A/N: so, yeah, here it is. 190 reads! yey! thank you guys, so so much! this means the absolute world to me. hope you like this chapter, there's a bit of uhhh.... well, just read it, haha. as usual, leave a comment, a review, a message. tell me what you think.
love lots and lots
~A2V~
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Natasha took a deep breath when she saw the lights of the barn; in the fading light of the setting sun, it looked like what it used to be. Except that the entrance, instead of being a large barn door, was a dark wood door that had a large letter V carved in the middle of it, on one side of the V there was a carving of an Angel wing, on the other, a bat wing. If you needed a sign that this was where you would find a Valentin, this was it, loud and clear. Also, there were windows; all the drapes were down, though, so she could not see where the windows led. There was also a front porch, flanking the main door were porch windows, drapes also down. Nat thought that in the light of day, it might look like a large farmhouse; she also noticed that there was light coming from the windows on the top floor. It was a two-floor house. A two-floor house the size of a barn, what on earth did Valkyrie put inside all that space?
Just as she was about to knock, with the two super soldiers leaning on the wooden porch railings, admiring the view, she heard the playful barks of the two large dogs approaching. Steve and James tensed immediately as the dogs moved towards them, up the front porch steps, and started sniffing their shoes. Natasha knocked on the door, and Val opened it with a smile. She was wearing a light blue sweater over her jeans, and slippers. As soon as the two dogs heard the door open, they rushed inside, forgetting completely about their visitors.
"Welcome to my humble abode," Val grinned as she ushered them inside. It was very rustic, all wood and stone. The front entryway led to a large sitting room, off to the far right side were a set of stairs that led to the top floor, the sitting room had a chocolate brown carpet in front of a large TV, two cream sofas-one facing the TV, the other facing the entryway, and in the middle of it all was a slab of granite over two rectangular stones that acted as the coffee table. On top of the coffee table were an AK-47 and a Desert Eagle.
"Nice guns, Val," Natasha observed, picking up the Eagle.
"You have to always be prepared, you know," Val said as she took the gun from Natasha and crouched by the sofa to return them to their hiding places.
"Nice place, Angel," Steve said, looking around the sitting room and noting that on the walls, there were blades of every kind used as decoration: spears, swords, daggers, and what looked like a dagger-tipped whip rolled up beside the stairs.
"You like my décor?" Val smiled, "I made them all myself!"
"Really," Steve's eyebrows shot up in shock, "Where'd you make 'em?"
"In my backyard," Val answered, "About 5-minutes walk from here, there's an old outhouse I converted into a forge."
"So this was a real farm, then?" Nat asked as she put her backpack on the floor by one of the sofas.
"Yep, it was," Val answered, "The owner hadn't used it in decades, and then one time while I was tracking this mountain lion, I came across this place. Pulled some strings, bought the land, had it all renovated, and here I am." She spread her arms wide.
James whistled, "How'd you keep this all under radar?"
"That's a story to tell over dinner," Val winked at him, "You guys go freshen up, first, there are two extra rooms upstairs, last two doors on the left."
"Just two rooms?" Nat asked, a knowing smile spreading on her face.
"Yes, just two rooms, each has their own bathroom, the boys can share," Val said dismissively as she turned to walk to the kitchen/ dining room.
"Maybe Bucky can stay with you?" Steve asked, grinning like the Cheshire cat.
Val whirled around and looked at Steve, shock all over her face, and she saw that she wasn't the only one shocked at Captain America's suggestion, Nat was staring open-mouthed at him as well, and James was glaring daggers, he looked like he could strangle his friend right then and there.
"You told him?" Val quirked a brow at James, who then looked sheepishly at her.
"The thing is," James began, rubbing the back of his neck, "When you told me not to tell anyone, my best friend wasn't included."
"Ugh, whatever," Val shrugged, "If you want to stay in my room, that's fine. It's that door over there." She pointed to a door beside the stairwell, then she turned around and disappeared into the kitchen.
"So, Bucky," Steve smiled and looked at his best friend, "Where are you staying?"
"Shut up, squirt," James snarled, then marched to the door that Val pointed out to them.
Steve snickered as he and a very amused Natasha walked up the steps to their rooms.
