Alignment (Brooke)

[call_me_phobos]

Alexander had never had a relationship last this long. He'd never had a serious relationship before.

Brooke motivated him to strive for more, for better things in his life. The longer they were together, the greater his ambition and hunger became. He wanted bigger and better. He wanted more and more for himself and for her.

He wanted his tribute.

But he and Brooke needed to get on the same page before anything happened.

Are you free today? We need to talk...

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[avengingwarbird]

Roxie had been out on the roof of the penthouse she shared with her boyfriend and her brother, carefully training with a sword that her father had passed down to her when she heard Alexander call out for her.

She set the sword down next to one of the many potted plants that littered the terrace and made her way inside, wipinig her throat and shoulders off with a towel.

"Hey," she said, placing a kiss on her brother's cheek before pouring herself water from an icy jug filled with sliced limes and pitted cherries. She took a sip, and then eyed her brother suspiciously. "Wait. Is everything okay? You're...is that a smile?"

Her eyes widened.

"What did you do to Joe?"

[call_me_phobos]

"Hello, Little Sister." Alexander said, his grin close to splitting his face in two. He was over the moon about the day's developments. All he needed now was for Roxanne to get in line with them.

When she asked about Joe, he laughed.

"I haven't done anything to your lover, Roxanne. I considered sending him to an island to fend for himself for a month or two to see if he's worthy of you...but I didn't. See? I'm growing as a person." he said.

"But I have some good news." he said.

He paused, letting it sink in.

"Brooke and I are getting married. You two are going to be sisters. What I need from you, aside from renewing your friendship with her...is to tell Father that you and Joe are getting married. Or that you're pregnant. Either one works.

Then Father will be a great mood and he'll behave himself when I ask him to have dinner with Brooke and I. I mean, he'll be inclined to maim Joe instead of probe Brooke. So, when do you want to set this up?"

[avengingwarbird]

Alexander had been this close to getting a slightly-not-so-playful punch in regards to the jab about her boyfriend, but then he threw the curveball.

Suffice to say, Roxie wasn't ready for it.

She stared at Alexander for a long, silent moment.

"You're getting what to who?" Yeah, she needed a minute.

[call_me_phobos]

"Brooke and I are getting married. I proposed about ten minutes ago. She said yes." Alexander said.

"I know that you two haven't been close in a long time but...I think it's time to put that aside and welcome her to our family." he said.

"Besides...I love her." he said, giving his sister a shrug. He'd never said that about any girl he'd ever dated. He'd never even introduced any of them to his family.

"This is important to me, Roxanne. I need you with me on this. Please."

[avengingwarbird]

"No, I heard you." Roxie slid onto a stool and crossed on yoga-pant-clad leg over the other. "I'm just surprised. This is so sudden." Only five months? Sure, that was longer than most of Roxie's relationships - Vince and Joe notwithstanding - but still.

For Brooke, especially, who tended to take her time with things that didn't concern a shoe sale, this was practically lightspeed.

Roxie gulped down her water. "Congratulations," she said then, sliding off the stool and hugging her older brother. "I'm happy for you. I am." That he said he'd loved her...well.

Never in Roxie's memory had Alexander ever said that about anyone. Hell, never had Alexander ever seen a woman more than a few times. His track record was worse than Roxie's, and Roxie's past was the stuff of gossip rag legend.

"I'll back you up on this," she agreed. "Of course I will. I'll talk to Daddy. But I'm not faking a pregnancy for you, neither am I throwing my boyfriend under Daddy's chariot."

Roxie was probably the only one of Ares' kids who could get away with calling hm "Daddy."

"Besides. I'm sure he'll adore Brooke. Until she inevitably insults him."

[call_me_phobos]

"I didn't think you'd have to fake it. You and Joe have been together for some time now. And you two are very...in love." Alexander teased. He'd accidentally heard a little bit of it a few times, forcing him to leave the apartment and leave them to it.

"Seriously, he'd better propose to you. Eventually, Father will want to meet him and he'll want to know his intentions. I want to know them as well. He needs to treat you right, Roxanne. This...SHIELD group demands a lot of his time. I hope that isn't at your expense." Alexander said.

He returned Roxanne's hug, though. It made him feel better to know she'd at least prepare Father.

"Father likes women who don't wilt in his presence. Mom was like that. And didn't Carol punch him in the face more than once? I'm sure Brooke's wit won't bother him overmuch." Alexander said.

[avengingwarbird]

Roxie's navy blue eyes shone with merriment. "He's..." she put her hands up and wiggled her fingers, searching for the right word. "I didn't think I'd ever...I mean. How many girls are lucky enough to have their childhood crush come back into their lives?" Of course, there had been a time when, if he had come back, it was likely that their friendship would have fractured. After all, no one really wanted to date someone who spent their nights dancing and snorting coke and doing not much of anything else.

She'd come a long way since then.

"I know you don't get it - or him. But he's everything I didn't even realize I needed to complete me." And that was the beautiful thing about the relationship. They were there for each other, they completed each other, but they had their own lives and their own space. Neither was dependent on the other, and the trust was implicit. There are things that Roxie had done while she was with Vincent that she couldn't ever imagine doing while with Joe. Oh, she'd loved Vincent, of course she had. But the party girl hadn't completely matured yet, back then.

She was a different woman now.

One who had her lips pressed together at that moment to hold in what would have been an embarrassingly girlish giggle. Roxie turned back to the kitchen. There were a plate of cold cuts in the fridge, a sack of bagels on the counter, and a jar of honey dijon mayonnaise in the pantry.

She was hungry.

"Mom and Daddy share...an interesting relationship." Roxie was, after all, the product of a spell that Amora had cast over the Avengers one night. Though Carol and Ares had been teammates, and they'd shared a mild attraction, they had never really been an item. At least, unlike with Marcus, the Avengers had been there for Carol every step of the way. "But I think her punching him kind of turns him on."

She passed one bagel sandwich to Alexander on a plate, with a side of apple chips. "Look. Brooke and I. We had a complicated friendship. But we'll be fine now. We're adults. I respect who she is, I'm sure she'll respect who I am. The issues that caused our friendship to fracture are long over." She took a bite of her sandwich and chewed thoughtfully. "As long as she treats Daddy with respect, but without dampening her own fire, she should be fine."

[call_me_phobos]

"Then we're in good shape. I have to prepare her for Father, anyway. He's larger-than-life and that intimidates a lot of people. He'll probably want to have dinner with all four of us soon." Alexander said.

"And as long as Joe treats you well, I'll keep the peace. But...he has helped you. I can see that. You were different when I came home because of what you went through. Now...you're the Roxanne I remember. But you've grown up a lot.

I respect that. I respect you." Alexander said.

[avengingwarbird]

"All four of us?" Did that mean Alexander, Roxie, Brooke, and Joe? At the same time? Gods, but that would be an event.

At least Ares would take better to Joe than he would to Vincent.

...she hoped. After all, Joe was a warrior, Ares was the god of war...

"He's the love of my life, Alex."

[call_me_phobos]

"Then I wish you only happiness, Little Sister." Alexander smiled.

"I'm meeting Brooke tonight and staying over. Don't wait up."