Steve didn't want to go. There was no secret in that. The only reason why he agreed was because Tony had JARVIS follow him around with a recording of Tony making the most annoying sound he could possibly make. Everyone had agreed to go immediately after they had found out the reason behind the trip. Tony had suddenly decided that he was tired of having Steve around so much and he needed to get out and meet someone. Preferably a woman. And he knew just the woman.
Steve didn't care for what passed as a woman nowadays. They hardly left anything to the imagination. Not to mention most of them were shallow and just straight up snobs. Steve had learned that from all the women that Tony brought in with him. If a man had no money, then a woman didn't want anything to do with that man. It wasn't like he didn't have money, but he sure as hell didn't want a woman claiming her love for him when all she was interested in was his money.
The limo pulled up in front of the massive warehouse like building out in the middle of nowhere am hour or so outside of New York City. The parking lot was filled with all kinds of different types of vehicles. There was a giant sign on the front of the warehouse. There were the words colored red, white, and blue against a blank background. Only in America was the name of the place. Steve had never heard of it, but Clint was really excited about it. He said he'd go there any chance he got before SHIELD gave him more responsibilities.
"Why didn't you tell me that you knew Katie?" Clint asked Tony. Tony gave him a strange look as he opened the door.
"You never asked. "Clint rolled his eyes sliding out of the limo behind him.
"Uncle Tony!" was the first thing they heard when they opened the doors. Tony fell to his knees as a little brunette of around five dove into his arms. He stood with her in his arms groaning as he did so.
"You're getting too big for this, Monkey. " The little girl stuck her tongue out at him and he put her down. "Where's your Mommy?" Monkey cringed.
"Mommy is a little mad right now." Tony narrowed his eyes crossing his arms.
"What did you do now?"
"Nothing," Monkey said putting her hands on her hips. Tony made a noise that he clearly didn't believe her. "I didn't do nothing."
"Anything," Tony corrected.
"Now you're making me mad." Tony winked at her.
"Where is your mom?"
"I'm right here." Steve's male ego made him do a double take as Monkey's mother walked into the room, but his chivalry made him look away. She was wearing a pair of baggy pants with the rim of basketball shorts peering out and had a black sports bra. Steve tried to steal another glance of her as she stepped into Tony's arms and gave him a bear hug.
"Monkey says you're mad," Tony said as she pulled away from him.
"I'm beyond that. I'm straight up pissed." Monkey put her hands on her hips glaring up at her mother. The woman slouched then reached into her pocket and pulled out a dollar bill and then handed it to Monkey. Tony chuckled looking at his teammates.
"Oh yeah. Katie, Monkey, I'd like to introduce you to The Avengers." Steve frowned. This was the woman Tony wanted to introduce him to? She was a mother of a six year old. She had to be older than him by a few years at least. Steve couldn't believe him!
Katie seemed to ignore everyone as they have them their real names. Monkey, however, was absolutely starstruck. She was staring at everyone, but when her eyes landed on Steve, she smiled. Steve couldn't help but smile back.
"You're Captain America!" she exclaimed pointing a finger at him. Steve chuckled.
"That's right." Monkey walked up to him with her eyes wide.
"You're my favorite," she said I in awe.
"Hey!" Tony said crossing his arms. Katie covered her mouth with her hand to hide the laughter. Steve knelt down to eye level with Monkey.
"No one can know who I really am, though. So, it'll be our little secret. Deal?" He held his hand out to her to seal the deal. Monkey narrowed her eyes.
"What's in it for me?" Katie slapped Tony's shoulder. He glared at her rubbing his shoulder.
"I told you that she was learning bad habits from you!" Katie hissed at him. Tony made a face at her.
"What would you like?" Steve asked narrowing his eyes. Monkey rubbed her nose as if in thought.
"How much money do you have on you?" Everyone hit the ground laughing except Steve and Katie. Steve wasn't sure how to react. Especially when Katie came up and put her arm around Monkey's waist and carried her out of the room hissing that she was grounded from her Uncle Tony.
When the door closed, Tony appeared next to Steve. Tony made no move to speak, but the way he was looking at Steve said it all.
