Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/3961276.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Graphic_Depictions_Of_Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
  Category:
      F/M
  Fandom:
      The_Avengers_(Marvel)_-_All_Media_Types
  Relationship:
      Steve_Rogers/Original_Female_Characer(s), Bruce_Banner/Natasha_Romanov,
      Pepper_Potts/Tony_Stark, Clint_Barton/Laura_Barton_-_Relationship, James
      "Bucky"_Barnes/Darcy_Lewis
  Character:
      Steve_Rogers, Clint_Barton, Natasha_Romanov, Bruce_Banner, Sam_Wilson_
      (Marvel), James_"Bucky"_Barnes, Tony_Stark, Nick_Fury, Pepper_Potts,
      Original_Female_Character(s), Original_Characters, Skye, Phil_Coulson,
      Melinda_May, Pietro_Maximoff, Wanda_Maximoff
  Additional Tags:
      Violence, Past_Child_Abuse, Past_Rape/Non-con, Mildly_Dubious_Consent,
      Dom/sub, Dom/Sub_AU, Soul_Bond, Light_Bondage, Shibari
  Stats:
      Published: 2015-05-18 Updated: 2016-10-04 Chapters: 32/? Words: 45504
****** Find Me In The Darkness ******
by Freyagirl
Summary
     Alpha Dom Steve Rogers is a man out of time, who has given up of ever
     finding his soul-bonded sub. He figures he left any hope of that back
     in the forties. Nikita is a submissive who has seen the worst of what
     a Dominant can do. When she finds herself in the hands of HYDRA after
     the death of her Dom, she has no choice but to reach out to SHIELD.
     When Steve finds himself bonded to a beautiful Bratva enforcer, will
     he be able to navigate the darkness inside her to find the parts of
     her she keeps hidden from the world?
      
     The Dominant can tell she is a submissive, has clearly been beaten
     and can barely walk. She reaches into the pillowcase and pulls out a
     severed head, placing it on the table in front of him. It is the head
     of his most hated enemy, one on whom he had placed a considerable
     bounty. "What is your name, child?" he asks.
***** A New Life *****
Chapter Summary
     She reaches into the pillowcase and pulls out a severed head, placing
     it on the table in front of him. It is the head of his most hated
     enemy, one on whom he had placed a considerable bounty. "What is your
     name, child?" he asks.
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
A 14 year old girl walks into a club in Odessa. She is carrying a pillow case
dripping blood on the floor as she walks to the table where the owner of the
club, Demyan Volkov, the head of a powerful Bratva family is sitting. He
studies her for a moment, taking in the black eye and fingerprint shaped
bruises on her arms, the snarled mess of blonde hair matted with blood where
hunks had clearly been torn out. The Dominant can tell she is a submissive, has
clearly been beaten and can barely walk. She reaches into the pillowcase and
pulls out a severed head, placing it on the table in front of him. It is the
head of his most hated enemy, one on whom he had placed a considerable bounty.
"What is your name, child?" he asks.
"Nikita Ivonova," she replies, glancing nervously at him through her lashes,
fear and pain shining from the depths of dark lapis blue eyes.
"Nikita is a Dominant's name," he observed. The girl says nothing but steadily
holds his gaze, even as her whole body begins to tremble from the strain of it.
Demyan Volkov is a strong Dominant and he knows what this costs her.
With this information Demyan knows that this is the stepdaughter of the man
whose head is currently gracing his table. Her father, Ivan Zolner, had been a
gifted and loyal enforcer for the dead man's Bratva family until being betrayed
and murdered by his boss. He asks Nikita if she is here to claim the reward,
she replies that no, she wants his protection. He offers instead to teach her
the skills of her father, to give her a valued place in the Volkov Bratva. For
the next 12 years the girl is trained by former KGB as well as by a few
instructors who had been associated with the Red Room. Nikita wears Demyan's
collar, the symbol of the Volkov Bratva embossed into the leather, and follows
his orders. Demyan makes sure that all know that Nikita belongs to him and
anyone who bothers her will answer for it. When he wants a message sent, he
sends Nikita. She kills and maims at Demyan Volkov's command, and trains
herself to feel nothing but the determination to repay him, to be of service to
the only person she can trust. For the last 12 years, he has kept his word, he
made her capable of defending herself, he gave her a room in his house, his
collar kept other Dominants from approaching her, and he never asked for sexual
favors in return, never asked her to kneel.
Chapter End Notes
     Demyan means "A Tamer" in Russian
     VOLKOV - Patronymic from Russian volk "wolf".
     Nikita is a male name meaning victory
     Zolner - Russian for "soldier".
***** Up In Flames *****
Chapter Summary
     Let them think this an act of cold calculation. She knows that the
     mask she wears as her face lets nothing show of the grief and rage
     vented here.
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
At the Avengers Initiative, Nick Fury calls a small team to assemble in the
briefing room. Captain America, Black Widow, the Winter Soldier, and Sam
Wilson, all Dominants, as well as Hawkeye a bonded sub, are assembled around
the table before him. Fury shows them a file SHIELD had compiled on the Volkov
Bratva enforcer known as Nikita. Natasha has had cause to cross paths with
Nikita before and finds her impressive, warning the team that the enforcer is
almost as good as she is herself. They review the information in the SHIELD
file which consists of only her time in the Bratva and identifies some of her
instructors. Like the Widow, her origins are shrouded in mystery. Steve finds
himself staring at surveillance photos from several years ago showing a
frighteningly young woman with honey gold hair and dark blue eyes. He is
quietly dismayed to learn that this young submissive has worn the collar of a
mob boss for 12 years. Fury informs the team that Nikita has reached out to
Natasha, offering information on a HYDRA base, from which she had recently
escaped, in exchange for safe haven. Apparently Demyan Volkov has died of a
heart attack recently, SHIELD suspects he was poisoned. His eldest son, Sergei
Volkov, the new head of the Volkov Bratva, sold Nikita to HYDRA when she
refused his sexual advances. She has offered her services to SHIELD in exchange
for her helping to destroy the HYDRA base and retrieve all possible intel. The
team is to meet Nikita at the club that serves as the headquarters for the
Volkov Bratva.
When the Avengers team arrives at the agreed meeting place, they enter to find
at least a dozen bodies scattered about the floor, Nikita sitting in a chair
with her foot resting on Sergei Volkov's severed head, sharpening a knife. They
can smell that the room has been doused in an accelerant. "Делаем ли мы вход
или выход?" asks Natasha.
"Кто говорит, что я не могу сделать так?" Nikita returns. She stands, returning
her knife to her boot. Nikita walks over to the Avengers, removing her collar.
She pulls a small bottle out of one of the pockets of her BDU pants, pours the
contents over the collar, lighting it on fire, then tossing it into the middle
of the room. The building goes up in flames as they leave. "What the hell was
that?" exclaims Barton.
"The consequences of betrayal," replies Nikita with a hard look in her eyes.
Let them think this an act of cold calculation. She knows that the mask she
wears as her face lets nothing show of the grief and rage vented here. Let them
think lighting the pyre with her collar an act of defiance rather than an
offering to the shade of the only person she has ever trusted. Let them think
the destruction of the club a cold warning rather than her version of a viking
funeral.
Chapter End Notes
     Делаем ли мы вход или выход ?
     Are we making an entrance or an exit?
     Кто говорит, что я не могу сделать так?
     Who says I can't do both?
***** HYDRA *****
Chapter Summary
     The various cuts and bruises are hidden under her black BDU pants,
     long sleeve black shirt, and body armor, and Nikita knows that her
     expression gives none of her pain and fatigue away. She's had lots of
     practice pretending to be stronger than she really is. The Captain's
     voice over the coms is calm and steady, authoritative. She finds that
     his voice is helping her to push past her exhaustion to accomplish
     the mission, something she decides bears thinking about later.
The team heads to the HYDRA base as soon as Nikita gives them the coordinates.
Once aboard the quinjet the Black Widow hands her an earpiece so that she can
communicate with the team. Nikita sketches out a schematic of the base and all
the strategic information she remembers, then Captain America lays out their
battle plan. During the flight Nikita studies the people she will soon be
fighting with, trying to analyze what each brings to the equation. She has
never fought with a team before and wants to be prepared. She already knows
what to expect from the Black Widow and the Winter Soldier, their skills are
legendary, tales often told by the fighters of the Bratva, lips loosening over
too much vodka. She ponders Hawkeye, who also has an impressive reputation. It
was primarily Hawkeye's successful career within SHIELD and his status as an
Avenger, despite being a sub, that made Nikita reach out to SHIELD. She
suspects that Hawkeye is not as un-bonded as his reputation would suggest. Even
though they all have earpiece coms, Hawkeye is wearing a tactical throat mic on
a black kevlar strap around his neck, which would be an ingenious way to
camouflage a collar. Sam Wilson she has never heard of, but apparently he has
flight capabilities. Captain America tasked him with providing arial support
while Widow and Hawkeye download any files, leaving Nikita with the Soldier and
the Captain to infiltrate the rest of the base, taking photos of any tech they
find and setting charges to destroy the facility. Which leaves her the rest of
the flight to ponder the Captain, who is not just a Dom, he's an Alpha Dom,
easily the most Dominant person she has ever encountered.
Once the team reaches the HYDRA base they encounter heavy resistance but Widow
and Hawkeye succeed in securing intel from the servers and destroying all tech
and experiments they find. The fighting is fierce and the Avengers team are a
little impressed with how ferociously Nikita fights. She fights primarily with
a telescoping metal staff, sharpened to a wicked point at each end, and a
plethora of blades strapped to every conceivable part of her body. Nikita finds
it surprisingly easy to work with the Soldier and the Captain, they are skilled
and efficient.
At one point, the three of them are forced to split up in order to get all of
the charges placed in time. Nikita had never fought this hard for this long
before. First escaping from the HYDRA base, then decimating the Volkov Bratva
at the club, and now destroying a HYDRA facility, it's been a busy week. The
various cuts and bruises are hidden under her black BDU pants, long sleeve
black shirt, and body armor, and Nikita knows that her expression gives none of
her pain and fatigue away. She's had lots of practice pretending to be stronger
than she really is. The Captain's voice over the coms is calm and steady,
authoritative. She finds that his voice is helping her to push past her
exhaustion to accomplish the mission, something she decides bears thinking
about later.
As she rounds a corner she runs into half a dozen guards in a narrow corridor,
forcing her to fight them in close quarters instead of using her staff. With a
knife in each hand she dives into the guards, using their numbers against them.
They are not used to fighting together in any coordinated fashion and she takes
advantage of that by making sure they get in each others' way as much as
possible. A few minutes in she had taken down four of them and was engaging the
last two. Just as Nikita drove a knife into the throat of one guard, the other
managed to drive his own knife into her right side, she grabbed the knife with
her right hand, keeping it in her side and spinning, wrenching it out of the
guard's hand as she dropped down, driving the knife in her left hand up to the
guard's groin severing his femoral artery. Nikita pulled the knife from her
side, pressed a bandage from one of her pockets to the wound, then tightened
the straps on her body armor, using the compression to hold it in place before
continuing down the corridor.
Nikita was just placing the last of her charges in the garage where HYDRA had
been keeping their vehicles when a stray guard took aim at her with a 40mm
grenade. Nikita saw it coming but didn't have time get out of the way when
suddenly the Captain was directly in front of her taking the impact of the
grenade on his shield. Realizing that he was now facing Captain America, the
guard turned to run. Nikita pulled one of the throwing knives strapped to her
thigh and threw it, hitting the guard in the neck at the base of his skull,
severing his spinal cord.
***** The Bond *****
Chapter Summary
     The moment his skin touched hers, a bright light flared up between
     them, causing Nikita's eyes to flash open on a gasp, only to lose
     consciousness again as the bond settled between them.
During Fury's briefing at the Avengers Initiative, Steve finds himself staring
at surveillance photos from several years ago showing a frighteningly young
woman with honey gold hair and dark blue eyes. He is quietly dismayed to learn
that this young submissive has worn the collar of a recently deceased mob boss
for 12 years.
Steve had reservations about the deal SHIELD had made with this Bratva
enforcer. While he welcomed the chance to take out a HYDRA base, he was unsure
about working with this sub. As an Alpha Dom his protective instincts
wholeheartedly approved of offering her a safe haven, but he was concerned that
she would be a liability in the field. Subs who lose a Dominant after a long
term relationship can become unstable. This sub had been collared for 12 years,
she may not be able to function without a Dominant's guidance. If this mission
was going to be successful, Steve would have to pay extra attention to her
mental state and be prepared to step in with a firm hand if necessary.
No matter how much thought Steve put into the upcoming mission, nothing could
have prepared him for his first sight of Nikita. The sub was calmly sitting in
a chair, surrounded by dead bodies, using a severed head as a footrest while
nonchalantly sharpening one of many knives strapped to her body. As unsettling
as he found it, he couldn't deny that she was stunning. When she used her
collar to light the whole building on fire, Steve was sure his concerns about
her instability were well founded.
Once they are all aboard the quinjet Nikita gave Clint the coordinates to the
HYDRA base, then sketched out a schematic of the base and all the strategic
information she remembered from her captivity and escape. Steve was pleasantly
surprised by the level of detail she was able to give them and quickly put
together a rough battle plan, issuing his orders to the team. He assigns Nikita
to sweeping the base and setting charges with him and Bucky, so that he can
keep as close an eye as possible on her.
Once the team reaches the HYDRA base, Steve was more than a little impressed
with how ferociously Nikita fights. He had read the SHIELD file, but seeing her
in action with her staff and blades showed him just how deadly she really is.
It was eerily like watching Natasha fight. The way that she adapted to his and
Bucky's fighting style allowed the three of them to efficiently sweep through
the majority of the base. When they split up to cover the rest of the base,
Steve felt uneasy with his inability to keep an eye on Nikita. The Dom in him
felt a desperate need to be able to watch her back and protect her. In lieu of
that, he listened hard through the coms for any signs of distress from the sub
while trying to keep his own voice calm and steady in case she needed the
reassurance.
Steve had just made his way to the catwalk around the upper area of the garage
when he spotted a guard take aim at Nikita with a grenade launcher. He leaped
down from the catwalk in time to catch the grenade on his shield. He was
startled by her knife whistling past his face, ending in the neck of the guard.
Steve watched as she pulled the knife out of the body, calmly wiping it on the
guard's shirt.
Steve took point as they met up with Bucky who fell in behind Nikita as they
headed out of the base. No one noticed her wounds, mostly hidden by her dark
clothing, as the team reassembled on the quinjet. When Steve noticed that
everyone has taken a seat except Nikita, he turned to tell her to sit, noticing
the blood dripping from the fingertips of her right hand as it hung loosely
from her side a moment before she collapsed to the floor. Steve was the first
to reach her, taking off his glove to feel for a pulse. The moment his skin
touched hers, a bright light flared up between them, causing Nikita's eyes to
flash open on a gasp, only to lose consciousness again as the bond settled
between them.
***** Awake *****
Chapter Summary
     Nikita woke with hands on her, she could feel that her clothes had
     been removed and she panicked. She tried to get the hands off of her,
     but then there were more hands, pinning her down. She doesn't know
     where she is or what is going on. In her fear she fights harder,
     twisting and thrashing...
When they reached the Avengers Initiative, Steve carried his newly bonded sub
directly to medical, plowing through anyone not fast enough to get out of his
way. He put her on the indicated bed and stepped back to allow the doctors to
do their work. When asked, he explained about her captivity, the fight, her
collapse, and the bonding. The staff worked quickly to stop the bleeding and
stitch up her many wounds. Steve marveled that she received so many wounds and
gave no indication of being hurt until the collapse. When Natasha came to check
up on them, he asked her to dig up as much information on Nikita as she can. He
needs to know as much as possible about his sub if he is going to take care of
her properly, more detailed than what they were shown from the SHIELD file.
Steve was out in the hall way speaking to Natasha when he felt a wave of panic
and fear through the bond. "Something's wrong," he said before darting back to
Nikita's room.
Nikita woke with hands on her, she could feel that her clothes had been removed
and she panicked. She tried to get the hands off of her, but then there were
more hands, pinning her down. She doesn't know where she is or what is going
on. In her fear she fights harder, twisting and thrashing, in danger of ripping
out her stitches. Steve raced in to the room, taking in the scene.
"Stop" he said loudly in the most compelling Dom voice she had ever heard. She
stilled instantly as the command ran through her body, reverberating throughout
the bond. All of her attention on Steve, she barely noticed that the medical
staff had also frozen at his command. Steve gestured for them to back away as
he approached his sub. He could still feel her fear, but now it was focused on
him, like a deer caught in headlights. He gently took hold of her hand, rubbing
soothing circles on the back of it with his thumb. "Easy, shhh, relax, no one
will hurt you," assured Steve, pushing a sense of safety and calm through the
bond.
Nikita felt herself begin to slide into a different headspace the moment her
bonded Dominant (something to freak out over later) issued that order and felt
her body's instinctive reaction to obey. His immediate removal of the hands
that had so scared her pushed her a little further down. The gentle touch and
soothing words, pushed her a little farther still. Steve noted her immediate
obedience of his order with no small satisfaction, he could feel her calming
through the bond, responding to his soothing. When he realized that she was
slipping a little into subspace, he was stunned and pleasantly surprised. When
he uttered a heartfelt "Good girl," pushing his praise through the bond as
well, she slipped all the way down. "Sleep," he ordered softly. Floating, she
closed her eyes and obeyed.
When Steve was sure that she was sleeping deeply he told the doctors that no
one was to touch her without him present. Having witnessed her reactions both
to them and to him, the doctors agreed it was the best policy. While Nikita
slept Steve stayed in her room watching over her. She had given him the gift of
her submission by slipping into subspace, her instincts trusting him even if
her conscious mind didn't, and he was determined to prove himself worthy of it.
He hoped that she slept for several hours at least since he very much doubted
that she had had much sleep since finding herself a HYDRA captive. He sat in
her room writing up his After Action Report for the op, while he pondered what
little he knew about his sub. She couldn't be older than her mid to late
twenties, at least half of that spent wearing the collar of a russian mob boss
meeting out violence for the Bratva. He wondered what kind of Dom would turn a
beautiful young sub into a vicious killer, how he managed to win the level of
loyalty required to do so, and Steve didn't like any of the answers he came up
with.
Hours later, Natasha appeared in the doorway silently asking permission to
enter, it was always a good idea to get permission before another Dominant
approached anywhere near a wounded sub. Steve motioned for her to enter. Once
Natasha had settled in a chair close to him, Steve quietly asked if she had
learned anything more about Nikita. Natasha had reached out to some of her old
russian contacts. Apparently Nikita had only killed the man who sold her to
HYDRA and his lackeys sparing the few people in the Bratva loyal to the old
boss. Natasha was able to speak to a few of them, including one of Demyan's
former bodyguards who had been in the club the first night Nikita walked in.
She related the whole story to Steve, detailing Nikita's physical condition,
the severed head of her step-father, and the Contract she had entered into with
the Russian Dom. After giving her report, Natasha left with a reassuring
squeeze to his shoulder. She felt an overwhelming need to see Bruce and spend
some quality time with her sub, who had his own childhood abuse issues. Steve
was horrified, it seemed that the truth was much worse than any of the awful
possibilities he had imagined.
When Nikita finally woke up, Steve could sense her nervous apprehension and
more than a little fear through the bond, but that was infinitely better than
the raw terror of earlier. Slowly he approached the bed, "Let me help you". He
said as he adjusted the bed up, gently placing pillows under her head and
shoulders, carefully helping Nikita to sit up. He then held a cup of water with
a straw up for her to drink, accompanied by a small wave of confusion throug
the bond. Before Steve could speak further to her, Fury stood in the doorway
clearing his throat. Steve stood with his his hand on Nikita's shoulder, subtly
placing himself between her and the other Dominant. "I hear congratulations are
in order, you're bonded?"
"Yes," replied Steve.
Nikita watched as Fury entered the room, wary but not afraid. She could tell
through the bond that her Dom didn't consider this man an immediate threat, so
she didn't either. "Maseltov," snarked Fury. "Miss Ivanova, you realize this
changes the terms of our deal."
Steve felt a deep anger radiating through the bond, but when he turned to look
at Nikita her expression was completely blank except for a slight narrowing of
her eyes. She trained that narrow gaze on Fury, not saying a word. As the
silence stretched, Steve marveled at the controlled facade Nikita projected
when he could feel the violent anger simmering just under the surface.
Not wanting to provoke a confrontation with Rogers, Fury broke the silence. He
explained that instead of working for SHIELD, Nikita would be working with the
Avengers under Captain Rogers' command. She would not be reporting to the
Avengers Initiative until the Captain cleared her for duty. Nikita didn't
really have an opinion on the matter. She had found it surprisingly easy to
work with the Avengers, so that was not a problem. The Captain had proved
himself a capable leader, and Nikita was used to following the orders of her
Dominant. Nikita didn't really care who she fought and killed for so long as
she had a place and a purpose. Her only trepidation concerned what kind of a
relationship the Captain would want from her.
Through all of this Nikita said not one word. Steve carefully felt through the
bond, noting the depletion of her anger when she realized that she would be
working for the Avengers Initiative, that Fury was not totally reneging on the
deal. He could tell there was still some trepidation, but he guessed that was
directed more towards him personally than Fury or the Avengers Initiative.
"Just so you know Rogers, we're holding you personally responsible for her good
behavior," admonished Fury on his way out.
"I'm well aware of my responsibilities," the Captain responded with a Dominant
edge to his voice.
***** Preliminary Negotiations *****
Chapter Summary
     "We need to discuss how this bond is going to work," began Steve. He
     could tell that this got Nikita's immediate attention.
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
Nikita had a hard time parsing out what The Captain was feeling from the bond,
he was sending a steady stream of calm reassurance which was nice but didn't
really tell her anything of his own emotions. Nikita was apprehensive and a
little intimidated by the Captain. No one had ever dropped her into subspace,
it filled her with both hope and fear. She was hopeful that she could find a
place to belong with the Captain and the Avengers, but fearful as well. She was
well aware that even without being in subspace, there was no way she could
physically stop the Captain from doing anything he wanted to her. Subspace left
a submissive in a trance-like state, leaving them emotionally, psychologically,
and physically vulnerable. Within subspace, the Captain could do anything he
wanted and she wouldn't even try to stop him.
After Fury left, silence once again fell in the room until a nurse came to
bring a tray of food and check Nikita's vitals. Steve sent the tray of food
back with the nurse as she left. Nikita was confused but before she had too
much time to wonder about it, The Soldier appeared with a lot of take out from
a local diner. Steve had asked him to bring real food for them since Steve knew
how awful the food in Medical could be and he didn't want it to be the first
meal he provided for his bonded sub. Steve really wanted to hand feed his sub
but he was certain that she wasn't ready for that. Her reaction to his helping
her drink earlier made him wonder if anyone had ever done that with her.
Instead, he placed a roast beef sandwich, fries, a small salad, a large glass
of juice, and a slice of pie on the tray by her bed telling her to dig in.
Nikita watched him methodically eat his way through the rest of the food. Steve
noticed her surreptitious glances as he ate, explaining that he had a high
metabolism which required a lot of calories to maintain.
After they finished eating, Steve noticed that Nikita hadn't said more than a
few words since they had met the day before. He knew that they needed to talk,
sensing that defining the parameters of their relationship would help Nikita to
adjust. He knew that submissives required structure and stability to have a
foundation, to keep them balanced. In order for any submissive to give their
best, they must feel secure and confident. Much as Steve wanted to wait until
he could get Nikita home and hopefully relaxed before having that conversation,
there was one thing that needed to be addressed immediately.
"We need to discuss how this bond is going to work," began Steve. He could tell
that this got Nikita's immediate attention. "Most importantly, we need to talk
about subspace. I need to know if there is anything you need me to do or not do
while your in subspace. What do you normally do?"
"I've never been in subspace before yesterday, no one has ever been able to put
me down before," she replied. "So I have no idea what I need when I'm under."
The knowledge that no one had ever put Nikita down before both saddened and
thrilled Steve. "We can figure that out together then," he said. "What about
what you don't want while you're under?"
Nikita stopped to think about that question, hesitating to verbalize her fears.
If the Captain wanted to he could use them against her, but because of the bond
she felt almost compelled to answer. "I would like to avoid dropping in public,
and…," she trailed off uncertainly.
Steve could tell that what she was having trouble saying was clearly important.
"I'll try to avoid dropping you in public, but if it ever happens I promise to
take care of you and keep anyone else away from you if I can," Steve assured
her. "What else?" He asked.
"No sex," Nikita said in a small voice, carefully not looking at Steve. "I
don't want sex and while I'm under. I have no control."
"Look at me," commanded Steve in a voice she was unable to ignore. He held her
gaze, "If you're not ready for sex, that's okay. I can agree to no sex in
subspace for now. When I feel that we are ready for that, I promise to discuss
it with you before hand." He could tell through the bond that Nikita was only a
little reassured by that. He knew that sex was something he would have to be
very careful with, she had clearly been abused at some point in the past and
one wrong move could do permanent damage to their relationship.
"What about kneeling?" asked Steve.
Nikita had never had a good experience kneeling, but she found that she
desperately wanted to please her Dom. "I haven't knelt to anyone in over 12
years," Nikita began. "I think maybe we could try it but not in public."
Steve was surprised. "Volkov collared you for 12 years, and you never knelt for
him?" He asked.
"Demyan Volkov never asked me to kneel, or have sex with him," she answered.
"He protected me and taught me how to fight, in exchange I did what I could to
be of service to him."
"You killed for him," said Steve.
Nikita could feel his condemnation through the bond and it made her angry. "He
gave me a place of value, he is the only one who never lied to me, never
betrayed me, and never hurt me," she responded fiercely.
Steve was silent for a moment before responding, "I'm sorry. I know he meant a
lot to you and I promise not to judge your relationship. Just know that this
relationship will be different."
"Okay," agreed Nikita, only slightly mollified.
"We will discuss everything else at home later," assured Steve.
Chapter End Notes
     So, while I have most of the interactions between Nikita and Steve
     planned out, I don't really have much in the way of Nikita's
     interactions with any of the other Avengers planned. If there is
     anything you would like to see, any suggestions, let me know.
***** Home *****
Chapter Summary
     Sensing Nikita's deepening submission Steve pulled back a bit, and
     tilted her head up to face him. "I'm going to take care of you now.
     Do you have a safeword?"
     "No," she answered in a small voice around the lump in her throat.
Steve left Nikita to rest with the remote to the TV in the room, while he went
to debrief. Afterwards he contacted JARVIS, asking the AI to order some clothes
in the same size and style as those Nikita had been wearing as well as whatever
essentials he might deem necessary, and have them delivered to Steve's
apartment in Stark's Tower. When he returned to Nikita's room, Steve met with
her doctor for instructions on caring for her wounds and made arrangements to
take her home. While Steve talked to the doctor, a nurse helped Nikita dress in
a set of scrubs, since none of her clothes had survived. Steve had gathered up
all of her weapons and tactical gear, packing it all in a bag, then he
commandeered a black SUV from the facility garage and drove them to the Tower.
When they arrived Steve guided Nikita into the elevator, taking it directly to
his level. Introducing Nikita to the other residents of the Tower could wait.
For now the Dominant in him was driven to pamper and care for his still wounded
sub, there was no way his protective instincts would allow anyone else around
her.
Once in his apartment Steve gently pulled Nikita into his arms, giving into the
need for physical contact he had been suppressing since the bonding. He pressed
her head to rest against his shoulder, planting a kiss to the top of her head,
his arms wrapped tight around her careful not to put pressure on any of her
injuries. Nikita was stiff in his arms and he could sense a spike of fear from
her. Steve rubbed one hand soothingly up and down her back softly. "Good girl,
just relax, so good for me," he whispered in her ear praising her for
submitting to his touch despite her fear. Gradually her body relaxed and the
fear lessened.
Nikita found herself wrapped in the Captain's arms, surrounded by his warmth.
At first she had stiffened in fear, not knowing where this was going. With her
head resting on his shoulder she took in deep breaths of his scent. The Captain
(Her Captain?) smelled like clean sweat, leather, and something uniquely him.
His scent and soothing touches kept her from panicking, helping her manage her
fear and resist her initial urge to break free from his hold. His words of
praise providing her with a warm sense of reassurance that helped her work
through the confusion of her conflicting impulses, allowing her to give in to
her submissive nature and begin to relax in his embrace.
Sensing Nikita's deepening submission Steve pulled back a bit, and tilted her
head up to face him. "I'm going to take care of you now. Do you have a
safeword?"
