The apartment was simple, that was a given, but after several shopping trips, Nat and Cassidy finally made it look like a home. She did her room in a pale green and cream color, with black accents, while Nat did hers in black and red, which didn't surprise Cassidy at all.

They had all gotten situated in the Triskellion, and were given their new badges and access passes. The building was gigantic, and Cassidy had gotten lost on more than one occasion. She and Nat got back on a regular training schedule and she was dying to get some training in with Steve.

She headed down the stairs to Steve's apartment, sending a wave to Sharon, who Steve knew as Kate. Cassidy didn't see the point in having her keep an eye on him, seeing as she and Nat were both in the building, but Nick said it was better to have an extra set of eyes on him if she and Nat couldn't be there. She knocked on the door and only had to wait a second before Steve opened it.

"Hey handsome." She said, looking up at him. He blushed and opened the door for her to come in. "Hey sweetheart." Things had been going the same for the five weeks they'd been in DC. They'd go to the Triskellion, train, Cassidy would check in with Bruce and Tony daily, mostly to make sure Tony hadn't done something stupid, then she'd go to Steve's and hang out, she'd help him with his list of things to get caught up on, they'd kiss a little and she'd go home.

"I missed you." She told him. She hadn't gotten to see him the day before, he was busy training with the Strike team and she and Nat were working with Fury. By the time she'd gotten home, she was so tired she went straight to bed.

But it was close to Christmas and Steve told her they would go pick out a tree together. She was so excited, Christmas was her favorite time of year.

"I missed you too Cass." He said softly, leaning down to kiss her. His hand went to the back of her head, the other to her waist, pulling her closer to him.

They picked out a beautiful tree, they decided to put it in Steve's apartment and not hers, since she'd be spending Christmas there anyway. She would be lying if she said it didn't turn her on when Steve lifted the dree with one hand to put it on top of his truck. \

She did get lights for her apartment though, and some other small decorations. She and Steve had fun putting the tree up, listening to Christmas music, signing off key. She soon found out that Steve liked Christmas just as much as her, maybe even more.

They sat on the couch, looking at the tree, drinking eggnog, which was Cassidy's favorite holiday drink.

Her phone buzzed and she grabbed it, seeing it was from Pepper. She opened it and almost spit her drink out. It was a picture of a giant bunny outside Tony's house in Malibu. The text that followed said that he sent a suit up to talk to her while he was working in the lab, and that she was pissed at him. Cassidy knew that Pepper was feeling pushed aside when it came to Tony and his tinkering. She knew that Tony loved Pepper, but he wasn't always the best at showing affection, and that probably had something to do with his father.

She also sad his nightmares were getting worse. Cassidy had tried to get him to see a therapist, but he wouldn't, insisting he was fine. Well now he was calling suits in his sleep and one attacked Pepper.

"He doesn't know what to do." She told Steve. "I think he's just scared of something happening and not being able to protect Pepper or anyone else."

Steve sighed. "I know, but he needs to know when to stop. Something bad is going to happen f he doesn't. Does she need you to go down there?" He asked.

Cassidy shook her head. "No, she said she'd handle it, just needed someone to vent to."

The next morning she wished she'd gone because there was an explosion and Happy had been hurt. She pulled her computer out and pulled up Jarvis, asking him about the explosion. He pulled up videos of someone calling himself the Mandarin, and it seemed like he was the cause of the explosion.

She pulled out her phone and called Tony.

"Hey Cass."

"Tony what happened, is Happy okay?" She asked.

"He's gonna be fine. Pretty banged up but they think he's gonna be okay." Cassidy let out a sigh of relief before Tony spoke again. "Hey I gotta go, but turn on your tv in about five minutes okay?"

"Tony, what are you-" But he hung up on her. She flipped her tv on and saw him get out of a car.

"Hey Mr. Stark? When is somebody gonna kill this guy?" A reporter asked. Cassidy groaned. What the hell was he doing talking to reporters?

"Is that what you want?" He said, "Here's a little holiday greeting I've been wanting to send to the Mandarin. I just didn't know how to phrase it until now. My name is Tony Stark and I'm not afraid of you."

Cassidy put her hand against her forehead and rolled her eyes. "Oh crap."

"I know you're a coward. So I've decided that you've just died pal. I'm gonna come get the body. There's no politics here, just good old fashioned revenge."

"Come on Tony don't do this." Cassidy whispered, silently begging him to not do what she tought he was about to do.

"On the off chance you're a man, here's my home address. 10880 Malibu Point. 90265. I'll leave the door unlocked."

Cassidy picked up her phone and dialed Tony, but he did answer. Nat came through the door and stopped when she saw Cassidy on the couch. "Did you see what Tony just did?" She asked. Cassidy nodded and leaned her head back. "Yeah, Happy's in the hospital and I'm guessing it's the Mandarin's fault. Why would he be so wreckless." She yelled.

"Because he's Tony. He acts first and thinks later, you know that."

Cassidy sighed. "And now, I'm gonna have to clean it up."

"What are you gonna do?" She asked.

"I'm going to Malibu."