Joyous laughter brought her back from the dark. It was a tinkling, wonderful sort of laugh that she hadn't heard in a long time. Dragging her eyelids open, Kiara was met with the sight of a dim, unfamiliar room. Sitting up quickly, she eyed her surroundings and found that it was becoming more and more familiar with every passing moment, from the oddly placed furniture to the terrible, childish drawings that were proudly displayed on the mantelpiece. It was so familiar, but it seemed like she'd known it from a whole other lifetime.
She warily explored the room, admiring the little things that she seemed to know. Her fingers gingerly glided across the ugly wool blanket that was strewn over the back of one of the couches, and she tripped over several toys which were littered across the floor, before her eyes finally took note of the little handprints that littered the glass doors which led to the tiny balcony. Her eyebrows knitted together in confusion when she saw the sky; It was a perfect mix of beautiful blues and purples, while billions of stars lit up the dark sky which seemed moved in waves, very much like she was seeing her very own Aurora Borealis. It was stunning, and it left her speechless, but it was wrong. It didn't make any sense.
"Kiara! Come play!"
Kiara whirled around at the sound of the familiar voice and almost collapsed at the sight. Standing in the doorway was a little girl, her huge afro pulled into two bunches, her large, mischievous eyes staring up at her in wonderment.
"Gracie?" Kiara's voice cracked as tears filled her eyes. She slowly approached the grinning girl, her fingers reaching out to touch Gracie's cheek, unable to believe she was truly there. When her fingers connected with her soft skin, Kiara let out a quiet gasp and fell to her knees, immediately cupping her chubby cheeks between her hands."How are you here? How? I- I watched you die!" She let out a choked sob as she pressed her forehead against Gracie's. "I watched you die." she whispered.
An excited giggle bubbled from Gracie's lips as she took hold of Kiara's hand and tugged on it. "Come on! You promised you'd play!"
"Welcome home, Baby." Kiara immediately froze as she saw a woman appear behind Gracie, a kind smile on her lips as she approached Kiara whose lip began to tremble.
"Mom?"
Her Mom gripped her hard and pulled her into a tight hug, the contact preventing Kiara from retaining any of her composure as tears freely spilled down her cheeks, her hands gripping the back of her Mom's shirt. "Oh, my poor baby. My brave, brave girl."
With that, Kiara's hackles immediately raised and she ripped out of her Mother's grasp, a dark look in her eyes as she backed away from her Mother and Sister, her sense coming back to her. She knew them from many broken memories of who she had been before HYDRA, but they looked so much different from how they'd been during their deaths which she remembered so vividly.
Gracie had been so emaciated and weak the last time she'd seen her. She was so thin that her skin stretched tight against her bones which had protruded so clearly. She had been skeletal during her death, a striking difference to the healthy, happy girl she saw before her. As for her Mother, well she looked mostly the same, except there was no bullet wound in her head, no blood pooling around her or lifeless eyes. That's how she remembered both her parents, lifeless, but also blasé to the threat to their children's lives.
She barely remembered the parents who loved all their children so dearly. She couldn't remember the picture of a family the room had so clearly painted for her. A loving, caring, tight-knit family. All she could remember was her parents choosing their countries over the lives and the freedom of their only children. That was what she remembered, and as much as she longed for her family, the memory of their betrayal had stuck with her throughout the years of her captivity. It had haunted her.
"You don't love me, my Darling?"
"I don't trust you." she hissed, her eyes showing no kindness. "I love you more than anything, but I can't trust you. Not after what you did to us. To me!"
A solemn look came to her Mother's face as she brushed her hair from her face before taking Kiara's hand. "I can never forgive myself for what we did to you. It was a misjudgement. We didn't foresee Valcov's cruelty, nor his madness. We couldn't even imagine that he would treat you the way he did." She reached out to stroke Kiara's cheek, but she flinched away.
Kiara let out a deep sigh before she turned away from her Mother and approached her little sister who was happily playing with her toys. She watched her giggle and look between her toys and Kiara with bright eyes which were full of life. Her heart clenched at the sight, as she desperately wanted to accept this reality, but she knew it wasn't real. She knew neither of them were really there.
