returning to him. That the usual wipes… weren’t doing it anymore. He realized that Bucky was becoming attached to me…and I him. So. He made sure to do a very thorough mind wipe... and had Bucky attack me. He didn’t recognize me at all. He strangled me until Pierce called him off,” Blix answered with a grimace.

Steve sighed heavily, nodding his head absentmindedly.

“Hello? Am I chopped liver here? What about my questions?” Tony cut in, annoyed.

“It’s long and complicated. Let’s just say, I don’t agree with your Accords and would gladly toss such documentation into an active volcano,” Blix replied with a tired sigh.

“So, you’re a powered being? Great. Let me ask you this though. How the hell can you defend Barnes when he attacked you? How could you willingly harbor and protect a man who strangled you?” Tony questioned her.

“You don’t get it do you? Powered, super soldier, mutant. It doesn’t matter how you slice it; we don’t fear each other. Regular people like you Stark? Who have the influence, the power to change our lives, to control us, with a mere flick of a pen? That’s far more terrifying,” She countered glaring at him.

“I don’t fear Bucky because I know him far better than most of you. That man,” She pointed to the screen that popped up showing Bucky on one of the lower levels. “Has saved my life far more times than he has ever put it at risk. So yeah. I’ll defend him till my dying breath.”

She stood up at some point during her rant and stepped out once she was done. She paced up and down in the hallway near the command center, trying to calm down.

About 10 minutes had passed, and Steve joined her out in the hallway. He leaned against the wall, arms crossed, shaking his head every now and again.

“What did he say to piss you off?” Blix inquired joining him in leaning against the wall.

“Was about to agree with him. Sign the Accords and make it easy. Then… he tells me that he’s had Wanda under house arrest, to keep her and her powers in control. This happens too often, we start to agree and see eye to eye, and he does something to ruin it,” Steve muttered angrily.

Blix rolled her eyes, “And then wonders why you are so angry? Acts like he doesn’t understand why you are mad?”

Steve huffed out a laugh, nodding his head.

“Tell me something… does… does Bucky really not remember who I am?” Steve asked quietly.

“He remembers. He… he was nervous as to why you were there. Last time you 2 saw each other wasn’t exactly for a cup of tea. There are some things that are still blanks, but he remembers quite a bit,” She whispered reassuringly, placing a hand on his bicep.

“C’mon. We should head back in, they’ll be starting the psych eval soon,” Steve mentioned, patting her hand on his arm, before grabbing it to pull her along.

Blix allowed him to drag her back inside, with a small sigh. They went back into the glass box when an agent joined them and turned on the sound for the eval.

As the psychiatrist spoke, Blix felt a shiver go down her spine. A whisper echoed in her ear. She turned her head slightly, listening to the voice. She turned her attention back to what was going on hearing Steve ask why the task force put out that photo of Bucky in the newspaper.

As everyone realized something was hinky, Blix spoke softly, “Something’s about to happen.”

Steve looked at her confused, as the power went out. The agent tells them what floor Bucky was on quickly.

“How fast can you get to him?” Steve looked over to Blix.

“Faster than you,” Blix commented as she disappeared.

She reappeared in front of Bucky, turning toward the other man. Her eyes went wide as she spotted the book he held.

“H-… How did you get that?” She stammered staring at him.

“Ah. Yes. I wondered how long it would take you to get down here. The beauty… protecting her beast. As sweet as I think it is… I’m going to need you to not intervene,” Came the man’s lightly accented voice.

He had walked around the table and from within his jacket pulled out a taser and shot her before she could react. Her body locked up, and she dropped harshly to the ground. Once the initial shock of it had worn off, she could hear the man speaking Russian. The trigger words. Bucky’s yells.

She painfully tried to roll over, to get up, but her movements were sluggish. He had shot her in the leg, and her hands shakily removed the barbs, as she struggled to sit up. By that point, Bucky had broken free, but the damage was done. The trigger words had been said.

“Ready to comply,” Came Bucky’s robotic voice as he straightened up.

“No. Do you know what you have done?” Blix didn’t want to admit it, but she was nervous.

The man ignored her, as he commanded Bucky to give him a mission report, before ordering him to go take care of the guards outside.

The man then turned to her and came to squat down beside her.

“I must admit… you are quite beautiful. I can see why he’s protective of you,” He reached out to brush her hair behind her ear.

She tried to lean away, but her body was still shaking off the pain of the taser so she couldn’t move away from his touch. When Bucky returned to the room, the man pretended to be injured, and had Bucky pick her up, hiding her just next to the door. Steve came in, staring at him and the scene, suspiciously.

Before Steve could ask anything, Bucky attacked him, eventually tossing him down the elevator shaft. Sam ran in, pulling Blix up, helping her stand. The man used the distraction to run out.

“Who was that asshole?” She asked him as she stood shakily.

“Don’t know, we can ask him when we get him, Steve will get Bucky,” Sam waved her to follow him.

She stretched and bent her leg for a moment, before racing after him, limping a bit. She trusted Steve; knew he wouldn’t do anything to harm Bucky. Her and Sam ran as fast as they could through the rushing crowd of people.

When they made it outside, they realized the man had ditched his jacket, and was nowhere to be seen.

They continued their search, moving further away from the building when Sam got a text from Steve, saying to meet him by the water. The two of them made their way over there and found Steve with an unconscious Bucky. Blix rushed over taking his other arm, helping lift him, so Steve wasn’t carrying his whole weight.

They wandered underneath an overpass, where there was an abandoned car. Blix dragged the two of them over to the door, and using her power, she unlocked the door.

Steve stared at her, “I hope you explain your powers soon, cause… I am trying to figure it out and drawing a blank.”

She snorted quietly not answering. She opened the door, ripping out the panel below the steering wheel, to reveal the wires. She looked on the ground for a moment, grabbing a shard of glass to cut the wires. Using it, she quickly hotwired the car, and started it a minute later. She gets into the driver’s seat as Steve places Bucky in the back, and Sam hops in the passenger seat.

She quickly drives off, following Steve’s suggestion to go to an abandoned warehouse of some sort.

They parked once they were a safe distance and Steve dragged Bucky inside, pinning his arm down under some heavy machinery just in case.

While they waited for Bucky to regain consciousness, Blix sighed briefly.

“Shadows,” She started.

Steve and Sam looked at her surprised, and slightly confused.

“I can move through and manipulate shadows. When I teleport, I go through what I call the Void. It’s… a haunting darkness, where I hear whispers. Voices. Some are pleasant…others… not so much. They warn me of things. Usually. Earlier before the power went out, I heard a whisper warning me of it. I can also… summon things through it, usually small stuff. Been told I could go bigger and create things but…” She further explained, with a shrug.

She waved her hand out to a lone rusted wrench about 20 feet away, it fell away into nothingness, and reappeared in her hand. She presented it halfheartedly, tossing it to the side a moment later.

“That’s… somewhat terrifying but really cool?” Sam said after a moment. “So, when the bike crashed?”

“Used my powers to somewhat brings us into an in-between plane. Not quite teleport but we didn’t really feel the asphalt. Bucky hates it since any person I teleport with they can temporarily hear the voices too. It’s… unnerving,” She answered taking a seat next to Bucky.

“Understandable. I think? So… if there’s a shadow you can do what you want with it?” Sam asked trying to clarify.

“Essentially. The more light there is, the more difficult it is to do anything,” She noted with a nod.

Steve wandered away for a moment, wanting to check the perimeter really quick. As he did that Bucky began to come to. Blix turned to him, moving to sit on her knees, watching him worriedly.

Sam called for Steve’s attention, and as Steve walked over, he quietly asked, “Which Bucky am I talking to?”

“…Your mom’s name is Sarah… and you used to wear newspapers in your shoes,” He replied slowly, with a small chuckle.

Blix smiled softly at that, and Steve weakly joked, “Can’t read that in a museum.”

Steve lifted the machinery off his arm, realizing he’s not a threat.

Bucky looked toward Blix his eyes checking her over, making sure she was okay. His hand gently took hers into his, holding tightly.

“What did I do?” Bucky questioned, his other hand gingerly touching his head where he had hit it.

“Enough,” Steve answered shortly, with a sigh.

“All that stuff. The crap HYDRA put in my head… it’s still there. All he had to do was say the damn words,” Bucky groaned, guilt consuming him.

Bucky further explained what Zemo had asked about, a mission report, the lab, the other soldiers. Blix closed her eyes, taking a deep breath as she listened. Once everything was explained, Steve and Sam began to make some phone calls to some allies.

Bucky looked down at their joined hands, and asked, “It’s been acting up, hasn’t it?”

Blix nodded once, with a frown.

“Once… once this is over, we’re gonna go find someone to help you. Get your hand sorted finally,” Bucky whispered as he reached up to brush a lock of her hair back.

She leaned forward, resting her head against his for a moment, replying, “Then the two of us are going to find someplace to hideaway… preferably with a nice bed.”

She felt him chuckle as he pressed a kiss to her cheek. His arms wrapped around her, pulling her in close.

“Sounds like a plan, doll,” he muttered softly.

Steve who had finished his calls had stepped into the doorway and began to say something but stopped when he saw the two of them. He took in their postures, noting how relaxed they were. Sam, who stepped up next to him, made a small noise.

“Hm. Guess we see what she meant earlier about the whole “he got attached and so did she” thing. Think after the incident at the Triskelion he ran to her?” Sam quietly asked, watching the 2 of them with a raised eyebrow.

“Wouldn’t surprise me,” Steve murmured, clearing his throat before speaking to them. “We gotta go. The rest of our backup is on their way to us. Got to make some stops beforehand.”

Blix and Bucky stood up, following them out. Steve drove this time, after stealing a smaller car, with her and Bucky crammed in the back. Blix tried to make herself small, trying to give Bucky more room with how little space there was.

They drove for about an hour, to a random location, where they met up with the agent from earlier. Steve got out, to talk to her and get their gear that had been snuck out. Bucky asked Sam if he could move his seat up, to which Sam gave a firm no.

Bucky slid over to sit in the middle seat. Blix shifted herself, throwing her legs over his lap, trying to help.

Steve had got back into the car, after moving their gear into the trunk.

“It’s like being trapped in a clown car full of testosterone,” She grumbled as they took off.

“Would’ve thought you’d be used to it, working with STRIKE. Did you really date Rumlow of all people?” Sam wondered turning to look back at her.

“Listen. I had to work my ass off to prove myself to those meatheads for years that I was a damn good agent. I never enjoyed being trapped with them in small spaces for hours at a time. As for Rumlow… yes. 3 years of my life wasted,” Blix said bitterly.

“Damn. Okay. When did uhh… when did the two of you become a thing?” He further questioned, pointing at her and Bucky.

“… It’s a long story,” Blix mumbled.

“We got time,” Sam encouraged. “Do we need popcorn?”

Blix gave him a look, unamused.

“A couple of years ago… my office… in the Triskelion, it was next to a hidden hallway. I only knew it existed because people would walk by and disappear. I was there late one evening trying to finish up mission reports, when I heard yelling in the distance. I stepped out, saw that the usual wall was gone, and followed the noise,” Blix began, adjusting herself in her seat.

“The Triskelion had secret hallways? Seriously?” Sam questioned shaking his head.

“Remind me to tell you where they moved Bucky after this incident,” Blix said with a snort.

“Ooh. Alright explain this incident. Get the feelin’ we should’ve gotten popcorn,” Sam was oddly invested.

“Followed the noise, to a room that held the mindwipe machine and cryotube they kept Bucky in. 10 STRIKE agents were on the ground, alongside a doctor. A nurse was cowering in the corner. Bucky was… agitated,” She continued, rolling her eyes when Sam snorted.

*Flashback*

Blix’s eyes widen in surprise at the sight before her. She tried to walk over to the nurse to check on her, when the man turned his attention to her.

She stopped, holding up her hands, “Easy honey. I’m not armed.”

She spun around, lifting her shirt, showing him that she had no weapon on her. He was breathing harshly and was staring at her confused. He would pace for a bit and then stop suddenly. She looked around, sighing for a moment, and holding her hand out to him.

“C’mon. Let’s… let’s go on a field trip. You’re safe with me,” She beckoned him softly.

He stared at her, watching her as she stepped slowly up to him. She took his hand gently and began to pull him forward. He numbly followed, allowing her to pull him along. She led him back to her office, locking the door behind them. She took a seat behind her desks, patting the stool seat next to her. She quietly finished up her paperwork as he silently made his way to sit next to her.

She emailed the documents off to Pierce, turning toward him with a small smile. She looked him over, taking in his posture. He was still tensed, but his breathing had eased back to normal.

“Ok. I can only hide you in here for so long before the vultures come a-knocking. So. How about… I give you a haircut? And you can go shower afterward?” Blix offered politely not really knowing what else to say or do.

He shrugged a smidge, but otherwise didn’t respond. She had a pair of scissors and an electric razor in one of her drawers, so she grabbed both.

“I’m not a professional hairstylist but I know my way around a pair of scissors,” She said as she grabbed a lock of his hair.

He only raised an eyebrow in response.

She began to cut his hair, making the locks short, before switching to the razor to trim it up. The process took about 20 mins, and as she brushed off the fallen hairs, she smiled at him. She gently ran her fingers through his hair making sure she hadn’t missed any long strands.

“There you go. Feel better? There’s a shower over there, clothes and towels in the cabinet. Go clean up,” She pointed at the door behind him.

He quietly does what she said, and as he showered, she cleaned up the mess. She had just finished sweeping when there was a loud knock at her door. Followed by Brock yelling at her to open the door.

She typed into her computer to pull up the camera outside her office. Brock and several other STRIKE members, along with Pierce himself, were standing outside her door. She connected to the speaker that was attached to her keypad.

“Do you mind? I quite like my door and would prefer you didn’t bang on it like you owe it dinner,” She said dully.

“B. Open the door. He’s not safe, let us in,” Brock pleaded, jiggling the door handle.

“Nope. Chill. I’m fine,” Blix hung up.

At that point, the man had wandered out, dressed, and freshly showered. She waved him over, and he sat down back in the stool. She grabbed a pulse and blood pressure monitor. She checked both of them, as he got comfortable. She grabbed a sticky note and wrote down the information they gave.

Once that was done, she sighed heavily, “I hate to do this, but I gotta return you. Just stay with me. I’ll get you back to the lab without incident.”

She stood up, taking his hand again. They walked to the door, and she called out, “Back away from the door please.”

She waited a moment, before unlocking and opening it. She was faced with several men holding guns pointed in her direction.

“Guns. Down. Now. I just got him calmed down, do not stress him out,” She ordered pushing Brock who stood in the doorframe back.

She led him through the crowd of armed soldiers, taking him back down to the lab. Bucky quietly sat down in the mindwipe chair with a sigh. Blix handed the sticky note to the nurse who stood nearby, watching him warily.

“Where do these need to go?” Blix asked her, holding up the wires.

The nurse pointed out where the nodes needed to go, and how to hook him up the machine. Once he was set, including his mouth guard, she glanced at the monitor.

“Is that set appropriately?” She asked the nurse.

The nurse glanced nervously at her and then at the still unconscious doctor. Blix frowned deeply.

“Fix it,” She quietly ordered her. “I’ll deal with that idiot later.”

The nurse made the adjustments, as Blix felt a hand brush against hers. She looked down to see his hand near hers. Her eyes flicked up to meet his before he settled into the chair.

“He’s ready,” The nurse tells her.

Blix nodded her head, telling her to proceed. She winced at his yells and turned around to leave. She stopped next to Brock and Pierce.

“I saw nothing, I know nothing, I don’t want anything to do with this,” She said in Spanish before continuing on.

*End Flashback*

“However, according to the both of them, they’ve ‘never seen the asset so compliant before.’ And insisted I become his new handler,” Blix concluded.

“So, you literally stumbled into that situation? Damn. Tough break. Why didn’t you tell anyone?” Sam asked curiously.

“My hands were tied. I had to sign many NDAs when I first joined, and I had to sign even more after that incident. I couldn’t say anything without putting myself into legal hell. Plus, no offense Steve, but we had never met. Would you have believed me if I came up to you, a complete stranger, and said ‘hey your best friend from the 40s is alive and I’m his handler?’ Cause… I feel like you wouldn’t,” Blix turned her attention to Steve.

Steve began to say something but stopped, sighing, “Honestly… probably not.”

“After I fished you out of the water, I went to her place. HYDRA, Pierce, they all thought that the mindwipes would erase everything, it doesn’t. I always, eventually, remembered everything. The longer I was awake the easier it was to recall. I had hoped… she wouldn’t hold it against me when I was ordered to hurt her, and help me,” Bucky added, his hands fiddling with the pockets on her cargo pants.

“Appeared in my apartment, like a damn ninja, soaking wet,” Blix said with a laugh. “I knew that he wasn’t in control of his actions. I forgave him a long time ago. I packed up the necessities, and we ran.”

“Hm. Interesting. So… the two of you, what? Spent the last 2 years hiding in various countries?” Steve asked curious.

“Yeah. Essentially. Couldn’t stay at my place. What was left of HYDRA knew of my location. So, we had to move,” Blix answered with a shrug. “Kept low profiles. We were in Romania for several months before you crashed into our apartment.”

The conversation died after that as they made their way to an airport. They parked in a garage nearby, waiting for backup. The four of them stepped out of the car to wait. Steve and Sam walked up to a white van that had pulled up. Bucky and Blix waited by the trunk, watching the interaction.

“This is our backup? Tsk. Times like these make me wish I had my STRIKE team,” Blix whispered in Romanian.

Bucky smiled, clearing his throat to stop the chuckle that tried to escape.

“Play nicely, doll. They are here to help us, after all,” He whispered back, nudging her slightly.

“Never,” She giggled.

Steve who heard the giggle, turned to them, waving them over. The 2 of them were introduced to everyone. Clint Barton/Hawkeye. Scott Lang/Antman. Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch.

She held her hand out to shake Wanda’s and a curious thing happened. Both of their powers activated as their hands hovered near each other, swirling around each other. It was almost like the wisps were playing with one another.

“Huh. Never seen that before. Think we just became best friends?” Blix said surprised.

“Me neither. I think we did,” Wanda said amazed.

The two of them smiled at one another, turning to the guys who had been watching.

“Well. That’s new,” Clint spoke first.

Before anything else could be said, they heard in the distance a voice asking for the airport to evacuate.

“Time to go to work it seems,” Blix announced walking over to the trunk, tossing it open.

She grabbed her bag that was set to the side, placed it on the hood of the car. She grabbed her bulletproof vest, and a corset that had adamantium boning. She grabbed Bucky and forced him to stand behind her, using his bulkiness to shield her from the others. Scott, Steve, and Clint looked away or turned around; Sam was busy getting his gear on, he glanced at her but otherwise paid her no mind.

She took off her shirt and clasped a few of the buttons on the corset first, before tossing her bra into her bag. She quickly finished clasping it, adjusting it briefly. She threw her shirt back on, followed by her bulletproof vest.

“Why exactly are you wearing a corset? Isn’t that… I don’t know. Uncomfortable?” Sam asked as he finished getting his gear sorted.

“The boning of it is made of adamantium. I learned early on that bulletproof only does so much,” Blix explained, as she grabbed her weapons.

She had twin Wakizashi blades, various knives, a gun she put on her hip and another on her thigh.

“I sense a story there,” Sam noted slyly.

“Are you a former soldier or a gossip columnist?” She asked him as she finished up.

She was tossing spare clips into various pockets and waited for the others to gear up as well. Wanda moved to stand next to her.

“May I ask about this story then? I’m guessing Sam has been interrogating you,” Wanda giggled slightly.

Blix glanced at her, making minor adjustments so everything sat comfortably.

“First solo assignment. Had to steal valuable information and eliminate the target. Got the info. But before I was able to eliminate the target, he managed to shoot me 3 times. Two of them broke ribs, the other managed to tear through the fabric and tried to rip through my left lung,” Blix answered, rubbing her side.

“The guys made jokes. Said I should get a bulletproof bra or corset. Knew a guy who owed me a favor. Got me a corset with adamantium boning. He sends me an updated version every couple of months. Showing up to training with that on, shut them all up real quick,” Blix smirked.

Wanda snickered in response, “I’ll bet.”

The guys finished gearing up, and they made their plan of attack, moving toward the hangers.

They were confronted by Stark and his allies.

“Wanda. Are you able to control the purple one? He doesn’t create a shadow, so I can’t control him,” Blix said softly to her.

