Tomb Raider - Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel

13 ~ Dangerous Women

There was a certain intimacy to the training sessions with Carol, one that had always been there from the start and was steadily growing. It wasn't just that Carol was now deeply involved with two very personal pieces of Nora's life, ones that she had kept mostly hidden from those she was close to, the few people they were, there was also something else, a certain connection they shared from the beginning.

Carol had gone off on another space mission, and then returned earlier than she had said she would, leaving Nora to assume she had efficiently dealt with the problem. Nora found she was becoming more accustomed to Carol's unpredictable schedule.

"Welcome to the museum," Nora said as she led Carol inside her house. "Don't mind the mess," she added, embarrassed, wishing she had tidied up some.  "I'm still working on clearing it out."

So far, she had managed to avoid bringing Carol inside the house further than just the front entrance way. She was embarrassed because of the mess, yes, but also because of the fact that her house did look more like a museum than a home.

Carol assessed all the boxes and papers. "You're getting rid of all this?"

"Yeah.  It's taking longer than I'd like."

"Why?"

"Cause I keep avoiding it, to be honest."

"No, I meant why are you getting rid of it?"

"It's all Mum and Dad's.  They're not here anymore and it's all just sitting around collecting more dust, so-" She shrugged.  "Then, eventually, I'd like to sell the house. I don't need all this space. I'd like to get a flat overlooking the river."

"Your childhood home? What about all the memories here? Don't you want to hold onto something of your parents?"

"Funny thing was, we didn't actually spend a lot of time here. My parents were always traveling, and were more than happy to drag me out of school to bring me along - and I was glad to skip school. Still had to do all the assignments though." She gestured to some of the items.  "This is a Samurai sword, from Feudal Japan. This shield is from Ancient Rome, a gladiator. A strip of cloth likely from an English crusader. And this string of beads is Mayan." She chuckled and shook her head.  "God, I hate all this stuff."

"Though not as much as you think, it would seem," said Carol, hinting.

"Look, this dish is Roman-era, likely a survivor from Pompeii  - oh my God, fascinating, the ancients used dishes too!"

Carol laughed.  "You know your stuff."

"Well, I guess that's just what naturally comes with growing up around two passionate archaeologist parents.  That, or it's in my genetics. Probably both."

"Well, whatever it is, you have a knack for it."

"Thanks. Yes, despite my love-hate relationship with archaeology, it's one thing I'm good at." There was a pause in the conversation, and Nora jumped in, taking a plunge. "I used to bar-tend at this pub by Parliament. They usually give me free drinks when I go in, but could I maybe buy you some appetizers?"

Carol smirked.  "Food is usually more expensive than drinks."

"I know." Nora shrugged.  "Besides, black market makes good money - I'm kidding!" She laughed when Carol swatted at her.  "So, Space Girl, what do you say?"

"It's 'Captain' to you. And I say yes."

----------------------------

"The Dancing Cat?" Carol chuckled as Nora opened the pub door and held it open for her.

"Hey, don't laugh." But she was giggling too.

Less than an hour later, the two women were sitting at a booth in the cozy Dancing Cat Pub chatting and laughing over drinks and appetizers.

"I like your ring," Carol commented, nodding to the gold band with pink and red jewels adorning Nora's left middle finger.

"This one?" She raised her middle finger, making Carol laugh. "Thanks, it supposedly belonged to a pirate. My parents used to joke that they were like modern pirates, modern treasure hunters. I dug it out of Mum's jewelry box years ago."

"So you're a forger and a thief? Possibly a pirate?" Carol said, elbow resting on the table, chin resting on her fist, eyeing her companion with that signature smirk of hers. Nora wondered if Carol knew just how much power that smirk held over her, and if that was why she kept doing it, because she knew it would drive Nora crazy - was driving her crazy. Even just picturing it made her all fidgety, so actually seeing it and directed at her made her feel a whirlwind of emotions. Carol was a smart woman, so Nora assumed she knew.

"Guess so.  You sure are spending time with some interesting company. You sure you want to be so close to a supposedly dangerous woman like me?"

"Trust me, I seem to have a thing for danger. In fact, I seem to attract it," Carol said playfully. "And, if you haven't noticed, I'm a bit of a dangerous woman myself."

"Just a bit," laughed Nora.

"Looks like we're both attracted to danger. Think I didn't notice you checking me out the first time we met?"

She was thrown off by the question. Heat instantly flooded Nora's face, and this time it wasn't from the alcohol. "W-well," she tried desperately to cover for herself.  "-When Fury said he had an old ally who might be able to help me, I wasn't expecting you. Nor when he said you were from the '90s."

"Hey, didn't say I didn't like it." Carol smirked again, overwhelming Nora, who smiled back.

"You know, The Rolling Stones once played here in this very pub."

"Really?"

"Yeah, early on in their career. I think they were rehearsing for a show.  Long before my time but I always like to drop that little fact."

"Well, it worked."

"Hmmm?" Nora smiled from behind her drink.

"You were obviously trying to impress me with your little fact."

"That obvious, huh?"

"It worked." Carol smirked yet again, only confirming Nora's suspicion that she knew how much Nora liked it. How could one little simple action cause her to react so much? She had never felt this way before.

Her crush was rapidly slipping into something more.

(Ooooo! ;) Haha! Will now be updating my 'Endgame' story! Thank you all so much for reading (and the 3000+ reads! :D) and I hope you enjoyed, as always! :))