Hey everyone! I'm back with an update! I hope you all had a great holiday season! I know I did!
A few things. First, as some of you may have noticed, I took down Bring the Fire. I think, and I may be wrong, that most people are waiting for me to finish revising this story before they read the next. So I decided to temporarily delete it, at least until I finish revising this!
Also, I deleted my Instagram. I didn't really have any followers and I wasn't on it enough to want to keep it. If I have followers that want me to make another Instagram again, I will! Just let me know!
Last, a special thanks to damemelusine! Not only did she review, but she also found a few mistakes with my French! I truly apologize for that; I don't speak French at all and I used Google Translate for my words… I'll see if I can't find the correct words!
Alright, that's all! Go on and enjoy the story! =D
Disclaimer: I only own Ashley and the story itself, and nothing else, even though I wish I did!
I woke up in a twisted mass of sheets, my body hot. My eyes fluttered open to see Tony sitting right next to me in my bed. I shot up suddenly, disoriented and confused.
"Hey, hey it's just me." he said, putting his hands up and approaching me cautiously. As soon as he was sure I wasn't going to attack him, he pushed me back down slowly.
"Where am I?" I managed to choke out quietly. My throat felt as dry as a desert and as rough as sandpaper.
"The helicarrier. We're almost back to New York." He grabbed a glass of water from my bedside table and handed it to me. I took it and downed the whole thing in one sitting.
Tony took back the glass as I started to test out my voice."What happens when we get there?"
He shrugged easily, as if the question didn't bother him in the slightest, like it did for me. "You come to stay with all of us in the tower. I swear, it isn't as crowded as you might think." he joked lightly.
I looked at the clock that was stationed above my door. It was almost two in the afternoon. "Why didn't you wake me up before?" I said in a frenzy. I didn't remember what time it was before I passed out, but I did know that I couldn't remember the last time that I slept until two.
"You had a fever of 103.8. We decided to let you sleep a day."
"A day?" I squeaked in horror as I tried to hop out of bed.
This time he let me without protest. "Yeah, you've been out for a day and a half now."
I steadied myself and then walked to the bathroom slowly. I wasn't even sure what to say to him. If my throat didn't hurt dearly still, I would've been bombarding him with questions and angry statements about how he should have woken me up regardless. But instead I moved to look at myself in the mirror silently.
I looked at my pale reflection, then felt my forehead. I couldn't feel anything, but it was probably because my whole body was hot. I brushed my teeth and combed my hair quickly, then walked out to Tony. "Please tell me there isn't any medicine evolved with this whole sickness thing." I moaned. I was never given medication for an illness in the Red Room before, as long as we weren't entirely dead, they didn't care about our health, but I'd had it before when I was a child.
Tony smirked at me, that playful and mischievous Stark grin that could mean anything and a half. I moaned again, throwing my head so my eyes looked straight up to the grey ceiling.
He chuckled and said, "Speaking of such, Bruce told me to bring you to him once you woke up, even if that meant knocking you out again."
I figured Bruce would say something about that. And I also knew that he wasn't bluffing when he said he'd have someone on that team knock me out if I didn't obey his practical order. "Mmm, fun." I said, remembering my crutches for once. Might as well comply. I didn't need another concussion.
We walked out slowly and carefully. Tony made sure not to walk at my slow speed for my sake. Even though I'd never admit it, I was grateful. We walked a couple of doors down, and then Tony knocked on one. Bruce came to the door promptly as I played with the material on the handle of the crutch.
"What's up, doc?" Tony said, imitating Bugs Bunny, from one of the cartoons I had actually seen as a kid. I laughed as Bruce frowned in a playful way.
"How are you feeling, Ashley?" He asked, ignoring Tony. I guess if you worked with him for long enough, it was possible to blow off his sarcasm.
"Fine, actually. Just a little hot." It was true. The only thing that was really bothering me was how warm I was. He smiled warmly at me, then invited us in.
It turned out that his room was actually the hot spot for all of them. Each of them had occupied a different place in his room, taking up most of the space. Tony and I squeezed our way through after a big chorus of 'Ashley! Are you okay, Ashley? Do you feel any better?' I smiled at them and assured them I was fine, which was true. I certainly didn't feel sick enough to take any medicine, that was for sure.
Just then, the dreaded medicine came. Great, I thought in my mind, that's just great.
"Just swallow it fast." Clint suggested. I mock glared at him, letting out just a little bit of sass. "It isn't a band aid, Clint." He looked innocent, and from what I'd gathered, entirely Clint like. "Still, it helps!" he argued with me.
