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Title: The Mary Sue Virus: Lights, Camera, Avengers!
Chapter Nine: Awkward Conversations
Fandom: something like the Marvel Universe, leaning mostly toward the Movie!Avengers branch
Rating: 18 and up
Warnings: lots of sex and violence, language, anything else i can toss in. probably some drinking.
Disclaimer: the recognizable characters and places contained herein are the property of Marvel and whoever the hell else owns them.. i'm merely borrowing for the sake of entertainment. no money is being made from this venture. the Sues are the sole property of their originators, [livejournal.com profile] dazzledfirestar, [livejournal.com profile] mistress_o_muse, [livejournal.com profile] ginevrasm, [livejournal.com profile] rylan_m, and [livejournal.com profile] ladydeathfaerie. the concept and title of The Mary Sue Virus are used with permission from Dazzledfirestar.

The Mary Sue Virus: Lights, Camera, Avengers! - The Index

It was hard to read the look on Director Fury's face. Which meant he could be anywhere from blissfully satisfied to scorchingly angry and they wouldn't know where his emotions resided until he spoke. Miri put her pen down, laid it across the legal pad before her and folded her hands in her lap. This was always the boring part. The debriefing. She understood the purpose, but she still hated having to do it. Especially after having literally just stepped off a plane. She was tired and still kind of numb. She wanted nothing more than to go home to her apartment and curl up under the covers for a couple of days.

She let her eyes rove around the room, taking in the various faces around the table. Alex had claimed the seat next to her and, despite the stiff set of her shoulders and spine, she actually slouched in her seat. Arms crossed over her chest, the woman was intent on staring holes through the table in front of her. That isn't to say she hadn't hugged Miri as tight as possible when the two women had finally gotten to see one another. The man loping up the hall behind her friend had made some smart assed comment about two women which had seen Miri holding onto Alex's arm.

Barton had taken a seat across the table from Alex and his gaze had been locked on her the whole time. Based on the way her friend avoided his stare, something had gone on between them in California. Some twisted part of Miri couldn't wait to get Alex alone so she could ask about it. And then tease her friend mercilessly with the information. Phil had taken a seat close to the head of the table and Natasha sat beside him. He was busy flipping through what looked to be a sheaf of paper while the redhead was reading something before her.

Banner, Rogers, Stark, and Thor were spread out around the rest of the table. Each one wore an appropriately serious look, given the nature of the information she had to share with them. Even Stark, who wasn't prone to the same level of seriousness as everyone else, looked as serious as she'd ever seen him. Focused and intent. She blinked at that. It seemed odd for the man. That made her wonder what had happened while she'd been gone. And who was the strange woman sitting, rather unhappily she thought, beside Stark?

Miri took a moment to study the woman. She was quiet, the expression on her face reserved. There seemed to be a hint of tension in her, easy to see in the tight way she held her shoulders. Miri wondered at that for just a second. Then Stark leaned toward the woman, drawing her shoulders even tauter for the minute or so that he paid her attention. Though Miri couldn't hear their exchange, she was sure that the woman's response was clipped and just as reserved as her expression. Yes. That explained the tension. But it didn't explain why the newcomer unconsciously favored her right arm. That suggested an injury.

Curious.

"If we're all ready?" Fury's voice rode the air, heavy with the knowledge that everyone was most certainly ready. A few heads nodded before he let his single eye turn a dark, assessing gaze on each of them individually. "Good. Let's begin. Agent Grant?"

That was Miri's cue. She gave him a nod, then rose from her seat. All eyes turned her way and she felt a sense of expectation from the group. She flicked her hand toward the large flat screen monitor at the head of the room. The lights went off as a picture appeared on the screen. It showed the HYDRA base as they'd found it, an exterior shot that showed off the buildings and the surrounding scenery. "This is the base that MI6 found. On Director Fury's orders, I flew to Britain to aide them in the search of the base's buildings and computer systems."

Remote in hand, she began clicking through every single photographic image they'd captured. "MI6 had already toured the base and deemed it secure. No HYDRA agents were found on the premises and the remaining computer equipment was in tact. A team of MI6 agents and myself extracted every file we could find, then analyzed them for any item of importance." Miri hit the button one last time and the image on the screen changed to the digital copy of the blueprint they'd found.

"This is part of a plan the team found in those files," Fury took over for her. Miri sat down and tried very hard to ignore the slight pang of regret that worked through her. This was the only part of the plan they'd found. It was all that HYDRA had left for them to find. "Several other files referred to a weapon, though none of them said what kind of weapon. A partial list of supplies was also mixed in with the files that they recovered."

Miri hit a button on the remote again. An enlarged version of the list appeared on the screen. Fury began pointing at the names of each item. "Our scientists have determined that each of these is a component of the weapon."

"What kind of weapon are they building?" Stark asked. His gaze was intent on the list. Knowing what she did about him, Miri was sure that his brain was attempting to figure out amounts and reason out what HYDRA planned on doing with those supplies. "By themselves, these items aren't dangerous. And even if you put all of these together, there wouldn't be enough fire power to knock Hulk out for any length of time."

A faint snicker was quickly quelled with a sharp look from Fury. Miri was sure she knew who that snicker had belonged to. Nice to know three weeks hadn't changed things that much. "That's what your job is going to be, Mr. Stark. I need you to put all of that brain power of yours to work on this list and the partial blueprint we have. See if you can figure out what HYDRA is trying to build. If we know that, maybe we can determine what their target will be."

