(A/N): Hello everyone! It's been awhile, hasn't it? Sorry about that. Life got a bit crazy. I actually ended up getting a new job in the end of August- which has been amazing- and I started graduate school in January. But I'm back now and hope to be able to regularly update this story once again.
I generally try to stay away from controversial topics in my author's note because I know you're here for a quick getaway from the real world, but I feel like I need to say this since I'm friends with too many healthcare professionals- please continue wearing your masks. I know the CDC has stated that people who are vaccinated no longer need to wear masks, but the problem with doing that stems from the fact that there is a large amount of people who are still not vaccinated in this country and many of them are also anti-maskers. You can still get COVID even after being vaccinated. As my friend put it, having the vaccine is like wearing a bulletproof vest. It's good protection, but you can still be shot. If you come into contact with someone who has COVID and neither of you are wearing masks, you can still get COVID even with the vaccine. And as the number of vaccinated people who get COVID grows, the more likely there is of a new mutation forming that is vaccine-resistant.
I believe the reason the CDC changed their suggestion for mask mandates is due to the hope that it will encourage unvaccinated people to get vaccinated. But all it's going to do is cause more people to stop wearing masks, vaccinated or not. Business' are already changing to an honor system policy where they say that vaccinated people don't need masks to enter, but it's not as though they can actually demand you provide proof that you're vaccinated if you come in not wearing a mask. Wearing a mask is still your best bet to avoid getting COVID. We are not even close to being out of the woods yet. Stay smart and stay safe.
Now that that's finished with, on to giving thanks! Thank you to LoganLiet, jocillyria, Westcoast222, LittleDragon5, rinierin, MsPinkMuse, stars-for-dreams, Hermione24, Lpadilla16, AEdmo13, Arcfej, bookwerm98, asdw-theprince, Khione Eurus, Cynfulme, alannalove1990, pwrmom2, RebeccaCrouch, Hotmamantx, GS, HiddenReaderNinja, kelsiecb, hermionestark, , howtoseedeer, angel897, areaderlist, adonisx, aiyaiy13, SlytherinQueen86, roon0, Hayley, NorthernLights25, General Mac, sailorxbloom, loving-reader-and-writer, Geethika, XxXMoonstoneEye19720XxX, Catzandbookz8, Stephanie MRV, Adharablack85-2, renaid, Aeris Lux, and Guests for reviewing! Your reviews are so appreciated and knowing you're out there is what helps me keep coming back to this story.
Special thanks go out to my beta sailorxbloom for editing this chapter! And I also want to give a shoutout to MsPinkMuse and stars-for-dreams for their indirect-assistance with this chapter. I know I already messaged you guys but your words were the ones I needed to hear in order to finish this.
This chapter has characters from Jessica Jones and Daredevil.
Thank you all for reading! Enjoy!
When Draco got the news, he'd laughed so hard he'd almost been sick. It seemed that justice had finally come to Wizarding Britain. Finally, the heroes were going to be knocked off their high horses and forced to face what they'd done. He knew that the press would try and pin everything on Granger and the Ministry would follow their lead, as was the usual way of things. But Draco knew that Hermione had nothing to do with this and that there would be no evidence tying the crime back to her. After all, why would a Queen waste her time on ants?
When Neville got the news, he instantly began to worry. They were going to blame Hermione for this. They were going to claim that she was unstable and Dark and every negative adjective they could think of. Once again, people were going to try and make Hermione pay for crimes she hadn't committed. And she hadn't done this. She hadn't. Because Hermione Granger was still running from them and wouldn't willingly step foot in Wizarding Britain again until she was good and ready to face the life she'd left behind. To be honest, Neville thought that maybe she would never be ready. And, if that was the case, then who could really blame her?
When Harry got the news, he was standing in the doorway to his bedroom. An owl had flown through a window he couldn't remember having opened and deposited the letter onto the table next to him. He'd opened it, read the messily scrawled message from Kingsley, and stumbled over to the bathroom so that he could pull himself together. The glass scattered across the floor had instantly diverted his attention. The bathroom mirror had been completely shattered, and Harry instinctively knew that the full-length mirror in his closet would also be broken. Along with every other mirror in his house. Glancing from the letter back to the glass, Harry couldn't help wondering if he had been the one to do it.
When Kingsley got the news, he wished that he hadn't bothered getting out of bed that day.
When Samuel got the news, he'd wondered why 7 a.m. was considered too early in the day to be drinking. And then he called Edward, who was more than delighted to take the issue off his hands. They knew demands for Mia to be brought in were going to come rolling in soon and Edward was ready and willing to fend them off. Mini-Stark was far too busy causing trouble in America to be messing around in Britain.
When Luna got the news, she simply cut the article out of the Prophet and carefully pasted it into her scrapbook of interesting stories. Even though she was no longer in the newspaper business, it never hurt to keep track of the fascinating patterns in the media. And this latest path truly was intriguing.
WAR HERO RONALD BILIUS WEASLEY DECLARED MISSING
"What kind of name is the Devil of Hell's Kitchen, anyway?" Frank asked as he finished loading his rifle. "I mean, really?"
Daredevil stiffened, turning to look in their direction with his faintly glowing red eyes. "I didn't ask for that name," he finally answered.
"I'm sorry, I don't see you running from it," Frank pointed out.
