"Lucy... Lucy wake up," a soft voice drifted in my ears and into my sleep. I ignored the voice and buried my face in the pillow under my head.
"Five more minutes," I mumbled, my voice barely decipherable with the mixture of sleep and pillow. A throaty laugh shook me slightly. Warm hands gripped my arms lightly and shook me gently.
"Sweetheart, I'd love to let you sleep for five more minutes but Fury wants to talk to you," Tony's velvet voice broke though my sleepy haze. I turned over and rested my cheek against his chest. He laughed.
"What does he want with me?" I moaned against his chest. He laughed again and ran his fingers through my tangled hair. His fingers massaged my head soothingly, almost making me fall back asleep.
"I don't know, he doesn't tell me anything. Just that he needs to see you," Tony said. I groaned and finally forced my eyes open. The sudden light blinded me for a moment before I managed to blink sight back into my eyes. The first thing I saw was the arc reactor glowing gently just under my fingertips. I shifted my face and looked at Tony. He looked down at me through half-lidded eyes with a cheshire cat grin on his lips.
"Good morning doctor," he smiled down at me, running his fingers through my hair lazily. I smiled back at him.
"Stark," I greeted back sleepily.
"I was gonna make you breakfast but I didn't want to wake you up," he muttered, his voice thick with sleep. I chuckled lightly, eye fluttering closed for a moment.
"Such a gentleman!" I teased. Tony laughed, shaking me with him.
"I had planned a whole morning but Fury had to go and ruin it," Tony smirked.
"That just means you owe me a romantic morning some other time Mr. Stark," I said. His smirk over took his face in a full smile.
"Whatever you wish Ms Scaffer," Tony replied. I smiled and closed my eyes again, "No ya don't," Tony sat up suddenly, bring me with him. I tumbled into his lap and looked up at him annoyed.
"Hey!" I yelped.
"Fury wants to talk to you," Tony said, getting out of bed. I collected the sheets around me defiantly.
"So what, he'll have to wait until a decent hour when I'm good and ready," I curled myself into his sheets. Tony's laugh broke through the blankets to me.
"I like the sass sweetheart but Fury doesn't quiet work that way. What Fury wants, Fury gets... now," on the last word, Tony pulled at the blankets toward him and me with them. I let out a shocked squeal as I tumbled out of the bed. Tony's hands went to my hips before I could tumble off the edge of the bed. He leaned over me and pressed his forehead to mine, "So , would you like to get out of bed or would you like me to carry you down?" Tony's voice dipped low in a slight wink at seduction. I swallowed hard and tried to remember how to speak.
"You carrying me back to my apartment would be kinda suspicious, don't you think?" I managed to choke out. Tony smirked.
"I'm not too concerned about what others find suspicious or not," Tony breathed, leaning his mouth to brush my ear lightly. A shiver ran up my spine and pinkened my cheeks. Tony's breathy laugh tickled my ear. I twitched to push against his chest, trying to keep him from tickling me further. Tony found this highly amusing, attaching his mouth to my neck. His breath, his facial hair, and his mouth mixing together to create a shivering feeling that left me gasping from laughter.
"Tony! Stop!" I yelped, bringing up my hands to try and push his face away from me. Tony's laugh mixed with mine and our laughter filled the room. His hands roamed down to my hips where they continued their torturous assault. I shifted with pained laughter from this sudden assault. I wiggled around, kicking and flailing my arms to try and get free.
"Uh, sir?" JARVIS's voice broke through the cacophony of laughter. Tony hesitated for a moment and I gasped for breath, my chest aching.
"Yes J?" Tony began his assault again causing my aching laughter to resume.
"Tony!" I whined out with a smile.
"Sir, Mr. Fury is getting quiet impatient," JARVIS said. There was a moment when Tony seemed to not hear JARVIS. He continued to tickle me for a few more seconds before groaning and finally stopping the assault.
