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thedeviltohisangel · 4 days ago

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The Way Back Home

Joaquin Torres x OC

Part 1: Sleeper Cells

Summary: Ath-Enaa has a secret and the U.S. government is determined to get it out of her. Word Count: 3.6k Warnings: none

2 MONTHS EARLIER

Ath-Enaa couldn't stop shaking her legs as she hurtled towards the Earth in the space elevator. She was so anxious. She had never been to Earth before; only orbited it from the S.A.B.E.R. space station.

She had spent the last week preparing for her arrival on Earth, studying human customs and behaviors. Much like the Kree, they spent a lot of their resources on wars. But that was the end of the commonalities. Everything she had learned about the Earth surprised her. Everything was so different from Hala.

Before Ath-Enaa could process all her feelings, she landed. This was it. She stood up on shaky legs and gathered up her minimal belongings.

"Come on, Rocket," she said, getting the attention of her pet flerken. Ath-Enaa had arrived at S.A.B.E.R. just after a whole bunch of baby flerken had hatched. One of them had immediately taken a liking to her. She kept her and named her Rocket because of how fast she was.

Rocket meowed and came to stand by her feet. A few long seconds passed before a hissing noise filled the pod and the door began to open.

Ath-Enaa's eyes were immediately flooded with sunlight. As her vision cleared, she noticed the two men standing waiting for her. She immediately recognized Sam Wilson. Since he became Captain America, his face was everywhere.

"Ah, Mr. Wilson!" She shouted, making her way out of the elevator, bags in her arms and Rocket trailing at her heels.

“Call me Sam,” he said, holding his hand out. He wants to shake your hand, she thought. Okay, Ath-Enaa, you've practiced your handshakes. You got this.

“Ath-Enaa,” she replied, reaching out, squeezing his hand, and shaking it.

Sam winced slightly. “That is a firm handshake.”

Ath-Enaa beamed. “Thanks, I’ve been practicing.”

Sam laughed at this. It wasn’t supposed to be funny. Letting go of his hand, Ath-Enaa was immediately drawn in by the man standing beside Sam. He looked to be a few years older than her. He had shiny black hair, bronzed skin, and a sharp jawline. He was handsome, she thought. Ath-Enaa immediately felt embarrassed by this thought, and became grateful she couldn’t blush the way the pink-skins did.

“Joaquin Torres,” He said, holding his hand out just as Sam had. Ath-Enaa shook it and tried not to start sweating.

“Hi,” Ath-Enaa said back. She was feeling awkward, and her voice came out quieter than intended. She noticed his face flush as he looked at her, and tried not to think too hard about it.

"Come on, we'll show you to your room. I hope it's okay that you'll be living on base. That's where you'll be safest." Sam said.

“Fine with me,” she said. As they walked her to her room, Ath-Enaa did her best to listen to what Sam was saying and not just stare at Joaquin the entire time. She did not succeed.

“This is all yours,” Sam said, holding the door open for her.

Ath-Enaa took the room in. It was a simple bedroom, with just a bed, desk, TV, and dressers. But it was the nicest room she ever had. It was much larger than the dorm room she had shared on the S.A.B.E.R. space station.

“It’s great,” Ath-Enaa said, smiling. She had mixed feelings about being here. What she really wanted was to continue her research, but this was a once in a lifetime opportunity to come work on Earth for a few weeks.

“I’ve gotta get back to work, but Joaquin will help you get settled in.”

“Great, thanks,” Ath-Enaa said. Sam clapped Joaquin on the shoulder before leaving the two of them alone. Ath-Enaa didn’t see the wink Sam gave Joaquin. And she didn‘t see the way Joaquin blushed either.

"Rocket," Ath-Enaa whistled for her flerken, having lost sight of her on the walk to her room. A meow came from under the bed and a small, feline head popped out. "There you are buddy, hiding already?"

"Aww, who's this cutie? Rocket, you said?" Joaquin got down to pet Rocket.

