Warnings: Swearing, Healing,
I felt like a princess.
No! I felt like their Queen. Spoiled beyond measure, with everything I could possibly need right at the tips of my fingers. It was overwhelming. It was way too much. It was . . . . sweet. I hadn't had anyone to ever truly take care of me before besides my mother, but she was working all the time. Now, I had these three seemingly tough guys, showing me who they really were, and taking care of my needs before I even knew I had them.
It was flattering. It was endearing. I was pretty sure I was falling in love. Just the thought of finally falling in love. Of finally being able to go up to someone and being like, "Hey see those three handsome devils over there? Yeah they're my soulmates." I was so excited about the prospect of doing that, and every opportunity that came along with it. My heart was racing, and I could feel myself blushing just thinking about it. But first things first, I needed to focus, because I felt absolutely disgusting.
Tony was right though, the baths jets felt absolutely amazing on my battered and bruised skin. Not only that, but it was helping my muscles relax, so that they weren't in such a tensed up position. I wasted no time when it came to washing the day off of me, and got right to work. Using some lovely rose scented body wash, and a purple loofah, I began to scrub. It didn't take me long to gently, but firmly, clean my skin of the dried blood and grime from earlier. After I was clean, I carefully stepped out onto the deep blue bath mat, and began to drain the bloody, and dirty water from the tub.
Now that I didn't look like a Thriller Reject Project, I could enjoy a second, and much longer soak in my hottub like bathtub. I couldn't wait! Soon the muddy pink water was done swirling down the drain, and it left a rim of dirt and blood in its wake. No way was I going to relax in a dirty bathtub that was covered in my own biohazardous materials. So I used some cold water to rinse the tub out one more time, just to get the last of my blood and the dirt from around the rim. It was then replaced by brand new, fresh, steaming hot water, that I was very eager to dip my toes into.
The cupboard that Tony had directed me to earlier was easy enough to find. It was a corner cupboard right above the marble ledge surrounding the bathtub, and built into the wall. That thing wasn't coming off anytime soon, so I opened the door and was stunned by what I found. With a billionaire as a mate though, I really shouldn't have been. Inside were various shampoos, conditioners, body washes, bubble baths, bath bombs, and several other things that I had never even heard of, and I was a woman! I thought I knew almost all of the spa products on the market, apparently I was wrong. This was a girls dream cupboard for anything, and everything, she could ever possibly want for a little or a lot of spa time. In my injured state, I didn't think it would be a good idea to use any of the fancier products with my open wounds, so I just grabbed the shampoo and conditioner. I would save the other stuff for later.
When I turned back around after grabbing my supplies, I saw that the tub was filled up to just the right level with clear water. With a delighted grin on my face, I slipped right on into the steaming, heavenly tub. The jets were turned on low, gently massaging my muscles, and working out all the kinks that the day had created. As well as relieving a good portion of my physical pain.
Now that I was calming down, and not as distressed, I took in the room around me. Not only was this room as big as my bedroom in my apartment, but it seemed as though they were keeping the "ocean theme," for all of my rooms so far. The walls were painted to look like waves, crashing onto a rocky shoreline. On that shoreline, there was a large grey rock, which was painted just to the side of where I was reclining right now. What I hadn't been expecting to see, was a beautiful mermaid with her tail dipping into the foamy ocean waves, waving and smiling at me. The scales on her tail were made up of different shades of red. From the deepest, to the lightest shades you could imagine her tail was perfection. What made it stand out even more though, was that you could make out each individual scale, if you bothered to looked hard enough. Her stereotypical seashell bra, was made up of the whitest shells you could find in the oceans scenery, with even more reds and purples scattered throughout the strings that held it together.
What I thought made her really stand out though, were her features. Her hair fell down her back in soft flowing waves. I could almost picture a soft breeze blowing through her locks, as I gazed at it. It was the color of a beautiful amethyst. Different shades of purple blended together to make it look seamlessly flawless. It was as though her highlights had always been there, and the varying shades of purple to match her hair were elegant in their simplicity.
Her eyes were a deep brown that looked back at you with kindness, while her ruby colored lips were smiling kindly at any who would enter the bathroom, and just exuded warmth. Reclined against the rock, soaking up the rays of the sun, that was painted in the far left corner in yellows and oranges, the mural was beautiful. I could individually see brush strokes if I looked close enough and it made me wonder. Was this one of the things Cap had said he had painted?
