Hey all sorry for the delay had some summer school stuff come up that I needed to take care of. Thank you to everyone that commented the last chapter I really loved hearing from all of you. So without further ado here's the next chapter. Let me know what you think.
I woke up the next day in my bed again still wearing the same clothes. I went through my usual routine and got dressed in a Harvard T-shirt from my med school days and some shorts. Once I looked a bit more put together I went downstairs. Wren and Clint were in the middle of breakfast when I walked in.
"Look who finally woke up." Clint greeted.
"Sorry had a late night." I said. "Too many heavily encrypted files to sort through."
"Sit down I'll serve you a plate." Wren said.
"Anything interesting?" Clint asked.
"Nothing we didn't already know. Most of them are still being decrypted." I answered. "How's the leg?"
"I changed his dressings already." Wren answered.
"You did?" I said surprised.
"I am a doctor you know, I do know how to change dressings." Wren said.
"Course you do." I said.
"Coffee." He said placing a mug in front of me.
"Thank you." I said. A phone started ringing and Wren teleported to go get it before coming back and putting it in front of Clint.
Clint looked at the caller ID and picked up immediately.
"Nat…" Clint said. "Turn on the news."
"Friday, the news." Wren said and a hologram with the news started playing. It was a senate hearing and Natasha was being sworn in.
"Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth?" A committee member holding a bible asked her.
"I do." Natasha answered.
"Why haven't we yet heard from Captain Rogers?" A general asked.
"I don't know what's left for him to say. I think the rock in the middle of the Potomac made his point fairly eloquently." Natasha retorted.
"She's awesome." I said.
"Well, he could explain how this country's expected to maintain its national security now that he and you have laid waste our intelligence apparatus." The general asked looking frustrated.
"HYDRA was selling you lies, not intelligence." Natasha said fairly simply.
"Many of which you seem to have had a personal hand in telling." The general said.
"Agent, you should know that there are some on this committee who feel, given your service record, both for this country and against it, that you belong in a penitentiary, not mouthing off on Capitol Hill." A senator said and Clint looked nervous.
"You're not gonna put me in a prison. You're not gonna put any of us in a prison. You know why?" Natasha said.
"Do enlighten us." A senator answered.
"Because you need us. Yes, the world is a vulnerable place, and yes, we helped make it that way. But we're also the ones best qualified to defend it. So if you want to arrest me, arrest me. You'll know where to find me." She said getting up and walking away with a commotion behind her.
"Clint your soulmate is a badass." I said.
"She is… Wait how did you know?" Clint said.
"I've seen you shirtless dude and I speak Russian. I saw the Cyrillic on your arm." I said.
"Right." He said.
"Relax your secret is safe." I said. "Plus it's not like Wren didn't already figure it out."
"Could you two be anymore obvious?" Wren said.
"And here I thought I was being subtle." He said.
"Natasha is subtle you… not so much." Wren answered. They were interrupted by Clint's phone ringing.
"Yeah." Clint greeted.
"I saw."
"Where do you want to meet?"
"I think I can manage that. Send a picture of where you are." Clint said.
"Because how else is Wren going to let me out of his safe house."
"Long story I'll explain later."
"See you then" He said before hanging up.
"Looks like I'll be out of your hair in an hour." Clint said. "Mind dropping me off?"
"If it means getting you out of hear, gladly." Wren answered. I punched his shoulder.
"Be nice he's our guest." I said. "I'm going to pack you some pain killers and antibiotics for the road."
"I'd appreciate that." He said.
I went into the lab and pulled out some antibiotics and some mild painkillers. The leg was healing really well; I doubt he'd need any of the heavy-duty stuff. I packed them in a small go bag along with some left overs.
"So painkillers are pretty mild, only take them if you need to and only two every six hours. I also put in some antibiotics. If its changes color or pus starts coming out anywhere follow the instructions on the bottle. I also packed you lunch. Enough lasagna for you and Natasha so you can both relax tonight." I said.
"Thanks Nora." Clint said.
"I should be the one thanking you. Stay out of trouble." I said.
"Can't make any promises."
"Which is why I said try." I said. There was a beep on his phone and he opened it.
"That's Nat," he said showing the photo to Wren.
"That's a morbid meeting spot even for her." Wren said.
"It's safe though." Clint retorted. "Nora, You have my number?"
"It's on the phone for emergencies. Same goes to you." I said.
"I will." He said.
"Enough chit chat. If I don't get you back the widow's going to hunt me down." Wren said.
"Let's go." Clint said. Wren put a hand on his shoulder and they were off. I sighed.
"Friday are the files decrypted?" I asked.
"No ma'am, the program is still running and only the lesser restricted files have been decrypted." She answered.
"Send them to my tablet." I said
"All ready did" Friday confirmed. Let's see what horrors I uncover today.
Third Person's POV- Arlington Cemetery
"So, you've experienced this sort of things before?" Nick Fury said as he approached the gravestone with his name on it.
"You get used to it." Steve said looking down at the headstone.
"We've been data-mining HYDRA's files. Looks Like a lot of rats didn't go down with the ship. I'm heading to Europe tonight, wanted to ask if you'd come." Fury offered.
"There's something I gotta do first." Steve said.
"How about you, Wilson? I could use a man with your abilities." Fury extended to Steve's new wingman… literally.
"I'm more of a soldier than a spy." Sam said turning down his offer.
"Alright then." Fury answered before shaking each of their hands. "Anybody asks for me, tell them they can find me right here."
