Trick 83: Strength in a bottle?! What am I? Steve Rogers?!

Ace finally spoke up, "I can help your Aunt." Sharon was silent as Ace continued "There's potions that can restore her memory, even make her young again…" Sharon looked at him, saying "And then?"

Ace bit his lips before turning to the window and sighing "She will still die when she dies." Sharon turned back and said "So she can remember and look her best when she dies, lovely."

She held the wheel with one hand, biting her nails on the other.

Ace grabbed her hand and held it saying "We can make her time better, Sharon…" he hesitated a bit and Sharon looked at him asking "What is it?" as she kept glancing at the road.

Ace sighed and said "There is a potion, but…" Sharon looked at him silently and he explained with a complicated face, "The creation of the Potion as well as its after effects are severe."

Sharon asked, "What is it?" Ace continued softly "The Elixir of Life." Sharon turned to the road and said "If you're making a joke. It's really not funny." Ace shook his head and explained "It's real. The problem is; only death can pay for life. Which is only part of the reason it's complicated."

He leaned back and looked at the road, continuing "The potion needs the souls of people to be made as well as a Philosopher's Stone. The souls required increase every time you make a potion until eventually…" Sharon frowned "And the Stone?"

Ace rubbed his eyes and said "I have one." Sharon turned to him and he continued "The drinker of the Elixir of Life will remain alive however they will be dependent on the Elixir to continue living after that. When they stop taking it, they'll die. You have to keep drinking it if you want to live otherwise, well you know. The making of the Elixir is considered a dark magic act because it requires souls of people which will kill them."

He waved and said "So let's say the first potion is one soul, the next will be 2, then 4, then 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, etc. The creator of the stone I have was 600 before he decided to destroy the stone, but I kept it."

Sharon turned to the road and sighed, staying silent. Ace said softly, "Sorry. I just want to help, you know I-" Sharon grabbed his hand again and interrupted him, saying "I know."

She intertwined her fingers with his, smiling gently as she added, "What you did for my aunt… That was really nice of you." Ace smiled and looked at her, saying "You looked so sad, I just thought I'd do something."

Sharon glanced at him before turning back to the road, gripping his hand tightly. Ace smiled slightly, rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb as the rest of the ride was in silence.

They came to the apartment and walked inside.

As soon as Ace closed the door, Sharon hugged him tight, pressing her lips on his.

He leaned back and hit the door, holding her waist. She separated and looked up at him, tearing up "I really meant what I said in the car. That was really, really nice of you. Aunt Peggy has been that happy in a long time."

Ace stroked her cheek and smiled gently, "I don't want you to be upset, Sharon. A little magic can make your Aunt's days happier, it's nothing. Really." Sharon looked into his eyes and gripped his collar, leaning on him.

Ace felt his chest getting wet and he hugged her close, kissing the top of her head as he rubbed her back, saying gently "It's okay. I'm here." Sharon looked up and kissed him, pulling him along before pushing him onto the couch.

She pulled him close and rested her head on his shoulder, wrapping her arms around his neck. Ace hugged her and let out a breath, closing his eyes.

A while later

Sharon woke up with a blanket wrapped around her. She sat up and rubbed her eyes, propping herself up with one hand. She was wearing an undershirt with pants, clearly because Ace took her coat and the rest off when she was sleeping.

She looked around and called out "Ace?" Ace replied "In the kitchen!" Sharon yawned and got up, seeing Ace standing over a cauldron. He was wearing a t-shirt and boxers with his hair wrapped up by his scarf as he looked into the cauldron.

Sharon looked at his body and asked "You've been working out?" Ace chuckled and said "No. Surprised?" she frowned and walked over, pulling up his shirt and looking at him in confusion.

Ace smiled and pointed at the cauldron saying "If you really dig, you can find potions for everything. Although the ingredients are hard to come by… However, I got extras for you!"

