Unknown Hydra Base
Days After Bomb Mission

Marcus Keeling sat at the weekly meeting bored while listening to the updates from other agents concerning projects they were involved with. He recalled how once he would be the one everyone would listen to…and hopefully soon he would be again. After sitting here for far too long in his opinion, the report he was waiting on finally was read. He'd only heard a short mention of it earlier and now he was all ears as he listened.

Captain America and two members of the former Avengers had been spotted again almost a week ago taking down a small group of terrorist in Europe. Over the past year, the group had come out of hiding and taken down a couple of small groups before going back underground. All of the previous incidences being only the three of them. Like previous incidents, the terrorist cell had been turned over to NATO for prosecution considering the bomb they had been trying to detonate.

Knowing they were about to be taken out, the leader of the cell activated the Chitauri bomb in hopes of killing the famous superheroes. But it was the next part of the NATO interrogation report that got his attention, which had taken far too long in his opinion to receive a copy of.

After the leader refused to disarm the bomb, Falcon had brought back into the room an unknown female. He begrudgingly stated that she 'interrogated' him into divulging the disarming code, but he did not go into detail as to how she accomplished that task. Marcus knew exactly how she'd done it and the man refused to say that he'd just 'willing' given it over.

But for her to be at that location with the group, he'd not expected that.

Was it possible that Teagan was not actually locked up somewhere? He needed to know for sure.

Interrupting the agent as he started to talk about the bomb's new location, "Does the report give a description of the female that interrogated him?"

The agent looked down the conference table at him before checking another page of his notes.

"Small, thin, white with freckles, arm tattoos, red hair partially shaved at the bottom of her head, bright green eyes," he stated, making him happier than he'd been in a while.

"That's Teagan's description alright. That's Project Cherry Tree," glaring up the table at Commander Henry Bradshaw, while also making sure the new agents understood why he was interested. "Captain America seems to have decided to use her for his own purposes."

"I had figured it was her when I read the full report earlier. She does stand out in a crowd," Henry told him, sliding over a separate folder over the table towards him and ignoring the others at the table. "But we might have a problem of getting her back. If she were at a single location on lock-down, it would be easier to recapture her. None of the agencies actively looking for Captain America, Black Widow, or any of the others who escaped the Raft, that are not accounted for, have had any luck at doing so."

"Not accounted for?" he ask curious about the comment.

"The one called Ant-Man, Scott Lang, was released by the United Nations since with him being a non-enhanced that he never should have been on the Raft to begin with. He worked out a plea deal and has been under house arrest in San Francisco…ankle monitor and everything. Hawkeye, Clint Barton, has been listed as 'retired' under the rules of the Accords. Location unknown, but he had not been seen at all since the escape."

"If I can work with a couple of agents, research and tactical, I believe I can come up with a plan to take back Project Cherry Tree," he confidently told Henry, earning him a few whispers from around the table, mostly from those previously questioned by him long ago. Trying to make them understand her usefulness to them, he decided to add, "Even now, we are just going on the belief that the information that is being passed along by our spies is accurate. They could also have their own agendas with the fallout we were dealt. We need to ensure the loyalty of our subordinates to guarantee they are not plotting to expose us. If nothing else, we need to use her powers on agents to ensure their allegiance to Hydra."

When Teagan had been his tool, Henry used to make sure that all agents returning from the field and information gathering had been vetted before their actions were considered accurate and loyal. All he'd done was remind him of how useful he'd once found her. Henry then gave him a single nod of the head.

"Talk with me after the meeting about what you might need," he told him as the other agent went back to reading off some other useless report.

Reaching over, he took the report on Teagan's spotting, wanting to read the full detail for himself. NATO had gone through the U.N. trying to identify the unknown female but he knew that they would never get anywhere. For all intent purposes, Teagan MacKenna had been dead for over a decade. Thanks to her stubbornness, Ross had never even found out her real name. He doubted that Ross would now inform NATO that he knew, for the most part, who she was and that he'd been holding her illegally for the past two years without informing them.

If Ross couldn't even torture a girl properly to get her name, he was sure that Hydra would eventually prevail.

The mission itself seemed like a standard breach for the freelance heroes into the building. But he carefully read how Falcon had left the room, then returned carrying Teagan up to the bomb's floor. Then after the terrorist had tried to attack her, she'd left the room with Falcon for a few minutes, returning and holding his hand.

Holding hands? He read that part a second time to make sure he seen correctly.

Then the two of them had taken off, Falcon carrying her away using his wings. He was touching her. The clothing description told him that she was dressed as a civilian, not being restrained, working with the group, and not the one in charge. That could only mean that she was willingly staying with them.

Why?

Falcon.

Marcus' mind raced with the possibilities of these new pieces of information.

