Kiera's abrupt command was met with a blank stare, "What?"

"This room is not exactly sterile right now and it's gonna take me awhile to clean it up. Makes much more sense to use a different surgery."

This is insane, this is insane, this is insane.

Before he could say anything, she marched past him and started walking down the hallway, trusting that he would follow.

"Ma'am, ya don't have to-"

"What's your name?" Opening the door to the neighbouring surgery, Kiera cut him off before he could tell her she didn't need to do this; she already knew that. Gesturing for him to sit down in the dental chair, she started to rummage through the drawers for anything that she thought could be of use.

Somewhat reluctantly, he sat himself sideways on the chair, keeping his feet firmly on the ground. Rubbing the back of his neck, he answered hesitantly, "You can call me, uh, Pete, I guess"

Kiera looked over her shoulder at 'Pete' and quirked her eyebrow at him, "You know, 'Pete, I guess', my nana always told me that an uncomfortable truth is better than a convenient lie."

She was rewarded with a gravelly laugh, "Smart woman, your nana." He watched her as she continued to gather her supplies, "Better not dig any deeper, darlin', Pete works just fine."

"Pete it is then. You're American, right?"

"New York born and raised."

Satisfied that she had everything she could think of, she laid it all out neatly on the worksurface before turning back to Pete, "Ah that's where everything happens, isn't it? Hole in the sky, aliens, superpeople running about. Don't get much of that over here. Something happened in London a few years back with that guy with the hammer, you know, the one who says he's a god, but that's about it. Wait, you're not one of those, are you? A superhero type?"

Kiera rolled her eyes at herself, grateful that she was still facing away from Pete. She knew that she was rambling to compensate for the thick knot of nerves currently twisting in her gut. She needed to reign it in before she made a complete fool of herself.

"Hell no girl, I ain't no hero."

She couldn't deny the slight pang of disappointment that she felt at that. It would've been very convenient to believe that she was helping a secret member of the Avengers rather than just some bloodied guy in a tactical vest.

Donning a pair of gloves, she soaked a wad of gauze in saline then proceeded to clean the wound on Pete's arm. Other than the slight tensing of his jaw, he made no indication that it hurt despite the fact that it must sting like all hell.

"Right, I have local anaesthetic here but I'll be completely honest, I would have no idea where to stick it to do any good. So unless you know what to do, it's probably best to just use the numbing gel." Keira sighed apologetically. As bad as the saline must've been, stitches with no anaesthetic would be something else.

"It's fine," Pete reassured her, "Rather not have my arm numb anyways."

"Of course, numb arms aren't practical. Especially in your line of work. Which is…?" She trailed off expectantly as she applied the gel, hoping that whatever answer he gave might reassure her at least a little bit.

"What did I tell ya 'bout diggin', eh?" The amusement was still evident in his voice but there was also an edge that made it clear that he wasn't about to give in to her questioning.

Well, that's no comfort at all. I bet he's in the mob. They definitely have a mob in New York.

Clinging to some sense of self-preservation, Kiera kept that thought to herself. Instead, she busied herself with preparing for the sutures.

"Okay, Pete. I'm going to give you a fair warning: I'm a dental nurse not a nurse nurse. I've never stitched up a patient's mouth before, let alone their arm. You may have to give me a little guidance but looking at the position of that cut, I reckon that I'll be able to get a better angle than you. You ready?"

Taking his curt nod as a cue to begin, Kiera set to work, surprised by how quickly everything came back to her. Technically, she hadn't told an outright lie; It was true that she'd never placed stitches as a dental nurse. She took a deep breath, refusing to acknowledge that her fingers knew exactly how to angle the needle and where best to pinch the skin together. Instead, she followed Pete's muttered instructions and pretended that she needed them. She noted, with some admiration, that he didn't so much as wince as she pushed the needle through his arm again and again.

Taking advantage of the silence that descended on them as she worked, Kiera properly studied her impromptu patient for the first time, glancing at him between stitches. From where she was sitting, she could only see his face in profile. Underneath the permanent scowl lay a handsome face with a strong jaw and dark eyes. He was tall and broad, that much she had noticed instantly, however, there was a quietness to him, despite his bulk. When he moved, he made no noise whatsoever and when he was still, he was completely still. He reminded her of a coiled snake; always ready to strike within a moment's notice. Instinctively, she could tell that this made him a deadly predator. Yet these same instincts reassured her that she was not his prey. Logic told her that this man was dangerous but for some reason, she felt completely safe.

