Fated Marks

I woke up the next morning and went out on my usual run. It went well, I didn’t choke on nothing and collapse. I passed by the bistro down the street and picked up breakfast and coffee to go. I jogged up the stairs and knocked on Clint’s door.

“It’s open.” He called out.

“Morning I said as I walked in to find him lying on the couch. “How’s the back?”

“Better but still sore.” He answered.

“Well I got you something to cheer you up.” I said putting the coffee down in front of him along with breakfast.

“I love you.” Clint said looking at his coffee.

‘Was that for me or the coffee?” I asked.

“If I told you you’re probably hit me.” he said making me laugh.

“I’ll be back, need to shower.” I said.

“When you come back… can you do the back thing?” he asked.

“Sure.” I said before heading to shower.

I quickly dressed up in my favorite dark wash jeans and a red peplum top with some black heels.

“Okay, fork over the bacon.” I said.

“You got here just in time, Lucky was just about to jump for it.” Clint said passing me my plate.

“Mh, French toast.” I said as I started shoveling food into my mouth.

“You look good in red.” Clint said.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked.

“Nothing it’s just makes you look younger.” Clint said.

“I’m only eighteen.” I said. ‘Well nineteen.”

“I forgot your birthday.” Clint said sadly.

“In all honesty I forgot too.” I said. “It was a busy month. Speaking of I’m probably going to be home late”

“I can pick you up.” Clitn offered.

“Oh no, you’re staying put and relaxing today.” I said putting the empty plate down.

“Can you sit up?” I asked.

“Do I have to?” Clint whined.

“Actually this might be better.” I said moving over. “Lower back still bothering you?”

“Yeah.” He said.

“Okay.. just gonna work on some of those knots and then work up to that.” I said running my hands down his back.

“Uh.” Clint moaned.

“You’ve got to be more careful with the heavy lifting.” I said.

“Are you calling me old?” He said.

“Well you’re not as young as you used to be.” I answered.

“Mh. Cal…” Clint moaned. “Don’t stop.”

“You have a huge…” I started increasing the pressure working through a knot.

“You know its stuff like this that makes people think you’re a couple.” Will said.

‘Hey, how long have you been there?” I asked.

“Around the time Clint moaned your name very loudly.” Will said.

“Someone threw out his back and I’m just working through some knots.” I said.

“She has magic hands.” Clint said before moaning.

“Well you think you could take a break for a couple of minutes to meet potential roommates?” Will said.

“I don’t think I have a choice do I?” I asked.

“Nope.” Will said helping me up.

“Want to come?” I asked but all I got in response was a snore. “guess not.”

“I have a few people lined up but I settled for three. Was going to be four but one of them had a doctor’s appointment.” Will said.

“Let’s see what you’ve got.” I said standing up. I gave Lucky the last slice of bacon before following Will out to the hall where there was a line. “Uh hi?”

“There are a lot of people interested in the room.” Will said. “A lot.”

“Okay lets head in shall we?” I said opening the door to the apartment.

Interview #1-

“Hi” I said as the first person came in.

“Hello.” She said coming in wearing a tailored pants suit.

“Quinn King.” She said giving me a strong hand shake.

“Callie.” I said.

“Oh I know who you are.” She said. “My resume.”

“Resume?” I asked turning to Will as I held the very thick folder.

“You’ll find my resume along with my most current credit report, tax transcripts from the past three years, along with references from former land lords, roommates and neighbors.” She said. “I also included a timetable of my daily schedule so we don’t have to fight for the shower or bathroom. You can just work around that.”

“Right so, your resume said your working towards your MBA?” I asked.

“Yes when I’m not at school or at work I like to come home and study. I require absolute silence.” She said.

“How do you feel about guests?” I asked.

“No, My home is my sanctuary and not for socializing.” She said.

“So you would have a problem with me having people over?” I asked.

“What you do in your bedroom is your business but I expect the living room and bathroom to be empty with the exception of yourself.” She said.

“Well thank you for your time.” I said.

“Can’t I ask you any questions?” She said.

“No need.” I said handing her back her resume and opening the door.

“Should I expect…” She started.

“Next!” I called out.

Interview #2-

“Hi.” I guy said coming in.

“Hi.” I said. “I’m Callie.”