Wanda nodded subtly, the two of them stepping forward after a kid appeared and stole Steve’s shield.

Blix held her hands out, taking control of the shadows around the others, while Wanda’s hands glowed bright red as she stopped Vision in his tracks.

“Split up. Now,” Blix ordered as she held everyone in their tracks.

“What the hell is this?” Tony asked as he tried to step forward but couldn’t.

Bucky and Sam went one way, Steve, Scott, and Hawkeye in another.

“Hm. Interesting. There appears to be a basement in this airport. Bye bye,” Blix teased as she opened portals directly beneath them, dropping them down.

Wanda shoved Vision down to join them, and then the 2 of them ran forward.

They ran past where Tony and his team had been originally, barely able to make it past before Vision resurfaced with the others. The 2 of them ran faster as they split up to start fighting.

T’Challa appeared suddenly swiping at her face. Blix whipped out her swords, blocking his hands left and right. She was doing well, until her right hand acted up. She had raised her hand up to block when it began to malfunction causing her to drop the sword. She winced as the spasms began to actually cause a bit of pain. T’Challa stopped fighting her, staring at her somewhat concerned.

She quietly sheathed one of her swords, picking the fallen one up, taking a stance once more with just her left hand. Before either of them could say or do anything, she hears Scott mention something about splitting himself in half?

She looked over toward him, confused and then shocked as she watched him become very large.

She used the distraction to teleport over to Bucky.

“I take back my previous statement. STRIKE team got nothing on this,” Blix panted.

Bucky chuckled, “Good to know. We got to get to the plane. Think you can teleport over there, and get her ready for liftoff? It might wind up being just the 3 of us.”

She salutes him with a grin, “Can do… Sergeant.”

Bucky chuckled, shaking his head, “Go… Commander.”

She slipped away, teleporting to the hanger, slipping inside the jet easily. She discreetly began to warm the ship up. She spotted Steve and Bucky racing toward her, after being stopped briefly by Natasha, they joined her onboard. She finished getting the ship ready before allowing to Steve take care control. Her and Bucky collapsed into the chairs behind him buckling up quickly.

They were just barely able to escape the fight, flying off to Russia.

Once they could breathe easy, Bucky turned to her, asking, “Your hand?” He had noticed she was favoring her left more.

She frowned, staring down at it, not wanting to admit it was hurting.

He held his hand out, wanting to look at it. She quietly placed her hand in his, he examined it for a moment. He pressed on a couple of locations, which slowly helped the hand relax and she was able to move it freely again.

She quietly thanked him, and he planted a kiss to her hand, with a smile.

A few hours later they were landing outside the bunker. They opened the ramp, and Steve and Bucky stopped for a moment. She listened to them talk about Coney Island, and the dates they had.

She shook her head at the two of them.

“You spent today’s equivalent of $50 on carnival games?” She asked him surprised. “Did you at least win her a prize?”

“Yeah. A creepy clown doll thing that she loved,” Bucky answered before asking noticing her frown. “Why?”

“… Should’ve had you take me on a date to Coney Island. Would’ve been less disappointing,” She muttered, walking out.

Bucky raised an eyebrow at that, and Steve looked down to hide his smile.

“What happened?” Steve asked as they walked up to the door.

“… Date gone wrong. The guy spent $100 on four different games. Failed miserably with each one,” Blix grumbled. “I wound up spending $5 on a 5th game to win my own prize.”

Steve winced empathically, “That’s…. wow. Even I wasn’t that terrible.”

Steve ripped open the panel, and somehow got the doors opened. The 3 of them made their way in, Bucky and her walking up the stairs, turning around when Tony Stark had appeared. Bucky pointed his gun at him, while Blix’s hand hovered over her sword handles.

“Alright Manchurian Candidate and Satan’s Mistress calm down. Same team,” Tony said as the face guard lifted.

Blix gave him an unimpressed look, as she relaxed.

The four of them moved deeper into the bunker, walking into the chamber that held several glass containers, that had people in them, but none were alive.

“They died in their sleep, if that’s any consolation,” Came Zemo’s voice over the intercom.

The four of them stepped closer to the window, Zemo still speaking. He directed their attention to the monitor near them. It began to play footage… of Bucky killing Stark’s parents. Blix tensed moving to stand in front of Bucky.

“Don’t. Go after Zemo. Don’t get involved in this fight,” Bucky whispered, in a pained voice.

“I’m not leaving you,” Blix whispered back.

“Go. Please. I can’t risk you getting hurt,” Bucky quietly begged.

She glanced back at him, not wanting to do this, but she sighed seeing the look on his face. She disappeared and reappeared in the room Zemo had been in. She spotted the red book, abandoned. She grabbed it, as she followed the path that was before her. She winced every time she heard a loud crash or blast.

She had made her way back outside, and she spotted Zemo sitting down, listening to his phone.

She walked around to stand in front of him as T’Challa appeared.

Zemo quietly explained that his family died in the battle against Ultron.

“I’m sorry that you lost your family. I truly am. But you threw a man, who had nothing to with that battle, under a freight train. Just to get revenge on the Avengers. Do you really think your family would want that?” Blix questioned, waving her hand when she spotted his gun.

She summoned it into her hand, ejecting the clip and the bullet that was in the chamber.

“The living still have use for you,” T’Challa said grabbing him, and pulling him up.

She reached into one her pockets and pulled out zip-ties. She handed them to T’Challa and used them to make makeshift handcuffs.

“I need to go check on my guys. You got him?” She asked T’Challa.

T’Challa nodded, keeping a firm grip on Zemo’s shoulders.

Blix spent a moment, searching through the shadows, trying to find where they wound up. She found them, all 3 of them, on one of the upper levels. She teleported into the room, her eyes widening in horror when she saw the state of Bucky’s arm. She rushed over to him, as Steve hobbled over.

She sucked in a sharp breath, as she took in his state as well.

“Been through worse, if you can believe that,” Steve said with a wince as he knelt down.

The two of them lifted Bucky up, and they started to walk away.

“Wait,” She adjusted her grip on Bucky, leaning over to put a free hand on Steve. “Do me a favor. Don’t talk to any voice you hear.”

She teleported the 3 of them back up top. Steve made a face when they reappeared topside.

“I can understand Bucky’s discomfort. That was… nightmarish. Do you always hear that many voices?” Steve asked shaking his head, trying to clear the sounds from his mind.

“Yep. At the very least you were an adult when you experienced that for the first time. I experienced that when I was 7,” Blix replied with a fake smile.

“That’s… horrifying,” Steve responded as they began to make their way to the ship.

T’Challa was waiting for them, with Zemo. They climbed aboard and made their way back into Europe. A quick phone call to the agent that they had been working with, Sharon, came, and took Zemo off their hands. T’Challa then told Steve to go to Wakanda.

“We’re not being led to our doom here, yeah?” Blix confirmed, looking at him.

“No. The two of you will be safe,” T’Challa assured with a small smile.

When they arrived in Wakanda, they were led to an infirmary where the guys were treated for their injuries, and someone gently removed the remains of Bucky’s arm.

While they were tended to, T’Challa pulled her over to a table. A young woman appeared, attacking T’Challa in a hug. She watched them with a smile, and when they turned back to her T’Challa introduced her.

“This is my sister, Shuri. She will be helping take care of your arm, and Mr. Barnes,” He said proudly.

She stepped forward, telling her to place her arm on the table, flat. Blix does so, and Shuri taps on the table, bringing it to life. A light flashed over her arm, scanning it slowly.

Shuri stared at the info that was the presented once the scan was done.

“It appears nothing is physically wrong with the arm, so it must be in the chip meant to help you control it. The programming is off,” Shuri noted.

“The programming technically was never finished. Since they wanted to recondition me and turn me into a prettier version of Bucky. So…” Blix explained.

“Oh. Well then. We will just have to fix that and redo your arm, so it works more smoothly. Should be an easy fix. Thought you had something challenging for me brother dear,” Shuri teased.

He then began to explain Bucky’s issues and the conditioning that he needed removed. While they talked, Blix wandered back over to Bucky. She sighed in relief seeing him sitting up and looking more awake.

She stood in front of him, checking him over. He pulled her in close, his arm settling around her waist.

“They’re… talking about putting you in a cryotube. I hate seeing you go in those things,” Blix said lowly, her hands gripping onto his shirt tightly.

“It’ll be the last time. One more time, get rid of HYDRA in my head, and then it’s just you and me. Just us. And… when we are no longer considered wanted criminals… I’m going to take you to Coney Island, and take you on a proper date,” He said charmingly.

“Hm. I’m starting to think that it’s probably a good thing I didn’t know 40s you. A girl wouldn’t be able to handle such gentlemanly ways,” She teased fanning herself jokingly.

“In the 40s you would be my wife at this point,” Bucky pointed out.

“Oh? Is that so? Hmmm. Appears you need to make an honest woman outta me. We’re living in sin, it’s quite scandalous,” She said with a grin, kissing him on the lips.

He returned her smile, kissing back. They pulled away when they heard Steve clear his throat.

“I’ll give you 2 a minute,” She whispered, stepping away from them.

Steve walked over to Bucky.

“T’Challa apparently wants to make amends. He’s offering the both of you asylum and going to help fix you two up as well. Not sure how I feel about you going into deep freeze again,” Steve remarked with a heavy sigh.

“Yeah. I’m… I’m not safe. Not safe out there, or… around her,” He whispered the last part.

“… Never seen you look at a woman the way you do her. You actually going to marry her?” Steve asked quietly, smiling at him.

Bucky quietly reached into one of his pockets on his pants, and pulled out a small velvet pouch, handing it to him. Steve opened it, dumping it out onto his open palm. A small silver ring appeared; it had a green stone. He chuckled at the small raven and skull that decorated the sides of it.

Steve returned it to the bag and handed it back to him. Bucky held it in his hand, sighing softly.

“She’s… been there for me. For years. She’s put up with a lot and stayed by my side. She only left STRIKE because they had put her in danger,” Bucky said slowly. “She’s… she’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

Steve laughed lowly, causing Bucky to go, “What?”

“Just… 40s you was never interested in marriage or commitment. It’s nice to see you swoon over someone for a change,” Steve ribbed lightly.

“Shut it man,” He mumbled, somewhat embarrassed, with a short laugh.

Steve wished him luck and told him he’d be in contact. He had to go rescue the rest of his team.

Blix returned to his side, knowing that their time was limited until he went under again.

She stared at his closed hand, suspicious, but didn’t say anything until he presented it to her.

“Need you to keep something safe for me until I get out,” Bucky tells her with a secretive smile.

“Am I allowed to look in the bag?” She asked in a childlike tone.

“If you want,” Bucky allowed standing up.

She reached into it, pausing in her movements when she felt the item inside. She slowly pulled it out, taking a deep breath as she held it.

“… You sure you want to marry a hot mess like me?” She asked jokingly biting her lip.

“Yeah. Pretty sure,” He replied, his hand brushing along her jaw.

She slipped the ring onto her left hand and smiled brightly at it.

“Blix Barnes. Sounds more normal than Blix Lage. Less pretentious sounding, at least… Wait… how long have you had this?” Blix wondered staring up at him.

“Got it a week after we moved to Romania. Specifically, after that date when we hiked in Băneasa Forest, and you… bit your fingers trying to stuff 3 fries into your mouth,” Bucky reminded her, a smile growing on his face.

“That did it for you? Me being unladylike and stuffing my face? That’s when you thought, ‘imma seal the deal on this one’?” She was in disbelief.

He laughed at that, “Yep. You make me happy. An emotion I haven’t truly felt… in decades.”

She looked down, biting her lip, as she tried to hold in the tears that were trying to escape.

He gently bumped her chin up, making her look back up at him.

He leaned his forehead against hers, whispering, “Marry me?”

“Yes,” She replied with a smile that was growing.

He kissed her firmly at her answer, and she kissed back with as much enthusiasm. When they parted, she watched silently as the staff got him prepped for the cryotube before he stepped inside.

‘One last time.’ She quietly thought.

She watched with a slight wince as the tube closed and froze quickly. She stared at his face, sighing softly.

She turned to T’Challa and said, “So. What now?”

“Let’s get you settled someplace. Tomorrow we will begin the process of fixing your hand,” T’Challa informed her, offering his arm to her.

She politely took it, and he led her outside. She stared at everything with awe.

“Why ever would you want to leave here?” She asked craning her neck every which way trying to take in as much as she could.

She heard T’Challa chuckle softly, nodding in agreement.

“Ya know… was gonna ask if I was dreaming…. But then I realized… my imagination is not that great,” Blix admitted. “Not possible for me to dream something this beautiful.”

T’Challa thanked her quietly, leading her to a small place that was near a lake, goats roaming about.

“This should be big enough for the both of you. Either myself or my best warrior Okoye will be here in the morning to retrieve you. Sleep well Miss Blix,” He presented the home to her. “Also… congratulations.”

She smiled at him, walking further inside. She easily found the bedroom, and after stripping off most of her gear, she collapsed onto the bed. She slowly fell asleep, the events of the day catching up to her.

#bucky barnes x oc #james buchanan barnes #marvelverse #mutants

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freddiesaysalright · 5 years

Text

Blessed Part 1

The Peace Like a River Sequel

Summary: Gwilym and Y/N are married. Violet is six years old. Baby number two is on the way. There are still some shadows that plague Y/N in her marriage to Gwil, and Violet is suddenly resentful of her parents. The Lee family tries to stick together.

Word Count: 2.6k

Tag List: @psychosupernatural, @someone-get-a-medic, @bensrhapsody, @deakyclicks, @crazylittlethingcalledobsession, @minigranger, @simmisblog, @assembledherethevolunteers, @lookuptotheskiesandsee, @readinghorn, @riddikuluslypotter, @doingalrightt, @misslolasworld, @lemurian-starship, @ravenedges-lies, @painkiller80, @imgonnabeyourslave, @crazyweirdocalledfriday, @ixchel-9275, @sincerelygmg, @lv7867, @unicorn-princess-1999, @delilahmay39, @chlobo6, @dragon-out-of-water, @radio-hoo-ha, @agentmalfoy24601, @thigh-your-mother-down If you’d like to be added, let me know!

A/N: Alrighty! So before my next major fic, I had a little idea to carry on PLAR since it was so well-loved and there is some more story to tell. This is going to be a 4-5 part mini-series to give you all a glimpse into Y/N and Gwil’s life together with young Violet and starting to add to their family. I hope you all enjoy!

Haven’t read Peace Like a River? Start here!

Part 1 here we go!!!

Seven more weeks. Just seven more weeks until this baby was here. And the most exciting part was that today, you were hopefully going to see her face for the first time. It would be via a 3-D ultrasound, but still. They were very detailed and often showed a great deal more than a traditional one. You thought about inviting some friends and family to it, but you and Gwilym ended up just wanting to take Violet.

“How much longer to the doctor?” your daughter wondered.

“Just a few more minutes, lovie,” Gwilym assured her.

“Okay!” she chirped before looking out the window again, humming to herself.

Violet was six now. She had fully adjusted life in London, and was absolutely in love with England. You were right there with her. There was really nothing you missed about the US. You would have missed Adam, but he had moved across the pond as well. You were thrilled to have him there with you. He was a great assistant and an even better friend.

“Why isn’t Adam coming to see the baby?” Violet asked.

“It’s his day off,” you told her.

“Shouldn’t that mean he has more time to come with us?”

You chuckled. “That’s not how it works, baby.”

She shrugged and returned to gazing out the window. Within another two minutes, you pulled up to the doctor’s office. It wasn’t your normal office because they didn’t have this equipment. A jolt of nerves went through you all of a sudden. You squeezed Gwilym’s hand just as he cut the engine.

“What’s the matter, darling?” he asked.

“I’m nervous,” you admitted.

“What on earth for?”

“I dunno,” you said. “It’s just...this feels pretty big.”

“It is,” he said. “But this is exciting. We’re going to get the first glimpse of the baby.”

“What if something’s wrong?” you wondered.

“Then we’ll find out how to proceed,” he assured you. “Dr. Tate is going to be right there. And so will I.”

“Me too!” Violet chimed in.

Gwilym laughed. “Yes, Violet too. The most important person of all.”

You couldn’t help but smile. You took a deep breath.

“Alright, let’s go in.”

“Stay right there,” Gwilym said. “I’ll help you out.”

“You don’t have to-”

He cut you off with a stern look. All through your pregnancy, you had avoided asking Gwilym for help doing anything. Even something as simple as reaching your favorite coffee mug. You were still so used to doing everything on your own. In your marriage to Henry, you never asked him to help you with any tasks out of fear of annoying him. Even though Gwilym had never placed any of those expectations on you, you couldn’t help but feel the need to take care of things independently. You had even taken your pregnancy test and gone to your first doctor’s appointment alone. As happy as Gwilym was when you told him you were pregnant, you ended up fighting about how you had not confided in him or brought him with you to the doctor. So, with a huff, you sat back and waited for Gwil and Violet to come around and help you out of the passenger seat.

“There,” he said. “Not so hard, was it?”

You rolled your eyes. “You’ve made your point.”

He chuckled and - still holding your hand - lead you inside.

The receptionist greeted you warmly while you checked in. Violet looked around at all the pictures of babies hanging on the walls.

“None of these are Sybil, right?” she asked.

You smiled. The first person to consistently change from calling her “the baby” to the name you and Gwilym chose, was Violet. She adored the name, and was eager to have Sybil out in the world.

“No, honey,” you said. “Sybil is still inside Mommy. These babies have already been born.”

She nodded, but continued to gaze at the photos, perhaps wondering what her little sister might look like.

“Okay, Mr. and Mrs. Lee, your doctor and technician will be with you in just a moment,” the receptionist said.

The three of you took seats along the wall. Gwilym pulled out his phone and began checking emails. Violet quickly crawled onto his lap.

“Daddy, can I play games?” she asked.

“Not just now, lovie, Daddy’s got work,” he returned gently.

She pouted, a bit dejected, but he didn’t notice. Rolling your eyes, you retrieved your own phone and handed it over to your daughter. She beamed and moved to switch over to your lap, but you shook your head.

“Sorry, Vi,” you said. “Sybil is taking up too much space.”

She nodded, opened your phone and pulled up some animal game she loved. You rested your head on Gwilym’s shoulder and closed your eyes. It was only another two or three minutes before your doctor emerged.

“Mr. and Mrs. Lee?” said Dr. Tate.

You sat up and smiled at her. Gwilym placed Violet on her feet and quickly moved to help you up. You resisted the urge to roll your eyes again.

“How are you today?” she asked politely as you all followed her back to the exam room.

“Good,” you answered.

“We wanna see Sybil!” Violet added with enthusiasm.

“Sybil?” Dr. Tate repeated. “What a lovely name.”

“Thank you,” you returned.

You entered the room and Gwilym helped you onto the exam table. Like normal, you pulled the waistband of your pants down to give them room. The technician introduced herself as Michelle as you took your place and her friendly disposition eased your nerves a bit. She pulled her gloves on and started to get everything ready.

On the opposite wall, a large, flat screen TV was mounted. In front of that sat a couch. Violet immediately ran over and sat on it.

“This is where we’re gonna see her?” she checked.

“That’s it,” Michelle confirmed.

“It’s like a movie,” she said with awe.

You all chuckled at Violet’s fascination.

“So, second time parents?” Michelle wondered.

“Mrs. Lee is,” Dr. Tate answered. “Violet is from her previous marriage.”

“Ah, I see,” Michelle said with a nod. “Well, when Violet was coming along, this procedure wasn’t as common.”

“Yeah, I didn’t have one of these with her,” you said.

“Okay, so I’ll just go over what exactly this machine does and how much of the baby you can expect to see,” she went on.

She explained everything in detail while she prepped you for the ultrasound. It was a lot, and you were amazed by what this technology could do. Finally, it began, and Michelle placed the probe against your swollen belly.

You and Gwilym turned your eyes to the screen. Slowly, an image appeared. At first, you could hardly make anything out, it was just a mess of blurry, orange blobs. But then, Michelle turned a few dials, and everything focused. Dr. Tate stood by the screen and pointed.

“There’s her -”

“Mouth,” you finished.

Your baby’s face became almost perfectly clear there. You saw her eye sockets, which looked a little strange, but her cheeks, nose, and mouth were right there.

“That’s right,” Dr. Tate said. “She has a beautiful mouth too. That cupid’s bow…”

“It looks like yours, Gwil,” you said excitedly, taking his hand. “God, she has your mouth exactly.”

