November 2011
Kagome swallowed hard and paced in front of the front doors that led to the inside of the mansion, glancing back down at the hastily scribbled writing on the scrap of paper in her hand and back up. She couldn't determine why she was so nervous; it was Tony Stark… Uncle Tony, he had always been there when she needed him, 'only a quick call and a short flight away'.
"Should have called ahead," her shoulders slumped as she shoved the paper in her pocket. There was a reason she hadn't, Tony would have called her mother before she could end the call with him and Japan was one of the last places she wanted to be right now…
'Right,' she shoved the front door open and stepped inside before she could lose her nerve. Glancing around at the modern interior with slight awe, this place could put Sesshoumaru's palace to shame. "Hello?"
'Nobody's home, time to go.'
"May I help you, Miss?"
Kagome cringed and turned to face where she thought the voice was coming from, glancing around at the empty space surrounding her, "someone there?"
Her miko expanded at her command to find the source of the voice, breath hitching at the lack of bodies around her before recalling the ability back into herself. It wasn't a sprit, she would have picked up on that easily, so where-?
"You are trespassing on Mr. Stark's property, should you refuse to leave I will be forced to call the authorities."
"Mr. Stark—Tony, that's who I'm looking for!" Kagome fumbled over her words as she darted deeper into the mansion, "I'm Kagome Higurashi, he's my uncle… kind of—he said anytime I needed it there was an open-door policy."
She spun slowly in a circle, eyes scanning every corner for the owner of the voice with no luck. The man didn't sound malicious, he would have attacked already if he planned on it, but that still didn't explain the lack of a body; never before had she met someone that could so easily hide their energy from her, even those that were far more advanced than she always had a shimmer of something for her to lock onto.
"Ah, Miss Higurashi, Mr. Stark has spoken of you most highly; forgive my rudeness, I am Jarvis."
"Jarvis?" Kagome frowned and spun in a circle slowly, she had a name now, that still didn't explain where his voice was coming from. "Is Tony here?"
"He is, unfortunately he's downstairs in the lab and only select few personnel are allowed access. Shall I tell him you've arrived?"
Kagome sighed softly and shrugged, maybe she'd get some better answers from him rather than outright asking the disembodied voice. "Please."
"One moment."
She gave a curt nod to the air and dropped her chin to her chest, her dirty sneakers seemed out of place on the clean floor of his home and she made a mental note to clean up before dropping in unannounced next time.
"Miss Higurashi?"
"Yes?"
"Mr. Stark is eagerly awaiting you downstairs in his lab."
'Downstairs,' she thanked the voice softly, easing deeper into the home as her eyes drifted among the structure. She found the stairs that led below easily enough, casting a final uneasy glance around the living room before descending, "oh wow…"
She breathed the statement as a slow smile spread across her face, Tony was every bit his father's son; her smile faltered briefly at the memory of her friend, she so wished she had been able to attend his funeral but stayed away for risk of being caught.
Tony was waiting for her at the entrance, flinging the door open as she stepped off the last stair and pulling her into a hug, "what're you doing here kid?"
"I thought it was time to cash in that open-door policy…" she chuckled lightly at her pathetic explanation. Tony pulled back and gripped her shoulders, hazel eyes staring at her as if he couldn't believe she was really in his home, "only took too long, come on in."
"Thanks um... your chest is glowing…" cerulean widened nervously at the light emitting through Tony's shirt, shaking her head lightly and pointing to the ceiling, "and you have a disembodied voice upstairs."
"That's Jarvis, he's my AI." Tony glanced down at his chest as he turned for the keypad beside the door, "as for this… curtesy of my trip to Afghanistan."
Kagome hummed and cleared her throat, how long had she remained glued to any news she could find when that story broke? She had had the faintest remembrance of him through the centuries, just that he had been an important figure in her young life and that they had been close. "Intense."
Tony crossed his arms and nodded, watching her amble around the space as she assessed his things. "Your mother know you're here?"
The sharp intake of breath as she prodded on of his chest plates gave him the answer he needed, her head shaking a slight no and turning to face him slowly, eyes drifting away with a one shoulder shrug as if that would answer his question more than her silence. Kagome opened her mouth to say something and promptly shut it, how much could she say without him wheeling her to a psych ward?
"I just… thought it was time…" Her fingers knotted together as she shuffled nervously, could he see the change in her? Could he see that she wasn't the same Kagome he spoke with only three weeks ago?
