What followed after capturing Loki was rough, and perhaps a bit chaotic, but Steve didn't really think too much of it. All he knew was that one moment, Seren was fine and helped them retrieve Loki from the Tower and then suddenly, she was found unconscious on the floor. Steve blamed himself for leaving her unattended. It was messy; he had no idea how anything worked, especially in Stark's ridiculously high-tech tower, so he got lost here and there.

They hurried Seren over to a specialized hospital run by S.H.I.E.L.D. since they were the only ones who had Seren's records and knew what to give her and what not to give her. Apparently, Seren was deadly allergic to Penicillin.

"It's a Celessian thing," Chloe informed him when they saw Seren rushed off by the medics, leaving them in the waiting room, "Their biology can't handle it. Atria says it's like a Kryptonite thing. You know Superman, right?"

Steve barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Yes," he muttered.

"Well, it's like that except clearly Seren can be around it but, you know, not ingest—"

"I understand, Chloe. I just want to know that Seren will be okay. I mean..." Steve looked towards the double-set doors where the medics had taken Seren, "Not that I'm not glad that Stark's okay but...he's human. He's completely human and yet he's okay and...Seren's not?"

"It was probably those powers she used," Chloe shrugged, "That thing she did in the air with the whole colors? I've never seen that. It was probably too much."

"So, what, she's between life and death now!?"

"I hardly think that's what's going on," Chloe said, looking much too calm for Steve's taste. Chloe smiled lightly at him, bringing a hand on his arm. "She'll be okay. Seren's a lot stronger than you think."

"I got a taste of how strong she is, remember?" Steve said, bringing a hand to his cheek when he remembered the fight he had with Seren while she was under Loki's control.

Chloe laughed. "Yeah, you never want to be on the receiving end of Stardust's hits. My point is, she's biologically stronger, so she'll be okay. Maybe she'll be a little more tired for a few days but...it'll be fine."

Steve nodded fervently, choosing to trust Chloe and her judgement. She knew Seren way better than he did. "Is, um, is there someone we should call for her? I know she mentioned she had parents in Hudson?"

"Mm..." Chloe swayed her head, dropping into an empty chair, "I wouldn't. Seren's relationship with her parents is kind of tetchy. Besides, they've probably already seen the news and everything so...they're either 'a'—" she jerked a thumb up, "—going ballistic seeing what Seren did, and or b," she raised her index finger, "getting ready to argue with her and Atria."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Steve came to sit down next to Chloe.

"Seren should tell you this—"

"Chloe, please," Steve would resort to begging if he had to. He needed to know how to help Seren. For that matter, Chloe took pity on him.

"Seren's parents have never been okay with her working for S.H.I.E.L.D. and as an adult, it's worse. And if they saw what Seren did, I'm sure it'll be just lovely meeting with them."

So don't call them, Steve decided. That was fine. He could stay with Seren all the way through her stay at the hospital.

Chloe let out a sigh, still feeling tired herself after the days they had. She felt her phone buzz and pulled it out of her back pocket to see a message lighting up her screen. "It's Stark..." She read the message as quickly as she could. "Says he and Thor are still at S.H.I.E.L.D. with Loki. Thor's asking about Seren."

Steve appreciated the knowledge that at least somebody else besides him and Chloe were concerned about Seren's state. He wasn't that surprised with Tony's lack of concern, preferring to ignore Tony's comments about "twinkle star" and whatnot. He watched Chloe text Tony back but his gaze soon drifted towards the hallway ahead of them.

"Oh, Natasha's checking in too," he barely registered Chloe's mumble. He was growing more anxious by the minute.

Why wasn't anyone coming out to tell them how Seren was doing? This was supposed to be a better hospital!

Chloe once again sympathized with Steve, though she felt that a part of his concern stemmed from something she wouldn't be able to understand. Bearing that in mind, she walked over to the reception desk and spoke to one of the nurses. Steve didn't even notice she was gone until she was walking back to him.

"We can see Seren for a couple minutes," she announced, leaving him to gawk. "What?"

"How did you get that to happen?" Steve asked, looking over Chloe to the reception desk.

"The power of persuasion," Chloe shrugged.

Steve's eyes flickered back on the blonde. "You have the power to persuade people too?"

Chloe snorted. "No, but I did use my 'I work directly with the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. so you better let me do what I want' card. You'd be surprised how much that works for me."

