Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize. Only my OC, Amelia Carter's personality and story line belong to me. All lines/references from the movie belong to Marvel.
~0~ = break
"Here's your water Aunt Peg."
A woman walked in the room with a glass of water in hand. She was what people would consider attractive. Strong, prominent jaw line with high cheekbones and full lips coated with a vibrant red lipstick much like what her aunt used to wear back in the day. Her hair fell in waves of different shades of brown all the way down her back, just past her shoulders.
In short, Amelia Carter looked very much like her aunt when she was her age, unlike her sister Sharon who was quite the opposite of them both. Her older sister has blonde hair that curled up to her shoulders, her body was more toned and lean, unlike Amelia who has a more curvy body but still toned due to her training.
"Thank you, Amelia."
Amelia rolled her eyes at her aunt before asking her (what seemed to be the hundredth time) why she won't call her Mia like all her other friends and co-workers. Her aunt then proceeded to say that Amelia is too much of a beautiful name to shorten, resting her case after giving her niece a look. Right now, Mia sat next to her great aunt's bed as they talked about whatever came to mind. It's been a while since Amelia got away from her work at SHIELD to visit her aunt. Her pseudo uncle allowed her leave from work to visit for about a week or so.
"Sweetheart, can you turn on the telly? It's time for the 8 o'clock news," Peggy said to her niece.
Standing up to reach the remote, Mia turned on the tv just like her aunt asked and switched to the news channel. Both women gasped in shock as to what was being showed on the small screen in front of them. Aliens shooting people trying to run away, the same creatures climbing on the sides of buildings and tearing things apart. On the bottom of the screen, in bold letters says Aliens in New York! The camera panned out to show a group of people in the center of the street, looking up at the sky preparing themselves for the fight of their life.
Mia recognized all of the people on screen. Black Widow and Hawkeye, or Nat and Clint as she calls them were fixing their weapons, either by loading more ammo in a gun or sharpening an arrow. Beside them was Tony, (who Mia considers a cousin) or Iron Man as he is most commonly known as was hovering a few feet off the ground, hands poised up to the sky blasting any alien he saw to smithereens. Thor, the Norse God she had the pleasure of meeting when she was in New Mexico, was with them as well, an angry look on his face as he tightened his grip on his hammer; next to him was the Hulk or Dr. Bruce Banner when he was human. Last but not least was the person who made up her entire childhood stories and the reason why she wanted to join SHIELD in the first place (besides her aunt) was Captain America.
"Amelia, is that really him?"
Her aunts wavering voice allowed her to tear her eyes away from the screen to look at her aunt whose eyes were welled up with tears. Mia comfortingly placed her hand atop her aunts before giving it a light squeeze.
"Yeah, that's him Aunt Peg. It's really Steve. He came back," Mia told her aunt.
Mia chose not to mention her orders from her Uncle Nick to stay away from Steve Rogers once they were alerted he was awake. At first she tried to argue against the order before Nick said that she looked too much like her aunt and would probably give the guy a heart attack if he saw her. After mentioning that he would probably be too unstable and would need the help of a psychiatrist, she tried to bring up that she did have a degree in Psychology, but Nick put his foot down. This was also the reason for her being allowed to visit her aunt.
Mia jumped out of her seat and fished out her phone from her pocket, worry etched on her face.
"Oh, my god I need to call Sharon! I hope she's okay."
She started pacing around the small room, Peggy looking from the screen to her niece. Mia was muttering under her breath for Sharon to pick up her cellphone.
"Mia!" She heard her sister answer.
She immediately put her phone on speaker so her aunt would hear as well.
"I was just about to call you! I take it you saw the news?"
Mia's eyes flicked back to the screen just in time to see Thor electrocute the aliens coming out of the portal.
"Yeah, Aunt Peg and I are watching it on the telly right now. You're not in New York are you?" Mia asked her sister, fear evident in her voice.
"No, no. I'm at the Triskelion right now. They're calling in a lot of agents for back up. Try to wrangle the citizens away from the fight and such, Trip's headed there now. I would've gone but Uncle Nick was clear about his ord-"
Mia cut her sister off frantically before she could finish her sentence.
"You're on speaker phone Shar!"