"No," she answered in a small voice around the lump in her throat.
"Then until you choose one we will use colors. Green means we can continue with
what is happening. Yellow means you are uncomfortable enough that we need to
take a step back or pause before either continuing or stopping. If you say Red
everything stops immediately. You will never be punished for calling Red or
Yellow. Now, what is your color?" Steve asked.
Nikita thought about that question for a moment. He hadn't said what 'taking
care of her' would entail, instead he was asking her to trust him. Trust was
not something that came easily to Nikita but the sub in her needed to give her
Dom anything he wanted from her. She concentrated on the bond, sensing only
protective concern from him, "Green."
"Good," Steve responded with a smile. "I don't want you to speak unless you
need to call a color."
With that, Steve took her hand and led her into the bathroom. He lifted her to
sit on the counter, then went to draw a bath. Steve filled a glass of water
from the sink then he held one of the pain pills prescribed by her doctor up to
her mouth. She looked at the pill warily. Steve knew that this was a huge test
of her willingness to trust so he simply stood in front of her, waiting to see
what she would do. After a long moment Nikita opened her mouth accepting the
pill and swallowing it with water from the glass Steve held to her lips. "So
good," Steve praised as he cupped her cheek, smiling when she unconsciously
leaned into his touch.
Steve then inspected the basket of toiletries that JARVIS had had delivered,
handing her a new toothbrush he directed Nikita to brush her teeth while he
added some lavender bath salts to the tub. When she finished, he lifted her off
the counter, setting her on her feet. Steve lifted the hem of her shirt and,
careful of her injuries, pulled it off. Then he slowly slid her pants down,
helping her to step out of them. His breath caught at his first sight of her
naked. Underneath the dried blood and bandages, she was stunning.
Nikita was tempted to call Yellow when the Captain began to remove her clothes,
instead she tried to calm her mind and listen to the bond. She could sense his
approval, but no aggression, so instead she took a deep breath determined to
continue. Steve gently removed all of the bandages covering the worst of her
wounds, being careful not to pull any of her stitches. He then guided her over
to the tub, steadying her as she stepped in and sank down into the water.
Steve gathered up what he needed from the basket and knelt down behind her. He
directed her to scoot forward and then lean back. With one hand at the nape of
her neck he kept her face above the water as he dampened her hair with his
other hand before guiding her to sit back up. Steve then washed her hair,
working the shampoo into her hair thoroughly, lightly scraping her scalp with
his blunt fingernails. He then had her lean back down to rinse her hair,
careful to make sure no suds got in her eyes. As he worked conditioner into her
hair, massaging her scalp, Nikita felt the pain medication begin to take hold.
She began to feel relaxed and drowsy, luxuriating in the feel of the Captain's
strong yet gentle hands in her hair. Leaving the conditioner in her hair Steve
wet a washcloth adding lavender scented body wash, working it up into a lather.
Steve then carefully and tenderly washed away days worth of dried blood and
sweat. He made sure to keep giving her words of encouragement and praise. When
he was finished he rinsed the soap off her body and the conditioner from her
hair, wringing the excess water out.
Steve pulled the plug to drain the tub, then directed Nikita to stand up,
helping her step out of the tub. He took a large fluffy towel using it to
gently dry off her body, paying extra attention to her injuries. Next he took a
tube of Neosporin and applied it carefully to every scrape and cut, paying
special attention to those requiring stitches which he then covered with clean
sterile gauze pads, taping them securely in place. Finally he wrapped her up in
a new towel before carrying her out of the room.
Steve carried her into the bedroom, setting her down on the bed. He then
dressed her in one of his own button down shirts and a pair of white cotton
underwear from the supplies provided by JARVIS. Steve led her into the living
room, sitting down on the couch and directing her to kneel between his legs
with her back to him. He then dried her hair further with the towel before
carefully working a comb through it.
He continued to gently comb her hair long after all the tangles were gone. He
eventually guided her head to rest against his thigh replacing the comb with
his hand, petting her until her eyes started to flutter.
Nikita couldn't resist a sigh of pure pleasure as the Captain ran his fingers
through her hair. There was something so incredibly satisfying about kneeling
with her head resting on his muscled thigh. The knowledge that she was doing
exactly what her Dom wanted and his whispered words of praise filled Nikita
with such a deep sense of contentment she began to doze off. Steve carefully
pulled her up into his lap, cuddling her until her eyes drifted shut and her
breathing became deep and even as she fell asleep. At this point he carried her
back into the bedroom, placing her under the covers, tucking her into his bed
where she belonged.
Watching his sub sleeping peacefully in his bed filled Steve with a profound
sense of rightness. Going over the evening in his mind he was deeply gratified
by her beautiful submission, sensing how difficult it had been for her to trust
him. Determined to get this right he turned away from the room, leaving the
door cracked open in case she needed anything.
***** Advice From a Friend *****
Chapter Summary
     "So, like navigating a minefield," Steve replied.
     "A little like that, yeah," she chuckled. "But if anyone can do it,
     Cap, it's you."
Chapter Notes
     Thanks to SoupShue for the inspiration for this chapter.
While Nikita slept in his bed, Steve asked JARVIS to put in a call to Natasha.
"That will not be necessary Captain Rogers," responded the AI. Before Steve
could question him further, there was a soft knock on his apartment door. He
was unsurprised to find the spy on the other side on the door. She walked past
him settling herself comfortably at the end of the couch facing the door, "I've
decided that you need some advice."
"I was just thinking that actually," Steve agreed sitting at the other end of
the couch facing her. Natasha gave him that 'I'm listening' look with a slight
tilt of her head encouraging him to continue. Steve heaved a sigh, "I made her
angry, really angry," he began. "I said something unflattering about Volkov,
about him turning her into a killer. I just don't understand how she could
defend the man after the way he treated her."
"He didn't," said Natasha enigmatically.
"He didn't, what?" asked Steve confused.
"Make her a killer," she responded. "That girl was a killer before she ever met
Demyan Volkov. When you talked about him, what did she say?"
"She said that he protected her, trained her, gave her a place of value, that
he never lied to her or hurt her," Steve answered. "That she killed so she
could be of service to him."
Natasha shook her head a little as she looked at her friend. "Do you know how
children are made into assets, into weapons? First you find the ones already
subjected to cruelty and abuse, then you look for the ones that don't break.
Next you 'rescue' them, make them believe that you are the only thing in the
world standing between them and the things they fear, that you are the only
person who cares about them. You earn their loyalty and then you train them."
Steve looked at her sadly, "That's what happened to you, both of you?"
"More or less," she responded. "But with a sub it's both simpler and more
complicated, the loyalty more profound."
"How so?" he asked.
"A submissive is already hardwired to crave praise and approval," Steve nodded
as she explained. "They crave direction, have a need to follow orders, and are
desperate to be of service. If you train a sub to kill, praising them only for
those skills, they will live to only to execute your orders. They will mete out
violence at your direction without question, they will kill on your orders
without fail."
"Okay," sighed Steve, "I think I'm following, but how do I keep from making it
worse? She expects to fight with the Avengers under my orders. How is that
different?"
"Right now fighting is her identity. What she needs is a new direction. You can
teach her how to be a protector instead of a killer." she answered, "What
else?"
"Right," Steve continued a little sheepishly, "I know that she has been abused.
I can feel her fear and apprehension, I'm concerned that one wrong move could
destroy any hope of building a relationship. I've never had a long-term
relationship with a sub before."
"Have you discussed terms yet?" she asked.
"A little, so far her only only hard limits have been not wanting to drop or
kneel in public," Steve explained. "I didn't want to have the rest of that
conversation in medical."
"You should have that conversation soon," advised Natasha. "I imagine she has a
deep seated need to appear strong in public. If you want her to become
comfortable with the team, you should respect that."
"Of course," replied Steve, "but how do I win her trust?"
"Dealing with an abused sub can be tricky," admitted Natasha. "Before she can
begin to open up and show you her true nature, she has to feel safe and have
reason to trust you. Once she does open up, she will still need to be reminded
frequently. With an abused sub it's easy to make them feel unwanted and unloved
without meaning to. Reminding her that she belongs to you and is valued will
help quell that little voice telling her that she means nothing. Your approval
and reassurance will be crucial to helping her adjust to her new life.
Reviewing all the ways she is valuable to you when she gets insecure will be
the best way to keep her obedient and happy. Have you thought about collaring
her?"
"I want to," Steve answered, "but I thought maybe I should wait, take it slow."
"I disagree," Natasha asserted. "I think a collar would give her a sense of
security and safety, a tangible reminder that you value her."
"What about sex?" asked Steve. "I don't want to trigger her."
"As it stands I think she would rather kill for you than have sex with you,"
replied Natasha with a rueful laugh. "Killing is familiar and requires no real
trust from either of you. To let down her walls and give you control of her
will may take time and testing before she feels safe enough to permit either of
you to go beyond the initial stages of your relationship. Even after she has
given herself to you, she will need to be reminded that she is safe with you.
You will trigger her. There's no way around it. I doubt she even has any idea
what her triggers are, you'll have to discover her limits together. You have to
be ready to deal with it when it happens. Prove to her that you are a safe
place to fall, that you can catch her."
"So, like navigating a minefield," Steve replied.
"A little like that, yeah," she chuckled. "But if anyone can do it, Cap, it's
you." Natasha unfolded from the couch, heading towards the door.
Steve walked her out. "Thanks, Nat," he said as he closed the door behind him.
Steve's conversation with Natasha kept running through his mind as he brushed
his teeth and changed into a pair of sleep pants. He quietly slipped into bed
wrapping his arms around Nikita, careful not to wake her. Turning his strategic
mind to the problem he began to formulate a plan. Eventually the sound of her
deep even breaths relaxed him and he fell asleep with a smile on his face.
***** Breakfast *****
Chapter Summary
     "Impeccable timing, I was saying just the other day I needed another
     Russian assassin in my Tower."
     "Tony," chided Steve "play nice."
     "What? Now we have a complete set." Tony joked
Nikita woke in pain, which was nothing new. Someone was laying behind her,
strong arms wrapped around her, and that was something new. Before she could do
more than stiffen, a wave of reassurance came through the bond and she
remembered where she was and who those arms belonged to, who she now belonged
to.
Steve knew the moment Nikita woke up, sensing her pain and confusion. He sent
reassurance through the bond to calm her. "Good Morning," he said planting a
small kiss to her temple. "Stay still, I'll get your medication." Steve got out
of bed, careful not to jostle her and headed into the bathroom. He smiled to
himself as he filled a glass with water. She had woken with pain and confusion
yes, but there had been no fear. It was all the encouragement he needed to put
the first part of his plan into action.
He returned to the bedroom, helped Nikita sit up, gave her a pain pill and
antibiotic and held the glass for her to drink. When she was done he put the
glass on the night stand. "Stay there and let the meds kick in, I'll take the
first shower," Steve said as he headed back into the bathroom.
Steve returned from the bathroom a short while later, wearing only a towel.
Nikita tried not to stare, but he was beautiful. Steve hid a small smile as he
got dressed. Then he helped Nikita to get out of bed. She was still a little
stiff, but the pain medication had already taken the edge off. The medicine
made her a little fuzzy, but after a very good night's rest, it didn't make her
more than a little drowsy. Steve steadied her on her feet, "Shower's all yours.
Are you okay or do you need help?"
"I can do it," she replied. Steve let her go and watched as she headed towards
the bathroom.
"Keep the door open and call for me if you need anything," he ordered.
Nikita carefully stepped into the shower, still a little unsteady on her feet.
She spent a few long moments just standing under the spray of hot water,
gathering her thoughts. She was still apprehensive, but so far nothing had
happened that she couldn't handle. She figured that part of her acceptance of
this new situation was due to the pain medicine she had been on since waking up
at the Avengers Initiative, but she couldn't deny that most of the reason she
wasn't completely freaking out was how careful the Captain was being with her.
Thinking of her Dom, she was reminded that he was waiting for her in the other
room. Nikita finished washing up before shutting off the water and gingerly
stepping onto the plush bath mat. She used one of the large fluffy towels to
dry herself off before wrapping it around herself and brushing her teeth then
returning to the bedroom.
Steve directed her to sit down on the bed, once again treating her wounds. He
determined that only the deep stab wound in her side needed to be re-bandaged.
Nikita had been injured before, many times. Usually she was left to deal with
them on her own after the initial medical treatment. Having someone else
treating her wounds, caring for them -for her- was a completely new experience.
When he was finished, he told her to get dressed in the clothes he had laid out
for her.
She dressed in the brand new set of black cotton underwear and socks, a pair of
black BDU pants, and a long sleeved dark blue henley shirt. She sat on the bed
to lace up her black combat boots, making a mental note to clean them at her
earliest opportunity. Steve picked up the brush from his dresser then sat down
next to her. Nikita turned to look at him questioningly, he turned her head
back away, telling her to hold it there. Steve then gently brushed her hair
until it fell in tangle-free golden waves down to the middle of her back.
"We'll head up to the kitchen for breakfast, then I'll give you the tour,"
Steve said, heading towards the bedroom door. Nikita stood still, not
following. Steve turned to look at her when he noticed her hesitation. It took
him a moment before he figured out the problem. He crossed the room pulling a
duffel bag from the closet floor, tossing it at her feet. "Bring what you
need," he said before leaving the room. She opened the duffel to find all of
her weapons, most of which were in desperate need of cleaning and maintenance.
Nikita chose half a dozen knives, secreting them on her person, then placed the
duffel back in the closet before joining Steve in the other room.
Nikita followed Steve out of the apartment and into the hallway, "Stark invited
some of the Avengers to live here in the Tower, the apartments are all on this
and the next floor down." They entered the elevator at the end of the hallway
and Steve asked JARVIS to take them up to the Common Floor. "JARVIS is Tony's
AI, he runs the Tower," explained Steve. "If you need anything and I'm not
available, ask JARVIS." Nikita didn't respond verbally, but Steve could tell
that she was paying attention. He was pretty sure that was normal for her.
They rode the elevator up to the next floor. "This is the Common Floor," said
Steve guiding Nikita out of the elevator with a hand on the small of her back.
Before she even had time to do more than register the touch it was gone. Nikita
took in the space before her. To the right of the elevator was a sitting area
with two large couches and three recliners positioned in a semi-circle around a
sunken floor area filled with plush cushions. In front of this horseshoe
configuration was a large flat screen. Directly ahead of them was a large
kitchen surrounded by a counter lined with bar stools and a large dining table.
To the left was a full bar and a pool table.
Apparently word had spread throughout the residents of the Tower that Cap had
found his bonded sub, because the room seemed to be full of members of the
Avengers family. They were all gathered around the kitchen and dining area.
Tony and Bruce were in the kitchen cooking breakfast. Bucky, Jane, Clint and
Darcy were seated around the dining table. Clint and Darcy were in the middle
of a heated discussion about some action movie they had watched during the last
movie night. Clint was bemoaning all of the inaccuracies while Darcy insisted
they didn't matter because the action hero Dom was hot. Bucky was watching them
with an indulgent smile. Steve introduced Nikita to each of those around the
table before steering her over to the kitchen, seating them both at the
counter.
"So, Capsicle," snarked Tony. "I hear you snagged yourself a girl!"
"Yes Tony," replied Steve with an exasperated smile, "I found a girl. This is -
-"
"Nikita Ivanova," interrupted Tony. "Impeccable timing, I was saying just the
other day I needed another Russian assassin in my Tower."
"Tony," chided Steve "play nice."
"What? Now we have a complete set." Tony joked while pouring a cup of coffee
for each of the newcomers.
"Don't mind him," Bruce said softly to Nikita before announcing to the rest
that the food was ready.
Nikita said nothing, merely took a sip of her coffee.
Shortly after that Nikita found herself seated next to Steve at the massive
table with everybody else enjoying what was actually a surprisingly good
breakfast. She took the opportunity to observe the people around her. She
learned that the young sub Darcy Lewis was bonded to Bucky Barnes, who was also
the Captain's (Steve, everyone called him Steve) best friend. Darcy was also
Jane Foster's lab assistant. Nikita didn't miss the way that the Soldier kept
himself between herself and his sub.
Bruce Banner was a quiet scientist, the Hulk, and apparently the bonded sub of
the Black Widow. Tony Stark was a loud, brash sub who was bonded to the Domme
who ran his family's company, a woman named Pepper. What intrigued her about
Stark was the fact that, while the Captain commanded the Avengers, Tony bank
rolled the entire operation and designed everyone's gear. He also made it clear
through his sarcastic humor that they all lived in HIS Tower. Nikita knew Stark
was definitely a force to be reckoned with.
The scientist Jane Foster and the Asgardian Thor were married but not bonded.
Apparently Asgardians didn't have Dom/sub dynamics and Jane was a rare Switch.
Hawkeye - Clint - was still wearing the kevlar around his neck (minus the
tactical mic), confirming her guess that he was bonded to someone, though no
one mentioned who to. Clint and Darcy seemed to be the only ones at the table
capable of matching Tony's snark. In fact, the three subs were easily the
loudest people in the room.
Nikita observed the way that Steve interacted with them all. Clearly these
people weren't just his teammates, they were his family. She also noticed the
way that he took every opportunity to touch her. Always light, small touches.
There and gone again before she could even react.
After they finished eating Steve took Nikita on a tour of the rest of the
common areas. He explained that Tony and Pepper lived in the penthouse above
the Common Floor they had just left. He showed her the gym which had an
impressive array of equipment, an open area covered with mats for sparring, a
sauna, jacuzzi, and an indoor pool. Next they visited the range which had lanes
for handguns, rifles, archery, and throwing knives. Steve informing her that
all of the common areas were open to any of them at any time. Next he showed
her where the labs for Bruce and Jane and Tony's workshop were located, warning
her not to go in unless invited by one of them due to the potential volatility
of the projects they worked on.
By the time they finished the tour it was time for lunch so they went back up
to the Common Floor. The space was pretty much clear of everyone except Clint
and Darcy who had just finished 'pop tarting' Tony and the scientists.
Apparently they would forget to eat if she didn't remind them. The four of them
made sandwiches and iced tea which they carried into the sitting area to eat
while watching a movie. Nikita sat on one of the couches next to Steve. Clint
and Darcy had JARVIS play From Russia With Love, which they thought was
hilarious. Steve could sense Nikita's amusement at their antics coming through
the bond, though she let nothing show. After they finished eating Steve rested
his arm over the back of the couch, idly running his fingers through her hair
throughout the rest of the movie.
After the movie Steve took Nikita back to their apartment where he gave her
another dose of her medications. Steve felt that the day had gone well. Nikita
had seemed to react positively to the other residents of the Tower. The first
part of his plan seemed to be going well, she hadn't shied away or reacted
negatively to his touch all day. He decided it was time to enact the next part
of his plan.
***** Church *****
Chapter Summary
     In her experience Dominants took what they wanted unless you were
     strong enough to stop them. She had made herself strong. If he tried
     to take from her what she was unwilling to give, she would fight. She
     was prepared to fight. In fact she fully expected this new life to
     end in bloodshed one way or another.
Steve and Nikita sat on the couch facing each other. There was a seriousness in
his eyes which matched the tone of his emotions coming through the bond. She
gave her Dom her undivided attention. "We need to discuss some ground rules, at
least for this stage of our relationship. We can renegotiate any time either of
us feels the need. JARVIS will keep a record for us. Do you have any questions
or concerns?"
Nikita had long ago learned never to voice the things she felt lest they be
used against her. Steve continued to look at her expectantly, but a lifetime of
near silence rose up within her, blocking any reply she may have made.
Steve sensed her struggle through the bond. It saddened him to think about the
mask that she forced herself to wear. He determined to someday soon make Nikita
feel safe enough to show her true face. For now he thought starting with
something impersonal might help.
"First, we need to talk about your wounds and Avenger status," Steve began. "It
will be at least another week until you can begin training. Clear it with Bruce
before doing anything in the gym or at the range. Natasha and I will decide
when you are ready to start training with the other Avengers at the
Initiative."
This was…. Tactical. She could do this. "Who's orders do I follow?"
"In the field, whoever is the Team Leader. That will usually be me, but not
always. At the Initiative, Natasha or myself. Fury will definitely give you
orders, but you don't necessarily have to follow them."
"And here, in the Tower?" she asked.
"That would be me," he answered. "Although you should bear in mind that this is
Tony's house, and you should always take JARVIS seriously. You have free run of
all the Common Areas but don't leave the Tower without letting me or JARVIS
know where you're going. I'd like for you to get to know the other residents of
the Tower, especially the rest of the team. It will help in the field." Nikita
nodded, not at all sure how she was going to go about doing that.
Steve took a deep breath. Now was the part of the conversation that could go
very wrong if he wasn't careful. "I want us to get to know each other better as
well. I know that you aren't ready for a more intimate relationship yet, and
that's okay. It's my responsibility to earn your trust. I just need you to
promise me that you will use your colors or a safeword if you need to. You have
the power to stop anything we are doing at any time. Have you chosen a safeword
or do you want to keep using the colors?"
Nikita was…confused. She had no frame of reference for this. In her experience
Dominants took what they wanted unless you were strong enough to stop them. She
had made herself strong. If he tried to take from her what she was unwilling to
give, she would fight. She was prepared to fight. In fact she fully expected
this new life to end in bloodshed one way or another. But here he was, an Alpha
Dominant, asking rather than demanding.
"Wolf," Nikita answered hesitantly. "My safeword is Wolf."
"Good," he smiled.
After that conversation Nikita wasn't sure what she had expected to happen, but
what Steve did next wasn't it. He told her about coming out of the ice after 70
years, all of the references, and things that he's missed out on. He pulled a
small book out of his pocket. "This is my list," he explained. "i was thinking
that you could help me, we can go through it together." Nikita agreed,
surprised that he would ask her.
They spent the rest of the evening going through his book. It turned out that
Nikita was unfamiliar with a lot of it as well. Being part of a Russian
criminal enterprise didn't lend itself to learning a lot about American pop
culture. They ended up ordering dinner delivered while watching Bruce Lee
movies.
The next few days followed a similar pattern. Nikita woke in Steve's arms each
morning, then they would join the other residents of the Tower for breakfast.
It was a different combination of people each morning, depending on who was
around. After breakfast they would pick something off of Steve's list to
explore, sometimes on the Common Floor with the others and sometimes alone in
the apartment. Steve took every opportunity to touch Nikita in small ways. He
always kept his touch gentle and light, trying to prove that she need not fear
him.
Sunday morning was different. Steve got them up and dressed earlier than usual.
The clothes he laid out for her were a slightly dressier version of those she
had worn each day previous. A pair of black cargo pants with a slightly shiny
finish, a heather grey v-neck lightweight sweater, and a new pair of polished
black boots. Steve himself dressed in a dark blue suit and tie. When he
explained that they were going to church, he didn't really need to feel it
through the bond to sense her disdain. Though she still rarely spoke and kept
her face blank, Steve was beginning to be able to read micro-expressions and
small shifts in posture to gauge Nikita's mood.
When they got to the church, Steve allowed Nikita to wait outside while he went
in for mass. Much as her instinct was to please her Dom, she just couldn't
bring herself to go in. In all of her life Nikita had never had much use for
God or religion. In some of her earliest memories she had begged and pleaded
for protection and comfort from a God who never answered. She had concluded
that God either didn't exist or didn't care, and then she had done whatever was
needed to protect herself. The existence of God was a moot point anyway, she
had spilled far too much blood to ever be forgiven or washed clean.
She wandered around the grounds of the church, taking note of the orphanage
that was part of the diocese. Steve had mentioned that he often spent time with
the kids after mass. She stopped cold before crossing the courtyard between the
back of the church and the orphanage. Across the courtyard was a young boy no
more than ten years old, clearly a sub, being bullied by a pack of Dom boys
about the same age. She watched as the boys ordered him around, their demands
growing ever more demeaning. As the boy continued to resist, their
'punishments' grew ever more physical, bordering on violent. Nikita watched
silently, the boys unaware of their audience. Even though it would be easier
(safer) to give in, the young sub continued to defy them. When they shoved the
sub to the ground and began to beat him in earnest, Nikita stepped in. She
grabbed the ring leader by the scruff of his neck in a classic sub hold,
lifting him off the ground and shaking him before throwing him back at his
companions, knocking them down and away from the sub. When the bullies didn't
leave fast enough for her, Nikita glared at them and growled. Whatever they saw
in her eyes scared them, tripping over themselves in their haste to get away.
Nikita walked over and knelt down in front of the boy, silently. He looked up
at her from the ground. There were dirty scrapes on his face and hands, the
beginnings of a black eye swelled while blood flowed from a split lip and
seeped through the knees of his jeans. She saw the moment the boy realized what
she was, his eyes widened in shock. "You're a sub?" the boy asked in a small
voice.
Nikita nodded slowly, holding the boy's gaze. "Can I help you get cleaned up?"
she asked, holding her hand out to the boy.
The boy stared at her for a long moment before taking her hand and letting
Nikita pull him to his feet. "What's your name?" he asked.
"Nikita," she replied as they headed towards the parking lot. "What's yours?"
"Thomas," he answered, "Aren't we going the wrong way?"
"There's a first aid kit in the car." Nikita kept her pace slow enough for
Thomas to easily keep up with her. She could have left him to wait for her, but
the boy didn't seem inclined to leave her side at the moment.
After retrieving the first aid kit, Nikita led Thomas back to the church. She
found a small alcove off to the side with a basin of water. She dragged a chair
over from the hallway, setting it next to the basin. She set Thomas on the
chair, then set about using the contents of the first aid kit and the water
from the basin to treat the boy's myriad wounds. Luckily all of the boy's
injuries proved to be minor.
After the service, Steve went in search of his sub. She wasn't anywhere outside
around the church. He would have been concerned but he was getting a sense of
warmth through the bond, a far cry from the tangle of violent emotions he had
been getting from her earlier. He wondered at the change and made his way back
inside the church thinking maybe she had found something inside to bring that
warmth to her spirit. He heard Nikita's voice but before he could follow it he
was stopped by Sister Margaret, one of the nuns who looked after the children
of the orphanage. Steve had mentioned to the sister that he would be bringing
Nikita on his weekly visit which was why she had recognized the sub upon seeing
her in the courtyard. It seemed that the nun had witnessed the incident with
the boys, but had been too far away to help Thomas. Sister Margaret related the
whole incident to Steve.
Steve and Sister Margaret headed toward the sound of a child's chatter coming
from one of the alcoves in the side of the church. When he finally spotted
Nikita he couldn't stop the wide grin that spread over his face. Nikita was
packing up the first aid kit, having clearly just used a basin of holy water to
wash the boy's wounds, if the pink tinge of the basin was any indication. The
boy was chattering away at her, holding the side of her shirt up looking in awe
at the healing stab wound on her side. Steve saw the moment that she sensed
them coming near. Nikita turned towards them, subtly placing herself between
them and the boy.
Thomas happily greeted Sister Margaret and Steve, excitedly telling them all
about his rescue. Nikita relaxed as she realized that Thomas felt safe with
this woman, that she wasn't going to hurt him. Sister Margaret led young Thomas
away as it was lunch time for the children, the boy refusing to go until 'Kita'
gave him a hug and a promise to come see him again.
Nikita and Steve headed back to the car. As she reached to open the car door,
he stopped her with a hand on her arm. "That was real good," he beamed his
approval at her, "what you did for Thomas." She was stunned that she had
pleased him by doing something that would have gotten her in trouble in the
past. Nikita couldn't help the warmth that spread in her chest as she basked in
her Dom's approval.
***** The Sassy Sub Club *****
Chapter Summary
     "Project Runway, Avengers Edition," enthused Darcy. "I get to be
     Heidi, which totally makes you Tim Gunn."
     "Make it work!" declared Tony.
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
The next morning, Steve left for the Avengers Initiative. He had taken almost a
week off and needed to check back in with Natasha and Fury. There were new
Avengers to train, threat assessments to get caught up on, as well as liaising
with Director Coulson and the new SHIELD. Even though it wasn't obvious, Nikita
had begun to thaw out a bit towards the rest of the Tower residents and Steve
was confident that she would be fine in his absence.
Nikita decided to take the opportunity to get caught up on some much needed
maintenance of her weapons and gear. She pulled the duffel out of the closet,
but hesitated before setting it down in the living room of the apartment. Steve
had asked her to get to know the residents of the Tower better, so staying
holed up here alone in the apartment was probably not what her Dom would want
her to do. But she had no idea how to get to know the others, socializing was
not something she had ever tried to do before. And her gear really did need
going over. She decided to take her gear up to the Common Floor and do the
maintenance there. Maybe that would count as socializing?
