Chapter 3
“Nick Fury called me today.” Steve told her. “They want me in D.C.”
Toni chewed her sushi, pulling a face. “Just you?” because even if Fury wasn’t tracking them, he must have seen the news in the six months since the Mandarin, and therefore should know that she and Steve had been living together since New York.
“He thinks you’re too unpredictable.”
“And what do you think?”
“I think that I love you, and don’t want to go unless you’re coming with me.”
She smiled, stealing a piece of nigiri from his plate. “Good answer.”
---
“Calm down, Fury, I’m not here to help on your missions.” Toni was talking before Nick even had a chance to open his mouth. Natasha was at his side, and she nodded a silent greeting to Steve. “Where’s Barton?” Toni demanded, looking around, “He’s, like, the only one of you spies I actually like.”
“I’m sure he’ll come say hi once we tell him you’re here.” Natasha smiled, that same fake smile from when Natalie Rushman came to visit her boyfriend Caleb. “Toni, we should get to our apartment.” Steve suggested. “Unpack a bit,” he leaned over, turning his head away from the agents, “Maybe break in the new bed?”
---
“Don’t say it! Don't you say it!”
“On your left.”
“Come on!”
---
“I made a friend today.” Steve smiled, “On my run.”
“She cute?”
“He’s not really my type. Seems nice, though.”
---
“Did you do anything fun Saturday night?”
“Well, Toni still refuses to acknowledge that anything about D.C is fun, so... no, not really.”
“Coming up by the drop zone, Cap.”
---
“Does Toni know about your habit of jumping out of planes without a parachute?”
“Don’t you dare.”
“She scares me more than you do.”
---
“Steve, you’re glowing.”
“Yeah, we haven't seen each other in a while, have we?”
---
When Steve stormed into Fury’s office, Toni was already yelling at him.
“You put him in danger! Do you not understand that?!”
“The Captain can protect himself, he’s the greatest soldier in history.” Nick replied.
“He shouldn't have to!” She banged her fist against his desk, and Fury flinched. “He thought Natasha was there to watch his back, so he left it unguarded. If he’s hurt, that's on you.”
Steve cleared his throat, and Toni spun around, her breath caught in her throat. “Oh thank God.” She hurried over to him, pulling him down to kiss him. He made a small noise, and she pulled back quickly, taking her hand off his arm, which he was cradling protectively. She turned to Fury, glaring. “On. You.” She spat, before putting her hand on Steve’s back and began gently pushing him out the door.
---
It was a week before Toni let him go back to the Triskelion. She told him about the new designs for the helicarriers, and he listened to her talk technical while they ate, and he smiled and used the opportunity to steal food from her plate.
---
“This is Project Insight. Three-”
“Three next generation Helicarriers synced to a network of targeting satellites.”
“Um-”
“Unlike S.H.I.E.L.D, Toni and I don't keep secrets.”
“So the tabloids are true?”
“You got us a one bedroom, what did you think was going on?”
---
“This isn’t freedom, Tones. This is fear.”
She nodded, running his back comfortingly.
“We’ll figure it out.”
---
“Welcome to the Smithsonian. Visitor information booths are available on the second level.”
“Hey, did you ever think about asking for any of this back?” Toni asked, looking up at a framed file with 4F stamped on it. “I mean, it’s all yours.”
Steve shook his head, smiling fondly at Doctor Erskine’s signature. “It’s not like I need any of this stuff.” He wrapped an arm around her, trying to steer her to the right. “All I need is y-”
“Oh my God, is that your diary?” She rushed to a display case on the left.
Great.
“Come on, we don’t need to-” She shushed him, pressing a button. The ‘Steve Rogers’ voice actor began reading about how he and Bucky had spent the day at Coney Island.
By the end of it, Toni was crying from laughing so hard.
“Roses are grey, Violets are grey, this is stupid, I’m color blind.” She wheezed, ignoring the looks people were shooting her. People kept snapping pictures that Steve knew were going to be all over the internet later, of Captain America on a date with Iron Woman.
Toni kept moving from one display to the next, laughing at each one, until she stopped.