"Thanks J," Tony groaned. I was still trying to catch my breath. His eyes landed on me again with a mischievous glint in them, "we'll have to continue this another time Ms Scaffer," he said. I let out breathy laugh in response.
"Oh fantastic," I said, rolling my eyes. Tony smiled down at me and before I could do anything else, he captured my mouth against his. I cupped his face in my hands and grudgingly pulled away from him, "We should get going before Fury comes barging in here," I whispered. Tony smirked and glanced down at my mouth.
"Let him come, I bet he'll learn to be more patient," Tony muttered, leaning down to kiss me again. I smiled into the kiss before pushing away once again.
"Tony, behave yourself," I said back. Tony kissed my cheek before pulling himself off me. He held out his hand to me.
"That's much easier said than done my dear," Tony said as he pulled me up to stand next to him. I shook my head as I began searching the floor for my clothes that were discarded there yesterday.
"Level of annoyed, do I have time to go to my room and change?" I asked to JARVIS.
"Uhm, I would say not Miss," JARVIS said slowly. I groaned and slid my legs into my jeans, along with my knit socks from yesterday. I trotted over to Tony's closet quickly and opened the doors. I started flipping through the shirts that rested there.
"Do you have anything in here that's not a band shirt or a thousand dollar suit?" I asked, pushing the fifth Black Sabbath shirt out of my way. Tony chuckled as he appeared behind me. His arms slipped around my waist as he placed a languid kiss on my neck.
"Sorry, all my blouses are at the dry cleaners," he murmured into my skin.
"Ridiculous," I said, my voice high as I tried to keep from laughing. I flipped back to the third Black Sabbath shirt I'd found and pulled it out.
"Good choice sweetheart," Tony said, kissing my cheek and stepping away from me. I smiled over my shoulder at him before I slipped the shirt I'd been wearing over my head, "Mmm, damn," he whispered low. I scoffed and turned to throw the discarded shirt at him.
"Behave!" I chided with a smile. He caught the shirt easily in one hand and shot a wink back at me with a smirk, "Get dressed, we're meeting Fury!" I directed. Tony saluted.
"Yes ma'am!" he said. He strode over to the closet. I passed by him and made my way to the bathroom. I looked in the mirror at my refection. My hair was a tangled mess on the top of my head. I ran my fingers through my hair in an attempt to calm it down a bit. It fell in messy curls around my face. With a splash of water on my face to wake me up and scrub my face clean. As I was drying my face, Tony came in. He was in a simple black t-shirt with a leather jacket thrown over it. The arc reactor flushed slightly under it in muted blue along with his pulse.
"You look much better in my shirt than I do," he muttered, leaning against the door frame. I glanced over at him with a smirk.
"Too bad I can't brush my teeth though," I said disgusted. Tony leaned forward.
"There's an extra under the sink you can have if it bugs you that much," Tony said, leaning down in front of the cabinet under the sink. He stood back up and held out a packaged toothbrush to me. I looked down at it and then back up at Tony, "Or you could continue to go without a toothbrush," Tony pulled it back. I reached out and grabbed it from him quickly.
"No, no! I'll take it!" I said. Tony smirked over at me as he reached for his own toothbrush. We brushed our teeth in silence, Tony nudging me every once and a while.
"Alright babe, we should really get going before Fury blows a gasket," Tony wrapped his arm around my waist after we finished brushing our teeth. He led me through the apartment again and over to the elevator.
"What do you think Fury wants with me?" I asked nervously, fidgeting with the hem of Tony's shirt. When I looked down at my hands, the black marks on my arms caught my eye. I rubbed my hands along my arm nervously. Tony reached over lightly and gripped my hand in his to stop its nervous motions. I glanced over at Tony. His eyes were gentle and reassuring. He squeezed my hand lightly.
"Don't worry so much sweetheart. Fury needs you, he's not gonna do anything to you," Tony assured, pressingly my fingers to his lips.