"How old is she?" Steve asked crossing his arms. Tony grinned looking at the door Katie had disappeared through, then up to Steve.
"She's twenty three. Monkey is six."
"Why are you... What's the phrase... 'hook me up' with single mother?"
"Why is that a problem?" Steve went to say something, but was interrupted by Thor slapping a hand down on his shoulder. Steve glared at him since it hurt.
"It matters not for she is, how you say on Midgard, he bellowed.
"Shut up, Thor," Natasha said pushing Thor away from Steve. She turned to Steve crossing her arms. "Look, Steve, Tony doesn't mean you should marry the woman, but I do agree with him he wants you to get out. All work and no play makes Stevie a dull boy. Go out and have fun."
"This is really awkward, you guys," he said running the back of his neck. "If I wanted to find someone, I'd go out and meet someone."
"If that's the truth, then why did you come?" Bruce wondered aloud.
"Because Tony made JARVIS follow me around until I agreed to come." Clint let out a laugh of pity.
"Dude, quit acting like you haven't noticed that Katie is an utter babe. Your eyes nearly melted out of your head when she walked in." Steve sighed.
Leave it to Clint to see every little detail at any given time. Sure she was attractive, but she had a child. A six year old child. She was only seventeen when Monkey was born. She could have had a list of sexual partners as long as her arm. His list, well, his list was none existent.
"I never said she didn't look good."
"It's just the fact that she has a kid," Tony said sounding truly offended. He stepped forward and poked a finger in his chest to help get the point across. "You're judging her just because she had a baby at seventeen. You don't know what that woman has been through, what she's done for herself and her daughter, or how hard she works everyday to give her daughter the life she never had." He stopped staring into his eyes with anger. His jaw was tight, his frown unlike anything that they had ever seen.
The door that Katie had disappeared through opened again and Monkey came skateboarding out wearing a helmet that wasn't strapped. She skillfully went around the group and disappeared down the hallway on the other side of the room. Katie came rushing out behind her.
"Strap your helmet, brat! I'm not letting you run my hospital bills up again!" A faint "okay" echoed from down the hallway. Katie sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. "She's not going to strap her helmet."
"Nope," Tony agreed walking to Katie and put an arm around her shoulders. "So, what's with all the stress?" Katie rubbed her face then leaned her head against Tony's shoulder.
"Summer break is coming up so I ordered a bunch of guns and ammo and not even half of it arrived.
" Guns and ammo?" Natasha muttered to Clint.
"Paintball guns and paintballs." Natasha made a sound that she understood.
"Is there anything I can do?" Tony offered in a baby voice. Katie looked up at him.
"Make sure my order gets straightened out. I've got a fight in an hour." Tony kissed her forehead then leaned his cheek against the top of her head.
"Of course. Go get ready. We'll be watching." Katie frowned at him.
"You mean that all of you will be watching my flight?" Tony nodded. Katie sighed letting her head fall. "Perfect, as if today wasn't stressful enough as it is." She disappeared down the hallway Monkey had left through. Tony glared at Steve.
"You above all people should understand that you can't judge someone on their appearance." Tony pulled out his phone and began working away at something. "Let's go." He walked to the hallway. Everyone followed except Steve and Bruce.
Steve started at his boots. He made a fool of himself and made himself look like a jerk all in one fell swoop. He couldn't believe the assumptions he had of Katie when they hadn't even shared a hello. Just because she had a daughter at a very young age didn't mean she wasn't a good woman. There could have been many reasons why she had a daughter, though mostly the reasons were more disturbing than not.
"I'm a jerk, aren't I, Bruce?" Bruce shoved his hands in his pockets turning to a picture of the day they broke ground on the site. Tony and Happy stood on either side of a very, very pregnant Katie. All three wore yellow hardhats smiling at the camera, though Katie seemed more miserable than anything.
"Yeah, you kinda were. I know you come from a different time and women like her were very few and far in between, but today it's the norm. It's hard to find anyone over the age of twenty five without a kid. I don't like how Tony seems to be forcing you into this, but you do need to go out and meet people if you ever want to adjust." Steve nodded hearing the truth in his words.