As Fury walked away Natasha walked towards them. "You should be honored, that's about as close as he gets to saying thank you." Natasha said with a smirk.
"Not going with him?" Steve asked.
"No." She said as Natasha snapped a picture of the area with her phone before sending it to Clint.
"Not staying here?" Steve said.
"I blew all my covers, I gotta go figure out a new one." She said.
"That might take a while." Steve said.
"I'm counting on it. That thing you asked for, I called in a few favors from Kiev. Be careful, Steve. You might not want to pull on that thread." She said handing him a file. "I'm going to be gone for a while, just waiting on a delivery before heading out."
"Delivery?" Sam said confused and at that second Wren appeared with Clint standing with crutches. "Whoa." Sam said jumping back ever Steve was a bit startled.
"Natasha, you're boyfriend back in one piece as promised." Wren said.
"You weren't kidding about the delivery." Sam said.
"I'll take my leave now, Birdbrain, I'd say be careful but it's pointless. Natasha, we'll be in touch." Wren said turning around.
"Thank you Wren." Natasha said.
"Don't mention it." He said before teleporting away.
"Wait his name is Wren?" Steve asked.
"Yeah, Wren Spencer. He's a contact from my past." Natasha said "What's the damage?" She asked Clint.
"Slash across my stomach, healed nicely. Had shrapnel from the construction on the house stuck in my leg, luckily Wren's wife happened to be a really good surgeon." Clint said. "She even packed us dinner"
"How did Wren get involved in this?" Natasha asked.
"His wife was the asset I was assigned to watch." Clint said.
"He actually got married?" Natasha said.
"Even better, he's been domesticated." Clint said.
"Never thought I'd see the day Spencer went soft." Natasha said.
"It's even funnier to watch." Clint said. "What have you three been up to? Also who are you?" Clint asked looking at Sam.
"Sam Wilson," Sam introduced himself.
"Nice to meet you." Clint said.
Steve just stood still. Nora said that her future housemate's name was Wren… No what were the odds that they were talking about the same person?
"Glad you're okay Clint." Steve said.
"Same here Cap, Nat told me you ran into her phantom assassin."
"My best friend from the 1940's." Steve admitted.
"What?" he said.
"Yeah, it's been a rough few days." Steve said.
"I'm ready for that vacation now." He told Natasha.
"Let's go." She told him.
Nora's POV-
I sat down for hours reading through every entry log I could find, every video I saw and I watched them all. Seventy years of torture and brain washing and I had only made it through the first twenty. The decryption was going as well as it could until finally it stopped.
"Friday where are the rest of the files?" I said.
"Decryption has halted ma'am. There is a new firewall being placed on all the files that are still encrypted."
"Who put it there?" I said.
"Your father." She said.
"Fuck." I said.
Two Weeks Later-
After two weeks of me trying everything to decrypt those files I was out of options. I was going to have to go nuclear. I had to talk to my dad for the first time since before the wedding. I just didn't know how.
I was at work when I got a phone call from an unknown number.
"Go for Nora," I said.
"Hello," A voice said.
"Who is this?" I asked.
"Forgot about me already love?" A man with a British accent said. "I'm the handsome fellow who won a date with you at an auction."
"Aiden." I said.
"So you do remember me." He said flirting with me.
"You're not someone that's easily forgotten." I said.
"That's good to know. Listen I just called to tell you I'm in town for a few days and wanted to know if maybe we can have a repeat of our last date." He said.
"Oh, wow. This is awkward."
"What is? You trying to let me off easy?" He asked making me laugh nervously.
"Kind of, you were gone a while and some things happened and well… I'm married." I said.
"You're married?" He asked shocked.
"I am. For a month now." I said.
"um… congratulations." He said "Who's the lucky man?"
"It's well… my best friend."
"The same best friend who ignored you for a month?"
"Yeah, things happened and it felt right." I said.
"I'm happy for you. He's a very lucky man." Aiden said. "Well I got to run, we should catch up sometime."
"Yeah, over a coffee sounds good." I said.
"I'd love to meet, that husband of yours." Aiden said.
"I can't promise anything you know, emergency surgeries have no fixed schedules." I said.
"I'll leave you to it, I have to go mourn my loss." Aiden said.
"I'm sure you'll find some lucky girl out there more than willing to go out on a date with you. You're a good guy Aiden. There's kind of a shortage of those going around." I said.
"You're too good for him. Wren's a lucky bastard. Got to go bye Nora." Aiden said before hanging up.
When did I ever tell him Wren's name?
Third Person's POV-
Wren was waiting at a coffee shop in Frankfurt for Natasha when he got a phone call from an unknown number.
"Go for Wren." He answered.
"It seems you've been busy." A voice Wren never wanted to hear sounded through the phone.
"What do you want?" Wren said.
"Oh don't be like that, you're supposed to tell your brother when you find a pretty girl to settle down with. I thought I would be your best man?" He said.
"How did you…" Wren said.
"With a rock that size, how could I not? That was your mother's right?"
"Aiden…"
"Nora's quiet the looker. Photographs well." He said before there was a buzz from Wren's phone. Wren opened the message and saw a photo Aiden sent him. Nora was standing next to the nurse's station talking on the phone while updating a chart. She was dressed in navy scrubs and she was wearing the firework scrub cap Jess had made for her.
"That's my favorite photo of her. Close second to the one I took when we went on our date back in January." Aiden said.
