A part of him felt some guilt. Of course he did. He was well aware that if she knew the truth then she would be furious. She would be beyond angry with him. Of course, a part of him wanted to go and tell her. He wondered if there was a way that he could do that without ruining this intricate lie he had managed to spin. He would often watch her, his gaze from afar as he saw her with the soldier.

She would walk by his side, hand in hand and looking at him with a doting smile. He would go to watch her in a disguise, never wanting to be seen. He had seen her join S.H.I.E.L.D. and fight along Captain America's side. He had witnessed her beat men to a pulp who had threatened her. He had seen her use her magic to the best of her ability. He just didn't know how to step out of the shadows and tell her that he knew.

He didn't know how to do it or if he had the courage to do it. And so he put it off another day. He put it off for many days and before he knew it a year had passed since his apparent death.

…

Ella didn't know how time had gone so fast, but she had enjoyed every moment with Steve. She had worked alongside him, both of them proving to be a formidable team. Of course, she knew that there would be times when she had to be apart from him and it seemed as though that time was slowly approaching. Fury had told her of a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent over in London who was working on some top secret project. He had asked her to go and keep him safe during his time completing the project to bringing it over to Washington.

"How long will you be gone?" Steve had asked as he stood by her and watched her pack her suitcase.

"A month," Ella responded. "Fury said that this man was working on something called Project Insight."

"And what is that?"

"Something to do with protecting the Earth from enemies," Ella said with a shrug of her shoulders. "You know Fury, Steve. He doesn't divulge a lot of information, especially if it is high clearance."

"And you're not interested?" Steve wondered and Ella shrugged.

"I'm intrigued," she admitted to him, "but I don't know if it is in my place to know of everything. I trust Fury. He knows what is happening. He knows that S.H.I.E.L.D. is just doing what is necessary to protect the Earth…after Loki, I think it needs that."

"I guess," Steve admitted in a small voice. "I think I'm just hesitant to trust people."

"I can tell," Ella said with a small smile as she closed the suitcase and locked it, dropping it to the floor and pulling the handle up. Wheeling it behind her tightly, she moved to Steve and pecked him on the cheek. "Everything will be fine. Trust me."

"It's not you I have trust issues with," Steve assured her.

"I know," Ella said.

While the two of them had grown close, she had no doubt that Steve adored her as much as she adored him. Their relationship had been one of close friends for a while before Ella had confessed that she wanted something more. Both of them had been hesitant, unsure of how far they should progress with each other. She knew that their was a chance that they could be romantically involved, but Ella didn't know romance. She didn't understand it.

"Just be careful, alright?" Steve urged from her. "And call me."

"I will," she said with a nod of her head and Steve wondered what he should do.

They had spent a year together and in that year they had only recently admitted that there was more to their relationship. Steve was new to romance just like she was. They worked together and spent time outside of work together, conversing about everything and nothing. He had no doubt that he was falling for Ella, but he didn't know how to act.

The two of them simply looked at each other and Steve wondered whether he should lean down to kiss her goodbye. Was that appropriate? Was that their kind of relationship? Ella was thinking the same. Her mind wondered what it would be like to kiss Steve. She couldn't deny that he was attractive and especially too handsome for his own good.

In the end, they moved together, their noses bumping against each other as Ella let out a soft laugh at the motion and Steve chuckled, his hand moving to cup her cheek. He tilted his head slowly and moved to bring his lips against hers, kissing her tenderly for the briefest of moments before pulling away. Ella seemed to gasp for a deep breath before nodding her head sternly.

"Well…that was…" she tried to find an appropriate word, but failed miserably.

"I know," Steve agreed. "Come back, alright, Ella? I…well…I'm going to miss you."

Ella smiled sadly. "I'll miss you too."

…

Ella found herself in London, continuously making sure Doctor Andrews was protected in his lab where he worked. She had scoped out the entire area, making sure there were escape routes should she need them. She didn't entirely know who was going to threaten the man she was protecting, but she knew that S.H.I.E.L.D. had enemies. There were always people who wanted more. She had discovered that the Doctor she was protecting was working on some kind of technology sensor for a hellicarrier. She had no idea what it would do, but she suspected it was beyond her remit to know.

She didn't have clearance to be in the lab with him and so she spent most of her time wandering the base and making sure everything was fine. The Doctor had been given an apartment next to hers, but she kept her distance, watching him from afar instead of up close. She almost lost her mind some days without anyone to talk to. She was pretty relieved whenever she called Steve, both of them chatting to each other for ages despite the time difference.

But then she saw someone who she hadn't expected to see. Her eyes widened as she spotted his golden head in the distance. It was a weekend and another S.H.I.E.L.D. agent had relieved her of her duties for two days so she could have a rest. She had been in a café in St James's Park when she saw him walk in, dressed in a red shirt with a beige jacket and dark jeans. His hair was tied back and his face held a wide smile.

Moving to her feet and forgetting her coffee, Ella rushed over to him and threw her arms around his neck. His laugh boomed around the café as people turned to look to him, their eyes slowly recognising the two siblings who they had seen on the TV during the New York attack.

"What are you doing here?" Ella asked as soon as he released her from his grip and she looked up to him.

