(A/N: Yesterday was my birthday so be a doll and leave me some reviews!)
The quinjet was silent, deathly silent. No one spoke, no one said a thing. The air was tense, so tense it made Valencia uncomfortable.
She was sat next to to Steve, though the super-soldier would not look at her. Ever since she found him on the ground of the cargo ship, Steve had been silent. When she tried to ask him what he saw, he wouldn't answer her.
Valencia got up from her spot next to Steve and walked to the cockpit, sitting next to Clint. "Everyone seems shook up." She said to the archer.
"Have you ever had someone go into your head?" Clint asked, his eyes not moving from the dark horizon, "It's terrifying."
Valencia frowned, shaking her head. "My mother told me about it once. She was kidnapped by the KGB and brainwashed for a month. She said they tried to take her out of her body. Made her fight and train all day everyday." The bronze girl sighed. "She used to get this faraway look on her face when she talked about it, like she was reliving every second."
The two of them sit in silence, Valencia watching the calmness of the horizon. The blonde looked over her shoulder at her teammates, all of them solemn in their individual corners. As her eyes landed on Tony Stark, her frowned deepened. Getting up from her seat in the cockpit, she walked over to the billionaire.
The dark-haired genius didn't even have a smart remark for the bronze girl, in fact, he didn't look up at her at all.
Valencia sat next to Tony, her hands in her lap. She chewed on her lip as she tried to think of comforting words to say.
"If you're here to mock me princess, can you save it for another time?" Tony said, a sarcastic grin on his face.
"You think I'm that evil, Stark? Wow." Valencia snorted, shaking her head. "I just wanted to see if you were alright."
"Oh I'm super!" Tony chimed, his words coated with spite. "I built a killbot that is planning world destruction. I'm peachy keen, happy as I've ever been."
Valencia scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Look Tony the tiger, I might be the only one on this jet that doesn't blame you."
"...What?" The dark-haired billionaire asked, bewildered.
"Tony it's not your fault." The young woman replied seriously, turning her body towards him. She put a hand on his knee and gingerly continued, "You're scared."
Tony let out a chuckle and shook his head. "Okay princess, I don't know what you're talking about."
"Tony." Valencia repeated, her brown eyes beaming into his. "It's okay to be scared."
"I really don't want to talk about this…"
"Just listen then," The young girl licked her lips before continuing. "Something really scared you and you don't have to tell me what it was, but it messed you up. So you tried to build something to save the world, but it could end up destroying it instead."
Tony grimaced, "Is this supposed to make me feel better?"
"Shut up!" Valencia snapped, the scowl on her face reminiscent of her father's. Her expression softened as she sighed, patting Tony on the back. "The point is; you're a good guy. You had good intentions Tony, you did it to save people. And even if everyone on this jet is angry at you for what you did," Valencia smiled softly, "I'm here to say to you; it's not your fault."
Tony was quiet, way quieter than Valencia had ever seen him. He was also still, his hands on his knees. Instead of saying anything else, the young girl laid her head on Tony's shoulder.
"You're a good kid, princess." Tony muttered, his voice low.
Valencia just smiled to herself, "You're a good guy, tin man."
Somewhere between flying and the plane landing, Valencia and Tony had fallen asleep. The young woman's eyelashes fluttered as she felt the plane descend. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she sat straight up and looked to her left, seeing Tony still asleep. She got up from her seat and stretched before walking to the cockpit and sitting next to Clint. The sun had risen over the horizon and it seemed to be morning. The clouds around them began to disperse and a farmhouse surrounded by acres of trees was left. Valencia furrowed her dark brows as Clint landed. "Where are we?" She asked the archer, getting up from her seat.
"A safe house." The archer answered her, going to help Nat.
The bronze woman bit her lip in confusion as she walked over to Steve, who was already standing, the somber look still on his face. She looked up at him and nudged his arm. Steve's blue eyes looked down into her browns and she smiled smally, trying comfort him like she used to. Everyone had unloaded the jet, so no one saw Steve press his lips against her forehead as they walked forward.
Valencia walked slightly ahead of Steve as the Avengers trotted up the trail to the main house. The farm was something off of a postcard; green grass grew high around it, and the home was white with green shutters. The porch wrapped around the whole house and an old pickup truck was in the yard. It looked way too real to be a mock safe house. As they climbed up the stairs and into the home, Valencia could definitely tell that this was not a safe house.
"Honey?" Clint called out into the home as they loitered in the living room. "I'm home." A very pregnant brunette woman holding children's art projects walked into the living room, a surprised look on her face. "Company, sorry I didn't call ahead." He said as they kissed.
Valencia watched with wide eyes as Tony quipped, "This is an agent of some kind."
"Gentlemen, this is Laura." Clint introduced the woman as she smiled prettily.
"I know all your names." She chuckled, before her eyes landed on Valencia.
"Um, hi. I'm Valencia. I'm new." The short woman introduced herself with a wave. "You have a lovely home."
"Thank you." Laura smiled as the sound of small footsteps approached them. Two little children rounded the corner and hugged Clint, exclaiming 'Dad!'.
Valencia smiled widely at the sight, her love for children shining through. "You have babies!" She beamed.
"Those are smaller agents." Tony retorted and Valencia nudged him.
The little pigtailed girl then asked, "Did you bring Auntie Nat?" To which the red-headed assassin's face lit up. "Why don't you hug her and find out?" She said as the little girl embraced her.