Your heart felt like it could burst. It was so full. There she was. The baby you wanted for so long and now her face was before you. Tears stung your eyes. You looked over at Gwilym to find him with watery eyes as well and you smiled.

“That’s our little girl,” he sighed. “She’s beautiful.”

Suddenly, the image jerked. You felt Sybil’s little jump inside you. You giggled.

“What happened?!” Violet cried.

“It’s alright, sweetie,” you assured her. “She’s just got hiccups.”

“They can get hiccups in there?!” she returned, marveling.

“Sure can,” Dr. Tate answered. “All while their bodies are forming.”

“Wow…” Violet looked over at you. “Has she had hiccups before?”

“Sometimes,” you told her. “Usually, they’re at night or while you’re at school.”

“I’ll teach her all the tricks to getting rid of hiccups,” she said firmly.

“You’re a very sweet sister, Violet,” Gwilym said.

You watched the ultrasound more, and Michelle showed you the arms and legs of your baby as well. But you were completely enthralled by her face. She was hands down the prettiest baby you had ever seen. Every bit as beautiful as Violet when she came. The amount of detail this ultrasound provided made you all the more ready for these last seven weeks to pass so you could see her face in person and touch it and kiss it.

As Michelle printed the photos and cleaned off your tummy, Gwilym met your gaze.

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

“Excited,” you told him. “More in love than ever.”

“Me too,” he returned, pecking your lips gently.

Violet walked over to you and you noticed her face fell. She looked hurt, but you couldn’t imagine by what.

“Mommy, can we go home now?” she asked.

“In a minute, honey,” you said. “We’ve got to wait for the pictures.”

She sighed heavily and you exchanged a confused look with Gwilym. All those concerns melted away, though, when you looked at the printed pictures of Sybil’s face. You almost lost yourself in it again, but then Dr. Tate escorted you back to the lobby. You bid her a fond farewell, assuring her you would see her again next week, and then you all headed back to the car. Gwilym helped you into your seat before getting behind the wheel, and you were on your way back home for some lunch.

“I can’t believe how much of her we can see,” you said once again, still gazing at the pictures.

“I know,” Gwilym agreed. “You really think she has my mouth?”

“I don’t think it, I know it,” you returned, looking closer. “It’s a freaking replica of your mouth. Oh, I hope she has your eyes too.”

“Don’t count yourself out, beautiful,” he replied.

You beamed at him. Then, you turned as much as you could to look at Violet in the back seat.

“What did you think, Vi?” you asked. “How cool was it to see your baby sister?”

“I dunno,” she said with a shrug. “Pretty cool, I guess.”

You shot your husband another confused look.

“Everything okay, sweetie?” you wondered.

She just shrugged again, keeping her eyes out the window instead of looking at you.

“Are we being annoying by gushing about Sybil?” Gwilym asked.

You watched Violet shift uncomfortably in her seat. He glanced over at you and you nodded.

“How about this?” he said. “To make it up to you, we won’t go home for lunch. We’ll go out, and you can choose wherever you want.”

She perked right up at that and quickly demanded McDonald’s. Naturally, you obliged.

The coming days passed similarly. Violet would start off a conversation happily about Sybil. She expressed how excited she was to be a big sister and everything she planned to do to help. Then, something would happen, there would be a shift, and she was suddenly moody. You couldn’t pin down what exactly was triggering it.

One night, Adam stayed for dinner after work. You showed him the picture from the 3-D ultrasound and he was of course amazed. He congratulated you and Gwilym again.

“That’s seriously so cool,” he said. “You can already see how much she looks like Gwil.”

You glanced at Violet and saw her expression sour. Was this about Gwilym?

“Yeah,” you agreed, deciding against addressing it right away. “She’s gonna be pretty, huh?”

“She’s already gorgeous,” Adam said. “I can’t wait to meet her in person.”

“We’re dying as well,” Gwilym agreed. He leaned over and rubbed your belly. “Whenever you’re ready, my little girl.”

“She needs a few more weeks, at least,” you reminded him gently.

“I know, but -”

The scraping of a chair interrupted him. Violet had pushed back and was now on her feet, leaving the kitchen.

“Violet, love, where are you going?” Gwilym called after her.

“My room,” she snipped back.

She stomped up the stairs and you all listened until you heard her bedroom door slam shut.

“What’s up with her?” Adam wondered.

“I don’t know,” you sighed. “She seems excited and then out of nowhere she gets like this. And she won’t talk to us about it.”

“We’ve asked the doctor about it, and she says it’s normal for kids to become jealous of the coming baby,” Gwilym said. “But I don’t know, this is really unlike her.”

“I agree,” you said. “Violet’s never had an attitude like this.”

“Well, how does it get resolved?” Adam asked.

“She usually just gets over it after a while,” you told him. “After an hour or so, she just comes back downstairs to watch TV with us or something.”

“That is weird,” he agreed. “Have you tried talking to her about it after she’s calmed down?”

“Not yet,” you said. “We’ve thought about it, we just really don’t know how she’s going to react.”

“You should try it,” he said. “Maybe if you address it while she’s not angry, she won’t be so opposed to hearing you. Or it’ll show her that what she’s feeling isn’t really fair to you guys.”

You and Gwilym shared a look.

“It can’t hurt to try,” Gwil said.

You nodded. “Alright. When I take her to school tomorrow, I’ll give it a try.”

The following morning, as you drove Violet to school, you agonized over what to say and how to ask her about what she was feeling. It was a complicated thing, and Violet might not even understand what she was going through.

“Honey, we need to talk about your behavior last night,” you began.

“What behavior?” she asked innocently.

“Well, you stormed off to your room in the middle of dinner,” you reminded her. “Wanna tell me what’s going on?”

She remained silent, staring resolutely out the window.

You sighed.

“It’s okay if you’re made at us,” you said. “But we can’t fix anything unless we know what it is you’re upset about, baby.”

You looked into the rear view to try and see her, but she was still ignoring your question. You heaved another sigh of defeat.

“Okay, Violet,” you said. “You don’t have to tell me now. But whenever you’re ready to talk, Daddy and I are ready to listen.”

You heard her sniffle at the mention of Gwilym. Was she angry at him?

“Okay,” she said softly.

You pulled up to the school then, and put the car in park. You turned to look at her.

“We love you very much, honey,” you said. “Have a good day at school.”

“Thanks, Mommy,” she said, still not looking at you as she clamored out of the car and approached her teacher.

You watched her disappear into the building, feeling like crying yourself.

That afternoon, you were with Adam, working on some new material for your upcoming special, once again for Netflix. He was answering emails. Gwilym was in his study with a new script he’d gotten.

Your phone rang. While you worked, Adam answered your phone, so he did so now.

“Y/N Lee’s phone,” he said.

You heard him say a few “uh-huhs” and the like. Then he called out to you.

“Y/N,” he said. “It’s Violet’s teacher.”

Your brow furrowed, but you beckoned Adam over. You took the phone and held it to your ear.

“Hello?”

“Mrs. Lee?” said Violet’s teacher, Mrs. Topper.

“Yes, what’s the matter?” you pressed.

“Violet’s in some trouble,” she said. “Are you and your husband able to make it to the school this afternoon?”

Your heart froze over with fear and concern.

“We’ll be there as soon as we can.”

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what-is-your-plan-today · 5 years

Text

Stark Spangled Banner Ch 14: Nothing Personal

Summary: Steve confronts Fury about The Lemurian Star and discovers another secret that the Director has been concealing from him, one he struggles to reconcile morally. Little does he realise, however, that learning said secret is the catalyst to a devastating chain of events, which put him and Katie directly in the firing line of a deadly assassin...

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

Warnings: None for this chapter bar them saying some bad language words and someone getting shot and a bit of fighting and shizzle.

This one is a bit long- it got away from me a little but there was soooo much to get in!

Stark Spangled Banner Masterlist

Steve’s good mood lasted all of 5 minutes into debrief. Natasha wasn’t even there, which wasn’t surprising, but pissed him off. Instead of letting it sour the meeting he added it to the long list of stuff he was going to confront Fury over. He praised the STRIKE team, thanked Rumlow for his leadership, Evans for his impeccable sniper skills, as usual, and Rollins for his coordination from the jet. He dismissed his team and then headed up to see Fury.

“You just can't stop yourself from lying, can you?” Steve said as he crossed the floor of Fury’s office.

Nick didn’t even need to ask him what he was talking about. Without turning round the Director spoke calmly. “I didn't lie. Agent Romanoff had a different mission than yours.”

“Which you didn't feel obliged to share” Steve pressed, raising an eyebrow as the Director spun in his chair to face him.

“I'm not obliged to do anything” Fury said simply, looking at him.

“Those hostages could've died, Nick.” Steve pressed, holding the man’s gaze.

“I sent the greatest soldier in history to make sure that didn't happen.” Fury said simply, and Steve could feel his temper rising even more. He hated the blasé attitude the Director was discussing the issue with, like it was simply something he wasn’t all that bothered about.

“Soldiers trust each other, that's what makes it an army.” He said after a short pause. “Not a bunch of guys running around and shooting guns.”

He wasn’t expecting the response he got. Fury leaned forward, frowning as he levelled Steve with a look.

“The last time I trusted someone, I lost an eye.” he said. Steve cocked his head to one side, crossing his arms but maintaining his silence “Look, I didn't want you doing anything you weren't comfortable with. Agent Romanoff is comfortable with everything.”

“I can't lead a mission when the people I'm leading have missions of their own” Steve said, pointing down at Fury’s desk.

“It's called compartmentalization” Fury eyed him. “Nobody spills the secrets because nobody knows them all.” Steve snorted silently “Except you.” Fury took a deep breath and levelled Steve with a look. “ You're wrong about me. I do share. I'm nice like that.” Steve frowned as Fury stood up and motioned for him to follow.

“Where are we going?” Steve said, frustration evident on his tone.

“You’ll see.” Fury said, stepping inside the elevator. Steve followed. “Insight bay.” he instructed.

“Director override, Fury, Nicholas J.” Fury spoke, without missing a beat.

“Confirmed.”

“You know, they used to play music.” he said, his tone softer as he broke the silence, making a joke at his own expense.

“Yeah. My grandfather operated one of these things for forty years.” Fury said, somewhat nostalgic. “My granddad worked in a nice building, he got good tips. He'd walk home every night, roll of ones stuffed in his lunch bag. He'd say "hi", people would say hi back. Time went on, neighbourhood got rougher. He'd say "Hi", they'd say, "Keep on steppin'." Granddad got to grippin' that lunch bag a little tighter.”

The flash into Fury’s personal life surprised Steve somewhat. He cocked his head to one side and looked at the man. “Did he ever get mugged?”

“Every week some punk would say, "What's in the bag?"

“What did he do?”

“He'd show 'em. Bunch of crumpled ones and loaded .22 Magnum.” Fury smirked “Granddad loved people. But he didn't trust them very much.”

Steve had to smirk slightly, thinking that Fury sounded a hell of a lot like his grandpa. He looked down for a second, and when he looked up he was aware that they had now travelled down the side of the Triskellion and were descending further, underground even. As Steve looked around he realised he was in some sort of hangar, and he looked out of the glass, spotting 3 giant Helicarriers. His mouth fell open in surprise, his brow furrowing.

“Yeah, I know. They're a little bit bigger than a .22.” Fury remarked.

“This is Project Insight.” Fury said as he led Steve across the floor of the hangar. “Three next generation Helicarriers synced to a network of targeting satellites.”

And then Steve understood. “Launched from the Lemurian Star.” he said, a statement not a question.

“Once we get them in the air they never need to come down. Continuous suborbital flight courtesy of our new repulsor engines.” Fury stopped underneath one.

“Stark?” Steve asked, frowning.

“Well, he had a few suggestions once he got an up close look at our old turbines.” Fury said, as they continued. “But don’t worry, that’s not something Nova is keeping from you.”

“I wasn’t” Steve said honestly, as he looked up and around the hangar “I trust my girl.” he said with a shrug.

Fury looked at him before he turned his attention back to the matter in hand and pointed up again “These new long range precision guns can eliminate a thousand hostiles a minute. The satellites can read a terrorist's DNA before he steps outside his spider hole. We gonna neutralize a lot of threats before they even happen.”

Steve crossed his arms. “ I thought the punishment usually came after the crime.”

“We can't afford to wait that long.”

Steve could feel the nerve twitching in his jaw. “Who's "we"?”

“After New York, I convinced the World Security Council we needed a quantum surge in threat analysis. For once we're way ahead of the curve”

“By holding a gun at everyone on Earth and calling it protection?” Steve looked at the director, frowning. He didn’t like this. It smacked of something Hydra or the Nazis would do.

Fury picked up on his tone and he looked at Steve, arching an eyebrow. “You know, I read those SSR files. Greatest generation? You guys did some nasty stuff.”

Don’t’ I know it? Steve thought to himself as he took a deep breath. “Yeah, we compromised. Sometimes in ways that made us not sleep so well. But we did it so the people could be free.” he turned and pointed at the helicarriers before looking at Fury “This isn't freedom, this is fear.”

“SHIELD takes the world as it is, not as we'd like it to be.” Fury said simply. “It's getting damn near past time for you to get with that program, Cap”

Steve shook his head. “Don't hold your breath” and with that he left.

He changed quickly, eager to put as much distance between him and SHIELD as possible for the rest of the day. After a short conversation with Rumlow about a mission report he was on his bike and heading for Katie’s apartment, his mind whirling. What was Fury playing at? This wasn’t what he signed up for, at all. It felt so far removed from what he had joined the army to do, to keep people safe, free… had he really changed that much? He felt a sudden pang for his Howling Commandoes, for Bucky, for Peggy, for Colonel Philips, for all those damned missions which had been simple- destroy Hydra.

Despite the fact he had woken up that morning and felt so happy with his girl being there, he couldn’t help but wish life was as simple as it had been back then.

*****

Katie’s morning had been far more productive. She had looked at a couple of transcript extracts her editor had selected. She had to admit, the guy had a good eye for a future blockbuster, and this one she particularly liked. After discussions, they settled on an initial run of 200 hard copy of the books to be sold online, along with a downloadable kindle version, and if they went they would review how many more we needed.

“Hey…” she asked, “How did it go?"

He sighed, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her in for a hug, simply wanting to feel her close.

“That good huh?” she said, squeezing him gently before she pulled back and headed towards the kitchen, him following behind her.

“Debrief was fine…Fury, however, went on about compartmentalisation, the usual crap.” Steve sighed, running his hand over his face, smiling softly to himself when he saw she was gathering stuff out of the fridge to make him a sandwich “And then shared something I really wish he hadn’t.”

“Like what?” she asked, throwing some turkey and mayo onto a sub. “Ever heard of Operation Insight?” Steve asked, even though he knew the answer. There’s no way she would have and not told him.

“No?” she said, handing him a plate.

“Well apparently your brother has…” he shrugged, taking the plate from her and taking a bite as he sat at the breakfast bar. He swallowed and then continued “3 huge hellicarriers that are basically designed to go up in the air and never come down. Programmed to monitor potential threats and wipe them out before they get chance to do anything…” She frowned, settling on the stool next to him. “And Fury has sanctioned this?”

Steve nodded, taking another bite of his food. “I don’t like it. Like I said to him, punishment normally comes after the crime…”

Katie could see he was really struggling with this and that his faith in SHIELD was running very, very thin. A lot of what the Agency did was political, not just about keeping people safe. She’d tried to explain that the lines were a lot more blurred than back in the 40s, but still had to admit she was kind of with him. As she pondered for a moment, Steve could see the cogs whirring in her brain, the slight “v” shape crease that always formed in the middle of her eyes when she was thinking had formed. Steve didn’t blame her, it had thrown him too and he’d had the full explanation. The hangar had been huge, and there were enough people in there to make him realise that a LOT of people knew about it. What he didn’t know was who on his immediate team knew about it.

“I just wanna know who I can trust” he sighed, looking at Katie as she reached out gently, touching his cheek.

“I know sweetheart” she said, sighing “Ok. No more talk about SHIELD or hellicarriers, or whatever…” she said, moving her hand back to the counter, picking up her soda. “What do you want to for the rest of the afternoon?”

He wanted to go to the Smithsonian. He’d been thinking about it since they had emailed him to invite him to open the exhibit on him, which he had politely declined. But he was curious to see what it was like, curious and also eager, after today, to be reminded of a time when he worked with people he knew inside out, people that he would trust with his life. And he was keen to share that with his girl, the woman who had months ago before they even started dating, been the one to help him pick what the museum would display.

“You know, we’ve still not been to the Smithsonian since they opened the exhibit.” he said, shrugging, hoping his tone was casual enough to make it sound like he hadn’t been thinking about it enough. He failed though, smiling as Katie looked at him, arching an eyebrow.

Busted.

“Call it curiosity.” He shrugged.

“You know what curiosity did don’t you?” Katie quipped back, her eyes flashing playfully.

“What?”

She grinned as she delivered the punchline “Killed the Cap.”

*****

“A symbol to the nation. A hero to the world. The story of Captain America is one of honour, bravery and sacrifice,” the narrator at the Smithsonian museum said as we entered the exhibit.

"Denied enlistment due to poor health, Steven Rogers was chosen for a program unique in the annals of American warfare. One that would transform him into the world's first super soldier," the Narrator continued. Steve paused to look at the display to his right when Katie gently nudged him.

“Think you’ve been rumbled.”

"In this rare footage, everyone's favourite war hero, Captain America…"

"Battle tested, Captain America and his Howling Commandos quickly earned their stripes. Their mission, taking down HYDRA, the Nazi rogue science division,"

Katie looked at the uniforms, a smile on her face. She had only seen photos of the suit, not seen it in person and it intrigued her. More so because this was something that her dad had made, something physical he had touched. She felt a tug on her hand again, and she looked up to see that she was being led to a section dedicated to Bucky. The familiar (albeit again, only from photos), handsome face of his best friend looked back at them as they wandered over to read what it said in more detail.

"Best friends since childhood, Bucky Barnes and Steve Rogers were inseparable on both school yard and battlefield. Barnes is the only Howling Commando to give his life in service of his country…”

“Rogers was different” Howard spoke, smiling, the caption on the screen telling him the footage had been filmed in 1953. “He was constantly striving to do the right thing, with no fear or care for how it would affect him. He, err, when we dropped him behind enemy lines we had no idea if we would see him again. I narrowly escaped myself, the machine guns nearly took our aircraft down but without thought to how he would get back, he told us to leave him behind. When they declared him missing in action the entire company was devastated but, lo and behold… well they can’t keep a good man down. “ Howard paused and then looked down and back up at the camera “I can only hope that if I’m graced with Children, they grow up to be half as driven as he was to do the right thing…”

As Katie looked down at her feet, a stray tear fell down her cheek. Seeing her dad there like that was raw. She knew that Tony felt the loss of their parents far more than she did, she had only been 7 after all when they had died and Tony had been her father, if you will, for far longer than her actual dad had, but still, seeing him in front of her so candidly, talking about his hopes for his future children made something in her chest tighten and she couldn’t help but feel sadness at the fact she never got the chance to really know him. Steve gently squeezed her knee, but then as he looked back up at the screen it was his turn to still as someone he recognised extremely well, her face painted into his memory for life, entered the screen and began speaking, also in 1953.

"That was a difficult winter. A blizzard had trapped half our battalion behind the German line. Steve, Captain Rogers, he fought his way through a HYDRA blockade that had pinned our allies down for months.” Peggy Carter stumbled slightly through the interview. “He saved over a thousand men, including the man who would become my husband as it turned out. Even after he died, Steve was still changing my life," And despite the fact that she smiles slightly at the end of this line, it’s clear to see that talking about Steve affected her a lot.

“You read my mind.”

*******

Peggy was pleased to see them. They both greeted her and after a few pleasantries they told her about their trip to the Smithsonian. Peggy smiled, informing them that she remembered the interview, like it was yesterday, apparently the man interviewing her had been an “utter rogue”, but she didn’t elaborate on what that meant. They chatted a little about her time as Director at SHIELD before she trailed off with a sigh as she noticed that Steve was uncharacteristically quiet. After a little gentle coaxing from her and Katie he told her what was on his mind.

"My whole life I've just wanted to do what was right, I guess I'm not sure what that is anymore.” he paused for a moment, thinking of how to voice his worries about SHIELD “And I thought I could just throw myself back in and follow orders, it's just not the same."

Peggy chuckled as she rolled her eyes and looked at Katie "He’s always so dramatic.”

