"After all that I'm hungry, wanna get some food?" Steve catches his breath and rests his hands on his hips.
"Why not?" Iris nods "I'll go get cleaned up."
After showering and freshening up, Iris met Steve at the second floor hallway, where he looked down at the first floor. He stares down watching different workers and others come in and out of the building. Iris walks up behind him and stands next to him looking down.
"That's a lot of people." she says resting her hands on the railing.
"Yeah sure is. You sure you're gonna like living here?"
"Oh yeah, it's much better than my apartment." she nods and Steve looks over at her.
Her eyes were so focused down admiring at all the people. She has a slight smile on her lips, curling in the corners. Her hair falls onto her face as she leans forward pushing on the hand rail.
Steve clears his throat, while also clearing his head of all the thoughts. Iris perks up and turns to him. "Ready to go?" he asks.
"Yeah." she smiles and they both turn from the window and head downstairs.
————
After searching for a place to get food Steve decided to take Iris to a local burger place. They sat down in a booth after ordering, and waited for their food.
"I was surprised to find out you've never been here." Steve says leaning back.
"I haven't gotten out much I guess." Iris shrugs. "But I'm sure this place is great." she smiles.
"It is." Steve nods with a small grin.
Iris sighs then looks up when a waitress walks by and slides a tray onto the table. "Is there anything else I can get for you guys?"
Steve slides the tray to the middle of the table "I don't think so, thank you ma'am."
The waitress nods "You're welcome." she walks away.
Steve grabs the smaller plates from the tray and takes his, then passing Iris hers. He then takes the fry basket off and puts it in the middle of the table.
"Looks great." Iris smiles then looks up at Steve from the food.
Steve smiles back "Go on, try it."
Iris laughs "Okay, captain." she shakes her head
and picks up her burger and takes a bite. Her eyes quickly widen as she rests the burger back down on the plate. "Oh my god."
Steve chuckles "Good?"
"Good? This is the best burger I've had." Iris laughs then taking a sip of her drink.
"Good. I'm glad you like it." Steve says then taking a bite of his.
Iris continues to eat her and take a couple fries between bites. "So.." Iris says taking a sip of her drink "While we're here, might as well get to know each other right? Other than the basic, captain america..frozen in ice." Iris laughs.
Steve chuckles "Yes might as well." he nods.
"Tell me about yourself." Iris says, leans her head on her hand.
"Well, I fought in World War Two...before that they put me in some pretty ridiculous shows.." Steve starts but Iris cuts him off by touching his hand. He quickly looks down at their hands then back up at her eyes.
"Not what you did with all that Captain America stuff. I wanna know about you."
Steve takes a deep breath then nods "I don't know if there's much to say. I feel out of place, old fashioned. Vintage." he laughs to himself "Like I don't belong unless I'm Captain America."
Iris tilts her head and gives a frown."I didn't know you felt that way."
"No one does." he shakes his head "I don't normally talk to people about this stuff. I guess nobody's ever given me a chance."
"Well now you've got me to talk to. We may have just met but, you can trust me." Iris smiles.
"Good to know." Steve smiles.
For a minute, the two share the quiet moment, staring at each other with smiles on their faces, no thoughts in their heads besides what was in front of them. Iris stares into his eyes, subconsciously, just now noticing how blue they really were.
"What about you. What's special about miss Iris..."
"Bell."
"Miss Iris Bell." He tilts his head.
"I come from a small town, didn't know much people and now coming to this city just..it was a lot." she laughs "Until Tony hired me I didn't know anyone."
"Hm" Steve hums. "What about your powers?"
Iris sighs "Oh my powers..um." She leans back, away from the table, glancing up at the ceiling thinking back to old memories.
"Don't feel pressured."
"Well you know I got them from the stone. Just one night I went with my friend, out in the woods. We found the stone in this..orb. I opened it, touched it, then got knocked out."
"Wow.." Steve looks down "I don't.."
"You don't have to say anything." Iris shrugs. "It's a lot. But, now I can do this." she holds out her hand and a crack of purple light comes from her hand. She shrugs.
"That's pretty cool." Steve nods.
"Don't act impressed or anything." Iris crosses her arms and squints, teasing him.
"No no, it's just kinda of..crazy. Hard to process."
"Yeah I know.." Iris smiles and nods "I'm just messing with you."
————
Back at the facility Steve and Iris walk in the front Door, not seeing Tony standing there waiting for them. Iris was laughing at a joke Steve told and she had her arm hooked with his.
Tony clears his throat staring at them and they both stop and look at him. "Where were you?"
They both suddenly stop laughing and turn from facing each other to see Tony in front of them. Iris opens her mouth to speak but Steve steps in.
"I took Iris to the burger place down the street." Steve points.
"We just got lunch." Iris says with a shrug, furrowing her brows, confused as to why he seemed mad.
"And you didn't tell me." Tony crosses his arms.
"Do I have to tell you everything?" Iris unhooks her arm. "It was lunch."
"You're under my protection." Tony states
"I thought I just lived here, and worked for you. I'm not allowed to go out on my own?" she crosses her arms.
Tony clenches his jaw "You should've told me."
"Tony, I'm thirty years old. I think I can handle myself."
