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AvalonReeseFanFics
A/N: And it BEGINS! The very first chapter of this marathon is the very first chapter of our wild adventures. And there are two in a row, one is in the episodes, the other is just random stuff I made up but it should all be very interesting. So how it's going to go is we have the episode stuff and then A LOT of chapters in between this episode and the next one. And trust me… you're gonna LOVE them. I'm literally super excited for you guys to have finally reached this point because these are the chapters where Steve decides he's marrying Rowan. And we have a lot of Wo Fat (and eventually Sin Nombre, but he's not going to be around for a while). As always don't forget to review and I'll see you guys tomorrow!
Chapter 326
Steve had sent Rowan out early that day for a spa day with a dress he had picked out himself, with Kono's help… and Sin Nombre's too. For some reason, Sin Nombre knew Rowan's style and all of Rowan's sizes, apparently that had been an unwanted side effect of all the shopping he had done for her and with her.
Steve had originally called Wo for help on the outfit, but he had been helpless. When Steve reminded him that Wo had spent a year buying Rowan pretty things, Wo reminded him that Rowan had liked them, had even appreciated the effort but it wasn't what she really wanted. Then he admitted that Sin Nombre did all the shopping and told Wo Fat what to buy and what size to get, or sometimes just bought it for him and let Wo Fat put his name on it.
The whole day was planned. He had Nahele staying over at Makani's house so Steve and Rowan could get… physical later. Something they hadn't managed in a while due to a pesky teenager in the house and their conflicting work schedules. Three double murders in a row. Kept him out of the house all hours. And on the days he was off, Rowan was negotiating deals. Seven of her singles had dropped that month, and five of them went to bidding wars.
Rowan was off on a well-deserved spa day. He had paid for, at Wo Fat's suggestion, a massage—hot stone was her favourite—a manicure and pedicure, and whatever the hell a blowout was. Wo Fat said it had something to do with her hair, but he could never tell the difference. He then said to not tell her that he couldn't see the difference.
Steve knew that already, but apparently Wo Fat had said it to her once and he still regretted it. Still it was nice of him to warn Steven.
Steve had then spent the rest of the afternoon cooking up her favourite dishes and got himself into her favourite blue suit and her favourite light blue dress shirt. He was going for all her favourites because he wanted to be sinfully attractive. He kinda wanted her to jump him the second she saw him.
The doorbell rang, on the exact time he told her to come home and Steve ran to get it.
He had picked a dress that was hunter green and knee length. Instead of the usual empire waist he had gone for a slim fitting and it was really paying off. The hunter green dress made her skin look creamier then it usually was, and the gold lace spaghetti straps, that outlined the sweetheart bodice and ran all the way down the ribbing to the hem of the skirt only made to highlight the curves of her he loved best.
He had never paid much attention to her hips before but now he couldn't take his eyes off of them.
Her brown hair had been volumized and swept dramatically back, she wear wearing that seashell necklace around her neck, her makeup was smoky nudes with bright red lipstick and she was wearing a smile on her face that said she wanted to devour him. Yes, yes, just what he wanted.
"Uh… hey… hi… may I help you?"
Rowan shot him a coy smile. "I'm not sure if I have the right place," she said to him. Oh yes, roleplay, he really really liked roleplaying with her. "A handsome gentleman promised an evening of romance and fine dining and I need to get on that ASAP because my boyfriend is expecting me home…"
"Oh you have a boyfriend huh?" he asked, his eye automatically catching that promise ring on her finger. "Okay. Well, I can… uh… I can definitely help you with one of those."
"Oh, do I get to choose which one?" Rowan asked as she sauntered into her own house. "Cause I'm starving."
Damn that was cold. Still Steve ushered her over to the candle lit table he had set up and then pulled out her chair for her.
Rowan looked around at the little set up and smiled. "Oh, I know what this is," she said. "Get whatever it is out of the oven, now, and if you put the cheesecake in the freezer put it in the oven instead."