That made Wren's blood run cold. He had been so close this entire time and he didn't even know it. How did he let this happen?
At that moment Natasha walked into the café and sat down in the seat across the table from Wren. She his tense posture and the way his hand shook as he gripped the phone in his hand and she knew something was wrong.
"Leave her out of this, She has nothing to do with this." Wren said.
"Oh on the contrary Brother. You brought Nora into this the day you met her. I have to say she is too good for you." Aiden said.
"She's completely innocent in all of this…."
"So was Beth." Aiden answered.
"I didn't have a choice Aiden."
"Of course there was a choice! You could've let her live. What did she ever do to you?" Aiden shouted. "You know what don't answer that. I'll be seeing you sooner than you think brother."
Then the call cut off and Wren put the phone down.
"Aiden?" Natasha answered.
"He sent me this." Wren said sliding over the phone with the picture of Nora on the screen.
"This is…" Natasha asked.
"My wife… Aiden sent me that photo and I know it's from today because that's the scrub cap she wears on Tuesdays and she bought those shoes yesterday." Wren said.
"You know what she wears depending on the day of the week?" Natasha asked.
"We've lived together for over a year plus the time in Afghanistan, the patterns pretty clear." Wren said.
"Right, what are you going to do? You can't keep her in the dark much longer." Natasha said.
"Thanks to birdbrain I can't. Remind me how he made it as a spy?" Wren snarked back.
"He's a sniper not a spy. You know that. You have the scar to prove it." Natasha deadpanned. "And from what Clint told me she's known for a while you weren't being completely honest with her."
"You have any idea how much I've tried to move past it. I was in the armed forces for years to get Aidan off my trail. I finally got out and I was doing well. I was happy. I have friends family… Nora."
"You know I'm not a stranger to starting over and running away from my past but you have to get over yourself. You have a chance… you have a girl that from the looks of it you care about and if she's willing to marry your sorry ass knowing you're lying to her face then she obviously cares about you too. Talk to her before Aiden does something." Natasha said before getting up and walking away.
Wren sat there trying to calm down. He needed to keep Nora safe. Aiden was volatile and on the warpath. If he needed to he'd go through Nora to get to him he would.
Nora's POV-
I got home from work and I was utterly exhausted. I locked my self in the lab and worked on the sonar system. I did a minor test using an old cell phone and all I did was give myself a headache with the high itched noise it made.
I was sitting on the lab bench rubbing my temple when something on the news caught my attention.
Billionaire Tony Stark has announced today that he will be throwing a masquerade gala to raise funds for the victims of what is now being called the Battle of Washington DC. Still no word on whether his fellow Avengers Captain America or Black Widow who were directly involved in the incident, will be attending.
I think I just found my in, now I just have to not only get my Dad to invite me but I have to talk Wren into agreeing to help me. I can do this. I can totally do this.
I went upstairs and got started on dinner. Figured if I was going to ask for a favor I should wine and dine him first. I made that dish future Wren said he liked, salmon stuffed with feta cheese and spinach. I also made some salad and pulled out some of the wine we were saving for special occasions.
I had the table set up by the time Wren got back.
"What's all this?" He said.
"Dinner, thought we'd eat in try something different." I said.
"What is it?"
"Salmon stuffed with feta cheese and spinach." I said.
"Looks different." He said.
"Give it a try." I said grabbing a piece with a fork and offering it to him. He hesitantly leaned in and tried it.
"mhm, wow. How is this the first time you make this?" Wren said.
"We've been kind of busy lately." I said. "Things are starting to go back to normal figured we deserved a nice meal after the past couple of weeks."
"You're completely right. We only have a week left before our two-week honeymoon. We need this time off." Wren said.
"About that…" I started.
"Oh no." Wren said.
"Hear me out." I said.
"Nora we need this." Wren said.
"And I agree with you its just that I want to change the plan a bit. I want to use the remainder of our sick days to start our vacation early and go to New York." I said.
"You finally talked to Tony?" Wren said surprised.
"Not exactly. I kinda hit a snag decrypting those leaked files and turns out dad put a fire wall around them and he's the only one with the key…" I said.
"So call him and ask him for it." Wren said.
"We both know Dad can be a bit over protective and he wouldn't want me to see that stuff so I kind of need to access his private server from Avengers Tower without him knowing it's me."
"So you need to get in." Wren said.
"I do and I found a way in." I said handing him the news article about the masquerade gala.
"A masquerade gala, bit theatrical isn't it?" Wren said.
"Hiding in plain sight. Just need to score an invitation but I wanted to check with you before doing anything." I said.
"Are you sure you want to go through with this. You've seen some of the things they've done to him do you think you're ready to see everything else. The missions the brain washing, the experiments."
"I have to Wren. Plus I hit a lead with the sonar tracking program." I said.
"The thing you copied from that movie?" Wren said. "It actually worked?"
"Yeah, the metal used for the plates on the arm are made of a unique Adamantium and small percentage of Vibranium mixture. I need to know the exact composition in order to calibrate the frequency to use." I said.
"Then I guess we're going to New York." Wren said "But you have to call your Dad first."
"I know and I will." I said.
"Call him right now, while we're both here." He said.
I sighed but nodded. Why was it so hard to call him? I picked up the phone and dialed him.
He answered on the second tone.
"Yeah." He said.
"Hi Dad." I said.
"Nora… it's been a while."
"It has. What's up dad?" I asked.
"Nothing much just planning a ball while tinkering in the lab." Dad answered.
