Steve scanned the room, able to look over most of the guests heads to see if he recognized Celia's curls amongst the crowd. He didn't really think she'd dive back into the fray, but he had to make sure before he ventured off to check somewhere else. Once he was satisfied she wasn't still in the room, he made his way back to the elevator, figuring he would use the most direct option to find her.
"Jarvis, where is Celia?" Steve asked, leaning back against the side of the car.
"Ms. Burke is currently in her office in the clinic. Would you like me to take you there?" Jarvis replied. At Steve's nod, Jarvis lowered him the few floors down. If she went down to help with the tours, he'd have to come up with some excuse why he was down there. But he was pretty sure she wasn't there for that. The tours probably didn't include the private offices.
"Hello, welcome to the Stark Industries Clinic. Would you like me to give you a tour? I'd be more than happy to answer any questions you might have," a woman said as he stepped off the elevator.
"No thank you. I know where I'm going," Steve said with a friendly smile, sidestepping her to walk to the back.
"We'd really prefer you not to go alone," another woman said, pursing her lips a bit.
"It's fine," Steve waved off, not waiting for a response. He knew he didn't look like one of the possible donors, but what would really be the harm of him walking around without a chaperone? Steve quickly walked down the halls to where Celia's office was. He hadn't been in there since that day with the construction worker, when Celia caught that nail headed for Tony's face. Any other time he'd been down here he'd stuck to the front rooms, only coming down briefly for something.
He stopped outside the door, wondering if he should knock or just walk in. Knocking would be the polite thing to do, but it wasn't like he wasn't going to go inside either way. Steve needed visible confirmation that Celia was okay before he could go back to the party. He tapped his finger against the door, leaning his forehead against the cool wood.
"Come on in, Steve," Celia said from inside the office. He opened the door and peeked his head inside, sending her a sheepish smile.
"How did you know it was me?" Steve asked.
"You always find me," Celia replied, waving him further in. The office was bare, save for the standard desk, chairs and computer. It was exactly what he'd expect her office to look like. No personal items anywhere, just in case.
"I love what you've done with the place," Steve joked, sitting down in the visitor's seat across from Celia.
"My textiles guy hasn't gotten back to me," Celia sighed. At his confused look, she continued. "Inside joke."
"Inside joke? With who?" Steve asked. He wasn't jealous.
"Myself actually," Celia chuckled, spinning a pen between her fingers.
"I might've gotten myself in trouble coming back here," Steve mock whispered, leaning over the desk a little. "I don't think one of the receptionists likes me very much."
"That was probably Margot. She doesn't like anybody. Stick with Maggie if you need anything."
"And what is it that you need?" Steve asked quietly, staring down at his fingers that were tapping on the desk. "Will you tell me what happened at the party?"
"I'm sorry I took off without saying anything. I guess that's still my default reaction to things," Celia replied, leaning back in her seat.
"I can understand needing time alone and I'll leave if you want me to, but I had to make sure you were okay," Steve said, frowning as he thought back to that moment he saw her face. He knew how to deal with anger or sadness, or any other kind of emotion, but Celia's face had been devoid of anything.
"No, stay," Celia murmured, reaching over and grabbing his hand. He interlocked their fingers, rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb.
"Did that guy say something?"
"Nothing I hadn't been expecting."
"I'm gonna go talk to him," Steve declared, standing up from his seat. He didn't need the details. If it got Celia this upset, he didn't care what was even said.
"Wait! It's sweet that you want to defend me and I love you for that, but it really is unnecessary," Celia insisted, holding onto his hand so he couldn't get far. She didn't need to though, since he froze when he heard her words. Steve knew she didn't mean anything by it, but that was the first time someone had told him that they loved him since he woke up in this time. He hadn't really thought before this moment how much he missed that content feeling when you had someone to share those words with.
"Okay," Steve whispered, sitting back down and scooting his chair closer to the desk, all without letting go of Celia's hand. "Does that mean we're skipping the rest of the party?"
"I think we'll have more fun on our own," Celia grinned, tilting her head to the side.
"You mean you haven't gotten sick of me yet? We only see each other every day," Steve joked.
"I'll never get sick of you," Celia replied, squeezing his hand. "And you're so going to miss me while I'm down here working."