When Nikita stepped off the elevator onto the Common Floor, she found Darcy
already curled up on a couch watching TV. She strode over to the sitting area,
settling into a seat and pulling the coffee table over in front of her, setting
the duffel on the ground next to it.
"What's up, Buttercup!"
Nikita looked over at the other girl meeting her eyes then exaggeratedly looked
up to the ceiling then back, a small smirk lifting the corner of her mouth.
Darcy promptly dissolved into a small fit of giggles.
Darcy was marathoning Project Runway. She kept up a steady stream of commentary
about the contestants and their outfits while Nikita worked. Darcy's eyes
widened as Nikita took the weapons out of the duffel and laid them out on the
coffee table until they covered the whole surface.
Nikita covertly studied the curvy brunette while she systematically cleaned and
sharpened her knives. She was lounging in a pair of sweat pants and an oversize
shirt which probably belonged to her Dom, the neck of the shirt hanging loose
enough to show the collar she wore. It was a chain of large silver rings with a
silver heart resting at the hollow of her throat. The girl smiled and laughed
and had a wicked wit. Nikita found herself enjoying Darcy's company.
Darcy was thrilled to discover Nikita's hidden sense of humor, starting with
that first smirk. Every now and then she would spot a small smile on the
blonde's face as her comments became more and more outrageous.
They were several episodes in when Tony came out of the elevator. He was
impeccably dressed in a silvery grey bespoke suit with a red tie, his hair
artfully tousled. "Really Lewis?" Tony teased, "Watching Project Runway without
me, I'm wounded."
"Well look at you dolled up all fancy" remarked Darcy.
"Spent the weekend with Pepper then she made me go to a board meeting this
morning," explained Tony.
"Oh the horror!" Darcy commiserated. "We were just about to have lunch. Why
don't you slip into something more comfortable and join us?" The suggestion was
accompanied by a lascivious wiggle of her eyebrows.
"Order up something good," Tony instructed as he took the stairs up to the
penthouse.
By the time Tony returned to join them the food had arrived. He was dressed in
a pair of sweats and a band tee showing off the red and gold collar he wore. By
now Nikita had worked her way through most of her weapons. She was checking
over her body armor and restocking the pockets. Tony looked over the array of
weaponry spread out over his coffee table. His attention was caught by a black
metallic cylinder which he picked up to examine, looking over at Nikita to
gauge her reaction.
"What is this, a light saber?" he asked Nikita. She just calmly arched an
eyebrow at him as he continued to examine it. She reached out grabbing his
hand, positioning it so that he held the cylinder horizontally between them,
then she pressed the catch. Immediately metal telescoped out of both ends
terminating into wickedly sharp points, turning the cylinder into a four foot
metal staff. Tony looked it over, "JARVIS scan."
"Scanning sir," the AI replied.
Tony twirled the staff around a little, testing the balance, then triggered the
mechanism to retract and expand the staff again. When his curiosity was
satisfied, he retracted the staff a final time and handed it back to Nikita. He
then picked up and examined her body armor, checking all the pockets. He seemed
almost personally affronted by the fact that it was generically 'off the rack'.
Nikita didn't have a problem with Tony's interest in her gear. She had never
been sentimentally attached to any of her weapons, though she did really like
her staff. Generally, so long as she was armed she didn't really care. It was
rather amusing watching the billionaire engineer play with her staff like a kid
with a new toy.
Having completed her self appointed task, Nikita packed all her gear back into
the duffel then settled back in her chair to watch the show. Darcy and Tony
were enthusiastically watching the contestants attempt to make outfits from
unconventional materials. Tony kept coming up with ideas and shouting them at
the screen. One of the contestants started to cry, complaining about how hard
it was. "Try building an arc reactor and a flying metal suit out of scraps in a
cave," scoffed Tony. At Nikita's questioning look he related what she figured
was a rather abridged story of building the first Iron Man suit.
By the time Steve and the other residents arrived on the common floor for
dinner Tony and Darcy had decided that they needed to get the show to do a
super hero episode using the Avengers as models and Tony as a guest judge.
Imagining each of the Avengers in turn walking down the runway had Tony and
Darcy laughing uncontrollably. Nikita hid her smile behind a drink of her soda.
******************************************************************************************
Tony was building some new equipment for Jane. Darcy was in the workshop
helping Tony put on the finishing touches, which meant they were gossiping
about the residents of the Tower and the rest of the Avengers family. Of course
the talk turned to their newest resident assassin. They remarked on how quiet
she is, even quieter than Bucky had been when he first arrived at the Tower.
"She reminds me of James," Darcy remarked. "Quiet, but I'm sure there's some
wicked humor in there."
"Well she certainly has the same fashion sense," Tony joked. "We have to do
something about that. I mean she wears the same outfit every day."
"Ooh," exclaimed Darcy, "we totally need to go shopping!!"
"Slow down there Speed Racer," snarked Tony, "Much as I wouldn't mind seeing
her take out a few, I don't think we need to test out how she'll react to the
paparazzi just yet. Why don't you take her, then we can do a fashion show in
the penthouse," as he handed Darcy a black amex.
"Project Runway, Avengers Edition," enthused Darcy. "I get to be Heidi, which
totally makes you Tim Gunn."
"Make it work!" declared Tony.
Chapter End Notes
     I am faced with a dilemma. I don't think Bucky will be okay with
     Darcy going out alone with Nikita. But who should go with them? Sam?
     Clint? Someone else? Leave a comment if you have any suggestions.
***** Ducky *****
Chapter Summary
     His beautiful girl always saw the best in everybody, deftly
     sidestepping the darker parts of them to connect to what she insisted
     was the goodness at their core. She insisted that glimmer of good was
     the truth of a person and the rest didn't matter to her.
Chapter Notes
     Some Ducky smut, I couldn't help myself.
Bucky didn't want her to go.
In the Tower was one thing, JARVIS was always monitoring and there was always
someone around even if they weren't in the same room. But out in the city,
alone with the assassin, there was no one to protect Darcy.
Oh he knew he was being hypocritical, but he couldn't help it. He saw too much
of himself in Steve's sub. Which was of course why Darcy was drawn to her,
wanted to befriend her. His beautiful girl always saw the best in everybody,
deftly sidestepping the darker parts of them to connect to what she insisted
was the goodness at their core. She insisted that glimmer of good was the truth
of a person and the rest didn't matter to her.
Hell, the girl still insisted that he himself was a good man. No one else would
call the Winter Soldier a good man, not even Steve. He would say Bucky was a
good man, but he would be thinking of the man he once was, not the man he was
now.
Only Darcy could look at him as he is now and insist that he was good.
He just couldn't get the image of the first time he saw Nikita out of his mind.
Sitting there surrounded by bodies. It reminded him of his own rampage against
HYDRA before he had been ready to come in.
He had been quiet when he first came to the Tower, and the others had been wary
of him, even Steve. But not Darcy. No, she had snarked at him, teased and
laughed. Eventually she and Steve managed to draw him out bit by bit.
He remembered the moment they bonded. He hadn't been sleeping well and found
himself in the sitting area of the Common Floor, alone in the dark. Darcy had
wandered in after a late night of hanging out with Jane in the lab.
She turned on the light in the kitchen and spotted him sitting there. "Can't
sleep?" she asked.
Bucky just looked at her, wondering that she wasn't afraid of being alone with
him in the dark. She should be. Darcy puttered around in the kitchen, babbling
all the while about how sometimes it's hard for her to unwind and sleep after
binging on caffeine and pulling all nighters with Jane in the lab. She crossed
over to where he was sitting, carrying two mugs of cocoa and handing him one.
"Cocoa helps," she said, "drink up."
They sat together in the dark. Bucky found himself silently drinking his cocoa
watching her beautifully expressive face, captivated as she chattered on and on
about what she and Jane had been doing in the lab. Surprisingly, her chatter
seemed to soothe something inside of him. When she had finished her cocoa,
Darcy got up and headed back into the kitchen. Bucky found himself following
her into the kitchen.
She hadn't heard him enter the kitchen behind her, when she turned around after
putting her mug in the sink she came up against the solid wall of his chest.
He was wearing just sleep pants with no shirt. She had found it difficult to
keep her eyes off of him, hence the babbling. Her hands immediately came up to
his chest, splayed out to touch as much skin as possible.
They both stared at each other as they felt the bond lock into place. Bucky
reached his flesh and bone hand up to gently cup her face, tilting it up to
meet his in a kiss full of longing. The kiss started slow and sweet but soon
turned intense and heated.
Darcy broke away, gasping for breath, her hands braced against his chest as if
to hold him back. "Whoa there big guy," she said breathlessly. "It's not that
I'm not totally on board, because I am SO on board. But we both really need
some sleep because I don't think either of us is firing on all cylinders at the
moment."
Bucky searched her upturned face, still finding no traces of fear. He nodded
and took a step back, turning to leave. Darcy reached out and grabbed his hand,
"I said we needed to sleep, I didn't say it had to be alone."
Darcy led Bucky to her room, pulling him down into the bed with her. He wrapped
her carefully in his arms and slept peacefully for the first time since before
the war.
"Please," Darcy asked, "I promise I'll stay safe and take my taser." She knelt
naked before him in their bedroom with her hands clasped behind her back, her
big brown eyes full of promise.
And how could Bucky say no when she pleaded so beautifully? He reached down
carding his right hand gently through her hair before grabbing a fistful. He
crouched down in front of her pulling her head back by her hair, exposing her
throat.
Darcy gasped at the pleasure/pain that jolted down her spine as he deliberately
placed his metal hand around her neck, gently squeezing. As always he was awed
by the total love and trust in her eyes as she gazed up at him. He removed the
hand from her neck and stood, slowly pulling her to her feet by the hand in her
hair.
He leaned in, pressing his lips to the alabaster column of her neck and sucking
a dark mark into her flesh. He pushed her back onto their bed, covering her
body with his own. He placed her hands on the metal railing of the head board,
"Don't let go," he commanded.
Darcy gripped the railing tight as his hand trailed down the side of her face
to run along her jaw. He lowered his mouth down to hers, using the hand
gripping her chin to open her mouth, sweeping his tongue inside. He dominated
her mouth with his tongue.
Bracing himself with his metal arm, he moved his other hand from her jaw down
to caress her breast. Breaking the kiss he lowered his mouth to her other
breast, capturing the nipple between his teeth, biting down then laving it with
his tongue, eliciting a throaty moan from her.
He wedged a knee between her thighs, widening them enough for him to trail his
hand down to her core. He parted her folds with his fingers, feeling her wet
and ready for him. Bucky rose up, pulling his sleep pants down and off. He held
her down by his metal hand on her hip while his other returned to torment the
pearl at her core, working his fingers into her tight, moist heat.
Darcy moaned as the pleasure built, trying to roll her hips but held still by
his iron grip, pressing finger shaped bruises into her skin. Desperate cries
filled the room as her back arched taught as a bowstring. Panting for breath,
Darcy's head thrashed from side to side as she desperately fought not to come
without permission. Soon she was floating as she gave herself over to his
control completely.
Finally Bucky wedged his hips between her thighs. Placing both hands on her
hips he tilted them up as he entered her in one smooth thrust. He set up a
brutal pace, both of their pleasure building exponentially with each thrust.
"Come for me beautiful," he growled into her ear as he bit down on her
shoulder.
Darcy came with a loud cry, stars sparking behind her closed eyes. Bucky fucked
her through her climax before taking his own release with a final thrust,
grinding into her body until they were both spent.
Bucky lowered her hands from the headboard, gently rubbing them to alleviate
any muscle strain. He gave her a lingering heart felt kiss before heading to
the bathroom. He returned with a damp cloth, gently cleaning her off before
cleaning himself as well. He grabbed a bottle of gatorade from the mini fridge,
placing it on the bedside table. Climbing back into the bed, Bucky sat up
against the headboard, gently pulling Darcy up to lean against him. He reached
for the bottle of gatorade holding it to her lips, urging her to drink as he
petted her hair gently, whispering words of praise and love. Once Darcy had
finished most of the bottle he stayed propped up with her in his arms, gently
stroking his hands over her skin with soft comforting touches as she slowly
came back to herself.
Finally she looked up at him with a clear eyed gaze and a smile saying, "I love
you."
"Love you too Doll," Bucky responded with a tender kiss to her temple.
"So," Darcy began with a mischievous grin, "can I go?"
Bucky sighed. He was still concerned, but he knew there was no way he could
deny her anything. "Yes," he relented, "but only if you take Hawkeye."
She leaned up to plant a soft kiss to his jaw, "Thank You." He only grunted in
response and rolled his eyes in a show of mock exasperation.
Bucky lay awake for a while after Darcy had drifted off to sleep, listening to
the steady beat of her heart. Before he drifted off himself it occurred to him
that anyone who thought Doms had the power in a relationship was clearly an
idiot.
***** Shopping *****
Chapter Summary
     Nikita looked at Darcy, sensing no malice in her expression. She
     considered keeping her silence, but at the moment she was heartily
     sick of it.
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
The next morning Darcy waylaid Clint after breakfast, asking him to go with her
to take Nikita out shopping. His initial reaction was not only no, but "hell
no, I do not need to spend a whole day holding your purse while you girls
shop."
"No purse holding I swear," Darcy promised. "I mean, I don't think Nikita even
owns a purse. Tony gave me his Amex, the black one. We can stop at FAO Schwarz
and you can pick out some stuff for the kids, and you can pick the place for
lunch."
"Why me?" asked Clint.
"Bucky won't let me go unless you come too," admitted Darcy.
Clint could understand Bucky's reluctance to let Darcy take Nikita downtown
alone. He didn't think Nikita would deliberately harm Darcy, but who knew what
situations might set her off? He vividly remembered their first meeting with
her, surrounded by bodies, and knew that he would tag along to protect Darcy.
The young sub had become like a little sister to him. Like Tony, Darcy was
fiercely loyal and determined to take care of those that she considered family.
The generous hearted subs had adopted all of the Tower residents, turning them
into a makeshift family. Clint could tell by the expression on Darcy's face
that she was beginning to put Nikita in that category.
"Please," Darcy whined, giving him her best puppy dog eyes. "I'll make the
spicy caramel bacon popcorn for you."
Ugh, Clint could not resist those puppy dog eyes. Of course, to be fair no one
else could either. "No fair, you know I can't resist the bacon caramel
popcorn," Clint relented.
"Great!," she enthused. "I'll Shanghai Nikita and meet you in the garage. Tony
said we can take one of his cars and a driver."
"Dude, if I gotta go with you guys I'm gonna drive. And I get to pick the car,"
Clint said with a wicked grin.
******************************************************************************************
After breakfast Nikita settled into the sitting area of the Common Floor with a
book. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was on Steve's list, so they were both
reading it. She had just started to get into it when Darcy strode out of the
elevator.
Darcy told Nikita that Tony had asked her to do some shopping and run some
errands. She wanted Nikita to go with her, insisting that Tony was happy to pay
for anything they wanted and that she needed another girl with her, otherwise
she would just be stuck with Clint. Nikita didn't particularly have any desire
to go shopping but she did enjoy Darcy's company and Steve did want her to
socialize.
After informing JARVIS of their plans, Darcy and Nikita met Clint in the
garage. It was full of high-end cars. Clint led them over to a silver 2009 Alfa
Romeo 8C Spider. Before getting into the car Clint unfastened the kevlar strap
from around his neck, winding it around his wrist. He looked at Nikita over the
roof of the car, "Almost no one outside of the Tower knows about my family. I
will do whatever I have to to keep them safe."
Nikita met his intense gaze and solemnly nodded. This seemed to satisfy Clint
who put on his sunglasses and got into the car.
Their first stop was FAO Schwarz. While Clint shopped with Darcy's enthusiastic
help, Nikita browsed the shelves. Her attention was caught by a model car
experiment kit. It had experiments to build fuel cells using solar energy to
separate water into hydrogen and oxygen. She thought of Thomas, the little boy
from the church orphanage. He had chattered excitedly about science while she
was cleaning him up. She thought that he would like it. Darcy found her looking
over the kit. "Taking up an interest in science?" she asked.
Nikita looked at Darcy, sensing no malice in her expression. She considered
keeping her silence, but at the moment she was heartily sick of it. "For a
friend, at Steve's church," she explained.
"Cool, you should get it," Darcy said with a bright smile.
"I think I will," Nikita replied, her smile was a shy small thing compared to
the other girl's but it was a smile nonetheless.
At the check out Darcy produced the black Amex card, causing a flurry of
activity. Their purchases were quickly wrapped up with the promise that they
would be delivered directly to the Tower.
Next, Darcy took them on a whirlwind of shopping. Store after store of clothes,
each more ridiculous than the last. Nikita was glad that she had found her
voice, because she needed it to veto Darcy's fashion choices. Eventually Nikita
allowed her to purchase several pairs of jeans and a few v-necked cashmere
sweaters. Darcy also chose about a dozen Avengers themed designer tee shirts,
much to Clint's amusement. Like the toys, they had these purchases delivered to
the Tower as well.
By this time it was almost 3 in the afternoon so they decided to break for
lunch. True to her word Darcy let Clint pick the restaurant, so they found
themselves in a steak house. "So tell me about your friend from church,"
demanded Darcy.
Nikita told them about meeting Thomas at the church. About how the little boy
refused to give in to the Dom bullies. Her stepping in and treating his cuts
and scrapes while he chattered on and on. Clint snorted coke out his nose. At
their questioning looks he explained that Nikita had used a basin of holy water
for first aid, which of course caused Darcy to snort with laughter.
Once they had calmed down Darcy asked Nikita, "So, like what do you do for
fun?"
Nikita shrugged, "I read mostly, at least until Bruce clears me to start
training."
"So that's it," Darcy asked incredulously, "just reading and training?"
Nikita just shrugged, a little concerned at the intent look in Darcy's eyes
when the other girl announced, "I am going to find you a hobby!"
Chapter End Notes
     Spicy Caramel Bacon Popcorn
     5-6 slices of bacon
     Nonstick cooking spray
     3 tablespoons vegetable oil
     1/2 cup popcorn kernels
     1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
     3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
     3 cups white granulated sugar
     3 tablespoons unsalted butter
     2 teaspoons fine sea salt
     1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment
     and lay bacon side-by-side. Transfer baking sheet to hot oven and
     cook bacon for 15 minutes, and until crispy and brown. Remove and
     place on paper towels to drain. When cool, cut into dice-sized
     pieces.
     2. Lightly coat two large heatproof rubber spatulas and a large
     mixing bowl with nonstick cooking spray. In a large saucepan or pot
     with a lid, heat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add the
     popcorn kernels, cover, and keep the saucepan moving until all of the
     kernels have popped, about 4 minutes. Transfer the popped popcorn to
     the large prepared bowl, removing any unpopped kernels.
     3. In a small bowl, whisk together the baking soda and cayenne
     pepper. In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, butter, salt, and 1/
     2 cup water. Cook over high heat, without stirring, until the mixture
     becomes a light golden-yellow caramel, about 10 minutes. Remove from
     the heat and carefully whisk in the baking soda mixture (the mixture
     will bubble up). Quickly fold in bacon bits. Pour the caramel over
     the popcorn and toss, like a salad, until all of the popcorn is
     evenly coated with the caramel.
     4. Pour the popcorn onto a large baking pan and quickly flatten and
     separate it into small pieces while it is still warm. Cool to room
     temperature, about 15 minutes. Once it is cool, store it in a well-
     sealed airtight container.
***** Rage *****
Chapter Summary
     Steve had the distinct feeling that this was the Nikita who had
     belonged to Volkov. The realization made him sick to his stomach.
Chapter Notes
     This chapter followed me down a dark alley and mugged me in my sleep.
The last few days without Steve had been strange. Nikita was used to always
being with her Dom, with Volkov, either acting as a body guard and awaiting
orders or carrying out those orders. Normally she would only have been given a
few days to rest from her injuries before being back to serving her Dom. But
Steve was different, he wanted her to heal before training with the Avengers.
So Nikita found herself at loose ends during the day, usually reading or
watching TV with Darcy who seemed to be obsessed by Food Network at the moment.
The days when Steve had stayed home had been different. His attention and
constant small touches were disconcerting, but Nikita found that she missed
them when he was gone. He came back to the Tower each evening and they shared
dinner with the rest of the Tower residents after which they either stayed on
the Common Floor to watch movies or would retreat to their apartment to do
something from Steve's list.
Now all but the worst of her wounds were healed. Bruce had examined the stab
wound in her side and declared that it was healed enough for careful training
and light conditioning, but no sparring or combat yet. So today Nikita was
joining Steve at the Avengers Initiative. Clint was flying them in the quinjet
along with Natasha and Bucky.
Steve gave Nikita a tour of the facility, introducing her to War Machine,
Quicksilver, and the Scarlet Witch, all recent addictions to the Avengers. War
Machine was Lt. Colonel James Rhodes, the Dom served as liaison between the
Avengers and the US Military and was also Tony's best friend since college. He
hadn't been to the Tower since Nikita had arrived because he had been busy with
missions for the Air Force. The Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver were a pair of
young sub twins named Pietro and Wanda, both un-collared. Pietro was brash and
mischievous, reminding her a bit of Darcy, while Wanda seemed more quiet and
shy.
Steve left Nikita at the gym while he took Sam, Rhodes, Pietro, and Bucky to
run battle drills out on the grounds. Natasha was in a meeting with Fury and
Tony, who had flown over in the Iron Man suit. Apparently they were expecting
the new Director of Shield, Coulson, along with a few of his agents for a big
meeting later.
While Clint was teaching Wanda some basic hand to hand in the center of the
gym, Nikita went to the locker room to get ready for a little work out. Keeping
her BDU pants and combat boots Nikita exchanged her long-sleeved Henley for a
black tank-top, embellished with a sparkly picture of Iron Man because Tony had
a sense of humor and had ordered a dozen delivered after seeing the tee-shirts
Darcy had picked out for her. She left her body armor, staff, and several of
her knives (though she was still far from unarmed) in her gym bag which she
brought out with her. The gym was a huge open room dotted with steel pillars
holding up the roof filled with weights and exercise equipment, sparring mats,
heavy bags, speed bags, and a boxing ring. First Nikita stretched out all of
her muscles, loosening them up, before jogging a few warm up laps along the
track around the gym.
After taping up her hands Nikita sidled up to one of the heavy bags at the far
end of the room. She started slow and easy, testing her body, discovering her
new range of motion. She grimaced at the first spike of pain from the wound in
her side and backed off a little, but not much. Careful of her side, she tried
a few combinations and kicks, short jabs, cross, bobs and weaves -slowly,
pushing through the pain, gritting her teeth. Nikita lost herself in the rhythm
of her fists and feet against the bag, the pain helping to center her body
while her thoughts swirled.
This was the first time since coming to the Tower that she felt on familiar
ground. This is what she did, what she was good at, what she was for. But she
was still unsettled. She could't help but feel that she isn't really needed for
this. After all, Steve is surrounded by geniuses, people with enhanced
abilities and tech. So what is her role? What does her Dom want from her? She
doesn't fully understand what is expected of her and she understands even less
of what she can expect from him in return.
In her periphery Nikita noticed Natasha enter with a small group of people.
Realizing that her thoughts were just chasing each other around her brain,
Nikita decided to start her cool-down. She slowed her movements, gradually
bringing down her heart rate and respiration.
Natasha was escorting SHIELD Director Coulson and a couple of his agents on a
tour of the Avengers Initiative facility while they waited for Steve and Rhodes
to return from their training exercise. Clint and Wanda paused in their
training to join them. Coulson had brought along his protege Agent Skye, Agent
Melinda May and Agent Tyler. They were planning a strategy session to get the
new SHIELD, the Avengers Initiative, Stark Industries, and the US Military on
the same page to more effectively deal with HYDRA and other threats. Coulson
also wanted Agent Skye to cross-train with the Avengers and to serve as liaison
between them and SHIELD. The young sub had recently developed powers after
exposure to an alien artifact.
While they were all talking, Tyler found his gaze wandering over to a gorgeous
blonde working on the heavy bag at the side of the room. The sub's brow was
furrowed in concentration, a sheen of sweat covering her body, rivulets running
between her breasts and down the center of her spine in the space between her
tank top and the low waist band of her pants. He watched as she stopped working
on the bag, peeling the tape off of her hands before lifting a water bottle to
her lips. He wandered closer, watching as she drank down the liquid then used a
towel to wipe the sweat from her face and chest. Seeing no collar on her, Tyler
decided to try his luck.
Clint noticed Agent Tyler wandering over towards Nikita. He could tell from his
body language that agent was interested in her as a sub. Fully aware that no
good could possibly come from this situation Clint began to move towards them,
hoping to head the Dom off.
Nikita noticed the Dom heading towards her. He met her eyes before deliberately
raking his gaze over her body. He straightened his spine, squaring his
shoulders, drawing himself up into a fully Dominant posture as he approached
her. She shoved her water bottle and towel into her bag, intending to leave
before the Dom reached her.
As she turned away from him, Tyler reached out to stop her, grabbing her right
shoulder with his right hand. Nikita immediately grabbed his right wrist with
her left hand as she brought the heel of her right hand up to shatter his
elbow. Letting go of his wrist she spun around, driving her left elbow to his
face, breaking his nose. Nikita simultaneously pulled one of her hidden knives
with her right hand pressing the blade to his throat as she shoved him up
against one of the steel pillars.
Clint reached them just as Nikita shoved Tyler into the steel pillar, the blade
at his throat causing a thin red line to travel down his neck. Clint held a
hand out, gesturing for everyone else to stay back. He carefully stepped
closer, placing himself in Nikita's line of sight. Her eyes were glassy and her
breathing was fast and shallow, he wondered if she even knew where she was. If
she didn't things could get very bloody, very fast.
"Easy there kiddo," Clint soothed in a low voice. "Can you tell me where you
are?"
Nikita's breathing started coming faster and a fine tremor developed in her
hands, causing her to press the blade more firmly against Tyler's throat.
Clint watched with concern as the blade bit a little more deeply into the
agent's throat. Of course this would have to happen to Nikita in a new place
without her bonded Dom close at hand, and just his luck to be the one to have
to deal with it. "Can you tell me who I am?" he tried again.
Nikita took a deep shuddering breath. "Clint," she responded after a long
moment.
"That's right kid," Clint affirmed. "We're in the gym at the Initiative."
"Avengers," she responded, her eyes beginning to clear.
"Yes, remember we're the good guys now," Clint continued. "And the good guys
don't kill if they don't have to."
Nikita met Clint's eyes, seeing the concern there. She was surprised to realize
that concern was actually for her. She swallowed down the bile that wanted to
rise in her throat as she fully took in the reality of her situation. She
removed the knife from the Dom's throat, shoving him to the ground as she
stalked out of the room. Clint grabbed her gym bag and followed.
Clint managed to steer Nikita into Steve's empty office room. He raided the
mini fridge finding a bottle of gatorade and a chocolate power bar, placing
them on the desk in front of her. He stayed with her, positioned in front of
the door, as her breathing evened out and she stopped shaking.
******************************************************************************************
The Avengers were in high spirits as they headed back to the Initiative
building. Tony had flown out to join their battle drills, deciding that it
would be fun for Iron Man and War Machine to team up as the op 4 (Opposition
Force, see Tony can totally rock the lingo when he wants to) against the
others. After that Steve decided that they should practice fighting with
unfamiliar teammates so the next few rounds consisted of Iron Man, Falcon, and
the Winter Soldier against Captain America, Quicksilver and War Machine. It had
been good training and a lot of fun, Steve was also glad that Tony seemed to be
easing back into the field after his self-imposed hiatus.
As they neared the building Steve was hit hard with a wave of rage through the
bond and he knew that something had set off his sub. As he hurried towards the
gym where he had left her, he was stopped by a shout from Fury. "Rogers!"
shouted the former Director. "Did I not make it clear that you would be
responsible for the actions of your sub?" he demanded.
"Yes," Steve acknowledged, "What happened?"
"What happened is that your girl attacked a SHIELD agent," Fury growled, "she
would have killed him if it weren't for Barton! He's got her in your office."
That didn't sound like the whole story to Tony so he suggested that Steve go
check on Nikita before joining them in the conference room for the meeting.
That feeling of rage through the bond kept roiling in the back of Steve's mind
as he headed to his office.
As Nikita's body settled down, her anger grew. Her rage was a molten thing
seeping into every crevice of her being by the time Steve arrived.
Clint was relieved when Steve entered the office. While he had offered what
support he could, he knew that the sub needed her Dom to reassure her before
she could truly be calm. Hell, she was most likely in desperate need of a drop
but this was neither the time or the place. Clint quietly slipped out of the
room.
