My Saving Grace
Part Six
“So that was a close call, huh?” Clint clarified once I was finished recounting my mission with Tony and Steve.
I nodded, shifting to get more comfortable on the red plastic chair I was seated in as I took a bite of my cheesy potato soup. My brother and I were currently seated in a corner of the cafeteria area located in the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters.
My brother and I hadn’t had much chance to spend time together lately, what with attempting to rid the world of evil and all. But we had always been close. Before joining S.H.I.E.L.D. we had worked together as assassins for hire to anyone willing to pay the right price. We had been all over the world and back again many times. We were wanted with bounties on our heads in over one hundred countries but thanks to our current employer, all United States criminal charges had been dropped and both of our records had been wiped clean.
“Any idea who was behind it?”
“I think Fury has some ideas. We’re still waiting to be debriefed. Tony’s still in the hospital wing. And I hear he’s not very happy about that.” I chuckled, dipping a wheat role into my soup.
“Why don’t they just let you heal him?” Clint wondered out loud after chewing thoughtfully on a bite of his own meal of meatloaf.
“I can only heal surface wounds on others. Like a cut or maybe a bullet wound if it was clear through, but I’d rather not test that theory.”
“It was a good thing Cap was there, huh?” My brother prompted, and I could see that familiar teasing glint in his eyes.
“Yes, I suppose it was, wasn’t it?” I nodded dismissively, ignoring his teasing.
I was too caught up on the moment I had experienced with Steve on the balcony less than two hours ago to really be worried about my brother’s teasing. I could still smell the musky scent of his cologne as it intermingled with the fibers of my clothing after our lingering embrace. If my bother ever found out about that, he would never let me live it down.
But I couldn’t erase the doubt of who he was thinking about as he hugged me. Was it me or was it Peggy?
I was still baffled by the fact that I even cared, that I was allowing myself to dwell on my strange actions. I hadn’t allowed myself to truly care about anyone, with the exception of my brother and Tony, in so long that I felt as if that part of my brain, my heart, was no longer functioning properly. And I was still having difficulty admitting to myself that I cared about Captain Steve Rogers at all.
“You ok, sis?” Clint asked, waving a hand in front of my face. “You look like you’re going to be sick.”
“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just going to go see Tony.” I said quietly, standing up and taking my tray with me. “Lets go out for dinner or something this week, alright? I miss you.”
I could feel my brother’s worried eyes watching me as I crossed the cafeteria, dumped my tray and left. I aimlessly made my way towards the sick bay and knocked on Tony’s door before walking in without waiting for a response.
“About time you came to see me.” He grumbled as soon as I crossed the threshold.
I rolled my eyes and plopped down on the edge of his bed, staring down at my shoes.
“Alright. What’s wrong? Come tell Uncle Tony all about it.” Tony sighed, pulling me down next to him.
I laid my head on his chest and we just lay in silence for a few moments. I thought about what Steve had asked me earlier about Tony and I as I lay in my best friend’s comforting arms. I was more comfortable with Tony than I had ever been with anyone, but I cared for him as a friend. It was almost like having a second brother.
“Steve asked about me and you earlier.” I admitted sheepishly.
A chuckled rumbled in Tony’s chest beneath my ear.
“Did he, now?” He asked, amused.
I nodded and he chuckled again.
“The old man must be jealous.”
“What?”
“Come on, the guy’s enamored with you. You can’t tell me you haven’t noticed.” He said, his voice disbelieving.
“I’ve been a bit preoccupied with protecting the world and all that.” I shrugged, finding his words hard to believe.
“Ah, yes. That does take up some time, doesn’t it.”
When I was silent, he sighed.
“Amanda, maybe it’s time for you to let someone else in.”
----------
“We’ve found that the person responsible for the ambush was a Dr. Sean Prothmore. Stark, he was in league with the men you attacked when you took it upon yourself to destroy all of your weapons in the middle east.” Director Fury informed us as we sat around the conference room. “It seems he’s extracting his revenge now.”
Instead of just Tony, Steve, and myself being called in for the debriefing, Fury had called in all of us. Anytime that happened, it meant it was a serious threat.
I looked up from the file in my hand and glanced at my comrades before finally settling on Steve. He was already looking at me and I felt my face heat in a blush. I quickly looked back down to my file and mentally cursed myself for blushing.
“We don’t currently have any information on his whereabouts, but in the meantime you should study his file. Be on alert. We’ll call you in as soon as we find anything.”
The Director stood to leave and we all took that as a signal that our meeting was dismissed. I quickly stood to leave but a hand on my arm stopped me. I turned and came face to face with Dr. Banner.
