Note: I am a total slut for Taron Egerton and this chapter will give you a glimpse into that. Also, do yourself a favour and (when the time is right) listen to the song linked above. x

✧ ✧ ✧

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴛᴡᴏ: ᴅʀᴏᴡɴᴇᴅ ᴏᴜʀ sᴏʀʀᴏᴡs

❝ ʏᴏᴜ'ʀᴇ sᴘɪʀᴀʟʟɪɴɢ. ❞

✧ ✧ ✧

THE RIDE BACK DID NOT DO MUCH TO HELP CALM YOU DOWN. In fact, spending four hours on a restrictively-spaced quinjet by yourself only fuelled your rage. So much so that by the time you stepped foot back on S.H.I.E.L.D property, you were practically a walking-talking pillar of metaphorical fire.

You strutted down the glass-windowed corridors dangerously, veins pulsing and glowing blue because your temper was only worsening with each second that passed. You were trapped in your own world, too lost in thoughts over how you wanted to rip Jacob Ross' heart out to notice anyone around you, and hell-bent on getting to the training centre so that you could obliterate an army of training dummies.

"(Y/N)!"

You ignored the call of your name not because you wanted to, but because you didn't hear it.

"Hey! (Y/N)!"

Your body was jerked to a stop by a firm hand grabbing your arm and pulling you back a little. When you turned to snap at the person, you were met with the confused face of Spencer.

"Hey, I've been looking for you," he said.

"Well, you found me," you pulled your arm back and shrugged, "What?"

Frowning a tad at your standoffish attitude, the other agent began explaining himself. "I caught a mission out in Italy. Naples. I was wanting to know if you wanted to join."

As he spoke, his eyes caught sight of the blue glow under your skin and he frowned harder as he looked down at where your veins were protruding in your arms.

"Buuuuut now I see that that's probably not the best idea," he backtracked, reaching for your hand so that he could inspect your arm further; you yanked it back.

"No, actually, it's a great idea," you countered, "When do we fly out?"

Still unsure, given your current state, Spencer shook his head and opened his mouth with the intent of arguing that you should stay, but you silenced him with one deadly look.

Sighing in defeat, he relented. "7pm. That's in an hour. You better suit up."

✧ ✧ ✧

Naples, Italy.

"Shit," you cursed, ducking behind a crumbling stone wall just before a flurry of bullets came whizzing through the air, embedding themselves in what was left of a marble statue a few feet away from you.

Taking a breather, you looked down at your hands and clenched your fists, trying to channel as much of your anger as you could. You were still inexplicably filled with fury from your encounter with Jacob Ross half a day prior and admittedly, that was the main reason you came on this mission – to get rid of it.

So far you'd taken down a fairly large percentage of the enemies, but you weren't satisfied. The meeting with Jacob was merely a catalyst to kick start your rage, and it opened the floodgates to allow all of the emotions from the last year to come crashing through in one massive wave, drowning your logic and common sense as it did so.

You were acting like a woman possessed – taking risks without thinking of the consequences and doing things you normally wouldn't have – all to the distress of Spencer.

This mission had become less of a work-related thing for him and his priority had shifted from taking out the bad guys to making sure that you didn't get yourself killed.

Like right now, for instance. He was in the middle of combat with a respectably large henchman, but when out of his peripheral vision he saw you stand up and move right into the line of fire, he started panicking.

"(Y/N)!" he called out desperately, trying to get you to think clearly.

You paid no attention to him and simply proceeded with your plan. Raising both hands in front of you, you mumbled something under your breath that caused your eyes and veins to glow a bright blue and your hair to shift to a startling platinum colour, as the ocean tide began rising at the edge of the city.

Lifting your hands slowly, you began moving the water, urging the waves up to the sky. Once they were high enough for your liking, you brought your hands down in one swift motion, summoning the water forward to wash over the army that had been shooting at you; in one last show of anger, you willed the water to solidify and turn to ice.

But, your anger had influenced the strength of your powers much more than you'd anticipated, and not only did the waves wash over your enemies – it was continuing to wash over the rest of the city, too.

With a gasp, you hurriedly extended your hands to stop the phenomenon, creating a sort of force field, so that the water couldn't extend any further, and forced it to retreat back into the ocean.

The damage had already been done, though.

The entire coastline of the city was entombed in ice.

✧ ✧ ✧

S.H.I.E.L.D HQ. Washington, D.C.

Huddled up on the couch in The Director's office, you pulled your knees closer to your chest and rested your chin atop them. You gazed out of the glass wall/window at the city outside, observing everything yet nothing at all.

You were so lost in thought that you didn't even hear your godfather enter the room, and only noticed his presence when he was close enough that you could spot his reflection in the glass.