Katie let out a small laugh, nodding her agreement. “Tell me about it!”

Steve shook his head, a smile on his face as he raised his eyebrows slightly and looked away as Peggy continued to speak.

“Look you saved the world, we rather mucked it up."

"No you didn't. You know, knowing that you helped found SHIELD is half the reason I stay."

“And the other half being…” her eyes strayed to Katie who smiled, looking down and then up at Steve as he caught her eye, his hand resting on her knee.

“I quit remember?” She said.

Peggy smiled “Indeed, a woman with principles. That I can get on board with.”

Katie gave a little smile and turned to the old lady in the bed.

“Look, the world has changed and none of us can go back.” Peggy spoke softly “All we can do is our best, and sometimes the best that we can do is to start over."

She started to cough. Steve quickly picked up a glass of water from the table and rounded the back of the chair Katie was sitting in to try and hand her the glass.

"Peggy," he mumbled. Her coughing subsided as she sipped her drink. She looked up and stared at Steve as if she was seeing a ghost

"Steve?" Peggy breathed out in an amazed yet broken voice.

"Yeah," Steve whispered, his heart sinking as he recognised the look in her face. Her memory had gone, again.

"You're alive! You, you came, you came back," Peggy whimpered. Tears were gathering in her eyes at this point as she tried to hold them back and Steve was struggling to do the same with his own. One of the smartest, nicest, bravest women he had ever met was being betrayed by an illness that was literally rotting her brain. It was cruel, and every time she did this, they went through the same routine.

Katie squeezed his hand gently as she stood up so he could take the chair next to Peggy.

"Yeah, Peggy," Steve responded forcing a smile onto his face.

"It's been so long. So long," Peggy started to cry, giving up on holding back her tears.

“I’ll leave you with her…” Katie said gently as she gently touched his shoulder. His hand briefly reached up to lay over hers before he leaned over to take Peggy’s.

"Well, I couldn't leave you.” He said gently, “Not when you still owe me a dance."

Normally that calmed the old lady down, but not today. She was becoming more and more confused and in the end he had to press the call button for a nurse.

“Again?” The nurse said softly, and Steve simply nodded.

“I’ll fetch the doctor.”

Outside Katie took a deep breath and headed towards her car. Ex partners could always be an issue in relationships but this was something else, something completely different. She opened the passenger side to the car and sat side on in the seat, door open, legs dangling out. She felt sorry for Peggy, she really did, and her heart ached for Steve. It can’t be easy seeing the woman he once loved, and probably still did in some way, fading like that in front of your eyes. She ran her hand over her face, rubbing at her eyes slightly and waited as she watched various people coming and going out of the main doors of the hospital. It wasn’t that long before a familiar figure appeared, a flash of white T-shirt standing out against his dark navy jacket and equally dark jeans as he walked towards her, hands in his pockets. She stood up, not saying a word as she wrapped her arms around him and he buried his face into the nook of her shoulder and neck, his safe place, his hands gently resting on her hips as he breathed out a sigh.

“She ok?” she asked gently. “Yeah they sedated her.” He said as he pulled away.

“I’m so sorry Steve.” she said gently

“What for?” he frowned. “Peggy…it’s so unfair.” “Yeah…” he said. And it was. He wished things could be different, that Peggy wasn’t ill. That she could be home, with her family, living out the last years of her life with the dignity she had lived the rest of it. She deserved more. He looked over the car roof across the street and watched for a second, everyone milling about their business, getting on with their lives. Like he was, and whilst he wished things had been different for Peggy he found himself thinking and wondering if he would change anything if he could.

He felt Katie still in front of him, reacting to the fact he himself had changed posture, and as he looked down at her he was suddenly struck with the answer to his question. Right now, despite everything, despite his sudden feelings of nostalgia sparked by the events of the last 24 hours or so, no he wouldn’t. Because whatever had happened, every action, every decision, it had led him to her, and he loved her so fucking much it hurt. Yeah he had loved Peggy, he still did in some ways, but it was nothing compared to this. Nothing. He reached out and took Katie’s hands, pulling up her arms so they were round his neck, pulling her closer to him as his own hands joined at the bottom of her back

“I love you.” He said gently, needing her to understand, to believe him.

“I know…” she said back, and he smiled softly, satisfied she did.

“How about we head back to mine and not leave the flat for the entire day tomorrow?” he said, the idea suddenly coming to him and he face lit up. Katie loved lazy days. It was rare Steve was in the mood for them, his incessant energy normally meant he had to be doing something. But on the odd time he agreed it usually involved them staying in bed till about midday, then watching old movies on the TV under a blanket on the couch, maybe a bit of fooling around and then calling a take out before retreating back to bed. Right now that sounded like a damned fine idea. “Can you clear your diary?”

“Consider it cleared.” she smiled.

“I just wanna make one quick stop on the way.” he suggested, his journey of contemplation was leading him to one more place. He glanced at his watch before planting a kiss on her lips “Thought we could pay our jogging friend a visit.”

********

"Look who it is. The running man and his pretty girl." Sam joked slightly as he came over to the doorway where Katie and Steve were stood.

"Hey." Katie smiled as he dropped a kiss onto her cheek.

"Caught the last few minutes. It's pretty intense," Steve commented as Sam shook his hand.

"Yeah, brother, we all got the same problems. Guilt, regret," Sam shrugged. As his sentence went on his voice got more serious and softer.

"Have you lost someone?" Steve asked, perceptive as ever. Katie mentally cursed herself for not filling him in fully, but Sam didn’t seem too bothered to talk about it. He nodded gently.

"My wingman, Riley. Fly in the night mission. A standard PJ rescue op, nothing we hadn't done a thousand times before, till an RPG knock Riley's dumb ass out of the sky. Nothing I could do. It's like I was up there just to watch," Sam paused to cross his arms over his chest, his posture slightly tense. "After that, I had really hard time finding a reason for being over there, you know?"

"But you're happy now, back in the world?" Steve asked

"Hey, the number of people giving me orders is down to about zero. So, hell, yeah," Sam joked, loosening up slightly, before getting a bit serious, "You thinking about getting out?"

"No. I don't know. To be honest, I don't know what I would do with myself if I did," Steve shook his head a bit.

"Ultimate fighting?" Sam shrugged and Steve laughed as Katie snorted. "It's just a great idea off the top of my head. But seriously, you could do whatever you want to do. What makes you happy?"

Steve turned his head to look at Katie, an unconscious movement, smiling gently as he shrugged. “I dunno...”

"Oh I think you do." Sam said, smirking slightly as Steve placed his hand on the small of his girl’s back.

"Oh, stop by the front desk on your way out," Katie turned to Sam, smirking, and he raised an eyebrow in question,

"We asked for you by name." Steve clarified.

"She seemed thoroughly impressed." Katie finished. Both of Sam's eyebrows rose at that and he looked down the hallway towards where the front desk was.

"You two are the best." He said a smile stretching across his face as he began to turn to head down the hall. "Stop by anytime."

"No problem." Steve said in amusement as Sam jogged his way down the hall.

It was 8pm by the time they got home, having made a pit stop for a beer on the way. Steve held the door open for Katie, and she stepped into the apartment building and started to climb the stairs in front of him, giving him a quite pleasing view of her ass as her hips swayed side to side in front of him.

“Sam’s right you know.” she said, continuing their discussion from the bar. “And so is Peggy.”

“What about?” he asked.

“If you wanted to get out you could do, start over…”

He took a deep breath “I don’t know what I want, but spending the rest of my life playing janitor for Fury is not it.”

“I can write you a resignation note….” she grinned

“What, I quit, fuck you?” he snorted.

“I didn’t actually write that.” she laughed “Actually, I didn’t write anything...”

He chuckled slightly and then took a deep breath. “You know, it’s funny when I think about it. Us, stuff, what we’ve done and how far we’ve come in a year.”

“You’re saying it like it’s a bad thing” she teased as she stepped onto his landing.

“No, that’s not what I mean at all…” he said as he took a deep breath as she headed towards his door and turned to face him “You know, I’ve never really talked to anyone or shown them about my past in detail or introduced anyone to Peggy bar you.”

“Well I am your girlfriend.” she shrugged, holding onto the hand that wasn’t digging into his jeans pocket to fish out his keys. “You should be able to talk to me about anything.”

“I know, I’m not explaining myself very well.” He said, sighing, finally succeeding in obtaining his keys. And he wasn’t. He was trying to tell her that he couldn’t imagine his life without her, that he wanted her to share his everything, including his home…

“Spit it out Rogers…” she said, as he slid the key into the lock.

He took a deep breath. “Coming home last night and you being there…and then this morning…it was perfect doll and I want that all the time.” He said, turning to face her leaving his key hanging from the door. “How would you feel about us maybe moving in together?”

She paused for a moment, looking at him, realising he was deadly serious. She raised her eyebrow.

“I thought you came from a time where man and woman didn’t live together until they were married?” she teased.

“Well we could get married if you want…” he found himself blurting out. That made Katie raise both eyebrows as she studied him again, her mouth dropping into a small ‘o’. Steve looked back at her, trying to keep his face passive, as if it had been a joke, he knew it wasn’t. He’d known for months she was the one. But to blurt it out like that? And just over a year since they’d started dating.

Way to go, Rogers.

“You know, that’s not much of a proposal…” she said, sliding her arms up around his neck “But it’s one step up from you’d make a great housewife…”

“Should I try again?” he quipped, a cheeky grin spreading across his face, glad the tone was playful, his arms circling her waist “Yeah, with a big, fuck off Tiffany diamond…”

“I didn’t think you were so materialistic?” he laughed as he committed that to memory.

“Well, you know what they say? Diamonds are a girls’ best friend.”

“And there I was, thinking it was me…” he said, his lips pressing onto hers

“That’s so sweet…” a voice interrupted and they both turned to look at Kate, his neighbour from over the hall. For a split second Steve thought she was talking to them but it soon became apparent she was on the phone. “That’s so nice…but hey, I gotta go…okay bye…”

She dropped the phone into the basket of laundry she was carrying before grinning at us both “My aunt, she’s kind of an insomniac”

Steve smile before looking at the basket of washing in her arms as he dropped his arm round Katie’s shoulder “you know if you want…if you want, you can use my machine. Might be easier and cheaper than the one in the basement.” "Thank you, but I already have a load in downstairs actually, and you really don't want my scrubs in your machine.” She grinned “I just finished orientation in the infectious diseases ward, so,"

"Ah, well, we’ll keep our distance," he grinned, holding his hands up, palms out.

"Hopefully not too far…" she chuckled. “Don’t want to lose my best neighbour…well I better be off.” She turned to go before she stopped and spun back round to look at Steve. “Oh, I think you left your stereo on,"

“Right, thank you…” Steve watched her go, frowning. He looked at Katie as they both pressed their ears to the door. The record player was certainly on but…

“We definitely didn’t leave that on before.” Katie looked at him, as the gentle tones of Kitty Kallen Long Long Time hit their ears.

Steve held his finger up to his lips and gestured to the window, before leaving Katie where he was. He ran off, down the stairs as fast as he could and then he scaled the gate on the fire escape easily. Once he reached the steps which were parallel to his window he took a running jump, easily pulling himself up over the sill and into the kitchen area. Quickly and quietly he moved along the wall, picking up his shield which was leaning against the shelving unit. Holding it up he cautiously peered round the corner of the room into the living area and instantly relaxed when he saw Fury lounging in a chair.

“I don’t remember giving you a key.” he said, somewhat sardonically.

“What, you really think I’d need one?” Nick replied. Steve shook his head and headed to the front door of the flat, pulling it open.

“Fury…”he said with a roll of his eyes, turning and walking back into the apartment.

“Huh?” Katie asked a she followed him into the living room, where the music was coming from, to see Fury sitting on the couch in the dark.

“What are you doing here?” she asked

"Nice to see you too, Nova. And in answer to your question my wife kicked me out."

"I didn't know you were married," she continued, frowning. And she didn’t. And she wasn’t sure that he was.

"There are a lot of things you don't about me," Fury said casually.

"I know, Nick. That's the problem," Steve grumbled walking forward as Katie remained where she was, eyes narrowed at her old boss. Steve flipped on the light switch, instantly recoiling in surprise when he noticed Fury’s injuries. Besides him Katie gasped slightly and moved to get closer to help but Fury indicated for her to stop and the both of them to stay quiet. He turned off the light again and typed something on his phone.

'EARS EVERYWHERE'.

Bugs? His apartment was bugged? By who? They both exchanged a glance and instantly Katie looked up and around the room, as if she expected to see a microphone glaring at them...

"I'm sorry to have to do this but I had nowhere else to crash," Fury said looking around a bit. He typed something else up on his phone:

'SHIELD COMPROMISED'.

Steve and Katie shared another glance, the pair of them wide eyed. This was bad.

"Who else knows about your wife?" Steve asked, keeping his voice even.

Fury showed them another text;

'YOU TWO AND ME'.

"Just, my friends," Fury grunted in pain while getting up and walking closer to them.

"Is that what we are?" Katie narrowed her eyes at him. She still hadn’t completely forgiven the man for lying to them all about Coulson.

"That's up to you." Fury replied, his eyes darting from Katie to Steve.

"Don't, trust anyone," he coughed before passing out. Katie and Steve both looked at what he had been handed and saw that it was a flash drive. Steve curled his hand around it and looked at Katie, but before either of them could say anything else there was the sound of someone breaking into the apartment. Steve quickly moved into a defensive position, in front of Katie and Fury, raising his shield.

"Captain Rogers?" a familiar voice suddenly called out and they watched as Kate, his neighbour, cautiously walked in with a gun pointed. "I'm Agent 13 of SHIELD's Special Service," she informs.

"Kate?" Steve frowned, shaking his head. He’d just about had his fill of surprises.

"I'm assigned to protect you," she continued

"On whose orders?" Katie snapped.

Kate stopped as she spotted Fury lying on the floor. "His," she dropped besides Katie, checking Fury for a pulse and then spoke into her radio

"Foxtrot is down, he's unresponsive. I need EMTs."

"Do you have a twenty on the shooter?" A SHIELD agent questioned through the radio.

"Tell them I'm in pursuit." he said and with that he took a running jump and smashed straight through his window, and through into the office building opposite. Steve ran, keeping his eye on the man, smashing through walls, windows, anything in his way. Eventually he caught up with him on the roof and flung his shield at the assassin who, to Steve’s shock caught it with one swift move in the hand of his metal arm. There was a pause as Steve could do nothing but eye the man with surprise before the shield came flying back. Steve caught it, with both hands on its rim but the force pushed him back a few yards along the gravel surface of the roof. By the time he had stopped the momentum moving him, the assassin had jumped. Steve ran to the edge of the building and looked down.

He was gone.

*****

“What happened?" Hill asked as they all looked through the glass window at the hustle and bustle of the operating room. Steve moved his arm from around Katie and took her hand in his, squeezing her fingers gently.

"He was at my apartment when we got home," Steve started. "I hadn’t even had chance to ask why when there were two blasts, then another. Someone shot him through the window of the apartment - three times. I tried to go after the shooter, but I lost him on the roof of the building across the street."

"What aren't you telling me?" she asked quietly.

"Nothing." Katie answered for them.

Before Hill could drill either of them anymore the door to the observation room flung open and heavy footsteps crossed the room, stopping at the other side of Katie.

"Is he gonna make it?" Natasha asked, almost inaudibly, staring through the window.

"We don't know," Hill mumbled.

"Tell me about the shooter," Natasha whispered

"He's fast and strong. He had a metal arm," Steve said, letting go of Katie’s hand to fold his arms across his chest and as he did, they both caught the look of recognition and slight fear on Natasha's face reflected in the window.

"Ballistics?" Natasha asked swallowing heavily.

"Three slugs. No rifling and completely untraceable," Maria answers softly.

"Soviet made?"

"Yeah," Maria answered looking at Natasha in shock. Steve turned to face her, as did Katie, but she didn’t look back. She stared straight through to the operating theatre but before Katie could ask what it was that she wasn’t saying, the operation room went into overdrive. Machines started beeping erratically, the doctors and nurses were rushing around the room and the panic was palpable even behind the glass. But they couldn't save him.

"Time of death, 1:03 A.M."

Natasha pushed past Katie and almost sprinted out of the room. Steve pulled his hand out of his pocket, turning the flash drive that Nick had given him over in his hand. Nick had been killed because he knew whatever it was that was on that drive. What could possibly be so bad, so secret, so dangerous that the Director of SHIELD was deemed a threat for knowing? He glanced up at Katie who was watching him, tears in her eyes. She might have had her issues with Fury, but he was a good man and would never have wished him dead. With a sigh Steve placed the item back into his pocket and pulled her in for a hug.

******

A little later, the 4 of them stood the the same room as Nick’s body. Natasha was by him, hardly having moved a muscle, almost like she was in shock. And it unnerved Katie. Nat wasn’t one to really show emotion but then again, Fury had meant a lot to her. The door opened and a doctor entered, speaking to Hill. She nodded and then walked over to Katie and Steve, coughing to clear her throat.

“They need to take him.” she said, her voice cracking slightly. Steve nodded and stepped towards Nat.

“Nat...” he said gently, “Natasha...” But at that she turned away from them all and made her way quickly into the corridor of the Hospital. Katie and Steve looked at one another, before they hastily followed her.

"Why was Fury in your apartment?" Natasha span around to ask Steve. Her eyes were filled with sadness, but Katie could also see suspicion etched on her pretty features.

"I don't know," Steve sighed shrugging his shoulders, and before the conversation could go on further they were interrupted by Rumlow.

"Cap, they want you back at Shield," He informed them, gently touching Katie’s shoulder. "You too Nova."

"Alright, give us a second," Steve said dismissing Rumlow, perhaps a little more harshly than he intended, as he turned back to Natasha but Rumlow was insistent

"They want you now,"

"Alright" Katie said, firmly but calmly. Rumlow nodded and then moved back down the hallway.

"You're a terrible liar." Natasha said to Steve with her trademark smirk that didn't reach her eyes before she turned and left.

"What the hell is on that drive?" Katie said to Steve after a moment of silence.

“I don’t know, but it’s what Natasha was saving data to on our mission the other day.” he said before he looked up staring very focused into a vending machine to his right, which was open as a janitor filled it up. He didn’t want to take the drive back to the Triskellion, just in case. He knew that something wasn’t quite right.

Katie caught his eye before glancing around the hallway that was mostly full of SHIELD agents, luckily they were all congregated on the other end.

“Do it.” she said, figuring out his intention to hide the item “I’ll distract them.”

Without another look back at him, she began to stride forwards towards Rumlow.

“Its almost 4 am.” she glanced at her watch. “What do they want us for Brock? We already told Sitwell what we know and I don’t work for SHIELD anymore, remember?”

Rumlow shrugged “Honestly, I don’t know Nova. I’m just under instructions to get you both back to base.”

At that point Steve reached them, but he wasn’t stopping. Taking Katie’s hand he nodded to the STRIKE leader

"Let's go."

"Yeah," Rumlow said falling in step with them, fixing his earpiece. "Strike! Move it out."

Steve drove to the Triskellion, Katie’s car flanked by the Armoured SUVs as they sped through the streets of DC. Katie dozed off for 10 minutes and Steve let her sleep, lost in his own thoughts. He had expected her to be called in alongside him, especially after she had been, along with him, the last people Fury had spoken to him before he died. But he wasn’t happy about it, he wanted her as far away from whatever the hell was going on as possible. Once they arrived he gently shook her awake and the two of them were given an hour or so to grab something to eat. Neither were hungry, but they forced down their sandwiches, Katie’s brain working in overdrive as she did so. Something was nagging at her, and she was trying to make the connections, figure it out, but her head simply kept replaying Fury getting shot over and over.

"Foxtrot is down, he's unresponsive. I need EMTs."

"Do you have a twenty on the shooter?"

She frowned. That was odd.

“What is?” Steve asked, coffee in his hand as he sat back on one of the large chairs in one of the common rooms by the kitchen area.

“Before…when Kate…Agent 13, whatever the hell her name is called back to base…she said Fury was down and needed EMTs…”

“Sitwell…” she said gently, looking at him.

Steve frowned, not quite sure where this was going. “Ok…” “Well, how did he know Fury had been shot? How could anyone know he had been shot?”

Oh, now he understood. He understood completely. Damned it she was clever. “They couldn’t…” he said, sitting up “Not unless they were there or Kate…whoever, told them.”