Steve didn't know what to say to that and he didn't really care. All he knew is that he would be able to see Seren for a bit. He was right behind Chloe when they headed down the hallway.

"I would just, uh, brace yourself..." Chloe warned him when they stopped in front of Seren's room.

"Why?" Steve felt a knot in his stomach. Had Seren's condition grown worse?

"Seren's resting, don't worry," Chloe said first, presuming where Steve's thoughts had gone to, "But you do remember that Seren's got a fear of doctors, right?"

"Yeah, hard to forget the cuffs..."

"Well, that was just a tiny bit of restraints they used because Seren asked for them..." Chloe scrunched her face, "But when Seren's against the doctors, more measures need to be taken." With that, Chloe opened the door to the room and stepped inside.

Sure enough, Seren was resting peacefully...but she was practically strapped to her bed. Once again, she wore the power-cancelling cuffs around her wrists, along with thicker metal straps over her chest, waist and legs.

Steve was horrified with the sight. "This is barbaric!" he exclaimed.

"No, this is pretty accurate," Chloe told him, crossing her arms when she approached Seren's bedside.

"It's this bad?" Steve asked, unable to take his eyes off Seren.

Chloe nodded fervently at him. "Seren hates this stuff. I once saw her blast an entire flock of nurses away from her, and that was by accident. For all of Tony's jokes, if Seren was a bad guy for real, we'd be thoroughly screwed. She's strong, Steve, and all of our doctors are human. If she's not restraint, she can seriously injure someone during a rampage of fear."

Steve heard the honesty in Chloe's words, felt it too. He sighed. Seren would never willingly hurt someone but when someone was terrified and hurt, they did things without thinking it through. He stepped up beside Chloe and gazed down at Seren. "How many times has she been like this? With...with all this stuff around her?"

"Usually, she's not seriously injured or anything so a mild sedative does the job but there are occasions where she's outcold so they need to take precautionary measures for when she does wake up. They're not hurting her, Steve. I promise you that."

"I'm choosing to trust you, Chloe," Steve confessed, "Because right now, I feel completely powerless."

Chloe rested a hand on his shoulder. "You can always trust me," she assured him. "I'm no Seren but I do try my best to be good."

Steve smiled lightly at her. "You were pretty brave out there too. In general. Taking charge on behalf of Seren?"

Chloe smiled back. "What can I say? I learned from the best." She gestured to Seren. "Everything I am now is because of her. So whenever she needs me, I try to be around."

"How long have you known her again?"

"Couple years now. I was seventeen when I met her. She's like my big sister..." Chloe's smile widened when she glanced at Steve, "And now I can say I also might have a big brother nearby...?"

Steve couldn't help but chuckle. He could live with that. Chloe was the youngest of the "team" they had formed for this mission. He could see her as a younger sister, especially with the way she tended to act around him.

"You sticking around, then?" Chloe asked him, moving around him towards the door. "I have to check in with Fury about this stuff."

"He's not coming?" Steve frowned. Seren had nearly killed herself on behalf of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the director wasn't even going to stop by to see how she was doing?

"Probably not. S.H.I.E.L.D. is in a big mess right now," Chloe said, stopping by the open door, "It's got the FBI and CIA on its back right now, not to mention Fury's also chewing the World Council out too. They almost nuked New York, for God's sake!"

Steve heard Chloe perfectly but in his perspective, none of that mattered. "Seren is here, and he's not coming to check in on her?"

Chloe smiled softly at him. "Seren's got you. No one else matters. I'll be back as soon as I can, okay?"

Steve nodded silently and turned back to Seren. He grabbed a chair nearby and pulled it close to her bedside, ready to wait as long as he needed to. Ironically, that's what she had done for him when he was discovered under the ice.

~ 0 ~

Seren would spend the rest of the day and the following one fast asleep. In that time, Steve had not left her bedside. Chloe had returned and spent the first night with him. Natasha stopped by in the morning, announcing she would be leaving soon on another mission. Thor wanted to come as well but leaving Loki unattended was a risk he knew Seren would not want on her behalf. Tony checked in every now and then from a distance.

When Seren did wake up, she did it only half an hour after Steve had been begrudgingly pulled away by none other than the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. himself. Chloe was the sole witness of Seren's messy wake and even helped the doctors and nurses calm the Celessian down. By the time Steve was able to make his way back to the hospital, Seren's room looked very different from before.

