Dream of Me
Chapter 1: Tanya Stark
Ice.
Maybe that's why it is so very cold! There is a damp feeling along her arms and legs. She looks down, but she's wearing her work clothing. The cold wet sensation begins to close in on her from every possible angle, like water filling in the cracks.
She looks up, she's in some sort of cock pit. There are shards of broken glass littering the floor as the front windows have been smashed. The metal support struts are bent and rusted.
She looks through the broken glass in time to see water about to slam into the front of the plane. She manages to curl in on herself. She silently prays that it's enough to protect against the shards of glass that will, no doubt, hit her once the water picks them up.
The water picks her up, and slams her body into one of the support struts, and she has to bite back a cry of pain before she swallows water. The water is ice cold, and she tries to push back memories of another time in a dark cave. She feels some glass cut into her skin.
She begins to slip from the struts as the water pressure lessens just a little.
As she falls, she wriggles and writhes every which way, but there was no way out! No surface above her! No hope of coming out of this one, despite all her wit. The edges of her vision are dark.
It's at that point, when darkness threatens to swallow her whole, that she spots him.
A blond, well built man. He is just floating in the middle of the wreckage, his eyes are tightly closed.
He looked as if he were almost curling in on himself, protecting himself from the water. He hadn't been here with her before... 'Odd.'
Another observation she makes is the fact that this man is wearing the strangest of costumes, but one she's seen so many times. She almost slaps herself for not being aware of who this man is.
Steve Rodgers. Captain America. The Lost Soldier. Her childhood hero.
He looks so young. So much like a child... A very big kid.
She could reach him if she pushed her way through the icy water and glass. She could do many things, and she knows that she's running out of time.
She tries to push, but the ice only intensifies, as if trying to hold her down. It's the sting that really clues her in.
She remembers that dark cave again. She remembers the many times she'd been tortured. The sting is much to distant to be her feelings or sensations.
They are Captain Rodgers'. All of the sensations, the feelings are coming from one source. She just has to remind herself several times.
'This is ridiculous!' she thinks to herself. 'I fell asleep in the workshop again... This has to be a dream. Control it, Tanya.'
Her first attempt to focus seems to only make the sensations surrounding her much more real, but the second attempt finds her able to at least move, even if it is slowly.
She finally makes her way over to him. It is slow and tiring, but she realizes that she can't stop. Somehow, she knows he needs her like she needs air.
Raising her hand to touch his face takes effort. It takes almost as much time as it took her to get to him!
His skin is soft. Warmer than it should be, encased by the depths of the Atlantic. She takes a moment to contemplate him.
He's broad. She estimates that he'd stand about 6'2". His blond hair is floating around him like a halo. She makes a bet that he has blue eyes.
She begins to think of everything he's done for his country. All of the battles he's faced. All of the people he's lost. She thinks of the stories that aunt Peggy had told her of this man, as well as the few stories Howard Stark had told her as a child.
She wonders if it might be kinder to leave him where he is. All that he's been through, the poor man could probably use a break.
As she's thinking, she reaches out for him one more time. She almost jerks back when he quickly unfurls form his curled position. 6'2"! She was right!
His eyes open, as blue as the crystalline sea surrounding them.
She almost moves back, but holds her ground. Steve looks desperate for something, and Tanya can't piece together what it is.
He is suddenly a lot closer. His huge warm hand is trailing across her cheeks. He leans in, and presses his lips to her. He moves his arms to slide around her waist as if he is trying to desperately hold onto her. She moves her hands to cup his face, automatically taking control of this kiss, and turning it wild.
A part of her wants to warm Steve to his core. She feels him shiver, and it only strengthens her need.
When he pulls back, his eyes are calmer, his body begins to relax. He starts to mouth something, and at first she can't understand, but soon enough she figures it out. He is asking her for her name. She smiles, silently wondering if she should give him her last name, but decides against it quickly.
"Tanya." She mouths.
Then... The alarm goes off, blaring above her.
…...
She jerks awake. "Wha-?" she mutters and soon the bots are surrounding her.
"J. What's going on? Why is there an alarm?" She asks as she tries to remember the hazy dream... She just couldn't grasp it.
"Ms. Pots asked me to wake you at 8am." Jarvis' crisp British accent interrupts her thoughts.
"Murrrf." is all the response she can muster.
"Shall I patch Ms. Pots through?"
Tanya wakes up a little more. "She's on the line?"
"Good morning Tanya." Pepper's voice answers the question. The video screen slides up through the metal of her desk.
"Morning Pep." Tanya mutters softly, knowing that now that Pepper could see her, there was no hope of fooling the perceptive woman.
"You OK?" Pepper asks, wondering as her soft brown eyes roam Tanya's face. She frowns at the dark circles under Tanya's eyes.
