Fated Marks

After an amazing weekend in Will’s apartment it was time to go back to home. Nat dropped me back at the house and before heading back to the compound. Clint spent most of the weekend gardening which was adorable. 

“Okay so what do we need to do before Italy?” I said. 

“We’re going to be gone for two weeks so clean out the fridge.” Clint said. 

“Dog sitter for Lucky.” I added. 

“Get travel sized everything.” He said. 

“Let Kevin know tomorrow in therapy I’m going to miss a few sessions.” I said. 

“Tell Steve you’re going to miss a few sessions.” Clint said. 

“Already did on our date.” I said. 

“Uh what else… bills?” Clint said. 

“Autopay.” I said. “Obviously pack.” 

“I can be ready to go in five minutes.” He said. 

“Same so we’re good.” I said. 

“All ready to go.” He said as my phone started ringing. 

“It’s my dad.” I said bringing it up on my tablet. “Hey dad.” 

“Hey sweetheart.” Marcel said. “I was just calling to check in. See how everything’s going.” 

“Everything’s good here. We’re actually just talking about getting ready for out vacation.” I said. 

“Really where are you going?” He asked. 

“Two weeks in Italy.” Clint said coming up behind me. “Figured we’re due for an actual vacation that doesn’t involve one of us getting shot, threatened or having to track down an assassin.” 

“It might actually be pretty boring.” I said. “We’re really looking forward to it.” 

“Well maybe we can meet up while you’re there. I’m going to be in the area over the next few weeks.” Marcel said.

“I thought you were in Chicago?” I said confused by what he would be doing in Europe. 

“I was but I decided to do some traveling… visit a few friends.” Marcel said. 

“Friends?” I said catching on to the double meaning.

“Dad… You got out of the business. Clean slate fresh start, that was the deal.” 

“Sweetheart I’m not going back to that, I’m just asking around see if anyone knows anything about what your mom has been doing the past few years.” Marcel said.

“That’s actually worse.” I said.

 “Cal, she faked her death for years and chose now to show up again. You know better than anyone that everything she does she does for a reason.” Marcel said. 

“Dad, She’s not worth it.” I said.  

“What if she’s planning something against you?” he said. 

“I live down the road from a compound full of superheroes and I live with a retired master assassin. Plus we have a the best security system Tony could design.” I said. “It’s handled by people who know how to deal with this type of thing.” 

“Either way it wouldn’t hurt to know. They may be fully capable of handling her Cal but they don’t know her like we do.” Marcel said.

 “Leave it alone dad.” I said. “She may not have Hadrian anymore but she’s never done her own dirty work.” 

“I won’t go looking for trouble, but asking around doesn’t hurt.” Marcel said. 

“It’s who you’re asking that worries me.” I answered.  

“I’m being careful so don’t worry. I have to go but let me know when you’re in Italy so we can meet up.” Marcel said.

 “Be careful.” I said. 

“You too.” He said before he hung up. 

“Think he’ll actually drop it?” Clint asked. 

“Nope.” I said. “But dad’s smart and as long as he doesn’t start asking around the Bratva he’ll be fine.”

“You know it’s been a while since we’ve been to the movies.” Clint said. 

“Seeing a T-rex eat people never gets old.” I said with a smirk. “Want to go into the city and we can grab dinner with Will and his guy friend.” 

“Sure, it’ll be good to size this guy up.” He said kissing my cheek. 

“I’ll start digging up anything I can on him.” I said shooting Will a text seeing if he and Winn were free for dinner. Lucky was set for the day so we got in the car and had a mini road trip complete with carpool karaoke. We got into the city and remembered why we decided to move out, specifically the hell it was to get parking. Their movie was exactly what we needed, two hours of people running for dinosaurs they created that turned against them and wanted to eat them. 

“That was overkill.” I said as we walked out.

“A bit funny though.” Clint said. “Where are we meeting Will?” 

“MacLaren’s.” I said. “I could go for wings.” 

“Some nachos would be great.” He said putting his arm around me as we walked back to the car. Will was still at work so over apps and a beer Clint was showing me how to throw darts.

 “Okay fix your fingers. Flick your fingers fast to give it more force.” Clint said putting his hands on my hips to fix my stance.

“Relax your shoulders. Now breath in and exhale as you throw.” I took a took breath and exhaled as I flicked my fingers towards the board. The dart landed almost exactly at the center.

