9542/After Curfew

After Curfew
Date of Scene:	09 January 2022
Location:	The Triskelion: Courtyard
Synopsis:	Ava and Finley steal away to the gardens outside the Triskelion in the middle of the night for a bit of fresh air, a bit of bonding, and a bit of chat.
Cast of Characters:	Ava Starr, Finley Ellison

---

Ava Starr has posed:
It's late at night. Or perhaps the wee small hours of the morning, well before dawn. Take your pick. The point is: It's dark out. The stars are clearly visible in the crisp, wintery night's air. And, it being so late, the Triskelion parkgrounds are largely deserted. Aside from the occasional security bot, in fact, there's not another soul in sight.

A few moments ago, Ava laid a note on Finley's pillow for the night nurse. It read: "Gone for a walk. Back in a while. Don't panic." Then, she bundled her partner up, put her in a wheelchair, and snuck the two of them out through the building's very walls.

Even now, in the darkened gardens, they're still intangible -- because otherwise they'd feel the cold, and Ava would prefer they didn't. They may even be invisible to everyone and everything else. She's not telling. And it doesn't matter.

What does matter is that they're outside of the damned SHIELD bunker and for the first time in weeks she doesn't feel claustrophobic.

Finley Ellison has posed:
Finley smiles up at her, tired but not so secretly thrilled. She reaches for Ava's hand. "Feeling better?" she asks softly.

Ava Starr has posed:
"Yes," Ava replies succinctly, settling down onto a bench beside Finley's chair. At least, it looks like she does. She's intangible. She's probably sitting on a quantum field that mimics the bench. "You?" She reaches out to simply takes Finley's hand, her expression more relaxed now than it's been since... well before they left the Milano.

Finley Ellison has posed:
"Yeah, I am. Thank you." She intertwines their fingers. "I don't feel like the nanites are eating me alive. And, well, I think that's something I'd notice. I wish I knew what they were supposed to do. I wish I know what I could expect. But still...it's nice being out here. With you."

Ava Starr has posed:
"I hope so," Ava says, giving a wry smile when Finley suggests she'd feel the nanites if they were munchie. "And, we'll figure it out. I promise." She holds up her hands, letting the q-bands be seen. "I'll make you any type of scanner you want." She smirks a little. "I figured out how to replicate your crystal reader..."

Finley Ellison has posed:
Finley's eyes light up. "You did? When? That's so cool! What was it like? Tell me about it." She almost bounces with excitement in her wheelchair.

Ava Starr has posed:
Ava chuckles some at Finley's excitement, though the shadow of the memory of it sits behind her eyes. "Shortly after I got you here. Dr. Lewis was trying to help. We thought that maybe the pendant might have recorded something useful, so..." She shrugs. "I made it so she could read it." She wrinkles her nose briefly. "I just kind of... tried to remember what it looked like, what it was supposed to do." She looks at the bands. "They seemed to figure it out."

Finley Ellison has posed:
"That's really impressive, love," Finley says softly. "I'm so proud of you."

Ava Starr has posed:
"Mostly," Ava says with a shrug, "the only thing the pendant recorded was my quantum jump between Hala and Earth. It kinda drowned out everything else." That, and her blind panic at the time. She won't talk about that.

Finley Ellison has posed:
"Which is also really impressive, by the way." Finley squeezes Ava's hand. "So can I get out of this chair? Or are you gonna come over here and sit in my lap?"

Ava Starr has posed:
"I'm not sitting in your lap," Ava says, eyeing the engineer. Certainly, she won't do such a thing until she knows Finley can handle it. "So, you're going to have to get out of the chair." She softens, though, as she gives her a little tug. "But you can sit in my lap, if you want."

Finley Ellison has posed:
Finley moves gingerly, getting slowly out of the chair, all the while refusing to let go of Ava's hand. Not just for the risk of sudden tangibility. She settles next to Ava, resting her head on her shoulder. "Thank you."

Ava Starr has posed:
Ava slides an arm around Finley and pulls her gently against her. "Always," she says softly, resting her chin on Finley's head briefly. She doesn't say much more, however. Doesn't feel the need. It's just nice not to be in the sterile air of the infirmary. And to see Finley up out of bed. And the stars are bright. She'll take it.

Finley Ellison has posed:
For once, also, Finley doesn't feel the need to fill the silence with theories or conjecture, plans and designs. She snuggles against Ava. Wraps her arms around her waist. She takes a deep breath and looks up at the sky.

Ava Starr has posed:
The fact they're not up among the stars actually makes Ava happy. The fact she's not feeling a cosmic tug to leave, makes her even happier. So, she holds the younger woman beside her and lets the rest of the universe forget they exist for as long as she possibly can.

