Wow guys, this story's doing so much better than expected. Thank you so much. You honestly have idea how happy it makes me when I wake up to new reviews. Thanks again. Here's for Stellie for your troubles
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You can't feel me, no
Like I feel you
I can't steal you, no
Like you stole me
And I want you in my life
And I need you in my life
-You by the Pretty Reckless
"Come on, you two, I honestly have so much shit going on right now already. I don't have time for a stupid love-life," Ellie huffed, stirring the sugar in her cup of English Breakfast tea. Pepper and Natasha sat opposite her, sipping their lattes.
Nat put her cup down and wiped the froth around her mouth. "That is complete and utter BS. All of us here still remember the whole Johnny Storm thing. Even Clint does."
"And besides, everyone deserves some kind of happiness. Superhero or not. Look at Tony for example –he's an Avenger like you, saving the world like you and he has plenty of time," Pepper agreed with her fellow red-headed friend.
Ellie playfully rolled her eyes and leaned back into her chair. "Well you two have known each other for years," she argued, "and Johnny Storm was a once-off thing."
"Fair enough, but don't you think you should at least try?"
"I don't know anyone anyway," she sighed.
Natasha looked around the café they were eating at, until she spotted a man sitting by himself along the window, doing something on his iPad. "What about him? Go introduce yourself to that guy," she urged, bowing her head and lowering her voice. Ellie squinted at him, trying to get a better look. He was wearing formal trousers and a light blue plaid shirt. It looked like his work clothes. Nevertheless, he still managed to let his youth and good-looks show. He also had on a pair of thick black glasses.
"Him?" she slurred, laughing, "no way. He is so not my type. He's got that whole office thing going on there. That's just not going to work, I'm sorry."
"You're judging him without knowing him," Pepper sighed.
Ellie shrugged and took a sip of her tea. "I don't need to know him to know what he's not my type," she insisted. Nat and Pepper gave up, laughing and rolling their eyes. "Besides, I –"
She stopped. Everybody did. All of a sudden, there was a faint boom in the distance. Then another one. Then, another one. They were getting closer and closer until it become almost deafening. The streets outside filled with scream of panic as people ran away from whatever it was.
"Shit!" Natasha hissed, running outside to see. Pepper and Ellie followed. Right outside from where they were, crowds of people were frantically dispersing from something they couldn't quite see yet. All that was clear was loud, booming thud getting closer and closer. Then, they saw it; they large, green Hulk-like monster closing in. "Pepper, get Happy and get back to the Tower," Nat instructed as she pulled Ellie aside. "We have to be ready to take whatever it is on. You good?"
She nodded. "Yeah, of course."
"Alright. I'm not sure where everybody is now," she said, remaining calm as she whipped out her phone and called the Tower. Thankfully, Tony answered. "Stark! This is Natasha, we've got a little problem down here between second and third street and request immediate backup. Pepper's on her way to the Tower. I at least need Bruce and Thor here ASAP. Ellie and I will stall so long, but only for so long."
"Gotcha," Tony replied and hung up.
Natasha went over to Ellie, who had been trying to get people off the street. The green monster was closing in fast. Nat grabbed the two handguns that were strapped around her ankles, tucked underneath her jeans and started shooting. Ellie tried distracting it by waving her arms up and down like a madman.
"HEY, MOTHERFUCKER!" she screamed, "FOLLOW ME, YOU FUGLY BASTARD!"
She caught his attention quickly and soon, he was no longer trying to get Natasha. The thing he wanted at that moment was Ellie, and nothing less. She sprinted in the other direction, trying to lead him further from the city centre. As she sprinted as quickly as she possibly could, she was forced to dodge cars, lamp poles and various other things he was trying to hit her with. Natasha followed as much as she could, shooting him with her pistols.
"WHAT MONSTROSITY INVADES THIS KINGDOM?!"
Ellie and Natasha stopped to look up something flying in the sky. Thor. He swung Mjolnir around a few times before it took him in the direction of the monster, ultimately hitting him hard enough for him to stumble. The second member to join the party was an angry Hulk running towards them and smashing the beast with as much power he could.
"Hey ladies," a familiar voice called out on what sounded like a loudspeaker, "how's that for ASAP?"
Iron Man dropped to the ground, damaging the concrete as he landed. He quickly stepped into action by studying the creature and trying to define it. The first piece of information that came up was the monster's codename, which was, according to S.H.I.E.L.D, the Abomination. He was once working alongside the army, trying to capture Bruce a few years ago. Then, he injected himself with Bruce's blood, transforming him into what they were facing at that moment.
"Old friend of yours, huh, big guy?" he asked the Hulk jokingly as he flew up and started to shoot his beams at the Abomination.
Natasha joined by shooting at him with specially-designed S.H.I.E.L.D bullets provided by Tony. Ellie stood still, trying to concentrate on moving something –anything. She managed to grasp a nearby lamp post he had previously tried to throw at her, and it successfully hit him over the head.