Sharon didn't care about that and looked at his face, frowning "What is that." Ace touched his right eye and smiled, "Nothing." Sharon took his hand off and held his face with both hands, frowning "It feels… cold? What happened?!"

Ace swallowed and looked at the cauldron saying carelessly, "I died and came back to life before seeing you again…" Sharon froze and stared at him with wide eyes, Ace cleared his throat, saying "No big deal."

Sharon shouted "NO BIG DEAL!?" Ace shushed her, saying "The potion is fragile." Sharon glared at him and said "No big deal! Heh! You only died! People die everyday, the problem is they DON'T COME BACK TO LIFE! What do you mean no big deal!?"

Ace didn't even look at her, holding out a fist and saying "My heart stopped and then…" he opened the fist, continuing "Started back up again. Pretty normal." Sharon shouted angrily "I KNOW HOW-" before pausing and pinching the bridge of her nose, saying "I can't."

She turned around and continued "You can't just keep things normal. Everything was going amazing, and you ruined it!" Ace retorted speechlessly, "I didn't die on purpose!" Sharon rebuked angrily "The problem IS: you don't care at all! No big deal, right! It's a big deal for ME! Get it now?"

Ace stayed silent and she paced next to him, continuing "Who knows maybe one day you'll just not come back! I can't deal with that, okay? I have enough on my plate with my job and all this SHIELD bullshit. And if you leave me again like last time, honestly I don't know, I'm gonna explode!"

Ace said softly "Sorry." Sharon rubbed her face and said "It's fine." before sighing, leaning on a counter, correcting herself "No. I'm sorry. It's not your fault… I'm a bit stressed right now."

Ace smiled and said "It's okay. I'm here…" before curling his lips sweetly "And I'm not going anywhere this time…" Sharon looked at him silently before snorting with a smile and looking at the ground, holding the counter top behind her.

They stayed in a comfortable silence until Ace cleared his throat, saying "It's just a bit of Death Realm energy infecting my soul. It'll go away… eventually." Sharon looked at him and asked softly "Does it hurt?"

Ace smiled warmly, shaking his head gently. Sharon smiled and sucked in her lower lip slightly before asking "What are you making?" Ace cleared his throat and smiled "A Strengthening Potion."

Sharon walked to the fridge, opening it as she asked "Oh? Like Steve Rogers?" Ace rolled his eyes and retorted "I'm a Wizard, not God. That guy can brush off a fucking tank shell… Honestly, Super Soldier Serum… More like Invincibility in a bottle! It's nuts!"

He shook his head and added, "You know, I saw Steve jump off a fucking building and land on the ground without a scratch on him! How does that Serum work exactly?" Sharon pulled out a bottle from the fridge and looked at it strangely, asking "What is this?"

Ace looked over before turning to the cauldron and adding a grinded up herb as he replied "Memory Potion." then he paused and explained "Well, that's what people call it. Really it's a memory enhancing potion. It improves memory all around…" before adding while clearing his throat "That one is an Everlasting Elixir version. Very very very difficult to make. I've only succeeded in making 2."

Sharon gripped the bottle and smiled gently, Ace looked at the Strengthening potion, tapping the cauldron with his wand, smiling "Correction. Three." the mixture swirled and reduced into a very small amount of Orange liquid.

Ace waved his wand and said "Open your mouth, love." Sharon was stunned and repeated "Love?!" Ace smiled and flicked his wand as she spoke, the liquid flying into her mouth.

Sharon coughed and dropped the Memory potion, however Ace pointed his wand at it, flicking it back to his hand as he smiled, looking at Sharon, who had swallowed the strengthening potion.

She hummed and Ace leaned on the table, watching her with a smile, propping his chin on his hand as Sharon's body gained slight muscle definition. She widened her eyes, saying "I-I-I feel so strong!"

Ace narrowed his eyes, explaining "I would be careful if I were you. I nearly smashed a chair by accident. The potion will increase your strength by 1000%, not that it's very much. If it was a Grandmaster Potionmaker he could potentially turn the percent into a 'times'."

