Siniy

"You're joking, right?"

"Jem, do I look like I would joke about that?"

"Well no," Jemma bit her lip in thought before continuing, "but Venezuela?"

"Venezuela is a different story," Cora quickly responded with a shiver running down her spine, and finally looking up at the biochemist from the microscope. The lab was quiet that night, and the brunette took that advantage to go visit her best friend. Some were out on missions, others on their time off, and she was sure that a group of them had gone to a bar downtown to celebrate a holiday. Cora wasn't sure which one, but she would bet her last dollar that it was a cheap excuse to get co-workers drunk on tequila. "I'm being serious when I say that this dude had orange blood and his cells were creating other cells," Cora continued, stepping away so Jemma could take a look.

"That's something that cells do, period," the British one rolled her eyes as she looked at the microscope.

"But not right in front of your eyes," she exclaimed, arms in the air. "I cut his arm off, he was bleeding orange and then his arm just grew again in a ma-"

She stopped the moment Fitz walked in, and he only glanced at both women before shaking his head. "Venezuela?"

Loudly groaning, Cora kicked the chair lightly before sitting on it. Fitz smirked, knowing that he'd been right and dropped off a bag of fast food in front of Jemma.

"Thanks for the food," Cora murmured sarcastically, crossing her arms. She didn't particularly liked Fitz, but she kept mostly mum for the sake of her best friend. Jem looked up from the microscope, into the bag of food, thanked Fitz and began eating the fries.

"I was hoping you'd take the hint and go home," Fitz said, earning a slap in the arm from Jemma.

"But really Cora, maybe you should go home and sleep," Jem then suggested with a worried tone. "When's the last time you've been home, five days? A week, tops?"

Shrugging her arms casually, she sat still with square shoulders. "Just a couple of weeks," she said offhandedly, looking around the lab to avoid eye contact.

Glaring straight at her, Cora could just feel Jemma's glare, which prompted Cora to sigh while she stood from the chair. God, she wanted to punch Fitz for even bringing it up.

"Have you been having that dream again?" Jemma asked, furrowing her eyebrows while fixating her stare at Cora. Yes, should have been the response Cora would have given if Fitz hadn't been there. Instead, she gave a slight nod and waved goodbye as she exited the lab. She needed to do this before Jemma could even begin a lengthy lecture about how much Cora had been overworking herself.

She wasn't going to return to her apartment, just far from the lab where Jem would assume she had left. The apartment wasn't home. It felt empty to her. Home was back in Chicago with her family, as they blared corridos and norteño music loudly from the backyard as the weekly family reunion commenced. The dreams weren't terrible once, it wasn't the reason she wouldn't go home, but they just made her feel weird. Sighing, she'd rather not focus on that.

Besides, every time she opted to leave HQ, she was called for duty. After the Battle of New York, she had suggested to Fury offhandedly that HQ should be moved to Chicago. His response was to stare at her for a minute straight, without saying a word before he walked away.

Walking down the corridor, she recalled the battle with Loki and those creepy aliens. She had been assigned to helping Captain America on the ground, making sure civilians were evacuated and transported to safety, all while taking out the chitauri with her naginata.

It was certainly good that she was able to focus during the battle with Steve Rogers around. Ever since she could remember, she had been a sucker for blue eyes. Knowing herself, Cora was sure had she not been so caught up in the moment, she would have stuttered over her words.

Still, she has never considered herself to be part of the Avengers Initiative. She worked with other teams, not just them; additionally, she didn't have any super powers and definitely did not feel as skilled as Romanoff and Barton. But Fury decided to throw her in last minute.

That man worked in mysterious ways, but it sure seemed like he knew exactly what he was doing.

She had been working in Morocco at the time being, where had been working on finding files regarding some past HYDRA agents. Maria Hill had contacted her, announcing that she'd be picked up in an hour. She was briefed on the airplane, and that's where she had met Jemma Simmons for the first time too. The young biochemist has equipped her with a state-of-the-art naginata, a weapon of choice since she began her martial arts training decades ago.