“And she didn’t. She just said he was down and unresponsive.” Katie said. “Which means…” Steve began, but Katie finished for him. “Sitwell knew about the hit. Because he was in on it. Along with fuck knows who else...”

Fury was right, SHIELD was compromised. But how far, they had no idea. Before he had chance to reply the door opened and Rumlow stepped in

“Secretary Pierce is ready now guys.” “Thanks…” Katie said, shooting Steve another glance as they both stood up.

“Not a word.” he mumbled as they got into the elevator “We say nothing, not until we figure out who we can trust.”

“If anyone.” she mumbled back.

*****

"Captain, why was Nick in your apartment last night?" Secretary Pierce looked at Steve as he sat on the couch in the large office.

"I don't know." He answered in a soft voice.

"Did you know it was bugged?" Pierce pressed on.

"We did." Katie said meeting the secretary's eye. "Because Nick told us."

"Did he tell you he was the one who bugged it?"

Steve took a breath and glanced at Katie, his expression stony but the two of them shared the understanding.

No, no he had not.

"I want you to see something." Pierce continued, and gestured to a monitor just behind the couches we were sitting on. On the screen was a man tied down to a chair, he looked to be currently being interrogated. Katie didn’t recognise the man, but Steve did. It was Batroc, the lead merc from the hijacking of the Lemurian Star.

"Is that live?" Steve asked.

"Yeah, they picked him up last night in a not so safe house in Algiers."

"Are you saying he's a suspect?" Steve said not taking his eyes off the screen "Assassination isn't Batroc's line."

"It's more complicated than that. Batroc was hired anonymously to hijack the Lemurian Star. He was contacted by email and paid by wire transfer, and then the money was run through 17 fictitious accounts. The last going to a holding company that was registered to a Jacob Veech." Pierce said handing Steve a folder.

"Am I supposed to know who that is?" Steve asked, skimming through the file offered to him in curiosity and confusion.

"Not likely. Veech died six years ago. His last address was 1435 Elmhurst Drive. When I first met Nick, his mother lived at 1437."

"Wait," Katie said, gathering what the secretary was suggesting. "Are you saying Fury hired the pirates? Why?"

"The prevailing theory?" Pierce shrugged. "The hijacking was a cover for the acquisition and sale of classified intelligence. The sale went sour and that led to Nick's death."

"If you really knew Nick Fury you'd know that's not true." Steve said strongly, and he believed it. Fury was a lot of things, but a traitor he was not.

Pierce nodded in agreement. "Why do you think we're here talking?" He then got to his feet and began to walk towards the window. "See, I took a seat on the council not because I wanted to, but because Nick asked me to because we were both realists. We knew that despite all the diplomacy, and the hand shaking and the rhetoric, to build a really better world sometimes means having to tear the old one down. And that makes enemies."

Steve didn’t like the way this was going. He looked at Katie and gestured for her to stand as he did. Pierce turned back around and looked at them both.

"Those people that call you dirty because you've got the guts to stick your hands in the mud and try to build something better. And the idea that those people could be happy today," Pierce shoved his hands in his pockets. "Makes me really, really angry. Captain, you and Miss Stark were the last ones to see Nick Fury alive. I don't think that's an accident." Pierce said matter-of-factly. "And I don't think you do, either. So, I'm going to ask again was he there?"

"He told us not to trust anyone." Steve said honestly.

Pierce made a humming sound. "I wonder, if that included him."

There was a tense moment of silence before Steve spoke again. "I'm sorry. Those were his last words. Excuse us," He turned to leave, picking up his shield that he sent down upon our arrival and attaching it to the harness on his back, before ushering Katie out of the room slightly ahead of him.

"Captain," Pierce's voice halted him mid step and he turned to look at him. "Someone murdered my friend. I'm going to find out why. Anyone who gets in my way is going to regret it." Pierce's voice rang out again, a pointed look in their direction.

Steve wasn’t a stupid man, and he knew that was a veiled threat. He took a deep breath, considering his response, before he decided appearing un-rattled was the best option.

“Understood.” he nodded, holding the door open for Katie to step through keeping himself between her and Pierce as he followed, anchoring his hand on her back to keep her moving.

“You should have lied.” she whispered.

“Huh?” “Back then, said we didn’t know why Fury was there. By telling him that he told us not to trust anyone he knows we know and that we’re hiding something…”

“We need to get to the hospital and get that stick." Steve said, adamant that whatever it was that was on there would hold the answers. He looked up and down the corridor before they stepped into the elevator.

“Operations Control” Steve spoke as the elevator scanned his face and Katie’s Guest ID.

“Confirmed”

Just as the doors were about to close, Rumlow stepped in with two other STRIKE agents.

“Keep all STRIKE personnel on site” he was saying. Both the agents nodded and voiced their acknowledgement of his order.

“Forensics.” Rumlow said.

“Confirmed.”

“Cap, Nova…” Rumlow said, nodding to them both.

“Rumlow.” Steve acknowledged him as the doors closed and they started to descend.

“Evidence Response found some fibres on the roof they want us to see.” Rumlow turned his head to look at us “You want me to get the tac-team ready?”

“No, let’s wait and see what it is first.” Steve said.

“What's the status so far?” Rollins was saying.

“Administrations level” another one asked, before they continued whatever it was they were talking about, moving round to find a space behind Steve and Katie.

He noticed Katie look round, a frown on her face, but before he could say anything Rumlow spoke, looking over his shoulder at Steve.

“I’m sorry about what happened with Fury. Messed up, what happened to him”

“Thank you.” Steve said.

The elevator stopped and another agent entered.

“Records”

“Before we get started…” Steve sighed, looking down before he stared straight ahead “Does anyone want to get out?”

His eyes flicked to the back of Rumlow’s head. There was a moment’s pause before all hell broke loose. Steve was fighting with 4 of them at once, as 2 of them launched at Katie. They put up a good fight, ducking, diving, punching. Steve was shocked with a baton, but he simply grit his teeth, absorbing the electricity into his body. It hurt, but it wasn’t unbearable. And then they managed to snap one of his arms to the wall of the elevator using some kind of metallic clamp and then he had 5 of them on him at once, attempting to pin his other arm in too. He kicked out, taking down as many as he could.

Just as she had floored the second of the agents who had launched at her, Katie was grabbed from behind by her hair and hauled to the edge of the elevator, being wrestled roughly to the floor by Rumlow who was instantly on top of her, trying to get her wrists from where she had positioned them underneath her body in an attempt to stop them restraining her.

"Brock…” she said gently, looking at him as she swallowed. “What’s going on?” “I’m sorry Stark…” he said, “Just following orders…”

“Yeah well follow this…” she said, the anger brewing in her as she jerked her head forwards as hard as she could, feeling it connect with his nose. He yelled, and then her head snapped painfully to the right as he back handed her straight across the face. She felt her lip split and the warm, metallic taste of blood hit her taste buds, stars flashing in front of her eyes as her ears began to ring from the harsh knock.

Steve saw Rumlow land the blow to Katie’s face and let out a growl of anger and aimed another kick at one final agent who had stumbled back up, causing him to collide with the side of the elevator before slumping down. He turned, pulled on his arm as hard as he could, wrenching the cuff off the side of the elevator and looked up in time to see Katie, who was now pinned against the wall by another set of those damned cuffs, take a blow to the ribs from Rumlow causing her to cry out in pain.

“Rumlow!” he yelled causing the man to whip his head round, surprise on his face. Katie, using her arms as leverage, swung her legs upwards, kicking Rumlow with both feet. The STRIKE leader stumbled slightly as Steve snarled at him, his entire body and face alight with rage “Touch my girl again…and I’ll fucking kill you.”

Rumlow got to his feet, holding one of his arms out, electric rod in his hand “Whoa, big guy. I just want you both to know, this ain't personal.”

He then lunged at Steve with his electric rod but one on one Steve was easily able to defend himself, he moved to the right, dodged and grabbed him, throwing him harshly upwards where he crashed into the ceiling of the elevator, before falling to the floor, unconscious.

“Yeah well…It kind of feels personal” Steve said, his breath slightly ragged from the exertion. He used his foot to flip his shield over like a Frisbee, catching it perfectly.

“You alright?” Steve asked, stepping over the bodies of the 8 agents they’d taken down to get to Katie.

“Yeah…” she said. Steve cut the cuffs that were restraining her into 2 pieces with his shield and she bent over, his hands gently on her back as she rubbed at her side before straightening up and stalking over to where Rumlow was beginning to stir slightly. She kicked him hard in the face, causing him to flip backwards and he was out, unconscious.

“Nothing personal…” she spat, then looked up at Steve. There was a moment during which they both looked around, trying to make sense of what had happened, before the elevator doors opened and Steve pulled Katie sharply behind him. They both stared at a team of STRIKE agents pointing their weapons into the elevator. Steve raised his shield.

“Drop the shield! Put your hands in the air!”

Steve looked round, and spotted the elevator wires to the left of Katie’s head

“DUCK!” he yelled at her, and as she did he swiped with his shield over her head sending them plummeting. Eventually the emergency brake systems kicked in and the elevator stopped, slightly misaligned with the doors by a few feet. As Katie bent down to retrieve a gun and some ammo off one of the Agents, Steve forced the door open, intending to climb out but more STRIKE agents were approaching. He closed the door again and looked at Katie, then around the glass walls, looking down below us at the glass roof of the main Triskelion atrium.

It was a long way but they could make it.

“You’re kidding, right?” Katie exclaimed, realising exactly what he was thinking.

“Give it up, Rogers! Get that door open! You have nowhere to go!” came the yell from the floor outside the elevator door.

“Do you trust me?” he asked, taking a deep breath, raising his shield in front of him.

“Of course I do, but…”

“Then hang on…”

She sighed and jumped onto his back, swinging her legs round his waist and her arms round his neck. Steve propelled them forward and broke through the glass in the elevator, spreading his arms out wide as he fell to prevent himself from tumbling through the air before tucking his body as tightly in to his shield as he could. Katie did the same, burying her head into his back as they crashed through the glass ceiling and hit the floor with a loud clang, to screams and shouts from people all around the atrium.

Katie gave a soft groan, rolling off Steve who moaned and stretched out, having been winded from the impact. But Steve knew they had to keep moving. He pushed himself up onto his knees, took a deep breath and offered his hand to Katie to help her stand. They both took a quick glance around before he started to run, pulling her with him. She stumbled slightly, but he kept hold of her, not letting her fall until her legs seemed to be working again.

And then they ran.

@the-omni-princess

@momobaby227

@geekofmanythings16

#steve rogers x original female character #steve rogers x oc #steve rogers #captain america #natasha romanoff #black widow #nick fury #heil hydra #the winter soldier #mcu #mcu fanfiction #marvel #marvel fanfiction #fanfic #avengers #avengers fanfiction

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evien-stark · 4 years

Text

✧I Need You✧ Chapter 103

After breakfast was plated, you thought maybe you could be next on the list for a quick shower. But after leaving Sam to go to the small bedroom to check in on Nat and Steve, things seemed a little… blue. You laid a hand on the doorway, looking at the both of them. “Everything okay?”

Steve turned his head half back to look at you. “Depends on your definition of okay.”

Very suddenly the both of them were smiling your way, Nat’s a little more curved. “If okay is finding out SHIELD’s been infected and we’ve been doing all the hard labor for a bunch of nazis that Steve supposedly died taking down… sure. We’re okay.”

You couldn’t help a sigh. “Yeah. Just peachy, I’m sure. We made breakfast. Can’t plot a takedown revenge scenario on an empty stomach.”

Steve stood with a little stretch. “That what we’re doing?”

Natasha was close behind. “I like the sound of that.”

You led the way back out into the kitchen, a little shake of your head. “What else should we be doing? We can’t hide forever. Especially knowing SHIELD has gone off the rails. It starts with us, but it won’t end there.”

Nat took a seat, a small murmur of gratitude as you set a plate down in front of her. “How’d you get wrapped up in this anyway? Seems like I was taking a little nap when that discussion occurred.”

Steve sat down next to her. “I wouldn’t mind hearing it again.”

Yet another sigh escaped you. “Pierce came up to the Tower with a STRIKE squad who pulled their guns on everyone. Asked me to give the both of you up. He’s altering footage, putting together a case that Steve and I got into an argument with Fury that led us to murdering him.”

Nat scoffed. “That’s absurd. Captain America killed a government official?”

Sam was standing with his back against the counter, arms crossed. “You guys act like the government isn’t always doing shady stuff. So what it’s Captain America and Lady Avenger- or whatever your name is supposed to be- no offense.”

You shrugged. “None taken.” Not like it mattered.

He continued, “They want you out of the picture, you’re out. You worked for these people. I’d have to imagine you know the lengths they’d go to. What they’re capable of.”

Natasha hung her head, eyes lowering. “Yeah…”

You felt that blue spread, and you tried to get ahead of it. “So Pierce wants us gone. Because he’s a Hydra piece of shit. What do we do about it?”

Steve shook his head. “He’s not working alone. Zola’s algorithm was on the Lemurian Star.”

The pieces were starting to come together. You looked over at Nat. “That’s what Fury asked you to get?” The reason that Steve had stormed into the office the morning that had kickstarted this all.

She nodded, chewing on a piece of toast. “Mn. Yeah- and you know who else was on the Lemurian Star? Jasper Sitwell.”

You couldn’t help the face you made. While you’d had extremely brief meetings with the man, nothing of note, he’d always seemed like a weaselly little prick. Now you knew why. “STRIKE is babysitting the team so we’re on a little bit of radio silence, but Tony was working on cracking this. Might be faster, though. If we can get someone with access.” At this point you were beyond the point of asking yourself whether or not it was right to start kidnapping and beating for answers. It was time for a little revenge.

Steve put his chin in his palm with a sigh. “So, the real question is how do the three most wanted people in Washington kidnap a SHIELD officer in broad daylight?”

“What a fantastic question.” It was a little early for you to be feeling defeat. The team just needed a good plan. ...it just felt impossible to come up with one. “If I can get close to him I might be able to… uh- persuade him into helping our cause.” You’d never used the thing so blatantly like that before, but you were sure you could. If you tried hard enough. “Maybe we just wait him out? Follow him back to his house?” Taking him off the street was a no-go. Especially considering you’d need to concentrate. Nat shook her head. “Too much time lost. We have to make a move now, or this is only gonna get worse.”

Sam spoke up from behind you, rustling around in one of his cabinets. “Sounds like you could use a little help.”

The three of you looked up as he approached and laid down a folder with a picture on top- of him in gear alongside a few other soldiers. Steve looked up at him. “What’s this?” Sam crossed his arms. “Call it a resume.”

Nat took hold of the picture. “Is this Bakhmala?” Then nodding at him, “The Khalid Khandil mission, that was you?” Seeming pretty impressed, which was always a good sign. Nudging Steve a little she smiled. “You didn't say he was a para-rescue.”

As Steve looked at Sam, asking him something rather quietly, the folder sitting underneath the picture caught your eye. “Holy shit.” You brought the folder closer. “You piloted an EXO-7?”

At this, Sam softly grinned at you. “There was a reason I was saluting in one of those little kiss-ass lines of yours.”

You brought the folder closer and opened it, as Steve raised a brow. “I take it that’s a good thing?”

Flipping through the pictures and documentation, you couldn’t help the shake of your head. “It means he’s fucking crazy. Anyone who signed up for these missions had a death wish. Tony was nuts for building these for the Guard. I think it was more of a joke at first, when they asked him. Jesus. I haven’t seen anything on them in a while.” And for good reason.

Giving the Air National Guard fucking bird suits had been some top notch nonsense when it had been developed. You really did genuinely believe Tony had been fucking with them at first. But...

“Hey.” Sam spoke a little sternly, yet still smiling. “I’m standing right here, you know. And you’re one to talk.” Pointing a finger you way. “Don’t you fly around in a crazy suit of armor or something most days?”

Nat caught a bit of her own smile. “We could use a little crazy right now.”

After you passed the folder to Steve’s awaiting hand, he took a little glance through it and then shot a look up Sam’s way. “I thought you said you were a pilot.” Sam shook his head. “I never said pilot.”

But, fun time over, Steve moved back to solemn pretty quickly. “I can't ask you to do this, Sam. You got out for a good reason.”

“Dude, Captain America needs my help. There's no better reason to get back in. “

To this, you certainly couldn’t disagree. Whatever quarrels Sam had with the military (and you imagined they were many, and also none of your business), right now seemed like a pretty dire situation. “We’d be grateful- and lucky, I think- for your help.” Offering him a small smile of that aforementioned gratitude.

“So…” Steve tapped the folder with his fingers. “Where can we get our hands on one of these things?”

Sam sighed. “The last one is at Fort Meade, behind three guarded gates and a twelve-inch steel wall.”

You, Natasha, and Steve all shared a long look. Gauging. And then Nat shrugged. “Shouldn’t be a problem.”

-----

Fort Meade had the benefit of only being about a half hour away from Sam’s location. Though the last ten or so minutes you’d abandoned his car (for now) so you could scope out the place. Using the suit here was a little too risky, so you relied on a little more low key methods to get what you needed. It was for that reason that as the four of you maneuvered past a few of those gates, and then sidled on up to the weakest point in the perimeter that Nat held the boys at bay.

“We’ll go in. You stay here and play lookout.”

Steve crossed his arms. “Sounds an awful lot like you’re saying you don’t need us. Just nicer.” Smiling just a little.

You smiled back. “Your words.”

It was better for Sam to stay back anyway, if he got caught it would really make this whole effort useless. He was the only new face in this little band that nobody was on the lookout for. And it needed to stay that way. So you accepted the offer of a hoist up the back, and then the two of you got to work.

First order of business was activating your visor. “LUNA can you knock out the camera and security systems?” You’d tried one more time to get Tony on the phone but it had gone right to voicemail. The babysitting squad must have been getting very intense. It was better not to think about it for now.

As the two of you backed up against a building, Natasha gave you a look with a low voice. “Any luck? Or we doing this real old school?” Which wouldn’t be a problem, but it was riskier and would take longer. Time you didn’t have.

You waited before answering and were gifted for your patience. “I can set a sequence reset that will knock the cameras out and take the security systems offline. But I estimate the guard sitting at the control desk will get everything back up in five minutes.”

Looking at Nat, voice hushed, “Soon as I give the signal we have five minutes.”

“Easy.” She grinned.

“Okay LUNA. Let’s go…” Holding your breath and wishing the both of you luck. “...now.”

“Initiating!”

With one gesture, you hoisted Nat up into a back window, the absolute weakest point in the compound where they were housing the EXO, and she reached back down to hoist you up. Inside there was already trouble. A couple of officers leaving a room got startled by your presence, so the both of you backed them right into the room they’d walked out of and made quick work of putting them into the floor. Quiet.

Once done, you both sidled out, watching your corners. Though this was a stealth mission, it was a relatively easy one. And so you felt like you had to get this off your chest. “How exactly is getting a giant bird suit supposed to help us kidnap Sitwell without anyone noticing?”

“You know, now that you’re asking…”

An officer turned another corner hall and upon seeing you immediately drew his weapon and started yelling. With the both of you it was easy. You came in front, wrenching his wrist and disarming him of his weapon while she got up behind him and sunk her fists into the sides of his neck, a little electrical discharge in the bracers she was wearing knocking him out.

LUNA’s voice cut through the new silence. “You have three minutes remaining!”

“Eyes are online in three.” You relayed the information.

Natasha nodded and the two of you took off down the next hall. Which was probably a mistake, seeing as the vault that you were looking for was guarded by two officers toting very large guns. Guns that were immediately pointed your way. She signaled, “I got the one on the right!”

“Going left!” For no one’s benefit you said this, if only to telegraph the wrong woman to the wrong man so that when they two of you criss-crossed over in a switch, it confused them just long enough to make quick work out of them.

Once they were messes on the floor she snapped the badge off one of their uniforms. “Alright, let’s get a look at the bird suit.” Scanning it at the access panel.

Just as the door opened, LUNA spoke again. “One minute!”

You nudged Nat on the shoulder. “Gotta make this quick.”

Though you suspected there was a lot more to see, not just here- there just wasn’t enough time. Seeing weapons that were faintly familiar line the walls did put a chill down your spine, though. Retired, hopefully. Nobody was flying EXO’s anymore, so… hopefully no one was using this stuff anymore, either. But. Seeing as it was here and not destroyed… and also not officially listed anywhere… didn’t really make you feel very good.

Natasha yanked the harness and housing off the wall with a little noise and then turned back. “Any of this stuff look familiar?”

