There was shots going off around me as I ran. I ran so hard and fast my legs could barely keep up the pace. I staggered to my knees a few times before being yanked back to my feet. It was so dark. I couldn't see anything. All I could hear was my own ragged breathing, gunfire and the occasional scream.
Something burning hot scorched across my cheek, making me jerk back in surprise. I barely had time to react before a blinding explosion went off. I closed my eyes, there was nothing I could do to make it stop. I was going to die right here and now. Nothing could stop it.
After so much noise the silence was deafening. My eyes cracked open to my own surprise as I stared out in front of me. What had been dark, was now bright and I could see everything clearly in front of me. I didn't want to though. My stomach recoiled in horror as the scene in front of me. The landscape was frozen as far as the eye could see. Everyone along with it. Riley, Clint, Rumlow and his STRIKE team. All dead. All because of me. My hands were hot and sticky forcing me to look down. They were covered in blood. So much blood that it was dripping off my hands onto the frozen ground. When I looked up again there was the dark face of the hostile I'd killed. He was bleeding from the neck, but still standing in front of me. Without a word or any sign of emotion he drove a knife right through my neck.
I bolted upright in bed, wrapping my hand around my neck frantically searching for the knife I thought was still there. My hands were freezing cold, bringing me back to reality. I was in Riley's room. He was deep in sleep, not even a twitch came from him as I sat there with my entire body shaking. I buried my face into my hands trying to get the horrible vision of the nightmare gone from my head.
Breathe. Just breathe. I chanted in my head forcing myself to breath normally as my chest tightened. It was just a dream. A horrific and very detailed dream, not one I'd had before. I was fine, it wasn't real. It was just some lingering effect from that mission that my mind was playing on in my sleep. I lay back down getting myself back under control. Riley shifted in his sleep, his hand reaching out where I'd just been. I tangled my fingers through his, feeling reassured by the warmth of his skin against mine. I could feel every callous, scar and bump against my hand. All parts of him that I'd grown to know so well. Knowing that it was him touching me slowly made the lingering effects of the nightmare start to dwindle away. Riley would want me to wake him if I had a nightmare, but I couldn't bring myself to do it with him sleeping so peacefully. I wasn't the only one who had trouble sleeping sometimes.
I tried to settle back down and fall asleep. But every time I closed my eyes I could see the nightmare start to play in my mind again. If my eyes were open it stopped. It was 0515 and still dark outside. I was wide awake and I couldn't see myself getting back to sleep. I made the decision to sneak out for a morning run to clear my head.
Riley didn't move as I quietly got up and got dressed. I envied his ability to sleep through just about anything. The few bourbons he had last night would definitely be helping in that regard. Dinner had been a nice casual affair with his Uncle Ben and Aunt Emma. Both had been polite to me after I'd gotten the critical look down and 20 questions thrown at me. I don't think his Aunt approved of my career choice at all. But she was too polite to voice it much. She just gave me a lot of disapproving looks instead. Ben, as he insisted I call him by, was far more impressed by my knowledge of weapons. He'd been the very easy one to talk to. By the time we'd gotten home both Riley and I had fallen asleep as soon as we'd gotten to bed.
The house was quiet as I tiptoed my way out to the front porch. A run down the driveway and back would nearly be 2 miles, more than enough time to clear my head. I didn't bother stretching. I just took off at a brisk pace in the dark morning. The solitude of the freezing cold morning quickly cleared my head as I settled into an easy pace. The cold air hurt my lungs, but it was invigorating to breath in the fresh country air. By the time I touched the mailbox and headed back I was already feeling more settled.
I was red face and panting by the time I reached the back door. It took me a minute to gather my breath back enough to straighten up from my bent position. My body was screaming in protest at me, but at least my mind felt clear now. Any lingering thoughts about that nightmare were long gone. I couldn't remember enough detail for it to give me the anxiety like it had before. I pulled my hair out of the messy bun and quickly ran my fingers through it, airing the sweat out of it. Hair tie in my mouth, I opened the back door and stepped into the kitchen.
Lynette was already there, sitting at the table with a mug in hand she looked up in surprise at the sound of the door opening.
"Morning, coffee?" Lynette got up before I could protest that I'd make my own.
"Thank you," I said instead as I went to the fridge to grab out a bottle of water. I sat down at the table, taking a long drink. The kitchen was quiet as Lynette moved around making another coffee. She put it in front of me and sat across from me. I took sip, closing my eyes in satisfaction as the hot liquid slid down my throat. The caffeine was more than welcome after the morning torture I just put myself through.
"Bad dream?" Lynette asked. I nearly choked on the coffee I'd just taken a sip of. One thing I'd quickly learnt about Lynette was she didn't beat around the bush with anything. If she wanted to know something she'd come right out and ask.