Steve laughed. He left her only to get the dishes he had pre-set and then brought them back to her. "I ironed out all the kinks this time, I promise," he said pausing only to swoop in and kiss that cheek of hers.
And she pulled a fast one, turning quickly so the innocent kiss he landed on her fell on her lips. Within seconds he was a panting mess, his trembling fingers resting right at her jawline fighting every instinct to just throw her onto his couch and have his dirty way with her.
"Ohh sweet and spicy chicken," Rowan said tucking in before he even sat down, which was fine he was busy setting her up with a mimosa anyway. And he made damn certain to open that bottle of champagne before she got home.
"So uh, how was the spa?" he asked.
"Wonderful, which one of my brothers told you hot stone massages are my favourite?" she asked.
"Wo did," Steve admitted. "He remembered paying for a lot of those and thinking it involved weed."
Rowan laughed. "That's right, he was so confused as to why I wanted to get stoned for a massage. Asked me if it made it feel better and then said there are better ways to get a happy ending," and then she shuddered as she thought about it.
"And while I'm on the topic of admitting things, I had both Sin Nombre and Kono's help with the dress."
Rowan nodded. "Yes, Con says I've ruined him forever with all my shopping sprees," she said. "But it makes for great presents. He'll always know what to get me… and what size to get it in." She clocked Steve's shaking head and said: "Don't feel too bad, Wo Fat used him for the same thing so…"
"If you call us similar again, Rowan, I can't be held accountable for what I do to you."
Rowan just laughed and went back to the chicken he had made her.
After a few moments of her just inhaling all that he made her she cried: "My brain is telling me to stop but my stomach's saying keep going."
Steve half laughed, yes, yes, he was finally doing this night right. "You should listen to your stomach because we have dessert coming."
A dessert that did not need to be chilled, thank you very much. He had even managed to make sure he had the right music this time. Instrumentals of all of Rowan's favourite love songs… that she had written. Compliments of Tommy.
"Yeah, and what did you make this time?"
"Homemade Chantilly cake with macadamia nuts."
"Ohhh, you're spoiling me," she said. "But uh… if you have note cards, I saw we blow out the candles before you pull them out."
Steve scoffed at the memory, he had purposely placed the candles away from the plates just in case, even though he didn't have a speech planned.
"Yeah, no notecards this time."
"No? Aww, I'm not getting some heartfelt speech?"
"Nope, you already know I love you," he said and that smile of hers widened.
He wasn't very good at saying it but he wish he was. Because every time he said it to her, his girl would just glow.
"I love you too," she said going to stand. "So much so that I'm going to get you another beer."
Steve shook his head. "I can get it."
"No, no, no. You just relax, you have done enough, it's my turn," she said, already standing up. She slid closer to him and then bent down to kiss him. Just like that he was a mess again, god he wanted her, oh how fucking badly he wanted her. Their kiss deepened as they always did and he had to forcibly push her away.
"You keep that up and I'm liable to fuck you on that couch."
"Mm, just like our first time," she whispered huskily before planting another kiss on him. God, fuck, how could she remind him of that now?
"Yeah well I have something special planned for upstairs and I'd like to make it there so if you could uh… pace yourself."
"Ohh, something special?" she echoed and he wagged his eyebrows at her. "Mm, you're lucky you're just so cute."
She kissed the tip of his nose leaving a glossy lip print there for him and then slipped away. She wasn't gone two seconds before his phone rang. Unknown number, yeah he knew who that was.
"Hey Wo. Night's fine. She liked the massage, I told you'd I'd update you tomorrow," he said and then waited for what the man would said.
Instead he had a familiar female voice say: "Uh… Steve?"
Oh… that was not Wo Fat at all but he recognized the voice.
"Catherine?" he asked, more than surprised by this turn of events.
"Yeah, it's me, can you talk?" she asked. Steve glanced to where Rowan was standing refreshing her own drink and picking him up another beer. No he could not.
But he said: "Uh… kind of, are you alright?"
