*They sit a few tables over, their arms crossed over their chest. They had bonded with him a little, but still were very protective of Emilia, didn’t really talk about her much and definitely didn’t let him anywhere near her.*

“Hi” Jamie says softly, hating this whole situation but at least someone he knows is here

“Hey.” *They smile slightly, and look up as some of the other avengers file in. They just eye Jamie suspiciously and sit down as Tony clears his throat.* “Okay, so today we’re gonna decide whether you can stay here or not, so why don’t you start by explaining why you did what you did.” *He motions to Jamie, and everyone looks over at him in varying degrees of dislike or distrust or both. They just look at him carefully, almost blankly.*

Jamie shoots everyone a look as they look at him with distain. He scoffs “yeah whatever…” he says softly “well it started when Emilia killed our mother” he says simply, tensely, a small anger in his tone

“And you watched her do this? Kill your mother?” *Tony asks him firmly, barely hiding a glare. Their eyes dart up at that, glancing at him quickly before looking away.*

“On cameras yes…” his eyes dart nervously too

“So you didn’t see it in person. You just saw it on camera. Where things can easily be fabricated, especially with someone as manipulative as your mother.” *Tony crosses his arms over his chest, and they take a deep breath, knowing things are about to explode now.*

Jamie scoffs, his leg bouncing like he’s about to explode “you know nothing about her, or us…” he mumbles angrily, refusing to look up at Tony “You. Know. Nothing.”

“Oh. I know nothing. When I adopted her into the tower as a terrified, young teenage girl. I know nothing. Right.” *Tony looks at him pointedly, glaring slightly.* “You are the one that doesn’t know anything about her, not us.”

Jamie stands suddenly, scowl in his face as the metal chair clangs to the floor “you don’t know what our life was like before! SHE doesn’t even remember what our life was like before!”

“How would she not know, huh? How would she be able to forget something like that?” *They flinch when the chair slams down, and hold themselves a little tighter, trying to give themselves pressure to calm down. They could do this, they could. Tony said he needed to ask them questions, so they just need to stay here until-*

“Ask her! She doesn’t remember most of it! I don’t remember most of it! As if she does!” He pushes the table out of anger “being her here… let’s ask her hmm?”

“Oh no, no, she’s not coming in here, she doesn’t want to see you. You’re answering our questions though.” *Tony looks unimpressed when he pushes the chair. What he doesn’t know is that this is connected to a video feed that Emilia is watching, and they’re ready to leave at any second to go to her if she pushes the button on their bracelet that has a signal to her.*

“This is bullshit” Jamie scoffs “what is even the point of me being in here! This is useless!” He shouts to everyone in the room, but almost ignoring Anna as he yells.

“This is not useless, this is safety. After you tried to kill your own sister, in her own room.” *There’s a darkness in Tony’s tone as he says that, and they immediately close their eyes, fighting off a shudder as soon as he says that, still having nightmares sometimes of being the one to find Emilia like that, the blood….*

“Please she’s barely my sister, she’s the one who left us and found a new family” Jamie’s eyes narrow with a darkness behind them “I don’t like any of you”

*Okay, that weirdly stung a little, their eyes flashing with hurt before they make their eyes blank again, staring at the ground.* “You were raised together, were you not? You lived together until she was 16, did those years mean nothing to you?” *Tony asks, eyes hardening when he saw the darkness in Jamie’s eyes, still determined to push him as far as he needed to though.*

“We were raised separately, barely saw each other anyway…” he explains, mumbling tensely. He doesn’t want to go into how their mother made them hate each other as part of her experiments, or maybe just for fun, it’s the only thing his mother did that he didn’t understand or have justification for.

“Explain.” *Tony waves his hand for Jamie to go on, and they glance at him for the first time in a while, their eyes unreadable as they glance away again, looking down at the bracelet.*

“Our mother made us hate each other on purpose and raised us separately. It was part of her experiments to see if she could make soldiers not question what they were fighting for. She made us not want to question why we hated each other…” he explains, realising in real time how fucked up that is, he hides it well.

“So you don’t see how your mother could fake information, fake things to get you to try and kill Emilia, even her own death?” *They glance at him again, sensing that he was actually realizing how fucked that was and look at Tony, silently telling him that they were making progress.*

His eyes narrow “um… I don’t know…” he mumbles, processing, genuinely not sure what to make of all of this

“Sure you do. You just aren’t prepared to admit it yet, because then you’ll start to feel guilty.” *Ohhh, that was…..they hold their breath, wincing slightly, glancing down at the bracelet again.*

Emilia presses the small button she was given. She needs everyone out of there now before he goes haywire. That and she’s slightly panicking herself now. “Please” she whispers, hoping they’ll come soon

*They’re already up and out the door, bolting for her and looking at her carefully.* “Hug or no hug right now?” *They adjust the volume, making sure she can’t hear anything anymore, glancing at the video feed. Tony and Bucky are still in there, and whatever’s being said isn’t pleasant, but they focus back on Emilia, waiting for her to choose.*

“Hug please…” she says softly, her eyes brimming with tears as she continues watching the feed, trying her best to make out what’s being said or how Jamie’s reacting “I feel so yuck” she mumbles

*They hug her tightly, cupping her face gently so she’ll look at them.* “I know. I know you do. Do you want me to block or take anything right now? And I really don’t know how….maybe we shouldn’t watch it, okay, love? Go get ourselves something calming, like tea? We can let the old guys handle this.”

She shakes her head softly “it’s ok thanks… I just wish I could help in some way…” she glances back toward the monitor before looking to the floor “ok…yeah…tea sounds good” she says softly

“C’mon.” *They gently pull her away from the monitor, towards the kitchen, turning on the tea kettle as they prepared both of their favorite kind of tea, and look over at her carefully.* “Em, honestly you being safe here where he can’t hurt you is helping, because that way he’s not….not able to focus on what to say, just to hurt you. He’s focusing on what to say, that’s not just things that are made up, to hurt you. Does that make sense?”

“A little yeah?” That was a lot of words but she gets the gist of what they’re trying to say “I feel like this is all my fault…” she says softly. Jamie would even be here if it wasn’t for her. Sometimes she wishes he would just go back to Hydra and stay out of her life, it’s not fair

“Oh no. No no no, love. It’s not your fault, he’s the one that made his choices. It’s not your fault in the slightest. Trust me on that, okay?” *They send her a wave of honesty and love, handing her the tea and taking her hand, leading her to a couch where they could see the monitor, but she couldn’t.* “Is it my fault for things that have happened to me, with my own hydra experiences?”

Emilia shakes her head “but I am sort of the reason he came here and threatened a bunch of people and almost killed me…” she snuggles closer to Anna on the couch, seeking comfort, she brings her knees to her chest and holds the mug of tea on her knees

*They gently tilt her face up, searching her eyes.* “Sweetheart, it was all his choice. That is like saying to someone who was assaulted that they shouldn’t have dressed a certain way or done something different, and that is putting the blame on the wrong person. The attacker is always the one responsible, never, ever the person getting attacked.” *That sa something from their therapy group they had heard, and were quoting almost word for word as they pull her closer and tuck her under their chin.* “I won’t let you blame yourself, I won’t.”

*Their head jerks up as they hear the yelling, and they gently disentangle themselves from her a little to pull back and look into her eyes carefully.* “Do you want me to soundproof the room or go figure out what’s happening right now?”

“I don’t know” she admits softly, keeping her eyes on the room. She feels awful that she’s not in there to help. “Can we maybe just go back to the monitor? Just to see?”

“Yeah. I just…..I don’t think that it would be particularly helpful if we turned the volume on, okay? But we can watch.” *They tentatively walk over to the couch, getting the monitor set up so they can look at it, and glance over at her.* “Whenever you’re ready is fine.”

*They make sure the volume is off, glancing at the screen every few minutes as they take some of the anxiety from her and replace it with comfort. Something makes them glance up at the screen again, and they tense, seeing how in each other’s faces Tony and Jamie are getting, and they don’t like it. Maybe they need to go back in there and take some of Jamie’s energy so he can’t pull against the handcuffs as much, for both of their safety?*

“Should we maybe go back?” Emilia whispers, really worried about how aggressive they’re both getting “maybe I can help?” She feels awful that she’s the only person not involved in this case. She knows it’s on purpose because technically she was the victim, but still.

*They shake their head quickly, already standing up and by the doorway, glancing back at her.* “Oh no. No no no, you need to stay right here. I’ll go check, okay? I need your verbal agreement that you’re gonna stay here, while I go check.” *They wait patiently for her to look at them so they could see her eyes, make sure she understood how serious they were.*

*They hurry to the room, glaring at both Tony and Jamie, standing in the doorway of the room.* “What the hell are you guys yelling about so loudly? Back the fuck up from each other before this gets worse.”

“Don’t tell me what to do!” He scowls, attempting to step closer to Tony “I fucking hate you”

“Don’t you fucking dare.” *Their voice goes low and they get closer.* “I will fucking drain you enough that you can’t stand if you take another step closer. And Tony, seriously? You’re ragebaiting him right now? Gods, back the fuck up now, you’re acting worse than a fucking teenager.” *Tony glares and shakes his head.* “If this little prick-“

“Get me the fuck out of here…” Jamie says, dangerously calm, holding up his cuffed wrists before snapping out a “Now! I mean it!”

