Warning: This story will contain Slash (male x male relationship).
Disclaimer: I do not own either Avengers or Harry Potter; many things would have ended different if I did.
When Steve Rogers first awoke he felt disoriented. He was first lied to, just as if he was nothing more than a lab rat or a threat, and eventually he was told that he had been asleep for a long time -and that was really only after he had run from the installations and found the whole truth firsthand-. The world he knew was nothing like he remembered.
A safe Heaven was constructed for him where he could get used to the changes as fast or as slow as he wanted. There came lots of persistent requests that he should be taught how to behave as fast as possible but the man turned it all down as soon as they came. Only one thing made him change his mind: the New York alien invasion.
When he was forced to acknowledge that he had absolutely no idea of how the world behaved outside of a battle field he understood the need to actually have an idea, however vague, about his surroundings. It was not about the world, it was not about the knowledge, it was not about others; it was about improving his surviving skills if worst came by.
The dysfunctional group sat side by side right in front of the coffin. Steve hadn't known much of Coulson; but he did know that the man had his heart in the right place. Many agents from the agency sat with their heads bowed, mourning the loss of a great companion. A lovely smell made itself present and every head turned to observe the new arrival.
A young man, of a beauty insuperable, stood beside the wooden box. A young kid held his right hand as the other was occupied by a single white flower. The enchanting man knelt beside the coffin and placed the plant right on top of it. In one sweep he raised the child to his hip and held him tightly.
"Today we say our farewells to a great man" the musical sound filled everyone's senses. "A Sweet pea; back when the flower language was first established in France, it was said to mean a meeting and delicate blissful pleasures. What not many remember is that it also stands for departure and a 'thank you for a lovely time' -as it was customary to send secret messages between lovers in the form of a bouquet-; it meant to be taken as the ultimate farewell. Lovers ceased to meet each other because of the sweet pea" he explained as he caressed the black painted wood with his fingers.
The child giggled as he hugged the gorgeous mage. They were both dressed in conservative black outfits. The man had black tight silk slacks, a dark lace dress shirt and black as night charol shoes and small lace gloves. The youngster had a cute black gabardine suit with a white shirt underneath. The only thing that brought forth the figure were the deep ivory lilies of the valley which where intertwined with some of his long locks of hair; a single black rose boutonniere on his suit flap.
"I never knew him outside from work, for work was his life; but I do know this: Phil Coulson would never give his life in vain" he smiled brightly at the gloomy group -and it seemed to be infectious for many answered with a smile of their own-. "As a great man once told me 'to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure'" he explained to the group as his bright emerald green eyes trailed, one by one, every man and woman present. "He also mentioned something that will forever accompany me 'do not pity the dead,' he said 'pity the living; and above all, pity those who live without love'. Should he be right, then, there is nothing for us to pity; for in life Phil loved his work, his colleagues and was very much loved in return" the elegant sorcerer caressed the kid's hair.
Both figures started to walk past the coffin. Right before the captivating wizard went away he turned around and gave the group of S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents a last look.
"Don't be sad for him, it was but a new beginning" with that last sentence and a sloppy smirk the otherworldly beauty left.
"Colonel Fury"
"You asked to see me"
"I would like to accept your offer sir"
"Ah, I see. You finally deem the knowledge worthy?"
"No sir. But I wouldn't like to find out that the sole reason of my failure comes from my lack of knowledge, sir"
"Very well, I'll have a teacher of sorts ready for you Captain"
"Sir…"
"Yes?"
"Could… Can this person not be an Agent? It seems that I'll have to deal with them a lot as it turns out…"
"I'll see what I can do…"
"Thank you, sir"
"You're excused"
It was the only night that the mage allowed himself to drink any goblin made beverages again -after gaining full custody on Teddy-. The petite male let his own consciousness drift away into oblivion for a few hours that night. He hadn't really liked the Agent that much, but it had triggered old memories of a time of war. He would have loved nothing more than to bury those thoughts deep within and never have anything to do with them again; but people kept insisting that it was not something that he should do, that it was not something someone sane did. He really had only started to listen to them when they had threatened to take Teddy away.
At first he had wanted nothing more than to lash out, but then he realized that if everyone said so then he must have been doing something wrong. It was simple really: Tom Riddle had more than half the magical population against his ideals and was eventually apprehended; if more than half his friends and acquaintances said that it was bad for his mental health then he really ought to listen. He had promised himself and young Theodore that he would never return to his former depression.