The metal straps were gone, so were the IVs and practically anything else medical-related. Furniture had also been removed except for the bed and the television. Even though the bed remained, Seren was not lying down on it. She was sitting in the visitor chair tucked away in the corner of the room furthest from the door. She had her legs pulled up in front of her chest, her arms tightly around them. The cuffs were still around her wrists. Her eyes were wide, still heavy with fear, and maybe the noise coming from her was her breathing.

"What happened?" Steve whispered to Chloe, gaping at the empty room.

"I told you it gets bad," Chloe hissed at him, brow furrowed. "She's fine now, but she needs to stay another day for observation."

"And how'd that news go?"

Chloe smiled sourly. "Your turn, Captain." She wouldn't say it but Seren had bruised one of her arms in the fight to calm the Celessian down. She was going on a hunt for an ice pack. "She can't bruise you..." Chloe eyed Steve for a few seconds, "I think...?"

Steve rolled his eyes at her. He waved her off then walked towards Seren, albeit cautiously. "Seren?"

Seren latched onto him the moment he was close enough. "Steve, get me out of here. I need to leave! I need to leave now!"

"I know," he bent down in front of her, letting her grip his arms as tightly as she needed (which was pretty tight). "But you need to stay another day."

"Noo..." Seren's eyes widened again, "No, no, no, please don't let them—"

"Seren," Steve brought his hands on her arms, "It'll be okay—"

"No!" She shook her head. "I want to leave—"

"It's just for observation—"

"I don't need it!"

"You do. You went into space—"

"I'm from space!"

Steve managed a small smile. "No, you're from Earth right now and you need to rest."

Seren's eyes actually teared up, a novel sight for Steve. He almost let her do what she wanted because of it. She let him go, looking betrayed as her gaze fell downwards. Steve didn't know that was enough to hurt him more than the punches Seren had thrown at him. He was learning new things with her every day.

"Seren," he spoke gently, wanting to show her that he was still her friend trying to help her, "I get that you're scared. I used to be in these rooms all the time. And you know what happened most of the time?"

"What?" Seren's voice was hard, an unusual tone for her.

"Bucky was always with me. I'm going to do that with you now, okay? I won't leave until you get to leave."

"I don't want to stay here," Seren muttered. "I'm okay."

"You are," Steve agreed, "But the doctors need to make sure. You went into space, Seren. Let them make sure, okay?"

Seren did not look convinced at all but she knew when her options were limited and since she was still wearing the damn cuffs, her options were very limited. She wasn't going anywhere until the cuffs were taken off. "Fine," she mumbled.

Steve smiled lightly but Seren never returned it. That also hurt him; something new he didn't know could happen.

"Do you want to lie down for a bit?" he asked her.

Seren leaned back in her chair, eyeing the bed with newfound fear. "No," she hissed.

"I'm not going to let them hurt you, Seren," he reiterated, "Don't you trust me?"

At the question, Seren's eyes flickered to him and her anger seemed to wane. "...yeah."

"Then trust me when I say that no doctor is going to hurt you. Come rest. It's got to be more comfortable than this chair. Bucky always said that it made his bottom stiff."

Seren smiled for the first time. "You need to tell me more stories about him — you and him."

Steve seized the opportunity as soon as it presented itself. "I'd love to tell you anything you want to know. Come sit on the bed, yeah?" He held a hand out to Seren and put all of his faith that for once, the world would be kind to him and he would keep his friend.

"Damn you," Seren mumbled under her breath as she took Steve's hand. He gently pulled her up to her feet and guided her to the bed, though once they reached it Seren made a step backwards.

"You'll be fine," he assured her, resting a hand on her back as he encouraged her to sit down on the bed.

Seren gulped when she sat down and even then she only sat right on the edge of the bed. Steve still took it as a win.

"How far the mighty have fallen, huh?" Seren said, swallowing hard again.

Steve chuckled as he sat down next to her. "Everyone has fears, Seren. Why shouldn't you?"

"Because I'm..." she sighed, "Because I'm supposed to be strong and invincible. I'm S.H.I.E.L.D.'s best agent. I should act like it out in the field and in here."

"You are the best agent, and you're allowed to be scared too." But Steve knew that wasn't going to happen so freely. "Why are you so afraid of doctors?"

"Asks the one who knows what doctors tend to do," Seren spat then winced at herself. "Sorry."

