SHADOW [Avengers: AOU]

XX. Pure Evil

"You're up late. I didn't think you were here at all. But you're just the person I wanted to see."

It was around 3 am. Full of energy after waking up Jacqueline looked around the sleeping facility. All the lights in the building were out. Except the ones in the lab. There she found a suit wearing Tony Stark who was swiping through the holographic screen of his phone. The billionaire didn't acknowledge her presence as she came to stand behind his screen.

"I want a suit." She adds when he says nothing.

"That's funny, I didn't hear a please." Tony says.

Jacqueline frowns, smacking the phone in his hands and making the screen go away as it dropped on to the floor. He gave her an annoyed look.

"Come on, Stark. Hook a girl up."

Tony picked up his phone and pockets it before walked away from her and towards what looked to be a mininbar. As he poured himself a drink he looked at the teen with a raised eyebrow.

"You do know you're not an actual official member of this team?"

She rocks on the balls of her feet and gives him a slight shrug.

"Well. NOT yet, but..."

"Wait--I'm sorry--are you actually thinking about becoming an Avenger? Has Clint finally missed a target? Was Cap put back on ice?"

Jacqueline rolls her eyes at him. She jumped up on the table closet to her that wasn't occupied with scientific stuff, clasping her hands together.

"I'm not saying I would want to join. Natasha, Clint and Steve keep throwing the idea at me all the time now. Pietro has been begging me that I'd think about it--"

"Maximoff is even begging you to join? Wow, that kid must really be head over heals for you. " Tony says. Her brows furrowed as she looked at him.

Head over heals for me?

"I don't know what you're talking about."

This time it was Tony who rolled his eyes. He took a sip of his drink before speaking again.

"Sure you don't. Look, I hear things, known things. And the same goes for you too, kid."

Is he saying that Pietro likes...that I like...

"Tony--"

"Just wanted to let you know that I called it! I am never wrong about a potential ship! Rhodey owes me 50 bucks."

"You don't know what you're talking about. Pietro doesn't like me like that."

"Um no, actually he does like you like that."

Setting down his glass he makes his way over to the teen. Placing one hand on the table, the other runs through his hair.

"Let me brief you on everything so far, okay? You both formed a friendship when you were with Ultron--it was temporally broken when you both split sides. Then he died a hero, you became a criminal. You get caught and taken here to HQ, days later you help bring him back to life with info about this super secret T.A.H.I.T.A. protocol, thus bringing him back into your life..." Tony took a pause, waiting to see if she saw clearly where he was going with this. She just blinked at him. With a sigh he continued.