Warnings: character death, talk of revenger, some fluff, little bit of angst, Tony Stark being friend of the year (yes it’s a warning)
Word Count: 2846
A/N: This is not beta read, so all mistakes are mine. I tweaked the plot of CA: TWS slightly.
Enjoy!
I figured I would take this time while Steve was gone to hang out with some of the other Avengers. Though the only one I really “enjoyed” talking to was Tony. As much crap as I give him, he’s a really nice guy. He is like a mentor for me. He took on the challenge of helping me control my emotions to control my abilities. No one else was as kind to me as he was, well, minus Steve.
“Hey, where’s Rogers?”
“He left to go on a mission last night. He didn’t say where, but it seemed urgent.”
“Ah, probably Washington with Nat. She also left last night.”
“Probably.”
“So, did you two talk?”
“We did, and we don’t know.”
“What? Come on this has to be some sort of joke right? I’m being punked.”
“No. We both agreed that we would see how we handle being apart, and if we both feel it is difficult to be apart, then we know that it’s meant to be.”
“I see. Do you think it’ll work out?”
“I hope so. I really like him, Stark, and our coffee date went even better than I could have imagined.”
“You guys went on a coffee date?”
“Yeah, it was kind of both of our ideas. It was perfect though. Even better than I could have imagined.”
“I’m glad. I really hope, on a serious note, that everything works out for you two.”
“Thanks Stark.”
“So, since you are free till Rogers gets back, want to redo our dinner plans from the other night? No more surprise guests. Just you, me, and Mrs. Potts.”
“Okay. Just no more locking me in rooms. That was not fun for any of us.”
“Okay. I’m sorry about that, but hey, it kind of worked did it not?”
“I guess. Had you not done that, we wouldn’t have gone to train together, and we wouldn’t have gotten personal.”
“You two got personal, but you two aren’t a thing?”
“Not that kind of personal Stark. Get your head out of the gutter.”
“Oh you meant talking about personal things.”
“Yes.”
“Take that as a good thing he doesn’t talk about his personal life very much.”
“I’ve noticed. I shared some personal things with him as well. I felt it was only fair.”
“He really is missing out if doesn’t think you two would be a good match.”
“My worry is he’ll meet someone there, and forget all about me.”
“I don’t think that’ll happen. He really likes you. I know he won’t forget about you.”
“You never know Stark. There are many women out there much prettier than I.”
“Stop that. That is not true at all. He would be stupid to just toss you to the side, especially after you both made yourselves vulnerable in front of each other. If he doesn’t see your worth then he must be blind.”
“Thanks Stark.” I smile being genuine.
“Of course. Now, I don’t want to hear you say that ever again.”
“I’ll try not to.”
“Thank you.”
I excuse myself to go freshen up, as Stark walks out. I head to take a shower, and change. I had decided to stay in the tower while Steve was gone. I don’t know why, but I felt like it was safer than staying at my apartment. In a way it was. Stark had the place fully secured with alarm systems and cameras. I knew I would be safer here than in a place where nothing but a locked door was between me and a murderer.
I had just gotten changed and was waiting for a text from Stark when I got a call. I looked down and saw it was Steve, “hey there stranger.”
“Hey.” I could tell he was smiling.
“How has the trip to Washington been so far?”
“Good. Just got back from the mission. I wanted to call and see how you’ve been doing.”
“I’m doing good. You caught me at a good time actually. I was just relaxing after getting ready.”
“May I ask for what?”
“I’m going over to Stark’s for a redemption dinner, after the fiasco from last time, he wants to make things up to me.”
“That’s nice of him.”
“Yeah. I thought so too.”
“I gotta get going, but I’ll call you tonight, okay?”
“Sounds good. Enjoy Washington.”
“I will. Enjoy dinner.”
“I will.”
“Bye.”
“Goodbye Steve.”
I smile, hanging up. He was so sweet. I didn’t expect to hear from him for a while. I was glad his mission was over, but I hoped he would come back soon. I missed him so much. I knew though, that I needed to be patient. Things would work out exactly like they were supposed to.
I soon got a text from Stark saying I could start heading that way. I walk out of the building and go down to the parking garage. I get in my car, and head to Stark’s place. I park my car, and walk in heading up to his place.
“Glad you made it.”
“Thanks Stark. I hope this isn’t another trap.”
“You think I would tell you that Cap really likes you, then ask you to come here and set you up with someone else?”
“Now that you say it out loud, it doesn’t sound like something you would do.”
“See? Nothing to worry about.”
“I guess. I’m just still on edge from what happened the last time. Yeah, things have seemed to work out so far, but I still worry that maybe it won’t.”
