Hello. I've had a bit of a tough time recently but here's an update anyway. If there's anything to momentarily distract me from the horrors of a blood test, its writing about Cora and Cap's first meeting!
Thank you to everyone who favourited and followed- seeing the email notifications in my inbox made me smile, which recently has been all I really needed.
OmuiYuni – Thanks for your review. It was short yeah, not in word count but in plot. I wanted their first meeting to be as good as I could get it, so wasn't keen to publish it when I wasn't in the right state of mind. Not sure I am now either, but I certainly like it better. I hope that you like the chapter!
xOphiuchusx- Thank you for your review! I'm glad you like it. Here is more!
TortoisetheStoryteller – I hope this chapter kinda answered your question. It will be explained more in the future and will have other implications, but for now I hope that this explains it well enough. Thanks for the review and I'm glad you are enjoying all the Cap/Technology moments. I think it's a fine line between funny and just stupid so I hope I am continuing to tread it well.
Princess PrettyPants – Yeah Clarke is the go to guy to hate, at least in my book. I hope that Cora doesn't seem too much of a Mary Sue. One of my biggest fears about writing this is that she is, and so even though she needed to hurt her shoulder for later plot purposes, I'm still concerned that she turned out too much like a damsel. Your thoughts would be much appreciated on that!
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters aside from my own OC. The rights of the other characters belong to Marvel and its affiliates.
Enjoy!
I am sorry for the miscommunication, Miss Quinn," Director Fury all but forced his way through his apology.
Coraline just nodded. She was too tired, still slightly jumpy from the remnants of the panic that had flooded her veins, and in just enough pain from her now strapped arm to bother with a remark, snarky or otherwise.
Fury huffed in response, before opening the door of the room slightly and gesturing for someone to come back in.
Oh God not Clarke, Coraline pleaded internally as she clutched the paper cup of tea in earnest.
Steve Rogers walked through the door, tentative even when commanding a far from submissive frame.
Cora didn't know if that was worse or not.
"Miss Quinn will be continuing the first phase of reintroduction as originally planned," Coraline nodded mutely again, half looking up at the Captain as he crossed the room to the desk and her chair besides it.
"Ma'am," He stuck his hand out in greeting.
Coraline made to do the same, before a twinge of pain reminded her why that wasn't going to happen. She juggled the cup back onto the table before shaking with her left hand instead.
"Hello Captain Rogers," She breathed into the greeting, trying to summon up some courage from goodness knows where it usually hid within her. "I promise I don't always make such an extravagant first impression. It's been an odd couple of days."
He smiled lightly, raising an eyebrow as he took his seat opposite her.
"You're telling me."
Coraline returned the smile, "Touché."
"Still," She continued as she traced the corrugated cardboard of her cup with her remaining hand. "I feel I should probably clarify that I don't spend a lot of time in handcuffs. There was an error on the report that assessed my usefulness or something. Someone wrote a karate black belt instead of the one defence class I took in my first term of university."
Two guesses who, Coraline thought bitterly, but hid it with a slight chuckle as she saw Captain Rogers' eyes widen.
"Surely they would have realised their mistake when they saw you?" He questioned, before apparently realising what he was saying and backtracked quickly. "I mean, um, what I mean to say is…"
Coraline interrupted him out of pity, "They're not wrong."
Steve stopped spluttering to stare at her in disbelief.
"Whatever danger level they marked me on, or however shadowy organisations mark these things, they should double it."
Steve raised an eyebrow, causing Cora to raise her hand in surrender as she properly laughed this time.
"I know, I know," She reigned in her laughter. "I know I don't look it, but the threat level is entirely justified, all in here."
She tapped her head before explaining.
"I'm a historian. I know how every one of the horrifyingly powerful leaders of the last 100 years got into power, and I have a cheat sheet in my head of what to avoid that resulted in their downfalls. Give me 5 to 7 years, some cash and a disenfranchised population and I'd be a dictator in a decade."
Sensing the Captain's alarm, Cora gave him what she hoped was a reassuring smile.
"Don't worry, Captain Rogers. While I may theoretically pose a serious threat, I know from recent experience that any one of S.H.I.E.L.D's goons could take me down in a millisecond. There will be no Quinn State this side of time's beginning."
She thought she saw the Captain's eyes flash momentarily with what could have been concern or just plain surprise. She glossed over it as she continued.
"I have been uh... commissioned… shall we say to update you on what has been happening in the world for the past 70 years. I promise I am qualified for the task, but I also promise to attempt to not make this as boring as it probably sounds," Steve smiled at this, catching Cora's eye briefly before she looked back at the now partly shredded cardboard of her cup's sleeve.
