Fated Marks

“She said oh oh Shut up and dance with me!” Will and I sang loudly as we drove up to the garage entrance of the Tower. We hadn’t stopped laughing the entire ride over.

“Uh my cheeks hurt.” I said laughing a bit.

“I know, don’t remember the last time I laughed this much.” Will said parking the car.

“You sure you don’t want to come up for dinner?” I asked.

“Footsy’s on his way back.” Will said making me chuckled.

“Can’t believe you actually call him footsy.” I said.

“What else am I going to call him?” Will said.

“You could always ask for his name.” I suggested.

“Considering I’ve been screwing him whenever I’m in between relationships for the past five years asking for his name now would be awkward.” Will said.

“Well, have fun and remember.” I started.

“Wrap it before you tap it. I know.” Will said.

“Night.” I said grabbing my bags and the goodies I brought everyone before heading inside. The first thing I noticed was the new car in the garage. Good to know they mean it when they say same day delivery. Can’t wait to take that out for a spin.

I headed up to my floor and dropped of the shopping bags before going to the common room.

“Hey sorry I’m late but I brought goodies.” I said walking into the kitchen and putting down the boxes of baked goods.

“That’s a lot of goodies.” Steve said.

“Yeah, Will and I couldn’t decide what we were craving so we just got everything.” I said taking off the sunglasses I had on my head.

“Did that include the new car?” Tony asked.

“It was time to trade in the Batmobile and Will also needed a car so yeah.” I said.

“You look tan.” Natasha said.

“Went to the beach.” I said. “It was a pretty great day. What’d you guys do all day?”

“Lab.” Tony said. “Speaking of your last couple of tests should be in by tomorrow morning.”

“I put together the new bed.” Thor said.

“After he broke the first one he tried to put together.” Clint teased.

“Those instructions were not in any tongue I recognized.” Thor defended.

“I know they’re really tricky.” I said squeezing Thor’s knee reassuringly.

“Speaking of how did you two manage to break a solid oak bed?” Tony asked and I felt my face heat up.

“Uh… It was pretty wobbly already.” I said.

“Could have broken at any moment.” Thor seconded.

“Right so those finger indentations in the headboard…” Tony started

“Warped wood.” I answered.

“Solid oak, not that solid.” Thor backed me up.

“Hey Steve where’s Bucky?” I said abruptly changing the subject.

“Uh he’s in his room.” Steve said. “He wasn’t feeling up to dinner.”

“Oh.” I said. “Guess I’ll just save him some cannoli’s for tomorrow.”

“I’m sure he’ll appreciate it.” Steve said before turning to Tony. “Guess now’s a good a time as any to tell everyone the news.” 

“News?” Natasha asked.

“You’re all getting evicted.” Tony said smirking and I glared at him.

“Good thing the house is finished.” Clint said.

“Tony.” I glared at him before nodding towards Wanda who I could tell was internally panicking.

“Okay it’s not exactly an eviction more of a relocation.” Tony corrected. “The Tower’s getting a bit cramped and it was time for an expansion. Which is why I had an old Stark Industries warehouse upstate remodeled and expanded into the new…” Tony said tapping something on his phone before a projection of the new compound appeared. “Avengers Headquarters. Olympic sized swimming pool. Jet hanger. Training room with indoor obstacle courses, target ranges, Labs, fully equipped medical… basically all the toys you guys could ever need.”

“Looks great.” Natasha said.

“Of course it does. I designed it.” Tony said proudly.

“It is a bit big for just six of us though.” She said.

“Five actually.” Thor said. “I have been away from Asgard for far too long and there are matters I must look into.”

“Five of us.” Natasha said.

“Four.” Tony said looking at me. “I’m taking a back seat from avenging. Its time I focus on other things.”

“It’s a big compound for just four of us.” Natasha said.

“Which is why we’ve starting looking into recruiting new team members.” Steve said. “Sam said he’s in.”

“Rhodey’s still thinking on it which means he’s in.” Tony said. “Plus we have a lot of former Shield agents we’re still trying to find the right place for in the company. Think they’ll fit in better with you guys.”

“And we’ll be ten minutes down the road if you ever need us.” Clint said. “In case of emergencies.”

“I’ll be checking in on all of you to make sure you stay out of trouble.” I said. “but when it comes down to tech support like hacking you go to tech support. For all intents and purposes I’m retired.”

“What about your…” Steve started.

“Retired.” I repeated.

