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Fandom The Slowest Burn of All [CLOSED]

Steve tapped his foot rather impatiently as they waited for the girls to come down the stairs. He could already feel himself sweating in his suit, which wasn’t exactly comfortable. Ever since they’d kissed, Steve hadn’t been sure how to act around Kailyn. He knew that they needed to figure out what all of it meant, but he’d been preoccupied with trying to take Bucky’s lecture to heart. If he was going to protect both him and, more importantly, Kailyn, then he needed to get his head straight. And he was pretty sure he’d managed that now, so tonight was the night that he stopped beating around the bush about his feelings. The problem was that Steve wasn’t the best with relationships or flirting, so he hadn’t exactly figured out how he was going to do that yet.

He spotted Kailyn and Aurora before Peter did. Both of them looked breathtaking, but Steve only had eyes for Kailyn as she descended the stairs. He smiled down at her, trying to formulate proper English words in his head. Nothing seemed to compute though, so his reply came out as less than smooth. “Your dress - and you...just wow,” he breathed.

Steve moved too wrap an arm around her waist, but stopped when his gaze landed on Thor’s axe in her hand. Literally everyone paused to take in the sight, shocked beyond words. “Well, if your gorgeousness didn’t cause everyone to look, then that just did,” he whispered to her as they walked over to the bar.

While Kailyn spoke with Thor, he ordered himself a glass of whiskey and observed the drinking game with clear amusement. “Whoa,” Steve laughed when she turned around and bumped into him. He reached out and placed his hands on her waist to steady her.

“Oh, really?” Steve responded with a grin to her compliment. He tugged her closer and lowered his face down to whisper into her ear, “Have I told you how great you look?”

——

Aurora had never been to a party before. At least, not one like this. She remembered attending a few birthday parties while her and Casen were in foster care, but those were obviously nothing like Scott’s party. Whoever had planned it hadn’t spared any expense, but she had a feeling that everyone needed the chance to relax and let loose some. Which, speaking of letting loose, she supposed that drinking was the way to do that.

She watched the drinking game alongside Peter with amusement, laughing at his pouting when he lost. “Come on, babe, keep up,” Aurora teased. She leaned against the bar, unintentionally giving him a clear view of her tight dress from behind, and requested her own shots of tequila. She downed the first one, wincing at the burn when the liquid hit her throat. Her body almost immediately registered the alcohol, probably because she had never drank and hadn’t eaten much since lunch. After she’d taken the second shot, her body warmed and a comfortable feeling lapped at her muscles.

“Oookay, no more tequila shots. Try this,” Hope said, plucking another shot out of Aurora’s hand and swapping it out for her mixed drink. She took a long drink from the fruity concoction and nodded in approval. After her intake of liquid courage, she grabbed Peter by the arm and began to tug him along.

“Dance with me,” she said, letting her hand drop down to grab his hand as she walked backward toward the dance floor. “You know, seeing you in a suit is just about as nice as seeing you shirtless,” Aurora whispered to Peter once they were closer.
 
Kailyn’s smile instantly disappeared as Steve pulled her close. He hadn’t touched her in well, three weeks, and practically was ignoring her the entire time as well. Her heart swooned with his words, but her head had other games in mind. She let out a shaky breath as he whispered to her, and as he was about to pull away she quickly gripped- a little too hard - onto his collar. “You kept me waiting. You’ll have to try a little bit harder than that.” She purred. The girl let him go before backing away, her hands raised in mock surrender. “Don’t blow it.” She added, quickly disappearing into the crowd behind her.

Bucky and Sam both stood behind Cap, their mouths wide open in shock. “Oh man, you blew it,” Sam said, chuckling as he watched Rogers.

“You really did. How did you blow it like that?” Bucky said, shaking his head in disbelief. “Come on, lets figure out how we are going to get her back. I am too invested in this to see you loose now.”

The meta walked over to Thor, her fascination with the man growing with the seconds. She was about to speak to him when he spoke for her. “Have you ever been to space?” He asked. He took out a small flask and poured two glasses, gesturing for her to sit down. “You clearly are worthy, so you should take a trip sometime. Here have some Asgardian wine, my treat.”

Kailyn shook her head before accepting the glass, taking a sip to please the man. Her mouth burst full of sweet flavorings, sweeter than she had ever tasted before. She took another sip, trying to figure out what flavor was going on in her mouth. “That’s-”

“Incredible isn’t it?” Thor finished for her. “Be careful, while that may be fine for me, it has been tested to be about 300 proof for you mortals.”

Kailyn snickered. “Mortal? You haven’t heard about me have you?” She held her hand out, gesturing for him to do the same. In an instant, sparks began to fly. The bolts surged between the two, dancing back and forth. She then took the energy away, replacing it with water particles pulled from the air. “It’s beautiful isn’t it?” She whispered, the water swirling around their hands before evaporating into thin air.

“What else can you do?” Thor asked, intrigued by the woman.

Kailyn formed a small tornado within her hand, passing it back and forth between herself and Thor. That, like the others, disappeared without a trace. She pulled the dirt from the man’s beard, crushing it into a cube and placing it into his hands. “You need to bathe more.” She noted giggling as he jabbed her.

“An Elemental, a rare soul. Your powers are beautiful. I am staying for a few nights, we must train with lightning at some point.” He stated. “Now come, you must meet my tree friend.”

Kailyn rose her eyebrow. “Tree friend?” She asked. She finished her wine with a quick gulp just as Thor put his hand on her lower back and led her through the crowd. What she didn’t know was that she was being watched by three men from across the room.

Thor dragged her over to the other side of the room, his hand comfortable fitting her figure the entire time. “Elemental, meet tree.” He said, grinning as her mouth dropped open in shock. He dipped down to whisper into her ear “Space has a lot more than just that.” He muttered, sending chills down the metahuman’s spine as he spoke.

“Dude you’re losing her to Thor!” Sam said, trying to spark something in Cap to get him to up his game before it was too late.

“Alright, hit me with a pickup line,” Bucky said, a loopy grin on his face. As soon as Steve spoke. Bucky winced. Even Sam made a face. “That was…”

“Horrible. Embarrassing. Did someone say will give me nightmares later?” Sam responded, taking another long sip from his glass. “You are screwed” He added, shaking his head again.

~~~~~

Peter chuckled as he watched Aurora take a couple of shots. Thankfully, Hope stopped her before he had to intervene. He was trying to back off, be the bigger man and let her explore on her own. Every now and then when she did something stupid he would let her learn instead of reprimanding or prohibiting. He was learning, slowly learning, how to give up control. “You never drank before have you?” He said, his sloppy grin plastered on his face.

As the man was tugged along he didn’t offer any resistance. He carefully laced his arm around her waist, trying to signal to everyone new that she was off-limits. He looked over to see what Steve was doing, and to his shock, he wasn’t by the meta’s side. He would have to figure that one out later. At Aurora’s statement, he smirked, eyeing her for a moment. “Maybe I will have to wear suits more often then.” He said.

Peter wasn’t the best dancer, but he danced to please Aurora. He wasn’t proud to admit it but he danced to see her move in the dress. He hated to say it but the meta did have good taste. After a while of giving into her demands, Peter pulled Aurora off of the dance floor and off to the side of the room. “There are two types of people at parties. Those who stay dead center, those who observe, and those who play both sides of the game. I am an observer. You are insane” He laughed, kissing down her neck before he wrapped his arms protectively around her.

“An observer can tell the secrets of everyone in this party without ever speaking to them. For example…” He kissed behind her ear, nibbling on it slightly. “It appears Steve Rogers is having issues trying to tame his girl. Banner is talking nerd with the gang of scientists over there, and Kailyn has not left Thor’s side at all this night.” His hands traveled a bit lower and wrapped around her waist, pulling her into him. He frowned as the meta appeared to be heading over to them, rolling his eyes at her grin covered face. “I may have spoken too soon,” he mumbled.

Kailyn, who was practically out of her mind on the two glasses of Asgardian wine she had bounded over to the couple, the grin never once coming off of her face. “Aurora you’ll never guess who I met.” She said, her grin widening as she spoke.

“Thor?” Peter responded, causing the girl to frown.

“Not fair you cheated!” She whined, pouting as Peter chuckled softly. “Well yes I met Thor and I met this tree that talks and he says there’s a raccoon that also talks? And he said he would take me into space! And we can do this look!” She whistled loudly, and Thor echoed her whistle. She concentrated for a moment before tossing a lightning bolt through the air, grinning as Thor caught it on the other side of the room. “It’s like the most epic game ever!” She said, practically shaking from excitement.

“What about Rogers?” Peter asked, planting a kiss on Auroras forehead as he held her closer to him.

“I have been avoiding him all night. He thinks he can ignore me for three weeks and then come back and everything is fine. You know for the past week I slept in my own bedroom! He didn’t even notice. “ She rolled her eyes as she continued to vent “He kisses me once and then walks off. Who does that?” She groaned, taking another sip of her wine. She should really stop having the wine soon if she didn’t want to end up plastered like Hope was. “I told him off Aurora I did. I said to him that he better work for it.”

Peter shook his head. “Speaking of work for it.” He said, motioning with his head over to Steve, who was actively crossing the room as they spoke. He didn’t have his happy face on either.

Kailyn sighed “I have to go clip the trees nails.” She said, quickly hurrying off into the crowd.

Peter twirled Aurora around before pulling her into him. “I told you it’s worth it to be an observer.”