"I don't do this to hurt people," he argued.
Mia snorted. That was a truly paradoxical claim; all Daredevil ever did was hurt people. Yes, they were all in the midst of committing a crime when he put them in traction, but that didn't change the fact that he used violent means in order to achieve his goals.
Frank gave a short bark of laughter. "Yeah, so what is that, just a job perk?"
"I don't kill anyone."
"Is that why you think you're better than me?" Frank asked while Mia simultaneously commented, "I've a list of people whose spines he's broken that are likely wishing he had just killed them."
"No," Daredevil snapped.
"Is that why you think you're a big hero?" Frank prodded, clearly looking for some kind of reaction.
"It doesn't matter what I think or what I am. People don't have to die."
People are going to die no matter how hard you seek to change that fact and the longer you fight against that reality, the worse it is going to be for you.
The more time that had passed, the more Mia understood what Death had meant when she told her that. Daredevil was right that, in an idyllic world, no one would have to die. No one would have to kill in order to protect the lives of others. But this wasn't an idyllic world and pretending that it could be would be doing a disservice to everyone living there.
Mia stared at Daredevil. Was this who Death had first seen when she looked at Hermione? A naïve fool who put themselves and everyone they knew in danger simply because they couldn't fathom that another way of doing things could be right? It would have been safer for Daredevil to have put Wilson Fisk in the ground instead of prison, but he hadn't done that. Did he truly believe that the same justice system that Fisk had been manipulating and controlling for months would actually be able to stop him? Did he truly believe that Fisk would remain behind bars for the rest of his life?
Did Daredevil truly believe that by beating Fisk into the ground, he'd actually taken away his power?
"Come on, Red," Frank sneered. "You believe that?"
"I believe it's not my call and it ain't yours either," Daredevil responded confidently.
"Somebody ask you to put on that costume or you take it upon yourself? You know what I think of you, hero?" Frank stood up and stalked towards the vigilante. "I think you're a half-measure. I think you're a man who can't finish the job." He knelt down in front of Daredevil. "I think that you're a coward."
Lowering his voice, Frank murmured, "You know the one thing that you just can't see? You know you're one bad day away from being me."
Or one bad day away from being someone Frank would need to stop, Mia thought.
Sometimes, she worried that she was too. And if that did come to pass- if she ever did do something to get on the Punisher's radar- there was no chance of Frank being able to stop her.
"Yeah?" Daredevil responded. "And just what was your 'bad day'? How the hell did you end up like this?"
Frank didn't even flinch at the question, didn't tense up. Daredevil's questions didn't remind him of what had happened to his family because Frank hadn't forgotten- would never forget. The memory of their deaths was an instinctual, steady constant in his life. It was natural.
Living was breathing, and the smell of a cool, crisp spring day turned sour by the smell of gunpowder.
Living was blinking, and the sight of his baby girl and little boy's blood covering his hands.
Living was swallowing, and the dryness of his throat as he screamed Maria's name.
"I'm not a bad guy, Red," Frank told him, voice soft.
"You wanna explain that to the orphans and the widows of the men you killed?"
Mia rocketed to her feet, barely keeping herself from stepping outside the wards that kept Daredevil from sensing her. "Are you going to explain yourself to the families of the victims you failed to save?" she demanded, too angry to care that he couldn't hear her. "Or do you forget about them the moment another mugger comes along because at least you tried? Because you might not have saved them but hey, at least their rapist, their killer, their monster went to jail."
Frank was just as angry as she was. "For Christ's sake," he spat. "That's what you think? I'm just some crazy asshole, going around unloading on whoever I want to?"
"Yeah," Daredevil shot back. "That's exactly what I think. You think you're anything else?"
"I think the people I kill need killing, that's what I think."
"You left men hanging from meat hooks!"
"That was rather gross," Mia acknowledged.
Waving away her comment, Frank headed over to the billboard attached to the rooftop and started climbing the ladder up. "They got off easy in my opinion."
"You shot up a hospital!" Daredevil shouted.
"Yeah, and nobody got hurt who didn't deserve it."
Leaning back against the brick ledge, Mia sighed. This conversation was pointless. What was Frank really hoping to get out of this?
What was she hoping to get out of this?
"What about you?" the red-clad vigilante asked. "What happens the day someone decides you deserve it?"
"They better not miss," Mia and Frank answered simultaneously.
Grimacing up at him, Mia complained, "We spend too much time together."
He jerked his thumb towards the door, silently reminding her that if she didn't like it, she was free to leave.
"Come on," Daredevil groaned. "You run around this city like it's your damn shooting gallery. You think you do-"
"Yeah, what do you do?" Frank roared. "What do you do? You act like it's a playground. You beat up the bullies with your fists, you throw'em in jail, everybody calls you a hero, right? And then a month, a week, a day later, they're back on the streets doing the same goddamn thing!"
Daredevil snorted. "Yeah, so you just put them in the morgue."
"You're goddamn right I do."
"You ever doubt yourself?" Daredevil demanded.
"Not even for a second."
"Really? Really? You never think for one second, 'Shit, I just killed a human being.'?"
Hopping down off the billboard, Frank muttered, "That's being pretty generous."
He continued on, undeterred. "A human being who did a lot of stupid shit, maybe even evil, but had one small piece of goodness in him. Maybe just a scrap, but something. And then you come along, and that one tiny flicker of light gets snuffed out forever."
