She felt content, a pleasant buzz in her extremities as she walked along the golden corridor, leaning heavily on the person besides her. Samantha recognised the light headiness and slight blur to her vision for having previously experienced it herself a lot when at university.
She was drunk.
And she could tell she was happy, enjoying the feeling as her companion led her to wherever they were going. Occasionally she would stumble but the strong arm around her waist would catch her and hold her up.
"Honestly I am fine Loki, why must we leave the celebration?" She found herself saying, her head rolling to the side before turning to look at the young, black haired man next to her. She felt her breath catch at the sight of him, her heart rate picking up with how she pressed against him.
"Believe me when I say, you will thank me for this in the morning." Loki stated, keeping his head forward as he continued to pull her along the corridor.
"But I was having fun," she whined as they neared a door, which Loki directed them through.
The room was large, adorned with gold and silver furniture and design. She knew straight away it was one of the many guest rooms of the palace, not far from Loki's own room. She did not protest as he guided her to the sofa in the middle of the room, facing the large four poster bed. She fell ungracefully onto the seat, just managing to stay sitting as she manoeuvred herself to rest her back against the arm rest, so as to face Loki who took a seat next to her.
"And I was having fun watching you make a fool of yourself," Loki told her with a smug smirk, clearly enjoying the situation.
"Singing with Volstagg and arm wrestling Thor is not foolish," she defended herself, slightly annoyed at his mocking.
"It is when despite persistently losing you keep shouting for a rematch." He pointed out with a rise eyebrow that almost broke her stare into a smile but she managed to resist.
"Because I know I can win," she said, pointing at him, her words slurring slight and her finger wavering as if caught in a breeze. Loki simply hummed his response, clearing disagreeing with her statement. "Besides were you not occupied with Sigyn?"
"I was until you needed saving," Loki answered, pointing his own finger up at her. "You owe me for that by the way."
She gave a loud scoff and eye roll as she flung herself back again to rest against the side of the sofa. She took a moment to settle her stomach as the world continued to move around her yet she remained stationary. Once certain she was not about to vomit, she continued.
"How are you not full?"
"Because I did not down an entire casket of ale in a contest with my brother." Loki pointed out, his smug smirk once again plastered across his face.
"It's the Mid-summer ball, you're suppose to indu-in—indulge." She managed to say despite stumbling across her words at the end.
"Yes well you have indulged for the both of us." The raven haired man replied, but she could tell there was no mocking in her eyes, if anything he was looking at her with a fondness.
The pair stared at each for a moment, and she could feel the heat rise in her cheeks, trying to ignore the undeniable attraction she felt. It seemed to remind her of something, and suddenly she was making a move to stand.
"Norns, I should have said good bye to Fandral, he's probably wondering where I went." She exclaimed as she stood up, almost falling straight back down but she managed to right herself right at the very end.
Before she could take a step towards the door though, a pair of hands had already caught her shoulders, pulling her back. She was twirled on the spot and for a moment she thought she may finally vomit, but the feeling passed quickly, and she turned to look at Loki who remained close to her.
"Do not worry, he has already found someone else to occupy his bed for the night."
"That is just rude," she felt her face go bright red, her voice low and the embarrassment thick in her voice.
"Are you going to deny that was not your intention when you invited him to the ball?" Loki merely raised an eyebrow at her. Though she was tall, her head only reached the bottom of his nose and so he was still able to look down at her.
"You're one to talk, remind me again, when are you introducing Sigyn to your mother?" She shot back, a raised eyebrow of her own, refusing to back down and move away.
"If it's any consolation, Fandral is not a very giving lover, you have not missed out on a great experience," Loki remarked next, earning surprise from her. It was strange Samantha thought, the information of him being with another man was not the surprising information to her, but who it was.
"When did you-"
"The last Yule ball."
"That's where you disappeared to," she said almost to herself. Then without thinking, her next statement crossed her lips. "Well I am not too upset by it, he was not my first choice for tonight anyway."