 “Nice job Hawkeye.” Clint said.

 “No that’s you, I just have a really good teacher.” I said putting my arms around him. He smiled and bent down to kiss me.

“Ehem…” Will cleared his throat loudly to get out attention.

“Hey.” I said breaking the kiss to turn to Will.

“Hey you.” Will said hugging me. “Feels like every time I see you you’re always sucking someone’s face.”

“Very funny.” I said.

“At least you have clothes on this time.” Will said before turning to Winn. “Hales, Clint, meet Winn my boyfriend. Winn officially meet Hales my sister and her other soulmate.

“Nice to see you again Hayley.” He said shaking Hayley’s hand before shaking Clint’s. “Nice to meet you Clint.”

“Likewise.” Clint said.

“Come on, our booth just freed up.” Will said. “What’s new with you guys?”

“Nothing much, just planning our getaway.” He said smiling.

“Two weeks in Italy.” I added.

“Pizza, wine, art… it’s going to be great.” Clint said. “What about you two? How was Vermont?”

“Oh it sucked.” Will said.

“We got to our B and B and it was a mess, total death trap and they ended up canceling our reservation.” Winn said.

“We came back early and saw things…” Will said getting the chills.

“You should’ve knocked.” I said with a smirk.”

“It’s my apartment.” He said.

“Now you know how I felt when we lived together.” I said.

“Wait you walked in on Hales and Nat?” Clint said amused.

“I’m scarred for life.” Will said.

“But the Plaza was nice.” Winn said. “So thank you.”

“No problem.” I said. “So Winn what do you do?”

“Oh I do Marketing for a sporting goods company.” Winn said.

“Really?” I said. “What’s your sport?”

“Soccer, went to Rutgers on a scholarship.” Winn said.

“Nice.” Clint said. “You from New York?”

“Upstate.” He said.

“And how’d you two meet?” I asked.

“Woah Hales, ease up on the interrogation.” Will said. “Let the guy breath.”

“No Will it’s okay, she wouldn’t be your best friend if she didn’t.” Winn said smiling at Will. “I know Will is like a brother to you…”

“Is my brother.” I corrected.

“And I know he’s been through a lot, losing Josh who I’m sure was as great a friend to you as he was a boyfriend to Will and I’m not here to take his place.” Winn said.

‘Like he ever could…’ I thought and with one glance at Clint I could tell he was thinking the same thing.

“I really like Will and I want to see where this goes. He’s amazing, smart, funny, and handsome and I would never think of hurting him.” Winn said.

“Good, because if you do… well I can get very creative.” I said with a smile.

“Course.” Winn said. “Who wants another round?”

“I’ll just have water.” I said.

“You sure I can drive back?” Clint asked.

“You drove here.” I said. “Take a break.”

“Be back.” Winn said getting up and walking back to the bar.

“So? He’s great right?” Will said.

“Yeah, he seems great.” I said smiling.

“I know you just met him but give him a chance Hales.” Will said.

“Hey, if you like him then I do too.” I said squeezing his hand. “Just, you know be careful. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“I won’t. My eyes are wide open.” He said.

Hours Later…

We were on the highway driving home. Clint was in the front seat next to me while I drove us home.

“That Winn guy seems nice.” Clint said.

“He does.” I said keeping my eyes on the road.

“Will’s really into him.” He said.

“He is.” I said.

“So what’s wrong?” Clint asked. He knew me too well.

“Did he seem… too perfect to you?” I asked.

“You mean because he gave you all the right answers to your questions? Probably because Will warned him ahead of time and prepped him.” He said.

“Maybe… he just seems off to me for some reason.” I said.

“You told Will you’d give him a chance.” Clint said.

“And I will.” I said. “After I check on a few things. Like if his story was true… where he’s from… criminal record…”

“Well as long as you’re not going to run his DNA through a criminal database…” Clint said.

Better not tell him about that glass I swiped when I went back to use the restroom…

“Of course not, that’d just be going overboard.” I said hoping he bought that.

“Right, because we’re retired and we don’t do that anymore.” Clint said.

“Happily retired and don’t have to do that anymore.” I seconded as we pulled up to the house.

The Following Morning…

Clint was at the range doing some of shooting as well as giving some of the recruits a few pointers.

“Knock knock.” I said as I peeked into Natasha’s office.

“Hey.” Natasha said looking away from the computer.

