Requisite and Sensibility

Chapter 34 - Tensions

Kronos felt like he had been crushed under debris for ages, which he, technically, had been millenia ago, but now he was ready for revenge. He slowly flexed his fingers, his gold skin cracked slightly and he frowned. Reimagining himself as his humanoid figure, he looked down at the water to see a handsome reflection staring back at him. A pale man with black hair and golden eyes. He smiled gruesomely, "Oh, my dear Megan, I'm coming for you." He sang cheerily.

Megan sat bolt upright in bed, her heart was pounding in her ears, Natasha's arm fell off from around Megan's waist and she twisted in bed to snuggle closer to Steve. Bucky's metal arm clenched harder around Megan, "Mm, back to sleep, baby." He mumbled drowsily, but Megan couldn't bring herself to speak. Hot tears flooded her and she pursed her lips to keep from the sounds of her sobs being heard as she trembled in bed. Bucky noticed and he furrowed his brows as he got up to sit beside her in bed, he glanced at Megan's face in the dark making out a silver silhouette of her tears.

"Baby, what's wrong?" He asked and Megan buried her face in his chest, Natasha blinked, getting up as well, leaving Steve the only one who was snoring peacefully, undisturbed by the rest of them. Natasha looked over at him and sighed, she slapped him on his head and he woke up with a startle, "Huh, what's wrong?" "Meg's crying but she won't tell us why." Nat whispered and Steve got up, walking over to Megan's side of the bed, he held out his hands and Megan crawled from Bucky to Steve's body. He held her under her thighs as her head rested on his chest, his heartbeat soothing her.

He held her like someone might hold a drowsy child, softly yet firmly in his grasp, kissing her on her soft hair. "Megan... I need you to talk, love." Megan sighed shakily, she shook her head against Steve's chest and Natasha cracked a small smile. She couldn't believe she was about to do this, but if it got her wife to stop crying and smiling again, she would do it.

"Down by the bay, where the watermelons grow." Natasha sang, her voice coming out gravelly at first due to sleep, but once warmed properly, coming out smooth. "Back to my home, I dare not go." Bucky sang along with his wife, cracking a wide grin. "Cause if I do, my mother will say..." Steve added on, swaying with Megan in his arms as she giggled slightly. "Have you ever seen the four? That got married on the shore? Down by the bay." Megan's muffled voice sounded from Steve's chest.

It was stupid, really, their silly take on a classic children's rhyme. All four knew it was the cheer-up rhyme, if one person was down, the other three would sing and the last person would have to sing along with them. It always worked to cheer all of them because of the sheer silliness of the rhyme. "Ok, ok." Megan giggled against Steve's chest, she had calmed down significantly. She wiped her remaining tears as Steve set her down on the bed again. "Sorry." She mumbled, "For what?" Bucky asked, wrapping his hand around her's, "For waking all of you up."

Natasha draped her arms around Megan from where she sat behind her, she rested her chin on Megan's shoulder, "You can wake us up anytime." Megan smiled, "I just..." Steve kneeled in front of her, "Baby, what's wrong?" Megan took a deep, shaky breath, "He's here." "Who is?" Bucky asked, tightening his grasp on Megan's hand. "Kronos."

***

The Avengers were suited in the early dawn in less than 10 minutes as they stood together at the edge of the clearing where Megan had assured that the golden-eyed man would come. They peered out into their surroundings and surely enough, Kronos strolled in, humming something, his demeanor completely relaxed. "Hey, Hi!" he said to Megan excitedly as if they were old friends. She growled, a deep fire erupting awake in her body, her mind a haze. "Kronos." She spoke calmly, even surprising herself.

"How's Faaz? Oh, oh that's right. Silly me." Kronos mocked and Megan closed her eyes, when she opened them again they were pure red, glowing with such raw pain and power that the Avengers near her backed away slightly due to the heat emanating from her glowing body. She cocked her head to one side and smiled at Kronos, "He's doing great, thanks to you." Kronos smiled, but everyone could tell he was unsettled, "That's... that's great." Megan hummed in agreement, "Don't you think so?" Kronos took a visible shaky breath.