"Oh, yeah, I'm fine," she said quickly. "Steve listen there's something going on that you need to know about but I can't really get into it over an open line."
Well shit, that sounded bad. Steve stood up hoping Rowan wouldn't notice, but seeing as she seemed more interested with checking on how dessert was doing in the stove, he figured he was fine to talk a little longer.
"Catherine, what are you talking about?"
"I'll explain everything in a minute."
She hung up the phone and Steve saw lights in his driveway. Aw no, no she wasn't here, not tonight, not when things were going so great with Rowan. Not when he was supposed to be getting laid. He didn't want to deal with this.
"Alright I got your… why are you over there?" Rowan asked and then her eyes went to the door. He didn't know how he knew but he knew, she knew that Catherine was there.
"Don't you open that door," she warned, her voice low and dark. He hadn't heard that voice in a long time, hadn't seen that look on her face even longer. She had gotten better at doing that, and unfortunately she sounded exactly like Wo Fat when she did it.
"Look, something's going on, I'm not quite sure what it is," he told her.
"Were you expecting her?"
Yep she definitely knew it was Catherine. "No I wasn't. Uh… she just decided to drop in," he said. "If you just… if you just let me deal with whatever this is, we can go back to our night."
She looked him up and down. "You promise?"
He looked at her carefully, he could feel the shifting currents around them, she was looking at the strings.
"Don't do that, don't make me promise if you already know what's going to happen."
Catherine knocked on the door and Rowan turned to it, so did Steve. She then turned those big blue eyes to him and he saw the insecurity shining there. "Can you say it one more time?"
But he couldn't. Not if Catherine really was at his door. So he went to open it without answering her, which, in hindsight was not a smart thing to do.
But Steve got that door open and yep, Catherine was there. He waited for a flash of emotion, like he had gotten the time she showed up on the beach, but nothing came. Well… he had a feeling he was cured, now he could offer Rowan the proof, so she'd stop worrying that he thought he had made a mistake and wanted Catherine back.
"Hey," they said to each other. He didn't want to invite her in. He and Rowan were in the middle of date night and Rowan would kill him if he let Catherine interrupt it but it must have been important if Catherine had come all the way here.
It had sounded important.
"Hello, Catherine," she said warmly coming to stand beside him. Steve almost breathed a sigh of relief, he almost believed that she would be the bigger person… until she stepped in front of him. "No, we're not doing this again. I won, have a nice night."
And then she shut the door in Catherine's face. Rowan turned around to his incredulously shocked look and tsked up at him. "If you get to be jealous about Wo Fat, I get to be jealous over her."
That was fair. "I forgave Wo," Steve reminded her. "And I let you continue to talk to him."
"Yeah but he's not trying to fuck me," she said sliding away from him towards the table they had both abandoned. She blew out the candles and said: "What about dessert." Steve opened the door and heard Rowan mutter under her breath: "He fucking opened the door." He tried so hard not to laugh, she sounded so resigned and offended at the same time.
"Come on in," he said to Catherine as Rowan stalked back to his side a scowl on her face. Catherine walked in and shot Rowan a careful look of worry.
"Oh!" she cried when she caught the romantic ambiance of the place. "I didn't mean to interrupt…" "—Sure." "—I really didn't, but this is important," Catherine finished.
Rowan just stared at them, and he realized that it was because they were standing together. Steve immediately moved away from Catherine's side and over to Rowan. He noted a bit of a pained look on Catherine's face when he did it but he didn't care.
"Uh… sorry to barge in like this, but it couldn't wait."
Steve slung an arm around Rowan's shoulder and tugged her to his side. He thought that might make things better but all she did was fold her arms over her chest and sigh: "Did his mom get caught in Morocco?"
Catherine went silent, she glanced to Steve and then to Rowan again. "She's still doing the whole vision thing huh?"
"I'm not gonna run out for the at least a year," Rowan snapped. "You know I told her not to go, but in hindsight telling her she was going to get die rescuing Yao in Morocco is probably why she went. I'm not sure she knew he was there until I said something."