"I…uh…I don't know what else you have on your schedule , or what S.H.I.E.L.D want from you, but if it all fits in with whatever else you are up to, I have sort of half planned a structure."
Coraline rummaged in her jacket pocket with one hand, crumpling the S.H.I.E.L.D logo mounted stationary in the process.
Straightening it out on the desk by flattening her elbow over it, she swivelled it to face Steve, before using a pen on the table top to direct his vision to each segment.
Steve looked down at the paper, making out vague scribbles in between the paper's creases.
"I thought we'd start with what was going on in other countries before the war's end. I know a lot of it will have been passed on to you, but much more wasn't and without that knowledge honestly nothing that happened after will make much contextual sense."
Steve hummed in agreement as he stared at the handwriting – or at least what could be called handwriting. It was messy to say the least. He was sure he had seen better calligraphy from last minute battle plan scribbles.
That wasn't what was bothering him though. What was causing him to agree to goodness knows what the woman in front of him was talking about was that it was familiar.
"Afternoon's should be for fun stuff, so I figured teaching technology and catching up on media, music and anything else that causes you questions should go there…"
Coraline continued, drawing circles around the scribbles as if to emphasise to Steve that he really should know where he had seen this before.
"Um..." She faltered briefly, watching the man in front of her's expression to check he was still with her. He looked deep in concentration, so she continued with a little less trepidation.
"Once my books and resources are sent over from England I can start writing guides to each year you missed. Key events, things like that. That way you can read in your spare time rather than waste it coming to lessons. Or you could have them made into audiobooks if you would prefer."
Steve nodded, scanning the page looking for any clue that would lead him to the answer he sought.
Then, right at the bottom, the bright yellow ink apparently painted over the bottom scheduling detail snapped the world back into focus.
"You're C," He interrupted the historian suddenly.
She looked momentarily confused, before looking down at her lap where here hand had retreated to with his sudden outburst.
"Oh, yes. Yes I am."
"You made me dinner."
Cora looked up at the soldier in front of her. He didn't look angry, but his tone wasn't entirely free of accusation either.
"Um, yeah. I did." She replied cautiously.
"I tried it this morning. It was very nice."
"Oh," Cora wasn't expecting that. An angry word at her trespassing into his private life; a scoff at the amount of work she had put into it; those sorts of scenarios were crossing her mind like bullet trains. His compliment wasn't one of their passengers.
"Oh, uh, good I suppose. It's not really a breakfast food but still, I'm glad you liked it."
Steve nodded before lapsing into a pensive silence.
"It's Coraline," Cora broke the silence before it had a chance to settle. "I could see the cogs whirring in your brain. Coraline is my first name, hence why I signed with a C."
"Ah," Steve smiled slightly. "Well it is nice to meet you Coraline; I'm Steve, though you probably know that."
Coraline nodded, "I did, and I don't think I'll be able to shake calling you Captain if that's ok with you." She shrugged, "When you meet enough military veterans you kind of get into the habit."
Steve wasn't usually one for formalities; couldn't remember the last time he'd been called Captain in the field. It was always Steve, or Cap or various other insults by Bucky-
No, his hands clenched under the table, he wasn't going to think of that. Not here. Not now.
"That's fine, Miss Quinn-"
"Coraline is fine, Captain. It's easier and I sound much less like a primary school teacher- I mean kindergarten."
There was an awkward pause. Inwardly Cora cringed.
"So," she continued quietly, "Seeing as the shoulder fleeing from its socket situation has been resolved, we have about four hours until lunchtime. I heard the ever lovely Agent Clarke telling you that we won before I…uh… had the altercation with the table, so we could start there."
She paused, pressing her lips together in discontent as she thought. Steve watched and waited.
"But, that is a nasty topic for a day when we are well acquainted enough for you to be sick in front of me if needed," Steve's eyes widened at that, but he was placated slightly by Coraline's fingers tapping his hand that had returned to the table lightly. " It is ok, I just think that with your current view of the world a little skewed, no thanks to eagle touting suit models," She muttered the last part to herself, but of course Steve still heard and supressed a snort. "I just think it would be easier to start with something familiar, something easy to understand."
"Whatever you suggest. You're the boss," Steve leant back in his chair, crossing his arms in front of his chest in waiting for whatever lecture he was going to have to sit through. As much as this Coraline seemed alright, he was fairly certain that whatever she was going to drone on at him about would not be even half as riveting.
Coraline breathed in imperceptibly as she gathered the information in her mind. She would be so much more comfortable with her books, with literally anything more than the pen on the table and her scribbled schedule in front of her.
Nevertheless:
"In 1945 much of Europe was in ruins…"
Thoughts? Questions? Criticisms? Please review or PM me with any views, good or bad. Thanks!