"Sounds fun… So Wren and I have a few weeks off and we need to go on our honey moon…"
"Still doing that huh." Dad sounded annoyed just hearing Wren's name.
"Yeah… We're doing a week in Europe before stopping by a few days in the Bahamas and Disney World before heading back home. But before all of that we decided to stop by New York for a few days and was wondering if you were free so we could maybe have dinner or something." I said.
"Oh I'm kinda swamped…" dad said.
"Just you two." Wren whispered in my ear.
"It could be just the two of us…" I offered.
"I'll look up my schedule but I can't promise anything." He said.
"That's okay, you're busy we can find something else to do." I said looking up to Wren who motioned for me to keep going. I feel so bad for guilt tripping Dad but this was the only way he would even bother to try and see me considering he was still pissed.
"Kid don't do that." Dad said.
"Dad its fine. This was a last minute thing. We can figure something else out." I said.
"How about you come to the party I'm planning and we do something afterwards. You can even bring Spinster if you want." Dad offered.
"I don't know."
"Come on kid don't make me beg. I'm trying here." Dad said.
"I think we can do that." I said.
"I'll send your invitation to the penthouse." Dad said. "It's black tie."
"I can work with that." I said. "See you then."
"Later." Dad said before hanging up.
"I'm a horrible daughter." I said.
"Look at it this way Tony didn't get to experience your full blown teenage meltdowns… this is a recap of that. And it wasn't that bad." He said.
"Still doesn't ease my guilt." I said.
"You'll make it up to him and besides you're making the first steps to reconciling." Wren said.
"Yeah you're right. Are you ready though? Chances are you're going to get the brunt of his passive aggressiveness."
"I can handle Tony." Wren said, "Besides he'll be to busy playing host to even pay any attention to me."
"Let's hope so." I said.
The Saturday of the Masquerade Gala-
We woke up early and went for a run around Central Park. After we showered I got dressed in a white lace tank top and a tan high waisted skirt. I put on some tan sandals and my necklaces. I left my hair down and kept it back with a lace-patterned headband.
"How do I look?" I asked Wren.
"Like you're going on a date." Wren said.
"I have brunch with my Dad." I said.
"Right, Is this you pulling out all the stops?"
"Normally I'd make breakfast and pancakes with fresh whipped cream." I said.
"Why don't you ever do that for me?"
"Wait until our first major argument as a married couple." I said.
"We're not a real couple." He said.
"Next argument then." I said.
"Well then, you're missing the knee high socks. The Catholic schoolgirl look isn't helping you. Just makes me look like a cradle robber." Wren retorted.
"It's the headband isn't it?"
"Relax, Tony adores you and he's not mad at you he's mad at me. If you need me to take the fall I will now go. You don't want to keep him waiting." Wren said.
"You're the best." I said giving him a hug from behind before letting go and walking out.
"Oh and Nora?" Wren said.
"Yeah?"
"The headband is too much." Wren said.
"Jerk." I said as I laughed.
I walked downstairs and as always Happy was waiting by the limo.
"Morning Happy." I said handing him a breakfast sandwich I had Wren make and a cup of coffee.
"Morning Doctor Martell." Happy said.
"Two corrections, One it's Spencer now and two I think we've spent enough time together and held each others hands long enough on the Tower of Terror to be on a first name basis." I said.
"Of course. And Spencer? You changed your name?" Happy said.
"That's what most people do when they get married." I said.
"You got married?" he said shocked.
"Six weeks and counting." I said.
"Um wow, congrats." He said.
"Thanks." I said.
"Let's get going. Boss got a huge spread for brunch." Happy said.
"He does tend to go all out, doesn't he?" I said
"He does."
One car ride later where there may have been a bit of karaoke later we arrived.
"You know what to do." Happy said.
"Was he in a good mood this morning?" I asked.
"Same as ever. Why? Are you nervous?" He said looking concerned.
"No, just want to know what I'm walking into." I said.
"You're walking into brunch maybe even with mimosas."
"A mimosa sounds really good right now, maybe even a Bloody Mary." I said.
"It's 5 o'clock somewhere right?" He said.
"It's the weekend." I said with a shrug. "I'll be going then."
I walked into the elevator and the elevator started moving.
"Jarvis." I said mid rise.
"Yes Miss Stark." He said. Looks like Dad's not the only one against this.
"How mad is dad at me?" I said.
"That is a complicated subject I am not capable of giving a response to."
"Way to avoid the question buddy." I said.
"I believe you are stalling Ma'am" Jarvis said.
"Forget it just take me to where ever dad is." I said and ten seconds later the door opened.
I walked out and saw the spread happy was talking about. Dad hired a catering service for brunch. I wasn't sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing.
"Hello?" I called out top see if anyone was there.
"Oh, Hi." Pepper greeted awkwardly.
"Hi…" I said. I thought dad said it would be just the two of us.
"You're here to see Tony?" She asked.
"Yeah he told me to meet him for brunch." I said.
"He told me the same thing." Pepper said.
"He double booked us." I said.
"What? How I'm sure Jarvis would have told him…" She said and I gave her a look. "He did it on purpose didn't he?"
"Probably." I said.
"I told him you two needed to work things out." Pepper said.
"That's why I came alone. I left Wren at the penthouse." I answered.
"He told me we needed quality time together." Pepper said.
"That jerk." I said.
"I can bet you whatever you want he's in the lab right now." Pepper said.
"We should get back at him." I said.
"Lock him out of the lab?" Pepper suggested.
