TW: Uncomfortable Situations, Canon Violence
After Nat had interrupted your workout session with Steve you had slipped out from under him and told him you had to go. Which you did. Straight to a cold fucking shower.
You rested a hand in front of you against the shower wall and bowed your head down letting the cool water cascade over you. You weren't exactly sure what he was on about or maybe you had been imagining that he was about to kiss you before Natasha walked in.
You moved your hand away from the wall and reached for your favorite shampoo. You squeezed what was probably way too much onto your hand and set the bottle down and slowly lathered it into your hair. You sighed softly as the scent filled your nose massaging your scalp slowly before letting the water rinse it out followed by the conditioner. Once you went through your full shower routine you turned the water off and stepped out wrapped yourself into a towel. You took another towel and wrapped your wet hair into it before stepping out of the bathroom.
"So, you and Steve huh?"
"Seriously Nat?!" You shrieked as you gripped your towel having almost dropped it when you jumped at hearing her voice. She had most definitely not been in when you had first got back and into the shower.
"You guys would be so cute together, (y/n)! I mean he won't date anyone because he says he's too busy. But the heart eyes you guys give each other when the other isn't looking is honestly adorable." Natasha cooed as she brought a glass of wine up to her lips. She was perched on the couch in the middle of your room still in her pajamas.
"We...I do not make heart eyes at Steve." You glared as you made your way over to your walk-in closet. You shut the door just enough to allow you some privacy to get dressed while still being able to hear her. Which you had half a mind to throw a shoe at her when she mumbled something about your denial.
You slipped on your bra and a v-neck cotton black t-shirt followed by a pair of jeans.
You walked out and sat beside her as you slipped on your socks and shoes.
"How about we talk about you and Bruce?" You grinned when she rolled her eyes downing the remainder of red wine she had in her glass.
"Lets. Not."
"Alright well, you enjoy your wine." You patted her knee as you ran a hand through your damp hair.
"Where are you even going?" She eyed you over as you went into the bathroom and came back out with a light face of makeup and the soft scent of your favorite perfume filling the air.
"I'm hanging out with my little brother today. Like I do every week. Now lock my room up when you're done hiding from Bruce." You laughed as you quickly grabbed your bag off the couch avoiding the leg she had stuck out almost causing you to trip.
"I'm not hiding."
"Ok Nat, and I don't make heart eyes at Steve." You shrugged as you headed out took the elevator down to the garage.
Now what you didn't expect to see when the elevator doors to the garage opened was Steve Rogers leaning down and kissing Sharon Carter. Your heart twisted but you kept the emotion off your face. It wasn't like it wasn't any of your business. You told yourself constantly before that he was into Sharon. The fact that this pretty much proved your theory though...
"Ahem. Just passing through guys." You avoided looking at either of them as you pushed between them and past them.
"(Y/n)?"
You ignored Steve calling out to you as you dug through your bag for the keys to your '67 Chevy Impala.
You slid in quickly putting on your sunglasses and put the key into the ignition taking a deep breath as the engine roared to life. You may or may not have had a little bit of an addiction to the tv show Supernatural and you may or may not have had Tony find the car for you.
You finally took the chance to look over and see Steve start to walk towards you. You smiled at him. It may have been a little icy but you could only hide your feeling so much as you pulled out and sped off.
Again, it wasn't any of your business nor did you want any kind of explanation. You didn't even want to think about the little moment you had in the gym with him and every other little moment before that. After walking into that you weren't going to dwell on Steve Rogers any longer. You were (Y/n) fucking Stark for crying out loud. Like Thor said. Anyone would be lucky to have your affections.
You looked down at your watch and saw you were a little behind on picking Peter up. Hopefully, he didn't end up getting on the bus thinking you had flaked.
But as you pulled up in front of the school you smiled seeing Peter walking along the sidewalk with Ned. You pulled off and rolled the passenger window down.
"Peter Parker. The best little brother anyone could ask for." You smiled seeing him stop in his steps and grin as he leaned down gripping his backpack straps to look in.
"Your only little brother so I'm not sure how much of that is a compliment."