Steve laughed. "Don't worry. It's a very true statement. Bucky tended to tease me by saying I could play connect-the-dots with all the shots I got."

Seren burst into laughter when she heard that. Steve counted another point for himself.

"That one's funny," she admitted once she was sober enough to speak, "Did you ever play connect the dots with the shots?"

"No!"

Seren chuckled again. "Had to ask. Please know that I will be holding that against you now."

"Alright, well, tell you what? If you tell me why this place scares you so much, you can make fun of me however much you want."

Seren lowered her head. She sighed.

"Seren," Steve called her again, gently bumping shoulders with her, "I was in your place too," he reminded her. "More times than I can count." When Seren still didn't speak, Steve tried a different tactic. "I was afraid of the doctors because I never knew if that time was going to be the last time I'd ever see the outside again." Seren's hands grew white when she began gripping the underside of the bed. "I wondered if it was going to be the last time I got to see the sun, or the park, or my mother…Bucky. Doing that takes a toll on you."

There was a long stretch of silence before Seren finally spoke. "It's not a fear of dying. It never has been. The line of work that I'm in — I'm not afraid of dying. I got over that early on." Seren bit on her bottom lip when she finally raised her head. "When I was born, my mother had to go to a special hospital, a S.H.I.E.L.D. hospital, because no one could know what kind of child was on the way." A sour laugh came out of her mouth. "Even before I was born, my identity was already being kept a secret. And when I was finally old enough to understand why I needed to stay a secret, the unsettling fear never left me. Dying isn't a fear for me. If anything, it would be like a release. Wouldn't matter if anyone found out what I was; I'm dead. So the reason I'm afraid of doctors? They're the people who know what I am and can betray me at any moment. S.H.I.E.L.D. can't control everything. The sad truth is that almost everyone has a price."

Steve heard Seren perfectly, even the things she had not said out loud. "And you've lived with the crippling fear that those doctors claiming to save your life will one day out you." Seren nodded silently. " I get that, I do, but what I don't understand is why you would be so afraid of that. What is supposed to happen if someone finds out that you're half alien?"

Seren appreciated Steve's genuine blissfulness. "There are plenty of underground organizations who would kill to get their hands on anything humans enhanced or alien. And their families."

"I'm sorry you feel that way," Steve said, sighing before he spoke his next words, "But you do realize that after what happened with the Chitauri, your face is everywhere now." Seren's eyes widened, clearly not having thought of that until now. "You've been outcold for a while. The news have been going nonstop."

Seren was still processing when Steve got up from the bed to turn the television on. He picked up the remote and started flipping channels until he found what he was looking for.

'Despite the devastation of what has been confirmed as an extraterrestrial attack, the extraordinary heroics of the group known as the Avengers…'

Seren watched the report intently. Her heart would beat so fast each time she heard reporters and witnesses decide whether they sided with the 'Avengers' or they blamed them for the battle. This was the first time ever that the word 'Avengers' even made it to the public. And they had reports on everyone. Even Steve's identity had become publically known.

"Oh my God..." Seren brought a hand up to her mouth. It wasn't long before she saw her own face on screen, and multiple witnesses either blaming her with the Avengers or cheering her on. "I'm public now..." Her voice shook with fear.

"But it's not all bad," Steve pointed out, trying to encourage her to pay more attention. He got lucky because a few seconds later, one witness came to help him.

'...Stardust illuminated the street with this big ball of light,' a young man was saying. 'She saved the building I was trapped in. We saw her fall too...I hope she's okay. If she's watching, if you're watching, thank you.'

Seren lowered her hand from her mouth and leaned forward, looking pretty startled with what she had heard.

"Yeah, I felt like that too the first time I actually saved someone," Steve said, turning the screen off and walking back to her bed. "The cheering, the compliments — it's all weird. But you see? Not everyone is bad, and you deserve to feel comfortable with who you are."

"I don't know if I'll ever feel like that," Seren admitted, still eyeing the television as if it were on. "It's not just me I worry about. My family, my father's human. If anything were to happen to him—"

"Constantly thinking like that is a never-ending whirlpool of feelings," Steve said, once again speaking from direct experience. "But I'm sure that if you';re that worried about it right now, S.H.I.E.L.D. can put up a security detail on them."

Seren scoffed. "Yeah, like they'd ever let that happen. My parents despise S.H.I.E.L.D."

"Maybe they don't have to know about it."

