Author's Note: This is the last of Madonna in the Avengers Universe, but I do have two more stories for her. Hope you guys like it and I hope she does, too. No hate, just enjoy it!
How Steve met Madonna
Now Clint Barton and Madonna were very happy together and probably would have stayed that way had it not been for one thing – Natasha Romanoff came back. It turned out that there was nothing between her and Steve, and that she had all along loved only Clint. Clint was torn between his first love that he never even experienced and his current love who was all he had. At first, all of this had been very frustrating for everyone and it affected everyone's work. Clint and Madonna argued more; she micro-managed him and he deliberately disobeyed her. It was a constant battle for dominance now. Natasha was stirring things up by doing nothing at all. Fury was tired of it.
But by no means was it anyone's fault. People fall out over time and this was one of those relationships where it was nice while it lasted but just was not meant to be. Madonna was the first to come to this conclusion. She could see the way Clint and Natasha looked at each other. They were so comfortable together even with all the tension of everything else. They knew each other so well compared to how well Madonna knew him. His mysterious background was one of the things that attracted him to her. However, Madonna could feel their relationship crumbling underneath her feet, and she knew that if they continued on how they were now that he could get hurt or worse on one of his missions. Even Natasha was slipping up now, she was so distracted.
So Madonna took control of the situation and sped things along. Just like she did with Tony, she ended it quickly and as painlessly as she could. Clint was grateful that she did it. While he would never cheat on Madonna, he didn't know how exactly how to end it without worrying if she'd kick his ass. Their sparring practices had been cancelled on the account that Madonna had kicked him in the balls and made him chip a tooth – it was an unspoken rule to never go for that weak spot and to never leave lasting damage. It was all an accident, they both knew. Still, ending it was for the better.
After a fortnight Natasha took the initiative and soon she and Clint were partners in the field. They did beautifully together. With Maria as their handler, they were so fiercely independent that they did above and beyond their assignment and managed to take what should be a mission that took about a year take only a month for them. S.H.I.E.L.D. had never been so successful and feared. The downside was that they were starting to be known and familiar. But that, too, had its pros and cons. Most criminals gave up once they knew that both the Black Widow and Hawkeye were after them. The pro was that the media was desperately trying to get interviews and information about not only their best agents, but the organization as well. Not since the Avengers had they ever received so much publicity. Still, it was to be expected. Nothing stayed secret for long when you worked with people like Tony Stark.
Anyway, after Madonna lost her field agent she was assigned Steve. Neither of them minded; they were all friends now. She and Clint still got along and Madonna and Natasha trained together. It was all friendly competition and Steve always stopped things before it got out of hand. Working with Captain America was one of the easiest things Madonna has ever done. Madonna had always pushed herself hard to be the best at whatever field of work she applied herself in. She was a renaissance woman that way. However, she always preferred to work with her hands with her ideas that mindlessly do nothing. Madonna wanted to accomplish things, even if she wasn't recognized or praised for it; the paycheck and self-satisfaction was enough for her. Steve was great for her! He respected her and they worked smoothly together. Even better than how she worked with Clint.
Soon, however, Madonna grew restless with her desk job and she believed that she was finally ready for the field. She wanted the excitement again and she thought she could work with Steve since they were just friends. Well, to her they were just friends. Steve was totally smitten with Madonna. She reminded him so much of Peggy, but he never told her that. He had told her about Peggy, but told Madonna that she reminded him of Rosie the Riveter. No one knew of Steve's affections for her, so when Fury relented and assigned them together no one could have guessed what would have happened yet.
They had a pretty standard job; a cakewalk for Madonna's first mission as a field agent. Walk in, bust the drug dealers, arrest the big boss, and avoid as many casualties as possible. Everything was going so well, until Madonna got hurt. In truth it was no big deal, every field agent walks away with a few scrapes and bruises. But this time, Madonna was punched right in the face but the head honcho drug lord. He busted her lip and she spat her blood in his face and swiftly put him in cuffs. However, when Steve saw her injury he lost his cool a little bit. The drug lord was taken to S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters in need of a splint on his leg. Madonna was righteously pissed off at Steve, but he never told her his reasons. So when she went to Fury, Steve was called in to be reprimanded. And that's when Fury knew.
