AN: Hello lovely readers! I am so glad to see there are more of you, and I hope you are enjoying the story. It's starting to get a little crazy for Kyra and Ian, and I hope you love it as much as I do. There will be some old faces popping up soon and you'll see why this story is categorized the way it is! xoxoxoxo

Kyra heard a knock on the patio door and turned, expecting Ian, and was surprised to see Jarvis. Smiling weakly, she waved and walked into the house to welcome him. "Hey Jarvis, it's good to see you. I'm glad you made it safe."

Jarvis smiled and nodded, "I am glad to see you are well also Miss Kyra. Here, I brought you this from our bio-med research." He handed her a tube of cream, "It's for your wounds. It will speed their healing and will fight infections."

Kyra raised a brow and took it gratefully, "That's incredible Jarvis, thank you."

He nodded and smiled, "You're most welcome Miss."

When she turned to walk away he touched her elbow gently, "Miss Kyra, may I ask you a question?"

Kyra turned back around and nodded, giving him a questioning look, "What is it Jarvis?"

Jarvis stared at her thoughtfully, "Do you love Ian?"

Kyra's jaw dropped and she took a step back, "Jarvis…that's…an inappropriate question."

Jarvis smiled, "Excuse me, but I think not. You and Ian are working together to fight this group, Chimera, and to get your father back. He wouldn't be involved in this unless he loved you, which after monitoring his heart rate, hormone levels and facial patterns; I believe he is in love with you. He is putting his life on the line for you Miss Kyra, and I cannot say that he would do so otherwise."

Kyra stared at Jarvis, shocked. "Jarvis, if you really think Ian would let these Chimera people go through with their attacks on humanity just because he wasn't in love with me, then you don't know him. They're using his technology, his launch ships, and his friends' father to wreak havoc on the only planet we have and the only means we have to get to our new one-he's not going to just let that slide."

Jarvis nodded thoughtfully, "I can agree with your logic. Can you agree that him loving you changes his willingness to help?"

Kyra sighed, "Of course, people in love are willing to go to great lengths to help each other."

Jarvis shook his head, "No, people in love with each other are willing to die for each other. That's what concerns me."

Kyra sighed and shook her head, "Don't be Jarvis. He doesn't love me. It's just the stress of the situation."

Jarvis raised a brow, "And do you love him?"

Kyra smiled sadly, "It doesn't matter Jarvis. If I did, we would both probably end up dead. I can't allow him to love me, and I can't feel that way about him. I have to get my dad back, and try to stop a massacre tomorrow, and whatever else they might have planned. Is that good enough?"

Jarvis nodded, "Yes. I'm sorry if I've upset you."

Kyra shook her head, "No worries Jarvis, it's just the end of the world. What's a little heartache between friends?" She walked away, her heart heavy and her shoulders low.

After she had gone from sight Jarvis called out softly, "You can come out sir, she's gone."

Ian came up the basement stairs and glared at Jarvis, "Why did you say those things to her? You had no right!"

Jarvis raised a restraining hand, "Sir, I had to know. You are more than my employer, you are my friend. I know she cares for you, but I had to know how much she would ask of you. You cannot put your life on the line for a fruitless mission. Not everyone can be saved, and in this mission, you have a high statistical probability of dying, if you do not get help. I suggest we reach out to her uncle immediately."

Ian frowned and stared at Jarvis. He often considered the AI to be more man than machine, so he took what he was saying seriously, but he knew Kyra was scared of reaching out to anyone, lest they be discovered by Chimera and killed.

He knew her Uncle Steve was a trained supersoldier and had better skills than most SHIELD agents or Chimera agents, but anyone could be caught off guard. He shook his head, "Not until tomorrow morning Jarvis. Not until the last minute. We want as much lead time on Chimera as possible. We want them thrown off by us."

Jarvis nodded, "Very well sir. You should know then that the lockdown incident has been noticed by the media, as has your absence. I have made it known that due to the impending launch you are simply taking time to make sure that all the details are in line and that you will be at the launch tomorrow."

