Author's Notes

Meet Jesse 'Yeah, that's my real name' James, freshly graduated S.H.I.E.L.D. Field Agent and newly appointed Avengers Auxiliary as he encounters the team he'll be supporting and gets his first introduction to the eccentric and unusual collection of individuals he must work with.

The stories are set in a Post Age of Ultron, non-canon compliant AU where Pietro lives and the Civil War may never happen. A collection of one and two shots following the adventures and misadventures of the young Agent James as he gets to know the team, finds out what an Avengers Auxiliary is expected to do, and become an integral part of their lives.

Romanogers and Clint/Laura; other pairings may emerge, shift and change as stories unfold

Some whump, slash, angst and fluff will be scattered throughout and the overall rating is M for Mature. Appropriate trigger warnings will be included where necessary.

All Marvel and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. characters are copyright to Marvel, Disney and ABC and their use here is for purely non-commercial entertainment purposes.

Reviews, comments and story prompts/suggestions welcome

###

Every institution has its traditions and the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division Field Operations Training Academy, FieldOps for short, was no different. The Assignment Rosters for each year's graduating class were pinned up in the main gymnasium at 0730 and the doors opened at 0800 to admit the throng of anxiously waiting new agents. Scores of black-clad young men and women jostled with each other to find their names and first assignments on the long sheets of paper headed with the S.H.I.E.L.D. Eagle. Reactions ranged from "Yessss!", with accompanying fist-pump; through "Awwww Shiiiit!" to "Where the fuck is that?"

At 6'3, and a lean, muscular 195lbs, newly graduated Agent Jesse James easily shouldered his way through the crowd to the list marked 'Ja – Je'; running his finger down to 'James, Jesse'. He froze and his bright blue eyes widened in astonishment

"Ho. Lee. Shit!"

###

"They're sending you there?" exclaimed his friend, Cassie, in amazement as they had coffee in the canteen. She was in the class below him and had another year to go before facing the Assignment Day ordeal "What did you do? Scratch Lola or something"

They both looked up as Instructor May approached their table and handed a slim, brown, envelope to Jesse

"Report to Captain Rogers in the Avengers Compound at 0700 Monday morning" she said "and Cadet Sanders, contrary to what you may have been told; assignment to Avengers Auxiliary Duty is not a punishment detail."

She glanced at the young agent with the shadow of a smile on her face

"Unless you did scratch Lola, of course…"

###

Steve Rogers was just finishing his early morning run as he heard a motorcycle pulling up in the car-park. The sound of the engine seemed very familiar. Jogging round to the front he saw a tall, black-haired, young man in jeans and leather jacket taking off his helmet and unstrapping a holdall from the back of a machine that he recognized instantly

"Hey son!" he called out "That an Indian Chief?"

"Sure is" replied the young man proudly, there was a strong hint of West Virginia in his accent "1940, found her rusting in a scrapyard, restored her myself."

He turned and, realising who he was speaking to, snapped instantly into a sharp salute

"Agent Jesse James reporting for duty. Sir!"

Steve laughed and shook his head

"This isn't the Academy any more, you don't have to do that" he paused "Jesse James? For real?"

Jesse grinned slightly, if he had a dollar for every time he told this story…

"My Dad's an Old West enthusiast, sir" he explained "Told my Mom they'd keep having sons until she let him call one Jesse"

"And did it work?" asked Steve. The young man shrugged

"Three older brothers, three younger sisters, sir! I kinda got lost in the middle"

Steve seriously doubted that, the kid was taller than him and as broad in the shoulder. Seemed pretty good natured too, maybe this one would last the course. He turned his attention back to the bike

"You do all this yourself?" It took an effort of will not to run his hand along the gleaming paintwork and polished chrome. "Original parts?"

Jesse nodded, quietly proud of the attention his baby was getting from Captain America of all people.

"Yes sir" he told him "Took me a while but there's a dealer in Kansas City helped me source a lot of them. Take a closer look if you want."

"Thanks" Steve hunkered down and examined the engine "I rode an Indian 340-B during the war"

"Same basic design but without the fenders" Jesse said "What do you ride now?"

Steve turned to answer him but was cut off the arrival of a tall, African American man in running gear.

"Hey Steve, we gonna get coffee?" the newcomer asked with a broad smile "Or shall I just distract the kid while you make off with his bike?"

He held out his hand to Jesse

"Sam Wilson, you must be the new agent"

Jesse took his hand and shook it firmly

"Agent Jesse James, sir! Honour to meet you."

"Sam'll do fine, we ain't that formal round here" he laughed, then paused. Steve and Jesse could both see the inevitable question forming.

"Why don't we wait till breakfast?" suggested Steve "Then you can explain to everyone at once, save you a lot of jaw-ache"

He patted Jesse on the shoulder

"Let's go get some coffee, then I'll show you where you're bunking."