"Am I dead?"
"Almost." said her Mom, coming to sit on the couch beside them. "You're in between planes. You haven't fully passed over yet."
"Why?" Kiara breathed, rubbing her eyes with frustration. She knew she had died flying the missile into space, with either the lack of oxygen or the flames bringing an end to her life, but she hadn't expected anything after that. She'd expected darkness and nothing more, she certainly hadn't expected being stuck between 'planes'. "Why can't I just die?"
"A part of you has, Baby. That's why you're here." Her Mother dropped to her knees in front of her and cupped her cheeks, forcing her to look at her through her watery and tired eyes. "A part of you is dead and it has passed on, but you aren't ready yet."
"I am!" she cried pleadingly. "I'm tired, Mom. I'm so, so tired."
"I know." Her Mom cried too as she pulled her close and stroked her hair, letting her sob against her chest. "I know, Baby. But you have so much left to do." Kiara sniffled and glanced up at her Mom who smiled and wiped away the tears that streamed down her cheeks. "I've seen it. I've seen who and what you will become. My daughter. My beautiful, strong girl. What a life you are going to live. What love you are going to know."
"But I have no one left. You're all gone."
Her Mother let out a laugh and shook her head at her silliness. "Really? Then what do you call Clint and Natasha, hm? It pains me to say, but they have been better family to you than we ever were. They protected you and helped you when you needed it. And they miss you. Just as I know you miss them." Kiara's eyes turned downcast. If she was to die, she would miss them so much. She hadn't even been able to say goodbye.
"Things will change, Baby. In ways you can't even imagine, but you will be okay. And you will never be alone." Her Mom glanced out the window and saw the sky beginning to brighten to a blinding white. She let out a sad sigh before resting her forehead against Kiara's. "I love you, and I wish you could stay, but you're not ready. We'll both be here when you are. We'll wait for you."
Kiara glanced at her Mother and saw the white light beginning to surround her. She shook her head violently and begged for her not to leave, but as she reached to grab a hold of her, her hand met nothing but air. Kiara let out a choke sob as she saw her Mother give her one final smile before the light became so blinding that she looked away, her eyes snapping shut to avoid the burn to them.
Kiara suddenly gasped for breath, her eyes snapping open as her lungs began filling with lost air. Two figures immediately rushed to her side, but she could barely make them out as her eyes rolled, only taking in the blinding white ceiling and the two dark figures above her before her eyes finally adjusted and the two figures became very familiar.
"Oh thank god!" yelled Clint as he crushed her into a hug. Kiara panted as she tried to fill her lungs, her shaking hand just managing to grip onto Clint who smoothed down her hair in an attempt to calm her down. "You're okay, Squirt! You're okay. Just breathe."
"I'm trying but you're crushing me." Clint released her and her panting settle into long, shaky breaths, but her mind was still clouded by what had happened; She'd died, or almost died at least, and she'd seen her Mom. She'd explained so much, about how she hadn't been ready to die, despite her desperate attempts to, and she'd answered a lot of questions she'd had, and yet, she'd still been so vague and cryptic that Kiara was still clueless. She would've thought it a dream, but even she knew better than that.
Natasha knocked Kiara out of her reverie as she pulled her in for another crushing hug. "I thought I'd lost you again. Why would you do that?" Kiara frowned as she felt Natasha's shoulders shaking before her nose picked up the salty scent of her tears which only made guilt wrack through her body. "Why do you keep trying to get yourself killed?" In all the years she'd known Natasha, she'd never seen her cry, in fact, she didn't even think she was capable of it, and she'd never raised her voice in anger. So, the feel of her quivering shoulders and the sound of her yelling mixed with her choked cries made her heart clench painfully.
She finally wrapped her arms around Natasha and held her close. "I'm so sorry. I just- he...he didn't deserve to die." she muttered, making Natasha scoff as she pulled away and stared straight into her eyes.
"And neither did you. I wish you could see that. I wish you could see just how loved you are."
Kiara gave her a small smile as she shrugged. Natasha shook her head but moved to allow Kiara to get up off the bed and roll out her shoulders. "Yeah, I'm starting to get that. Seems like my Mom had the same idea." She let out a long breath and eyed the surroundings, recognising it to be a Helicarrier infirmary.