Stark stared at Fury for a few seconds. "So you're saying you want me to try and engineer a weapon using a partial blueprint and an unfinished list of generic supplies? That blueprint holds about the same amount of information as your eye patch. The possibilities based on just that small bit alone are endless. I know I'm good, but do you really think I'm that good?"

"I have every confidence in your abilities, Mr. Stark," Fury told the other man evenly.

Stark stared a moment, then grinned. "Well, alright then. I'll get right on it. I'm sure I can come up with something."

Fury gave the man a lingering look before shifting his attention to Miri. A click of the remote brought up the one photo she hadn't shared yet. It was of a large circle with strange writings on it. Some of them reminded Miri of ancient Runes. There were figures done in elaborate Celtic knotwork that had been identified as wolves, horses, snakes, and dragons. It had been located deep underground, in a room all by itself. None of the linguistics team had been able to decipher it. She cycled through nearly a dozen photos of the circle and the walls of the room it was in, showing them everything. "We don't know what this is for. HYDRA had it deep in the earth. Whatever these runes and symbols mean, they're so ancient or unusual that MI6 linguists couldn't come up with a translation or an explanation for its presence at the base."

"It has all the earmarks of some kind of summoning circle," Alex commented. Miri looked down at her and lifted a brow in silent question. She was sure Fury was doing the same.

"The Irish and the Scots have quite a few similarities in their cultures. I've done some studying on Irish paganism and witchcraft from before the time of Christianity. I've seen things like this in some of the books I've read," she motioned a hand toward the image, then frowned. "But some of the animals don't make sense. You'd be more likely to find them in Norse lore. And some of the runes are unusual. I've never seen them before."

"I have seen something similar, but this..." Thor began, but his voice trailed off in confusion. One hand motioned to some of the runes on the screen. "These aren't right. There is nothing to offer protection to the summoners. Anyone who used these runes in a summoning ritual would be inviting trouble."

"What kind of trouble, Thor?" the director questioned. The big blonde studied the image again, taking several minutes to go over everything the photographer had captured.

"The worst kind of trouble." There was an ominous tone to his voice that Miri knew completely didn't bode well. Fury made a noise and nodded. Was there really any other kind of trouble?

"No disrespect, sir, but how can you be so sure that the information Agent Grant discovered at this base is legitimate?" Rogers asked. There was a thoughtful look on his face that suggested he was giving the whole situation a great deal of consideration. "I've dealt with HYDRA enough to know that leaving small pieces of information like this isn't their style."

Fury nodded at the question, then shot his look Miri's way. She clicked the button on the remote one more time. The image that came up this time was what was left of the base after the explosion. Piles of rubble remained where buildings had previously been. Trees that had stood old and tall lay on their sides and those that hadn't been felled in the blast showed scars where bark had been ripped away. Branches had been broken off. The grass had been flattened and clods of dirt were scattered around the area, as if giant hands had torn them out of the ground and simply thrown them.

She shuffled through more than half a dozen photos. Some were of sheet covered corpses. Her gaze sought out Rogers. "One of the men with me at the base found a file buried within a file. An emergency protocol that was only activated when the file was opened. The minute they clicked on the file icon, it started the countdown. We were never meant to get out of there alive. As it is, half of the people who went into that base with me never made it out," Miri explained quietly.

The room was somber for a few moments as they each absorbed what that meant. "Fucking hell, Miri. You're never going any god damned place without me again," Alex whispered. It was a touching sentiment and no one said anything about it.

At a nod of his head, recorded voices filled the air. Miri listened to the conversation with a frown. Two men speaking of HYDRA and orders. There was mention of a weapon, leading her to believe that the information found on the computers in Scotland were the real deal. One voice told of the fact that there was a target picked, as well as a date and time. Which meant that they were close to finishing their weapons. And that meant Stark was under the gun to come up with results. Like... yesterday.

There were two last things mentioned in the recording. The strike on the base in Scotland and mention of an agent trying to plug a security leak. The sound died and Fury's gaze shifted between Alex and Barton. "This information was brought to us after weeks of surveillance in California. While it isn't as much as we'd have liked, it authenticates the files that Agent Grant discovered in Scotland. It also suggests that there's a mole inside S.H.I.E.L.D. I want to know how the hell that happened."

"A mole, sir?" This question was from Barton. He looked skeptical about it. Fury nodded and motioned to the strange woman.

"Meet Phoebe Sinclair. She's working with us temporarily, trying to find a way into HYDRA's computers through less than strictly legal methods," he told them. Everyone turned to look at the woman. She didn't crack a smile, brown eyes cool and face lacking in expression. "One night last week, Miss Sinclair was by herself in the gym when she was attacked. The man had his face covered and he pulled a knife. Had she not been schooled in self-defense, the man would have killed her. As it was, she didn't come away from the encounter unscathed."

As if his words had been some kind of signal, Stark reached over and lifted her arm, then tugged her sleeve up to expose a white bandage taped against her skin. She shot him a dirty look, pulled her arm from his grip, and carefully lowered it down to a more comfortable position. Silence fell over the meeting as everyone absorbed exactly what that meant.

"HYDRA is planning something big. Agent Grant wasn't supposed to get out of that base alive. Agents Barton and Quinn weren't supposed to leave California on their feet. We've got confirmation of a weapon. Of an attack. We've also go a mole in our ranks. We need to find him. We need to find out what they intend to do. We need to find out now, before they can strike."

Everyone started standing, ready to go out and do whatever it was they could to keep HYDRA from putting their plans into motion. Fury watched them closely for a few seconds, then spoke again. "Barton, Quinn. I need to speak with you. If you'd wait, please."