"Yeah. Just need some coffee. How are you?" Pepper gives Tanya a look.
"Good. Director Fury wants to talk to you though. Your 27th birthday bash is being planned as we speak, but nothing as wild as you used to do, I'm afraid."
Tanya grins. "Naturally. What does the cyclopes want?" She tries to hide the ire in her voice... Really she tries.
Pepper's smile can't stay out of her comeback. "To talk about something he's fished out of the ocean that is technically Stark Tech, or had Howard's help to develop."
"Murrrf." She really did not want to deal with this.
"He wants that call before noon."
"I'm going to need that coffee... Or more scotch... Personally, I like more scotch."
"Tanya, have you been drinking again?" Pepper's voice sounds disappointed.
"Only a little, Pep. I promise. I was up longer than seventy-two hours again, and just decided to take a nap." She tries to offer up a firm smile, but seeing Pepper eye her with that look, it soon turns into a soft one.
"Well... At least you got a short nap. Lord knows how you are when you don't get some sleep." Pepper says as she gives Tanya the 'grumpy look'.
Tanya rolls her eyes. 'Make one senator cry, and they never let you live it down.' she thinks to herself.
"Mmk, Pep. I have to call Fury. That will be all Ms. Pots." She gives her usual warm version of 'bye for now' and Pepper hums.
"Of course Ms. Stark." Tanya winces a little as she tries to move, but finds her body stiff. She sticks her tongue out at the video screen.
…...
"Ms. Stark, it would seem your PA is more than capable of handling you. Surprise really." Nick Fury seems surprised at her 9:30am call.
"Well, Fury, you said you wanted an exclusive early call. Tell me this isn't about the pigeon incident." She growls out, trying to nurse the headache that had been building slowly in her temples.
Some science wacko had decided to clone pigeons in California. Iron Woman had put a stop to the over grown chickens, but there had been some embarrassing pictures, and press exposure.
She sighs, and runs a hand through her shoulder length brow hair, her wavy curls still going haywire. She frowns as a few strands get tangled on her fingers, and decides to grab a ponytail holder. She quickly ties it up and back as she listens to Fury's response.
"No, this isn't about that fiasco you call a 'Rescue'. This is about Project Rebirth." He says bluntly.
She goes still. Project Rebirth had been scrapped... Hadn't it? She asks Fury this question and he sighs and shakes his bald head.
"We found the test subject." he mutters. She looks at him, unable to stop her hand from moving to the arc reactor.
"How?" She nearly whispers. She's not sure how to feel about it at first.
"Captain Rodgers was frozen in ice for roughly seventy years." Fury says, no sympathy for the man apparent in his tone. She shivers for a moment, feeling a cold chill down her spine for some reason. She recovers quickly.
"Brain damage?" she asks. Fury runs a hand over his face for a moment.
"That's what I'm hoping you can tell us. We need your tech, Stark." It seems hard for him to admit.
"Where?" She knows better than to rub it in, at least at this moment. Not while she still wants information.
It's the need to find him, that scares her. It is an intensity she isn't used to.
"Antarctica. We can't move him far at this moment. We aren't sure what travel will do to his state."
She has to take a moment as the cold chill comes back. She tries hard not to flinch, but again recovers quickly.
"The research lab location?" she wonders.
"SHIELD's newest one. I'll send you the directions." Fury answers.
"Be there in four days."
"Just remember, Stark, we don't need Iron Woman. We need a Stark."
She glares at the video feed. "You can't have one or the other. You get both."
For once, her look must have assured Fury. Strange, she notes. He just nods. "You will need clearance."
"You'll provide it, and a nifty debriefing packet. Oh! Send Agent! I do miss our discussions!" She says with a particularly impish smile.
Fury's eyes narrow on her. "Don't turn this into a circus, Stark."
"You already run one, Fury." she still has the infuriating smile on her face as he disconnected the video conference.
Tanya decides to count that as a win. Never mind the cold chill that runs down her spine.
Almost as if there is something lurking beyond her peripheral.
…...
His hand is huge and warm as it holds hers. His smiles are shy, but earnest. His eyes are crystalline and they don't leave her as they talk.
It is her home office. All cushy and plush, decorated in reds and honey golds. She knows then, that this is a dream, but refuses to give it up.
"So your Captain America?" She offers him a playful grin.
He rolls his eyes. "Please... Just call me Steve?"
"Steve it is then!" She replies with cheer.
He grows quiet. "I'm not sure what to talk about." She thinks he is just not sure how to phrase what he wants to ask, but tries to flounder for a topic. She knows just the one!
He laughs as she literally launches into a small rant on the unfairness of hot dogs vs. hot dog buns. It sends a pleasant flutter through her, but like hell if she will admit it.