“Tones?” Steve came up behind her, to see where she was standing still, her smile gone.
“Best friends since childhood, Bucky Barnes and Steven Rogers were inseparable on both schoolyard and battlefield. Barnes is the only Howling Commando to give his life in service of his country.”
Before Steve could react, he heard a familiar voice behind him.
“That was a difficult winter. A blizzard had trapped half our battalion behind the German line. Steve...Captain Rogers, he fought his way through a HYDRA blockade that had pinned our allies down for months. He saved over a thousand men, including the man who would...who would become my husband as it turned out. Even after he died, Steve was still changing my life.”
He was glad to know that Peggy had gotten married, but seeing her, just as he remembered, and knowing that he didn't get to meet her kids, or stand by her side during the highs and lows of her life, it stung.
A lot.
“Stevie?” Toni had a hand on his arm, trying to pull him back to the present. He looked down at her, giving her a tight smile. “Do you want to go get lunch?” He asked casually. Toni nodded, already leading him out of the museum. They walked in silence for a few minutes, before Toni spoke.
“We’re going to talk about it at home.”
Steve nodded.
“I know.”
---
“Peggy, there’s someone I want you to meet.”
“Is this your best girl? The one who makes you smile like you used to?”
“Yeah, Pegs. This is Toni.”
---
“I’m your best girl?”
“Of course.”
“... You’re my best guy, you know.”
“I know.”
---
“Open Lemurian Star’s satellite launch file.”
“Access denied.”
“Run decryption.”
“Decryption failed.”
---
“Project Insight has to be delayed.”
“I’ll see what I can do, but you have to get Iron Woman to come to my niece’s birthday party.”
“You’d have more luck sucking up to the Captain.”
---
“Look who it is.” Sam Wilson smiled as he made his way over to them, “The running man.”
Steve laughed, shaking his hand. “Sam, this is Toni.”
“Yeah, I figured.” He gave her a polite nod, and she smiled back. “You’re the slowpoke?” he groaned, nodding. “Compared to him, sure. But aren't we all?” Toni scoffed. “Excuse you, I've hit Mach 3.”
Sam whistled appreciatively, and the three of them stepped aside to let the veterans in Sam’s group out. “Seems intense.” Steve gestured to the circle of chairs.
“Yeah, brother, we all got the same problems. Guilt, regret.”
“You lose someone?” Toni asked, gently.
Sam sighed, looking out the window. “My wingman, Riley. Flying a night mission. Standard PJ rescue op, nothing we hadn't done a thousand times before, till an RPG knocked Riley's dumb ass out of the sky. Nothing I could do.” He looked down. “It's like I was up there just to watch.”
“I’m so sorry.” Steve whispered, and Toni squeezed his hand. That thing he said, about being up there to watch, she knew how that must have hit him.
---
“Warning. Window integrity compromised.”
“You think?!”
---
“Steve, Clint is in town for a bit, I want to go see how he’s been.”
“Tell him hi.”
“Okay, love you.”
“Love you too.”
---
“I think you left your stereo on.”
“Thank you.”
---
“Don’t... trust anyone.”
---
“I’m assigned to protect you.”
“On whose orders?”
“His.”
---
Toni and Clint came running to where Steve and Natasha were already watching Nick’s operation. “Steve, oh my God.” she pulled him close, listening to his heart for a few beats.
He was okay. They were okay.
Natasha had her head on Clint’s shoulder, crying silently.
“Tell me about the shooter.” Clint turns to Steve. “He had a metal arm.” Steve says, “That’s the only thing I could actually see.”
---
“Don’t do this to me, Nick. Don’t do this to me.”
---
Steve could hear the sound of the flatline, along with Natasha and Toni’s soft crying, for hours after they left the hospital.
---
“Why was Nick at your apartment?”
“I don’t know.”
“Just what are you insinuating, Romanoff?”
“Easy, Toni. We’re a team.”
“Cap, they want you back at S.H.I.E.L.D.”
“Like hell he’s-”
“Toni, it’s okay. I’m coming.” He called to Rumlow, before turning and kissing Toni gently.
“Wait for me?”
“Of course.”
