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VALOR
ii. CAPTAIN OBVIOUS

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  THE YEAR IS 2014. Another year around the sun and nothing's changed. The sky's still blue, the buildings are taller than the trees, and Agent Riley O'Dair is just as annoying as Natasha Romanoff remembered her.

  Riley and Natasha had spent a few months apart after a few new missions had taken up their time. Riley was rather used to working alongside the Black Widow, so when they were separated, she felt like a child being taken away from her mother. Of course, Riley wouldn't tell Natasha that she actually, sorta missed her. That was just something she kept for herself.

  Riley sat in the front seat, staring out the window as Natasha drove throughout the streets of Washington D.C. The two were in a bit of a hurry, which could be proven by Natasha's blatant speeding, but that didn't stop Riley from rambling throughout the drive. Of course, Natasha still hadn't fully realized that Riley's ramblings were just her way of showing that she felt comfortable with her.

  "I don't think I like D.C. that much," admitted Riley. "Most officials are just old and racist. Have you noticed that, or is it just me?"

  Natasha hummed, the corners of her lips subtly twitching upward. "You know, that's a pretty good description of the U.S.," she admitted, causing Riley to lightly laugh.

  Riley leaned into her seat, invisible as per usual whenever she left any establishment. Natasha stopped the car when they reached the curb Steve Rogers had been standing near. Riley watched him curiously as he spoke to someone she didn't recognize.

  It almost felt like fate the way Riley, Natasha, and Steve were all reunited. Originally, Riley had been tasked by Director Nick Fury to perform an assist for S.H.I.E.L.D.'s espionage agency, S.T.R.I.K.E., given her useful powers. She was supposed to aid S.T.R.I.K.E. in spy work and defensive or offensive operations whenever necessary. Riley had no clue Natasha and Steve had also been assigned to assist S.T.R.I.K.E. on the same conditions, but she was glad she was reunited with two of her fellow Avengers.

  Rolling down Riley's window, Natasha wore a sly smile and greeted, "Hey, fellas, either one of you know where the Smithsonian is? I'm here to pick up a fossil."

  Steve lightly chuckled as he approached the car. He was still in his work-out clothes, his shirt stained with sweat. "That's hilarious," Steve remarked. He glanced down at the seemingly empty passenger seat, seeing that the seatbelt was buckled in. "There's seriously something wrong about making a grown man give up the passenger seat for a kid."

  "Uh, I'm 13," Riley matter-of-factly reminded him as he got in the car. A few more words were exchanged between Steve, Natasha, and the unnamed man standing outside before they left. "Hey, Steve, you still have that notebook?"

  The aforementioned notebook Riley was referring to was the one Steve carried with him everywhere. Desperate to catch up with society, Steve had been using the notebook to write recommendations from people to help his transition quicken: movies, shows, events, and so on.

  "Uh, yeah," replied Steve. "What about it?"

  Riley turned in her seat, turning visible once more and flashing him a big smile. "Alright, I have three movies you have to watch." She counted them off on her fingers as she listed them, "Clueless, The Breakfast Club, and Mean Girls."

  Steve shrugged and took out his notebook to write them down. Meanwhile, Natasha loudly sighed. "God, what is with you and those teen movies?"

  Riley sent Natasha a pointed look. "Hey, it took me forever to convince Fury to get us a Netflix subscription. I'm watching everything on it," she defended.

  Steve glanced between the two before quietly mumbling to himself, "Netflix..." He decided he'd write that one down, too.

  Natasha peered over at Riley, deciding to switch to her native tongue of Russian and taunt, "Твоя любовь к капитану удивительна." Your crush on the Captain is adorable.

  Riley was trained in five different languages: English, Spanish, French, Portuguese (since it was apart of her Brazilian heritage), and Russian (because of Natasha). That being said, Riley understood what Natasha was saying perfectly and she did not like what she was hearing.

  "Я не влюблен в него!" Riley defended, her face turning pink nonetheless. I don't have a crush on him!

  Though, it was honestly quite obvious that Riley did. She wasn't sure where it came from, but it was safe to assume she'd had a crush on Steve Rogers since she was 11.

  Natasha hummed, keeping her eyes on the road. "Я знал тебя всю твою жизнь. Я могу сказать, когда вы влюблены в кого-то." I've known you your whole life. I can tell when you have a crush on someone.

