"There you are doll, we were getting worried about you," James called as Tony and I neared the kitchen. Tony's hand rested on the small of my back as we rounded the counter and walked toward the table. I bowed my head to hide my flushed cheeks and smiled lightly.
"Yeah, I had to go to the bathroom," I lied. When I looked up, I caught eyes with Banner who shot me a knowing look. He knew I was lying and he kept my gaze. He shot me a small nod before turning back to his plate in front of him.
"Well we made you a plate if you would like it," James offered, motioning toward counter where a plate rested. I walked over to the counter and up to the plate that was about half full. Tony appeared next to me and grabbed a plate that looked like it had been abandoned there earlier. He looked over at me with a small smile on his face. The plate that was made up on the counter for me had a small amount of rice pushed into a pile on one end of the plate. There was a half of fillet of salmon that was pushed into the other side of the plate. I smiled lightly before scooping it up and turned to the table again. There was a single seat that was open next to Banner. I gnawed at the inside of my cheek as I stepped around the table and placed my plate on the table next to Banner. I pulled the chair out from the table and sat down. Banner looked down at me.
"Sorry, I know it's not much but I didn't want to risk anything," Banner said. I looked over at him and shot him a smile.
"No, dont worry. Thank you so much," I said looking up at him with a smile. Tony appeared on the other side of me. The chair scrapped against the tile as he pulled it up to the other side of me.
"Lady Lucy, this is the best Midgardian meal I have ever had!" Thor boomed, his fists banging against the table. I jumped up in shock at the sudden sound. The china on the table rattled from the assult. I jumped back slightly and into the back of the chair. Tony looked up from me and cast his glance over at Thor.
"Take it easy there Hammer Time, don't break the table," Tony hissed. I elbowed him slightly under the table. He looked over at my, a look of confusion clear on his face.
"Really though, this is really good," Steve said from the opposite end of the table. I looked over at Steve and smiled in appriciation.
"Well, everything better than the straight protien you drink Rogers," Natasha shot back, shoveling food into her mouth. I tried to hide my smile as I picked up my fork slowly and decided what of the little food I had to eat first. The heroes around the table burst into laughter. Steve's face flushed a light pink at the comment.
"This coming from the woman who can't even boil water," Sam shot back. Again, another wave of laughter rolled around the table. Natasha glared over her fork at Sam as he continued to eat.
"Yeah, cause the pigeon is always the person I count on for my life goals," James shot back.
"You seem to be pretty content to count on me to get your ass out of trouble," Sam leveled with a cocky smirk as he took another bite.
"Hey! Steve doesn't like that kind of language," Natasha said with a smirk. A smile pulled at my mouth as I took another bite. The food was better than I'd expected. It really did seem like I knew how to cook.
"You know what Romanoff," Steve started. Natasha smirked over at Steve.
"Take it easy on him Nat, it's not his fault he came from the 'good 'ol days'," Clint piped up from next to Natasha. Steve glared over at Clint. James was laughing next to Steve and leaned over to elbowed Steve's arm.
"What good 'ol days would that be? Back when you were always sick? or when we were fighting Hitler?" James called out. Steve shot him a glare that was enough to kill a man, causing James to laugh even harder.
"How are you feeling?" Banner asked quietly, leaning over to me. I looked over at him with my fork already halway to my mouth.
"I'm okay," I assured. He leveled a concerned stare at me.
"Are you really though," he asked. I hesitated for a moment. Part of me wanted to vent to him but I didn't want to make him feel bad. From next to me, Tony's hand slid from my hip to rest on the chair next to me and he leaned forward to be further into the conversation around the table. I looked over at Banner and leaned closer so I didn't have to talk so loud.
"I was uh, feeling trapped earlier but I feel better now," I admitted. Banner's eyes softened slightly at my confession.
"You know, when I was first brought in I felt the same way," Banner whispered. I looked back at him shocked.
