Chapter 38- The Dead and Broken

"Can you see me, through the smoke and the fear? Understanding all I wanted to hear; One lonely voice. One simple choice. From within the light a greater darkness, sleepless nights and tortured days. I'm living for the dead and broken. And through the ashes I have spoken. All the strength I have was stolen. But through the ashes I have spoken."

~The Dead and Broken, Devil You Know


After pushing her way through the crowds of lost citizens, Bethany found Nick exactly where she assumed he would be. He seemed to fill this role so well, even after a year, that Bethany found herself briefly thinking that everything was back to normal. Everything in that moment felt normal, but she knew otherwise. This wasn't just any old day at SHIELD. Or at least, what SHIELD used to be.

"Rogers," Fury greeted as she walked up to him. "It's nice to see you in one piece."

"Yeah, well not all of us were so lucky," Bethany began, jumping straight to business. "Pietro Maximoff is dead. He took it upon himself to steal my gimmick and become a human shield. I've already ordered for him to be untouched when he gets to the cold room, make sure of that as soon as possible, you put him in cryofreeze."

"And what exactly are you planning on doing with him then?" Fury asked, his leather jacket spreading open as he placed his hands on his hips.

"He and his sister didn't need to fight with us, but them doing that? They saved us all, more than once," Bethany explained. "They are both Avengers in my book. And what do we do with fallen Avengers?"

Fury shook his head, clearly annoyed. "Look, GH 325-"

"No, I agree," Bethany quickly assured. "But there's other options. We don't have them right now, but if his body is properly preserved, we have all the time in the world. He'll be able to survive the freezing; his body won't do what normal human bodies do. He's enough like Steve, enough like Bucky and enough like me that if we do find a way-"

"Alright," Fury interrupted, raising a hand. "I'll take care of it, but you take care of Romanoff."

Bethany frowned, looking around the room for the ex-agent, and not finding her. "What's wrong with her?"

"Banner dropped her off and made off with the quinjet. Romanoff tried to get him to come back, but he dropped the radars, turned off the communications array. Everything."

"He's… running away?" Bethany asked, a little shocked at this, but quickly remembering her discussion with him about wanting to run away from the fight. She had made it clear that she wanted to run with Steve and Jamie, and part of her thought that if Bruce ran, he wouldn't be going alone. Natasha probably thought the same thing."

"You know I ain't good with the whole sympathy thing," Fury offered. "And if anyone knows what it's like for someone you have feelings for to get into a flying transport over an ocean and make the conscious decision to leave and possibly never come back, it's you."

Bethany couldn't help but give an exasperated laugh. "Yeah, but I'm not exactly a good role model when it comes to coping with that. Listen, I'll tell you what you should do though. Give her work. Give her something to do besides drowning in her misery and emotions. Assuming that's what she's doing, I mean. This is the Black Widow we're talking about. But it took Howard years to figure out that he needed to force me to keep busy. Why the hell did you think I stayed with SHIELD for so long?"

"And here I thought you liked the work," Nick teased.

"Maybe," Bethany joked. "But seventy years, Nick."

"Keep her busy," Nick nodded. "Can do. There isn't a shortage of things to do here."

"No, there isn't," Bethany agreed, looking around the room. "Listen, I need to find Wanda. I need to talk to her about her brother before she picks it out of someone's mind."

"Good idea," Fury nodded.

"And I have another one," Bethany began. "I think we should set one of the auditoriums up as a theatre for the children. Something comforting, while the parents deal with finding arrangements, insurance, aid, whatever it is they need."

"That's actually not a bad idea," Fury agreed before going off to talk to some techs.

Bethany spent a good twenty minutes trying to find Wanda on the helicarrier before she finally found her, standing in a corner with the survivors, looking lost. "Wanda?" Bethany asked, walking up to the girl, watching as she jumped in shock. "Hey, it's just me," she tried to assure her.

Wanda looked utterly broken to pieces, streaks of her makeup running down her face. "I don't-I don't know what to do."

Bethany nodded before putting a comforting hand on Wanda's arm. "I want to talk to you for a minute," Bethany whispered. "Will you come with me?"
Wanda didn't respond, but followed Bethany as she led the girl to her old room on the helicarrier. Most of the room had been cleaned out, only some extra jumpsuits and basic clothes were still in the drawers, just as Bethany had left them. The women took a seat on the bed and Bethany took a moment to gather her thoughts.