"Sorry?" I pretended to play dumb looking over my cup innocently.
"Riley always gets up and goes for a run when he had a nightmare," Lynette explained. "Says it clears his head. Do you want to talk about it?"
"Its just a dream," I shook my head. "Just my head twisting things into bullshit. It's not real."
"Still, sometimes it helps to talk," Lynette said kindly. "If you want to that is."
"Does Riley talk about his?" I deflected with my own question.
"Sometimes," Lynette said simply. "Other times he doesn't want to burden anyone with his problems and bottles it up."
"We do have that in common," I said dryly taking another sip of coffee. I have no idea what brand of coffee it was but it was working miracles on my body right now. I thought Lynette would drop the subject, but she just sat there patiently waiting for me to speak. I swear there must be a Mother handbook when you have a child. It was the same look that I'd get from my own Mom. Laura did a pretty damn good job of it too. Even if it was the look she mostly gave her husband.
"We had a pretty shitty mission back in Afghanistan," I finally relented with a small sigh. "It was just my mind warping what happened. It was pretty horrible."
"And not real," Lynette reached over and patted my hand comfortingly. "Riley told me about that mission. Even he was rattled by it. He can't say a lot about what he does, but what he does tell me is enough to give me grey hairs."
Lynette was probably lucky in that regard she didn't know every detail of the mission. My Mom had the clearance level to know everything that went on. While she never admitted it I had a feeling she kept tabs on my mission reports.
"I think the only one not rattled by it was Barton," I took another sip of coffee to hide my discomfort.
"That's Hawkeye isn't it?" Lynette asked. When I nodded in confirmation a grin grew across her face. "Riley's idol. I'm surprised he hasn't swooned in his presence."
I gaped at Lynette for a second before bursting out laughing. Wow, that was something new. I hadn't picked that at all in all the time I'd know him. Both Riley and Clint were quiet people if they didn't know someone terribly well. I thought it was just Riley being his usual quiet self around Clint. It'd taken Clint a bit to warm up to Riley enough to start a conversation with him. But after our stay in Afghanistan they seemed pretty comfortable around each other. I hadn't noticed until now that Riley actually never struck up a conversation with Clint. It was always the other way around.
"I can't wait to tell Hawk that," I finally stopped laughing enough to speak. "He'll think its great. He really likes Riley. They can talk for hours on shooting and different tactics. Nat and I just get bored with it.
"And another name that sounds funny to hear you speak so casually of," Lynette shook her head in amusement. "The famous Black Widow. I heard all about that tequila night.
"My body still hates me for that tequila night," I wrinkled my nose at the mere thought of tequila. I don't think I'd ever be able to drink it again.
There was a small stretch of silence as we both sat back enjoying our coffee. Lynette was the first to speak up again.
"You've done wonders for my boy," Lynette's smile was beaming at me. "I honestly never thought he'd ever date again, let alone find someone to coax him back out of his shell. I haven't seen him this happy in a very long time."
"I haven't done anything," I felt my face heat up with embarrassment. "I've just been myself."
"Which is exactly what Riley needs," Lynette finished the last of her coffee and stood up. "He's had his share of fake and plastic girls. I'm just glad a little bit of misfortune in his life brought what he considers the best thing that ever happened to him. Breakfast?"
Lynette was definitely a lot like my own Mom. There was never any room for arguments with her. When she spoke her mind it was final and there was no arguing or changing it.
"Only if I'm not going to be a bother," My tactful way of not giving an answer was met by Lynette striding over to the fridge and pulling out bacon and eggs. Why did I have a feeling Riley let her know in advance what my favourite breakfast was? When she held them up I could only nod in confirmation.
"All I'm cooking today is the turkey," Lynette gave me a reassuring smile as she turned her back towards the stove. "So don't even think you're being a bother. If you really feel the need to do something you and Riley can go and take some hay out to the cows after breakfast. Everyone will be here about 11."
"People are up far too early," Riley's voice carried across the kitchen. I craned my head around to look at him padding into the kitchen in just his boxers. It was a very nice sight so early in the morning. The thought that he was mine and he loved me just made that stupid grin appear on my face all over again. It was contagious, Riley's own grin grew on his face as he walked over to me.
"People shouldn't sleep in," I teased Riley as he bent down and gave me a good morning kiss. He looked at my attire curiously and raised an eyebrow at me in question. I just shrugged as an explanation. I'd tell him later.
"People shouldn't go for a run without waking me up," Riley half teased as he sat down next to me at the table. Though he tone was joking he looked at me carefully. "You didn't even take your phone."
