Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers, its content, or its characters. I'm not making any money, nor do I intend to, off of this story or any of its chapters.
A/N: New Chapter! Thanks for the reviews! Sorry it took so long! I'll try to update more frequently, now that I have more time off from work.
Chapter 12: Relocate
Further investigation of the group that had kidnapped Stark's employee revealed no connection to Hydra. While a relief, it was disconcerting to think an anti-semitic group grew large enough to cause one of the Avengers such distress, and while they did monitor the activity of Bryn, they were unsure how this was overlooked and would be investigating further. Coulson, seeing how distressed Steve was over the situation, was personally looking into it. After much arguing and name calling, it was decided Bryn would relocate to some sort of employee housing, if not Stark tower itself. Her recovery had rendered her useless for at least a week. Fluids had been constantly administered, her face was bandaged around her burns, and she had to undergo a few in-depth exams before being cleared to be released. When asked if she wanted to see a Psychiatrist for further counseling, Bryn refused. She was sure there was a file a mile long on her mental well-being as it was, and the fact that they weren't letting her see it kept her up in conjunction with her nightmares. The autopsy results came in from the corpse of Eva Voss; thankfully, she was pathogen-free. After the bite she had inflicted on the woman's face, they wanted to be sure she hadn't caught anything particularly nasty.
"Bryn, we have every amenity you could possibly dream of, you'd have your own apartment on one of the floors, and there is no place more secure than this. We could put you in one of our apartment buildings close to the tower, but it wouldn't be anywhere near as convenient or safe as what I'm trying to offer you. We have a pool. And a gym. If I don't have it, you don't need it, and trust me, I probably have it! And if I don't have it, I'll build it!" Tony was in a full blown rant.
"Boss, I can't." Bryn cut him off.
"Why the hell not?"
"It's the Avengers tower. I don't belong here with you guys. I'm your employee; a maintenance worker. I'm not a superhero, or even a SHIELD agent. It wouldn't make sense for me to be here. Every time I step into this building, I feel like I'm intruding on your living space."
"First off, it's MY tower. Stark Tower. Until Fury starts footing the bill, I'm not changing the name. Secondly, it isn't just reserved for superheroes and agents. You know Robyn, my new assistant? Lovely lady, kind of quiet, insane attention to detail?"
Bryn nodded and Tony continued.
"She will be living here full time soon. I need her on call constantly to handle anything that pops up. She didn't seem to throw much of a fit. Definitely an upgrade to where she was staying."
"I want to be charged for rent. I'm not staying here unless it's coming out of my check every week. And I might just take a place at one of your apartment buildings nearby. I'm not sold on this yet."
"You're really stubborn."
"Looks who's talking."
"...Cap hasn't been sleeping well. Jarvis has been keeping tabs on him. Would you seriously move elsewhere and make him worry constantly? You're his friend; not because he's Captain America, but because he's Steve Rogers, and he doesn't take that lightly."
Guilt gnawed at Bryn's stomach. She didn't want to entertain the thought of Steve pacing around at night, worrying about her.
"Fine. You will work out a reasonable rate with me, and don't expect me to be under foot too much. I'll probably keep to myself, out of the way, for the most part. I don't want to be a bother."
"Trust me on this; having you here will ease the Captain's mind, which will stop him from being a pain in the ass to the rest of us. Seriously, he's been really, really annoying lately. And you can fix more stuff that he breaks, even at night. Because he does that. All the time. 24/7. I'm not joking. The Keurig took a hit last night." Tony rambled on. "I'm going to show you the available spots in the tower. They're on different floors. You up for traveling around?"
"You bet your ass. I've been stuck in that bed for way too long. When can I come back to work?"
"When I say so, so not yet."
"C'mon, man!"
"Nope. Get your stuff here first and get settled. You can come back to work after that. I'm not taking no for an answer on this. My tower, my rules."