"Something better." I said
Twenty Minutes Later dad finally showed up. Pepper and I were sitting on opposite sides of the table glaring daggers at each other.
"How are my two favorite people in the world doing?" Dad said as he walked in.
"After spending twenty minutes with your insufferable brat?" Pepper said.
"I'm the one that's insufferable? Do you even know what that word means?" I said.
"What are you even doing here? No one's buying the innocent catholic schoolgirl act?" She said.
"No one's buying the I worked my way to the top routine either." I retorted.
"Nora." Dad said in a warning tone.
"At least I earned everything I have unlike you, you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth and everything was handed to you."
"Pep…" dad said giving her a look.
"It's true, she only shows up or calls when she wants something."
"At least my significant other doesn't run away from you every chance he gets." I said.
"Well some of us actually have to work for a living." Pepper said.
"I'm a surgeon, I work one hundred hour weeks, what do you do for a living again, oh that's right you're an overpaid paper pusher." I said.
"Get the hell out of my tower." Pepper said.
"Not your tower but I'll gladly leave." I said getting up. "Something smells rancid and here and I'm sure it's the trash sitting in front of me."
"Bitch." She said.
"Gold-digger." I said.
"Nora!" dad yelled.
"Let her leave." Pepper said.
"Pep I thought we talked about this. You said we were good." Dad said.
"That was before you tried to use me as an excuse to avoid your daughter." Pepper said crossing her arms.
"Seriously dad, that's the best you could come up with?" I said.
"What?" He said confused.
"You double booked us on purpose so you could avoid facing me." I said.
"Honestly Tony, You're a parent act like it." Pepper said.
"I get that your mad at me but I'd rather you were upfront about it and not beat around the bush or drag Pepper into this."
"But you two were…" He said looking at each of us.
"We wanted to see how far you'd take this." Pepper said.
"And wow, you really let this one get out of hand." I said.
"So you two don't hate each other?" He said.
"God no." Pepper said.
"Course not." I said.
"But you two said…"
"She's a trust fund brat that's never worked a day in her life? Are you kidding she's the youngest double board certified surgeon in history and she works one hundred hours a week." Pepper said.
"That she's a gold-digger that doesn't know what she's doing? She put up with your crap and insanity for fifteen years before she finally got the title she deserved for the work she does. Stark industries is up twenty points from last quarter. She's awesome." I said.
"Aww thank you." Pepper said.
"Just giving credit where it's due." I said smiling. We looked over at dad where he stood dumbfounded.
"I think we broke your father." Pepper said.
"He's just in shock, give him a minute." I said.
"This is great…" He said with a tense smile. "We should sit down before the food gets cold."
"Sounds great." I said.
"How've you been?" dad asked.
"Busy, work, lab project… the usual." I said. Tracking down my brainwashed amnesiac soul mate while avoiding my other super soldier soul mate while keeping up the farce that is my marriage to my best friend is real.
"Still working on that app?" dad said.
"No actually I sold it." I said.
"You sold it? To who?" dad said.
"MIT" I said sipping my coffee.
"MIT bought it?"
"Yeah I offered it to MIT and Harvard for beta testing and Harvard made an offer. After I got out of my meeting MIT wanted to meet. I told them they talked on the phone and started a bidding war and MIT won." I said.
"People were fighting over you?" Pepper said.
"It was kind of weird but entertaining."
"What was the winning bid?" dad asked.
"Enough for me to buy myself a beach house in the Hamptons and still have a lot left over." I said.
"So one or two million?" Dad said.
"More like five…" I said.
"You got five million dollars from them?" Pepper said shocked.
"Yup," I said.
"Congrats?" dad said. "This calls for a toast."
"It's a little early. Maybe later." I said.
"You still coming tonight?" dad asked.
"Of course, I bought a dress and everything. Wren even brought his tux." I said.
"Right. How is Spinster?" Dad said begrudgingly.
"Tony." Pepper said giving him a look.
"He's good, Got promoted to Chief of the ER." I said.
"That's great." Pepper said. "Can't wait to put a face to the name."
"He's not that great." Dad said.
That made my stomach knot. "Things are going good." I said. "I actually wanted to say thank you for the wedding gift. Never thought I'd be dancing our first song to Elton John singing Rocket Man."
"Yeah, I heard he was in town and I knew a guy. Glad you liked it." He said.
"Do you have any pictures?" Pepper asked.
"Yeah I do," I said pulling out my phone. "I put all of them on the cloud. Just swipe right."
"That's your engagement ring?" She said looking at the first photo and then at my left ring finger.
"Yeah, it was a family heirloom Wren had stored somewhere." I said
"That's a beautiful ring." She said. "Big too."
"I know."
"I thought this was a farce?" dad said.
"It is." I answered.
"So why did he give you a family heirloom?"
"We were kind of on a time limit and had to make it look real." I said. "I'm giving it back after this is all over."
"And the wedding band?" Dad asked.
"Wren also picked it out." I said. "We split the responsibilities"
"Right," dad said. "You to put on a good show. Are you sure there's nothing you're forgetting to tell me?"
"No, why?"
"It's just the way you two look at each other and how you were so willing to pull this all together so fast, it looks like you're more than just friends." Pepper said.
"We're just close nothing else." I said.
"None of this looks forced. You two kissed?" dad said looking at the photo from the ceremony Jess took with my phone.
"Had to rehearse that." I said.
"Seriously?"