“Went into town to pick up some donuts and I grabbed you a matcha latte.” I said putting it down on her desk.

“Thanks.” She said giving me a smile before I closed the door to her office and he arched an eyebrow.

“Also came to ask for a favor.” I said taking the plastic bag with the beer glass inside of it out of my tote bag and putting her on her desk.

“What kind of favor?” Natasha asked.

“Need you to get a print and DNA sample off this glass and run it through every database you can think of.” I said.

“Who are you looking into?” She asked.

“Will’s new boyfriend.” I answered.

“Guy that was with him when he interrupted us?” Natasha asked.

“That’s the one.” I confirmed.

“You haven’t looked him up yet?” She said surprised.

“I looked him up online, basic search and his story check out but it seems a bit too clean…” I said looking at the glass.

“You know you have full access here, you could always look him up.” Natasha offered.

“I’m retired Nat which is why I’m asking you.” I said. “I might just be paranoid but something about him just seems off.”

“I’ll run a search.” She said. “Guessing you want to keep this between us?”

“I’d appreciate that.” I said as someone knocked on the door.

“Come in.” Natasha said.

“Hey Na- Hayley.” Steve said.

“Hey you, Did you just get back?” I asked.

“Yeah, uh… I was wondering if you could handle debriefing the agents while I meet up with Hill and Fury see what I missed.” He said.

“Sure.” Natasha said as she got up she kissed me casually grabbing the bag while Steve no doubt looked away. “Thanks for the coffee.”

“Anytime.” I said smiling at her before she walked out. “Everything go okay?” I asked Steve.

“Yeah the extraction got a bit complicated but we got our agent out. It’s actually Sharon.” Steve said as we started walking down the hall.

“Sharon?” I asked confused.

“Sharon? Peggy’s niece.” Steve said hoping that’d ring a bell. “I told you about her.”

“No you didn’t” I said.

“My neighbor from DC that Fury assigned to spy on me?” He said again.

“Yeah sweetie you didn’t tell me any of that.” I said.

“Oh, I thought I did.” He said. “Well she’s working with us.”

“Small world.” I said with a smile as we reached the common room.

“I’m going to clean up but can we talk later? Our date kind of got interrupted.” He said.

“Sure stop by the house for dinner or you know tomorrow morning in therapy.” I said.

“Right.” He said. “Almost forgot.”

“I hope not sitting alone in couples therapy sucks but don’t worry, you’ll see when you’re there alone for the next two sessions.” I said.

“What?” Steve said.

“Oh I forgot to mention, while I’m gone you still have therapy.” I said.

“But it’s supposed to be for the both of us.” Steve said.

“You can also go alone. You have a pretty stressful job.” I said.

“I’m fine.” Steve said.

“You either go or we lose our time slot.” I said bluntly.

“I’ll be there.” He said

“Good.” I said before pulling over the box of donuts. “And don’t forget to eat,”

Steve smiled and grabbed a glazed donut. “Thanks. I’ll see you later.” He said patting me on the shoulder as he walked out.

A pat on the shoulder. Wow.

I was so lost in thought I didn’t notice Bucky had been sitting on the couch the whole time.

“Are those donuts?” he said making me jump in surprise.

“You need to make more noise.” I said. “But yeah.”

He didn’t say anything but got up and came over grabbing one dropping the booklet he was reading on the table. Bucky grabbed a cinnamon sugar donut and took a bite.

“What are you reading?” I asked.

“Instructions for one of the board games.” Bucky said.

“Didn’t know you liked board games.” I said.

“I’ve never played… or I don’t remember playing them but my therapist gave me homework to socialize in a group. Practice small talk.” He said. “Wanda wants to have a game night.”

“That’s fun.” I said. “But maybe you should actually practice. Most of the time we don’t even play by the rules.”

“Oh.” Bucky said with a frown as he finished his donut. I noticed he still had some sugar stuck to the corner of his mouth and cheek.

“You have a little something.” I said gesturing to his cheek and mouth. Bucky wiped it with a napkin but completely missed it. “Still there.”

He went again and got a bit but still missed some of it.

“UH here.” I said taking the napkin and gently wiping his face as I placed my other hand on his other cheek. “There you go.”

“T-thanks…” He said blushing slightly for some reason.

“No problem.” I said stepping away to the bookshelf to grab a deck of cards.. “And I think I can help you with game night. I happen to know Wanda and Sam both like to start the night with a game of Uno.”

