Disclaimer: I only own Rory.
~R~
The next day Rory awoke to the smell of coffee and bacon being made in the kitchen. She sat up and stretched before swinging her legs over the side of the bed to stand up. She entered the kitchen to find Steve in front of the stove flipping pancakes. She walked over to his side and opened the cabinet getting a coffee cup. Steve looked over at her with a smile as he flipped another pancake. Rory smiled back and poured herself some coffee.
"Good morning." Steve said setting the spatula down.
"Morning, you know it's nice not having to cook for once. I might just keep you around." She said taking a sip of coffee. She winked at Steve causing him to blush and turn back to the pancakes.
Rory chuckled and took a seat at the island watching Steve cook. She twirled the cup of coffee in her hands as she thought over about keeping him around. After talking to Pepper yesterday and finding out that she has feelings for Steve she had to tell him. Pepper even agreed and said if she didn't tell him she would do it for her. She was brought from her thoughts when a plate with two pancakes and some bacon was set in front of her.
"Is everything all right?" Steve asked as he took a seat beside her.
"Yeah, I was just thinking about something Pepper told me yesterday." She replied picking up the knife and buttering her pancakes. She handed the knife to Steve and reached for the syrup only for Steve to grab it out of her reach. Rory playfully glared up at him and stood up to grab it only to fail again.
"Steve!" she laughed as she continued to reach for the syrup. She sat down and huffed as Steve chuckled at her expression. However, his smile disappeared as he handed her the syrup.
"Listen, Rory, we need to talk." He said.
Rory paused and looked over at him. She could tell he was fighting with himself inside, but over what she didn't know.
"What about?"
"Us." He simply replied. Rory didn't have to say anything to know where this was going. She just wasn't expecting it to occur now. Sighing, Rory set the syrup down and turned on her barstool to face him. They silently stared at each other waiting for one to speak. A blush spread across Steve's face as he locked eyes with Rory.
"I…I was wondering if you would be my…girlfriend." Steve said looking away after finishing.
Rory didn't move or say anything for what seemed to be a long time. Steve took a chance and looked at her to find her smiling brightly.
"Are you asking me out?" she asked even though she already knew the answer.
"Yes."
"Of course, Steve. I will be your girlfriend." She smiled reaching over and hugging him. Steve smiled and hugged her back before she pulled away.
As they began eating their breakfast the phone started ringing. Rory set her fork down and went to answer it. Steve looked over when he heard her shout an all too familiar name.
"Tony! Don't you hang up on me! Tony! Damn it." She shouted slamming the phone back into the cradle. She walked back into the kitchen with a scowl on her face.
"What did he do now?" Steve asked taking a bite of bacon.
"That jerk installed camera's in my home." She grumbled stabbing her pancake. "I seriously think he has a death wish."
Steve nodded and stood up to put his plate in the dishwasher. He turned around and leaned against the counter as he watched Rory finish eating. When she was finished she pushed her plate away and started looking around the kitchen. She climbed up onto the counter to look on top of the fridge. Her eyes caught something on the back corner of the fridge and she smirked.
"Gotcha." She said pulling the camera from its perch.
"No, no, no don't pull that! You'll ruin the camera!" Tony's voice filtered through the room.
Rory yelped as she lost her footing and headed for the floor. She reached out and grabbed the counter creating a bridge. She lifted her head to find Steve ready to catch her if need be. She slowly lowered herself from her position and sighed.
"I'll be right back." She said leaving the kitchen. Steve could see her perfectly from the kitchen as she picked up the phone.
"Hello, Pepper, about that party tonight it's not a fancy one is it?"
"Actually it is. Sorry I thought I told you that. Don't worry about going out to get a dress. There should be one in your closet. I've got to go, there's still some planning that needs finishing."
"All right, we'll see you tonight. Bye." She said hanging up.
"Tony's throwing another party?" Steve asked walking up behind her.
"Yes and it is a formal party. I hope you have a tux. Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to clean up." Rory said giving Steve a quick peck on the cheek before heading for her room.
~R~
The day went by relatively quickly. Rory spent the day lounging around her home reading a book while Steve had disappeared for a few hours. When he came home he was carrying a bag over his arm. Rory looked up from her book when the door closed and spotted the store name on the bag.
"I would have gone with you." She said marking her place with her finger.
"I'm already regretting not asking you to come along. I've not had so many women surround me at once before…" he said sitting next to her.
