Fraction

FanGirlForever19: Thank you very much again!

kuppcake: Oh you just wait, she just gets deeper and deeper into this mess. Almost in a Tony-like way, but hopefully with more restraint.

gotmoreissuesthanvogue: 1. Thank you! 2. Excellent name and profile picture- you'll be noticing some subtle Hamilton references scattered throughout!

Demigod-GallagherGirl: I feel inclined to agree with you that Eliza is a great character, but I'm obviously very biased lol. I think what makes James perfect is that he's imperfect, but owns up to it. It takes a real man to own up to his mistakes!

NileyFreakk: Yes, AIM was the group that attacked the Avengers base! And just wait- she's going to have to face that realization soon enough!

I glanced down at the file in my hands, the word "CLASSIFIED" staring at me in bright red. "And how will I do that?" I inquired.

Mr. Coulson just smiled. "You'll see it, don't worry."

"No."

I sighed heavily, shutting the file and looking up at him. His shoulders were tense and his fists were shut tight, but his eyes betrayed his fear.

"James-"

"No, Eliza, you are not getting involved in this."

Mr. Coulson stepped up beside my new desk, clearing his throat.

"With all due respect, Sargent, I don't think this is your choice-"

"And it wasn't her choice to come here in the first place!" James shot back hastily.

I watched him warily. He was ready to throw a punch, I could tell.

When Coulson didn't respond, James turned his back to him. "You knew this would happen, didn't you?" James seethed. "All this time, you knew what was coming. You knew what would happen. You knew we'd need someone like her."

I looked at Mr. Coulson for confirmation of this theory.

His posture straightened at the claim. A silent confession. "Admittedly, there was some duality in our initial offer-"

"So you lied," James accused.

"There wasn't any lying involved, Barnes," Mr. Coulson replied calmly. "We needed her. You and Rogers needed her. Our interests happened to…coincide."

I pushed my own reaction to this information to the side, choosing instead to watch James. His breathing was becoming heavy, and I could hear the sound of metal crunching as his fists clenched tighter.

"Mr. Coulson, I suggest you leave," I stated neutrally.

The man obeyed, exiting without another word and shutting the door behind him. I got up from my desk and approached James slowly. I knew he wouldn't act in anger toward me, but I also knew that he would decide if I was allowed in his space or not at that moment.

I stopped about a foot away, noticing that his breathing had begun to slow down. "James, listen," I started softly. "This is my decision. If I'm going to be stuck here, then I want to help. Please understand."

The seconds dragged by, and he didn't say a word. I was about to say something else, but he turned and left, the door falling shut loudly behind him. A disheartened sigh left my body, but I turned and walked back to my desk. I had history to read.

One day had passed. One day of reading, plotting points on maps, and trying to figure out the pattern. My mind was scattered, my hair was a mess, and I hadn't gone to sleep the previous night, too fascinated by what I was reading. It turned out they'd never gone completely dark— SHIELD (and HYDRA, incidentally) had always kept an eye on them.

File in one hand and marker in another, I walked back up to the timeline I'd created on the board in my new office. My eyes scanned the dates again, trailing all the way from the terror bombing in Nice back to the JFK assassination.

"Look up there," I instructed, pointing at one of the quotes that had been hung above the desk. "It says 'Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.' That quote is by-"

"John F. Kennedy, I know," James cut in. "You know I killed him, right?"

I forced a smile onto my face. "Well, I'm sure he wouldn't hold it against you. He was a very nice man, or so we're told. He hated war just like the rest of us, even though he had to deal with a lot of it during his presidency. That quote is very important, though. You can't move on to a brighter future if you keep living in the past."

I sighed. I hadn't been able to get James out of my head all night, especially since he'd been in the first case of the file. I wanted to know what was on his mind, to know why me helping had made him so angry. But no matter how many different theories I ran through my head, none of it added up. There was no reason for him to worry, to be upset. I wasn't any more of a target now than I had been before, even if Mr. Coulson did hire me knowing what was to come.

I forced myself to switch my attention to the map on the adjacent wall. Even with all of their base locations, attack formations, and recent sightings, I couldn't see a pattern in their behavior. Much like a certain former assassin I knew.