Steve's lack of adjustment to modern times had left him depressed and lonely. The only friend he had was within The Avengers. Tony had advised going to a bar or club, but that was a total bust considering all the trash that passed as women kept flocking to him and touching him in places he didn't want to be touched. Tony years him for days. After that, Steve had pretty much became a hermit. Steve sigh yes rubbing the back of his neck. Maybe that was why Tony was doing what he was doing. Maybe Tony trying to hook him up with Katie was his way of saying he cared in some weird, sick way that only Tony could.
"Alright fine. I'll try to get to know Katie." They made their way to the hallway. Steve and Bruce exchanged quick glances. The hallway seemed to disappear it was so long. They could see Tony standing about some distance down the hallway talking on a phone.
"How big is this place?" Bruce wondered aloud. Steve shrugged.
"It gets bigger every year." Bruce and Steve nearly jumped out of their skin at the sudden voice behind them. They turned seeing Monkey walking behind them. "Mommy said it's time to start making it wider next year." She pushed her way in between Bruce and Steve and feel into step with them. Bruce gave her an amused look them shook head. Steve gave her a curious look.
"So, what does your mom do?" he asked. He figured he could get a little information about Katie through Monkey.
"She ruins this place, duh." Steve gave her a flat look.
"What is this place exactly?" Steve asked as they passed a door with a sign on it with hours that the room was available. Above that sign was a clipboard with a stack of registration papers on it.
"It's the best place in America! Paintball, MMA, go cart reaching, you name it, we got it."
"And your mom ruins this place how, exactly?" Steve asked perplexed.
"Uncle Tony's program helps out a lot." Figures. By that time, Monkey took off running as Tony pushed himself away from the wall and faced them. She ran into his arms giving him a hug them Tony opened the door and pushed her in closing the door behind her. Tony waited for them to reach him before he spoke.
"I take it you got over yourself," Tony said eyeing him. Steve nodded. Then he beamed. "Good. Now let's go watch Steve's future girlfriend whoop some serious ass." He opened the door again and music and talking flooded their ears. When they stepped in, Steve couldn't believe his eyes. There were people everywhere hanging around a ring in the shape of an octagon.
"Are all these people here to watch Katie fight?" Steve wondered out loud. "Of course. She and her opponent are the headliners tonight." They spotted Thor towering over the crowd shoving popcorn by the handfuls in his mouth. Tony pushed through the crowd with Bruce directly behind him and Steve behind him to make sure nothing bad happened to Bruce. People called out to Tony and he waved and shook hands. They finally reached the others. Monkey was standing next to Clint pointing to random people then Clint would flick a piece of popcorn into the target's drink.
They waited for an hour for the fight to start. The lights turned off leaving only the ring illuminated. Steve felt a little hand slide in his. He looked down to see Monkey.
"I can't see, Steve." Steve grinned at her. The entire hour Monkey had floated around getting to know each of The Avengers. However, when she got to Steve, she clung to him. She talked to him for fifteen minutes straight about all the things that she and Katie always did together. Somehow, even with running around r running a huge business, all her extracurricular activities, Katie still found more than enough time with her daughter. He had come to be an admirer of Katie's just knowing how much she actually did for her daughter.
Steve had come to like the kid. She was a very smart girl. Smarter than the average six year old. Steve imagined. Steve reached down and grabbed her, lifting her until she sat on his shoulders. Tony began booing pulling Steve's attention to the ring. A woman was standing in the middle of the ring holding her gloved hands in the air presenting herself to the crowd.
"That's Melissa," Monkey hollered down to Steve. "Mommy has never beat her, but that's going to change today." Steve grabbed Monkey's ankles when he felt her fall backwards when she threw her hands up in the air as a mixture of boos and praise erupted from the crowd.
Happy stepped into the ring showing Steve a little. He supposed it only made sense that Happy was apart of their lives as well since he was Tony's personal body guard. He pushed Katie into her corner as he whispered something directly in her ear. She began to hop back and forth on her feet wiggling her arms as if loosening up. She'd nod her head ever so often. Steve noticed three scars on her shoulder that were gathered together in a loose triangle pattern. The scars were circular and were the size of dimes.