"Just a flying visit," he said to her. "I did not realise how long it had been since I had last seen my little sister."

"I have missed you so much," Ella said before feeling the stares on her. "Come on, let's go for a walk."

Lacing her arm into his, she dragged him off and onto the footpath that ran the distance of the park, the two of them still smiling as they went.

"How have you been, Ella?"

"Well," Ella said. "Very well, actually. I am working for S.H.I.E.L.D. now."

"I know," Steve said. "I went to try to find you in Washington, but Steve Rogers informed me that you were based in London for the time being."

"Did you not have Heimdall look for me?"

"I have not been to Asgard in almost a year," Thor admitted to his sister.

"Why ever not?" she enquired from him.

Thor shrugged his shoulders as a couple of runners went by them, both of them doing a double take at the God and Goddess walking past.

"For the same reason as you, I suspect," Thor admitted in a weak voice. "I do not want to return, Ella. There is nothing for me there just as there is nothing for you there right now. Father understands. I have been spending time with Jane for a while and I have travelled to make sure that the other realms remain safe."

"I see," Ella said. "So you have been on Midgard all the time and didn't fancy popping in?"

Thor laughed loudly, the noise still as loud as Ella remembered. "Ella, I would have, truly I would have, but I wanted time with Jane alone, just as you did with Steve Rogers. You do know that he struggled to remain coherent as I questioned him as to his relationship with you?"

"Thor, you did not!" Ella cried and pinched his arm as he snapped in pain for a moment before going back to chuckling. "You truly are cruel."

"Oh, it was interesting," Thor said with a shrug of his shoulders. "Besides, if he insists on courting my little sister then it is my prerogative to make him squirm."

"Thor, we are not courting," Ella responded with a shrug of her shoulders. "We are just…well…I do not know what we are."

"Has he not formally asked to court you?"

"No," Ella said, "and you know that things are done different on Earth. They say date, not court."

"Fine," Thor said with a nonchalant wave of his hand. "But he has not asked you?"

"I have not asked him either," Ella said. "I have just enjoyed working with him and spending time with him. I like him, yes, but I don't know what to do, Thor. I don't know romance…how it works on Midgard compared to Asgard. Let us be honest, if we were on Asgard then father would have forced him to offer a marriage proposal and I would be expecting a child."

Thor laughed again and nodded. "Correct," he said as they took a seat on a bench and watched people pass them by. "Mother certainly would have expected that anyway."

Ella laughed then and nodded. "There was a time when I think she was genuinely considering marrying me off to anyone I so much as looked at and was polite too."

"Well, you were polite to no one but your family," Thor said. "Loki especially."

The two siblings lapsed into silence then, their minds thinking of their deceased brother for a few moments. Ella inhaled a sharp breath before letting it out, the noise shaky and low. It was another moment before Thor coughed into his fist. It took him a few seconds before looking to his sister, examining her face.

"I think about what he did every day," Thor whispered down to her and she nodded.

"I know," she agreed with him. "He saved me…he sacrificed himself for me…"

"He did what any of us would do for each other," Thor responded in a low tone. "We are all siblings, Ella. We all love each other deeply."

"I know," Ella said. "I do miss him, Thor. I miss him so much."

"I know," Thor agreed and took hold of her hand, squeezing it tightly. "I know."

…

Ella instructed her brother not to mess anything up as she tossed him a beer and took her call with Steve. Thor had mocked her as she wandered into her bedroom and closed the door behind her. Pressing the phone to her ear, she perched on the end of her bed and smiled widely.

"Hi, Steve," she greeted him.

"Ella, I need you to listen to me," Steve said and Ella instantly felt her stomach churn at his voice. He was scared. He was scared of something. "S.H.I.E.L.D. has been compromised. I need you to get that Doctor and get out of London."

"Steve, what do you mean compromised? What is going on?" she asked from him.

"HYDRA have infiltrated it," he told her. "Project Insight is designed to eliminate threats. It's designed to destroy individuals who are a threat to HYDRA…you…me…your brother…HYDRA intend to use the hellicarriers to kill those who threaten HYDRA's goals."

"But…what…" Ella babbled, not too certain what she was hearing. "If it is designed to eliminate threats that doesn't mean it will."

"Not under S.H.I.E.L.D.'s instruction," Steve agreed. "But HYDRA is in charge now, Ella. Please, just get the Doctor and get out of there. If he is working for HYDRA then they can't have the sensors he is working on. If he isn't working for HYDRA then they will be on his way to get him."

"You know I am struggling to get my head around this," Ella said, but she was already on her feet.

"You and me both," Steve promised her. "But get him and then get somewhere safe. Toss your cell and lay low for a while."

"Where are you, Steve?"

"I…I can't tell you," Steve said. "If they are listening then I don't want them to find me, but I am safe for now."

"Stay that way, okay?" Ella demanded from him.

"Will do," Steve said. "Love you, Ella."

Before Ella even had a chance to respond the line went dead and she looked to her cell. Shaking her head, she wondered if he had meant it or if it had been a spur of the moment conversation. Tossing her phone down onto her bed, she opened the door to her bedroom before looking to her brother.

"I think I need your help."

…

A/N: Do let me know what you think!