"Night before. Everything went well. I was cleared of all charges and Wren got a temporary work permit so we got time." I answered.
"That's good." Pepper said.
"What about you two? How've you both been?" I asked.
"Good." Pepper said. "Been traveling for work like always."
"I've been dealing with data mining the files Romanoff leaked to the internet. Had to put a firewall around them to keep that information out of the wrong hands." Dad said.
"How'd you manage that?" I asked. This was my in.
"Romanoff leaked them all in one place. I found the origin site and created a firewall and tracking algorithm to block them remotely for anyone who had downloaded them." He said.
"Nicely done." I said. "So if someone had downloaded them is there anyway to get past it?"
"Not without the key code which is locked in the server down in the lab." Dad answered.
"Well I have to get going, I have a dress fitting in half an hour." Pepper said. 'Tony do you have your Tux already?"
"Got dropped off this morning." Dad said.
"Perfect, Nora, It was good seeing you again. I'll see you later." Pepper said.
"Of course." I said.
"So you two are really okay?" dad asked.
"Yeah, I really can't believe you actually thought we were being serious." I said.
"Should I be worried that you two got along so fast?" He said.
"Only if you make us both mad at the same time." I said.
"That's going to be hard." He said making me laugh.
"So what's with the uh.." He said looking me up and down.
"It's spring. Besides this out fit is cute," I said.
"Makes you look younger." Dad said.
"Wren said something along those lines." I added making dad grimace. "Just say it."
"Say what?" dad said playing innocent.
"You know what?"
"I don't want to fight." Dad said.
"But you don't want me to mention Wren or even see him." I said.
"Just because that's what I want doesn't mean that's what I'm going to get is it?" dad said.
"He's a part of my life dad just like you are. He broke up with his girlfriend because she made him choose between her and me when he proposed. He saved my ass just like he's done many times before. You can hate him all you want but at the end of the day he's not going anywhere." I said.
"Are you sure you don't love him?" dad said.
"Of course I love Wren. I wouldn't have gone through any of this if I didn't. I'm just not in love with him." I said.
"Fair enough." Dad admitted.
"So what's this new project you're working on?" dad asked.
"You remember that scene from the Dark Knight Rises. The computer that turns every cell phone and electronic device into a sonar emitter? I'm trying to recreate it." I said.
"A device that can turn every electronic device in the city into a sonar emitter?" dad said.
"Essentially. It could give you an accurate depiction of a room and everyone in it with it." I said.
"Sounds…" he started.
"Awesome?"
"Like a potential weapon of mass destruction." Dad said.
"But it wouldn't be."
"In the wrong hands it could be." Dad retorted.
"It's not in the wrong hands, it's in mine." I said.
"Why would you even need something like this?"
"Threat assessments, Reconnaissance, Tracking." I said. "The possibilities are endless."
"I don't think that it's a good idea."
"Why not?" I argued.
"Because projects like this got me started in the weapon business and we both know how that ended." Dad said.
"I'm not going into the business dad it's a pet project." I said.
"A pet project that can bring a lot of attention to you and not the good kind." Dad said.
"dad…"
"Nora just please stop this before you get any further into it." He said.
"I'm not using it, I'm just tinkering." I defended
"Well stop tinkering because with us its never just toying around it's all or nothing. That's how I ended up with fifty three different suits and a dozen Iron Legion drones." He said.
"I'm trying to see if I could actually do it." I said.
"Nora…" dad said.
"Fine, I'll drop it. All my plans are going in the shredder and then burned. Happy?" I said.
"Very. Thank you." Dad said.
"Crap I got to get going. I have to go get ready for tonight." I said.
"You excited? It's the first time you're going to one of my parties." Dad said with a huge smile.
"Kind of, I like the theme you picked out. Masquerade, very classy." I said.
"That was all Pepper." Dad said.
"Well she's doing a bang up job." I said. "I'll see you later."
"Text me when you get here." Dad said.
"I will, doubt you'll recognize me any other way." I said.
"I can tell you apart in a crowd." Dad said.
"Probably not with what I'm wearing." I said.
"How bad could it be?" dad said.
That Night-
I showered and put on a robe as I started doing my make up. I kept it subtle and with a slightly smokey eyeshadow. Thanks to years of practice putting my hair into a braided updos for surgery, doing my hair up in an intricate braid style was the easiest part of my routine.
After I finished I put on the black backless lace gown with a silhouette neckline and my black heels.
"Nora can you give me a hand." Wren called out.
"Give me a minute." I said as I put on my earrings.
"Come on, you've been in there for over an hour. You never take this long to get ready." He called out.
"That's cuz I'm actually trying this time." I said.
"Would you relax, it's just a party." Wren said.
"I know but with what we have to do I can't help but feel a little anxious." I said walking out of the room to the living room where Wren was waiting. I walked towards him and took the cufflinks from his hands and helped him put them on.
"Whoa." He said.
"What, did I make them too tight of something?"
"No, just you look hot." Wren said. "I'm going to have to beat people up for the way they're going to look at you."
"Haha very funny. We both know I'm more than capable of dealing with a bunch of rich old guys with wandering eyes." I answered.
"That you are." Wren said with a smirk. "Do you mind?" He asked gesturing to the undone bowtie.
"Sure." I said before tying it up. "I actually need a hand."
"With what?" He asked.
"I need you to help me put the mask on. I don't want to get the adhesive all over my face and ruin my make up so would you mind?" I asked.
"Oh sure, good choice getting one that glues on." Wren said.
