Call me Aegis

‘Sure, kid and I’m secretly a millionaire who doesn’t take orders for a living.” The sarcasm is heavy in his tone as he looks at her, her mask covering most of her face, leading him to wonder exactly who in shield she was related to. “I’m sure.” He could see the way her brows knit together and he shrugs. “Hero type, feel like you’ve got something to prove, feel like you gotta protect the little guy.” He speaks from experience at least when it comes to protecting the little guy, he’s not a hero. 

“I mean, you could be.” Aegis shrugged. Didn’t matter how he looked or dressed. Tony Stark wore crazy band tshirts and had facial hair. It’s not like there was a definition of what a millionaire looked like. She decided to concede though. “But I see your point. I don’t exactly exude intimidation.” 

Hero type? Oh. Oh, yeah. That did sound like her. Sounded like her whole family, really.

“I didn’t see the point,” Chen answered with a shrug. “She tends to just send junk she’s trying to get rid of. One time, she sent me a whole box full of VHS tapes that had all her soaps recorded on it. I just assumed she’d found some weird things to send the baby.”

She gave Aimee her thanks and pulled open the flaps of the box. Her body froze as she looked into the package, a soft gasp escaping her. She managed to push back her emotions as she picked up the framed picture that was sitting on top. The photo was of a young woman, smiling widely as she held a small baby in her arms. The woman was a near spitting image of Chen’s mother, except for the fact that this woman had a short bob. Chen’s fingers brushed over the picture as if it were a precious trinket before she turned and showed it to Aimee, a hint of tears in her eyes.

“That’s my aunt.”

Aimee knew that look. It was something she saw on Sterling’s face from time to time. That look of emotional recognition. In seeing something from his mother. It was a look she herself wished she could have but the only family she’d ever known was the little one she currently had. She remained quiet a moment, watching Chen and letting her have her moment of nostalgia before speaking. 

That got Chen to laugh. “You’re probably right. As long as he can hold it together in that delivery room before she gets here, he can cry all he wants. I just need his head in the game during that time.”

With the topic turning towards one of her favorite people now, she smiled down at her stomach, resting her hands on either side. “She’s been a trouper today. I’m just waiting for the shoe to drop and her start kicking me in the ribs or something.”

“It’s gonna be WORSE in the delivery room. You know how long this man has wanted to raise a kid who wasn’t blonde? He’s gonna need more recovery time than YOU.” Abby laughed, nudging her playfully. 

“Nooo... Ara is gonna be a good girl for mommy today, isn’t that right?” Aimee cooed sweetly to Chen’s stomach. “That’s an order, little one.” 

“Yeah, you’ll be hearing a lot of that.” Abby crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. “It’s still ok if we stay with you guys that first week, right?” 

Despite the fact that the whole point of her requesting help from Aimee was so that she didn’t have to get up, Chen found herself moving to try and stand. “You know, I don’t actually know what she sent. I figured it was a bunch of junk and decided to deal with it down the line and now…well I’m too far gone to move it. But I suppose we could open it together if you want to know what’s in there before anyone else.”

Aimee lit up with the possibility of finding out first. A rare mischievous smile crossed her lips and she eagerly jumped to her feet. 

“Deal!” She said, racing down the hall to retrieve the box. It took her a moment to find it but when she finally returned she brought it with her into the room with Chen to open rather than straight to the nursery. “Why didn’t you open it when you got it? It’s from your mom. What if it was important?” 

“When is anything around us ever normal?” Ava shot back, finishing the rest of her hot dog in one large bite. That was what she struggled with the most: going back to normal and being without the pain or getting to use her talents for something better and continuing to suffer. “… no one’s ever told me about my eyes before. It was… different to hear something nice being said about me for a change. So, thank you.”

Aegis smiled widely at her friend, happy she had given her something nice. It did bother her, however, that she was so unused to compliments that this was her first. Even if it was just about her eyes. 

She smiled again at the two of them. She never thought she would have ended up with such a loving family and the thought left her a little misty eyed. Her entire life had seemed like it was heading towards a path of loneliness and isolation. And now here she was, surrounded by friends, married to the love of her life, supported by her family, and with a baby on the way. It was all a lot to take in, all in the best possible way.

“Oh absolutely,” Chen chuckled, quickly going to wipe a loose tear away before they noticed. “I’m almost crying over Gouda but I’m still willing to bet that man is going to end up crying more than I will over this whole thing.”

“Oh God yeah. By the end of this party he’s going to be in the bedroom crying his eyes out over something star shaped too. And he doesn’t even have hormones to blame.” Abby grinned widely. She liked this adorable sisterly holding hands thing. She half expected the lights above them to brighten announcing that they were the new Power of 3 witches like in Charmed. Wouldn’t that be some shit. Aimee would totally be Phoebe. Chen would be Prue. 

“Think she believe me if I said they made me cry because they tasted so good?” Chen asked as she popped another one into her mouth. She chuckled quietly, shaking her head at Abby. “Nope, that one was a fifty-fifty decision. Here’s hoping Ara doesn’t get sick of looking at stars and turtles as a kid.”

She finished off her last piece of cheese, chewing it as she reached over to take each girls’ hand. A warm smile passed her features as she looked at them. “I’m really glad you both could be here today.”

“I think she would. It’s cheese. I might cry too when I go get some. If enough people do it she’ll have to believe it, right?” Abby grinned, crossing her arms, but soon Chen was stealing one of her hands. Her smile softened and she double squeezed Chen’s hand for support. 

“Of course. We wouldn’t miss this for anything. You’re our sister.” Aimee nodded, double squeezing her hand as well. 

JJ wandered through Sterling and Chen’s apartment nodding at people and eventually finding a quieter spot to sit and take everything in. She knew Sterling kept the list small for a very good reason, but the number of people here still set her on edge. She’d give it a little bit then she’d go over and talk to the woman of the hour, but Chen was pretty popular.

“Miss Joon, I--Oh! I’m so sorry!” Aimee looked up in surprise as the red headed woman she had approached turned out to be the wrong woman. She hadn’t expected that. “I’m Aimee. Noah’s sister. Sorry, Erikson’s.”