I know I said a few ANs ago that I wasn't going to stop until I finish this medley arc, but whoops. I caved and wrote so many other things instead. But I'm only three chapters away from the end.
Chapter 138: Professionals
Merida's Apartment - Manhattan - 10:02 AM
"Don't you have to go to work?" Blake asks.
Merida walks out of her kitchen, drinking from a water bottle as she looks at him sitting on her couch. She's dressed in a solid white tee, black jeans, leather jacket, and black heeled boots which doubles as an everyday outfit and her work uniform. She never mentioned she had to step into the office or run out to the field. She was just chilling at her place ever since she learned about Ragnarök.
"I'm on vacation," Merida says. She's not wrong. She was allowed a small leave with no knowledge on when she's expected back but if SHIELD called her, she likely wouldn't answer. "What about you?"
Merida notices he's dressed in a light-blue button-up and jeans. He looks like he's about to run to the office but his office is across the country. He's typing on his laptop that rests on his lap. For all she knows, he seems like the type to dress like that on the weekends and days off.
"I have a press conference to report on," Blake responds. "That's why I'm in town."
"Right."
"Want to come?"
"I guess. What are you reporting on?"
"Emily Stark."
Merida almost wants to laugh. Out of every possible topic, of course it's Emily Stark. If only Merida let Emily knock on her door when she dropped off the wedding invite, Blake would've answered, done a whole interview and, if Merida was lucky, Emily would be too distracted talking about herself to notice that Blake was in her apartment. She'd probably hand him her wedding invite.
"I could help with that," Merida says.
"You just want to join me," Blake says with a grin. He doesn't even look at her, keeping his eyes on his screen.
Merida rolls her eyes. "Emily Stark is my best friend."
Blake almost drops everything. He takes a second to close his laptop and look at Merida with wrinkled brows and disbelief which excites Merida.
"She's your what?"
-o-
Stark Industries - 12:12 PM
Merida and Blake walk through the hound of journalists, cameramen, and paparazzi, making their way up to the front where only the notable and credible press sit. If Blake was here on his own, he'd be somewhere around the middle. He doesn't work for those big news enterprises that have new channels and correspondents in every metropolis. His firm has a print and online presence with familiarity to most households but that's about it. And he writes love letter responses so why would he sit in the front?
"Do you think she'll tell me about her fiancé?" Blake asks.
"Not at all," Merida responds.
"Would you?"
Merida looks around, seeing who's around. "You'll get three words."
"Only three?"
"He's over there."
Merida cocks her head to the side where Emily's standing at a doorway with Daniel. Blake does a double-take, looking back at Merida to see if she's making this up but she nods. Blake mouths a wow, impressed at the obvious yet oblivious aura of the room. He can tell by their body language: the lack of space between their bodies, arms left at their sides to show openness, and the comfortable smiles that they're something more than two people.
"He's literally right there speaking to her and nobody's saying anything or taking pictures," Blake whispers.
"People look past him," Merida responds. "Remember when Emily's engagement was leaked eight years ago? They assumed she was marrying another billionaire's son, a business partner's son, an athlete, a model, all those top names and high-status people. Emily wasn't in headlines a lot growing up since she was just being a dumb teenager like us. They wouldn't expect that Emily Stark is marrying a childhood sweetheart nobody knew about."
"Wait, what?"
"Tell another soul and I'm coming for yours."
"Fair. One question that I won't write about at all but I'm just curious."
"What is it?"
"Is she taking his name?"
"Hyphenation. Daniel, the fiancé, isn't taking her identity but adding to who she is. Her words, not mine."
Blake scribbles that down on a notepad. "I'm using that if I get a letter asking for hyphenating advice. Do you think she'll sue me?"
"I guarantee that she won't find out."
Merida steps ahead of Blake, entering the front row of chairs to the left of the aisle. The podium Emily's expected to speak is less than five feet away. Some of the more elite journalists shoot them dirty glares until they scurry away at the sight of Merida's SHIELD badge. Once a few chairs are cleared, Blake is too busy staring at her with admiration to sit down. He doesn't take a seat until she tells him to. Not only was that move ballsy, but there would now be some talk about SHIELD having journalists or contacts in the press. Blake knows they have communications representatives to respond to world events like The Battle of New York and sometimes they have agents posted at UN events or summit meetings for security reasons. It's not that Blake's worried about causing suspicion because SHIELD's presence at an Emily Stark press conference wouldn't be breaking news since she's a correspondent, but it's the ethics of the matter.
But he also pretended to be a Special Agent of the FBI so who is he to talk ethics?
"I'm counting this as our second date," Blake tells her. "You could be my assistant."
"I'd rather not hear Emily talk," Merida responds. "I get enough of that. Also, I don't want her to see me here with you."
"That hurts."
"Grow up."
Blake smiles at her as he reaches inside his jacket. He opens a glasses case and puts them on. Merida isn't sure why she watched him do that but he caught her staring. This time, he doesn't say anything.
"You're not wearing your contacts," Merida states.
"Only you deserve to see my beautiful eyes."
"Lucky me," Merida deadpans. "What is this press conference even for?"