Kicking a cinderblock in front of the chained vigilante, Frank sat down. "I think you're wrong. I think there's no good in the filth that I put down, that's what I think."
"But how do you know?" Daredevil persisted.
"I just know. Look around, Red. This city stinks. It's a sewer. I think that this world needs men who are willing to make the hard call." Raising his voice to be heard over the sound of Daredevil's protests, Frank continued, "I think you and me are the same! Only I do the one thing you can't. You hit'em and they get back up. I hit'em and they stay down. It's permanent. I make sure that they don't make it out on the street again, and I take pride in that."
"Let me ask you this: what about hope?"
"Oh, fuck," Frank groaned.
"Just hit him and be done with it," Mia demanded. "Why suffer through another pointless, do-gooder speech about the power of love and hope and humanity? Or whatever it is he's selling."
"I live in the real world too," Daredevil soldiered on. "And I've seen it."
"Yeah?" Frank prodded. "What have you seen?"
"Redemption."
Mia almost gagged. "Why did you ask?"
"It's real, and it's possible. The people you murder deserve another chance."
"What, to kill again? To rape again? Is that what you want?"
"No. To try again. To try. And if you don't get that, there's something broken in you that you can't fix, and you really are a nutjob."
Frank slowly stood up. "What did you say?"
"Oh, no," Mia sighed.
"You're… you're unhinged," Daredevil told Frank. "You are. You think God made you a one-man firing squad, but you're wrong. There is goodness in people, even in you. And you're gonna have to kill me, 'cause I'm never gonna stop coming for you until I take you down. You wanna know why? Because you're insane."
Snorting, Mia mockingly announced, "Hello, Pot. Have I got news for you!"
Letting out a small huff of laughter, Frank glanced over at Hermione for a moment before turning back to Daredevil and lifting his hand, slamming the wrench into the side of the other man's head.
When he continued to do nothing but silently loom over the now-unconscious vigilante, Mia stepped towards him. "Frank? You're not taking anything he says seriously, are you?"
After taking a deep breath, Frank finally turned to look at her. "You need to get out of here," he ordered.
Mia raised a brow. "No."
"Yes. I've got things to do and I don't need you watching me do'em."
"Do you really think there's anything you could do that would actually surprise me at this point?"
Glancing around at the surrounding buildings, Mia spotted something glinting off the fire-escape on the building across the way.
"Need to do this on my own," Frank grunted, and she sighed.
"Fine. But I'm going to your apartment to get Max. You'll have to drop by my place to retrieve him after you're finished here."
Frank finally relaxed. "Whatever you say, kid."
Mia stepped off of the elevator onto her floor, Max trotting after her.
"Welcome home, Miss Stark."
"JARVIS," she greeted, spirits lifting. "Tony didn't completely dismantle you?"
"No. Though Sir is still not happy."
Hesitating for a moment, she finally said, "Thank you for lying. But JARVIS, if it ever come down to you either protecting my secrets or getting turned off, then you need to tell Tony whatever it is he wants to know. I'd rather deal with that fallout than with the guilt of losing you."
JARVIS was quiet for a moment. "With all due respect, Miss Stark, my duty is to assist the Stark family with whatever they need. That is what I was designed to do. Before, Sir was the only one that applied. When Sir made you a Stark, he gave you the same role he has in regard to myself and my abilities. Just as I would not impart Sir's confidences, I will not impart yours."
Mia blinked back tears. It was like being handed those adoption papers all over again. "Is that your way of saying that you're in this with me to the end of the line?"
"Indeed, it is."
"Alright then." She cleared her throat and led Max over the small bed she'd bought him and placed beside the windows. "Jessica and Frank should be dropping by soon; I left her in charge of him after I departed. The chances of him doing something stupid are incredibly high and she's got the strength needed to carry him here if need be. In the meantime, if I took pictures of some of the information I acquired from Karpov, could you look it over and see if there's anything you can add to my notes that would be helpful?"
It had been a while since she had surprised JARVIS so thoroughly. "Of course," he finally agreed. "Simply take a picture with your Starkphone and I'll be able to access it and then erase any proof of it from the system afterwards. Going forward, you may want to create your own private server to store information in that you would rather keep hidden from Sir."
Frowning up at the city, Mia responded, "I'm sorry, have we met? Do I look like I know anything about computers?"
JARVIS sighed. "It was just a suggestion."
"And a good one. Unfortunately, it's not an executable one."
The elevator doors slid open and Jessica stomped into the living room, Frank thrown over her shoulder in a fireman's carry. "This guy is a fucking idiot," she told Mia, dumping him on the floor.
Glancing up from her seat on the couch, Mia calmly asked, "Does he need medical attention?"
"Nope," she answered shortly, heading into the kitchen and grabbing the bottle of whiskey that Mia had stolen from Tony as a silent apology to the PI for their fight earlier. "Got knocked around a bit by Daredevil after pulling a spectacularly dumb stunt with Grotto but hey, maybe you really can knock the stupid out of someone."
"I think the bullet he took to his skull did all the damage his mind can take. Anymore and it might literally kill him."
"Shit," Jessica swore, slumping down onto the couch next to Mia. "You about ready to take down Reyes yet?"