The tall man worked himself to exhaustion, much like every other night. It didn't matter what he did; sleep would not come. He punched with blind rage and threw a roundhouse kick to the bag. Said element flew through the room and landed against a cushion.
He sobbed and crashed to the floor. Silent tears felt from his eyes as his aching hands drew themselves around his middle. Memories were starting to merge together; old and new. His friends' deaths back in World War Two where hitting him hard and now he had half Manhattan to mourn for too. He gave a broken scream as the images started all over again; much like a broken record.
His shoulders slumped as he let his head touch the cold floor. Sleep only came when he passed out.
"I have a request for you" admitted the one-eyed man.
They were at the brunette's place having a couple of drinks in his private study. Both had had tiring days and were sprawled in different couches.
"Why am I not surprised? What is it this time Nick? Is it another international crisis? I'm going to start charging you" he growled slightly. "I'll have you know that I missed my boy's fourth birthday because of you" the stunning man accused.
"And I apologized for it, okay?" he growled. "Anyhow, this has nothing to do with it" the man waved a hand dismissively as he turned around in his seat.
"Nothing ever has anything to do with it yet somehow I always end up in Belgium. Care to explain that?" the sorcerer drawled bitterly; his accent coming out strongly in his temper.
"I need you to tutor one of mine" growled the man; as he swallowed his cup in one go.
"I see… Wait- Wha-? Did you just say tutor?" the ethereal beauty repeated bewildered.
"Yes" he seethed.
"Bloody hell; calm down. So… this man of yours?" the mage asked with an upturned eyebrow.
"He has lost a period of… historical events" he told as a way of explanation.
"I see… No I really don't. You're not exactly explaining anything Nick" the wizard drawled bitterly.
"He first lost consciousness back when World War Two was still ongoing and remained in a coma up until a few months prior to this date" the man with the eye-patch explained as he drew a folder.
"Bugger that…" the gorgeous male trailed of as he took a sip of his glass and accepted the compilation of texts.
"It would be good if you could try and explain life and usual behaviors of nowadays society" stated the spy.
"Admit it, mate; you only want this poor guy to know about technology and how to use it. No need to lie to me Nick. I'll do what I can, but I make no promises. It will all depend on his cognitive aptitudes" the brunette explained as he read through the passages.
"I understand. He is an exceptionally bright man. He could have been anything he wanted, but he felt an obligation to his country-"
"So he is quite the uptight and holds honor high above anything else, right?" finished the enthralling sorcerer.
"Will you ever let me finish any sentence?" asked a bewildered Colonel.
"Sorry" muttered the dazzling man absentmindedly.
"It's starting to become a habit. Are you even listening?" he drawled bitterly as he waved to the brunette.
"Sorry. You were saying?" asked the stunning mage.
"Forget it" he checked his watch. "I have to go. I'll call you to schedule an appointment".
"Sure thing mate; but he's not stepping inside my house until I'm sure he won't be a danger to myself or Teddy" the handsome wizard made a point of his statement by pointing his index finger threateningly.
"I know; that rascal is your whole world. No boundaries are going to be stepped. Anyway the man could use some less overwhelming environment. Maybe some typical diner?" he suggested as he took his coat.
"Sure, I'll let you know when I choose a place" answered the captivating beauty.
Harry juggled with Teddy's wizarding kindergarten, staying fit and updated on both magical and muggle arts' updates, taking care of the forms Draco had sent for him to read through and sign, taking care of most of the organization behind the many requests Russus Fragaria dealt with and reading the thick folder that had been so kindly tossed onto his already busy schedule; he pitied the man and would like nothing more than to help, but it was getting ridiculously out of hand. Ginny was completely immersed in her work and newly found love life, Ron was having a blast at creating new products with his brother and hardly ever was seen within the grounds, Luna was writing several pieces on unknown creatures and taking extreme care in vanquishing each and every threat to existing peace treaties to creature and their descendants -she was especially vicious on werewolf cases, as she had Teddy to worry about- and Hermione was juggling Muggle Medical School and Wizarding Healer training; all in all Harry had no one available for extra help; and the petite sorcerer wasn't about to overexert Vitto and Lummi.
With a sigh the young man sat in his private study and massaged his temples; stress would do him no good and Teddy would end up worried about him -that kid was just too much of a mother hen case; and Harry pushing his own limits never helped-.
"It must run in the family" he drawled as he reminisced his time under the care of the loving werewolf.
Messing his hair frantically, the gorgeous mage took his work phone out and dialed his 'second in command's office number.