There is just something about him, something she now knows that she has been missing. He offers up an honesty that hurts to see at first, but she slowly begins to trust this man.
He talks to her about art, and the many artists that inspire him. He even talks about the year of art school he had taken.
As he talks, he runs a hand through his blond hair and she smiles a little, noticing that he is almost ready to ask his question. She continues to talk to him.
Soon enough, he seems ready to talk.
"So your Howard's daughter? How is he?" he wonders. Tanya winces.
"He died in a car accident when I was seventeen." She admits quietly. Although they had hardly shown her what would be considered the 'normal family life', she still misses her parents sometimes, ten years after the fact. It still doesn't help that she feels as if it was not really an 'accident' as many people claim.
She must have closed her eyes because she doesn't catch Steve's movement until he is wrapping her up in a hug. She tenses, not sure how to handle the contact.
If it wasn't Rhodey or Pepper, she was unsure of how to handle it. She could slowly admit that it was nice to hug someone who wasn't trying to check her over for injuries, or upset over her for death defying stunts, or trying to get into her pants/bank account.
"I'm so sorry." he whispers into her hair. She finds her arms coming around his waist, unsure of what to say. Eventually, she has to pull away from his hug.
"I am OK. I promise." She bites down on her lip after saying it. After all these years, she should know better than to lie about her mental state. It's not as if it's a lie, though. She is not afraid to admit that she has gone through a hell of her own make, but she has come out all the better for it.
He settles back and she offers up her best smile. He offers up one of his own, and she has to quietly suck in a breath. She silently admits to herself that his small smiles are handsome.
It is a testament to how lost in the moment she is that she lets him reclaim her hand.
They talk for hours about Howard, and the Howling Commandos, and a few times he looks as if he's going to come to tears, but she carefully lays her free hand on his shoulder.
It's at that point that she realizes that the only time he's let go of her hand is to hug her... The thought almost makes her head spin.
He takes her hand again, and another warm flutter echos through her entire being.
Oh hell... She finally comes to the realization. She has a crush on Captain Spangles! 'No... No... Bad Tanya! Your not supposed to hit on men who are old enough to be your grandfather!' she thinks to herself. 'No matter the hotness of said man!'
She silently prays that she doesn't give it away, but he gives her another of 'those' smiles and she's finding it hard to keep it together.
…...
It's when she is waking up on the flight to Antarctica that she has to try to snap out of it. She can't remember her dream, but she feels heat on her face, as well as around her... As if someone were giving her a hug. Her heart is pounding a mile a minuet. Normally, she does not do hugs, having received very few as a child, and even as a teen... Certainly not as an adult.
She rubs at her eyes and decides to video call Rhodey. He will entertain and distract her from those weird feelings, at least.
He answers quickly, looking slightly tired, and levels her with a concerned look. "Rhodey!" she offers him a grin.
"I'm not going to like this, am I?" is his way of saying 'hello'.
She makes a dramatic gesture that ends with her hand on her chest and an affronted look on her face. "Have I EVER lead you astray... In a way you didn't enjoy... Secretly, at least?"
Rhodey laughs at her. "Hello to you too, Tanya. Where are you?" he asks, noticing that she's on the jet.
She smiles, knowing her answer will drive him nuts. She lets her hand fall to her lap, and poises herself for her response. "On a secret mission!"
"Tanya!" she chuckles, enjoying the privilege of being right.
"Rhodey!" she calls back, trying to irritate him more.
"I'm hanging up." he seems serious for a moment, but he doesn't follow through with the threat.
"Then you'll miss the hints, darling!" She winks at the shocked look.
"Hints?" he wonders, his voice is soft as he levels her with a 'should you be telling me this' look.
"Who did you always want to be when you were little?" She knows he will not understand at first, but he bites.
"Captain America." he answers, still leveling her with that look.
"Guess who's still alive." she gives him a conspirator's whisper.
His wide eyed look is enough to make her giggle. She tires not to outright laugh when he mutters "Holy Shit!"
"That's what I said!" she laughs then at his 'are you shitting me' face. His wide eyes are roaming her face for the tell that she's lying or bluffing. His jaw drops when he doesn't find it.
"Captain America is alive?!" his voice is rising to the 'squeak' level. She frowns slightly.
"Rhodey don't hyperventilate."
"How?!" Rhodey asks, slowly recovering from the shock after a few minuets of silence.
"Poor guy has been frozen in a block of ice a few miles from where he put that damn Hydra plane down at. I really don't understand how dad could have missed this one." Tanya shakes her head.
Rhodey shrugs as well. "They probably didn't know where he'd put the plane down at."
