Cold Enemies, Warm Romances

Chapter Twenty-Four ~ WB039 ~

"Home, sweet home," Jessie announced happily as they stepped off of the Quinjet they'd taken to Washington D.C. and looking around.

"Your father worked at the Pentagon?" Natasha asked as they head off.

"Yeah," she replied with a smile. "That's how I met Saleen. Her family moved here later, and from there, after we found out about our mutations, we just kept moving on together. People would always say, 'oh, there go the two partners in crime.'" She shook her head, laughing. "Always the team, the two of us."

"What could be so interesting that he had to show up here?" Fitz wondered.

"Oh, gee, let me think." Jessie pretended to before brightening. "Oh, yeah!" She counted off on her fingers. "The Pentagon, full of military people. The White House, where our leader is. Plus, the Triskelion is here, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Clint agreed.

"The Triskelion, SHIELD headquarters," Jessie finished before quirking an eyebrow. "Did I miss anything?"

"No."

"Do I rest my case?"

"Case rested," Simmons replied.

"Right, then," Jessie decided, turning around and starting to go -

"Do your parents know you're here?" Ward asked.

Jessie stopped in her tracks. "What?"

"Your parents," Ward repeated. "Do they know we're here?"

Jessie sighed, folding her arms and turning back to them. "My mom . . . hates mutants," she replied, shaking her head. "If I stepped inside the house, she'd have the police on me in minutes. Dad, he's seen more than she has. But, yeah, I suppose it wouldn't hurt."

"And we can ask him for help in trying to find Loki," Clint added.

"Great," Jessie decided as Thor landed behind them. "First stop is the Pentagon, then."

***

She was sure they made an odd sight, as they continued down the sidewalk. Natasha and Clint looked calm and collected, Ward about the same, but FitzSimmons was looking around, whispering in excitement, and Thor just looked impressed in general as he took in the city. As they walked, Jessie punched a number into her cellphone and raised it to her ear. She bit her lip as the dial tone rang for a while, and then her father picked up. "Lieutenant Commander Nightshade. How can I help you?"

"Dad?" she asked, her voice cracking. "It's me. It's Jessie."

"Jessie?" her father gasped. "It's really you?"

"Yeah, it's me," she laughed, holding a hand over her mouth as she talked to her father in the first time for nearly four years. "I'm back in D.C."

"Oh my God!" he exclaimed, and Jessie smiled happily, mouthing "Thank you" to Ward, who gave her a nod. "Can you come over?"

"We're heading to the Pentagon right now," she replied.

"We?"

"Yeah," Jessie replied with a small laugh. "Dad, you wouldn't believe the people I've picked up since I went to New York."

***

She got more than one dirty look when she entered the Pentagon. She cleared her throat, tugging on her ponytail as she walked up to the reception desk. "Um," she began, "Lieutenant Commander Aaron Nightshade?" she asked. "I called ahead."

She just got a curt nod in return and was sent off. She blew out a breath as she led them away. "Well, that went better than I had hoped for," she muttered.

"You are usually not well received?" Thor asked.

"Something like that, yeah." Jessie sighed as they headed down the Army division, getting fewer looks, and a few smiles, actually, which surprised her. "Once people began to find out that I was a mutant, you know."

"Must've been hard," Ward commented as they walked. "When did you find out?"

"It must have been fifth grade," she replied, tilting her head as she thought. "I'm flexible, and I was doing gymnastics. I messed up on my routine on the balance beam. When I fell, I should've broken my leg." She smiled. "I fell right through the floor. I gave my coach a heart attack."

"She wasn't the only one," a familiar voice said, and Jessie's eyes widened when she saw a face she hadn't seen in a long time. "Long time no see, Nightshade."

"Mason!" Jessie shouted, running forward and giving her former best friend a hug.

Lauren Mason laughed and hugged her back tightly, dressed in a military dress suit, her hair tied back in a French braid. "It's good to see you, Jessie."

"I never knew you went into the Forces!" she said, pulling back and looking her over. "You're kidding me!"

"I'm not," Lauren laughed. "Your dad hooked me up."

"And I let her know as soon as you called," her father added as he joined them down the hallway, smiling. "Welcome home, sweetheart."

She hugged him tightly, too, Lauren stepping back respectively to give them some space. "I missed you, Dad," she whispered.

"I missed you, too, Jess," he told her, kissing the top of her head. "But you ran off with the right girl."

"Yes, I did," Jessie agreed before stepping back. "You might recognize a few faces."

Her father's eyebrows raised. "SHIELD," he greeted, stiffening to position, Lauren doing the same.

"At ease, Lieutenant Commander," Clint replied with a nod. "It's nice to meet you."

"Agents Clint Barton, Natasha Romanoff, Grant Ward, Leo Fitz, and Jemma Simmons of SHIELD, and Thor Odinson of . . . Asgard?" she introduced, becoming hesitant at Thor's name. He nodded to her, telling her she got it right, and she sighed in relief. "Guys, this is my father, Aaron Nightshade, and my best friend before I met Saleen, Lauren Mason."

"Sir, ma'am," Clint greeted with a nod.

"What position are you in right now?" Jessie asked Lauren.

"Lieutenant," she replied with a smile. "I head out tomorrow to join ranks in Afghanistan."

"Good luck."

"Thanks." She eyed her before taking a deep breath. "I heard about everything going on in New York. Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," she replied with a smile. "They've been taken care of."

"Good riddance."

Jessie laughed, giving her friend one more hug. "Thanks for dropping by."

"Any time," Lauren replied, hugging her back before heading off.

Her father waited until she'd gone, then took a deep breath. "Jessie, you haven't come here for nearly four years now. Why have you?"

Jessie took a deep breath, trying to figure out where to begin. "Lieutenant Commander, maybe if we could discuss this in your office," Ward offered, placing a hand on Jessie's shoulder, ignoring or not noticing the look Clint gave him. "I think this needs to be in private."

***

Geez, I owe Abby so much for writing another chapter. I'm sorry I never updated. Summer was just a pain, and with the end of school stuff . . . and I might have been just a little bit obsessed with the Doctor Who stuff I was writing at the time.

But I will definitely write a second chapter of this. :) And I'm looking forward to it! Stick around and keep a look out for the twenty-fifth chapter of "Cold Enemies, Warm Romances" when it comes!

BTW . . . is anyone else noticing the tension between Clint and Ward? >:)