“Fucking try to get out and I promise you that you won’t be able to move.” *They glare at him, still holding Tony back with a hand on his shoulder.* “Tony, if you move, so help me god-“

“This is fucking stupid” Jamie mumbles “I cannot believe you!!” He snaps out, stepping closer to Tony

*They instantly lower his energy, making him extremely tired, still holding Tony back.* “Jamie, I fucking warned you. Back the hell up.”

He suddenly feels so weak, exhausted, he stumbles back into the chair he was just sitting in “no, stop doing that” he tells Anna tensely

“Then don’t be a fucking idiot.” *They snap back, and look back at Tony.* “Take several steps back or I’ll do the same to you.” *He holds up his hands and backs up, glaring at Jamie.* “Now would one of you explain why you were yelling so loudly, that Emilia and I could hear you with the volume off?”

“Don’t call me that” he growls, anger and exhaustion in his tone. Jamie sighs at the question “he was intentionally being an asshole” he glares at Tony. Emilia ducks her head around the corner, trying to listen but not get too close

“Don’t talk to me like that then. And Tony, seriously? Stop it.” *Tony grumbles under his breath, and their head darts up, sensing someone else there.* “I’ve got this covered, whoever is here.”

Emilia immediately steps away, trying to hide from Anna and everyone else in the room

*They tense, knowing it’s Emilia, but struggling to figure out how to not let two testosterone filled men know that, especially one that was her brother that had fucking tried to kill her a few months ago?*

Jamie steps toward the door as he hears them say that someone’s outside. His hands are still cuffed but now he’s angry.

*They quickly block him, actually pushing him back towards the chair, making a couple of noises of effort to do so.* “Back the fuck up, I already warned you.” *Tony smirks over their head at him, escalating the situation of course.*

“Don’t look at me like that!” Jamie sticks a finger in Tony’s face tensely, still sitting in the chair Anna pushed him into “I fucking hate you!” He growls at Tony, ignoring Anna

“Feeling’s mutual, kid.” *Tony smirks again, and they turn around, glaring at Tony.* “You need to leave, you are making the situation so much worse.” *Tony glanced down at them, shaking his head firmly.* “I’m not leaving you or Emmy alone in here with this psychopath.” *They tense even more, realizing that he was right, that she was in here now as they glance over their shoulder and see her.*

Emilia quickly tries to hide again. Jamie only then notices her. “And fuck you too!” He growls toward Emilia “let me the fuck out!” He struggles against the cuffs again, on the verge of tears, absolutely furious at the situation

“No one is ‘letting you the fuck out’, you are way too fucking pissed for that. You would literally try to hurt all three of us.” *They growl, stepping between Jamie and Emilia quickly. They gently grab her hand and squeeze it in support.* “Do you want to stay here, or leave? I’m down either way.” *They whisper to her, so only she could hear them.*

Emilia wants to leave more than anything, but she’s not sure if it’s the best idea right now, if it’ll piss off Jamie more or if they’ll think she’s weak “I don’t know” she whispers in response, her heart pounding as she squeezes Anna’s hand softly in response

“Emilia, I promise you that no one is gonna be mad at you or think that you’re weak. Jamie’s opinion doesn’t matter right now, and I know that’s hard to hear, but he’s your attacker and abuser right now.” *They whisper back, glaring at both of the men, especially at Tony for how he had continued to rile Jamie up.*

*They follow her out as they turn their head and call over their shoulder.* “You two dimwits had better be a lot more calm when we come back.” *Their voice was deadly serious as they turn their attention back to Emilia, following her wherever she wanted to go.*

She drags them out to the hallway, her eyes brimming with tears “I’m sorry” she buries her face in her hands “I thought I could help…”

*They gently pull her hands away from her face and brush her tears away with their sleeve.* “I know. I know you thought you could help. And I don’t blame you. And if you really want to, I can take you back in there with me. But you need to stay behind me the whole time, okay?”

Emilia settles down slightly as Anna wipes her tears. “Ok… I just…. He’s so angry” she cries softly, wiping her eyes again.

*They nod, continuing to wipe her eyes carefully.* “I know. He’s angry because he’s realizing he didn’t need to attack you, and how much your mother manipulated you two to hate each other, especially for him after you left.” *They didn’t necessarily like getting in people’s heads to tell other people things like that, but he deserved it right now.*

Emilia sighs, understanding where they’re coming from, giving them a small nod “ok… yeah that makes sense…” she fidgets softly with her hands “I don’t know it’s all so complicated…”

*They notice her fidgeting and start to fidget with their own fingers.* “It is. Are you sure that you want to go back in there? I can go in alone, I’ll be fine.”

“Um… maybe not right now?” She honestly has no idea what to do “I think maybe it’s better if I don’t…”

“That’s fine. Are you gonna be okay while I go check on those assholes and make sure they haven’t killed each other?” *They look at her, searching her eyes to see what she was really thinking.*

She nods softly “yeah I’ll be fine… just be safe”

“I will be.” *They pull her closer to their height so they can kiss her forehead softly, and then let go and hurry back towards the room, where the yelling is getting louder the closer they get. They open the door, standing there for a second. Strange has joined the chaos, and they groan quietly at that. They didn’t really trust him, so this was just great.*

As soon as Anna is seen in the doorway, Jamie immediately switches his attention to them, continuing his rambling “Anna, come on! Tell them! You know me! I just need to get out of these cuffs for a little bit please! I can’t handle it!” They’re annoying as fuck and definitely not helping him stay calm in the situation

“I know you a tiny bit. And I can sympathize with having cuffs on and wanting them off. But if I take them off, you stay in here, and don’t even think about going to try to find Emilia, do you understand me?” *Their voice is deadly calm and firm. Tony scoffs and glares at them.* “Anna, are you serious?” *Strange looks at them like they’re completely stupid.* “If something happens, that is on you.” *They glare back at both at both of them.* “I would appreciate some backup instead of you guys being assholes.” *Both of them reluctantly nod and Tony hands them the keys. They cautiously approach Jamie, tense as a bowstring.* “Don’t make me regret this.” *Their voice is a whisper as they unlock each wrist and take a step back.*

Jamie stays seated, massaging his wrists as he tries to calm down. He can feel everyone staring at him, waiting for him to snap or fight back

*They weren’t thrilled with the idea that he was staying, but ultimately it was her decision. They sat down in the kitchen in the middle of the night, waiting for their tea water to be ready when they heard footsteps.* “You can’t sleep either?”

Jamie shrugs. He doesn’t want to talk to anyone or see anyone or even be here. He just wants to go home. He’s just waiting it out. “Not really…” he responds softly

“Want some tea? Or hot chocolate?” *They offer him, standing up and grabbing two mugs, holding one out to him.*

“I don’t want anything from you” he grumbles under his breath, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, looking to the floor, but not making any attempt to walk away

“Yeah, because I would obviously let you watch me poison you.” *They snort, adding another spoonful of hot cocoa mix to their mug as they add some oat milk and the hot water, stirring it while looking at him blankly.*

“Yeah whatever…” he grumbles. “I wouldn’t put it past you, to be honest” he half jokes, trying to lighten the mood

“Glad you think I’m that dangerous.” *They retort, a small smile on their face as they take a sip, nodding.* “That’s the good shit.”

He’s silent for a moment. Thinking. He should probably speak or continue the conversation or something “…I’ve um…never had hot cocoa before” he admits hesitantly

“Really?” *They look at him and then make the mug the exact same way they had it.* “Here. At least try it, and if you don’t like it, well then I’ll have 2 cups, not the end of the world.”

“Are you sure?” He reaches hesitantly for the mug, almost analysing it for a moment

“Positive.” *They nod, a genuine smile on their face as they look at him, the smile growing as they think of something.* “Have you had marshmallows before?”

Jamie hesitates nervously for a moment before shaking his head, his eyebrows furrowed

“People have hot cocoa with marshmallows all the time, and we can actually have s’mores which are amazing, do you want to try one?” *They hold up a marshmallow for him to see, adding a few to their hot cocoa as they wait for him to decide.*

“Uh yeah? Ok?” He says hesitantly, holding out his mug so Anna can drop in a marshmallow.

*They put a marshmallow in his mug and then hand him another one.” *You gotta try a dry as well.”

“Ok fine” he smiles softly, maybe for the first time since he’s been here. He takes a small bite of the dry marshmallow

Jamie nods, trying to be nice “it’s…sweet?” He’s not sure what else to say

“They are sweet. If you don’t like them, that’s fine, I’m not gonna be offended or anything. And we can always get out the marshmallow so you can just enjoy the hot cocoa.” *Their voice is probably the softest he’s heard them use, a bigger smile on their face.*

Jamie nods his head with a soft smile at their offer of scooping out the marshmallow “yes please” he offers them his mug

*They scoop them out, throwing them out, and hand the mug back.* “Okay, it’s just the cocoa, what do you think?”

Jamie nods “it’s good…I like it” he smiles softly, taking another sip

*They smile back at him, happy to hear that.* “You have a nice smile, by the way. And I’m glad you like it.”

“Oh…uh thanks” he says softly, trying not to smile wider

“Yeah… please don’t tell anyone” his smile fades slightly, he puts the mug down on the counter before glancing down to the ground, crossing his arms, just thinking

*Their own grin fades quickly and they look at him apologetically.* “I’m sorry, I was just trying to tease you a little bit. I really won’t tell anyone, I shouldn’t have teased you like that, we’re barely at that level, I’m really-“

“It’s fine” he says a bit more tense than intended “I’m just not used to….everything…yet….”

