Helloo! I am getting these chapters out right quick, combo of no school and no job because of health issues so this is where I spend all my time but its okay because we are finally on the MCU and have been looking forward to this for a long time. Anyway, hope you enjoy!

Shout Outs!:

SmolAvidReader

Thank you :) I love writing it so I'm overjoyed that others enjoy it so much too.

Journal 2, Entry 17: "The First Avenger Pt.3"

Schmidt pulled up to the stone building that a tank had just punched a hole through. He stepped out of specialized Roadster and smirked, looking across the quiet town in Norway. It had taken far too long, but eventually his agents looking for ways to translate Hakon's notes found a caretaker in Tønsberg who recognized some of the words. It had barely been anything and what he did translate made little sense, but what intrigued Schmidt most was the reports of the man's comments on the other glyphs and runes.

"He said that he knew little of the language to begin with—that it had been lost and forgotten as the Vikings died. But several of the words and runes looked similar to known translations but weren't quite right. He said it was probably a dialect of a sequestered tribe. He showed us the Hall and I noticed a few runes carved throughout the Hall. Some are identical to what Hyse wrote."

"What of the village, the people? Are they Hyse's?"

The agent shook his head. "Doubtful. We showed the paper and his picture around and they knew nothing. Most were utterly baffled."

Schmidt scowled at the memory. It had had so much potential. He was positive that he'd finally found his prize…but he was still no closer to deciphering Hakon's notes and what they could possibly mean!

He stepped over the rubble and put the thoughts out of mind for now. He would not let it ruin his triumph of finding the Tesseract. He grinned again. Oh, how hewass going to enjoy shoving this in Hakon's face when he gets his hands on him again—he still remembers the twitch the boy tried to suppress as he'd talked to him two—three years ago, now. He thought he could hide it from me. Well now I am the superior man and I will control the power of the gods!

His men scurried aside as he crossed the rubble-strewn floor to the casket, easily shoving the lid off and casually addressing the caretaker of the Hall. The caretaker was oddly brave. He would give him some credit there; many others in his situation had fallen to their knees before him, but he didn't truly care. The man was going to die either way and send Hakon the message that if even this great treasure could not hide from him, his and Erskine's efforts were in vain.

He crushed the glass replica of the jewel before looking around. This was where the legends—what few existed—became fuzzy. He was amazed by the feel of the place. Something in his skin crawled at being here. He knew he was in the right place. He took a few steps until his eyes landed on the relief of Yggdrasil and the feeling intensified in his veins.

He smiled. Yes, the serum is truly working. You have outdone yourselves, my friends, despite your attempts to sabotage it.

He stared at the snake that wound around the roots of the great tree, the one that was fated to drop poison onto Loki for his crimes. A faint square was etched into the stone surrounding the reptile. He traced it then pressed his thumb against its eye, pleased to hear a click and a box pop out. He pulled it out and opened the lid.

He stared at the ethereal blue glow of the cube nesting so innocently within. This is the myth made real. "And the Führer digs for trinkets in the desert. You have never seen this, have you?"

The caretaker shook his head in wonder but somberly stared at Schmidt. "It is not for the eyes of ordinary men."

"Exactly." He shut the lid and handed the box to one of his subordinates, striding out of the Hall with new purpose. "Give the order to open fire."

The caretaker watched him pass, his face twisted in fury. "Fool! That power is protected by the gods! You will burn! Draugrs will rise up from Helheim and drag you down to it. It may have been the jewel of Odin's treasure room, but it is Hela who protects it."

Schmidt hummed in mild curiosity but ultimately disinterest. He had his prize. "I have already experienced Helheim."

Then he shot him. The man was no longer needed; the tank sounded behind him but he didn't pay attention to it as he strode back to his car.

Hakon walked through the crowded expo. Erskine was spending the entire time in the recruitment ward to vet any volunteers for the project while Howard was preparing for his presentation. He had drug Hakon along, eager to show him his flying car.

Hakon had laughed and pointed out that it barely hovered and Howard gasped. "How could you say that!? You get to see a technological wonder and all you do is criticize the definition of my words?"

Hakon smiled and looked at the thrusters, if that's what they really are, as closely as he could. "Sorry…does it actually fly then?"

Howard huffed but grinned. "You'll have to stick around for the presentation to see!"

Hakon smirked and Torbjörg sat by his side, staring uncertainly at the car—he never was very fond of them. "That's a no, then."

Howard shook his head and herded Hakon out. "Ye of little faith! I'll have to have you over after the war calms down so we can chat inventions. You've got quite a brain!"

Hakon looked down and blushed. Tor stood on his hind legs and quickly licked him. "Bleck! Tor!"

Howard laughed. "Ha! Payback. Anyway, explore the expo—I'm sure you've never seen anything like it before."

Hakon nodded gratefully and waved as he ran out,for once without a guard—or having to ditch a guard since Phillips felt the convention was well secured with both the recruiting office and soldiers and police stationed at every entrance.

They wandered aimlessly for a bit, taking in all the new inventions, until Hakon felt a familiar tug on his magic. He grinned and looked down at Tor who yipped happily then raced through the crowd with Hakon on his heels.

"Loki!"

Loki turned from his conversation partner to beam at Hakon and quickly pull him into a hug. "Hello Liten Listig."

