Cassidy had papers scattered all over her kitchen table, preparing for the press release. It would be a week from today, at a local hotel, in their conference room. She had papers for each member of the team, on what questions could be asked. The reporters knew not to ask some questions, the ones that are personal, but Cassidy needed to make sure the team knew what to say just in case they did.
"Cassidy, Agent Barton is requesting access to your floor." She grabbed Clint's paper and set it in front of her. 'Thank you, Jarvis, please let him in." The elevator opened and Clint came in, coming around and placing a kiss on top of her head. "Hey Cass, so what do you have for me?" He asked, sitting down after grabbing a water from her fridge.
"So, the reporters are mostly going to want to hear from Tony and Steve, but they will have questions for the rest of you. 'How long have you been with Shield?' or 'Do you have a family?' You do not have to answer the last one. I know Nick worked hard to hide Laura and the kids off anyone's radar."
Clint nodded, give a heavy sigh. She knew that he didn't want to talk about his family. He had been hell bent on keeping them away from this life and she didn't blame him It as his one condition when he joined Shield, and Nick did everything in his power to fulfill it. Nick, Nat and Cassidy were the only ones who knew about the Barton farm, and she would fight like hell to keep it that way.
Nat's conversation went pretty much the same way, she didn't have any family, and Shield didn't even know of her associations with the Red Room, or if they did, Nick kept it locked up tight. "So now that we've got that out of the way, let's get on to more important things. How was your date with Steve?" She asked Cassidy. The blonde let out a heavy sigh. "It went great Nat. He took me to an Italian restaurant he used to go to before the war, it was amazing. He was a perfect gentleman, all way up to where he kissed me on the cheek before he left." She said with a huff.
She didn't know what was wrong with her. She'd only known Steve for two days know and she was just itching for him to kiss her, it was driving her insane. Nat chuckled from the other side of the table and Cassidy glared at her. "It's the soul bond. It's gonna pull at you like that until you do kiss. Trust me, he feels it too. He just probably doesn't want to screw things up, he's a very cautious person when it comes to relationships, platonic or otherwise." She said.
"Speaking of." Cassidy let out. "How are things with you and Banner?" She asked. She and Clint were the only ones that knew Bruce Banner was Nat's soulmate. The redhead shook her head and leaned back in her chair. "He's so afraid Cass. Afraid of what he could do to me if he ever Hulked out too close to me. He doesn't want to risk it." She said. Cassidy could hear the sadness in her voice. "Have you kissed?" Nat nodded. "Right after the new York Battle. It was short, but it was amazing. He hasn't touched me since and doesn't want to talk about it. I don't know what to do Cass. I don't know how to make him see that he won't hurt me."
"I don't think it's about him hurting you Nat, I think it's more like he's afraid of being intimate with you and the Hulk coming out to play." Cassidy told her. She tilted her head and thought about it. "I guess you're right, but we'll never know if we don't try."
Cassidy nodded. "I think you should talk to him about it again. It's worth a shot. I'm sure he's missing you like you're missing him." The two women hugged and Nat left, leaving Cassidy to prepare for the next person, who just happened to be Bruce.
"Okay, so a lot of people already know some of your story. They know how the Hulk came to be. They're going to want to know if you're dangerous." Bruce furrowed his brows. "What do you mean?"
Cassidy sighed. "They're gonna wanna know if the Hulk is kept in check, if he's a danger to civilians when there's not a threat active." She said softly and she could have swore she heard him growl.
"I try to keep him a bay as much as I can. That's why I don't go many places, and I spend a lot of time meditating. It seems to calm him down." Cassidy gave him a soft smile and nodded. "The last thing I wanted to talk about, which I'm saying to everyone, is people will want to know about the Avengers soulmates. It not on the approved list of questions, but I imagine a reporter or two will try to get it in." She watched as Bruce tensed.
"It's okay, I know, you know." She said, nodding to his wrist where she knew Nat's soul mark matched. Bruce looked down at it and back up at her. "Nat tells me everything, I promise I won't tell anyone, and if you wanted to talk about it. I'm a pretty good listener." She told him.
"I just don't want to hurt her." He said softly, wringing his hands. "Nat's stronger than you think. I think you two just need to have a conversation and take it slow. I'm talking super slow, just be patient with yourself, and let yourself give in. Nat's pretty amazing. I'm sorry if I overstepped, it's just not many people know Nat like me and Clint do." She said softly.
"No, it's okay. Thank you. I'll think about it." He told her, before getting up and heading to the elevator.
