Woohooo, time for the visiting arc! We're going to be meeting a lot of people in this arc :) Also my school is now entirely online and we're all fuCKED. ^_^

Chapter Twenty Seven - Visitors, Part One

Tony stared at the donut.

Elle had came back down the previous night with some pizza, said some things about getting more food and going to bed, and then he spent like an hour ranting to Jarvis about HYDRA using sheet metal for their arm before he was hit with another maniac building session.

So he hadn't exactly gone to sleep, and he was pretty sure he might be dissociating a bit, but whatever.

Mostly, he was wondering where the donut came from, and if it was safe to eat.

If it was Elle, it was probably safe. If it was an old donut he had lost at some point…

It looked really, really good though. And it didn't smell old.

And it was from a box on the counter…

He decided to eat it anyway.

"Tony, what the hell are you doing?"

Tony looked up from where he stood beside the kitchen island, pausing. "Eating a donut," he mumbled with his mouth full. "JARVIS, why didn't you tell me Shar-bear was here?"

"I did tell you, Sir. You were preoccupied with your donut."

Tony nodded. That explains it.

Sharon Carter crossed her arms and stared at him. "I meant, with Aunt Peggy. Why are you having her move here?"

"What's going on?" Elle asked, stepping down the stairs and yawning.

Absentmindedly, Tony wondered if Elle conserved more calories by getting up from her bed and walking downstairs, or through teleportation. Which would be easier? Or should she not teleport when she's tired? Could Elle splinch herself? He knew that Elle's teleportation wasn't Apparating (wrong fandom, and for one, she did it silently) but she was still moving her body through a different space, so could she leave something behind?

While he mulled this over, Sharon looked back and forth between Elle and Tony with a laugh. "Oh, you slept the same girl more than once? She must really be good, then."

Elle crossed her arms, which also looked slightly ridiculous because –

"What happened to your hair?"

Hmm. Was it bad that he was thinking more about the teleportation thing and calories than her hair? It was rather noticable, and he hadn't noticed it at first glance. Tony didn't really know if this was normal because by now he was usually drunk or hungover. Instead, he had survived off of coffee. Maybe that was why?

Elle scowled at Tony, as she gingerly swept her hair over her shoulder, wincing when her finger caught a large knot in it. "Marie's got claws, that's what. She's become a real feisty little thing. And you didn't notice it yesterday."

"Oh?" Sharon asked meanly. Tony tried not to jump - he'd nearly forgotten she was there. Maybe he should tone down on the coffee?...nah. "Marie? So you got a threesome Tony, good on you!"

Elle started laughing. "You think…Marie?..." She started cracking up.

Tony was having a better time hiding his smile.

"I don't see what's so funny," Sharon said.

Elle straightened, and called, "Ten hut! Everybody, line up! Sound off!"

Out of nowhere, the seven cats came running to line up next to Elle. Duchess meowed first, then Aslan, from biggest to smallest, all the way down to Marie.

"At ease, felines!" Elle declared, and the cats stood up and made their way around the room. A few of the meowed up to her. "Yeah, it's time for you guys to get some food, isn't it? And I'll give you bonuses for beings such smart kitties. And Mommas," she regarded to Duchess.

Tony stared at her. "When the hell did you do this?" he asked.

"Last night," Elle answered, shrugging, as she opened up a few cans of their wet food and began scooping it out. "When you were busy with the arms."

"Oh…" Tony said.

"Anyway," Elle continued, putting away the leftover food. "They-"

She cut off as a small white thing jumped up, grabbing onto her hair, and tried to use it to climb up her body.

"Marie, what the fuck! Would you stop that?" She reached back and pulled the kitten out, specifically untangling the claws from the knots they snagged in, before she moved the kitten eye to eye to her.

"Mew," the cat said.

"Don't you go all adorable on me. You know the rules. No hair."

"Mew," the cat said, in a much more defeated tone.

"Yeah," Elle said, pulling her close and cuddling her. "I forgive you. Now, time for breakfast. Ten hut!"

The cats lined up again and she gave them all their bowls of food.