Hakon, still grinning, stepped back. "How did you know I would be here?"

Loki winked and scratched Torbjörg to pacify him. "A little Skrill told me."

Hakon's eyes widened. "They're here?"

Loki chuckled. "One of them. Astrid didn't tell you?"

Hakon scowled into the crowd, searching through all the faces and feeling for more magic but didn't feel any except for Loki and…the two standing behind him? "No. Who's with—Býleistr, Helblindi?"

The two Jötunns, now human looking and sized, leaned out from behind Loki, Býleistr smiling. "Hello, little nephew."

Hakon's face shifted through shock to worry then confusion in quick and silent procession. "Wha—why? Uh…Are they shielded from Heimdall?"

Loki patted Hakon on the shoulder while his brother laughed at Hakon's expense. "Yes. I would not be so careless as to let the Gatekeeper see two Jötunnar outside of Jötunheim. As to why—we were planning on catching up, and they wanted to see you again but you were otherwise indisposed…Also, they wanted to see Jör and I can't very well bring him to Jötunheim."

Helblindi suddenly became jealous and turned to Býleistr. "After everything that happened and the runt bonds with the Dýrsvell…I do believe father might die of shock."

Býleistr's lips twitched into an almost cruel smirk. "Wouldn't that be something? Save us the trouble."

Hakon sighed and rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I don't want to know. Just leave me out of it."

Helblindi shook his head and affectionately wrapped an arm around Hakon's neck while ruffling his hair. "Why should we do that? You are our liaison for Midgard after all—or you will be. You know, you're not quite so small in this form—still too skinny."

Hakon huffed as Býleistr rescued him with a knowing grin but kept an arm slung around Hakon's shoulders. Hakon lightheartedly glared at both of them and said, "Don't you both have kids and other nephews that you can torment?"

Býleistr nodded and glanced at Torbjörg who was watching everything go down with amused eyes and flopped tongue. "Yes, but none of them are as cute as you—must be that Midgardian charm."

Hakon looked up and slightly shook his head. "Why me?"

Loki finally stepped between his brothers and side hugged Hakon. "Enough tormenting my Chosen for the day, let's see what new things the Midgardians have come up with."

Helblindi huffed, only mildly interested. "Certainly nothing will be as impressive as what New Berk had."

Hakon shot him an amused grin. "You might be surprised. Generally we're ahead, but they can still have a genius idea that we haven't thought of yet."

Helblindi grunted noncommittally and followed beside Tor as they walked over to the growing crowd around a large stage.

Býleistr grunted as an overeager group of kids ran into him and shoved him into the tiny boy standing in front of him. "Sorry," He said, his naturally deep voice making it sound like a growl.

The boy smiled back at him and he realized the boy was actually a man—just a very small one, one that made Hiccup look muscular by comparison. "No worries. It's pretty crowded."

A brunette in a tan uniform looked down at his companion in wry amusement. "Who'd you trip into now, punk?"

The man's cheeks turned red but Býleistr shook his head. "I am the one who tripped into him." His eyebrows rose as he looked 'the punk' over again before looking over at his companion—he recognized the fond brotherly look in his eyes. "When is the last time he ate something? Last century?"

Loki choked on air beside him and grabbed his arm. "Býl!"

The brunette was still grinning despite his friend looking away, not in shame but a little mortification. He and Hakon locked eyes and the latter mouthed 'sorry' to which he smiled gratefully.

Music suddenly started playing and the curtains on the stage rose, silencing their awkward confrontation. "Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Howard Stark!" A voice announced over the PA system.

Howard came onto the stage and smiled at one of the dancing girls who'd come forward to take his hat before sharing a kiss.

Loki looked over at Hakon and raised an unimpressed eyebrow—this, Stark reminded him far too much of Fandral to be of his liking. "You work with him, and enjoy it?"

Hakon sighed and watched Howard speak to the crowd. "He's usually not this bad…actually, I've never seen him like this. But, then again, the only ladies we've really been around are those in the military so…"

Loki was only mildly appeased, but continued to watch carefully as Howard continued to perform.

"-Even have to touch the ground at all?"

Hakon groaned then muttered in an angry whisper. "No, not the skies! Thor dang it, you people have already made the ground a heart attack inducing hazard."

Tor barked, agreeing and glared at the car as the ladies removed the tires.

Loki smiled sympathetically at him. "He's your friend."

"I'm beginning to regret that now."

"Hakon! Can you come up here please?" Howard suddenly asked, staring into the crowd and looking for his young friend, having heard Tor's unique bark.

Hakon squeaked and ducked into the crowd. "Hide me!"

Howard laughed, playing it off like it was a part of the show. "He's a bit shy but he really should be up here as it was a comment he made that gave me the idea for the Stark Gravity Reversion Technology."

The brunette friend of 'the punk' looked down in surprise and Hakon tried to crawl between him and his friend. He couldn't help but laugh when two men, one of whom had bumped into the blond, snickered then picked Hakon up and all but dragged him up.

Loki watched, only able to shove a fist into his mouth to stifle his laughter at Hakon's betrayed face.

"Traitors!" Hakon cried when Býleistr and Helblindi deposited him on the steps to the stage.

Howard nodded gratefully to them and eagerly drug Hakon to the front of the stage but off to the side a bit so the car was unobscured to the crowd then continued with his speech. "So, with my new technology, you'll be able to fly in the sky and finally avoid all those traffic jams."