"Before I do anything with Reyes, I need to figure out who else was involved in this. I'm hoping the Mayor was, because I'd really like to ruin him too."
Jessica took a swig straight from the bottle. "You could just kill them without all this 'court of public approval' bullshit."
"That kind of thinking is why JARVIS doesn't like us hanging out anymore."
"Well your British nanny is super uptight."
"What's ironic is that kind of thinking is something my mother would approve of."
Holding up the bottle in a mock toast, Jessica responded, "My kind of woman."
Mia laughed. "You two would get along well. Right up until she went all tough-love on you to sober you up and you realized that she's far stronger than you and you'd never win in a fight with her."
She scowled. "Never mind then. Give me the Black Widow- I'd party with that chick any day."
"She hates me."
"Even better."
Frank was not happy when he woke up the next morning.
"You couldn't have put me on the couch?" he grumbled at Jessica as Mia dragged them up to the common floor for breakfast after she'd come back from taking Max out. They'd opted to leave the canine in her apartment for the moment in order to avoid getting Tony riled up.
"You couldn't have not been a colossal dumbass and stayed conscious?" she snarked.
"Yes," Mia sighed. "Pepper's going to be delighted by such company this morning."
"If your brother hits on me, I'm punching him," Jessica warned.
Mia shrugged. "Fair enough. I doubt he will though since Pepper is there. He fears her as much as he loves her."
She honestly wasn't looking forward to seeing her brother this morning. Either he would have spent the night doubling-down that he was right and would be absolutely insufferable, or he would be desperate to gain her forgiveness and Mia wasn't in a very forgiving mood.
The elevator doors opened, and the trio froze in the elevator.
"Jesus…" Jessica breathed. "The fuck is all of this?"
There was candy everywhere. Baskets and shiny boxes resting on every flat surface, and the smell of chocolate was so strong Mia could almost taste it.
"Did Stark fuck up?" Frank muttered, finally moving forward and gently pushing Mia along with him.
"I highly doubt he's the pretty boy behind all this," Jessica snorted, following after them. "Didn't you say you were out buying chocolate last night?" she asked Mia. "Did you really buy all this crap?"
Mia realized who must have been behind this right as Tony and Pepper appeared.
"Oh good," her brother said, tone bright and cheerful. "You're up. I was just about to come down and get you. Someone delivered some stuff for you earlier."
"I can see that," Mia responded dryly. "Why is it up here?"
Pepper bit her lip, clearly trying to hide a smile. "This is just the first half of your gifts. The rest is still being processed by security and will be brought to your apartment once they're sure it's clean."
Groaning, Mia whirled on Frank. "This is all your fault!"
Frank raised an eyebrow and asked, "How's that?"
"Billy is your friend, and this is ridiculous! Look at this!" Mia flung her hand out, gesturing to the room. "What even is this?"
"I think this is you being wooed," Jessica told her, wandering over to the kitchen island and peering into one of the baskets.
"No." Mia shook her head. "I refuse. I refuse to be wooed. I'm too busy to be wooed."
Joining Jessica at the island, Pepper perched herself on one of the stools and offered, "At least he's not trying to shove his wooing in your face. He's giving you gifts with the added benefit of space. That's something."
Mia glared at the redhead, biting back a vicious and unjustified retort. Turning away, she spotted several plastic bags resting on the small table by the couch. One of the bags had a piece of paper taped to it with the words 'Open Me First' written on it in large block type.
Hope you don't mind, but I took the initiative to send you a few of my favorites along with your purchases. Plus, you did have a good point yesterday- since I'm the one who lured you into a vehicle, it's only right that I provide the candy. I look forward to cashing in one of my favors from you soon.
-Billy
Sighing, she muttered, "I am an idiot." Then, glancing around at all the candy that was surrounding her, she added, "And now I know how the Hansel and Gretel felt when they found the witches house."
"That before or after they realized she was trying to fatten them up in order to eat them?" Frank asked, pouring himself a cup of coffee.
"After," she answered glumly, shoving the note into one of the bags so it was out of sight.
"At least he has good taste," Tony said, already digging into one of the boxes. "This is the good shit right here."
"And at least we won't have to buy any chocolate for a very long time," Pepper added.
Frank snorted. "Yeah, right. Your kid's a stress eater- I'm willing to bet that you won't have anything left by the end of the month."
"What are we betting?" Tony promptly asked.
Raising his eyebrows in surprise, Frank said, "How about one of your suits?"
Giving him a very obvious glance-over, he responded, "I don't think you have the proper physique to wear one of my suits.
"Oh, I don't want it so I could use it. I want it so you have to live with the fact that I have it."
Jessica snorted with laughter. "Jesus that's great."
Tony stared at Frank in mock-horror. "You monster."
"People!" Mia shouted. "Can we focus? What am I going to do about all this candy? And with the rest of it that's apparently still downstairs?"
After a pause, Jessica responded, "Is eating it too obvious and too reasonable for you?"
Mia groaned. "If I eat it, wouldn't that just encourage Billy and make him think that I'm interested in him?"
"Are you interested in him?" Pepper asked.
"Do I look like I have the time for that?" she demanded.
"Look, you can't return a gift," Tony told her. "That's just tacky. So, I say we keep the candy, we eat the candy, and then we send Billy an even more outrageous and non-romantic gift in return so he'll realize that you can't be bought."