Nikita felt Steve's disappointment through their bond. He launched into an
incredibly earnest lecture about how she couldn't go about attacking and
killing people anymore, especially not their allies. The knowledge that her Dom
felt that she had failed him made that molten rage within her turn to ice.
Steve's speech faltered as he felt the change wash over him through the bond.
It was then he noticed her posture and expression had changed as well. While
not what anyone would call expressive, over the last two weeks she had loosened
up. Steve hadn't realized just how much until it was all gone. Suddenly she was
stiff and there was absolutely nothing to be read on her face. Despite the icy
rage (and never before had he thought of rage as cold), her face was blank and
her eyes were almost vacant. Steve had the distinct feeling that this was the
Nikita who had belonged to Volkov. The realization made him sick to his
stomach.
Somehow he had missed something important. Taking a shaky breath to calm his
sudden nerves Steve tried to fix it. "Why did you attack the SHIELD agent?" He
asked.
Nikita didn't answer, she just stood there not moving. Steve really didn't want
to use his Dom voice. Somehow he knew that if he did, if he forced her in any
way, he would lose all hope of ever gaining her trust. Instead he quietly
asked, "Why are you angry?"
When she still didn't answer he tried one last time, "What can I do for you?"
That got a reaction. That vacant gaze instantly sharpened, the icy blue cutting
into him. Though he could feel her rage through the bond Steve was completely
unprepared for the venom dripping in her voice when she answered.
"What exactly is the point of you?" Nikita snarled viciously, "What is the
point of any of this? The only reason to belong to a Dom, to let a Dom touch
me, is to keep all the other Doms off of me. I am no safer with you than I
would be with SHIELD or out there on my own."
At that she turned to leave. Steve instinctively reached out, desperate to stop
her. Nikita whirled around, slashing a deep gash in his arm with her knife.
"Do. Not. Touch. Me!" She threw open the door and stalked out the office.
Steve stood in the doorway and watched her leave, his heart sinking with every
step that took her away from him. Clint had never left the hallway and had
clearly heard every word. He looked pointedly at the bleeding gash on Steve's
arm which, even with the healing properties of the serum, would take a while to
heal.
"Respectfully Cap," he said, "You're an idiot." With that he went to find
Nikita and try to mitigate the damage.
***** Fallout *****
Chapter Summary
     Nikita watched through the scope of a sniper rifle as her target
     exploded.
      
     Tony's plans had a tendency to either go very right or very very
     wrong, like disastrously wrong.
Chapter Notes
     Just a little chapter to tide us over while I work on the next bit.
Natasha was waiting in the hallway as Steve headed to the conference room. She
eyed him critically. "Looks like you stepped on a land-mine," she commented
with a pointed glance at his still bleeding arm.
Steve and Natasha were the last to enter the conference room. Fury, Coulson,
Skye, May, Tony, and Rhodes were already gathered. Before Steve could take his
seat, Coulson approached him, "Captain Rogers, before we get started I just
wanted to apologize for Agent Tyler's behavior and to assure you that he will
no longer be employed as an agent of SHIELD. He touched a clearly unwilling
sub. I will not tolerate that type of behavior in my organization and I won't
have it around my team."
Anger flared within Steve, hot and bright. "He did what?" Steve asked in a
deadly voice.
Tony was far more ready to believe Agent's (Director Agent's?) version of
events than Fury's. He decided that they all needed to know exactly what
happened so he asked JARVIS to pull up the security feed of the incident. It
came as a surprise to no one who knew the billionaire that he had installed
access for his AI to the Initiative's systems when he built the complex. JARVIS
pulled up the feed, projecting it onto a screen at the front of the room.
Steve watched in growing anger as the arrogant Dom approached Nikita. He could
clearly see her try to leave, turning her back to the Dom. The swift violence
of her reaction to the unwanted touch stirred something dark within him,
pleased that she submitted to his touch alone. Or had. Steve knew he had a lot
of ground to make up with her. Then his stomach dropped as he saw and heard
Clint talk her back from wherever her mind had gone. Based on the information
he gleaned from the files Natasha had provided him, this was a reaction to the
childhood trauma he just barely understood. And instead of reassuring her,
making her feel safe, Steve had blamed Nikita for the incident.
Steve turned hard eyes on Fury, "You told me she attacked the agent."
"She did," Fury insisted. "She overreacted."
"Are you kidding me!" demanded Skye. "Tyler tried to Dominate her. He all but
used Voice even after she tried to get away, which I'm sure would have been his
next move. You have no idea what that's like! She was defending herself!" The
sub was clearly distressed and, Steve suspected she was speaking from past
experience.
"It's okay Skye," placing a hand on her shoulder Coulson spoke in a soft yet
confident voice. "I will never let that happen to you again."
"I know AC," she responded looking up at the older Dom with a watery smile.
Tony was appalled at the video, and not because of Nikita's actions. Tony
deduced from the looks passing between Steve and Natasha that the good Captain
had royally fucked up. Quickly formulating a plan, he shot off a few quick
texts putting it in motion. Though he never spoke of it, Tony had sort of
adopted the other Avengers and he already considered Nikita part of that
family. He was also rapidly developing a soft spot for young Skye. The sub was
brilliant, irreverent, and willing to go toe to toe with Fury. She reminded
Tony of himself. He made sure to offer their new SHIELD liaison an invitation
to the Tower to meet the rest of the team, which she gladly accepted.
"Touching as all this is," Fury interrupted, "can we please get some actual
work done?"
Everyone allowed the deflection as they all had their own reasons for wanting
to get this meeting over with.
When the meeting was over, Coulson stopped Steve, "Captain, a word if you don't
mind?"
Steve stayed back, waiting until he and Coulson were the only ones left in the
room before speaking. "What can I do for you Director?"
"Please, call me Phil," he said with a smile. "I wanted to ask you if Nikita
was okay. If you have no objections, I'd like the chance to apologize to her
directly."
Steve sighed, "She's really not okay, but that's my fault. I have no objection
to your apologizing, but you'll have to talk to Clint for that, she's not
talking to me right now."
"That's unfortunate," Coulson commented. "You know, I've made a career out of
handling volatile subs like Barton and Stark. Now I have three young subs on my
team, two genius scientists and a genius hacker with earthquake powers strong
enough to level a mountain. They've taught me how important it is for subs to
bond with other subs. The bonds between the three of them have kept the team
together when everything else was falling apart around us. I just try to give
them a safe place to do their thing. Over the years I've learned that the most
important thing for a sub is that they know that you are always on their side,
no matter what. Even when they've done something wrong, you have to have their
back and help them through it. And when you make a mistake you have to own up
to it and try to make it right."
Steve digested that for a moment, then he had to ask. "How did you handle
Stark?"
"I threatened to taze him and watch Super Nanny while he drooled on the
carpet," Coulson answered with a small smile as they left the room.
******************************************************************************************
Nikita watched through the scope of a sniper rifle as her target exploded. Next
to her Clint used the control app on his StarkPhone to instruct a drone to set
up another row of explosive targets 2,000 yards out. She had slowly worked her
way up to longer and longer distances over the last few hours they had been out
here. The focus and control required to make the precision shots, as well as
the satisfaction of making things explode, helped her calm down and clear her
mind. After making each of the current row of targets explode, Nikita put down
the rifle. Clint took the weapon. leading the way back to the armory to secure
it.
Clint read the text from Tony. On one hand he was relieved that someone else
was taking charge of this situation, emotional crises were so not Clint's bag.
On the other hand he was a little apprehensive, Tony's plans had a tendency to
either go very right or very very wrong, like disastrously wrong.
***** Slumber Party *****
Chapter Summary
     "Certain Doms have been pissing some of us off, so I've made the
     executive decision that we could all use some time in a 'Dom-free
     zone'. They can all just deal without us for a while."
     "And they're all just going to be fine with that?" Bruce asked with a
     sidelong glance at Nikita, clearly referring to Steve.
     Tony's smile took on a shark-like quality as he answered, "My house,
     My rules."
Chapter Notes
     This chapter contains a flashback of sexual assault and graphic
     violence. If you don't want to read that, skip the part in italics.
Using the Iron Man suit, Tony headed back to the Tower to prepare for the
arrival of the others. Throughout the meeting he had been steadily texting back
and forth with Darcy, the two of them having decided to call an emergency
meeting of the Sassy Sub Club (so he was the only one who called them that,
Tony was determined that it would catch on eventually).
The ride back to the Tower was full of awkward. Natasha sat up front with Clint
piloting, leaving Skye to sit in the back of the quinjet with Nikita, Captain
America, and the Winter Soldier. Skye wasn't entirely sure what had gone down
between Nikita and the Captain, but it was clear that she was royally pissed
off at him.
Nikita had nothing to say as she boarded the quinjet, to anyone. She kept as
much space between herself and Steve as possible. Her anger had burned itself
out, leaving Nikita feeling empty and a little lost. For the first time since
they bonded, the blankness of her affect accurately reflected the emotions he
felt coming from her. That concerned Steve more than even her violent anger.
JARVIS' voice filled the Common Floor as they entered, "Miss Nikita, Miss Skye,
and Mr. Barton - Sir has requested that you meet him in the penthouse."
Tony greeted them as they exited the elevator to the penthouse, instructing
JARVIS to enact the 'Sassy Sub Club Protocol'. "What? It's a thing," he
declared as Clint raised an eyebrow and Skye giggled. Minutes later Darcy
herded Bruce out of the elevator, both dressed in sleepwear, and Tony
introduced them to Skye as they all settled into the siting area. "Certain Doms
have been pissing some of us off, so I've made the executive decision that we
could all use some time in a 'Dom-free zone'. They can all just deal without us
for a while."
"And they're all just going to be fine with that?" Bruce asked with a sidelong
glance at Nikita, clearly referring to Steve.
Tony's smile took on a shark-like quality as he answered, "My house, My rules."
Darcy coaxed Nikita into the bathroom where she showered while the other girl
chattered away. Nikita stood under the spray, letting the water wash away the
dried sweat and blood that she had been carrying for most of the day. Clint's
target practice had helped Nikita begin the process of calming and centering.
Darcy's chatter was a reassuring presence filling the room and helping to draw
her the rest of the way out of her head and back to herself. After her shower
Nikita dressed in the tee shirt and sleep pants Darcy had brought for her,
listening as the other girl explained that this was basically going to be a sub
slumber party, and they joined the others. While the two of them had been in
the bathroom, Tony, Skye and Clint had also changed into sweats.
Darcy had made a massive batch of Clint's favorite spicy caramel bacon popcorn,
baked tons of chocolate chip cookies and brownies and ordered every kind of
snack she could think of. Darcy had vetoed Tony's plans to get everyone drunk,
the last thing they needed was to potentially set Nikita off again. So instead
she had ordered carafes of different flavors of gourmet cocoa and a selection
of herbal teas (mostly for Bruce).
They snacked and watched guilty pleasure movies: Last Action Hero, Dark Star,
Flash Gordon, Beastmaster, Tango & Cash, Snakes on a Plane (anyone else think
that guy looks like Fury?). Darcy pulled out a case of different colors of nail
polish which she and Skye enthusiastically used to paint each others' toenails.
The two of them then cajoled the guys into allowing their toenails to be
painted as well, Tony of course didn't take much convincing once Darcy pulled
out red and gold Iron Man colors.
Eventually, relaxed with laughter and copious amounts of chocolate, the
conversation turned to Doms. Tony was the first to share. "I took my first
collar in college, at MIT. I was 15 and got invited to a frat party. Before
that I'd gone to boarding school where Doms and subs were strictly segregated.
So I went to this party and a couple of Doms started flirting with me. They
kept mixing me drinks and got me pretty hammered. I don't really remember much
after that until I woke up with one hell of a hangover in a strange Dom's dorm
room. It was Rhodey. Turns out he had spotted one of the guys spiking my drink
with something and came to my rescue. After that he looked out for me and I
tutored him. He gave me a collar to keep unwanted Doms away from me, but we
never had a thing. I wore it all through college and we've been best friends
ever since."
"So when did you and Pepper bond?" Darcy asked.
"Funny story, she actually worked for me for years before we bonded. It wasn't
until after Afghanistan, when I needed her help to connect the leads of the arc
reactor in my chest. She was almost literally holding my heart in her hands
when we bonded," Tony answered with a smile.
"I ran away," said Bruce. "I bonded with Natasha when The Other Guy attacked
her on the helicarrier. We were both pretty freaked out. We started getting
closer after we both moved into the Tower, but when things started to get more
serious I ran. But I came back. She's the only one that can make The Other Guy
calm down and feel safe enough to go to sleep."
Darcy talked about bonding with James. How she had never really been accepted
or loved until Jane became her best friend, like the big sister she never had
and how Thor was like the best big brother ever. She related how Thor had given
Bucky the Asgardian's version of a 'shovel talk' when they first bonded. "No
one had ever needed me before. I know Jane and Thor and you all care about me,
but James needs me."
"Well I let my first Dom, Miles, sweet talk me into joining the Rising Tide and
infiltrating SHIELD to get access to their files" Skye confided with a self-
depricating laugh. "The moment we were caught and things got sticky, he folded.
Then there was Ward. He used to be part of our team. I thought maybe I had
finally found a decent Dom, someone I could trust. He turned out to be HYDRA.
He tried to kill Fitz and Simmons, kidnapped me and tried to force me to
decrypt all of our files for him. For some reason Ward is obsessed with me,
says he's in love with me. He keeps trying to force me into a collar no matter
how many times I say no."
Clint and Nikita were looking at her with expressions of complete
understanding. "It's not all bad though," Skye continued. "We've formed a weird
dysfunctional sort of family out of all this. I've never had a family, grew up
in foster care, but Coulson and May are like having a Mom and Dad. A really
scary Mom and Dad, but they're both pretty awesome. They look out for us - me,
Fitz, and Simmons. They really value us as people, not just our skills, and May
is training me to fight. Speaking of which, can you show me those moves you
used on Tyler?" Skye asked Nikita.
"What moves?" asked Darcy.
Tony had JARVIS cue up the footage of Nikita kicking Tyler's ass, the AI
thoughtfully editing out her breakdown. Darcy decided that she really wanted to
learn those moves as well, so Nikita spent the next little while teaching both
girls the sequence. They practiced with her and Clint until they had the
movements down well enough to practice on their own.
As they settled back down Clint decided to share a little as well, not about
his current Dom and family. His collar had remained wrapped around his wrist
since he left the Tower yesterday. He liked Skye well enough so far, but he
didn't know her well enough to trust her with that information. Instead he
talked a bit about the orphanage, running away to join the circus, and being
trained by the Dom Trick Shot to be a master marksman. How Trick had Dominated
him, using his sub nature against him, turning Clint into a weapon. Clint
looked directly at Nikita as he related killing on the orders of a Dom who had
trained him from childhood. He shared a few smiles with Skye as he related
getting captured by Coulson, how the older Dom had convinced him to become one
of the 'good guys'. How Coulson had never tried to Dominate him, but had
instead helped him find a firm foundation to build something new, just like he
was now doing for Skye.
Their honesty made Nikita want to share something of herself with them. "My
father was a Bratva enforcer, like me. His boss betrayed him, killed him and
took me and my mother. He was my first kill. Volkov offered me a collar, to
teach me how to fight. I chose Volkov, I chose to be a killer."
"And now you choose to be one of the 'good guys'," said Darcy. The girl had
somehow snuggled herself up next to Nikita and was painting her toenails.
"You know you have a choice with Captain Rogers as well," commented Skye.
"Coulson would gladly take you to work for SHIELD if you wanted."
"You don't have to be with him to stay here either," Tony added. "I can set up
your own apartment in the Tower."
"I don't know what I want," Nikita said with a sigh. "What's worse is I don't
know what he wants."
"He doesn't need a killer or a fighter, he has those all around him," observed
Darcy. "He woke up to find everyone and everything he knew dead and gone. He
has us now, and he got Bucky back. But I still think he's lonely."
"To us he was frozen for 70 years, for him it was a day" added Clint. "The guy
stepped off of one battlefield and directly onto another. He has all these
people needing him to be Captain America or Captain Rogers. I think he wants
someone who just needs him to be a man, to be just Steve."
After that the evening wound down. One by one they each fell asleep in the pile
of pillows, cushions, and blankets that had been built up on the floor.
The naked girl started to slowly pick herself up off the cold concrete floor.
As she began to walk painfully out of the room, something caught her attention.
She stopped, her gaze riveted on the folding knife in the pocket of a pair of
pants on the floor. The girl knelt down and picked up the knife. She unfolded
it, the sharp edge gleaming in the low light of the basement. The girl placed
the knife edge to her wrist, pressing but not yet slicing, blood starting to
well up. The girl lifted the knife from her arm, and turned to look at the
drunk man passed out on the bed.
She tiptoed over to the bed, snagging a shirt off the floor as she went. She
knelt beside the bed, pressed the wadded up shirt over his mouth with her left
hand and sliced his throat with the knife in her right. His eyes flew open, he
tried to gasp, but she pressed the shirt harder, using both hands. He tried to
struggle, but was too weakened by alcohol and blood loss. It took 20 seconds
for him to die and the girl watched every second as the life left his eyes. She
used the knife to saw the head off, slicing and cutting until she was covered
in gore. She pulled on her discarded clothing, slipping the head into a
pillowcase. Then she headed up out of the basement.
Nikita woke clutching her chest as her heart pounded and struggled to catch her
breath. She looked around the room, remembering where she was. At a small
movement she glanced over to the corner to see Clint reclining in an armchair
in the corner, keeping watch, a glimmer of light reflecting off his eyes. Next
to her Darcy grabbed hold of her hand, her thumb rubbing small circles on the
back of it. The room filled with the soft sounds of her friends breathing,
relaxed in a tangle of limbs. Nikita slowly relaxed again, her last thought
before drifting back to sleep was that she wished Steve was there to hold her.
***** Intervention *****
Chapter Summary
     "I don't have nightmares when she's here," Steve admitted.
Sam arrived at the Tower a few hours after everyone else. Normally Sam would
head home to DC after spending time at the Avengers Initiative since he still
had his work at the VA. But today there was another soldier who needed his
help. Sam had viewed the video of Nikita and Agent Tyler, the unedited version.
Adding Nikita's clear trauma to the issues that Steve was just beginning to
deal with could have potentially disastrous results. Steve was definitely in
over his head and Sam was determined to help his friend.
Sam found Steve and Bucky in Steve's apartment. Steve had already gotten a bit
of an earful from his childhood friend. Steve's situation with Nikita had upset
Darcy, and Bucky did not put up with anything upsetting Darcy.
Steve looked up as Sam entered, "I'm really not in the mood to talk right now,
Sam."
"Okay, what are you in the mood for?" Sam asked.
"I don't know," Steve sighed, rubbing his face with his hands.
The three sat in silence for a while. Finally Steve turned toward Sam. "What do
you think I should do?"
"I think that if it weren't for Hawkeye, Nikita would be in the wind right
now," Sam answered. "She has some trauma that you're frankly not prepared to
deal with. From what I saw on that video she has some PTSD, and I know you do
too."
"I'm fine," Steve protested.
"Listen to him, Punk." Bucky growled.
"If you don't get some help for both of you, you're gonna lose her," Sam
insisted. "This isn't the forties, man. Bonded or not, she doesn't have to stay
with you. She can leave anytime. You have to give her a reason to stay because
right now I think all that's keeping her here are Darcy and Clint."
Steve let that sink in for a moment. He knew Sam was right, though he was
loathe to admit it. He tried to deny that he had flashbacks and trouble
sleeping, as long as he kept busy and focused on others he could keep them at
bay. It was one of the reasons why he had gone to work for SHIELD and why he
kept throwing himself into missions. But Nikita was too important to risk
losing.
"I don't have nightmares when she's here," Steve admitted.
"That's good," Sam smiled. This was the first time Steve had admitted that he
had nightmares. He thought maybe this situation with Nikita would cause Steve
to finally get help with his own issues. "I know you don't like dealing with
doctors, so what if I worked with you both? I have training and experience from
the VA, and you know you can trust me."
"Yeah, Okay." Steve agreed.
"I'll stick around so we can talk to her when she's done hanging out with the
subs, see if we can get her on board," Sam replied.
After that they settled down to watch Blues Brother's, one of Sam's favorite
movies. When the movie was over, Sam left for one of the guest rooms while
Bucky headed up to his apartment.
Before walking through the door Bucky paused and turned to Steve, "For the
record Punk, I don't have the nightmares with Darcy either."
***** Planning a Coup *****
Chapter Summary
     Pepper agreed with a bit of an eye roll. "But are you still okay with
     Steve leading the team? I know you guys are friends Tony, but I don't
     know if I'm comfortable with you putting your life in his hands if he
     won't even protect his own sub."
Soft sunlight filtered through the penthouse windows as Nikita woke. She lay
still, taking a moment to catalog her surroundings. She could hear Clint,
Darcy, and Tony moving around in the small kitchen of the penthouse, the smell
of coffee permeating the room. She could hear deep breathing from Skye still
sleeping to her left. Breathing too steady and even to be sleep was coming from
across the room by the windows, most likely Bruce meditating. She opened her
eyes and got up, joining the others in the kitchen.
"Morning Sunshine!" Tony greeted with his trademark smirk, sliding a cup of
coffee over to her.
Nikita fixed her coffee and sat down next to Clint.
"So," asked Tony, "Did we have any epiphanies overnight. Any decisions?"
Nikita looked at him over the rim of her coffee cup. "I think I'd like my own
apartment," she answered.
"Done!" Tony declared. "JARVIS, make it so!"
"Right away, Sir." Responded the AI. "Sir, your breakfast order has arrived."
With that the elevator door opened to reveal a rolling table full of fresh
crepes and croissants along with chocolate sauce, fresh fruits and cheeses. The
smell and commotion woke Skye and pulled Bruce from his morning meditation.
They joined the others in the sitting area for breakfast.
"Sir," broke in JARVIS, "Miss Potts is requesting entry to the Penthouse."
"Patch her through, JARVIS." Tony responded.
"You are now connected with Miss Potts, Sir"
"Pepper! Light of my life," Tony gushed. "No can do. This is a meeting of the
Sassy Sub Club. While you have an abundance of Sass you are not, in fact, a
sub. So…."
"Yes Tony, I know." Pepper replied, her voice threaded with fond exasperation.
"That's why I'd like to come up and talk about what happened yesterday and how
it was handled. If any of the subs on the team have concerns about their
treatment at the Avengers Initiative, I need to know."
"I'll put it to a vote," Tony replied, turning to address the others. "Any
objections?" He asked. The others all indicated that they had no objection to
talking with Pepper, except for Nikita who remained silent, which Tony took as
permission. "JARVIS, let Pepper and only Pepper come up."
"As you wish, Sir"
In a matter of moments the elevator opened and a beautiful strawberry blonde
Domme strode out, impeccably dressed in a cream colored suit. She exuded
authority and competence, yet her smile was warm and genuine as she greeted
Tony with a kiss, "Mister Stark."
"Miss Potts," he responded with a bright smile.
She perched on the arm of the sofa that he was sitting on, placing a hand on
his shoulder for balance. She greeted those that she already knew, then Tony
introduced Pepper to Skye and Nikita. "Meet Baby Agent Skye and our newest
Russian Assassin, Nikita."
"It's nice to meet you both," she greeted them. "As you know, I wanted to talk
to you all about what happened yesterday. I understand that Agent Tyler's
employment with SHIELD has been terminated. Agent Skye, had you or any other
subs ever had a problem with him before?"
"No," Skye answered. "Not that I know of. Coulson makes it pretty clear that
subs on the team are off limits."
"Okay. What about Captain Rogers," Pepper turned towards Nikita. "I'm told he
blamed you for the altercation?"
"Yes." Nikita replied simply in a flat tone and if Pepper was at all
disconcerted by the coldness in her eyes, she didn't let it show. A moment of
awkward silence followed as everyone waited for Nikita to expand on her answer,
but she stayed quiet.
The others realized that Nikita had closed up and become tense since Pepper had
entered the room. They hadn't actually realized how much she had relaxed around
them, in just the company of subs. It was a subtle thing, noticed mainly in
it's absence in the presence of a Dominant. Pepper was being as non-threatening
as a Domme could possibly be, and there was no doubt that Nikita could have
ended her life before anyone could possibly react (with the possible exception
of Clint). But there was no doubt that Nikita became closed off, tense, and
guarded as soon as the Domme arrived.
"Yeah, Steve screwed up," Tony injected into the silence. "But in his defense,
Fury basically met us at the door, announced she had attacked a SHIELD Agent,
and told Cap he was responsible."
"That doesn't excuse him from laying blame before having all the facts," Pepper
asserted. "Putting that aside for the moment, what about Fury?"
Clint spoke up, "Fury doesn't trust subs he can't control. He's had a hand on
my leash since day one, but subs like Bruce, Tony, and now Nikita make him
uneasy. And you can bet he's working on some way to control Wanda and Pietro as
well."
"So," Pepper said with a sigh, "from what I'm hearing Fury can't be trusted to
treat the subs at the Initiative fairly. Which means I'll have to get rid of
him."
"How exactly do you plan on doing that?" Skye asked.
"The Avengers Initiative is funded by Stark money," Pepper answered, "and as
CEO of Stark Industries…."
"Yes," Tony cut in, "but it's funded by me personally, not SI. Which means I
get to fire him." Tony's grin at the prospect could only be described as
wicked.
"Yes Tony, you can fire him," Pepper agreed with a bit of an eye roll. "But are
you still okay with Steve leading the team? I know you guys are friends Tony,
but I don't know if I'm comfortable with you putting your life in his hands if
he won't even protect his own sub."
"I'm not actively on the team anymore Pep," Tony insisted.
"Tony please," she responded. "We both know that you've stayed away from the
team for about as long as you're capable of. It's only a matter of time before
you go back out in the field again and I need to know that whoever is leading
the team will be looking out for you."
Tony leaned up and gave her a tender kiss before he answered her. "He may
currently be acting like an idiot, but I do trust Steve, especially out in the
field."
"Clint?" she asked.
"While I agree he's being an idiot," he answered, "there's no one I would
rather have leading the team."
"Bruce?" she asked next.
"Steve's a good man. I'm comfortable with him leading the team," Bruce replied.
"What about you Nikita?" Pepper asked, "How do you feel about Steve leading the
team?"
"I'm not an Avenger," Nikita asserted.
"You are if you want to be," Clint corrected.
"In any case you've fought with Steve leading the team, what's your
assessment?" Pepper insisted.
"His tactics are sound and he is a skilled fighter," Nikita replied in a
neutral tone.
"I guess that's settled then," Tony declared. "Steve stays in command and I get
to give Fury his walking papers."
"On that note, I'm heading back down to my lab since someone dragged me out of
it in the middle of a project," Bruce announced with a raised eyebrow in
Darcy's direction.
"I'm gonna head out too," Clint said as he joined Bruce in the elevator.
"You know," said Tony turning towards Nikita, "You could come work for SI. We
could use you in security."
Just then JARVIS broke in. "Sorry to interrupt Sir, but Director Coulson and
Agent May have arrived. They are currently waiting in the Common Area."
"I should go," Skye said apologetically "it was really nice meeting you all."
Before reaching the elevator she turned to Nikita, "You could come work for me.
Coulson's asked me to put together a team to track powered people. We want to
see if we can identify and find a way to work with the good guys, and figure
out a way to stop the bad guys. I'd like to hire you as an independent
contractor. You wouldn't have to answer to anyone else at SHIELD and you'd be
free to leave anytime. Please just think about it."
Nikita just nodded at Skye as the elevator doors closed.
Darcy, who had been uncharacteristically quiet during all of the Avengers talk,
glanced over at Tony and Pepper. She was carding her fingers through his dark
curls, her perfectly manicured nails scratching along his scalp. Tony's eyes
were hooded, his eyelids beginning to flutter. Darcy decided that was their cue
to exit as well.
"Come on Kiddo," she enthused with a meaningful glance over at Tony and Pepper.
"Let's get your stuff and I'll help you get settled in your new digs."
Following her gaze, Nikita agreed that they should take their leave. She
grabbed her gym bag from the bathroom and followed Darcy into the elevator.
***** Pepperony *****
Chapter Summary
     The thoughts constantly swirling around Tony's head never gave him
     any peace. He was constantly consumed by thoughts of inadequacy. He
     was driven by the need to be faster, stronger, to do more for the
     team, for the company, for Pepper. He was haunted by thoughts of what
     could happen to the people he cared about or was responsible for.
     Always chastising himself for not doing more.
