The silence was overwhelming. Very uncomfortable and unfortunate and it seemed it would be like this for the rest of her life. Margo wasn't unhappy about that idea but there were some things she wish she could change such as, not having the immense amount of privacy she has now. When she was with Bruce there was a comfortable silence, even with Tony's unnecessary comments, and well that was it. That was the main reason wasn't it? Because of Bruce? She didn't sum this up as her being a clingy girlfriend but as someone who wanted to be there for him. Even as a friend. Though being his significant other had way better perks.
She never voiced these thoughts to Bruce in hopes that he wouldn't think she was trying to baby him. She didn't want him to think he needed to be coddled because people were afraid of him and what he as the Hulk can do. No she did not want to tell him anything that she felt in somewhat fear of him getting upset with her. It was good then that she had this much space from him. Margo needed to learn that Bruce was indeed a grown man and if he managed fine on his own before she came into his life then he could manage now. That wouldn't stop her from worrying every now and again and to that she summed it up to the weird occurrences that happened not so long ago.
She was sure that man was somewhere roaming around in New York. The one with the blue-gray eyes. He intimidated her but not nearly as much as the red-head who she was sure had to be around if the guy was. She never knew nor found out who they were and she planned on keeping it that way. Margoret only hoped they would never bump into each other again because if Bruce ever found out the history those three had-he would not be happy to know.
With a huff, Margo pushed away from her desk to stand. From there, she stretched and groaned as her bones protested against the movement. Sitting around all day was taking a toll on her and she considered getting back in shape. She knew she wasn't as skilled as she used to be; going from having the reflexes of a cat to that of dead sloth. She should fix that.
A knock sounded from her door and she looked to it welcoming in whoever it could be.
Peeking in, Andrew felt his lips turn into a smile at the sight of her. She looked worn when he first looked at her and it was when she noticed it was him on the other side of the door, she visibly brightened before him. She held the image of a little girl again and it took him all the strength in the world not to come up to her and ruffle those curls of hers.
Biting her lip, a goofy laugh emanated from Margo's throat. "Where the hell have you been?" Those words were meant to sound threatening as it had been too long since she'd last seen him but the excitement over seeing him tipped her over the edge of relief and happiness.
"Sorry, I've been a little busy." He walked in with his hands in his pockets and his glasses perched just at the tip of his nose.
It was a wonderful, wonderful relief to see her-hear her with nothing but positive emotion. He was sure she was short of a breaking point with all that had been happening. She wasn't in the know of everything he knew but it seemed S.H.I.E.L.D. and HYDRA was making it a point to let her know she was being watched and that he could not and would not stand for. It was obvious the Hawk was back in town. He caught him some time back watching him the same night he'd been watching Margo. And the bastard agents of HYDRA... He made contact with them to let them know she was under his protection. They couldn't have her. Not just yet. No, never. Or for now at least.
No, no. He wouldn't think about that now. There was no reason for him to ruin this moment.
He released a shaky breath and drew closer to her to do what he tried his best not to do earlier. Andrew placed his hand on the top of her head and ruffled her loose curls only to have her shrink away and yell in protest. He laughed knowing it was one of her pet peeves.
"Do you know how long it takes to get them right?" She cried as she tried in fixing the mess he made.
"But I thought you liked having your hair played with?" he asked in mock sadness.
"At night, Andrew. Before bed or when I need comfort cause I'm sad." She frowned.
His smile faltered a bit before he asked her, "Are you sad?"
Catching on to the change of his tone, she stopped what she'd been doing and stared back at him.
Oh he wasn't stupid. He knew she was on edge the last time they talked. He was worried for her and she hated herself for leaving him that way. But now she was better. Bruce made sure of that as did Tony and now that Andrew was here...
"No. Not anymore." A small smile formed on her lips to which he responded in kind.
"Good."
She nodded absentmindedly before directing him to the chair on the other side of her desk. He sat down with a sigh and relished in the feel of the cushioned seat enveloping his body. Margo took to her own seat with a sigh of her own that didn't necessarily pertain to comfort. Her ass was numb from all the sitting she'd been doing these past few weeks.
"So what brings my favorite man back into town?"
Andrew chuckled feeling his chest bubble up with pride.
"I'm your favorite, huh? What about Bruce?"
Margo's brows furrowed before she answered with a look that spoke volumes of obviousness. "He's a different kind of favorite."
"Not worth knowing what kind that is." Andrew mumbled before clearing his throat.
Laughing softly, Margoret eyed the man before her and shifted uncomfortably. This was the part she sort of dreaded bringing up but seeing the role Andrew played in her life, it only seemed right, right?
"Sooo," she started. "What do you think about Bruce and me? I mean, how did you find out anyway?" She tried sounding nonchalant but she could feel the tips of her fingers itching to touch something. Anything to draw her attention away from the topic at hand.
Seeing her visibly shift from a beaming little girl to one who'd been caught doing something she wasn't supposed to do, Andrew felt his heart soften tenfold but created the facade of a stern father instead. He wanted her to sweat a little bit seeing he was one of the last people to know of her relationship with Bruce Banner.
"Found out from some gossip. Came to work one day and I hear people in the lounge talking about how the new girl hooked up with the Hulk."
The new girl hooked up with the Hulk. Margo kind of wanted to laugh at that but she refrained from doing so after seeing how serious Andrew looked.
