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When Steve woke up a couple of hours later, he found Natasha sitting on his chair while Clint had sprawled out on the other couch. She raised an eyebrow at him while a piece of underwear dangled from her finger. Clint snorted when Steve blushed and quickly pulled the clothing from her hand. Steve threw it into the empty bag along with everything else that lay on the coffee table.
"Why, Steve?" Natasha teased him "I didn't know you were into that kind of thing." Clint laughed at his misfortune. "Not funny." Steve replied blushing hotly. "It's not mine, its Marie's." He explained and the teasing atmosphere suddenly ceased. "I know." Natasha said with that look that meant she probably knew more than he did at this point. "Clint must have filled her in on the situation." he thought.
"I've been going through her stuff hoping to find a clue, anything that could lead me to where she's staying." He said with a sadness and guilt in his voice. Natasha nodded while Clint remained silent. "Did you find anything?" She asked him and he shook his head no. "Well, we know she's here in New York. That's a start. I'll have S.H.I.E.L.D start to look through security around different hotels and motels." Natasha said as she pulled out her cell and made a call.
Clint decided to speak up from where he had made himself comfortable. "You sure there's nothing in her receipts?" Steve nodded. "I went through them, they're all clothes, so I…" He stopped himself remembering the last receipt. He quickly pulled it from his front pocket and unfolded it. He looked through it. Steve sighed. "Nothing. Just a receipt for a water bottle." He said and crumpled it. He threw it at Clint who caught it effortlessly and unfolded it. Steve turned to Natasha who hung up. "We'll find her Steve." She reassured him.
Steve nodded.
"Crossway Boulevard." Clint suddenly spoke up. Natasha and Steve turned to him. "What?" Steve asked him. "Natasha check if there's a motel near Crossway Boulevard. The receipt is from someplace called Sundance store on Crossway Boulevard." Steve felt hope filling him as Natasha checked her phone. She looked up her face unreadable. "There's a motel there." She said and Steve jumped. "How far?" He asked her excited and scared at the same time. "A hour away." She replied. "I'm driving." Clint said getting up from the couch.
"How did you know about the motel?" Steve asked Clint as they made it into the car. "You said all the other receipts were clothes, from stores mostly from around Times Square I'm guessing. This water bottle receipt was the only one not from Times Square." Clint explained easily. Steve nearly hit himself. He hadn't even considered looking at the addresses on the receipts; he'd been hoping that there was a receipt directly from the motel she was staying at. "This is why you're the agents and not me." Steve told Clint and Natasha as they sped off. The two only smirked at each other.
Marie stood under the shower enjoying the almost scorching hot water. She let the stress and tension from today wash away with the water. She shampooed and conditioned her hair, before soaping up and shaving. "Oh the joys of being a woman." She thought sarcastically as she bend over on tired legs to shave. It took awhile for her to finish in the shower, she didn't want to leave the peace and quiet that the warm water brought her, but eventually she did. She put on her underwear and wrapped herself up in soft and comfortable bathrobe before leaving the bathroom.
She stopped in the doorway. Natasha and Clint were sitting on her bed while Steve sat at small table in the corner of her room. She took a deep breath not wanting to panic. She could feel the metal objects around the room more certainly than before. More specifically, she could feel the various weapons the two agents wore hidden away from plain sight.
"Hi." Marie said lamely. Natasha only raised an eyebrow at her, Clint looked pissed and Steve… Well Steve looked hurt, which was worse than Clint's anger at her. "Not that I don't deserve it." She thought.
"Four months," Clint said angrily "Four months filled with worry, fear and uncertainty as to whether or not you were alive, AND ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY IS HI!" He exploded. Marie flinched and Natasha put a calming hand on Clint's shoulder. "Or she's trying to keep him from killing me…" she thought desperately. "I'm…" Marie began and Clint interrupted her. "Do have any idea! … We've been looking everywhere!" He yelled at her though less violently than before. The quiet that followed nearly choked up Marie. Things around them started shaking. Steve, Natasha and Clint all looked around in worry and Marie slid down on the floor. She took several deep breaths trying to calm herself but she couldn't. She started to cry. She didn't want to hurt them. "Marie, doll, are you doing this?" Steve's soft voice called out to her. "I can't... make it stop…" She choked out not looking at them, not wanting to see their fear and disgust.