*Their whole body goes tense, and they take a big step back from him, not liking how they weren’t sure they could beat him to the exit of the kitchen now.* “That’s…..fair. I should….have eased into it.”

He nods softly, understandingly “it’s ok…” he glances up at Anna nervously before back down to his feet, feeling oddly vulnerable. He hates feeling like this.

*They shift from foot to foot, glancing around the kitchen and then at him, quickly looking away.* “Umm, do you want to sit down again? We can rewarm the hot chocolate.”

He nods softly “yeah…we can…” he fidgets with his hands softly

*They rewarm his hot chocolate and hand it to him, getting theirs rewarmed and sit down, their hands slightly shaking as they did.*

“Do your hands usually shake?” He asks softly

“When I’m not sure how safe I am.” *They say, sort of bluntly and then clear their throat.* “Sorry, I just have a lot of trauma with louder voices from men and feeling cornered. It’s not your fault.”

“I-I’m sorry?” He holds himself protectively, stepping back, feeling so gross about himself, about his emotions.

“Uh yeah? Why?” He holds his hand out to them, a bit confused

*They take his hand, holding onto it tightly.* “Because I need to focus on something that’s grounding, like holding your hand.”

“Um…ok” he’s confused but obliges, letting them squeeze his hand

*As they focus on the feeling of his hand, they can feel their body responding to their attempts to ground themselves, not let themselves float into a flashback.* “Can we talk about something? Anything at all, please?”

“What do you want to talk about?” He brings Anna over to a chair

*They squeak quietly when he takes them to a chair and then think.* “Ummm, do you have a favorite animal? And place to go?”

“Hedgehog… and I… I’m not really allowed to leave the tower until my probation is up… I’ve only ever been here and the facility Emilia and I grew up in…”

He smiles softly, letting out a half laugh “yeah that might be cool” he nods

“It depends, I have a meeting with tony about it next month…he really doesn’t trust me…” he admits

“I’ll go with you and vouch for you.” *They state firmly, looking over at him.*

Jamie looks at them for a long moment “why do you trust me so much? Everyone else hates me or is skeptical of me but you…” he tried to kill their sibling, hell, he tried to kill everyone in this tower, it makes no sense

*They meet his eyes, surprisingly not breaking eye contact.* “Because you’re trying. You’re trying, and lots of people in the tower should be a little more understanding about what you’ve been through.”

He scoffs softly “I’m just focussing on not freaking out over all the change right now” he hesitates for a long moment “sometimes I still wanna go home? Just because it’s easier and I’m so used to it”

“That’s fair.” *They agree and then think for a second before saying.* “I know what you mean. I wanted to go back to my old parent’s house during the first few months I lived with Bucky and Sienna, because I was so overwhelmed, like you said.”

He nods softly, leaning against the kitchen counter again “I just… I really don’t like this…” everything is so different, it goes against everything he’s ever been taught. It makes no sense to him

“… do you think they’ll ever let me go home?” He says softly, cautiously.

*They shake their head carefully, their voice incredibly soft.* “I…..I don’t think so. I’m sorry, I know that’s not what you want to hear. But I don’t think so.”

He gives a tense nod in response, his lips pressed into a thin line. He keeps his gaze down, thinking for a moment. He hates that answer but there’s nothing he can do about it

“I’m sorry.” *And they genuinely were, they didn’t like to see him so tense, so alike Emilia when she first got to them.* “Do you have any other questions?”

He shakes his head, lips still pressed into a thin line. “No that’s it” he shoots a smile that’s meant to be reassuring but doesn’t come off that way

*They give him a deadpan look.* “That was not a reassuring smile in the slightest, even if I didn’t have my empath mutation. We definitely need to practice that at some point.”

He gives off a small genuine smile as they say he needs to practice, looking down as he tries to hide it

“Why don’t hedgehogs have very many friends?” *They look at him with a smirk, proud of themselves for the joke they were about to tell him.*

“Why?” He mumbles, still looking down to his hot cocoa.

“Because they’re such pricks.” *They smirk a little wider, silently laughing at their own joke.*

“Oh… uh…” he smiles awkwardly in response, really hoping Anna doesn’t think he’s a prick or anything

“I didn’t mean you, you doofus.” *They laugh, shaking their head and leaning their head back slightly against the chair.* “You…..are complicated, but I don’t think you’re a prick.”

“Ok… good…” he says simply

“Good.” *They reply, looking at him quietly and then just kind of staring off into space, until they heard him call their name a little louder.* “Yeah, sorry, what did you say?”

“You stared off for a sec… you ok?”

“All good. I’m fine.” *That was complete bullshit, but they had no idea how to try to explain what they were thinking to him, so lying it was.*

Jamie takes their answer at face value but still keeps an eye on them “ok…” he says with a hint of skepticism in his tone

“I know you don’t believe me. That wasn’t a great attempt at lying, I can definitely do better than that.” *They snort humorlessly at themselves, thinking about their own time at hydra and how Carlos had taught them. Gods, they missed him and just wanted him to hold them and-*

Jamie laughs softly in response “yeah sorry, it was literally my job to catch out liars before-“ before he got caught. He cuts himself off

“I’ve gotten pretty good, and I kinda have my own built in bullshit filter.” *They add, trying to give him a different subject to talk about if he doesn’t want to talk about himself. They’re willing to talk about their mutation if they need to, just-*

“Sick… yeah I wish I had something cool like that but I just got the effects of the serum…”

“Cool.” *They scoff at that and look away, thinking.* “It’s definitely not cool all the time. And it’s hard to control. You’re not like Bucky or Steve though, what effects of the serum do you mean?”

“Mostly just enhanced strength and speed and reflexes… the combat and stuff was drilled into me afterwards… similar with Emilia… but she has the extra like…power thing” he makes a subtle motion of things flying around to explain Emilia’s powers

“What’s that supposed to be, her flying or something?” *They snort, pointing at his hands with a small laugh before shaking their head.* “Yeah, honestly, our mutations fucked with each other for a while, that was……interesting.”

“No” he half laughs at himself “it’s meant to be like…moving…” he does the same motion again, it still looks like flying

“You look like you’re trying to fly, you doofus.” *They laugh again, their eyes showing a lot of amusement at him.*

“No look!” He lightheartedly scolds through a smile “it’s like… flying stuff… knives and shit see” he does the gesture again, hellbent that it’s a good representation of Emilia’s powers

“You are so bad at this.” *They laugh even harder, leaning their head back against the chair again, a wide smile on their face. It was honestly probably the first time he had heard them laugh that hard or fully show their dimples.*

“Ugh whatever” he groans, burying his face in his hands “you just don’t get it” he says lightheartedly

“I’m way better at guessing that stuff than you are.” *They retort, smirking at him and then going quiet for a second.* “Is it hard for you to sleep here sometimes?”

He gets quiet for a second too “yeah a little” he doesn’t want to admit he’s barely slept since he’s been here

“Same.” *The tower was way safer than pretty much every other place they could choose to sleep, but sometimes, all they wanted to feel safe enough to sleep was Carlos, but it’s not like very many people could know that information.*

“I’m still getting used to it all I think? Even being out of there is just…weird…” he explains softly

“That makes sense. New environments are a lot.” *They agree, jus

He nods, agreeing too. “Sometimes I just wanna go home” he says softly

“I get it. This is a lot. How…..how has your mindset been in the last few days?” *They stare down at their empty mug, thinking.*

“Fair.” *They look at him carefully, then back down at their mug.* “Why do you trust me? Like, why are you talking to me, and joking with me, when I know you can’t stand most everyone else here.”

Jamie shrugs “you’re the only person that treats me normally” he explains softly

“I…..wait, seriously?” *They look over at him in surprise and shake their head, rolling their eyes at the ceiling.* “You would think that adults that are 20 plus years older than me would be able to act more mature about the whole situation, but noooo.”

Jamie shrugs “I get it though… like… I tried to kill Emilia, I worked with my mother as soon as I was old enough to, I was a willing member of Hydra for 6 years…”

“Your rap sheet is a little….yikes, you’re not wrong about that.” *They agree quietly, thinking.* “But Steve and Tony tried to kill each other, literally, and they’re fucking married now, so it feels a little hypocritical at times.”

“But they healed…I’m not sure if I can…or even want to?” It’s very complicated

“I-“ *They look at him carefully, and then get up slowly, swaying a little as they put their cup in the dishwasher, leaning heavily against the counter.* “Holy shit, what the hell is happening right now.”

“Are you ok?” He straightens up, putting how own cup in the sink

“I don’t….I don’t know.” *They whine, black spots dancing in their eyes.* “Can you….shit…….can you help me?”

“Uh yeah? How? How do I help?” He’s slightly panicked now

“I’m not gonna make it to the chair, I’m gonna pass-“ *They slump to the ground, their head aiming for the counter as they drop like a stone.*

“Woah ok…” Jamie quickly protects their head as they slump down “you’re ok…” he whispers, hoping they can hear him before carrying them toward the couch

*A few minutes later, their eyes slowly open, and they glance around in confusion. Weren’t they just in the kitchen, talking to Jamie? Why were they on the couch now?* “What the hell happened?”

“You fainted I think? I don’t really know” he explains softly, keeping his voice low as Anna wakes up “do you want… water? Or something?” He’s honestly not sure what to do in this situation

“I think I need some juice, I think my blood sugar crashed.” *They groan, trying to sit up and quickly lay down again.* “Is the world supposed to be spinning this much?”