The crowd laughed in delight or at the absurdness of it. Howard turned a few switches before turning to Hakon. "You want to do the honors?"

Hakon scowled at his 'friend' but grabbed the slide dial and slowly pushed it up. The car hummed and trembled but then started rising off the ground and he had to admit, it was pretty impressive. He kept pushing the dial up, looking at Howard for when to stop but he made a small gesture with his head to keep going.

Finally, the dial was all the way up and Howard turned to proudly present it to the crowds. They gasped and stared in amazement until the car started whining then crashed back to the ground a second later but, despite it all, the crowd still clapped.

Hakon rubbed his ear at the crash while Howard smiled after taking half a look at the car. "Well, I did say a few years, didn't I?"

The music started again and Hakon made a hasty retreat off stage and glared at his 'uncles'.

Howard quickly passed off the microphone and tried to follow Hakon, but he had already disappeared into the crowd.

Hakon woke with a start, grabbing Tor's fur and scaring the poor dog awake as he jerked. After staring for a few seconds into the dark room of the apartment to gather his breath, he relaxed his hand. Tor turned and nuzzled into his chest, whining.

Hakon buried his face into the fur. "'M sorry, bud. Didn't mean to hurt you. Just…something screamed and my magic—something's not right."

Tor snorted and crawled into Hakon's lap, prodding along their bond. He could feel the echoes of the cry that had startled his other half. The vaguely familiar magic now but a memory against his magics. He curled the Familiar bond around Hakon's magics and purred to the best of his abilities.

Hakon smiled and laid down again, arm draped across Tor's chest and let his friend pull him into a deep sleep.

A week later, Hakon was at Camp Lehigh with Erskine, Peggy and Colonel Phillips. The twenty recruits Phillips handpicked and Erskine's one would be arriving tomorrow. Howard remained behind to put the finishing touches on the machine.

Phillips sighed as he looked over the roster for their special training group. "I still can't believe you picked the skinny, asthmatic kid."

Erskine smiled. "What I am looking for is internal qualities, not external. The serum will take care of that, but it can only heighten whatever is in the mind already—I do not want another Schmidt on my hands."

Phillips still was not convinced. "Doctor, I don't think you realize what all is at risk. We've promised the funders, senators, secretaries and the freakin' president of these United States a soldier. This kid will be lucky to survive boot camp."

Hakon snorted from his chair, barely able to see over Tor as the massive dog sat in his lap. "And the rest of them will be lucky to survive the war."

Phillips nodded, gesturing to Hakon as he slapped Rodger's folder down on the table. "See! Even Hakon understands."

Hakon shoved Tor off so he could stand with the group at the table and shoved the folder back at Phillips. "No, that's not what I said. And for the record, I agree with Erskine. We need someone strong in the head and heart, not brawn and muscles."

Phillips resisted the urge to roll his eyes. This damn kid and his sarcasm. "Whatever, we'll just have to see at the end of this little 'boot camp'. And Hakon?"

Hakon turned away from looking over the files of the other recruits.

"I'm not going to go easy on you just because you're our mole."

Hakon smirked. "Wouldn't want you to, sir."

Phillips walked out with a mutter. "Smart kids give me a headache."

Hakon leaned over to shout out the swinging door. "Happy to oblige!"

*O*

Hakon stood in a line with the other recruits. He was pleased to note that he was almost the tallest one there…but he was also the second thinnest. It had been one of his few boons when he still had a normal life, when his growth spurt finally hit him, he had been grateful for the height. And he was grateful again especially now as everyone kept insisting that he looked fifteen.

Peggy arrived and called them to attention, Phillips remained in the truck but Tor followed beside Peggy—it had taken some time to convince him but he wouldn't trail after Hakon like he usually did. The conversation still stumped Peggy and Phillips, reaffirming their belief that it was quite possible that the dog might have been an early test for the serum—there was no other way to justify the level of intelligence he had.

"Gentlemen, I am Agent Carter," Peggy said firmly. "I supervise all operations for this division."

Hakon almost let his act slip with his surprise, he'd never heard Peggy take this sort of form before…except when reprimanding him…Okay, I shouldn't be so surprised.

A recruit a few men down from him stifled a laugh but asked, "What's with the accent, Queen Victoria? Though I was signing up for the U.S. Army."

Hakon looked down and away—every fight between Astrid and Snotlout playing in quick succession through his mind. Nice knowing you, pal. The attendant with Peggy handed out clipboards to each recruit and Hakon took his with a small nod as Peggy reprimanded the recruit and gave him a quick talk about military etiquette.

A senseless quip, then the thump of a body hitting the ground brought his attention back to the present—the smart mouth was on the ground and Tor padded over to investigate.

Hakon almost lost his composure when he caught Tor's questioning growl as he walked away from the recruit to Peggy, who was greeting Colonel Phillips and Erskine when they finally decided to join. A few laughs from the recruits came out as stifled coughs, Hiccup included. His eyes pinched shut as they stung with tears.

Tor, a bit worried about his friend's odd behavior, padded up and bumped his head against Hakon's stomach. Hakon, still at attention like the rest of the recruits, secretly scratched his ears and said so quietly that not even the closest man could hear, "No, bud. He is not fighting with her to try and court her."