“You’re a terrible liar, Rogers.” Natasha called after him.
---
“Captain Rogers.”
“Neighbor.”
She paused, turning to him. “Did you tell Toni?” she asked, but he never even slowed down.
“We don’t keep secrets.”
---
“He told me not to trust anyone.”
“I wonder if that includes him.”
---
Before we get started, does anyone want to get out?”
---
“As difficult as this is to accept, the four Avengers are fugitives from S.H.I.E.L.D.”
---
“Where is it?” Steve demanded. “Safe.” Romanoff said evenly. “Do better!” he slammed her against the wall. “Woah, hey, easy.” Clint and Toni were at his sides, gently prying him away from Natasha. If it had been just Barton, Steve might’ve just shoved him off, but Toni was carding her fingers through his hair in the way that always calmed him down. She tugged on his collar, pulling him to rest his head on her shoulder. “I have it.” Tony whispered, still acting as if she was just calming him down. “I know you're upset,” she continued, louder, as a few doctors walked by. “He was our friend.” after a few more seconds, she let him go, catching his eye and nodding once, before discreetly pressing her watch to his arm.
---
“Why didn't you use your- what did you call it, Extremis?”
“That’s a ‘world ending event’ kind of ability. Besides, the last thing we need right now is letting the HYDRA-led government know that the Serum and Extremis can work together.”
---
“I know who killed Fury. Most of the intelligence community doesn't believe he exists, the ones who do call him the Winter Soldier.”
---
“This council moves to immediately reactivate Project Insight.”
---
“First rule of going on the run is, don’t run. Walk.” Natasha told them, casually swinging Steve’s hand between them.
“If I run in these shoes, they’re gonna fall off.” Toni complained over the comms, and Steve could see her struggling to keep up with Clint across the food court. “And why do you get to hold hands with my boyfriend?”
“Even with disguises, it’s too easy to recognise us together.” Steve ignored the warm feeling he felt when Toni casually called him her boyfriend. It never got old. He smirked, glancing at where Clint was dragging her into a gamestop. “I think it’s the height difference.” Toni made a noise of protest, and Clint laughed at her face, one Steve knew from whenever he brought up how short she was. “Come on.” Natasha tugged his arm, and they ducked into an Apple store.”
---
Natasha tapped her comm off, and Steve immediately copied.
“Kiss me.” She demanded.
“Do you have a death wish?!”
“Why do you think we’re offline?”
---
“Clint, I’m going to kill your-”
“I’ll help.”
---
“Where did Captain America learn how to steal a car?” Clint asked as they were speeding down the highway. “Nazi Germany.” He deadpanned. “And we’re borrowing. Natasha, get your feet off the window.”
Natasha rolled her eyes. “What about Toni?” She gestured to where the brunette was sitting with her feet up on the dash, glaring out the window while music blasted through her headphones. “I’m not about to make her even more mad at me.” He admitted.
---
“The file came from these coordinates.”
“So did I.”
---
“This is the camp where I was trained.” Steve looked around, lost in the memories.
“So, literally the only good thing to come out of New Jersey.” Clint joked.
---
Toni stopped sulking when they walked into the building.
“Dad?” She took a few steps toward the pictures, ignoring the other three. She was looking up at the portrait of Howard Stark with wide eyes. “I-” she was shaking, and it looked like she was beginning to hyperventilate. Steve thought back to him and Toni researching anxiety attacks, and facetiming Dr. Banner in India about PTSD. “Toni, hey. Can you hear me?” he held his hand out, motioning for Nat and Clint to stay where they were as he took a step closer. “Toni, everything is gonna be okay, but I need you to sit down.” She either heard him, or it was a coincidence that she dropped to the floor right then, but she didn’t take her eyes off the picture. “Toni. The year is 2013. Howard Stark has been dead for over twenty years. He can’t hurt you. Toni.” His voice broke a bit, but he kept going. “Toni, I won’t let anyone hurt you.” She blinked, taking a few deep breaths before turning to him. “Stevie?” she whispered, “I don't- what- what is this place?” he helped her stand, effectively blocking her view of Howard and Peggy’s portraits.