"I'm sorry about your brother," Bethany whispered. "He died a hero, and that won't be forgotten by any of us. The both of you helped today to solve an issue that never should have happened in the first place, and we'll never be able to thank either of you properly. Because of your actions today, you two are Avengers, whether you like it or not. But I just want you to know that I'm going to try my very best to bring your brother back. If you want that, however. Sometimes people aren't the same when you do that."

Wanda looked up at Bethany, shock registering in her eyes. "You can do that?" She questioned.

"Maybe," Bethany admitted. "I can't promise anything, and it could take years. It may not work, or he could become someone very different. But we live in a world where the impossible is happening every single day. I know what it's like to loose someone you love. It's happened to me over and over. I understand, to an extent, the pain you feel. But I just want you to know that you aren't alone in this world okay?"

"But I am," Wanda whispered. "I don't have anyone."

"You have me," Bethany corrected. "You have the entire team. And I know that you hate us. But we're really not as bad as you think. Just… look deep. See what we truly are opposed to what everyone believes we are."

Wanda looked unsure for a few moments before taking in a deep breath. Her eyes began to glow as she started to search through Bethany's life. Bethany could feel memories being pulled out and analyzed, reliving the moments. There was pain, there was love, there was fear, there was laughter. She could see the bad and the good side of her. She remembered what it was like to hold Jamie for the first time, Tony, being with Steve for the first time. Her entire life, ninety plus years of memories and feelings and emotions were overwhelming her. It felt like a blink of an eye, but when Wanda finally stopped her search, Bethany saw the clock on the bedside table. It had been almost an hour.

"I've hated you for so long," Wanda whispered. "Because of your name. Your family. Because of the things I thought you did. It was misplaced. I blamed you for things that weren't your fault."

"Well, there are a lot of things that were my fault," Bethany allowed. "But it's not like I was doing them because I wanted to be evil."

"You were alone too," Wanda whispered.

"Not really, I always had someone," Bethany replied.

"But no one understood you," Wanda pointed out.

"They do now," Bethany pointed out. "And that's all that matters. Listen, I know you lost a lot today. But take it from someone who knows. The best thing to do is to help others. But I want you to know that you can ask me, Steve, and Clint anything, okay? We were there when your brother passed, and we'll do whatever we can to help you through this. We've all felt loss and pain."

Wanda was quiet for a moment before she broke down. "I have nowhere to go," she sobbed.

"That's not true," Bethany reassured firmly. "You can come back to the Tower with us while you decide what you want to do. I would offer you my couch, but my living room is a little trashed right now."

"Thank you," Wanda said truthfully.

"I mean it," Bethany assured, pulling the shaken girl into her arms. "A lot of people out there need our support right now. Do you feel up to it, or do you want to stay here for a little longer?"

It was quiet until Wanda pulled away from Bethany, giving her a nod. "They need our help."

"I'll let you in on a little secret," Bethany offered. "They always do."


Steve had been looking for Bethany for almost an hour. He wasn't making a big deal out of it just using the comms or asking around. Fury had told him that she was talking to Wanda, but he was still looking around to see when she would be done. He wanted to call home and check on everyone at the Tower, but he knew that he should wait for Bethany to join him.

Dealing with all the citizens would take some time, but they were getting help from relief groups. The helicarrier was still in the air, everyone agreeing that things needed to be under control before they could land and let everyone be introduced to their new life. Bethany's idea about letting the children watch a movie was brilliant, as everything seemed to be going smoothly, all things considered.

Tony was on the phone with Pepper, trying to get some things sorted out. This situation was much different than New York. New York had a lot of destruction, yes. But in this case they literally blew up the city. There was nothing left to repair. Not only that, but the press was already having a field day. It had already been a long day, and they all knew it was only going to get longer. At least now they knew that the danger was gone. All they had to deal with now was the aftermath, which Steve had to admit, was always his least favorite part of the job.

"Do you know if there's any coffee around?" Bethany asked, walking up next to him. "I'm finally starting to crash."

"Yeah," Steve said, leading her over to a refreshment station, the two standing in line. "How's Wanda doing?"

Bethany let out a long breath of air as a response. "That bad, huh?" Steve replied.

"Maybe," Bethany said. "I think she's okay for now, but who knows what'll happen later. You heard about Banner?"

"I did," Steve said with a nod. "I tried to talk to Romanoff, but she said Fury gave her strict orders, which begs the question why she's following them since she's no longer an agent of SHIELD, or Fury's employee."

