The jet rocked gently as the wind picked up, and Lillian crouched down next to Barnes. She pushed a lock away from his face and studied it; his chapped lips, thick stubble, and the dark bags that puffed out under his eyes. She figured she had about a minute before he woke up, and another five until they reached the Compound, and Lillian had yet to think of a good way to explain this whole situation to him. What was she supposed to say? Hey, sorry I totally kidnapped you, but some people who you barely know (and most of whom have tried to kill you before) reeaallyy want you to work for them. But don't worry, it's going to be totally different from the last people who used you as a hired gun! She hung her head in frustration and turned to face the cockpit.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y., let everyone know we're almost there please." She called out to the AI system piloting the ship.

"I alerted them as soon as we took off, Ms. Gray. The others are preparing to receive Sergeant Barnes." A woman's voice that lilted with an Irish accent rang through the belly of the jet.

"Thank you!" Lillian said with a smile.

"Almost where?" Barnes' gruff voice was nearly a whisper.

Lillian's head snapped to face him, immediately nervous. "Hey," she flashed a quick smile, "how are you feeling? How long have you been awake?"

He smirked deeply, "About five minutes, so long enough. I feel like I got hit by a train though, so thanks for that."

Still crouched down next to him, Lillian winced. Of course he woke up early. Stupid super-soldier metabolism. She mentally kicked herself. "Sorry about that, it'll go away soon though." Barnes started to sit up, but she stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. "I wouldn't. Normal people's stomachs would be turning right now, and if you threw up on me I'd probably have to kill you."

He smiled and proceeded to sit up anyway, gently pushing her hand off of his shoulder. "I think I'll be okay. And you didn't answer my question."

She sighed and stood, running a hand through her hair. "Listen, I don't know you all that well, so maybe you should talk to someone else. Okay?"

Barnes' smile fell, a mask of frustration distorting his features. "Like who?"

Footsteps came from the cockpit and Lillian nodded her head toward the source. "Him."

Steve appeared, beaming at the sight of Barnes, who returned it with a small grin. She decided to leave them alone for the time being so they could catch up and made her way to the cockpit. She sat in the pilot's seat and propped her feet up on the control board; a luxury she could rarely take advantage of, especially when Tony was around. If there was one quick way to piss Tony Stark off, it was by putting your feet up on anything: workbenches, dashboards, and especially anywhere in the jet. Lillian chuckled; as much as he aggravated her to no end, she had to admit that she missed Tony, and everyone else back at the Compound as well. Having spent the past two months tailing and keeping an eye on Barnes, she had missed out on some serious quality time with the people she had grown to call her friends, and she was definitely ready to be back with them.

The Compound rose into view as the jet landed with a soft thud and she smiled broadly at the sight of everyone gathered at the entrance. She jumped out of the chair and made her way back into the jet's belly to see both Steve and Barnes standing and looking surprisingly comfortable. Lillian flashed a smile at the both of them before approaching Steve and resting a hand on his bicep, silently in awe of the sheer size of it. Even though he was her friend, she was constantly amazed by Steve Rogers and the beauty and purity that he was.

"Ready?" she asked, her gaze catching Barnes'. Both of the men nodded. "Good."

The ramp lowered and Lillian was the first to exit, jogging over to the small crowd of people and flinging her arms around Sam Wilson's neck. The man laughed and returned her embrace, patting her on the back before she pulled back and smiled at everyone.

"What's up, Hothead?" Sam winked at her as she went to hug Tony, who hugged her loosely. She made her way through the group, next going to Rhodey and Bruce, then Wanda and Clint, and finally giving friendly nods to both Nat and Vision, neither of whom had much appreciation for hugging. She then turned to watch Steve and Barnes making their way down the concrete walkway that connected the landing pad and the rest of the Compound. Everyone greeted Steve with warmth, and although they tried to conceal their hesitance toward Barnes, Lillian had to admit that most of them did a pretty poor job. They moved inside as a group and settled around a large dining room table, with Barnes sticking close by both Steve and Lillian.

With a nod from Tony, Steve prompted, "Hey Buck, let's go get you cleaned up, alright? They're just going to debrief and figure out some of the technical stuff, nothing you can't miss." Barnes looked to Lillian, almost hesitant to leave her, but eventually resigned to following Steve to the nearest bathroom with a shower.

"So, how'd it go?" Tony asked, waiting for Lillian to spill every tiny detail of the mission she had just completed. Once she had finished, everyone around the table sat in silence, nodding.

"So where's he going to be sleeping?" Lillian demanded. "You do have an actual bedroom for him, right? Because I'm not about to let you stick him in some cell."

"We haven't exactly figured out the specifics of that." Nat jumped in, "We need some kind of security just in case he tries to-"

"Kill one of us?" Rhodey chimed in, resulting in a glare from both Nat and Lillian.

"Escape again." Nat continued.

"I understand. How about you put him in a room close to mine?" Lillian proposed. "That way I can keep an eye on him, but he can also have his own space. I know how he works, he's not going anywhere without me noticing."

Tony nodded, and without any protest from the others, he moved to the elevator. "I'll go get his room ready then. I hope you're right, Lil."

After Tony left, the group chatted here and there, but soon Lillian escaped to her room; exhausted from her day. She showered swiftly, and as she emerged from her bathroom into the main suite of her room in her plush white robe, there was a knock on her door. She opened it to reveal Tony, who chuckled at the sight of her.

"That's a good look for you," he nodded to the towel twisted on her head that was keeping her hair up. She rolled her eyes, and he continued, "Barnes' room is ready. He doesn't know you're in here, but here" he handed her a small rectangular screen, "to keep an eye on him. See you in the morning, Princess." He gave her a small kiss on the cheek and headed back upstairs to the others.

Lillian closed the door and made her way back to her bed. Discarding her robe and placing it on a towel hook on the bathroom door, she pulled a large t-shirt over her head, causing the towel to fall down. She mussed her hair with it in an attempt to help dry it before placing it on the other towel hook and crawling into bed. She placed the screen on her bedside table, projecting it into the air and cuddling up with her thick duvet. She watched Barnes enter his room, immediately strip off his shirt and settle into a king sized bed identical to her own; both of them falling asleep soon after.

Hey there! It's so nice to have so many follows after like two days of this being up, so thank you all! I'm so in love with this story idea and I'm really looking forward to fleshing out my entire idea. I hope you all will enjoy where I take this! I'll try to update pretty regularly (I'll probably have another chapter up within the next 2-3 days), but I am in school, so be patient with me!

Much Love,

Kendall