~~~~~

Kailyn walked through the crowd, making a turn away whenever she saw Sam or Bucky. They effectively were herding her through the crowd, but she was too buzzed to see it. She kept making turns blindly until got blocked in the kitchen. She quickly ducked into one of the side doors, closing it behind her. She had to get those two off of her tracks.

Sam grinned, fist-bumping Bucky as they both went over to guard the pantry door. Bucky locked the doorknob before the girl could figure out what was even going on. “I knew it would work,” Sam said, taking another swing from his glass. “The things we do for this man.”

Kailyn turned the light on and looked around, practically jumping out of her skin when her eyes landed on Steve. “Oh weird seeing you here. I think the tree needs trimming so I honestly have to head out.” She turned around, her cheeks flaming red as she went to go open the door, only to find it had been locked. “Mother fucker” She whispered. “Bucky you son of a bitch I will kill you!” She said, slamming her fist against the door in an avid frustration. After a moment she finally turned around, avoiding eye contact with the super soldier in front of her. She timidly looked up at him, chewing her bottom lip as her eyes connected with his. “You did this because?” She crossed her arms, shutting the man out from her. Before she was inviting him to try harder and now...now he was just annoying her.
 
To say that he was surprised by Kailyn's dismissal was a huge understatement. He was flabbergasted, shocked, floored - any word that could describe his confused and deflated state did the trick. The thing was, he wasn't at all sure of what to do to solve whatever problem it was that he'd created. It seemed that Sam and Bucky were just as taken back as he was. "Shut up," Steve groaned, not in the mood for their shitty advice or comments.

He watched her retreating figure. Even though he loved to see the sight of her walking away, Steve definitely didn't approve of where she was walking away to or who she was with. Thor was his friend and a fellow Avenger, but nothing could quickly drive a wedge between two men more than a woman. His jaw set as he watched her interacting with the Asgardian.

"Would you shut the hell up?" he said, elbowing Sam in the side. "Excuse me, what?" Steve questioned when Bucky asked him to say a pickup line. Did people even still use those nowadays? Surely not.

"Come on, do it already," Sam coaxed.

"Uhm...If I could rearrange the alphabet, I'd put U and I together...?" Steve muttered, clearly not invested in playing along with whatever game this was that his friends were playing. Even to his own ears, it was a sad attempt.

----

Peter had pulled her aside, which she didn't object to. She was actually quite happy to do anything with Peter, even just standing around and talking. Though, if he kept touching her like he was, Aurora wouldn't be able to be content with just talking. She began to listen to his words, but the surroundings, along with Peter's words went a bit fuzzy when his lips touched her skin. Aurora was quickly discovering that her neck was a weakness. At least, she'd thought that one held the top spot, until Peter nibbled on her earlobe. By that point, her skin was dotted with goosebumps and her breathing was uneven. She felt light-headed, but in a good way. Did Peter even realize the effect he had on her? Aurora wondered if she had the same effect on him. And suddenly, it became her mission for the night to find out the answer.

Kailyn practically skipped up to them, her face slightly flushed and her eyes wide with excitement. Aurora stifled laughter at the sight, but listened to her friend's words.

"A talking tree?" she responded, raising her eyebrows, "I really have heard it all now." Peter then asked about Steve, which prompted Kailyn to explain the very dilemma that she'd already explained to Aurora. She didn't agree with Steve ignoring her for the past three weeks, but she didn't have enough experience with relationships to give Kailyn any sound advice.

"This is not going to end well," she sighed. Knowing Kailyn, she wasn't going to make it easy for Steve and the poor man had about as much game as a the talking tree.

Peter spun her around before she collided softly with his chest when he pulled her back to him. Aurora giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck before glancing over her shoulder at the now rather boisterous party. A server passed by with glasses of champagne and she carefully plucked one from the tray before stepping back from him slightly and taking a sip. "Well, I'm done observing for now. Follow me, Parker," she said over the rim of her glass,

She chose a room off of the nearby hallway that clearly wouldn't be used at the moment - a small office where she'd seen Peter working before. The facility had so many different rooms that she still wasn't sure what everything was used for. All she knew was that this was a room that had a door, which she could lock to ensure that no one interrupted them. After they'd stepped inside, she quickly finished off her glass of champagne and closed the door, almost without even looking at it. Aurora walked over to the desk and set her empty glass down before turning to Peter. "Do you realize that you've been driving me crazy out there?" she asked, flicking her wrist to lock the door as she approached him. She briefly searched his eyes in the dim lighting, then stood slightly on her tip-toes to capture his lips with her own in a kiss that attempted to communicate everything she was currently feeling.

----

The whole plan was Bucky's idea. Apparently, he'd taken inspiration from a mission that he'd gone on in Belgium once before. Steve wasn't even going to ask how that one ended or why Bucky was herding someone into a trap.

Steve waited in the kitchen pantry until Kailyn entered. The door was quickly locked behind her, which she realized after attempting to flee. If he wasn't so nervous about the whole situation, Steve might have laughed. As it was, he just watched Kailyn for a moment, analyzing her body language and trying to figure out how he should approach her. Finally, he became entirely too frustrated and gave up, because there was one urge that he'd been holding back for three whole weeks, every time he even caught sight of Kailyn.

"Fuck it," he muttered to himself before taking one long stride to bring him in front of her. Steve's hands came to rest on both sides of her face and he used his body to guide her, in one swift motion, against a small section of wall space. Before her back collided with the wall, Steve's lips crashed down to hers. With the advantage of having her pinned, he was able to press his body against Kailyn's. And for once, he wasn't being gentle with her. Steve actually had her trapped quite forcefully. He only hoped that Kailyn didn't lash out at him and cause the entire pantry to catch fire or something.
 
Kailyn didn’t have time to analyze the situation. Steve never gave her the luxury of time. She was about to spit another rude comment towards him when he stood. Her breath hitched in her throat as she seemingly froze to her spot. The look in his eyes made her legs go numb. The frustration, anger, spite, all directed towards her. She knew a lot about frustration and spite, she used it practically every day. To see Steve looking at her like that though...that made her visibly shrink.

She watched as he took a step forward. Again, the world seemed to slow. She was stuck in her spot. His angular features no longer looked soft to her, they were sharp and ready to cut steel. She took a slight step back, shrinking down even smaller. The meta could see her fate before it struck her in the head. She messed up tonight, she royally messed up. The anger that was coming off of Steve’s body made her shake in her spot.

She craved to give up control. It was practically in her code. She wasn’t the girl to take the lead in the relationship or the one to make the first move. She needed a man to do that for her. To set her in place, reprimand her for doing wrong, and stepping out of tone and reward her for doing good. Of course, she liked to push buttons when she could. Punishments were only half the fun right?

Her life was out of control at all points. Maybe that is why she craved submission to a higher authority. Every ex she had been with always let her push buttons without a reprimand, and Steve seemed to be the case here. At least, she thought he was. She whimpered as he grabbed her, forcing her against the wall. Her legs threatened to give out as he overpowered her, the intent behind his movement filled with frustration.

The feeling of his body pressed against hers was enough to make her legs give out. She could feel every inch of him pressed against her. It was alarming, terrifying, oh what’s the word? Intimidating. She was, for once in her life, intimidated. Kailyn gulped and reached for his shirt buttons, only for her hands to be pinned above her head a second later. She whined and squirmed, unable to get the super soldier off of her. Even though her body was amped up from the dark matter, Steve was still stronger than her. She had his stamina, his speed, but not his strength.

Kailyn whimpered as he pulled away, every bone in her body aching for more. When he began to softly trail down her neck her back arched into him, a purr releasing from her. “Don’t you think this is a little bit-” She was cut off by Steve once more. His spare hand wrapped around her throat, squeezing ever so slightly. Enough to limit the blood supply, and enough to get her to shut up.

