Hey Guys! here is chapter 2! up and ready to go, sorry it took a little bit longer than normal.
As always, Read, Review, and Enjoy!
(8/6 Update) Hey guys, it's been brought to my attention that some pieces got jumbled up in the upload, I've gone back and fixed it and now this chapter is how it should be, a huge thank you for bringing it to me!)
Chapter 2
I spent some more time in my office. I was on my way to the car when Happy informed me that tonight was my parent's date night. While I was happy that they were together and everything was working, I was not about to be witness to their date night. Ew.
So I made camp back into my office and started to continue making my way through the paperwork I had left.
I closed the file I was working on and stretched, I spun around and saw that the sun had already set and it was getting really dark outside. I rubbed my eyes and stood up. I stretched my legs by walking around the room when my phone started a familiar tune.
"Miss me already?" I teased the person on the other line as I flopped back in my chair.
"Actually…. Yes" he replied honestly.
Blood rushed to my cheeks at his answer "me too" I confessed.
"How are you doing?"
I thought about it for a moment, normally I would give me standard answer, the one everyone expected out of me, but with Steve, I never felt like that. I never felt the pressure to be consistently on and ready for whatever could happen. It was a nice change of pace. With my dad, it was this constant edge of needing to be ready for whatever he was going to say or do. With Peter our meetings were always almost over before they began, our friendship was strong, but distance. But with Steve, I could be relaxed and say what I wanted. "Better" I answer, "still have moments where I want to drown my sorrows but they are happening less and less."
"I'm glad" he responded, I could hear the relief in his tone.
"I think I'm going to head back pretty soon though," I admitted.
"Really?" Steve chuckled, "all I hear is how much you miss it and now you want to come back."
"I did miss it," I defended with a smile on my face, "I missed my family, and I will always miss the beach when I'm not there, but I can't help this feeling of being a stranger in my home"
"I get that," Steve said, "you are an entirely different person then you were when you left."
"Ya" I said sadly "got it in one" my heart tugging a little. I placed my hand on my chest to rub away the pain. Steve was taking what happened to him like a champ but I couldn't help how bad I felt for him, how much I wished that he didn't have to sacrifice something so big like that. Because I wasn't sure if I could ever make that decision.
"I knocked out a few of the things that you put on my list" Steve said, diverting the attention away from our sad topic.
"Oh really?" I asked excitedly, perking up in my seat. "What did you do?"
"I had falafel and watched The Lion King" he sated proudly.
"What did you think?" I questioned back excitedly; we had had several conversations on the perk of Disney movies and how you were never to old for them.
A knock on the door however, drew my attention away from Steve's reaction to see my dad standing in the doorway. Years of spending time with anyone can fine-tune you to their inner workings, how they show or hide their thoughts and emotions. And every sensor I had tuned to him was blaring. "Hey champ," I breathed out, stopping his analysis of the movie. "I've got to, I'll call you back"
"Is everything ok?" his asked, immediately picking up on my distress.
"I don't know I'll call you later" I said hanging up on him and looking at my dad.
Dad was looking at his feet but as soon as my conversation was over he cleared his throat and my eye contact with me, "it's Happy," he said.
"True story about fortune cookies. They look Chinese. They sound Chinese. But they're actually an American invention. Which is why they're hollow, full of lies and leave a bad taste in the mouth"
I hated waking up in hospitals, had had enough of them for my entire life, but the opposite. Sitting in one these uncomfortable chairs watching someone I loved, someone who was apart of almost every childhood memory I had, was worse. I could hear the press outside, waiting with their cameras and crew hoping that one of us would break down and cause a scene in our grief.
"How did this happen?" I asked, my attention on Happy, his limp hand encased in mine, "how does someone sneak a bomb into a tourist attraction without raising any alarms?"
"How much do you know about the Mandarin?" my dad asked, he had taken his solace in a chair slightly in the corner.
"What the public knows," I answered, feeling shame at the fact that this Mandarin, this terrorist was running around blowing things up and I was hiding in a farmhouse feeling sorry for myself.
"Does SHIELD have any more information?" he pressed.
I blinked back tears, "I don't know," I confessed in a whisper, squeezing Happy's hand.
Frustration radiated from my father in his movements as I tried my hardest to ignore it.
A nurse came in and started to check Happy's vitals, I leaned back to give her some space, but I wouldn't let go of his hand. We had turned on Downton Abby, which was his favorite show. A carrot for Happy to come out of his coma. The nurse picked up the remote and went to turn it off.
"Do you mind leaving that on?" my dad asked.
The nurse looked startled at seeing the two of us sitting here, and I don't blame her. We were on the side making no noise with the lights off. It was easy to assume we had gone. "Sure" she agreed setting the remote back where it was.