She could feel her aunt's stare but just looked at her briefly before smiling awkwardly. She heard her sister cough on the phone trying to cover up her almost mistake.
"Anyways, when were you supposed to go back to New York?" Sharon asked her little sister, changing the subject effectively.
"A few days from now but I'll come back after they win. God knows they're going to need all the help they can to get the city back to normal," Mia informed her sister, still trying to keep an eye on the telly.
"How do you know they'll win? It looks pretty bad Mia," Her sister asked quietly.
Mia looked at her aunt before giving another squeeze to her hand making Peggy look up at her and smiled.
"Because if the stories Aunt Peggy told us about Captain Rogers were true, then I know they will."
Peggy looked at her niece, a tear slid down her now wrinkled face and smiled at the blind faith she had in Steve. Her stories really influenced the girls' lives, especially Amelia's.
Every time Peggy would visit Amelia or vice versa, Amelia would ask her to tell them another story about Captain Rogers and the Howling Commandos. Having been close to Trip also added the fuel to the fire. Antoine Triplett, or Trip as he liked to be called, was the grandson of Gabe Jones, one of the Howling Commandos. Though Trip was older than Amelia by a year or two, they were still very close, close enough for Amelia and Sharon to call him their cousin.
"Listen, I'll call you later. Things are starting to get hectic around here. Better yet, call me when you get back to New York. Okay got to go, bye and stay safe. Love you!"
Before Mia could even respond back, her sister already hung up on her. She scoffed and shook her head at her sister's actions but understood how busy it could get.
Mia sat down on her chair once again, putting her focus back on the live news footage. How they're even getting footage right now was beyond her. The tv showed Captain America without his helmet. She turned to her aunt when she gasped.
Peggy covered her mouth with her hands, eyes still welled up. He looked exactly like the last time she saw him.
"You okay Aunt Peggy?"
Her niece's concerned voice broke her thoughts. She looked at her lovingly, appreciating her concern.
"Oh, yes. I'm alright dear. It's just, he looks exactly like I remember him," Peggy voiced her thoughts to her.
Mia looked at her aunt sadly, knowing full well what happened between the two of them.
She looked back at the screen to see Steve's dirty blonde hair slightly messy due to all the moving. His face was dirty and grimy but still showed off his chiseled jaw and his bright blue eyes seemed to stand out amidst the dirt. Don't even get her started about his physique.
"You didn't tell me he looked like that," Mia teased her aunt, a smirk gracing her face.
She smiled when she got a laugh from her aunt as she was playfully hit on the arm.
"No wonder you fell for him," Mia continued teasing.
Peggy sobered up before pointing over to her dresser and telling her niece to look in the bottom left drawer. Mia did what she was asked. She opened the drawing before shuffling some stuff.
"What am I looking for-"
Mia cut herself off when she noticed a black and white photo of a small man. Curious, she took it out to get a better look at it.
"I see you found it without me having to tell you."
She tore her eyes away from the picture to look at her aunt. Slowly, she shut the drawer and walked back to her seat.
"Who is he?" Mia asked curiously.
"You tell me," her aunt said secretively.
Mia took a closer look at the picture. The man seemed very small in the picture. He was looking off to the side, giving Mia a good look at his face shape. Said man had a very nice, strong, and defined jaw line. His face overall looked very familiar to her.
Mia glanced away from the picture and looked up at the screen when Captain America showed up again, looking to the side. Her eyes widened before she looked back to the picture in her hand.
"No way," She murmured.
"So you see, I didn't fall for Steve because of how he looked," Peggy told her niece.
"His face looks the same though, still handsome," Mia said aloud, more to herself but her aunt heard her nonetheless.
Peggy nodded solemnly "Mmm, that is true. Time has been kind to Steve, unlike me."
Mia smiled softly at her aunt. She took in her aunt's graying curly hair and face that showed how deeply she laughed and smile. Much to her aunt's denials, Peggy Carter aged beautifully.
"Aunt Peggy, you are beautiful. I bet Captain Rogers would agree with me if he were here," Mia told her aunt honestly.
Peggy let out a soft chuckle, "Amelia, I'm sure Steve would have a heart attack if he saw me like this."
Speaking of heart attacks, what Mia saw when she looked back at the tv almost gave her one. She saw Tony carrying what seemed to be a missile towards the portal before disappearing from view.