Sharon looked at Ace in shock, saying "That's insane!" Ace nodded and smiled "Mhm. However, he can't because I created the recipe myself." as his smile widened, "And the effect only works once. I think… You should be as strong as a soldier trained for 30 years?"

Sharon clenched her fists and said "More than that… I bet I can lift a ton and a half!" Ace blinked and asked "How much can Steve lift?" Sharon made a 'pffft' sound, thinking "Should be around 10-ish?"

Ace froze and shouted "Excuse me?! Captain America, Steve Rogers, can lift 10 tons!? Are you joking!?" Sharon shook her head and replied seriously, "I saw him pull down a Helicopter with one hand and then someone said, he lifted a metal beam off them… that beam was all metal, maybe around 10-20 tons."

Ace was stunned and rubbed his forehead, saying "Holy fuck!" Sharon giggled "He's a monster. Then again, most of the agents have undergone similar training and a little bit of strength enhancement so… I think Rumlow can lift around a ton if he strains himself. Although only the muscle heads can do that, the rest of the agents are logistical."

Ace's world view was crumbling as he said "That's crazy. That's so nuts I'm kinda freaking out." Sharon rolled her eyes and said "There, there, they can't do magic! So you have that going for you!"

Ace almost cried, "I can only lift a ton myself! After the potion!" Sharon's lips twitched into a grin, "Well, you were a bit skinny before… Clearly too much studying, not enough training."

Ace waved his hand and the magic things disappeared as he pouted, Sharon laughed and kissed him, smiling "It's okay, I still like you." Ace snorted in depression, "For now." Sharon laughed and pulled him in, kissing him.

He picked her up and put her on the countertop, grabbing her thighs as she wrapped her hands around his neck.

The 'conversation' moved from the kitchen to the hallway and finally to the bedroom.

The rest of the holiday was spent in a less 'passionate' way.

Sharon and Ace spent Christmas together, brang Peggy the Memory Potion and visited her everyday.

On Christmas morning

Ace gave Sharon a box, saying "Merry Christmas." she smiled and opened it, gasping "Oh my god, Ace! It's beautiful!" Ace smiled and scratched his cheek saying "Well, I made it! I don't know what you liked so I asked around…"

Sharon pulled a golden necklace with a purple gemstone pendant. The pendant was very small and exquisite. Ace explained "Um. The necklace itself is unbreakable, but the pendant will protect you. If you get shot at or whatever… Basically it creates a barrier that blocks attacks so it would be best if you, you know, didn't have to use it."

Sharon handed him the necklace and cleared her throat, turning around, holding her hair. Ace smiled happily and put the necklace on her saying "Also… It lets me know where you are so if anything happens…"

She turned around and he smiled gently, looking into her eyes as he finished "I'll be there." she grabbed his face and smiled gently "I love it." he asked "Only the necklace?" she curled her lips, kissing him before saying "What do you think?"

Ace blushed in excitement and she giggled, resting her forehead on his, saying softly "Open your gift." Ace grabbed a box and she leaned on him, moving her head to his shoulder as he opened it.

Inside there was a jet black, smooth and simple, pistol.

Ace made a funny face and she looked embarrassed, saying "I didn't know what a wizard needed so I got what I thought would remind you of me. If you don't like i-" Ace kissed her and laughed "I love it!"

He grabbed the gun and said excitedly "Never shot a gun before!" Sharon cleared her throat and replied "Hopefully you won't have to. Can wizards deflect bullets?" Ace scratched her chin, chuckling "Some of them."

Sharon let out a breath and smiled, "Just keep it on you. Just in case, okay?" Ace smiled and said "Always." Sharon smiled and Ace put the gun down, kissing her face as he said "You're the first girl to buy me a gun."

Sharon snorted, "The only girl." Ace chuckled and joked, "Yeah, the rest will probably get shot." She laughed and pulled him into the couch.

A while later