I laughed a little, then grabbed the small bottle of bright red liquid. "Are we sure this is safe?" I asked Tony. "Eh, sure. It will only hurt for a couple of minutes." I turned around to face him full on. He was laughing, and I decided this would be a great time to smack him. I did, and everyone started laughing. Apparently I wasn't the only one who'd either A, wanted to do that, or B, actually done that.
"Don't listen to him, Ashley, it's perfectly safe." Bruce assured me. Even though I'd never really trusted doctors before, I trusted Bruce and what he said. I knew, or rather strongly believed, that he wouldn't try to poison me.
I nodded cautiously and continued to stare at it. "On the count of three," I whispered to myself. "One..." I breathed deeply, taking my time.
"Two, three!" Tony yelled from behind me. I forced it up to my mouth and put all of it in. As soon as it entered my body, I could tell I was really going to regret it. I started gagging.
"Swallow it," Bruce told me. I shook my head, knowing I wouldn't be able to keep it down even if I did swallow it.
"Swallow it!" This time it was Clint, trying to encourage me I knew. I shook my head again, and looked back at Tony with pleading eyes.
He shrugged. "Might as well get it over with." I tried to slowly ease it down my throat, and it hardly worked. I kept trying to force it back up. Tony then handed me a glass of water, saying that as soon as I had it down, I could have some. I decided that just sitting there wasn't going to help me any, so I quickly swallowed all of the most utterly awful thing I had ever tasted in my entire life.
"Gahhhhh!" I gagged as soon as it was down. I snatched the glass of water from Tony and downed it all in one gulp. "You're rude." I said in a hoarse voice, pointing at Bruce.
"You'll feel better now, I swear." he said. "I would rather be sick." I replied.
"Arrival in 15 minutes." an automated voice said through the speakers. I was still trying to work that terrible taste out of my mouth as the intercom, I assumed, spoke.
"That's us." Natasha said. Everyone started to file out of the room one at a time.
"Let's go Ash. We need to get packed," Tony told me. It was strange how… oddly connected we were already, how much he cared for me. But you wouldn't see me complaining.
"I don't really have anything that needs to be packed," I reminded him, a little awkwardly.
"Ah, that's right," Tony said. "You can come with me then." I followed him out of Bruce's room and into his own, still on my crutches.
"I had Pepper get you some things at the tower. It's not that much, but it'll hold for a couple of days. As soon as you get properly settled in, I'll give you my credit card and you can go crazy at the mall," he told me as soon as the door shut behind the both of us. He was already gathering up all of his scientific equipment.
"Who's Pepper?" I asked as I took a seat on his bed to rest my legs.
"Her real name is Virginia Potts, but we all call her Pepper. She's my girlfriend of a year and a half now."
I chortled and stopped him before he could get any further. "Let me guess, you gave her that nickname." He feigned a hurt expression. "You expected anything better from me?"
I laughed through my nose and playfully rolled my eyes. "Oh boy, I can't wait to hear mine." He chuckled and smiled at me. "Just you wait and see!" And at that time, I wasn't faking my terrified expression. We made small talk for the rest of the time that he packed.
"Ready?" he asked after he was finished packing. I nodded and followed him out of the room. Most everyone else had already left the rooms, so the hallways were fairly unpopulated, except for a few people dressed in all black walking up and down the halls. Tony led me down a couple of hallways to the main unloading deck, where the rest of the Avengers were. I got smiles from everyone, along with a place to stand.
"Landing now," the same automatic voice from before said. I felt my stomach drop as soon as the voice stopped. Only a minute or so, I felt us touch down, and reduce speed.I'd only been on a plane once in my lifetime, but I could honestly say I couldn't wait to be on solid ground again. It wasn't that I did or didn't like heights, I just really, really despised flying.
Right after we touched down, and the engines slowly started to turn off, none other than Fury popped up in front of us, seemingly from nowhere. He stared at us with one eye, the other was in an eye patch. He looked just as menacing as he sounded. I acted just like I would if I was in front of the Master. I stood completely still and maintained eye contact, while puffing out my chest to make me look bigger.
He looked at me then. I guess this was our first official meeting, since he didn't know that I'd heard his conversation with the Avengers. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. And you are?" He didn't hold out his hand, though I didn't expect him to. I didn't either. "Ashley," I told him calmly and cooly. "Last name?" His voice was still cold and detached. "Martine." I kept my own voice neutral.