"We?" Frank repeated.
"Absolutely. I want to get in on this."
"Well then, if you're such an expert, what is the proper gift to send in return for what has to be thousands of dollars worth of chocolate?" Mia asked him.
Seeming to think it over, Tony asked, "What does Billy like?"
"Money," Frank grumbled, though he sounded oddly fond.
Tony snapped his fingers. "In that case, how about we make him a hundred bouquets of flowers made out of $100 dollar bills?"
"No!" Pepper immediately responded.
"Have you ever actually given someone that?" Jessica asked, seeming interested despite herself. "Because I want one."
"Making flowers out of something as small as a bill sounds difficult," Mia mused.
"It's tacky," Pepper informed them, sounding exasperated. "I shouldn't have to point out to you all just how tacky a gift like that would be."
"And all of this chocolate is what?" Tony shot back. "Low-key and understated?"
"So is there any actual food?" Jessica questioned. "Or are we just having chocolate for breakfast?"
Gesturing vaguely to the bags by the oven, Pepper told her, "There are chocolate-related breakfast pastries over there." Then she went back to arguing with Tony.
Joining Jessica and Frank by the stove, Mia took the chocolate croissant Jessica offered her and began nibbling on the end of it.
"Has Billy always been this… over the top?" she asked Frank, struggling to find a way to ask without sounding rude.
Frank shrugged, swallowing a bite of donut. "Girls usually chased after Billy, not the other way around. He must be really interested in you if he's doing shit like this."
"Of course he's interested," Jessica snorted. "She's a fucking Stark. Her brother's a goddamn superhero. This is way too good an opportunity to pass up."
Scowling, Frank snapped, "Billy's not that kind of guy- he's one of the best people I know."
Jessica met his gaze without flinching. "He also grew up in the kind of poor where, once he found a way to start making money, he realized it would never be enough. Believe me, I've seen it."
Mia's brows furrowed in thought. "Have you been spying on Billy?" she asked the PI.
The woman's shoulders hunching up around her ears told her everything she needed to know. "How long?" she prodded when Jessica remained silent.
"Since all those news stories about you two came out," Jessica answered begrudgingly.
Feeling strangely touched, Mia forced herself to keep her expression neutral. "Find anything interesting?"
"Nothing beyond what you'd expect to find with a shady businessman juggling too many government contracts," she answered, slowly relaxing.
"Apologies," JARVIS interrupted, bringing their conversation and Tony and Pepper's argument to a halt. "Captain Rogers has arrived at the tower and is on his way up."
Mia froze, head snapping over to where Tony and Pepper were sitting. "Steve is here? Why?"
They seemed just as surprised as she was. "No idea," Tony responded, looking at Pepper. "Did you know he was coming?"
"No," she shook her head. "I'd have thought that he'd be too busy to visit since his birthday is on Thursday and I know they're planning on doing a few events down in D.C."
"Maybe he's finally run away?" Tony offered, looking back at his sister. "Finally had enough of the show pony life."
"He's been doing it for years," Jessica commented, glancing longingly at the elevator as though wishing she was the one inside it except going down instead of up. "Think they've finally broken him by this point."
Frank grunted. "If anyone's going to break Captain America, it's going to be those two," he nodded towards Mia and Tony.
"Hey!" they protested.
"I mean, you're right, but did you have to say it?" Tony demanded, looking offended.
The doors opened and Steve stepped out, a large duffle bag slung over his shoulder. When he saw so many people waiting for him, his eyes widened in surprise.
"Uh… hi?" he finally said.
Pepper snapped out of it first. "Steve!" she greeted with a large smile, walking over to him and giving him a quick hug. "This is unexpected. What brings you by?"
"I just came to visit," he told her, slowly taking in the room. "Didn't mean to interrupt."
Tony opened his mouth to respond but Mia glared at him in warning.
"You're not interrupting," she told him, setting her pastry aside and walking over to him, awkwardly running a hand through her hair in a pointless attempt to make herself look less ragged. "I just wish I had dressed for company."
Glancing over at Frank and Jessica, he said, "We lived together, doll- I know what you look like in the mornings."
She scowled. "Ugh, don't remind me." Shifting to look back at the others, Mia introduced him. "Steve, meet Jessica and Frank. Jessica is a friend who's helping me with a project I'm currently working on and Frank has a dog whose affections I'm currently trying to steal away. Guys, meet Steve."
Jessica seemed surprised and slightly confused at her introduction, but nodded at Steve and muttered, "Hey."
Frank just chuckled. "Whatever you say, kid."
Steve smiled briefly at them before looking around the room again. "So, what's with all the chocolates?"
Mia's eyes widened. This was… not good.
"I got them for her," Tony abruptly announced. He walked over to Mia and threw his arm around her shoulders, giving a gentle squeeze. "Just trying to show my appreciation."
It was a struggle to keep her body from visibly slumping in relief. "I think you mean 'trying to buy my affections'. And I'm sad to say that it's working. Either I'm easy or you just know me very well."
"I just know you very well," Tony stated as Pepper called, "You're just that easy."
"What did you do?" Steve asked him, eyes wide. "You only do something this extreme when you've done something really wrong."
Tony glowered at him. "I have no idea what you're talking about. But if I did, it'd be none of your business."