“Your mother…” Natasha said.

“If she makes a move, which she eventually will, deal with it as you see fit and leave me out of it.” I said. “I know myself and I know that if I do get pulled into this I will fall back into old habits and I’d rather not go back into coma world or you know die.”

“All right. You’re out of the loop.” Steve said.

“Thank you.” I said.

“Guess we should start looking at furniture.” Clint said.

“I haven’t seen the house since the ceiling collapsed.” I said.

“Well I fixed that.” Clint said. “Patched up the walls, evicted the family of racoons living in the attic, repainted the exteriors, put in those marble counter tops you wanted…”

“It’s pretty much a new house.” Natasha interrupted.

“Can’t wait to see it.” I said. “Oh you free tomorrow? I need to break in the new car and the open roads going pushing over a hundred…”

“You’ve been going over a hundred?” Steve said and everyone look looked at me sternly.

“No I meant it felt like I was going a hundred. No traffic up there no stopping every three feet.” I said.

“Right.” Tony said not believing a word I said.

“Well I have to take Lucky for his teeth cleaning tomorrow morning, we can head out around lunch and drive back tomorrow morning.” Clint suggested.

“Sounds like a plan.” I said and I saw Natasha and Steve giving each other weird looks. “You two okay?”

“We’re good.” Natasha said smiling.

“Uh Hayley I was wondering…” Steve started and everyone stayed quiet. What is up with everyone today? “If you’re free tomorrow?”

“I do have a road trip but I’m free in the morning.” I said.

“Breakfast at that diner down the street?” Steve asked. “Maybe a walk around the park?”

“Sounds fun.” I said. “8am?”

“Is that too early?” He asked.

“A bit but it’ll give us extra time.” I said smiling.

“Eight it is.” Steve said.

“So when’s the big move?” Natasha asked.

“End of next week.” Tony said. “Movers will take care of everything.”

Tony spent the rest of dinner bragging about all the cool new features of the new compound. After dessert everyone went back to their own floors.

“Hales you coming?” Clint asked.

“I’ll catch up.” I said. “Need to check on something downstairs.”

With that I turned to the stairs and headed down to the labs. I was still working on getting back in shape. When I finally got to the lab I found Tony tinkering with a circuit board.

“New suit?” I asked and Tony jumped a bit.

“Starkpad prototype.” Tony said rubbing his eyes.

“You haven’t been sleeping.” I said.

“I took a nap.” Tony said. “Got like three hours.”

“Friday how long did Tony sleep?” I asked.

“Thirty minutes ma’am.” He said.

“Today?” I asked crossing my arms and staring at Tony.

“Yesterday ma’am.” Friday asked.

“Tony.” I said.

“I’m not tired.” He said.

“You haven’t slept in days.” I said.

“I took a nap.” He retorted

“Yesterday and that doesn’t count as a nap.” I said.

“You know I’m an insomniac.” Tony said.

“I also know that after a bad mission you have a tendency to bury yourself in work until you burn out.” I said. “It’s not good for you. You weren’t sleeping before Sokovia and I know for sure you aren’t now.”

“You don’t sleep either.” Tony said.

“I was asleep for over a year. I have some stuff to catch up on. People to take care of. Including you.” I said walking over to him. I stood next to him as he kept his eyes on the circuit board. He stayed still just looking at it. He was squinting a bit but I knew that meant he was having a hard time seeing what he was doing. I put a hand on Tony’s shoulder. “Honey what’s going on?”

“I almost destroyed the world.” Tony said.

“That was Ultron.” I said.

“I created Ultron.” Tony said throwing down his pliers on the table. “I gave up the weapons business because I wanted to make the world a better place but instead I almost destroyed it.”

“You were trying to keep the world safe.” I said. “You went about it the wrong way and it back fired but that’s how major advances are made. You created Ultron and it backfired but then you took that same idea and helped make Vision. I don’t really know him very well but he helped save the world so that’s a big upgrade.”

“That was all Bruce.” Tony said.

“Bruce didn’t make Jarvis.” I reminded him.

“Vision isn’t Jarvis.” Tony said.

“He talks like Jarvis, answers questions like Jarvis, has Jarvis’ interface and protocols…” I listed. ”He’s essentially Pinocchio except instead of a fairy turning him into a real boy it was a shiny space stone.”

Tony didn’t say anything just put his arms around me and hugged me.

