Tags-Chapter Two (A Bucky Barnes x OC Fanfic)
"Remind me again how I got talked into this?" Abby snorted, looking up from her suitcase as she watched her father fiddle around with his own.
"Because you love Pepper and could never say no to her." Abby continued with her task, zipping her suitcase closed before setting it on the floor by her feet. "Honestly dad you're freaking out over nothing. It's one week without technology, I have faith you can go without it."
Abby couldn't help the chuckle at the pout on her father's face, as he slumped back into a chair. "But camping, of all things? She couldn't have asked me to whisk her off to some remote private island or the Swiss Alps?" Abby walked over, perching herself on the arm of the chair he had been occupying, nudging his shoulder.
"Yellowstone is pretty amazing. I think you'll have a wonderful time." she smiled encouragingly, patting his shoulder as he continued to pout.
"Still pouting I see." Pepper asked, amusement in her voice as she walked into the room, setting her already packed bag by the door.
"You sure you want to take this one camping? He may not survive it." Abby joked, both women laughing as Tony rolled his eyes.
"Oh har har laugh it up. You two are evil you know that." He pointed at both of them, his voice stern but his eyes giving away the playfulness behind them.
"You know the offer stands for you to still join us." Pepper stated.
Abby smiled, shaking her head slightly. "As fun as seeing my dad go through tech withdrawals would be, I'll pass. Plus, I need to get back to D.C. Knowing Fury I'll have a whole heap of projects waiting back there for me." she said, flopping back onto the bed. It was a given she would most likely have work waiting back in D.C. for her plus her and Fury needed to have words. Steve had heard from Steve about the Lemurian Star mission. She agreed with Steve, keeping him in the dark could have caused the mission to go south side quickly and she was ready to lay it into Fury.
"Don't forget the 100-year-old man waiting back there for you." Abby took the pillow closest to her and launched it at her smirking father, the pillow doing no damage as it bounced off his chest. "Hope you're taking it easy on him, you know old bones and all. He could break a hip."
"First off, eww. You're my dad and that's slightly creepy. Second Steve is my best friend alright, nothing more." Abby pointed out for what felt like the millionth time. She knew how much her dad loved poking at her friendship with the captain knowing how much it annoyed her.
"Stop tormenting your daughter or I'm extending our camping trip an extra week Stark." Pepper threatened. That instantly shut her father up.
"Alright, noted." he said leaning up to press a kiss to Peppers cheek before standing from the chair and walking over to the bed, taking a seat next to Abby. "In all seriousness, it was good to have you for a while. You know, we could use you more around the tower? Fury would survive without that brain of yours." Tony said, tapping her forehead for emphasis. Abby was used to this talk. She had thought about taking the bait, moving back to New York and taking up the charity outreach of Stark Industries full time. She was already doing it part time and while she truly loved being able to help those who really needed and benefited from the many scholarships and foundations, her work with S.H.I.E.L.D. was something she enjoyed. While she didn't have super strength or a suit made of iron, she knew her brain could be just as beneficial.
"I know dad. But with your ticker all working and taking a step back who's going to keep Fury in line or come up with new nicknames for the Ice Queen." Tony smiled, moving to press a kiss to the side of her head.
"Well you're not wrong there sprout. Offer always stands though alright."
"I know. Now you need to finish packing. Your guys flight leaves in less than an hour. Now, hand it over." Abby said, holding her hand out to her father. Tony scoffed, looking away from her as he crossed his arms. But he was soon met with the piercing gaze of one Miss Pepper Potts. Reluctantly he dug through his pocket, pulling his phone out and handing it over to Abby.
"And your backup phone." Tony went to argue but seeing the look on his daughter's face knew it would be futile. Muttering under his breath he dug into his pocket, producing a second one before placing it in Abby's hand.
"God, I feel so exposed." Tony said over dramatically as both women rolled their eyes. Abby handed the phones to Pepper who left the room, most likely to put the phones in the safe.
"You'll be fine dad, I will be fine, the world will be fine." Abby said patting his shoulder as he moved back to packing, grumbling the whole time under his breath.
Later, she would look back on her choice of words like an utter dumb ass.
Morning flights sucked. As the plane started its descent into Ronald Reagan International, Abby swore to whatever higher power there was she would never in her life take an early morning flight again. This was the last time she was letting her dad book her flight, knowing the evil bastard had probably planned for the earliest one he could find with the longest flight time imaginable.
As the plane touched down, she downed the remainder of her coffee before digging through her bag to turn on her phone. Once it fully booted up, she reached in further pulling out another phone, this one slightly outdated from her first. The old flip phone showed its age, the beige color boring and bland. It had started off as a joke really. She had given Steve the phone last year as a gag gift, poking at the fact he was still clueless about using the smart phone he had been given by S.H.I.E.L.D. but it was now seen as a way for communications deemed emergency level. The low tech kept it at a low risk for hacking, which was ideal when you didn't want any important information getting leaked.
