Ashley and Steve were safely back on the ground a few moments later, hand in hand. Coulson and the Avengers were standing on one side and the X Men on the other, so Ashley stood in the middle of them with Steve's hand firmly clasped over hers in support. Naturally, Natasha was the first one to rush over to her and give her a hug, and Ashley still hugged her back the best she could before she could confront the group.
But of course nobody wanted to speak.
"So does anyone wanna start talking?" Steve began impatiently, annoyed at their stubborn silence. Logan stared directly at both Scott and Charles, still peed off about them going ahead with the plan in the first place. Scott caught his eye and uncomfortably cleared his throat, before stepping forward with his head bowed. Ashley frowned at his child-like movements.
"Scott?" she asked tentatively.
"We…sh*t. We did a bad thing, Ash," Scott finally began awkwardly. "We may have called Mystique in to impersonate you, and got her to tell your boss that…that you wanted to quit S.H.I.E.L.D."
Ashley's eyes grew as wide as dinner plates, struggling to find the right words to express her frustration.
"You did WHAT?! Why the hell would you do that?!" she yelped, lunging forward just before Steve firmly yanked her back. "What the f*ck Scott - that is so irresponsible of you!"
"And incredibly shady, can we not forget shady?" Tony couldn't help but frown. They hadn't been told the extent of what happened yet - so finding out what the X-Men actually did was news to them too.
"What made you guys think she wasn't fine where she was?" Clint blinked at them accusatorially.
"We were just worried about her," Storm attempted to explain - but the Avengers responded with the harshest of disbelieving scoffs.
"You didn't have to be! I'd explained that to you, remember?" Christie reminded them with a growl. "But you lot were so convinced that some harm was gonna come that you went ahead and played hero anyway. You just wanted an excuse to jump in!" That's when Ashley stared over at her sister.
"Huh? Wait, slow down! When did you explain that to them?!" she frowned.
"Remember the day that we were at Aunt Mez's cafe and I had to leave because my house alarms were going haywire? Yeah, it's because these lot had broken in to 'save you'," Christie announced brightly with a sarcastic smile, leaving Charles' head to snap up directly in their direction.
"You did what?" he frowned with a disapproving glare.
"Scott's idea!" Logan immediately tapped out as Scott's mouth hung open.
"Once again, you didn't have to come with us, Logan," he grunted back through gritted teeth.
"Wow. You guys are really owned by this dude, huh?" Tony sighed lowly.
"Shut it, Copper Kid," Scott spat back in disgust, which made Thor start laughing. But when Tony turned to glare at him with the stoniest expression he could muster, he quickly smothered his laughter with a rough cough, whilst Scott turned back to Ashley. "Listen, I'm sorry, okay Ash? We got spooked cos we heard that you were living with assassins-"
"Living with assass- Christie? You were busting your balls to come save me because I was living with my own sister?" Ashley laughed lightly.
"We didn't know she was your sister, Ashley…actually, we didn't know you even had one," Storm muttered, shooting a brief glare over at Charles.
"Listen, whether all that happened or not - Fury still came to my room and kicked me out. There were literally cars waiting for me outside and everything?" Ashley pointed out.
"Yeah - that wasn't Fury either," came Coulson's grimace from where he was silently watching. "That would've been Misty-"
"Mystique," Storm, Logan and Rogue corrected him.
"Oh who the f*ck cares?!" Christie groaned.
"Mystique, thanks. Fury hasn't left his hide-out for a while and confirmed that he hadn't spoken to you. So she double crossed you - in fact she double crossed a lot of us, and well," Coulson explained. "But she clearly hasn't been around you for a while, because if it wasn't for me and Cap recalling our side of the story to Christie, we wouldn't have even guessed-"
"Wait, what do you mean? Steve?" Ashley frowned up at him now. "She impersonated me to you?"
"Yup, tried kissing me and everything. That's when I knew something was up," Steve nodded with an embarrassed wince, as Ashley's confused face fell into complete mortification.
"Yikes," Clint winced.
"Yeeah okay, NOW you've crossed the line," Tony sang under his breath.
"Oh god, are you guys this much of a pain all the damn time?" Scott snapped again.
"Ah, you appear to be radiating unnecessary anger there," Thor tutted.