"You've been speaking to my mother?" Steve hissed. "How?"
"Uh… phone?" Rowan offered and he knew then she was lying. He removed his arm from her shoulders and turning to glare at her.
"Did you jump?" he asked because he was starting to realize that Wo Fat might have been on to something. Rowan might be a little addicted to using her powers.
"Well… only a little," she whispered. "You know… to try and talk sense into her…"
"Rowan…." Steve growled.
"Look, we can argue or you can find out why your mom is in trouble. Pick," she said glaring up at him.
"Find out? Rowan you just told me."
"I might be wrong," she said.
Catherine shook her head. "Nope, she's right. Your mom's in trouble and it's cause she got caught trying to save Yao fat."
Steve turned to Rowan and she sighed. "Yeah I'm never wrong, not even sure why I said it."
Steve scowled at her. "Mother first, but if you think you're getting out of a lecture about your continuing infatuation with jumping, you have another thing coming, I will call Wo if I have to," he warned before turning back to Catherine. "Alright, what's going on with my mother?"
Catherine glanced to Rowan and then back to Steve and then back to Rowan and Rowan groaned. "Oh my god, fine, you don't want to say it in front of me, then just go out on the lanai," she cried. "Though I don't know why you're trying to keep it a secret from the psychic, I already know."
She went to storm back into the kitchen, probably to get her phone, probably to call her brother but Steve reached out for her. "Hey, come on," he said softly before turning back to Catherine. "Just go on out there I'll be there in a minute." Once she had left he turned back to Rowan. "I'll be right outside, and you know I'm only listening to her because it's about my mother."
She glanced back to where they could see Catherine through the windows that lead out to the Lanai and she turned back to him.
"You won't say it because she's here, right? You won't say it because your feelings change when she's here."
And yeah, that had been true once, but Steve could easily say now, that it wasn't at all. "I love you," he found himself whispering. "Okay? You."
Rowan threw herself at him, her arms wrapping around his neck and his arms wrapped around her too. "Please remember that," she said to him and he blinked his eyes, almost confused. What the hell did she mean by that?
"I… I gotta go, I gotta see what's going on," he said pulling himself out of her grasp. "Please don't call Wo until I know what's going on, okay?"
She nodded and though Steve didn't want to leave her, he ended up walking out and joining Catherine on the lanai.
"Okay, look. I know I have a lot to explain with my leaving, the CIA, all of it," she said the second he got out there and the door was closed. Steve couldn't help but narrow his eyes at her because he didn't give a shit about that, he wanted to know about his mother. "And… and that is a conversation that I want to have with you. But we're really pressed for time here, so…"
"Yeah, alright. What's going on?"
"Alright, so last night Doris tried to break Wo Fat's father out of a CIA blacksite. And the op went sideways."
Of course it did. Because Rowan was never wrong. Unfortunately Steve already knew this, because Rowan had just told him that and Catherine had confirmed. Why was she repeating what he already knew?
"Word is, is that they're holding her until they decide what they're going to do with her. And I'm trying to get more information. No one's talking. And I don't even know what country the site is in."
Steve had to bet if he put Sandy on it they'd have intel in an hour. And besides, he already knew, it was Morocco.
"Morocco."
"Okay just because Rowan said…"
"It's not just Rowan, I've been there, it's Morocco."
"I'm sorry? You've been there?"
"Couple of months ago, a few weeks after I got Ro back, he uh… he invited us down there for tea. Well he invited Rowan, I got to come along. He gave her a letter to give to Wo, and then Rowan talked him out of going after his dad."
"Wow."
"Yeah, I unno, I unno what hold she has on him but the fact that he just listened to her like that… and now… I'm guess since Rowan gave up the location to Doris she must have gone after him."
"We gotta do something, we gotta figure out a way to get her out of there," Catherine said to him but Steve shook his head.