"Speaking of none of our business," Jessica interrupted. "I think we're going to head out."
When Frank nodded in agreement, Mia sighed. "Fine. Take some chocolates with you though. And let Trish know that I'll be in contact with her soon about scheduling an interview."
The corners of Jessica's lips twitched upwards. "Nah, think I'll just let her randomly get the good news once you actually call."
Mia playfully narrowed her eyes at her. "Are you saying that because you can't be bothered to tell her or because you think I won't actually do an interview?"
Jessica shrugged, grabbing a bag of chocolate that she had apparently set aside for herself earlier while Mia hadn't been looking. "Thanks for the food, I guess."
When Frank walked with her to the elevator empty-handed, Mia asked, "You're not going to take any of this with you?"
"Why bother?" he shrugged. "You're just going to bring some over with you next time you visit."
"Well, maybe I won't," she sniffed. "After all, chocolate is bad for dogs so you probably shouldn't have too much of it lying around because Max might get into it."
That got a bark of laughter out of him. "No shit? Thank god I have you around to remind me of the most basic knowledge about my dog."
The elevator doors opened and the two vigilantes- though Jessica was still categorically refusing to consider herself as one- stepped in. "Later," Jessica said, and then the doors closed.
"They seem nice," Steve offered after a moment.
"You're wrong," Tony responded. "They're the worst. Mia has the worst taste in friends."
Before Mia could respond, Pepper asked, "You really want to go down that road, Tony?" At the look Tony shot her, she added, "It's early in the morning, she's had no coffee or tea, and got a face-first of extra. She's going to get mean and you know it."
Tony glanced over at Mia and gave an over-exaggerated shudder. "You're right, I better watch my step."
"You better watch your back," Mia warned, glaring.
Steve shifting caught her attention, and Mia looked over to see him smiling. "It is too early for your shenanigans," she warned him, trying and failing to look severe.
He laughed. "Sorry, I've just missed this."
"Yeah, we're awesome," Tony bragged, walking back to the kitchen and poured two cups of coffee. "So, why are you here? What do you want?"
"Tony," Pepper sighed.
Walking over to Mia, he handed her one of the cups. "You don't get a cup," he told Pepper.
Shaking his head at Tony's antics, Steve answered, "I've been told that I have to attend the formal fourth of July party happening here instead of D.C. Figured I'd just stay here."
"You can just say it's your birthday party," Tony responded. "We all know. And sure, it's going to be a completely boring party and yes, there will be a little bit of shame at the fact that your name is going to be on it, but what can you do? I wouldn't worry though, because it being boring and stuffy really fits in with the theme you've got going."
"Wait," Mia interrupted, holding up a hand. "You're going to be here for your birthday?" When Steve nodded, she swore and then raced out of the room, not bothering to wait for the elevator and opting to take the stairs down to her apartment.
The other three stood in stunned silence for a few seconds. "Well," Steve cleared his throat, trying hard to swallow down his hurt. "Guess she's not thrilled."
"If I may, Captain Rogers," JARVIS interjected. "I believe Miss Stark's reaction is due to the fact that she arranged for several gifts to be delivered to your residence and is now trying to change it so that they will be brought here instead."
"Oh," he sighed in relief, completely missing the way Tony's eyes narrowed at JARVIS coming to Mia's aid without prompting. "Is that all? I don't care about that."
"You know Mia," Pepper said with a fond smile. "She probably got you something nice and personal and doesn't want to risk leaving it sitting in your empty apartment until you get back."
Steve nodded. "Guess I should give her a bit before I head down there, huh?"
"Yeah, she probably asked JARVIS to make sure you can't get in until she's done."
"Do you want me to make something for breakfast?" he offered. "Or are we just eating chocolate for the next few days?"
"We've got bagels, croissants, and a lot of other chocolate-themed pastries over by the stove," Pepper offered. "If you can find counterspace to prepare something else though, feel free. But also… good luck."
It had taken her forever to pick out a birthday present for Steve and then he had to go and ruin it by not being in D.C. on the fourth.
Getting it sent here would be the obvious answer, but it was a rather large gift and Steve would have to find a way to transport it back to his apartment. A birthday gift probably shouldn't inconvenience the receiver to such a large degree.
After spending almost a quarter of an hour trying to figure out a plan on her own, Mia finally gave up. "JARVIS," she whined, flopping over sideways onto the couch. "What should I do?"
"Might I suggest that, since you bought Captain Rogers two gifts, you have one sent here and one sent to his apartment?" the AI offered, sounding amused. "I can arrange to have the delivery of the second gift delayed until he arrives back in D.C."
She considered it. "That sounds reasonable. But could you please collect pictures of the gift so that I can show it to him when I give him the first one? I want to give him something to look forward to once he gets back."
"Of course, Miss Stark."
Knowing Steve, Mia was sure that he would protest a bit at being given two large gifts, but she hadn't been able to resist. They were both perfect, and one hadn't even been all that expensive.
"Agent Barton is here to see you," JARVIS announced unexpectedly. "Shall I send him up?"
Pulling herself up and swinging her feet onto the ground, Mia frowned. "Alright."