"Hey to be fair, Thor - if I had to wear rose tinted glasses, I'd be pretty permanently p*ssed, too," Clint pointed out with a sarcastic frown as Tony bit back a chuckle.
"Barton, not helping," Steve muttered lowly. Even though he was clearly keeping the peace, Ashley could feel him tense up against her, so she ran her thumbs across the back of his hands in smoothing motions.
It worked - Steve took a deep breath and managed to calm himself down under her touch.
"Clint," Ashley also sighed. "Don't agitate them."
"Yeah, Clint! Leave Anastasia here to be Left Outside Alone," Tony tutted back. That seemed to be the final straw for Scott - he clicked in his glasses into focus and aimed his laser directly at Tony's forehead.
"You know what? Your ass has been bugging me all day. That's it, let's go, right now," he grunted, prodding the shoulder of Tony's suit.
"Oh, I'm really starting to dislike you too, pretty boy," Tony muttered back lowly. And just like that, there was immediate chaos amongst them all. The Avengers men were going against Scott and Logan, who both had reasonably short tempers, whilst Christie and Natasha were teaming up against Storm and Rogue, whereas Coulson, being the only S.H.I.E.L.D rep, had some serious confrontational questions for Charles.
Ashley looked up at Steve tiredly and he glanced back down a her, equally as exhausted.
"Want me to take this one?" he murmured.
"No, my mess - I'll fix it," Ashley whispered back, looking into his beautiful eyes once again. Steve smiled down at her, brushing a strand of her deep red locks behind her ear. "I had a lovely date with you, by the way," she hummed dreamily.
"So did I - we should do it again sometime," Steve chuckled softly, trying hard to keep his focus in her eyes. He was biting back the urge to kiss her and she knew it.
But this wasn't the time - or the place.
Ashley stared at him for a few more seconds before snapping out of it and turning back to the bickering group again. She stomped straight over to them, getting right in between the guys before blasting a violent wind from her palms to send them all flying in different directions.
"You're all IDIOTS!" she yelled as they attempted to clamber to their feet again. "What are you even fighting about? Because I don't even think it's me?!" Her shoulders finally drooped and she let out a long sigh, pushing her hair from her face again and lowering her tone. "Okay. Chris, thank you for knowing me well enough to know that Mystique's actions weren't in my nature. If you didn't, I would've been…in a much worse place right now." Christie ducked her head slightly and mouthed a pleased 'you're welcome' with a little smile. "Steve, Tony, Thor, Nat - even you, Clint. Thank you for coming down here to get me. It means the world that you'd even try after only knowing me for a few months?" Ashley blushed at them as well, twiddling her fingers awkwardly.
"Well duh," Natasha frowned obviously.
"Red, we've literally got Banner round there waiting for a Code Green," Tony hummed back. "We came ready for a damn fight!"
"Wow," Ashley let out a surprised breath with a hand on her chest. "That's…kinda huge."
"I know, right?! See, we are nice people!" Clint raised his eyebrows towards Scott. This provided the perfect opportunity for Ashley to turn to her old team, taking a deep breath for her parting speech.
"Guys, I was not in danger. You've been scared for absolutely no reason. I was perfectly safe and more importantly, perfectly happy," she assured them as gently as she could, before turning to her father. "And Dad…the best thing you could've done was freeze that examination, so stop feeling guilty. That was your 'loving father' move right then, and I can only thank you for it. You guys at the mansion will never stop being my family. Yes, you go above and beyond every single time - but now…you have to let me go." Storm and Rogue both swiped some stray tears from their cheeks, as Scott gave a stiff nod of acknowledgement. But Charles hadn't finished yet.
"Ashley-" he began apprehensively.
"No, no more! I am, in the nicest way possible, tired of hearing your voice. I'm 25, I'm not a child. I can make my own decisions. Let it go," Ashley muttered firmly. "And I will put up whatever fight necessary." Charles closed his mouth and said nothing, whilst Christie shot her sister a supportive smile. She was so proud of her. Ashley smiled back before turning to Coulson once more. "And sir, if you'll have me back, I'd be grateful to rejoin the…well, whatever we're called now," she requested humbly. Coulson smirked at her.