What had happened during her time with this group? Had she found some sort of attachment with Falcon? He'd read the file on Wilson and knew of his history of working with veterans. Could he have used his knowledge of unstable vets to somehow convince Teagan to work with them? Had he tricked her into believing that he held some kind of affection for her? And if so, how could he use that to his own advantage?

Once she was back in his custody, she was going to be just as obstinate as she had been when she first arrived. This time, he couldn't wait the numerous months it had originally taken to break her. Henry would probably only give him a matter of weeks. He would need to show quick results with her willingness to resume her position here. That meant that she needed an incentive to make her immediately obedient.

Looking at the file photo of Falcon, Sam Wilson, Marcus felt he had the perfect 'tool' to make that happen.

It looked like he needed to get one more cell ready for a visitor.

Natasha's Safe House somewhere in Iceland
Spring 2017 - Two Months After Bomb Mission

"I can't believe that you never even heard of Chicago style popcorn, Erin," she heard called from behind her as Sam put the flat popcorn bag into the microwave.

Teagan curled further under the heavy blanket in their next safe-house on the large sparsely populated island now that the extra body heat from her couch companion was temporarily gone. The flannel nightshirt was soft, her fuzzy pants were brightly colored flowers, and her wool socks were thick, but they were no match for the inner warmth that just having Sam next to her created.

They had stayed in Spain for a few weeks before moving on to here a month ago. The cabin was in a desolate area located down a long rocky road between two steep hills. There were almost no trees and if they walked to the top of the highest hill, they had a distant view of mostly nothing but rocks and grass. The house itself was small, only two bedrooms and one bath. Without a hint of unease, Sam had suggested that she and he take the small bedroom with the bunk beds, leaving the other with two twins for Steve and Nat to share. If they found the request strange, neither had said anything.

Since arriving here, there were less than a handful of night when she had woken up from bad dreams. In fact, they had become a lot less frequent after that first kiss they shared.

Now, a lot of nights the two of them would stay up late, watch movies, or just lay in bed and talk to each other, Sam having taken the top bunk. He would always make sure to let her have privacy for changing clothes, and they had been slowly taking their kisses and touches further with each private moment. There was only one time she'd begun to panic, thinking of Keeling when she felt his arms wrap around her from behind, and Sam had instantly let go, talking with her to calm her back down. That night, they had sat on her bed talking for a long time.

She had no idea how Sam was able to put up with her sometimes.

"I case you've forgotten, Falcon, I've missed a lot of things," she still teasing him by refusing to call him Sam since he had done the same to her, using on the name Erin, since Steve and Nat left this morning.

Upon their arrival over a month ago, she and Nat had usually made the weekly trips to the nearest town twenty minutes away for food now that they were here. Steve and Sam were a bit more noticeable but nobody paid any attention to the two of them together. After staying in Spain for a few extra weeks, they decided it would be good to get a bit further out of possible public eyes. Their heroic actions had eventually made the public news, telling the world that criminal Captain America was now in Europe. So, they had packed up, making her a bit sad at having to leave the villa behind.

But walking into the room from the kitchen was the best reason to be here. Sam. He had paused the movie they were watching saying that they needed popcorn. Sitting back down on the couch, he slid right next to her, wrapped his half of the blanket around himself and put the bowl between the two of them. Her cheeks flushed as she felt him slip his leg under hers where it was propped on the coffee table so they mingled together.

"I'm making sure our next stop is back in America since I doubt I can find any here," he told her as she snuggled back against him for warmth.

"Well, caramel and cheddar popcorn mixed together sounds disgusting," she told him taking a handful of plain style from the bag.

It had been over two months since the bomb mission, and they had not done anything heroic, wanting to make sure they laid low enough to be off of anyone's radar. Nat was keeping a lookout on communications concerning them and their possible whereabouts. Until Steve felt they needed to intercede with something, he'd suggested they halt all missions. Sam had been fine with that, stating that keeping her away from bad guys that could hurt her again was a good idea. He had been upset the next day when she'd showed him the small bruise on her shoulder from where the guy had rammed into her.

"This coming from the girl who was so excited to find an orange flavored Penguin chocolate bar," Sam picked up the remote.

"But once I finally convinced to you sample it, you did like it," she pointed out.

"Then you better hold off your assessment of Chicago popcorn until you try it," he leaned over and gave her forehead a quick kiss before un-pausing the movie.

Steve had left yesterday to go back to Wakanda for a short visit to see Bucky. T'Challa had contacted him about discussing the procedure they would like to use on Bucky and Steve wanted to go there instead of discussing it over the secure phone. Nat had left with him and would be dropped off somewhere else, not heading all the way to Wakanda. Nat had decided to take the opportunity to go and check up on Wanda, who quite a while back had left Clint's place and was supposedly out on her own. Nat had suggested that she was really visiting to check up on someone special but had not told her any more than that.