“No, no” Jamie gently lowers them back to lay down “just stay still, I’ll grab you juice…”

“Okay.” *They agree, closing their eyes, the dizziness hitting really hard.* “Thank you. I’m sorry, that probably scared the shit out of you.”

“It’s ok” he reassures them before getting up to get them some juice “I think we only have orange juice…” he mumbles to himself, looking through the fridge

“That’s fine.” *They call, looking towards him, and sigh.* “I have a headache, can you please get me a Tylenol from the bathroom to your left?”

“Yeah sure…” he’s a bit scared to leave them by themself right now but still goes to grab the medicine anyway. He comes back soon after with the box and a glass of water

*They shakily get the medicine out and take it, drinking about half of the water before putting it down and groaning.* “Fucking hell. You said we had juice? Or a snack of some sort?”

“Yeah I can get you a snack” he also brings the bottle of juice over, refilling their half empty juice glass

“If this is it, tell my friends and family I love them.” *They give him a slightly deadpan look, and stick out their tongue dramatically so he would know they were joking as they slump onto the couch more.*

Jamie half laughs at how dramatic they’re being. He sits with them until they wake up again

*They take some of the snacks and pat tbe couch next to them.* “C’mon. We’re both not able to sleep, so we’re gonna watch shitty movies together. Because I said so.”

“Ok!” He says softly, giving a small smile. He hasn’t really done snacks and movies before. It’s not really something he has a lot of experience in growing up in Hydra.

*They wait for him to sit down, and scroll through some classic movies, landing on Top Gun.* “This one is about pilots, what do you think? And they made a sequel too.” *They open some of the snacks, handing him a few and taking another sip of the juice, feeling a lot more there, and not like they were as shaky.*

“Ok, sounds good” he says softly, taking a few of the snacks Anna offered him. He keeps his eyes on the TV. Curious about this ‘Top Gun’

*Abut halfway through the movie, they can feel themselves start to fade, and look over at him.* “Can I please use your lap as a pillow? So you can feel if something starts to go wrong?”

Jamie nods softly, silently, with a small smile. Shuffling slightly so his lap will be more comfortable for Anna

*They curl up with their head on his lap, and glance up at him with a small smirk.* “I’m falling asleep, so I guess we’re gonna have slept together again.”

As if on cue, Emilia walks in, seeing them together, taking that last comment way out of context “what the fuck is this?”

“Oh fuck. Emmy, I swear to you that this isn’t what it looks like.” *They push themselves off of Jamie, swaying a little as soon as they move closer to her. They hadn’t told anyone about how they had almost died a while back if it hadn’t been for Jamie, and now they frantically need explain themselves.* “Can we go somewhere else so I can explain what you just saw and heard?”

*They pull up their shirt, so she can see the faint bruising around the few stitches that are still there, and the rest a very jagged scar.* “When I went back to help Carlos a while ago, SHIELD agents made a raid and had to beat me up and cut me in order to make it look like I had tried to stop them. I refused to go to the med bay, because no, and Jamie found me and helped stitch me up and get me back to Carlos’s room. The part where we “slept together” was when I was having a panic attack because I couldn’t open my eyes because both of them were swollen shut, and you know how petrified of the dark I am. So he held me while I was trying to sleep.” *They pause, not sure about the hydra officer, and him claiming that they were cheating on Carlos and that whole part of the situation.*

She sighs, at least happy they didn’t actually ‘sleep together’. “Still doesn’t explain why you’re all cuddled up and lovey dovey on the couch…. Did you forget that he tried to kill me?” Her voice raises slightly in frustration. She knows realistically that nothing romantic is going on but still, she doesn’t like that they’re suddenly best friends.

*They flinch backwards a little, as soon as she raised her voice.* “Love, no. Of course I didn’t forget that, of course I would never forget that. Never. The only reason that we were cuddled up on the couch is because my blood sugar was dropping, and he carried me to the couch, and I was laying my head on his lap so he could feel if anything was going wrong.”

She scoffs “oh so he’s suddenly all perfect and caring now? Since when?” She looks down, crossing her arms, trying not to freak out. She drops her voice lower, still a small hint of anger behind it “that’s bullshit and you know it”

*They nod, agreeing with her.* “He’s not. He’s not. I know that. We were just the only two people awake, and if he hadn’t caught me, I would have smacked my head on the counter and been bleeding and unconscious for who knows how long. So I’m just grateful that he was awake when he was, and I took advantage of the situation.”

Emilia accepts that, her lips still pressed together as she gives a quick nod “and you were giggling and joking around why?” She asks quickly. If he was exclusively making sure they didn’t pass out then why were they so buddy buddy?

“Because I was trying to make him comfortable enough that if something like that happened, that he would listen to me about not taking me to the med bay.” *They can feel her anger and betrayal slam into them like a truck, and they flinch back as it does, feeling the wall behind them as they start to panic a little.*

Her jaw tightens softly, still feeling a bit betrayed but understanding more why they didn’t what they did. She’s still slightly hurt but not so much angry anymore. She’s tears up slightly “I just don’t understand how you can be best friends with him right now when he almost killed me”

*They shake their head, hard, trying to breathe through their anxiety at feeling the wall behind them.* “I’m not. I’m not. But I do owe him a lot, it feels like, because of how bad the situation got and that…..it feels so complicated. But Emmy, even though he saved me while I was in there recently, I was the one that weakened him enough to get him off of you so Bucky could get you down to the med bay. And then I beat the shit out of him, you know this. Even though he was telling me how much I owed him. So we’re not besties, because he’s still holding that over my head. And that’s not something that you do to a bestie.”

Emilia gives another understanding nod “…ok…. I understand, at least somewhat…“ she admits softly “I don’t… love this…” she gestured to Jamie still on the couch “but I really appreciate what you did for me that day… and I appreciate him not letting you die” she feels like she’s explaining this very poorly, she hopes Anna understands what she means

“We’re very much frenemies, Em. It’s very transactional, but not in a sexual way, never in a sexual way.” *They quickly rush to say, not wanting her to feel like they would do that to her, to Carlos. A weak smile leaves them when they hear that she was appreciative that he didn’t let them die.* “Yeah, if I had died, then who would play Mario with you at our sleepovers?”

Emilia rolls her eyes, trying not to smile at their joke. “Yeah because that’s the only reason I want my sibling alive” she says sarcastically “look I… I trust you… I just don’t trust him… and I’m scared that you’ll end up liking him more than me or something…”

*They give her the most deadpan look they can possibly muster up.* “Emilia. Are you fucking kidding me? There is nothing on this planet or in any other universe that would ever make me like him over you. You’re my sibling, you doofus, you’re kinda stuck with me forever. I was trying to make sure he wasn’t going completely crazy in here, because I feel like I owe him a tiny bit, and then my blood sugar and shit crashed twice, so I couldn’t just leave.”

Emilia looks toward Jamie, analysing him, trusting him a little more now that she knows he helped Anna multiple times. She smiles softly at Anna as they reassure her “ok… i trust you… I’m sorry I just overthink and worry so much”

*They hug her tightly, swaying both of them from side to side.* “I would freak out if I was in your shoes too, Em. And thank you for trusting me. I’m sorry that was the situation that you walked in on seeing us together, especially hearing what you did. Because of fucking course that sounded suspicious. And you mean the world to me, Em, I just need you to know that. Now what would you prefer we do? Go back, finish the movie, then go to bed together? Or just go to bed now and explain that’s what we’re gonna do? Either is fine with me.”

Emilia hugs them tight in response. Their words reassure her massively and she really appreciates it. She wants more than anything to just hang out with Anna right now, but she doesn’t want to be selfish “I don’t wanna ruin your movie night” she says softly, pulling away from the hug and wiping her eyes

“You are not gonna ruin the movie night. I can always just say that I’m really not feeling well, and that’s not a full lie. Plus I can finish the movie when everyone else is at work tomorrow.” *They reassure her, pulling back enough to search her eyes a little.* “So which would you prefer we do?”

Emilia fidgets with her hands, not sure what to say “well what do you want to do? I honestly don’t mind either way” she wants Anna to have a choice instead of being dragged around by both Kane siblings

“I think there’s 20 minutes left of the movie, and then we can go to your room. You don’t have to stay out here, I can meet you in there. It’s up to you about that.” *They can feel her starting to overthink and want to get ahead of it before it gets too bad.*

Emilia nods “ok… I’ll go to my room and you can come when you’re ready” she proposes, giving them another hug

“Okay.” *They crush themselves into her, and then slowly pull away, a few tears still in their eyes.* “I really am sorry that you found me like that, Em.” *They turn around to walk back towards the living room and Jamie, sitting down next to him but leaving some space in between them.* “Are you ready to finish, there’s about 20 minutes left.”

Emilia quickly reassures them it’s ok before heading to her room. Jamie is still on the couch, he turns to Anna, watching Emilia walk away “what happened?”

“Misunderstanding, that’s all.” *They shrug, pushing play and leaning back into the couch, this time not really touching him very much.* “Can you pass me the blanket that’s behind you, I’m starting to get really cold.”

“Yeah ok…” he reaches over to hand them the blanket “she’s mad isn’t she?”

*They weren’t thrilled with the idea that he was staying, but ultimately it was her decision. They sat down in the kitchen in the middle of the night, waiting for their tea water to be ready when they heard footsteps.* “You can’t sleep either?”

