Ethan Lynch

Ethan couldn’t help the groan that came from him as his eyes fluttered open. He couldn’t focus properly and something was buzzing annoyingly in his ear. He could hardly think around the sound. He tried to lift a hand to swat at whatever bug, but found that his arm was much heavier than he remembered. 

He closed his eyes again and struggled to focus. Come on Lynch, think. What’s happening. He fought through blurry memories, trying to understand how he’d fallen asleep in so much pain. 

Walking, Amelia, explosion. 

“MELIA!” His eyes opened suddenly as he name broke free from his lips. Where was she? He tried to push himself up, but something was pinning him.

Ethan couldn’t help the groan that came from him as his eyes fluttered open. He couldn’t focus properly and something was buzzing annoyingly in his ear. He could hardly think around the sound. He tried to lift a hand to swat at whatever bug, but found that his arm was much heavier than he remembered. 

He closed his eyes again and struggled to focus. Come on Lynch, think. What’s happening. He fought through blurry memories, trying to understand how he’d fallen asleep in so much pain. 

Walking, Amelia, explosion. 

“MELIA!” His eyes opened suddenly as he name broke free from his lips. Where was she? He tried to push himself up, but something was pinning him.

“Close your eyes, ‘melia, get some rest.”

Ethan couldn’t help the groan that came from him as his eyes fluttered open. He couldn’t focus properly and something was buzzing annoyingly in his ear. He could hardly think around the sound. He tried to lift a hand to swat at whatever bug, but found that his arm was much heavier than he remembered. 

He closed his eyes again and struggled to focus. Come on Lynch, think. What’s happening. He fought through blurry memories, trying to understand how he’d fallen asleep in so much pain. 

Walking, Amelia, explosion. 

“MELIA!” His eyes opened suddenly as he name broke free from his lips. Where was she? He tried to push himself up, but something was pinning him.

“Close your eyes, ‘melia, get some rest.”

@ex-agentethan

The kids were asleep. All of them, at the same time. It was a rare evening, with both of them home, and with the house so quiet. She had originally planned to have a glass of wine and catch up on some reading, but then Ethan started playing the song they had danced to at their wedding on his phone, extending his hand to her.

“Certainly not,” he said with a grin that made him look 26 again. “I don’t think anyone was prepared for the two of us.”

Charlotte laughed softly, lifting her chin to kiss him on the lips. God, how had she gotten so lucky meeting him? Sure, it hadn’t been on the best of circumstances, but they had moved past that so quickly, it was almost like it had never happened. 

@ex-agentethan

“This is about me going too far from the rest of the hunting party last week, isn’t it?” Charlotte asked, crossing her arms over her chest as she gave the young guard a look. Of course her father would want to punish her for being so careless in his eyes, when she only wanted to explore. She hadn’t gone far, and hadn’t planned on going very far at all, and yet he still acted like she had been lost for days.

Ethan grinned to hear her laugh, and loved the fact that he had brought about that laughter. He indulged himself for only a moment, imagining the pair of them running away to live in the forest, away from the castle and its rules and restrictions. “You’d rule your subjects with a fair and benevolent hand.”

Ethan shrugged at the thought of his home. “I suppose it would be interestin’ for a short time, but then the boredom sets in and nothing there ever changes.”

Charlotte’s smile grew, and she paused as they reached the door that led to the gardens. Wasn’t that what she was learning to do in the first place? Rule with a fair and benevolent hand? She wouldn’t be her father’s carbon copy, she would make sure of it. “And you will be there, won’t you? As my right hand man? I’m sure the deer will listen to you.”

@ex-agentethan

“This is about me going too far from the rest of the hunting party last week, isn’t it?” Charlotte asked, crossing her arms over her chest as she gave the young guard a look. Of course her father would want to punish her for being so careless in his eyes, when she only wanted to explore. She hadn’t gone far, and hadn’t planned on going very far at all, and yet he still acted like she had been lost for days.

Ethan’s eyes flickered easily between Charlotte’s face, and the hallway behind her which she couldn’t see but was easily walking towards. How she did it in a skirt, he’d never know. “Charlotte of the House Finch, Queen of the trees,” he teased her with a sloppy grin.

“It was wide open, flat land as far as the eye could see,” he said waving his arm in a wide arc. “But it was unbelievable boring,” an overly-dramatic sigh passed his lips. “rows and rows and rows of grain and nothin’ to do but stare at it.” He shook his head ruefully. “You know how the other half lives, one room for the whole family, hot in the summer cold in the winter,” he shrugged. “Not much to say, really.”

Charlotte laughed, loud and clear, her eyes crinkling around the edges. How she would love to be Queen of the Trees instead of a simple princess almost always locked in the tower for the trouble she caused. At least she’d be outside all the time, instead of cooped up inside all the time. “I actually quite like that. Perhaps we can declare that one day, have our own little coronation ceremony. Instead of a crown I can wear a flower wreath.”

@ex-agentethan

The kids were asleep. All of them, at the same time. It was a rare evening, with both of them home, and with the house so quiet. She had originally planned to have a glass of wine and catch up on some reading, but then Ethan started playing the song they had danced to at their wedding on his phone, extending his hand to her.

He smiled and spun them around in a slow circle as the song began to wind down. “We really were made for each other, hmm? The two of us, too much alike for our own good.

“Plus, I don’t think Aiden wold ever speak to me again,” he said fondly. 

“It would seem like we were,” Charlotte agreed. “Honestly, what was the Universe thinking, creating the two of us together like it did? Did it not know how much trouble it was causing?” 