"Maybe you should-"

"Don't. Say it," she said, holding up a hand.

"-cut your hair."

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand, you said it. Why am I not surprised?"

"I'm just saying, if it's become a problem..."

"Nope. Not happening."

"It's down to your waist, Elle…"

"Blah blah blah, not listening."

"I'M STILL HERE, YOU KNOW!" Sharon yelled.

"We know," Tony and Elle said together, still glaring at each other.

"I don't tell you to cut your hair," Elle said. "Actually, I specifically ask that you don't, you're adorable with longer hair."

"I'm not adorable," Tony grumbled.

"Yes, you are," she said matter-of-factly. "Neither of us should cut our hair. Yes, it is long. It's also better that way."

Eventually Tony threw up his hands. "Fine! Fine. It's your hair."

"Yeah, it is," Elle said, nodding.

"What the hell is going on?" Sharon shouted.

Elle pointed at the couch. "Sit."

"Is that a blanket fort?" she muttered as she passed it, before sitting in the chair. "And I'm not a dog."

"That's kinda funny, considering you came in here acting like a bitch." Tony managed to stop his 'oooooooooh' from escaping his mouth, but he still half snorted/half choked on his donut. "And yes, yes it is." Elle put her hands on her hips. "Now why don't you two explain?"

"I'm honestly not that sure what happened, I just wanted the donut," Tony said, before taking another bite.

It was a good donut.

Elle looked to Sharon, tapping her foot. "Carter?" she asked coolly.

Tony inwardly winced. He wanted Elle to get along with all his friends, not that he had much. But then again, Sharon also hadn't been very friendly lately.

"He's moving my aunt," Sharon said, arms crossed from where she sat.

"Our aunt," Tony corrected, taking another bite of donut.

"Tony?" Elle asked.

Tony shrugged. "Yesterday, I called the hospice and asked for them to put her on a plane, and spoke with some of our relatives."

Tony gave Elle a bit of a worried look. "She'll be landing in a few hours."

Maybe he should have thought this through a bit more.

"Tony, I'm fine with Peggy coming, but in the future, we might want to be careful when she comes. We have…a lot going on now."

Tony saw Elle look towards the basement door and winced a bit. Yeah, having an ex-assassin POW who was one of Peggy's friends in the past but currently didn't remember anything might not be good.

"I did warn you, sir," JARVIS put in, "that I did not think it a wise decision."

Since he's not going to stop drinking coffee, maybe he should have JARVIS give him a lucidity test for unwise decisions?

...Nah.

"Anyway," Elle continued. "It's still fine. I'm not sure how much I can help with the mental part, but physically I should be good. And there's no reason you shouldn't spend more time with her."

"What is going on?" Sharon yelled.

"You'd probably know if you stayed long enough to hear an explanation," Elle said, raising an eyebrow, before turning her back to them and getting out some eggs. "Let me guess, you asked 'Where's Aunt Peggy?' and you heard that Tony was moving her to America and you took off."

From the looks on Sharon's face, she didn't really appreciate Elle's on-the-nose explanation, much less the fake, high-pitched voice she used to mimic Sharon.

"What I want to know," Elle continued, cracking an egg. And somehow, even though she wasn't looking at either of them, the way she was faced away, and the sound of the egg cracking and the pan sizzling was oddly intimidating. "Is where you've been."

"Oh?" Sharon said, crossing her arms.

"Oh," Elle said, nodding and cracking another egg. The hiss and sizzle from the egg sounded like acid eating through something. Tony wondered if Elle had acid powers. She could probably control it a little bit, considering what it's composed of, right? Something to test. "After all, Tony's your cousin, right? So, tell me…" and now, Elle actually turned around and stared at Sharon. "Why haven't you visited him since Afghanistan?"

Oh. Tony felt warm at the thought of Elle defending him. He had to admit he was wondering that, too. It's been almost four months since he returned, but Sharon hadn't visited him once.

