#word of advice do not try and fit eight entire characters into a very narrow space

[ciearcab]

something i got carried away with last weekend, i love this wonderful little game so much

[wiypt-writes]

Stark Spangled Banner

Ch 10: You’re My Mission

Summary: The Asgardian Staff case is wrapped up but before Katie and Steve can be re-united, the Super Soldier has a mission of his own to complete. Their reunion doesn’t disappoint, and as she weighs up the events of the past few months, Katie reaches a conclusion about her future with SHIELD

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

Warnings: Smut (NSFW)  over 18s only thanks. Bit of bad language….

A/N: Another lovely edit from @angrybirdcr​ of Katie in action.

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Katie Stark and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

Chapter 9

Stark Spangled Banner Masterlist // Main Masterlist

 Tarim. Yemen. The hottest place Steve had ever been. Ever. And a place he had no desire to go back to. Ever. 

As far as he was concerned, this whole mission had been a cluster fuck of epic proportions. The Mercs they had been sent in to deal with were slightly more ruthless than they had anticipated, taking a group of school kids from the square hostage. Evans and Rollins (in Katie’s absence) managed to contain most of them, taking them down with non-fatal injuries, as was the agreement with the Government, but one of them wasn’t going quietly and had snatched up a kid as he made a break for it.

The Yemeni Special Forces were on their way, and Steve knew that if they arrived permission to execute a kill shot would be given. But even that was dangerous, as the guy had the kid held in such a position, his back to a wall, her held across his chest, that the angle would have been impossible. Steve ordered the team to lower their weapons, and stepped forward, hoping to talk the man down. And then Rumlow had taken a shot, off-loading a bullet straight between the Merc’s eyes.

And Steve was mad, mad as a wasp.

“I gave you a direct order…” He stood, hands on his belt in the jet as he looked at Rumlow, the nerve in his jaw twitching.

“I made a call.” Rumlow shrugged “If I hadn’t they would have gotten away…”

“You put those civilians lives in danger.”

“That’s a little dramatic…”

“Yeah, come on Cap.” Rollins spoke.“The kid was fine, we got the weapons Government were ok…no harm done.”

Steve rounded on him, his blasé tone set his teeth on edge.

“That isn’t the point.” he blazed “I wouldn’t have asked Barton to take a shot like that. I wasn’t, and never will be, willing to risk anyone’s life like that, not to mention that of a child, for collateral damage, just to get what we need. It makes us no better than the people we’re trying to stop.”

“It worked didn’t it?” Rumlow shrugged

“Sheer luck.” Steve retorted.

“Well sometimes you just get lucky.” The STRIKE leader shrugged. 

Steve sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He didn’t need this shit.

“Look Cap, with all due respect, I’ve been running this team for years. You don’t get to do our job without taking a bit of risk.” Rumlow looked at him. “Now I’m sorry if you feel I was challenging your authority…”

“It has nothing to do with my authority.” Steve blazed at him.

“Really? Because that’s what it looks like from my position.” Rumlow shook his head “I’m sorry you feel this way. But it isn’t as simple as that. Life isn’t split into good guys and bad guys, it ain’t black and white… more shades of grey.”

Steve didn’t reply, he simply stared at Rumlow, his eyes raging before he moved away to a seat for take-off next to Natasha.

“Let it go Rogers.” She drawled softly to him. “You’ve chewed him out…you want my advice, leave it there.”

Steve didn’t reply. He was pissed and didn’t trust himself to say anything. He hadn’t heard from Katie so far today, but he wasn’t expecting to as he’d fired her a message last night, or this morning (he had no idea what time-zone he was in anymore) to tell her he was off on an urgent mission.

It was pathetic, he knew, but being away from her was really setting him on edge. Not just because he found jerking off in the shower was far less satisfactory now than before he’d actually started sleeping with her, but more so he was missing the stupid things, like her draping her legs over his on the couch whilst she was reading, her singing when she was cooking, the way she laughed till she cried at Brooklyn Nine-Nine, even demanding he make her a grilled cheese at 02:50 am…

Steve watched with amusement as the girls walked out of the bar, a little shaky, Katie leaning on Natasha laughing at something. He’d dropped them both off earlier in the evening and said he would pick her up later, even though they said they would get a cab. He had insisted, he loved looking after her and that was what boyfriends did right? Picked their dames up. However, as they teetered over to Katie’s car, it looked like he was about to inherit a pair of drunken, giggling idiots to look after, and the thought made him smile with fondness.

“Hi baby!” Katie greeted him as she climbed into the seat. She leaned over to give him a peck on the cheek and he smiled.

“You had fun? You look like you have.”

“Fun is my middle name Rogers.” Nat winked and Katie sniggered in the seat next to him as he pulled the car off from the curb.

“Nat’s gonna stay at mine.” Katie turned to look at him, her cheeks tinged pink with the alcohol “Afterparty!”

“Don’t you think you’ve both had enough?” He teased and. Katie put her fingers to her lips and told him to shush whilst Nat leaned forward.

“Just because you can’t get drunk.” She narrowed her eyes at him.

“Whatever, your funeral Romanoff.” He smirked, eyes on the road.

“God he’s so sensible, how do you cope?” Nat looked at Katie. Through the corner of his eye he saw a wicked smile cross his girls face.

“He has hidden talents” She quipped, before the two women descended into fits of giggles.

Steve let out an exasperated noise through his nose, but secretly he didn’t mind. He loved that she’d had a good time, even if he had the sneaking suspicion he’d been the butt of a few jokes, probably even a few risqué girl chats too.

“Hey, yoooo wanted to come get us..” Katie picked up on the noise he had made and looked at him. “Can’t stand the heat stay the fuck out the…” she paused “erm…”

“Kitchen?” Steve supplied, looking at her, left hand on the wheel, amused grin on his face

“Yeah, that.” She pointed.

“Kitchen is very much your domain sweetheart”

“Not what I heard” Nat chipped in. “She says you make a mean grilled cheese….”

“Oh my god.” Katie said suddenly “can you make us one?”

“What, now?” he frowned.

“Well obviously not right now as this is a carrrr” She rolled her eyes, gesturing around her “But when we get home. I’m hungry.”

He looked at her “Doll, it’s almost three in the morning.”

“Pleeeeeeeeeeeeese Stevie.” She pouted, batting her eyelashes at him in a ridiculously over the top manner, which he couldn’t do anything but laugh at.

“Alright I’ll make you both a grilled cheese” He nodded, unable to stop the smile creeping across his face, even when he heard Natasha burp the word “bitchwhipped” from the back seat.

Emerging from his memories, Steve lay his head back against his seat, shooting a glance over at Rumlow. The man was still being deliberately obtuse about the fact he was going out with Katie and he knew full well that the disobeying of order was a direct ‘fuck you’ aimed at him. But, as he thought about it whilst they flew home, he knew Natasha was right. The more he kept going on about it, the more likely it was to cause a bigger rift. With that in mind, during the debrief with Fury, Steve remained calm and when the time came he nodded at the STRIKE leader, giving him the floor when needed, both sticking to the facts- the operation had worked (Steve didn’t go as far as to use the word success), they had managed to seize the weapons and capture the main cartel leader who was now in custody of the Yemeni Services.

“What I wanna know is why are there so many of these weapons turning up?” Evans asked. “The DODC ran an extensive clean-up operation.”

“They were littered all over the New York, spreading the entire Manhatten area.” Steve said, answering as he looked at the Texan. “The DODC did as much as it could as fast as it could but people were already out there taking bits for themselves before the Chitauri had even been stopped. Katie says they’re still tracking through any leads, sifting out those who took them for souvenirs and those who took them for less scrupulous reasons…it could take years.”

“It was always going to happen.” Natasha shrugged “Terrorists are always looking for the next big thing.”

“Which is why we will always be looking for them.” Fury drew the meeting to an end as he stood up. “Alright, written reports to me no later than forty-eight hours. Other than that, you can head home.”

“Sir” Steve nodded as everyone started to file out. Steve noticed Natasha was hanging back.

“You ok?” She asked.

“Tired, fed up…” he sighed.

“Missing your girl?”

“A little” He admitted, before deciding to ask Nat what was on his mind because he could trust her honesty “Am I being old fashioned here, you know, with not wanting people to die?”

“No.” Natasha shook her head after a pause and he could tell she was picking her words carefully “I just think sometimes…well, we have to accept that we have to take risks.”

“You think Rumlow was right?” He sighed.