"I feel like I'm in the Twilight zone." Tony quipped once again making Valencia stifle a laugh.
"Sorry for barging in on you." Steve nodded toward Laura.
"We would've called ahead but we were busy having no idea you existed."
Valencia rolled her eyes at Tony remarks as Clint explained, "Fury helped me set this up when I joined. He kept it off S.H.I.E.L.D's files and I'd like to keep it that way."
The young Fury felt a tug on her leg and she looked down to see the little girl. "My name's Lila what's yours?" She asked, her brown eyes shining. The short woman bent down to her height and smiled. "I'm Valencia."
Lila smiled back at her with her dimpled smile, shyly looking at her hair. "I like your hair, Valencia."
"I like your pigtails, Lila B." Valencia complimented, pinching the girl's cheek causing her to giggle. From behind her, she heard stomping and she turned around to find Thor and Steve gone. Quickly replacing her worried look with a smile, she turned back to Lila. She stood up and walked to Nat and Laura.
Laura caught her eyes and smiled, "Let me show you to a room and get you some clothes, you must be exhausted." The pregnant woman led her to a bedroom with a double bed. "You're probably going to have to share…"
Valencia waved it off, "That's fine. I'll just share with Ste- Cap."
Laura smiled knowingly, leaving the room. "I'll get you some clothes."
The blonde woman sighed as she unlaced her combat boots, nudging them off with her feet. She ran a tired hand through her hair just as Laura returned with her clothes. "I think you and I used to be the same size."
"Thanks Mrs. Barton," Valencia nodded to the pregnant woman, "For everything."
"Oh call me Laura. Let me know if you need anything." The brunette said as she closed the door.
Going into the bathroom, Valencia quickly stripped out of her catsuit and turned on the shower. She looked under the sink for towels and found a washcloth and a large towel. She put her short hair up as best as she could, stepping into the steaming water. She sighed deeply as she cleaned herself, her thoughts running rampant.
The first thought in her head was that she needed to call her mom, which she would do as soon as she got to a phone. The second thought was about Steve and how she could talk to him about what he saw. After thinking of Steve she thought of Clint and Laura. Clint had a secret family no one knew about and a secret farmhouse. Could that be her and Steve one day? Living in a farmhouse with two kids and one on the way?
Valencia rolled her eyes at her idiotic fantasy. That could never be her and Steve's life. He was Captain America and would always have his duties to the country. He'd always have to leave her and save the world. What kind of life would that be for their children? Maybe that's why her mother left her father, she wanted her to have a stable life.
Shaking her head, she turned the shower off and stepped out. Wrapping a towel around her body, she looked at herself in the bathroom mirror. She looked tired, drained more like, and her hair was frizzy. She took the ponytail out of her hair and ran her hand through it a couple of times, though all it did was curl back up. She braided a plait at the front of her hair to keep it out of her face and walked out of the bathroom.
Valencia paused when she saw Steve sitting on the double bed, but walked around him to get to her clothes on the desk. Laura had left her a pair of shorts, a blue button up and a pair of flats. She dropped her towel and put the jean shorts on, her back to Steve.
"You have a tattoo."
Valencia looked at Steve over her shoulder and furrowed her brows. "You didn't see it that night?" She asked as she buttoned up the shirt.
"It was dark." He replied as she turned around. She sat on the desk and looked at him with a frown.
Valencia crossed her arms, "Do you want to talk about it yet?"
Steve averted his eyes and shook his head. "When did you get a tattoo?" He changed the subject of the conversation.
"A year ago." Valencia smiled fondly, "My mom all but forced me to get one. Said I wasn't a Smith until I had ink on my body." She rolled her eyes before frowning. "Speaking of, I haven't spoken to her in a few days."
"You should call your mother, Valencia." Steve chided teasingly, sharing a grin with the bronze woman. She walked over to him and sat on his lap, cupping his face in her hands. He wrapped his arms around her waist and looked upon her fondly.
As her fingers traced the bags under his eyes she frowned. "Steve have you been sleeping?"
"Yes." He affirmed, though his eyes said otherwise.
Valencia raised a manicured brow. "Eight hours?"
"...Who really gets eight hours of sleep?"
"Steve!" The young woman glared, pursing her lips. "Sleep is very important."
"I know, I know." Steve sighed, looking at her through his lashes. "I usually can get three hours before I have to get up." Valencia chewed on her lip in thought as she traced the lines on his face. Steve did not want to say anything, but the night that they spent together was the longest he had slept in years.
"You should call your ma." Steve muttered to his best girl and her nose crinkled as she snorted out a laugh.
"Well you need to take a shower, Captain Rogers." She whispered to him, right above his lips.
"I can't shower with you on top of me." He remarked, his eyebrow quirked up.
"Who says?" She retorted with a wicked grin.
The super-soldier thinly smiled and stood up suddenly, lifting the short woman with him. Her legs clung to his middle as she yelped, making him chuckle at her. He let her down, her body sliding against his.
Valencia's hands wrapped around his neck as she pouted. "That's not funny Steve! I could have fallen!"
"I wouldn't let my gal fall." Steve assured her, kissing her forehead.
"Gal?" She scrunched her nose up, "I totally forgot you were from," She mimicked his accent, "Brook-lahn."
"Bahn and raised." Steve exaggerated, making Valencia snort.
"Go to take a shahwa Rogahs." The bronze woman teased, pushing away from him.
"Sha' thing, toots." The hero said shutting the bathroom door just as Valencia exclaimed, "Toots?!"