  Riley just rolled her eyes while Steve asked, "What are you guys talking about?" This was something that occurred often, but Steve still hadn't bothered to pick up a new language to join their little talks.

  Without missing a beat, Riley and Natasha instantly replied, "Politics."

  Not thinking anything of it, Steve just shrugged.

○ ○ ○

  Riley had always adored the idea of flying. Whether it was in a suit or an aircraft, she found being able to coexist with the stars and the clouds peaceful — even when she was about to throw herself out of a plane without a parachute.

  Riley stood in a tightly-packed helicarrier with Natasha, Steve, and S.T.R.I.K.E. once again. She listened carefully as their mission leader, Agent Brock Rumlow, gave them a brief rundown of what they needed to know about their newest mission. Tonight, they would be infiltrating a ship called the Lemurian Star to rescue hostages from some top mercenaries.

  Honestly, Riley didn't like Rumlow very much. He just looked like someone who would spit on puppies. Of course, Riley wouldn't say that out loud. He was just like the other agents who doubted Riley's abilities. Well, until Steve Rogers spoke up and defended her in front of everyone. Riley appreciated Steve for that.

  "The target is a mobile satellite launch platform: The Lemurian Star," advertised Rumlow, tapping through a nearby monitor as he spoke. "They were sending up their last payload when pirates took them... 93 minutes ago."

  With a nod, Steve asked, "Any demands?"

  "A billion and a half," revealed Rumlow. Riley's eyebrows shot upward. 'Dollars!?'

  "Why so steep?" interrogated Steve.

  Riley shrugged. "Why else? It's S.H.I.E.L.D.," she reminded him. She paused, a thought crossing her mind. "So, they're not off-course. They're trespassing."

  "I'm sure they have a good reason," mused Natasha.

  Steve sighed. "You know," he admitted, "I'm getting a little tired of being Fury's janitor."

  "Relax," Natasha insisted, "it's not that complicated."

  Steve sighed and glanced back at Rumlow. "How many pirates?" he asked.

  Riley had to keep biting her tongue from laughing at the fact that pirates were their target. Of course, they weren't actual pirates from storybooks, but that was what her mind went to every single time.

  "25, top mercs, led by this guy," he pulled up an image of someone Riley didn't recognize, "Georges Batroc. Ex-DGSE, Action Division. He's at the top of Interpol's Red Notice. Before the French demobilized him, he had 36 kill missions. This guy's got a rep for maximum casualties."

  'They oughta put this guy in a Guinness Book of World Records.'

  When Steve asked about the hostages, Rumlow revealed, "They're mostly techs. One officer, Jasper Sitwell. They're up in the gallery."

  Riley watched Steve's face contort with confusion. "What's Sitwell doing on a launch ship?" he muttered. Quickly dismissing his thought, Steve began to bark out orders, "Alright, I'm gonna sweep the deck and find Batroc. Valor, you're with me. Nat, kill the engines and wait for instructions. Rumlow, you sweep aft, find the hostages, get them to the life pods, get 'em out. Let's move."

  Quickly, the team broke out into various groups, preparing to dive off of the jet. Riley and Steve had been working closely as of late. She had made it a personal goal of her's to get Steve to stop thinking of her as a little kid, and it seemed to be working.

  Speaking into his wrist communicator, Steve said, "Secure channel seven."

  "Seven secure," Natasha reported. "Did you do anything fun Saturday night?"

  "Well, all the guys from my barbershop quartet are dead, so... No, not really," Steve taunted, causing Riley to snort.

  "Coming up on the drop-zone, Cap," announced Riley, repeating what had just been spoken into her comm.

  "You know, if you ask Kristen from Statistics out, she'd probably say yes," pointed out Natasha.

  To which Riley almost too quickly countered, "I dunno, I heard she's allergic to dogs. Do you really wanna date someone who's allergic to dogs?"

  Natasha eyed her with a smirk. "Ты знаешь, он слишком стар для тебя." You know, he's too old for you.

  Riley rolled her eyes. "Ты меня раздражаешь." You annoy me.

  Steve dismissed their little side-bar conversation and told Natasha, "Well, that's why I don't ask." As he spoke, the back of the jet opened up. He and Riley quickly approached it as the jet flew over the drop-zone.

