"What happened to your hair?"
After not speaking to Natasha for five weeks, that wasn't exactly what I wanted to lead with. However, when her face came onto my computer screen, it was the first thing to fall out of my mouth.
"I cut it," Natasha said dryly. She reached up and touched her now above shoulder length locks. The curls had been tamed down considerably with her shorter hair. "You don't like it?"
"I love it." I grinned. Despite being different, it was a good look. "I never thought I'd see the day you'd lose those crazy curls."
"I needed a change." Natasha lounged back away from her computer screen. She was wearing a bikini and it was day time in Bora Bora. I was very envious of that. There were times where I still felt like I was never going to get warm again. "I can't believe we're still here."
"Me either." I felt a pang of sadness as I stared at the screen. It was Christmas Eve. Clint and I had been back for two weeks from our disastrous mission in Russia. "I miss you both. At least you'll have a sunny Christmas and you missed out on being the lucky ones on call."
STRIKE Team Delta, or what was left of it, had the unfortunate bad luck of being the STRIKE team on call over Christmas. It meant we couldn't visit Laura or the kids. Coulson was still running the back end of Natasha and Jared's mission from the Hub. Without any of them here, Christmas was feeling a little lonely this year. Ever since I'd gotten back from Russia I was back on pilot duties. Apparently, SHIELD was short of pilots, more so than usual, but it felt more like a spanking for fucking up the last mission. The last time I'd done this much flying was when Riley was still alive. The double shifts and long flights were really starting to wear me down. I was exhausted and cranky constantly right now.
I wasn't going to let myself wallow in that shit hole right now though. It was my only chance to talk to Natasha and Jared for Christmas. Even if it was via Skype on my laptop while I was flying to pick up some Specialists from a training mission.
"I know it's a random thing they pull out of a hat, but it sucks balls that you and Clint got lumped with that." Natasha shot me a sympathetic look. There wasn't much else she could say on a secure SHIELD line about who we wouldn't see over Christmas.
"Tell me about it," I said dryly. "How's it going there?"
"Jared had to pretend to be gay last night which is always amusing." Natasha lounged back, a trademark smirk on her face. "I always love watching that shit show."
I laughed hard at that. That would have been funny to see.
"Speaking of the shit show, where is he?" I said that with all the affection in the world. I'd missed them both terribly. I only had ten minutes to talk with Natasha. It was all the time Coulson could get for me.
"Getting lunch. Then we're heading out snorkelling in attempt to get near this assholes yacht." Natasha looked less than pleased about it. "Where are you going?"
"Picking up some Specialist's from a training mission in Oregon," I explained, trying not to sigh in frustration. "SHIELD need to recruit more pilots. I get sick of playing taxi because they can't keep people. They even have Barton flying right now."
Clint was doing a similar pick up to me, except his people were somewhere in Canada.
"I'd ask how Russia was, but at this time of year I know better," Natasha changed the subject, lounging back in the chair she was sitting in. "I haven't missed Jared bitching about how cold he is in the middle of the night for the last two weeks though."
Poor Jared. Even from half a world away, I had been uncomfortable enough to project the fact I was always cold back onto him. If only it had worked in reverse and I'd been sweating my ass off.
"I'm sure you found creative ways to warm him up," I said slyly. The look on Natasha's face told me everything I needed to know.
I was also glad Natasha had enabled me to completely skirt around the whole hypothermia and missing my shot problem. I was also happy that Clint was about to owe me another $20. On one of the long and boring nights in Russia, Clint and I had made a bet about Natasha and Jared fucking again on this mission. I said they would and Clint thought they might remain professional for an extended mission. Score two for me and zero for Clint.
"You don't want to know the details," Natasha said a half smile on her face. "I am glad it's in the open now though."
"Me too."
Natasha's honesty made me smile. I'd missed this while things had been weird between us. Even though it was Jared she was sleeping with, it was good being completely open with each other again.
A second later, Jared appearing being Natasha's chair. His interruption ruined our girl talk but my face still split into a wide grin at seeing him.
"Speak of the devil and he appears," I said smartly. "With an enormous hickey on his neck too."
"You're jealous it isn't your neck Natasha is gnawing on." Jared reached up to rub the offending spot with a smirk on his face.
"I'm jealous about anyone getting their necks gnawed on." I couldn't help but laugh at the situation. "Hawk has been bringing home a different girl every single night. The last one was noisy and a total bitch in the morning."
I may have also made a snide remark about her noise in the morning. To her face. Which Clint had laughed at instead of sticking up for her. I knew she wouldn't be coming back for a second round.
