"Please tell me you were not seriously considering trying that inside?!" She looked up to see Bucky staring down at her. A whoosh of breath left her lungs, and she felt the power in her arm dissipate.

"I was trying something new, see if I could maybe make a more powerful punch," she smiled innocently up at him. He narrowed his eyes at her.

"If you are going to attempt a sonic punch, you need to do it out in the open. A blast that big will blow you up and everything else along with it," he said darkly. Iris looked away from him and pulled her arm free.

"Wouldn't be a bad thing," she muttered. With that, she stormed out of the gym.

She needed to vent her frustrations away from prying eyes. Why is it that when she needs the space, she does not get it, and when she needs company no one is to be found. Could she just not have it easy? A ding brought Iris out of her thoughts. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. Smiling to herself, she read the text she knew would be from Scott. He had uncanny timing.

Scott

Dinner. Tonight. 6pm. My place. I will pick you up. Wear your comfies x.

"What are comfies?" A voice murmured in Iris' ear, cool breath tickling the back of it. She froze, she could have sworn that the voice sounded angry, almost. Restrained anger. She reminded herself to breathe. She had not let him get under her skin yet, she was not about to start now.

"Comfortable clothing." Her voice was barely a whisper. She gulped.

"Easy to remove?" Humour bled into his tone. Iris merely nodded in reply.

"Hn. I had come to ask you about your attempt to blow yourself up, but this conversation is much more entertaining." Iris took a step forward, spinning to face Loki. She narrowed her eyes, putting her phone away.

"What's it to you?" she demanded. Loki raised an eyebrow and titled his head slightly.

"I would survive a blast like that. You, my darling, would not; and as for the evening plans … I urge you to reconsider. He is not who he seems." Loki looked genuine, but Iris reminded herself he was the God of Mischief. Games were his forte; and if she were not careful, she could be played.

"I'd say jealousy does not suit you, but green has always looked mighty fine on you, milord-" Iris crossed her arms in annoyance, "I'm only going to say this once, and then I want you to butt out for good. You rejected me; my advances were quite clear. Now, I do not know why you rejected me. I have thought of my weight, my lack of skill, because I am one of the youngest Avengers. Was it simply just poor timing, hormones, or whatever? … You. Do not. Get. To play. The jealousy. Card. I might not be able to see into that head of yours, but it does not take an idiot to see what I see standing in front of me. I am done playing games. I am not a toy. I am person, who has real feelings. I have finally found someone that I like. I can spend time with them and not feel judged constantly. I do not feel like so much of a MONSTER when I'm with Scott!" She stamped her foot. Petulantly, she knew, but Iris could not help herself. She was upset; and damn if it did not feel good to remind him, he was not the only one that felt a little like a monster. She harrumphed, turned on her heel and high tailed it to her room.

Bang on 6 o'clock, Scott pulled up to the front of Stark Tower, where he was met by Iris. She loosened a breath and gently prodded with her mind in the general direction behind her. She could feel Loki's presence. More attuned to it then she would have liked. A gentle caress against her mental shields. A longing, and a promise. She got his message. Though she internally cringed. He was offering her a lifeline, should she need it. He really did not trust the guy. Iris did not think she would need their mental connection, but she glanced back and nodded once. He returned the gesture, before turning away again. Why were things so complicated? She could not handle mixed messages constantly. Sighing, she climbed into the passenger seat of Scott's car, and they were off.

"How was work?" she asked him. He smiled at her nodding.

"Busy. They have started us on a new project. It sounds interesting, and there will be a lot of physical work in it as well for a change. I hate offices. They are stuffy and full of paperwork." He looked relieved.

"Tell me about it. I have been stuck on office duty for a good bit now. It needs done though and once it is, I'll be taking a much-needed break from paperwork for as long as I can physically manage," she chuckled. Scott nodded. Iris had not told him that the reason she was stuck on office duty and mountains of paperwork was her own choice.

"Do you get much time away from paperwork? I would not have imagined you being anywhere but the office. You seem built for it almost." He sounded curious, but there was an unfamiliar edge to his voice. It was almost like he was trying to say something to Iris without saying it.