You laughed and rolled your eyes before leaning forward and giving a little wave to Ned. His cheeks turned pink and he awkwardly waved back.
"Need a ride, Ned?"
"No! It's uh fine!"
Peter gave his friend a quick pat on the back before hopping into the passenger seat.
Ever since you had met Peter you were immediately drawn to each other. At this point, you truthfully considered him like a brother. You usually dragged him everywhere with you whether it was just to the mall or just for a drive.
The car ride was quiet as you headed to your favorite ice cream shop.
"(Y/n), you're doing that thing."
You glanced over at Peter watching you with an eyebrow raised.
"What thing?" You looked at him confused before looking back at the road.
"That thing where you're chewing on your lip and look completely zoned out into your thoughts?"
"I do not chew on my lip." You replied as you immediately stopped chewing on your lip.
"Uhhuh. So, what is it? Steve?" Peter crossed his arms across his chest and turned his body to look at you expectantly.
You glanced over at him again and rolled your eyes.
"You, our father dearest and Natasha need to mind your business." You quipped shaking your head as you pulled into the parking lot.
"You and Mr. Rogers like each other. If you would both just admit it."
As you parked the car you quickly got out without waiting for Peter.
"Hm, you should tell Mr. Roger's then that he shouldn't kiss other women if he likes a specific one."
Peter followed suit and walked beside you and into the little 1940's retro shop. "Then you deserve better."
"Ms. Stark and Mr. Parker!." The old shop owner announced happily as the two of you walked up to the counter.
"Hi, Mr. Williams." You smiled at the older man as he already began preparing your order. You had been coming here for months and the two of you were creatures of habit. It was nice getting out and about just doing normal things with Peter that didn't involve Spider-Man or the Avengers.
"One rainbow sherbert cone and one chocolate cone." You smiled as you took the rainbow cone and handed the chocolate cone to Peter. You paid before you took a seat in your usual booth that offers the most privacy at the back of the shop.
The both of you sat silently just enjoying each other's company and the delicious ice cream that was welcome to the warm day outside.
"You should be more careful." You took the sunglasses off and looked over his face for the first time since picking him up as you finished your cone and wiped your hands on a complimentary sanitizing wipe. He had a bit of blue bruising on his cheekbone and winced when he reached up and touched the spot.
"You should see the other guy." He tried to joke but instantly sighed and nodded his head.
"I will."
"Peter." You spoke a little more stern and narrowed your eyes at him.
"If you ever die, I promise I will find a way to bring you back just so I can kill you myself."
"Alright, alright. I understand." He smiled softly as he finished his own ice cream. You weren't entirely on board with Peter's extracurricular spidey activities but you also would never stop him. The laughter of your conversation died down as the phone in your bag vibrated. You groaned as you pulled the phone out and looked at the screen.
Nick Fury.
"What if I just don't answer it?" You looked from your phone to Peter then faced the screen towards him allowing him to see the caller ID.
"Can...can you even not answer a phone call from Nick Fury? Like is that even allowed? Is it even legal?" Peter's eyebrows shot up causing you to chuckle.
"Probably not. Knowing him he's put a tracker on it and will appear within five minutes of the missed call." You joked as you answered it and put the phone to your ear.
"I heard that (Y/n) Stark." Fury's voice barked over the speaker.
You covered your mouth stifling a laugh. "My office. 1700 hours."
"That's..." You looked down at your watch. 'That's in the like 20 minutes Fury and I'm like 40 minutes away with traffic."
"Then I guess you better get to it." With that, the phone went dead and you rolled your eyes.
"Well little bro, duty calls."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You made it to Fury's office about 10 minutes late. You took your time getting Peter home and didn't bother rushing to his office. Fury should know by now that you and your brother run on Stark time, not SHIELD time.
"Ms. Stark, your eleven minutes late." Fury pursed his lips as you took a seat in front of his desk.
"Better late than never, amirite?" You smiled but it dropped when you realized that Fury was not as amused as you were.
"Tough crowd." You mumbled crossing your arms across your chest and slouched back in the cool leather seat.
"Now, Romanoff was already briefed since she got here on time."
"Of course she did."