"Thanks I actually made it myself, the ones at the shop where too bulky." I said.
"The ties would have bothered you too." Wren said. "Okay, you're set."
"I have to say, we make one hot fake couple." I said.
"That we do. Let's get a picture, it's not often we're out of our scrubs" Wren said taking his phone out. After a few pictures we headed out.
We arrived at Avengers Tower where the gala was being held. Dad sent Happy to pick us up in a limo and he dropped us off where all the reporters were photographing the arriving guests.
Photographers pointed their cameras at us but when we wouldn't stop to talk to them and they realized we weren't really anyone important they stopped. As soon as we walked in we saw the set up and I have to say it was everything I expected Dad to put together.
The room had a giant stage with a band playing music. There was a giant dance floor in front of the stage with people dancing. Around the dance floor were round tables for about ten guests each. Dad, Pepper and a few of their guests were sitting in front and Wren and I were sitting at a table across from them. I pulled put my phone and texted dad that we had gotten there. He looked over at our table and I waved. He just stayed there staring at me.
My phone rang:
Who are you and what have you done with my daughter.
I responded:
Is it too much?
He texted back:
I think the old guy sitting across from you hasn't even noticed what color your eyes are and he hasn't stopped drooling either.
I looked over and saw the guy dad was talking about. I couldn't help but laugh.
"What's so funny?" Wren asked. I showed him the text Dad had just sent me and he smirked.
"Hello." Wren said getting their attention.
"Hi…" The guy that was drooling over me said.
"I'm Doctor Wren Spencer and this is my wife, Doctor Nora Spencer." Wren said.
"Pleasure, I'm William Holden of Holden and Reese Investments." He said.
"Nice to meet you" I answered politely.
"What brings you both here?" he asked.
"Same as you, helping the cause." Wren answered.
"Not a lot of doctors around here." He said.
"You got two right here." I said.
"What are you two, general practitioners, Pediatrician?" he asked.
"Trauma surgeon." Wren said.
"Cardio thoracic and trauma surgeon." I said.
"Oh, aren't you a little young?" he asked.
"Age is just a number, I was twenty one when I became CEO." Dad said as he walked towards us.
"Mr. Stark." William said standing up.
"Will, how's the stock?" dad asked.
"High," He said with a weird smile. "Very high."
"I'll tell Pepper you said that."
"I do miss our meetings." William said.
"Not as much as I do," dad said with an obviously fake smile.
"Has anyone brought you drinks?" dad asked.
"We just sat down." I said. He called a waiter over and they brought over glasses of champagne.
We chatted for a bit before dad went to go greet other guests. I followed Wren to the bar where we started scouting the area.
"What floor is the server on?" Wren asked.
"Right below us." I said.
"We need to get in there." Wren said.
"I can hack Jarvis and get us there. I can also make sure we aren't spotted but that's going to be hard considering dad keeps looking my way." Wren said.
"I have an idea." I said.
"You know how you hate attention?" Wren said.
"Yeah…"
"You're going to have to get over it. May I have this dance?" He said.
"Wren…"
"Come on, I taught you, I know you can do this." He said offering me his hand.
"Fine but if I end up dancing with someone that gropes my butt you're going to get it later." I threatened,
"I'll deal." Wren said. He led me to the dance floor and we reenacted our first dance. Every single spin, twirl and dip.
"All eyes on me, make it count" I said.
"That's going to have to wait." Wren said and I was confused.
"Mind if I cut in?" dad said coming over to us.
"Of course" Wren said stepping aside before going over and saving Pepper from dancing with William.
"I thought you couldn't dance." Dad asked as we started waltzing.
"I learned, couldn't have my first dance if I kept stepping on Wren's toes." I said.
"Wouldn't that be a sight." Dad said.
"Give him a chance, you two are actually a lot alike." I said.
"Really?"
"Both protective of me, both sarcastic and can be smartasses. Loyal…" I listed.
"I get it, I haven't exactly been fair to him but all things considered can you blame me?" dad said.
"the wedding was for both our sakes and I was thinking after the divorce I wouldn't go back to Martell…" I said.
"You'd keep his name?" Dad said.
"No, never liked having two first names."
"It's very British." Dad said.
"No I was thinking Nora Stark has a nice ring to it." I said and that made Dad stop for a minute.
"Are you serious?"
"It's still a couple of years away but its time." I said.
"Why the sudden change?" dad said after he spun me.
"I've been thinking a lot and we've both been put through the ringer the past few years and through it all we've been there supporting each other, it's time to honor that the best way I thought was fitting." I said.
"So Stark, not hyphenating with Martell or Spencer?"
"My middle name is mom's name I thought it might be time to have something that's my Dad's"
"We're probably going to have to have a press conference. Are you up for that?"
"I have two years to get ready." I said. "By then Wren will either be a citizen or the shortage of medical professionals will get to the point they can't afford to send him away."
"It'll all work out." Dad said.
"I hope so."
"This is where I leave you." Dad said.
"Go be a good host." I said.
"I'm an awesome host." He said.
"I've noticed." I said. Wren came to my side and we went to grab a drink.
"Tony just called me by my first name. What did you tell him?" Wren said.
"I gave him a specific day for the big day." I said.
"Our divorce?"
"The day I start going by my actual name." I said.
"Oh, that explains the smile." Wren said.
"Yeah, last time I saw a smile that big was when I changed the radio to ACDC when I was four." I said.
"I can get it."
"Bar." I said.