“I’ve found something about your mutation.” He said. “It’s rather interesting.” He admitted.
I quirked an eyebrow, encouraging him to share his findings.
“Your cells aren’t aging at a normal rate. It seems that your healing factor slows your body’s aging.”
I nodded, but wasn’t really surprised at his findings. It was similar with Steve and Wolverine, who was a member of the X-Men.
“Thank you for telling me.” I smiled, turning to leave.
I left the headquarters building and crossed the parking garage to find my bike. I swung my leg over my red Ducati sport bike after settling my helmet over my head. I leaned forward and rolled my wrist, tearing off into traffic recklessly. I lived for this, for the adrenaline rush.
I quickly made my way to Stark Tower, which had very quickly been repaired after Loki’s attack and which housed my apartment, along with Bruce and Steve’s. I parked my bike and entered the building, making my way to my apartment.
I opened the door and slipped off my shoes, leaving them by the front door. I padded out of the entryway into the living room and looked around. Everything was as I had left it nearly a month ago. While I enjoyed my work with S.H.I.E.L.D., I was not a fan of constantly being away from home. All my life I had craved the stability of knowing I would sleep in the same bed every night. But it was the price I paid to be an agent, and I would never know another job.
“Jarvis?” I questioned, moving into the kitchen. “You there?”
“Always, Miss Barton.” The electronic voice replied, ready as every to attend to my every whim.
“Put on some Louis.” I requested, pulling out pots and turning the dial on the stove.
Whenever I was home, Thursdays were always spaghetti nights.
The smooth, brassy sounds of Louis Armstrong played throughout the surround sound that was installed in the apartment.
I had just started the noodles when Jarvis interrupted my music.
“You have a visitor, Miss Barton. Captain Rogers is at the door.”
I felt my stomach tingle, but I ignored it.
“Let him in please, Jarvis.”
I heard the door open and close and the heavy footsteps of Steve’s army boots on the hardwood floors of the entryway.
“Amanda?” He called, and my stomach fluttered again.
“In the kitchen!” I yelled out, and I heard his footfalls growing louder. “Can I help you?” I asked when he stopped in the doorway of the kitchen.
He shrugged, leaning against the doorframe.
“I just wanted to apologize… for earlier.” He hesitated, looking unsure of what he wanted to say. “I was out of line when I asked about you and Tony.” He finally finished.
I smiled and turned back to the pot to prod at my noodles.
“You don’t have to apologize.” I admonished. “I was out of line to ask about… Peggy.”
As much as I hated to admit it, the woman’s name was like acid on my tongue.
“No, I don’t think you were.”
We fell into a comfortable silence for a few moments as I stirred the noodles and began preparing my homemade sauce.
“It’s nice to hear music I actually recognize.” Steve finally said, referring to the music playing over the sound system.
I turned my head to smile at him over my shoulder but was surprised when he was standing a mere arm’s length away. I turned fully and smiled cautiously up at him.
“Steve, what-“
“You know I’ve never danced with a woman?” He stated as he placed a hand on my waist and took one of my small hands into his other. “I never found the right partner.”
I shook my head and placed my free hand onto his shoulder. We swayed to the sultry tune and he smiled down at me.
“For someone that’s never danced before, you’re doing quite well, Captain Rogers.”
“Thank you, ma’am. I suppose I’m just a natural.” He grinned, pulling me a bit closer.
“What did I tell you about calling me ma’am?” I scolded him playfully.
“Old habits die hard.” He shrugged, mocking my statement from days previous.
I smiled up at him and that now familiar tingle was back in my stomach. My heart was racing as he dipped his head lower, closer to my own. His astonishingly blue eyes flickered to my lips and then back up to my own sapphire pools as I tilted my face up towards his, but stopped when we were only inches apart. We had stopped swaying some time ago and I suddenly realized what I was allowing to happen.
I ducked my head and looked up at him through my lashes, his face bore a look of hurt and I felt ashamed.
“You should go.” I said, hardly audible.
He dropped his hands away from me and turned to leave.
“Steve, I’m sorry.” I called after him, my voice breaking as tears welled in my eyes.
He hesitated for a split second before continuing out of my apartment. I heard the door close behind him and just stood in the middle of my kitchen for a few minutes.
I turned to the stove and turned it off, my appetite gone.
“Jarvis, music off.” I ordered quietly as I made my way to my room and fell onto my bed.
I sighed and let my face fall into my hands. A sob shook my body and for the first time in a long time, I allowed myself to cry.
I nodded, shifting to get more comfortable on the red plastic chair I was seated in as I took a bite of my cheesy potato soup. My brother and I were currently seated in a corner of the cafeteria area located in the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters.