"She needs to keep herself busy," Bethany explained. "I know from experience. I only started to move past my self-pity when I was keeping busy."

"But wasn't that two, three years later?" Steve asked. "It's barely been two hours."

"You have a point," Bethany allowed. "But so do I. Just trust me on this one Steve."

Steve nodded, agreeing that she had a lot more experience on this then he did, not to mention that she also knew Natasha in a way that he didn't. When Bethany reached the coffee, she poured herself a huge cup before looking to her husband. "So give me an update, what have I missed?"
"We're still trying to get everything sorted out," Steve explained. "Most of the injuries have been dealt with. A few people who needed more attention have been flown out with their families, but representatives from the Stark Relief Fund will be meeting with them at the hospital. As for here, people are arranging with some family members to stay with them. Although a lot of them will end up staying on the carrier until they figure something out. It's cheaper than us having to pay for hotel fees for everyone."

"Agreed," Bethany said with a nod. "What can I do to help?"

"Well, in about ten minutes, you can head down to the infirmary to give a hand there, but right now, we find somewhere quiet and call home," Steve said relieved, a grateful and tired smile pulling at Bethany's lips.

Steve swiped a tablet from a table before the couple found a private room. Sitting next to each other, Steve balancing the tablet in one hand and his other gripping onto Bethany's hand, they waited until the call went through, Jen answering the call. "Hi, you guys."

"Hi Jen," Bethany said softly, offering a weary smile. "How's everything over there?"

"Guaranteed less hectic than over there," She replied. "Everyone else is sleeping. Although, Jamie has been looking like he's ready to wake up any moment now. Just needs some more time. You guys coming home soon?"

"We have some things to settle here first," Steve explained. "But we should be back by tomorrow at the very latest."

"The news is crucifying you," Jen added after a moment of silence.

"We have a lot to confess to, a lot to explain," Bethany agreed. "We've gained the trust of the people of Sokovia, but I can understand people's skepticism."

"Oh, there he is," Jen said, responding to a soft murmur, moving over to Jamie's crib. "Hey, little one. Look, your Mommy and Daddy want to say 'hi'."

"Hi Munchkin," Bethany said, smiling when Jen turned the tablet so they could see their son. His curls were wild and his cheeks rosy pink like they always were when he first woke up. The boy's little fist moved up to his eyes, rubbing the sleep out. He was still half asleep, not fully processing everything yet.

"We're coming home soon," Steve added. "And then things… things will be different."

He could feel Bethany's gaze on his face, as if silently questioning his words. Steve hadn't worked everything out yet, but he knew that he couldn't keep doing this to his family. He had to give them something more so he could convince them that they were important to him. They were. Despite what Wanda showed him, he loved his family more than he thought could be humanly possible, and he would walk barefoot around the world to rescue them if need be. Steve would work with his inability to let go of the fight, but in the meantime, he had to bring some change to the family. And based on the general feeling of the team, they weren't the only ones who would be changing their lives.


When every immediate thing that needed to be dealt with was finished, the team made their way back home. Everyone but Tony and Steve were sleeping, giving them the ability to talk one-on-one. While they were often on opposite sides of an argument, Steve knew that when he and Tony worked together, they made a good team. They could overcome their differences to work together, and ultimately knew that they both had Bethany and Jamie's best interests in mind. It was something that connected them.

They were sitting together in the cockpit, Steve occupying the co-pilot seat as Tony lazily rested in the pilot's seat, the borrowed SHIELD quinjet on autopilot. "We can keep an eye and ear out for Banner, but ultimately I think we should respect his decision. Even if the Other Guy made it, whenever he isn't purely smashing things, I truly believe that Bruce is in control," Steve offered.

"You have a point there," Tony said with a nod. "And it's not like anything bad will happen to him. He's more than capable of taking care of himself. I think we can agree that Barton won't be staying with us any longer."

Steve looked back towards Clint, who had agreed to join them back at the Tower so they could work out what to do next. "That's a safe assumption."

"And you?" Tony asked, gathering Steve's attention. But by the tone of Tony's voice and the look in his eyes, Steve knew Tony already knew the answer.

"I love your aunt, you know that," Steve began with. "I know she doesn't want this life. She feels obliged to be in it. And I don't want her joining the fight again unless she's one hundred percent sure. But I… I can't do it. Not now."

"You have every reason to," Tony reminded Steve.