“Chad, nice to meet you.” He said not making eye contact and instead checking me out.

“Same here. Please sit down.” I said before walking past him and spent a lot of time looking at my ass. “So tell me about yourself.”

“I just moved to New York. Just graduated from Yale.” He said.

“Congrats. What’s you major in?” I asked.

“Economics, I’m a hedgefund manager.” He said with a smirk. “So you know I can pay the bills and then some.”

“What do you think about the real estate market? Really good time to invest right?” I asked already knowing the answer.

“Oh totally the market is steadily recovering and prices are just gonna keep soaring but I think bit coin is a better investment.” He said.

“And we’re done.” I said.

“I’m sorry?” Chad asked.

“You haven’t stopped staring at my ass since you walked in here, your ego needs it’s own apartment and this economic bubble we’re in is going to collapse sooner than you’d think and bit coin, is like you. All talk no results.” I said standing up to open the door.

“What would you know? You’re probably just an art history major who reads the times once a month and thinks she knows everything?” he yelled.

“I’m a triple major in business administration, communications and computer science and I trade stock quite a bit.” I said opening the door. “Good luck with bit coin. Next!”

“Fine I didn’t know living here would involve living with a psychotic bitch!” He shouted.

“Better than living with a douchebag.” I said.

“Seriously Cal?” Will said.

“What can I say you set the bar pretty high.” I said walking back inside.

Interview #3-

“Okay, You get one more then I’m heading in to work.” I said.

“Can you at least try to keep an open mind?” Will asked.

“Where do you even find these people?” I asked.

“Sarah, you want to come in.” Will said as a friendly looking girl came in wearing a flowery dress.

“Hi, you must be Callie.” She said cheerfully.

“I am nice to meet you.” I said shaking her hand.

“So are you a student?” I asked.

“Yes grad student, English literature.” She said.

“What’s your focus?” I asked.

“Nineteenth century.” She said.

“Nice.” I said. “Are you originally from New York?”

“Jersey actually.” She said.

“So is there anything that would be a deal breaker for any potential roommates?” I asked.

“I have friends over and I love to cook so dinner parties happen more often than not.” She said.

“Cal’s a baker and a pretty great cook.” Will said.

“It’s been a while since I’ve had time for it though. I also like having people over. My best friend Clint, he lives down the hall he’s over all the time. So are Will and Josh.” I said.

“The more the merrier. So your friend Clint, you and him close.” She asked.

“Uh…” Will started.

“Yeah. We hang out all the time. If I’m not here then chances are I’m over there and same for him. He’s a great guy and easy to get along with.” I said.

“Oh.” She said.

“Do you have any questions for me?” I asked.

“Are you in love with him?” She asked.

“Excuse me?” I asked.

“Clint? Are you in love with him?” She asked.

“He’s my best friend and I love him but it’s strictly platonic.” I said.

“Oh okay.” She said.

“So Would you like a tour of the place?” I asked.

“That won’t be necessary.” She said standing up. “I already have a place. I just wanted to check out the competition.” She said with a sneer.

“Competition?” I asked.

“See you around Will. Cal.” She sneered before flipping her hair over her shoulder and walking out.

“What was that?” I asked.

“That was Sarah.” Will said.

“I know her name.” I said.

“The Sarah I set Clint up with for a date this Friday.” Will said.

“Are you serious? Dude she’s intense.” I said.

“Yeah, she’s not usually like that.” Will said.

“I’m sure she’s not.” I said.

“I’ll put out more feelers and see if we can get…” Will started.

“Will stop. I think we should just wait a bit.” I said.

“Cal.” Will started.

“Obviously what you think I need in a roommate and what I need are different. I’ll start looking for someone.” I said.

“We both know you’re actually not going to look.” He said.

“Yeah I actually will. I found you didn’t I?” I said grabbing my bag.

“I have one more interested party.” Will said.

“Will.” I said.

“It’s a couple. They’re both really good guys. Really hot. I think you’ll like them.” Will said. “Just meet them. If you don’t like them then I’ll back off.”

“Promise?” I asked.

“Promise.” Will said.