Tony sighs then leaves the room, without a word. Iris relaxes her muscles and lets out a heavy sigh. Steve walks over to her.
"You alright?" he rests a hand on her shoulder causing her heart to flutter quickly. She turns around and nods.
"Yeah. I have no idea what's wrong with him."
Over the next few days Iris avoided Tony as much as she possibly could. She spent the mornings training with Steve, then the afternoons often with Wanda or out walking around the city.
Not only has she been getting stronger, but Wanda was helping her gain even more control over her abilities.
She usually had a great relationship with Tony but, she hated the way he made her feel that day.
Coming back from her almost daily afternoon walk, she heads to the kitchen to put away the fruit she bought at the market. When she closes the fridge door Wanda was on the other side, waiting.
"Oh my god! Wanda." Iris catches her breath, resting her hand over her chest. "Hey."
"Hey, sorry to creep up on you like that." she walks past Iris in the kitchen and takes a seat at the bar.
"It's fine." Iris laughs and fills a glass with water and takes a sip. "What's up?"
"I noticed you and Tony were..being a bit distant this week.." she leans her head on her hand. "Is something wrong?"
Iris rolls her eyes "He's just treating me like a child. He wants me to tell him everything I'm doing." She rests her glass on the counter "I'm thirty dammit." she sighs.
"I know how it feels." Wanda nods "Dealing with the Sokovian accords, he basically locked me up. I wasn't allowed to go anywhere."
"That sounds terrible. I get that he's protective but.."
"It can be a little much." Wanda finishes her sentence.
"Exactly." Iris nods. "I was just spending the morning with Steve..I don't understand."
"He just wants to protect you."
"I know." Iris walks over and sits by Wanda "I know." she sighs. "It's just hard..when I know I can fully protect myself and he's still so cautious. All of a sudden too." she shakes her head thinking to how he used to act.
Yes, when Iris was just his assistant he would still make sure there was a ton of safety measures around the facility and always made sure to keep an eye out for her. But as soon as she 'joined the team' it's like he doesn't want her to do anything. She felt like she couldn't live her life at all.
————
Later that night, Iris couldn't sleep. Again. She got out of bed once again, and decided to roam the empty halls of the facility. She poured herself a small glass of water and took her time, taking the silence in. It was so peaceful yet eerie at the same time.
She came to a stop at one of the large windows and took a moment, staring out at the nature. Lifting the glass to her lips, she took a small sip of her drink and let out a sigh.
"Can't sleep?"
Iris quickly turns around, sloshing the water out of the glass and onto the floor.
"JESUS STEVE!" she could feel her heart pounding in her chest, as she loosened her now tense grip on the glass.
"I'm sorry!" He chuckles "I wasn't trying to scare you."
"Mission failed." she scoffs crouching down to the ground and trying to wipe the small spot of water with her sleeve.
Steve walks over and bends over slightly taking the glass from her hand so she could finish cleaning easily.
When she stands back up she grabs it out of his hand and sighs. "Please give a warning next time."
"How am I supposed to give you a warning, no matter what I said, it would've scared you." Steve raises his arms in defense.
"True." Iris rolls her eyes, then takes another sip of her water. The moonlight that came through the window just barely lit Steve's face in front of her. She could make out a few features but most was too dark. Except for his eyes. The reflection bounced off his bright blue eyes and she watched as he stared right back at her.
"Your eyes are- really blue."
Steve just stares and slightly furrows his brows. He felt himself get flustered at the sudden compliment realizing how long they'd been staring.
"Sorry!" Iris snaps out of her trance. "I just, couldn't help but notice..." she laughs quietly trying to ease the now awkwardness of the situation.
"So..back to my question. Can't sleep?" Steve studied her as she crossed her arms and took another sip of water.
"No. Ignoring Tony is not easy work." she laughs and Steve chuckles along. "I don't know why it's keeping me up though."
"It's all mental. Part of your brain probably wants you to fix it." Steve shrugs.
"Why should I be the one fixing it? He's the one who's mad for no reason." she shakes her head. "I'm not apologizing for anything. I did nothing wrong."
"I know." Steve nods "Maybe just talk to him?"
"Nope." she says emphasizing the p at the end. "If he wants to fix it, he'll apologize. That, or we never speak again." she stares at the ground.
"Over me taking you to lunch?" Steve puts his hand on the side of her arm. She knew he was right. It was ridiculous. Why should she be so mad at Tony for trying to protect her. But why would Tony be so mad at her for going out without telling him?
Her thoughts went in circles around her mind what seemed like one hundred times before she let out a deep sigh.
"I think I just need sleep."
Steve smiles and pulls her in for a hug, starling her. Her head pressed against his chest and she could hear his heartbeat. She stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do, but also enjoying it. It had been a while since she had been hugged like that.
"Want me to walk you to your room?"
"Just a little bit longer.." she closed her eyes, hugging him back. She could feel her eyes get heavier the longer she stood there. Almost like she could fall asleep in his arms.
A/N BY CLEO
ok so this chapter felt like more of a filler but, we've got action coming soon!!
ALSO please read any warnings i out at the beginning of the chapters. There hasn't been any yet, but there will be (in the next chapter) and probably more in the future!