Robyn, though torn about leaving what had been home for quite some time, was having no trouble grasping the concept of living within the tower she worked at. It was incredibly convenient and her new position all but required it. She had been insanely busy as of late with catching up on everything, but her boss had been patient, to an extent, and seemed pleased with her work. She was catching on quickly and things were running as smoothly as possible given the circumstances. Pepper was incredibly professional about leaving her with everything she needed, even contact information in case she needed to consult someone for assistance. Everything was planned out so perfectly, she figured it was just that; planned. She couldn't fault the woman for wanting a change in her hectic life, especially when Pepper had handled everything at Stark Industries so well. She had never disliked Miss Potts, and the two had gotten along well whenever they had to work together. Robyn secretly admired her for being able to shoulder so much every day and not crack under the pressure.
'She did seem a little different the last few times I worked with her. Like she had made up her mind about something and was tying up loose ends...'
After going over her living arrangements with Stark, she had been set up on floor 65, seven floors below the Avenger's designated living space. It was close enough to assist her boss at any time, should the need arise, and far enough away to ensure a private living area, separate from work. A very beautiful private living area. Tony Stark had everything cleaned and maintained down to the letter and it took Robyn's breath away when she stepped through the doors. The floors above were gyms, laundry suites, a very large pool room, and other amenities housed within the tower. Being such a large building, there were two other full apartments on the same floor, both unoccupied at the moment, and something else she couldn't find on the Tower's Map. It unnerved her a little that there was an unknown, very large area on the same floor, but she assumed her boss wouldn't put her in any danger. A small part of her wished for company; living on an empty floor might get a little lonely and she wouldn't mind a neighbor.
Bryn was astonished when Tony opened the door to an empty living area on floor 65. Looking around at the space, the view from the windows, and the overall size overwhelmed her.
"Mr. Stark...I can't live here."
"What's wrong with it?"
"Nothing. Not a damn thing is wrong with it. It's absolutely perfect, and beautiful. But I can't live in a place like this. Right now, my little studio in Brooklyn looks like a trash heap compared to this."
"You live in a studio? As in, a one room studio apartment?" He shook his head. "You have a picture of it?"
She showed him one of the few photos of her apartment on her phone. Thankfully, it had been cleaned that day.
"Wow. That's smaller than Steve's living space. And he picked the smallest spot we had in the tower. Typical Cap, you know. I keep telling him if he had more room to move, he might not knock so much stuff over, but he never listens."
It made sense, she supposed. Steve Rogers had grown up during the Depression Era, and likely didn't have much to his name when he had enlisted. She couldn't imagine him feeling comfortable in an area too large or lavish. She was struggling with it herself. Some of the things at the Tower still continued to amaze and impress her, and she wasn't sure how she could explain to Tony that she had never lived in a place this large or nice. With her current line of work, she never expected to, and she assumed she would always live in small apartments until she got her Masters in Engineering.
"This is one of the smallest apartments I have here, Bryn. You're welcome to make it comfortable and make it your own. Whatever suits you." Tony looked directly at her. "You decide, but I, for one, would like to have you here. It'd make me feel better. Take some of the strain off of me when we have issues in the Tower that need to be fixed. And I know it would make Steve a hell of a lot more comfortable. He doesn't have many close friends; he has a bad habit of trying to live in the past. You're pulling him out of it, just like the rest of us have been trying to do."
She knew what he was getting at, and he was so damn charismatic, it was working. Bryn sighed and met his gaze.
"I'll stay. I'm serious about being charged for rent though. Something fair. Self-sustaining building or not, I'm going to pay my way here. I wouldn't feel right, otherwise. I'd really like to be charged for utilities. Anything I use. You pay me more than enough."
"I wouldn't expect any less from you. Lunch?"
"That'd be great. I'm starving."
"You're always hungry."
The next four days were spent moving both of Stark's employees into the building. Robyn had already drawn up a floor plan of exactly where she wanted everything. All of her possessions and furniture were in immaculate condition. Bryn was a different story altogether. Tony refused to let most of her furniture into the tower.