"What?" blurted Clint, suddenly standing.
"Nothing, nothing." She waved him off before turning to face them, her eyebrow raising with curiosity. "So...What happened exactly?"
"Well, after your little suicide attempt, Stark flew through the portal to get you and just managed to pull you through before it closed. The Chitauri all shut down, and we managed to capture Loki. SHIELD's currently on major damage control." Clint explained, but Kiara had zoned out almost immediately. Tony had come after her? Tony had saved her? Even after everything he thought about her. They'd fought together, but it was different. Battle was different, there were bigger problems to deal with than personal issues. But when it came down to her life, she thought he would be first in a long line to cheer the end of her life, not try and prevent it.
"How long have I been out? I mean...how long has it been since New York?"
"It's been two days. The first day we thought you weren't gonna make it." A sad look came to Clint's eyes and once again, guilt consumed her. "You were officially dead a few times, but you kept coming back until you finally stabilised this morning."
Two days. She couldn't believe she'd been out for two days, when it had felt like mere hours she was with her Mom and Sister. It felt like a few fleeting seconds, and yet she had been all but dead for two long days. With a frown, Kiara finally took in Clint and Natasha's appearances; Both of them had changed into comfier clothes, but neither of them looked like they'd had a wink of sleep. Black circles surrounded their eyes and their skin had paled ever so slightly, but enough for her to worry. Both of them were hunched and despite their full attention being on her, they looked like they were about to drop from exhaustion.
'They have been a better family to you than we ever were.'
As her Mother's words ran through her head, Kiara could barely process her own movements before she rushed forward and threw her arms around the two of them. For years, she'd considered herself alone in the world, with not a single person by her side to give her any love at all, but she could see now that she had been so, so far from the truth. Even when she was at SHIELD, Natasha and Clint had fought for her and loved her so fiercely but she'd been so blinded by her own self-hatred to see it. They'd loved her enough to make sure to look after her. They'd loved her enough to risk their jobs in order to save her life. And they loved her enough to stay by her side for so long.
"I'm sorry I worried you, and I'm sorry I've been so blind to everything." she whispered, her throat tightening. "I love you, you know? I really do. I love you both so much." She pulled away from them and took a deep breath before giving them a stern look. "That said, please go and get some rest, I've kept you up long enough as it is."
"But-"
"But nothing. It's been a long week for everyone, you need to rest. I'm not going anywhere, I promise." They both stared at her for a few moments before finally relenting, unable to completely disregard their exhaustion. They both headed for the door, pressing lingering kisses to her forehead, before disappearing down the hallway. Kiara sighed before collapsing down on her bed, her hand coming up to massage her tired, aching eyes. She was exhausted, but also relieved. It was finally over, and they'd won. That was enough to settle her. It had been one long, insane rollercoaster from beginning to end, she'd been injured more times than she cared to admit, she'd been constantly worried since Fury had her captured back in Sao Paulo, and she'd fought harder than ever before. The whole ordeal had left her exhausted despite her two day 'sleep' and it had also left her stinking.
Kiara's nose crinkled as the stench of blood, sweat and dirt hit her like a brick wall. She gagged before pushing herself off the bed and headed straight for the bathroom to freshen herself up. She pulled off the grimy gown and stepped into the shower, letting out a long hum the moment the hot water hit her skin. Her muscles immediately relaxed as the scalding water bit at her skin. She simply rested back against the cool wall, letting the blood which caked her dark skin wash down the drain. She was content just staring at the blank wall and scrubbing at her body until it stung. She was fine, relaxed, but she couldn't ignore everything that had happened. It just didn't seem to want to leave her mind. Regardless of her relief that it had ended, she couldn't ignore the battle, or the death she'd encountered, or the sight of the thousands of troops that had been heading straight for the portal.
Sucking in a sharp breath, Kiara pressed her hands against her stinging eyes before shoving herself off the wall and switching off the shower, knowing she would only put herself into a dark mood if she stayed in there any longer. She padded around the bathroom, brushing her teeth and heating her body enough to dry off before throwing on some baggy SHIELD clothes she'd found.
