sunday_reveries The Choice to Act
Muses mentioned with permission.
prompt: 2. "There will be times when we must make the choice to act for a greater good, even at risk to ourselves, but we do not lay down our lives needlessly. Each of us has only one life to live, and one life to give. There is no glory in throwing it away where there is no hope."
--John Connolly
It was a weird set-up, the Avengers Safehouse, Mark Two. Three, if you count Dr. Strange's. Four if you count Stark Tower and Five going all the way back to the Mansion. Four blown up safehouses in two years. Damn. Her mother's right.
Jess plopped Dani on the floor of her-soon-to-be playroom -- Carol's mostly vacated room -- and pulled out a bright pink ball to roll between them.
She'd never lived at One or Two. Luke preferred to have his own place and she wasn't an Avenger. They'd had to live with the team after the SHRA, though. It wasn't so bad, Strange had a...Wong...that sounds wrong. But he wasn't a butler and manservant sounds wrong, too, though for different reasons...Jessica sighed. This line of thought was ridiculous. Dani punched at the ball rather than push it. Her mother's daughter.
Safehouse Mark Four had been a weird set-up but it'd grown on her. Hiding continued to suck, but it felt safer than the other. Carol was there. It's amazing how much difference one person can make. Or maybe not. Maybe it's supposed to be that way.
Bored with the ball, Dani tumbled sideways to set herself up to crawl away. Jessica smiled softly, her clever plan to let the baby mark her territory looked to be set in motion. "That's right, Dani-girl, make a nice big mess." Which wouldn't, in point of fact, be so different from when Carol stayed here. Though maybe that's not fair, it's tough living this way, practically out of boxes. Especially this one, Five; they'd only even been here so many weeks. Set-up even weirder, what with Steve back. Ish. Back enough -- and Steve's one of those one people, too. Captain America's here, all's right with the world.
So why's it feel so wrong?
Jess sat back on her legs to watch Dani scuttle around the room. She knew why, she just felt bad saying it. Thinking it. Whatever. Steve's return meant they were done waiting. A good thing, sure. Of course. The world is screwed the hell up, someone's gotta right it. And that's what the Avengers do, after all. That's what they're supposed to do. It's a real misnomer if you think about it too much. Which is probably why no one ever does. They just assemble, and well they should. But that's when people get hurt or stupid or dead or missing or all of the above. That's when they make ridiculous and wrong choices in the heat of the moment or the depths of grief and everything everywhere gets mixed up and messed up for years. That's when they put the greater good so far ahead of themselves and everyone near them, they entirely forget what it is they are trying to protect or avenge in the first place. It's been the worst two years of Jessica's life and she doesn't want to go through it again. And it's been the best two years of Jessica's life and she's terrified to lose it all.
Dani had found Carol's cat, curled up by the heating vent and clearly uninterested in moving. Not that the dumb animal ever seemed to do much moving. Except that Carol'd taken her up to Peter's -- their -- place at least twice already and yet Chewie was back here in some kind of uninspired protest. Or maybe she was just cold. Whatever, she wouldn't appreciate Dani's advances of friendship. Jessica stood and swooped her daughter up into her arms. "Should we get the swing? There's plenty of space in here, now. Let's get the swing." Chewie looked up and licked a paw in Jessica's direction; she took it as a thank you.
Stupid cat. Carol wouldn't have taken her with her if she was really being replaced. Guess it's a control thing. Control is always what make people, and cats, feel secure, right? Or lack of control is what makes them feel insecure. Well, then, that's why Luke was right and she'd already made the decision about taking up the cause herself. Fighting the good fight. Assembling alongside the rest. It was time. These people were gunning for her baby and her husband and her best friend and her oldest friend and pretty much everyone important to her and they were crazy if they thought she was just gonna sit there and let it happen. This was bigger than all the rest.