"Ashley, I can honestly say - we'd be honoured to have you back," he assured her. Ashley beamed at him and clasped her hands together.
"Awww welcome back, Red," Tony sighed a little smugly. "So…where are we headed now?"
"Back to the mansion," Charles suddenly interjected, causing everyone to stare at him.
But his stern eyes suddenly morphed into the friendly warm ones that the rest of the world knew.
"It appears as if Ashley's got some packing to do." Coulson grinned at him appreciatively, alongside Logan, Rogue and Storm - all three of them knowing that it was the right thing to do. Meanwhile Tony, Clint, Natasha and Coulson all breathed out sighs of relief.
"Great…but before I go, could one of you call Mystique to come down to the mansion?" Ashley asked her old team with a strangely bright smile. "I have a…question for her."
An hour or so later, Ashley was packing the last of her belongings with Rogue and Christie's help. Well, Rogue was helping; Christie was lounging on the armchair, scoffing down a jar of honey yoghurt with her feet up. "Wouldn't hurt to give us a hand, Chris!" Ashley called out with a frown.
"Ashley, I just singlehandedly organised an entire rescue mission," Christie drawled back unapologetically. "Now, I am shamelessly relaxing." Rogue chuckled to herself and zipped up another suitcase.
"Fine. You can at least go and get Lady Bucky," Ashley offered with an irritable tut. "Rogue, could you chuck me your keys?" Rogue shoved her gloved hand into her pocket and chucked it over at Ashley who then chucked it over to Christie. "Room X53! Don't forget to empty her litter tray - she would've stress-pooped." Christie caught the keys, rolled her eyes and stood up with a groan.
"Fine. But I'm not doing this for you - I'm doing it for Lady Bucky," she grumbled as she breezed out of the room. Ashley and Rogue were left giggling with each other.
"She's cool - I like her," Rogue nodded enthusiastically. "I like her a lot."
"The entire world seems to likes her - bar Natasha," Ashley grinned back. Rogue zipped up the last bag before peering out of the tall windows and to the grassy grounds below. Thor was surrounded by a group of students, giving them turns on trying to lift his hammer with a hearty grin; Tony was chatting with Logan, presumably about his adamantium claws which appeared to fascinate him; Clint was on the target practice side of the field with a handful of the mutants and one of them was lighting his soaring bows with fire from her mouth; and Natasha was speaking to the same little girl that she'd seen earlier in the hallway.
"Your friends seem so cool," Rogue breathed longingly against the glass. Ashley glanced up and gave a light laugh.
"Yup. They're really good guys."
"I can tell. The kids seem to love 'em, and they don't usually take to non-mutants too well," Rogue mused, finally dragging her eyes away. She paused for a second. "Hey, Ash? Would you have really injected yourself with that stuff?"
Ashley froze to blink at her.
"I was ready to," she mumbled slightly ashamedly. "I was so ready to. But Steve raised a good point once - if I have kids with a mutation, the last thing I'd want to do is try and teach them to love themselves if I couldn't even do the same." Rogue nodded just as Ashley's bedroom door swung open again. In walked Christie and Steve, who was carrying Lady Bucky's belongings whilst Christie had the irritable little princess in her arms herself. Ashley let out a squeal of joy and rushed across the room. "Why helloooo there my little angel!" she cooed, prising the kitten from Christie's hands and kissing her little nose. Lady Bucky meowed in appreciation and purred against her.
"Ahhh, she's too cute," Christie smirked before clapping her hands. "Ashley, are you all ready to go? I wanna go home and sleep."
"Yeah, let's do it," Ashley nodded as Steve opened up Lady Bucky's cat carrier - which she clearly was unhappy with. "Oooh I know baby, but it's okay! Look, we're going home now!"
"Ashley, Christie?" Rogue suddenly frowned, looking directly at them. "The professor wants to see you guys before you go. He just told me." Christie rolled her eyes and threw her head back whilst Ashley let out a tired groan and lolled her head forwards.
"Go and see your dad, I'll take your bags to the aircraft - it's parked out back. There's a huge 'out back', by the way," Steve muttered to Ashley, zipping up Lady Bucky's carrier as she hissed. "Hey Miss Attitude! Hey hey hey - didn't your mom already explain that we're going home? Don't be mad at me!" Ashley stared at him with eyes of adoration. She could already envision him saying those same words to their beautiful but fussy baby somewhere in the future - before abruptly shaking the idea out of her head.
