...

"You know what?" Fury remarked, walking up towards me the moment I stood back up from the sofa. "Fine. You want those two to walk away from this, no charges? I can do that. Hell, I might even be able to get Banner over there a pardon."

Bruce's eyes, unsurprisingly, widened at the words, while Jane for whatever reason seemingly grabbed my hand, her own gaze unnaturally focused on the agent.

"But you." The man continued, pointing a finger. "You, I want on my heel. 'cos I sure as hell ain't letting you change your mind on a whim to go to the wrong side."

I blinked, crossing my arms.

"That's not what we agreed on."

"I didn't agree to anything." The man remarked.

To the side, I could see Stark idly shrug as he took another sip.

I uncrossed my arms and slowly started pacing around the man. "This means you believe me then?"

"Call it a benefit of the doubt. Because as much as you irritate me right now, I really don't want this to bite me in the ass."

I hummed along to the words, it was admittedly better than I'd expected.

"And if I refuse?" I questioned.

The man sneered.

"Then my next phone call goes to Ross Snr telling him his little Hulk problem's back in the states, while your girl spends the next few years under a microscope for dealing with a potential Hydra agent."

I narrowed my eyes as Tony Stark promptly got up from his seat.

Nick Fury immediately turned towards the man. "Don't. Seriously. Just don't, I am not in a forgiving mood right now Stark."

The man narrowed his eyes in response. "I don't care. That's bullshit and you know it-"

Nick Fury scoffed. "According to your man right here, I apparently don't know shit!"

I wasn't particularly sure, in truth, of what to really do in this scenario. I'd given Banner my word that he'd get some sort of help, and Nick Fury had practically handed that on a silver platter. Not to mention I knew for a fact he wasn't joking about screwing with Jane's life over having interacted with me for a day and a half.

"You really think I could be Hydra?" I settled for questioning calmly.

"If everything you just said is true, then you know way too much shit about them not to be. Especially if you actually didn't hack into anything to get it."

I stopped pacing, and looked him in the eye, a small smirk growing on my face.

"I get it." I snorted. "I come with you when you start collecting, and you get to find out first hand if they know me or not."

"Look at that, you are smart."

Tony Stark chose that moment to butt in.

"Hold on, if he was Hydra, why the hell would he tell you anything in the first place?"

I raised an eyebrow at my employer, admittedly amused.

"People change sides all the time," I remarked at the same time as Nick Fury. I promptly shrugged at the unnerving look the agent gave me in response. "Alright, I'll play ball. But on two conditions. I only need to be on your heel when you're chasing down Hydra agents, otherwise, I am free as a bird." When the man made to protest, "The second condition. I want Steve Rogers out and about as soon as possible."

"...Why?" Nick Fury settled for questioning at the expression on my face. "And that's not to say I agree with the first."

"It's the best you're gonna get, you're not exactly fun company to be around. And if you try to pull anything to go against it, then even if you manage to deal with your Hydra problem, you won't see a damn hint of cooperation from me in the future."

"..." He locked gazes with me, another staring contest promptly initiated as neither of us backed down. "You still haven't answered why."

I shrugged. "Because if we're gonna do this, then I want someone on my side who won't have any qualms about taking down Hydra agents over personal matters. Someone who won't ask me one hundred and one questions every step of the way."

"That makes me less inclined to bring him out if he's even alive. Because rest assured, I'll be asking you a thousand and one questions."

I shrugged.

"Yeah, but you'll also have to deal with an impatient war-hero who gave up most of his future to put down that syndicate. And I know damn well you're going to bring him out of ice even if he'd pissed on your mother's grave."

"Watch yourself." Nick Fury grit his teeth.

"Just as I know the moment you heard that he might actually be out there, you already plan on making him an Avenger."

"And let me guess." The man immediately responded. "You want in yourself?"

I scoffed, chuckling out loud at the thought.

"And actually have to work for you? Not on your life."

Annoyance, as well as something else, seemed to flash across the man's eyes as he took in my expression before he begrudgingly nodded.

"I can agree to that. But even when you're out of my direct sight, I am still keeping an eye on you at all times. And that's non-negotiable."

I rolled my eyes.

"Jeez, I knew you were into hentai but I didn't take you for a voyeur too."

Tony Stark, quite literally, just broke, the man letting out uneven snorts as he tried to hold in his laughter.

"Have I told you how much I love this guy?" The man couldn't help himself.

Jane Foster promptly covered her face as Bruce Banner turned towards her, the man mouthing something I couldn't actually read to her.

Natasha Romanov let out a single snort and accidentally broke the champagne glass in her hand.

Nick Fury blinked once, tilted his head, and promptly grabbed me by the shirt.

"Motherfucker. What did you just say to me?"

"You heard what I said."

"I did. And right now, I want you to think very carefully about your next answer. Because if it's the wrong one, I-"

"What?" I snorted. "You're going to show me a Kree dick?"

Unsurprisingly, no one but the man himself seemed to get the reference, though I had a feeling Stark was picturing the wrong thing entirely.

Nick Fury blinked once. Twice, and promptly let go.

"I get it. You think you're a funny guy. You think that all of this is a goddamn joke. Well, let me be clear-"

I held up a hand.

"Put that hand down, this ain't a classroom-"

I shrugged, put it down, and spoke over him anyway.

"You're right. I do think it's a joke, so I am going to treat it like one. But not because I think I am funny." I remarked taking a step closer to the man, bringing myself face to face with him. "Rather because this Hydra issue? This Captain America on ice- Your fetishes-"

The man let out a terse breath through his nose, but surprisingly enough let me continue.

"It all means nothing, and I mean literally nothing. Because right now, headed towards earth- Might not be in the next year, hell it might even take a decade and a half before it happens but it's happening."

"And what's that?" The man questioned through grit teeth, his breath hitting me in the face. Surprisingly, it smelt of mint. Which was definitely not what I'd expected.

"They're coming. Aliens, gods, and threats this planet is so not ready to deal with, and at the end of the line, is one bad motherfucker, whose goal is to wipe out half the population of the damn universe."

A narrowed, albeit extremely wary expression met me in response.

"So yeah, I might not take this seriously, but that's only 'cos there's way bigger fish coming our way." I took a step back and crossed my arms. "And as much as I might trust Stark to make the right call, this isn't one a single man should make. So no offense, but, the last thing I want to do is put the fate of the entire goddamn universe in-" I pointed towards a very wary Stark. "-his hands. And if you don't get your shit together, Fury, that's exactly where it's gonna go."

And, for perhaps the first time since he'd shown up. Nick Fury believed every word I'd just said, given the 'oh-shit' expression that promptly took over his face as he turned towards Stark.

...

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