Aftermath
I whisper into my mask
‘INES read vitals’
The AI responds quickly ‘heartbeat detected Boss-she will survive, no blood loss threat however a hospital environment would be recommended’
‘thank you’ I choke, the reporters have reached beside us now, but I only have eyes for Val, I press my hand to her neck feeling for the pulse
‘Val, Cariad it’s me, it’s okay you’re safe’ I whisper ‘It’s okay love we won, you did it’ her eyes flicker for a moment then I’m drowning in her hazel irises
‘Iris’ she says breathlessly then rips off my mask and kisses me full on the lips. I drown out the roar of the reporters as my pink hair falls in her face-blocking 2 classmates who I’d forgot where there a view of my face. Val breaks off after a few seconds.
‘well well well’ she smirks, but tears are making their way slowly down her cheeks ‘seems you owe me a bullet’ I laugh and hold her hand tightly
‘Red’ she whispers softly ‘I think I love you’ she words break my heart and mend it with vibrainium
‘Brunhilde Valkyrie’ I softly reply ‘I know I love you’
The reporters are pressing closer and Nat is struggling to keep them from breaking this moment
‘I thought I lost you’ I whispered into her hair, pulling her to her feet and hugging her tight, never wanting to let go but our thoughts are cut of by a sentence that makes the reporters silent for once.
‘you’re cheating on Iris?’ Izzie is standing unsteadily, pointing directly at Val.
I swear too myself quietly and whisper into my comms
‘Nat, I think I should come out’ the Russian spy laughs back in my ear ‘мой рассвет you just kissed your girlfriend in front of half the press in the city’
‘no’ I reply ‘show my identity, show Izzie who I am’
This time it’s Starks voice that reassures them ‘Go gettem kid-show em who you really are’ and Cap M backs him up ‘yeh, if anyone messes with you at school they have your aunts and uncles to deal with’
I laugh and flick back my hair-showing my full face to Izzie ‘she’s not’ Mrs Scott faints, the press goes wild.
I lace my fingers into Val and push through the crowd of reporters supporting my girlfriend as she shakily presses her hand to her wound.
All around us the press is suffocating us, but I push through the microphones and cameras and bodies, supporting Val as best I can while all the time repeating ‘no comment no comment no comment’
‘Tiny White Girl.’ A voice cuts through the crowd and the reporters part quickly; Princess Shuri looks at me
‘you definitely like drama Red’ she states looking me up and down, then Val ‘Jesus Val, get to my lab quickly’ she supports the frail girl on the other side and we walk through the reporters, they yell questions as we part ‘how long has your identity been secret?’ ‘how do you feel about being the first LGBTQ couple in the Avengers?’ I hear this one right in my ear and look to were Nat is trailing behind us, limping slightly she shakes her head a little.
‘no comment’ I just repeat and repeat more until we reach the safety of the building, the reporters crowd around the door but a hover stretcher is waiting, I help Val onto it and it whisks her away.
I lean against the wall, my emotions catch up with me, I sink slowly down the wall and crouch, my breath catching in my throat choking me as I bury my head in my arms but can’t breathe icy fingers reach at my throat and I gasp for air, panicking quickly, I have to be there, be there for my new family, for Val. I choke and gasp into my torn suit, felling it is too tight around the neck, strangling me.
Nat is at once behind me
‘hey, hey’ she whispers tilting my chin and making me look into her eyes ‘it’s going to be okay, Val is safe and we are all okay, it’s going to be okay’ she hugs me tightly then adds ‘FRIDAY block all view of us from the press’ at once the glass blacks out and we are shut away from the public eye.
Suddenly I cant breathe the air around me is too strong, too heacy, too suffocating. I am gasoing, drowning under the mass of sounds and sights and blood.
Nat looks at me knowing I’m going into a Panic attack.
‘Look at me Red, look at me’ I struggle to reach her eyes, trying to keep my head between my knees where the thud of my puse can hypnotize me
‘It’s okay, just breathe, can you name four things you can see for me’ she looks at me and I struggle to reply
‘y…ou, the… the floor, the glass windows.. and your…your gun’ I stammer out, whispering slowly as my brething finally begins to calm
‘Good, well done, now three things you can feel?’ she carries on, putting her arm around me gently
‘red..hair.. your hair is tickling me…’ I laugh slightly, still biting back my tears
‘yes’ she replies ‘what else’
‘my…leggings and…Alien blood on me’
‘yes, last one okay?’ I nod
‘Three things you can smell?’