When the man let go of her arms and her neck she gratefully took in the multiple breaths of air that she was lacking. She hung her head down, feeling much smaller than she was before. She was trembling from the release of emotions, her adrenaline still giving her a slight euphoric high. She heard the door unlock and breathed a sigh of relief, quickly making her way to the door. She almost had her hand on the doorknob when she was tugged back by her hair, a yelp escaping from her mouth.

The metahuman listened as Steve spoke, her eyes studying him as he retained a fistful of her hair. After a few moments of silence, she was able to regain her composure enough to speak. “It won’t happen again…..sir. At least, not tonight.” She whispered, her lips pulled into a slight smile. She let Steve guide her out, struggling to retain her composure as she felt him firmly place a hand around her. He was practically emitting his claim on her, and she didn’t care at all.

Bucky and Sam looked at each other, the shock clearly displayed on their faces. Whatever happened in that panty they had to find out, because if Steve can do the hopeless then maybe they could too.

~~~~~~~~~

Peter smirked as Aurora dragged him away and into the office. Watching her sway in front of him was enough to make him want to take her then and there, but he was damned if he was going to mess this up. As Aurora spoke, a grin flashed over his face. “You know” He muttered, softly picking the woman up and placing her on the desk. “That was kind of the entire point,” He said, a slight growl coming out of him as he began to kiss down her neck, making sure to leave a few more permanent spots as he made his way down.

He stopped, circling the woman before he began the assault on the other side of her neck. He nibbled on her ear, pulling slightly before he went down her neck. From her neck he went down to her collarbone, leaving the trail of small bruises as he went down her body. He pulled her closer to him, letting the woman wrap her legs around his torso before he gently backed her into the adjacent wall.

The man ground into her, his kisses now filled with a newfound urgency. The desire was building at a rapid rate, too rapid for his liking. He slowed down, taking a deep breath to settle himself before he finally kissed her. The moment he had been waiting for.

How Rogers could go three weeks without kissing his girl he had no idea. Every day he had to struggle to keep himself off of Aurora, and meanwhile, Rogers was over on the other side, giving himself a dry spell. That, he would never understand. His kiss was filled with passion and need, and he would go a lot further if he could. He needed her like he needed water. When he went a day without her it left him feeling empty and aching, a feeling he couldn’t take anymore.

Peter walked back over to the desk, placing her down slightly onto the darkened spruce. Papers were now strewn everywhere, but he wasn’t complaining. “I guess” he muttered, taking a moment to catch his beath. “I guess reorganizing the papers tomorrow is worth it.” He chuckled, cupping Aurora’s face in his hands. “Anything is worth it for you” he whispered, kissing her forehead lightly once more.
 
He wasn’t entirely sure what had gotten into him, but he was done second guessing his thoughts and actions around Kailyn. Steve needed to take control of the situation, whether she liked it or not. He felt this uncontrollable urge to make her his and only his and it was like the flood gates had been opened for him to both lose and gain control at the same time.

He easily pinned her arms above her as his lips continued their assault. And when Kailyn tried to speak, Steve wrapped his other hand around her neck, effectively stopping the words in her throat before they could all escape.

A few more moments and he let her go, pulling his lips away. Kailyn attempted to leave, but he wasn’t having it. She needed to understand that he wasn’t going to tolerate her little charade anymore.

“I need you to listen to me very carefully,” Steve said, his voice hard and husky in her ear once he’d pulled her back to him, “While you’re mine, never again will you flirt with another man, especially blatantly in front of me. Do you understand?”

“Good,” he said when she agreed. Steve chose to ignore her second comment and led her out of the pantry, passing a very shocked Sam and Bucky. He was sure he’d get an earful of questions later, but for now, he was focused on showing everyone at the party who Kailyn was truly with.

——

The alcohol that she’d consumed gave Aurora enough confidence to not overthink her decision to pull Peter into the office. Normally, she might be mentally freaking out a little because she wasn’t at all experienced. But she knew that her connection with Peter was strong and Aurora wanted to explore it with him. She was pretty sure he knew that she’d never been with anyone else, never been touched the way that he touched her.

Almost immediately, Peter’s lips were on her neck and her breathing hitched. Aurora tilted her head to allow him more access and reached to run a hand through his hair, tugging at the strands whenever he’d hit a particularly sensitive spot. She barely realized that she’d been pressed against a wall moments later, and Aurora had just instinctively wrapped her legs around him. She was pretty caught up in the pure bliss of their intimate moment, which Peter could probably tell from the pleased sounds that she’d make.

Things quickly became more heated and, even though Aurora trusted him, she knew that they weren’t ready to be completely together yet, so she was a bit relieved when Peter slowed down. The more he gave her, the less she could think rationally. She wasn’t sure where Peter stood on the topic, but taking things to the next level would be a big deal for her. Perhaps that was a subject that they’d need to approach soon. Especially considering that she wanted desperately to keep experiencing these kinds of moments with him.

When Peter placed her back on the desk and mentioned the papers that they’d caused to fly off, she laughed. Aurora glanced down at them before her gaze landed back on him. She just took him in for a moment and smiled. “We should probably get back to the party before someone comes looking for us or Kailyn sets the whole thing on fire,” she joked. “But first,” she added, reaching to smooth down Peter’s hair a little.

Once she’d hopped down from the desk, Aurora straightened out her dress and unlocked the door. “This isn’t over yet, by the way,” she teased.
 
Kailyn felt secure with Steve’s hand wrapped around her. She had tucked into his figure, her legs still struggling to regain feeling as she walked with him. The mark he left on her neck claimed her to him, something she truly didn’t know that she needed. Her mind still spun in a thousand different directions as she blindly followed him, unable to think for herself. She looked up as they stopped, her eyes half bugging out of her head as she saw Thor in front of her. Of course, he was using her mistakes and making her regret them even more. The meta went to open her mouth when Rogers spoke for her. She instantly quieted down, shrinking back into his body as he spoke. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment, the red hint practically steaming off of her face.

Thor cleared his throat. “There is no need to worry my friend. I am actually seeing someone now. Belly and all.” He smirked, taking another swig of beer.

Kailyn rose her eyebrow, finally coming to her senses. “Who is seeing you? Your therapist?”

Thor scowled and sent a jolt of lightning through her shoulder. “No of course not. Don’t be rude.” He said, shaking his head and drowning his annoyance in beer. “It’s actually funny, I find myself bumping into Jane all the time recently.”

The meta’s eyes bugged out of her head. “So you are telling me you are stalking Jane Foster, yes? Don’t be a fucking creep.” She shook her head, sending a bolt of electricity back at Thor, who merely absorbed it without a second thought.

“I am not a creep. Tell her Rogers I’m not-” Thor looked at Steve for help, scowling when he didn’t receive any. “Oh lay off of me.” He grumbled.

Kailyn shook her head at him, her disappointment clear as day. “You are a god stalking a mortal. Grow a pair.” She mumbled. She then took the glass of wine he had and took it down, wanting to get more drunk than she already was. She gave Steve a small grin before she turned her head, looking around for a bit. She saw the small brown twig sticking out of the crowd, and her mouth instantly curled into a smile. She pulled away from Steve, grabbing his hand and dragging him with her. “You have go see who I met!” she exclaimed. When she got to Groot, she looked at him, then at Steve. “It’s a tree. A fucking tree.”

Hope, who was leaning on Scott at this point, laughed and looked at her. “It’s Groot, you didn’t read up about him in your books?”

The girl shook her head at the woman as she swayed slightly. “I never got that far. I got bored when I hit the chapter about Scott being in the quantum realm.”

Meanwhile, across the room, Bucky and Sam were still standing with their mouths half-open. Before Steve didn’t even have a grip on the meta, and now he would pull her back if she got three feet away from him, and she didn’t burn the place down when he did it. They were so busy gawking, that they didn’t even notice Peter and Aurora come out of the office next to them. Peter was holding onto Aurora, a frown crossing his face when he saw them. “Uh, guys?”

Bucky shook his head, silencing him. “Shut up kid, we are trying to figure out what just went on in the pantry.”

Sam nodded, sipping his water as they spoke. “Nobody cares you two were making out in the office, we all figured. It’s that we can’t explain.” He pointed towards the meta and Rogers across the room. Rogers had a firm grip on the girl who reached for another drink. They watched the man bend down towards her ear, and within a second the meta backed down and left the drink there, without setting the building on fire. “I think he drugged her.”

Bucky shook his head. “Nah he wouldn’t drug her. I don’t think.” He muttered, furrowing his brow as he watched the scene. Steve had gone from a whining baby who couldn’t give out a proper pickup line to having the girl wrapped around his finger. He couldn’t even wrap his mind around it.

Peter was taken aback himself, simply blinking at the scene he saw. He bent down towards Aurora, his own brown furrowing. “We were gone for twenty minutes and he has tamed her. What the hell happened?” he muttered into her ear.

Kailyn took note of the group staring at them across the room as Steve talked to some random investor that she had never met before. She meekly tapped on his chest, going on her tiptoes to whisper into his ear. “They are staring at us.” She muttered, pressing herself closer into Rogers. After she excused them, she walked with Rogers over to the group, having to lean on him for support in her drunken state. “I can feel your stares from across the room.” She mumbled.

Peter’s jaw dropped even more. “You’re joking,” he said, shocked by the girl’s calm demeanor.

Kailyn looked at Steve before going on her tiptoes and whispering into his ear. “If it’s okay with you, I am going to go off with Aurora.” Once she got his approval she grinned, going over to Aurora and grabbing her by the hand. “Come on! I need to show you the tree!” She said, interlacing her fingers with Aurora’s and lightly pulling her away from the group.

“Did you actually drug her?” Sam asked, his bewilderment clear as day.

“Even I would ‘t drug Aurora” Peter mumbled.