Tor huffed, almost sounding relieved, and walked away.

Hakon retuned into the conversation of his 'superiors', I gotta stop doing that.

Colonel Phillips was still speaking, looking none too pleased at the man Peggy had decked. "-At attention till somebody comes and tells you what to do."

"Yes sir!" Hodge, the recruit, said, head held high and back to keep the little trickle of blood from leaking down his face.

Phillips nodded, then began his spiel, walking up and down the line. "General Paton has said that wars are fought with weapons but won with men. We are going to win this war because we have the best men." He caught sight of Rogers doing his best to stand proud and tall but had to quickly look away in embarrassment, looking out the corner of his eye at Erskine who still looked dead serious about his decision. "And because they are going to get better. Much better."

Hakon started tuning out again as Phillips started on his speech about why they were chosen for this program and settled for subtly watching the recruits—all of whom were paying attention, very interested in what the colonel was saying. Why wouldn't they with what's being offered for the 'best man'?

Phillips stopped pacing and faced the group of twenty-two with his hands held behind his back, staring each one of them down—Hakon was all too tempted to give him a cheeky grin but managed to control himself. "That being said, there are a few rules beyond the basics of every boot camp and army regulation handbook you must comply with."

The recruits shared curious side glances but no one dared speak a word, which pleased Phillips.

Phillips stood next to Peggy with Tor still at her side. "Rule one: Agent Carter, as she has said, is a leader on this project—you will listen to any and all commands she gives, and any mouth you give to her, she has every right as a commanding officer to deal dutifully with. Rule two, no one hurts the dog. Don't even think about touching him. I don't care if he just stole your dinner. If you lay a hand on him, then the government isn't going to cover your funeral—I certainly won't. That is all for today. Get unpacked and meet in the mess hall at eighteen-hundred. Dismissed."

Hakon left with the group to the barracks and opened his meager trunk. He looked up after placing everything into the draws and smiled as he saw Steve Rogers struggling with his trunk across the walkway. He stood and walked over to Steve, smiling. "Need some help?"

Steve's cheeks reddened and minutely nodded. "Thanks."

Hakon grinned and carefully pulled out several books. "Man, that's a lot for just boot camp."

Steve shrugged. "I can't always fall asleep well at night, so I often fall asleep reading."

Hakon nodded with a quiet laugh. "I do something similar—but usually it's at my desk designing something or just drawing."

Steve perked up. "You like to draw?"

Hakon beamed. "Love to. You?"

Steve handed him a small booklet and he opened it to reveal several sketches.

"Wow," Hakon breathed as he flipped through them. "These are really good."

"Thanks," Steve smiled. "Hey, didn't we meet at the expo—or sort of meet?"

Hakon chuckled, now it was his turn for his cheeks to heat up. "Yeah…sorry about my uncle."

Steve waved him off. "It was no problem, really."

A horn sounded throughout the camp and Hakon quickly stood. "That's the 'dinner bell'. Better get going if we want anything good."

*O*

The next morning they were up before the crack of dawn. The recruits were up and standing at attention, even if only half dressed, at the ends of their cots as the bugle finished and Colonel Phillips marched into their barracks, inspecting them. He was both pleased that they were all up and annoyed that most had little more than their boxers on and maybe a half buttoned shirt…all but one, it seems.

Tor laid on the only bed with a man not standing at the end of it and cracked an eye as the boot clomps stopped just at the end.

Phillips glared at both residents before it started to melt into mild worry. Tor was laying on Hakon but not just lying on his legs or even his chest, he was laying on his head. He took a step forward to pull the dog off and make sure the young scientist was still breathing but Tor curled tighter around Hakon's head and chest and snarled at the colonel. He took a step back, fearful of losing a hand, being well briefed on Torbjörg's exploits with Hydra's soldiers.

Several of the men snickered quietly as they watched the scene. Steve fought hard to not laugh as Hakon groaned with Tor's growl then the dog nestled his head down on top of Hakon's again, effectively smothering all sound.

A quieter set of footsteps entered the barrack and they turned to see Erskine entering and looking around. Phillips sighed and turned to the older scientist. "Professor, could you please get Tor off of Hyse?"

Erskine bit his lip and looked at the scene the dog was causing. "Come along Tor, he needs to get up now. I can't exactly punish him for listening when I said not to mess with you."

Tor growled again, tip of his tail flicking angrily.

Erskine sighed. "If you come with me, I'll make sure you get a salmon—I saw them deliver a box for the colonel here."

Phillips scowled at Erskine, mostly for using his fish to barter the dog off of the boy that was supposed to be posing as a soldier.

After serious thought, the recruits were surprised a dog could look that thoughtful but Erskine and Phillips no longer were, Tor finally stood and shook himself. After he properly stretched, he turned and dragged a long, wet tongue across Hakon's face. The reaction was instantaneous.

Hakon shot up, sputtering and spitting, and rolled out of bed to escape the hovering Tor but fell onto the floor in a tangled heap of sheets. "Eck, ew! You know that doesn't wash out. Gross, how can your dog spit still be as fishy as your dragon spit!?"

A man standing by Steve glanced over at him. "Did you catch what he said?"

Steve shook his head. "Not a word."

The man nodded, a bit relieved. "Oh, good, it's not just me—I thought I was losing my mind after the first night."