Jamie shrugs. He doesn’t want to talk to anyone or see anyone or even be here. He just wants to go home. He’s just waiting it out. “Not really…” he responds softly

“Want some tea? Or hot chocolate?” *They offer him, standing up and grabbing two mugs, holding one out to him.*

“I don’t want anything from you” he grumbles under his breath, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, looking to the floor, but not making any attempt to walk away

“Yeah, because I would obviously let you watch me poison you.” *They snort, adding another spoonful of hot cocoa mix to their mug as they add some oat milk and the hot water, stirring it while looking at him blankly.*

“Yeah whatever…” he grumbles. “I wouldn’t put it past you, to be honest” he half jokes, trying to lighten the mood

“Glad you think I’m that dangerous.” *They retort, a small smile on their face as they take a sip, nodding.* “That’s the good shit.”

He’s silent for a moment. Thinking. He should probably speak or continue the conversation or something “…I’ve um…never had hot cocoa before” he admits hesitantly

“Really?” *They look at him and then make the mug the exact same way they had it.* “Here. At least try it, and if you don’t like it, well then I’ll have 2 cups, not the end of the world.”

“Are you sure?” He reaches hesitantly for the mug, almost analysing it for a moment

“Positive.” *They nod, a genuine smile on their face as they look at him, the smile growing as they think of something.* “Have you had marshmallows before?”

Jamie hesitates nervously for a moment before shaking his head, his eyebrows furrowed

“People have hot cocoa with marshmallows all the time, and we can actually have s’mores which are amazing, do you want to try one?” *They hold up a marshmallow for him to see, adding a few to their hot cocoa as they wait for him to decide.*

“Uh yeah? Ok?” He says hesitantly, holding out his mug so Anna can drop in a marshmallow.

*They put a marshmallow in his mug and then hand him another one.” *You gotta try a dry as well.”

“Ok fine” he smiles softly, maybe for the first time since he’s been here. He takes a small bite of the dry marshmallow

Jamie nods, trying to be nice “it’s…sweet?” He’s not sure what else to say

“They are sweet. If you don’t like them, that’s fine, I’m not gonna be offended or anything. And we can always get out the marshmallow so you can just enjoy the hot cocoa.” *Their voice is probably the softest he’s heard them use, a bigger smile on their face.*

Jamie nods his head with a soft smile at their offer of scooping out the marshmallow “yes please” he offers them his mug

*They scoop them out, throwing them out, and hand the mug back.* “Okay, it’s just the cocoa, what do you think?”

Jamie nods “it’s good…I like it” he smiles softly, taking another sip

*They smile back at him, happy to hear that.* “You have a nice smile, by the way. And I’m glad you like it.”

“Oh…uh thanks” he says softly, trying not to smile wider

“Yeah… please don’t tell anyone” his smile fades slightly, he puts the mug down on the counter before glancing down to the ground, crossing his arms, just thinking

*Their own grin fades quickly and they look at him apologetically.* “I’m sorry, I was just trying to tease you a little bit. I really won’t tell anyone, I shouldn’t have teased you like that, we’re barely at that level, I’m really-“

“It’s fine” he says a bit more tense than intended “I’m just not used to….everything…yet….”

*Their whole body goes tense, and they take a big step back from him, not liking how they weren’t sure they could beat him to the exit of the kitchen now.* “That’s…..fair. I should….have eased into it.”

He nods softly, understandingly “it’s ok…” he glances up at Anna nervously before back down to his feet, feeling oddly vulnerable. He hates feeling like this.

*They shift from foot to foot, glancing around the kitchen and then at him, quickly looking away.* “Umm, do you want to sit down again? We can rewarm the hot chocolate.”

He nods softly “yeah…we can…” he fidgets with his hands softly

*They rewarm his hot chocolate and hand it to him, getting theirs rewarmed and sit down, their hands slightly shaking as they did.*

“Do your hands usually shake?” He asks softly

“When I’m not sure how safe I am.” *They say, sort of bluntly and then clear their throat.* “Sorry, I just have a lot of trauma with louder voices from men and feeling cornered. It’s not your fault.”

“I-I’m sorry?” He holds himself protectively, stepping back, feeling so gross about himself, about his emotions.

“Uh yeah? Why?” He holds his hand out to them, a bit confused

*They take his hand, holding onto it tightly.* “Because I need to focus on something that’s grounding, like holding your hand.”

“Um…ok” he’s confused but obliges, letting them squeeze his hand

*As they focus on the feeling of his hand, they can feel their body responding to their attempts to ground themselves, not let themselves float into a flashback.* “Can we talk about something? Anything at all, please?”

“What do you want to talk about?” He brings Anna over to a chair

*They squeak quietly when he takes them to a chair and then think.* “Ummm, do you have a favorite animal? And place to go?”

“Hedgehog… and I… I’m not really allowed to leave the tower until my probation is up… I’ve only ever been here and the facility Emilia and I grew up in…”

He smiles softly, letting out a half laugh “yeah that might be cool” he nods

“It depends, I have a meeting with tony about it next month…he really doesn’t trust me…” he admits

“I’ll go with you and vouch for you.” *They state firmly, looking over at him.*

Jamie looks at them for a long moment “why do you trust me so much? Everyone else hates me or is skeptical of me but you…” he tried to kill their sibling, hell, he tried to kill everyone in this tower, it makes no sense

*They meet his eyes, surprisingly not breaking eye contact.* “Because you’re trying. You’re trying, and lots of people in the tower should be a little more understanding about what you’ve been through.”

He scoffs softly “I’m just focussing on not freaking out over all the change right now” he hesitates for a long moment “sometimes I still wanna go home? Just because it’s easier and I’m so used to it”

“That’s fair.” *They agree and then think for a second before saying.* “I know what you mean. I wanted to go back to my old parent’s house during the first few months I lived with Bucky and Sienna, because I was so overwhelmed, like you said.”

He nods softly, leaning against the kitchen counter again “I just… I really don’t like this…” everything is so different, it goes against everything he’s ever been taught. It makes no sense to him

“… do you think they’ll ever let me go home?” He says softly, cautiously.

*They shake their head carefully, their voice incredibly soft.* “I…..I don’t think so. I’m sorry, I know that’s not what you want to hear. But I don’t think so.”

He gives a tense nod in response, his lips pressed into a thin line. He keeps his gaze down, thinking for a moment. He hates that answer but there’s nothing he can do about it

“I’m sorry.” *And they genuinely were, they didn’t like to see him so tense, so alike Emilia when she first got to them.* “Do you have any other questions?”

He shakes his head, lips still pressed into a thin line. “No that’s it” he shoots a smile that’s meant to be reassuring but doesn’t come off that way

*They give him a deadpan look.* “That was not a reassuring smile in the slightest, even if I didn’t have my empath mutation. We definitely need to practice that at some point.”

He gives off a small genuine smile as they say he needs to practice, looking down as he tries to hide it

“Why don’t hedgehogs have very many friends?” *They look at him with a smirk, proud of themselves for the joke they were about to tell him.*

“Why?” He mumbles, still looking down to his hot cocoa.

“Because they’re such pricks.” *They smirk a little wider, silently laughing at their own joke.*

“Oh… uh…” he smiles awkwardly in response, really hoping Anna doesn’t think he’s a prick or anything

“I didn’t mean you, you doofus.” *They laugh, shaking their head and leaning their head back slightly against the chair.* “You…..are complicated, but I don’t think you’re a prick.”

“Ok… good…” he says simply

“Good.” *They reply, looking at him quietly and then just kind of staring off into space, until they heard him call their name a little louder.* “Yeah, sorry, what did you say?”

“You stared off for a sec… you ok?”

“All good. I’m fine.” *That was complete bullshit, but they had no idea how to try to explain what they were thinking to him, so lying it was.*

Jamie takes their answer at face value but still keeps an eye on them “ok…” he says with a hint of skepticism in his tone

“I know you don’t believe me. That wasn’t a great attempt at lying, I can definitely do better than that.” *They snort humorlessly at themselves, thinking about their own time at hydra and how Carlos had taught them. Gods, they missed him and just wanted him to hold them and-*

Jamie laughs softly in response “yeah sorry, it was literally my job to catch out liars before-“ before he got caught. He cuts himself off

“I’ve gotten pretty good, and I kinda have my own built in bullshit filter.” *They add, trying to give him a different subject to talk about if he doesn’t want to talk about himself. They’re willing to talk about their mutation if they need to, just-*

“Sick… yeah I wish I had something cool like that but I just got the effects of the serum…”

“Cool.” *They scoff at that and look away, thinking.* “It’s definitely not cool all the time. And it’s hard to control. You’re not like Bucky or Steve though, what effects of the serum do you mean?”

“Mostly just enhanced strength and speed and reflexes… the combat and stuff was drilled into me afterwards… similar with Emilia… but she has the extra like…power thing” he makes a subtle motion of things flying around to explain Emilia’s powers

“What’s that supposed to be, her flying or something?” *They snort, pointing at his hands with a small laugh before shaking their head.* “Yeah, honestly, our mutations fucked with each other for a while, that was……interesting.”

