Friday morning, Lilly shuffled out of her bedroom. As JARVIS was closed, she went out to dinner with a few of her guy friends. Mid-stretch, she noticed a pair of men's sunglasses on the counter. Did one of her friends leave them there? She didn't remember any of them wearing sunglasses. Still half asleep, Lilly continued to stare at them as if they would provide her with answers. She heard Laia's door squeak open and was shocked to see Laia and Clint walk out. Clint's arm was around her waist and she held onto him for support.
"Thanks for a great night, babe," he murmured.
"Mm, you're welcome," Laia hummed, kissing him deeply. Clint helped her sit at the kitchen table before noticing where Lilly was standing with her mouth hanging open.
"Lilly," he nodded.
"H-hi," she waved, closing her mouth. Clint gave Laia another passionate kiss, picked up the sunglasses and perched them on top of his head.
"Catch you later babe. Lilly, see you at work tonight."
"S-sure," she stammered. With that, Clint left. Laia could only laugh at the expression on Lilly's face, which was half stunned, half amused.
"Come on Lil, you can't be that surprised." Lilly just shrugged and sat down at the table with her.
"It's one thing to suspect something, it's another thing entirely to find out you were right," she grinned. Laia smiled and shook her head.
"So how was dinner last night?" she asked, changing the subject.
"It was fun, we went to Hooters."
"Hooters? As in the restaurant where the waitresses are scantily clad?"
"Yep. I know what you're thinking, 'weird place to go' but they had a challenge that if you could eat an entire twenty-four ounce steak in an hour and down a pitcher of a drink of your choice, your party ate for free. I was the only one that had the stomach to step up to the challenge," Lilly said, getting up to find her phone.
"Good grief. Did you complete it?"
"With two minutes to spare! More than just the challenge, we heard rumour that one of my buddies was dating one of the girls there." Lilly showed Laia a picture of a scrawny young man with thin wire glasses that had his arm around an absolute bombshell of a woman.
"That's an... unusual pairing," Laia said, raising her eyebrow.
"I know what you mean, I was worried that she may have just been playing him but she's actually a really lovely girl," she smiled. "Anyway, want me to make you some breakfast? Judging by the way Clint was supporting you, you won't be walking too well this morning."
"That sounds good."
...
That night, the club was settling down after another show. Laia couldn't come tonight because she had paperwork to take care of. As Lilly was going through her end-of-night checklist, Bucky raced past her and hid in one of the dressing rooms.
"Bucky?" Lilly walked out from backstage to see what had him so spooked. There was a tall bald man dressed all in black. Lilly's eyes briefly flicked to the red symbol on his jacket.
"Ah, Fräulein Lilith I presume," he said in a thick German accent. "My name is Wolfgang Von Strucker and I have a business proposition for you." Lilly walked over to him and extended her hand to shake his. He took it and placed a kiss on the back of it. Already she didn't like the look of this creep.
"It's Miss Willow, if you're here to talk business," Lilly corrected him.
"Very well, Fräulein Willow then. Is there somewhere we can talk more privately? " Lilly nodded and led him to her office, closing the door halfway. The boys all stood around to listen in. Lilly sat behind her desk and Strucker took the seat in front of her.
"Now, let's cut to the chase. I'm a part of an organisation called Hydra and we're looking for new recruits."
"I've heard of you. You deal in BDSM and other such things."
"You make it sound so sleazy Fräulein," Strucker chided.
"Oh, I'm sorry; class it up for me." Lilly tried to keep the bitterness out of her voice.
"We provide a service to women. Most escort agencies won't provide the services that we do and without women with these fantasies, we wouldn't exist. What we do is not so different Fräulein Willow. We both give women what they want, however, you provide the fantasy, we give the reality." Lilly was unconvinced.
"Surely there must be someone you can think of that may want the job?"
"No. They're all decent hardworking men and I'd vouch for every single one of them."
"Even Stark? He just sits on his ass all day and money just falls into his lap." Tony took a step forward, ready to barge in there but Steve put a hand up to stop him. It was obvious that this guy had done his research before coming here.
"I don't care what he does outside of JARVIS. He shows up for work, does his job and does it well." Strucker looked her up and down for a moment.
"You know, we're not so different you and I. We're both essentially pimps and those boys out there are your whores. Even the girls that work for you are unable to keep their hands off them."
"Say what you want about me, I don't give a shit but I'll be damned if I sit by and let you insult my employees!" Lilly snarled.
"Ooh, so feisty Fräulein. When was the last time you got laid, hm?" Strucker ran his foot up her thigh. Lilly flinched and stood up, firmly pressing her legs together.
"That is none of your business!" Strucker carefully took her reaction and a sleazy smile crept across his face.
"Oh, I get it... you're a virgin aren't you?" Lilly fell silent and her face turned red. He stood up and advanced towards her. Without meaning to, Lilly backed herself against the wall.
"Don't worry. I know the perfect man for you, real gentle with first timers such as yourself," he said, taking Lilly's chin in his fingers. Having heard enough, Pietro stormed in, grabbed Strucker's shoulder and pulled him away from Lilly. She listened to the men argue and when a particularly nasty insult left Strucker's mouth, she regained her composure.
"That... is... enough. You are dealing with me and if you have nothing more to say then we're done here. My boys are not for sale. Now get the hell out of my club!" She nodded over to Nick and Brock who came to investigate the argument. They took an arm each and escorted him out.
"You will regret this Fräulein. This isn't the last you've heard of me!" he called as the two men pushed him out the door. When she was sure he was gone, Lilly let out a sigh of relief and leant against the nearest wall.
"You okay Lilly?" Sam asked, placing his hand on her back.
"I'm fine. I just... need a minute," she responded. Lilly covered her blushing face with her hand and took a few deep breaths through her nose to stop herself from crying. She could easily overcome embarrassment but right now she felt downright humiliated. After a minute, she spoke.
"Thanks for that Pietro. Look, why don't you all go home and I'll see you tomorrow. I've got a few calls to make. Oh, and Steve, can you check on Bucky?" She gestured to backstage. Lilly had to warn the other clubs about Strucker.
...
While Lilly was leaving, she saw Clint still hanging around.
"What're you still doing here Clint? I thought you left ages ago."
"I want to see Laia so I thought I'd go with you."
"You're a big boy; you could've gone at anytime," Lilly said bluntly. Clint sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck.
"Yeah, well... more than that I want to make sure you get home safe. You're a nice girl Lil; I'd hate to think of what that creep might do to you if he was still lurking in the parking lot." Lilly gave him a small smile.
"You're a good man, Clint. Laia's lucky to have you." They exited the club and Lilly locked up.
"You know... there's nothing wrong with being a virgin," Clint said after a while of driving. "Steve told me he's still one."
"R-really?" Lilly asked, feeling her face heat up again.
"Yeah. He said he's waiting for marriage."
"I guess that makes us the same. I know I say a lot of shit but it's all just talk 'really. I'm twenty-two, not naive," she shrugged. They continued to make small talk until they reached Lilly's apartment building. After tonight, the men of JARVIS were feeling slightly protective of the women who worked there.