When they hadn't even been on a successful date yet?
Oh grow up, Ashley.
…
The girls entered Charles' office apprehensively, arm in arm, taking slow and careful strides until they stood boldly in front of his desk. Charles looked up at them with the smallest of smiles. "Girls," he began slowly - but was abruptly interrupted by none other than Aunt Meredith and Mella, suddenly standing next to Christie out of nowhere. Christie rolled her eyes and barely flinched, whereas Ashley jumped back with a shout of surprise.
"Charles," Mella muttered bitterly.
"Mella - I thought I'd banned you from the premises?" Charles frowned.
"And I thought we had a contracting deal over the safety of our daughter, but if you can't comply with something so bloody simple then why the hell should I?" Mella shot back angrily.
"Charlesy," Aunt Meredith tutted, pacing his office and running her fingers over everything. "This decor needs revamping. Seriously. Your eye for interior is shocking, considering who your in-law is. Have you NO shame?" Charles gave a slight roll of his eyes.
"Aunt Meredith, you've managed to arrive slap bang in the middle of a dramatic speech," Christie hissed through gritted teeth.
"Honestly Aunt Meredith - worst timing possible," Ashley murmured. "Dad, continue." Charles sighed, trying to ignore Aunt Meredith and Mella's silent but deadly stares.
"I just wanted to tell you both how proud I am - of both of you, in fact. Christie…" he trailed off, shaking his head. "You have done so much for yourself, by yourself. I wasn't there to see you grow up and that's something I've never forgiven myself for. I am sorry, so deeply sorry for all the hurt I've caused by not being present."
Christie internally rolled her eyes.
So he still didn't understand that this was bigger than 'not being present' - but she really wasn't in the mood to argue, so she nodded.
"Thanks," she murmured bluntly. "That…means-"
"Nothing, it means nothing, Dad!" came the abrupt interruption that was Ashley. Christie turned to look at her in surprise, as did Mella, whilst Aunt Meredith smirked and settled herself in one of the armchairs, eager to watch. "It wasn't that you weren't there! It was that you and Mum focussed so much on me that Christie was shoved to the side! You wouldn't be able to see her grow up even if you were there because half the time, you barely looked in her direction. It was emotional neglect and dare I say it still happens. That, is what you should be apologising for."
Charles twisted his mouth in various shapes before turning back to Christie again.
"Is…is that true?" he frowned quietly. "You feel like-"
"Oh give it a rest, it's not what I 'FEEL' like," Christie muttered back roughly. "It's what actually happened. No point trying to gaslight me."
"Christianna Jade! You honestly think I focussed on your sister more than you?" Mella gasped, taking Christie's hands with a dramatic look of sorrow.
That's where Ashley got it from.
"Sweetheart, we had some wonderful times when they left!"
"'Wonderful times?'" Christie repeated in disgust, snatching her hands from her mother's grip. "Mum, whenever we were together, you'd talk about Ashley and 'how she must be doing', and 'if you had to call her', and how you 'wondered if she's learnt something new'…you couldn't give a sh*t about me!"
"Don't say that! Don't you dare!" Mella hissed. "I loved both of you with all of me-"
"Whether you think you did or not, Mum," Ashley rolled her eyes in annoyance, "this is how she feels. You can't dismiss the feelings of your child. You can only apologise and try to do better for the years that you have left as a parent!" Mella opened her mouth to argue again but Charles got there first.
"You're right, Ashley," he nodded, surprising them all. "And I should've known that much. Christie, I'm aware that I was incredibly caught up in handling your sister's mutation. I appreciate that I wasn't the best father to you, and I'll do better."
Christie finally gave him an appreciative smile.
"Cheers."
"And Ashley?" Charles turned to his oldest daughter apprehensively, "I apologise for getting so caught up in your mutation. I let it get in the way of being a father - and I'm rather ashamed for allowing you to feel so insecure, when I would never even let my own students feel that way." Ashley bit back those tears that were bubbling up, hearing the sincerity in her father's voice.