“Not as such.” she shrugged, “But I understand why he did it. I don’t necessarily agree with his methods shall we say but…”

Steve ran his hands over his face and couldn’t help thinking to himself how much simpler it had been in the war. They shot at them, they shot back. He let out a deep breath.

“You still taking some time off?“ She looked at him.

Steve shrugged and then looked at his fit bit for a second, thinking to himself the stats would make interesting reading. It was 5 in the morning. He hadn’t slept now for almost twenty-two hours bar the quick nap he had gotten on the jet. At that point his phone sounded with a message from Katie. A photo taken of Galway Bay in Ireland. Smiling at the simple message “Wish you were here.” he looked back at Natasha and nodded.

 “Yeah. I think I am.”

****

“Are you sure he’s okay to go out into the field?” Katie asked Coulson, one eye on Ward’s back. The man had just slammed a case shut, making everyone jump in the hanger and he was growing increasingly broody. Despite herself, she was feeling a pang of sympathy for him. She knew how hard it had been for him to open up about his past, and holding part of the staff had really shaken him. “He’s not exactly acting like himself.” she concluded.

“But he knows it. He’ll be fine.” Coulson replied as they walked to the SUVs. It was a short ride to the Monastary which was located just outside of Galway and Katie spent the time watching the scenery. She loved Ireland, she’d been a few times when at University in the UK. Her mind wandered to her soldier, who himself had Irish roots, his mother and father hailing from Limerick. Smiling, she pulled out her phone. She knew it would be late back in the US, it was barely touching ten am where the where and the time difference would make it the middle of the night. That is if he was back from the mission yet. Still, she took a photo of the coast road they were on skirting the edge of Galway Bay which in the November sun looked stunning, the light bouncing off the calm blue sea reminding her of those deep ocean pools she loved to look into. She sent it to Steve with a simple message ‘wish you were here’ and then shoved it back into her jacket pocket. 

The monastery itself was a beautiful gothic building set into the side of a green hill. They all climbed out and checked their weapons, Coulson once more going over the plan of action before they headed to the large front door.

 “Well, it’s been a while.” Elliot said quietly as they walked into the building, Katie taking a moment to appreciate the architecture, another thing Steve would love. “I wonder – ah, yes. There it is. Still here”.

He walked to the front of the room where a book lay set up on a stand.

“Well, the nose isn’t quite right, but…”

 Katie and Coulson walked up behind him, followed by the rest of the group to see that he was looking at a drawing of a man wearing long robes and holding the staff.

“That’s you?” Katie asked, looking at him.

“Yeah, they venerated me a bit as a saint.”

“They’re idiots” Ward spat viciously. They all spun round to look at him, where he was stood a few feet behind them all.  “Where’s the staff?”

“It’s upstairs.”

Elliot led the way, the team following up a set of spiralled staircase. Katie and Coulson were directly behind him, taking the lead with May and Ward shortly behind them as deputies.

 “It’s quiet.” May said softly

“ Why do you think I trusted them with my secret?” Elliot shrugged, still walking on ahead. He Elliot stopped in front of some sort of cabinet and ran his hand down the side before he reached for the handle. “They take a vow of silence.”

“But when you get them talking, they squeal.” A low male voice said, it’s owner appearing from behind one of the walls to the left of the cabinet, holding two pieces of the staff, one in each hand.  It was the man whose mugshot Katie had seen on the tablet earlier that day, Jakob. Suddenly he held one piece up high and stabbed Elliot in the chest with it, he fell to the floor.

 He turned and advanced on the rest of them, and Katie reached for her gun, readying herself. To her left she felt someone bend down to Elliot, presumably to try and treat him.

 “No one else wants to get hurt.” Coulson spoke to Jakob, his gun raised. Jakob cocked his head to one side, looking at it before he stared back at Coulson.

 “If you want to defeat a God, you must become one”

 Suddenly there was a loud yell and a scream. Katie spun round to see Ward had bent to Elliot, only it wasn’t to treat him, it was to retrieve the piece of the staff stuck in the Asgardian man’s chest. He held it in his hand and then suddenly threw himself at Jakob, knocking Katie and May out of the way as he went. The two men fell over the banister railing to the floor below.

Katie scrambled to her feet and looked down to see Jakob recovering from the fall first. She aimed with her gun but couldn’t get a clear shot in, as he picked Ward up like he weighed nothing and slammed him back down to the ground.

 “We need to help him!” Skye said, looking at Ward before she ran off.

“Skye!” Coulson called, he was now bent over Elliot and speaking furiously into his coms for Jemma Simmons to come help. “She can’t fight, she’s not trained…”

May nodded, “We’ll get her. Stark, with me.”

Katie nodded and ran after May, the pair of them practically jumping down the stair. Ward was now on his feet and as Jakob lunged at him, he flung himself to the right out of the way.

“Skye.” May instructed as they caught up with the dark hared girl who was watching Ward now ducking and diving the swipes from Jakob “Stay outta this…”

Both Katie and May stepped forward, but as they did so, Ward paused what he was doing and bent to grasp the part of the staff that was on the floor next to him. His face contorted in rage and when Jakob came at him again, Ward punched him hard in the face, enough to cause him to fly back against the wall where he slumped to the ground before Ward rammed him straight in the chest with the staff in a fit of rage like nothing anyone could comprehend. Ward’s chest was heaving and he spun round to see the other three agents watching him cautiously. His eyes were blazing with a fire Katie had never seen before.

“Ward.” May approached, tentatively stopping when Ward held his hand up.

“Get away from me.” His face was contorted in rage.

“Grant.”  Katie tried gently, stepping forward so she was level with May. “They’re right, that thing, this isn’t you.”

 Something clearly registered in his brain and his face softened slightly but then suddenly the door was kicked open and they whirled round to see the rest of Jakob’s group enter the monastery.  The three agents regrouped and Katie took her fighting stance, weighing up their opponents. It had been a while since she had been in a full force hand to hand combat, but she was pleased to find that her training with Natasha and Steve had kept her prepared. She dodged, ducked, punched, kicked, flipped up and over people, taking them down with her using her legs as the room filled with rowdy men and women, all yelling. May was working through them almost 2 at a time and Ward, now holding two of the staff pieces from somewhere, was easily fighting off a group of them, the power he was gaining from the staff clearly visible.

Katie grabbed one man in a choke hold just as he was trying to get up, and as he stopped struggling she threw him to the ground, and looked round at the now quiet room. May nodded at her, taking a deep breath and Katie turned to see Ward who was shaking drop both pieces of the staff he was holding and collapse to his knees. Skye hurried over and knelt in front of him.

 “Are you alright?” May looked round Katie. She nodded looking giving her a small grin, reaching up to tenderly brush at her cheekbone. One of them had landed a good shot.

“Been a long time since I had a full on fight like that, not using my guns.” she said, and May’s mouth curled up at one side before she made her way over to help Skye get Ward to his feet. Just as Katie was about to join them, the door opened again. She spun round to see another face she recognised from the photos, Jakob’s girlfriend, Petra stood there, the third piece of Staff in her hand.

“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me” Skye said from behind Katie.

Katie looked around glanced at May who also turned her attention to Petra as she was now circling the room. Which a quick flick of her gun, Katie aimed a shot at her, but she simply whipped the piece of staff out in front of her and it tinged the bullet off to one side.

 “We’re no match for her whilst she has that” May said and instinctively Katie glanced down at the two pieces of staff on the floor near them. Grant wearily sighed and went to pick it up but Katie dropped down on one knee and grabbed his wrist, stopping him.

“You’re not in any state to do that.” she said not unkindly as she looked at him, “Let me help.”

“Kay…” he started to argue, the use of his nickname for her registered but now wasn’t the time to chastise him, nor did she really find she cared enough to do so. It was then that May cut in.

“She’s right. We can’t beat them unless we’re on a level playing field.” She shot him a look and he nodded.

“Okay.”

Skye helped Ward away as May and Katie watched Petra as two men from the group they had taken down earlier got to their feet. Petra looked round the room and let out an audible gasp as she saw Jakob’s body for the first time. Katie slowly and apprehensively reached out for a piece of the staff, hesitating for a moment as she had no idea what was going to happen when she did pick it up. May looked at her nodding and then the pair of them reached out, each gripping a piece.  Katie gasped as a warm sensation flooded up through her arm and then her head was like it was somewhere else. Which it was, she was back in what, according to Professor Randall, should be the worst moment of her life, only it wasn’t the moment she had initially thought of when he’d told them that…

Rhodey was on the doorstep of her Chelsea apartment at three am local time. She knew instantly that something was wrong. Without a word he entered, and told her that Tony’s ARV had been attacked and they had no idea where he was. She almost collapsed and he helped her over to the sofa where she sat still, tears falling as she listened. The room fell silent, and with a shaking hand she reached for the remote and turned the TV on to the News Channel, to see her Brother’s face plastered all over the screen.