“I know you are scared, but I know things will work out between the two of you. Just trust me.”
“The scary part is, I do trust you.”
“Thanks. As much as that hurts.”
“I’m sorry. Do you blame me though? You haven't exactly been super trust worthy lately."
"She's right Tony. You did kind of pin her in a corner with her crush, and tried to force them together. They seem to have done just fine on their own. You just needed to give it a little time." Pepper spoke up, walking into the room.
"Maybe the push was what they needed."
"Can we stop talking about Steve? I came here to take my mind off of it. Not get caught in this conversation all night. If we work out, great. If not, oh well. We'll still be really good friends and that's all that matters."
"See?" Pepper smirked.
"I think they're perfect for each other, and hopefully Steve will realise that."
"I hope so too Stark, but you can't just force it on him. If he doesn’t feel that way about me, it’s no big deal. We’re adults and we have to handle it like adults.”
“You’re right. You’re right. Come on, let's eat, and talk about business.”
“What kind of business Tony?”
“Fury asked me a while ago to modify these Heli carriers, but a couple hours ago he asked me to deactivate the boosters. I’m not sure why he would want to do that, but I want your help to figure out how to do it digitally without going in manually.”
“Seems easy enough.”
“So you’ll help me?”
“Sure. Anything to take my mind off Steve.”
We ate dinner, and afterwards Tony showed me what he was talking about. It didn’t seem too difficult to try and deactivate them virtually. That was till we got an error code, “this isn’t normal. It says we don’t have the authorization to deactivate the boosters.”
“On whose authority?” Tony asked JARVIS.
“Seems to be Nick Fury’s sir.” JARVIS answered.
“Something is not right. Either Fury did not give you those orders, or someone on the inside does not want these Heli carriers deactivated.”
“I may have a solution for that if something goes wrong. I had these made up in case the carriers were hijacked, and it looks like that may be the case,” Stark shows me these targeting chips, “these need to be placed in each Heli carrier for it to work, and the targets to switch.”
“You always think of everything don’t you?”
“I try. We just have to get these to Agent Hill, and get her to have Steve and Nat place them on those carriers.”
“I can deliver them to her if you want.”
“No. The whole point of him going on this mission was to test if you two could stand the tests of being away from each other, and still come back feeling the same way. So, you would compromise the test you both agreed to.”
“Fine. How is Hill going to get it then?”
“I’ll send it to her. Or more like JARVIS will.”
“Right. Do you really trust JARVIS to get it to her safely?” Just then my phone began to ring, so I excused myself for a minute. I looked down and saw that Steve was calling, “hello?”
“Hey, look I may be a little longer than I thought.” He sounded very shaken up.
“Steve, is everything alright?”
“It’s Fury. He’s gone.”
“What do you mean gone?”
“I mean dead, no longer alive, killed.”
My heart sank, and my stomach dropped at his words. Fury had hand picked me to become an Avenger, and now he was gone. I felt like this was a sign that he had made a mistake in the first place. Choosing me to be a part of this elite group of people, with me having little to no background experience with working well with others.
“Y/n, are you okay?”
“What happened? How did this happen?”
“An assassin shot him through the walls of my apartment.”
“Did you catch the person?”
“Almost, but he was a quick thinker. He caught my shield. He had this metal arm. I’m not sure if you could find anything on any record of an assassin with a metal arm, but whatever info you can find on this guy would bring us one step closer to catching him, and bringing him to justice.”
“I’ll do whatever it takes Steve.”
“Good. I’ll talk to you soon, okay?”
“Okay.” He hung up quickly after that. I walked back inside, and over to Stark. He could tell something was wrong, and I knew I didn’t hide that very well. I just couldn’t believe that Fury was gone.
“Is everything okay?”
“Fury. He’s...he’s dead…” I looked down as tears threatened to leave my eyes.
“Oh sweetheart,” Tony pulls me into a hug, “it’s gonna be okay. We’re here for you.” He stroked my hair to try and help me calm down.
“I can’t believe he’s gone,” I immediately stopped crying thinking about our previous conversation, “we have to get Agent Hill those targeting chips. We have to help them stop those carriers from launching, and we have to help them find the assassin who killed Nick Fury. That’s what I’m going to do. Do some research on the man that Steve described to me. I’m going to avenge Fury’s death.”
I walked out of there soon after. I headed home and began to do some research on the man Steve described to me. I had to find out who this man was. I called up every person I could. I worked well into the next day when I finally got a lead.
“We have something in the archives for you, but I’m warning you, going after him is not a good idea.” Agent May warned on the other end of the phone.
“Just lay it on me, agent.”