"Really," I said shocked. He nodded with a small smile
"It's completely normal to feel that way. But they're not doing these things because they want to keep you away from your family or friends. They are doing these things because they want to make sure nothing happens to you. If something happened to you, they would never be able to forgive themselves," Banner explained. I was taken aback. I'd never thought of it that way and instantly I'd felt guilty for ever doubting them. While I was lost in my thought, a hand appeared on the back of my chair. Tony pulled my chair up next to his and wrapped his arm fully around my waist, his hand pressing against my hip on the opposite side. I looked up at him with a soft smile. He kissed my temple, his mouth lingering against my skin for a moment.
"Do you like it?" I asked quietly up to Tony.
"It's incredible. I have so much left to learn about you sweetheart," Tony breathed into my hair. I blushed slightly and leaned into him further.
"Why aren't you eating doll?" James asked quietly while everyone else was distracted.
"My stomach is starting to hurt and I don't wanna cause any trouble," I said. He shot me a sympathetic look before finishing off his plate. By now, most of the heroes were finished and their plates were pushed to the center of the table. Tony's fingers hitched under the hem of my shirt and was tickling my side slightly.
"So how are we going to find this cave, does anyone have any idea?" Sam asked, cutting through the chatter around the table. I turned my attention toward him; pulling my focus from Tony's fingers pressing against my hip.
"What do you mean?" Steve asked, leaning his elbows on the table.
"I mean, are we just expected to hike around till we find it? In case you haven't noticed, there are a ton of mountains," Sam said.
"Banner, do you have any idea?" Natasha asked, turning to look at him. He looked up at Natasha.
"There's not much literature about anything in the mountains that I could find," Banner said.
"Well Thor, do you have any idea?" Steve asked. Thor shifted nervously in his seat.
"There are no mentions of Midgardian caves anywhere in Asgard," Thor said. Steve continued asking Thor questions. Tony's cold fingers appeared under the hem of my shirt, against the delicate skin of my stomach. I gasped and jumped from the shock of his sudden touch. Tony's breathy laugh sent a shiver down my spine. I pressed myself back against him and leaned my head on his shoulder. He pressed his mouth to my temple.
"So this brings us back to my original question," Sam said. There was a long pause where no one said anything.
"Why don't we just ask someone," I said quietly. Everyone's eyes turned to land on me.
"What?" Sam asked.
"Why don't we ask someone," I repeated.
"You want us to go up to someone randomly on the street and ask them where an anient alien power sourse is hidden. Oh, and by the way, it's been hidden for 8000 years," Clint asked.
"No smartass, that's not what I meant," I shot back annoyed. Tony laughed behind me, shaking me slightly.
"Then what is it you mean," Clint asked, crossing his arms.
"It's really not that complicated. Just inquire about local legends," I said. They all gave me blank stares.
"Local legends?" James asked.
"Yeah," I trailed off, unsure where he was lost.
"How?" he asked.
"Go to a local tavern and ask the locals. It's really not that rocket science. That's how we found our site in Niger," I said.
"We can all go into town tomorrow and see what we can find. Lucy, you should probably stay here for protection," Steve said. My shoulders fell and I leaned back against Tony heavier. Being stuck in a building again...
"I think she should go with us," Tony piped up suddenly. He hadn't said anything in a long time and everyone looked over at him, shocked by his sudden contradiction. I turned aroud slightly to look back at him confused.
"What?" a chorus of voices started up.
"Tony?" I muttered up at him. He glanced down at me with a soft look in his eyes.
"Obviously she knows more about this than we do. She knows what to look for more than we do. And leaving her out doesn't make any sense," Tony explained. Steve eyes him cautiously.
"But what about safetly?" he asked.
"She's punched both me and you in the face and survived the Raft. She's pretty damn strong Cap," I felt heat raise in my cheeks. Tony's hand squeezed my hip affectionatly to puncuate his thought, "Besides, something tells me your boy Bucky wouldn't let anything happen," Tony said, his voice hiding a carefully concealed bite. My grip tightened on his knee reasuringly.
"You're damn right I won't," James piped up.
"Alright. Lucy will come with us," Steve conceeded. I bit back my smile, feeling an overwhelming swell of relief to be included and an immense amount of love for Tony. My fingers trailed up slightly higher on his thigh light. Tony's arms snaked around my waist and rested against me tightly.
