Chapter 34! Thank you very much for the reviews, you can't believe how happy it makes me to know that you like my story! And I really like some of your ideas. Let me know what you think of this chapter as well!
I don't own the characters or places!
"Tell Steve that I'll do everything to find him." Sam said and Tony nodded slowly. They were standing in the forest outside of the town now, close to where the suit was hiding.
"No problem, we'll keep in touch."
Sam grinned. "I still have trouble believing this. Fist fighting alongside Captain America. And now I'm on a mission with Tony Stark."
Tony grimaced. "Oh come on, it's your mission. I just stopped by to help."
Sam raised his eyebrows. "From what Steve told me, I didn't expect you to be modest at all."
Tony grinned and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm not." he told him truthfully. "I'll just tell you that you would have never been able to do all this without me when we found Bucky."
Sam chuckled. Somehow, Tony liked this guy. "Deal." He became serious again. "I hope I'll be able to find him. Steve would be devastated if I fail."
Tony shook his head. "He would understand that it's not easy. Hell, he's already beating himself up because he thinks that this is too much for you. And too dangerous."
Sam shook his head. "Sounds like him." He muttered slowly. Then he looked at the screen of the small device Tony had given him to follow the tracer. "They're still sitting in that café." He muttered.
"They're planning their next steps." Tony agreed.
After Sam had left the café, everything had happened in a haze. In the hotel, he acted as if he wanted to book a room and accidentally ran into the group of three Hydra agents, who were about to leave again. While doing that, Sam pushed an employee, who fell over a bunch of suitcases he's been transporting. The chaos had been perfect. The employee, Sam and two of the three Hydra agents had been lying on the ground. It had been easy for Sam to use the tracing spray.
However, the Hydra agents hadn't been very happy about the encounter. Sam left quickly and when the three men headed for the café on the other side of the street, where Tony was still waiting, Tony left immediately, careful not to get too close to them. Then he and Sam met outside of town.
"I hope they'll finish doing that soon." Sam muttered. "It's time that I'll leave this place, strangers are far too striking here."
Tony nodded. People had also glanced at him a few times. "I bet they'll leave soon."
Sam looked at Tony with a thoughtful expression for a few moments. "You can follow the tracer as well, can't you?"
Tony grinned at him. "How do you come to that conclusion?"
"You invented it. And you would never let me go after them without knowing where they are heading to as well."
Steve had been right, he was smart. "True. But don't worry, we'll not intervene unless it's necessary. And then you'll call us, right?"
Sam rolled his eyes. "I made that promise to Steve many times. And I can look after myself."
Tony nodded. "I know. But Steve asked me to make sure that you're careful."
Now Sam chuckled. "He can be over-protective sometimes."
"Especially when it concerns his friends."
Suddenly, the device in Sam's hand beeped. "Seems like you don't have to wait any longer." Tony said and looked at the small screen as well. "Seems like they're heading for their car."
"I should fetch my bike. I don't want to lose them again." Sam muttered and shoved the device into his pockets. "You'll be going to New York?"
Tony nodded. "The others are already there, JARVIS informed me about it some time ago. And then we'll plan out next steps."
Sam nodded and smiled slightly. "Good luck. And tell Steve that I'm always careful."
"I'll do that. And good luck to you, too."
Sam turned around and walked back towards the town, while Tony called his suit.
"You're so quiet. Something wrong?" The voice made Pepper flinch. She was standing on the balcony and looked at the city. After lunch, she'd left the Avengers in the kitchen and came out here, needing to be alone for some time. The conversation with Maria Hill was still weighing heavily on her. Did that woman really like Tony? And did he like her back?
After all, Maria Hill was beautiful, smart and she was a fighter. Something Pepper would never be. And she was living in the same world as Tony, full of secrets and danger. They would fit together, wouldn't they?
She forced those thoughts aside. Tony told her that he loved her. And he meant it, she'd seen it in his eyes. But what if Maria had been the one cheering him up while she was at LA? He'd never really mentioned her except once, when he'd told Pepper that she was his assistant now. Well, assistant on paper, he'd called her. Because unofficially, she was running SHIELD now.