“I’m sorry Kiddo…” Rhodey’s voice was choked and she turned to look at him “I should have been with him but he insisted on riding in the other ARV, the FunVee…” he shook his head, snorting angrily.

“Who’s taken him?” She asked, swallowing.

“We’re think it was an Ambush by the Ten Rings.” Rhodey swallowed. “We’ve not had a ransom note yet but we expect it’s a matter of time. We’ll find him.”

“It’s finding him alive that’s the issue, Rhodey” She wiped away the tears from her face, the sick feeling in her stomach threatening to overwhelm her and it felt like someone had a band over her chest that they were constricting, hard…and then it was to much, and she bolted to the bathroom, emptying the contents of her stomach into the toilet…

Gasping Katie took a deep breath and looked up sharply as one of the men flew at her. Letting out a yell of rage, pent up anger and hurt she launched forward as Petra did the same. Their pieces of staff blew against one another and soon they were battling, fiercely. Katie was fighting to kill, and she instantly understand what had made Ward run Jakob through with the staff. 

It felt good. 

She could hear and see in the corner of her eye that May was also tackling a few more members of the group, easily keeping them at bay but Katie was focussed on one thing, the woman in front of her. She was good, matching Katie blow for blow but eventually Katie’s tenacity and training started to win out and she began to get the edge. She swung forward with a huge swipe and knocked Petra to the ground causing the woman to drop her part of the staff. Automatically it joined with the piece Katie was holding in her right hand, glowing orange again.

“It’s been a month, Katie…” Obediah said “A month…I hate to say this but the chances of him coming back…”

“I don’t wanna hear it, Obi!” Katie wheeled round “Tony is alive, and until someone shows me any kind of evidence to the contrary…then things stay as they are, I don’t give a shit what the board say.”

She watched him out of the room before she dropped her head to the desk and began to cry. She didn’t stop, even when Pepper walked into the room and dropped an arm round her shoulder, the pair of them lost…

A crash caught Katie’s attention and she saw May had dispatched the remaining fighters. She glanced up, and saw what Katie was doing and instinctively threw her piece of staff over to her. Katie grabbed it, joining it with the other combined pieces completing the staff.

Katie gave a yell as once more that warm feeling spread up her arm to her chest and her memories swallowed her.

“Your government has for far too long sold weapons, manufactured by Mr Tony Stark, to our oppressors, to our enemies. This is blood in exchange for blood, death in exchange for death, meet our demands or within 48 hours the great Tony Stark is no more…”

The room came back into a bleary focus, just as Petra staggered to her feet, swaying slightly.

“I am not afraid of you.” She spoke, her accent thick.

“You should be…” Katie snarled, as she advanced towards her. Quick as a flash she let out a loud cry and struck Petra with the staff, hard in the face. She fell backwards to the floor, deadly still. 

And then a different voice spoke in Katie’s mind a clear voice. Her own voice.

“He escaped, though. And he was fine, well as fine as Tony ever is. So there’s really no need to fear this memory because that’s all it is, a memory. It all worked out in the end…”

Katie dropped the staff and fell to her knees, her entire body shaking with the exertion of wielding the Asgardian weapon. Her head was pounding with those memories, the voices, everything. Her hands flew into her hair as she bent over, trying to focus on anything but her thoughts.

“Hey…” Two hands were on either side of her face, and Katie looked up into May’s eyes. “Focus on me, Stark.” Katie took a deep breath as May’s hands slid gently down to the side of her shoulders. “Can you stand?” She asked. Katie nodded and then looked over at Petra.

“Is she…” She managed to croak out. Had she killed someone? In blind rage?

“Don’t worry about her” May shook her head, “I’ll take care of it.”

Katie got to her feet with May’s help, glancing over at Ward and Skye. Ward gave her a small nod of his head, which she acknowledged with a small incline of her own as May helped her out of the smaller Vestibule room they’d been fighting in and through to the entrance hall of the Monastery, the sun streaming through the stained glass windows.

“That thing…” Katie took a deep breath “Ward wasn’t wrong…it…”

“Tell me about it.” May’s voice was quiet, and Katie realised the normally stoic woman was shaking, although not quite as violently as her. The two of them settled on a large slab of stone. They were shortly joined by Ward as he sat besides them, the three of them didn’t talk for a while, merely lost in their own thoughts, Katie wanting nothing more than to get home to see Steve.

“When you held it…” Ward said eventually, breaking the silence. “Did you see anything?”

May nodded, and so did Katie.

“Then how, Kay? How did you hold all three?” Ward looked at her

She paused, thinking about it for a moment.

No need to fear this memory

“Because it’s a memory that I don’t need to be afraid of.” she shrugged eventually. “And I see the reason why every time I look at Tony.”

*****

Steve packed a bag. There was, sadly, one last mission standing between him and his girl. And he no idea how long this particular mission was going to take. It was completely rogue, way off SHIELD’s official radar anyway, only Fury and Natasha knew what he was doing.

Oh, and Tony. He’d enlisted the Billionaire’s help because had a somewhat personal interest in this case. So much so he’d leant him the Stark Jet, because he couldn’t use the Quinjet, and the fact that like everything Tony owned, his jet was faster and better than anything else, it had shaved a good 2 hours off what the journey would have taken had he flown full commercial, not to mention saved him a load of messing about in the meantime with bookings and check ins.

The jet was comfortable, he had flown on it a few times with Katie before back to NYC when they didn’t drive that was. As soon as he was airborne he face timed Katie using the connection on the plane and had hissed at the bruise on her cheek. She had batted off his concern and instead went on a rant about how cheap Fury was. He had to laugh at her indignant tone, apparently they had arrived at a Premier Inn a few hours ago and she had refused point blank to get out of the SUV and after a battle of wills with Coulson had upgraded the entire team to the Sheraton just outside of Galway within ten minutes. Apparently overnighters weren’t standard for the team she was working in as they had the Bus but Coulson had decided they all needed some down time after what sounded like a gruelling mission.

“And what better way to do that in a 5 star hotel with a spa, right?”

They talked for the longest time they had in the three, almost four days she had been gone and Steve loved it. She didn’t go into much detail about the mission itself, bar to say it had ended in a pretty ruthless fight and that she was mentally and physically exhausted, promising to tell him all about it when she saw him. He told her in no uncertain terms that they were both going to take some time out, Fury had cleared it and her face had lit up, but then fallen when he sadly told her he had one last mission to sort. After assuring her it wouldn’t take long, and it really wouldn’t, she had smiled and told him she couldn’t wait to see him.

“Me either Doll, me either.”

He took the opportunity to get some sleep, and was awoken by one of the stewardesses a few hours later who informed him they were an hour out. Thanking her he headed off to change out of his comfy sweats and into his specially selected outfit, one that would make him blend in a lot more than the stealth suit. Once he had arrived, cleared customs at the private airfield they had landed at, he climbed straight into the arranged official looking blacked out SUV and the driver set off, not a word spoken. The driver already knew their destination, Fury had already patched that information through before he had taken off.

It was easy to blag his way in to the building he needed to be in. Dressed in a black suit, all he had to do was quickly flash his SHIELD ID badge and the woman at the desk was only too happy to provide him the information about where he could find his target, and access to the required area. He didn’t take the elevator, it was too easy to be spotted. Instead he snuck round and found the service stairs and bolted up them two at a time to the seventh floor, his kit bag containing his shield slung over his shoulder.

****

After they had checked in to the decent hotel, not that Premier Inn (which she was sure was clean and perfectly comfortable, but she wanted fucking luxury after three nights of being in that pokey room) and she’d spoken to Steve for at least an hour, Katie showered, changed and headed off out to explore the area with Skye. The two had chatted, Katie really did like the girl, and they’d done a bit of shopping, had a late lunch, before they had headed back to the hotel and made use of the Spa. Then, she’d sat and eaten with the team, before bidding them all goodnight and retiring to her room with a bottle of Krug (because, why not?) and a long assed hot bath.