Fury gave me a look that made me feel sick. I had to stop the shivers in my body from rolling down my spine. "I hope you had a wonderful time here Ashley. I count on seeing you again soon," he said in an unsettling tone. I nodded once, firm and taught, and he walked off.
Tony made it look casual. He put an arm around my shoulders, that to anyone else on the team would've looked just like a friendly gesture. But I could tell the true meaning behind it. Tony was clearly saying to me, I won't let him hurt you, though he didn't say a word. And honestly, I was eternally grateful for that simple gesture.
The gargantuan hangar door in front of us opened, and I saw a couple of cars, some of which I could tell were very, very expensive. A few advertised S.H.I.E.L.D on the doors in dark grey letters, and some were military. I also caught sight of a redhead woman standing by one of the expensive cars, along with a heavy set balding man.
I stayed close beside Tony, making it seem as natural as possible. I looked tough on the outside, I knew, but that was because I was trained to be like that. On the inside I was entirely freaking out. Why were there military cars? SHIELD cars? What even were SHIELD cars? My breathing sped up just the slightest bit, and I knew Tony could tell. He squeezed my shoulder softly reassuring me once again. I took a deep breath and followed his lead. I trusted he'd keep me safe.
The team started to file out onto the runway. Tony, once again, waited for me, and helped me down with my crutches that I really wished would grow legs and disappear. Both the redhead and the heavy set man came towards us. Neither of them looked threatening, and Tony seemed entirely at ease, so I was okay with them approaching.
"Ash, I would like for you to meet Pepper, my lovely girlfriend," he said as Pepper walked to us. I smiled and waved shyly as she came and pulled me into a hug. "I've heard so much about you from Tony, Ashley! I hope he's behaved," she said, looking at Tony with a playful glare. He put his hands up in surrender.
"He was just fine, really helpful, actually." I replied. I honestly really did like Tony, even though I had no clue why. I just did.
"Good!" She pulled Tony into a hug as well and kissed him on the mouth. He did the same. They were honestly cute together. I hadn't hardly seen any couples throughout my life, but I could tell they were meant for each other. It was adorable.
The balding man came up and took Tonys' bags and put them in the back of the car. "Oh yeah, that's Happy." Tony said pointing to the man who was leaning over the trunk. He stuck a hand out from the side of the trunk and waved. I smiled and said, "Hi Happy!" It was a happy thing even to say his name.
All four of us then went into his expensive looking car. Happy driving, Pepper in shotgun, and Tony and I in the back.
"What kind of a car is this?" I asked as I looked all throughout the car. It looked really, really nice. Honestly I was afraid to move at all in the thing.
"An Aston Martin- that's it!" Tony said in mid sentence. Pepper turned around in her seat to see what Tony was about to do. "That's what?" Pepper asked for me. "Your new nickname." "What?" I asked incredulously. "Ashton Martine! It's perfect! Just combine the two together and you get your nickname!" I laughed. It actually wasn't too bad.
"Isn't that a little long for a nickname, Tony?" Pepper asked. "Very true," Tony agreed. "That will be my personal nickname. We'll have to find another one for you." he winked at me. I smiled at him. It was difficult not to love him.
"So Ashley," Pepper said, turning to me, "I got you a room ready at the tower. Tony had some input, and I think you'll like it there very much."
"Thanks so much Pepper, you're so sweet!" I said. She honestly was. I could tell I was going to like Pepper, too. We all talked for the rest of the ride back, mostly about uneventful boring stuff. I was strangely comfortable with all of them. For once in my life, I felt relaxed. And comfortable. It was great.
"Here we are, boss." Happy said after about 15 minutes. I looked out the window to see an enormous tower that was at least seventy stories high. At the top, it had a big A. "What does the A stand for?" I asked Tony as we stepped out of the car. I was still looking up the massive building.
"Avengers." Tony replied while walking up to Pepper and I. The rest of the team arrived in moments in one of the Hummers. I could only imagine how crazy that ride would have been. Clint sprinted out with Natasha on his heels. He had obviously done something bad once again. Steve stepped out rolling his eyes as Thor tried to explain something to him in a booming voice. Lastly, Bruce stepped out talking to someone on the phone who was either boring him to death or annoying beyond belief. It was actually really comical to watch.I could tell I'd love it there.
Happy took Tonys' bags out of the back and opened the front door for all of us. I walked in slowly with Tony and Pepper at my heels. As soon as I stepped aside, Clint ran in followed by Natasha who was screaming profanities at him. Bruce came next, who now looked as if he was about to throw his phone on the ground. Last came Thor and Steve, with Thors' voice as loud as ever. "Is it always like this?" I asked Tony. He nodded and I laughed just slightly. "Hey, on the bright side, you'll never have a quiet or lonely moment here!" he said. True.
