Chapter 21
I could tell this meeting was going to suck. When Bucky and I walked in, Clint, Bruce, and Natasha were seated at the table, and looked up at us wearily. A large platter of bagels sat untouched in the center, and I took one eagerly. The door opened and Wanda walked inside with Sam, both looking slightly worried. They sat down next to me.
"This is going to be wonderful," Clint muttered sarcastically. "Anytime there's food at a meeting means they've got something bad to say."
"Who's running this anyway?" Sam asked, shifting in his chair.
"Us."
We all turned towards the door, where Tony and Steve now stood. Everyone fell silent, and a blanket of tension settled over the room.
Tony cleared his throat and made his way to the head of the table. Steve shut the door and stood off to the side, his arms folded. Tony's eyes met mine for a moment, but they darted away quickly.
"Well, in light of recent events, I've decided it's time to, uh, come clean about some things," he began.
Clint knit his eyebrows together and looked over at me. I pretended I didn't see him.
"I've been in contact with the Secretary of Homeland Security about the act he proposed a while back."
"You what?!" Wanda cried. "How could you do that?!"
Everyone looked a little shocked at her outburst, and I put my hand on her shoulder softly. She looked over at me, her eyes wild, and shrank back into her seat.
"I want to make it clear that I'm just trying to buy us some time to figure things out," he continued. "Nothing will be set in stone unless we are all agreed. And I have a feeling that won't be happening for a long time."
"That won't ever happen," Steve added sharply. "We have absolutely no plan to pass this act. Ever."
"Well, that's a little closed minded, isn't it?" Tony said, leaning against the table.
Steve's face hardened and he stepped forward. "No, I don't think it is. Reid have no right to come in and order that we register with the government like criminals."
"I have to admit, I didn't expect that from Mr. Rah Rah America," he snapped. "You've always been a fan of structure. You know, like the government's little bitch?"
"Tony!" I yelled, jumping up from my chair. "Stop!"
Steve glared at Tony angrily, and I was afraid that he was about to kill my brother with his bare hands. But before they got the chance to throttle each other, I ran between them.
"Both of you need to stop acting like children," I hissed. "The one thing that'll destroy us the fastest is if we turn on each other. And God knows I am not going to let that happen."
"He started it," Tony mumbled.
Steve's jaw tightened and he tried to step forward, but I pushed him back.
"Watch yourself, Stark," he growled.
Tony rolled his eyes. "Oh come on, Capsicle, you know-"
"Shut up," I cut him off. "Steve, go take a walk. Tony, go to the lab or something. You both need to calm down."
They began to protest, but I narrowed my eyes at both of them.
"Go," I repeated.
Steve glared at Tony and shook his head slightly, but quickly turned and walked out the door, heading towards the elevator. I looked at Tony expectantly; he followed suit but went to the stairs down to the lab. The room was thick with silence again. I turned around and pinched the bridge of my nose.
"Men are so immature," I muttered.
"Agreed," Natasha and Wanda both chimed.
Clint's jaw dropped dramatically. "That's rude!"
"They're so fucking petty!" I yelled, pushing my hair off my forehead.
Bucky stood up slowly. "Cara," he said slowly, "take some deep breaths, calm yourself down."
"My brother is a prick," I continued, folding my arms. "A massive prick. Jesus Christ, how has he not been murdered by someone yet?! How have I not murdered him yet?!"
Bucky hesitated and looked back at the rest of the team. "Can you guys give us a quick second, please?"
"Course," Sam said and stood up quickly. "Let's go eat, I'll make coffee."
Natasha, Clint, and Bruce followed Sam out of the room. Bucky made sure they were out of the hallway before shutting the door and turning back to me. I leaned against the conference table and tried to slow my thoughts down. For a few minutes he didn't say anything, just stood next to me, our hands almost touching.
"You alright?" He asked quietly.
I sighed shallowly. "Everything has been so crazy lately."
"You're right," he nodded. "Let's get out of here."
"What?"
"Let's go out somewhere, just for a bit," he smiled slightly. "It'll get your mind off things. And it'll be fun."
I scrunched up my nose and made a face at him.
"Come on!"
"It's winter in New York City, I don't want to go outdoors."
"Babe, you always say global warming is real," he replied. "We're going, you have to."
"Buck," I whined.
"Cara," he imitated me.
I glared at him for a moment, then sighed heavily. "Fine, I'll come. But I probably won't enjoy it."
Bucky grinned as I started walking out the door and down the hallway. After putting on our coats, hats, and gloves, we stepped into the elevator, and were soon standing outside. I frowned at the cold biting my nose and buried my chin into the neck of my jacket as we began walking.
"So what's with that hat?" Bucky asked about a half a block later.
I reached up to my hat and patted it proudly. I'd had the white knit hat with a huge puffball on top for years, and I loved it with all my soul.
"What's wrong with my hat?"