It was a very politely worded order. Alex shot Miri a look that promised she'd check in with her later, then reclaimed her seat. Barton did the same thing. Except his look was shot Alex's way. Her friend didn't bother to acknowledge that look, instead focusing her attention on the director's face. Miri shot her a smile as she wearily climbed to her feet. Damn but she was tired. When she looked up, she saw that Phil was still there. "Agent Coulson. Agent Grant. I expect the two of you to go home and get some sleep. It was a long flight and I know you're both tired. Take tomorrow off."

"Thank you, sir," Miri nodded and turned for the door. Phil said nothing, simply followed her out into the hallway. The corridor was empty and, for just a moment, she wanted nothing more than to lean up against him and just... be. But they were at work and that couldn't happen. So she looked at him and offered him a smile. "See you the day after tomorrow, Agent Coulson."

"Sleep well when you get home, Agent Grant," he replied, voice soft and evenly modulated like it always was.

"Thank you, sir," she said. It seemed wrong to leave it at that after the time they'd spent together in Scotland. She glanced up and down the hall once more, to be sure they were alone, then stepped closer and lowered her voice. "Its going to be hard getting used to sleeping on my own again."

His lips quirked in a slight smile before settling back into place. "I believe that can wait for just one more day, Miriam. Can I give you a lift?" She could see the meaning behind his words in his eyes and it brought a smile to her face. Hmmm. Maybe she wasn't as tired as she'd thought she was. She gave a single nod of her head.

"I would love that, sir," she replied.

~*~*~*~*~

"Quinn," Fury's gaze pinned her in her seat for a few minutes before sliding away to land on the man across the table from her. "Barton. Your mission was to gather intel and bring vital information back. Or am I mistaken about that?"

"No, sir," Barton replied before she could. Ass kissing son of a bitch. Alex refused to look at him. She'd been doing a lot of that lately. She hadn't spoken to him the entire time they'd been on the plane and had, in fact, found a seat away from his that hadn't been occupied. She'd spent the entire plane ride back lost in music and a book on ancient torture practices used across the world. It was the first she'd gotten away from him since flying out to Los Angeles and she'd relished every second of it.

"So why have I got California politicians screaming at me about wanton destruction and dead bodies littering their fine beach front property?" he asked them.

"I was eliminating a public threat, sir," Alex replied. Fury frowned at that.

"A public threat? Reports state that there were four dead HYDRA agents found in the rental house alone. There were another four bodies on the beach. They're still putting the pieces together from the mess you made of the target house. A house that held intel we could have used. Your mission was to gather that intel. What made you think that blowing that house up was a wise move?"

"There was no telling what kind of ammunition the HYDRA agents were using, sir. I didn't want to risk any innocents being injured or killed by stray gun fire. It was my decision to blow the house up, sir. Agent Barton had no idea what I planned to do at the time. I felt the general public was more important than any information we could have found in that house. If any disciplinary action is to be taken, sir, I'm the one who deserves it. Not Agent Barton." Alex paused a moment before adding more to her statement. "In fact, if not for Agent Barton, I wouldn't be here to make this report to you, sir."

"I saw that in the preliminary report," Fury acknowledged.

"I did keep the damage to a minimum, sir," Alex added.

"You think that excuses blowing up a million dollar beach front property in Malibu, Agent Quinn?" Fury asked quietly.

"Of course not, sir. And had I been able to come up with an acceptable plan of action that would have gotten us those papers mentioned in the recording without blowing things up or killing people, I would have done that instead. It was a judgement call, sir."

Fury made a noise in the back of his throat, then turned his attention to Barton. "Do you agree with Quinn's assessment of the situation, Barton? Was she left with little choice but to destroy that house?"

The man didn't answer right away, prompting Alex to let her gaze drift his way. He was looking at her, not at Fury, which the man no doubt saw. That wouldn't look good. But Barton seemed unconcerned with their boss' presence in the room. He just stared at her, a little bit of a smirk teasing the corners of his mouth, for some time. Then he blinked and turned his attention to Fury. "There were nearly half a dozen HYDRA agents trying to converge on the house. I wouldn't be surprised if there had been that many more in the target house, waiting for an order to take up where their compatriots failed. I think Agent Quinn made a decision that saved lives in the long run."

"Mm-hmmm." Fury stared at them for a few moments, letting them both stew. When he spoke again, the tension was so thick in Alex's shoulders that she felt like she'd snap in two if someone touched her. "As it happens, I have to agree with that. I just don't want you to make a habit of blowing houses up. Dismissed."

"Yes, sir. Thank you," Alex replied, then rose to her feet. The tension started to melt away.

"Take the rest of the day off. But I want your final reports on my desk tomorrow before you leave. And if I find anything suspicious in either of them, we'll have another little chat." She escaped the conference room before Fury could say anything else or change his mind. She was eager to get home and sleep in her bed again. A hot shower, a beer, and a session of mindlessness in front of the television were on the menu, too.

"You want a ride?" Barton's voice stopped her on her way up the hall. Damn it. A verbal sparring match, or anything else, with him was not on the menu. Alex turned to face him, face empty and blank. "Home. I was asking if you wanted a ride home."

"Thanks. No. I'll catch a cab."

"Your stuff is in my car," he reminded her. Crap.

"I can grab it before you leave," she replied.

"Its not an imposition or anything, Lexi." There was a soft quality to his voice that she fought not to respond to. Unfortunately, she lost that battle before it even really began. "Its on the way. It doesn't make sense to leave you to a cab when I can drop you off. Why waste the money?"