“I’m following you into retirement.” Tony said. “I can afford to retire early.”

“No you’re not.” I said. “You’d get too bored. Probably blow up the tower or remodel it so much you can’t even tell what you changed anymore.”

“Then what am I going to do with all the extra space?” Tony complained.

“Expand R&D? Didn’t you say you wanted to open up another branch of Biomed engineering in New York? Or another branch of Starkle? Get into the car industry?” I suggested running my fingers through his hair making him moan. “But for now how about we go upstairs.”

“Trying to get me into bed?” Tony asked kissing behind my ear making me blush.

“Yeah, I really am.” I said pulling away a bit and taking his hand leading him to the elevator. Tony was literally dead on his feet. I think the real reason he was hugging me the entire time was because if he let go he’d probably fall asleep on the floor. We got to his floor and I walked him to his bed. Tony sat on the edge drifting in and out of sleep still not admitting he was tired.

I gently pushed him to lie down before taking off his shoes for him. Just as I was about to tuck him in he sat up again.

“Tony, you’re tired.” I said trying to get him to lie back. He put his arms around my waist and pulled me down with him. “Ah!” I said by surprise. I moved onto my back and Tony kept his arms around me moving to lie on top of me with his head resting on my stomach while he hugged me.

“Hm, you’re comfy.” Tony mumbled.

“Wow, now I know for sure you’re tired.” I said running my fingers through his hair.

“Not tired. Just resting my eyes.” He mumbled.

“If you say so.” I said before I remembered something. “Your birthday’s coming up. Are you throwing another party?”

“Mh yeah but I’m only inviting you.” Tony said making me laugh.

“That’s not much of a party.” I said.

“It’s enough.” He said. “Take a break from parties. Last one didn’t end too great.”

Right Ultron crashed the afterparty to the last one…

“How about instead of a party we have a little getaway? Find a nice beach somewhere just the two of us for a few days.” I suggested.

“Sounds nice.” He said smiling with his eyes closed. “I’ll set it up later…”

With that he was out. I held him while he slept for about an hour. I was pretty much trapped under him which was weirdly comfortable but I started getting hungry, like really hungry and I couldn’t figure out why.

I had a high calorie smoothie for breakfast. Stopped for a Frappuccino while we were shopping. Finished an entire bag of chips. Had a well portioned sandwich and iced tea at the beach with some gelato. Had a cookie at Will’s… salad, pork chop and mashed potatoes with gravy at dinner with a donut I split with Natasha.

Aw that sounded amazing right now…

I shouldn’t be hungry though…

Then my stomach started growling. Yeah that doesn’t matter. I slowly started wiggling out of Tony’s arms which was not easy. I had to slowly sneak in a pillow as I moved so Tony wouldn’t move too much. When stumbled a bit as I got out from under him but he was lout cold and didn’t wake up.

I headed downstairs and straight to the kitchen. I was hungry. I wonder if there were any leftovers?

I walked into the kitchen and noticed I wasn’t the only one who was craving a midnight snack.

“Anything good?” I asked and Bucky jumped a bit bumping his head.

“Mh.” He grunted.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” I said and he didn’t say anything. “Just got hungry.”

Bucky didn’t say anything just offered me an apple.

“I think…” I said walking to the other side of the kitchen, closer to Bucky and he tensed. I grabbed the box of cannoli and donuts. “There we are.” I picked up the box of donuts and put them on the counter.

“Part of catching you up on how much everything has changed in the past seventy years is all the new food. You know thirty one flavors of ice cream, shots that are actually on fire…” I said and Bucky just had a blank look on his face. “They make donuts filled with peanut butter and toppings like marshmallows but my all time favorite...” I said opening the box. “The Maple bacon donut. Maple glaze topped with bacon bits.”

I slowly moved the box closer to him. He eyed me skeptically.

“It’s really good.” I said biting into a donut. He picked one up but didn’t bite it just yet.

“Bacon isn’t sweet.” He said.

“That’s what makes it so good. The mix of sweet and salty.” I said. He looked at me then his donut before taking a bite.

“Mh.” He moaned.

“Good right?” I said.

“Yeah.” Bucky said.

We stood where we were and just ate our donuts in silence. While I was eating I hacked into Friday and made sure Tony wouldn’t be able to get in tomorrow until noon just to be sure he actually slept.

We finished it and I was still hungry. I wasn’t going to say anything but them my stomach started growling very loudly. Bucky just watched me.