“Too familiar. Tony and I will have to talk about it later.” It was true, Stark Industries had sold this junk to the army once upon a time. So that technically made it theirs, but…

Spying a briefcase with the Sonic Taser’s designation code on top of it made you go cold. So you lifted the handle and held it to your side. Natasha gave you a questioning look as the two of you tried to make a quick go for the exit. “Good stuff?”

“Depends on who you’re asking. Illegal. And shouldn’t be here, are two other ways I’d describe it.” Which meant there was no telling how much other shit Obi had sold to them behind your backs that you just still didn’t know about. Both them and… well. Everyone else, too.

Would the mess ever end?

-----

Once the four of you had booked it away from the compound as fast as humanly (or otherwise) possible and made it back to the car, Sam seemed not to be able to go fast enough, rubber burning the road. After you were far enough away and it seemed like no one was chasing you, you leaned forward from the back seat. “So, I didn’t want to like… put a wrench in our plans or anything, but how’s the bird suit gonna help us exactly?”

“It’s called a Falcon suit. You should know that. Your boyfriend made it.” Sam looked up briefly into the rear view with one of those dry looks before he put his eyes back on the road.

“Touchy subject.” You put your hands up in a sign of defeat. “Sorry.” It was nice to know he at least respected the gear. ...you supposed.

Sam drummed his fingers on the wheel. “I got a plan, alright? We just need the intel. Where are we intercepting this Sitwell dude?”

Natasha lifted her phone. “Should be leaving a meeting with Senator Stern in fifteen minutes.”

The name put an immediate sour taste in your mouth, and childish though it was, you couldn’t help the noise that escaped you. “Eugh. Let me tell you- we blow this thing open and I find out he’s on the wrong side, I’ll personally wheel a guillotine out into the village square.”

Steve half turned, “We’ll have time for jokes later.”

“Who said anything about joking?” Arching a brow his way.

-----

The plan seemed like a rather simple one. Sam, the least expected of your group, would put in a spoofed call through LUNA to Sitwell after he left his little lunch-date with Stern. It would come up as Alexander Pierce, who by now, had to have been sweating his agents a little about your whereabouts. This would make Sitwell put his detail at bay so that he could take that confidential call privately.

Sam would then instruct him to unwittingly meet Steve around the back of an alley, who would then bully him up the the top of the building, where you and Natasha were waiting- playing an earlier part of an awaiting sniper. As incentive for Sitwell to move, of course.

You and Nat watched from the rooftop and awaited your cue, as you listened in through LUNA, the two of them talking. Once Sitwell asked the obvious question of why would I go anywhere with you and you know, not have his security shoot Sam on sight, you gave Nat the signal to level the sight laser right on Sitwell’s chest. And, shockingly, yes that was enough incentive to get him to an alleyway.

From there you and Natasha waited for Steve to bring him up. Which he did. By basically throwing him out of the stairwell and onto the gravel of the roof where he skidded and almost fell.

Steve, for all you knew of him, was… actually quite menacing. “Tell me about Zola's algorithm.” Advancing on Sitwell as he continued to scurry away.

“Never heard of it.” “What were you doing on the Lemurian Star?” Backing him up almost all the way to the edge of the roof. You and Natasha took up the sidelines, arms crossed. This really could go very easily, if he’d just give up his information. But you knew it wouldn’t go down like that. Pierce had to at least have had the smarts to pick stupidly loyal men.

Sitwell put his hands up. “I was throwing up, I get seasick.” Just as he knocked at the edge, Steve grabbed him by the shirt and held him a little close off the ledge. But Sitwell just smiled. “Is this little display meant to insinuate that you're gonna throw me off the roof? Because it's really not your style, Rogers.”

He had Steve there. But there was a backup plan. Intimidation wasn’t working, so force would. Steve dropped his head in a little smile, letting Sitwell back down on his feet. “You’re right. It’s not.” Letting him go fully. And then nodding Natasha’s way. “It's hers.”

Realization dawned a little too late as Natasha wheeled back her leg, aiming right in the center of Sitwell’s chest and kicked him clean off the roof. The screaming was at least a little satisfying. She crossed her arms after. “Oh, hey, will you help me with something?” Looking at you.

You raised your brows. “What’s that?”

“You know any Stark employees that would be a good match for Steve? I’ve been trying to get him to go on a date for a week now-”

Steve sighed, hand to his face. “Can we- can we not do this right now? And don’t involve her.”

You smiled. “I like being involved. I’ll see what I can do.”

On time, Sam in his newly acquainted Falcon suit burst up through the air, carrying a very terrified Sitwell, throwing him to a heap on the roof. Once he sat up on his knees, the three of you looked down at him. Though he held his hands up, he was grinning through his pale fear. “That all you got? A little roller coaster ride? You didn’t even charge me admission.”

God damn it. Well. There was a back up for the back up.

Bending down, you took the lapels of his suit in your hands, lifting him up as you stood, helping him roughly onto his feet. “Last chance.” Offering in a kind sing-songy tone.

“I can take you.” Narrowing his eyes at you.

Looking at him- through him- seeing him in two spaces at once, you spread your palms out flat against his chest, moving doubly, seeing a weird shadow reflection of yourself in that bright space, same as you moved in reality. “You’re a little rat of a man, aren’t you? Don’t you feel ashamed? If I were you I’d be mortified. Pathetic.”

“I-” His breathing picked up.

“But you can still make this right. Don’t you feel like just letting it out. Don’t you just wanna tell us the truth?” Looking so deep into his eyes you thought you saw the glass around his soul shatter into pieces so suddenly. It really hadn’t taken that much pressure.

“Please- I can’t breathe-” True enough, he’d suddenly started wheezing, and when you let go of him, he put a hand to his chest.

Steve stepped closer. “Tell us about the algorithm.”

He shook his head, sweating profusely. “Zola's algorithm is a- is a program- for choosing Insight’s targets.”

Sam and Natasha closed the half circle of aggressive faces around him, painting him into a real nightmare. “What targets?” Sitwell threw his hands up. “Please! Get away!”

“Just spit it out and this will be all over.” Trying to encourage his looser tongue.

He swallowed hard. “Targets- you- anyone! A TV anchor in Cairo, the Undersecretary of Defense, a high school valedictorian in Iowa city. Bruce Banner, Stephen Strange, anyone who's a threat to Hydra! Now, or in the future.” Suddenly he seemed to be unable to stop talking now that the floodgates had opened.

His picks were… interesting. You had assumed this much. Hydra- and Pierce- were out to put an end to the Avengers. To you. Your team. But… Stephen Strange… that name felt familiar. You couldn’t place it right now. Not important.

Steve seemed suddenly puzzled. “The future? How could it know?”

Sitwell let out an uneasy laugh, wiping his brow. “How could it not? The 21st century is a digital book. Zola taught Hydra how to read it. Your bank records, medical histories, voting patterns, e-mails, phone calls, your damn SAT scores. Zola's algorithm evaluates people's past to predict their future.”

You couldn’t help yourself. “And then what?” Already knowing the answer. Because there was only one end to this. So that Hydra could run amok, freely. With no resistance.

Finally, he seemed a little more clear about what had just happened, and he grew even paler. Gulping out a gasp, hand to his heart, Sitwell shook his head. “Oh my god… Pierce is gonna kill me…”

Steve took hold of his suit jacket again, lifting him a little. “What then?!” A more in-control and icy look was leveled Steve’s way. Then yours. Then Nat’s. Then Sam’s. As if reading you your futures. “Then the Insight Helicarriers scratch people off the list. A few million at a time.”

God damn it, Fury. I warned you.

#Tony Stark #Tony Stark x Reader #INY Chapter One Hundred Three

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ayearofpike · 6 years

Text

Spooksville #5: The Cold People

Pocket Books, 1996 118 pages, 12 chapters + epilogue ISBN 0-671-55064-0 LOC: CPB Box no. 308 vol. 6 OCLC: 34048131 Released February 1, 1996 (per B&N)

Not long after the freak heat wave, it is weirdly below freezing in July. The Spook Squad isn’t gonna let a chilly day deter them from exploring, though, and neither is finding ice coffins in the woods. But when they thaw out, it turns out the corpses inside aren’t actually dead, and they start turning everyone in Spooksville into ice zombies. There’s only one way to stop them: fire. But how will the kids ever produce enough?

Spoilers: He fuckin’ wrote Monster again. (You thought I was gonna say The Cold One II again, didn’t you?) I mean, the reason for the ice coffins is left unresolved, and the kids acknowledge it, but ... you know what, we’ll get to the rest of it.

One more quick side note: this is the first Spooksville cover that has nothing to do with direct events in the book. We see Cold People dragging humans out of their houses, but from outside and not the perspective of being there when they come ringing. I’m not even sure who this little twerp is supposed to be, because Adam has dark hair and Watch has glasses. So at least they got that right, that neither of them would have been in such a position.

Our intrepid heroes find these mysterious blue ice blocks in the thickest part of the woods, on a day that for some reason is below freezing at I assume 10 am. Now I don’t know about you, but I’m staying inside when it’s cold, because ... well, it’s cold, goddammit. But these kids go out, even Sally, who is a native and probably doesn’t even OWN a jacket. Like, the thing about coastal California is it stays pretty much the same temperature all year, so the locals don’t expect much fluctuation. I have a really hard time imagining a local wanting to brave the cold, but then again, if we’ve learned anything about Sally it’s that she’s not cowed by anything.

But the ice blocks. Watch wants to thaw one out, because science. So they start a campfire, and pretty soon there’s a blue hand and arm exposed. Obviously it couldn’t belong to a live person, right? Except it suddenly grabs Watch, and then the rest of the ice block explodes to reveal a cold blue man with cold blue eyes. Watch is already shivering just from being held, and he yells to his friends to try to attack with fire. But before they can retrieve Watch, the cold blue man carries him off into the forest, faster than they can follow, faster than they thought a person could move.

So now what? If there’s weird shit happening and no way to track down the source, who do you talk to? Yep, the friends go find Bum. He tells them a story of the lost continents of Atlantis and Lemuria, populated by ancient aliens and devastated by war with each other. But as it turns out, one sect of the aliens wanted the Atlanteans wiped out, and persuaded the Lemurians to use extreme prejudice in exchange for eternal life. So the Lemurians put rockets on an asteroid and aimed it at Atlantis, and in return the aliens took some of the leaders and replaced their blood with Cryo, a freezing material that preserves the body and even boosts speed and strength — but at the expense of the soul. You spend the rest of your non-life in your mobile body resenting warm people and preparing to kill them, or at least make them like you. They went to the North Pole to wait out the asteroid fallout, but now it seems these Cryo Creatures have returned.

You can beat them with fire, Bum knows, and there’s no better fire weapon than a flamethrower. Fortunately, the freaky militia man who runs the army surplus store has a couple. While they’re buying them, the Cold People show up and surround the place. Freaky Militia Man goes outside with his guns, and, well, you can’t shoot ice and expect it to do anything. So the good guys barricade themselves inside the store and have to figure out what to do next.

As it happens, there are two hot-air balloons in the back of the store, so three twelve-year-olds and a homeless man haul them up the stairs onto the roof. And right here is where I disconnect from this story. I have spent a LOT of time around hot-air balloons. In fact, I was at the world’s largest balloon rally this weekend. And there’s no way these people can safely and accurately fly balloons around Spooksville the way it’s described. Hell, I don’t think Pike actually did much research into it. Like, it was necessary to the story, so sure, they fly balloons. Please watch for my all-caps incredulity at untrained super pilots.

Sally and Bum set up the two balloons — ONE EACH, BY THEMSELVES — while Adam and Cindy guard the store. Adam happens to see a box of dynamite and carries it upstairs, to load on board just in case it’s useful. While he’s up there, though, four Cold People have pried open the barred door and are getting in. Cindy can’t bring herself to set a human-looking being on fire, so Adam has to ward them off as they race inside. Cindy gets up the stairs, and Adam has a little grappling match with a hand on his ankle, which grips tightly enough to break the skin, before he shoots the fire just right and literally melts the Cold Person’s head. Of course, this little blast of fire catches more in the shop, and remember this is an ammunition warehouse. The four friends are just clear of the roof when the whole thing blows up.

Of course they didn’t get all the Cold People with one shot. Most of them are rampaging around town, going after all those warm assholes. But what else is to be done? Even the witch, Ann Templeton, is stuck inside her castle, with the drawbridge up, shooting flames out the tower window, so she can’t help. And Adam’s ankle is starting to go numb. But they spot Watch in the cemetery, looking lost, and they decide to take the risk and try to save him, even if he’s already been turned. Of course he has, but Bum manages to pin him down with the flamethrower long enough for Sally to whack him over the head with a stick and knock him out. They make it back to the balloon ahead of the other Cold People, despite Adam’s rapidly freezing leg —

but now what? They can’t just float around forever; eventually they’re GONNA RUN OUT OF PROPANE even though Pike never says this. And anyway, the Cold People are going to realize that there’s a whole world of warm humans to turn sooner or later. If only the witch could have helped them! And suddenly Adam remembers one of Sally’s grousing points about Ann Templeton: her lack of care for the environment. Apparently she’s drilled several oil wells on the hill above the reservoir. Adam remembers the underground streams, and realizes that if he can get enough oil flowing through the water that runs under the town, maybe he’ll be able to warm the temperature of all of Spooksville. What good will that do? Well, he expects that the Cold People need cold temperatures to be able to maintain their bodies. After all, they supposedly went to the North Pole during the war, and it was this sudden cold snap that presaged their appearance. If it warms up, hopefully they’ll all melt.

So that’s the plan, officially: crack the lines from the oil wells so crude flows into the town’s water supply, and then set the whole thing on fire. And the hero of the story is slowly turning into one of the bad guys while he plans this. Do you see Monster yet?

The kids land their balloon SQUARE ON THE TOP OF A TRUCK and LIGHT THE BASKET ON FIRE BUT SLOWLY CLIMB OUT BEFORE IT FLIES AWAY. Of course Sally knows how to hotwire a truck, and they drive it up to the reservoir and prepare to flood it with Texas tea. Adam’s leg is totally numb now — and his whole body is slowly getting colder, and he’s slowly starting to resent Sally more and more, and he knows they don’t have much time before he turns on her. But the cold in his veins gives him enough intellect to advise on the best way to blow up the oil tanks without making them explode, just enough to open a hole. Unfortunately, as she’s setting it up, Watch wakes up and goes after her. She doesn’t have enough gas in her flamethrower to get him and the dynamite both, so she blows the lines and runs for it, leaping into the reservoir itself to keep some distance from a newly-turned Cold Person who for some reason doesn’t want to get wet. And this is the moment Adam’s been waiting for, as the oil sinks down and starts flowing through the town ... but Sally’s in the water, and if he lights the oil, she’ll fry.

Cindy and Bum to the rescue! While the other kids stole the truck, they LANDED ON A HARDWARE STORE ROOF and busted in to swipe a fan and a generator. Cindy had to overcome her flamethrower-averseness to save Bum from a random Chilly in the store, but once they were back to the balloon they RIGGED THE FAN SO THEY COULD FLY IN ANY DIRECTION THEY WANTED, NEVER MIND THAT THE WIND IS PUSHING ON THE WHOLE ENVELOPE OF THE BALLOON AND THEY’RE USING A FUCKING HOUSEHOLD FAN. Then they STEERED THE BALLOON TO THE RESERVOIR and SWOOPED DOWN TO THE SURFACE to grab Sally somehow, even though there’s NO WAY Cindy has an arm long enough to REACH DOWN FROM THE TOP OF THE GONDOLA TO GRAB ANOTHER ARM STICKING OUT OF THE WATER.

But now Adam can light a stick of dynamite that catches all of the oil and heats up the town. And all the original Cold People melt, and all the new Cold People warm up enough to go back to normal, I guess because the cold wasn’t too invasive yet. But we still have our question: how did they get here? I guess that’s got to be answered another time, because Pike is out of pages.

I can’t get too mad at the Monster rehash here. Like, this is four years later and aimed at a different audience, and the rationale for filling the reservoir with oil is just different enough that I’m willing to let it slide. I’m not mad at the cover, really, either, because there’s not quite a bookstore-safe way to represent kidnapping and zombification and blowing shit up. I’m not even mad that we don’t get to learn what the hell Kalika is going to do when she gets big and realizes her undead dad gave her death powers. I am mad at the impossible hot-air balloon acrobatics, but again, I’ll admit that I’m closer to that than a lot of people. But overall, The Cold People is the first Spooksville that I’ve been ... er ... less than warm on.

#spookstober #spooksville

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tamarinfrog · 8 years

Text

Unwanted House Guest Part 27 - Tetrox Vs. Cosmo

“C…” Cosmo muttered as he moved the joystick on the arcade cabinet, “I… M!” he said triumphantly. “Nice! 1st Place on the High Score List for today!”

Tetrox had just finished entering her initials on the cabinet and smiled, “And 2nd Place for me! Not bad if’n I do say so myself!” she stated confidently. It was another 10 or 15 minutes before Tetrox and Cosmo finally beat Metal Sea Slug 2XLT with the destruction of the Crustaceanoid mother ship. “Gotta say, sugar, you a pretty good shot there!”

“Likewise!” Cosmo smiled as he returned the compliment.

Sorrel and Arnick just glared at the two of them from a distance. Arnick had folded his arms and was tapping his finger against his bicep impatiently. “If you two are finished patting each other on the proverbial back, can we PLEASE get going now?!” Arnick complained, “The noise and din in this place has already pushed Tiny Splat Tim here off his rocker, and I’m not interested in the same happening to me!”

“Staring at your ugly mug doesn’t help either, Monkeyface!” Sorrel shot back. Arnick turned, growled, and made a mental note to show this kid a thing or two about who’s boss if they ever run into each other on the Splattlefield.

“Just one more game, sugar!” Tetrox called out with a smile to Arnick. She then turned to face Cosmo who was cracking his knuckles and stretching his arms over his head. It had been a while since he had a good video game challenge, and if Tetrox was as good at other games as she was at Metal Sea Slug, then he figured this little competition of theirs ought to be fun. “How about that one?!” Tetrox said excitedly as she pointed to a larger arcade cabinet over in a corner.

Cosmo smirked as he saw what game Tetrox was pointing at, “Splatter House of the Dead Crisis Time, huh? Good choice!” he said with a smile. The two walked over to the cabinet that had two small light guns connected by a cable to the large cabinet. In front of them was a large 60” screen that was playing the introduction for the game.

11,998, 12, 18…

A phone sat on a small desk and began to ring. It went to the answering machine and a woman’s voice could be heard. “HELP! E-EVERYONE’S BEING SPLA- “was all she said before the call cut off.

A middle-aged Inkling man in a black suit and tie was sitting near the desk, and listened closely to the call through an ear piece. “I know who that is…” he said solemnly before turning to an Agent standing by their side. “Get Agents 1 & 2 on the line! We have a situation!”

It then cuts to an overhead panning view of an island covered in lush forests with a single tall mansion sticking out from the foliage. A helicopter came into view and zoomed towards the island as the government official from before narrated.

“Agent 1.

Agent 2.

There’s been a kidnapping. It’s Rasbora: daughter of the President of Lemuria! She’s been taken captive and brought to an uninhabited island by Sherman Garibaldi, the last blood relative of the Lemurian royal family that was exiled years ago. He’s demanding secrets belonging to the Island Nation of Thule in exchange for Rasbora’s life. Get inside, and rescue her!”

The scene changes to a clearing as Agents 1 and 2 hop off the helicopter before it takes off again. Agent 2 scanned the perimeter. “This is Agent 2. Performing communications check. Agent 1, can you read me?”

The headset on Agent 2’s head crackled to life and she could hear, “ɹǝƃpop ɹǝƃoɹ”, as a response.

Agent 2 then turned to Agent 1 who smiled and waved at them. Agent 2 just scratched their head and said, “How do you do that with a headset?!”

“ǝɯ sʇɐǝq”

“Well anyway, stay alert. Approaching this island was way too easy. I got a bad feeling about this,” Agent 2 said with a serious tone in her voice.

A narrator began to speak as the two Agents began to walk into the dense jungle, “Sometimes, somewhere, someone is plotting a government overthrow…”

*SQUISH*

Agent 2 froze up and looked at her foot in horror. Lifting it up, she saw an ink-like substance cling to the bottom of her shoe. There was an eyeball stuck in the ooze. It blinked. The camera pans out to a wide view of the island as an ear-piercing shriek echoes through the trees, causing several birds to fly away in surprise.