Steve smiled and resumed watching Hakon, they were all surprised that he didn't receive much of a reprimanding—though they all blamed it on Tor for sleeping on Hakon's head.

That day was grueling, especially for Steve but he hadn't expected any less. He was thrilled with the chance to be here, to actually prove once and for all that he could either make it or not based on actual skill and not just medical notes on paper, some of which were almost a decade old. For crying out loud, he only got the yearly cold like normal people now—the chronic cold had been when he was a kid!

The other recruits did well, though they were also huffing and puffing ten minutes in. Peggy was a surprisingly cruel taskmaster in their training and the other officers weren't much better.

It had been funny to watch Tor during their warm ups. Peggy would shout for them to go down and do a pushup and Tor would crouch in his best imitation of doing a pushup beside Peggy then when she yelled for them to stand up, Tor would almost jump up into the air. The dog, however, was the only one still having fun by lunch time.

They had one last course and it involved a net. Steve withheld his groan as he started climbing it but quickly lost his grip due to exhaustion and tumbled over backwards, only saved from a painful fall by his foot catching in the ropes.

He would have felt humiliated as his fellow recruits laughed at his pathetic inability to climb a net but was too tired to care anymore and he did catch a sympathetic smile from the other side of the ropes from Hakon. It made him feel a little better that not everyone thought his plight was funny.

Tor, who'd steered clear of the netting like it would bite him, suddenly leapt into action—barking and snarling at the ropes entangling Steve's ankle.

Another of their commanders, an older, lankier man rushed forward to restrain Tor as he tried to bite and claw the rope trapping Steve—only to panic and thrash more as he became caught up in the rope himself.

Hakon watched, at first in good humor as Tor started trying to free Steve from the netting—an instinct born of so many years fighting in the Dragon-Viking War then against the Dragon Trappers—but quickly turned to horror as Tor got stuck and began panicking, snapping at anyone who got close. It enraged him that the other recruits only laughed at his best friend, finding his fear and misery funny. Hiccup began to hurry his way down the ropes, intent to help whether or not it would blow his cover.

Steve grunted as he was thrown about in the ropes as Tor thrashed and tried to reach down for the struggling dog in his upside-down position. "Hey, Tor—was it? It's okay. You just need to calm down then we can untangle you."

He managed to brush his fingers along the top of Tor's head and strained to scratch his chin—his neighbor's dog had loved that. Hakon, Phillips and the other commander were at the net, Phillips and the other officer trying to restrain Tor so they could untangle him while Hakon was trying to calm him verbally—and through the bond. Phillips and the other man blocked his access.

Tor looked up at Steve as he scratched him and Steve smiled, moving his hand so he wasn't scratching the same spot for too long. Suddenly, Tor collapsed in an unmoving heap. Steve sucked in air, afraid the dog had given himself a heart attack but Hakon remained chuckled and helped extract him from the netting.

Phillips spoke quietly with Hakon for a moment and he nodded then left the pair alone.

Steve sighed, grateful Tor was no longer in the same mess he was. The other officers grunted in frustration and started reaching to help untangle him but through the chaos, he'd managed to get a better hold of an adjoining rope and put enough weight onto it that he could wiggle his foot free. He did fall to the ground in a graceless heap though.

The next day, they had the fun of lugging packs laden with supplies around on their morning run.

Steve, again, was ready to collapse under the weight while the others only sweated and panted a bit but still had the energy to try and outrun each other. Hakon ran only a few paces in front of him but he, oddly, barely had broken a sweat—and Steve suspected it had more to do with the heat than the session itself.

Tor abruptly shot by them, carefree and wild as ever with his tongue still hanging out, and Steve nearly tripped at the sight of him. Not so much at the fact that Tor startled him in his run by but at the fact that the black wolf-dog had a makeshift helmet matching their own and a backpack somehow strapped to his back and clearly laden with something heavy.

Tor continued to breeze past all the recruits and Hakon laughed at the sight until he disappeared into a bungalow. How he has breath to laugh I'll never know, Steve thought.

Later that day, they were doing a mud crawl—which Tor was having far too much fun with off on the side.

Steve grunted in irritation as another recruit kicked the post out in front of him and collapsed the barbed wire. He vaguely heard the officer yelling at him about his rifle and he quickly tried to extract it—ultimately it was useless until he rolled over into another man's crawl space but he was long since done with it, so Steve didn't really care.

When he finally got to the end, he couldn't help but laugh tiredly. The man who'd kicked the post out in front of him was busy trying to chase Tor down who'd stolen his water canteen—and none of the other officers felt the need to reprimand the dog for it.

That night, Steve collapsed into his bunk, hair still wet from the showers because he didn't have the energy to dry it, he barely had any to take the darn shower. His eyes were half closed when a weight on his chest woke him up enough to open one eye.

Tor stood next to his bed with his head on Steve's chest, tail wagging happily.

Steve moaned tiredly but managed a tiny smile and patted the dog on the head. "Hey. Thanks for that—you know, only Bucky's stuck up for me like that before. Funny how it's a dog who's the next person—er, being too."

Hakon chuckled as he sat heavily on his bed and Tor gave Steve a quick lick and bounded over to him. "Yeah, Torbjörg's pretty special. He's my best friend—one of the first friends I ever had."