"That's right, you fuck," she said to herself proudly as he glared down at her, letting out a violent roar. This only inspired the Hulk to let out an even louder roar, which redistricted the Abomination, who tried to punch Bruce. Somehow, Ellie was able to block most of the impact from his blow from where she was. Bruce stumbled back, but not enough to lose balance. He threw a punch of his own at the opponent and hit him harder. As he staggered, Mjolnir swept in from nowhere and delivered a clean shot, right in the stomach.
"So, what did we miss?" someone asked from behind. Ellie spun around to see Steve and Clint jogging towards them in their suits.
Ellie cocked her head at the Abomination. "Nothing much," she sarcastically responded. As soon as Clint saw, he grabbed one of his electrical arrows and aimed it at the big legs. Of course, he got it right on his first try; however, it wasn't enough to take him down. He furiously growled at Clint before running towards him.
"Nice. Good one Clint," Hawkeye said to himself as he took off in the same direction, sliding underneath him when they passed. Captain threw his shield up at him, hitting him right in the face. It boomeranged back to him and he threw it again, only this time, the Abomination caught it and threw it at no other but Ellie.
Luckily, she blocked it just before it hit her and she took it for herself to use against him until she was able to return it to Steve. The monster tried to crush her with his fist, but instead, hit the outer shell of the indestructible shield. As he retracted his arm, she took the chance to get away from him, as well as give Captain America's shield back to him.
Unfortunately, he caught up to her and jumped in front of her, preventing her from joining up with the rest of the team. Mjolnir once again made an appearance by hitting him in the middle of his back. The Hulk then proceeded to jump on his back, catching him in a headlock.
Ellie continued running towards Steve while the enemy was occupied, but was once again blocked off by him. Except, he was now targeting the Captain.
"CAP!" Ellie yelled and swung his shield at him as hard as she could. He successfully caught it and readied himself for any oncoming blows. But, then, to his surprise, he turned around and grabbed Ellie whole. She didn't even see him coming. "LET ME GO, YOU BRAINLESS SHITFACE!" she demanded, but he just threw her to the side like a meaningless piece of paper and everything blacked out.
…
She shook her head once, then her eyes began to open. It took her a few blinks to be able to see the ceiling clearly. There was an irritating beeping sound coming from beside her. She turned her head and saw that it was only her heartbeat.
"Good morning, sunshine," a voice said from the other side. She looked to see Tony sitting beside her, eating an apple.
Her right arm suddenly pained. She lifted it up and saw that it had been bandaged up; covering whatever wound was beneath it. She gulped down a ball of stifled air before opening her mouth. "What happened? Where am I?" her raspy voice asked.
"Well, you got knocked out while fighting the Abomination and now you're in S.H.I.E.L.D's infirmary."
"Where is everybody?"
He chewed the chunk of apple that was in his mouth and swallowed. "Bruce has been treating you, Pepper and the spy are somewhere, Barton and Thor are in the cafeteria, Cap's right outside and I'm here," he told her and smiled, "I was watching you."
She scrunched up her face. "Why were you watching me?"
He took a deep breath, sighing. "I honestly don't know. Captain America out there made it that you needed someone watching you all the time. We've been taking shifts," he explained and checked his watch, "mine's nearly over, then I think it's either Steve or Thor."
"Y-you really don't have to watch me. I'm not exactly going to run away," she grunted, trying to sit up. A wave of extreme pain swept through her as she did so. She clenched her teeth, wincing in pain. "Fuck!" she hissed, gripping her side in pain.
Tony finished his apple and moved across the room to throw it away. "Oh yeah," he huffed, "you have like three broken ribs, two cracked ones, a broken nose, a huge cut down your arm and you had little bit of internal bleeding. The freak kinda threw you at a building."
"Thanks," she sarcastically groaned as she slowly sat up, minding the large, black bruise on her side. "How long have I been out for?"
"Three days."
Her eyes widened. "What?! Three fucking days?! Holy shit!"
Tony sat back down next to her and shrugged. "It didn't feel that long, right? Well at least to everybody besides Rogers. That guy's been hanging around here forever," he said the last part under his breath so she couldn't quite make it out.
"What?" she asked.
"Nevermind. Aren't you hungry? Or thirsty?"
She nodded her head. "Starving and nearly dying of dehydration," she responded, looked at the glass of water on the bedside table. She tried to get it, but the pain on her side was too unbearable. Tony quickly grabbed it for her and she gulped it down frantically.
"So much better," she smiled and handed the glass back to him. "So, what's on the menu? Gross hospital food?" she joked.
"Even better. We got you McDonalds. Well, Pepper and Nat went about ten minutes ago. They should be back anytime –"
"Look who's awake!"
Tony stopped and both looked back at the door, which had burst open, exposing the two red-heads.
"…Soon," Tony finished off and moved over to greet Pepper. Ellie's lips curled into a big grin as she saw them, but got even bigger when she saw the food. Pepper and Natasha rushed over to the bed and put the food on the table beside her. Hearing the commotion inside, the next person to arrive on scene was Steve, who had been taking a nap outside her room.
"There she is!" he greeted, smiling down at her, "how are you feeling?"