16 hours, 37 minutes and 14 seconds and counting. This wasn’t Ethan’s longest stakeout – no, his personal record was 32 hours, but it was by far the most boring. Usually, there was someone doing something on these missions. His eyes had long since glazed over at the sheer monotony of his subject’s routine. He was so desperate for entertainment, he’d counting the dings and nicks on the inside of the surveillance van. 

If things continued down this path, he might have to pick up a newspaper or something. He was already disgusted with himself for thinking about it. 

The agent was desperate for something, anything, to alleviate his boredom.

They had also been watching her after she appeared in hero scene in the city- electrokinesis wasn’t something that came by everyday and she always wanted to help her fellow citizens who lived in the same city. What better way could she help?

Having the special abilities Skylark possessed couldn’t have set her up for a simple life. Escaping from a Lab couldn’t have helped either- and it certainly didn’t.

Rain was always a problem for her and of course it was pouring, she didn’t want to short circuit herself- she had once before and it was a close call. Of course she could shower like everybody else, with a special device. But she wouldn’t want to wear it around during the day, she didn’t want to be a dead giveaway to who she was.

She continued down the street after her verylong shift at the strip club, a large black umbrella over her head- times had hit her hard and she was a server there as it paid well and she occasionally was allowed to sing if it was a slow night for the regulars. Sometimes she wouldn’t go home for 20 hours at a time.

Finally something was happening. Here was his subject, walking right across the front of his van, and oh- damn. They’d made eye  contact. She’d made him. Well, now things were certainly going to spiral quickly. 

Thinking on his feet, the agent got out of his vehicle and easily caught up to her, reaching out to grab her arm, while simultaneously pulling her cell phone out of the purse. 

“Sorry miss-” he said, sounding hurried.

@ex-agentethan

Charlotte sucked in a deep breath, shaking her head as she gave her husband a look, one that said “not here, not now”. The kids were with them, and she didn’t want them to think something was wrong, when it was. She hadn’t meant to grab Ethan’s hand so suddenly, but it had been her instinctual reaction when she saw the familiar face of Andrew Jenkins in the crowd. 

They were at the State Fair, taking it all in, when she had just happened to glance to her left, seeing the man standing just across the street at the caramel corn stand. She hadn’t thought of the man in years, ever since she had settled down with Ethan and had felt relatively safe. The ex-Hydra agent, the man who had taken Gina’s life, had been a distant memory. And yet, he was here. He had seen her, with her husband and children. Hell, she had David strapped to her back for crying out loud. 

He wanted to know what the threat was, but Char wasn’t telling him yet. Something had her spooked, and until she shared everyone was a potential threat. “Come on, kiddos, let’s let mama put her feet up, hmm?” He offered Alice an easy smile and a wink, even though he was certain she’d somehow already picked up on the tension in his stance. 

He glanced over her head to his wife and asked her the question with hie eyes. 

Letting out an almost dramatic sigh as she sat down, she unstrapped the back sling she had David in so she could pull him around and hold him, using that time to scan their surroundings. No sign of Jenkins yet, but she wouldn’t put it past him to follow them.

Turning to her husband, Charlotte quickly glanced at their two eldest before meeting his gaze again, face almost completely void of emotion, save for her eyes. He knew how to read her, and she knew how to read him. Sighing, she glanced around again, and leaned in close so she could speak lowly. 

Ethan nodded slightly at Charlotte’s explanation, inconspicuously scanning their surroundings. The family’s quick movement hadn’t been subtle at all, and if Jenkins was really watching them, he’d have definitely noticed. 

@ex-agentethan

“This is about me going too far from the rest of the hunting party last week, isn’t it?” Charlotte asked, crossing her arms over her chest as she gave the young guard a look. Of course her father would want to punish her for being so careless in his eyes, when she only wanted to explore. She hadn’t gone far, and hadn’t planned on going very far at all, and yet he still acted like she had been lost for days.

Her smile never failed to brighten his day, and he quickly fell into step behind and to the left of Charlotte. Once, he would have been shy, reluctant to engage her in conversation when she was so obviously above his station. But not anymore. He’d gotten over that fear and when it was just the pair of them, he loved talking to Charlotte. 

“This is stuffy?” he challenged the princess with a slight laugh, looking at the vaulted ceilings and long hallways. “Compared to the woods, sure, but I would have killed for this much space to explore growing up.”

She remembered when she and Ethan had first met. He had been so quiet, so quick to look away from her whenever their eyes locked for the briefest of moments. He had been afraid of her, she remembered, or that was what it had seemed like. She didn’t want anybody being afraid of her, least of all him. He was a good man, and she had been craving a friend for so long. The ladies at court just wanted to gossip, to complain, but she wanted to speak of adventure, not dresses and jewels. With Ethan, she had found that, and she loved the time they spent together.

@ex-agentethan

The kids were asleep. All of them, at the same time. It was a rare evening, with both of them home, and with the house so quiet. She had originally planned to have a glass of wine and catch up on some reading, but then Ethan started playing the song they had danced to at their wedding on his phone, extending his hand to her.

Ethan faked confusion and tilted his head to the side. “I don’t know how a dead body at the bottom of Lake Michigan could happy about much of anything,” he said, referring to this hypothetical second husband. He valiantly held the confused  expression for several moments before grinning at his own joke and leaning down to capture her lips in a kiss. 

“I could never stop lovin’ you, Char,” he said softly, seriously now. “You’re irreplaceable.” 

Charlotte laughed, shaking her head before she kissed him back, wrapping her arms around his neck to keep them close. She knew they would never separate, never in that sense, anyway. They loved each other too much, had too much history between them to go their different ways anymore, even if they did somehow end up falling out of love with one another. Forever and always, that’s what they had promised each other, and that was what they were going to keep fighting for.