Agent Gonzalez, report to main deck. Agent Gonzalez, main deck.

"Called it," she muttered, sprinting towards the main deck. At least she didn't have to go to her apartment.
________________________________________

Successfully managing to find a suitable dress for the occasion, Cora leaned against the elevator wall on the Avenger's Tower. She shifted her weight between her right and left leg as she waited, feeling the shoes digging into her heels. She could deal with tight leather bodysuits and skirts, but dresses weren't always her forte. There wasn't really much of a difference, Cora was well aware of that, it was just preference.

It was a flattering blue lace dress that fit her figure just right, ending a few inches above her knee.

She would never say this out loud but one of the reason she loved the dress was because it made her look like she had bigger boobs.

Tapping her foot against the floor impatiently, she could only stay about an hour. She would've opted to not come at all, but Tony had oh-so-graciously called her to remind her.

SHIELD had gathered intel on a growing group of HYDRA agents stationed near the Ukrainian-Russian border. Cora wouldn't be traveling alone as she'd be accompanying Coulson's Team. The brunette was never fond of Jemma being part of field missions, even if she stayed inside the ship the entire time. It wasn't her choice though, so Cora would teach Jemma self-defense moves.

"Mi Corazon!" she heard the billionaire yell elatedly from across the room in her native language the moment the elevator doors slid open. Cora visibly cringed at unwanted attention and the use of her full name. She wasn't fond of it.

Ignoring Tony Stark's audacious greeting, she went straight to the open bar. Ordering herself a cherry vodka sour, she took a seat. Not far to her right, Natasha was palying bartender, and Cora made a mental note to not go anywhere near the vicinity of the Russian. She knew the redhead for being heavy handed with alcohol when mixing drinks. She waved pleasantly, and nodded in acknowledgment towards Dr. Banner. The two of them returned to their own conversation, and curiously looked at them from her peripheral vision as she received her drink. Whatever that was... she was not on board. She wasn't liking the looks they were giving each other.

"Mi Corazon me duele!" Stark's announced with a large grin on his face, ordering himself another whisky.

"That's never been cute," Cora replied with glare, drinking from the glass. "And I've been telling you that since the very beginning."

She could never deny that Tony was funny in his own, strange way. But she hated her full name, and his accent on it wasn't something she particularly liked either. Tony knew this, but being him, kept doing it on occasion.

"Glad you could make it," he said before finishing his whisky. Before he could place the glass down, it had been replaced with the one he had ordered moments ago. "Although I did have convince you just a bit, I'm sure you're only here to see your one true love."

Cora scowled, elbowing Tony hard. She highly resented Stark's ability to sniff that kind of information with a glance. He had asked her point blank in front of a few people, without caring, if she'd like to 'do the dirty' with Steve Rogers. She had only stuttered a no with fiery cheeks before walking away.
Luckily, Steve hadn't been there. But the endless teasing now came from Clint, Sam, and Thor whenever he was around. Natasha had voiced her disapproval of it, but would stop the squabble whenever Steve was around.

"I think I saw him having a drink with Thor over there," Tony smirked, pointing over to Steve Rogers and the unmissable Nordic God.

"I'm not in love with him," Cora finally said, a bit too late as her cheeks heated up. She was just endlessly attracted to him. It had nothing to do with love.

Standing up, Tony placed his arm around Cora's shoulders and unwillingly guided her over to the superheroes that conversed with a few veterans. She brushed off Tony's arm from her when they arrived, smiling kindly at the vets as she waved. One of them reminded her of her deceased grandfather. She hadn't actually met him but she'd seen the photos.

"Lady Corazon!" Thor's voice thundered jovially with a great grin, engulfing the shorter woman in a hug. Her feet were no longer on the floor, and Cora really didn't appreciate that he made her feel tiny and dainty.

"Hey Thor," she greeted when he finally let her down, albeit the dread in her voice when he used her full name. Either he hadn't grasped the concept of nicknames or he plainly didn't listen to her, Cora always let it slide that he used her full name.