“Okay but until then I have to get going.” I said opening the door. We walked out and I went into Clint’s apartment. I made sure Lucky had enough food and water. Clint was still knocked out on the couch. I grabbed a throw blanket from one end of the couch and draped it over him.

I locked up behind me and headed out.

“You know, when you two showed up at out door in the middle of the night saying you were ready to date I thought you two finally realized how you really felt.” Will said.

“Dude we’re just friends.” I said.

“Keep telling yourself that.” Will said. “See you.”

“Bye.” I said heading to the subway.

Walking into work was the same as it had ever been. Except today was the start of the trial. Bruce and Tony would actually be attaching the sensors directly to the participant’s nerves. The actual procedure had to be performed with minimal anesthetic to make sure it was done correctly. While Bruce and Tony were doing that I was in charge of helping plan the spring gala. It was for the stark foundation and a Stark had to be directly involved in some way so Tony sent me to represent me.

I got the boring job but someone had to do it and as Tony liked to point out I didn’t have a degree yet.

I went up to the lab to drop off the usual lunch orders minus the coffee before heading up to the conference room. Everyone was already there, including Pepper Potts.

Just give her one more reason to hate me.

“Tony keeping you busy Callie?” She asked with a smile.

“No more than usual. Sorry I’m late.” I said sitting down.

“Don’t worry we were just catching up.” She said. “So what cause are we fundraising for this time?”

“First Responders of New York.” Someone chimed in.

The meeting went on for about an hour and a half maybe more when I suddenly got a text from Tony telling me to get down to medical ASAP.

“Uh, Excuse me I something just came up I need to get on top of ASAP.” I said.

“Is everything alright?” Pepper asked sounding concerned.

“Yeah, just a small hiccup with the boss’s lunch.” I said excusing myself before heading down to medical. The elevator doors opened to the almost empty waiting room. The only person there was steve and he was pacing.

“Steve?” I called out.

“Callie? What’s going on? I heard screams.” Steve said.

“Not sure just got here.” I said.

“Is Bucky okay?” Steve said panicking.

“Steve, I’m sure he’s fine. But I’m going back there, if anything happens I’ll let you know okay?” I said.

“Please.” Steve said freaking out.

I quickly flashed my badge at the door and went through. I knocked at the door of the room Tony and Bruce were in with Bucky. They both came out while Bucky stayed with one of the nurses.

“I got your message what do you need?” I asked.

“Uh well…” Tony said looking away.

“Tony freaked out our patient.” Bruce said.

“What? What’d you do?” I asked.

“I may have made a bicentennial man joke and then called him a terminator…” Tony said.

“Tony!” I said.

“I was kidding around, you get my sense of humor.” He said.

“Yeah but there’s such a thing called bedside manner. We talked about this.” I said.

“I know, I joke around more when I’m nervous.” He said.

“What do you need? Need me to get his boyfriend?” I asked.

“Boyfriend?” Tony asked.

“Steve.” Bruce said. “No, having family in a medical procedure is not a good idea. You two got along pretty well when he came in for the interview.”

“And he asked for you when he got here.” Tony said.

“What happened to no Ph.D no seat in OR?” I asked.

“Cal you’re probably one of the smartest people I know right next to Bruce and you’re smarter than most people with a Ph.D so please, please help me help your guy.” Tony said.

“I’ll wash up and put on a gown.” I said.

“Thank you.” Bruce said before going back inside.

I quickly washed up and put on a lab gown before heading inside. I signaled the nurse that I could take over and she said something and Bucky turned to look at me.

“Hey Sarge.” I greeted.

“Hey Doll.” He said trying to keep up his confident demeanor but his voice came out shaky instead.

“How you feeling?” I asked.

“I’ve been better.” He said.

“I can imagine. You are looking better than Steve though. With the way he’s pacing he’s going to make a hole in the waiting room floor.” I said.

“He worries too much.” Bucky said.

“I heard my boss freaked you out?” I said.

“He uh started talking about nerves and cutting and turning me into a cyborg.” Bucky said.

“It was a joke. I was trying to lighten the mood.” Tony defended.

“Tony!” I snapped.

“Shutting up now.” He said.

“Okay You want me to explain what’s going on?” I asked.

“Yeah.” He said.

“Okay the new arm Tony and Doctor Banner developed is supposed to have the same movement and function of a regular arm and the idea is that you’ll be able to control it the same way you do your other arm.” I said.