"I could…" "NO!" Steve snapped whirling around on Rowan. How had she even gotten outside, he didn't feel the current change so she didn't jump and he didn't hear the door open. "We agreed, we both agreed you'd stop. Remember? And I told you to stay inside."
"I never listen to you," she snarled leaning against the door. "And I don't trust her."
Steve rolled his eyes and turned back to Catherine. "I don't see why I have to do anything."
"I know she has hurt you, Steve," she said to him. "Okay, but, whatever she's done she is still your mother. Are you really going to let her spend the rest of her life in a box?"
"Wo Fat had Rowan for a full year and throughout that whole year, she was in contact with him. She knew exactly where they were the whole time," Steve growled. "She knew where Rowan was. She knew I was looking for her. And she knew that both of us got lied to. And she said nothing."
"Well… actually… that's not true," Rowan said and Steve turned. "Yes Wo Fat called her, but it wasn't like they talked every day or every week you know? He was kinda busy… with uh… with me mostly. I did throw him over to her hide out every now and then, and we jumped over for Mother's day, but he never really let Doris anywhere near me…"
"Steve, I know you, if you don't help her now you will regret it," Catherine said interrupting Rowan and got a sharp sigh of: "Rude," from her.
"Okay wait… but like… you're going to go?" she said even though Steve said nothing. He turned to her with his eyes narrowed. "Don't look at me like that I know you're going to go, but like… can I come?"
"You want me to take you to Morocco… for an active mission? Are you out of your mind?" he snapped.
"YES! I am quite useful in combat situations," she snapped back.
"With your void shit? No thank you, I saw the haunting and I don't want to deal with that, especially since I didn't get thrown right," he growled moving away from her.
That was something they had talked about after her haunting on Halloween. Had he been impressed by her abilities? Hell yeah. But he had gotten thrown to the roof and had been out of commission for a good couple of minutes after that and he also was the only one that was affected. That meant he didn't void right, they didn't know if it was because he was her anchor, or if it had something to do with him being able to mess with and stop her powers. Either way he didn't void right which meant her throwing him around a battle field would be hazardous to his health.
"Okay, fine. So I don't go with you, but maybe take Wo? Please? That's his mom too, kinda, you know what I mean, but it's definitely his dad. And… you'll need help and he's great at working without being caught, he could get you in and out no problem. And he owes you. And I kind of promised him that when this situation came down the pike that I'd let him go with you"
"Well you should not have promised that because I'm not bringing him. This doesn't concern him."
"Did you not hear the part about his father?" she asked and he frowned at her.
Steve whirled around, his hands caught her shoulders and forced her a step away from him so he could look down at her and not be distracted by her body up against his, like he knew she'd try to do. "Rowan. You know I love you, okay? And I love that you want to help. But you're not coming. Having you there… it would distract me okay?"
"Then take Wo!" she whined but he shook his head deftly.
"I let him keep talking to you because I knew you two weren't going to stop and I wasn't about to lose you over that argument again and you may have forgiven him for last year but I haven't. He is still the man who ripped you from me, who took Nahele from me, and spent a year keeping us apart with lies and manipulation. You put him near me Rowan and he and I are going to get in a fight, cause I'm still mad at him over it, you got me?"
"You literally called him today to get help with our date."
"No, I called for Intel and because he and I have an understanding and that is our feud is off where you're involved. And don't you dare throw that in my face when I did all of this for you! Cause next time I can just fuck it up, is that what you want?"
"Obviously not, Steven." Rowan sighed but rolled her eyes. "Fine," she huffed. "What about Con? Best assassin in the world, I bet he'd love to take on some… who did you say had Doris?"
She asked that last question to Catherine who had passively been standing by watching them interact. When Catherine wasn't quick enough to answer, Rowan turned her eyes back to Steven.
"It doesn't matter, man will kill anyone except children. He hit a whole convent once… he assures me they were bad people, not sure I believe him though…" Rowan mused and Steve sighed.