  "Too shy or too scared?" Natasha taunted.

  "Too busy!" called Steve. With that, he leaped out of the jet, prompting Riley to jump out after him.

  The closest Riley could get to flying was, funnily enough, jumping out of aircrafts. The first time she did it, she practically shit herself; however, when she learned how to catch herself with a forcefield, she felt like a total badass. It soon became Riley's new favorite party trick.

  Captain America and Valor soared above the Indian Ocean, eventually landing on the ship in the seas after Riley safely secured them in a forcefield. Once their feet were grounded, Steve glanced back at the younger hero, assessing and ensuring that she was okay. When he saw that Riley was fine, he mentioned, "Not bad."

  This caused Riley to furrow her eyebrows judgementally. She knew she was fantastic, as per usual — Steve just enjoyed teasing her from time-to-time. Natasha said that Riley reminded him of his little sister from back in the "olden days", but Riley didn't really understand what they had to do with her.

  When Steve noticed her reaction, he asked, "Are you sure Romanoff trained you?" Riley silently nodded. "You're just so... serious."

  Riley shrugged. "Nat used to be serious, too," she simply said. Then, she nodded and said, "After you, Cap." With that, she turned invisible.

  Steve had a point — one that Riley had never thought about before. As a child, Riley was sunny, but training with Natasha had caused her to become colder. However, it seemed that training with Riley had changed Natasha, too. She was still an intense agent, but Natasha made more jokes now, even joking around with the Captain America. It was almost like they had switched places to an extent.

  Together, Riley and Steve worked their way across the deck, defeating several of the so-called pirates before anyone could set off any alarms. Riley was honored to be able to work so closely with Captain America. He was a legend, after all. It was always incredible to be able to see the youngest and oldest Avengers working together.

  Riley had been in the midst of taking down another one of their enemies when she heard a gun cocking from behind her. She turned to see one of the pirates pointing his gun at Steve and shouting, "Bouge pas! Bouge pas." Don't move! Don't move.

  Riley rolled her eyes, whistling rather loudly to grab his attention. The pirate turned toward the sound, but by the time he realized no one was there, he was already struck down by the 13-year-old. Riley turned visible, wiping the figurative dust off of her shoulder.

  Steve nodded toward her as the others began to land onto the deck, parachutes and all. "Thanks," he mentioned.

  Riley hummed. "So, can I throw the shield?"

  Steve eyed her. Riley seemed to ask him that a lot (and honestly, he didn't really care if she did), but Steve found it rather funny seeing how annoyed she got when he'd say no. Riley just reminded him so much of his best friend's little sister from back in the day. She wasn't Steve's sister by blood, but she might as well have been.

  "In your dreams, Agent," Steve retorted as Natasha joined their side.

  "What about the nurse that lives across the hall from you? She seems kinda nice," Natasha suggested. Riley shot her friend a little glare, not particularly appreciating how adamant Natasha was on setting Steve up with someone.

  "Secure the engine room, then find me a date," Steve noted.

  Natasha waved her hand dismissively, leaping over a small gate and calling, "I'm multitasking!"

  Riley continued to follow Steve, protecting him in his blind spots as they worked their way through the ship. Steve had grown accustomed to having Riley by his side. Though she was just a child, Valor was one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s most valuable agents.

  After Rumlow and a few other agents rescued the hostages, Riley was redirected to assist in protecting them. Meanwhile, Batroc was on the loose, leaving Steve to take care of him.

  Riley had been in the midst of leading the hostages to the life-pods on the side of the ship when she overheard Rumlow speak into their comms. "Hostages en route to extraction. Romanoff missed the rendezvous point, Cap. Hostiles are still in play."

  Eyebrows pinched together, Riley couldn't help but wonder what was holding Natasha back. Things like this didn't happen very often — not for Natasha, at least. It was worrying. Maybe she just needed backup?

  Riley glanced around at the S.T.R.I.K.E. agents before her. They seemed to have things under control. Maybe if Riley just slipped away to find Natasha, they wouldn't even notice? After all, if Natasha needed help, then someone needed to find her as soon as possible.