Seren managed to smile at that. She side-glanced Steve. "You're kind of sneaky." Steve chuckled. "Tactical. I like it."

Steve felt a slight flush cross his face. He cleared his throat. "Well, according to Fury, it's one of the assets that would make me valuable to S.H.I.E.L.D. He asked me to officially join S.H.I.E.L.D. That's why I wasn't here when you woke up. I was talking to him about it."

"Oh," Seren blinked, shifting to face him, "Well, I hope you think about it. It's...it's a good place."

Steve nodded silently. Whether it was good or bad, fighting is what he did. For the good side, of course. The sad reality is that right now it was all he had. There was nothing to "go home to". At least in S.H.I.E.L.D., he would see familiar people, starting with Seren. Maybe he could even say Chloe and Natasha too now.

"You obviously don't have to tell me what you decide but…" Seren tried her best not to look so awkward. "It'd be nice to have you on board."

"I'll think about it," Steve said earnestly.

Seren nodded, her blinking growing slower. She still needed to rest.

"If you sleep, I'll stay here, I promise," Steve told her, standing up from the bed to give her the space she needed.

Seren warily eyed the bed. She visibly gulped.

"Trust me, Seren," Steve said, holding his hand out to her again.

Seren hated that she lost the battle against a yawn which just further proved the point that she still needed to rest. She took Steve's hand and let him gently pull her towards the pillow. She laid down on her side facing Steve, looking both exhausted and frightened (again). "Please don't leave," she whispered.

"I won't," Steve promised her. He didn't let go of her hand until she fell asleep, which honestly hadn't taken very long.

~ 0 ~

Central Park is where Thor and Loki would be departing from. Loki had been bound and gagged with a muzzle and was being personally walked by Thor. Tony was behind them carrying an empty briefcase in his hands. The others were beside him, all walking in silence until they reached the designated footbridge.

Seren couldn't stop staring at the Tesseract as it was transferred into a secure glass cylinder for the transport. "I can't believe it's finally leaving Earth," she said quietly. Steve, Chloe and Tony stood on either side of her. "It's been here since 1995. she remarked then glanced at Steve and Tony, "Well, you know, after the 40s. Danvers left it in Fury's care. I really doubt that she meant for S.H.I.E.L.D. to try and weaponize it." There was a tone of shame in her voice, like she was at fault for what happened with the Tesseract.

"It's where it belongs," Steve tried to make her see it wasn't being taken because she hadn't guarded it, but because it's where it should be at.

"If she comes back, you want to explain that to her? Stories said she's incredibly strong."

"I will," Tony said with a careless shrug. And Seren thought he really would.

Once the Tesseract was safely transferred, Thor approached the group. He smiled at Seren, happy to see her doing much better than before. "You're going to take it easy now, right?"

Seren playfully rolled her eyes. "I've only heard that about a hundred times after leaving the hospital."

"What did you expect?" Chloe immediately jumped on the opportunity to continue the conversation. "You went into space! And you literally destroyed those Chitauri crafts like a ping pong game! You're going to take it easy now. You had your Avenger moment, now it's time for a vacation."

"What?" Seren laughed.

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Your Avenger moment! You know, like the moment? Doing all that was it. Congrats. Vacation time now."

"Oh Chloe," Seren shook her head fondly at the woman.

"She is right," Thor said, "You deserve to take a break. Your body asked for it back in the Tower. You collapsed."

"Honestly, that whole thing is a blurry moment," Seren admitted to the group, "It's kind of fuzzy after the whole portal thing. For a moment, I swore I saw multiple of you guys."

"See? Vacation," Chloe said firmly.

"Thank you, Lady of the Stars" Thor said. "I have a big debt to pay you since the last time we met. If you would like, I could arrange a visit to Celessia. Perhaps carve a star of your own."

Seren's face lit up at the prospect of actually carving her own star pendant like her grandmother and ancestors had. "Really?" Her smile could crack her face in two.

Thor nodded. "Of course. I think you have very well earned it. We could make it a, uh, a trip of days if you'd like."

Chloe beamed. "Now that's a vacation!"

"Oh my God, I'd love that!" Seren brought her hands to her face, nearly squealing out of excitement. "I've never been to Celessia. It's always been impossible!"

"Do S.H.I.E.L.D. agents take vacations?" Tony asked curiously.