"No, absolutely not. You are not bringing whatever the hell that is in here!"
"It's my couch."
"It's garbage. Not coming here. Buy a new one. Better yet, I'll buy a new one and have it dropped off. What color scheme do you want in your new place? Don't bring anything else that looks like that."
"Seriously, Mr. Stark?"
"Seriously, Bryn. I'm not joking. And we have to talk about your phone, too."
"It's brand new!"
"It's an iPhone. Not allowed here. You'll have a StarkPhone by the end of the day."
Bryn eventually found a refurbished furniture store, much to the annoyance of her boss. Everything there was relatively inexpensive, but completely repurposed and held a sort of rustic, welcoming charm. She had gotten ahold of some pallets from a few local loading docks and, being as handy as she was, managed to make her own bed frame and headboard out of them. The rest of the pallets were torn apart and used to make siding for the bar in the kitchen area. Sanding and poly-coating it all made it uniquely beautiful. Unable to find the red brick she was used to, she found wallpaper that looked just like it and ended up covering the living area and kitchen walls with it. She left it out of the bedroom and bathroom, but painted both a nice Wilmington Tan with dark red and hardwood accents. Every inch of the place reflected her; sturdy, functional, but atypically beautiful in it's own way. The hardwood combined with the stainless steel, brick wallpaper, and burlap curtains all came together to create a sort of strange, cozy industrial theme. It may not have been the most warm and fuzzy to visitors, but Bryn felt at peace in the space. She had kept herself busy making it a comfortable place to stay and when she was done, she found herself relaxing in her surroundings. It wasn't familiar yet, but it could become home, and Bryn found herself smiling at the idea. She was, yet again, proud of her work.
Her boss had dropped in when it was finished to take a look around.
"I like what you've done with the place." He smiled. "Is that a V8 Rover engine?"
"Yeah. I couldn't resist. Threw a piece of heavy glass on top of it, and there you have it; coffee table."
"Nice hubcaps."
"Thanks. I'm not one for frilly wall art."
"So I've noticed." He put a hand on her shoulder. "Ready to get back to work in a couple of days? Cap broke some things this week. I think a few of them may have been broken on purpose, but I'm not going there."
"I've been ready for a while now." Bryn smiled. "Can't wait, boss."
"Awesome. Glad to have you back."
Steve rang the chime on the door to Bryn's living quarters. He hadn't seen much of her since she had started moving in and it made him nervous. It didn't help that Director Fury had kept him so busy that week and away from Stark Tower during the day. He found himself unable to concentrate as well as he normally did. Although he knew she was safe in Stark Tower, the thought of her getting hurt again made him want to stay close.
Bryn opened the door, a huge smile on her face when she noticed who it was.
"Hey, Steve. Come on in!"
He stepped forward into the newly finished apartment, taking a look around.
"It's incredible. And very you." He smiled.
"Thanks. Just got it finished. Stark already took a look at it. He couldn't even find anything to complain about." She smirked. "Which is nice, because I'd hate to have to replace anything else. Bad enough he already took my couch and my phone."
Steve took a step closer to her.
"How are you feeling?"
"I'm alright. Everything is healing. It doesn't hurt much. I've been keeping myself busy. I don't like to think about it. Makes me feel weird, like I still can't believe it wasn't all some crazy dream."
Bryn found herself wrapped in Steve's arms, and for once, didn't scold him for his spontaneous hugging. She just sighed and hugged him back, hoping she could convey to him that she would be fine.
"I'm so sorry, Bryn."
"Steve, it's not your fault. None of it was. There are some pretty nasty people out there, but thankfully, there's some really wonderful people too. Like you."
He didn't let go, and Bryn, for once, just let him have a moment. When he rested his chin on her head, she sighed.
"You know, this hugging thing...we're gonna have to talk about this, Steve."
He just sighed and squeezed her tighter.