I hadn't thought to. It was still sitting on the bedside table on charge. There was no way I could have gotten lost so I hadn't bothered grabbing it. I wasn't in the mood for music either.
"I'm just enjoying the peace and quiet out here," I took a sip of coffee while still smiling at Riley. He didn't look annoyed. Just slightly concerned about why I'd felt the need to get up and go for a run by myself.
"Is Tessa up?" Riley changed the subject as he turned to face Lynette who was dropping the entire packet of bacon into a pan. The smell of the bacon sizzling made my stomach grumble despite the huge dinner I had last night. Another thing Aunt Emma probably thought badly of me for. Like Riley I'd ordered the biggest steak they had along with extra side helpings. With the amount of physical activity that came with our jobs I was starting to easily eat the crazy daily calorie intake I needed. Or more to the point I just started copying nearly everything Clint or the other STRIKE guys ate. My body was thanking me for it and finally starting to put some muscle back on. I was back up around the 125 mark much to my relief. I was already slim enough without looking like a stick insect along with it.
"Is Tessa up," Lynette snorted in dry humour. "The sun is barely up so what makes you think your sister would be up? She won't get out of bed until her boyfriend gets here."
"Oh," Riley nodded and then did a double take. "Hang on, since when does Tessa have a boyfriend?"
"Since about a month ago, so be nice," Lynette turned to face Riley. She pointed the egg flipper at Riley while she spoke as if to warn him. "Kari, how do you like your eggs?"
"Cooked," I said unhelpfully with a cheeky grin. It was quickly wiped off my face by the dead panned expression I got. It was one that would have made Natasha proud. "Scrambled please."
"Do I get coffee?" Riley flashed a charming grin at his Mom. He got the exact same expression I did so hastily got to his feet. Before he did I held out my mug to him.
"Mine's empty," I said sweetly. "You know how I like it."
"Yes I do," Riley grinned at the double meaning behind my words. He reached down and gave me a lingering kiss before moving off to get us both coffee. I saw Lynette watching us out of the corner of my eye with her own smile. Her earlier words echoed in my head about the wonders I've done for Riley. Most days I'd say it was the other way around.
By the time Riley had made coffee, breakfast was ready. It was a relaxing conversation around the table with the three of us. As soon as we were finished Lynette shooed us out and told us not to worry about coming back in until everyone else was here. And to go outside and feed the cows. It was lightly snowing outside and I couldn't wait to get out. The low grey clouds promised more than a dusting of snow and I wanted to have a good play before the weather got too bad. Riley was less than enthusiastic about going outside in the snow but he still got dressed and soon we were heading out to the shed behind the house.
Riley loaded up a few bales of hay onto the quad bike with the ease of years of practice while I sat on the seat. I couldn't help but grin at him as he did it. I wouldn't have picked him for a country boy when I first met him. But out here he looked more comfortable than he ever did back in DC.
"Scoot," Riley instructed. I looked up at him with an arched eyebrow.
"Out of the two of us who rides the motorbike?" I sassed him, but did as I was told. I moved back on the seat. Riley swung his leg over and I slid forward again, wrapping my arms around his waist. I kissed the exposed part on the back of his neck as he went to start the quad.
Riley put it into gear and hit the electric start. The quad lurched forward nearly sending both of us over the handlebars.
"Clutch," I laughed as I got settled back down.
"Shush I forgot," Riley sounded very sheepish. He did as I pointed out and the quad bike started this time. With one big rev we were heading out in the cold winter morning at a fairly decent speed. My face was frozen solid in a few seconds but it was a lot of fun. Riley knew the path well and it was a smooth ride down to one of the paddocks where a small group of cows were hanging around the gate waiting for their breakfast.
It didn't take us long to unload the hay and throw it over the fence. Most of the cows were pretty friendly and hung around for a pat before meandering over to their breakfast. Riley knew them all by name and pointed out his obvious favourite ones.
"Do you name all the chickens too?" I teased him gently as one certain cow he called Scruff wouldn't leave him alone. She kept shoving her brown head into his chest whenever he stopped patting her.
"I hate the chickens," Riley laughed as he scratched Scruff hard behind her floppy ears. "I stay as far away as possible as I can from there. I did more than my fair share of work there when I was younger. Come on, I'll show you the rest of the farm."
With one last pat, Riley left Scruff alone. She gave him a sad look before finally going to eat her own breakfast. We climbed back on the quad, Riley started it without any incident this time. The snow had just started to fall as we raced along the open fields. It didn't take long to reach the creek that I'd seen from the window. Riley steered the quad along the bank for a bit before pulling up in a fairly secluded spot. The creek was still running despite the cold weather.
"This is my favourite spot," Riley explained as he lent forward onto the handlebars. "I had this big plan before we got here."