Tor growled so lowly it sounded like a purr and crawled up into Hakon's bed.

Steve smiled tiredly at Hakon then plopped his head back on his pillow. "Seems like. I wouldn't mind having a dog like him as a friend. How'd you get your dog into boot camp?"

"Haven't you noticed? He's pretty special," Hakon said with a smile, sitting on his own bed where Tor came trotting over. Hakon hugged Tor tightly and he smiled as he curled into a tighter ball. "So…doing any reading tonight?"

Steve laughed but it quickly tapered off. "I don't think I could keep my eyes open long enough to read five words…"

Hakon nodded and threw off his boots and carefully removed his prosthetic.

Steve heard the metal squeak and sat up on his elbows, eyes widening in confusion. "You…?"

Hakon smiled ruefully and looked down at his stump. "Yeah—happened a long time ago. And it's fine, I can do pretty much anything I need to—custom made the leg myself. Shoot, took Phillips months to realize I even had one."

Steve tilted his head. "You know the Colonel?"

Hakon nodded and pulled the blanket over him, eager to turn in before the rest of the recruits got in and saw his leg too. "Yeah, a couple months back, he told me he wanted me to come to this boot camp for the project."

Steve eyebrows were still in his bangs. "And that didn't get you 4F'ed?"

Hakon smirked. "As I said, they didn't know about it—so by the time Phillips learned about it, he was convinced it didn't matter anymore."

Steve shook his head and laid down again. "Hu, wish I could have been so lucky."

Hakon smiled sadly. "Yeah, well sometimes we have to become a hero the hard way. Night."

*O*

Hakon meets up with Steve on the steps of their barracks after the last run that Steve had smartly skipped half out on. The rest of their squad were in the mess hall chatting and guzzling the water. Steve took the offered canteen of water Hakon handed him with a grateful nod. "How come you aren't in there with the other guys?"

Hakon shrugged and sipped from his cool canteen. "Eh, they're kinda mean. Not real thrilled that a skinny nobody like me is beating them at endurance."

Steve smiled sympathetically. "Yeah, you're really good at running."

Hakon laughed, mind slipping away to centuries ago. "I had to be. For a long time—I was the village screw up. If I wanted to avoid my cousin and his 'bonding time' I had to beat him out to the forest where I could lose him. After that, it was running from trouble that my brother and sister often got us into."

Steve perked up, resting on his elbows. "You have siblings? What's it like? I've only ever been an only child—dad died before I was born."

Hakon shrugged. "Same, except my mother was killed when I was a baby—or we thought she was." He muttered before shaking his head. "They weren't actually my brother and sister in blood but in every other way that mattered—and they were awesome." He laughed at a thought and leaned forward. "If they were here, they'd probably be bomber pilots—blowing things was practically a pass time to them."

"Was?" Steve asked slowly.

Hakon smiled sadly. "They died."

Steve's mouth thinned. "I'm sorry."

"It was a long time ago." Hakon waved him off then they both chuckled as Tor walked up to the shade of the building and collapsed, legs splayed and panting slightly from the run and heat from the day being unusually hot.

Steve stood and went into the barracks, returning a moment later with his helmet, and emptied his canteen into it. He smiled sheepishly at Hakon and shrugged. "It's not the best bowl, but it's all I got."

He knelt by Tor and offered the water filled helmet. Tor leapt upon it immediately and lapped up almost all the water before giving Steve a wet kiss. Steve wiped off the excess drool and pet his head. "You're welcome."

*O*

It was the second to last day of their extremely shortened 'boot camp,' and Peggy was running them through warm ups again. Tor wandered around them as if performing his own inspection.

With Hakon, he gave him a lick that covered half his face and left him sputtering—falling out of the pushup to wipe the spit away and complain in Norse. As he rounded around to Steve, he started doing the pushups with him, yipping encouragingly as Steve struggled to get back up.

Tor finally came around to Hodge who, for all he cared, was a slightly less brawny Snotlout who had learned even less than the hard headed Viking had in only some of his years. He was easily doing the pushups and smiling at Peggy like he was impressing her, she rolled her eyes and turned away.

"Faster ladies, come on! My grandmother has more life in her, God rest her soul."

Hodges huffed in disappointment but Torbjörg's eyes gleamed. As Hodge's was peaking in his pushup, Tor lept upon his back then laid there. Hodges cried out but it was cut off as he fought to not collapse and have the huge dog crush his ribs.

Peggy turned at the commotion, her lips curled in as she bit them, trying to keep composed. "Well, come on. You need to be able to face anything that gets thrown at you."

Hodges whined as he fought to push himself up again.

"Torbjörg! Get off Hodges!" Phillips shouted from beside a truck with Erskine next to him.

Tor huffed but slid off the man's back and he gasped in relief while wondering how it was that Hakon managed to sleep every night with that monster of a dog laying on his chest and head.

They moved on to jumping jacks, something Hakon wasn't a huge fan of because of his leg. Despite all the improvement and advancements he made on it, the stump itself wasn't very happy to constantly be slammed upon by jumping. Running and other 'vigorous' movements involving flying were smooth enough to flow naturally and figure comfort out over time, but long-term jumping was never one he cared to perfect until now.

"Grenade!"