He knew that she was on a 'mission for the CIA' for over the entire time he'd been in Afghanistan, deep undercover. But learning that Sharon was in SHIELD rather than the CIA made a lot of things come together. And from what Coulson had said, by the time she was finished her mission, Tony had already revealed he was Iron Man.

For some reason, she hadn't contacted him since.

"None of your business," Sharon spat.

Elle glared at her. "It is my business. And regardless of whether or not you agree, I think it's at least Tony's business."

That shut Sharon down.

Elle stared at them, before flipping off the stove and putting scrambled eggs on a plate, which she carried over and put in front of Tony.

"But donuts…" Tony said, having finished the first, and looking at the box on the counter that had contained several other ones.

"Eat your fucking eggs," Elle said, before turning to Sharon. "It's my business because Tony's my friend, and he deserves better than whatever the fuck it is you're doing. Tony, I'll be downstairs."

Tony nodded at her and Elle left the room after grabbing a cat, leaving an uncomfortable silence between the two cousins. There was an empty space between them on the couch, but to Tony it seemed like he was on the other side of a ravine.

Tony did his best to ignore it, scooping up the plate of eggs and laying back more into the couch. Sharon didn't meet his eyes.

He continued chewing the eggs, doing his best not to show emotion. Sometimes, he didn't know whether or not he should be thankful to Howard for that.

"Well?" Tony asked, as casually as he could make it, while taking another bite.

"Well, what?" Sharon asked, much more quietly than earlier.

"Why haven't you contacted me since I've gotten back from Afghanistan?" Tony asked.

He remembered what Elle said about communication and decided to take a leap of faith.

"I spent three months in captivity," Tony said, putting down the eggs on the nearest table. "When I was unconscious, I had to have heart surgery in a cave. I was waterboarded for several days. I didn't think I'd get out there alive, I thought I might as well take as many of the bastards I can."

Sharon was still avoiding his eyes, but Tony was staring straight at her. "Instead, I survived. And then I found Rhodey, and God, Shar-bear, I didn't even think he was real at first. It was so good to see a friendly face."

She was still quiet.

"Do you know what really happened with Obie?" Tony asked instead.

"A plane crash," Sharon finally spoke, suspicion coloring her tone at the non-sequitur.

Tony shook his head. "That's a SHIELD cover story. He ripped my reactor out of my chest and left me to die. And he was the one who paid the terrorists to kill me. And then when I didn't die, he tried to do it himself."

Sharon wasn't looking away anymore. She was looking at him with horror.

Tony took a deep breath, but in for a penny, in for a pound.

Go big or go home, he thought.

Wish we decided to stay home, he thought a second later.

"I needed support, Sharon, and you weren't there."

Finally, her face cracked, and he pulled her in his arms. He usually wasn't the best at hugs, but because of Elle, he thought he might get a bit better at comforting others.

"I'm sorry," Sharon cried, and the two of them huddled together, and he knew everything was going to be okay.

I took a deep breath as I stood outside Bucky's door.

"Is he awake, JARVIS?" I asked.

"Yes," he said.

I nodded. "Thank you, JARVIS. Tell me when they're done upstairs."

"Why not stay with them?" Jarvis asked.

I shrugged, tapping my foot outside the door and shifting Milo to my shoulder so I could grab a tray of food. "I don't know enough of their relationship. It wasn't addressed a lot, but I was able to guess what was going on based on the pictures and the answers you and Tony told me about Peggy. I just have to trust that Tony will be able to straighten it out himself."

To be honest, I was more than a little worried about Tony's relationship skills, but he and Sharon were more than friends; they were family. So even if they both fucked it up really badly, they can probably still patch it up in the future.

I knocked on the door and opened it, Milo purring on my shoulder.

"Morning," I told Bucky, bringing him pancakes and sitting down next to him, setting the tray on his pull-out.

He grunted.

I glared at him. Though he shied away, he wasn't really scared of being punished. He seemed to understand that he wasn't going to be really punished, I was just a bit upset or disappointed in him.

"Did you sleep at all last night?" I asked him.

He was quiet.

"No," JARVIS said.

"Traitor," Bucky muttered.