Now Director Fury was faced with the decision of whether or not they should work together. Steve begged to still be partners and he promised to not to do it again. Not a word was spoken about his interest in Madonna. No words were needed – Fury knew everything within the first hour. So Fury let Steve get away with it; all Steve got was a slap on the wrists which translated to filling out the messy paperwork for the mission. Steve didn't mind at all and he apologized to Madonna, who easily forgave him.
However, every mission after that, whenever Madonna was hurt her attackers always suffered in an equal measure or greater but never by Madonna herself. Madonna was clueless to Steve's interest in her, though by their third mission together Clint, Natasha, Maria, Tony, Pepper, and Happy were well aware of it. In fact, almost everyone at S.H.I.E.L.D. knew how much he liked her. For once, Madonna was completely left in the dark. She like Steve as a friend so far, though she had acknowledged on more than one occasion that he had a pretty sweet ass – he must have sat in sugar all those years he was on ice.
Madonna wasn't aware of Steve's intentions until one mission where they put up against modern-day pirates. They had captured a trade barge and held American hostages. The barge held plenty of weapons that could not be afforded to lose, especially to pirates who would sell it to anyone – mercenaries or terrorists, they didn't care. The pirates were a breeze to handle and no hostages were killed; they were mostly just in need of medical attention from dehydration but nothing too serious. One pirate though, had slipped underneath their radar, and he had stabbed Madonna the leg and tried to shoot her. Steve threw his shield in the way and he almost hanged that pirate. However, his morals got in the way so he simply broke the hands that held the knife and the gun before putting him under, effectively knocking him out. Steve handled the situation quickly and it wasn't until that he and Madonna were back at S.H.I.E.L.D. that he allowed himself to break down.
He had filed the paper work and went to visit her in the medical ward, where she was resting. They decided to keep her overnight just for monitoring. Her only injuries were her stabbed leg, and she had a scratch on her ribs that required a tetanus shot. Pretty standard injuries; she got off easy. Steve himself had cracked a rib, but do to his super serum he was healing at a very fast rate. He was lucky not to have internal bleeding, but then again he was Captain America. Anyway, it wasn't even her worst battle scars; nothing was broken and more often than not, she broke something or other.
While he watched her doze, he hesitated to tell her, even if she couldn't hear. So he silently let the tears drip down his face, as he hoarsely whispered to her, "That bullet would have pierced your heart, Madonna." He sniffed miserably, "It would have killed you and you would have died, never knowing–" he choked and took a breath before starting again, "Never knowing that I love you." After that he said nothing more. He just wiped his tears away, blew his nose, and left.
He had thought that Madonna did not hear, that she was sleeping, dreaming away about something nice. However, being an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., she had woken up when he first started to speak. You could never be too careful of assassins or rival agents. And despite being new to the field she had already made a handful or more of enemies. She heard his confession and it touched her heart. She sat up in her uncomfortable hospital bed with its lumpy mattress and scratchy sheets, knowing that she could not fall back asleep unless she was given a sedative.
Madonna lifted her hospital gown until she could see her new scar that was freshly sewn together. It was pretty high up on her thigh; if that pirate aimed better he probably would have stabbed a reproductive organ like an ovary. Without Steve's shout of warning and his lightning fast reflexes when he threw his shield, she would have died as he said. It made Madonna reflect upon her feelings for Steve.
He was attractive enough. Steve was honest, brave, loyal, and true. He was serious with his work, but he knew when to joke around and play. She could see nothing wrong with dating him. It had already affected their work as it was because of his fierce protectiveness. Madonna, herself, always had Steve's back. She could think of nothing wrong with this. Besides, she had been lonely for a while and Steve always cheered her up.