We ordered drinks and just as we were about to get to our plan dad had to make an announcement.
"Hey everyone, on behalf of Stark industries we want to thank you all for your donations to the victims of the Battle of Washington DC. Here to say a few words on the matter…"
Before Dad could say anything else my head started hurting, it was intense and my ears started ringing. I grabbed onto Wrens arm and squeezed it getting his attention.
"Nora." He said making sure I was okay.
"Head hurts, ears… ringing." I said
"Captain Steve Rogers." Dad said.
"Shit" Wren said. "Do we have a code Cronus?"
"No… just pain." I said rubbing my temples.
"Excuse me can we get a glass of water?" Wren asked the bartender. "Drink" he said handing it to me. I drank the water but it didn't do much for migraine.
"Walk me to the restroom, then go." I said.
"You sure?" He said.
"No time like the present." I said. Wren sighed and helped me up. We walked to the restroom. Wren kept an arm around me to make sure I wouldn't bump into anyone until we got to the restroom.
"Don't get in the elevator until it rings three times." I said.
"You sure you're up for this?" Wren asked.
"I got it go." I said. Wren hesitated but left anyways.
I walked into the bathroom and locked my self into one of the stalls. I pulled my phone out and started hacking Jarvis. I helped update and essentially knew the code for the AI almost as well as I knew Friday's. I hacked in and turned off all the security cameras and sent Wren an elevator. The rest was up to him. I stood in the stall catching my breath and making sure dad wouldn't be alerted when Wren got the code.
I heard people walking and someone standing by the sink in front of the mirror.
'I warned you Nora' Aya's voice echoed in my head.
'Stop talking, you lost that right when you lied' I thought.
'You have to leave." She said as I started getting the chills.
'Not this time.' I said. I focused on gathering all the energy I could and pushing it back inside of me. I felt cold and like someone had pushed the air out of my lungs. I coughed a bit before turning around and throwing up. By the time I finally stopped I had gotten a text from Wren saying it was done.
I got out of the stall and went to rinse my mouth out at the sink when I saw someone I was not expecting.
The blonde agent from the future was standing in front of the sink trying to fix her hair and mask.
"Uh, why can't this thing stay up?" She said to herself. I rinsed my mouth out and dried my hands before getting my clutch.
"Need a hand?" I offered.
"No it's fine thank you I just can't get this thing up." She said referring to her mask.
"Here." I said reaching into my clutch and pulling out a bunch of bobby pins.
"Oh thank you." She said. She still couldn't get it right.
"Okay, I see the problem." I said. "May I?"
"Why not?" She said putting her hands down.
I grabbed the mask and threaded the ribbon through her hair and put pins to hold it on place. Four bobby pins later and it was done.
"There you go, how's it feel?" I said.
"That's great thank you." She said giving me a small smile
"No problem," I said. I looked down and saw a drop of blood land on the ground. What the hell? Then I realized it was coming from my nose. "Shit." I said
I went over to the stall and grabbed a bunch of tissues to clean up the blood. I was washing my hands went I saw that some of the blood landed on my holosleeve. I tried cleaning it up but it short-circuited.
"Damn." I said taking it off. I hate these things some times. Lucky for me I always carried a spare. I pulled it out of my clutch and pulled it on but not before I caught the blonde staring at my wrist.
"Excuse me." I said walking out.
I went over to the bar and waited for Wren to find me. Except you'll never guess who I ran into.
"Hello love." I heard a very familiar British accent.
"Aiden?" I asked.
"So you do recognize me?" He said.
"What a surprise?" I said.
"The surprise is all mine. I never thought I'd run into you here in New York or let alone at an event like this." He said smiling. I didn't like the way he was looking at me.
"It was a last minute thing, my husband and I were in the area and a friend invited us to come along." I said.
"Your husband's here. I can finally put a face to the name." Aiden said.
"I'm sure you will." I said. I looked over at the other side of the bar and saw Steve sitting there talking to a friend I think when the girl from the restroom walked up to him and pulled him into a kiss. Steve was caught by surprised but returned the kiss. When they finally separated she hugged him and looked over at me. She wanted me to see them together. I guess he moved on… three years of being hung up on someone that didn't love me as much as I loved him. What was I expecting? Wait I was expecting this, I just never thought I'd actually see it in person.
"Nora, you alright love?" Aiden asked.
"Uh yeah, just not used to all of this. I'm kind of a bit tired." I said.
"Shame I was going to ask for a dance." He said.
"Don't think that'll be necessary." Wren said as he walked toward us. "You okay?" He asked as he put a protective arm around my shoulders.
"I'm fine don't worry." I said "So Wren this is Aiden, he's the winner of that date auction back in January. Aiden this is my husband Wren."
"Oh we've met love don't worry, isn't that right brother?" Aiden said.
"Brother?" I asked confused. Wren never mentioned any family.
"Aiden…" Wren said giving him a look.
"Wren never told you? I'm hurt brother." Aiden said.
"You're nothing of mine, stay the hell away from us." Wren said tightening his grip on me.
"Don't worry, I have business to attend to. I'll be seeing you soon." He said before walking away.
"What the hell was that?" I said.
"There's something I need to tell you." Wren said.
"No shit, you have some serious explaining to do." I said. I looked over to the elevators and saw Steve walking inside with the blonde from before wrapped around his arm.
"I'll tell you everything just not here, please." He said.
"Fine, but I want answers, no bullshit." I said.
"Promise" He said.