She tried to face time Steve again, but this time he didn’t answer. Probably elbow deep in whatever mission he was on this time, he’d been very vague about this one, saying it was hush hush but he would explain all in person, including what had gone down in Yemen which sounded like an utter shit-storm.

Changing for bed, Katie dropped onto the comfortable couch of the suite (ok, so she’d upgraded herself a teensy bit more than everyone else), poured herself another glass of Krug, slightly disgruntled to see the bottle was empty. So she rang down for another, fuck it.

Just as she had put the phone down, her cell called.

“Hey baby.” Steve spoke and Katie could hear the smile in his voice. “Sorry, the phone won’t let me face time for some reason.”

“Well that’s a shame because I’m naked.”

Steve groaned and Katie felt herself grin. “Don’t do that to me.”

“Sorry.” She giggled “I’m not really, just wish you were here.”

“I know.” He sighed “Me too”

“I’m taking it that seeing as you can talk your super-secret spy shit mission is done.”

“It was surprisingly easy” He mused, “Target didn’t suspect a thing and thanks to a very helpful lady I met, I got in with no fuss.”

“Helpful lady?” Katie narrowed her eyes. “How helpful?”

Steve let out a chuckle “All I had to do was flash my ID and smile”

“Coz you’re a regular charmer, aint you?” Katie laughed, and then there was a knock on the door. “Oh hang on… room service.”

She got up off the couch, made her way to the door, phone still in her hand and she pulled it open.

“Hey Doll.” Steve grinned at her and her mouth dropped open, the phone slipping out of her hand to the floor. “Surprise.”

She was a sight for sore eyes. Silk cami top and shorts, her hair falling in damp waves around her face. God he’d missed her.

“What…you…” She stammered, taking him in, the black fitted suit and tie he was wearing looked far better than it would have on anyone else and he laughed at the look of utter shock on her face “The mission, I thought…”

“You’re my mission, Sweetheart” He grinned, stepping into the room, dropping his kit bag, picking his phone up as he did so. And, no sooner had he straightened up, Katie gave a little shriek and threw herself into his arms.

“I can’t believe it.” She whispered, her hands straying to his face “You are here right? This isn’t just some weird trick my mind is playing?”

“I’m here, promise.” He placed a soft kiss to her lips. There was a clearing of a throat and Katie peeked over Steve’s shoulder to see a rather embarrassed looking hotel worker clutching the bottle of Krug she had ordered along with a fresh glass and an ice bucket. She tapped Steve’s arms and he reluctantly set her down so she could sign the receipt with a flourish. Steve smiled at the man, taking the ice bucket before closing the door. He followed Katie into the large hotel suite, and dropped the ice bucket and her phone onto the coffee table before sinking onto the couch and Katie climbed onto his lap, winding his tie around her hand.

“For the record,” she murmured as she looked him up and down, “this is a good look.”

“Glad you approve, Darlin’” He grinned as she tugged on his tie, pulling him closer to her, and she pressed her lips to his in a deep kiss.

He responded eagerly, hands creeping into her hair to hold her head in place as his tongue slid against hers, his hips rocking up before his lips dropped to her collarbone

“I missed you.” He purred as she let out a small groan, her hand sliding into his hair.

“I missed you too” She muttered, his hands gently fell to her hips, giving them a squeeze. “Take me to bed.”

Steve didn’t need asking twice. Standing easily, drawing a giggle from her as she wrapped her legs around his waist, he paused and looked around.

“Trust you to get a suite that’s bigger then my apartment.”

“I have very high standards.” She shot back. “Door to the right.”

He gave a quick laugh and strode over to the door, pulling it open and stepping into the plush bedroom which was softly illuminated by the bedside lamp. Dropping her onto the huge bed he crawled over her as she once more grabbed his tie and pulled him down.

“You really do like this huh?” He arched his eyebrow,  ooking down at her as she gently slipped his jacket down his shoulders and he shrugged it off, tossing it to the floor.

“What can I say, I’m a sucker for a suit. Although I still think the Stealth one is better.”

“Maybe I should bring that home one night.” He muttered as his lips slid against her neck and she groaned.

“Please do. Your ass looks great in it.” She moved, pushing on his shoulders. Steve sat back on his heels and she locked her eyes on his, undoing his tie gently, a move she managed to make incredibly arousing and Steve let out a groan and he kissed her.

“Fuck, I missed you.” He whispered into her mouth

“Save it, you’re wearing too many clothes.” She replied, undoing the button on his collar and then her soft fingers made their way down his chest, her eyes following as it fell open. He shrugged it down before he fell back down on top of her and moved to pull her vest top over her head. As he tossed it aside somewhere he let out a gentle moan at the sight of her in front of him, and he wrapped his arm around her back and tugged her up slightly as his head bent to take a nipple into his mouth. He used both his hands and his mouth in a nearly coordinated attack that left her all but dying, and completely desperate for his touch elsewhere. He could read her body signals like a book and happy to oblige, one of his hands slid down, dipping into her bed shorts, finding him hot and wet for him. He groaned into her chest his fingers playing with her.

“Baby you’re soaked.”

She managed to moan in response, and then it was a race for the pair of them to get out of their remaining clothes as fast as they could. Once there was no barrier between them he kissed her hard, Katie shifting so that her legs went around his waist, pulling him flush against her, wanting to touch every inch of him possible. Steve repositioned himself slightly, gently working into her, the pair of them letting out a satisfied sigh as he bottomed out, stilling slightly just to savour the moment.

“Stevie…” Katie whispered into his ears “Please…” At her plea, he began to thrust, slowly, deeply, running his hand down Katie’s leg until his hand stopped at her knee. Katie looked at him as he seemed to hesitate for a split second before he directed her leg up, casually resting it over his shoulder so that he could go even deeper. She moaned loudly, he’d never done that before and it felt so unbelievably good, like nothing ever had before. Her fingers dug into his arm as he starting pushing a little harder, a little faster, then faster, until he had reached a relentless pace. Katie could do nothing but reach up, bracing herself on the headboard of the large bed as he continued, making her curse and leaving her short of breath, eyes closed in utter pleasure.

He slowed for a moment, making her look at him, letting out a noise of protest. “Don’t stop.” she begged, “Fuck, Stevie…”

He grinned, and it was a wicked grin, coupled with the mischievous flash in his eyes and it made her gulp slightly. She’d never seen him like this before, it was as if something had snapped and he was finally letting himself go fully, realising that after almost six months of sleeping together he didn’t have to be a gentleman all the time as she wasn’t going to break. As she stared into those baby blues, his pupils blown with desire he slowly pushed himself up so he could put her other leg over his other shoulder. 

“Oh, holy fuck-”  Her voice cut off and turned into a loud wail as he picked up the pace once again, pounding into her over and over and it wasn’t long before his name and another plethora of curses tumbled from her lips as her orgasm ripped through her like nothing she’d felt before. Her back arched, fingers dug into his back as he coaxed her through it before dropping her legs from his shoulders, laying atop her and chasing after his own end furiously. Katie held him close as she came down, gently encouraging him into his ear, his rhythm eventually stuttering and changing as he came with a frantic gasp of her name.

The pair of them were slick with sweat and absolutely spent as they laid still, no sounds coming bar the ragged gasps for air from them both. Steve buried his head in the crook of his girl’s neck and she ran her fingers through his hair, his forehead still clammy and he let out a loud hmmm of contentment.

A moment or so later, Katie broke the silence.

“Baby.” She said softly, a playful thought rising in her mind. His response was simply another hmmm because he was still utterly blissed out. This caused Katie to smile a little as she spoke again. “Did Cap just come out to play?”

She felt him grin into her neck, “I think he may have done, yeah.”

“Well you can tell him from me that was amazing?”

“I’ll be sure to let him know…” Steve mumbled, still not moving.

“In fact, I’d go so far as to say that’s probably the best sex I’ve ever had.”

“Just probably?” Steve lazily raised his head to look at her and she made a show of looking upwards as if she was thinking about it.

“Ok definitely” She grinned, kissing him gently.

*****

Katie bid goodbye to Coulson’s team the next morning, Steve remained in the hotel room as he’d been under instructions from Fury not to speak to Coulson or draw attention to him in any way. Then they’d taken 3 glorious days break in Ireland, hiring a car and driving to Limerick.

As they drove, Katie told him all about the mission, what the staff had made her see, and how it had surprised her slightly what her worst memory was.

“I always thought it would be the time Tony told me mom and dad were dead” she said, softly a Steve cruised their hired Audi Q3 down the motorway. “Guess I fear losing Tony more.”

