Dedicated to Kyla, who got me shawarma last night to try (those who have seen the Avengers knows the significance of Shawarma)
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
It was another day before they finally let Sharon leave the room, and by then she was teeming to get out and do stuff. She and Angel spent their time in her hospital bed talking about what had happened with Angel and Steve. Sharon reacted with appropriate shock when Angel told her about Steve's reaction, but something didn't entirely add up there. Steve seemed like the kind of guy not to discriminate mutants. After all, she knew that his own squad back in WWII was one of the most culturally diverse ones they had. She just needed to get rid of Angel for about an hour so she could find Steve and have a chat with him.
Sharon begged Angel off when they left the medical ward, telling Angel to go see Bruce about the Tesseract so that they're up to date on it. It took a few minutes of arguing and negotiating, but Angel finally agreed with a pout, "Okay but I'll only be a few minutes and you better not do anything stupid."
Sharon chuckled, "You know me, I can't not do anything stupid."
Angel rolled her eyes and left. Sharon stayed where she was a couple minutes before heading off towards the weapons ward. As she entered the area she could hear a pounding sound resonating from the boxing area.
Just as she expected, Steve was going to town on one of the punching bags. He had a tense expression on his face while he continued to punch harder and faster at the bag until he eventually punched it so hard that the bag tore off it's hook and flew across the room, slamming against the wall and letting out some sand from an open seam.
He stood there a moment before walking behind him to a row of punching bags and grabbing a new one and hooking it up so he could continue with this routine. As he started to punch that bag, Sharon looked over and raised her eyebrows when she saw an entire pile of beat up punching bags in the corner of the room, there had to be at least a dozen of them in that pile.
With that she wandered over slowly, "Nice right hook Captain."
Steve paused but didn't turn, "They finally let you out." He stated, there wasn't much of an inflection in his voice, but Sharon could tell that he just didn't want people around right now.
"Yeah well that's what happens when you return to health," Sharon said as she meandered closer then walked around the bag to face Steve, "I think you and I should have a chat."
Steve didn't move, "I don't see why that is necessary." He punched the bag hard so that it swung close to Sharon. She didn't budge; instead she grabbed the bottom of the bag and held it in that position so that Steve couldn't hit it again.
"Believe me, this conversation is completely necessary," with that she swung the bag back at Steve with a little force so it caught him in the abdomen, sending him back a couple steps. Steve looked at Sharon incredulously and saw that her expression left no room for joking, she meant business.
He sighed and walked over to a bench nearby and sat down, starting to unwind the tapes on his knuckles, "Well we might as well have it out right now."
"I'm not here to yell at you Steve."
"But this is about Angel, correct?" Steve said, refusing to meet Sharon's gaze. She nodded even though he wasn't looking at her. She leaned against the hanging bag and looked at him a moment.
"Does the name William Stryker mean anything to you?" She asked, Steve shook his head no but kept silent.
"He was one of the leaders of humans who see mutants as a pest. They call themselves the Purifiers. He believed that mutants were souls corrupted by Satan while we were in the womb, that it was Satan's plot to destroy human kind with the creation of mutants. He believed that it was his mission to eradicate all mutants from the face of the earth."
"Sounds like he had some prejudiced issues," Steve said, Sharon smirked and nodded.
"One of my first memories is of my parents giving me to Stryker, him promising to reform me and make me pure. For the next 6 years I was kept in a top secret facility where they performed painful tests and kept me separate from everyone else. On a daily basis I was told that I was an abomination, unclean, corrupted, an atrocity. However no matter what they did, I still had my power and it did not diminish."
Sharon paused and watched Steve, his face was still blank but he was clenching his fists until his knuckles were sheet white, "I was seven when Stryker gave the order to have me executed. I was literally being strapped to the table for the lethal injection when a mass break out occurred. I didn't see whom but someone came into the room and killed all the orderlies and sliced my bonds so that I could leave. I ran with the crowds of others outside where there was a helicopter waiting for us."