~~~~

Kailyn dragged Aurora over to Groot before she brought her into the pantry, freezing the door behind her. She turned around, looking at the woman with a sloppy grin. “Spill. Tell me everything!” She said, grinning from ear to ear. She was more invested in Aurora’s love story than her own.
 
Steve lead her back over to the party and stopped in front of Thor. The Asgardian gave Steve a smile in greeting, but he wasn’t exactly giving Thor one in return. “Kailyn is with me, so if you’re thinking of starting anything, don’t,” Steve’s tone was clear and one that Thor wouldn’t even dare to argue with. With those simple words, he could tell that his message had hit home.

Thor insisted that his intentions weren’t to flirt with Kailyn, though he didn’t exactly believe that. The Asgardian man would flirt with a bush if he thought it was looking his way, even though he’d clearly let his physique go after their defeat at the hands of Thanos. Steve shook the thoughts from his head, though, and decided to take Thor’s words at face value. After all, the man was honorable, at least.

He wasn’t paying attention to the remainder of the conversation with Thor, though he noticed that Kailyn drank some more wine. Steve kept her tugged close to him, never letting his hand lose its grip on her body. And when she went for another drink, he gently plucked it from her grasp and whispered, “You’ve had enough. I need you not passed out on the dance floor. Save that for later, in my bed.”

——

They exited the office, only to find Bucky and Sam staring oddly at something. Aurora furrowed her eyebrows in confusion before Peter spoke up beside her. She blushed when the men said that they weren’t concerned in the least about the fact that they’d disappeared to make out in the office.

Aurora followed Sam’s finger as he pointed over to Kailyn and Steve. The meta’s demeanor was definitely different and even Steve seemed to be holding himself more strongly than usual. Aurora examined them for a moment as the men talked, trying to figure out for herself what might be going on. She realized a moment later, though, that she’d probably hear all about it from Kailyn anyway.

“Something definitely shifted between them,” she whispered back to Peter.

A few seconds later, the couple could be seen walking over to them. The group hadn’t exactly been subtle with their staring, so they’d likely get an earful for either or both of them. Before she could hear much of the group conversation between the guys, though, Kailyn was pulling her away. Aurora managed to kiss Peter on the cheek before she was being dragged away to see the notorious talking tree.

“What?” Steve said, obviously shocked by the thought, “I’d never drug her. We just uhh...came to an agreement. I put my foot down, so to speak.” He said it like it was nothing major, not anything too out of the ordinary. But even Steve knew that it was drastic enough for everyone to notice. He wasn’t a fan of admitting just how he’d reined Kailyn in, however. Their moments together were better kept private, though Steve wasn’t naive enough to think that she’d keep secrets from Aurora. Women tended to gossip, which he was actually okay with. The telekinetic girl was a good friend for Kailyn and he knew that she need someone to tell things to when she couldn’t confide in him.

“Seriously, wipe the shocked looks off your faces. The meta and I are a thing now. End of story,” Steve said before flagging down a waiter and grabbing a drink to busy himself. “I let her go with Aurora because she’s actually a good influence on her, but she won’t be flouncing off to flirt with anyone again.” He was actually quite proud of himself for what he’d accomplished and Kailyn didn’t seem to be complaining, so perhaps they’d managed to find a middle ground somehow

——

Of course, Kailyn had cornered her for interrogation. She should have seen it coming, but either way, she wouldn’t be able to stop the blush from painting her cheeks, so Aurora just accepted it.

“Well, basically, I drug him into one of the offices. We were making out and things got a bit heated. He stopped, which I’m actually kind of glad for,” she answered.

Aurora gave her a friend a slightly embarrassed look, “Have you ever gone all the way before? Because I don’t know what to expect. I mean, I’ve never even kissed anyone else. But Peter drives me crazy and I want to eventually. How do you even have that conversation with someone though?” She facepalmed herself and sighed, “Be honest, am I a lost cause here? I, uhm...I never had a mom to talk to me about these things.”

She then held up her finger, “Don’t think you’re off the hook about whatever happened between you and Steve. You’re spilling the beans as well, my friend. After you tell me what the hell I should do about this insane attraction I have towards my...boyfriend? Isn’t that what you’d call it? Hell, we haven’t even had that conversation either.”
 
The words that came out of Aurora’s mouth made Kailyn’s grin only widen. The only time her grin faltered was when Aurora asked her a question...one that she wasn’t quite expecting. “Have I ever-” She coughed out her laugh, shaking her head as she tried to wrap her mind around what had been said. “Of course I have.” She coughed out, her laughter only increasing as she figured out what had been said. “Listen to me Aurora.” She said, finally calming down enough to speak. “Just tell Peter you need to take things slow.”

The meta paced for a moment before throwing her hands up. “You will know when you want to when the time comes. For now, just tell him you aren’t ready. You will know when you’re ready. The world seems to align correctly, everything seems to fall into place, it all just.” She drifted off, biting her lip as she thought. “It will just make sense. One day everything is blurry and you can’t read, then the next day it’s clear again. Once you find the clarity, that’s when you will know.” She gave the girl a sloppy grin. “See with Steve, everything is a blur. A giant fucking blur.”

Kailyn turned and grabbed the doorknob, unfreezing the lock and opening the door. She paused, a smirk floating up to her lips. “As far as Steve and I? I am about as lost as you are.” She whispered. The metahuman snuck back out into the slowly thinning crowd, making her way over to Thor.

Bucky smirked. “Yeah sure, that would explain why she is going towards Thor right now.” He muttered.

Kailyn stepped in front of the god, her eyebrow-raising at him. “You and me tomorrow morning. I want to learn from you.” She said, her eyes studying him. “Teach me.”

Thor smirked, putting his hand on her shoulder. “Elementa you will be taught. How does tomorrow at ten sound?”

The meta nodded, her grin widening. “I shall see you then.” She whispered. The girl then backed away from him before she slipped out of the main room completely, ducking into one of the labs. Her heart was still racing in her chest. She was clammy and sweaty as she paced the room. Whatever Steve had done to her finally hit her. She couldn’t wipe the grin off of her face as she paced, her body physically unable to stop shaking. She froze in her spot when the door opened and closed, the new presence almost shocking her enough to reality.

“Hey.” Peter said, a frown crossing his face as he took in the sight of the meta. “I came in here to talk about me but are you-”

“I am perfectly fine,” Kailyn whispered, her legs trembling under her. “What’s wrong with you?”

Peter chuckled, shaking his head for a moment. “Fine we will start with me, then we will move to you. I think I scared Aurora away today. I went too far. I wanted-”

Kailyn laughed, shaking her head at the man. “She came to me about the same problem. If you both just spoke to each other and didn’t come to me then maybe you wouldn’t be in this situation. You both aren’t ready, simple as that. Just give her time and keep it simple.” She muttered, waving the man off. “Cuddles and kisses, for now, don’t push it.”

Peter nodded, grateful for once to have the meta in his presence. “And your issue?”

Kailyn turned to him, tears falling down her cheeks. “There was a moment, a small single moment tonight, where life wasn’t blurry. It was clear. Everything made sense, everything fell into place. It was terrifying.” She whispered, her voice shaking. “My life has been one single blurry blob but tonight, it all made sense. I want chaos back.”

