Natasha Stark: Arrival

Chapter 28:

Tony: I was walking down to Tasha’s room again. But then something strange happened. Steve walked out, smiling. I gave him a long glance. What was with him? He was worried about her yesterday too. And then they had their little spat, ended with them making up and being nice to each other. And now he was smiling.

I walked up to him. “Hi,” Steve said.

“Hi?” I said.

“I was just going to get Tasha’s laptop for her. She’s bored out of her mind in there,” Steve said.

“I’ll come with you,” I said, “So you don’t, uh, touch anything she wouldn’t want you to.”

That gave Steve a very uneasy look. I walked with him.

“So what’s with you lately?” I asked.

“Huh?” Steve asked.

“You know that term, you aren’t from the stone ages,” I said, “Pretty close, but not quite.”

“There’s nothing up with me,” Steve said, shrugging, “That’s what I meant by huh.”

“Okay, Cap, I’m not an idiot. Something’s up, and I need to know what,” I said.

“What are you going to do, hack my brain for it?” Steve asked.

“If that’s what it takes,” I said.

“Good luck with that,” Steve said.

“I think whatever’s up has to do with my daughter, Cap,” I said. Cap looked down at his shoes. I was right. I really didn’t want to be though. Weird for me.

“Nothing’s up,” Steve said, looking up at me.

“Don’t lie,” I said, through my teeth.

“She’s 16,” Steve said.

“Why it’s extremely gross if you do like her,” I said.

“Exactly,” Steve said, “That’s why I don’t.” But his eyes said something different. His eyes made it look like he was lying. I raised an eyebrow.

“Steve, I’m not blind. There’s something going on and I want to know what,” I said.

“Maybe you are blind. Because I don’t feel anything for your daughter,” Steve said.

“Then why were you in her room?” I asked.

Steve thought for a moment. I watched him with a raised eyebrow. “She’s a team mate and she was hurt,” Steve said after a moment.

“Funny, I don’t see Romanoff in there. Or Carol. Or Bruce. Or Clint. Only you,” I said.

“Well, maybe I’m just a nice guy,” Steve said.

“Something tells me that’s not it. You look guilty,” I said.

“I think you have to stop making things up,” Steve said, trying to shove past me.

“I think you have to stop pretending and try the truth for just once,” I said angrily.

“What do you want me to say, Stark?” Steve asked

“That you’ll stay away from her,” I said, “Because I don’t like where this leads.”

“I think you should stop trying to pick friends for the daughter you never got to know. Because if it were up to her, she would still be with her mom. She’s a fighter, and you don’t want her to be. I think you’ll turn around one day and find out she’s much older than you think,” Steve said. I glared at him.

“Excuse me, but since when do you know anything about this situation?” I asked.

“Since I got to know her,” Steve said, “You should try it sometime.”

I was struck, hurt even. I didn’t have a comeback to that. So I watched him walk away, towards my daughter’s room. But I knew one thing. Steve wasn’t admitting it, but he liked Tasha. Maybe more than just like.