“It kinda makes sense.” Steve said, his hand straying to her knee “you were very young when the crash happened. Tony’s been your dad for, what, 22 years now? Far longer than Howard was I suppose.”

“Yeah.” she said gently, looking out of the window “I mean, I don’t remember a lot about my parents to be fair. I have memories, but sometimes I wonder how many of them are mine and how many of them are what people told me.”

Reminiscing seemed to be the theme of their brief trip away. They spent a day visiting the places Steve’s Ma had told him all about, then the next day, after a lazy morning they drove up to Dublin where they had both drunk a fair amount of Guinness after Katie dragged Steve to Temple Bar, showing him the places she had spent a fair few weekends in on trips over from the UK. They forgot all about SHIELD, all about Fury, all about missions. They were just a normal couple enjoying a break, and Steve had frankly never had as much fun in his life.

It was on their last night, just after they were curled up in post coital bliss after their 3rd round that evening when Steve mentioned about how it was back to reality the day after that Katie propped herself up on her elbow and looked at him, biting her lip.

“What if I don’t want to?” She asked quietly.

“Don’t want to what, Honey?” Steve asked, kissing her head.

“Go back. To SHIELD I mean.”

Steve’s hand paused its journey up and down her spine as he turned his head to look at her, frowning. “You want to leave?” 

“I’ve been thinking about it a lot over the last 3 days.” she said, her fingers gently tracing over the dark blonde hair on his chest. “I can’t do it anymore Steve, I’m tired.”

“What’s brought this on?” he asked, turning so he was on his side facing her, pushing her hair back off her face.

“I can’t pin point one thing.” she said, looking down. “But…”

Steve paused, waiting for her to continue, and after a deep breath she did, her words coming almost as a jumble as she poured her heart out to him in the darkness of their hotel room.

“If I’m honest I’ve been thinking about it since we found out that they hadn’t been destroying the Chitauri weapons. Look what happened when Fury started fucking about with the Tesseract… I mean how do we know they’re not making more weapons just like they were before New York?”

Steve remained silent, that had been bubbling away in his mind too. He wasn’t best pleased about the situation but knew that Katie, who had headed up the DODC clean- up had taken it personally. She’d flipped out when Tony had told her what his latest hack into SHIELD had discovered and Steve had had to stop her marching into Fury’s office and calling him a liar there and then. He understood completely, she felt betrayed after having being told she was heading up a clean-up operation when in actual fact it turns out to be a goddamed technology harvesting operation.

“You now when Coulson died, I blamed myself. I made a decision to try to free Thor not help Coulson and I know I’d probably do it all over again because it was the right call, but the point is I blamed myself, for the past what, 18 months or so and Fury…he let me do that, he let me think he was dead…”

She was getting worked up, Steve could hear it and sense it, even if he couldn’t see her properly.

“Hey…” he said, his hand gently moving to her arm, rubbing softly as she continued her ramblings.

“And then there I get to The Bus and there’s more secrets there, not being told Ward was on the team, which to be fair wasn’t as bad as I thought but still, it’s more lies…”  

She was crying now and Steve sighed, wrapping his arms round her and pulling her to him. She pressed her face into his chest “This isn’t me Steve, it’s not who I am.”

He held her close, hand wandering up into her hair as he chewed over what she was saying. From a selfish point of view the thought of her leaving SHIELD worried him. She’d been his linchpin, his rock at the agency, and he relied on her more than she would know. He loved working with her, seeing every day and he was scared if that changed, so would their relationship. But there was a small part of him that also worried when she was on missions, and there was no doubt if she did quit she’d be a hell of a lot safer. And not all couples worked together, right?

He pulled back slightly, his large hand cupping her cheek “Hey, you know I got your 6 right? I’ll support you no matter what you decide.”

“I know.” She sniffed softly. I just feel like if I do quit, then I’m taking the easy way out, you know, I mean SHIELD is dad’s legacy.”

“Maybe once.” Steve popped his shoulder. “Times have moved on, SHIELD has changed. I doubt your dad, Peggy or Colonel Phillips would have ever imagined in a million years how it would evolve.”

“You’re telling me times have changed?” She quipped and he chuckled.

“Guess I am, but I learned pretty fast when I got that serum that you can’t live your life being who people want you to be or think you should be. You need to be true to yourself”

She nodded and stifled a yawn.

“Sleep on it.” He urged, his thumb stroking her cheek. “And then if it’s still what you want tomorrow, ’ll even write your resignation letter.”

“I got it planned” She yawned. “Dear Fury. Fuck you. Love Nova.”

Steve laughed and pulled her to him, kissing her head. “Maybe drop the Love Nova.”

****

“You sure you wanna do this?” Steve asked as they stopped outside Fury’s office. Katie nodded, taking a deep breath.

“Okay, I’ll be right here.” He said, both his hands on her face. She gave him a smile and then turned and opened the door.

“Agent Stark.” Fury swivelled in his chair “Take a seat.”

“It’s okay Sir, this won’t take long.” She declined his offer, taking a deep breath.

“Do I need to borrow Captain Rogers SHIELD?” He looked at her, raising an eyebrow. “I’m assuming this is the bit where you’ve come to tell me exactly how pissed at me you are.”

“I’m not pissed” She shook her head, “I was, but not now. I’m just disappointed.”

He eyed her, and gestured for her to continue.

“I expected better from you Sir. You lied to me. You let me believe Coulson was dead. You know I blamed myself for that for months, and then if that wasn’t bad enough you sent me to a team containing my ex boyfriend…and don’t even get me started on the fact you’re secretly hiding Chitauri technology instead of destroying it.”

At that Fury’s face slipped and his face grew dark. “How do you…”

She arched an eyebrow and Fury gave a groan.

“Son of a…your brother is a liability.”

“Maybe, but at least he isn’t a liar.”  She shot back. “And neither am I. I pride myself on being honest, doing the best I can and I don’t like being used or manipulated.”

 “Agent Stark…”

“I can’t do it anymore.” She hook her head. “I’m tired of it all, the lies, the secrecy. This isn’t…it isn’t me.” she finished, shrugging.

“So what are you saying Nova?”

“That you can consider this my formal resignation.” She looked at him, eyes not moving from his and for a moment she was sure she saw a flicker of something that looked like regret flash across the Director’s face. But it disappeared as fast as it had arrived and she took a deep breath, squaring her shoulders back. “I will, of course, work any formal notice period.”

“I don’t suppose there’s any point in me trying to change your mind?”

“No, don’t suppose there is.” She shook her head.

“In that case, there’s no notice period necessary.” Fury spoke calmly, his posture returning to normal. He took a deep breath and strode round his desk, holding out his hand. “I’m sorry it’s come to this. You’re one of the best agents I’ve had. Coulson said you worked wonders on the Staff case.”

“Thank you, Sir.” She swalloed, fighting to keep her voice from cracking. “This hasn’t been an easy decision. For the most part, it’s been an honour to serve.”

She gently reached into her pocket, pulling out her official ID and ran her fingers over the silver badge before she handed it to him. Fury took it from her, and with one last smile she took a deep breath and turned, to leave, the tears brewing in her eyes.

This had to be one of the hardest decisions she’d ever made in her life but she wasn’t backing down. She’d talked it over with Steve extensively over the last two days and Tony too for that matter, her brother telling her that he, and their father would be proud of her no matter what. Undeniably her role at SHIELD had given her everything. A purpose, a new outlook on life, Steve. But now it was time to channel that energy in a new way.

“I would like you to remain on our books, in an advisory role.” Fury’s voice stopped her in her tracks and she grinned to herself, suddenly transported back to when he had said the same thing to Tony a few years ago.

She turned back and winked. “You can’t afford me.” 

**** Chapter 11

**Original Posting**

[khhunniewriting]

The Others (6)

[ Mafia/Gang AU ]

On Leo’s first day of school, he managed to stand out during physical education when he managed to finish the mile run before anyone else. Everyone had been sluggish, still in break mode while he had spent a majority of his time on the court.

“You’re ready as always Leo.” His friend Byung-yoon, who he knew better as Bewhy, was right behind him. He had been the basketball team’s captain at his previous school meaning the two knew each other well. At least as well as anyone could know someone who spoke so little. 

Leo nodded.

“Let’s go to the basketball team’s tryouts together after school.”

Again he nodded.

The school day finally ended allowing students to go their own ways. Some went straight home while others socialized with friends. Others like Leo went to clubs or sports.