I took out the cards and shuffled them before handing out the cards we needed.

“It’s pretty easy, you put down a card that’s either the same color or number of the card that was put down before. The wild cards let you change the color and the one with a plus four makes the next player draw cards same with the plus two but with the plus two you draw and don’t put down any cards. There’s also the skip or the reverse cards which skip the next player or reverse the order of who goes next.” I said. “The rest you can figure out as we start playing.”

So we did and Bucky picked it up pretty quickly. It wasn’t until our tenth game that Clint walked in.

“Hey.” He said.

“Hey.” I said kissing him as he bent down. “How was shooting practice?”

“Good, that new bow Tony made works great, arrows too.. Nat and I are sparring tomorrow to see how it works when it’s a staff.” He said. “Who’s winning?”

“Bucky is. He’s a real card shark.” I teased trying to get him to smile.

“Uno can get really intense.” Clint said.

“Though not as intense as Monopoly.” I said. “Will and I aren’t allowed to play that anymore.”

“Not unless you’ve had at least one cup of Rocket punch.” Clint said.

“Uh, feel gross just thinking of that.” I groaned before I saw the time. “Wow is that the time?”

“Yeah, we should probably go.” He said.

“Chores and errands.” I told Bucky with a smile and he nodded as I started cleaning up. “I’ll see you Wednesday?”

“Yeah.” He said.

“Kay.” I said getting up.

“Later man.” Clint said before we headed out.

Hours Later…

“I still don’t get why I couldn’t have used my old bag.” Clint said.

“Your old bag was practically falling apart and it had holes in the lining.” I said as we walked into the house.

“Yeah on purpose that’s how I would sneak weapons through security.” Clint argued.

“But you don’t have to do that anymore because this is a real vacation.” I reminded him.

“Right but you know just in case wouldn’t it be a good idea…” Clint started.

“Is there something we should be worried about?” I asked him as we made out way in.

“Well there’s your mom…” He started.

“Who’s in New York and hasn’t made a move in weeks. I doubt she’s going to follow us to Italy.” I said and he just gave me a look. I stepped closer to him and cupped his cheek with his hand. “This is our time. The retirement dream. Besides it’s not like there aren’t any black markets in Europe we couldn’t go to if we needed to.”

“You did want to do some shopping while we were there.” He said.

“And now we have extra space in our luggage to fill.” I said.

“So that’s what you were trying to do.” Clint said with a smirk.

“Maybe.” I said with a smirk before I kissed him. “What should we have for dinner? I was thinking beef stir fry.”

“Sounds good.” he said.

“Plus it will be a good way to get rid of all that kale.” I said walking to the kitchen.

“Do we have to? Maybe Lucky will eat it.” Clint complained.

“Really Clint?” I asked.

“You’re right… There’s no way he’ll eat it.” He said.

“Keep it up you’ll get an extra scoop of it on your plate.” I said.

“Hales…” He whined.

“Eat your kale and you can have the last of the cheesecake brownies.” I said bribing him.

“I thought we were out.” Clint said perking up.

“I saved one last one for something like this.” I said with a smile.

“So it’s a for sure no to any guns, arrows, or my bow?” He asked.

“No weapons of any kind.” I confirmed.

“Okay,” He said walking to the fridge resigned. “I guess I’ll take out the kale.”

The Following Morning…

I woke up early the next morning to shower and get ready for the drive into the city. The commute was brutal and I was totally considering asking Kevin if we could switch to skype sessions but then I remembered if I did that Steve would probably use work as an excuse to get out of it again so because I loved him and I wanted to work through our problems together I got crawled out of my warm bed where I was very comfortably cuddled against Clint’s chest and took a cold shower to wake myself up. I took a granola bar and a thermos of coffee with me and sat in traffic for over two hours.

Once I was at the office I waited a bit before being called in. Steve still hadn’t arrived so I was sitting on that couch alone. Again.

“So what’s new?” Kevin asked.

“Well we had our date… well half a date. He got called out again. It was urgent but he showed up so that’s progress.” I said.

“Is Steve still out on a mission?” He asked.

“No he got back yesterday he might be a bit jetlagged or stuck in traffic. Traffic’s hell.” I said.

“I know.” He said. “I’m honestly starting to consider just taking the subway.”

“Oh since it’s just us I wanted to give you a heads up Clint and I are taking a vacation. We’re going to Italy for two weeks.” I said.