"Oh, my god Tony!" Mia exclaimed in alarm.
Peggy mirrored Amelia's reaction fearing the worst for Tony. After her past with Howard Stark, it was hard not to be close with his son, Tony. Peggy watched that kid as he grew up to be the man he is today. At times he would visit her with either Amelia or Sharon. It was more surprising when he would visit her alone, though it would be brief, Peggy was still touched by the action.
The portal slowly closed before Tony had a chance to go back out. A tear slid down Mia's face, her heart dropping to her stomach for Tony.
"But wait! What's that?" The newscaster exclaimed, "My goodness, Iron Man made it!"
Mia and Peggy let out a sigh they have been both holding in.
"Oh thank God he made it. I'm going to kill him for putting me through that," Mia mumbled, placing a hand on her chest in attempts to slow her heart rate.
The camera panned out to show the damage that's happened to the city. Mia frowned recognizing the street. She groaned when she realized her apartment wasn't spared during the battle. Hopefully the safe didn't get damaged as much she thought.
Mia looked at the side table where the clock sat. The red lights told her it was half past 9 at night already. She could tell her aunt was getting tired by how her eyes were starting to droop.
"Aunt Peggy, why don't you get some rest. It's getting late," Mia suggested to her aunt.
Peggy nodded at her, shifting around her bed for a more comfortable position.
She looked up at Mia, "Are you going back home tonight sweetheart?"
"Yeah," Mia said quietly, "Yeah I'm going to have to go back. I need to check up on my apartment, see if anything is salvageable."
Mia crossed the room to turn the tv off and place the remote on the table.
"I also want to check up on Tony. Lord knows Pepper's gonna have his head for the stunt he pulled. I'll ask to stay at the tower for the meanwhile, I'll call Uncle Nick to have me picked up," She explained to her aunt.
She stood next to her aunt dropping a kiss on her forehead.
"I'll see you soon Aunt Peggy," Mia bid her goodbye.
"Have a safe flight darling."
Mia smiled sweetly at her aunt before turning off the light and leaving the room.
~0~
After Mia left her aunt's nursing home, she headed straight back to her hotel. Trying to get in contact with her Uncle Nick with no avail, she decided it would be easier to get in touch with Phil Coulson. She sighed exasperatedly when he didn't pick up his phone either finally getting to her last choice which was Maria Hill. Mia muttered a small thanks that she answered her phone.
"This is Hill."
"Hey, I need a jet to pick me up at my location. I'm gonna head back, try and help out there. I saw the news," Mia explained as she started to pack her things.
"Does Director Fury know you're coming back?" Hill questioned her over the phone.
"I tried calling him but he didn't pick up but it'll be fine," Mia said offhandedly, "I just need to see if I can salvage anything from my apartment."
She could hear Hill contemplating on what to do by the sigh that the receiver picked up.
"Alright, it'll be there in an hour. Just go on the roof or something, I'll tell an agent to drop a ladder."
"Thanks Maria! I'll handle Uncle Nick if anything happens!"
With that Mia hung up and waited patiently for the jet to arrive.
~0~
Mia sat in the jet anxiously as they flew. She hoped to God that Tony and of course everyone else was okay. She couldn't help when her thoughts lingered around a certain Captain. She hoped for her Aunt Peggy's sake that he was alright.
"Ma'am we're over the tower."
The voice of the agent accompanying her interrupted her thoughts.
"Oh, right can I get the drop zone open, just toss me my bag once I'm on the ground," Mia told the agent who nodded.
She did a simple jump, tuck, and roll, her feet planting solidly on the ground. She shouted for the agent to drop her bag which he did. She then proceeded to make her way inside the tower from the platform where she assumed Tony takes off the suit.
"JARVIS, where's Tony?" Mia asked the AI as soon as she got inside.
"Mr. Stark is currently in the med bay with Miss Potts. Shall I alert them of your arrival?" JARVIS' soothing British voice asked.
"Yes please."
Mia set her bag down on the couch and walked over to the mini-fridge and grabbed herself a bottle of water before she made her way to the elevator. Without even having to press a button, the elevator jolted and JARVIS took her to the right floor. Once the metal doors opened, it showed the scene of Tony still in his Iron Man suit and Pepper fretting over him, dabbing a cloth on his face and him wincing.