The three men headed across to the main building, Steve casting the odd longing glance back at the Indian Chief.

The 'Common Room', as Steve described it, was a large open-plan living and dining area with a galley-style kitchen where a slim redhead in shorts and a white t-shirt was making coffee. Steve put his arms around her and kissed her gently on the lips

"Hey baby!" he said fondly "You're up early"

"I heard we had a new gang-member turning up. I wanted to meet him before he got too traumatised" She extended her hand "I'm Natasha, Steve's wife, don't call me Mrs Rogers."

"Please to meet you… errr… Miss Natasha" said Jesse, shaking her hand "I'm Jesse, Jesse James. I'll tell the story later"

Her smile broadened

"Oh, I love your accent! It's like dark chocolate…" she laughed as he blushed and glanced down. He had short-cropped curly black hair and very bright blue eyes; shyness in a handsome man was something she always found endearing. It was probably the thing that first attracted her to Steve "I'm sorry, Jesse, I can be a bit direct at times, you'll get used to it. Grab yourself a mug, coffee's almost ready."

Darcy's going to eat him alive she Signed to Steve as Jesse took a mug from the rack

"Who's Darcy?" asked Jesse. It was Natasha's turn to blush

"Just our resident she-lecher, she's quite harmless really. You Sign?" The young man smiled

"My baby sister Stacy was born deaf" he explained "We probably Sign as much as speak at home, that way she never feels left out of anything."

"That is the sweetest thing…" said Natasha turning to Steve and Sam with a smile "We can keep this one."

###

"Woof!" growled Darcy as she leaned on the kitchen worktop, staring through the glass doors at the young man talking to Steve in the lobby "Who ordered hunky with extra gorgeous?"

"Don't drool on the baby agent" chuckled Tony, popping a handful of blueberries into his mouth "You'll get his nice new combats all soggy!"

"Do you think he's single?" she pondered aloud. Tony closed his eyes and pressed his fingers to his forehead.

"I'm sensing… he's a serial bigamist with a swathe of bastard children from Scranton to Burlington" he opened his eyes and dropped his hands with an amused sigh "How the hell should I know, Lewis?"

"You could find out" she suggested. Tony raised his eyebrows

"Darcy Lewis!" he exclaimed in mock horror "Are you seriously suggesting I should hack S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel files to determine that young man's relationship status, solely so you know whether it's safe to board him amidships and plunder his innocence like some female Blackbeard?"

"Yup!" replied Darcy "And no-one with an ass like that is innocent."

"I am uncertain how the development or tone of the gluteus maximus muscle can be read as indicative of an individual's moral or ethical qualities" mused Vision "although it does suggest a high degree of discipline and dedication in the pursuit of physical excellence with the possible awareness of its aesthetic impact on the viewer."

The Vision didn't need to eat, but the breakfast gathering was an important social ritual for the team and he made a point of attending it without fail.

"That's what I said" insisted Darcy, taking another bite of bagel.

"He seems nice" said Wanda, grabbing a handful of blueberries off Tony and sprinkling them over her muesli; the sound of Steve's laughter could be heard from the lobby "I think you should try not to be rude to him…"

"But Wanda!" protested Tony "We're always rude to people we like!"

"Oh, then you must love me, Stark!" retorted Clint from behind his paper "Should I warn Laura not to expect me home this weekend?"

"Pigeon, don't mock our special thing!" pouted Tony "It takes time and effort to build this level of intimate loathing"

He turned to Wanda and hissed in a stage whisper

"He's sticking his tongue out at me, isn't he?"

"Probably" mumbled Wanda around a mouthful of blueberries and muesli. "And perhaps you should make sure this new agent knows we like him before you start being rude"

"Wanda's right" said Natasha, leafing through her magazine "Jesse's a really nice guy and it's his first day so try not to scare him too much."

"Oh, my god! Natasha likes him" laughed Tony "I'm scared already."

"Jesse?" chuckled Clint, still intent on the sports section "What's his last name, James?"

There was a moment of silence from Natasha and Clint dropped the paper into his lap

"You gotta be shitting me, Tash!"

"It's true, Clint" said Sam with a grin, ladling more scrambled eggs onto his plate "We got us a real-life Jesse James!"

At that point Steve and Jesse came into the room

"Everyone!" Steve called out "I'd like you to say hello to our new Auxiliary, Agent Jesse James."

"Hey Jesse" said Clint with a friendly wave "Where's Frank?"

"With the Air-Force stationed at Manila" Jessie replied "He's my eldest brother"

Clint laughed at Steve's expression of disbelief. Jesse turned to him with a slight grin

"Dad got that one past Mom without her noticing, he's kinda sneaky sometimes. She drew the line at Zerelda for any of the girls though"

"Sweet-looking bike, kid" commented Tony "Let me know if you ever want it souped up…"

"Don't!" warned Clint, glaring at Stark "He 'fixed' my mower and the thing damn near broke the land speed record next time I fired it up"

"Do you work out?" Darcy asked, observing the way Jesse filled his S.H.I.E.L.D. issue black T Shirt "I bet you work out."