That left her and Sam alone together for the next few days, maybe even for a week or so.

This was one of the first times they'd had any real privacy that lasted longer than a few hours. And she intended to make use of this private time together.

Teagan knew that there was a chance she might not be able to hold it together, for the two of them to actually be together all the way, but she did want to get past her fear of Keeling. If she didn't act as brave as Sam believe she was sometimes, that arse would continue to control her life even though she was finally free of him. Sam had been working with her, encouraging her to not let Keeling have this power over her, to take it back from him when she was ready.

And feeling the warm body sitting right next to her, she was ready to try.

"So how did you like that movie?" Sam asked her as the credits began to roll.

"It was fine," she told him, not being able to recall half of it due to her fantasies of the past hour of what she wanted to try and...to do...with Sam.

"Fine?" there was an amused tone in his voice.

Cutting her eyes at him, she saw his eyebrow raised in question. Reaching for the bowl, she took it and placed it on the table, telling herself to just take the chance. Being so worried about what might happen, she'd put off taking this huge step forward. And that needed to end.

"Yes, fine…it's a word. Just like nice," she told him with a smile at the inside joke they shared.

Since that first kiss, they would both go out of their way to use the word 'nice' far too often. A sly term of endearment.

"So which is better, fine or nice?" his voice was slightly lower now, more sensual.

Staying under the blanket, Teagan twisted and slid her body over so that she came to rest straddling Sam. With her legs on either side of his, Sam's hands came to rest on her hips, his fingers putting just enough pressure on her to make sure she knew he liked her there. With her on top of him, none of the bad memories were there. Keeling always made sure to pin, restrain, or dominate her in some way. Sam always let her decide where she physically wanted to be, how far she wanted to take their 'make-out' sessions, as he liked to call them.

"I think that should be obvious," she whispered, running her finger on the small patch of beard that was right under his lip. The blanket fell from her shoulder to pool on the floor at Sam's feet.

"It is?" he offered.

"Yes, because given the choice," she started before grinding her hips forward so that she firmly grazed over his groin area, "would you call that fine or nice?"

With that one move, she heard his breath deepen as his fingers dug a bit harder into her.

"That was definitely nice," he told he before she leaned into kiss him.

As they kissed, she ran her hands over his head and neck while his stayed on her sides and back which were covered by the nightshirt. Pulling away for a moment, Teagan was ready to take it a step further. The surprised look on Sam's face as she removed her shirt was worth it. Now, she was sitting topless on his lap, her bare breasts presented for him, but his eyes were captured by something he'd never seen before. The tattoos that had been hidden by her shirts all of this time.

"More tattoos?" he asked her, trailing a finger over the Gaelic writing between her breasts, over her heart. His eyes then traveled to two more on her sides, matching green Celtic knotted ribbons starting from her hips up to just under her arms.

Nodding her head with a cocky smile, she informed him, "There's even a few more you still don't see."

His fingertip softly brushed over the words, and he asked, "What does this one mean?"

It was the only tattoo that was fully comprised only of words, the others being Celtic symbols.

"Glacaimid leis an ngrá a cheapamar a tuillte," she told him.

"It sounds beautiful. What does it mean?"

"We accept the love we think we deserve."

His face softened at hearing the translation, his lips coming down to give the words a single kiss.

"You deserve a lot," he simply told her.

"Maybe," was all that she could reply. Her heart was still hurting from all that she'd had to do thanks to Keeling.

Sam must had known where her mind went, because his finger lifted her chin so that she looked him in the eye.

"Trust me. You deserve more than just love. Like happiness, friendship, and many kisses everywhere," he grinned at her. "Starting with those breasts, if you'll let me."

She couldn't help but laugh at how happy such a remark made her feel. Sam ran his hands over her bare arms, glancing at her bare breast with eagerness in his eyes.

"Are you sure?" he still asked her, making sure she felt comfortable enough.

"I wouldn't have removed the shirt if I wasn't," she told him.

Having that assurance, Sam's hands began to slowly move over more of her body. Taking his time, and driving her a bit crazy as he did it, his hands began to slide over her sides, tracing the tattoos in a tickling touch, slowly moving higher as she leaned over for his lips. She wanted to be able to do the same so she found herself gripping the hem of his t-shirt and pulling it over his head.

Carelessly she tossed it over her shoulder as she touched a hand to his bare torso. His own hands paused just under her breasts, giving her the moment to examine him. It had been so long since she'd touched a guy like this. But her two boyfriends from secondary school didn't compare to Sam in any way. His body was toned and muscular due to all the exercises he did, not to mention the aerial acrobatics he had to accomplish.

"If you want to make a comment about perfection, I would gladly accept it," Sam grinned at her, making her laugh by lighten the mood and distracting her.

"Perfection? Here I was only thinking that ya looked nice," she had to goad him.