"You know where the key is for my apartment." Natasha made a noise of disgust. "He's being a slut at the moment. Tell him when he catches something we're all going to laugh at him."
"I will." A beeping sound coming from the Quinjet made me glance over to my controls. I was coming up to my landing zone. I felt my shoulders slump in disappointment. I'd barely gotten five minutes with Natasha, even less with Jared. SHIELD had really dragged their asses on getting this call to go through. "I have to go."
"We'll be home soon." Jared looked disappointed. "Leave some of Barton's Christmas cake for us."
"Yeah, sure." I lied. I'd already eaten one of them myself. Clint chased me out of the kitchen brandishing a wooden spoon like a sword when I'd tried to have some of the second cake he made. I had no idea where he had hidden it now.
"And the rum balls," Natasha added. "I'd say leave the crack cookies but you've probably eaten three dozen of them already."
"Two," I admitted with a laugh. "He said he won't make anymore until you both get home."
It was a good thing I had a super metabolism. I'd be so fat with Clint's cooking if I worked a desk job and gained weight like a normal person.
"We miss you," Natasha said with a sad smile. "Both of you. Everyone else as well."
"I miss you both as well. I have some very expensive vodka waiting for your return." My own smile felt very wobbly. "Come home soon."
Natasha ended the call before I could drag it out any longer. I would have stayed on the call the entire time while landing. Considering the weather I'd flown into, that wouldn't have been the smartest decision I'd ever made. The freezing weather from Russia seemed to have followed us home. I was bundled up in several layers with my hair tucked up under a beanie. It was pouring down rain make the bitterly cold weather even shittier.
The group of Specialists all ran onto the Quinjet as soon as the ramp was down. None of them looked in my direction as they all got comfortable in the back. I fought back a sigh of irritation. A thank you would have been nice. Even a quick smile of acknowledgement. Typical fucking Specialist's thinking they are above everyone else.
I purposely made the take off a lot rougher than it needed to be to pay them back for being rude. Unluckily for me, they didn't seem to notice too much. It took me a few minutes to realise that these guys were a bunch of rookies still in the Academy. All the talk of nailing their second last training mission gave it away. One of them, in particular, was louder than all the others. I switched off from listening to them. The Quinjet was still on manual flight so it was easy to tune most of their testosterone fuelled antics out.
"Maybe I should take Lyngley's position in STRIKE Team Delta."
That one sentence snapped my attention to the back of the Quinjet. The moron who had been the loudest had just spoken.
"After all, rumour has it she just missed the easiest shot from 50 yards away," the guy laughed hard. "Seriously? How the fuck did she ever get on that team."
"Same way as Romanoff."
Whoever answered made a motion that was clearly meant to be an act of sucking someone's dick. My jaw clenched as laughter rang around the back of the Quinjet.
"Yeah but at least Romanoff can hit a target," Another voice joined in the conversation. His declarations as met by a round of laughter. I could feel my cheeks burning in embarrassment at this conversation.
"I got one at 600 yards, baby!" The mouthy one said with a cheer. "Who's the fucking man?"
"Definitely not you, asshole," I muttered darkly.
My temper grew with every passing sound in the back of the Quinjet. I would have shrugged off easily if it wasn't for the jab at me missing that shot. I was already beating myself up over that. I didn't need help rubbing more salt into the particular wound. Their rambunctious behaviour and loud plans about Christmas topped off my already sour mood. By the time we landed, I was fuming.
"You know what?" The mouthy asshole spoke over the noise as the Quinjet ramp lowered. "I've heard Lyngley is grounded on base at the moment. Maybe I should go find her and show how to shoot. Maybe she'll appreciate it and I'll get a reward if you know what I mean."
I didn't wait for the Quinjet to power down. I ripped off my beanie and stormed after this arrogant asshole. He had made it to the bottom of the ramp, his workmates still laughing around him. I caught up to him easily, grabbing him by the shoulder. The motion was enough to stop him in his tracks and he turned around. He looked at me with a smug smile on his face. It slipped away very quickly at seeing me standing behind him.
I wiped the last of the smug smile off his face with a reeling punch to the jaw.
The entire hanger stopped what they were doing in the instant I punched the mouthy asshole. He staggered back a few steps. It was almost comical seeing his eyes wide in shock as he reached up to touch his bleeding mouth.
"Have you got something to say now asshole?" I was seething. Part of me was really hoping this moron wouldn't back down so I could beat the shit out of him.