The narrator continues, “And sometimes, somewhere, someone is plotting something even worse!”

The introduction then cuts to a montage of cut scene clips as an orchestral musical score plays over them.

Agent 2: “There was someone else here before Garibaldi showed up!”

Agent 1: “Who?!”

A lobster wielding a cane and wearing a white lab coat laughs maniacly.

It then cuts to a fish-man in an ornate navy blue suit.

Garibaldi: “YOU TRICKED ME!”

It cuts to a scene where Agents 1 and 2 are running and firing at unseen pursuers.

Agent 1: “THEY’RE GAINING ON US!”

Another scene appears where Agent 2 is reading a document in an abandoned lab.

Agent 2: “Progress on the Atlantis Project is advancing swimmingly…”

It cuts to a mysterious man in sunglasses and a trench coat, holding a detonator in one hand.

Wild Dogfish: “Just to be sure. HA HA HA HA HA!”

Cut back to the lab.

Agent 2: “…the secret of eternal life is within my grasp, and nothing will stop me now!”

A large anemone tendril bursts through a glass ceiling and begins flailing around wildly.

A large conch shell sits before Agents 1 & 2 before two glowing yellow eyes appear from underneath.

A shadowy figure with shark-like features screams in the distance, eclipsed by moonlight.

Once more to the lab.

Agent 2: “…there is only one more thing I need, and it’s already on its way. By the time anyone reads this, I will be a Cod among Squid! Signed…”

Close up shot of Agents 1 and 2 cocking their weapons.

Agent 2: “…Dr. Crucian.”

A close up of Agent 1 smiling wide appears before zooming out so the Agents can strike a pose.

Agent 1: “IT’S TIME FOR THE TWO-SQUID ARMY!”

A shot rings out as a crosshair zooms in on the title against a black background.

“SPLATTER HOUSE OF THE DEAD CRISIS TIME!”

Scene changes back to show Garibaldi holding a fileting knife next to Rasbora’s neck.

Garibaldi: “Your mother will pay the price for destroying-“

A large crash is heard as an anemone tendril bursts through the wall, wraps around Garibaldi and pulls him away.

Garibaldi: “AAAAAAUUUGGGHHHHHhhhh!”

???: “HA HA HA HA HA HAAA!”

“Oooooooooohhhhhhh!” Tetrox awed.

Arnick meanwhile was looking thoroughly disgusted. “Are you squidding me?” he said to no one in particular, “Agents 1 & 2 licensed their likenesses to this… this… Travesty!?”

“Hey man, don’t knock it until you tried it!” Cosmo said with a smirk as he walked up to the cabinet. He leaned on the edge where the light guns were holstered and looked at Tetrox with a confident, smug grin on his face. “Alright, rules are simple! We start the story mode off and play from here to the end of the game. Winner will be whoever has the highest score by the time we get to the Initial Entry screen.”

“Sounds good tah me!” Tetrox said with a gleeful smile.

“But remember,” Cosmo said while lifting a finger in caution, “If you lose all your health and have to continue, your score resets back to 0 and you’ll have to start from the bottom back up! Think you can handle it?”

Tetrox exuded confidence, “Honey, I betcha I could do this blindfolded with an arm & tentacle tied behind my back!”

“I’d like to see that,” Arnick muttered under his breath. Sorrel, in the meantime, was standing a little further back and wondering why he was still here.

Tetrox walked up and took the light gun for Agent 1 while Cosmo grabbed the light gun for Agent 2. The two of them put two tokens in and both hit start. A scene from the intro clip replayed with Agent 2 screaming after stepping in the strange goop. Suddenly, a small Splatoon of Horseshoe Crab soldiers appeared.

One of them cried, “THERE THEY ARE! GET THEM!”

Agent 1 smiled and cocked her weapon, “IT’S TIME FOR THE TWO SQUID ARMY!”

The game was on.

Arnick slumped back against the side of another arcade cabinet and watched Tetrox and Cosmo begin their game. He thought they looked absolutely ridiculous swinging those brightly colored plastic toys that could barely be called “guns” around. He looked over to Sorrel and decided that given this could easily take a good half hour for them to beat, he may as well attempt to make small conversation.

“I don’t understand how you can stand having a superficial slacker like Cosmo on your team,” Arnick said, “Doesn’t it make your ink boil knowing that your team loses whenever he’s acting like a blithering idiot?!”

“Tell me about it,” Sorrel deadpanned.

Seeing a chance at finding some common ground to discuss, a dislike of Cosmo, Arnick decided that it would be better to find something to talk about than simply stand there in silence. “So-“

*EXPLOSION*

“WHAT?!” Cosmo cried out in disbelief.

“WHOO-HOO!” Tetrox whooped, “GOT ‘EM!”

A 10,000 point bonus went to Tetrox for blowing up a crate of explosives and taking out all the Horseshoe Crab soldiers that were on the screen. It then changed to a summary of Stage 1-1, and upon moving a bit closer, Arnick’s eyes widened a little. Displayed on the screen were the respective scores for Tetrox and Cosmo…

…and Tetrox was in the lead!

Sorrel was also dumbstruck, “SHE BEAT YOU?! HOW THE SHELL DID SHE DO THAT?!”

“Whoa! Whoa! Easy there, Sorrel. It’s just the first stage!” Cosmo reassured.

“DUDE! Nobody has EVER gotten a higher score than you on the first stage!” Sorrel exclaimed, “Cod knows I’ve tried something like a million times trying to get the high score!”

That piqued Arnick’s interest.

“So I underestimated her. Big deal! Just means I’m going to have to get serious!” Cosmo said confidently.

“As if you could,” Arnick thought to himself. He was now standing closer and began to pay more attention to the game. Normally, he wouldn’t have been caught dead anywhere near this thing, but deep down he began to feel something he hadn’t felt in a long time:

A genuine feeling of excitement.

A cut scene began to play on the screen.

Agents 1 & 2 flanked a doorway and peeked inside. There they could see Sherman Garibaldi in his navy blue suit standing before Rasbora. She was tied to a chair and appeared very frightened. The dandyish Garibaldi brandished a filleting knife from his coat sleeve and looked at it with admiration. “Ahhhh…” he said with a dramatic gesture, “Isn’t it wonderful when everything goes your way? Once I get the launch codes for Thule’s Inkstrike Warheads, I’ll have enough power to take back Lemuria and not even those pesky Agents will be able to stand in my way!”

Rasbora was quite defiant, “You’ll never get them! They’ll never give in to your demands!”

Agent 1 nearly gave a cheer of “Yeah! You tell him, sister!” before Agent 2 slapped her hand over Agent 1’s mouth and shooshed them.

“A setback, but a temporary one at best!” Garibaldi said with a smile, “As it just so happens, there’s someone who is VERY interested in you and was willing to pay top sand dollar to anyone able to deliver you to their doorstep. I’ll either get the codes, or I’ll get the money to finance an even grander operation to take back Lemuria!” He then slammed his fist into the wall behind Rasbora and held the fileting knife close to her neck. “Your mother will pay the price for destroying-“

With a crash, a large, gelatinous, magenta tentacle bashed through the side of one wall and began to flail wildly.

Garibaldi turned in shock and uttered a loud, “What?!” before the tentacle wrapped itself around him and pulled him through the newly formed hole in the wall. “AAAAAAUUUGGGHHHHHhhhh!” he screamed before another tentacle burst through the wall. Another smashed through the glass ceiling of the room Rasbora was in, sending shards of glass falling to the ground.

Agents 1 and 2 burst in. “WE GOTTA STOP THAT THING BEFORE IT HURTS RASBORA!” Agent 2 yelled over the commotion as she and Agent 1 turned to face the owner of the gelatinous tentacles. A massive Sea Anemone with a head full of tentacles, red glowing eyes, and a mouth with razor sharp teeth burst through the wall and roared. On the screen, underneath the creature, the words “THE TOWER” appeared.

“WHOA!”

Tetrox hooted in surprise, “What in Tarnation is

THAT

?!”

“Just the first boss,” Cosmo said as a matter of fact, “This gal’s not too terrible. Just shoot where it tells you to shoot. Nothing to it.”

Tetrox and Cosmo both began shooting at it as colored circles appeared to mark the weak points that needed to be hit for massive damage. Arnick was standing almost behind Tetrox now. She and Cosmo were aiming quickly at the circles which were gradually changing from green to red, indicating how much time they had to shoot them before it was too late. At first, there were only two circles on screen at a time. Then there were three. Then four. Then six.

Tetrox had maintained a solid lead going into the boss fight, but it soon became apparent that she was beginning to struggle a little. Both she and Cosmo were mashing the trigger on their light guns as fast as they could. Unlike the rest of the stage leading up to the boss, there was nowhere to hide for cover, and the only way to avoid taking a hit was to fire fast enough to push the boss back so they couldn’t get too close.

Here, Cosmo had the advantage since he had the boss’ attack patterns practically memorized. It took him little effort to aim at just the right spot and fire just the right number of times to keep the anemone tentacle away whenever it targeted him. Tetrox was also firing at the tentacle aimed at Cosmo, expending a lot of energy even when she wasn’t in danger. But when the tentacle was aiming for Tetrox, Cosmo only made a “show of effort” to help. Even though teamwork was supposed to be an important part of the game, this was still a competition and Cosmo was playing to win.

Arnick furrowed his brow as he saw small beads of purple sweat begin to form on Tetrox’s. He had been silently watching the boss fight carefully and could tell that Tetrox was barely able to keep herself from taking damage. She was surviving on pure force and willpower alone. If this kept up, she would become too exhausted to see the game through to the end. Arnick didn’t want that to happen, so if what he saw on the game screen was what he thought he saw…

“How many times I gottah shoot the Dang Thing?!” Tetrox complained as she frantically tried to keep up.

“Oh don’t worry! It’s almost dead,” Cosmo said before thinking to himself, “Or at least it’s FIRST form is. Once it changes to its second form, it’ll be so fast that there’s no way she’ll be able to keep up! Well, unless you know the secret to skipping the second form altogether like I do! Time to show her how it’s-“

Cosmo thoughts were interrupted when Arnick suddenly shouted, “BOTTOM LEFT CORNER, BETWEEN THE THIRD AND FOURTH TENTACLES!

FIRE!”

As if by reflex, Tetrox swung her light gun away from the tentacle that was approaching her and fired right where Arnick had said. As the tentacles that weren’t attacking Tetrox whipped around every which way, they spread apart just enough to create a space between them large enough for a shot to pass through. Time seemed to slow down as Tetrox unconsciously put her faith in Arnick and pulled the trigger.

The shot rang out, and as it did, a small red circle, barely visible to the naked eye, appeared for a split-second. The circle was over a giant flagellum which had a slightly different color than everything else on the screen. The shot connected and the screen changed to a cut scene. It showed Tetrox’s shot hitting a very sensitive spot causing the slimy appendage to drop what it was holding:

Garibaldi.

As the agitated despot in the navy blue suit landed on the floor, he stood up and gritted his teeth in rage. He reached into his inner jacket pocket and pulled a miniature Splat Pistol that contained a strange colored liquid that was most definitely not ink.

“YOU DARE ATTACK ME! TAKE THIS!”

Garibaldi fired a shot at the creature’s back which connected. The creature howled and screamed in agony as a strange chemical reaction began to resonate through it. Its tentacles began to swell and puff up before the rest of it began to follow suit. Agent 2 grabbed Agent 1, “GET DOWN!” she shouted as they both dived behind a table. The creature grew and grew until finally it stopped.

*KER-SPLAAAAATTT*

It exploded and covered the entire room with its remains.

Agent 1 stood up and looked like they were going to be sick, “EWWWWWWWWW!” she whined.

Agent 2 snapped at Agent 1, “NEVER MIND! WHERE’S RASBOR-“

*CLICK*

“HEY!”

Tetrox said defiantly, “I wanted tah watch that!”

Cosmo seemed non-plussed, “Yeah, Yeah. Found the secret alternate route, got the hidden cut-scene, blah blah blah blah. Let’s get going to the next stage!”

Tetrox pouted and prepared for Stage 2. Before it began, their scores appeared on screen hinting that Cosmo had got a gain on Tetrox’s lead. She was still ahead, but the gap had narrowed.

Arnick scowled at Cosmo from behind Tetrox. “That little Sneak!” he thought to himself, “Don’t think I didn’t see what you just did there, Cosmo! You can’t fool me! You didn’t skip that cut scene to get on with it! You skipped it so that Tetrox wouldn’t have enough time to rest her trigger finger!”

Arnick didn’t know it at the time, but his hunch was correct. Cosmo had built up a callous that makes wielding weapons such as his N-Zap ’89 a breeze thanks to years of practicing with light gun games. So long as Tetrox didn’t have that kind of tolerance for toy, plastic weaponry, then Cosmo had a good chance to wear her finger out which would allow him to not only take the lead but surge past her.

After blasting their way into the mansion, the enemies on screen started to become a mix of soldiers and strange creatures. Tetrox kept her focus trained on the screen and continued to fire at almost anything that moved. With her eyes still staring straight ahead at the game, she gave a small smile and said, “Thanks for the assist, Nicky,” knowing he was behind her, “How’d you know to do that?!”

Arnick smiled a confident smile, “I didn’t!” he said plainly, “I just noticed something kept appearing on the screen every now and then and since it seemed to be following a pattern, I figured-“

Tetrox interrupted him, “You noticed a lil’ ole’ thing like that?!”

“How could I not!?” Arnick defended himself, “Frankly it was becoming quite annoying how it would stick out like a sore thumb about every 15 sec-“ he interrupted himself, “Yellow soldier hiding behind the table.”

*BANG*

The table broke apart as the Horseshoe crab soldier in yellow garbs fell back and a stylized +5000 point bonus appearing above them.

As Cosmo silently grit his beak underneath closed lips at the missed bonus, Tetrox couldn’t help but be impressed by Arnick, “You could tell that lil’ ole’ thing was there the whole time?” Tetrox said in awe, “AND how often it showed up?! Nicky, that’s amazing!”

Arnick actually felt himself blush a little from modest embarrassment. “Oh it’s nothing that spectacular,” he dismissed.

“Nuh-Uh,” Tetrox said as she blasted three guys and a mutant sea cucumber away, “Seeing a tiny lil’ thing like that with all them big tentacles flying around? I know I ain’t capable of doing something like that, sugar.”

“It does take some practice,” Arnick admitted, “Although if you’re really interested in that sort of thing, maybe I could teach you how to notice details like that someday.”

“Maybe you will!” Tetrox said sweetly.

Sorrel was about to gag. “Oh! My! COOOOOOOD!” he loudly complained, “Would you two Kissing Gouramis stop already!? It’s bad enough I don’t have the money to play anything without having to watch you two flirt with each other!”

Arnick’s eyebrow twitched as he whipped around to look menacingly at Sorrel. “WHAT?! WE WERE NOT FLIRTING?!”

“You squidding me?! You totally were!” Sorrel quipped, “I mean c’mon: ‘If you’re really interested in that sort of thing, maybe I could you teach you how’ and junk!?” he said while making finger quote signs as he spoke, “That’s like flirting One-Oh-One right there!”

“NO IT ISN’T!” Arnick denied, “I was genuinely offering to tutor her on ways to improve her perception!”

“You were not!”

“YES!” Arnick barked, “I WAS!”

“I dunno, Nicky,” Tetrox said with a smile, “You kinda were!”

“WHAT?! Tutelage is NOT a dating tactic!”

“Dude, it

totally

is!”

Whinter thought to himself as he continued watching the events transpire from a distance. It was just last week that he was two hours late for team practice after a one-on-one lesson session with Clementine. He had a perfectly good alibi ready for being tardy too, but the hickey marks on his neck and face gave him away. Marian chewed him out something royal that day.

Normally, Cosmo would have been all over this conversation like a fly to honey, but he still had ground to cover if he was going to surpass Tetrox. “Okay, guys,” he called out calmly enough, “Hate to be a buzzkill, but could you keep it down a little? Kinda throwing off my groove here.”

“What’s the matter, sugar? Having trouble over there?” Tetrox teased.

“What? Me?! Pfft! No! I got this,” Cosmo said even though he knew full well that he hadn’t got this. For someone who had never played or even seen this game before, Tetrox’s aim and reaction times were incredibly good. It was like she had been practicing or training for something like this.

The second stage boss came and went, and the tallied scores on the screen showed that Tetrox was still in the lead, but Cosmo was slowly catching up. Cosmo breathed a small sigh of relief before turning to Tetrox, “You sure, you never played this before? You ain’t hustlin’ me, are yah?”

“Nope! Just a girl out lookin’ for a good time is all,” Tetrox said with a smile, “Ain’t nuttin’ wrong with that, right sugar?”

Cosmo smiled confidently back at Tetrox. It was a smile that Arnick noticed and immediately became concerned about. “But we’re only halfway through this game, and I still got a few tricks up my sleeves!”

“Might as well lay all your cards out on the table, sugar, ‘cause I’m calling!” Tetrox said with a grin.

Cosmo then peered behind Tetrox and grinned at Arnick, “See that? Now THAT was flirting!”

“THAT WAS BANTER!” Arnick shot back.

“That’s a kind of flirting,” Cosmo stated

Arnick was clearly getting steamed, and Cosmo took a small comfort in knowing that he could still rattle his cage. Now if he could only figure out how to get under Tetrox’s skin, then he’d be able to shake her off her groove and reclaim the lead. Fortunately for him, he knew exactly where in Stage 3 he could make that happen.

To Be Continued…

Written by

Some Squid Named Steve [Patreon]

Art by

Oranguin and Splatatattat

WORD FROM THE UHG CREW

You may have noticed we have a new artist contributing to our silly cause!

Please welcome the newest member of the Unwanted House Guest crew, everyone’s favorite:

Splatty Tatty Tat!

Look forward to more of Tat’s colorful and dynamic work in future updates!

Previous Parts:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Part 9

Part 10

Part 11

Part 12

Part 13

Holiday Special

Part 14

Part 15

Part 16

Bonus 1

Part 17

Part 18

Part 19

Part 20

Part 21

Part 22

Bonus 2

Side-Story 1

Part 23

Part 24

Part 25

Part 26

Tammy’s comments: WOO! A great new chapter once again and welcome to the team Tat! Lovely work from everyone!

#gifts #fan fiction #splatoon #my squid kids #long post #submission

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freddiesaysalright · 5 years

Text

Blessed Part 3

The Peace Like a River Sequel

Word Count: 2.4k

A/N: Fluff, fluffity, fluff fluff fluff

Haven’t read Peace Like a River? Start here!

Part 1 Part 2

Part 3 here we go!!!

Gwilym swallowed nervously outside Violet’s door. You looked into his face and gave his hand a comforting squeeze.

“It’s gonna be fine,” you whispered.

“I hope so,” he breathed back.

You took the knob and turned it, opening the door slowly. You found Violet sitting on her bed, reading a favorite book of hers. Gwilym had given it to her as a Christmas present, and she had read it so many times now the spine was falling apart. It was something they bonded over since after you moved, Gwilym was the one who read to Violet before bed. It instilled such a love of literature in her already, and you were very proud of her reading abilities for her age.

“Hi, Violet,” you said, surprised at the calm in your voice.

When Gwilym showed you such understanding, you felt it was easier to extend the same to your daughter. He was right, after all. Something must be wrong for Violet to lash out the way she did.

“Are you still mad at me?” she asked in a small voice.

You and Gwilym took seats on her bed beside her. You gathered her up in your arms.

“I’m sorry I yelled,” you said. “I was scared and upset, but that doesn’t make it right.”

“I forgive you, Mommy,” she returned.

You kissed the top of her head.

“Sweetheart,” Gwilym said. “Will you please tell us what’s been on your mind? We want to support you and get to the bottom of this. Help you work it out.”

Violet detached herself from you and sat back, pulling her knees into her chest. She rested her chin on them, looking pensive.

“I don’t wanna make you guys feel bad,” she said.

You and Gwilym exchanged a surprised look.

“Have we done something wrong?” you asked.

“No,” she sighed. “But...I dunno…”

“Talk to us, lovie,” Gwilym urged.

“Everything’s different now,” she said. “With Sybil.”

“What do you mean?” you wondered.

“Well, the way everybody talks about her...I hear what the doctors say,” she went on. “Dad’s not my dad.”

