On Angels' Wings

So I finally got round to writing this one. Sorry it took so long, I had a busy term and this was at the bottom of the pile (not quite bottom, those of you who went and read Pacing expect to wait until the last film has come out).

For those of you joining us, hi! This is the third in a series (Guardian Angel, the Demon and the Angel). There's a quick catch up at the bottom of this chapter and you haven't missed much.

… …

Steve looked out at the New York skyline in the distance, the huge skyscrapers and constant lights the only thing worth seeing from his roof. Over the other side he could see the small park and a few trees. Nothing sensational but he liked it. It was home.

"It looks much more impressive from the sky," Arella said from the stairway door. She held a glass of wine in each hand, squeezing her wings through the doorway. He took the proffered glass and turned back to the skyline.

"I think they look the best from the ground right at the bottom, so all you can see as you look up is the towers going up into the sky," he answered.

"Don't let Tony hear you say that, out of all of them his looks like a misshapen toadstool. I don't like the glass; I think I'm going to smash into it like birds do."

"I doubt you'd do that, unless of course you fly home after that drink." She poked out her tongue at him and took a long sip.

"We can't all have the metabolism of the gods. What happened to you being the gentleman anyway? Aren't you supposed to be polite?" He grinned.

"I'm learning. Apparently banter is very common." Arella turned around, letting her wings drape over the side of the building.

"You spend too much time with Stark. You need a day job. Is there anything you can actually do besides beat up the bad guys and be insufferably tall?" Steve looked affronted by that but took a minute to actually answer.

"I could ask a museum or something if they wanted help with war exhibits I guess. What about you? Surely you can't spend all day with Stark?" Laughing Arella cast a glance at the illuminated Stark Tower.

"No, Fury has me working with Natasha on missions sometimes. Most people don't expect an aerial attack when they can't hear a plane. Aerial backup, extractions, stuff like that. I'd tell you details, but then I'd have to kill you," she said with a sweet little smile. Steve didn't return it, looking out at the horizon thoughtfully. "What?" she asked.

"Are you alright? Truthfully, about… that?" Her face fell slightly, her smile freezing into a curt little line. She didn't like him bringing Bruce up again. Natasha would mention him randomly as well for no reason. Only Clint actually cottoned on to the fact that she didn't want to talk about what had happened. That had made her closer to the archer, they both had dealings with Loki they didn't want to share or deal with.

"How long do I have to be fine before you guys realise I actually am?" Her tone was harsh, frustrated. The truth was she wasn't fine; nowhere near fine but it was the sort of thing she kept under wraps. She could pretend to be fine well enough. Back home, she had gone for two years seemingly unaffected by her father's death, never speaking about it to anyone and just moving on with the troubles of surviving. Only Tchako had realised and finally managed to get her to talk about it. He had told her she needed to talk about her problems more, instead of bottling them all up but she didn't. It wasn't worth getting upset about in front of someone else.

"Until I believe you. Arella, no one bounces back from something like that."

"Maybe I did. People do get over their exes, you know." She was lying; Bruce was far more than just an ex. She would still look around for him, so used to him being there every second of the day. She missed Montana, living in the hills. She knew it wouldn't have lasted, one way or another things weren't working even before Loki but it was vastly better than her situation now.

"I don't…" Steve was cut short by the stairway door flinging open to reveal a slightly out of breath Natasha.

"Suit up, we're on the clock," she said. They were running back down to Steve's apartment, or in Arella's case simply jumping down to his balcony, her wings spread out wide, in a matter of seconds. Natasha handed her a pack with her suit in as Steve disappeared into his room to change.

"What's the situation?" the super soldier asked through the door.

"There's a massive disturbance in central Ohio. We think it's a portal of some kind but where to we don't know. No word from Thor, we're expecting a threat to appear any moment. Clint's already there, Tony's on his way too. You ready?" Arella nodded, strapping her sword around her hips. Steve emerged suited up, opening the door for Natasha.

"Don't think we're not finishing that conversation, I don't believe you," he muttered to Arella as she passed.

"Let's just do our job, Captain," she retorted coldly. Natasha turned around, glaring at her.

"You may have passed Fury's emotional stability test but you haven't passed mine. If this thing starts emitting gamma rays or something we're calling him in," the redhead warned.

"Doctor Banner is the leading authority on gamma rays, if you can find him." Natasha gave her a small, cold smile.

"Oh we never lost him." Arella checked, surprised. She had expected that if Natasha had known where Bruce was the redhead would have told her at every opportunity. She had to remind herself that she wasn't supposed to care where he was. Wherever it was, a large but ignored part of her wanted to be there too.

… …

Arella arrived on Earth by accident (she was aiming for Asgard) when a dictator killed her family and tried to marry her. She met Bruce, fought some baddies, they fell in love (although she had a thing for Steve at one point) then went and lived in Montana together until Loki showed up and she did some double crossing, revealed she had super powers (apart from having angel's wings) so Bruce felt he couldn't trust her and they broke up. Oh, and I killed Betty Ross off somewhere along the way too. Brief summary, for those who can't be bothered to read the other two.