     Sometimes Tony needed to be taken out of his head. And Pepper was the
     only one he trusted enough to do that. This was how she could take
     care of him, the most important way she could protect him. From
     himself.
Pepper carded her fingers through Tony's dark curls, her perfectly manicured
nails scratching along his scalp. Tony's eyes fluttered closed as the elevator
doors closed on the last of his guests.
"Privacy Mode please JARVIS," She instructed the AI.
"Right away Miss Potts," JARVIS responded, locking down the penthouse again and
darkening the tint on the windows until only a soft glow of sunlight permeated
the room.
Reaching out a foot Pepper snagged a pillow with her heel, pulling it closer.
"Kneel, Tony." She commanded.
Tony slid gracefully to his knees on the floor next to her feet. Guiding him to
rest his cheek against her thigh, Pepper continued to scrape her nails over his
scalp. She wanted nothing more than to wrap Tony up in her arms and protect him
from a world that seemed determined to tear him to pieces. There were limits to
what she could protect him from, but what she could do was offer him love,
support, and comfort.
Very few people knew that Tony craved praise and approval, things he never got
as a child. Obediah Stane had used that knowledge against Tony, had doled out
praise and the approval of a father figure to manipulate him. Until Tony had
realized what Stane was doing and ended him. His fear of being controlled and
manipulated was one of the reasons it had taken Tony so long to truly let
Pepper in, even after they bonded.
"Such a good boy Tony," Pepper said softly. "I'm so proud of you for taking
care of your friends." She continued to pet and praise him as Tony relaxed
deeper and deeper.
The thoughts constantly swirling around Tony's head never gave him any peace.
He was constantly consumed by thoughts of inadequacy. He was driven by the need
to be faster, stronger, to do more for the team, for the company, for Pepper.
He was haunted by thoughts of what could happen to the people he cared about or
was responsible for. Always chastising himself for not doing more.
Sometimes Tony needed to be taken out of his head. And Pepper was the only one
he trusted enough to do that. This was how she could take care of him, the most
important way she could protect him. From himself.
"What's your color Tony?" She asked firmly.
"Green," he answered with a deep sigh.
Pepper stood. Hooking a finger through the D-ring on Tony's collar she gently
but firmly tugged him to his feet. Keeping her hold on his collar, she led him
across the penthouse to the bedroom.
"Stay," she commanded once they reached the center of the room. Pepper
continued on to sit on the edge of the bed, crossing her legs and regarding
Tony with a penetrating gaze. "Strip".
Tony obeyed the simple command. With deliberate movements he removed his shirt
and sleep pants, folding them neatly an placing them on the floor at his feet.
He stood naked, waiting for her next instruction, the arc reactor casting the
room in soft blue light.
Pepper held his gaze as she removed her own clothing until she stood by the bed
in only a burgundy lace bra and panties. "I picked up something new," she said
as she pulled a slim box out of her bag and placed it on the bed. She crossed
over to the trunk at the foot of the bed, taking out a pair of leather cuffs.
Pepper fastened the cuffs to Tony's wrists, turning him until his back was to
the bed and attaching the cuffs to a hook suspended from the ceiling. This
position stretched Tony's body, pulling him up to stand on the balls of his
feet.
Pepper walked a slow circle around Tony, trailing a nail over the lines of lean
muscle. "Beautiful," she praised, admiring the sight. She crossed back over to
the trunk, out of Tony's line of sight, and pulled a few more items out,
placing them on the bed.
She returned to Tony. Standing in front of him, Pepper grabbed a handful of his
hair in a tight fist. She pulled him forward to plunder his mouth with her
tongue, forcing him to balance on his toes to maintain the contact. Her fingers
ghosted from the arc reactor down to his already hard and leaking cock. She
caged it in her fingertips, drawing her nails up his length with just enough
pressure to ride that pleasure/pain barrier. Pepper then slid on the cockering
she had been holding in her other hand. She gave his cock a few more strokes,
smiling wickedly as Tony let out a whimper.
Pepper went back to the bed, opening the slim box to reveal an anal vibrator.
She slathered the toy with lube, then approached Tony from behind. She placed a
kiss at the nape of his neck, then bit down hard before soothing the spot with
a swipe of her tongue. Pepper then ran her left hand slowly down his spine,
parting his cheeks. She lined up the head of the vibrator and began to push it
in with steady pressure. He tensed at the sudden intrusion, sucking in a
lungful of air. Pepper steadied him with her left hand on the the small of his
back.
"You can do this, Tony." She encouraged, "Breathe for me."
Tony gave a deep, shuddering exhale. "Slow, deep breaths, Tony." Pepper
instructed. He took one deep breath, then another, slowly relaxing his muscles.
Tony lost himself in it, his mind occupied by nothing more than the burning
stretch and Pepper's voice. She continued to exert steady pressure with a
constant stream of praise and encouragement, until the vibrator was fully and
firmly seated.
"Good Boy, Tony." She said, coming around to brush sweat soaked hair from his
face. "You are being so good for me, doing so well." Pepper placed a warm kiss
on his lips.
"Tony, what's your color?" She asked, watching his face intently for any signs
of distress. Tony was deep under, his eyes were glazed and unfocused, his voice
slurred as he answered, "Green."
Pepper returned to the bed, picking up the remote control for the vibrator. She
started by turning it on to the lowest setting. She watched as a shiver
travelled the length of his spine.
Pepper took her time running through all the settings on the vibrator,
observing Tony's reactions. Eventually she settled on a mid-range oscillating
setting, loving the way that it made him shudder moan. She dragged her nails
across his back, his abdomen, and his thighs, hard enough to leave red welts
behind but not enough to draw blood.
Finally, having reduced Tony to a shuddering mess glistening with a sheen of
sweat, Pepper lowered the vibrator back down to the lowest setting. She
unfastened the cuffs from the hook in the ceiling, repositioning Tony's arms
behind his back and securing them together. She instructed him to remove the
rest of her clothing, using only his teeth, lips, and tongue - careful not to
damage her favorite La Perla.
Once Tony had completed the task, she guided him down to kneel in front of her.
"Make me come, Tony." She commanded. Tony went to work with his mouth on her.
He licked into her core, curling his tongue around the pearl at the center. She
fisted her hands in his hair with a tight grip, guiding him to achieve her own
pleasure. Tony had a very talented tongue and it didn't take long for the wave
of pleasure to build and crest, washing through all of her nerve endings.
Pepper pushed Tony's face away from her while she caught her breath. She ran
her nails across his scalp almost gently, praising him for a job well done. A
few minutes later, she directed Tony over to the bed. She unfastened the cuffs
from each other, bringing Tony's arms back down to his sides. Then she directed
him to climb up on the bed and lay spread-eagled on his back. She fastened the
cuffs around his wrists to each end of the headboard, then attached leather
cuffs around his ankles, securing them to straps connected to the footboard.
The straps were just long enough to keep from putting too much tension on his
joints, but not long enough for any real range of motion.
The new position shifted the vibrator to press firmly against his prostate,
making Tony gasp. Pepper cradled his face in her hands, "You are not allowed to
come until I say so, Understand?"
Tony nodded as her command penetrated the haze of subspace. Pepper straddled
him, sinking down on his cock. She started by rotating her hips in a slow
grind, causing the vibrator to press more forcefully against his prostate. As
she sped up her movements, beginning to rise up before sinking back down on
him, Pepper increased the setting on the vibrator. Soon she was riding him in
earnest, chasing her own climax. She rose up, pulling off the cock ring then
sinking back down until his cock was buried inside her. She worked herself on
Tony's cock, setting a furious rhythm, rising up until he almost slipped out
before slamming back down, jabbing the vibrator into his prostate. Pepper
clenched her inner walls tightly around him as her orgasm crashed over her, her
nails digging half-moons into his chest.
"Come for me Tony," she cried, dialing the vibrator to the highest setting.
Tony's climax ripped through him, tearing a cry from his throat and whiting out
his vision.
When they were both spent, Pepper turned off the vibrator and gently lifted
herself off of him and releasing his wrists and ankles from the restraints. She
padded into the bathroom, quickly cleaning herself off and throwing on a robe
before dampening a soft washcloth with warm water and snagging a bottle of
juice from the mini-fridge. She returned to the bed, gently removing the
vibrator from Tony, setting it aside, then she gently and thoroughly wiped him
clean with the cloth.
Pepper rubbed Tony's arms and legs, testing his shoulders and wrists to make
sure there was no damage or stiffness in his joints. She lifted his head,
cradling it in her hands and urged him to drink from the bottle she held to his
lips. When she couldn't coax Tony to drink any more, she reached into the
nightstand to retrieve a small jar of a soothing aloe cream. Pepper rubbed the
cream into the welts left by her nails on his front before rolling him over to
do the same to his back.
Tony was pliant and blissed out, conscious, but barely. Pepper curled up next
to Tony, covering them both with a light blanket. She continued to lovingly run
her hands up and down his spine and through his hair until they both drifted
off to sleep.
***** A Helping Hand *****
Chapter Summary
     "Before, when you were with Volkov, what would you have done?" Steve
     asked.
     "I would have killed him in such a way as to make an example," she
     answered with a hard look in her eyes.
     "So before, the rules were that if a Dom touched you without your
     permission, you should kill them?" Steve asked to clarify.
     "No," Nikita corrected, sounding confused. "I would have killed him
     for touching Volkov's property."
     Both Sam and Steve were slightly sickened by the implications of that
     distinction.
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
Darcy and Nikita entered the apartment that JARVIS indicated had been set up
for Nikita. It was on the same floor as Steve, but the AI assured Nikita that
no one else had access to her apartment without her authorization.
The first thing they noticed as they entered was a large box on the table. When
Nikita opened it she found a host of new blades which JARVIS informed her were
made of a new high-tech alloy with almost double the tensile strength of her
old knives and which would keep their edges permanently, there appeared to be
an updated version of every blade she had.
There was also a new version of her staff made of the same alloy. It still
expanded and retracted, but it was now capable of firing a series of darts
which could do everything from explode, to tranquilize or shock. There was also
a brand new StarkPad and StarkPhone, preloaded with the contact information of
all the Avengers and Tower residents.
The last item in the box was a new tactical vest, with reinforced panels in the
sides. It was made from the same polymer as Hawkeye's suit. While JARVIS didn't
say, Nikita knew that these could only be from Tony.
After checking out the rest of the apartment, and putting the new gear in her
bedroom, they headed over to Steve's apartment so that Nikita could gather her
things.
When they entered the apartment, Nikita was surprised to find Steve waiting in
the living room with another Dom. She recalled him from the HYDRA raid, Sam
Wilson aka Falcon. It was pretty obvious they had been witting for her.
Nikita shifted forward and to her right, placing herself between Darcy and the
Doms, in a move that was lost on no one. Darcy placed a hand on Nikita's
shoulder and stepped around her into the room, greeting both Sam and Steve with
a warm smile. "Hello boys! So Sam, are you here to help these two get their act
together?" She asked him.
Sam stood and met her in the middle of the room, enfolding her in a hug. "Hey
girl, looking good" he greeted her with a twinkle in his eye. "Yeah, I figured
I'd come see if I can help."
"Good," Darcy said as they stepped apart. She turned back to Nikita. "Sam
really helped me out a lot with Bucky," she explained. "He works with a lot of
soldiers, both Doms and subs. He can help if you let him." Darcy headed towards
the door. "I'm going to go check in on Bucky," she continued. "Good luck."
Nikita never took her attention from the Doms in the room, even as Darcy took
her leave. She was uneasy about facing Steve after what had happened the day
before. She wasn't sure how she felt about it all in the cold light of day.
Sam sat back down, and Steve motioned for Nikita to sit in the empty armchair
across from where he sat on the couch. He and Sam had talked a lot this morning
about what had happened yesterday and why both Steve and Nikita had reacted the
way they did.
"I need to apologize to you," Steve began. He took a deep breath before he
continued. "A lot of you reminds me of Bucky. My best friend was manipulated
and forced to become a killer. When I found him he tried to kill me, Natasha,
and Sam. He killed a lot of good and innocent people, and for a lot of reasons
I felt responsible both for what he'd done and what was done to him. Yesterday
I think I was reacting more to all of that than to what was actually happening.
Tyler should never have touched you and you were within your rights to stop
him. I should have listened to you first and for that I am very sorry."
Nikita looked at Steve quizzically. He was…apologizing…to her. In her entire
life, she had never heard a Dom apologize to a sub, and certainly never to her.
She thought back to what he had said yesterday, and she couldn't really even
remember anything except his disappointment. She had already been unbalanced,
and that had toppled her over the edge.
Realizing that they were waiting for a response, "Okay." She had no idea how
she was supposed to react here.
Steve was listening to the bond inside his head as hard as he could. He could
sense her confusion, but he was encouraged that he wasn't sensing any fear.
Most importantly, there were no signs of that all-consuming rage or blank
emptiness from yesterday.
"If Nikita had used her safe-word or told you yellow or red light, would that
have helped?" Sam asked Steve. Even though he was pretty sure of the answer, he
wanted Nikita to realize that she had power and responsibility in this
relationship as well.
"Yes," Steve answered. "I didn't realize that she was at a breaking point until
it was too late." Turning back to Nikita he asked, "Can you tell me about what
happened yesterday? On the feed I heard Clint ask if you knew where you were
and I don't think you did."
Nikita wasn't ready to talk about that moment when she had been lost in her
head and Clint had pulled her back out, so she sidestepped the question. "I
don't know what the rules are, what I was supposed to do."
Steve was well aware that Nikita had avoided answering the question he was
asking, but he was so relieved that she was even sitting here talking to him
that he didn't want to push. "Before, when you were with Volkov, what would you
have done?" Steve asked.
"I would have killed him in such a way as to make an example," she answered
with a hard look in her eyes.
"So before, the rules were that if a Dom touched you without your permission,
you should kill them?" Steve asked to clarify.
"No," Nikita corrected, sounding confused. "I would have killed him for
touching Volkov's property."
Both Sam and Steve were slightly sickened by the implications of that
distinction.
Steve stepped into the silence, "I guess the most important question is if you
are willing to give me another chance?" Steve asked, hopefully.
Nikita thought back to the night before when she had woken from a nightmare and
how she had wished Steve was there. He was giving her a choice, something else
she had no experience with from a Dom. She decided to test him a little. "I
think so," she replied, "but I asked Tony for my own apartment."
Steve was disappointed, but he clamped down on it, not wanting to transmit it
through the bond to Nikita. This disappointment was with himself and the
situation, not her.
Sam spoke up, "I think that's probably a good idea. I think Nikita, that you
need a safe place of your own where you can be alone. I get the feeling that
you are not used to interacting with other people, and figuring it all out can
cause a lot of stress."
"That… sounds good," Steve agreed.
"I'd like to meet with you both a couple of times a week," Sam said. "So I can
help you guys work things out."
Nikita gave him a blatantly skeptical look. "Let me guess," Sam responded, "You
have been numb for years. Blank, no emotion, burying your feelings so deep you
couldn't find them if you tried. But now, you're beginning to feel again,
remembering things you haven't thought about or felt in years."
Nikita stared at him, surprised. Now that he said it she realized that was
exactly what was happening. "How do I make it stop?" She asked.
"You don't," he said almost sadly. "You have to move through it. No matter how
much willpower you have to keep going, there is a line out there that if pushed
across, you will not recover. You know yourself well enough to realize that if
you cross that line, it will be the beginning of the end. At this moment you're
walking that line like a tightrope. Steve and I want to keep you from crossing
that line. I don't know all that happened to you, but I've helped a lot of
soldiers who've been to hell and back. I can help you get your life under
control and on the right track. But only if you let me."
Nikita took a moment to process this. What Sam and Steve were offering was a
different kind of battle, and they wanted to be her allies. Also Steve
obviously had his own demons to fight, and it seemed like he could use some
help. He didn't need or want her to kill for him, but this she could do. She
could be useful.
"I will try," she answered.
"I know you probably want to get your stuff set up in your apartment," Steve
began. "But I was wondering if we could spend some time together this
afternoon? Maybe watch a movie?"
"Okay," she agreed. Nikita got up and headed to the bedroom, gathering her
things in the duffel bag from the bottom of the closet. On her way back through
the living room she paused.
"There was a meeting last night and Tony decided to fire Fury," she said with
the small glint of humor in her eyes that Steve was grateful to see again,
before turning towards the door.
"I'd better go talk to Tony," Steve said. "It's not a bad call, but we should
do it together. Present a united front."
He had the distinct feeling as she closed the door behind her that that had
been the exact right thing to say.
Chapter End Notes
     Just a quick note regarding this and all upcoming therapy sessions. I
     am not a trained mental health professional. All of my knowledge
     comes from my own experiences with childhood trauma and PTSD, as well
     as my clergy training.
***** Introspection *****
Chapter Summary
     "I know you don't trust me. Hell, I know you don't trust anyone.
     That's not what's important right now." At this Nikita raised a
     single, expressive, eyebrow. "The important question is whether or
     not you trust yourself."
Chapter Notes
     A flashback of violent trauma in the middle of this chapter.
Nikita lay alone in the dark of her bedroom. Since this whole thing started
with Steve she had had precious little time alone. Sam was right, she needed
the solitude. Much as she didn't want to admit it, Sam was probably right about
a lot of things.
She sat in a chair across from Sam. They were alone in the living room of his
apartment. She hadn't spoken much more than one word answers for the last half
hour. She was here because she had promised Steve that she would give this a
chance, but she had no desire to open up to some Dominant. Or anyone, really.
"You know, this works better if you actually talk," Sam remarked. Nikita just
stared back at him. "I know you don't trust me. Hell, I know you don't trust
anyone. That's not what's important right now." At this Nikita raised a single,
expressive, eyebrow. "The important question is whether or not you trust
yourself."
Nikita was confused.
"I think you are missing something fundamental about the nature of trust," Sam
continued. "Part of it is trusting someone else, but the most important part is
trusting yourself. Trusting in your own ability to handle what might happen.
Out of curiosity, what would you do if I tried to Dominate you, put my hands on
you?"
Nikita narrowed her eyes at him, "I would stop you, violently."
Sam smiled at her, "We've already established that you don't trust me. And yet
you're here, alone in the room with me. You're here because you trust yourself
to handle anything I might try. Steve needs to work to earn your trust, but
it's even more important that you learn to trust yourself. I want you to think
about your fears and then form contingency plans to handle them."
Nikita started thinking about this new life and her relationship with Steve,
about what she feared. She was afraid of being hurt, physically and sexually.
But she had lived through pain and rape before. She knew that if that happened
she would do what she had done before - survive, exact revenge, escape. In a
way it would almost be a relief. Abuse and pain were familiar ground, she knew
how to react.
What she truly feared was the bond. At first it had been muted, dulled by her
numbed emotional state and pain killers. But as the drugs left her system and
her emotions began to resurface, she felt the pull of the bond more and more
strongly. It made her want things that she had never wanted before. She wanted
Steve to touch her, she wanted to submit to him, she wanted, and that terrified
her. If she were being honest, Nikita was afraid of losing herself.
Thinking about the bond and Steve led her to long buried memories of her
parents. Her parents had been bonded and very much in love. Her father Ivan had
cherished her mother and Katya had proudly worn his collar. Nikita remembered
her father as being tall, broad, strong, and Dominant. She had never felt more
safe than held in her father's arms or perched upon his shoulders, and she had
never felt safe again after he died. Suddenly Nikita found herself trapped in
memory.
Nikita's eight year old self stared transfixed at her father lying dead. Blood
trickled from the bullet hole in the center of his forehead and his blue eyes,
the same eyes she saw everyday in the mirror, stared lifelessly back at her. A
cry drew Nikita's gaze to where her mother knelt, naked, next to the fireplace
with her hands bound behind her back, the metal of the cuffs cutting cruelly
into her skin. Her father's boss (his killer) had already removed the collar
from her mother's neck. Nikita watched, frozen with fear, as the strange
Dominant held a knife blade over the flames until the metal glowed hot then
held the blade to her mother's throat. She heard her mother scream as the hot
metal burned a line across her skin. The Dominant repeated the process, burning
lines into her mother's skin over and over until Katya's neck was circled with
a collar of burns. When the Dominant pushed her mother down onto the floor and
unfastened his pants, Nikita screamed.
Nikita's eyes flew open. She was in a cold sweat and couldn't breathe. She was
still trapped in the memory, not really aware of her surroundings. Acting on
instinct, she staggered out of bed and toward the door of her apartment.
Following the pull of the bond, the only part of her mind not spiraling into
the pain of the past.
******************************************************************************************
Steve woke with a wave of panic and pain coming through the bond. He was on his
feet and heading towards his front door before he even processed what had woken
him. Throwing open the door of his apartment, Steve was shocked to see Nikita
stumble through the door of her own apartment down the hall. He rushed over to
her and picked her up, carrying her back through his door. He sat down on his
couch, cradling her in his lap and tried to figure out what was wrong. Looking
at her face Steve saw her eyes were glassy and unfocused, her breaths coming in
short, harsh gasps. Clearly Nikita was not present in the here and now, she was
locked somewhere inside her mind. Steve could feel through the bond the pain,
fear, and panic that had her trapped.
He had no idea what exactly he was supposed to do, but he knew that he needed
to get her out of her head. The only way he knew to do that was to drop her
into subspace. Steve placed his hand on the back of her neck, firmly squeezing
her nape. This was a classic Dominant hold, one designed to play to a
submissive's instincts. Steve felt Nikita's body immediately go pliant, all
resistance leaving her body, though her mind was still whirling.
"Nikita," Steve addressed her in a firm but calm tone, letting his Alpha
Dominance thread through his voice. Her breath hitched and her eyes briefly
flickered across his face, then glassed over again. "Nikita, down." He
commanded as he applied firm pressure with the hand on her neck, the other
steadying her body, guiding her to kneel on the floor in front of him. Nikita's
body instinctively complying with his orders.
The demands of her Dom, his presence both physically and through the bond gave
her mind something to head towards, an exit out of the spiral. Steve kept one
hand on the nape of her neck, still applying that firm pressure. With his other
hand he carded his fingers through her hair, guiding her head to rest against
his thigh. They remained like that as Nikita's heart rate and breathing slowed,
eventually settling into the deep, slow rhythm of subspace. Steve focused
intently on the bond between them. He extended his will, sending reassurance
and safety through the bond. He could feel Nikita's mind slowly stop whirling,
sensing when she had fully dropped into subspace.
Steve's thoughts ran back to a conversation he had with Sam earlier that day
about the nature and responsibility of being Dominant. Sam's words now rang in
his ears as he desperately prayed that he had done the right thing.
"The very society that taught you that it is good and right and natural to
share your life with another person, never bothered to teach you how you are
supposed to do that. These days we all take health classes in school. We learn
about dynamics in school as well as from our parents. But you never got that
did you? No one ever taught you how to be a good Dominant, and no one ever
taught you what to do when things went wrong. If you think about it, no one
even taught you how to define what 'wrong' was. Our society is willing to turn
you loose with someone else's life, but at no time did you ever receive any
systematic education about what to expect in a relationship or how to behave in
one."
Sam had promised to help, and JARVIS had provided him with a prioritized
reading list.
Once Steve was confident that Nikita was fully under, he let go of her nape and
pulled her up into his lap. She nuzzled into the crook of his shoulder, while
he ran a broad hand soothingly up and down her spine. Steve picked his StarkPad
up off the coffee table, reading from JARVIS' list as he held his sub safe in
his arms.
***** Nightwatch *****
Chapter Summary
     Steve needed to prove to both Nikita and himself that he could handle
     the responsibility, that he could effectively take care of her when
     she was vulnerable both physically and emotionally.
Chapter Notes
     My description of subdrop only applies to the workings of this
     universe and is different from our own reality.
Nikita was slow to come back to herself. It was several hours before she pulled
her head up from where it rested on Steve's shoulder. She looked up at him with
a clear, more focused gaze. Steve could sense that, while Nikita was once again
aware of her surroundings, she wasn't completely up out of subspace. Through
the bond he could feel that she was still riding a bubble of calm, keeping the
darkness within her mind at bay. She was still in a vulnerable, non-verbal
stage of submission. One he had read about in his homework.
With gentle fingers he brushed a few wisps of hair away from her face. Cupping
her cheeks, Steve looked directly in her eyes, "I know you can't speak right
now, so I need you to snap your fingers if you need to use your safeword.
Understand?"
Nikita nodded.
"I need to hear you do it," Steve insisted.
Nikita snapped the fingers on her right hand.
"Very good," Steve praised. "I'm going to kiss you," he stated.
He threaded his left hand lightly through her hair and gently tipped her face
up with his right hand under her jaw. Steve leaned in slowly, giving Nikita
plenty of time to snap her fingers or pull back. His lips met hers with gentle
pressure before pulling back. Steve searched her face and the bond for any
hints of fear or trepidation but that bubble of calm was holding.
"So good for me," Steve said reverently. Steve stroked her face with gentle
fingers, placing a kiss to her forehead. He grabbed a cushion from the couch
and tossed it on the floor, directing her to kneel. "Stay there, I'm going to
the kitchen and I'll be right back. If you need anything, snap your fingers."
Steve rose and went into the kitchen, careful to stay in her eye line, grabbing
a bottle of juice from the fridge and fixing up a platter of bite sized pieces
of fruit. Steve had learned a lot from his homework. He knew that one of the
risks of subspace was lowered blood sugar and dehydration, and it was important
for the Dominant partner to make sure that the sub stayed safe.
He also knew that the kiss had been a risk, but he wanted to demonstrate that
he could touch her gently. He had no intention of going any further down that
road, not tonight. In his research he had learned that subs in subspace not
only craved touch and sexual contact, they required it. Failing to provide
enough physical contact and praise would be taken as a rejection by their Dom
and could easily spiral a sub into a subdrop Subdrop was an ever deepening
spiral of shame and self loathing that came when a submissive felt that they
had failed or been rejected by their Dominant. Though subdrop was rare outside
of a bonded pair, it could actually happen anytime, especially when a sub
entered subspace. Steve needed to prove to both Nikita and himself that he
could handle the responsibility, that he could effectively take care of her
when she was vulnerable both physically and emotionally. With that in mind, he
hurried back to his sub.
Steve set the plate and glass on the coffee table and sat down on the couch in
front of Nikita. Steve ran a hand through her long golden locks and praised her
for kneeling exactly as he left her. Steve began hand-feeding the fruit to
Nikita, occasionally holding the glass of juice up for her to drink. Steve's
eyes grew hooded and his breathing heavier as Nikita instinctively licked his
fingers clean after each bite, chasing the juice with her tongue. He lost
himself in the experience, surprised when there was no more fruit on the plate
or juice in the glass. Steve checked in with Nikita, searching her face and the
bond for signs of distress, and finding only calm and contentment. "That was
amazing," Steve breathed, "So perfect."
Steve helped Nikita to her feet, took her hand, and led her to his bedroom.
While Steve was hard in his sweatpants, he was determined to ignore it. Now was
the time to take care of Nikita's needs, not his own. He could have taken her
back to her own bed but he had promised not to enter her apartment, her safe
space, without her expressed consent. Something she was incapable of giving at
the moment.
He laid her down on the bed, directing her to lie on her stomach, still fully
clothed in her sleep pants and tee shirt. Steve straddled her hips, carefully
resting the majority of his weight on his knees. He massaged every muscle,
starting with the back of her neck and working his way down to the soles of her
feet. He took his time, paying special attention to the muscles in her thighs.
He knew that Nikita didn't have experience kneeling and he had kept her in that
position longer than he had intended or probably should have. He was also
concerned that she may have pulled or strained a muscle in her panicked
stumbling through the hallway. Eventually, in the small hours of the morning,
the sleepless night caught up to Nikita and she fell into a deep dreamless
sleep.
Once he was certain Nikita was asleep, Steve went back into the living room to
retrieve his StarkPad. Steve got back in bed, propping himself up against the
headboard to continue his reading. As tired as he was, he was determined to
stay awake and keep watch in case Nikita needed anything.
***** Focus *****
Chapter Summary
     "What do you need right now?" Steve asked.
     Nikita rubbed her hands over her face, blowing out a breath. "Alone.
     I need to be alone right now." With that she got up out of the bed
     and left the apartment.
Nikita woke gradually, instinctively staying still and cataloguing her
surroundings. She was in a familiar bed, Steve's bed. She could hear his
breathing and could feel his hand on her back, his weight in the bed next to
her. Though completely out of subspace, the sense of calm was still with her,
which was probably a good thing since she didn't really know how she felt about
last night or what to do or say now. She could read and speak four different
languages (something probably only JARVIS knew as the AI was who she conversed
with) but for this moment she couldn't find any words.
