Hi, sorry I didn't upload this earlier but I have had a busy day. So Thor screwed up, eh? Anyway, this is more about Tony and Alexia than the story, though they still aren't together. That's going to take a little longer, sorry! It is going to be quite slow, as I want to establish the characters.
Disclaimer: I own no one from Marvel Comics or the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I only own my OC's.
Chapter 5: Don't Lie To Lexy
"Well done, O mighty thunder god," Tony mocked irritably.
"Why do you care so much, Stark? You didn't even want her on the team," Steve shouted.
"Just because I didn't want her working with us doesn't mean I didn't like her!" He retorted.
"You could have made that clearer," Steve snorted.
"You-"
"Guys! Shut up!" Clint yelled.
The lab was once again silent as everyone bowed their heads. They may have been unsure when they first met, but almost everyone liked the fun, friendly 28 year-old and enjoyed having her around. Her bubbly personality was talkative at the right times and serious when the situation needed it.
"I apologize for my mistake," Thor mumbled quietly.
"It's not your fault, Thor. She probably would've found out eventually," Bruce consoled.
"We could go after her?" Steve thought aloud.
"She probably needs some space," Clint sighed.
They heard the soft whoosh of the elevator doors and swung around to see Tony in the elevator. They were about to stop him when the door clamped shut and by the time they reached them, Steve knew Stark was already on his way down.
"Jarvis? Where's the nearest body of water?" Tony asked quickly.
"The nearest natural water source is in Central Park, but if you are looking for Miss Brookes, she will not be there," Jarvis responded.
"Where will she be then?" Tony pressed.
"While in the elevator, she said that she needed to clear her head. I would take that to mean she was going to the East riverside, seeing as it is her favourite place," Jarvis explained.
"I'd ask how you know that, but sometimes I'd really rather stay ignorant," Tony muttered.
"She mentioned it over dinner," Jarvis answered.
"... Oh," Tony said, "Anyway, just take me to the ground floor."
Jarvis obliged and the doors slid open. Tony hurried out, ignoring security and storming outside. He saw an expensive black car and ran towards it, slightly unsure of who was inside. Luckily, it was as he expected and Happy Hogan was waiting patiently in the driver's seat. Stark had called him before talking to Jarvis in the elevator.
"We're going to the East River, Happy," Tony ordered.
"Yes sir."
The drive was smooth and Happy was able to get him there at a relatively fast pace. When he pulled over, Tony saw that the woman had yet to arrive. He waited in the car until he saw a taxi pull over and a young brunette step out. She wore a light grey trench coat over the longer green dress, her hair blowing in the cold night breeze.
She walked down the steps to the boardwalk and began to approach the water. Tony quickly slid out of the car, waving slightly to Happy and following the girl stealthily. She strolled down to the water and, after slipping out of her dark silver heels, knelt down on the wooden planks to touch the water. Tony watched as the water almost reached back, a finger-shaped form going to touch hers. As they met, Alexia let out a small sigh. At that moment, a bass surfaced and she smiled warmly at it. Suddenly, she called out.
"Tony, I know you're there," she said softly.
He jumped and realized that a small school of fish were staring at him from his side of the river. He sighed and stepped out from behind his makeshift hiding place.
"Hey Brookes," he greeted affectionately.
"Hey Stark," she giggled softly.
"So you're fish friends caught me in the act, eh?" He chuckled.
Despite slightly puffy eyes and stained mascara, she still looked stunning. Her skin looked smooth and flawless, her eyes were such a vibrant green and her lips were soft and a light red.
"I should've known," Alexia murmured quietly, "Why would any of you want to hang out with me?"
"Hey, just because you're not an Avenger, doesn't mean we wouldn't want to hang out with you," Tony consoled.
"And why did you lie? I probably would've agreed if you'd just asked me to come and look around to see what it's like."
"When doing missions, we usually have to hide things from others, or lie to the targets. I suppose we didn't really think about your feelings when we were trying to recruit you. I'm sorry," he apologized, more for the entire group than just himself, though he still felt terrible.