It was a logical question. And she'd look like a contrary bitch if she said no to a simple ride. It wasn't like he was asking her to move in with him and redecorate his apartment. And it would be stupid to snub his offer in favor of a cab. That would be expensive and generally unenjoyable. She hated taking a cab. Alex gave the impression of thinking it over, then finally heaved a sigh of suffering. "Fine. A ride would be wonderful. Thank you." She tried for mildly snarky. She figured it came out decidedly bitchy when he shot her a knowing smile.

He kept his distance as they walked and he said nothing. Perhaps he'd taken the hint and knew that she didn't really want anything to do with him. She thought she'd made it abundantly clear when she'd done her best to avoid him for a week. Words could not say how pleased she was that this assignment was over and she could go back to being partnered with Miri.

They reached the car without incident and he hit the button on his key fob to unlock all the doors. Alex climbed in and settled in the passenger seat, drew the seatbelt across her chest and clicked it into place. He did the same, then slid the key into the ignition. She cringed when he turned the engine over and that same noise started up again. How was it he couldn't hear that it didn't sound right?

They were out on the road when she finally said something about it. "You need a tune up." Her tone was flat.

She saw his eyes flick her way for just a few seconds, then a slow smile spread across his face. "You want to give me a tune up? I'm game. But I thought you said you didn't feel anything for me."

She rolled her eyes at that. "Your car, ass. The engine needs a tune up. It sounds like shit."

"Yeah? How can you tell?"

"I started my career with S.H.I.E.L.D. in the motor pool." Didn't he know that? Everyone who worked there seemed to know that she'd started out as a simple grease monkey. It had seemed odd to her that she'd been offered a job in the motor pool, but she'd realized that Fury had had his eye on her for some damned reason and had lured her into the fold by dangling the mechanic position in front of her.

"Wait. Holy shit! You're the Alex in the memo? You were involved in the wrench incident?" he asked, surprise flashing across his face.

"Yes. I was. And seeing as I don't have a wrench right now, I'll have to use my firearm this time. Unless you drop the subject and let me--" She didn't get to finish her threat because her phone chose that second to ring. Alex groaned and dug the cell out of her pocket. She didn't need to look at it to know who it was. Her mother had some sixth sense where she was concerned. "Hello, Mom. What's up?"

"I was calling to let you know that I was considering asking Mikey O'Kay to join us for dinner this Sunday. You remember him, don't you? He's Maureen O'Kay's youngest boy. She mentioned he was in town visiting when I spoke to her on the phone this morning, so I thought that I would ask him to come over and eat with the family. What do you think about that, Alex?"

What did she think about that? She thought she was doomed. Her mother was matchmaking again. And Mikey O'Kay was a real son of a bitch. Maureen O'Kay liked to tell people her son was gone all the time because he was traveling for his job. The truth of the matter was that Mikey had a hard time staying out of jail. Shit. How was she to get out of this? She did not want her mother trying to set her up with Mikey O'Kay. She didn't think that she could get away with shooting him just because he was an asshole.

"Alex?" her mother asked. "Are you there? What do you think? Should I ask him to dinner?"

She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. Nothing other than a high pitched noise of fear that belonged to someone who wasn't her. Barton must have glanced at her because he reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. "Something wrong, Lexi?"

"Lexi?" her mother echoed. Oh, fuck. Fuckity fucking fuck with a side order of fuck. Her mother had heard Barton. "Alex, are you with a man?"

"Lexi?" he asked again. She held her hand up to him so that she could try to attempt some damage control here. She already knew what her mother was thinking and she was going to have to work hard to convince the woman that the man she was talking to was not her boyfriend. That she didn't have a boy...

Wait a minute.

Alex shot her gaze toward him and saw the light at the end of the tunnel. Or, rather, the illumination from the light bulb over her head. She might be able to put her mother off of the whole boyfriend/marriage/baby thing for a little while longer. Assuming he would cooperate with her wacky idea. And the idea worked. She lifted her hand at him to let him know she'd answer him in a second, then gave her attention back to her mother. With the push of a button, she put the phone on speaker. "Yes, Mom. I'm with a man." He shot her a smirk.

"Is he a boyfriend? Or a work friend?" Mary Magdelaine asked, hope coloring her voice. Alex gave Barton a look that begged him to go along with her. That earned her a raised eyebrow that promised she'd be explaining it all later.

"He's a boyfriend, Mom." The expression he wore suggested she was going to pay for this. She ignored him in order to give her attention to her mother.

"A boyfriend? Wonderful! You must bring him to dinner Sunday night." The words saw Alex's heart plummeting to her feet. That didn't mean anything good. Realistically, she'd known it was coming. But still... She had hoped.

"Mom, the relationship is still pretty new. I don't know if its time to introduce him to the family just yet," Alex said slowly, as if she was still thinking it through. "That's a good way to scare him off, don't you think?"

"You're being silly, Alex. You know we'd love to have your boyfriend over to dinner," her mother coaxed. Alex could hear in the woman's voice that she wasn't going to let this go. And she kept using that word, as if it was something new and foreign and exotic. She was going to brow beat Alex into bringing her "boyfriend" over to the house. "Your brothers will be here. I know they'll love to meet him."

"Really, Mom. We haven't--" she tried again, but she was interrupted by the man driving the car.

"I'd love to come to dinner, Mrs. Quinn." Barton sounded disgustingly, painfully cheerful. Alex shot him a dirty look. She'd known it was a long shot trying to get out of dinner with the family when she had a significant other, but she hadn't thought that he'd gang up on her, too.

"Wonderful!" her mother crowed, as if it was settled. Alex made a fist and waved it under Barton's nose. His soft chuckle was lost under her mother's excited voice. "Does he have a single friend, Alex? Or a brother? Maybe you can fix Miriam up. It just isn't right that such a beautiful young woman should be single." Alex ground her teeth. That was her mother's subtle way of suggesting she and Miri were both old maids. "Is Miriam going to join us on Sunday?"