"Yeah, Rocket," Ath-Enaa answered. "But don't let her eat anything. She’s a flerken."

"A flerken?" Joaquin asked, confused.

"You know, a flerken?" Ath-Enaa said. Joaquin just stared at her, waiting for an explanation. "They look like cats, but their stomach is a pocket dimension, and they have tentacles that pop out of their mouth."

"Mierda," Joaquin gasped, leaping back from Rocket and holding his hands to his chest as though afraid Rocket would bite them off.

"What?" Ath-Enaa didn't understand his reaction.

"That's nothing like the animals we have on Earth." Joaquin explained, still looking at Rocket fearfully.

"Really?" Ath-Enaa asked. "Huh."

"Yeah," Joaquin gulped nervously. "So, I'll let you settle in?"

"Yeah, thanks." Ath-Enaa said, beginning to unpack.

"Great, Sam wants to brief in an hour. See you there?"

"Yeah, see you there."

Joaquin smiled and left her alone in her room. There was an unfamiliar feeling in the pit of Ath-Enaa's stomach, and she found she was looking forward to seeing Joaquin Torres again.

PRESENT DAY

Ath-Enaa had lived on Earth for two months now, and she still wasn't sure how she felt about it. She grew up during a civil war and witnessed the depletion of resources on Hala. Yet compared to Earth, that seemed like a breeze. Earth was a mess. Earth was weird and confusing, and she didn't get it.

A few months ago, she had been home on Hala when she was recruited by Carol Danvers. Carol Danvers sent her to Nick Fury, and Nick Fury sent her to Sam Wilson. It was supposed to be a temporary posting. She was supposed to be a S.A.B.E.R. representative for Captain America temporarily while they found someone permanent. But two months later and she was still here. She wasn't sure how long qualified as ‘temporary’ to humans, but surely it was weeks, not months.

She wanted to be back at the S.A.B.E.R. Space Station, orbiting the Earth from a comfortable distance. But instead, she was here, in Baltimore, Maryland, training at 6:00 am with Isaiah Bradley. It was the one part of her day she genuinely enjoyed.

Much to Ath-Enaa’s surprise, the old man wasn't the least bit phased by her blue skin when he was introduced to her and told he was responsible for training her for the foreseeable future. He liked her more than Joaquin, that was for sure.

Isaiah and Ath-Enaa both agreed that Joaquin was… a lot. He was chatty, and they both appreciated their silence. The only thing he was good for was answering all her questions about the Earth and humans. He was delighted whenever Ath-Enaa had a question for him. She found his excitement unnerving, but she didn’t have anyone else to go to.

“Alright, let’s go!” Isaiah’s voice echoed through the gym. Ath-Enaa excitedly hopped up off the floor and met him in the middle of the room. She loved training with Isaiah. It reminded her of home. Of her time in Hala’s military. “You got an hour before Sam and Joaquin show up.”

It was later that morning when Ath-Enaa first ran in to Joaquin Torres.

“Gooooood Morning!” Joaquin greeted, chipper as ever.

Ath-Enaa sighed into her coffee mug. “Can’t a woman drink her coffee in peace?”

“How you wound me, cariño,” Joaquin placed his hands against his chest, feigning a broken heart.

“How ever will you survive?” She rolled her eyes, moving to walk away from him. It didn’t work. He followed her wherever she went.

The mornings always started like this. With Ath-Enaa minding her own business, and Joaquin eagerly attempting to chat her up. At least he’s nice to look at, Ath-Enaa thought. But she quickly tucked that thought into the back of her brain to be ignored.

“So, wanna watch the football game after work?”

“There’s another one?!”

“There’s one every week.”

“But it’s so boring!”

“I’ll pay for dinner.”

“Deal. But I want it to be known I’m only in it for the free food.”

“Kids!” Sam shouted, entering the room. Ath-Enaa now knew ‘kids’ referred to her and Joaquin.

“Sam,” they said together.