"As I was saying. I have a mission for the two of you. There's word that there's some shady shit going on involving some missing chitauri weapons. The deal is said to be going on at a high profile club in Spain."
"Which is why you're sending Natasha and me."
"Well, I sure as hell can't send Captain America to party it out in Spain."
The thought of poor Steve out in a club glued to the wall did amuse you a bit if you were being honest.
"Alright count me in." You grabbed the manilla folder that Fury slid over to you and flipped it open. It had a layout of the club, a list of possible people involved along with pictures of said people.
"I'm counting on the two of you. We need to find out who took those weapons and where they're headed and remember this is just a recon nothing more. Get in, get more information and get out.." Fury stood up from his desk, walked around to the door, and opened it clearly ready for the briefing to be over with and you to get out. You stood from your seat and tucked the folder under your arm.
"Roger that." You patted Fury on the arm causing him to roll his eyes as you walked past him.
"Starks." He huffed slamming the door shut the moment you were clear from it.
As you made it back to your car your phone went off. You pulled it out and looked down at the message:
'Ready to leave when you are
Xo Nat'
You tossed the phone back onto the seat and felt almost grateful as you headed back to the compound.
This meant some time for you to getaway. It wasn't exactly a vacation but at least you would be out of the compound and away from any awkward conversation you might have with Steve. If there was even an awkward conversation to be had. Well, whatever it was you felt like you needed a break from the compound. You probably would have taken a weekend and went to one of your beach houses had this not come up.
You pulled into the parking garage and grabbed your bag and the folder Fury had given you. Before stepping into the elevator you put your keys up in the secured key cabinet. Usually, whenever you were gone on a mission you let Sam or Clint use your car. Probably the only two you trusted to drive it.
"Leaving?" As if on cue Sam appeared beside you and followed you into the elevator.
"Spain with Nat."
"Better be safe." You smiled over at him and nodded your head as the two of you stepped out onto the living area floor.
"You know I will be. Just a little recon." You explained as he followed you over to the kitchen and poured yourself a glass of wine.
"Even those can go south." He shrugged but seeing you were about to get defensive raised his hands and added, "But I know you both can handle yourselves."
"That we can Sam, that we can." You handed him his glass of wine and got back on the elevator.
You had already finished your glass by the time you got to your room.
"Jesus Nat." You said as you walked into your room finding Nat back on your couch with bags ready and packed. At least this time she was in her usual SHIELD cat-suit and boots.
"I told you I'm ready when you are." You looked from her to all the bags on the floor.
"You moving to Spain or did you pack for me too?" You questioned jokingly seeing 4 or 5 bags set on the floor beside the sleek black coffee table.
"Yup. Again. Ready when you are."
"What about the dress with the..."
"Packed it." She cut you off with a smirk.
"And the..."
"Packed it. (Y/n), I've known you long enough to know what to pack for you. You have your staples."
You rolled your eyes but smiled. Honestly, you were thankful to have her. She knew how much you disliked packing. Your shit never quite fit as well as when she packed it for you.
"Well then."
"Do you wanna talk about it?"
You set your empty glass on the coffee table and thought it over before sitting beside her.
"Nope."
"Fair enough."
Another thing you loved about her was she knew when to push and when to drop it.
"Well let's get through this mission and maybe you'll find yourself a hot date while we're there."
You snorted and gave you a look. "Nat, the last place I should be looking for a date is at some club where some shady ass shit is going on. Beside's who says I need a date. I'm a Stark. Bury myself in my work like my brother."
"Your brother has Pepper."
"He does have her, true but he didn't have her in the beginning."
She looked at you thoughtfully and shrugged.
"Strong independent woman. I'm here for it." She smiled and patted your knee before getting up.
"Let's get going. Quicker were there the quicker we can get back should only be a night or two tops."
She helped you to your feet and you shrugged your purse off and left it on the couch. There was no point in taking it since you usually used burners and fake IDs that could be disposed of afterward and Stark Industry earpieces.
You picked up your two bags and headed out the door with Nat following behind you. Except when you walked out you collided with what felt like a wall.
You stumbled a couple of steps until a hand shot out and steadied you.
