Chapter 15
“I fell asleep,” Celia mumbled, closing her eyes again in resignation. She had finally succumbed to sleep, only to be jolted awake what seemed to be moments after, feeling a burning, stinging sensation in her right elbow area. The rest of her body seemed to hum with a tingling feeling too, but the pain was more focused on her arm. She tried to hold in her sounds of discomfort, but she must not have done a good enough job, if Steve’s presence was anything to go by.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were hurt?” Steve asked, not accusingly, but out of concern.
“I wasn’t, I mean, I didn’t think I was,” Celia stammered, rubbing at her eyes. She was sure she didn’t have any more wounds after she fell asleep the last time. She had systematically checked her entire body after she got back from the tower the second time and there was nothing out of the ordinary.
“Maybe you should come back to the tower with me, let Bruce take another look at you?” Steve suggested, leaning back on his heels.
“Okay.”
“Okay?” Steve repeated, looking mildly surprised. “I didn’t think you’d agree so easily.”
“I was always planning on going back. I just had to make sure my friend was situated.” Celia scrubbed her hands over her face, trying to wipe away the last remnants of her failed attempt to get some sleep. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t pulled an all nighter before, but this was different. Both times she had tried to fall asleep since the incident, she had awoken immediately after in pain. Would she ever be able to sleep again? If the serum made it unnecessary, why was she still so tired?
“Do you still sleep?” Celia asked, pulling herself to her feet. Steve hovered in front of her, like he was expecting her to drop at any moment. He relaxed when she moved over to the dresser on her own volition.
“Yeah, I still sleep. I don’t really need as much as I used to, but I try to get at least six hours,” Steve answered, still watching her closely. Celia rummaged around in a drawer, looking for something with long sleeves. The weather was turning gloomy, matching her mood, and running around in a tshirt didn’t seem like a good idea anymore.
“Maybe you should pack a bag?” Steve suggested, stepping forward to stand next to her. “Bruce might figure out a way for you to get some sleep and you’ll want to be comfortable, right?” He pursed his lips, looking like he wanted to say more, but wasn’t sure how. Celia considered his suggestion, wondering if this would be the last time she’d be able to come back to her apartment at all. She didn’t think Steve was trying to trick her and was planning to take her straight to Shield to be locked up for good, but what if Bruce found something that proved she was a danger? Celia could admit that she was nervous and the lack of sleep was making her paranoid. She contemplated her chances if she tried to disappear. She had done it before, but that was without a group of superheroes knowing of her existence. Tony Stark didn’t seem like the type of person to give up and hiding for the rest of her life did not seem like something she would enjoy. Although, if she didn’t find a way to get some sleep soon, she didn’t think she’d last too long anyway.
“What does one pack for a sleep study at Stark Tower?” Celia mused, falling back on her old standby of using humor to cover up her nerves. She grabbed a gym bag that was resting on the side of the dresser, dumping the contents out on the floor by her feet. She suppressed a smile at Steve’s startle when a sports bra nearly landed on his boot.
“Uh um, just the usual I guess,” Steve stammered, resolutely avoiding looking at any undergarments falling out or going into the bag. “Maybe pack for a few days, just in case.”
“In case what?” Celia probed casually, hoping a little bit of info would slip through a flustered Steve’s lips.
“In case you wanted to stay at the tower for a few days, at least until we get a handle on this thing.”
“I don’t think Tony would be too happy to hear I was planning an extended visit to his tower. He might not want to throw me to the wolves anymore, but I don’t think we’re at the long sleepover stage yet.”
“He was actually the one who suggested it.”
Celia spluttered at Steve’s words, not thinking he would outright lie to her, but not quite believing what he was saying either. Was this a trick? Tony’s way of lulling her into a false sense of security so they could get her back into the clutches of Shield? It seemed like a strange, roundabout way to do it, when he had her trapped in the tower earlier that day. And she didn’t think Steve would go along with it, unless he didn’t know the true plan. That wouldn’t surprise her, with the lack of communication she had seen within the group already. But what other choice did she have? If she said no, they could easily swoop in and grab her when she least expected it. This way, she could go in with her eyes wide open.
“Well then, how could I say no?” Celia quipped, shoving a few of each article of clothing into her bag. It didn’t really matter what she grabbed, it was all the same. All of the shirts she had at her apartment were white and came in a package. Same with the bottoms, only in black. She had extra clothes for more specific occasions in her storage container, but her everyday clothes were cheap, easy to clean, and well worn. Celia refused to spend any unnecessary money on clothes, saving every penny she could for more important things.