The first floor was large, but Tony insisted that it was just a reception floor, and wasn't all that grand. There was a spiraling staircase and two elevators. Tony, Pepper and I took one elevator, and Thor took the other one, obviously intrigued by it. Clint was taking the stairs three at a time, with Natasha not far behind. Bruce and Steve walked at a normal pace up the stairs. Tony pressed a button for the 60th floor. "Are they really all going to run or walk all the way up to the 60th floor?" I asked.
"Well, Rogers is a super soldier, Nat and Clint are master assassins, and Bruce is just bored out of his mind. I think they'll make it." I smiled slightly. They were kind of dysfunctional, but I honestly didn't mind at all. I actually kind of liked it, for some reason. It made me feel more at home.
After a minute or so, we arrived. The floor seemed like it was bigger than all of the helicarrier. It was lavishly furnished with couches and artwork and tables and even a mini bar. I couldn't even think how someone could have over 70 floors of artwork, crystal chandeliers, and bars and not be broke. But obviously Tony was one of the people that could afford it. It was practically a house, but Tony told me it was only a living room.
Just when I had finished taking the place in, Clint burst up the stairs with Natasha right behind him. He ran around, laughing at her death threats that would make a normal person scared out of their mind. Steve walked up a minute later, followed by Bruce who was still arguing with the man on the other end of the phone. Not surprisingly, Thor was last, even though he took an elevator as well. He burst out of it with a cry of, "By the Mjolnir, you mortals have most confusing machines!"
I couldn't help but grin at the scene going on around me. I couldn't remember the last time I'd been this happy. "Make yourself at home Ashley. Don't be afraid to ask one of us about something." Pepper said warmly.
I smiled and thanked her, and decided to go to one of the expensive and soft looking couches. I sighed as the soft couch welcomed me. My body was very sore from the fence still, and it felt good to finally rest. I closed my eyes and listened to everything going on around me. Clint and Natasha still fighting, Thor yelling at the elevator, Bruce repeatedly trying to console the man on the other end of the phone, and Pepper yelling at Tony for stealing something of hers. I felt a soft plop right by me and opened my eyes to see Steve. He smiled at me and I smiled back.
"Kinda crazy, isn't it?" he said as he leaned back against the couch. "Just a little bit," I agreed, nodding with a tight kind of smile on my face. He laughed. "You know, when I first got here, I stayed in the gym for three days. It was my way to become adjusted to all the noise and chaos. That was until they came down there and made just as much noise as before."
I nodded thoughtfully. "I probably would too if I wasn't already used to it." He looked at me questioningly as he spread out on the couch. I had said too much. Time to lie. "My foster house was always loud because of all the kids and parents trying to keep control." He nodded at me, but I could tell that he could tell I was lying, or at least not telling the whole truth. He didn't push it, however.
But he did become more serious. "I served in the Army back in WWII. I saw some pretty bad stuff go down. I saw the affects it had on the soldiers and the people Hitler attacked both. And because of that, I can tell that bad things happened over there. I know tragedy when I see it." I shifted my eyes down so he couldn't see my eyes go watery. "I'm not going to press on what happened. I'm not going to be pushy, not now or ever. But, if the time comes when you need to talk, I'm always here. Okay?" he said.
I nodded and looked up at his compassionate face. "Thanks, really. I actually kind of needed that," I murmured to him as I glanced over to him. He smiled slightly and nodded respectfully to me.
"Okay, I'm officially starving," Tony stated from a little ways away from us. "Well get something to eat!" Pepper said while hitting him playfully. "There isn't anything to eat!" he whined. "Fine then, order something!" Pepper said. "Maybe I will." Tony put his nose in the air playfully.
"Get something for me too, Tony." Clint said, who was now wrestling Natasha on the ground. "Me too!" Natasha said as she successfully pinned Clint to the ground. "Oh fine, I'll just get one truck full of Chinese food," Tony said sarcastically.
"No, Tony, let Ashley pick what we eat tonight," Pepper told him sternly. He realized his mistake. He turned to me. "Fair enough, what do you want Ash?"
"Pizza, maybe?" I asked shyly, looking up through my eyelashes and keeping myself as small as possible.
"Okay, I really like her." Clint said while struggling to get Natasha off of him. It was the same for me, the team was growing on me bit by bit. Tony already had the pizza man on the phone. He ordered two of seven different kinds of pizza. Could they really eat that much? Sure, it was eight people, but that meant practically two pizzas per person. I guess I was about to find out.