"Who was?"
Suddenly she became aware of how close they were still stood, how Loki's hands had moved down to gently grip her upper arms. Her eyes flicked back up and for a moment they paused on his lips. Her almost confession combined with his proximity was causing her to flounder even more. Trying to regain some control, she took a step back, placing their arms into a neutral dancing position.
"You owe me a dance." She said, making her intentions clear. If Loki noticed her momentary lapse in judgement he did not say, he only raised his eye brows for a moment.
"There is no music." He stated but he did not step back nor let go of her.
"That has not stopped us before." She remarked earning a small laugh from her companion. She could feel her heart flutter and a heat pool in her stomach but was gladly distracted as Loki led them around the room.
Samantha could tell her feelings were way beyond those of friendships, though not yet acted on. It was something she was trying to quench, not wanting to allow it fruition for the repercussions it could have on their friendship. But tonight, the alcohol had seemed to fully dismantle any of her previous reservations or logical reasoning as to why she should keep things platonic with the man before her.
"Why do you do it Geni?"
His question startled her, so engrossed in her own thoughts. The pair continued to dance but their movement now more subdued, a subtle sway side to side as their focus turned towards conversation again.
"Do what?"
"Subject yourself to suitor after suitor?" Loki asked her, staring directly into her eyes, no judgement for her choices but a curiosity to them. "You've never been with the same one twice."
"Is it not hypocritical for you of all people to be asking?" She shot back.
"I have my reasons."
"And I have mine."
They continued to sway in silence for a few more moments before Loki gave a large sigh and decided to speak again.
"I am well aware of my title," he began with, "how even one night with a Prince elevates anyone's status, let alone a continued courtship. So I use them just as they are using me."
"What a sad way to think of connections with people." She muttered but she knew he had heard her.
"One I have learnt the hard way."
Her heart gave a pang, for she seemed to be all too familiar with the feeling. She also seemed to know of the experiences he referred to, as if she had shared his pain, been his confidante during those times.
Realising it was only fair she be as truthful as him, she stopped their swaying but remained close as she spoke next.
"No-one's thoughts are hidden to me when we are so physically connected. Even the hardest mind to read, is laid bare when I join them in bed. Suddenly all the traits and imperfections they see in me, are evident. No one can hide how they truly feel about me, and like you, I am simply a means to an end." If there was shock in Loki's eyes, she couldn't see it, nor was their sympathy, only understanding. If anything it only caused her to fall that much more for him. She gave a hard smile as she repeated his words back to her. "So I use them, as they use me."
"What a truly depressing pair we make." Loki remarked earning a soft laugh from her, and when she looked back up, she could see the soft smile which adorned his features.
"Don't we just?" She whispered back.
She could feel his hands move, the hand in between her shoulder blades, moved towards her lower back while the other hand gently lowered her hand back to her side, before placing it on her neck. She wasn't sure when the atmosphere had changed, but the air was now charged with an electricity. The hooded look in Loki's eyes no doubt reflected in her own.
"What am I thinking right now?" He asked, a teasing tilt to his words.
"You know I cannot read you Loki." She felt her heart rate speed up, he had flirted with her in the past, the two enjoying the teasing. But this time was different to before.
"Even when we are so physically connected?" For good measure, he tugged her even closer so she was pressed against his chest.
"Even then." She replied, spurred on by alcohol and determined to show Loki's teasing had not gotten to her, she decided to play just as dirty. "Why do you think you were my first choice?"
The resulting wide eyed expression and momentarily loss for words was exactly the effect she was looking for. She prided herself on being one of the few people who could catch Loki off guard such as this.
"What?" Was all he managed to say, she almost missed it with how quiet he said it.
"You are always my first choice Loki. Always have been."