"She just got back from a business trip to the United Kingdom. I expect she just wants some time to rest and get back on New York time," she said. Her mother drew a breath to start again so Alex hurried to add more to her statement. "I'll ask her if she wants to join us, Mom. But don't expect her to show up. Okay?" There was no way in all the seven Hells that Alex was going to ask Miriam to go to dinner Sunday. She'd never live this down.

"Of course, Alex," her mother agreed.

"Is there anything we need to bring to the dinner, Mrs. Quinn?" Barton asked from his seat. Alex turned to glare at him, but his attention was focused on the road so he didn't give her the satisfaction of acknowledging her look.

"Nothing but yourselves," Mary Magdelaine exclaimed happily. "Oh, there's the timer on my cake. I must run. You know the way, honey. Be here at the usual time! I can't wait to meet your young man. Love you." The phone went dead before Alex could respond. She stared at the cell in her hand like it had suddenly appeared there.

"God damn it!" she snapped and tucked the phone away.

"Problems?" Barton asked. She could only gape at him in shock. Hadn't he just been part of the conversation? How could he not know what had happened? How could he not know what he'd done? What the hell had she been thinking? This was going to be a disaster. A goat fuck of epic proportions.

"No. Everything's fucking peachy. Thanks for asking." She turned to look out of the passenger side window. "Just... thank you so much for fucking up the rest of my life."

"How did I do that? By agreeing to go to dinner?"

"Yes!" she snarled at him. "You don't know my mother. She probably believes this is almost as amazing as the second coming of Christ. My life is over. I should just ask for a transfer to fucking Siberia or some shit."

"Your mother sounds like a lovely woman. You've got to be overreacting." There was amusement coloring his words.

"Oh my God. You don't know my mother! The woman is absolutely mental," she snarled. Her words made him laugh out loud. Alex snorted and shook her head. "You do realize that she's already measuring you for the tux, right? She's going to plan the biggest fucking wedding the world has ever seen. Oh, I hope you're Catholic. Because if you're not, she'll insist you convert. I promise you, she's already got us married and living next door to her and my father with at least ten kids."

"You're kidding. Just trying to scare me."

"If I was trying to scare you, I'd just shoot you in the nuts and be done with it. My family is a horror show and you've willingly thrown yourself into the middle of the insanity. And don't get me started on my brothers. I suggest you make out a will. Or decide you're gay. Or die. Or become a priest."

Barton chuckled again, letting her know he wasn't buying it one bit. Fine. Let him think she was exaggerating things. It was his funeral and it was no skin off her nose. She just snorted at him, then fell silent and didn't say another word for the rest of the ride.

~*~*~*~*~

Astrid lay curled against Thor, the heat of his body combining with the weight of the blankets to lull her into slumber. She should get up and shower before allowing herself the luxury of sleep. But she didn't want to move. The gentle stroke of his hand against her bare back under the covers was hypnotic. Comforting. And the heavy thump of his heart sounded against her ear as she listened to him slowly draw breath into his lungs, release it again slow and steady. There was something terribly relaxing about the man, from the musky, masculine scent that clung to his skin to the thorough attention he paid her when he was pleasuring her.

Except something told her he wasn't really paying attention to her at that moment. It was like he was a million miles away from her bed. She lifted her head so she could look him in the eye. "Thor? Is something wrong?"

His gaze focused on her and he gifted her with a broad smile. "Why would something be wrong, Astrid?"

"Because we're laying here in bed after some really incredible sex and you seem more tense than when you arrived. So either I'm positively lousy in bed or you've got something on your mind," she replied. He sighed at that and lifted his hand to stroke her hair back from her face.

"I do not wish to trouble you with dark thoughts, Astrid. These evenings are meant to be about enjoying one another's company. Not filling your head with my problems," he told her gently.

"It sometimes helps to talk problems out, you know," she suggested lightly. He frowned at her, obviously preparing to tell her that it was his problem to deal with, so she sat up and put a hand against his lips. "I'm going to worry more if you don't tell me. So you might as well let it out. Maybe we can figure out why its bothering you."

Thor sighed so deeply that she thought he'd try and turn her down again. But he pulled himself into a sitting position and dragged his hands through his hair. Then he tugged her against him, tucking her under his arm at his side. She slid an arm across his abdomen so she could stroke her fingers along his side. "Come on, big guy. Tell me. I bet you'll feel loads better when you do."

"I was party to a debriefing today," he began, his words slow as if he was testing the feel of them before letting them pass his lips. She nodded, not surprised by that. He'd mentioned to her that he was working for some government organization, though he hadn't really gone into specifics. Just that he, along with others, were part of a team put together meant to protect the world from evil. "I will not bore you with the many details. Just know that agents were dispatched on information gathering trips and one of them came back with images of a circle. Something about it bothers me."

"Why? What kind of circle was it?"

"It was suggested that the circle was used for summoning," he replied, voice thoughtful.

"Summoning? Like... witches calling on the powers that be? That kind of summoning?" she asked, frowning as she considered it. Her question brought a laugh and a smile to his lips. Before she could make comment about his obvious enjoyment at her expense, he drew her closer and kissed her hard. Astrid pulled away from the kiss, her ire at his laughter completely erased by the feel of his lips on hers.

"Is there any other kind of summoning?" he asked lightly.

"Ass," she punched his shoulder in return for his faint mocking. They'd had long discussions about the old ways more than once and she knew that he believed in such things as witches and magic and power. "So this circle. Why does it bother you?"