“But that’s not possible.” Bucky said.

“For most people that would be impossible to do. But for that guy, saying something is impossible is daring him to find a way to do it.” I said gesturing to Tony. Bucky eyed him skeptically. “Tony’s a lot of things, he’s can be arrogant, self absorbed, and so full of himself…”

“I’m right here Cal.” Tony reminded him.

“But that’s not all there is to him. He’s like an onion, he has a lot of layers and it takes a while to get through all of them but one you do you get to see what a great guy he is and what a good heart he has. If he didn’t he wouldn’t be doing any of this.” I said. “He may have a really bad bedside manner but there’s no one I’d trust more with something like this.”

“Do you really trust him?” Bucky asked.

“Put it to you like this. If I ever killed a guy he’d probably be the second person I called.” I said.

“Second?” Tony said offended.

“My brother’s a lawyer, he could talk a judge into giving his own nana a life sentence.” I said.

“So what’s going to happen to me?” Bucky asked.

“The procedure you’re going through right now is going to help make that possible or it should. It’s still a trial and its being tested. They’re going to go in and attach these sensors to your nerves. We’ll give it a few days and then test if they work. And if they do we go forward to the next phase.” I said.

“And if it doesn’t?” he asked.

“Then we don’t.” I said.

“You really think this could work?” Bucky asked Tony.

“I created a new element from my garage. This should be a cakewalk in comparison.” Tony said.

“Okay, Let’s do this.” Bucky said. “But I have one last question.”

“What is it?” Bruce asked.

“How much is this going to hurt?” Bucky asked and we all grimaced.

“Did you ever experience Phantom limb pain?” I asked. He didn’t say anything he just nodded. “It’s going to be like that, maybe worse. You have to be awake so we can know if the sensors are being applied right.” 

“The first surgery they did on my arm, was right after they found me. I was bleeding out so they had to start right then and there. They didn’t have enough to put me under or numb me so I was awake until the pain made me pass out. It felt like I was being stabbed with a hundred little knives.” Bucky shivered.

“If you want to back out now, it’s okay. No one will hold it against you.” Tony said.

“No, That was the worst pain I’d ever felt, I doubt anything could be worse. I lived through that. I can make it through this.” He said.

“We’re ready when you are.” Bruce said.

“Come on, time to lie back.” I said.

“Can… Can you stay with me?”Bucky asked.

“Uh… I’m not…” I said.

“That’s fine. If it makes you comfortable I’m fine with it. Bruce?” Tony asked.

“It would make things easier.” Bruce said.

“Okay.” I said as the nurse passed me a stool. “I’ll just sit here.”

“We’re gonna get started if you want us to stop or need a break don’t be afraid to say something.” Bruce said.

“Let’s do this.” Bucky said taking a deep breath and closing his eyes.

“We’re going to need to strap you down.” Tony said. “You can’t move.”

“Mhm.” Bucky hummed keeping his eyes closed.

Tony strapped him down and then they got to work. Bucky started sweating and whimpering.

I reached forward and grabbed his hand.

“Hey, you good?” I asked.

“uhuh.” He said.

“Your file said you lived in Brooklyn, have you always lived there?” I asked trying to distract him.

“I was born in Indiana but my folks move me and my sister here when I was eight.” He said through clenched teeth.

“Oh, I moved around a lot too up until I was six.” I said. “I remember how scared I was on my first day of school. The new kid appearing out of nowhere.”

“It wasn’t too bad for me. It was the beginning of the school year.” Bucky groaned squeezing my hand. “I didn’t stick out as much. And I had Steve.”

“You two grew up together?” I asked.

“Yeah, he was born and raised in Brooklyn. I remember the first time I saw him. He was getting the snot beaten out of him by these fifth graders. They were making fun of some kid and the little punk…MH!” He groaned loudly.

“It’s hard to imagine Steve being little since he’s so… big.” I said.

“He wasn’t always like that.” Bucky said. “Had a lot of trouble with asthma, in and out of the hospital a lot but nothing could ever keep him down!”

“I guess he doesn’t have that problem anymore.” I said.

“Nope, grew out of it.” Bucky panted.

