Fiction

DarylDixon'Lover: Oh dear, indeed. Prepare yourself for some nonsense, friend.

FanGirlForever19: Yes, poor Elizabeth! I'm so glad that people reading this are understanding. I was originally concerned that people would just be like 'no, date Bucky, how is that even a question' - but it really is. There's a lot that comes with it!

kayluvsall: I love how you left two reviews, that really made my day. Here's the more you were waiting for!

kuppcake: Bless James, I do believe that his first tactic when he's unsure about something is being distant. It shows in Civil War when he and Steve just escaped the airport battle, and he says something along the lines of "I'm not sure if I'm worth all this." James just needs a hug.

musicluver246: Thank you, and since I think you're new, welcome aboard!

Demigod-GallagherGirl: Thanks! Fun fact, most of the interactions are based off me and my boyfriend, because I'm a nerd and I think he's great. And yes, when/if the Avengers are reunited with Eliza, it's gonna be great!

iblamemikegreen: Welcome! I update every Saturday morning, and always welcome suggestions!

My heart dropped, as did the determined look on my face. "Wh-What- since when…h-how long will he-"

"We don't know," Agent Coulson said. "As long as it takes. He left yesterday morning."

A crushing sensation of loneliness mixed with numb denial washed over me. I staggered back, my hand searching for the knob. When I finally found it, the door swung open suddenly behind me. I stared at the two men, both of them watching me closely.

"I-I'll get back to you soon," I stuttered. Then I walked away.

"So you'll keep up the timeline through the one hundred day marker?" Mr. Fields inquired.

I nodded affirmative. "Yes, sir. The system worked well during the election, and even now leading up to the inauguration. As you know, the first hundred days are incredibly important for any new president. There's going to be a thousand executive orders, and we need to stay on top of them."

Mr. Fields folded his hands, humming in consideration. "I agree. Is your team prepared to handle it?"

"We've been handling it, sir," I replied, passing him my iPad. I watched as he scanned my notes from the latest meeting. "I've already got Shannon and Carl assigned to plugging in new data whenever it's received."

Mr. Fields nodded, handing the iPad back to me. "Get Davidson as well- he'll help make sure we can handle the extra traffic. We don't want this crashing our website."

"Of course, sir," I nodded, standing up and walking out of the office. I made my way back toward my desk, taking a sip of my tea as I sat down. I send out a quick email to Phillip Davidson to find his way upstairs for questions as soon as he could.

After confirming a two o'clock appointment, I settled into my chair and finished writing up my latest article on the new president. I found myself having to go back in our archives to double check a few things, but an hour later, I sent the final draft to the editing department.

I went to take another swig of my tea, but noticed it was empty. I frowned, taking my mug and making the journey down to the break room. I knew I'd forgotten to restock my tea bags, so I'd have to settle for Earl Grey. I took my time making my tea, listening to the mixture of office chatter, phones ringing, and newscasters talking on tv. I poured in some milk, stirred it around, and took a sip, a smile on my face. I was home.

An hour or so later, I was sending out more emails when Davidson came by. "Sorry I was busy- you wanted to see me?"

"Yes!" I replied, quickly shutting my computer and standing up. "Good timing, too. I was about to go out to lunch. Mind if I grab Shannon and Carl?"

"N-No problem," Davidson replied nervously.

I paused before I left, taking the time to pat the young intern on the shoulder. "Relax, Phillip. You're not in trouble, I just need some help on a project."

A relieved sigh escaped his body, and I patted him again. "Meet you downstairs in the lobby, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am!"

An amused grin on my face, I worked my way through the office to Shannon and Carl's desk units. I knocked on the cubical wall, and their heads shot up. "Lunch break's rolling around, and we need to talk about the timeline. Wanna go across the street?" I offered.

They shared a look before Shannon replied, "Sure. Give us two minutes to wrap up what we're doing. The press coverage today has been nonstop."

I laughed, "Don't I know it." I stopped by my desk to grab my purse before I headed to the elevator. The numbers counted down slowly as I descended, my head still filled with all the latest news and facts. As expected, Phillip was standing awkwardly by the door, waiting for me.

"Ready to go?" I asked. He nodded quickly, and I opened the door for him to follow me. The biting wind of early December hit me immediately, but we pressed on toward the cafe across the street. We found an empty table near the window, shrugging off our jackets before we sat down.

"So…what's all of this about?" Phillip questioned. I could still see a bit of concern in his eyes, but I turned my attention to the menu. Staring him down wouldn't help him feel calm.

"The timeline," I replied after a moment. I glanced up at him. "It's increased our online traffic by sixty-two percent. We don't have the technology to sustain that. We need to-"

"Increase the bandwidth and speed," he finished for me.

I nodded. "Precisely. Mr. Fields suggested you, and I think he's right. You're, what- a junior at NYU? And you're already assisting in lab work with your professors?"

Phillip pushed his glasses up his nose. "Sophomore, actually. B-But it's not a big deal, I'm sure anyone could-"

I smiled, holding up a hand for him to stop. "If anyone could, we wouldn't be having this problem. It would've already been fixed before the election even happened. We need you on our team, Phillip."