“Ath-Enaa,” Sam sounded serious. “We gotta go to D.C.“

“What? Why? Can she even leave?” Joaquin asked before she could even get a word out.

“Why would I be needed there?” She asked, confused.

“There’s a…” Sam hesitated. “Kree problem.”

“Kree problem?” Ath-Enaa questioned. The Kree were busy rehabilitating Hala, what could there be— and then she remembered. The sleeper cells. “Oh shit.”

“Do you know something?” Sam asked.

“No.” She lied. “Fine, let’s go.”

“Is it safe for her to leave here?” Joaquin immediately looked panicked.

“I’ll be fine,” Ath-Enaa said at the same time Sam said, “She’ll be fine.”

“It’s official government business, right?” She asked. Sam confirmed with a nod. “So they’re expecting me. It’ll be okay.”

Ath-Enaa wasn’t totally sure she believed what she was saying, but the last thing she wanted was for Joaquin to be even more worried. She was surprised he was so concerned about her. She didn’t think they were particularly close. And she wasn’t sure what to make of it.

Joaquin hesitated for a moment before nodding.

“Good. We hit the road in 15!” Sam said, walking away from them.

“Hit the road?” Ath-Enaa turned to ask Joaquin. That was a new one she hadn’t heard yet.

“That means we’re gonna leave in 15 minutes,” Joaquin answered. For all of Joaquin’s faults (and Ath-Enaa thought there were many), he never judged her for not understanding certain human phrases that didn’t translate directly.

“We?”

“You really think I’d let you go without me?”

Ath-Enaa just smiled.

“So, what exactly is this Kree situation?” Joaquin asked, looking up at Sam, where he sat in the driver's seat. Joaquin sat in the back with Ath-Enaa.

“They wouldn’t say,” Sam said. “Just demanded we get there this morning.”

“But I haven’t been on Hala in months, and the only person there I’ve talked to in that time is my dad. No one in the military.” Ath-Enaa said.

“I told them that. They said that you were in the military and they’d make you tell them what you know.”

“What?!” Joaquin sounded terrified.

Ath-Enaa immediately felt bad and went to try and calm him down. “Joaquin—”

“I’ll go in with you.”

“You can’t do that. You know you can’t do that.”

“You shouldn’t be in there alone.”

“Joaquin, I’m a highly trained soldier. Whatever they do, I can handle it. And besides, anything I know has nothing to do with Earth.” Ath-Enaa felt bad lying to Sam and Joaquin, but she also knew they were better off not knowing.

The next few minutes were spent in tense silence. Joaquin and Ath-Enaa were both fidgeting in their seats, anxious for what was to come.

“We’re here,” Sam announced. Joaquin and Ath-Enaa both leaned to look out her window.

“Where exactly is ‘here’?” She questioned.

“Welcome to the U.S. Capitol building,” Joaquin said.

“It’s… underwhelming,” Ath-Enaa said, unimpressed. “Kree architecture is much more impressive.”

“You’ll have to show us sometime, then,” Joaquin playfully nudged Ath-Enaa’s shoulder in an attempt to cheer her up.

“Yeah, we’ll see about that,” Ath-Enaa couldn’t resist smiling. Joaquin always seemed to have that effect on her.

They made their way to the nearest parking lot, parking and working their way up to the steps of the Capitol. As they walked, people stopped to stare at Ath-Enaa, her blue skin drawing the attention of everyone she saw. Ath-Enaa hated it; she didn’t even feel this scrutinized when she arrived at Captain America’s base on that first day on Earth.

As they walked, she noticed that there was something different about the attention she was receiving today. Something viscous in a way she hadn’t experienced yet.

“Why is everyone looking at me like I killed a puppy?” Ath-Enaa asked, wiggling her way to stand between Joaquin and Sam.

“They don’t like aliens,” Joaquin answered sympathetically. “Don’t take it personally. It’s not about you.”

“Tensions have been high since President Ritson introduced the anti-alien act,” Sam continued the explanation.

Ath-Enaa started sweating with anxiety. “An anti-alien act?”

