Chapter 49- From the Bitter Strings

"So that I am falling asleep, exhaust in my eyes. Well, those angry hands they know they're damned. If I should die before I wake make no mistake. Well, I'm dying anyway. And this time that we have will soon end. They're waiting in silence for you. And I heard you tell all your friends that you couldn't wait 'til it's through. Well, we're through. Who's saving us now from the bitter strings of the jealous sound?"

~Bitter Strings, The Jealous Sound


Bethany tilted her head back, her mouth falling open as Steve's hips moved rhythmically into hers, a wildfire sensation ripping through her body as he tapped into his primal side. He was holding a powerful bullet onto her clit, the vibrations alone blinding her with pleasure beyond normal capacity. She relished in the feeling of his long, thick member making its way inside of her and pulling out, focusing particularly on curving towards one powerful spot. She was close. She had been for a while. She was holding back, trying to push herself to that moment where she just couldn't wait any longer and the waves of orgasm overwhelmed her with no warning. That's what she wanted. That's what she needed.

One of Bethany's hands was gripping onto Steve's wrist, her fingernails drawing blood but neither of them even noticing. Her other hand was gripping her breast, pulling and twisting her nipple. She was watching his face, his brows pulled together in concentration, his eyes often looking down to where they were connected and occasionally drifting up to look at her. He'd smile when they made eye contact, a goofy, proud grin that would make her laugh if she wasn't busy remembering how to breath. His mouth was falling open now, as if he was going breathless from the gratification. Seeing him then, his enjoyment clear on his face and the way his hips were becoming senseless, his abs taunt and heaving from his heavy breathing and his bulging cock working its wonders on her, her eyes went momentarily blind as her peak hit her like a bullet. It wasn't until Steve himself had collapsed on her, spent, that she was able to gain a sense of where she was and who she was again.

"Well," Bethany breathed heavily as they curled up together, both sweating and gasping for air. "When I told the group I was coming home to change my shoes this isn't what I had in mind."

Steve laughed, kissing the top of her head. "They're probably wondering where you went."

"Probably," Bethany hummed, kissing his chest lightly. "I interrupted Daddy-Jamie Day, huh?"

"He's napping anyways," Steve reminded her. Steve had taken the day off to take care of Jamie while Bethany dealt with a bunch of issues on the Facility that no one was comfortable with letting CHRIS handle. The Intelligence didn't seem to care either way since she did not have feelings and promptly generated a list and schedule for Bethany to abide to. Luckily enough, Bethany was breezing through her timetable and was almost done for the day. She credited that to the fact that Steve was taking care of Jamie opposed to the baby being on her hip all day.

"And how's it going?" Bethany asked, knowing full well that she'd have to pull herself back together soon and deal with the remaining issues.

"Pretty good," Steve nodded. "It's nice spending time with just him and I. He still hasn't said it."

"Yeah, but you mean the world to him," Bethany promised before finally deciding she needed to get back to work. She crawled out of the bed, going for a vaginal wipe before beginning to pull on her clothes. "I still think he doesn't know what to call you. I mean, the team is here almost every night, and they all call you Cap or Rogers the entire time."

"I guess I need to stress Daddy a little more," Steve summarized, sitting up in the bed.

Bethany looked in the mirror, tousling her hair a little and wiping the smudged mascara off from under her eyes. "How do I look?" She asked her husband, turning for him to see.

"Thoroughly fucked," Steve said with satisfaction written all over his face. Bethany moved over, trying to hide her smile, and placed a slap onto his bare arm.

"I'll be back around six," she promised him, leaving the bedroom. She grabbed a banana from the kitchen before pulling out her phone and leaving the apartment. She had been in the main communications deck with the security team, dealing with some issues about connecting the security to their house from the Facility when the heel on her shoe caught a table edge and broke off.

Finishing her banana, she assured herself that she was still on schedule before she arrived at the communications deck. "Sorry," Bethany apologized to the group. "Steve needed some help with Jamie," she said smoothly.

The men seemed to buy it, but the women on the team gave her a knowing smirk. Bethany tried to conceal her happiness from the post-orgasmic haze, but it was difficult. About thirty minutes into their work, an alarm sounded suddenly.

"What's going on down there Sam?" One of the men asked, knowing that Sam was on patrol duty, especially while they were working out their security issues.

"I had a sensor trip but I'm not seeing anything," Sam's voice replied. "Wait a second…"

The group waited patiently as Sam dealt with the issue. "Try getting the video feed back up," Bethany suggested. They had to disable it earlier in order to establish a connection with the house's system.