Tanya had to admit, it really didn't sound like Howard Stark, but she puts that thought aside. "I guess." She just shook her head. "Anyway, when they reinstate the guy into society, wanna meet him?" The cheshire grin was back.
"Is your name Tanya Peggy Stark?" She rolls her eyes.
"No. It's Anthony Edward Stark!" She laughs at Rhodey's flat expression.
"Starting to think you should have been born a guy." Rhodey rolls his own eyes.
" Wouldn't make a bit of difference. I'm still awesome."
…...
When the plane touched down, she was greeted by several SHIELD agents. All of them stiff, except one.
His shoulders were slouched. His entire posture screamed 'fuck off', and the way he kept running his right hand through his short blond hair told her he was nervous.
"It's not your first day on the job, is it?" Tanya verbally poked at him.
The sky blue eyes shot her a scathing look. "What?" It was almost demanding.
Tanya held her hands up. "Just asking. You look like your about to have a nervous meltdown."
He lets out a chuckle, the lines around his mouth easing. "Yeah... I like having a better vantage point." He says as he points up to the vents.
She blinks at him. "OK... Well, I'm sure you'll get your vantage point soon enough." She offers him a shrug, not sure what else to tell him.
He laughs, and offers his hand. "Agent Clint Barton." He introduces. She stares at him for a moment, before her brain kicks in a gain, and she takes his hand.
"Tanya Stark." She offers her own name up. He grins.
"Duly noted." She shoots him a playful glare.
"So when do we get to meet Captain Rodgers in the cold flesh?" She blinks when Clint stares at her as if she's grown a head. She has to take a mental step back, and figure out what she'd said wrong... Right... Cold flesh may have been taken as an insult.
"No filter between my brain and my mouth." She tries to explain to the good agent, but he's still staring at her. She offers him a shrug. "Genetics... What can you do?"
He seems to relax, and gives her a grin. "Has anyone told you that your startling?"
She pouts a little bit. "Your face!"
He laughs. "Nice comeback, Stark."
"Stuff it, Barton."
"Children! We have a mission at hand." Agent Coulson decides to remind them both of what's going on.
"Agent!" Tanya said as she put a hand on his shoulder. He gives her a smile as a greeting, and the trio begin to walk the halls, heading for one of the larger rooms in the back of the research facility.
"Phil! You know Stark?" Barton asks with slight shock and Coulson rolls his eyes.
"Yep!" Tanya says as she pops the P. "Agent used to be my handler." she laughs at the memories. "Good times!"
Coulson is now looking at her as if she'd spouted some alien gibberish. "Sure, Stark... For you." he mutters playfully. Barton cracks up as Tanya pouts at him.
"But I had a blast slipping past your notice." she mumbles. Phil rolls his eyes as they turn a corner and stays quiet till they get to the lab, but the smile hardly slips off of his face. Clint and Tanya banter back and forth on the journey.
When the lab doors open, Tanya has to keep a surprised sound in check.
Encased in a thick block of ice is the American Icon. He seems so peaceful in suspended animation. Tanya can't help but to take several steps forward. She frowns at Steve's state.
Wait... When did she start calling him Steve? She has to shake the wonder from her mind, for now, and focus on what is going on now.
Tanya reaches for the ice encasing Steve, and as soon as her fingers touch it, she has to hold back a shiver. Cold starts in on her, but she pushes it back by focusing on Steve himself.
His well muscled form is stretched out for her inspection. His blond hair looks as if it was drifting in water when it was frozen, but his face looks as if he's in pain.
She desperately wants to remove that look from his face. She trails her fingers along what would be his jaw line if he weren't encased.
"You haven't thawed him yet?" she whispers.
"The ice has gotten thinner, actually. It's a slow process." Phil explains. She nods along with what he's saying because she knows it's true. If he's exposed to the temperature difference to quickly, it could have negative effects.
She finally looks up to see Phil frowning at her, but she can't imagine why. "There are open spots on the Captain America fan club committee." Barton says as he shifts from side to side. She glares.
"Steve Rodgers is an interesting subject, " She mutters. "And besides... Can't deny that he's handsome." she tries to cover the small slip. What was wrong with her today?!
She shakes her head. "Let me just get started..." She trails off, looking of the still form on the slab. "Right." She says, tearing her eyes away. "Time to set up shop!"
"No blow torches!" Phil tells her in his best stern voice. Tanya takes a moment to look contrite.
"Yes, mom!" she says with sarcasm lacing her voice.
END Chapter 1: Tanya Stark.
Preview of Chapter 2: Steve Rodgers
"What is your name?!" He almost begs for her to tell him.
She offers him a mysterious smile, as if trying to decide what she should tell him. "Tanya." Is her final answer before the darkness claims her as well.