“I’ve been eating a lot.” I said grabbing the box of cannoli and grabbing one. “Like three full meals, snacks, midnight snacks, snacks in between snacks and I’m still hungry all the time.”

Bucky didn’t say anything.

“Am I ranting again?” I asked and he still didn’t say anything. “Well since we’re both up how about we watch a movie? Do you have a list of recommendations?”

Still nothing.

“We can also see something I haven’t watched either. I have a year of movies to catch up on.” I said.

“Why are you so… nice to me?” Bucky asked.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” I asked.

“I almost killed you.” He said.

“You didn’t decide that.” I said. “You were brainwashed and ordered to take me out after I made a deal to take out Hadrian. If you didn’t shoot they would have put you back in that chair and neither of us would be here right now.”

“I shot you point blank and I threw you over a cliff.” Bucky said tearing up. I put a hand on his shoulder and he shrugged it off.

“You were a sniper back in the forties. You broke a bunch of records at the time and with Hydra you never left anyone alive. You never missed. You shot me point blank but you didn’t shoot me in the head, or the heart or anywhere that would have killed me on the spot.” I said before lifting up my top so he could see the scar. “Two inches up or to the right I’d be dead. You don’t miss a shot like that point blank.”

“I still did it.” Bucky said and watched him. Looks like Tony wasn’t the only one that hadn’t been sleeping.

“You feel guilty for what Hydra made you do and you feel like you should be punished for it but you’re not going to get that with me.” I said. “I made a choice and I stand by it. You didn’t have a choice, it wasn’t your fault and I don’t blame you and I’m going to tell you that as many times as I have to until you accept it. It wasn’t your fault Bucky.”

Bucky just stood there deep in thought. I patted his shoulder and nodded toward the couch. I sat down and turned on the TV to play the first movie on the list. It was some space movie. Thought that might be a safe bet... nothing too violent.

I sat down on one end of the couch while Bucky stayed on the other end. I left the remainder of the cannoli on the coffee table.

The movie was actually pretty good. Sandra Bullock was amazing and the effects were great. About half way through the movie I saw Bucky starting to nod off while he leaned against his bent arm. I grabbed a pillow and placed it next to me before patting it. Bucky turned to me confused and I pat the pillow again.

“Come on.” I said. “I don’t bite.”

He stared at me before giving in and lying down on the couch. We went back to watching the movie. I looked down and Bucky kept moving around. I reached up and started running my fingers through his hair and wow it was so soft and perfectly conditioned. He moved to lie on his back and stare at me.

“Sorry, habit. I normally do that with Nat.” I said moving my hand back.

Bucky just stared at me before turning back to the TV.

“It’s okay.” Bucky said.

I didn’t try to run my fingers through his hair again. I think I was already pushing it by asking him to lie down.

“Feels nice.” Bucky mumbled.

I hesitated before starting again. Slowly and very very gently. I kept it up until the end of the movie. I looked down and Bucky was peacefully asleep. I shut off the TV before standing up and grabbing a blanket from the other couch. I draped it over Bucky before shutting off all the lights in the kitchen and heading downstairs.

I tip toed inside so I wouldn’t wake up Clint and Nat. I changed and brushed my teeth before crawling into the space they always left between them.

“Hey.” Clint said before putting his arms around me.

“Hey.” I said kissing him as I rubbed his cheek.

“Everything okay?” He asked.

“Yeah just tucking Tony in and still wasn’t tired so I watched a movie.” I said. “Might be taking a vacation with him in a few weeks.”

“Fun.” Clint said kissing my cheek. “We should go on vacation. After we set up the house.”

“Go back to Naples for pizza.” I said.

“Maybe that road trip we always talk about.” He said.

“Visit all fifty states.” I said.

“Go camping.” Clint said.

“Don’t push it.” I said.

“We’ll plan it out later.” He said kissing me.

“We have time.” I said.

“Lots of it.” Clint seconded.

“You do now use it to sleep.” Natasha said moving to her side to spoon me.

“Sorry.” I whispered. Clint chuckled before kissing me again. He cuddled close to me and drifted off to sleep.

The Next Morning-

I woke up a few hours later. Natasha had just left probably to go train or something but Clint was still in bed. I turned onto my side and watched him for a while. Clint started muttering in his sleep. couldn’t really tell what he was saying but he was smiling. Must be a good dream.

“Like the view?” Clint asked making me smile.

“Pretty great view.” I said.