"Located the breach. Bringing him in," Sam's voice informed them as they worked to bring the video feed back to life. "The breach is an adult male who has some sort of shrinking tech."

Bethany perked up, her mind wandering for a second before she took a place by the speaker. "His name wouldn't happen to be… Ant-Man, is it?" She asked, cringing, not wanting to know the answer.

"How'd you know?" Was Sam's reply as the video feed came to life.

"Shit," Bethany said, pushing out of her chair and picking up a spare comm, placing it in her ear as she made her way through the Facility. She was on the opposite side of the building towards where they were, but Bethany pushed her legs as fast as they could. When she finally pushed out the door into the field, Sam was standing there, apparently finished with the battle. "It's really important to me that Cap never finds out about this," Sam's voice rang as she walked towards him.

"What did he want?" She asked when she reached him.

"Some kind of tech," Sam replied. "Said he was going to return it, but I don't know if he made out with it or not."

"Well, let's find out, shall we?" Bethany asked, the two of them heading towards the storage unit. Bethany called up to the communications deck to tell them to get someone down there immediately to replace the storage unit's door, since during the battle, it had been destroyed.

Bethany needed a whole of three minutes looking through the storage facility until she figured out what was stolen. "What he'd take?" Sam asked, watching her curiously.

"An old signal decoy from the eighties," Bethany said, placing a hand on her hip.

"How'd you figure that out so quickly?"

"Because I know exactly who this Ant-Man was," Bethany explained. "He worked for SHIELD before it fell. Was a real pain in my ass, but he did come up with some pretty amazing tech. Although, Hank is too old for this now, you'd think."

"Hank? No, he said his name was Scott," Sam informed her.

"Interesting," Bethany mumbled, tapping her fingers against the frame of the shelf. "Looks like I have a little mission to embark on. You're free to go."

"You're… you're not gonna tell Cap, are you?" Sam asked slowly.

Bethany smirked, her features not relaying what she was really thinking. "We'll see," she declared before sauntering off.


Bethany wasn't one to feel bad for people, especially people she didn't like. And frankly, she hated Hank Pym. He had this self-righteous attitude about him and while anyone could argue that Howard had the same attitude, Howard had earned that title in her book. Yes, the Pym Particle was a huge scientific advancement, Bethany wouldn't deny that. But he was greedy when it came to the Particle. He refused to share it. Part of the benefit of science was sharing your discoveries with the world… Or at least with the people who were on the same side as you. But he insisted on keeping it to himself. The world needed this power and if people were going to volunteer for this process, that was their decision to make, not Hank's.

But for some damn reason, Bethany felt bad for Hank. Maybe it was because he lost Janet. Or more likely because how he had lost Janet. She hadn't really known her, but she had to admire any woman who was willing to step up to the same level as the men and prove how badass they could be. Janet died in the line of duty, making her own decisions about what needed to be done and saving the world in the process. Hank had become even more bitter since then, undoubtedly feeling guilty about her demise. Still, it didn't give him the right to be a pompous asshole.

Bethany had been called to the Triskelion by Howard earlier that day for a defense meeting. She wasn't sure why he wanted her there, but he insisted on the importance of her presence. So far, it had just been her, Howard, Peggy and the fuck-face Mitchell Carson. He had shifty eyes and every time he opened his mouth, Bethany wanted to punch out every single one of his teeth. He thought he had a higher rank than her, and while he probably did, she wasn't going to take orders from him ever.

Howard had explained to her that her involvement on the latest plans was important to him. He wanted her to be aware of everything that was going on and supply her opinion. Her only real opinion was that Carson should be fired, but Howard had given her a pointed look with her suggestion, cluing her in that he was serious about this issue. He was secretly trying to give her more responsibility than just being a spy and top assassin, but she seemed to mature as slow as a turtle could move. She was supposed to be sixty-nine but she was still acting like a twenty-year-old. A dark twenty-year-old, but none the less, her maturity was still at the same level.

All of Howard's hair had turned white and he had many lines on his face. Peggy's hair was a soft grey, still in its usual waves, but holding the same age as the wrinkles on her face. Even Carson was showing his age and experience. Bethany, however, looked like she just graduated from University, a Rookie SHIELD agent, waiting for her first assignment. All except her eyes, where her experience laid, haunting anyone looking for it.

"Stark!" Hank Pym called out as he staggered into the room, filled with purpose.

"He doesn't seem happy," Howard stated before standing up. "You're supposed to be in Moscow."

"I took a detour," Hank announced, aggressively placing a vial on the table. "Through your defense lab."