"Russus Fragaria Central Offices, what color would you like today?" the young worker asked customarily.
"Mike" muttered the tired beauty.
"Boss! Are you coming in today? Mariana requested to have you to assist her in her upcoming birthday party" he leered playfully.
Harry shuddered at the thought of having to deal with the flirtatious woman; he had nothing against the ladies, he had enjoyed their company for a very long time, but he was not oblivious to his aching for male attention -at least not any more-.
"Sorry, not today kiddo" the stunning mage jabbed playfully as the young man was but a few weeks younger. "Actually, Mike, I…" the beauty's throat constricted and the enthralling wizard slumped in his chair.
"Boss?" asked the preoccupied coworker "Harry? Is everything okay? Did something happen to Teddy?" the man was not dumb and he knew that the kid was the world plus the stars to his friend.
"I… Yeah, it's not about him; well it is but then again that's not the main point. He's a smart kid and-"
"You're rambling" he cut in. "What's wrong Harry?" he asked somberly, all traces of his sunny personality gone.
"I won't be able to work for a while" the captivating sorcerer informed his fiend quickly.
"Okay… because?" he asked as his brow furrowed.
"A friend asked a favor; this time it may take me some weeks, months even. I can't divide my time between Teddy and Russus Fragaria. My son will always come first and we both know that by now"
"I know, I haven't forgotten" he muttered softly. "You take care, boss. And come back safely".
"There won't be any danger this time; except the possibility of passing out from boredom" the dazzling mage chuckled. "It'll just demand a lot of my time. And Mr. Anderson" the beauty drawled in his best I'm-your-boss-so-you-better-listen-to-what-I-have- to-say tone. "You better step up and take my place. I'll have no slacking off while I'm gone".
Mike laughed merrily and eventually calmed down.
"You're on boss! Can I call you if something big turns up?" he asked shyly.
"Of course! In fact I encourage it, you know how much of a control freak I can be. Did you even have to ask? The day I stop answering my phone is the day you should start working up contacts within missing persons for information; or possibly even the police".
He was starting to feel nervous. Fury had said that he was working up the details with one of his outside contacts but it had been two weeks, four days and seven hours ago -not that he was counting-.
The soldier sat in one of the wooden benches and massaged his right shoulder; he had thrown a little too much in the last punch. He trailed a hand through his hair and caught his breath. The blond man squared his shoulders as he sat upright. He had a demanding work out plan to see through until the end and pent up energy to release. Colonel Fury was bound to call, eventually.
The gorgeous mage hoisted up his five year old son onto his left hip and made his way to the play room he and Luna had constructed for the cute youngster. The wizard sat his kid on one of the comfortable burgundy red beanbags and retrieved a small book titled Ambroise and the Fire Fae. He sat beside the child and together they read the pages and admired the moving pictures.
"And when the dragon breathed his fire for the second time, she threw her body in between them and her wings grew stronger than ever" he sat upright and tickled his son until the toddler fell giggling to the floor. "Come on, little monster, its snack time".
"Da~ad" he complained as he sat upright. "You didn't finish the chapter!"
"Yes well, if you would have let me stop last chapter then we wouldn't have to stop in the middle of this one" he chuckled at his son's heart fallen expression. "Oh no, you know that won't work with me. I'm not your Auntie 'Mione" the enthralling sorcerer stock his tongue out at him.
The youngster pouted and grasped the man's sleeve. The petite mage chuckled some more as he picked the toddler up.
"Oh alright, Teddy; once we finish having some tea we can come back and read two more chapters" the otherworldly beauty bargained.
Which is the number of chapters left; he drawled bitterly in his mind. The boy had him wrapped around his little fingers.
"Yay!" cheered the child as he snuggled into the wizard's embrace.
Once they entered the kitchen the youngster jumped to the light olive green bar stool and grinned viciously.
"Pancakes!" he demanded as he giggled.
"Oh, come on! Teddy!"
"You promised!" accused the child.
"Fine" he drawled bitterly. "But you better eat some fruit too" the compelling mage stated.
The youngster pouted before light shone in his eyes.
"Blueberry pancakes!" he grinned excitedly.
The petite beauty laughed heartily and gave into his son's request. Between the two -Teddy messing everything around and throwing flour everywhere, and Harry expertly maneuvering the batter out of reach- they finished a batch of beautiful pancakes. The wizard filled a plate with some blueberries on the side and sweet butter on top and presented it to his son as he filled a glass with orange juice. As the child ate the mage leaned into the counter and observed the movements the plates did as his magic worked around the mess they had created.