The recruits scattered habit while Hakon crouched, instinctively reaching for his magic and searching for the explosive to throw a shield around it. Steve, bless his stupid heart of gold, ran and threw himself over the mini-bomb.

"Get away!" He tried to wave off Hakon and Peggy, who'd started forward after Steve threw himself over the grenade. "Get back!"

Nothing happened for a few long seconds and finally Hakon turned to Phillips and glared at him, actually startling the colonel a bit.

A passing troop finally stood from their crouched positions. "It's a dummy grenade." "All clear-back in formation."

Steve uncurled and looked at Phillips and Erskine, almost in betrayal after being given a heart attack. Finally, he asked, "Is this a test?"

Hakon looked down to laugh quietly while Phillips glared at Erskine, who was quite pleased. "He's still skinny," He eventually said and started to walk away only to stop as Torbjörg stood in his path, teeth bared and hackles raised. "Torbjörg, stand down."

Tor did nothing of the sort, a furious snarl rising up from his throat.

Phillips took an unsure step back, hand out peaceably. "Torbjörg, it was fake, I knew it was fake."

The enraged dog crouched and Phillips bolted, Tor snapping at his heels as he tried to shout and call the dog off.

Hakon took off running after them, surprisingly fast. "Tor, no! No maiming the colonel! No biting or tearing into him either. Loki curse it all, Toothless! It was a simulation, a test. Get back here!"

The remaining recruits got back into formation but continued to watch the scene until a fellow squad mate asked, "How did Hakon manage to get his dog onto base?"

Peggy shook her head at the scene, Phillips really should have known better. "That's classified."

They huffed but couldn't argue against it. Peggy started them up on their morning drills again while Hakon spent the morning chasing Tor down then trying to extract him from Phillips door after he managed to find sanctuary in his office—only successfully leading him away after he commandeered Phillip's salmon dinner, then locking him in his barracks for the rest of the day.

*O*

Hakon closed the lid to his trunk then sat on it and Steve looked up from the book he'd casually opened. "What are you still doing here?"

Hakon smiled guiltily. "Waiting for Erskine, like you."

Steve tilted his head and closed the book. "They—chose two of us?"

Hakon laughed quietly and leaned against Tor who was already asleep on his bed. "Uh, no, actually. I was a plant in the recruits. I worked with Erskine to design the formula."

Steve's eyes widened and said quietly, "No way."

"Ah, already getting our friend caught up?" Erskine asked as he entered the barrack. "Oh, may I?"

Hakon waved him in while Steve nodded.

"Can't sleep?" Erskine asked the both of them as he took the bed opposite of Steve.

Steve put his book down before he could fiddle with it too much. "Got the jitters, I guess."

Erskine chuckled. "Me too."

He looked at Hakon who shrugged. "Little, I guess. I want it to work."

"Can I ask you a question?" Steve asked, sinking into his cot more while looking at Erskine.

"Just one?" Erskine asked and set the glasses out as Hakon joined him on the cot across from Steve.

"Why me?"

Erskine's thumb tapped the bottle he'd brought with him and thought for a moment. "I suppose that is the only question that matters." He looked down at the bottle then turned it so Steve could see, Hakon leaned over—curious as to what it was. "This is from Augsburg. My city. So many people forget that the first country the Nazis invaded was their own."

Hakon looked down. Somehow that felt like forever ago. Odd how time works, and where'd he get the bourbon?

Steve's eyes bounced between the bottle and Erskine, knowing this was something personal for him, but a little ashamed that it wasn't something he'd really thought about.

Erskine continued, not bothered by Steve's silence. "You know, after the last war, my people struggled." He paused, remembering the words Hitler had spoken and they had held some truth to them. "They felt weak. They felt small. Then Hitler comes along with the march and the big shows and the big flags and the…An-And he hears of me—me and Hakon, of our work and he finds us. And he says, 'You.' He says, 'You will make us strong'."

Steve jumped slightly as Torbjörg suddenly started growling from Hakon's bed.

Hakon thinly smiled. "Eh, Tor doesn't have the best memories of that day."

Erskine chuckled. "And you do?"

Hakon shook his head. "No, no—but I don't tend to get my hackles up over a story."

Tor snuffed and turned his head away while Steve quietly laughed.

Erskine smiled wistfully then continued his explanation. "Well, I say we are not interested. So, he sends the head of Hydra, his research division. A brilliant scientist by the name of Johann Schmidt."

"A backstabbing Death Gripper," Hakon hissed.

Steve eyed Hakon curiously, more about the comment than the meaning but Erskine continued, shooting Hakon an amused smile. "Not a snake? Usually that is the common comparison."

Hakon's nose wrinkled. "That's an insult to snakes, but I've yet to meet one Death Gripper that wouldn't stab you in the back the moment you give them an opportunity." He turned to Tor who wuffled agreeing. "And that's saying something coming from me of all people."

Steve blinked and looked over at Erskine. "Is a Death Gripper an animal or a person?"

Erskine shrugs, looking up in the familiar, exasperated way that he often did when someone would question something about Hakon. "Who knows? Something from his homeland—or town, most likely. I've never heard of anything even remotely similar. But, back to the answer to your question

"Now, Schmidt is a member of the inner circle. He and Hitler share a passion for occult power and Teutonic myth. Hitler uses his fantasies to inspire his followers. But for Schmidt, it is not fantasy," Erskine explained and Hakon snorted.

