A YOUNG Y/N LOOKED AT HIMSELF in the mirror. Tears swelling up in his eye. He studied the features of his face, scrunching up in disgust. Which led to more tears falling as he felt it smoothly slide through down cheek.

His lips started to quiver.

And then behind him, his breath started to get heavier as Mikael's figure popped up. He grinned menacingly as he stared right at the reflection's eyes.

He stepped forward, brining his arms back before--

--

PRESENT Y/N frantically sat up from his slumber. It was just another memory. The sweat dripping down from his forehead. His palms flat on his mattress, not bed. Just mattress. It was set in the middle of the room.

He panted heavily, doing his best to catch a rhythm with his breathing.

The more he stayed alone, the more the thoughts started to swarm his head.

He got up from his mattress, jogging through as he entered the bathroom. Even though he lived alone, he still locked the door. This was how much he wanted to hide it all.

Y/N looked at himself in the mirror, reminiscing that memory. His lips started to frown. As he stopped staring at his own face, he landed his eyes on the features of his face, scrunching in disgust. His hands shakily reaching up for his morning pills as he shoved them in his mouth.

A dry glass of water already prepared at the side, which he sipped down.

He blinked, releasing a deep breath.

As his eyes blinked open, a tear falling from his eyes.

Now that he was given time to think, things have turned for him mentally. Only Fury, to contact unless you want to count the Parkers.

But that was pretty much it.

He could be joyful, sure. But being joyful was different from joy itself. Being joyful was temporary, having true joy lasts longer.

But, he couldn't find joy.

He noticed the frown on his lips, pulling it to force a smile before he let go. It was still there.

How broken he truly was.

He was so focused on that moment, he didn't realize that his television was on. The News was playing as he rubbed his eyes, finally leaving the room as curiosity took over.

'Sources have reported that around $68,000,000 have been stolen last night in the "JPMorgan Chase Bank". NYPD officers have said that the same person who was responsible for the mass murdering involving the case of the Beverly Massacre was also involved in the scene due to the identical references to the number '8' written on bank walls. Developing story here in--'

Y/N turned the television off as he exhaled. His brows furrowing as he gathered his thoughts. He tilted his head. Everywhere he went, the number '8' was everywhere. He turned to his table, eyeing the drawer.

Then he looked back. Reminiscing those good old days back in S.H.I.E.L.D. A smile curving onto his lips.

Then,

An idea popped up.

He picked up his phone, the sound of dialing could be heard as he typed in a rush. After a few rings, there was a response.

'Hello?'

"Remember when you said you owed me after that--"

'Yeah, Yeah. That drink. What will you need?'

--

Y/N SLOWLY SIPPED his drink as he sat there on the bar table. The place was a bit silent, in the corner was a small television with a live Lakers game. Pretty much the only thing you could hear was the game or bottles clinking.

'Hello, L/N...." a voice whispered.

Y/N scoffed, he didn't bother to turn around.

"How many times do I have to tell you? I'm not using that name." Y/N remarked, taking another sip of his drink. The corner of his eye, the figure sat down next to him. He smirked. "Is it weird, out of all people. I entrust you with my status?"

"Well who did you tell your status too?"

"Well, there's Fury--"

"Fury!?" The feminine voice exclaimed, a little too loudly. The place went total silent from the sudden noise, causing Y/N to hold in his laughter as Jessica apologized. "But seriously. You must think of me so highly if I'm hiding the same secret with Fury."

Y/N snickered. "Don't flatter yourself." He joked. He let out a small exhale before turning to her. "Do you have what I need?"

Jessica nodded. Handing a few files to YN.

Y/N discreetly skimmed through it, not realizing Jessica's amused look as she watched Y/N intently read. Her eyebrows raising.

"I didn't think you were about detective work."

"I never was." Y/N retored, slightly looking up at her. "I'm just looking for a life, that's all." As he continued to flip through, his brows knitted together as he pointed at a few pictures. "What's this?"

Jessica placed her drink down from her calling.

"I took that in Fort Tilden. You know, the abandoned army.... place." She explained, grabbing the file as she lectured Y/N. She pointed at a group of men, entering the old base. "They would come in and out the place with bags. I couldn't find a place to get a closer look, hope that was fine."

Y/N waved it off. "Nah, this is actually enough." Y/N reassured. There was a small silence as those words rolled out of Y/N's mouth. It wasn't awkward, nor comfortable. But it got Jessica thinking.

"What really got you into this?"

Y/N raised an eyebrow at her.

"What do you mean?" He asked, his head slightly tiled in confusion.

"Come on, Y/N--"

"Jakob." He corrected.

Jessica rolled her eyes.

"Come on, you said it yourself. You said you wanted to live in a 'peaceful' life." Jessica pointed out, locking eyes with her friend. "So, why all the sudden interest with all this. Aren't you supposed to be drinking more?"

Y/N lightly chuckled.

"Well, this '8' organization--"

"Cut the bullshit." Jessica called out, startling Y/N from the sudden words. "We both know you could've let them handle the investigation. Why did you wanna butt in?"

Y/N sighed, didn't even want to push an argument. Because deep down he knew, she was right.

"Have you every felt so lonely in your life, you started to feel... empty?" Y/N softly spoke. Jessica watched him closely, giving him sympathetic looks. "I thought doing all this would finally solve my problems."

Jessica shook her head, placing a hand on Y/N's shoulder.

"If you thought life was all about breaks then, you don't really know what life means." Jessica explained, her voice speaking softly. In a comforting way. "Life is a journey to be experienced, not a problem to be solved. If you really have these much problems on your plate-- no offense, but you should've never retired in the first place."

Y/N was shocked to see this side of the Jones.