Steve watched Nikita wake up, paying vigilant attention to her body language
and the bond for any signs of distress. He had no idea how she would react to
what had happened the night before. He removed his hand as Nikita rolled over
and opened her eyes, looking up at him silently. "Can you tell me what
triggered you last night?" Steve asked.
"No," Nikita answered, swallowing past a lump in her throat.
"Okay," he responded. "If you don't want to talk about it I understand. But I
do need to know if I did anything wrong last night, if I violated any of your
limits." Steve held his breath, hoping that he hadn't screwed up by forcing her
down into subspace.
"No," Nikita answered quietly. "I…it was fine…I…." She took a deep breath, "I
needed it."
"What do you need right now?" Steve asked.
Nikita rubbed her hands over her face, blowing out a breath. "Alone. I need to
be alone right now." With that she got up out of the bed and left the
apartment.
Steve wanted to go after her and make sure she would be alright. But he had
asked her what she needed, and she had actually answered. Steve knew that he
had to respect Nikita's boundaries. He did however ask JARVIS to monitor her
vitals in case she needed him.
******************************************************************************************
After a quick shower Nikita grabbed the new gear Tony had made for her and
headed over to the Tower range. The new knives were well balanced but were
weighted a little differently than her old ones, and she needed to get used to
moving with the slightly different fit of the new tactical vest.
The range was equipped with 5 knife targets, Nikita took a stance 20 feet away.
She pulled each knife in turn, throwing them at the targets before retrieving
the blades and repeating the process. By now the wound in her side had
completely closed, but there was still a tightness every time those muscles
pulled to make a throw. It took a great deal of focus to consistently hit the
mark with the new blades. Nikita did this over and over. If she was going to
use the new gear in the field she needed throwing the new knives to become a
matter of automatic muscle memory, much as moving with the old gear had been.
The focus required to hit the targets with the new blades allowed Nikita a
little room to mull over the events of the night before, but not enough to get
too wrapped up in her own mind. She was also still experiencing a deep sense of
calm that she figured was one of the after effects of being in subsace. She
also felt drained, in a good way. It was as if all of the terror, panic, and
rage was - not gone, exactly - but held at bay, the bond acting as a shield.
The ground beneath her feet felt firmer than it had in weeks.
Surprisingly, Nikita wasn't really bothered by Steve dropping her into
subspace. Like when she had woken in SHIELD medical, Nikita had been unable to
control her own mind (which did bother her). Steve taking control and pulling
her out of the destructive mental spiral she had been trapped in was probably
the only thing that had kept her from being physically damaged in both
instances. The first time in medical, Nikita had been so full of drugs and
overwhelmed with the newness of the bond, that she hadn't really spared much
thought to having been put in subspace. This time, however, she was taking time
to process (Sam would be so proud).
She remembered very little of what JARVIS had diagnosed as a panic attack, only
vague impressions of terror and pain. Then she remembered Steve's voice
penetrating that chaos, leading out of that darkness. The next thing she knew
she was floating. But Nikita hadn't felt like she was losing herself or
floating away, Steve's voice and his presence through their bond had kept her
tethered, safe.
Nikita did however, remember everything from the kiss onward. And she wasn't
entirely sure how she felt about it all. At the time, on her knees being hand-
fed by Steve, she had felt his pleasure and satisfaction through their bond
(which had been completely open to her for the first time) and it had filled
her with a bone deep sense of contentment. She had felt cared for. Now, part of
her thought she should be feeling some embarrassment or shame, but it just
wasn't there.
And then after, in bed, she had felt Steve's arousal pressed against the small
of her back as he worked loose the muscles in her neck and shoulders. Nikita
wasn't sure how far she would have let him push before trying to stop him, but
Steve had respected the limits they had agreed to in the beginning and hadn't
pressed for anything more.
The question was, what happens now?
By this time, Nikita was covered with a thin sheen of sweat, there was a slight
but pleasant ache in her muscles, and it was requiring less and less focus to
hit the mark on each of her throws. She pulled each of her knives out of their
target, wiping them down and putting them away in her various pockets and
hidden places.
She headed back to her apartment to shower and change clothes, surprised to
find how many hours she had spent in the range. It was Saturday night so Nikita
spent the rest of the evening eating dinner and participating in movie night
with Darcy, Bucky, Clint, Bruce, Natasha, Tony, Sam and Steve. Neither of them
mentioned the night before, though she didn't object when Steve sat next to her
on the couch.
***** Collar *****
Chapter Summary
     Steve picked up the box from the table, opening it to reveal a
     collar. Nikita swallowed heavily around the lump in her throat. She
     stared at the collar Steve held in his hands.
The next morning when Steve left for church he found Nikita waiting for him
outside his apartment. She was carrying the present she had bought for Thomas
during the shopping trip with Darcy and Clint. Steve counted it a good sign
that Nikita was ready to to be around him again. They didn't speak much on the
way to the church, but the silence was companionable, not strained or awkward.
When they arrived at the church Steve went in for mass while Nikita went to
find Thomas. She found him sitting on the front steps of the orphanage reading
a book. She smiled a little to herself when she noted that it was Physics of
the Impossible by Michio Kaku.
"Hello Thomas," she greeted.
The boy dropped his book. "Kita!" He squealed as he launched himself at her,
wrapping his gangly limbs around her waist in a fierce hug.
Her smile died when he pulled back and she caught sight of a black eye. Nikita
held his chin in a firm but gentle grip, tilting it up to scrutinize the boy's
face. "What happened?"
Thomas shrugged, "Just didn't get out of the way fast enough I guess, no big
deal. It happens."
"Yes, it does." Nikita agreed sadly.
"I bet it doesn't happen to you," the boy stated worshipfully. "Maybe someday
I'll find a Dom to protect me from jerks like that," he continued.
"Maybe someday you will," Nikita agreed. "But you shouldn't just wait for some
Dom to protect you from all the others. Ultimately the only person you can
really count on is yourself."
Thomas looked up at her hopefully, "Maybe you could teach me, please?"
Nikita sighed, completely undone by the puppy dog-eyes, "I can teach you."
When Steve found them after mass, Nikita was teaching Thomas a few basic moves.
He leaned against the wall content to watch for a while. Unsurprisingly, Nikita
was a patient and effective teacher. She was running the boy through moves all
designed to use an aggressors superior size and strength against them.
Nikita was aware of Steve watching, so after running Thomas through the series
of moves one last time she called a halt to their lesson.
"Nice moves," Steve said with a warm smile as he approached them.
Thomas blushed and ducked his head at the praise with a shy "Thanks."
Steve stood back and watched as Nikita gave Thomas his present, the model car
experiment kit. Steve was captivated by the indulgent smile on Nikita's face as
Thomas gushed over the gift. All shyness gone, the boy chattered on and on
excitedly about It, planning the experiments to build fuel cells using solar
energy to separate water into hydrogen and oxygen.
Steve felt something through their bond that he had never felt from her before,
for the first time Nikita was happy. It was a good look on her and one he
definitely wanted to see again.
Soon enough Sister Margaret came out to collect Thomas. As they headed home,
Steve made a mental note to talk to Sister Margaret about organizing a visit
for Thomas and some of the other children to the Tower's labs.
Once back at the Tower, Steve and Nikita joined everyone else on the Common
Floor for brunch. Nikita was surprised when Steve asked the three resident
scientists if they would be willing to host some of the orphanage children. She
was even more surprised when they agreed. Steve told them about Thomas'
enthusiasm for the fuel cell experiments which sent Tony and Jane off on a
tangent thinking up potential experiments and projects for the kids, each
sounding more absurdly dangerous than the last, while Bruce attempted to
channel their enthusiasm into more appropriate directions.
The discussion somehow led to them watching all three Back To The Future
movies. Which of course led to take out being ordered. Nikita sat next to Steve
on the couch, not close enough to be called cuddling, but close enough to be
touching. Steve laid his arm along the back of the couch, letting his fingers
trace over her shoulder. Nikita allowed the touch, instead of setting her on
edge it managed to relax and settle her.
Once the evening had wound down, Steve and Nikita made their way down to their
floor. Steve asked Nikita to come to his apartment to talk. Once she was seated
on the couch Steve went into his bedroom, returning with a rectangular wooden
box. He laid the box on the table and sat down facing Nikita.
Steve picked up the box from the table, opening it to reveal a collar. Nikita
swallowed heavily around the lump in her throat. She stared at the collar Steve
held in his hands. It was beautiful. Black leather in a slightly chevroned
pattern, lined in a buttery-soft dark blue leather that just barely showed
around the edges like an outline. A gold Claddah heart was riveted at the vee
of the chevron.
"I understand if you aren't comfortable with it yet," Steve began. "This is
entirely your choice, but I would like you to wear my collar. I want everyone
to know that you are mine to protect and care for."
Nikita concentrated on what the bond was telling her. She sensed hope and
uncertainty, but nothing aggressive or predatory. For so long a collar had
meant security in exchange for violence, but Steve wanted something different
from her than Volkov had. He said he wanted to care for and protect her. This
was about giving him the chance to prove his words, and trusting her own
instincts.
"I'll wear it," she agreed, sliding down off the couch to kneel in front of
him.
Steve placed the collar around Nikita's neck, gently lifting her golden hair
free of the clasp. He was in awe as he took in the sight of her kneeling before
him wearing his collar, the Claddah resting over the hollow of her throat.
Brushing her hair back away from her face, he leaned in to kiss her. The kiss
was a gentle, firm pressure of lips. It felt like an affirmation, like a
promise of care and safety.
Steve sat back, "What's your color?"
Nikita swallowed nervously, "Green."
Steve searched her face and the bond. She was nervous, but not afraid. Steve
ran his fingers through her hair, lightly scratching his nails along her scalp.
Once again Nikita allowed his touch to settle her, calming her nerves.
He leaned back in, this time running his tongue lightly across the seam of her
lips, pulling down gently on her chin. When Nikita opened up to him, Steve
mapped her mouth thoroughly with slow and gentle sweeps of his tongue. Unlike
the first kiss, this kiss felt like a claiming. Before things could heat up any
further, Steve pulled back from the kiss.
"You're staying the night with me," Steve said.
***** Drop *****
Chapter Summary
     Nikita sat, letting the banter of the others wash over her. She had
     no energy or attention to spare following the conversation. It was
     taking everything she had to keep her hands from shaking and her body
     from betraying her. She was using every bit of her training and
     experience to stave off the drop, gritting her teeth, determined to
     gut it out until she was alone.
Chapter Notes
     So sorry this took so long to write, life got in the way. There was
     this thing called Gishwhes, lots of getting up for work at 3am, an
     overdue chapter in one of my other stories, and my son starts High
     School in a matter of days. This was going to be one (rather epically
     long) chapter, but I decided that you all deserved an update sooner
     rather than later. The next 2 chapters are coming right along, so I
     expect to be posting them soon.
Nikita woke up in Steve's bed, her head tucked under his chin and his arm
wrapped around her. She could feel the weight of his collar settled around her
neck. She wasn't entirely sure what she had expected after Steve had declared
that she would be spending the night with him. When she had accepted his collar
she had decided to give him a chance to prove himself to her, so she had tamped
down on her immediate reaction, determined to see where Steve would take this.
It turns out that all he wanted was to discuss some terms for a preliminary
contract and sleep with her in his arms.
They had agreed (and JARVIS had recorded) that they were still not ready for
their relationship to include sex, they would discuss and agree to new contract
terms before that happened. For now, Steve agreed that Nikita's apartment was
off limits to him except in case of emergency as determined by JARVIS. Steve
insisted that Nikita spend the night with him 3 nights each week. They also
agreed that they would meet with Sam both separately and together at least once
each week. Nikita still wasn't entirely on board with the whole therapy thing,
but Steve insisted, and in light of her panic attack a few days ago she was
inclined to humor him.
It was monday morning, so after a quick breakfast they separated to get ready
then joined the other Avengers on the quinjet to the Initiative. Everyone
noticed the new collar, but no one mentioned it. Even Tony thought better of
making a quip once Nikita pinned him with a sharp gaze from her eerily
impassive face.
Bruce had medically cleared Nikita for full duty. Steve and Natasha had decided
that the spy would be the best person to assess the full extent of Nikita's
skills and capabilities. Nikita knew that this would be a long grueling
process.
Natasha already had surveillance footage and Clint's assessment of Nikita's
long range shooting, a recording from JARVIS of Nikita throwing knives on the
range, as well as Bucky and Steve's After Action Reports from their attack on
the Hydra base. Steve had also mentioned Nikita's affinity for teaching, which
could be an asset to the Initiative. Together with the files she had acquired,
Natasha was forming a picture in her mind of Nikita's skill set, but she
intended to dig a lot deeper to get the full picture. This first day, Natasha
wanted to assess Nikita's general strength, endurance, situational awareness,
and resistance to dropping under stress. She trusted Bruce when he gave Nikita
a clean bill of health, but Natasha needed to push Nikita to her limits to see
what they were.
By the end of the day, Nikita was utterly exhausted physically, mentally, and
emotionally. True to her word, Natasha had pushed her to her limits. The Widow
had pushed Nikita through a series of physical challenges, quizzing her at
random intervals, demanding details about the people and the environment around
them. The questions got harder and came faster as Nikita became more fatigued,
the Widow demanding that Nikita recall minute details from every part of the
Initiative and surrounding area. She gave the sub no indication whether or not
her answers were correct or acceptable, deliberately pushing Nikita closer and
closer to a drop.
It had been good in a way, familiar. The Domme demanded and all Nikita needed
to do was obey. Nikita had no idea whether or not she had performed to
expectations, if the Widow was pleased or not. Of course she understood that
that was part of the test. Could the sub continue to push through pain and
fatigue without the praise or encouragement of a Dominant? Would she be able to
perform under stress without succumbing to a drop? This was very much like the
way she had originally been trained. Because of that, though the Widow had
pushed, Nikita had been able to push through pain and exhaustion to meet the
Widow's demands without dropping, but it was a near thing. By the time they
were finished, Nikita was holding off a drop, clutching her control with bloody
fingernails.
As they boarded the quinjet Steve could sense Nikita's fatigue. Though she was
very good at hiding it, he knew that she was close to a drop. Natasha had
warned him, giving the Dom a heads up as a courtesy. He wanted nothing more
than to wrap her in his arms and comfort her, but he knew how important it was
to Nikita not to show any weakness.
Nikita sat, letting the banter of the others wash over her. She had no energy
or attention to spare following the conversation. It was taking everything she
had to keep her hands from shaking and her body from betraying her. She was
using every bit of her training and experience to stave off the drop, gritting
her teeth, determined to gut it out until she was alone in her apartment.
When they arrived at the Tower, she immediately headed for the elevator. Steve
joined her on the way to their floor. He could sense she was moments away from
the drop and everything in him was driven to take care of her but he knew that
he needed to let it be her decision. If he pushed her now, he could destroy any
progress he had made with her so far.
As soon as the elevator doors opened onto their floor, Nikita bolted down the
hall. It took everything she had to appear steady on her feet, her control was
slipping rapidly and she was desperate to hold on until she was alone and safe.
"Please let me help you," Steve earnestly pleaded.
Nikita stopped, slightly swaying at the sound of her Dom's voice. A large part
of her desperately wanted to give in, to do what her Dom clearly wanted. The
oncoming drop driving her to want to please him at any cost. But she couldn't
stand the idea of anyone seeing her at her lowest. This was different from
slipping into subspace, different even than the panic attack of the other
night. She hadn't had any rational thought during the panic attack or slipping
into subspace, but now she was being asked to make a conscious decision to
allow a Dom to witness her weakness. It was something she just couldn't do.
Without turning to face him she replied with a curt "No," not able to entirely
mask the shakiness of her voice.
Nikita quickly made it the rest of the way to her apartment, firmly closing the
door behind her before doubling over with her arms wrapped around her middle.
***** Care and Comfort *****
Chapter Summary
     Nikita was his bonded sub, she wore his collar and as her Dom it was
     Steve's responsibility to provide for her needs. She needed someone
     to comfort and care for her during this drop. She also needed to feel
     safe and secure in her own space, to set limits and have them
     respected. It seemed that those needs were mutually exclusive and
     Steve needed to choose which need was greater.
Nikita quickly made it the rest of the way to her apartment, firmly closing the
door behind her before doubling over with her arms wrapped around her middle.
She was so cold her teeth were chattering, and her body was trembling
uncontrollably. She only managed to stumble a few feet away from the door
before she lost control of her body entirely, sliding down the wall to huddle
in a shaking ball. Her stomach was clenched in a cold knot, her head spinning
and throbbing with anxiety.
This was not the first time she had ever dropped, far from it. In the early
days with Volkov, her trainers had pushed her to drop over and over again.
Forcing her to learn how to hold off long enough to complete her mission and
find herself a secure location. Once her training was complete, full drops
became a rare occurrence.
Nikita had learned to listen to her instincts and recognize the unsettled and
jittery feeling that usually crept up within a day of an impending drop. Over
the years she learned that sometimes the praise or approval of a Dominant could
prevent a drop. And she knew how to get it. Whenever she displayed a particular
level of efficiency, brutality, and inventiveness while executing his orders,
Volkov would give her the approval her nervous system required. She was under
no illusions that she used the blood and pain of others to serve her own needs.
This time there had been no hope of avoiding the drop and this one was harder
than usual. Since bonding with Steve her parasympathetic nervous system had
been experiencing a roller-coaster of physical and emotional stimuli. Nikita
hadn't yet been able to find any sort of equilibrium, and her body was now
reacting to that lack of balance.
******************************************************************************************
Back in his own apartment Steve removed his uniform and stepped into the
shower, all the while his mind gnawing on the problem. During the war he had
witnessed a sub drop once or twice and even with someone to care for them, it
had looked like a particularly nasty experience. If the aching anxiety and self
loathing he was sensing through the bond was any indication, it really was.
Nikita was his bonded sub, she wore his collar and as her Dom it was Steve's
responsibility to provide for her needs. She needed someone to comfort and care
for her during this drop. She also needed to feel safe and secure in her own
space, to set limits and have them respected. It seemed that those needs were
mutually exclusive and Steve needed to choose which need was greater. Of
course, there wasn't really a choice. Steve didn't have authorization to enter
Nikita's apartment and therefore couldn't get to her even if he tried….
Steve turned off the water as a sudden thought occurred to him, "JARVIS, who
has authorization to enter Nikita's apartment?"
"Only Miss Lewis is currently authorized access to Miss Ivanova's apartment,"
came the AI's reply.
Steve quickly got out of the shower. "Where is Darcy now?" He asked JARVIS as
he dried off and hurried to get dressed.
"Miss Lewis is currently in the lab with Dr. Foster," the AI answered.
"Thanks, JARVIS!" Steve called out as he bolted from the apartment and headed
towards Jane Foster's lab.
******************************************************************************************
Darcy was in the lab babysitting Jane when Steve barged in. Thor had been on
Asgard for the last couple of months and was due back in a few days. Jane was
determined to get as much work done as possible before he got home. Darcy was
equally determined to make sure that Jane actually ate and slept as well.
"Darcy!" Steve exclaimed as he entered the lab. "I need to speak with you,
privately," he continued quietly with a quick look over at Jane. He knew that
Nikita would not appreciate news of her drop being broadcast throughout the
Tower.
Jane was so engrossed in her work that she hadn't even noticed Steve come in,
but Darcy could tell that Steve was agitated so she led him over to the far
corner of the lab. "Alright, what's got your panties in a bunch?" she asked
playfully.
"Nikita's dropping," Steve confided in a low voice.
"Then what the hell are you doing here?" Darcy angrily demanded. She couldn't
imagine Bucky ever leaving her to drop alone. Dropping was a horrible
experience for any sub, but to be abandoned by your Dom and left to drop alone…
she wouldn't have thought it of Steve.
"She doesn't want me there," he answered sheepishly. "She's alone in her
apartment and you're the only one who has access."
Darcy eyed Steve with a narrowed gaze. She liked Steve, knew that he was a
genuinely good guy. But he had made more than a few missteps with Nikita,
mainly since neither one of them had any real idea what they were doing. Nikita
was her friend and Darcy had the feeling that Nikita hadn't ever had a friend
before. Darcy was determined be the best friend possible, which coincidentally
happened to be her main superpower.
"So, you want me to let you in to her apartment?" Darcy questioned him with a
level stare.
"No! I just want you to help her," Steve assured. "Please could you stay with
her, make sure she's okay?"
Darcy gave Steve a bright smile, "That I can do."
******************************************************************************************
Darcy headed for Nikita's apartment after grabbing a few supplies that she kept
in the kitchen area of the lab. Darcy took her job as babysitter of the three
resident scientists seriously and since two of the three were subs, she was
prepared for the possibility of an unexpected drop. Even though Tony and Bruce
were both bonded, their Dominants were not always available to take care of
them and Darcy liked to be prepared for any eventuality.
As she entered the dimly lit apartment, Darcy caught sight of Nikita. She was
huddled on the floor against the wall, knees tucked tight to her chest, arms
wrapped around her legs, with her head pressed down into her knees, her body
visibly wracked with tremors. Darcy knelt down next to Nikita, calling her name
softly as she brushed sweat dampened blonde hair away from her face. Nikita
raised her head, eyes slowly focusing on Darcy. "Hey Kit Kat," Darcy soothed in
a soft, warm voice.
Nikita tried to respond, but immediately grimaced in pain. Darcy reached out
and ran her hand along Nikita's jaw, realizing that she had been clenching it
so hard the joint was dislocated. Darcy massaged the muscle around the joint,
then carefully pushed it back into alignment with firm, gentle pressure,
thinking those first-aid classes she'd taken after New Mexico were coming in
handy. "Better?" Darcy asked.
Nikita nodded, jaw too sore for much in the way of speech. Darcy dug a small
pouch out of her bag, holding it up so Nikita could see it. "It's banana puree
and yogurt with electrolytes, it'll help," she explained. Nikita gingerly
opened her mouth enough to allow Darcy to feed her the contents of the pouch.
Once she was finished, Darcy placed a square of dark chocolate on her tongue.
"Don't try to chew, just let it melt," she instructed. Darcy knew that Nikita
hadn't eaten since breakfast that morning and her body needed more resources to
weather the drop, but she didn't want to chance causing an upset stomach by
giving her too much, too soon.
"Why here?" Nikita asked haltingly.
"Steve sent me," Darcy answered, "is that okay?" Nikita stared at her for a
long moment before nodding her acceptance.
"Okay, let's move this somewhere more comfortable," Darcy said sliding her
right arm around Nikita and wedging a shoulder under her armpit then slowly
levering Nikita upright. Nikita helped as much as she was able, her movements
shaky and uncoordinated as they slowly made their way to the bedroom. Once
there, Darcy lowered Nikita to the bed. Darcy then removed Nikita's body armor,
shoes, and weapons to try and make her as comfortable as possible. Well, she
removed the weapons she could readily find, Darcy fully realized that there
were probably several hidden ones she couldn't find.
Nikita was still shivering violently as Darcy raided the linen closet,
gathering every blanket and pillow she could find. Darcy piled all of the
blankets and pillows over and around Nikita. She then climbed in the bed and
wrapped herself around Nikita, holding her tight, knowing that the warmth and
physical contact would eventually ease Nikita's shaking.
"Talk," she heard Nikita say.
"What?" Darcy asked.
"Talk t' me," Nikita asked in a slow, slightly slurred voice.
With that Darcy began to chatter away, telling Nikita all about her day. She
had noticed some time ago that her incessant talking seemed to sooth Nikita.
Once she had exhausted that topic, she revisited the idea of finding Nikita a
hobby. As she talked, Darcy noticed Nikita's shivering gradually decreased.
Eventually, the tremors were almost gone. Darcy was enthusing about the
possibility of taking a knitting class at one of the local fabric stores so
that they could make matching hats and scarves for all of the Avengers for
Christmas.
"No," Nikita said, interrupting. It was the first thing she'd said in almost
two hours.
"No?" Darcy asked.
"No knitting. My Mother tried to teach me, I wasn't any good at it," Nikita
answered.
"Okay," Darcy responded. "No knitting." This was the first really personal
thing that Nikita had ever said to any of them and Darcy was pretty sure that
the worst thing she could do right now was make a big deal over it or pry for
more. "Feeling better?" She asked instead.
"A little," Nikita answered.
"Good, now let's get some pj's on you. Do you need help changing?" Darcy asked.
"No, I can do it." Nikita insisted.
"Alright," Darcy said as she got up bringing sleep pants and a tee shirt over
to Nikita. She would have liked to get Nikita into a hot bath or shower to wash
off the dried sweat and loosen up the tightness in her muscles, but Darcy
didn't want to risk giving her a chill. "You get changed and I'm going to heat
up some soup."
By the time Darcy returned with a couple of mugs filled with chicken soup
Nikita had managed to change into the pajamas. Darcy had her scoot up the bed
to lean against the headboard before handing over one of the mugs of soup. She
climbed in on the other side of the bed next to Nikita with her own mug of
soup. Darcy had JARVIS play the Princess Bride, one of her all-time favorite
feel good movies, on the flat screen in front of them. They spent the rest of
the evening watching movies with Darcy chattering away until Nikita finally
relaxed enough to fall asleep.
***** Brutasha *****
Chapter Summary
     Everyone assumed that the Other Guy made an appearance when Bruce was
     angry. It hadn't taken Natasha long to realize that the trigger for
     the Other Guy wasn't really anger, it was fear.
Chapter Notes
     I set out to write some bondage smut, I'm not really sure what I
     ended up with.
Natasha did not enjoy pushing Nikita into the drop she knew the sub was heading
for. The person she had been before Clint chose to spare her life would have
broken the girl before her with brutal efficiency, using the triggers she knew
were there. She would have broken the sub, then bent her to her will. The
person she used to be would have used the sub as a disposable weapon, causing
her to have far more blood on her hands than she has. The Red Room had taught
her how to use and manipulate subs. The old Black Widow wouldn't have cared at
all about harming a sub.
Meeting Clint had changed her. She was still looking at Nikita with the eye
toward obtaining a potential asset, but now the Black Widow was looking to
integrate the sub as a permanent team member. She still needed to know the
girl's limits, strengths and weaknesses, but she didn't want to break her.
Natasha had learned that a sub could be more than a tool to be used for her own
agenda. Clint was strong, capable, loyal, and smart, intuitive in a way that
she had rarely ever seen in any operative. He had held her life in his hands on
more than one occasion and had never let her down.
Clint and Coulson had given her the chance to become someone new, to use the
skills learned in the Red Room to do good. She had given her loyalty to SHIELD,
or more specifically to Clint, Coulson and Fury. Even then, there was little to
nothing that she would not have done to complete a mission.
Bonding with Bruce, becoming an Avenger, and the fall of SHIELD had all changed
her in ways both large and small. Learning that SHIELD had always been
infiltrated by HYDRA had shaken her foundations, made her re-evaluate every
action she had taken as a SHIELD agent, wondering how much blood she had
spilled for the benefit of HYDRA. Becoming an Avenger had finally given Natasha
the opportunity to be 'one of the good guys', as Clint was so fond of putting
it.
The team worked together well and managed to keep each other in check. Steve,
Bruce, and Sam were the moral compasses of the team. Clint, Tony, Bucky, and
herself tried to use their skills in ways that the others would approve of
since they all had a history of shaky moral judgements.
Bonding with Bruce had the biggest impact on her. When they first met in India,
she had been intrigued. She had expected some unstable tragically damaged sub,
what she saw was a handsome man full of charm and self-deprecating humor. It
had bothered her when he talked about trying to kill himself, and she wasn't
sure why, too wrapped up in worry about Clint and the crises at hand to spare
it much thought. When he Hulked out and the Other Guy backhanded her, she felt
the bond snap into place. She had seriously freaked out. The Hulk had been
enraged, viewing Natasha and the bond as a threat. She had barely escaped the
encounter with her life. For the first time in a long time the Black Widow was
faced with an opponent that she had no way to fight and it had shaken her to
the core. It had been a long and difficult road, but eventually they had
accepted and strengthened their bond and the relationship had benefitted them
both. Bruce made Natasha want to be a better person. He made her feel
protective of him, more so even than Clint. Which was funny because the Other
Guy made Bruce practically indestructible.
She had paid a visit to General Ross, appearing in his home in the middle of
the night having bypassed his not insignificant security, ensuring that the man
gave up on his obsession of capturing Bruce. Bruce had had a relationship with
Ross's submissive daughter Betty. It wasn't uncommon for subs to form close
friendships and even occasionally sexual relationships before finding their
bonded Dom. On rare occasions, two close subs have even been known to form a
three-way bond with the same Dom. The problem was that General Ross was ultra
conservative and had no intention of allowing his daughter to form any sort of
attachment to what he considered a weak sub.