"Want to come see your room, Ash?" Tony asked after he'd finished ordering the pizza. I nodded and followed him to the elevator. He pressed on the button for the 63rd floor, and we went up.
The elevator dinged and I walked into yet another enormous floor with seven doors. He led me to one that was in the middle, and opened it for me. My room was huge, genuinely huge. The walls were turquoise, my favorite color, and the carpet was white along with the ceiling. There were two mini couches to the left of me, along with a coffee table and a blue rug. At the wall there was a mini fridge and three doors, one of which held a full sized bathroom, and the other two held my new closet. There was a fish tank in the corner nearest to me, and the one opposite to it held a big stereo. My bed was off to the right a little bit, and was king sized with two steps leading up to it. And the thing that made me the most happy was what I saw on the right side of the room. Ropes, a jungle gym, with mats and everything. I looked up to the ceiling and saw that it was almost three stories high. I also saw that there was a series of nets up there. I was going to have a bunch of fun with that. There was also a rock climbing wall and trampoline in one corner. The other corner held a small kitchen.
"This is just to start you off. When you want to add or remove stuff, feel free to." He made it seem entirely like this room was nothing. This was the most I'd ever had in all of my life. Well, as far back as I could remember. I couldn't show my gratitude enough.
"Thank you so much Tony! This is so great! Thank you so so much!" I said, hugging him, dropping my crutches.
"Of course. If nothing else I'm a gracious host. I'll let you get adjusted up here. The pizzas should be here within forty five minutes, so make yourself comfortable up here until then." I thanked him again and he left.
I decided to take a shower. I would feel a lot better. I walked, without my crutches, to the bathroom. It was big. I got a garbage bag out from under the sink and covered up my knee so the water wouldn't get on the cast. I took off my clothes and stepped into the steaming hot shower that felt amazing. There were all kinds of soaps and shampoos, so I wouldn't have to worry about that for a couple of years at least. After being done, I walked out and wrapped a towel from the counter around me, and walked out to the walk in closet. Pepper had definitely stocked the closet too. I didn't like strict clothing, so I threw on a pair of black sweatpants and a green cotton tank top. They fit perfectly. I walked back out to the bathroom and blow dried my silky auburn. When I was finished, I decided to go eat, and to not take my crutches, even though that was risky with Bruce around. I walked out my door and into the elevator and pressed the 60 button.
When I got to the floor I saw what I expected. Chaos. People were fighting over pizza and pop and even places at the table. Bruce pointed at me the second he saw me. "Where are they?" "In my room?" I shrugged as one corner of my lip twitched up. Everyone laughed at how frustrated I made him.
"Not to worry, I'll just carry her over here." Tony said as he came and picked me up piggy back style, being careful of my knee. I giggled and he carried me to a chair and set me down. I dared to stick my hand into the crazy frenzy, and grabbed two pieces of still steaming pizza. I ate them down quickly, and grabbed a bottle of water from the table. I ate another two pieces and finished my water while talking with everyone at the table. By my sixth piece, I was full.
Tony tapped me on the leg and whispered, "Watch this." He pointed to one of his hands that was under the table. I looked under and saw it was full of whipped cream. It took everything in me to keep from laughing. I knew what was about to happen.
"Hey, capsicle." Tony said from behind Steve. He turned around, and as soon as he did, Tony slapped him in the face with whipped cream that got everywhere. Everyone started peeling out in laughter, including Steve, even though he was currently chasing Tony around the room. I couldn't stop laughing even as Tony outran Steve and came to sit by me.
Steve looked hilarious, playfully furious, but more happy than anything else. He sat down beside Tony again, making sure to keep an eye on him. I didn't think anyone could blame him.
It took a while, but we were finally able to stop laughing and calm ourselves down. It was only then that I realized how tired I was after all of that. I announced that I was going to head upstairs and go to bed. Every single one of them said goodnight and I walked to the elevator and went up.
As soon as I got back into my room, I changed into a pair of short shorts and a yellow tank top. I brushed my teeth and combed my hair out, then bounced onto my comfy bed. Tony was right, the S.H.I.E.L.D beds had nothing on his. I layed down and promised myself first thing the next morning I would try out the jungle gym in my new room. I didn't have a second to think about anything else before I passed out.
So? How was it? I hope you guys liked it! Leave me a review and let me know how I did!
The next chapter is when the action starts in! Thanks to everyone who had kept with me for this story, you guys are the best! =D I love to PM, so feel free to PM me if you want! Have a great day!