The Captain nodded, looking towards his sleeping wife. "I know that. But I'm still searching for something more by being a part of this. But I don't expect her to be a part of this just because I am."

"She will be, because you are," Tony stressed. "She'll always have one foot in because of you."

"I can't give it up Tony. Not yet," Steve whispered. "I'd do everything in my power to keep her happy, but this… this I can't do. I can't walk away just yet."

"I can," Tony said suddenly, shocking Steve. Their gazes met, Tony's face one-hundred percent serious. "I don't know. I feel like it's time for me to retire. I'm tired, Cap. I can always tap back in, but right now, I feel this is what's best."

Steve nodded slowly, confused about how Tony was retiring before he was. But it had nothing to do with age, or experience. In actuality, it had to do with the desire to do this. A year ago, Tony was calling the team together. Now, he was ready to walk away. Almost like the past year was what Tony needed in order to convince himself that he deserved a calm life. Steve couldn't help but wonder if in a year, he would feel like Tony did. He wasn't going to lie, the thought was nice. It wasn't like Steve wanted to need the fight. Nothing sounded better than he and Bethany getting to live a calm and normal life, raising children and not worrying about anything more then the children.

"You guys don't have to leave the Tower," Tony added. "I can just go back to California, or find somewhere to live-"

"No, it's fine," Steve quickly interrupted. "It's your Tower. And if we stay there, you'll still be involved somehow, and I don't want to do that to you."

"You mean like you're doing to Bethany?" Tony asked before lifting his hands up. "I'm sorry, I'll put it to rest."

"It's time for a change anyways," Steve continued. "Our apartment is trashed. I feel like it would be good for everyone."

"What do you have in mind?" Tony asked.

Steve sighed, shaking his head. "I don't know. I really don't. Maybe we can talk to Nick and see if there's any old SHIELD buildings we could use as headquarters."

"Really? Going to go crawling back to Nick to solve your problems?"

Steve held back his frustrated scoff. "Tony, SHIELD had their downfalls, but they had a lot of perks. Like people actually being there when you can't. There's strength in numbers. I wouldn't have to suit up at the smallest disturbance."

"Then do that," Tony said, as if it was the simplest thing. "This is the perfect opportunity to redesign the Avengers, however you want to. Take the best of this past year and pair it up with the best that SHIELD was. We can figure out the nitty gritty details with everyone else, but you're right. It's time for change."

Steve nodded before getting up and sitting in his customary seat beside his wife. He was exhausted, but he wasn't ready to sleep just yet. There was too much running through his mind. But Tony was right. This was the chance to make the Avengers something they could all be proud of. Steve didn't want the world to purely rely on him. He wanted a team of people to back him up, to learn the ropes, and make it so it would be easier for Steve to leave when it came to it.

Banner was gone. Clint was undoubtedly going to leave. Who knew what Thor would do? Bethany was ready to retire from fighting. That left only two people from the original team, and even then, Steve wasn't sure what Natasha would do. If she had it her way, she'd be with Banner. This only made Steve feel like he had to stay around even more, and he wasn't fond of this responsibility.

Bethany's head shifted from one side to the other, her forehead resting against his arm. Steve reached out and touched a stray tendril, wrapping the curl around his finger. He knew what he had to do, he just hoped that Bethany would support him and that they could figure out the next steps of their life together in perfect unison.


Steve, Bethany and Jamie, who was in his mother's arms, stood at the door of their apartment looking at the mess in front of them. Bethany kept reminding herself that this wasn't such a big mess in comparison to what she saw the city of Sovokia become, so she couldn't really complain that much. Still, it was heartbreaking to see her home looking like this.

"I guess we can start cleaning it up tomorrow," Steve said finally, but neither one moved from their spot.

"No," Bethany found herself saying. "No, it's okay. We'll just…"

"What? Leave it?" Steve asked.

She couldn't explain why she didn't want to clean up the mess, but she felt that maybe it was because she didn't want to actually cope with the fact that so much of her past was shattered. "Just leave it. I don't know what'll happen, but cleaning this up is the last thing on my mind right now, babe."

"Alright," Steve agreed after a moment. "Do you want me to warm up a casserole?"

"Yeah, that sounds great," Bethany nodded before they went to their kitchen. It was a mess as well, but Steve was able to pull out two casseroles from the freezer and clear some broken dishes away while they waited for their meal to be ready.