"The reason why I asked if she's taking his name. Miss. Stark is slowly taking more of the CEO position at Stark Industries. It's just a preliminary questioning about the transition."
"Why is that a story?"
"That's the point of this whole press conference. They want to know about Emily's take on the role. You know, if she'll change her parents' current plans or change things up."
"Why would they care if she changes it?"
"It's just a formality. When Janet van Dyne sold her father's company to her husband, Hank Pym, he changed it to Pym Technologies. It was a big thing back in the day."
Merida scoffs. Out of all the examples that he could've used. "Their son is my asshole friend in the Upper East Side. The one you saw me talking to outside your hotel."
Blake almost drops his pen. "Who the hell are your friends?"
"I got a couple of royals, Asgardians, and Asgardian royals in the mix too. Spies, soldiers, billionaires, scientists, everyone possible." Merida smiles at his stunned expression. "Why are you doing this story?"
"The guy who was supposed to do this story for my firm is on paternity leave so bless his child. Besides, I asked for it."
"You wanted to do a story on Stark?"
"Beats responding to love letters and now I'm with you so it works."
Merida can't argue with that. Once she sees more reporters and cameras being set up, she scurries off to the side. Once she's out of the media's space, she sees Emily giving welcoming remarks and is relieved she didn't catch her. Merida leans against the wall and sees Daniel standing there, giving her a strange face. Merida straightens, brushing off her jacket. She told Blake that people looked past him and she was right since she forgot he was here.
"What are you doing here?" Daniel whispers.
"Moral support," Merida responds.
"Since when?"
"Since your wedding is in days I can count on one hand."
Daniel doesn't question her further and Merida is relieved. They look over at Emily, seeing that familiar glint in her eyes. It's a pleasure she gets when people warm up to her. It doesn't matter if it's people in a business meeting or her friends. She knows how to win people over and many reporters is nothing more.
"What does a young woman like you plan to do with Stark Industries' assets?" Blake asks when Emily gestures to him.
"My age doesn't define my financial capacity but aside from continuing our philanthropic efforts, I do plan on building schools, improving technology, and providing scholarships," Emily responds.
"With all that money, will you buy me a car?"
Emily's the first one to laugh before others join in. Merida stops laughing when she sees Daniel looking at her again. She's smiling at the back of Blake's head. Something about him taking his job seriously yet not giving a damn at the same time. Or maybe it's a strategy of his, to make Emily laugh and comfortable so that she'll answer more of his questions and engage in a friendly yet professional rapport. Merida's impressed … and intrigued. He reminds her of herself.
"What are you doing?" Daniel asks.
"What?" Merida questions, wondering what his problem is.
Daniel grins a little. "What are you smiling at?"
"He made a joke. I too would like Emily to buy me a car."
Merida's cheeks heat up. Daniel notices but doesn't comment because he's never seen that before. Merida hopes he thinks she's sick or something like that.
After an hour of questions, Emily gives her farewells and says the company's publicity reps will handle the follow-up questions. When a group of people take over the questions, Emily walks off to the side and enters the side room with Daniel and Merida. When the door's closed, they can still hear muffled questions and answers being fired back and forth but Emily goes ahead and kissed Daniel before looking at Merida.
"What are you doing here?" Emily asks.
Merida prepared an answer during the press conference. "I'm curious about your slow transition to Stark Industries, especially with the wedding coming up."
Emily pauses while Daniel knows she made that up in the past hour. "I didn't think you cared but you could've asked me."
"You've been too busy to answer my calls."
"You haven't called me."
Merida pauses before walking out. She hopes Emily and Daniel would be too busy discussing wedding lighting to watch her go. She ducks through the reporters and returns to her seat beside Blake where she was before Emily started talking.
"How'd I do?" Blake asks, leaning in closer to whisper.
"When did you become such a pro at this?" Merida asks sarcastically.
"I told you I have a Masters in Media Studies and Communications, have done a lot of internships all over the world, speak a handful of languages, and have years of experience. I also sat on my wallet the whole time so can we just walk around for a bit after this?"
"How could it hurt if you have no money?"
Blake tries not to laugh because although she's right, he's offended. "Okay, that's rude."
-o-
Rogers House - Brooklyn - 22:17 PM
Ever since Sigyn came back, she didn't make a big deal about Xavier going back to his apartment. He wanted to be with his parents and who was she to argue against that? The love of his life? Please. She doesn't consider herself that important. Besides, he didn't offer if she was more comfortable in his place since his parents wouldn't be around. Maybe it was because he knew she would rather have them there in a house that she knows and is familiar to her. He did find her lurking outside her old home.
And she did like it here better in Xavier's room, mostly because it hasn't changed much since she last saw it.
She sits cross-legged in the middle of his bed and watches as Xavier walks in, closing the door behind him. When their eyes meet, she smiles brightly at him.
"What is it?" Xavier asks her.
"Do you remember that night when we were teenagers and I broke into your house to force you to go on a spontaneous adventure with me?" Sigyn asks.
Xavier nods, taking a seat beside her. "I do. Why?"