I reached for the shampoo that I had never heard of before, which made me assume it was extremely expensive. If Tony had put these rooms together, I just knew he would have footed the bill. That meant that he would have been the one responsible for having bought all of the new furniture, and things adorning my room. That wouldn't have come cheap. Suffice to say, that he wouldn't be bothered by buying some pricey shampoo after purchasing all of that. I would assume so anyway. When you're used to having money, I don't think you notice things like that anymore. I wish I was used to having money so that I could feel like that.
My room was beautiful though. I just wanted to curl up in my new canopy bed, huddle under the covers, and never leave. It may have seemed like there was a lot going on in the room decoration wise, and true, their were a lot of colors being used. To some people I could see that being overwhelming or not their cup of tea. But the way that everything flowed together, made the room look more like a masterpiece than overdone. It didn't look tacky. It didn't look gaudy, or trashy. Instead it looked colorful and welcoming. For the things that were there, everything had been placed just right, so as not to be overwhelming to the eye. The had truly outdone themselves.
I didn't think it was Tony's idea to come up with a themed room. He was more of a monochrome, and all out new tech and gadgets kind of guy. No, the theme idea definitely came from Clint. He may be a spy, and therefore hide his emotions a lot, but he couldn't hide them from me. When everyone else saw the blank mask. I saw the hurt, the anger, the laughter, or the happiness that was hiding behind his spy facade. Somehow, someway, he must have convinced Tony to make my room more feminine, and less manly like the rest of the Tower.
Now the painting, that was all Steve. He had admitted to doing the archway, and I knew he had painted this mural in the bathroom. I would bet my nonexistent bank account, that he painted the walls to look like waves and the shoreline to go with the theme they chose. I also knew that he could draw exceptionally well. So it wouldn't have surprised me if he had been hiding his talents in other art forms until now.
Tony obviously bought everything, but I think he did more than that. He made sure I would feel safe with all of the protection on my floor level. I would also guess, that he had some new gadgets and things hidden somewhere for me. Things that he had designed specifically with me in mind. It just seemed like something that he would do.
The water was beginning to cool around me, and I had yet to wash my hair. Quickly, so as to get it done, I lathered my hair with raspberry smelling shampoo, and then rinsed. Next time I was in here, I wanted to use the shower that had multiple shower heads. I bet that would feel amazing on my muscles, no matter if they were sore or not. But alas, I was finished for now, so I got out of the tub and grabbed one of the towels that was within arms reach. Never before had I had a shower that wasn't attached to the tub, but I couldn't wait to try it out. There were so many new things in this room alone! It was slightly overwhelming.
Like everything else in this room, the towels were soft and opulent. It was like what I imagined drying off with a cloud would feel like. They were also poofy like the clouds in the sky looked, unlike how normal towels were flat and slightly scratchy. Or maybe that was just the towels I could afford. Who knew? I had run into a slight problem though. I refused to put on those disgusting clothes again. It was a shame since that had been a new top, but I was going to burn these clothes, mark my words. Tony did say that if I needed anything I could ask J.A.R.V.I.S., and that's what I was going to have to do.
"Hey J?" I really hoped he would respond to my nickname for him. His name was a mouthful when you were doing something like I was now. I had just finished securing the towel around my body when he responded.
"Yes Ms. Monroe? How are you feeling? I hope your bath helped alleviate some of your pain." This was the second time that I had heard the A.I speak with feeling in his voice. I was almost sure of it now, but I bet he could detect and feel emotions.
"The bath helped a lot, and honestly just being clean made a huge difference. I've just run into a slight snag." I said honestly.
"How may I be of service Ms. Monroe?"
"Can you tell the others that I'm done with my bath, but that I don't have anything to wear? I just got clean. What would be the point of a bath, if you're just going to put blood soaked clothes back on?" I asked him.
"Very true. I will relay your message to the others. I have no doubt that they will respond momentarily."
"Thanks J man."
"Of course. Anything for you miss." He responded.
While I waited for someone to get back to me, or bring me clothes, I finished looking around the bathroom. The toilet, which looked brand new, was in the corner farthest from the door. A few feet away from it, was a marble bench that was against the back wall. Above the beautifully sculpted bench, were hooks in the shape of seashells to hang your clothes or towels from. I was confused momentarily, when I saw that one of the hooks was already occupied. When I got a closer look at what was hanging there, my heart stopped. It was a plush, red, womens bathrobe, that had my name embossed on it in black on the back. I would use that next time.