Peter walked over and put his hand on her shoulder. “Looks like we both want the same thing.” He whispered.

The meta nodded, a small smile coming to her face as she wiped the tears away. “I suppose we do.” She added, her eyes dropping down to the floor. “I suppose we do.” She muttered, her brow furrowing. She joined Peter’s side as she got the strength to walk back out. To her surprise, only the Avengers were left, and most of them had gone to bed at this point. Aurora, Steve, Bucky, and Thor were all that were left out. Peter and Kailyn exchanged glances, nodding slightly as they separated from each other. Kailyn could see the concern across Steve’s face as clear as day, and she gave him a weak smile as she made her way over. She interlaced her hand with his, blinking past any other tears that threatened to fall. “I’m tired.” She whispered.

Peter joined Aurora’s side, protectively sliding his arm around her. “We have a busy day tomorrow.” He mumbled, kissing her neck as he spoke. “We should head to bed.” He excused the two of them and walked with her out of the room, taking the elevator instead of the stairs. He trudged down the hall before getting to his room, groaning and flopping down onto his bed. “Remind me to never drink again.” He added, groaning as he rolled over, his sloppy smile finding Aurora. “It usually doesn’t turn out this well for me.”

Kailyn had joined Steve back at his room, quickly taking her makeup off and changing into her shorts and shirt as soon as she got into the room. Her body ached, not from any physical issue but from the mental wear and tear from the day. Once she had finished she slipped out of the bathroom, a wicked grin crossing her face as she looked at Steve. She slipped onto the couch besides him, throwing her feet over the side of the piece of furniture and resting her head on his shoulder. “You should do that more.” She mumbled, ignoring the red blush that flushed her cheeks. She was just like Aurora, she hated talking about what she liked and didn’t, but the weakness in her legs today seemed to be enough to speak for her.
 
As Aurora exited the pantry and rejoined the party, she thought deeply about what Kailyn had said. Thankfully, the celebration had died down and the only people that were really left were members of the team and few stranglers, but even they were preparing to leave. She was thankful for this because it allowed her to give attention to her thoughts without being distracted by socializing. Aurora also didn't see Peter around, so she didn't have to worry about him asking questions as to why her expression was extremely thoughtful all of a sudden while she stood in a corner of the large room.

She knew that Kailyn was right - they needed to talk and communicate through these things. Otherwise, she'd never know how Peter felt about the subject. And that was a big part of relationships, right? At least, that's what she'd heard once. Her friend had confirmed what she already knew. Aurora wasn't ready for that kind of step forward with Peter, no matter how attracted she was toward him. She needed to be in the right place mentally and emotionally, even if she clearly already was physically.

Sam was casting her concerned glances from his place beside Bucky, so she took a deep breath before leaving her little corner and walking over to the group of men.

"You okay?" Sam asked casually.

Aurora nodded, "Yeah, fine. Just tired."

He seemed to accept her answer, just before Peter wrapped his arm around her. She instinctively turned a bit into his body, his warmth calming her nerves enough for her to realize how tired she really was. "You're right, I'm tired," Aurora agreed and followed Peter up to his bedroom.

She'd already assumed that she'd be sleeping in Peter's room tonight, so when he plopped down onto the bed, she cast him an amused smile before slipping off her shoes and padding into the bathroom. Aurora quickly washed off her makeup and went back into the bedroom. "Do have have a t-shirt I could wear?" she asked Peter. She went to go back into the bathroom to remove her dress, but remembered that Kailyn had helped her with the zipper earlier.

"Could you, uhm, undo the zipper?" Aurora asked a bit shyly, turning around and swiping her hair over one shoulder so that he had access to it.

----

Steve had watched Kailyn walk over to Thor carefully, but he didn't feel the need to intervene. He'd said his piece and felt like it would stick. Besides, the conversation appeared to be short and he couldn't afford to get his underwear in a bunch every time Kailyn spoke to another male. That would be pretty ridiculous, not to mention distracting.

There was something on Kailyn's face when she left the room again that had Steve hesitating to follow her. She looked upset about something and he wondered if it had something to do with him. Had he gone too far earlier? Even he had been surprised with himself, but she hadn't seemed averse to anything in the moment. However, that didn't mean that it wasn't taking its toll now for some reason. Steve decided that he'd follow her if she didn't re-emerge in a few minutes and that they needed to have a conversation about how both of them were feeling when they got a moment alone again.

To his relief, Kailyn came back a few minutes later. However, the same expression was written all over her face. Steve noted her immediate connection to him by intertwining their hands, and he gave her hand a squeeze in response. "Come on, let's get to bed," he said, tugging her gently along in the direction of his room.

Once they'd arrived and were alone, he quickly undressed, ridding himself of formal attire and trading it in for some simple basketball shorts. Kailyn seemed to do the same thing and he watched her carefully out of the corner of his eye before plopping his body down on the couch. She joined him a moment later, giving him her familiar warmth to remind him that she was there with him.

Steve chuckled, but cast her another concerned look. "What's wrong, then?" he inquired, "I thought maybe I'd gone too far, but -" He stopped and took a breath before wrapping an arm comfortably around Kailyn, pulling her into him, "Look, just to abolish any doubt that you may have...I want you. And I know that's scary, because it is for me too, but if you want the same thing, then I have to know that you'll agree to be mine."
 
Peter had buried his head into the bed, his body slowly melting to become one with the sheets. He sighed, rolling over as he heard Aurora speak. “Hm?” He asked, getting up within the second to go help her. He grabbed one of his shirts on the way and handed it to her as he approached her. He lightly grabbed the zipper, zipping it down to the base before he spoke. “Let’s take this as slow as you need.” He grumbled, letting Aurora grab the back of her dress. “Trust me, I’m not going anywhere.” He said, kissing her neck with a grin before he headed back to bed.

The man flopped down, his eyes instantly closing as he hit the bed. There was so much to do the next morning it stressed him out to even think about it. So that’s exactly what he didn’t do. He shut down his mind and closed his eyes, drifting off before Aurora even got back from changing.

~~~~~

Kailyn grimaced at Steve’s words, shaking her head as he spoke. “What you did was fine I just…” She bit her lip, holding what she was wanted to say inside as she spoke. “Everything has always been so fuzzy, but you somehow managed to make it clear again. It’s a lot to wrap my brain around, and it might take me a few days but I am trying my best.” She said, avoiding his eye contact and choosing to stare directly at the blank wall instead.

She thought back to what Thor had said, a smile coming across her face. She knew Steve was about to go on his huge spiel about whatever was important, so she cut him off before he could start. “I need to get up early to train tomorrow with Thor. Maybe I can finally have an even fight.” She grinned, looking up at him as she spoke. She gave him a light kiss before she got up and went over to the bed, flopping down on it just like Peter. It was going to be a long day, one she didn’t know if she was ready for.

~~~~~

Kailyn awoke to the sound of knocking, a groan escaping her mouth as she unwrapped herself from Steve, rolling herself off of the bed and onto the cool wood floor below her. “Whoever the fuck is here needs to stop.” She grumbled. She opened the door with a yawn, jumping back slightly when she was face to face with Thor, who towered over her.

“Elementa you are already twenty minutes late.” He said, shaking his head as she quickly straightened her back up.

“Thor it’s like seven am, I thought you said ten?” She whined, having gone from half-asleep to awake in an instant.

“And I changed my mind. I am a God, do not challenge me Elementa. Meet me outside in ten.” Thor boomed, turning on his heel and heading out.

Kailyn groaned, closing the door after him before she quickly stripped off her shorts and shirt, wandering over to the closet to grab something more comfortable to train in. She flipped Steve off as he made some remark, her sole focus only on Thor. “Oh shut it.” She grunted, changing into some other shorts and one of Steve’s old shirts. “I am borrowing your shirt, I don’t want mine to get burned.” She ran into the bathroom, quickly doing her hair into a braid and brushing her teeth. When she was finished she went to exit, only stopping when she felt Steve’s hand on her wrist.

“Steve, not now.” She said, her eyes narrowing on the man. She pulled her hand out of his grasp before she grabbed water from the sink, freezing him to his spot. She listened to him grumble, her grin only widening as he spoke. She walked up to him, kissing his neck before getting on her tiptoes and whispering in his ear. “Make me.” The meta jumped out of the way, narrowly avoiding the man’s grasp. “Sorry Rogers I have to go get my ass kicked by a god. I think I might be able to fit you in sometime this afternoon.” She giggled before slipping out of the door, full speed sprinting down the hallway and launching herself off of the balcony. To her shock, Thor stood at the bottom, and he quickly moved to catch her.