“This is S.H.I.E.L.D.”
---
“Shall we play a game?” Clint asked as the group looked around warily. Natasha turned to Steve, “It’s from an old movie-”
“We’ve seen it.”
---
“Rogers, Steven Grant. Born, 1918.
Romanoff, Natalia Alianovna. Born, 1984.
Barton, Clinton Francis. Born, 1981.
Stark, Natasha Antonia Maria. Born, 1986.”
They stared at the screen.
“Maria wasn't in my file.” Toni whispered as Steve moved in front of her, his shield at the ready. “Man, Cap, you're old.” Clint joked.
No one laughed.
---
The images on the screen moved quickly, but they understood enough.
“You’ll pay for that.” Toni snarled, “You’ll pay for her!”
She grabbed Steve’s shield, throwing it at the screen. Natasha and Clint stared in shock as it returned to her hand, the screen now completely obliterated. She looked at them, and shrugged. “We’ve been training.” Steve said simply.
---
“Steve, we got a bogey. Short range ballistic. 30 seconds tops.
“Who fired it?”
“S.H.I.E.L.D.”
---
Steve grabbed Natasha, holding his shield over them. Toni twisted her watch, forming a red and gold shield the same shape as Steve’s, and grabbed Clint to duck down with her.
---
“Aw, you two match!”
---
“We need a place to lay low.”
“Everyone we know is trying to kill us.”
“Not everyone.”
---
“I get that we have other things going on, but you look really good in a tank top.”
Steve looked up to where Toni was leaning against the doorway. She had just stepped out of the shower, and the steam was following her, making her look magical.
He was such a sap.
Sam had washed their clothes for them, and even ran out to pick up some new outfits for them, but she was standing there in his t-shirt and boxers, and her hair was braided down to nearly her waist.
“I get that we have other things going on,” he smiled, “But you should wear my clothes more.”
“Oh?” She asked, coming to join him on the guest bed, “Does giant t-shirt just scream, ‘I will end you, Nazi scum’?”
“No.” He pulled her closer, “Just for me.”
“God, you are such a caveman!” She laughed, and he growled- growled, against her neck.
“And you're mine.” He punctuated his words with a kiss, and felt her nod.
“Yours.”
---
“How do the four most wanted people in Washington kidnap a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent in broad daylight?”
“They don’t.”
---
“I thought you said you were a pilot.”
“I never said pilot.”
---
“Which one of you is capable of throwing a person off a roof? Captain America? Hawkeye? Or maybe- I’m sorry, who are you?”
Natasha kicked him off in one swift movement.
“Black Widow.” She said to the empty space.
After a moment, Sam and Toni appeared, Sam holding Sitwell, and Toni holding up some sort of cloaking device to keep their whole display off of security cameras.
“Steve, my love,” She turned to him, glancing at Sitwell, “It’s not nice to throw trash on the ground.”
---
Toni didn't have time to be touched that when the Winter Soldier attacked, Steve screamed her name.
---
She was standing by his side, repulsors at the ready, when the mask fell off.
“Bucky?”
“Who the hell is Bucky?”
Natasha used the distraction to her advantage, launching a grenade at him. When the smoke cleared, he was gone.”
---
“On your knees! Stark, out of the suit, or so help me God-”
“We’ll go quietly.” Steve stared straight at her from on his knees, nodding at her that it would be okay. “But you don't threaten her.”
---
“He looked at me like he couldn't even recognise me.”
“Well, you told me Zola experimented on him, right? Whatever they used must have helped him survive the fall.”
“Yeah, and then they found him, and I never even looked.”
“Stevie, that's not your fault. Don't do that.”
“Even when I was all alone, I had Bucky.”
Toni looked around, at Clint and Natasha and Sam, all of them had followed Steve without a second thought.
“You're not alone, Steve.”
---
“They cut you open. Your heart stopped.”
“Tetrodotoxin B. Slows the pulse to one beat a minute. Banner developed it for stress. Didn't work so great for him, but we found a use for it.”
Toni made an angry noise. “Does he know you stole his research?”
“He made it in our lab.”
