The day after Ashley's birthday, she and Christie were chilling in her room. Christie had stayed the night after a drunk evening with the rest of the team - she slept on one side of the bed and Ashley on the other. Once they woke up, they took it in turns to shower the hungover grogginess away from their bodies, shoved on fresh clothes and lounged about as the glorious afternoon sun streamed through Ashley's window. "Oh my god. Remember when we went to cousin Amelia's birthday?" Ashley suddenly piped up, as she carefully watched Lady Bucky gingerly pace the duvet. She was incredibly active - throughout the night she'd been running across the carpet, letting out little meows and scratching at the expensive leather bedposts with her tiny claws.
"I remember," Christie answered her with a hum, "you were upset because she purposely gave you the smallest slice of cake. She was a b*tch, to be fair."
"Yeaaah - wasn't that the time I took the rest of the cake in my hands and burnt it to a crisp to prove a point?" Ashley giggled, blushing out of embarrassment. "I was so petty and Dad let it rip when we got home."
"Who cares! I still laughed a lot," Christie grinned as she shook her head. Ashley smiled at her warmly, drawing her knees to her chest and releasing a small sigh.
"No matter how much trouble I got into for using my powers inappropriately," she began, her eyes focussed on her sister, "you always hyped me up. Since we were tiny - you were always my biggest fan." Christie's grey eyes narrowly avoided Ashley's green ones and she shook her head, staring blankly into space.
"Honestly, I still am your biggest fan. Your powers are badass, Ash," she admitted with a grumble, as if she was reluctant to admit it. "I'd always wished I had something like that to my own name."
"Ummm from what I've heard…you do. You built what you are from scratch. You're responsible for your own badassery, Chris. Mine was handed to me, and even then I wasn't even allowed to use it. There is nothing cool about that," Ashley reminded with a smirk, playfully poking Christie's arm before resting her chin on top of her knees. Christie shot her an appreciative smile, nudging her back in her ribs as a thank you. It would've been huge bear a hug if they were 8 and 10 years old again - but they weren't. Things had changed, and Ashley understood that.
She was adamant to get it back to how they were, though.
Suddenly, there was a hollow knock at her door. She and Christie frowned at each other before Ashley leapt off the bed. She cracked the door open slightly, expecting it to be Tony - but it wasn't.
"Uh…good m-morning! I, uh…I wasn't sure if you'd be awake," Steve coughed slightly, raising his hand in an awkward greeting. Christie craned her neck from where she was still perched on the edge of the bed curiously.
"Well, here I am," Ashley smiled slightly, cocking her head to the side. "Uh…what's up?"
"I…uh…" Steve found himself lost for words again, and Ashley's breath hitched anxiously in her throat. She'd never seen him look so nervous. Had something bad happened? "I was wondering if….if you were hungry…later…if you wanted to grab a bite to eat. With me, I mean. Grab a bite to eat with me."
And just like that, Ashley couldn't breathe. Her head felt faint. Her heart was slamming against her chest, hard. Her hands started to shake.
"What like….just us? T-t-together?" she finally spluttered out, clutching onto the doorframe to steady herself.
"Well…if you wanted someone else to join us…" Steve trailed off in confusion, crinkling his nose. Christie let out a short groan and made a beeline to the door, her sudden appearance startling Steve. "Oh, Christie! I'm sorry, I didn't know-"
"Yes, Steve. She'll go out with you tonight - what time will you be picking her up?" Christie cut him off with a tight lipped smile.
"I…well, let's say about 7?" he suggested.
"7 is perfect, thank you. Is this a restaurant date? If so, what should she wear?" Christie sighed whilst bumping Ashley out of the way, now fulling taking the reins.
"I was thinking about going to that new Thai restaurant they opened up downtown. It looks pretty nice, so I guess she should wear something something…well, nice?" Steve shrugged helplessly.
"Something nice for a nice place with presumably nice food, got it. Alright Steve - she'll see ya then!" Christie beamed, giving him a quick wave and shutting the door again. She went to sit back down on the bed and picked Lady Bucky up to pet her. But Ashley was left staring at the door, still rendered speechless. "Ash - he's gone, you know." Ashley spun to face her sister, still stunned. Christie took one glance at her and rolled her eyes before shaking her head at the kitten. "Lady Bucky - your mother…is an idiot," she whispered to her tiny feline face.
