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

Christmas Eve And A Promise | 26 |

None of them were human, not any more at least. Some had never been human, others finding themselves slowly transformed until who they were was a completely different person.

Some feared them, others thought of them as gods.

Whatever it was, they were dangerous.

-

7:32 am
December 23

Before she knew it, it was two days before Christmas.

Snow covered the ground, and the grey slush that always seemed to find its way into boots coated the streets.

Harli had glared at Fury until he let her and the rest of the Avengers have the week off, but only with the promise that they would step in if anything that the S.T.R.I.K.E and S.H.I.E.L.D teams couldn't handle popped up.

She had coaxed Steve into decorating for the holidays, as it was the first Christmas he would be spending with friends since the forties.

Tony had gone above and beyond, and the only thing stopping him from covering the entire tower in Christmas lights was Pepper's stern raised eyebrow.

But other than that, a tall eighteen foot fir tree stood proudly in the main hall, bedecked with ornaments and sparkling lights.

Harli was quite proud of the rest of the Avengers too- both Nat and Clint were home until New Years, and Thor had promised to swing in with his brother.

Both Tony and Pepper had given the winged girl quite a scare the week before, when the terrorist who called himself the Manderin kidnapped Pepper.

I totally forgot about Iron Man 3- fuck. I need to pay more attention dammit. Lets see, she had thought as she read through the reports on the fight, Thor: Dark World is next, meaning that Loki is going to fake his death.... again.

Tony had gone as far as to get the surgery to remove the shrapnel from his heart, and then tossed the arc reactor in the ocean. He showed his devotion to Pepper, and their relationship was stronger than ever.

Harli had had a hand in healing him after the surgery, stopping by four times a week to hold a hand over his heart, letting golden light flow from her palms as she sped along his healing process. They had figured out that if she healed too many wounds too quickly, she would be exhausted to the point that she would sleep for days at a time.

Steve was careful to regulate how much she used her powers, no matter how much she assured him she was fine. He had watched her wipe blood that trickled from her nose after a long healing session, and then collapse from fatigue.

He knew that she overexerted herself ninety percent of the time, especially if it came to helping the people she cared about. He often found her passed out on the couch, or slumped over a stack of files, and always picked her up gently, and then carried her back to her room.

The super soldier had figured out that she had self-destructive tendencies, especially if she messed something up. After a failed mission she had shut herself into her room for several hours before Steve figured out that something was up, and barged into her room. She was sitting on her bed, staring blankly into the corner when he roused her from the trance.

"I'm fine." She had laughed, but the smile didn't reach her eyes, "Just... tired."

It had taken Steve weeks to get her out of it, but as it neared Christmas, she perked up, finding something else to hyperfixate on.

Now she was trotting home from the mall, laden with bags and boxes- Christmas presents for the team, and even Fury.

Once she reached the door, she attempted to get it into the lock by hand before giving up and flicking her fingers so the key floated up and into the lock.