Over time, feeling each other's emotions and needs, they developed a deep
understanding of each other. Everyone assumed that the Other Guy made an
appearance when Bruce was angry. It hadn't taken Natasha long to realize that
the trigger for the Other Guy wasn't really anger, it was fear. When Bruce got
scared, he once again became that little submissive boy cowering under the
fists of his father, and the Other Guy came out to protect him. But fear is
weak, and the Hulk is anything but weak, turning that fear into rage and
smashing anything that threatens him. In the beginning, the Hulk had viewed
Natasha as a threat and Bruce had been afraid that being around her would
trigger the Other Guy to make an appearance. Eventually, both Bruce and the
Other Guy learned to trust that Natasha wanted only to take care of him. She
became the only person who could talk the Hulk down from a rage, convince him
that Bruce was safe, and calm him enough to let go. As much as Bruce had to
learn to trust Natasha, she had to learn to trust him as well. Ultimately, no
matter what they were doing, she was the one in actual physical danger - which
was vastly different from the reality of most Dom/sub relationships.
Even after negotiating their contract, Natasha had to constantly monitor the
bond whenever they scened to catch any signs of fear and calm Bruce before the
Hulk was triggered. They usually indulged in Shibari rope bondage, especially
when either or both of them was feeling particularly emotional or under stress.
The deep pressure of the ropes over most of his body as well as the immobility
had a relaxing effect on Bruce. Pain play was not a part of their dynamic, they
both had enough violence in their lives without bringing it into their
relationship.
******************************************************************************************
Bruce positioned himself on the bed, naked, in the easy plow yoga pose. He
began by lying on his back, bending his legs while keeping them together with
his feet flat on the bed. He slowly lifted his feet and pelvis from the mat,
lowering his knees until they touched his forehead, with his palms pressed
against his lower back. This particular pose was a favorite of theirs as it was
known to calm the brain, reduce stress and fatigue, and to be therapeutic for
backache, headache, and insomnia.
The intensity of focus required helped center Natasha. As she wrapped him in
rope and praise, each knot narrowed her focus until all that remained in her
awareness was Bruce and the bond. Natasha created geometric patterns and shapes
that complimented beautifully the natural lines of Bruce's body, the soft black
rope contrasting with his smooth skin.
The arrangement of ropes and knots Natasha created emphasized the
characteristics that she found herself most drawn to in Bruce like his
sensuality, vulnerability, and strength. She positioned some of the knots to
stimulate several pressure points on his body including the base of his skull,
his nipples, the spaces between his vertebrae, the dimples just above the curve
of his ass, behind his knees, the insides of his elbows, and the spot between
his heel and ankle bone alongside his achilles tendon. She secured the ropes to
the eyebolt secured in the ceiling above the bed then stepped back to survey
her work, admiring the beautiful web-like pattern created with rope, body and
limb placements. Natasha reveled in the adrenaline rush, slipping into Top
Space bringing with it a narrowed focus and heightened awareness of her sub and
the bond.
Looking closely at Bruce and feeling him through the bond, she could see that
he was clearly 'rope drunk', the endorphins and other hormones creating a
trance-like, euphoric condition. The relaxation was physically evident in his
slack jaw and loose, pliant limbs. Not needing to hold the pose, trusting
Natasha and the ropes to hold him, Bruce slipped completely into subspace. He
felt as if he were floating, weightless, and yet securely anchored by the
ropes, safe in their embrace and the presence of his Domme.
Natasha circled Bruce, admiring her handiwork up close. She reached out to
lightly scratch her nails across random patches of exposed skin, lighting up
his nervous system in contrast to the calming deep pressure of the ropes. In
between light touches, she pressed firmly on the knots over his pressure
points. Soon Bruce was completely lost in the dueling sensations of relaxation
and stimulation. His chest was heaving with each breath, the ropes around his
torso tightening with each expansion, the exposed portions of his skin
glistening with sweat.
Natasha knew that Bruce could take this for hours if she chose to push him, but
that was not her goal for the night. She had already pushed a sub to the
breaking point today and the thought of even coming close to doing so to Bruce
right now was abhorrent. Tonight wasn't about Bruce's needs as a sub, this was
about Natasha's need as a Domme to lavish care and attention on her submissive.
She reached up and unhooked the ropes from the ceiling. Without that anchor
there was no way Bruce would be able to stay upright, so Natasha gently lowered
him until he was laying on his side, still in the pose. She undid the knots
holding him into the pose, leaving the rest of the knots and bindings, moving
his arms up and over his head before bending and securing his hands to the
knotted rope at the base of his skull. She laid him out on his back, checking
him over. Bruce was clearly in a non-verbal state. His eyes were glassy and
unfocused, the pupils blown. Natasha loved the sight of him completely given
over to her, he was gorgeous. But she needed him to be present, needed to focus
on his pleasure more than her own.
She stepped back a moment to untie her short robe, letting the ruby silk slide
down her body to pool at her feet. Natasha climbed onto the bed, straddling his
hips. She carded her fingers through his dark curls, scratching her nails
firmly across his scalp as she spoke in a calm and firm voice.
"Bruce, I need you to come back to me now."
She watched as his eyes slowly lost the glassy sheen and focused on her.
"Natasha...," he responded, speech still slightly slurred.
She smiled warmly down at him. "Good Boy," she praised. "I need you to stay
with me now. Can you do that for me?"
Bruce swallowed, his gaze sharpening a little further before he answered.
"Yes."
"You are so good for me," Natasha purred as she leaned down to capture his
mouth in a slow, languid kiss. Her tongue slipping past his lips to stroke
every part of his mouth. She pulled back, biting gently at his lower lip before
sitting back up.
She slid down his body until she felt his hard length underneath her folds. She
raised up on her knees, guiding him inside of her until she was fully seated.
She began a slow rolling rhythm of her hips, building both of them up toward
the precipice. With each downward grind of her hips, the knots along his spine
and lower back pressed into him. Natasha's hand travelled down her taut
stomach, parting her folds. Bruce watched with a hungry gaze as Natasha
increased her pace and began to stroke herself. Soon her climax washed over her
in a gentle yet powerful wave, tightening her muscles and clenching down on
Bruce. Natasha reached behind her, grinding the knot behind his sack firmly
into his perineum. The external pressure on his prostate pushed Bruce over the
edge, his vision whiting out as he came.
Natasha lifted herself off of him and reached to untie his hands, stretching
them out along his sides, as she kissed him softly. She padded into the
bathroom wetting a cloth with warm water and cleaning herself up before heading
back to the bed and wiping down Bruce as well. She left him bound because they
had discovered that it unsettled him if he was left alone for any time after
the ropes were removed.
She began untying the ropes, rotating his joints and massaging each strained
muscle, admiring the marks left behind. The lines of the ropes would leave
faint bruising, a reminder of their session for days to come. Unlike most subs
in a committed relationship, Bruce didn't wear a collar. Like Clint, Natasha
had too many enemies to be comfortable advertising their relationship. Besides,
her needs were more about care and protection and less about possession. So
instead of wearing her collar, Bruce wore her marks. The beautiful patterns she
left on his skin were better to him than any collar. Whenever he needed the
reassurance, to feel the sense of belonging to someone, Bruce could press his
fingers into the bruises, reminding himself of the feeling of being wrapped up
in Natasha's love and care.
Natasha sat propped against the headboard pulling Bruce up in front of her, his
back to her chest. She settled him between her thighs, wrapping her legs
tightly around his waist. She had found that he needed the pressure after a
rope session. They spent the next hour with Natasha hand feeding Bruce a bottle
of iced green tea sweetened with a liberal amount of honey and a banana from
the nightstand in between kissing, stroking, and squeezing him. They were both
quiet, the calming effect of the rope session lasting long after the actual
session. When Bruce had finished eating and drinking, Natasha repositioned them
back down to lie on the bed. She wrapped her body around his, holding him
tight, the sensation better even than the ropes. Bruce drifted off to sleep
while Natasha indulged in her need to keep watch.
***** Contentment *****
Chapter Summary
     The drop had taken it’s toll on her and Nikita didn’t have the
     emotional or physical reserves to fight her instinctual submissive
     reaction to Steve’s hold. Instead she chose to let go and consciously
     give herself over to her Dom.
Chapter Notes
     Hello loyal readers! I need your help. I've been wracking my brain to
     come up with the best Avenger code name for Nikita. If you have any
     suggestions, let me know.
See the end of the chapter for more notes
The next morning Nikita woke to find Darcy still wrapped around her like an
octopus. She felt stiff, sore, and a little groggy, but definitely better than
the aftermath of any of her previous drops. She had never had anyone to help
her through a drop and Darcy’s care had certainly made a difference. If not for
the care of the other sub, Nikita would probably still be in the grips of it.
Careful not to wake Darcy, she padded into the bathroom to brush her teeth and
splash some water on her face. Nikita really wanted a shower but was still too
unsteady on her feet to consider it seriously.
“Miss Ivanova?”
“Yes, JARVIS?”
“I informed Captain Rogers that you had awakened and he has requested that you
join him in his apartment at your earliest convenience,” the AI replied.
Nikita thought about that for a moment. On the one hand she was still feeling
shaky and vulnerable enough that her initial instinct was to hide away and lick
her wounds. On the other hand, the part of her that was bonded to Steve craved
the comfort and safety her Dom had promised her. Like everything else, it came
down to trust. She had decided to give Steve a chance when she accepted his
collar. Besides, he had scored a few points last night. He had respected
Nikita’s wishes and kept his distance, but he had also sent Darcy to take care
of her. While she didn’t feel up to seeing anyone else, she thought she could
handle a few hours with Steve.
“Tell Steve I’ll be there shortly,” she answered.
Darcy was just waking up, having clearly heard her conversation with JARVIS, as
Nikita made her way back to the bedroom.
“You okay?” she asked.
Nikita drew an only slightly shaky breath as she answered, “Yeah, I’m still a
little off but I’ll be alright. Thank you for staying with me, no one’s ever
done that before.”
“Anytime Kit Kat,” Darcy said with a smile, “Friends don’t let friends drop
alone. Besides, you should really thank Steve for sending me. Speaking of
which, I’m sure he’s just about climbing the walls to get his hands on you and
make sure you’re okay.”
“He wants to see me,” Nikita affirmed.
“Then you shouldn’t keep him waiting,” Darcy advised with a smile.
With that Darcy gathered up her things and headed out. She paused just before
heading out the door. “Next time, have JARVIS call me or let Steve help you,”
she admonished. “Don’t try to get through it by yourself when you don’t have
to.”
After Darcy left, Nikita walked across the floor to Steve’s apartment. She
didn’t bother to change since she hadn’t showered and didn’t really have the
energy anyway.
Steve opened the door before Nikita could even knock.
As soon as he saw her, Steve reached out to wrap his right hand around the nape
of her neck, giving it a gentle but firm squeeze. It was a classically Dominant
move that he wouldn’t normally risk using on Nikita, but he had spent the
entire night worried about her, going a little crazy with his instinctive need
to care for his sub. He trusted Darcy to take care of Nikita but that did
nothing to satisfy his Dominant drive.
Nikita felt something inside her settle into the hold of her Dom. Maintaining
his grip on her neck, Steve slowly pulled her forward until her forehead came
to rest on his shoulder. He then brought his left hand up to stroke a broad
flat palm up and down her spine, gently pressing her closer, whispering
heartfelt words of praise. With each exhale Nikita felt herself relax further,
the remaining tension draining away as she melted against the warm solid
strength of Steve. The drop had taken it’s toll on her and Nikita didn’t have
the emotional or physical reserves to fight her instinctual submissive reaction
to Steve’s hold. Instead she chose to let go and consciously give herself over
to her Dom.
Steve felt the tension leaving Nikita’s body with each touch. Through their
bond he could also feel the turmoil of her emotions begin to calm with his
approval and praise. He could also sense her complete and utter exhaustion.
“Are you hungry?” he asked.
Nikita’s stomach was still feeling a bit uneasy, so she quietly answered “No.”
Steve was not at all surprised at her answer. Having spent most of the night up
researching sub drop and the common aftereffects thereof, he had expected that
Nikita wouldn’t be up to eating much in the way of solid food for a little
while yet. Still, he had learned that keeping her blood sugar level from
getting too low was essential for stabilizing her parasympathetic nervous
system and regaining her emotional equilibrium. With that in mind, Steve guided
her over to sit on the couch before grabbing one of the bottled protein shakes,
specifically formulated for submissive aftercare, that he had asked JARVIS to
stock for him. Joining her on the couch, Steve pulled Nikita into his lap. Once
she was settled comfortably in his arms he opened and handed her the bottle,
turning on the television for some background noise.
“Drink it slow,” he instructed.
Nikita sipped at her drink as they watched a baseball game and Steve explained
the finer points of the game. Nikita didn’t say much, instead she let the rich
timbre of her Dom’s voice wash over her, soothing her jangled nerves. She was
no where near subspace, and Steve wasn’t trying to push her there, which was a
good thing. Going from sub-drop to subspace in too short of a time would put an
unhealthy strain on a submissive’s body and mind. Forcing it from one extreme
state to the other could cause lasting physical and emotional consequences. For
the time being, Steve was just focused on calming Nikita’s body and mind while
meeting her physical and emotional needs.
The physical part was easy, but with Nikita, the emotional part was always
tricky. Part of the research Steve had done last night was to watch the video
feed of the Widow’s evaluation of Nikita the day before. It had been hard to
watch. Knowing rationally that it had been necessary did nothing to lessen the
feeling of failure for not being there to protect his sub and that, coupled
with Nikita’s inability to trust him to see her through her drop, pushed all
the right buttons necessary to put him on the edge of a Dom-drop himself. The
only thing that had helped even a little was the display JARVIS had put on his
tablet so that he could monitor her vitals throughout the night.
Now that he had her here with him, safely wrapped up in his arms, Steve gave
her all the words of praise and encouragement he hadn’t been able to give her
the day before. He could tell through their bond that it was doing them both
good. He could feel both of them settle into a quieter, calmer state of mind.
Once Nikita had finished her drink, Steve led her to the bathroom. He lifted
her to sit on the countertop as he ran a bath in the large tub, adding lavender
and chamomile essential oils to the water. When he was satisfied with the
temperature and water level, he lifted Nikita down off the counter.
“I’m going to undress you and give you a bath,” Steve explained. “What’s your
color?”
Nikita paused to consider for a moment before answering, “Green.”
Steve said “Thank you,” with a smile and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.
First he unbuckled the collar from around her neck then, grasping the hem of
her shirt, he slowly skimmed it up her torso.
“Good girl,” Steve praised when Nikita raised her arms so that he could pull
the shirt off.
Steve then hooked his fingers into the waistband of her sleep pants and
underwear, pulling them both down in one smooth movement. “So good for me,” he
praised when Nikita placed a hand on his shoulder to steady herself as she
stepped out of them, pleased that she initiated the contact.
He continued to steady her as she stepped into the tub. Nikita sank down into
the bath. She gave a contended sigh as the heat from the water seemed to seep
into her muscle and bone, warming her core. Steve let her soak for a few
minutes while he cleaned and conditioned her collar. He then knelt behind her
outside of the tub, directing her to scoot forward. He cradled the back of her
head in one hand with the other on her shoulder guiding her to lean back until
the water came up to just above her ears. The only thing keeping her face above
the water was Steve supporting her head. He cupped his free hand, using it to
wet her hair that remained above the water. He then helped her to sit upright
again before pouring a small amount of shampoo in his hand and lathering it
into her hair. Nikita closed her eyes, letting out a pleased hum as Steve
worked the shampoo into her hair and massaged her scalp. “Good, I want to hear
when you like something I do,” he encouraged.
When he was done with the shampoo, Steve guided Nikita back again. In the same
position as before Steve rinsed her hair, careful to avoid getting any soap in
her eyes. Then he sat her up again and began to work conditioner into her long
hair, gently and meticulously working through the knots with his fingers. After
that, Steve rinsed out the conditioner. He then folded a small towel and placed
it over the edge of the tub so that it cushioned Nikita’s neck when he settled
her back to soak in the tub. “I’ll be right back,” Steve said with a small kiss
to her temple.
While Nikita relaxed in the tub, Steve went into the kitchen to fix up a
platter of cut up fruit, cubed cheese, and squares of dark chocolate along with
a tall glass of juice. When he returned to the bathroom Steve helped Nikita out
of the tub, wrapping her in a large fluffy towel. He used another towel to dry
her hair, then the rest of her. He dressed her in a clean pair of pajamas then
stepped behind her to fasten the collar around her neck.
Steve led Nikita back to the living room, directing her to lay down on the
couch with her head resting on his thigh. He then asked JARVIS to start the
movie that was next on their list. In a happy coincidence, it turned out to be
a Disney movie recommended by Darcy. Steve spent the next few hours contentedly
hand feeding Nikita and carding his fingers through her hair while they watched
as a young Chinese sub met and bonded with her Dominant, managing to save her
father, her Dom, and all of China along the way.
Chapter End Notes
     I have not abandoned this work. New chapters will be coming. Real
     life has gotten in the way of my writing. I have also been hijacked
     by another story. My Alpha and Omega story has been inspiring me
     pretty relentlessly. Also, the entire plot of a new story came to me
     and I had to get it sketched out before it drove me nuts. I promise
     to get back to this story as soon as I can give it my focus so that I
     don't compromise the quality. In the meantime, I invite you to check
     out my other works. Thank you all so much for reading and, as always,
     your comments and support help inspire me more than you know.
***** Rescue *****
Chapter Summary
     Nikita launched herself at the man, beating him viciously, smashing
     his nose, snapping his arm, and using her boot to crush every bone in
     his whip hand.  Just as she was about to slit his throat, Pepper’s
     Voice rang out “Nikita STOP!”
     Nikita froze, hand vibrating with the urge to kill, but held in place
     by the Domme’s Voice.  She turned her head to face Pepper, still
     pressing the blade against the man’s jugular, “You are not my Dom!”
     Nikita snarled.
Chapter Notes
     A big Thank You to my new Beta, Jessica!! I never intended for the
     story to go in this direction, but Thomas insisted.
The drop seemed to be a milestone for Steve and Nikita’s relationship and the
small seed of trust that had developed between them seemed to grow a little
larger.  It was still very small, Nikita still did not trust easily, but it was
growing.  The fact that Steve had respected her limits, and still found a way
to make sure that she was taken care of, went a long way.  
In the meantime, The Black Widow had cleared Nikita to begin training with the
Avengers as a full member of the team.  This was the last step before being
fully cleared for field missions.  Tony kept trying to come up with a good
code-name for her, but nothing seemed to fit.  The billionaire was also
threatening to create a custom catsuit for her just like the Widow’s, but both
Nikita and Steve refused to even consider it.
The Tower had also recently been overrun by pint sized monsters from the
orphanage on Steve’s promised field trip.  All in all about 50 children had
come to visit the tower, ranging in ages from 5 to 16, including Nikita’s
friend, little 10 year old Thomas.  They were broken up into small groups and
rotated through the gym for some basic self defense with Nat and Steve, the
range for basic archery with Clint, and the labs for experiments with Tony,
Jane and Bruce.  Unsurprisingly, Nikita stayed with Thomas and his group the
entire time.  After the organized activities, the kids were all set up on the
Common Floor for lunch and a movie, before heading back to the orphanage.  It
was a bittersweet day for both Nikita and Thomas, since it was probably the
last time they would see each other for awhile.  Thomas had found out just the
day before that he was being placed with a foster couple who wanted to adopt
him.  He was excited at the prospect of having a family, but sad that he would
no longer get to see Nikita every Sunday.  Tony had discreetly slipped them
each a modified version of the Avengers comms, set to their own channel, so
that Thomas could contact Nikita anytime.
A few days after the field trip, Nikita found herself alone in the common room.
 Jane and Darcy were on a double date with Bucky and Thor; Clint was visiting
his family; Bruce was in his lab; while Steve, Tony, Natasha, and Sam were on
their way back from a mission in South America.  Nikita had just settled in
with her current book and a cup of tea when JARVIS alerted her to an incoming
transmission from the comm that Tony had given Thomas.  “Thomas?” Nikita asked,
glancing up as Pepper exited the elevator.  At first she couldn’t hear anything
through the comm, then came the sound of sniffling and a muffled sob.  “Thomas
what’s wrong?”  Nikita urged.
“Help me Kita!  He hurt me, he wants to do bad things to me!  Come help me,
please!”  The boy whisper-yelled through his tears.  
Nikita didn’t hesitate, “I’m on my way, Thomas!”  As she spoke, they heard
angry voices, the sound of a door breaking, and a child’s scream before the
comm went dead.  
“JARVIS, trace that call!”  Nikita yelled as she entered the elevator that
Pepper had stepped back into.  
By the time Nikita entered the garage and hopped in one of Tony’s cars, JARVIS
had traced the call and sent directions to the vehicle’s GPS system.  Nikita
looked over in surprise as Pepper hopped into the passenger seat of the car.
 Pepper just gave Nikita a determined nod and pulled out her phone as Nikita
peeled out of the garage.  On the way, Pepper called Happy, head of security
for SI and instructed him to send a team to the address they were headed to.
The call hadn’t come from very far away, and with the rate of speed Nikita was
driving, they arrived just 30 minutes after the call had cut off.  Nikita ran
up to the front door of the large townhouse, with Pepper hot on her heels.  She
pulled one of her knives, holding it hilt out to the Domme, “Thomas comes
first,” Nikita said, “I won’t risk him to protect you.”
“Understood,” Pepper replied as she took the offered knife.  Nikita pulled a
ring dagger from a sheath at her leg, then kicked in the door.  The two women
moved swiftly through the house, heading towards the sounds of a struggle
coming from a bedroom down the hall.  Halfway there, a middle aged female sub
tried to block them, but Nikita efficiently knocked her out with a sharp blow
to the head, and continued on.
The sight that greeted them once they reached the master bedroom sent Nikita
into a full blown rage.  Thomas was naked, on his knees bent over the bed,
wrists cuffed and bound to the frame.  His back was completely covered in
stripes, many of them oozing blood, from the belt currently being held by the
middle aged male Dom that had just spun to face them, the bulge in his pants a
clear indication of what he intended to do to the boy.
Nikita launched herself at the man, beating him viciously, smashing his nose,
snapping his arm, and using her boot to crush every bone in his whip hand.
 Just as she was about to slit his throat, Pepper’s Voice rang out “Nikita
STOP!”
Nikita froze, hand vibrating with the urge to kill, but held in place by the
Domme’s Voice.  She turned her head to face Pepper, still pressing the blade
against the man’s jugular, “You are not my Dom!” Nikita snarled.
“I know, and I’m sorry,” Pepper replied earnestly, “but Thomas comes first,
remember?”
Nikita glanced over at the boy, and winced at the sight of his wide, terror-
stricken eyes.  Pepper had freed him from the bed and wrapped him in a blanket,
but Thomas was shaking, tears streaming down his face.
“He needs medical attention, and to be somewhere safe and secure,” Pepper
continued in a calm, firm voice that rivaled even Steve’s.  “What he does not
need is to go through this alone, while you get held for questioning by the
authorities.”  
Nikita nodded her acknowledgement, “Cover his eyes,” she instructed, before
turning back to the man pinned beneath her on the ground.  She leaned down to
growl in the man’s ear “If you ever so much as breathe in his direction ever
again, I will hunt you down, and carve you into pieces until you beg for
death.”  With that said, Nikita cracked the man’s jawbone with the hilt of the
dagger, then pried open his mouth and cut out his tongue and Dom gland,
effectively silencing his Voice forever.
Just a few moments later, when Happy arrived with an SI security detail to
secure the scene, Nikita carefully picked up the blanket wrapped boy and
carried him to the car, settling him on her lap in the back seat.  Thomas clung
to Nikita, pressing his face to her neck and sobbing as he continued to
tremble.  She held him as securely as possible, mindful of his injuries.  
“Easy Solnyshko,” Nikita spoke softly, carding a hand through the boy’s hair.
 “It’s over now, and you’re safe, I won’t let anyone hurt you again.”  
Pepper instructed Happy to deal with the authorities when they arrived, then
tasked one of his men to escort them back to the Tower.  On the way she called
Bruce to brief him on the situation.  By the time they reached their
destination Thomas had calmed considerably; he had stopped shaking, and his
sobs had subsided to just the occasional sniffle.
Once they arrived at the Tower, Nikita carried Thomas to the medical lab, where
Bruce treated the boy’s injuries. Nikita held his hands and soothed him as best
she could, promising the boy that she would keep him safe no matter what.
 Nikita knew that she would keep that promise by any means necessary, even if
it meant leaving Steve and the Avengers to go on the run with Thomas.  She
would not let the little boy be hurt again.  For his part, Bruce was very
careful to explain every step of the process to Thomas, and get the boy’s
consent before doing anything.  
“What does that word mean?”  Thomas asked in an effort to distract himself,
while Bruce cleaned and disinfected his wounds.  “The one you called me?”
“Solnyshko?”  Nikita asked.
Thomas nodded.  “Yeah, that one.  Is it Russian?”
“Yes it is,” Nikita answered.  “It means ‘small sun’.”
“Why did you call me that?” he asked. “Because you are small, and also bright
like the sun,” she replied.  “I won’t call you that again if you don’t want me
to.”
Thomas blushed a little when he answered.  “That’s okay, I like it.”
Bruce had just finished treating the boy’s wounds, as well as administering
pain medication and antibiotics, when JARVIS announced that the police had
arrived, and that a detective was asking to come in so he could get witness
statements from Thomas and Nikita.  After Thomas gave a shaky nod of assent,
JARVIS opened the door to the med lab, allowing the detective to enter.  A
tall, solidly built Dom walked into the room, coming to a halt when Nikita
stepped in front of Thomas, blocking him from the Dom’s view.
“I’m Detective Slater,” the man said in a calm even voice as he held up his
identification.  “I just need to ask a few questions.”  Slater read the tense
body language of the sub in front of him.  Having seen the extent of the
injuries to the Dom who was currently under arrest and cuffed to a hospital
bed, he knew that any perceived threat to his victim would be met with swift
violence.  “I’m not here to hurt anyone.”
“It’s okay Kita,” came a small voice from behind her.  “I c-can do it.”
“You don’t have to,” Nikita stated.
“But I should,” the boy insisted, “it’s the right thing to do and I w-want to
be brave, like you.”
Nikita turned all of her attention to Thomas in an instant, trusting JARVIS to
keep an eye on the detective.  She gently tilted his chin up so that she could
look him in the eye.  “I have never doubted your courage,” she said sincerely.
 “I’ll be right here, Solnyshko,” Nikita said as she sat on the bed next to
Thomas, holding his hand and gesturing for the Detective to proceed.
Slater spotted a small stool and rolled it over so that he could sit down in
front of them; the last thing he wanted to do was loom over a traumatized young
sub.  “Okay Thomas, first I need to make very clear that you are not in trouble
in any way.  Alright?”
The boy nodded.
“The man who hurt you,  Marcus Rafe, he and his sub were assigned to be your
foster parents?”  Slater asked.
“Yes,” Thomas replied.
“Okay, can you tell me what happened?”  
Thomas swallowed down the lump in his throat, tightening his grip on Nikita’s
hand, as he began to tell the story.  “Mr. Rafe came home from work in a real
bad mood.  He started drinking, a lot.  Then h-he started saying bad things.”
“What kind of bad things?” The Detective asked.
“Things that he wanted to do to me,” the boy continued.  “Things that Sister
Margaret said shouldn’t happen until I’m grown up and Bonded or Collared.”
“Alright, what happened next?”
“I got really scared, and then h-he grabbed me.”  Thomas looked up at Nikita,
“I remembered what you taught me, so I kicked him in the groin and bit his arm
really hard.  He let me go, and I tried to get out of the house, but the door
was locked and i c-couldn’t get it open.  So I ran into the bathroom and locked
the door.  Then I called you and you came.”  
Nikita gave the boy a quick hug, “I will always come when you need me,
Solnyshko.  I won’t let anyone hurt you again, I promise.”
“Thomas, what happened after you called Nikita?”  Slater urged.  He could tell
that the pain meds were kicking in, which had the benefit of calming the boy,
but were also making him drowsy.  The Detective wanted to finish the interview
quickly, so the little sub could get some much needed rest.