A pair of strong arms embraced her and she instinctively looked up. Steve looked at her with worry in his eyes as he sat on the floor. "I don't want to hurt anybody." Marie whispered looking at him. She saw something shift in his eyes, and understanding of sorts before he leaned down and kissed her head. "You won't hurt anybody." He comforted her and stroked her head. The shaking quieted down after a while and Clint and Natasha joined them on the floor.
"Is that why you left? Because you thought you'd end up hurting someone?" Steve asked her. Marie shook her head no, while the three looked at her wondering.
" "Clint and Natasha will hate me for it… They'll hate knowing that with the touch of a finger I would know their every secret if I wanted to… And they wouldn't know if I'd done it. I don't want them to live with that uncertainty, and I don't want to live with their mistrust either..." "
The memory felt like it was from an eternity ago. That an eternity had passed and not just four months. Marie looked up at Clint and Natasha. Natasha was unreadable; more so than ever while Clint was an open book. His concern and worry made her heart clench and she felt like an idiot having run away from them. From their kindness and understanding.
"Sweet, kind and loving Steve... " Her heart clenched when she thought about him, what his reaction would be to the truth. "That I was a monster since childhood… He might forgive me for keeping my powers a secret, even he would understand that, but killing an innocent child... He would never forgive me for that…""
"No," Marie said honestly. "I couldn't bare the thought of judgment. Your judgement of me, I've been told before I'm a monster, I didn't want to hear it from you too." she explained. "Even though that may be exactly what I am." "Don't be an idiot." Natasha told her angrily. "We would have no place to judge you. Least of all me. And you are not a monster." Clint nodded in agreement with Natasha. "You should have trusted us Marie. Given us a chance to understand before going rogue." He told to her. "It wasn't just that… I…" she couldn't finish the sentence suddenly feeling like the idiot Natasha told her she was. "What?" Clint asked her.
"I thought… I thought you and Natasha would hate me, knowing that with the touch of a finger I would know your every secret if I wanted to, and that you wouldn't even know if I'd done it. I didn't want you to live with that uncertainty, and I didn't want to live with your mistrust either." She finished feeling stupid.
A slap resounded through the room.
Marie held her cheek as the sting bit into it. They all looked at Natasha surprised. "Ow." Marie exclaimed shocked. "Don't ever presume that you know how we'll respond." Natasha said with a deadly glint in her eyes. "We wouldn't have mistrusted you. You are one of the very few people I do trust. Which includes my life and my secrets. Don't ever take that for granted or I'll rip out your throat." She finished and Marie nodded still nursing her cheek.
Clint responded with a "What she said." but leaned over to hug her. Marie looked to Steve. "I'm sorry Steve. I honestly am. I thought you wouldn't be able to forgive me what I'd done, and it scared me." Steve shook his head. "What's done is done. We can't change that Marie. We can only try to better us selves. And honestly, I don't think there's anyone else better than you out there." It would have been a sweet moment if it weren't for Clint making barfing noises. Natasha hit him.
"Thank you Natasha." Steve said pleasantly. She grinned. "I live to please." Steve turned back to Marie. "Will you please come back to S.H.I.E.L.D. with us now?" Marie froze and it didn't go unnoticed by the others. "I can't." She said. "Why not?" Steve pushed her and Marie had a feeling of deja vu. "Because I'm a liability. What happened right now that was nothing Steve. You saw what happened today at Times Square." She said feeling guilty. Clint looked at her surprised. "That was you?" he asked her and Marie nodded and they all looked at her shocked.
"How did you do that?" Natasha asked her knowing it wasn't how Marie's powers worked. Marie looked uncomfortable. Steve nudged her. "Marie?" he questioned. She murmured something no one understood before clearing her throat. "Back on the statue of Liberty four months ago," she began and they all grew dark when she mentioned the incident. "When Magneto was forcing me to absorb him, something happened. I don't know what but there was this weird moment, where I couldn't stop it, I couldn't make him let go, right before the explosion ripped us apart."