"What was that?" I wrapped my arms around him tighter, resting my chin on his shoulder.
"I was going to bring you down here for a picnic, tell you I loved you down here," Riley threw a grin over his shoulder. "Then it just felt right so I said it anyway. All my well laid out plans went out the window."
"Do you plan everything?" I grinned back as I kissed his cheek. His face was freezing under my warm lips.
"Would it surprise you to know I already know what I'd want to say for my wedding vows if we ever get married?" Riley chuckled. He squeezed my arms. "You'd be surprised the shit I think of while sitting there bored out of my mind while waiting for a target."
"Like?" I gently prodded Riley. He was getting more and more open with me. I loved these moments when he'd actually speak his mind and tell me more about himself.
"The very unmanly stuff like I told you that night I was drunk," Riley admitted. His hand found mine and he tangled his fingers around mine.
"It wasn't unmanly," I said with a small chuckle. "I was just glad you were opening up to me."
"I'm working on that," Riley said dryly but with plenty of humour in his voice. "I even shut my mind up long enough for you to give me a blow job and enjoy it."
"That's because I'm awesome," I said smugly. "Do you want to tell me about that?"
"Its stupid so don't laugh," Riley wriggled out of my grip. He turned around so he was facing me on the seat.
I sat there patiently waiting for him to get comfortable. This was obviously a big deal for him so I wasn't going to interrupt or say anything smart.
"So, Sarah used to only ever give me a blow job when she wanted something," Riley's ears had quickly turned red in embarrassment. "And the girlfriend before used to do the same. So I cant shut my head up long enough thinking what the hell does she want this time to actually enjoy it."
"The only thing I want is for you to return the favour," I smiled at him. "Which you do without fail every single time."
"I know," Riley gave me a lopsided smile. "I'm trying, I really am."
"The fact you're telling me stone cold sober is more than enough," I reached forward and kissed him. I pulled away after a second with a small grin on my face. "Besides, I love you and thats all that matters."
"You have no idea how happy to makes me," Riley grinned back. He put his hand behind my head and pulled me back in for another kiss. As he kissed me I pulled myself into him as closely as I could. His lips warmed my entire body up, not just my lips. If only it wasn't so cold I could see us stripping off and having a naked romp through the creek.
"Come on," Riley finally pulled away. "I'll show you the rest of the farm. We might even make it back in time for lunch."
Riley's little tour took us until 1130 to make it back to the house. We kept stopping for small make out sessions. Or Riley to tell me about things he used to do when he as younger. We'd followed the creek to the boundary of the farm. There it'd widened into a large pool which had a swinging rope suspended from one of the trees. Seeing me look at it longingly, Riley promised we'd come back over summer and bring a tent down here to camp overnight. I was quick to agree to that idea. The more he showed me, the more I was falling in love with the farm. Despite the cold and the increasing snow making us both half frozen, it'd been an amazing morning.
We both managed to get inside without being seen. The multiple and loud voices from the kitchen and lounge room was enough warning that everyone had arrived. The house smelt amazing though. My mouth watered at the smell of turkey and roast potatoes wafting through the air. Despite my big breakfast I was suddenly starving again. It didn't take long to get upstairs, have a quick shower and get dressed. Last night had put my nerves at ease about today. If I could deal with his Aunt Emma and her disapproving looks, then the rest of his family should be a piece of cake.
Well, here's hoping it would be a piece of cake.
"I'm STRIKE as well," as soon as those words left my mouth there was complete silence around the table. I pretended to be completely unfazed by it as I piled sweet potato mash on my plate. So far it seemed it wasn't just Aunt Emma who didn't think it was an appropriate job for me.
"I didn't think women were allowed to be STRIKE," Riley's other Aunt, Tracey, spoke up with the same disapproving look Aunt Emma was giving me. Lynette was hiding her smile behind the glass of whatever she was drinking. It seemed she was about the only female that wasn't so old fashioned.
"There's only Natasha and I, but females are definitely allowed to be STRIKE," I shrugged as I put the sweet potato mash down and took the plate of roast potatoes from Riley. "SHIELD doesn't exactly discriminate on gender. I think most people are too scared of Natasha to say anything."
Riley laughed at that, nodding his head in agreement.
"Kari was recruited straight from the Air Force as well," Tessa supplied with an overly bright smile on her face. "She and Riley have so much in common."
I smirked over towards Tessa, silently thanking her for the support.
"I didn't know you were Air Force as well," unlike the females, Uncle Ben smile was genuine and warm. "SHIELD throw you a good offer did they?"
"The best," I lied smoothly. Technically it wasn't really a lie. I'd much rather be doing this than being stuck in the Fridge.