"How'd the trip go?" Mia asked, walking down the steps further into the room.
"Mia! I thought you were in London? What are you doing back?" Pepper asked her, surprised to see her there.
"Well, I was there. Aunt Peggy and I were watching the news and guess who we saw?" She asked with a sarcastic tone.
She jabbed her finger towards Tony, "You, flying up through a wormhole to space with a nuke. You almost gave Aunt Peg a heart attack! Hell, you almost gave me one!"
Tony rolled his eyes so done at everyone yelling at him.
"Will you please just leave me alone or I don't know maybe say 'Thank you, Tony for saving the world!'? How about that? Jesus, I almost died today, why are you all being so mean?" Tony huffed.
What he didn't expect was for Mia to give him a tight hug, him having to look over her shoulders to ask Pepper what to do through a series of looks before wrapping his arms around her small body, not too tight though, keeping in mind he was still wearing the suit.
"What are you doing back though? I thought you weren't back for a few more days?" Tony inquired as he stood still allowing mechanical arms to dismantle the suit.
"Thought you guys could use all the help you can for clean up as well as Search and Rescue," Mia started to say, walking around the place before putting a sheepish smile on her face.
"Also because I might need a place to stay..."
Tony opened his mouth to argue but Mia put up her hands in protest, "Just! Just for a little while alright! It's not my fault that my apartment got ruined. That reminds me, do you think you can get a bulldozer or a crane where my apartment used to be?"
Tony and Pepper gave her bewildered looks. Before she could answer though, JARVIS spoke to them.
"Sir, Captain Rogers is here to see you. He's on his way up right now."
Mia and Tony shared wide eyed looks, knowing she wasn't supposed to be anywhere near the Captain. Awkwardly shuffling around her spot for a moment, Tony doing the same thing, he quickly slammed the Iron Man head onto her right when Steve walked in.
"Capsicle! What can I do for you?" Tony said once Steve entered the room, standing slightly in front of Mia to divert all attention to him.
Steve walked in to the med bay, wanting to ask Tony if he'd be up to joining him in his Search and Rescue mission. To his surprise, there was another person with him besides Pepper, oddly wearing his mask.
Through the helmet Mia noticed that he still was wearing his uniform. It was hard for her not to notice how... defining the suit was. It clung to all his muscle perfectly. Her current thoughts began to diminish when something more important came up. Oxygen.
Without the entire suit on, the oxygen can't circulate to the mask. She frantically starting tapping Tony's arm and pointing at the mask, trying to get his attention.
Steve looked at the person, now frantically waving her arms. He could tell it was a woman by the way she was dressed. It was obvious that she was a SHIELD agent as she was wearing the tight catsuit he saw Natasha wear. It clung on her every curve.
Steve mentally slapped himself and scold himself for how inappropriate that was and how his mother taught him better. He quirked an eyebrow at Tony, pointing at the woman behind him.
"Is she okay?"
Tony looked behind him and saw Mia waving her arms and pointing at her head. His eyes widened dramatically in realization.
"Oh shit! Okay hold still," Tony told her before touching the switch to release the mask.
Mia practically threw the damn thing on the ground, gasping the air she was withheld from momentarily.
"That bloody thing almost killed me!"
Pepper walked over to her worriedly, rubbing her back as she held Mia take in more air. She didn't even notice the slight accent she adapted whenever she visited her aunt showed when she spoke.
"Ma'am, are you alright?"
His voice made her freeze. She immediately turned around and grabbed Tony and Pepper with her. They had a little meeting right in front of Steve. Tony comically held up a finger with a smile telling him to wait just a moment.
"What am I supposed to do? I have direct orders from Uncle Nick to not be around him!" She whispered to the two.
"Well, I mean there's nothing you can do now. Might as well do it with a bang right?" Tony suggested jokingly before Pepper and Mia glared at him.
"Have you seen me!? I could be Aunt Peggy's twin! I'm gonna give that man a heart attack!"
"I hate to say this Mia but, Tony's right, you can't do anything else at this point," Pepper stated.
Mia closed her eyes and placed her index finger and thumb on her nose mentally groaning. I am so going to get yelled for this she thought. Tony spun around and asked Steve once again why he was here.