---
“Wipe him. Start over.”
---
Late at night, everyone but Toni sat in the briefing room. She had passed out as soon as an agent had shown her to a bed, and though Steve wasn't happy at the idea of keeping Toni out of the loop, but she needed the rest. Besides, the agents probably knew that he was going to tell her everything in the morning. She’d probably point out some obvious solution nobody else even thought of.
“Once the Helicarriers reach three thousand feet, they'll triangulate with Insight satellites becoming fully weaponized.”
“Zola’s algorithm evaluates people’s past to predict their future.” Steve recited what Sitwell told them on the roof, “And then the Insight Helicarriers scratch people off their lists, a few million at a time.”
---
“S.H.I.E.L.D., HYDRA, it all goes.”
“He’s right.”
“Well, it looks like you're giving the orders now, Captain.”
---
“I’m with you to the end of the line, pal.”
---
“Oh, man. I am so fired!”
---
“I thought you said you didn't need any of that stuff.”
“Shut up.”
“You love me.”
“I really do.”
---
“Attention, all SHIELD agents. This is Steve Rogers. You've heard a lot about me over the last few days, some of you were even ordered to hunt me down. But I think it's time you know the truth. SHIELD is not what we thought it was, it's been taken over by HYDRA. Alexander Pierce is their leader. The STRIKE and Insight crew are HYDRA as well. I don't know how many more, but I know they're in the building. They could be standing right next to you. They almost have what they want: absolute control. They shot Nick Fury and it won't end there. If you launch those Helicarriers today, HYDRA will be able to kill anyone that stands in their way, unless we stop them. I know I'm asking a lot, but the price of freedom is high, it always has been, and it's a price I'm willing to pay. And if I'm the only one, then so be it. But I'm willing to bet I'm not.”
---
“I know it’s not the time but you look really hot when you're angry.”
“Kinda in the middle of something, Tones.”
---
“I'm not gonna launch those ships. Captain's orders.”
---
“They’re initiating launch.”
---
“I’m sorry. Did I step on your moment?”
---
“Are you sure you're ready for the world to see you as you really are?”
“Are you?”
---
“Alpha, locked.”
---
“Bravo, locked.”
---
“If you want to stay ahead of me, you need to keep both eyes open.”
---
Steve jumped, just narrowly missing a HYDRA missile. “Could use a hand!” He yelled, right before a flash of red caught him. “So,” Toni opened a private channel for them, “Nat wasn't kidding about the jumping without a parachute thing, huh?” Steve sighed, knowing she would be yelling at him later for that one.
---
“People are gonna die, Buck. I can't let that happen. Please, don't make me do this.”
---
“Order only comes through pain. You ready for yours?”
“Man, shut the hell up.”
---
“Steve, I'm clearing civilians. Stay safe. That's an order.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
Steve turned his comm off, then. Toni didn't need to hear this.
---
“Firing in three-”
“Cap is still up there!”
“Two-”
“Why isn’t he responding?!”
“One-”
“NO!”
“Now.”
---
“Do not crash the helicopter, you morons. Sam, I’m flying up to you, hold on.”
---
“Your name is James Buchanan Barnes.”
---
“You’re my friend.”
“You’re my mission. You’re my mission!”
“Then finish your mission. Cause I'm with you ’till the end of the line.”
---
“Stevie. Steve, baby, I need you to stay with me, okay honey, just keep looking at me. That's right, I'm here, I'm not leaving. I promise, just stay awake, I'm here, love, Im-”
---
“On your left.”
Steve smiled weakly at Sam, who was reading a book. “She okay?” Steve asked, looking down at where Toni was curled against his side, her face slightly puffy from crying. “I found her like this an hour ago, but I think it’s the first she's slept in days.”
“Days?”
“Four, to be exact. Anyone else would've died, you know.”
“Yeah, well,” Steve tried to shrug, but ended up wincing in pain. “The Serum, Extremis... ‘should be dead’ is par for the course.”
“Steve.” They both turned, and Steve smiled at a man he hadn't seen in far too long. “Doctor Banner.” Sam looked a bit in awe. “Toni called me, said she didn't trust anyone else.”