If I die tonight, I have no one to blame but myself.

Kiera's silent assessment was cut short by Pete turning to her and stating, "You're good at this."

"Huh? Oh, um…" She blinked rapidly, desperately thinking of what to say without giving herself away, "Well, I've watched countless dentists place countless sutures. Must've picked up something along the way."

He held her stare for a second too long before turning away with a snort of derision.

"Bullshit"

"Excuse you?"

"You heard me girl, I call bullshit. Ain't no way that those are your first ever stitches. You're sewing me up like a damn field medic. First time I picked up a needle an' thread, I swear I did more harm than good. And don't give me no crap about observin' others, shit like this needs practice. Especially if they're that god damn neat. "

She knew she was digging her heels in for no real reason but she didn't feel like explaining herself to someone who had given her an obviously false name. Fixing him with her most sardonic grin, Kiera retorted, "Firstly, I have a name. Secondly, I prefer Ma'am to girl, thank you very much. Thirdly, I'm very flattered but I can honestly say that I have never done anything like this before."

Again, she wasn't technically lying. She had never, ever been in this situation before.

"Oh that's how it is, is it?" He quipped, raising his eyebrows at her. For emphasis, he held up his hand and counted out the points on his fingers, "You ain't told me your name, girl suits you better when you're lyin' like that and I know you ain't ever done exactly this before. What I don't believe is that you've never stitched someone up before. What happened to uncomfortable truths an' all that, eh? Lyin' by omission is still lyin', girl."

Pissed that he was able to throw her own nana's words back at her, she held out her spare hand and muttered darkly, "My name is Kiera Thompson and you are?"

He hesitated and for a moment Kiera thought that she'd won this battle of wills. To her chagrin, his expression hardened and he replied resolutely, "Pete."

Defeated, Kiera let her hand drop and acquiesced, "You're right, I've had some practice. It was a long time ago and honestly, I don't want to talk about it."

With that, she re-focused on the task at hand, methodically tying off the suture before carefully cutting the thread. She cleaned up the area with some more saline then sat back to assess her handiwork. Pete was right; she had done a good job. Apparently there are some skills that never leave you.

Her appraisal was interrupted by a large hand under her chin. Kiera immediately looked up, eyes wide in shock. Up until that point, he hadn't laid a finger on her and she had no idea what to expect next.

Oh god, this is it. You patch him up and he snaps his neck. That's what you get for trusting strangers, you twit. I swear I-

"Hey, 'm sorry for pushin' Ma'am. I tell ya not to ask questions then I go harassin' ya. I weren't lyin' though, you done real good. I ain't had stitches this nice since I left the marines. Much better than anythin' I coulda done. I'm grateful, really."

Kiera was taken aback by the raw sincerity in his voice and on his face. That remark of gratitude was enough to settle the internal debate that had been raging inside of her. She still had no idea why he was in such bad shape or what exactly had brought him to her practice but that didn't matter. He was in need and she'd helped. She'd done the right thing.

It was only a second later that she realised that he'd inadvertently revealed a fact about himself.

Ex-military huh? Really should've guessed that one.

"Back to Ma'am eh?" She smirked at him as he released her chin. She ignored the strange feeling that suddenly swept over her at the absence of his touch, instead wrapping up his arm in some more gauze to protect the new stitches. She looked him up and down before asking, "Anything else I should take a look at while we're here?"

"Nah I'm good, darlin'. Weren't much of a fight. Just got a bit cocky at the end, thought I'd taken them all out but there was one hidin' behind…" Whatever he was going to say was lost as he suddenly realised that he'd said too much. After a brief pause he clicked his tongue and continued, "Ah who am I kiddin', you're a smart girl, you know I aint got this scratch from fallin' down the stairs."

"Definitely not a scratch but, yeah, I figured as much." Quietly, as if speaking too loudly would change his mind, she asked, "Who you fighting Pete?"

Without a moment's hesitation, he looked her square in the eye and answered, "Bad guys, Kiera, bad guys."

It was an obvious response and one that she had no reason to believe.

She believed him completely.

The sudden intrusion of a car alarm going off caused Kiera to nearly jump out of her skin. For a moment, she had forgotten that the outside world existed. She broke away from Pete's gaze and started to clean up the surgery. Silently standing up from the chair, he kept his attention on her as she tidied away all the unused items and wiped down all the clinical surfaces. It didn't take her too long before she was left with the needle holders and suture scissors. Taking these instruments with her, she walked out of the room and headed for the first surgery.