“Be careful there Elementa.” he said, letting her out of his grasp as she steadied herself on her feet. Kailyn blushed, the words unable to come to her mouth as she steadied herself. Thor nodded and quickly brought her outside, grabbing his axe as he went. “Now Elementa, now we train.” He said, taking his hand off of her back and walking off.

Kailyn gulped as she headed after him. The more she thought about it, the more she was unprepared to get her ass kicked by a god.

~~~~~

Peter awoke to Thor’s loud footsteps in the hall. He groaned as he slowly blinked himself awake, cursing the man for being here. He liked Thor as much as the next guy, but the man did not know how to keep quiet in the morning. If Thor was awake, everyone was awake. “God damn God of Thunder” He threw his pillow at the door in some sort of revenge tactic with no plan.

The man looked over at Aurora who he had probably awoken and let out a small sleepy smile. “Morning.” He mumbled, taking a deep breath before leaning in and kissing her neck, caressing her side softly for a moment as he continued to wake up. “I am going to go take a shower, and then politely remind Thor not to stomp around before nine am or I will kill him.” He gave her one last kiss before slipping out of bed and heading towards the bathroom, grabbing a change of clothes along the way.

Peter’s shower woke him up completely, the cold water hitting his back as he struggled to clearly think. By the time he finished showering, his happy Aurora thoughts had mixed with his annoyed Thor thoughts, leaving him ten times more confused than when he stepped in there. He sighed, stepping out of the bathroom to see Aurora sitting at the edge of the bed, completely changed. “We have a busy day today.” He said, grabbing his hairbrush and brushing his hair back as the water dripped down his shirt. “But first, let’s start with breakfast, shall we?”

He put the brush down before going over towards Aurora and taking her hand, kissing her forehead before he led her out of the room. He had hoped for an uneventful day, but at the sight of Steve’s body stiffened at the balcony, he could tell that wasn’t the type of day he was about to get.

~~~~~

Kailyn stood outside in her sports bra and shorts, the remnants of Steve’s shirt had burned off of her. Her skin was speckled with small burns and cuts from the misdirection of lightning, but she was finally getting the hang of it. The bolts that Thor threw her way she was easily absorbing and directing out, sending back even larger ones toward’s the god.

“Is this the best you can do?” She shouted, raising her arms up in frustration.

Thor grinned and raised his axe, charging up the power from the sky. The entire sky began to darken around him, the bolts quickly becoming bigger and bigger. “I will show you the best I can do.”

Peter, who stood with Aurora and Steve, quickly let go of Aurora’s hand, shooting a web towards the door. “She had to ask.” He muttered, leaping from the balcony and swinging towards the door before dropping. He began to sprint towards the door, the girl was going to get herself killed at this rate. She was really about to die, just as he had started to somewhat like her.

Thor grinned and let the bolt fly, followed by his axe. Kailyn took the bolt and staggered back, her vision drifting as the bolt ran through her system. Before she could move the axe then hit her in the stomach, sending the meta flying back into the ground. She groaned, blinking rapidly as her vision slowly came back to her. The smell of burning skin caused her to crinkle her nose. Thor came into her vision and helped her stand up, putting his hand on her hips to steady her. Her stomach had a burn in the shape of his axe, the skin peeling off.

“That was the best I can do.” Thor said, grinning widely.

“Thor!” Peter shouted, shaking his head at the man. “You can’t kill her man. Fury will murder me. Not only Fury, but Steve.” He said, panting as he jogged over to them.

Thor had a hand on the meta’s lower back as he steadied her. “She will be fine, right Elementa?” He grinned. “I have treatment for burns like this in the ship. I shall bring it to breakfast.”

Kailyn nodded weakly, wincing as she took in each breath. She grabbed onto Peter, not daring to look at Steve who had come out at some point she couldn’t remember. “I am fine.” She hissed, slowly walking with the man towards the building. She groaned as she felt Steve’s eyes on her. If she spoke to him she would have to admit he was right, she couldn’t handle the god. Thankfully, Aurora came out a second later. She sucked up the pain and walked towards Aurora, grabbing onto her and steering her back into the building. “Get me inside before I kill someone.” She hissed, leaning on the girl as they walked.

Peter sighed, running his hand through his hair. “She might just be the dumbest or the most insane human I have ever met.” He said, glancing at Steve. “But she has guts, I will give her that.”
 
Aurora had awoken to the same sound, of Thor stomping through the corridors, and Peter cursing. Despite her groggy state, she laughed and let out a content sigh when Peter leaned in to kiss her neck. "Good morning," she replied, reaching to run a hand over his chest before he got out of the bed to take a shower.

While Peter was in the bathroom, she grabbed a change of clothes for herself from one of Peter's drawers. Aurora had put a couple of outfits in his room to save her from having to go over to her own bedroom. Maybe they could just agree to share his room at some point, but she wasn't sure if they were ready for that conversation yet. Though, she knew that she'd agree to it if he ever brought it up.

----

Steve rolled over onto his stomach and groaned before realizing that Kailyn wasn't beside him anymore. He looked up to see her closing the door on Thor, who had apparently been the source of why he'd been awoken so early. He knew that the man had come to get her for their training session, but he wasn't about to let Kailyn go without saying something about it.

"Don't get me wrong, you're strong, but Thor is kind of a god. I'd be really careful if I were you," Steve warned, but of course, she wasn't hearing any of it.

He watched her flutter around, getting herself ready, but caught her wrist when she passed him on her way to the door. Steve had since gotten dressed himself, planning on following her to this session with Thor, but it seemed that she had other plans. "Just come to breakfast with me," he tried, hoping to distract her from this plan she had with the God of Thunder. Kailyn was too determined, however, and he was soon frozen to the spot. Steve released a frustrated groan and tried to grab her again, but she escaped him.

It was a few moments before Steve was able to break free of the ice. By that time, Kailyn had already joined Thor. He went over to the balcony and watched, carefully examining the situation as they began to train.

----

As the scene with Thor and Kailyn unfolded, Aurora watched with wide eyes and carefully held onto her friend and helped her walk into the building after she'd walked over to her. Meanwhile, Steve was absolutely fuming. The question was - who was he going to take it out on first? Kailyn? Or Thor? Aurora was willing to bet on the latter and she was proven right.

They didn't even make it to breakfast before a fight broke out. Thor had come back with the burn treatment in hand, but Steve ignored that fact and grabbed him roughly before slamming him into the wall, which cracked slightly underneath their momentum. Aurora took a surprised step back and watched the men for a moment. Perhaps they would sort out the situation themselves without someone having to intervene. She should have known better, though.

"What the hell were you thinking? You could have killed her," Steve practically growled.

"My apologies, Rogers. But she encouraged it and it would only kill her if she died," Thor replied. The god remained calm, despite Steve's rough hold on his body.

Aurora facepalmed at Thor's logic and let out a sigh as Steve cocked back his arm and delivered a punch to Thor's face. She'd never seen their beloved Captain America this angry before. "Enough of the testosterone," she groaned, easily stopping Thor's return jab. He grunted in an effort to move his arm, but her telekinetic hold on him was too strong. Out of everyone she'd used her abilities on, though, he was the most difficult to hold.

"Been training, have we, little one?" Thor asked.

"I owe this to more than just myself. But yeah, I guess you could say that," Aurora replied. She handed off Kailyn to Peter and stepped forward when Steve moved again. Since Thor seemed to be fairly calm, she turned her focus on Steve, who's expression was still deadly.

"Steve, I need to talk to you," she said, but the man didn't budge. "Steve!" Aurora spoke again, louder this time. He turned to her, the flames of anger mixed with concern burning in his eyes. "Let's go," she said seriously.

"No," Steve ground out, causing her to raise her eyebrows.

"Oh, that's funny. You thought it was a question. Well, it wasn't, so come on," she responded, grabbing his arm to pull him along. Steve resisted initially. He didn't want to talk to anyone about his sudden emotions or the fact that he was still confused about where Kailyn stood with their relationship. Last night, she hadn't made it very clear to him, but he was trying to give her the time that she needed. However, she couldn't expect him to just sit around and wait when she went gallivanting off with Thor, almost getting herself killed in the process.

After they exited the hallway, he stopped resisting Aurora's pull. It was useless, after all. The girl was too determined and Peter would try to kill him if Steve so much as laid a hand on her. He respected the couple enough to go along with whatever Aurora had in mind. Plus, he knew that he needed some time away from both Kailyn and Thor to cool off.