In a moment of madness, and before she could regret it, she lent upwards slightly, but with how close they stood it was enough. Her lips reached his and her eyes automatically fluttered shut as she enjoyed the sensation of her lips against his. It felt natural, the way his mouth moved against hers and it took all her composure to pull back. She could not help but feel smug with the way Loki leaned in for a few seconds after, his eyes remaining closed, his lips slightly parted.
When he did open his eyes again, he looked at her, a question evident in his eyes.
"See, nothing. You could have hated that, and I would never know." Her voice was gentle but the teasing tone clear. She would not show him how much the kiss had meant, nor how good it felt. No, she would continue the joke, just as they had always done. "Goodnight Loki."
She managed to stumble away from his unusually silent self, and when she reached the bed, she practically collapsed on to it. The festivities and drink finally catching up on her.
Her eyes closed.
And then the wind was biting.
And she was falling.
Samantha gave a gasp as she sat up, her alarm blaring off her phone on the side of her bed. She quickly reached to the side and hit the snooze button before sinking back into the bed in her darkened room.
It was still too early for the morning sun to be showing making it all the more harder for her to leave the warmth of her covers. Her mind instead relived the dream she had just had. Samantha wondered if she would ever get used to the dream of falling to her death, but after 18 months of the recurring nightmare, she still always woke up with a fright, a cold sweat covering her body.
A sudden weight on her stomach caused her to give an oof but she was not annoyed. She looked down to the black and white cat which was now kneading on her chest, accompanied by the odd meow.
"I guess you're hungry," Samantha muttered, her hand coming up to scratch the cat's head which caused it to immediately start purring with pleasure.
Samantha hadn't been planning on getting a pet, she was content in her little flat in Brooklyn by herself but after only a month of living here, she had been walking past an adoption centre. When she overheard the thoughts of the staff about an older cat who was about to be put down despite being a lovely animal, Samantha had found herself walking in and demanding to see said animal.
It turns out the 12 year old moggy, though playful and a fan of human company, seemed to be too old for anyone to want to adopt her. It was love at first site though for Samantha, and before she knew it, she was walking home with her new pet in her hands and an afternoon spent ordering off the internet to fill her flat up with cat treats.
Apparently the previous owner had been a fan of Harry Potter before they couldn't look after the cat anymore and given his age, Samantha had no choice but to continue with the name Lupin.
She shifted slightly in her bed but it was enough to show Lupin she was about to get up. As quickly as he had jumped on her, he was off, running into the open plan kitchen and living room where his food bowel was kept.
Her alarm began to blare again, her snooze time used up. Realising she could no longer avoid leaving her bed, Samantha pulled her covers back and made her way to the kitchen, walking past where Frykte was kept by the front door for easy access. As she reached up for the cat food, Lupin responded with enthusiasm, rubbing his body against her lower legs.
Once her cat was tucked into his breakfast, Samantha made her own bowel of cereal and made her to way to the room she had made the study. Her eyes wandered over the large timeline spread across the far wall. Taking a seat at the desk in there, she began to write down what exactly had happened in her dream prior to the fall, occasionally spooning a mouthful of cereal into her mouth.
When finished, she took the piece of paper and made her way over to the wall, where multiple pieces of paper were lined up against the long red line which reached from one end to the other.
An accumulation of the last year of her life, since moving to New York, dedicated to understanding and remembering her previous one.
Lupin announced his entrance with a large meow, padding into the room before making himself comfortable on the seat she had just vacated,
"What do you reckon Lupin? Loki looked about 19, they did say it was after the Yule ball….but we have had dreams about two of them…I'm going to put it there," Samantha reached up and placed the piece of paper about 3/4s of the way along the line, nestled in-between the other notes she had made. When she turned to look back at her cat, Lupin had already fallen back asleep, causing a soft smile to appear on her face.
It disappeared quickly though when she saw the time and realised she was going to be late.
"Sorry, sorry I know I'm late," Samantha prattled as she ran into the training room, wrapping her hands ready as she went, after quickly throwing on her work out gear.