Flipping the phone up, she waited as it turned on, gathering her items together as the doors of the plane opened. Tossing it into her bag to finish up, she stood from her seat, grabbing her carry on from overhead before deboarding the plane, looking forward to the long nap she would be taking as soon as she got back to her apartment.
She immediately paused when she felt her purse vibrate. She knew it wasn't her smartphone, the music of AC/DC would have been blaring out if it had been. Which made the only other option the flip phone. Frantically digging through her bag, she pulled it out, her eyes widening when she flipped it open, seeing the multiple missed calls all coming from the same number: Steve's.
Her fingers quickly punched the numbers in, the phone barely to her ear when he was picking up. "Thank god! I've been calling you for the last 3 hours. It's an hour and a half tops from New York I thought-".
"Whoa, whoa slow it down Captain Popsicle I can barely understand you. I was on a long flight courtesy of dear old dad. What the hell's going on?" She heard Steve take an audible breath through the phone, hearing him speaking with someone on his side. "Steve your freaking me out talk."
"S.H.I.E.L.D.'s been compromised, Fury was killed." She heard the words but her brain wasn't processing them. What Steve was saying had to be the world's worst joke. He would start laughing at any moment with a 'got you' and she'd be on his ass about scaring her half to death.
"Abby? Abby are you still there?" She was quickly brought back to the present, her hand tightening on the phone up to her ear.
"I swear to god Rogers this is not a funny joke-"
"Stark this is not a joke." Hearing Natasha's voice take over instantly had Abby on alert. The use of her last name was only ever reserved for when things got serious. And knowing Nat it was.
"Holy shit...what..how...why haven't I heard anything?" Abby rambled, the realization that this was in fact happening hitting her full force.
"Will explain it all when you get here. We're sending you an address. Do not contact anyone else, only call this number on the phone. We don't know who we can trust right now." Steve said, taking back over from Natasha.
"Shit there's going to be a car out there sent from S.H.I.E.L.D. to take me back to my place." Abby started to move, keeping her walk brisk, trying to hopefully not draw attention to herself, paranoia starting to creep up.
"Abby do not get into that car! Find a cab and get here as quick as you can. You may need to also ditch your other phone in case they decide to trace it." Steve suggested. Passing by a trash can, Abby quickly pulled the device from her bag, looking around before discreetly dropping it into the garbage before she continued on her way.
"Done. Send the address and I'll get there as soon as I can." Abby said, quickly disconnecting the call. A few moments later, the phone vibrated, alerting her to the new message. Reading over it carefully she headed towards the pickup zone. She tugged the hood of the baggy MIT sweatshirt, one of the many she 'borrowed' from Tony, keeping her head down as she weaved through crowds of people trying to leave the airport. Her fingers subconsciously went to the dog tags hanging under the sweatshirt, trying to quell the anxiety slowly creeping into her body.
Her eyes caught the black SUV up ahead, already knowing that was the vehicle waiting for her. Her eyes darted around before landing on a cab idling near the curb, keeping her head down and her face hidden she quickly slipped in, tugging her bag after her before rattling the address off to the driver. As the driver pulled away, Abby took the opportunity to glance back out the back window, noting the two suits exit the vehicle before rushing into the airport.
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The two-story townhouse looked unassuming as Abby pulled up. It was in a quiet neighborhood, the only signs of life being the kids she had seen biking down the sidewalk. Pulling cash from her wallet, she paid the driver before stepping out. It had only been a moment before she felt her body engulfed in strong arms. Immediately recognizing them, her own arms wrapped around her arms around broad shoulders, pressing her head against his shoulder. Steve was the first to pull away, grabbing her bag and ushering her into the house, shutting and locking the door behind them.
"Took you long enough, thought this one was going to wear a hole into the floor with the amount of pacing he was doing," Natasha quipped moving to hug Abby as well, all a bit not as hard as Steve had. Abby returned it, smiling for the first time since this mess started.
"I am Tony's kid, got to live up to it all." she teased pulling away before looking over both of them. They were freshly showered she could tell but she could see the fatigue on their faces as well as the few cuts and bruises Natasha was sporting. "You guys look like hell."
"Should have seen them when they first arrived Think I may need to throw out my towels." Abby turned her head, finding the third occupant of the space leaning against the wall, his lips twitched up into a half smile.
"Abby this is Sam Wilson, a friend of mine. Sam this is Abby Stark." Steve introduced. Sam stretched his hand out, taking her offered one in a friendly shake.
"Thanks for helping them. Seems like they needed it." Abby said as Sam brushed it off.
"I mean can't exactly say no to Captain America, even if he keeps smoking me on our runs." The group laughed, the atmosphere almost falling into a sense of calm. Almost.
"You need to tell me everything that's happening." Abby said, turning to face Steve. Steve sighed, nodding towards the direction of what she assumed was the kitchen.
"There's coffee and breakfast. This is going to be a long story."
