The phone was ringing. It was still ringing. Nestled comfortably under the covers, Aglaia scrunched her eyes shut, willing the phone to stop. Eventually it did. But then the cell phone started. Aglaia's eyes shot open.

"That's not my normal ringtone," she thought.

Her legs shot out from her bed, getting twisted in the comforter, sending her sprawling on the floor in a heap. Desperately she crawled over to her dresser upon which the device lay charging- she finally pushed herself up on two legs, kicking the blasted comforter away, and grabbed the phone.

"Hello?" she breathed heavily into the receiver.

"Aglaia, you're needed." She knew that baritone- that was Director Fury. Instantly, she was on high alert.

"What happened?"

"Everything bad that possibly could. Be ready for pickup in one hour." Click.

"That's it? That's all I get?" she thought, running her hands through her curly mess of hair.

"Crap. I need a shower."

Not knowing quite how she did it, Aglaia walked onto the open field that was the pick-up site, wet hair already curling and duffle bag in hand. Her black yoga pants and dark green hoodie flapped furiously in the wind created by the blades of the F-35 jet. Desperately she clung to her hair so that it wouldn't dry in any odd angles, but the wind was too great. With a sigh of defeat, she lowered her hand, letting the damp curls dance in the wind. The jet landed and the rear ramp opened, revealing two agents dressed in black S.H.E.I.L.D. gear, and one tense Agent Hill.

Running into the jet and grabbing a headset, she nodded to Hill.

"Agent Hill."

"Miss Lark."

It was a quiet ride to the ship after their greetings were exchanged, both women never having been comfortable with the other. To pass some time, Aglaia braided her hair over her right shoulder in a fish tail braid, exposing her left ear but covering the right, her long side bangs entwined within the braid.

Left over right. Right over left. Left over right. The repetition granted a small reprieve from the awkward silence of the trip. After the jet landed on the ship and the ramp met the tarmac with a thud, Aglaia walked out and took a moment to regain her balance. When she looked up, she spied two men not far from her speaking with a woman with short, flaming red hair.

"Nat!" Aglaia cried, hoisting her bag over her shoulder and running to shorter woman.

"Aglaia!" exclaimed Natasha Romanoff, waiting for her old friend to put down her bag before embracing her tightly. Aglaia stepped back after a moment, glancing down to make sure her bag was still where she left it.

"I haven't heard from you in months! A text now and then to make sure you haven't died would be nice, you know!" she jokingly berated. Natasha simply smiled and smacked her arm as the two women turned to the two men standing with confused stares. The first man was shorter than Aglaia herself, though many people were. At 5'9", Aglaia towered over most women and many men. He seemed skittish, constantly moving with jerky motions and eyes darting about. His dark hair was becoming peppered with grey, though he was all together an attractive and intelligent looking man. The other, tall and muscular in a neat plaid shirt and leather jacket, seemed much more relaxed. Yet, even in his relaxed state, Aglaia could feel a sense of power from him, but beneath that, she noticed a sense of wonder in his eyes as he looked about the ship. His combed blonde hair and expressive blue eyes gave him an air of strength and intelligence, traits Aglaia innately admired. A smile gently curved her lips as she surveyed the handsome man.

"Captain Steve Rogers and Dr. Bruce Banner, I present Dr. Aglaia Lark, the best medic S.H.E.I.L.D.'s got," proudly stated Natasha. Aglaia smiled but a tint of red colored her face.

"Now, I wouldn't say that, there are certainly better doctors than me." She turned to the men, "And I hope to see both of you the least amount possible . . . on my surgery bed at least." She flashed a smile at the men and the Captain smiled while Dr. Banner sufficed with a small smirk. Steve held out his hand and Aglaia took it in a friendly hand shake.

"Nice to meet you, Dr. Lark."

"And you yourself, Captain. I've heard many stories about you and it's a privilege. But please, call me Aglaia." It was hard for her to stop smiling at him, he just seemed so friendly, his eyes held no anger and he seemed genuinely glad to meet her.

"Then call me Steve."

"Yes sir," she said with a military clip, but a smile on her face. She then turned to Dr. Banner. "Sir, your work is brilliant, but I'm sorry to say I can't understand half of what you do." She laughed as she stated the last part. This finally seemed to break Dr. Banner out of his shell a little and he smiled.

"Please, Bruce. It's nice to meet you, Aglaia."

"Aglaia," Natasha cut in, "as much as I know you like meeting new people, we should probably get below deck, it's going to get pretty difficult to breathe up here." Natasha started walking toward on of the many grey doors on the other side of the tarmac and as Aglaia picked up her bag, she noticed the men went over to the side. She could barely make out Bruce saying,

"Really? They want me submerged in a pressurized container?" She just smiled as the turbines began to spin and they rose steadily into the air.

Each hallway aboard the hellicarrier looked the same to Aglaia. It wasn't that she was bad with directions or easily confused, but,

"They simply had to paint everything grey, didn't they?" Aglaia wondered aloud as she and Natasha walked through the hallways and towards the rooms where all the high-priority agents were staying. The rooms for each member of the Avengers team lined the corridor Aglaia and Natasha walked through until they came to a door on the right in which Natasha stopped.

"This is your room. Mine is right next door and Dr. Banners's room is next door on the other side."

Aglaia stood in front of the plain silver door, trying to remember its features. All of the doors looked identical save for a number- hers was 004.

"I'm a Bondettte," She thought with a smile. She heard Natasha's boots tread away from her as she heard her say,

"Come onto the bridge in thirty minutes, I have to go get the boys, they're probably lost." Aglaia nodded as the squeaks of the air-lock doors sounded, signaling that she was now alone. Looking the door up and down, there only seemed to be a normal lock on the door, which surprised her. "Surely, they want more security than just a simple bolt on our sleeping quarters?" she thought, but as she turned the metallic handle, the area under her thumb glowed a faint blue, revealing the fingerprint analysis programed within. The right side of Aglaia's mouth turned up as her question was answered, and she pushed the door open, revealing a simple living space.