"Well," he ruffled the back of his head and shook it as he blinked quickly, "I'm… I was going back to New York for the holidays, if you want to join you're more than welcome or you can stay here."
'New York,' Kagome's fingers stopped twisting at the thought, she hadn't been there since talking with Rebecca and Winifred and if that hadn't been hard enough— "if you don't mind an extra person…"
"Of course not! I'm going to call your mother from the road, lets grab your things—"
"I don't have things."
Tony blinked at her, not fully understanding how she hadn't brought anything with her. "No clothes, no phone? Money?"
"I have a little money," she explained with a frown, she had to eat after all. Phones were never the top of her priority list and she had left her clothing in Cabo for someone that could use it more than her, it had been the same way she had been living the last few decades.
"You're here now and I'm going to take care of all of that!" his arm wrapped around her shoulders, silencing her soft protest with a sharp glance that left no room for arguments. Kagome relented with a defeated nod, knowing better than to try and argue with him when he was just going to do it anyway.
A few hours later found Kagome staring down through the window of the Stark plane, half listening to Tony's conversation with her mother as her mind raced. She should tell him, he knew about the well anyway so it wasn't like he wouldn't be able to believe her, she had shown him first hand that it was true when he came for her 16th birthday.
"Your mom's relieved… mad that I didn't call earlier but relieved." Tony tossed his phone to the small table in front of him and pinched the bridge of his nose, dealing with Annie always gave him a headache where Kagome was concerned, but she was over 18 now and could figure out where to live on her own. Tony smirked at the idea that Kagome had come to him with whatever was on her mind, even if she hadn't spoken much since her arrival, her presence was enough for him.
"Thanks," Kagome drummed her fingers on her thigh with a furrowed brow, "for offering me a place and the clothes."
"Anything you need, don't hesitate to tell me."
Kagome's dark hair bobbed with her nod, head lolling to the side and catching his stare. She knew she wasn't acting how he was used to, she could blame it on the exhaustion of traveling or the pounding headache that wouldn't go away no matter how many times she tried to heal it but she didn't want to start this off with a lie; she was going to age now, there was no reason to lie, not with Tony.
"When did you get back? Last time I talked to you, you said it might be a while; you finally finish your mission back there?"
"Yeah," she cleared her throat, this was her chance… "been finished for a while now."
"That's good," Tony grunted and rocked to his feet, retreating to the back of the plane and returning with two drinks, "cheers to you then."
Kagome smiled softly and clinked her glass to his, sipping the dark liquid and making a face. Kicking her feet up to the chair opposite her, Kagome lounged back and stared at the scotch as she turned her hand slowly, "I um… so, the well closed yesterday… I've kind of been around for a while. After the final fight with Naraku I couldn't go back and uh… I met a—Odin graciously extended my life so that I could return to the time I belong in."
"I see the stares you're giving me, that you can't put your finger on why I'm so different in the span of three weeks but…" Kagome glanced up and blinked rapidly to dispel the tears from her eyes, "I've seen a lot—I'm sorry about Howard, I wanted to go to the funeral but… he was a good man, back when I knew him during the war—the Second World War."
She cleared her throat at the clarification, meeting his eyes and smiling softly, "what he did with… the transformation with Steve was incredible and he had some amazing ideas for my bow."
Tony's grip on his glass tightened, leaning forward to set the drink on the table between them and bracing his arms on his knees. Kagome gave a final smile and turned to resume her staring out of the window, an occasional sip of her drink and flicker of her eyes in his direction to see his reaction before turning back to the scenery.
"What?" he covered his mouth at the only word he could muster. Magic wells, they were still hard to believe but he had seen it; now she was talking about… "what?"
"I knew him… back when the S.S.R. was new; we worked together when the Commandos were taking down Hydra, I was Captain America's—Steve's handler." Kagome's eyes flicked over fully at the explanation, a slight snort of forced amusement left her at the moniker, lifting the glass and taking a deeper swig of the liquor. "I was sorry when he and his wife—I didn't see him again after '47 but—I never put two and two together that you two were family until much later… I kind of closed off to that when…" she trailed off and sighed, "I wasn't good with keeping in touch with people."