"Tell me that isn't what I think it is," Peggy snapped, picking the vial up, her disapproval clear in her tone and facial features.

"That depends if you think it's a poor attempt to replicate my work," Hank replied. "Even for this group, that takes nerve."

"We're scientists," Bethany supplied, not agreeing with Peggy's disapproval. "We actively work with science. When we see something we like and people don't share, we do our own research. You of all people should understand that Pym."

"Watch it," Hank snapped at her, on the edge of his feet. Bethany sat comfortably in her chair, crossing her arms in amusement.

"You were instructed to go to Russia," Carson reminded him. "May I remind you, Dr. Pym, that you're a soldier…"

"I'm a scientist."

"Then act like one," Howard demanded. "Beth is right. The Pym Particle is the most revolutionary science ever developed. Help us put it to good use."

"I let you turn me into your errand boy and now you try and steal my research?" Hank argued back.

"We didn't steal anything; we did our own research. Patent the idea if you're so protective of it," Bethany fought.

"If only you'd protect Janet with such ferocity, Dr. Pym," Carson stated. Peggy, Howard and Bethany all knew what an idiotic thing that was for Carson to say and none of them were surprised when Hank punched him. Peggy caught his arm when it was clear he was going in for a second punch.

"Easy, Hank," She requested, holding his arm firmly in her grip until it was clear that he wasn't going to attack again.

"You mention my wife again and I'll show you ferocity," Hank threatened, causing Carson to look up to Howard.

"Don't look at me. You said it."

"I formally tender my resignation," Hank stated.

"We don't accept it," Howard spoke. "Formally. Hank, we need you. The Pym Particle is a miracle. Please. Don't let your past determine the future."

"As long as I am alive, nobody will ever get that formula," Hank said, then turning and leaving.

"Well, there's a very easy way to remedy that situation," Bethany replied frankly. "Killing someone wasn't something she'd shy away from if it meant getting what SHIELD needed."

"We shouldn't let him leave the building," Carson snapped.

"You've already lied to him," Peggy reminded him. "Now you want to go to war with him?"

"Yes," Carson replied. "Our scientists haven't come close to replicating his work."

"He just kicked your ass, full-sized," Howard responded. "You really want to find out what it's like when you can't see him coming? I've known Hank Pym for a long time. He's no security risk. Unless we make him one."

They all sat there in silence for a moment before Bethany looked at Carson. "I really don't like you," she stated firmly before getting out of her chair and going after Hank. "Pym, wait up!"

"I don't want to hear about it Stark," Hank said, not stopping his pace, but Bethany easily caught up to him.

"Look, Carson is an ass. We all know it," Bethany supplied. "Look, I know you're going through a tough time right now, but you can't just take away the formula that could potentially save the world one day."

"Just watch me."

Bethany reached out and took a firm grip of his arm, keeping him from going forward. "Don't let your anger and pain now affect what the future holds. Losing someone you love… it's a battle that you never really get over. But Janet wouldn't want you to do this."

"You know nothing," he snapped, but Bethany knew all too-well.

"Really? Because the way I see it, you and I have a lot more in common than you realize," Bethany replied. "The man I… He sacrificed himself to save the world. Nothing I could do or say would have changed his mind. But one thing I know for damn sure is that he wouldn't want his death to go down in vain. That if I had an opportunity to save the world, he'd want me to take it."

"The Pym Particle is dangerous!" Hank stressed. "And you and your brother are just meddling into something you don't understand!"

"Then help us! Help us understand it! We can fix everything that's wrong with it, find a way to prevent anyone else from dying the way Janet did," Bethany pleaded. "Just don't walk away. Don't take the easy way out just because you don't want to relive your pain and get hurt again, maybe. Maybe not. You don't know until you try."

"I've already made up my mind," Hank said with his jaw set.

Bethany shook her head slowly, disappointment welling up inside her. "You disgust me," she spat, but she wasn't just saying it to Hank. She was saying it to herself. To whom she was decades earlier. She turned on her heel and made her way back to the boardroom, never giving a second thought to Hank Pym and his stupidity.


Bethany wasn't fond of the idea of spending her night at Hank Pym's house opposed to with her family, but as she had told Steve, it was business. Business that only Bethany could conduct. None of that was not true, but Bethany hadn't given Steve the specifics. Partly because of Sam's embarrassing ass-kicking and partly because she didn't really know what to say to him. She was still trying to put the pieces together. She basically told him that an old SHIELD employee had stolen something from the storage unit. That however, got him nervous. Now he was worried about security and whether or not this old employee was a part of HYDRA. Bethany had a good feeling that Hank wasn't HYDRA, just a pain in her ass. She had left in a hurry, instructing him not to abandon Jamie to take care of his worries. That they could deal with it all tomorrow as a power couple.