Finley Ellison has posed:
"I really am feeling much better," Finley whispers in Ava's ear. She runs her fingers through the woman's hair. Happy to stay tucked away with her, out of reach from the rest of reality. Just the two of them.

Ava Starr has posed:
"Good," Ava replies, giving her a gentle squeeze. "Because you scared the shite out of me." The truth of it is in her eyes and in the tension of her body. Still, they're safe now. And if there's a long road ahead of them, well... there always was. It's just a different road than she expected.

Finley Ellison has posed:
"Sorry about that," Finley says abashed. "I, um, I didn't mean to." She bites her bottom lip. "And I'm still here. Can't get rid of me that easily, Ava Starr."

Ava Starr has posed:
"If I had wanted to get rid of you," Ava says dryly, "That would not have been how I'd do it." And if Yv'kar wasn't already dead, Ava might very well have gone back to kill him, had anything worse happens. As it is, she's entirely grateful she didn't have to figure out how to deal with something worse happening knowing he's already dead and there'd be no one she could hurt to make herself feel better.

She's glad it didn't come to that.

Finley Ellison has posed:
"You can always find a tank to shove me under the treads of..." Finley teases. "But I dunno. Maybe the nanites can make me a protective exoskeleton. So you'll have to get more creative."

Ava Starr has posed:
Ava chuckles softly, kissing Finley's hair on the top her her head briefly. "You're not the only one who has an upgrade, remember?" She laughs, yes. But that doesn't mean her early concerns that she could accidentally hurt something or someone have fled. They're here at SHIELD, she's willing to risk trusting them, because she knows, if push came to shove, she could quite literally blow the place right off the map. And the only one who could stop her is Carol Danvers. It makes her feel a lot less powerless when dealing with the powers that be.

"And I can be very creative, when I want to be."

Finley Ellison has posed:
"Oh, can you?" Finley asks, "I think I'll need you to elaborate for me." She nuzzles into Ava's neck.

Ava Starr has posed:
"Mm." Ava smiles, letting her fingers caress Finley's back. "Not here. Not now. I don't want to stay at the Triskelion longer than we need. I just want you to get better. Then we'll go home and I'll try to be as creative as I can."

Finley Ellison has posed:
Finley blushes, grinning. "As soon as the doctors clear me. But I do need help figuring out what the bots can do. Otherwise *I'm* the one whose the ticking time-bomb."

Ava Starr has posed:
Ava's expression grows fierce. "Oh, we'll figure that out, love. I *promise*." She's not about to give her partner over to a bunch of microscopic bots without a fight. If she could have burned them out of her, she would have already.

However, her expression gentles just a little, worry and reassurance warring for supremacy. "Between Dr. Simmons and Dr. Lewis -- and *you*... someone's going to figure it out. I think, though, if they were going to harm you, they'd have done it before now."

She *hopes* so.

Finley Ellison has posed:
"I like the sound of that, you know," Finley says, "'we,' I mean." She kisses Ava very lightly. She likes the sound of 'love,' too. It's something she could definitely get used to hearing.

Ava Starr has posed:
Ava smiles faintly, but pulls back a little to look at her, studying her face. "You know we're in this together, right?" She brushes some hair out of Finley's eyes. "You wouldn't be in this spot, if it wasn't for me. But, even if that wasn't the case..." She clears her throat, working around a small lump that's formed there. "We'd still be in this together. That's just how it is."

Finley Ellison has posed:
"No complaints from me, Ava. You know that, right?" Finley says. "Not about any of it. But I guess we're saving the universe now. Not fighting it. Now that you're its protector. You and me, we're in it together."

Ava Starr has posed:
"I don't want to protect the universe." That hasn't changed. Ava's jaw sets a little stubbornly as she says it. "The only thing it's ever given me, to make anything worth saving, is you." Though, if pressed, she'd admit that's a pretty big thing to receive -- for her.

Finley Ellison has posed:
Finley wraps Ava more tightly in her arms. And runs her thumb across the stubborn clench of that jaw. "Hey," she says softly. "I'm gonna be okay. We'll figure this out."

Ava Starr has posed:
Ava nods simply in response. She doesn't speak. She has literally spent weeks inside the one place on Earth she never wanted to see again, all to see that Finley got the help she knew she couldn't get her anywhere else. She has spent every day since the accident in the midst of people she still doesn't entirely trust, all because they are the only ones she knows with the skills to help Finley when Finley couldn't help herself. She's grateful they've managed to do what they've done so far. She's afraid to hope for more. But she fully intends to see that Finley gets the help she needs. No matter what. So, yes. Finley *will* be okay. And they *will* figure it out. Somehow.

Finley Ellison has posed:
"As soon as they can tell us that the nanites aren't parasitical, we can go home," Finley tells her. "We can figure things from there."