"And what did you do in the Air Force?" Aunt Tracey's husband, Scott, spoke up. Unlike Uncle Ben he seemed to be giving me the same look as the other women at the table. Apparently Riley's Dads side of the family seemed to think a woman's place was still in the kitchen. What I wouldn't give to have Natasha here dealing with the sexist attitude. She'd have a lot of fun toying with them. I couldn't lie, I was having a bit of fun toying with them as well.
"Pilot," I shrugged not going into too much detail. No doubt if I said I was a Raptor pilot there'd be even more disapproving looks.
"So what do you do Jesse?" Riley cut in as he spoke to Tessa's boyfriend who'd been mostly silent since we'd arrived downstairs. He'd mostly stuck right beside Tessa the entire time and only spoke when he was spoken to. He seemed nice enough in the few short sentences we'd spoken together.
"I'm a teacher at the high school," despite his quietness there was no nerves in his voice. "Science and maths. I hadn't even heard of SHIELD until this morning. So what does STRIKE do?"
"STRIKE is basically your paramilitary unit for SHIELD," Riley filled in. "They cover clandestine operations on national and foreign soil."
"Sounds heavy," Jesse shot an impressed look in my direction. "What does that exactly cover?"
"A lot of stuff we can't speak about," Riley said tactfully. "I'm not being rude when I say that either."
"Perhaps SHEILD shouldn't stick their noses in when theres plenty of other perfectly good government agencies out there that can handle things without all the smoke and mirrors," Uncle Scott said bluntly. "Besides any agency that hides all the mutants, even gives them jobs, has a lot to answer for."
Riley's free hand went under the table to grip my leg. I wasn't sure if it was to stop me getting up and smacking him across the face. Or to reassure me. Either way the attitude didn't bother me that much. I'd heard a lot worse before. Someone with views that like didn't deserve my energy at being angry at them. I didn't miss the slight paling of Jesse's face though. I tried not to stare at him in question. For him to look like that he either knew someone close who was Enhanced, or he was himself.
"That's rude Scott," Lynette scolded instantly. I didn't miss the flick of her gaze towards me. It was brief enough that no one else would have noticed it. It didn't surprise me that Riley had told his Mom everything about me. "Besides, we have guests who probably don't want to hear your bigot attitude."
"I'm just saying how it is," Uncle Scott argued back. He didn't looked phased at all that he could have just possibly offended someone.
"And this is why I didn't want to come home with everyone here," Riley said under his breath so only I could hear it. I took his hand under the table and gave it a squeeze. We only had to make it through the next few hours and then it'd be over. Now I know why Riley was upset about the entire family being here. My family might be a little crazy with powers being thrown around the table. But at least everyone could be civil. One nasty thought and Grams would call you out on it and you'd find yourself doing some unpleasant.
"I'm getting a beer," Riley announced, getting to his feet. "Do you want one Jesse?"
Riley didn't need to ask me. I'd never say no to a beer even if it was midday. But the look on his face told me he was doing this just to rile his relatives up. The small smirk on Lynette's face gave it away too.
"Its too early to drink," Aunt Emma's disapproving look was back.
"I'm still jetlagged," Riley smiled sweetly. "My body is telling me its 5pm. Beer or scotch baby?"
Riley gave me a wink. I managed to stop myself from laughing at his shit stirring. He never called me baby, or any other ridiculous pet name.
"Beer please," I smiled back just as sweetly. "I'll save the scotch for dessert."
"If we're breaking into that bottle of Chivas Regal I'll have a scotch for dessert too," Uncle Ben sent a quick grin on our direction. Unlike his wife, he seemed to have no problems about drinking at this early hour. At least we had an ally there.
Lunch was amazing. Despite the chilly company from the woman and Uncle Scott. Jesse opened up more after a beer talking about his job and in return asking more about us. Tessa seemed completely smitten and it was Riley's turn to tease them both. Unlike his family counterparts Uncle Ben was more than interested in hearing about our work. He kept trying to pry informations out of me about my time in the Air Force which I kept deflecting.
Riley had gotten up for grab another round of beers. As soon as he was out of earshot Aunt Emma spoke to me directly for nearly the first time.
"So Kari," she sounded less than impressed as she stared at me over her own glass. "Should we be expecting wedding bells anytime soon?"
Oh fuck it. Here come this embarrassing questions. I thought I was going to be spared from them.
"As soon as he asks," I wished I had some beer left to take a drink to cover my discomfort. "I have to say, it's looking more and more like we'd just run to Vegas and elope to be honest."
My none too subtle dig at their rudeness was met by a few quiet and barely muffled sniggers from around the table.