"No, he's just insane."

Erskine nodded to the side, expression agreeing with his young companion's statement, then leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees. "For him, it is real. He has become convinced that there is a great power hidden in the earth, left here by the gods, waiting to be seized by a superior man."

Hakon stared at the floor beside Steve's bed and rubbed his communicator. Erskine still believed that what Schmidt was after was pure myth and he hadn't tried to convince either party that it was anything but…But now he was at a conundrum. A month ago, Nuffink called him, telling him that Loki felt the small ward that he could place around the Tesseract had broken.

He knew he should have said something, but how could he say anything without risking the Archipelago? If they had gone looking for it or demanding to know what information he or his people had…

Tor bumped his bouncing leg then half crawled into his lap, laying his head on Hakon's shoulder.

Hakon hugged his neck, grateful for his comfort as he tried to think. All his efforts, minimal as they truly were, were gone and Schmidt had full access to the Tesseract which was something he'd never dared to do. The way Hela had spoken of it had always steered him clear of it and if she wanted it hidden away instead of brought to her so she could try and escape her prison…

His breaths started quickening. Schmidt had the Tesseract and not long ago his magic flared at the call of magic that was both foreign and faintly familiar. Schmidt had figured out how to utilize the Tesseract!

Erskine and Steve watched Hakon start descending into a panic, their own conversation at a lull after Erskine told Steve why he was chosen. Erskine reached over and grabbed Hakon's shoulder. "Hakon? Hakon, what is wrong?"

Hakon shot up, throwing Torbjörg to the floor and jumping over Steve's bed to get to the door. "I, uh, have to go and—finish the serum!" Which was true, it still did need that drop of his blood.

Erskine watched him run for the door, baffled, standing and trying to catch his young friend who was honestly starting to scare him. "Hakon! The serum is finished. It is why we are here, with Steve—where are you going!?"

Hakon paused by the door to allow Tor to catch up but Erskine reached him before they both got out the door. "Hakon, what is the matter?"

Hakon hung his head and shook it. "I-I don't know how to explain it, Erskine—let alone in a way that people will believe me."

"Well, start with what has caused you to panic in the first place." Erskine guided Hakon back to the bed and poured himself and Steve a glass of the bourbon, handing it to the blond. "Oh, wait, wait. What am I doing? You have a procedure tomorrow. No fluids."

Steve sighed. "Alright, we'll drink it after."

Erskine shook his head. "No, I don't have procedure tomorrow. Drink it after? I drink it now."

Steve smiled and shook his head as Erskine reached out to take the glass back but Hakon snagged it and downed the shot in one go.

Erskine watched him in shock before crying out. "You are barely eighteen!"

Hakon snorted. "Customary where I'm from to start at fourteen. Besides, been kidnapped and shot at by Hydra. I think I deserve it. Don't worry, I won't get drunk."

Erskine took a breath and sipped his glass. "Now, why were you about to run out a moment ago?"

Tor growled, his best attempt at purring, in Hakon's lap and he sighed. "It's… about Schmidt. You know how he was always asking me about those stories? The ones about the Tesseract?"

Erskine nodded. "Yes, it was why he needed to become a superior man."

Hakon breathed slowly and played with Tor's fur. "Well, I know about it…my people have helped to hide and protect it for generations."

Erskine's eyes widened. "So, he wasn't entirely mad?"

Hakon shook his head. "No, he's still crazy. There's a reason it's hidden, and not just because people are power hungry idiots sometimes. I… read not long ago about a town the Nazi's wiped out—it's in Norway."

Steve started looking a little uncomfortable. "It's the town where it was hidden, isn't it?"

Hakon nodded. "I didn't know how to tell Phillips, not without sounding like a lunatic or…"

"So what made you panic now? It's a bit late—don't you agree?" Erskine asked calmly.

Hakon smiled at him gratefully. It was odd being asked a question in a way that a grandfather would ask a nervous child about something they did wrong. But it felt nice, he hadn't really known any of his grandparents, the hazards of living in the age of the Dragon-Viking War.

He scratched Tor's ears as he tried to answer. "Because…it's been used."

Erskine frowned while Steve looked at him in confusion, the former asking, "How can you know that if it is in Hydra's hands?"

He rolled his sleeve up to show his communicator and prayed to Loki that he could pull a half-lie off for once in his life. "My people, we have a way of…detecting it. It's never been used so we didn't know what it was…I just realized it after you told the story again. I guess the pieces hadn't been laid out nicely enough until now."

Erskine breathed slowly and deeply, looking between Hakon and Steve. "Well, this is certainly a sizable development. But it shall have to wait until after the procedure. One thing at a time, my friend."

Hakon looked up from the floor with no little surprise before the tension left his shoulders and managed a small smile. "Thanks, Erskine. I… really don't know what to do about it though."

Erskine sighed and pat his knee as he stood. "I don't think anyone will—not if Schmidt's myths are actually true. But we will worry about that later. For now, Steve is our only concern."

Hakon hugged him briefly before he collected the glasses and walked out of the barracks then settled into his bed, Tor weighing comfortably on his chest. He could only hope and pray he hadn't realized what that magic was too late.

Well...Bootcamp went a little longer than I first thought but I hope it was enjoyable. I'm sure we all know what comes next so I'll see you soon!