She could hear the machines working hard as even though it was still early in the morning, the room already had a few SHIELD agents scattered around it, looking for early work outs before they started work.
When she looked up, she wasn't met by who was expecting to meet in the training room. Instead Phil Coulson stood with a polite smile and his impeccable suit with not a crease in sight.
"Oh, where's Nat?" Samantha asked as her pace slowed and she came to a stop in front of the agent.
"Agent Romanoff has had to go on a last minute assignment." Coulson answered, his voice keeping its usual neutral tone.
"Well, Brandon got shipped out last week somewhere and I know Clint's indisposed for the foreseeable future, so who's taking my training today?" Samantha questioned next.
"No one," Coulson gave a short, sympathetic smile. "Given your unique circumstances, Director Fury would prefer for your training to be kept to as limited a number of people as possible."
"Why would he-"
Is that her?
She doesn't look all that intimidating. I think I could take her
I hope she does that mind thing with Coulson.
Samantha's head turned to the side, listening to the thoughts of the other occupants in the room. She could feel their stares on her, an uncomfortableness of being watched came over her. The young woman turned back to face the older agent with a hard smile, one which didn't reach her eyes.
"Never mind, the other people in the room answered it for you." Samantha gave a quick look around the space again before her eyes fell back to Coulson. "Do you know when they'll be back?"
"I'm afraid I can't say."
"Because you don't know or because it's classified?" Samantha raised an eyebrow with her question.
"Does it matter?" Coulson retorted with a small shrug. When Samantha gave no response, he continued. "You're more than welcome to stay here and train on your own."
"I would rather not be gawked at by every gym user in the room. I think I'll just head home and work on those security upgrades you've asked for." Samantha was already unwrapping her heads as she spoke.
Phil didn't give a verbal response, only nodding his head in understanding. Not feeling the need to stay any longer, Samantha made her way out of the room.
It wasn't like she couldn't train on her own. Far from it, since joining SHIELD and training under its three best agents, Samantha had become quite adept at fighting. No longer did she have to rely on muscle memory and the fear of being killed. Her muscles had grown and with each day she trained and stayed close to Frykte, the stronger she grew.
It wasn't only in her fighting prowess either, where once she wasn't sure she could move things with her mind, the skill was somewhat easier now. Of course it tired her and though she could fling people quite far, the nuance, the control of the moving object was still something she needed to work on. She knew it was possible, she had seen it in her dreams.
All these skills had become invaluable to her, with the multiple missions she had already performed for SHIELD. And yet….she still felt like an outsider. Sure Brandon treated her as if they were still back in London, before all the stuff with Hughes happened. Then she had been introduced to Agent Barton and Romanoff to further her training, and both treated her like an equal. If anything, Nat was unimpressed by everything else…or was that her Russian indifference?
But at the end of the day, those three were still just human. Exceptional and talented beyond belief, but human. They didn't have to worry about holding their punches incase they broke their sparring partner's jaw, or hurling someone across the room if felt threatened enough. Sure when she was with them she could mostly forget about it, the three of them never giving her any special treatment.
However all three were now gone, and Samantha felt even more abnormal. The thoughts from the other agents in the gym only proving how odd they all thought she was. She didn't want to give them any more reason to stare at her, so she left as soon as she could.
In record time she was changed back into her normal clothes and making a break for the exit. She was almost out of the building when a familiar accented voice calling her name, caused her to stop and turn around.
"Dr Selvig, I didn't realise you were back in New York.' Samantha gave a smile as she looked at the older astrophysicist as he made his way over to her from the room he had been in.
After their initial meeting, she didn't see Dr Selvig for a while. She quickly found out it was because he had been assigned to a project who's facility was a mystery even to Samantha. However, whenever he was visiting the area, he had a knack for finding Samantha, always trying to persuade her one way or the other join his team. Though tempted, Samantha had no desire to leave New York just yet, enjoying her life as it was.