“Nothing compared to mine.” He said.

“I have a bed head.” I said.

“I could help with that.” Clint said with a smirk before running his fingers through my hair and kissing me.

“Hm.” I moaned as I hugged him close. Clint moved to lie on me as we started making out. He slipped his hands under the oversized flannel I was wearing as I put my arm around his shoulder as I put a hand behind his head holding him close.

Clint pulled away to give us both a chance to catch our breath and just smiled down at me. “Still a better view.” He said making me laugh as I pulled him down to keep kissing him. I reached down to start pulling Clint’s shirt off before we were interrupted.

“Miss Adams.” Friday interrupted.

“No.” Clint groaned into my neck.

“What is it Friday?” I said annoyed.

“Captain Rogers is asking if you are ready for your date.” Friday said.

“Crap.” I groaned. “I forgot.”

“You need to get ready.” Clint said kissing me before getting off of me. “I’m going to pick up some snacks before we head out. Any requests?”

“All the usuals.” I said sitting up. “Are we taking Lucky”

“Not yet.” He said. “Want to make sure the floor’s on right and we should get some time without our kid.”

“Just wait until he gets some siblings. They’ll ambush us. Jump on the bed and to wake us up every day. We’re never going to sleep in again.” I said.

“Yeah.” Clint said imagining it. “I’m going to teach them how use a bow.”

“You really think that’s a good idea?” I asked. “A bunch of mini us that can shoot pointy things?”

“I wouldn’t teach them right away… They’d need to learn how to walk first.” Clint said making me laugh.

“And once they do I think we’ll be more worried about them climbing into vents…” I said.

“Or climbing cabinets and refrigerators if they take after you.” Clint said.

“I hope they take after you.” I said. “We both know crazy runs on my side. We might end up with another Hadrian or Dragon Lady or me.”

“My dad was a drunk, My mom joined in some times and my brother left me for dead in a ditch.” Clint said. “We might end up with one of them.”

We stared at each other before laughing.

“Maybe we didn’t have the best parents but that just means we know what not to do.” I said. “Let’s not raise our kids to be hacking, drug trafficking, money laundering…”

“Stealing assassins.” Clint finished. “Not unless they have no other choice.”

“Agreed.” I said. “One thing’s for sure, they’re going to be so freaking cute.”

“Can’t wait.” Clint said kissing me.

“Miss Adams.” Friday said.

“Crap, forgot.” I said getting up and walking to my closet. I grabbed the first thing I saw which ended up being a pair of black, white and mustard striped shorts, a white keyhole blouse and a black coat with tan ankle booties.

“Friday tell Steve I’m heading to him.” I said.

“He is in the elevator ma’am.” She answered.

“Oh crap.” I said going over and kissing Clint. “I’ll see you later.”

With that I ran out to the elevator where Steve was pacing in the elevator.

“Morning.” I said hugging Steve.

“Morning.” He said smiling at me.

“Sorry about that. I pressed the snooze alarm a few too many times and then there was pillowtalk… got a bit sidetracked.” I said.

“Don’t worry.” Steve said. “You’re here now.”

“And surprisingly really hungry.” I said as the elevator started moving down. “I ate like two donuts and three cannoli last night before bed and I was still hungry after.”

“I had the same problem after the serum.” Steve said. “You have to start eating more protein. It’ll fill you up more.”

“That might explain why I’ve been craving bacon so much.” I said as we got to the ground floor and I took Steve’s hand as we walked out.

The walk to the diner was pretty short and since it was still really early the diner was empty so we could take our usual booth in the back.

I ordered the usual French toast special with extra crispy bacon and hash browns while Steve ordered his usual omelet with extra bacon and sausage and a short stack of pancakes.

“Did you have fun with Will yesterday?” Steve asked.

“It was good. We talked a few things out.” I said.

“Is he still seeing that guy…” Steve said thinking about it. “I don’t really know his name…”

“Don’t worry Will doesn’t either.” I reassured him. “And yeah, I got a pretty good look at their relationship yesterday. One I could have lived without.”

“Well he seems better.” Steve said.

“He’s getting there.” I said sipping my coffee.

“I know what you mean. Didn’t think Buck’s getting anywhere with therapy. He was going everyday for a while but apparently too much therapy can actually stall the process.” Steve said.

“Well change is gradual. If he has to talk about his issues everyday he won’t have any time on his own to actually work on them.” I said. “At least that what Kevin told me once.”