She was halfway out the door, hoping to get some proper sleep, before her hackles raised. She whirled around, her hand clamping around the intruders neck, as a shield surrounded her, though it dropped just as quick the moment she saw whose throat she was crushing. Fury simply cocked an eyebrow as she released his throat and stepped away from him.
"How is it so easy to sneak up on you now?" he wondered, his lips curling into a smirk.
"I was distracted." she defended, moving to sit down on the now-cleared bed. "So...to what do I owe this pleasure?"
Fury sat on the seat opposite and clasped his hands together before sitting forward, eyeing her seriously. "I thought I told you not to do anything stupid."
Kiara fought a groan. "You also told me to make the right choice. To make the choice that would define me." she said with a shrug of her shoulders. "I couldn't just let him die, Nick. I couldn't."
The man still looked like he wanted to bite her head off, but a flicker of understanding passed through his eye, and when she saw his shoulders slump a little, she knew she was in the clear. "I know. You're too good, kid, you always have been. Even to the ones who don't deserve it." Fury sat back and gave her a small, and rare smile. "I wanted to thank you. You deserve a thank you. I mostly forced you to come back here, even though I knew you hated it. Even though it put you in danger, but you helped anyway. You saved a lot of people that day."
Kiara kept her eyes glued to the floor as she pushed a stray hair out of her face. "You kept your side of the bargain, so I will keep mine; The second you step off this boat, you are free to go. You won't be tailed by us, and we'll leave you be regardless of what happens."
Kiara's eyes brightened as she heard his words, a huge smile spreading across her face as she thought about all she would be able to do without being followed. "So I'm good? I'm free to go?"
Fury chuckled but nodded. "Yeah, you're good. You're a giant pain in the ass, but you're good. I'll need you to stay around a little longer, though. Just for a debriefing."
"Sure." She gave him a short nod and a smile as he stood and gave her shoulder a squeeze.
"I'll let you rest for now, but if you find me later, we'll get your debrief done as quickly as possible." Kiara gave him another nod. "Oh, and by the way, Stark's outside. He wanted to talk to you. That alright?"
A look of surprise came to her face at Fury's words, her eyes snapping to the door before she gave him a short nod. "Yeah, no problem. Send him in."
"Alright. But after that, rest up, kid."
He gave her a sharp look before disappearing out of the door. She kept her eyes locked on the grey metal, before it opened again, and Tony Stark entered. She'd expected his usual dapper, confident appearance, but what she found was a tired, injured man in his place. He looked scruffy and worn out, as though he hadn't slept either. His hair was unkempt, cuts and bruises littered his pale skin, and he stood with little poise, but he seemed to be in a daze as he stared at the floor.
"You're alive." he breathed.
"No thanks to you." she drawled, a small smile coming to her lips.
"I heard you'd woken up, and I had to come and speak to you." he muttered, leaning against door. Kiara looked at him, but he did not meet her eyes. "I've had two days to try and figure out why you did what you did. There were so many reasons that I thought of but none made sense. Not a single one. So, I came to ask you why. Why did you stop me from flying that goddamn missile into the portal? Why after everything that I said to you would you want to make sure I lived?"
He finally met her eyes, and they were filled with nothing but guilt. And for a moment, it shocked her. He was Tony Stark, the famed Iron Man who had a reputation for arrogance and narcissism, and yet here he stood, unable to believe why anyone would save his life. Why anyone would sacrifice themselves for him.
And then she realised...They were just the same. She was infamous for the atrocities that she had committed, and people treated her in reflection of that, despite her true self. While Enyo performed them without care, Kiara Monroe wouldn't. She wouldn't even dream of it, but few people knew it. She assumed the same with Tony. Perhaps he wasn't the narcissist that everyone, including himself, believed him to be.
"For the same reason why you pulled me out." she whispered. "Neither of us deserved to die."
"And you almost got yourself killed anyway."