"Yeah, I am," Steve confirmed, trying to add a bit of humor to his words so she didn't hear how serious he was.
"Whatever will you do for those hours we're apart?"
"Oh, you know, get back to my hobbies. Maybe get a real job myself."
"Hobbies? Such as?"
"Pretty much training," Steve admitted, chuckling a little to himself. He hadn't really sought out anything else yet. "I used to want to be an artist. even went to school for it."
"Really? What kind of stuff?" Celia asked, leaning forward in interest.
"I liked using a whole bunch of mediums, but I was probably the best at drawing," he said wistfully, smiling softly as he thought back to those days. Before everything changed.
"I'd love to see some of your work. I might not have an artistic bone in my body, but I can appreciate other people's stuff."
"I haven't actually made anything since they found me," Steve sighed, glancing around the room. He was expecting to come down here to help Celia with her problems, not dive into his. "You thinking of putting anything up in here? A splash of color to liven up the place?"
"I don't know. I've never actually had my own office, so I wouldn't even know where to begin," Celia said, tapping her thumb against his hand. "I'm not really the decor type. You remember my apartment. And my room now."
"I can understand that, since I'm pretty simplistic myself, but a little personal touch here and there could do a lot."
"Who needs extras when you have this view?" Celia asked, reaching into one of the desk drawers and pulling out a remote. She pushed a button and the shades on two of the walls started lifting up, revealing the windows hidden behind them. Steve had forgotten about that little feature.
The city was sparkling like always, giving him a slightly different view than what he saw from his floor. No less beautiful though. Celia stood up, pulling him along so they were standing in front of the glass together. There really wasn't any picture that could top this.
"I concede my argument," Steve chuckled, putting his arm around Celia's shoulders. She snuggled into his side, sighing in contentment. They stood in silence for a few minutes, just enjoying the view and each other's company before Celia quietly started talking.
"I've gotten so used to not keeping anything around that I care about. It's easier to leave everything behind when you don't form attachments to things. My parents taught me that from a young age." Steve didn't know what to say to that, but he wanted her to continue. Celia rarely brought up her past, so he was always eager to listen when she did.
"Yeah?"
"One of their favorite moves was to buy me something and let me fall in love with it, then take it away from me for any little thing I did wrong. It didn't even have to be a big thing, just forgetting to take the garbage out or leaving my shoes in the wrong spot, but they'd seek out whatever was my favorite thing and it would be gone. No warning, no chance to earn it back."
"I'm so sorry," Steve murmured, running his hand up and down her arm.
"So when I got a little older and was wise to the game, I didn't let them know I liked anything. That just ended up pissing them off even more, which made losing my toys seem much more insignificant." Steve shook his head, not understanding how a parent could treat their child so poorly. His mom hadn't been able to give him much, but she'd never take what he did have away. "Eventually, I outsmarted them. I'd pretend to love something I didn't care about, just so they could get that satisfaction. I never let myself care about anything again, but they didn't need to know that. I'm not sure if they ever figured it out."
"I'm sorry you had to do that," Steve said, tipping his head to the side to look into her eyes.
"It was a long time ago," she brushed off, shrugging her shoulders a little.
"Doesn't mean it doesn't still hurt." She was staring up at him with those big eyes, the makeup making them sparkle even more. If he leaned over just a tad-
"Of course it was you two making trouble." Steve jumped back, whipping his head toward the door to see a smirking Tony standing there.
"Trouble? What trouble?" Steve asked, risking a glance at Celia. If that guy from earlier complained about Steve removing Celia from their conversation, he would handle that himself.
"According to one of my receptionists, a strange man was lurking around alone in the clinic," Tony replied, looking at him in suspicion. "Is there something else you want to confess to?"
"Margot could've just come back here and seen for herself," Celia scoffed, rolling her eyes. Another moment ruined by bad timing. Not that Steve wanted to have that kind of moment with Celia.
"Maybe so, but at least it gave me an excuse to leave the party. It looks like something I'm going to have to take care of for a while too," Tony sighed dramatically, stepping fully into the room and closing the door behind him.
"I thought you liked these things?" Celia asked, leaving Steve by the windows to walk back to her desk.