They arrived in an empty room and Aurora let go of his arm before turning to him, "You're not going to get anywhere with her acting like that. You know that, right?"

Steve just crossed his arms over his chest and sighed, trying to calm his emotions while the girl spoke.

"You can't try to change her. She's impulsive and independent. Could she stand a good slap in the face most of the time? Yes. But you're only going to get push back if you try to fight her on things. Let her find out the hard way if she has to."

"She could very well get herself killed. I can't just stand back and let that happen," Steve argued.

Aurora sighed, knowing that he was right, "So talk to her. I learned my lesson last night - communication is important. You can't read each other's minds. So tell her that how you feel when she does shit like that. Tell her that you want her to stay safe because you care. If she cares about you too, then she'll honor that."

Steve bit his lip before nodding. The girl had a point, after all. He obviously needed to try a different approach, perhaps mixed in with the dominating attitude he'd showed last night. That would have to wait until they were alone again, though.

"Let's go get some food. I'm getting hangry and I don't think any of you want to witness that," Aurora joked. Steve cracked a small smile and followed her out and to the dining room, where everyone else was congregated now.

"Any of you ruin my breakfast, and I'm giving you a mini heart attack. Got it?" she said as she entered the room, looking mainly at Thor and Kailyn before taking her seat next to Peter.

Steve sat next to Kailyn and turned to whisper to her, "We need to talk after breakfast."
 
Kailyn leaned on Aurora, groaning as she moved. Maybe Steve was right, but again, her ego sure as hell wouldn’t tell Steve that. The fact that he tried to stop her training this morning was enough to piss her off. “You know for the amount of pain I am in, the badass part really beats it.” She said, grinning like an idiot as she walked in.

Her stomach was peeling and burning still, but it brought her joy to see it. “This scar is going to be amazing.” She said, grinning at Bucky as she limped in. “Bucky did you see my-” She was cut off by the testosterone-fueled rage that was Steve Rogers. As she was passed onto Peter, she groaned again. “You have got to be kidding me.” She hissed, putting her head on his shoulder to hide her embarrassment.

“You need to control your man. We have a mission we are going on in three days. If he can’t handle it I will kick him off the mission.” Peter whispered into her ear, wincing at the groan he received in return.

Kailyn groaned into his shoulder, rolling her eyes as she kept her head hidden away. “Take him off the mission for all I care.” She grumbled. “Just let me know when he leaves” She whispered, closing her eyes as the man was torn away from the scene.

“Elementa, my apologies. I didn’t realize-” Thor began

“No, it isn’t your fault.” Kailyn grit out, her jaw set as she watched the man get torn down the hall. “It is mine, for tempting a child.” She hissed, rolling her eyes once more. “I give him an inch and he takes a mile.”

Thor grinned. “I can tell. Now here, let me help you.” He opened the jar he held and took out a good-sized glob of burn gel, carefully smearing it over her stomach. He then applied some to the corner of her eye, grinning as the burns began to disappear from her body. “There you are, practically like new!”

Kailyn’s jaw dropped, her fingers tracing over the small scar the axe left. “That is impressive. You must enlighten me about all of these space medicines.” She grinned up at him, studying his face. “Here, let me help you.” She said, grabbing some of the burn gel and rubbing it over the small burn on Thor’s head. “There.” She whispered, a small smile coming to her face.

Peter chuckled, his head shaking. “Get a room, jeez.” He muttered, plopping down into his seat.

Thor chuckled, giving the girl a grateful nod before he sat down at the table. “Actually, have you heard? Jane and I are basically a thing now.”

Kailyn smirked, sitting down at her usual spot. “Yeah, because he has been stalking her like a psycho. What he meant to say was…” Her voice trailed off as soon as she heard footsteps approaching. The smile on her face quickly wiped off as the girl went quiet. She felt Steve sit next to her, his gaze never tearing from her. She went to grab his favorite muffin when he leaned into her ear, setting off her acute annoyance once more. She stared straight ahead, biting down on her lip as he spoke. Her hand was heating up, but she couldn’t notice it. The only thing that stopped her was the taste of blood on her tongue. She blinked slowly, the muffin now charred in her hand. She clenched her hand into a fist, crumbling the muffin onto the table. “Oops.” She muttered.

The metahuman slowly leaned over to Steve, her eyes avoiding his as she dropped her voice into a whisper. “You were out of line and you know it.” The girl shook her head, choosing to eat in silence for the remainder of breakfast, her eyes narrowed in on one spot in the room. She was about to excuse herself when the familiar hologram of Fury popped up at the edge of the table.

“Good morning. I trust everyone slept well. There has been a new outbreak in gang activity in the city. A group of meta’s have been terrorizing the city. It appears that our gas meta has teamed up with a meta that can duplicate, and a meta that can transform into sand. Peter, Kailyn, Thor, Aurora, Bucky, and Steve are on this one. Peter, I need you to get the two girls suits ready. Have them design them today. The rest of you need to get ready to leave, you leave in two days.” Fury said, waving off Peter’s protest. “A helicopter will come to get you, and you will go in as quietly as possible. If they spook, we may never catch them again. Get ready to work for a living.”

Kailyn huffed as the man’s image flickered, her eyes almost instantly shooting over to Peter who sat stiff and fuming at the end of the table. “Peter-” She started, but the man quickly stood, walking out of the room before she could say more. Kailyn sighed, quickly standing and following after him. “Peter!” She exclaimed, grabbing onto the man’s wrist before he could storm off any farther. “She is ready. She just held back Thor in a fight, she can hold her own, she is ready.”

Peter, whose eyes were crazed with anger responded. “The hell she is. She can’t take a fight with Thor as you can. One thing goes wrong and she breaks her concentration and she is done for. I won’t send her off to die.”

The metahuman shook her head, her grip tightening. “She was able to stop me, mid rage fest. She will be fine.” She said, dropping her voice to a whisper. “If you pull her from this Peter she will never be ready. You need to let her do this. Bring Strange in on this and have him watch over her, just let her do this.” She urged, refusing to let go of the man.

Peter sighed, studying the meta as she spoke. “I can’t watch her get hurt. If she were to-”

“If something comes up where she could get hurt I will take it for her.” The metahuman whispered, searching the man’s eyes. “I can take it, I will take it.” She said, softly letting go of his wrist. “I’m disposable, remember?”

Peter sighed again, chuckling softly to himself. “You are not disposable. You very well just earned your spot on the team.” He looked over her shoulder, his face paling when he saw Steve and Aurora just standing there, staring at the two of them. “Now it appears you have things to deal with on your own.” He whispered, bending his head down to her ear. “Meet me in the lab on the fourth floor in fifteen minutes.” Peter pulled away from the meta and went over to Aurora, a small smile on his face. “Let’s get you suited up.” He said, grabbing her hand and gently pulling her away.

Kailyn stood to her spot, frozen in place as she heard the man’s footsteps approaching her. She was about to speak when she was grabbed by her hair, quickly being dragged into a darkened supply closet. She yelped and clawed at Steve’s hands, but she was no match for him. Especially when he was angry. The look on Steve’s face made her visibly shrink down. She backed away from him, giving him a weak smile as she hit the adjacent wall. “So, let’s talk.” She whispered, her eyes avoiding his as he spoke.

She could tell he was about to say more so she cut him off, determined to get her piece out. “First of all, there is nothing going on between me and Thor. That man is a lost cause covered in cheese wiz, but he is something new. I am fascinated by him, his adventures, his abilities. Training with a god is the one way I can harness my power. There is nobody else here like me, and he has a power that can match mine. Give me a fair fight. Secondly, you need to back the hell off. Let me do dangerous shit, let me get hurt. I live for the rush, it’s what I do. You can’t protect me in the real world so let me prepare for it.” She spat out, her frustration fuming.

The meta brought her hands to her hips, her attitude practically boiling off of her. “You are an idiot if you think for one second I would even think about looking at another man because I need you. But go ahead and get jealous over the god-” She went to push him out of the way so she could leave when her wrist was grabbed. She felt exposed like a raw nerve ending struck out and waiting to be hit. Her lack of clothing was suddenly very alarming to her as she slowly looked up at Steve, gulping past her fear. She couldn’t tell if she was more scared or turned on, but she supposed she was about to find out.
 
Steve knew that she would be angry with him for his rash actions, but in the moment, he hadn't cared. His focus was only directed toward his emotions and Thor, which he knew wasn't the best way to approach a situation, but what could he say? Even if he was a super soldier, he was still a man. Kailyn's anger was displayed quite clearly when she accidentally charred the muffin she'd been reaching for.

