14 months before Thanos
"These are really beautiful, Tony." Nadia ran her fingers over the hood of one of his sports cars. The man had moved some of them to the Avengers compound to have something else to tinker on aside from his suits. Well... Pepper was the one who did it. She didn't want her fiance to only have Avengers and Iron Man things to work on.
"You can take that out for a spin around the compound, you know," the man looked up from the work Peter was doing on the engine of another car. They'd taken a break from working on upgrades for Karen. "Just don't scratch it."
Nadia cleared her throat, "I cooked lunch. Just some chicken fried rice. Rhodey's gonna eat it all if you take too long."
Peter rolled out from underneath the engine, stomach growling, "Food! Man, I didn't realize we spent that long on the engines." The teen hopped up and grabbed a rag to wipe the grease off his fingers. Eagerly, he trotted up the stairs while Nadia turned to follow. Tony raised his eyebrow at the young woman who glanced back at him when he lingered behind slightly.
"What? I can cook you know-"
"Do you know how to drive?" Tony asked bluntly.
Nadia looked away, "Food's gonna get cold."
Tony walked to his work table, "Simple question, Sabs."
She sighed, "Lunch?" Before turning and walking for the stairs.
"Okay, red or blue?" Was Tony's response after a moment.
The question made Nadia pause on the steps and turn back around, "What?"
"Blue it is!" He grinned holding up a set of keys and walking towards an Audi that was a said dark blue.
The young woman gulped, "Tony I…"
"Don't worry! It's like riding a bike."
"How is he?"
"He's doing well."
There was a pause. "I am glad. He deserves some happiness in his life. Despite my mistakes and what he may believe, I simply wanted what was best for him." He looked at the seriousness that seemed permanent on the woman's face. She had no response for his comment and simply steered the conversation somewhere else.
She had been visiting the Allfather several times over the past months at the retirement home Loki had deposited him in.
"I would like to thank you for your advice regarding the council last time. Loki finally got them to settle somewhat." She conjured some tea and placed it on the table in the room.
Odin reached for it and took a quiet sip. "Of course. Should there be any other issues overseeing Asgard, you only need ask."
Anya nodded, but let out a long breath, "If he ever finds out that you are the secret behind my skills in placating the council, he'll skin me alive." She rubbed her temple with two fingers.
The Allfather chuckled at the tic that the woman had seemed to have copied from his second son. He also had no doubt that the trickster already had some kind of inkling, "And yet you still come to me for advice."
A sigh, "Loki's wit is razor-sharp, more than fit for a king. However, some of the best solutions can still be found in experience and wisdom." She paused, holding her own teacup, but not taking a sip, "And I... I want what's best for him too."
The old man's lips curved into a soft smile. "Then Asgard is in good hands."
When she returned, Heimdall gave Anya an easy smile. "How was your visit to Midgard?"
"Good." The woman shrugged. "My horse?"
The gatekeeper merely nodded to the bridge where a mare, black as night, stood pawing the ground, as though eager to run.
"It is lucky that Sombra will let you ride her. Loki used to be the only one she would even let near." Heimdall said eyebrow raised.
"She's still temperamental. The Allfather believes if I learn to cope with her unpredictability, I will be able to ride any horse." Anya recited dutifully, though the dark-skinned man could sense the hint of aggravation in her tone.
The truth was, Loki had, as Odin, told the stable master that his horse would be the only horse Anya would be allowed to ride. The god of mischief thought it funny when he found out the woman was not exactly comfortable riding horseback.
"Just a bit of fun," He had said months ago, "This one will keep you on your toes. Yes, Sombra?" He pet the mare's snout, "But she won't buck you off." It was almost like he was directing that last sentence at the horse. In response, Sombra flipped her mane and snorted.
The pinched expression on Anya's face when Loki helped her on the steed, who danced a bit on her hooves, made the trickster laugh. "What better way to overcome your fears than facing them head-on?"
She wanted to say something snippy, but Loki knew she wouldn't. She couldn't. Because he was still in the guise of the Allfather and there were several stable hands who lingered in case the skittish mare did buck her off. It made the mischievous grin on Odin's face grew and Anya wondered how it was possible that she was the only one to know that the expression definitely belonged to someone else.
"You will be alright," he said, stepping away and swinging easily onto his own horse's, Sleipnir's, saddle. The eight-legged horse pawed at the ground, eager to be out of the stables. "We will return by nightfall." He'd informed the stable hands before galloping off. Anya had had to hurry to follow.