Jess pushed Carol's last boxes into a corner and placed the baby swing right in the middle of the room. It made exactly the statement she'd wanted. This wasn't just Safehouse Mark Five. This was her family's home.
prompt: 2. "There will be times when we must make the choice to act for a greater good, even at risk to ourselves, but we do not lay down our lives needlessly. Each of us has only one life to live, and one life to give. There is no glory in throwing it away where there is no hope."
--John Connolly
It was a weird set-up, the Avengers Safehouse, Mark Two. Three, if you count Dr. Strange's. Four if you count Stark Tower and Five going all the way back to the Mansion. Four blown up safehouses in two years. Damn. Her mother's right.
Jess plopped Dani on the floor of her-soon-to-be playroom -- Carol's mostly vacated room -- and pulled out a bright pink ball to roll between them.
She'd never lived at One or Two. Luke preferred to have his own place and she wasn't an Avenger. They'd had to live with the team after the SHRA, though. It wasn't so bad, Strange had a...Wong...that sounds wrong. But he wasn't a butler and manservant sounds wrong, too, though for different reasons...Jessica sighed. This line of thought was ridiculous. Dani punched at the ball rather than push it. Her mother's daughter.
Safehouse Mark Four had been a weird set-up but it'd grown on her. Hiding continued to suck, but it felt safer than the other. Carol was there. It's amazing how much difference one person can make. Or maybe not. Maybe it's supposed to be that way.
Bored with the ball, Dani tumbled sideways to set herself up to crawl away. Jessica smiled softly, her clever plan to let the baby mark her territory looked to be set in motion. "That's right, Dani-girl, make a nice big mess." Which wouldn't, in point of fact, be so different from when Carol stayed here. Though maybe that's not fair, it's tough living this way, practically out of boxes. Especially this one, Five; they'd only even been here so many weeks. Set-up even weirder, what with Steve back. Ish. Back enough -- and Steve's one of those one people, too. Captain America's here, all's right with the world.
So why's it feel so wrong?
Jess sat back on her legs to watch Dani scuttle around the room. She knew why, she just felt bad saying it. Thinking it. Whatever. Steve's return meant they were done waiting. A good thing, sure. Of course. The world is screwed the hell up, someone's gotta right it. And that's what the Avengers do, after all. That's what they're supposed to do. It's a real misnomer if you think about it too much. Which is probably why no one ever does. They just assemble, and well they should. But that's when people get hurt or stupid or dead or missing or all of the above. That's when they make ridiculous and wrong choices in the heat of the moment or the depths of grief and everything everywhere gets mixed up and messed up for years. That's when they put the greater good so far ahead of themselves and everyone near them, they entirely forget what it is they are trying to protect or avenge in the first place. It's been the worst two years of Jessica's life and she doesn't want to go through it again. And it's been the best two years of Jessica's life and she's terrified to lose it all.
Dani had found Carol's cat, curled up by the heating vent and clearly uninterested in moving. Not that the dumb animal ever seemed to do much moving. Except that Carol'd taken her up to Peter's -- their -- place at least twice already and yet Chewie was back here in some kind of uninspired protest. Or maybe she was just cold. Whatever, she wouldn't appreciate Dani's advances of friendship. Jessica stood and swooped her daughter up into her arms. "Should we get the swing? There's plenty of space in here, now. Let's get the swing." Chewie looked up and licked a paw in Jessica's direction; she took it as a thank you.
Stupid cat. Carol wouldn't have taken her with her if she was really being replaced. Guess it's a control thing. Control is always what make people, and cats, feel secure, right? Or lack of control is what makes them feel insecure. Well, then, that's why Luke was right and she'd already made the decision about taking up the cause herself. Fighting the good fight. Assembling alongside the rest. It was time. These people were gunning for her baby and her husband and her best friend and her oldest friend and pretty much everyone important to her and they were crazy if they thought she was just gonna sit there and let it happen. This was bigger than all the rest.
Jess pushed Carol's last boxes into a corner and placed the baby swing right in the middle of the room. It made exactly the statement she'd wanted. This wasn't just Safehouse Mark Five. This was her family's home.