Bewhy placed his arm around Leo’s shoulders maneuvering him through the crowded halls. “You know Cjamm came to this school too, with his grades he’s probably in one of the lower classes but I’m sure he’ll be trying for the team.”

Leo recalled Sungmin or Cjamm, as he preferred to be called,  was the small forward of the team. Bewhy and Cjamm were childhood friends so he wasn’t surprised he knew he was at the school without having seen him. 

They got to the locker rooms and quickly changed into their sports attire before heading to the gym. There was no sign of Cjamm anywhere making Bewhy worry about his friend.

“I wonder where he is...”

Leo and Bewhy began warming up when they spotted the shorter male entering the gym followed by a taller guy.

“Hey guys, sorry we’re late but Ji-hoon got scolded on the first day.” Cjamm talked about him as if he were an old friend but most importantly as if he had forgotten who Lee Ji-hoon was.

“Uh...” Bewhy looked back and forth between Ji-hoon and Leo. He decided to ignore them for a moment to deal with Cjamm. “Don’t tell me you got in trouble too.”

“Nah,” Cjamm waved him off. “I was just waiting for Ji-hoon since he said he was joining the team.”

“So you did come here!” Ji-hoon approached Leo with a smirk. The only reason he had wanted to come to this school was that he predicted it would be where Leo went. Judging by his middle school’s distance it was easy to figure out.

Leo remained stoic as he silently eyed the unruly guy. Standing close to him Leo found himself having grown slightly taller than Ji-hoon.

Ji-hoon’s loud voice called attention to the pair. 

Cjamm’s head tilted, “Wait do you two know each other?”

Bewhy groaned, “You know him too Sungmin.”

“I do?”

“He’s number eight, Lee Ji-hoon.”

“Oh, so why did you want to be in the same school as Leo?” 

Ji-hoon realized why it was so easy for Leo to always be so quiet and yet communicate flawlessly with others. He was always being surrounded by such loud energetic people like Cjamm and Bewhy. They did all the talking while Leo listened and observed. 

“Guess you don’t talk much off the court either, huh?”

Leo made no attempt to respond when the question itself was pointless.

“He’s a bit of a minimalist,” Bewhy jumped in trying to salvage the conversation from turning into a confrontation. 

Ji-hoon took a close look at Leo’s appearance, his shoes catching his attention. “A minimalist with shoes like that?”

“Woah,” Cjamm whistled upon seeing Leo’s brand new shoes. “Your mom really loves to spoil you young lion.”

Leo narrowed his eyes at Cjamm for calling him out like that. He did not particularly care for the nickname or the fact that he was talking about his mother in the presence of someone as loud and curious as Ji-hoon.

“Is that what you guys call him?” Ji-hoon laughed enjoying the fact that Leo’s face had finally changed from its emotionless state.

“Yeah, you see Leo’s mom named him after his zodiac sign-”

Leo covered Cjamm’s mouth with his hand to stop him from giving his private information. It was followed by a single glare before he walked away to continue warming up alone.

“Now you did it,” Bewhy sighed. 

“Why’s he so mad. It’s not like I called his mom hot again.”

“You better go apologize before he gives you the silent treatment.”

Cjamm was quick to go after Leo and follow Bewhy’s advice. He knew the burn of Leo’s cold shoulder when he, in fact, made it known that he thought you were hot. 

“I’m not sure why you’re interested in Leo but try to keep your personal issues off the court.”

“Wow, you already talk like you’ll be the captain of this team too.”

Bewhy shrugged, “We’ll see.”

At the end of the tryouts, the coach stood before the lot of teenage boys with the assistant coach to the side. They were discussing amongst themselves, checking through their notes making sure they were on the same page about who would go and who would stay. There were nodding and glances in the boys' direction trying to put a face to the name when they did not recall them until finally the selection was made. 

About half the students were asked to leave until only fifteen were left. Usually, only twelve were allowed on the roster but the coach was planning for the future where he expected some kids to drop out once practice started. 

“The rest of you will have to continue coming to practice every day after school.”

“Yes coach,” was heard loud and clear throughout the gym.

While some kids gave a sigh of relief at being picked, Leo and his friends had expected the outcome. 

“Now we wait to see if we make the starting line-up.” Bewhy was hoping to once again be the leader but he wasn’t going to throw a fit if he didn’t. He was a humble guy after all, unlike others.

“Piece of cake,” Cjamm rolled his neck and shoulders feeling confident he would make the starting line-up. “I’ll be the SF, you’ll be captain, Leo will be PF and  the center will be Ji-hoon.”

Ji-hoon nearly beamed hearing Cjamm include him. He had never gotten along with his previous team so it was refreshing. It sort of nourished his need for attention. 

Leo was first to finish changing back into his uniform. He was always listening to what the others said and agreed that they were good. He glanced over at Ji-hoon as the reality began to kick in that he would be on the same team as his rival. 

The four of them walked out the front gates of the school where a black Range Rover with tinted windows awaited Ji-hoon. The driver came out to open the door for Ji-hoon giving the other three a glimpse of his lifestyle.

“So you’re a rich kid,” Cjamm teased.

Ji-hoon was never one for caution but even he knew he couldn’t go telling everyone that he was the son of a mafia leader. “Something like that,” he sighed. “Any of you want a ride?”

Bewhy shook his head appreciating the offer but he and Cjamm lived close by. They had a routine of walking home together even if they didn’t walk to school together on account of Cjamm regularly oversleeping.

“We’ll walk, come on Sungmin.”

They waved goodbye leaving Ji-hoon and Leo. “What about y-” Ji-hoon went silent as he saw Leo had already begun walking in the opposite direction. “You could at least say something...” he scoffed.

After a week of practice, the roster was made final and the starting lineup was posted on the bulletin board at the front of the school. It was meant to be seen by the entire student body so they would know the faces of their new basketball team.

“Told ya-” Cjamm smirked seeing his picture up. For once he had gone to school early with this as his motivation. “Congratulations Captain,” he gave Bewhy a pat on the back.

Captain- Lee Byung-yoon

Small forward- Ryu Sungmin

Power forward- Lee Leo

Center- Lee Ji-hoon

“I have to say I do feel a bit left out though.” Cjamm hadn’t realized all his friends shared a name in common. “Are you related to the young lion and master Ji-hoon?”

“Of course not, it’s just a common name.” 

“Speaking of...” Cjamm waved to Leo and Ji-hoon as they both entered the school gates. “What took you so long?”

Ji-hoon explained how he had stayed at his mother’s house the night before resulting in a longer commute. On the other hand, Leo offered no explanation going straight to the bulletin board to see what the other two already knew. 

The four of them were now part of the same team.

\\\

After weeks of befriending Bewhy and Cjamm, being on the same team, eating lunch together, and even having the same class as Cjamm- he still knew very little about Leo. He had yet to hear him speak a word which was annoying considering it was one of the reasons he was there to begin with.

Lee Leo was an enigma to him. He wondered how it was possible for someone to be so composed and silent. 

If he couldn’t make him talk at school Ji-hoon figured in a more casual setting, such as hanging out outside of school would do the trick. “Hey, you all want to hang out this weekend?”

“Sure, I’d like to see what a young master like you does for fun.”

“I’ve got nothing better to do,” Bewhy agreed to go along.

Everyone looked at Leo as he shook his head. It was an obvious response to the two who had known him for longer.

Ji-hoon scowled, he would have asked for an explanation but Leo was approached by a couple of girls. One immediately wrapped her arms around one of his and leaned her weight against him.

“Ummm... may we borrow him for a second.” 

Once again he was being called out for a confession making the other three, who had yet to even have one, feel inferior. They watched him get pulled away out of view.

“Are you sure nothing’s wrong with that guy?” Ji-hoon asked. “Like does he have some sort of medical condition or am I the only one who doesn’t understand him?”

The other two laughed knowing exactly what he meant. They experienced the same thoughts when they first met Leo. 

“Nah man, it’s just the way Leo works.” Without Leo around to stop him Cjamm began freely spreading his information. “You see he’s an only child from a single-parent home. Before he went to school he only talked to his mom. Socializing isn’t really his strong point but thee’s something about Leo that just makes you want to talk to him.” 

Leo drew people in with his unique character, an embodiment of charisma. t never was hard to make friends because people were always curious about him.

“You understand right?” Bewhy recalled how Ji-hoon failed to explain exactly why he had wanted to attend school with Leo. “Didn’t you come here because of him?”