Tony stared harder as her words sank in, he heard the shaking in her voice at the mention of Captain America, watching the tears spring to her eyes as though she really knew the man personally. His father had certainly never said anything about her and Aunt Peggy had mentioned the commandos but never… his brows furrowed, his aunt had mentioned her, not by name but she had mentioned her in other ways.
"I believe you, kid."
Kagome looked at him in surprise, taken aback by how easily he had accepted her words, didn't he want proof? "Really?"
"You wouldn't lie about the old man, that's not you." Tony gave her a reassuring smile, tipping his head back to down his drink, "so… you knew my old man."
"You know I would have explained everything to you just the same in Brooklyn, you didn't have to get a room at the Ritz." Kagome reached up to thread her fingers with Bucky's hand slung across her shoulders as they walked, leaning into his side more as she enjoyed their time together. she knew now it was a matter of time, the countdown was on for them until he left for basic and she was willing to soak up any time she could with him.
"Because it's a place of beginnings for us darling, I knew we weren't going to end there." Bucky shrugged in response and tugged her closer, bending down to press a kiss to her temple with a smile, "besides, you deserve the best."
'Not if it puts you in debt,' Kagome rolled her eyes and turned into him, her nose brushing against his jaw with a smile of her own, "you're too good for me Bucky."
He hummed softly, pulling her against the side of a building and gripping her chin lightly to tilt her head back, "I would give my last breath to keep you happy, sweetheart."
"Please don't," her eyes widened as her hands flew up to grasp his hand, "you're not getting away from me that easily."
"I don't plan on going anywhere sweetheart," Bucky's hold shifted, fingers threading through the hairs at the base of her neck as he leaned closer, "not anytime soon at least."
"—his is yours, feel free to come and go as you like. The plans for the restoration of the tower are going to be finished right after Christmas so we won't be here too long." Tony dangled the spare key to the townhouse in front of him, tilting his head to peer beyond Kagome's hair as she stared at the street, her eyes glossed and unfocused to his words. "Kid?"
The barest of touch against her arm brought her back to the present, whirling and blinking dumbfounded at the key before her brain registered what it went to. "Sorry, thanks."
"The plan is to get you a car—"
"I don't need a car."
"Sure you do, everyone needs a car," Tony shoved his hands in his pockets and stepped beside her on the stoop, his eyes roaming the street as Kagome returned to her people watching. She was clearly not interested in their normal banter, her mind preoccupied with thoughts of… whatever had taken hold of her. He didn't like this version of her, missing her cheerfulness and even her smart-ass responses to him; was this her new normal?
"Ever been here before?" he shook his head to clear his head, the question sounding crazy to him at the idea that what she claimed were facts without having proof. He supposed he could call Annie again and see if she had a confirmation… he dashed that idea quickly, he wasn't looking for another fight with the woman so soon after the last, he'd have to find out himself.
"Lived in Brooklyn from 1938 until 1942 when Peggy recruited me," Kagome stole a glance at him from the corner of her eyes, the tightening of his jaw telling her he was slightly on edge. "That was before S.H.I.E.L.D. of course… left them in '47 and came for a while, I don't think I ever crossed the bridge though… stayed in Brooklyn instead."
"What made you go back?"
'Bucky,' Kagome grimaced and glanced to her right hand where her ring sparkled, "just stuff."
Tony grunted his response and heaved a sigh, this was going to be harder than he thought, although now was better than never to get to know her. "Pepper's going to meet us to help furnish your room, while you two do that I will be getting your car."
"I really don't need a car and a bed and dresser are more than enough," she tapped the key between her fingers as she turned to face him, "you've already done so much for me."
"Then consider everything a welcome gift." Tony smiled at how easy it was to win the argument with her, she would never dare turn down gifts for fear of being overly rude, "and I'll have your phone ready by tonight."
Kagome opened her mouth to protest before shutting it and shaking her head with a smile, "fine Stark, I'll take your gifts, but I will protest the entire time."
"Atta girl!" he all but sagged in relief as some of the old Kagome shined through the new Kagome, nudging her arm and skipping the steps to the sidewalk, "we've got time for food though before your shopping spree, come on."
"I don't want to be a pain but is there any way we could put off room furnishings and cars for tomorrow? I'm hungry and kind of tired from all of the traveling, really just want to relax a little."
"Anything you want kid, I should have known you'd want rest and not to be dragged all over New York today," Tony was quick to agree with her request, shaking his head at his own quickness to get his self-made to-do list. "Let's get you some food and I'll call Pepper."