"The Allfather awaits your return at the balcony of the royal suites," Heimdall informed as Anya hopped up and settled onto Sombra's saddle. The woman nodded and looked at the gatekeeper, "Thank you again for your services-" before she could finish, the mare tore down the rainbow bridge like a demon-possessed, back in the direction of the palace. Anya screamed and grabbed the saddle horn, holding on for dear life. It took everything in her not to verbally yell out Loki's name when she heard his laughter in her head.
Sombra whinnied in what almost sounded like an amused cackle as the bridge rushed by underneath her hooves.
"I'm guessing it didn't go well?" Peter looked at Happy who was beside him, watching Nadia walk, you could say stalk, away from the car and Tony trying to call her back from the passenger seat.
"No," The man sighed.
Peter was torn between going to his friend or his mentor to offer some sort of comfort. It was Happy who made the decision for him.
"Hey, I'll try talking to Sparkles this time. Go talk to the big boss," he suggested after a moment before turning to look for the disgruntled young woman. The teen nodded and waited for Tony who was walking toward him.
"Well, that was a bust. What say we work on a few upgrades for your suit?" The billionaire brushed his hands on his pants when he reached the boy.
Peter put a smile on his face, "Sounds great, Mister Stark. I have a few ideas." He would have suggested food since the inventor hadn't eaten yet, but work was a better distraction.
"So, the boss grill you? You were on the tarmac with the Audi for just an hour and a half." Happy found Nadia in one of the training rooms, blasting the crap out of a row of targets with her magic.
The young woman huffed, "Well, apparently I'm not exactly a person Stark would want behind the wheel even in an emergency."
Happy winced and mentally shook his head. Tony and his jokes. He'd seen the car from the upper floor of the facility. Several false starts and stops, and the car died a few times. Not too horrible, he thought. She did manage to drive once around the tarmac, though a bit slowly, before the engine died again. She was probably nervous and was fumbling with the clutch.
"Yeah, I know he was probably joking around, but it kind of got to me. I'm supposed to be a Stark. Shouldn't I be good at this stuff? God knows when it comes to tech too, I'm pretty lost." Letting out a gruff breath, she launched one more attack at a target, a satisfying crunch coming from the metal.
"Sparkles, Tony has the kid for that," he tossed her a bottle of water and a paper bag. "Though most of the time we wish stuff like that really does get passed down so easily, that's not always the case."
Nadia took a big gulp of water before peeking into the bag. "Cheeseburger?" Though she was still obviously tense, she unwrapped it and bit into the burger with gusto. "But driving, Happy! Driving!" She took another bite, "Figures proving the stereotype that women are bad drivers." She groaned, realizing she had been ranting with a half-chewed burger in her mouth.
"Whoah, slow down there." Happy urged, not just trying to halt her from putting herself down, but from attacking the burger again and choking. "Like I said, you were behind the wheel for barely two hours. You can't expect to be able to drive NASCAR in that time frame."
Nadia groaned in defeat and swallowed, "I know, Happy. But Tony was just so eager to get me driving like a speed demon..." She bit into her burger again and chewed slowly, contemplative this time.
"Hey, you grew up with magic. Tony was surrounded by tech since he was a baby. Being techy isn't what's in the Stark blood, it's being a genius. You're a genius at the magic stuff, aren't you?"
Nadia chuckled, remembering how Wong always said she grasped her lessons quite quickly and didn't take very long to understand and soon master spells, "Well… Maybe… but I'm no sorcerer supreme."
Happy smiled, "There it is."
Nadia took one more bite of the cheeseburger before putting it down, "Hey… Happy?"
"Yeah, Sparkles?"
She swallowed, "I still want to learn how to drive, though."
The man nodded, "Just not with Tony?" It was more a statement than a question. He was familiar with the feeling of not wanting to disappoint Tony Stark.
"Yeah… no." Nadia shook her head slowly, "Even if I'd love this to be a thing with him, it's something I totally don't know and he's just really good at it." Her hand scratched at the back of her neck. "I guess... it makes me kinda... nervous? Maybe once I get a hold of the basics, I can try again with Tony." She shrugged, still somewhat embarrassed about the request. Her dad really was so eager, she wanted to be able to show him that she could do it.
It was Happy's turn to chuckle, "Sure, Sparkles. At least finish your burger first, it's almost 4."
A/N: Sorry it's been a while. My AU is giving me a bit of a hard time since action scenes are not really my forte and I'm trying to fix my schedule at work. Yup, finally got a job. Haha. Any other scenes you want to see in the flashbacks? Like some incidents the characters may have mentioned or history you might want expanded on? Other comments? Suggestions? Criticisms? I'd love to know your thoughts. Thank you again to all my readers for sticking with this story and for those who took the time to drop a review.
'Til next time~