“Are you thinking of going back?” Steve said.

“Back to what?” I asked.

“Therapy?” Steve asked.

“No, There’s no reason for me to go back.” I said. “I mean I only started going to therapy to work through my feelings for you all and I figured that out so I’m good.”

“Yeah.” Steve said nodding along as he picked at his food.

“Besides things are great right now. The world is safe. I’m out of a coma, officially retired for good this time, Clint finished the house and I’m finally going to get to see it today.” I said. “I seriously don’t remember ever being this… happy.”

“What are you going to do with all of your free time now that you’re retired?” Steve asked.

“I’m not going to have that much free time. I’m going to be running after all of you. I mean obviously not my husband considering he’s going back to Asgard and Bruce is still gone….” I said and Steve gave me a weird look. “What?”

“Sorry just still not used to you calling Thor your husband.” Steve said.

“You know I thought it’d be weird at first but it just feels right.” I said.

“But it was a fast decision.” Steve said. “You go out for a few hours next morning you’re married?”

“Okay I had to explain this to Will too.” I said. “We didn’t elope. We’ve technically been married for years. It’s just that we just officially formalized it.”

“So you’re not married?” He asked confused.

“We are on Asgard.” I said.

“But not on earth?” Steve asked.

“We are to each other.” I said.

“Come again?” Steve asked confused.

“You know just leave it at we’re committed to each other and while no one on Earth would probably see it as marriage it is to us and that’s all that matters.” I said.

“Okay…” Steve said still confused.  

“How are things with you? Excited about the big move?” I asked.

“It took me by surprise but I think its good timing. Global threats are getting bigger and the team does need to expand.” Steve said. “Tower’s starting to get a bit crowded. And if we learned anything with Ultron it’s that living in a populated area puts people in danger.”

“I think that’ll be an issue no matter where you go.” I said.

“Maybe but at least next time we’ll have a better chance of isolating any threats before they turn into global threats.” He said.

“Hindsight is 20/20.” I answered. “And you’ll have Sam around.”

“I still have to tell Bucky about that.” Steve said.

“I’m sure he’ll be fine.” I said.

“They don’t exactly like each other.” Steve said. “They bicker.”

“That doesn’t mean they don’t like each other. Will and I bicker all the time.” I said. “And we both know we can’t live without each other.”

“It’s not the same with them.” Steve said.

“Well as long as no one’s shooting each other or throwing knives assume they’re just kidding.” I said. “And Bucky bickering with someone it means he’s opening up a bit. That’s good.”

“It’s more than he talks to me. I knocked on his door this morning to see if he was up for a run but he didn’t answer.” Steve said.

“That’s probably because he wasn’t in his room,” I said sipping my coffee.

“What?” Steve said.

“Yeah. I ran into him in the kitchen after I tucked in Tony. We couldn’t sleep so we watched a movie and he fell asleep on the couch.” I said.

“Oh.” Steve said surprised by that.

“Guessing he has trouble sleeping?” I asked.

“It’s gotten better, the nightmares can be bad.” He said.

“Been there.” I said unconsciously rubbing my side. Steve didn’t miss that movement. “What about you?”

“I’m okay.” Steve said taking my hand. “Happy to have you back.”

“Started any new drawings or paintings while I was gone?” I asked.

“Uh not really.” He admitted. “Haven’t really been in right mood for it.”

“Oh well there are some pretty great landscapes near the compound.” I said. “The farm too.”

“Never really thought you’d leave the city for a farm.” Steve said.

“It’s not that far away.” I said. “And there’s nothing I do here I can’t do there.”

“But retiring…” Steve started.

“I think its been a long time coming don’t you?” I said.

“You not going off on your own, tracking down assassins yeah but leaving everything behind? Especially with your…” Steve started.

“No.” I said interrupting him. “Don’t ruin a great day by bringing up the dragon lady. I’m leaving behind the life of looking over my shoulder, blackmailing people and negotiating deals under the table for the life I always wanted with all of you. One with an actual home I won’t have to worry about coming home to severed arms or dead birds on my bed.”

“That’s not an issue anymore either way.” Steve said.

“I know it isn’t but this choice isn’t about them it’s about moving forward.” I said. “Have you ever thought about what comes next? After there are no more bad guys to take down and the world is safe? Or when you can’t do the job anymore?”

Steve just stayed quiet.