My brother and I hadn’t had much chance to spend time together lately, what with attempting to rid the world of evil and all. But we had always been close. Before joining S.H.I.E.L.D. we had worked together as assassins for hire to anyone willing to pay the right price. We had been all over the world and back again many times. We were wanted with bounties on our heads in over one hundred countries but thanks to our current employer, all United States criminal charges had been dropped and both of our records had been wiped clean.
“Any idea who was behind it?”
“I think Fury has some ideas. We’re still waiting to be debriefed. Tony’s still in the hospital wing. And I hear he’s not very happy about that.” I chuckled, dipping a wheat role into my soup.
“Why don’t they just let you heal him?” Clint wondered out loud after chewing thoughtfully on a bite of his own meal of meatloaf.
“I can only heal surface wounds on others. Like a cut or maybe a bullet wound if it was clear through, but I’d rather not test that theory.”
“It was a good thing Cap was there, huh?” My brother prompted, and I could see that familiar teasing glint in his eyes.
“Yes, I suppose it was, wasn’t it?” I nodded dismissively, ignoring his teasing.
I was too caught up on the moment I had experienced with Steve on the balcony less than two hours ago to really be worried about my brother’s teasing. I could still smell the musky scent of his cologne as it intermingled with the fibers of my clothing after our lingering embrace. If my bother ever found out about that, he would never let me live it down.
But I couldn’t erase the doubt of who he was thinking about as he hugged me. Was it me or was it Peggy?
I was still baffled by the fact that I even cared, that I was allowing myself to dwell on my strange actions. I hadn’t allowed myself to truly care about anyone, with the exception of my brother and Tony, in so long that I felt as if that part of my brain, my heart, was no longer functioning properly. And I was still having difficulty admitting to myself that I cared about Captain Steve Rogers at all.
“You ok, sis?” Clint asked, waving a hand in front of my face. “You look like you’re going to be sick.”
“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just going to go see Tony.” I said quietly, standing up and taking my tray with me. “Lets go out for dinner or something this week, alright? I miss you.”
I could feel my brother’s worried eyes watching me as I crossed the cafeteria, dumped my tray and left. I aimlessly made my way towards the sick bay and knocked on Tony’s door before walking in without waiting for a response.
“About time you came to see me.” He grumbled as soon as I crossed the threshold.
I rolled my eyes and plopped down on the edge of his bed, staring down at my shoes.
“Alright. What’s wrong? Come tell Uncle Tony all about it.” Tony sighed, pulling me down next to him.
I laid my head on his chest and we just lay in silence for a few moments. I thought about what Steve had asked me earlier about Tony and I as I lay in my best friend’s comforting arms. I was more comfortable with Tony than I had ever been with anyone, but I cared for him as a friend. It was almost like having a second brother.
“Steve asked about me and you earlier.” I admitted sheepishly.
A chuckled rumbled in Tony’s chest beneath my ear.
“Did he, now?” He asked, amused.
I nodded and he chuckled again.
“The old man must be jealous.”
“What?”
“Come on, the guy’s enamored with you. You can’t tell me you haven’t noticed.” He said, his voice disbelieving.
“I’ve been a bit preoccupied with protecting the world and all that.” I shrugged, finding his words hard to believe.
“Ah, yes. That does take up some time, doesn’t it.”
When I was silent, he sighed.
“Amanda, maybe it’s time for you to let someone else in.”
----------
“We’ve found that the person responsible for the ambush was a Dr. Sean Prothmore. Stark, he was in league with the men you attacked when you took it upon yourself to destroy all of your weapons in the middle east.” Director Fury informed us as we sat around the conference room. “It seems he’s extracting his revenge now.”
Instead of just Tony, Steve, and myself being called in for the debriefing, Fury had called in all of us. Anytime that happened, it meant it was a serious threat.
I looked up from the file in my hand and glanced at my comrades before finally settling on Steve. He was already looking at me and I felt my face heat in a blush. I quickly looked back down to my file and mentally cursed myself for blushing.
“We don’t currently have any information on his whereabouts, but in the meantime you should study his file. Be on alert. We’ll call you in as soon as we find anything.”
The Director stood to leave and we all took that as a signal that our meeting was dismissed. I quickly stood to leave but a hand on my arm stopped me. I turned and came face to face with Dr. Banner.
“I’ve found something about your mutation.” He said. “It’s rather interesting.” He admitted.
I quirked an eyebrow, encouraging him to share his findings.
“Your cells aren’t aging at a normal rate. It seems that your healing factor slows your body’s aging.”