“He kicked in the door and punched me in the f-face.”  Thomas continued, his
speech slightly slurred from the medication.  “He dragged me out to his
bedroom.  I tried to fight him, but he grabbed the back of my neck and
squeezed, and I couldn’t make anything work r-right!”
“That’s not your fault, Thomas.”  Bruce interjected as the boy got increasingly
agitated.  “It’s called a sub-hold.  There are glands in your neck, and when
they are squeezed, they release chemicals that make subs pliant.  It’s supposed
to only be used to calm and comfort a sub in distress.  It’s never okay for a
Dom to use it to make you do something against your will.”
"He’s right, Thomas,”  Slater added, handing a tissue to the crying boy.  “No
Dom has the right to touch you without your consent, and it’s actually illegal
to use a sub-hold to force a non-consenting sub to comply.  What happened after
that?”
Thomas wiped the tears from his face, “He ordered his sub to t-take my clothes
off while he kept squeezing my neck.  Then they cuffed me to the bed.”
“Did he use his Voice when he ordered his sub to take off your clothes?”  asked
the Detective.
“N-no,” he answered.  “I think she wanted to do it.  After that, he started
whipping me with his belt.  Until Nikita made him stop and Miss Pepper untied
me.”
“Thank you, Thomas.”  Slater held a business card out to the boy as he stood
up.  “That’s all I need for now.  If you think of anything else, or have any
questions, don’t hesitate to call me, okay?”
“Okay,” Thomas answered, taking the card.
Slater turned toward Nikita.  “Miss Potts informed me that you are currently
employed by the Avengers Initiative?”
“Yes,” she answered.
“Well, since the Avengers are officially listed as First Responders,” Slater
continued.  “I won’t need to get a statement from you right now.  Just be sure
to send me a copy of your official After Action Report.”
Nikita narrowed her eyes a bit at the almost order from the Dom, but nodded her
agreement nonetheless.
“Detective,” Bruce stopped Slater as he turned to leave.  With a meaningful nod
at Thomas and Nikita’s clasped hands he continued.  “As his treating physician,
I’m going to insist that Thomas stay here under medical observation for the
time being.”
Slater nodded his agreement.  “Understood, Doctor.”
***** conversation *****
Chapter Summary
     Pepper explained. “I already apologised to Nikita if that helps.”
     “And did she accept your apology?” Steve asked.
     “Well I’m still breathing so I’ll take that as a yes,” Pepper quipped
     with an unamused chuckle.
Chapter Notes
     If you feel lost reading this chapter, it's probably because you
     missed when I posted the previous chapter. Check it out before
     reading this one.
Much as Steve didn’t like being away from Nikita for any length of time, he had
taken the opportunity to get some much needed advice from Sam and Natasha,
while Tony piloted the quinjet. While Steve had been a Dominant his entire
life, Project Rebirth had increased those qualities, turning him into an Alpha
Dom. During the war he had been far too busy, and Alpha Dom’s had been far too
rare, for him to achieve any real understanding of the difference before going
into the ice. Since being thawed out, there had always seemed to be more
pressing matters, but since he now had a sub of his own, Steve felt it to be
imperative that he learn as much as possible to understand his own Dominance,
as well as figure out Nikita’s particular submission.
Sam started by explaining the difference between a Dom and an Alpha Dom, “They
tend to be natural leaders, often found in positions of command. Even other
Dominants feel the urge to follow their lead and to submit to their authority.
They tend to have hyper developed protective instincts, especially towards
subs, and are usually found in the military and emergency services. The Alpha
Dom feels entitled to submission, and will do whatever they feel is necessary
to keep a sub at their feet. Typically, an Alpha will not tolerate a ‘bratty’
sub.” Steve distinctly heard a derisive snort from the cockpit at that. “They
also would not be happy with a ‘doormat’, either, as they like a submissive
with intelligence and strength. I think you two bonded because you compliment
each other well. Nikita, I don’t see ever acting in any way as a bratty sub,
and she’s proven to be capable, and strong enough to hold her own when
necessary.”
“I’ve never been able to stand seeing a sub in distress,” Steve commented,
“even before the serum. I remember getting in a fight behind the movie theater,
before Bucky shipped out. A sub was crying during the newsreel, and some Dom
was being a jerk. He was making her feel bad, yelling about the noise, and
demanding the projectionist skip ahead to the movie. She kept getting more and
more upset, and I needed to get him away from her, so I challenged him.”
“Even though you knew he’d probably kick your ass?” Tony asked.
“It was the only thing I could think of,” Steve answered with a shrug.
“Besides, it worked.”
“How badly did you get beat up?” Asked Sam with a chuckle.
“Bucky ran him off before it got too bad,” Steve grinned, “but I had him on the
ropes.”
“Of course you did.” Tony remarked sarcastically.
Natasha rolled her eyes at the three of them, before getting the conversation
back on track. “So, how did that evolve after the serum?”
“I’ve never really thought about it,” Steve replied thoughtfully. “Everything
was moving so fast, with the war, and Hydra, and then Bucky…. I didn’t really
notice, but the only sub I was attracted to then was Peggy. I can see what you
were talking about though, Sam. I feel the need to protect and care for Nikita,
but I don’t want to push her away. I feel like I can only really relax when
Nikita’s content or happy.” Steve tapped his temple to demonstrate sensing her
emotions through their bond.
“How is that going?” Asked Sam.
“I think I’m making progress,” Steve replied. “I think she’s beginning to trust
me to respect her limits, rather than use them against her. It’s still hard for
me to get a read on what type of submissive she truly is though, which makes
our interactions more of a guessing game than I’d like. She seems to have a
need to feel useful, but not in the same way as a true service submissive? I
don’t really know how to satisfy her needs, and I’m not sure that she really
knows either.”
“I think she’s a Left-Hand, or she’s been conditioned to be anyway,” Natasha
interjected.
Steve glanced at Sam to find his own puzzlement reflected in the expression on
the other Dom’s face, “What’s that?” He asked Natasha.
“It’s the way they trained submissives in the Red Room, and it fits with what
I’ve seen in Nikita,” explained Natasha. “A Left-Hand is a submissive who is
wholly devoted to advancing the interests of one Dominant. They stand behind
and to the left of that Dom, literally and figuratively ready to do anything
and everything asked of them. Their sole priority is whatever is in the
interest of that Dom. They aren’t truly service submissives, they have no
desire to wait on a Dom hand and foot. Rather, they serve their Doms in much
more important capacities. The subs trained in the Red Room were usually sold
as bodyguards, personal or professional assistants, legal counsel, any position
vital to a rich and powerful Dom.”
“So basically, a sub version of Pepper, like if our dynamic were reversed?”
asked Tony.
“Essentially yes,” agreed Natasha, “but with a lot more dead bodies.”
“That actually fits,” Sam said thoughtfully. “We know that she was trained by
some of those same people, and that describes what we know of her relationship
with Volkov.”
“Yes,” agreed Steve. “But is that her dynamic because it’s her nature, or
because she’s been conditioned that way?”
Natasha raised one elegant eyebrow and leveled Steve with a grave look. “Does
it really matter?”
Before Steve could reply, they were interrupted by JARVIS. “Sir, I have an
incoming call from Miss Potts.”
“Put it through J.” Tony commanded. “Pep, Light of my Life, I was just singing
your praises!”
“I’m sure you were, Tony.” Pepper’s voice contained the note of fond
exasperation it usually held when she was speaking to, or about, Tony. While
Tony was indeed a handfull, no one could deny how perfectly suited he and
Pepper were for each other. Her voice took on a more serious tone as she
continued. “Steve, something happened with Nikita.”
“Is she alright?” He asked, immediately on alert. They were still far enough
away that he couldn’t sense anything through their bond, other than the fact
that it still existed, which meant she was at least still alive.
“She’s fine, physically at least.” Pepper replied. She wanted to reassure the
other Dom, but she also needed to be completely honest with him about what was
going on with his sub, and what she might need from him. “There was an
incident.”
“What kind of incident?” Steve asked with trepidation.
“She got a call from her little friend Thomas,” Pepper began. “I heard it, the
boy sounded terrified and asked her for help. I went with Nikita to the home
where Thomas had been placed. We found him strapped down to a bed, being beaten
with a belt by his foster-father. Steve, I truly believe if we hadn’t gotten
there when we did, the man would have raped that little boy.”
Steve’s blood ran cold, this was definitely a situation that would have been
full of triggers for Nikita. “What happened?” He asked.
“Nikita attacked the Dom while I untied Thomas.” Pepper took a steadying breath
before she continued. “Steve, I had to use my Voice to stop her from killing
him.”
“You did what?” Steve demanded in a commanding tone, the one that made everyone
who heard it unconsciously sit up a little straighter.
“I’m sorry, but I didn’t think it would be good for anybody if she was arrested
for killing a man in his own home,” Pepper explained. “I already apologised to
Nikita if that helps.”
“And did she accept your apology?” Steve asked.
“Well I’m still breathing so I’ll take that as a yes,” Pepper quipped with an
unamused chuckle.
“So what’s the situation now?” Steve asked.
“Bruce is treating Thomas on the med floor, Nikita is with him. They just
finished an interview with a Detective Slater. The Dom who hurt Thomas is in
police custody at the hospital.”
“How bad is he hurt?” Steve asked.
“I’m not sure exactly, but she broke several bones.” Pepper answered with a
slightly haunted look in her eyes. She had known that Nikita was a killer, that
several of the Avengers were, in fact, but seeing it up close and raw like that
had shaken her. She didn’t envy Steve his bonding, it seemed like trying to
Dominate something that violent, primal, would be a lot like grabbing a tiger
by the tail. Pepper was reminded once again how grateful she was to be bonded
to the frustrating-but-loveable, mischievous man-child that was Tony Stark.
“Nikita also cut out his tongue and Dom-gland. It was pretty brutal. For a
moment I think she lost track of where she was and what was going on, that’s
when I used my Voice. It seemed to snap her back to reality.”
“The whole situation probably triggered her PTSD,” observed Sam, “causing her
to have a minor dissociative episode.”
“Do you think that’s going to be a problem in the field?” Natasha asked in a
seemingly dispassionate voice.
Sam shook his head, “I don’t think so. Not if Pepper was able to snap her out
of it. As long as we always pair Nikita up with a Dom, preferably Steve just in
case, she should be fine.”
“Is Thomas okay?” Tony asked.
Pepper’s voice softened as she addressed her sub, “Bruce is treating him now.
No broken bones, but lots of lacerations all over his back, most of them drew
blood. I don’t think he needed any stitches. The police agreed to let him stay
here for now, which is good, because I don’t want to witness what would happen
if someone tried to take that little boy from Nikita right now. In fact, Steve,
I think you need to consider applying to foster Thomas permanently, because I’m
pretty sure Nikita’s not going to give him up. I have to get back to dealing
with our legal team on this, but I’ll see you all when you get home. In the
meantime, JARVIS can play you a recording of the phone call, and the police
interview.”
“I would appreciate that,” Steve replied. “Oh and Pepper?”
“Yes Steve?”
“Thank you for being there for her.” He said with heartfelt gratitude.
“As many times as you have been there for Tony, I am happy to return the
favor.” Pepper answered with a smile before signing off.
***** Trust *****
Chapter Summary
     “I was just about the same age as Thomas when they came,” she said
     quietly in a flat, emotionless voice.
Chapter Notes
     Discussion of past childhood rape, you have been warned
Once the quinjet arrived at the Tower, Steve headed for the medical floor.
After speaking with Pepper, Steve had spent the remainder of the flight home
watching Thomas’ interview with the detective, and reading Bruce’s report of
the boy’s injuries. He studied Nikita’s reactions during the interview, the
shifts in body language and microexpressions that he was learning to read.
Steve could tell that this situation was affecting Nikita far more than she was
letting on, in ways that he couldn’t quite decipher. But one thing was
perfectly clear, no one was going to separate her from Thomas without a fight.
As he entered the room , Steve could sense Nikita’s wariness of him, of his
reaction. She was tense, body strung tight as a bowstring, sitting on the edge
of the medical bed. Thomas lay with his body curled around her back, her hand
resting gently on his head. Steve approached them with slow deliberate
movement, trying to project calm assurance. He knew that the next few minutes
would require a fine balance. On one hand Steve could tell that as a sub,
Nikita was desperately craving the approval of her Dom, but she also needed to
be sure that Steve didn’t pose a threat to Thomas. All of this was made much
more complicated by the fact that Nikita viewed Dominants as inherently
threatening. Steve slowly reached out, telegraphing the movement so she would
have every opportunity to stop him. He placed his hand on Nikita’s shoulder,
sliding it up to the back of her neck, locking eyes with her, as he gave it a
firm yet gentle squeeze.
“You did so good,” he said. “I’m proud of you. You saved Thomas, and you’ve
been protecting and caring for him. But I’m here now. You need to let go, let
me protect, and take care, of both of you.”
Nikita could feel the tension she had been carrying melt away as her muscles
relaxed with Steve’s grip on her neck. Her Dom’s approval unwound the coil of
nerves she hadn’t even realized was in her stomach, his words settling her.
Steve let go of Nikita’s neck, directing her to stand with a hand on her elbow.
“Let’s get both of you settled into a real bed,” he said as he gently picked up
Thomas, carefully holding the boy so as not to aggravate his wounds. Steve
carried Thomas to the elevator and then down the hallway to his apartment,
absently noting that Nikita positioned herself one step behind and to his left.
Now that he noticed it, he realized that was where she usually placed herself,
lending further credence to Natasha’s theory.
As Steve carried Thomas down the hall, the little boy’s arms tightened around
his shoulders, his cheek nuzzling into the Dom’s neck. The boneless weight and
trusting embrace of the little boy in his arms tugged at Steve’s Alpha Dom
instincts. The thought that anyone could willfully hurt this child made a
protective urge swell inside his chest, almost as strong as his need to protect
Nikita. At that moment, Steve accepted that he was going to claim the little
sub as part of his family, and officially under his protection.
Once they reached the apartment, Steve gently laid Thomas down on the bed,
positioning him on his side so as not to put pressure on his wounds. Steve then
grabbed a clean pair of sweatpants and a tee shirt from his dresser, and headed
towards the bathroom to shower and change. When he came back out, he found
Nikita staring out the window with her arms crossed in front of her, hands
gripping her arms, nails digging into the skin. Steve could feel the churning
of emotion coming from her, even as her face and posture remained stoic. As he
approached, her eyes met his in the glass reflection.
“I was just about the same age as Thomas when they came,” she said quietly in a
flat, emotionless voice. “My father knew them, worked with them. So when his
boss, Viktor, showed up with a few friends, he welcomed them. They shot my
father first, then Viktor grabbed my mother. That’s why they came. Viktor
wanted my mother. He tore off her collar, and branded a new one onto her skin.”
Steve’s blood ran cold as she continued, “While Viktor was busy with my mother,
he told the others to have some fun with me. I tried to fight. One of them
slammed me down, I must have hit my head, because the next thing I remember he
was on top of me, inside of me. I turned my head away and found myself staring
at my father’s face. He wasn’t dead yet. They took turns, I don’t remember how
many. I kept fading in and out, but I kept my eyes on my father. Somewhere
along the way I realized he was dead. The life had left his eyes, and I had
missed it. Now, every time I kill a man with blue eyes, I try to do it up close
so I can watch the life fade from his eyes, hoping each time that it will spark
my memory… so that I can get back that moment that I lost.” Steve stood frozen
as Nikita turned to face him, fierce emotion blazing from her eyes. “I will not
allow Thomas to be hurt like that. I won’t let him become like me.”
Steve was heartbroken by Nikita’s story, but thankful that she was finally
opening up to him. He could already feel that bringing Thomas into their lives
was going to bring them closer together. Steve met her eyes with a direct gaze.
“Thomas is already like you in all of the ways that matter,” he said in a
Dominant tone, just shy of using his Voice. “He is smart, and strong, and
brave, and I swear to you that I will make sure that no one comes between you.
He is going to stay here with us, and we are going to protect and care for him,
together.”
Nikita swallowed the lump in her throat, searching through their bond and
Steve’s face, for any hint of deception. Finding none, she found herself truly
believing in his sincerity. She nodded her agreement, “Okay. Together.”
“Good, I’m going to sleep out here on the couch tonight. You go share the bed
with Thomas. When he wakes up he shouldn’t be alone. Goodnight,” Steve said
planting a quick kiss on Nikita’s forehead.
“Goodnight,” Nikita replied, before heading into the bedroom. She changed into
pajamas and curled up next to Thomas, trusting Steve to keep them both safe
while they slept.
***** A New Family *****
Chapter Summary
     “Yes,” Steve replied. “We talked about it, and Thomas is going to
     stay with Nikita and I permanently. I don’t want to just foster him
     though, I’d rather do a formal adoption, that way we all feel more
     secure moving forward.”
     “If you’re really serious about this, then adoption is definitely the
     way to go.” Sam agreed.
     “I thought that might be your answer.” Pepper said.
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
The next morning Nikita woke to an empty bed. She cautiously made her way to
the living room, to find Steve and Thomas snuggled on the couch watching Pinky
and the Brain. Something about seeing her Dom treating the boy so gently, and
indulging Thomas in his favorite cartoon, made a little more of the ice around
her heart melt. She didn’t even realize the smile she had on her face as she
joined them on the couch.
“Good morning,” Nikita greeted them both. Thomas immediately crawled into her
lap, nuzzling his face into her neck briefly, before returning his attention to
the TV. In the aftermath of such a traumatic experience, the little sub was
craving touch and reassurance, which Nikita (and apparently Steve as well) was
happy to provide.
When the episode was over, Steve turned off the screen. “Just one more
episode?” Thomas asked plaintively.
“No, Thomas,” Steve replied. “Now that Nikita’s up, we need to get ready and
join the others for breakfast. There’s a lot of important things that need to
get done today.”
“But I want to watch one more, Please?”
“Thomas. I said, No.” Steve replied firmly, his tone just shy of his Voice.
“Sorry, Sir.” Thomas responded, immediately contrite.
“You don’t need to call me Sir.” Steve informed him gently. “You can just call
me Steve. If it helps, don’t think of me as a Dom, just think of me like a big
brother. And you’re not in trouble. You’re just learning the rules here, it
will take a while for you to settle in. But I do expect you to obey the adults
that live here in the Tower, especially Nikita and myself. You are always
allowed to ask questions, as long as you are respectful, but you are not
allowed to argue without a very good reason. Understood?”
Thomas nodded, his eyes wide. “You said it would take time for me to settle in.
Does that mean I get to stay?”
“Yes, Thomas,” Steve answered. “You get to stay. That’s partly why we need to
join everyone else for breakfast. There’s a lot of steps that we need to take
to make sure that happens.”
Steve’s explanation was cut short as the 10 year old barreled into him, hugging
tight. Thomas then grabbed Steve’s hand and began towing the super-soldier
towards the door. “Come on ‘Kita! We have to go to breakfast!”
Steve laughed as he halted the boy’s progress. “Slow down, Little Man. There’s
a spare toothbrush in the bathroom, why don’t you go brush your teeth while
Nikita and I get dressed okay?’
******************************************************************************
The three of them entered the Common Floor to find Bucky and Darcy in the
kitchen making breakfast for everyone; Thor, Jane, Natasha, and Clint (who had
returned to the Tower as soon as he heard what was happening) in the living
room; while Tony, Pepper, Bruce, and Sam sat at one end of the dining room
table typing on tablets and filling out official looking forms. Thor was the
first to note their arrival. Although he had returned to the Tower a few days
ago, between his ‘reconnecting’ with Jane and Nikita’s training schedule at the
Initiative, he and Nikita had not yet met. Having heard a lot about Nikita and
Thomas from Darcy, Thor decided to take the opportunity to introduce himself to
the newest members of his chosen family.
“Lady Nikita, Daughter-of-Ivan!” Thor greeted boisterously as he approached
with a broad, welcoming grin. “I am told that you are the newest addition to
our band of warriors, Welcome!”
Nikita hesitated briefly before returning the greeting, her internal threat
assessment rapidly analyzing the situation. Thor was definitely physically
imposing, and Nikita knew she was no match for him a straight fight, if it came
to that. But, he wasn’t a Dom, wasn’t exuding anything even remotely
threatening in his posture, expression, or voice. On the contrary, his
expression and body language matched the welcoming tone of his words, and she
could feel that Steve was comfortable and relaxed in the man’s presence.
“Thank you, Thor Son-of Odin.” Nikita replied with a nod, returning the formal
phrasing of the greeting, pleased that the Norse God had known the meaning of
her name and chose to honor it.
Thor turned to Steve, clapping him on the shoulder with enough force to make
him stagger a step. ”Congratulations my friend! You must be truly blessed by
the Norns to have such a formidable Shield-Maiden for your bonded.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” Steve replied with a smile.
Thor then turned his attention to Thomas, bending down on one knee so as not to
loom over him. “And you must be Thomas. My Lady Jane says you are very smart,
and the Lady Pepper has told us all of your bravery. I very much look forward
to getting to know you.”
“Th-thank you,” Thomas sputtered shyly. Those watching the exchange sharing
bemused looks as the boy flushed, cheeks and the tips of his ears turning pink.
“Food’s ready!” Darcy called out as she and Bucky began carrying a quite
frankly alarming amount of food out to the table.
They all grabbed seats around the massive table and began loading their plates.
Darcy and Bucky had made a huge platter of bacon/pancake dippers with
individual cups of maple syrup to dip them in, as well as scrambled eggs, hash
browns, sausage links, bacon, toast with jam, chocolate chip pancakes, yogurt,
granola, fresh fruit, coffee and fresh-squeezed orange juice. Conversation died
down as they all tucked in.
Once they had all made a significant dent in the food, Pepper spoke up. “So
Steve, did you think about my suggestion?”
“Yes,” Steve replied. “We talked about it, and Thomas is going to stay with
Nikita and I permanently. I don’t want to just foster him though, I’d rather do
a formal adoption, that way we all feel more secure moving forward.”
“If you’re really serious about this, then adoption is definitely the way to
go.” Sam agreed.
“I thought that might be your answer.” Pepper said. “I’ve had the lawyers
working non-stop since the incident happened. We’ve already gotten a judge to
sign off on an emergency placement, putting Thomas under your guardianship.
Bruce has submitted a medical report, and Sam is writing up a psychiatric
recommendation for Thomas to be in your care, both of which will be submitted
to a judge by the end of the day.”
In fact, Sam knew that stability was extremely important for all subs, but even
more so for subs that have suffered significant trauma. A formal adoption would
go a long way toward making both Thomas, and Nikita, feel safe and secure.
It would also help Steve. The Alpha Dom had been through a lot of upheaval.
Despite having spent 70 years in the ice, he was really only a few years older
than Nikita, and in that time he had dealt with the deaths of his parents,
project Rebirth, the war, losing his best friend, and facing certain death,
only to find himself waking up in a future where everything he had ever known
and loved had died or changed. Then of course aliens invaded, and SHIELD came
calling. For the world, it had been 70 years, but from Steve’s perspective, he
had effectively stepped off of one battlefield, and directly onto another. So
many things had been out of his control for so long that it had taken it’s toll
on the Dominant, and Sam had watched his friend struggle to find some way of
regaining his equilibrium. Finding Bucky and bringing him to the Tower had
helped, Bonding with Nikita had also gone a long way to help, giving Steve
someone to focus on. Sam felt that taking in Thomas should help Steve feed
those protective urges, and adoption would eliminate the uncertainty that the
boy might ever be taken from them. He could also tell immediately that Steve’s
acceptance of Thomas was making more headway with Nikita than anything else
ever could. Not all of this was in his report, of course, just the parts that
discussed why it would be in Thomas’ best interests to stay with Steve and
Nikita.
“Detective Slater is also adding his recommendation,” Pepper continued.
“Apparently he was very impressed with Nikita’s protectiveness and care of
Thomas. In fact, the only person who objects to Thomas being placed with us is
the social worker who placed him with that bastard in the first place.
Apparently this social worker, Mr. Harris, thought that Thomas was a brat and
didn’t like the way that he stood up to the Dom boys that bullied him at the
orphanage. Harris decided that Thomas needed to be placed within a household
with a ‘strong Dominant’ so that he would ‘learn his place’.”
“Don’t worry, by the time my lawyers are done with him, Harris won’t be getting
anywhere near a child ever again,” Tony interrupted with a wicked smirk.
“Thomas isn’t bratty,” Steve immediately defended. “He just doesn’t let bullies
take advantage of him just because they’re Doms.”
Hearing Steve’s indignation on Thomas’ behalf, was making Nikita feel things
she didn’t want to examine too closely, so she quickly steered the conversation
back to more practical matters. “What can I do?” she asked Pepper.
Pepper passed Nikita a tablet. “I had JARVIS take the liberty of creating your
After Action Report for last night. Read through it and make any necessary
corrections. When you’re done, I’ll send copies to Detective Slater and the
court.”
Nikita took the tablet and read through the report. It was a fairly accurate
account of the events of the previous night. She did raise an eyebrow when she
got to the part describing that she silenced Rafe’s Voice because she was the
only fighter on the scene, and couldn’t afford to compromise her ability to
protect Thomas and Pepper. It wasn’t exactly a lie, and Nikita understood the
need to characterize her actions as more First Responder and less Bratva
Enforcer, so she signed off on the report and handed the tablet back to Pepper.
After breakfast, Pepper rounded up Steve, Sam, Bruce, and Tony; taking them
down to the legal department to continue the whirlwind of interviews and
paperwork. Natasha and Bucky left for the Initiative to check in with Wanda and
Pietro, as well as touch base with the rest of the Avengers. The rest of them
all gathered in the living room. Thomas, Clint, and Thor were soon caught up in
playing Call of Duty Black Ops 2, in Zombie Mode. While the boys were playing,
Darcy, Nikita and Jane began shopping online for everything Thomas might need,
courtesy of Tony’s black Amex. They ordered clothes, furniture, bedding, toys,
posters, books, school supplies; just about anything and everything that a 10
year old boy could possibly need or want.
During a pause in the game, when Thomas left to use the restroom, Clint took
the opportunity to rib Thor a little. “Looks like Thomas has a crush on you,
Big Guy.” He commented, giving the blonde a playful shove.
“Can you blame him?” Darcy joined in. “I mean Thor is dreamy.”
“Better not let Bucky hear you say that,” Jane admonished with a laugh. “He’s
already uncomfortable around Thor as it is.”
“Why doesn’t Bucky like Thor?” Thomas asked as he re-entered the room.
“Because Darcy is like a little sister to Thor,” Clint explained, “and when
they bonded, Thor gave Bucky one hell of a shovel talk. I don’t know what Thor
said to him, but Bucky’s always a little tense when Thor’s in the same room.”
Thor chuckled darkly, apparently pleased with that fact.
“What’s a shovel talk?” was Thomas’ next question.
Thor spoke up to answer this one. “My Lady Jane informed me that here in
Midgard, when a submissive starts dating, or bonds, with a Dominant, it is
tradition for a close friend or family member to explain to the new Dominant
what the consequences will be if they mistreat the submissive.”
“It’s kind of mortifying, and embarrassing,” Darcy commented, “but it’s also
kind of nice. Knowing that someone cares about you enough to look after you
like that.”
“Kita, who gave Steve the shovel talk for you?” Thomas asked.
Clint thought back to the first time he laid eyes on Nikita, in a building full
of the dead bodies of men who had betrayed her. “She took care of that one
herself.” He answered the boy.
“Just wait ‘till you start dating,” Darcy teased gently. “The Doms will be
thoroughly intimidated by Steve and the rest of the Avengers, before they ever
even step foot in the Tower.”
Clint started laughing. “What is so funny, Friend Hawk?” Thor asked.
“It just occurred to me,” Clint replied. “The first time the little guy here
brings a Dom home, I bet Nikita makes them piss themselves. They’ll be so
nervous about dating Captain America’s kid, they’ll never see her coming.”
“You’re right, they won’t.” Nikita agreed with an almost feral grin.
Chapter End Notes
     Bacon Pancake Dippers
     INGREDIENTS
     Prepared pancake batter
     12 slices of cooked bacon, halved
     Butter, for cooking
     Maple syrup, for serving
     DIRECTIONS
     Melt about 1 tablespoon of butter in a large nonstick skillet.
     Using tongs, dredge each bacon half in pancake batter. Make sure the
     bacon slice is completely coated in batter.
     Working in batches, add the battered bacon pieces to the pan. Cook
     until the bubbles begin to form on surface of the batter. Flip when
     the bubble start to pop, and cook on the other side until the other
     side is golden. Repeat until all bacon dippers are cooked, adding
     more butter to the pan if needed.
     Serve bacon dippers with maple syrup for dunking.
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