Chloe shrugged. "Not that I'm aware of but who cares. Seren should go for weeks after all this crap!"

Weeks? For some reason, that didn't sit well with Steve. He looked at Seren and saw how gleeful she was at the idea; he couldn't tell her anything that would dampen her mood.

Thor smiled sweetly at the young woman and promised her it would happen soon enough. He then took the cylinder with the Tesseract inside and gestured it to Loki. The two brothers grabbed hold of its ends. Thor spared his new friends a last look, a parting wave, before he and Loki vanished altogether.

"Glad that takes care of that," Chloe said in the end, her legs backtracking from the group. "I gotta get to Queens, make sure my cousin is okay. Stark, wanna give me a ride? I saw you got a new car."

"I think not," Tony pointed at her to stay where she was. She was backtracking for his car with a big smirk on her face.

"You're a child," Seren sighed.

"Which one?" Clint said when he and Natasha joined them.

"Doctor, are you ready?" Tony turned to Banner, the only wanted guest he would take happily.

"Yeah," Banner nodded. He was more than in need of a little getaway to clear his head again.

"Alright then," Tony clapped his hands and shifted towards Seren. "Twinkle Star?"

Seren groaned. "You're not letting that go, are you?"

"No."

Seren wanted to look mad but she just couldn't, not anymore. Once you go into space with a man, ready to give up your lives...things sort of mellowed out between them. "Thanks," she said to him. "Thanks for helping me back there...with everything, actually."

"Ah, you know," Tony shrugged, attempting to be casual about it, "Gotta help a, um, fellow Avenger. Even though I technically am the first."

"What?" Seren laughed.

"I am the first Avenger," Tony said then shot Steve a look before he could argue the opposite. "I mean Capsicle over here may have been fighting before but it was for the war so that doesn't really count."

"I was fighting Hydra, Stark. I think that qualifies as Avenger terrain," Steve reminded him. "Like it or not, I'm the first."

"Well technically you're both wrong," Chloe inputted herself into the argument. "Seren's the one who's been training since she was a child for this initiative. You boys just got lucky. Seren has specifically trained to fight for this initiative therefore, she's the first Avenger."

Natasha rolled her eyes at them. "You're not seriously going to argue about this, are you?"

"Technically speaking, Carol Danvers is the first Avenger," Seren started to say pensively.

"I think they are," Clint said to Natasha, both of them looking back and forth between the group who were getting more animated by the second.

"I mean, the Initiative was literally named after her!" Seren continued.

"Yeah but she's not even in this galaxy!" Tony exclaimed.

"It's not you, Tony," Steve shut Tony's next argument before it even happened.

"You're both delusional," Chloe waved them both off. "Seren's the first! Seren, c'mon, don't be shy!"

"I'm not! I'm just being honest!"

"Oh boy," Clint looked over to Banner who was patiently waiting by Tony's new car. "Doctor, you might want to wait a bit longer!" He called over, leaving Banner puzzled.

~ 0 ~

When Tony finally agreed to drop Chloe off in Queens, the rest of the group headed back to S.H.I.E.L.D. for the last briefing. They learned quickly that, as of now, the Avenger's Initiative was in place but on hold until the next time they were needed.

"Agent Soul, you did well," Fury told the woman after the meeting when everyone else had filed out of the room. "Atria would be proud."

Seren smiled lightly. "I should probably talk to her now that this is over."

"Now for your next missions, I'm just going to need Agent Soul and Stardust like usual. Think we can downplay it for now?"

Seren nodded. "Of course." More than the Initiative, she did love working as a regular Agent.

"And I've spoken to Rogers about a permanent place for him in S.H.I.E.L.D."

Seren beamed. "I know, I think it's great!" She missed Fury's studious stare as she went on. "I hope he accepts. He seems a little bit uncertain still but I'm sure that he can find his place here too."

"I hope so too…" Fury said slowly. "That is all."

Seren dutifully nodded and hurried out. She didn't know why but it felt like there was something else Fury wanted to tell her. She figured if it was important, that important, it would come up later.

On her way down, she came across Natasha who was carrying a manila folder in her arms. She looked ready for work, not unusual for her.

"Got my next mission," she announced in the elevator.

"Already? Don't you ask for breaks?" Seren asked her with a playful smile.

Natasha matched it with her own. "Not all of us can snap our fingers and have a God take us off planet...nor a super soldier whisk me away." That playful smile turned into a smirk fast. "Look at you, go get 'em."