"I swear they used to be more fun. I guess I'm just getting old."
"They were never fun," Steve laughed, thinking about the few he'd been subjected to so far. He was always eager for them to end.
"Why did you guys leave so early?" Tony asked, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket and typing something into it. Celia shot Steve a look, signalling for him to stay quiet about the true reason.
"Just taking a breather," she brushed off.
"Well, do you mind if I hang out with you? What were you doing anyway?"
"Just admiring the view from the office. It really is amazing," Celia replied, flicking her eyes over toward Steve for a second. She'd obviously felt what he had as well, before Tony interrupted.
"Everything about my tower is amazing," Tony bragged, perching on the edge of the desk. He loosened his tie and unbuttoned the top button of his shirt.
"Let's not get too comfortable," Steve warned, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Oh relax, I'm not stripping down to my underwear," Tony snorted, sending a sidelong glance in his direction. "I am going to take this jacket off though."
"Well, I'm taking off these heels then," Celia declared, toeing off her shoes and pushing them under the desk. "I don't know how Pepper does it."
"She's Superwoman," Tony said seriously, turning his attention toward Steve. "Your turn, take something off."
"What?" Steve spluttered.
"Come on, live a little. Captain America doesn't always have to look perfect," Tony cajoled, wagging his eyebrows.
"Fine," Steve relented, slipping off his jacket. He could admit that it felt nice to relax a little.
"That's the spirit. Maybe one day you'll even wear something with some color."
"Are red, white, and blue not colors?" Steve shot back. "We can't all wear band tees."
"Sure we can. Want me to find you one with Frank Sinatra on it?"
"No thanks."
"Come on, we'll make it a thing. Who do you want, Celia?" Tony asked.
"Dealer's choice."
"You're probably going to regret saying that," Steve warned.
"I'm used to it."
"Hey, didn't Jarvis pick that dress out for you? Do I need to remind you all that I programmed everything? Looks like I'm a stylist too. Add that to my list of achievements," Tony bragged, sitting down in the visitor's chair and kicking his feet up on the desk.
"Um, excuse me?" Celia scoffed, pushing at his feet.
"Take it up with the boss. Oh, wait," Tony grinned, shrugging his shoulders.
"Tony," Steve sighed, shaking his head in disappointment.
"You need to relax, Steve," Tony chuckled, pausing when there was a knock at the door. "And I think help just arrived."
"Who's that?" Celia asked, turning her ear toward the door to listen.
"Come on in," Tony called out.
"The party has arrived," Clint announced as he slipped into the room. Natasha was right behind him, dragging Bruce along with them.
"I thought I told you to bring food?" Tony asked, looking pointedly at their hands.
"We brought something better," Clint chuckled, holding up bottles of alcohol.
"Can't argue with you there," Tony conceded, snatching up a bottle to read the label. "The top shelf champagne, you sneaky bastard."
"Are you saying you serve lower quality alcohol to your guests?" Natasha asked, popping her own bottle.
"No, I just save the really good stuff for my friends," Tony replied, toasting with a bottle before taking a healthy drink. "That's good."
"You know what isn't good? Alcohol poisoning," Bruce warned, waving off an offered bottle.
"I'm not the type to try to force anyone to drink when they don't want to, but I'm planning on finishing all these bottles. So if you don't want me to drink that much, you can always take some of the load off me by drinking some yourself," Tony said seriously, holding out the bottle in front of him. Celia grabbed it, chugging back a few mouthfuls. Steve stared at her in surprise, since he'd never seen her drink so much before.
"What? I'm just trying to help Tony," Celia said innocently, setting the bottle down on the desk.
"I thought you said you weren't much of a drinker?" Steve asked, thinking back to that bit of conversation they'd had all those weeks ago.
"I'm not, but mostly because I was never willing to spend money on it."
"Well, it's on Tony tonight!" Clint cheered, tapping a bottle against Natasha's.
After that they all sat around passing the bottles between all of them. Even Steve and Bruce took a few sips here and there, even though the alcohol would have no effect on him. Just hanging out and having fun was enough to loosen him up though and he ended up taking his button up off, leaving him in his suit pants and undershirt. Tony had his tie wrapped around his forehead.
