Ghost of You

t h r e e

Tony rubbed at his ear as I tried not to blush, Rhodes just smiled good-naturedly.

"(Y/n) and I go way back." He explained. "We trained together at McNair, she was the baby of my unit so I took her under my wing."

I did my best to surreptitiously elbow him in the stomach which he responded to by coughing loudly and dramatically. He gave me a wink and I couldn't help but laugh at the antics of one of my oldest friends. 

"Last I heard you had a job offer from Ross himself. How did you end up here?"

I opened my mouth to respond but before I could get any words out Tony had interjected again.

"Secretary Ross? You never told me you had an offer to work for him."

"You never asked." I shrugged, smiling slightly at how flabbergasted he was. 

"Who the hell are you?" He asked in bewilderment, shaking his head and then excusing himself to go refresh his drink.

I continued to catch up with Rhodes for awhile, telling him how I had interviewed for a job here around the same time that Ross had offered me the other job. It was an amazing offer, my Dad having mentioned numerous times what an idiot I had been to turn it down but ultimately I had felt like it wasn't the right place for me. Rhodes told me he had become a Colonel, which caused another round of congratulatory hugs. In the back of my head I was silently chastising myself for allowing any of my bosses to see this unprofessional side of me. I could practically feel the heavy weight of disappointment emanating from my Dad even though he was miles and miles away. In the presence of an old friend I had forgotten myself, allowed sentiment to take over conscious thought. It was with this line of thinking that I had realized how closed off I had allowed myself to become. I hadn't realized how lonely it had made me feel until I had come face to face with Rhodes, reminding  me of how happy I had allowed my past self to be. Was this how it was always going to be? Sacrificing happiness in my personal life for success in my career?

Making my mind up on the spot, I did a quick scan of the room, looking for a specific face. In my search, I noticed Steve was now half-way across the room, walking in the direction of the group I was in. Panicking a little I continued to search the room, finally seeing Nat behind one of the bars. I bid a quick goodbye to the group just before Steve arrived there, making my escape just in time.

I worked my way through the crowd, reaching the bar and hopping up onto one of the barstools.

"Wanna do a shot with me?"

Nat's head jerked up looking at me in happy surprise.

"Really?" 

"Really." I confirmed, deciding that tonight I was going to give myself three drinks, hopefully solidifying a friendship in the process. 

She smiled, reaching from under the bar, coming up with two shot glasses. Her curly hair bounced around her shoulders, matching the red of her lipstick. The line of the gloss was miraculously still clear and I made a mental note to ask her how she managed that. Whenever I wore lipstick that dark it always left annoying smudges.

"What's gotten into you?" She asked, grabbing a bottle of clear liquid and filling the cups. 

"I'm going shot for shot with Thor." I joked, dryly. "Figured if I'm going down I'm dragging you down with me."

She scoffed, giving me a look as she put the bottle down and slid one of the shots my way. 

"Listen..." I began, wrapping my fingers around the glass and staring at the shiny liquid. "I just wanted to say sorry. I know I've been a little closed off around you, but I really don't want to be."