Yes, those were the exact words Andrew heard, but not from the lounge in Stark Industries but from the S.H.I.E.L.D. lounge instead. He'd gone to visit Fury one day not long ago and the place was teeming with talk on how Andrew's little Margo hooked up with the Incredible Hulk. He wasn't surprised at how quick the news spread of the two hooking up had gone seeing how Clint Barton was in town. It had to have been him who let it slip to some chatter box back up in the helicarrier. Although, he did hear a word here and there from Stark's tower. The talk down here was no different from the one up there.
She's crazy.
That's scary.
Why?
What if he hurts her?
What if this? What if that?
In all honesty, Andrew was getting sick of it all and he grew annoyed over the fact that he'd not only been the last to know but he'd been the last to know after these gossiping worms.
"Does it bother you?"
"Hmm?" She pulled him from thoughts he seemingly lost himself in.
"Does it bother you that I'm going out with him? You know, seeing that he's your friend and all and since he's, you know.."
"I know what?" he asked in confusion.
Margo pursed her lips before her rolling her eyes. "Cause he's," she sucked her teeth. "You know!"
"Know what, Margo?" he grew slightly flustered. "Cause he's the Hulk?"
"Cause he's older."
Andrew blinked a few times before he registered her words. He felt himself shaking from laughter and it took him ten times the strength as before to not laugh at her.
She was concerned that he would be upset over the fact that she was going out with an older guy who happened to be a colleague of his. Not because he could get big, mean, and green. Sometimes she really was like a little girl with all that naivete of hers.
Although now that he thought about it, Bruce really was older than her. While she was 26 he was 43 and as much as that would bother any other person, he wasn't the least bit phased by it. All Andrew cared for was her happiness and if going out with ol' Bruce Banner a.k.a. The Hulk-as long as he didn't hurt her, he was fine with it.
"I'm not upset, Margo." At any of that. "Just a little," he thought of a word before sighing. "Just a little sad that I was one of the last to know."
"Sorry." Her voice was soft and laced with regret.
She didn't want him to feel hurt. At the very least though, she was glad to know he was fine with her and Bruce being together.
"But don't say anything. About what we talked about." A smirk broke across Andrew's face before he continued. "I want Bruce to sweat a bit."
The two laughed and Margo found herself agreeing to his childish need to make Bruce grow nervous in his presence.
"Just don't make him "hulk out" as Tony likes to put it," she laughed.
"Oh trust me. That's the last thing I want to do."
They continued to laugh before an easy silence fell over them.
This is all she wanted. Someone to enjoy her time with, even if it distracted her a bit from work. And though they'd been laughing just minutes ago, Margo's mind clouded over with thoughts from earlier.
She subconsciously patted her stomach knowing how unfit she'd become in the past few years and thought up a plan she was sure Andrew couldn't say no to.
"Hey, do you still do all that martial arts thingy?"
Chuckling, Andrew's brows drew in at her question.
"Yes I still do the martial arts thingy. Why do you ask?"
She shrugged her shoulders and it was then that Andrew noticed the seriousness of her question. It seemed not all was well in the paradise he created for her in his mind.
"I just feel like it's something I should get back on. To stay fit, you know?"
He open and closed his mouth several times before saying what had been on his mind.
"I thought you didn't like doing that stuff anymore." Because of her mother.
Nodding slowly in silence, Margo then shrugged again. "Yeah well. She wasn't stupid. It was good, just not learning it from her."
Andrew knew how sore of a subject her mother was and it made him think of the current events.
Margoret's mother was still alive. He knew that very well. He knew before the rest of S.H.I.E.L.D. did. When everyone attended the woman's funeral, he'd been the only one to know it was all fake.
He could feel his palms grow clammy and his chest rattled with frantic beats of his heart. He couldn't let her know and he wouldn't. That was and always had been the plan. After his first mission that was, which was to kill Margo when she was barely a few years old.
He wouldn't let her get caught. And although he couldn't always be there for her he was sure he wouldn't leave her defenseless either.
Andrew nodded as he locked eyes with her.
"Any time you want."
Margo gave him a toothy grin as she leaned back in her seat. There was a weight lifted off her shoulders at the idea at being able to get fit and defend herself once more. It was even better knowing that the man she loved and cared for as a father was all up for it. It was then that the idea of the guy with the blue-gray eyes and his little assassin friend became the least of her worries. She wasn't going to search for them but it was too obvious that they could be searching for her.
"Oh and," she added quickly. "Can you, um, show me how to use a gun?"
To this Andrew felt his blood run cold but he did his best in not letting his features falter from curiousness to full on fear. He quickly nodded and smiled reassuringly to her to which she gave another one of her childlike grins.
She would be fully prepared for whatever came her way. Even if it meant harming those who'd almost taken her life 4 years back.
Her body shook lightly with adrenaline as her smile grew softer into one of content. All to hide the sudden and raging need to hurt someone again.
AN: Hey everybody! Long time no - update? Well, now it's here.
I'm pretty happy with this chapter because of Andrew. I missed him a lot so I thought it was time for Margo and him to catch up. A few more weeks passed since the last chapter so it's been a long time since the two last talked.
Margo, as I'm sure you guys know already has a habit of holding grudges and she's channeling her fear of Clint and Natasha into anger and here we see that she has a bit of a sadistic side. Something she picked up from her mother maybe? With that being said, I can't wait until the three meet up again so we can see how the reunion turns out.
Starting after the next chapter though or the one after that (who's to say) things are going to get pretty rocky. Limits of all kinds will be tested until something big that I have planned happens and it's pretty much where all hell breaks loose. So hold on to your girdles because things are about to get messy and fast.
I will always appreciate the follows, favs, and reviews you all leave for me. Though the updates aren't consecutive the support is tremendous. So from the bottom of my heart, thank you.