“No” he half laughs at himself “it’s meant to be like…moving…” he does the same motion again, it still looks like flying

“You look like you’re trying to fly, you doofus.” *They laugh again, their eyes showing a lot of amusement at him.*

“No look!” He lightheartedly scolds through a smile “it’s like… flying stuff… knives and shit see” he does the gesture again, hellbent that it’s a good representation of Emilia’s powers

“You are so bad at this.” *They laugh even harder, leaning their head back against the chair again, a wide smile on their face. It was honestly probably the first time he had heard them laugh that hard or fully show their dimples.*

“Ugh whatever” he groans, burying his face in his hands “you just don’t get it” he says lightheartedly

“I’m way better at guessing that stuff than you are.” *They retort, smirking at him and then going quiet for a second.* “Is it hard for you to sleep here sometimes?”

He gets quiet for a second too “yeah a little” he doesn’t want to admit he’s barely slept since he’s been here

“Same.” *The tower was way safer than pretty much every other place they could choose to sleep, but sometimes, all they wanted to feel safe enough to sleep was Carlos, but it’s not like very many people could know that information.*

“I’m still getting used to it all I think? Even being out of there is just…weird…” he explains softly

“That makes sense. New environments are a lot.” *They agree, jus

He nods, agreeing too. “Sometimes I just wanna go home” he says softly

“I get it. This is a lot. How…..how has your mindset been in the last few days?” *They stare down at their empty mug, thinking.*

“Fair.” *They look at him carefully, then back down at their mug.* “Why do you trust me? Like, why are you talking to me, and joking with me, when I know you can’t stand most everyone else here.”

Jamie shrugs “you’re the only person that treats me normally” he explains softly

“I…..wait, seriously?” *They look over at him in surprise and shake their head, rolling their eyes at the ceiling.* “You would think that adults that are 20 plus years older than me would be able to act more mature about the whole situation, but noooo.”

Jamie shrugs “I get it though… like… I tried to kill Emilia, I worked with my mother as soon as I was old enough to, I was a willing member of Hydra for 6 years…”

“Your rap sheet is a little….yikes, you’re not wrong about that.” *They agree quietly, thinking.* “But Steve and Tony tried to kill each other, literally, and they’re fucking married now, so it feels a little hypocritical at times.”

“But they healed…I’m not sure if I can…or even want to?” It’s very complicated

“I-“ *They look at him carefully, and then get up slowly, swaying a little as they put their cup in the dishwasher, leaning heavily against the counter.* “Holy shit, what the hell is happening right now.”

“Are you ok?” He straightens up, putting how own cup in the sink

“I don’t….I don’t know.” *They whine, black spots dancing in their eyes.* “Can you….shit…….can you help me?”

“Uh yeah? How? How do I help?” He’s slightly panicked now

“I’m not gonna make it to the chair, I’m gonna pass-“ *They slump to the ground, their head aiming for the counter as they drop like a stone.*

“Woah ok…” Jamie quickly protects their head as they slump down “you’re ok…” he whispers, hoping they can hear him before carrying them toward the couch

*A few minutes later, their eyes slowly open, and they glance around in confusion. Weren’t they just in the kitchen, talking to Jamie? Why were they on the couch now?* “What the hell happened?”

“You fainted I think? I don’t really know” he explains softly, keeping his voice low as Anna wakes up “do you want… water? Or something?” He’s honestly not sure what to do in this situation

“I think I need some juice, I think my blood sugar crashed.” *They groan, trying to sit up and quickly lay down again.* “Is the world supposed to be spinning this much?”

“No, no” Jamie gently lowers them back to lay down “just stay still, I’ll grab you juice…”

“Okay.” *They agree, closing their eyes, the dizziness hitting really hard.* “Thank you. I’m sorry, that probably scared the shit out of you.”

“It’s ok” he reassures them before getting up to get them some juice “I think we only have orange juice…” he mumbles to himself, looking through the fridge

“That’s fine.” *They call, looking towards him, and sigh.* “I have a headache, can you please get me a Tylenol from the bathroom to your left?”

“Yeah sure…” he’s a bit scared to leave them by themself right now but still goes to grab the medicine anyway. He comes back soon after with the box and a glass of water

*They shakily get the medicine out and take it, drinking about half of the water before putting it down and groaning.* “Fucking hell. You said we had juice? Or a snack of some sort?”

“Yeah I can get you a snack” he also brings the bottle of juice over, refilling their half empty juice glass

“If this is it, tell my friends and family I love them.” *They give him a slightly deadpan look, and stick out their tongue dramatically so he would know they were joking as they slump onto the couch more.*

Jamie half laughs at how dramatic they’re being. He sits with them until they wake up again

*They take some of the snacks and pat tbe couch next to them.* “C’mon. We’re both not able to sleep, so we’re gonna watch shitty movies together. Because I said so.”

“Ok!” He says softly, giving a small smile. He hasn’t really done snacks and movies before. It’s not really something he has a lot of experience in growing up in Hydra.

*They wait for him to sit down, and scroll through some classic movies, landing on Top Gun.* “This one is about pilots, what do you think? And they made a sequel too.” *They open some of the snacks, handing him a few and taking another sip of the juice, feeling a lot more there, and not like they were as shaky.*

“Ok, sounds good” he says softly, taking a few of the snacks Anna offered him. He keeps his eyes on the TV. Curious about this ‘Top Gun’

*Abut halfway through the movie, they can feel themselves start to fade, and look over at him.* “Can I please use your lap as a pillow? So you can feel if something starts to go wrong?”

Jamie nods softly, silently, with a small smile. Shuffling slightly so his lap will be more comfortable for Anna

*They curl up with their head on his lap, and glance up at him with a small smirk.* “I’m falling asleep, so I guess we’re gonna have slept together again.”

As if on cue, Emilia walks in, seeing them together, taking that last comment way out of context “what the fuck is this?”

“Oh fuck. Emmy, I swear to you that this isn’t what it looks like.” *They push themselves off of Jamie, swaying a little as soon as they move closer to her. They hadn’t told anyone about how they had almost died a while back if it hadn’t been for Jamie, and now they frantically need explain themselves.* “Can we go somewhere else so I can explain what you just saw and heard?”

*They pull up their shirt, so she can see the faint bruising around the few stitches that are still there, and the rest a very jagged scar.* “When I went back to help Carlos a while ago, SHIELD agents made a raid and had to beat me up and cut me in order to make it look like I had tried to stop them. I refused to go to the med bay, because no, and Jamie found me and helped stitch me up and get me back to Carlos’s room. The part where we “slept together” was when I was having a panic attack because I couldn’t open my eyes because both of them were swollen shut, and you know how petrified of the dark I am. So he held me while I was trying to sleep.” *They pause, not sure about the hydra officer, and him claiming that they were cheating on Carlos and that whole part of the situation.*

She sighs, at least happy they didn’t actually ‘sleep together’. “Still doesn’t explain why you’re all cuddled up and lovey dovey on the couch…. Did you forget that he tried to kill me?” Her voice raises slightly in frustration. She knows realistically that nothing romantic is going on but still, she doesn’t like that they’re suddenly best friends.

*They flinch backwards a little, as soon as she raised her voice.* “Love, no. Of course I didn’t forget that, of course I would never forget that. Never. The only reason that we were cuddled up on the couch is because my blood sugar was dropping, and he carried me to the couch, and I was laying my head on his lap so he could feel if anything was going wrong.”

She scoffs “oh so he’s suddenly all perfect and caring now? Since when?” She looks down, crossing her arms, trying not to freak out. She drops her voice lower, still a small hint of anger behind it “that’s bullshit and you know it”

*They nod, agreeing with her.* “He’s not. He’s not. I know that. We were just the only two people awake, and if he hadn’t caught me, I would have smacked my head on the counter and been bleeding and unconscious for who knows how long. So I’m just grateful that he was awake when he was, and I took advantage of the situation.”

Emilia accepts that, her lips still pressed together as she gives a quick nod “and you were giggling and joking around why?” She asks quickly. If he was exclusively making sure they didn’t pass out then why were they so buddy buddy?

“Because I was trying to make him comfortable enough that if something like that happened, that he would listen to me about not taking me to the med bay.” *They can feel her anger and betrayal slam into them like a truck, and they flinch back as it does, feeling the wall behind them as they start to panic a little.*

Her jaw tightens softly, still feeling a bit betrayed but understanding more why they didn’t what they did. She’s still slightly hurt but not so much angry anymore. She’s tears up slightly “I just don’t understand how you can be best friends with him right now when he almost killed me”

*They shake their head, hard, trying to breathe through their anxiety at feeling the wall behind them.* “I’m not. I’m not. But I do owe him a lot, it feels like, because of how bad the situation got and that…..it feels so complicated. But Emmy, even though he saved me while I was in there recently, I was the one that weakened him enough to get him off of you so Bucky could get you down to the med bay. And then I beat the shit out of him, you know this. Even though he was telling me how much I owed him. So we’re not besties, because he’s still holding that over my head. And that’s not something that you do to a bestie.”

Emilia gives another understanding nod “…ok…. I understand, at least somewhat…“ she admits softly “I don’t… love this…” she gestured to Jamie still on the couch “but I really appreciate what you did for me that day… and I appreciate him not letting you die” she feels like she’s explaining this very poorly, she hopes Anna understands what she means

“We’re very much frenemies, Em. It’s very transactional, but not in a sexual way, never in a sexual way.” *They quickly rush to say, not wanting her to feel like they would do that to her, to Carlos. A weak smile leaves them when they hear that she was appreciative that he didn’t let them die.* “Yeah, if I had died, then who would play Mario with you at our sleepovers?”