“I’m sure Bruce will be able to get a handle on this sleep thing, and then we can figure things out from there,” Steve assured, stepping back so she could grab a few things from the bathroom. She chuckled self-deprecatingly under her breath as she packed her cheap toiletries into her bag. Tony Stark’s body wash probably cost the same as her rent for the month, and here she was, bringing her drug store brand junk. It didn’t bother her in her normal life. If the cheap stuff worked, why waste money when you don’t need to? But going into the lap of luxury known as Stark Tower just highlighted how much her life had changed in such a short time.
“That’s it I guess,” Celia said with a shrug, coming back out into the living room to meet Steve. He still looked nervous, but she didn’t know what it was about this time. He was getting what he wanted, her back at the tower. Was he hiding something? Had she been suckered by his big blue eyes? Steve hadn’t lied to her yet, that she could tell, so maybe this was just his natural state. He had seemed a bit more timid than she had imagined Captain America to be when they first met, so maybe he was just kind of awkward in general?
“Ready?” Steve asked, shifting his weight a little. Celia cocked her head to the side, deciding whether or not she should let it go or just come out and ask him what seemed to be gnawing at his nerves. She might as well get as many cards out on the table as she could, while they were on her turf.
“Is everything okay?” Celia asked, watching his body language closely. She was usually good at reading people and Steve didn’t look like he had any kind of poker face. “If there’s something you know and you’re not telling me, you might as well come out with it. Did Bruce find out I’m going to spontaneously combust in the next 24 hours? Or that I’m going to turn into a big green monster? Cause I gotta say, green isn’t really my color.” Steve chuckled a little, looking a little more at ease after her joking.
“No, nothing like that. And I’m sure you look great in green,” Steve admitted. Celia could feel her cheeks heating up a little, the charming bastard. “Tony wanted me to bring up something, but I didn’t know how. I don’t want to overwhelm you, but Tony felt it would be best coming from me, since we’re kind of friends, right?”
“Sure. I mean, you’ve seen me in a bra.” Celia smirked at the blush covering Steve’s cheeks. Payback is a bitch. “Just tell me. If I don’t like it, I’ll just blame Tony.”
“Tony was thinking it might be best for you to move into the tower on a more permanent basis, at least until we get all this sorted out,” Steve blurted out, giving her a wide eyed, innocent look.
“Move in.”
“Yeah, I mean, I think it’s a good idea too. We can keep you safe, just in case and you’ll be closer to Bruce in case anything goes wrong, but I’m sure it won’t!”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. A couple days is one thing, while Bruce helps me with the sleep issue, but permanently? And what do you mean by sorted out?”
Steve paused, choosing his words carefully. Celia had not been expecting an invite to move in from Tony. She had been bracing herself for something much worse, like Shield waiting at the door for her.
“Nothing like this has really happened before, at least that I know of. We don’t know much about the man who is responsible for this or if he has associates we need to worry about. I just think it would be best for everyone if you just stayed close for a while, until we had more answers. Despite what you’ve seen so far, Tony really is a gracious host.”
Celia pondered Steve’s words, trying to weigh the pros and cons in her sleep starved brain. She could understand them wanting her around while they figured everything out. They definitely didn’t want her to fall in the wrong hands and use her to duplicate what was done. But offering a stranger to move into your tower just wasn’t a normal thing to do. Or maybe it was, she had never known anyone with their own tower. But it still didn’t sit right with her. She liked having her own space, she needed it after all she had been through. Celia promised herself a long time ago that she would never let herself be vulnerable again. She would always make her own money and have a plan to disappear if needed. If she moved into the tower, she would be giving away a lot of her power. Would this door be one way only, once she was in, she wouldn’t leave? Could Tony lock her in a room and never let her out? She knew he had the means, after that Jiffy Pop fiasco, but he hadn’t done it any time he had the chance. There was too much going on and too much to think about for Celia to be able to give Steve the answer he wanted.
“I can’t agree to that right now,” she said, avoiding looking at Steve’s crestfallen face. “I’ll still come with you, but I can’t make any decisions like that right now. I need to focus on one issue at a time and right now, my number one issue is sleep. After that, we can discuss the future.” Steve nodded, accepting her answer. Celia sighed, looking around one last time at her apartment. There wasn’t anything else she really wanted to grab, even if she never made it back. Anything she really cared about was kept in her storage unit and even then, the list was short. She had learned long ago to not form attachments to material things, it was just one more thing people could use to hurt you.
“Will you let me carry your bag this time?” Steve asked, holding out his uninjured arm. Celia rolled her eyes, walking over and opening the door.
“No way.”