A single bed with a dark blue comforter stood facing into the room, the headboard in the middle of the right wall. Next to the bed was a plain chest of drawers with six compartments and on the other side of the bed was placed a nightstand with a lamp and alarm clock. On the other side of the room was a simple desk and chair and a bookcase practically overflowing. Curious as to what this bookcase held, Aglaia walked through the room, gently placing her bag on the bed and then crouching in front of the stuffed shelves. The first two levels were full of books, but most notably some of her favorites and even some she had been meaning to read. Animal Farm, The Works of Poe, Hamlet, and many historical fictions stood patiently upon the wood, but her hand slowly reached out and grasped a small, light blue paperback; well worn with many lines running up and down the spine.

"Natasha, you know me too well," she murmured as her fingers ran over the title of her childhood favorite, Shadow Horse. With a small smile, she placed the book back on the shelf and peered at the lower two rows. Carefully lining the bottom-most shelves were stacks of sheet music. Pieces she had played, etudes, and pieces she had been working on were all waiting for her to open their pages and create beautiful music.

Standing, Aglaia walked over to her bag and, unzipping it, she pulled out two containers, one, a long black rectangle in a leather carrying case, the other shorter but still rectangular, both with zippers on the fronts. Carefully, she placed the two boxes on the desk and opened each. A flute lay in one case and a piccolo in the other and she smiled down at them, closing them carefully once more.

"Natasha, you know me far too well," she said, glancing at the bookcase once more before walking out of the room and quietly closing the door.

Not five steps down the hall from where she stood closing her door, Natasha and Steve Rogers, carrying a duffel bag, walked and the former called out to her.

"Aglaia, would you do me the favor of showing Steve his room? It's right across the hall from yours. I need to get back on the bridge, but you two still have twenty minutes, so take your time." With that, she spun on her heel and walked back the other way. Aglaia smiled at Steve and held her arm out across the hall from where she was standing.

"Welcome to your humble abode, Captain," she bowed with her other arm bent across her stomach, mimicking a servant. Steve smiled and strode the last few steps to his door, 005, and pushed down the handle, revealing a room almost identical to Aglaia's. He walked in the room and placed his bag on the bed much like she did. Leaning against the open door, Aglaia studied him.

"Relaxed movements, but tense in neck. Eyes dart warily from one place to another. What does he have to be wary about?" she thought, puzzled by his nervousness.

"Everything all right, Steve? You seem tense," normally she wouldn't voice questions based on body language when she had only just met a person because each person moves differently, with different mannerisms and such, but with him, she simply wanted to know.

He looked up from unpacking his bag, confusion in his eyes and posture.

"Why do you think something is bothering me?" he asked quietly, which only assured her of her assumption more.

"I have my ways," Aglaia stated simply, "Now tell me what's on your mind, if I'm not being too forward."

His hands stilled from unpacking, and his downcast eyes dimmed. Cautiously, Aglaia stepped forward, closing the gap between them and placing a gentle hand on his arm. Her cool hand met with the warm fabric of his shirt (as his jacket lay on the bed along with his bag), and she could feel the muscles of his arm tense and then relax under her touch. At the contact, he looked up at her and she saw his focus come back to the room.

"Just a headache, ma'am, but I'll be fine, don't worry," he smiled, but she could see it didn't reach his eyes. She nodded slowly but quickly turned upbeat.

"Well a headache is something I can fix," she said smiling as she walked out of the room and opened her own door across the hall. Curious, Steve walked the few paces into the doorframe of her room and leaned against the steel, arms crossed. He watched her shuffle through her pack, pushing aside the different fabrics of her clothing, until she found a small white pill bottle. She unscrewed the lid and tapped out two small red pills, holding the pills in a fist as she closed the bottle once more. She then walked into her small, nondescript bathroom and filled a glass with water. Turning the faucet off, she strode back to the patiently waiting man, and handed him both items, which he took carefully and then downed the pills quickly. She stood in front of him, watching him as he drank the water and then replacing the glass back into the bathroom when he finished. She walked out of the bathroom and raised her left wrist where a small opal colored watch was bound to her wrist, checking the time.

"You have beautiful hair," he suddenly stated quietly, surprising Aglaia. She looked up from her watch and unconsciously felt the braid that lay over her right shoulder. A smile played on her lips.

"Thank you, I like it very much myself," she replied, but he continued,

"I've never seen a color quite like it before, it's red and gold at the same time- almost like the gentle flame of a candle," he paused, "I'm sorry, I'm not normally so . . . so . . ." he thought, but couldn't think of a word. Aglaia, her face reddened from his words, looked out the window on the far wall of her room.

"So poetic?" she offered. She laughed quietly, "I've had many compliments for my hair, but I've never heard something like that," her gaze turned back to his, "Thank you, your words were beautiful." She smiled and it was his turn to be embarrassed, his right hand rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. He cleared his throat.

"Well, ma'am," he began, "I believe we should head for the bridge now, the others will be waiting." She nodded and walked through the door he held open for her, a smile lingering on her lips.

A/N:

Woo! First chapter out! I'm working on the second one right now, and I've got a pretty nice story planned out in my head. This will be a Steve/OC story, BUT Aglaia is a very kind person, so keep in mind that just because she shows kindness to someone doesn't mean she wished to be romantically involved with them (you'll find out later muahaha). Anyway, thanks for reading! Rate/Review! I would love to hear your thoughts!