Ian nodded, "That's great Jarvis, thank you. What else do you have for me?"

Jarvis smiled, "I was able to break into the alleged Chimera agents' coms when they came to the tower. I have been monitoring their communications and I am attempting to break into their personal communications devices. They are not using Stark devices. It is a brand unknown to me with very high levels of security."

Ian nodded, frowning, "Excellent work Jarvis. Let me know when you're in."

Jarvis nodded, "I will continue from the workstation."

Ian waved a hand and turned to stare down the hall where Kyra was in her room, "Good, good. I'll come talk to you later." Jarvis watched him walk down the hall and knock on the door, entering after a moment.

Jarvis walked down the basement stairs to the workstation to begin his own work of attempting to gain information on Chimera.

Ian stood in the bedroom and stared at Kyra, who stood in the doorway to the bathroom, staring back. She held up the cream Jarvis had given her, "its pretty fast acting, my bruises are already going down."

Ian nodded, "I can see that, your face looks better. How do your ribs feel?"

Kyra shrugged, "Less shitty."

He sighed and stepped forward, "Can we talk?"

Kyra shook her head and walked to the bed, tossing the tube onto it before sitting down. "No. There's nothing to talk about. We shouldn't have kissed. End of story."

Ian made a frustrated noise and stepped closer, "No, not end of story. I know you felt something when we kissed, and I heard what Jarvis said to you."

When her gaze flitted up from the bed, he nodded, "Yea, so can we cut the shit? We care about each other, can we at least admit that?"

Kyra shook her head while he was still speaking and Ian tossed his hands up, "Why not!? What? What is it Kyra? Am I still the playboy to you? After all this? Really?!"

Kyra glared up at him, "Screw you Ian. This is about me losing everyone I've loved since I was a little girl. My mother was taken from my by Hydra. My father has been taken from me by Chimera, and I'm scared to think about my Uncle Steve. He might be dead, and if he's not, this fight could kill him. And you want me to tell you I love you, for what? So I can watch you die? No. I won't do that."

Ian stared at her and then sighed deeply, the fight leaving him. He walked over and pulled her into his chest, feeling her anger stiffened limbs relax after a moment, and slowly her arms wound around his waist.

"I'm not going to die, I promise. And Jarvis told me just now that your Uncle Steve is ok. We're planning on reaching out tomorrow to make sure that we have back up. Okay?" he whispered, running a hand over her back slowly, soothingly.

Kyra nodded, and pulled away to brush her hair out of her face. Ian smiled down at her and wanted to kiss her so badly it ached, but instead he stepped back and asked, "You going to be ok?"

Kyra smiled and nodded, "Yea. I'm fine. Should we come up with a plan for tomorrow?"

Nodding, Ian pointed towards the basement, "I have schematics for the launch ship and the location of the launch. Why don't we go over them and come up with something?"

Kyra stood and nodded, "After you."

At the workstation Ian pulled the schematics out of a cubby and brought them over to a table, laying them out. He typed a few things into the smart table and a moment later the virtual image of the location of the launch appeared.

Kyra walked around the table, looking at the location, thinking carefully. "Can I make adjustments and such on here?" she asked. Ian nodded, "Just tap and draw how you like."

Kyra nodded and leaned in to point to a building near the launch, putting a red circle on the roof. She highlighted four other buildings the same way, and then asked, "Can you add the launch ship to this image?"

Ian nodded and dropped the image of the ship in, as it would look, preparing for launch.

Kyra raised a brow and leaned in again. With the ship behind the speaker's podium, and security in multiple locations, they would have a hard time stopping whatever Chimera had up their sleeve.

She leaned back and pointed to the screen, "This is bad. These five building provide good line of sight for the Winter Soldier to do his work, or for Chimera to use other security. I imagine the Senator will have Secret Service, so he'll be covered with Chimera people…"

She trailed off and Ian saw that the picture was bad. The two of them couldn't stop this.