Sharon shifted a little, "It took us to a private school just for mutants, it's called Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters."
"I've heard of it," Steve said, "I did some research a few days ago, it sounds like quite a place."
"I thought that I must have been dead. So many kind people who all encouraged my power and told me to embrace who I was, I was sure that only death could bring me such peace and love. However after seven years with Stryker I was convinced that I was a demon and should be put to death. That was when Professor X introduced me to Angel."
Sharon watched as Steve's face changed, as soon as she had said Angel's name she saw compassion fill his face, "She stayed with me and made it her mission to constantly remind me that I can be whoever I want and that I am not an abomination, that I deserved to live. She had come there after tricking her father and brother into believing that it was an elite private boarding school, she didn't want them knowing about her abilities. From that day forward we were hardly ever separate from each other. We stayed at the school and became teachers, occasionally leaving the school for short periods to travel the world and enjoy life."
"Sounds like you found your happy ending," Steve said quietly. Sharon sighed and walked over, taking a seat on the bench beside Steve.
"Since my time at Stryker's, I have an innate fear of how people will react to us when they find out who we really are. That's why I asked Director Fury not to tell anyone. When I found out he told Natasha, I panicked."
"And you ran," Steve said, looking at Sharon sympathetically. She blushed and shook her head.
"That wasn't the only reason I ran…" She said quietly, it dawned on Steve at that moment.
"You and Barton?"
Sharon sighed and ran her hands through her hair, "I don't let men close to me, Angel is the closest anyone has ever gotten and I like it that way. However, she doesn't necessarily fulfill my needs if you know what I'm saying…"
Steve waved his hands in front of me, "I don't need nor to I want to know about those needs."
Sharon couldn't help but chuckle at his reaction, he really was a man of true morals, "Anyways, Barton was pushing to find out my secret and I didn't want to tell him. Then he was there when I broke down and I panicked because I didn't know what to do about a man getting so close and personal with me. So I left."
"And got yourself kidnapped by Loki?"
Sharon rolled her eyes, "What is with you men and giving me the damsel in distress treatment? I went with him willingly, I wanted to find out what his purpose was so I played along and acted like his doll."
Steve was impressed, he hadn't given her enough credit at the beginning but now it was dawning on him just how important she was. She was able to get close to the enemy and get information SHIELD needed, that was more than anyone else had been able to do.
"We're off topic, my point is that I think you and Angel should talk things out. She's convinced that you hate her." Sharon said.
Steve's head snapped up and met her gaze, "That's what she thinks! What on earth would give her that idea?"
"Oh I don't know, maybe it's you making dust the moment she told you who she was and not taking time to let her know that you don't think she is an atrocity…" Sharon said, giving him a pointed look.
"I was in shock, I didn't know what being a mutant meant and I wanted to have time to figure it out in my head. I guess in all that I didn't think to pause and tell Angel that my feelings hadn't changed…"
"AHA!" Sharon jumped up and pointed at Steve, "So you admit it!"
"Admit what?" Steve asked, confused by Sharon's outburst.
"You admit you have feelings for her!" Sharon bounced in place in her excitement.
"Of course I do! I wouldn't have kissed her if I didn't! What kind of person do you think I am?"
"Trust me Cap," Sharon said, "In this century a guy will do just about anything to get into a girl's pants.
"Get into her what!" Steve's eyes widened. Sharon laughed at his bewildered expression and sat down again, patting his shoulder.
"Look, as far as I can see it you have a LOT of groveling to do. She thinks you don't like her and her self-esteem is shattered because of it."
"What do I do?" Steve asked, wanting to do right by Angel and hoping Sharon would help him out.
"I'll think of something, in the meantime try smiling at Angel and being your usual upstanding self. That shouldn't be too hard."
With that she stood and skipped out of the room, feeling excited that things were going to get better for Angel and Sharon would get to play cupid while at it.
Feedback is always appreciated guys!
Alasiel