It was if the whole room was holding their breath. I could feel ice crystals forming up my fingers. My entire body was on edge and ready to snap into action at any second. Lucky for me, I didn't have to wait long. He came after me only a few moments later.
Angry fighting was good. It clouded people's minds. His first punch went wild and it was easy to duck out of the way. I landed another solid blow to his ribs, forcing the air out of his lungs. In my moment of satisfaction of the punch I landed, he caught me off guard. I jerked back but the punch glanced off my jaw. We both backed off, circling each other warily. He had a few inches on me and was lean. I didn't doubt he'd be fast if he was a half decent fighter.
"You fight as well as you shoot," the asshole taunted me.
"You hit like a little bitch," I shot back at him. "Come on, have another go."
He didn't need another invitation. He came at me fast, this time with his guard completely up. We never made it to exchanging another blow. The men he was with quickly grabbed him and yanked him backwards. Two pairs of strong arms pulled me away from hitting distance.
"This is not worth you being suspended for." One of the voices was Clint. I glanced back and was surprised to see the other person holding me back was Rumlow. What was he doing here on Christmas Eve?
"The fucking asshole decided to taunt me about missing that shot." I was seething. The blows I managed to land on him had done nothing but made me angrier. "Because he's such a big man making a 600 yard shot, he thought I could reward him for teaching him."
Clint's grip on me instantly loosened. He knew how much missing that shot was messing with my head. He was the unfortunate one dealing with my foul mood about it.
"Don't kill him. Maiming is completely fine though."
Clint's whispered words almost made me smile. Even Rumlow's grip had loosened enough so I could wrench myself free. The mouthy asshole did the same, pulling himself free from his friend's grips. Unluckily for me, I had the small advantage of being free half a second before him. He didn't get his guard up quick enough and I drove my elbow into his throat. It was hard enough that it would have hurt like hell. Before he could crash to the ground, I decided to help the journey a little bit more. I kicked him straight in the nuts with a lot of force.
Every male in the hanger made a noise of sympathy as the guy hit the ground. He groaned, one hand clutching at his nuts and the other his throat.
"Okay, enough."
An older very angry looking man came charging through the group of rookie Specialists. Judging by the way they all jumped out of the way I had no doubts it was one of their instructors.
I felt Clint's hands pull me back again. I didn't struggle this time. He and Rumlow pulled me well out of striking distance of anyone.
"Hill's office. Now." The instructor ground out through his clenched jaw. The anger was directed at me but he wasn't gentle when he yanked the asshole up off the floor. "You have some fucking explaining to do as well, Maxwell."
At least I knew the assholes name now. Maxwell looked worse for wear as he hobbled after his instructor. I obediently followed making sure I kept well behind them. Luckily for me, Clint and Rumlow both stayed with me. The elevator ride was painfully silent. I absently picked at my nails during the whole ride ignoring the nasty looks Maxwell kept giving me.
Hill was waiting for us. She wasn't dressed in her usual work attire. Instead, it looked like we had just interrupted her going out for a hot date. The furious expression on her face wasn't looking promising either. With a clenched jaw, she simply pointed to the two seats in front of her desk. I wasn't stupid enough to argue. I sat down obediently. As soon as my ass hit the chair, Hill spoke up through gritted teeth.
"What in the actual fuck, Kari?"
I was in so much trouble. I tried not to shrink under Hill's furious gaze. There was only one thing that was going to help me here. I knew how much Hill hated men's bullshit macho attitude and thinking they can get sex as a reward. It may be the only thing to stop me being thrown in the Fridge over Christmas.
"He." I jabbed a finger at Maxwell. "Didn't realise I was their pilot. He decided that he would try and make himself seem like a big man by offering to teach me to shoot properly because of the shot I missed in Russia. Of course, I'd repay him in sex. After all, he is so incredible because he made a 600 yard shot."
There was no keeping the sarcasm out of my voice with the last sentence. Behind me, I heard Clint snort in disgust. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Maxwell now squirming in his seat. While I was definitely in the wrong for starting a punch up, he wasn't going to get out of this without some sort of repercussion either.
A muscle in Hill's jaw ticked as her attention switched over to Maxwell. He visibly shrank down in his chair under her hard glare.
"And what the fuck were you thinking?" Hill snapped at Maxwell. "In what universe would you think she needed your help? From what I saw of your shot from the training footage it was sheer fucking luck rather than skill that landed your shot. Next time you want to be a chauvinistic pig make sure you actually have something to brag about. You're suspended. Get out."