Acutely aware that she was being closely followed, Kiera wondered what would happen now. Pete's entire reason for breaking into the practice in the first place had been fulfilled and there was no real reason for him to linger there any longer. Yet here he was, dogging her every step.

Kiera felt like crying as she looked at her surgery. The tray of instruments was still strewn across the floor from where she dropped it and the rest of the room wasn't much better. She had only just started to make a dent in the clean down process when Pete had appeared in the doorway. She didn't even want to think about what time it would be before she could finally go home.

"Fuck, I'd forgotten what a mess this place was." She muttered tiredly under her breath.

"You gotta deal with all this tonight?"

In a movement that felt a lot like deja vu, she whipped around to look at Pete. This time his face was completely blank, calculating even. Not for the first time that night, she was taken aback by the quiet strength that radiated off of him.

"Uh huh. Lucky me, eh?"

"Well then, Ma'am, tell me what I can do to help."

It took her a second to register what he was saying. Of all the crazy things that had happened that night, she was certain that this was the most bizarre. The image of his hulking frame squeezed into her nurse's scrubs came unbidden to the forefront of her mind. This time, she was unsuccessful in completely stifling her laughter and had to resort to coughing to mask it.

Oh if you could read my mind, Mister, you'd fucking kill me right now.

After taking a moment to compose herself, she started to politely decline his offer, "Oh, that's really sweet of you but it's-"

"If I hadn't turned up, wouldya be gone by now?"

"Quite possibly but-"

"Well then I'm helpin'."

Kiera couldn't deny that the help would be welcome, no matter how absurd the source. Just having an extra pair of hands would lighten the load. She swept her gaze over the room one last time before picking up a pair of gloves to throw at him.

"Let's get started then. Hell, if you're any good we might hire you, god knows we could do with an extra nurse."

Her poor attempt at humour was met with a small chuckle that was probably more enthusiastic than she deserved. She decided then that she liked his laugh, as gruff as it was.

They worked in companionable silence, which was only broken by Kiera's brief instructions. It quickly became obvious that he was an extremely quick learner, proving her estimation to be correct; the whole process took considerably less time than it would've without his assistance.

Once she was satisfied that everything was done, she left Pete alone as she went to the staff cloakroom and changed out of her uniform. She had almost expected him to be gone before she returned but instead, he was waiting for her patiently, leaning casually against a wall.

"So, um," she hesitated, not quite sure what came next, "This has been, uh, well, a very strange evening, if I'm being honest with you."

Pete ran his eyes over her slowly before agreeing, "I don't doubt that it has, Ma'am. S'pose you can't wait to get home after all this, huh?"

Truer words had never been spoken. Kiera smiled tiredly, "You can say that again. Thank god that I don't have to drive, I would definitely fall asleep at the wheel."

"You don't drive?"

"No, I do but I only live about a fifteen minute walk away. I only ever drive in if it's pissing it down. Saves me a fortune in fuel."

She took a slight step backwards. Even though she was exhausted, she was still reluctant to say goodbye; she still had so many unanswered questions after all.

The space between them grew tense as he failed to respond right away, instead looking at her with an unfathomable expression on his face. Growing uneasy, Kiera shifted her weight from foot to foot and was about to break the silence herself before he finally spoke.

"Let me walk you home."

His words were phrased as a question but his tone implied that he wasn't really asking her permission. She shouldn't have been relieved by that. She didn't know this man, the idea of him walking her home should've made her instantly nervous. But it didn't. All she felt was relief that her time with him wasn't completely over.

Still, it would be suspicious if she agreed without a fight.

"That's really not necessary."

"It's nearly midnight."

"And? I'm betting that I know this area better than you do."

She hoped desperately that he couldn't tell that she was protesting for appearances sake only.

"I'm sure ya do but believe me when I say that there are some dangerous people out there." To demonstrate his point, he gestured broadly to his various injuries, "It's not safe at this time of night."

Feeling brave, Kiera inquired, "But I'm safe with you?"

"Yes." The emphasis that he poured into that single word, told Kiera all that she needed to know. A sudden shyness took hold of her, causing her to look down at the floor intently as he continued, "Look Ma'am, I'm not gonna force ya. If you're not comfortable, I get that. I know what I look like right now but ya have nothin' to fear from me. I think ya know that, I mean you've trusted me this far."