He sighed, "Okay, so we use the Skimmer to fight, and we call your Uncle for backup."

Kyra frowned, "The Skimmer?"

Ian nodded, "It's got some firepower. You'll fly it tomorrow to the launch site and I'll go with Jarvis separately, and we'll have you call Steve when it's almost time so they can't trace us. Okay?"

"This sounds like a bad plan" Kyra said with a frown.

Ian sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Well we can't call the military, or the police, or anyone, because we don't know who Chimera has gotten to, so this is what we have. Okay?"

Kyra raised a hand, "Okay, sorry. I know this is all we have, I'm just scared. This is literally David and Goliath, and I feel like we're going to get squashed."

Sighing, Ian wrapped his arm around her shoulder and drew her close, "I know. Me too. But we have to do something."

Kyra nodded and buried her face in his chest, breathing in the scent of his cologne and the unique smell that was Ian. Sighing, she leaned away and asked, "Are there any weapons here?"

Ian nodded, "Dad stocked this place, and then I updated. Come on."

He led her over to a panel in the wall and pressed on it, and after a moment, the panel rotated and revealed a wall full of guns, knives, grenades and other items Kyra would have to take a moment to identify.

Ian pointed to the left half of the wall, "These are non-lethal. Completely legal and standard issue for police or military." Pointing to the right half, "These, are not. These will get us left on Earth to die, or possibly executed. Which do you want to take?"

Kyra stared at the wall of weapons and then sighed, "Both. They won't be using non-lethal, so we shouldn't either. We should have bullet proof vests if you have them."

She glanced up at Ian and he shook his head, "I don't, I have something better. Pushing on the panel next to the weapons, it too flipped and revealed a row of black body suits similar to the one Kyra had seen Natasha wearing in old photos of the Avengers.

She ran the material through her fingers and marveled at its lightness, "What is this?" she asked Ian.

He too touched the material softly, "It's a new material. It's like Kevlar, but stronger. We discovered a spider like creature on Elisium that spun this material, and we were able to bring enough of them back to create this material and make suits in secret at Stark Labs."

Kyra raised a brow, "How the hell did you get away with that?"

Ian smiled, "Bree helped. She's incredibly smart, and helped to create an environment for the creatures to thrive in and work. Without these suits, I don't know that our scientists will make it on Elisium. We made them and smuggled them into their belongings. They will protect them from bullets, knives, EMP's, animal bites and stings, they're virtually indestructible."

Kyra whistled, "No wonder you wanted to keep them out of the military's hands."

Ian nodded, "The military implications were terrifying." He pointed to one, "That should fit you."

Kyra grabbed it of the hangar and held it up to her body, it indeed seemed as though it would fit. She stared at him for a moment and then asked, "Do you know how to use a gun?"

Ian's brow wrinkled, "In theory."

She laughed, "In theory isn't going to keep you alive." She pointed to the wall, "Pick one and I'll show you how to use it."

Ian sighed, "I really would prefer not to."

Kyra frowned at him, "And I would prefer if you didn't end up dead. Pick one."

Sighing, Ian stared at the weapons and then pointed to one, "How about that one?"

Kyra nodded, "Ok that's a .22, that's a good choice, you can hide that easier in your jacket. Pick it up, and feel its weight."

Ian reached out and picked up the gun tentatively, his hand dropping with the weight of it. He glanced at Kyra and she smiled, stepping closer. She wrapped her hand around his and pointed the gun at the floor, "Always make sure your gun is pointed away from everyone. Now this is a Walther, so it has the safety here" she pointed it out and showed him how to use it.

Ian nodded and adjusted his grip, when Kyra showed him. She had him clear the chamber, making sure it was empty, and then depress the clip and took it from him. When she was sure the gun was empty she had him practice his firing stance multiple times, and pulling the trigger to get used to the sensation.

When he had practiced pulling from his side and from under his jacket, Kyra nodded, "Okay, we should live fire a few times."

Ian shook his head, "We don't have anywhere. We can't take the risk outside. I promise it'll be ok."