"He's asked me out on a date!" Ashley suddenly squealed, jumping up and down excitedly. Christie gave a small look to Lady Bucky as if to say 'told you!'
"It's about time to be honest. There's clearly a spark between you, I can't believe it took- actually, I can definitely believe it took him this long," Christie smirked to herself as she put Lady Bucky back down again. "So…whatcha gonna wear?"
"Well, I-" Ashley suddenly froze, her bottle green eyes going wide in horror as she slammed her hands dramatically over her mouth. "I NEED A DRESS!"
"Oh Ashley please," Christie drawled sarcastically. "I find it hard to believe that you of all people have no clothes-"
"No! Not for this occasion. Oh god Christie, I feel sick!" Ashley wailed as she face planted onto the bed. Christie bit back her laughter as Lady Bucky carefully pawed her way over to pounce on her deep red locks playfully.
"Oh! I know a designer who lives further in the city. She makes all my outfits because frankly, I don't buy anything off the racks," Christie informed her with a sudden gasp. "She'll make something for you within a few hours, guaranteed." Ashley's head lifted slightly.
"Promise?" she mumbled miserably.
"Yup. We'll ask Pepper to watch Lady Bucky and go ASAP," Christie nodded briskly, making Ashley give her a thankful smile.
…
Half an hour later, Ashley found herself in a beautiful studio apartment overlooking the city. The furniture was as modern as Tony's, but with an artsy twist. The fridge was a hot pink oval shape, the sea blue sofa seats were separate from the backs and the blood orange rug was in a strange, child-like design.
It was an eyesore, honestly - but a wealthy eyesore.
The woman who owned the apartment was in her early 50s. She had a slight French accent, wispy white hair that she wore in a bun and a very pretty but elegant face - so basically Christie in thirty or so years. She swept towards the two women with a swoon, her black satin kimono billowing behind her and her hands outstretched in joy. "Oh my darling bébés! Mes petits anges, look at you!" she trilled, taking Christie's blushing face in one hand and Ashley's confused one in the other. "You're both so beautiful. Ashley-Rose, aren't you a gorgeous soul?" Ashley's eyes darted across to Christie's in complete confusion, and Christie tried not to catch her eye so that she didn't burst out laughing.
"Aunt Meredith, thanks for seeing us," she breathed politely. "You look…well, as good as ever!"
"Old, child," Aunt Meredith corrected her dryly, "I look old. Which is a shame because otherwise, I'd look like you." Christie let out a coy giggle and ducked her head.
"I'm sorry," Ashley murmured out with a slightly awkward laugh. "Did you say…Aunt?"
"Oh, goodness," Aunt Meredith gave a sorrowful sigh, her shoulders drooping. "Oh, you were only a child when I last saw you. They sent you away, my pauvre bébé. I'll never forgive your father for it." Christie gave a small sigh and moved to stand beside the woman.
"Ashley, this is our Aunt Meredith. She's Mum's older sister," she explained slowly.
"Oh! I'm so sorry… why don't I remember you?" Ashley frowned guiltily. Christie nibbled her bottom lip and walked further into the apartment, leaving Ashley and Aunt Meredith to it.
She wanted no parts of this conversation.
"Come, child," Aunt Meredith hummed, extending her hand. Ashley took it and let herself be taken into the cooky kitchen, where some old photos hung in sleek burnt orange photo frames on the tiled walls. Ashley stepped over to the pictures and felt her lips begin to part in wonder as she recognised the freckled faced, dark red haired little girl grinning toothily. She was happily gripping an avocado in her hands whilst being held by a considerably younger looking Aunt Meredith, and beside them was a gentleman in a deep blue dressing gown doing a thumbs up.
"That's…me?" Ashley crinkled her nose as she reached out to gently skim her fingers along the copper frame. "Who's that guy next to us?"
"That is your much loved Uncle Lionel - God rest his lovely soul," Aunt Meredith replied with a slight chuckle, walking over to her too. She performed the sign of the cross and pressed a kiss to the tip of her fingers before continuing. "Oh, you and your sister loved coming to our house in France during the summer. It was your favourite part of the year."
"I don't doubt it - I look incredibly happy here," Ashley murmured a little sadly. She turned to her aunt again with glassy eyes. "Why don't I remember any of this? Any of you?" Aunt Meredith released a long sigh and started searching her kitchen for glasses.
