Written for: marvelfanuniverse. May 20th, 2019 Jack Rollins/Beth. "That's an order. Obey."

The fifth time Beth Jackson was almost kidnapped by a wanna-be supervillain, it was decided that she should have a bodyguard.

Jack Rollins did not volunteer for the job, no matter what the official report said. Very few within SHIELD were aware of the 'HYDRA Rehabilitation Program', as it had come to be known for lack of a suitable acronym. It was Coulson's idea and Rogers backed it because it allowed him to simultaneously be a shining hero who saw the good in everyone and a sadist who could get off on the suffering of his enemies.

Asshole.

Granted, babysitting a waitress wasn't the worst gig in the world. Somewhere out in the desert, Brock was chasing after Dr. Foster and her crew, trying to stop her from blasting herself into the sun. Sitwell had been given desk duty at a high security holding cell in Antarctica, and he didn't want to think about where Ward was. Poor bastard.

Compared to all that, this was a cake walk.

His schedule with Beth was simple. Guard the door while she ate breakfast, guard the street while she worked her early afternoon shift at the diner, guard the halls while she attended evening classes, and guard the window while she caught a few hours of sleep in between.

She never tried to sneak off (at least not after the first time), she didn't go out partying every night, and her wildest inclination in life was to walk past Central Park at sunset with her purse in hand.

It was easy, but by God, was it boring.

"How long is he going to be following you?" asked one of Beth's friends whose name he was supposed to know but hadn't bothered to memorize.

"Until the bad guys realize I'm not dating Captain America."

They were at a bar celebrating the end of midterms. Five or six students getting drunk and dancing. Jack must have been like them once. Sure, he never finished college, but when you get recruited at nineteen to be a part of the biggest intelligence agency in the world, who needs a formal education?

"I don't get it," said Friend no. 2, who had taken three shots already but showed no signs of disorientation. "All you did was serve him coffee a few times. How does that translate to dating?"

"I've been asking myself that same question for weeks."

"I mean, not that dating a superhero wouldn't have its perks," said Friend no. 1. "Especially that hero, am I right?"

Beth shrugged. "Steve's a good guy and a great tipper, but to be honest, he's not my type."

"You have a type?"

"Of course I do. Everyone does." Beth's eyes flicked to Jack, or was he imagining it? "I'd prefer a… rougher sort of man."

Yeah, definitely imagining it.

Jack took a walk around the perimeter of the bar, checking all the blind spots and calling in his hourly report. If Fury didn't get one every sixty minutes, that fancy little brace around Jack's ankle would send a 'non-lethal but discomforting' shock through him. Jack finished the message and gave it a read through, deleting all expletives and remarks about Fury's mother before hitting send.

When he returned to Beth's side, she was talking to a man.

"We're performing on Saturday at this place on 6th Street. It's our first gig with Bobby on bass."

"You nervous?"

"Nah, I've been doing this for years. I just hope Bobby will be okay. Anyway, if you want to come-"

"Ms. Jackson," Jack said, a little louder than necessary for how much distance he'd covered. "I'm afraid there's a situation. You have to come with me."

He took Beth by the arm before she could protest and led her across the room. Only when there was a crowd of bargoers between them and whatshisface did he let go. "What are you doing? I thought you were supposed to 'maintain distance' or whatever."

"I'm supposed to keep you safe," Jack grumbled. "Part of that is making sure you don't get lured into potentially dangerous situations with strange men who only want one thing."

That last part sounded like his dad with his little sister. Poor Mr. Rollins had tried so hard to instill good morals in his children and look where it got him. One was a former HYDRA agent and the other married a personal injury lawyer. There's just no helping some people.

"You are not talking about Ethan."

Jack glanced over her shoulder. Ethan was now on the phone and covering his free ear to hear whatever was being said. "Do you know him as well as you think you do?"

"He goes to my school."

"That doesn't mean anything. You can think you know a person for years, especially someone like him, and just when you think you're safe and you can let your guard down-"

"He's gay."

"He's gay," Jack repeated unthinkingly. "Wait, what?"

Beth rolled her eyes. "Bobby is his boyfriend who just joined his band. He's inviting everyone to come see their first show together."

Jack blinked. "Oh… but you still need to be careful. It's not just supervillains, there's a lot of creeps out there."

"Trust me, I know," said Beth. "I've been to all the seminars, had all the self-defense classes, and no offense to you, but I was doing just fine with a can of pepper spray before all this kidnapping stuff. I only ever had to use it once."

"Sorry it's not so effective anymore."

"Eh... it's okay. Paranoia aside, you're not too bad to have around." She yawned which almost made Jack yawn in turn. He kept his jaw firmly shut as he checked her eyes for any sign of drugging. They were clear as ever (and a nice shade of brown). "I think I'll head home. Care to follow me in your car?"

"I'd rather just drive you."

"What if I want to stretch my legs?"

"You can do it tomorrow at the gym. Indoors. With cameras." Jack took her hand like they were some random uninteresting couple no one would think twice about. "Let's go. I'm parked around back."

"I don't know…" she'd be more convincing without that coy little smile. This girl had the worst poker face ever.

"That's an order. Obey."

"And here I thought you worked for me."

She sashayed out of the bar, not caring a wit about the three separate guys Jack caught eyeing her backside. He sent them running with a glare and stepped outside to find her waiting by his car.

So she could listen after all.

'Maybe she likes taking orders,' said a voice which seemed to radiate from a spot much lower than his head. 'You know, from rough sort of man.'

'Shut up,' he told it. 'She was not talking about me.'

'Would it be so bad if she was?'

Jack didn't have an answer for that, and as the months passed, and the kidnapping attempts continued, and his assignment was extended to the end of the year 'just in case,' and he started spending every night in her apartment drinking coffee and making conversation like they really were just two people enjoying each other's company… it actually sounded pretty nice.