However, because of their multiple encounters, Samantha had found herself striking up a friendship of sorts with the older man, especially when she found out his connection to Thor when he had been on Earth. He would sometimes get irritated when she mentioned the God of Thunder but was always willing to answer her questions about Asgard. With his chats alongside her many discussions with Professor Larson over the last year, Samantha was pretty sure she was becoming an expert on the subject herself.
There were other times though, when speaking with him, he would get this look in his eyes and she felt he was seeing through her, expecting something she couldn't give. It was an odd feeling she knew, but one she couldn't help but have.
"Oh just a flying visit, my friend Dr Foster was presenting our work on Einstein-Rosen Bridges at Columbia last night so thought I would pop by while in town for her." Eric said, giving a large smile of his own when he approached her.
"Of course, the Foster theory," Samantha nodded with understanding, having been at the talk herself last night. "She's a great speaker."
"You were there?" Samantha answered with a nod. "Well of course, you more than most would have an interest in our work."
"I suppose so," She couldn't help but give a small laugh at his comment. Seemingly without telling him, he had know who and what she was from the very first moment they met.
"I hear congratulations is in order for yourself, Dr Jennings." Selvig said next, an almost proud smile on his face as he moved the conversation forward.
"Thank you but I can't call myself that for another few weeks, well, not until the official paperwork goes through." Samantha said, grinning from ear to ear at her accomplishment.
No longer hiding in her little cafe in the middle of London, Samantha had embraced who she was and in the last year was making up for lost time. It had taken some convincing by multiple parties, but she had managed to wrangle a computer science and engineering PhD from Columbia within a year. With a few strings pulled by SHIELD of course, but she had managed it. She had even sold a few of her designs to Stark Industries as well as other developed computer programs and consultancy work for different Government agencies, allowing her to live a comfortable lifestyle. There was no way she would have been able to afford her 2 bedded flat in Brooklyn without it, even on the pay SHIELD was giving her.
"I hear you're already looking for your next one, would I be able to interest you in joining us in the astrophysics field? We could use a mind like yours." She should have expected this she supposed, having had him already drop a few hints encouraging her to study the field in the past.
"I'm afraid I'm already in the process of organising a biochemistry PhD. Maybe the next one though." Samantha offered with a cheeky grin and earning a large laugh from the astrophysicist.
"That is a shame. I for one, would love to have you come join us at Project Pegasus." Selvig said, a hopeful look in his eyes as he mentioned his work yet again.
"The work outline you've sent me is very tempting." Samantha admitted. "Renewable energy is sorely needed and the work you're doing does sound interesting."
"I sense a but coming."
"But as I've said before, I'm very happy here in New York at the moment. I'm currently not looking to leave it any time soon."
"There's something else troubling you as well."
Despite having only met the man in passing with conversations lasting 20 minutes at the most, it was at times like this Samantha felt the man had known her his whole life. He just seemed to be able to read her, tell when something was bothering her or when she was happy about something. She seemed to reason he must just be good at reading people.
"Do you not think there's something else to the project?" Samantha asked, finally voicing what she had been thinking ever since he had sent her a very brief and heavily redacted outline of the project to her, with one of his many attempts to recruit her. "Don't get me wrong, renewable energy is a hot topic, but to have NASA and the US Air Force involved in a project for it with SHIELD? There's something else going on there, surely?"
"Well, if you ever want to find out, you know where I am." His eyes turned dark for a moment, and if she didn't know any better, she would say he was flirting with her.
Anger briefly flashed across his face as something behind her shoulder caught his eye. She turned to look and could see someone heading in their direction and with a quick read of his thoughts, she knew Eric was about to whipped away.
"I'm afraid I must leave you." Dr Selvig said with a sad smile as his eyes returned to her. "Take care Samantha."
"You too Dr Selvig." Samantha gave a small smile and a nod before continuing her walk to the building's exit.