‘more blood’ I cry a bit more ‘s..smoke from the guns and…and coconut’
‘yes’ the spy laughs ‘that’s my shampoo’ I giggle a bit but then remember the situation and start to cry again
‘Its okay мой рассвет just let it out, you can smile later about aving the world. Cry now, its okay, you are safe’
We say like that for ages, Nat stroking my hair and whispering Russian into my tears.
***
I open my eyes to a hazy glow, realising I’m in my bed I immediately push back the covers and struggle to my feet, checking the time 4:17.
Val.
The events rush back to me and I stagger down to the corridor calling out to FRIDAY as I do
‘Hey FRI where is Val, where is she?’ I call out and the AI responds
‘Red, you should not be here now, you are still extremally unstable. Valkyrie is in Princess Shuri’s lab, she is stable and conscious’
‘no’ I reply ‘I’ve got to go; I’ve got to see her’
‘Wow’ a voice speaks behind me ‘loyal girlfriend much’
‘Unctie Carol’ I cry and collapse onto the figure
‘come on kid’ they pulls me off the ground ‘let’s take a short cut’ and with that they power through the corridors blasting through several walls before we arrive at the lab. Shuri runs up to me at once
‘Red, what are you doing here?’ she asks coming up and leading me to a chair
‘I had to see Val and the others, are they okay’ The Princess raises an eyebrow at me
‘did you seriously just ask Shuri princess of Wakanda and tech genius if she could save a girl from a gun wound?’ she leads me through another door into a bright white sterile room. Val is sitting up in a bed in the centre, an IV looking this strapped to her stomach, greeny grey liquid squiring around inside the bag hanging next to her. Shuri recognizes my shocked look.
‘relax dude that is what the gun shots, we are draining it out of her’ I sway on my feet processing the information. Shuri carries on
‘Stark and both the Caps are okay, Widow didn’t get hit but is slightly shaken, Hawkeye and Thor got hit, but nowhere near as bad as Val and Peter is stressing for apparently no reason… he’s just…Peter. You have a press conference at 10 am tomorrow and I’ve ordered everyone-including Stark, the god and all the other Avengers to sleep, if they don’t then they are taking the natural sleep remedy. The conference will be big-especially for you guys’ she nods at me and Val
‘I knew you’d come to see her, all of you are down this corridor-I’ve put you in special rooms so say bye and im taking you to sleep’
I wrap my head around what she’s saying slowly and walk over to Val’s bed to say goodbye. I reach down and stroke back her hair and kiss her forehead
‘see you for hell tomorrow Cariad’ I whisper then walk out of the room. My room is identical to Val’s and I can feel my eyelids drooping as soon I flop onto the bed
‘pj’s are under the pillow, sleep well’ Shuri says softly leaving the rom but I call her back
‘Thank you Shuri, thank you so much’ I say with sincerity looking the girl straight in the eye
‘anything for my Awesome Lesbian Sisters TM’ she smiles and leaves quietly
***
I am woken up at 9 my FRIDAY gently calling out to me
‘Good morning Red, you are well rested and both yours and Val’s vitals are perfect. Shuri is telling you and I quote to ‘wake up tiny white girl, I have picked out some clothes for you so get changed, breakfast is in the kitchen, Al, Val and the others will be there too’’
I grin to myself, and swing myself out of my bed, feeling so much better than yesterday. I look through the clothes Shuri has picked out for me, there is an fasionably oversized suit and black vest top, simple dress, and jeans a t-shirt and leather jacket.
I pick out the suit and black top, having a quick shower in the un-suite I’ve discovered and get dressed quickly, re-reddening my hair with a deep breath.
Walking into the kitchen I am hugged three times my Carol, Nat, and Bruce. We all have little breakfast, somehow even Cap A not eating much. Finally, FRIDAY announces 9:55 and we file out the room. Tony turns to us all outside the room.
‘Red, Val remember you don’t have to answer anything you don’t want to, just say no comment and if they don’t take that for an answer than make them. If you can’t answer a question with proper fact-get one of us to take over, and, if you feel overwhelmed. Just say so-you can leave anytime.’
Val and I nod, and we walk into the room, Hawkeye sits at one end of the long table, followed by Thor, Cap America, Tony in the centre, then Nat, Me, Val, and Carol. Not in a men-women split I notice but placing us both next to the people we feel most comfortable with- and our mentors.
The room explodes until Tony taps that mic in front of him a bit. Val looks at me and smiles.
‘welcome to hell’ she mouths and we begin