Iris realised she had slipped a little. Scott new she worked for Tony Stark. He did not know though that she was one of his top colleagues, or that they got sent out on missions as well. There were some things she felt she had to keep to herself. She did not know how well he would have taken the whole I fight bad guys and aliens from different planets. Somehow, she did not think it would go down too good with him.

"I'm not always in the office. I do like to go out on field trips to check on the different facilities that Mr Stark has entrusted to me. It works out well, I get a free holiday three or four times a year and all I am asked in return is to fill out a report based on my findings. It is a win-win situation for everyone!"

The journey continued in relative silence. It was not a long journey to his apartment block, but the traffic was still heavy, even with the passing of rush hour.

Iris ended up staying with Scott for almost a week. She had sent an e-mail to Tony to explain she would be taking some much-needed personal time off, and that she did have her laptop with her should she need to be contacted for work purposes. She had not planned staying, but she had not really been in the mood to go back either. Scott did not seem to mind, and she kept asking if he was sure, which probably did not help. They enjoyed each other's company. Well, she tried. Scott did not know exactly what was going on with Iris, but he got the feeling that it was boy trouble. He was not far off wrong, but Iris was not prepared to tell him she was in love with her best friend, her soul mate, her partner in crime. A freaking GOD. Iris was not prepared to tell him she was getting over Loki; because she was not sure she was getting over Loki. The more time she spent with Scott, the more she realised she was comparing them. Loki had this dark mysterious air about him. Scott was sweet and funny, an open book. Loki kept her on her toes, the bad guy who could go rogue at any minute. He was exciting and different, and he understood her. He knew what it felt like to be judged, to be constantly fighting for attention, for validation. For someone to accept that he existed. That they existed. Iris had thought she had done that for him. Scott was just safe, and just warm. He was predictable, but he did not hold that same bone-gripping intensity. He was the good guy that done good things just because he could. When it came down to it though, Scott was the guy that would sacrifice her to save the world if it came to it. Loki would sacrifice the world. For her…

"I've two meetings, followed by a report on some accounting stuff. I will probably be late back tonight. Do you want me to pick anything up for dinner?" he asked Iris. She shook her head.

"I was planning on making God- I mean Greek Pie with those garlic butter potatoes you like," she replied. He smiled warmly at her, which in turn made her stomach clench. He would not say anything about her hiccup. He would not know that she had been about to say, 'God Given Pie'. It was Loki's nickname for the disaster of a pie he had attempted to make with her when she had gone through her post break-up baking phase, after her first boyfriend had run scarce when she had accidentally summoned lightning once during sex. Freak weather storms had not been quite as believable as Iris thought it had, not with all the talk of super-hero's and everything going on. That was the last time she had thought of an orgasm as being electrifying.

"You have been cooking for me all week. The least I can do is treat you to a nice takeaway. We can get falafels or some smoked chicken? Whatever you like." Scott fixed his tie, put on his blazer and double checked he had everything in his briefcase. Iris looked at the ground. How could she tell him, this gentle soul, that the reason she was adamant in cooking was to cover the guilty feeling she had for thinking about a guy who did not want her while she was with her boyfriend. They might not have been together for awfully long, but adult relationships were so much different to how they were as teenagers. How they had become so close in such a short period. Iris knew that given time; she would love Scott, the way he loved her. The way he deserved to be loved. As soon as she could stop thinking about him.

"I'll pick something up." He gave her a quick kiss good-bye and headed out the door. Iris stood there. She watched. What she was waiting for she did not entirely know…

Not even half an hour had passed by before Iris was being called. She smiled at the name on the screen before answering.

"What did you forget?" she asked. She could hear Scott's breathy sigh.

"I'm sorry to bother you on your day off, but could you check in my office to see if I left a yellow folder on my desk?" Iris stood, trotting lazily into the study. She had only been in it once or twice. It was an intimidating environment, so cold and woody. There was no life, no warmth in it. She missed Stark Tower, more than she was willing to admit to herself.

"Yes, there is a yellow folder," Iris replied, opening the door, "do you need me to bring it to you?" She could hear Scott's relieved chuckle a mile away.