A tentative smile came onto the young man's face, and I couldn't help but smile back. He reminded me of myself when I'd gotten my first college internship. Earnest, eager to learn, but still doubting and lacking self confidence. I hoped this project would give him the boost he needed.

Shannon and Carl arrived a few minutes later, bringing the conversation of their most recent timeline additions with them. We chatted for at least an hour, discussing new ways to improve the functionality of the timeline without slowing down the processing.

"We need to update our computers, they're way too old," Shannon grumbled as we walked back into the office.

Phillip nodded his head in agreement. "Can you imagine if we got something like Stark technology? It's so advanced, they're not even selling it on the consumer market."

"I don't know if now is the time to buy anything from Stark Industries," Carl commented. "All of their stocks have been going crazy lately, especially after that fight in Ireland. I mean what were they thinking?"

"Yeah, didn't they destroy that old castle?" Shannon asked.

I sat down at my desk, their conversation drowning out the further away they walked. After a quick look at my email, I double checked to make sure all of my notes were ready for my two o'clock meeting. When the clock said it was five minutes beforehand, I made my way down to the conference room, ready to sit through at least an hour of business planning.

The meeting- though it didn't feel like it- lasted a mere forty five minutes, giving me the rest of the afternoon to get up to speed on the to-be president's predicted policies. My short research enquiry wound up lasting longer than anticipated. I was sucked in, my eyes absorbing the information each word gave me as I scrolled through endless interviews, articles, and twitter feeds.

Perhaps that's why I was startled when there was a knock on my cubical wall.

"Woah, hey there, sorry to startle you," a man's voice said.

I put a hand on my heart, turning slowly to look up at my co-worker, Jim. "Oh my gosh, I am so sorry- I forgot our meeting at four, didn't I?"

Jim shrugged, a strand of his light brown hair falling into his eyes. "Don't worry about it, Elizabeth. I know you've been working hard these past two weeks to get all caught up."

I laughed, looking at the time. It was past closing hours. "Yeah, it's been pretty crazy. The news never stops flooding in, you know?"

"Oh I think everyone in this office knows," Jim replied quickly. There was a weird edge in his voice, but I ignored it. We needed to leave the building before they locked up for the night.

I reached for my things and shrugged on my coat, taking the time to turn off my lamp before I exited the cubical. Jim walked in front of me, pressing the elevator button for us to get on. The doors opened and closed again, and we were soon suffocated with silence as we descended.

"So, when would be a good time to reschedule?" I asked after a moment.

Jim tensed slightly, his hand reaching up to scratch his ear. "Well, I was actually wondering if you were free tonight. I know this really good place off fifth- nothing fancy, but it'd be a good place to, ah, talk about things."

My breath caught, and I suddenly realized that we were on two very different pages. "Jim, I'm so sorry, but I'm just not interested."

His face dropped just as the elevator dinged. I stepped through the open doors, stopping to give him one last look. "I'll see you for that meeting tomorrow."

I turned and began to walk toward the door, securing my scarf around my neck as I did so. I could hear his footsteps running up behind me, but I ignored him.

"There's someone else, isn't there?" he questioned. "You've been acting weird ever since you got back a few weeks ago. Who is he? Does he work in the office?"

My eyes turned to Jim, expression hard. "My denial of your offer does not imply that I have someone else. It simply means that I'm not interested." His face aghast, I turned on my heel and began my journey home.

Two weeks. It had been two weeks since I'd last been at the base, since I'd left the world of gods and superheroes, aliens and androids. Two weeks of peace and quiet. Two weeks of being normal.

Part of me knew I couldn't keep doing this. I couldn't keep acting like nothing had happened, like it had all been some fanciful dream. The pistol on my bedside table proved that.

But I kept walking. I ignored the whispers of people on the street, the tv's in the shop windows that kept playing footage of the attack on repeat. It hadn't happened. Or at least, I hadn't been a part of it.

Fifteen minutes later, I reached my apartment. I dug for my keys in my purse and let myself in. I turned the lights on, set my things down, and picked up my phone.

"Hi, I'd like to order one medium pizza? Half cheese, half pepperoni…yes, delivery, please. Customer ID two two four nine one. Thank you very much."

I set my phone down and sat back on my bed, staring at the wall. A thousand images ran through my head. A basket of blankets shoved in a corner. The location of the popcorn in the kitchen. A blood stained t-shirt wrapped around my leg. The ruins of an old great hall. The pitch black hallway of the supposed safe house.

But then sounds came, too.

I heard laughter, then a broken sigh. The gentle whirring of engines, followed by the blasting music of AC/DC. Guns being fired, punches being thrown, explosions going off in the distance. The shattering of glass, and the slamming of protective metal coverings. Screams, then a gentle voice.

My eyes fluttered open, yet I never remembered closing them. They drifted over to the bedside table. My pistol hadn't moved an inch since I'd come home.

But then there was a knock at the door.

I tossed a blanket over the pistol, knowing that it'd be bad for some kid delivering pizza to see a fully loaded gun just sitting around. I scrambled for a twenty dollar bill, stuffed it in my pocket, and opened the door.

What I found was not what I'd been expecting.

Sorrowful blue eyes gazed into mine. "I'm sorry."