Update ready, for those who haven't given up. Thank you ever so much for your patience. All the usual disclaimers apply here. They aren't mine, I'm not making any profit, except the lovely feelings I get from your reviews.
Ella: Glad you enjoyed. I love writing the girl scenes.
sailorraven34: And the guys were fun to write, too. Glad you liked. I enjoy making people laugh.
All For Jesus: Aw. Thanks.
Sandy-wmd: As always, you're very kind. The dynamics of this group are so much fun to write. I like showing different sides to these characters.
I so appreciate all who have favorite and followed and most especially, the reviewers. I adore you all. Now, on with Nick and Maria's story. Enjoy.
Risks 24
"Stark. We need a favor."
Tony Stark looked up from the workbench. Various parts and pieces of metal and wire were spread out in front of him and a schematic floated in the air in front of him. He scratched his nose with one of the tiny tools clutched in his hand, then wiped it on his pants while he studied the two men standing in front of him.
"We need Hill and Romanoff out of the way for a little while," Nick told him.
Tony studied them a moment, considering. "I suppose we could lock them in one of the vaults. That would probably hold them for a few hours. We could increase that either by separating them or by knocking them out first."
"Nothing that drastic," Clint hurried to assure him.
"Though it's something to keep in mind for the future," Fury mumbled.
"Would you want to deal with the aftermath?" the archer questioned.
The director shook his head, then turned his attention back to Stark.
"Here's what we had in mind."
XXXXXXXX
After a team dinner that night, everyone sat around the common area, chatting quietly or dealing with things on their electronic devices. Tony pulled Pepper close, looking over her shoulder at what was on her screen.
"Still working?" he questioned.
She shook her head. "I think everything's running smoothly on that front. We've got the next few weeks pretty much set so that other people can deal with most of the SI business. I'm just checking over a few of the wedding plans."
"The wedding's only a week off," he reminded her.
"I know. Just a few last minute details," she assured him.
He took the pad from her, ignoring her protests. "Isn't that why we hired a wedding planner? To take care of all those last minute details?"
She opened her mouth to respond.
"An extremely reputable, wedding planner who is in high demand and who we are paying extremely well because of the short notice?"
She nodded. "Yes, but"
He put a finger over her lips to silence her.
"So, let her earn her money."
"I just want everything to be perfect," she told him.
"And it will be," he assured her. "As long as you're there and I'm there and, at the end of the day, we're man and wife."
With a smile, she nodded her agreement.
"I want you to relax...not be stressed out."
"I'll try,"she promised.
"No, you'll do it."
When she looked at him with a raised brow, he continued. "You know that spa out on the island that you really like? I booked it for the week."
"You mean, you booked me a suite?"
"No," he corrected, "I booked the whole spa."
Her eyes went wide. "Tony. That facility is booked for months in advance."
"Yes, but I'm Tony Stark," he said, as if that explained everything. And maybe it did.
She chewed her lip. "I don't know, Tony. A whole week?"
"You'd be out on the island, only a few miles from the estate. The planner can meet you there if you need to discuss anything, your designer can do your final fittings there."
Seeing she was almost convinced, he kept pushing. "Plenty of room for the others, too," he told her, gesturing to include the rest of the room. "Darcy. Jane. Maria. Jessica. Nat. Beth."
Maria looked up to find Tony watching her. She started to politely decline, citing the work she had, but stopped when she felt Nick's arm tighten around her.
Pepper's eyes narrowed. "And with all the women out of the way, you boys can have a wild, week-long bachelor party," she accused.
Tony looked shocked. "What? No. We're all grown men with responsibilities. Amazing women in our lives. Those kind of parties have kind of lost their appeal."
Her gaze expressed doubt.
"Okay," he admitted. "Maybe a little bit of a bachelor part. Drinks. Cigars. Poker. No strippers. No Vegas. In fact, we'll probably keep it here in the tower."
During this discussion, Nick had leaned close to Maria.
"I know it probably doesn't sound very appealing to you, but I'd appreciate it if you and Nat would go. I need Stark to finish up a project and he's still a bit nervous about letting her out of his sight. I think he'd be more comfortable with the two of you there watching out for her."
While considering his request, she looked over to Natasha. The redhead was watching her, one brow raised slightly. When Maria responded in kind, the other woman shrugged slightly. The exchange was so discreet and quick, no one but Nick and Clint were even aware of it.