"Teddy?" the enthralling sorcerer tentatively asked.
"Yes?"
"How would you feel if daddy went to try and help a friend learn how to use the different electronic devices?" the wizard nervously inquired.
The child scrunched his face in thought as he tasted a piece of pancake. "Which friend?" he questioned.
The mage sighed as he approached his son and sat beside him. "Well, you remember Mr. Fury, right?" at the youngster's nod he continued. "You see, a friend of his went to sleep one day and he recently woke up… seventy years later" he giggled nervously. "The man doesn't have any memories and doesn't know how to act around" the sorcerer explained.
"So he needs help?"
"Yes, he needs help. I would be in charge of explaining historical changes and well, how to use technology too."
"You smile when you help people, dad. I like it when you smile more often" chattered happily the child and the wizard's eyes watered slightly. "You should do it! And then you could bring him home and I'll have another play mate!"
The enticing beauty bit his lower lip and smiled slightly at his son; he never ceased to amaze him. The man caressed the child's hair and kissed his nose. The sorcerer cleared his throat.
"Alright! You finish that and I'll go make that call. Vitto!" he named and a small creature made itself present with a small pop sound.
"You called, Master Potter?" asked the small being.
"Yes, could you watch Teddy for a minute?" the wizard requested shakily.
"Of course, Master Potter" the house-elf agreed with another bow.
"Thank you, Vitto" he said in a show of appreciation and the creature blushed.
The mage left the kitchen in a hurry biting back a small sob. He jumped the stairs up and entered his private study to gain some composure. He leaned against the desk as glittering silver tears fell from his bright eyes and made his thick, long and curved eyelashes wet; the back of his hand was pressed to his lips.
"Damn" he muttered. He wore his heart on his sleeves and the child knew how to pull his feelings out instinctually.
The alluring wizard drew his mobile phone from his back pocket and dialed a number he had memorized. The line connected and the mage inhaled a long breath of air.
"Tell him to meet me at Chocolate Blanco"
Seven sat sprawled around the floor; his head was resting on top of his hand above one of the couches. The material was nothing like anything he was used to; it was softer, plushier and even smelled floral. The soldier sighed and burrowed his head further unto his hands. There was a strange sound invading the small loft where he lived and the muscular man sprang to his feet as fast as lightning and immediately ran to the kitchen. The handsome male took the small device that was resting on top of the counter and fumbled with it until he could open it.
"Rogers' speaking" the blonde man spoke hastily, fearing that the caller would cut the connection if he didn't act fast enough.
"Captain, Colonel Fury left a message for you" a feminine voice caressed his ear. "On West 52nd Street almost 5th Avenue there is a coffeehouse named Chocolate Blanco. You are to be there Monday the 22nd by eleven o'clock sharp. Wear your uniform; a man with a white lily will aproach you" the minute in which the last world was uttered the line was cut.
The tall soldier smiled warmly as he carefully closed the phone; the specified date was only three days away.
If you guys find any typos and feel like telling me what they are (so that I can correct them) do enlighten me, please; the effort will be highly appreciated. Sometime after the third general correction I just stop seeing them.
I'll try and reduce the number of mistakes on the next chapters (although I may not agree to every mistake you point out -English is not my mother tongue and sometimes when I'm trying to explain something it comes out wrong but is was intentional-).
8th of May, 2013
Many thanks to:
flamenin for pointing out the dough/batter problem [it's incredible, I know that I learnt that at school yet I still wrote the wrong word]
Kitty-Puppy-Cat for pointing out the bitted/bit mistake [I had corrected it in one of the versions of the chapter, for I remember changing it -and feeling stupid when reading it-, but it seems that I published a previous one]
Goldenphoenix823 and Sinclairum for pointing out my... ehem... overuse of the adjectives. [I won't change the previous chapters now for I'm feeling a little lazy, but I promise to reduce the number to a minimum on the next ones]
9th of May, 2013
itachisgurl93
I researched Captain's background -I do things like that when I'm bored; that's how this fic started *laughs nervously*- and found some interesting details: somewhere -like Wikipedia and stuff that pops out in my navigator- said that Captain America had different 'names' Stephen / Steven / Steve. I found it weird too, but then again… I really wanted a synonym so… yeah… maybe I shouldn't have used that one...
The part of sitting sprawled in the floor. I meant for you readers to picture Steve in a very awkward almost humanly impossible position; don't ask me why, because I don't know, it just came to me and I wrote it -naughty little Steve- *chuckles*
11th of May, 2013