Ever After

Part 7 - Morag

The pull at your body is immense, its like riding a roller-coaster. But instead of the carriage pulling you along, you're the one in control. The bright lights, and strange images don't help. But you stay fixated on Steve, making sure you follow him, rather than letting your mind be pulled somewhere else.

You land, on your knees, taking your helmet off in desperation to grab some air. "Fuck," you gasp, Steve rubbing your back as you almost throw up. "Why didn't anyone warn me about how fast that was?"

"Thought you have coped after all those rides you and Bucky used to haul me on at Coney Island," Steve chuckles before pulling you up. "You'll be fine Belle."

As you stand and finally take in your surroundings, you're lost for words. Another planet, it was something you had only ever dreamt about. Despite it being secluded, dark and almost desolate, you find beauty in the unknown stars above you. And the air is much fresher, almost richer. "Wow," is all you can say as you turn, taking it all in. "It's pretty beautiful."

"Yeah," Steve replies. "It's something." He follows your gaze, but can't help but lock onto your expression rather than his surroundings, a warmth running through him as you stare, open mouthed just taking it all in. "Come on," he pulls at your arm, drawing your attention to the temple sitting in the distance. "Let's get this done."

The path is rocky, and running around are strange little creatures. They remind you of the rats that used to occupy your home in the 40s, except uglier and well, sharper teeth. "So what's this place called again?"

"Morag."

"Oh great," You laugh, as you follow Steve. "I knew a Morag once. Back home in Brooklyn. She was a bitch."

Steve pauses slightly, trying to remember who you were talking about. "Oh yeah, long black hair. Stayed a few apartments up from us." He shrugs before walking on. "She was always nice to me."

"Yeah, well you're a guy. Any other woman was a threat."

Steve lets out a throaty laugh. "One, I was barely a guy back then. And two, she was competition huh?"

"Pfft, hardly." You slap his arm. "And unless you've been lying to me all these years, you have a dick Steve. That would have been enough for Morag."

A small smirk appears on Steve's face, along with a slight reddening in his cheeks. "You've seen it, remember?" This time it's your turn to blush, as you remember vividly; you were 18, in your way back home when suddenly out nowhere you encounter Steve streaking through the corridors after losing a dare to Bucky. Trying not to look towards his groin, you clear your throat and march on ahead of him.

"Don't remind me." Steve simply chuckles before catching up with you. "If I remember correctly, she had a thing for Bucky in particular."

"Who didn't." Steve mumbles under his breath, but just loud enough for you to hear. You look over at him, the smile now gone from his face, head down as he walks. "Let's just hope this Morag isn't as threatening for you." He nudges you with his shoulder, making you give him a cautious smile, now once again unsure of the mood he was in.

***

"It's a pity," You sigh as you start walking through the temple, following closely behind Steve. "I bet this place was beautiful once."

"Yeah," Steve sighs too, keeping an eye on his own footsteps. "Everything has to end sometime though."

"Well that's not depressing," You roll your eyes. His constant mood swings right now throwing you off. "Whatever happened to Mr Positivity..." You don't get to finish your sentence as a sudden yell draws your attention.

"Who the hell are you? What's going on? This is my bounty so you guys better..."

"Woah, easy." Steve tries to appease the guy, clearly having just woken up. "Just take a minute alright. Everything's fine Quill."

"How the hell do you know my name? What the fuck..." With one punch you knock him out cold again. Steve looks at you despondently.

"Sorry Stardude." You laugh with a shrug of your shoulders. "What? That's how Rhodey did it, it was quicker." Steve just shakes his head and moves on, but you can just about make out a smile on his face.

Walking on, you find a doorway; the doors clearly left open by Rhodey and Nebula when they grabbed the power stone. Your footsteps echo in the halls, making you feel a little nervous. As if reading your mind, Steve reaches over and grabs your hand.

Reaching the altar, Steve reaches down to open the case concealing the stones. You hold a breath as you see all 6 colours shining through, once again fresh memories of seeing them embedded on Tony's suit hit you. "Hurry up Steve," You grumble as a shiver runs up your spine.

"Keep calm Belle," He notices the change in your body language as soon as he opened the case. "We gotta do this right," He looks down at his watch. "We gotta put them back at the exact moment they were taken."

"Yeah, I know. I know." You sigh, taking a few steps away from him, heading towards the doorway, feeling slightly better now that you weren't so close to the stones. It had been an hour since you had arrived on Morag, maybe slightly more; you figured that couldn't be more than just a few seconds back home. If you kept this pace up, you'd be home sooner than you thought.

A tap on your shoulder distracts you, assuming it's Steve you turn and walk into a punch straight in the face. "Oh shit you're a girl!" Quill exclaims before running up towards where Steve is. "Sorry, but it's my bounty. And you hit me first so..."

"Damn," You can't help but smile, despite the slight pain in your jaw. "Stardude can pack a punch," You laugh as Steve catches up to you after getting away from Quill's wrath.

"You good?" You nod before both of you run back to your origin point. Suddenly Steve grabs you, pulling you behind a large rock formation. "Over there, look." You follow his eyeline to where several spaceships are landing, and a small group are marching towards Quill's location. "This is how Rocket said it went. We need to go now."

He taps his watch, setting up his white 'time suit' again, before making sure yours matches his. "Where to now?" You ask, eyes flitting to the temple where you can hear the telltale signs of a fight going on.

Steve looks down, even with the helmet on you can tell he's hurting. Even more so when you hear his voice. "Vormir," he sighs. The word instantly breaks your heart.