Ji-hoon nodded. “After our last game... I realized that no matter how many times I hit or got in Leo’s way- he never complained. He just never said anything and went along playing the game like nothing had ever happened. It made me angry.”

Both Cjamm and Bewhy looked at each other with worry.

“I hate people like that. People that can hide their emotions, people that act like everything is okay when it isn’t.” Ji-hoon pushed his unruly hair back. At home, he was constantly surrounded by people like him. His father, his mother... yet he could barely contain his feelings.

He reminded him of his father who stuck around being married to his mother even though he clearly didn’t love her. Or how he faced his rivals with a similar stoic stance when inside he was irritated and angry.

Ji-hoon was highly intuitive and sensitive to his environment. He easily picked up on the emotions of others. He knew after every game Leo was in pain, irritated, or upset but for some reason, he wanted to hear him say it. He wanted to know why he was able to hold it all in.

Even now Leo said nothing when Ji-hoon invited himself into his group of friends.

Bewhy understood Ji-hoon a bit more now. He had been apprehensive about him at first but now he knew Ji-hoon was just like them in the way that they wanted to get to know Leo. “I don’t know if you realize it but you’re just as strange as Leo.”

Ji-hoon’s brow furrowed in question. What about me?

“You look, talk, and act like a delinquent but really you’re just a softie who has a hard time making friends.” Bewhy and Cjamm laughed simultaneously at his expense.

“The f*ck did you say about me?”

“See, you’re putting up your delinquent act.”

Ji-hoon growled but didn’t say anything. 

Their attention was drawn by Leo as he rejoined the group with not even a hint of what had happened with the girls. 

“So you’re just gonna act like nothing happened?” Ji-hoon asked.

Leo nodded sitting back down in his original spot. 

That Saturday, when the guys were going to hang out with Ji-hoon, Leo spent your day off with you. He woke up early to help you with the cooking and cleaning. All he wanted was to spend time with you even if it was doing menial things like this.

“So when is your first game?”

“Next week.”

You nearly dropped the ceramic dish you were washing. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“It’s just a practice game-”

“All games are important Leo. We need to prepare you well.”

Leo knew what that meant. Often you would take him to the spa where you worked and gave him the luxury treatment professional athletes got. It was important that his sore muscles got tended to and that he was relaxed in both body and mind. 

“Let’s go to the spa later today, okay?”

He nodded.

Later that evening you showed up at the spa unannounced. Many of the employees had already met your son and expected him regularly around the school year. 

“Boss you brought your son today,” the front desk attendant of the spa commented. She was glad to see you because something had come up that she had been contemplating whether to call you in during your day off.

“Yeah, I came to make sure he’s ready for his game next week.”

“I know it's your day off but is it possible you can help train the new employee? The hotel manager just brought her in as a special hire.”

Your brow furrowed, as the spa manager you were always consulted about the spa staff and new employees. Even if they were special hires, meaning people who got in through connections and recommendations rather than applying normally. 

It went without saying that you would indeed look over her training. Even if she was a special hire you had to assure she would not hinder daily operations. While Leo went to change into the all-white ensemble the spa provided you went to your office where a long-haired blonde woman awaited you.

“Hello, I’m the general manager of this spa L/N F/N, but you can call me Y/N.”

“Nice to meet you, I’m Kim Hyun-jung.”

\\\

On the day of Leos’s first game you were seated front and center. Practice games hardly drew a crowd compared to official games allowing you the rare chance to see the game from close up.

Leo made eye contact with you upon scoring his first shot. He was glad to see you were as enthusiastic as ever clapping and cheering loudly for him.

Ji-hoon recognized the voice from games before when he would be up against Leo. He never managed to find the source until now. That must be his mom. He looked back at Leo as he smiled approving of your chanting his name before turning back to him with that determined gaze that he hated. It meant Leo was in the zone, pushing away all unnecessary thoughts and focusing on the ball. Ji-hoon had been confronted by that look many times to know Leo intended to win.

As a power forward, Leo’s efforts were focused inside the three-point line. He made sure to rule that area, making every one of his moves count.

After the first half of the game was over Leo realized he had far less need to use aggression when Ji-hoon was on his team. Not only that but he and Ji-hoon seemed to coordinate their moves well. This was good considering they were both usually scoring under the basket.

Ji-hoon nearly choked on his water when he realized Leo was staring at him from the other end of the bench.

“What?”

Leo looked away dismissing the question.

“He’s probably thinking how smoothly the game is going,” Bewhy offered the explanation to Ji-hoon. “When we played against you, Leo would use the breaks in between quarters trying to relax before he got too aggressive. Now he’s realizing it’s better to have you as a teammate than a rival.”

Ji-hoon frowned, “Why didn’t he just say so instead of giving me that creepy look of his?”

Bewhy laughed, “If you impress him he might give you an approving nod after the game.”

“That’s it, a nod?”

“What did you want, a hug? You really are a needy guy Ji-hoon.”

“Shut up!”

The rest of the game Ji-hoon focused incredibly hard seemingly entering the zone in a similar way as Leo. The two of them finding themselves able to score more points than usual, ending the game with a win.

“We did it again!” Cjamm ran around high-fiving everyone including Leo who simply stuck his hand out for Cjamm to do so.

Bewhy followed suit when Leo offered his hand to him too, “Another good game Leo.”

Leo nodded.

“You too Ji-hoon. Who knew we would all work so well together.” Bewhy caught Leo’s conflicted expression through his peripheral. “Right Leo?”

Leo sighed but nodded.

“See... got yourself a nod.” Bewhy teased Ji-hoon.

Like always you waited for Leo outside just a small distance from the gymnasium. This time it seemed Leo was taking longer than usual. Lots of other boys seemed to come and go before you spotted Leo approaching with a few friends.

You recognized Bewhy and Cjamm immediately but the boy the other boy you had trouble placing. Leo looked to be a bit displeased that they were accompanying him.

“Sorry for making you wait Ms. Lee.”

“You’re always so polite Byung-yoon. Congratulations on winning your first game, everyone did such a good job.” Your eyes met Ji-hoon’s stopping for a moment as if asking who he was.

“This is our new friend Ji-hoon,” Cjamm stepped in. “You might recognize him as number eight.”

Both Bewhy and Ji-hoon gave him a pointed look for giving unnecessary information.

“Number eight-” you gasped. What happened to him? The unruly kid from before seemed so imposing, tall, and rude. Now he was on parr with Leo it was almost unimaginable. You turned to Leo with a pout, “Why didn’t you tell me your old rival was your teammate?”

He simply shrugged, in all honesty he didn’t think it was necessary to inform you unless something came of it. Ji-hoon had proven to be quite tame. There were no more fouls or useless aggression aimed at him.

“Sorry about that,” Ji-hoon gave you a slight bow. “I was going through some things back then.” He rubbed the back of his neck feeling somewhat ashamed of himself. Apologizing was foreign to him. “It’s not an excuse just an explanation for my actions.”

“I see...” Ji-hoon’s formal speech startled you, his word choice and actions gave him an air of maturity. Leo's affirming nod was really all you needed to validate. “I appreciate your sincere apology and am glad you two have come to an understanding. Seeing you all play so well together confirms you have gotten along well.”

“We’re all friends here,” Cjamm confirmed putting his arms around both their shoulders and bringing them down to his level.

-end-

A/N: Also, I have no idea why I made Bewhy and Cjamm Leo’s friends but I think it works 😂

[cornyregans]

The Mysterious Death of Hero Monty

Essay Word Count: 1,959 Obligatory Thank You Word Count: 102 Total Word Count: 2,061

   One of the most interesting aspects of Veronaville, to me at least, is the mystery surrounding the recent deaths of six premade sims. We can determine the cause of death for five of these six sims through their ghosts; however, there is one sim who is an outlier among the group of six, and that sim is Hero Monty. While Hero’s death is indeed mysterious, mysteries are meant to be solved, and in this essay, we are going to try to solve the mystery of her demise.

Possible Causes

  Before we go any further, we should look at all the potential causes of Hero’s death and make deductions accordingly. Since Hero and the rest of Veronaville were packaged in the base game, it is safe to say that we can disregard any causes of death introduced in the expansion packs. Aside from any sort of glitch or any downloadable methods that result in the death of a sim, there are nine methods to kill a sim in the base game: starvation, electrocution, drowning, fire, old age, disease, flies, fright, and satellite. 