James walked into Valkyrie's bedroom, marveling at the smooth dark wood floor, and the pale lilac painted walls. As soon as he entered, he saw there was a king sized bed with rich, cream-colored beddings, beside the bed, by the back window, there was a Victorian style vanity. On the other end of the room there was a large, faded, silver closet. In front of the bed, was a plush royal purple carpet by the large bedroom window from which you could see a bit of the river bend, on top of that were two high-back Victorian chairs, the armrests and legs a weathered-silver color, and upholstered in the same shade of dark purple as the carpet. Beside the window, there was a large bookshelf filled to the brim with books. He smiled; he didn't know she liked to read. James surveyed the large room some more, and saw a door to his right; he assumed this was Val's bathroom, so he put his pack beside the bed, and dug out some clothes. As he removed his shirt and folded it, he heard the door open. Turning around quickly, he watched as Val's eyes widened at his shirtless form.
"Hey," James smiled sheepishly at her, "You said I could use your room, so..." he let the sentence hang.
Valkyrie swallowed, it had been a while since she'd seen James shirtless and they were alone, in a room with doors they could lock and windows they could close. Damn, he looked good; especially with the easy-smile on his face and the mischief in his eyes. She couldn't resist.
To James' happy surprise, Val walked to him quickly and pulled him down for a long, deep kiss. It took him a few seconds to register what was happening, realizing that Angel was kissing him; he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her back, just as hungrily as she was kissing him.
Val felt his arms tighten around her, and she lost it.
All caution and rationality was thrown to the wind as she let him ravage her mouth and she let her tongue dance with his. She pressed herself against him some more, as if that was even possible, and raked her fingers down his bare back, eliciting a groan from him, and she smiled against his lips. She pushed him backwards and they tumbled onto the bed, the satin sheets billowing with their impact. Val climbed on top of James, legs straddling his hips, still not breaking the kiss. It had been too long, and she felt like she had been lost at sea for months and months, and she had found land all of a sudden and there was fresh water. He was her fresh water, so she drank her fill, and she drank deep.
"Angel," James mumbled against her lips, and she broke the kiss only to trail butterfly kisses on his jaw all the way down to his bare chest.
"Mmm..." she hummed as she continued to trace his scars with her lips first, then her tongue.
James growled her name again and tangled his fingers in her hair as he pulled her up to his mouth. He kissed her with a hunger of a man who had not eaten for days. He had missed her, every time he was out on assignment and his memories would come back, she was the first, always the first memory, the first face, the first feeling. For two years, he had been wiped over and over again, but he knew somewhere inside him there was a touchstone, and that was her.
She broke the kiss to take a breath, her face hovering a few inches above his as she braced her weight on her arms, her hair making a curtain around their faces, making them feel they were the only people in the world, again.
"Hey, handsome," she whispered with a small smile.
James cupped cheek with his metal arm, "Hey, gorgeous," he smiled back up at her.
Val looked at his arm, "Oh! It isn't metal, anymore," she said, surprised.
"Yeah, Stark," James answered, grazing his knuckles across her cheekbone. Val sighed and closed her eyes, enjoying the warmth their bodies created and the feel of him under her. She raked a hand through her hair to put it away from her face, then she lay down beside him, their legs dangling off the side of the bed. She faced him and started tracing his features with her fingers.
"I missed you," she admitted quietly, never taking her eyes off of his. She watched as James' eyes softened.
"Missed you, too, sweets," he whispered back, letting his thumb trace her lower lip.
"Dinner's almost ready," Val said softly, smiling as she felt James' hand trace her waist.
"Guess I got to get ready then, huh?" he asked as he watched his hand travel up her body and felt her shiver.
"Yeah, you should," Val answered, closing her eyes and reveling in his touch. She ran her hand down the length of his torso, "There's someone I want you to meet."
"Who?" he sat up, and Val looked at his muscled back, she let her hand trace the chords and valleys and scars there.
"I kind of adopted someone before I met you," she said simply.
James looked at her in surprise, "You're a mom?" he asked, quirking a brow.
"I guess you could say that," Val answered, smiling at his reaction, "But she's more of a sister than anything else. Get up and get ready, Soldier, I'll see you outside, yeah?" she finished as she stood in front of him and gave him a lingering kiss.
"Yeah," James answered, smiling as she walked out the door. She could have asked him to get her the moon, and he'd have done everything in his power to do it. He chuckled at himself, he was hooked. But then, he knew that ever since Czechoslovakia.