"So, what? We're just supposed to hope someone knows something," Sam said skeptically.
"You'd be surprised how useful local knowledge can be," I commented. It wasn't long after that dinner was called to an end. Most of the heroes made their way toward their rooms. I collected all the dishes from the table and made my way to the sink. I was rolling my sleeves up when Clint appeared at my side.
"Hey, I can do that," he offered.
"It's okay-"
"No, you cooked dinner. Let me help clean up," he said. i looked over at him and smiled.
"If you insist, be my guest," I said, stepping back from the sink. He took my spot at the sink and I made my way toward the stairs.
"Thanks for dinner doctor," Sam called from the couch. I smiled at him as I ascended the stairs.
"Thanks for dinner doll" James trotted up to me as I reached the top of the stairs.
"No problem James," I smiled. He kissed my cheek and ruffled my hair slightly.
"Buck, behave yourself," Steve called from their room. James shot me a wink, "Thanks Lucy," he added on. I smiled at them both before climbing up the stairs to the attic. Tony was no where to be seen but the sound of a shower was echoing from the makeshift bathroom. I looked around until I found my suitcase on the floor. I knelt in front of it and unzipped it. It took me a few minutes to find something I could wear to bed, but eventually I found shorts and a t-shirt I could wear. I changed into them quickly and folded my dirty clothes to return them to my suitcase. I crawled under the sheets in the bed. The bed was shockingly cold. It was as if the sheets had been pulled out of a freezer. I wrapped the blankets around me tightly, trying to get warm.
"Is someone cold?" Tony's sarcastic voice echoed through the blankets. I hadn't even realized the shower had turned off. I peaked out over the blanket at Tony. Tony was standing in the doorway of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his waist haphazardly. Water dripped from his hair and down onto his chest. My cheeks flushed slightly.
"Who me? Nah, I just like to become a human burrito sometimes," I said back, my voice muffled slightly by the blankets. Tony's mouth smirked up at the corners.
"Ah, well. You see, that's why you should wear pants to bed sweetheart," Tony called as he disapperead back into the bathroom.
"Ah, well. You see, I would, but you had Nat only pack me shorts, honey," I shot back. A warm laugh proceeded him out the door. He was dressed in sweatpants now, his hair messy but no longer dripping down his chest. He made his way up to the bed and leaned over me, his hands pressing into the bed on either side of me. The arc reacter in his chest glowed dimly up on his chin.
"Can you blame me?" he asked, his voice dipping low. His eyes poured into mine.
"Yes I can. And I do," I accused with a smile. Tony's smirk deeped on his face.
"Well, I should do something about that, shouldn't I," Tony whispered to me. I smirked up at him. He leaned his face down closer to mine. My eyes drifted closed as I leaned forward to kiss him. Instead of leaning against Tony, I fell forward slightly. I opened my eyes to find him crossing the room toward the door.
"Excuse me!" I called after him. He laughed as he looked over his shoulder at me. He reached out and flipped the lights off. The room was flung into a blinding black. The only light was coming from the moon outside that was beginning to raise in the sky over the frozen ocean. I could track where Tony was based on light from the arc reactor in his chest. The bed dipped down when he climbed over me and into bed. I cuddled up closer to him to try and steal some warmth from him. He laughed and wrapped his arms around my waist. When he pulled me against him, my check scraped across the arc reactor in his chest painfully. I hissed out in pain.
"I'm sorry," Tony muttered, bringing his hand up to my cheek and running his thumb against the sore skin lightly. I shifted myself slightly so that my face wasn't laying on the metal and curled up against him. My fingers trailed against his skin until they ran into where the metal cut into his skin. My fingers graced the seam there.
"Tony?" I start. He hummed his response, running his fingers through my hair, "What is this?" I asked, my fingers brushing the metal edge.
"It's the thing keeping me alive, I told you that," he said quietly. I rolled my eyes at him playfully. I leaned my chin on the back of my hand and looked up at Tony. The dull blue light cast a dim shadow across his face, turning his eyes black and his hair white.