I sighed, plopping Milo in his lap and taking his tablet. "If I need to, I'll restrict the times you can look at the internet and use your tablet. You need to sleep."

"I've slept for decades," he said, his voice a bit rough. He reached for the swing table and grabbed a glass. He brought it to his lips and began to drink.

"That's not real sleep, and you know it," I scolded. "Why did you stay up all night?"

"…Research," he admitted glumly.

I raised an eyebrow. "What were you researching?"

"Stark," he muttered.

"Why?" I asked. "You don't have to tell me, by the way."

He hesitated but nodded. "You mentioned how smart he is. And that he was working on an arm. I might not be comfortable with him replacing my arm, but…I think he can poke through this one. If he can really make it work better."

"Are you sure?" I asked him softly. "You don't need to push yourself on this."

He nodded slowly. "The arm needs maintenance after a certain amount of time. Someone would have to look at it eventually, anyway, and after learning more about T- about Mr. Stark, with what JARVIS told me…I think he can take a look at it now."

I squeezed his right arm, giving him a small smile. "Alright, I'll let him know. I'm proud of you, sweetheart."

"Why do you call me that?" he asked.

"What, 'sweetheart' and 'honey'?" I asked.

He nodded.

I shrugged. "They're terms of endearment. I use them a lot. And until you decide on a name, I figure this is a good way of keeping pressure off you. If you're not ready to be Bucky, or Barnes, or James, or even a new person, this will let you wait until you are."

He nodded, but didn't say anything.

"They have finished, Mrs. Dreyar," Jarvis finally said.

I nodded, squeezing his arm again. "Alright, tell them I'm coming up. Tony will probably be down in a few hours. Do you want me to be here when he works?"

He nodded.

I nodded back, grabbing the purring cat on his lap. "I'll bring Milo back, too. Try to get some sleep."

I teleported directly upstairs.

"What the fuck?!" Sharon shrieked, trying to back away while seated and somehow falling off the couch. She still had a gun pointed at me within seconds.

"Pretty good reaction time," I told her. "Especially since this is your first time dealing with a teleporter. Would you like any donuts?"

Using Saturn, I grabbed the box on the counter and brought it towards me. It flew through the air before coming into my hands, without me moving an inch.

"Tony, what the FUCK IS GOING ON?" Sharon shouted, her gun still pointed at me, crouched on the floor and slowly standing.

I wasn't too worried. As long as I know it's coming, I'm able to stop or dodge bullets. Back when I invaded Hydra and used my staff to knock a bullet out of the way, I slowed it down for a minuscule second in the air. It doesn't leave a big sign of magic and it gave me enough time to knock it from its path.

"Sharon, put the gun away," Tony barked, standing up and holding up his hands like he was calming a crazy person. "Elle is a friend, she's on our side!"

"There are sides now?" Sharon asked wildly.

"Of course there are," I said mildly. "It's a long story, but basically look at me as someone from another dimension with magic that has gotten a glimpse of the future, and who has decided to change it."

"Magic?" Sharon asked incredulously. She turned to Tony. "You're really fine with this? It's magic?"

Tony shrugged. "We're experimenting and learning. And it follows rules. So I'm pretty fine with it, actually."

"Why?" Sharon stressed.

"Because he was dying," I said.

There was a pause. For a moment, all was still. Anything that had wavered from Sharon's stance froze, and her voice was deathly quiet as she turned her attention to Tony. "What!"

"You can't be mad!" Tony said, indignantly.

"Of course I can, you didn't tell anyone you were dying!" Sharon shouted.

"You weren't talking to me!" Tony pointed out, just as loudly. "And besides, didn't you notice the past tense? I'm not dying, anymore!"

A bit of the tension destressed from Sharon's stance. "You're not?"

"At least, he won't be," I said. "We're working on it."

"Working on it?"

I shrugged. "He should be fine by his birthday. Maybe. I know he'll be fine by the end of the summer. Tony's like a cat."

"A cat?" Sharon deadpanned.

"Yep," I said. "Likes to relax, very stubborn, has nine lives, likes attention and science."