“So you guys still live in Brooklyn?” I asked.

“Yeah for now.” He said.

“Got plans to move?” I asked.

“More like being for-aH!!! Mh!” He cried out.

“Sorry, that one’s a bit more sensitive, it’s a lot more in there.” Bruce said.

“It’s passing, it’s passing.” Bucky breathed through it. “Brooklyn’s home but it’s changing a lot. More commercial real estate. Rent’s going up. These… hipsters are moving in.”

“Those hipsters, horrible for locals but they make a mean churro.” I said.

“Churro’s please give me a cannoli anyday. There’s this place down the block Dino’s.” Bucky said.

“They make the best tiramisu and lobster tails.” I groaned.

“You know it?” Bucky said with a smile.

“They’re the reason I started running every morning. When I first moved to New York I’d be there every weekend. Haven’t been in ages.” I said.

“Uh, I’m gonna miss those cannoli.” Bucky whined before yelping.

“So you’re moving?” I asked.

“We don’t have a choice. They’re building a new mall down the street and it’s going to be open soon. We can barely make rent now as it is and mh… it would be too high. My sister said we can stay with her and her husband a while but we need to think long term.” Bucky said.

“So you and Steve are a couple right?” I asked.

“Sorry to break your heart doll.” He said.

“Oh trust me you might be able to make it up to me sooner than you think.” I said.

“We just have a few more to go.” Tony said.

“My roommate and his fiancé moved out a while ago and I thought I would be okay living alone but apparently I suck at living alone. I may have forgotten to eat a few times. Sleep at normal hours… and may have reverted to having conversations by just grunting.” I said.

“That’s what that was?” Bruce asked.

“I have my days.” I said. “I had interviews this morning and they were horrible. I had a control freak that wanted to schedule my bowel movements, a douche that couldn’t stop staring at my ass and a psycho stalker. Point is I have an empty room in an apartment on the Upper west side, above a bar that serves the best wings and fries with a bouncer that looks like the hottest Viking you will ever see and talks like Shakespeare and if you’re interested you guys can come over and take a look.”

Bucky couldn’t help but laugh at that. “We have a friend we met at trivia night at this bar we go to that was going to show us an apartment today but we had to move it. He said gave us that exact line.” Bucky said. “Well almost the same.”

“Wait… trivia night. Is his name by chance Will?” I asked.

“Yeah?” Bucky said.

“With a fiancé named Josh?” I asked.

“Yeah… You’re Cal!” Bucky said. “I thought they were talking about a guy this entire time.”

“You’re the couple that had to cancel.” I said.

“Small… ah!” Bucky yelped.

“And that’s the last one.” Tony said.

“Small… hm… world.” Bucky groaned.

“Small indeed.” I said. “You okay?”

“Uhuh, can I uh get some water?” he asked.

“Sure.” I said going to grab a glass. “Here you go.”

“Mh thanks.” He said lying back. “Steve was going to call Will later to see if the spot was still open but considering the horrible interviews I’m guessing it’s still open?”

“Very open.” I said. “How do you feel about having people over?”

“The best friend from down the hall?” Bucky asked.

“Clint yeah, we hang out a lot.” I said.

“Will says you’re in denial about being in love with him.” Bucky said making Tony and Bruce laugh.

“We’re just friends. We’re close.” I said.

“You’d be okay living with two guys? We’re kind of a mess.” Bucky said.

“I need someone to remind me to eat, sleep and take regular breaks so I don’t talk by just grunting. It doesn’t get much messier than that.” I said.

“I get night terrors, Steve and I have PTSD.” Bucky said.

“I met Steve at the park when I started choking and collapsed.” I said.

“So how much would rent be?” he said.

“How about we talk about that after you let your boyfriend know you found a place?” I said.

“That might be a good idea.” Bucky said.

“Well Sarge you did good. We’re going to move you to a recovery room where you’re staying over night to monitor you.” Tony said.

“Okay.” He said getting sleepy.

“I’ll stop by for a visit tomorrow. With some cannoli from Dino’s.” I said.

“Best roommate ever.” He said yawning.

“Just wait til you move in.” I said walking out.

“So I’m an onion.” Tony said.

“It’s a figure of speech.” I said.

