In Love With A God || Thor Fanfic

-13-

The Quinjet was ready to go; everyone was listening to the Captain lecture them on what was going to happen. "Ultron knows we're coming," Riley handed Pietro his earpiece as Steve spoke, pointing to their own ear to silently explain what to do with it. "Odds are we're riding into heavy fire. And that's what we signed up for. But the people of Sokovia... they didn't. So our priority is getting them out"

The jet flew over the city, the early hours of the morning giving the area a grey-blue hue. Steve gave more orders, his voice steady as confidence lingered in every word that escaped his pale lips. "All they want is to live their lives in peace. And that's not gonna happen today. But we can do our best to protect them. And we can get the job done," he continued, making sure he caught the eyes of everyone as he turned his head around to look at all his teammates, "We find out what Ultron's been building, we find Romanoff, and we clear the field. Keep the fight between us. Ultron thinks we're monsters. That we're what's wrong with the world. This isn't just about beating him. It's about whether he's right."

Those last few words made a few of the people in the jet perk their head up; they only now just realised how real that statement was. The sound of Steve's voice didn't register in Riley's head anymore; their attention no longer on the others, but on their own thoughts. Was Ultron right? They've denied all his accusations about the Avengers being monsters, but what if he was right?

"Loftin," he called out for Riley, using their last name, making them look up to see Steve and Clint facing them, "Pay attention. You're heading with Clint." They glanced over at the archer to see him flash a quick and friendly smirk in their direction.

"Right, sorry," they apologised, swiftly getting up from their seat and patting down their sides to check if they had their weapons once more. "Okay, I'm ready." Clint motioned with his head for Riley to follow him, his bow being held in his hands. The two jogged out of the jet, speeding up to get to the commotion that was caused by civilians evacuating the city.

Riley helped motion the citizens to where they're suppose to go, encouraging them to hurry up and walk faster. They looked over to see Clint doing the same, his head moving in different directions to try and keep an eye on the entire area around him; he locked eyes with Riley and gave them a reassuring smile. They smiled back, letting out a sigh as they did so, before pointing up the hill to signal where they were going to start swiftly walking to.

Their pace evolved into a jog, the strides they took becoming bigger to cover more distance whilst keeping a comfortable speed to keep an eye on all the residents. Their attention did not divert from the task at hand as their face creased into a small grimace whilst they continued to jog up the path.

A tug on Riley's sleeve made them flinch slightly, forcing them to look down at the movement to see what it was. Annoyed that their focus was interrupted, their eyes landed on a child- no older than seven- with red, puffy eyes due to him most likely crying.

Riley's previous stern expression softened at the sight of the young child, feeling so much pity wash over them without even knowing the situation. Riley crouched down so their bum was resting on top of the back of their ankles as their weight was being held by the tips of their feet; they delicately took the young boy's hand and held it, stroking the back of it to attempt to comfort him.

"What's wrong?" Riley asked the young child.

"I can't find my mum and dad," the young boy explained through large intakes of air with a thick Sokovian accent, his English incredibly polished for someone of his age.