Clint winced at the memory. He still had nightmares about that night; that he'd ended up killing Marie with the arrow she'd made for him as a gift.
"Ever since then," Marie explained, "I've had his powers. They haven't faded; they keep growing stronger every day. I don't know if it means he's out there somewhere, powerless or if the powers are only a copy of his." She finished worried. They were all silent, digesting the information until Natasha spoke up. "But you absorbed him, you should know how to control it."
Marie sighed. "I have the knowledge I just don't know how to properly apply it. Magneto's powers are controlled by his emotions, which is why he's usually so calm and collected. I however am not, which means boom! Times square." she explained while making an explosion with her hands. "Yeah, I can see how that could become a problem." Clint joked and Marie smiled lightly.
"Maybe S.H.I.E.L.D. could help you." Steve wondered out loud. "I'm not going back to S.H.I.E.L.D. Steve." Marie said firmly. "I don't care what the Director wants, Operation Rogue or not, it's not where I belong." she said and Steve looked at her. "You know about that?" Marie nodded. "I panicked a bit earlier today when you grabbed my hand." She explained.
Steve felt sick. "What if she knows about Carol, about what I did?" He panicked. Marie noticed his frown and felt hurt over his panic. "Don't worry, I only got that part." Marie said and rose angrily from the floor, leaving his warm embrace, to get dressed in her long black nightdress. She slammed the door closed to the bathroom. The metal objects around them started shaking again. "Nice job." Clint said giving him a disappointed look while Natasha looked at him muttering in Russian.
Steve sighed and rose from the floor. He knocked on the door. "Marie I'm sorry! That's not how I meant it. I was worried because there was something I didn't want you to see, because I don't want to hurt you or your feelings!" He exclaimed at the door. She opened the door walking out of the room in her black nightgown. Steve blushed when he couldn't help but notice all her curves. "She's certainly filled out all the right places in the last four months." He thought happily, remembering the skinny almost bone like frame she'd held before. "Not that she doesn't always look good. She just looks a lot healthier now."
Marie glared at him hurt. "If you're thinking about the woman you've been sleeping with, don't bother. I already know." Natasha and Clint looked at them surprised. "What woman?" Natasha asked and Clint glared at Steve. "Curse it all!" Steve thought. "Marie listen to me please!" He begged her ignoring both Clint and Natasha. "Carol was a mistake!" He exclaimed and he heard Clint mutter "Who's Carol?" to Natasha who shrugged confused.
"Look Steve," Marie began "Its okay, I don't care. I left you. What you did in the meantime is none of my business." She said dismissively though they could all hear the hurt in her voice.
"I was hurting and angry and she was just there. She means nothing to me. You mean everything to me Marie." Steve tried to explain to Marie. He grabbed her face in his hands. "If you don't believe me take it... Take it all if you have to." He said dead serious, staring her straight in the eyes. Marie felt uncomfortable at his honest gaze. She stared back at him for a while before responding. "I believe you." Steve nodded relieved. "But I'm still not going back to S.H.I.E.L.D." Marie responded and Steve felt his heart break. "Where are you going to go?" Clint asked her concerned. She smiled at him. "There's a school for people like me, people with powers. Xavier's school for gifted youngsters." She said and noticed the recognition in Natasha's eyes.
"It's here in New York, Westchester. I already got an invitation to join them. Professor Xavier will help teach me control, and in return he'll most likely offer me a teaching position. After that, I'll see where I'll go from there." Marie said honestly. "So you'll be staying in New York." Steve grinned happily and Marie nodded confirming it. "I have a meeting tomorrow at two, with the professor. Would you guys like to get breakfast before then?" Marie asked them. They all agreed. They all got up to leave. "Steve could you stay?" She asked him ignoring Clint's suggestive wiggling of eyebrows before Natasha pushed him outside. "Sure." Steve said and they heard the two agents drive off quickly. Steve closed the door behind him.
