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𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐧𝐞
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{2 years later}

THE SMELL OF SMOKE THAT FLOWED
through the air woke me up. I shoot up from my bed, convinced that my house was on fire, and grab my robe to quickly find the source of the smoke. My body shivered slightly as I felt the cold tiles beneath my feet as I rushed to the kitchen only to see Grant using a dish towel to fan the smoke.

"Grant," I called out, "What the hell are you doing? What happened?"

"I was trying to make bacon for us," He sighed and I look at the counter to see two plates with waffles and eggs, "But I had to use the bathroom and when I came back, the kitchen was full of smoke."

I helped him and turned on the fan above the stove before laughing at the burnt bacon, "Your heart was in the right place, though."

"I didn't mean to wake you," He frowned a bit, so I took his hand to pull him closer.

I grabbed his face and kissed his cheek, "It's alright, I was bound to wake up sooner or later."

He hummed, wrapping his arms around my waist, "What for?"

"I have to finish this paper," I sighed before pulling myself off him to sit at the table, "Or at least get started."

"Is it for that woman that got attacked outside of the movie theater for trying to sneak into Ocean's 8?" He asked and I shook my head, yawning a bit as he placed my plate in front of me.

"No, it's a article on the Avengers," I informed him and he froze a bit to look at me before hesitantly going to go get his plate.

"Weren't you writing about them when I first met you?" He asked and I hummed, watching his back as it was turned.

"Yeah, but Duncan wants me to talk about how they've been disbanded for about two years now." I explained, "Can you believe that it's actually been two years?"

"Not one bit," He simply told me before sitting across from me, quickly eating his food, "So what are you going to do?"

"I was considering traveling to New York and interview Tony Stark since he's the only Avenger that is still on the face of the earth or in America that's not hiding. Thor is in space, I think, Black Widow is still in exile, Scarlett Witch is god knows where, and Captain America..." I trailed off, stuffing some eggs in my mouth, "Apparently, he's gone rogue along with some of the other avengers."

"Wow, uh," He paused, swallowing his food, "This story is going to keep you really busy."

"Yeah, but I'm hoping it would do the opposite," I hummed, "Interviewing Tony might make my job a thousand times easier than the last time when all I had was conspiracy theories and false pretenses."

"Well, I'm proud of you," He praised, grabbing my hand to intertwine our fingers, "And I'm willing to go wherever you go."

I grinned widely and clapped my hands, "Yay, we can pack some bags. We might stay there for more than two nights," I stated and he furrowed his brows, "I want us to enjoy this little trip. It's New York for god sake!" He chuckled as I stood up to go to the tv and when I turn it on, breaking news is the first thing to appear.

I glanced at Grant as he stood up, our finished plates in his hand to go wash them out, "When do you want to go?"

"Maybe this Friday, I could tell Duncan to get us the tickets," I explained, "And if he says no, we have Charlotte as a back up."

He looked over his shoulder as he washed the dishes, "Yeah, isn't she a flight attendant now?"

"Yeah, after saying she was going to be Instagram famous." He laughed at my words, but he stopped to turn and look over my shoulder and at the TV. I turned too to see breaking news on how a massive alien ship hovers over Manhattan, the bottom of the screen calling it the 'Battle of New York'. I looked with awe as I saw the destruction the ship and aliens caused at they landed near Times Square, "Weren't we just talking about New York?"

"Uh, yeah," He paused when his phone rang, "I have to answer this." I nodded at him, my eyes glued to the screen causing me to only hear the sound of his slippers trail off to our bedroom.

I put my hand over my mouth, watching people running through the streets and cars being tossed over. Panic raised inside me, but when I hear Grant come back, I look away from the TV, "Do you have to go?"

Grant told me how he took up criminal justice in college and got a job with the FBI, causing him to travel whenever major crimes went on. We were both okay with the jobs we had, but by the look on his face, I could tell he was no longer okay.

He nods sheepishly and I bit my lip, "Well, I'm still going to New York then."

Steve furrowed his brows at me, "What? No, you can't."

"Why not? This is a major story, bigger than anything combined and Tony Stark might be there, I definitely need to go now," I tell him and he shook his head, "Like you said, 'I'm willing to go wherever you go'."

"Yes, but this is different," He argued, motioning toward the TV, "I said that when there wasn't aliens invading the earth for the second time. I don't want you anywhere near this."

"I don't want you near this either," I stated, "So it's either both of us or neither because I'm not losing you to some.. creature."

He huffed to himself, knowing that I wasn't going to give up, "Fine, Ray, but there are things that are going to happen that... that might change us."

I then went up to him and grabbed his hand, smiling up at him, "Yeah, we're finally going to be labeled as tourist in New York."

"But that's the thing," He sighed, dismissing my joke and squeezing my hand gently, "We're not going to New York anymore."

I furrowed my brows at him, "Well then, where?"

He stared at me, silently before pressing his lips into a thin line, "Scotland."

𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐨𝐧 ⇝ 𝗌.𝗋𝗈𝗀𝖾𝗋𝗌¹Where stories live. Discover now