Tony came in next, plopping down in the chair with a tumbler of what looked like whiskey. "Really Tony? Isn't it a little early for that?" She asked, pointing to the glass. Tony shrugged and downed the rest of the liquid, setting the glass down on the table. "It's five o clock, somewhere right?" He joked, sending her a wink. She rolled her eyes.
"Okay, so I know this is not your first press conference, so I don't really need to go over that much with you." She told him. He snorted and put his elbows up on the table "Can't I just offer to pay for all the damages to the city?" He asked, his face already looking tired from conversation.
"The amount of money it would cost to cover the damages would nearly wipe you out. Tony, you can't just throw money at everything and expect it to go away. People need to believe in the Avengers. They need to feel safe when you're protecting the city." She told him. He whined and stomped his foot. "I don't want to. I hate talking to reporters, ask Pepper, she'll tell you."
"I believe you Tony, but this is happening, whether you like it or not, so please, just, do this for me. I really don't want to fail at this" Cassidy said, putting her head in her hands. There was a shuffle before she felt Tony pull out the chair next to her, hesitantly placing a hand on her shoulder. "Okay, I'll do it." He told her. She smirked before looking up at him, giving him a huge smile and winking at him. "Thanks!" She exclaimed, laughing at his jaw hanging open.
"You just played me didn't you Forbes?" He asked, dumbfounded. Cassidy nodded and patted Tony on the shoulder, ushering him to stand and go over to the elevator. "I'll get you back for this!" He yelled over his shoulder.
She sat back down and rubbed the sides of her temple. She was tired already. "Miss, Captain Rogers is requesting access to your floor." Cassidy jumped up and looked in the mirror to make sure she looked halfway decent. "Let him in Jarvis, thank you."
She turned to see Steve walk in with flowers. They were Daisies, her favorite. "Steve they're beautiful, you didn't have to do that." She told him, taking the vase and setting it on the island. "I know, I just thought you might like them."
"How did you know Daisies were my favorite?" She asked him. He shoved his hands in his pockets and his ears turned pink. "I may have asked Natasha." Cassidy smiled and wrapped her arms around his middle. "I love them, thank you." She felt some of the tension release from his shoulders before he slowly wrapped his arms around her. She breathed in, closing her eyes at his smell. It was like laundry that you let dry on a line outside, mixed with some kind of woodsy scent, probably from a body wash.\
She leaned back in his arms to look up at him and he brushed a strand of hair out of her face, resting his thumb on her cheek. She leaned forward just a little, hoping to give him a nudge into kissing her. His gaze flew down to her lips, then back up, and it seemed like he was fighting with himself internally. He glanced at the table then back at Cassidy, stepping back a few inches.
"We should um…probably get to work." He said, looking anywhere but her face. Cassidy's shoulders dropped and she stepped back, out of his grasp. "You're right." She walked over to the table and sat down, pulling the paper she had out for Steve.
"So, they are going to want to talk to you and Tony the most." She told him. He tilted his head. "Why?"
"Well, people think of you as the leader of the Avengers, and Tony, well his name is on pretty much everything. They're probably going to ask what your plans are for the Avengers, and how you plan to go forward. Mostly they are going to ask you how you are adjusting to life after so long." She told him. She tried to get those types of questions on the do not ask list, but she couldn't. Too many people wanted to know how Captain America was getting used to the twenty first century.
"Do I have to answer those questions?" He asked. Cassidy could tell the subject made him nervous. "You don't have to, no. But it might make people see that you are just a person, trying to make the best out of a situation that wasn't ideal. You can talk about how it felt when you first woke up and found out how the world had advanced. You could talk about anything that you've tried since being out of the ice that you like."
"I do have a notebook with things people have told me to try, I could share that maybe?" He told her. She nodded, a small smile playing on her lips. "Yes, I think that would be good. They're also probably to ask about soulmates. The question is on the do not ask list, but as I told everyone else, there will probably be someone that does ask it. You do not have to answer it if you don't want to." She told him. He thought for a second before speaking.
"What would you want me to say?" He asked softly. Cassidy opened her mouth, then closed it. "W-what do you mean?"
"Well, you're my soulmate, it's not a decision that only I can make." She nodded, looking down at her paper, then back up at him. "It's up to you whether you share that you have one or not, but if you do, I don't want anyone to know it's me yet. I just got this job and I don't want anyone to think I got it because of my relationship with you. Is that okay?" She asked him. He nodded and smiled at here. "Of course, Cassidy." Steve would never to anything to ruin her reputation or interfere with her job. He was just so nervous about talking to the reporters at all.
He stood to leave and gave Cassidy a long hug, kissing her hand before walking to the elevator, not seeing her smack her head against the wall after the door closed.