Emilia rolls her eyes, trying not to smile at their joke. “Yeah because that’s the only reason I want my sibling alive” she says sarcastically “look I… I trust you… I just don’t trust him… and I’m scared that you’ll end up liking him more than me or something…”

*They give her the most deadpan look they can possibly muster up.* “Emilia. Are you fucking kidding me? There is nothing on this planet or in any other universe that would ever make me like him over you. You’re my sibling, you doofus, you’re kinda stuck with me forever. I was trying to make sure he wasn’t going completely crazy in here, because I feel like I owe him a tiny bit, and then my blood sugar and shit crashed twice, so I couldn’t just leave.”

Emilia looks toward Jamie, analysing him, trusting him a little more now that she knows he helped Anna multiple times. She smiles softly at Anna as they reassure her “ok… i trust you… I’m sorry I just overthink and worry so much”

*They hug her tightly, swaying both of them from side to side.* “I would freak out if I was in your shoes too, Em. And thank you for trusting me. I’m sorry that was the situation that you walked in on seeing us together, especially hearing what you did. Because of fucking course that sounded suspicious. And you mean the world to me, Em, I just need you to know that. Now what would you prefer we do? Go back, finish the movie, then go to bed together? Or just go to bed now and explain that’s what we’re gonna do? Either is fine with me.”

Emilia hugs them tight in response. Their words reassure her massively and she really appreciates it. She wants more than anything to just hang out with Anna right now, but she doesn’t want to be selfish “I don’t wanna ruin your movie night” she says softly, pulling away from the hug and wiping her eyes

“You are not gonna ruin the movie night. I can always just say that I’m really not feeling well, and that’s not a full lie. Plus I can finish the movie when everyone else is at work tomorrow.” *They reassure her, pulling back enough to search her eyes a little.* “So which would you prefer we do?”

Emilia fidgets with her hands, not sure what to say “well what do you want to do? I honestly don’t mind either way” she wants Anna to have a choice instead of being dragged around by both Kane siblings

“I think there’s 20 minutes left of the movie, and then we can go to your room. You don’t have to stay out here, I can meet you in there. It’s up to you about that.” *They can feel her starting to overthink and want to get ahead of it before it gets too bad.*

Emilia nods “ok… I’ll go to my room and you can come when you’re ready” she proposes, giving them another hug

“Okay.” *They crush themselves into her, and then slowly pull away, a few tears still in their eyes.* “I really am sorry that you found me like that, Em.” *They turn around to walk back towards the living room and Jamie, sitting down next to him but leaving some space in between them.* “Are you ready to finish, there’s about 20 minutes left.”

Emilia quickly reassures them it’s ok before heading to her room. Jamie is still on the couch, he turns to Anna, watching Emilia walk away “what happened?”

*They sit a few tables over, their arms crossed over their chest. They had bonded with him a little, but still were very protective of Emilia, didn’t really talk about her much and definitely didn’t let him anywhere near her.*

“Hi” Jamie says softly, hating this whole situation but at least someone he knows is here

“Hey.” *They smile slightly, and look up as some of the other avengers file in. They just eye Jamie suspiciously and sit down as Tony clears his throat.* “Okay, so today we’re gonna decide whether you can stay here or not, so why don’t you start by explaining why you did what you did.” *He motions to Jamie, and everyone looks over at him in varying degrees of dislike or distrust or both. They just look at him carefully, almost blankly.*

Jamie shoots everyone a look as they look at him with distain. He scoffs “yeah whatever…” he says softly “well it started when Emilia killed our mother” he says simply, tensely, a small anger in his tone

“And you watched her do this? Kill your mother?” *Tony asks him firmly, barely hiding a glare. Their eyes dart up at that, glancing at him quickly before looking away.*

“On cameras yes…” his eyes dart nervously too

“So you didn’t see it in person. You just saw it on camera. Where things can easily be fabricated, especially with someone as manipulative as your mother.” *Tony crosses his arms over his chest, and they take a deep breath, knowing things are about to explode now.*

Jamie scoffs, his leg bouncing like he’s about to explode “you know nothing about her, or us…” he mumbles angrily, refusing to look up at Tony “You. Know. Nothing.”

“Oh. I know nothing. When I adopted her into the tower as a terrified, young teenage girl. I know nothing. Right.” *Tony looks at him pointedly, glaring slightly.* “You are the one that doesn’t know anything about her, not us.”

Jamie stands suddenly, scowl in his face as the metal chair clangs to the floor “you don’t know what our life was like before! SHE doesn’t even remember what our life was like before!”

“How would she not know, huh? How would she be able to forget something like that?” *They flinch when the chair slams down, and hold themselves a little tighter, trying to give themselves pressure to calm down. They could do this, they could. Tony said he needed to ask them questions, so they just need to stay here until-*

“Ask her! She doesn’t remember most of it! I don’t remember most of it! As if she does!” He pushes the table out of anger “being her here… let’s ask her hmm?”

“Oh no, no, she’s not coming in here, she doesn’t want to see you. You’re answering our questions though.” *Tony looks unimpressed when he pushes the chair. What he doesn’t know is that this is connected to a video feed that Emilia is watching, and they’re ready to leave at any second to go to her if she pushes the button on their bracelet that has a signal to her.*

“This is bullshit” Jamie scoffs “what is even the point of me being in here! This is useless!” He shouts to everyone in the room, but almost ignoring Anna as he yells.

“This is not useless, this is safety. After you tried to kill your own sister, in her own room.” *There’s a darkness in Tony’s tone as he says that, and they immediately close their eyes, fighting off a shudder as soon as he says that, still having nightmares sometimes of being the one to find Emilia like that, the blood….*

“Please she’s barely my sister, she’s the one who left us and found a new family” Jamie’s eyes narrow with a darkness behind them “I don’t like any of you”

*Okay, that weirdly stung a little, their eyes flashing with hurt before they make their eyes blank again, staring at the ground.* “You were raised together, were you not? You lived together until she was 16, did those years mean nothing to you?” *Tony asks, eyes hardening when he saw the darkness in Jamie’s eyes, still determined to push him as far as he needed to though.*

“We were raised separately, barely saw each other anyway…” he explains, mumbling tensely. He doesn’t want to go into how their mother made them hate each other as part of her experiments, or maybe just for fun, it’s the only thing his mother did that he didn’t understand or have justification for.

“Explain.” *Tony waves his hand for Jamie to go on, and they glance at him for the first time in a while, their eyes unreadable as they glance away again, looking down at the bracelet.*

“Our mother made us hate each other on purpose and raised us separately. It was part of her experiments to see if she could make soldiers not question what they were fighting for. She made us not want to question why we hated each other…” he explains, realising in real time how fucked up that is, he hides it well.

“So you don’t see how your mother could fake information, fake things to get you to try and kill Emilia, even her own death?” *They glance at him again, sensing that he was actually realizing how fucked that was and look at Tony, silently telling him that they were making progress.*

His eyes narrow “um… I don’t know…” he mumbles, processing, genuinely not sure what to make of all of this

“Sure you do. You just aren’t prepared to admit it yet, because then you’ll start to feel guilty.” *Ohhh, that was…..they hold their breath, wincing slightly, glancing down at the bracelet again.*

Emilia presses the small button she was given. She needs everyone out of there now before he goes haywire. That and she’s slightly panicking herself now. “Please” she whispers, hoping they’ll come soon

*They’re already up and out the door, bolting for her and looking at her carefully.* “Hug or no hug right now?” *They adjust the volume, making sure she can’t hear anything anymore, glancing at the video feed. Tony and Bucky are still in there, and whatever’s being said isn’t pleasant, but they focus back on Emilia, waiting for her to choose.*

“Hug please…” she says softly, her eyes brimming with tears as she continues watching the feed, trying her best to make out what’s being said or how Jamie’s reacting “I feel so yuck” she mumbles

*They hug her tightly, cupping her face gently so she’ll look at them.* “I know. I know you do. Do you want me to block or take anything right now? And I really don’t know how….maybe we shouldn’t watch it, okay, love? Go get ourselves something calming, like tea? We can let the old guys handle this.”

She shakes her head softly “it’s ok thanks… I just wish I could help in some way…” she glances back toward the monitor before looking to the floor “ok…yeah…tea sounds good” she says softly

“C’mon.” *They gently pull her away from the monitor, towards the kitchen, turning on the tea kettle as they prepared both of their favorite kind of tea, and look over at her carefully.* “Em, honestly you being safe here where he can’t hurt you is helping, because that way he’s not….not able to focus on what to say, just to hurt you. He’s focusing on what to say, that’s not just things that are made up, to hurt you. Does that make sense?”

“A little yeah?” That was a lot of words but she gets the gist of what they’re trying to say “I feel like this is all my fault…” she says softly. Jamie would even be here if it wasn’t for her. Sometimes she wishes he would just go back to Hydra and stay out of her life, it’s not fair

“Oh no. No no no, love. It’s not your fault, he’s the one that made his choices. It’s not your fault in the slightest. Trust me on that, okay?” *They send her a wave of honesty and love, handing her the tea and taking her hand, leading her to a couch where they could see the monitor, but she couldn’t.* “Is it my fault for things that have happened to me, with my own hydra experiences?”

Emilia shakes her head “but I am sort of the reason he came here and threatened a bunch of people and almost killed me…” she snuggles closer to Anna on the couch, seeking comfort, she brings her knees to her chest and holds the mug of tea on her knees

*They gently tilt her face up, searching her eyes.* “Sweetheart, it was all his choice. That is like saying to someone who was assaulted that they shouldn’t have dressed a certain way or done something different, and that is putting the blame on the wrong person. The attacker is always the one responsible, never, ever the person getting attacked.” *That sa something from their therapy group they had heard, and were quoting almost word for word as they pull her closer and tuck her under their chin.* “I won’t let you blame yourself, I won’t.”