"Maria?" Pepper was looking at her expectantly. "What do you think? Up for a few days of pampering with Jane, Darcy, Jessica, Maribel, and me?" Beth had to work but had said that she might be able to join them later in the week.
She looked to Nick. "What do you think? Can you get by without me for a few days?"
He smiled slightly and leaned in to kiss her. "I'd miss you, of course, but I think it will be good for you to have a bit of a break, now that things are a bit...settled."
They had all learned never to say that things were quiet. There was no surer method to call down trouble upon themselves.
Finally, she shrugged. "Sure. Could be fun. Thanks for the invite."
"Nat?"
The assassin eyed the other agent, then nodded her agreement. "I'm in, too."
XXXXXXXXXX
A couple of days later, Maria and Natasha were relaxing in the steam room.
"You know they're up to something."
Maria opened one eye and glanced over at the other woman.
"The guys?"
Nat nodded.
"Of course they are. Actually, they're up to a couple of things." She sat up, taking a long drink from her water bottle while the other woman waited patiently. After wiping her face, Maria continued. "They're tracking some info on that bounty on you. They've also got something in the works for my father's assistant."
"Von Drake?"
Maria nodded.
The Russian cursed.
"I know you don't believe there's anything to this stuff with Ivan," Maria told her.
The other woman waved dismissively. "I've been thinking. I suppose it's not entirely impossible that something could be going on."
"But you want to be in on the action."
"It's probably better if I'm not in on this one," Nat replied. "If they're coming after me, then they must think that they have some new information. Some..."
"Trigger."
The red head nodded. "Something that they think was missed in my reprogramming."
"That was my thought as well," Maria answered. "I've got a couple of the original shrinks helping me review all the original files looking for anything we might have missed the first time around."
Natasha nodded, but still seemed bothered.
"So, what's the problem?"
"Von Drake," she admitted. "Clint knew I wanted in on that."
"Why?" Maria asked. "What do you know about him?"
She knew and trusted Natasha, but there were still elements of her past that she would prefer no one know. Even Nick didn't know all of it.
"Only that he and your father hurt you badly. I didn't spend much time in Walsh's house, but something about the place just made my skin crawl. I knew bad things happened there. And when Clint came back from his trip."
She paused and Maria waited.
"He didn't say much, but I knew he was upset by something he saw there."
She shrugged. "The point is, he hurt someone that I...you know...someone that..." She seemed to struggle for words. "Someone that...matters."
Maria laughed dryly. "Funny, isn't it? When we're trying to get close to someone or earn their trust for an assignment, it's easy to act affectionate and say all the words, but when there are people who do...matter...it's a whole lot harder."
The other woman smiled. "I guess since we use the words to deceive, we feel deceptive any time we do use them. We have to find other ways to express that." She laughed. "Like showing up at my door ready to help me dispose of a body, no questions asked."
"Or helping to terrorize total strangers just because they hurt me a long time ago."
"That has the added benefit of being something I enjoy and am pretty damn good at," Nat told her as the timer went of, signaling the end of their session in the sauna.
"What's next on your plan?" the assassin asked as the duo headed back to their rooms.
"Probably log on, get a little bit of work done," Maria told her.
"Thought Fury said he was going to block your access so you'd actually relax."
"He tried," the brunette answered.
They stopped walking at the sight of Pepper, sitting at one of the small outdoor tables and staring angrily at her phone. After a silent consultation, the two approached the table, taking seats to either side of the bride to be.
"What has Stark done now?" Tasha asked.
"What makes you think Tony did something?" she asked defensively. When they both stared at her, she threw up her hands. "We agreed to keep this small and simple. Just the two of us. No attendants or anything."
The other two nodded.
"So now, three days before the wedding, he calls me. Rhodey reminded him that he had once promised him and Happy that they could be his 'best men' if he ever got married." She rolled her eyes. "Probably something he promised one time when they were rescuing him from some trouble he had gotten his drunken self into."
"Sounds about right."
"Meaning that I now have to two attendants as well."
"Why?"
Pepper shrugged. "Tradition? Balance? Who knows." She studied the other two. "So?"
They looked at each other. "What?"
"Bridesmaids. You two."
They hesitated.
"Please. No horrible dresses, I promise."
Still no response from the agents.
"And it will keep you right up front, right next to me so it's easier to protect me. Which is why you're here, right?"
"Partly," Maria admitted.
"And partly so you can distract us from wondering what the men are up to," Nat added.