She knocked on Hank's door, her fingers tapping against each other as she waited for it to open. She could see a light on and despite the fact that it was late, she was going to keep knocking at Hank's door until he opened it. She was about to lay a few more knocks on the door when it opened. She saw Hank's face, immediately dropping and trying to close the door as fast as he could. Bethany was quicker, jamming her foot to stop the door.

"What? Are you afraid I'm gonna kick your ass?" Bethany teased.

"I'm not letting you in, Stark," Hank snapped.

"Then come on out, because I'm not leaving until we talk," Bethany replied seriously. "I'll stay here all day, following you like a shadow until you talk to me."

Hank seemed to contemplate her words, as if questioning whether or not she would keep her promise. Something told him that she would, so he stepped out onto the porch and closed the door. "What do you want, Stark?"

"Well, for one, the signal decoy," Bethany explained, crossing her arms. "And two, answers."

"The signal decoy is mine," Hank reminded her angrily.

"Then why was it collecting dust on my property for twenty-five years?" Bethany countered.

"I built it! You and your brother were always trying to steal my-"

"If you built it, you could have built another one," Bethany interrupted. "Look, you can have it. I don't care. We have higher tech than that now. What I do care about is why you need it. Because from what I can understand, the only reason you'd steal it from an intelligence organization is for saving-the-world reasons. And the fact that even though you basically swore no one would ever put the Ant-Man suit on again, a guy named Scott appeared at the Avengers Facility, in a fully functioning suit."

"I don't have to explain anything to you," was Hank's response to which Bethany rolled her eyes.

"We can do this tango all night, but I would much rather get back to my family," Bethany stated. "I'm not… upset or angry. I'm confused. Last we spoke, you made it clear how you felt about using the Pym Particle in the future. And it's kinda my job to help save the world. The team would be more than happy to help-"

"I don't need help from your costumed heroes," Hank stressed. "We have the situation under control."

"Fine," Bethany allowed, letting out a sigh. "You know what Pym? All I've ever done to make you mad at me was do my job. And you? All you've ever done to make me mad at you is not do your job and just be a self-righteous ass." There were a few moments of silence as their eye contact did not break. "Whatever, Hank. Do what you want. As long as you don't endanger the world or piss me off anymore than you already have, because trust me, I will kick your ass."

"I don't doubt that," Hank replied. "Like I said, I have it under control."

"Yeah, good luck with that," Bethany mumbled, turning to leave. Her skin itched by how far she came just to get nothing out of Hank. To be honest, she wasn't sure what he would say and she felt really idiotic that she didn't see the outcome coming from a mile away. She was hoping that age would mellow him out. Or that he would be happy for her happiness. But no. He was as stubborn and fuck-face as the last time she saw him.

Except now, she didn't feel sorry for him.


Bethany did her best to make her way into the apartment as quietly as possible. She succeeded in closing the doors quietly and maneuvering around a Molly who was trying to brush up against her excitedly. When she slipped into the bedroom and stripped of her clothes though, Steve's voice startled her.

"Should I be suiting up?" He asked before he turned on the bedside lamp.

Bethany jumped looking around the newly lighted room and picking up the shirt Steve had left at the bottom of the bed for her. "He doesn't want our help."

"Who is this guy exactly?" Steve asked as she tossed her clothes into the hamper.

Bethany waited until she was in the bed, curling up to his body before she replied. "He worked for SHIELD until the nineties. He really hated me and Howard for a bunch of lame ass reasons. The reasons behind him quitting were just a bunch of lame and selfish ones, so we parted on bad terms. I never liked him, but him having the signal decoy isn't something we need to worry about."

"But is the reason he needs it worrisome?" Steve reached out and turned off the light, the room falling dark and the couple holding each other closely.

"I have no idea," Bethany confessed. "I hope not. I'd like to say that if it was something to worry about, he would have accepted our help, but I'm really doubting that."

"I don't like just sitting here and waiti-"

"So then stay on guard," Bethany interrupted. "That's what you do often anyways, babe. You wait until an emergency call comes in. If one does, you and the team set out."

"It's easier to stop something before it starts," Steve reminded her. "And how do you know that he isn't a HYDRA supporter?"

"I don't for sure," Bethany allowed. "But from what I can tell, he's not. I could be wrong, but him taking the signal decoy isn't a big issue. It's not like he took plans for anything big. This was tech he made himself."