She laughed to herself and shrugged. "Well, my mindset has changed in the last 48 hours." He didn't return her smile. "Tony, I knocked you out of the way because I knew that there was someone waiting for you. I knew you had a family to get back to, and I have torn apart too many of them to let the same thing happen to yet another. Between the two of us, you didn't deserve that end, and perhaps neither did I. But I will never forgive myself for the things I did. Death would have been more peaceful, but clearly the world has other plans for me."
Tony swallowed deeply, his eyebrows knitting together as he looked at her as though he was trying to figure her out. Which he was. He couldn't understand her, not matter how much she tried. She wasn't so black and white, not so easy to figure out as so many other people. She confused him. "Did you kill those people?"
"Yes." she said quietly, her head dropping with shame. "But not knowingly or willingly."
Tony studied her for a moment before letting out a sigh. "Then I'm sorry. You saved my ass back there, and you saved a lot of innocent people. I don't think that's what a killer would do. I don't know what happened to you, but I'm pretty sure you are not your past. So, I'm sorry. For everything I said. And thank you, for thinking of Elena."
Kiara couldn't hide the smile that broke out across her face at his words. There was no denying that she'd been hurt by what he'd said to her all those days ago, but she didn't blame him. She didn't blame any of them for thinking that way, but knowing that someone else could see past everything she'd been forced to do made her at least a little bit happier. "Thank you for pulling me back out."
He waved her off before taking a seat opposite her, his entire form visibly relaxing before he peered at her curiously. "So, what will you do now?"
"I don't know." she said honestly, suddenly thrown by the question. She'd been so preoccupied with everything else that was happening, that she hadn't really thought about what would happen afterwards, where she would go, what she would see. She didn't have any money, so she would have to improvise. "Travel, I think. See the world. Maybe head to Wakanda...see where my roots come from."
"Wakanda?" Tony blurted, shock written across his face.
"Yeah, I know." she chuckled. "Well, I don't have a home to go to, so I might as well start there. See where my Mom grew up."
Something flashed in his eyes but it was gone before she could register it. He settled her with a smile, before giving her a short nod. Yeah, she thought, Wakanda would be good.
Barely a day had passed since she had woke up, and it was finally time for the Avengers to part ways. She had given a debrief of the entire battle, and of what she had seen in the Portal. It wasn't much fun reliving everything that had happened, but it was necessary and she wanted it to be done as quickly as possible so she could leave.
Though there was one last thing to be done.
Without much persuasion, Thor had convinced Fury to allow him to take Loki and the Tesseract back to Asgard. Originally, she had wanted to leave as soon as possible, but she couldn't pass up the chance to see Loki defeated and headed for a punishment she was sure exceeded anything Earth could give him. And she couldn't deny that seeing that damn cube gone would give her immense satisfaction.
So, that's what brought her to Central Park, on a beautiful, sunny morning. A wide smirk on her face as she and the other Avengers strolled to the centre of Bethesda Terrace, and planted herself right in front of a chained and muzzled Loki. He looked just as impressive and striking as he did when she'd first seen him, bar the few bruises and cuts which now covered him, and she noticed the fear in his eyes which only made it even more enjoyable. It was incredible to her, how this man, this God, who had tormented her since his arrival, was now reduced to fear and chains.
Slowly, she stepped towards him and cocked her head as he eyed her cautiously. Her lips twitched slightly as she stared at him, his face flashing between the many men who had attempted to control her and manipulate her over the years. Each one of them she'd escaped and torn down in her wake, and Loki was no different. His failed attempt at manipulating her and tearing her down was no different to any of the others. And it elated her. "Don't look so disappointed, Darling. You never stood a chance." She stepped back, a wide smirk on her face as he glowered at her. "Enjoy jail!"
Natasha snickered from beside her as they watched Thor approach Loki and offer him the handle of the Tesseract's casket. They all stepped back as Thor gave them a nod of farewell before he twisted the handle, causing a blinding blue light to surround them, beginning to pulling them up to the Heavens. Kiara grinned as she watched them disappear before turning to Natasha and Clint who looked just as pleased as she did. "Guess this is it, huh?"
"For now." corrected Clint. "We expect a visit from you as often as possible. We just got you back, you're not gonna get away as easy again."