"This is so much better than your stupid party," Clint giggled, laying his head in Natasha's lap as she petted his hair.
"It wasn't stupid, it's just a necessary evil to keep this whole place afloat," Tony sighed, rolling a bottle between his palms. "Do you think I want to spend all of my own money?"
"Weren't you the one bragging about being a billionaire?" Natasha questioned.
"Yeah, and how do you think I stay that way?"
"The poor cut coupons, the rich pass money between each other," Clint snorted.
"Living the dream," Tony acknowledged, tipping a bottle up in toast and taking another drink. "At least I spread the wealth a bit."
"You have provided me with a very nice lab," Bruce admitted, stretching out and leaning against one of the windows.
"Yeah, I'm glad it's comfortable, since I've spent so much time down there," Celia chuckled, bumping Bruce with her shoulder.
"I can't help it, I just find your body very fascinating," Bruce sighed, sending Clint into a fit of giggles. Soon enough everyone was laughing, making Bruce's face turn red in embarrassment. "I didn't mean it like that!"
"We need Bruce to drink more often," Tony chortled, wiping at his eyes.
"What's going on here?" Everyone's heads snapped to the doorway, finding an exasperated Pepper standing with her hands on her hips. "This is where you've all been?"
"Hey Pep! What's up?" Tony asked brightly, smiling up at her.
"That's exactly what I was wondering. One minute you're at the party, then the next you're gone. And imagine my surprise when the whole team disappears as well."
"I'm sorry, it's my fault. I left the party first, then Steve followed me. It kind of snowballed from there," Celia said guiltily.
"I'm not upset that you all left, I'm just wondering where my invitation was," Pepper laughed, slipping off her shoes and perching across Tony's legs.
"Someone had to be the adult and you're just so good at it. You know I'd always prefer to have you with me," Tony shrugged, poking Pepper's cheek with his nose.
"Well, I passed off that responsibility to someone else for the night. I'm off for the rest of the party," Pepper sighed, grabbing a bottle and taking a drink.
"Now it's a party," Tony grinned.
"So Celia, how was your first foray into the chaos of Stark Industries?" Pepper asked, snuggling into Tony's arms. Steve glanced over at Celia, trying to gauge where her head was at. He surreptitiously scooted closer to her.
"Um, it was okay. Nothing to write home about," Celia replied, purposefully avoiding eye contact with everyone.
"So why did you leave so early? I never got an answer," Tony prodded. Celia shrugged, trying to evade the question, but Steve didn't think she'd get away with it so easily this time.
"Really, it's not a big deal," Celia brushed off. Steve reached over and grabbed her hand, offering her support. He should've stuck next to her better during the party, instead of letting each other get separated for so long. Celia was already nervous going into this thing, she didn't have to be pushed into the lion's den during her first experience.
"So then it's not a big deal to tell us?"
"One of the donor's was talking to me and he might've-" Celia mumbled, biting her cheek, "he might've insinuated that I only got my job because I had something going on with Tony." Steve sucked in a breath, feeling the anger inside of him start to bubble up.
"Which one was he?" Tony asked, sounding more serious than Steve was used to.
"It's really not that big of a deal. People say stuff like that all the time, right?"
"Which arrow should I use? One to cause maximum pain or a bunch of little ones to draw it out?"
"I think a bit of hand to hand would be best. That way you can feel each bone as it breaks."
"I've got some chemicals in my lab that can do some damage."
"I'll take care of him," Steve growled, cutting off everyone else's chatter. Celia wrapped her arm around his, keeping him from getting up.
"While I'm extremely touched that you all are threatening someone on my behalf, it really is unnecessary."
"Jarvis, make a note of who Celia was talking to during the party and blacklist him from all future events. I'll decide later if I want to take it further," Tony commanded, leaning back in satisfaction.
"But-"
"We don't want anyone like that associating with our company," Pepper said simply.
"I don't know what to say," Celia murmured, blinking a bit in surprise.
"We take care of our own around here," Tony shrugged, wrapping his arms around Pepper and whispering something in her ear until she started giggling quietly. Celia sighed, resting her head on Steve's shoulder. Tony was right, they wouldn't sit back and watch as one of them was treated poorly. They were family and would react accordingly.