"So you're seriously telling me just to go to bed? To not worry about this and wake up tomorrow feeling like it's just a normal day?" Steve questioned.

"Yeah," Bethany stressed. "You know, I told you about this. I didn't have to, but I did because I knew that me being honest was important not just to you, but us as a couple. But you don't make me want to tell you things in the future if you're just going to stress over them."

"I'm just trying to do my job."

"Steve…" Bethany breathed deeply, closing her eyes. "Please just go to bed. It's almost midnight and you and I both have to work tomorrow. I have a bunch of things on my list I didn't get done so I could make a useless journey to see Pym. I need to get it done or else everything will just pile up."

"Can't you just do it next week then?"

"I mean, we move into our house at the beginning of next week and then I have that two-day meeting in Germany at the end of the week, remember?"

Steve groaned. "I forgot about that. Why are you doing that again? Why can't Maria or someone else? I mean, you'll spend what? One, two nights at our house before packing up and going away for a few days?"
"Because I volunteered," Bethany replied. "Everyone else is working all the time. It's only fair that I'm the one who does the boring meetings no one wants to go to. By the way, Jackson said not to hesitate to ask him to watch over Jamie if you need to go away on a mission during those days. Personally, I think you could afford to loosen the leash on the team for one mission."

"Maybe one day," Steve whispered. "Do you need me to watch over him tomorrow while you get your list done? I have training with the team, but we can make it work."

"It'd be really helpful, if you don't mind," Bethany replied. "Thank you."

"Hey, we're a team," Steve promised, kissing her head. "We're the team. And by the way, you do work the same as everyone else here. Being a mother is a full-time job. And so is being a father, which is why I'm grateful for you taking care of Jamie while I work. Let me do the same for you. We'll set up a nice area for him in the corner with some toys. It'll be great."

"I love you," Bethany whispered, reaching up to kiss him lightly. "Good night, Steve."


**A/N: If you haven't voted in the poll yet, please do! As of now, there is a tie between two of the options. It's really interesting to see what you guys think Bethany will do. I'm happy to say that I think what I'm going to write will make everyone VERY happy :)

pulchritudo in omnia: I actually haven't decided when Jamie is going to say Daddy. I haven't even figured out in what context yet. I have ideas, but nothing concrete. But I do want it to a long-awaited event, so at least I have time to settle on a way before I write it. Steve has been going out of his way to spend more time with Jamie, which will be shown in future chapters as well :) I have up to 51 already written. Thanks for the ideas! I really want Wanda to start leaning on both Steve and Bethany for support and a family feeling, so I'll have to start building that up soon :)

Adela: I'll see what I can do :)

IrelandLover: Bethany will definitely take Sharon's place with the kiss, but I'm not writing Sharon out of it cause I love that girl more than I love myself. Your ideas are pretty similar to my own, but I've thought it out a LOT so everything has a reason and fits in perfectly :)

anonymouscsifan: Yeah, I really felt like it was time for Steve to FULLY understand what she was like without him so he'll have that every time he goes out on a mission and especially during Civil War decisions. It'll just add more to both of their plates. I definitely want to keep Tony and Pepper's relationship the same with the movie sine it actually works out in my benefit with the story.

.2016: Well, there was a little bit of smut in here, but there's basically a chapter full of smut coming up in 52.

ACBD: The entire time, I wanted Bethany to go through the change to really show how people CAN change. I've always wanted her to be like Elastic-Girl from The Incredibles. Bethany will understand what Steve is doing for sure, but will have her own set of opinions and thoughts about everything that's going on. Bethany is going to be fully aware that if Steve doesn't sign the Accords/ doesn't retire for not signing them, her life will be VERY different and it's all about whether or not she's willing to change her life again, etc. There's going to be a LOT going on :)

Jo: I'm really sad that they used Cap's series to develop Widow opposed to Sharon. Really, Widow could have been developed in someone else's movie or in her own. Sharon really won't get that chance. It's really disappointing to me as a fan of her. People didn't get to see her as I do. It's really tough.

lenabui98: You're not the only one hoping! :)

musicjunkie1996: I'm really excited for everyone to read what I'm going to write. I want to try and make it really complex so people can really understand everyone's take on the situation, especially Bethany's since she's the one who has the most to lose out of everyone.

Sgt. Pepperony: Bethany will definitely have mixed feelings about the entire situation. Not just Steve over Tony or vice versa or to sign or not to sign, but what it'll make of her life and Jamie's future. She has a lot to consider but once she makes a decision, she's going to stick to it and it'll cause lots of drama.