"Some of the runes used for the invocation are ancient. Many of them were lost to human memory centuries before even the known ones were recorded. How these people discovered them is troubling," he told her, once again serious. "More troubling is that these runes would call old gods to this world. Gods whose power might be too great for even the great scientific advancements mortals have made."

"Sounds intriguing. And dangerous," she admitted, curious despite herself. Before he answered her, she wiggled out from under his arm and headed for her workroom, utterly uncaring that she was naked. From her desk, she scooped up a pencil and a pad of paper and took them back to the bedroom with her. When she was settled in bed beside him, she drew a rough circle on the paper and looked up at him. "Describe to me what you saw."

"I don't think that a wise idea, Astrid. You would have no protection from such beings and--" he began, but she shook her head at him and brought him to silence.

"I have no intentions of summoning anyone or anything. I wouldn't even know how to go about it in the first place," she told him. "I just though that maybe, if I drew it out for you, we might be able to figure out why this circle thing is bothering you in the first place."

The concern in his eyes immediately lightened and his smile returned. "That is a very clever idea," he returned.

"Of course it is," she shot back smugly. "I thought of it. So try and remember every little detail about it. What it looks like. Where it goes. That kind of thing. You describe it to me and I'll draw it."

"Are you sure you can draw the runes?" he asked absently, his mind likely already lost to the memory of those images he'd seen earlier.

"I've studied the history and culture of Scandinavia. I should be able to replicate them as long as you're clear about what you saw," she told him. The pencil was poised over the paper, waiting for him to begin.

Thor was silent for a while, then he began to describe to her what he'd seen earlier in the day. Astrid's hand moved over the pad of paper with sure strokes, careful to follow every single description he gave her. It took time, because with each rune or animal shape, he remembered something else that they had to go back and add into the drawing. She marveled at the man's recall, amazed at just how much of the images he'd seen he'd been able to describe for her to reproduce.

Nearly half an hour passed before they were finished with the drawing. When she set it down on the blanket spread over his thighs, he spent a great deal of time simply staring at it. One hand lifted and absently traced the lines of one of the dragons that she'd put out to the side of the circle. "I should know this."

"That image?" she questioned, watching his finger make another circuit along the lines of the beast's head. He seemed mesmerized by it.

"The entire thing. The circle. The runes. The animals. They all mean something. But I can't remember. I've seen them before," he told her. It sounded like he was frustrated with himself for not being able to name the purpose right then and there.

"Is it important that you remember where you saw them? What they mean?"

"It is very important, Astrid. I believe that this circle and whatever power it calls into being will directly effect the mortals of this realm."

"Then stop trying to force yourself into remembering. Relax and it will come to you," she promised, one hand lifting to tip his head up so that he looked at her instead of the drawing. When she had his attention, she pulled the pad of paper from his lap and casually tossed it to the floor. It hit with a dull sound that she didn't even register. She was too busy staring into his eyes to bother with it.

"Relax? The fate of your world may depend on my memories of those runes and their meanings. Would you have me put aside my sworn duties?" The look he gave her was filled with disbelief, as if she'd just suggested to him that he sacrifice a small child to seek out his answers.

"No. I don't want you to shirk your responsibilities, gorgeous. But you're here with me now and you can't remember what that thing is for. So the smart thing to do is relax and not push it. It'll come to you when you aren't even thinking about it." She gave him a smile.

"And what should I be thinking of?" His voice came low and heated, filled with the wild passion she'd come to associate only with him. As if he was something not of this world. It was one of the best things about him and she positively loved it. Smile morphing into a grin, Astrid rolled herself up on top of him so that she sat looking down into his face.

"Me. You keep boasting to me that I should embrace my Viking heritage. I'm willing to do that right now." To prove her point, she let a hand slip behind her so that she could find the growing length of his cock and give it a stroke. His muscles tensed beneath her. It was the only warning she got.

In the blink of an eye, she was on her back with Thor straddling her thighs. Astrid glanced between them to see that he was hard for her, his erection long and thick as it jutted up from his groin. The smile she gave him was full of smug satisfaction. Her hands reached for him again, once more stroking up and down the length of his shaft to prove her point to him. He made a noise in the back of his throat, eyes rolling closed at the touch of her flesh on his. "I shouldn't let you distract me so," he murmured, voice thick and heavy.

"You love it when I distract you," she shot back, let her hand glide down to the base of his cock so that she could squeeze it. Could give a light tug on it. "Come here, gorgeous. Let me distract you some more."

Thor groaned as he settled himself between her thighs. She wrapped her legs around his waist and held him in place, then slid her arms up around his shoulders so she could pull him down against her body. His mouth met hers with a hungry, fierce, possessive kiss that sent a thrill of hunger through her. He planted one hand in the mattress so that the other could roam down her side until it could cup her ass, pull her against him tighter.

She moaned at the feel of him pressed against her, at the feel of his hard length caught between them. His mouth ate the sound down, saw him moving against her. Her hands clawed at his shoulders for a few moments before they began to crawl down the length of his back to his ass. His cheeks fit perfectly into her hands. She squeezed them, let her fingers dig into them. The action saw him lifting his head from hers. "Astrid?"

"Please, Thor. Please." She could only gasp the words out.

He didn't ask her what it was she wanted. He already knew. His head dipped so he could press a kiss to her lips. His hands took hold of her and pulled her up with him, settled her in his lap. She put her hands on his shoulders and lifted up, allowed him to guide her down onto him. She hissed out her pleasure as he filled her, let her eyes roll closed as the need boiled through her.