"That was... surprisingly helpful." Y/N let out, a small smile appearing on his lips. "Not only do you give these detectives a run for your money, you make a better therapist than the ones I tried." Y/N joked.

"You tried Therapy?" Jessica asked, earning a nod from Y/N. She was dumfounded. "Didn't know you were that desperate." She joked, both chuckling as they sipped their drinks.

"But how is that... Romanoff woman?"

Y/N almost choked at his drink from he mention of her name. "W-What?" He let out, wiping his mouth. Jessica started laughing at his friend's reaction. "What about her?"

"You used to talk about her a lot."

"Me?"

"YES you!" The Jones woman retorted. "All you would do was blab about her! Romanoff this! Romanoff that!" She mocked, making them both burst into laughter.

"I did?" asked Y/N, earning a nod. He huffed. Not one time has he ever thought of that. "I-- really?" He said in a tone of disbelief.

"Oh, you were obsessed--"

"I'm not obsessed!" Y/N quickly retorted. Jessica watched in amusement before rolling her eyes as she slowly stood up.

"I have to go back, good luck with whatever this is." She pointed to the files, before squinting her eyes at Y/N. "Shave that beard too."

Y/N raised his eyebrows, rubbing his beard. "Really? I thought it's quite nice." Y/N responded. "I thought it would make me attractive."

Jessica quickly shook her head. "No it's disgusting." Her nose scrunching up as she looked at the beard more. "Honestly, get rid of it."

"Ey, that's not a decision for you to make."

Jessica shrugged.

"Touche." She softly said. "But I really have to go. I'll see you around?" Y/N nodded in answer. Jessica smiled, giving a small wave as she left.

Y/N sighed, a smile curving up on his lips. Maybe this wasn't a bad idea after all.

--

Y/N PINNED one more thread on the last picture, instantly attaching to the wall. As he took a step back, his whole work was shown as he started to admire it. He bit on his toothpick, following every red thread that was attached.

He pushed his glasses, fixing it's position as he inspected the wall. Every picture and source the led up to this. But it didn't feel right. It felt like, it was still missing pieces even with the amounts of evidence.

He was starting to lose a little bit of his mind. The more he thought, the more braincells just left.

Just then, a knock on the door snapped him out of his trance. He slowly approached it, opening it as the sound of it's creaking spawned.  No one was there. 

But as he looked down, a few boxes were on the the ground. As he questioned, his pockets were buzzing as the sound of his burner phone was muffled. He placed the phone on his ear, his eyebrows furrowing.

"Er-- Hello?"

'L/N! Got my package?'

Y/N sighed in relief. It was just Fury.

"Uh-- yeah..? What's it for?"

'I thought you needed some stuff from S.H.I.E.L.D?'

Y/N's eyes widened. He did request for some gadgets. He just didn't think they'd actually deliver.

"Really?" Y/N asked, the tone of surprise starting to kick in. "Wow, you actually did it. Didn't expect you to actually send my request." He started to pick up the boxes at the phone was between his shoulder and his ear.

'Why the fuck would I say No?' Fury asked, taken back that he was given doubts. But then a thought kicked in. 'Why do you need all of that in the first place?'

Y/N tensed at the question. 

"U-Uhm... I-It kinda gets lonely here in the apartment."  Y/N stammered. He could definitely sense Fury's confusion on the other line. "I just need a little-- DISTRACTION! You know? It's so boring in here." He added.

'So you chose to play around with S.H.I.E.L.D gadgets?'

"Mhm." Y/N hummed.

'Right....' Fury let out, his eyes squinting in suspicion before shrugging it off. 'Well, enjoy... I guess.'

"Right! See you then!" Y/N responded. As the words rolled out of his mouth, the line ended. He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "Alright, let's open this puppy up." He mumbled, dropping the boxes on the table.

As the lid opened, Y/N almost lost his breath from the sight before him. 

One by one, he pulled out each and every item.

"S.H.I.E.L.D issued tablets, adhesive gloves...?, Grapple gun-- Why do I-- never mind." Y/N mumbled to himself before continuing. "Heat signature detector, Infrared goggles, And-- woah."

He stopped pulling the items as another box was inside. His eyebrows knitted as he slowly pulled it out from the rest. A note attached as it wrote:

Some old memories for you...

-Fury

Pulling out some box cutters, he slowly slid it down the taped gap before gently lifting the lid. A smile unconsciously curling up as he pulled out a black fabric.

His mask.

It was still in pretty nice condition. 

He turned his head to a locked cabinet at the side, pulling out a small key as he slightly turned it. The padlock instantly unlocking as he got rid of it, slowly opening the cabinet.

His suit.

It was still in pretty nice condition.

--

AS THE ELEVATOR stopped, group of men enter the hidden, underground, base. Categorizing different areas from tech to the meeting room. As they were about to continue their work, they all came to a halt as one of them stepped to the front.

Men laying on the ground as paperwork was scattered. This angered the group of men, not Flinchley. He merely stared and admired the work, smirking.

"Find who is responsible for this..." He whispered, loud enough for them to hear. "Once we have found the culprit, parties like S.H.I.E.L.D will sniff for them, like dogs. Thats what we want. Once they find potential threats, they put them under their radar. S.H.I.E.L.D can take care of the rest. No one, will ever mess with us..."

IN THE DISTANCE a shadow on the road soaring as we transition to it's vehicle. A motorcycle riding away as Y/N smirked, revving the vehicle as he drove away.

--

A/N: That's it for chapter two! As Y/N and Flinchley make their first (slight) encounter, I guess were gonna be expecting more from now on.

What do you think of the appearance of Jessica Jones?

This chapter wasn't much action impacted, more of still introduction and setting up.

Hope you enjoy!

Feel free to give suggestions!

SEEYA!