The next day, Madonna asked him on a date. They went out and it was wonderful. Dates with Steve, weren't like dates with Tony or dates with Clint. Tony's dates were extravagant and more often social events in the light of the media. He always took her to clubs, bars, parties – she was never bored with him. Clint's dates were intense and they usually went to somewhere remote, way out of the eye of the public. He paid a lot of attention to her, and while they never did anything, Clint loved to cuddle while Tony loved to make out. Steve was the in between of these two great men. Steve took her on normal dates and made her feel like the most extraordinary average being in her crazy life. Steve was a shy virgin and she was a not-so-shy virgin. He was easily embarrassed and more or less had to be told what to do when they kissed. He was a quick study though. He knew when Madonna needed a comforting hug because her menses was making her irritable and cramping; that said he also knew when to fetch the chocolate when she was so grumpy that she wanted to be left alone. He knew when Madonna wanted to be fiercely kissed after a breathless mission. He knew when Madonna just needed to be held while they watched a movie. He was the perfect balance.
Madonna and Steve were a very domestic couple and they dated for a very long time. By the time Pepper and Tony had married and were expecting a child, and Clint and Natasha had married, Steve finally decided to pop the question. It was just before they were to go on a mission to handle some mafia thugs who had overstepped their limit. They went to Brooklyn, where Steve was from, and he just decided to ask out of the blue before they were to step into the building that wouldn't be left standing once they stepped out. Madonna said yes, kissed him, and then kicked open the doors.
After that mission they told everyone their news from the beds in the medical ward (Steve sprained an ankle and Madonna had broken her wrist for the twentieth time, according to her medical record). No one was surprised considering that they had been dating for five years. Madonna had only dated Tony for six months and he decided to marry Pepper after a year (his longest relationship ever). However, he only waited three months before he got her pregnant. Clint and Madonna had dated for nearly nine months, but Clint and Natasha dated for three years and then married. Everyone had been waiting for the wedding invitations.
They married and took a brief vacation honeymoon where they traveled to Europe, a place that Madonna had never visited even on a mission and place Steve had only sad memories of for he visited it during a war. When they returned to S.H.I.E.L.D. after three weeks they were itching for a mission and then they were both back on the field, Captain and Mrs. America. Two years later, Agents Barton and Barton had their first and soon after Agents Rogers and Rogers followed with baby shower announcements. Little Caroline Georgia Stark and Isaac Anthony Stark were just turning three and Natalia Alexandra Barton was nearly eleven months when Margaret "Peggy" Sarah Rogers was born. The Barton family had two more, a son they named Peter Ivan and a daughter they named Annie Veronica. The Rogers family expanded as well. Madonna bared two strong, healthy boys named John Morgan and Phillip Cole. Everyone cried when they heard about Phillip.
Even though the most dangerous and best super heroes on Earth were living the American dream, they stilled worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. and their children lived the most exciting lives. Carolina Stark went on to become the C.E.O. of Stark Industries while he brother Isaac became a famous scientist in chemistry that consulted with S.H.I.E.L.D. on dangerous weapons. Natalia followed in her parents' footsteps and became one of the best agents that S.H.I.E.L.D. had ever seen. She prevented nuclear war with the help of Isaac and they married. Her sister Annie worked in politics and her brother Peter decided to become a psychologist; Peter married Peggy who became a mechanic. She helped update technology years in advance of what they thought they could accomplish. John became an average citizen who worked for a business that helped charities and did humanitarian work. He married Carolina. Phillip became the next Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. once Fury retired and he was known as "The Director who made peace with the Asgardians". When Thor returned to earth to be with Jane, they had a daughter called Maria that Phillip had married. So naturally, interacting with aliens was easy for him. Thor also had a son called Adam who decided to go to Asgard and stay there. All in all, the Avengers really did become a family whether it is by blood or marriage or friendship or missions. And they lived happily ever after, kicking ass and avenging Earth for the rest of their days.