Without either Clint or Natasha in the room with them, they both felt incredibly awkward around each other. "I'm sorry!" They both said at the same time. Marie giggled and Steve chuckled. Marie began earnestly. "I really am sorry sugar. I'm sorry that I hurt you and left you behind because of my fear. I'm sorry that..." Steve interrupted her by kissing her lightly. "No I'm sorry. I'm the fool here. Hell, fool doesn't even cover it!" He said kissing and wrapping his arms around her.
Marie melted into his touch, eagerly responding to each kiss and each caress, as his hands explored her body. "You've filled out in all the right places doll. You look so beautiful." He whispered to her. Marie broke away from his kiss a bit dazed. "Did you just call me fat?" She asked him a bit surprised and hurt. Hurt because he thought her fat, and surprised considering she had kept up her training and had surfed a lot. "Well I did eat donuts almost everyday. But still, I have abs!"
Steve shook his head no. "Beautiful is what you are, always have been. You were too thin before," He said softly caressing her hips and Marie nearly purred at the feeling. "Now you're more… muscled, and shaped. I kept wondering if I'd hurt you," He said gripping her hips tightly, and Marie gasped this time. "If I held on to you too tightly."
Steve leaned in and kissed her neck before pushing them down on the bed. Marie giggled. "You look healthy now, like years of starvation have been removed from your body." He continued. One of his hands came to caress her breast through the thin material, as he kissed her throat teasingly. Marie moaned shamelessly on the bed. "I remember every inch of your body." he whispered "I've imagined it so many times these last four months. I kept thinking back to our pillow fort." He smiled against her neck causing Marie to smile too. "I can accept it if you don't want to come back to S.H.I.E.L.D., but I hope you'll come back to me." He said kissing her deeply.
Marie got his shirt off and enjoyed the view. "I'll always come back to you Steve. Even if it seems like I won't." She whispered, before nipping at his earlobe and kissing along his jawline.
Steve smiled. "Then would you mind moving in with me? I'd like to have you close to me whenever I can." he let out and Marie froze. "Great job ruining the mood Steve!" He thought to himself. Marie looked at him perplexed. "First you call me fat, now you want me to move in with you?" She questioned him. "Your words, not mine. I said you looked healthy, not fat. Healthy." he replied cheekily. Marie kissed him, beginning to work on his pants. "I'd love to move in with you Steve." She moaned into his ear when he gripped her thighs harshly.
Marie woke up naked feeling warm, sore and happy. The alarm on the nightstand read eight a.m. A heavy arm was draped around her, and she felt something wonderful poking her behind. She wiggled a bit, grinning when she heard Steve groan out "Minx!" at her. She turned around and kissed him lightly.
"Maybe, but you're the one who brings it out in me sugar." She replied cheekily. She tried getting up from the bed but Steve held her down. "I'm not letting you go." He murmured still half asleep, looking at her with one eye open.
Marie lifted her leg over his and winced slightly at the soreness. "You okay doll?" he asked her concerned, now fully awake. "Just peachy." She replied grinning at him before her smile fell when she realized she felt something between her legs. "Steve, please tell me you used protection last night." She said slightly panicking. Steve looked horrified at her. "I… uh… did the first time." He replied weakly. Marie felt her heart pumping harshly. "What about the two other times?" She asked not really wanting to know the answer.
Steve blushed and looked away guiltily. "I may not have had enough protection for those times." Marie groaned and fell back on her pillow. "We'll have to make a stop at the nearest pharmacy on the way to breakfast." She told him looking at him pointedly. Steve nodded. "I'm sorry Marie, at that point I'd stopped thinking about it." he explained and Marie shook her head. "It's my fault too." She said forgiving him.
Steve looked at her funny. "What?" She asked him. "Well, considering the deed is already done..." He said looking at her pointedly. Marie sighed. "You seriously want to use this opportunity to have more sex?" She asked him in disbelief and Steve shrugged. "Only if you're up to it. I don't want to hurt you." Marie looked at his messy bed hair and naked body. "Yeah I'm up for it sugar." She lied to him. "And what a sweet lie it is..." she thought happily as he covered her body with his.