"Going somewhere?" You looked up at Steve and momentarily lost the ability to speak seeing him in your favorite too tight blue t-shirt and jeans.
"Mission. We'll be back in a couple of nights. Time-sensitive stuff so gotta get going." You were thankful Nat had spoken up snapping you out of your stupor.
"Gotta blast, Rogers. Say hi to Sharon for me." You knew it was a bit of a petty remark but you honestly couldn't help it.
"Let me help you with your bags." Steve leaned down about to grab your bags but you pulled them back and shook your head. You almost... ALMOST felt bad when he looked a little disappointed.
"It's fine I don't need your help. I got it." You smiled at him before walking away. You followed Nat into the elevator and set the bags on the floor hitting the button for the roof.
Your eyes stayed locked on Steve's eyes up until the door slid shut. He stood there with a sad lopsided smile. One hand in the front pocket of his jeans and the other he gave a slight wave.
"We got this. You and me."
You looked over at Nat appreciatively. "Got that right."
You picked up your bags just as the elevator stopped moving and the doors slid open to the roof. The sun was already beginning to go down and the warm air was slowly starting to cool down.
You filled your lungs and exhaled the fresh open air before loading yourself into the quinjet.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I say we get in and out as quick as possible so we can enjoy our time here. Go grab a drink from somewhere no so shady before we head home." You suggested as you sat down in the bathroom of the penthouse you rented out for a couple of nights. She always enjoyed helping you do your hair and makeup which you honestly enjoyed too. Just like Peter felt like a brother, Nat always felt like a sister.
"Sounds like a plan to me." She grumbled when a piece of your (w/h/c) wig wasn't cooperating. Finally, she grew tired of it and ended up pining it back.
The two of you quickly put finishing touches to your make-up and slipped on your dresses.
Natasha went with a tight low cut sleek thigh-length red dress and you went for a lace black might thigh dress with a plunging neckline. As you slipped your heels on you had to admit that you were feeling pretty good about yourself right now. It had been a while since you had to dress up for anything other than regular missions.
Nat handed you an earpiece as she put her own in. Then handed you the face veiling device. Considering the fact that you were a Stark that usually meant you had to go the extra mile in conserving your identity during these types of missions. The second any kind of paparazzi saw you out in public they were harassing you within seconds.
"Get in, pretend to mingle, we're looking for one Michael Koch who is supposed to be behind the whole deal. And one Cisco Perez." She quickly showed you a photo of a pretty douchebag-looking man followed by a skeezy-looking older man.
"Typical." You rolled your eyes as she flipped through the rest of the photos and layout of the club one more time before the pair of you headed out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It wasn't very hard to get in. Back home Tony had easily hacked into their system and added in your fake names moments before you had even arrived.
"Be careful you two. The last thing we need is for them to know that we're onto them."
Tony's worried voice crackled through the earpiece as the bouncer stepped aside so that you could get through.
You plastered a smile on your face like this was the best night of your life and linked your arm with Natasha's. The moment you walked in you were being handed a glass of bubbly champagne.
You had to admit that it looked like it could be a good time. The lighting was dim other than the large dance floor that was lit up by colorful strobe lights. Everything was a modern glossy black with pops of gold accent here and there. Several bars spread throughout and towards the back of the club were two long staircases on either side of the room that was roped off.
"VIP up those stairs." You whispered to Natasha with your dark red lips ghosting over the rim of the champagne glass.
The both of you found yourself at a booth near the stairs and just kept the drinks flowing and talked animatedly about useless nonsense all while keeping an eye on who comes and goes.
It wasn't until maybe 2 hours later that the two men you were waiting for finally made an appearance and walked their way up the stairs and to the balcony that overlooked the club.
You watched as the two men finally looked in your directions. You both raised a glass to them and Nat added in a little wink for extra effect. Like magic a few minutes later a burly security guard in a suit approached your table interrupting your oh-so thrilling conversation about the latest pop album.
"Good evening ladies, I've come to say that you're both invited to head up into the VIP lounge if you're interested that is?"
Nat gave a sultry smile and stood up from her seat grabbing a fresh drink from a waiter's tray passing by.