Pepper blushed slightly, but didn't bother to deny it. "Yeah, that too."
XXXXXXXXX
Beth arrived the next day, joining the rest of the ladies for a final full day of pampering before heading out to the Stark estate. As Pepper oversaw and approved the final preparations, the men arrived, along with a few other select guests who fell under the 'family' category such as Melinda May and Beth Matthews' grandparents.
Nick, though, wasn't among them.
"Work," he told her. "I'll try to make it for the wedding itself."
"I understand," she told him. Because she did.
After the rehearsal dinner, everyone headed off to bed, alone or in pairs, and the house settled into a muted hum of staff making sure everything would be ready for the busy day ahead.
In the wee small hours of the morning, Maria's phone buzzed with an incoming text message. She read it with a smile, then jumped out of bed. Flicking the curtain back she studied the grounds, her eyes finally picking out the dark figure standing on the edge of the wooded area.
She pulled on her robe, slipping her phone in one pocket and a gun in the other, shoved her feet into a pair of slippers, and silently slipped out into the hallway. Less than a minute later, she had made her way downstairs and out the back door.
Not finding him waiting where she had seen him earlier, she make her way quietly down the winding pathway, ending up on a small beach. His shoes and socks were discarded in the sand and, pants rolled up, he stood at the water's edge, allowing the waves to lap over his toes. She stood for several moments, happy to see him so relaxed.
He soon sensed her presence and turned, his mouth turning up in a smile as his gaze took her in. He stepped back onto the sand, holding out his arms in invitation. Wordlessly, she kicked off the slippers and dashed to him. His hands went to her waist, lifting her slightly as she wrapped arms and legs around him, pulling herself close. Lips met and the silence stretched as the two reveled in simply being together once again.
Finally, needing air, they broke the kiss, foreheads pressed together, fighting for breath.
"Hey," he whispered softly. "I've missed you."
She smiled. "I've missed you, too." Leaning back slightly, she examined his tuxedo, tugging lightly at the ends of the untied bow-tie. "You're looking quite sharp."
He held her steady while she placed her feet back on the sand. She shivered a bit and he removed his jacket, holding it out for her. Even though she wasn't particularly cool, she accepted the offer, the heat from his body and the scent of his cologne wrapping her in contentment. Threading her arm through his, they started down the beach.
"The Council Secretary was feeling a bit insecure about the security at an event he was attending tonight...last night...and wanted me to accompany him as an extra layer of protection. I kind of figured I'd be there all night while he schmoozed."
"Why weren't you?"
"His mistress showed up as well. His normal security detail is much more accommodating about such things than I am, so he told me to go ahead and call it a night."
"Good," she nodded. "Anything new about Ivan?" she asked.
His step faltered a fraction of a second, then he continued. "We managed to pull in a student in his new program." He shook his head. "Certainly not up to the caliber of his previous trainees."
"Good news for us. We need to get him shut down before he gets there."
He nodded. "Apparently, they located some old files from the original program." Before she could ask, he assured her. "We managed to hack in and copy them. We'll get a team going on them."
Stopping, the looked up at him. "Could we limit access to Romanoff's team for now?"
Most of the field agents had a dedicated team consisting of experts in numerous fields. Nat's team included several members with extensive training in deprogramming.
At his questioning look, she explained. "For them to be going after her, they must think they've found a vulnerability somewhere. I'm wondering if maybe there's a trigger we didn't find. Something planted in her subconscious that we missed, that they think they can activate and turn her. I'd just as soon any hint of that not become general knowledge."
"We can do that."
"Good." They resumed their walk. "And von Drake?"
He considered denying any knowledge of what she was talking about, but finally shrugged. "He'll recover. Eventually. This time."
She grunted noncommittally.
Finally, they rounded a high dune, stepping into a small sheltered area. She studied the blanket spread on the sand, anchored by a picnic basket and a small lantern. Puzzled, she turned to question her lover.
Only to find him on his knee in front of her. He held up a small velvet box.
"I know we've talked about this before, but I thought perhaps we should revisit the question when you're not suffering from a concussion." He took her hand. "Maria, will you marry me?"
She studied him, chewing on the lower lip. "Are you sure you want that, Nick?"
He laughed softly. "Let's see. I'm on my knees in the sand, holding a ring box containing an absolutely gorgeous ring that you haven't even looked at, asking you to marry me. What about this scenario makes you doubt that's what a really want?"