“It never got passed into law,” Joaquin assured her.

“That makes me feel loads better,” Ath-Enaa rolled her eyes.

Joaquin grabbed her shoulders, staring into her eyes with an intensity she had never seen from him. She couldn’t remember the last time she had been this nervous. “Before you go in there—”

Ath-Enaa didn’t even realize they had made it halfway up the steps of the capitol.

“Know you’ve done nothing wrong."

"I know that."

"Don't be nervous."

"Super helpful, Joaquin."

“Ath-Enaa? Ath-Enaa!” Sam and Joaquin shouted, chasing after her as she ran out of the capitol. “What happened?”

Ath-Enaa ignored them. She was fuming. The last two hours had been spent being grilled by representatives over supposed Kree threats to national security. No matter how many times Ath-Enaa said the Kree currently posed no threats to the Earth and humans, they didn’t believe her.

And they knew. They knew about the sleeper cells. How could they possibly know, she wondered. Her mind scrambled, fearful for what this meant for her and all the Kree on Earth.

“Ath-Enaa—” Sam said, once he and Joaquin caught up to her on the steps outside.

“They want me to turn on my people!” She shouted.

“What?” Sam asked.

“Those men have the audacity to ask me to turn on my people!”

“What do they want?” Joaquin asked.

“The location of every Kree sleeper cell.”

“Sleeper cells?!” Sam and Joaquin shouted together.

“Yeah! There are Kree sleeper cells all over Earth! I knew all along and didn’t tell you!” She shouted, letting it all out.

“Okay, breathe,” Sam came up to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. “Just breathe. Everything is gonna be fine.”

Ath-Enaa shook her head, unconvinced. “They said they’d fire me from S.A.B.E.R. if I didn’t do it.”

Sam stared directly into her eyes, “I won’t let that happen. Nick Fury won’t let that happen.”

“Can we go? Please?” She begged. “I wanna go.”

“Of course,” Sam said, releasing her shoulders.

Once back in the car, Ath-Enaa stared out the window, her breathing shaky. What do I do? She thought. The research I could do at S.A.B.E.R. is everything I've wanted to do since I was young. But I can't just betray my people. I can't turn on my homeland. Ath-Enaa kept spiraling until she was pulled out of her thoughts by Joaquin reaching for her hand, gently holding it in his. She couldn't bring herself to turn and look at him, but she gave his hand an appreciative squeeze.

"Hey!" Ra-Vell's voice echoed through Ath-Enaa's bedroom as the hologram of her popped up.

"Hey! How are you? I miss you. How’s S.A.B.E.R.?" Ath-Enaa asked. Ath-Enaa had met Ra-Vell during training at S.A.B.E.R., and they were later assigned to the same research team. As two of the very few Kree working at S.A.B.E.R., they had bonded instantly, later connecting over their shared love of physics and their desire to see more of the world beyond Hala and the neighboring planets they visited while serving in the military.

"Less fun without you."

"I mean obviously," Ath-Enaa joked. They both laughed at this. It felt good to laugh after they day she'd had.

"Hey, what’s bothering you?" Ra-Vell asked, noticing something was wrong.

Ath-Enaa sighed. "I was questioned by the U.S. Goverment today."

"Das’t," Ra-Vell swore in Kree.

Ath-Enaa groaned, flopping back onto her bed. "Yeah. Exactly."

"What did they want?"

"They told me to give them the location of every Kree sleeper cell on Earth. Threatened to fire me from S.A.B.E.R. if I don’t do it."

"What did you do?"

"Insisted I didn’t know anything. Sat there for about two hours before I finally got up and ran away." Athena rubbed her eyes. She was exhausted. She groaned as she rolled to sit up, hugging her knees to her chest.

"I hate this. What’s going on up there? I need to think about something else."

"Oh, you’ll love this. So—"

A knock on the door interrupted them. Ath-Enaa groaned before saying, "Come in."