"How bad is it?" you questioned, voice barely louder than a murmur.

"Manageable," he answered, stepping around the couch, "Fortunately, the battle forced all of the civilians away from the coastline and into the safety of the middle of the city, so they're unharmed."

You let out a breath you hadn't realised you'd been holding, a warm wave of relief sweeping over you at the confirmation that you hadn't killed anyone.

"Same can't be said for their homes, however," he continued, causing you to close your eyes as the relief was replaced with guilt, "Still. Could've been worse. We got lucky."

With a scoff and shake of your head, you let your legs drop off of the sofa. "You mean I got lucky. This was me, all me. All of it is on me."

"(Y/N)," Fury spoke firmly, reaching out to turn your face so that you were looking at him, "You are a S.H.I.E.L.D agent and you were there under S.H.I.E.L.D orders. Our agents are our liability and if they screw up, it's as much our fault as it is theirs."

"Oh please, uncle Nick," you laughed bitterly, "You and I both know that the only reason I'm not getting suspended right now is because I'm your freaking goddaughter."

Fury inhaled and pulled his jaw taut. "You're right – you're my freaking goddaughter. And it's my responsibility to make sure that you're okay. What happened in Italy... that was more than just an accident. It was a cry for help. And honestly, it is largely my fault, 'cause I shoulda known. I shoulda known that throwing you into mission after mission wasn't good for you. I shoulda known that you're still hurting. That you're still angry over..." he trailed off.

Your head snapped to the right to look at Fury with a challenging expression. "Over Brendon's death?" you finished for him, voice void of all emotion. "It's alright," you gave a small shrug, "You can say it. There's no need to walk on eggshells around me."

"Clearly there is," he countered with a challenging face of his own, "(Y/N), you're spiralling and – believe me, sweetie – that's not something that you wanna do. So I think it's best if you just..." he sighed and arched his brows as he rubbed his hand over the bottom half of his face, "take a break from being an agent for a little bit, alright?"

You wanted to argue, to yell at him that it wasn't necessary for you to go on a super-hiatus, but you knew that you couldn't. Because he was right. You were spiralling. And if you didn't set yourself straight, there was no telling what you would do next.

So, you nodded in agreement and let him envelope you in an embrace, as both of you pretended that he couldn't feel the torrent of tears cascading down your cheeks.

~

"I'm so sorry."

Closing your eyes, you carefully placed your tablet onto the tabletop and turned to look at your company with a huff.

"That's literally the fifteenth time you've apologised, Aaron, and for the fifteenth time – stop saying you're sorry; it wasn't your fault!"

Knitting his brows together, the doctor shook his head and hurried across the room so that he was right in front of you.

"It is! If I hadn't taken you with me to Alcatraz then you wouldn't have seen my father and he would've had made you angry and-"

Holding up a hand to silence his rambling, you uncrossed your legs and leaned forward in your seat. "Hey, you didn't force me into going, alright? I made the decision to go with you. So, this really is all my fault."

"Yes but-"

"Stop."

Realizing that he was fighting a losing battle, the doctor relented. With a drop of his shoulders, he shut his mouth and shuffled back to his seat at the other side of the room as both of you went back to messing around on your tablets.

At least, you did.

Aaron took to doing something much more interesting – watching you. He studied your body language and all of your subtle movements; it didn't take a degree in psychology to come to the conclusion that you weren't in the greatest of mental states.

After drawing in a sharp breath, he took the chance of speaking again.

"Love?"

You continued scrolling through the electronic pages as you answered. "Yes, Aaron?"

"When was the last time you had a fun night out?"

"Mm," you pursed your lips and narrowed your eyes before turning to look at him, "does that time I turned a guy into an ice sculpture count?"

Aaron chuckled softly and skewed his mouth to the side. "Sadly not."

"Well then we're talking a solid six, seven months. Why?" you cocked your head to the side. "What do you have in mind?"

✧ ✧ ✧

That night. A karaoke bar.

"Karaoke?" you sighed in disbelief as Aaron led you into the crowded bar. "Really? This is your idea of a fun night out?"

Aaron nodded as he spun around and started walking backwards, eyes darting all around the room as he threw his hands out sideways.

"Pub food, great drinks, tons of music..." he rattled off with a wide grin before cocking one brow and smirking at you, "What could be better than this?"

"Literally anything else."

The doctor's happy attitude faltered and he looked at you pleadingly. "This isn't going to work if you're going to act like a buzzkill."

With a heavy sigh and a monumental eye-roll, you reluctantly shuffled forward – for Aaron's sake. It was evident that he was trying hard to get you to snap out of your depressive state, and you didn't have the heart to shut him down.