"Meet Darcy Lewis" said Steve, halfway between amusement and annoyance "Our SciOps Intern and sexual harassment lawsuit waiting to happen."

Steve sighed

"Darcy, his eyes are further up!"

"I know" replied Darcy, still happily staring at the solid curve of the young agent's chest

"It's just her way of being friendly, like when a dog humps your leg." interjected Tony "If she starts doing that just bop her on the nose with a rolled-up newspaper."

Jesse realised they weren't really talking to, or even at, him. The acknowledgement of his presence was just slipping seamlessly into an ongoing routine of familiar banter. It dawned on him that he was the new kid again, and had a whole world of unwritten rules and relationships to learn about if he wasn't going to end up flat on his ass. He began to understand what the Academy instructors meant when they said that graduation was just the start of the training process.

"Scott and Bucky are off on missions and Thor's on holiday in Iceland with Dr Foster; Dr Banner's doing some research back at Stark Tower" Steve explained "You'll meet them in due course. I think that's almost everyone…"

There was a flash of blue and silver. Jesse jumped in surprise as an athletic young man about his own age, with streaky blond hair, appeared in front of him, winked, went 'beep beep' and disappeared in another flash.

"Oh man! He likes you!" laughed Sam, pouring them both coffee.

"Hey Roadrunner! Back off!" yelled Darcy at the young man now waving at her from the far side of the lobby "I saw him first"

Steve patted the bewildered agent on the shoulder

"It's not always this bad" he assured him

"No" said Natasha, not looking up from her magazine "usually it's worse"

She was annoyed with Darcy. Fair enough, Jesse was a very attractive young man by anyone's standards, but the young SciOps intern was going way beyond the odd admiring glance. She blatantly ogled him in a way he was clearly uncomfortable with; and either too polite, or more likely too insecure in this new environment to say anything. Steve, Sam and Tony might find it funny; but they wouldn't be so amused if it were the other way around. She caught Clint's eye and could sense her friend felt the same way she did. Miss Lewis would be getting a talking-to later today.

Wanda crossed the room and entered the lobby, shaking her head. When Pietro was in one of his manic moods it felt like he was twelve years younger than her instead of twelve minutes older. She walked over to where her brother stood; grinning and bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet.

"Pietro, behave!" she gave him a gently reproachful tap on the chin "Don't act so crazy when we have new people"

"I like him, he's handsome" said Pietro, still grinning and bouncing "Do you think he liked me?"

She took her brother's hand and led him back to the common room

"Perhaps if you said hello to him properly and stopped behaving like a child, you might get the chance to find out; and be nice! Darcy's already mentally stripped him and rolled him in baby-oil"

Introductions done, the others resumed their customary bickering. Jesse leaned back against the kitchen worktop drinking his coffee, overloaded by the whole experience. He still wasn't even sure what an 'Avengers Auxiliary' was expected to do.

The kid looked like a deer caught in the headlights of a fleet of very big trucks, thought Clint as he wandered over to top up his own coffee and speak to the young agent.

"Not what you expected?" he asked. Jesus! The kid was at least a good six inches taller than him, was Steve ever going to take on someone who was under six foot? He'd end up with a permanent crick in his neck at this rate.

"Feels a bit like being the new kid in school again, to be honest, sir." admitted Jesse "Guess I'll have to find a way of fitting in somehow."

The legendary Hawkeye was smaller and older than he expected; a quiet, rugged man in his mid-40's with broad shoulders and a compact frame. He sorta reminded him of one of his uncles and Clint's warm, reassuring smile made Jesse feel a lot better.

"They only pick the best of the class for Auxiliary duty, Jesse" he told him "I think you'll do just fine."

He swatted him on the chest with the back of his hand

"C'mon, I'll show you the gym and swimming pool; then Steve'll brief you on what your duties are."

###

It had been a long, hectic, day, and Jesse eagerly seized the option of an early night in preparation for his first proper day as a real-life Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. There was one thing he had to do before sleep, though…

He sat cross-legged on his bed, flipped open his laptop and clicked on his email. The WiFi here was 100 times better than FieldOps; there, he'd only been able to get a decent signal in his room by perching on top of the desk. Jesse cracked his knuckles and started to type

From: GunslingerJesse

To: BobnSalJ

Dear Mom & Dad

Hope you're both doing great and thanks for the video of Stacy's dance recital. She looked amazing, I'll email her soon as I done this.

Been a crazy day, but kinda cool…

Afternote

In the next episode… what do you do when you've forgotten to book the babysitter for an important occasion? Hijack the nearest Auxiliary of course! Jesse finds that an invitation for a weekend in the country comes with three strings and a lead attached.