“She told you about-”
“Yes.” Bruce cut him off quickly, glancing at the cameras. “She told me.”
He smiled.
“You're going to be just fine.”
---
“You're not gonna put me in a prison. You're not gonna put any of us in a prison. You know why?”
“Do enlighten us.”
“Because you need us. Yes, the world is a vulnerable place, and yes, we helped make it that way. But we're also the ones best qualified to defend it. So if you want to arrest me, arrest me. You'll know where to find me.”
---
“So what now?”
They were all standing over Fury’s empty grave. Fury himself was gone, off to rebuild S.H.I.E.L.D.
“Well,” Natasha began, “I blew all my covers, think it’s time I found some new ones.”
“Or, have you maybe considered just being Natasha Romanoff, the Avenger?” Toni was looking at all them, hopeful. “We, um- the Mansion still isn’t really- ready, I guess, and we were back in the tower before, all this,” She waved her hands around, “But, y’know, we have the space, right Steve?” He nodded, smiling down at her. She hid it well, but Steve knew she loved having people around. “I mean,” Bruce looked around, “I don't really have anything better to do.” Clint nodded, putting an arm around Natasha’s shoulders. “Come on, Tash. I know you’ve always wanted a sister.”
Toni turned to Sam, hopeful. “You trusted us, even if it meant putting your life on the line.” He tried to shrug it off, but she pressed forward. “No, it was a big deal. Transfer to New York. Thor is still off world, we could use another flier. Falcon, the Avenger.”
Sam smiled, looking at the team.
“I like the sound of that.”
---
“Hi.”
Toni was fidgeting nervously, looking around the gym. She was wearing a pair of shorts and one of Steve’s S.H.I.E.L.D t-shirts, and even though it had always been tight on him she was swimming in it. Steve stopped his assault on the punching bag, waiting for the faint glowing of his fists to fade before turning to her.
“You're getting better at that.”She nodded at the bag, where it was only slightly burned. “I imagine that’s not what you're here to tell me, though?” She nodded, curling a hand over the arc reactor instinctively. “We, uh-” she took a deep breath. “We used a lot of EMPs out there, and if we’re gonna keep looking for the Win- Bucky, I was thinking...” Steve waited, knowing that sometimes it took Toni a while to get certain things out, especially when she was admitting she needed help. “Helen Cho- one of Bruce’s doctor friends, she told me about a surgery... to take the shrapnel out. Of me. I- I’d still have the reactor, but... it would just power the suit. Not me.” Steve looked at her, feeling like there was something else. “She says she’s done it before, some sort of magnetic tech, but I’d have to be under anesthesia.”
That's why she looked so scared. Last time she had been knocked out, she had fallen through a wormhole and died. The time before that was in the cave.
“Come here.” he pulled her against him, and she was so small, he felt like if he held her close enough he could protect her from the world, and the aliens and the nazis and everything else that wanted to hurt her,
Not that she needed his help, he just liked keeping her safe.
“I can hear your caveman thoughts from here.” She grumbled, and he laughed, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “It’ll only be worse after the surgery, you know.” Because of course she was going to get it, if she didn't get it over with she’d never do it, and she really didn't want to hear any more of Clint’s ‘have to recharge’ jokes. “You’ll be stuck in bed for, like, at least a week.” Steve went on, and Toni hit her head against his chest, letting out a groan. “You’ll just have to sit there and let me take care of you.”
“You're managing to make bedrest sound even worse than surgery.”
“I'm gonna take care of you so much, and there’s nothing you can do to stop me! Ha, ha ha!” He was talking like a cartoon villain, but he was smiling so sweetly down at her that Toni decided to just indulge him.
“Oh, no!” She went limp, trusting Steve to hold her up, “How ever will I escape being coddled by my gorgeous supersoldier boyfriend?”
He smirked, leaning in to kiss her.
“There is no escape, baby.” and damn if she didn't go just a bit weak in the knees when he let his Brooklyn accent slip out. “I’m stickin’ by you forever.”
She smiled against his lips.
“Forever. I like the sound of that.”
---