Sam brought his hand up to slap over his heart, teasing back, "You wound me!"

"Then maybe I need to make it up to ya," she heavily told him, her hands trailing down his chest to stop only when they reached the waistband of his sweatpants.

"Teagan…" he started before being silence by her shushing him, knowing that he was only trying to make sure comfortable.

"My speed. A little bit at a time, but it's been so long and right now I want to try for more," she told him, running her fingertips just underneath the material.

"Only what you feel you can do. I'll be happy with whatever you can give," he told her.

"Does that mean that your up for a bit of tit-for-tat?" she coyly asked him.

Sam's eyes widened, and a wide smile crossed his face, exposing that cute tooth gag again. Bending down, she had to kiss him and lick her tongue into his mouth to taste him again. Buttery popcorn, just like her own kiss probably was.

Not breaking their lips from each other, his hands began to move again, this time both finding hold on her breasts. She knew they were not very large, but it seemed that they fit just right into his hands. His thumbs began to circle over her nipple, making it harden with the simple touch. One of her hands came up to hold onto his neck, while she cautiously slid the other further into his pants. Straddling him as she was, Teagan felt him harden underneath of her even more without having touched him yet.

"Can I?" she paused kissing only long enough to ask him.

"Absolutely, Erin," he told her, giving both of her nipples firm pinches.

Her breath hitched at the erotic heat that quickly spread over her body with the move.

"Do you like that?" he asked her between kisses.

"Absolutely, Falcon," she grinned at him.

Her hand found hold of his hard member as Sam's mouth trailed kisses down her neck until he reached her breast. As she began to stroke him, his mouth worked on her, sucking, kissing, biting. Grinding down onto him needing to ease the want between her legs, Sam must have understood what she needed a hand slipped inside of her own night shorts. He moved slowly, as if he expected her to halt him, but that was not what her body wanted right now.

Grasping him firmly as she tugged him to full hardness, his fingers had slid under her panties to find her folds. With every touch that sent a spark through her body, he repaid Sam by tugging in a way that made him growl out. His mouth traveled between her breasts, not denying either the strokes of his tongue or soft bites of his teeth. For the next few minutes, the two of them carefully pleasured each other to the point where Teagan knew she couldn't take it much long. Sam must have sensed the change in her body as he slipped his other hand under her bottom to lift her up slightly. Now he was able to glide a finger inside of her.

"Sam," she panted out, tossing her head back while she began to stroke him faster.

"I want to see you enjoy this, Teagan, don't hold back. It's only us here…just the two of us," he reminded her as their hands stimulated each other even faster.

Feeling Sam's body begin to shudder underneath of her, she knew he'd found his own release, which made him slip another finger inside of her as he bit down harder onto her nipple. That was what finally made her own body climax. Crying out, she felt his hand wrap around her to hold her since she'd arched her back during the spasm. Exhausted from the experience, Teagan collapsed atop of Sam, her face resting in the crook of his neck as she tried to control her heavy breathing.

Once they were both calmer, she leaned back to see if his expression told her he'd regretted their actions.

"Making you orgasm seems to bring out your freckles," Sam told her with a smile as his finger traced over her cheek. "They're adorable with your skin flushed pink. If you'll let me, I wouldn't mind seeing you like this again a few more times before the others get back."

Hearing him say that made her heart swell a bit.

"You don't regret…doing that?" she hesitantly asked, needed to hear it.

"Never," he told her, pulling her down so that he could kiss her lips.

A little while later, once they had both cleaned up and changed to go to sleep, Sam sat down on her bed. She could tell that he wanted a serious talk.

"I know you said tit-for-tat earlier, but I'm hoping now that you've had some time that you don't regret what we did," he softly stated.

Now he was worried about her changing her mind.

"No. I've been wantin' ta' do something like that for a few weeks now. It just took me that long ta' work up tha' courage," she told him. "It also helped that we were alone for tha' first time in a long while. I don'na see Steve an' Nat appreciating such a show."

"No, I don't think they would enjoy it," he told her, as their hands touched each other. "But we sure did."

Teagan knew she was blushing again.

"Has it been a long time since you've been with someone?" she asked, more curious than jealous.

Sam gave her a nod.

"Traveling a lot the way we do doesn't leave much time for a girlfriend," he told her. "And I'm not going to rush you into anything, meaning you don't have to if you don't want to. But would you mind if I called you my girlfriend? Then we can tease Steve about not having one."

She couldn't stop the grin that appeared on her face.

"I haven't been someone's girlfriend in a very long time."

"All the more reason to start with the best," he smugly informed her, earning him a roll of her eyes. "Start with the best, forget the rest."

"Oh, is that how it works?" playfulness in her voice.

"Absolutely, Erin," he told her before leaning over for a kiss. "So what do you say?"

"Absolutely, Falcon."