Kiera slowly raised her head to meet Pete's intense stare. She desperately tried to ignore the warm feeling that spread across her abdomen at his continued observance. Her reply was all but whispered, "I do. Trust you, I mean. I don't know why. But I do."

Relief broke across his expression. Her faith evidently meant something to him.

Reluctant to end the moment but aware that one of them had to, Kiera eventually tore herself away. She locked up the practice and started the short walk towards her flat. Without uttering a word, Pete fell into step beside her.

They walked in silence as Kiera's mind went a mile a minute. She had so many things that she wanted to ask him but had no idea what he would be willing to talk about. She decided to settle for the safest topic that she could think of.

"So, Mr New York, what brings you to the UK? And why Southampton in particular?"

"I've got, uh, business here, I guess." He rubbed the back of his neck again. Kiera wondered if it was a nervous tick of his.

"Business, yeah? Is this a permanent relocation or a temporary thing?"

Oh, real casual Kiera, real casual.

She could see him trying to figure out how to answer her without giving away too much, "I wouldn't call it permanent but it ain't gonna be a quick thing either. Ain't having much luck at the moment."

Growing tired of his circumspection, Kiera decided to abandon all tact, "No? Tough job being a vigilante these days? Not found a good union yet?" She continued facing forward as she spoke, mildly worried about what his reaction would be.

He definitely did not disappoint.

Stopping dead in his tracks, he rounded on her with a face of thunder, "What you talkin' about girl? I ain't no stinkin' vigi-"

She cut across him mid sentence, her patience running very thin, "C'mon man, you won't tell me your real name, fine, but don't insult my intelligence. You said yourself: I'm a smart girl, I can put two and two together."

"Yeah and what two an' two is that?" he snapped at her irritably.

"Well for starters, you're dressed like, like, well that." She waved her hand across the air between them, vaguely referring to the entirety of him. Building up momentum, she continued, "You've got more guns strapped to you than I've seen in my whole life and a fucking skull painted on your chest. You've been nothing but nice to me, despite looking like a goddamn criminal and apparently you've been out fighting 'bad guys'. Oh and you're from New York and, from what I've heard, that city has as many vigilantes on the streets as it has heroes. Though, some people will say they are one and the same."

He stepped closer to her, baring his teeth to growl, "I told ya girl, I ain't no hero."

I should be terrified right now, why am I not terrified?

Without breaking eye contact, Kiera countered, "Didn't say you were. But you're either a vigilante or you're something worse."

He took another step forward, further closing the gap between them until their noses were almost touching, "What would ya do if I said I was something worse?"

Kiera wondered if he could hear her heart beating, it certainly seemed loud enough to her. If she wasn't careful, she was going to give herself a heart attack right there and then.

"Not much I can do is there? I'm unarmed and I'm not a fighter anyways. I'm just hoping that if you were gonna do something, you would've already done it."

Hi there, my name is Kiera. I'm weak and vulnerable, please shoot me! I won't fight back!

Fucking idiot girl.

"Could call the police when I'm gone."

She barked out a disbelieving laugh, "And say what? That a strange American man with a fuck load of guns broke into my work and offered to leave as soon as he realised I was there? That instead of doing the sensible thing, I stole from my own practice and put stitches in his arm? Then he helped me tidy up and walked me home? I can imagine how well that would go down."

His eyes softened incrementally as she finished her rant. "Ya could say that I held you at gunpoint," he offered.

"I could. But I won't"

All the anger melted from his expression with that simple statement. Her words hung in the air as they continued to stare at each other, both of them breathing heavily. For the second time that night, Kiera knew she had to be the one to break away or they would be stood there for hours.

She stepped to the side and continued to walk, changing the subject completely, "On another note, unless you wanna get arrested on sight, you might want to try to be a bit more subtle with the weaponry going forward. We're a fair bit more strict about guns over here. Maybe wear a big coat?"

He started to walk alongside her again, laughing slightly at her suggestion, "Big coat, yeah? I can do that."

"Good."

Quiet descended on them again but it wasn't as comfortable as before. Some of the tension had been relieved but it wasn't completely gone. Feeling slightly guilty for provoking him, Kiera resolved to lighten the mood again.

"I do have one final question for you Pete, if you don't mind me asking?" She made sure to make her voice as timid as possible, as if she was working up to ask something really personal.

"Bloody hell…" he muttered in exasperation, running a hand over his face. Seeing the hopefulness on her face, he acquiesced reluctantly. "Oh, go on then, girl. Knock yerself out."