"Well then, let's just hope none of them will be at Tony's party tonight, or I will never hear the end of it." She said sitting up.
Rory looked over at the clock and jumped up. The book fell to the floor with a thud as she ran from the room. Steve went to follow her when the bedroom door bounced off the wall.
"Rory is everything all right?" he asked as she tossed a bag onto the bed and frantically grabbed items.
"Pepper is going to kill me! I'm gonna be late." She said flinging the closet open and grabbing the dress bag and shoes.
Steve moved out of the way as Rory swung the bag over her shoulder and ran out of the room. He followed her down the hallway and into the living room as she pulled on her shoes, grabbed her keys and wallet before turning to face him.
"You, get your bag and come on. Tony wants all the guys there before the other guests arrive." She said motioning to the bag sitting on the couch. Steve quickly grabbed the bag and followed her out the door locking it as she ran to the car. Rory jumped into the driver's seat as Steve rode shotgun. She started the car and sped down the street to Stark Tower.
"You're late." Pepper said with her arms crossed.
"Sorry, I lost track of time. You know how I can be sometimes." Rory answered pocketing the keys.
~R~
Day slowly turned into night as Rory and Steve mingled with a bunch of people they didn't know. Sure the other Avengers were there but that didn't help much. Clint and Natasha sat at the table with Rory and Steve just people watching. Bruce was doing his best to hide from the crowd and make his grand escape back to his lab, but Tony found him first. Rory had leaned closer to Steve whispering something in his ear when her eyes landed on someone by the bar. She slowly leaned away from Steve and focused on the man.
"Rory, is everything alright?" Steve asked.
"I know him," Rory replied motioning her head to the bar.
Steve followed her gaze and furrowed his brow. That man looked familiar but he couldn't place where he had seen him. When realization dawned on him, the man had approached their table and stood in front of Rory. Steve watched as the man smiled and offered his hand to Rory.
"Would you like to dance?" he asked.
Rory looked at the man's hand and then up at Steve whose face hardened. She gently nudged his side.
"It'll be fine, Steve," she reassured him before standing up. Rory paused before taking the man's hand and turned back to Steve. She leaned down and whispered in his ear. "Find Tony and have him evacuate everyone, except for the SHIELD agents."
She placed a kiss on his cheek before taking the man's hand and walking to the center of the dance floor. Rory placed her left arm on his shoulder while he placed his left hand on her left hip and gently grasped her right hand. When they were ready, the man led. Rory kept her eyes focused on the man before her. His hair was shoulder length and brown while his eyes were two different colors; the right was green and the left was brown. She also took in facial features, a well-trimmed beard, and a small scar barely visible underneath his right eye.
"It's not polite to stare," he said, his smooth deep voice gracing her ears.
"Sorry, I couldn't help myself. I feel like we've met before but I can't remember where," she replied looking away and over at Steve. When she saw he was gone she turned her eyes back to the man before her. Rory's brow furrowed when the man leaned toward her ear, his lips brushing against it. Her breath caught in her throat at what he said next.
"Faustus sends his regards."
Rory's reaction wasn't quick enough as he spun her around and pulled her close to his body, his left arm around her throat. She saw Tony had done as Steve told him and had everyone leave except for the SHIELD agents and Avengers.
"So everyone is clear, no one can leave this room unless someone wants to die," Faustus' voice said over the intercom.
Rory rolled her eyes. She was getting really tired of Faustus showing up and ruining everything. She was done dealing with him and wanted this to end tonight.
"Come out and fight us yourself Faustus! Unless you're too scared!" Rory shouted causing the man to tighten his arm around her neck.
"If you know what's good for ya, you'd shut up."
Rory tried to squirm out of the man's grasp, but he didn't budge. In fact he smirked and tightened his hold on her causing her to gasp. She clawed at his arm drawing a few speckles of blood.
"Rory, remember what I taught you!" Natasha shouted.
The room seemed to go still as Rory thought back to her training with Nat. When the technique returned to her she smirked and shot Natasha the all-knowing look. Within a matter of seconds Rory had the man on the ground and pinned. She pulled back her fist, and with one harsh blow knocked him out. Rory picked herself up and made her way over to Steve and the others, but a tug at the bottom of her dress stopped her. Her eyes trailed back over to the man on the floor but it wasn't him.
