THE DESTROYER OF DEATH

“I'm sorry Pers. I really thought he was a decent guy”,Natasha apologized and I smiled.

“It's fine,really. Don't worry”,i tried to reassure her.

“I wouldn't think the young avatar would stay so calm though. Nice job,young avatar. Patience is,after all,a virtue”

“Nah”,Barton argued,” She should have kicked his ass. Would be fun to watch” ,he said before taking a sip from his beer bottle and I couldn't help but smile.

“Yes,but then I wouldn't get to listen to playboy call me his friend” ,i tilted my head and Tony rolled his eyes,Pepper kissing him on the cheek with a smile.

“Do one mistake and everyone keeps throwing it at your face”,he mumbled under his breath and we all laughed in turns.

Everyone but Steve. He was leaning against the wall far behind us,taking sips from his beer bottle. I could see he was looking at us,one arm on his pocket. When he noticed me looking at him a soft smile grew on his face. I stood up,ready to go his way.

“Yes,please do something about him. His mopping is contagious” ,Tony said and I pursed my lips,choosing to ignore him.

“Hey” ,i said when I finally reached him and readjusted his position,now standing tall in front of me.

“Hey”,his voice was soft,almost faint. “Are you okay?”

“What? Yes. I'm fine”, I shook my head,but he didn't look convinced. “How..how are you?” ,i asked rather nervously and he opened his eyes a bit,just before letting out a chuckle.

“I'm fine”,his smile stayed on his face for a little longer.”You look good”,he said when his face relaxed a bit.

“I..” ,i coughed,feeling a little hot suddenly. “Really? This feels weird..” ,i confessed with a nervous chuckle.

“Yes. Really”,i was feeling too shy; too exposed.

“I don't think so. This shirt..” ,i mumbled,my eyes down. “ I have this..this scar,you see”,i showed him the one I was speaking of,his eyes fixed on it. It was a bad,a nasty feeling. My chest was tight.

“The other guy was staring at it too. Makes me feel..weird”,my face came out faint.

“I don't think your scar was the thing his eyes were on,really” ,he said with a small smile before looking down and then taking one more sip.

“Then wh- oh”,i suddenly realized and my nervousness got the best of me as I started pulling the fabric,trying to cover up my body a little.

“It's fine Pearse. The guy was a douche. Not everyone will treat you that way” ,he said in a serious yet reassuring voice and I stopped,lifting my head to see him.”Your eyes,for example,are much for interesting to look at”

“What? Really?” ,i tilted my head and he nodded.

“Yeah. Never seen anyone with two different eye colours before. It's..pretty” ,i bit the inside my mouth and the a smile appeared on my face,one I could not push away.

“My mother used to say..”,my voice grew fainter upon speaking of my mother. “It's nothing actually. Nevermind”

“No. Tell me” ,he asked and my lips parted. I felt just a little dizzy for a moment.

“She..uhm.. she used to say it was a gift from both Hades and Persephone,a representation of the sky above my ahead and the grass bellow my feet” ,i smiled. “a child of both the land of the mortals and the heavenly ether. One eye to see through the earth above were we lived,and one to peak through Hades' own eyes,to the dark world to the dead living with us yet cursed to be alone throughout eternity” ,i recited her exact words.

Steve's eyes were completely fixed on me,he looked kinda lost.

“I'm sorry. Must be boring to-”

“No. It isn't” ,he simply said,a half smile on his face. “your mother is a wise woman” ,i felt a knot on my throat.

“Was” ,i mumbled and Steve got tense.

“Oh. I'm sorry”

“It's fine”,i shrugged nervously.

“No,it isn't. It never is” ,he admitted and I lifted my gaze to meet his eyes. He put one hand on my head,his fingers getting tangles with the curls as he patted me. I was..confused.

“You're good,kid” ,he said in a smile and I yanked his hand away.

“I am not a kid” ,i said in an all calm voice,Steve now having his eyes a little opened. “I get how you guys might think it sounds cute,but it doesn't. Not to me”

“I..uh. I'm sorry Pearse”

“Just call me Persephone Steve”,i shrugged.

“Alright then. Persephone it is”

We joined the other at the bar after a while. It already was past four o'clock in the morning,and most people had left. We were all sitting on stools,i was at my what must have been tenth or eleventh vodka,feeling kinda tipsy.

But we were all laughing.

“So that was Budapest?”,i asked loudly,looking at Natasha,Barton sitting right next to her,nodding with pursed lips. “Man..that was rough”,i laughed

“I know,right?”,Natasha laughed too.