That was quicker than I expected. Maxwell didn't mess around. He nearly tripped over his own feet getting out of his chair. His instructor followed him, scowling the entire time at the recruit. I didn't doubt Maxwell was in for an earful from his instructor as well. There was a smug satisfaction at seeing him scurry out of the room in a hurry. It was short lived as Hill's attention turned back to me. It was my turn to shrink under her furious gaze.
"Do you have any idea how many problems you've caused right now?" Hill was seething. "I'm going to have to recall an entire STRIKE team to be on call because you couldn't control your temper. You know better than to let some rookie with an over inflated ego get to you. I expect better of you Kari."
Normally I would have been so ashamed. However combined with the events of the last few weeks, I felt the last of my fraying temper snap.
"Maybe if I stopped getting so many bullshit jobs I wouldn't have had to hear his bullshit," I snapped back at Hill. "If you're going to fucking spank me for missing that shot, at least get it over and done with. I'm not a fucking taxi driver."
You could have heard a pin drop in the room. For the longest few moments, no one even breathed. Even I was taken back by my angry snarl at Hill. Of all people I had to snap out, it had to be the deputy director of SHIELD.
Hill sat there with an eyebrow raised for what seemed like hours. Without breaking eye contact, she reached over and picked up her phone. She jabbed her finger into one of the speed button dials with a lot more force than necessary.
"Hi, Coulson." Hill's voice was far too cheery for her stony expression. "I need to video call you right now."
I was in so much trouble. Hill hung up after another few seconds.
"Rumlow, we're going to your office." Hill turned her attention to behind me as she turned her computer screen around to face me. "Let's go."
The three of them left the room in silence. Unluckily for me, Coulson's video call connected right away. His never ending patience looked to be stretch thin right now. His eyes roamed over me, settling for a few seconds on my jaw. Now my anger had simmered down, it was hurting a bit. Maxwell's punch had some force behind it. I knew it was going to bruise.
"What happened?"
"I got into a fight." Every last bit of anger drained from me. Especially when Coulson's expression switched from worried to disappointed. "In the hanger and I started it."
I could never lie to Coulson. Even if it meant I was about to be in deep shit.
"What over?" Coulson's tone was neutral despite his disappointed look.
"He taunted me over missing that shot in Russia." I slumped back in my chair with a heavy sigh. I was so tired now. "Apparently he was going to show me how to shoot and I would reward him for it. You know the general bullshit that goes on about me and Natasha fucking or sucking dicks to get anywhere in this job. So I punched him in the face for it."
My mouth ran away from me. I couldn't help it. I was tired, frustrated and angry right now. It really hadn't helped that Andrew hadn't been available for the last two weeks either. I'd been venting my frustrations at Clint. It wasn't the same as having Andrew's patience to chip away at the problem.
"I may have also throat punched him and then kicked him in the nuts," I added when Coulson didn't say anything straight away. He was going to find that out eventually if I didn't tell him. Plus I had a guilty conscious like that.
"Who threw the first punch?" Coulson asked calmly.
"I did." There was no point lying. I was already in trouble. "I know. I shouldn't have lost my temper. This has been bullshit though. I haven't done this much flying since before Riley died. Am I in trouble for missing and this is my punishment?"
I felt like a whining child right now. I really needed to know though. Not having Coulson here after a mission had been disorientating. He was always here and dealing with the inevitable fallout from whatever fucked up on our missions. Emailing him wasn't the same as sitting down with him in his office and going over everything.
"No, of course not." Coulson's face immediately softened. "People miss all the time, Kari. Go ask Tex, Copeland or any of the other marksmen. Copeland missed very spectacularly in his last mission. It was only sheer luck that their mission was a success afterwards. You have a very skewed perspective on how mere mortals can shoot."
Coulson wasn't wrong there. I'd never seen Clint miss. I placed that exact same pressure on myself in training and on missions. It hadn't come into question until now.
"You were recovering from hypothermia," Coulson continued. "You really shouldn't have been out in the field and no one could account for your target coming out of the back door. Self flagellation is not your style. Don't start it now."
Coulson's gentle scold made me feel even worse about this entire situation. I'd really fucked up this time with losing my temper and starting the fight.
"That still doesn't mean I'm not very disappointed in you for losing your temper," Coulson's tone turned to scolding. I felt like a child all over again getting in trouble for something bad I'd done. "He was an asshole for saying what he did. But you could have at least mugged him on the way home instead of punching him in front of everyone. You and Barton can make that look like a random occurrence."