We stared at her as she finished and left us alone. A few more moments of silence and my dad stood up. I remained sitting, still staring at the man who taught me how to throw a punch at guys who were giving me a hard time. Dad had left and soon it was just the two of us.
"We're gonna get him" I whispered to Happy "I promise, no one can hurt one of us without getting caught"
Happy didn't respond.
I patted the top of his hand and leaned back in my seat. I needed to get in contact with SHIELD and see what they had on this guy. I started to run through people I could call.
My go to was Phil but he was dead.
Clint was vacation and I think so was Natasha
Fury wouldn't give me anything concrete
And Steve hadn't accepted Fury's offer to work for them yet
I could re-infiltrate SHIELD using Agent Ford but I wanted to call upon those alliances and friends we had made in New York, I wanted to be upfront and honest with these people, not sneak in and steal what I needed to know. I scrolled through my eclectic collection of names and codename when I finally came across one that might help. I pressed the call button and pressed the phone to my ear, "please, please, answer" I prayed as it started ringing.
"This is Hill?" she stated in a question.
"Agent Hill, this is Scarlett Stark" I rushed out.
"Miss Stark?" she asked, "How did you get this number?"
"It's Scarlett and that is not the point, can you tell me what you guys have on the Mandarin?" I begged.
"I can't give you that information," she said.
"Please" I begged, "this bastard hurt someone in my family"
"And how are you going to help this situation?" she asked.
"The same way I single handedly found my father" I stated my determination growing in my tone, "when I want someone found, I find them."
I heard a sigh before a moment of silence. "He takes over every channel in America" she said "even premium ones you have to pay for. We can't figure out how he hijacks everyone and the same time. The signal runs through not just several but hundreds of servers that change with every broadcast and we can't track his location. But he has to have help from someone based in America. We're looking at different groups with religious or philosophical view that skew towards the same as him, but so far nothing."
I processed this information and all of my feelings started to get pushed down. Here was a problem that I could work on. I could focus all of my attention on it.
"Thank you" I said soberly.
"You owe me one" she replied before hanging up.
"I'm gonna get him" I promised Happy again before standing up and making my way out of the hospital room. The roar of the reporters had simmered down which lead me to believe that my dad had left. "Excuse me" I softly got the attention of the nurse who was standing by Happy's door.
"Yes" she said.
"Uncle Happy is a stickler for rules" I explained, "Can you make sure everyone is wearing their badges,"
She gave me a placating smile. "Sure honey."
I walked out of the hospital and hailed a taxi to take me home.
I walked into the front door of my house and I heard arguing. I sighed as I went to see what was going on.
"Dad?" I asked seeing mom with a bag and some women in the front room "what's going on?"
"Your father" Pepper seethed. "Announced our address on TV and told the Mandarin to come and get him."
"I'm sorry?" I asked looking at my dad "are you dying again? Because that's the only way I can imagine you doing something so stupid"
"I'm going to end this," my dad said "my way"
"Tony" the women said, "We need to get out of here"
"Couldn't agree with you more random stranger" I said glancing at the women.
The women glanced at me and opened her mouth to introduce when pepperinterrupted.
"Scar, you've got a surprise in the kitchen, make it quick and pack a bag, we're leaving." She snapped.
I raised an eyebrow, but she used her scary voice that she only uses on dad when he's done something wrong. I turned to head to the kitchen when something stops me in my tracks.
"Is that a bunny?" I asked.
Dad huffed, "yes, it's a big bunny, relax about it!" he yelled. "and deal with what's in the kitchen."
I jumped at his yelling and scampered into the kitchen.
"Geesh" I huffed to myself.
"That's one big argument you've got going on in there," a voice agreed with me.
I jumped and spun around, my arms up in some weird fighting position. I relaxed however when I realized who it was.
"You came?" I whispered.
"Of course I did" Steve said as he stepped forward to wrap me in a hug.
I returned the hug eagerly and pressed my face into his shoulder to keep the tears away.
We broke apart and I couldn't keep the smile off of my face. "What are you doing here?" I asked, needing to know what he was thinking before I jumped to conclusions.
"You told me about Happy and I thought I would be here for you," he explained, "I had just landed when your father's announcement was broadcasted. I showed up here and they threw me in the kitchen."
I cringed, "I'm sorry for how dad treated you, I'm sure it wasn't pleasant" I apologized.
"Nah" Steve said rubbing the back of his neck, it's nothing he wasn't too bad" he deflected.
I raised an eyebrow at him "you should get better at lying," I said.
Steve laughed and the two of us turned to go back into the living room when I was suddenly shoved.
"Look out" I heard someone yell.
And the kitchen exploded.