If she turned around, she would have seen Dr Selvig staring after her, accompanied by a raven haired man in the reflection of the glass door he stood next to.
Samantha stretched as she counted her breathing. Trying her best to relax.
After coming back from the SHIELD building, she had spent most of the day working on upgrading the intelligence agency's server security. It was a project they gave her last week while she was in between missions, and for the most part she enjoyed it. Samantha enjoyed being able to sit at her computer and get lost in the world of code and programming.
After a while though, she could feel her body start to get angsty. A pent-up frustration as a result of not working out that morning. So here she was, trying to mediated in the hopes it would calm her a little bit. It was something she had taken up to help with controlling the ever present noise in the back of head. Without it, she doubted she would be able to enter any public space without breaking down from the sheer volume of it all.
Just as her physical strength grew, so did her ability to read other people's thoughts. She had managed to train herself to control it somewhat, allowing people privacy when she was speaking with them. But there were some thoughts, no matter how hard she tried to block it out, would always break through.
After about five minutes, Lupin had clearly grown bored or hungry, and was bumping his head against her legs which were crossed beneath her. Samantha gave a sigh, knowing no matter how much deep breathing she did, her body was too on edge to relax, and she needed some sort of physical activity to tire her.
As she put out Lupin's food for the evening, she thought about going for a run but looking at the frost which was settling over Brooklyn already, she wasn't very keen on the idea.
Samantha returned to her computer and accessed the SHIELD server, looking for appropriate places she could train. She had to be careful, pick somewhere with no people. If she truly wanted to exercise and train, she would need to be allowed to show her strength, she even thought of taking Frykte along with her. Bringing an ancient mythical weapon which was still technically missing from the Smithsonian plus her potential for knocking the boxing bags over, made her training options limited.
She could go back to the SHIELD building she supposed, but even at this time of night, she imagined the odd agent would still be hanging around. Samantha was keen not to be gawked at. So, she search the SHIELD database for any other training facilities they had in the area, maybe a safe house she could use.
The only place she seemed to find was an old fashioned boxing gym, about 30 minutes by the train into Manhattan. It was odd, Samantha thought, for the gym to even be on SHIELD's radar. It still looked privately owned and not actually run by them. But for some reason SHIELD had deemed it a place of safety. More so curious about why the intelligence agency had taken an interest in the place, rather than the gym itself, Samantha found herself heading out the door and towards her nearest subway station.
It didn't take long and before she knew it, she was stood outside the building which for all intents purposes looked closed if she couldn't hear the thoughts of the owner in the back of her mind, going over his takings for the day.
With Frykte hidden in the bag tightly strapped to her back, Samantha headed inside and came across a gym which she imagined wouldn't have looked out of place in some boxing drama from the 70s. Inside there was only one man, his back to her as he worked a punching bag to a pulp.
Samantha gave him a curious glance as she walked past but the guy seemed too focused on his workout to notice. Odd, she thought, even from the back, the tall blonde man seemed familiar somehow. She continued without pause though, and headed up to the office upstairs where an elderly man was sat.
After knocking and being invited in Samantha took a quick read of the guy to tell he seemed pretty harmless. Still unsure why SHIELD was so interested in this place, but also liking the atmosphere and the chance of privacy, Samantha found herself paying a small but generous fee to the owner to allow her 24 hour access to the gym when she wanted it, mostly with private use.
Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, the owner eagerly accepted her money. As he went about finding her a spare key, he gave a small chuckle before speaking.
"You know, in my 40 years of owning this place, I've never had a request like this…accept for 2 weeks ago. What are the chances?" The man asked with a cheery smile.
"Someone else wants 24 hour access to this place?" Samantha asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh yes, the gentleman downstairs," the man nodded his direction towards the man she had walked past on her way inside. "Between you and I, I think it's more the privacy he wants."