"The last time you saw me, you were a child. It was you, your mother and your sister - we were going to make fresh bread to eat whilst watching the sun set…I lived in a beautiful house in the mountains - it was our favourite thing to do-" Aunt Meredith paused to pour some iced tea. "Anyway, we were all out of olive oil, and we needed it for the bread, so you and your mother offered to pop to the shops, whilst Christianna and I made the dough. You hated making the dough - do you remember Christianna? How much your sister hated the dough?" Aunt Meredith called over to Christie with a knowing chuckle. She looked up from where she was sat cross legged in the living room.
"I do remember," she rolled her eyes back, "she used to whine about the dough being too sticky on her fingers - the little princess." Ashley felt the corners of her mouth turn up - it definitely sounded like her, despite her love of cooking now. But she was still waiting to get to the crux of the story.
"Oui oui. So, you said you'd go and buy some more oil…but you also wanted to get the new Poupée Poppy…" Aunt Meredith trailed off once again - and this time, it was as if she didn't want to continue. Ashley's eyes darted from her aunt to an awkwardly sitting Christie, trying to figure out what was wrong.
Then she realised.
"The…Poppy doll?" she croaked out in a voice barely audible. Christie's mouth ran dry and she dropped her gaze to the harshly coloured carpet, whilst Aunt Meredith gave a single nod. "That's the doll I wanted…before…"
"Yes. It was my local supermarket. When your beloved father got the news, he demanded you were never to come back to France for your protection and, subsequently, that you two were never to see me again," Aunt Meredith explained, whipping a cigarette from her back pocket and handing it over to Ashley. Ashley blinked at her blankly before finally understanding, lighting the cigarette with her finger with a sigh. "Your father thought he was doing damage control by taking certain triggers away from your life - and claimed that I was one of them. I struggled greatly with your absence, as did your little sister there," Aunt Meredith hummed before taking a draw from the cigarette.
Ashley glanced over at Christie to see if that were true, and from the clenched jaw and narrowly avoided eye contact, she knew that it was.
"Christianna then found herself attached to her Uncle Lionel most of the time, particularly when he was training. It helped her cope with the loss of you." Ashley looked back to Aunt Meredith to see her holding up yet another framed picture. Standing there in the photo was her Uncle Lionel, with with none other than…Nicholas J Fury. The two of them were shaking hands with giant grins on their faces. Her uncle had such friendly eyes and Fury had never looked happier - the entire photo was just bizarre.
"Wait, so they were friends?" Ashley gasped as she carefully lifted the picture from her hands.
"Oh darling - we all were," Aunt Meredith let out a tinkering laugh, pulling out yet another picture. Ashley's mouth dropped open comically this time, not only recognising Fury and Uncle Lionel - but also a much younger Aunt Meredith, Agent Coulson and her own mother, all holding cocktails. They looked like the best of friends. "See, my sweet Ashley-Rose…we were all in S.H.I.E.L.D. I dread to think what has become of it now that we've left, though."
"It's been, for the most part, shut down," Christie filled her aunt in with a grimace, abruptly interrupting all the lost memories. "We found HYDRA agents running through the cracks. Turns out they've been waiting to strike for years, we pretty much caught them before they did anything crazy." Aunt Meredith hardly looked surprised - she just took another long drag from the cigarette.
"As was expected. And…Nick?" she hummed.
"Legally dead, physically alive, now living under the radar," Christie muttered back. Ashley's head jerked back in surprise, and Christie could tell that she was about to delve deeper, so she quickly moved on before she could try. "Anyway! Aunt Meredith, we're actually here for a dress for Ashley, please."
"A dress…" Aunt Meredith murmured, suddenly putting the cigarette out and swooping over to her niece, whilst whipping out a measuring tape from her pocket. "What for, my darling?"
"She's going on a daaaate," Christie sang cheekily as her eyes sparkled away.
"Oh!" Aunt Meredith trilled happily, now measuring Ashley's bust. "And who is the lovely suitor?"
"Captain 'Steve Rogers' America," Christie hummed causally before Ashley could open her mouth. Aunt Meredith's mouth dropped open and her eyes widened.