   Given that Hero was an adult at the time of her death, we can definitively rule out old age, as that cause of death is meant to be restricted to elder sims. This leaves us with eight possible causes of death, all of which can kill an adult sim, so it is safe to say that we cannot rule anything else out with just the game alone.

Shakespeare’s Hero and Hero Monty

   Hero Monty shares a name with a character from Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. Shakespeare’s Hero, the daughter of Messina's Governor Leonato, is loved by a lord named Claudio. Claudio announces his intention to court her to Benedick, who in turn informs Don Pedro about Claudio’s plans. As a result, Pedro resolves to court Hero for Claudio without the latter’s knowledge and puts this plan into action at a celebratory masquerade ball. Don John (Pedro’s illegitimate brother) is also attempting to court Hero at the ball and uses Claudio’s ignorance to Pedro’s intentions so Claudio will think Pedro is trying to take Hero for himself. This leads Claudio to confront Pedro in a rage, but in the end, Claudio ends up winning Hero’s hand and the misunderstanding is cleared up.

   Later in the play, Don John and his follower Borachio resolve to stop the marriage by lying to Pedro and Claudio that Hero is unfaithful; as a result, Claudio promises to publicly humiliate Hero, and does so on their wedding day, causing Leonato to wish for his daughter’s death. On the advice of a friar who is rightly convinced of her virtue, Hero fakes her death so as to not only expose the truth but for Claudio to express regret for his actions. Ultimately, Don John’s treachery is exposed, Claudio expresses remorse for his actions, and Hero is revealed to be alive at her second wedding to Claudio.

   As mentioned above, while Hero does not die in Much Ado About Nothing, she does fake her death. Could it be possible that she did the same thing in The Sims 2? If this is the case, it would likely not have been for the same reason. In Much Ado About Nothing, Hero faked her death after Claudio accuses her of being unfaithful at their wedding, but there is no indication in-game that her marriage to Antonio Monty was anything but a happy one.

   However, despite the events in Much Ado About Nothing, I believe it is unlikely that this incarnation of Hero is alive somewhere for a few reasons. First of all, unlike Hero from Much Ado About Nothing, there is no evidence that anyone in Veronaville had any knowledge should Hero have planned to fake her death, rather everyone seems to treat her as being dead. Second of all, most of the Montys possess a memory of her death, and those who do not remember her dying have absolutely no relationship with her in any of their relationship panels. Finally, unlike Bella Goth, who is shown to be alive on the Goth family tree despite not being visible in Pleasantview, Hero’s portrait in the Monty family tree is clearly greyed out like other deceased sims. In addition, Bella can be added to a household by using the boolprop cheat, whereas Hero cannot unless you use something like SimPE (a third party program).

The Mythological Hero and Hero Monty

   Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing was probably completed in 1599, but one of his contemporaries, Christopher Marlowe, began working on a poem entitled Hero and Leander in 1593. Marlowe died before he could complete this poem and it was published posthumously in a 1598 quarto, the same year it is believed Shakespeare began working on Much Ado About Nothing.

   Marlowe’s poem was in no way the first reference to the original Greek myth, as the story of Hero and Leander has been adapted into both written work and even coins long before both Marlowe and Shakespeare were even born. In fact, it is speculated that one of the individuals to refer to the original myth was Ovid, a Roman poet whose stories are both consciously and subconsciously present in some of Shakespeare’s plays. So even if Shakespeare did not take Hero’s name from Marlowe’s poem, it is incredibly likely that his choice of name for the Much Ado About Nothing character was indeed influenced by the original myth because of that fact. 

   Not to mention, Shakespeare himself also alluded to this myth in a number of his other plays. The Hero and Leander myth is mentioned twice in The Two Gentlemen of Verona. It is first alluded to in the opening scene during a dialogue between the two title characters, and later in Act III in a scene between one of the title characters and his love interest's father. Shakespeare also alludes to the myth in Act IV of As You Like It, as the main character discusses it in a dialogue with her love interest.

   Outside of The Two Gentlemen of Verona and As You Like It, Shakespeare also refers to the myth in Edward III, Othello, Romeo and Juliet, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (the names used in this example are Helen and Limander, however, that mistake was Shakespeare’s intention rather than actually being a legitimate error).

   The original Greek myth relates the story of two lovers: Hero, a priestess of Aphrodite who lived in a tower in Sestos, and Leander, a young man from Abydos who lives on the other side of the strait. Leander ends up falling in love with Hero, and as a result, he would swim across the Hellespont strait every night to spend time with her; however, as the night was dark and full of terrors, Hero would light a lamp in her tower in order to guide his way to her. While the two engaged in a sexual relationship for an entire summer, everything changed once winter came. One night, as Leander was tossed into the sea by strong waves, the lamp in Hero’s tower that was guiding his way ended up being blown out by the strong winter winds. This proved deadly as Leander found himself completely lost, and drowned as a result. Hero, upon discovering Leander’s dead body, decided to join him in death by throwing herself from her tower into the waters below.

Mystery Solved?

   There is no way to say for sure how Hero Monty may have died, but if we take the Hero and Leander myth into account, it is possible to conclude that her death may very well have been by drowning. If that is indeed the case, then where could she have possibly drowned?

   Unlike how Hero’s death is portrayed in the original myth, there is no way for a sim to drown anywhere other than a pool in the base game. If you’re one of those people who take gameplay mechanics into account, this means that, while the idea may sound reasonable in theory, it is highly unlikely that Hero was meant to have drowned in the canal separating the two sides of the neighborhood. In addition, none of the premade lots in Veronaville have any obvious swimming pool.

   With all that in mind, perhaps the location of Hero’s death is meant to be just as ambiguous as the cause. For one thing, both Hero’s widower Antonio and their twins Beatrice and Benedick start the game in the family bin rather on their own lot. This means that any potential drowning death Hero may have suffered could have been anywhere in the neighborhood. However, given the structure of the neighborhood, it is more likely than not that she ended up dying on the western side of Veronaville that is populated by the Monty family. This narrows down the possible locations significantly, as aside from the Monty Ranch, there are only three residential lots that Antonio, Hero, and their children could have inhabited. This leaves three possible locations for Hero’s place of death: 111 Stratford Street, 267 Avon Avenue, and the Old Silo Farm. While none of these lots have a pool, keep in mind that pools are able to be deleted in build mode, so it is entirely possible that Antonio could have potentially had it filled in before he moved out with the kids.

   However, it might behoove us to take a look at the houses found in the Lots and Houses Bin, as Antonio and his children could have originally been meant to inhabit one of them earlier in development. This may be a bit of a stretch, but there are pieces of evidence that show that Veronaville has gone through drastic changes between development and the final product; with the biographies of three of the deceased sims, Cornwall’s French biography, and the images of families living in houses that ended up being unoccupied probably being the most egregious examples. By looking at all the base game houses in the Lots and Houses Bin, there are two houses that fit in perfectly with the neighborhood as a whole: the Tiny Tudor, which would fit in perfectly among the Tudor homes on the Capp side, and the Helluva Hacienda, which would be right at home among the Mediterranean style villas on the Monty side. In fact, if you look closer at the Helluva Hacienda, you will see that there is a pool in the backyard. As a result, it is entirely possible that this lot may have been the place of residence for Antonio’s family earlier in development, but it could have been removed from the neighborhood map prior to the game’s release in order to possibly make Hero’s death more mysterious.

Conclusion

   As someone who plays Veronaville through a Shakespearean lens, I often find myself looking beyond the game when my questions are unanswered. When Shakespeare fails to answer my question, I look to things like etymology, mythology, history, geography, works by Shakespeare’s contemporaries, you name it, odds are I have looked into it at one point or another.

   This is, of course, all pure speculation on my part, and I will be the first to admit that. There is no way to prove for certain how Hero died, and it is something that has been theorized by simmers for years. Perhaps this theory is completely off the mark, but I think it is important to at least throw it out there and see if anyone has the same opinion as I do or even a different one. After all, no two people play The Sims 2 the same way, and perhaps the same can be said when it comes to the lore provided, both in-universe and out. 

Thank you so much for reading this essay. Please feel free to like and reblog this post, it would make me very happy. I am always open to discussing the inner workings of Veronaville, so feel free to leave an ask or a message whenever you feel like it. The Veronaville Vault is a project I’ve been working on for almost a year now, and I’m so glad I can finally share some of it with all of you. I have some things planned for future entries and I’m always open to suggestions, so I hope you will join me again sometime.