"And how on earth do you expect to fit a family life around your job?" Aunt Emma wasn't deterred. "Or are you going to be one of these women want their career first and hope you can still manage a family when you're in your 40's."
"Both my parents work for SHIELD and managed to juggle having twins along with their careers," I shrugged. "The teammates I work with, his wife is an ER doctor and they manage with their own 2 children. If you want something badly enough you'll manage."
Lynette looked very proud of me and my answers. She beamed at me from the head of the table. I was pretty proud of my own quick answer as well. I was getting better and better at thinking on my feet and keeping my brain to mouth filter switched on.
"Besides," Riley came back into earshot with 4 beers in his hand. "There's nothing wrong with me being a stay at home dad. Not all of us live in the dark ages Aunt Emma."
I bit the inside of my cheek to stop myself laughing out loud at Riley's comment. He really wasn't shy about speaking his mind around his family. My beer was still warm when Riley handed it to me. I pulled a face at him and opened my mouth to call him out on it. But the look on his face stopped me. As he sat down he handed me his beer as well.
"Sorry there were only 2 cold ones," Riley said far too innocently. "Help me out?"
Well, this would certainly be a way to get rid of his annoying relatives. I only hesitated for a second before letting ice form over both of our bottles. The effect was instant. Both of the Aunts and Uncle Scott jumped out of their chairs in surprise.
"Here you go," I smiled sweetly to Riley and handed him his now very cold beer. "Anyone else need something chilled?"
The three obnoxious relatives simply walked out without another word. It was only Uncle Ben left sitting there smirking at me as they stormed from the room. After a few seconds the front door slammed shut and we were left in complete silence. I cringed at the scene I'd just caused. I had possibly just ruined Thanksgiving lunch. As much as Lynette liked me, this might be the one thing that went against me.
"Sorry," I quickly apologised to Lynette as silence stretched out in the room. "I didn't think I'd quite get that reaction."
It was Uncle Ben breaking into slightly hysterical laughter that broke the room. He laughed so hard he was doubled over clutching as his stomach. Everyone else soon joined in with him. Lynette included much to my relief.
"Best Thanksgiving lunch ever," Uncle Ben raised his glass to me. "Heres to peace and quiet without those assholes ruining it for everyone."
"Ben," Lynette scolded gently through her laughter. "Thats your wife you're talking about."
"Soon to be ex wife," Uncle Ben corrected. "As of last week actually. I didn't want to ruin Thanksgiving so we held off telling anyone."
Through breaking the bad news there wasn't a flicker of sadness or regret on Uncle Ben's face. My guess was this had been a long time coming. Lynette didn't look one bit surprised either.
"I'd say sorry but Emma is a bitch," Riley turned to me with a sly grin. "And I guess we can cross Aunt Tracey and Uncle Scott off the wedding list. Unless you've got your heart set on eloping in Vegas."
"You weren't meant to hear that," I laughed as I gave Riley a gentle shove.
"And only one of you is allowed to elope," Lynette injected quickly. She looked between her two children with obvious amusement and love for both of them. "So fight it out between you while I go get dessert."
"I'll help," Uncle Ben shot to his feet. "Lets say we break out that bottle of Chivas Regal."
I was definitely right in the fact that I could handle anything Riley's family threw at me. Over dessert and the bottle of scotch the mood in the house lightened as we all fell into laughter and good times. The smile couldn't be wiped off my face for anything. With Riley holding my hand under the table, I couldn't be happier.
I sat in the attic idly flicking through an old army trunk. The weak sunlight poured through the window giving the small room a gentle glow. Outside a few inches of snow sat on the ground already melting into a slushy mess. Outside I could occasionally hear the sounds of the football game carrying up to me. It was mostly the rambunctious laughter of my cousins, Jared and Riley all down here playing in the mud. From the glances I caught out the window there was a lot of cheating going on. Not that anyone cared. They were all having the time of their lives.
Our time in Minnesota had flown by and it felt like we'd only been there a day instead of the 5 we actually were. There'd been a few tears from Lynette as we climbed onto the plane yesterday. She made us promise to come back soon, which wasn't going to be a hard promise to keep. I was a bit teary myself leaving Riley's happy family home. Both Jesse and Uncle Ben had stayed while we were there as well leaving the house full of laugher and a lot of fun. It turned out Jesse's sister was Enhanced. She could levitate. My breaking of the ice, as terrible as that pun is for me, saved him a lot of worry about how to actually bring it up. On our last night there I'd had a dream that Riley and I were raising a family in a house just like that. It'd been a very strange feeling waking up to being ridiculously happy and torn about the fact I still wasn't sure where I really stood with anything serious like that. Seeing some of my younger cousins here smacked any of those thoughts away pretty quickly.