Her gaze turned towards the man also, once again struck by a feeling of knowing him but unsure from where. She was quickly distracted though by the owner giving her, her own key and instructions on how to lock the place up. Once happy she understood, he began to put on his coat and hat, clearly not planning to hang around any longer.
"Mr Rodgers," the man said as the pair walked down the stairs, catching the attention of the man who had been working out. He was now sat on a bench, wiping some of the sweat off his forehead. At the call of his name though, his head whipped up and he stood to his full height, as the pair approached him. "It appears we have another keen gym enthusiast. Miss Jennings has also just acquired access to the gym 24/7."
As Samantha looked at the suspicious face of the man, she was once again struck by the familiarity. The blue eyes, the square chin and muscles in places she didn't even know there could be, it all reminded her of something but she couldn't remember what.
Before either of them could speak, the elderly owner was speaking again, realising he was about to miss his train home. He quickly said his goodnights, reminding Samantha to lock up before dashing out of the door.
She looked back to other gym user, suddenly realising his height being a good inch or so taller than her. She could sense the suspicion coming off him and hers too was increased when she realised she couldn't hear his thoughts, even if concentrating.
Feeling a need to break the awkward silence, Samantha finally spoke up.
"I'm sorry, I didn't think anyone else would be here," was what she offered.
"It's okay. I'm finished anyway." The man seemed to relax only slightly, but enough he felt comfortable enough to turn his back to her as he took the wrapping off his hands and threw them into his bag.
"Are you sure? I can come back later." Samantha said, pointing her thumb in the direction of the door as an indication of her leaving.
"Please ma'am, I insist." He sent her a swift smile, before picking up his bag and making his way towards the exit.
"Thank you." Samantha practically shouted after him and was rewarded with a nod before the man went through the door.
Ma'am? Samantha mouthed to herself, suddenly feeling very old despite being 26….she didn't look that old did she?
Decided to analyse the encounter later, Samantha dumped her back on the bench, wrapped her hands and began to warm herself up with a few light kicks and punches on the sandbag. After a few minutes though her mind was hit with a thought as it suddenly realised who she had just met. So shocked, she couldn't help the cry which passed her lips.
"Holy shit!"
That was Captain America.
Hello
Firstly huge apologies for how long this took to write. I've had the outline and the dialogue written for a while but was particular stuck in everything else. So I do apologise with how long it's taken.
That being said, the response to the last chapter and the 'first movie' in general has been overwhelming. Honestly thank you so much for your kind words. Knowing people are enjoying Samantha's story has pushed me to keep going and try and continue with my chapter updates.
TheDaringFlower01 - Yes it's a rewrite though I first wrote it 9 years ago! And a lot has changed in the plot. Really for those who read the original, I would say they get nice easter eggs, particularly in the 'first movie' but really it's the character of Samantha and Gareth/Brandon with Hughes that have survived, but everything else I like to think has been improved. Thank you for your kind words, I'm glad you're enjoying reading this so much!
lydiavip — Thank you very much. I feel the cliffhanger is still unresolved but honestly the moment those two meet…well it's going to be interesting!
Rosiekay - haha, I hope your forehead is okay. I feel really bad leaving you hanging for three weeks to answer that. Though I think your question is still left unanswered. Hopefully this instalment is enough to keep you going :)
Miss Singing in the Rain - while hello old friend! I would always love to see your name pop up when you left a review and I'm so glad you've managed to find this story all these years later. I'm glad you're liking the rewrite, and waiting so long to introduce him, well I wanted to make this story as much about Samantha as it is about her relationships. I am so excited to write Avengers and what it will lead to. A warm welcome back to you too!
Blu3b3rryT3a - hahaha and as you can see your guesses got passing mentions, Samantha had to learn to fight somehow. It's lead to a fun dynamic between the three. And oh yes, SHIELD is in for some interesting times.
Thank you again for all your favourites, follows and reviews.
Until next week
Vex