Seren's smile disappeared altogether as she groaned. "Not this again."

"You should know that Chloe left a present for him downstairs in the hangar."

"What?" Seren flipped her head in Natasha's direction.

"Don't worry, it's platonic!"

"Stop it!"

Natasha laughed lightly. "Couldn't resist. But it's there...if you want to walk him…"

"Romanoff, I know we just dealt with aliens but keep it up and it won't be anything compared to what I'll do."

Natasha patted Seren's shoulder. "Of course…" The smirk came back, giving Seren a moment to dread what was coming. "...lovey." The elevator dinged open, allowing Natasha a clean leave while Seren tried making sense of what she heard.

She decided Natasha was crazy and that maybe Chloe might have finally lost it. That last one would depend on what she thought would be a good idea for a gift. She had some odd tendencies. She eventually found Steve in the front entrance, look I'll be more than ready to go. It was rather amusing telling him that Chloe had left a present for him in the hangar.

"For me?" He asked even when they had already started their way.

"Yes," Seren chuckled.

"But why me?"

"Because Chloe is Chloe. She's unpredictable. I'm rather curious what she got for you, aren't you?"

They paused outside the hangar. While Steve didn't answer, his expression said it all. Seren pushed the doors open for them and walked in. It was a little tricky figuring out what was left as a present but as soon as Seren spotted it, she knew it was meant for Steve.

"Over here!" She called to him, waving him over.

Steve did a quick sprint to see what Seren was looking at. "Oh wow…" He breathed in at the sight of a new motorcycle.

"Do you even know how to use one?" Seren was watching his dumbfounded face, barely able to hold her laugh in.

"Yeah, yeah, in the...war…" Steve was still trying to wrap his mind around this present. It was actually really nice and he could use one. Now that he thought about it, he had mentioned to Chloe - while they watched over Seren - that he needed to start finding a car or something to use instead of having a S.H.I.E.L.D. car at his disposal. She must have taken his words to heart.

"Well Chloe outdid herself this time," Seren said. She would give Chloe credit where it was due. "It's really nice. And look," she reached over to point at a white card sitting between the handles, "She left you a note."

Steve had only just seen it and picked it up. Sure enough, there was Chloe's cursive writing.

Cars are too used. Hope you like this instead! You could even use it to take a pretty girl on a ride! - Chloe.

A warmth flourished through Steve's face when his eyes drifted to Seren. Why his eyes immediately went to her, he didn't want to think about.

"What she say?" Seren asked curiously.

"Uh, just, uh…" Steve shoved the card into his pocket fast. He cleared his throat. "Hopes that I like it."

"I think you do," Seren smiled.

"But I can't…"

"Can't what? Accept it?"

Steve nodded. "It's really nice but I imagine it was also expensive. She didn't have to do this."

"Chloe does whatever she wants and sometimes she does good things with that. I think she really likes you and that's rare considering she doesn't really do people," Seren folded her arms. "She's not that great at it, apparently."

"She's amusing," Steve said, smiling as he thought more about that blonde. "Like what a sister would've been like."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I recruited her when she was younger and I just sort of took her in as a little sister. But I'm glad she found a big brother in someone like you."

God, that warmth was here to stay wasn't it? Steve awkwardly cleared his throat and attempted to fixate the longest stare on the motorcycle until his face returned to a regular temperature.

Seren mistook his silence for a continued conflict over the motorcycle. "C'mon Steve, just take it. You deserve it."

"I mean…"

Seren bumped his arm and smiled encouragingly at him. It was at that point that Steve noticed how big her green eyes were. When they batted, they were even prettier.

Stop it. He stiffened. That voice was probably right.

"You're taking it," Seren decided for him, unknowingly sounding a lot like Chloe. "Done deal!"

"What?" Steve laughed as she dropped the keys into his hands. There was apparently no going back. "Alright, alright, but now I guess I owe Chloe."

"No, you don't. When you save the world, you don't owe anyone."

"Well, you saved the world more than I did...more than anyone actually."

"It was a team effort, Steve. None of us did more than the other," Seren said that believing it with all her heart. It's what made Steve smile at her. She really had the makings of a fair hero.

"Seren, you know what you said...before you went up…" Steve languidly pointed up with a finger. He had wanted to bring it up since the first time she woke up in the hospital but thought it would be too imprudent. Seren's mind wasn't completely there at that point.