"My niece? Dating the Steve Rogers?" she breathed, unable to hide the excitement dancing in her eyes. "Oh, we must make you look étourdissante! Let's go strapless, off-white…perhaps a shell colour, designed fit to your curves, short, low plunge neckline…goodness, I have somewhere to be in twenty minutes!" Ashley's eyes went wide and she began to panic, those dreaded sweaty palms coming back.
"I'm sorry w-we didn't know!" she gasped apologetically.
"Hush child, I'm trying to focus," Aunt Meredith murmured before clicking her fingers. "Wonderful, I'll be two minutes!" Ashley was about to tell her not to worry when suddenly, Aunt Meredith had the desired dress in her hand - completed.
Ashley gasped and jumped back with a shout of surprise.
"Oh, do take the dress, child - I don't have all day," Aunt Meredith sighed, handing it over impatiently.
"W-where the HELL did you-"
"She's a mutant, Ash. Keep up," Christie rolled her eyes playfully and leapt to her feet. "She has super speed or something. It's freakily amusing. Fastest designer in the world." Aunt Meredith gave a graceful bow and Ashley's concerned face grew into an amazed one.
"You have super speed?" she laughed in wonder.
"Yes. How else do you think most of those shoppers got out of the supermarket before you blew?" Aunt Meredith hummed with a ghost of a wink. Ashley thought back to the day, finding herself rendered speechless.
All this time, there was another person involved in the entire ordeal and she had absolutely no idea? Why would her father leave that out? And how had he wiped all memory of her aunt away?
"Well my dears, it's been fun. Ashley-Rose, please ensure you take a picture of yourself in that dress and send it to me, I'd love to see it. I own a quaint little cafe on the floor above, so do pop in and tell them that you're my nieces, get something to eat. I love you both, please see yourself out, the apartment will self lock - kisses!" Aunt Meredith appeared next to Ashley and pecked her cheek, then appeared next to Christie and pecked hers before disappearing completely, the front door swinging behind her in an incredibly hasty exit.
Ashley and Christie were left staring at each other in silence before they both started giggling, both of them thrown off by the strangeness of it all.
"I…can honestly say that I have never experienced something like that before," Ashley grinned as she stroked the soft fabric of her newly stitched dress. Christie raised an eyebrow and smirked back. She'd experienced her aunt's weirdness regularly - ever since she moved to New York, she'd tended to visit her between missions to help clear her head.
Sometimes she found herself sad that Aunt Meredith wasn't her mother instead of the one that God gave her.
"Yeah, she's a character alright. Her cafe upstairs is delicious, too. We should get something to eat before you go and take twenty decades to get yourself ready for tonight," Christie nudged her with a small smile.
…
The cafe was super pretty. It had deep purple and pink rose walls, interior decor made of cream leather, and a beautiful sky view of Manhattan. As Ashley swiftly learnt, people booked weeks in advance for a chance to eat at this prestigious cafe, but Aunt Meredith had already made reservations and the girls got in without a hitch (much to everyone's annoyance). "Christie, why is everyone staring at us?" Ashley muttered through gritted teeth as they sat down.
"Oh, they do that a lot here. They are stuck up snobs," Christie gave her an apologetic smile back. "They'll keep staring until they're satisfied that you're worthy of being in our own Aunt's cafe!" Ashley clamped her hands over her mouth to stop herself from letting out a laugh, and the women around them tried to mask their surprise as they quickly diverted their eyes elsewhere.
"You have no shame whatsoever, do you?" Ashley blinked as the waitress swooped round with their pancakes.
"Never," Christie hummed with a cockily risen brow. Ashley gave her a fond smile and shook her head. Christie was always the one who couldn't care less what anyone thought of her, minded her business and had a low tolerance level. Ashley was a people person, everyone loved her and either wanted to be her, or be with her.
Now however…not so much. She'd lost all of that.
The girls began to tuck into their fluffy pancakes soaked in a thick toffee syrup. Christie was just cutting into hers before she spoke again. She didn't want to talk about it, but she had to.
Character building, right?
"My boyfriend d-died, Ash," she suddenly whispered hoarsely. Ashley gasped so hard that she dropped her fork, hearing it clang onto her plate.
"Oh my god. I'm so sorry, Chris," she murmured with a sympathetic sigh, reaching over to touch Christie's quivering hand. "When…when did he…?"