“Sounds nice. What cities are you visiting?” He asked.

“We’re renting a villa outside of Florence and are taking a few day trips around the area. We’re also making a stop in Paris on the way back.” I said.

“Well that’s great so it’s just going to be Steve for the next two weeks.” He said.

“Yup so good luck with that.” I said.

“I’m sure we’ll get along just fine.” Kevin said.

Ten Minutes Later…

Our session was half over before Steve showed up. Kevin and I were laughing as I filled him on Will’s new boyfriend and the dinner we had when the door opened.

“I’m so sorry I’m late. One of the debriefings ran a bit longer and traffic was…” Steve said.

“Figured.” I said with a smile.

“Now that you’re both here we can pick up where we left off last week. Hayley mentioned your date was interrupted but did you two manage to talk at all?” Kevin asked.

“We started to but I had to go.” Steve said.

“Do you want to continue where you left off?” Kevin asked.

“I just… uh…” Steve said awkwardly. “Hayley I… I know I haven’t been focused on us lately. The transition from leading the team to running the compound and building up Shield has taken a lot of my time but even before then I’ve felt that we were… different.”

“Different how?” I asked confused.

“Our relationship compared to the one you have with everyone else.” He said.

“All relationships are different Steve.” I said.

“You know that’s not what I mean.” He said. “You and Tony are inseparable even when you don’t see each other everyday it’s like you pick up right where you left off. Half the time you don’t even talk in complete sentences. With Natasha, I’ve seen you two just stare into each other’s eyes for an hour straight. When you’re with Thor it’s like the rest of the world just doesn’t exist and with Bruce… you two didn’t even talk sometimes but you were just so happy to be in the same room together and do I even have to tell you about Clint?”

“That’s what this is about? You’re jealous.” I said.

“No you’re just not being fair.” Steve said.

“Steve I am fair.” I said.

“Then why am I here. Why am I the only one that has to come to couple’s therapy?” He retorted.

“Because we’re trying to work through our issues. You think my relationships with everyone else including Clint just happened over night?” I said. “We put in the work. All of us. There were ups and downs, a lot of ups and downs but we talked and worked it out. You expected us to just magically have this perfect epic love story relationship but that’s not how it works.”

“I’ve been in a relationship before I know that.” Steve said.

“I’m not Bucky, Steve. Bucky isn’t Bucky anymore either.” I said. “You two had an incredible relationship but you had years to get there. You met when you were kids. You grew up together and had years to get to that point. And you keep expecting us to be the same instantly without any work by putting these insane expectations on us and that just… I can’t breathe around you.”

“I’m smothering you?!” Steve said in disbelief.

“I think what Hayley means is your expectations of what you want your relationship to be is limiting the actual growth of your relationship.” Kevin elaborated.

“Hayley you’ve never given us a chance.” Steve said.

“We’re in therapy.” I deadpanned.

“You make impulsive decisions constantly without checking in with anyone.” Steve said.

“I wasn’t aware we were in the fifties and that I couldn’t wear pants and had to greet you at the door with a cocktail.” I retorted. “Every decision I made was for a reason.”

“You almost died.” Steve said.

“I saved Nat and Bucky.” I said.

“It was reckless and stupid.” He said.

“Kind of like jumping out of planes without a parachute?” I said.

“I can handle it you can’t.” he said.

“Which is why I retired. I learned my lesson and am moving on with my life.” I said.

“Yeah by leaving us all behind and moving away with Clint.” Steve said.

“It always comes back to that.” I said. “Every time that’s what you throw at me.”

“You made that choice on your own without talking to anyone.” He said.

“Not true.” I said.

“You’re right you talked to Clint.” He said.

“And Tony.” I said. “Why do you think the house happens to be so close to the compound? Can you just stop making excuses and be honest for once?”

“I am trying to be honest.” Steve said.

“No you’re making excuses. You started having a problem with me right after I announced I was moving in with Clint which I seriously don’t get why considering he and Nat practically lived on my floor in the tower.” I said. “You didn’t want me in the field so I retired which was what you wanted to being with but now you’re mad about that.”

“I wanted you safe not to run away from your problems. Peggy never ran away from her problems, she said it was about balance.” Steve said.

“Peggy isn’t part of this relationship.” I said. “It’s you and me.”

“And Clint and Natasha, and Tony, And Thor, and Bruce…” Steve said. “I’m the one that can’t breathe in this relationship.”