Coulson's attempt at humour got my lips quirking up in a small smile.
"You're suspended until I get back."
I was not surprised at all to hear that. Being suspended was a lot better than anything else I could have faced. I wasn't going to argue about it at all. I deserved it. We were so lucky to have Coulson as our handler.
"Thank you for letting me have that video call with Natasha and Jared," I said sincerely, hoping it would win me back some brownie points. "I miss them both. Hawk and I miss you as well, especially at this time of year."
"I miss you both as well." Coulson looked so tired and sad right now. "You're welcome. I know it wasn't much but it's Christmas and it's the best I could do."
I was going to have to find an extra rare bottle of scotch for Coulson to go with the last Captain America trading cards for his collection. Considering all the trouble I had caused, I had a lot of sucking up to do. I should probably find out what Hill drank considering it looked like I'd ruined her evening. It was a good thing I'd gotten another payment through from my investment. I had spent so much money on Christmas presents this year. Not that I'd made a dent in the money. It was still terrifying how much money was coming in.
"Go home. Have a few drinks and relax," Coulson suggested. "Since you're suspended, STRIKE Team Delta is off call. There's no point having only Clint sticking around."
That put an idea into my head. If Clint was off duty with me, we could be in Kentucky by tomorrow morning. I'd doubt we'd get a flight this late but driving was doable. That would be a nice Christmas surprise. What's more, it cheered me up instantly.
"Merry Christmas, Coulson." I wasn't arguing about anything right now. "Come home soon."
"Merry Christmas." Coulson gave me a smile that looked sad. It wasn't just us he was missing out on Christmas with, he'd made some solid plans with Audrey as well. "Don't bother setting foot in the Triskelion until I get back."
With that final warning, the screen went blank. I let out a long shuddering breath of relief. That could have been so much worse. At least Coulson had been in an amicable mood. If he hadn't, I'd hate to think what my punishment would be. I wasn't going to waste time hanging around the Triskelion for anyone to change their mind. I was free for Christmas.
I left Hill's office and went back down to the hanger. I'd left my laptop, phone and bag in the Quinjet in my fit of anger. At least no one was going to be dumb enough to try and steal it. No one attempted to make a conversation with me as I walked through the hanger and onto the Quinjet I was using. There was plenty of people giving me the side eye. I was beyond caring at this point though. I quickly grabbed what I'd left behind and waltzed straight back out of the hanger. I'd made it to Rumlow's office just as Hill was walking out. She was still looking extremely pissed.
"I like your shoes." I went for something to hopefully defuse the situation.
"I like you better when you're the behaved one from STRIKE Team Delta." Hill's face was made of stone. "I expect this shit from Barton. Not you."
"I'm sorry." I was going to be apologising for this for a long time. "I can make up for it with expensive booze?"
Hill gave me a look that was terrifying. It was also a look that made me realise why she was Fury's righthand woman. Hill didn't get to her position by being a nice person. She got there because she was tough as nails and didn't shit from anyone. I was about to be on her shit list for the unforeseeable future.
"You have no idea how lucky you four are to have Coulson." The anger was clear in Hill's voice. "One toe out of line from you for the next year Kari and I'll be the one to have your ass. Understood?"
"Yes, Ma'am."
Hill hated being called Ma'am. I regretted it instantly as soon as the word left my mouth. That put me on her shit list for another year at least. Without another word, Hill stomped off down the hallway, her heels clicking angrily as she went. I held my breath, looking at the floor until I heard the elevator doors close, just in case my breathing the wrong way might offend her. I let out another huge sigh of relief once she was gone.
"Is she gone?"
I turned around to see Clint peering from behind Rumlow's office door. When I nodded, he heaved out a sigh.
"Thank fuck for that." Clint opened the door wider so I could come in. "I haven't seen her that angry in a long time. I'm suspended by the way."
"Me too." I held up my fist. "Suspended buddies."
Clint laughed as we bumped fists. As I walked into the office, I saw that it was empty.
"Where's Rumlow?" I asked, scanning the room. Rumlow's office always looked bare. He never kept anything personal in here. Unlike Coulson and Evans office who were both decorated with photos and personal items. The Captain America bobblehead I found was proudly sitting on Coulson's desktop monitor.
"Gone. He got the unlucky task of being the team on call now," Clint explained as he walked over to the desk. His own bag was sitting on the chair in front of Rumlow's desk "He decided to go home and start drinking before he sent the message out to his team."