"Aww it's fine, Dad," she pouted, making her way over to him, wrapping her arms around his neck from behind and comfortably resting her chin on his bald head. "I know you did it for my own good."
"I did, but Christie's right. You're not Jean, and I need to get that into my own mind. I was so scared of losing you that I almost lost you in the process anyway," Charles hummed as he tapped her arms fondly.
"Mhm. Like I said, everything you did for me was out of love…but now you have to let me go out of love too," Ashley sighed before pressing a sweet kiss onto his head.
"I know," he sighed. "I could not be more proud, and I mean that." Ashley beamed back and gave him one final squeeze before letting go. "Also, Captain America seems very fond of you." Ashley groaned and slammed her hands over her face whilst Christie smirked to herself. Then she glanced up and saw her father sharing a similar smirk in her direction - causing her to drop the smirk and replace it with a genuine smile instead.
So that's where she got it from.
…
"Ready to go?" Coulson nudged Ashley's arm with a smirk, once the sisters had arrived out to the field where the jet sat surrounded by a crowd of awestruck students.
"Born ready," Ashley confirmed. Coulson nodded before cupping his hands over his mouth and shouting down the field,
"ANY KIDS BELONGING TO ME - WE'RE GOING HOME!" Thor glanced up from where he was still speaking to the few strong willed students who hadn't given up on his hammer.
"Right then, tiny earthly men - I must be leaving now," he told them as he firmly shook each of their small hands.
"Awww," they all pouted, scrunching up their faces. "No fair!"
"Will you come back and teach us?" one of them practically begged him.
"Of course," Thor nodded solemnly, calling the hammer towards him. "Perhaps by that point you'll be…truly worthy." And with that, he stood up and began strolling towards the awaiting jet, leaving the boys to argue amongst themselves over who would be 'most worthy' by his return. Meanwhile, Clint was high-fiving his new archer fans, whilst Natasha was still speaking to the small fair haired girl.
"Now you stay strong, okay Esme?" she hummed, looking deep into her large lemur-like eyes. The girl gave a solid nod of obedience before hooking her skinny arms around Natasha's slender neck to give her a hug. Natasha frowned in surprise but hugged her back, before getting up and walking towards the jet.
Before she could enter the aircraft though, Storm swiftly intercepted.
"You seem to have made a great impression on Esme!" she quickly mentioned, causing Natasha to turn around.
"Mmm. She reminds me of someone I knew," she murmured back quietly. "How old she?"
"She's five. Parents dropped her off when she was about two. Didn't know what to do with her - she's one of the few mutants who displayed their mutation from birth. It freaked them out," Storm answered through gritted teeth, crossing her arms and shaking her head. "Now she doesn't talk much. She barely looks people in the eye, so I'm amazed that she's taken to you so well." Natasha breathed a shaky breath out and tore her eyes from the little girl.
"Poor baby," she sighed to herself. "Will you keep me updated on how she is?"
"Of course," Storm nodded with a small smile. "I'm glad you've shown interest in her."
"Yeah. She's sweet," Natasha murmured before slipping back into the jet. Meanwhile, Ashley, was already giving her goodbye hug to Logan. He squeezed her tightly and pressed a kiss to her temple.
"Now you stay safe, bud," he murmured once they let go. "You get into any trouble with any of those guys, you give me a call, okay?" Ashley giggled tearfully and gave him a promising nod.
"For the last time, they're the good guys, Logan - but I will," she told him sincerely before moving onto Storm. She gave Ashley a hug too and kissed her cheek. "Thank you for everything."
"You're most welcome," Storm laughed, letting go of her. "I'm so proud of the woman you've become." Ashley felt her heart strings twang and she ducked her head.
"Thank you so much." By the time she had finally turned to Rogue, her eyes were already filling with tears - and this just made Ashley's own tears spill. "Marie, stop!" she pouted.
"I c-can't even hug you goodbye. You're still too weak," Rogue sobbed helplessly, shaking her head. Christie raised an unamused eyebrow and glanced over at Coulson, who was desperately trying not to look in her direction because he knew he'd end up laughing.
She couldn't hug her? Sounded a tad dramatic.