"But he said he could put me in jail for no reason..." I trailed off, biting my lip. The anxiety felt heavy in my chest. My fingers tightened around Tony's unintentionally as I thought about it.
"Hey, hey babe, look at me," Tony cooed, stepping in front of me. He gripped my arms in his hands and leaned down to look into my eyes, "Fury's not gonna do anything to you. He can't. Not only does he need you, no one will let him. No one. Steve and Thor are too righteous for that. Clint, Nat, Sam, Banner, and even Rhodey all like you too much to let him get away with that. Especially not Bucky, he's sweet on you," there was a flicker of something in his eyes that was gone as soon as it appeared, "But sweetheart, no one as fierce as me. I will not let him do anything to you. I won't let anyone do anything to you. Ever," his hands came up to cup my face in them. I threw my arms around his neck and pulled him against me to hide my face from him.
"Thank you Tony," I whispered into his shoulder. Tony pressed a kiss to my temple.
"No problem Lucy," he muttered back. The elevator dinged and we parted to exit the elevator. Tony's hand pressed in between my shoulders lightly to guide me to Fury's meeting room. It was the same room I first met Fury in except there weren't any extra workers milling around. It was Fury and the Avengers that sat around the table when Tony and I entered and no one else. I felt every pair of eyes flick from me then back to Tony.
"It's about damn time you two showed up," Fury said, crossing his arms and leaning back annoyed.
"Well, I was doing this thing called sleeping, it's quite common at 7am, believe it or not," Tony snarked back. Fury's jaw flinched and he flicked his eye over and leveled a hard glare at me.
"What's your excuse doctor?" he asked. Annoyance quelled in my chest at him. What was I? His personal dog to be called on whenever he pleased?
"I had kind of a rough night yesterday. And every time we seem to get together, awful things happen to me. Excuse me for being a bit slow and reluctant to join," I shot back. The heroes around the table glanced back at Fury to see his reaction. Fury's face remained frozen and unmoved though his eye narrowed slightly at me.
"Sit down Stark so we can begin," Fury motioned to the only remaining empty chair at the table with his chin. Tony glanced at me before taking the seat and sitting stiffly.
"Don't worry, I'll stand," I spat annoyed. Tony's mouth twitched with a smile but he kept it at bay.
"Enough doctor," Fury warned.
"What, not amused?" I cocked my head at Fury. Fury's eye darkened and narrowed at me further. I crossed my arms over my chest and steadied myself on my feet evenly, "Good. Neither am I," I leveled. The heroes shifted nervously in their seats, except for Tony and Natasha whose eyes never left me.
"That's cute doctor but you really don't wanna get on my nerves," Fury threatened. I froze for a moment. At the threat, Natasha turned to look at Fury confused. Tony's face was frozen in anger as he turned to glare at Fury. I swallowed my fear and set my jaw.
"What are you gonna do to me? Arrest me?" Steve and James shifted anxiously. James threw a warning glance quickly at me, "Kill me?" The words hung thick in the air for a long moment, confronting every hero around the table in turn. Almost all the heroes looked away from me at the implication of my words. Natasha raised her eyes from Fury to the ceiling before staring off at the wall somewhere behind him. James's metal hand clenched into a fist on the table but he and Steve refused to look at me. Banner looked up at me for the first time, shock in his eyes. Tony's glare never left Fury but his whole body was rigid. I leaned forward slightly, "Well go right ahead. But good luck finding your precious stone by yourself," I said, swallowing all the fear in my body. For a moment no one moved. All the heroes waited on edge for Fury to decide was he was going to do next. And then everything happened all at once and no one had any time to act. Fury's chair scrapped back across the floor as he leaned forward, palms pressed to the table and pushed himself up. His glare at me was sharp enough to slice through me and I realized what a mistake I'd made. But it was too late. I'd already started down this path and now I had to keep going.
"JARVIS," Fury's voice was so low in his throat that it came out in a growl.