There was a double vanity that was absolutely gorgeous, and made from the same marble as the bench that was against the wall. With two sinks, and an extra large mirror on the wall in front of it, it was a place anyone could spend all day in front of. The mirror made me stop though.
A rushing noise like a waterfall filled my ears, and my hands grabbed the countertop to steady myself before I fell. I watched myself through the mirror like I was a different person, as I slowly raised a hand to touch my face. I knew it was bad, I mean I got beat to a bloody pulp today. That was just the beginning. But looking at my body in the mirror now, I barely recognized the woman staring back at me. The wet hair that framed her face was utterly covered in bruises! Each cheekbone and going down her face, was turning purple, black, and a disgusting yellow that made the woman in the mirror flinch. If that wasn't a pretty enough picture. It looked like a black eye was forming over her right eye. Littered around the face, were numerous cuts. Each one varied in size, length, and depth, and each one was slowly beginning to start bleeding again. Bathing and the light scrubbing of skin must have ripped open the wounds even though I had tried my hardest to be gentle. That couldn't be me. Could it? But as I moved around, the image in the mirror, mirrored my movements. Oh shit, it was me!
The farther you went down my body, the worse the afflictions became. Distantly through the roaring of the waterfalls in my ears, I could hear someone knocking on the door, but at the moment I was too focused on my mutilations to care. The bruises on my arms and legs were darkening to an almost pitch back. My ankle was swelling up to the size of a softball, and I could no longer put pressure on it. I stumbled backwards like a toddler, until my body found the ledge of the tub, then I dropped onto it. My body was still visible as I sat down, and I was horrified. How could they have looked at me? I looked like I had just gone three rounds with Muhammad Ali, and gotten my ass kicked ten ways to Sunday. I mean, I was no supermodel, what with my thick thighs, and hips that had love handles. I was a thick girl, but this. Looking like this, how could my soulmates have bared to look at me? Each bruise was proof that someone else had touched me, that even though I fought back, I hadn't fought back hard enough.
Gentle hands on my cheeks, and green eyes in my vision pulled me out of my head, and I found that I was now staring at Clint. Even though I was only in a towel, his eyes never left mine as he moved to gently rest his forehead against mine. A quick glance around, showed that it was only the two of us in the room. So I knew that he would be more open with me than if there were others in here with us.
"I'm so glad you're safe baby girl." he whispered to me, as his eyes closed in what looked to me, like relief.
"Well I'm glad you came and saved me. I wouldn't be safe without you." I told him honestly as I gave his nose a little nudge with my own. Which caused a smile to break out across his face.
"God, when I felt your uncertainty . . . I just thought you were having a bad customer experience." He said, and I watched as the area around his eyes began to tighten. With slow and soft movements so I didn't startle the spy, I lifted my hands to rest on his cheeks so that I was mirroring his position. Then I gently started to smooth out the wrinkles that were forming around his face.
"I'm safe Clint. You saved me." I whispered, reassuring him.
Not to sound like a selfish Bitch, but I just realized that while I had been in my own crisis mode, they all must have been too. Showing up to your soulmates work, and finding your mate essentially being held hostage, after feeling all of the emotions that had been coursing through my body, must have been hell. Being the one that had felt that cocktail of emotions, I knew that couldn't have been easy on any of them. And now, seeing me with all of my bruises and cuts on display like this. How much was it messing with his psyche? His soul? His heart?
"I am so sorry Clint!" I cried, as I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed his cheek, before burying my face in his neck.
"What are you sorry for princess?" He gently took ahold of my arms, and pulled me back slightly, so that while my arms were still around him, I could look him in the eyes.
"What you must be going through right now!" I exclaimed, and he just looked at me like I was crazy.
"Stella. You don't have to worry about me right now baby girl. I only want you to heal and get better. Please, worry about yourself before me."
"But . . . " I began, but he cut me off with a finger being placed on top of my lips. I couldn't help it, when I gave it a little nip. I wasn't expecting him to give my nose a light tap in retaliation though.
"Bad girl, that wasn't very nice." He said before continuing like nothing had happened.
"Do you know where you are Stella?"
"Well, I know I'm at Avengers Tower, and I heard someone say something about "my rooms," but other than that, nope. No clue." I answered honestly.
Clint nodded his head as though he was expecting this, and gave me an explanation. "These are your rooms. All three of us have been working on them since we met you, but they only got finished yesterday. Steve and I were going to go and get you today, to show you around since Tony is working on something critical in his lab with Bruce. But then we felt your uncertainty, and it was like lightning striking. I'm not talking Thor's lightning, but thunderstorm lightning. All of our attention shifted to you and your safety. Then we felt your fear and pain, and my world stopped. I thought I was going to loose you baby girl."