She sighed. "Like I've just been thrown against a building by a giant alien lizard rage monster," she laughed and reached out for her food. There was Big Mac inside the paper bag, with a medium packet of fries and a Coke. Ellie started with the burger and her first bite tasted like the best thing she'd ever eaten in her entire life. It was still warm.
"This…is…so good…thanks," she said as she chewed and shoved a handful of fries into her mouth. The next person was Bruce, who was wearing a white lab coat.
"You're awake," he said happily, "and already eating junk food. How are you feeling?" he asked as he joined the circle of people around the bed.
"I've been better. Thank you for everything, Bruce." He smiled and nodded once, accepting her gratitude. She took another big bite of her burger and chewed contently before realizing that everybody was watching her. Her jaw slowed down as she looked at everybody strangely. She waited until she was finished chewing to say something. "God, you guys are strange," she huffed, "watching me eat like I'm some kind of virgin on her wedding night in the fifteenth century."
That did the trick. They all looked in different directions immediately.
"Sorry," Steve apologized and stepped back to give her some space while she finished her meal. She tried to eat as quickly as possible, just to be able to talk to them sooner. They went about their own conversations as she did so, and when she was done, she made a point by letting out a deafening burp.
"Oh my God!" she gasped and covered her mouth. "I'm sorry. That was gross."
"Yeah," Tony agreed plainly, but chuckled anyway.
"So, when can I leave?" she asked them, but manly looking at Bruce.
He frowned and hesitated. "Well," he sighed, "we have a private infirmary at the Tower, so maybe tomorrow for the earliest. Nick wants to keep you for another night at least," he told her.
She groaned irritably and closed her eyes. "Great. That's terrific."
"We'll stay with –," Steve offered, but she cut him off.
"No," she snapped, opening one eye, "I mean, you all probably want to get home and rest up. I can't imagine how boring it must've been to just watch me sleep," she huffed, "go home. I'll be fine, really. Thanks for the food."
"Ellie," Natasha said softly, shaking her head.
Ellie frowned. "I'm serious. I'll probably go back to sleep now anyway. You guys go home and I'll see you tomorrow. You look shit tired."
"Alright," Pepper gave in, knowing that they weren't going to win that one. "You're absolutely sure?"
"Yes! Oh my God, you guys are still here?! Get lost already!"
"Okay," Pepper laughed and grabbed Tony's hand, "we're going! Don't lose your mind! Jeez. We'll see you tomorrow, okay? We'll pick you up."
Ellie nodded and smiled as Bruce, Nat and Tony said their goodbyes before all four left Steve and Ellie alone. He didn't move a muscle. He just stood at the foot of her bed, staring down at her.
"Goodbye, Steve," she moaned and closed her eyes. He turned around, but not to leave; there was a couch next to the bed. He slipped off his shoes and settled down on it, using the entire length to comfortably bend his legs as he too closed his eyes.
"What are you doing?" she asked him, opening only one eye again.
He turned his head to look at her. "I'm sleeping. Just like you," he simply replied.
She opened her other eyes and lifted her head up irritably. "Why? Just go home."
"I will when you do."
More annoyance built up inside her, but she hushed her urge to do anything rash, and instead, just put her head back down and glared at the empty, white ceiling. "You're so annoying, you know that?" she mumbled.
"Really?" he teased her slightly, staring at the ceiling too. She took a deep breath, just for extra effect. "How are you feeling?"
Ellie took her time to respond. At first, she wasn't even going to bother, but then again, she didn't have a legitimate reason to be mad at him. In fact, she didn't know why she was mad to begin with.
"Like complete shit."
"Why do you use such vulgar language?" he suddenly asked her, "it's so harsh."
At that point, her frustration had turned into something of a smile. She bit her lip, trying not to laugh. "Excuse me?" she giggled. "Are you reprimanding me, Steve?"
"Well, yes."
She laughed even more, even though it hurt like hell. Her laugh disappeared as she rather hissed in pain, clutching her completely bruised side and stomach. Steve was up in a flash, inspecting her to see what he could do for her. She lifted her tank top and her skin was purple and throbbing like crazy. Steve looked at it for a second, but blinked away when she recovered it.
"I'm sorry this happened to you," he whispered to her, resting his hands on the bed.
She gave him a weak smile. "It's not like it's your fault."
Slowly, her hand moved towards his and as they touched, he looked down, frowning, but allowed their fingers to intertwine anyway. His eyes looked back up into hers. Brown vs. Blue. Around them was a paralyzing silence –drawing both of them towards each other. Her hand gave his a small squeeze before his other hand reached over to her face, gently following the outline of her cheek bone.
"You're so …," his breath dissolved into thin air as he regained control over his body and pulled away. She looked away, too and finally released the breath she'd been holding onto.
"Goodnight Steve," she said quickly and pulled her hand out of his grasp.
He moved back and fell back onto the couch, intoxicated by what had just happened. Slowly, he put his head down on the pillow and swallowed his breath, completely lost in the moment, just as she was –lying there alone with an empty hand.
"Goodnight Ellie."
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STELLIE FEELS! yay! What do you think?