"I just wanted you to think about that. That was the night before I thought my life would end. Now, I know it'll end at a certain moment but that's not my point. My point is do you think we could ever go back to those days? Just a girl and a boy, cuddling, laughing, stealing kisses and running around? Being quiet after dark because we didn't want your parents to know that I was here? When everything was so simple and innocent? Would it make sense to start something now?"
"We wouldn't be starting something. We'd be continuing something that was interrupted, put on pause. Do you want to?"
"Xavier…"
"No, no, let me finish. Why are you avoiding this? Have you truly given up?"
"I don't know."
"My life lost colour when you left, that's dramatic but true, and Merida cried. It was super weird."
"She did not!"
"She did! I can never unsee that."
"You're changing the topic."
Xavier nods as he hugs her. His arms wrap around her tightly. Sigyn rests her chin on her shoulder, looping her arms up underneath his grasp as she leans against his head. His embraces are always the most comforting things to happen to her since Hel.
"Can you promise me something?" Sigyn whispers.
"Anything."
"No matter how Ragnarök ends, will you name your kid after me? You're lucky I have many names to choose from."
Xavier smiles a little sadly as he parts, seeing her fallen expression. "You'll never be remembered as just that random girl I dated in high school or the name of my future kid. No matter what happens, you'll always be a big part of my life just as I am for you. There's no changing that."
"You've always been the softer one, the romantic one."
"We complement each other."
Sigyn nudges him. "You're such a sap."
"Isn't that why you fell for me?"
"I fell in love with you because of your abs."
"That's good because I fell for your -"
"Shut up." She laughs, hitting him with his pillow.
-o-
James's Penthouse - Upper East Side - 22:36 PM
James thought this would be a relaxing night. He and Angela are sitting in the living room, sharing a bottle of wine while Apollo and Freya are settling in the guest room. He thought they would get drunk and pass out, even if Angela's metabolism prevents her from such states, but he can try.
"You still haven't told me about you wanting to resign from SHIELD," Angela says.
James should've seen that conversation coming. He isn't even sure why he brought it up the first time but if he kept his mouth shut for longer and let the attack come first, he would've been spared.
"Babe, there's a wedding in less than a week and the apocalypse coming," James responds, putting his glass down. "We can't have this conversation now."
"That's exactly why we should have this conversation. We broke up in The Academy because we didn't talk about things with similar magnitudes so, please, just talk to me."
"You're comparing second year to the apocalypse? Sounds about right."
"James."
James sighs. "I think I want to work with my parents, spend some more time with them. I don't know. I always went out during high school, went away for university, and I was always out of town for SHIELD stuff. Almost died a couple of times, worried about you and all our friends, and now I have the fucking apocalypse to remember. I just miss being here and being with my parents, but god forbid I'm not moving back in with them."
Angela nods, putting a hand on his arm. "You want to resign from SHIELD to work with your parents?"
James shrugs. "I think so. I don't know what I'm doing now. I'm still figuring things out."
"You're such a momma's boy and I love you for it."
"That's not my point." James sits up and faces her. He folds his hands together, finding the right words and then separating them. "It's also because I realized that SHIELD doesn't me seriously."
"You haven't given them any reason to."
James didn't expect her straight answer but isn't offended. He needed that and she's right. "We have the same clearance level. Hell, Daniel technically got his agent clearance revoked and they still respect him more than me."
"Hulk aside, it's because he has three Ph.D.'s and a Masters in medicine. He's also still doing work for The Academy. Your powers aside, you 'didn't feel like' doing your Ph.D."
"Angela, I figured out teleporting to save Daniel and Merida and they didn't care."
"It's not that they didn't care, you didn't give it to them." Angela thinks over her words and perks up, grabbing his arm and holding it tightly which makes him wince. "Babe, use that."
"What?"
James takes his arm back, rubbing the spot she grabbed. That'll leave a mark.
"Are we defying SHIELD?"
Angela and James turn and see Apollo and Freya peeking at the edge of the corner, eavesdropping and listening like children who are staying up past their bedtime. Once they see that they're caught, they join in on the conversation by sitting with them.
"I asked," Apollo says, taking their wine bottle for himself, "are we defying SHIELD?"
"Should I sharpen my sword?" Freya asks excitedly. Apollo nods before looking at Angela and James who seem confused about what happened in the last thirty seconds.
"This is a personal matter," James tells him.
"A loud one," Freya comments. She glances over at Apollo who mouths sharpen your sword before sipping straight from the bottle.
"I missed eight years of your lives so I'm trying to catch up," Apollo tells them. "What I'm thinking is that if SHIELD doesn't care about you, then don't care about them. Resign and become a correspondent like Stark or be whatever Daniel is just without the Ph.D.'s as well."
"James, that's like what I'm saying," Angela says.
"It is?" James asks. "He confused me more."
"No, babe, I'm saying work on the quantum teleport thing as your dissertation, get your Ph.D. from them, and then resign."
James lights up when he puts that plan together. "So they can't use it because it's mine! And because they're too dumb to understand it, and my dad would never allow them."
"And they can't risk losing you completely because you still have your bioelectricity and size-changing abilities!" Apollo exclaims.
"Freya," James says, "sharpen your sword. I'm getting a Ph.D."