“I kinda wish my battle stories were like that”,i was still laughing,trying to catch my breath.

“Me on the other hand “,Tony spoke,his place in between Steve and Pepper,on my left side, “ i'm still trying to believe you actually have battle stories at all,kid”

“You don't believe me then,Playboy?”

“At first no. Not really”,he shook his head. He too was getting a lil tipsy. “But seeing you out there today..Man,you're good”

“Did he just...”

“Yup”,Steve said with a smile.

“Damn you Stark,you're being too soft on me today. I might just as well begin to getting used to that”

“Please don't”,he said before drinking more of his champagne.

“So you'll be staying at SHIELD?”,Natasha asked me suddenly

“I mean..yeah,there's not any alternative ya'know”

“It's fine. I'm there too. Move around too much,many missions and all,but my main home is at the DC premises”,she said.

“Hey,that's good right? We can see each other and all”

“Yes. It will be nice,having a friendly face close”,she admitted and took a sip of vodka.

“Fury appointed me an apartment in DC too”,Steve butted in and we both turned to look at him.

“Really?”,i asked in disbelief.

“Yeah. Being an official SHIELD agent and all..Guess you'll be seeing some of me too”,he said with a faint smile.

He leaned back,lifting his beer bottle,the neck touching his lips; I was looking at his Adam's apple coming up and down as he took a sip. I turned around,my gaze lowered down.

“I'm guessing we'll be neighbors then”

“But..he said he got an apartment. I though we'd be staying at HQ?”,i asked confused.

“Oh,no honey. By premised we mean certain locations,apartment complexes owned by SHIELD. That's how it goes,as far as people like us go. They don't need in in between their tails”,she explained,moving her fingers.

“So,there's a chance we'll be actual neighbors? Huh..cool”,i admitted,my lips curved down as I moved my head.

“Yeah..”,Steve's voice came out weak,faint.

“It won't be for long. Fury actually talked to my secretary. This man had no boundaries”,Tony said.

“Pepper and I already worked over some blueprints,our own HQ much be ready in..what,two months?”,he now turned to Pepper.

“One and a half if we work our asses off”,she said with a chuckle.

“So soon?”,the doctor then asked.

“Oh yes”,Tony shrugged, “Fury thought it wouldn't be too much effort to prioritize this. Not like I am a businessman with actual companies to ran or anything”

At this point,with the music now much quieter,much more calm than before,and all those muffled voices in the background,i was suddenly feeling a little too dizzy. I was dozed off,my eyelids shutting down despite my will,until I headbutted the bar's wooden surface.

“Fuck”,i hissed

“Hey,you alright?”,Steve asked me,one hand grabbing my shoulder softly.

“Yeah..think i've had enough to drink”,i hummed.

“Hey Tony-”

“Yeah yeah,she's already got a room. You can take her,being so chivalrous and all Cap”,Tony shrugged,waving his hand.

“No,you don't have to,i got it”,i tried to say but Steve was already up,his hand on my shoulder,trying to help me to get up as he got my room's card from Tasha.

“Come on”,his voice was soft,a smile on his face.

“Ah..fine”,i shrugged,my head low as I felt defeated.”Goodnight you guys”

“May the gods grant you dreams tonight,young avatar”,Thor lifted his beer,his speech suggesting he too needed to get some sleep. “Captain” ,i chuckled,Steve nodding awkwardly.

“Goodnight miss Pearse”,the doctor said kindly.

“Just call me Persephone,doc”,i said and he nodded,his lips pursed.

“Don't burn my sheets”,Tony said loudly,his head facing the bar. “They are imported”,he then turned,his eyes serious.

“Uhm. Yeah,i'll keep that in mind playboy”,Pepper waved at me and I smiled.

“See you tomorrow Pers. Be good,alright?”,she laughed and I gave her a confused look.

“What?”

“Don't mind her”,Steve said,unamused.

“She doesn't strike me as one to be too good though”,Barton murmured to Tasha and she laughed. “Night Pers”,he then said and I waved from behind,choosing to ignore whatever he might have meant.

Steve's grip was tight on my shoulder; as soon as we got inside the elevator though,i kinda dozed off again,my head falling on his shoulder. He turned to look at me,but was kind enough to let me be. He felt..soft. I closed my eyes,feeling somewhat safe enough to do so.