Katie jerked her head back and forth to get a few cricks out and Happy stepped away from her. He gave her a hard look then Katie nodded her head. Happy held up his fists in front of him. Katie knocked her fists against his and he turned away to leave the cage. Tony was waiting at the gate for him. They shook hands and moved around the side of the ring until they were standing behind Katie.
Steve's body tensed almost instinctively when the bell rang. Both girls eased closer to each other both moving slowly to the right as they waited for the other to strike. The whole crowd was in an uproar. Tony and Happy shouted incoherently ring side. Melissa threw a couple quick jabs towards Katie. Katie countered by dodging to the right and swung with a haymaker connecting with the side of Melissa's head.
Melissa recovered quickly and tried to hit her with a roundhouse kick. Katie stepped back to dodge it. Melissa charged her and tackled her to the ground. The way they fell blocked Steve's veiw from what was going on. He cursed in his head. He had to admit, it was exciting watching a couple of women grappling each other in a cage like a couple wild animals.
Steve felt a small heel jab into his ribs. He glared up at Monkey who was glaring right back at him.
"You gotta move! Now!" She kicked his ribs again indicating the way she was wanting him to move. Steve Behan pushing his way through the crowd trying to get a better vantage point. He quickly learned that he was going to be bruised by the end of the fight with the way Monkey kept kicking him. He watched as Katie was thrown halfway across the mats as the bell rang signaling the end of the first round.
Katie was up in an instant sending a glare to her opponent as she walked to her corner. She looked out over the crowd spotting Steve with Monkey on his shoulders and couldn't help but scoff. Monkey was saving at her frantically. Her eyes fell on Steve. He stood staring at Katie with a small grin on his face. He really was as ruggedly handsome as Tony had let on.
She was a little more than weirded out by the fact that Tony had approached her about getting a boyfriend. Katie always assumed she was doing just fine on her own. It wasn't like she was lonely. She had a kid, it was hard to feel lonely with a kid. Or a business like she had. It wasn't like she never had a chance to find a man. She met plenty of them. And plenty of them were interested in her. She just wasn't interested in them.
Tony was suddenly in her face telling her what she had done wrong in the fight while Happy told her how to correct what she did wrong. She watched her opponent across the ring with that smug little smirk that she just wanted to bitch slap right off.
Before she knew it, the bell had rang again. Katie gave Melissa no chance to come up with a strategy and threw a superman punch trying to get it to land anywhere, but Melissa wasn't wore down enough to let a devastating hit like that land. Katie landed beside her and used the momentum of the punch to spin her around into a roundhouse kick letting it connect with Melissa's shoulder. Melissa feel to one knee from the unexpected blow. Katie was on top of her in an instant and grappled her into an arm bar, but Melissa rolled out of it quickly, but not before Katie was back on top of her.
Katie s straddled Melissa's waist and began punching her repeatedly in the face. Katie could hear the roar of the crowd, and she could hear Tony and Happy calling out to her. The bell rang again and Katie felt herself being tugged back by the ref.
Tony's and Happy's speech this time consisted of praise and "keep it ups".
"I want to take her out," Katie said looking Happy dead in the eye. Happy got that small twitch at the corner of his mouth he got whenever he was impressed and proud.
"Then take her out, Buttercup." Katie nodded as she stood up. She was more than ready for this. She could take that woman out. She knew she could. She had this in the bag.
The bell rang and Steve wasn't sure what he saw. Katie dashed for Melissa and Melissa had caught her and flipped her. Katie had screamed out in pain as a loud sucking pop came from her shoulder. Her arm had been dislocated. Steve could tell just by the way it sounded. Steve saw Tony and Happy exchange looks as Happy gripped the towel to throw in. Steve heard Monkey screaming to her mother. The whole crowd was in an uproar.
Katie stood holding her shoulder. Steve could only see her profile but he could see the anger and pain in her eyes. Her teeth were bared in a snarl. The ref went to Katie trying to get her to stop, but she shook her head. The ref looked to Happy trying to get him to do something, but Happy just stood there. Katie turned her head to Happy clearly out of breath from the pain. Steve wasn't sure what was said, but Katie nodded then looked back at her opponent who waited for her to make a move.
