Toss Up (Danny Rand)

Field Trip

The trip back to the Helicarrier is a peaceful one, Iron Fist quietly sitting beside me as I look out the ship Fury sent for us to use to get back. It isn't as large as I expected it to be, only being able to sit about four or five people. I'm a bit surprised to find the person flying the ship is Agent Ana, though. She shoots me a friendly smile as I slip my hood off.

"Nice seeing you again, Aria." She chuckles as I twitch.

"Likewise, Agent Ana! But please don't use my full name, just Ari is fine." I say as I sit down and strap myself into the seats that were set up along the sides of the ship.

"Why? It's a lovely name. In Italian, it means 'melody' no?"

I look down at my hands with a tiny frown. "That's what my mom told me. So what are you doing here? On the round-up duty?" I ask changing the subject.

"No, no," she laughs, turning back to the controls as the ship begins to gently lift into the air. "Actually, this is the last thing I do today before I'm officially off-duty for the night."

A pang of guilt sweeps through me as I look over the drivers' seat. "Oh no! I'm so sorry Agent Ana— If I didn't jump off the ship, you could've been home by now . . ."

"Oh think nothing of it, I volunteered! I think that little stunt you pulled back there shaved off a few years of my life and I just wanted to make sure you were okay." I look off to the side with a sheepish smile, hearing Iron Fist chuckle to himself.

"S-sorry to worry you . . . I would've guessed you guys were used to all that extreme stunts that go around there."

"It's alright, although I've never seen Agent Benjamin turn that particular shade of green before." She snickers. "I'm never going to let him live this down."

"Well, well," I lilt. "Agent Ana I've never would have guessed you for the teasing type!"

"A bunch of us aren't as uptight as you might think." She sings with a wag of her finger. A beeping sound comes from a small device in her ear as she excuses herself to take the call, her voice falling back into no-nonsense mode.

"You seem to make friends easily." Iron Fist comments as I turn to look at him.

"It's no big deal, she and another agent were the ones who first brought me to SHIELD headquarters. I was so nervous and she helped me keep it together when I arrived. Although, the teleporting just brought that back . . ." I mutter, recalling the sensation of my stomach feeling as it was flipping over more times that Anne Marie on the trampoline at Aigile.

"I was too when I first got here, it was a little intimidating in the beginning but the others helped me settle in alright. 'Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking along in the light.'"

I blink, nodding my head slowly as I let his words sink in. "I . . . think I get it. Hey, I've been meaning to tell you something for a while now."

"What is it?"

"What exactly were you doing on my friends' rooftop in nothing but your briefs?" I know it's blunt of me to ask, but I'm curious! It doesn't seem to affect him, as he simply laughs it off.

"The creature we were fighting stuck me to the walls with that black goop. I'm pretty sure I remember telling someone to run, too, but she seems to make a habit of putting herself in danger." I grin catishly at this as he continues. "Anyway, when my teammates got me down, it also happened to tear my suit off. By the way, thanks for the compliment." I feel a blush creeping up to my cheeks as I stammer out an excuse.

"H-hey, if I had known I would have actually met you I . . ." I think about my next words before shaking my head. "No, I would still say it." He laughs again, the sound pleasant to my ears.