Mirror, Mirror ↠ Steve Rogers

Chapter Two

As much as she hates planes, Leila makes a point of getting off the plane after Coulson and Steve. Getting off the plane first probably wouldn't inherently read as a fear of planes, but she likes to be cautious.

Natasha is waiting for them on the runway. Leila feels vaguely relieved at seeing her-she's sure if Nat had been "compromised" she'd have heard about it by now, but it's good to see her in the flesh anyway, to know that she's here and solid, hasn't slipped away into the realm of vague spy terms and classified files that Clint has.

She doesn't say any of that, though. Just nods at Nat, smiling a little, who nods back. Truth be told, Leila's not used to being so attached to people, to caring whether someone else lives or dies on a personal level. Before Strike Team Delta, she hadn't felt that way in years. It's unsettling.

Coulson introduces her to Steve, who also nods. "Ma'am."

"Hi." Natasha smiles, and then turns to Coulson. "They need you at the bridge," she says. "Face time."

"See you there," Coulson replies, and heads off.

"I'm gonna go too," Leila says. "I owe myself some gummy bears."

"Coulson?" Natasha asks, glancing pointedly at Steve.

"Yeah." They exchange smirks. Steve looks vaguely perplexed, glancing between them, before apparently deciding not to ask. Instead, he extends a hand to Leila. She takes it.

"It was nice meeting you," he says genuinely.

"My pleasure, Captain," she says, a playful half-smile tugging at her lips. She glances at Natasha. "Take good care of him," she says, tongue-in-cheek as always, and then turns on her heel to leave.

"No promises," Natasha replies after her.

********

Leila wasn't trying to break the vending machine. She just wanted her gummy bears.

She's already payed for them, the machine starts to turn, but then it stops and the candy is still hanging there, unattainable. The cartoon bear smiles up at her from within the brightly lit machine, like it's mocking her.

She's not trying to break it when she kicks it. She just wants to jostle it, to make it give her the candy that she has-again- already paid for . And it works, kind of; she hears them hit the bottom of the take-out port just as the light in the machine flickers off.

Leila glances around-no one else is there, thankfully-and then reaches through the slot to check. Her gummy bears are there, so there's that. She grabs them, and then straightens up, and presses a few buttons on the machine to see if it's working. Maybe it's just the light that's broken.

Nope. Totally unresponsive.

Leila shrugs, tears the bag open, and walks away. She's popping a gummy bear into her mouth when she wanders onto the bridge, where Fury is talking to someone Leila recognizes as Bruce Banner.

"Thank you for coming," Fury tells him.

"Thank you for asking nicely."

"Yeah, that's why we sent Romanoff. Our only other available agent with the necessary clearance is Whittaker-"

Leila perks up at the sound of her name-

"and she can be...prickly," Fury finishes.

Leila's already stepping forward. "I have no idea what he's talking about, never in my life have I been anything other than a delight." She extends her free hand. "Doctor Banner."