"Yes sir?" JARVIS responded.
"Call in security. Doctor Scaffer seems to need remember who's in charge here," Fury hissed, lips curling over his teeth. The heroes reeled back from the table. Steve pulled his arms back like the table had burned him. James's metal palm slammed against the metal of the table, letting out a dull ring. Maria's head snapped in the direction of Fury in disbelief. Natasha's head swung over toward me and the door. Clint's hands flung to his back only to come away empty when he realized he didn't have his quiver. Banner looked at Fury then Tony then at me, his face completely lost. Sam and Rhodey watched the door behind me carefully. Tony slammed his hands down on the table and pushed himself up to face Fury.
"The hell she does! JARVIS, cancel that last order!" Tony yelled at the AI. There was already the sound of heavy boots in the hall behind the door. I could feel my body shaking at the sound and I turned around the see the metal of the door vibrating from a hit to the other side. I let out a terrified gasp and took an involuntary step back.
"Sir-" JARVIS started.
"So help me JARVIS, I will disconnect you if you follow that order," Tony screamed at the air.
"I am sorry," JARVIS replied. It was unclear who he was actually talking to. Another hit to the other side of the door made the hinges jump and the metal creak. I stepped back again and hit the table. I looked around, James being the closest on the corner of the table to me. He made to get up, along with Steve, and Sam.
"Stay where you are," Fury demanded. The boys' heads all snapped to look at their director in horror.
"But sir-" Steve started.
"That's an order soldier," Fury hissed. Steve's jaw clenched and he sat rigid in his seat, refusing to look at me. James looked in horror at his friend and then back at me.
"This is insane, you can't be serious," Maria tried.
"Do I look like I'm joking?" Fury deadpanned, his eye boring into mine. I tried to swallow but it was like cement in my throat and choked me. My eyes searched for anyone who would help me but no one would look at me. They were pointedly not looking at me. Tony's frantic eyes met mine and he turned to round the table toward me, "Stark!" Fury yelled after him.
"Screw you!" he shot back. Tony had made it halfway to me when the doors finally gave behind me. I turned to see six soldiers clad in black riot gear in the doorway. Each had on thick black shoes, black jackets, black helmets, and each had a sniper trained directly on me. Their red trails lining up in the center of my chest. Everything in my body was shot through with cold fear. I screamed in fear and turned to scramble toward James, still being the closest to me. I didn't make it a foot until I felt heavy hands gripping on to my arms.
"Tony!" I screamed, trying to rip myself away from the soldiers. Tony tried to run at me again only to be intercepted by Rhodey. Rhodey's arm came around Tony's chest and pulled him back. It was only then that I realized the red sites had set themselves on Tony. My breathing was ragged in my throat as it tore out of me. The grip on my arms like iron. I felt like a newly caged animal, looking widely from person to person, trying to land purchase on someone to help me. But none came. The soldiers restrained me and there was no way I would be able to get out of it.
"Sir?" one said behind me. The room froze again. My pulse in my throat was racing like a rabbit cornered by a fox. My eyes were like a deer's as they cross in front of a semi. It was like a car crash, you wanted to look away but you couldn't. Tony was still fighting with Rhodey to get free. His face was frantic and ever muscle in his body was taunt.
"Escort the doctor to the Raft," Fury said. A flurry of sound erupted after that. 'What's and 'No's and gasps fill the air.
"What's the Raft? Tony? Tony! What's the Raft!" I screamed at him as the soldiers hauled me toward the door.
"Lucy!" Tony screamed after me. Over and over again he screamed my name until it didn't even sound like my name. His eyes were wide and terrified. By now the heroes had risen and were disregarding Fury's order but it was too late. I was already to the door and two soldiers had made a wall in front of us.
"Tony!" I kicked and pulled and tried to pull myself away and run away, "Tony! You promised! Tony!" I screamed, "You promised me!"