Despite my apprehension about my own side of the family. They had all been open and welcoming to Riley. The teasing had been kept to a minimum. Except for Dad. He seemed to be taking great pleasure in making Riley squirm with all the uncomfortable questions. Dad even went as far to try and make us sleep in separate rooms but Mom stomped on his foot and made him apologise and retract that very quickly. We had our second version of Thanksgiving the night we arrived which included everyone. Being such a large family it was basically a buffet and Jared lit a massive bonfire outside to stand around. It had been a lot of fun. No one had done anything crazy yet to really make Riley gape at the very open display of powers.
Though he did jump in fright this morning when we went down for coffee and there was 2 replicas of Dad standing in the kitchen. From the infuriating smirk on Dad's face I knew he'd done it on purpose. Jared definitely inherited the shit stirring gene from Dad.
"What are you doing up here?" Gram's gentle voice carried across the room. I jumped in slight guilt before glancing up from my rummaging. I hadn't asked to come up here. I was planning on seeing what I found first and then asking permission if I could take it.
"Snooping," I grinned sheepishly up at my Grandmother as she walked into the room. "Actually trying to find my handler a Christmas present. Apparently he's a big Captain America fan. I thought you might have something."
Even at the age of 82 there was no falter in Gram's stride as she came over to me. I hoped when I reached her age I was still as fit and able as she was. It took her a little longer to get out of the chair on some winter mornings. But she never seemed to get older in my eyes. Her hair might be snowy white now instead of blonde and her face creased with a few more wrinkles than last time I saw her. But she still looked amazing. She settled down beside me, crossing her legs as she pulled a leather bound book from the trunk.
"These were the days," Grams smiled fondly as she opened the book. A few old black and white photographs fell out as she did. She picked the first one up and stared at it for a few seconds before turning to show me.
It was a photo of Grams, Peggy Carter and the Howling Commandos standing on front of a tank. They were all laughing, completely oblivious to the photo being taken.
"That wasn't long after Steve went into the water," Grams sighed quietly. "I can't even remember what we were doing but it was something awfully silly. It was the first time I'd heard Peggy laugh since it happened."
"She's an amazing woman," I stared at the dark haired woman standing next to Grams. They were both in what was considered field dress for their day. "Do you keep in touch?"
"Every week," the smile was back on Grams face as she looked over to me. "She lives in DC. I'm sure she'd love a visit."
"You'll have to come with me," I handed the photo back. "I'd be so awed I wouldn't know what to say to her."
I grew up on the stories of Grams time in World War 2 and then later in the SSR and SHIELD. I had a lot of respect, and no small amount of hero worship for Peggy Carter. She was an incredible woman. I always told myself when I was young that I'd grow up to be just like her. Strong and independent, never taking no for an answer. In those days Peggy Carter would have had so many doors slammed in her face for just being a woman. The fact she came on top of that as one of the founding members of SHIELD made me work just as hard to become a Raptor pilot.
"She'd like you," Grams gave me a rather cheeky smile. "She might even teach you a trick or two to show those STRIKE boys up."
"I have Natasha for that," I laughed. "She does a pretty good job of showing everybody up. But it'd be nice to have my own tricks."
"You'll get there," Grams cheeky smile turned into a proud one. "Never one to back down from a challenge are you?"
There was no answer for that. Grams knew me better than anyone and that wasn't just because she could read minds. She'd been the one I'd spilt all my hopes and dreams to in that long wait to get into the Air Force. Feeling my cheeks redden I went back to going through the trunk.
I reached into it and pulled out another small book. The leather on this one was well worn and the pages crinkled from being turned a few million times. Curiously I opened it up to the first page. The drawing was incredible. It looked like a sketch of a park that could have been anywhere. But the detail made it nearly look like it was a photo. The only thing that gave it away was the obvious pencil marks.
"Steve gave that book to me," Grams reached out for it. I handed over the treasured item carefully as I realised how important that well worn book would be. Grams took it and gently flicked through the pages. "I said the park looked like the one where I grew up. He handed me the entire book and said I could keep it so I had a reminder of home."
"Captain Rogers sounds like an incredible person," I peered over to see a few more of the drawings in the book. Grams was flicking too quickly for me to get a close look. But from the snatches I saw they were all just as amazing as the first one.
"He was," Grams closed the book and ran her fingers gently over the creases in the leather. "Who's your handler?"
"Phil Coulson," I was surprised Grams didn't already know that. It should have come up in conversation somewhere along the line.
"Phillip Coulson?" a mischievous smile spread over Grams face. "The history major? The one we all thought was going to be too nerdy and book smart to ever make a decent field agent. Boy didn't he prove everyone wrong. You're a lucky girl. He's a fine man and an expectational agent."