Mia quickly began straightening up her living room and kitchen. She knew Clint wouldn't care, but Steve would probably be down soon and she'd rather he didn't feel obligated to clean up after her- both because he was a guest, and because she couldn't risk him finding something he shouldn't. While she knew that she should really stop making paper notes and printing things out, Mia couldn't help it. Writing things down helped her process them mentally and doing it on her StarkPad really wasn't the same.
The elevator doors slid open with a soft ding, and Clint strolled in, carrying a large basket of chocolate.
"Oh no," she groaned when she caught sight of it.
"This feels familiar," he said in lieu of a greeting, handing her the basket. "Although, I gotta say that I like this delivery better than the flowers. Who knew there were so many flavors of KitKats?"
Setting it down on one of the kitchen counters, Mia picked up a green package. "Macha Green Tea KitKat," she read. Glancing at the other bars, she muttered, "Did he really order these all in from Japan?"
"You have to give him props," Clint offered. "That's a pretty memorable gift."
"Yes, well, the entire living room and kitchen upstairs are also covered in other memorable gifts, so you'll have to forgive my lack of enthusiasm."
Clint winced. "Then, you probably don't want to hear about all the stuff that I saw Happy and the rest of the security team still sorting through downstairs."
Mia sighed. "This is absolutely ridiculous."
"Maybe you should try cutting down on whatever love potion you're feeding him," he suggested dryly.
She wrinkled her nose at him. "Do you even know who these are from?"
"Yeah, they're from Billy Russo. Who is apparently chasing you hard."
Rolling her eyes, Mia demanded, "What do you want, Clint? I'm sure you're not just here to hassle me."
"No," he agreed. "That's not my only reason."
She gestured for him to get on with it.
"First, I need you to stop messing with Nat," he started. "It's just pissing her off more."
"Her spying is upsetting me, so if you want me to stop messing with her then she needs to stop messing with me," Mia shot back.
"You knew that leaving her in the dark was only going to upset her," Clint reminded her.
Mia threw her hands up in the air. "I am not having this fight with you again! If you want to tell her, then go ahead."
Clint leaned over the kitchen island towards her. "She is already going to be mad enough that I didn't tell her about HYDRA earlier. So please don't make this any worse," he implored. "For me."
Considering him for a few seconds, Mia eventually muttered, "Fine. For you."
"Thank you." He pulled back so that he was simply resting against the island now instead of being draped over it. "So… Frank Castle."
"And there it is," she said, folding her arms across her chest. "The real reason for your visit. Can we skip the bit where you waste time asking about things you either already know or could care less about and instead just get to the point?"
"Sure," he agreed. "Why have you switched your focus from Barnes to Castle?"
Mia froze. "What?"
She was sure that she must be mistaken, because it almost sounded like Clint was suggesting that she had abandoned Bucky. But he knew her too well to think that didn't he?
"For months you were obsessed with finding Barnes. But then Castle shows up and now you're entirely focused on his situation. So, what's the deal?"
"And instead of simply asking me how the search for Bucky is going, you decided to instead accuse me of what? Moving on?" she sneered, stepping towards him.
Clint shrugged. "I'm just saying, you're wasting a lot of time and energy helping one guy when we haven't even dealt with HYDRA or found Barnes. I'm your partner here, I get to be concerned about your change in priorities."
Change in priorities?
Mia snapped. "Do you think I'm stupid? Do you think that I'm doing all of this because I woke up one morning and decided that I wasn't busy enough? Do you think I don't spend every day terrified that I'm going to miss something involving HYDRA and Bucky because I'm busy trying to make sure that Frank isn't off getting himself killed? Do you really think I don't care?!
"It kills me to know that Bucky is still out there and that I haven't helped him. Every time I'm working on something else, I'm wondering if something is happening to Bucky at that moment, or if HYDRA is about to make their move against everyone I love. But I can't help Bucky right now. I have done everything I can to find him- I've used magic, I've used technology, I have spent weeks spying on people like Pierce's every move hoping and praying that he'll lead me to where Bucky is and found nothing. There is no trace of him. There's nothing to follow. My only other option is to start ripping my way through every HYDRA server out there for information and if I do that, then the game is up. They'll know we know. And the only person who is going to suffer for that is Bucky. And you know that we haven't finished preparations for taking down HYDRA and trying to move the timeline for that up is only going to hurt us in the end.
"So, would you please back off, and just me do this? Let me help someone who can actually be saved."
Clint stared at her with wide eyes. Finally, he let out a loud sigh. "You ever considered the fact that maybe Castle doesn't want to be saved?"
"Yes. Just as I've considered the possibility that Bucky won't want to be either. But I'm going to try, because that's the least they deserve."
Once Clint finally left her apartment after promising to keep an ear out for any new information regarding either Frank or his family, Mia leaned back against the refrigerator and sank to the floor. She buried her face in her hands, desperately trying to get her breathing back under control.
She'd thought she was getting better. She'd thought she was finally getting a handle on her emotions. And then Clint basically accused her of…
Gods. Who was he to say that she didn't care? That she wasn't trying? That she had forgotten about Bucky?
How could she ever forget about Bucky with the sound of his cries in her head every day?
"Punk."
"Jerk."
"Thank you, Buck, but I can get by on my own."
"The thing is, you don't have to. I'm with you to the end of the line, pal."
"I thought you were dead."
"I thought you were smaller."
Funny, isn't it? Knowing Steve had led her to caring about Bucky, yet it felt like she knew Bucky better than she ever had Steve.