“Hey,” Joaquin popped his head in. “I just wanted to see if you were- oh.” He stopped in his tracks when he saw the hologram of Ra-Vell.

"Joaquin, this is my friend Ra-Vell. We worked on the same research team at S.A.B.E.R. and were just catching up."

"So you’re Joaquin." Ra-Vell had a devious smirk on her face. "Oh, I’ve heard all about you.”

"No, you haven’t," Ath-Enaa insisted.

"Have you now?" Joaquin asked Ra-Vell, but his eyes were trained on Ath-Enaa, and he had the most self-satisfied smile she had ever seen on his face.

Ra-Vell looked way too excited. "Oh yeah, she—"

"Okay, bye!" Ath-Enaa shouted, abruptly ending the call.

"Stop it. Stop with the face." Ath-Enaa scolded.

Joaquin looked far too pleased with himself. "So you talk about me all the time?"

"Only to complain about how annoying you are."

"Sure," Joaquin smirked. Ath-Enaa hated it.

"Shut up, what do you want?"

"I came to check on you. You had a hard day."

Ath-Enaa thought about this for a moment. He was right. She did have a hard day. And maybe Joaquin could help her if she just gave him a chance.

"Can we go outside?"

“I never had any say in my life. And neither did my dad, or any other Kree. All Kree are required to serve in the military in some capacity. I wanted to study physics. Instead, I was a soldier. And I was the best. Then Carol found me, and I got offered the job at S.A.B.E.R. I thought to myself, this is it. This is my chance. I got to spend six months as an astrophysics researcher before I got sent here to be a goddamn government liaison.”

“That must have sucked. I’m sorry. I get it now.” Joaquin said. They were walking on a dimly lit path around the lake on base. It was late at night, and they were the only ones around.

“And on the S.A.B.E.R. station— it’s incredible. Humans and aliens working together to understand and protect the universe. Down here, I’m the only one of my kind. And now, I don’t know what to do. And that’s scary. I’ve always known what to do. I can’t betray my people. But I can’t give up everything I’ve ever wanted either.” Ath-Enaa had never felt so torn up in her life.

“Whatever you do,” Joaquin reached for her hand, holding it delicately in his, as though fearful she would break if he held on to her too tightly. “You don’t have to do it alone. I’m with you, no matter what. And it’s not just me. You have Sam and Isaiah, too.”

Ath-Enaa felt her heart rate slow down as she stared into Joaquin’s warm, brown eyes. There was something about him that made her feel at ease. That let her know she could tell him anything and he wouldn’t judge her for any of it. “I just feel so out of my depth on this planet. Like I’ll never belong here no matter what I do.”

“Do you even want to belong here?” Joaquin asked. He knew she had been itching to get back to space.

“I don’t know,” Ath-Enaa said truthfully. “I don’t know about any of it. I just feel so lost and confused all the time. And I’m so far away from everything I know.”

"Did I ever tell you that my parents are immigrants? Just like you."

Ath-Enaa shook her head.

"They came here from Mexico before I was born. They started their lives over in an unfamiliar place, kind of like you. Obviously, it’s hard to compare moving countries to moving galaxies, but that feeling of being lost away from home? You’re not alone in that."

"What did they do?"

"It took time. But they built a home here. They built a family, a life."

"Do they miss Mexico?"

"Of course. But they wouldn’t change anything they did. This is as much their home as Mexico. Maybe you can meet them sometime. It might help."

"Yeah. That sounds nice." Right then, Ath-Enaa let out an involuntary yawn.

Joaquin chuckled. "Come on, let's get you to bed."

Ath-Enaa simply nodded, letting her head fall onto his shoulder. She didn't pay much attention to where they were going, trusting Joaquin to lead the way. She was in a daze the whole walk until Joaquin said, "We're here," and she looked up to see her door.

"Thanks," she yawned again, and he laughed. "Goodnight, Joaquin."

"Goodnight, Ath-Enaa."

If you made it this far—thanks for reading! Comment if you’d like to be added to the tag list for future chapters!

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