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After flying through most of the night, the quinjet finally comes to a landing at the edge of the Sokovian border in the darkness of the early morning hours. Celeste pushes herself up from the co-pilot seat groggily, her and Clint moving to join Vision, Wanda, Pietro, and the other Avengers as the ramp slowly lowers, letting an uncomfortably chilly draft inside.
"What now?" Pietro asks quietly, furrowing his eyebrows together as no one moves outside.
"Just wait," Celeste whispers back, a knowing grin forming. "Steve always has a motivational speech."
"Ultron knows we're coming. Odds are we'll be riding into heavy fire, and that's what we signed up for," Steve begins, glancing around the group meaningfully. "But the people of Sokovia, they didn't. So our priority is getting them out. All they want is to live their lives in peace and that's not gonna happen today. But we can do our best to protect them and we can get the job done. We find out what Ultron has been building, we find Romanoff, and we clear the field. Keep the fight between us. Ultron thinks we're monsters, that we're what's wrong with the world. This isn't just about beating him. It's about whether he's right."
"And it's also about all of us surviving this shitshow," Celeste adds, deciding to end their brief meeting on a positive note. "Because there's a wedding to plan when this is all over."
"You heard the lady," Tony chimes in, his voice muffled through the IronMan armor. "Let's safely kick some robot ass and protect the citizens."
Before anyone can protest, he flies out of the quinjet and towards the heart of the city. Thor and Vision follow behind, leaving behind those that can't fly.
"Great teamwork, guys," Bruce mutters sarcastically.
"Pietro and I can help the people on the other side of Sokovia," Celeste offers, an idea forming. "Since we can get there the fastest."
Steve nods in agreement, dismissing them with a wave of his hand before turning his attention to the few remaining.
Pietro disappears before Celeste can say anything to him, leaving nothing but a gust of wind behind. She closes her eyes, trying to focus on the areas they flew over.
"Banner, you focus on finding-"
A hand latches onto Celeste's wrist, startling her out of her thoughts. She whirls around, instinctively lashing out.
"Easy, tiger," Clint chuckles, dodging her flying fist. "I was just going to offer a good luck kiss, but if you're going to act like that-"
Celeste tugs on Clint's leather vest, pulling him closer as her lips crash onto his, successfully shutting him up. He smiles into the kiss, hugging her tight and pushing his fears about the mission away; as long as she's safe and in his arms, everything will be okay, no matter what happens.