“He goes by the name of the Winter Soldier. He is credited with over dozens of assassinations over the last 50 years. He is highly dangerous, and I do not recommend going after him. No one really knows where he resides. You’re going to be chasing a ghost Y/n. I don’t think it’s worth it.”
“I’m going to do my best to help avenge Fury’s death. I will do all that it takes to find this elusive assassin.”
“Good luck then. Call me if you need any help.”
“Thanks Agent May, I’ll keep that in mind.”
I quickly hung up, and went to lay down. It had been a long day, and I just added extra work to my load. It was already almost 4am here, and I had yet to sleep. I closed my eyes thinking that I would only sleep for a little bit, but I ended up sleeping till 10am.
“Y/n! Where are you? I thought we were meeting for breakfast! It’s more like brunch now!” Tony shouted.
“Come on kiddo, where are you?” Clint asked.
“I’m in my room.”
I heard them both walk in, and sit on either side of my bed. I had completely forgotten about going out with them after Steve asked me to do some research on the guy with the metal arm.
“Are you feeling okay?” Tony asked.
“Yeah. I just didn’t go to bed till 4 this morning. I just wanted to sleep for a couple of hours, but I guess that didn’t happen.”
“Why did you stay up that late?” Clint looked at me and Tony confused.
“Research.”
“For?” He questioned.
“Trying to find the assassin who killed Fury.”
“That’s a suicide mission.”
“I know.”
“Come on, get up. We were supposed to be at the restaurant 30 minutes ago.”
“Okay, okay. Let me shower, then we can go eat.”
“At a girl.”
I roll my eyes at Tony’s comment before shooing them away. I then go hop in the shower real quick, and get dressed. I do a simple makeup look before going out to my living room, “I’m ready. Let’s go.”
“That was quick.” Clint spoke, kind of shocked.
“Just because I'm a girl, doesn't mean I take ten hours to get ready."
"Let's just go before you two end up sparring in her living room." Stark spoke up, heading to the door.
Clint and I followed him out of my apartment, and we headed to get breakfast. I let the two of them banter back and forth. I was still focused on this mysterious assassin. I didn’t touch most of my food, and that bothered Stark, or concerned him. Whatever the case, he stuck around my apartment afterwards.
“I sent those chips to Hill, so hopefully she’ll get them to Nat and Cap. You know, to stop the launch of those carriers.”
“Yeah. I just hope they’re okay. I can’t help but worry about them. I know that I’m not okay. Fury was the only reason I stayed, or that was till I met Steve. Fury took me in when no one else wanted me, and now he’s gone.”
“I know. I don’t know how to help you, but why don’t you come stay with me for a few days, or until Cap gets back. I think it may help you take your mind off things.”
“Thanks Tony, but I don’t want to intrude.”
“You’re not intruding. I insist. I don’t want you to be alone right now.”
I give a small chuckle, “is that worry I hear in your voice?”
“Laugh all you want, but I’m serious.”
“Okay, okay. Just for a few days.”
“Sounds good to me. Pack a bag, and let’s go.”
“Okay, I’ll just meet you downstairs.”
He smiles, and walks himself out. I grab a duffle bag and begin to pack a few outfits for the next few days. I was about to head downstairs when my phone started to ring. I picked it up quickly, not even looking at who it was.
“Y/n, it’s me.” A man’s voice spoke on the other end.
“Steve, hey. How’s it going?”
“Not good. Since Fury’s death, things here have not been going great. I wanted you to know I’m okay, but won’t be able to communicate with you until things get straightened out here. I’m so sorry. I wish I could say things will turn out okay, but I don’t know.”
“Hey, don’t worry about me. I’ll be okay. You get everything out there situated, I’ll still be here when you get back. Just to let you know I’m staying with Stark for a few days. He doesn’t want me being alone right now.”
“Thank him for me. He better keep you safe, and take care of you for me.”
“I know he will. I’ll talk to you when you get back okay?”
“Okay. Please stay safe.”
“I will Steve. Plus, I’ll be with Stark. They’ll have to go through him before they get to me anyways.”
He chuckles on the other end, “I really needed that. Thank you. Talk to you soon okay?”
“Okay. Goodbye Steve.”
Our conversation ends, and I can’t help but feel there is more going on than what he is saying. I really hope everything is okay, and that he will be alright. I finished packing the rest of my stuff and headed downstairs. Stark sat in the car waiting for me. I just climbed in, and the car set off for the tower. I really hoped that things were okay back in D.C.
(this has legit been a wip I’ve been working on and off on for 3 months but here I am. this is for @garygoldsteins fic accidental attachment and I liked the fic so much that I refused to drop this so even though its been so long here it is!!!)