When he was fully buried within her, his hands settled on her hips and lifted her up. His mouth found her throat and pressed biting kisses to it. Then he pulled her down as his hips thrust up into her and began a steady thrusting that saw her holding tight to him. Her head fell back on her shoulders, the pleasure spiraling through her until she was blind to everything but him.

~*~*~*~*~

Miri came awake slowly, slightly confused as to where she was. It took a few moments to realize that she was curled up in Phil's bed, her face buried in a pillow that smelled of him. It was a combination of cologne, shampoo, and that thing that was strictly Phil Coulson. Smiling to herself, she turned her nose into the pillowcase and snuggled down deeper.

They had passed the entire day in the bed, alternating between actually sleeping and being wrapped around one another, relearning each other's bodies and finding the pleasure that they shared. It had been a lovely day and part of Miri would love to spend every day like that. Every night like that.

That wasn't the way her relationship with Phil worked, though. It never had. They'd always been more about the sex and the stress relief that came with finding their climaxes with each other's bodies. In the entire time she'd been seeing him, they'd never spoken about emotions or commitments. And she'd been okay with that. But now, thinking about the past few hours and the past week, Miri thought that maybe something had changed.

She rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. Ever since she'd found him in her hotel room in Scotland, she'd known that something was different between them. She just wasn't sure what it was. And she'd thought about it quite a bit. There was a thought niggling in the back of her mind, but it wouldn't step into the light of day so she could really examine it. All she knew was... she was seeing a side of Phil she'd never seen before. And it had all started that first night in Scotland.

She'd spent that first night, and the rest that followed, wrapped in his arms as she slept. She'd sensed the change then, when he'd taken her down to the bed and spent several hours just holding her. Making love to her. It was a new Phil, one that had never made an appearance before. That Phil had left her slightly bewildered and confused.

By day, he'd been his same professional self. No one he'd dealt with would have guessed that unflappable Agent Coulson, the man who had threatened to taze Tony Stark and watched Supernanny while the billionaire genius drooled into the carpeting, was capable of the tenderness he'd showered on her at night. He'd been calm and cool, ever the professional. Even when he'd been riding Wisdom's ass for the smallest things, he'd still been the consummate G-man. He'd still been Fury's right hand man.

At night, his hands had traced every inch of her skin. He'd learned each bruise, scrape, scratch, cut, and tender spot that had marred her flesh. He'd kissed them all, as he'd done with every other part of her. He'd traced his hands over her limbs until every nerve had tingled and begged for more. He'd taken her to such heights, with slow and sure and steady and tender caresses, that she'd fallen asleep in his arms so sated that it had been hard to get up and go to work in the mornings.

It was almost as if he hadn't been willing to let her go.

That thought made her stop and really think. His attitude had seemingly changed after the explosion. Or, perhaps it was better to say his attitude had changed because of the explosion. Which suggested that maybe he felt something more for her than he was willing to let on. Except she didn't think that Phil would allow himself to get caught up in such emotional issues. His tenderness in Britain had to be because she'd survived that explosion. Here, in his own bed, it had to be that he was tired and wasn't up to one of their normal bouts of sex. Later, after they'd had time to rest up, they'd go back to their normal dynamic of light dominance and submission.

She knew he was tired. He was as exhausted as she was. In fact, he had worked harder than anyone else at the explosion site. He should have been laying beside her. He should have still been asleep. So why wasn't he?

Heaving a sigh, Miri rolled from bed and sought out something to put on. Her hands snagged his discarded work shirt and she slid into it. Her fingers worked half the buttons, leaving the shirt open to the middle of her cleavage. She walked as she buttoned, slipping out of the bedroom and into the short hallway. A light was on in the room he used as his office, a thin finger of it peeking out from under the door drawing her toward that room.

She considered knocking but decided that it would be pointless. She was sure Phil knew that she was there. It was just one of the many things that made him the superb agent that he was. So she just took hold of the door knob and turned.

Phil sat at his desk, the curved neck of a banker's lamp bent possessively over the pile of paperwork laid out before him. He was in the most casual clothing she'd ever seen him wear, a simple white t-shirt and a pajama bottoms. They were pale blue with darker blue pinstripes. She stared a moment at his bare feet, toes curled against the rug under the desk, then brought her gaze up to take in the way his hair was ruffled and disheveled. He hadn't bothered to comb it after climbing from bed. One hand held a pen, worked it with ruthless efficiency across the paper, while the other held his head up. He didn't look up at her. The pen never stopped moving.

"You should be sleeping, Miriam," he said quietly.

"So should you. The last week has been long for both of us."

"You were the one who was nearly killed, though." He said it so mildly, as if it hadn't been a big deal. As if it hadn't been that explosion that had seen him come all the way across the ocean. There was something in his voice, though. Something that normally didn't reside there. She had no name for it, it was so alien. Then he looked up at her and that same, unnamed emotion that had colored his words was in his eyes and on his face. She frowned at him, unsure what to make of it.

They stared at one another for a while before he put the pen down, just so across the papers, and sat back in his chair to look at her more fully. Miri didn't flinch away from his unwavering gaze, tilted her chin up and crossed her arms over her chest. "I got out in time."

"You spent time in the hospital," he pointed out quietly.

"Just until they were sure that I wasn't too badly injured," she returned.

"When I lost contact with you, Miriam, it..." he began, then paused and sighed. Stared at her harder, as if he was trying to tell her something. "When I lost contact with you, Miriam, it worried me."