"I had an interesting talk with Tony on the ride back," Steve informed her before sitting across from her, smiling as Jamie was babbling up to his mother. "He wants to retire."

Bethany's head snapped up in surprise. "He said that?"

"Yeah," Steve nodded. "We were talking about what we'll do next."

"Well, we can't stay here," Bethany summarized immediately.

"That's what I said," Steve replied. "But then there's also the question of who'll be with us. Me. Since I don't expect you to rejoin the team."

"That's a good point," Bethany said, letting out a huff of air that blew her stray hair out of her face. "I'm going to say something that's not going to make you happy, but what if it's time to dismantle? You could become a cop or a firefighter or something."

"The world still needs the Avengers, even if they don't like us too much right now," Steve began calmly. "You know that our work isn't done yet."

Bethany looked down at Jamie, giving him a sad little smile when he said 'momma' but then looking back up at him. "I know. You can't do it alone, though Steve. You and Natasha made a good team at SHIELD, but you had back-up. You had hundreds of SHIELD operatives to help you if need be."

"Well, I was thinking…" Steve began before letting out a heavy sigh. "All those people that were on the helicarrier today, the old agents of SHIELD. Do you think they'd come back to work if given the opportunity?"

"What, like make this New Avengers team into a SHIELD-like environment?" Bethany asked humourless before she realized Steve was being serious. "Really?"

"It could work," Steve told her. "And we could train agents to become a new generation of Avengers. Beth, it could work."

Bethany looked back down at Jamie as she thought it through. Steve could tell that she wasn't completely against the idea, but that this was the exact opposite of what she wanted their future to be. She wanted to go forward, not backwards. "Let's see what the team says."

Bethany placed Jamie so he was sitting on the table in between his parents. His sleep schedule was very messed up right now, but both Bethany and Steve were hoping that their son would fall asleep soon. Both of them were ready to have a good night's sleep but knew that they couldn't think about it until Jamie was ready to sleep.

"You can sleep," Bethany told him. "I took a nap on the quinjet."

"No, we'll sleep together," Steve told her, taking a hold of Jamie's foot and playing with it absentmindedly. "The sooner we can all get on the same schedule, the better."

Jamie held his hand out to Bethany, opening and closing it as if trying to grab something. "Momma," he said softly.

Bethany smiled, taking Jamie's hand in her own and placing a big sloppy kiss on it. "What's up, little man?"

"Now that he knows he can say it, do you think he'll stop?" Steve asked.

"Why would he stop?" Bethany asked confused.

"I didn't mean it like that," Steve replied before yawning.

"Are you sure you don't want to sleep?"

Steve shook his head, but placed his forehead against the table. "I need to eat and possibly shower before I sleep," he mumbled. Jamie reached out and intertwined his fingers into his hair, not necessarily pulling it, but just holding onto Steve.

While the family silently waited for their casserole to warm up, Bethany thought about what would happen with the team next. Change was inevitable and Bethany was grateful. Things had worked pretty well that last year, but things could change. Be improved. Really, they needed more people on their side. More people to work with tech and development, on relief, more people as back-up. Maybe not the same size as SHIELD, especially because of everything that went down, but having an extra hundred people around to help would be extremely beneficial. They had already cleared which SHIELD agents were clear and which ones weren't. If they sent out notices, they might be able to quickly assemble a staff.

And despite their team getting smaller, they had options of rebuilding. They knew people who could and would join the team if they were asked. Immediately, Bethany knew Sam would jump at this chance. The Vision really didn't have any purpose in life but this. Wanda didn't have anything else in her life, she might join.

Bethany looked down at her jumpsuit, excited to take it off. She wanted to shove it down the garbage compactor. Steve had basically promised her that this would be the last mission if that's what she wanted. That's what she wanted. She had no desire to do this anymore. Being an Avenger was a lot different than being an agent of SHIELD. One thing was her life. The other was taking away her life. This wasn't what she needed. Looking in front of her, seeing her son bending down to look at Steve's seemingly-sleeping face, she knew this was it.

She was retiring from field work. Sure, she'd been involved in little ways, but she wasn't interested in suiting up. Not even if the world was in a crisis. From this day on, she wanted to be a normal mother. Albeit, one that didn't age, could heal any wound and had an above average intelligence, but a normal mother nonetheless.