Turning over to Cora, Steve had a friendly smile on his face. The brunette blushed, feeling the room getting hotter as seconds went by.

"You look beautiful Cora," Steve complimented.

This is how I die, she thought to herself. She returned his smile and forgot to thank him, a hand on her waist so she could at least hold herself. At least she had been able to convince him to use her nickname.

"I'm glad you could make it," he said, oblivious to her current situation of wanting to melt into a puddle. "Nat said you weren't sure if you would be coming, you were out doing a mission, right?"

She shook her head and managed to formulate words without sounding idiotic, "I actually leave tonight." He placed a hand on her bare arm, looking at her with furrowed eyebrows. Tony had apparently played his disappearance act since he was nowhere to be seen.

"Are you okay?"

Oh god, I'm going to throw up, she said, scolding herself immediately for sounding like a fangirl. This was her co-worker for Christ's sake. She nodded and responded with a yes, but felt the disappointment creep over her when his hands left her skin. She was embarrassed that she couldn't function around Steve Rogers like an actual human being.

"You haven't stopped by the tower in a while, how have you been?"

"Good, working mostly," was Cora's response, surprised that Steve had noticed her lack of appearances around the tower. The teasing, despite it being claimed as "good natured" was the reason she hadn't stopped by but the response was the best she could do without giving him the correct reason.

"Captain, this your lady?" One of the Vets asked with a smirk on his lips as he pointed between the two. Cora could only shake her head while Steve responded for both of them.

"Ah, no," Steve easily said with an embarrassed smile. "No, she's a friend. I'm sure you've seen of her, she was in the Battle of New York with us. She's a brave one, helped save hundreds of lives."

Cora began to protest while one of them raised his eyebrow at her, mouth agape. "You're a tiny little thing though, thank you for saving our country." She had begun by feeling offended, assuming that his sentence was going to end in a derogatory way. A bright smile onto her lips, she thanked him. It wasn't everyday that she was given credit for her job, so little things like these made her day. It only made it better when she actually realized that Steve made it happen.

At least she hadn't bee shoved into the limelight like Banner, Thor and Steve. Cora wouldn't even consider Tony on that list, seeing as he outed himself.

"I'll be out of your hair," she announced, stepping away from the men who reminisced about wars she hadn't been planned for. She was no hero; this was just a job that she really enjoyed. Steve tried to convince her to stay for a bit longer, but Cora could only shake her head. She spotted Maria and Clint talking by the windows, and the young woman made her way towards them. She could feel her cheeks were finally cool down from the short interaction with Steve.

"Cora," Clint greeted, hugging her in a warm welcome.

"How's normalcy?" Cora teased Maria, "Better yet, how's working for Stark?"

Clint laughed; knowing that working with or for Stark could be unbearable.

"I don't know Corazon," Maria mimicked with a smirk, watching the other woman frown visibly at the following words, "Have you told Steve of your undying love for him?"

Cora glared and crossed her arms, "Okay, that's not as funny."

Still laughing, Clint gave a slight shrug in agreement with Maria. Cora rolled her eyes, quickly vying the conversation into a different direction.

Maria Hill wasn't much older than her, possibly by a few years. Both had been selected by and for SHIELD at the same time, and had entered boot camp together. Maria had just finished her latest tour with the United States forces, and Cora had just been a recent graduate who had been pulled aside during a martial arts tournament. From the very beginning, both women had seen each other as friendly rivals. When they trained and Maria won, Cora would spend nights at the gym. If Cora won, Maria would train harder. At one point, Cora had applied for Maria's position in SHIELD, which ultimately, she did not get.

For the rest of the night, the three caught up. Clint spoke about his time during the tower, asked the obvious question as to why Cora hadn't been stopping by more often. The agent gave her usual excuse of work. Maria talked about how she missed being in action, but being a civilian had its perks too.

Cora couldn't see herself doing that, so she had to applaud Maria's strength. She just knew that if she had been working for Stark, she'd be trying to trash his suits.

Her phone vibrated with the alarm that indicated her time was up.