Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Hopefully this chapter has all 'S.H.I.E.L.D' typos corrected :)


Chapter Three

Dahlia awoke not long before the helicarrier was due to land. She made a small noise at the back of throat which transformed into a wince when she moved her neck too quickly. Stilling, she blinked her eyes open slowly, staring through a narrowed gaze at the empty seats across from her. For a moment, she was confused, lost as to wear she was, but her memories caught up with her soon enough and she found herself more alert than before, sitting up straighter.

She yawned tiredly and peered across her with more interest. Steve was a few seats down from her and he looked up from the history book – probably about events during the war – when she turned towards him. He smiled in greeting.

"Good to see you up," he inclined his head to the front of the carrier, "Coulson says we'll be arriving soon."

"Arriving where?" she wondered.

Steve shook his head. "He hasn't said."

"Of course not," Dahlia commented. She pushed the covers that surrounded her away enough that she could undo the seat belt across her to stretch. She sighed, pleasured by the click her back realised. She paused, catching Steve staring at her in amusement from the corner of her eye. Her arms lowered slowly. "What?"

"While we've still got time, you should probably freshen up," Steve gestured towards a single door, leading to where Dahlia assumed was a bathroom, "You, um, sort of look like a panda…"

She flushed slightly, aware she hadn't removed her make-up the night before, and quickly scrambled – as elegantly as she could, of course – into the small room. The bathroom was small and contained only a toilet and a sink, that a mirror had been hung over. Even something as high-tech as a helicarrier, the toilets were always terrible.

Dahlia stood in front of the mirror and realised how ridiculous she looked with large black patches under her olive eyes. She used a damp tissue to remove the smudged eyeliner and mascara, leaving a very thin line along her eyelid making a small note to borrow a black make-up pencil from Natasha when they landed.

She removed her brown hair from the ponytail and brushed it down as much as she could with her fingers, flinching when they caught a knot. Although the attempt left her hair frizzier than it had been before, she accepted it was the best she could do and returned the mass to its original style.

She then checked her clothes – just a grey t-shirt with the words 'Frag You' printed on the front, and a pair of leather trousers, along with her favourite combat boots (it was something she had gotten into the habit of wearing whenever she went to S.H.I.E.L.D, since she refused to wear one of the jumpsuits on her first appearance there). Satisfied nothing was creased or out of place, she conceded that she was ready.

She hesitated for a moment, debating the pros and cons about hiding in the small bathroom until everything was over, before forcing herself to exit the room. She kept her head forward and stayed silent, reattaching herself to her seat just as a disembodied voice announced they were about to begin the descent.


Landing was relatively smooth, a rare occasion, and Dahlia released herself as soon as the aircraft creaked to a halt. She waited as patiently as she could, curious as to where they had landed, for Steve and Phil to join her, and for the back of the helicarrier to lower. It did so with the usual mechanical slowness, revealing…not what was expected.

For some reason, she was expecting some massive building – a mansion even – in the middle of nowhere, where she and her fellow 'talented' people would hide underground until they were called by a special phone that is only ever called in an emergency.

Instead, they were on a platform, something similar to a naval ship, surrounded by the harsh waves of the ocean surface. S.H.I.E.L.D agents in jumpsuits moved across the asphalt, checking that planes were securely fastened to the deck and were filled for capacity in case the need arises. Orders were shouted from all corners, blurring into one noise in such a way Dahlia wondered how anyone could hear what they were supposed to be doing.

Phil exited first and Steve and Dahlia took his lead. He moved forward with a purpose, leading them towards the opposite end of the platform. Vaguely, Dahlia could recognise the curl mop of red hair that could not be anyone by Natasha; her eyes darted to the man beside her. He stood awkwardly, almost as if he didn't want to be there – which was probably the case.

As they got closer, she was given the chance to examine him a little more closely. He was older than her, she guessed by the slight greying of the dark hair around his face. His skin was tanned, as if he'd been somewhere on holiday recently. His suit was too big for him and his glasses sat awkwardly on his nose.

But when he looked up from the ground as they approached, when she really got a good look at him, she couldn't stop herself from feeling a little awed, a little flustered by his presence to say the least. She barely suppressed a groan. Of course, there had be someone on his damn ship, she cursed. Dahlia had no probably admitting she'd had a thing for the geeky, awkward type but really, he was too adorable.

And he has beautiful eyes, the interested voice at the back of her head pointed out. She tried to ignore it.

"Captain Rogers, Miss. Griffiths, this is Dr. Bruce Banner," Coulson introduced, gesturing between them. "Dr. Banner, these are Captain Steve Rogers and Miss. Dahlia Griffiths."

Steve held out his hand, which Bruce took nervously, smiling slightly in greeting. Dahlia held out her hand and he seemed to hesitate briefly, dragging a critique eye over her, before finally accepting it. She noted how much bigger his hands were compared to her own and her cheeks blotched red at her train of throat.

"It's nice to meet you," she muttered out, dropping her hand in embarrassment and reaching up to brush her bangs behind her ears, using it as an excuse to avert her gaze to the ground. She could practically feel the eyes burning into her crown.

"One minute, Griffiths…" Bruce started thoughtfully, "Are you related to Dr. Milton Griffiths, by any chance?"

Dahlia forced a smile at her father's name, ignoring the squirming of discomforting in her stomach his memory always induced. "Yes, Dr. Griffiths is my father. I didn't realise he was that well known over in the States."

Or I hoped, at least…

"Dahlia was educated in her father's work from a young age, and we believe between the both of you, you will be able to track down the location of the Tesseract," Natasha explained.

"I look forward to working with you then," Bruce offered her a smile, which she found herself returning too easily.

Natasha took a step back. "Now introduction are over; if you don't mind gentleman, Lia, I think its best we head inside." She didn't wait for a response before she turned on her heels and continued along the deck.

"Why does she always do that?" Dahlia wondered to herself, shaking her head slightly. She inclined her head towards the two hesitant looking men, "Come on, we should do what she says. If we don't catch up to her now, we'll just get lost in this place."

"Does anyone actually know what this place is?" Steve wondered.

"Not the foggiest, my friend, not the foggiest," Dahlia shook her head.

"It can be safe to assume it does something cool though, right?" Bruce offered, glancing around them as the deck began to clear of agents.

Phil's lip twitched with amusement. "Yes, Dr. Banner, it does something cool."


A/N: I hope this meeting reaches expectations. I didn't want to make it too soppy or anything, no falling in love at first sight. I hope it's realistic, I guess. The next chapter will have a lot more Bruce/Dahlia interaction – hopefully with some Steve/Dahlia and Natasha/Dahlia thrown in as well.

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