"Is Daddy sleeping?" Bethany whispered to Jamie. The boy looked up at his mother, his big blue eyes holding so much wonder in them, she felt her heart clench. She saw Steve peak a single eye open, but closing it as soon as Jamie turned his curly blond head to look at him again. "Why don't you give Daddy a good night kiss, Jamie?"
Jamie looked back to his mom, a single finger pulling up to his lips which were parted, as if asking her if that was right. "Like this," Bethany said leaning over to kiss Jamie's lips softly. "Just like that."

A grin split Jamie's face, clapping his hands together haphazardly as his legs kicked a little. He was excited from her kiss, and couldn't help but relay the sweet gesture onto Steve's cheek. Bethany watched as Steve tried to maintain his sleeping composure, but the smallest of smiles tugged at his lips. "Come here," Bethany told Jamie before pulling him up into her arms. "Are you happy we're home?" She asked him before kissing the top of his head. "I'm happy we're home."

The look in Jamie's eyes when he looked up at her only made her fall more in love with him.


After they ate, Bethany and Steve waited until Jamie settled back down again before putting him in his co-sleeper, something that they thought they wouldn't have to use again since Jamie started to sleep through the night. But now they were going through a new struggle, and that helped them in trying to regain their sense of safety.

The couple moved into the bathroom, both of their movements slow as their exhaustion overcame them. Steve and Bethany weakly pushed their uniforms off their bodies before kicking them into a corner. Bethany leaned against the counter, studying her tired face closely in the mirror. "I know I'm old, but I'm starting to look it."

Steve leaned on top of her, resting his chin on the top of her head. "No, you're beautiful. But you're tired. You're stressed. Not that I blame you."

"Hmm," Bethany hummed, closing her eyes for a moment before carefully moving to stand straight, Steve getting the hint and allowing her freedom. They stood facing each other, Bethany sniffing twice before meeting Steve's eye.

"I was… really scared," Bethany finally let herself admit, feeling her strength from earlier fully dissolve. "I thought I was going to lose you again."

"Well, you did forbid me from leaving you," Steve reminded her, trying to get a laugh, even a smile, out of her, but all it did was make her tears fall down her face. "Hey, stop that," Steve whispered, pulling her into his arms. "You can cry when you actually lose me, but I'm right here."

"Kiss me?" Bethany whispered, looking up at him. He didn't keep her waiting, meeting her lips with a soft passion. He could feel in the way that she clutched onto his shirt how much she needed this. Steve had been amazed at how well she kept herself together, even when he was accepting his impending death before Nick showed up. He hadn't seen her that strong since the SHIELD days. It was like she pushed away everything, packing it deep enough so that even when she was thinking about everything, she could still do her job.

Steve pulled her closer, his hands moving down her body before grabbing her firm ass in his hands, pressing his fingertips into her skin. That was all it took to kick their kisses up a notch, Bethany's hands slipping up his undershirt, feeling his back before slipping her hands down his pants and grabbing his own ass tightly.

Taking a firm hand on her hips, he lifted her up to the countertop, Bethany's hands moving to the edge of Steve's shirt, tugging it firmly. Their lips broke apart as his shirt was pulled off his body, Bethany's eyes flickering down to look at him for a moment, but the most desire in her eyes were only when she met his own gaze. Steve took a rough hold of Bethany's jaw, harder than he initially intended, keeping their intense gaze for a moment longer before hungrily pulling her into another soul-crushing kiss.

Her legs wrapped around his waist tightly, grinding her hips against his body to relieve some tension, one hand on the back of his neck, playing with the little blonde hairs, and the other hand digging into his bicep. Steve unclipped her bra, one hand working its way between them so he could take her breast into his hand, closing his fist around the supple skin. Bethany's lips broke apart from his, her head falling back as a loud sigh of relief echoed through the room.

As exhausted as they were before, another wind hit them both. It was as if their systems were filled with adrenaline. Steve's lips moved down Bethany's neck, down the valley of her breasts, across her belly button until he reached the brand of her thong. Now on his knees, he looked up at her sitting on the countertop. Her breasts were swollen and flushed with arousal, her hair falling out of its bun.

Hooking his fingers around the thin band, he gave them a firm yank, and with the help of Bethany raising her hips up, pulled her thong off of her. Placing his hands on her knees, he spread her thighs apart, baring her wet core to the air. Steve began to place open mouth kisses on Bethany's thighs, closing his lips with a loud smack each time. Bethany's fingers tangled into Steve's hair, not pulling at the roots, but massaging his scalp.