At least Alpha team wouldn't knock back my offer of apologising with alcohol. I knew a lot of them well enough that they may even find this entire situation funny. Providing there were no disasters between now and New Year for them to get a mission. If that happened, I'd be picking up their bar tab for a month.
"Fair." I nodded. "Want to do a road trip with me since we're suspended?"
Clint's face lit up in understanding. I didn't need to say where we were going.
"Let's get the fuck out of here. Do you want to leave your bike?"
It was raining so I didn't need to think about it too hard. All I had to do was nod and we were both walking as fast as we could out of Rumlow's office. The good thing about being here so late on Christmas Eve was that the building was mostly empty. We didn't see a single soul between the elevator ride and getting to Clint's car. Traffic was a nightmare as usual for this time of evening but we managed to get home, packed and back in the car within the hour. I put in the address into the GPS as Clint pulled out of the driveway.
"I'm partly torn between thanking you for getting suspended and being upset that you're still beating yourself up about that shot," Clint said as soon as we pulled out into the street. "So thank you and for fuck sake, stop it already. No one is blaming you for missing that shot."
"I'm blaming me," I said with a grumble, wiggling around in the chair of the Camaro to get comfortable.
"Yeah and I'm blaming myself for putting you in that situation." Clint looked over at me with a half smile. "These last few weeks have sucked. We've had no outlet for our frustrations."
We really hadn't. Beyond a quick gym session in the mornings, Clint and I really hadn't had much sparring or shooting time. I'd had about five minutes on the archery range one day before I got called in for a flight.
"You have." I wasn't going to admit it but I was feeling jealous of Clint's sex life right now. I missed Gareth. He'd been so busy and with the time difference even our little sexting fun had ground to a halt. I'd barely heard from him at all this week.
"Fucking my way through half of the Triskelion is my terrible way of ignoring my own problems," Clint said sardonically. "One Coulson would definitely be kicking my ass for if he wasn't here."
"Speaking of fucking." I really wanted to get off the subject of me and my frustration right now. "Guess who's fucking on their mission?"
"Goddamnit all to hell." Clint pulled a face of disgust. "Why do I always make these stupid bets?"
"Because you like losing money to me," I said smartly. The mood was starting to lighten in the car with my casual change of subject. "It's okay though. I'll pay for our road trip snacks and gas."
"You are a kind of benevolent sugar mama," Clint's shot me a cheeky grin. "I don't even have to get you off for all the nice things you give me."
"No, I just have to put up with your boner in my ass way too often lately." I couldn't help but laugh. Before Clint had started sleeping with a different girl every night, we'd fallen asleep on the couch together one night. I'd woken up to him having an accidental grope on his sleep. He'd been horrified when I woke him up. I'd laughed so hard I had tears running down my face. I'd called his cock the out of control monster for the next few days. It had been fun teasing him about keeping it under control before it poked someone's eye out.
"You leave my penis alone. It's not my fault he was sad and desperate enough to think your ass was a good target." Clint laughed with me.
I loved this about our friendship. Nothing was off limits. We could laugh off potentially very awkward situations and make a joke about it later. Our conversation lapsed into light hearted banter as we drove through the night. I had a nap and we switched out driving after stopping for dinner. Clint took out his hearing aids for his nap so I could happily listen to music as we covered the miles of highway. The sun was starting to peek over the horizon as we turned into the driveway for Laura's house. Clint was nearly vibrating from excitement as we got closer. I wasn't much better. I could barely sit still.
The front door flew open and out came Lucky and Lucy, barking at the strange car. Their barking turned into excited yips as Clint was out of the passenger seat before I could turn the car off.
"Daddy!"
The high pitched shriek of excitement made the last of my worries from the mission disappear. Cooper and Lila both ran from the house at breakneck speed. Laura followed at a much more sedate pace looking surprised and a little misty eyed.
Getting suspended was worth it.
Authors Note
Kari really sucks at coping with her feelings at times.
On the bright side, this chapter came out way quicker than I expected! This next little arc before Steve and the Avengers kick in has been something I've had in the original storyline for a long time. There have been a few tweaks to it over time but I'm still happy to get here. Not long to go now before we're at the Avengers! I have to admit seeing the new Avengers Endgame trailer yesterday gave me such a boost to get writing. I am SO excited for it.
Who's seen Captain Marvel? I really enjoyed it. It was the perfect lead into Avengers Endgame. I loved Goose and seeing a much younger Fury. The buddy cop type relationship between Fury and Carol was amazing.
I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter! It's a little shorter than usual but there's a lot in the next few chapters so I promise I'll make up for it.
Until next time.