"It's fine. I'm probably just being over-emotional anyway. I just really liked you guys and thought..." Lexy trailed off, but Tony knew what she would've said: I thought you liked me too.
"We do like you! What I don't understand is why you're so against becoming an Avenger," Tony muttered.
"Well, I have friends at the university, one in particular who is the bestest friend I could've asked for, and I enjoy teaching the occasional class and doing my work around peers. Having my own lab sounds amazing, but it also sounds lonely. I mean, no offense to him, but look at Dr Banner. I know he has that whole other Hulk thing going on but he just seems so lonely when he's on his tablet doing work. And, again no offense, but you don't seem like the most trusting and open man I've ever met," she said, getting it off of her chest.
"What if you could stay at the university?" Tony offered, not entirely sure if he was allowed to change the offer but not caring, particularly.
"Still, I'd have to miss work all the time to come to meetings, do missions etc. They'd know something was up," she sighed, the ghost of a smile playing at her lips as she thought of Erin Seath, her best friend, and a few other coworkers.
Tony stayed silent, watching as the woman continued to drift her hand around the murky water of the river. He tried his best not to look revolted at the action.
"How can you stick your hand in that when you can't even see your fingertips through the dirt?" Tony asked.
"Just because it's murky doesn't necessarily mean it's bad. When freshwater meets an ocean, it churns up the sediment at the bottom, sending it all over the water and making it cloudy. Yes, in the East River there is a lot of contamination and pollution, but it's still relatively clean, clean enough to swim in, in fact. Plus, there's more life in water than you'd think, even city rivers like this. I come here to communicate to the creatures to remind myself of that."
Stark was in awe of the beautiful and intelligent woman in front of him.
"Wow, that's... I've never thought of it like that," he stuttered.
"Plus, it's easy for me to get dry. I just force off the droplets," Alexia added.
She demonstrated this by taking off her coat and sticking her entire arm in the water. Within seconds of emerging, the skin was dry again. Tony grinned at the trick and Lexy laughed at his impressed expression.
"Alexia, I-" he began before she interrupted.
"Please, my friends call me Lexy."
"Lexy, I really enjoyed talking to you, and I am sorry for how we acted. I hope we can make it up to you?" He offered gently.
It took less than a second for her to make up her mind and nod.
"Just don't lie to me next time, m'kay?" She reasoned.
"Sure," he grinned, "Do you want a ride? My car is just over there."
Lexy nodded again and let Tony assist her in standing up. She slipped her heels back on and picked up her coat. Tony opened the door for her as she slipped into the backseat before joining her on the opposite side. They waited in comfortable silence as Happy drove them to her apartment.
"Bye Tony. I'll see you soon," she said softly.
"See ya Brookes," he smiled.
After ensuring that she was through the doors of the apartment complex, Tony told Happy to drive him back to the Avengers Tower, which didn't take very long. He approached the elevator.
"Jarvis, where is everyone?" He asked.
"The Avengers are currently located on Floor 15," Jarvis responded helpfully.
"Floor 15, then," he commanded.
The elevator quickly raised to the right floor and Tony stepped onto a shiny wooden floor. His team were all sat on the dark red couches in the middle of the room. Steve stood up as Tony entered.
"How was she?" He questioned worriedly.
"She's fine now. I took her back to her apartment and calmed her down," Tony replied quietly. Steve sighed with relief, slowly sitting back down.
"Does Lady Alexia wish to still be our friends?" Thor asked.
"Yeah, but she's still kind of angry that we lied to her so I suggest we don't do that again," Tony answered.
Most of the Avengers nodded slightly, except Natasha who merely continued to stare forward. Iron Man sat down and the group chatted for a little longer before finally retiring to their bedrooms.
So there you go! Did you like it? If not, why? Leave a review to explain! Again, sorry the actual plotline is taking so long, it'll be quite a few chapters yet.