"Guys…are you seeing this?" she asked when she couldn't move.
"It's my newest creation, or one that I stole from Stark. Do you wish to explain Stark or shall I?"
"It's a cloaking device. I was making it for you, Rory," Tony explained before running over to the bar.
"What are my chances in locating them then?"
"Slim to none unless your training included tracking."
"I was in the military, Tony. I should be able to track someone…" Rory deadpanned. She turned around to where whoever had a hold of her dress stood. She focused her eyes on the spot in front of her and swung a fist.
Nothing.
She stumbled forward when she was pushed from behind. Rory cursed under her breath and spun around. Each time she turned a punch hit her face, stomach, side and back. Whoever this person was they were fast. Rory couldn't keep up. She turned one last time and was sent flying across the room into the tables. Steve called out to her as she went to stand up. He watched as her hair had come loose from the braid Pepper did and fell in her face. A thin line of blood trailed down the side of her mouth. The look in her eyes was animalistic and it worried Steve. The only time he had seen that expression was when she was under Faustus' control.
"Rory…" he breathed. Rory kicked off the heels and blew the hair from her face as her eyes danced across the room. Every now and then she caught sight of a small flicker of movement. The cloaking device was slowly malfunctioning. The sound of chains reached her ears and she ducked. The air above her air swished as the chains missed their mark. Rory somersaulted out of the way and over to the bar grabbing a bottle. She ripped off the top and when the sound of chains reached her ears she tossed the bottle, the liquid flying out and landing on the person. Rory ran toward the cloaked person and tackled them to the floor. They wrestled as they rolled around the floor. Rory harshly pinned the person to the ground and punched them multiple times until they stopped moving. Steve ran over and picked Rory up off the person and held on to her.
"Tony, who is it?" Steve asked.
Tony removed the mask and jumped back. There on the floor lay Faustus. Rory's eyes landed on the man and she calmed down. Maybe now her nightmare would be over.
"I'm glad to see he's finally been incapacitated. Took long enough," Fury said approaching the man. The remaining SHIELD agents collected Faustus and took him away. "Rory, I want you to know we'll keep an eye on him now. You should be able to rest easy. Take care of yourself."
"Thank you, Fury."
"And Rory, when you and Steve have a moment come find me. I have a mission for you two and Natasha."
"How does everyone feel about calling it a night? I think we've had too much excitement for a while," Tony said.
"That's a surprise, Tony Stark canceling a party," Natasha said earning a couple laughs.
"We'll help clean up, Tony," Rory said only to be stopped by the billionaire.
"No, you and Steve should head home. Besides you've had a long night and should probably clean yourself up."
Rory looked at Steve who nodded and pulled her along. Steve and Rory walked in silence until they reached her home. Rory unlocked the door and walked inside and over to the island. She took a seat and sighed. Steve walked over and grabbed the first aid kit from a nearby cabinet. He took a seat opposite Rory and proceeded to patch her up.
"Thank you, Steve," She said.
"For what?"
"For sticking by me, even when you've seen me at my worst."
"Rory, what Faustus did to you made you act that way and I'm just glad to have you back and safe. Now let's get you cleaned up and changed so we can go see what Fury wants."
Rory smiled and let Steve finish cleaning her wounds. Once he was done she went and changed into a pair of jeans, a tank top and she threw on a leather jacket and boots.
~R~
"Rory, Steve, come in. Now this mission will require us to move to Washington, DC. That's where SHIELD headquarters is. I want you two to accompany me."
"If you don't mind my asking, sir, but what for?" Rory asked.
"I have a bad feeling something is big is about to happen and I want two of the best soldiers by my side. Are you in?"
Steve and Rory looked at each other and then back at Fury.
"We're in," Steve answered.
"Good. Now go pack your bags and come back here. We leave in two hours. I'll see you then."
Rory and Steve stood up and left Fury's office. As they were walking down the hall Rory spoke up.
"I've never been to DC. It should be fun."
"Just remember we'll have a job to do," Steve smiled.
"I know but a girl can look," she laughed. Rory stopped Steve and kissed him before they continued on their way. They had no idea what awaited them in DC, but they would soon find out.
~R~
I'm sorry if this seems rushed. I completely put this story on the back burner for a long time and now that the Winter Soldier is out and the Avengers Age of Ultron I figured it was time to end this story and proceed to the next two. I'll work on a sequel in the near future so be on the lookout!