“Then instead of using every excuse you can think of to get away from me tell me so I don’t feel like I’m alone here.” I said.

“When have you ever been alone? Do you have any idea how hard it is to get a minute alone to talk to you?” Steve said.

“Me? Does your phone ever stop ringing? The world doesn’t almost end every day. The world got along fine the 70 years you were on ice I think it’ll be fine if you take a day off.” I said.

“It’s my job Hayley!” Steve snapped.

“And that’s the problem. The job is everything to you.” I said.

“It’s an important job.” He said.

“Yeah but it’s not everything.” I said. “Steve your life revolves around going on a mission and waiting for the next one you never look towards a future beyond that. I asked you what you wanted to do after you retired, Moved on from being Captain America and you couldn’t give me an answer. You know what I want. I want a future, a home with kids running around and if you don’t want that, it’s okay but don’t hold it against me for trying to have that.”

“Peggy managed to run SHIELD and have a family. She understood that this isn’t just a job I can up and quit. It’s a life Hayley. It’s my life.” Steve said.

“Peggy has nothing to do with us.” I said again. “And I’m not asking you to quit, I’m asking you to be honest if not with me then with yourself and figure out what you want. Stop making excuses and your impossible expectations on our relationship and while you’re at it Bucky and do the damn work.”

“And I think that’s a good place to leave things.” Kevin said. “I have to say you guys made a huge breakthrough.”

Steve and I just stared at him in disbelief.

“I know it might not feel like it but you’re talking and getting to the root of your problems which means we know where to go from here. Steve I’ll see you next week and Hayley… three weeks from now. Enjoy your vacation.” He said.

“Thanks.” I said before I headed out. Neither of us bothered to even try and keep talking. I went straight to my car and headed to the Tower.

I wasn’t mad he called me out on my mistakes because I had made mistakes and a lot of them but I owned up to them. What really pissed me off was the fact that he refused to talk to me about his feelings and blamed me for it. And why the fuck did he keep bringing up Peggy?

I must’ve had a weird look on my face when I walked in because Tony instantly frowned.

“He…” He started before frowned. “What did Spangles do?”

“It’s fine.” I said kissing his cheek. “Did you eat breakfast?”

“Had a bagel.” He said pulling me back to him. “What to talk about it?”

“What happens in therapy stays in therapy.” I said forcing a small smile.

“You sure? I have a watch gauntlet prototype I’ve been meaning to field test you can borrow.” He said.

“I’m not going to shoot Steve.” I said.

“It wouldn’t hurt him just stun him a bit.” He said.

“Not doing that.” I said. “But thanks for offering.”

“Then I have a better idea.” He said taking my hand and leading me out.

Tony drove us across town until we got a place called a break bar.

“It’s a little early to start drinking don’t you think?” I said.

“Not here to drink, though maybe after.” He said as we walked in. “Hi reservation under Stark.”

“Of course Mr Stark. If you’ll follow me.” The host said leading us to a locker room to drop off our things and put on some protection gear for some reason. “Choose your weapons.”

“So what will it be hales? Sledgehammer or Axe?” Tony asked.

“Why would I need either?” I asked.

“You’ll see.” He said. I hesitantly took the sledgehammer.

“Room four is all yours.” The host said.

“This isn’t some weird sex club right?” I asked Tony.

“No but would you want to try something like that?” He said and I just gave him a look. “We’ll circle back to that.”

We walked into the room and saw ceramic Captain America piggy banks, Shields, old lunch boxes and a whole bunch of other things with Steve’s face on it.

“I got you the Captain America room. It’s a lot more popular than you’d think.” Tony said. “not sure that’s a good thing.”

“So what am I supposed to do?” I asked.

“You break things. It’s a rage room. Swing that sledgehammer around.” He said.

“Yeah I’m not sure that’s a good idea.” I said.

“Really, so everything with Spangles is okay? He didn’t piss you off in therapy today?” He said.

“No he’s great. I sat through two hours of morning traffic to make sure I get there on time and he gets there twenty minutes late because a stupid debriefing ran long even though he knew we had an appointment at the same time we have it every week!” I said slamming the sledgehammer against a piggy bank bust of Steve.

“There we go.” Tony said but I ignored him and kept swinging.

About an hour later I was still going at it.

“Who the fuck does he think he is!!!” I shouted throwing an axe at the poster of him they had on the wall.