"We would be honored." You faked a drunken giggle and stood from your seat pretending to trip. It almost made you feel sick seeing the way the security guard was eyeing your body up and down as he caught you by the elbow to steady you.
"Oops, guess I've had a little too much to drink." You blurted as you linked your arm with the man and allowed him to lead you towards the stairs.
'I'm going to take so many showers when I get home.' You thought to yourself as you clung to the man going up the gold carpeted steps.
He led you through the large VIP doors where low and behold Michael and Cisco were sitting smoking cigars and a couple of drinks in their hand.
Something didn't feel quite right though. This felt almost a little too easy. Your suspicion was confirmed when suddenly the grip the security guard had on your arm was almost painfully tight and four more men came through the double doors and closed it behind them.
"Well, well." Michael Koche's voice was husky and thick with an accent as he stood up and set his cigar and drink down. He tugged at the cuff of his suit jacket and fixed the gold watch on his wrist. He would probably be kind of attractive if he wasn't in the business of dealing Chitauri weapons on the black market.
So much for Tony saying you should try to date businessmen.
"Natasha Romanoff and who do we have here." he circled Natasha first then made his way around you. Circling you like a predator circling his prey. As he brought his hands up he let his fingers graze the top of your chest before making his way to your face and gently stroked your cheek before finally tearing the face veiling device.
"Y/n Stark. Perfect. Two Avengers and one of them is a Stark. Did you really think we wouldn't have been tipped off about this little intrusion?" He took your face in his hand and squeezed your cheeks before giving it a light tap with his rough hand.
"Sorry guess you're not as dumb as we originally thought you were." You chuckled humorlessly and gave a slight shrug.
He glared at you before ultimately backhanding you hard enough to cause your head to swing to the side. The ring on this finger creating a gash on your cheek.
"Now look what you made me do to that pretty face of yours."
"Oh yes. My bad, sir." You tried your best to hold back even a single wince not wanting to give him the satisfaction of seeing you in any pain.
"Well, boys I think our playtime has run out."
You looked over to find Natasha taking down the men that were holding her back. You took that as your cue and stomped on the foot of the guard who held your arm. The moment he let go and leaned over you drove your elbow up into his face then rapidly got in front of him and kicked him right where it would hurt the most. You took two more men down and during that time Michael and Cisco took off through an emergency door at the back of the room and down the stairs.
Just as you got out the door and started running after them down the steps you heard the echo of a gun going off from behind you. Before you could even react you felt the bullet hit you right in the back of your right side. For a second you thought you they had missed. Until you felt the white-hot sting in your right side.
The hit caused you to lose your step and tumble down the stairs rather ungracefully. Thankfully it wasn't a very far roll but it didn't make it hurt any less.
"Fuck." you groaned as you laid motionless on your back. You were definitely going to feel this in the morning. You brought your hand to your side and pulled your hand away seeing your fingers coated in warm thick blood. You started to feel a little woozy from the hit and blood loss and fall but you tried your best to keep your eyes open.
"Y/n? Y/n!" Natasha ran down the stairs and kneeled beside you.
"Hey hey stay awake. Don't close your eyes. I need you to keep them open. Do you understand?"
You honestly admired how calm she was being. Though you could hear a slight panic in her voice.
"Does anything hurt?"
You laughed and then winced at the pain the action caused your breathing starting to become shallow. "My favorite dress is ruined. I kind of got bitch slapped, shot, and fell down some stairs, Natasha. A lot of things are hurting. Would you like me to rank them from worst to bad?" You groaned as you allowed her to slowly sit you up. You stayed there for a moment and tried to get your bearings before allowing her to help you to your feet.
The last thing you wanted was to be stuck there any longer than necessary in case they sent any more goons in. You were in no position to fight more and Nat wouldn't be able to protect herself while also trying to protect you.
With a whole lot of effort, she was able to get you to the quinjet. She laid you down across the seats making sure you were ok a few times more before taking off.
You weren't sure about much else after that. The moment she left you to pilot you lost your fight with staying conscious but at least you were in the clear of any more incidents with businessmen.