Ava Starr has posed:
Ava nods again, her arms tightening slightly. "They better not be," she growls softly. "Or I swear I will find the Kree afterlife and kill that damned scientist all over again." She kisses Finley firmly and then gives her a wry smile. "I *have* told you how much I hate hospitals and labs, right?"

Finley Ellison has posed:
"You have mentioned on occasion," Finley says returning the kiss. "We won't stay here longer than we have to. We'll go home soon. I promise. Oh, and thank you for saving me. Have I said that yet?"

Ava Starr has posed:
Ava smiles. "I don't know. But, you're welcome." She'd do it again in a heartbeat. She holds Finley for a little while, falling silent again. In the end, as time ticks by and she knows she'll need to think about taking them back home, she murmurs, "I can't wait to take you back home." Yes, she's looking forward to it. Just the two of them again, against the world. The way it should be.

Finley Ellison has posed:
"And then I can thank you properly," Finley says, nuzzling the spot under Ava's ear, right behind her jaw. "And you can demonstrate your creativity." And they can rearrange the living space in the loft. With the QEC still on the Milano, there'll be space. Although, really Finley thinks that she should mock up some sort of emergency replacement. Even though Ava's q-bands seem to be holding her together remarkably well. Maybe the unfinished quantum tunnel can be repurposed...

Ava Starr has posed:
Ava fully intends to return to the Milano to collect her QEC. Providing the space rodent hasn't already dismantled and repurposed it. But that doesn't mean the loft can't be rearranged. Because, yes, the q-bands do seem to be holding her, but Ava still wants the security blanket of the machine she's effectively lived without for more than a month, now. Just in case.

She smiles, tilting her head as Finley nuzzles her. "Soon," she promises. "First thing tomorrow, I'll start hunting down someone who can tell us what's going on." Simmons. Lewis. One of them.

Finley Ellison has posed:
"I'd like to see that data," whispers Finley, kissing Ava's neck. And she really would. She has no idea what the nanites have done to her, how they've integrated themselves, what their purpose is, if they are operating as expected, if they even *can* with her human physiology. But even thinking about the little machines bonding with her cells and changing her forever, freaks her out. And she can't stop to contemplate the conversation they just had. Or they'll have to say things outright, rather than hints and intimations. And there has been so much. So fast. So instead she trails her lips down Ava's neck.

Ava Starr has posed:
Ava nods, cheek brushing Finley's. "I'll get it for you," she promises. Truthfully? She wants Finley to see it. She trusts Finley more. And she really hopes there's enough there they can figure it out together... not that she really thinks she can contribute much to the investigation, herself.

She wraps her arms around her partner and pulls her close, simply appreciating the soldity of her body against her in the night. They're intangible, sitting on this bench. Phased enough out of the material world that the cold winter air doesn't touch them. But, still... the closeness is comforting. "You'll figure it out. I know you will."

Finley Ellison has posed:
"I...um, I'd really like to know for certain what they did to that scientist. So, uh, I can make sure they won't ever do that to me." She shudders in Ava's arms, remembering the exploded chest cavity, blue blood splatter all over the walls. "I don't even know what they're programmed to do. Or why they attached to me..."

Ava Starr has posed:
Ava nods agian, remembering the grisly scene at the alien lab. "We've got his laptop, you know. Or whatever the alien equivalent is. Carol brought it. Maybe you can figure it out. We might need a translator, mind, but..." She squeezes Finley gently. "I don't want you to end up like him, no. But I think they went into you because Carol and I had too much energy around us for them." She's had time to think about it. And the thought makes her sick.

Finley Ellison has posed:
"We do?" Finley asks, relieved. She squeezes Ava. "That's great news! It *has*to have their programming. Who do we know who reads Kree? Carol can, right?" Her eyes shine bright, solaced by information. Any data acquistion that doesn't involve the possibility of the nanites making a dramatic exit from her body is a plus in Finley's book.

Ava Starr has posed:
Ava can't help but smile as Finley squeezes her, sensing her relief in her body. "Carol can," she confirms. "We'll ask her." Get data. Get laptop. Get Carol. That's Ava's new mission. She can do that. She *will* do that.

"Are you feeling a little better now, love?"

Finley Ellison has posed:
Finley nods, nuzzling into the crook of Ava's neck. "I was really really scared," she says barely audibly.

Ava Starr has posed:
Ava kisses the top of Finley's head, simply pressing her lips against her hair. "I was, too," she admits softly. She was afraid she'd killed her. Dragged her into space and gotten her killed.

There's a reason she's stayed by her side so obsessively all this time.

Finley Ellison has posed:
Finley melts into Ava's embrace. "I'm glad you're with me."

Ava Starr has posed:
"Always," Ava murmurs against her hair, simply holding her now. "I crossed the universe for you, Ellison." Because Finley crossed it for her.

That's everything.