“Honey I don’t think the walls are included…” Tony started.

“Ah!!!” I groaned pulling it out and taking another swing.

“Mr. Stark your time is…” the attendant started before I took a swing.

“I think we’re going to need another half hour.” Tony said. “And you should keep the deposit.”

“Uhuh.” He said before leaving.

Finally I was out of things to break and done being angry. Man that felt really good.

“Better?” Tony asked.

“Loads.” I said looking around at the mess I left. “I’m kind of hungry.”

“Shake shack?” He asked.

“Yeah.” I said following him out.

We grabbed our shakes and burgers and headed back to the tower.

“So how’d you know about that place?” I asked Tony.

“You’re not the only one that needs to blow off steam sometimes, or who gets mad at Spangles.” He said with a smirk. “Look whatever’s going on you two will work it out. Cap can be a bit dense sometimes but he loves you Hales.”

“Dense is a bit of an understatement.” I said before sighing. Tony put down his shake and pulled me into a hug. I smiled and wrapped my arms around him. We stayed like that for a while. Before finally… “So you want to show me that new prototype?”

“It might be the best thing I’ve come up with so far.” Tony said.

“You say that every time.” I said getting up.

“And I mean it every time But I’ve really out done myself this time. This is the smallest arc reactor I’ve ever made.” Tony said. “And I’m thinking of ways to apply it to the nanites…”

“Like a wireless power source or a housing unit?” I asked.

“both.” He said.

“Oh have you figured out the right composition of metal for the housing unit… something lightweight but still stable enough to hold the reactor not to mention not get hot?” I asked.

“Hales this is me we’re talking about… of course I already did.” Tony said.

We spent the rest of the day working in the lab. I started toying with the coding. I was so absorbed in what I was doing I didn’t even notice how late it was.

Third Person’s POV-

It must’ve been a while later that Tony thought it was time for a break. Mostly he was hungry and was surprised Hayley hadn’t said anything. Then again she was in the exact spot she had been last time he check on her. Her fingers were flying across the keyboard while her eyes scanned the multiple screens in front of her back and forth not stopping on any spot for more than a second.

“Hales.” Tony said but no answer. “Hales?”

She kept looking straight ahead not even blinking. It was like she couldn’t hear him.

“Hayley.” He said walking closer. He looked at the screens and saw that they were blinking through different images and pages every second and she just followed along like they weren’t moving at all.

“Earth to Hayley.” Tony said snapping his fingers next to her ear to see if that got a response but nothing. Tony arched an eyebrow starting to get worried. He waved a hand in front of her and she just kept moving. “Hales!” He said louder putting a hand on her shoulder finally making her snap out of it.

Hayley’s POV-

I felt a hand land on my shoulder and I jumped a bit.

“Whoa!” Tony said. “Just me, I was about to order dinner.”

“Dinner?” I asked surprised.

“Yeah it’s actually pretty late for dinner.” Tony said looking at the time.

“Shit!” I said looking at how late it was and the text messages I had missed from Clint. “I totally lost track of time.”

“Well it’s late why don’t you spend the night and you can head back in the morning?” Tony said.

“Sounds like a good idea. I’m gonna call Clint and let him know. Hope he can fend for himself for the night. All we got left in the fridge are apples and a bunch of kale.” I said.

“Knowing him he probably already ordered pizza.” Tony said.

“Probably.” I said.

“Hales?” Clint said.

“Hey sweetie sorry I didn’t answer. Tony and I were working in the lab and I kind of zoned out.” I said.

“I figured something like that happened. Are you on your way back?” he asked.

“Actually I was thinking of spending the night here and heading back early tomorrow morning.” I said.

“That’d be better.” He said.

“Think you can get yourself dinner?” I asked.

“Already did.” Clint said. Unbeknownst to me he had ordered dinner for us. He ordered a pizza with the words Marry me spelled out in bacon.

“Let me guess Pizza?” I said.

“You know it.” He said. “I’ll let you get some dinner. See you tomorrow.”

“Yeah. I’ll text you when I’m on my way back.” I said.

“Okay. Love you.” He said.

“Love you too.” I answered back before hanging up.

“So what are we thinking for dinner? Chinese or sushi?” Tony asked.

“I could make us something?” I offered.

“You’re not the only one that hasn’t done grocery shopping.” He said.

“When did you start doing your own shopping?” I asked.

“Haha very funny.” Tony said with a smirk. “Dinner?”