And who knows? Maybe you'd actually enjoy the night.

When you starting moving towards him, Aaron perked up immediately and took you by the hand, leading you to a table at the back of the bar, just in front of the stage. He was his usual chivalrous self, pulling out the chair for you and offering to get you a drink. You thanked him and asked for your drink of choice.

With your counterpart occupied with the task of getting your drinks, you took the time to study the little hotspot. It wasn't too big, and it had an old-school rock 'n roll feel to it. Framed posters of legendary artists such as Queen, Bon Jovi, Michael Jackson and lots of others adorned all four walls, and complimented the vintage furniture perfectly.

You smiled to yourself as you continued surveying the room; even though Aaron had been way off in thinking that you liked karaoke, you had to admit that his choice of bars fit your personal aesthetic perfectly.

"Here you go, love," Aaron smiled, setting your drink down in front of you before taking a seat across from you.

"Thanks." You took a sip, then folded your forearms on the tabletop and leaned forward. "So do you wanna explain why you brought me here?"

Aaron smiled sheepishly and took a couple sips from his glass of Jameson before answering. "You've had an incredibly rough time these last two years, and it's just now starting to take its toll. You're hurting and well...Music always makes things better."

You arched your brows teasingly. "Yeah, not when said music is being butchered by drunk strangers up on stage," you sniggered.

"Actually, the patrons that come here just so happen to be quite talented," he chimed, cocking his head at the crowded tables surrounding you two.

"Oh?" you questioned in surprise. "You come here often, then?"

He scrunched his face up and shook his head, waving one hand dismissively. "Once or twice."

A group of employees strolled past, then, all extending lively greetings to your partner, with some even slapping his shoulder affectionately. You bit your lip as you watched them walk away, then you turned to Aaron with a condescending smile.

He sighed in defeat and slumped forward. "Alright, it might have been more than twice. But tonight isn't about me..."

You laughed.

"...it's about you. It's about getting you to smile and be happy – genuinely happy – for at least a few moments."

With your heart thumping against your ribcage and a lump forming in your throat because of how wonderful the man sitting in front of you was, you gave his hand a gentle squeeze in a show of your gratefulness.

"I think we've made some progress already."

Many drinks later.

"Woo!" you and Aaron clapped and cheered loudly as the woman who'd just sung a stunning rendition of Queen's 'Somebody To Love' took a bow and blew a kiss to the crowd before walking offstage.

"She was amazing!" you beamed in awe, looking at Aaron, who nodded eagerly.

"She was. See? I told you that these people are talented. Hey," he tapped the back of his hand against your arm a few times and raised his glass, "A toast to you – you've been through so much shit recently; you've lost and you've pained enough to last a lifetime and yet... you're still standing. Strong, brave, and as beautiful as ever."

Apparently, some of the customers and employees had been listening in on the doctor's little speech, and they showed their support in a chorus of 'Hear, hear!'s. Tucking a strand of hair behind your ear, you averted your gaze and chewed on your lip delicately.

"To you, love," Aaron said softly, holding out his glass for you to clink your own against, which you did.

The two of you took gulps from your drinks as the DJ approached you, stopping next to Aaron and whispering something in his ear. The doctor nodded and gave a slight smile, and the DJ patted him on the back before returning to his station, speaking into his mic seconds later.

"We've had an absolutely spectacular night tonight, ladies and gents," he said loudly, in that animated voice that DJs and radio presenters use, "And you know how we do things here – save the best for last, right? So without further ado, the last performer of the night and a man that needs no other introduction – Doctor Aaron Ross, everybody!"

If you weren't frozen in shock from the mention of his name, you were certain that the raucous applause that followed it would've startled you enormously.

With a smirk and a wink in your direction, the doctor stood up from his seat and crossed over to the stage, taking the mic from the outstretched hand of one of the cheering employees.

"This is for you, (Y/N)," he said into the mic as he settled himself on the stage, garnering another loud round of applause. He counted down from three, and the opening notes to Elton John's 'I'm Still Standing' sounded through the air.

You watched, utterly dumbfounded, as the doctor began moving across the stage with such excellent stage presence that you almost didn't recognise him.

"You could never know what it's like

Your blood like winter freezes just like ice

And there's a cold lonely light that shines from you

You'll wind up like the wreck you hide behind that mask you use

And did you think this fool could never win

Well look at me, I'm coming back again

I got a taste of love in a simple way

And if you need to know while I'm still standing you just fade away," he sang, dancing around the stage as the entire bar clapped along.

Then, just as the chorus started, he hopped down from the platform and slinked in between the mass of bodies in the crowd, singing a little to random people before navigating back to you, circling the table at which you were seated.