"Stay safe, honey," Ashley whispered to her firmly. Rogue looked up at her with those tearful eyes and nodded, biting down on both her plump lips before giving a slightly unenthusiastic,
"I…I will."
Ashley gave her one last fleeting look before allowing herself to finally move on to Scott. He stood there looking both unhappy and slightly apprehensive. So Ashley pulled him in for a hug, feeling his entire demeanour stiffen up more and more by the second - but eventually, he relaxed and hugged her back.
"Just make sure you stay safe, Ash," he grumbled into her shoulder. Ashley kissed his stubbled jaw and nodded.
"I will. I promise I will," she swore as they gave each other one finals squeeze before letting go. He shot her a smile and stepped back so that she could leave. At that point, Steve, Coulson and Christie all stepped forward, zipping up their jackets so that they could also enter the aircraft with Aunt Meredith and Mella close behind, linked arm in arm.
"Goodbye, Charles dearest!" Aunt Meredith wiggled her fingers at him as the glided past where he sat. "Don't stay a stranger from now on, oui?" Charles raised an eyebrow and gave them a polite nod back, saying no more.
"You ready?" Steve quietly asked Ashley with a smile. Ashley looked up at him and nodded, smiling back.
"Captain Rogers!" Charles suddenly called him over, making Steve's head shoot up in surprise.
"Sir?" he answered confidently as he stepped over to where he sat. Charles took a deep breath in before imploring,
"Please, please look after my daughter." Ashley felt the tears well up in her eyes as Steve gave a humble nod and held out his hand to give Charles a firm, gentlemanly handshake.
"I will, sir. You have my word," he told him sincerely. Charles gave him a nod, believing every word. But before they could all actually leave the premises, there was a new woman walking towards them. She was blonde, a pretty faced one at that, dressed in a beige trench coat and heels. The group all stared at her and the Avengers poked their heads out of the open jet door, wondering both who she was.
"Ashley," Storm nodded as the woman approached them all. "This…is Mystique."
"That's Mystique?" Christie murmured to Tony whose shoulder she was leaning on with a frown.
"I mean…she's kinda hot," Tony mused whilst Clint nodded in agreement beside him.
"Oh, I am so telling Pepper you said that," Natasha rolled her eyes back, incredibly unimpressed. Meanwhile, Ashley had stepped forward so that they were face to face.
"So you're the magical Mystique who literally stole my identity, yes?" Ashley cocked an eyebrow and crossed her arms, the attitude practically oozing out of her. Mystique rolled her eyes and waved it off.
"Yeah. I'm sorry, they asked me to do it and I did - is this all you wanted?" she blinked bluntly, totally unbothered.
That just pushed Ashley to do exactly what she wanted to.
"No, I wanted you to see this," she muttered, before turning towards Steve. She took a deep breath in and placed her hands on either side of his jaw - and before he could even register what was happening, she latched her plump lips against his for the first time ever. Steve's hands immediately found their ways to the dips of her waist, deepening the kiss a little more as her back began to slowly bend backwards. Her hands slowly tangled themselves in the top of his blonde tufts of hair and their bodies slowly pressed closer as their kiss intensified in front of everyone.
"Oh GROSS!" Tony and Clint shuddered simultaneously before going to sit back down in the aircraft again, whilst Natasha and Christie couldn't help but high five each other, despite the bad blood. Charles and Coulson raised their eyebrows and looked away a little uncomfortably, as did Scott, but Storm and Rogue shared the same look of joy in their eyes - especially Natasha.
Eventually Ashley and Steve broke apart again, softly smiling at each other, both of them relieved that all the undoubtable tension between them could finally be regulated.
"Never, ever try and kiss him again," Ashley hissed over to Mystique before grabbing Steve's hand and dragging him straight into the aircraft without another word, Coulson quickly following suit.
"You're serious? I came all the way over here for that sh*t?" Mystique spat, crossing her arms irritably. "Charles, what the hell is wrong with your kid?"
"Nothing, Raven ," Charles smirked, a little smile playing at his lips, "that's just the way she is."
...
second half of the book starts this weekend! thank you so much for reading, following and reviewing, it always means so much to know people actually enjoy my writing. don't go anywhere if you'd like more ashley and steve, though! there's much more to come!