"And now I have something to tease him about," I laughed quietly. "Thanks."
Grams handed the book back to me and I reached over to put it back in the trunk. She gripped my arm gently before my hand made it halfway there. There was a slight hesitation on her face but then she relaxed.
"I think he'll like that for a Christmas present," Grams pressed the book back towards me. "It's no good sitting in a dusty old trunk where no one can see it."
"Thanks Grams," I reached over and gave her a hug. She was right, this really was going to be the perfect Christmas present for Coulson. Handing over such a treasured item would have been a hard thing to do. Words couldn't express how amazing this gift was.
"And are we going to get a wedding announcement for Christmas as well?" Grams teased me as she pulled back from our hug.
"You tell me, you're the one who can read minds," I laughed at her teasing. Unlike other people asking, I could handle Grams doing it.
"Now Kari it's impolite to read minds without permission," the twinkle in Grams eye made her look years younger. "However he doesn't have yours and Jared's ability to block me and his thoughts can be rather loud sometimes."
I didn't know whether to laugh or grimace at the implication behind those words. I'd reminded Riley to keep any naughty thoughts to himself while Grams was around. While she wouldn't intentionally read someones mind without permission, sometimes people thoughts were really loud. She just couldn't help hearing them sometimes. Jared and I learnt when we were very young that if Grams read one of our minds, she could hear both our thoughts. It made it absolute hell to get away with lying when we were kids. When we got older and could appreciate it, Grams eventually taught us how to put up mental barriers that couldn't be broken down without a great effort. That way no one else could use that against us. Grams wasn't the only Enhanced in the world who could read minds.
"Are those thoughts too impolite to voice in public?" I decided to laugh instead of grimace.
"Some," Grams laughed with me. "The others are mostly on how much he loves you. That boy would move the universe for you Kari. Its hard to describe how deep his feelings really go for you, but I think you've found the one."
Those words made me smile like the love sick fool I was. I still hadn't come down from the clouds after hearing Riley tell me he loves me. I don't think I was ever going to get sick of hearing those words come from his mouth.
"Have you talked about what might happen in your line of work?" the amusement was gone from Grams and she was suddenly serious. "It's not a nice topic to bring up, but a necessary one."
"What do you mean?" I was confused by the sudden mood change in the air. I wasn't completely oblivious though I like to play the dumb blonde card sometimes. I had a small inkling of what Grams was talking about. The mere thought of it made me feel uncomfortable and slightly sick.
"What you'd do if either of you were killed at work," Grams said gently. Yep she hit the nail right on the head with the train of thought I'd gone with. Grams was right though. That was a topic we'd need to talk about eventually. While there hadn't been anyone I'd known KIA in my time in SHIELD, there'd been more than a few funerals for SHIELD agents. Especially in STRIKE. I think it was Echo team that lost 2 of their guys on a mission right before we'd left for Afghanistan. No doubt in our time away a lot of other things had been happening in the world.
"We've been too busy being crazy in love," I admitted with a wry smile. "But you're right. We do need to talk about it."
All of a sudden that dream I had the other night hit me full force. It was a strange feeling. I'd never imagined anything like it. I couldn't imagine Riley not being in my life. It was funny that when this first started I was so worried about things not working out between us. Things had certainly made a turn for the better. We weren't perfect. We had our occasional snaps at each other. But I could see this working out. I didn't normally dream about the typical happily ever after. But I was finding myself wanting it more and more.
"I'm always right," and the Lyngley arrogance shone right through on Grams face right there. She used my shoulder to push herself to her feet. "Don't do it now, enjoy yourself while on holidays. Make sure you give that to Phil and say hello to him for me."
"I will."
"Maybe go save your brother from the beating he's currently getting," Grams glanced out the window with a small laugh.
I climbed to my feet and covered the small distance to the window. Riley and Jared were both wrestling in the mud and by the looks on their faces both laughing hysterically while doing it. Riley had Jared pinned down and was shoved a large handful of mud and slush down his shirt while everyone else looked on laughing at them. A very undignified yelp reached me even through the window as Jared teleported away, dancing on the spot trying to get the cold out of his shirt. Whatever he said to Riley just made him laugh even harder.
I just shook my head at both of them.
Authors Note
Thanks for everyones patience while I slogged it out getting this one out. My muse has been here in full force but sadly my free time hasn't.
I look like starting a new job in a few weeks which will free me up quite dramatically as I can do a lot of work from home. Fingers crossed I get the job!
Thanks Lockheart96, BrySt1 and kira shadow wolf for your reviews! This story is definitely far from over and we have a lot of stuff to get through even before the Avengers starts. Until next time!