Turn

3 - Erin Mathis

"Dr. Mathis--"

"Not a Doctor..." I corrected, a sort of sing-song tone in my voice. I mean, I technically wasn't. Due to the piracy comeuppance, I was never able to finish school and earn my PhD.

Therefore: Not a doctor.

"Ms. Mathis," Fury corrected, sounding a little irritable. "It isn't any of your concern what the Avengers are up to, and I need you to keep that in mind. If you don't like Stark down there while you're here, kick him out and he can do whatever he wants later..."

"Well, now I'm never leaving..." I muttered under my breath, my eyes widening a bit. No matter how bored I get...

"Ms. Mathis?" Director Fury tried to get my attention by merely glaring at me, and I eventually caught on, but snapping his fingers or clapping his hands would have grabbed it sooner.

"Yes?"

"Please head back to the lab..."

"Yes, sir..." My curls bounces one last time as I spun on my heel to face the direction I had just come from.

Now...

If only I could remember how to get back...
***
After a fifteen minute delay on the original ten minutes it would have taken to get back to the lab without getting lost--as, I did, hence the extra fifteen minutes--I stood at the doorway for a moment, hesitating with my hand hovering over the keypad. I sighed, and pressed my fingers forcefully onto the keys, dreading each click that could be heard from the keys.

"Back to the basement..." I uttered to myself, rolling my eyes as the door swung open. "I wonder if Stark--"

"He's still here," I heard the man say as he made his way up the stairs. "But leaving, now."

"Whatever..." I sighed stepping aside so he could pass me.

"Sassy, today." Tony Stark stopped in front of me as soon as he had reached the top of the steps. "You spend a lot of time down there, don't you?" His voice was somewhat of a mix between curious and inquisitive, making me feel a little uneasy. His eyes twinkled for a moment, only intensifying the feeling.

I re-adjusted my glasses so they weren't falling off of my face like they had been when I had been glaring at Stark, clearing my throat in the process. "Why should it matter to you where I spend my time?" I asked, trying to copy his tone from a few moments ago, but shuddering internally from the way it sounded.

"You are such a shut-in." Tony smirked a little, peeling away a pair of blue gloves that I hadn't even noticed on his hands before he had started to pull them free.

"Excuse me--?"

"Anyway," he continued, stalling with the gloves by pulling inch-by-inch, one finger at a time. "Pepper thought it'd be a good idea to have some sort of formal, dinner party thing with a bunch of SHIELD agents a few other people, and--"

"Nope, sorry. No can do."

"Fine, whatever. I didn't even finish, but if you're so keen on keeping yourself locked away for the rest of eternity, that's fine too, I guess..." He was definitely trying to guilt trip me at this point. I don't know why he was caring so much, but it was a little bothersome to endure.

"Sweet." I turned to head down the stairs, but couldn't set a single foot down before I heard Stark's voice again.

"If you change your mind, it's at Avenger's Tower, this Friday. Formal attire; I'll have Jarvis send you a memo or have Pepper call you." He began to walk away as I stood for a moment contemplating what had just happened. It would seem as though what he had said went through one ear and out the other.

"But won't you need my number?"

"Got it." I raised an eyebrow and watched him leave as he waved the pair of blue gloves as a sign of "good-bye" I stared in the direction he had left in, trying to wrap my head around the encounter. "If he forgets, I won't have a time to be there..." I chuckled to myself, turning and shaking my head as I started down the stairs into the lab. "Fool proof, Iron Man!"
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Hey guys! So, Chapter 3 is out a lot sooner than I had planned, merely because I don't have a lot of time to do stuff right now--thanks to homework and school, and...you know; homework--so I thought I would get this done as soon as I could. There is still no set schedule for this yet, that is still something that needs to be discussed further between myself and my co-author jordieblob16 . Like I said; I'm super busy, so I don't know how this is gonna play out, but for now, here's chapter 3.

Hope you enjoy!

~Ani-Chan