ᴀɴᴀʀᴄʜɪsᴛ sᴇʀɪᴇs | B. Barnes, S. Rogers, L. Laufeyson

Facing Reality | 25 |

He hadn't been able to admit it before, trying to convince himself that he only saw her as a friend.

But he couldn't keep denying it.

He had fallen completely, and utterly, in love with her.

-

5:32 pm
December 5

Everything was passing in a blur. It seemed like just a week ago she had arrived here, and only a few days ago did she go on her first mission.

But Christmas was soon, and she was coming to realize that she had officially been here for seven months.

As far as she knew, little time had passed back in her original reality, but she didn't enjoy thinking about it. She had shifted here to get away from her life there, and worrying about it while in the reality she'd always wanted to go to felt like a waste.

As for Thanksgiving back in November, they hadn't done much. Most of the Avengers had gathered for a friends-giving, with the exception of Nat and Clint, the former was on a mission, and the latter was with his family, though the Avengers thought he was with Nat on her mission.

I've totally almost mentioned his family so many times, I'm not supposed to know this dammit. She thought as she organized a stack of papers on her desk.

She was at S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters in the Triskelion in Washington DC. Fury had needed her here a week ago for a mission, and she was only just finishing up the last of the paperwork.

"One thing I did not anticipate was the amount of freaking paperwork that came with this damn job." Harli grumbled as she walked down the hall to Fury's office to give him the files.

She passed Rumlow and the rest of the S.T.R.I.K.E team, the man nodding to her as she passed. She gave him a tight lipped smile; she had found it incredibly difficult to play nice with them, especially Pierce, who had decided he had taken a liking to her and was constantly calling for her.

Damn Hydra bastards. She thought, silently seething.

Little sparks of gold popped up around her, and she had to fight to keep it under control, she couldn't be exploding in the hallway- it would look bad, and embarrass her.

As the months passed, she learned how to reign in her powers more, though the black tinges still crept up her fingers when she was angry or scared.

She straightened out her flannel and jeans as she neared Fury's office. She absolutely refused to wear anything dressy, and even in the various press conferences she was forced to attend, she only wore a suit. Dresses most certainly weren't her thing.

Just because she didn't wear 'professionally acceptable' clothes, it didn't mean that she let herself look like a mess. Sure, perhaps a Pink Floyd shirt paired with a black and red flannel and ripped black jeans weren't the most appealing, but they were comfortable and she enjoyed them.

Harli knocked on Fury's office door before letting herself in, humming a song that unfortunately hadn't been released yet- and wouldn't be for the next few years, under her breath.

The one-eyed man only glanced up as she entered, his feet propped up on his desk as he ate an apple with his knife. "Paperwork done?"

"Mmhm." She hummed, placing the files down on the corner of his desk, and then straightening a paperweight that was crooked to one side.

Harli and Fury had an odd relationship. It wasn't like father-daughter by any means, but the man cared about her, not that he'd ever admit it. She quickly became one of his best agents, next to Barton and Romanoff, despite only working there for a short six months.