"Don't you know I'm still standing better than I ever did

Looking like a true survivor, feeling like a little kid

And I'm still standing after all this time

I'm picking up the pieces of my life without you on my mind

I'm still standing, yeah, yeah, yeah

I'm still standing, yeah, yeah, yeah," he serenaded you, getting you to smile without even thinking about it as he did so.

You had not at all been expecting this but now that it was happening... my god, it was amazing. During the small break between the chorus and the second verse, he took your hand and planted a kiss on it before bending down and using your hand to twirl him around – an action that you couldn't help but laugh at.

"Once I never could hope to win

You starting down the road and leaving me again

The threats you made were meant to cut me down

And if our love was just a circus you'd be a clown by now," he continued and as the chorus began again, he leapt up onto your table and sang his heart out.

"And don't you know I'm still standing better than I ever did

Looking like a true survivor, I'm feeling like a little kid

And I'm still standing after all this time

I'm picking up the pieces of my life without you on my mind

I'm still standing, yeah, yeah, yeah

I'm still standing, yeah, yeah, yeah."

"Come on," he urged; a guitar solo sounded on the track and you yelped as Aaron pulled you up out of your seat and began dancing you around the room – spinning, dipping and twirling you as you went along.

You were laughing giddily as you let him move you, feeling totally carefree and focusing on nothing else but what was happening in the moment.

When time came for him to start singing again, he went to pick up the mic from where he'd placed it on the table, but still kept you close to him.

"And don't you know I'm still standing better than I ever did

Looking like a true survivor, I'm feeling like a little kid

And I'm still standing after all this time

I'm picking up the pieces of my life without you on my mind

I'm still standing, yeah, yeah, yeah

I'm still standing, yeah, yeah, yeah

I'm still standing, yeah, yeah, yeah

I'm still standing, yeah, yeah, yeah."

The song ended and the entire bar – but especially you – erupted in a huge, ear-shattering round of applause. With a smile and a short laugh, Aaron held up a hand and bowed his head a little to say thank you, not loosening his grip on your waist and quite frankly, in that moment, you didn't want him to.

He finally focused his gaze on you and only you, and gave a smile that made your heart do all kinds of funny things.

"I- you're-" you stuttered with wide eyes, at a complete loss of words, "wow."

He thinned his lips in amusement and raised one brow in question. "I'm wow?"

"You're wow," you nodded eagerly.

With a gloriously beautiful laugh, he reached over to grab both of your coats and slung yours over your shoulder.

"Come on, love." He put his hand on the small of your back and gently guided you to the door, leaning close so that you could hear him over the noise as you treaded through the crowd. "Before Fury sends out a search party."

He opened the door and allowed you to walk through into the chilly night air before exiting himself. As soon as you fell into stride alongside each other, you linked your arm in his and shuffled closer to him.

"So I know that I gave you shit at the beginning of the night buuuuut," you looked up at him from the corner of your eye and pressed your tongue to the roof of your mouth, "I had a really, really, really good time. Especially the last ten minutes. The last ten minutes were the best ten minutes of the last two years."

He laughed, taken aback, and shook his head lightly. "Highly doubt that that's true, but thank you. I'm glad I could make that beautiful smile reappear."

You were a bit buzzed from all of the drinks you'd consumed (not at all drunk, only very slightly tipsy) and you once again let a giggle slip out.

"So you're insanely smart, wonderfully handsome and you have the voice of an angel?" you questioned, leaning against his arm. "You really are wow, Doctor Aaron Ross."

Aaron couldn't stop the smile that sneaked itself onto his face. "You're wower."

You laughed loudly. "That's not a word."

"'Course it is," he frowned, moving to stand in front of you as the two of you stopped at the end of the block, waiting for a taxi, "I just said it, didn't I?"

"Just 'cause you said it doesn't mean it's real," you argued.

"No?" he twitched his lips and took a step closer.

"No," you whispered, moving so close to him that you could see the flecks of hazel in his green eyes, even through his glasses, and you snaked your hands through his hair and slowly pulled his mouth down to yours.

The moment your lips connected with his, you felt at peace for the first time in a very, very long time. That peace, much to your dismay, lasted a mere five seconds before Aaron pulled away.

You looked up at him with slightly hooded eyes, and he smiled adoringly at you as he brushed your hair out of your face.

"You're definitely wower, love."

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Thank you for reading x

Note: okay okay okay since you probably all hate me atm I'm going to give you a few moments to cool off because I have a question to ask you guys so when you've left all the hateful comments that you've wanted to, please scroll/page forward to get to it, okay? love u

What was your feelings towards The Hounds? Did you like them? Hate them? I couldn't really tell and for the sake of future books, I need some kind of indication. x