“And I’m the second person you’d call? Really Cal I’m hurt. You get one phone call when you’re arrested and I’m number two?” Tony asked.

“Tony if I committed murder you’d be the second person I’d call because you have a public image to protect and I wouldn’t drag you down with me. But if I ever get arrested for anything else like a drunk and disorderly you’re my number one.” I said.

“But you’re my number one everything.” Tony said.

“That’s because you wouldn’t know what to do with yourself if I wasn’t around.” I said.

“Yeah I really wouldn’t,” he said giving me a side hug. Of course that was the exact moment Pepper walked in.

“Hi.” Pepper said.

“Pep Hey.” Tony said letting go of me to go greet his wife.

“Can you two cut the crap?” She said.

“Excuse me?” I asked confused.

“You two are sleeping together.” Pepper said and Tony and I just started laughing.

“HAHAHAHA!” Tony laughed.

“HAHAHAHA!” I laughed.

“Ah, wow Pep I don’t remember the last time I laughed that hard.” Tony said.

“I’m serious. You two are way too close.”  Pepper said.

“She’s my protégé.” Tony said.

“I’m his nanny.” I said.

“Nanny?” Tony asked.

“Yeah, I clean up after you, make sure you eat, get you to where you need to be on time. Answer your calls in the middle of the night and tell you to go back to sleep.” I said.

“That is not appropriate.” Pepper said. “And if there’s nothing going on between the two of you then why did I find this in our room?”

Pepper held out a silver chain with a tiny bird pendant.

Suddenly my ears started ringing and it started getting really hard to breathe.

"Penelope," Allison called out before sighing. "Penelope! Uh, that girl." She said frustrated as she walked up the stair towards her daughter's room.

"Penelope." She said storming into her daughter's room. "What are you doing in there? I've been calling for you."

"Sorry." Calliope whispered.

"What are you doing inside our closet?" Allison said.

"It's safe in here." Calliope said.

"I thought you were afraid of the dark?" Allison said.

"There are scarier things." Callie mumbled.

"You want to tell me what's wrong?" Allison asked.

"Nothing." Callie said.

"Then why are you hiding in your closet?" She retorted but her daughter didn't say anything. "Calliope I have a very important meeting."

"I don't want you to go." Callie said. 

"We've been through this I have to work." Allison said.

"That man hurt you." Callie said.

"It was a misunderstanding." Allison said.

"But what if he does it again and this time he doesn't stop and you never come back?" Callie said tearing up.

"Calliope." Allison said and her daughter looked away. She sighed before walking in the closet and sitting down next to her daughter. "I need you to understand that what I do I do for the good of this family. You, your brother and I each have jobs to do and that's why I leave."

"But what if you don't come back?" Callie said.

"That's never going to happen." Allison said.

"How do you know that?" Callie asked.

Allison stayed quiet before reaching behind her and taking off her necklace. "Do you know what this is?" She asked.

"Your necklace." Callie said.

"Yeah. Your father gave it to me the day night we met. He made it himself, and he said the stones are from his home and that they would help him find his way back to me. I never take it off. Keep it and I'll always find my way back to you." Allison said.

"Pinky Promise?" Callie said.

"I promise." Allison said linking her pinky with her daughters. 

“Ah!” I gasped.

“Cal! You okay?” Tony said seeming worried.

“Yeah, just felt a bit dizzy. Shouldn’t have skipped lunch. I’m really sorry about that Miss Potts.” I said.

“Are you sure you don’t want to sit down?” Pepper asked.

“No it’s fine. It’s past. I’m really sorry about this misunderstanding. That’s actually my necklace. I was wearing it the other day when I picked up Tony’s dry cleaning. The clasp has always been a bit loose. It must’ve fallen off.” I said.

“Are you sure?” She said.

You work for me, you report to me directly and outside of the lab your main priority is to watch my back.

“Yes, I’m sure.” I said. “I should probably let Steve know Bucky’s being moved to the recovery room. Is that everything?”

“Yes, thank you.” Pepper said handing me the necklace.

“Excuse me.” I said taking the necklace and walking away. I walked away as fast as I could and ran into a restroom. I locked the door behind me and leaned against it. I started panting and my chest felt tight. I slid down and sat on the floor as everything started getting blurry.