I felt myself choking up, but I didn't let the tears fall. "I'm here though Clint, I'm alright."
It was like he didn't hear me as he played with a few strands of my hair. "Then, when we got there. To see you hurt like that, but still so strong. I wanted them dead. I felt no remorse when they died, and in my opinion, they didn't suffer enough. Not for what they did to you. Not for having hurt you." He stared me dead in the eyes as he said this, but I wasn't scared of his intensity, of his wrath. Because I knew he would never hurt me, and that all that rage he was feeling, was directed at the people who had hurt me. With a wry grin on his face, I think he just realized that I was still only wrapped in a towel, because he leaned back to grab something, then gently sat a bundle of clothing on my lap.
"Here. Tony bought you a whole new wardrobe with a ton of new clothes in it. I wasn't sure what you would want to wear, so I just grabbed something comfortable looking." He stood up to leave, and before I could even think about it, I was yelling out to him.
"Stay!" He froze with his back to me, as he was almost to the door. "I mean, please stay? I just . . . it's just . . . I don't want to be alone." I whispered at the end, but he heard me, because he turned half of his body towards me.
"You never have to explain yourself to me princess. I'll stay right over here while you get dressed okay?" He nodded his head, and turned so his back was facing me, and so that he didn't have a view of the mirror. In his position, there was no way that he would be able to see any part of my body, and I was thankful for his consideration.
Quickly I pulled the clothes on, and I had no protests over the sweatshirt, leggings, and lace underwear that he had chosen for me. In fact, it was very comfortable. "All done." I softly called out to him, and he turned back around to face me.
"You look beautiful." There wasn't a single sign of a lie on his face, and I blushed, even though I knew I must have looked awful. He gently grabbed a hold of my hand, and we walked out of the bathroom and into the sitting room portion of my rooms. It looked as though Tony and Steve were just beginning to relax, but I had a question on my mind that had been bugging me for a while now.
I sat down in a very soft green bean bag chair made to look like a seashell, and faced all three of them before I asked my question. "So . . . what's Hydra?" Everything stopped, and all three heads snapped around to look at me. You would think that I had just killed the president with the way they were eyeing me.
"You don't know?" Tony asked me incredulously.
Right before I could shake my head in the negative, that no, I didn't know what Hydra was. Steve snapped at him. "Of course she doesn't know Tony. Why would she possibly have any reason to know what Hydra is?" Clint stayed silent. He instead, just took a seat on the floor next to me and took my hand in one of his own. I think he needed the physical reassurance that I was there and alright, and I was only too happy to provide that relief if that was what he needed.
"Oh, I don't know Cap. Maybe because when they teach kids about you in school, they tell them what Hydra was?!" Tony said in a cutting voice.
"I was sick that day!" I pipped up, while putting my hand up like one would do in a classroom. But only Clint seemed to hear me if his chuckle was anything to go by.
"Oh don't act all innocent Stark, we all know you were expecting this question. You ran a background check on her after all." Steve quipped.
"I'm sorry he did what now?" I asked irritably, and Clint just gave me an apologetic look.
"It was the same night that he had J.A.R.V.I.S. take your measurements. He wanted to make sure you didn't have any connections with people or organizations that would want to harm him or any of us." I couldn't even be upset by that now, because that just made so much sense.
"That's enough guys." Clint called to them, and they both stopped arguing. I had a feeling that they fought a lot. "Steve, just tell her what Hydra is so we can start making a plan."
Steve gave me a smile. "Hydra is a paramilitary group that believes in world domination. In WWII I fought the head of Hydra, The Red Skull, and won. We all believed that was the end of the group. However lately we have been hearing more and more about small subversive groups popping up around the world. Until today, we had no proof that Hydra actually exists, but this was a direct attack, and most likely not the last. We need to prepare. Formulate plans, make defenses. If there is one thing I know about Hydra, its that if they want something bad enough, they will do anything to get it. And for some reason, right now, that's you Stella. We don't know when they'll come again, and we don't know why. But we will do everything we can to keep you safe kitten." Steve said with complete seriousness.
"Alright then, let's get ready to kick some ass." Tony said. Man was I grateful that I had these three men beside me to keep me safe, and not some other wack jobs, because Hydra sounded like it was going to be a problem.
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