"Con as in … Conejo… who is Sin Nombre, right?" Steve asked and Rowan nodded why was he asking her like that he knew who Con was. "Yeah I'm not taking that maniac with me, he wouldn't take orders…"
Rowan sighed but nodded in agreement, he had her there, she knew Sin Nombre wouldn't. He only took orders from her, and she was not coming.
"Right, now can I leave you here to get ready and have you not drop Catherine into a shark infested ocean?"
"What?" came out of Catherine but all Rowan could do was huff. Eventually she nodded and Steve crushed her to him for a brief moment. She melded into his hug, but let him go, letting him go upstairs and get changed.
Dear god, this was not how he wanted that night to end.
H5O-H5O-H5O-H5O
Catherine and Rowan sat across from one another, Rowan had busied herself with cleaning up originally but she was done with that now. She had a mug of tea, she had offered Catherine one but she had declined and that had been the end of all conversation after that.
"I'm sorry again for interrupting your evening," Catherine said. Abruptly. Out of nowhere.
Rowan turned a dry glare to her. "Yeah, sure you are," she replied dryly.
Catherine nodded to her. "You're being very understanding," Catherine said to her and Rowan's dry glare got even dryer.
"No I'm not," she snapped and Catherine nodded and agreed: "Yeah you're really not. But… uhm… it is an emergency."
"Yes, I got that," Rowan said.
Catherine nodded again. "So… you and Steve… last I heard you were MIA."
Now it was Rowan's turn to nod. "Mhmm, up until a few months ago I was MIA," she confirmed. "He… he found me and now I'm home."
Catherine stared down at her hands. "You've had quite the adventure, haven't you? It's hard to give that kind of life up," she said trying to smile. Rowan narrowed her eyes that was an awfully suspicious comment to make.
"What are you getting at?" Rowan shot back.
"Well just that you've abandoned him countless times now how does he know that you're not going to up and leave…" she started and Rowan cut her off.
"Okay look, just because he bought you a ring doesn't mean that you can swoop him off to Morocco and win him back okay? I am here to stay this time no matter what you want to think," Rowan growled.
"He what?" Catherine asked her eyes wide with shock.
"Ah shit… that's right, you didn't know about the proposal," Rowan hissed.
"He was gonna…"
And then Steve came down the stairs. His backpack packed and placed by the door and he in that amazingly tight outfit. God he looked so hot… you know… except for the cargo pants.
Rowan got up and went to him, she wanted to wrap her arms around him and hold him tight but once she got within arm's reach he pulled her close his hands framing her face so he could kiss her softly. Rowan draped her arms around his neck and slowly eased herself up onto her tippy toes to kiss him back.
"And we've got cargo pants on," she whispered to him and he half chuckled at her.
"You know it's not an active mission without the cargo pants," he said to her his thumbs brushing softly against her cheeks, he leant in again to kiss her softly, this time lingering on her lips like he was afraid to let go. "It won't be long, okay? You be sure to tell Nahele it's going to be okay, you know how he gets when either of us leave."
"Course I will. But that means you have to come back in one piece though," she answered him. "You have to promise. One piece and still mine."
"I'm always going to be yours," he told her and she wanted to believe him but Catherine was behind her and she didn't quite trust them together.
"Can't I come with you? Please? I could help, really! Or… since you don't want me to help I could just stay back?" she pleaded.
"Baby, please," he whispered a wince of terrible pain on his face. "I have so much to worry about already… if you were to come… I'd worry, so much more. If anything were to happen to you… I don't think… I wouldn't. I just can't… I can't lose you again."
Rowan ran her fingers down his cheek, oh her poor boy guilt tripping her into staying behind. "Alright fine. I'll stay here."
He kissed her again. "I'll be careful. I'll bring you back something nice."
Rowan smiled at him trying to blink back the tears that were threatening to fall. "I just want you to come home. That's all."
"You're too good to me," he said to her and she nodded. He was right. She watched him gather his things and then watched him get into Catherine's car and heavy weight of sadness and worry on her chest.
Why the hell had she agreed to this?