"Uhm, I was just wondering if you were up for a Search and Rescue mission? I got a whole police squad already starting hut we could use all the help we can get."
"Search and Rescue, wow. That sounds like a great idea. Unfortunately I am in no condition to be up and about yet but I have just the person! She had the same idea as well!"
Mia wanted to murder Tony right then and there. She took a few calming breaths with the help of Pepper who whacked Tony's head from the back before she spun around.
Steve's eyes widened to the size of saucers when he saw the woman's face. He choked on nothing as he tried to formulate a word.
"P-Peggy?" He got out.
The woman winced before shaking her head and gave him a sad smile. No, she wasn't his Peggy. Peggy had darker hair and a wider face whereas the woman in front of her had different shades of brown hair and a slimmer, but same structured face.
"No, sorry, I'm not Peggy. I'm Amelia, Amelia Carter, her niece."
Mia extended her arm out towards him but he was frozen in shock he didn't even realize it. She put her arm back down and laughed awkwardly.
"I'm going to my room first to get my stuff settled in before heading out," She said to Tony heading straight for the elevator.
"You're not staying here! Everyone's already staying here!" Tony whined.
"What's one more person then right?" She gave him a smile.
She entered the elevator telling JARVIS to go up to the top floor and before the doors closed, a body cane through just in time. Mia was surprised to see Steve in the elevator with her.
"Captain Rogers! Uh, can I help you with anything?" She asked.
Steve gave her a small smile, "Just Steve is fine ma'am, I'm off duty right now."
"I was just going to put my bag in my room before heading out to the city. I know you guys could use all the help you can so..."
Mia couldn't help but feel awkward around the presence of Steve.
"That's the thing ma'am, Tony told me you might need help with something? He mentioned your apartment but I wasn't sure what it was about," Steve finished off shyly, fiddling with his gloved hands.
Mia waved a hand at Steve, "Oh, that! It's no problem, I'm sure other people would need more help than I do-"
"No, no, no! It's fine. I'm sure the police squad will do fine. I also saw a couple of SHIELD cars so I assume Fury called them in," Steve cut her off explaining what's happening out there.
"Alright, I guess even Tony can't get a crane out there right now," Mia thought aloud.
"JARVIS take us down all the way, I can settle in later. The sooner I get out there, the sooner you can help others," She told him.
Steve couldn't help but feel intrigued by this woman. She looked very much like his Peggy but they were quite different in terms of personality. Peggy was outgoing and confident, the type of person who wouldn't take no for an answer. Amelia, on the other hand seemed very timid and reserved, but he couldn't be sure considering he just met her.
They reached the ground floor and made their way out the building. The usual breathtaking view of New York and its buildings were replaced by the piled of rubbish that used to be offices and homes.
"My apartment was just a couple of blocks over. I hope it's not too damaged considering it wasn't really near the place where the main battle was."
Mia began leading Steve to her place before she realized she had to call Sharon. Taking out her phone from her pocket, she dialed Sharon's number and waited patiently for her to answer.
"Hello?"
"Shar! I'm back at NY," Mia told her sister, looking back at Steve who was still following her and busying himself to show he wasn't listening even though they both knew he was.
"How's it looking?" Sharon asked.
"Terrible, but I'm sure they'll manage to get it fixed."
"Does Aunt Peg know you came back?" Her sister inquired.
"Yeah, I told her before she fell asleep, said I had to check up on my apartment and whatnot," She told her sister.
"Where are you staying by the way? My place is always open to you, you know," Sharon reminded her sister.
"No it's fine. I'm staying at Tony's, the rest of the Avengers are staying there as well so."
Mia left her statement hanging, waiting for her sister to put the pieces together.
"Holy shit, no way! You met him didn't you! Captain America!" Her sister all but shouted over the phone making Mia laugh lightly.
"I did, in fact, he's with me right now."
That sentence caused Steve to look at her with a raised eyebrow, but Mia just smiled at him.
"No fucking way. Uncle Nick will have your head, you know we weren't supposed to go near him, let alone spend time with him!" Sharon scolded her sister.
Mia rolled her eyes, "I can deal with Uncle Nick, Aunt Peggy on the other hand... I don't know how to tell her. She'll have a fit if she found out what Uncle Nick ordered us to do."