Kyra sighed, "Ok, well, then let's take a break. Why don't you check on Jarvis and I'll get some dinner started?"

Ian nodded and smiled, "Thank you for helping me with the gun, even though you knew I didn't like it. And I wasn't very good."

Kyra smiled, "You don't necessarily have to be good, you just need to be able to defend yourself long enough to get away."

Ian stared at her for a moment and then asked softly, "Did your mom or dad teach you this?"

A flash of grief and pain washed over Kyra's face as she spoke, "Yea, both really. A little of Uncle Steve too. Mom...she showed me the videos of what Hydra did to dad." Kyra saw the horror on Ian's face and shook her head, "I know, it sounds like terrible parenting, but it was the best thing she could have done. He had horrible nightmares very rarely, and he would wake me up screaming and eventually I heard other people whispering about his arm…so she sat me down and told me about Uncle Steve and dad, and showed me."

Kyra's hand fisted around the suit and she shook her head, "I had never seen my mom look like that before, so sad and so heartbroken. They argued about it that night, and when my dad came up to my room, he apologized, and said he was sorry that other people had made him into a monster. I had never seen my dad cry until then. I only saw him cry again when mom died."

Ian felt like punching a wall, he felt like such an ass for asking Kyra about it at all. A sad smile crept onto her face and she shrugged, "Now, I'll do anything to see him back to normal. Just like mom did."

Ian's skin crawled at her words, they felt heavy with fate. Kyra smiled sadly at him and made a gesture towards the stairs, "I'll go get dinner ready. Go see Jarvis."

Ian nodded and watched her walk out of the room, his stomach doing flips as he thought about her words. She couldn't end up like her mother, he wouldn't let that happen, not just because it would kill her father, but because he loved her, and he couldn't lose her.

After dinner Kyra sat on the patio chaise under a blanket, staring up at the sky. She sipped on a cup of tea and wondered if humanity would make it through tomorrow, and to Elisium. She heard the patio door open and a moment later saw Ian in her periphery.

He nudged her shoulder with his leg, "Budge up and share." Kyra grinned and scooted forward, leaving room for him to sit behind her. When he had sat down, she leaned back and tucked the blanket around them before curling her head into his chest.

Ian curled his arm around her and sighed, content, for the moment. The morning would change things forever, so he would take this peaceful moment as he could.

"What were you thinking about?" he asked softly.

"Just about Elisium, and if humanity would actually get there" Kyra murmured.

"Hmm" Ian replied thoughtfully. "I guess that depends on how tomorrow goes" he murmured.

Kyra nodded, sipping her tea, "That's what I thought. I was also just enjoying looking at the stars."

Ian tilted his head to stare up at the heavenly expanse and sighed, they were quite lovely this far out from the city lights.

As they sat in silence, watching the stars, Kyra closed her eyes and let herself pretend that this was real, and this was what they did every weekend, for getaways. When Ian brushed a kiss across her head, her heart ached and she gripped him tighter.

"You ok?" Ian whispered.

Kyra shook her head, "I'm tired. Can we go to bed?"

Ian hesitated, "We?"

Kyra stared up at him, the moonlight turning her fair skin into porcelain, "Yea, if we're going to jump off a cliff tomorrow, I want you to hold me tonight."

Ian nodded and after she had stood, followed her inside. When she had changed into a pair of men's boxers and a sweater she opened the bedroom door and found Ian in his under tshirt and boxers, a hesitant look on his face.

She smiled softly and held her hand out, winding her fingers through his and leading him over to the bed. She crawled in first and waited till he had joined her to flip off the light. A moment later Ian's arm draped around her waist and pulled her close, his face nuzzling into her neck, one of his legs between hers.

She sighed and smiled, this was happiness…and she didn't want to wake up tomorrow and give it up. Ian's thumb brushed across her skin and she drifted off slowly, her brain a muddle of dreams and half awareness when he whispered, "I do love you Kyra. I do."