"Please, if you can." Iris smiled, reached for the file. While lifting it, she knocked the mouse off. *Clunk. * "What was that?"

Iris picked the mouse up and set it back on the mouse pad. She looked at the computer screen as it flickered to life. Her eyes were drawn to the symbol displayed on it. She recognised the symbol, but she could not think of the name of it. She knew that she knew it. It was so familiar. An octopus, but more than that. That red on black. What was it, and why did it fill Iris with such dread?

"Just me, Queen Clutts. I knocked over the mouse," Iris chuckled lightly.

"Is the computer off?" asked Scott. This confused Iris. Why did it matter if the computer was on?

She felt a brush against her mental defences, and then it was like a glass shattered in her mind, her defences coming down. She could feel that presence. There was no mistaking the mental mark of that man, and right now he was screaming at her.

LIE. THAT COMPUTER IS OFF. DO NOT GIVE AWAY ANYTHING. I WILL ALERT THE OTHERS IMMEDIATELY. LIE DARLING. DO IT NOW.

Iris pulled up a thicker wall around her mind, but she followed Loki's directions. Something was not right, and it terrified her.

"Yeah, yeah it's off. Nothing's broken, don't worry," Iris tried to chuckle. It did not come out right. She was an awful liar, and she prayed to whatever God's that be that he would buy it.

"Maybe I'll come home and get the file myself, save you a trip." Iris could hear the difference in his voice. There was no loving warm Scott. This was cold, get things done Scott. She had only heard it once, when he had answered a work call in front of her, and whatever he had had to say to the person on the other end of the phone had not been pleasant. But she had assumed that was just the way he handled the business. You do not get stuff done by being a people pleaser. Iris had learnt that the hard way.

"It's no trouble at all, really," Iris could hear the panic in her voice. If she could hear it, so could Scott. The phone went silent. He had hung up. Iris went into full blown panic mode. She ran out of the room, dropping the file, rushing to get her stuff together. All in all, it took less than five minutes. She grabbed her shoes and coat, not bothering to put them on. She would worry about that when she was far enough away from the complex.

She stumbled to the door, hands shaking so badly. She felt pure dread. Whatever it was she could not remember, it was bad. Unbelievably bad. She pulled the door handle, and nothing happened. The door would not budge.

"You have fought criminals. You have fought against aliens from other planets. A locked door is nothing." She was panicking. She could feel it setting in. That damned symbol. What the hell was the damned symbol? Why couldn't she remember?

Iris gave the door a few kicks. Then she ran at it and still nothing. She was strong. She was extraordinarily strong. The door would have needed to be titanium for it not to budge. Taking a deep breath, she cleared her mind. She focused on the door; eyes closed. The door is there. The door is not there. The door is there. The door is not there. She willed it to disappear. Peaking, she was disappointed to see that the door was still there.

She needed a new tactic. Breaking down the door with brute strength was not working. Magic was not working. They were really her only options. There was a third. One she did not like. One she may regret, but she had to try.

Iris shook herself out. Cleared her mind. Pictured Loki. Pictured him standing in front of her. Even if he could connect to her mind, it might be enough to get a message to him. She felt for his familiar mental pattern. The smugness that was Loki. Yet she was greeted with nothing. It was extremely unsettling. Iris had been contacted by him not that long ago. There was absolutely no reason for her powers not to be working right now. Unless there was something in the food she had eaten, or something in the building itself. So, she began to search. She looked everywhere. There was a time she thought it strange that Scott had had so little in the way of personal belongings. Now, she was thankful. Made less of a mess to search. She had checked every room, but the office. The scary office that gave her the creeps. The one place she was nervous about going into. She stepped in through the door nervously, as if she were expecting something to come and jump out at her. But it was clear.

She checked the bookshelves; she checked the filing cabinet. Then, from the floor, she spotted the yellow folder that started this mess. She went over to it, picking it up. With resignation, she set the folder on the desk. Slowly, very slowly, she opened the cover. Fuck.

"God damnit. Damn it all to hell!" Iris hissed.

"My, my, we are in trouble, aren't we?" Iris looked up, towards the door. Scott was home.

"You could have said you work for fucking HYDRA!"