Steve's brows furrowed as he heard what Amelia said. Orders? What orders? He figured he'd ask her about it later on, making a mental note about it.
Mia noticed that they've arrived at her old apartment, which was now just a pile of cement blocks, though half the building was still standing.
"Shar, I've got to go, I'll call you some other time."
Mia hung up her phone and put it back before giving Steve a sheepish smile.
"Sorry, that was really rude of me. Sharon's my older sister and I promised to call her as soon as I got here," She explained to Steve.
"No worries ma'am, I understand. So this is your place? What exactly are we doing here?" Steve asked looking around the place.
"Being an agent of SHIELD made me quite paranoid and a bit too careful so I set up a safe where I put all my personal belongings in, photo albums, money, home dvds, stuff like that. I'm hoping that it didn't get ruined, it's supposed to be a really strong safe. Most probably was busted out of the wall by the look of this damage, so essentially, we're looking for a big black box," She said to Steve.
The two spread out to cover more ground, Steve being a super soldier had no problem with lifting the big and heavy boulders of cement. Mia looked at him from where she was.
"You must have a lot of questions for me running through your head, am I right?" She called out to him.
Steve looked to the right of him, squinting a bit to look at Amelia who looked taller because her was on a pile of rocks.
He slowly nodded but still continued to look. He spoke without looking at her.
"I do, but I think it's a conversation we should have inside. Hey, is this it?"
Mia looked over to where he was. Steve was pointing at something underneath a chunk of rock. It was dark but she could make out a dented block of metal.
"I think so, can you lift it?" Mia asked, talking about the rock.
Steve positioned himself by the rock and readied his legs for the weight. He put all his strength into his arms and legs, he grunted when he felt the weight of the rock on him. Shuffling slightly, Steve set down the rock, huffing after doing so.
He looked back at Mia who was just blinking at him. Her face broke out into a grin.
"Wow, that was impressive," She complimented him, a light pink spreading through his cheeks.
Mia hobbled over the dented safe and spun the lock, a quiet click was heard, meaning the safe can be opened. Steve couldn't help but look inside. All that was there was a couple of, what he could assume be photo albums, a few jewelry boxes and a file or two.
His mind focused on the photo albums thought. In there held the life of the woman next to him, and if he was lucky, maybe he could take a glimpse of Peggy's life as well. He watched as Amelia crouched down to grab her belongings out of the safe and stuffing it into the knapsack he didn't notice her carry.
Mia stood up from her crouch and brushed herself off. She gripped the strap on her shoulder tightly before looking at Steve.
"Thanks for the help, I really appreciate it. If you want I can quickly drop this off at the Tower and help you with the Search and Rescue mission?" She offered him, ready to help despite being a tad tired, it was her idea after all even if she wasn't the first to execute it.
"No, it's fine. I'm sure you need your rest. I can already see your eyes getting heavy," Steve said, declining her offer.
"Are you sure? I don't mind, honestly. Nothing a bit of coffee can't fix," Mia joked.
"I'm sure. Get some rest Amelia, I'll see you later."
She was about to walk away but she felt like she needed to get something off her chest first.
"About your questions, feel free to come and ask me about anything, I'll try my best to answer them. Even if it has nothing to do with Aunt Peggy and you just need someone to talk to, I'll be here for you Steve," Mia told him sweetly with a smile that made Steve's heart thud loudly in his chest.
"Thank you, Amelia. I might just take you up on that offer," Steve said to her with a nod and crooked smile.
"I'll see you back at the Tower, stay safe!"
Before Steve could say his own goodbye, Mia already turned from the spot and headed back to Stark Tower. Steve couldn't deny how good she looked from behind either but shook his head at the inappropriate thought before beginning his work.
AN: Hi guys! I'm alive! I'm so sorry I haven't gotten around to updating TFWYSL! School takes up so much of my time and gr.11 is harder than I anticipated it to be :( Kudos to authors who can update/write during school because it is very difficult. This is a new story if you haven't noticed, it's been in my drafts for quite some time now and originally I wasn't going to post it but considering how I've been MIA for the past month I owe it to you guys. This story has nothing to do with my other one, fyi. I hope you enjoy this story as much as TFWYSL! Review, Follow, and Fave! Much love! -E