“It may seem like it’s years away but time flies and I love the life we all have together but I want us to have more than a few days in between alien invasions, terrorist attacks and evil robots.” I said.

“I don’t think that was ever in the cards for us.” Steve said.

“Of course it is.” I said. “Our courtship isn’t exactly normal and neither are any of us but we adjust and it works.”

“Right…” Steve said drinking his coffee.

We finished breakfast and then headed to the park for a walk. The weather lately had been great. Sun was out without a cloud in the sky. It wasn’t until I got a text from Tony asking me for access to his lab that I realized how late it was.

“Time to head back.” I said. “Still need to pack and lecture Tony on responsible lab time. Practically had to drag him out last night.”

“Right.” He said.

The walk to the Tower was quiet. And not comfortable quiet when you’re with someone that you can just say everything that needs to be said with looks and nods. It was awkward and tense and the worst thing was I had no idea what I did.

We went straight to the common room where Tony was moping as he inhaled an entire pot of coffee. Bucky wasn’t in the room so that meant he had already woken up.

“Morning.” I said hugging Tony and kissing his cheek making his scowl turn into a smile.

“You’re in a good mood.” Tony said.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” I said before putting a bagel from his favorite place in front of him.

“No reason.” He said. “Any chance you might let me into my lab early?”

“You have an hour before Friday will let you in. Have breakfast. Socialize. Then you can go back to being a science hermit.” I said.

“Hayley….” Tony whined elongating the last syllable in my name.

“You went on a science bender and you started squinting at a circuit board. You need a break.” I said as the elevator doors opened and Lucky ran at me. “Oh who’s a good boy.” I said hugging him as I scratched behind his ears. “How’d it go?”

“He whined the entire time and glared at me the entire way home.” Clint said.

“Had to hold his leash the entire way back.” Natasha seconded.

“That’s cuz they didn’t give you any treats after, Isn’t that right?” I said and Lucky barked. I laughed before getting up and grabbing him a treat.

“How was breakfast?” Natasha asked.

“Good.” Steve and I answered at the same time.

“I just need to pack and then we can head out.” I told Clint.

“It’s fine I have to go get Lucky settled upstairs.” He said.

“Why don’t you just move his stuff downstairs? Nat’s staying down there and that way he won’t get lonely.” I said. Clint turned to Nat and she nodded.

“You don’t mind?” Clint asked.

“Course not.” I said “I love this fur ball.”

“I’ll just go get his bed and things.” He said before heading up with Lucky following after him.

“I have to go pack.” I said before kissing Tony’s cheek. “Try to sleep tonight please.”

“I’ll try.” He said.

“Bye.” I said kissing Steve’s cheek making him smile.

“You heading down?” I asked Nat.

“In a minute.” She said.

Third Person’s POV-

“Did you talk to her?” Natasha asked as soon as Hayley walked out.

“No.” Steve said and Natasha just gave him a look. “I was but she’s happy and I don’t want to ruin it.”

“You have to talk to her.” She reiterated.

“She’s going to be mad if you don’t.” Tony said.

“She thinks everything’s good. She’s moving forward, planning a future…” Steve started.

“Yeah she’s been making plans.” Natasha said. “I woke up to Naples and a road trip.”

“I think she promised me a vacation on a beach last night.” Tony said. “I should look into that. She’s always wanted to go to Bali.”

“She’s happy, I don’t think I’ve ever seen her this happy and I don’t want to ruin things.” Steve said.

“That’s not it.” Natasha said knowing the look on Steve’s face.

“She asked what comes next.” Steve said.

“The endgame.” Tony said.

“She asked you too?” Natasha asked.

“I didn’t take the news of her moving out to great and talked to her about it while she was in the MRI.” Tony said. “We talked it out and she made a good point and besides it’s Hayley she’s going to be at the compound everyday making sure you’re all eating okay or remotely locking me out of the lab so I sleep. We’ll work it out the kinks as we go.”

“How can you be so sure?” Steve asked.

“I talk to her.” Tony said rolling his eyes. “Communication is the key to a healthy relationship.”

“Nat…” Steve said turning to ask Natasha something when he realized that she was already gone. “I have one soulmate that doesn’t want to talk to me and the other I don’t know how to talk to.”

“Did she ask how you were doing?” Tony asked.

“Three times.” Steve answered.

“That’s three openings you missed.” Tony said.

“I’m going to go check on Bucky. I might get a grunt out of him today.” Steve said.