*Their head jerks up as they hear the yelling, and they gently disentangle themselves from her a little to pull back and look into her eyes carefully.* “Do you want me to soundproof the room or go figure out what’s happening right now?”

“I don’t know” she admits softly, keeping her eyes on the room. She feels awful that she’s not in there to help. “Can we maybe just go back to the monitor? Just to see?”

“Yeah. I just…..I don’t think that it would be particularly helpful if we turned the volume on, okay? But we can watch.” *They tentatively walk over to the couch, getting the monitor set up so they can look at it, and glance over at her.* “Whenever you’re ready is fine.”

*They make sure the volume is off, glancing at the screen every few minutes as they take some of the anxiety from her and replace it with comfort. Something makes them glance up at the screen again, and they tense, seeing how in each other’s faces Tony and Jamie are getting, and they don’t like it. Maybe they need to go back in there and take some of Jamie’s energy so he can’t pull against the handcuffs as much, for both of their safety?*

“Should we maybe go back?” Emilia whispers, really worried about how aggressive they’re both getting “maybe I can help?” She feels awful that she’s the only person not involved in this case. She knows it’s on purpose because technically she was the victim, but still.

*They shake their head quickly, already standing up and by the doorway, glancing back at her.* “Oh no. No no no, you need to stay right here. I’ll go check, okay? I need your verbal agreement that you’re gonna stay here, while I go check.” *They wait patiently for her to look at them so they could see her eyes, make sure she understood how serious they were.*

*They hurry to the room, glaring at both Tony and Jamie, standing in the doorway of the room.* “What the hell are you guys yelling about so loudly? Back the fuck up from each other before this gets worse.”

“Don’t tell me what to do!” He scowls, attempting to step closer to Tony “I fucking hate you”

“Don’t you fucking dare.” *Their voice goes low and they get closer.* “I will fucking drain you enough that you can’t stand if you take another step closer. And Tony, seriously? You’re ragebaiting him right now? Gods, back the fuck up now, you’re acting worse than a fucking teenager.” *Tony glares and shakes his head.* “If this little prick-“

“Get me the fuck out of here…” Jamie says, dangerously calm, holding up his cuffed wrists before snapping out a “Now! I mean it!”

“Fucking try to get out and I promise you that you won’t be able to move.” *They glare at him, still holding Tony back with a hand on his shoulder.* “Tony, if you move, so help me god-“

“This is fucking stupid” Jamie mumbles “I cannot believe you!!” He snaps out, stepping closer to Tony

*They instantly lower his energy, making him extremely tired, still holding Tony back.* “Jamie, I fucking warned you. Back the hell up.”

He suddenly feels so weak, exhausted, he stumbles back into the chair he was just sitting in “no, stop doing that” he tells Anna tensely

“Then don’t be a fucking idiot.” *They snap back, and look back at Tony.* “Take several steps back or I’ll do the same to you.” *He holds up his hands and backs up, glaring at Jamie.* “Now would one of you explain why you were yelling so loudly, that Emilia and I could hear you with the volume off?”

“Don’t call me that” he growls, anger and exhaustion in his tone. Jamie sighs at the question “he was intentionally being an asshole” he glares at Tony. Emilia ducks her head around the corner, trying to listen but not get too close

“Don’t talk to me like that then. And Tony, seriously? Stop it.” *Tony grumbles under his breath, and their head darts up, sensing someone else there.* “I’ve got this covered, whoever is here.”

Emilia immediately steps away, trying to hide from Anna and everyone else in the room

*They tense, knowing it’s Emilia, but struggling to figure out how to not let two testosterone filled men know that, especially one that was her brother that had fucking tried to kill her a few months ago?*

Jamie steps toward the door as he hears them say that someone’s outside. His hands are still cuffed but now he’s angry.

*They quickly block him, actually pushing him back towards the chair, making a couple of noises of effort to do so.* “Back the fuck up, I already warned you.” *Tony smirks over their head at him, escalating the situation of course.*

“Don’t look at me like that!” Jamie sticks a finger in Tony’s face tensely, still sitting in the chair Anna pushed him into “I fucking hate you!” He growls at Tony, ignoring Anna

“Feeling’s mutual, kid.” *Tony smirks again, and they turn around, glaring at Tony.* “You need to leave, you are making the situation so much worse.” *Tony glanced down at them, shaking his head firmly.* “I’m not leaving you or Emmy alone in here with this psychopath.” *They tense even more, realizing that he was right, that she was in here now as they glance over their shoulder and see her.*

Emilia quickly tries to hide again. Jamie only then notices her. “And fuck you too!” He growls toward Emilia “let me the fuck out!” He struggles against the cuffs again, on the verge of tears, absolutely furious at the situation

“No one is ‘letting you the fuck out’, you are way too fucking pissed for that. You would literally try to hurt all three of us.” *They growl, stepping between Jamie and Emilia quickly. They gently grab her hand and squeeze it in support.* “Do you want to stay here, or leave? I’m down either way.” *They whisper to her, so only she could hear them.*

Emilia wants to leave more than anything, but she’s not sure if it’s the best idea right now, if it’ll piss off Jamie more or if they’ll think she’s weak “I don’t know” she whispers in response, her heart pounding as she squeezes Anna’s hand softly in response

“Emilia, I promise you that no one is gonna be mad at you or think that you’re weak. Jamie’s opinion doesn’t matter right now, and I know that’s hard to hear, but he’s your attacker and abuser right now.” *They whisper back, glaring at both of the men, especially at Tony for how he had continued to rile Jamie up.*

*They follow her out as they turn their head and call over their shoulder.* “You two dimwits had better be a lot more calm when we come back.” *Their voice was deadly serious as they turn their attention back to Emilia, following her wherever she wanted to go.*

She drags them out to the hallway, her eyes brimming with tears “I’m sorry” she buries her face in her hands “I thought I could help…”

*They gently pull her hands away from her face and brush her tears away with their sleeve.* “I know. I know you thought you could help. And I don’t blame you. And if you really want to, I can take you back in there with me. But you need to stay behind me the whole time, okay?”

Emilia settles down slightly as Anna wipes her tears. “Ok… I just…. He’s so angry” she cries softly, wiping her eyes again.

*They nod, continuing to wipe her eyes carefully.* “I know. He’s angry because he’s realizing he didn’t need to attack you, and how much your mother manipulated you two to hate each other, especially for him after you left.” *They didn’t necessarily like getting in people’s heads to tell other people things like that, but he deserved it right now.*

Emilia sighs, understanding where they’re coming from, giving them a small nod “ok… yeah that makes sense…” she fidgets softly with her hands “I don’t know it’s all so complicated…”

*They notice her fidgeting and start to fidget with their own fingers.* “It is. Are you sure that you want to go back in there? I can go in alone, I’ll be fine.”

“Um… maybe not right now?” She honestly has no idea what to do “I think maybe it’s better if I don’t…”

“That’s fine. Are you gonna be okay while I go check on those assholes and make sure they haven’t killed each other?” *They look at her, searching her eyes to see what she was really thinking.*

She nods softly “yeah I’ll be fine… just be safe”

“I will be.” *They pull her closer to their height so they can kiss her forehead softly, and then let go and hurry back towards the room, where the yelling is getting louder the closer they get. They open the door, standing there for a second. Strange has joined the chaos, and they groan quietly at that. They didn’t really trust him, so this was just great.*

As soon as Anna is seen in the doorway, Jamie immediately switches his attention to them, continuing his rambling “Anna, come on! Tell them! You know me! I just need to get out of these cuffs for a little bit please! I can’t handle it!” They’re annoying as fuck and definitely not helping him stay calm in the situation

*They hold their breath, refusing to move at all. Of course it was him, of course he was the one that was coming in here to check on things. With their luck, of course.*

“It’s over here.” *They drag a chair over to a shelf, standing on the chair so they could reach something and jump down, holding something behind their back before quickly handing it to him. It’s a really nice, leather knife holder, and they quickly look away from him.* “I know it’s probably stupid and it definitely looks ugly, but I wanted to make something to thank you and-“

He’s honestly suprised by the gift, hesitating before he smiles softly “I really like it” he says genuinely as he analyses the knife holder “genuinely I…thank you”

*They smile, he really liked it.* “You’re welcome. You deserve to have this, after saving my life. Carlos said that with all the blood I lost, there was a good chance that I wouldn’t be here anymore.”

Jamie frowns for a quick moment before schooling his expression “well I’m glad you still are…”

“Me too.” *They smile then look at him, confused.* “Are you upset at me? Your feelings are…. I keep hearing ‘Anna’ and ‘not fair.”

He sighs, looking down “I uh…I was… a little bit before… just because I was confused and thought you didn’t like me or something…” he admits nervously

“Me? Not like you? I thought you fucking hated me.” *They laugh quietly, shaking their head.* “No, I don’t hate you or anything, I’m actually just really grateful to you.”

He nods, his lips pressed together as he tries not to smile “ok… yeah that’s good to know” he mumbles, looking to the ground

*They look down at the ground, a wave of uncertainty going through them.* “You’re sure you actually like it? You….you don’t have to lie to me, if you don’t like it, I can change it, I-“