"I know, but what is it," I asked curiously. I glanced back down at the dull pulsing metal in his chest.
"It's a lot of physics...," Tony trailed off.
"Don't worry, I'm a smart cookie. I think I can figure it out," I teased and looked back up at him. A pale smile spread across his face as he looked down at me.
"Well, okay. A few years ago, I used to build weapons for war. Um, I was involved in an accident and uh, I have shrapnel in my chest that wants to kill me," he shifted slightly and paused for a moment. "So, now have a magent in my chest that keeps them from shredding my heart," he said.
"This is a magnet?" I asked, looking back at the disk in his chest.
"Not this part. The magnet is so powerful that it needs constant power. That's what this part is," he said, his fingers brushing mine over the arc reactor.
"What does it run on?" I asked, fascinated by the science of the reactor.
"A palladium core," Tony explained. I'd heard of palladium before but not much. I'd read something a long time ago that had mentioned palladium isotopes.
"Palladium, doesn't that decay into rhob-rhodi-rhodium, which is toxic?" I stuttered, looking up at him. A small smile graced his mouth but didn't reach his eyes.
"Gold star for you doctor," Tony said, his voice suddenly, incredibly sad.
"Tony," I trailed off, not sure what to say to him.
"Don't worry about me, I'm fine," he assured me but I wasn't convinced. Tony's hand reached up and caressed my cheek lightly.
"Does it hurt?" I whispered, concerned lacing my voice. Tony's hand continued across my cheek like he didn't want to answer.
"Sometimes," was all he said. I shifted my weight off of Tony, suddenly nervous about hurting him. He smiled at me gently and pulled me back against him, "Don't worry sweetheart. You can raise my heart rate all you want and this shrapnel won't move," Tony smirked. I was hesitant to lean back on him but eventually I rested my chin back on his chest. We were quiet for a long time, with me running my fingers across his chest and him running his though my hair.
"Can you ever get it removed?" I asked quietly. Tony was quiet, like he hadn't heard me.
"Eventually," his voice was gravely and low. I glanced up at him slightly, his voice giving way to some emotion I couldn't quite place.
"Are you scared?" I asked slowly. Tony's whole body went rigid. His fingers froze in my hair and he said nothing. I waited for him to answer me, already knowing the answer from his restion. His eyes found mine finally. His face opened to me and I'd never seen him look so vulnerable.
"Yeah," he whispered, his face contorting slightly with the confession. I reached up and took his hand in both of mine. I brought his hand to my mouth and pressed his fingers to my mouth.
"Tony Stark, it's completely normal to be scared," I assured. His fingers twitched up and brushed against my lips.
"I'm an Avenger, I shouldn't be scared," he lamented. I shifted and pulled myself up to sit above him. The moon outside poured in through the window and washed the bed in a white light. Tony looked up at me confused.
"Just because you're Iron Man, doesn't mean anything. You have just as much right to be scared as anyone else," I said. He looked up at him, his hand wrapped around my hip.
"I'm supposed to be brave," Tony muttered, studying the place his fingers touched my hip.
"Being brave isn't the absence of fear. It's about pushing through your fear. Some of the bravest people are wrought with fear," I said. Tony's eyes traveled up to my face slowly. "Your fear doesn't limit you Tony, it's what makes you so brave," I breathed. Tony studied my face for a moment before leaning up and capturing my mouth against his. His hands encircled my face. He kissed me with so much intense emotion, I threatened to drown. Tony broke the kiss but he leaned his forehead against mine and brushed his nose against my cheek. He nuzzled his face into mine completely, his breath fanning over my face.
"I love you," he murmured, running his thumbs across my cheeks.
"I love you too Tony," I whispered back. He leaned back and kissed me again lightly before leaning back against the pillows. I followed suit and curled into his side.
"Goodnight sweetheart," he muttered into my hair before kissing the crown of my head. My eyes were closed and I was already starting to drift off to sleep. I nuzzled my nose into his chest with a sleepy smile.
"Bonne nuit mon chéri," I muttered. He laughed lightly as I drifted off to sleep.