“You pick.” I said.

“I could go from some noodles and dumplings.” Tony said. “Friday can you get us the usual?”

“Order should be here in twenty minutes boss.” Friday answered.

“Which is plenty of time to do a bit more work…” I started.

“UH=h how about we go up and pick a movie instead?” Tony said seeming a bit concerned.

“You sure? I just need a few more minutes and…” I said.

“I could think of something else to do while we wait.” I said wiggling his eyebrows.

“Like what?” I said playing coy.

“Well…” Tony started.

A While Later…

We were up in the penthouse cuddling on the couch. I was wearing one of Tony’s vintage band tees and only my panties under while he was in a black tee and underwear.

“Okay hypothetically though…” Tony said.

“Yeah I still don’t see that happening.” I said.

“Why not though? I mean there are life on other planets why is setting up a colony on the moon such a stretch.” Tony said.

“Maybe it’s me being an optimist but I think we should focus on saving our planet instead of moving our problems. Like maybe find a way to get rid or more conveniently recycle plastic. Repair the ozone. I mean sure we could move to the moon or even Mars but eventually we’d be right back where we started.” I said.

“I guess but it’s always good to have a backup.” Tony said.

“True.” I said. “Do you feel like…”

“Hm?” Tony asked.

“Forget it.” I said.

“No no… you were going to say something.” Tony said.

“Do you feel like… Do I ignore you or do you feel like our relationship is less than what you wanted it to be because I pay more attention to everyone else?” I asked.

“He finally told you huh?” Tony said.

“You knew?” I asked.

“Uh yeah we all talked about it a while back.” Tony said.

“How long is a while?” I asked.

“After the coma…” Tony said.

“Are you kidding me? That fucking idiot.” I said.

“We told him to talk to you.” Tony said.

“So everyone knew?” I said. “Fucking idiot.”

“And to answer your question… well you saw how I reacted when you said you were moving out. I didn’t like it and I miss seeing you everyday but we make it work. I spent almost a year thinking I had lost you Hales and after you were back I didn’t want to let you out of my sight but that wasn’t really up to me. You were safe and happy and that’s more important than me being afraid of losing you again.” Tony said.

Fuck I really had screwed up.

“Hales.” Tony said. “I’m okay with how we are. Before you I ruined every relationship I was in because I couldn’t commit or because I was too focused on work but what we have is more than that. I took a step back from avenging because I want a future with you. I’m not ready for it right now but I’m trying to get there, there are just some things I need to do first, make sure its safe to retire.”

“Is there something you’re not saying?” I asked.

“No just… you ever get a feeling that something bad is going to happen?” Tony said.

“Tony I spent years running and hiding from a psychopath. I had that feeling constantly for years.” I said.

“I’ve had that feeling every day since I flew that nuke through that portal. I thought Ultron was the way to go but that didn’t work out.” He said.

“Tony.” I said moving to straddle his lap. “There will always be a new bad guy or threat to the world it’s not all on you.”

“But what if I could do something about it?” he said. “I just I want to keep you safe Hales. I want all of us to be safe.”

“And we’ll get there. Earth isn’t defenseless anymore. There’s a whole team of superheroes and people being trained to deal with these threats.” I said. “Your loyalty and how protective you are about the people you care about is one of the many things I love about you but I don’t want this to take over your life.”

“You are my life.” He said. “And making sure we have a future is what I’m trying to do.”

“Okay, just promise me something.” I said.

“Anything.” Tony said.

“Don’t let this blind you, if at any point you start having doubts about anything no matter how small, you’ll stop.” I said.

“Promise.” He said kissing me.

“Good.” I said still hugging him.

“So are you going to talk to Spangles tomorrow?” Tony asked.

“Tony…” I warned.

“Okay! Okay! Not going to ruin the moment.” He said. “though I did want to ask…”

“Hm?” I asked.

“How often have you been zoning out like you did in the lab earlier?” Tony asked.

“Uh… not much. I guess It happens when I get really focused on something. I don’t even realize when it happens.” I said.

“Huh…” Tony said deep in thought.

“Why do you ask?” I asked.

“No reason just curious.” He said. “We should go to bed. It’s getting late.”

“But I’m not tired yet.” I said.

“I can take care of that.” He said standing up while pulling me over his shoulder.

“Ah! Tony!” I shrieked in surprise while laughing as he carried me to his room.