𝑯𝑬𝒀 𝑨𝑴𝑬𝑹𝑰𝑪𝑨 | in which a normal, dreary, woman has greatness thrust upon her, and with it an instructor who is not a perfect soldier but a good man.
Join Quinn, a lowly I.T. at S.H.I.E.L.D., as her already chaotic domestic life gets throw...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
════ ⋆✪⋆ ════
THE ITCHY MATERIAL clung around her neck like a chokehold. She ran her fingers along the collar of the dark gown trying to relive the discomfort. She knew her neck was going to be red after this. All she had to do was sit through the ceremony and then she was in the clear. Clear to go home, clear to see her mother, clear to see Steve.
Her body filled with warmth as excitement seeped through her body. Her hands trembled as she sat in her chair, waiting for the calm of the auditorium to come to a hush. She awkwardly shifted in the metallic seat underneath her, as her peers boasted about finally being here after their long academic career at the academy and how excited they were that they were leaving in time for the holiday season.
She didn't have the longevity of the other cadet's stay at the academy but the past couple of months have been hard on her. Constantly being monitored by agents, living her academic world in solitude, and having to be targeted by Rome's ruthless training drills didn't exactly give her the best experience here unlike the other cadets. She sat alone. Sitting in silence as she looked forward, trying her best to keep focused on what was happening at the moment.
Currently, no one stood on the stage, but soon she knew she could count on Suyin being up there. Her eyes glanced around the auditorium, as they did a few moments before, searching for her loved ones mixed in with everyone else's. She didn't feel the need to be panic by not seeing their appearance. She only had a few moments to invite them all during her lockdown at the academy. That was the price she paid for ditching and bringing people down with her.
Actually, she knew for a fact Rome, Lena, and Linnea was in the audience - attended with supervision. She owed it to them to at least be there to see her graduate from the academy, they had helped push her to be where she was. Especially Rome.
No matter how degrading or relentless Rome was when helping her with her training, she had to give him props. Without him, she wouldn't be here. There were many times where he could've turned his back on her, where she thought he was going to backstab her, but in the end, he kept loyal to whatever friendship they had formed.
She winced as the excitable graduate - Cadet Dawson she believed his name was - rammed his elbow into her upper arm, laughing with his friends as he apologized to her, stating it was an honest mistake. She shrugged him off and told him it was fine, as he turned his attention back towards his friends, she rubbed her arm where she had been knocked. Whether it was deliberate because most of the cadets here didn't like her, was unknown, but what she did know what that due to Rome's training the simple nudge felt like a full-blown punch.
All her muscles were unbelievably sore after the rigorous training in firearms and practice drills she had done. Not only had she participated during the regularly scheduled time for them to train outside, on study days, but Rome would also force her to wake up at the break of dawn and run laps with him alongside going through the obstacle course she had once bested him in. Each day she would see her name promptly placed at ninth, even though she had yet to compete with the other cadets in what was her class.
