The Angel and The Billionaire

Forty

- So what can I do for the Avengers? - He places a mug under a weird machine that starts to brew coffee upon contact. The bags under his eyes tell me it's not the first cup of the hour.

- We were hoping you might have some information on a man we're trying to arrest. - Clint says, grabbing a phone and projecting Edward's picture. - You've probably seen him on the news yesterday.

He grabs a pair of glasses from a drawer before looking at the photo.

- Yeah, I met this guy. - Ian says, unbothered. - About 3 months ago he tried to hire me to break into the SHIELD database.

- What? - Sharon's eyebrows jump up. - Why didn't you tell anyone?

- I did. - He retorts, taking a long sip of coffee before continuing to speak. - The guy who supervised all the missions I assisted, Grant Ward. He told me he'd look into it, but since he never brought it up again I assumed it was a prank or something like that.

- I know this guy. Ward turned out to be a spy infiltrated at SHIELD. - Clint sighs, shutting off his phone. - We should've looked closer at his cases.

- Did Edward tell you anything relevant? - I hold back from asking for a coffee. Whatever he's brewing smells insanely good. - Like, maybe why was he doing all this?

- Yes, he told me he wanted to expose the Avengers for the fraud they are. - Ian shrugs again, finishing the mug and promptly putting it under the machine to fill it again. - But I didn't believe him.

- What do you mean?

- You see agent Carter, I'm good at reading people. - He doesn't even try to pretend he's not flirting with her. - And that man was way too angry for someone who was just trying to prove a point. This is personal for him.

After another half an hour of useless chit chat, a cup of amazing coffee and more amped up flirting from Ian to Sharon, the three of us enter the car and leave. The tension is so thick you could cut it with a knife. What Ian said makes sense, but it doesn't help us get any closer to Edward, seeing as he is not in any database on the planet and therefore we can't know his motivations. It looks like it's against Tony in one minute, but then he chooses to attack Natasha with something completely unrelated. He claims to have dirt on all of the team, which might include me and James.

- What do we do now? - I break the silence when we finally enter the plane.

- I have no idea. - Sharon crosses her arms. It's easy to see she's frustrated. - This was essentially useless.

- What could someone have as a motivation to expose the Avengers? - I ask, looking between her and Clint. - I mean, you guys are heroes. The good guys. There are better people to expose, no?

- We're not the good guys all the time. - Barton grunts, pressing buttons in the panel before moving to the back of the plane. - I was literally a government criminal because of Stark and his stupid accords. Public opinion was a mess at the time.

- The accords weren't Tony's fault. - I argue, mentally cursing at myself a second later.

- No offense Grace, but you weren't here. - He lies down in two seats. His dismissive tone is exactly like James'. - Stark is guilty of many things, the accords barely scratch the surface.

He closes his eyes, basically finishing the conversation, so I move to the cockpit a few meters away. Sharon follows me, taking the other chair. We watch the sky for a few minutes as the plane lifts and then quickly stabilizes. She turns back, looking at Clint for a second before addressing me.

- When were you planning to tell me? - Her voice is low as if she's not entirely sure Barton is truly asleep. - About you and Tony.

- I did tell you. - I whisper back. Busted. - In Wakanda, remember?

- But you didn't tell me you guys were together now.

- How did you...

- I figured it out. - She interrupts, continuing to speak in a very low tone. - Took me a while, but still. You were miserable there and as soon as we got here you were happy. Not to mention the look on your face just now when Barton said those things about Tony.

- Ok, fine. We're together. - I admit, scooting closer to her while keeping a close eye on Clint. - But you can't tell anyone. Not even Steve.

- What happened? - She scoots closer. - Last time we talked about Stark, you were afraid he'd only slept with you to get back at Bucky. I had to tell you that that didn't make any sense.

- You were right. - A smile takes over my lips. - I really like him.

- I'm glad you're having some 21st century fun. - Sharon squeezes my arm playfully. - We both are, I suppose.

I put a hand over my mouth to suppress the laughter. This is the closest to her admitting what everyone knows is happening between her and Steve that I'm gonna get. For the next 2 hours on air, I whisper to her everything that happened since we talked in Wakanda. The letter Tony wrote, that kiss in the compound kitchen, the times we've been sneaking out like teenagers, and mostly about how stupidly in love with him I am. There isn't a straw of judgment in her face, just a lot of giggles while I tell her the spicier parts. The flight back goes by in a flash.