Sighing, she dropped to the sand, sitting cross-legged in front of him. He settled across from her, matching her position.
"Like you said, when we talked about it before, I had a concussion. You told Kyle that you had been thinking that you might like to try marriage again at some point. When I asked you if that meant we were engaged, it kind of put you on the spot. You might have agreed because I was hurt and you felt sorry for me or you were afraid of upsetting me or maybe you thought I wouldn't even remember the conversation. I just don't want to pressure you into something you don't want."
He set the ring box down and took her hands in his. "Maria, how long have you known me?"
"Years," she replied.
"How often have you seen me pressured into doing something I didn't want to do?"
"Rarely," she admitted.
"This is no exception. While I'll admit to a soft spot where you're concerned, I let myself get pressured into marriage once before. I won't say I regret it, because I couldn't have Ronnie if I hadn't, but that whole situation made a whole lot of people miserable. I swore I would never do that again."
He made sure he had her full attention. "Honestly? I had been trying to think of a way to broach the subject with you, but I wasn't sure how you'd react. Kyle just gave me the opening."
Maria shook her head in confusion. "Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why would you want to marry me? You know how messed up I am. You know about my ugly past, my scars. My mistakes. The red on my ledger. You really want to tie yourself to me? You know that I'm yours as long as you want me. No paper needed."
"I want that paper, though. I want you. I want that commitment, that promise, that we'll always be there for each other. It may sound silly, but it's the way I was raised. It matters to me, sweetheart."
His fingers traced a gentle path down her cheek. She leaned into his touch, closing her eyes for a moment, then opening them to look down at the small box.
"I couldn't wear a ring anyway," she protested.
"I know," he agreed. "I told myself that even walking into the jewelry store. I kept telling myself that the whole time I was looking. But when I saw this one, it was like it was made for you."
He opened the box and handed it to her. Her breath caught in her throat as she studied the ring.
The band was bright, white gold, the center stone was a rich blue oval sapphire. Slightly smaller round diamonds were set to either side of the center stone, Each side of the stone trio was bracketed by a Celtic Trinity knot.
"And an engagement ring doesn't necessarily need to be worn on the left hand. I some countries, they wear them on the right."
"True."
"In fact, it seems to me that it doesn't matter which hand or which finger you wear it on, as long as you and I know what it means, nothing else matters."
She smiled, then shook her head.
"And then, there's this," he added, pulling another small box out of his pocket. He opened it, removing a slender chain, white gold braided in a delicate pattern to match the knots on the shoulder of the ring. He reached over, fastening it around her neck. He ran a finger down the chain, resting it on the spot where the ring would lay.
Chewing her lower lip, the glanced at the ring again, then back at his face. She studied him, looking for...something. He waited patiently. Finally she jumped to her feet, standing in front of him.
"Ask me again."
He didn't need to be told twice. He moved back to his knees and took her hand.
"Maria Grace...I'm here...with all my scars. My insecurities. My ugly past. My mistakes. All my secrets and lies, asking you, will all your scars, your past, your mistakes and secrets and lies, to become my wife. I can't promise that I'll be honest with you or be there for you when you want me or need me, but I'll always love you and always do my best to make sure you know how special you are."
"Yes," she told him softly.
"Yes?"
She placed her hands on either side of his face and leaned down to kiss him.
"Most definitely, yes."
He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close. After a lengthy kiss, he pulled back and held up the velvet box.
"What about this?"
"Well...since you've already gone to all the trouble to pick it out and pay for it, I suppose I'll go ahead and keep it," she answered with a shrug.
He threw back his head and laughed. "I thought you might feel that way." He removed the ring from the box and held it out. She offered her right hand and he slipped it onto her ring finger.
She wrapped her arms around his neck, pushing him backwards onto the blanket and ending up on top of him. He kept his arms around her.
"Ever had sex on the beach?" she teased in a low voice.
"Not that I remember," he told her.
"You'll definitely remember this," she promised.
And he would. They both would. In the future, this night would be one of the treasured memories pulled out to bring comfort when the pain hit so hard it stole away breath and thought the will to get out of bed. This night was one of the memories the made it possible to go on.
And another chapter wrapped. Thank you for reading. Please let me know what you thought. I love reviews (big, puppy dog eyes). Back to work on a new chapter of something. Stroll, I think, though it's a bit murky right now. Oh. If you want to see the ring I was trying to describe, you can google sapphire celtic engagement rings.