She blinked at him. That was an odd confession. And she wasn't sure if it was because she was one of his agents or if it was because she was sleeping with him. She waited for him to say something more. Anything more. But he remained silent. Whatever else he wanted to say, whatever else he had buried inside of him, it wasn't going to come. He was going to keep it buried, was going to let it build. Because something was building between them. She could feel it even if she wasn't sure what exactly that something was.

"You should go back to bed, Miriam. You need your rest," he finally told her, then once again picked up the pen and bent over his paperwork again. She frowned at that. What the hell had just happened?

She didn't move. She wasn't going to go to bed without him. She didn't give a shit what he thought. He'd worked himself into near exhaustion and he needed rest just as much as she did.

The pen scratched softly across the surface of the paper, every ounce of Phil's attention given over to whatever it was he was writing. Probably he was working on his final report for Fury. Not that he needed to worry about that until the day after tomorrow. She needed to distract him from work, if only for a few seconds.

What was this relationship they had? She wondered about it as she rose from the chair and slowly closed the distance between Phil and herself. Even as she worked her way around the corner of the desk, she pondered how they'd managed to stay together for over three years when there was nothing more than sex between them. That was a long damned time for friends with benefits. Had she missed something?

What did it matter if she had? She was here with him now. He wanted her and she was content with things as they were. Fuck the relationship crap. Fuck it all. None of that mattered. Not tonight. Not with him sitting there, looking for all the world like he'd lost the most important thing in his life.

She was going to wipe that look off his face. Even if it took her all night to do it.

Coming to a stop beside his chair, Miri leaned up against his back and wrapped her arms around him. Let her hands glide over his abdomen toward his waist. She pressed a series of tiny kisses to his neck and jaw, let the tip of her tongue trace patterns against the roughness of his unshaven chin. "Come back to bed with me, Phil. Come back to bed and make love to me again."

"I've got paperwork to--" he began. She bent around him and put her lips against his own, effectively cutting off his words. She felt him roll the chair back from the desk, just a bit. Just enough for her to climb into his lap. She did so without hesitation, wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned in so that she could take his mouth in a teasing kiss. His hands crept up her back, edging the shirt she wore higher and higher.

"The paperwork will still be there in the morning, Phil. Come to bed with me. Please," she whispered softly against his lips.

He said nothing, simply took hold of her and rose up out of the chair to a standing position. Miri wrapped her arms and legs around him. His hands shifted so that they cupped her ass, pressed her against him while he moved for the door.

By the time he'd dumped her on the bed and tugged his shirt from her, she ached for him. She helped him out of his t-shirt and pajama bottoms, her hands tugging him down to cover her body with his own. His hands cradled her hips gently and his mouth took hers. Kissed her so thoroughly she fed him the moan that rolled up her throat when he so very slowly pressed himself into her.

He continued eating those moans down all night long.

(no subject)

Date: 2011-11-16 05:42 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] mistress-o-muse.livejournal.com
Woooooo! Another awesome chapter, babe! :D)

I can't wait to see the full extent of what HYDRA's up to...and the summoning circle...intriguing! Can't wait!! :D)

Have I told you how much I love Alex's mom yet?? LOL! Oh man, between Mom and Clint..well, poor Alex! *giggle*

Dammit, I shouldn't read Phil and Miri (or Astrid and Thor apparently ) before I have to leave for work....although on the other hand, maybe that's not such a bad thing after all. ;D)

Seriously sweetie, awesome job as per usual and can't wait for more!

(no subject)

Date: 2011-11-16 10:22 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dazzledfirestar.livejournal.com
Your Fury voice kills me, i just have to tell you that right off the bat. LOL I really like how the debriefing turned out. I think you've got a ton of information and I can't wait to see how it all folds in together.

Oh Alex... she's in so much trouble... LOL Her mom needs to join the 21st century though. Yeesh. I get tradition but... lay off already! No wonder Alex can't find someone to marry. Two dates in and her mom's freaking them out! lol Can't wait to see how dinner goes. I'm sure Miri would have loved to witness that one!

Awww... little miss mousey got some! LOL And it seems to have loosened her up a bit. I like this version of Astrid a lot more. She seems more at ease with herself. Thor's a good influence I guess. :)

Oh those two... *shakes her head* I have nothing more to add, just... they both need a smack upside the head and to smarten the fuck up. LMAO

Great work, hun. Looking forward to more! :D

(no subject)

Date: 2011-11-17 03:28 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] ginevrasm.livejournal.com
*whistles*

*applause*

You did it again. Another great chapter. I'm loving the way you're weaving the character and relationship developments in with all the plot. I'm not sure which couple I enjoyed most -- OK -- I am biased, so Thor and Astrid win by a hair -- But really, I enjoyed each one for it's own sake. Loved Barton getting himself invited to Sunday dinner. Loved Astrid and Thor getting naked and comfortable with each other. Loved Miri and Coulson trying to deal with the changes in their relationship without exposing themselves. And the overall plot definitely has me hooked -- weapons, summoning circles, booby-trapped bases... Yup. Hooked.

I will be waiting eagerly for the next installment.

(no subject)

Date: 2011-11-17 05:14 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] rylan-m.livejournal.com
*applause*

alex and clint and alex's mom are definitely a cracky combination - certainly gave me a chuckle (which i really needed!)

it's obvious that thor adores astrid, which is great, cuz she needs some personal contact positivity in her life . . . and it looks like he's quite content to provide it for her.

phil and miri need to get a clue. but i do like the way you're building this slowly for them, cuz we're not all relationship geniuses and it takes longer for some of us to get a clue.

and the info in the debriefing . . . seriously intriguing.

i dunno *shrugs* it was really great, like always.

*two thumbs up*
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