"So were you," he mumbled in response, against his better judgement. If she thought that he was just going to agree and apologize without expressing his own feelings about the situation, she had another thing coming. However, he knew that now wasn't the time or place. It wasn't exactly a conversation that he wanted to project to the entire team. So he decided to pull her aside afterward, though he couldn't have predicted that Nick Fury would pop up with mission details for them before he got the chance.

----

Aurora paused in eating her bowl of fruit when Fury appeared in hologram form. At first, she wasn't really tuned into the purpose of the announcement, but when she heard her name, her mind registered what the man had said. Apparently, her conversation with Fury had more of an impact that she'd even intended. She hadn't anticipated for him to involve her in a mission any time soon.

Her gaze shot over to Peter, who looked extremely displeased. Aurora frowned and made a move to grab his hand, but he was up and storming out of the room before she could make contact. She tried not to be hurt or upset by his reaction, but it was hard. She knew that he was just concerned with her safety and scared of losing her. However, there was a part of Aurora that wanted him to be confident in her ability to handle herself, even if there was still the worry and fear that would always be there. Did he think that she didn't feel that for him too? Every time he went off to handle something, she worried that he wouldn't come back. And that fear of losing him was only growing as her feelings for him got stronger.

It took Steve speaking directly to her while waving a hand in front of her face for Aurora to realize that she'd been staring after Peter. She hadn't even realized that Kailyn had gone after him. Everyone had either quickly finished up their breakfast and left or were preparing to leave. Steve stood by her chair and gave her a sympathetic expression. "He cares about you," the man mirrored her own thoughts with words, "He's scared."

"I am too," Aurora replied softly. She gently pushed her bowl away from herself and stood. "I'm terrified every time he leaves. But we have a responsibility."

Steve nodded, "That we do. Come on."

He led her out of the dining room to find Peter and Kailyn talking in the hallway. She thought about what she might say but, to her surprise, Peter grabbed her hand and began leading her to design her suit. What exactly had Kailyn said to him? There was no way he'd suddenly had a change of heart on his own.

Once they arrived in the lab that all of the nano-technology and other design tools were housed in, Aurora turned to him. The entire way there, she'd debated on saying something about his reaction to Fury and decided against it. At least, directly. However, she couldn't resist at least approaching the subject, though not from an accusing standpoint.

"I hope you know that you're not alone in your fear," she said, "I'm scared of losing you, too." Aurora moved forward to kiss his lips sweetly before pulling back and changing the subject. "So, I'm not thinking anything flashy or too fancy. I'm a pretty simple girl," she quirked a smile and let go of his hand to go over to one of the machines, "Any ideas? How does this thing even work?"

----

Once Peter had escorted Aurora away, he approached the meta quickly, grabbing hold of her hair and tugging her into one of the supply closets off of the main hallway. He didn't bother with the lights - his eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness and he could see her outline pretty clearly.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, pulling a stunt like that? You could have been killed and I can't -" Steve spoke angrily, but was cut off by Kailyn, which only managed to anger him more. He usually wasn't so reactive and emotional, but she elicited it in him and Steve was still trying to figure out exactly why. He had a faint idea, but the concept was still fresh and slightly elusive to him, so he decided not to overthink it too much. Despite his emotions, he let her talk. Steve knew that she'd get her two cents in no matter what he did, so they may as well get it out of the way now. However, when Kailyn made a move to leave, he snapped to attention and quickly grabbed her wrist before backing her into the wall once more with his body. Though, now there was barely an inch of space between them.

"You're damn right I'm jealous," Steve spoke in a slightly husky tone, "There better not be anyone else. Because there's no one else for me. I wouldn't think on it." Even though his words were gentle, his hold on her was anything but. He paused to glance down at her body before his lips crashed onto hers, capturing them in a controlling and urgent kiss.

Steve pinned both of her wrists together above her head and drew back, looking down at her with a serious, incontestable expression. "Listen to me carefully," he breathed, "I care about you a lot. And I need you to be careful because I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you. Please, don't put me through that. That's all I ask - just be a little more careful." He bent down to trail a few kisses down her neck before mumbling, "Please."

----

(I'm sorry it took me so long to reply!)
 
Peter was glad Aurora was able to move on in conversation so quickly. He didn’t want to dwell on his fear of losing her, nor did he want to dwell on the conversation he just had with the metahuman.”You just need to be careful.” he muttered, shaking it all off as he brought her over to the station. “Now to make this simple I had Jarvis dull down the tech. All you have to do is choose which you prefer, the color, and he will design the rest.” He had made the program into a simple ‘Short or long sleeve’ type program.

He watched her go through it, raising his eyebrow every now and then as she made her choices. She was sleek and simple, yet somehow elegant. Just as his flower should be. When she had finished with the program he grinned, rolling over on the chair he was sitting on. “Now all that’s left is to choose how it’s stored. I have my spider pendant, Cap has his shield pendant, Bucky has his implanted in the arm, the possibilities are endless.”

She made yet another interesting choice. Much like her to do so. “Jarvis will get it worked up.” He said, grinning at her as she watched the program build her suit. “It will be done by tomorrow morning. I have to wait here for the meta, why don’t you go on and get the training room ready. I will be down there in a bit.” He handed her a mock pendant, grinning as she slipped it on. “Hope will meet you there and help you go over the tech for a bit. It can be a bit confusing as first.”

He had a lot of choices to make over the next 48 hours, and he was sure the stress of it all may just kill him.

~~~

Kailyn’s breath wavered as Steve pressed his lips to her neck. She let out a soft whine, trying to press her body to his as he pulled away, eliciting an even louder groan. “I will be careful but you need to-” her brain practically turned to mush as his grip on her hands tightened. “Let me live.” She was panting by the time he let her go, her wrists red from his hold. “If you don’t let me live, this can’t work.” She whispered, studying him for a moment. “And I need more than anything for this to work.” She said, watching his figure in the darkened shadows.

“Now if you don’t mind, I need to go design my suit.” She quickly turned towards the door, taking a second to still her swaying figure. “I will be more careful, for you.” She said, her hand trembling as she grabbed the door knob. If she didn’t get out of there she would suffocate under his gaze alone.

The metahuman quickly slipped out of the room and ran up the three flights of stairs to the lab. She was panting by the time she got there, but thankfully she wasn’t panting for the same reason she was in the closet. “Alright Peter what do I have to do?” She asked. “I already know I want the suit in a pendant, so that should answer one question.” She needed to get some time away from Steve, partially because he scared her, and partially because she was afraid she would never leave.



~~~

The metahuman waltzed down to the training center, her own mock pendant hanging from her neck as she walked in. When she looked around her blood ran cold, it was an obstacle course designed for them to have to put the tech on and off whilst fighting off the classic hologram fighters. That wasn’t what made her blood run cold. On the sidelines stood Peter, Steve, Bucky, and Thor. She had never wanted to run away from anything more in her life. “Save me from him.” She whispered to Aurora, her gaze tearing from the man.

She stretched out her arms, turning her back to the men in the corner. “I think I am as ready as I will ever be.” She muttered, quickly entering the course. She motioned for Aurora to follow, a slight grin on her face. “Let’s show them up.” She said, her voice practically on edge. She quickly got to the beginning and hit the start button. After stopping to grab some knives from the weapons pedestal, she double tapped her pendant and dove through the first hoop.

Everything was going as well as it could have until she got cornered. She was stuck behind a pedestal, surrounded by four of the men. They all had guns pointed to her, forcing her hands into the air. She twisted her hand slightly, her focus dead set on Roger’s shield in the corner of the room. She closed her eyes, calling for it. She focused every fiber of her being on every atom of the shield until she finally felt it move. It flew through the air, slicing through the holograms infront of her before landing on her arm. “Metal. I can bend metal.” She whispered, partially in awe of herself.

The girl glanced over at Aurora who seemed to be struggling before she whistled to get her attention. A second later she let the shield fly, taking down the holograms infront of her. The shield flew back over to her, once again resting on her arm. “This is so cool.” She muttered.

The simulation quickly died down, and Peter headed over to Aurora while Thor headed towards the meta. “You’re ready,” Peter said, grinning at her. “I know you are.”

Thor shook his head at the girl, his own grin plastered on his face. “You never cease to amaze me Elementa.”

Kailyn laughed, the shield in her hand taking all of her attention from him. “How about we train after lunch today? I have some business to attend to.” She nodded him off before biting her lip and slowly walking over to Steve, her cheeks flushed with red. She studied the shield for another moment before handing it over to him, gulping as she watched him take it. “This I believe belongs to you.” She whispered.
 
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