I nodded, but wasn’t really surprised at his findings. It was similar with Steve and Wolverine, who was a member of the X-Men.
“Thank you for telling me.” I smiled, turning to leave.
I left the headquarters building and crossed the parking garage to find my bike. I swung my leg over my red Ducati sport bike after settling my helmet over my head. I leaned forward and rolled my wrist, tearing off into traffic recklessly. I lived for this, for the adrenaline rush.
I quickly made my way to Stark Tower, which had very quickly been repaired after Loki’s attack and which housed my apartment, along with Bruce and Steve’s. I parked my bike and entered the building, making my way to my apartment.
I opened the door and slipped off my shoes, leaving them by the front door. I padded out of the entryway into the living room and looked around. Everything was as I had left it nearly a month ago. While I enjoyed my work with S.H.I.E.L.D., I was not a fan of constantly being away from home. All my life I had craved the stability of knowing I would sleep in the same bed every night. But it was the price I paid to be an agent, and I would never know another job.
“Jarvis?” I questioned, moving into the kitchen. “You there?”
“Always, Miss Barton.” The electronic voice replied, ready as every to attend to my every whim.
“Put on some Louis.” I requested, pulling out pots and turning the dial on the stove.
Whenever I was home, Thursdays were always spaghetti nights.
The smooth, brassy sounds of Louis Armstrong played throughout the surround sound that was installed in the apartment.
I had just started the noodles when Jarvis interrupted my music.
“You have a visitor, Miss Barton. Captain Rogers is at the door.”
I felt my stomach tingle, but I ignored it.
“Let him in please, Jarvis.”
I heard the door open and close and the heavy footsteps of Steve’s army boots on the hardwood floors of the entryway.
“Amanda?” He called, and my stomach fluttered again.
“In the kitchen!” I yelled out, and I heard his footfalls growing louder. “Can I help you?” I asked when he stopped in the doorway of the kitchen.
He shrugged, leaning against the doorframe.
“I just wanted to apologize… for earlier.” He hesitated, looking unsure of what he wanted to say. “I was out of line when I asked about you and Tony.” He finally finished.
I smiled and turned back to the pot to prod at my noodles.
“You don’t have to apologize.” I admonished. “I was out of line to ask about… Peggy.”
As much as I hated to admit it, the woman’s name was like acid on my tongue.
“No, I don’t think you were.”
We fell into a comfortable silence for a few moments as I stirred the noodles and began preparing my homemade sauce.
“It’s nice to hear music I actually recognize.” Steve finally said, referring to the music playing over the sound system.
I turned my head to smile at him over my shoulder but was surprised when he was standing a mere arm’s length away. I turned fully and smiled cautiously up at him.
“Steve, what-“
“You know I’ve never danced with a woman?” He stated as he placed a hand on my waist and took one of my small hands into his other. “I never found the right partner.”
I shook my head and placed my free hand onto his shoulder. We swayed to the sultry tune and he smiled down at me.
“For someone that’s never danced before, you’re doing quite well, Captain Rogers.”
“Thank you, ma’am. I suppose I’m just a natural.” He grinned, pulling me a bit closer.
“What did I tell you about calling me ma’am?” I scolded him playfully.
“Old habits die hard.” He shrugged, mocking my statement from days previous.
I smiled up at him and that now familiar tingle was back in my stomach. My heart was racing as he dipped his head lower, closer to my own. His astonishingly blue eyes flickered to my lips and then back up to my own sapphire pools as I tilted my face up towards his, but stopped when we were only inches apart. We had stopped swaying some time ago and I suddenly realized what I was allowing to happen.
I ducked my head and looked up at him through my lashes, his face bore a look of hurt and I felt ashamed.
“You should go.” I said, hardly audible.
He dropped his hands away from me and turned to leave.
“Steve, I’m sorry.” I called after him, my voice breaking as tears welled in my eyes.
He hesitated for a split second before continuing out of my apartment. I heard the door close behind him and just stood in the middle of my kitchen for a few minutes.
I turned to the stove and turned it off, my appetite gone.
“Jarvis, music off.” I ordered quietly as I made my way to my room and fell onto my bed.
I sighed and let my face fall into my hands. A sob shook my body and for the first time in a long time, I allowed myself to cry.
Notes
Drama drama!! Thanks you the one of you 18 readers that commented :D And the three of you that voted and the two that subscribed. I love you :3Also, thinking of starting a Jeremy Renner story on Mibba. I want to do a Hawkeye story, but I can only write about so many super heroes at once.
Let me know what you're thinkin!
I Absolutly loved the whole story!!
7/28/15