"Nothing," he smirked. "Nothing at all."
"Well, sorry, Mr Tough Man. Some of us like to have warm ears," I said, referring to Bucky's hatless head.
He laughed to himself, and soon I was laughing too. We passed a little coffee cart, and he stopped, raising an eyebrow at me. I nodded, and he bought two drinks from the guy running the cart. He handed me one as we started walking again, and I put my arm through his.
"I think your hat makes you look cute," he added.
I grinned and shook my head slightly. "You're lying."
"Cara Stark, I would never!"
I nudged his side with my shoulder and took a sip of the coffee. "So, where are we going?"
He shrugged. "I'm not sure. Maybe Central Park. Maybe the MET."
"Come on," I pulled him over to the crosswalk and across the street.
We walked for a few minutes, and quickly reached the park. It was full of soccer moms chasing their toddlers and businesspeople pacing with the morning issue of the Wall Street Journal in hand. We found an empty bench and sat with our legs pressed against each other.
"Are you feeling better?" Bucky asked.
I nodded. "Yeah. Sorry. I've got a short temper when it comes to unnecessary fighting."
"I think we all do," he agreed, putting his arm around me.
I rested my head on his shoulder and continued looking around at the other people in the park. A few little boys running around by the fountain caught my eye, and I motioned towards them.
"Luke! I'm Captain America and you're Iron Man! We have to work together!" One of them cried, pulling his little blue mask off his face.
Bucky smiled at the sight of them. "God, that's bizarre."
I nodded in agreement. A question I'd never thought to ask a person I was in a relationship with suddenly crossed my mind, and the fact that it did terrified me. I cleared my throat and looked down at my hands.
"Do you want any?"
He furrowed his eyebrows and looked over at me. "Any what?"
I hesitated. "Um, kids."
"Kids," he repeated slowly.
"Well, not anytime soon, I mean. Just, like, ever?"
Bucky sighed and stared into his coffee cup. "Honestly, I haven't really thought about stuff like that since, well, you know. Even before that, I just assumed I had more time. I didn't think much about the future."
I nodded understandingly.
"You?"
"I don't know," I muttered, sitting back slightly. "I used to be so sure that I did. I told myself that I would someday, but I think I knew deep down my heart wasn't in it completely. And with all the weird shit that happens these days, I question if it's even worth bringing a kid into this world." I looked back towards the little kids playing. "We all start out that way. Innocent, only worried about when we're going to the park next. How people go from that to someone like the people we fight never fails to baffle me."
He pulled me a little closer to him and pressed his lips to the top of my head. "So much for having a fun adventure, huh?"
"Ugh, I ruined the mood, didn't I?" I groaned.
Bucky laughed and took the empty coffee cup from my hand. "I wasn't aware there was a mood." He stood up and tossed both the cups into a garbage can. "Shall we?" He asked, holding his hand out.
I grabbed it, got off the bench, and started walking back towards Stark Tower. When we were about a block away, I pulled Bucky aside. I pressed my lips against his slowly, savoring every second his body was touching mine.
"Thank you," I whispered after a few moments. "I love you."
He kissed my forehead quickly and took my hand again. "I love you, too."
We began walking again, now slightly farther apart in case someone were to walk out of the tower. When we came out of the elevator several minutes later, Tony immediately popped out from behind a wall.
"Where were you?" He asked quickly, and I nearly jumped through the roof out of surprise.
"Jesus, Tony! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" I snapped. "I needed to blow off some steam and since you and Steve were too busy being twelve year old boys, Bucky suggested I go take a walk. He didn't think it would be great for me to be alone he came with me. Now, we're back here."
"Listen, I wanted to talk to you about earlier," he said hastily, his eyes flicking to Bucky, who clearly got the hint.
"I'll leave you two alone. See you around, Cara." Bucky turned and left; Tony and I were alone.
I looked at my brother expectantly and folded my arms over my chest.
"I'm sorry," Tony blurted. "I should not have done what I did without consulting the rest of the team, and my comments toward Steve were out of line."
I nodded stiffly. "Apology accepted."
"Also," a smirk crossed his face and I suddenly got very nervous, "I have a surprise."
"What?"
"Well, you only complain about a billion times a month that Natasha gets all the solo missions, and I may have pulled a few strings with Cap to get you-"
"You didn't?!" I cried, cutting him off.
"Oh, but I did," he grinned. "You leave in three days, but I'm warning you, it's a long one."
I ran forward and hugged him tightly, clearly taking him by surprise.
"Thank you so much, Tony," I said seriously. "This means so much, you have no idea."
Tony didn't respond for a moment, and stepped back slightly.
"You're my only real family, Cara. Your happiness is extremely important to me," he murmured.
"That's sweet," I said quietly, offering a small smile.
He returned it and started walking towards the labs. He paused and turned back.
"It's the truth. I'd do anything to make you happy."