"Since when do cats like science?" Tony asked, confused.

"When cats push things off of counters, they're not being assholes," I said very matter-of-factly. "They're studying gravity."

There was a moment of silence, in which Sharon looked at me like I was insane, and Tony stared at me before letting out a snort and collapsing into laughter.

I joined him and fell into a seat next to him.

Sharon stared at me. "Great, now there's two of them."

"I'm not smart enough to be a Tony Stark," I said.

"You're creative and crazy enough," Tony said, giving me a high-five.

"Nerd," I said as I grabbed Aslan from behind the couch and plopped him on his lap. Salem jumped onto the couch and moved over to my lap, standing and circling before settling down. Tom decided to join us, and made his way over to Sharon, who relaxed a bit upon getting a kitten in her reach.

After a few moments of silence, Sharon asked, "What sides?"

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" I asked.

She glared at me and Tony. "What? Sides?"

"HYDRA," I said.

"What?" she asked. "The…Nazi organization Captain America fought? What about them?"

"They're still around," I said. "And they've infiltrated SHIELD. All the way to the top."

Sharon scoffed. When neither Tony or I laughed, she looked back and forth between us. "You're serious?"

"Absolutely," I said.

She turned to Tony. "How much do you trust this girl?"

"With my life," he said solemnly. "And Peggy's."

Her gaze sharpened, before she nodded. "Do you have proof about HYDRA?"

"I do," Tony said. "But if you're still going to be actively working for SHIELD, I don't want to tell you now. I know you're a super badass spy and whatever, but we think it should be need to know."

"Do you know who I can trust? If SHIELD is infiltrated?"

"Fury, Hill, Coulson, Natasha Romanov, Clint Barton, Bobbi Morse, uh…Tripp," I rattled off. "They're good. None of them know about Hydra, not yet."

She breathed out a bit.

"As for who you can't trust…Alexander Pierce-"

"WHAT?"

"-Brock Rumlow, Grant Ward, Senator Stern, Baron von Wolfgang, and, uh…Sitwell? I think? Those are the ones on the tops of my head. And…John Grant? No, that's not right."

"Garret?" Sharon asked.

"Yes!" I said excitedly. "That was it!"

Sharon groaned and put her head in her hands. "I think I'm going to lose my mind," she hissed.

"Welcome to the club!" Tony said, way to brightly. I shoved the donut box on his lap. He (very happily) opened the box and shoved one into his mouth.

"You've probably got some missions lined up," I said. "But you and Tripp should probably ask for time off. Say that there's some problems with health in your family. Tony will be revealing that he's sick in a few days, and you guys can come and get a chance to breathe. We'll cover you more deeply when that happens."

"Should I tell Tripp?" Sharon asked.

I shook my head. "Wait until you guys are on leave and you come back. You never know when Hydra is listening."

"How do you know they're not listening here?" she asked me.

"I've got wards up," I said. "No one can eavesdrop in here, and all bugs short out when you pass through them."

She looked back to Tony. "You really trust her?"

Tony swallowed his donut. "Obadiah stared into my eyes and ripped my arc reactor out of my chest. I trust Elle enough that she can get reactors for me. If she wanted to, I'm sure she could kill me instantly."

"I can," I answered.

The two stared at me.

"I can control metal," I said. "It doesn't matter how strong the magnet repelling the shrapnel is. I could use the shrapnel to shred through it. Which is why we need to get those removed."

"That wouldn't be the only way you could kill someone, is it?" Tony asked, raising an eyebrow.

I nodded. "But it's easier to kill you specifically because of the shrapnel."

"Can you die?" Sharon asked me.

"Yes," I told her. "But not easily. I'd have to be caught by surprise."

She continued to stare at me. "Keep an eye on him?"

"Of course," I said, finally smiling at her.

She smiled and turned back to Tony, before hugging him tight and kissing his forehead.

"Tripp and I will try to drop by soon," she told him.

"Be careful!" he warned.

"You're the one who's dying, idiot."

He shrugged. "I've got Elle."

Sharon gave me a slightly appreciative look. "Yeah. You do."