She exhaled dramatically, making sure to look as nervous as she possibly could. Turning to him with wide eyes, she pleaded, "Was my singing really that bad?"

A second passed where he gave no reaction whatsoever and she began to wonder if her humour was wasted on him. Then all of a sudden, a deep bellow of laughter burst from him. The small, hoarse laughs that she'd heard up until that point were nothing compared to this. His face appeared a decade younger as he turned to her with a wide grin. Foreign feelings stirred in her gut as his laughter reverberated through her whole body.

Oh fuck, I'm in trouble now.

"Oh you're somethin' else you are. God damn little actress, really had me going." He shook his head, smirking at her before answering her plea, "Yeah, ya really were that bad. I've 'eard pissin' drunks carry a tune better than that."

"Ouch, you're mean," Kiera winced. She didn't really mind though, she had many talents but she knew that singing was not one of them.

Looking around her, Kiera realised that they had pretty much reached her flat. She slowed down as they approached her entryway.

"This is me." She gestured to the building, stopping in front of Pete. She was sure that she was imagining the slight disappointment that briefly flashed across his face.

"That's good, 'bout time ya got some sleep."

"Amen to that." She cleared her throat, "Well I guess this is it then."

"Yeah, guess it is."

"Um, well then, bye Pete. It was, uh, interesting meeting you." Cringing at her poor choice of parting words, Kiera turned around and started to search her pockets for her keys.

A hand reaching out to grab her wrist brought her search to an abrupt stop, "Wait, Kiera-"

"Yeah?"

"Why did ya help me tonight? Not that I'm not grateful, I really am but… why?"

She had been hoping to avoid that question. She knew the answer but she wasn't too willing to admit it.

"Well, there's a reason that I do what I do. Most people think that us in dentistry are sadists or something but for most of us it's the complete opposite. I can't stand seeing people in pain. It's why I was there late tonight in the first place." She could've left it at that, she'd given him a perfectly reasonable explanation. Something, however, compelled her to be completely open, no matter how embarrassing. She pushed on, "But honestly? The main reason I helped you is because you were polite. You called me ma'am. That counts for a lot in my book."

Pete didn't laugh at her ridiculousness, instead he smiled at her slightly, "The first reason is better than the second."

"Yeah, I know."

The hand that was still grasping her wrist slid down to her hand, grasping it tightly. His voice rough with sincerity, he murmured, "Thank you, Kiera." Picking up her other hand with his, he turned it over gently, tracing his thumb over her impromptu bandage. "I hope your hand is okay and everythins' all clear."

She'd completely forgotten about her cut. She'd have to remember to send her manager a text asking to be referred for bloodwork. That was going to be fun to explain.

"You're welcome Pete and I'm sure it will be, just an extra precaution really."

He squeezed her hands one last time before letting go.

"Good night, Kiera."

With that, he started to walk backwards away from her.

"What's your name?" She called out to him, asking for the third time that night, more as a joke than anything else at this point.

The only reply she received was a crooked grin as he faded into the shadows.

After standing on the porch for a minute or two, watching the space where he'd been, Kiera let herself into her building and started up the stairs to her flat. Once she was in, she sent a brief text to her manager before chucking her phone and everything else onto the sofa. She would deal with that in the morning; all she wanted to do right now was collapse onto her bed.

Except, despite the deep tiredness in her limbs, her mind was more awake than it had ever been. She found herself standing in front of her small hallway cupboard. It was a cupboard that she often stared at but had not opened once since she moved into her place. She hadn't so much as touched the contents in years except to move it from one flat to another.

Something in her had snapped that night and she couldn't bear to walk past the cupboard this time. Instead, she turned the handle to reveal what she knew lived inside. Neatly packed and stored in boxes, all of her old tattooing kit sat waiting for her. Remnants of an old life where ink had been her lifeblood. Emotion threatened to choke her as she checked over the needles, making sure that time and disuse hadn't damaged them at all.

Clearing off her dining table, she set everything down and started to set everything up, loading in the ink. Laying out some sheets of practice skin, she flexed her fingers then set to work for the first time in five years.


Frank watched the light turn on in what had to be Kiera's flat. His suspicion was confirmed when she sat down at the table, directly in front of the window.

He knew that he should walk away and forget about the ballsy British girl with steady hands. But he couldn't.

He also knew that he shouldn't be staring up into her flat like a depraved man. But he didn't move.

Instead he watched her with unbridled curiosity as she set up the tattoo machine.

Kiera Thompson, who are you?