“Mhm?”,next thing I saw when I opened my eyes was Steve carrying me on his arms,easy as if he was carrying a feather,inside my room. “Oh,fuck. Steve,sorry”,i tried getting up but he stopped me.

“It's fine,we're here anyway”,he said.

I was feeling most embarrassed,but I didn't argue. He gently put me on the bed,getting me under the covers with soft and slow movements. He then began taking off my shoes,and then I protested.

“Steve- Rogers,i got this”,i chuckled and after taking one look at me,he just on the side of the bed,letting me take them off.

“Big day today,huh?”,he then asked,taking me by surprise.

“Uhm..yeah,you could say that”

“I gotta tell you”,he said after one long pause,”first time I saw you jump off the Quinjet,when Thor snatched Loki..i thought to myself,man this girl must the craziest person in here”,he said in a smile and I couldn't help but chuckle.

I snuggled my knees,getting on my side as he spoke,my eyes never leaving his.

“You just ripped a metal chunk off the jet and just went on,skateboarding on the air”

“What's skateboarding?”,i asked. I thought he'd laugh at me,mock me,but he didn't.

“It's basically exactly what you did,except there are specific boards for it- and people do in on the ground,not above it”,he let out a small chortle and I couldn't help but crack up and burst into laughter.

“You know,in my defense,back home such things wouldn't be so weird as they are here. Although we don't have aircrafts,it's pretty much a common thing to use the ground or metal chunks as such boards to fly ourselves away”,my voice was soft as I spoke of my home.

“You miss it,don't you?”,he asked,his wonder genuine.

I sighed,getting a little further away,now patting the empty spot beside me. Steve was hesitant,but he lied next to me; I pulled the blankets,seeing how it was getting a little chilly.

“Are you cold?”,i nodded.

“I don't like the cold. I'm more comfortable in the heat. For..obvious reasons”,i explained,trying hard not to look into his eyes. He pulled the blanket to his side too,and our bodies felt really close,each one's heat affecting the other.

“Yeah,i'm like that too. You know,being stuck in the ice for seventy years and all” ,he looked serious,and I tried,i really tried,but I burst into laughter,himself then doing so too.

“We had a spring inside the palace; the water was always really,really hot. My mother wouldn't let me get inside,said it's not good for me and something like that”,my eyes wondered off upon revisiting this long forgotten memory. “But I would always sneak in somehow. Even before being granted my powers,i'd always,always search for heat; for...warmth”,our eyes locked as soon as that word left my mouth.

“You said palace..are you a princess or something?”,my tongue got all dried up for a moment.

“I..yes”,i finally admitted and his brows lifted. “..among other things”

“But..why did you leave? You seem to really miss your home..”

“Home isn't always the place we expect it to be”,my voice was faint,somewhat cracked and raw. Steve's lips were pressed in a thin line.

I then fell on my back,a sigh escaping my lips; Steve was looking at me,his head supported by his palm.

“The people harnessing fire,the Pyrephs as we call them,they were..a dangerous clan. That's what all of our history books said; their destructive natures,amplified by the fire's murderous essence..it was catastrophic”,i shrugged.”In the end,their entire clan was annihilated. I'm the first ever Pyreph after two aeons in my planet. Wasn't exactly something to be celebrated”

“That's not your fault though..”,he argued in a soft,calm voice.

“Yeah but..i liked the fire. It's my maser element,intertwined with my soul's very own essence. I love it”

Steve brushed some curls off my face with his left hand,and I twitched. His eyes were a deep green,serene and dark at the same time.

“That's crap”,he said suddenly and I turned my head,my neck now stretched. “I saw you today Pers; your first instinct was to protect. Not to attack. You saved many people. In my book that's not destructive”,he said and I suddenly felt my eyes somewhat watery,my lips parted as I wanted to say something,yet no hint of voice was coming out.

“There's a reason we all yearn for warmth”,he continued,and I could swear his eyes were fixed on my lips; made me gulp.

His fingers moved down,slowly,yet his touch was steady as he paced down,reaching the skin on my neck; I almost twitched,his touch causing my chest to feel tight. I could feel small traces of his touch being left behind,like a small trail of his route on me.

“You're not destructive Pearse” ,he shook his head and then suddenly he stood up. Here we go with Pearse again.

“Where are you-”,i too stood up,being supported by the palms of my hands.

“Sleep tight Pearse. See you tomorrow”,he was already by the door. His voice was cracked,and his smile bitter,almost fake.

He was gone,shutting the door behind him before I could speak.