For my dear friend, Magda the Magpie, who was almost indecently excited about this rare pairing! LOL! :D

Written for the 2018 Marvelously Magical Fanfiction Bingo
Square: O2 / Prompt: Huddling for Warmth


Cold Bodies, Warm Hearts - The Meeting - Chapter 1 of 6

Fury strode quickly down the streets of London with his collar pulled up and his hat pulled down. Even though it was late in the evening and the skies were dark, he also wore his sunglasses - especially since he thought that they would be less conspicuous than his eyepatch…or his bare scarred eye, for that matter. He paused, though, when he heard the sounds of a spirited argument between a man and a woman coming from a nearby alleyway – especially when he heard the man drunkenly slur his insults. He could stop…and kick some ass…but he did not really want to get involved in a domestic dispute. In fact, sometimes it was difficult to remember that he was considered to be dead and, consequently, had to keep a very low profile – especially when he had to come into the city for "business." Plus, the altercation did not seem violent, just loud. Therefore, he had almost decided to move on when a high pitched shriek and an unusual loud cracking sound made up his mind for him. All of his years with SHIELD rushed back to him and kicked his people-saving instincts back into high gear.

"Shit!" he muttered as he rushed down the alley to see what had set off his weird-o-meter. It better not be evil aliens! he thought and his hand brushed the concealed pocket of his jacket to reassure himself that his gun was still there. I am so goddamn sick of them!


Fortunately, no aliens – evil or otherwise - were to be seen…just a woman. There was barely enough light for him to see that she was petite, pretty with lots of dark hair, and that she seemed to be conservatively dressed. His first thought was that she was not really the type of woman that one would expect to find in a dark alley. However, she continued to lean against the wall with her fists clenched and her eyes closed as she took deep breaths. It seemed as if she was trying to calm herself down, but overall, she did not seem to be hurt. Therefore, he probably had no reason to be there.

"Are you alright, Miss?" he asked gruffly, annoyed that his normally sharp instincts apparently had led him astray on this occasion. However, he felt he should ask anyway – just to be sure.

The sound of his voice caused the woman's eyes to shoot open and he noticed that she made a small automatic movement towards the sleeve at one of her wrists before she stopped herself. He also noted that she looked surprised, but not extremely alarmed, to find herself alone in a dark alley with a strange man who kept his face hidden. In fact, she seemed to exude both confidence and competence…and that intrigued him despite his annoyance. "Do you need help?" he asked as he continued to observe her. "I heard what sounded like fighting."

The woman, now seemingly composed, made an odd sound that seemed to be a mixture of anger and amusement. "Thank you, but no. I'm fine now. It's just that…my idiot ex-boyfriend is a bloody annoying git who always forgets when he has been drinking that we have been over and done with for years. He…followed me down this alley. I…um…convinced him that it would be in his best interest to leave…so he did."

Fury heard the pauses in her statement and his good eye narrowed as it became clear to him that she was not telling him the entire truth. However, he was a stranger in an alley…so that, at least, was understandable. At any rate, he knew that he should just leave it be and get out of there. Thus, with just a nod of acknowledgement, he turned to go. That was when he noticed that the alley they were in was a dead-end. There were no doors, no fire-escapes…nothing.

His red-alert instincts were back again. "Just how in the hell did your boyfriend leave when there is no goddamn exit?" he growled as he gestured toward the blank back wall. The whole thing was beginning to stink of a set-up to him and he automatically dropped into a defensive position. He was mildly amused and surprised to see the lightweight do the same thing, even though she had no visible weapon in her hands. However, his vast experience had taught him that appearances could be deceiving. Hell, for all he knew she could be an Inhuman or an otherwise enhanced person. Still…he waited for her to make the first move since he refused to attack an unarmed woman.

That move never came, though. Instead, at that moment, a bright light flooded the alley from what was obviously a quinjet hovering in the sky above. Fury looked quickly toward the alley's entrance since it was the only escape route. Unfortunately, however, he could also see a line of men…and their weapons…blocking the way.

"What in Merlin's name…?" the woman with him whispered in shock as she looked around before she turned towards him. "Just who in the bloody hell are you…and who are they?" He could see the confusion, and just a bit of fear, in her eyes as she realized that this was not supposed to happen. Ironically, her uneasiness reassured him that, whatever else was going on, at least she was not in on the ambush. She was an innocent bystander. Well, maybe not so innocent, he realized as her eyes grew steely and determined and her hand moved quickly to the bottom of her sleeve again in the same way that his had already reached for his pistol. However, before she could pull out whatever weapon he now suspected that she hid in there, an amplified voice echoed around the alley.

"Well, well, well…what do we have here? I knew that you weren't the type of man to stay dead, Fury, so I am not really shocked to see you alive and well. But soliciting young women in dark alleyways? Now that is a surprise!"

The light and the voice had apparently been meant as a diversion so that a gas grenade could roll in unnoticed under their feet. The woman caught sight of it first and finished pulling a thin carved stick out of her sleeve just as the gas mist was released and she instantly crumpled to the ground. Fury caught a faint glimpse of dark blurry shapes moving towards them through his one good eye before he succumbed to the gas and hit the pavement, as well.

The last thing he heard before he completely blacked out was, "Take the girl, also. She may be useful. We can always dispose of her later if we need to. Be sure to grab her weird stick, too."