Chapter 33
Celia sighed, waking up slowly. When they had gotten back to Steve’s floor, he sent her off to the bathroom to get cleaned up and she got her first look at herself since the team found her. She understood now why Steve was looking at her like she was going to drop at any moment. The whole lower left side of her face was swollen, with the start of splotchy discoloration highlighting the point of impact. If she was anyone else, tomorrow her skin would be black and blue. The thing she wasn’t expecting was the red marks around her neck. Celia didn’t remember being choked that hard, but there were clear finger marks around her neck. No wonder Steve had grabbed Miller around the throat back in that room. He may not have been the one to do the choking, but he was the reason she was there to begin with.
There had been no doubt this time where Celia would sleep, burrowing down in the center of Steve’s bed. He seemed to know what she needed, sliding in next to her and holding her tight to him again. Steve started talking, Celia listening to the low rumble of his voice through his chest until she fell asleep.
The healing had been excruciating and she clutched onto Steve like a lifeline. He rubbed her back as she sobbed and whimpered, soaking the front of his shirt with tears. Something had definitely cracked in her jaw, because the feel of it moving back ever so slightly almost made her throw up. Afterwards, she had fallen into an exhaustion and trauma induced sleep, with Steve still by her side.
And that’s how she woke up, with Steve curled around her back and snuffling with his nose in her hair. Celia couldn’t stifle her giggle when his breath tickled her neck and he started to stir. He gripped her tighter as he began to wake up and Celia could tell the exact moment he realized where he was when he flinched backwards, a tiny sound of embarrassment escaping his lips.
“I’ve got to be doing terrible things to your sleep schedule,” Celia laughed, rolling over to face him. He had that youthful, sleep tousled look she was growing so fond of.
“I actually don’t usually sleep so much. Or so well,” Steve admitted, glancing away awkwardly.
“I’m sure Tony could build you a robot to cuddle at night,” Celia suggested with a grin, enjoying the look of horror that crossed his face.
“Wouldn’t that be a grand conversation to have with Tony?” Steve snorted, rolling onto his back. “How do you feel?”
“Good as new,” she assured him, wiggling her newly healed thumb.
“It was interesting, to say the least, seeing all the marks disappear so suddenly,” Steve commented, his brow furrowed in memory.
“Weirder than in the elevator?” she wondered.
“Well, that was mostly covered by your shirt, but coming back to life will be a hard one to top,” he acknowledged, scrubbing a hand over his face to get rid of the last bits of sleep.
“Now what do we do?” Celia wondered. She didn’t even know what time it was.
“I have a message from Mr. Stark that was to be delivered once you, and I quote, ‘stop spooning and get out of bed’,” Jarvis intoned. Celia held in her gasp of surprise at the sound of the computer,
only twitching a little. Progress.
“What is it Jarvis?” Steve asked, sighing in resignation.
“Mr. Stark would like you both to meet him on the 50th floor,” Jarvis directed.
“What’s down there?” Celia asked, rolling out of bed.
“I don’t know, I don’t usually go that low. I think it’s part of the Stark Industry floors,” Steve said, following her out of the room. Jarvis already had the elevator doors open and waiting for them.
“It’s not a prison floor, is it?” Celia questioned, only half joking. She wouldn’t fault the man if he had changed his mind about her.
“Nah, that’s floor 60,” Steve answered casually, bumping her with his elbow.
“I’ll be sure to steer clear,” Celia laughed, stepping out onto the floor when the doors opened. The whole floor was under construction, most areas covered in plastic tarps and the smell of fresh paint lingering in the air. They stepped carefully around the open space, searching for Tony.
“And you’re sure this is the shade she asked for?” Tony asked a frazzled looking construction worker. “Pepper was very specific about the shade of white she chose. She said it was specially formulated to promote healing.”
“Yes sir, everything has been triple checked,” the man bit out through a tense smile.
“Great, because if it’s wrong, I’m telling Ms. Potts it was your fault,” Tony sneered, dismissing the man with a wave of his hand. “So hard to find good help these days. But look, help has arrived!”
Tony welcomed them with his arms open, spinning around in a circle to show off his surroundings.
“Did you call us down here to paint?” Steve asked, looking utterly baffled. Tony rolled his eyes, turning to face her.
“What do you think?” Tony asked, gesturing again to the room.
“Uh, it’s nice. What’s it going to be?” Celia questioned, hoping Tony wasn’t going ahead with the idea of making her a personal floor in the tower.
“Well, one of the things I’ve been working on is sort of a clinic floor in the tower. Somewhere for my employees to go for any minor injuries or illnesses. And somewhere for the team to go to get patched up after missions. Since some of us might need more specialized care than others,” Tony explained, tilting his head toward Steve. Now it was Steve’s turn to roll his eyes. “Since you’re going to be staying here, it would make sense for you to work here too. You wouldn’t really fit with the Avengers, unless you’re planning on being a human shield, so I thought you might like to make use of your legitimate career as a physical therapist in my clinic. No pressure though, but I’d probably pay you better than your current job and I’m 100% certain you’d have a better commute.”
“Wha-” Celia spluttered out, shocked by Tony’s proposition. Just days ago he was ready to throw her to Shield, and now he had offered her a place to live and a job. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Just say yes. It’s easier for everyone that way,” Tony said with a cocky grin. “Let me show you where I was thinking of putting your office.” He grabbed her wrist and started leading her through the maze of construction. She glanced back at Steve, who looked as surprised as she felt. The rest of the team was milling about now, making bets on who would need to use the new clinic the most. They ducked under some low scaffolding, walking to the corner of the floor. Two of the walls were the same floor to ceiling windows that still took her breath away.
“Corner office,” Tony bragged, wagging his eyebrows at her.
“This is too much,” Celia breathed out, looking at the view. “But I’m guessing this is normal for you.”
“Pretty much. If I’ve got it, might as well use it,” Tony agreed, standing next to her to stare over the city.
“So are you saying yes?” Steve asked, walking into the room with the rest of the team. A construction worker pushed past them all, climbing onto some scaffolding to drill into the wall.
“I guess,” Celia shouted, trying to be heard over the new noise.
“Great! But maybe we should discuss this somewhere else,” Steve yelled back, the worker now using a nail gun. The team agreed, turning to leave to a quieter area. Steve let the others go by, waiting for her with a big smile.
Just then, the worker shot a nail into a patch of wall and blew out a cloud of dust. He choked on it, flapping his arms and falling backwards off the scaffolding. Steve caught the man before he hit the ground, but couldn’t catch the nail gun that fell with him. A nail burst out, heading right for Tony’s face. Celia’s hand shot out, instinct taking over. A nail through a hand was much better than a nail through the face.
Everyone froze for a few seconds, Tony staring straight ahead and Steve holding the construction worker in a bridal carry. The rest of the team rushed in, wanting to see what all the commotion was about. Celia still had her arm outstretched, but there wasn’t a nail through her palm. Gently held between her index finger and thumb was the nail, mere inches from Tony’s face. They were all staring at her in shock and of course, Tony was the first one to speak.
“Well, I guess that changes things.”