"A few months ago…last year November, actually," Christie answered coldly, putting her fork down too. "He died. He died in my a-a-arms and-" Christie couldn't say anymore. She clamped her hand over her mouth as though she was going to be sick. The words wouldn't leave - they couldn't leave.
"You don't have to say anything else, Chris," Ashley assured her, squeezing her hand in comfort. Christie bit her bottom lip and shook her head, her breathing becoming sporadic.
That's when Ashley realised she was having a panic attack.
She immediately leapt up and made her way over to her, bending down so that they were at eye level. Christie's tears had started to well up and her voice was physically restrained. Ashley placed her calming hands on either side of her face and looked deep into her eyes, stroking her warm cheeks with the pads of her thumbs. "It's okay, Chris," she whispered calmly. "Follow me, deep breaths. Just like I'm doing, deep breaths…"
"I…I c-c-c-an't-" Christie hyperventilated with panicked eyes.
"You can, Christie," Ashley cut her off firmly. She carried on taking breaths loudly so that Christie could follow her pattern, and eventually, she'd steadily regained her breath again.
Then the heavy tears started instead.
Ashley bit back her own as she watched her baby sister crumble into nothing in front of her very eyes. She had never seen her this way before and it made her uneasy.
"He was a good man really, Ash," Christie sobbed uncontrollably, barely able to see. Ashley nodded and clamped her lips together, feeling them begin to tremble. "I loved him. I loved him s-s-so much. But I don't t-think h-h-he k-knew."
"What do you mean?" Ashley hummed calmly under her breath.
"I didn't tell him," Christie cried quietly. Ashley sighed slightly. Her mum had always said that if her sister wasn't careful, her lack of emotional vulnerability would end up harming her.
And clearly it had.
Ashley stood up straight again to give Christie a hug, drawing her slim upper body to her own lower torso like a mother to a child. She held her head still with one hand and stroked her hair away from her burning forehead with the other.
"I'm sure he knew. I'm sure he did," she comforted her softly, nibbling on her bottom lip. "You may not show love easily, Chris - but when you do, it's clear as day, I promise. I'm sure Loki knew." Christie sniffed and lifted her head.
"You think?" she murmured thickly through her sobs.
"I wouldn't lie, Chris," Ashley promised her as she brushed those loose stray white wisps away again. Christie gave her a grateful smile and scrubbed the rest of her tears away, whilst Ashley went to sit back down, satisfied that she'd calmed her down. She gave her a few more seconds to compose herself before asking the next vital question. "Christie…are you getting help? I think you need to see someone."
"Nobody would understand it, Ash," Christie mumbled out, picking up her fork again to poke aimlessly at the pancakes. "Nobody understood him when he was alive, and we were pretty similar-"
"Well I never met him, but you can be understood, because I understand you," Ashley reminded her gently, reaching out to squeeze her hand again.
"You're my sister. Of course you do. Sometimes I feel like you're the only one on this wretched planet that does," Christie admitted quietly, placing her hand on top of Ashley's and squeezing it back. "We may have been apart for years but…"
"…we're still blood," Ashley finished her sentence with a knowing smirk. Christie giggled at her and wiped her eyes again before giving a solid nod.
"Correct-" she began to agree, before she was suddenly interrupted by a device in her back pocket beeping shrilly. She frowned and yanked it out of her coat, peering at the screen for no more than half a second before swearing under her breath. "Ash, I have to go!"
"Why?" Ashley wailed with a pout. "The pancakes-"
"There's an intruder in my house," Christie rushed out in a mumble as she hurriedly did up her coat. Ashley's face fell as she stood up too.
"What?! Do you want me to come?" Christie glanced at her watch and quickly shook her head.
"No, you go and spend 40 days and 40 nights getting ready for your date. I'll be fine," she assured her with a small smile, already starting to walk off. "Tell me about your date tomorrow and make sure you lead the kiss, cos if it's up to Steve, he won't do that until your wedding day!" Ashley winced and covered her face with her hands, as the same snooty ladies from before shot her another look of disgust.
"Oh, don't act like you miserable tarts wouldn't do the same thing if your men looked like Captain America," Ashley rolled her eyes at them irritably.
...
thank you so much for your reviews :') next week is date night and a few unwanted guests...if you know what I mean...