"Hermione?"
A huff escaped her. Of course.
She looked up at Steve. "Hi."
His timing was either spectacularly good, or epically bad. There was no middle road with Steve.
"Are you okay?" he asked, walking into the kitchen and sitting down beside her.
Pushing away thoughts of Bucky and Frank and falling and screams, Hermione forced a smile onto her face. "Shouldn't I be asking you that? After all, for someone who's here to celebrate his birthday, you don't seem very excited."
Steve grimaced. "Not really in the mood to celebrate. Especially since this is just another publicity stunt."
"Considering Tony will be attending, I promise the focus won't be on you for very long."
A half-smile appeared on his face for just a moment before fading away. Bumping his shoulder gently against hers, he asked, "What's wrong?"
Hermione sighed. Steve obviously wasn't going to let this go, so she might as well give him something. "Clint dropped by to speak with me."
He instantly tensed. "What'd he want?"
Licking her lips, she slowly answered, "We're working together on a project, and he's concerned that I'm not giving it enough attention anymore since I met Frank."
"What's the project? And what does Frank have to do with anything?"
"The project doesn't matter," she waved him off. "It's something to do with the Mind Stone." Not technically a lie. "As for Frank…" Hermione stood up, motioning for him to follow her into the living room.
Leaving Steve alone for a moment, Hermione hurried into her office and picked up the file on the Castle family's murder that Jessica had given her from off her desk.
Once she'd rejoined Steve, she handed him the folder and began to explain. "A few months ago, Frank's family was killed in some kind of drug sting gone wrong. The person in charge of the operation was the District Attorney, Samantha Reyes. The sting took place in the middle of Central Park, which was where the Castle family were having a picnic the day after he returned from a tour in Afghanistan. Reyes hadn't bothered clearing the park, and the Castle's were caught in the crossfire. Frank was the only survivor, despite suffering from a gunshot wound to the head. Reyes has been trying to take him out ever since."
Steve quietly flipped through the pictures, face tightening in anger. "He was a soldier?"
"A marine. And, judging by all the medals he received, he was a good one. Or at least a successful one."
His fingers gently brushed over the picture of a smiling Lisa Castle. "What are you doing about Reyes?"
"We're trying to tie her to the shooting, along with a multitude of other crimes. The issue we're running into now is that she apparently has the police on her side, and they've been helping her cover up what happened. She's got them all out searching for Frank. We have a plan," she reassured him. "It's just taking a bit, and Clint is… concerned."
He looked up from the folder, locking eyes with her. "What can I do to help?"
Hermione smiled faintly. "Nothing. We have it handled. But, if that should change, you'll be the first to know."
"You sure?" he persisted. "Anything I can do, I will. He deserves justice." Steve glanced back down at the folder as he slowly shut it. "They all do."
"They deserved to live," Hermione whispered, turning to look out the window. "But since they can't have that, then yes, they least they deserve is justice. And the chance to rest in peace knowing that the truth of what happened to them isn't being covered up and ignored by a woman who cares more about her career than she did their futures."
Steve hissed, setting the folder aside and rubbing his hands over his face. "How did it get so bad?" he wondered. "How did we let it get to this?"
"It's hard to care about something when you don't know about it," Hermione said, sitting down next to him again. "No one knows just how terrible Reyes is, so how could they have known to stop her?"
"The police should've done something," Steve snapped. "They knew. Who the hell are they protecting right now?"
"Themselves. But let's be honest, Steve- faith in the police was shattered after it came to light how many of them were working with Fisk. Now they're just desperate to regain public approval and save face. Telling the world that they let a military family be gunned down in a famous park in the middle of the day makes them look incompetent. And they can't have that."
"They're only going to look worse when everyone finds out they tried to cover this up."
"Yes," Hermione agreed. "If I do this right, no one will trust the police ever again. Which is a whole other issue."
Steve leaned back. "From what you've just shown me, maybe they're right not to."
Natasha was going to kill her.
Mia had just been hiding information from her before, but now that she knew that Natasha was actively investigating her, she'd begun to outright taunt her.
Staring at the message on the screen in front of her, Natasha had to repeatedly remind herself not to grind her teeth.
'Outlook not so good.'
It took far longer than she'd ever admit for her to catch on to what Mia was doing.
'Better not tell you now.'
'Don't count on it.'
'My sources say no.'
'Signs point to yes.'
And Natasha's personal favorite: 'Concentrate and ask again.'
She was fucking Magic 8-balling her.
Every single path Natasha had started down on, every rock she had overturned, every single one of her contacts had all come back with these bullshit answers and she was sick of it. (And, if she was being completely honest, a little impressed.) Whatever Mia was hiding was important enough that she was pulling out all the stops to make sure it stayed hidden. Normally, Natasha might have been willing to pull back a bit and stop trying so hard to find out what she-Stark was up to, but it involved Clint.
Clint was her person. He had seen someone worth saving when they'd first met, even after all the terrible things she had done. He had saved her despite all the trouble she'd given him, and he never judged her on her worst mistakes. If Clint was in danger- and she was sure he was because Hermione still hadn't learned to leave well enough alone- then Natasha needed to know in order to protect him.
He had saved her all those years ago. And she would be damned if she wasn't going to keep returning the favor until the day she died.
No matter what it took.
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