Tony said that the Avengers had helped him through that time, especially Steve. And she believed him. However, the small voice inside her head with the doubts wouldn't shut up anymore.
She didn't look up when someone leaned on the railing next to her. "I'm fine, just tired."
"You know that you can tell me what bothers you, Pepper."
Slowly, she looked at the person standing next to her. Natasha was smiling, but there was a frown on her face. Pepper knew that look, she wanted to figure out what was wrong. "It's nothing."
Natasha sighed and the smile vanished. "Then I'll just guess that this is about Tony." What else? Pepper thought.
"And how do you come to that conclusion?"
"You're still trying to figure everything out, after all, you just got back together. And I know that it's not easy, being with Tony." Now Natasha looked at the city as well. The view from Stark Tower was always impressing. Pepper had nearly forgotten how it was to be here.
"This is not about Tony." She protested. "Well, not completely."
"You talked to Maria." Natasha muttered, still without looking at her.
Pepper hesitated, not sure what to say now.
She smile on Natasha's lips made her sigh. "Yes, I did." Pepper admitted, even though her silence already answered Nat's question.
"You knew that she's his assistant now. She takes it very seriously, even though it's just fake."
Pepper nodded. "I've noticed." She was surprised at the cold tone in her voice.
"Normally, she isn't around very much. You don't have to worry about that, she's busy with SHIELD. She just comes to Tony when she needs his signature for something." Natasha still sounded calm and Pepper knew that she liked Maria Hill. After all, they've been on missions together. And they were both close to Fury.
"Even for things like charity galas?" The words were out of Pepper's mouth before she could stop herself. God, she was sounding like a teenager who was jealous for the first time!
Now Natasha raised her eyebrows. "No, why do you ask?"
Pepper sighed. "She had those invitations…" She shrugged. "And she said things about Tony… I know that I'm being stupid. Let's just forget that, alright?"
Natasha narrowed her eyes. "You should stop thinking about her. I don't know why she said all those things, but that really doesn't sound like Maria at all. Maybe she just wanted to annoy you."
Now Pepper raised her eyebrows. "Why should she do that?"
Nat shrugged. "It would annoy Tony." She said simply. "And he's not been very nice to her those past months."
Now Pepper was really confused. By the way Maria had been talking about him, it sounded as if they've been close. And not as if they couldn't stand each other. "What do you mean by that?"
Natasha laughed quietly. "You know how Tony can be when something bothers him. Those past months with him haven't always been easy. He missed you and didn't know how to fix things. That drove him crazy."
Pepper looked at the city silently for a few moments, trying to process what Natasha just told her. She knew that Tony hadn't been happy those past months, but that the others got to feel his anger and frustration… But why on earth would Maria Hill say those things to her? She just wanted to ask Natasha another question, when she grinned suddenly.
"Look who's coming back."
When Pepper followed her gaze, she understood what caught her attention. The familiar figure of the Iron Man suit appeared on the horizon and circled a few buildings, before it landed on the roof of the tower. Pepper couldn't stop herself from smiling widely.
The first person Tony saw when he entered the building was Steve. He was looking at him expectantly and Tony grinned. "The plan worked, Sam's following them now. And he could have also become an actor, his show at the hotel was brilliant."
Steve smiled widely. "You have to tell me everything about it! Do you already know where they're heading?" Together, they walked towards the kitchen.
"Give me a sec. JARVIS?" Tony asked and JARVIS' voice echoed through the hallway.
"They are heading northeast from Yellowknife. The hydra agents exchanged their car against bikes for the snow. Mr. Wilson was able to catch up because of the delay."
"We've still got no clue where they want to go, right?" Steve asked loudly.
"Unfortunately, I could not find a possible destination for them yet. I am already scanning old Hydra files for possible places, but there are only a few options by now, and some of the places have already been destroyed." JARVIS answered Steve's question.
"Keep going, J." Tony muttered. "Otherwise, we'll just have to wait and see what Sam finds."
"Of course, Sir."
Steve sighed and when Tony turned to him, he saw the troubled look on his face.