Katie ran for her again waiting for the right time to swing her leg around catching Melissa off guard. She landed on her side and looked up at Katie who was already coming down on top of her with another superman punch. This time it didn't miss. It didn't take a professional to know Melissa was done. The bell rang ending the fight and the whole crowd cheered. Katie didn't even let the ref announce her the winner. She made her way to the gate where Tony and Happy were already pushing people away so they could get her out of there.
Steve felt Monkey Jan her heel into his side. Steve looked up at her.
"Mommy's hurt! Go after her!" Steve began pushing himself through the crowd. He wasn't worried about her at all. He knew Katie was fine. She probably was wanting her shoulder put back in before the adrenaline wore off so it didn't hurt so bad. He had been there too many times himself. He opened the door and ducked through it to make sure he didn't knock Monkey off his shoulders.
"Just fucking do it!" he heard Katie yell as soon as he stepped out into the hallway. He heard the sickening snap of her shoulder being put back into place then a sound that seemed like a body hit the ground. He looked his head around the corner and saw Katie laying on the floor with Tony and Happy shaking their heads at her.
Monkey began to squirm on Steve's shoulders as she tried to get down.
"You killed her Uncle Happy!" Monkey squeaked as she reached her mother.
"No, she's just being dramatic." Katie's arm rose up so she could give Happy the finger. He grabbed her hand and pulled her up. Monkey jumped into Katie's arms making her cringe slightly but she still allowed her daughter the affection.
"You won the fight!" Monkey said jumping up and down. Katie nodded her hand. Steve could see a black eye starting to form and her teeth were stained pink from blood. "Oh and I'm not going to charge you for that last swear word you said since you were in pain." Katie chuckled as she began to pull her braid out. She looked up at Steve and grinned.
"Did you enjoy the fight?" she asked as she ran her fingers through her hair leaving small waves in her hair.
"Yes, you're very good," Steve complimented.
"Steve let me sit on his shoulders so I could watch the fight!" Monkey said grabbing her mother's attention. Steve glanced over at Tony who had that annoying Stark from. Monkey and Katie chatted away while the rest of The Avengers appeared. Katie glanced over then did a double take when her vision focused on Clint.
"Hot Shot Barton!" she yelled throwing her hand up in the air. She hurried over to him giving him a near hug which he returned. "Where the hell have you been? Everyone thought you died!" Clint chuckled.
"Been busy saving the world."
"Too busy to even send an E-mail. Come on, dude. You gotta let a bitch know you're okay." Monkey cleared her throat behind her making Katie let out a frustrated sigh. "You just need to give this up Monkey. You're going to clean me out," she said pulling out another dollar.
"I accept checks and money orders." Everyone snickered except for Katie who rolled her eyes.
"Go play before I tell Tony about your new boyfriend." Her eyes became the size of dinner plates and she took off down the hall and disappeared through a door. "Anyways, what brings you guys to my nic of the woods?" Katie asked.
"What boyfriend?" Tony asked.
"We have all kinds of stuff you guys can do."
"Seriously, what boyfriend?"
"This is every American's dream."
"Katie, what boyfriend?"
"If you want to do it, we got it." Tony grabbed her shoulders forcing her to turn towards him.
"What boyfriend?" Katie grinned.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Something beeped then a voice said, "Go for Katie." Happy unclipped a walkie-talkie from his belt and handed it to Katie.
"Katie here." The walkie-talkie beeped once more.
"You have a challenger in paint ball." Katie got a strange look.
"And you're telling me this why?"
"Because of who it is." Katie frowned.
"The Avengers." Katie frowned sending a glare to Tony. He gave her an innocent grin. She handed the walkie-talkie back to Happy then stepped to Tony. She stuck a finger in his chest.
"You're on."
"Good. Now come on, you and Monkey are staying at the tower tonight." Monkey cheered. "I've already got some clothes and stuff for you so no reason to worry."
"Let me go shower and change," Katie said walking into her changing room.