  So, Riley turned on her heel and ran throughout the ship in search of the woman. Riley knew Natasha and her habits well. If Natasha needed backup, she'd leave behind a trail of those she'd already taken down. Riley decided to start there.

  Just as she suspected, there was a line of bodies lying unconscious as Riley worked her way through the vessel. The line was exactly easy to follow since the bodies were scattered, but Riley was able to figure out the general direction Natasha had been running in soon enough.

  Eventually, Riley ended up in one of the rooms that contained several computers. Just as she'd anticipated, Natasha Romanoff was busily hovering before one of the monitors.

  Riley walked toward the woman, turning visible once more. "What the hell are you doing here? Rumlow said you missed the rendezvous point," Riley interrogated.

  Natasha hardly glanced up from what she was doing. "Just got a little side-tracked."

  Riley narrowed her eyes at the redhead, peering over at the screen. It didn't take her long to figure out what Natasha was doing. "...Is there a reason why you're downloading important S.H.I.E.L.D. intel?" she grilled, more confused than concerned.

  Natasha shrugged. "Direct orders from the chief."

  Tilting her head to the side, Riley reiterated, "Fury told you to do this? But... why?"

  Natasha glimpsed up at the 13-year-old. "Are you asking me why he asked me to do this, or are you asking why he didn't ask you?" Riley opened her mouth to respond, but she was briefly interrupted by the door being smashed down. Steve Rogers panted heavily after just taking down who Riley assumed was Batroc. Natasha hummed. "Well, this is awkward."

  Steve perked up immediately. "What are you doing?" he demanded while approaching the two agents.

  "Backing up the hard drive," Natasha revealed. "It's a good habit to get into."

  Steve shook his head. "Rumlow needed your help. What the hell are you doing here?" He glanced back at Riley, adding, "You're supposed to be with Rumlow." Then, he turned to the monitor. "You're saving S.H.I.E.L.D. intel."

  "Thank you, Captain Obvious," Riley remarked. He didn't seem very happy to be sassed, causing Riley to add, "Hey, I didn't know she was doing any of this. I came here because I thought she needed backup."

  Natasha scoffed. "That's offensive. I'm just getting whatever I can get my hands on."

  "Our mission is to rescue hostages," scolded Steve.

  "No, that's your mission," corrected the redhead whilst pulling out the hard drive, seeing as her work was finished. "And you've done it beautifully." She was about to push past Steve when he grabbed her arm.

  "You just jeopardized this whole operation," Steve snapped. "Both of you."

  Natasha hardly reacted to his words and instead insisted, "I think that's overstating things."

  Riley was about to cut into their bickering when unexpectedly, Batroc rose from where he was supposed to have been lying unconscious. He chucked an active grenade at the three Avengers before fleeing the room. Steve hurriedly deflected the bomb with his shield, allowing Riley to identify its location without having to search for too long.

  She raised a forcefield just as it went off; however, unfortunately, Riley was just one second too late. Although she was able to protect herself, Steve and Natasha were sent flying backward into the glass windows. Luckily, Steve had already been moving to protect him and Natasha, knowing that Riley would be fine nonetheless.

  As fire and smoke intertwined hands and filled their lungs, Riley coughed viciously and called out, "You guys alright?"

  "We're fine!" Natasha called despite coughing due to the smoke. It burned her eyes as they slowly stood up once more. "Alright. That one was on me."

  Steve shot her a glare and muttered, "You're damn right" before angrily leaving the room.

  Riley glanced back at Natasha and shrugged. Well, that could've gone smoother.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE:

WELCOME TO THE WINTER SOLDIER, BABY!

unrelated, but isn't it so crazy how when riley met tony, she'd been expecting someone like steve?? but then she ended up loving tony SO much?? and then when she met steve, she didn't exactly love him at first because he treated her like a little kid - but then she ended up loving steve a lot??

ALSO, i dunno if you guys have noticed this yet, but our main heroes are becoming rather protective of riley. this is because she reminds them of parts of their lives they don't want to forget. for example, steve says that having riley around reminds him of his best friend's (bucky, obviously) little sister. it's little connections like that that strengthen everyone's relationships with riley, and that's why riley ultimately becomes the glue of the avengers.

IDK i just thought that was a cute little thing to point out. riley reminds them of the light in their lives and that's why they all become so close<3 riley rly invented being the sun huh