The guilt was pretty quick to fill Seren's eyes when that moment came back to her. Now that more time had passed by, she was remembering more clearly what happened in the battle. "I shouldn't have said anything about Bucky, I'm sorry."

"I brought it up," Steve corrected, "You know back when I was trying to join the army, he told me so many times that I didn't have to prove anything. I was cocky, I didn't realize it before, but I was trying to prove something in my own way. I had to do because it's what I felt was expected. And yeah, it was, but I didn't have to. What you did...you didn't have to either, especially when you were a child. What I did wasn't any better but at least I was well over the age of adulthood. Seren, you were child when S.H.I.E.L.D. brought you in. I don't know what the 90s were like but I know that it didn't include that."

Seren lowered her head, shaking it almost. He wasn't the first one to tell her something like that and he wouldn't be the last. "They needed help and I could do it."

"But you shouldn't have had to and you definitely shouldn't feel like you needed to prove anything to S.H.I.E.L.D." Steve sighed heavily. He didn't know the full story and he suspected that even if he did, he wouldn't like it and it wouldn't change his stance either. "I was too late to see what Bucky meant. I don't want that to happen to you too.:

"I'm okay," Seren shrugged, "It's part of the job. I did what I was trained to do."

Steve wasn't surprised with her kind of language. It was a version of the soldier language he knew well. "You are the first Avenger," he said with the utmost certainty that he was right. However it was said in such a soft manner that Seren couldn't do anything but blush. "And it's not just the soldier-esque skills you used. It's the fact that you care for others beyond the scope of the battle." Seren raised an eyebrow at him. "You helped me push through when that bomb threw me out."

Seren nodded slowly. Her face flushed with warmth when she remembered that moment. She broke all boundaries the way she handled it. "I'm sorry..."

"No," Steve smiled lightly at her, "You helped, Seren. That's what you do, and I really appreciate it."

Seren found herself smiling back at him. The only thing capable of pulling her out of the odd moment was her cellphone ringing, and it did. It was her grandmother and she was waiting. Seren quickly ended the call, promising she would stop by that same day. "Sorry," she apologized to Steve. "I'm taking a few days to, uh, visit my grandmother and my parents. Make sure they're alright."

"Of course," Steve nodded.

Seren made a move to leave, though she felt like there was something missing but she couldn't figure it out. She ultimately settled for something else. "That job offer from S.H.I.E.L.D. — I think it would be great if you and I were on the same team but I would also understand why you would say no to it. I would never want you to feel like we're throwing you back into the world that's responsible for putting you in our Time. Whatever you decide, I'll always be here for you, okay?"

"Thank you, Seren," Steve said. He had truly gotten so lucky when he met her, hadn't he?

Seren flinched when her phone went off again. "Dammit, she really is psychic. Knows I'm not on my way yet." She fumbled to answer her grandmother in a quick text. "Gotta run, literally." She turned to leave in a hasty sprint.

"Seren?" Steve called before he knew it. She stopped midway and looked back. Why were Chloe's words coming back to him right now? ...Pretty girl for a ride…

"Something wrong?" Seren asked after he went silent.

"Uh...no...no…" Steve quickly shook his head, hoping that thought would shake away in the process.

"Okay," Seren waved goodbye and headed for the door.

"Actually…" Steve hated that she had to stop again just because he couldn't make up his mind. "When you get back, we should do curry again."

Seren beamed at the idea. "Oh yeah!"

"My treat, you know, since you went into a portal into outer-space…"

Seren chuckled. "Okay, I'm holding you to that."

"Promise," Steve raised his hand.

"Okay," Seren felt like she was smiling too much. She hurried off before she did something too much. Later on in her car ride, she started to wonder what 'too much' even meant.

She never found the answer.

A/N:

I struggled a lot to write this chapter the way I wanted to and I genuinely hope that it came out well. There were just a lot of points I wanted to get in here so, apologies if it wasn't very great xD. We do see more of who Seren is beyond S.H.I.E.L.D. and for her, that's like one of her biggest struggles.

For the review: Yeah, Steve was not happy and rightfully so. S.H.I.E.L.D. screwed it up.

P.S. As always, I have a tumblr account dedicated to my fanfic works! It's a place where anyone can comment about a story or even just talk to me! I often drop aesthetic work belonging to my stories too! Feel free to check it out, my URL is "saiilorstars"