Steve didn't miss Bethany slouching her hips forward, eager for him to reach her swollen and wet lips. He smirked before looking up at her, but her expression was one of complete innocence. "Eager, are we?" He teased her.
"After the week we had, aren't you?" She replied cheekily.

Steve admitted that she had a point, diving right into her center enthusiastically. A loud wanton moan slipped from Bethany as Steve spared no time giving Bethany her favorite treatments. Dipping his tongue into her cunt for a quick second, he pulled it flat against her lips until he began to circle her clit using just the tip. He teased it until Bethany's hips started to squirm and then he pulled her lips apart to expose her clit and began to suck on it. Her legs locked around his head, her moans drowning out as her thighs covered his ears.

Steve brought her to the very tip of her orgasm, feeling her clit beginning to throb uncontrollably and her legs starting to lightly spaz before pulling away. One of her hands moved towards his face to wipe away her glistening arousal coating various areas of his lips and jaw. He was surprised that she didn't look disappointed in him pulling away, but he figured it was because Bethany knew something better was coming up. She just needed to be patient.

Unwrapping her legs from his neck, she pulled her leg up so that her foot rested against his shoulder, giving him a firm kick. Steve quickly stood up as he took a step back, walking up against the wall. Bethany hopped off the counter, her eyes refusing to leave his. "I can't believe I ever thought you were innocent," Steve mused as her hand palmed his covered erection.

"So you keep saying," Bethany began, watching as Steve kept his calm even as Bethany pulled him out of his boxers. "But I think I'm more innocent now then I was back then. You're the one who is no longer innocent."

Steve considered that as Bethany moved down onto her knees, maintaining their eye contact. Blindly, she moved forward, her lips stretching around his erection, smoothly sliding the hard flesh deep into her mouth. A strained groan sounded from Steve's throat as her hands started to slide up and down his thighs, starting to bob her head softly. He maintained his eye contact with her, trying to keep a cool composure and not show her how much he was enjoying this. He had a lot more planned and didn't want to get too worked up just yet.

Bethany pulled away from him, his cock staying straight in the air. He watched as Bethany dragged her fingers across her pussy, her thick and glistening arousal shining on her hand before she wrapped it around him and began to pump him expertly. Continuing her hand movements, she moved her mouth to his hips, her tongue dancing across his skin until her lips touched his balls. Steve's breath caught in his throat as she began to lightly suck on the sack, the combination with her hand movements being deadly.

Steve waited until the very last moment before using his knee to nudge her away carefully. Bethany, with a satisfied smirk on her face, sat on the ground, her elbows resting on the floor as she looked up at him. Steve held a hand out for her and Bethany eyed it curiously before letting him help her up. "Up against the wall," Steve told her softly, but his tone sending shivers down her spine. Bethany took her place against the wall, closing the bathroom door to help muffle any of their cries of ecstasy from waking up their sleeping baby.

Steve went to the medicine cabinet, taking out a condom from the almost empty box. Taking a moment to prep himself, he looked at Bethany through the mirror. She was standing against the wall, looking at him obediently. This was definitely a surprise to him. Bethany wasn't one to be submissive. She would, however, let him take over, but it was always because of the heat of the moment. She could only go so far before she started to slow down and Steve knew he had to take over. It was something both of them knew, a familiar pattern. But Steve wondered whether or not Bethany would let him be in complete control, just like she had been not too long ago. Steve had enjoyed her personal brand of torture, but he wouldn't let her know just how much. But if Steve liked it, he couldn't see why Bethany wouldn't. In fact, he was certain she would love it.


**A/N:

Jo: I saw Deadpool opening night with my dad, same as we do for every Marvel movie. I agree, it was amazing.

Adela: Yay, I'm glad you're enjoying it!

Musicjunkie1996: That was honestly my intention when I first started this, but I'm a full season behind on AoS and my life is too hectic for me to catch up. I lost interest, not because of lack of storyline, but because I had other things in my life that were more important and in order to catch up, I'd need to have a lot less on my plate. Unfortunately, that's not going to happen like ever it seems. Adulthood isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Anonymouscsifan: I have a very specific idea of when she'll get pregnant, and honestly? I'm hoping people will be surprised about it. I don't want them to expect it to come! :) Baby #2 will come eventually!

FeliciaFelicis: Yeah, it was only when I was writing this scene that I noticed how Steve was watching it falling and that really got to me for some reason. I have 7 weeks of school left (and 13 assignments to do during that time) and then there's a month until Civil War!