Oh. You looked at Gwilym again, and you saw the color drain from his face. The time had come where Violet could comprehend that Gwilym was not her father. She was too young to understand the way babies were made, but she was old enough to register that one man made her, and another made her sister.

“It makes me feel different,” she continued. “Like I’m the oddball. So when Robbie started teasing me about my accent, it made me feel like that even more.”

She sniffled as more tears welled up in her eyes. She looked directly at you.

“Mommy, did you even want me?” she whimpered. “Like you wanted Sybil?”

Your heart shattered inside your chest. You felt your own emotion threatening to make you have a complete meltdown at that question, but you held it together. You took your daughter in your arms again.

“Oh, baby,” you said, stroking her hair. “Of course I wanted you. You were...well, you were certainly a surprise, but when I knew I was going to have you, I didn’t want anything more. In fact, you made me the strongest I’ve ever been in my life. I wouldn’t trade you for the world.”

She released a little sob and clung to your shirt.

“My real dad...he wasn’t a good person, was he?” she asked, looking up at you.

You truly ached for her. Her tear stained face and red, puffy eyes showed how deeply this had affected her, and the torment she’d been through over it.

You shook your head.

“No, he wasn’t,” you told her. You gently wiped away her tears with your thumbs. “But he gave me you. And for that, I will always be grateful. My perfect little girl.”

Gwilym watched you in amazement. You weren’t lying to Violet, but you weren’t sugar coating anything either. The balance you maintained in this difficult conversation was truly impressive. It took some courage to look your child in the face and tell them a harsh reality like this. He fell in love with you all over again in this moment.

Violet nodded and then turned and looked at Gwilym.

“I feel like I forced you to -”

“Oh, Violet, don’t,” he said gently. “C’mere.”

He sat further back, against her pillows, and she crawled into his lap.

“Y/N, could you give us a moment alone?” he requested.

You nodded, pushing yourself to your feet, and walking to the door. You told them you loved them and then departed, heading downstairs. You felt some relief after talking to Violet, and understanding her at last. It was a good idea for her to talk with Gwilym alone. They needed to clarify their own relationship.

Gwilym pulled Violet into a warm hug. He held her a moment and let her cry into his chest. This was such a heavy weight for a child, and he wanted her to know she didn’t carry it alone. He would always support her, no matter where she came from or where she went. He put every ounce of his love for her into the embrace, and he just hoped she felt it.

“That’s it, love,” he soothed. “You have yourself a good cry.”

She hiccuped and burrowed further into him.

“You’ve been through a lot today,” he went on. “And you’ve had so much going on inside. Let it out.”

He rubbed her back until her breathing evened out again and she relaxed against him.

“You have never forced me to be your dad,” he said. “Yes, you called me Daddy and it stuck, but I wanted to be that for you long before you said the word.”

“Really?” she wondered.

He nodded. “Really. I love you very much. I may not have made you in your mum’s belly, but you are my daughter. I have the papers to prove it.”

She giggled. He smiled and pulled her away to look in her eyes.

“You are my daughter,” he repeated. “Mine and your mum’s. Blood doesn’t make a family, darling. Love does. And we’ve got plenty to go around.”

Her face scrunched as she considered the meaning.

“I think I understand,” she replied. “Like how Uncle Ben, Uncle Joe, and Uncle Rami aren’t your brothers, but they’re still my uncles.”

“Exactly!” he said excitedly. “They aren’t my brothers by blood. But I love them enough to be my brothers.”

Her face began to fall again. “But Sybil...she’s gonna look like you.”

“She might,” he agreed. “But things like appearance don’t matter. The things I hope you inherit from me are not my lips or my eyes. I hope you inherit love from me. That comes from the inside. You and Sybil are both my daughters, and I will love you equally for the rest of my life. And beyond.”

“Promise?”

“I promise,” he assured her. “That day you called me your dad for the first time…” He paused, taking a shaky breath. “You made me happier than I ever thought possible,” he choked out.

Her brow furrowed as she looked at him.

“Daddy, are you crying?” she asked.

He chucked and blinked the tears back. One got out and rolled down his cheek. “Yes, love. Sorry. I just love you so much and I never, ever want you to doubt it.”

It was her turn to wipe his face.

“I believe you,” she said. “I won’t doubt again. I promise.”

He grinned and held her close again.

“Very good, my girl,” he said.

An understanding formed between them now. Violet felt closer to Gwilym than ever. As she inhaled the smell of his cologne from his shirt, she recognized it from when she was even littler. A vision of a hotel room swam before her, and the memory wasn’t totally clear, but she felt her mother and father there. This father. The one she chose.

When dinner was ready, you went back upstairs to check on Gwilym and Violet. You found them cuddled together on her bed, fast asleep. You watched them for a moment, becoming softer than butter, and as you gazed on their peaceful faces, you saw a similarity. It was impossible, but for a moment, you almost believed Violet had Gwilym’s profile. Or maybe it was his hair? Anyway, she looked like him.

***

The following day, you began researching marriage counselors for you and Gwilym. You ended up switching to family counselors so Violet could come if she wanted to talk any more about what she was going through. She said she was fine for now, even if she was still grounded. You still weren’t sure what being grounded meant for six-year-old, but you were content with her just staying in her room for now.

You booked an appointment with a counselor for the following week. Gwilym offered to go with you, but you said for the first one, you should go on your own. That way you could explore your feelings without worrying about who you might hurt with what you found there. You were nervous, but still felt that it was a good idea. You had never really processed everything with Henry, and you wanted to learn how to cope with it without saying or doing things that would negatively impact your new marriage.

During your first session, Gwilym decided to take Violet out for ice cream. She had handled her grounding well, and he thought she deserved a treat. Plus, he was eager to spend as much one on one time with her as possible before the baby came. That way, she would be further reassured of his dedication to being in her life. Especially since she may begin to feel neglected when the baby required more attention.

“How was school this week?” he asked when they sat down on a bench together.

Violet put a large spoonful of ice cream in her mouth and mulled it over.

“It was okay, I guess,” she said. “I don’t think I missed too much while I was out. I apologized to Robbie, and he forgave me. Then he said he was sorry for making fun of my accent.”

“I’m glad you made up with him,” he said. “I’m proud of you for saying you’re sorry. That’s not always easy.”

“Really? I feel like Mommy says it to you a lot.”

Gwilym paused, mid-bite into his ice cream. Now that he thought about it, you did have a tendency to over-apologize. He realized it was another habit you’d formed to ease tension. Whether by joking or apologizing, you had to alleviate it.

“With Mum it’s different,” he said. “For most people, saying sorry is difficult. People don’t like to admit when they’re wrong.”

“Well, we learn in school that it’s important,” she said. “If you hurt someone, that’s what you say. And to say it like you mean it.”

“Very good,” he praised. “I’m glad you’re taking your lessons to heart.”

“How are you doing, Daddy?” she asked.

He chuckled and reached over to muss her hair.

“I’m doing just fine,” he said. “It’s sweet of you to ask.”

She beamed at him.

“Are you sure? You can tell me if you’re worried about Sybil.”

His brow furrowed. “Why should I worry about her?”

“Maybe not her, but you!” she returned. “You’re gonna have a whole other kid! Are you scared?”

Gwilym laughed. “Ah, I see. Well, I’m a little scared. But I’m mostly excited. Besides, I have your mum with me. I’m not as scared when we work together.”

She swallowed another spoonful of ice cream and looked thoughtfully out across the street.

“Mommy was alone when she had me, right?” she asked.

“She was, unfortunately,” he said.

“Do you think she was scared?” she wondered.

“Probably,” he answered. “But not for too long.”

She perked up.

“Then she got you!”

“She sure did!” he agreed. “Now, we’re a team.”

“The best team,” she affirmed. “Am I on the team too?”

He kissed her head with a smile.

“Of course you are, darling,” he said. “There’s lots you’ll need to teach your sister.”

A beat passed and they both took a few bites.

“Daddy, where do babies come from?” she asked suddenly.

Gwilym choked on the bite he was taking. He took a few moments to cough, and Violet - fretting slightly - patted him gently on the back. Her little hand didn’t really do much for him, but he thanked her anyway. He cleared his throat.

“Sorry, love, you caught me off guard there,” he said.

“Do they come from somewhere weird?” she pressed, cocking her head to the side as she looked up at him.

“Sort of,” he answered. “You’ll learn more about it when you’re older.”

She pursed her lips and then relaxed them. She shrugged.

“Okie doke,” she said simply.

Gwilym inwardly thanked the heavens above that she let it go. That was not conversation he wanted to have with Violet without you around.

They stayed out another hour or so before heading home. Gwilym was relieved to see you were back, and eager to hear how it went. Violet went tearing into the house, and Gwilym came behind her, closing the door softly.

“Mommy, we’re home!” she cried, throwing her arms around you as much as she could. Really, she hugged your baby bump.

“Hi, sweetie!” you returned. “Did you have fun with Daddy today?”

“We got ice cream!” she told you.

“Well, I hope you still have room for dinner,” you said, eyeing Gwilym as he approached.

“Of course, we got small cups,” he assured you. “Now, give me a kiss.”

You giggled and gave him a swift peck on the lips.

“Mommy, can I watch She-Ra while you make dinner?” she requested.

“Sure thing,” you said. “Go ahead, baby.”

She clapped her hands and started toward the living room, but she came to a sudden halt. Turning on her heel, she hurled herself at Gwilym and wrapped her arms around his legs.

“Thanks for the ice cream, Daddy!” she said.

She smiled widely at him.

“You’re very welcome, lovie,” he replied.

With that, she disappeared into the living room and switched on the television.

“So,” Gwilym said, looking at you. “How’d it go today?”

“Really well,” you told him. “I sort of got through my history with Henry and she mostly listened. I told her about us too. Even the letters, but she said it was romantic.” You laughed a little. “I felt a lot of relief afterward. Would you come with me next week? I think it could be really good for us to go together.”

“Of course,” he said, pulling you into a hug. “Anything for you, love.”

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freddiesaysalright · 5 years

Text

Blessed Part 2

The Peace Like a River Sequel

Word Count: 2.2k

A/N: Serious angst in this chapter. We’re dealing with stuff, we’re getting emotionally healthy, y’know?

Haven’t read Peace Like a River? Start here!

Part 1

Part 2 here we go!!!

The whole drive to the school, you speculated over what Violet could have possibly done. Your heart raced with worry. She was such a sweet child, and tended to get along with everyone. Now she was in trouble?

“Don’t fret too much, darling,” Gwilym said as if reading your mind. “I’m sure it’s something small. Violet’s a wonderful child.”

“I dunno,” you returned. “She’s been so strange about everything lately…”

“We shouldn’t jump to any conclusions before we have the information,” he said.

You nodded. Your mind still swirled with questions, but you tried to relax. It could be something as simple as she did exceptionally poor on a test. You just had to wait and see.

When you arrived at the school, you waited for Gwilym to help you out of the car. Then, you walked inside together, heading for the headmaster’s office, where the teacher told you to meet them. That part also made you anxious for answers. If the headmaster was involved, didn’t that mean it was something serious? You just had to know. It took a lot of strength to walk normally to the office. You wanted to sprint there and see Violet.

When you reached the lobby, the receptionist led you to the headmaster’s office. It was a handsome, stately room that sort of reminded you of studies you might see in a black and white movie. Gwilym had an office in your home, but it was simple, and the furniture wasn’t made with over shined leather.

“Ah, Mr. and Mrs. Lee,” the headmaster said from behind his desk.

Violet sat in a chair opposite him, head hanging down and looking harshly at the floor. Her teacher stood behind her. You looked at your daughter, willing her to meet your eyes, but hers remained fixed on the carpet.

“Please, have a seat,” the headmaster said.

He was Mrs. Topper’s husband, but you had only met him once, when you enrolled Violet in the school. He was a polite man, but not nearly as friendly as his wife. Now, both were tense. Mrs. Topper shot you an apologetic look as you and Gwilym took the remaining chairs, Violet between you.

“What’s happened?” Gwilym asked. “Is Violet okay?”

“Violet is fine,” Mr. Topper said. “It’s the boy she punched I’m worried about.”

“She hit someone?!” you gasped.

Mr. Topper nodded. “Yes. A classmate of hers.”

“He was making fun of me!” Violet interjected.

You rounded on her. “That doesn’t matter, Violet, you do not hit people!”

“You’ve hit someone!” she protested, looking at you at last.

That stumped you. You tried to remember who you had hit in your life. Gwilym came to your rescue.

“Henry,” he said quietly.

You blinked, shocked that Violet remembered something from when she was so little.

“That was different, I was defending myself,” you told her. “And it was only a last resort. You know better than to hit someone just because of their words.”

She frowned, and looked at the floor again.

“Look, no matter the situation, Violet acted in a way that is simply not tolerated at this school,” Mr. Topper went on. “I’m afraid she’s been suspended for three days.”

“Are you joking?” Gwilym cried. “She’s been a model student up until now. One infraction and she’s suspended?!”

“Mr. Lee, I understand it’s upsetting, but this infraction was not cheating or lying,” Mr. Topper explained. “She used violence. As I said, we have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to attacking another student.”

“But if she was provoked -”

“As your wife said, it doesn’t matter,” Mr. Topper interrupted. “She hit someone. The boy didn’t attack her first or anything like it. If she was being teased, she needed to tell her teacher.”

You looked at Violet.

“Did you tell Mrs. Topper that the boy was making fun of you?” you asked sharply.

Her bottom lip quivered. “No.”

“Why not?” Gwilym asked gently.

“I didn’t think about it,” she admitted.

“Well, you clearly weren’t thinking,” you snapped.

Gwilym sighed and looked at Mr. Topper.

“Is there nothing else to be done?” he wondered.

“There’s not, I’m sorry,” Mr. Topper answered. “Violet is not to be on school grounds for three days. That’s final.”

“And any work she misses?”

“It cannot be made up, I’m afraid.”

You took a deep breath as anger raged inside your chest. It was mixed with shock and disappointment, but mostly anger. You had not raised a violent child. She had never shown this kind of tendency before. Then you felt a twinge of fear. What if she was more like her father - her biological father - than you thought?

At this point, Mrs. Topper chimed in.

“Violet, I know this isn’t like you,” she said. “You’re a sweet, smart girl, and a joy to have in class. The next time someone says something that hurts your feelings, don’t be afraid to come and tell me. We’ll all sit down and work it out with our words. Okay?”

Violet nodded. “Yeah, okay.”

“Great,” Mrs. Topper said. Then she looked at her husband, who nodded.

“You may go now,” he said.

You got to your feet and shook hands with Mr. and Mrs. Topper, as did Gwilym. Then, all of you left and walked to the car. It was deathly quiet as you began the drive home. You were still angry at Violet for acting that way, but now you could not escape the thought that she might be more Henry’s daughter than yours. It felt a bit crazy to jump to that conclusion, but you couldn’t help it. That thought had terrified you since the day she was born. Now, it had emerged from wherever you buried it and reared its ugly head.

“Violet,” Gwilym said to break the heavy silence. “I hope you understand how disappointed we are.”

“More than disappointed,” you added. “That was completely unacceptable.”

Violet didn’t say anything, but you heard her sniffle in the backseat. You couldn’t look at her. If you did, your anger would cave.

“Do you have anything to say for yourself?” you demanded.

She muttered something under her breath.

“What was that?” you snapped.

“No!” she cried.

“Well, you better think of something because we are having a long talk when we get home, young lady,” you warned her.

The rest of the drive was spent in more silence. Gwilym kept trying to catch your eye but you ignored him. You knew he wanted you to lighten up, but you couldn’t. Not with something like this.

When you reached the house, Violet sprang from the car and hurried to the door. Gwilym once again came around to help you and then you followed behind. When the door was open, Violet started to run up the stairs but you stopped her.

“No way, Vi,” you said. “Kitchen. Now.”

Her shoulders sagged and she dragged her feet all the way to the kitchen. You pulled a chair out for her and she sat in it. You couldn’t sit, and you just barely heard Gwilym offer to get you a chair but you waved him off.

“Explain yourself,” you said to your daughter “Why did you hit that little boy?”

“I told you!” she said. “He was making fun of me!”

“What was he making fun of you for?” Gwilym asked.

“My accent!”

“Your accent?!” you repeated. “Are you serious? You honestly thought that was worth hitting someone?!”

Violet blinked and a tear spilled down her cheek.

“I’m sorry,” she whimpered. “I don’t know why it made me so angry.”

“Well, you’re grounded,” you told her. “It doesn’t matter what that boy said or that you were angry. That’s never a reason to hurt another person.”

Gwilym looked at you. “Darling, take it easy. Clearly something is bothering her. Let’s hear her out.”

Your eyes flashed as you looked at him.

“Don’t lecture me on how to discipline my daughter, Gwil!”

The air was sucked out of the room. As soon as the words left your mouth, you wished you could snatch them out of the air and shove them back down your throat. Gwilym’s eyes went wide and the hurt behind them was abundantly clear. He cleared his throat and looked at Violet.

“Violet, could you excuse us?” he asked. “We’re not done with this conversation, but Mum and I need to talk first.”

“O-okay,” she said, eyes flickering between you and him. “I’ll go to my room.”

Without another word, she ran upstairs. You waited until you heard her door close before starting.

“Honey, I am so sorry, I didn’t mean -”

He held up a hand to stop you.

“Don’t,” he said firmly. “Don’t tell me you didn’t mean it.”

Tears formed in your eyes. “But I didn’t, I swear!”

“Yes, you did,” he argued. “But I don’t think it’s because you don’t see me as Violet’s father or you doubt my parenting abilities.”

“You don’t?” you questioned.

He shook his head. “I think this comes from a different place. The same place that led you to find out you were pregnant all on your own. You don’t really trust me.”

You blinked. “What? That’s ridiculous, of course I -”

He cut across you again. “No, you don’t. You trust me to be faithful to you. You trust that I love you. But deep down - really deep down - you don’t trust that I won’t hurt you. Some part of you genuinely believes that you will be on your own again.”

He really hit the nail on the head. Gwilym knew you so well by now, probably even better than you knew yourself. Your old defensive habit of making a joke in times like these was bubbling to the surface, but you pushed it down. He would not accept a joke now, and you needed to be honest.

“I’m sorry,” you said. “That’s not fair to you.”

“I don’t blame you,” he returned. “I know it’s not your fault that you feel this way. You were hurt by your ex-husband, and by your family. You got away before they could ever fully reject you.”

He stepped closer to you, and you hung your head with shame. He took your chin between his thumb and forefinger and made you look at him. His eyes shone with love and understanding. Just like always. You swallowed the lump in your throat.

“Listen,” he said. “And hear me. Y/N, my love, my wife, my Dear Friend...I am not going anywhere.”

Your heart began to swell at the promise. Everything was love with Gwilym, and he gave it to you freely. You couldn’t believe you were still adjusting to being loved this way.

“I believe you,” you breathed out as your bottom lip trembled with emotion.

He moved his hand to cup your cheek.

“Will you let me stay?” he asked. “Let me be your husband?”

You nodded, biting your lip and melting into him. You buried your face in his neck and wrapped your arms around his waist.

“I love you,” you said. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s alright, darling,” he said, stroking your hair. “I forgive you.”

Your hands gripped his shirt tightly. For a moment, you wanted to stay right here forever. To hold on to Gwilym and be in his arms and forget about anything else. You knew that he was right because already a part of you was whispering that you were too much trouble and one day he would grow tired of it. Holding onto him was like holding onto his words. I am not going anywhere.

“Darling, how would you feel about...about seeing someone about all this?” he asked tentatively, pulling away from the hug to look into your eyes. “I feel like there’s a lot of learned behaviors from Henry that you may need professional help in unlearning.”

You looked away. It felt like a blow. A step back. After your last confrontation with Henry, you felt like you had conquered it. That his actions no longer affected you and you were free. But Gwilym was right. There was still so much that needed to be addressed.

“I’m open to it,” you told him. “I’m willing to do whatever it takes for...for you.”

“I want you to do it for yourself, love,” he replied. “I’m going to be here for you no matter what.”

He leaned in and kissed your lips. You deepened the kiss as you wrapped your arms around his neck and pulled him close. Sometimes, words did not do justice to how grateful you were for your husband, so you did your best to show him. All your appreciation went into this kiss.

“Now,” he said as you broke apart. “Shall we go and speak to Violet?”

“I think we should,” you said. “You’re right, something else is bothering her enough to make her act out.”

“I think I know what it is,” he said with a heavy sigh. “I just really hope I’m wrong.”

Taking your hand, he led you upstairs.

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