I rolled my eyes and thumped my head against the wall. I needed to eat, and I needed to sleep. But first, I needed to go see James. It was the only way I'd get him out of my head.

After twenty minutes of aimless wandering, I caught word that something was going on down in the gym. The second I heard the words "metal arm," I took off running in that direction. When I arrived, I wasn't surprised at the sight I saw.

At least a dozen men were down on the floor, each groaning about an injury on their body. In the middle of them was another man doomed to a similar fate, and with him stood James. A kick there, a well placed punch there— the agent wasn't going to last much longer. With one final kick to the chest, the agent was thrown on the floor with the rest of the men. A bell was rung, and everyone began to slowly get up from the ground. I waited until they had all staggered out before I entered.

He was sat down on a bench, his back to me as he unwrapped his right hand. I walked as silently as I could, not wanting to disturb him. But a floor board beneath my foot suddenly creaked, and his head tilted up. Figuring there was no way around this, I continued my journey and sat down next to him.

I held my breath until he was finished unwrapping his hand before I spoke. "You know, I couldn't do half the stuff you just did."

His reply was gruff. "That's why you shouldn't be involved." He stood up from the bench and began to walk away, not sparing me a second glance.

Frustrated, I stood up as well. "I'm not going onto the battlefield, James."

He stopped in the center of the room. I had his attention.

"I'm doing research," I continued, slowly approaching him. "Not gearing up for a fight."

A sigh ran through his body. "But this isn't your fight," he insisted softly.

I walked around to stand in front of him. His eyes stayed trained on the floor, unwilling to move. I measured my next words carefully.

"When you signed up for the war, did you know what all you'd signed up for?" I questioned him.

He swallowed. "No…not everything. But at least I knew what I was getting myself into."

"And I knew that I was getting myself involved in a top secret superhero organization," I fought back. James' eyes finally met my own, and I saw pure fear. My hand drifted up to his face, my thumb stroking his cheek slowly.

"I'm going to be on the sidelines, James. And I know I won't get hurt because I know that you won't allow that," I confided.

He shut his eyes and took in a shaky breath. "I won't."

I smiled softly. "Good. Nothing bad will happen to me, James."

His eyes opened again, expression serious. "You don't know that," he countered. "What if that bullet hadn't struck your leg? What if it'd been somewhere else? Somewhere worse?"

"But it wasn't," I insisted. "Now is not the time to live in fear. We can ask 'what if' all day, but it won't help."

I could tell he was going back and forth, so I stepped closer. "Let me help, James. Please."

A tense moment passed before he sighed. "Okay. But-"

I cut him off with a hug, the urge too pressing to control anymore. He froze for a few seconds before his arms slowly moved to wrap around me. I let myself relax against him, embracing the warmth he gave off in the cold castle base. A minute passed before I let him go. But when I did, I found that our faces were suddenly closer than they had been before.

I swallowed hard, my eyes flickering down to his lips for the briefest of seconds. I could have sworn I saw him do the same. An unknown force was pulling me toward him, one that I'd been resisting for what felt like far too long. My eyes started to shut, and-

"Hey, Eliza! You there?"

I fought to hold back a groan as I replied to the comm. "Yes, Dr. Banner?"

"Oh, good! I got the right room. Someone said that you'd gone down to the gym and-"

"What do you need, Dr. Banner?" I interrupted, rubbing my forehead.

"Oh, right- yes! Coulson said you have all the maps ready. Can you bring them to me to match up with our promethium tracks?"

I glanced up at James, who nodded. "Yeah, sure, I'll be there in ten minutes."

"Great, thank you!"

The line clicked shut, and I hung my head. I sighed, untangled myself from James, and made my way toward the door.

"Eliza?"

I turned back to see a slightly cocky looking James, and I had to admit that the expression looked good on him.

"Come find me later, okay?"

I nodded my head, maybe a bit too quickly. "Will do." I tried to ignore the way my face felt like fire when he smiled, or how my body was screaming at me to go back and stay with him. But, I had a job to do…unfortunately.