"I'll check in, I promise." She laughed as she was pulled into a hug by them both. She gripped onto them tightly, enjoying the last few moments before they parted.
"Be safe or I'll kick your ass." yelled Natasha as she watched Kiara walk away.
"Yes, Mother!"
Kiara chuckled to herself and waved Tony and Bruce off before stopping in front of Steve who stood up straight as she came closer. "Need a ride?" He nodded down to his bike and Kiara cocked an eyebrow at him.
"You sure?"
"Yeah. What kind of man would I be if I didn't offer a lady a ride?" he joked, slipping his hands into his pockets.
She folded her arms and shot him a smirk. "I thought I told you I wasn't a lady?"
"Well you sure look like one to me." he shot back before he stood and held his hand out to her. "Come on, I'll take you anywhere you wanna go."
Kiara pursed her lips, debating whether or not to go. She had intended to just walk to midtown, but she figured it wouldn't hurt to get there a bit quicker. Rolling her eyes, Kiara gently pushed his hand away and sat herself down on the back of his bike while he chuckled at her stubbornness and climbed on himself. As he kickstarted the bike, he looked over his shoulder at Kiara and shot her a charming smile. "Hold on. I don't want you falling off."
She scoffed and shook her head at his teasing. "Please, I'm not gon-" Suddenly, he revved the engine and shot off making her screech and grip his shoulders to stop herself from falling backwards. Steve roared with laughter while she glared at the back of his head. "That wasn't funny."
"I did tell you to hold on." Sucking her teeth, Kiara moved her arms around his waist and felt the rumbling laughter from his chest. "So, where do you want me to drop you?"
"Midtown."
"Midtown?" he repeated, shock evident in his voice. "Why are you heading back?"
"Well I thought I should help with the clean up before I go anywhere. It might just get the job done quicker and save some hassle." she told him, finally relaxing a little more on the bike. "I have the rest of my life to explore, I suppose."
"That's...kind of you."
"Don't sound so surprised, Rogers. I can be nice when I want to be." She snickered as he started to stutter and stumble over his words before eventually sighing deeply in defeat. "What about you, Cap? Where are you headed?"
"D.C. Fury offered me a place at SHIELD. I guess it would be best for me to go back to what I know." he replied, but even she heard the hint of sadness in his voice. And she somewhat understood what it was like to wake up in a different time.
"It will be good for you. At least until you settle down, I guess." she said, gripping him tighter as he skidded to a stop. Glancing up, Kiara saw that they were at a part of Midtown that wasn't too destroyed, but rubble was scatted all over the streets, and buildings were either completely destroyed or falling apart. It baffled her that mere days ago, they were fighting an alien army on the very same streets, in fact, the mere sight made her stomach churn.
"Are you sure you want to stay here?" Steve questioned, looking back at her with concern as he watched panic and fright flash across her face before finally settling on nausea. "Kiara...?"
"Oh!" Her eyes snapped down to Steve who was giving her that pitiful look again. "Thanks for the ride."
She hopped off quickly and steadied herself before turning to Steve who was smiling. "My pleasure." he said sincerely before cocking his head at her. "Do you think you'll keep in touch?"
"Do you want me to keep in touch?" she countered, enjoying the pink tinge that came to his cheeks. He started stumbling over his words making her laugh to herself before she nodded. "Yes, I'll keep in touch if you'd like."
"Thank you." he muttered before thrusting his hand out to her.
Kiara raised an eyebrow and glanced down at his hand before she pushed it away again and placed a brief, gentle kiss to his cheek. "See you around, Cap." She stepped away from him with a salute before turning on her heel and sauntering into the chaos, leaving a speechless Steve in her wake.
A/N: Okay. End of the Avengers film, officially, so we'll be moving on to the events before and during Iron Man 3. I'm still working on a summary for the book, so hopefully it will be changed soon, but this will be a Steve Rogers x OC book. There are other characters who will be coming in to and mentioned during the book that aren't necessarily part of the MCU. Also, throughout, I'll be working on other characters for other books, so watch out for them! Anyways! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, thank you as always for the reads and feedback, and leave a review! Don't be shy! I love them! Have a good week, nuggets!
Edited: 03/02/2019