"I should tell you from Sam that he's always careful. You should stop worrying about him, he can look after himself."
A small smile appeared on Steve's lips. "I just don't want him to get in danger because of me."
Tony ran a hand through his hair. "It's his choice, and mine too. We want to do this for you."
Steve nodded slowly. "I still don't understand how I found friends like you."
Tony laughed. "You don't have to understand it. Just accept it, Steve."
Steve looked at him from the corner of his eyes. "You talked about me." It wasn't a question, so Tony just nodded.
"You're always worrying too much. And I asked Sam what he wants to do when this whole business with Bucky is solved." He admitted.
"And what did he say?" Steve asked, now looking at Tony observantly.
"He doesn't know." Tony repeated Sam's words. "However, I said that our team could use someone like him."
Steve's eyes grew wide. "You would want him on the team?" He asked in disbelief.
Tony grinned. "Why not? He's a good guy and I like him. We would have to ask the others, but I don't see a problem there."
Steve shook his head. "You never stop surprising me, Stark." He muttered and tried to hide his excitement.
"And it'll always stay like this, Cap." Tony replied, still grinning.
In the kitchen, Bruce was sitting on a chair and read a book. Tony recognized it immediately, it was about physics and stuff like that, probably Bruce was already searching for a solution to their main problem in Alaska. Clint and Thor weren't there, but he suspected that they were in the gym.
To his surprise, Natasha and Pepper came from the balcony and walked towards them. Nat sat down next to Bruce, while Pepper smiled at him. Tony smiled back at her, hoping that it didn't look as insecure as he felt. After all, he'd just left without telling her anything. And he didn't want to have another argument… He hated it when she was angry at him.
"How was your trip?" Pepper asked.
"Everything went as planned, Sam's following them now." At those words, Tony glanced at Bruce, but he didn't seem to follow their conversation. And he was able to talk about Bucky openly now, Steve told the others everything on their way to New York. Somehow, Tony thought that it was about time. Keeping something that big from the others didn't feel right…
Next to him, Steve cleared his throat. "I'll leave you alone now. Dinner will be ready soon." He told them and vanished into the cooking area.
Tony chuckled. "After all this time it's still surprising that Captain America is our cook." He looked at Pepper questioningly. "Want to go upstairs?"
She nodded. "That would be great."
He held out his hand and she took it without hesitation. Instead of walking towards the elevator, Tony pulled her closer and wrapped his free arm around her waist. Pepper made a surprised noise, but Tony silenced her with a kiss. After a few moments, they let go of each other again.
When they reached the elevator, the door opened in front of them. It was Maria Hill, his assistant. In the past days, Tony had nearly forgotten about her.
"I saw the suit flying towards the tower and figured that you were back."
Tony grinned and hoped that she wouldn't notice that it was fake. "Very smart of you." He said sarcastically. As always, she didn't say hello and he didn't bother with that anymore as well.
"There are a few papers you have to look at, Mr. Stark." Maria said formally and for a few moments, her eyes rested on Pepper and their entwined hands.
Tony glanced at Pepper as well, just to see her tense. He couldn't quite interpret the look on her face, but it wasn't happy. Did he miss something about the two of them?
"Not now, Hill. It's been a long day and I need some time for myself." He muttered and waved with his free hand. "Tomorrow. My office. JARVIS will let you know when I have time. I can't tell you when that will be yet."
Maria didn't look very happy. "Alright." She breathed in deeply and then the wide smile on her lips was back. "Then tomorrow. I'll see you then. Mr. Stark." She turned to Pepper. "Mrs. Potts."
When the elevator doors closed behind her, Tony sighed. Pepper was still tense and when he turned to her, she avoided to look at him. "Hey, Pep, what's wrong?" He asked quietly. "I'm sorry about that, she can be exhausting sometimes. I'll deal with her tomorrow and then she should leave me alone for a few days again."
Pepper sighed. "You should have gone with her. Apparently, those papers are important."
Tony rolled his eyes. "And when did I ever care about something like that? Now let's go, before someone else wants to annoy us." When they stood in the elevator, she was still tense. What the hell was wrong?
